Not much to say here, this is a quick synopsis of my game's setting, I'm curious what people think of it because so far every time I ask elsewhere I get little input. I'm not much of a blogger, so I hope this is in the spirit of the whole thing. This setting has been in the works since I first tossed a quick system together to do a Resident Evil RPG with some friends, since then the system and the setting I attached to it later have both evolved enormously. What you see below is the culmination of about 6 years of work, work that is finally heading for editing and playtesting, thank god!
Gather children and listen to the history of our world, listen to the reason why we live surrounded by ash and death. No one knows how the world was created, this tale was lost to us among others when the false gods replaced them with the lies they used to justify their rule. Until only recently we believed these lies, we did not know the truth of our own world or the treachery that had made us slaves for so many thousands of years. What follows is what we know to be true.
There was a time when the world of Ember was at peace, when the false gods ruled over the mortal races and gave to each of them a divine duty. Ranick, king of the gods, directed humanity to build and protect the temples of the gods. Edenia, goddess of law and order, directed the T'jal to guard the peace of the world as diplomats and traders. Asherys, the god of life, directed the cat-like Oubri to guard and encourage all the life that existed in the world. Dakren, the god of death, directed the Sulvai to comfort the mourning and shepherd the souls of the dead to him. For millennia there was order and prosperity until a great war broke out and the mortal nations struggled for their very survival.
A group of human nobles rebelled against their king, seeking to seize control and build their own kingdoms in what is known as the Lords' Rebellion. Traitors emerged within all the races to follow their example, even the Chancellor of the T'jal nation was eventually exposed for dealings with rebellious forces in exchange for safety from their aggression. It seemed that there was no hope for the mortal races, their gods had abandoned them to death and suffering. There seemed to be no end to this path of madness and death that the world had been set upon, until the truth was found in the ruins of ancient temples by heroes seeking artifacts of great power to save their homes. The gods were deceivers, powerful wizards who had enslaved the true goddess of Ember countless ages ago and used her power to elevate themselves to godhood. Manipulating the mortal races as playthings, they had been the ones who urged the dissident nobles to rally and attack all for the sake of their own entertainment.
No one knows who was involved or what exactly transpired, but through much hardship a group of heroes found the goddess shackled in chains forged by ancient forgotten magic that none among them could break. She begged them to take her life so that her children could finally be free, persisting until they realized there was no choice, she could not be released and as long as she was alive the false gods' power would be unending. The goddess was slain and the false gods suddenly found themselves robbed of their godhood and made mortal again, their lives ending under the vengeful charge of their former slaves. Their power was still great even without that of the goddess and with their dying breath each cursed the world.
Ranick cursed the world to flame, the mortal races fled to any safe place they could find as fire rained from the sky and set the world ablaze The ash that remained has never washed away and the ground still frequently bursts into flames as if punishing whatever dares to try and grow. These constant bursts of flame keep the sky perpetually filled with thick clouds of ash that block out the sun over most of the world, keeping the ground free of any vegetation that might somehow endure the flames. Edenia cursed the T'jal with paranoia and greed that they might never unite successfully. Asherys cursed the animals and plants that survived the fires to be twisted by mutation and disease. Dakren's curse remains a mystery to all but the Sulvai even now.
The races scattered to their respective homes, cowering and trying to scrape out a living from whatever remained as the age of devastation began. Oblivion seemed a certainty, what food could grow was poison or inedible and the livestock were slowly becoming deformed or diseased as Asherys' curse took effect. Finally the Rassek, a lizard-like race who were once hunted as blasphemers, emerged from their hidden cities in the South bearing gifts for the other mortal races, powerful magical items created by their priests that they called Remnants. Large shimmering orbs that pulsed with powerful magic while arcane energy flared and sparked within them, they are the only thing in the world that can keep the curses of Asherys and Ranick at bay. The remnants varied in power and the areas outside of their reach were still fully under the effects of the curses, but they allowed crops to grow and animals to be raised free of disease and mutation within their influence. Those areas that were not protected came to be known as the Burning Lands.
Now Humanity is fractured and at war with itself, those few well-meaning leaders who remain are constantly under attack by warlords and savages who seek to steal their lands, their remnants, or simply wish to destroy. The T'jal fight a constant war for supremacy between city-states, their powerful merchant families hiring mercenaries to do the dirty work while they revel in wealth and luxury. The Oubri now call themselves the Ashen Claws, their remnant allows much of their jungle to grow healthy once again, but their Elders struggle constantly for power against the Circle, a group of xenophobic zealots who seek to protect their jungle at absolutely any cost. The Sulvai are only unified race, having rallied under one republic, their agenda as much a mystery as their culture. Finally there are the Rassek who tentatively travel the world once more, hoping to reclaim their proper place and perhaps even the goddess herself.
Never forget children that we live in a devastated world by our own actions, we traded comfort for freedom and only by losing your own freedom will you ever know how easy the choice was. Do not look to the past for there are too many lies along that path to trip upon, instead look to the future and find a new path for yourself and your people. Do not surrender to despair and desperation, instead cling to what may be, for there is always hope.
So...whatcha think? Sexy right? Right?
Tags: My Post-apocalypti C Fantasy RPG
