So, I've given you some background about The Ashen Age, but many things still wait to be defined. Among the things that wait to be defined is magic, which is a particularly hard topic due to its weird nature. This relationship only gets more complicated due to the events that have happened to make the Ashen Age what it is today. Now, let's chat and try to decipher the splendor and misery that our characters may discover. Let's chat about the fall of the gods and their new brood. Let's chat about the lost art of magic and the secrets of godhood...
The petrification of the gods was a catastrophe in all ways, a perfect disaster. The initial shock of the god's petrified body parts crashing with the world and killing almost all surface dwellers was felt heavily among the survivors. Of course, there were other implications to this disaster as well. Clerical magic ceased to work, as no god could supply miracles anymore. Due to this, medical aid regressed to barbaric surgery, and many survivors died as their ailments ran rampant. During humanity's sheltered years nestled underground, their doubts began to stir about magic. Perhaps magic had been destroyed forever?
Then there is godhood itself. It is unknown how the basilisk ascended to godhood, for the long-dead ancestors who witnessed the event only had theories. Scholars and skeptics remain divided on how godhood is actually achieved. A popular theory that has been whispered about is from the lady scholar Imaev of Godhead. She speculates that godhood is achieved by launching to the heavens and orbiting around the world. From there the perspective of the world from the heavens provides the launched person osmosis which grants them godhood. This would explain why gods never played too much of an active role in life before their fall, but it is hard to justify that a basilisk somehow achieved orbit around the planet, and it doesn't explain why the gods are all so bloody big. It also doesn't take into account the clearly blasphemous theory from the bastard scholar Copernicus that the world actually revolves around the sun, and that orbit may be a bit more complex than Imaev makes it out to be. Of course, godhood is rarely ever spoken about in the open, for people fear that the basilisk may hear them and punishments will follow for conspiring against their new ruler of the world.
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| A Deal With God (Markus Neidel) |
Of course, change does not always entail complete destruction. Magic still exists, it's just... different...
Orthodox magic, obsessively writing runes in tomes, is now a long lost art. Spellbooks are scattered across the lands, but the knowledge on how to create new spellbooks has been lost. Those powerful mages that knew the art of transcribing bound their souls to grimoires before the fall of the gods, so they could still have consciousness even if they died. There are tales of these grimoires and the immense power they provide, but there are even more sickening tales of people who find these artifacts and go insane while using them. Specifically, there is a widely known tale of Dezor the Possessed, who went on a successful quest to find one of these grimoires, but later locked himself in the tower which he found the book and claimed that he was the reincarnation of the long-dead wizard who originally owned the book.
To say that the gods are completely and utterly dead would be disingenuous. Their children still roam these lands. Once the gods fell before man, strange parasites crawled from their wounds. These creatures are completely alien to the world's old ecosystem. Most lack intelligence, and are just ravenous horrors that lurk the wastes looking for food. But there are a select few parasites called godlings that possess an oddly disconnected intelligence and power. They have odd goals that go beyond just surviving, ambitions unknown to the greater scope of man. Godlings need loyal servants to complete these overarching goals, and will entice mortals with promises of powers that they inherited from the gods they came from. Some people get dreams of godlings and their locations, a sign that the godling wants them to make a pact, that the godling finds them to be a useful tool. Once a person finds a godling, they may make a pact. In this grotesque ritual, the godling implants a seed of power inside their newfound acolyte, and the acolyte takes up some resemblance to the godling and now has a line of communication to the godling. Although, the consequences of this power are rarely ever told. With extended use and time, much like a parasite, the seed of power burrows into the acolyte and changes them to a twisted manifestation of the godling that they pledged allegiance to. With enough time, the acolyte is completely mindless, with their only desire now being to return to their godling and serve them. Many godlings have the passive approach of communication through dreams, although there are some horrifying tales of a knock at the door of a vault where a commune of humans live. Once the people foolishly go to open the door, there is a godling standing there, ready to claim the entire community.
To say that the gods are completely and utterly dead would be disingenuous. Their children still roam these lands. Once the gods fell before man, strange parasites crawled from their wounds. These creatures are completely alien to the world's old ecosystem. Most lack intelligence, and are just ravenous horrors that lurk the wastes looking for food. But there are a select few parasites called godlings that possess an oddly disconnected intelligence and power. They have odd goals that go beyond just surviving, ambitions unknown to the greater scope of man. Godlings need loyal servants to complete these overarching goals, and will entice mortals with promises of powers that they inherited from the gods they came from. Some people get dreams of godlings and their locations, a sign that the godling wants them to make a pact, that the godling finds them to be a useful tool. Once a person finds a godling, they may make a pact. In this grotesque ritual, the godling implants a seed of power inside their newfound acolyte, and the acolyte takes up some resemblance to the godling and now has a line of communication to the godling. Although, the consequences of this power are rarely ever told. With extended use and time, much like a parasite, the seed of power burrows into the acolyte and changes them to a twisted manifestation of the godling that they pledged allegiance to. With enough time, the acolyte is completely mindless, with their only desire now being to return to their godling and serve them. Many godlings have the passive approach of communication through dreams, although there are some horrifying tales of a knock at the door of a vault where a commune of humans live. Once the people foolishly go to open the door, there is a godling standing there, ready to claim the entire community.
Then there is godhood itself. It is unknown how the basilisk ascended to godhood, for the long-dead ancestors who witnessed the event only had theories. Scholars and skeptics remain divided on how godhood is actually achieved. A popular theory that has been whispered about is from the lady scholar Imaev of Godhead. She speculates that godhood is achieved by launching to the heavens and orbiting around the world. From there the perspective of the world from the heavens provides the launched person osmosis which grants them godhood. This would explain why gods never played too much of an active role in life before their fall, but it is hard to justify that a basilisk somehow achieved orbit around the planet, and it doesn't explain why the gods are all so bloody big. It also doesn't take into account the clearly blasphemous theory from the bastard scholar Copernicus that the world actually revolves around the sun, and that orbit may be a bit more complex than Imaev makes it out to be. Of course, godhood is rarely ever spoken about in the open, for people fear that the basilisk may hear them and punishments will follow for conspiring against their new ruler of the world.
Magic's current state is uncertain. Those who have crawled out of the vaults gaze upon these unknown forces with awe because they have never seen such wondrous things in their seclusion. Some communities were taught by their ancestors that magic was the very reason, so they find magic users or magic artifacts and lock them up in their so-called "witch vaults". Some individuals have begun to specialize in magic, travelling from vault to vault to provide their services to those too scared to collect magic themselves. Many have a lust for this power, and look to "acquire" artifacts and books off those who are lucky enough to have them.
So, the gods may no longer exist, but the scattered forces of magic they left in their wake will make for a fine substitute for their powers.
Alright, so that's the whole gods deal taken care of for the most part. I think I scattered a good amount of plot hooks through this post for you to use, that's probably why it's a longer post than most of my others. I kinda wanted to keep some things vague for the GM to decide what's going on with specific elements of the setting. For instance, the vague nature of godhood, I personally think the lady scholar's idea is an excellent one and will get players thinking about how to launch themselves to space and then typical player shenanigans ensue, but the GM can change that in any way want. I also like the idea that satellites in our world would be considered gods in this world, just a funny thought, though.
I think that Ben Milton's Knave can easily be integrated with this, as spellbooks basically fit Knave's magic system. This addendum is about more complicated things, though, giving you a godling and a grimoire. I'll admit, I'm not familiar with GLOG spells and this is a bit GLOG-ish in nature, so you may need to do some adjusting. I personally am going to do some edits on this system later, I think it has some potential. To see it, just click on the red addendum link. Now all that lies ahead to be defined is the people that roam these lands, and the monsters that roam these lands. In the meantime, see you all later!
So, the gods may no longer exist, but the scattered forces of magic they left in their wake will make for a fine substitute for their powers.
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| Addendum (skraww) |
I think that Ben Milton's Knave can easily be integrated with this, as spellbooks basically fit Knave's magic system. This addendum is about more complicated things, though, giving you a godling and a grimoire. I'll admit, I'm not familiar with GLOG spells and this is a bit GLOG-ish in nature, so you may need to do some adjusting. I personally am going to do some edits on this system later, I think it has some potential. To see it, just click on the red addendum link. Now all that lies ahead to be defined is the people that roam these lands, and the monsters that roam these lands. In the meantime, see you all later!
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