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Last night I dreamt up a campaign setting... help me flesh it out!
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8508674" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>It's not clear why the afterlife has been closed--but there's at least one deity who has chosen to defy this rule. This is why divine magic is still accessible, but the afterlife is not. The one deity still providing magic is a deity of the downtrodden and forgotten--which is part of why things are as bad as they are. Because divine magic is forbidden, the worship of this specific entity--whatever name they go by--is specifically forbidden. This has resulted in something of a catch-22; charity and support for the poor is associated with legal sanctions now, but remains objectively good. Euphemistic references to this deity are common: the Only, the Lonely One, the Last, the Shepherd. True believers absolutely still exists, since technically the <em>religion</em> isn't forbidden, just the <em>magic</em>, but hostile social response to people who practice the faith has made outward profession of faith very rare.</p><p></p><p>This connects with the somewhat "magipunk dystopia" vibe: The haves, with arcane magic or access to augmentation or eldritch endowment, live in relative luxury and security, while the have-nots scrounge about, and are prone to sudden rashes of undead outbreak within the city itself, because just <em>one</em> person dying of starvation or exposure can quickly spiral out of control into a small army of undead <em>within</em> the walls. The fact that it's forbidden to perform divine magic has radically weakened the main institutions that used to help the poor and homeless, exacerbating problems severely.</p><p></p><p>Resurrection is significantly easier in this setting, because souls (apparently) never depart the world. The issue is keeping the body fresh. Perhaps <em>revivify</em> has a longer window of opportunity, say ten minutes or more after death, but <em>gentle repose</em> takes an hour to cast (and longer as a ritual) and only lasts 24 hours, so it must be continuously and laboriously re-applied. When cast as an arcane spell, <em>gentle repose</em> can at least temporarily keep one dead body from rising without drawing the attention of undead. Being able to cast <em>revivify</em> as an arcane spell makes Artificers highly sought-after, likewise high-level Bards who can cast <em>resurrection</em>. More than a few clandestine Clerics still exist, though, and some make good money performing clandestine resurrections for rich and powerful patrons who can ensure protection while the spell is being cast.</p><p></p><p>Some corpses arise from death quickly, others take a while, and a few never rise at all. No one knows why. It's thought that it might have something to do with cycles of reincarnation (e.g. if you get unlucky and no one is born shortly after you died, you re-inhabit your body), or possibly that the Lonely One is able to hold onto a few souls and sometimes smuggle them into the afterlife. But nobody truly knows.</p><p></p><p>There's been a rise in Divine Soul Sorcerers, and some Warlocks with celestial-like healing powers seem rather cagey about their patron. Rumor has it that this is the doing of the Lonely One, or possibly agents thereof. Divine Souls are highly prized, having access to many of the anti-undead spells normally only available to Clerics without any of the "undead beacon" effects that actual divine magic has.</p><p></p><p>Outside the city, villages tend to depend on the protection of druids (especially Wildfire) or dwell in underground or treetop locations where it's easy to close up the doors or escape. Presumably, they have ways to grow crops that aren't negatively affected by the undead; I would assume a lot of root vegetables and/or Dwarven-origin foods (which can be grown underground) and other long-preservation things.</p><p></p><p>The City has the headwaters of a river providing its water supply, so they do not need to worry about water, but they're also landlocked and thus gain none of the benefits of the sea. Rumor has it that things may be very different across the ocean, but the closest ports were among the first cities to fall to the undead. People who make expeditions to find the coast don't tend to come back.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8508674, member: 6790260"] It's not clear why the afterlife has been closed--but there's at least one deity who has chosen to defy this rule. This is why divine magic is still accessible, but the afterlife is not. The one deity still providing magic is a deity of the downtrodden and forgotten--which is part of why things are as bad as they are. Because divine magic is forbidden, the worship of this specific entity--whatever name they go by--is specifically forbidden. This has resulted in something of a catch-22; charity and support for the poor is associated with legal sanctions now, but remains objectively good. Euphemistic references to this deity are common: the Only, the Lonely One, the Last, the Shepherd. True believers absolutely still exists, since technically the [I]religion[/I] isn't forbidden, just the [I]magic[/I], but hostile social response to people who practice the faith has made outward profession of faith very rare. This connects with the somewhat "magipunk dystopia" vibe: The haves, with arcane magic or access to augmentation or eldritch endowment, live in relative luxury and security, while the have-nots scrounge about, and are prone to sudden rashes of undead outbreak within the city itself, because just [I]one[/I] person dying of starvation or exposure can quickly spiral out of control into a small army of undead [I]within[/I] the walls. The fact that it's forbidden to perform divine magic has radically weakened the main institutions that used to help the poor and homeless, exacerbating problems severely. Resurrection is significantly easier in this setting, because souls (apparently) never depart the world. The issue is keeping the body fresh. Perhaps [I]revivify[/I] has a longer window of opportunity, say ten minutes or more after death, but [I]gentle repose[/I] takes an hour to cast (and longer as a ritual) and only lasts 24 hours, so it must be continuously and laboriously re-applied. When cast as an arcane spell, [I]gentle repose[/I] can at least temporarily keep one dead body from rising without drawing the attention of undead. Being able to cast [I]revivify[/I] as an arcane spell makes Artificers highly sought-after, likewise high-level Bards who can cast [I]resurrection[/I]. More than a few clandestine Clerics still exist, though, and some make good money performing clandestine resurrections for rich and powerful patrons who can ensure protection while the spell is being cast. Some corpses arise from death quickly, others take a while, and a few never rise at all. No one knows why. It's thought that it might have something to do with cycles of reincarnation (e.g. if you get unlucky and no one is born shortly after you died, you re-inhabit your body), or possibly that the Lonely One is able to hold onto a few souls and sometimes smuggle them into the afterlife. But nobody truly knows. There's been a rise in Divine Soul Sorcerers, and some Warlocks with celestial-like healing powers seem rather cagey about their patron. Rumor has it that this is the doing of the Lonely One, or possibly agents thereof. Divine Souls are highly prized, having access to many of the anti-undead spells normally only available to Clerics without any of the "undead beacon" effects that actual divine magic has. Outside the city, villages tend to depend on the protection of druids (especially Wildfire) or dwell in underground or treetop locations where it's easy to close up the doors or escape. Presumably, they have ways to grow crops that aren't negatively affected by the undead; I would assume a lot of root vegetables and/or Dwarven-origin foods (which can be grown underground) and other long-preservation things. The City has the headwaters of a river providing its water supply, so they do not need to worry about water, but they're also landlocked and thus gain none of the benefits of the sea. Rumor has it that things may be very different across the ocean, but the closest ports were among the first cities to fall to the undead. People who make expeditions to find the coast don't tend to come back. [/QUOTE]
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