The Great Conjunction (RPG DESIGN CONTEST)

[Jack7]

I guess I'm saying is, don't let us wordy blowhards scare you out of competing. Anyone can win this.

Good advice. Simple often beats complex in usefulness.

When I say a Parallel Biblical Age, I'm not thinking about RPing on Earth. It's more of a thought experiment on how some of the most evocative Biblical themes might have played out in a monotheistic fantasy setting. As you can probably tell, one of those themes is the legend of Babel.

My idea for one form of (arcane) power is that while no one can understand the True Speech, magicians can still record and use fragments of it. The meaning and grammar of the True Speech lies forever beyond the reach of mortals, so the fragments people have managed to record appear as powerful but illogical spells. No one can learn this language, even though texts are available; at best they might notice that a certain syllable or pattern appears in most of the known fragments that evoke fire. The greatest intellects might be able to put together new sequences that are grammatically valid through a combination of inference, dedication and luck. Most magicians, however, learn their spells by rote.

Interesting approach to the True Names principle of magic and Divine magic. I like the interjection of the story of Babel as well, and your take on it. If that's the case then you might find this website interesting as a set of ideas about language and Divine language.

Meru Foundation Research: Hebrew Alphabet, Genesis, Geometric Metaphor, and Kabbalah

For one thing, I've never found the typical Fantasy Pantheon very satisfying. So for a while now, my games have been toying with the idea of Fantasy Monotheism and how it could play out.

Not very satisfying, nor very useful as regards Divine magic. I couldn't agree more.

 

[Loonook]

Well... here are the basic ideas which have come into my mind:

In a small town deep in the backwoods, Ezekiel Raymond Feldspar keeps a room full of bright lamps. A coot amongst a society filled with them, Feldspar always claimed knowledge of things from beyond the known world. Having explored for half of his hundred and ten years, his collection of glass, paper, and other illuminations was beyond reproach.

In 2003, Ezekiel Feldspar's remains were found, and his famous collection had been broken apart, spread to the four winds of his property. Even now, some say you can hear strange noises in the hills around Feldspar House, and many refuse to go there.

That which is too powerful, too great for the human mind to comprehend is cast away by the collective will. Those who forget, the Sleepers, refuse to believe that such a great claw into their fragile psyche could truly exist. However, there are a handful of men and women who collect the signs and sigil of societies long forgotten. The Lamplighters keep their counsels to themselves, but they must fend against the Marti, those who have taken on the aspects of these old cultures and seek to return them to their former glory. Between these realms lie a thousand banes . . . and a thousand boons.

History breeds knowledge, knowledge breeds power. Tapping into the powers of forgotten rites, through blood, bone, and mind, propel the coming Age.

---

Really bad off-the-top, but it'll come together. Hopefully.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Andor]

Meanwhile I'm going to give myself the working title of "Magic: The Slathering. A game of magial jams and jellies."

Not too much is settled yet but I'm working on a charater generation system centered around the use of legos.

Or maybe not....

Interestingly most of entries so far are going the exact opposite direction from me on religeon, with an emphasis on monotheism and organized religious structures. I figuring on more of a 'Land of 10,000 gods' feel with a very personal relationship with the gods (for those who bother to have one.)

I will state that if my system can't give you these guys as PCs, I'm not going to bother entering it.

 

[Jack7]

Andor, I know who the first guy is... but is that second dude the GEICO Caveman?

 

[RandomCitizenX]

Figured it was about time to post my pitch, since details are finally starting to come together enough:

Name: Black Magic Blues

Genre: Noir/Pulp

Summary: Magic is everywhere, but few possess the determination and skill to cultivate the limited powers found in nearly everyone. In the wake of the last great war, when horrors of both technology and long forgotten arts were unleashed, countless secret societies and rebel groups have sprung up with the hopes of seizing power. When the chips are down will you rise to greatness or be ground into dust by those who succeed? The system itself is being built around a fairly free form magic system and character advancement that gives players greater control of their character's story.

 

[jdrakeh]

I forgot to ask James, what exactly are the formatting requirements? What kind of formats do you want to accept?

I know you want them posted openly on threads, or linked, but in interests of hosting space would it not be better to submit them to you? 50 pages is a lot of space and assuming there are quite a few entries...

Posting them up here or hosting the files yourself are the options, I'm afraid. As I mention earlier, I really can't set up a mail server/file archive/etc to process or host your submissions for you.

That said, you can use free services like Mediafire or Rapidshare to host your submissions, or host them on your own server (if you have one).

Any format that doesn't require me to use some high-dollar, relatively obscure, software to read it is fine (so, no Quark submissions, k?) HTML, RTF, PDF, DOC, TXT and such are just fine.

 

[Andor]

Andor, I know who the first guy is... but is that second dude the GEICO Caveman?

No, that's one of the preachers from "The life of Brian." The one going one about the god with seven heads and seven swords.

 

[fuindordm]

Well... here are the basic ideas which have come into my mind:
In 2003, Ezekiel Feldspar's remains were found, and his famous collection had been broken apart, spread to the four winds of his property. Even now, some say you can hear strange noises in the hills around Feldspar House, and many refuse to go there.

...The Lamplighters keep their counsels to themselves, but they must fend against the Marti, those who have taken on the aspects of these old cultures and seek to return them to their former glory. Between these realms lie a thousand banes . . . and a thousand boons.

This is very evocative stuff, Loonook. Call of Cthulhu meets The Lost Room? There are lots of ways to spin this into something with a uniquely dreadful atmosphere. I look forward to hearing more...

Ben

 

[fuindordm]

Jack7: thanks for the link. Its true that the magic of True Names is kind of old hat, but at the same time it's one of the most deeply ingrained ideas in human mythology. So I don't feel too bad about including it.

Interestingly most of entries so far are going the exact opposite direction from me on religion, with an emphasis on monotheism and organized religious structures. I figuring on more of a 'Land of 10,000 gods' feel with a very personal relationship with the gods (for those who bother to have one.)

I don't see much organization of religion yet, actually, though that may come with time. I like the "small gods" idea too, although what distinguishes an army of relatively weak gods from the animistic worship of 'spirits of the land, family, tree, cooking-pot...' ?

You could borrow from Wraith and let each player RP anther player's personal god. It might degenerate into mutual back-rubbing if all the gods are benevolent, however.

Ben

 

[Jack7]

Its true that the magic of True Names is kind of old hat, but at the same time it's one of the most deeply ingrained ideas in human mythology. So I don't feel too bad about including it.

Indeed it is, and no I wouldn't feel bad about it.
There's very little new under the sun anyways.
To each generation though it is as if the world is reborn - until, that is, they learn it is in fact, very, very ancient. And that what is new is new only by virtue of the fact that it is so old that it was long ago forgotten.

I visited your website by the way and found it interesting. One of my jobs is as a non-fiction writer, and many articles, white papers, etc. that I write involve materials in the various fields of science.

I thought you had an interesting take on vocabulary as the basis of communicative effectiveness and simplicity of understanding. Being an amateur philologist, and having always been interested in both the science and art of communications, I read over your site with some curiosity.

I may visit your site again some day for other projects.