Day two of my exciting remiss adventures leaves you with something a little different. Awhile ago, I made a post about the short creation history of a shared world that Derek and I are/were working on. I teased that I may give a bit more detail and for you, lucky reader, I fulfill that promise.

Yes, this is a Plemora post – the unfortunate world created from Derek’s own typos. It is a world that I find quite fascinating. It is really the first ‘alternate reality’ world that I created. Generally, I prefer fabricating my own reality where I’m given unfettered license in developing the people, history, science and understanding of everything. The one thing I enjoy about the fantasy genre is the complete artistic freedom you’re granted by your readership. They are, initially, willing to accept just about anything whether it be talking hamsters or entire cities powered by nothing more than bottle souls.

But Plemora doesn’t try that. It draws its fantasy from the unknowns of our understanding. It leans heavily on our past and our world, teasing at the familiar and lulling its audience into a sense of false security before completely upending all expectations. In a sense, it’s based on Lovecraftian horror. It draws on the areas of the unknown, filling them with horrors and wonders beyond our comprehension. But for these entities to work, it must create that initial familiar element. Yes, it is a world that unabashedly takes place on Earth around our proximate time.

It also is designed within the confines of a game system. Today’s particular element was developed from the initial musings of player ‘classes.’ I wanted to develop within the world a system of unique play experiences that would give players and game masters the freedom to play whatever sort of story they desired. The initial creation was focused around the demon ‘half-breeds’ of people suddenly ripped into a greater understanding of the world than they had before the moment of their ‘curse.’ However, there were other entities and peoples stalking the shadows and moving before the masses who had no idea the true nature of those that walked amongst them.

Usually when one talks about classes in a role-playing game, they are looking at something like a profession. Thieves, wizards and fighters are really just a representation of a character’s training before the start of their grand quest. Whether they be pupils or self-taught, it codifies a vast array of experiences and distills into into common attributes shared amongst its members. I didn’t want the same for Plemora and, given its philosophical bent, I settled upon the idea that class was a representation of belief. Ultimately, no one knew the true nature of universe and why there were demons and other planes of existence. But everyone had their own explanation.

What follows is a few of these ‘noble truths.’ Which one the player belongs to would ultimately shape how he conceptualized the world around himself and thus explain how he fueled and believed in the powers he wielded. What follows is pulled from my notes on the world, so some of it might be formatted a little strangely. Given that it’s from my notes, some concepts may not have the most clear classification yet, as well.

The Noble Truths

 These philosophies act as a lens, colouring everything which a person sees and believes. Thus, it would be impossible for a person to be “multi-classed” as these theologies are almost completely incongruent with each other.

Daemonkin are a special kind of class. Completely at the mercy of Enlightened individuals, daemonkin don’t have to follow any of the Noble Truths as their powers derive from the essence impregnated into them from someone or somewhere else. Daemonkin are not really a class onto themselves but generally do not hold a class, as an Enlightened individual would not want to have a daemon within them and would be strong enough to reject the parasite.

Daemonkin are essentially the hosts of a greater Enlightened entity who has been weakened and infects an individual in order to survive. Consequently, being a Daemonkin prevents an individual from adopting a class so long as they are infected. Their powers stem solely from the belief of the entity residing in them and they feed upon their host preventing the ‘body’ from achieving its own, separate understanding so long as the stronger consciousness resides within. The Daemonkin essentially feeds her parasite too much energy to elevate beyond the plane of the mundane but the parasite grants her the powers and possibly knowledge to interact with the worlds beyond our own. Curing a Daemonkin of their daemon would, theoretically, place the host in a greater position to achieve Enlightenment but since they rely on the parasite as a crutch it could, paradoxically, make ascension even more difficult than an unaware individual.

 

The Noble Truths

 

The Magus

The magus is privy to the most startling Truth than any other class. The Magus has awakened to the great potential within himself, realizing that every individual carries a spark of the divine within themselves. This spark can be honed, trained and strengthened. Through this spark, the individual creates their reality as they see fit. The stronger the spark, the greater their reality bends to their whims. In essence, there are billions upon billions of realities, one for each individual. They are as real and tangent as every other – to an extent. The stronger the individual’s spark, the stronger their own vision is. Through training, focus, meditation and ritual, a Magus can strengthen their spark and gain more control over their reality while shunting away those that conflict with their own. Their greatest difficulty is when their realities overlap with others. For a Magus to exert his will in these circumstances, he must be able to overcome the conflicting rules to his own desires. The overlaps are like a wave, and each builds upon itself. Since unenlightened individuals tend to share similar beliefs and congregate together to survive, a Magus has the hardest time enacting his will in these circumstances. The unawakened naturally form a strong, coherent understanding of their own shared world.

The Magi are aware that these change depending on the nature of the shared community. The realities of North America before the arrival of the Europeans was much different than that after contact. Thus, Magi must not perform “magic” before the unenlightened. But magic is merely what falls beyond the accepted outcome for the immediate community. In Medieval Europe, old Magi could prey on the superstitions and ignorance of these isolated communities. Peasants are farm more willing to believe in wicked individuals capable of twisting a lost farmer’s form into that of a toad than the modern, science driven communities of the present whose shared beliefs deem such a power impossible.Of course, the strength of these shared visions diminishes with the less numbers that are present to view it. A Magi performing before a single, average person will find the antagonistic belief of the unawakened much weaker than if she were surrounded by a group of her friends. So easy is it to prey on the insecurities and self-doubt of the few compared to the many.

Furthermore, even many Enlightened individuals’ realities are so strong that a Magus must bend to their will. While most Enlightened understand and accept magic as a truth, some truly alien entities can be so powerful in their own right as to crush the Magi’s exertion before its very presence. Ironically, the mere sight of these entities are often so strong as to completely shatter the beliefs of the unawakened that it can open many to the possibilities of Enlightenment and allow the Magus to exert before those witnesses.

A Magus has unlimited power, as long as he is able to overcome this force (probably going to be called the Collective Unconscious). Due to a very self oriented bend; the Magus probably relies heavily upon Jungian concepts and themes to supplement his Noble Truth. Magic isn’t impossible before the unawakened, it just relies on how creative and insidious the Magus can be in working his will within the expectations of those around him. Given their focus and typical organization of knowledge, the Magi are perhaps one of the most dedicated Truths to Transcendence.

 

 

The Demon

Demons are almost a catch-all. They are the Enlightened that know there is something ‘else’ yet don’t ascribe to the conventional wisdom and organization. They believe that the other Paths are ‘lies’ and only a means of controlling others or exploiting them. They either achieved enlightenment through individual means (e.g. witnessing angels and demons fighting and being ‘open’ enough to accept what they were seeing, discovering long lost knowledge and accepting that ancient wisdom etc…), rejecting some other path (e.g. the proverbial ‘Fallen Angel’, disgruntled Magi apprentices, a martial artist that forsaken his master etc…), by making pacts with higher energy beings (e.g. Faustian approach) or any number of similar methods. Because of the numerous ways for them to achieve Enlightenment, the other Truths find it exceedingly difficult to control their numbers and accounts for why Demons have existed since the beginning of time and still thrive today (as the Atheist or Technocrat gains power). They are the undisciplined. They are the reason that every Noble Truth exists. Their Truth, though, is the most startling Truth for the other paths; that their path is unneeded. They are the embodiment of the unknown and the chaotic. They are the personification of entropy, existing without reason and taking their entire lives. For them, the Truth is themselves. The universe is an uncontrollable mess where only the strongest, most clever or traitorous can hope to survive. For that is the Demon’s only purpose: to survive. Thus, Demons are hated by everyone.

They are seen as trouble and most often are. They live in a dog eat dog world, with everyone after them and no honour among their fellows. They are the most numerous Enlightened, and often are the ones that will prey upon the Atheists. However, Demons are the least likely to Transcend, as they have no structure and no order to allow them the growth to achieve Transcendence. Some manage to, however, finding wisdom and knowledge in the untrodden Path that is unavailable through the other structured Truths.

The Angel

And here is where my notes become date. I changed the name of this group and shifted them beneath the Daemonkin banner. I’m including them here as a slight reminder of the origins and because they have a neat interaction with the fundamental principles of the world.

This philosophy stresses a strong hierarchy with clearly defined roles. Whereas the typical Daemonkin feeds by taking the energy of those around them, an angel is granted their energy from a higher being. In turn, the angel directs his faith and belief to this higher power who is granted the power to give to the angel by someone further above them. Essentially, an energy pyramid scheme based solely around a trickle down effect. Initiates are thus extremely numerous and extremely powerless. These could be considered the average belief in the faith structure. They’re mostly the foundation which supports the whole organization. Each Initiate provides limited power but has almost no connection to those above them. Individually, they are forgettable but in great enough numbers their combined contribution is staggering. Right above them are the Disciples. Most of these people are about as remarkable as the average Initiate though they are far more devouted to their cause. This greater devotion provides just enough belief to register on the higher powers map. At any time, a greater power can infuse a Disciple – basically inserting themselves into these devotees and creating a Daemonkin. But since this higher power in turn is connected to an even greater being above her with an even deeper connection, there can be a far stronger flow of energy between the higher planes and the lower.

Consequently, the appearance of an Angel is typically a momentousness event. A single Angel can take on scores of Daemonkin without alone as they are beings used to dealing with the likes of Archons and Demons. But this direct flow of energy is extremely taxing to pump so much power to a lower plane and their physical presence is temporary at best before their benefactors must ‘turn off the tap’ so to speak. What rare communication with these beings has provided little insight into their structure beyond the basics, however. What lies at the top is a mystery and many suspect the Angels don’t even know themselves. Disciples and Initiates claim that their power is evidence of a true God and that they are blessed by this entity. But the Enlightened disagree and many whisper that the true head is nothing but a monstrous Demon with unheard of power and influence. Perhaps even the creature known as the Demiurge himself.

The Atheist

And here you can see where my naming scheme started getting lazy.

An atheist is a person who doesn’t believe in a Noble Truth. Their strength lies in their power of Discord. Every unenlightened has a level of Discord. The stronger the discord, the less effective any Enlightened abilities have on that individual. This discord manifests as skepticism. An atheist puts their belief not in any path, maintaining that the only real Truth is a lack of Truth altogether. For Enlightened, the typical atheist is nothing more but wasted energy. Due to their inexact, uncertain and contradictory beliefs, none of the Atheist’s philosophies can be considered a Truth but the stronger they adhere to their own views the greater their Discord grows. Examples of powerful Discordians are: scientists, philosophers, leaders, Eris Discordians (who are well aware of the contradictions and chaos inherent in their philosophy and yet still worship it. They are probably some of the strongest Atheists, often can exert power rivaling that of an Enlightened.).

 

The Technocrat

This path is almost an extension of Atheism. It is the dogmatic belief of the scientific community in no ‘greater’ or ‘higher’ authority. No Gods or Kings, so to speak. The only thing that exists is what one sees with their own eyes, and yet the Technocrats are so close-minded that their ‘selective vision’ will only see what concurs within their own theories. However, they have grown very powerful over the years, easily surpassing the other great Truths in number and influence. This truth lies in the power of observation, in fact and knowledge. It is the certainty which experience of the senses brings. Their truths are easy to comprehend and easier to demonstrate. Thus, their principles have become the standard for the modern era. But they diverge from atheism in one important aspect.

The ideal scientist should be an Atheist, open to new ideas and concepts no matter how incredulous it seems. An Atheist could accept that the corners of the map could truly be where monsters lie. But the Technocrat is more the conservative, dogmatic and emboldened by his own belief and faith in his methods. For the Technocrat, there are no other possibilities than his own. No alternatives are to be considered. In an ironic twist, Technocrats devotion can strengthen their own creations, making things that should not work to and thus proving their hypothesis and reinforcing their faith. So strong is their belief in their right that some are able to lock down or disrupt other creations, making other machinations dissipate or crumble, disproving rival hypotheses and leaving theirs dominant. It is like a greater Tesla/Edison rivalry but over spirituality and belief. The winner doesn’t so much as disprove his rivals theory as alter reality so it can never be true.

 

The Gnosis

The most elusive Truth. Gnostic Truth maintains that some harmony or unity is to be found amongst the disparate and contradictory paths. To them, each represents a piece of a greater puzzle with Transcendence just another component and not the goal. Much of the Gnosis belief lies beyond a language of theology or philosophy and places great importance in experience. The current world known to many is flawed simply because it was created by flawed hands. These imperfections, they say, are what gave rise to the other Truths which became focused on their own element at the exclusion of the others. Other Truths have come and gone, falling before the strengths of others or forgotten for new beliefs.

But the worship of a piece is shortsighted without ever considering the whole picture. The Gnostic seek to find that final unifying element that will bring all together. For it is their belief that we are all parts of a greater, fractured whole and only through true unity can this broken existence be properly mended.