This is an idea borne from an old RP from a couple years ago, where I and the players spent far more time creating characters, locations, religions and monsters than we spent actually roleplaying. The worldbuilding part was far more engaging for us. So, what if there were no obligation to RP at all?
"Sometimes, if you look close in that gray just before dawn, you can see their eyes shining." Grandfather leaned forward, his stool creaking, bony fingers pulling his eyes comically wider in the light of the hearth. "In the shadows between the trees, or the dark in an alley, or under your bed. The Ruse are everywhere, if you know how to look, if ya know how to listen." He tugged a drooping earlobe. "Now, most of 'em are friendly, or don't care one way or another that you're lookin' at 'em -- but you listen to your gut." His veined fist pressed against his stomach. "You start to feel queasy, or scared for no reason, or you feel like something's watchin' you with no good intention, you get away quick. You run," he flicked a hand through the air, "and you don't look back."
Premise
This is a world ruled by nature, folklore and imagination. From forests grown out of the ruins of ancient and bloody civilizations, to color-shocked cities full of graffiti skyscrapers, to white deserts hiding secrets under the sand, all share the same common elements: mystery, whimsy, and the Ruse.
Intent -- also called magic, belief, or imagination -- is a powerful element. Though the means of focusing and channeling intent may be different -- from spells and rituals to prayers and dreams -- the cause and effect remains the same. Through focused and sustained intention, a person may increase their tolerance for pain or call a thunderstorm. A group of people, guided by the same intent, could turn the tides of war or disaster.
The Ruse
The Ruse are thoughtforms that are created either by focused intent or by radical emotion. A single person may create a weak Ruse for themselves, through prolonged and sustained belief -- such as a child conjuring an imaginary friend -- or through powerful emotion, such as an abusive household creating a monster in the closet, or a violent death resulting in a ghostly presence. All these are forms of the Ruse.
Groups of people who share the same intent may create more powerful Ruse, intentionally or not. Religions create their own very real deities through the power of devoted belief -- and deities diminish in power as that belief dwindles. Wars and disasters often result in Ruse of a dangerous sort, borne of the combined terror of hundreds. Benevolent Ruse, similarly, may rise out of joyful festivals and happy events.
The Ruse could be anything: a personal imaginary presence, an animal familiar, a ghost, a fairy, an unusual tree -- or a colossal tortoise, a mountain giant made of stone, a dragon that lives on an island that floats in the sky. Each of them originated as intent, and each will weaken and become shades of their former existence if starved for attention. A monster that terrorizes a city will become more powerful as people continue to feed it their fear.
A deity will protect a city from harm as long as the people believe in it.
This is Not an RP
Yep, there's no RP here. At least, I don't plan to mod anything and I've got no story to tell.
This is a premise from which to create characters and worldbuild -- maybe together we can tell stories from a larger perspective, working off of each other's characters, locations and monsters to end up with something tangible and unique. There's no pressure to post, no paragraph obligation, just a sounding board for stories and ideas.
So How Would This Work, Exactly?
Perhaps begin by submitting a character sheet. Explain the character's life, where they're from, what they know. Then, another player or I may latch onto something you wrote and expand upon it -- add characters to your tribe, or develop the surrounding land, or declare there's an evil lord next door who's terrorizing your character's village. Everyone could freely submit as many ideas as they want, either their own ideas or expansions on others, or ask questions to broaden the scope of what's written.
Some Ground Rules
- Please do not bring in your prefabricated worldbuilds. Do not try to strongarm your fully realized worlds into this one -- no matter how you frame it, it will be obvious. Create something fresh and new and impressionable and free of assumptions.
- Anything you do not explicitly state in writing is open to interpretation and expansion by others. It's hard sometimes, but try to avoid getting extremely attached to your own vision. Keep an open mind. If other players are inspired by what you write, try to be encouraging rather than tell them why they're wrong.
- The GM has final say. On the other side of that coin, this sort of thing can run off the rails very quickly (especially if/when players don't abide by rule #1). If something absolutely positively wrecks the world's consistency, I'll point it out and try to help solve it.
- Go with the fantastic and whimsical wherever you can. Use weird, magic-powered technology. Create a small country ruled by a penguin. Create a character whose farmhouse life is entirely average except for the fact that the farm is on a flying island. Any mundane ideas will be subject to aggressive ridiculousness. You have been warned.
It will be my job to tie things together, create some kind of consistency, and plot locations on an eventual map. I promise to respond to everything, to ask questions, to add ideas, and to ensure everything is grounded in the same principles.
. . . That is, if anyone thinks this sort of thing is worth trying at all, haha!
Antlers
Shifter_Master
Neziul
Iluvtoji
IAmTheIsland
Bugman
Passable Writer
Fetzen
Not a Sayan
Stanifly
