New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

[Astromancer]

The Doorkeepers

It used to be that there were many doors between the two sides of the world. This led to chaos and misery. Cradles robbed and changelings left, the dead drinking the life of the living, curses, plagues, endless sorrow. Then our order of Wizards decided to control the boundary. Almost immediately we had the Renaissance.

Now seven centuries later humanity is has settled the solar system and has developed superluminal flight. Obesity is a greater problem worldwide than starvation even in the poorest lands. More people get to go to university now than could read in medieval times.

But many people hate this world. When freedom and prosperity are common deference and submission are rare. There are people out there in the world who can't enjoy even the most exquisite wines unless they know others are thirsty. There are those who can't savor the taste of pheasant or lobster unless they know others are hungry. They can't enjoy being healthy, strong, and beautiful, unless they know others are denied vital medical care. These people want to rip the barriers down and drown all light and hope.

Our duty is to guard the doors between the two sides of the world and secure the right of humanity to choose its own fate.

Basically, the PCs are Wizards and Wizardesses ("witches are another category dear") who regulate passage between our mundane reality and the other world of ghosts, faeries, and stranger things. Both the beings of the other side of the world and rival groups of magic workers want to break the control in order to gain increased power over humanity.

The governments of many lands are becoming slowly more aware of the magical demimonde. As they gain awareness they gain a desire for power over this other border. Many of the Rival factions are beginning to link up with the government to break the Doorkeepers.

First shatter the doors then devour the world. At least that's the plan.

Note: Use Transhuman Space as a guide to the general tech level.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The Doorkeepers

It used to be that there were many doors between the two sides of the world. This led to chaos and misery. Cradles robbed and changelings left, the dead drinking the life of the living, curses, plagues, endless sorrow. Then our order of Wizards decided to control the boundary. Almost immediately we had the Renaissance.

Now seven centuries later humanity is has settled the solar system and has developed superluminal flight. Obesity is a greater problem worldwide than starvation even in the poorest lands. More people get to go to university now than could read in medieval times.

But many people hate this world. When freedom and prosperity are common deference and submission are rare. There are people out there in the world who can't enjoy even the most exquisite wines unless they know others are thirsty. There are those who can't savor the taste of pheasant or lobster unless they know others are hungry. They can't enjoy being healthy, strong, and beautiful, unless they know others are denied vital medical care. These people want to rip the barriers down and drown all light and hope.

Our duty is to guard the doors between the two sides of the world and secure the right of humanity to choose its own fate.

Basically, the PCs are Wizards and Wizardesses ("witches are another category dear") who regulate passage between our mundane reality and the other world of ghosts, faeries, and stranger things. Both the beings of the other side of the world and rival groups of magic workers want to break the control in order to gain increased power over humanity.

The governments of many lands are becoming slowly more aware of the magical demimonde. As they gain awareness they gain a desire for power over this other border. Many of the Rival factions are beginning to link up with the government to break the Doorkeepers.

First shatter the doors them devour the world. At least that's the plan.

Wouldn't the closest analogue in English be sorceress: I've never heard of a female wizard.

[jason taylor]

Tolkien doesn't do much in the East and South. Why not explore there a bit. The battle against the Forces of Evil must be going on and perhaps the Blue Wizards are doing their part (alternately and perhaps more likely they turned traitor and are the bad guys).

Some of Aragorn's adventures before LotR.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Tolkien doesn't do much in the East and South. Why not explore their a bit. The battle against the Forces of Evil must be going on and perhaps the Blue Wizards are doing their part (alternately and perhaps more likely they turned traitor and are the bad guys).

Some of Aragorn's adventures before LotR.

The culture of the southeastern lands of Middle Earth would be a romantic blend of various southwest Asian cultures. Tap GURPS: Arabian Nights and GURPS:Castle Falkenstein: Ottoman Empire for the details. From what I've heard of Tolkien's notes the Blue Wizards count as more misdirected than evil. Which would keep you away from standard evil wizard tropes.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Wouldn't the closest analogue in English be sorceress: I've never heard of a female wizard.

Wizardess was frequently used in the 16th through 18th centuries. Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter refers to the Governor's sister as a Wizardess. Many works by witch hunters in the 17th century preferred to use the word "wizardess" over witch.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The culture of the southeastern lands of Middle Earth would be a romantic blend of various southwest Asian cultures. Tap GURPS: Arabian Nights and GURPS:Castle Falkenstein: Ottoman Empire for the details. From what I've heard of Tolkien's notes the Blue Wizards count as more misdirected than evil. Which would keep you away from standard evil wizard tropes.

That's a great idea. It has to have subtleties. The Rohirrim and the Men of Dale are kind of like the Russ (who were real cavalry Vikings) but the Rohirrim were regimentalized in a way that looks rather like British cavalry (each Eored is about the size of a squadron). Likewise you have to make the Easterlings and Southerns have something that is a little different than Turks and Arabs.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

That's a great idea. It has to have subtleties. The Rohirrim and the Men of Dale are kind of like the Russ (who were real cavalry Vikings) but the Rohirrim were regimentalized in a way that looks rather like British cavalry (each Eored is about the size of a squadron). Likewise you have to make the Easterlings and Southerns have something that is a little different than Turks and Arabs.

That's why blending the two would work well. The Arabs and the Turks (not to mention the Persians/Iranians) are profoundly different peoples. Mix and match to create new cultures.

Also pray for the publications of GURPS: Medieval Persia and GURPS: Mogul Empire.

[Astromancer]

Sergeants and Witchdoctors

Well Colonel, learning what the local practitioner did and how he did it was self-defense. The priest, or whatever the locals call him, Witchdoctor doesn't sound right, put hexes on my men. So I learned some of his craft from this local lady I've been keeping company with. Then I hexed the priest right back.

Yes, I think I hexed the priest. Why else would he glow in the dark?

Basically, this is a Weird War II game. The local spellcasters on these South Pacific islands don't like the troops. The boys in uniform (or largely out of uniform both because of the heat and a local mold that ruins clothes) are spending to much time with the local women. Plus they give them gifts! So the spellcasters hex the men.

However, where there is a will... The men have gotten the local women to teach them magic (some of the guys have gotten men to teach them magic, but they keep that on the down low).

Now, without offending the Brass or fouling up the war effort it's a battle of wits and witchery!

[Astromancer]

You Again!

Now I have a plan to get the mortal folks to believe in us again. It came while I was reading some mortal books and magazines. The first inspiration was from an old children's book called The Ship That Sailed to Mars. It was by one of those illustrators that made all of us Faerie Folk look like sugary twits. All you need to know is that in the book a man needed to go to Mars for spiritual reasons and the faeries in the book built him a space ship.

What's a space ship? It's a vehicle that flies between worlds.

Yes, mortals are thinking of making that sort of thing. Which brings me to my other source of inspiration. Science Fiction, no I can't define it. But I can say that a lot of it involves space ships and people traveling to other worlds. Like Sinbad and Gulliver but traveling beyond the moon using technology.

How does that help us? Simple, they also tell tales of people from other worlds (they call them Aliens) traveling to Earth. And lots of people believe in aliens who don't believe in faeries. So, let's all dress up in tin foil and drive the humans nuts as spacemen!

Basically, the faeries are back and you are them. The early twentieth century boom in illustrated children's books ruined the credibility of the faeries. So now the faeries are dressing up as space people and building flying saucers to get their street cred back.

Problem, these guys calling themselves Black Ops are hunting the Fay down and they are dangerous. Well the Daoine Sidhe don't back down.

This is Black Ops from the other side. The Lords of the Daoine Sidhe aren't weak. And the faerie folk are tricky but the FBI is damn scary!

Set this in the late 1940s just as the first UFOs are coming out. If you have a good sourcebook on the Shaver Mysteries then you can get the faeries all dressed up as Deros and Teros to freak the mundanes. Just don't get caught by military intelligence.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Wouldn't the closest analogue in English be sorceress: I've never heard of a female wizard.

Wizardess is a real word. There is a different feel between Sorcerer and wizard and this carries over to Wizardess for me. At least Astromancer avoid calling female wizards "witches."

I, male, was a witch for around 20 years.