Your Free Gift!
Hi all!
If you go back to the original post of this thread, you will see that the posting of Small Beginnings was inspired not by other story hours, but because D'Shai and I couldn't get all the writing out of our system right after the WotC Setting Search!
Sadly, like so many others (10,000 entries! Who knew?), the setting submission that started all this was rejected during the first round. Well, after looking at the possibilities of fleshing out the setting and publishing it ourselves (which we wrestled with for some time), we've finally decided that our creative juices should be focused on other projects (speaking of which, would anyone be interested in a small but complete .pdf detailing Icemist itself? It's a project possibility...).
So....
What follows is the original one page submission for the campaign setting Immortal Tales, which, incidentally, is the home of Aurora, Pack, Ashrem, Theo, Worm, and Ander, as well as the villiage of Icemist.
In addition to the format here, we've also uploaded it in the Settings Archive, in it's original formatting.
As always, comments are welcome, and constructive criticism is even more welcome. After all, if you can't improve your work based on the opinions of your preferred audience, what else is there?
*****
Immortal Tales
Adventures in the world of Ageal
Core Ethos
In a world where gods clash, demons stalk the shadows, and the Immortals vie for dominance, heroes must fight for the very survival of the land – welcome to the Immortal Tales of Ageal.
Heroes
In Ageal, every soul has a story, but only a true hero can write her own chapters. Ageal’s heroes come from all walks of life, and can come from the most humble of backgrounds. For every legend told of Gregory Morthannan (reluctant heir to the throne of Konoth, born with every advantage, yet willing to give up everything to fulfill a prophecy), a bard sings of Blight Battledancer (a rustic and rough-hewn swordsman, who through tenacity and skill became one of the fabled Weapons Masters). A hero in Ageal isn’t a hero because she is born to it, but because she strives for it – she is self made.
Heroic Deeds and Desires
Many forces drive heroes in Ageal. Where the search for power may draw some, others may begin adventuring out of desire for riches or fame, out of loyalty, or to protect the meek from the strong. However, these heroes always have one thing in common – they have all felt the call. This call may come from a secret cabal of heroes and Immortals intent on guarding the lands, or it may come from something as simple as a child’s cry for help. Yet the call is always answered, sometimes by one seeking to be heroic, sometimes by one who has responsibility thrust upon him – a more unlikely hero. Whether he knows it or not, a hero’s fate is intertwined with the land, its people, and the gods who have vowed to protect it.
Of course, a hero may always run afoul of one of the Immortals, or become embroiled in their intricate plots. In fact, a hero’s goal might be to seize their own Book of Life and become one of their number…
Adversaries
Ageal’s recent history has been fraught with battles between the mighty, with the Immortals finally coming together in a bid for power against the gods themselves. In the aftermath of that long and clandestine conflict, many evils were loosed on the world. Demons and their master, the Corrupter of Dreams, are once again free to cross the Veil. The Dread Lord, once thought dead, has awakened from its long slumber to rebuild its armies of undead. The Great Ionian Empire has begun to collapse from its many strains, with Barons giving themselves wholly over to cruelties to keep their tenuous holds on power. Great tribes of Goblins have begun to muster in the far north and from the far south come the Orcs, both ready to conquer new land where they can. If ever Ageal needed heroes, now is the time.
Magic
Magic in Ageal is a battlefield. Two gods clash for control: one, a forgotten and unworshipped god who grants his powers to those few who can decipher his riddles or control it by their very essence; and the other, a recently freed deity that has once again taken her role in the heavens as guardian of the Flow - a magic used by the gods themselves, as well as those followers to which they grant it.
As far as practitioners of the arcane arts are concerned, all magic springs from “The Well of Knowledge:” the theoretical repository for all things that can be known. What they do not know is that the Well actually exists, and that it not only contains all knowledge, but knows it, and grants great power to those with the patience to unravel its mysteries.
The Goddess Llyladria, awakened from her long imprisonment, controls a different kind of magic – one based on faith instead of knowledge, and gifts her followers with it. Other gods have followed suit, and their faithful also use that magic, sometimes for good, and sometimes for ill. However, the Pale Lady, caretaker of the Flow, has given a special magic to her closest followers – the power to give the Flow substance in a form known as Magitherium.
What makes Immortal Tales unique?
Magic in conflict, the world in upheaval, powerful adversaries – all these things and more make Ageal a memorable place for heroes to make a name for themselves. However, certain things make Ageal unique in the multiverse: Magitherium, a physical manifestation of the Flow of magic; The Veil, the weakened barrier that keeps the demon hordes at bay; and the Immortals, whose ranks can be joined by true heroes. This ascent to immortality is possible because every sentient being on Ageal has a Book of Life – the living record of their thoughts and deeds. This “library” is cared for by the gods themselves, and when a soul’s time on Ageal has come, they close that soul’s book. Which begs the question: what happens when the last chapter is written, but the book is never closed?
*****
Hi all!
If you go back to the original post of this thread, you will see that the posting of Small Beginnings was inspired not by other story hours, but because D'Shai and I couldn't get all the writing out of our system right after the WotC Setting Search!
Sadly, like so many others (10,000 entries! Who knew?), the setting submission that started all this was rejected during the first round. Well, after looking at the possibilities of fleshing out the setting and publishing it ourselves (which we wrestled with for some time), we've finally decided that our creative juices should be focused on other projects (speaking of which, would anyone be interested in a small but complete .pdf detailing Icemist itself? It's a project possibility...).
So....
What follows is the original one page submission for the campaign setting Immortal Tales, which, incidentally, is the home of Aurora, Pack, Ashrem, Theo, Worm, and Ander, as well as the villiage of Icemist.
In addition to the format here, we've also uploaded it in the Settings Archive, in it's original formatting.
As always, comments are welcome, and constructive criticism is even more welcome. After all, if you can't improve your work based on the opinions of your preferred audience, what else is there?
*****
Immortal Tales
Adventures in the world of Ageal
Core Ethos
In a world where gods clash, demons stalk the shadows, and the Immortals vie for dominance, heroes must fight for the very survival of the land – welcome to the Immortal Tales of Ageal.
Heroes
In Ageal, every soul has a story, but only a true hero can write her own chapters. Ageal’s heroes come from all walks of life, and can come from the most humble of backgrounds. For every legend told of Gregory Morthannan (reluctant heir to the throne of Konoth, born with every advantage, yet willing to give up everything to fulfill a prophecy), a bard sings of Blight Battledancer (a rustic and rough-hewn swordsman, who through tenacity and skill became one of the fabled Weapons Masters). A hero in Ageal isn’t a hero because she is born to it, but because she strives for it – she is self made.
Heroic Deeds and Desires
Many forces drive heroes in Ageal. Where the search for power may draw some, others may begin adventuring out of desire for riches or fame, out of loyalty, or to protect the meek from the strong. However, these heroes always have one thing in common – they have all felt the call. This call may come from a secret cabal of heroes and Immortals intent on guarding the lands, or it may come from something as simple as a child’s cry for help. Yet the call is always answered, sometimes by one seeking to be heroic, sometimes by one who has responsibility thrust upon him – a more unlikely hero. Whether he knows it or not, a hero’s fate is intertwined with the land, its people, and the gods who have vowed to protect it.
Of course, a hero may always run afoul of one of the Immortals, or become embroiled in their intricate plots. In fact, a hero’s goal might be to seize their own Book of Life and become one of their number…
Adversaries
Ageal’s recent history has been fraught with battles between the mighty, with the Immortals finally coming together in a bid for power against the gods themselves. In the aftermath of that long and clandestine conflict, many evils were loosed on the world. Demons and their master, the Corrupter of Dreams, are once again free to cross the Veil. The Dread Lord, once thought dead, has awakened from its long slumber to rebuild its armies of undead. The Great Ionian Empire has begun to collapse from its many strains, with Barons giving themselves wholly over to cruelties to keep their tenuous holds on power. Great tribes of Goblins have begun to muster in the far north and from the far south come the Orcs, both ready to conquer new land where they can. If ever Ageal needed heroes, now is the time.
Magic
Magic in Ageal is a battlefield. Two gods clash for control: one, a forgotten and unworshipped god who grants his powers to those few who can decipher his riddles or control it by their very essence; and the other, a recently freed deity that has once again taken her role in the heavens as guardian of the Flow - a magic used by the gods themselves, as well as those followers to which they grant it.
As far as practitioners of the arcane arts are concerned, all magic springs from “The Well of Knowledge:” the theoretical repository for all things that can be known. What they do not know is that the Well actually exists, and that it not only contains all knowledge, but knows it, and grants great power to those with the patience to unravel its mysteries.
The Goddess Llyladria, awakened from her long imprisonment, controls a different kind of magic – one based on faith instead of knowledge, and gifts her followers with it. Other gods have followed suit, and their faithful also use that magic, sometimes for good, and sometimes for ill. However, the Pale Lady, caretaker of the Flow, has given a special magic to her closest followers – the power to give the Flow substance in a form known as Magitherium.
What makes Immortal Tales unique?
Magic in conflict, the world in upheaval, powerful adversaries – all these things and more make Ageal a memorable place for heroes to make a name for themselves. However, certain things make Ageal unique in the multiverse: Magitherium, a physical manifestation of the Flow of magic; The Veil, the weakened barrier that keeps the demon hordes at bay; and the Immortals, whose ranks can be joined by true heroes. This ascent to immortality is possible because every sentient being on Ageal has a Book of Life – the living record of their thoughts and deeds. This “library” is cared for by the gods themselves, and when a soul’s time on Ageal has come, they close that soul’s book. Which begs the question: what happens when the last chapter is written, but the book is never closed?
*****
