Warscale 36 - Back to the design table
by Guimo · 03/30/2009 (9:39 pm) · 0 comments
Hi everybody!
I havent logged for a long time so I guess its a good time. I was starting to create the equipment which will be used in Warscale and suddenly noticed how weak was my magic system. Not as a technical thing but on a logical level. I mean, Magic The Gathering has its 5 elements, Diablo has Fire, Electricity, Poison and Cold, and heaps of games have the clasical Fire/Water/Air/Earth thing. So I wanted a setup which may be interesting and came to the following. I really hope you have the patience to read through and give your comments. Some of you will notice elements from different games and its true but I think I have also added enough of my own to make it a nice setup.
THis is just Work in progress but I wait for your comments!
Luck on your projects!
Guimo
1. Introduction
Warscale is a turn based game with resemblances to different rulesets like Magic The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons and Warcraft. The game is played in an 11x11 game board (tiled) which contains 5 power points, one in the middle and one in the center of each side.
The objective of the game is creating an army or a character powerful enough to defeat any other player avatar by placing a unit in each of the 5 power points or by dealing the opposing avatar enough damage to kill him (usually 100 points).
2. The World
The game takes place in the mythical world of Aymar. This is a place where the 5 elements, Fire, Life, Death, Water and Air have combined in a point in space and formed a material plane filled with a new seudoelement called Earth.
The world of Aymar is located in the centre of a bubble-like sphere which is mostly filled with Air and contains Aymar and other 5 planetoids (and its moons) which the habitants of Aymar commonly call The Planes. The 5 planes rotate around Aymar with orbits that never cross but which sometimes bring them close enough with devastating consequences. Four of the planes are visible from Aymar, the last one is invisible as is mostly ethereal.
Outside of the empty bubble is a space filled with a material called dark sea which is a cold black substance with fluid characteristics like a transparent dense air but unbreathable as it is completely saturated with water. This fluid is extremely combustible and some areas of it have been burning for a long time. Those gigantic bonfires can be seen from Aymar and are called stars. Sages believe Aymar was created when this matter condensed in a single point.
This matter is not devoid of life however. There are creatures which swim on this element like giant fish and the sailors of the dark waters which have arrived to Aymar from other spheres have told tales about creatures which fly on this space with cities and mountains on their backs and monsters able to devour worlds.
2.1. The Elements
Inhabitants of the world of Aymar consider there are five elements which are the base of the entire universe: Air, Water, Fire, Life and Death. These elements combine in a homogeneous soup which fills the entire universe called the dark matter (or also known as dark sea). This soup is constant in density except in some pockets where one of the elements takes a stronger presence and fills an area with more intensity forming an element bubble called Sphere. Even when those spheres are mainly composed of a single element, it is common to find inside them other elements which have condensed forming a seudo element core.
That is the case of stars which are mainly balls of Fire but the other elements gather and form a nuclei of plasma. We know little of this spheres except that creatures made of fire inhabits there.
In the case of Aymar, once the Air element separated, the remaining elements condensed in a new element called Earth which is formed of Fire, Water, Life and Death. Creatures come from Earth and return to Earth when they die and fire comes out from volcanoes and water from fountains and air is all around. Life, as we are used, thrives here.
When Water creates a sphere the other elements usually concentrate into a core of ice. In those spheres, large creatures like giant fish grow whose size can be only be compared to the size of a Kraken. Those creatures sometimes leave the sphere and wade into the dark sea.
When Life concentrates into a Sphere, it fills a space full of light and life. Life Spheres have cores made of a very dense metal with very strong gravitational pull of hundreds of times the one of Aymar. Ou may think life cannot grow in this place but it does as life power is greatly enhanced even in the smallest grain of dust. In this spheres the creatures have enhanced senses, and have size and strength way beyond a normal creature with lifespans like the stars. Those beings sometimes leave the sphere and reach other places where they are considered gods.
When Death concentrates it forms an empty space, a vacuum. Anything is allowed to come in but nothing, not even light, comes out. Some sages call those spheres Dark Holes. No one knows if there is life in those spheres but there should be... maybe small as a grain of salt but surely there should be life somehow and if there is, it must be very powerful in order to survive those harsh conditions.
No matter which element forms them, in those spheres Live and Death thrives in strange and bizarre forms. We may think a sun is void of life but some creatures call that sphere home. Those are creatures made of fire and feel fine in that fiery environment the same way we feel fine in our world full of Air. The same happens in other spheres. We haven’t seen anything come out of the world of death but some sailors claim they have seen some creatures which wander the dark sea devouring worlds. Of course those are just drunken sailor tales and cannot be considered a faithful source.
2.2 Planes
In the beginning all was filled with dark water formed by the elements blended together. But, the same way Fire ignites forming Fire spheres we call stars which contains a plasma nucleus, in the Sphere or Aymar, Air separated from the other elements in one point forming a bubble with the remaining elements concentrating in a new combined element called Earth. This element is the base element which forms the central world of Aymar, the four planes and their respective moons which are contained in this sphere.
Aymar is located in the centre of the bubble. It is a place where all the elements combine gracefully and with great balance. It usually has a temperate weather but in some occasions, when the planes align, great storms raze the world destroying everything on an area.
There are 5 planes which rotate around Aymar. Four of those planes are visible and one is not. Each of those planes contributes to the balance of the sphere.
Nakhan, also known as the Hell World, is a place where fire creatures inhabit. It’s a world with a dense atmosphere, high temperatures and fiery volcanoes. In this world inhabits creatures that exude fire and in other placed may be called demons. Salamanders, fire wolves, hell hounds and demons and balrogs all belong to this world. Nakhan is a place where only the fierce and strong survive.
Alir, the Hunting Grounds is a place of life. Vegetation grows uncontrolled in extense rainforests. and powerful beasts roam the land. It’s a place of beauty and danger. This is the place for cunning hunters and agile depredators. Dire versions of all the animals run free in this land.
Makha, the Barren Lands it’s a world of death. Vampires are lords in this realms and plot against each other by using their cunning Wraiths as spies, Liches study dark magic describing the most abhorrent perversions and hordes of armies of zombies and skeletons battle for the glory of their masters under the command of powerful Skeleton Warriors. In this land blood is currency and a living being is considered a delicacy spared only for the vampiric nobility.
Lamara, the Blue Sea is a world covered in water. Life can be found here in the form of powerful creatures. This is the place of the kraken and the leviathan. These creatures might resemble a common squid or a whale in Aymar but in Lamara they are wise and keeper of remote secrets which makes them powerful magicians and awesome counsellors.
Finally, there is a world invisible to the commoners but of whom the most powerful mages are completely aware of. Thaya, the Cloud City, is a world hidden in clouds where ethereal creatures like angels inhabit. Some may dare to compare it to heaven but they would be completely wrong. There are mischievous creatures like Invisible Stalkers and Djinns ready to trick the poor wizards who are fool enough to invoke them. Creatures in this world usually are able to fly and considering all the sphere is full of air they are free to go anywhere they wish and the fact they are naturally ethereal or mostly ethereal just makes them harder to detect.
2.3 The people of Aymar
People of Aymar consider the 5 elements as the concentration of traits. Fire gives passion which leads to anger and fierce love. Life gives lifeforce which leads to longer lifetime and strength and vitality. Death gives power and desire above wellbeing which may lead to grand but evil things. Water gives tranquillity to focus your thoughts and cultivate knowledge and willpower. Air gives curiosity and desire to explore and keep searching. When a new creature is born it is said that the amount of those elements on its soul dictates its shape and behaviour.
People is normally balanced but some people will have an imbalance of one of those elements leading to sages, rulers, traitors, healers, assassins, warriors, and all other personalities. When a trait is heavily biased a new races form like the Elves who cherish life and nature, the Goblins which are inmoral, cunning and deadly, the Orcs who love war and death, the Dwarves who shape the Earth and build awesome structures, the intelligent Merman with its charm and unstoppable willpower, the Ghouls who love death and destruction, or the ever wandering Minoi men who know how to sail a boat, tell a tale, sing a song, play an instrument and crush any head who dares to mock on their bull-like appearance.
2.4 The Migration of the Soul
There is one thing sages still can’t understand and that is called the Migration of the Soul. This phenomenon occurs when a creature in Aymar dies; its soul is reincarnated into another creature in one of the other Planes depending on his actions. So a Warlord is probable to reincarnate into a creature of Nakhan the Hell World and an Elf will go to Alir (the Hunting Grounds). Assassins will probably reincarnate into Makha, the Barren Lands and Sages and Wizards will go to Lamara, the Blue Sea.
We know about the migration because there have been cases when the souls contact people at Aymar and ask favors in change of some tasks. Those tasks are usually related to fixing some mistake or finishing a revenge the creature had with someone on Aymar.
One interesting thing is that creatures reach those planes in a simple form and usually in their previous shape. Like a human reaching Lamara will be able to swim and won’t drown. But the sould will slowly mutate with the pass of the years, they will develop gills or wings.
The strangest thing happens when they reach Makha, they reach as warm blood creatures and in comsequence they are constantly hunted by undeads who search them to take them to their vampire masters in order to get some favour. These souls learn to hide and sometimes stay ‘alive’ for many years but the dark, eerie place slowly turns them into crazy wandering souls.
No matter where the go, people who reach this plane of existence will usually receive a large life span measured in centuries, not in years. But that doesn’t mean they are immortal, they can die and if they do their souls, if not claimed again by the same plane (or in rare occasions by other plane), vanish forever. Where they vanish is a mystery the wizards call The Mystery of the Souls.
I havent logged for a long time so I guess its a good time. I was starting to create the equipment which will be used in Warscale and suddenly noticed how weak was my magic system. Not as a technical thing but on a logical level. I mean, Magic The Gathering has its 5 elements, Diablo has Fire, Electricity, Poison and Cold, and heaps of games have the clasical Fire/Water/Air/Earth thing. So I wanted a setup which may be interesting and came to the following. I really hope you have the patience to read through and give your comments. Some of you will notice elements from different games and its true but I think I have also added enough of my own to make it a nice setup.
THis is just Work in progress but I wait for your comments!
Luck on your projects!
Guimo
1. Introduction
Warscale is a turn based game with resemblances to different rulesets like Magic The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons and Warcraft. The game is played in an 11x11 game board (tiled) which contains 5 power points, one in the middle and one in the center of each side.
The objective of the game is creating an army or a character powerful enough to defeat any other player avatar by placing a unit in each of the 5 power points or by dealing the opposing avatar enough damage to kill him (usually 100 points).
2. The World
The game takes place in the mythical world of Aymar. This is a place where the 5 elements, Fire, Life, Death, Water and Air have combined in a point in space and formed a material plane filled with a new seudoelement called Earth.
The world of Aymar is located in the centre of a bubble-like sphere which is mostly filled with Air and contains Aymar and other 5 planetoids (and its moons) which the habitants of Aymar commonly call The Planes. The 5 planes rotate around Aymar with orbits that never cross but which sometimes bring them close enough with devastating consequences. Four of the planes are visible from Aymar, the last one is invisible as is mostly ethereal.
Outside of the empty bubble is a space filled with a material called dark sea which is a cold black substance with fluid characteristics like a transparent dense air but unbreathable as it is completely saturated with water. This fluid is extremely combustible and some areas of it have been burning for a long time. Those gigantic bonfires can be seen from Aymar and are called stars. Sages believe Aymar was created when this matter condensed in a single point.
This matter is not devoid of life however. There are creatures which swim on this element like giant fish and the sailors of the dark waters which have arrived to Aymar from other spheres have told tales about creatures which fly on this space with cities and mountains on their backs and monsters able to devour worlds.
2.1. The Elements
Inhabitants of the world of Aymar consider there are five elements which are the base of the entire universe: Air, Water, Fire, Life and Death. These elements combine in a homogeneous soup which fills the entire universe called the dark matter (or also known as dark sea). This soup is constant in density except in some pockets where one of the elements takes a stronger presence and fills an area with more intensity forming an element bubble called Sphere. Even when those spheres are mainly composed of a single element, it is common to find inside them other elements which have condensed forming a seudo element core.
That is the case of stars which are mainly balls of Fire but the other elements gather and form a nuclei of plasma. We know little of this spheres except that creatures made of fire inhabits there.
In the case of Aymar, once the Air element separated, the remaining elements condensed in a new element called Earth which is formed of Fire, Water, Life and Death. Creatures come from Earth and return to Earth when they die and fire comes out from volcanoes and water from fountains and air is all around. Life, as we are used, thrives here.
When Water creates a sphere the other elements usually concentrate into a core of ice. In those spheres, large creatures like giant fish grow whose size can be only be compared to the size of a Kraken. Those creatures sometimes leave the sphere and wade into the dark sea.
When Life concentrates into a Sphere, it fills a space full of light and life. Life Spheres have cores made of a very dense metal with very strong gravitational pull of hundreds of times the one of Aymar. Ou may think life cannot grow in this place but it does as life power is greatly enhanced even in the smallest grain of dust. In this spheres the creatures have enhanced senses, and have size and strength way beyond a normal creature with lifespans like the stars. Those beings sometimes leave the sphere and reach other places where they are considered gods.
When Death concentrates it forms an empty space, a vacuum. Anything is allowed to come in but nothing, not even light, comes out. Some sages call those spheres Dark Holes. No one knows if there is life in those spheres but there should be... maybe small as a grain of salt but surely there should be life somehow and if there is, it must be very powerful in order to survive those harsh conditions.
No matter which element forms them, in those spheres Live and Death thrives in strange and bizarre forms. We may think a sun is void of life but some creatures call that sphere home. Those are creatures made of fire and feel fine in that fiery environment the same way we feel fine in our world full of Air. The same happens in other spheres. We haven’t seen anything come out of the world of death but some sailors claim they have seen some creatures which wander the dark sea devouring worlds. Of course those are just drunken sailor tales and cannot be considered a faithful source.
2.2 Planes
In the beginning all was filled with dark water formed by the elements blended together. But, the same way Fire ignites forming Fire spheres we call stars which contains a plasma nucleus, in the Sphere or Aymar, Air separated from the other elements in one point forming a bubble with the remaining elements concentrating in a new combined element called Earth. This element is the base element which forms the central world of Aymar, the four planes and their respective moons which are contained in this sphere.
Aymar is located in the centre of the bubble. It is a place where all the elements combine gracefully and with great balance. It usually has a temperate weather but in some occasions, when the planes align, great storms raze the world destroying everything on an area.
There are 5 planes which rotate around Aymar. Four of those planes are visible and one is not. Each of those planes contributes to the balance of the sphere.
Nakhan, also known as the Hell World, is a place where fire creatures inhabit. It’s a world with a dense atmosphere, high temperatures and fiery volcanoes. In this world inhabits creatures that exude fire and in other placed may be called demons. Salamanders, fire wolves, hell hounds and demons and balrogs all belong to this world. Nakhan is a place where only the fierce and strong survive.
Alir, the Hunting Grounds is a place of life. Vegetation grows uncontrolled in extense rainforests. and powerful beasts roam the land. It’s a place of beauty and danger. This is the place for cunning hunters and agile depredators. Dire versions of all the animals run free in this land.
Makha, the Barren Lands it’s a world of death. Vampires are lords in this realms and plot against each other by using their cunning Wraiths as spies, Liches study dark magic describing the most abhorrent perversions and hordes of armies of zombies and skeletons battle for the glory of their masters under the command of powerful Skeleton Warriors. In this land blood is currency and a living being is considered a delicacy spared only for the vampiric nobility.
Lamara, the Blue Sea is a world covered in water. Life can be found here in the form of powerful creatures. This is the place of the kraken and the leviathan. These creatures might resemble a common squid or a whale in Aymar but in Lamara they are wise and keeper of remote secrets which makes them powerful magicians and awesome counsellors.
Finally, there is a world invisible to the commoners but of whom the most powerful mages are completely aware of. Thaya, the Cloud City, is a world hidden in clouds where ethereal creatures like angels inhabit. Some may dare to compare it to heaven but they would be completely wrong. There are mischievous creatures like Invisible Stalkers and Djinns ready to trick the poor wizards who are fool enough to invoke them. Creatures in this world usually are able to fly and considering all the sphere is full of air they are free to go anywhere they wish and the fact they are naturally ethereal or mostly ethereal just makes them harder to detect.
2.3 The people of Aymar
People of Aymar consider the 5 elements as the concentration of traits. Fire gives passion which leads to anger and fierce love. Life gives lifeforce which leads to longer lifetime and strength and vitality. Death gives power and desire above wellbeing which may lead to grand but evil things. Water gives tranquillity to focus your thoughts and cultivate knowledge and willpower. Air gives curiosity and desire to explore and keep searching. When a new creature is born it is said that the amount of those elements on its soul dictates its shape and behaviour.
People is normally balanced but some people will have an imbalance of one of those elements leading to sages, rulers, traitors, healers, assassins, warriors, and all other personalities. When a trait is heavily biased a new races form like the Elves who cherish life and nature, the Goblins which are inmoral, cunning and deadly, the Orcs who love war and death, the Dwarves who shape the Earth and build awesome structures, the intelligent Merman with its charm and unstoppable willpower, the Ghouls who love death and destruction, or the ever wandering Minoi men who know how to sail a boat, tell a tale, sing a song, play an instrument and crush any head who dares to mock on their bull-like appearance.
2.4 The Migration of the Soul
There is one thing sages still can’t understand and that is called the Migration of the Soul. This phenomenon occurs when a creature in Aymar dies; its soul is reincarnated into another creature in one of the other Planes depending on his actions. So a Warlord is probable to reincarnate into a creature of Nakhan the Hell World and an Elf will go to Alir (the Hunting Grounds). Assassins will probably reincarnate into Makha, the Barren Lands and Sages and Wizards will go to Lamara, the Blue Sea.
We know about the migration because there have been cases when the souls contact people at Aymar and ask favors in change of some tasks. Those tasks are usually related to fixing some mistake or finishing a revenge the creature had with someone on Aymar.
One interesting thing is that creatures reach those planes in a simple form and usually in their previous shape. Like a human reaching Lamara will be able to swim and won’t drown. But the sould will slowly mutate with the pass of the years, they will develop gills or wings.
The strangest thing happens when they reach Makha, they reach as warm blood creatures and in comsequence they are constantly hunted by undeads who search them to take them to their vampire masters in order to get some favour. These souls learn to hide and sometimes stay ‘alive’ for many years but the dark, eerie place slowly turns them into crazy wandering souls.
No matter where the go, people who reach this plane of existence will usually receive a large life span measured in centuries, not in years. But that doesn’t mean they are immortal, they can die and if they do their souls, if not claimed again by the same plane (or in rare occasions by other plane), vanish forever. Where they vanish is a mystery the wizards call The Mystery of the Souls.
