Campaign Setting/Adventure: Tethiala

[Celisasu]

Right now I'm in a 4E campaign with some friends as a player(Dwarven Battlemind). But after we finish this campaign(which definately has a few months to go assuming no TPK) I'm going to be GMing. The players know some of the basics but I figured I'd create this thread to refine my ideas.

Originally I was going to go with Eberron but it wasn't quite giving me the feel I desired. Anyways toying with stuff I found that the setting wasn't matching with any of the current D&D settings(Ravenloft was probably the closest it was coming too but even that wasn't quite right). The setting itself is system neutral, but the adventure is for D&D4E.


Anyways the basics. This is a very rough draft and I'll go into more detail in future posts. 4E rules changes won't be in this post, but instead in follow up ones:

Tethiala is what the people call their world. It's a bit further along timewise than D&D normally assumes. They just exited a sort of failed renaissance era which started out looking bright but ended with a sequence of wars and plagues that while it didn't push technology back(I never liked the idea of people "forgetting" technology) did lead to an era of extreme distrust and paranoia and developments have stalled at least temporarily.


The world and politics: There are no major nations in the part of the world the campaign is assumed to take place in. Various weak leaders, distrust between people, and assorted influential cults have lead to a situation where instead of countries, you have assorted city states. I'm leaving most of them unamed until they actually come up, but the players will be starting in a city state of moderate power known as Varena. Like a large majority of city states it's ruled by a Doge who's authority is constrained by a council that consists of members of assorted powerful families. The city is a maritime power(I admit, I'm using the Republic of Venice from the 1200's as a major inspiration, for quite a few reasons that will become apparent soon enough). It's not at war with anyone but does have a trade rivalry with two other city states(Borneo which is a minor city state and Palmos which is the closest thing at this time that there is to a major power). It's part of a very loose alliance of city states that in theory will commit to a mutual defense if one is attacked, but this hasn't been tested yet and many believe that it'll fall apart if it's ever tested. Citizens are required to be trained in the use of certain weapons and be ready to be called upon in times of need. At least once per year, and more frequently in times where war is expected, citizens can be called upon for weapon inspection to ensure that they are meeting their obligations(and ta da, we have an actual in character reason that history actually used for why random people have weapons in a major city). There are strict rules about citizen on citizen violence, but for those who know the legal system(or are willing to supply a bit of assistance to underpaid city employees) there are ways around anything just about.


Religion: The world is split into three religions.

Most people follow a dualistic religion where they worship a pair of unnamed entities that are believed be the source of everything. Each entity is generally believed to be more in tune with some things than others but they're always worshiped together.

A fair number of people have a belief that everything has a spirit and that by doing things favorable to these spirits that the spirits will in turn do small favors for them. Some variations of this belief also worship ancestor spirits although most versions only believe that actual things that are still alive have a spirit.

Then we have the cults. These tend to worship unspeakable things best left unmentioned. Unfortunately for the world they are at an all time high in their power and presence. Fortunately each cult works on it's own and is almost always hostile to any other cult it discovers. They vary in size from just a single person killing small animals in his basement to conspiricies consisting of hundreds or possibly even thousands of members hatching long term plans to expand the influence of the entity or entities that they worship.


Technology: The world is for the most part operating around the mid 1500's for it's tech level with a few random bits of tech being slightly ahead or behind compared to Europe at the same time. The arquebus has been been invented and has recieved a few refinements. It hasn't replaced the sword and bow yet but you can see it will soon enough. We're seeing some early experiments in mass production although nothing major yet.


Races: The world is very human-centric. A few other races exist but they're insanely rare. So rare in fact that humans are fully convinced that they're the only sentient and sapient species around. 99% of humanity will never knowingly see a non-human individual. Most races that do exist among humanity have good ways of hiding themselves with the most commen by far being changelings. The few others that don't live among humanity exist in small very isolated communities in areas inhospitable to humanity or hidden by powerful magic.


Magic&Psionics: Magic is very powerful but also insanely rare. You aren't going to find your local magic shop. There are no wizard acadamies. Most major cities have someone who can practice magic but wise citizens tread cautiously around him. After all who knows what horrible things he did for his powers? Magic isn't uknown and people definately acknowledge it as a real powerful force, but they don't trust it. Even the rare magic using cleric(most priests and the like are not able to draw upon the gods energy, maybe one in a thousand can actually use spells although they are more commen than wizards, sorcerers, and whatnot) tends to elicit concerned looks. They're more socially acceptible than a wizard but what kind of person is so devoted to an unknowable entity, even a benign one as to be able to draw upon it? Psionics are even more feared. Nobody admits to being able to sift around in someone's head. They're actually more commen than users of arcane or divine magic, but as a psionic user is more likely than not to be lynched if someone realizes what he is(and believes it, most people don't), most pretend to be something else entirely.


And...it's time to wander off. More coming soon!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Interesting. Two things jump out at me as things you need to think about in depth.

Races: The world is very human-centric. A few other races exist but they're insanely rare. So rare in fact that humans are fully convinced that they're the only sentient and sapient species around. 99% of humanity will never knowingly see a non-human individual. Most races that do exist among humanity have good ways of hiding themselves with the most commen by far being changelings. The few others that don't live among humanity exist in small very isolated communities in areas inhospitable to humanity or hidden by powerful magic.

This raises some questions:

1. How do you enforce this rarity in PC design?
2. What happens if/when non-humans are found?

Games like Stormbringer are fairly human-centric, and the way they enforce this in the game is by making PC race selection somewhat randomized. IOW, you can only be a non-human if you roll that you can.

And as for arcane revelations? Well, some settings have a concept that has many names, like "the Veil"- the non-humans and most arcane things are simply protected by a magical veil of unbelief. Whatever is seen is transformed into something more believable. A Dragon who flies in and burns down a house will be transformed in the mind of witnesses as a shooting star or a lightning bolt that hit the house.

Magic&Psionics: Magic is very powerful but also insanely rare. You aren't going to find your local magic shop. There are no wizard acadamies. Most major cities have someone who can practice magic but wise citizens tread cautiously around him. After all who knows what horrible things he did for his powers? Magic isn't uknown and people definately acknowledge it as a real powerful force, but they don't trust it. Even the rare magic using cleric(most priests and the like are not able to draw upon the gods energy, maybe one in a thousand can actually use spells although they are more commen than wizards, sorcerers, and whatnot) tends to elicit concerned looks. They're more socially acceptible than a wizard but what kind of person is so devoted to an unknowable entity, even a benign one as to be able to draw upon it? Psionics are even more feared. Nobody admits to being able to sift around in someone's head. They're actually more commen than users of arcane or divine magic, but as a psionic user is more likely than not to be lynched if someone realizes what he is(and believes it, most people don't), most pretend to be something else entirely.

Again, this can be hard to enforce in a typical RPG.

1. If magic is insanely rare, how do you control this in PC design?
2. If magic is insanely powerful, how do you model this in a game with a design goal of balance between the classes?

Even with rare magic, its still possible for PCs to have magic. But what if your players gravitate towards a predominance of magical classes? Especially considering the magic multiclassing rules.

Many settings (in fiction and in RPGS) with rare magic have as part of their backstory that the ability to do magic is something innate. Either you can do it or you can't...EVER. To model that, you might give a bonus feat at 1st level that can be used in any way, but if you go into a casting class, you must take a homebrew feat that represents this innate ability...maybe it grants a +1 to each of your casting stats?

In addition, with this in mind, you could have multiclassing into magical classes limited to occurring at 1st level only.

As for the powerful magic thing...I'm a bit stumped how you'd do this in 4Ed. Bonus spells? A wild-card die that boosts power occasionally?

 

[Celisasu]

Very powerful means Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies. Coming back from the dead is pretty f'ng powerful if you ask me. Maybe D&D laughs at it, but when you look at it, what high level D&D4E heroes do, it's pretty damn amazing objectively. Rare is easy. It means that the PCs get less magic items(but not none) but we replace some of it with the master training stuff suggested in DMG2. Also some magic items can be pawed off as items of exceptional craftsmanship. A longsword +6 isn't magical. It's a sword crafted by one of the finest masters of the craft. It has absolutely perfect balance. The edge is so finely honed that the slightest touch can leave you bleeding. It's a flavor thing more than an actual enforcement thing. Plus there are some actual magic items. It's just that you aren't going to the local magic shop to buy them as there is no local magic shop. I'm figuring at least low level healing potions aren't magical, just really fancy pain killers or fatigue relievers(using the assumption that HP represents stamina and minor cuts and bruises instead of serious injuries).

Races I'm still debating a bit and what you mentioned actually already crossed my mind. I don't like random as it takes away PC choice. One thing I'm thinking of doing is humans get +2 to two stats of their choice and are otherwise exactly the same(to make people who pick race based on class happy). Players are assumed to be human but can chose another race if they supply a good reason for why he's in the party, how he hides himself, etc. Tieflings for example probably manifest their demonic ancestry in less obvious ways. Instead of horns and a tail perhaps their eyes are tinted red and their canine teeth more pronounced(or maybe the horns are stubs and they have to be really careful to keep their hair over their horns). Changelings...well they don't really need changing do they? Dragonborn will probably just be flat out said not to exist in this setting. And so on. I want to maximize choices but I really want a certain feel for the setting. I want the PCs in character to arrive at this strange ruined village in the forest that looks like it was beautiful once upon a time. Where someone in tune with nature obviously shaped each and every aspect to flow seamlessly with the forest around it. But apparently abandoned for decades, probably even centuries. The only clue is book that crumbles at the touch with writing in an unknown language and a picture of something that looks almost human....except the ears are oddly pointed. As for what happens when a non-human is discovered? It quickly becomes proven that someone was faking finding such a creature. And anyone claiming to find said creature seems to dissapear. And so on. It tends to be very unpleasant for everyone involved and those who witness such events know to keep their mouths shut(I already actually was enjoying the thought of having the PCs witness the side effects of such a situation).

My initial PCs have already said that they don't mind being human(one has mentioned possibly being a changeling but like I said, that fits in easily). Since this is designed with them in mind, that makes the race problem less of one than it might be for others. I have to decide on the balance between flavor and variety and honestly I haven't decided which is more important. I'm leaning towards flavor honestly. If someone wants to play in a setting where all the races are commen then we already have Eberron and Forgotten Realms so I think having the feeling that anything not human is truely alien is more important. Especially since there is a definate Mythos vibe to the setting(but a Mythos one can oppose as opposed to the hopelessness of Lovecraft's Mythos).

Still I'm definately open to suggestions. And I have plenty of time. Like I said, our current campaign has at least a few months to go.

My next post will probably be a very initial draft of the 4E PC races that exist and any changes that will be done to them. This will be followed by a brief look at the 4E classes and how they fit into the world and once again optional changes. Then perhaps a more detailed look at Varena and setting up some 1st level sample encounters that take place in the city. This order is all subject to change based on random whim and where conversations with others take me. Conversations sometimes lead to me changing the order of things as inspiration strikes.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

One option here is to take the existing races and classes and "reskin" them. Some of the more magical oriented classes could be reskinned as alchemists or other quasi-mystical precursors to what we know as science today. Similarly, the races could be reskinned as various offshoots or cultures of humanity in the game world. For example, 3.X ravenloft reskinned the half-orc as the Caliban, a human mutated by various unnatural forces.


My other comment is that your section on religion is brief but interesting. My question there is how does religion relate to industry, society, and technology?

 

[Celisasu]

The races, how common they are, and mechanical changes to them(if any). This only covers PC races in PHB1, 2, and 3 as well as the Forgotten Realms and Eberron Players Guides. This is a default assumption for the setting as I'm going to be running it for my players. This post will not go into cultural details or the like. Just a list of the races, how likely one is to see them, maybe an extremely brief explanation of how they're different from most settings(with greater detail to to come in future posts), and what rule changes are in effect:


Humans: Like I said, this campaign setting is very much humancentric. I'm leaving it an open question on why humans are such a dominate race. At least 99% of intelligent beigns in the world that aren't horrific monsters are human. As far as humanity is concerned it is the only sentient race out there.

Rule changes: Humans start with +2 to two stats of their choice rather than one. This is to encourage players to want to be humans by removing the big mechanical reason(that it's better to be a non-human to ensure +2 to both attack and rider stat) that people give for being non-human. Obviously this doesn't effect people more concerned with RP reasons. If the GM feels this makes humans too strong feel free to tell the players that they can either drop the bonus feat or bonus at will in trade for this trait. In my campaign though I'll be allowing players to keep both as well as the bonus.




Changeling: Probably the most common of the non-human races that actually lives among humanity. Relatively rare compared to the teeming masses around them, but there are enough of them that most humans probably at least know at least a few changelings even if they don't know that it is one.


Rule Changes: None




Dragonborn: Dragonborn are assumed not to exist in this setting. I couldn't find a way to fit them in without keeping the feel I'm going for intact.




Dwarves: Dwarves are assumed not to exist in this setting. Like Dragonborn they feel out of place.




Eladrin: The Eladrin were once far more common than they are nowadays. Human legend tells stories of this fey creatures and both their great beauty and the great tragedies that they frequently inflicted. What few still travel the world stay far from human civilization. They're far more "fey" so to speak than in a standard D&D setting. Even the most civil is more inspired by Changeling: The Lost than not. The vast bulk of the race would be considered chaotic evil by human standards. They can be very generous, but they get bored oh so easily and will just as happily serve you as the feast as serve you a feast. Still sometimes one can pretend to think like a human. But what one must always remember is that eladrin are not pointy eared teleporting humans. They don't think like humans do, don't value what humans do, and most definately are not human.


Rules Changes: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence or Charisma. This brings them in line with PHB3 races. Charisma chosen to represent fae charm.




Elves: Whether these are Eladrin that became to our world or humans that danced too closely with the fae is a moot point. More approachable than the Eladrin, they're still strange by our standards. These aren't creatures of nature like in the D&D settings. They're mad entities who remember just enough of what it's like to be one of us to sometimes act like they are. Unlike the Eladrin, it's not completely an act. They're creatures of two worlds. Nobody knows how few or how many of them remain. Surely it can't be many. After all, eventually their madness manifests and whatever it is that keeps the supernatural secret deals with the problem. Even if it fails to find them, they probably end up locked up in a madhouse and forgotten.


Rules Changes: +2 Wisdom, +2 Dex or Con.




Half-Elves: They're not called half elves. As far as most are concerned they're humans. Their own families know the truth though. Somewhere in the past they were touched by something else. In this case that something else was fae. It sits in the line manifesting in some children and not in others. Since dalliances with the fae and humans aren't as frequent as they were in distant history, they are quite rare. The blood has diluted some too. Half elves look more human than in most settings having normal looking ears(those with pointed ears tend to find themselves killed after childbirth as devil children). A certain look in their eyes or an odd shade in their hair sometimes hints to those more knowledgeable about their true heritage.


Rules Changes: +2 Cha. +2 Con or +2 Dex. This brings them in line with other PHB3 races.




Halflings: I'm still debating whether or not to include them in the setting. Currently I'm leaning towards no although I do have a few ideas bouncing around in my head. This might get edited later on.




Kalashtar: They don't call themselves Kalashtar in this setting. In fact they don't call themselves anything. The few humans that know they exist call them the possessed. One isn't born possessed. One becomes possessed. Unlike the Eberron setting this isn't a positive process. It's an invasion by something but an invasion that goes horribly wrong for the possessor. Instead of finding itself with a new body, it finds itself imprisoned in the mind of the creature it tried to take over with no way out. It's also unpleasant for the would be possessee who while in control, still gets glimpses of things that make no sense. They're very rare but for the few who try to track demographics of such a rare condition it seems that their numbers a growing each year.


Rule Changes: Kalashtar get +2 Wis and their choice of +2 Cha or +2 Int. This rule is to bring them in line with PHB3's three stat offering.




Tieflings: The devil children. The tainted. Like Kalashtar there's no actual race called Tieflings. Where a kalashtar is a human that's been possessed and a half elf is the result of a human and something fae mixing generations down the line, a tiefling is always the child of a human and something infernal that should not have been in our world. Their traits tend to manifest more obviously than Kalashtar or Half-Elves but not to the extremes they do in normal D&D settings. Which is certainly a survival characteristic. The most common signs of the devil children are strange eye and hair colors. Sometimes they'll have small nubs for horns but these are always very small and able to be hidden beneath their hair or with hats. Those with long horns tend to find themselves dead very fast or at the very least hiding in the wilderness far from human contact.


Rules Changes: +2 Int, +2 Con or Cha. This brings them in line with PHB3 races. The +2 Con makes the infernal pact just as viable choice as the fey pact. Coincidently they also become nice summoner wizards too. Both flavorful for what they are.




Warforged: They might exist. They might not(my default assumption is they don't). Any warforged in the setting is a truely unique entity. There are no creation forges. Instead if any exist they are a result of some scientist or wizard's strange experiments. It is almost certainly seen as no more than a golem or other non-sentient construct pretending to be aware at best or an abomination that must be destroyed before it goes haywire at worst.


Rule Changes: +2 Con, +2 Int or Str. A warforge that is built on Int instead of Str is assumed to be a scientists attempt to create an advanced thinking machine rather than a warrior. The +2 Con represents that it'll always be a sturdier design than a flesh and blood body. This brings it in line with PHB3.




I'll do the other races tomorrow.

 

[Celisasu]

One option here is to take the existing races and classes and "reskin" them. Some of the more magical oriented classes could be reskinned as alchemists or other quasi-mystical precursors to what we know as science today. Similarly, the races could be reskinned as various offshoots or cultures of humanity in the game world. For example, 3.X ravenloft reskinned the half-orc as the Caliban, a human mutated by various unnatural forces.


My other comment is that your section on religion is brief but interesting. My question there is how does religion relate to industry, society, and technology?

You posted while I was typing out my race post. As you can see that's actually what I did with a few races. A few others I left changed. Some though just don't work. Dragonborn I can't just fit in a comfortable way. Firebreating humans just doesn't fit.

On religion I'm still working it out. I have a pretty good idea of how the religions do and don't relate to each other. Also their places in society such as where their influence is located. how corrupt or not they are, general sincerity of belief, etc. I'm still debating on how they interact with technology. I've already decided that the spirit worshipers aren't hostile to technology. In part it's because they believe everything has a spirit(I fully admit to being lazy and doing at least some looting from Werewolf and in that there are technology spirits) and partly because I'm sort of tired of the "Technology and nature are at war!!" that is the default of too many settings. Not that certain individuals won't hold that view, but the religions in general don't. Even a druid can see how much nicer it is sometimes to sleep on a soft bed than on the ground. It probably also helps that populations are smaller than in a lot of settings meaning that nature is far more commen than not. Plus to quote a RPG.net thread quote I saw once: Nature needs protection from us? You walk half a mile from town and some giant bird headed bear will come out of the woods and eat you! Or a shark will pop out of the dirt....and eat you. Or some lion bird thing will fly down....and eat you! Nature doesn't need protection from us. We need protection from nature!


And off to watch Godzilla I really go now.

 

[Celisasu]

Races Part 2:

Deva: Some humans have visions of the past. They see things that once were. They've learned not to admit to this though as any who hear their words are quick to send them to an asylum....for their own good of course. These visions tend to of moments of extreme emotional impact. Times of great joy or great sorrow. The gift of the past seems to be very rare and completely random at who it's granted to. What one does with this knowledge is up to them. Of interesting note is that whatever knowledge these visions grant, it is only of human history and never has one who has had these visions seen a member of another species, even if they know they exist from meeting one in this life.

Rules Changes: +2 Wis, +2 Int or Cha. This brings them in line with PHB3 races.

+1 racial bonus to Will. The near constant visions of the past either drive one mad or teach one a level of discipline few achieve.

Lose immortal origin. Deva are considered natural humanoids(human specifically).

Lose Astral Resistance. Deva have no special connection to the outer planes.

When a Deva character is created choose either Deva or Human. You are considered to be a member of that race for the purpose of choosing feats. Once this is chosen you can't change your mind later on.




Gnomes: At this time I'm assuming gnomes don't exist in this setting. As with the other excluded races this is subject to change.




Goliaths: Far from the city states exists a group of humans of larger than normal stature. Considered by many to be primitive and barbaric these humans are known for their tendancy to act first and ask questions later. They are widely hated and feared for all know that their tribes are cannibals who offer city dwellers up as sacrifices to appease the dark spirits that they serve.

Or so say the Doges and Kings. The truth is that these people are just as varied as any other human. Some are the horrible monsters of story and legend. Others are protectors of the weak. Most are like the rest of us, operating between the two extremes. Still they do live in a much harsher environment that the people of the city states and have learned skills to survive.


Rules Changes: +2 Con, +2 Str or +2 Wis. This brings Goliaths in line with PHB3 races.




Half Orcs: Horrific as it is, sometimes a citizen of the city states actually has a child with one of the cannibals from the wilderness. No right thinking person would willingly do this but it has been known to happen. These children tend to be larger than your normal city dweller but not as large as one of the tribesmen. Not accepted by either of their lines, they burn with an inner rage that can never be quenched. Most dwell among the city states, where their physical might and almost innate skill at hurting things makes them valuable guards. They might not be loved, but sometimes fear is enough.


Rules Changes: +2 Str, +2 Dex or Con. This brings half orcs in line with the other PHB3 races.




Shifters: Some humans almost seem to be touched by the moon. As the moon's face changes, so do these humans. Some find that they are even closer than most. Eventually they realize that they have been blessed by it. They are part of the world of both man and beast. Where a lesser person would fall apart in horror, they realize the true gift that they have recieved. They must keep this hidden though, for most men would not understand and would hunt them out of fear and ignorance.


Changes: Both shifter types can choose +2 to two stats out of Str, Dex, and Wis. This brings them in line with the PHB3 races.




Githzerai: Many city states practice slavery. Some of these humans are carefully bred and trained for select purposes. The city state of Tulan is the most famous(or infamous depending on your view) of these slave states. Having mastered it's arts, it offers a variety of very special slaves. The most expensive are known as the Ku'Dan. Through careful breeding of desirable traits, a brutal training regimine that kills over half those who are put into it, they have created the perfect bodyguard. Strong of mind and body, able to react quickly to any threat. These guards aren't designed to take blows for their leaders, but to instead spot a threat and exterminate it before it can react.


Rule Changes: None.




Minotaurs: Currently assumed to not exist in this setting.





Shardminds: Currently not assumed to exist in this setting.




Wilden: Currently not assumed to exist in this setting.




Gensai: Currently not assumed to exist in this setting.




Drow: Far from human civilization. Even far from the places where the cannibal tribes live, rumors say there were once a dark skinned people. Murderers, devil worshipers, and betrayers all, the legends say that these people drove themselves to extinction. All that remains are the burnt out ruins of a once great civilization.

Other rumors say that not all of them died. That a very few survived. But there aren't enough anymore and that the inbreeding that has resulted from this small population leaves them damaged in both mind and body. But once in a great while one appears who looks like the people of old, tall and graceful. Usually such a one is devoured by his own people for reminding them of all they lost, but occasionally the parent remembers, just a bit of what could've been and keeps the child hidden until he is old enough after which they abandon him. The pacts that this child's ancestors made with dark fiends remains in effect and he finds himself with mastery over darkness.


Rules Changes: Drop Fey Origin and Trance. Drow are natural humanoids instead(and considered human for spells and effects and the like although they take drow specific feats instead of human specific feats) and sleep normally.

+2 Dex, +2 Int or Cha. This brings them in line with PHB3 races.

 

[Celisasu]

Despite the silence from my end for the last two months I've been prodding away slowly at this. Our previous game ended unexpectedly and the players asked me to run a Scales of War campaign so I've been doing stuff with that first. Anyways I have done some other stuff with this. For this post I'm going to take a bit of a look at the dominant dualistic religion that I mentioned in the first post.

But first a brief addition of the Dark Sun races.


Thri-kreen: These don't exist as a character race. I actually see some potential for them as an NPC race though so as a default I assume that they do exist in the world.


Muls:


Seeing how they got the same stat bonuses that I was using for the modified goliaths, I'm just treating them as a varient of the goliaths. You can pick either race for the purposes of feats, powers, bonuses, etc but in the campaign they're just considered the exact same species. It's only for mechanics that they differ.




The dualistic faith:

Nobody knows when or how this faith became as large and influential as it has. If you ask most people they'll just shrug and say it's always been that way. There are many subsects of the faith although most of them acknowledge the other sects as being of value. It probably helps that since there are actual divine casters in multiple sects it's hard to say that your sect is the one true path. Of course there are extremist sects that say that the divine casters who aren't part of their sect are actually cultists or the like. And seeing how the extremist groups have just as high a chance as any other of having someone granted gifts by their gods, nobody really knows what standards are granted. They don't really have a name for their religion just calling it The Faith.

One absolute that all the sects hold to is their belief in The Prophecy. Once per year someone will speak of a vision of the future. This vision might be in the near future or the distant future. None know for sure. These tend to leave little to interpetation. They aren't riddles. They're statements of what is to come although although the timing can seem vague as they tend to be visions where the person stating the prophecy is seeing some event from the eyes of someone at the event in question. It's easy to tell when someone is having a true vision as when it happens their eyes become a pale silver and they seem to lose all awareness of anything other than the vision which can be as short as a few seconds to as long as a week or more. When the vision ends, their sight returns to normal as do their eyes. The church tries to record the visions each year, but as they have no idea who will be blessed with a vision many years they never know what vision was recieved. Then it becomes a matter of sorting out claims of people who say they had a vision but can't offer proof other than the claims of those around them. One commen disagreement of the sects is which visions are true visions and many sects have variants in their holy books based on these.

The proliferation of different generally non-combative sects means that The Faith is large and influential on a local level but tends not to wield larger amounts of influence as no one sect dominates more than one city and most cities have multiple competing sects. The Faith as a whole is tolerant of the spirit worshippers and like most groups in the world reacts quickly and brutally towards any confirmed cult activity. Due to how dispersed the faith is, how unconcerned the two entities that it worships are, and the fairly high tolerance of differences it allows, it's prone to infiltration by people seeking political power without truly believing and by the cults.

For physical structures the faith favors small shrines over grand cathedrals for the most part but their are some noticable exceptions. Most major cities have at least one large cathedral and pretty much all cities have multiple small churches and shrines. The cathedrals are without exception shows by the city of their support for the faith. They're mostly unnecessary as the faith favors silent prayer and discussion of the Prophecies on an individual level to figure out their meanings as opposed to structured sermons. In fact the religion doesn't have a moral code as such, instead strongly encouraging people to learn and reason for themselves. It's as much a philosophy as a religion.




On spirit worship:

A very informal system, those who worship the spirits tend to be a varied group. Some believe that you have to pay homage to the spirits of anything you interact with while others see it more as a negotation to give the spirits what they want in return for something you want.

The beliefs tend to be more commen among tribal cultures or in small towns than in the cities where the Faith and cults have pretty much edged them out by making spirit worship seem like some sort of backwater primitive belief. Of course even in the cities it's more commen than most realize as many people who supposedly don't believe at all might offer brief thanks to a water spirit for helping them avoid dehydration or to a weapon spirit for the shedding of blood or the like.

There are no churches or the like for this belief. Just a few informal shrines made by individual practicioners on the behalf of whatever spirit they might worship. These tend to fall into disrepair quickly being seen more as temporary things than permanent monuments.

Spirit worshippers are hostile to the cultists like most others, seeing them as servants of things that are inemical to the continued balanced existance of the universe. They see the two entities worshipped by the Faith as just being exceptionally strong spirits(usually ones of prophecy or balance) but not ones any more or less deserving of worship than the weaker spirits.

It'd theoretically be easy to infiltrate the spirit worshippers but why bother? They're so individualistic that no real power could be achieved.



The cults: The only defining trait of these is their worship of an entity that is somehow damaging to the world. They're all secretive, all dangerous, and all eventually lead to death and madness although how it manifests varies greatly. They're all horribly violent to anyone and anything that doesn't worship their specific entity including other cults and they're constantly playing a mad dance between one another that is probably the only reason they aren't even more powerful than they already are. One cult might pretend to be a club for wealthy merchants while another is a gathering of the poor seeking power against the people who oppress them. Of course if they overthrow those who keep them down, they'll be just as bad if not worse.

People first join for many reasons. Perhaps they're filled with hate towards a group. Maybe they've given in to despair at the unfairness of life. Maybe they just want power. Eventually though they all become slaves to the things that grant their desires, without ever even realizing it.

Cults have a tendancy to burn brightly but breifly. They rise, burn themselves out in a plan that eventually goes wrong when they reveal themselves or another cult reveals them, and then get crushed. A few survivors go elsewhere and start the whole process again. The most dangerous are the rare few that actually achieve a level of self control. These can influence massive areas with small numbers.

Obviously they have no openly displayed churches, but they have a tendancy towards secret, frequently grandoise temples in out of the way locations. Small shrines at their worshippers homes are frequent too.