Odyssean Syndrome

Ready, aim, fire!

New world here we go. So, I took my old game world, Carceres and destroyed it to pave way for a new world. The last game world operated under the assumption that magic and power worked a certain way - which was essentially governed by the rules system of the game, 3rd Edition D&D. To be able to use 4th Edition I had to destroy everything so I could completely rebuild it, so that a new form of power (governed by new rules) makes sense. So many fictional fantasy creatures had to die to convert to 4th Edition, I hope you're happy with yourselves Wizards of the Coast! So anyway, its in the works, but its got potential for some cool shiznit. Welcome to the new world... read on, homie, read on.

New world name: Superna

Size: Same as Earth

History: More than a thousand years have past since the dawn of the new age and the birth of the present world. The victors of a celestial war that ended the former age became the new gods and from the detritus of the former world, they forged Superna.

The gods of the first recorded age created Carceres, a once massive planet and the first mortal world. After centuries of rule, the creator gods suddenly decided to abandon the world that they created. The reasons why the gods abandoned the world have never been known. But the gods warned those living in the mortal world of their plans to leave. The mortals knew, that without the help of the gods, Carceres would be at the mercy of the entropic forces that govern the multiverse, forces that would ultimately destroy Carceres. The gods' ruthless decision of abandonment was absolute, but they offered the mortals one chance for survival. In their absence they offered a test for immortality. Any hero who thought they were worthy was eligible. Failure meant final and certain death, but if the hero had what it took to survive, the prize was immortality. Once a hero became an immortal, they had sway over the balance of the mortal world, and could protect Carceres from its ultimate demise. Thousands tried and failed, but in a defining moment one warrior succeeded just in time to stop the world from being destroyed. The first Immortal, IO was born.

Throughout time, many other powerful heroes eventually succeeded and also rose to immortality; forming a new divine pantheon in the second age. As each hero ascended to immortality, they also became a power that helped govern balance in the universe and each immortal resided in their own personal domain of power. After many centuries had passed, the amount of heroes who continued to rise to immortality began to concern the immortals who were already in power. As a result, some immortals began interfering with heroes who were taking the test of immortality, to see to it that they failed. As a rule, the immortals were not supposed to directly interact with the mortal realms and the interventions caused by some immortals angered many others. This feud created a schism between the immortals, and sparked the beginning of a 900 year war that devastated the world.

Not all the races of the normal world survived this devastating event; some of the old races were completely wiped out as they fought alongside their immortal patrons in the war, feuding with rival armies on Carceres. However, the immortals who fought to maintain true balance in the world made preparations to save as many of the original races as they could. Bonding their great powers together, these immortals created the mirror planes: two echos of the original world which were kept secret from the immortals they warred against. The first plane became known as the Feywild, the second plane the Shadowfell. Both mirror planes became echos of the original world and can still be accessed to this day. The Feywild and the Shadowfell became safe havens for many races of Carceres, during the 900 year war.

When the war of the immortals had finally ended, the planet Carceres was completely shattered! The immortals who had won the war became more powerful than the rest and were elevated to complete godhood. Many of the surviving immortals were forced to flea far into other areas of the multiverse, never to return. Other Immortals simply agreed to leave.

The new gods took what was left of the shattered world and created the new world, Superna. Other pieces of the planet Carceres were made into dominions or moons, ruled by each of the new gods. The gods offered the new world to the mortal races, who were now allowed to leave the mirror planes. Most of the races were pleased to find their new home in Superna, though a few of the races stayed behind in the mirror planes.

Since Superna was a planet created from an old world, it is not odd that adventurers have made discoveries that seem to be out of context in the world. Half of an ancient dominion may exist beneath the sea and an out of place, dead forest may appear underneath the mountains in caverns without sunlight. Some of these odd geographical sites seem quite random, but others speculate that the gods created Superna so that the old realms of Carceres fit a new purpose in the new world.

So, the latest celebrity D&D game has been thrown up on YouTube; part 1 is seen above.

I have been following all of the WoTC celebrity casts, as many of us have - I have always enjoyed them. My favorite of these sessions is still probably the PA/PvP pod casts. I have also listened to other live play casts outside the WoTC ones; some of those podcasts lived up to being interesting while others bored my mind a new hole. Regardless, I think it's something to take note of, these D&D pod/vid casts. I personally think that live play casts are a very important cultural development, within this little sub-culture of RPG-ing we are all a part of. I also think that there is more potential to be had in this.

To me this begs a few questions: What makes a D&D Podcast or Video good? -and- What other potential is there in all of this; can it be taken further and into more specific interests.

Some examples of other like-minded developments can be found here: Esper makes D&D storytelling casts with images and Sword Plus One uses stop motion stories - what else do you think would be interesting?

...YESTERDAY, at PAX, the group that started Celebrity D&D, PA, PvP and Wil had a live play session. Below is a short video that a fan caught, along with a close up, edited screen shot.