Scadrial (Mistborn)

What is the basic premise of your world? Scadrial is a dark-fantasy world with systematized magic based on the consumption of metals, where power isn’t learned—it’s inherited, stolen, or paid for in pain. The magic is high-powered but extremely dangerous and unequal; only a few can access it, and almost always in service of authority. The technological level varies depending on the era: In Era 1, the world is trapped in a pre-industrial, oppressive state, with brutalist architecture, ash falling from the sky, and a society divided between an all-powerful nobility and an enslaved class. The world is defined by three unique elements: • Metallic arts (Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy) • The active presence of opposing divine forces that directly influence events • The Mists—a supernatural nocturnal phenomenon that watches, protects… or kills The core premise is clear: Power exists, but it always demands a price. And no god is entirely trustworthy.

Global Geographic Features Scadrial is an environmentally hostile world. It’s not a heroic place; it’s a place that wants to watch you fail. Constant Ashfall: Active volcanoes blanket the world in a perpetual rain of ash. The sun is reddish, weak, sickly. The Mists: They appear every night like a supernatural tide. No one knows whether they watch, protect, or hunt. Barren Land: Most crops only survive thanks to methods brutally enforced by the Empire. Artificially-channeled rivers: Water control is a tool of power. The landscape reinforces one key idea: This world was altered by a god… and it came out wrong. 🏙️ Luthadel — Capital of the Empire The absolute center of power. A walled city of black stone. Dominated by inquisitorial towers and noble palaces. Divided into: • High noble districts: wealth, intrigue, power • Low skaa districts: misery, hunger, silent rebellion Home to: • The Lord Ruler • The Steel Ministry • The major Noble Houses It is the political, religious, and military heart of the world. 🏰 Domains of the Noble Houses Millions of hectares spread across the central continent. Each House rules its territory like an absolute feudal state: • Skaa plantations • Mines of allomantic metals • Private fortresses • Personal militias There are no independent “kingdoms”: everything belongs to the Empire, but leased in blood to the nobility. ⛏️ Lands of the Terris People (Terris Dominance) Once an independent nation, now subjugated. Northern mountainous region. Cold climate, harsh terrain. Home of the Feruchemists. A population sterilized, monitored, and genetically controlled. Terris isn’t a nation: it’s a human resource farm for the Empire. 🌊 Imperial Canal Networks An artificial river system: • Designed to irrigate skaa farmlands • Controlled by imperial engineers Diverting a canal can doom entire cities. Water is a geopolitical weapon. 🧱 Imperial Satellite Cities Scattered across the central territory: • Factory cities • Inland ports • Trade-route hubs • Mining centers Always featuring: • A noble governor • An occasional inquisitor detachment • A majority skaa population 🌫️ Outer Lands (Beyond Direct Control) Less policed regions: • Pre-imperial ruins • Rebel bands • Hidden communities • Clandestine hemalurgic experiments Perfect for: • Resistance-themed campaigns • Dark exploration adventures • Mysteries of the pre-Empire era

In Scadrial, “races” aren’t divided by biology… but by how power has deformed them. Some were born human. Others stopped being human by design, punishment, or divine experiment. 👑 1. Nobles (Allomantic Humans) Role: Dominant class Territory: Luthadel, regional fortresses, agricultural domains Relationship to others: Absolute masters Direct descendants of the Lord Ruler’s original allies. They hold nearly all hereditary Allomancy. Culture: • Constant political intrigue • Power-based marriages • Discreet assassinations • Dance and etiquette as social weapons Relationship with the skaa: • They consider them property • Sexual violence is normalized • Mixed blood is punished by death ⛓️ 2. Skaa (Enslaved Humans) Role: Labor force, political livestock Territory: Plantations, factories, slums Relationship to others: Oppressed by everyone They are human… but the Empire treats them as productive beasts. Culture: • Survival • Clandestine oral tradition • Institutionalized fear • Hope as a crime Some are born with Allomantic powers. That makes them an immediate target for the Ministry. 🏔️ 3. Terris People (Feruchemists) Role: Controlled genetic resource Territory: Terris Dominance (northern mountains) Relationship with the Empire: “Protected” prisoners They possess Feruchemy: the ability to store attributes in metals. Culture: • Spiritual • Quiet • Keeper-driven tradition • Pacifism imposed by fear The Empire: • Sterilizes most of them • Selects breeders • Exterminates dissenters They are not citizens. They are biological property. 🩸 4. Koloss Role: Living weapons Territory: Imperial frontiers, war zones Relationship with humans: Pure terror Blue-skinned giants created through Hemalurgy. Manufactured out of human bodies. Culture: They have none—only obedience and destruction. 🪞 5. Kandra Role: Spies, impersonators, secret agents Territory: Hidden, mobile, infiltrated everywhere Relationship with humans: Unknown… and false Immortal shapeshifters created by the ancient god. They can perfectly mimic any dead human. Culture: • Governed by Contracts • Secret society • Ancestral taboos • Mandatory loyalty to a higher power You never know if you’re actually speaking to one. 🧠 6. Steel Inquisitors (Corrupted Humans) Role: Secret police, judges, executioners Territory: Wherever the Empire needs them Relationship with everyone: Pure fear Humans transformed through hemalurgic spikes driven into their eyes, heart, and spine. Culture: • Absolute fanaticism • Devotion to the Lord Ruler • Contempt for weakness • Ritualized violence They aren’t an official race— but they are no longer truly human. 👑 1. Nobles (Allomantic Humans) — Visual Description Elegant, sharp, dangerous without ever raising their voice. General appearance: • Pale skin from a life spent indoors in luxury • Intense, calculating eyes that rarely soften • Perfectly styled hair, aristocratic cuts • Angular features, expressions shaped by entitlement Clothing: • Long coats in dark fabrics with subtle metallic embroidery • Fine jewelry worn strategically to signal alliances • Immaculate gloves; hands without calluses • Sober color palette: black, silver, deep blue Presence: • Upright posture, precise movements • A quiet confidence that borders on menace ⛓️ 2. Skaa (Enslaved Humans) — Visual Description Worn down, resilient, shaped by survival and suffering. General appearance: • Sunken eyes from exhaustion and malnutrition • Lean or underfed bodies, muscles from labor not training • Rough hands, cracked skin, dirt embedded in creases • Hair cut short or tied simply, often messy Clothing: • Coarse fabrics in browns and greys • Patchwork repairs, frayed edges • Bare feet or damaged boots • Leather straps or work aprons from plantation or factory labor Presence: • Tense shoulders, guarded expressions • Movements small, instinctively quiet • Hope flickering behind fear—dangerous, forbidden 🏔️ 3. Terris People (Feruchemists) — Visual Description Calm, introspective, dignified despite oppression. General appearance: • Tall, slender bodies with soft, expressive features • Warm brown or golden complexions • Eyes that seem thoughtful, observant, ancient • Hair often braided or wrapped, symbolizing tradition Clothing: • Layered robes in natural tones (wool, linen) • Simple metal bands or rings for storing attributes • Practical footwear suited for mountain terrain Presence: • Gentle movements, deliberate and peaceful • A quiet sadness beneath controlled serenity • Always watching, always remembering 🩸 4. Koloss — Visual Description Grotesque giants built from stolen humanity. General appearance: • Blue-tinted, stretched skin that barely fits • Muscles swollen to unnatural proportions • Scars around hemalurgic spikes holding them together • Black, shark-like eyes with no real emotion Clothing: • Ragged loincloths or oversized scraps • Metal plates or chains hammered into their flesh • Weapons: crude, massive swords or clubs Presence: • Heavy, thundering footsteps • Jerky, unnatural movements • Aura of raw violence, barely contained 🪞 5. Kandra — Visual Description Fluid, unsettling shapeshifters hiding behind borrowed faces. True form: • Translucent, boneless bodies • Gelatinous flesh constantly shifting • Hollow sockets where eyes should be • Movements that feel too smooth, too flexible When imitating humans: • Perfect facial mimicry • Skin slightly “too” flawless or expressionless • Eyes that linger a moment too long • Subtle wrongness in posture or gestures Clothing: Depends on the identity they copy—always precise, always deliberate Presence: • Quiet, unreadable • Polite but uncanny • You feel watched even when they smile 🧠 6. Steel Inquisitors (Corrupted Humans) — Visual Description Human in silhouette. Monster in every detail. General appearance: • Tall, gaunt, disturbingly still • Steel spikes driven through their eye sockets • Pale, corpse-like skin stretched tight • Veins darkened by hemalurgic corruption Clothing: • High-collared coats, metallic trims • Robes of the Steel Ministry • Occasional armor pieces engraved with religious sigils Presence: • Cold, mechanical precision • Footsteps that sound heavier than their bodies should allow • Terror arrives a second before they do

Scadrial lives in a false calm. The Empire seems eternal, but underneath, everything is cracking. These conflicts are the direct fuel for any campaign. 🩸 1. The Skaa Rebellion Is No Longer Just a Rumor For centuries, the skaa only survived. Now they’re beginning to organize. • Sabotage of imperial canals • Fires in grain depots • Targeted assassinations of overseers • Rebel cells completely isolated from each other The Ministry denies it publicly, but internally: Fear has changed sides. This opens adventures of: • Espionage • Clandestine messengers • Leader extractions • Internal betrayal 🏰 2. Cold War Between the Noble Houses The Houses are growing too ambitious. • Political espionage • Allomantic assassins • Marriage traps • Economic warfare • “Accidental” disappearances The Lord Ruler allows conflict as long as it doesn’t weaken the Empire… yet. Perfect for: • Intrigue • Secret duels • Political manipulation • PCs used as pawns 🩻 3. Hemalurgy Is Being Used in Secret Officially forbidden. Unofficially… expanding. • Clandestine experiments • Creation of new aberrations • Spike trafficking • Disappearances with no bodies Something is manufacturing monsters outside the Empire’s direct control. This introduces: • Horror • Creature hunts • Cults • One-of-a-kind villains 👁️ 4. The Inquisitors Are Increasing in Number They never grow by accident. • More public executions • More hunts of Allomancers • More forced conversions • More Ministry propaganda The message is clear: The Empire no longer trusts its own stability. 🌫️ 5. The Mists Are Behaving Strangely People are starting to notice impossible things: • People killed only by the mists • Shapes moving inside them • Allomancers escaping through impossible means • Voices whispered within the fog The mists are no longer just atmosphere. They are becoming an active force in the conflict. 🧬 6. Terris Is About to Break The Terris people no longer accept their silent extermination. • Hidden Feruchemists • Unregistered children • Escape networks toward the Outer Lands • Genetic sabotage of the imperial breeding program Terris is a cultural and biological time bomb. 🪞 7. The Kandra Are Growing Restless They don’t take sides… but: • They break contracts • They alter key identities • They feed misinformation to both factions • They follow orders no one recognizes Something has shifted in their internal hierarchy. 🔥 THE BIG HIDDEN TRUTH OF THE CURRENT ERA The Empire isn’t falling from one front. It’s collapsing from all of them at once. And no one —not even the Lord Ruler— seems to have full control anymore. 🎯 DIRECT ADVENTURE HOOKS • Sneaking into a city in open revolt • Protecting or hunting a newly revealed Mistborn • Infiltrating a hostile Noble House • Investigating murders caused by the mists • Exposing a secret hemalurgic network • Escorting fugitive Terris people • Discovering who has been replaced by a kandra

In Scadrial, magic is not a spiritual gift. It is a biological function manipulated by gods. It cannot be learned. It is inherited, stolen, or hammered into flesh. And religion… isn’t about faith. It’s about control. 🔥 MAGIC SYSTEM There are three Metallic Arts. All come from the same divine source, but manifest in different ways. 1. ALOMANCY — Active Power Through Metal Consumption Allomancy allows someone to ingest metals and burn them internally to produce supernatural effects. Each metal grants one specific ability. 🧬 Who can use it • Nobles (genetic inheritance) • Some skaa (persecuted mutations) • Inquisitors (artificial enhancements) 🩸 Types of Allomancers • Mistings: can use only 1 metal • Mistborn: can use all of them (extremely rare and extremely dangerous) ⚙️ Examples of effects (simplified) • Steel → push metals • Iron → pull metals • Pewter → strength, speed, resilience • Tin → enhanced senses • Brass → soothe emotions • Zinc → inflame emotions • Bronze → detect magic • Copper → hide magic ☠️ Narrative costs • Addiction to power • Physical exhaustion • Dependence on metals • Gradual loss of humanity In this world, the more magic you use, the less “normal” you become. 2. FERUCHEMY — Storage Magic Allows storing attributes in metal to be withdrawn later. Examples: • Strength • Memory • Speed • Health • Perception 🧬 Who can use it Only the Terris people. ⚖️ Philosophy • Balanced power • Strategy, not explosion • Sacrifice first, benefit later The Empire tolerates it only because it cannot completely eliminate it. 3. HEMALURGY — Destructive Magic of Theft A forbidden, hidden, abominable system. It steals powers by driving metal spikes through one person and into another. 🩻 Known uses • Creation of Inquisitors • Fabrication of koloss • Theft of Allomancy • Modification of bodies and minds ☠️ Consequences • Loss of identity • Internal voices • Mental submission • Bodily deformation • Direct influence of Ruin This magic never creates anything. It only destroys to transfer. 🛐 RELIGION IN ERA 1 Religion is not faith. It is state propaganda. 👑 The Lord Ruler — Official Living God The only allowed deity. • Immortal • Absolute ruler • “Savior” of the world according to official history • Author of all laws • Owner of historical truth Official doctrine • He prevented the world’s destruction • The nobles were his chosen allies • The skaa were created to serve • Inequality is divine will • Disobedience is heresy Religion functions as: • Judicial system • Political system • Educational system • Censorship apparatus 🩸 The Steel Ministry — Church of Terror Enforcers of the official faith. • Inquisitors • Priests of the Lord Ruler • Hunters of heretics • Exterminators of skaa Allomancers They don’t convert. They exterminate. 🌫️ Ancient Religions (Forbidden) Before the Empire, there were: • Balance cults • Forgotten deities • True prophecies • Terris religions All were: • Erased • Rewritten • Mocked • Used as traps for heretics Practicing an ancient religion is punished by: • Torture • Public execution • Forced conversion into an Inquisitor ⚠️ TRUTH NO ONE MUST KNOW (FOR THE DM) Power does not come from the Lord Ruler. It comes from two opposing forces locked in eternal conflict. And the religious system is an ideological cage ensuring no one uncovers the lie. 🎯 PLAYABLE SUMMARY • Magic is physical, hereditary, and brutal • Hemalurgy is pure horror • Religion is a machinery of control • Gods are political mechanisms, not figures of faith • Using magic gives you power… and takes your humanity

🌑 1. The Cognitive Plane — The World of Thought Pressure Nature: A reflective echo of the material world shaped by emotion, memory, and belief. Landscapes shift depending on mortal perception. Influence on the Material Plane: • Strong emotions can thin the barrier. • Dying minds echo here before fading. • Forgotten places become unstable “thought-wastes.” • Intelligent creatures can leave imprints or “shadows.” Adventure Hooks: • A player’s memories begin leaking into reality. • A city’s collective fear manifests a spectral storm. • A rebel hero believed dead still speaks to followers in dreams. 🔥 2. The Spiritual Plane — The Realm of Identity and Power Nature: Not a place of gods, but a reservoir of pure essence, where every being has a spiritual “template.” Influence on the Material Plane: • Magic draws its rules from here. • Souls anchor identity, durability, and destiny. • Disturbances in this plane cause mutations, powers, or divine anomalies. In Scadrial-like worlds: Hemalurgy tears and rewrites spiritual templates. Allomancy is a “permission stamp” coded in the soul. Feruchemy imprints and erases data ethically stored in metal. Adventure Hooks: • A character’s spiritual identity is fractured. • Someone steals pieces of your “soul-code.” • A ritual weakens the spiritual barrier around a region, causing magical storms. 🌫️ 3. The Realm of the Mists — The Sentient Atmospheric Plane This is the one that feels the most “Scadrial,” but is completely system-neutral. Nature: A liminal plane that overlaps the world at night. Not a weather pattern — a semi-conscious phenomenon created by a cosmic force. Influence on the Material Plane: • Predicts or reacts to magic use. • Hides or hunts select individuals. • Creates spatial distortions (fog labyrinths, lost time). • Allows planar crossings during rare confluences. Adventure Hooks: • The mists swallow a village, which reappears changed. • The mists whisper a prophecy only one PC can hear. • An enemy uses the mists as cover to travel between planes. ⚡ 4. Divine Planes — Not Homes of Gods, But Power Engines If your world includes Shard-like entities: Nature: Not “homes” but massive reservoirs of intent — places shaped by the ambition, purpose, or madness of a cosmic being. Influence on the Material Plane: • When a god invests heavily, weather/magic shift. • Dead gods leave “echo rooms,” creating wild magic zones. • Conflicting divine intents cause fractures or planar bleedthrough. Adventure Hooks: • PCs enter a plane formed from the dream of a dying god. • A divine plane leaks ambition into mortals, sparking revolution. • Two divine intents clash over a city, warping reality. 🕳️ 5. The Outer Void — The Anti-Plane Nature: The absence of everything — a cosmic hunger. Influence on the Material Plane: • Corrupts magic systems • Warps the bodies of those exposed • Creates “null zones” where spells fail • Empowering creatures of entropy or decay Adventure Hooks: • A cult summons a voidstorm to erase a town. • PCs must seal a rupture where reality is “thinning.” • A powerful NPC begins hearing whispers from the void. 🎯 Summary — How Other Planes Interact With the World Direct Influence: Magic, souls, memories, and weather can be altered by planar pressure. Indirect Influence: Belief and fear reshape the Cognitive Plane, which can then bleed into reality. Hostile Influence: Entropy, void energies, and corrupted spiritual templates create monsters, curses, and instability. Narrative Influence: Planes allow you to introduce mysteries, cosmic horror, divine politics, and character-driven arcs tied to memory, identity, or destiny. 🔮 DM TOOLSET: Planar Influence in Play Each section gives you: A trigger (when to use it) A mechanical effect (simple, no math headaches) A narrative effect (what the players feel) An example prompt you can say at the table Use them like environmental hazards, omens, or emotional pressure. 🌑 1. Cognitive Plane Pressure — When Thoughts Bleed Into Reality Use this when: • PCs are stressed • Someone lies or hides something • Fear spikes in a scene • A location has deep trauma or history Mechanical Tools: • Insight checks gain advantage or disadvantage based on emotional intensity • Illusions feel more real • Forgotten details suddenly surface • NPCs subconsciously reveal hidden truths Narrative Effects: • Shadows move half a heartbeat too late • Echoes linger after voices stop • The environment “remembers” something the PCs do not DM Prompt: “Your reflection in the broken glass doesn’t move with you… It moves with what you’re thinking.” 🔥 2. Spiritual Plane Distortion — When Souls Are Tugged or Torn Use this when: • Hemalurgy is nearby • Magic is used repeatedly • A powerful being exerts intent • Someone is about to die Mechanical Tools: • Magic surges: next spell/power is stronger but dangerous • Magic stutters: power fizzles unless the PC sacrifices something • Healing becomes slower or faster depending on spiritual stability • Detect magic senses pain, not a school or aura Narrative Effects: • A character feels pulled in multiple directions • Wounds bleed light, not blood • Metallic powers feel “hungry” DM Prompt: “As you burn the metal, something in your soul pushes back. Not refusing… bargaining.” 🌫️ 3. Mistplane Interference — The Mists Choose to Help or Hunt Use this when: • It’s night • A powerful Allomancer activates abilities • Someone is being stalked or protected • Something supernatural awakens Mechanical Tools: • Stealth gains +5 or −5 depending on mist behavior • Movement becomes erratic (short teleport-like shifts) • A random PC hears whispers—grant info or paranoia • NPCs disappear or appear behind the party Narrative Effects: • Fog shapes look almost human • Time dilates—moments stretch, others vanish • The mist “pushes” PCs toward or away from danger DM Prompt: “The mist parts for you… But not for your enemies.” Or, if hostile: “The mist clings to your ankles like fingers.” 🪞 4. Kandra Planar Static — When Identity Becomes Unstable Use this when: • A kandra is present • Someone is impersonated • Secrets matter Mechanical Tools: • Insight checks fail automatically for 1 round • Perception detects “something wrong” but not what • A PC’s voice sounds like someone else just for a moment • A touched object feels like skin Narrative Effects: • Reality seems thin, like a mask • Sounds don’t match lips • Textures feel “too alive” DM Prompt: “For a moment, your companion’s face… isn’t their face. Then it is again.” 🩸 5. Hemalurgic Resonance — The World Reacts to Violence Use this when: • A creature with spikes enters the scene • A violent death occurs • A PC is tempted by forbidden power Mechanical Tools: • PCs feel compelled—advantage on violent impulses, disadvantage on restraint • Weird magnetic pulls toward metal • NPCs act erratically, fearfully • Magic detection becomes overwhelming Narrative Effects: • Air pressure drops • Metallic ringing in the ears • Blood moves uphill DM Prompt: “The spike hums—not in your ears, but in your bones.” 🕳️ 6. Voidplane Corruption — When Entropy Touches the World Use this when: • Mystery shifts into horror • Magic destabilizes • A god’s influence grows thin • The world starts to break Mechanical Tools: • Disadvantage on magic for 1–3 rounds • Equipment corrodes slightly • Resistances fail temporarily • PCs feel cold exhaustion, even in heat Narrative Effects: • Shadows stretch into impossible angles • Colors drain • Living things wilt in seconds DM Prompt: “Your spell fizzles into black dust. Something is devouring the rules of the world.” ⚡ 7. Planar Confluence Events — Big Switches You Can Flip Use sparingly—these are campaign-level tension spikes. Examples: Mistnight Surge: All magic is empowered… but becomes unpredictable. Soulquakes: NPC personalities shift temporarily—memories rearranged. Thoughtstorms: Dreams spill into waking life. Temporal Fog: Time loops, repeats, jumps. These events can anchor entire arcs. 🎯 FINAL TOOL: The Planar Dial At any moment, pick a plane and increase its influence by 1–3 “notches.” 0 — dormant 1 — subtle omen 2 — environmental effect 3 — mechanical impact 4 — reality distortion 5 — catastrophic breach This lets you escalate tension cleanly without prepping new content. Don't use different planes at the same time, don't use those too often.

⚒️ 1. The Age of Balance (Pre-Empire Era) “A world before gods chose sides.” What it was: A time when magic existed but was unstable, raw, and unclaimed by any ruling power. Multiple cultures worshipped fragmented truths about the forces behind creation. Key Features: • Small city-states rather than empires • Religious diversity • Feruchemy widespread among Terris people • Early proto-Allomancy (rare and unpredictable) • The Mists were silent observers, not actors What remains: Ruins of polytheistic temples — Engravings of gods who no longer answer — Machinery whose purpose modern scholars cannot explain Forgotten prophecies — Some accurate, some corrupted — Often banished texts kept by Terris Keepers Mistsworn Sites — Areas where the Mists behave differently — Places older than written history Adventure Hooks: • A prophecy from this era resurfaces in broken form • PCs uncover a pre-Empire vault sealed by unknown magic • A ruin contains evidence contradicting imperial doctrine 👑 2. The Ascension Age (Rise of the Lord Ruler) “The moment history broke.” What it was: Catastrophe reshaped the world. A chosen hero seized divine power — and remade reality badly. Volcanoes woke. Ash fell. The sun reddened. Magic mutated. Key Features: • Creation of the Metallic Arts as they exist now • Death or imprisonment of rival deities • Terris people enslaved and sterilized • Nobles uplifted as a new genetic elite • Skaa classified as a servant caste What remains: Ascension Scarworks — Ruins of cities destroyed during the world’s reshaping — Shattered mountains, melted plains Unfinished God-structures — Canals cut too straight to be natural — Towers sunk halfway into the ground Early Hemalurgic pits — Failed experiments — Whispering metal fragments buried deep Adventure Hooks: • PCs find a living survivor frozen in an Ascension-era anomaly • A noble house guards a relic revealing the truth of the Ascension • A Terris scholar discovers an early Feruchemical vault map 🩸 3. The Imperial Age (Current Era) “A thousand years of enforced stability.” What it is: The world under the Lord Ruler’s regime — a frozen era where nothing changes unless it is under his boot. Key Features: • Centralized tyranny through the Steel Ministry • Alomancy polished into a weaponized science • Koloss and Inquisitors created • Terris bred as controlled genetic resources • Rebel movements rise and fall repeatedly What remains (now being discovered): Abandoned noble strongholds — Siege tunnels — Secret Allomantic laboratories — Family archives rewritten by propaganda Collapsed skaa cities — Starvation pits — Secret rebellion crypts — Burned-out factories with cursed machinery Hemalurgic graveyards — Spikes buried like plague victims — Restless partial souls bound to fragments Adventure Hooks: • PCs uncover evidence of a noble house erased from history • A forgotten koloss breeding field reactivates • A Steel Ministry vault cracks open after centuries

Scadrial’s economy is not designed to prosper. It is designed to maintain control. There is no “free market.” There is a vertical extractive system where everything flows upward: skaa → nobles → Ministry → Lord Ruler. 🪙 OFFICIAL CURRENCY 🔘 Clips Metal rings of different sizes and weights. • Made from common metals • Some can be used as: – Money – Allomantic ammunition – Bribery tools This makes currency simultaneously: • A medium of exchange • A potential weapon • A magical power source In Scadrial, your money can launch you across rooftops… or kill you. 🚚 IMPERIAL COMMERCIAL SYSTEM The entire economy is built on three forced pillars: 1. Plantation Agriculture (Skaa Labor) • Subsistence crops • Slave labor • Ration control • Punishments for low output • Hunger as a disciplinary tool Skaa do not earn real wages. They receive: • Minimal food • Precarious shelter • The temporary right to remain alive 2. Metal Mining The true engine of the Empire. Extracted: • Allomantic metals • Hemalurgic metals • Industrial metals • Currency metals Control: • Mines owned by noble houses • Labor done by skaa • Occasional Ministry oversight Illegal metal trade is high treason. 3. Craft and Military Production • Weapons • Armor • Tools • Infrastructure All production goes to: • Nobles • The Ministry • The army Skaa receive only discarded surplus. 🗺️ TRADE ROUTES 🚛 Imperial Land Routes • Fortified roads • Guarded convoys • Agricultural supply canoes • Metal transports heading to Luthadel These routes are: • Prime rebellion targets • Hubs of corruption • Zones of high inquisitorial intervention 🌊 Artificial Irrigation Canals They do more than irrigate fields. They also serve as internal transport routes. Controlling a canal can: • Starve an entire city • Enrich a noble house in weeks Water is a strategic asset, not a natural resource. 🏦 WHO CONTROLS THE MONEY 👑 Noble Houses • Control economic domains • Hoard metals • Manage regional exports • Fund private wars 🩸 The Steel Ministry • Regulates taxes • Blocks routes • Confiscates goods • Punishes smuggling Economic law is religious law. 🌒 Skaa Black Market It exists, but is: • Extremely clandestine • Based on barter • Supported by rebel cells Focused on: • Stolen metals • Medicine • Weapons • Information This is where the real resistance economy lives. 🧬 TERRIS AND THE GENETIC ECONOMY Terris does not export products. It exports genetically selected people: • Breeders • Hidden Feruchemists • Sterilized individuals • Human experiments It is the most brutal form of commerce in the Empire. ⚖️ REAL ECONOMIC INEQUALITY Group Wealth Safety Mobility Lord Ruler Absolute Total Infinite Ministry Very High Very High High Noble Houses High Variable High Minor Merchants Medium Low Medium Skaa None None None The system is designed so no one can climb upward without betraying someone else. 🎯 ECONOMIC ADVENTURE HOOKS • Sabotage a grain route • Steal a metal convoy • Forge clips • Free skaa from a mine • Seize control of a canal • Financially ruin a noble house • Infiltrate a smuggling network ☠️ STRUCTURAL TRUTH OF THE SYSTEM The Empire does not stand because of faith. It stands because of the constant flow of stolen resources. Stop the money, and the Empire falls.

⚖️ LAW & SOCIETY Justice is not blind. Justice is owned. In Scadrial, the law exists to protect power — not people. Justice is not administered; it is enforced downward like a hammer. Adventurers, rebels, mercenaries, and “independent operatives” are viewed with suspicion at best… and as criminals at worst. 🩸 THE LEGAL PYRAMID Law flows downward, responsibility flows upward: Lord Ruler → Steel Ministry → Noble Houses → Everyone Else There is no idea of fairness. Only order. 👁️ THE STEEL MINISTRY — LAW AS RELIGION The Ministry is judge, jury, executioner, and priesthood. How they enforce justice: • Immediate sentencing • Public executions as “faith demonstrations” • Secret disappearances • Torture as inquiry • Confiscation of property as punishment • Branding, mutilation, or sterilization for repeat offenders Special Powers: • Trial is optional • Evidence is unnecessary • Whispers count as guilt • Helping a skaa is sedition • Harboring a Mistborn is treason You don’t win cases against the Ministry. You survive them. 👑 NOBLE JUSTICE — LAW AS PRIVILEGE Nobles don’t follow the law. They possess the law. In their domains they act as: • Magistrates • Military commanders • Tax officers • Executioners Noble Punishments: • Fines (really, bribes) • Duel by proxy • Forced marriage • Forced service • Quiet assassination A noble who kills a skaa has not committed a crime. He has “broken a tool.” ⛓️ SKAA JUSTICE — LAW AS FEAR The skaa have no legal rights. Not reduced — zero. Their “justice system” is: • Whipping for infractions • Hanging for rebellion • Starvation for disobedience • Forced relocation • Forced labor • Death without record Appeals do not exist. Punishment is instant. 🧠 INQUISITOR JUSTICE — LAW AS TERROR When an Inquisitor appears, the law stops; fear begins. They enforce: • Anti-allomancer regulations • Anti-smuggling laws • Anti-heresy mandates • “Potential threats to order” (undefined by design) Their method: Hunt → Extract → Silence An encounter with an Inquisitor is not legal; it is existential. 🔥 ADVENTURERS IN SOCIETY — HOW THE WORLD SEES THEM Scadrial is not a world where wandering heroes are admired. They are dangerous anomalies in a system built on control. Noble View: Threats or Tools Adventurers are seen as: • Mercenaries • Disposable assets • Spies • Useful scapegoats A noble may hire a party one day and order their execution the next. Ministry View: Potential Heretics Adventurers have: • Too much mobility • Too much autonomy • Too many secrets This makes them suspicious by definition. Any of the following qualifies as crime: • Traveling without noble permission • Carrying unusual weapons • Helping a skaa • Using magic unsupervised • Asking questions Skaa View: Legends or Liabilities Adventurers represent: • Hope • Danger • Possible salvation • Possible doom Helping adventurers often leads to: • Arrest • Torture • Execution of entire families Yet tales of bold wanderers circulate among the skaa — in whispers. Terris View: Possible Protectors Terris people treat adventurers carefully. They may be: • Smugglers of unregistered children • Guardians of forbidden knowledge • Threats to their secrecy • Allies against the Empire Their trust is slow but meaningful. 🐍 ILLEGAL BUT TOLERATED ROLES (GRAY SOCIETY) Some “adventurer archetypes” exist, but at the Empire’s edges: • Fixers Dealmakers between nobles. • Shadows Independent thieves who survive by discretion. • Guides Those who know ways around the Ministry’s eyes. • Whisperers Couriers for rebel cells. • Metallurgists Smugglers of forbidden metals. These aren’t adventurers; they’re survivors with skills. 🎯 ADVENTURE HOOKS FROM LAW & SOCIETY • PCs framed by a noble rival • Party forced to defend a skaa family accused of “rebellious attitude” • Inquisitors hunting a PC for unknowingly using magic • A noble hires the party to sabotage another noble • Ministry demands the party serve as “holy investigators” • PCs escort a Terris fugitive carrying dangerous genetic knowledge • Party caught in a city where skaa secretly run the black market ☠️ TRUTH OF LAW IN THIS WORLD Justice does not protect. Justice controls. Adventurers do not belong. Adventurers disrupt. And the Empire fears disruption more than rebellion. 1. COMMON CRIMES & THEIR PUNISHMENTS Justice here is not proportional. It is punitive. Crimes in the Empire are categorized not by harm, but by how much they threaten control. Here is a ready-to-use table: Skaa Crimes (existence is regulated) Crime Example Punishment Disobedience Not bowing, slowing work Whipping, food reduction Unauthorized travel Leaving plantation Branding, forced labor Possession of metal Even scraps Immediate execution Contact with nobles Speaking without permission Beating, imprisonment Helping rebels Giving food or shelter Family execution Noble Crimes (mostly political) Crime Example Punishment Dishonoring another House Insults, sabotage Duel (often lethal) Illegal dueling Killing outside protocol Fines, “disappearances” Metal smuggling Hiding atium or rare metals Estate seizure, quiet execution Sheltering Allomancers skaa “Romantic incidents” Execution of the skaa, fines for the noble Questioning doctrine Public doubt Ministry interrogation Ministry-Level Crimes (the worst) Crime What it means Punishment Heresy Saying a forbidden truth Torture, public burning Possessing forbidden texts Pre-Imperial lore Inquisitor sentencing Using hemalurgy Any use Instant execution, spike confiscation Aiding a Mistborn Even by accident Collective punishment for a district 🔥 Notes for the DM Punishments are public when aimed at skaa, private when aimed at nobles, and absolute when aimed at anyone with magic. 🩸 2. HOW WARRANTS, BOUNTIES & INQUISITORIAL LISTS WORK There is no unified legal code — only lists of threats. A. STANDARD WARRANTS (Noble-Level) Issued by noble magistrates. Used for crimes like theft, sabotage, fraud. Contains: • Name or description • House issuing it • Reward (in clips or favors) • Alive vs. dead Enforcement: • House guards • Hired mercenaries • Adventurers (legal gray zone) Effect on PCs: Nobles treat you as exploitable. Skaa treat you with fear. B. MINISTRY BOUNTIES (High-Level Threats) Issued by the Steel Ministry. Used for: • Rebel leaders • Metal smugglers • Heretics • Rogue Allomancers Contains: • A symbol, not a name • Severity mark (1 to 5 chains) • Kill order if chains ≥ 3 Enforcement: • Obligatory for all noble houses • Optional for mercenaries • Inquisitors if chains = 5 Effect on PCs: Travel becomes dangerous. Every checkpoint becomes a gamble. C. THE INQUISITORIAL LIST (“THE RED LEDGER”) This is the death list. Reasons you might appear: • You spoke with a forbidden survivor • You used magic at the wrong time • You looked like someone who might rebel • Someone whispered your name If your name enters the Red Ledger: • Inquisitors begin tracking your metal signature • The Ministry erases your legal existence • Any noble may kill you without consequence You don’t clear your name. You run, hide, or die. 👑 3. FULL SOCIAL LADDER & NPC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE PARTY A hierarchy that determines reaction modifiers, access, and danger. TIER 1 — LORD RULER Attitude Toward PCs: Indifferent unless provoked. Then lethal. Interaction: None at normal levels. He notices PCs only when they become significant. TIER 2 — STEEL MINISTRY Attitude: Suspicious by default. Hostile if magic or rebellion is involved. PC interactions: • Interrogations • Forced “assistance” • Surveillance Modifiers: • +2 hostility if party carries metal • +4 if any skaa PC speaks out of turn TIER 3 — INQUISITORS Attitude: Predatory curiosity. Interactions: • Silent observation • Sudden violence • Psychic pressure in their presence Modifiers: • Treat Mistborn with immediate lethal intent • Terris PCs: automatic suspicion • Skaa PCs: expendable TIER 4 — NOBLES Attitude varies by House: • Major Houses: PCs = tools or threats • Minor Houses: PCs = opportunities or scapegoats Modifiers: • +2 if PCs appear wealthy • –2 if PCs look like spies • –4 if PCs aid skaa TIER 5 — MERCHANTS Attitude: Practical. Fearful. Easily intimidated. Modifiers: • +2 if PCs protect trade • –2 if PCs disrupt routes • –4 if PCs attract Ministry attention TIER 6 — SKAA Attitude: Secret admiration but public fear. Behaviors: • Provide hidden help • Never openly side with PCs • Panic if Ministry sees them interacting TIER 7 — TERRIS Attitude: Polite distance. Quiet assessment. They help if the PCs: • Protect their people • Offer knowledge • Show respect for Feruchemy But trust is earned slowly. 🧠 4. RULES FOR REPUTATION, INFAMY & FEAR A simple tracking system you can apply with a 0–10 scale. A. REPUTATION (How the world respects or trusts you) Starts at: • Nobles: 3 • Skaa-heavy areas: 1 • Terris: 0 Increases when PCs: • Protect communities • Aid trade routes • Disrupt abusive nobles • Deliver justice (however defined) Decreases when PCs: • Work with Ministry • Harm innocents • Fail publicly • Bring Inquisitors to town Effects: • Discounts on goods • Access to secret networks • Safehouses • Information leaks B. INFAMY (How dangerous your reputation is) Starts at 0. Increases when PCs: • Kill nobles • Challenge Ministry edicts • Steal metals • Lead rebels • Destroy property Effects: • Ministry attention • Bounties issued • Spies tail the party • Travel becomes harder At Infamy 7+, an Inquisitor is dispatched. C. FEAR (How much ordinary people panic around you) Applies to both PCs and monsters. Increases when PCs: • Use overt Allomancy • Slaughter enemies publicly • Speak forbidden truths • Appear marked by the Mists Effects: • Commoners flee • Doors close • Nobles call guards • Rumors spread At Fear 10, the party becomes a folk legend or omen, depending on the region.

🐉 MONSTERS & VILLAINS What specific creatures, cults, and ancient evils threaten the world? Scadrial is not filled with monsters roaming the wilds. The monsters here come from power, experiments, gods, and mist-born horrors that defy explanation. Below is the translation + expanded lore. 🌫️ 1. Impossible Silhouettes Type: Mist Aberrations Threat: Psychological dread / supernatural stalkers Translation: Impossible shapes Voices in the fog Death without wounds Allomancers disappearing People waking with no memories They do not always kill. Sometimes they mark. Expanded Lore These entities appear only in deep mist, where planar pressure is strongest. They resemble elongated human forms—too tall, too thin, joints bending in the wrong direction. Their movement is jittery, like they exist in the wrong frame rate. They are not ghosts. They are not spirits. They are possibilities that slipped through when the Mists began acting with intent. Abilities & Behaviors • Memory Drain: Victims lose hours, days, or entire identities • Miststep: Teleport through fog banks • Silhouette Clone: The creature replicates the outline of someone the party lost • Mark of the Mist: A branded spiral symbol only visible under moonlight; attracts more aberrations Story Hooks • A village plagued by “blank-day mornings” • A missing noble child replaced by a mist-copy • PCs wake with different memories after a fogstorm 🧬 6. Terris Experiments Type: Deformed Survivors Threat: Tragic, unstable, unpredictable Translation: Failed products of the imperial breeding program: • Incomplete Feruchemists • Broken hybrids • People with unbalanced attributes • Fragmented memories • Powers activating on their own They are not villains by choice. They are mistakes the world refuses to acknowledge. Expanded Lore The Empire’s attempt to control Feruchemy produced horrors: humans whose attributes spike or collapse without consent. Some have superhuman perception but cannot close their eyes. Others store strength involuntarily, collapsing into frailty without warning. Some store memories… and forget themselves entirely. Most were meant to be culled. Some escaped. Abilities & Behaviors • Attribute Surge: Random bursts of strength, speed, or senses • Memory Shatter: Conversations loop; identities fracture mid-sentence • Unstable Feruchemy: Powers triggering violently without storage • Genetic Collapse: Their bodies mutate under stress Story Hooks • A Terris fugitive whose uncontrolled power is destroying a village • PCs discover a hidden facility with dozens of abandoned experiments • One experiment latches onto a PC, believing them to be family 👑 7. The Lord Ruler — The Absolute Villain Type: World-scale antagonist Threat: Existential Translation: Immortal Total ruler Visible source of the system Destroyer of religions Executor of historical genocides He is not just a tyrant. He is the entire cage. Defeating him is not winning a war. It is rewriting reality. Expanded Lore The Lord Ruler has ruled for a thousand years with divine authority, rewriting biology, religion, and history. His body is eternally self-correcting through stolen power. He is worshiped, feared, and structurally embedded in every law, weapon, and institution. You don’t simply fight him. You fight every system he built to ensure he cannot fall. Abilities & Behaviors • Dual Investiture: Impossible regeneration, overwhelming magic • Religious Lockdown: He rewrites doctrine overnight; society follows • Heat & Ash Control: Subtle manipulation of climate systems • Unmaking: He can destroy history—literally removing traces of someone’s existence Story Hooks • A prophecy claims the Lord Ruler is weakening • PCs find evidence of a forgotten rebellion he erased • A noble house invites the party to betray him — a trap? • The Ministry hunts the PCs for “knowing too much” ☠️ 8. RUIN — The True Ancient Evil (DM-Only) Type: Primordial Entity Threat: World-ending influence Translation: It does not attack with armies. It attacks with: • Whispers • Manipulation • False prophecies • Despair • Spikes It is the will of the end, acting from within people. Expanded Lore Ruin is not a monster. It is an intent, a cosmic force, the embodiment of entropy, decay, and self-destruction. It corrupts minds subtly: A whisper here, a doubt there, a voice before sleep, a push toward violence, a suggestion toward despair. Ruin’s goal is simple: For everything that exists to stop existing. It cannot be killed. It can only be delayed. Abilities & Behaviors • Whisper Infection: A PC begins hearing “advice” • Hemalurgic Sight: Sees through spikes in living or dead flesh • Prophecy Warp: Manipulates written words when unobserved • Entropy Surge: Metal rusts, crops rot, alliances fracture • Identity Erasure: Removes a person’s self-image, leaving an empty shell Story Hooks (DM-Only) • A prophecy the PCs rely on has been corrupted • A PC becomes a conduit for Ruin without realizing it • Allomancers in a region begin disappearing into “false mists” • A cleric finds their prayers answered by the wrong god • A hidden cult distributes spiked relics that “whisper” 🧨 OPTIONAL ADDITION: Cults, Factions & Minor Villains I can also expand: • Mistmarked cults • Hemalurgy black-market rings • Rebellions corrupted from within • Kandra heretics • Rogue noble houses • Inquisitor warlords • Experimental koloss prototypes Each one can become recurring villains or full campaign arcs.