[Sorcerer S&S Charnel Gods] As the hands turn...

[Old_Scratch]

I'm currently putting together a S&S setting, but to ease my players into the new game, I'm going to start them off with a Charnel Gods game, which seems to me the best way to introduce my players to Sorcerer (they're less experimental, and they tend to groan initially, but they almost always enjoy themselves in the end...)

So inspired by the Rowan setting, I've set up a new epoch. I'm going to prep some of the stuff here, work my way through it (since this is my first time GMing Sorcerer) and hopefully as the game proceeds update it...

The Theme: Time. Charnel Gods is a world that is always running out of time, and this theme is consciously and unconsciously expressing itself through the inhabitants of the world. The symbol of this theme is the astrological clock in Prague, which can be seen here in this atmospheric but modified photo:

http://www.kevissimo.com/1_Pages/pmca/astroclock_l.htm

The Setting (as emailed to the players)

Opposite the Prince's castle in the city of Praag, overlooking a cobblestone square, stands a massive astrological, clock, gleaming of gold and silver and ebony and ivory, forming the façade of an ancient building, charting the sun, the moon, and the heavens, and some whisper that its blind architect created it to foretell the end of the world. Known as the City of Mysteries, Praag, with its narrow alleys and streets and tall white-washed buildings winding around three hills is home to alchemists, astrologers, philosophers, artists, heretics, and a host of other madmen. It is said that the Prince delights in the wonders created by the court magicians and the automatika fashioned by the artificers while the merchant princes of that fair city plot against the Imperial Court in the distant capital city of Aramantheum.

Aramantheum is at the heart of a crumbling Empire, its fading splendor apparent to all, as beggars and dogs fight over the scraps in the streets. This city has two lords: the first is the Emperor, a man lost in the carnal pleasures particular to the elite and the High Thearch, the First of the Vigil, who rules the kingdom through Sword, faith, and ruthless determination. The heart of his power is the religious bureaucracy at the center of the city in the gilded Hall of Repose. It was this very place that the first Thearch, armed with god's own Sword, began the first watch over the deity deep in slumber in a chamber in the earth. Above the resting place a great fortress-temple was built, a great bell in its bell-tower, to be rung at the end of time to awaken the god to save his people. Faith in the Vigil, as the religion is known, spread throughout the lands under the temporal power of the Emperor and the spiritual power of the Thearchs. The phrase sums up the faith of the Vigil: One God, One Sword; One Priest, One Truth.

Yet in the monasteries on the borders, monks and wandering priests often fell to heresy, murmuring and sometimes proclaiming that there was more than one god and more than one truth. And while the Vigil suppressed such claims with ruthlessness, these heresies persisted, until today, when the others were found. It is said that champions (although others suggest they are villains or infidels instead) have come from the land of the gods, bearing weapons of terrible power. Heresy spreads throughout the lands while the Thearch's gather deep below in the catacombs directing their inquisition.

Far from those torchlit conspiracies is proud Praag. Young nobles duel over honor with rapiers and blackpowder pistol in the city's squares, merchants ply their goods through the city's colorful market places, and scholars hunch over crumbling texts, and strangers arrive, bearing both monstrous truths and weapons. And as the Empire convulses at the impending heresy and civil war, old enemies await within the forests on the borders of the Empire, their inhuman eyes greedily awaiting their time to seethe forth and swallow civilization whole.

The Sorcerers
Those who have recently appeared have been hailed as heroes, heretics, and imposters. All these appellations are wrong. You know: you've been to that nightmarish place where the gods... rest... and you have come back bearing not just the horrible truth, but the power to make the world tremble: the Fell Weapons, the weapons of the gods themselves.

The Fell Weapons
Some say the weapons come from the gods, but now that you hold the blade in your hand, you believe that this weapon has given you the power of the gods... What will you do with this power?

[Paul's Girl]

Whew! I need a cigarette after reading that...

Sounds like a fantastic setting, can't wait to hear how the game goes.

[John Harper]

Wow. Just... wow. What a cool setting.

I may have to steal this for a Charnel Gods game of my own. Or perhaps Paladin...

[hardcoremoose]

Awesome.  I can't think of much else to say just now...except to ask when you guys are playing.  I can't wait.

- Scott

[b_bankhead]

What writeup! Love that freakin' clock too! Fantastic symbol, I can just see it tolling ominously or a symbolicaly apt mannikin come spinning out (or an ominous astrological  pattern) whenever humanity goes down. LOOOVE it!
Hungrily awaitig your writeup of the actual play....

[Matt Machell]

The clock is very cool; I saw it on holiday a few years ago.

You've got some nice conflicts built into the setting, but it seems vague enough to allow plenty of influence from players.

I look forward to hearing more.

-Matt

[Old_Scratch]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm really excited about running Charnel Gods (and Sorcerer) for the first time.

Its getting closer so I've elaborated upon the original description. I'd really like some feedback if anything comes to mind.

What I've done is write the original in bold, followed by comments in italics that expand upon and develop the original idea. I've also added a few crunchy bits where needed. I really focused on two things: the capital and Praag - the rest of the area I'll allow to develop through play.

Opposite the Prince's castle in the city of Praag, overlooking a cobblestone square, stands a massive astrological, clock, gleaming of gold and silver and ebony and ivory, forming the façade of an ancient building, charting the sun, the moon, and the heavens, and some whisper that its blind architect created it to foretell the end of the world.

The square itself is bustling, but nobody is seen within the clock's towering shadow. It is quiet, and as cold, as a grave in the shade of this towering edifice. It is ancient, some say it was constructed even before the castle opposite, by the city's first alchemist and inventor. Some say that the wizened old man who cares for the clock is its inventor, but the learned scoff at such an absurd superstition.

[Anyone with Lore can look at the clock and its various positions of the constellations and celestial bodies to determine the general welfare of the epoch as depicted in the lowest humanity of any of the Sorcerers. The test is Lore (or an appropriate Livelihood, Cover, Past, Origin, such as Astrologer) against the lowest humanity of the Sorcerer).]

Known as the City of Mysteries, Praag whose narrow alleys and streets and tall white-washed buildings wind around three hills is home to alchemists, astrologers, philosophers, artists, heretics, and a host of other madmen.

Far from the ideology and religious dogmatism of the capital, this area has long been a beacon to those with different ideas. The mineral wealth from the nearby region has provided the city with the wealth and power to attract both wise and foolish men and women alike. Those in the city argue that it is the most learned place in the world, while those in the capital whisper that it is a court full of madmen, charlatans, heretics, and fools who would try to touch the stars.

[Typically in Charnel Gods the only magic are the Fell Weapons, but for this setting, to reflect the wonders of the age, Alchemists can concoct potions that may provide a demon-like effect for a short period, followed by potentially lethal effects! Likewise, at moments of great celestial significance, many of the astronomers and astrologists may have the opportunity to experience a Hint with potentially mind- and life-damaging experiences]

It is said that the Prince delights in the wonders created by the court magicians and the automatika fashioned by the artificers while the merchant princes of that fair city plot against the Imperial Court in the distant capital city of Aramantheum.

The Prince of Praag is himself reputed to be a wise scholar with an interest in the Arcanica and Automatika that has become fashionable in the court. Little clockwork toys and machines are delights that thrill the citizens, but it is rumored that much larger and shocking machines are being built in workshops, such as machines that mock human speech and thought.

[Prince Jaromir is a man of great power and import and ably assisted by a number of ministers and advsors, although is own knowledge is quite astounding: Sta - 2 (Hale but elderly) Will - 4 (Keen mind) Lore (Alchemical Wisdom) - 4 Livelihood - Prince and Alchemist 6 Humanity – 3. His most recent interest has been in the clockwork machines that he has been funding. Others have worked on golems and impish lifeforms grown in vats, but there's been no apparent successes to date, although a number of malformed fetus like creatures have been found floating in the sewers]

[Judd]

Old Scratch, it is fantastic to see you putting your own game on the table.  I look forward to hearing about the outcomes.  Your descriptors helped make my last month of gaming fantastic and I'm excited to see you put that creativity to work.

The optional rules you have, based on the setting are fantastic.  Let us know how it plays for you.

[Old_Scratch]

Aramantheum is at the heart of a crumbling Empire, its fading splendor apparent to all, as beggars and dogs fight over the scraps in the streets.

It is said to have lived in Aramantheum is to have lived as both a saint and a sinner. It is the most sacred and profane of places in the world. It is here where the god lies sleeping, but also a place where the living are sold as slaves in cellar meat-markets. It is the world's spiritual center, and the sounds of chanting and the smells of incense waft from temples, yet it is also the world's political center, and people are tortured and murdered with a nod and towns burnt to the ground with the pounding of a stamp in wax.

This city has two lords: the first is the Emperor, a man lost in the carnal pleasures particular to the elite...

The first Emperor was a warlord who was converted to the teachings by the First Thearch and since that time the Emperor has always ruled the Empire under the divine guidance of the High Thearch. At times the Emperor and the Thearchs have been at odds, but as the Thearch's control the bureaucracy they have gained better control over the Empire as it has sprawled ever larger. The current Emperor Vultarin is one of the few latter Emperors to have led armies in the field, but his old injuries have led him to become dependent on drugs. The drugs have altered his personality and his desires and his notorious appetites have brought the court to new depths of depravity.

[Emperor Vultarin Sta - 2 (Old injuries) Will - 2 (Drug Addled) Livelihood: Rule with an Iron Fist: 4 Humanity - 2]

...and the High Thearch, the First of the Vigil, who rules the kingdom through Sword, faith, and ruthless determination.

The current High Thearch Borivoj has become unhinged, swinging wildly between fanatical and depressed, it is said his sleep is deeply troubled. Countless nights he has awoken in screams, only to cry out for his assistants, who spent the rest of the night sending out frenzied missives to far-flung monasteries and retreats or searching ancient and moldering volumes for a phrase the High Thearch is seeking.

[High Thearch Borivoj Sta - 3 (Driven by fear and adrenaline) Will - 4 (Complete devotion to his Faith) Lore - 5 (The Inner Truths of Vigil Doctrine and Mind-Shattering Dreams of the Apocalypse) Humanity – 2]

The heart of his power is the religious bureaucracy at the center of the city in the gilded Hall of Repose.

The Hall of Repose is a massive cathedral housing the church bureaucracy as well as its most sacred texts. Its towers are the tallest in the world, and its grounds occupy a considerable portion of the city. It is truly a marvel of architecture and design, and the greatest art of the world is housed within. It is said that the place was designed by the First Thearch and that nothing has been added beyond his original plan.

[The First Thearch designed the Hall of Repose with a specific purpose – to control the Fell Weapons and he used all his considerable occult knowledge to imbue the locale with this power. All rituals carried out at this locale have a +1 die bonus in the Sorcerer's favor, except for Contain which receives a +2 dice bonus.]

It was this very place that the first Thearch, armed with god's own Sword...

The First Thearch was a mighty warrior who wandered into the Charnel Fields and came back with the first Fell-blade in this epoch. The experience opened a thousand doors in his mind and occult knowledge never seen before or after in this epoch was his. However, he discovered that he had the power to end the world within his hands, and surrendered that power and locked the Fell Blade away for the sake of Humanity. The First Thearch is revered and his prodigious writings and warnings form the foundation of the religion he created: the Vigil (also known as the Faith).

[The First Sword: Tesnohledek, Fell-weapon Sword, Tell-tale: Blade (and its wielder) shimmer with an intense inner light. Other attributes: ??? Any ideas folks?]

...began the first watch over the deity deep in slumber in a chamber in the earth.

The First Thearch, armed with the Sword, became aware of a god's body within this world, buried deep within the ground. The Hall of Repose was constructed over the divinity and today the body still lies there. The First Thearch could never be certain if the being is still alive, but the followers of the First Thearch are convinced that the god is still alive.

Above the resting place a great fortress-temple was built, a great bell in its bell-tower, to be rung at the end of time to awaken the god to save his people.

The name of the religion, the Vigil, reflects their waiting over the god for its time to awaken. A small sacred cadre tends to the colossal god's needs, lighting candles within the giant chamber and watching intently for the god to awaken. It is believed that at the Vigil's greatest need, the bell above will awaken the god below to come to their needs. The common folk though have been told that the bell will ring to announce the awakening of the god. In truth, the bell will only ring at the end of the world, when a Sorcerer ascends to the Charnel God.

Faith in the Vigil, as the religion is known, spread throughout the lands under the temporal power of the Emperor and the spiritual power of the Thearchs.

The Empire exists to spread the influence and reach of the Vigil so that they can carry out their secret project. A portion of the Imperial bureaucracy is filled with priests of the Vigil, and many of the finest Imperial soldiers are invited to serve in the Vigil Militant, the Faith's martial order and the most respected military group in the world.

The phrase sums up the faith of the Vigil: One God, One Sword; One Priest, One Truth.

Nearly everyone with the Empire is a follower of the Vigil, awaiting for their god's awakening. However, the Vigil has another purpose, one unknown to all but a handful: they are to remain vigilant for the appearance of other Fell-weapons that may appear in the world. A small handful of sub-sects exist purely for this purpose, the most notorious being the Invigilators, the elite of the Inquisition. The entire Faith exists to support the efforts of this small group.

[All the Thearch's and their most trusted advisors have studied the secret writings of the First Thearch and have some knowledge of the Fell-weapons, and thus they all have a Lore skill. All the Invigilators within the Inquisition have Lore skills and are knowledgeable of the Contain ritual.]

[Nev the Deranged]

I swear, every Charnel Gods campaign I read here is cooler than the last one.

You are going to add this to the spiffy new CG database, right?

Does the clock have one of those nifty occult orrery setups in it, like Aughra's observatory in The Dark Crystal?

Good background for this might be J. Gregory Keyes' Age of Unreason series,  the Avigon graphic novel by Che Gilson, and maybe to a lesser extent, Mark Oakley's Thieves and Kings.

Keep us posted, I have a feeling this one's gonna knock some socks off.

[hardcoremoose]

Yeah, once you've run this (and I can't wait to read about it), it should definitely go up at the Resource sit.

Tesnohledek sounds great.  

- Scott

[Old_Scratch]

You are going to add this to the spiffy new CG database, right?

Does the clock have one of those nifty occult orrery setups in it, like Aughra's observatory in The Dark Crystal?

Good background for this might be J. Gregory Keyes' Age of Unreason series,  the Avigon graphic novel by Che Gilson, and maybe to a lesser extent, Mark Oakley's Thieves and Kings.

Thanks for the references. Yeah, I figure I'll add this one to the Charnel Gods database. I love designing worlds, and Charnel Gods gives me the perfect excuse to make dozens of them, yet not invest too much time in them due to the inevitable...

And yes, the Astrological Clock is one giant orrey setup! And the real one is pretty cool looking.

[DannyK]

Wow, that's awesome how you laid a whole 'nother layer of tension onto what was already a cool setup.  Vultairen and the Thearch are great NPC's.

The thing I'm wondering is... how are you going to have the setting react to the advent of a whole bunch of player-character types, each with their own Fell Weapon?  It sounds like you'll have a religious war, P.D.Q.

[Old_Scratch]

Yet in the monasteries on the borders, monks and wandering priests often fell to heresy, murmuring and sometimes proclaiming that there was more than one god and more than one truth.

The Vigil has rigidly adhered to its doctrine, yet as the end of the epoch nears, their efforts become more frantic. Those who cross over into the Charnel Fields discover that there is more than one god, and yet realizes the very fate of the gods. The very existence of dead gods challenges the Vigil and suggests that god beneath the Hall of Repose may very well be naught but a bloated corpse. The appearance of other Fell-weapons calls into question the truth of the doctrine: One God, One Sword; One Priest, One Truth. It is in the distant monasteries that other truths appear. While the Order of the Sword Monks may still be loyal to the Thearchs and bolster their troops with their own formidable and accomplished monks, other orders that explore the metaphysical have veered from the dogma of the center.

[Typical Sword-Monk Sta - 4 (Body Forged in the Fires of Religious Doctrine) Will - 3 (Their Will is the Thearch's Will) Past - 4 (Paragon of Flashing Blade Artistry - when armed with a sword, their training increases their Past by +1) Appearance: Steel Vambraces and Greaves with which they parry weapons and flowing brown robes and an intricate surcoat that details their level of training]

And while the Vigil suppressed such claims with ruthlessness, these heresies persisted, until today, when the others were found.

In the past the Order Inquisitor and the Order Vigilant were able to suppress word of other Fell-weapons and to even ritually contain a few, but rumors abound that a number of other Fell-weapons have been appearing throughout the Empire and beyond its borders. Many dream of a single sword, contained deep within the earth, that beckons to them to draw it and seize the power that the First Thearch rejected.

[Order Inquisitor Sta - 3 (The Gaunt Aspect of Death) Will - 4 (Hell Hath No Greater Foe) Past - 4 (Rapist of the Mind and Soul) If an Invigilator: Lore - 1 (Inklings of the Apocalypse - if used for the Contain ritual their skill rises to their Will) Appearance - Black tunic, trousers, vest, and great coat as well as a wide-brimmed hat and a whip for Special Attack - Non-lethal) A black case containing instruments of suffering.

Knight of the Order Vigilant Sta - 4 (Battle-hardened) Will - 3 (Zealous Defender of the Faith) Past - 4 (Knight Templar) Appearance - Typically wearing black and red colors and a steel breastplate (As per Armor) and carrying a Greatsword if on foot, a Longsword if mounted]

It is said that champions (although others whisper they are villains or infidels) have come from the land of the gods, bearing weapons of terrible power.

Enter the player-characters (and possibly their rivals).

And there heresy spreads throughout the lands, while the Thearch's gather deep below in the catacombs directing their inquisition.

Ultimately the means of the Theocrats is at odds with their desires – they want to save the humanity but will risk their own in their desire to destroy the Fell-weapons and maintain the doctrine of their faith. Even as the fabric of the Empire crumbles, Inquisitors and Knights Vigilant ride forth throughout the lands, bearing swords and instruments of torture, leaving terror and broken bodies in their wake.

[Old_Scratch]

Wow, that's awesome how you laid a whole 'nother layer of tension onto what was already a cool setup.  Vultairen and the Thearch are great NPC's.

The thing I'm wondering is... how are you going to have the setting react to the advent of a whole bunch of player-character types, each with their own Fell Weapon?  It sounds like you'll have a religious war, P.D.Q.

Well, I plan on having the religious war brewing in the background, but much of it depends on player input. Its likely, although by no means certain, that the characters may end up in Praag early on and thus get involved in the political intrigue and machinations of the Merchant Princes. I'd personally like to see one of these Mechant Princes fall afoul of one of the PCs and have his political and mercantile empire come to a crash and thus shaking up the politics of Praag.

I'm intending through the bangs of setting up the political intrigue early - keeping the religious turmoil simmering until someone gets close to Zero Humanity - as that happens, the religious zealots become more aggressive in their desperation (with their increasing brutality rising as the humanity in the epoch declines). So later on I'll bang them with more religious intrigue but early on it'll be political. Perhaps if I can get a couple of the PCs to each join up with rival Merchant Princes... hmmm...