By Georgie R.
Art by CLOUD
In the Dreams and Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide players are first introduced to Emerta-Valo as a rumor that if you follow the river of Hyloft Beck north enough, you eventually would reach the deserted megacity of Emerta. Some call it the City of Sighs as the silence surrounding it is deafening. In this series of blog posts, we will be exploring this region in more detail through the eyes of an explorer happening upon it all for the first time. Building on the foundation of New Mossgrove, this new area is ripe for exploration as players will be able to delve deeper into the richness of the world of Dreams and Machines. Players will have the opportunity to meet new groups of people surviving in a region where bonds run deep and conflicts can make or break a community.
Emerta-Valo is a rich and fertile floodplain found north of New Mossgrove on Evera Prime, dominated by the existence of the Furiosa river. This huge body of water cuts the valley in half between the Kasteelian Cliffs and the plateau, it was fortunate enough to avoid the worst of the war with the Builder AI so the landscape typically suffers more from natural decay than the ruin the mechs left behind in other areas like New Mossgrove. Buildings seen in the City of Sighs and other areas of the region are draped in shrouds of greenery or buried under multitudes of dust and earth uprooted by the Builder AI when the area was hit during its war with humanity.
The City of Sighs is the main attraction when it comes to this mysterious land. Take the canals nearby in the northeast, they are able to naturally replenish themselves and then distribute this down the broken channels splintering off from the main body all across the landscape. From investigations made, this symbiotic nature between the main body of water and outcroppings are the reasons why the plains situated near the Stoneback Hills have become a rather marshy area. But with marsh comes life, as Kasi Worms are some of the deadly inhabitants residing just beyond the Shattered Lock. Waders are highly recommended if you’re making a trip to these parts, just make sure you still have all of your limbs accounted for!
Various groups of people, mainly Archivists, have managed to carve out a living in this landscape. With such treasures lurking in the city of Emerta, it’s a Grabber’s paradise if you know what to look for! Plenty of trade opportunities await in the city, people from New Mossgrove make trips up here to exchange goods as well as outlying communities also having people manage their supplies to keep them going. Some of them are very self-sufficient and only require the bare necessities to keep tech functioning, but others need more to ensure crop production and that where they call home can stay habitable. I will be visiting these compounds and recording my notes in this diary as a guide in the coming weeks as I continue my exploration of this beautiful region.
When exploring Emerta-Valo, all of your dreams can come true!
But don’t forget, nightmares are dreams too…
Until then, you can prepare yourself for your own adventures in Emerta-Valo by pre-ordering the Dreams and Machines: Setting Guide – Emerta Valo today!
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