Urizen groups
Overview
There are many spires in Urizen, but only a comparative handful are involved in the affairs of the Empire (that is, attend the seasonal summits at Anvil). The influence of a spire can wax and wane, and involvement in Imperial affairs is not always a reflection of their influence within the nation itself. This page presents in-character information about the spires that attend, or have attended, Anvil — the kind of thing that someone who asked about the spire might uncover from talking to their peers. In each case, the information is provided by the players and edited before being put on the wiki.
The majority of spires listed here represent player-character groups. You should not create a character who is part of a spire, or has personal history with one, without first clearing it with the appropriate players. You should also check before including other players' spires in your background. The background team are unlikely to approve a background that significantly impacts or involves another player character spire without their permission. There are also a handful of prominent NPC spires included for completeness, but they are not intended for use by player characters.
Spires of Morrow
The spires of Morrow are some of the oldest in Urizen.
Spires of Redoubt
Redoubt is still a little wild; the spires here have a strong martial tradition.
Invidia Citadel
Purpose: Citadel
Region: Wilstone
Apothegm: We will create a class of sentinel willing to sacrifice everything to protect the people of Urizen & the Empire from all foes, barbarian or internal
Arbiter: Silvia of Invidia
Invidia Citadel is dedicated to a particularly extreme study of martial arete, based around a philosophy called Siblinghood. The siblings of Invidia Citadel are raised as part of a communal family embracing all members of the Citadel, and trained as a sentinel from a young age. By such means sentinels are created with an unbreakable bond to the fighting unit, and a clear understanding of the need to sacrifice anything in the defence of the nation. Traditionally, Invidia Citadel has spurned the arts of trade or ritual lore as an unnecessary distraction from martial arete, operating a communal economy controlled by the arbiter, but in the past few years the contempt for non-military occupations has begun to change. For much of its history Invidia Citadel was largely isolated and self-sufficient, its members only mixing with the rest of Urizen society when serving in the Citadel Guard or when their own forces were needed. However from the Winter Solstice 381YE members of the Citadel began travelling to Anvil, the better to coordinate their military efforts with the rest of the nation. The siblings of the Citadel are now fully committed to the struggle to liberate Urizen's lost territories, and oppose the influence of the sword scholars...
Spires of Spiral
Those spires still in Spiral must contend with both the presence of barbarian orcs and the malign force that squats at the centre of the territory.
Academy of the Southern Shore
Purpose: Arcane Spire
Region: Apulus
A spire that taught students in Apulus, somewhat inland from the town itself. The Academy was historically patronised by The Whisper Gallery and had a reputation for radical usages of memory magic in its pedagogy. The spire shut its public doors when the Grendel invaded, but continues to teach students under a potent magical shroud. With the recent trauma of the Black Plateau awakening, the students turned on each other and filled the halls with blood. In the wake of this trauma, the remaining teachers have travelled to Anvil hoping to use their skills to protect the spire from further tragedy and seek new eternal patronage.
Spires of Zenith
Zenith is under Druj control — those few spires that remain rely on magical means to prevent themselves being overrun by the orcs.
Contributing
Any Urizen spire, citadel or temple can submit an entry for this page. The entry should come from the out-of-character group leader and be emailed to plot@profounddecisions.co.uk. It should contain the following information:
- Name of the spire
- The kind of spire (arcane spire, citadel, temple)
- Your spire's apothegm assuming it is public knowledge
- Territory and region where the spire is physically located. If you are a spire in exile that has fled Zenith or Spiral you can mention that here
- If the spire has a sigil a description of that sigil and an image if one is available
- The name of your arbiter if you have one
You should also include up to 250 words of description, detailing the kind of things that other characters might know about your spire. Have a look at the description for an arcane spire, citadel, or temple for ideas on the kind of information that is useful. For example, if you are from an an arcane spire, then what kind of magic are you known for? You must also include a few sentences of history, especially around the reasons for the spire's formation.
Some other questions to consider include:
- Does your spire have an interesting geographical feature associated with it?
- Are there one or more particular archetypes it is associated with?
- Does your spire have a particular philosophy or goal which helps unify your members?
Things to avoid include:
- Too much worldbuilding detail — this represents information other characters may know about your spire. It's not a place to define elements of the game world
- Lists of character names — this isn't a place for getting your name on the wiki
- Too much emphasis on the past — while it's useful to have a few lines of history, what matters in Empire is what your spire does on the field at events
It's possible to update the information on this page over time (for example if your arbiter changes) with an e-mail to plot@profounddecisions.co.uk.