Age of Fantasy Lore Focus #7

Hi everyone,

Every week we're highlighting the lore of a few factions for each of our games, and this week we're focusing on Age of Fantasy factions!

Ogres

"Ogres are a heavy set species of humanoids that stand a head above most Humans. Few in number, their sheer size makes them very powerful, allowing them to soak up attacks and crush their foes.

In ancient times, the Ogres' knowledge of magic and Voidgates brought them wealth and prosperity that rivaled any Kingdom in eastern Tyria. However, these Voidgates began to tear into the fabric of other planes, causing the Shadow Stalkers to pour into their lands. The surviving Ogres have been driven into exile, forced to abandon their ancient homes, wealth and prosperity for life on the steppes.

The Ogres come from the western coast of Tyria’s continent, where they founded several kingdoms which came to dominate the region. Here, the Ogres discovered a number of ancient Voidgates and relics, which allowed them to develop a many schools of magic, and grow quite wealthy in the process. The Ogre Shamans were perhaps the most notable of these schools, as they learnt to control, and even create new Voidgates. Thanks to the Shamans’ abilities, Ogres were able to travel anywhere in their realms in an instant, living lives of luxury and pleasure, as they could easily seek out whatever their hearts and stomachs desired.

Soon, the Shamans began to look beyond Tyria to the wealth of other planes. Kings sent traders and armies to seek out treasures unattainable on Tyria. While many returned with great wealth, some individuals and even whole caravans began to disappear as they went through the Voidgates, never arriving at their destination. As larger groups were targeted, survivors began to return. They spoke of cruel beings who hunted them through the void, which they called Shadow Stalkers, but their stories were dismissed as hallucinations or anomalies. Ogres refused to heed these warning signs however, as their insatiable desire drove them to seek ever more wealth through the Voidgates.

It was only when the Voidgates to their realm suddenly stopped working that the Ogres came to realize that something terrible had happened: the Shadow Stalkers had come to Tyria. Soon Shadow Stalkers began to pour through every gate which the Ogre Shamans had created, destroying their cities. With Shadow Stalkers lurking in every corner of their land, most Ogres abandoned their old homes. The Shadow Stalkers continued to hunt them, seeking to kill the Ogre Shamans to re-open the Voidgates.

Now the Ogres have come to eastern Tyria in search of a new home. Some Ogres have come as conquerors, carving out petty Kingdoms by attacking the remote western territories of the Empire and its neighbours. Others travel further as traders and mercenaries, selling wares, spells and services in hopes of building a new life.

How will you restore the lost prosperity of your people?"

Shadow Stalkers

"Shadow Stalkers are elusive and alien creatures from another plane, which appear strange and unsettling to most Tyrians. Their bizarre and uncanny armies strike terror into the heart of any who dare to face them.

The Shadow Stalkers were brought to Tyria through a flaw in their Voidgates, which left permanent scars throughout their home plane. Desperate to save their home, these mysterious entities ventured through the Voidgates to Tyria, shutting off their only path of return. Now, they are trapped in a strange and unfamiliar plane, uncertain if their sacrifice was enough to save their home.

Shadow Stalkers lived in relative harmony in their strange lightless plane, known to them as the Labyrinth. They dwelt in cities scattered among the ancient winding paths, using their plane’s ambient magical aura to navigate in the darkness. This changed when the Voidgates began to appear in their plane.

The Voidgates interfered with the Labyrinth’s magic. The fungi and mosses near the newly opened gates withered and animals shunned them. Shadow Stalkers who lingered close to these Voidgates too long became weak and ill. Soon it was discovered that the magic permeating the Labyrinth was slowly draining through the gate and unless action was taken, their home would become uninhabitable.

The Shadow Stalkers began to investigate the other side of the Voidgate. Near the Voidgates, there were traces of the Labyrinth’s magic, manifesting as a faint miasma which allowed them to sense their surroundings. As they moved further however, they discovered that magic in Tyria operated very differently than in the Labyrinth. Rather than permeating the plane like air, magical power in Tyria was far more concentrated, and magic users were like bright lights in total darkness. They were able to detect these magic users opening new Voidgates throughout their plane, heedless of the damage their spells caused.

On discovering the cause of the disturbance in their Plane, the Shadow Stalkers sought out volunteers to explore the plane of Tyria and shut the gates. They prepared relics that would allow them to sense things in Tyria, projecting their own magical auras which they could use to sense things. Soon, they were ready and began to pour out through Voidgates, destroying the gates behind them.

They surged through the old Ogre Kingdoms, sealing any Voidgates they found which might connect to their world. The destruction of these gates left the Shadow Stalkers with no way of returning home, and they were now trapped in Tyria. Some Shadow Stalkers hid in the ruins of the cities which they seized, slowly learning to adapt to the new plane, some pursued the Ogres and their Void-Shamans hoping to prevent them from opening new gates, while others sought a way to return home.

How will you navigate this strange plane?"

Giant Tribes

"The Giant Tribes are made up of massive humanoids who vary in size from simply giant to gargantuan. Often employed as mercenaries, Giants rely on their strength and durability to make up for their lack of numbers.

Giants are usually created through magical means, and many tribes trace their origin to the Havoc Wars, where the Empire used this magic extensively. As the wars ended, most Giants were cast out of human lands, with the survivors forming into tribes, where they work together to adapt to their new lives.

Ogre alchemists first developed magic which allowed creatures to grow to gigantic sizes using potions. Gradually, these Ogre Alchemists fell out of favour, and were displaced from the royal courts of their homeland. The Alchemists and their followers left their homelands in massive caravans, travelling further east in search of a better life.

Even after the Alchemists and their knowledge died out, early Giants persisted in legends throughout the Great Steppes and beyond. However, over centuries, lost Alchemical potions would be discovered in crypts and caches throughout the Steppe. These potions were sought out and studied by the Wizarding Guild of the Empire who hoped to recreate the magic themselves.

At first, the study and use of these potions were slow and controlled, but this changed when the Havoc Wars began. The Empire recruited wizards to use this magic in order to create giant warriors who could fight Greater Daemons. In the beginning, the volunteers were chosen from veterans with proven skill and valour. As the war dragged on however, the Empire took anyone willing to volunteer. Then, when the Empire's most powerful wizards sacrificed themselves to seal Havoc, the Giants were left without a means of returning to their former size.

Too large to return to their old home, most Giants were left to fend for themselves. Some Giants, bitter about their situation, turned to extorting or robbing villages. This quickly led to towns viewing Giants with fear and hatred and a target for questing knights, so most Giants began to move away from the cities of the Empire towards the Great Steppes.

Giant Tribes often seek out friendships and alliances with other species who can help keep them fed and supply them with cloth and other goods. It is said that if Giants see potential in someone, they may even offer them some of these ancient potions, allowing them to join their ranks. The Giants have only a limited supply of these potions however, and are constantly seeking more.

How will you carve out a place for your tribe?"

Halflings

"Halflings are short humans, smaller than your typical Dwarf. They lack the heavy weaponry of some species, instead relying on inventive uses of technology, animals, and pacts made with spirits and golems.

After facing many perils, they are a people torn between two lives that now struggle to reconcile them. They were driven from their idyllic farmland homes by marauding Giant, and after generations of conflict and struggle, they have made their way back to their ancient homeland. Yet now, many Halflings find themselves at odds with their old traditions, preferring instead to pursue their ancient grudge against the Giants.

Halflings originally resided in the western steppes, where their clans built villages and farmed in peace for many centuries. This changed when Giants began to appear, marauding through their homeland. The Giants ate any livestock, grain, and Halflings they encountered along the way, taking little note of any resistance the villages could muster. Without any means to defend themselves, the Halflings evacuated their homelands, fleeing through a hidden Voidgate. They hoped to return once the danger had passed, only to discover that the Giants had destroyed the gate, preventing them from returning home.

The Halfings arrived in a land of rocky hills and bogs, ill suited to the sort of farming that had once been their way of life. They grew what little the land would allow them, farming mushrooms and resilient plants, while hunting and fishing to make up the rest. They struggled to survive during these difficult times, and many died of starvation and cold.

The Halflings encountered Havoc’s influence in the North before most, and without anywhere left to escape to, the Halflings fought to defend their new home, adapting their old farming equipment and animals to war. Their army proved versatile and adaptable, despite their ragtag appearance. While many Halflings would die during the war, those who survived became skilled warriors, specializing in combat against larger foes.

Once the Havoc Wars ended, many Halfling veterans decided to go south and seek revenge on the Giants. They marched through the lands which Havoc had destroyed until they arrived in their old homeland. The tribe of Giants who had destroyed their home had long moved on and perhaps even died out, but the Halflings still sought out and fought with any other Giants that they could find. Secure in their old homeland, the veteran Halflings rebuilt the old Voidgate. The eldest Halfling recognized their ruined homes, but few still wished to return. Most Halflings now remain in their new Northern home, only returning to the home countries in order to hunt Giants.

The return of Havoc gives the Halflings another ancestral foe to prove themselves against. Many Halfling clans still hold grudges for ancestors killed during the Havoc Wars, and are eager to prove their skills against them.

How will you settle your ancestral grudges?"

That's it for our Age of Fantasy lore focuses, you now have a basic overview of all the factions, and much more is soon to come.

We hope you enjoyed these articles, and we can't wait to share more lore and keep expanding the world of Age of Fantasy. :)

Happy Wargaming!

– OPR Team

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