Let's Build: One (1) Kick-Ass* Setting

[playswithfire]

4 points for The Eternal War, 3 for Wardens of the Night and 2 for Truth-Seekers

Going a little tropish*, I know, but I actually a like long-running arcane war that most of humanity is largely unaware of, but which some are actively engaged in, either protecting the clueless majority, fighting for whichever side they believe in, or simply trying to turn a profit, ambivalent to the fact that their clientele has tentacles.

*Should definitely not be werewolves vs vampires, though.

[LOTRfan]

Eternal War (4): 1984, anyone?

Piercing the Veil (3): With a little Supernatural on the side.

Wardens of the Night (2): There you have it, folks, a world of constant war, mysterious deaths, and even more mysterious protectors.

[Drakefall]

Truth Seekers: I've always loved the "seeker" archetype. Discovering the grand truths of one's world and of what one is is full of yummy plot.

Wardens of the Night: As cliched as Ben Parker's famous words may be, we all know they're made of awesome sauce.

The Search for Acceptance: Doing what's right can be a hard and lonely road. Finding something to fight for make's it all worth it though.

[Hawkfrost000]

Perhaps a deconstruction of the superhero genre?

Really Zexion??? Really

((i know him IRL))

[Vadin]

Truth-Seekers (3), The Search For Acceptance (4), Wardens of the Night (2)

[SamBurke]

When does the voting finish for this round, BTW?

[The Rose Dragon]

When does the voting finish for this round, BTW?

In about nine hours.

[Icedaemon]

So... With Wardens of the Night at a clear first place and The Search for Acceptance at a slim second: The world has a sort of an 'every group for itself' mentality, with mundanes and different magical beings fighting one another due to fear, tradition, odd diets and prejudice? A world where a safe haven and trustworthy allies are luxuries?

The close runners up would lead one to assume that: Most people probably know that magic and the supernatural exists, but details are hazy and mostly hidden among myths, superstitions and half truths. Those who do become well-known and powerful are feared, hated and envied enough that they must always be paranoid, no matter how mighty.

On the other hand, Living the High Life at last place would suggest that magic is supposed to be rare, precious and probably dangerous. The low places for both Keeping the Vigil and Piercing the Vigil suggest that the vast majority of people know some things about the supernatural and that no true masquerade exists. The low ranks that The Eternal War got also suggest that while conflicts, hate and prejudice might be everyday occasions, the great wars were short, if brutal and not part of any single campaign by any single force.

All in all, I for one like this result.

[SamBurke]

I like it, very good summary. What's the next round's voting?

[The Rose Dragon]

Well, this is sort of late. As a rule of thumb, until further notice, I am trying to get two polls up every week, which happens to coincide with Saturday night and Wednesday noon.

Regardless, the next poll is about the level of magic, and the options are thusly:

• Faded Magic
• Emerging Magic
• Low Magic
• Rising Magic

This is from lowest to highest, with low magic being a happy medium. The more powerful magic is, the harder it is the hide it and the more commonplace knowledge of it is. It also determines how flashy and integrated magic is, and how much potential a given mage has (other supernatural creatures, if they exist, may break these limits, as determined later).

[Admiral Squish]

Well, this is sort of late. As a rule of thumb, until further notice, I am trying to get two polls up every week, which happens to coincide with Saturday night and Wednesday noon.

Regardless, the next poll is about the level of magic, and the options are thusly:

• Faded Magic
• Emerging Magic
• Low Magic
• Rising Magic

This is from lowest to highest, with low magic being a happy medium. The more powerful magic is, the harder it is the hide it and the more commonplace knowledge of it is. It also determines how flashy and integrated magic is, and how much potential a given mage has (other supernatural creatures, if they exist, may break these limits, as determined later).

So.... no real 'magic is a fact of life' option? I was really hoping for a world where magic wasn't something strange, new, or unusual, it would be as ubiquitous as electricity.

[LOTRfan]

Faded magic! Lack of knowledge, the occasional very powerful dark ritual, lots of mystery.

[The Rose Dragon]

So.... no real 'magic is a fact of life' option? I was really hoping for a world where magic wasn't something strange, new, or unusual, it would be as ubiquitous as electricity.

There is a distinction between urban fantasy and just plain ol' fantasy. Making magic ubiquitous makes things fall in the latter category, rather than the former. Urban fantasy has certain trappings included, one of them is the non-universal acceptance of magic. Think Hellblazer and Neverwhere for examples.

[Drakefall]

Emerging Magic.

Specifically re-emerging magic. The secrets of a lost age are returning to the earth again as the tide of magic waxes again.

[Admiral Squish]

There is a distinction between urban fantasy and just plain ol' fantasy. Making magic ubiquitous makes things fall in the latter category, rather than the former. Urban fantasy has certain trappings included, one of them is the non-universal acceptance of magic. Think Hellblazer and Neverwhere for examples.

I mean, I could understand non-universal acceptance of it. There would of course be groups who didn't like magic, or magical beings. Heck, the amish exist. So do the KKK. It'd be the same principles involved. Plus, it leads to all sorts of interesting things, like the earlier mention of taking werewolves to court, or fighting off racist anti-vampire groups like CROSS (Coalition for the Restoration Of Sanguivore Specieism).

[The Rose Dragon]

Specifically re-emerging magic. The secrets of a lost age are returning to the earth again as the tide of magic waxes again.

That's for later. This is only for the supernatural presence level, rather than details of it.

[flabort]

If 'rising' is the most prominent I can vote for, I'll vote for that.
I'd not vote for tippyverse level magic, but "Magic is common enough that farmers regularly use it to increase crop yields, and most everyone uses some in their daily lives" is what I'd go for.

Paints a much brighter picture, I'd think.

[Sanguine]

I'm torn between Rising and Low, so I'll vote for Low Magic as it hasn't gotten any votes yet.

[Vva70]

I'll go with Low Magic.

[Admiral Squish]

If I can't vote for anything higher, I'll take 'rising'.

[DragonOfUndeath]

Rising Magic

[Icedaemon]

Low magic. For most people, magic is strange and dangerous but most people are aware that it exists, even if they can't use it (and, perhaps, would not want to if it is deadly and prone to corrupt users). Those who do have a strong link to magic are at least a bit mad, but all too capable of warping reality in their immediate vicinity to reflect their neuroses.

[SamBurke]

Faded magic. It's a dying breed, and those who have guarded people from it are now thankful that the end is in sight.

[Thinker]

Faded magic. I like the idea of magic previously being potentially powerful, but now weak and not very worthwhile. People might have known about it, but many have become skeptical that it ever even worked.

[Othniel Edden]

rising magic.

[bryn0528]

Let's get one more vote for low magic.

[Lemonus]

This looks like a cool world. I vote Rising Magic.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Low Magic it shall be... assuming everybody agrees with me. Or a large portion of the people, at least.

[The Anarresti]

Low Magic. I like the idea of magic being not-unheard-of, but belonging really only to experts. Magic doesn't exert as much of a pull on everyday life as a full-on functional magic does. It'd be like nuclear power here: you know it exists, you know it has great potential to help humanity, and a huge potential to destroy it, but you don't really think about it on a daily basis unless you work in a power plant or it gets on the news.
I dislike the idea of Emerging or Rising magic. Magic is an ancient thing, with musty tomes and well-kept secrets galore. New discoveries and shiny excitement really belongs in the domain of science, or magitech.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Rising Magic, for Admiral Squish's idea (as par norm) interests me and that seems to be the direction to go into for that.