Dice Press Start! OOC [Fabula Ultima]

[Nellancholy]

That sounds like a good setup.

A lot of room for us to go around the table (so to speak) and fill out the details.

I would say that it would probably be an interesting plot point for one of the party to be part of the magic crystal kingdom's military or government, leading them to be targeted by their allies once they fall under suspicion.

Or at least,they work closely with the military/government or have a high-ranking friend.

Maybe another party member is from one of the rival countries,but that is less necessary to be the case.

 

[Zufaix]

Sorry 'bout the late reply, I also think this is a great idea! It hit's a lot of notes we can expand upon, and it already gives us some ideas into how the kingdom's might interact with each other. Having a central area of conflict works well for actually designing the map as well, since all the major points of interest can spiral outwards from it.

Lost Martian Even if you're not finished reading the the book yet, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this?

 

[Nellancholy]

ERode to clarify on your statement: everyone who uses magic in this world,whether player or NPC,receives it either through bloodline (or maybe divine gift) or by using magitech items,right?

I think it may be a bit early to lock in on whether any gods are real or capable of influencing the world just yet.

 

[ERode]

Will have to figure out what Arcana are if gods and spirits and idk, lifestream hijinks aren’t confirmed real though.

 

[Lost Martian]

Zufaix
Sorry about not posting sooner, I somehow completely missed this thread. I like the idea of magic being gifted from the gods, perhaps we could be the chosen champions of various gods, if we do want to go the whole chosen one route. Maybe the rise of magitech and the abandoning of the old ways is what spurs the gods to send out their champions to prevent a potential world war between the strong magitech nation and it’s neighbors?

Also I like the idea that ERode had about crystals, as all JRPGS could use some crystals. I’m not sure what I want the crystals to do. Anyways I might have some more ideas once I finish reading the books. I’ve just been extra busy this weekend, but I hope to finish up soon and come up with some kind of character concept.

 

[Zufaix]

Will have to figure out what Arcana are if gods and spirits and idk, lifestream hijinks aren’t confirmed real though.

If we do go the gods route with this, Arcana could be deities or at least entities blessed with their power directly. Maybe they're the catalysts that allow humans to use "natural magic"? Or we could just say screw it and have the arcana themselves be elemental/conceptual beings to avoid the whole gods ordeal (though that's also kind of the same thing at the end of the day).

 

[ERode]

Guess the question would be like…why avoid the whole Gods thing? Could just be that we have lotsa very present minor gods (Arcana) and then we have a few major gods (think the ones that actually get inter/national religions worshipping them) that, due to being something like a giant in an ant colony, don’t get personally involved.

Could even do it like Star Rail Aeons huhuhu, where the Gods have universal reach so they only occasionally glance in the direction of a particular world.

 

[Zufaix]

I mean, I have no problem with there being gods. So long as we know where the magic comes from, I don't think its super important. I do like the idea of having minor gods who are directly trying to influence the world though, and making them Arcana gives them a use in gameplay too.

Could even do it like Star Rail Aeons huhuhu, where the Gods have universal reach so they only occasionally glance in the direction of a particular world.

Don't tempt me now, I might lose it if i get to have one of the villains be glanced at lol

 

[Nellancholy]

I think that's an interesting concept,there are some big entities like "order" and "chaos" and "sun" and "life" that have will but not a lot of tangible form, and they have emanations and aspects like "healing" or "beasts" or "priesthood" that serve as the Arcana in gameplay terms, lesser gods/spirits that can appear before/intervene with mortals and grant them power.

And it's these (fairly diffuse) bloodlines of the blessed that are believed to give people magic (whether or not that's true). It's possible that these lesser gods,openly or subtly, influenced our characters into the situation surrounding the kidnapping of the magic crystal kingdom's royal.

I don't mind following ERode scale of divinity though,where the minor gods/Arcana are prominently present.

Let me be the first to propose a name: why don't we call the magic crystal kingdom Seam? Like an ore seam.

 

[Zufaix]

Seam sounds good to me! Also kind of works as a sewing metaphor, as the king being alive was the seam that held everything together and when he was assassinated that seam broke, causing the succession war.

Based on ERode 's suggestions we've also still got a knightly kingdom, a religious sect/group, and a republic of merchants. I also had a thought that some sort of fallen empire sees this ore as a way to return to their former glory, if ya'll are interested in that.

 

[Nellancholy]

The fallen empire seems an appropriate addition.

I think that if we go by the book,we can start off with 4-5 major nations,4 threats,and 4 mysteries?

Each primarily elaborated upon by one player.

Of course,there will be more details added to the world by exploration and use of Fabula points.

 

[The Architect 50000]

Hey all! Welcome to the campaign. As I said in the interest check, you can call me Zufaix, Zuzu, or Sky. While I'm new to PbP campaigns I'm not new to TTRPGs. I've DMd for about 6 years on and off now (mostly within 5E but also a bit of PF2E), and I'm incredibly excited to try out a new system. I've ran the Press Start! Module before to great success with my home table and am currently in the makings of starting up a full campaign. This system is much more rules-lite than others I've seen but still has a great deal of customizablity for both players and GMs. So, with that said, I hope we can all have fun and tell a great story!

First, I'm going to dm you all a link to a Google drive with both the Press Start and Core Rulebook pdfs that I personally own (so please don't just share them around). If you dont feel comfortable with Google drive, please let me know and I can find another way to give you them. From here I'd like everyone to take a look over the Press Start! adventure module and see if it's something you guys would be interested in. Otherwise if everyone is fine with it, we can jump straight to the world building and character creation sections of the Core Rulebook (pg 146) for our own original campaign. Of course feel free to read the rest of it at your own convenience.

Once everyone has an idea of what they'd like to do or contribute, we can move forward from there.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

Nellancholy Lost Martian ERode @StardustTroubadour

I would love to join this and try out a new system.

 

[Zufaix]

I would love to join this and try out a new system.

Hey! Glad you're interested, but unfortunately we're already at a max of 4 players. If anyone drops out or if I feel like I can increase that limit, I'll be sure to let you know!

 

[The Architect 50000]

Okay thanks.

 

[Zufaix]

What if we killed two birds with one stone here? Also, in that game mentioned above was a Religious Sect that tried to wring a chokehold around neighboring countries. They acted like a fictional Vatican of sorts or Knights Templar.

They often would go around exploiting their neighbors to do their bidding under the banner of the aforementioned creator God. They also often declared the lesser deities false idols. Despite the fact that they were his sons and daughters according to the lore.

Often "The Holy Lodis Empire" the name sake here in the games I played of the franchise was seen as the problem. The allegorical Christian complex here was frowned upon by the other nations. Thus they were seen as the enemy. People started to rebel against them and they fell out of power. Something similar could be done serving your potentially fallen empire and religious sect.

Assuming we stick with what we've got so far, that's something we can work with. In this case, on top of this religious sect sponsoring one of the royal family in the succession, they can be using their own means to infiltrate Seams political landscape. Maybe they have access to one of these Arcana and are using it to subtly influence nearby political leaders? It would also allow them to spread their faith more easily, to the chagrin of other nations.

 

[Nellancholy]

Since we're "Seam" we could call the Religious sect "Prospectors?" Miners would be a bit to on the nose.

That's not a bad idea

 

[Nellancholy]

Let me just post this as a reminder to us, we're on steps 3-4 now.

So! Some more broad strokes around Seam. Seam is named after the fact that it exists at the intersection of three tectonic plates, giving it a hilly climate with a few tall mountains. In the past, it was probably a fairly central trade route between other nations due to its location more or less at the center of the landmass we're on. It wasn't a nation founded by a homogenous or deliberate population, but due to traders and travelers from all over gradually concentrating there. Several centuries ago it was hence governed by a council of administrators that oversaw economic production and borders, but it was eventually supplanted by a structure that concentrated power into the hands of a monarch, after one minister succeeded in a power grab. So far, a few dynasties have come and gone, and the current one is say...three generations old, relatively young. The founder of the dynasty (King Smaragdine I) came into power because he was the prime minister serving the previous king who passed without leaving a heir. Their rule has been even-handed so far, but it's now being put to the test by the power struggle and ensuing kidnapping.

Their mining industry is somewhat underdeveloped as their extensive trade network lets them import products of stone and metal fairly easily, and their internal industry is focused on agriculture and textile production, producing staple crops as well as several highly-regarded fruits and medicinal herbs. Seamite cloth and dyes are often also regarded as among the finest, and even working-class Seamites are considered well-dressed by visitors. However, their underdeveloped mining industry prevents them from fully exploiting the crystal themselves so far, and may be used as justification by their external opponents for intervention.

As per the hilly climate, Seam trends towards the cold, though there are warm summers. Animals trend towards reflecting this, with many shaggy mammals (that provide quality fur) and a diverse population of river and lake life.

Demographics...well, we're not decided on whether there are non-human races yet.

What do you all think? I welcome any additions/alterations suggested.

 

[ERode]

At least when it comes to the names of nations/organizations, I generally prefer them not to just be words in English.

I don't have too strong an opinion on geographic hijinks, but with regards to Seam's whole past and all, it'd be cool if they have some drama with the merchant republic. Something like how Seam was originally composed of a 'vassal-guild' associated with the republic, but broke off on their own to become an independent power (though obviously with short-lived dynasties).

No reason not to have non-human races, in any case. Call it a quirk of divinity that different races can cross-breed without too much issue, with races that don't make for an easy hybrid (like, idk, crow people and rat people) trending towards taking the mother's race.

 

[Nellancholy]

At least when it comes to the names of nations/organizations, I generally prefer them not to just be words in English.

I don't have too strong an opinion on geographic hijinks, but with regards to Seam's whole past and all, it'd be cool if they have some drama with the merchant republic. Something like how Seam was originally composed of a 'vassal-guild' associated with the republic, but broke off on their own to become an independent power (though obviously with short-lived dynasties).

No reason not to have non-human races, in any case. Call it a quirk of divinity that different races can cross-breed without too much issue, with races that don't make for an easy hybrid (like, idk, crow people and rat people) trending towards taking the mother's race.

If we're set on having a merchant republic as one of the other nations, I agree with that. The geographical location was probably already fairly important before that (as a trade route), but the founders of "Seam" may have had trouble back home (perhaps some kind of factional division or other issue to be elaborated upon by someone else), and sought to gain disproportionate power over their former countrymen by controlling that region and therefore an important aspect of the economy.

Perhaps it was called (the) Seam back then as a geographical feature, but maybe it's now named something like The City-State of Verdure, reflecting the founders' appreciation for its abundant, nourishing environment.

As for the Prospectors, I think it makes a sensible name for an organization, if not a national entity. Perhaps it is the name of a subgroup within them.

So like "The Theocracy of X utilizes Prospectors as their enforcers".

 

[Nellancholy]

Having beef with the local merchant guild kind of promotes a problem because then they could just say. "Your money's no good here." Unless we're a reserve currency?

That would have been centuries ago, and now the nation of Seam/Verdure is powerful enough economically that there can at least be an exchange rate of currency

 

[Nellancholy]

Also, the Prospectors being a police force makes sense. It's like a Judge in Ivalice if I understand you correctly?

Well,you probably have the final say on that,since it might be your domain of worldbuilding. I imagined they might be some kind of specialized armed force with the authority to act outside the theocracy's borders, enough to cause problems for Seam/Verdure.

 

[Nellancholy]

I think that magitech armor like in FF6 doesn't automatically obligate a slave crown,it could be a tool of the workers and military,however

 

[Nellancholy]

And maybe magitech is fairly commonplace but not large scale,so things like magic implements for personal use,magitech industrial equipment (rare),and things like small carts or handheld lights exist,but for the moment no one is powering whole cities or national rail networks with magitech. So the crystal in Seam/Verdure is extra desirable because of that.

 

[Nellancholy]

So with that said the crystal is a infinite energy conduit. What if hypothetically it's not taken but it goes out like a light bulb? Are we to assume that would be because we angered something otherworldly do you think?

I think that most people wouldn't come to that conclusion,but if they knew about it they'd get worried because it means that other magitech sources might start winking out. And they might be right.

 

[Nellancholy]

ERode Zufaix Lost Martian with that said,I don't want to hurry things too much along,but anyone feel like drafting a couple of Arcana/minor gods that appear in this world?

I don't think we need to elaborate on them mechanically until/if someone takes Arcanist levels,but it can't hurt to give a few of them a common name/title and domain,since they play a part in our world and may influence our character backstories.