Campaign Design Notes 2: Pylea

By this time, I may be done with at least part of my reading - at least, that's the plan - but I had some other notes I wanted to jot down.

Pylea is the Medieval fantasy Hellworld on which Army of Darkness takes place. Humans are a minority and were used as chattel and referred to as cows, but that has since changed (even if only slightly and only in some areas). The realm is ruled by the demon Gathwok Clan whose fighters comprise the Deathwok Clan, along with the Deadites, and small settlements and kingdoms both human and non-human. Both Conner and Fred managed to survive in Pylea over many years, although both were in captivity.

A lot of portals from our world, including technologically crafted portals, to Pylea exist and portals between Quortoth and Pylea are plentiful, as well. The Monstrum Index has a good starting list for fantasy critters and Adversaries. Although this all seems disconnected from Angel/Buffy, everything ties together; S-Mart is the Wal-Mart of our setting, for example, and is where Ash worked before he was transported to Pylea by the Evil Dead. A lot of Angel and Angelus' early vampiric adventures take place throughout the Victorian Age, which is the period covered by Ghosts of Albion. They also tended to have taken place in London, which is amply covered by Ghosts of Albion, as well.

Humans can also be born in Pylea; they are not only taken from other dimensions - a practice which has, again, dramatically diminished in recent times. Fey Folk are another minority subjected to the whims of the Gathwok, though they too are finding newfound freedoms within the realm. Trolls are another minority that makes Pylea their home. And while demonkin are the primary threat to be found on Pylea, all manner of fantasy creatures and critters exist with all manner of disposition. These days, it is not unusual to go for many miles before encountering a demon, but it would be unusual to go far without encountering something.

Although primarily on a hybrid barter system throughout the realm, Pylea uses a gold standard. Most amenities and regular necessities will cost 1gp - from a meal to a night's stay at an inn. The latter of which may be hard to come by for minorities, including humans and Fey, who can take the Minority Disadvantage (-1 Angel, p.42). Slavery, though now frowned upon, is also still practiced and minorities are still at threat of being captured or Shanghaied by slavemasters, both demonic and otherwise.

Remarkably similar to our own world, one of the few tell-tale signs that you have crossed-over into Pylea is its two suns. It is a 4-point Quality to play a Gathwok (Encyclopedia Demonica, p.13) demon. PCs can be from Pylea, but must take two levels of Hard to Kill (H2K) and the Drawback, Humorless (-1) for a Total Cost of 1. I also cover Pylean Humans in an upcoming post.

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