Sea of Stars(A Vaguely Western Zodiac themed setting.)

[RockmanDotEXE]

I will admit right off the bat the setting takes some cues from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, at least in the ways that the 'demigods' of the setting are treated. Everything else either has no direct inspiration or is inspired by something unknown to me.

I may have to split this up into parts due to lack of free time on my end.

The Novae(PT.1)

The most fundamental and important law of the setting, which is otherwise like our own, is that there is a metaphysical dot of mystical energy that...it's hard to explain, but it gives any object 'meaning'. A human without this would be a breathing, living, eating lump of flesh that's shaped like a person. Not a human, but an incredible simulation. This applies to every object. A chair without it's Novae would be a construct of sticks that can support someone, but not be comfortable and would act and feel much like you would trying to sit on a pile of twigs. Novae have 4 qualities that give things their identity. Intensity, Color, Number and Configuration.

Intensity is the effect the Novae has on others, as well as it's ability to marshall other dots. Humans have relatively high Intensity compared to most animals, but Scions and Gods can effect the entire world with their decisions. Charisma and Presence is a good analogue.

Color is the closest thing to an 'element'. All objects have an inclination towards certain actions or fates, the computer that seizes and has errors in spite, the couch that seems comforting...These things are all determined by color. People's Colors have been recorded under many different names. The Enneagram, the Myer-Briggs, the Temperaments. All the same attempts at categorizing Colors.

Number is a tricky one. It's safe to say that it represents power level, in an abstract way. Mystical creatures(Starborne) have multiple dots of Novae, As do the Scions and Gods(Sigils) of the setting, but otherwise it's a confusing quantity, as humans have only one, yet they are feared and respected by the Sigils. It's generally accepted that the more Novae a creature or thing has, the more difficult it is to kill.

Configuration is a big part of the Magic System of the Sea of Stars setting. Novae work like constellations, appropriate seeing as they appear as stereotypical twinkly stars or pearls in the physical form. A person is a single dot with the Bonds(the 'connect the lines' part of constellations and the reason that a single dot can be many things) in a stick figure form with the novae as a core, a few symbols representing a name formed from the Bonds. Doing magic can just be using your own intensity to shape the bonds and move around the Novae of others or yourself to form what you wish(Transmutation) or using novae and Bonds to form a metaphysical configuration that causes phenomena.(Signing)

MAGIC
As noted above, Magic is using Intensity to move around Novae and Bonds to either Transmute or Sign. Mortals can perform it, All that is required to do magic is unwavering focus and novae.

Mortals rely on transmutation until they can Harvest novae from humans/scions(Which is basically soul stealing and immoral), monsters(Which is acceptable as Starborne are basically novae with physical shells) Places, and Objects. (Morality depends on the object.)

Signs can be used to a devastating effect, as many of the symbols that can be Acted on include time, space, and minds. However, It requires many Novae to do considerable actions with this style of magic. Scions have it easy, as they are born with 5 dots of novae, and can do simple signs right away.

Signing is a two part system. Signs are separated into Nouns and Verbs. Verbs are the easiest and least costly to do, but they can only do a single action in the direction of the Signer's palm. Destroy is a simple assault spell, which can be dodged or warded off with Protect. Destroy House is more specific, and hard to guard against without foresight(Inscribing Protect House into the walls.) More advanced signing requires detailed insight into the target's Color and Intensity, and if it's a specific person, their Bond configuration. Destroy Peter Parker would require all of this to be specific, and it is easily undone if known in advance.
The range of most spells are affected by the combined Intensity of the Novae involved. Line of Sight is usually the norm, but someone with very intense or numerous Novae could go beyond that.

(End PART 1.)
Next Part: The Houses and the Sigils.

[Elemental]

First point I can think of:
Word based magic is inherently problematic.
It doesn't matter so much if it's not going to be used as a campaign setting, but if it is, you're going to have a lot of statting out to do.
The question of course is... Are these Signs any word? A particular language? Or a set of specific words of power?

The first two are as problematic as each other, so I'd recommend the third.


Second point: So Novae are basically the essence of a thing? Kind of like its soul, but not?
It seems you have a very animist world. What would happen if someone were to use Signs to animate the Novae of inanimate object, would that cause the object itself to become animate, or separate its spirit into a unnatural abomination?


Sorry if this sounds nit-picky, but clarification is always helpful. Not just for us, for you as well.
Apart from those two points, I find it quite interesting.
Keep up the good work.

[RockmanDotEXE]

First point I can think of:
Word based magic is inherently problematic.
It doesn't matter so much if it's not going to be used as a campaign setting, but if it is, you're going to have a lot of statting out to do.
The question of course is... Are these Signs any word? A particular language? Or a set of specific words of power?

The first two are as problematic as each other, so I'd recommend the third.

They aren't derived from human languange, though many of them resemble(vaguely) alchemic symbols.
An experienced signer can align the novae with thought. Novices use words(varies from user to user) they connect with the symbol as a memorization tool, and use hand gestures as a focusing technique. How I'd handle it depends on the system, if we're talking d20 then I suppose it would use Wisdom for both remembering the sign and actually performing the spell.



Second point: So Novae are basically the essence of a thing? Kind of like its soul, but not?
It seems you have a very animist world. What would happen if someone were to use Signs to animate the Novae of inanimate object, would that cause the object itself to become animate, or separate its spirit into a unnatural abomination?


“WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HADN'T SAVED HIM?
'Yes! The sun would have risen just the same, yes?'
NO
'Oh, come on. You can't expect me to believe that. It's an astronomical fact.'
THE SUN WOULD NOT HAVE RISEN.
...
'Really? Then what would have happened, pray?'
A MERE BALL OF FLAMING GAS WOULD HAVE ILLUMINATED THE WORLD."
-Hogfather

This is basically my stance on the difference of things with or without novae. It seems a bit unimportant, but as you said it's animistic. Platonic Idealism is basically what I was going for here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonic_idealism
The physical form is a shell wrapped around the ideal form configured by both Novae and Bond.
Animating Novae in living beings would end in Doppelganger Starborne and a comatose/lobotomized target. Animating the Novae of an inanimate object would render it moving, and is regarded as useful if a bit alarming to the mortals. When you're busy reading into how to turn time and space to your will, mopping the floor is chump work.



Sorry if this sounds nit-picky, but clarification is always helpful. Not just for us, for you as well.
Apart from those two points, I find it quite interesting.
Keep up the good work.

I was hoping for nit picks, it keeps me on my toes.
Thanks for the attention. I'll get to work on the second part soon.

[Elemental]

It's alright. I'm good at nit picking.

Anyway... Another point...
You say that an inanimate object has a Novae?
How did it get it?

Chairs are usually made of wood, which comes from trees, which grow by absorbing nutrients from the soil and converting water and air into tissue.
So, a chair is made of wood, from one or more, usually, dead trees. And possibly upholstered with fabric from yet another source.
How does a crafted object end up with a Novae?

Does the very act of crafting it cause part of the essence of the artisan's soul to the object?
Or does the act of dividing the wood of the tree into small pieces cause the tree's Novae to divide, and recombining them into a chair cause the fragments to combine?

I like the idea behind the first one, because that would make any form of craft a mystical process by which the very forces of the cosmos are manipulated.
The second way causes everyone to end up with unnatural abominations decorating their living room.

Both ways are problematic.
It's relatively easy to determine why a living thing has a Novae, it is alive after all and all that entails.
Inanimate objects on the other hand... What are the qualifiers? Does a grain of sand have a Novae, or merely a stone?
If the act of crafting an object imbues it with a Novae, what about all the other processes that can lead to separate objects existing?
Such as erosion? Dismantling? Etc?

In other words... How do inanimate objects end up with Novae?
It's an important point you haven't detailed, and it's bugging me...

And it's probably bugging you now that I've mentioned it...
Sorry about that.

[RockmanDotEXE]

It's alright. I'm good at nit picking.

Anyway... Another point...
You say that an inanimate object has a Novae?
How did it get it?

Chairs are usually made of wood, which comes from trees, which grow by absorbing nutrients from the soil and converting water and air into tissue.
So, a chair is made of wood, from one or more, usually, dead trees. And possibly upholstered with fabric from yet another source.
How does a crafted object end up with a Novae?

Does the very act of crafting it cause part of the essence of the artisan's soul to the object?
Or does the act of dividing the wood of the tree into small pieces cause the tree's Novae to divide, and recombining them into a chair cause the fragments to combine?

I like the idea behind the first one, because that would make any form of craft a mystical process by which the very forces of the cosmos are manipulated.
The second way causes everyone to end up with unnatural abominations decorating their living room.

Both ways are problematic.
It's relatively easy to determine why a living thing has a Novae, it is alive after all and all that entails.
Inanimate objects on the other hand... What are the qualifiers? Does a grain of sand have a Novae, or merely a stone?
If the act of crafting an object imbues it with a Novae, what about all the other processes that can lead to separate objects existing?
Such as erosion? Dismantling? Etc?

In other words... How do inanimate objects end up with Novae?
It's an important point you haven't detailed, and it's bugging me...

And it's probably bugging you now that I've mentioned it...
Sorry about that.

You hit it on the nose with 'Crafting is a mystical art'. Sticks don't have individual novae, but they still exist, because they were a part of something that was. Wood doesn't have novae unless it's turned into a fire or something else with use or significance. Individual sand grains wouldn't have novae, but a handful or a beachful would. If it's only a small part or section of something bigger, it wouldn't have individual novae. If it's inanimate, I mean.
Crafting gives the raw materials and individual parts of a machine a purpose and form, which is what an object with novae is defined as. Something with purpose and form.

I think I should take this time to say I have not actually developed the Houses, though the basic concept of the Houses as a whole has been completed...


2. The Entities of the world:

Onyx: The Night Sky. The Entire damned thing. All those stars?...Its Novae. The physical suns aren't entirely connected to the Novae themselves, but they tend to form nearby. Essentially God in the traditional sense, as a large overarching deity. It's vastness is such that patterns within it's Novae have taken their own individual identities. These identities are called Sigils.

Sigils: The Greek Pantheon to Onyx's Yaweh. The 12 beings of the Western Zodiac, but the Constellations they are named after are only part of their visible ability. They once waged war over the world in a mythic age, but a group of mages that later became the 13 Sages of the Marduk Society threatened to bring down Onyx on their heads, causing them to back down and become part of the Night Sky Pact, which limits the influence to more subtle and indirect means. Each one of the is made of very intense Novae of a specific color, which they take advantage of to create Scions that are aligned to them. The Scion Houses are themed and named after their manifestations.

Scions: Scions are the 'demigods' to the Sigils, but this isn't done the traditional way. When people are born underneath the sign that the Sigil represents and have the Novae color that corresponds with the Sigil's, They can bestow the child with 4 extra Novae. (To form the hands, feet and head, plus of the single core that most humans possess.)
This gives the child some strange characteristics. They have more potential when trained, can become stronger, can become faster, and can take much more abuse both mentally and physically. They can also perform Signs right away, if they take up magic. Many can even instinctually perform Signs in times of peril or stress.(Strengthen, Quicken, etc...)
What purpose they have is known only to Sigils, but Houses often seek out the children while they're young and induct them to what the House believes is their place in the system, as dictated by their patron Sigil. The

Mages: Mortal practitioners of magic. They are usually classified by whether they are a primary Transmuter or Signer. The traditional idea(or stereotype, depending on your view) of a Transmuter is a neophyte who barely learned how to utilize their intensity and doesn't have any knowledge or skill to harvest Novae. Signers run the gamut, but are generally considered more experienced then Transmuters. The Marduk Society is considered the de facto official representative of Mage interests, but many smaller collaboratives, unions, cabals and other such things are present and can gain local influence and relative respect. The Houses of the Scions will only answer to the Marduk Society, though, who act as the mediators and neutral party enforcers of the Night Sky Pact.

Starborne: Any overtly supernatural creature(Elves, dwarves, sprites, etc...) is a Starborne, free roaming Novae or Clusters of Novae that can form their own physical shells, instead of starting out with one. The creatures often take the substances from their surroundings(Data elves, Trash sprites and Paper imps, WHOO!), partly as camouflage, Partly because they have to construct the bodies from spare material. Their dots of Novae are approximate to their toughness. Dragons can be 7+, Elves are around 2-3 dots, Imps and Goblins and weak beasties are around a single dot.

Houses: The Houses are organizations formed of Scions from a common Patron Sigil, and their purposes can vary. The common purpose is to introduce, train, and keep Scions in check. As a whole, they govern and police the world beyond mortal eyes. There are 12 houses, but after the Scorpio War, they have been divided into the Old Guard, the Interlopers, The Peacemakers and the Dread Triad. Only now are the wounds from the war beginning to heal.

The 12 houses are the House of the Crab, the House of the Ram, House of the Goat, The Divided House, The House of the Scales, The House of the Virgin, The House of the Lion, The House of the Rider, The House of the Bull, The House of the Scorpion, The House of the Waves, and the House of the Tides.

The Old Guard are the Houses of the Pre-War regime, which attempted to use the war as an excuse to seize the assets of the Dread Triad and any allying groups and keep themselves in power: The House of the Crab, The House of the Ram.

The Interlopers are Houses that took advantage of the War and attempted to expand their influence or remained (nominally) neutral. Many of them contributed soldiers to the Old Guard, whom held the pursestrings for at least one of the Interlopers: The House of the Lion, the House of the Virgin, The House of the Scales and the Divided House.

The Peacemakers are the Houses that did not ally with the Dread Triad or the Old Guard, and were not neutral, but instead sought to end the war as quickly as possible before the Night Sky Pact was broken. They were allied with the Marduk Society during the war: The House of the Rider, The House of the Waves, the House of the Tides.

The Dread Triad was an alliance between the House of the Bull, the House of the Scorpion and the House of the Goat to seize control of the mortal world, by trying a ritual to summon a manifestation of Scorpio onto the earth. It was a major violation of the Night Sky Pact that rivaled the Androcles Heresy. The resulting conflict between the Houses became known as the Scorpio War, which ended with a devastating defeat of the House of the Scorpion at the site of the ritual. The Dread Triad have been reintegrated, but their reputation has been tarnished, and many people still hold distrust towards the House of the Scorpion.

Remnants: Ghosts, basically. The Novae of dead animals and people often move on to some other place, usually ascending into the night sky or the Sun, but for some reason these ones refuse to pass on. They often cause minor phenomena like mists and swirling smoke, or eerie sounds, but Poltergeists formed from strong Intensity can do really strange Transmutations. Some theorize that Remnants could also be Proto-Starborne, before they construct a body.

[Elemental]

You hit it on the nose with 'Crafting is a mystical art'. Sticks don't have individual novae, but they still exist, because they were a part of something that was. Wood doesn't have novae unless it's turned into a fire or something else with use or significance. Individual sand grains wouldn't have novae, but a handful or a beachful would. If it's only a small part or section of something bigger, it wouldn't have individual novae. If it's inanimate, I mean.
Crafting gives the raw materials and individual parts of a machine a purpose and form, which is what an object with novae is defined as. Something with purpose and form.


So a thing must have a purpose in the world to have a Novae? That makes sense. Except for the part concerning how you work out whether or not something has a purpose.
But then again... You did say use and significance.
Perhaps uniqueness is required? A billion tiny pebbles are more or less identical in the grand scheme of things, and would share a Novae with each other as part of the river bank. But for the one in ten thousand that is a sapphire, they would have their own Novae.
Is it something like that?

[Sodalite]

May I post my own perceptions on how objects aggregate novae?

[RockmanDotEXE]

May I post my own perceptions on how objects aggregate novae?

I'd be flattered.

[Sodalite]

Given that there hasn't be a lot posted here, this derived significantly from my own ideas. As I perceive it, Novae aren't the sources of qualities like color and intensity, at least not necessarily, but are instead usually the product of all those qualities coalescing into stable structures, which are the novae and their configuration and number. The homogenous a group, the larger it needs to be to contain enough individual colors and intensities to form novae. Onyx, being the entire night sky, is utterly massive and contains every possible arrangement of particles possible, and so reasonably has an incredible number of novae. Humans' and other lifeforms' complexity allows them to have a nova even given their relatively small scale, as well as allows them to apply that complexity to other objects, giving crafted objects a nova or novae even when their own mass wouldn't ordinarily be enough to draw together all of that color and intensity. A similar property of bestowing greater complexity is also presumably being applied to scions, who I am assuming are not necesarilly of a significantly larger scale than humans.

Edit: I apologize if this post somehow damaged the thread. That wasn't my intention.

[RockmanDotEXE]

Not at all. I've actually just tried to think of something to add onto this, but...I actually do have the problem that at this point I start to lose my grip on the setting. I'm not sure if I should define the Houses further, or try and ask what people would think a good direction of plot would be for such a setting.

[Sodalite]

It seems as though Houses are relatively important, so I imagine that it would be a good idea to define them, though there's a limit to how finely anyone can define anything. You also previously noted that the Sigils would be another topic of your next post, so I imagine thinking about them would be a god idea as well. I imagine once more setting elements are pinned down, more people will come and suggest story-lines, plot hooks and whatnot.

[RockmanDotEXE]

It should be said the Sigils are often attuned to their Houses, taking on a stereotypical or archetypical personality resembling the House as a whole.

The House of the Crab:
The Crabs are the De facto leaders of the houses, or at least their babysitters. The reason for this stems from their heritage and the great Scion known as Brine/Brian(People often debate the interpretation.) It's said that Brine had united the Scions and Mages alike to fight and end the Sigil's constant divine bickering. It was him who contacted Onyx and helped the 12 sign a peace treaty. As such, he is revered as a Messiah figure by the House, which styles itself after a pseudo-catholic church, or perhaps the church itself took inspiration from the House. Nobody is willing to say. In that, they are often seen with dread(in a mundane sense) by other Houses, as they can be very moody and tempermental. However, the House can be very gracious as an ally, just as much as they can be a scourge on an enemy. They say that the suffering of mortals was Brine's motivation for ending the war, and as such not only act as protectors of the mortals but as a intermediatary between the mortal civilizations and the houses. This consequently gives them a lot of resources and sway. Crabs are often charismatic in some way.

House of the Ram:
The Rams are the ones who often get things done. While Crabs rally and arm the troops, It's the Ram that is going to be the one to lead the charge. Rams are adventerous, hotheaded and confident. The first Ram Housers surrounded Brine as the Hundredfold Guard, and this alliance is true today as the House of the Ram acts as wartime leaders when the Crab is unable to handle the madness. They're good to have on your side in a pinch, as far as the other Houses are concerned, but they can be troublesome as they tend to poke their nose around in ruins out of boredom and inevitably unleash Starborne that were slumbering for a couple of centuries.