[Churchofgaming] Lev's away, what to play?

Sat Jun 25 02:03:25 UTC 2011

Here's some hand waving about the world:

It is the epic First Age, a scant few generations from creation when the
elder species dominate the world and gods meddle in mortal affairs This
is the time when legends are forged with bronze and oratory. When kings,
priests, heroes, and legions wrestle for the future of the world. Will
make your mark? Will your tale become legend?

Spirit of this world
Though the PCs begin as people of moderate or no importance, this world
is designed to be one of epic quests and mythic sagas. The world should
be a place of heroic action but it is also a place for high drama.
Characters can grow into great leaders or legends in their own right.
There should be opportunities for wars against (or for) darkness and for
heroes to confront demons, but also for tests of faith, fidelity, and
steely resolve. It is a time for heroes but also one of great armies
clashing over the fate of the world. This is a world where both the
mighty and common people will be tested.
The actions of the characters will become the mythology of their
descendents. PCs will fight great wars, stand beside gods, found cities
that will grow into civilisations, and lead small cults that will become
the world's great religions.

Epic
Though Fantasy Craft lists epic fantasy as a genre (FC305), 'epic'
better fits as a 'spirit' of a game because it is more about a mindset
than the specifics.
As for what makes a setting epic, the real core of an epic setting is
what is threatened. In a typical fantasy game you fight to rescue a
princess, here the fate of the world is on the precipice. Adventures
should also be of grand scale the clash of armies, exploration of the
unknown, great temples in their heyday, encounters with kings and gods.
Even smaller actions can have repercussions that shift the balance of
the world or echo down the ages.
The stakes are also high. The referee should also be prepared for evil
to triumph as well. It's not just the characters who know what is at
stake, the players should also know that they can fall short of destiny.
Knowing that the world has really reached a crossroads and that the
forces of evil could sweep aside all the characters hold dear adds grit.
If the forces of good fail it will be at great cost to the party and the
game will head in a new darker direction.

<-----Original Message-----> 
>From: Jay Superfluous [superfluos at gmail.com]
>Sent: 6/25/2011 9:10:37 AM
>To: churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>Subject: Re: [Churchofgaming] Lev's away, what to play?
>
>On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 12:56 PM, Carl Brown <catodon at whale-mail.com>
wrote:
>> Jay this seems to fit:
>>
>> Alignment:
>> Free Souls
>> Free Souls are very rare in an age were the gods manifest obvious
power over
>> the world. The philosopher Astorthed is the most famous of the Free
Souls
>> and is was he who first coined the term. Free Souls have no formal
>> organisation. They vary in their ethos from those who simply have not
>> decided who to support, to knee-jerk individualists, to those who
debate the
>> right of gods to reign over free willed souls just because the gods
have
>> power. Most keep quiet about their lack of allegiance because most
>> inhabitants of the world regard people without gods to guide them as
>> untrustworthy, unpredictable, and bad luck. This alignment is a good
choice
>> for a loner, intellectual, or perennial underdog. Free souls have no
>> priests, nor path. When divine intervention occurs it is usually
hostile to
>> the Free Soul. Any divine spell with a beneficial effect will never
affect a
>> Free Soul. A Free Soul cannot use action dice for Narrative Control.
A Free
>> Soul gains one addition action die.
>> Three methods, three values
>> Methods: deductive logic, self-reliance, fall back on friendships
>> Values: Freedom, Knowledge, Friendship
>>
>> Paths, Alignment Skills, Ritual Weapon, Flavour and Avatar
>> The free souls have no gods to grant them miracles and there seems to
be no
>> cosmic force that will provide miracles for the godless. Therefore
there are
>> no divine spellcasters among the free souls and the alignment has no
avatar.
>> Relations with other Alignments
>> Time Serpent (allied)
>> The followers of the Serpent and the Free Souls are generally content
to
>> ignore each other. The Serpent is mostly content to let the world
unfold
>> until the end of time comes. Even the most philosophical of the Free
Souls
>> find little reason to oppose this distant god. On occasion the two
>> alignments work together against the meddling of the other faiths.
>> First gods (opposed)
>> The First gods are tyrants who would strike down any who deny them,
rise up,
>> rise up against the tyrants.
>> Shhh!, you fool we must be careful to survive when They hunt us.
>> Young Gods (neutral)
>> The Young Gods seek to bring Free Souls over rather than punish their
>> insolence as the First gods do. As long as a Free Soul can withstand
>> prosthetising by those who follow the Young Gods the two alignments
can work
>> together.
>> Cold Tyrant (opposed)
>> The Cold Tyrant seeks to rule us all as His slaves!
>> Burning Lords (neutral)
>> Many desperate Free Souls find themselves consorting with
revolutionary
>> cults of the Burning Lords when they oppose the influence of First
Gods or
>> the Tyrant. Both question the authority of the First and Young Gods
but
>> relations can be strained when the Burning Lords ask for every more
chaos.
>> Demands of Faith
>> None, free souls are portrayed as without obligation to deities' or
the
>> ceremonies and values of a community. Therefore they are seen as
unguided
>> and potentially dangerous. In reality Free Souls are a varied group
many of
>> whom feel deep obligations to those they know or some unconventional
goal.
>>
>>
>> <-----Original Message----->
>>>From: Jay Superfluous [superfluos at gmail.com]
>>>Sent: 6/23/2011 10:53:52 AM
>>>To: churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>Subject: Re: [Churchofgaming] Lev's away, what to play?
>>>
>>>On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 8:44 PM, Carl Brown
><catodon at whale-mail.com> wrote:
>>>> Here is a little blurb about golems (Unborn) I wrote for my world.
>>>>
>>>> Unborn, Walking Idols
>>>> The unborn are statues given life. The presence of walking idols in
>>>> temples
>>>> and city streets is a reminder that the gods are active in the
world.
>>>> Given
>>>> the divine spark of life by the gods the intention is that the
unborn
>>>> serves
>>>> a temple. Stone and bronze endure though and over long decades many
>>>> unborn
>>>> develop motivations beyond service; time is a riddle the gods
cannot
>>>> solve.
>>>> Some players might imagine intricate clockwork or other mechanisms
but
>>>> these
>>>> do not exist in these Ancient times. The unborn of the mythic age
>rely on
>>>> magic alone for movement. The most common golem in this Ancient age
is
>>>> not
>>>> the steel golem. An unborn without a species feat is a bronze
>golem. Note
>>>> being made of bronze they are immune to rusting.
>>>> Special Construction Clockwork is not allowed in this world.
>>>> While Unborn do not age they do gain from experience and experience
>wear
>>>> and
>>>> tear and erosion.
>>>>
>>>> <-----Original Message----->
>>>>>From: Jay Superfluous [superfluos at gmail.com]
>>>>>Sent: 6/22/2011 8:50:01 AM
>>>>>To: churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>Subject: Re: [Churchofgaming] Lev's away, what to play?
>>>>>
>>>>>On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 9:30 PM, Liz Bowman
>>><eyebowman at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Ah, screw it. I meant Fantasycraft, not Runequest. Fantasy,
>runes,
>>>runes,
>>>>>> fantasy...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Leave me alone to write my thesis and kill myself with cheese
>>>overdose...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>> From: eyebowman at hotmail.com
>>>>>> To: churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>> Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:26:31 +1000
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [Churchofgaming] Lev's away, what to play?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Always with the freaking whales and ravens...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Anyway, yep Runequest sounds good. I'll play whatever.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Liz
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>> From: catodon at whale-mail.com
>>>>>> To: churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>> Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:02:02 -0700
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [Churchofgaming] Lev's away, what to play?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Or a dog with bees in its mouth!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Species
>>>>>> All can be PCs all have sub-species, some odd, and your
>culture is
>>>>>> important
>>>>>> too:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Drake/Dragon
>>>>>> Dwarf
>>>>>> Elf/Godling
>>>>>> Giant
>>>>>> Goblin/Boggle
>>>>>> Human
>>>>>> Ogre/Troll/Oni
>>>>>> Orc
>>>>>> Pech (Halfling/Gnome etc.)
>>>>>> Walking Tree
>>>>>> Raven (it's me after all)
>>>>>> Golems
>>>>>> Lizard Folk
>>>>>> And Undead
>>>>>> OK undead isn't a technically a species so if I want I
>can add
>>>>>> whales or
>>>>>> whatever later
>>>>>> Also lone oddities are sometimes made by meddling gods but
>these are
>>>>>> treated
>>>>>> with suspicion at best.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Sounds interesting, I'm up for it. 12 different species,
>eh? I
>>>want to
>>>>>>>play a swarm of bees!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Jay
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>>>Churchofgaming mailing list
>>>>>>>Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>>>http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.ne
t
>>>>>>>.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Care2 makes it easy for everyone to live a healthy, green
>lifestyle and
>>>>>> impact the causes you care about most. Over 12 Million members!
>>>>>> http://www.care2.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Feed a child by searching the web! Learn how
>>>http://www.care2.com/toolbar
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>Churchofgaming mailing
>>>>>> list
>>>>>> Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>>
>http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.net
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>Churchofgaming mailing
>>>>>> list
>>>>>> Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>>
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>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Churchofgaming mailing list
>>>>>> Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>Okay, Carl, generate me a Golem. I'm feeling rather mechanical
>today.
>>>>>
>>>>>Jay
>>>>>
>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>Churchofgaming mailing list
>>>>>Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>>>http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.net
>>>>>.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Care2 makes it easy for everyone to live a healthy, green lifestyle
and
>>>> impact the causes you care about most. Over 12 Million members!
>>>> http://www.care2.com
>>>>
>>>> Feed a child by searching the web! Learn how
>http://www.care2.com/toolbar
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Churchofgaming mailing list
>>>> Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>> http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>Okay, a bronze golem is fine. Perhaps one who has had a crisis of
>>>faith due to its temple being destroyed. PTSD
>>>(post-temple-separation-disorder).
>>>
>>>Jay
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Churchofgaming mailing list
>>>Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>>>http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.net
>>>.
>>>
>>
>> Care2 makes it easy for everyone to live a healthy, green lifestyle
and
>> impact the causes you care about most. Over 12 Million members!
>> http://www.care2.com
>>
>> Feed a child by searching the web! Learn how
http://www.care2.com/toolbar
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Churchofgaming mailing list
>> Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>> http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.net
>>
>>
>okay.
>
>Jay
>
>_______________________________________________
>Churchofgaming mailing list
>Churchofgaming at rpgreview.net
>http://rpgreview.net/mailman/listinfo/churchofgaming_rpgreview.net
>.
> 

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and impact the causes you care about most. Over 12 Million members!
<a href="http://www.care2.com" target=_blank>http://www.care2.com</a><br /><br />
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