Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

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Czernobog
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Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by Czernobog »

Seeing aas TSW seems to have declined in activity, I figured I could suggest this again.

So, here goes...

The World of Allaria

Before time began, there was only the Void and Chaos. Then came Aesasris, the Creator. First, he made the gods, taking pieces out of His essence and forging them into life. Then, he ordered the gods to make the innumerable stars in the night sky, and they did so.

Then, he created the sun and set one god up to reign over it. The moon was also created at this time, and a godess was set to reign over it. Then, he declared thus.

'I am alone. Even though I have gods in the sky, and their servants alongside them, I am alone, for they are forged of my essence and as one to myself.'

Then, he bade the gods create the animals and plants, and they did so. They forged a world upon which they would be able to exist, and thus created man and all the beasts. Then, Aesasris saw his work, and he thought it good, breathing the essence of thought into the highest creatures.

But evil lurked. Utiolth, the god to whom authority was given over the passing of life, fell into darkness, for he was the first god, and the greatest, and desired to have dominion over all existence. So he opened the gates of madness, ripped the thin veil of sanity and unleashed upon the world the Eternal Ones.

War was fought; and it was the first war, and it grieved Aesasris greatly to see his creations fighting and dying against such an unstoppable foe. So, with a single movement, he raised the barrier again and defeated the Eternal Ones, before retiring from his creation.

But the barrier between our realm and theirs had been weakened, and it is only a matter of time before it breaks again...
- Writings of Allana Elnorian.
Last edited by Czernobog on Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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speaker-to-trolls
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Re: Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by speaker-to-trolls »

To be honest I don't think this will attract a lot attention, high fantasy stuff has the disadvantage here of appearing both less familiar and more restrictive than stuff with more links to the real world like TSW and Comix. In those two you can do a lot with the factions and characters whilst still grounding them in references to the real world, they don't need to be realistic, they can just be related to real mythology, history, politics and so on. High fantasy stuff like the world your blurb would suggest does not have this possibility and tends to fit into a certain number of patterns in peoples minds which seem restrictive (feudalism, questing, DnD adventurism and the Neverending Battle Twixt Good and Evil, for instance, that's without even mentioning words like 'elf').
That's a theory, anyway, anyone else correct me if it's nonsense. I am aware that it is entirely possible to have interesting ways of doing high fantasy, it's just that from what I've seen a lot of the genre is and is seen as kind of calcified.

However, that's not to say it categorically will not go anywhere, it could end up a very good collaborative effort. I think you need a more creative premise, though, the one you've got at the moment is a very common fantasy one which I see as a blend of watered down paganism with watered down Christianity: You have one God and one Ultimate Evil so you can do that cosmic clash thing, then you have a vague collection of lesser gods so you can have an exotic polytheist atmosphere and maybe Hellenic style divine rivalry when you want that. Some see that as the best of both worlds, I see it as annoying and overused. Opinions here may differ.
'I am alone. Even though I have gods in the sky, and their servants alongside them, I am alone, for they are forged of my essence and are alike to me.'
What does this mean? If 'alike to me' means 'like me' then it makes no sense because he has other creatures like him so is not alone. It could make sense if it means 'like a part of me', but that isn't what the phrase you've used suggests, 'forged of my essence and as one to myself' or something similar might get the impression across better.
"Little monuments may be completed by their first architects, but great ones; true ones leave their copestones to posterity. God keep me from completing anything."
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Czernobog
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Re: Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by Czernobog »

speaker-to-trolls wrote:To be honest I don't think this will attract a lot attention, high fantasy stuff has the disadvantage here of appearing both less familiar and more restrictive than stuff with more links to the real world like TSW and Comix. In those two you can do a lot with the factions and characters whilst still grounding them in references to the real world, they don't need to be realistic, they can just be related to real mythology, history, politics and so on. High fantasy stuff like the world your blurb would suggest does not have this possibility and tends to fit into a certain number of patterns in peoples minds which seem restrictive (feudalism, questing, DnD adventurism and the Neverending Battle Twixt Good and Evil, for instance, that's without even mentioning words like 'elf').
That's a theory, anyway, anyone else correct me if it's nonsense. I am aware that it is entirely possible to have interesting ways of doing high fantasy, it's just that from what I've seen a lot of the genre is and is seen as kind of calcified.
Hmm...any interesting ideas? I was somewhat starved of ideas when I thought of this and now it shows...
However, that's not to say it categorically will not go anywhere, it could end up a very good collaborative effort. I think you need a more creative premise, though, the one you've got at the moment is a very common fantasy one which I see as a blend of watered down paganism with watered down Christianity: You have one God and one Ultimate Evil so you can do that cosmic clash thing, then you have a vague collection of lesser gods so you can have an exotic polytheist atmosphere and maybe Hellenic style divine rivalry when you want that. Some see that as the best of both worlds, I see it as annoying and overused. Opinions here may differ.
Any better ideas for a premise? I was trying to make it somewhat generic as something to start out with, but looking back it might not have been the best idea.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Heretic
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Re: Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by Heretic »

I know this should hasn't been posting, but I'm a bit interested in a collaborative (despise Secret Santa though). What are the limits concerning this fantasy world?
Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
-Joseph Campbell
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Czernobog
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Re: Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by Czernobog »

Heretic wrote:I know this should hasn't been posting, but I'm a bit interested in a collaborative (despise Secret Santa though). What are the limits concerning this fantasy world?
It has to be high fantasy in some way,
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Heretic
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Re: Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by Heretic »

Erm, so what do we make? Polities, institutions, groups of individuals, or even single people?
Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
-Joseph Campbell
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Czernobog
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Re: Collaborative Fantasy Universe Mark 2.0

Post by Czernobog »

Heretic wrote:Erm, so what do we make? Polities, institutions, groups of individuals, or even single people?
Anything you want.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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