The Predecessors were the first sentient race of intelligent beings on Aethra; they
were the gods' first creation, and in their eager, short-sighted excitement to create
true life, they were made nearly perfect. In this section is a brief overview of the
Predecessors’ time on Aethra, segmented into what the average educated lay person on
Aethra would know in the 153rd year of the Age of Peace (Common Knowledge), what a
scholar of Predecessor history would know in the same time period (Uncommon Knowledge),
and what has been lost to history - effectively, what only the gods (and by extension the
GM) would know (Unknown Knowledge).
What a Layperson Would Know
The information given here is relatively widely-known by those with at least
a basic education; when asking for Lore checks concerning information on the
Predecessors contained herein, the DR should be no more than 10.
The Predecessors
Existing long before the Sentients were the Predecessors, the gods’ first
attempt at creating sentient life to live and die on Aethra. These beings were
nearly perfect in every way: they were gifted with the powers of Aether (able
to perform feats and abilities Sentient Aetherians could only dream of), they
were invariably strong, fast, wise, and tenacious, their bodies were sculpted
to perfection, they rarely needed to sleep or eat, and they would regularly live
to see a full millenium over the course of a single life. For 10,000 years they
built their civilizations unimpeded by monsters of any sort; however, they built
so high, advanced so far, mastered everything the world had to offer by such a
large degree, that they soon began to believe that they should be the rightful
rulers of the universe - had they not surpassed their creators in every noteworthy
way? So, in an attempt to overthrow the gods themselves, their own makers, they
started the Predecessors’ War for Dominance, a conflict that lasted for over 3,000
years and irrevocably scarred the surface of Aethra.
What a Researcher Would Know
This section contains information which, though not commonly known, has been
studied and researched by scholars specializing in Predecessor history. DRs for
Lore checks pertaining to anything given in this section can range anywhere
from 11-40, depending on how obscure the GM feels the knowledge would be.
GM Knowledge Only
The information contained in this section could not be known to anyone on
Aethra by any typical or non-arcane means, and thus very, very few
would know any of it. GMs should only reveal this information to players as
they discover it and as it becomes relevant, if they reveal it at all.
The Predecessors
The War for Dominance
soon the gods began to fear for their
superiority as the divine rulers of the universe, and became afraid that their
creations would one day subjugate and replace them. So, in an attempt to undo
what they had done and put a stop to the Predecessors’ advances, they started
the War for Dominance, a conflict that lasted for over 3000 years.
The Sentients
After the Cataclysm, the gods were... hesitant to replace the Predecessors
with another generation of sentient life. For hundreds and hundreds of years they sat,
trying to find ways to leave their planes, trying to think of ways to bring
back what they had lost – all to no avail. Eventually, many of them began to
feel a longing to create again. They wanted Aethra to thrive and flow with
intelligent life, and seeing it as it was now – overrun with monsters and
irrevocably scarred by millennia of war – disgusted and saddened many of them.
Not to mention, one by one they began to realize that sentient life was
beginning to occupy Aethra again anyway, as the Drakon evolved from the Kobolds,
Goblins began to evolve from Orks, and certain Beasts were becoming more and
more intelligent – enough to even be called sentient in their own right.
So it came to be that the gods resolved to create sentient life anew – though
this time, they were determined to be far more cautious about it. So, they
decided that the best course of action would be to create imperfect beings, who
were far more limited in scope, power, lifespan, and every other way in which
the Predecessors had been nearly perfect. They debated and argued amongst each
other for untold years - dozens and dozens at least - but in the end agreed that instead of one
sentient race, this new generation would be comprised of 4, each embodying one
of the core aspects of the Predecessors: the sapient Gnomes were granted their
intelligence; the hardy Dwarves embodied their incredible strength; the
graceful Elves were gifted their nimble finesse; and finally, the unyielding
Humans were blessed with their undying tenacity. This new generation of
Sentients would populate and take back Aethra from the Monstrosities that now
plagued it, and help heal and cover up the scars left by the Predecessors’ War
for Dominance. Thus, as the sun rose on the first day of a new cycle, thousands
of the new Sentients were placed sporadically in the ruined cities across Ahkos,
and from there were left to their own devices to explore, populate, and rebuild
the world.
