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Let's Read Sword World 2.5!
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<blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 8783323" data-attributes="member: 6680772"><p>So what exactly is the <strong>World</strong> of Sword World?</p><p></p><p>The original setting of Sword World was Forcelia, which was the setting for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_of_Lodoss_War" target="_blank">Lodoss</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_Crystania" target="_blank">Crystania</a>, and a number of other properties across various media. But with the change to a new edition with Sword World 2.0, they made a clean break with Forcelia and introduced an entirely different world: Raxia. Sword World 2.0 focused on the continent of Terastier, and after 10 years of setting supplements covering every region of that, the setting of 2.5 turned to the continent of Alfleim. (Incidentally, I got that spelling by tweeting directly to Kei Kitazawa, the writer/designer of 2.0 and 2.5. Nice guy!)</p><p></p><p>The <strong>World</strong> chapter is split into three main parts: <strong>Sword World Raxia</strong>, which covers the creation, gods, and history of Raxia, <strong>Adventurers</strong>, which covers how PCs fit into that world, and <strong>the Stage for Adventure</strong>, which goes into detail about Alfleim, in particular the region of Burlight. The first two parts are essentially ported over directly from the 2.0 rules.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Three Swords</strong></p><p>It seems like in the run-up to 2.0, the designers said to themselves, "Okay, we've got a game called 'Sword World.' But why is it called that? What kind of setting could justifiably be called a sword world?" And the answer is, a world created by swords, of course. In this case, three godlike swords of unknown provenance: Lumiere, Sword of Harmony; Ignis, Sword of Release; and Caldier, Sword of Wisdom. Hoping to be needed by somebody, to be wielded by somebody, these three Swords of Genesis spread life on the barren world. Humans were the first to become aware of the Swords. One human took hold of Lumiere, and made powerful by it, began shaping the world. This human began to be revered by the other humans as one chosen by the Sword, and became Lyfos, the Ancestor God. Lyfos shared the power of Lumiere with others, who in their turn also became as gods, and through their actions the races of the Elves and Dwarves came about.</p><p></p><p>Another human found Ignis, and because he was self-centered and bellicose, he decided to make war on the other gods. This human became Dalkrem, the God of War. He raised massive armies, and experimented with creating various monsters for his war. Thus began the War of the Gods. However, neither the wielders of Lumiere nor the wielders of Ignis were more powerful than the other, creating a stalemate. Whoever could get Caldier to join their side would get the upper-hand. But Caldier, not wanting to be part of the war, burst itself into millions of pieces scattered around the world. With no way to break the stalemate, the war continued, until Lumiere and Ignis were lost, and the gods went into slumber to heal their wounds. And that left the world to the mortals, "the small people."</p><p></p><p>Though the gods no longer wage their war, still among the "small people" there is a division between the "good peoples" who desire Harmony (humans, elves, dwarves, etc.) and the "Barbaros" who desire Release, and the battles continue.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Magic Swords</strong></p><p>In the mythic age, copies of Lumiere were made, and then copies of the copies, and copies of those copies, and so on. The magic swords (and other weapons) that can be obtained by adventurers today have but a sliver of the power of the original. It is said that a third-generation copy was enough to bestow godhood onto a human. These lesser swords, though not able to speak, nevertheless had wills, and like the Swords of Genesis, desired to be wielded. So through the centuries, these magic swords would bury themselves in deep labyrinths, awaiting a tested and worthy hand. Various monsters would be summoned to guard the labyrinths, and irrational traps would be set. And adventurers would come to try and obtain the swords. Some of these labyrinths still exist, with magic swords awaiting in their bowels. Others have had their magic sword retrieved long ago, and now new occupants have taken residence in the mazes. Some of these known Magic Sword Labyrinths go down 50 levels or more, and have hundreds of adventurers trying to reach the treasures within. And some towns or cities have sprung up at the site of these labyrinths.</p><p></p><p>And so, Sword World thus explains why there are crazy dungeons, making no sense, full of monsters to fight and treasures to find. GMs don't even have to try and justify what any particular dungeon once was, why it became the way it is, and why it's designed to defy all logic and reason. "Magic sword," is all they have to say, and the players will go, "Right, sounds legit."</p><p></p><p>Is this World sword-y enough for you? If not, there's more! Some magic swords are called Guardian Swords, and during the age of the Magitec Civilization, many were of these were made. These swords cannot be approached by those with Impurity in their soul. The more Impurity they have, the stronger the effect. Many of these guardian swords were lost in the Diabolic Triumph, but some still remain, guarding nations and cities from the Barbaros.</p><p></p><p>But these Guardian Swords need Sword Shards to be maintained. No one knows exactly what they are, but because they are small, sharp metal objects in appearance, they are called this. They are found in the bodies of powerful and leader-level monsters, and they float up and appear after those monsters are defeated. Adventurers retrieve these shards and donate them to their cities (through their guild) in exchange for status and renown.</p><p></p><p><strong>A Fourth Sword?</strong></p><p>Though the most widely believed legends talk of the three Swords of Genesis, some theories say there were actually four, or even more, swords. The fourth sword is said to be called Fortona, and it is also known as the "Sword of Destiny," or the "God-Breaker Sword." If one were to find this Sword, one might even be able to kill a god, or to have one's most earnest wish granted, after which the Sword would again disappear...</p><p></p><p>At this point, I've typed "sword" so much that the word has practically lost all meaning, so I'll stop here. Next time, we'll take a closer look at the races of Raxia, and its four ages.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Iosue, post: 8783323, member: 6680772"] So what exactly is the [B]World[/B] of Sword World? The original setting of Sword World was Forcelia, which was the setting for [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_of_Lodoss_War']Lodoss[/URL], [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_Crystania']Crystania[/URL], and a number of other properties across various media. But with the change to a new edition with Sword World 2.0, they made a clean break with Forcelia and introduced an entirely different world: Raxia. Sword World 2.0 focused on the continent of Terastier, and after 10 years of setting supplements covering every region of that, the setting of 2.5 turned to the continent of Alfleim. (Incidentally, I got that spelling by tweeting directly to Kei Kitazawa, the writer/designer of 2.0 and 2.5. Nice guy!) The [B]World[/B] chapter is split into three main parts: [B]Sword World Raxia[/B], which covers the creation, gods, and history of Raxia, [B]Adventurers[/B], which covers how PCs fit into that world, and [B]the Stage for Adventure[/B], which goes into detail about Alfleim, in particular the region of Burlight. The first two parts are essentially ported over directly from the 2.0 rules. [B]The Three Swords[/B] It seems like in the run-up to 2.0, the designers said to themselves, "Okay, we've got a game called 'Sword World.' But why is it called that? What kind of setting could justifiably be called a sword world?" And the answer is, a world created by swords, of course. In this case, three godlike swords of unknown provenance: Lumiere, Sword of Harmony; Ignis, Sword of Release; and Caldier, Sword of Wisdom. Hoping to be needed by somebody, to be wielded by somebody, these three Swords of Genesis spread life on the barren world. Humans were the first to become aware of the Swords. One human took hold of Lumiere, and made powerful by it, began shaping the world. This human began to be revered by the other humans as one chosen by the Sword, and became Lyfos, the Ancestor God. Lyfos shared the power of Lumiere with others, who in their turn also became as gods, and through their actions the races of the Elves and Dwarves came about. Another human found Ignis, and because he was self-centered and bellicose, he decided to make war on the other gods. This human became Dalkrem, the God of War. He raised massive armies, and experimented with creating various monsters for his war. Thus began the War of the Gods. However, neither the wielders of Lumiere nor the wielders of Ignis were more powerful than the other, creating a stalemate. Whoever could get Caldier to join their side would get the upper-hand. But Caldier, not wanting to be part of the war, burst itself into millions of pieces scattered around the world. With no way to break the stalemate, the war continued, until Lumiere and Ignis were lost, and the gods went into slumber to heal their wounds. And that left the world to the mortals, "the small people." Though the gods no longer wage their war, still among the "small people" there is a division between the "good peoples" who desire Harmony (humans, elves, dwarves, etc.) and the "Barbaros" who desire Release, and the battles continue. [B]The Magic Swords[/B] In the mythic age, copies of Lumiere were made, and then copies of the copies, and copies of those copies, and so on. The magic swords (and other weapons) that can be obtained by adventurers today have but a sliver of the power of the original. It is said that a third-generation copy was enough to bestow godhood onto a human. These lesser swords, though not able to speak, nevertheless had wills, and like the Swords of Genesis, desired to be wielded. So through the centuries, these magic swords would bury themselves in deep labyrinths, awaiting a tested and worthy hand. Various monsters would be summoned to guard the labyrinths, and irrational traps would be set. And adventurers would come to try and obtain the swords. Some of these labyrinths still exist, with magic swords awaiting in their bowels. Others have had their magic sword retrieved long ago, and now new occupants have taken residence in the mazes. Some of these known Magic Sword Labyrinths go down 50 levels or more, and have hundreds of adventurers trying to reach the treasures within. And some towns or cities have sprung up at the site of these labyrinths. And so, Sword World thus explains why there are crazy dungeons, making no sense, full of monsters to fight and treasures to find. GMs don't even have to try and justify what any particular dungeon once was, why it became the way it is, and why it's designed to defy all logic and reason. "Magic sword," is all they have to say, and the players will go, "Right, sounds legit." Is this World sword-y enough for you? If not, there's more! Some magic swords are called Guardian Swords, and during the age of the Magitec Civilization, many were of these were made. These swords cannot be approached by those with Impurity in their soul. The more Impurity they have, the stronger the effect. Many of these guardian swords were lost in the Diabolic Triumph, but some still remain, guarding nations and cities from the Barbaros. But these Guardian Swords need Sword Shards to be maintained. No one knows exactly what they are, but because they are small, sharp metal objects in appearance, they are called this. They are found in the bodies of powerful and leader-level monsters, and they float up and appear after those monsters are defeated. Adventurers retrieve these shards and donate them to their cities (through their guild) in exchange for status and renown. [B]A Fourth Sword?[/B] Though the most widely believed legends talk of the three Swords of Genesis, some theories say there were actually four, or even more, swords. The fourth sword is said to be called Fortona, and it is also known as the "Sword of Destiny," or the "God-Breaker Sword." If one were to find this Sword, one might even be able to kill a god, or to have one's most earnest wish granted, after which the Sword would again disappear... At this point, I've typed "sword" so much that the word has practically lost all meaning, so I'll stop here. Next time, we'll take a closer look at the races of Raxia, and its four ages. [/QUOTE]
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