MrMopp
Two Thousand Club
I'm working on an Sword and Sorcery RP that revolves heavily around traditional mythology, religion, folklore, superstition and The aspects of human nature that give them power. I'm not quite clear on what the plot is yet. I've had a few ideas but they've fallen through once I take a step back and realize they were silly. But with each failure, and as I work on the setting, the image for what I want becomes clearer. It might be a few months but I'm getting there.
In this world there are many races. A few are the popular ones that I KNOW people are going to want to play (Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, etc), A few that you know but not the way pop-culture or often pop-folklore depicts them (Minotaurs, Coatl, Leprechauns, Kitsune, Lycanthropes, Dryads, Nymphs, Naga, Sirens, Vampires, etc), and a few that are a little obscure (Wendigo, Tanuki, Bunyip, Rugarou, Yakas, Selkie, Oni, Zuniqua, Spirit-children, Snow-children, Seed-children, etc).
If you're familiar with the webcomic "Gunnerkrig Court", then you have an idea of how magic works in this world. It is the blood of the cosmos and the programming language of reality. It is the essence of creation and all things have a piece of it from the wisps and ghosts that swim through it, The simple plants and animals that used to live, grow and heal their wounds, The sentient beings who channel it through will and imagination (whether they know it or not), The Great Spirits who are composed of it, and the Gods who master it.
GODS
Everyone in this world agrees that the Gods exist and that they lend their power to the faithful who ask for it. What they can't agree on is who they are, how exactly they operate, and who they like the most. Since they haven't exactly come down to tell anyone themselves, everyone is forced to draw their own conclusions
The typical attitudes are:
•I'm right. You're wrong
• We're both right but my gods are better.
• Everyone is right. All the gods exist and everything is one. Just smoke some weed and don't think too hard about it
• Everyone is wrong. There are no gods. It all happened by accident.
•Who the %#@& cares.
Those last two are getting pretty popular.
Anyway, whoever's in charge doesn't seem to care if you worship them directly or not, just as long as you do it faithfully. However, this is not a sentiment that everyone agrees with and its been the cause of many long and bloody wars. Either way, the gods are more than happy to bestow their power upon those who pray to them with faith and do the things which are asked of them.
Each race ticks a little differently and experiences the world in different ways, thus, race is usually the dividing line for religion. Races that have a strong connection to nature, like Wood Elves, tend to worship the spirits. Ones that are nomadic like many humans, or that have a strong connection to magic like the High Elves, are usually monotheistic. The ones that live in harsh climates have harsh, warlike gods who will punish you for the slightest misdeed and ones that live in fertile but unpredictable climates have bipolar gods who will bless or punish you simply because they feel like it. Races that live in bountiful, fertile environments tend to worship authority, seeing their leader as the undisputed mouthpiece of their gods (who are hardly talk about). Races that live in stable climates with infertile but mineral rich soil like the Dwarves (and, to some degree, Gnomes) worship Gods that glorify the different aspects of civilization, technology, and the beauty of their own race. Simple minded races, like Gnomes, Coatl and Lesser Kitsune (there are two kinds) have simple gods and don't focus on things like punishment and internal strength because for them, things are going to be what they're going to and if life throw something bad at them, they'll quickly get over it.
The religion of the Western Humans (basic medieval European culture) is what I've been working on the most. Of all the races on this world, humans managed to get the short end of the stick. They're weak, short lived, unspectacular, emotionally unstable, have a lousy connection to magic and have, for thousands of years, been everyone's favorite punching bag. But because of their hardships, they are the most active and searching for their gods
The Western Human pantheon looks like this:
•The Creator: The All Father. Created the universe and the gods. He is the God of wisdom, knowledge, magic, fate, and time. All the other gods are different aspects of him.
•The Warrior: the Chief God. The God of righteousness, justice, strength, valor. and smiting evil with flaming swords
•The Protector: The Motherly Goddess: The goddess of mercy forgiveness, healing, and protection.
(Those two are married and are two sides of the same coin)
•The Smith: God of invention industry and fire.
•The Guide: The Messenger and Shepherd. God of prayer and answers. Chief of angels and guide of the dead.
•The Merry Maker: God of joviality (often associated with drunkenness). Like a cross between Bacchus and Santa Claus.
•The Muse: God of the arts
•The Lover: Do I really need to explain?
•The Perverter: The Dark God. The god of lies, self interest, fear and hatred. Was initially given a chance to participate in The Creators project, but since he couldn't have things his way he wanted it, he decided to try to mess it up instead. Unable to create or interact with the physical world in any way except through the mind of morals. Commands bodiless spirits who sympathize with him.
CLERICS AND SORCERESS
The most faithful and most obedient of a gods followers are Clerics. They are well favored in their deities eyes and are allowed to borrow their power to calm, comfort, heal, protect, and from time to time work miracles in their name. They cannot fix everything though, for the gods know that trial and tribulation is important for the growth of a soul and removing it entirely would be disservice.
Knowledge often conflicts with faith, causing pride and doubt, so most Clerics are not especially well educated. Sometimes not even very smart. If they need knowledge or wisdom, their God(s) will give it to them. Clerics also usually have little to no magical capabilities, but if they do, it is amplified by their deity. However, divine power is not something that can be commanded at will (so if you play a cleric, you can't walk on water or turn people into pillars of salt willy-nilly. That would get you fired, anyway). It is bestowed when and where they need it and only for as long as they need it. But when they have it, it is more powerful than ANY other form of magic.
In the case of evil god's, they will bestow power upon the greedy and selfish who invoke their name properly. These dark clerics, known as Sorcerers, are often the leaders of small cults or are the shamans of primitive tribes who don't know a good deity from an evil one. A Sorcerers is usually already skilled with magic, but in addition to that, the dark spirits that serve his master whisper council into his ear and act as an extension his power, giving him the fine, delicate precision and concentration required for things like necromancery and telekinesis. It is a parasitic relationship. The spirits get a way to interact with the physical world through a mortal puppet, and the Sorcerer gets a much needed feeling of control. But in reality, it's HIM that's being controlled and eventually his familiars will destroy him.
Sorcerers are terrifying adversaries. They are masters of illusion, guile, eloquence and psychological warfare. With their enhanced intelligence and their way with words, they seduce the greedy and weak minded to raise armies, and with their power they bring entire kingdoms to their knees. But, sorcerers have their limitations. Much of their power waxes and wains with the turning of the seasons and the phases of the moon and is given shape by the perception of their victims. If you are free of fear and despair, it is difficult for them to harm you. Most notably, a Sorcerer cannot touch the faithful or anything holy and the power of a Cleric can kill them.
In this world there are many races. A few are the popular ones that I KNOW people are going to want to play (Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, etc), A few that you know but not the way pop-culture or often pop-folklore depicts them (Minotaurs, Coatl, Leprechauns, Kitsune, Lycanthropes, Dryads, Nymphs, Naga, Sirens, Vampires, etc), and a few that are a little obscure (Wendigo, Tanuki, Bunyip, Rugarou, Yakas, Selkie, Oni, Zuniqua, Spirit-children, Snow-children, Seed-children, etc).
If you're familiar with the webcomic "Gunnerkrig Court", then you have an idea of how magic works in this world. It is the blood of the cosmos and the programming language of reality. It is the essence of creation and all things have a piece of it from the wisps and ghosts that swim through it, The simple plants and animals that used to live, grow and heal their wounds, The sentient beings who channel it through will and imagination (whether they know it or not), The Great Spirits who are composed of it, and the Gods who master it.
GODS
Everyone in this world agrees that the Gods exist and that they lend their power to the faithful who ask for it. What they can't agree on is who they are, how exactly they operate, and who they like the most. Since they haven't exactly come down to tell anyone themselves, everyone is forced to draw their own conclusions
The typical attitudes are:
•I'm right. You're wrong
• We're both right but my gods are better.
• Everyone is right. All the gods exist and everything is one. Just smoke some weed and don't think too hard about it
• Everyone is wrong. There are no gods. It all happened by accident.
•Who the %#@& cares.
Those last two are getting pretty popular.
Anyway, whoever's in charge doesn't seem to care if you worship them directly or not, just as long as you do it faithfully. However, this is not a sentiment that everyone agrees with and its been the cause of many long and bloody wars. Either way, the gods are more than happy to bestow their power upon those who pray to them with faith and do the things which are asked of them.
Each race ticks a little differently and experiences the world in different ways, thus, race is usually the dividing line for religion. Races that have a strong connection to nature, like Wood Elves, tend to worship the spirits. Ones that are nomadic like many humans, or that have a strong connection to magic like the High Elves, are usually monotheistic. The ones that live in harsh climates have harsh, warlike gods who will punish you for the slightest misdeed and ones that live in fertile but unpredictable climates have bipolar gods who will bless or punish you simply because they feel like it. Races that live in bountiful, fertile environments tend to worship authority, seeing their leader as the undisputed mouthpiece of their gods (who are hardly talk about). Races that live in stable climates with infertile but mineral rich soil like the Dwarves (and, to some degree, Gnomes) worship Gods that glorify the different aspects of civilization, technology, and the beauty of their own race. Simple minded races, like Gnomes, Coatl and Lesser Kitsune (there are two kinds) have simple gods and don't focus on things like punishment and internal strength because for them, things are going to be what they're going to and if life throw something bad at them, they'll quickly get over it.
The religion of the Western Humans (basic medieval European culture) is what I've been working on the most. Of all the races on this world, humans managed to get the short end of the stick. They're weak, short lived, unspectacular, emotionally unstable, have a lousy connection to magic and have, for thousands of years, been everyone's favorite punching bag. But because of their hardships, they are the most active and searching for their gods
The Western Human pantheon looks like this:
•The Creator: The All Father. Created the universe and the gods. He is the God of wisdom, knowledge, magic, fate, and time. All the other gods are different aspects of him.
•The Warrior: the Chief God. The God of righteousness, justice, strength, valor. and smiting evil with flaming swords
•The Protector: The Motherly Goddess: The goddess of mercy forgiveness, healing, and protection.
(Those two are married and are two sides of the same coin)
•The Smith: God of invention industry and fire.
•The Guide: The Messenger and Shepherd. God of prayer and answers. Chief of angels and guide of the dead.
•The Merry Maker: God of joviality (often associated with drunkenness). Like a cross between Bacchus and Santa Claus.
•The Muse: God of the arts
•The Lover: Do I really need to explain?
•The Perverter: The Dark God. The god of lies, self interest, fear and hatred. Was initially given a chance to participate in The Creators project, but since he couldn't have things his way he wanted it, he decided to try to mess it up instead. Unable to create or interact with the physical world in any way except through the mind of morals. Commands bodiless spirits who sympathize with him.
CLERICS AND SORCERESS
The most faithful and most obedient of a gods followers are Clerics. They are well favored in their deities eyes and are allowed to borrow their power to calm, comfort, heal, protect, and from time to time work miracles in their name. They cannot fix everything though, for the gods know that trial and tribulation is important for the growth of a soul and removing it entirely would be disservice.
Knowledge often conflicts with faith, causing pride and doubt, so most Clerics are not especially well educated. Sometimes not even very smart. If they need knowledge or wisdom, their God(s) will give it to them. Clerics also usually have little to no magical capabilities, but if they do, it is amplified by their deity. However, divine power is not something that can be commanded at will (so if you play a cleric, you can't walk on water or turn people into pillars of salt willy-nilly. That would get you fired, anyway). It is bestowed when and where they need it and only for as long as they need it. But when they have it, it is more powerful than ANY other form of magic.
In the case of evil god's, they will bestow power upon the greedy and selfish who invoke their name properly. These dark clerics, known as Sorcerers, are often the leaders of small cults or are the shamans of primitive tribes who don't know a good deity from an evil one. A Sorcerers is usually already skilled with magic, but in addition to that, the dark spirits that serve his master whisper council into his ear and act as an extension his power, giving him the fine, delicate precision and concentration required for things like necromancery and telekinesis. It is a parasitic relationship. The spirits get a way to interact with the physical world through a mortal puppet, and the Sorcerer gets a much needed feeling of control. But in reality, it's HIM that's being controlled and eventually his familiars will destroy him.
Sorcerers are terrifying adversaries. They are masters of illusion, guile, eloquence and psychological warfare. With their enhanced intelligence and their way with words, they seduce the greedy and weak minded to raise armies, and with their power they bring entire kingdoms to their knees. But, sorcerers have their limitations. Much of their power waxes and wains with the turning of the seasons and the phases of the moon and is given shape by the perception of their victims. If you are free of fear and despair, it is difficult for them to harm you. Most notably, a Sorcerer cannot touch the faithful or anything holy and the power of a Cleric can kill them.
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