1 Chapter 1

Prologue

(as taken fromtheWar of Harmony core book)

After the Great Revolt of the First Age, when the Shigohm were stripped of their wings and the Humans were elevated by the Divinities to match their might, peace reigned in Moghmar for over a millennium. The Shigohm and the Humans lived their lives in the environments best suited to them. The reptilian Shigohm thrived in the warmer climes of the deserts and grasslands and tropical jungles. The more hardy Humans found territory in the temperate North with its forests and mountains and broad plains that were covered in frost for a season. However, soon both races began traveling beyond each other’s borders, either for trade or for adventure. It seemed that perhaps they could live in peace at last.

Unfortunately, familiarity breeds contempt. The Shigohm, descended from the Dragons of old, felt superior to the Humans. The Humans, on the other hand, held themselves above the Shigohm because the Divinities had chosen them to rise against the Dragons during the Revolt of Imbalance. Animosity spread. Allies became enemies. Another war was fast approaching, with both sides gearing for dominance and superiority.

There were those who opposed war. They kept their protests to a whisper, hoping the message of peace would spread once again. When it became obvious that battle was inevitable, some decided that, rather than clash with their brethren or against their friends, they would hide until the conflict ended. Humans and Shigohm alike flocked in subtle droves to sympathetic sorcerers or magicians’ guilds to ask for transformation spells. They changed themselves into innocent animals so they could not be found and called upon to fight.

This act of treason was neither condoned nor forgiven by either side. In addition to skirmishes between races, both Humans and Shigohm hunted their own kind in their disguises to punish them for their cowardice. They were brought together in imprisonment, forced back to their original forms, and during a temporary truce, the Humans and Shigohm came together to decide a suitable punishment.

Since these deserters appeared to hold no loyalty to their kind, they were cursed to never belong to any one species. Chaosborne sorcerers cast strong magic that unbound the forces keeping them in a single form. After three days and three nights, their bodies changed, shifting wildly from one shape to the next. Those among the cursed who knew magic were able to alter the spell, but only slightly. The changes could be controlled, so that one could decide what their next form would be, and one could change before the end of the third night, although only their original form would last longer, and even then by only a day.

Thus, the race of the Shifters was created… 1

Flynn tapped the eraser of his pencil on the elaborate paper in front of him and ran his fingers pensively through his loose ginger curls. Character creation was not to be taken lightly, since the choices he made now would affect his success in future campaigns. The issue was that War of Harmony’s stats were complex and interwoven, so one point in the wrong attribute would leave him at a disadvantage in picking up an ability he wanted. He often pondered how true-to-life this method was, in that in order to be good at something, you had to dedicate yourself to the skills it required.

Still, much like real life, Flynn was having a hard time deciding what he wanted to do with his character. He had a general idea of what he wanted the character to do, but now it was a matter of carefully planning the steps it took to get all the skills he needed. He definitely needed to increase his Intelligence rating, and the weapons he wanted required high Dexterity ratings, but he wasn’t sure if he should put more points towards Strength or Endurance. The question was did he care more about inflicting damage or recovering from it?

Only two other gamers had shown up by that point. Vince and Katie always joined any tabletop RPG group that formed in the area, unless they were already involved in too many games. Flynn had played with them before and they were decent players. They knew their strategies and the rules of the games and weren’t ones to get involved with petty bullshit or argue over trivial matters like some of the people Flynn encountered. He knew Matt, their Game Master, had invited newer players to their group, and he prayed none of them were thick-headed battle brutes. The last thing he needed was for someone to show up intending to be that guy who swung a giant sword at every problem.

The next person to enter their reserved study room at the public library was a blond guy in his early twenties who looked very lost. “Hey, is this where Matt’s War of Harmonygame is meeting?”

Vince nodded. “Yep. Come on in. Do you have your own character sheet?”

“Uh, yeah, somewhere…” The newcomer shrugged off his backpack and fumbled through the pockets until he pulled out a slightly crumpled sheet identical to the one Flynn was pondering. “I brought ones for a Human and a Shigohm, since I don’t know which I really want but I know Shifters look complicated. I could use some help, if you guys don’t mind.”

“Absolutely!” Katie said. “What did you want to know…um…”

“Oh! I’m Rick.” He stuck out his hand, which all three of the veteran gamers shook as they made their introductions. “Well, first off, I’m having some difficulty understanding all the bonus and detriment rules, especially for the different Innate Elemental abilities.”

“Yeah, there are a lot of rules to remember,” Flynn said. “Best thing to do right off the bat is pick an element that suits the character you want. Like, do you want to be a Lifeborne with innate healing powers? Or maybe a Deathborne with bonuses to magical damage?”

“Um, I was actually thinking something like an Airborne assassin, with bonus points to Dexterity.” Rick’s eyes lit up. “And I could wear a cool cloak with a hood and maybe be like a blade for hire…”

“And would his name be Boba Fezio?” Vince teased.