Wake: Discussion

[Eladris]

Please feel free to critique Wake in this thread; my presentation, format, grammar, premise, etc.. Constructive comments [and flattery] are always appreciated.

Also, any questions or clarifications concerning Wake are welcome here.

Thanks! ;)

[Ishmayl-Retired]

As always, it looks great so far.  A few things I'm curious about (If these are going to come up in later posts, then feel free to tell me to hold my horses):

If someone travels into the Mist (either by accident, or intentionally), is it impossible to ever find his way back to a 'Sphere?  Could he wander long enough that he could eventually stumble into the 'Sphere he left from, or possibly even a new 'Sphere?

What kinds of governments are prominent?  I assume that each Reflection (and probably Nightmare as well) has its own government, but is there any sort of over-arching government/leadership, either in the form of Gods or Kings or Emperors, who control more than just one 'Sphere?  It would be interesting to see coalitions between similarly-aligned 'Spheres, but I'm not sure that's possible yet.

I'm interested to hear about the cultures that develop or dominate on various 'Spheres.  Do large groups of particular races gather together, or are most of the 'Spheres pretty multicultural?

Do arcane and divine magicks still work in the same way?  Especially divine, since you said, "Those gods that endured did not remain whole or sane."

Have you actually played or DMed in Wake before?  I'd be interested to know how a game is run.

[SA]

"Tangle".

For some reason, that name just sounds awesome.

"We're adrift in the Tangle."

The name is very evocative of chaos, methinks.

[HyveMynd]

don't boo me off the stage here people, ok? but when i hear the word "tangle", and especially "the tangle", i immediately think of the twisted metal forest from the mirrodin setting of magic: the gathering a few years ago. sorry.

i really like the setting though. it's probably the best explaination i've heard for the existance of multiple planes in a long time (if not ever). i envy the players that will get to experience this setting.

[Eladris]

The Mists are allegoric for the fog of forgetfulness that makes people like you and me forget all the details in our day to day lives.  Say we have a memory (a 'Sphere).  As we lose focus on the reason we thought of that memory (our locus), that particular memory becomes less substantial.  Sometimes, our minds will flit to another, similar memory (we stumbled out of that fog into a new 'Sphere) or, sometimes, we'll just stop thinking about it (lost in the Mists).[/spoiler]

What kinds of governments are prominent?

Do arcane and divine magicks still work in the same way?  Especially divine, since you said, "Those gods that endured did not remain whole or sane."

Have you actually played or DMed in Wake before?[/quote]

Several times.  I've found it eliminates my least favorite part of the game entirely (travel time), but as a result there are no random encounters -- so I have to be better prepared to fill up an evening of game.  I've yet to be surprised with a "Let's ditch this plot and head in the opposite direction" from my players, so I'm not really sure how easy it is to improv in the setting, yet (working on starting a campaign to try that soon ;))

[Captain Obvious]

don't boo me off the stage here people, ok? but when i hear the word "tangle", and especially "the tangle", i immediately think of the twisted metal forest from the mirrodin setting of magic: the gathering a few years ago. sorry.

i really like the setting though. it's probably the best explaination i've heard for the existance of multiple planes in a long time (if not ever). i envy the players that will get to experience this setting.

When i hear "tangle" i think of the Snarl for OotS.

[Seraph]

Neat idea.  I've tried to do really chaotic worlds before, but yours is much better put together.  I love how the whole setting is allegorical to memories and dreams.  This gets me thinking (for good or ill) about a Matrix style adventure where characters are freed from the dream world and view the real world.

[Eladris]

Expect some updates and edits in the near future.  I am revisiting Wake for a 4e campaign that I'll be running over the summer.

I'm not really up on policy, but is Wiki the preferred medium for campaign development or is that still here on the boards?

[Ishmayl-Retired]

It's not policy at all, but it certainly is preferred by a good number of people here - it gives you a chance to better organize the work in a way that's both more pleasing to the eye, and easier to skip around (so you're not just reading one long page of information, which is essentially what a forum thread is).

Oh, and WOOT for Wake!

[Eladris]

It's not policy at all, but it certainly is preferred by a good number of people here - it gives you a chance to better organize the work in a way that's both more pleasing to the eye, and easier to skip around (so you're not just reading one long page of information, which is essentially what a forum thread is).

Okay, that works.  I've never really worked with a Wiki; do I just go in and futz around or does someone create a basedir for me?

[Ishmayl-Retired]

You create a base dir... just create a page called "Wake" and go from there!  :)

[Eladris]

For those interested I've dumped most of the original Wake thread and quite a bit more (added several Spheres from my notes) into the Wiki at: http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Wake

[Lmns Crn]

I think this might be too minor of a comment to go in the relevant discussion page, but I think it would be a lot of fun to play a game set in Sump, with the players as Scrappers trying to make their living. There's something compelling about exploring cliffs and canyons of piled up litter, fighting filth-monsters while armed and armored only with trash.

[Eladris]

I think this might be too minor of a comment to go in the relevant discussion page, but I think it would be a lot of fun to play a game set in Sump, with the players as Scrappers trying to make their living. There's something compelling about exploring cliffs and canyons of piled up litter, fighting filth-monsters while armed and armored only with trash.

:D  Sphere brought to you by the adage "one man's trash is another man's treasure".  I've only had one group actually venture into the Sphere (chasing a thief through the sewers of Lumin) and they left as quickly as they could find the Scrapper's camp.  Ideally, I'd loved to make every Sphere possible of self-contained adventure for at least a couple of levels; Sump would certainly be a challenging candidate!

[Eladris]

Hi.

I rewrote Aetherspheres for Wake the ideas that have been stewing since winter.  I think the revision should help make the ideas I present with Wake more accessible.  I don't know.  Shake fist angrily or something if I'm doing it wrong!

Also, I am sad I only update this thread once a year when I update my wiki much more frequently!