In case you didn’t know, I am best known through my work with the game Dungeons & Dragons, either as an editor for Dragon back when it was still a paper magazine or as a contributing author of numerous D&D books. I’ve written elsewhere about my general falling out with high fantasy, but even a cursory look at the Ingressa reveals my D&D roots and attachments.

Whether directly addressing or rebuking my various pet peeves with the game’s assumptions, it is clear that parts of this shared universe were created to encourage or shut out the game. Since January, I’ve been running a little series of articles that, frankly, encourage the game’s use in the Ingressa.

The last time I visited this world, I drilled down to present a high-level overview and outline of a campaign on Dar Hamaak. Now that I’ve outlined the four fantasy worlds I created for the Ingressa, along with the recent announcement of the open playtest for D&D Next (for which I am quite excited!), I’m going to revisit Dar Hamaak this week to provide a little more information about setting an RPG campaign there.
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So let’s talk about faster than light (FTL) travel in the Ingressa–or rather, the lack of it. A planet-spanning universe like the Ingressa usually needs some kind of FTL to function as a setting, but we sidestepped that with the pergressors. That’s our current method of keeping the various parts of the universe tied to each other but not too efficient at working together. After I lay out my thoughts on FTL in the Ingressa, though, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the matter.
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This is the third of a semi-regular series taking a fairly detailed look at a world (or just part of one) created specifically to support fantasy stories. All of the worlds explored in this series are appropriate for use with fantasy roleplaying games, which was always my intention. The first of these, the world of the Obsidian Queen, provided a dark-fantasy setting, where humans band together despite their petty differences to fight off an external threat that dominates their world. The second, which focused in on one small part of Dar Hamaak, presented a more generic epic-fantasy take.

Four sapient species compete for dominance on Ucaylar, none of which ally themselves with one another. Of these four, the native chulth continue to reign supreme over most of the world. The chulth dominate the planet’s damp lowland forests, bogs, fens, and wetlands. Dwarves–as much legend as people–delve deeply into the world’s tall mountains. Kdarr hunting bands hunt across Ucaylar’s steppes and grasslands. Humans survive where they can, often living in the less desirable parts of the world where the other three species do not covet.

Here is a brief overview of the primitive and savage world of Ucaylar in five sections.
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It is said that the first svar was once a dwarf of the same name, well-known in his village as a practical joker. He would cry wolf, switch signs or remove them entirely, and spread gossip of a particularly bawdy nature. For the most part he was tolerated, because his antics—while irritating and sometimes painful—were never things that were outright dangerous, and when caught, he was always good-natured about making amends wherever possible. As a result, in spite of his juvenile hobbies, he married a young and pretty girl, and the village breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it signaled the end to his pranks.

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Many of us who write for Royal Archivist are not just storytellers and creators and fans of the Ingressa, but also gamers of some stripe or another. Although we haven’t done a lot of Ingressa-based game support, I think 2012 will change that. And speaking of games, I for one am excited by the recent announcement of D&D Next, and I hope there is an opportunity for us to provide Ingressa support for it. But what has any of this got to do with the Ingressa or today’s column?

Dar Hamaak is the first of three worlds I created in the Ingressa specifically for fantasy stories and was expanded upon brilliantly (not by me) for the Guidebook to the Ingressa. The second that I’ve revealed so far is the world of the Obsidian Queen—one created specifically for grim, gritty stories, where the Obsidian Queen and her army fight for survival and freedom in a dark-fantasy world overrun by demons. The third I’ve not yet revealed, but will do so in a month.

In stark contrast to the world of the Obsidian Queen, Dar Hamaak lends itself well to high fantasy and epic fantasy. Although dominated by dwarves, Dar Hamaak still brims with armored knights, reclusive druids, rampaging monsters, reality-warping wizards, pious clergy of a pantheon of deities, and most other high fantasy tropes. If you’re interested in telling heroic, epic fantasy stories or playing fantasy roleplaying games set in the Ingressa, Dar Hamaak is the world for you. As I discussed in Story Papers on Friday, telling stories with fantasy roleplaying games tend to focus on the setting itself, starting in a small town plagued by a menace and slowly expanding the scope and increasing the danger as the characters explore their world. So, too, will I in this article.
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Welcome to Inner Worlds week here at Royal Archivist! I’m going to start things off with Palatia, the so-called “War Planet.” (You know the nations of your planet are a little too much into something when outsiders give it an epithet like that!) As Palatia’s latest world war (generally referred to the Fourth War of the Plains, in reference to the vast plains connecting Gaatrrm and Rrotaa) enters its second year, here is a look at five of the stories emerging from it.
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Some things never go far enough out of style. Somewhere out there, there’s always someone engaging in badger-baiting or cockfighting and making an argument that the animals themselves are vicious.

Things can get even rougher once the native species of multiple worlds can be brought together.

Worse, it isn’t just what we would normally count as animals that can be pitted against each other.
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As the homeworld of human beings and birthplace of two of the major factions, Earth obviously played a major role in the creation of the Ingressa. While its influence within the greater metasociety seems to wane a little more with each generation, it does occasionally produce an event that shakes up the Ingressa and alters life for billions of people–many of whom don’t even live on it. Here are just five examples…
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The colony on Odocos was, for most of its history, a relic of overly ambitious Roman expansion across the worlds of the Ingressa. Too far from other hubs of imperial power ever to be ruled effectively and prone to uprisings against the series of governors sent there to instill order, its people were abandoned by Roma Exterra more than sixteen hundred years ago and left to progress on their own. Janusite pergressors who visited the planet secretly over the centuries reported the inhabitants’ gradual transition from urban to pastoral and agricultural societies; the old Roman cities fell into ruin, to the point that Rome itself became a place of myth.
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Nobody knows what or where Adax is. Most people assume Adax is a group, and considering the breadth of expertise Adax employs and the length of time it has existed only a few other options remain. (My favorite theory, as put forward by Castellum Malleus of Socrates: Adax is a vampire.) Anyway, we’ve had columns going now for eight months (today is the anniversary, in fact!), so let’s take a look at what Adax has said about some of our previous topics.
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