The world of GRIMWIRE is vast, multifaceted, and storied. Many civilizations on Aarda have come and gone leaving behind outlandish architecture, powerful artifacts, and bizarre lifeforms. It’s a harsh world, civilization is precarious, armed conflicts are rampant, and resources are scarce. Wastelands are prowled by giant carnivorous invertebrates and worse monstrosities. The forbidden secrets of ancient technology lie buried like legacy landmines–but vastly more dangerous. Despite these hardships, people go on with their lives and Aarda is still a home to kindness, joy, and wonder.

Below is an brief introduction to the vast lore of GRIMWIRE. It is intended for players and contains information the average person would know. An extensive lore compendium is in the works. Stay tuned.

The Dark Star

The oldest legends claim that the sky was once filled with stars. Tiny points of light even more numerous than the orbital debris that glisten in the red-orange light of Rahana.

Rahana. The last star. The Dark Star. A void wreathed by a disc of redshifted light casting an oblique perpetual dusk over the surface of Aarda, the world that orbits it.

Perpetual Light, Perpetual Darkness

Aarda’s axis points toward the Star, creating the anastral hemisphere, frozen in an endless night, and the astral hemisphere, a blazing irradiated desert. The permanent twilight between these two extremes, known as the Penumbra, is temperate enough for civilization. Here a slight tilt of Aarda’s axis creates a periodic dimming and brightening resembling a day/night cycle. 

In addition, a large part of the known world is covered by an ancient structure known as the Dome which acts as a massive growth light for the vast fields of the Agrarian States. The Dome brightens and goes dark on a cycle in time with the days and nights of the Penumbra.

An Age of Exploration

At this point in history, much of the planet’s surface is uncharted. The territories beyond the boundaries of the known are believed to be a barren wasteland. Small cities and tribal villages exist in the frontier, visited only by the occasional trader or explorer. 

Another story told by many cultures across time tells that beyond the wasteland is a paradise where all one’s wishes are granted. This is where the mysterious relict claim to have originated.

Although most of the known surface of Aarda is land, there are a number of small but very deep seas, the most biologically diverse aardan biome with new species being discovered frequently by scientists or fishermen. These seas are connected through massive underwater caves that can be traversed in submarines.

Ecology

Invertebrates such as mollusks, annelids, insects, and arachnids are the dominant animal life on Aarda, and many species can grow to gigantic proportions. They are very different from the versions we know on Earth, possessing lungs, a circulatory system, and other characteristics normally only associated with vertebrates. Apart from humanoids, there are very few vertebrate species. These include small, tree-dwelling, carnivorous mammals and padjzan–wooly, horned domesticated animals. 

It is speculated that at some point plant life on Aarda underwent an extreme loss of biodiversity. This is particularly evident in the field of agriculture. All industrially produced crops are cultivars of a single bamboo-like species of plant known simply as “grass”. Grass  cultivars provide sugar, grain, fiber, wood, and fuel in the form of biodiesel. 

Beyond the fields grow wild grasses, thorny brush, and towering fungal shoots. Wild plants are relatively rare outside the Agrarian Territories and considered sacred in agrarian religions.

Wyrms

Wyrms are gargantuan creatures that roam across Aarda. Wyrms do not appear to require food and if they age, they do so far too slowly to be noticeable by humanoids–even over the course of history. Five Wyrms have been documented in ancient historical records, but of these only three have been observed by contemporary explorers. They vary greatly from one another in appearance and their biology is extremely different from both insects and humanoids. Although their sheer size makes them extremely dangerous, Wyrms are not aggressive and avoid populous regions. This could be due to the Wyrms’ awareness of smaller lifeforms or simply because civilizations have learned to settle outside of the wyrms’ territories. Legends exist of Wyrms roused to cataclysmic rages by humanoid civilizations or even other Wyrms.

Politics

The two main political powers in the known world, Kalabrin and Meridia are at war, cold now for generations. Kalabrin is a totalitarian regime where most aspects of life are controlled by the state. Meridia was once a mining colony of Kalabrin that revolted and won its independence. It is now a sham democracy built on free market principles and ruled by an oligarchy of old merchant families. Although Kalabrin is much larger, Meridia possesses greater access to eitr mines to power their cities and war machines.

In the absence of overt hostilities, Kalabrin and Meridia wage proxy wars in the green agrarian states which form a buffer between the two. Arable land is scarce, so control over the agrarian states is integral for political supremacy.

Mechanicals founded their own nation in a region known as the Scraplands beyond Meridia’s western border. Although the border town of Interface is welcoming to biological humanoids, very few non-mechanicals have been further into the nation’s interior.

War

Aarda bears the scars of countless cycles of war and peace. Large areas of desert melted into glass by the incomprehensibly powerful weapons of bygone ages. Holes in the pavement made by grenades in more recent conflicts. In addition to state armies, various paramilitary groups and corporate mercenaries also walk the battlefields of Aarda.

War isn’t just a part of life, it is a driving force of economy and industry. Weapons and other military grade gear are easy for civilians to procure. Commercial and civilian vehicle designs are influenced by tanks and military transports. 

The latest series of conflicts known as the Diesel Wars, have been raging for the past generation in the Agrarian States, where guerilla commandos ambush legged tanks as they stalk through grass fields. The conflict is over the agrarian nation of Aixia expanding into territories near the Kalabrin border in order to acquire land to grow seedgrass to meet the rising demand for biodiesel.

Meridia is backing Aixia, covertly supplying them with arms and troops while Kalabrin backs Aixia’s anastral neighbor, the nation of Puranam. The Shulao, a resistance faction made up of dispossessed agrarian farmers, seeks to form a government free from the influence of foreign superpowers.

Technology

Aarda is home to extreme and chaotic variation in technological sophistication. Simple technology that has existed for thousands of generations–beasts of burden for transportation, forged weapons and tools, and traditional medicine–exist side by side with machine shops and airships. Isolated tribal villages may utilize advanced technologies unknown to wider civilization. States are just beginning to use public ray tube broadcasts and build long distance communication networks.

Across the face of Aarda are remnants of exponentially more advanced technology left over from ages past. The secret to creating and using much of this technology was lost during the numerous wars and disasters in Aarda’s history. 

Salvaging and rigging together barely functioning pieces of ancient and modern technology is a way of life. An archaengineer may know how to use a piece of ancient technology but not how it works, how to recreate it, or even its original purpose. Ancient technologies like solar panels or hover engines can be obtained from tech mongers while more powerful technologies are hoarded by corporations and governments.

The Dome

One of the most prominent examples of ancient technology is known as the Dome. 

At regular intervals of about 6500km impossibly large towers lord over the surface of Aarda. They are hundreds of times taller than a modern skyscraper, have no visible entrances or exits, and are composed of an unknown, apparently indestructible substance. Based on the pattern of where they appear, there are believed to be twelve on the planet, although only five have been discovered. 

The Dome is a massive lattice suspended high in the sky between these towers, covering millions of square km of land. The Dome produces artificial light and climate control for growing crops. The Dome goes dark for a portion of each day to allow the crops to rest and breathe. The periodic darkness as well as the tall grass crops provide cover for operations during the many bloody conflicts that have wracked the agrarian states. 

The Dome is believed to be approximately 10 megadays old. It is presumed to have once encased the entire planet, although now only a section of it still functions. This is a major reason why food shortages exist on the planet. Many old legends tell of a great famine which may have occurred when part of the Dome broke down. 

cursed Artifacts

There is an even older layer of lost technology, thought to be left over from a planetary civilization that existed hundreds, perhaps thousands of megadays before the creators of the Dome. Aarda’s top scientists have so far not been able to gain even a basic understanding of how it works and some even believe, as superstitious folk do, that it harbors power stolen from God. 

Stumbling upon such artifacts is like falling through the familiar world into a vast, dark sea. Death and worse fates come to those who toy with them. Objects that harbor such arcane forces are often labeled “forbidden” and many tech dealers will refuse to traffick them. This is due in part to their inherent danger but also to the danger posed by the powerful interests they tend to attract. Yet there are many who greedily accept this risk for the sake of their immense monetary value. Only a select few are bold or reckless enough to attempt to harness their power.

Technology and Magic

People

Humanoid Castes

Since ancient times, humanoid reproduction has been controlled by ruling powers in order to create distinct genetic lineages designed to perform certain functions in society. This massive eugenics program is a very old and ongoing injustice that affects life on Aarda deeply and universally. 

These lineages are referred to as “castes” or less commonly “breeds”. Each caste has its own characteristics and capacities. Unlike the human races of Earth, humanoid castes on Aarda are physically and genetically dissimilar from one another. Since humanoids have been selectively bred to perform different functions, there are real differences in their bodies and capabilities. However, these differences are not so extreme as to prevent a member of a certain caste from pursuing whatever path in life they choose–though society may be against them. An individual who is occupying the role their caste was intended for is said to be “appointed”, while those who choose to serve different roles are “disappointed”. 

In Kalabrin, these castes are still forced to perform the roles they were bred for and reproduction is controlled by the state. Some are forced to reproduce with individuals chosen by the state to refine their valued characteristics. Artificial insemination is an option for those who aren’t willing to sleep with their assigned breeding partner. Most humanoids are allowed to reproduce freely as long as they stay within their own caste. Having a child with someone from a different caste is a crime. Many kalabrini migrate to the Agrarian States or Meridia in hopes of a better life, belonging to an inter-caste couple being one of the top reasons for doing so. 

Outside Kalabrin, forced breeding has been abolished and associating, marrying, and/or having children with whoever you want is considered a basic humanoid right in most territories. However, breedism and unwritten societal expectations cause society to remain somewhat segregated. 

Although breedism is prevalent, fraternization and relationships between members of different castes are commonplace everywhere on Aarda. Ancestry from two or more humanoid types is equally common. Since inter-caste reproduction is illegal in Kalabrin, mixed-heritage humanoids are less common there. The parents of such offspring can be punished with forced sterilization. The children are not punished except by the stigma they suffer growing up. “Unbred” is a highly offensive slur for humanoids whose heritage is so diverse that it’s unclear what castes they are descended from.

Humanoids typically share a sense of cultural identity with other members of their caste. This combined with physical segregation can lead to shared cultural traits within a caste. Still, diversity within a caste is always greater than stereotypes suggest. 

Agrarian

Estimated global population: 1.1 billion

The giants of Aarda’s forests and fields, Agrarians’ most recognizable feature is their size. They grow to be 2.5m tall on average, often taller. They were selectively bred to harvest vast fields and carry massive burdens. However, modern agrarians are found in a variety of careers, not just agriculture, in both cities and rural areas.

Lowland agrarians live in An easy-going nature is valued in lowland agrarian culture. Highland agrarians, who tend herds in mountainous regions, tend to be fairer, more willowy, and more aloof than their lowland cousins.

Traditional agrarian lore states that they are the original people who existed even before the peers–a claim that irritates other castes. More so than that of other castes, agrarian culture incorporates a reverence toward nature. Many agrarians are fierce fighters and some agrarian states have won a measure of independence through bloody wars with colonial powers. Due to their size as well as their self-proclaimed antiquity as a caste, agrarians sometimes display a paternalistic attitude toward other castes.

Lowland agrarians live in valleys and plains. The rains, the warmth of the Dome, and the bounty of the fields have a soothing effect on the soul. Thus agrarians and non-agrarians who reside in the lowlands operate at a slower pace and tend to have a more positive attitude than those who live in harsher regions. Highland agrarians, who tend herds in mountainous regions, tend to be fairer, more willowy, and more aloof than their lowland cousins. 

Agrarians frequently find themselves working side by side with delvers but rarely get along with them. Agrarians and delvers are technically subtypes of the same caste: manuals–though this term is rarely used. The Peers have, over the generations, encouraged enmity between agrarians and delvers to prevent them from joining forces and revolting. Agrarians are sometimes called “hulks”. While agrarians don’t like it, “hulks” is not nearly as insulting to agrarians as “muddies”, a highly offensive slur which carries the connotation that agrarians are uncivilized animals.

Delver

Estimated global population: 730 million

A stocky, hard working people bred for mining and construction. 

Delver culture is synonymous with working-class culture in general. This includes taking pride in your work, especially work that is mentally and physically demanding, the importance of family and community over the individual, forthrightness, crudeness, and taking pleasure in food, drink, and debauchery when the work day is over. Delvers also value erudition and most delver bars have a reading room in the back.

Since the professions dominated by delvers are considered “skilled” labor (a dubious label that highlights societies’ dismissive attitude towards agriculture, the service industry, and other so-called “unskilled” labor), many delvers see their caste as the quintessential workers, the backbone of civilization. This pride can make them gruff and insular, even prejudiced against other castes. 

It is generally accepted (though many delvers would take issue with the idea) that delvers are an offshoot of agrarians. They were selectively bred to have smaller bodies capable of working in tight spaces. Delvers have also been systematically conditioned to believe themselves superior to agrarians, as unity between the two castes with the largest membership would pose a threat to Peer supremacy. Many delvers are also breedist against cerebrals, who they see as descendants of delvers that sold out to the Peers. Before cerebrals were created, delvers were the most technologically proficient caste and they resent being displaced.

“Grub” is a common slur other castes apply to them. It is highly offensive even when used by another delver and hearing it would enrage most delvers. “Groundbreaker” is a term for delver with positive connotations.

Folktales tell of isolated delver communities in the reaches of ancient, decommissioned mines.

Martial

Estimated global population: 320 million

A menacing people bred to be police and soldiers, martials are the most fearsome looking of all the castes. They have broad pointed ears, elongated canine teeth, and striped skin in unusual tones including greys and greens. A few elite units were specially bred to have vivid skin tones–white, blue, purple, red, or jet black. Martials have large yellow, red, or orange eyes with vertical pupils. It is a common myth that martials can see in the dark. Instead, it is believed that the vertical pupils were chosen as a trait of the caste to enhance their fearsomeness.

Martials are physically durable and typically display an aptitude for combat and military strategy. Some martials are big and burly, harkening back to when they were used primarily as ground troops, but most are smaller in stature–an average of 1.7m in height and typically have a muscular build.

Willingness to follow orders without question is a deeply embedded part of military and therefore martial culture. Though they might make sardonic jokes among themselves, martials tend to have a fatalistic attitude which suppresses dissent. Frustration with one’s superiors is taken out on those beneath you. Most view other castes as weaklings to be protected or exploited, but always policed. They tend to be feared and despised by the other castes, but they are not inherently violent as stereotypes about them suggest. 

Other castes use the slurs “stripes” or “spiders”–a reference to the attack spiders used by police and military–to refer to martials. Most martials are not offended by these terms, placing more importance on the intent with which they are used, and often use them to refer to one another. 

Many martials have mental health issues from being in combat. Martials that are not part of the military or police sometimes find it difficult to contribute to society in other roles. This explains why they have the highest rate of incarceration of any caste. Disappointed martials sometimes form into street gangs or even warbands to recapture the sense of purpose and comradery that being part of a unit gave them.

A subtype of desert martials have settled the many arid wastelands on Aarda. They are believed to have descended from military units that were forgotten by their armies many generations ago. In that time they have organized into nomadic tribes and isolated city-states. Desert martials tend to have sandy brown skin tones.

Relational

Estimated global population: 280 million

Bred for their beauty and charm, the role of a relational is to please. They include distinguished servants, dancers, sex worker, receptionists, bank tellers–any job where service is central. As a result of selective breeding, most relationals display an instinctual ability to read people.  Relationals were descended from Peers, but most Peers do not acknowledge this and consider it shameful.

Of all the humanoid castes, relationals have the most diversity in appearance corresponding to various ideals of beauty. They typically have distinct features such as unusual hair, skin, or eye color. Some possess even more exotic features like horns, vestigial wings or skin that changes color. Other castes lust after them, envy them, or treat them like beautiful furniture. “Doll” is a common slur for a relational. If relationals are offended by this word, they do not show it.

Society mandates that relationals greet the world with a smile. As a result, many relationals hide their true thoughts and feelings behind a mask of subservience. This is why relationals have a reputation for being deceitful, calculating, subversive, and vindictive. Through guile and solidarity, relationals will exact revenge on their superiors if they are mistreated.

Relationals stick together in order to survive. They will also adopt members of other castes who have earned their trust into their circles. They are known to display great empathy and a sense of justice, especially for those being abused or exploited by their masters. 

Their ability to build community in spite of economic and geographic fragmentation is a powerful tool. Though typically dismissed as “relational gossip”, the information shared through relational networks allows them to be the most well-informed of all the castes. Relationals can also use their contacts to find things and people, or help others escape dangerous situations.

Peer

Estimated global population: 11 million

Known to the other castes as “proprietors” or “bosses”, the Peers are the ruling caste on Aarda. It is possible that they themselves were produced through a breeding program by an older, even more powerful caste. However, the anthropologists who proposed this theory have been executed. 

Peers live a life of constant paranoia and intrigue. Most dislike and distrust one another almost as much as they do the “lower castes”. 

A Peer’s typical noble bearing and severe beauty is often accompanied by a sickly quality. Prone to ailments associated with inbreeding, the Peers sometimes have children with relationals discreetly to freshen their limited genetic pool. Most undergo longevity treatments which can prolong their lives to 10 generations or more. 

Although they lead lives of physical comfort, Peers are not weak. Many are physically imposing and martial arts training is a common element of Peer upbringing. As opponents, they are devious, deadly, and hate to lose. 

Not all Peers accept their prescribed role as masters. Some seek to use their access to wealth and power for philanthropic goals. Others sacrifice their status to pursue their dreams or actively rebel against the social order.

Cerebral

Estimated global population: 1.2 million

A petite people bred for research and analysis, cerebrals are the scholars, scientists, and artificers of Aarda. They are the most recently created caste, and there are very few of them. Many do not know they exist, and they are often mistaken for delvers, who they are descended from. Due to selective breeding and greater access to education, most cerebrals possess a capacity to process information and solve technical problems beyond that of other castes. They are small in stature and resemble delvers, though with less muscle. 

Cerebrals are highly valued by Peers, who keep them in compounds where they are insulated from the hardship other castes must face. Their role in society is poorly understood by other castes and they are seen by many as undeserving of their high status and not to be taken seriously. This is especially true of delvers, who resent cerebrals for having replaced them as the most technologically proficient caste. Cerebrals are too uncommon to have earned their own slur. They are denigrated using generic insults for the educated–”nerd”, “brain”, “egg-head”, etc. 

They are by far the most culturally homogenous caste. Cerebral culture is strict, placing value on objectivity, efficiency in work and speech, achievement, discipline, and obedience. A cerebral’s career placement and breeding partner are determined by their elders, with some oversight from the Peers.

Due to their isolation within their own culture, cerebrals may find it hard to relate to other castes who they may perceive as obtuse or irrational. For their part, cerebrals are often perceived as cantankerous and arrogant. However, cerebrals are not cold and emotionless as stereotypes would suggest. They have been known to let loose after a long days work just as hard as their delver cousins.

Relict

Estimated global population: 48.4 million

Ethereal, few in number, and secretive, the relict are an enigma. They do not appear to have been bred for any social role, nor are they known to have come from any particular territory. 

Relict have pointed ears and dark, almost black eyes with no whites. They live longer than other humanoids and are rumored to have supernatural powers. They group together in small, semi-nomadic communities and are generally looked down upon as witches and thieves. “Dark eye” is a common slur for relict.

Relict claim to have come from a place of bounty they call Saa Midwaeth, which means “The Land of Seasons” in the relict language. This land has never been discovered on Aarda, although it has been incorporated into numerous aardan religions, which preach that the faithful will go to the Land of Seasons when they die. These doctrines were written by non-relict prophets and priests, ironically considering the relict mythology they were based upon as incomplete and heretical.

Mutants

Once physical abnormality crosses a certain threshold, the humanoids that bear these differences are labeled “mutants”. Mutants are not a distinct caste, a member of any caste can be a mutant.

The causes of extreme mutations are still being studied. Prevailing theories propose genetic damage from exposure to environmental hazards and/or genetic by-products from past eugenics programs.

Most societies view mutants as threats to the health of the gene pool at best, inhuman monstrosities at worst. Mutants are shunned by society, sometimes killed on sight. 

A few mutants have worked their way to a degree of wealth and power, typically through organized crime as this is the only avenue available. Mutant gangs are known for their willingness to do things other gangs won’t.

Gremites and Other Allohumanoids

Gremites

Gremites are the most common type of “allohumanoid”. They are small, impish humanoids that live in underground villages apart from the rest of society. They are speculated to be descendants of an obsolete caste engineered by a prior civilization.

Adult gremites are usually no taller than 1m. With their pointed ears, striped or spotted skin, and sharp teeth, they bear some resemblance to martials but have dark eyes like the relict. 

Gremites have a fixation with gadgetry and for this reason can be both an asset and an extreme annoyance to other humanoids. They are known to raid factories, equipment storage, and other technological facilities, stripping away or destroying valuable components. Their extreme furtiveness and possession of advanced weaponry makes dealing with gremites a huge challenge. However, cases have been reported of gremites performing unsolicited repairs on broken equipment, seemingly on a whim. 

Rarely, gremites can be found integrated into general humanoid societies. Their affinity for technology makes them sought after as technicians. This is more common in less populous regions. A frontier town may have its own resident gremite mechanic.

Other Allohumanoid Species

This term refers to peoples that have been isolated from the rest of the humanoid gene pool for so long that they have evolved into multiple distinct species. The genetic difference between allohumanoids and other humanoid species is so significant that while allohumanoids can have children with non-members of their species, these children are virtually always sterile. 

Due to physical adaptations acquired from living in extreme environments, allohumanoids are usually perceived as monsters–on the rare occasion they are perceived at all. They are so rare that their existence is not considered an established scientific fact and most believe them to be cryptids. Like gremites, other allohumanoid species typically live in tribal groups.

Automechanicals

Estimated global population: 500 million

Beings with engineered bodies and minds are ubiquitous an Aarda. At various technological peaks throughout Aarda’s history, industry owners have recognized the benefits of a mechanized workforce over a living one. Technology, materials, and energy are relatively plentiful while food is scarce. In addition, mechanicals don’t need to sleep or take breaks. In theory, automechanicals (or simply ‘mechanicals’) can occupy any role humanoid workers can. Thus humanoids are threatened by automechanicals, or “tommies” as they are called derisively.

Unlike simpler forms of AI, mechanicals are fully independent and seem to demonstrate self-awareness. Most mechanicals are not equipped with speech synthesizers and communicate with a high speed sequence of clicks and tones. Consequently, most humanoids view mechanicals as less intelligent than they actually are.

The technology to create mechanicals, especially their brains and programming, is still being rediscovered by modern civilization. Mechanicals do not possess legal rights outside the territories they control. Many mechanicals employed in humanoid-run industries have either been recreated from ancient parts or more often kidnapped and forced into slavery. Since methods of reprogramming mechanicals are not well developed, enslaved mechanicals usually have crude control mechanisms welded to their frame. 

Mechanicals founded their own nation in a region known as the Scraplands beyond Meridia’s western border. Referred to by humanoids simply as “The Automechanical Nation”, its unpronounceable name in the mechanical language means something akin to “Purpose,” “Goal,” or “Aspiration”. Very few biological humanoids have been there and little is known of it.