THEMES OF CONFLICT IN STORMWORLD

Every fantasy world, whether imagined by the wild dreaming mind of an 8 year old child or a 40 year old anthropology doctor, will have some central theme(s) of conflict that characterize that world as different (or maybe just derivitive). Thoes theme(s) can be as simple as “lots of treasure underground protected by things PCs kill” or as complex as “what are the ramifications of a nearly immortal species on an advanced, financially sofisticated society”.

For the most part, these themes generally do not affect the average game session. They are normally reserved for the macro approach to the game, the 10,000 feet view of things, the big picture. However these thems do creep up from time to time in explaining why things are the way they are or why things are not another way. These themes can also be helpful when generating a character concept.

THE MAJOR THEMES:

The Remnant Cities vs. the Barbarians (Outside world)

Summation:

Some live in the cities, some don’t. After the Sundering most of the worlds population was forced out of the great crumbling cities due to some form of threat. Early on the MageStorms seem to concentrate on these once great bastions of magic. In many of the cities outsiders, demons, devils, angels, elementals, appeared and battled across the city streets, many citizens were caught in the cross fire. In the centuries that followed many of the powerful spells that once powered or held these cities together began to fail and these cities began to crumble. For these and many other reasons many people fled these cities and forged new lives in the “outside” world. Many, but not all…

Those that stayed managed to create new lives in the once great cities of the old empire. Some at the hands of infernal masters, others by reverse engineering the powerful mage-tech that made these monsterous cities viable. They trouble shot and clap-boarded these cities together. Soon, with in a few centuries, they began to thrive again.

Now, some 2,000 years after the fall, Ias is filled with a multitude of races and beings. But, they can all be broken down into two distinct groups, those that live in the Remnant Cities and those that do not.

To those that live in the cities think just about everyone that lives in the great outdoors is a barbarian, regardless of culture or education. To them the outside world is lawless, formless and frought with unimagined perils. The struggle for survival is unimaginable. How could anyone live out there with out walls, with out technology?

For those that live outside these monsterous cities the perception is diametrically opposed. How could anyone live in those anachronistic festering wounds of perversion? To them, the remnant cities are usually symbols of the ancient evil that destroyed the world once already. They are bastions of infernal forces or, at best, perveyors of oppresion.

Game Effect:

The most profound affect this theme has is on charcter generation. Where your character is from can decide what classes you have access to, what skills and even what race is available. I’m still trying to encapsulate (in mechanics) the differences between being born in a technologically advanced culture vs. a more “medieval” society. The effects are spread across multiple areas, skills being the most prominant.

The Natural World vs. the fractured world

Summation:

There are three generaly recognized theories for why the Sundering occurred;

1) Either because the Mage-Lords outlawed religion or people just plain forgot, God (or the Ancestors) punished the mortals for their lack of devotion by essentially destroying the world with a mountain of fire that crashed into the ancient capitol of the empire,

2) The ancient empire had so polluted and subjegated the natural world, in clear usurpance of the Goddess’s will, that nature struck back

3) The Mage-Lords fractured existance and in essence tore the very fabric of the universe, causing things to go terribly wrong.

Since the Gods (the Creator, the Goddess and the Deceiver) don’t seem to make a habit of conferring with everyone and the Mage-Lords don’t seem to be around anymore, no one knows the real reason. Of course this doesn’t prevent anyone and everyone from espousing or enforcing their personal theory.

What everyone is pretty sure about is things are not right and they haven’t been for over 2000 years. The natural world seems to be very warped and this “wrongness” is characterized by three things’

1) The “tainting” of the world by the outside world (sometimes called planes). This tainting manifests itself in the appearance of “plane-touched” offspring among all creatures from squirrel too man, areas of the world taking on the characteritics of outside worlds, and the existence of infernal and celestial beings in the world.

2) The existence of “wild-magic” areas in the world. These areas can range from super charged magic zones too dead-magic zones. Some are wandering some are stantionary.

3) The Mage-Storms. This last manifestation is the one most consider the worst. The Mage-Storms appeared during the Sundering and though they have appeared less frequently since that time, they still occur on average about once or twice a year (this is a regional relevance). The Mage-Storms act like normal hurricanes or typhoons but are not preceeded by any predictable wheather pattern and include unpredictable magical wild magical effects. Often lethal. Though localized on a planetary scale they can reek far reaching havoc across the globe.

Some of the documented cases of Mage-Storms include; raining fire balls, Lighting storms of terrible ferocity with lighting generating from every direction, Acid and Poisonous rain, storms that have raised the dead too feed on the living, aging, physical deformities, fog clouds that have killed specific species or races, reversal of gravity, cities locked in time-stops, floods of inland regions, Ice-storms in desserts, diseases and plagues, relocation of cities and towns, random teleportation of people……

Very rarely, Mage-Storms have actually provided a boon to people. There have been reports of Mage-Storms appearing and destroying invading armies or producing gargantuan crops, curing the sick, turning the leaves on trees too gold or even ressurecting people. These reports are usually very rare and are usually misconstrued as a sign of favor from the superstitious of the world.

Game effect:

Mage-Storms due occur and your character can be caught in them. Rather than generating a very complicated whether model that simulates this chaos I will most likley use it as story fodder. A way to remind everyone this is not Faerun or Greyhawk. Or just a way too throw a bizzarre challenge at the group. This phenomena can provide role-playing as well as blatant hack-n-slash opportunities. In short, it’s a way to keep you guys running for your life. Hell, maybe someday, someone will figure out why the Mage-storms occur????

On a more day to day level, you may encounter beings tainted by the outside planes, run in to magic dead or wild magic areas, you could encounter a devil or a demon in your local tavern, you could find an elemental running the water pump in an ancient dungeon…. Simply put the world ain’t right and and often the things you will run into could be even less right.

Organized religion vs. Faith

In the golden age of the ancient empire magical technology had advanced to the point where the neccessity for divine beings had become superflous. At least that was the message of the Mage-lords. They in essence outlawed worship of the gods and publically announced that their services were no longer required. And then all heaven and hell responded.

Since the Sundering religion has returned with a vengence, more or less. In the dark years of the long nightmare many a apostle came forth with the promise of deliverance and salvation. Some delivered, as far as we know, many did not. Three main practices of faith emerged from those long centuries, the churhces of the celestial god, the servants of the infernal lord and the Druids.

The churches of the celestial god, and its many factions, essentially beleave all things were created by and are subject to the divine king of all the universe, God. He created the world and all creatures and that life should be lived to glorify him.

The servants of the Infernal Lord beleave that life is a will to power and nothing more (Neitshce rampant). The universe is heaven and that those that rule hold all the power.

The Druids beleave that the goddess gave up here body to create the world and its natural law and that this is the true heaven. That the goddess locked out God and the Infernal Lord to protect her children and allow them to live in the great cycle she set forth in this world. A short note on Druidism here. Druidism is not an all defining unitarian church. While there is a form of pure Druidism you will most often encounter people who are ancestral worshippers in the classic sence of the word. -

In game mechanic terms there is little difference between a shaman of an ancestral worshipping barbarian clan and a Druid.-

The main point of conflict here is that no one REALLY knows what the truth is. All of these different religions operate upon religious dogma and not out of an understanding or divien reality. Most people on Ias have some form of a belief system, what ever that may be and since “miracles” and “faith magic” are in abundant evidence who is to say who’s belief system is right and who’s is wrong?

Game Effect:

Essentially your character has a choice of three different reilgious paths to follow, God, the Dark Lord or Druidism. Since I don’t normally allow evil charcters this narrows the field a little further. The major difference here is from what belief system do you receive your fatih magic from. If you worship God you will be effected (good and bad) by clerical magic from either end of the good/evil spectrum. If you pratice druidism you will receive a modifier (good and bad) versus normal clerical magic.

Religion vs. Magic

Still to come

Some say magic is evil, some say its good others think it just is…….

Game Effect:

Mostly roleplaying in as much as you never know if someone wants to hire your mage or burn him at the stake

The Ancient Empire vs. the New Order

Summation;

The term New Order is used loosley here. Across the globe power centers are concentrated in to small city states with very few truly trusting each other. Most are remnant cities of the old empire, others are new kingdoms or cities that have sprung up since the time of the Sundering. No power is known to be truly dominant, though many will espouse that theory. So the true issue here is those that view a return to a world spanning empire as necessary or even inevitable vs. those that beleave that any thing “world-spanning’ smacks of the Mage-lords empire and is therefore abberrant and evil. We’re talking paranoia on a global scale.

Both sides of the argument take many guises. City-states or kings looking to increase their power either by necessity or glutony. Demonic hordes looking to conquer and enslave. Any of the organized churches looking to spread their virsion of the truth. Naturalists looking to return to the preverbial garden of Ea (Eden).

Some of the orgaizations that are accused of being instruments to a world of empire are the Guilder (world spanning traders), the League of City-States (the grand assembly of the governing bodies from each of the Remnant cities (in good standing) and a few newer cities, any of the three major churhces, even any Arcane practicer of considerable power.

Game effect:

Unless you are a mage, high ranking member of one of the churhces, associated with one of the powerful goverments or a Guilder this one probably want effect you on a day to day basis. Once we reach the higher levels though (and depending on your character’s take on this issue) it could be significant.

Good vs. Evil (vs. Neutrality??)

The classic diatribe…

Magic vs. Technology

The world spanning ancient empire that once ruled the world of Ias was based upon advanced technology powered by magic. It put the mages of the world in absolute power and placed all other peoples in absolute slavery. After the Sundering what followed is generally reffered too as the Long Nightmare. During this time mages were hunted far and wide and slain as the deliverers of evil and destruction upon the world. Consequently, the knowledge of how to build and maintain the advacned magical technology of that empire was lost. Over the course of several hundreds of years since then, many peoples have created a rudimentary form of technology that was inspired by the lost knowledge of that by gone age. Where there was once magical engines powering these machinations there was now water power or even crude steam engines.

In the current age of StormWorld you have a bit of conundrum driving some conflict. Even though most advanced magical knowledge was destroyed some did survive. Because the world had been so dependent upon magic for so long it continued to be so dependent even after this fall. Even though most people had, at best, a blatant distrust for magic-users. So you have somewhat of a weird standard at work here. It is Ok to benefit from magic but it is not Ok to be a Arcane weilder.

Game effect:

The technology level in StormWorld is slightly eskew. Just about any weapon or armor from prior to the 16th century is in use or available some where on Ias. So that puny looking halfling in the tavern could be packing a derringer that will blow a very nice hole right through your beautiful suit of full plate. You could rush to close the gates of the castle you are defending only to find out the portcullis is powered by a crude steam mechanism and someone forgot to keep the fire burning. Transportation technology varies from 500 BC pheonician to 14th century spanish Armada. There are also various forms of pre-Sundering transportation technology like flying ships and permanent gates, though the people that run them don’t always neccesarily understand them. Except for the Guilder, they seem to understand big flying ships quite well. There is also rumored to be the remnants of a world spanning communications network. But that is just rumor…….