Rûl

The Inglorious History

of
 A land of struggle
Legacies of Shadow for ~Credits~
Shadow of the Demon Lord WRITING, Design, and Art Direction:
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The Inglorious History of Rûl assembles the information 7 6 2014 Oger Copy, Empress Severina by Inari123 is licensed
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as well as the plethora of content put out since its release under CC BY-ND 4.0, 003-Spell-book by Xacur is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 ,
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in chronological order many of the most notable narrative under CC-By-3.0, Various Public Domain/ Stock

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series such as Lands of Shadow and the Legacy of Shadow in
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2
 that there is enough here to help firmly establish but The Roll of the Years
more importantly, flesh out and animate the continent
of Rûl into a digestible and accessible manner within The timeline presented in this guide follows the Imperial
Calendar, a calendar that is composed of Years lasting
a handy referenceable format. In this way, the world 336 days and split into twelve months with each
of Urth should offer a more approachable setting for day being 24 hours long. The current year is 888 AF,
accounting for over 800 years of passing since the
your Shadow of the Demon Lord game. creation of the Empire, or After Founding. Prior to this
While the history of Urth is complex, the focus is the years Before Founding (BF). For events whose
periods or occurances are of uncertain years, the
of The Inglorious History of Rûl is predominately notational abbreviation c. is used for circa or about.
on mortal events. Before them of course, came the
immortals and the magical beings of the world- the
faerie, the genie, and even for a time, the lizardmen,
as well as other inhuman peoples such as the men
of Gog. Those legends and histories are for another
time and can be dealt with in a different place, but
TimeLine of Rul
for now we concern ourselves chiefly, with the tales Pre-History - After the Troll Wars end, humanity enters
of men. These are histories that are more well-known the Autumn lands (Rûl), living as hunters and gatherers
and what a human scholar native to Rûl would have amidst the lush surroundings. These are the First
learned through their many years of careful study. Peoples. They find friendship, welcome and guidance
The more obscure, or secret histories of this world are through immortal faerie overlords who aid their
left to more interested researchers, though one need subjects in the construction of the first city, a place of
only refer to the reference section at the end of this slender towers and mysteries. It is a seat of power that
guide to delve deeper into the sordid and inglorious will come to be the capital of each successive Empire
history of Rûl. This guide is not meant to replace that rises and falls in the coming centuries.
these other sources, only illustrate their utility.

3
 Ancient History - Splittering along regional lines,
the First Peoples develop clans and tribes, staking
Armies vast
rudimentary claims to swaths of the contient. During Numbers of the Queen’s army vary by historical accounts.
this time, the warlike tribes of the Bhal travel south, Scholars have long been divided over their exact figures,
over the Pellitc Mountains, entering the area of future but most agree there were somewhere between 50,000
to 80,000 soldiers at Umessa’s command. However
Balgrendia where they encounter and battle the large a force they were, they shattered the combined
seafaring Grenn, another tribe who had made landfall defenses of the First Peoples and their faerie rulers. They
did so by using military tactics unknown to the First
along the eastern shores of the southern realm. Peoples, arranging themselves in ordered phalanxes that
slew or enslaved all those who dared offer resistance.

c. 1800 BF - After many centuries of rule by the

immortal faerie, the First Peoples are beset by
bloodthirsty soldiers arriving by ship on the Eastern c. 1799 - 1750 BF - After nearly and completely
shores of Rûl, seeking plunder and conquest and subjecting the First Peoples, Umessa is attacked by
coming from distant lands across the Auroral Ocean. a force of faeries who muster a last ditch retaliatory
These raiders shatter the First People’s defenses, strike. They are led by a mysterious figure known as
forcing them into chains. Led by Umessa, their “the Betrayer”. While at first triumphant, the faeries
chariot riding God Queen, these ancient peoples call are ultimately defeated, with their leader, the Betrayer,
themselves the Edene. At her command is an army falling to Umessa’s own hands. Using her fabled sword
whose numbers are in the tens of thousands. She and Hate she beheads the immortal upstart, robbing him
her forces are so terrifying that many of the faerie lords of his everlasting life and signifying the final blow
flee and seek refuge in a hidden kingdom where they in the great mortal war for Rûl with a single, perfect,
remain to this day. devastating stroke.

c. 1799 BF - General Aedom, one of the God-Queen’s c. 1750- 1700 BF - With a majority of the peoples and
greatest and wisest commanders leads a force of ten faerie of Rûl either conquered, enslaved or driven out,
thousand soldiers south along the coast into lands on Umessa establishes the seat of her power on a soggy
a wooded outcropping sheltered by mountains. Once island at the center of a sluggish river, naming the place
there, he orders his forces to begin work on a fortress “Rathros”, the Edene word for “carnage”. This is the site
that will serve as a way station for use by the Edene of a First Peoples settlement built centuries ago, one
army in its conquest of the southern lands. This is the featuring slender towers and beautiful architecture.
founding of Nessus, the City of Decay.
c. 1750- 1700 BF - Umessa gifts a young woman, Tarra,
c. 1799 BF - Constructed as a fortified camp to ensure who is also one of the God-Queen’s lovers, a fierce
supply lines by Edenes armies moving south, Edes, the warrior and beautiful shield maiden, a nearby region of
City of Dreams, another future Confederate city-state is the contient, free to reign as the woman sees fit. This is
formed as a pit stop on the southern march to crush the the founding of the great Duchy of Tarra.
First Peoples during the continent’s subjugation by the
God-Queen’s forces. c. 1700 - 1000 BF - The Kingdom of Edene takes to
cultivating and improving the lands under its domain,
c. 1799 - 1750 BF - During their conquest, Umessa’s building cities, paving roads and establishing trade
forces massacre a village of a people known as the Gren routes. Throughout this time, the Kingdom expands,
who live in an area rich with gold and sets up the Vault pushing south and westward as much as it can. Yet even
as a means to control the mineral pouring out of nearby as it does so, internal strife begins to slowly grow like
mines- marking the founding of yet another future cancer within its borders.
Confederate city-state - Kem, the City of Gold.
c. 1500 BF - Recognizing the humans supremacy over
the continent, a coterie of dwarves present a gift to
the then queen of Edene. This is the fabled 12-foot
tall, 6-foot wide seat, known as the Alabaster Throne,
a fixture that has preserved itself and its importance
through three separate empires.

c. 1200 BF - Elsewhere, another group of dwarves found

a small kingdom on the slopes of the Shield Mountains
known as Guldurak, the site of a future massacre lead
by the Empires most cruel inventions.

4
 c. 1000 - 200 BF - The Wars of Division spread c. 100 BF - During the fighting, a charismatic rebel
throughout the Edene Kingdom as once loyal vassal leader named Einar gathers survivors and flees the
states begin to break away from the Queen’s rule. In Witch-King’s forces, sailing east over the Auroral Ocean
addition, jotun raiders from the South push into weak for several weeks until finally landing with his forces
areas of the realm and the entire kingdom begins to on a large island they call Opal. Quelling the island’s
lose its grip over its thinly spread estates. The Wars protector, Einar is named King and thus births the
usher in a century of decline that results in a deflated Kingdom of Sails.
kingdom that largely exists huddled around the capital
city of Rathros. Among the casualties of its many c. 100 - 90 BF - Ashrakal founds Azūl, what is eventually
regional overlords lost to encroachment and betrayal called the City of Death, on a peninsula jutting from
are the nobility of Tarra who are ousted after their the waters of the Crescent Bay as a shipyard for
betrayal of the Edene crown during these wars. carrying his troops elsewhere, most notably Balgrendia.
He also founds Pruul, the City of Thieves, with its
c. 500 - 100 BF - Gateway is founded along the shores twelve mysterious black obelisks strewn throughout
of the Auroral Ocean, a city whose people have been its streets, as a military stronghold and port for
fiercely independent despite near destructution at the building warships. Finally, his forces establish another
hands of each of Rûls’ blood-thirsty empires. metropolis, Dis, the City of Slaves, a city built by many
an aforementioned subject situated on an inlet suitable
c. 100 BF - The terrible forces of Ashrakal the Witch- for more trade and as slaving hub for his new empire.
King boil out from the Shield Mountains, quickly
overwhelming the defenses of every duchy and c. 100 - 90 BF - The Witch-King restores the ruling
kingdom that make up the Edene empire. The invading family, cast out in anger over betrayal during Edene
armies are largely composed of Gog, a race of sullied rule, to power in Tarra.
humans who revel in darkness and evil. Many among
them serve as warlocks to the Witch-King and are c. 100 - 90 BF - The Witch-King, hoping to continuously
capable of binding demons to fight along their vile expand his empire, leads an army into Balrendia,
brethren. The armies burn cities and enslave entire making short work of the Bhal and Grenn defenders
populations, replacing fallen soldiers with undead within. His forces however are ultimately pushed back
enemy thralls. Ashrakal eventually slays the God- by a hidden faerie and their entourage who sacrifice
Queen Umessa on her throne and takes the city of themselves to repel Ashrakal and his armies in a blast
Rathros as his capital, continuing the city’s central of powerful, suicidal energies.
importance to the continent.
5
 c. 90 BF - Micah, a refugee from Edene, flees the
Kingdom after it succumbs to the Witch-King legions,
founding the Monastery of the Third Way high
atop the tallest peak on the largest Isle of the Ice
Watch Islands, a sanctuary to teach others who seek
transcendence.

c. 90 - 50 BF - Over time, the Witch-King takes as lover

a daughter of one of Gog’s most celebrated families,
the Dark Lady. She eventually gives him two sons. His
devotion to them comes at the expense of his many,
other offspring, causing strife and eventually leading
to the Great Culling wherein the Witch-King murders
nearly all of his other children, turning their corpses
into thralls and sealing their loyalty with undeath.

c. 90 - 50 BF - Sometime during the Witch-King’s reign,

intellectuals, free-thinkers and dissenters abscond
from cities like Nessus and Dis to form the settlement
of Lij, the City of Wonder where freedom and a lust for
creation take precedence over rules and tradition. It is
said that the Academy, the first institution of learning,
was created here soon thereafter. How or why the city
escaped the crushing watch of the Witch-King’s rule is
still unknown.

c. 90 - 50 BF - Similar to Lij, but on a much smaller

scale, a tiny fishing village is founded along the coast as
a place where settlers might find a bit of reprieve from
the horrors of the Witch-King’s rule. This is Set, the
City of Gods. Unlike Lij, Set is ignored largely due to
the site’s minimal importance to the vile empire.

c. 50 BF - The Witch-King builds the Great Arena, a 180

feet tall oval amphitheater covering about eight acres
in Rathros during the height of his reign as a means
to dispose of political enemies and undesirables and
also to provide entertainment to keep the population
complacent. Death and cruelty are the fare of this
brutal den of spectacle.

c. 8 BF - After nearly a century of dread rule, the Witch-

King and his empire is challenged by a new force of
invaders who, like the Edene colonizers before, arrive
on the Eastern shores of Rûl. The Kalasan people,
traveling by sea to escape, or engage, an ancient foe, are
blown off course by storms, landing upon the continent
of Rûl instead. They are a force of 100,000 soldiers,
led by the High Warlord Eronymous. Armed with
weapons of steel and forms of magic unlike any before
seen on the continent, Eronymous’ first command
is for his troops to burn their ships so as to have no
way to return home. Once done, they immediately set
about to conquer the land. They succeeded in doing so
over the course of 8 long and bloody years. Through
alliances with dwarves, elves and other peoples who
had suffered beneath the Gog’s terrible rule, an all-
consuming war once again rages across the continent.
6
 c. 6 BF - Appalled by the horrific inhabitants and their
vile practices, the invading Kalashan’s put nearly every
The Pox
man, woman and child to death in Azūl. Once done, The history of the Shuddering Pox is one clouded in
they set about rebuilding the port city. mystery. It pops up throughout early accounts of the
Empire, with some tales claiming a single outbreak to
be its origin, and others stating an entirely different
c. 3 BF - Pruul, the City of Thieves, defends against narrative. What is true is that the Empire was stalked
the Kalasan onslaught for a number of years until a by the disease from the moment of its creation and
that the worst of its fatalities occurred throughout the
betrayer details the cities layout, allowing the invaders realm at seemingly the same time, a coincidence many
entry through underground tunnels that leads to the followers of a certain God claim can be no accident.

subjugation or annihilation of its inhabitants to the

Highlord’s forces. 0 - The first cases of the Shuddering Pox are rumored.

c. 3 BF - As the Kalasans press into the lands of Rûl, c. 1 AF - The Dark Lady flees the lands of the Kalasans
many halflings flee, migrating west to the northern after defeat of the Witch-King and forms the Kingdom
portions of the Endless Steppe, setting up footholds of Skulls in the blasted expanse south and west of the
in the Shield mountains. Unfortunately they find the Shield Mountains. She begins her reign alongside her
lands are ravaged by sporadic raids of hostile and native twin sons, ruling over a vast undead horde.
centaurs who have long lived in the area.
c. 2 - 5 AF - After years of fighting to clear a nearby
0 - The Kalasans crush the last of the Witch-King’s region to the West of Caercras of beastmen and
forces, culminating in the Battle of Seven Sorrows, monsters, a young commander, George Vanderbrun,
fought just outside the walls of Rathros. The battle is delivers the killing blow to the last of three powerful
named for Eronymous’ seven-member host of heroes hags, Grandmother Rattlebones, who ruled over the
who fought by his side during the exchange. The infested land. The area becomes the Grand Duchy,
Witch-King himself is slain by Eronymous in this ruled at first by George, and later on through the
battle. Afterwards the High Warlord claims the city coming centuries by his various offspring.
as the seat of his new Empire, renaming it Caecras,
which in old Kalasan tongue means “struggle”, thus c. 100 AF - After a century of spilling forth through
continuing the city’s continental wide influence. the Patchwork Lands to ravage remote outlands of
the fledgling Empire, the jotun finally go too far in
0 - In the days following the Witch-King’s demise, killing the then Emperor Titanus’s most beloved son.
another group of strangers come to the shores of Rûl. In response, he sends a fleet of over 1,000 ships, the
Dressed in colorful clothing they immediately seek largest fleet the world had ever seen, to smash into
an audience with the Emperor in his new capital of Blotland, the frozen lands of the jotun. This pogram
Caecras. The strangers, who proclaim themselves is comprised of an imperial army of 500,000 soldiers
Ysiens from a land called Ys, desire refuge and in strong including Low Country slingers, Nine City
exchange, offer occult knowledge to the Emperor and mercenaries, Caecras heavy infantry, knights of the
his fledgling empire. Fearing the strangers may unleash Grand Duchy and other troops from throughout the
powerful magic should he refuse, the Emperor accepts lands as well as sorcerers, wizards and magic users that
the trade and allows the Ysiens to fashion the Tower venture deep into the heart of the jotun’s homelands.
Arcane, a floating citadel above Caecras, and a feature
that has persisted ever since. 128 AF - The Merchant ship Explorer drifts into Nessus’
port, carrying with it a dead crew, victims of the
0 - Eronymous forms the Kingdom of Old Edene from Shuddering Pox. Despite a ban, looters board the dead
Heiropha, Melisinia and Umess, three small regions ship and bring the plague to the mainland where half
of Tarra as a show of faith to his new subjects and as a the city is killed. Survivors flee, bringing the plague
bridge between the old Edene civilization and his new throughout the realm. Many scholars point to this as
empire. In Tarra, the Kalasan’s purge the ruling family the origin of the plague despite cases of the disease
of any Witch-King sympathizers before giving the noted from the first days of the Empire’s existence.
throne to Erema, a distant cousin of the Tarran royal
family. She pledges fealty to the Alabaster Throne and c. 100 AF - The great-granddaughter of Eronymous,
in return, Tarra becomes a province of the fledgling Gweyneth the Iron, names one of Pruul’s merchants as
empire. As part of her efforts to purge her lands of evil, lesser Imperial Nobility, a testament to the city’s rapid
she invites followers of the Old Faith’s and members of rise in wealth during the formative years of the Empire.
the Kalasan’s new religion, the Order of Light, to her
kingdom, resulting in temples springing up throughout
the realm and a culture that fosters religious pursuits.

7
 Eventually however, Astrid’s religious conviction
Nine Cities demands she leave Lij and journey into the Order of
Precisely when the Nine Cities declared their independence Light’s most devout nation, Tarra.
from the Empire is hotly debated. During the pogrom
against the Jotun following the death of the Emperor’s son,
there were already mercenaries from the Nine Cities who c. 200 - 250 AF - King Roland of Tarra attends a sermon
joined alongside the Imperial troops, leading some scholars by Astrid at her ministry in Tarra City. The young
to believe the breakaway began almost immediately after
the founding of the Empire itself. Yet over the centuries, the prophet has gained a large parish and the King quickly
cities appear to have allied and separated themselves from converts into a follower of her teachings, becoming one
the Empire, in an equally beneficial manner, one that suggests
while they may indeed have always been separate entities, of her most ardent supporters.
the timing of their breakaway is somewhat fluid. What is clear
is that as the Empire declined over the centuries, the split
grew more formal until eventually they became truly free, c. 200 - 250 AF - Despite the protection afforded by King
independent city-states wholly separate from the Empire. Roland, Astrid, still under grave threat by the Order,
leaves Tarra. She is nonetheless soon thereafter waylaid
and murdered along a roadside that becomes a spot of
c. 175 - 200 AF - Astrid, the Prophet of the New God, a pilgrimage for her devout worshippers centuries later.
young acolyte belonging to the Order of Light, receives
a revelation, a glimpse into the infinite, one that details c. 200 - 300 AF - After Astrid’s death, Roland and the
how mortals live many lives and that they should strive various cultists who followed her teachings gather
to avoid corruption and steer clear of wicked deeds. to begin codifying her sermons at the First Accord.
She begins spreading her gospel which many in the Spurred on by his faith, Roland ultimately drives out
Order perceive as heretical. the Order of Light from his kingdom, overseeing the
writing of the Codex of Truth and the construction of the
c. 200 AF - A new king, Roland, claims the throne Seven Spires around his royal palace in the process.
in Tarra, a title that should have been passed to his
elder brother but did not due to laters death from the c. 100 AF - After long and terrible years of bloodshed,
Shuddering Pox. the Emperor’s forces return from the hinterlands in
Blotland, bringing with them the remnants of the jotun
c. 200 - 250 AF - For a time, Astrid, the Prophet of peoples. A few hundred are marched back to Caecras
the New God, flees to Lij, City of Wonders, escaping in chains where they are dealt even greater horrors.
persecution from the Order of Light. She stays in the Ahriman, one of Emperor Titanus’s foulest wizards
cosmopolitan locale for a number of years, refining convinces his lord to allow the slaves into his charge
what ultimately becomes the Four Truths of the faith. whereupon he unleashes the cruelest of magic on the

8
 demoralized people. The result is the creation of a slave c. 200 AF - The Penny Wars erupt in the Kingdom of
race, never before seen on Rûl who were bound forever Old Edene, starting in the highlands of Heiropha,
after to the whims of their masters, the Imperials. sparked by greed. It lasts for a decade despite
Ahriman names his creations after a long-extinct numerous peace talks.
tribe of the First Peoples known for their terrible
savagery - ‘orcs’. Their first use comes during a mining c. 200 AF - Returning halflings from their failed
strike between the dwarves of the small kingdom of settlements in the Endless Steppe reach an accord with
Guldurak, and the Grand Duchy. Unleashed upon the the then Emperor, Frixonos, for a land of their own
dwarven rebels, the orcs make quick and bloody work and are bequeathed with the area of rich, if untamed
of the insurrection, cementing the ferocity and terror wilderness that would become the Low Country. In
that would come to be associated everafter with the exchange, the settlers must pledge to put a share of
orcish race and their brutal natures. everything they produce into the Empire’s coffers.

c. 100 - 200 AF - After the orcs are created, 10 years c. 210 AF - Duke Porfrey of Umess pleads for relief
of expansion by the Empire follows; including the aid for his citizens following the Penny Wars from
conquering of the March Lands, the crushing of then Queen Vologneia of Umess in Edene City. He is
resistance in Balgrendia and the clearing of princes rebuffed and immediately and unilaterally, declare’s
from the Patchwork Lands. However the Empire’s Umess’s independence, ordering a series of raids
expansion is not without failure, as notably, the into neighboring Melisinia so his people can survive.
Kingdom of Sails utterly destroys a massive imperial In response, Queen Vologenia reaches out to the
fleet as it attempts to annex one of the Kingdom’s Isles. Alabaster Throne for help to quell the usurper and
bring him to heel. Help comes in the form of orc forces
c. 200 - 300 AF - The city of Lij is transformed forever who utterly squash the rebellion which unites the
as the Shuddering Pox sweeps through her streets, lands of Old Edene for the foreseeable future.
killing a full quarter of the population. After his family
succumbs to the plague, Arnos the Tinkerer, a member c. 287 AF - Emperor Myran secretly creates the network
of the city’s Guild of Engineers, creates the first of spies and informants that would become the
clockworks, hoping to correct the flaws of organic life. Compact - the Emperor’s Secret Service.
The creation, and the creator, ultimately go mad, but
the guild learns the secrets to create more clockworks c. 287 AF - The infamous Black Sun Manuscript
by reverse engineering his handful of inventions. supposedly surfaces as part of the collection of books
owned by the occultist Agadal Titanicus, causing
the Order of Light to drag him from his home after a
gruesome discovery in his boudoir.

c. 300 AF - The Grand Duchy is rocked by

what would become known afterwards as
the Hag’s Quake, a powerful earthquake that
issues from the Deepings Gorge in the north,
spreading to the edges of the March Lands
and causing untold destruction and death.
The catastrophe also unleashes a ghost that
terrorizes the countryside for several weeks.

c. 356 AF - The Shuddering Pox becomes so

pronounced that many believe the world is
coming to an end. The plague empties whole
towns and cities. Its horrors prompt the Cult
of the New God to establish the House of
Healing in Goodhope, the Kingdom’s second
largest city. Members invite healers of all faiths
to join and combat the deadly disease.

361 AF - The House of Healing successfully

rids the city of Goodhope of the Shuddering
Pox, leading to other Houses of Healing to be
founded in most major cities over the next 5
years, members of which don red cloaks.
9
 c. 387 AF - The dwarves within the Shield Mountains
become victims of a rising tide of water that drowns
every last soul within the mighty fortresses, their
bodies flushed out to sea by the hundreds.

c. 387 AF - King Harold IV inherits the Grenn throne

and quickly establishes a truce with the Bhal kingdom
through marriage. Harold and his Bhal bride, Ansa,
produce heirs who rule Balgrendia to this day.

c. 387 AF - During Harold IV’s reign, a witch of

unspeakable power, Ilyana Meretova, claims to have a
copy of the dread Black Sun Manuscript - shortly after
these claims her students find her naked, eyes torn and
anus bleeding, quivering in a corner within her bed
chambers, roving mad.

c. 397 AF - Stragglers and refugees, hoping to escape

Imperial rule, begin to wander into the abandoned
dwarfen fortresses of Nar, renaming the underground
realm the Freeholds of Nar.

c. 400 - 700 AF - Sometime during the middle years

of the Empire, the Circus of Screams appears upon
the frosted plains of the Kingdom of Skulls. It begins
to roam the countryside and has done so ever since,
occasionally drifting into the Patchwork Lands,
abducting children in exchange for lively music,
screams and bizarre performances.

483 AF - The Emperor declares the Cult of the New

God to be the official religion of the land, allowing
representatives of the faith to assume open and high
ranking advisory positions throughout the provinces.

528 AF - The Black Books are covertly formed within

the Guilds of Lij to address the consequences of the
bargain unleashed upon the world in the third century
by Arnos the Tinkerer.

c. 587 AF - The Emperor handpicks General Allen

Hargove to pacify a great horde of beastmen from the
Shadow Hills who have come to assemble on the edge
of the Shield Mountains and begin to spill into the
Marchlands. The General triumphs over the marauders
and the Emperor grants him the title of margrave and
bequeaths him and his descendants lordship over
a new imperial province consisting of all the lands
from the Narrow Pass to the edges of Old Wood. As
part of this pact, Hargrove is charged with guarding
the Empire from future incursions into Imperial soil.
One of Hargrove’s first works toward this aim is the
construction of the Emperor’s Bulwark, a wall that
eventually stretches some 300 miles long, with a tower
standing every quarter-mile along its length, protecting
the Marchlands from beasts that periodically tumble
forth from the Shield Mountains.

10
 c. 587 AF - The autarch of Pruul, Zenneth, faces a c. 688 AF - The long vanquished Men of Gog begin to
challenge to his authority. In his bid to remain in power, belch forth sporadically from the magic-blasted
Zenneth seeks aid from an oracle who advises him to northern lands of Desolation.
visit the long silent Obelisks scattered throughout the
city. Witnesses claim the autarch does as instructed and c. 697 AF - Hagan, a minor crime lord in Pruul, unifies
as consequence, the coup against him fails. However and cowes the gangs of the city despite the realm’s
his success in politics comes to an end when he dies chaos and gets them all to sign a compact, thus forming
not long after his victory. This fate is shared by all a somewhat cohesive guild that splits the metropolis
subsequent autarch’s of the realm who die abruptly in into territories and ushers in relative stability to the
office, each in horrific ways. beleaguered metropolis.

c. 600 - 750 AF - A large raiding party of jotun c. 755 AF - A collection of six small and insignificant
originating from the Teeth strike out upon the sea farming villages unit to form Sixton, the eventual
against the Kingdom of Sails. They are soundly capital of the Northern Reach.
rebuffed. Despite their defeat, they are offered an island
of their own by the Kingdom, so long as in exchange, c. 788 AF - Radarak the Fat begins his rule in the ancient
they lend their arms to the realm. Agreeing to the dwarfen city of High Stone, lying to the east of Mount
accord, the party is given the isle of Blothome. Fear in Northern Reach. Since his ascension, rumors
abound that he secretly plots to send an army against
c. 687 AF - The autarch of Pruul, Orek Silverhands, the whole area and claim the province for himself.
orders the slaughter of a group of miners for failing
to deliver on a particularly harsh quota. When the c. 788 AF - The trickle of hostile Desolation stragglers
remaining miners revolt, the subsequent violence pouring out of the north that began a century ago
spreads and plunges the city into chaos. become a flood of undead horrors whose ranks swell
with the reanimated victims of their attacks. When
c. 687 AF - The Palace of Antiquities, one of only two news reaches Sixton, the self-stylized capital of
museums in the Empire, is built in Caecras. The site Northern Reach, the governor raises a hasty army and
becomes a storehouse to preserve artwork, literature calls for aid from the south. In response, the Matriarch
and historical objects. of the New God demands a crusade against the undead

11
 threat, urging men and women from across the Empire 848 AF - The Lady Cat, the current Autarch of
to shield the innocent. Thousands heed the edict and Pruul, comes into power. She is the great-great-
journey north, pushing back the hordes and building great-grandaughter of the infamous Hagan and has
a string of fortresses along the border, five mighty a well-deserved reputation as a thief and burglar,
strongholds that protect the Empire. These are the demonstrating a shrewd and cunning knack for
Crusader States. With their foundings, Northern Reach leadership as soon as she assumes the mantle of leader.
becomes another protectorate of the Empire.
857 AF - Erestra, a cardinal presiding over the Swords
c. 800 AF - The consolidation of Tarran rule under the of Astrid, ascends the ranks to become the Matriarch
Matriarch and cardinals who support her becomes of the Cult of the New God. Her candidacy is put forth
nearly complete. The result is a virtual theocracy: the by the now aged, toothless and hobbled Cardinal
Holy Kingdom. Rosecrans who remains at the Matriarch’s side to this
day, whispering in her ear of plots and rumors.
c. 800 - 820 AF - Grand Duke George Vanderbrun IV
takes the rulership within the Grand Duchy. Following Decades Ago - King Sasul, a direct descendant of King
in the royal tradition of marriage to a blood-relative, Einar, assumes the kingship as leader of the Kingdom
he weds his aunt Matilda. She ultimately bears of Sails.
him nine children, most plagued by deformities,
simplemindedness or outright insanity. Decades Ago - A man in an unknown village, well-
liked by his neighbors, somehow journeys to hell
c. 837 AF - Witnesses report sightings of strange looking
dwarves moving under the cover of night throughout
various cities across the continent. Rumors spread that
some nefarious plot by the nightbound wanderers is
afoot, causing widespread panic that persists to this day.

c. 837 AF - King Frederick begins his fifty-year reign in

Balgrendia, his two sons, the twins Nicolaus and Uri
are but children. He attempts to soothe the rift between
Bhal and Grenn through a series of reforms that are not
particularly well-received by either populace.

c. 838 AF - The then Emperor creates an eighth

province out of a northwestern wilderness, calling it
Tear and giving control over the tumultuous territory
to his second son, Horus. A degenerate, Horus is
instructed to tame the hordes of beastmen and other
monsters who run amok- or die trying. Over the next
twenty years he builds four strongholds across a region
of the wilds called the Borderlands and succeeds in
driving out beastmen, bandits and cultists.

c. 868 AF - King Frederick creates a military force

made up of equal Bhal and Grenn fighters known as
the Borderguard, forcing members of the two nations
to serve together in blended units. This creates unity
among individual bands of warriors but also serves to
increase tensions due to the compulsory nature of the
intermixed legion.

c. 837 AF - Foundry, an industrial town in the Northern

Reach is founded.

847 AF - Martonious, an absentee ruler, seizes the

autarch over Edes, the City of Dreams.

12
 and returns a changed being, prone to rants upon his 877 AF - A white-as-bone tower sprouts from the
return. Known as the Horologist, he thereafter journeys ground around Nessus, bringing with it animated
across the continent, researching and delving into the corpses and glimpses of a cruel looking woman with
mechanics of clockworks and dark magic. Not long red hair atop a tall, gaunt frame.
after, a caravan made of flesh and metal and unlike any
before seen, appears in obscure and remote villages 877 AF - Whispers of the Cog God circulate within the
throughout Rûl. The vehicle brings a clockwork cult streets of the Lij the City of Wonder, spread by word of
and leaves death and madness in its wake. mouth. The Cog God is said to be a divine being who
states that clockworks are not simply tools to be used
Decades Ago - Lotus blossoms are imported into Edes, by other mortals but are in fact an inspired creation
City of Dreams. Their price and scarcity have little built for a specific and divine purpose.
effect outside of the lives of the wealthy, many of whom
become addicted to their nectar. Several Years Ago - A mysterious figure known only as
the Mistress claims the Autarch of Azūl. She does so
Some Time Ago - Father Justin, a defrocked priest of the when she eliminates the then autarch by slipping a
New God flees inquisitors and establishes a temple in venomous serpent into his chambers. She is also the
Set; soon becoming the city’s autarch after unusual and head of the city’s Guild of Assassins, the Black Hand,
mysterious circumstances. which thanks to the act, now rules the city openly.

871 AF - Eron the Red, a notorious bandit, spends A Few Years Ago - Teqa, a nonconformist ruler who
the summer terrorizing the Low Country, only to be nevertheless approaches her goals and ideas with
cut down by General Weeper, an orc commander methodical planning, claims the title of autarch of Lij,
renowned for attacks against the beastmen of Tear. the City of Wonder. She attempts to impose restraints
Weeper will eventually go on to become the supreme on the more dangerous aspects of the city’s creative
commander of the orcish armies under the orcish endeavors but her machinations are not well received
Emperor Drudge. by the free-spirited citizenry.

c 876 AF - Eras IX, ascends the throne to become A Few Years Ago - After five years of fighting in the
Emperor, succeeding his deceased father Antimony. bloody arena known as the Crucible, the greatest arena
Before his death, Antimony commands his son to for blood sport in all the Empire, Quinta rides in on
keep Drudge as the orc king. A veteran of the war a wave of populism to become the Autarch of Qif, the
against the undead in Northern Reach, Drudge’s skill is City of Blood.
unquestionable and Eras obeys his fathers wish.

13
 A Few Years Ago - A new strain of blossoms appears 886 AF - Quinta, autarch of Qif, decides to flood the
in Edes, leading to a cheaper version of the drug. It Crucible, its enormous arena, to simulate a sea battle,
quickly becomes habitual to most of the citizens and nearly bankrupting the city in the process.
gradually spreads beyond the City of Dreams.
887 AF, Spring - The orc King Drudge strangles the
882 AF - The Matriarch of the New God issues a decree Emperor, Eras IX and takes the Alabaster Throne. He
banning the worship of the so-called Cog God whose orders the slaughter of the entire palace and his orc
followers are thereafter marked by inquisitors. forces take over the city of Caecras in an orgy of blood
and violence as the former slaves throw off their chains
882 AF - Urian, a simple fisherman, buys the title of and take vengeance upon their long-time masters. The
autarch of Nessus for 100 gold crowns. He oversees the Empire plunges into civil war as states quickly align or
Reclamation, the effort to rebuild the city. break away from the Empire and its new ruler.

882 AF - Queen Moira ascends the throne in the 888 (Now) AF - Athalia Underburrow is elected High
Kingdom of Tarra, the Holy Kingdom, succeeding her Sheriff of the West Riding, Warden of all external
father Piter, the Silent King, at the ripe old age of 20. affairs by the Ruling Council in the Low Country in
She is young but surprisingly adept in her new role. response to the orc uprising. She fiercely advocates
for continued allegiance to the Alabaster Throne to
884 AF - Intonious the Great seizes the title of autarch ensure the region, and the halfings who dwell with in
in Dis after the death of the previous autarch, Bedoyere its borders, survive the orc rulership.
the Measured who was “accidentally” crushed under
several tones of building stone. 888 AF - Queen Drusella breaks with the Alabaster
Throne following the rebellion, refusing to submit
885 AF - Queen Drusella I, a young woman in her to the new orc ruler. She seeks to secure Old Edene’s
twenties, comes to power in Old Edene after her elder independence. Her decision is opposed by the
brother is killed in a riding accident. kingdom’s local barons.

886 AF - Matrionus, autarch of Edes, the City of 888 AF - Another high tide swells within the Freeholds
Delights, is last seen attending a grand ball celebrating of Nar, threatening the nation and its people with
the fifth anniversary of his marriage to Lady Eryn a deluge that may drown everyone within, just as a
Beatra. At the event he delivers a rambling, nonsensical similar diaster occured centuries before.
speech that trails off into uncomfortable silence.
888 AF- Rumors circulate that the Witch-King never
truly died...

100 Sinister Markings

There is no telling the type of vile adversaries a hero can encounter
upon the many battlefields and amidst the dark alleyways that
make up the landscape of Urth. Yet even the most lowly of
pickpockets and cutthroats has a history which can often be seen
on the very flesh that clings to their nefarious bones.

100 Sinister Markings presents brands, odd body parts, piercings,

scars, tattoos, sigils and other physical wounds and ailments
to give quirky and suggestive backstories to even the most
mundane humanoid antagonist a GameMaster might throw at
their players. They offer hints to possible histories requiring
further investigation, allude to a character being corrupted by foul
influences or imply membership in a particular organization native
to Urth - or possibly the villains desire simply to appear as such...
after all, just because a villain has a particular tattoo or marking,
doesn’t mean they earned that seal or its aegis…

14
 Freedom awaits
For those willing
To kill for it...

A meeting between two prominent slavers from the City of Dis is

serviced by one of their thralls who hopes the discussion ends with
a change of masters. But there is more going on than meets the eye
The Slave’s Dilemma is an unofficial work of fiction set in the
as the pair ruminate over the politics of a collapsing empire as one
campaign setting for Shadow of the Demon Lord © 2020 Schwalb
of the slavers is not who they appear to be…
Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
Shadow of the Demon Lord, Schwalb Entertainment, An unofficial vignette, The Slave’s Dilemma touches on the
and their associated logos are trademarks politics of Rul while delivering a self-contained story highlighting
of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC. the treacherous nature of individuals living beneath the Shadow of
the Demonlord.

THE SLAVE’S DILEMMA

 Grand Duchy
ReferenceS Heart of the Machine God
Canon Schwalb Entertainment products
Used with the Demon Lord’s Blessing. Hunger in the Void

A Glorious Death In the Emperor’s Secret Service

A Land Divided Kingdom of God

A Land of Dreams and Darkness Kingdom of Sails

Black Sun Dawn Kingdom of Skulls

Borderlands of Tear Low Country

Born to Kill March Lands

Bred for Battle Men of Gog

Beyond the World’s Edge Nessus: City of Decay

Caecras Of Gears and Ghosts

City of Blood Pull of the Stars

City of Chains Song of Woad

City of Death Tombs of Desolation

City of Dreams Weight of Underworld

City of Gods Recommended 3rd Party Products for more Flavor

City of Gold 100 Rumors to Hear on Urth II

City of Thieves 100 Notes and Letters to Find on Urth III

City of Wonder The Black Ink Parlor

Core Rulebook The Coins of Aureus

Cult of the Cog God

Freeholds of Nar

16
 Desires, Fears and Secrets
By Jesse Bendjinn

When you make a character for the world of Rûl their

histories may be unique or commonplace. This handy
supplement presents additional character tables that
focus on less mechanical, more role-playing focused traits
that you can add during creation.

Haematurgy- Blood Magic

By Jesse Bendjinn

Haematurgy or Blood Magic, is similar to Invocation

spells that were introduced in the Demon Lord’s
Companion 2. And just like Invocation spells, this
supplement provides 12 Haematurgy spells along with
alternative blood magic rules and side effects of the
tradition to add to the game.

Of Cogs & Chaos

By Jesse Bendjinn

Of Cogs & Chaos presents eight new construct and

machine focused paths for your Shadow of the Demon
Lord games. The supplement includes a host of
accompanying tables to add flavor to the new paths,
including drone implants, exploding construct effects,
new mutilating madnesses and new interesting things!

17
 It Crawls...
It Creeps...
It eats you
alive!

Mysterious lights over the village of Russellville herald the arrival

of abominous creatures feasting on unsuspecting townsfolk just
as a local wedding is underway. Brought to the village by a visitor
from the City of Wonders, one who has learned the mysterious
arts of the Alchemist Guild, their latest creations are nothing but a
plaything to their crazed master.

Characters must track down the nebulous monstrosites before they

devour the community and hopefully, uncover who released the
horrific terrors in the first place. Ravenous Reception is a Shadow
of the Demon Lord adventure for Expert characters. Can you stop
the ooze and their crazed mother?

RAVENOUS RECEPTION
Ravenous Reception is ©2020 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
Shadow of the Demon Lord, Ravenous Reception,Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated
logos are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.