"By the power of ..."

[Baron Opal]

I need some brainstorming help.

I’m a top-down kinda DM, and I’ve been tinkering with my cosmology for a while in preparation for conversion to 4e.

At the two ends of creation are the Obelisk and the Maelstrom, the sources of law and chaos, respectively. Creation lies in the space between them where law and chaos interact. The world was revealed in this place and the Seven Shining Ones set about crafting that which is. From the energies of the Obelisk and Maelstrom interacting with the base matter of creation the Seven Shining Ones formed the titans (now primordials) and the gods. It was nice for a while, then things become complicated and the world was broken.

The qlippoth is the name given to the thing that came from outside. The reasons for why it came into creation vary, but the fact remains that it entered. Matter, gods and titans were erased from existence by its touch or presence. Creation was broken. The Seven Shining Ones manifested at last and drove it out of creation and sealed the fissure by which it entered. They inflicted 17 wounds upon it, and each place where it was wounded became a suppurating sore in creation. Eventually, the demon lords would crawl from these wounds.

Creation was sorely wounded and fragmenting. The Seven Shining Ones reordered creation with the help of the survivors creating an additional power in creation. Whereas before there was only the Obelisk and the Maelstrom before now there was a third power source, the Pattern. This held together creation by accepting and finding a place for everything that remained.

Okay, nothing terribly original, but I like it. As may or may not be obvious, the Amber novels were a source of inspiration. I like the idea of there being cosmic forces that you can ally or bind yourself to and gain nifty abilities from. It also helps to explain why the heroes in 4e are so much better than the peasantry. One of the concepts that is present in the stories is that there are minor forces or powers that you can bind yourself to if you wish. An example is the Keep of the Four Worlds; four different shadows grind together at a specific point and a magician is able to draw power from that friction.

I’m looking for ideas for secondary places of interest like the Keep. One that I have is the Iron Sun. In my Shadowfell - Acheron - Gehenna amalgam you can see in the distance a black sun that sheds a cold, red light. This planet sized sphere is the seal that plugs the break between creation and outside. Asmodeus makes his home here, stationed as the eternal jailer for his attempt to wrest control of creation from the Seven Shining Ones. Warlocks that use the infernal pact draw on the Iron Sun.

 

[Alikar]

I actually rather like the idea of two points in creation for order and chaos. Its quite neat. One side comment is that I think the Seven Shining ones is a rather quarky name for the most power beings in the world. Personally I would just call them the Seven, but that is me. As for your ideas on the whole and moving Asmodeus to the shadow fell is quite nice. If the Shadowfell is a seal, then perhaps the Feywild is a waterfall of life? That would give a unique place for Fey Pact warlocks. Then you could maybe have Star locks based on the Pattern? Perhaps the Stars are the pattern and their slow movement across the skies affects the destiny of all? As for binding yourself to power, what prevents a peasant from doing the same thing? This personally sounds like a great idea for some custom paragon paths or even epic destinies, maybe something you could get at the end of a quest.

As for more locations, I am intrieged with the Shadowfell being a Jail, what else is kept there? Do the Gods use it as a prison for other creatures and beings. Are they caged or is the planet itself a prison? Perhaps the Feywild is a prison of a different kind. Protecting important artifacts from captures. Maybe the Key to the Shadowfell prison for Asmodeus is kept there. Also what of the interaction between the primordials and the Gods. They seem to be on a more even footing here. Is either side evil or gGood, or is it more of a mix? I think you could have an excellent opportunity for large scale politics between them if it isn't so cut and dry.

 

[Baron Opal]

Actually, the Shadowfell, which I'm calling Gehenna, isn't a jail so much as you can see it from there. Everything dead, broken or lost ends up there. The next level down you can see and visit the Clanking City of Dis. There the Iron Sun is much more visible. If you want to do all the way "down", you could actuall walk on the Iron Sun. It would be intensely cold, awash in negative energy and hatred. But, hey, some people like that.

The Iron Sun is a prison for many unkillable beings. Most artifacts or non-apocalyptic things are stored in demiplanes or locked away in Gehenna. Since lost things end up there, it is a great place to put things you need to become lost.

A peasant certainly could bind themselves to a power, if they were not too busy surviving. That's where you get warlocks mostly. Someone who is tired of being come dirt farmer and finds a cheap and fast route to power. I've been thinking of making some feats where you just flirt with a source, like the faith feats from Divine and Defeated. I liked having a mechanical benefit of non-clerics having faith.

Re: Seven Shining Ones. Yeah, I see your point. But, one of the conceits of my setting is that if something is named it delimits its power and capabilities. Since they have practically no limits, they can't have names.

The reason why the world isn't awash in extraplanar beings is because of the Veil of Dreams. This surrounds and permiates the Prime Material, but also contains it. All dream happens here. Only mortals can dream. The fae are echoes of mortal dreams. Since the Veil is so plastic in nature, it responded when mortals first dreamed to come up with mirrors of their psyches. That's why faerie is so archtypal. Demons and angels, however, are whole creatures. Unlike mortals, their bodies and souls are one and the same. If they wander through the Veil there is a strong chance that they will get caught up in a mortal's dream and get turned into a cat or a nice chair. The fae also have learned how to deal with them. There are some demons, however, that specialize in tormenting dreamers. It's a great avenue for temptation and false messages. Anyway, the point is that my fae aren't based off of nature, but rather dreams. Having the faewild be the source of life wouldn't quite fit.

 

[Baron Opal]

Further musings

Primary Powers

- The Obelisk
- The Maelstrom

These abilities are closest in theme to the Pattern and Logrus from the Amber novels. I would probably express abilities that players acquire from them with the Spellscars and/or the Dragonmarks.

Secondary Powers

- The Iron Sun (Ambition)
- Yggdrasil (Instinct)
- The Tower of Ivory (Logic)
- The City of Brass (Passion)
- Something Else (Order)

These abilities would inform or empower the main class abilities. This is what paladins, clerics, druids, &c. would bind themselves to. While there are gods, they tend to be described in relation to one of the five alignments shown in parentheses above. There are five main temples in the campaign, each one corresponding with a given alignment. For example, the Hellbridge Temple represents Ambition.

These are either extraplanar places that can be visited or observed. They are considered wellsprings for the concept in question.

Tertiary Powers

- The Beast Impaled
- Gates of Dawn and Dusk
- Ylem Sea
- Winds of Limbo

These are power sources that characters may be able to draw from in a minor ability or a feat. Eventually I plan on mapping spikards to the campaign (once we get a demonstration of the rings of elemental power).

 

[kmdietri]

Grayskull?

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Grayskull!

Ninjor'ed

 

[Baron Opal]

Hrm. Let me think about that. I accept your challenge.