Arga discussion thread.

[O Senhor Leetz]

Because Arga has changed so much from it's original conception (this is a good thing) this thread is to develop the setting further along slightly different lines. It will focus less on the Dying World aspect, the setting will be in an "Ancient" era, as opposed to the default Medieval - that being said, some anachronistic elements have found there way in, but they work well, I promise! The races from Arga will be kept and expanded, but Gods will become tangible components in the world, not unlike Greek mythology. As for now, I'll write some quick summaries of key parts of the setting.

History Thus far, Arga has seen three Ages with it currently in it's forth. The First Age was that of the Gods. They ruled the lands and build great cities and temples to themselves and kept rule - some beneficent, some cruel - over the mortals of Arga. After the Gods were forces into the "Heavens" by X event, the Second Age began. Great Hero-Kings, often with divine blood, carved glorious and vast empires and became masters of magical forces. Eventually, after the death of the Hero-Kings and the fall of their empire, the Third Age arose, that of the Artificer. Arcane technologies flourished for many years, until a foul civil war brought down the shining empires of the machine-makers. Now it is the Four Age. Some say this is the last age, as if the Gods, Heroes, and Man could fail, there is nothing left. Others see it as a time to unearth the lost powers of the ancients and to usher in a new renaissance on the face of Arga. Who knows what the truth is.

Gods The Gods are real, there is no doubt about that. But that being said, they are not like mortals, and are often seen as being fickle, capricious, and unpredictable at their best. Some Gods go generations without doing anything, as time flows differently for them - a mortal lifetime may pass in the blink of a God's eye. In the First Age, there was a king amongst the Gods - Aegys. But due to X event, he was destroyed. The Gods now sit in several different camps, competing and feuding to various degrees.

Monsters In Arga, there are two general types of "monsters." Those that are more of race - like harpies or gargoyles. And those that are legendary, unique monsters, like THE MINOTAUR! or THE MANTICORE!

The World/Geography Think Greece - cliffs, seas, islands, rugged rugged rugged.

Alright, that's all I have right now, it's kinda late and the old brain is slowing down. Below is art I've made with the new Arga in mind, with the Greek Punk© aesthetic. (haha, it's a joke, get it?)

 
Argan Human

 
Various locales
 

The Vorr
 

Misc. Gallery

[LD]

The Watcher and the Giant look very intriguing.

Hm. Ancient Age. It's not inherently much more 'innovative' than the standard medieval-setting. I hope the change was done because of personal reasons rather than just to be 'different'. I figured that Arga worked in the traditional setting- but it might also work with these new tweaks that you suggest. I look forward to seeing how the world turns out.

Also... for the shift to ancient age from medieval, personally I prefer Medieval, but if you enjoy the ancient age-- good luck with it. Your worlds are interesting and I will keep reading about them.

>>The World/Geography Think Greece - cliffs, seas, islands, rugged rugged rugged.

This does seem to fit arga's map :)

[Superfluous Crow]

I like the greek overtones but I still think you should keep some focus on the anachronistic. I can understand wanting to take your setting in the direction you're most comfortable with, but Arga has a *lot* of great elements and it'd be a pity not to put them to use :)

[O Senhor Leetz]

I like the greek overtones but I still think you should keep some focus on the anachronistic. I can understand wanting to take your setting in the direction you're most comfortable with, but Arga has a *lot* of great elements and it'd be a pity not to put them to use :)

haha, don't fret CC, this is still Arga, no doubt about that. Thing is, when I originally started shaping up Arga, it was all on the fly with no structure really, after a while, it was beginning to be a little unwieldy - some elements didn't seem to fit, the world lacked a unifying theme or ambiance, lots of things did not connect. I'm just rebuilding Arga with the elements I liked and making sure they fit well, instead of being somewhat hodge podge.

And yes, anachronisms will still be very prevalent. Printing presses, crude firearms, clockwork thingies. The dying world will still be present, but less in a visual way, and more in a downward spiral of thinking - "If the Gods fell, and the Hero-Kings fell, and the great Artificers fell, what chance do we have of doing anything" world is going to die thoughts.

By the by, what elements of Arga did/do you enjoy the most?  

[O Senhor Leetz]

Nothing to see here folks, just keep moving.

[Ghostman]

The creation story is logical but a bit ordinary. Maybe you could give Gael a more important role in the conflict to spice it up?

[O Senhor Leetz]

it definitely is. at first I thought I wanted a fairly active and tangent group of Gods, but now that I wrote it down and thought about it some more, I'm not sure I do. I may keep gods more localized and varied, which I think is much cooler. I'll have to revise the Ages a bit, but I don't think that should pose much of a problem.

[Superfluous Crow]

Hmm, I think I'd go with more localised gods as well. These great creation stories of the world never work out properly really... If you really want one you could perhaps have the various gods chance upon the already created earth, and then attempting to invest it with life?
As for favorite Arga elements...
I love your very alternative and exotic cultures. The Ib wicker-masks, the dwarven scripture walls, etc.
Much of your magic appeals more to me than what you see in classical fantasy as well, and I think much of it could work in greekpunk-Arga as well. The Athemancers I love especially; perhaps not that odd considering I had some involvement in their creation.  
There is more, but this is what i can recall off the top of my head.

[O Senhor Leetz]

Hmm, I think I'd go with more localised gods as well. These great creation stories of the world never work out properly really... If you really want one you could perhaps have the various gods chance upon the already created earth, and then attempting to invest it with life?
As for favorite Arga elements...
I love your very alternative and exotic cultures. The Ib wicker-masks, the dwarven scripture walls, etc.
Much of your magic appeals more to me than what you see in classical fantasy as well, and I think much of it could work in greekpunk-Arga as well. The Athemancers I love especially; perhaps not that odd considering I had some involvement in their creation.  
There is more, but this is what i can recall off the top of my head.

ok cool, those are all staying in. The Duran backstory may change though, no Old Dura and no tech for them. I was thinking they would be quasi-Tibetan, just meditating in their mountain citadels. Oooh, idea. Maybe they would meditate so well, eventually they could revert back to stone, so you would have these monastery halls filled with transcended Dura, like cross-legged statues that would meld in with the temple.

[Superfluous Crow]

That would be quite cool :D
Your entire take on "dwarves" could revolve around them being sort of druid/monks. Maybe think Rousseau and the natural state even? (just brainstorming here)
I can live with the arc-tech gone, but I kinda liked the old mad war machines. You could possibly just change their backstories. You already have the automatoi after all.

[Kindling]

As to Light Dragon's comments about the "ancient" feel of the setting... Although I have only a passing familiarity with Arga at the moment (something I really should find time to rectify), I have to say what struck me was the aesthetic you defined as greekpunk. Now, I do have something of an interest in the bronze age in general and I developed a love for greek mythology in my childhood, so those elements are great, but that's not what you've gone for... you've aimed higher, in that this isn't just an ancient greek setting, it's a greekPUNK setting, and I really hope you won't lose sight of the importance of that suffix :)

[O Senhor Leetz]

@CC, do you think the Automatoi would make an interesting enough character race?

haha, good to hear Kindling. And yes, the punk is very prevalent. The Greek part has more to do with visuals - bronze stuff, the armor, cloth designs, boats, old pillared ruins - than with a cosmology or mythology. I did try a Greek-style mythos with Arga, but it felt artificial, so it's not happening. The next round of sketches I'll try to through in more of the punk.

by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed Knife's Edge.

[Superfluous Crow]

They are close to Eberron's warforged. As a concept they are completely valid as a character race; but you'll have to Argafy them somewhat more before they'll stand the tests of time and taste.
They'd fit in with the greek as they are now, but perhaps not with the -punk. My only idea is to make them less human-shaped and more like the demented creations of ancient gods. (I think that that concept would still fit within the set bounds of the greek and the -punk)

[O Senhor Leetz]

outwardly like the warforged, but I want their minds to tick differently, make them very alien and reserved. Are much more rare.

at the moment, I'm trying to finish up the world map, get it scanned, and get it online. I like it much much more than the old Arga world map. Some areas I'm set on thus far include a rocky desert, pirate islands, a snowy north (which Kolyaev completely convinced me to put back in) and the tip of a jungle continent.

[Superfluous Crow]

Hehe, those locales sound close to something I'd put in my own setting ^^
I quite liked your old map; what changes will have happened in this new one? Less continents? More mountains?