WORLD ORIGIN and OVERVIEW:
The world of Glaast began with the concept of Whitelake Island, a city-state somewhere tropical, insufferably hot and humid with lots of danger and magic, and of course, just outside… Well, I’ll get to that. The micro-setting was played in by a half-dozen players at any time off and on for many years and a ton of character development, interaction, and conflict was set here. The comment was once made that the wider reaches of the setting were ‘glossed’ over, as in no one had any idea what lay past the watery horizon of the island. The comment was typed as “glaast” and the wider world, thus named, was launched. Over the next 13-ish years, I was left alone as the active player that had the setting, and I built on it..sometimes pixel by pixel, sometimes in huge swaths of description or imagination, but regardless of the speed, it has formed. I hope it is enjoyable.
To begin playing in this game, simply get in channel, and get in character. By and large, this is a free-form system. Of course there are rules and parameters, but mostly those apply to the player rather than the character. You should, before joining in, familiarize yourself with conduct rules and at least passingly with the current setting. Aside from that you don't need approval to free-play and you do not have to register a character or sheet to jump in.
Glaast for the most part, would be considered a 'medieval' setting, However, it is quite a bit more advanced. It is very common for the larger cities to have gas-lights, and in the case of the wealthy, or lucky, heating. While there is no such thing as the internal combustion engine or steam-powered conveyances in the setting, clockwork and stationary steam-works are in development, though not yet prolific. The reason for this is the old cliche that with magic to rely on, pure science is on the back-burner. There are no black or smokeless powder driven weapons, and the mainstay of ranged weaponry is bow or catapult based. This includes ships and airships. There are ranged weapons, particularly on military airships that are magical-based, but due to rarity, unpredictability, and sheer price, they are uncommon. Personal ranged weapons that are magical-based are also in existence, but for the same reasons, most prefer a trusty bow or a brace of throwing daggers to these temperamental contraptions.
There are two main calendars used on the world. The most common, is the Teresian Grid. Which is akin to our own, but rather than months, it measures four seasons, (Aurora, Ortu, Procidens, Occasum) divided into thirteen seven-day weeks each. The other is the Vinnish calendar. Rather than measuring days, weeks, seasons, and years, the Vinnish measure of time is in named Eras, hinging on world or even cosmic events. Only the Einn Sannur Konungur of Vinewood, backed by his council can declare the end, or start of an Era.
Conveyances have come a long way. Much of the technology developed in the last two decades is aimed at transporting goods, rather than people, but someone hitching a ride on an airship, or Mana-Draft powered ship is common. Since the advent of the Blackstar in driving towards a global economy, faster transport of cargo has become paramount for competing merchants. This has lead to the development of several different magic-based engines that propel both Airships and water-craft, However, by and large, most overland travel is accomplished by beasts of burden, or personal steeds by use of the Prime Gates. Most inland cargo is moved by Airship, except in the highest reaches of the Ragshaws, Gromcrags, and Crown Range, where navigating an airship is more risky than profitable. It is rumored that in Teresh, a new form of transport is being developed that relies on a massive Perpetual motion engine drawing strings of carts, but without evidence, most discount these claims.
As for demolition devices, there are many and varied. Some are chemical-based, some are magical, As of yet, no incendiary or explosive devices have made an appearance in a major conflict, and these are mostly used for clearing paths through the mountains, mining, and clearing land for cultivation and development. After all, who needs hand-grenades and bombs, when you have dragons and mages.
+ Game Play +
+ Era & Tech +
+ Magic +
The magic of the world is a ‘soft’ style of mana, which is to say that no specific talents or disciplines are elevated or inherently outlawed. This is most important concerning travel to and from the World via arcane methods. Characters from other worlds often visit, and vice-versa. However, those transplanting from another setting will need an adjustment period to learn the flavor of the local Arcane emanations and leylines before they can cast to their full previous ability.
Magic comes with a price of either matter burned, or life-force consumed or both. No matter the discipline or specialization, a caster must have a limit to what they may draw upon. Failure to do so will be considered a godlike act, and as such, the gods will intervene. Trust me, you do not want an avatar coming to test your mettle.
Magic abus(ag)e is one of the few times an EO will step in on regular play. A character tossing magic about willy-nilly will attract the attention of an EO and consequences will be dealt out at their discretion. The rule of thumb here is that it is far better to enact and enforce your own consequences than to have staff interfere. With the former you can plan ahead and control your own destiny. With the latter, you get what is handed to you.
+ Combat +
Combat is broken down into two categories. PVP, and PVNPC. This should be fairly self explanatory, but I'll explain anyway.
PvNPC is a player, or group of players, vs a Non-Player Character, or a group of them. If this is for flavor, or a micro-storyline between a few players, then this will simply be a narrative, and accepted as such, with the results being accepted as fact. However, if the NPC(s) are in contested opposition, or tools used by an EO, then the results of each round will be judged by an EO through use of dice, logic, or discretion. As with magic usage, A character who fights with 'invincibility' will of course, attract the attention of the gods, and they love a good fight against a puny, invincible mortal.
PvP is Player vs. Player, or live contested combat. This is between the combatants to decide. If either player requests, an EO will step in to mediate. If the result is agreed on by both players beforehand, or they wish to handle it entirely themselves, that is fine. For now, the system remains fully Free-Form, However, in the future there will be a sheeting and mechanics system available, (but not required) in order to make such things easy to settle. If the players opt to forego mediation, or use of a combat system, then whatever happens is up to them, and no whining post-mortem or post-maiming will be tolerated.