Posters, matted prints and framed prints of the full page art and maps from Porphyry: World of the Burn are now available through Redbubble.com!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
PORPHYRY: WORLD OF THE BURN available now!
PORPHYRY: WORLD OF THE BURN is now available thru lulu.com with a special introductory 15% off the cover price. Gawn, you know you want one.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
DCC: Funnel Runners
Some thoughts on funnel runs.....not that I'm an expert on them, and I've only read through a handful of modules, but I'm starting to get some very clear ideas of what I think is needed for a really good one, and some house rules on how I'll do them from now on.
NO ELVES
Or dwarves. Or halflings. Racist? No. Looking for a richer gaming experience? Definitely.
Three reasons: the hook for zero level funnel runs is that up til this point in time, where your four little zeroes cross the threshold into that first dungeon, they have had miserable, pointless, banal and bathetic lives of drudge and toil. The motivation for entering the dungeon is the chance to leave all that behind, to escape the quiet horror of the slow death. As soon as you add elves and dwarves to the mix, you're already making that prior life just that little bit more magical, something different and otherworldly. Elves and dwarves kill that grinding mood. Also, especially with elves, if they lived this grim life prior to adventure, where the hell did they pick up that mithril sword they get at 1st level? Wouldn't you take it into the dungeon with you?
Secondly, consequence of play: cause DCC opted for race as class, there is no surprises in store for elves, dwarves, and halflings. As long as you make it out of that funnel run alive, there is no class choice to be made. You are what you are, which for me means a lot of the game play is diminished. There's no need for these three races to go looking for wizard tomes or the lost artefacts of dead religions, or finding the holy weapon or even stealing the jools and sneaking about real quiet like. These demonstrations of class leanings have no meaning for elves dwarves and halflings. Humans on the other hand, and the players that have an idea of how they want to steer them, must desperately search every room for the arcane source that will impart the eldritch teachings to their wannabe wizard. They will send their guys with the beefy physical stats into the front line, armed with whatever rusty weapon they can find; they will hold their weaker zeroes back, sending their little 1HP guy in only when there's a clear advantage, a kill steal or a backstab to put down the horror they're facing or hurling assorted pieces of gear into the fray from a safe distance. They'll send their smartest zero into translate the dusty runes, and their most personable zero in to deal with the talky stuff. Human zeroes get the chance to show their potential, and demonstrate their proto-class. And most importantly for the characters who survive, their players get to make the decision about which class the survivors pursue.
Human characters gives the players far greater meaning to the decisions they make and the consequences of their choices.
Lastly, darkvision. You take a bunch of humans and drop them into a pitch black dungeon, you automatically have fear, you automatically promote resourcing as they scramble to get their source of illumination sorted, you give the denizens they face a clear target to kill, and force the players to choose which character is brave enough to carry the torch. As soon as you add a character with darkvision you kill all those possible sources of tension, which to me is a shame. A funnel run is meant to be the scariest fucking thing these zeroes have ever done. Darkvision kills the scares.
NO ALIGNMENTS.......yet.
Again, running with the notion that the zeroes' lives up to this point have been banal and dreary, I strongly doubt they have had the opportunity to side with the Forces of Law and Chaos. They might be good people, or bad, but most likely vaguely law-abiding, free-willed and occasionally selfish like the rest of us. You'd have a hard time convincing me that most zeroes are anything but Neutral.
So a funnel run that contains events triggered by characters of a particular alignment are wasted on me.
Instead I want a funnel run that allows the characters to demonstrate their potential alignment: situations with hard choices that force the characters to make tough decisions, the outcome of which is a clear demonstration of someone who is Lawful, someone who is Neutral, and someone who is Chaotic.
The events within the funnel run that favour a particular alignment should be triggered by what the players choose then and there, a direct result of player's actions.
Ideally, there should be several situations like this that will help harden the players' alignment leaning for their characters. And for those characters who survive, the Judge and the player can examine how the characters behaved and now have a much clearer idea of what alignment they should be given.
THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Running with the notion that the funnel gives human characters the chance to demonstrate their future class in play, there needs to the opportunity for each future class to evolve.
Future warriors are sorted here. They're guaranteed a good fight, and that which doesn't kill them will usually cough up good weapons and armor to loot. Anything that requires Strength checks allows them to demonstrate their physical prowess. The guy with the biceps holding the collapsing stone door open for the others to escape through? He's the fighter. Judges should keep an eye out for players constantly trying to use their surroundings to their advantage in combat, cause they're the kind of players who'll get them most out of Warrior's Mighty Deeds ability later on.
Characters destined to become thieves need situations that provoke roguish activities. The chance to disguise themselves as one of the enemy and move freely among them, the chance to take advantage of the shadows and cover that the environment provides to ambush their foes, or demonstrate their high Agility by providing dynamic dungeon settings that require balancing, climbing and nimbleness to access key features or rewards. Any player worth their weight in salt should be able to spot these opportunities and try to make the most of them, as long as those opportunities are there. A dungeon made solely of passages 10' wide and regular shaped rooms is a poor proving ground.
Proto-wizards need to find at the very least one source of arcane power that will be the catalyst for their journey along the path of magic. Preferably two, if you have players with an eye towards wizards who also want to stand apart from each other. (Quick aside, looking forward to running a DCC cabal where all the characters are wizards). Ye olde tome of spelles is the default, but a good funnel run should have something far more unique and imaginative. See Snakes as Books for a brilliant example. A means to communing with a possible patron, or free one from its prison, or (if you're a bastard Judge who doesn't automatically level up funnel runners who survive their first dungeon) information about where a patron might be found, along with urgent reasons to go there (so that, at the end of that second adventure, the wannabe wizard has the means to become a full-fledged one). You also want opportunities for characters with reasonable Intelligence to shine, but not in a dry and dusty manner. Translating the mysterious runes to learn a secret about the ruins you're in is one thing. Translating the mysterious runes that hold the key to your imminent death as the trap is activating? Much more exciting.
Aspiring clerics.... I find them the hardest. There's no occupation in the DCC list that indicates religious leanings, so a good funnel run needs to provide the player with an opportunity to learn about and then connect with the divine. But a Finger of God moment reaching down (or up) to bless the character is a Big Deal, the kind of thing that will alter the perceptions of all the characters and not just the one who wants to be the cleric. And there's the other thing. How do you know that the character who makes the connection is one that the player wanted to turn into a cleric? It's a tricky balance, but a good funnel needs to provide the opportunity for aspirants to volunteer for the divine contact without making it essential to successful completion of the funnel. And like two wannabe wizards, if you have two aspiring clerics, and they want to worship different gods, you need to provide multiple opportunities. A solution is to provide an opportunity to contact a particular pantheon of gods, but with different individual deities for different characters. Also note that having a cleric in the party will have a very big influence on the directions and adventures the party undertakes. Two clerics of opposed deities are going to make for a difficult game for the Judge. Lastly, especially when using prefab modules, you need to make sure that any divine opportunities and deities fit within the cosmology of your gameworld.
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH
You need to lock your zeroes in the dungeon. As soon as they realise they're in over their heads, they'll want to (wisely) run away and find someone more capable or get better gear for the job. Nuh uh. This is about forcing the zeroes to rise to the occasion. If they can get out before it gets rough, they won't rise, they'll dribble away.
MINE'S BETTER
This is total self promo here, but I've used my Weird Urban Occupation List for four different groups of characters now, and every single time the players have chosen to base their characters' personalities on this list. It's weird, some of it I have no idea what it means, some of it's a bit ewwwww, but it always provokes good reactions from the players as they read out what occupation they got. Plus the unusual equipment has always provided a good laugh. Decapitating a zombie with a dead cat is win. Basically there's no way I could use the original DCC occupation list now. Just too dull.
If you want 4 Zeroes from that list ready to go, just click the link below to go to Purple Sorcerer's autogen:
Purple Sorcerer: Weird Urban Character Generator
SO NO ELVES.... EVER?
Not at all. If you want elves or any other non human race, just let any player who didn't make it through the funnel run with a character to spare include non-humans in their list of options. Or, if you feel like that's rewarding someone who shouldn't be, let the players unlock alternate races by exploring regions of your campaign where nonhuman reside. Been to the Little Lands? Sweet, now halflings are on the table. Been to visit the Molten King of the Iron Core? Dwarves are now available. And so on, depending entirely on what races you're going to allow. Reward good interaction with your world with more options for your players, and they'll keep exploring.
And that's all I've got for now.
NO ELVES
Or dwarves. Or halflings. Racist? No. Looking for a richer gaming experience? Definitely.
Three reasons: the hook for zero level funnel runs is that up til this point in time, where your four little zeroes cross the threshold into that first dungeon, they have had miserable, pointless, banal and bathetic lives of drudge and toil. The motivation for entering the dungeon is the chance to leave all that behind, to escape the quiet horror of the slow death. As soon as you add elves and dwarves to the mix, you're already making that prior life just that little bit more magical, something different and otherworldly. Elves and dwarves kill that grinding mood. Also, especially with elves, if they lived this grim life prior to adventure, where the hell did they pick up that mithril sword they get at 1st level? Wouldn't you take it into the dungeon with you?
Secondly, consequence of play: cause DCC opted for race as class, there is no surprises in store for elves, dwarves, and halflings. As long as you make it out of that funnel run alive, there is no class choice to be made. You are what you are, which for me means a lot of the game play is diminished. There's no need for these three races to go looking for wizard tomes or the lost artefacts of dead religions, or finding the holy weapon or even stealing the jools and sneaking about real quiet like. These demonstrations of class leanings have no meaning for elves dwarves and halflings. Humans on the other hand, and the players that have an idea of how they want to steer them, must desperately search every room for the arcane source that will impart the eldritch teachings to their wannabe wizard. They will send their guys with the beefy physical stats into the front line, armed with whatever rusty weapon they can find; they will hold their weaker zeroes back, sending their little 1HP guy in only when there's a clear advantage, a kill steal or a backstab to put down the horror they're facing or hurling assorted pieces of gear into the fray from a safe distance. They'll send their smartest zero into translate the dusty runes, and their most personable zero in to deal with the talky stuff. Human zeroes get the chance to show their potential, and demonstrate their proto-class. And most importantly for the characters who survive, their players get to make the decision about which class the survivors pursue.
Human characters gives the players far greater meaning to the decisions they make and the consequences of their choices.
Lastly, darkvision. You take a bunch of humans and drop them into a pitch black dungeon, you automatically have fear, you automatically promote resourcing as they scramble to get their source of illumination sorted, you give the denizens they face a clear target to kill, and force the players to choose which character is brave enough to carry the torch. As soon as you add a character with darkvision you kill all those possible sources of tension, which to me is a shame. A funnel run is meant to be the scariest fucking thing these zeroes have ever done. Darkvision kills the scares.
NO ALIGNMENTS.......yet.
Again, running with the notion that the zeroes' lives up to this point have been banal and dreary, I strongly doubt they have had the opportunity to side with the Forces of Law and Chaos. They might be good people, or bad, but most likely vaguely law-abiding, free-willed and occasionally selfish like the rest of us. You'd have a hard time convincing me that most zeroes are anything but Neutral.
So a funnel run that contains events triggered by characters of a particular alignment are wasted on me.
Instead I want a funnel run that allows the characters to demonstrate their potential alignment: situations with hard choices that force the characters to make tough decisions, the outcome of which is a clear demonstration of someone who is Lawful, someone who is Neutral, and someone who is Chaotic.
The events within the funnel run that favour a particular alignment should be triggered by what the players choose then and there, a direct result of player's actions.
Ideally, there should be several situations like this that will help harden the players' alignment leaning for their characters. And for those characters who survive, the Judge and the player can examine how the characters behaved and now have a much clearer idea of what alignment they should be given.
THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES
Running with the notion that the funnel gives human characters the chance to demonstrate their future class in play, there needs to the opportunity for each future class to evolve.
Future warriors are sorted here. They're guaranteed a good fight, and that which doesn't kill them will usually cough up good weapons and armor to loot. Anything that requires Strength checks allows them to demonstrate their physical prowess. The guy with the biceps holding the collapsing stone door open for the others to escape through? He's the fighter. Judges should keep an eye out for players constantly trying to use their surroundings to their advantage in combat, cause they're the kind of players who'll get them most out of Warrior's Mighty Deeds ability later on.
Characters destined to become thieves need situations that provoke roguish activities. The chance to disguise themselves as one of the enemy and move freely among them, the chance to take advantage of the shadows and cover that the environment provides to ambush their foes, or demonstrate their high Agility by providing dynamic dungeon settings that require balancing, climbing and nimbleness to access key features or rewards. Any player worth their weight in salt should be able to spot these opportunities and try to make the most of them, as long as those opportunities are there. A dungeon made solely of passages 10' wide and regular shaped rooms is a poor proving ground.
Proto-wizards need to find at the very least one source of arcane power that will be the catalyst for their journey along the path of magic. Preferably two, if you have players with an eye towards wizards who also want to stand apart from each other. (Quick aside, looking forward to running a DCC cabal where all the characters are wizards). Ye olde tome of spelles is the default, but a good funnel run should have something far more unique and imaginative. See Snakes as Books for a brilliant example. A means to communing with a possible patron, or free one from its prison, or (if you're a bastard Judge who doesn't automatically level up funnel runners who survive their first dungeon) information about where a patron might be found, along with urgent reasons to go there (so that, at the end of that second adventure, the wannabe wizard has the means to become a full-fledged one). You also want opportunities for characters with reasonable Intelligence to shine, but not in a dry and dusty manner. Translating the mysterious runes to learn a secret about the ruins you're in is one thing. Translating the mysterious runes that hold the key to your imminent death as the trap is activating? Much more exciting.
Aspiring clerics.... I find them the hardest. There's no occupation in the DCC list that indicates religious leanings, so a good funnel run needs to provide the player with an opportunity to learn about and then connect with the divine. But a Finger of God moment reaching down (or up) to bless the character is a Big Deal, the kind of thing that will alter the perceptions of all the characters and not just the one who wants to be the cleric. And there's the other thing. How do you know that the character who makes the connection is one that the player wanted to turn into a cleric? It's a tricky balance, but a good funnel needs to provide the opportunity for aspirants to volunteer for the divine contact without making it essential to successful completion of the funnel. And like two wannabe wizards, if you have two aspiring clerics, and they want to worship different gods, you need to provide multiple opportunities. A solution is to provide an opportunity to contact a particular pantheon of gods, but with different individual deities for different characters. Also note that having a cleric in the party will have a very big influence on the directions and adventures the party undertakes. Two clerics of opposed deities are going to make for a difficult game for the Judge. Lastly, especially when using prefab modules, you need to make sure that any divine opportunities and deities fit within the cosmology of your gameworld.
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH
You need to lock your zeroes in the dungeon. As soon as they realise they're in over their heads, they'll want to (wisely) run away and find someone more capable or get better gear for the job. Nuh uh. This is about forcing the zeroes to rise to the occasion. If they can get out before it gets rough, they won't rise, they'll dribble away.
MINE'S BETTER
This is total self promo here, but I've used my Weird Urban Occupation List for four different groups of characters now, and every single time the players have chosen to base their characters' personalities on this list. It's weird, some of it I have no idea what it means, some of it's a bit ewwwww, but it always provokes good reactions from the players as they read out what occupation they got. Plus the unusual equipment has always provided a good laugh. Decapitating a zombie with a dead cat is win. Basically there's no way I could use the original DCC occupation list now. Just too dull.
If you want 4 Zeroes from that list ready to go, just click the link below to go to Purple Sorcerer's autogen:
Purple Sorcerer: Weird Urban Character Generator
SO NO ELVES.... EVER?
Not at all. If you want elves or any other non human race, just let any player who didn't make it through the funnel run with a character to spare include non-humans in their list of options. Or, if you feel like that's rewarding someone who shouldn't be, let the players unlock alternate races by exploring regions of your campaign where nonhuman reside. Been to the Little Lands? Sweet, now halflings are on the table. Been to visit the Molten King of the Iron Core? Dwarves are now available. And so on, depending entirely on what races you're going to allow. Reward good interaction with your world with more options for your players, and they'll keep exploring.
And that's all I've got for now.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Reincarnation, New Feierland style
New Feierland is the most horrible place in the universe, and my favourite place to go adventuring in. It's run by Trent B on G+, and while playing it I've witnessed some of the most hilarious situations and unfortunate deaths, usually at the same time. Hopefully Trent will make it available to the masses at some point in the near future. It's too good a game not to.
Anyway Lame Jimmy Headshot Groinstab --- deftly played by Reece Carter --- got himself killed, and the question of reincarnation came up.
The muse struck, and suddenly this New Feierland Reincarnation Table appeared:
Roll d100:
01. Mud
02. Shit
03. Dirt
04. A sheep's arse dag
05. A special snowflake. You melt.
06. A dog fart
07. A whiff of halitosis
08. Galoshes
09. A broken rake
10. A blunt knife
11. A fork with all its prongs snapped off
12. Mud
13. Bad luck mud
14. The drool in the last mouthful of beer
15. Bootwipings on a doorstep
16. The toenail clipping in a harlot's bed
17. A grub
18. Shit
19. A stale cup of milk
20. The grit in someone's eye
21. Captain Alistair's belly fluff
22. His righthand man's sock
23. Rancid tripe
24. Guano
25. A mournful one-legged seagull
26. The squirming tail dumped by a lizard
27. The runt in a litter of sewer mice
28. Mud
29. The puddle in a cart track
30. One of Lady Chesterton's Spoodles
31. A slab of meat in a butcher's window
32. A pig trough
33. A pig
34. A happy pig
35. An unhappy pig
36. A fly
37. Mud
38. A lame mule
39. The most whipped nag in town
40. Shit
41. The Outhouse at the pub
42. The hivemind of one dog's worth of gnats
43. A mangy dog
44. A mangy one legged dog
45. A soggy teatowel
47. Soiled bandages at the hospice
48. A very special flavour of shit
49. A cup of tea. Tepid.
50. Mud
51. A lonely tinker's widow
52. A rusty hammer
53. A songbird in a landlord's cage
54. An off key piano
55. A hat, out of fashion
56. A headless chicken
57. Shit
58. The cat that all the kids love to kick
59. A mud filled wellington at the bottom of a paddock
60. The stuffing in a lost teddy bear
61. The rotten cork in a bottle of fine wine
62. A bent knife
63. The necrotic bite in an old man's arm
64. A two headed calf
65. A door knock resting down the bottom of the harbour
66. The most beautiful thing the world will never see
67. Shit
68. A gestalt creature made of fish heads
69. The personification of all New Feierland's regret
70. A dried out quill
71. Mud
72. A fence post
73. A cracked bell in a church
74. A three legged stool with only two legs
75. A handless jug
76. The itch in the middle of someone's back
77. A freckle
78. Shit
79. A mop
80. A whip that never cracks
81. Arseworms in the nearest person
82. A sputtering candle
83. The handkerchief of a sweaty man
84. The shit stain on the side of a toilet bowl that everyone tries to piss away
85. A dead child's diary
86. The tick in a cow's ear
87. A disappointing meal
88. The fifth horn on a three eyed goat
89. A bucket of lard
90. Mud
91. A bloated toad
92. A blind raven
93. The oldest person alive; you have Tourette's
94. A well loved merkin
95. The beer trough at Cooper's
96. A New Feierland baby
97. The saddle of an obese and flatulent man
98. A mud shit melange
99. An adult of the race of your choosing
100. A new god
Blank DCC map
Someone on the DCC RPG G+ community
wanted a blank map for folks to co-create. Muse bit me. Here you go:
wanted a blank map for folks to co-create. Muse bit me. Here you go:
Also there's 216 entries. So if you need something random, you can use three d6 dice to choose.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
HUSK: History of a Hollow World Part VII
There's a whole bunch of references here to races and whatnot. I'm sure not all of it will make sense (I mean it does to me, but I wrote the thing) but check out the previous entries on the people of Husk over here (Part I) and here (Part II).
And for the previous posts on the History,
Part I is here, Part II is here, Part III is here, Part IV here, Part V is here and Part VI is here.
c 2,000-1,600 YEARS AGO
THE SHATTERING
The end result was the breakdown of social systems provided by the Viperium. The Orb was plunged into an new era of isolation and separation, but from this shattered empire arose may new and varied societies. Some good, some bad, but all free to choose the world in which they lived. For the first time in their history, as told to them by their former slave masters, The Children of the Narghwa were free. Once this realisation had sunken in, the Children began to express this freedom.
THE SHATTERING
The end result was the breakdown of social systems provided by the Viperium. The Orb was plunged into an new era of isolation and separation, but from this shattered empire arose may new and varied societies. Some good, some bad, but all free to choose the world in which they lived. For the first time in their history, as told to them by their former slave masters, The Children of the Narghwa were free. Once this realisation had sunken in, the Children began to express this freedom.
The greatest effect of the departure of the Narghwan overlords was the almost desperate attempt for each of the Child Races to establish their own unique culture and identity. Free of the homogeneous doctrines of the Viperium each people sought to distance themselves from each other, to mark themselves as an individual race in their own right. Millennia of repression were cast aside, and new prophets and visionaries sprouted every day, proclaiming their ideas that strove to lift their race out of the quagmire of Viperian blandness. New religions and beliefs spread like wildfire – if the Viperium was not the divine empire, then any race was eligible to be descended from Gods. Heretics and blasphemers suddenly held sway. A plethora of new faiths sprang up and died, then rose again in some new form. Eventually a core number of faiths and beliefs took hold and grew into the numerous practices seen across the Orb today. Some have fallen by the wayside; other, newer religions have taken their place. Whether there is a correct religion, or a universal truth, none knows, save that the majority of faiths recognises the right of an individual to choose their own path to god. Tolerance of differing views, and celebrating such differences is to be expected. The Mocker was widely admired and venerated, being incorporated into many religions. Most organised faiths began searching for pre-Viperium relics that might give credence to their beliefs. Sadly, few artefacts have ever been found.
The Shattering became a time of great upheaval, with millions of different peoples migrating to lands where their physical forms were more acclimatised. In the starkness of sudden free will people sought the comfort and safety of familiarity, and members of the different races began to unite with others of their kind, to share their experience of what it meant to be who they were. It was during this time that many of the unique cultural mores of each sentient race were defined, and many still hold a powerful sway even today. It is perhaps even more remarkable that the different races were able to unite given the scale, the immense size of the former Viperium, and the complete breakdown of social systems such as communication and transport.
The Narghwans lust for control meant that they had shared little of their knowledge with their underlings. The technology had remained in the hands of the Viperium since their schism with the Bhulkulbs, and with its collapse came the loss of much of the scientific knowledge stored in the Narghwan minds. The great devices they used in running the Viperium soon ground to a halt, and from there the rest of Narghwan society quickly unravelled. The monoliths and factories of the Viperium fell silent, and were destined to become ruinous testaments to their bygone power. The secret of Mogramid operation died with the passing of the Viperium, and they have remained unused to this day. Only the oldest forms of transport where available to the freed peoples of the Orb. Some took to the domesticated beasts that ploughed the lands to feed the former slaves; some retained or rediscovered the art of ship building, and a handful of the flying vessels that once filled the air remained in operation, but even they succumbed to wear and tear, and with only a small number of replaceable parts the flying machines were eventually grounded forever. The various colonies on the planets and moons were effectively cut off to all save the strongest and most enduring flying creatures, and contact with these isolated peoples was very difficult to maintain. Only the most dutiful of the freed slaves remained to operate the Lighthouses that communicated across the Orb, and for centuries this was the only method of communication maintained between the Orb and the Little Worlds, til at last one by one even the Lighthouses fell into ruin.
THE PASSING OF THE MOCKER
Despite the speed of social breakdown across the remenants of the Viperium several cultural forces managed for a time to maintain control over regional areas across the Orb. The majority were fortunate warlords who still held within their ever-dwindling arsenal a collection of powerful weapons with which to enforce their command. Yet two particular social movements outlasted these warring factions. The first was the Followers of the Flesh – those who sought to emulate the act of self-sacrifice as laid down by the Carcassanc over 600 years prior. Since then it had flourished into a organisation that wielded considerable influence among the Children of the Narghwa, and whose power structure lay outside the confines of the Viperium and thus survived the downfall relatively intact. The Fleshites maintained their organisation throughout the Shattering, and continues to function even to the present day, albeit in a somewhat different form.
The other force to be reckoned with in the earliest days of the Shattering was the cult of personality that formed around the Mocker. He was a living saviour to the Children of the Narghwa, and although he fought hard to maintain his independence and privacy it was impossible for him to shake the burden of gratitude of the people he had freed. He spent several years in seclusion recording his thoughts and teachings, then returned to the battle against tyranny that had risen in the form of the Bhulkulbs. It was a long and tiring campaign that spanned three continents and two decades. With the final defeat of the Bhulkulbs the Mocker retired from public life to a secluded monastery in Gweir Kraom, where he spent the last of his days among the Gurruun. In his notes he remarked on the irony that in freeing the world from tyranny he had imprisoned himself with fame.
And that, folks, is the end of the History of the Hollow World. At least as far as I wrote it ten years ago. What follows are some notes about what areas would remain civilized in the Post-Viperium world and the dark age that enveloped it, as well as a few notes on some of the key events leading up to the present day in the setting.
THE SCATTERED KINGDOMS
Numerous small kingdoms and citystates are formed, and centuries of skirmishes and little wars ensue as battle one another for resources, technology, and ideology amid the ruins of the Viperium.
CRADLES OF CIVILISATION:
CRADLES OF CIVILISATION:
Where sentients maintained the vestiges of civilisation (C: Climate B: Beliefs R: Races)
The Behkatar Coast – C: Temp B: Mockerlands R: Mixed
Chanka Chee – C: Temp B: Mockerlands R: Mixed, Cheebac
Klul – C: Hot B: Mockerlands R: Mixed
The Ruins of Serpentia – Carcassancara – C: Hot B: Carcarrancan R: Mixed
Barambay – C: Humid B: Mixed R: Mixed
Asharca Demons – C: Humid B: Viperium Faithful R: Mixed
Juddahud River Sinvashi – C: Hot B: Mockerlands R: Mixed, Cheebac, Ahkule
Gardens of Eredreem – The Potentiate of the Rhinde - C: Humid B: World Eater R: Rhinde, Mixed
Benopoca – C: Cold B: Self; Wounded World R: Mixed, Horrm
The Chiss
Harioc
FORBIDDEN LANDS:
FORBIDDEN LANDS:
Where civilisation survived but the borders were closed.
The Shapelands of Pushpanoi – The Playgrounds of the Guruun – C: Dry B: Artifice R: Guruun
The Ghardan Peninsula – Refuge of the Narghwans – C: Temp B: Viperium R: Narghwan; Slaves
WILDERNESS:
WILDERNESS:
Where all vestiges of civilization where lost.
Behkatar Desert
Djarkarshi Desert – Ahkule
Sinvashi Plains –
Plains of Karjnivarj – Horrmlands
The Ruined Lands of Vinvasleen – The Wrong, The Breed
The Stormlands of Avrusheen – The Duskyr
Calishe
The Seedling Jungles – Jyxi and Fael
Jungles of Eredreem
Klulkhun
Behkatar Desert
THE LAST CENTURY IN DETAIL
THE LAST CENTURY IN DETAIL
After a time, countries begin to form as particular kingdoms rise in power over their neighbours, til after a few centuries most regions are dominated by particularly powerful countries with surrounding tributaries. All manner of social systems arise as they are separated by vast distances and physical barriers – with the age of migration coming to an end, there is less transfer of new ideas. This time would be comparable to the era of 250 BCE.
c 1,600-1,300 YEARS AGO
ISOLATION AND RETROLUTION OF THE CULTURES
THE HUAJYJI HUNTERSTORMS
THE SCHWIERLING AMBASSADOR
THE FLESHSPHERE MIGRATIONS
THE EHLURI EMERGENCY
RISE OF THE LICKER CULTS
c 1,600-1,300 YEARS AGO
ISOLATION AND RETROLUTION OF THE CULTURES
THE HUAJYJI HUNTERSTORMS
THE SCHWIERLING AMBASSADOR
THE FLESHSPHERE MIGRATIONS
THE EHLURI EMERGENCY
RISE OF THE LICKER CULTS
All done. Thanks for sticking with it.
HUSK: History of a Hollow World Part VII
There's a whole bunch of references here to races and whatnot. I'm sure not all of it will make sense (I mean it does to me, but I wrote the thing) but check out the previous entries on the people of Husk over here (Part I) and here (Part II).
And for the previous posts on the History,
Part I is here, Part II is here, Part III is here, Part IV here, Part V is here and Part VI is here.
c 2,000-1,600 YEARS AGO
THE SHATTERING
The end result was the breakdown of social systems provided by the Viperium. The Orb was plunged into an new era of isolation and separation, but from this shattered empire arose may new and varied societies. Some good, some bad, but all free to choose the world in which they lived. For the first time in their history, as told to them by their former slave masters, The Children of the Narghwa were free. Once this realisation had sunken in, the Children began to express this freedom.
The greatest effect of the departure of the Narghwan overlords was the almost desperate attempt for each of the Child Races to establish their own unique culture and identity. Free of the homogeneous doctrines of the Viperium each people sought to distance themselves from each other, to mark themselves as an individual race in their own right. Millennia of repression were cast aside, and new prophets and visionaries sprouted every day, proclaiming their ideas that strove to lift their race out of the quagmire of Viperian blandness. New religions and beliefs spread like wildfire – if the Viperium was not the divine empire, then any race was eligible to be descended from Gods. Heretics and blasphemers suddenly held sway. A plethora of new faiths sprang up and died, then rose again in some new form. Eventually a core number of faiths and beliefs took hold and grew into the numerous practices seen across the Orb today. Some have fallen by the wayside; other, newer religions have taken their place. Whether there is a correct religion, or a universal truth, none knows, save that the majority of faiths recognises the right of an individual to choose their own path to god. Tolerance of differing views, and celebrating such differences is to be expected. The Mocker was widely admired and venerated, being incorporated into many religions. Most organised faiths began searching for pre-Viperium relics that might give credence to their beliefs. Sadly, few artefacts have ever been found.
The Shattering became a time of great upheaval, with millions of different peoples migrating to lands where their physical forms were more acclimatised. In the starkness of sudden free will people sought the comfort and safety of familiarity, and members of the different races began to unite with others of their kind, to share their experience of what it meant to be who they were. It was during this time that many of the unique cultural mores of each sentient race were defined, and many still hold a powerful sway even today. It is perhaps even more remarkable that the different races were able to unite given the scale, the immense size of the former Viperium, and the complete breakdown of social systems such as communication and transport.
The Narghwans lust for control meant that they had shared little of their knowledge with their underlings. The technology had remained in the hands of the Viperium since their schism with the Bhulkulbs, and with its collapse came the loss of much of the scientific knowledge stored in the Narghwan minds. The great devices they used in running the Viperium soon ground to a halt, and from there the rest of Narghwan society quickly unravelled. The monoliths and factories of the Viperium fell silent, and were destined to become ruinous testaments to their bygone power. The secret of Mogramid operation died with the passing of the Viperium, and they have remained unused to this day. Only the oldest forms of transport where available to the freed peoples of the Orb. Some took to the domesticated beasts that ploughed the lands to feed the former slaves; some retained or rediscovered the art of ship building, and a handful of the flying vessels that once filled the air remained in operation, but even they succumbed to wear and tear, and with only a small number of replaceable parts the flying machines were eventually grounded forever. The various colonies on the planets and moons were effectively cut off to all save the strongest and most enduring flying creatures, and contact with these isolated peoples was very difficult to maintain. Only the most dutiful of the freed slaves remained to operate the Lighthouses that communicated across the Orb, and for centuries this was the only method of communication maintained between the Orb and the Little Worlds, til at last one by one even the Lighthouses fell into ruin.
THE PASSING OF THE MOCKER
Despite the speed of social breakdown across the remenants of the Viperium several cultural forces managed for a time to maintain control over regional areas across the Orb. The majority were fortunate warlords who still held within their ever-dwindling arsenal a collection of powerful weapons with which to enforce their command. Yet two particular social movements outlasted these warring factions. The first was the Followers of the Flesh – those who sought to emulate the act of self-sacrifice as laid down by the Carcassanc over 600 years prior. Since then it had flourished into a organisation that wielded considerable influence among the Children of the Narghwa, and whose power structure lay outside the confines of the Viperium and thus survived the downfall relatively intact. The Fleshites maintained their organisation throughout the Shattering, and continues to function even to the present day, albeit in a somewhat different form.
The other force to be reckoned with in the earliest days of the Shattering was the cult of personality that formed around the Mocker. He was a living saviour to the Children of the Narghwa, and although he fought hard to maintain his independence and privacy it was impossible for him to shake the burden of gratitude of the people he had freed. He spent several years in seclusion recording his thoughts and teachings, then returned to the battle against tyranny that had risen in the form of the Bhulkulbs. It was a long and tiring campaign that spanned three continents and two decades. With the final defeat of the Bhulkulbs the Mocker retired from public life to a secluded monastery in Gweir Kraom, where he spent the last of his days among the Gurruun. In his notes he remarked on the irony that in freeing the world from tyranny he had imprisoned himself with fame.
And that, folks, is the end of the History of the Hollow World. At least as far as I wrote it ten years ago. What follows are some notes about what areas would remain civilized in the Post-Viperium world and the dark age that enveloped it, as well as a few notes on some of the key events leading up to the present day in the setting.
THE SCATTERED KINGDOMS
Numerous small kingdoms and citystates are formed, and centuries of skirmishes and little wars ensue as battle one another for resources, technology, and ideology amid the ruins of the Viperium.
CRADLES OF CIVILISATION:
Where sentients maintained the vestiges of civilisation (C: Climate B: Beliefs R: Races)
The Behkatar Coast – C: Temp B: Mockerlands R: Mixed
Chanka Chee – C: Temp B: Mockerlands R: Mixed, Cheebac
Klul – C: Hot B: Mockerlands R: Mixed
The Ruins of Serpentia – Carcassancara – C: Hot B: Carcarrancan R: Mixed
Barambay – C: Humid B: Mixed R: Mixed
Asharca Demons – C: Humid B: Viperium Faithful R: Mixed
Juddahud River Sinvashi – C: Hot B: Mockerlands R: Mixed, Cheebac, Ahkule
Gardens of Eredreem – The Potentiate of the Rhinde - C: Humid B: World Eater R: Rhinde, Mixed
Benopoca – C: Cold B: Self; Wounded World R: Mixed, Horrm
The Chiss
Harioc
FORBIDDEN LANDS:
Where civilisation survived but the borders were closed.
The Shapelands of Pushpanoi – The Playgrounds of the Guruun – C: Dry B: Artifice R: Guruun
The Ghardan Peninsula – Refuge of the Narghwans – C: Temp B: Viperium R: Narghwan; Slaves
WILDERNESS:
Where all vestiges of civilization where lost.
Behkatar Desert
Djarkarshi Desert – Ahkule
Sinvashi Plains –
Plains of Karjnivarj – Horrmlands
The Ruined Lands of Vinvasleen – The Wrong, The Breed
The Stormlands of Avrusheen – The Duskyr
Calishe
The Seedling Jungles – Jyxi and Fael
Jungles of Eredreem
Klulkhun
Behkatar Desert
THE LAST CENTURY IN DETAIL
After a time, countries begin to form as particular kingdoms rise in power over their neighbours, til after a few centuries most regions are dominated by particularly powerful countries with surrounding tributaries. All manner of social systems arise as they are separated by vast distances and physical barriers – with the age of migration coming to an end, there is less transfer of new ideas. This time would be comparable to the era of 250 BCE.
c 1,600-1,300 YEARS AGO
ISOLATION AND RETROLUTION OF THE CULTURES
THE HUAJYJI HUNTERSTORMS
THE SCHWIERLING AMBASSADOR
THE FLESHSPHERE MIGRATIONS
THE EHLURI EMERGENCY
RISE OF THE LICKER CULTS
All done. Thanks for sticking with it.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
HUSK: History of a Hollow World Part VI
There's a whole bunch of references here to races and whatnot. I'm sure not all of it will make sense (I mean it does to me, but I wrote the thing) but check out the previous entries on the people of Husk over here (Part I) and here (Part II).
And for the previous posts on the History,
RECLAIMING THE LITTLE WORLDS (this should have been in yesterday's post but anyway)
How Queen Gharda convinced a crew of Guruun stoneshapers to work for her has always remained a mystery, but it is clear that they were more than willing to create a new Mogramid on Mephiyeh despite the old memories of betrayal. It had been nearly two thousand years since the last Mogramid was constructed, but the plans and knowledge to do so had not been lost. The dreaded Warck capabilities of the ancient Mogramids was disabled to allay the fears of the other Queens, and with its completion Gharda relocated her courts to her new domain. Her namesake lands she kept for herself, but as a token of apology for the inadvertent ruination of Karjnivarj she handed over control of Djunat and Benopoca to Queen Harioc. It appeared that Gharda was intent on claiming all of the planets for herself, and the pride and envy of the other Queens could not allow this to happen. Yet Gharda was content with controlling only Mephiyeh and its moons – instead she assisted the others in laying claim to the inner planets by granting use of the new Mephiyeh Mogramid to transport armadas of colonists. Gharda’s Guruun also assisted by building Mogramids and Lighthouses on each planet and their moons. Only the innermost planet of Pheocudi lay beyond the reach of the Narghwans, for it orbited too close too the Heartsun and was bathed each day in its fiery brilliance. In every inhabitable corner of the Orb the Narghwans now ruled.
c 2,100 YEARS AGO
THE BEYON EXPEDITIONS
With total dominance of the Orb it was only natural for the Queens of the Viperium to turn their lust for complete control to what lies Beyon. Viperium records indicate a number of Narghwan philosophers concentrated much of their time on the Beyon, the mythical realm that lay outside the surface of the Orb. Many theories were postulated and eventually, as each Narghwan Queen sought to gain more power over each other, they individually began sponsoring a number of expeditions down into the Suntunnels. At first these were secret missions, none of which claimed any success. Then the Narghwan Queen Gharda publicly announced her grand vision: to harness one of the planets and hurl it down into a Suntunnel. All her resources were focused on flying Guruun stoneshapers, millions of Viethie slaves, and the greatest Imajioneers at her disposal to the small planet of Cusht. Eventually they were able to carve out of the planet itself a number of great engines that tapped the latent power within the planet. However great disaster struck during the construction, and the planet ripped itself apart, destroying the millions who were on the planet at the time. It was suspected but never confirmed that the Fael were responsible – it is not hard to imagine that another Queen may have had some influence in the tragedy. Gharda was not to be put off by this sudden setback, particularly as Queen Harioc had begun a similar operation on one of the moons of Volperqu. Perhaps it was this imitation, or the speculation of sabotage, that galvanised the Ghardan project. The second attempt was a race from start to finish, using lessons learnt from the first disaster, and much to the surprise of her other Sister Queens the planet Mephiyeh suddenly shifted out of orbit one day. On board were Queen Gharda, her greatest captains and scientists, a million Viethie warriors and the best navigators and astronomers.
The problems faced by the Beyon Expedition were immense. The planetship had to avoid a collision with the numerous other bodies that share the skies; it had to be aimed perfectly to enter a Suntunnel at the right angle or it would smash into the side upon entry; and it had to find its way through the Suntunnel to its unknown destination before the Sun entered the Tunnel and caught up with it. It is amazing to think that it even managed to enter the Suntunnel, but it was at least successful in this endeavour, entering the Suntunnel hot on the tail of Verliha, the thirteenth sun.
c 2020 YEARS AGO
SUNFALL AT VINVASLEEN
The rest of the Viperium watched and waited with wonder and fear. Two days later Verliha emerged, but its coming was heralded with great destruction and flame. The Sun burst forth in a swathe of apocalyptic fire that scorched the surrounding seas, and Viperium astronomers quickly realised that the Sun was off course and unlikely to pass back into its Suntunnel when it set. Sadly little preparation could be made and by Dimdusk Verliha, the thirteenth sun, collided with the continent Vinvasleen, effectively destroying it and life on the continent. The Narghwan Queen Vinvasleen escaped with her retinue via the Mogramid to Serpentia, but she never returned to her old realm. Verliha was shattered open in the cataclysm spilling forth its energies over the land. The planet Mephiyeh, Queen Gharda and over one million servants were never seen again.
ORBSHOCK CATACLYSM
The collision of the thirteenth sun into Vinvasleen sent a literal shockwave across the Orb. Vinvasleen was shattered into the broken continent we know today. Giant waves swept across the surrounding lands, drowning millions in Behkatar, Culchiss and Avrusheen; the ground was permanently maimed, its fiery blood seeped out across the remains of the devastated land from gaping cracks that ripped across the surface of the Orb. Huge storms swiftly followed, engulfing Vinvalseen for more than a century – even today remnants of the disaster can still be seen, in the Ruined Lands and the Huajyji Hunterstorms. With the amount of destruction caused by the collision it is surprising that the Viperium survived the Orbshock Cataclysm. However it is not the Orbshock that finally cast down the Viperium, but the work of one single creature.
c 2010 YEARS AGO
THE COMING OF THE MOCKER & THE HAPI HARA REBELLION
No one knows where the Mocker came from, although legend tells that he came from the lands of Vinvasleen. His origins remain unclear, but there are no records of his name prior to the Orbshock catastrophe. The Mocker first came to attention of the Viperium several years after the Orbshock, when the Viperium was busy repairing its devastated empire and mourning the loss of Queen Gharda. The sheer vastness of the Viperium’s wealth and resources enabled it to weather the Orbshock’s devastation, and after several years of chaos it appeared that Narghwan control was being restored. Then in the lands of Bekhatar the Viperium suffered its first open rebellions. Through some Imajion power an agitator was freeing the Children of the Narghwa from their millennia of slavedom. The Hapi Hara Rebellion spread from Bekhatar to neighbouring Chanka Chee, and the mysterious Mocker was always at the head of the uprisings. It seemed he was immune to the controlling powers of the Narghwans, and they could not send their vassals to attack him, for he would simply free them as they approached - the phrase ‘Hapi Hara Haru Harumpa’ held a great power over those controlled by the Narghwans, freeing their minds from their masters’ control. Eventually the Narghwans were forced to call on their enemies the Bhulkulbs to deal with the matter, and their brutal repression of the Rebellions has not been forgotten - but by this time the Mocker was on the other side of the Orb, causing havoc throughout the Viperium. His main weapons appeared to be wit, humour, and his grasp of Imajion. There are many tales of his exploits during this time and these shall not be detailed here, suffice to say that eventually the Mocker found his way to the heart of the Viperium - The Court of the Narghwan Queens.
c 2,000 YEARS AGO
FALL OF THE VIPERIUM
The greatest mystery ever known will always be the conversation that took place between the Mocker and the Narghwan Queens. All that can be deduced from records of that time is that The Mocker was invited to the Courts in Serpentia, where he held private audience with the five remaining Queens for a day and a night. The following dawn a great shockwave of emotion suddenly rippled out from the Court itself, piercing the heart and mind of every Narghwan, every subject and every slave. The wave rolled out across the city of Serpentia, and continued out across the continent of Djakarshi and up into the aether to the planets, til every single sentient creature in the Orb realised that a great doom had befallen – The Narghwan Queens had vanished.
The shockwave penetrated even the minds of the Sevenbred, who rose in unison from the hidden lairs and made their way to Serpentia. The Bhulkulbs felt it also, and immediately emerged from their hidden cities to lay claim to the lands they had once controlled. Chaos descended upon the Viperium, and it was plunged into turmoil. All eyes were turned to Serpentia as none knew what had befallen. The Viperium lay on the edge of destruction, and when The Mocker emerged alone from the Court he was greeted with amazement by the millions who had gathered outside. They pressed The Mocker for an answer, but he gave little insight, saying: “I have given you your freedom, does it matter what manner I give it, or what price is paid? Go now and soar with the desires of your heart and the yearnings of your soul.”
The piercing presence in the mind of every one of the Narghwans had been taken from them, and a great keening went up from the fanged mouth of every Narghwan, but the Wailing Day was drowned out by the Nights of Joy, when every subject and slave of the Viperium realised that for the first time in over three thousand years that freedom was theirs. Their immediate response was to proclaim The Mocker their new ruler, but he turned on those who would make him King, cursing them for learning nothing from his efforts. He had fought to give them freedom, not to rule them. Yet even the Sevenbred knelt before The Mocker at the gates of Serpentia, before returning to their slumber without a single act of violence. Eventually the people demanded that he lead them through this time of uncertainty, but he withdrew to the vast palace of Serpentia and hid for a time.
With the power of the Viperium so firmly invested in Narghwan Queens, their unexpected departure left the vast Viperium without any leadership. So greedy were they with their power, and so long had they been in control, that there were none with the ability to replace them. The Viperium command structure quickly fell apart without the guidance of their Queens, and with the spreading Hapi Hara Rebellion the Viperium soon collapsed. The world-spanning control held by the Viperium was shattered into thousands of tiny regions. The Narghwans were so overcome by their loss that they could do nothing but grieve, and it fell upon the freed Children of the Narghwa to take control. Yet they had never been in control of their own destinies, and many failed at the first opportunity, preferring to return responsibility for their lives to those willing to lead them. In some areas this command was thrust upon the unwilling but very able; in others despots rose to power. The Bhulkulbs attempted to seize power in some regions, and for a time were successful, but the Mocker appeared in these lands to fight against such tyranny.
THE MASSACRE OF THE NARGHWANS
Yet for all The Mocker’s efforts there was naught he could do to stem the growing anger and violence that was hurled upon the now powerless Narghwans. So great was their grieving that they offered no resistance to the rage that fell upon them, and across the Orb their golden blood was spilled. They did nothing to hide or flee, and when their former subjects came to wreak their vengeance upon them the Nargwhans chose death to a life without their Queens. Great mobs of deathsquads ruled the cities of the Viperium, and as the chain of command of the Narghwan caste system was destroyed it severed the mental link that the Narghwans shared with one another. It was realised only too late that this sudden separation from their brethren cut the links of their group mind intellect, and with each death of their kindred the Narghwans descended into a stupor of apathy and loss. The Narghwans had finally been overthrown. Only in the realm of Gharda and did the Nargwhans continue to hold sway; with their Queen already taken from them during the Beyon Expedition they had already adapted to life without a ruler. The Six-by-Six, as the ruling council of Gharda was known, closed the borders to all save the few of their kind who sought refuge. They refused to have any dealings with outsiders and the Ghardan peninsula became a forbidden land.
c 2,000-1,600 YEARS AGO
THE SHATTERING
The end result was the breakdown of social systems provided by the Viperium. The Orb was plunged into an new era of isolation and separation, but from this shattered empire arose may new and varied societies. Some good, some bad, but all free to choose the world in which they lived. For the first time in their history, as told to them by their former slave masters, The Children of the Narghwa were free. Once this realisation had sunken in, the Children began to express this freedom.
(Part VII tomorrow!)
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