Malifaux Core Rule Book

The World of Malifaux
Malifaux takes place in the early 20th century, in a world shaped by fate and magic. To combat the slow death of magic in our world a couple hundred years ago, a group of mages and shaman from all over the world gathered in Santa Fe, New Mexico to perform a ritual that would bring magic back to the world. The results were catastrophic—an explosion that leveled the city and killed most of the assembled practitioners. The survivors, however, found that they had succeeded… after a fashion.

Rather than revive Earthly magic, they had torn open a gigantic portal into an alternate dimension. Stepping through, they found themselves in a vast, abandoned city, its architecture both familiar and utterly bizarre—styles from all different Earthly cultures jumbled together with no rhyme or reason. This enormous city was utterly empty, but its former inhabitants had left behind its name, a name that was soon adopted for the world on the far side of the portal: Malifaux.

The first explorers found that the currents of magic in Malifaux were far stronger than anything at home. Difficult spells that could barely light a candle on Earth were trivial in Malifaux, and produced raging conflagrations at the drop of a hat. The gleeful wizards soon discovered something else, a treasure that came to define this era in history: Soulstones.

Soulstone, in its natural form, resembles a dark green agate. When a human being dies near a Soulstone the stone becomes charged, glowing with emerald fire. These charged stones can empower tremendous feats of magic, and can even be carried back across to Earth, where they allow arcane feats not yet dreamed of. Soulstone is naturally occurring in Malifaux, with vast veins beneath the earth just waiting to be tapped.

Soulstone immediately became the world’s most valuable commodity, and people poured into the abandoned city to retrieve it. Unfortunately, they quickly found out that the strength of Malifaux’s magic was a double-edged sword. Necromancy (or “resurrectionism”) was not only possible on the far side of the Breach, it was downright simple. It was as though a dark Whisper filled their ears, driving them mad and sending them questing through sewer and cemetery for forbidden secrets. These Resurrectionists soon became a plague on the people of Malifaux. Worse, the city of Malifaux was empty but the world was not. Dark things watched the humans from the shadows, and eventually they decided that enough was enough. The Neverborn, the original inhabitants of Malifaux, rose up from the darkness and cast out the humans, resealing the Breach for a hundred years.

Without a fresh supply of Soulstones, Earth fell into chaos and war. From the ashes of that conflict arose the Guild of Mercantilers, a cabal of magic-users with the mission of controlling the world’s supply of Soulstone with an iron fist. When the Breach reopened, a hundred years to the day after it had closed, the Guild was ready. They sent forces into Malifaux, fortified the far side, and prepared to repulse the inevitable Neverborn attack. It never came, and once suspicions of a trap faded the humans repopulated Malifaux. This time, the Guild was firmly in charge and appointed a Governor-General who imported convict labor to work the mines. With new innovations over a century of warfare—advanced guns, locomotives, and Soulstone-powered constructs—the Guild kept the peace.
Not everyone accepts their rule quietly, though. Resurrectionists skulk in the shadows, still listening to the Whisper that teaches them their blasphemous magic. The Arcanists, a conspiracy of free-thinking magic users, use the Miners & Steamfitters Union as cover as they gather power and knowledge. The Ten Thunders, a crime syndicate under the command of the ruthless Katanaka family, spread a web of intrigue and deception. The Explorer’s Society, a group of wealthy dilettantes and treasure-seekers, plunder Malifaux’s secrets for their own ends. A variety of Outcasts from mercenaries and bandits to plague cults and time-warping horrors, pursue their scattered agendas. And the Neverborn are still there, still watching, still waiting for their chance to throw the upstart humans out of Malifaux once and of all.

Also, there are drunken swamp gremlins. They love pigs, moonshine, and whuppin’ on folks too dang stupid to stay out of the Bayou.

Recent events have shaken the Guild’s grip on the world, and in the chaos, eight factions struggle for supremacy. The story of Malifaux moves at a solid pace. The Breach reopened in 1897; at the start of first edition, the year was 1901. It is now 1907, and as unfolding events gather steam, the world changes. In the world of Malifaux, Fate is a fickle mistress; you have to cheat her, or lose your soul.