The Wyzard Setting Essays - Revision history

The Wyzard: /* Bio-Engineering */

2012-08-04T18:59:11Z

Bio-Engineering

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:59, 4 August 2012
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	Additionally, humans have phenotypes that do not exist on our world. Unusual hair or eye colors, or complexions, or an extra joint on one’s thumbs or pointed ears or what-have-you are common in some areas, and are not usually remarked upon.		Additionally, humans have phenotypes that do not exist on our world. Unusual hair or eye colors, or complexions, or an extra joint on one’s thumbs or pointed ears or what-have-you are common in some areas, and are not usually remarked upon.

	Powerful mage-scientists are also able to make exotic hybrid creatures, which can be useful or ~~simply~~ terrifying.		Powerful mage-scientists are also able to make exotic hybrid creatures, which can be useful (lizards of burden), pathetic (duckbunnies), or terrifying (owlbears).

			== Magic ==

			During the latter parts of the Amaranthan empire, a famous wizard compiled the Summa Arcanum, a set of ten massive volumes that organized and simplified the study of arcane magic. This text was violently suppressed during the Long Night, but the Thracians briefly popularized (and then quickly banned) it. The first two volumes lay down the theory, practice, and notation of arcane magic. The next six each correspond to one of the Orders of spellcraft (first level spells are First-Order spellcraft, etc.) The last two cover magical engineering and artifice. Each of the books covering an Order of spellcraft contained the twelve spells that the author considered to be most illustrative of the core principles of that Order, with only minor consideration given to usefulness.

			While the Amaranthans were thoroughly in favor of any citizen who cared to spend the time learning magic, later civilizations (and jealous archmages) have found this undesirable. It is now no longer possible to find a complete copy of any volume of the Summa, even fragments of the individual volumes are of great value, and an intact copy of the entire series would represent wealth and power beyond dreams of avarice. Provided, of course, that you could dispose of it before being removed from circulation.

			The seventy-two spells originally contained in the Summa are still by far the most commonly known dweomers on the planet.

	== Almanac ==		== Almanac ==

The Wyzard: /* History */

2012-08-04T18:56:51Z

History

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	== History ==		== History ==
	The following are in roughly chronological order, although poor record-keeping and the encroachments of Chaos have left history in a slightly confused state.		The following are in roughly chronological order, although poor record-keeping, the occasional shipment of history books from alternate worlds or dimensions, and the encroachments of Chaos have left history in a slightly confused state. The world has a lot of history, which in general is not worth recounting in detail. There have been a near-infinite number of lesser kingdoms and empires across a geographic space comparable to our own Earth, with all the carnage and comedy that that implies. However, there are a few major eras that will give an overview of world history.

	===The ~~Lizardmen~~===		=== 0. The Precursor Era ===
	Deep in the mists of history, the Lizardmen had a mighty civilization. Little is known of them, as even for those who are proficient with their language find the meaning of their pictograms inscrutable. The Lizardman brain is formed differently from the human one, and communication between the species is often difficult. It is known that they were highly accomplished in certain forms of architecture, as many of their pyramids and ziggurats still stand. They also had some unusual form of magic, or highly-developed psionic power, which relied on great crystalline structures. However, the modern Lizardman is a debased and ignorant creature, uncomprehending of his people's own written language or their history. What might have wrought this change in them is completely unknown.

	===The Amaranthan Empire===		There are occasionally objects or devices, such as the Cidrian Gates or the Sublunar Machinery which seems to correspond to some time or people before the era of the Lizard Kings. Anything that old which is still operational can be presumed to have unimaginable power and sophistication. They may have been built by prior human civilizations or by entities even further removed from our understanding.

			=== 1. Early Human Colonization ===

			Early Human Colonization. During this period, large numbers of humans arrived on the planet via unknown means, and engaged in widespread terraforming and genetic resequencing of themselves and everything else they could get their hands on. The early colonies “failed,” in that C&C with whoever sent them was lost, and whatever early governments were established collapsed. Humans went through a period of barbaric savagery, and then got it out of their systems.

			=== 2. The Lizard Kings ===

			The Lizardmen were for a time the apex sophont on the planet. They built great crystalline devices that ran on psionic rather than technological or magical principles, subjugated humans when they felt the need, and built massive ziggurats. Eventually, humans defeated them via some means unrecorded. The modern Lizardman is a brute beast that cannot even read the hieroglyphs of its ancient ancestors, much less operate the strange science to which it should be heir. The Lizardman brain is formed differently from the human one, and communication between the species is often difficult.

			=== 3. The Amaranthan Empire===

	[[File:Barlowe_grayinfront.jpg]]<br/>		[[File:Barlowe_grayinfront.jpg]]<br/>
	One of the more historically "recent" Great Civilizations, the Amaranthan's were unparalleled masters of sorcery. Their ways were debased and vile, but they crushed kingdoms as a dragon might smite a bugbear. A heavily chaotic race, the Amaranthans eventually rebelled against those beings claiming the status of deityhood. It galled them that any being should arrogate to themselves a higher station than what their Emperor appointed. Thus began the dreadful God-War of the Amaranthan Empire. It raged on for centuries, and the Amaranthans did in fact manage to subjugate the four major elements - to this day the great elementals are unusually susceptible to the antique sorceries to which the Amaranthans bound them. The war did not end, however, and each new year brought more powerful beings into conflict with the unbelievable might of the Amaranthans. The great houses were eventually tempted to rebel against the endless war, and the Empire self-destructed in a decade of blood and fire. The ruins and deep fastnesses of the Amaranthans are still considered to be some of the most valuable and dangerous sites for adventuring; they had vast wealth and had created innumerable artifacts.

	It ~~is said~~ that ~~there is somewhere~~ a ~~desert wasteland~~, at the ~~center~~ of ~~which is a huge black obelisk engraved with~~ the ~~names~~ of ~~all those deities slain during~~ the ~~God~~-~~War~~.		The Amaranthans arose out of a small but wealthy kingdom by a bay, where innovative magicians laid down the foundation-stones of modern sorcery. It was a darker, cruder magic that they practiced, but they were insatiable for more power. Within a handful of generations, the leaders of the Amaranthan kingdoms had as much magic in their veins as blood, and they conquered the vast majority of the world. Between their spells and pre-Saurian technology and learning they recovered from deep fastnesses, they easily brought to heel the feudal human societies that arose to fill the vacuum left by the Lizard Kings.

	===The Thracian Hegemony===		Their ways were debased and vile, but they crushed kingdoms as a dragon might smite a bugbear.

			=== 4. The God-War ===
			A heavily chaotic race, the Amaranthans eventually rebelled against those beings claiming the status of deityhood. It galled them that any being should arrogate to themselves a higher station than what their Emperor appointed. Thus began the dreadful God-War of the Amaranthan Empire. It raged on for centuries, and the Amaranthans did in fact manage to subjugate the four major elements - to this day the great elementals are unusually susceptible to the antique sorceries to which the Amaranthans bound them. The war did not end, however, and each new year brought more powerful beings into conflict with the unbelievable might of the Amaranthans. The great houses were eventually tempted to rebel against the endless war, and the Empire self-destructed in a decade of blood and fire. This left the world and humanity at the mercy of all the things they had pissed off. Hint: It was almost everything.

			The ruins and deep fastnesses of the Amaranthans are still considered to be some of the most valuable and dangerous sites for adventuring; they had vast wealth and had created innumerable artifacts. It is said that there is somewhere a desert wasteland, at the center of which is a huge black obelisk engraved with the names of all those deities slain during the God-War.

			=== 5. The Long Night. ===

			Little enough of this era is recorded. Vengeful gods and demons and various other potent beings preyed on humanity and dominated their cities. Much awful tribute was extracted, and the lore of the Amaranthans was destroyed whenever it could be found. The tech level at this time was definitely more medieval in character, as humans were lucky if their masters allowed them pointy sticks, in most places.

			=== 6. The Thracian Hegemony ===
	<br/>[[File:Gated_Community.jpg\|left]]<br/>		<br/>[[File:Gated_Community.jpg\|left]]<br/>

	The Thracians began as a small group of seafaring nations, which eventually conglomerated and combined their efforts. They rapidly became masters of the exchange of goods, and proceeded to dominate, incorporate, and subvert every economic entity they could come into contact with. Their complex arrangements of ownership and finance allowed them to trick simpler peoples out of their wealth with impunity. They also reached incredible heights of technical prowess, and mastered the physical realm in a way that had not been seen in millenia. ~~Their hubris was boundless~~, and it was ~~inevitable~~ that they ~~would begin~~ to ~~have truck~~ with the ~~beings inhabiting~~ the ~~moons~~, the ~~dark between~~ the ~~stars~~, ~~and~~ the ~~lands in~~ the ~~hollow world~~. They had ~~crafted bargains with powers~~ that ~~ought not have been bargained with, and~~ the ~~Hegemony was decapitated in~~ a ~~single blood-soaked night when the account came to be paid~~. Bereft of leadership, barbarians and lesser kingdoms raided and destroyed the remaining centers of Thracian power. Their society disintegrated, and the lore of operating their great machines and mysterious facilities became lost.		The Thracians began as a small group of seafaring nations, which eventually conglomerated and combined their efforts. Through a massive conspiracy, they managed to help each other throw off the yokes of their inhuman masters and institute democracy. They revived the pursuits of technology and complex financial instruments, and through a combination of laser-armed airships and disaster capitalism they were able to free most of humanity from the thrall of various Vampire Princes and Demon Cults. They rapidly became masters of the exchange of goods, and proceeded to dominate, incorporate, and subvert every economic entity they could come into contact with. Their complex arrangements of ownership and finance allowed them to trick simpler peoples out of their wealth with impunity.

			They also reached incredible heights of technical prowess, and mastered the physical realm in a way that had not been seen in millenia. While the Thracians disfavored the use of direct sorcery, they did recover and disseminate some of the more orderly Amaranthan works on the subject. They also made advances in the creation of arcane and technological devices. The most notable achievement of the Thracians, though, was that they created a standardized system of coinage which is still nearly universal.

			=== 7. The Decapitation ===
			The leaders of the Thracian Combines attempted to make treaty with the various Lunar civilizations, just as they had done to the monstrous kingdoms that had existed on the terrestrial sphere. For whatever reason, the negotiations fell through, and ended in several nights of blood and fire. When the smoke cleared, the Thracian civilization came apart at the seams. They had always kept their leadership and industrial base centralized, to maintain their hegemony. Unfortunately, that meant it was all destroyed by the swarm of meteorites that turned their capital city into a morass of smoking, flooded craters. Bereft of leadership, barbarians and lesser kingdoms raided and destroyed the remaining centers of Thracian power. Their society disintegrated, and the lore of operating their great machines and mysterious facilities became lost.

			=== 8. The Interregnum ===
			In the aftermath of the Decapitation, a wide variety of wars and disasters destroyed much of what had been built, and the human population of the world was much reduced.

			=== 9. The Age of City-States ===
			This is the time during which our campaigns take place. Over much of the world, humanity has reorganized itself into independent and semi-independent city-states. There is trade and communication between the various civilizations, but vast waste-lands full of ruins and ancient roads occupy the space between them. Human civilizations seem to be somewhat drowsy at this time in history, and the people of the world are plagued by hedonism and sybaritic boredom. Greed takes the place of ambition, and everywhere men and women take the low and easy road to comfort. Globe-spanning ambitions are distinctly out of fashion.

	== Technology ==		== Technology ==

The Wyzard: /* Almanac */

2012-08-04T18:39:37Z

Almanac

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	The Thracians began as a small group of seafaring nations, which eventually conglomerated and combined their efforts. They rapidly became masters of the exchange of goods, and proceeded to dominate, incorporate, and subvert every economic entity they could come into contact with. Their complex arrangements of ownership and finance allowed them to trick simpler peoples out of their wealth with impunity. They also reached incredible heights of technical prowess, and mastered the physical realm in a way that had not been seen in millenia. Their hubris was boundless, and it was inevitable that they would begin to have truck with the beings inhabiting the moons, the dark between the stars, and the lands in the hollow world. They had crafted bargains with powers that ought not have been bargained with, and the Hegemony was decapitated in a single blood-soaked night when the account came to be paid. Bereft of leadership, barbarians and lesser kingdoms raided and destroyed the remaining centers of Thracian power. Their society disintegrated, and the lore of operating their great machines and mysterious facilities became lost.		The Thracians began as a small group of seafaring nations, which eventually conglomerated and combined their efforts. They rapidly became masters of the exchange of goods, and proceeded to dominate, incorporate, and subvert every economic entity they could come into contact with. Their complex arrangements of ownership and finance allowed them to trick simpler peoples out of their wealth with impunity. They also reached incredible heights of technical prowess, and mastered the physical realm in a way that had not been seen in millenia. Their hubris was boundless, and it was inevitable that they would begin to have truck with the beings inhabiting the moons, the dark between the stars, and the lands in the hollow world. They had crafted bargains with powers that ought not have been bargained with, and the Hegemony was decapitated in a single blood-soaked night when the account came to be paid. Bereft of leadership, barbarians and lesser kingdoms raided and destroyed the remaining centers of Thracian power. Their society disintegrated, and the lore of operating their great machines and mysterious facilities became lost.


			== Technology ==

			The really notable difference here is that while vast knowledge is available (and easily so – PCs are likely to have at least a modern understanding of the sciences, and Mages may be well-versed in theoretical physics or unreal mathematics), material culture lags far behind. That being said, the situation in most civilized lands is not at all comparable to medieval Europe. In the distant past humanity had the wherewithal to re-engineer species to their liking, and so there are many extraordinarily convenient plants still cultivated. Some have use as contraceptives or make effective healing salves. The Library Tree produces broad, regular leaves that when dried and cut into shape can be used as archival-quality paper. A wide variety of food plants and several types of mushroom are known to be results of the original sequencing project; they can be easily and rapidly farmed, and are tailored to human dietary needs. Etc. For this reason, simply supplying the population with food is not the crushing burden it was in real-world medieval societies, and even impoverished areas have sufficient time for leisure and social or intellectual pursuits.

			Many technologies that have an extremely high payoff to effort ratio if you are already at a high Roman or Renaissance-era level of technology are still used. Movable-type printing presses are not common, but they have supplanted scriptoriums in all but the most remote regions. They’re just too easy to build in comparison to how much effort they save.

			The essential difficulty is that the creation of an industrial economy is a great deal of work, and nobody is really inclined to go to that kind of effort. Anyone with the resources, ambition, and will to build a steam train or an air conditioner factory is probably better off becoming an archmage and summoning various demonic servants and succubi to while away the decades of ennui. Also, the creation of industrial facilities is occasionally interfered with by powerful druids or angry Great Red Wyrms, and so sometimes it’s just better to stay discrete.

			There are many resources and artifacts which can be recovered from the underground sites of previous cultures, and those can be of use to the people of today. Powerful mages are capable of crafting science-fantasy gadgetry of all kinds. There are a few places in the world where devices of advanced technology are still manufactured on a small scale, but the expense to obtain them is phenomenal.

			Some powerful persons make use of wireless communication sets, there are Spelljamming ships in extremely rare circulation, Baleful Rods (a variety of self-regenerating energy weapon) are comparable in availability to magical items, and there are places where Spike Throwers (electromagnetic acceleration weapons – touchy, but effective) can still be purchased new. Generally, though, items of advanced technology should resemble early-to-mid twentieth century science fiction. See Jack Vance and Barsoom, rather than Star Trek or Peter Watts.

			=== Bio-Engineering ===

			The humans of this world have received a number of genetic tweaks from their ancestors. While this doesn’t mean superpowers or anything crazy like that, it does mean that disease and infection are extremely rare, that people live longer and stay healthier than should be possible at their tech level, etc. Extensive exposure to stress and equally-extensive training can unlock the potential for incredible physical feats, provided it’s kept up over time. Basically, the world runs according to D&D rules, and part of that is that humans are slightly less susceptible to some problems and have just a bit more potential. Also, people tend to be better-looking, so picturing things like an action movie isn’t completely inaccurate.

			Additionally, humans have phenotypes that do not exist on our world. Unusual hair or eye colors, or complexions, or an extra joint on one’s thumbs or pointed ears or what-have-you are common in some areas, and are not usually remarked upon.

			Powerful mage-scientists are also able to make exotic hybrid creatures, which can be useful or simply terrifying.

	== Almanac ==		== Almanac ==

The Wyzard: /* Known Gods */

2012-08-04T18:33:55Z

Known Gods

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	[[File:Barlowe_holdabrick.jpg\|right]]		[[File:Barlowe_holdabrick.jpg\|right]]
	There are many, many beings of sufficient power to arguably merit worship. This can be construed as a matter of scale. A demonic imp with delusions of grandeur might eventually teach a troupe of small monkeys to bow down and give it offerings; the relation of a demon price to its human cultists is not different in kind.		There are many, many beings of sufficient power to arguably merit worship. This can be construed as a matter of scale. A demonic imp with delusions of grandeur might eventually teach a troupe of small monkeys to bow down and give it offerings; the relation of a demon price to its human cultists is not different in kind.


	Because of the great many deities in the world (which might range from a gigantic alligator of ancient and inhuman intelligence worshipped by a tribe of goblins, to an actual extraplanar being with plenary powers over the material world), there will never be a comprehensive list of them. If a player invokes or worships some given being, I'm inclined to assume that being exists, in some sense, if it can be fitted into the setting in any sensible way. Because the gods demonstrably and obviously exist, often inconveniently so, the arrangements of churches and temples extant in many fantasy gaming worlds have no place here. Clerics are trained to deal with whatever god is appropriate, and the profession has secondary functions such as managing the transition between life and death (whether preventing the transfer in the case of healing spells, or enforcing it by blowing up skeletons with Turn Undead.) They are generally not given to religious awe (they know how the sausage is made), unless some feigned or genuine ritual ecstasy is more likely to impress the marks.		Because of the great many deities in the world (which might range from a gigantic alligator of ancient and inhuman intelligence worshipped by a tribe of goblins, to an actual extraplanar being with plenary powers over the material world), there will never be a comprehensive list of them. If a player invokes or worships some given being, I'm inclined to assume that being exists, in some sense, if it can be fitted into the setting in any sensible way. Because the gods demonstrably and obviously exist, often inconveniently so, the arrangements of churches and temples extant in many fantasy gaming worlds have no place here. Clerics are trained to deal with whatever god is appropriate, and the profession has secondary functions such as managing the transition between life and death (whether preventing the transfer in the case of healing spells, or enforcing it by blowing up skeletons with Turn Undead.) They are generally not given to religious awe (they know how the sausage is made), unless some feigned or genuine ritual ecstasy is more likely to impress the marks.


	Still, for purposes of versimilitude, I will list a few deities and describe them, so that players can gain a sense of the setting as it exists in my head.		Still, for purposes of versimilitude, I will list a few deities and describe them, so that players can gain a sense of the setting as it exists in my head.

The Wyzard: /* Known Gods */

2012-08-04T18:33:20Z

Known Gods

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	There are many, many beings of sufficient power to arguably merit worship. This can be construed as a matter of scale. A demonic imp with delusions of grandeur might eventually teach a troupe of small monkeys to bow down and give it offerings; the relation of a demon price to its human cultists is not different in kind.		There are many, many beings of sufficient power to arguably merit worship. This can be construed as a matter of scale. A demonic imp with delusions of grandeur might eventually teach a troupe of small monkeys to bow down and give it offerings; the relation of a demon price to its human cultists is not different in kind.

	~~Clerics may serve some particular god or another, but they need not. Their magic is a different path from the arcane, but it is equally self-sufficient for game purposes.~~ Because of the great many deities in the world (which might range from a gigantic alligator of ancient and inhuman intelligence worshipped by a tribe of goblins, to an actual extraplanar being with plenary powers over the material world), there will never be a comprehensive list of them. If a player invokes or worships some given being, I'm inclined to assume that being exists, in some sense, if it can be fitted into the setting in any sensible way.		Because of the great many deities in the world (which might range from a gigantic alligator of ancient and inhuman intelligence worshipped by a tribe of goblins, to an actual extraplanar being with plenary powers over the material world), there will never be a comprehensive list of them. If a player invokes or worships some given being, I'm inclined to assume that being exists, in some sense, if it can be fitted into the setting in any sensible way. Because the gods demonstrably and obviously exist, often inconveniently so, the arrangements of churches and temples extant in many fantasy gaming worlds have no place here. Clerics are trained to deal with whatever god is appropriate, and the profession has secondary functions such as managing the transition between life and death (whether preventing the transfer in the case of healing spells, or enforcing it by blowing up skeletons with Turn Undead.) They are generally not given to religious awe (they know how the sausage is made), unless some feigned or genuine ritual ecstasy is more likely to impress the marks.

	Still, for purposes of versimilitude, I will list a few deities and describe them, so that players can gain a sense of the setting as it exists in my head.		Still, for purposes of versimilitude, I will list a few deities and describe them, so that players can gain a sense of the setting as it exists in my head.

The Wyzard: /* The Forborne Host */

2012-08-04T18:24:52Z

The Forborne Host

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	===The King in Yellow===		===The King in Yellow===
	One of the rare deities with a clear alignment, the King is explicitly associated with Chaos. Along with portents of doom and disaster, which the King may in fact be the cause of, he is a source of Arcane magic and other secret lores. Destroying the difference between truth and falsehood opens the door to the King; he is called upon by certain plays and cunningly-engineered masquerades.		One of the rare deities with a clear alignment, the King is explicitly associated with Chaos. Along with portents of doom and disaster, which the King may in fact be the cause of, he is a source of Arcane magic and other secret lores. Destroying the difference between truth and falsehood opens the door to the King; he is called upon by certain plays and cunningly-engineered masquerades.

	~~===The Forborne Host===~~
	The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activating unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.

	== Astronomy ==		== Astronomy ==

71.191.23.227: /* The Forborne Host */

2012-02-26T05:54:30Z

The Forborne Host

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	===The Forborne Host===		===The Forborne Host===
	The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently ~~activated~~ unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.		The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activating unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.

	== Astronomy ==		== Astronomy ==

67.248.49.195: /* The Forborne Host */

2011-05-15T18:25:21Z

The Forborne Host

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:25, 15 May 2011
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	===The Forborne Host===		===The Forborne Host===
	The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation ~~that ruined or prevented the Eternal Wilds and its perfect order of brutal beauty~~. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activated unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.		The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activated unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.

	== Astronomy ==		== Astronomy ==

67.248.49.195: /* The Forborne Host */

2011-05-15T18:24:09Z

The Forborne Host

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:24, 15 May 2011
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	One of the rare deities with a clear alignment, the King is explicitly associated with Chaos. Along with portents of doom and disaster, which the King may in fact be the cause of, he is a source of Arcane magic and other secret lores. Destroying the difference between truth and falsehood opens the door to the King; he is called upon by certain plays and cunningly-engineered masquerades.		One of the rare deities with a clear alignment, the King is explicitly associated with Chaos. Along with portents of doom and disaster, which the King may in fact be the cause of, he is a source of Arcane magic and other secret lores. Destroying the difference between truth and falsehood opens the door to the King; he is called upon by certain plays and cunningly-engineered masquerades.

	==The Forborne Host==		===The Forborne Host===
	The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation that ruined or prevented the Eternal Wilds and its perfect order of brutal beauty. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activated unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.		The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation that ruined or prevented the Eternal Wilds and its perfect order of brutal beauty. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activated unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.

67.248.49.195: /* Known Gods */

2011-05-15T18:21:44Z

Known Gods

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	===The Guardian of the Eighth Spiral===		===The Guardian of the Eighth Spiral===
	Usually depicted as a huge mass of serpents, heads and bodies extending from a sphere made up of all their tails melded together. A kind of protector-spirit which is set on places which are to be absolutely forbidden. There are very few clerics devoted solely to this deity; they tend to convert to its special service after already achieving great power through a prior path. This deity is also sometimes invoked in proceedings to deliver horrific curses on one who has committed a major transgression. For example, a host who killed his guest in violation of Hospitality might have his body permanently infested with small, flesh-devouring worms in this deity's name. No one knows precisely what the Eighth Spiral is, nor what happened to the previous seven.		Usually depicted as a huge mass of serpents, heads and bodies extending from a sphere made up of all their tails melded together. A kind of protector-spirit which is set on places which are to be absolutely forbidden. There are very few clerics devoted solely to this deity; they tend to convert to its special service after already achieving great power through a prior path. This deity is also sometimes invoked in proceedings to deliver horrific curses on one who has committed a major transgression. For example, a host who killed his guest in violation of Hospitality might have his body permanently infested with small, flesh-devouring worms in this deity's name. No one knows precisely what the Eighth Spiral is, nor what happened to the previous seven.

	~~===The Cult of Forst the Sexton===~~
	Forst began his mission a century ago, burying the dead to deny the Hungry Man. His disciples spread his practices, and roam the world, attempting to properly set the dead to rest. Preferably by burying, but entombment or cremation if neccessary, even exposure or in extremis symbolic anthropaphagy. Anything is preferrable to a soul being condemned to the Hungry Man's hell.

	They frown upon the practice of internment with grave goods. "A Rich Grave is a robbed grave" is one of Forst's maxims. "you can't take it with you" and "Life's for the Living" being two of his other proverbs.

	===The Wolf of the World's Ending===		===The Wolf of the World's Ending===
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	===The King in Yellow===		===The King in Yellow===
	One of the rare deities with a clear alignment, the King is explicitly associated with Chaos. Along with portents of doom and disaster, which the King may in fact be the cause of, he is a source of Arcane magic and other secret lores. Destroying the difference between truth and falsehood opens the door to the King; he is called upon by certain plays and cunningly-engineered masquerades.		One of the rare deities with a clear alignment, the King is explicitly associated with Chaos. Along with portents of doom and disaster, which the King may in fact be the cause of, he is a source of Arcane magic and other secret lores. Destroying the difference between truth and falsehood opens the door to the King; he is called upon by certain plays and cunningly-engineered masquerades.

			==The Forborne Host==
			The Forborne Host lurks in the woods, whispers in the wind, and its laughter echoes through ruins reclaimed by wilderness. An entity of Law, it views humanity as a Chaotic infestation that ruined or prevented the Eternal Wilds and its perfect order of brutal beauty. Civilization is rebellion against the Host's natural order, a breaking of the covenants the Forborne held and maintained. People who live in barely settled lands have learned, however, the Forborne can be temporarily appeased through sacrifice and propitiation. Faerie magic is grounded in its laws and contracts, manipulating them for various effects. At the same time, many have met horrific ends by inadvertently activated unknown clauses in the law of the wild, for the Host is bitter, legalistic, and quick to take punitive measures against transgressors. Ignorance is not an excuse, and pity is against Nature.

	== Astronomy ==		== Astronomy ==