This is rough version of the background story for my campaign.
Magic is the force and interaction of spirit in the living world.
Almost 2000 years ago civilization arose among the riverlands of what is now called the Ischammanaz. Great city states were build and wars were fought with bronze blades and viscious magic. Those state were presided over by Schamman, priest-kings and great magicians and their An, servant wizards. Magic and spiritlore was thaught in the temples and great discoveries into the ways of the world were made.
This knowledge and power was kept from ordinary men and those Schamman and An who would teach men spiritual truths were hunted and slain.It was the Schamman of Geb, a small city state located in the foothills of the Windwall Mountains, that seperate the fertile riverlands from the barren western highlands who first discovered the Endless Feast that leads men to godhood.
Am An Usch was his name and by human sacrifice and his great spiritual power he would live forever. But soon his ambition drew the anger of the other Schamman and war was inevitable.
Knowing that prolonged war would spell disaster for his plans, he instead commited to diplomacy and brought 8 other Schammans over to his side with promises of imortality and divinity.
Those Nine then set up a tyranical rule, madly persuing the secret of eternal life and the deep secrets of the cosmos. Under Am An Usch's guidance they performed a great spell, The Pact Of The Nine: By changing the properties of the spiritual force fields they made it impossible for anyone else to achieve their level of power. By this act of magic they essentially became gods, forever apart and above mortal men. Their reign in Ischammanaz lasted for 126 years until a rebellious group of An rallied enough men to end it. The Nine gathered what few supporters they had left and journeyed north and west across the Sea and the barren highlands towards a fertile land inhabited by a peaceful, agricultural folk and on a large island in a lake, they founded the City that in the speech of their new subjects was called Aes Duval, The Great House Of The Nine. From Aes Duval the spread their empire far and wide across the west and high into the north.
There had always been tensions among the Nine, kept low by Am An Usch's leadership, but
in the year 432 since the founding of Aes Duval Far Dus Ee broke the northern provinces into open rebellion against Am An Usch. Far Dus Ee (Fardosey as the Duvalese called him) was unhappy with the slow development of their ascention into the heavens that Am An Usch had promised and, what may have weighted heavier still, was mad with envy for Am An Usch had stolen the affections of wise In Na Wa from him.
When soon most of the Nine afirmed the allegiance with Am An Usch and only the bloodthirsty Warlord Mar Das and He Ra Das, whose love for machines and creation bordered madness had sided with him, Far Dus Ee unvieled his darkest secret. Since the paths of power that the Nine took were unavaiable to men, Far Dus Ee had sought and found another approach to long existence and great power, necromancy. Beyond the spheres of the world Far Dus Ee had found a weird, morbid energy of anti-death and had in long centuries taught his most trusted leutenants how to wield it.
Thus the first Uprising of the Undead began.
But even that was not the end of Far Dus Ee's preparations, he had gathered into his armies the old spirits of the north, the Elves and Gnomes of the Whispering Wood, for when the Pact was made they too felt it's awesome shock and were bereft of immortality and felt their power wane greatly and Far Dus Ee had promised them the unmaking of the Pact.
The Orcs followed Mar Das who had subsumed the mantle of their own wargod and the Dwarves of Tiefenheim took up with He Ra Das for he had taught them many things and they loved him dearly.
The war was fought long and hard and lasted for almost 30 years. Many scars were left upon the land, such as the great swamps of the Forstmark and the Plaguelands south of Aes Duval.
5 years into the war He Ra Das decided that all this destruction was against his will and called his servants to retreat to their mountain fortress and build him a great temple and with that great temple a soul gem. Through this soul gem he would grant them parts of his power, circumventing the pact. And while true immortality was not possible his subjects still revered him for his blessing. When the seven learned about this they too set up soul gems, giving from their power to their servants and priests so they could use it in the battlefield. They hid the gems in distant and foreboding places, understanding fully well how grievous the threat their misuse was.
After this, the tides of war began to turn against the Rebels and slowly the armies of the empire crept north. But Far Dus Ee had not yet played his final trump card. The years of heavy use of necromancy had suffused him with it's morbid power and in the year 472 he used this power to tear open the sky and assault Aes Duval directly. Spectres of Anti-Death and warped spirits raged through the city, reaping and consuming spirits of the living.
Seeing this dark incursion into the world Mar Das finally deserted the losing side and joined up with the others. Swiftly they helped him construct a soul gem of his own and when that was done they prepared for their final strike against the Rebel.
In a great ritual that surpassed even the Pact they transcended the living world and by that act, they cast Far Dus Ee into the darkness. His body buried in his fortress temple in the northern mountains, his mind forever wandering among the spheres. A Loner to the world.
As for the eight who had transcended: They were never heard from again, but their soul gems still give power to those indoctrinated into their use.
3 generations after the Ascention a great Church of the Nine rose in Aes Duval and within 20 more years a new empire followed. After 200 more years most of the former imperial territory was under the banner of Aes Duval again. Noteable exceptions were the northern provinces and the Summer Isles and Winter Isles. By the the Year 212 after the Ascention the empire reached out towards the Ischammanaz for the first time since the Nine were driven out of there. The conflict was bloody and almost crippled the imperial forces until a concord was reached and a small coastal territory near the highlands became an imperial colony calles Ais Gemohr. From Ais Gemohr Church missionaries struck out to bring the Faith of the Nine to the Ischammanazians but there old believes and philosophies about the spirit and self-empowerment still held sway and there were certain legends about 9 dark magicians who brought death into the world, so the Faith never really took hold.
But there was another, darker discovery made by the secretive few among the Church who knew some of the truth about the Nine in the Ischammanaz. Far Dus Ee, the Loner of the Niner Pantheon had visited the Ischammanaz before his fall and taught his necromantic magic to a select few who had since erected a death cult with a thriving following. Though there were none of the tell tale effects of the dark incursion noticeable, the secret covens within the chruch still decided that this cult must be destroyed. After centuries of secret warfare and massive missionary efforts there came Emperor Deantus, whose religious fervor far outweighted his military and political understanding. He was easily swayed into launching the empire into a full scale war with the Ischammanaz in 416 a.A.
The war lasted for 23 years without any substantial territorial gains. It saw some use of necromantic magic and even a few outbreaks of undeath but nothing close to the Ascention War. In the spring of 439 the Orcs invaded a weakend empire. The came down from the north, a pillaging, rampaging horde that left only destruction and ashes in it's wake. Province after province was lost. 63 days after news of the invasion had first reached Aes Duval, Deantus was murdered by a group of conspirators who set up the First Imperial Council. They immediately set in motion removal of the powers in the Church who had supported, puppeteered Deantus. A quick succession of assassinations, incarcerations and banishments followed, then the armies were called back from the Ischammanaz.
Once the last ships had set sail, the Schamman retaliated in full force and their brutal assault used enough necromantic energies to create the Necropolis of Nassar Far were once Ais Gemohr stood.
When the imperial troops reached Aes Duval, what they found was despair. Refugees crowded the fields around the Island City telling fearful tales of the wrath of the Orc. The troops, weakened by years of fruitless combat marched north towards their final destiny and in a serious of great battles the Orcs were driven back, their drive broken and stopped and without the zeal of conquest and the thrill of victory after victory the Orcs soon broke up into quarreling tribes again.
Doubting the empire's abillity to protect them, many provinces had chosen to break off from it's rule during the Orcstrom and many more followed sooner after the threat was diverted. Then an army of the Ischammanaz landed in Vineas, southermost port city of the empire and swiftly conquered both city and the surrounding lands. Vineas was renamend Bak Aman (new Bak) and made a central trading post. In the aftermath of the 25 years of war the empire was reduced to 1/8 it's size, it's military might broken, it's inner unity shattered. The church bereft of it's greatest minds and leaders. A dark time settled in.
During the following 600 years much turmoil followed and seven times barbarian warlords and petty kings would come to Aes Duval and name themselves Emperor and for a generation or two the Empire would arise again in name at least and then fade into nothingness again.
But when King Teorik of the Wallinger set out to make his Kingdom larger he quickly conquered all his neighbors and when his Kingdom spanned half of the eastern territories he came to Aes Duval not in arms, but to speak to the Church. The Nine were pleased with him and he was proclaimed Emperor by Divine Will and without a drop of blood shed the Duvalese lands came under his rule. Teorik was a wise ruler and a wiser general, he slowly but relentlessly expanded his
power and influence while being just and good towards his subjects. Slow to anger but swift in execution of this wrath once angered. In accordance with Wallinger tradition Teorik named his bloodson Mallrik Emperor after him. Now Mallrik was not half the Emperor his father was and under his reign there were no expansions and the empire had started to fall into disrepair and corruption. But Mallrik's young cousin Freydrik was a great admirer of Teorik and he gathered around him many supporters and in the quickest rebellion Aes Duval has ever seen Mallrik was supplanted in the 19th year of his reign.
Freydrik took up war again and proved to be his uncle's match on the battlefield. In the span of 7 years he took the north back into imperial dominion and then turned towards the Summer Isles. They became his subjects by concord of peace 1 year later and after 1 more year the Winter Isles accepted his supremacy. With his Empire spanning almost all of the continent Freydrik turned his eye toward the Ischammanaz and during 12 long years of war he conquered many of the city states and most others subjected to tribute. Then Freydrik settled down in Aes Duval. He reigned there over a peace in arms for 10 years until he died suddenly and unexpected at 52 years of age.
Now Freydrik had married an Ischammanzian princess during his campaign who had birthed him 2 daughters and a son and the Emperor had also fathered a number of bastards, one of which, Beondrik, had become one of his most prized generals. At the time of his death his bloodson Kalldrik, a youth of 13 and his older sister Annahwarin dwelled for the summer in the northern province Orcenwehr, granted by Freydrik to Faenwar, a warrior of the native northern Währfor tribe, who reigned there as duke at the time.Soon after Freydriks death, Beondrik, called the Iron Bastard, claimed to have proof that the queen had been unfaithful to Freydrik and that Kalldrik was not in fact of the Emperor's blood. The boy's real father was Linverdrik, captain of the Imperial Guard and close confident of the late King. And when Linverdrik admitted the deed the dice where cast. Both were snatched, the Queen imprisoned in the Deep Dungeon of Aes Duval while Linverdrik was publicly beheaded. Beondrik proposed to marry Kosiirin, Freydriks youngset daughter, 9 years of age, and declared himself Prince Regent.
In the north, Duke Faenwar, Princess Annahwarin and young Prince Kalldrik prepare to rise in arms against the Iron Bastard of Aes Duval.
The Metaphyiscs:
The world is compised of two main elements, spirit and "matter", but these are not distinct and different things, they are in a very specific and crucial relationship.
"Matter" means two different worlds,
I: the living world, that is the world as we know it, the physical world if you so will. But what is important is the "living" aspect. Life, Death, Evolution, those is the main aspect that differenciate this from spirit, the fact that it is a physical reality is not important, spirit is not in oposition to physical matter. Furthermore this is a specific form of life.
II: The weirdness, that is the anti-world, the anti-life (sometimes called anti-death or undeath). It is again not a polar oposite like life-death to the living world but rather a reflection in a mirror.
Those two worlds can interact but all those interactions affect the natural processes, Life, Death, Evolution,...
When they do, the effect is always twisted and morbid. What is dead on one world, lives in the other. This is Necromancy misnamed and mislabeled since it has not much to do with death and the dead as such.
Now comes spirit. Spirit is "world soluble", it can enter the world and become one with it, join it, populate it. There are correlations between different aspects of the living world and spirit, parts of the living world more readily accept spirit while others only take it reluctantly. According to these patterns and similiar trends within spirit, spirit suffused the world after they had come into existence.
So, while being one, they are still two differnet things, without a common origin.
What Spirit is
Spirit is awareness, thought, emotion, impression, cognition, meaning. To use a modern description: When the neurons in your eyes fire and transmit their sensedata to your brain, that is spirit, that process itself. Spirit is not merely a soul inhabiting the body, it is an integral part of it, and seperating one from the other is as difficult as seperating the bones from the body.
Spirit is everywhere to a certain degree, even a plant has spirit, though most do not have much of it (= not a strong one). Even stones, a river, the earth itself, the wind, all is suffused with spirit, but the spirit in stones may be so weak that even a mountain has only very limited mental facutlies because of it.
Spirit is eternal. Spirit does not die, nor does it live, nor does it ever change what it is. Patterns in spirit (spiritual entities) cannot hold, cannot even form without patterns in the living world to contain them.
The best way to imagine this is by thinking of a rubber plain, you can push it down in places but when you remove your finger it eventually reforms into it's old state. But if you place a stone on it, it will hold the new shape as long as the stone lasts.
Spirit is not only, it also does. Spirit can influence the patterns in the living world. When spirit and world are close together changing the patterns in spirit can change the patterns in the living world. This is magic.
Spirit is a force. Just like gravity is a force of the living world that works within the living world, there are forces in spirit that work within spirit.
Here we have the basic dilemma of the Priest-King who wanted to live forever. Without his living body his spirit pattern would quickly fade away, but his living body would eventually wither away. So, by magic and great excertion of spiritual force he would keep his body from growing older. But to this manipulation he needs great amounts of shapeable spirit energy, which is most abundent in sentient creatures, but present in everything.
If he could now achieve to bind great amounts of spirit to him, by altering it in such a way that it would only react with his pattern and not that of others, his problem would be solved. Free spirit would flow to him because it could not join the living world anywhere else. And this is what the Pact spell of the Nine did.
The Pact changed 1/6 to 1/5 of all spirit to suffuse only the living patterns of the Nine. The rest of the world was suddenly streched for spirit, people felt "like butter spread over too much toast" and this lack of "useable", free spirit made magic much harder to do. A limitation that in the end led to the experiments with Necromancy and the Anti-World as a power source.
Far Dus Ee notice during with research into the Weirdness that there were creatures within it that "drained" spirit energy, he wrongly concluded from that thatthe Weirdness was some kind of Anti-spirit world. The idea that the creatures interacted with spirit in such way because their relationship to spirit was pretty much the same as men's did not occur to him. This misconception is still a very popular believe among the necromantic cults that he founded.
Well, that was a lot and I hope it was readable.
It is rather hard to read, actually. A suggestion: Put everything under topics, and then use the [ spoiler ] [/ spoiler ] tages, only without the spaces, which will oganize it into nice little boxes. Nastynate's setting Sulos, and my thread The Mirrored Paths [shamelessplug] show how to use these boxes for ease of reading.
I read about half way though the text, right up to before the first undead uprising, then I skipped down to metaphysics. What I saw looked very interesting, and I will be reading the rest later. Sorry for the short post, but I'll have more feedback for you later on.
Quote from: Xathan, Last Of The FallenIt is rather hard to read, actually. A suggestion: Put everything under topics, and then use the [ spoiler ] [/ spoiler ] tages, only without the spaces, which will oganize it into nice little boxes. Nastynate's setting Sulos, and my thread The Mirrored Paths [shamelessplug] show how to use these boxes for ease of reading.
I read about half way though the text, right up to before the first undead uprising, then I skipped down to metaphysics. What I saw looked very interesting, and I will be reading the rest later. Sorry for the short post, but I'll have more feedback for you later on.
Maybe bullet points with the year/years would break it up nicely.
Now that we have the fluff, what aboot the crunch? Is this Core?
If not, what major changes are being done?
Quote from: CYMROQuote from: Xathan, Last Of The FallenIt is rather hard to read, actually. A suggestion: Put everything under topics, and then use the [ spoiler ] [/ spoiler ] tages, only without the spaces, which will oganize it into nice little boxes. Nastynate's setting Sulos, and my thread The Mirrored Paths [shamelessplug] show how to use these boxes for ease of reading.
I read about half way though the text, right up to before the first undead uprising, then I skipped down to metaphysics. What I saw looked very interesting, and I will be reading the rest later. Sorry for the short post, but I'll have more feedback for you later on.
I suppose I should really do some more formatting with it.
Concerning crunch. I did a lot of fiddling with d20, espc. trying to get it to behave the way I wanted in regards to magic but it just turned out to be a very frustrating exercise, so now I'm basically set on using the HEROSystem, which made things go much smoother for me in this regard.
Maybe bullet points with the year/years would break it up nicely.
Now that we have the fluff, what aboot the crunch? Is this Core?
If not, what major changes are being done?
If the magic system revision is holding you back, (WARNING: shameless plug approaching) check out the Resource Point system in my Altvogge CS at www.altvogge.com.