In the Jade Empire, mankind lives shoulder-to-shoulder with spirits, demons, and other dangerous and mysterious creatures. People in the Empire don’t just believe in these beings, they know they’re there and many have interacted with the supernatural in some form. These beings exist on the fringes in creation, in the places where the physical realm and the spirit realms overlap. Of course, powerful (or foolish) mortals sometimes summon these otherworldly creatures and attempt to bind them to a purpose or exploit them for a goal, but for every successful binding there are hundreds that go horribly wrong.

Every celestial being has a role to play in creation, a station that defines the reasons why that creature exists. Many such beings (demons, especially) defy their stations in favor of free will, causing ripples of chaos and disorder throughout the world. While demons and spirits are difficult to define in terms of good and evil, most of them can be stereotyped as to their roles in the grand scheme of things.