Aeon (updated 10/9/14)

[grodog]

I miss this story hour, I thought. I'll just read one post, I said to myself.
Four hours and a few dozen updates later...
Longing-for-an-update bump.

Right there with you. Now an update would be a wonderful Christmas present!

 

[tleilaxu]

still waiting!

 

[grodog]

still waiting!

Indeed!---nearly-Christmas-Eve bump!

 

[Bloodcookie]

Seasons became years; and years, ages,
And in the fullness of time, the names
Soneillon and Eadric were forgotten.
But mystics and exegetes would still ponder the myth
Of the Black Dakini who consumed the Sun,
Whereby He found liberation.

Saizha?

 

[AlexanderRM]

I first of all wanted to say how awesome this is. I'd say it's definitely the best... fanfic or campaign log I've read, if that seems like a logical category. I really just love the worldbuilding; it's honestly better made than most professional TV, movie, or book worlds. I must admit I'm less loving the epic part, although it's still good... it was cool at first but at some point it got really into the nature of reality at some point, and it feels like the world itself- Wyre and everywhere- is getting pushed aside a bit, especially considering how fragile and vulnerable it is. And the whole planar structure with all the wonderful stuff in there has been completely destroyed. I must say though that literally everything else about it really shows how to do epic campaigns right.

And on that note, a specific issue with the threads- I've been reading this via Cheiromancer's compilations (in the Tales of Wyre thread), and I seem to have missed at least one *really* important update, where the trees emerged and the whole planar structure was rearranged. I'm in the Down portion where basically the whole plot is about the trees (it almost feels like the Cult of Cheshne has been briefly forgotten about) and I'm *still* piecing together what the heck happened. Unfortunately that also happened around the time I took a several-month break from archive hauling this (I was reading it near the end of summer and stopped when school started), which is extra confusing. Was that posted in here but not copied over?

 

[pogre]

In some ways this thread is like the retro-clone movement for me. An attempt to go back into a different time in gaming. There was once a time when the story hour forum was alive and vibrant. Sepulchrave's work was always the king for me, but I miss seeing Kevin Kulp of Piratecat's story hour bumping Ben Durbin of Wulf Ratbane's story hour. I miss the OldOne's continuing saga and a myriad of other tales that stretched through the years. Now it's all gone. Save for me ducking in here once in a while with the glimmer of hope that the king will return.

 

[grodog]

In some ways this thread is like the retro-clone movement for me. An attempt to go back into a different time in gaming. There was once a time when the story hour forum was alive and vibrant. Sepulchrave's work was always the king for me, but I miss seeing Kevin Kulp of Piratecat's story hour bumping Ben Durbin of Wulf Ratbane's story hour. I miss the OldOne's continuing saga and a myriad of other tales that stretched through the years. Now it's all gone. Save for me ducking in here once in a while with the glimmer of hope that the king will return.

Well-said, pogre. With Neil Gaiman writing Sandman again, perhaps Sep will feel inspired to do the same?

Oh, and "You must spread some Experience Points around before giving it to pogre again."---someone help me out?

 

[Felix]

It's been a few years, but I thought I'd pop my head in here and say "Hi" to everybody.

Hi, everybody!

And I miss Wyre.

 

[grodog]

Pre-GaryCon VI bump!

 

[Siuis]

...No way.

So, a friend of mine just discovered this blog post about a week ago, and I started from the beginning reading this amazing and epic story. I of course noticed that it started back in 2002, and so far (I'm just finishing up Rape of Morne part 1) it's still in 2002. I thought the whole thing would be in 2002, maybe 2003.

Then, on a whim, I decided to look at the very end. Click the last link in that blog post, and go to the last page of the thread, which is here. And the campaign is STILL GOING. That is mind-blowing. Ten years. TEN FRIGGIN' YEARS you've been playing this game. That is dedication on everyone's part. Liking a character that much to keep with it all that time. As the DM, having enough material to keep the story going all that time. Just, to use the word that I've seen hundreds of times in response.... "wow".

Here I thought I'd discovered an old gem, when I'd really just discovered the buried bottom of a monolith that's still growing. Keep going, Sepulchrave, you're effing amazing. Now I just need to catch up... which will take another few weeks probably.

Welcome, friend. Welcome to a land where the greatest pains are trying. To find where you left off~

If someone wants to put in the effort of extracting the world details Sep has revealed from the stories and combine them with the stats in the rogue's gallery thread... well, I'd subscribe to that person's newsletter. I have a hard time doing that for my own campaign, though.

It's amazing that it's been almost a year since the last update and I still check this at least once every week or two.

Well... Why?

I've had some success making mock of this style for my own games, but the benefit comes more from understanding the structures and the reasons for their existence than from direct copying. For a 3.X game, Wyre establishes and enforces certai assumptions about what things mean that are different from standard, and it's the unequivocal player buy in which makes it work. Wizards being scholars who devote their lives rather than just being a class of people who happen to own reality. Outsiders who matter. Gods and powers which present more than X hit dice outsider when you think about them – that's a big one, it's very hard to generate proper reverence or respect for these guys in most games. The historic bases with game world and game rule touches are what make this so fantastic; the nobles of a fallen land joi
Joining a vampiric prefigure, the enormous cost in horseflesh to maintain griffon cavalry, the barbarian army building a brewery because without beer, what is war? The feedback loop wherein dramatic and interesting story progressions create a natural progression of mechanics using templates and class stacking. These are more important than any actual rule or mechanic sepulchrave has given us. These are the weight of a world that functions and runs. These create texture.

That texture is more valuable than the rules which, for one man and one group with specific focus and certain traits that likely will never compile again, created that texture. =)

This may not be precisely what you're looking for, and doesn't address the Web at all, but it's a compilation of world elements Sep has discussed, along with some more recent stat blocks from the story thread.

Ooh, quoted for dissection when I'm at a computer not a phone.

The idea of fanfic to what is essentially fanfic is all kinds of awesome.

That's basically what any reimagining of the divine comedy is, though.

I'm starting to think we should create a kickstarter for this thread to get it on the road again

And for Oronthon's sake, BUMP, BUMP, BUUUUMP !!

I would contribute the hell out of that. Into that? Whatever. XD

I first of all wanted to say how awesome this is. I'd say it's definitely the best... fanfic or campaign log I've read, if that seems like a logical category. I really just love the worldbuilding; it's honestly better made than most professional TV, movie, or book worlds. I must admit I'm less loving the epic part, although it's still good... it was cool at first but at some point it got really into the nature of reality at some point, and it feels like the world itself- Wyre and everywhere- is getting pushed aside a bit, especially considering how fragile and vulnerable it is. And the whole planar structure with all the wonderful stuff in there has been completely destroyed. I must say though that literally everything else about it really shows how to do epic campaigns right.

And on that note, a specific issue with the threads- I've been reading this via Cheiromancer's compilations (in the Tales of Wyre thread), and I seem to have missed at least one *really* important update, where the trees emerged and the whole planar structure was rearranged. I'm in the Down portion where basically the whole plot is about the trees (it almost feels like the Cult of Cheshne has been briefly forgotten about) and I'm *still* piecing together what the heck happened. Unfortunately that also happened around the time I took a several-month break from archive hauling this (I was reading it near the end of summer and stopped when school started), which is extra confusing. Was that posted in here but not copied over?

I think that's intentional actually. For one, Sep stepped away from linear chronicles and decided to write what worked well and excited him, meaning we didn't get information that was important for the narrative from a history view but not important for drama. For two, the sudden emergence of the trees without apology or explanation seems to me to be their entire praxis, having fractured the world, thrown everything into chaos, putting on their sunglasses and whispering "deal with it" when the wind blows through their boughs just so.

It's like a metaphysical meteor. You aren't given an explanation of the fallout, you just know there was an explosion, the weather is weird, the air is radioactive (which you learned from getting sick) and that's you have to deal with it from now on regardless of how well you understand the reasons.