Xhosant
2015-08-23, 01:20 AM
Alight, so here's the skeleton for a rather unique setting. The following is plucked straight from a dream, with little to no polishing, so expect a lot of whacky nonsensical bits. But since that might be just the thing for some campaigns, and it was just lying there, I figured, eh, why not? Mayb one or two of you can put this to use.
Also, seems to have a lot of MMO 'technical' influence as far as some important NPCs are concerned, so there's that, and I'll present it as behavioral cues.
The Tent: On the outside, looks precisely like a red-white, hexagonal circus tent built around a building, in a mundane and typically irrelevant world. On the inside, however, things are different. The edges are just like that, and the roof has enough tears and holes for the sun to pass through normally, but its size on the inside is massive (and growing), with anything from lush jungles to desert cannions and oceans in it. Its uniqueness is debatable.
Task: Simply put, a divinely given job, that must be observed along with whatever someone's agenda is. Few people actually have one, but the Ringleader doesn't take kindly to those skipping on it (assuming she happens to notice, or bothers to pay heed to prayers about it). Some might be essential to the Tent's continued existence, others little more than a silly joke on those charged with them.
The Ringleader: The closest thing to a deity in the setting, it's a capricious little girl. The Tent is first set up at her whim, and she cares for little more than the fullfillment of Tasks (not even preserving the Tent, directly), and occasionally the spurring or preserving of the inhabitants' 'fun'. Also the sole person capable of taking someone ou of the Tent, and one of the few ways in it. The best way to think of her behaviour towards the world might be that of a very capricious MMO publisher.
Genesis: Also known as the Set-up, the process of making the tent. Typically, 4 people are reqruited by the Ringleader to set up the Tent around a sizeabe, roghly-square building. Overnight (and instantly, though nobody seems to hapen to be looking at the tent when ths happens), the tent extends to the size of a small city, filled with lush vegetation, the next night that of a small country, and so on, gradually slowing down and diversifying the added contents.
The Garison: The new name of the initial building. Typically filled with denizens upon the Tent's finishing. Initially placed directly under the tent's center, but instabilities of the Tent during its growth can make the center shift, a reason why its location in relation to the Garison is often monitored.
The Four Factions: Identified by colour, the garison's four faces, corresponding quadrants and denizens are split between the four builders of the tent, now known as the Leaders. As the Tent ages, splinters and mergings often form, so the Four Factions are increasingly unlikely to be actually four, or to encompass all the denizens.
The Four Leaders: The original 4 people that aided in setting up the tent, or those that since got a faction under them. Their Task is preserving and protecting the Tent. In return, they have special powers at that mission's disposal (and not normally to be abused), and the Tent to conquer against its wilderness and each other. While technically enemies in the later, they tend to feel more rivalry than hatered, and each has a measure of authority even over the others' troops. Should one fall or be deposed, their troops will either join the one responsible (if they deem it a 'valid', fair and honorable victory) or whoever they deem their heir (if not).
Forbidden Implements: The Ringleader might opt to declare a type of tool illegal, disintergrating all such within the Tent in the proccess. Somehow owning or using such a tool regardless is likely the top offence in her eyes, and grounds for immediate banishment. The equivalent of a removed item.
Proxies: A practice frowned upon by most denizens of the tent, it is the use of a soulless body possesed by a denizen and posing as another. Between these and use of vassals, some factions might employ them to make another faction its puppet. Needless to say, accusing someone of being one is a heavy insult, while not truly illegal. Essentially, spy alts.
Prayer: The primary means of contacting the Ringleader, sort of meeting her in person. However, through Prayer, one also sees all other Prayers submitted. In essense, praying grants access to a single, messy forum thread, filled with alegations, reports, requests and debates. And sometimes, a Ringleader reply.
The Roof: The upper side of the Tent's roof (as accessed from the interior, by climbing the edge or any debris hanging from a very damaged Tent), while technically outside it, still obeys the interior's scale with nothing but sky and the sun in sight. What looks like frayed cloth from bellow is a net paired with material matching the landscape bellow (like treetop canopies over a jungle, etc.). Needless to say, this makes for treacherous terrain. The exception is the 6 ropes of the Tent, to-scale with it (so often tens or hundreds of meters wide), which, while shaky, are the only dependable way to the center, from which a smaller rope hangs downwards...
The Isle: A tiny, sandy islet no bigger than a big town square. Home to the Fisherman. Lies directly under the Roof's center if the hanging rope is climbed down (so where the Garrison ought to be), and surrounded by an endless sea. A patchwork wooden ramp aids the last bit of the rope's descent. Usually, sleeping on the Isle has one wake up back in the Tent, usually the Garrison, nobody none the wiser.
The Fisherman: a somewhat old man, spending his days fishing. Seems to know the name of everyone coming around, and be on a first name basis with them. They, similarly, seem to feel as comfortable around him, making him great for idle chatter. They also instinctively seem to know he is a being of power and importance on par with the Ringleader's, and his Task being crucial and linked to his constant fishing (despite the fact he never seems to catch anything, or mind).
The Calibration: Either knowingly or by chance, someone looking to repair damage on the Tent that fails to spot it (or it is simply beyond repair) might end up at the Isle, and for good reason: how well-aligned the 6 ropes appear from it is a direct indication of the Tent's integrity. More importantly, the same rope used to scale down onto the Isle can be pulled tighter and tied along the ramp's length, aligning the tent's central ropes and fixing any damage it might have sustained, in a process called Calibration. This panacea has 2 catches, however: the rope can only be tightened that much (and thus, the capacity to Calibrate the Tent repeatedly is finite), and the older the Tent, the longer the trip to its edge, top, and center again is. A Tent on the verge of collapse might end up offering shortcuts, but barring that, this solution is not often available.
<<TBC>>
Also, seems to have a lot of MMO 'technical' influence as far as some important NPCs are concerned, so there's that, and I'll present it as behavioral cues.
The Tent: On the outside, looks precisely like a red-white, hexagonal circus tent built around a building, in a mundane and typically irrelevant world. On the inside, however, things are different. The edges are just like that, and the roof has enough tears and holes for the sun to pass through normally, but its size on the inside is massive (and growing), with anything from lush jungles to desert cannions and oceans in it. Its uniqueness is debatable.
Task: Simply put, a divinely given job, that must be observed along with whatever someone's agenda is. Few people actually have one, but the Ringleader doesn't take kindly to those skipping on it (assuming she happens to notice, or bothers to pay heed to prayers about it). Some might be essential to the Tent's continued existence, others little more than a silly joke on those charged with them.
The Ringleader: The closest thing to a deity in the setting, it's a capricious little girl. The Tent is first set up at her whim, and she cares for little more than the fullfillment of Tasks (not even preserving the Tent, directly), and occasionally the spurring or preserving of the inhabitants' 'fun'. Also the sole person capable of taking someone ou of the Tent, and one of the few ways in it. The best way to think of her behaviour towards the world might be that of a very capricious MMO publisher.
Genesis: Also known as the Set-up, the process of making the tent. Typically, 4 people are reqruited by the Ringleader to set up the Tent around a sizeabe, roghly-square building. Overnight (and instantly, though nobody seems to hapen to be looking at the tent when ths happens), the tent extends to the size of a small city, filled with lush vegetation, the next night that of a small country, and so on, gradually slowing down and diversifying the added contents.
The Garison: The new name of the initial building. Typically filled with denizens upon the Tent's finishing. Initially placed directly under the tent's center, but instabilities of the Tent during its growth can make the center shift, a reason why its location in relation to the Garison is often monitored.
The Four Factions: Identified by colour, the garison's four faces, corresponding quadrants and denizens are split between the four builders of the tent, now known as the Leaders. As the Tent ages, splinters and mergings often form, so the Four Factions are increasingly unlikely to be actually four, or to encompass all the denizens.
The Four Leaders: The original 4 people that aided in setting up the tent, or those that since got a faction under them. Their Task is preserving and protecting the Tent. In return, they have special powers at that mission's disposal (and not normally to be abused), and the Tent to conquer against its wilderness and each other. While technically enemies in the later, they tend to feel more rivalry than hatered, and each has a measure of authority even over the others' troops. Should one fall or be deposed, their troops will either join the one responsible (if they deem it a 'valid', fair and honorable victory) or whoever they deem their heir (if not).
Forbidden Implements: The Ringleader might opt to declare a type of tool illegal, disintergrating all such within the Tent in the proccess. Somehow owning or using such a tool regardless is likely the top offence in her eyes, and grounds for immediate banishment. The equivalent of a removed item.
Proxies: A practice frowned upon by most denizens of the tent, it is the use of a soulless body possesed by a denizen and posing as another. Between these and use of vassals, some factions might employ them to make another faction its puppet. Needless to say, accusing someone of being one is a heavy insult, while not truly illegal. Essentially, spy alts.
Prayer: The primary means of contacting the Ringleader, sort of meeting her in person. However, through Prayer, one also sees all other Prayers submitted. In essense, praying grants access to a single, messy forum thread, filled with alegations, reports, requests and debates. And sometimes, a Ringleader reply.
The Roof: The upper side of the Tent's roof (as accessed from the interior, by climbing the edge or any debris hanging from a very damaged Tent), while technically outside it, still obeys the interior's scale with nothing but sky and the sun in sight. What looks like frayed cloth from bellow is a net paired with material matching the landscape bellow (like treetop canopies over a jungle, etc.). Needless to say, this makes for treacherous terrain. The exception is the 6 ropes of the Tent, to-scale with it (so often tens or hundreds of meters wide), which, while shaky, are the only dependable way to the center, from which a smaller rope hangs downwards...
The Isle: A tiny, sandy islet no bigger than a big town square. Home to the Fisherman. Lies directly under the Roof's center if the hanging rope is climbed down (so where the Garrison ought to be), and surrounded by an endless sea. A patchwork wooden ramp aids the last bit of the rope's descent. Usually, sleeping on the Isle has one wake up back in the Tent, usually the Garrison, nobody none the wiser.
The Fisherman: a somewhat old man, spending his days fishing. Seems to know the name of everyone coming around, and be on a first name basis with them. They, similarly, seem to feel as comfortable around him, making him great for idle chatter. They also instinctively seem to know he is a being of power and importance on par with the Ringleader's, and his Task being crucial and linked to his constant fishing (despite the fact he never seems to catch anything, or mind).
The Calibration: Either knowingly or by chance, someone looking to repair damage on the Tent that fails to spot it (or it is simply beyond repair) might end up at the Isle, and for good reason: how well-aligned the 6 ropes appear from it is a direct indication of the Tent's integrity. More importantly, the same rope used to scale down onto the Isle can be pulled tighter and tied along the ramp's length, aligning the tent's central ropes and fixing any damage it might have sustained, in a process called Calibration. This panacea has 2 catches, however: the rope can only be tightened that much (and thus, the capacity to Calibrate the Tent repeatedly is finite), and the older the Tent, the longer the trip to its edge, top, and center again is. A Tent on the verge of collapse might end up offering shortcuts, but barring that, this solution is not often available.
<<TBC>>