Most religions known to Black Steel personnel revolve around the worship and propitiation of members of an ancient pantheon. Mythologies differ from one church to another, but most assert a kinship between the various powers of the pantheon, and that the sentient beings of the world are descended from certain of its members (usually Thesmos and Woen in the role of mother and father). There are significant exceptions to all of this however; Black Steel personnel know of no myths that deal with the creation of dragons or of dwarves, and there exist known religions with their own theologies, mythologies, or both, that have little or nothing to do with the world's dominant pantheon.
The very existence of a "dominant pantheon" is a matter of some debate, and based mainly on the similarities between certain world faiths. For instance, the worship of Great Mother on the Grat'han coastal plains is so similar to that of Thesmos (so named the Eastport trade language is dominant) that some Grat'han tribes have come to call their Great Spirits by pantheonic names. Nevertheless, the overlap in mythology and ceremony from place to place is by no means complete. Many of the rituals used to call upon "miraculous" sorcerous intervention bear striking similarities to one another between worshipers of pantheon members with similar realms of influence but different names, but these similarities might be the result of the method by which the sorcerous effects in question propogate between the sorcerous and natural worlds rather than because the entities being worshiped are the same; some believe that, far from being the same set of entities worshiped differently across numerous cultures, the members of the pantheon do not exist at all, but are rather inventions of the human imagination to make as-yet little-understood forces in the sorcerous world seem comprehensible and familiar to the human mind. This theory, and a numbr of others that assume a separate object of worship exists for each of the many seeming-similar religions across the world, may be supported by the many mythological differences between similar religions in different regions, the varying names of the members of the pantheon, and their differing roles; for instance, many Grat'han religions feature aspects of animism or ancestor worship not normally associated with the pantheonic religions, and one of the major figures in the most common Grat'han pantheon is War Spirit, a figure who appears to combine aspects of the roles of Darzien, Matorath, Vamakhel, Varekh, and perhaps Sylthos, none of whom have a separate analog in these Grat'han spirit faiths.
Responses among those who believe in a literal, extant pantheon vary; some believe that members of the pantheon accept worship under any name, so long as it is done properly and with true heart, and therefore that (for instance) Darzien might accept prayers offered to War Spirit so long as they are of a kind appropriate to him. Others argue that the battle within the pantheon for ever-greater realms is being played out among their worshipers, such that (for instance) Matorath, under the name of War Spirit, might through some of his Grat'han worshipers be seeking to extend his realm deeper into what is presently Darzien's. Still other scholars are of the opinon that the members of the pantheon, though real, are not able to attend to every mortal prayer or even every congregation of mortal worshipers, and as such have worked upon the landsape of the sorcerous world so as to cause it to create "spells" in response to proper mental and ritual action closely associated with their worship. At all events, whether because of the similarities between their rituals and codes of behavior, because they are in fact worshiping the same literal being, or for some other reason entirely, most worshipers of the pantheon best known along the Fire Coast accept other, similar figures from the Broken Sea region, Grat'ha, and elsewhere, including goblinoid and elven pantheons, essentially as different aspects of or approaches to their own, a feeling that appears to be reciprocated, though it rarely does much to ease strife between the worshipers of the various "aspects" when it exists; disagreements over the "right way" to worship can grow as heated and as dangerous as those over who or what most deserves worship in the first place.
It is important to note that the mythology of the pantheon is ongoing; hatred or alliance between two powers (naturally reflected in their churches -- or resulting from changes in their churches' relationships, depending on what you believe about the pantheon as a whole) changes in the course of their present and continuing struggle for importance and strength, and myths of the acts of various members of the pantheon continue to be made in the present day, often with wide-reaching consequences (or causes, as the case may be). The most recent major example is the Fall of Isiyes, when Isiyes, through her church, demanded the worship of all the wizards of the world, and was virtually destroyed in consequence (as reflected in the collapse of her church hierarchy, the dispersal of her followers, and the deaths or broken faiths of her most influential priests). The battle waged over the fate of sorcery in the world, little known to most humans, changed the landscape of the sorcerous world drastically, with effects that are still propogating through that world, only now calming and settling, with significant consequences for both wizardry and ritual magic. Whether the Fall of Isiyes was a battle between immortal beings aided by mortals on every side (Aveyn and Athoth are said to have thwarted Isiyes according to some myths, with Athoth finally accepting the service of Isiyes in exchange for preserving her existence) or whether it was in effect a power play by an entirely mortal church that overestimated its own capabilities and collapsed in consequence, it was a battle involving enormous sorcerous power, and in spite of its recent occurence, it is already growing difficult to separate its literal history from the tricks and deceptions of the various sides and its growing halo of myth.
Other Religions
Apart from primitive animism, ancestor worship, and personality cults, any of which can sometimes associate themselves with pantheonic worship in any case, few religions are known to Black Steel personnel that do not fit in one fashion or another into the pantheon with which most of them grew up, but this may be a reflection on the amorphous nature of that pantheon and its apparent willingness to accept "variations" on its own faiths rather than any lack of religious diversity. Moreover, there are important exceptions to the general rule.
The Serpent Cult of Grat'ha
Though little is presently known about it, Black Steel personnel have recently encountered a religion deep in Grat'ha that appears (or is claimed) to predate the worship of the Great Spirits, built around the worship of gods who visit or live within the natural world in corporeal form, usually as some variety of serpent or part-serpent-part-human entity. Different classes of serpent gods apparently have specialized roles within their unique pantheon and in the lives of their followers totally unlike the pantheon described above, and theirs appears to have a much more definite hierarchy, with all the gods answerable to the one "great god Kenalthryn.".
The Faith of Nahl
Though pantheonists attempt to incorporate this faith's existence into their own worldview, sometimes even going so far as to say that Nahl is a part of the pantheon itself, attempts to do so are misguided to the point of hopelessness. The faithful of Nahl in fact do not worship, and do not regard Nahl as an entity -- certainly not as a being within a world, and least of all as a member of a pantheon of like beings. To the faithful, Nahl is that which is beyond all knowing; it is from Nahl that all things arise, and to Nahl that all shall return in the end. The name Nahl itself is to them only a name for that which in truth can be neither named nor comprehended. Much of the ritual and ceremony associated with the faith is drawn from those who "Walk with the Night," a term for those who turn for inspiration and example to the Dark Lady of Night, who in some sense represents Nahl in the same fashion as does the name. The Dark Lady is not herself called Nahl, and does not have a separate name, as she and the rituals associated with her, like the name "Nahl" itself, serve primarily as reminders of Nahl, being neither Nahl themselves nor the objects of worship, service, or attainment. They are in some sense merely symbols through which the faithful may attempt to conceive of that which is beyond conception and beyond any knowable reality.
Atheism
Several of Black Steel's most prominent, powerful, and capable members are avowed atheists, following no religion and believing in no partiular god. They do not necessarily insist that the entities worshipped by the world's various religions do not exist -- the corporeal "serpent gods" of the jungles, for instance, manifestly do -- but believe that none of them are all-powerful, nor deserving of worship, either singularly or in the collective as a pantheon. Upon meeting an entity (such as one of the corporeal serpent gods) who claims divinity, atheists tend to behave as they would toward any other sentient being, albeit a potentially dangerous one -- dangerous because of their power, if only the power of influence over those who worship them, and dangerous because claiming to be a god means to the atheist that the entity in question is one or both of ruthless enough to manipulate other people's heartfelt beliefs, or dangerously insane.
Many religious people in the Black Steel world find it hard to believe that atheists can exist or especially thrive in the face of the miraculous benefits provided to the faithful by their gods. (The faith of Nahl is an exception, as Nahl is not imagined to interfere with the world in any way except to continue to permit its existence and to welcome that which leaves it again; those who "walk with the night" appear to gain advantages having to do with the Dark Lady, but do not regard such advantages as primary to their faith. A tolerant faith in general, the faith of Nahl on the whole is very tolerant of atheists.) In light of this, it is curious to note and perhaps difficult to explain that atheists known to Black Steel seem to thrive, and to have developed capabilities well beyond the usual range of their peers, in spite of lacking the miraculous aid lent to the holy. A religious person would say, "Imagine what Theril could have achieved were she only to have found faith!" but Theril herself might say, upon considering the evidence, that she then might well have achieved less than she has on her own.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Language
Eastport Trade Language
The language with which most Black Steel personnel grew up, represented within the game by English, is regarded and used among the trade empires of the Broken Sea region as a trade pidgin, relating to and sharing words with many other languages in the region and abroad. Almost all humans in civilized countries known to Black Steel personnel speak this language to at least a minimal extent, especially to the extent they deal with trade and other matters of foreign exchange, and most sentient beings who deal in any way with humans do so in this tongue as well. Proficiency with the language varies widely from place to place and from person to person, and differing dialects can sometimes make communication challenging, but most people are able to convey and understand simple and especially commercially relevant ideas in this tongue, from the high walls of Illenia in the north to the palaces of Havandia in the south, from the university of Athelenia in the distant west to wild desert plains of the Teigarant Freelands in the east, and perhaps beyond.
Though little regarded as a "high language" by some in the more distant reaches of the world known to Black Steel, this "trade pidgin" is in fact a rich and complex language, sufficient in breadth of expression not only for commercial purposes, but to serve as the default language of international diplomacy. It is the first language of most coastal towns and provinces up and down the Fire Coast, where most Black Steel personnel were born, and also of Eastport itself, perhaps the single most important trade city in the known world. Moreover, in the course of their research, Theril, Dargon, and Quix have found documents supposed to be many hundreds of years old, in countries separated by thousands of miles, written in a language that appears to be an archaic form of the very "trade pidgin" they speak. The origins and history of this language have not been explored in any depth by Black Steel personnel, but if Dargon's theories are correct, it could shed light on the cultural history of the entire known world.
Grat'han
Another surprisingly widespread language is shared by the many tribes of Grat'ha; though dialects have diverged significantly in some cases, virtually all human inhabitants of the known jungles speak variations of the same basic language. The similarities are strong enough that members of different tribes separated by hundreds of miles of dense jungle can usually make themselves understood to one another if members are introduced. Grat'han tribes tend to be heavily steeped in ancient traditions, and this likely affects their language as well as the rest of their culture, but Theril would nonetheless estimate that the languages of distant tribes have only been diverging for a few hundred years at most. Another possibility is that widespread language vectors are keeping distant tribes in relatively close communication and therefore limiting language drift, but no candidates for this role have as yet been found. Llaesira's Grat'han trade network might qualify, depending on its extent, but according to observations by Herring, Theril, and Telaeri, as well as Llaesira's testimony, the network arrived in the northern reaches of the jungle best known to Black Steel too recently to have been a factor there. Recent discussions with Llaesira and especially Dotrum however have suggested to Theril that there really might have been a universal Grat'han language and culture just a few centuries in the past, based perhaps upon worship of (and intervention by) the serpent-like jungle gods whom Dotrum worships.
Other Human Language Groups
In addition to the language with which Daryan and Osiavia were raised, purportedly spoken in the extreme east, far across the northern sea, any number of local languages and dialects are known to various Black Steel personnel, including various traditional languages used by people who dwell inland from the Fire Coast, and several western language groups encountered by Dargon and Quix in their recent travels. Various dialects of Sheradi language spoken along the peninsula are also known, some of which are eccentric enough to be incomprehensible even to those who grew up with the language in less isolated regions such as the Itheshian Confederacy (these languages also bear some resemblance to that which is grudgingly shared by Ephinos and Rhedas). Naturally, the native languages of the most powerful trade nations in the region have impacted local dialects of the trade language considerably, so that people who have traded long in the area are usually able to communicate with bits and pieces of Espaish in rural Espava; Shalasian inland across the Shalasa desert, especially among its nomads and bandits, and even Old Havandian in the high courts of Virhas and on the wide plains between jungle and sea. More opaque to the average merchant are the deep, guttural language of Korv, in which Thorm Casati alone of Black Steel personnel is fluent, and the various dialects of Teigaric spoken in the eastern deserts and arid plains. Korvan in particular appears to share less in common with local dialects of the trade language than with the language of the nation's non-human sentient population.
Other Races' and Non-Human Language
With the magic inherent in their genetic make-up, which can allow for relatively convenient long-distance communication, and their long generations, which tends to slow linguistic drift, it should come as no surprise that the elven peoples known to Black Steel have far less diversity of languages than their more numerous human counterparts. The various dialects spoken by woodland elves encountered in the Grat'han jungles, the tropical forests of Scabbard Isle, and throughout Tornbring Vale, are closely related to each other, to those of the elves among whom Theril lived some of the earliest years of her life near the Fire Coast, and even to the native language of Black Steel's single resident moonlight elf, from somewhere in the distant northwest. The shadow elves of course have been (according to most histories) separated from the rest of their race for many thousands of years, but even their language, at least as spoken in Night Harbor, is reminiscent enough of their distant cousins' tongues to invite inevitable comparisons (though typically not comprehension). Goblinoid languages, by contrast, are wildly divergent, to the point where two tribes living within a dozen miles of each other might not be able to understand each other's tongue at all. The various types of beastmen known to members of Black Steel, with their differing vocal apparatuses, have if possible even greater difficulty in understanding one another. To the extent that goblinoids and beastmen interact with humans at all, the prevailing human language in the region, or a dialect of the Eastport trade language, is almost always used for the purpose. Very often, these are even the languages used for negotiations between tribes of goblinoids or beastmen, when such negotiations are held at all.
Other sentient species' languages are little known to Black Steel, as few have heard them spoken except on rare occasion. Those dwarves, dragons, nethygi, and the like who have spoken with Black Steel members at all have almost always done so in human languages, speaking too few words in their own tongues for any assessment to be made about those languages -- certainly not about their distribution among those creatures' societies. The same might be said as well of the serpent language of Grat'ha, only recently encountered, mostly in rituals associated with the jungle gods.
The language with which most Black Steel personnel grew up, represented within the game by English, is regarded and used among the trade empires of the Broken Sea region as a trade pidgin, relating to and sharing words with many other languages in the region and abroad. Almost all humans in civilized countries known to Black Steel personnel speak this language to at least a minimal extent, especially to the extent they deal with trade and other matters of foreign exchange, and most sentient beings who deal in any way with humans do so in this tongue as well. Proficiency with the language varies widely from place to place and from person to person, and differing dialects can sometimes make communication challenging, but most people are able to convey and understand simple and especially commercially relevant ideas in this tongue, from the high walls of Illenia in the north to the palaces of Havandia in the south, from the university of Athelenia in the distant west to wild desert plains of the Teigarant Freelands in the east, and perhaps beyond.
Though little regarded as a "high language" by some in the more distant reaches of the world known to Black Steel, this "trade pidgin" is in fact a rich and complex language, sufficient in breadth of expression not only for commercial purposes, but to serve as the default language of international diplomacy. It is the first language of most coastal towns and provinces up and down the Fire Coast, where most Black Steel personnel were born, and also of Eastport itself, perhaps the single most important trade city in the known world. Moreover, in the course of their research, Theril, Dargon, and Quix have found documents supposed to be many hundreds of years old, in countries separated by thousands of miles, written in a language that appears to be an archaic form of the very "trade pidgin" they speak. The origins and history of this language have not been explored in any depth by Black Steel personnel, but if Dargon's theories are correct, it could shed light on the cultural history of the entire known world.
Grat'han
Another surprisingly widespread language is shared by the many tribes of Grat'ha; though dialects have diverged significantly in some cases, virtually all human inhabitants of the known jungles speak variations of the same basic language. The similarities are strong enough that members of different tribes separated by hundreds of miles of dense jungle can usually make themselves understood to one another if members are introduced. Grat'han tribes tend to be heavily steeped in ancient traditions, and this likely affects their language as well as the rest of their culture, but Theril would nonetheless estimate that the languages of distant tribes have only been diverging for a few hundred years at most. Another possibility is that widespread language vectors are keeping distant tribes in relatively close communication and therefore limiting language drift, but no candidates for this role have as yet been found. Llaesira's Grat'han trade network might qualify, depending on its extent, but according to observations by Herring, Theril, and Telaeri, as well as Llaesira's testimony, the network arrived in the northern reaches of the jungle best known to Black Steel too recently to have been a factor there. Recent discussions with Llaesira and especially Dotrum however have suggested to Theril that there really might have been a universal Grat'han language and culture just a few centuries in the past, based perhaps upon worship of (and intervention by) the serpent-like jungle gods whom Dotrum worships.
Other Human Language Groups
In addition to the language with which Daryan and Osiavia were raised, purportedly spoken in the extreme east, far across the northern sea, any number of local languages and dialects are known to various Black Steel personnel, including various traditional languages used by people who dwell inland from the Fire Coast, and several western language groups encountered by Dargon and Quix in their recent travels. Various dialects of Sheradi language spoken along the peninsula are also known, some of which are eccentric enough to be incomprehensible even to those who grew up with the language in less isolated regions such as the Itheshian Confederacy (these languages also bear some resemblance to that which is grudgingly shared by Ephinos and Rhedas). Naturally, the native languages of the most powerful trade nations in the region have impacted local dialects of the trade language considerably, so that people who have traded long in the area are usually able to communicate with bits and pieces of Espaish in rural Espava; Shalasian inland across the Shalasa desert, especially among its nomads and bandits, and even Old Havandian in the high courts of Virhas and on the wide plains between jungle and sea. More opaque to the average merchant are the deep, guttural language of Korv, in which Thorm Casati alone of Black Steel personnel is fluent, and the various dialects of Teigaric spoken in the eastern deserts and arid plains. Korvan in particular appears to share less in common with local dialects of the trade language than with the language of the nation's non-human sentient population.
Other Races' and Non-Human Language
With the magic inherent in their genetic make-up, which can allow for relatively convenient long-distance communication, and their long generations, which tends to slow linguistic drift, it should come as no surprise that the elven peoples known to Black Steel have far less diversity of languages than their more numerous human counterparts. The various dialects spoken by woodland elves encountered in the Grat'han jungles, the tropical forests of Scabbard Isle, and throughout Tornbring Vale, are closely related to each other, to those of the elves among whom Theril lived some of the earliest years of her life near the Fire Coast, and even to the native language of Black Steel's single resident moonlight elf, from somewhere in the distant northwest. The shadow elves of course have been (according to most histories) separated from the rest of their race for many thousands of years, but even their language, at least as spoken in Night Harbor, is reminiscent enough of their distant cousins' tongues to invite inevitable comparisons (though typically not comprehension). Goblinoid languages, by contrast, are wildly divergent, to the point where two tribes living within a dozen miles of each other might not be able to understand each other's tongue at all. The various types of beastmen known to members of Black Steel, with their differing vocal apparatuses, have if possible even greater difficulty in understanding one another. To the extent that goblinoids and beastmen interact with humans at all, the prevailing human language in the region, or a dialect of the Eastport trade language, is almost always used for the purpose. Very often, these are even the languages used for negotiations between tribes of goblinoids or beastmen, when such negotiations are held at all.
Other sentient species' languages are little known to Black Steel, as few have heard them spoken except on rare occasion. Those dwarves, dragons, nethygi, and the like who have spoken with Black Steel members at all have almost always done so in human languages, speaking too few words in their own tongues for any assessment to be made about those languages -- certainly not about their distribution among those creatures' societies. The same might be said as well of the serpent language of Grat'ha, only recently encountered, mostly in rituals associated with the jungle gods.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The People
The number of obviously sentient species in the world of Black Steel is significantly greater than the number on Earth, a fact which is almost certainly a consequence -- at least in part -- of the presence of sorcerous forces. Any species that can manipulate such forces in even primitive ways is likely to evolve in the direction of greater intelligence, but even were this not the case, existing sentients who wield great sorcerous power might well be responsible for "creating" new sentient species (from existing ones or other "raw material") by sorcerous means.
Nonetheless, the most numerous known sentients are humanoid creatures, and the majority in fact are genetically /Homo sapiens/, though -- like modern humans and neanderthals -- they may represent different subspecies or races of the same species. In the context of this game, "human" always refers to genetically modern humans, but it can be important to remember that the goblin and elven races are genetically similar enough to interbreed with humans and bear healthy, fertile children -- even if they rarely do so. Likewise, "race" is generally used to distinguish between e.g. elves, humans, goblins, and (if any were to survive) neanderthals; starlight elves and moonlight elves might be said to be of two different races, as might the dark-skinned humans of Grat'ha and the pale-skinned humans of the lands north of Illenia, but this usage is rare to the extent it exists at all, as the differences between "true races" like elves and goblins are vast in comparison with those between "sub-races" of humans or of elves. Finally, note that humanoid races cannot necessarily all interbreed with one another; indeed, though humans are known to have borne fertile children of both goblin and elven parentage, there are no presently known cases of goblins and elves interbreeding.
See Also:
Beastmen (such as Horned Men, Lizardfolk, Merfolk, Seashore Sirens, Serpentfolk, Werebeasts, and Wolfmen)
Dragons
Dwarves
Earth Giants
Elvenkind
Goblinkind
Humankind
Legendary Giants
Nethygi
The Undead
The Unknown
Nonetheless, the most numerous known sentients are humanoid creatures, and the majority in fact are genetically /Homo sapiens/, though -- like modern humans and neanderthals -- they may represent different subspecies or races of the same species. In the context of this game, "human" always refers to genetically modern humans, but it can be important to remember that the goblin and elven races are genetically similar enough to interbreed with humans and bear healthy, fertile children -- even if they rarely do so. Likewise, "race" is generally used to distinguish between e.g. elves, humans, goblins, and (if any were to survive) neanderthals; starlight elves and moonlight elves might be said to be of two different races, as might the dark-skinned humans of Grat'ha and the pale-skinned humans of the lands north of Illenia, but this usage is rare to the extent it exists at all, as the differences between "true races" like elves and goblins are vast in comparison with those between "sub-races" of humans or of elves. Finally, note that humanoid races cannot necessarily all interbreed with one another; indeed, though humans are known to have borne fertile children of both goblin and elven parentage, there are no presently known cases of goblins and elves interbreeding.
See Also:
Beastmen (such as Horned Men, Lizardfolk, Merfolk, Seashore Sirens, Serpentfolk, Werebeasts, and Wolfmen)
Dragons
Dwarves
Earth Giants
Elvenkind
Goblinkind
Humankind
Legendary Giants
Nethygi
The Undead
The Unknown
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Magic in the Black Steel World
Existence in the world of Black Steel can be imagined as propogating through two very different but powerfully interactive "realities" -- one very like our own in terms of physical law, the other a "magical world" that few humans can witness directly, governed by very different laws indeed. In general, anything that exists in one world necessarily exists in both (though its form in the "magical world" does not resemble the one it holds in our own) but exceptions can be created by the proper exertion of will by someone who knows how to do it, and these exceptions can have significant effects on the reality of both worlds, usually in the course of restoring the two worlds' equilibrium (that is, in the course of ceasing by one means or another to be exceptions). The act of creating such exceptions, at least as humans have learned to do it, typically involves mystical-looking motions of the hands or body, carefully modulated speech or singing, and exertion of will in the magical world, and is generally known as "weaving spells." Human beings are not alone however in their use of the interface between worlds; dragons and elves are known to have special relationships with this interface, other races have been known to wield sorcerous power as well, and even some unthinking beasts appear to have evolved means of creating certain "magical" effects. Moreover, there is a great deal of evidence that magical spell-like boons are granted to priests of the world's various pantheons, not by the priests themselves but by something deeper within the magical world. Some have theorized that the will and worship of each major religion's faithful is sufficient to create these effects, or perhaps to create (or draw unknown beings to fill the roles of) "deities" that provide the boons themselves, most likely at one or more removes. Others argue however that priests are merely passing down traditions of ways found long ago to exploit laws of the magical world not yet known to humans in detail (a faint parallel might be drawn with "Eastern" vs. "Western" medicine in the modern world).
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The World
(NOTE: I'm taking a break from campaign history to get some basic information about the world itself posted, preparatory to redesigning the site somewhat to make it more useful as a reference source. This might take months, but should make a lot more sense when it's finished. Or it might be finished soon. In any case, I do intend to finish the campaign history, at least in overview, as the opportunity arises.)
The world of the Black Steel campaign has been made as much as possible like our own, apart from a few key differences with wide-reaching consequences. The design of the world, from the laws of physics to the diversity of the plant and animal population is intended to balance three main goals:
1. Familiarity: Most of the time, characters in the game should be able to behave as though they lived in a normal medieval earth society, without trying to work out (for instance) the physical requirements and consequences of a world where gunpowder wouldn't burn, the social consequences of one that lacks horses, or the tidal effects of multiple moons. As a result, the basic laws of physics, most familiar animals and plants, and important astronomical features are essentially the same in the world of Black Steel as they are on our Earth.
2. Explorability: The shape of the world's land masses, the locations of different societies and ancient ruins, and some of the animals and plants the characters can expect to encounter, are wildly different from those found on Earth. Some of these are natural consequences of each other, or of the presence of sorcerous power in the world. Others are present simply because a fantasy world whose secrets could be discovered in an almanac as easily as within the story just wouldn't be very interesting. As such, the world map is completely different from Earth's, strange races of humans and other sentient beings dwell across the world, usually in places hidden to "normal" people, and various plants and animals not familiar to us dwell in the world as well, from creatures with ties to magic to those that went extinct on ancient earth but survived in pockets in the Black Steel world to those that evolved naturally but differently than they would have here due to the differences already described.
3. Fantasy: The Black Steel world features magic, dragons, and various other hallmarks of medieval fantasy. Laws of magic allow apparent "violations" of the laws of physics within their limited scope, and fanciful or archaic animals or plants -- where they happen to appear -- fill or obviate the ecological niches that would otherwise have been used by various "normal" creatures. Balancing these facts with my goal of "familiarity" means taking various steps to limit the impact of these fantasy elements on normal people's everyday lives without putting them beyond the reach of player characters or their stories. It's a fine balance, but by no means impossible, and as long as the world is familiar in its workings in most times and places, for most humans and other creatures, it's fine for important fantasy events to be discoverable and even to have major impacts on the world's history. Occasions can arise when fantasy elements loom large in people's everyday lives, but these will be important, story-driven events, significant in their rarity.
The world of the Black Steel campaign has been made as much as possible like our own, apart from a few key differences with wide-reaching consequences. The design of the world, from the laws of physics to the diversity of the plant and animal population is intended to balance three main goals:
1. Familiarity: Most of the time, characters in the game should be able to behave as though they lived in a normal medieval earth society, without trying to work out (for instance) the physical requirements and consequences of a world where gunpowder wouldn't burn, the social consequences of one that lacks horses, or the tidal effects of multiple moons. As a result, the basic laws of physics, most familiar animals and plants, and important astronomical features are essentially the same in the world of Black Steel as they are on our Earth.
2. Explorability: The shape of the world's land masses, the locations of different societies and ancient ruins, and some of the animals and plants the characters can expect to encounter, are wildly different from those found on Earth. Some of these are natural consequences of each other, or of the presence of sorcerous power in the world. Others are present simply because a fantasy world whose secrets could be discovered in an almanac as easily as within the story just wouldn't be very interesting. As such, the world map is completely different from Earth's, strange races of humans and other sentient beings dwell across the world, usually in places hidden to "normal" people, and various plants and animals not familiar to us dwell in the world as well, from creatures with ties to magic to those that went extinct on ancient earth but survived in pockets in the Black Steel world to those that evolved naturally but differently than they would have here due to the differences already described.
3. Fantasy: The Black Steel world features magic, dragons, and various other hallmarks of medieval fantasy. Laws of magic allow apparent "violations" of the laws of physics within their limited scope, and fanciful or archaic animals or plants -- where they happen to appear -- fill or obviate the ecological niches that would otherwise have been used by various "normal" creatures. Balancing these facts with my goal of "familiarity" means taking various steps to limit the impact of these fantasy elements on normal people's everyday lives without putting them beyond the reach of player characters or their stories. It's a fine balance, but by no means impossible, and as long as the world is familiar in its workings in most times and places, for most humans and other creatures, it's fine for important fantasy events to be discoverable and even to have major impacts on the world's history. Occasions can arise when fantasy elements loom large in people's everyday lives, but these will be important, story-driven events, significant in their rarity.