Finalizing Lore & Art

This past week I've been working on some final revisions on the cosmic chart, which basically acts as the pantheon of Myriad. So - we can talk a bit about that work process instead of game mechanics for a change!

This is the last opportunity I have to make significant changes on how this chart is portrayed. The image above is still a work in progress as a few things get shuffled around and made to be more cohesive. There is a lot at play here and a lot I want to get right for the full impact of this foundational visualization of The Myriad to be executed correctly. The four quadrants need to match up with the skills they are providing for character creation. The ideals expressed within them need to match that larger concept as well. The sign on the opposite side of the chart should also be related and opposed. For example, The Myriad at the top is everything, The Void at the bottom is nothing. Apotheosis is the present moment, while Nostalgia is stuck in the past.

This means if one sign gets changed, another may also need to change. This has had a larger domino effect than I would have liked to deal with, but the end result is much more cohesive and interesting. Some signs were significantly expanded due to the similarities they had with other signs. There were a few that dealt with society's impact on the mind, but they have largely all been rolled into The Emperor. There is enough in there for it to be a religion on its own, including an entire doctrine similar to chivalry represented within the  moons that orbit it.

The biggest thing however has been how 'The Cosmos' is seen broadly across the world. Now that this is the forefront of character creation, it is extremely awkward to try and explain the nuances of how The Capitol / Consulate reject entirely everything represented here. By proxy, that means all populated cities are placed into a similar ideology. So why are you making your character based on a system most of mankind rejects? Well, you shouldn't be. I like the nuance of the varied interpretations of this spiritual system, but it can be a bit confusing when it is the first thing you learn about. Smoothing that out and offering more variety is a big part of the current process. 

This is also important to do now because we are starting to get some concept art done. Getting a fully rendered version of The Cosmos is a priority, so it is the last chance for changes. And the more detail I know about the chart, the better, because I'll have to be explaining it to an artist. On that note, check out some early thumbnail concepts for the Capitol city! I'm really excited to see the final version of this come together! (Modified #4 is being finalized)

Artwork by: https://twitter.com/phscardoso

It feels great after all of this time to have some visuals for this intangible thing that exists only in my brain for the last year. It has also been a lot of fun coordinating references for these pieces to be commissioned with Ashle. There is about 4 pages of documentation and reference images put together for how the capitol should be looking. That is great not just for the artist, but for me as the one running the game who now has a more complete understanding of these topics. There are a few other things I'd like to visually explore, so hopefully there is more to come!

Lore

Next, here is a bit of specific information on the basics.  As these concepts get finalized along with artwork, I'd really like to start putting some effort into organizing it all neatly onto a website to be easily accessible. 

The Cosmos

The Myriad is a cosmic force which binds all things together into one. Those who go insane from reading all make mention of a voice which speaks to them. This is the voice of The Myriad - it is not an intangible thing left up to interpretation. It is a divine force, but it is not worshiped or viewed in a positive light.  It is the great adversary which makes all things in life more difficult. The Myriad is the source of all madness, which only seeks to hinder Humanity. The Cosmic Myths go as far to describe a Great War between Humanity and the Aspects, where several of the Aspects attempted to cleanse the world of sentient species.

Within The Myriad all the celestial bodies of the solar system exist, which represent the major aspects of The Myriad. These can be seen as key defining features of existence. Their orbits influence all things and can be described by some as the 'mood' The Myriad is in. This can be seen in a practical sense within the observable impact of an Eclipse. Even if a character does not believe in any of The Cosmos, they still would have a birth sign based on how the planets were arranged at the time of birth. 

The Void is absence of all things. An emptiness not even The Myriad can inhabit. Previously 'Q-Metal' was used as a form of anti-magic, but this might end up being more about void  from now on to connect these things together.

The Body is the physical. Most directly it deals with nature and things that have always existed.

The Mind is sentience granted by ambitious evolution. The theory of Evolution is a bit different, detailed within the creation myth involving The Progenitor.

The Spirit is the esoteric realm of the occult which exists just outside of plain view. It is the subconscious mind and the madness within. It can be seen as something The Myriad has imprinted within you.

Humanity is the driving force for overcoming the obstacles of The Cosmos. 'Humanity' is also considered the main civilized religion within itself. It is the perspective that the collective force of mankind is its own form of divinity when collaborating on a large scale. Faith and being pious refer to the faith that you are contributing to the whole of society. The power of wealth is this ideology put on display. To not have faith in wealth is to not believe in Humanity. Like the Void, Humanity is seen to oppose The Myriad by those who practice it. The more cooperation there is within Humanity, the more likely The Myriad can be overcome.

So, the Consulate no longer rejects ALL of the cosmos, because there are significant portions of it that they identify with. Things like The Myriad and The Progenitor are also such widely accepted concepts that to deny them is to deny the reality they live in.

With characters selecting birth signs at character creation, I now also like to think of cities and cultures as having birth signs as well.

Progenitor

And here is the current description for The Progenitor. It is a great sign for understanding more about the world of Myriad. I like it as a birth sign because it explains important concepts of the world (creation myth) and also leaves room for further exploration.

The Progenitor represents the physical body of living creatures. The existence of flesh, bone, carapace, or scales. It is believed that all forms of sentient life are evolved forms of vermin that once crawled within Myriad, but aspired to be more. They emerged from this vast underworld and evolved to live on the surface in order to find meaning and purpose. This information is widely accepted and backed even by accomplished scientists and philosophers. However, there are varied interpretations of the implications and specifics.

The cosmic myths suggest that the celestial body that represents the Progenitor has not always been in orbit around Opia. It is believed The Progenitor decided to have leave the world at the end of the Great War and allowed humanity to reclaim their birth place, The Primordial Plane, the vacant underworld known where The Progenitor conceived of basic forms of life. In modern times this dimensional space is used as a landfill for trash.

The act of trying to understand The Myriad is what caused rats to stand up straight and become human, but The Myriad can not be understood by mere vermin. Those who have evolved into sentience live in the agony of their insufficient mind and body. Some wishful thinkers expect another evolutionary leap to take mankind beyond their current limitations. If humanity has risen up from a plane of darkness in the core of the world, who is to say that the vacant void of the solar system is not another chance for ascension? This may seem impossible, but vermin escaping the Primordial Plane would have also seemed that way.

There are also those that think themselves unworthy of their sentience -- or that they never should have left the Primordial Plane in the first place. In acknowledgment of these ideals, they plunge themselves back into the darkness from which their ancestors originated. To others, this is considered a convenient excuse to validate suicide and is heavily looked down upon.

The myth of creation does not go so far to explain where the physical universe came from outside of the Primordial Plane. This ties into the idea that Humanity is still trying to figure this out and openly accepts that they, stupid vermin, don't have the answer yet. Everything else has always existed up until ambitious evolution allowed it to be perceived and contemplated.

Thanks for reading!

If you were already familiar with those concepts, hopefully these descriptions paint a clearer picture! There are also some subtle differences along with more information. Perhaps in the future we can go over some of the other signs, particularly new ones or ones that have changed a significant amount.