10-29-2013, 05:08 AM | #11 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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There's one official Imperial Church, a cult of personality centered around the Emperor, proclaiming him God On Earth. Anyone that claims the Emperor is not Divine is proclaimed a heretic and burned alive at the stake. In addition, the Church preaches of a Divine Trinity: After creating the Earth, God split himself in three: the God Above, the God Below, and the God On Earth (the Emperor). The God Above is master of the Sky, the Sun, the Moon, and the Weather, and sees All. The God Below is the master of the Dead, the ultimate Judge, and permits the nobility to have Wealth. The God On Earth is Ruler of the Living. The Angels work for the Trinity as His messengers; most of the Immortal Elves can claim to be Angels taken physical form. Under them are a number of Saints and Martyrs, heroes and gods of old from before the Empire was founded who are worshipped as agents of the Trinity in their various fields. Add in the Adversary who was an Angel but rebelled against the God On Earth, taking a few others with him; these became the Demons. "Divine" magic is nothing more than standard magic with religious trappings. Thoughts?
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991 "But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!" The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation. Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting |
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10-29-2013, 05:12 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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10-29-2013, 05:13 AM | #13 | |
Join Date: Aug 2013
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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10-29-2013, 05:18 AM | #14 | |
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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10-29-2013, 05:21 AM | #15 | |
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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10-29-2013, 06:55 AM | #16 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
What magic system are you planning to use? If it uses conventional Magery, remember that anyone with that trait gets an IQ + Magery roll to recognise magic items as being magical when they first see, and when they first touch them. So the IEs may well use "magic-sniffers", without telling them what their ability means. They'd be sent to search the home of anyone suspicious; don't think in terms of US law as being how this kind of government should behave.
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10-29-2013, 06:59 AM | #17 | |
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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10-29-2013, 08:43 AM | #18 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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10-29-2013, 02:46 PM | #19 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
You might want to borrow (steal...) some ideas from Harn. One of the key concepts of that society and its pantheon was borrowed (stolen...) from the way Medieval and Renaissance alchemists thought about knowledge.
To them, knowledge was inherently dangerous, and therefore had to be controlled for the good of all. That's why alchemist journals read like recondite metaphors, written in code. One had to first demonstrate moral discipline, before one was permitted to know dangerous things. In Harn, the god of knowledge is symbolized by a black lantern, because, "Knowledge without wisdom sheds no light." The island, itself, is very tightly controlled, and as such has started to slip behind the technology of the mainland. The reason is that the fabric of reality is badly frayed on the part of the world (Kethira) upon which Harn is found. Naturally-occurring dimensional passages (Barisi Points) appear commonly, and an ancient precursor race (the Earthmasters) also created interdimensional gates that further tattered the fabric of reality. Most of those gates are abandoned, now. The Earthmasters are all gone, and nobody is really sure why. However, the mages who specialize in that area of study have a nasty tendency to completely freak out, try to take over the entire island and then lock it down with fanatically loyal troops. Apparently, the Earthmasters weren't destroyed -- they fled (at least, that's my favorite interpretation...). So, maybe The Empire (PP) exists because the IEs believe they have a great responsibility to protect the world from some existential threat. However, because their responsiblities are so heavy, and the stress is so great, they feel they deserve every entitlement -- the best food, the finest clothing, the most desireable slaves. And, of course, absolute obedience. In our world, the concept that "knowledge must be earned" started to break down in the 16th Century, and then started to die in the 17th Century with the creation of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge. The notion that members should consult with one another, that members should publish their work openly, and that members should subject their work to the rational critique of peers, was a strange and alien concept. That's why so many bitter feuds existed between members, early on. It also played a key role in the advancement of science, in the Western world. So, what if you did something like that, with your campaign? You have an empire in which knowledge is considered horribly dangerous, and is therefore restricted only to those who demonstrate "sufficient moral responsibility" -- all of whom just happen to be the ethically superior IEs, of course. That means, once your PCs gain sufficient notoriety, they might get recruited into the "Imperial Society for Arcane Discovery," a clandestine group (membership in which is immediately punishable by secret execution) devoted to the exploration of ancient sites, the discovery of ancient knowledge, the exploration of lands beyond the empire and the destruction of the corrupt ruling classes. At some point, maybe they discover the "Existential Threat" is a hoax, and has always been a hoax, and exists only as a justification to maintain the status quo. Or, maybe, it's real. If that's so, then destruction of The Empire (PP) means the revolutionaries in the Imperial Society now have to take on the responsiblity for the defense of reality, themselves.
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10-29-2013, 03:27 PM | #20 | |
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Re: Creating a new fantasy world.
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fantasy, gurps, setting |
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