Caecras by Robert J. Schwalb is a role playing game supplement published by Schwalb Entertainment for use with Shadow of the Demon Lord. This is part of the Lands in Shadow series that details parts of the official Urth setting.
This is a 31 page PDF that is available from RPGNow for $5.99 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Around a quarter of the first page is the Credits; the rest is content.
As usual, there are a few paragraphs that give an overview of Caecras, which is both the capital city of the Empire and the region surrounding it.
The Heart of an Empire explains how Caecras has been the site of many imperial capitals and the reason why this is, despite a location that is poor apart from its central position on the continent, it is the confluence of currents of magical energy. A sidebar has the game effects this has on casting spells inside the city.
The Kalasans covers the people who landed on the eastern coast – by the sounds of it probably from another world – and conquered the empire of the Witch-King, building the current Empire from its remains.
A New Nation explains how the Empire was expanded, conquering the city states, Low Country and the future Grand Duchy of the West.
A War of Vengeance is how the Empire attacked the jotuns of Blötland after the current emperor’s son was killed by them.
A Legacy of Evil is how the emperor was advised to twist the jotuns into orcs, the slave-soldiers of the Empire, and references Born to Kill.
The Cult of the New God starts with the official religion of the Kalasans, the Order of Light, and how this lead to the Cult of the New God. This references Kingdom of God.
Plagues and Dark Times has various problems in recent years; plagues, beastmen and undead from the Desolation. The Borderlands of Tear and the Northern Reach were conquered, but the Empire was weakened.
The Last Emperor is the final one to sit on the throne, Eras IX, and the problems due to him being completely insane.
King Drudge and the Uprising gives some background on the orc kings or queens, and King Drudge, and how Drudge killed the emperor and many others, starting the uprising by the orcs, thanks to a failed attempt by the Matriarch of the Cult of the New God to persuade Drudge to side with her.
A Land in Turmoil covers the city of Caecras, called the city, and the surrounding lands, called the countryside. It starts with the countryside and gives an overview of the rulership (complicated), farming and settlements, travel to other regions, ruins of former civilisations and the aftermath of the uprising on the surrounding area, including a d20 table of encounters. There is a reference to The Grand Duchy.
Next The City describes Caecras itself. There is a map and the city is divided into various wards. These are each given an overview and some places of interest in different wards are also briefly covered. There is a reference to Exquisite Agony in a place that may be a gate to Hell. The Tower Arcane, which floats above the city, mentions Ys from Beyond the World’s Edge, and there is a list of the different colours used by the various wizards.
This also has a d20 table of random city encounters as well as how law and order is currently maintained, the problems of the future and how war with other provinces of the Empire appears inevitable. The Orc King and his Court has stats for King Drudge as well as some briefer details on other important NPCs. There are also details on the various sections of the population currently living in the region; many humans who are not dead are now enslaved and others have formed a resistance against the orcs. Harvesters have also started attacking the population more openly, with a reference to Horrific Parasites.
Adventures in Caecras has a list of adventure hooks for the city.
New Creatures has two new monsters that can be encountered and various common characters, human and orc.
Survivors and Victors has options for characters from Caecras and a new d20 background table.
Finally, New Paths has two new Expert paths and one master.
Caecras in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, given its length, these are really needed. As there is not table of contents either, navigation is very poor. The text maintains a two column full colour format and appeared to be almost free of errors. There are a variety of colour illustrations, all custom, including a map of the city (although not the surrounding area). Presentation is very good.
Caecras is a big city, even if the majority of its population is now dead, and it really isn’t covered in enough depth. A GM will still need to greatly flesh the location out. Enough of an overview is given to give the GM a start, but even locations described are only briefly covered. There is much more that can be done with the location.
As well as the overview of the imperial capital and surrounding region, the history of the area starting with the Kalasan conquest gives a great deal more background on the history of the Empire itself and the effect the or uprising has had. Given the recent turmoil, there are a lot of possibilities for adventure in the capital.
Caecras covers the most important city of the Empire in more detail, although it would be nice to see it get a full treatment, although such a treatment would be far larger than this supplement. Caecras can be found by clicking here.
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