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I've been working on my world of Aris for a very long time now though it did not start out the way you are about to read. It started out as a simple fantasy background story for one of my characters which turned into a homebrew setting for one of my original groups and it then in turn spawned into so much more. I'm currently writing a fantasy novel set in this world.
Later I couldn't help but think: What would make my already dark campaign setting just a bit more drab? The answer was a simple concept: apocalypse.
I'm not saying post-apocalyptic fantasy hasn't been done before. Desolation, Enoch, and Ad Astra were a few. There are also a thousand more based on a post-industrial world such as RoadWorld and deadEarth. There is even the semi-apocalyptic idea used in the Forgotten Realms 4E started by the death of Mystra - known as the Spellplague, if I'm not mistaken. Like I stated before, I wasn't attempting to mimic these. There is no system for this. It is simply a setting to be used alongside the d20 system of games or, if you're one of the ones who are good at conversions, ANY system you feel like attributing it to.
Now that I've given some background on it, allow me to post a small introduction to my campaign setting: Shadows of Aris. Afterwards, please feel free to leave your comments, opinions, and questions. Criticisms are welcome as long as they're constructive.
Two hundred years from now the world of Aris will be rocked by a war of cataclysmic proportions. What will start as a simple research project into the source of arcanum will turn into an all-out bid for magical dominance headed by the newly-formed Arcane Imperium. From this, laws will be passed banning the use of magicks not sanctioned by the Imperium. Guilds the world over will either swear fealty or fall beneath the might of their influence. Kings will be swayed to war and empires will turn to ash. As the Imperium assumes total control of all magical knowledge, small pockets of resistance will begin to crop up to wage a losing war against them. This will force them to enact a systematic elimination of all spellcasters refusing loyalty to the Imperium. Feeling this itself will not even be enough, the Imperium will begin to eliminate those with magical affiliation of any kind. A war will ensue that frighten even the gods themselves. In their paranoia and the wake of what will become known as the Spell Purge, the Imperium will breed armageddon.
In the midst of these end times, many of the elves will return to Evriellum, the fabled land of their ancestors. Some will choose to stay and fight. Others still will flee to the subterranean dungeons of Aris to escape extinction. The dwarves also will retreat into the ancient underground kingdoms of their forefathers and repopulate themselves beneath the earth. Those remaining on the surface will face constant persecution at the hands of the Imperium. Halflings, gnomes, half-breeds, humans, and hundreds of other races will find themselves near extinction.
Very few will survive this apocalypse… You will be among them.
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I wasn't actually planning on starting a campaign just yet. There are plenty of kinks to work out. Plus I have some things going on right now that don't allow me to GM any campaigns - just pulled out of GMing a Legacy of Fire PBP which my former players were well enough to find a replacement GM. I appreciate the thought and will continue to post up concepts and information in regards to Aris, but I've no plans right now to actually run a campaign set in this despot place. Please feel free to ask any questions though as I will be glad to answer that which I can.
Setting
Aris is set in a ad-hoc mixture of high fantasy and steam. It is a high fantasy world resembling Lord of the Rings with a bit of Final Fantasy thrown into the mix. There are airships as well steam and clockwork technology to a low-tech degree.
That's just a small descriptor of the world feel itself. My apologies for the vagueness of it.
This World sounds good, count me in if you ever run a pbp with it.
How are divine casters perceived and treated by the arcane imperium, and do you have your own set of deities?
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How are divine casters perceived and treated by the arcane imperium, and do you have your own set of deities?
Unfortunately for many, the Imperium has reached such a pinnacle of paranoia that anyone wielding so much as a +1 Longsword is subject to their fanaticisms. Some Imperium troops aren't the persecution type - you understand where I'm going with this (some are just earning a living, blah blah blah) but those that follow the Imperial Code to a fault are the ones that you have to watch out for.
As for divine casters, as I said, the Imperium doesn't discriminate. To them, casting is still casting whether the source be arcane or divine. Such is the lay of the land.
Are you sure the other important things in your life are more important than enterttaining us with a pbp?
I realize it was a joke, but still felt the need to respond that yes, fellow family members being in the hospital and a one-month old to take care of constitutes more important that the Interweb. Sorry if that seemed slightly douchebag-ish. Wasn't intended that way.
As for a PBP, I may start up a beta one of these days but I'd like to work kinks and the like out first and smooth it out just a bit more before I release a 'Beta Playtest'.
Also, in regards to deities, Aris does have a set of deities(The Six Divine Goddesses/The Divine Sisters/The Divine Six) that each represent one of the six base elements: Faerus for Fire, Meronia for Water, Niyra for Earth, Isaura for Air, Cerelia for Dark, and Amoria for Light. When it comes to their portfolios, I'm still working on those and any of the other gods are easily usable as I see the kingdoms of Aris as being only a small part of a much bigger universe (i.e. You can easily drop it into any game and run with it.)