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[size=150]Flipside: Sundereth[/size]
Game concept by Jared Hansen
Introduction
The following outlines some of the basic background flavour of a LARP capable of being used on multiple scales, from small scale adventures to convention sized games with hundreds of participants.
This game system is my attempt at taking some of the best features from many other LARP games past & present, with influences from RPG’s such as DnD, Runequest, & from books by James Barclay, J R R Tolkien, R Fiest & D Eddings.
Because I have borrowed so much I don’t feel I should have people pay for this game system, I wish to distribute it to high calibre GM’s who will use it to create a network of games. I wouldn’t mind the odd donation but really the use of my system would be enough payback for me.
Local cells would run their own games, with plots that may be independent but connected with a common background, allowing easy character transfer between cells, simply & elegantly representing the wandering adventurer.
For major events, people should be able to come from anywhere & bring their GM verified characters with them & participate in events which will shape the very game world itself. Major events would also be the forum for introducing change to the system, with GM’s bringing ideas & improvements to be discussed & potentially included by quorum.
Of course this is all just a pipedream if no one wants to use my system, so read the background & let me know what you GM’s out there think.
The game is still in development so your ideas can help shape things to come.
An initial version is still a few months away but GM’s who would like to see completed components should contact me by email: jm_hansen@hotmail.com
Game Background
Flipside: Sundereth is a LARP game for those who like an epic magical fantasy setting with a slight twist, the ability to role play an entire gamut of races with different creeds & beliefs. The boundaries of the righteous & diabolical, law & order, good & evil all become blurred as societies clash, throwing players into both unlikely alliance & bloody conflict.
Flipside: Sundereth is set in a mythological realm of Sundereth (or the sundered earth), an untamed world ruled by various factions, magic & war.
Sundereth is a divided realm & is split between relatively small occupied lands known as the ‘isles’, that held by societies slightly more advanced than tribal barbarians & the Savage Wilds, which aren’t held by anyone bar savage beasts & tribal warlord cultures .
While most of these “isles” are land bound, they are still islands & are often geographically isolated by large untamed wild lands. It is within these (generally) resource rich islands, that different societies have come to exist, some in uneasy coexistence, some in clear dominion over others.
Though true peace is non existent, open war is uncommon; occasional conflict comes in the form of raids, looting & skirmishes. Borders are fluid & resources are contested regularly. Complete domination of an “isle” is rare and though not every race may have representative settlements in every location, some societies mix well and some (begrudgingly) allow other races into their borders without issue.
Player Races
Skor – millennia ago an ancient race sought to create a race of warrior slaves by mixing the blood of multiple demi-human races with that of cunning demi trolls & a new race was born. The ancients are gone, lost to antiquity but the Skor remain.
This warrior society has strong leadership in the form of a tribal warlord, often backed with the advice of Shamen.
They have strict tribal law & many have ideals of honour, especially when facing worthy opponents. Though not particularly sophisticated tribal law governs & curbs some of their less appealing behavioural traits & it is now uncommon for them to eat their victims after battle.
They are strong & fierce they take pride in the skills & art of hunting, arms & battle.
They are identifiable by their skin tone varying from pale green to virtually black to blue or purple & their distinctive tribal iconography. They are known to have jutting, almost tusk-like canines, male & female alike, which sometimes impedes their speech.
Humans – prevalent in almost any area, they are a diverse group in of themselves, and quick to adapt to new situations, they are often found in the most unexpected of places doing the most unexpected of things.
Humans have no real disadvantage & learn faster than other races.
Stonekith – often bearded & proud these mountain men delve the depths of the world for riches, their understanding of stone is legendary.
Clan law & honour are important to these hardy folk & millennia of conflict with Skor & other savage creatures have hardened their resolve in battle to a fine steely point.
This can make them seem dour & unfriendly to strangers but once an alliance is struck they are steadfast in their purpose.
Male Stonekith often have beards and those that do wear it as a mark of Clan pride, they are often stout but of varying height, all (male & female) have a small Stonekith symbol of a crossed hammer & pick tattooed on the left side of their face or carried openly on their person.
Iltherin – pointed ears, capricious natures & a tendency for fine flowing clothes are the foremost impressions of Iltherin by other races. The younger children of a long dead race, they consider themselves the children of magic & their entire race has a natural affinity with it. They can seem to be a fey & fickle race to outsiders, their agendas often alien to other races that encounter them.
While their society is roughly cohesive, several subgroups (Naga, Archus & Genai) hold court over different lands, each often having different codes for ethics & morality.
Members of this race always wear a feather on their person, whether it is an actual or a stylised representation. Iltherin also have a metallic sheen to their skin, noticeable around the facial features.
Zlyn – are humanoid lizardfolk formed of a 3 sex race, their ancestors predating even the Iltherin ancients.
These sibilant, scaly, horned, tailed, and finned serpent people live a monastic existence, finding refuge in other societies which value their age old wisdom.
No one who meets a Zlyn could mistake them for another race.
Skkari – Their very existence lies shrouded in mystery, all that is known is that by some freak of necromancy, some human undead regain sentience, with fragmented memories & personality from their prior life.
Their undeath grips them as strong as life did; they become new entities entirely, drawing life from where there should be none.
They are inexplicably drawn together, forming an altogether alien society, unfettered by natural death, or reproduction, so many of their human needs are now extinguished.
Without the many drivers found in normal society, the small enclaves of Skkari seek their own goals of self preservation through power.
Cluagh – The Cluagh are a bestial mongrel race, being half humanoid & half beast. They are a diverse race & individuals often show features of many animal types from the hairy to the scaled or feathered or tentacled. They are thought to be the product of heavy Void exposure to primitive peoples long ago. They respect the strong but little else & forge a mercenary existence on Sundereth.
Societies
Within the various cities & landholdings, various societies accept members of other races depending on the cultural standings each race has with another.
Note: While most races will have their own distinct villages or outposts, predominantly of a single race & culture, the predominant race of the major cities form the basis for that society, regardless of the racial & cultural mix.
Societies: Sub societies & racial mixes
Human: Iltherin, Stonekith, Zlyn
Iltherin: Human, Zlyn,
Stonekin: Human
Skor: Zlyn, Skkari, Iltherin, Cluagh
Skkari: no permanent sub-societies
Cluagh: Skor
Factions
Factions are numerous in Sundereth, some are alliances of great strength or show the way of life, moral & ethical outlooks of particular subgroups. Some races in Sundereth have no real faction, being neutral or are more mercenary in their outlook, free to hire by the strongest or the highest paying. The Iltherin are divided, being neutral or mercenary & are split into 3 factions, the dark Naga, the righteous Archus & the more numerous Genai. Humans & Stonekith have formed the Allied Nations, the Skor & Skarri have a tenuous agreement know as the Claw Alliance & the vicious Cluagh are mercanaries or raiders & respect only the strong. Only the mystic Zlyn are neutral to all, welcomed for their presence & wisdom.
Magic
Magic is a layman’s term for the manipulation of the latent mana energies (known as the mana spectrum) that are an inherent part of the natural & supernatural forces that affect Sundereth.
Those that manipulate mana alter it from the latent natural state into less or unstable mana shapes, which are known collectively spells. Though the mana energy is practically limitless, manipulating it causes a drain on the psyche of the caster, which is of a finite value & varies from caster to caster, depending of training & experience.
Casters refer to this as mana stamina.
‘Casters’ is a generic term for a manipulator of magic, though they vary greatly in ability & effect depending on belief, focus, lore, training & even moral & ethical outlook.
The resultant effect is multiple magical disciplines or domains, each which utilise different though potentially overlapping parts of the mana spectrum (much like light through a prism).
Priests & Shamen for instance use devotion as their belief & focus; their religious texts provide the necessary lore, training & moral outlook.
Mages (a common type of caster) study the mana spectrum scientifically, jealously guarding their knowledge from other disciplines.
Mana Domains
Aether – magic of light, healing & astral beings
Void – magic of darkness, demons & the undead
Destruction – magic of fire & ruin
Nature – magic of the world
Mana – the essential force of magic
They limited the number and the power of elves and magician