Let’s learn all about Trinisius, the Jewel of the Empire. Join Adam as he explores his DireLands fantasy campaign setting. You can learn more about DireLands here: https://eviliv3.com/direlands/
About DireLands Fantasy Campaign Setting
DireLands is a system agnostic, dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying campaign setting. It was created by Adam P. Campbell in 2024. DireLands is set in a land that is in the final century of an ice age that saw the rise of the Witch-Queen who subjugated the three realms’ populations and cast out the demi-human races. The Triumvirate rose in the last century and liberated two of the three nations, but after their victory, they have become corrupt themselves.
Transcript
Cold Open
Nestled hard against the bitter, freezing peaks of the Ruike Mountains stands Trinisius—the undisputed crown jewel of the Bressan Empire.
Intro
Welcome to this continuation of my DireLands system agnostic, dark fantasy campaign setting! My name is Adam and in this episode I will be discussing the capital of Bressus, Trinisius, in DireLands. If you appreciate the development of this campaign setting, or the features of other games on this channel, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a patron on Patreon. You can even purchase tabletop roleplaying games using my affiliate link, or get $10 free for signing up to StartPlaying.Games in the description below.
Details
Trinisius was founded with the nation of Bressus in 1113 A.M., or ‘After Men Arrived from the West’. It functions as the imperial seat and home of the Triumvirate (tri-um-ver-ut). It was constructed with the aid of the Dwarves of Shrei, a kingdom which is located deep beneath the peaks of the Ruike mountain range. It is called the Jewel of the Empire for good reason. Its walls are pristine marble, reflecting the light from the sun. It rises thousands of feet over the nation of Bressus and can be seen from as far away as the Jaharius Straight. There is a saying in Bressus, “So long as the light shines from Trinisius, shadows will never land.” It speaks to the hope that the city represents for the people of Bressus, that the Triumvirate and the emperor will always protect its borders and people. This notion faltered in the age of the Witch-Queen. However, Trinisius has always been the seat of the Triumvirate’s rebellion against her tyrannical rule.
To understand Trinisius, you have to understand its verticality. The city is constructed in brilliant concentric layers that climb the mountain slopes, ensuring that your social standing matches your elevation. At the literal peak sit The Spires. This is the seat of the High Arbitrator and the capital buildings. Up here, the wind is bitter, but the wealth is blinding. The streets are paved with pristine stone, and the perimeter is patrolled by elite military guards carrying iron-bored pistols—weapons capable of shattering plate armor with a single clap of thunder.
Just beneath the seat of power lies The Scholar’s Tier, dominated by the magnificent Great Library of Diun. Perched elegantly on cliffs overlooking the great river, the library is a staggering labyrinth of polished marble, home to millions of texts of ancient, cosmic wisdom and history. This is the domain of the Jhion Order—the empire’s premier scientists and engineers. It’s their brilliant minds that keep Trinisius functioning. It is important to note that it is not the seat of the Jhion Order, for that is in Valcaston.
As twilight descends on these upper tiers, elderly lamplighters move down the cobblestone paths performing what looks like pure magic. Using heavy iron rods attached to strange, pressurized backpacks, they strike a spark. With a sharp clack-hiss, a mysterious, invisible gas floods the glass housings, bathing the parks and walkways in an unnatural, warm emerald glow. There is no wood, no wax, no oil—just pure, unparalleled technological dominance.
But the true muscle of the empire resides at the base of the mountain, where the city meets the roaring, ice-choked river leading directly to the Jaharius Straight via a series of Channel Locks. This is the Foster Gaer naval dockyards. If the upper tiers represent the mind of Bressus, Foster Gaer is its raw, industrial fist. The air here is thick with the hiss of steam, the rhythmic, deafening clang of automated iron hammers, and the scent of coal smoke. It is a marvel of heavy industry. Inside these massive, fortified drydocks, the empire is currently constructing its ultimate weapon of resistance: the Briseadair-deighe (BREE-shuh-der JAY-uh)—a gargantuan, iron-plated naval icebreaker powered by an advanced, heat-capturing artifact known as the Solar Axius.
The scale of engineering on display here borders on the miraculous. Trinisius doesn’t just build ships; it shapes the future of warfare, forging an iron wall capable of shattering the frost and holding back the dark forces of the Witch-Queen. But glory always demands a price. And if you follow the dense, heavy fog that rolls off the industrial docks and settles into the lower, seedy districts, the illusion of the perfect empire begins to fracture.
Welcome to Weeping Willow Park. Down here, the pristine marble of the upper tiers is replaced by damp cobblestones and slick moss. The magnificent emerald gaslights still burn, but their warm glow only serves to cast long, twisting shadows among the drooping willow trees. This is where the desperate, the corrupt, and the overlooked gather. Beneath the surface of this glorious face, a thriving black market operates in total secrecy. The most dangerous commodity flowing through the shadows of Trinisius is a powder known as Void-Silt. Smuggled in from the frozen, untamed North, this illegal stimulant is known on the streets as “The False Warmth.” In a city plagued by a bitter, biting mountain chill, Void-Silt offers a temporary, euphoric heat to those who take it.
But it is highly addictive, and its corruption isn’t just contained to the slums. The rot has reached all the way up into the military elite and the high chambers of the Jhion Order. High-ranking officers and desperate scholars are siphoning resources, trading imperial gold, and compromising top-secret military blueprints just to feed their addiction to the Silt. While the Triumvirate’s secret police—the “Cleaners”—work tirelessly to vanish anyone who speaks out, they cannot stop the slow, freezing infection eating at the city’s heart.
What do you think of the engineering marvel of the capital city Trinisius? Will the Triumvirate be able to protect its walls if corruption sets in? And if the fragile face of control falls, what will become of this glorious city? Only your home campaign can answer those questions, as the future of these DireLands are in your hands.
Outro
Thank you for watching today’s DireLands Fantasy Campaign Setting episode. Subscribe and ring the bell if you are new to the channel. Don’t forget to click the like button and comment to let others learn about this system agnostic, dark fantasy tabletop roleplaying game campaign setting. You can join my actual plays and get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games, and even pick up other tabletop roleplaying games using my affiliate link in the description below.
Thank you Creator Patrons Aaron Hardy & D. Robert Handy, Producer Patron David Galindo, and Developer Patrons Chris Androu & Sam Ruiz!
And as always, remember that evil spelled backwards is live, so get out there and Be Evil!