I was babbling about this project in the General Discussion board, and I thought I'd haul it out of the closet with all its bones and feathers and little
bits of string, to see if anyone might possibly be interested in making it a group effort. I see that steampunk discussion has already been under way so I
doubt this will come to anything, but... Everything is worth a try, is it not?
It started out with myself and another person wanting to create a fully-fleshed world for roleplaying purposes, so what I do have so far is written with that in mind. We have a wiki that was mostly assembled by my erstwhile accomplice that was going to give information to prospective players. It's obviously, woefully incomplete.
As everyone else has dropped out but myself, what I had been hoping to do was eventually use the world to write an Epic Trilogy(heh) with the skeleton outline I have in my head. I know, basically, what I want to happen in the nation's recent history - their political intrigue and dastardly plans and heroic conquests of the hour. But what I really wanted to for this place was life, life! ...Ahem. So, if anyone at all is interested, I'd like to offer my world to the sanctum as a playground. As I said, I have its bones in my mind, but the spark of life is what it's wanting. I would be absolutely elated if you guys wanted to take this world and make it our own - and the story that's brewing in my head could be just one of the many things going on in their fantastic history. -grin-
Albion - the England-proxy - is where most of my attention was centered on, and its capital Arturia. Their cultural identity is rooted in Arthurian legend rather than Christianity, and as such almost all the meaning of the tales has been forgotten, though they live on in the names of cities and landmarks. Though Albion is the 'it' country, the second world power is the Prussian Empire, with which Albion just finished up a war. This was the sort of thing I'm talking about - if anyone wanted to adopt Prussia for their own, or even write the history of the war, it's totally up for grabs and I would be elated that the world was being fleshed out. <3
I said elsewhere that it was neo-Victorian but not quite classical steampunk. The main struggles - at least where my personal story is concerned - are centered around energy sources. Technology and Magic are very closely connected here. Magic, however, doesn't have the same associations in their world as it does in ours: it's practical important but beyond the grasp of every day folks: saying 'Magic' to an Arturian would be about the same as saying 'Advanced Physics' to today's layperson. The entire sphere of magical knowledge is based on Hermeticism and its three tenets: Alchemy, Astrology, and Theurgy. Alchemy is fairly accessible, and is practiced by scholars and engineers of all stripes. Astrology is even more accessible to the average person; unlike(as many would argue) in our world, planetary positions and the like have measurable effects on the 'energies' of day to day Arturian life. Advanced Astrology on the other hand is made possible in the two oldest buildings in the city - the University and the Temple - by the great and ancient Clocktower and Observatory(respectively) that have been parts of the city since time immemorial, and which are both calibrated to be remarkably accurate and powerful readers/focusers of the heavens' power. The third tenet, Theurgy, is largely shrouded in mystery, even to its practicioners. It's the method by which Energy Cores are created - the 'power packs' as it were that allow Albion's advanced technology to function. At the point where my personal canon is set, the country is just beginning to exit the Steam Age, where the cores were used primarily as a heat source, as engineers are developing ways to directly use the powers of the Cores which appear to be electromagnetic in function. Common belief is that these cores are created by using a human vessel to channel the power of a benevolent spirit into a special kind of stone. The specific practice is never questioned, and considered a holy duty granted to only the most elite of society. My own little story is the tale of the final collapse of this superstition, and the discovery of the real source of the energy.
I could go on babbling for ages about various little ideas I've had, but... Er, I've probably bored you all already. The question is - would anyone possibly be interested in taking this up?
It started out with myself and another person wanting to create a fully-fleshed world for roleplaying purposes, so what I do have so far is written with that in mind. We have a wiki that was mostly assembled by my erstwhile accomplice that was going to give information to prospective players. It's obviously, woefully incomplete.
As everyone else has dropped out but myself, what I had been hoping to do was eventually use the world to write an Epic Trilogy(heh) with the skeleton outline I have in my head. I know, basically, what I want to happen in the nation's recent history - their political intrigue and dastardly plans and heroic conquests of the hour. But what I really wanted to for this place was life, life! ...Ahem. So, if anyone at all is interested, I'd like to offer my world to the sanctum as a playground. As I said, I have its bones in my mind, but the spark of life is what it's wanting. I would be absolutely elated if you guys wanted to take this world and make it our own - and the story that's brewing in my head could be just one of the many things going on in their fantastic history. -grin-
Albion - the England-proxy - is where most of my attention was centered on, and its capital Arturia. Their cultural identity is rooted in Arthurian legend rather than Christianity, and as such almost all the meaning of the tales has been forgotten, though they live on in the names of cities and landmarks. Though Albion is the 'it' country, the second world power is the Prussian Empire, with which Albion just finished up a war. This was the sort of thing I'm talking about - if anyone wanted to adopt Prussia for their own, or even write the history of the war, it's totally up for grabs and I would be elated that the world was being fleshed out. <3
I said elsewhere that it was neo-Victorian but not quite classical steampunk. The main struggles - at least where my personal story is concerned - are centered around energy sources. Technology and Magic are very closely connected here. Magic, however, doesn't have the same associations in their world as it does in ours: it's practical important but beyond the grasp of every day folks: saying 'Magic' to an Arturian would be about the same as saying 'Advanced Physics' to today's layperson. The entire sphere of magical knowledge is based on Hermeticism and its three tenets: Alchemy, Astrology, and Theurgy. Alchemy is fairly accessible, and is practiced by scholars and engineers of all stripes. Astrology is even more accessible to the average person; unlike(as many would argue) in our world, planetary positions and the like have measurable effects on the 'energies' of day to day Arturian life. Advanced Astrology on the other hand is made possible in the two oldest buildings in the city - the University and the Temple - by the great and ancient Clocktower and Observatory(respectively) that have been parts of the city since time immemorial, and which are both calibrated to be remarkably accurate and powerful readers/focusers of the heavens' power. The third tenet, Theurgy, is largely shrouded in mystery, even to its practicioners. It's the method by which Energy Cores are created - the 'power packs' as it were that allow Albion's advanced technology to function. At the point where my personal canon is set, the country is just beginning to exit the Steam Age, where the cores were used primarily as a heat source, as engineers are developing ways to directly use the powers of the Cores which appear to be electromagnetic in function. Common belief is that these cores are created by using a human vessel to channel the power of a benevolent spirit into a special kind of stone. The specific practice is never questioned, and considered a holy duty granted to only the most elite of society. My own little story is the tale of the final collapse of this superstition, and the discovery of the real source of the energy.
I could go on babbling for ages about various little ideas I've had, but... Er, I've probably bored you all already. The question is - would anyone possibly be interested in taking this up?
