New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

There's a movie with this background (minus the other undead). It's called "Fido".

I haven't seen Fido. I saw a British comedy, Shaun of the Dead, with this set up, minus the other undead, as the end.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Socialist Magic

It used to be the gods had all the magic, and mortals only got any if they performed tasks for the gods -- or traded it between themselves -- and always just enough so they would need to work for the gods again tomorrow.

But then the mortals rose up and forced the gods to distribute the magic equally. The gods did not give up their hold willingly, and those that could fled with as much magic as they could take with them. Now they lurk on the edges of the world, tempting mortals with extra magic in exchange for attempts to bring the society of equality down and restore the gods to their "rightful" place.

With this extra magic these wicked mortals are a match for groups of lesser mages. In some places champions are selected by the people to receive enough extra magic to stand up to the Wicked.


(I.E. Gods were the upper classes hording all the resources, socialist coup makes everyone equal, some gods still have enough extra to try and up-end the new system, sometimes this results in evil warlocks/witches fighting magical girls/boys/people empowered by democracy.)

[Inky]

Haha. This sounds like it could get very satirical very quickly at some tables which might not be a bad thing.

Possibly how gameplay goes would depend on how the magical girl powers work and how easy it is for their supporters to take them away again. That might be something that a GM would adjust depending on what kind of plot they were doing. If it was difficult to remove the powers once they were given, it might be possible that once a champion had been granted powers they might go rogue and try to become a new god and the players would have to fight them... which also seems very socialism.

One possibility might be that the powers are in some kind of magical item, which once charged up and given has to be physically taken away to get the powers back. Then you might have to go and get one back off a rogue champion, or somebody might steal one off a defeated champion.

[Astromancer]

Knightwatch!

Where is this place?

Nowhere, anywhere, this is the Castle of the Border

Which border?

All of them.

It's the bright shining ultramodern world of 1920s Britain. Humanity is moving on towards a bright tomorrow. However, there are many things is the dark that dislike the light. However, Knightwatch is a loyal guard of reality itself. Bold warriors, wizards, witches, scholars, scientists, inventors, and adventurers, all dedicated towards protecting the tomorrows of all mankind.

Basically, Knightwatch is an alliance dedicated to protecting the world from things from the realms of shadow. Vampires, goblins, mad scientists, and insane Sorcerers, are all commonplace threats.

The Britain of this world's 1920s is a pulp Sci Fi wonderland. The Tech Level is 6+1^. Magic is generally Path/Book.

Knightwatch is headquartered at the mystical Castle of the Border. These days the CotB looks like an old country house that has been rebuilt a few times. Those initiated into Knightwatch can use the mystical power of the place to travel the world quickly.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

I haven't seen Fido. I saw a British comedy, Shaun of the Dead, with this set up, minus the other undead, as the end.

A good way to help make the concept work is also how it worked in Fido, where everyone who dies (with the exception of those wealthy enough to get a funeral with custom head-coffin to ensure they don't rise again) winds up coming back as a zombie. If you've got other undead in play, it might be that what people come back as is random - or those other undead are actually "evolved" versions of zombies (and it may be possible that someone who gets turned by such an "evolved" undead rises as the same type, rather than having to go through a zombie phase first).

[Astromancer]

Mainstreaming

Let me get this right. You claim to be a wizard.

The correct term is Mage.

(The gentleman in the violet suit levitates himself and the interviewer)

Have I convinced you of anything?

Okay, you're a wiz...Mage. Why are Mages, Faeries,
and the like, going public?

Why should anyone have to live in the shadows?

Basically, the Mages decided to come out of the "Broom Closet." The Faeries and many other supernaturals have decided to join them. Others, especially Vampires, want to shut it down...NOW!

Take the WoD, or any similar setting, and give them a means to go public without the major consequence. Example: Paradox is the bane of the existence of WoD Mages. However, due to powerful rituals, if Mages wear purple clothing marked with stars, Paradox is radically weakened.

Now, groups like Vampires and conspiracy focused Mages are a major threat in this setting, but don't ignore the threat of ordinary people who are dealing with creatures out of myth for the first time in their lives. A ordinary person with the wrong idea can be a massive threat.

[Astromancer]

The Return

What are these beings?

Wizards.

Are you nuts? Besides, Wizards and Wizardesses in stories are humans.

Only those who started out human in the first place. These beings know how to use magic and they came to Earth in Ancient Times to teach humanity. They say they got into a war with reactionaries of their own species. It took them thousands of years to defeat these reactionaries.

Now they've come back to teach us magic and undo the blocks the reactionaries placed on Earth to prevent humans from discovering magic on our own.

Who do they think can learn magic?

Nearly everybody.

Humans built the pyramids with their own brains and sweat. But they should have had the right to use magic if they wanted to. Friendly aliens have returned to Earth to restore what was stolen from humanity, our capacity to do magic. It turns out that without outside interference almost all healthy humans have at least Magery 0. Imperialists among their own kind shackled humanity's gifts for magic to enslave us. But those chains have been shattered.

The Aliens are now teaching magic and thaumutology to large numbers of people. The aliens point out that, with everyone trained in magic, the kind of techno-magical technology mankind will soon be able to build, and the use of servitor spirits as A.I.s to run robots and other systems, humanity will achieve something like a post-scarcity society. Or at least a very low scarcity society.

The problem with this is that all of humanity's governing systems are built on the management of scarcity. Democracies will accept the changes but not all human governments are democratic. Also, many groups violently reject human equality in our real world. They'd be far more bitter here.

Also, humanity's frustrated magical gifts have attracted predators. Beings conventionally called demons. They dislike the idea of losing their hunting grounds. Other stranger beings Faeries, Djinni, Vaesen, Nunnehe, Menehune, Kami, and others don't like the changes either.

Basically, it's a power struggle on in a society a
fundamentally like our own. The PCs should be competent professional Wizards and Wizardesses trying to educate the young in magic. As written I was thinking of standard GURPS Magic but use what you like.

[Astromancer]

A Bag of Islands

This campaign runs around a single powerful magic item. The Bag of Islands is from Arab folklore, it's even mentioned in GURPS:ArabianNights. Just toss one of the stones in the bag out into the sea and it turns into an island (on land it would turn into a mountain).

In a medieval cultural setting, the ability to create new land would be politically explosive. If the PCs suddenly create a new kingdom by tossing the Islands out in appropriate seas (you'll want someplace with a viable climate), they'll soon be involved in a struggle with the nearby powers to keep their new kingdom.

The struggle to make the new kingdom a working nation will be a major campaign. Things from getting a population, getting the church to allow the appointment of Bishops, or getting the regalia of legitimate kingship (Scotland had to argue with the Papal Court for more than a century because England fought to prevent Scotland's kings from being anointed.)

Political struggles don't just involve humans. The Sea Faeries displaced by the PCs will be furious too.

I'd have a strictly limited number of Islands in the Bag. When the Islands are all out of the bag the archipelago should have roughly the same area as Wales but with more arable land.

More later.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Maybe the islands come with population, frozen in magical stasis.

They might be grateful for freedom, or they might be done with being under someone's control and demand the destruction of the bag (whether or not it's been confirmed islands can be put back).

Maybe each island comes with its own separate race, and the PCs have to work to get them to cooperate so they don't get conquered.

[dcarson]

Throw on at the mouth of the equivalent of the Thames or the Seine and devastate an economy. Stops lots of trade and floods prime land.