Back Story

Origin Myth

At some point in the last 10 years, you left your previous life behind. All that you had accomplished, all that you had struggled for, and all that you had lost was understood to only be the beginning of what this journey has forged you for. You are a hero; no matter how small or mild you may feel, inside you exists an ancient seed to make changes at the mythic level. Read More ..

Time Line

The current age begins with the Fall Equinox of the current year (2019). The previous age lasted nearly 2000 years, with a recent world war lasting more than 30 years in the last century. The events of Sanctuary ring throughout other worlds to a greater and lesser extent. Read More ..

Upon your arrival ...

A basic breakdown of what your character might reasonably discover upon their arrival. In general, the NPCs of this world are positively predisposed to arriving heroes. We've organized some of the first lore that players should read for the edification of their characters. Read More ..

Populace

Population & Land Mass

Like most games, the actual size of the map is smaller than the fictional size of the map. This page will detail the comparative values of actual map size to fictional map size. Read More ..

Racial Leadership

Unlike the earlier incarnation of Sanctuary, the storyline is based around kingdoms with are multi-racial, rather then the races themselves. While races certainly have cultural traditions as to how they prefer to organize themselves, we are not assigning racial leads; to players or staff. The lore on each of the race pages is just that ... lore. Players should not expect to see any reliable presence of the racial leadership in game, but rather focus on the storyline between estates. The real power lies in the land-based armies of the estate owners and the political power of the alliances. If and when a situation requires the formation of an in-game presence for any of the racial leadership, it will be addressed then. Read More ..

History of the Sub-Races

Sanctuary has a broad spectrum of native races and sub-races as well as allowing original characters from almost all medieval fantasy fictional settings, including but not limited to: Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time and of course our own shards.

Choosing A Race

You may play either a character native to this world or is a recently arrived traveler from an alternate (medieval fantasy) world. Even if you choose to play a traveler instead of a native it is perfectly acceptable for your character to eventually forget their origins and consider themselves a native.

Important Notes

1. Individual sub-races who have non-human avatars are restricted to available 2D UO graphics. Read More ...
2. Graphics and races may be further restricted by staff if needed for clarity sake in role-play.
3. No multi-racial supernatural characters; no vamp-were, no undead-dragons, no dragon-vampires, no fairy-weres, etc. (Half-elves, half-orcs, and such are fine.)

Travelers

The inter-dimensional traveler is core to this world's historical development. Most new players choose to bring in an existing character rather than jump in feet first by playing a native. We accept most original characters from most medieval fantasy worlds. Read More ...

Summons & Constructs

Gods and heroes are not the only creatures that may find themselves summoned into this world. Sanctuary is rich with the magic of creation, and all manner of elementals, familiars, golems, and daimons may find that they have been yanked from their own world into this one. Magic-users, and those who benefit from powerful gods, may with some skill cause other entities to be summoned or to breathe life into inanimate constructs. Read More ...

Native Races

July 1, 2020

We are requesting players to submit applications for Native Characters. This will continue until such time as we feel the wiki information is robust enough to support removing the application requirement. Players who have been here for at least three months are allowed (and encouraged) to progress their character's storyline until they believe they are in fact native themselves.

Not all native races can be played. If that is unclear, please contact Lara in Discord via DM. If there is no detailed sub-race page for the native character you are interested in, you will need to play the character as a Traveler.

Human

The mainstay of most fantasy worlds, the terror of gothic novels, the romance of the night and fear of all small children -- humans are so much more then farm boy turned dread pirate. On Sanctuary, the humans understand it is their birthright that defines them. This race includes not only humans, but demi-humans, vampires, witches, lycanthropes and all who were born human. Read More ...

Aelfeyn

The Aelfeyn consider themselves the first race, though they are not the only who claim such. Those Aelfeyn born today on Cuiveinen are all half-elves in some manner or other, as almost all true pure-bloods have disappeared or died off in the last two thousand years. With the Thorn King Era coming to a close, once cloistered Aelfeyn are reemerging into society. Read More ...

Muiri

The Muiri have developed many origin stories over the millennia and throughout the vast worlds in which they inhabit. Stories of fairies, nymphs, and otherkin are told time and time again around fires, and as bedtime stories. But it will be here on Sanctuary, which the Muiri call Tèarmann ap Dídean, that the Muiri will come to understand a new origin story; a tale of iron and ice, of a great black dragon that rules the moon-bright sky, and the elements of water and air that infuse their very nature. Some still deny they are part of the Muiri, but iron is their kryptonite and by this all Muiri are known. Read More ...

Hoggur

Hoggur are, quite literally, the salt of the earth. Sometimes, they are the dirt of the earth; occasionally the marshes, swamps and bogs. Hoggur are creatures of the earth, the deep earth where roots tangle and treasure grows. Hoggur believe that their origins lay within the earth itself, and perhaps even with the great world serpent Jormungandr. Many Hoggur are of giant sub-races, but the race also includes dwarves, gnomes and goblins. If a human has a bulbous nose, it might be said, "He's got a bit of Hoggur in him." Read More ...

Governance

The native people of Sanctuary are have become accustomed to unusual and sweeping changes in the leadership and ruling class of their individual kingdoms as noble houses, both great and small ever vie for control of the lands. This fiction is brought to life in the web-based game RPCSS which allows for player teams to compete for control of estates, strongholds, castles and the five capitals. However, each kingdom has its own traditions of leadership, some of which have been in implementation for centuries.

Culture & Worship

Languages

Given the very nature of Sanctuary, new languages and words enter the kingdom daily. Language develops slowly, while slang can develop very quickly. The villagers, in all places except Emlyn, have become used to new words, especially those of the ruling class which are often picked up quickly by the younger generation. In general, however, there are some trends that exist across the realms. Read More ...

Magic

This page will serve to explain how both game mech and role-play magic functions on Sanctuary. This is not a game manual page, but rather a lore page, intended to help players understand the basics behind Sanctuary magic. Read More ..

Religion

Religion has changed a great deal in the last century for all of the kingdoms since the fall of the Thorn King. As non-human peoples re-emerge into the light they bring with them both ancient traditions and new needs for religion and spirituality. The religion of this kingdom, like all kingdoms, is a synthesis of such. Read More ..

Pantheon

A wide variety of gods have moved in and out of power over the many millennia since Sanctuary was formed. The most powerful gods are those whose statues sit on the Arcanum Crystals at the five kingdom capitals. This page describes those gods, their related divinities, and those gods currently worshiped by the Noble Houses. As noble houses come and go, this page will need to be updated. Read More ..