What is Swordsfall?
An Afropunk Sci-Fantasy Setting
Swordsfall isn’t just a setting for an Afropunk game, it’s a world. It’s a dive into pre-colonial Africa for rich lore you’ve never heard of before. It’s an exploration into a world where most of the faces are dark yet aren’t constrained to one corner of the globe. It’s a world where women hold power equal to men and the merit of one’s soul is what propels them through life. It’s a world where spirits aren’t to be feared, instead, they are to be embraced. In a time where we know that representation matters, this project is an effort to add to that spirit in the way I know best. Narrative fiction in the nerdiest of flavors.
The world of Tikor and all its inhabitants are a reflection of that journey. It’s one in which I expect many will find facets they never expected. Others may find things they had only dreamed of seeing in a published tabletop game. The rest will most likely just be here for a fun game to play. Whichever way leads you to Swordsfall, I welcome you. I hope that no matter your color, creed, gender, or background, you find a home within these pages.
Most importantly though, I hope you have fun with your friends around the table or internet as you dive into a taste of Afropunk Sci-Fantasy.
Swordsfall: A World In Change
Tikor is an Afropunk Sci-Fantasy universe where deities and spirits are as real as the nature that surrounds them. Since the earliest writings of mankind, the gods have been there with them. They are a vital part of the makeup of human societies across the globe. This is in a way to be expected. Humans were in fact, created by the gods themselves. Various grand deities created cultures of their own design and ethos. As time marched forward, these various cultures and groups managed to peacefully co-exist. Sometimes contentiously, sometimes harmoniously, but always striving to co-exist with each other.
History, however, would change over the course of a tragic day and its horrific night. Mime, the Garuda deity of Wisdom, is assassinated at the hands of an alleged Vinyatian assassin. Mortal hands had never slain a deity. As tensions between the rival nations of Garuda and Vinyata soared under that long Tikor night, a bloody battle erupted between the two sides. A truce was eventually called once the truth was revealed, but not before irreversible damage to both sides was done.
Despite the armistice between the bitter enemies, the wounds of that day still linger. And the world heaves as the one constant, the gods themselves, waver and a new struggle begins.
Swordsfall: The Year is 10 A.R
As the world still recovers ten years after the bloody events that ended the Era, its fallout has finally begun to appear. Rumors are beginning to give rise around the world of the arrival of a new kind of weapon. Instruments capable of killing gods called Grim Arms. Could this be related to the unsolved assassination of the deity Mime?
In Garuda, a power struggle is in full effect as the current ruler of The Divine Order of the Phoenix, Amma Zencora, vies to hold onto his ill-gotten throne. How far will the ruler go to defend the throne he so desperately wants to hold on to?
Toward the south, Vinyata is adjusting to a world with one less of a city. The coastal city known as The Eastern Node was destroyed during the war at End of the Era. An unpleasant surprise emerged as they rebuilt, a rash of malevolent spirits now roam the region. The agonized souls of those lost 10 years still attached to the mortal plane.
The Afropunk Inhabitants of Tikor
The world of Tikor is host to a number of people and cultures, each of them spread across the land and its vast ocean. The Northern Hemisphere of Tikor houses The Karu and The See’er, two of the most devout cultures on Tikor. Their veneration to their gods is almost unmatched. For a bulk of those in Garuda, the deities known as The Divinity, are an important part of life. However, even with this steadfast devoutness, the trappings of a large and modern society retain. While crime as a whole isn’t a problem, bandits and other fiends of the night often pray among the smaller towns dotted throughout the forest land.
In the south, under the beaming gaze of the second son Adume, the deserts of Vinyata continue to assault any weary traveler who comes unprepared. Over the course of a few hundred years, the Dracon built themselves domed cities to protect themselves from the elements. The domes serve as a model of a nation coming together to serve its purpose. However, after The Longest Night, the nighttime in the desert isn’t quite the same. Something has awoken in the sands.
No matter where you go in Swordsfall you will often find equal parts joy and horror. Each half of the connected land has issues to overcome, and every land carries happiness and sadness alike. Even though a great war broke out only 10 short years ago, the people themselves don’t let it consume them.
The Technology of Tikor
The world of Tikor is itself quite varied when it comes to Technology as well. While parts of Tikor do contain highly advanced equipment and technology, the world itself is in various stages of it. This is partially due to the use of Hekan in everyday life.
Some of the basic things such as home heating are either fueled by basic Hekan arts, or Azurean fueled devices. As part of most basic schooling children are taught basic survival invocations. And with the overwhelming majority of humans capable of some low-level form of ability, it has largely reduced the need for tech in day to day life.
However, while the world as a whole is able to get by with natural abilities, technology has continued to grow over the years. This is in large part due to the influence of Omicron Technologies throughout the world. Finding useful and clever ways to apply Latimer Drives and other Azurean fueled tech has helped spread it through the world.
Ultimately there will always be a separation between technology on Tikor. With ways of innovation that don’t require finite resources, technology as a whole is looked down on. While it has its purpose, the general thought is that it doesn’t simple replace everything. Especially those things which basic Hekan abilities can easily do.