About This Game
Game System
Detailed Description
In the world of Ossenheim, the veil between life and death is gossamer thin. Necromancy is not reviled here, but seen as a venerable art that honors the dead. Under the blessing of Revenor, the Skeleton King and Lord of the Dead, practiced necromancers ritualistically bind willing spirits to their preserved mortal remains. These undead, called revenants, retain their living memories and personality. They serve their descendants as revered ancestral guardians and guides.
Families keep the bones of their ancestors in crypts and mausoleums, awaiting the time when a necromancer may come to awaken their forebears. Though unnatural in strength and tirelessness, revenants are not mindless zombies. Rather, they are held to their purpose by magical contracts and familial piety. Most citizens of Ossenheim see their undead ancestors as a continuity with the past, not an abomination.
Balance is maintained between the realms of life and death by Ossenheim's pantheon of gods. Vita the Maiden nurtures the living while Revenor shepherds the dead. Mystic Mortus reads the unseen threads of destiny that govern both. Wise Lathos keeps records of history and ritual so that new generations of necromancers can safely follow their art. Caelo the Ever-Changing brings the seasons that shift the veil between realms with her storms and mists. And over all looms Tempus, measuring out every mortal life and unlife with his eternal scales.
Here in Ossenheim, time and tradition have reconciled mortality's impermanence with the enduring influence of ancestors. The customs of this land allow the bones of the past to support the present, and the present to honor the past in turn. Death is but the continuation of life's duties by other means.
- What's new in this game
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The Umbral League is also really interesting! That did make me wonder, could there be a big group of nobles, whose lineage and privledge extends far back to their ancestors who rose to power on account of their achievements? Perhaps even a city or a district of a city where they all reside, separated from the rest of the world. As another thought, have revenants or the undead ever risen without the help of someone? Such as an old swordmaster coming back as an undead to rescue and protect a kid that's their great-great-great grandson.
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This seems like an interesting setting! I'd like to ask more about it. :) How "big" is the world of Ossenheim? Like, did you imagine it as a world of many nations scattered across continents and landmasses? Or is it more of a pangaea or archipelago of sorts? And are there any notable "threats" to Ossenheim? Something that encourages people to adventure and quest.
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I don't know that this would work if the game world is limited to one monoculture, but if we have some different nations or regions which differ enough culturally, I'd like there to be one in the mix that really focuses on and exaggerates the colorful art associated with Día de los Muertos. The revenants there would all be very brightly decorated skeletons, for example.
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Adapting modules is a good idea, and that's probably what I'll do. I see no need to make up everything myself. I'm not an endless fountain of creativity, I need lots of inputs to provoke my own thoughts. I will always be delighted to hear an idea a player has and work it into what we're doing. And they can be gigantic ideas, too. I really want to impress upon everyone that while I will be the one ruling over decisions as the GM, I have not fleshed out a whole detailed world all my own such that other people's ideas would be intrusions upon my precious creation.
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For races I imagine something like typical Pathfinder. Lots of members of the Core races, others are around but not as common as Core races. Probably no Androids, in keeping with the lack of higher technology.
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What about the races? Humans only? Core? A few of the more exotic creatures?
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Great questions. Let me be clear first off that I don't have answers decided for all this already. I can try to make those decisions on my own, but would actually be more interested in hearing others say what they would like. If pressed to decide it all myself I'd probably make this a sort of mini-plane similar in scale to Ravenloft so that I need not invent multiple whole nations. But if others wanted to pitch in, I'm happy for it to be a bigger world. I do have something of an opinion on technology, though--I like early firearms in my Pathfinder, but not higher tech.
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So, revenants are undead, and a very strong societal fixture. Do abilities that disrupt or control the undead exist (such as the command undead channel energy feat, or the command undead ghost strike from the death sphere)? If so, do they work on revenants? If so, what is society's views of such abilities? What sort of national structuring exists? Are city-states common? Standard countries? What sort of technological era did you have in mind? Renaissance, medieval, ancient times, etc? For people outside of a noble house, what life options are there? Are serfs a thing? How prominent is the merchant class? The skilled trades? For members of a noble house, what duties are expected of them? Are they primarily or exclusively politicians? What options are available to a second or third son/daughter? Is anything expected of a later child, or are they generally free to do whatever they feel like/"waste their life"? What races exist? Is this more or less a human exclusive setting, is there a standard fantasy mix, or is it something in between? Are there other races that exist but are too rare to be player options? What sort of geography/climate exists (at least for the portion of the world you intend for the game to take place in)?
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OK, that sounds like "standard Pathfinder", then. 🙂 Do you intend to build the campaign yourself from scratch? I'm asking because you could always adapt a module too; transposing it in your world would be a little work (adapting organizations, deities, ...), but much less than doing everything yourself. If building it yourself, do you have a sketch of a plot? Do you like to lean a lot on NPCs / story elements provided by players, or do you generally bring most of the ideas?
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The style I feel naturally inclined toward is Sword & Sorcery, except that I wouldn't be holding to the low magic characteristic. I expect magic to be a bit more accessible than that. I'm really not much of a Noir or Intrigue guy, and certainly not Horror. This will also mean that social interactions are never going to be the biggest focus.
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I tend to approach things top-down, so that's what I'm going to do here. If you're a bottom-up kind of person, do say so. First off, do you have an idea what style of campaign you want to run? If we start from a blank slate, it could be Sword & Sorcery, Noir, Horror, Intrigue, ... Then: will it focus on combat? Exploration? Social interactions? Puzzles? Probably a bit of all of that, but where do you see yourself putting the accent(s)?
