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HunnieBugg
a clump of mushrooms pretending to be a person
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2022
(I'm posting this here in order to field for interest. I would love to get a small group going using this setting/concept, and I would be more than happy to chat with people and help brainstorm characters.)
We were all born into a world of ash.
The age of comfort, instant communication, and mindless consumption has ended.
Many generations before any of us, a catastrophic drought struck the world, radically changing the landscape and its people. The resulting panic and widescale economic collapse toppled cities. It's believed that the drought is a divine recompense for the greed of humankind - a punishment from the Gods for their destruction of the planet's precious resources, and their cruelty to its creatures. Of course, some believe that the drought is simply an inevitable part of the planet's life cycle, unfortunate though it may be. Either way, survival is hard out here, and clean water and loyalty are life's most precious commodities. A small handful of very powerful companies are competing with one another to privatize - and thus control - access to clean water, while people uniquely gifted with abilities like dowsing do their best to provide for their communities.
The most powerful of these gifted people are the Rainseeds. These are people born with the ability to call down rain, or draw water up from underground. (More on them later.)
Modern technology does still exist, but with limitations. Large scale utility grids are no longer operating, so most buildings don't have power, unless they run on biofuel generators, which are costly and difficult to maintain. Cars and other motor-vehicles are no longer in use. The large ones (everything from buses to airplanes) have mostly been repurposed as homes or trading posts. There are no phones, and there is no internet, but here and there it's possible to find someone with a working radio. Small electronics like crank-powered flashlights are pretty widely available. Some people make their own useful inventions using the pieces from objects that no longer serve any purpose.
As far as weapons are concerned, it's a matter of class. Firearms still exist, but they are very hard to come by, and in most cases, the only people who have them are the very wealthy and very powerful. Knives are, of course, a popular choice, but so are slingshots. Many weapons are repurposed from the remnants of the old world. Road signs, tools, baseball bats, and other detritus can be turned into weapons and personalized. Some people have even made a business out of this practice. Salvagers are usually very popular at trading posts.
Society is organized around outposts. There are small towns built into the sides of rocky cliffs, villages in the husks of old hospitals, and small encampments in dry lake beds. There are also people who choose to travel from place to place rather than settling down. The closest thing we have to cities are the holy citadels, where the Rainseeds live.
The Citadels are walled cities, usually close to what was once a body of water. At the heart of each Citadel is a temple, dedicated to the storm god Yema. There is usually also a village or small town just outside of the Citadel, which directly serves and is served by the Rainseeds who live within.
Our story takes place in and around the Redhawk Citadel, located along a dry riverbed. Its buildings are constructed of bricks and stone, cobbled together from the ruins of other cities which fell long ago. Its Rainseeds call water up from deep underground.
Characters:
There are a variety of different character types you could play if you are interested in exploring this complex, richly storied world.
-Townspeople: these are laborers, people with homes and families in the valley. They attend festivals inside the Citadel, and are always on the lookout for signs of trouble. They tend to be pragmatic and are slow to trust outsiders, but they have the privilege of a reliable home and a relatively peaceful everyday life.
-Rovers: these are people who travel from place to place, never lingering anywhere for very long. They stay afloat in a variety of ways - through scavenging, odd jobs, sex work, the distillation and sale of potent alcohols, music and storytelling, and sometimes good old fashioned theft.
-Rainseeds: the powerful spiritual leaders of Citadels and their surrounding villages. Rainseeds are spiritually gifted, but physically fragile. They are usually born prematurely, and vulnerable to illness. The Citadels exist to protect them from people who would take advantage of their gift for selfish gain, and to guard them from the unpredictable violence that is commonplace beyond the walls. They dress in white, and people often view them as being "touched" by the storm god Yema. Of course, there are some who are skeptical of their abilities and their status.
-Waterdogs: the dutiful guards and companions of the Rainseeds. Yema has two dogs who run beside her across the sky, representing thunder and lightning. Because of this, dogs are considered sacred, and there are many or them running around the Citadels. It's these noble creatures who give the Waterdogs their name. They are ordinary people without water gifts, but who have made the choice of their own free will to protect the Rainseeds and work alongside them. When fully trained, they take new names (ex. Crowdog, Sundog, Freedog) as a symbol of their commitment. They wear earth toned clothing and move silently, so that out in the desert they blend in like stones. Some Waterdogs may form a close bond with one Rainseed, who they will then serve throughout their life. This bond can take many forms. The relationship can be intimate, but it can also be familial, or a bond of close and caring friendship. In any case, their loyalty is without parallel.
-Water Witches: these are people who are not Rainseeds, but who have some other gift or talent that enables them to help the ones around them have access to water. They may be dowsers (people who use dowsing rods to locate water underground), witches who use charms and ritual to increase the chance of rain, or people who specialize in valuable skills like purifying water, or growing drought-hardy plants and using them to make medicine.
-Agents: these people work for the private companies competing for control over the water supply. They are rarely, if ever, up to anything good.
-Cultists: while these people technically fall under the category of Rovers, they deserve their own explanation. While small cults may crop up here and there from time to time, the biggest and most influential cult is The Resilient. These people believe that the catastrophic drought is merely a sign that humankind is meant to prepare for a new evolutionary stage. They reject the gift of the Rainseeds and belief in Yema and other gods. Instead, they push themselves to survive on as little water as possible, as preparation for their evolution. Many of them have gone mad with thirst.
We were all born into a world of ash.
The age of comfort, instant communication, and mindless consumption has ended.
Many generations before any of us, a catastrophic drought struck the world, radically changing the landscape and its people. The resulting panic and widescale economic collapse toppled cities. It's believed that the drought is a divine recompense for the greed of humankind - a punishment from the Gods for their destruction of the planet's precious resources, and their cruelty to its creatures. Of course, some believe that the drought is simply an inevitable part of the planet's life cycle, unfortunate though it may be. Either way, survival is hard out here, and clean water and loyalty are life's most precious commodities. A small handful of very powerful companies are competing with one another to privatize - and thus control - access to clean water, while people uniquely gifted with abilities like dowsing do their best to provide for their communities.
The most powerful of these gifted people are the Rainseeds. These are people born with the ability to call down rain, or draw water up from underground. (More on them later.)
Modern technology does still exist, but with limitations. Large scale utility grids are no longer operating, so most buildings don't have power, unless they run on biofuel generators, which are costly and difficult to maintain. Cars and other motor-vehicles are no longer in use. The large ones (everything from buses to airplanes) have mostly been repurposed as homes or trading posts. There are no phones, and there is no internet, but here and there it's possible to find someone with a working radio. Small electronics like crank-powered flashlights are pretty widely available. Some people make their own useful inventions using the pieces from objects that no longer serve any purpose.
As far as weapons are concerned, it's a matter of class. Firearms still exist, but they are very hard to come by, and in most cases, the only people who have them are the very wealthy and very powerful. Knives are, of course, a popular choice, but so are slingshots. Many weapons are repurposed from the remnants of the old world. Road signs, tools, baseball bats, and other detritus can be turned into weapons and personalized. Some people have even made a business out of this practice. Salvagers are usually very popular at trading posts.
Society is organized around outposts. There are small towns built into the sides of rocky cliffs, villages in the husks of old hospitals, and small encampments in dry lake beds. There are also people who choose to travel from place to place rather than settling down. The closest thing we have to cities are the holy citadels, where the Rainseeds live.
The Citadels are walled cities, usually close to what was once a body of water. At the heart of each Citadel is a temple, dedicated to the storm god Yema. There is usually also a village or small town just outside of the Citadel, which directly serves and is served by the Rainseeds who live within.
Our story takes place in and around the Redhawk Citadel, located along a dry riverbed. Its buildings are constructed of bricks and stone, cobbled together from the ruins of other cities which fell long ago. Its Rainseeds call water up from deep underground.
Characters:
There are a variety of different character types you could play if you are interested in exploring this complex, richly storied world.
-Townspeople: these are laborers, people with homes and families in the valley. They attend festivals inside the Citadel, and are always on the lookout for signs of trouble. They tend to be pragmatic and are slow to trust outsiders, but they have the privilege of a reliable home and a relatively peaceful everyday life.
-Rovers: these are people who travel from place to place, never lingering anywhere for very long. They stay afloat in a variety of ways - through scavenging, odd jobs, sex work, the distillation and sale of potent alcohols, music and storytelling, and sometimes good old fashioned theft.
-Rainseeds: the powerful spiritual leaders of Citadels and their surrounding villages. Rainseeds are spiritually gifted, but physically fragile. They are usually born prematurely, and vulnerable to illness. The Citadels exist to protect them from people who would take advantage of their gift for selfish gain, and to guard them from the unpredictable violence that is commonplace beyond the walls. They dress in white, and people often view them as being "touched" by the storm god Yema. Of course, there are some who are skeptical of their abilities and their status.
-Waterdogs: the dutiful guards and companions of the Rainseeds. Yema has two dogs who run beside her across the sky, representing thunder and lightning. Because of this, dogs are considered sacred, and there are many or them running around the Citadels. It's these noble creatures who give the Waterdogs their name. They are ordinary people without water gifts, but who have made the choice of their own free will to protect the Rainseeds and work alongside them. When fully trained, they take new names (ex. Crowdog, Sundog, Freedog) as a symbol of their commitment. They wear earth toned clothing and move silently, so that out in the desert they blend in like stones. Some Waterdogs may form a close bond with one Rainseed, who they will then serve throughout their life. This bond can take many forms. The relationship can be intimate, but it can also be familial, or a bond of close and caring friendship. In any case, their loyalty is without parallel.
-Water Witches: these are people who are not Rainseeds, but who have some other gift or talent that enables them to help the ones around them have access to water. They may be dowsers (people who use dowsing rods to locate water underground), witches who use charms and ritual to increase the chance of rain, or people who specialize in valuable skills like purifying water, or growing drought-hardy plants and using them to make medicine.
-Agents: these people work for the private companies competing for control over the water supply. They are rarely, if ever, up to anything good.
-Cultists: while these people technically fall under the category of Rovers, they deserve their own explanation. While small cults may crop up here and there from time to time, the biggest and most influential cult is The Resilient. These people believe that the catastrophic drought is merely a sign that humankind is meant to prepare for a new evolutionary stage. They reject the gift of the Rainseeds and belief in Yema and other gods. Instead, they push themselves to survive on as little water as possible, as preparation for their evolution. Many of them have gone mad with thirst.