The Campaign Builder's Guild

(moved to first post)

I think this is all very good--you might want to give more examples of monsters as you did flesh out for instance the explanations of Fae and Angels--for instance I would consider in Greek legend the horrors created by Rhea to fit the bill, whereas in Norse the awful children of Loki. (though at least one turns out to be...okay, though freakish) You've as I've said done a good job of creating a cosmology that is rather universal, and left room for mystery which is rare for this kind of setting.

Quote from: Brief History of KisharAt the beginning of the Current Era (the iteration of Kishar following the end of the ascent of the last Kali Yuga, after which the Omega re-iterates the world), Tiamat rose again and birthed the dragon races. In time, these dragons rose against her mad tyranny and she was forced to retreat beneath the sea.

The dragons ruled Kishar until the coming of the encarans. The encarans were a new draft of humanity, representing a post-human evolution of significantly greater power (this post-human design was eventually scrapped as an evolutionary dead-end and ordinary humans were again created by the Star, though with latent genes connecting them to encarans). The encarans defeated the dragons, including Tiamat when she rose again.

After this, they built an empire, and human-like fae races arose (especially the alfar, dvergar, etc.). Following the fae races, other mortal races arose, such as saurians and ordinary humans. The encarans oppressed the other races who were weaker, and ruled the world in a golden age for 6000 years. The fae, eventually, lead a rebellion which destroyed the encaran civilization, and then turned to an encaran genocide.

The Fae built their own empire, but fractured into two courts, Seelie and Unseelie, based on differing ideologies. In time, the dominant Seelie Court when too far in their magical experiments and destroyed their civilization while opening a rift to Abaddon (a hellish alternate reality).

This precipitated the Dark Age, a time when demons and asuras ruled the world. After thousands of years of torment, this age ended with the defeat of Ahriman (Kroni) when he was betrayed by his general.

This led to the Age of Chaos, when fae and mortals and dragons warred for control of the world. The Age of Chaos officially ends with the rise of Valador and the defeat of the goblin king, beginning the Age of Humanity.[/spoiler]

Interesting that it is the Seelie that cause the downfall of Fae civilization. While probably details need to be filled in it is very good as a general explanation, kudos. Are the Seelie then resigned to their fate while the Unseelie are not?

Edit: I moved the post about the origins of animas to the first post, and added a list of cosmic beings and giant types.

Quote from: The Fae CourtsDuring the Fae Rebellion which overthrew the Encaran Empire, the encaran homeland, Atlantis, was destroyed and sank beneath the waves, crippling the empire. The encaran race soon fell, and the fae, led by the aes sidhe (elves) turned to total genocide of the encarans. Though vindictive themselves, the dvergr felt this went too far, and secretly sheltered a small number of encarans, while beginning to distrust the elves.

The elves became the dominant beings on the planet, by leading the fae races (though some that were not human-like took no real interest in their activities). After believing they had eradicated the encaran race they built a great civilization centered on their own homeland, Lemuria. This was the Fae Age, from 8978 BCE - 6493 BCE (the modern calendar begins with the end of the Grimhild War 1 CE, 1700 years after Valador first rose; the year my main story begins is 686 CE, 7000 years after the fall of the fae civilization).

[ic=From the encaran histories]As the centuries had passed without our restrictions on magic, fae use of their art had advanced and expanded dramatically. With our fall, no other race could stand before the elves. Reveling in their power, blind in their arrogance, their returned to efforts to summon the powers of beings outside Kishar. In some cases, these attempts worked, granting them incredible power. In others, disaster swept across the world.

When the elves were certain our entire race was gone, Aibell turned her eye upon Kishar. The world had descended into total anarchy. She resolved to restore order to the world. We know from reports that she had taken in a mysterious advisor. Many believed it was some cosmic being, drawn to Kishar by the magic the elves used. Some later sources said that Aibell had called him Anazimur, but no one ever saw his face. Perhaps Anazimur was the one that convinced her to conquer the world. Perhaps she always desired it. Either way, the elves began to attempt to enforce order across Kishar. Some welcomed their help, but most resented the interference.

As more and more of Kishar fell under the sway of the elves, they decided the entire world would be better off under their rule. Those they could not coerce with diplomacy, they began to force through military might. The dwarves accused the elves the trying to become the very foe they thought to overthrow, and war broke out between them. Some of my people longed to help the dwarves that even now sheltered us; yet we knew to do so would led to the annihilation of our race, and so we left them to their fate.

To destroy their enemies, the elves tried to command the dragons. The dragons were embittered to see one empire replace another, and refused. The elves continued to encroach into dragon domains and try to command their power, until, finally, the dragons assaulted the elves.

As the wars with the dwarves and with the dragons intensified, the elves lessened their efforts to annex other lands. Had the dwarves and dragons been united, they might have had a chance. But the dragons would not trust any humanoids again. Their numbers were depleted from the war against the encarans, and they fell to elven magic. The dragons were led by the powerful wyrm, Kampe. He was brought down by a bolt of lightning, called by elven magic. With his death, the dragons dispersed.

With the fall of the dragons, the elves focused all their attention on the dwarves, who grew more desperate. Despite their fierce efforts, the dwarves were doomed from the start. Humans would fight on both sides, but they only delayed the inevitable. The dwarves taught their human allies of craftsmanship and war, while the elves treated humans as slaves, using them as fodder to soften the dwarven ranks.

Finally, the dwarven resistance broke. Their last stand was made upon the slopes of Bakhu, the eastern most mountain in Nidafjoll. There, Motsognir fell, and the dwarven people were scattered. The dwarves retreated deep into the world, sealing themselves away. The elves, content to rule the surface, let them go. With the fall of the dwarven resistance, the elves began claiming the lands of the other races at a rapid pace. Soon most of Midgard and its surrounding lands would be part of their new empire.

With Midgard, Lemuria, Agria, and much of Asaland under their control, the fae became embroiled in politics within their court. The elven capital on Lemuria, Mu, became the center of the world. There the many varied kinds of fae struggled for land, influence, and prestige. Noble houses rose and fell, and the mortal races were moved about like pawns.

We watched it all from the shadows, never willing to reveal ourselves. Like the dwarves, we had abandoned the surface. Though we did not share their love of the underground world, we felt we had no choice. The dwarves named Durin, son of Motsognir, their new king. Durin ordered that no dwarf should venture to the surface or risk contact with the fae.[/ic]
(This is from the old history, so I may need to revise a bit.)

The fae noble houses turned to in-fighting, but this was set aside when giants appeared and began to challenge the fae rule. While the elven queen, Aibell, united the fae to fight the giants, she failed to conquer them despite centuries of warfare. Some fae began to lose confidence in her abilities.

Also, at this time, the elves discovered what they called "The Machine" a device from a prior iteration of Kishar which could harness enormous magical energies.

The political tensions in fae courts eventually came to a head, and civil broke out. The factions chose sides between those that remained loyal to the elven queen, and those that sought to rule for themselves.

For hundreds of years, wars raged between the two courts of fae. Those that remained loyal became known as the Seelie, and the dissidents were called the Unseelie. In their schemes, plots, and bloodshed, it was often the mortals that felt the greatest losses. Both sides would rather sacrifice their mortal followers than risk death themselves.

Ultimately, the Unseelie agreed to a truce. They could not be reabsorbed into the empire; too much hatred had grown, too much blood had been shed. But queen Aibell agreed to allow them to spread to the far corners of the world, never to come within her sight. They were banished from Lemuria, but she did not have them hunted down.

Skyreign
With the Fae Wars concluded, Aibell turned her attention back to the courts of Mu. She wanted to prove the absolute glory of the elven people; in their rule of the world, they were blinded by their own magnificence. In their arrogance, they believed they should soar above the races of Kishar. Aibell had begun to understand the awesome power of The Machine. And thus the Skyreign project was born.

[ic=Encaran Histories]The Skyreign project was a plan to use The Machine's power, fed by magical energies, to lift Lemuria into the sky. It would become a flying continent, the ultimate testament to elven supremacy. For more than twenty years elven sorcerers researched the rituals they would need to create whilst artificers worked to create a means to harness The Machine.

Some few voices objected the Aibell's plan. Most notably, the noblewoman, Titania. For her dissent, Aibell had her banished. Aibell could not conceive that her great undertaking might result in disaster.

Then at last, Skyreign Day came upon the world. The project succeed, lifting Lemuria to the clouds. But the power required to lift the continent was extreme beyond anything our world had known. It sent out vibrations across the world. Everyone, everywhere, knew something momentous had happened. As it turns out, it was not just Kishar that felt these vibrations.

Elsewhere, in the cosmos, these energies were felt. Some believe that these cosmic beings harnessed the tremendous energy of The Machine. What is clear, is that Lemuria fell from the sky quite suddenly. It came crashing back into the sea, killing all upon and destroying the fae civilization. Lemuria fractured, spawning islands off its coast.

The fall of Lemuria created tsunamis beyond imagining. All but the greatest peaks of Asaland, Lagash, and the islands around were swept beneath the waves. All eastern civilization was wiped out in an instant. Even from the peaks of Nidafjoll, I saw the waves, though they did not touch us on the mountains.

But the cataclysm created by the fall was still not the worst of it. Whether the energy was indeed harnessed by demons, or whether it was merely a side effect, rifts to some other existence were torn open. We called this dark, terrible place, Abaddon. From these rifts, poured forth asuras which preyed upon all the beings of Kishar. Worse still, we now had the full attention of true demons, the masters of the asuras. As such beings manifested and walked upon Kishar, we knew doom had fallen upon us. The Dark Age had begun.[/ic][/spoiler]

The courts never reconciled, and continue to fight to this day. However, I left out some important information about the ancient Age of Man; the fae, hunted by mankind, created Otherworld (or linked to it, rather) and both Seelie and Unseelie retreated there (approximately 1800 years before my main story starts).

During the Age of Chaos, the Unseelie fae, under the goblin king, tried to conquer the world themselves, but were defeated by men. The Seelie mostly retreated under persecution.

At this point, most members of both courts are resigned to leaving Kishar in the hands of mortals, and fighting over Otherworld. However, both will manipulate mortals for their ends, and the Unseelie often actively torment mortals out of spite.

That's very good...I'm thinking I may yet again steal some material from you here. It explains the demon war well for one thing, and makes it sound like something you could read from mythology. I like the way you use 'goblin king' in a more fae kind of sense than Tolkienesque.

One element that I have found works in my own campaign is emphasis on the tragedy of the circumstances of the Dark Elves. I like that emphasis here as well and on the sense of exile of the dwarves.

It is often remarked in the biographies of playwrights that drama and comedy are tools that come early, but Tragedy is the bailwick of the maturing writer.
So it is, I think with settings.  Pathos and tragedy engender a response from mature ganmers.  I think you and Tybalt are both hitting on this.  In this thread, both the earliest history and the tragic in-fighting of the fae, and their interaction with mortalkind show elements of this tragendy, which I like.  I really enjoyed the sense of separate ages in the history, as well.  I have a few millenial grudges still extent in my elven (Omwo~) civs as well, though current Omwo~ average a lifespan of only 350-400 years. \
(though I'd change the name of Durin from the Dwarves...)

Tybalt, your dark elves do share this, but so do your goblins.

Quote from: LVIt is often remarked in the biographies of playwrights that drama and comedy are tools that come early, but Tragedy is the bailwick of the maturing writer.

good[/i] comedy is hard). I do agree with you about the response engendered in mature gamers (which sadly may not be the norm).

What is "Omwo~" (I've glanced around your site, but I don't recall that).

Since fae in my setting are immortal, it does create some oddities, especially when gaming in the setting, where you could potentially have a character that saw these events from thousands of years ago.

Kishar's history proceeds in Iterations called Eras, each lasting for 24,000 years. Within the Current Era, which has nearly reached its climax, there have been several Ages: Prehistory (22,989 BCE - 14,971 BCE)
Encaran Age (14,970 BCE - 8978 BCE)
Fae Age (8978 BCE - 6493 BCE)
Dark Age (6493 BCE - 3672 BCE)
Age of Chaos (3672 BCE - 1688 BCE)
Age of Man - ancient (1688 BCE - 1 BCE)
Age of Man - modern (1 CE - present)

Quote(though I'd change the name of Durin from the Dwarves...)

You mean because Tolkien used it, too? I might, and for that reason. All the names for animas and most human characters are drawn from real-world myth (Norse, in the case of dwarves), but perhaps I can find another name for a dwarf king.