Look and Feel

The overall aesthetic for Obscura is fantasy with renaissance-era science. Dress can stretch to Victoriana, but anything more modern than mid-1800s should be avoided. Science is mostly focused around alchemy and biology, with physical sciences much less well developed, so steampunk or clockpunk elements are not really appropriate. The science aesthetic can be described as "da Vinci meets Frankenstein".

There are two major cultures in the known world, the Venucci and Enclaves. Even though Clare sits between these cultures, most inhabitants show a strong preference for one or the other in terms of dress and custom.

Culture

The Venucci Republics are in the temperate north of the known world. They highly value creativity and progress, and are known for having the most talented scientists in the world. The Venucci believe that scientific progress is the key to success, and as long as they keep making progress it’s only a matter of time before they become the dominant power in the world. Venucci greatly value success and deride failure, but while failure is derided, the only thing worse is stagnation, so there are always Venucci keen to invest in those with big ideas who are willing to try.

Names

Venucci first and middle names tend to be based on more extravagant English names or Italian or French names.

Examples: Guinevere, Percival, Giacomo, Chiara, Jean, Odette.

Venucci children have no surnames until they reach adulthood. Venucci who join a House use the name of their House as their surname, while those that don't join a house, or who are ejected from a House, choose a surname for themselves that they believe describes them. It's not uncommon for people to choose the surname of a parent or other person who taught them if they believe it also describes them. Some who join Houses after adulthood retain their chosen surname as a middle name.

Houses are either named after a significant figure in their formation, or a shared concept they hold as important.

• Chosen Surname Examples: Fierce, Ingenious, Vengeful.
• House Name Examples: Valjean, de Marco, d'Acier.

Politics

Venucci is made up of independent city states, each of which is ruled over by councils of representatives from influential houses and guilds in that city. The cities formed a loose political and military association in order to expand their influence and protect their interests. The Venucci believe that the best way to expand their influence is culturally, and historically accomplished much of their expansion by aggressively exporting their culture to their neighbours, until they were de facto integrated in to Venucci.

The main groups in Venucci society are Houses. These are made up of individuals with a shared interest, so may be purely political, based largely on profession, or a mixture of both. Children of existing House members must prove themselves to be accepted, and those that showed promise but fail are quickly removed; meanwhile adoption of outside individuals that show talent is common. Most Venucci are not full members of a House. Most Venucci Houses are quite old, but Clare is the exception, since many were created after the secession.

Geography

To the south of the Venucci are of course Clare and the Enclaves, with a natural border formed by the Fulcrum Mountains. While the Venucci would be delighted to explore the Western Sea, the frequent storms make it very hazardous; as a result the only sea travel of note is up and down the coast. The north of Venucci is the Lombard Desert, which resists all attempts to spread civilisation over it. To the east is a large region of dense tropical forest and swamps, which similarly resists civilisation. But the Venucci are confident that it's only a matter of time before these obstacles can be overcome by Venucci knowhow.

Look and Feel

Venucci like “finer” fabrics, colourful schemes, trim and patterns, and decorative adornments such as jewellery.

The aspirational Venucci look is western European Renaissance period, though anything from late middle ages stretching to Victoriana can work. Try to avoid anything that looks more modern than mid-1800s, so late Victorian styles would be less appropriate.

More fantasy-inspired looks like robes, gowns and cloaks are certainly acceptable, but please try to use (preferably non-fur) trim, colours and patterns so as to distinguish yourself from the Enclave cultural look.

Culture

The Austral Enclaves are based in the southern region of tundra, stretching to frigid wastes, where they live in isolated communities around natural resource deposits. While they lack food, they are rich in silver and minerals, which they export as trade. With their plentiful silver, thaumaturgy is ubiquitous in the Enclaves, and is a major reason the Enclaves are sustainable. Enclaves are built as densely populated fortresses to protect against the predators and harsh environment of the wastes, and also to increase the efficiency of the thaumaturgic techniques used to sustain them.

Life in an Enclave is very regimented and ordered, due to the difficulty of the conditions in which they live, and resources and free time are strictly rationed based on position within the Enclave. However the Enclaves also value loyalty and community; while there is a very definite hierarchy, even the lowest in society aren’t allowed to starve or freeze, and are encouraged to improve themselves so that they can join a Cabal and contribute to the Enclave.

Names

Enclave first and middle names tend to be based on either traditional short English names or Scandinavian or Slavic names.

Examples: Jack, Jane, Ingrid, Magnus, Ivan, Nadia.

Enclave surnames are traditionally matronymic or patronymic, with the surname taken from the parent of higher status. The other surname is also sometimes included as a middle name.

• Examples: Jackson, Ingridschild, Nadiavic.

Cabals are usually named after abstract concepts that relate to their function or philosophy.

Politics

Most in the Enclaves are members of groups called Cabals, each of which has a defined function in the Enclave, including a ruling Cabal. Each Cabal jealously guards the thaumaturgic techniques they use to perform their function, to secure their position. The Enclaves themselves are also a hierarchy; smaller Enclaves are vassals under larger Enclaves, giving up their sovereignty for the guarantee of protection and support if needed. All of the Enclaves are ultimately ruled over from the capital, Bastion.

While there’s a natural inclination for Enclavees to join the Cabal of their parents, Cabals also accept individuals from outside their familial lines when they come of age, especially if they show talent for thaumaturgy. While talented individuals can improve their station within their Cabal, mobility between Cabals is difficult after coming of age, since leaving is considered disloyal; as a result only the most exceptional choose to make the jump to try to better their station later in life. Since joining a Cabal is a life-long commitment for both sides it's not a decision taken lightly, but most join a Cabal eventually. Before fully joining a Cabal people are usually assigned work duties under one.

Geography

The Enclaves have no contact with neighbours other than Venucci and Clare to the north, with a natural border formed between the two nations by the Fulcrum Mountains. To the south the wastes become uninhabitably cold. They have no interest in exploring the Western Sea ice, due to its lack of mineral wealth on which the Enclaves rely, and the storms in the Western Sea make naval exploration even more difficult. Meanwhile, to the east the mountains become impassably high. This rather suits the Enclaves' isolationist attitude. The coast south of Clare becomes very rocky, and then becomes steadily more icy. As result, there is little sea travel along the coast, and most transport between Enclaves is overland. The wastelands have strong predators that will attack isolated travellers, and of course the conditions can become difficult quickly, even in the north, so overland travel is almost exclusively in caravans.

Look and Feel

Enclavees would typically wear thick, either layered or fur-lined, robes or tunics in the south, but they are usually reduced to thinner robes or tunics when in more temperate climes like Clare. Enclave culture tends to favour simple designs and simple block colour schemes; avoid too many decorative elements or too complex a colour scheme. A simple cloth symbol or tabard signifying group membership is somewhat common. Conspicuous consumption is not really a thing in Enclave culture, so high status and low status individuals tend to dress similarly, except for a symbol denoting badge of office if applicable.

As a result, much generic fantasy kit works for the Enclave cultural look. A classic plain robe or T-tunic for example A utilitarian "ranger" outfit would also work for those that spend a lot of time outside. If you want to be more aspirational, you can add fur (though it should appear to be primarily for warmth rather than decorative) or add additional layers.

What do magic and alchemy look like?

Interestingly, no one can agree. When an invoker unleashes a Destructive Bolt, some see a bolt of lightning, others see a jet of flame, others may even see a dark aura decaying armour and necrotising flesh. The result of an elemental effect is universally agreed upon, but the exact way it happens seems to vary depending on the observer.