Plot Arcs

A brief overview of the main plot arcs for the campaign. Bullet points list the crucial facts uncovered so far. This should serve to keep everyone aligned and up-to-date on the central plot of the campaign.

Invaders from across the Sea

Invaders have landed on the shores of the jungle, taking Nuqanchik as slaves and shipping them back to their homeland. The invaders are superior in military, and apparently have ways to get through the jungle quickly and quietly.

Entire tribes have already been destroyed, the few members that escaped the slavers unable to survive the jungle. So far, the Nuqanchik have been unable to mount any type of organised resistance. Even the powers of the Chosen seem to be no true match for the invaders.

Can the Nuqanchik survive this threat? How will the future look, now that the lands of the Nuqanchik are known across the waters?

• the Chikauitl (the PCs tribe) have lost over a hundred adults in a confrontation with the slavers; most of them enslaved, not killed
• there has so far been no direct contact between the PCs and the invaders
• it appears Zuma's son Zumatl has been captured as well

In Search of Magic

For centuries, the Nuqanchik had the power of their Chosen, imbued with the magic of the gods, to aid them. Now most gods are gone, and the few that remain guard their power jealously, imbuing only few Chosen.

Meanwhile, the primal power of the land itself is on the rise. Siphoned or controlled by the gods in the past, spirits are getting more numerous and stronger - but while the spirits are able to bless those they favour, they also pose new problems for the Nuqanchik, who now run the danger of stumbling into the domain of a powerful spirit on their journey.

A few Nuqanchik have shown the ability to tap into the primal power directly, as the Rumi Runa of old were able to. But the Rumi Runa are dead, their power drained - a fate the Nuqanchik do not want to share.

Can the Nuqanchik find a stable soure of magic? How will the balance of magical powers look like in the future?

• there are two main sources of magic, "outer" and "primal"
• "outer" power is not from this world; this means beings of outer power often appear strange or "unnatural"
  • the gods of the Nuqanchik are beings of outer power; though most are gone and the few remaining are trapped here, cut off from their domain
  • there are more outer powers, like the strange fae that live in some ruins of the Rumi Runa
  • beings of outer power are not immediately killed when their body is destroyed; it depends on what happens to their power afterwards - usually it would go back to their home, but these are cut off now ...
• "primal" power comes from the living world itself
  • spirits are beings of primal power
  • primal power can be stored in specially cut gems created and used by the Rumi Runa
  • sometimes primal power can accumulate in animals, creating "primal beasts" that are near-sentient and command special powers
  • outer power beings desire this primal power; the gods, in particular, seem to have controlled and consumed most of the primal power of the world in the past
  • there are "places of power" where primal energy runs particularly strongly - here the gems can be charged, and powerful spirits can be found
  • the Rumi Runa seem to have been able to use primal power directly for their magic (without the aid of spirits)

A Shift in Society

Nuqanchik society is structured around the favor of the gods: Those chosen to receive special powers lead the tribes. Any person accepted into the tribe is touched and blessed by the gods.

Those that serve the gods directly, or those that are sacrificed to banish the rains, ascended into the domain of the gods.

Now the domains of the gods are sealed off, and those sacrificed remain behind as ghosts. The touch of the gods, long considered the blessing that makes you a true Nuqanchik, seems to anger the resurgent primal powers.

There are fewer Chosen by the day; no longer enough to lead the tribes. The other powers, traditionally declared forbidden to the tribes, are getting stronger by the day.

How will Nuqanchick society adapt to these changes - will it stagnate, collapse, or evolve into a new form?

• for the tribe of the Chikauitl, "speakers" for the new powers have been named for a "leading council" as an intermediate solution; for now, these advise the Chosen on their respective aspects (the dead, the Rumi Runa, the past and the spirits) while the Chosen remain the official leaders of the tribe
• at least the Chikuaitl have decided to stop sacrifices for now - though what that will mean for the rains remains to be seen