Settings

General

History

Nothing is complete without a creation myth. In the beginning, there was Nothing. It had no comparison, it had no meaning. Eventually, Something came into existence. And it gave Nothing meaning, but it was incomplete. It created two imperfect children, Life and Rebirth, and gave them all of existence to play with. They created the stars and planets that filled existence, but they too were lonely. And so, they created the Gods to play in their universe.

The Gods, however, were further imperfections, and were greedy, prideful, and bitter. They had power feuds between themselves, and hated being at the bottom of the hierarchy. As such, they created Servants, to control and command. The Servants were largely more levelheaded than the Gods, but they too wanted something to control. And so the First Tellurians were created by various Gods, largely dumb powerful creatures inhabiting the planets, existing only for the Servants to abuse.

However, without something to sustain them, the First Tellurians started to wipe each other out. The Servants convinced some Gods to create something to stop them, and the Elder Races were born. They were weaker than the Planet Walkers, but smarter, and were largely able to keep a balance. However, more and more Servants and Gods had various ideas, and the New Races came into existence. This chain was finally broken when the Servants of the Chaos God created their race: The humans. Physically weak, but very adaptable.

The humans threw what was finely balanced into, fittingly, chaos. The various races started interacting in a social manner, and the First Tellurians became powerless against innovations. Further, the Servants started to see themselves more in the races than the Gods, and many showed support in spirit for their uprising. Both the power shift and the Servants' reaction frightened the Gods. They felt threatened by this change, and when Life and Rebirth tried to comfort them, the Gods destroyed them in a panic. This further spurred their terror, and they removed themselves from the Tellurian Plane, and locked away the power of Something they had.

However, some Gods and Servants rebelled, and help create a loophole to the power. Three keys, hidden within Tellurian spirits. The Gods had had enough, and struck at these Titans with full force. The Titans never stood a chance, and those who weren't killed were sealed away as punishment for their treachery.

While this happened, however, humans had worked on a device to end all of this once and for all. The device could pull the Divine Plane back into the Tellurian Plane. Without the power of Something they previously used, the Gods would be trapped on the plane, at the mercy of any further innovations the humans made. Cutting their losses, the Gods sealed their plane off from the Tellurian Plane, to bicker and war amongst themselves until the end of time.

While a victory was achieved, more work had to be done. Forces outside and inside of the blooming society threatened everything they worked for, and so much progress was yet to made.

Fields

Fields in general are merely background information. Most living things has several fields. Sight, sound, touch, mind, and spirit are common ones, but not all have them. Which means if something can project nothing detectable to the sight field, it can be invisible. Touch, intangible. More when my mom isn't fucking around on the keyboard.

Without fields, living things are of the same capability as we are (Tier 0). However, it's not really something they'd notice without fields, and there's few chances for them to experience a loss. But, nonliving things do NOT have fields, so that's important to note. Specifically, most adventurers easily clear through something without a field. A standard wall is nothing to them, for example.

Fields work on something akin to frequencies. More attuned people are able to sense fields and recognize who they belong to, but it's an entirely different ballpark than being able to tell exactly what that identity means. Characters with excessive understanding of magic and fields (such as Dai) may be able to hide themselves from specific fields or even cancel fields, but this is such an overpowered technique that it really shouldn't come up in gameplay.

Planes and Realms

Not all of reality is connected, several groups or races have invested large amount of magic to annex their own parts of the universe, and there are several that were created when the universe was. Outside of the default Tellurian Plane, Personal Planes will be important to everyone, Elemental Planes will probably be attractive to mages; beyond that, they're largely there for story, DMs may use them at their own discretion.

Realms are probably a poor word choice, but refers to the three-prong nature of most living things: they exist in the physical realm, the mental realm, and the spiritual realm at the same time. They are grounded to interaction in the physical realm, however, so using mental or spiritual power usually requires some sort of focus point and loss of power. This will most likely be accounted for in general in the game, with special 'natural' rules should they ever enter a mentally focused plane. Zeroes are characters whose spirits allow for complete control over an element, which makes physical manipulation significantly easier.

Divine

The plane where the Gods hang out. Ultimately an infinite devoid space, the Gods have filled it with various designs for what they call their homes. This architecture is less than permanent, as the Gods constantly war amongst one another, and with power shifts come changes in the landscape.

One idea being explored is a Lich God rising up and securing power. Without the constant change, the Gods become antsy. Who knows what could happen?

Elemental

Elemental Planes were created by Life and Rebirth when the universe was created. In theory (and game practice), they are pretty much an infinite, well, plane of the specific element. There are a few exceptions to this, however.

At the same time the First Tellurians were created, similar creatures were created in these Planes. The Servants and Gods lost interest after the creation of the Elder Races, though, and so they still roam these planes. In general, running into one while just dabbling is excessively rare, and actively hunting for one is a poor choice of action.

Several powerful mages, in fact, made small home areas within the Planes. If one WANTS to enter the plane, these are probably the safest areas, as they are shaped to accommodate Tellurians, although they have been unmaintained since the Planet Eaters. It is also noted these mages were powerful enough to fend off the natives, so it's still not a keen idea to enter unprepared.

In general, there are two Elemental Planes DMs might want to keep at least partially off-limits. The Plane of Darkness is now entirely controlled by the Agents. Although they were content to let Tellurians travel through it, as they become more active, rival factions discouraged their employees to use it. The other is the Plane of Chaos, which is pretty much a terrible idea to even think about invoking in any manner.

Note: Take Out or Dine In

In general, Elemental Planes sound unappealing to be involved in. Why would mages be interested in this again? Because powerful enough mages can make themselves a Nexus for the Plane, and become the equivalent of that living element.

In fact, a character doing so can travel unharmed within the Plane, but pulling the Plane through themselves WHILE in the Plane is generally what learned magic theorists called 'really really stupid if you don't want to turn inside out.'

Also: As Chaos Magic in general is random and powerful, doing this with the Plane of Chaos is pretty much a death sentence for anything within a fifty mile radius of you.

Personal

Personal Planes are sort of 'inventory,' a working version of 'hammerspace.' With heavy use of 'quotations.' Anyway. Characters can put and pull objects in this area for a small fee. The object in general should be 'attuned (with 'quotations') to the character, so they can't just be an undetectable kleptomaniac.

More powerful characters can carry more, and for a higher fee one can pull the objects out from a distance. Pulling objects in from a distance is probably banned because that would be broken.

Racial

Many of the Elder Races saw the shift in power when society started rising, and were sickened by it. They invested their power in leaving the Tellurian Plane and forming their own. These planes are large, but most definitely not infinite. However, they do loop (flying straight up would land eventually you on 'the other side of the plane' as it were).

Cubus formed their own plane, similar to a desert: hot, dry, and desolate. In general, however, those on the plane are still accepting of outsiders, as they can feed off emotion. They're both welcoming of travelers and willing to make bargains with those outside of the plane. However, in most cases, they see those not as partners but as tools, so caution is still best maintained.

The dragons' plane is just as diverse as any planet, to accommodate the various kinds. Most Tellurians would feel at home on this Plane, were it not for the vicious inhabitants. Dragons on the plane are generally very violent towards any visitors and outsiders that attempt to contact them. And violence from something that can swallow you whole is not the best thing.

Kitsune, meanwhile, live on a heavily forested plane. They are able to hide themselves well and move easily along the ground and in the treetops. In general, the kitsune on the plane are hostile and untrusting of visitors and outsiders, but willing to help in some cases. They are not usually outright violent unless heavily threatened or attacked first, though.

Others might have created some, but who cares about them?

Void

Little is known about the Void Plane. It is a Plane devoid of mana, and pretty much anything else. The only known thing is that terrible monsters called Planet Eaters exist within it, and they live up to their name. Luckily, without mana, there is no possibility of them being able to come into another plane by themselves.

Culture

NOTE: All this information is written for Sote. Should you choose a campaign on another planet, feel free to modify the information as necessary.

Note: Down With Disease, Sex and Violence

I suppose I knew I'd have to hit these at some point.

Disease is pretty clean cut. As the world was created by the Gods from a 'largest first' viewpoint, there are no legitimate bacteria or virii period. However, in many cases, the function is done as similarly with mana (such as food going bad) that it is moot to note. The main difference is physical illness. In general, there are no colds or the such, the only diseases are manufactured (by magic or technology) for express purposes. This is done for a specific reason: The setting is made to be as melodramatic as possible, and lying in bed with a runny nose doesn't fit it. Tons of mental disorders are still around because they can be fun melodrama, but they're usually more based on personality and experience than genetics.

Which leads us into sex and aging. Now this is a can of worms. As of this writing, birth was always considered more of an emotional investment rather than a physical. Pregnancy just doesn't mesh with the general feel of the world, and while most settings just sweep it under a rug, I'm rolling it into one AND THROWING THE GODDAMN RUG OUT. Specifics may never be divulged because I'm lazy, but simply put, it's largely magic. That's not to say there's not a physical side to relationships, it's just recreational at best. I'm sure this'll get refined with time, but right now that's the basic current stance.

Aging is similarly tricky. Obviously teenagers, young adults, adults, and elders are all fine to throw into the setting as combatants and well let's face it things to kill off. In the setting, it's totally legit for older children to be involved in both acts, because the world's still recovering and still kinda a crapsack. However, young children and babies are generally uninvolved in most other settings, and feel shaky to involve here, especially considering how big of bastards most DMs are. I've never written ANYTHING in this involving a newborn (partially because of the whole sex thing), and I'm tempted to say they just might not exist at that age in here? It's magic.

The actual aging process is equally rarely touched upon. The general idea is children must become teenagers, teenagers will probably become young adults, and young adults may become adults. Elder is rarely touched upon because old people suck (not actual world views). The idea behind is the aging process is related to how much energy one can take it. In short, like aging tiers! Being a teenager has its advantages over being a child, and a young adult over a teenager. However, becoming an adult has some unspecified downsides as well as ups, and probably the same for elder. Specifics to come? Probably not.

Architecture

As the setting is sort of a melting pot of all technology levels, the architecture is just as schizophrenic. For most of the Elder Races, their buildings are at worst barbaric makeshift shelters, and at best decorated tribal villages. New Races tend to have modern towns and cities, some a bit more rural or metropolitan than others, but more often depending on size and location. Nekos in particular embrace a space age motif, having sleek, clean designs that are far more resistant to damage.

However, there are almost always signs of change. Some villages have a modern building in them somewhere, and many towns and cities have at least one sleek skyscraper penetrating (hehe) the skyline; the Capital Building in Metro City is a prime example of this. Furthermore, even futuristic societies tend to have something indicating their roots, usually a poverty-stricken area that is still an era behind in look. Again, the Slums of Metro City are also an example of this.

Specifics for each race may come later (probably to their pages), but one thing of note is that races that can easily fly or live underwater should have alien architecture. Keep in mind we've designed our buildings with the two dimensions we're able to use, so theoretically speaking, a race that had access to more would use them. Stairs would probably hardly exist at all, and entrance ways would rarely if ever be on the ground floor. More as I feel like it.

Fashion

Just like architecture in almost all manners. Elder races stick with traditional (robes, flowing clothes, whatnot), and New Races tend to be modern (jeans, skirts, the like). Nekos, goblins, and some humans have embraced a space age attire.

Specifics here/elsewhere probably later.

Music

As the world has pretty much been in constant struggle, music hasn't has much chance to evolved beyond traditional and folk (check it, most styles didn't come about until after WWII). However, in recent years the types of music have blossomed out. Punk and metal in particular have become sensations, thanks to The Dropp Kixx and Acess respectably. As per usual, many younger audiences really dig it and often try to imitate it, while some older audiences dismiss it and rally against it.

Official Settings

Change in the Air

Factions: Loyalists, Revolutionaries

Canon Ending: Humans help establish a society, the Gods are banned from the Tellurian Plane.

The Hunger Strikes

Factions: Tellurians, Planet Eaters

Canon Ending: Majority of planets are wiped out, the planet eaters are destroyed.

Search and Destroy

Factions: Society, The OO

Canon Ending: Many races are heavily damaged physically and mentally, but the OO loses all but pockets of power

Dim Future, Darker Past

Factions: BLUE, HAZE, The Agents

Canon Ending: ?????

Alternate Setting: Stark Reality