Hy-Brasil is a campaign setting for Dragonbane: a vast island beyond the Sea of Storms, known to the kingdom of Beria only through legend.
The First Voyage follows a Berian company that has crossed the sea and established Foz, a small settlement on the shores of Alma Bay. Your characters are members of this company, venturing inland into lands beyond their maps. Their first journey takes them upriver on the Manso River Expedition.
The charted coast: Alma Bay, Foz and the Manso Delta.
Kingdom of Beria
Beria is a seafaring kingdom on the westernmost peninsula of the Continent. It was established by knights who came west after the fall of the ancient Dragon Empire, uniting local rulers and peoples under one crown. Humans form most of its population, with halfling communities throughout the kingdom. The dwarves maintain an independent allied realm. Worship of the goddess Alma spread among the people before gaining royal recognition and becoming Beria’s leading faith. Trade connects Berian ports to distant shores, bringing goods and knowledge from across the Continent. In recent years, these same routes have carried troubling accounts of wars, plagues and calamity in the east. Each year, the reports come from closer lands.
The Crown
The Crown governs Beria and commands its military forces. Its authority rests on the allegiance of the noble houses and the service of knights and soldiers, bound by oaths of loyalty and duty to the realm. The dragon appears on royal banners, shields and noble heraldry, recalling the kingdom’s founders and symbolizing its strength.
Faith of Alma
Alma is the goddess of humankind, hope and hospitality. Her temples are places of worship, healing and counsel, and her clergy guide the religious life of the kingdom. They cultivate their magic through prayer and discipline, regarding it as the goddess’s gift to be used in the service of the faithful.
School of Sagras
Founded by the Crown and led by a royal prince, the School of Sagras gathers scholars, navigators and mages from Beria and foreign lands. Named for the god of knowledge, it brings together their texts, discoveries and traditions of learning. Magic is studied as a craft, alongside navigation, chartmaking and the study of the natural world.
Beyond the Sea of Storms
Hy-Brasil was a mythic land beyond the Sea of Storms. Its name survived in ancient elven lore and in the accounts of travellers who claimed to have reached its shores. No reliable chart fixed its position, and no one in Beria knew whether such accounts contained the memory of a real place.
Reports of calamity in the eastern kingdoms were now reaching Berian ports. Details were scarce, and much of what circulated was rumour. The Crown answered the growing unease by sponsoring a voyage to seek Hy-Brasil, bringing the Fellowship of Alma and the School of Sagras into its preparations. The fleet’s departure became a public celebration of Berian strength, faith and wisdom.
The Fleet
Four ships carried about 150 people. The Sea Dragon served as the flagship of Captain-Major Hector Velarian. Her twin, Good Hope, sailed under his brother, Captain Diogo Velarian, chaplain of Alma. The smaller ship Horizon carried the scholars and mages of Sagras under Archmage Jonathar. An older support vessel accompanied them, laden with provisions, tools and materials for the long voyage.
The Route
Berian ships had repeatedly been driven back from the Sea of Storms, with many lives lost. Studying the logs, the Captain-Major and the navigators of Sagras identified recurring wind shifts and intervals of calmer weather. They devised a course that led far south before turning west, following these changes through the storm belt. After months at sea, all four ships completed the passage. And a safe route across the Sea of Storms had been established, navigable during a brief season each year.
Landfall
Beyond the storms, the fleet sighted the island of Hy-Brasil. Its eastern shores were continually battered by wind and rain, while the mountains rising inland sheltered the country beyond. At the island’s southern end, they found a peaceful bay where a great river met the sea. They named these waters Alma Bay, called the river the Manso, and established Foz at its mouth. The passage home would remain closed until the following year. From Foz, expeditions began surveying the island, seeking inhabitants and valuable resources, while discovering the hazards of the unfamiliar land.
The Settlement of Foz
Foz stands where the Manso River enters Alma Bay. After the landing, the company dismantled the old support vessel, salvaging timber for its first buildings and a smaller ship built to explore the river. About 150 people now live ashore or aboard the three sea-going vessels anchored in the bay. The settlement supports their work along the coast and inland, providing shelter, stores and a place to repair and equip their ships.
Year 1. A few months after the landing.
Leadership
Hector Velarian
Captain-Major · The Discoverer
The Crown’s representative and commander of the Sea Dragon. Hector directs the company’s soldiers and sailors, oversees the defence of Foz and coordinates further exploration.
Diogo Velarian
Chaplain of Alma
Hector’s brother and captain of Good Hope, Diogo leads the Fellowship’s clergy in Foz. He oversees religious observances and the care of the sick, offering counsel and instruction to those who practise Alma’s magic.
Jonathar
Archmage of Sagras
Commander of Horizon and the School’s senior representative in Foz. Jonathar directs its scholars and mages, overseeing surveys, examining discoveries brought back by exploring parties and teaching those who study under him.
The Company
The Company brings together officers, sailors, soldiers, clerics, scholars and mages in the service of the Berian Crown, alongside convicts assigned to labour. Pilots plot the course, while shipmasters and their mates direct the handling of sails, rigging and anchors. Carpenters and caulkers maintain the hulls, coopers tend the water casks, and stewards oversee provisions. Cooks prepare meals, and clerks keep accounts and record the voyage.
Watches, repairs and daily needs leave few idle hands aboard the ships. Ashore, unloading supplies and establishing the settlement demand the same cooperation. Many duties fall to whoever has the skill to perform them, and parties travelling inland bring together people from different trades.
Dragon Knight
Dragon Knights are sworn warriors of the Berian Crown, trained in arms and bound by a code of loyalty, duty and honour. Their standing carries obligations to their sovereign, their companions and those entrusted to their protection. They are expected to lead by example and uphold their oaths in war and peace.
Only a handful made the crossing, serving directly under Captain-Major Hector Velarian. Hector and his brother Diogo are themselves Dragon Knights, sharing the oaths that bind these warriors together far from the Crown they serve.
Berian Soldiers are experienced fighting men in the Crown’s service, trained to use a range of weapons and fight alongside their fellows. Their duties include guarding strongholds, escorting travellers and supplies, and taking the field when called upon. They rely on discipline, experience and trust in those fighting beside them.
Those who sailed provide most of the armed strength aboard the ships and ashore. They guard the settlement, escort working parties and accompany journeys inland, where familiar training must meet unfamiliar dangers.
Skills
Axes, Bows, Brawling, Evade, Spears, Swords
Heroic Ability
Veteran
Choose one path
Path
Skills
Heroic Ability
Man-at-Arms
Hammers, Bushcraft
Defensive
Archer
Crossbows, Awareness
Eagle Eye
Cleric of Alma
Clerics of Alma belong to the Fellowship, sworn to the goddess’s service. They tend the sick and wounded, preserve her teachings and lead religious observances. Through prayer and discipline, they learn to draw on Alma’s gift, bringing spiritual counsel and practical care to the communities they serve.
Captain Diogo Velarian leads the clergy who made the crossing. They serve aboard the ships and in the settlement, caring for those troubled by the journey’s hardships. Some remain close to the sick and recovering, while others accompany parties travelling inland.
Sagras Mages are trained at the School in the study and practical use of magic. Through instruction, experimentation and repeated practice, they learn to shape elemental forces, solve problems and protect themselves and others. Languages and inherited knowledge support a craft learned as much through its application as through books.
Those sent overseas sailed aboard the Horizon under Archmage Jonathar. They aid navigation, assist difficult work and help defend the ships and settlement. They also accompany exploring parties, examine unfamiliar magical phenomena and record discoveries for further study.
Berian Sailors make their living aboard ships, working the sails and rigging, handling boats and keeping watch. Their trade demands balance, endurance and an awareness of changing conditions. Long voyages teach them to share cramped quarters, maintain their equipment and depend on the people working beside them.
These crews brought the fleet across the ocean. Since the landing, they have moved supplies between ship and shore, explored coasts and rivers, and defended the vessels in their care. Parties sent ashore also help find provisions and establish camps.
Convicts are people sentenced by the Berian Crown to service away from home. They come from different trades and circumstances, condemned for offences ranging from fraud and theft to robbery and murder. Their sentences make them available for hard labour and dangerous duties, often with little concern for their safety.
Aboard the ships and ashore, they haul supplies, clear ground and help build the settlement. They may also be sent ahead to investigate uncertain terrain, enter dangerous places or make first contact with strangers. Commanders are more willing to risk their lives than those of other members, making stealth, cunning and quick reactions valuable means of survival.
Skills
Knives, Sneaking, Sleight of Hand, Evade, Awareness
Heroic Ability
Backstabbing
Choose one path
Path
Skills
Heroic Ability
Impostor
Bluffing, Persuasion, Bartering
Disguise
Cutthroat
Brawling, Acrobatics, Spot Hidden
Lightning Fast
Manso River Expedition
Beyond Foz, the Manso runs inland through country unseen from the coast. The captains have entrusted the characters with a small crew, provisions and a river ship built from the dismantled support vessel. Their task is to explore upriver and return with an account of the land, its resources and its dangers. How far they venture, where they go ashore and how they manage their supplies rests with them.
The Captains’ Orders
Hector Velarian:“When we return to Beria, the Crown will expect an account of this country. Find good land, seek its riches, and judge what dangers stand between us and them. Chart your passage carefully. I intend others to follow.”
Diogo Velarian:“Look after one another. A man will often hide his suffering until he can go no further. Learn what remedies this country offers, and watch for signs of corruption. If you find any, discover how far they reach. Alma keep you.”
Jonathar:“Bring samples, and have Ianus record where they came from. Roots, minerals, unfamiliar workings of magic – there is much here worth examining. Be precise about what you witness. I would rather revise a book than have you amend your observations to suit it.”
The Company Aboard
Ianus keeps the charts and accounts, though his journal contains rather more drawings than either requires.
“You needn’t mind me. I’m only drawing.”
Mendo looks after the hull, the stores and the cooking pot. Even the captains have been known to receive instructions from him on these matters.
“Eat while it’s hot. Then tell me what you’ve broken.”
The Crew
The four crewmen have served together long enough to know one another’s habits. They handle the vessel, stand watch and accompany parties ashore. Martim directs their work under the characters’ command and speaks for them when they have concerns. Bento, the youngest, follows his lead with more enthusiasm than judgement. Gil, their archer, prefers to scout ahead and says little unless he has something worth reporting. Lorenzo is the oldest, still dependable in a fight and often the one who settles an argument before it grows.
