Major Topics

Knowledge Shapes Every Journey Copy link

Heroes are remembered not only for the enemies they defeat, but for the understanding they carry with them.

Every road traveled, every mentor listened to, every ruin explored, and every story remembered leaves its mark. Some Heroes dedicate their lives to studying forgotten civilizations, while others learn the customs of distant cultures, the behavior of dangerous beasts, the movements of political power, or the practical knowledge needed to survive places most would never dare enter.

These experiences become a Hero’s Major Topics.

A Major Topic represents a broad field of knowledge a Hero understands through study, observation, profession, lived experience, or survival. It is more than something they have merely heard about. It is knowledge they can recognize, interpret, and confidently apply when the moment calls for it.

Unlike a weapon or a tool, knowledge cannot easily be broken, stolen, or abandoned along the road. It travels with the Hero, allowing them to recognize opportunities, anticipate danger, interpret what others overlook, and approach problems from perspectives unavailable to those without the same experience.

CHOOSING MAJOR TOPICS Copy link

Knowledge from a Life Already Lived Copy link

A Hero begins with a small number of Major Topics determined during Hero Creation. These first Topics should reflect the experiences, interests, professions, cultures, and circumstances that shaped the Hero before their adventures truly began.

When choosing a Topic, consider what occupied the Hero’s attention before the campaign began. Think about what fascinated them growing up, what they were taught by family or mentors, what profession shaped the way they understand the world, and what experiences permanently changed their perspective.

A useful Major Topic should also suggest the kinds of conversations in which others might seek the Hero’s expertise. A sailor may understand currents and distant ports. A courtier may recognize titles, rivalries, and political customs. A hunter may understand dangerous creatures, tracks, migration, and wilderness behavior. A scholar of fallen civilizations may recognize inscriptions or architectural traditions that mean nothing to another traveler.

Major Topics should therefore do more than describe what a Hero knows. They should reveal something about who that Hero has been.

Gaining New Topics Copy link

A Hero’s knowledge is not fixed at creation.

As they grow through the Lore Pathway, study under knowledgeable mentors, uncover forgotten truths, survive unfamiliar environments, or experience significant events during the campaign, they may gain additional Major Topics.

New Topics should emerge from the Hero’s experiences rather than feeling disconnected from them. Knowledge acquired through play becomes part of the Hero’s history, allowing the character sheet to reflect not only who they were at the beginning of the story, but who they have become.

USING MAJOR TOPICS Copy link

Applying What You Know Copy link

Whenever a Hero possesses knowledge relevant to the current situation, they may invoke an appropriate Major Topic.

A Topic does not automatically overcome an obstacle or solve a challenge. Instead, it changes what the Hero understands about the situation and may reveal options unavailable to someone without the same knowledge.

A Hero knowledgeable about ancient ruins might recognize the purpose of an unfamiliar chamber. Someone familiar with dangerous creatures may identify a warning display before an animal attacks. A Hero versed in a particular culture might recognize that a seemingly harmless gesture is insulting, ceremonial, or deliberately provocative.

Major Topics may help a Hero recognize unfamiliar people, places, creatures, or objects; recall history and traditions; identify hidden dangers; understand cultural or political relationships; anticipate likely consequences; justify an unusual solution; or uncover information that would otherwise remain inaccessible.

When appropriate, the WorldKeeper may also determine that a Hero’s knowledge makes an associated Performance easier, reducing its Difficulty or otherwise changing the circumstances surrounding the Performance.

The effect of a Major Topic is intentionally situational. Knowledge matters because of how it applies to the moment, not because every Topic produces the same fixed mechanical result.

INVOKING A TOPIC Copy link

Connecting Knowledge to the Scene Copy link

A Hero may invoke a Major Topic whenever they can reasonably explain how their knowledge relates to the current situation.

The connection should be relevant to what is happening and specific enough to explain what the Hero might actually know. It should remain consistent with the established world while still allowing players to make creative connections between their Hero’s experiences and the problems before them.

A Major Topic should never function as unrestricted permission to invent information that contradicts the setting. Instead, it gives the player a way to ask meaningful questions, establish plausible expertise, and explore details their Hero would reasonably understand.

For example, invoking Ancient Architecture may not immediately reveal who built a particular ruin, but it might allow the Hero to recognize construction techniques, identify which portions are older than others, or notice that a wall was added long after the original structure was built.

The strongest uses of Major Topics often arise when a player connects something from the Hero’s past to a circumstance no one else at the table had considered.

Knowledge creates possibilities where others see only uncertainty.

THE WorldKeeper & MAJOR TOPICS Copy link

Revealing What Expertise Makes Possible Copy link

The WorldKeeper determines what information a Major Topic can reasonably reveal within the established fiction.

When a Topic clearly applies, the WorldKeeper should generally use it to provide useful information rather than simply confirming that the Hero knows something. The purpose of Major Topics is to give knowledge meaningful weight within play.

That information does not always need to provide an immediate advantage. Sometimes expertise reveals a danger, complication, contradiction, opportunity, or unanswered question instead. Knowing more about a situation may make the path forward clearer without making it safer.

The WorldKeeper should also consider the specificity of a Hero’s Topic. Broad Topics provide wider applicability, while narrow Topics may produce deeper or more specialized understanding when they become relevant.

This allows different kinds of knowledge to remain valuable without requiring every Topic to function in exactly the same way.

MAJOR TOPIC CATEGORIES Copy link

Fields of Knowledge Copy link

Major Topics can cover nearly any meaningful field of knowledge appropriate to Rhuna and the Hero’s experiences.

The categories that follow provide inspiration when choosing Topics and help organize common areas of expertise, but they are not intended as a complete list. Players and WorldKeepers are encouraged to create additional Topics whenever an existing option fails to represent the Hero’s background, interests, profession, or discoveries.

The best Major Topic is not necessarily the one that appears most frequently. It is the one that tells the table something meaningful about the Hero and becomes interesting when that knowledge finally matters.

Historical & Cosmic Copy link

Knowledge of Rhuna's forgotten civilizations, divine history, and the events that shaped the world.

Arcane & Metaphysical Copy link

Knowledge of the Threads, supernatural forces, and the hidden principles governing reality.

Culture & Society Copy link

Knowledge of civilizations, traditions, governments, and the people who shape them.

Hidden Worlds Copy link

Knowledge of secrets, criminal organizations, and dangerous practices beyond the reach of ordinary society.

Craft & Technology Copy link

Knowledge of invention, engineering, craftsmanship, and practical sciences.

Nature & Survival Copy link

Knowledge of the living world and surviving within it.

Optional Rules Copy link

Specialized Expertise Copy link

Sometimes a Hero's knowledge is more than simply relevant—it is exactly the expertise the moment demands.

When a Major Topic directly matches the situation, the WorldKeeper may grant additional narrative benefits such as revealing deeper information, further reducing Difficulty, or uncovering opportunities that would otherwise remain hidden.

Combining Topics Copy link

Knowledge rarely exists in isolation.

When two of your Major Topics naturally overlap, you may invoke them together to explain how your Hero approaches a challenge from multiple perspectives.

The WorldKeeper may reward this combination with deeper insight, broader understanding, or the opportunity to avoid complications that would otherwise arise.

Combined Topics should represent genuine interdisciplinary expertise rather than simply stacking mechanical advantages.

Knowledge Creates Opportunity Copy link

Knowledge does not replace courage, determination, or skill.

It does not strike the final blow, persuade every ruler, or forge every masterpiece.

Instead, it allows a Hero to recognize what others overlook.

The explorer notices the forgotten trail.

The historian recognizes the ancient warning.

The naturalist predicts the beast before it appears.

The diplomat understands the custom that prevents a war.

Every Major Topic represents another way your Hero has learned to understand Rhuna. In a world shaped by history, Threads, and countless forgotten stories, understanding is often the first step toward changing fate.

Pahric College membership unlocks the College’s exclusive Major Topic. Its suggested Minor Topic focuses guide study without granting stat or Training bonuses or automatically adding Topic slots. See Cultures: Joining a Pahric College. College topics