Damn I Am Pretty Art Laboratories

One of the things I've found myself using is the idea of player's owning things tied to their characters. I don't know where I picked this up.  I think it is me riffing on the concept of television actors and their characters- they typically "own" their characters.  But that isn't the only media I could've gotten the idea from. The central premise is that a player's character has a sphere of their own.  The GM can contribute to this sphere, but the best kinds of RPG campaigns tend to be grok-worthy when players maintain, create their own spheres and interact with other player's spheres as well.  Some NPCs and items belong to a particular character.  I the GM could exercise "ownership" over all the NPCs in my game- but splitting the onus of ownerships makes more sense to me, on philosophical and practical grounds. When talking about "ownership" I mean the basic creative dimensions to a character.  Can the character die?  W...

The Humans of the Rosac Tribe settled the lands of Othebea first, long before Othebes had founded the Church of the Twins.  They lived in bondage, enslaved by the many monstrous races of their lands: dragons, medusa, lamia and the fey.  Rosac families long had been indebted to various monstrous lords or ladies of one kind or another.  For the Rosefolk, this never would have changed if not for one critical moment. The Rosac embraced the Ursyklon conquerors.  Upon freeing them from the debts the fey and monsters had kept them under, the Ursyklon took on the role of Princes and Princesses of the Rosefolk.  Millennia would pass, and the Ursyklon clans in the Othebean lands would come to blows over and over.  Constant warfare became a defining aspect of the lives of the Rosefolk, until the establishment of the Church of the Twins two thousand years ago. A curious artifact from their history is that Rosefolk nobility has always remained a fluid matter. ...

My lungs hurt.  I couldn't stop coughing. "Twins-damn it.  You little fiend-blooded bastard."  Mistress Rylah.  I tried to get up before she turned on me.  But I couldn't.  I hacked.  I wheezed. I felt her arm drag me up to the ground.  I tried to stop.  Rylah owned my papers.  I was supposed to be her apprentice, but as far as I had learned, Rylah focused on stealing from people.  She seemed to always have to point out my failures.  Like how my lungs never seemed to work quite right. "Get up."  Rylah hissed.  "People are staring because of you." "Sorry-"  I tried to speak, but after saying the single word, I broke out in more fits of coughing. "I said get up, Kam."  She dragged me into a nearby building.  "You stupid boy.  I put up with your worthless dreck every day." The building was one of the ramshackle husks on the edge of Ghost Street.  I felt Rylah let my body hit the groun...

Many races crossed paths and arrived upon Orphos, not only the Ursyklon.  Known by many different names, the nagaorochi came to Orphos over a hundred thousand years ago.  According to the Sabizi, their own dark god punished them and cast a continent under the sea. To those of the Sundered Star, the Serpent-People's civilization have always provided valuable research for them.  Their alchemy and black science came from the spaces between the stars.  Machines they left behind could cause teleportation or other amazing effects. What is known is that the Nagaorochi were of two separate camps prior to their fall.  One remained loyal to their ancient gods, while others had been swayed and begun to follow the ways of something new.  This new cult promised freedom from the lies of thought and form.  A freedom from the light, born of darkness where no laws could limit them.  Both sects left texts behind, but notably knowledge about the old gods of ...

Here are two addictive substances to be found in Crux, one related to opium, while the other is a bit of a lovecraftian version of DMT... The Burn Aspect: Feel the Burn! Skills: Addiction Good (+3),  Alchemical Effect Good (+3), Wealth Average (+1) First imported from the Jade Lands three centuries ago, the Burn is a purified narcotic and analgesic. Stronger than anything else found in the Maru Sea, Burn proved to be medicinally exceptional, especially for those without access to healing or pain-numbing magic.  But Burn is also highly addictive. Burn's nickname comes from the sensation it causes when used recreationally.  It also refers to the body of one who has overdosed upon it.  An overdose of Burn leaves lesions all over the body. Burn also has another property: it can deaden or quiet a lycanthrope's bestial shapeshifting.  It can't negate it completely, but many lycanthropes find it helps them learn control.  The side effect being that the...

The Saltfolk: The Salaro, or Salish Salira's name echoes from the oldest days of human civilization on Orphos.  Theirs is the land of a hundred gods, a birthplace of ideas, and salt.  For the human tribe the Salaro, its harshness provided them their earliest motivation: exploration of the Maru Sea. A great many words in other human languages have their origin in Salish, the Salaro's language.  They settled the lands that would be Ith before other human tribes had.  Salish can be found from Ainesia to Maliph.  Their travels only helped to spread the name of their ancient gods.  Ancient Salaro myths often are told because of their relevance to numerous historical figures throughout Ith and Ainesia.  In Ainesia they settled the lands of Salira, known for its gods and dragon cults since antiquity. The Salaro claim that they were crafted from the white hard clays of their homeland.  After a great disaster, a man and woman, Salo and Ana, were r...

Once I did blogpost on favorite webcomics of mine.   Well, I didn't get through all that many... so here we are again with another trio of personal favorites. Webcomics are interesting as internet phenomena go: those who make them rarely can live off of them, they tend to go in directions printed comics or newspaper comics won't or can't, and they cost nothing to consume. Its a unappreciated art sometimes.  Just a reminder about webcomics then: if you like one, and you can find a way to get money back to its creator(s), do it.  Always give them a bit of money. Because they most likely have none. Blindsprings : Still relatively new, Blindsprings has a unique art style and a bit of cuteness about it that makes its story feel all the deeper.  The main character appears to have spent her existence in the spirit world, for centuries as a price for someone else.  But then circumstances cause her to go back to her world...

Steamships Like railroads and locomotives , Steamships (or Steamers) are an emerging technology first championed by Othebean non-arcanists.  Steamships have altered commercial shipping in the Maru Sea.  What once had been the domain of sailing vessels changed significantly once Othebean steam vessels replaced the older vessels.  Trade became far more predictable. Ithic boilers, with their arcane high-pressure injectors reduced fears of the explosions from such vessels.  In Ith, explorers and adventurers were quick to adopt the new kind of vessel, daring to take it out into the depths of the ocean.  Such explorers founded the tiny ports of call in South Ocrid, the easternmost islands of the Jade Lands and other places. In the ocean, paddle steamers like those employed in the milder Maru Sea proved ineffective at times.  Ithic artificers developed the screw propeller.  The first of these, the ISS Ichaba , left the docks at Blackcliff and complet...

"There is more to our existence than mere exploitation for blood." Aspect: Justice Burns Hotter Than Fire Invoke When: Using fire magic or when enacting justice against criminals Compel When: witnessing injustice or saving those in danger The Inculti demand a lot of their own.  Unlike other vampires, they do not fear the sun or fire.  The Inculti are masters of fire magic, much like the Patrizo control water or the Visconti master earth magic.  The Inculti preference for civic duty and focus on helping the city over their own self-interests also marks them different from other Vampires.  It beggars one to wonder how or why they were "cursed" to begin with. The Wizardess Inculti was born in Crux long before the Tomasi Empire arose.  Born into a prominent family, she spent most of her life living off her father's wealth and name.  Some tales call her a hedonist; the Inculti claim instead she was the daughter of the Prince himself.  Whatev...

Ours is the Darkness, not the Light.  It is the sacred Darkness, that which we can never understand or know.  Ours is the chaos in the dark, the many free voices unbound by light, unilluminated and unfettered by what can be seen. In that lunacy of the dark, in madness we reign, kings of shadow and nothing.  In the light we would be serfs and slaves to whatever it showed us.  But in the dark, we are free. We serve the Darkness.  We are free.

Finished a fascinating little book the other day on the early part of the Industrial Revolution in the US.   Crux has left me sort of focused on learning more about that period, since it has been an obsession of late.  So much so I tend to write almost nothing but Crux articles.  So let me step back and talk about a book for once.  Reading Materials is where I don't review so much as explain something I've read and enjoyed of late. Let more critical people than me get around to critiquing them. Dawn of Innovation focuses on the industrial revolution before the US Civil War.  It begins with the War of 1812; author Charles H. Morris uses a constant comparison between Great Britain and the US throughout the book.  British engineers focused deep on precision and developed the basis for industry.  So the book asks a question, why did the US blow past Britain in the late 19th century? Morris points to the early end of the 19th century for answers....

Aspect: Every Brick Has a Ghost Connected To: The Skullmount (to the Northwest) , Havershill (North, across the Sleeping Straits), The Wolf Quarter (to the East) , the Grand Bazaar (to the South) , Poorfellows (to the Northeast) , The Blood Quarter (Below It) , Port of Crux (to the Southwest), Most Significant Icon: The Prince Well Known For? Civic center and City Government Notable Sites and Locales: Prince's Square, The Old Wall, Harun's Gate, The Bloody Cliff, City Hall, Ghost Street The "new" wall divides Old Crux from the rest of the city.  Harun's Gate bears ancient bas reliefs of warriors and champions from over two thousand years ago.  Each is a remarkable piece honoring Tomasi Legions from another age.  But this is the new wall of Old Crux.   When you walk the streets, stairs or alleys of Old Crux, each brick is older than the rest of the city.  This is the part of the city known for its curses and legends.  There are statues at corne...

Crux Holidays: Princeday Aspect: The Reds and the Blues Specific to the city of Crux is a holiday named Princeday.  So aptly named after the Prince who founded the city, it is celebrated on the first Strangeday of Ghostwalk.  Over the centuries, the holiday has grown into a vibrant, weeklong celebration.  Unique to the sleeping straits and Crux itself, its traditions echo the cultural mix unique to the city of curses. History Princeday's origins as a holiday are like the Prince: murky.  We don't when the Prince decreed the first celebration of the city's founding, but the story of that first Princeday echoes in the Ancient Tomasi myths of Crux's founding.  Like the myth of the Church of Shraxes, it tells of a desperate noble. Long ago, there was once a island kingdom in the middle of the Deep Sea.  It was called Sitan'la.  In the age from before Ursyklons came, it was the jewel of Orphos.  On that island was a Queen, and her loving son, th...