ZEITGEIST [SPOILERS] Not understanding the Axis Seal...

[ratzofftoya]

So, I've read the campaign guide a few times and...I just don't get what the Axis Seal is, what its intent was, and how it "works." Can someone help a bit?

 

[arkwright]

A long time ago, Lanjyr (that's the name of the continent area not the planet, but let's stick with it) was a lone world among many in the universe. The Ancients (orcs) were the major race. Lanjyr came to the attention of invaders (aliens, devils etc) who used portals to invade. The Ancients came up with a plan; build a new solar system, adding a new plane (planet) that would prevent portal invasion. They would also need to swap in other worlds to provide elemental energies to sustain Lanjyr (fire, earth, time etc). This plan would be accomplished via the Axis Ritual, which would build the new solar system from planes grabbed from across the universe.

The Ancients performed the Axis Ritual. This involved travelling to each plane they needed to make a planar icon, setting them out on a big ritual site in the place now known as Axis Island, and placing a massive golden disc atop the ritual site at the end- the Axis Seal. The Obscurati plan is to open the seal, mess around with the planar icons and thus change what planes are in the solar system and are influencing Lanjyr.

There are a couple of other intricacies- like the fact that the Axis Seal/Ritual also creates the sun- but that's the core of it.

 

[ratzofftoya]

A long time ago, Lanjyr (that's the name of the continent area not the planet, but let's stick with it) was a lone world among many in the universe. The Ancients (orcs) were the major race. Lanjyr came to the attention of invaders (aliens, devils etc) who used portals to invade. The Ancients came up with a plan; build a new solar system, adding a new plane (planet) that would prevent portal invasion. They would also need to swap in other worlds to provide elemental energies to sustain Lanjyr (fire, earth, time etc). This plan would be accomplished via the Axis Ritual, which would build the new solar system from planes grabbed from across the universe.

The Ancients performed the Axis Ritual. This involved travelling to each plane they needed to make a planar icon, setting them out on a big ritual site in the place now known as Axis Island, and placing a massive golden disc atop the ritual site at the end- the Axis Seal. The Obscurati plan is to open the seal, mess around with the planar icons and thus change what planes are in the solar system and are influencing Lanjyr.

There are a couple of other intricacies- like the fact that the Axis Seal/Ritual also creates the sun- but that's the core of it.

OK...Thank you...I think I'm getting closer....

• In the before-time, did the concept of "solar systems" exist, or was everything just a sort of formless plane?
• Why does a planet that prevents portal invasion require the creation of a whole new solar system?
  • In other words, why didn't they just make Lanjyr of the before-time uninvadeable?
• I reckon this will be answered by your response to the previous question, but why does the creation of a new planet/solar system mean you also have to "pull in" a bunch of supporting actors?

 

[arkwright]

• I honestly don't know how widespread 'solar systems' are. The Zeitgeist universe is a little odd where stars can be safely added to solar systems, and where planes don't actually need suns for heat and light. I don't know if there is ever a direct reference to a separate plane being part of a separate solar system. There were definitely planes that had suns nearby, but I don't know if they are organized into full systems.
• I believe the idea is that preventing portal invasion required both A: a new solar system cut off from the rest of the universe and B: a new plane to block extraplanar invasion. It was impossible to make Lanjyr invaded without both. I might be wrong and only B is necessary, but it was impossible to achieve B without creating a new solar system.
• An uninvadeable solar system, 'cut off' from the rest of the universe, requires additional planes to provide elemental energies- fire, earth, time etc. Trying to create a solar system without these energies would doom the system (which brings in the Gyre which is a whole other matter that we should definitely not touch right now.)

If you have it, look in Appendix A: Ancient History.

 

[skotothalamos]

OK...Thank you...I think I'm getting closer....

• In the before-time, did the concept of "solar systems" exist, or was everything just a sort of formless plane?
• Why does a planet that prevents portal invasion require the creation of a whole new solar system?
  • In other words, why didn't they just make Lanjyr of the before-time

The assumptions I made for my game:

- Solar systems are not the natural state of the Zeitgeist universe/galaxy/whatever. I like how this plays off the players’ assumptions of how space works. They see a solar system and use their out-of-game 21st-century science knowledge to assume all the stars are other suns with their own planets. I found it super satisfying to turn that trope around on the players as they learned more and more.

- The orc who put it all together used the portals the invaders had been using to find out about the planes they came from. He only had that limited set of planes to work with, so he did the best with what he could find. He didn’t make Lanjyr of the before-time. I assume the creator god(s) did. He’s correcting what he sees as a problem with reality.

- The “supporting actors” were needed to provide the eight essential “elements” of the world. If you cut your plane off from the plane of fire, you need a new plane of fire inside the barrier to power fire magic, etc.