A Frontier Unwritten
The year is 1876.
Across a vast and changing frontier, opportunity and ambition walk hand in hand with uncertainty. Settlements grow, industries expand, and the promise of a better life draws people from every corner of the country. For some, Montana Falls represents a fresh beginning. For others, it is a place to make their fortune, escape their past, or carve out a name for themselves.
Encompassing the five territories of Lemoyne, New Hanover, West Elizabeth, New Austin and Ambarino, Montana Falls is a land of remarkable contrasts. From the bustling streets of Saint Denis to the dusty roads of the frontier, from quiet rural communities to the rugged wilderness of the mountains, there is a place for almost anyone willing to find it.
To most, it is simply home. A place of ordinary lives, familiar troubles, and uncertain futures.
But not everything in Montana Falls is as it seems.
Beyond the world that most people know, something else exists. An older, stranger world that moves quietly alongside the familiar one. Its inhabitants have their own customs, ambitions, rivalries and histories, though many have learned to keep them hidden.
And now, things are beginning to change.
A World of Its Own
Montana Falls draws inspiration from the American frontier and the historical atmosphere of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while remaining a fictional world with a history all its own.
Its foundations are familiar: the expansion of settlements, the growth of industry, the arrival of new technologies, the pursuit of wealth, and the changing relationships between communities and the land. Tradition and progress frequently find themselves at odds, while opportunity continues to draw people from near and far.
Although inspired by real historical events, cultures and developments, Montana Falls does not follow our own history precisely. It is not bound to a strict historical timeline, nor must every discovery, invention or advancement wait for its real-world counterpart.
The world will develop through the actions of its inhabitants. New ideas may take hold, discoveries may challenge established understanding, and the course of history may change through the efforts of those who live it.
History provides the foundation. The future belongs to its people.
The Year 1876
Our story begins in 1876.
Everyday life, technology and culture broadly reflect the atmosphere of the period. However, this date serves as a starting point rather than a ceiling on what the world may become.
The Chronicle follows its own calendar, with each passing real-world year advancing the fictional timeline. As the years progress, Montana Falls will progress with them, allowing the world to grow alongside its community.
Progress is not simply something that happens in the background. It can be earned through roleplay.
A physician might pursue an unusual medical theory. An inventor may experiment with a new machine. A scholar might challenge an established understanding of the natural world. Through research, collaboration, experimentation and the occasional failure, characters can contribute to the development of their professions and the wider world.
Not every idea will succeed, and not every discovery will be accepted. But the opportunity to leave a lasting mark is there.
The Lives Already Here
Long before the first Kindred begin to establish themselves, Montana Falls has its own history.
Families have lived here for generations. Businesses have opened and closed, communities have prospered and struggled, and people have built lives shaped by the circumstances of their time. There are political ambitions, personal grievances, local traditions, friendships, romances, rivalries and countless stories that have nothing to do with the supernatural.
These lives matter.
Human characters are not simply observers of a hidden world, nor are they required to become involved in supernatural affairs to have meaningful stories. They are the doctors, merchants, lawmen, ranchers, labourers, scholars, performers, politicians, outlaws and ordinary people who make Montana Falls what it is.
Some may encounter things they cannot explain. Others may spend their entire lives without suspecting that anything unusual exists beyond the stories and superstitions they have always known.
Both experiences belong in this world.
Montana Falls is not a vampire setting with humans added to fill the streets. It is a living frontier where the supernatural happens to exist.
The Kindred Arrive
For the Kindred, Montana Falls represents something of a blank page.
There may have been individuals who passed through these territories before, or those who have quietly existed on the fringes of human society. But there is no firmly established local domain, no settled hierarchy, and no longstanding Kindred court governing the region.
That is about to change.
Kindred are arriving from elsewhere, each carrying their own reasons for seeking a place in this unfamiliar territory. Some are escaping old rivalries or the consequences of past decisions. Others see opportunity in a region where the established powers have yet to take root. Some seek wealth, influence or freedom; others simply wish to begin again.
Their arrival is not the result of a single decree or organised expedition. Rather, their paths begin to cross, bringing together individuals who might otherwise never have met.
This is The Convergence.
As these Kindred encounter one another, relationships will form, ambitions will take shape, and the foundations of a new supernatural society will begin to emerge. Whether that society becomes a place of cooperation, political manoeuvring or outright conflict remains to be seen.
For now, the future is uncertain.
The City of Opportunity
Among the many settlements and communities of Montana Falls, Saint Denis stands out.
A city of commerce, industry and growing prosperity, Saint Denis is experiencing a period of considerable activity. Its streets draw merchants, workers, entrepreneurs, travellers and those hoping to find their fortunes in the opportunities a growing city can provide.
For the Kindred, it holds a particular appeal.
The movement of people, the concentration of wealth, the constant exchange of information and the anonymity afforded by a bustling population offer opportunities that quieter settlements cannot easily provide. Influence can be cultivated, resources acquired, and new connections made beneath the city's familiar bustle.
It is little wonder that so many find themselves drawn there.
But a city that offers opportunity to so many rarely offers it without competition. As more Kindred arrive, their interests will inevitably intersect. The question is not simply who will claim a place in Saint Denis, but what they intend to make of it.
A Society Yet to Be Written
The Kindred do not arrive as a united people.
They bring with them the customs, beliefs and political loyalties of the wider supernatural world. Some adhere to the traditions of the Camarilla, others favour independence, while some reject established authority in favour of Anarch ideals.
None of these movements begins with unquestioned authority in Montana Falls.
The Camarilla must establish its domain, its leadership and its traditions. Independents must determine where they stand and how they intend to navigate a changing political landscape. Anarchs may find opportunity in the absence of established control, challenging those who seek to impose it.
These relationships will be shaped through roleplay rather than predetermined outcomes.
Alliances may be forged, rivalries may take root, and the balance of power may shift as the Kindred establish themselves. The decisions made by individual characters will contribute to the society that eventually emerges.
There is no guarantee that the future will resemble the past.
The First Stirrings
The Kindred are not the only ones who may find themselves drawn towards the strange happenings of Montana Falls.
As unfamiliar faces arrive and unusual events begin to attract attention, rumours will inevitably spread. Stories that might once have been dismissed as superstition may begin to take on a more troubling significance. Strange encounters, inexplicable occurrences and whispers of things that should not exist may cause some individuals to question the world they thought they understood.
Among these individuals are the Imbued.
Unlike ordinary hunters who pursue the supernatural through knowledge, preparation or inherited beliefs, the Imbued are touched by something extraordinary. Their awakening grants them the ability to perceive and confront the hidden evils of the world, though the nature and purpose of that calling may not be immediately clear to them.
They are not an established organisation waiting in the wings. Their emergence in Montana Falls is only beginning, and what brings them together — or drives them apart — will be part of the story still to come.
The supernatural world may have been hidden from humanity, but that does not mean it will remain undiscovered.
The World Beyond the Veil
The supernatural is not a single, unified society, nor does every creature or individual share the same understanding of the world.
Kindred, hunters and other unusual inhabitants each have their own perspectives, customs and reasons for keeping their existence hidden. Their paths may cross, their interests may align, or they may become enemies without ever fully understanding one another.
For some, the supernatural is a matter of established fact. For others, it is little more than folklore, whispered stories and half-remembered warnings.
The distinction between what is known, what is believed and what is true is not always clear.
The Moonstone Chronicle makes its supernatural lore available to players so that everyone can understand the setting, its inhabitants and the stories they may encounter. However, player knowledge and character knowledge are not necessarily the same.
A character's understanding of the supernatural should reflect their experiences, background and the information they have had reason to discover. A player may know the intricacies of Kindred society, but their character may have never heard of a clan. Someone may understand the nature of the Imbued, while their character has yet to experience their awakening.
Not every rumour is true. Not every truth is widely known. And some mysteries may remain mysteries for a very long time.
The Chronicle Writes Itself
The Moonstone Chronicle is a living, evolving world. Its history is not already written, nor are its legends waiting to be fulfilled. They are created through the decisions, relationships, ambitions and consequences of those who inhabit it.
A character may establish a business that becomes a local institution. A political alliance may reshape the balance of power. A medical discovery may change the way an entire community approaches healthcare. A feud may become a defining part of a family's history, while an act of kindness may be remembered long after its participants have passed.
Not every story will change the course of the world, but every character has the opportunity to contribute something meaningful to it.
The world will respond to its inhabitants. Discoveries may alter established knowledge, communities may grow and change, and the consequences of individual actions may become part of a much larger history.
We provide the setting, the foundations and the opportunities. What becomes of them is shaped by the people who choose to take part.
There are no predetermined legends. There are only the stories we create together.
The Chronicle Writes Itself.
Your Story Begins Here
Whether you arrive seeking fortune, a quiet life, political influence, forbidden knowledge or simply somewhere to belong, Montana Falls has room for stories of every kind.
You may never encounter the supernatural. You may find yourself drawn into its politics. You may become one of the people who help establish an entirely new order, or one of those who stand against it.
There are no predetermined paths waiting to be followed.
There is only the world, the people who inhabit it, and the choices they make.
Welcome to Montana Falls. Your story begins here.