Factions 2nd Edition Progress
Players are now in process of making Characters under the 2nd Ed rules. All in all, no major hiccups, and it at least appears to be going faster and smoother than before. Will know more about this particular aspect of the rewrite in a week or two.
I have been expanding the Astral Plane for the setting, including a large build-up of different Spirit Courts. These are essentially hierarchies of Spirits of a single mythology, although the definition of what makes a mythology is being treated loosely. As of now, the major Spirit Courts of North America are:
Americana Court: Spirits of American national mythology, including famous historical figures as "ancestor" spirits.
Christian Court: Abrahamic Trinity Spirits of Jesus Christ, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, Angels, Demons, and Saints.
Primordial Court: Spirits of Ancient and Neo-Paganism, of both Germanic and British Isles folk traditions.
Progress Court: Spirits of modern Science and Technology.
Simulacrum Court: Spirits of Pop Culture.
Some minor Spirit Courts include:
Celtic Court: Folk religion Spirits of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, comprised of Tuatha de Dannan, Faeries, and the like.
Gnostic Court: Spirits of Christian mysticism, including the Demiurge, the Aeons, the Archons, etc.
Great Spirit Court: North American Native folk religion Spirits.
Trailokya Court: Spirits of Buddhist mysticism.
Minor Spirit Courts for later supplements include:
Dreamtime Court: Australian Aboriginal folk religion Spirits.
First World Court: Spirits of Primal African spiritualism.
Islamic Court: Spirits of the Abrahamic religion of Islam, comprised of Djinn, Angels, Demons.
Jade Court: Ancient Chinese polytheistic folk religion of Confucianism, Ancestor worship, and mixes of Buddhism and Taoism.
Judaic Court: Abrahamic religion Spirits of Yahweh, Angels, Samael, other Fallen Angels, and Demons.
Kabbalah Court: Spirits of Jewish mysticism.
Vedic Court: Spirits of Hindu karmic religious polytheistic traditions.
Vodun Court: Spirits of West African folk religions.
Voodoo Court: Spirits of the Louisiana and Haitan Vodou religions, including Santeria.
So, yeah, that is eating up a lot of my time. On the other hand, research of this nature makes me happy, so there's that. Also, Playtesters are digging in to the Ritual Magic system, and so far the reviews are positive. Still ahead: converting all of the existing Rituals (and there are a lot of them) to the new system, and then filling out each School with new rituals now possible under the expanded rules.
In addition, the game focus has been tightened, in that all Gifted are firmly grounded in the process of becoming Elements; that is, the game prominently tracks their progress in climbing the metaphysical ladder to god-hood. Achieving Prestige in your chosen Elemental Domain(s) is a primary goal of Characters, and doing this requires the Character to perform acts that forward the Domain's standing in the cosmos.
2nd Edition is taking shape. It will be a hard run to have a finished product before Gen Con (in August), but I've got a decent shot.
-a-
I have been expanding the Astral Plane for the setting, including a large build-up of different Spirit Courts. These are essentially hierarchies of Spirits of a single mythology, although the definition of what makes a mythology is being treated loosely. As of now, the major Spirit Courts of North America are:
Americana Court: Spirits of American national mythology, including famous historical figures as "ancestor" spirits.
Christian Court: Abrahamic Trinity Spirits of Jesus Christ, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, Angels, Demons, and Saints.
Primordial Court: Spirits of Ancient and Neo-Paganism, of both Germanic and British Isles folk traditions.
Progress Court: Spirits of modern Science and Technology.
Simulacrum Court: Spirits of Pop Culture.
Some minor Spirit Courts include:
Celtic Court: Folk religion Spirits of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, comprised of Tuatha de Dannan, Faeries, and the like.
Gnostic Court: Spirits of Christian mysticism, including the Demiurge, the Aeons, the Archons, etc.
Great Spirit Court: North American Native folk religion Spirits.
Trailokya Court: Spirits of Buddhist mysticism.
Minor Spirit Courts for later supplements include:
Dreamtime Court: Australian Aboriginal folk religion Spirits.
First World Court: Spirits of Primal African spiritualism.
Islamic Court: Spirits of the Abrahamic religion of Islam, comprised of Djinn, Angels, Demons.
Jade Court: Ancient Chinese polytheistic folk religion of Confucianism, Ancestor worship, and mixes of Buddhism and Taoism.
Judaic Court: Abrahamic religion Spirits of Yahweh, Angels, Samael, other Fallen Angels, and Demons.
Kabbalah Court: Spirits of Jewish mysticism.
Vedic Court: Spirits of Hindu karmic religious polytheistic traditions.
Vodun Court: Spirits of West African folk religions.
Voodoo Court: Spirits of the Louisiana and Haitan Vodou religions, including Santeria.
So, yeah, that is eating up a lot of my time. On the other hand, research of this nature makes me happy, so there's that. Also, Playtesters are digging in to the Ritual Magic system, and so far the reviews are positive. Still ahead: converting all of the existing Rituals (and there are a lot of them) to the new system, and then filling out each School with new rituals now possible under the expanded rules.
In addition, the game focus has been tightened, in that all Gifted are firmly grounded in the process of becoming Elements; that is, the game prominently tracks their progress in climbing the metaphysical ladder to god-hood. Achieving Prestige in your chosen Elemental Domain(s) is a primary goal of Characters, and doing this requires the Character to perform acts that forward the Domain's standing in the cosmos.
2nd Edition is taking shape. It will be a hard run to have a finished product before Gen Con (in August), but I've got a decent shot.
-a-