The Campaign Builder's Guild

I had started a thread where I had gotten some good ideas regarding cultural development.  The writings below have incorporated some of those ideas.  I was looking for some feedback and ideas regarding the societal changes after they fell under a curse that prevented them from aging, details below.

Any ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated.  Thanks.



The Elbonen lived on the rocky sub-arctic island of Orum with their living gods Velda and Thevar.  Each represented a facet of the Divine Concordance 'Truth'; Velda the Mortal (Honesty & Integrity) and Thevar the Immortal (Principle & Reality).  This occurred during the Godsmarch, when the gods walked the earth.  Not long after the gods' arrival the demons of Argul reached unseen into the world thru Morthasa, the First Gate.  It was then that the divine pair and their mortal followers were assailed by demonic magic.

The Elbonen and their gods were thrice struck by the demons.  Velda was stricken by Tlikiks: Demon Lord of Contagion.  As she lay dying Thevar was seduced away by Sindra: the Primarchess of Love and taken to the demonic plane of Argul and held there by Galaphus: Demon-Prince of Sacrilege.  The Elbonen people were then subjected to a third and final demonic assault.  They were cursed with agelessness by Slortok: Primarch of Stagnation.  News of this curse was delivered by Belosh:  Lord of Damnation.  

The Elbonen still needed to eat, sleep, and breathe, but they never matured physically.  Infants remained infants, children remained children, and, worst of all, pregnant women never gave birth.  There would be no more Elbonen offspring.  Dying was all that was left, and when they passed their souls would go to Argul; as they were Tainted by demonic magic.  They would not pass to Etheb and join their god.  They would not sit beside them and await a return to life to further serve the divine.  They would become Arguloam.

 Velda, amidst her death throes, summoned the three most prominent and capable Elbonen to her side:  Orum XVIII, Garum, and Meitra the Veldex.  To these three she taught the Syntactic Magic combination of Control Create Magic.  This is the basis for the magical Formology known as Orumitics.  And with her dying breath she gave the Elbonen people the ability to use such magic.

Over the course of the next few centuries Elbonen society went thru a massive transformation.  The worshippers of Velda blindly hung onto her memory until weeping they turned to each other.  The Veldexa still exists, and it serves the Elbonen people.  They are caregivers, healers, and mothers to all Elbonen children.  The Thevarexa also exists as an educational institution, but it has a dark and dangerous secret.  The bulk of the populace turned to Orum; now known as the Everking.   The people of the Houses Three were known as the Veld, the Orumites, and the Garumites.

Societal relationships began to break down.  Family lines were severed as the age difference between parent and offspring blurred over the course of centuries.  New communities were formed around magical Words of Power as the Orumitic Formology grew in scope and potency.  Even the culture itself began to coalesce around the magic; not only as a means of salvation but on a mundane level.  Every aspect of Elbonen daily life centered upon the proliferation of magic and its use in their daily lives.  The development of magical industry gave the average Elbonen a world of freedom and the personal power to exploit it.  Over time the Elbonen lifestyle became more and more eccentric as they sought to fill their limitless time with every form of entertainment and endeavor they could find.

The study and growth of the Formology was culture-wide, but the three originators of Orumitics had decidedly different ideas about how to best use it.  The three Houses of Orum, Garum, and Meitra began to differentiate in their Orumitic theories and practices.  While the Orumites concentrated on the mundane uses and aspects of the Formology the Veld focused on the magic's relationship with the greater world as a path back to divinity.  Both Houses were generous with knowledge and education as a form of communal responsibility and divine right, respectively.  Neither was a religion as much as a movement based on a moral imperative.  The followers of Garum took a very different approach.  They were secretive with their findings, and the things they learned would shake the world.  

A religion began to form around the fallen Thevarexa.  They sought to bring Thevar back.  They had no idea he had been trapped in Argul by Galaphus, Primarch of Sacrilege.  Garum sought out his god using every means at his disposal, and when those had run out he invented new means.  His powerful exploits drew the attention of the Primarch of Knowledge: Mortume.  He sent Nihilth, Hearld of Knowledge, Lord of Fools, to contact Garum himself.  He was given the 4th Rite and the True Name of Mortume.  With this information Garum sought to open the Fifth Gate and allow Mortume not only to reach into the world but to move to and from Argul without hindrance.  The rites were so powerful that they required human sacrifice to function.  Garum himself was unsure whether he could be party to such an act, but soon his conscience and his cause found solace in the form of the Black Stair.

After the Curse fell upon the Elbonen many took their own lives in hopes of following their gods to Etheb or out of a sense of hopelessness.  Over time this cult had become a constant but unrecognized sub-culture.  Those who wished to give in to the inevitable, for a myriad of reasons, could find aide and instructions through the dark priesthood known as the Black Stair.  Every now and again the priesthood would come under fire from some prominent citizen or the Veldexa itself.  Garum came forward in defense of religious tolerance, and he fought for the Black Stair's right to their beliefs. This brought the dark priesthood into his fold.  This brought him the prospect of human sacrifice without having to lift a finger.  



Later the Garumites will require more potent sacrifices to hold the gate open, and they will turn to infant sacrifice.  The Veld will learn of this and flee the land.  Once the Orumites find out they attack and expel the Garumites who then seek out the Veld.  This leads to the Garumites and Veld settling in two separate locations.  I don't want to go any further until I have fleshed out the culture.  I want it to have an alien feel given their circumstances.  No idea too strange.

NOTE:  I had to incorporate the names of certain entities and terms into the writing so that I wouldn't lose track of their place in the mythos and rest of the campaign world.  I thought about including a Glossary of Names.  If anyone thinks it necesary, or would like to see it, drop me a Reply.  Thanks.

What an interesting idea.

My thoughts '" in such a society, with no gods to guide them or answer to, ethics and morality would have little meaning. Seriously, if no matter what you do, you're going to hell, what's the point in risking your life to do good? I think people would be more motivated by the accumulation of pleasure and luxury. Drugs, alcohol, and various forms of entertainment would be prevalent in such a place.  

In such a society, to avoid hell, I think everyone would want to stay alive as long as possible. One possible way to accomplish this is not to make any enemies. In fact, you  would want everyone to be your friend. There would need to be some way to convince everyone that you are good to keep alive. Maybe it is traditional to give away money every once in a while '" like a 'please don't kill me' bribe. Or maybe, there's no 'ownership' at all. You wouldn't want to own something that someone would covet and try to kill you for. Everything would be communal. I'm not saying everyone would enjoy this, they would just accept it to reduce their risk of dying.

To continue brainstorming '" they might breed obedient docile animals as servants. You would not want a human for a slave since they may become an enemy. But still someone has to do the work and a pleasure-seeking people would avoid as much work as possible. They may even breed animals to be their warriors. Again, who would do the noble deed of volunteering to be a warrior if a quick trip to hell was the inevitable reward?

any feedback is a tough question.  You have gien a lot to chew on, but I could as a million questions, so I need a bit of help.

What would help the players in this setting to know or feel?