Dream of Hope--Astronomy and Cosmology

[PhoenixPhyre]

My setting (called the "Dream of Hope", linked in my sig) uses a very non-standard (by D&D standards) cosmology.

The Dream
The entire universe is a dream. A dream of a Dreamer spawned by the Dreaming Dark--when it first dreamed of Self, it inevitably dreamed also of Other. Those Other went forth through the Dark and Dreamed their own dreams--some of creation and some of destruction. The One who dreamed this world had a particular design.

The Crystal Shell
The entire setting, including all the planes, is bounded by a crystal shell about twice the distance from the star (Eua) as Earth's orbit is from Sol. Whatever may exist outside is cut off by this shell. In the material plane it is an actual shell made out of some crystalline material that is tougher than anything found elsewhere. Despite its toughness, creatures (or the thoughts of such strange creatures) from the Dark Beyond slip through, with varied results on the material plane.

Planets in the Material Plane
There are 4 planets orbiting Eua in perfectly circular counter-clockwise (as seen from above) orbits. Closest in is Primus, a scorched rock. It is said that creatures from the elemental planes of Fire vacation there. Second and third are Secundus and Tertius--twin planets orbiting each other at such closeness as to share an atmosphere. One is dominated by water and the other by earth. The orbital radius of the double planet is twice that of Primus

Fourth and last is Quartus, orbiting four times as far from Eua as does Primus (1 AU). There once were three moons, but the least moon was pulled down by the first shamans to end the Age of Wizardry 10,000 years ago (roughly). The others settled closer into its place. The moons are Quella, often called the Blood Moon for its red hue, with a period of 32 days, and Teki, the Bone Moon with an 8 day period. Quella is much larger, so they appear approximately the same size (1/2 the angular size of Earth's Moon) in the sky.

Quartus is where the events of the setting take place (with rare exception). Inhabited by the spirits of natural things (including the fey) as well as mortals, it is a place of adventure.

Spoiler: Artist's Depiction of the Material Plane

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The Plane of Shadow
Surrounding Quartus is the transitive, liminal plane of Shadow. The Shadow is the home of the dead--all but the strongest spirits (or those devoured by demons) awaken here and live out a shadow of their life on Quartus until they fade away or are consumed by the predators here. Access to any other plane from Quartus requires passage through Shadow. Although it is transitive, space and time here are malleable, shaped by the intents and wills of strong living beings.

The Inner Planes
There are 12 transitive inner (elemental) planes. These occupy fixed segments of the Crystal Shell, radiating outward from the center. As you progress inward toward Eua, the planes become more energetic and chaotic. At the outside where Quartus orbits the four primalities (Fire, Earth, Air, and Water) merge and mingle to form the 12 elemental planes. Since Quartus's axis is perpendicular to the orbital plane, seasons are caused by the varying influences of the elemental planes it passes through on its orbit.

Spoiler: The Elemental Planes

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The Abyss
The Abyss was designed as a prison for the Nameless and his core followers during the Dawn War between the Primal Potentialities. After the Cataclysm, when the Nameless and the Potentialities were fully absorbed into the planar structure, the Abyss became inhabited by those beings whose desires, goals, and/or methods were abhorrent to the current order of things. Creatures who exist there subsist on the dregs of energy they gather from the Material Plane, often by consuming mortal souls. The Demon Princes, rulers of individual demesnes they have carved out, hold the power here.

Physically the Abyss is a small (about 2 Earth-radii) spherical void that orbits Eua in the space between planes. It's orbit is not simple--it's shaped like a clover-leaf. Twice a year (at the Equinoxes) it draws to its closest metaphysical distance to Quartus and demonic summoning is at its peak.

The Astral Plane
The Astral Plane is the home of the Great Mechanism that regulates all the planes. It pumps anima (the stuff of souls, created when living beings grow and develop) around to the various planes, allowing the inhabitants to survive and maintain the Dream. The center of this Mechanism is the Celestial City, home of the Angelic Hosts and the Core. Located at the center of the Dream, "above" (metaphysically) Eua, it pumps anima into that great furnace. The Heavenly Congregation (the gods) and the Diabolical Families (the devils) live and work in various realms located within the enormous expanse of the Astral Plane. They all are engaged in the oversight and maintenance of the Dream, subordinate to the Great Mechanism and the Four who guide it. Between these realms swim strange creatures--radiant dragons, astral sharks, fish-like creatures, etc.

[Max_Killjoy]

Interesting setting.

Has some aspects in common with both settings I'm working on, but with different twists.

(Cataclysmic reality-shaping events, dead gods, an act of creation or re-creation that involves total sacrifice by the creator, dark alien "gods" lurking, or returning from exile or imprisonment, etc.)

[PhoenixPhyre]

Interesting setting.

Has some aspects in common with both settings I'm working on, but with different twists.

(Cataclysmic reality-shaping events, dead gods, an act of creation or re-creation that involves total sacrifice by the creator, dark alien "gods" lurking, or returning from exile or imprisonment, etc.)

Thanks!

My model is that each "Age" involves a use of that total-sacrifice artifact (called a "Wish") to add a new type of magic to the world. This often sets up a cataclysmic event, but it doesn't cause the cataclysm itself.

So far, the ages are:

1st age--Age of Tyrants (~20k BC -- ~10k BC). Titans (progenitor race to giants and dwarves) and Wyrm (progenitor race to dragons) rule using runes (titans, power of written word) and true sorcery (dragons, will + word, verbal magic). Other races: proto-goblins (minimally intelligent) and eladrin (high elves, basically).

1st Wish: mix runes and sorcery together and make it accessible to mortals. Also breaks the two magics (to make them mortal-accessible), degenerating the Titans and the Wyrm into more like their present species. As a last effort of power, the two tyrant races combine to crack a continent apart, creating the western two continents where giants and dragons still rule. Bardic magic (harmonies) comes up from Leviathan in the oceans. True sorcery becomes sorcery (inherited/innate arcane power).

2nd age--Age of Wizardry (~10k BC -- ~4k BC). Eladrin rule. Only those with arcane power have status. Those without are 2nd (or lower) class citizens or slaves. Proto-goblins uplifted to current goblinoids.

2nd Wish: Eladrin without wizardry (wood elves) make a wish to let the spirits of nature (in an animist sense, all natural things have spirits big and small) make contracts with mortals (druidic/shamanistic magic). They then use this power to drop the 3rd moon down on the Eladrin Imperial capital, making a big mess and cracking the south-eastern continent away from the north-eastern continent.

Interregnum (~4k BC -- 2504 BC): Wood elves and eladrin spar for a while. They create orcs (from hobgoblins + animals) and humans (fixated hobgoblins) as play-things and soldiers.

3rd Wish: Humans wish for divine aid, enabling clerical power as well as (by accident) pact magic (warlocks). No cataclysm (yet).

3rd Age--Age of Men (2504 BC -- 612 BC): Two human-dominated empires rule the north-eastern continent. One is theocratic, ruled by a god-emperor. The other is technocratic, quickly working toward soul-manipulation magics.

Interregnum (612 BC -- 205 AC)
The western technocratic empire falls into civil war over the creation of dragonborn (out of unwilling humans + shards of dragon souls). That collapse lasts nearly 10 years (with hot and cold periods). During this time halflings form due to goblins being mutated by the extreme magical radiation being produced by the magical "nuclear" war twisting space and time.

The Cataclysm happens in 1 BC when a wizard who was trapped out of time during that war returned and summoned the Nameless and his demonic hordes, creating an army out of the "monster" races. Three hubristic adventurers use an artifact of creation (different than the one for the Wishes); their struggle for dominance over it causes it to go *boom*, misaligning the planes, forcing the gods to sacrifice themselves to keep the world going and to blend the Nameless into reality itself (where he really belonged). All magic stops for 50 years (unless you're casting using your own soul as fuel). Magic items are suppressed. Magic changes.

4th Wish: A wish that even mechanisms could have life and that power can come through invention (mad science-style).

4th Age--the Age of Hope (205 AC -- present, currently 210 AC): new race (soul-forged, an awakened construct race). Not too many changes other than that, so far.

[Max_Killjoy]

What lead to the decision on the fate of the deceased fading back into the "stuff" of the universe?

[PhoenixPhyre]

What lead to the decision on the fate of the deceased fading back into the "stuff" of the universe?

It grew out of a few other decisions early on--

* I decided that the whole universe is made out of anima (the same stuff souls are made out of). This (with its collateral decisions) sets it very firmly to "everybody's magic, but only some people cast spells."

* I also decided that this anima is produced by intelligences (called Sparks that are the active core of a soul, the part that has a personality, etc) operating on a physical body, learning, growing, experiencing things (yes, that's the core of XP. Anima is roughly XP). Each being has 3 parts:
** Spark (the piece that's individual). This comes into existence under the right conditions, and fades out (this part isn't firmly fixed yet) without a critical mass of anima to keep it going. These are all fragments (or so it's believed) of the Dreamer that created everything--no one can really control them or create/destroy them.
** Body (made out of compressed, elemental-aspected anima). This is how the spark interacts with other physical things. When you eat something, you're incorporating this compressed anima into your own. This is much easier than compressing it yourself out of the ambient field.
** Nimbus (spirit, made out of etherial-aspected anima). This is how the spark controls the body and influences non-material things (like magic). It also has an echo of the person's memories. Demons and some other nasties consume this directly. Incorporeal undead are basically a nimbus tied to/fed by a location or event.

After people die, the body and the spark/nimbus (together called the spirit) separate. Without a source of anima, the nimbus fades away, dissipating back into the background ambient anima and being recycled. Some very strong spirits, those that have external sources of anima, or are assisted by a god or arch devil can survive until they reach through to the Astral plane and make a home there, becoming demigods/ascended heros/devils (depending on the details).

* The Great Mechanism recycles the anima from departed beings (including plants, animals, etc) and uses it to maintain the planes. Some of that flows back and is reincorporated into new beings. It's not reincarnation, because the Spark is different.

Thus, the fading of spirits is a central part of the anima economy of the planes. One particular antagonist wanted to change this (thinking it was horrible), but the players stopped him because his way was too draconian (ironic--he was a dragon) and would have bad side effects.

[Max_Killjoy]

So... if anima is XP, and the universe is made of anima... the universe is made of Experience Points? That would explain so much...


If Sparks produce anima, is there an overall increase in anima over time? Or is there an offset by something else, such as a "sink" somewhere, or "ascended" mortals locking up part of the anima outside the recycling?


Anima being what powers magic and also being what makes up spirits and bodies explains how sacrifice and blood magic would work.

[PhoenixPhyre]

1) So... if anima is XP, and the universe is made of anima... the universe is made of Experience Points? That would explain so much...


2) If Sparks produce anima, is there an overall increase in anima over time? Or is there an offset by something else, such as a "sink" somewhere, or "ascended" mortals locking up part of the anima outside the recycling?


3) Anima being what powers magic and also being what makes up spirits and bodies explains how sacrifice and blood magic would work.

1) Yes. Yes it does. Each spark is limited in how much it can handle and the caps vary--most people can't get beyond level 3-equivalent (they don't really have levels, but a similar power level). Monsters vary, at the cost of not being as good at producing anima. PCs gain power super fast because they're literally soaking in the anima released by their foes; PCs are also among the few that are (nearly) un-capped (at least in theory. If they retire before level 20, I just say that that was their cap )

2) Each Wish consumes a metric crap ton of anima, and yes ascended beings (astral beings in general) lock up a bunch. Additionally, the compression/consumption is slightly lossy, so it overall balances to a small steady increase, used up by the Wish-events to reset the scales. As the number/sophistication of people/magic increases, the Wishes come quicker (explains why the first few ages were long and the latter ones short.

3) Exactly. Soul-based magic is really powerful. And one of the more evil things if done involuntarily. It's also how the Wish-artifact works--it takes a specially-powerful soul to make it work without burning out uselessly. You're writing on the fabric of reality with your own soul as ink. Fittingly, the artifact is in the form of a quill pen.

[Max_Killjoy]

1) Also, waiting for some gamer to decide that the universe is worth "all the XP", and that killing the universe is the best way to gain a lot of levels...


2) Ah, nice attention to detail on increasing population = more frequent WISH occurrence... it's almost as if the WISH is a release valve for excess energy in a universe without a "law of conservation" for an important aspect/energy, and as that energy builds up, there's more "pressure" for a wish to occur.

3) Love the pen idea, and it's a neat self-reference for gaming.

[PhoenixPhyre]

1) Also, waiting for some gamer to decide that the universe is worth "all the XP", and that killing the universe is the best way to gain a lot of levels...


2) Ah, nice attention to detail on increasing population = more frequent WISH occurrence... it's almost as if the WISH is a release valve for excess energy in a universe without a "law of conservation" for an important aspect/energy, and as that energy builds up, there's more "pressure" for a wish to occur.

3) Love the pen idea, and it's a neat self-reference for gaming.

1) Yeah...I can see someone doing that. It's why I don't make a big deal out of it.
2) Exactly. You can get aborted wishes (ones where the person wasn't strong enough) that are smaller but don't actually do anything, but you occasionally need a big release.

3) I shamelessly stole it from one of the Wizardry games--the Cosmic Forge (Wizardry 6 IIRC). Originality is overrated . But yes, it does have nice self-referential properties.

Glad you like it!

[Max_Killjoy]

Anything else you can share about the Dreaming Dark / the Dark Beyond?

[PhoenixPhyre]

Anything else you can share about the Dreaming Dark / the Dark Beyond?

Current canon is fuzzy there (to leave me wiggle room to explain stuff later if needed), but I know the following:

1) Those are different names for the same thing
2) It's an infinite expanse of void where space and time itself reacts to the thoughts/emotions/dreams of beings in it.
3) It is believed to be somewhat sentient and have spawned the first Dreamers by dreaming about itself.
4)There are a large (infinite?) number of world bubbles (Dreams, like this one) in it. The physical laws and planar structures, etc vary between world. This is my token nod to the idea that all D&D worlds are part of the same multiverse.
5) There are things out there, most of whom are alien at best, inimical at worst.
5a) One particular group, known as the Awakeners, are a Borg-like hive mind/sentient thought that hates all Dreams and tries to destroy them when it finds them. Any of these that leak through the Crystal Shell get taken out with extreme prejudice (as in "take off and nuke it from orbit" levels) by the angels. One of the 4 Hosts have that as their primary duty, with two others on reserve.
5b) There is at least one being that manifests itself as a giant nautilus (miles across) that seems to be searching for shards of her husband who fell while fighting the Awakeners.

Overall, it's basically a Far-Realms-equivalent. I've batted around the idea of travel being possible for some groups, but it would require some type of sleeper ship with only one mind active to avoid bad consequences from the psychoactive nature of the area.

I still don't really know what the stars are...

[Lightweaver]

Fascinating setting; I love the magic system! With regards to magic items, would those be created by "imbuing" an object with anima? That would be a great in-universe explanation for the 3.5 xp costs for magic item creation

[PhoenixPhyre]

Fascinating setting; I love the magic system! With regards to magic items, would those be created by "imbuing" an object with anima? That would be a great in-universe explanation for the 3.5 xp costs for magic item creation

Thanks!

Sort of, but it's a similar idea. I use 5e, so no xp costs.

Making a permanent magical item can end up temporarily draining away your soul and binding it to the item. This means that you can only survive doing it a little bit at a time, and more powerful items cost more anima (more of your soul). It heals, but leaves you weak while doing it. Since most people can only channel a little bit of anima (have low xp caps, effectively), they can't make very powerful items, or can only do so very slowly at extreme cost. You can also use items/pieces of powerful creatures as the source of this anima, or use the power of places/gods/etc instead of personal anima. All of this means that making custom items requires adventuring. It's also really hard to do in general, so most magic items are found by adventuring rather than by crafting. Which is a design goal--to encourage adventuring.