The Cataclysm

The Cataclysm is the defining event of the new world. The culmination of stupid choices, ignorance, extraplanar magics, and a dragon. When it was all said and done, the Cataclysm wiped the new world of more then eighty percent of it's population.

The cataclysm was triggered by the dragon Valinthax as a way to reset the universe and stop it's impending collapse. But in doing so, a rift was opened and fire rained down from the container dimension that all universes exist in. This was necessary to purge the destabilizing energies from the universe, and they had to be replaced with something to maintain the balance.

Basically neutral to any universe, the energy that entered had one unfortunate effect. As it entered the universe it crystallized, having to conform to the physical laws of the reality. These crystals, when they impacted the ground, created an energy field that would suck the souls out of those in proximity to the crystal. What remained were nothing but shambling husks, left to the collective will of the spirits locked in the crystals.

The crystal zombies started to drag those not killed by the crystals to them. One touch would cause the persons soul to be absorbed into the crystal. In a short time, the major cities and many of the larger towns were nothing but cinders and the walking dead. This is the cataclysm, and it freed the new world from the grasp from the old one. It may be hell...but at least people are free to be what they want.

All Quiet on the Neural Front

Well...not much to say today. Due to a financial crunch I did not have the time to write anything in the RPG. This happens from time to time and it is a pain. Things conspire against me it seams. Money gets tight, the car decides it will flick on the engine warning light. My son is graduating tomorrow from Kindergarten and my three year old daughter just wants to be loved all day long.

I am not saying all these are bad things...but they do tend to eat my time and available neural run time till I am left writing this at 12:27am. So hey, I am not REALLY supposed to say this. But if you wana help me out then take a look and click something adish. OR, spread the word of what I am doing. More readers means more clicky things...and I can tell my loving wife I made more off this then 5 cents.

Oh great...and now my DSL is flaking out. Shoot...I am going to sleep. Nite!!

That pesky grind stone again...

Well I am back to writing the story and history elements of the RPG again. There is allot of explanation, at least in my own head, about why things break from tradition. One such area is in the use of mana to create effective weapon enhancements.

In MD I wanted to break away from the usual +4 long sword or uber death and go some where else. Items (armor, weapons, trinkets, more) will be conduits for energy or mana. The player then can place in the item a focus that gives the item powers and effects that are greater then the base item.

So why do this? Well first this is the natural evolution of what other games had started with gem slotting and such. but more then that, it give the player power and options. A player can carry a series of small light foci, expendable or not, and in situations fop them out and put new ones in to alter the effectiveness of the item.

This also allows the player to go shopping for powers. And instead of having to offer useless items that weigh a ton, more useful base items or foci can be offered as rewards. In the end, I think this and the story behind it will help to set this role playing game apart from the rest.

So, back to the writing...there is more to do and more to get out of my head. Any one have a melon baller?

Nose to the Grind Stone...

This one will be short. I have been working on the story elements of the RPG. Kind of slow and plodding work but once they are all down, be they part of the book or not, they will be the ground work for more elements of the game universe. This to me is an important thing.

Admittedly, knowing what the queen ate one day is not that much of a big deal. But knowing where that snazzy armor came from or the history behind a physical modification could help you the player of GM to create a richer gaming experience. After all, the more of the reality you know about, the better your adventures can be...right?

So, I plod on with the writing. I do hope that every one will enjoy it. I know that some times I come into something that I enjoy...and it is in my head. Now if only I could just spoon it out of there a little faster.

Whipping out the Mojo...

Previously when I talked about the use of mana, I also discussed the basics of how spells work. But in this section I would like to cover that a little more and actually kick off a series of pieces I will do about magic in manifest destiny. First up are spell basics.

As you may know, in Manifest Destiny, any one can use magic. From children to bums, there is no limitation on who can channel mana into the world. This is because mana and magic is so common that it is a part of every day life. This is not to say there are not those that dedicate their lives to it, there are. But most people have a few spells they use to make life easier.

Second, spells are skills. They grow as the player uses them. This allows the character to do more with them, no only increasing their power, but being able to manipulate them on a fundamental level. For instance, most area effect spells are stupid and will damage friend and foe alike. But if you train the spell enough, you can manipulate it to only damage your enemies and not your friends. This increases the potential of spells because depending on the way to manipulate the spell, the more useful individual spells will become.

Third, spells are cast using mana dice and not an attribute roll. This is because your not testing to see if you can cast the spell. But to see if the spell survives the trip to it's destination. This is called the focus test, and if you don't have enough focus, the spell is not going to make it. I have done this just because other magic systems seamed so arbitrary. This is more based on science since if the energy, mana, of the spell is not cohesive, it will not be able to get to where it is going and dissipate.

Finally, there are many schools of magic and they tend to overlap. In fact there are three healing spells right now one in each school of Fire, Divine, and Demonic. But each also operates in a different manner. The Divine Healing spell accelerates the natural process and closes wounds by accelerating healing. The Fire Healing spell is one of cleansing, burning away the harmful stuff and using their ashes to aid the target of the spell to heal. While the Demonic variation just forces the body to accept the damage as if it was natural and had always been there. Why else do you think a demons minions are ugly and looks stapled together.

These are the basics of magic in MD. But there is more, next time I will discuss the schools of magic. But that will be in a week, tomorrow, I am not to sure what I will come up with though...so stay tuned cause we will all be surprised.