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Message: <blockquote data-quote="reason" data-source="post: 377582" data-attributes="member: 6022">In the spirit of a number of people here, I've decided to keep up an infrequent commentary on my rewrite of Spirits of Rock and Sky. I'll even try to keep it to this one thread <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><a href="http://www.twilightminds.com/sorasfull.html" target="_blank">http://www.twilightminds.com/sorasfull.html</a>-----------------------------------WHY SORAS?Spirits of Rock and Sky (SORAS) was an outgrowth of my interest in the way in which people think about Gods. It started off as a thought experiment in which I removed as much in the way of distraction as I could. Getting rid of the props, as it were. No sun, no moons, no magic, no monsters, no animals, no metal, nothing but bare rock and people. Since I like my science fiction moderately hard, the rest flowed fairly smoothly from there.SORAS is an old setting, approaching ten years or so now. Some things have changed, but the essential background remains the same: a small, forgotten corner of post-singularity science fiction disguised as fantasy. As the years marched on, SORAS fell into place into the larger construct of my SF settings. The whole is titled "Fragments of a Posthuman Dream." Mutterings and themes on what it means to be human. Maybe they'll see light one day <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The genetically enhanced (slightly post)humans of SORAS worship Gods, live in Tribes, and dimly recall legends of times when they were as Gods themselves. They dwell on some unknown form of construct somewhere deep in interstellar space. They have little hope of even learning that redemption is possible. For the Tribes of SORAS, ten thousand years have led full circle. They have returned to the metaphorical banks of the Babylon, and talk to Gods of their own creation.--------------------------FRAGMENTA young Susyan stands, his ancestral and divine spear in one hand, on a hill above his community. Looking up, he can see the brightest stars through the hazy and purple Light of Io Hejin. He is reassured by their presence; he knows that the Ancestral Sky Spirits still watch his Tribe even in this age of the One God.His ancestors were not Gods. They took their first protected steps on a distant and airless moon while an entire world watched. He knows nothing of that world, and even the concept of a moon is alien to him. Genetically, he is as far beyond those long-dead moonwalkers as they were advanced beyond the animals of their world. He stands on high-density nickel-iron ore, far above a device that augments the local gravitational field. He would leave the ground with his first step, if subject only to the attraction of the demi-world beneath him. The haft of his spear consists of wood that was cut from a genetically altered oak tree. The blade is a superconducting ceramic lattice that was once an important component in an engine of transport. The auroral lights above him are the visible evidence of complex interactions in the upper atmosphere. They result from the beam spread and dangerous irregularities of an extremely powerful ion drive. The atmosphere itself would not exist if it were not constantly replenished by the output of matter-conversion devices. The stars in the sky are not Gods or spirits. They are just stars: incandescent spheres of plasma at great distances. The Gods of this world do not exist beyond the minds of their worshippers. The young Susyan feels secure, but he is more lost than he could ever imagine...--------------------------VIEWS ON VIOLENCEI'm not a big violence fan. I do believe that it should carry consequences. I also believe that convincing NPCs is more fun and rewarding than hitting them. In between updating the SORAS text, I'll be scratching out d20 additions that basically stick to these principals. Some of these rules are up on the SORAS site already.SORAS is a collection of old, complex societies. They span the gamut from libertarian to despotic, but there are few civilized places in which violence will help more than it will hinder. It's a small world, and making enemies will always come back to haunt you. That said, violence is there for those who want to take the risk. It's possible to fight carefully, keep ransoms, and know when to surrender. Only fanatics fight to the death.Most of my plots and plot seeds do not involve the necessity of violence. Certainly, the threat is often there, but there are usually easier paths to take. DESERTS WITHOUT SANDThe vast majority of the world of SORAS is cold, empty, rugged, black rock. Berefit of any landmark or sign of habitation. There is no rain or running water, so journeys are made with care.HISTORYHistory is a vitally important part of any world. SORAS has an interesting, vivid history that is vital in defining the present state of the world. It serves to make the world feel much more dynamic.LANGUAGEHalf the fun in writing SORAS is in doing to the language what was done to the setting. The Tribes simply don't have words for 90% of the things we take for granted: units of time, places, animals, colors, history, analogies, running water, rain, and so on. Those words are never used in the text; it gives it an interesting flavor to the writing.</blockquote>

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