Welcome to Ozyleme
Well, it seems you have made it this far.
Lucky for you, you have a Friend in a Hat.
He is a good friend, and somehow he has managed to see you safely this far into the world of Ozyleme. You may see him from time to time. He may offer advice. He may lend a hand. He may even appear when you need him most.
After all, he is a good friend.
And friends are difficult things to come by in Ozyleme.
This world follows rules of its own. To someone peering in from beyond it, those rules might seem dark, sinister, and at times even terrifying. Yet fear not, Adventurer of the Realm. There are still places where life is permitted to carry on in relative peace.
Ozyleme, the Dragon King, does not trouble himself with every mortal affair. Across much of the realm, he has entrusted dominion to his ancient minions: the Gods, who rule the lands beneath him and shape the lives of those who dwell there.
Perhaps somewhere among their kingdoms you will find purpose.
Perhaps you will simply find a way to survive.
In a cruel world, even small comforts are worth remembering: a few drops of sweet wine, the passing warmth of a gentle breeze, a quiet room, or even a brief pause in the relentless noises beyond the door.
But there is something greater within every living creature.
Something that drives ambition, growth, violence, discovery, and power.
Your source.
Your Essence.
The Essence of Experience.
Begin Here
Explore Ozyleme
The Eight Kingdoms
Plume, Kettle, Loop, Torch, Vial, Hook, Bell, and Crook.
Species
The mortal, created, transformed, and Umbral inhabitants of Ozyleme.
People of Ozyleme
Important figures, rulers, wanderers, villains, and other inhabitants of the world.
The Gods
The ancient powers who rule beneath the Dragon King and shape the lives of mortals.
Bestiary
Creatures, horrors, beasts, and nightmares found throughout Ozyleme.
Classes
The paths of adventurers and how they are altered by the gods, magic, and strange laws of Ozyleme.
Player Guide
Customs, calendars, character creation, and the things every adventurer should know before entering the realm.
Unique Rules of the Realm
Ozyleme does not always obey the rules of other worlds. Experience is more than a measure of accomplishment. It is an Essence carried by living creatures and released through struggle, death, discovery, and survival.
Adventurers may gather it, save it, spend it, bargain with it, and sometimes surrender it for things that ordinary coin cannot buy.
Trading Treasure for Experience
Your Friend in a Hat understands the value of Experience better than most.
He is quite willing to take certain treasures from your hands, particularly magical ones, and return something considerably more useful: Experience.
The greater the treasure surrendered, the less efficiently its value can be drawn out as Experience.
| Treasure Value | Exchange | Experience |
|---|---|---|
| First 100 gp | Full | 1 XP per 1 gp |
| 101 to 500 gp | 1/2 | 1 XP per 2 gp |
| 501 to 5,000 gp | 1/4 | 1 XP per 4 gp |
| 5,001 to 50,000 gp | 1/8 | 1 XP per 8 gp |
| More than 50,000 gp | 1/16 | 1 XP per 16 gp |
Spending Experience
Experience belongs to the character who earns it. How that power is used is their choice.
Experience may be used to advance in a class, pursue another class, strengthen equipment, awaken new properties in an item, purchase a Soul Deed, or take part in other bargains where Experience is accepted.
A character is not required to spend Experience immediately. It may be carried, saved, or spent as the player chooses.
Multiclassing
A character may use their Experience to begin another class, but such knowledge is not taken freely in Ozyleme. Before gaining a level in a new class, the character must seek permission from the power capable of granting or recognizing that path.
This permission may come from the appropriate God of Ozyleme, or from Ozyleme himself. It may be sought through ritual, prayer, sacrifice, pilgrimage, service, or another act suited to the power being petitioned.
What is demanded, and whether permission is granted, is determined through play. Experience provides the power to walk the new path. The gods decide whether the path is opened.
Altering Equipment
Experience may also be surrendered to strengthen equipment, awaken new properties, or bind elemental powers into an item. Such alterations may include greater magical bonuses, additional elemental damage, or resistance to an element.
Soul Deeds
Some bargains are meant for possessions. Others are meant for the possessor.
Your Friend in a Hat can provide a Soul Deed, a peculiar contract protecting its bearer when death reaches farther than ordinary death saves can follow.
| Character Level | Soul Deed Cost |
|---|---|
| Levels 1 to 4 | 500 XP |
| Levels 5 to 8 | 1,500 XP |
| Levels 9 to 12 | 3,000 XP |
| Levels 13 to 16 | 5,000 XP |
| Levels 17 to 20 | 7,500 XP |