The Cadaverous Earth

[Steerpike]

Well it was always intended as an Earth of the distant future.  The most fundamental sources of inspiration for the setting are Zothique and Vance's Dying Earth, and other works of the Dying Earth subgenre.

On Zothique, the last continent on Earth, the sun no longer shone with the whiteness of its prime, but was dim and tarnished as if with a vapor of blood. New stars without number had declared themselves in the heavens, and the shadows of the infinite had fallen closer. And out of the shadows, the older gods had returned to man: the gods forgotten since Hyperborea, since Mu and Poseidonis, bearing other names but the same attributes. And the elder demons had also returned, battening on the fumes of evil sacrifice, and fostering again the primordial sorceries.

'Earth': a dim place, ancient beyond knowledge.  Once it was a tall world of cloudy mountains and bright rivers, and the sun was a white blazing ball.  Ages of rain and wind have beaten and rounded the granite, and the sun is feeble and red.  The continents have sunk and risen.  A million cities have lifted towers, have fallen to dust.  In place of the old peoples a few thousand strange souls live.  There is evil on Earth, evil distilled by time... Earth is dying and in its twilight...'

M. John Harrison's Viriconium and Gene Wolfe's Urth are also prominent examples of the subgenre, set in distant days of the Earth's future.  In Viriconium here and there there are tiny hints of our own world peeking through, like the Bistro Californium and Proton Circuit.

The idea is that while it's earth, virtually nothing is recognizable.  In many ways it's just another device for creating a totally bizarre world - it's just an alternative to setting everything in an entirely made-up land like Middle Earth, or on another planet.

[Humabout]

Oh my god!  Quit writing so freakin' much, man!  I'm never going to catch up on this setting if you don't just put the keyboard down!

Also, what I've read so far (maybe 1% of 1%, by the looks of it) looks awesome

[Ghostman]

The idea is that while it's earth, virtually nothing is recognizable.  In many ways it's just another device for creating a totally bizarre world - it;s just an alternative to setting everything in an entirely made-up land like Middle Earth, or on another planet.

Just a nitpick, but Middle-Earth (or actually Arda) is supposed to be Earth of the forgotten prehistoric past. It's just never mentioned in the books.

[Steerpike]

Oh that's totally true!  Of course.  My bad.

[Dialexis]

Steerpike,

Long a lurker and ardent fan of your work (with CE in my opinion the crowning jewel of the treasure trove of Xell, Death of Time, Mytholith, Gossamer Isles, etc.) I wondered whether you had any immediate plans to post a more detailed write-up of Crepuscle. Unless I am mistaken, all of the Twilight Cities have rather detailed posts save the City of Red and Black. Alternatively, do you have any further plans for the setting on the foreseeable horizon? 

Regardless, thank you for sharing your brilliant, grotesquely-beautiful creations.

[Steerpike]

Thanks, Dialexis!

I should really write up Crepuscle formally (I have some notes for it on an old computer).  The Cadaverous Earth has sort of sat fallow for awhile; I used to have a weekly online CE game going, but my studies intervened, and then I got involved GMing a game IRL (Planescape).  When that wraps, I may very well resurrect my old CE game if a good number of the players are willing to return.

In terms of the setting's future, I've considered rebooting the setting and maybe trying to put together a PDF, or maybe writing some formal CE "modules."

I've also got a still-not-off-the-ground blog that I've been dragging my feet on, and I might post CE or CE-ish stuff on that from time to time, if/when I find time to set it up properly and write content for it.

[LD]

>>When that wraps, I may very well resurrect my old CE game if a good number of the players are willing to return.

That is exciting!

[Dialexis]

I should really write up Crepuscle formally (I have some notes for it on an old computer).

Aye, that ye should. That ye should.

The Cadaverous Earth has sort of sat fallow for awhile; I used to have a weekly online CE game going, but my studies intervened, and then I got involved GMing a game IRL (Planescape).  When that wraps, I may very well resurrect my old CE game if a good number of the players are willing to return.

Glad to hear you have a table-top game going. The possibility of the Blood & Bewitchment game resurrecting is encouraging to hear (I've read all the logs thus posted, much to my enjoyment, and if you need/desire help formatting/editing the rest, let me know). And should said game resume and you have any spots for additional players...

I do have to ask, however, with your Gamayun-worthy vocabulary and evident fluency in mythology, biology, and a number of other fields, just what is your focus of studies?

In terms of the setting's future, I've considered rebooting the setting and maybe trying to put together a PDF, or maybe writing some formal CE "modules."

Not sure exactly what you're considering with a reboot. I think the setting as is, is amazing, so I don't know what you would want to change. But if you want any help with drafting an updated pdf, snazzified with fonts, sidebars, and art, such sounds delightful (and something I've be willing to help with, as no doubt others would). More suggested adventures, especially for those cities currently lacking them, would be great. Your adventure designs are great (I'm actually in the process of concurrently finishing two of Lophius ones).

That said, mechanics/statblocks would be a boon, either for a rebooted pdf or modules, as they would make the setting materials more accessible to would-be CE GMs. I know you used Iron Heroes ruleset (largely) for the pbp game here. I might also recommend Pathfinder rules (since they are graciously available to the public and widely used. Alternatively or concurrently, I would suggest taking a look at Monte Cooke's Numenara's ruleset, as it seems very well suited to story-telling while requiring little mechanics/crunch-time for GMs.

[Steerpike]

I do have to ask, however, with your Gamayun-worthy vocabulary and evident fluency in mythology, biology, and a number of other fields, just what is your focus of studies?

My parents are both biologists by education and I studied a bit of biology in university, but my chief area of study is English Literature.  Currently I'm completing a PhD; my thesis is primarily on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century weird/gothic fiction, aesthetics, and disgust (my current list of planned authors to cover includes Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, and M.R. James, and I'll probably also deal with either William Hope Hodgson, Robert Chambers, Richard Marsh, or Oscar Wilde... or maybe Poe or Stoker).  So I'm asking questions like "how can disgust become aesthetically pleasurable?" and "why does disgust become prevalent in gothic literature during this period?"

Not sure exactly what you're considering with a reboot. I think the setting as is, is amazing, so I don't know what you would want to change. But if you want any help with drafting an updated pdf, snazzified with fonts, sidebars, and art, such sounds delightful (and something I've be willing to help with, as no doubt others would). More suggested adventures, especially for those cities currently lacking them, would be great. Your adventure designs are great (I'm actually in the process of concurrently finishing two of Lophius ones).

Thanks for the offer!  Which two Lophius adventures did you run?  And how did they go?

In terms of a reboot, I might condense a few cities into one another (like, for example, Macellaria and Moroi could be merged, maybe) and I think I'd prune some races/creatures and tweak others.  Largely I'm pretty happy with the setting, though.

That said, mechanics/statblocks would be a boon, either for a rebooted pdf or modules, as they would make the setting materials more accessible to would-be CE GMs. I know you used Iron Heroes ruleset (largely) for the pbp game here. I might also recommend Pathfinder rules (since they are graciously available to the public and widely used. Alternatively or concurrently, I would suggest taking a look at Monte Cooke's Numenara's ruleset, as it seems very well suited to story-telling while requiring little mechanics/crunch-time for GMs.

I did use Iron Heroes, and while it's been OK I'm now a big Pathfinder fan; if I was to start a totally new campaign or do a formal write-up I might use Pathfinder as my base, possibly with the Armour as Damage Reduction and Wound and Vigor Points variants.  Or, maybe, I might look into something like Lamentations of the Flame Princess - its particular brand of deadly, grindhouse fantasy fits CE rather well.

[Dialexis]

My parents are both biologists by education and I studied a bit of biology in university, but my chief area of study is English Literature.  Currently I'm completing a PhD; my thesis is primarily on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century weird/gothic fiction, aesthetics, and disgust (my current list of planned authors to cover includes Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, and M.R. James, and I'll probably also deal with either William Hope Hodgson, Robert Chambers, Richard Marsh, or Oscar Wilde... or maybe Poe or Stoker).  So I'm asking questions like "how can disgust become aesthetically pleasurable?" and "why does disgust become prevalent in gothic literature during this period?"

Intriguing -and quite elucidating (or maybe I'm just saying such because I'm also finishing my PhD, though in clinical psychology).

Which two Lophius adventures did you run?  And how did they go?

#2 & #4. Both were modified as I'm GMing the adventures in a homebrew of mine, which admittedly was inspired by your work and Valente's. That said, they just completed #4 and are mid-way through #2. They seem to be enjoying them both, especially the simultaneous running of 'quests' (as they are also knee- or neck-deep in some other plots). Creating stats for the piscine monstrosities was enjoyable, as was designing interesting loot, relevant encounters, and the chase mechanics for the familiar breaking loose at the end of the battle with the Padre.

In terms of a reboot, I might condense a few cities into one another (like, for example, Macellaria and Moroi could be merged, maybe) and I think I'd prune some races/creatures and tweak others.  Largely I'm pretty happy with the setting, though.

Of course I'm not holding all the creative cards, but for what it's worth... I think that Moroi and Macellaria are quite distinct, what with the former's Elder Trees/Resin Merchants and the latter's Skin Markets/Robber Barons. Combining them into one city, in my opinion, would make it conceptually too 'crowded' and minimize the power and flavor of each elements. If anything, I would suggest collapsing Moroi and Crepuscle (though, once again, I say such not knowing what you have in mind for Crepuscle). But the placement, mercantilism, and ties to witchcraft seem to suggest a better overlap.

But on the matter of revision or clarification, I have always wondered: what maritime trade exists for the pirates to prey upon? Certainly riparine piracy has ample prey, but whose fleets brave the Fevered Ocean? Trade between Erebh, the Blue Bottle, and the rest of the Twilight Cities? What commodities are worth such long, arduous, dangerous journeys?

I did use Iron Heroes, and while it's been OK I'm now a big Pathfinder fan; if I was to start a totally new campaign or do a formal write-up I might use Pathfinder as my base, possibly with the Armour as Damage Reduction and Wound and Vigor Points variants. 

That's all-too ironic. The aforementioned campaign I've been GMing is using Pathfinder (been using PF since beta) with... both of the above variants.

[Steerpike]

But on the matter of revision or clarification, I have always wondered: what maritime trade exists for the pirates to prey upon? Certainly riparine piracy has ample prey, but whose fleets brave the Fevered Ocean? Trade between Erebh, the Blue Bottle, and the rest of the Twilight Cities? What commodities are worth such long, arduous, dangerous journeys?

I figured that Crepuscle, Erebh, and Marainein would all risk the oceans, and maybe the odd ship from the Northern Baronies. Trading with the southern cities overland would often be pretty arduous, between the Red Rain, barbarians, brigands, rogue demons, Rotmist, and Fecundity.  In my game I depicted some merchant groups from Crepuscle risking journies to Macellaria and Moroi, but having to plough through Dour Erg or Firesong Marches and the Mewling Moors and Shadowglass Steppes to get to the southernmost cities would be pretty insane, so some traders risk the pirates, Boilwinds, and sirae to trade slaves and alchemical substances with Marainein and Erebh.

[Dialexis]

Ah, that makes perfect sense. I'd forgotten about Mareinein's southerly location. Perhaps one day you might convince Eareg into making a map of those austral regions.

[Nomadic]

Perhaps one day you might convince Eareg into making a map of those austral regions.

Not that I would need much convincing... :)

[Dialexis]

Maybe just a pinch of that ghost-grass the ghul's been dying to smoke...

[Kindling]

I may very well resurrect my old CE game if a good number of the players are willing to return.

Yes.

or maybe writing some formal CE "modules."

Yes.

I might look into something like Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Yes.