[Runed Worlds] Concepts Part One

[Sean_RDP]

The following are some basic concepts of world building for Runed Worlds

A Tale of Four Worlds & Infinite Stars

There are four locations where much of the culture and conflict exist that will inspire play in Runed Worlds.

• Dhalvos Prime - A dead Runed World which once belonged to a race known as the Second Givers. It is barren and almost lifeless, with little atmosphere. However, the ruins of the SG litter the world and many factions have permanent bases on or above Dhalvos Prime. A place where science, exploration, and old mysteries thrive.
• Lolshelaton - A green and young Runed World where a primitive people, Volmndoi, live in the deep ravines and lower forests. The upper forests and mountains are dominated by the bio-tech corporations who are taking as much from Lolshelaton as possible before someone stops them.
• Maker - Maker is not a Runed World, but a barren and rocky lightless planetoid. Half the planet is covered in ramshackle cities built up over the centuries.  There are few laws on Maker and almost no authority to speak of. Anything goes here and people live on Maker because they want to live there. At least most of them do so.
• Junction Nine - One of several mysterious stations orbiting barren stars. Junction Nine was apparently built to facilitate travel from one part of the galaxy to the other, though now it functions as a way station for only parts of Liminal Space.

But there is a vast galaxy and universe out there. Runed Worlds will not limit play to these four locations, they will be provided as mere examples for game masters to build on, There are thousands of stars within Liminal Space, more than enough to tell your story.

Liminal Space

A region of space encompassing 1000 LY in every direction (at least) that has a profound physical and psychological effect on sentient races and space itself. Liminal Space and the technology that manipulates it is responsible for (relatively) quick travel through space as well as a number of "experiences" both accidental and purposeful. Of course it has also been turned into a weapon by a number of factions. "Going Liminal" is a phrase used often to describe someone who is acting crazy, spacey, or abnormal in some way.

Culture & Species

Species and Culture are not entirely synonymous. A character’s species determines their physical and mental capacities. Culture is defined by where the character grew up and under what influences their lives have evolved. From a mechanics point of view, Culture will be a separate choice from species. Each will give the character skill specialties, but Culture will have more influence on development than species will.