Pantheon:
The pantheon is incomplete and heterodoxic. Feel free to add your own gods, and especially, modify the following for your own cultures. Many gods are named and viewed differently around the world. Others are unknown elsewhere. they may be thought of as benevolent in one place and malevolent in others. Their myths and powers might also vary. The reality is that the gods are something a bit beyond what the people actually conceive.
Major gods:
Hul is the unwilling progenitor god. His name evokes "everything", "empty cavity", "husk", "shell" as in the words "whole", "hole", and "hull." Hul is eternity. He is the primordial void from which existence rebelled. He is existence as well, the very being of the universe a cancer on his body. Hul is not a cruel god, but is almost universally scene as malevolent. His worshipers called "hullites" believe that rich and deep experience are willing insurgence from Hul's sacred being. ONe's life is a probation made by living in the greatest modesty and control. Hul's followers are the most ubiquitous found of any god, but are few and sequestered. Although Hul is feared and despised, his followers are valued for two reasons. Hullite's despise undead more than anyone and are uniquely gifted in stymieing their development. Hullites are also considered above materialism, and thus, honest in this regard.
Kestra is the moon, and the first entity to ever emerge from Hul. She is the patron of all magic, especially divination and the cycles of destiny and mutable fate.
Gosus is the god of the earth. His 12 daughters are the continents of the earth. His realm is the underworld itself and all its riches. Gosus is a materialistic god prone to alcoholism and depression. He is also associated with autumn, thresholds, and caves. The followers of Gosus are usually very socially conservative and value industry and provision. Many people consider themselves descended from Gosus, including the Pelmhezar. Idol of Gosus are often placed at thresholds as a spiritual ward. Anything buried is considered a gift to Gosus.
Zephethres is the sky, wind, rain and lightning. He is also associated with male fertility, spring and youth. Zephethres stole Gosus' 12 daughters to take as wives. His relationship with them varies dramatically, his favorite being Phertenlla, from which he sired the Gebren. Zephethres is also known for having struck The Goddess Tree with lightning. Ignissa was born from this rape. Though zephethress' reputation varies from culture to culture, Thressites are at best tolerated as a revelrous element that encourages carousing, womanizing and orgiastic behavior. Thressite death rites involve sky burials.
Undefined, prefered wife of Zephethress
Undefined. Spurned by Zephethress
Born of the rape of the Goddess Tree by Zephethress, Ignissa promptly sated her endless gluttony on her mother. Seeing her destructive nature, Gosus promptly enslaved her to the furnace and hearth where she is ever deigning to escape and seek vengeance. As such, Ignissa is associated with fire, slavery, the yearning for freedom, revenge, and gluttony. Anything burned is a gift to Ignissa. Ignissa is the progenitor of the Igmara
Magic:
Magic in the setting is rare and limited to exceptional individuals. Runequest 6 has 5 magic systems that I intend to use to flavor the setting. They are as follows. I will include examples sooner or later.
Theism: This will represent the orthodox religion of any given area. Theist in RQ6 gain power from worship and/or sacrifice and use these gift-debts to call on miracles.
Sorcery: This represents heresy in most cases. A select few religions may tolerate or encourage it. In any case, it is a sect of the religion, or in most cases, completely atheistic. Sorcery is viewed as the usurpation of god-power from the gods and as such a source of ill luck and divine, and indiscriminate wrath. In RQ6, sorcery is limited to 5-8 spells limited to a cabal or teaching with a center on a theme. Note that elementalism is a trope I deeply tire of. The system itselfe allows for extensive modification of the spells themselves, much like metamagic in D&D, but much more extensive.
Animism: Animists are spirit mediums and may or may not be associated with a god-theme. If they are they are likely considered heretical. Forinstance, a Hullite animist would be a necromancer, and hunted down mercilessly. This viewpoint may not be discriminating enough to save those animists that are benign.
Mysticism: Mystics are people with the innate power, disciplin etc to channel superhuman abilities. They may be a legendary carpenter, a supergenious, or a man that can climb sheer cliffs with just his hands. The first ancients were these people, but this knowledge is unknown to almost everyone. Occasional these abilities rise in ordinary people, or can be brought out with intensive training. Like other magic paths, these tend to develop along themes. Mystics may be seen as avatars of gods, dangerous mutants, or heretics.
Folk Magic: utilitarian spells that I find lame. Instantly clean your clothes kind of thing. You've probably heard the phrase that tech sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic. The reverse is also true. The evolution of magic into some kind of appliance grinds me to the save level as scientifically defined magic systems that formulaicly destroy any sort of wonder and mystery. Nonetheless, there needs to be a place for witches and hedge wizards. Its here.
Tips:
I find music helps a lot when brainstorming these. I like the Myst series for providing the creepy and novella abience I want from the setting. Essentially, I'd like to express the wonder and fear of the ignorant bronze age person when confronted by the unknowable variety of the world and possibly malevolent nature of the metaphysical.
Welcome back Devercia. Thank you. I glad to be back, for this anyway.
I've been fiddling with a world I've been building with Runequest 6 in mind and thought that the plateau I've reached would be better surmounted with some collaboration, so, have at thee...please. No knowledge of RQ6 is...
IM really glad Tom took to decentralizing the game from BM. It was one of the things I tried hardest to do in Morek, but I could not outsource the links I could click. I had to give appointment of the judge position away by making it a matter of culture more than actually having game mechanics allow for it.
Though, was pretty glorious watching the whole realm collapse into anarchy after my hero died.
I'm curious how easily in-fighting is allowed. Of course in BM it was impossible without a full blown revolution. Is it a matter of declaring independence? do you need a premium acount for the establishment of a new realm to do so? Can I fight an otherwise friendly character of my realm without committing treason?
Another question concerns game etiquette. Is it normal to speak to a whole realm on not-so-realm-wide-important matters or is it more of a local area/ friends only kinda thing? In other words, should I not be worried about spam, or should I avoid the reply-all button, so to speak? I know as grandmaster of Morek, I had 100+ messages a day to keep up with.
Read the Ascalon drama thread. Seems you guys need more women. I guess I'm willing to fix that. Also, glad I didn't pick the powergamer state. Joined as the de Balliol sisters.
I hear the north west is abandoned. Should I be heading that way?
There is a major difference between a consensual fight with rules or sparring compared to a fight to the death where really nothing matters apart from being the one who survives.
He has a good point about martial intent. Whether or not that is relevant to sex is not something I can say, or necessarily believe without something more substantial.
This, but I wouldn't even say it's exploitative, in the negative sense at least. Though I do find it cringeworthy when poorly employed. When Axe and Old Spice used to do it, it was original and funny. Now its just going through the motions. I've always been a proponant that marketing departments are blackholes of intelligence.
How come it isn't exploitative? It's using the nearly naked male body to sell salad dressing. It's in no way different from the old beer commercials that used bikini babes to sell beer.
In order to answer, I need to ask who(the male model, or the presumed female consumers, both, or something else?) is, in your viewpoint, being exploited. If its just a thing being exploited, I dont see the morality ("negative sense") there. If its the model, well, he isn't exactly being humiliated. If its the consumers, I have a hard time even seeing it being effective beyond it grabbing initial attention. Personally, I'd find it insulting to my intelligence if I cared to even take such a thing seriously, which I never would.
I can easily see it being distasteful in any case.
This, but I wouldn't even say it's exploitative, in the negative sense at least. Though I do find it cringeworthy when poorly employed. When Axe and Old Spice used to do it, it was original and funny. Now its just going through the motions. I've always been a proponant that marketing departments are blackholes of intelligence.
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