Once upon a time the Cerebril was patrolled by great wolves. It was the wolves who kept the human's dead from wandering and nipped their heels, driving the herds of ghosts towards their final judgement. But now the wolves hunt the living and pay the dead no heed. It falls to the immortal Elves to patrol the woods.
Once upon a time there was an era when humans could just walk to the land of the dead. It was quite a journey and took a particularly driven man or woman, usually moved by what they thought was love. That is all changed now. Their kingdom of the dead is closed, the way barred by Elf and Dwarf, stars and stone, song and steel.
Once upon a time the humans had their own land, a garden where death could not touch them. They recklessly destroyed their paradise. Now the garden in the west is where the human's dead go to meet their judgement. Their spirits venture through the Cerebril Forest. Elves sing softly to the spirits, guiding them through the wood.
Dwarves keep the gates to the dead closed and weigh sins, judging the spirits for heaven or hell. The twin mountains, Wisdom and Judgement lie on either side of the gates, making sure ghosts do not attempt to escape their fates.
The Elves held dominion under the stars and the Dwarves held dominion under the earth. But now they must take up wardership. Humans, too young and too short-lived, cannot be trusted with such tasks.
Once upon a time a man ventured into the land of the dead. He wasn't looking for his beloved or his father nor mother. He only wanted to set his eyes on the kingdoms beyond life for himself. This curious man walked the kingdoms beyond until his skin shrivelled and his eyes rotted out. Only twin points of light were in his skull, shining twin relics of his curiousity, of his drive to learn about whatever lies beyond the horizon. He returned to his home calling himself Liche and brought with him many hungry spirit thanes that battled on his behalf.
It took all of man and Dwarf and Elf to stop him. Sin and Stone and Star all took the field together and drove the dead westward.
The Liche is sealed beyond the Dwarves' gates. His minions are hunted in the Cerebril so that they might not find their way to human lands and drink mortal blood or whisper alluring words to an ambitious witch or warlock.
In the war with the Liche it fell to some Elves to hold the dead at bay while the Dwarves built their gate. These Elves were twisted into Orcs by their duty and though still immortal, their beauty was replaced with ferocious ugliness and their grace with hatred. Orcs often raid from the lands of the dead, their very bodies now poison to those that live.
The first human empires are being built now that their dead are mostly imprisoned to the west. Besides the occasional shade, fetch and hungry ghost, the humans' kingdoms keep their deceased in the grave. The Elves have powerful magics and know wonderful wood lore to keep the forest patrolled. The Dwarves make wondrous weapons and are steadfast in their mountains that keep the dead from the living.
But the Elves, century after century of watching, are saddened by humanity's state. The Dwarves are becoming more and more pre-occupied with their gems, gold and mithril and the gate now shakes and creaks when the wind howls along with ghosts and banshees.
For the first time in history, humanity is growing strong and soon they will attempt to alleviate their allies of the responsibilities that they believe should belong to humans alone. Kings and Queens of man want to oversee their own afterlife, procure their own judgement and put their own spirits to rest.
Read Burning Wheel and thought about a setting designed with its races in mind. I love settingless games that just give you flavor and leave the rest to you.
I like the idea of magic lands bordering mundane lands, not other planes or magical gates but the lands of the dead or Faery and such being reachable by boat or by foot. I think magics of different kinds would work better pending on which direction you were travelling, making compass points and direction a magical element.
I'm also thinking of using other Genesis folk for use as dieties:
The Creator - as..ya know, the Creator
the Serpent - temptation, getting people to do what they want to but can't quite manage on their own.
the Tree of Knowledge - wisdom and things that Man Was Not Meant to Know
Cain - murder, sacrifice, immortality
Abel - victims, brotherhood, tilling the land
Adam and Eve - coupling, childbearing, naming
Lilith - magic, outcasts
that angel who guarded Eden with a flame sword?
Any other Genesis characters you can think of? My Bible isn't handy right now.
I'm thinking that the other directions will hold other supernatural places.
To the north is a cold, icy hell.
To the east is an Arcadian Faery type joint.
South...any ideas for the south?
Once upon a time there was an era when humans could just walk to the land of the dead. It was quite a journey and took a particularly driven man or woman, usually moved by what they thought was love. That is all changed now. Their kingdom of the dead is closed, the way barred by Elf and Dwarf, stars and stone, song and steel.
Once upon a time the humans had their own land, a garden where death could not touch them. They recklessly destroyed their paradise. Now the garden in the west is where the human's dead go to meet their judgement. Their spirits venture through the Cerebril Forest. Elves sing softly to the spirits, guiding them through the wood.
Dwarves keep the gates to the dead closed and weigh sins, judging the spirits for heaven or hell. The twin mountains, Wisdom and Judgement lie on either side of the gates, making sure ghosts do not attempt to escape their fates.
The Elves held dominion under the stars and the Dwarves held dominion under the earth. But now they must take up wardership. Humans, too young and too short-lived, cannot be trusted with such tasks.
Once upon a time a man ventured into the land of the dead. He wasn't looking for his beloved or his father nor mother. He only wanted to set his eyes on the kingdoms beyond life for himself. This curious man walked the kingdoms beyond until his skin shrivelled and his eyes rotted out. Only twin points of light were in his skull, shining twin relics of his curiousity, of his drive to learn about whatever lies beyond the horizon. He returned to his home calling himself Liche and brought with him many hungry spirit thanes that battled on his behalf.
It took all of man and Dwarf and Elf to stop him. Sin and Stone and Star all took the field together and drove the dead westward.
The Liche is sealed beyond the Dwarves' gates. His minions are hunted in the Cerebril so that they might not find their way to human lands and drink mortal blood or whisper alluring words to an ambitious witch or warlock.
In the war with the Liche it fell to some Elves to hold the dead at bay while the Dwarves built their gate. These Elves were twisted into Orcs by their duty and though still immortal, their beauty was replaced with ferocious ugliness and their grace with hatred. Orcs often raid from the lands of the dead, their very bodies now poison to those that live.
The first human empires are being built now that their dead are mostly imprisoned to the west. Besides the occasional shade, fetch and hungry ghost, the humans' kingdoms keep their deceased in the grave. The Elves have powerful magics and know wonderful wood lore to keep the forest patrolled. The Dwarves make wondrous weapons and are steadfast in their mountains that keep the dead from the living.
But the Elves, century after century of watching, are saddened by humanity's state. The Dwarves are becoming more and more pre-occupied with their gems, gold and mithril and the gate now shakes and creaks when the wind howls along with ghosts and banshees.
For the first time in history, humanity is growing strong and soon they will attempt to alleviate their allies of the responsibilities that they believe should belong to humans alone. Kings and Queens of man want to oversee their own afterlife, procure their own judgement and put their own spirits to rest.
Read Burning Wheel and thought about a setting designed with its races in mind. I love settingless games that just give you flavor and leave the rest to you.
I like the idea of magic lands bordering mundane lands, not other planes or magical gates but the lands of the dead or Faery and such being reachable by boat or by foot. I think magics of different kinds would work better pending on which direction you were travelling, making compass points and direction a magical element.
I'm also thinking of using other Genesis folk for use as dieties:
The Creator - as..ya know, the Creator
the Serpent - temptation, getting people to do what they want to but can't quite manage on their own.
the Tree of Knowledge - wisdom and things that Man Was Not Meant to Know
Cain - murder, sacrifice, immortality
Abel - victims, brotherhood, tilling the land
Adam and Eve - coupling, childbearing, naming
Lilith - magic, outcasts
that angel who guarded Eden with a flame sword?
Any other Genesis characters you can think of? My Bible isn't handy right now.
I'm thinking that the other directions will hold other supernatural places.
To the north is a cold, icy hell.
To the east is an Arcadian Faery type joint.
South...any ideas for the south?
