George Frederic Watts THE world and this—whatever other name men have chosen to designate the sky whose vaulted roof encircles the universe, is fitly believed to be a deity, eternal, immeasurable, a being that never began to exist and never will perish. What is outside it does not concern men to explore and is not within the grasp of the human mind to guess. It is sacred, eternal, immeasurable, wholly within the whole, nay rather itself the whole, finite and resembling the infinite, certain of all things and resembling the uncertain, holding in its embrace all things that are without and within, at once the work of nature and nature herself.  — Pliny, Natural History  Some years ago, I started posting about a world I wanted to run and play games in. It turns out, other people liked that, too. So, I posted more: a full array of classes, adventures, monsters, and the like. Simple fact is, I have a lot written down for Morning Stars, and I may as well collect as much as I can in ...

 A long time ago, kings were buried with the wealth of their lives, often including pets and servants, under the vain assumption that these material things would be carried on to the immaterial. To this day, many of these old royal treasury-tombs are haunted by the restless dead, rot-clouded eyes filled with fading visions of a promised afterlife. Šar Šarrāni Anaximandros knew exactly what awaited him. His client-line under King Surya , King of the Seventh Day , was in decline after a struggle for power and privileges with a rival dynasty. So, rather than let so many things fall through his fingers like sand, he sealed himself away in an obelisk with his most prized possessions to await his slow death. Perhaps, in the vastness of eternity, he would have his day again. For a few centuries, the obelisk has been a forbidden place. The water that pours from it is clear, the grass is green, the trees tall and strong. Those who stop there, stop briefly. Those that stay there do not retu...

If there is any such thing as true evil in the world, it was the  Dragons . Georg Janny They were the enemy to all people, fighting a war that ended in prehistory. They ate everything and burnt what they could not eat, living blast furnaces knowing only cruelty and scorched earth. They haunted every age, dwindling down one by one by the hands of kings and prophets- the  Dragons  were made to persist, not reproduce, and even their lesser kin were solitary things. Any burn-scarred old veteran could tell you that it was the gun that drove them all into the grave at last. Put enough shot in the air and you'll kill anything.  But they are living still, and waiting. In ruins, they lay dormant under heaped stone, sealed in pockets of preserving flesh. Miles under the earth, they teem and writhe under the glow of a false sun, stalking through empty cities and bleach-white jungles to hunt things which were once men. They have felt the earth shake. The time is soon.  Anyt...

Lightning is the purest expression of strength. Where it lands, grass burns, trees split, and men die. It is the fire born of water, creation and destruction in one dread instant. When men first dreamt of power, it was lightning that filled their dreams. When the Thunder  roared, they listened. You are part of a lineage of Kings. Not by blood, but by strength . Not the unbroken Imperial line, now smoking rubble, but of the crazed multifoliate dynasties of the Wizard-Kings of old, now cold ruin. Some forget that the wand was once the scepter, the sword not just an implement of ritual. Well, what are you waiting for? To prove them right? Lovis Corinth Wizard Skill:  1. Archeology . 2.  Weather Prediction  3.  Law . Starting items:  A medium sword, a set of fine blue robes ( unarmored ,) a good hat, a copy of the Brontologion , and two Implements of the Art . +1 SKLL per template . A Heir Apparent ,  Detect Magic , 2 spells, +1  MD B Scrying , +2 spe...

There is an empire broken apart, in flames, brother soon to be turned against brother in a war which will set the course of history forever. It's best to remember what you have before you lose it; hold tight in your hands the tools your mother made you, and hold close to your heart the words your father taught you. Memory awaits. Gerard van Honthorst Languages Morning Stars characters start with Lingua and one other language of their choice, plus one for each point of INT bonus they have. Characters are assumed to be able to read and write in the languages they know with a base level of proficiency. You may say, " PRIMEUMATON , why are these filthy past-century-equivalent people so literate?" Because it's more interesting to be able to interact with parts of the game than not. I once had an otherwise very enjoyable dungeon cut short by the fact absolutely none of us could interact with the puzzles due to not being able to read a language. If you insist on Trve Mvdcore...

The bandit is an underrated sort of monster, because it's a real monster. There are few fire-breathing dragons in our world. There are, however, a great multitude of people willing to do harm in order to get something they do not have. Read a history book. Mere men are capable of terrible things. It's our oldest trade. Unless stated otherwise, all stats are as follows: HD 1 (4 HP ), AC as leather , 7 morale SAVE +0 Movement: As man. Morality: As man. Intelligence: As man. Attacks: +1 to hit , one weapon (damage as weapon.) The average bandit is poorly equipped. Their armor is piecemeal, their weapons well-worn. Murder may not be their first resort, but it's higher on the list than it is for most people. It's rare to find any who aren't willing to negotiate, even if it's on uneven terms. They are never, ever  alone. Want to generate a gang on the fly? 2d4+2  is a good minimum. Solitary bandits tend to have a very short career in a world where there are people who...

The Presbyter  taught that there was no mercy in this world save but that which we gave one another, and for this, he was killed mercilessly. No wound or cruelty on this earth could dim his brilliance; even in death, his words kindled the world, and he shone like a midnight sun before he ascended into the heavens. The Presbyter said: "Recognize what is before your face and that which is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, nor buried which shall not be raised." The Presbyter said, "The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same." The Presbyter said, "If they say to you, 'Where did you come from?' , say to them, 'We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest t...