West of Lune

"What if all the Ghibli movies—or stories very like them—were happening in the same world?"






That was the question behind West of Lune, a setting I've started to poke a little bit. No doubt it will evolve beyond this initial question, but a rich world of spirits, nature, and growing up in the shadow of war is a vibrant seed to begin with. 

Also it has a forbidden tea shop in the middle of the map.


West of Lune

  • 200 years ago, spirits were first trapped in the city of Carav. Spirits began to hide from humans.
  • 150 years ago, steam was mastered in the city of Kaisil. The city holds an annual Festival of Iron, in which young inventors show off their latest creations.
  • 100 years ago, Kaisil demanded fealty from Carav. When Carav refused, the Great War began.
  • 80 years ago, Carav destroyed itself while experimenting with a spiritual weapon, creating the Poisonwood.
  • 10 years ago, Varis was captured by Kaisilian troops wielding rifles.
  • 9 years ago, the city of Ashir was destroyed by Kaisilian bombers.
  • 5 years ago, Kaisil demanded fealty from Kibo, but was refused. Kibo allied with Foji to resist Kaisilian expansionism.
  • 4 years ago, after a year of fruitless bombing raids, a cease-fire was signed.
  • Last week, the city of Tare was destroyed by an unknown force. Kibo blamed Kaisil, but Kaisil denies responsibility. The world holds its breaths, and prays for the sirens to remain silent.

Technology & Magic

  • Electricity has not been invented.
  • The cities of Kaisil, Kibo, and Foji primarily use steam, clockwork, and natural gas.
  • The ruined city of Carav popularized Spirit Charms 200 years ago, but they've grown rare over the ages, and are viewed as cursed since the creation of the Poisonwood. Many Spirit Charms are single use items (like spell scrolls), but some grant magical properties to items and vehicles. The secret to the creation of those permanent charms was lost with the destruction of Carav.
  • Wizards are rare, but not unheard of. They keep their secrets well.

Leylines

The thin lines on the map originating from the Tea Shop are leylines.

One can cross into and out of the realm of spirits at the intersections of leylines, though travel along them is dangerous. Humans are widely out of favor with Spirits these days, as the natural world grows more and more polluted by their industry and war.

Roads

Every dot on a marked road is about a day of travel, or 12 miles.

Cities and Their Troubles

  • Kaisil's prince is missing, and the Red Emperor believes he has been abducted by spies from Kibo. In reality, he fell in love with a girl from Varis, and is hiding from his father as he figures life out. This has not prevented the emperor from threatening to flatten Kibo if the prince is not returned.
  • Kibo is haunted by violent spirits. The source of the spirits agitation is unknown, but Spirit Hunters are swarming into the city trying to help. Several have been killed already.
  • Foji is a mining town, and it is largely due to their minerals that Kibo has been able to resist Kaisil. But they work their people to the bone, and now a resistance has begun in Ekono, led by the widow of the town's previous mayor, who died under odd circumstances.
  • Seishin is a land without permanent settlements. They live at peace with the spirits, but treasure hunters from the Aretes now stalk the land, looking for natural resources to sell to the warlords of the north.
  • The Aretes are lawless isles under the thumbs of "little tyrants" and their bands of airship pirates. If not for them, it would be a paradise.
  • Kaze stands forever on the brink of destruction. In the shadow of the poisonwood, the Spirits here yet work alongside humanity, seeking to heal both the land and the realm of spirits.
  • The Teashop is the meeting place of spirits. It is not a place mortals should wander, after what they have done.

Adventures in West of Lune

Your party might…

  • Help a group of children escape a city as it is actively bombed by the enemy.
  • Delve into the Poisonwood to bring healing to the broken Spirits who reside there.
  • Explore the ancient ruined city of Carav, and reclaim its treasures for the glory of your homeland.
  • Get caught up in the Varisian resistance to cast off Kaisil’s tyranny.
  • Engage in an aerial dogfight with a band of bi-plane flying pirates over the Aretes.
  • Escort a group of Spirit Binders as they seek to catch rare Spirits in the forbidden lands of Seishin, and perhaps learn a valuable lesson along the way.
  • Travel through the Spirit world in search of a missing friend.

System Thoughts

I'd like to make this a setting for a game I haven't officially announced yet, a game less focused on gold and glory, and more on exploration and social interaction.

Classes would be the standard fare, plus Witch, Alchemist, Tinker, and Cavalier. 

Heritages would primarily be humans, but also perhaps a few rare ones like Automata or Cat. Though I've half a mind to make those their own classes. If you wanted, you could also tie other heritages into the setting. Maybe in your version of the world the folk of Foji are honorable Orcs, Seishin is home to wild Halflings, the Aretes have settlements of tinker Goblins, and Dwarves roam about the world in nomadic conclaves that have taken to building and piloting steam-powered Bastions. ((...or maybe I should make this the default.))

Ghibli Inspiration by Location

Spirited Away - Kemo
Arrietty - Gebro
Totoro - Doro
Howl's Moving Castle - Kaisil, Kibo, and Varis
Princess Mononoke - Foji
Porco Rosso - The Aretes
Kiki's Delivery Service - Varis
Nausicaa - Kaze
Grave of the Fireflies - Ashir

Future Plans

Ideally this project won't just be forgotten about due to... everything.

I'd like to delve into some of the faces around the world as individual posts, like the inventor of the Free Automata, or the Shopkeeper whose door sometimes opens to the wrong city. It would also be fun to develop a table of about 20 wanderers that could be run into around the world as random encounters.

Other considerations are the monsters and treasures of the world, but perhaps those are expressed best through specific adventures! 

This world is blatantly stolen, I know, but I still think it would be a fascinating place to explore.

If you have directions you'd like to see investigated, let me know in the comments! 

Easter Egg

The name West of Lune comes from Tolkien's road-song, "Still round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate, and though I oft' have passed them by, a day may come at last when I shall take the secret roads that run west of the moon, east of the sun."

It also gives me strong Moomin Valley vibes, which is always a plus.


 

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