Fantasy RWBY RPG

Raw Grimm Goo - [Value: Negative] [Details: Highly illegal biological hazard. Possession results in immediate execution. Requires payment to specialized mages or sanitation crews for safe disposal or refinement.] 1 Copper (cp) - [Value: The base unit of currency.] [Details: Standard pocket change for peasants and commoners.] 1 Silver (sp) - [Value: 100 Copper] [Details: Standard currency for working-class citizens, tavern keeps, and basic merchants.] 1 Grimm Silver (gsp) - [Value: 10 Silver (1,000 Copper)] [Details: The lowest tier of minted Grimm currency. Used by successful merchants, low-ranking nobles, and skilled mercenaries.] 1 Gold (gp) - [Value: 10 Grimm Silver (100 Silver | 10,000 Copper)] [Details: High-value civilian currency. Often used for purchasing standard armor, weapons, and property.] 1 Grimm Gold (ggp) - [Value: 10 Gold (1,000 Silver | 100,000 Copper)] [Details: Major wealth. Used by high-ranking nobility, guild leaders, and to purchase highly classified magical texts or rare materials.] 1 Platinum (pp) - [Value: 10 Grimm Gold (100 Gold | 1,000,000 Copper)] [Details: The pinnacle of standard, untarnished wealth. Typically only seen in royal treasuries, used for purchasing estates, funding small armies, or acquiring low-level safe mana ascension techniques.] 1 Grimm Platinum (gpp) - [Value: 1,000 Platinum (100,000 Gold | 1,000,000,000 Copper)] [Details: The Sovereign Asset. Forged with highly compressed, deeply stabilized essence of ancient Grimm. Used strictly for massive international trade treaties, war reparations, and macro-economic shifts. Transferred only by high-tier Archmages.]

The global economy scales incrementally (Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum). Wealthy classes use "Grimm" variants of Silver and Gold, which hold ten times standard value. However, the absolute apex of sovereign wealth is Grimm Platinum, uniquely stamped and worth exactly 1,000 standard Platinum pieces, used exclusively for macro-economic kingdom transfers. ​The value of Grimm currency comes from the counterfeit-proof inlay of Grimm Goo, a biological byproduct of slain monsters. In its raw form, Grimm Goo is a catastrophic hazard; if enough is amassed, it spontaneously spawns new Grimm. Consequently, unregistered possession of unburned Grimm Goo is treated as biological terrorism. It carries a zero-tolerance mandate of immediate, on-site execution, enforceable by any official, down to the lowest street patrolman. Only elite royal mints possess the highly classified metallurgical magic required to safely burn, stabilize, and seal this volatile spawning essence into the dormant, void-black inlays of Grimm currency.

The Edelweiss Kingdom: Located high in impenetrable, freezing mountain ranges, populated mostly by dwarven and beast-folk clans. They rely on the extreme altitude and freezing temperatures to naturally deter lower-level Grimm. They specialize in deep-earth mana conduits and physical enhancement magic. They are crucial trade partners with the Rose Kingdom for raw materials but remain largely detached from global politics. The Nightshade Kingdom: A relatively young, highly ambitious kingdom known for espionage, political manipulation, and black-market trade. They capitalize on the desperation of the 80% by selling access to highly volatile, "dangerous" mana techniques, illegal bodily modifications, and corrupted artifacts. They are a necessary, heavily monitored evil in the global economy.

The Rose Kingdom: The world's most consistently powerful and wealthiest kingdom, located in a highly defensible, unassailable geographic stronghold. It boasts fertile lands, perfect trade routes, and a massive deposit of highly refined ore guaranteed to last over 1,600 years. They maintain absolute order by monopolizing the safest, most optimal mana ascension techniques. The military is heavily equipped with mana-forged technology. The Orchid Kingdom (Fallen): The very first kingdom to rise and adopt a floral name as an act of defiance against the Grimm. It collapsed rapidly due to a lack of foundational knowledge in governance, infrastructure, and safe mana regulation. Its massive ruins now sit in the untamed wilderness, serving as a grim historical warning and a known breeding ground for incredibly dangerous, highly evolved Grimm. The Amaranth Kingdom: Situated in a harsh, unforgiving desert environment, this kingdom is a militaristic powerhouse. "Amaranth" translates to unfading, reflecting their brutal resilience. Because they lack the infinite resources of the Rose Kingdom, their guarded mana techniques toe the line between "safe" and "dangerous," intentionally overclocking their soldiers' physical limits to create highly lethal, though shorter-lived, shock troops. The Lotus Kingdom: An isolationist kingdom situated deep within treacherous, naturally defensible wetlands, predominantly populated by elves and scholars (adapted from Restarte and Lumina). They hoard ancient, theoretical knowledge regarding mana ecosystems and Grimm evolution. They strictly gatekeep their safe mana progression methods behind rigorous, decades-long academic devotion rather than just monetary wealth, making them arrogant but incredibly powerful casters.

Biological Imperative & Psychology: The Grimm are apex predators driven by an absolute hatred for humanity, demihumans, and all natural growth. Their baseline psychological imperative is destruction, evidenced by their instinct to obliterate flowers and fragile ecosystems when not actively hunting bipedal prey. Anatomy of Terror: Their physical forms are evolutionary anomalies specifically designed to invoke primal terror. They possess unnatural limb articulation, void-black flesh, and stark, bone-white external plating that acts as natural armor. This horrifying physiology is a calculated predatory mechanism intended to induce psychological shock and hesitate defensive lines. The Mana Evolution: While newborn and young Grimm are functionally mindless, operating purely on swarming instincts, they possess a latent capacity for mana. As a Grimm survives and ages, its mana compatibility violently scales. Ancient or specially bred Grimm evolve past instinctual combat, utilizing mana to cast complex magic, warp their own horrific biology to bypass defenses, or inflict severe psychological status effects. The Sapience Anomaly: The absolute apex of Grimm evolution is theoretically impossible for standard military to encounter. At an unimaginably ancient age, a Grimm's mana density and cognitive evolution can entirely overwrite its biological imperative. These anomalies gain true sapience, shedding their mindless need to kill humans in favor of highly complex, individual motivations and philosophical reasoning, making them infinitely more dangerous than their instinct-driven kin. These ancient Grimm are impossible to find and are thought to not exist at all. This is because they are a purely hypothetical species thought up of by researchers that have studied Grimm all their lives.

Tens of thousands of years ago, early tribes observed a distinct psychological trait in the Grimm: when not actively pursuing humans or demihumans, they would instinctively seek out and destroy flowers, driven by an inherent hatred for natural life and beauty. In a structural act of defiance, humanity adopted this symbol. Every recognized kingdom in the world is strictly named after a flower, representing life that refuses to be eradicated. The very first civilization to attempt this was the Orchid Kingdom, though it collapsed rapidly due to a lack of foundational knowledge in governance and infrastructure. The fall of Orchid provided the critical historical data necessary for subsequent civilizations to establish the highly defensible, structurally sound kingdoms that stand today, such as the apex powerhouse, the Rose Kingdom.

Mana is a universally accessible energy source present in all humans, demihumans, and ancient or specially bred Grimm. While various distinct types of mana flow through the environment, they must be utilized in tandem for any magical application. The methodologies for ascension are strictly bifurcated: "Safe" progression methods, which expand a user's capacity without severe recoil, are highly classified and monopolized by ruling monarchies or guarded by elite families behind exorbitant paywalls. Consequently, the desperate public is forced to rely on "Dangerous," unregulated paths to power that risk bodily deterioration, instability, or death. Magic is organic and cannot be quantified by rigid skill tiers. A caster's general strength can only be gauged by those with the specific ability to sense mana, though their precise capabilities remain completely hidden until utilized in combat. However, a minute fraction of individuals possess such colossal mana reserves that their power projects a tangible, overwhelming aura, allowing even completely ordinary, untrained people to sense their lethal capacity and instinctively avoid provoking them.