RAGNAROK: GODS DESCENDING
Hello and thanks for looking! This is the lovechild of my favorite roleplay genres, fantasy and post-apocalyptic. This is all very general/just a synopsis: the OOC, if I wind up generating enough interest, will have more details, a map, ect. This is also my first time really GMing, so bear with me guys. I originally posted this in the Casual Interest Checks, but I just figured I'd put it out here as well. I tend to care more about the quality of posts and how driven the RPer is rather than the size of their posts.
Important Information to Come
There will be detailed info on races, the different pantheons, current/previous state of the world, what to expect, and a little more of a plot. Lots of useless background too! I wanted to throw this up and see if it generated interest. I'll keep adding information as I write it. This is also open to suggestion - the more the merrier, although I don't think I can handle a group larger than like 8, and that's pushing it.
Welcome to the remnants of Reath...
This world was called Reath. A small yet diverse place, it had many races and nations, cultures and practices. The most notable features of Reath were the kingdoms and nations that inhabited it. Mighty King Elrin's kingdom spread from the Yussand Coast in the southeast to the towering Thutilan Mountain Range that divides the continent in two laterally. In the northern forests, Emperor Hyryndill's reign over his fae brethren was peaceful and prosperous. Underfoot the dwarven city-states bustled with wonderous activity; smithing, enchanting, and engineering. In every nook and cranny between the three, countless peoples, religions, and factions thrived in harmony with the active trade between the relatively peaceful nations. The world was old, a thousand years these populations lived together and after countless wars and disasters, came to this place in time where they had transcended that. They turned to innovation, and the world entered an era of previously unknown tranquility. (The only enemy were the bestial races, but as they were not looked at as equal to other sentient races, this was considered inevitable.)
And that, great Mitchin decided, meant that this world was now complete and it was time to start over. The mighty leader of the Divine Pantheon descend to bountiful Reath and razed every major settlement to the ground. His divine power, backed by every member of his pantheon, destroyed the wondrous works the races of Reath had toiled to create. Now, these gods roam Reath, looking to completely eradicate all life and start anew. Some pantheons still support their child-races, but they pale in power to the Divine Pantheon. All life is scurrying to hide, before Mitchin strikes them down with his mighty hammer. You have either survived the Great Decent of 20 years past, or are a child born in this desecrated husk.
The Great Descent
In the autumn of year 1140, the end came to the people of Reath. A peaceful day, it had been, and so numerous citizens of the great cities had been outside watched, in awe and horror, as a godly form descended from the heavens. The sun was hidden by a great shadow that grew until it encompassed the entire sky. As the Great God materialized, the very sight of his pure form incinerated the young, the elderly, and the weak in close proximity. The first city to fall was Thrushall, the capital of King Elrin's domain. Mitchin's huge form wielded a mighty hammer, its head so large it must've been forged from a boulder of pure adamantite. He summoned great storms that passed over the city, which continued to wreak a path of destruction, fueled by the Great God's vast power. The city fell before the sun set, and this day is known as the First Decent.
One by one throughout the following winter, each of the five other members of the Divine Pantheon followed their All-Father to their once-beautiful creation. After that, defectors from other pantheons were drawn into the conflict. The extended Second Descent was what brought about the true end-times. The earth turned black and infertile, and the sun was dimmed. Disease, famine, and chaos spread across the continent as land that once supported life grew decrepit and caustic. The remaining mortals receded to the few places still untouched by the the Creeping Death. However, that did not guarantee that these places were safe. Living shadows and twisted monsters were released unto Reath from the outer planes. They roam freely, devouring any living creature they come across. The shadows plague what were once settlements and villages, claiming those who seek refugee in these relics of a life now passed. Great storms rage constantly and relentlessly in every terrain. But the greatest terrors of this descent were the Gods that now walk Reath. They take many forms and have no purpose but to end all life of Reath. These entities came to be called Anti-Gods.
As mortals abandoned the worship of the Divine Pantheon and other defectors they had no choice but to turn to those still above in their home plane of Calille. In turn, there was a power flux among the Gods, as their strength is dependent on their followers' worship. The Anti-Gods were once fueled by their followers as well, but in their rejection of mortals now gain influence from their fear and infamy. Many Gods that were once obscure became prominent, and the amount of notable deities increased dramatically, giving mortals access to divine magics once more. The mortals pleaded with their new saviors, and with their continued devotion gave enough power to these deities to summon Avatars to help them against the Anti-Gods. This development was the Final Descent, in which the mortals gained a fighting chance.
Previous State of the World
King Elrin ruled the human lands of heartland Reath. People of his kingdom cultivated fields and raised livestock, and provided much of the population of the world. The kingdom was incredibly diverse in cultures, nationalities/ethnicities, and specialties thanks its size. It was simply called “King Elrin’s Domain” as a whole because there were so many nations within it. These nations were all held to the same laws, taxes, and policies, with sovereign to the capital city-state, Thrushall.
In the central forests, whose sheer range included the tropical rain forests of Catanna to the taiga hills of Jinnrelion, Emperor and Lord Tanmion Hyryndill ruled with laissez-faire style policies. The elves lived mostly in clans and tribes, some even leading nomadic lifestyles. They were more independent than a nation would be and less structured. They are several different types of elves, although they lived mostly in integrated communities.
The dwarves of Reath lived in many different city-states and territories in large underground caverns and chasms. There are several kinds of dwarves, and they most often lived in settlements with their own kind. They lived separately from each other with their own unique governments and societies, but the common ancestry of all dwarves was celebrated by the stout race universally.
In the year 1138, the Orcs invaded and captured territory on the Yussand Coast. No one had seen the uprising of the bestial race in the deserts below, no one had thought the animals capable of such thought as to make organized warfare. A large swath of land was lost from King Elrin's domain in the east. This area was inhabited by Orc troops and their war parties. There were three small settlements had been attacked, but because of how harsh the desert had been, there were few in the Orcs' way.
Current State of the World
Reath itself was torn asunder in the aftershocks of the Great Descent.
After the First Descent, large storms were created and released to range the heartlands of Reath. Miles across with no eye, they all feature driving rain, furious lightning, and violent wind. However, some storms are elemental in nature and features particularly insidious pillars of fire, or large chunks of hail. They decimate wooden structures and natural floral life. Their paths are obvious and crisscross the lands in random patterns. The sun itself was dimmed; high-sun is now only as bright as early morning used to be.
The Second Descent was the harshest blow to Reath. The five members of the Divine Pantheon released many horrors from their home plane. The Creeping Death is a sickness of the land that makes the soil turn crumbly and black. Is erodes easily, and areas that have been infected for long have air polluted with an almost soot-like substance. Nothing new grows in the black soil, and that which was once living in it gets the life sucked from it. Gaping fissures into other planes spit out all manners of creatures. Hulking giants and prowling abominations skulk the land for mortal prey. Living shadows travel in the night, taking over areas once inhabited by mortals. Spirits are no longer contained within the Underplanes, and haunt the night, possessing animals and the weak to cause trouble for the living.
The Final Descent had a much lesser impact on Reath. The Avatars of deities hold some of their power, but not enough to combat the Anti-Gods living on Reath. However, they can help combat the effects of The Great Descent. They can heal the earth of the Creeping Death, and can banish creatures back to their home plane.
The remaining mortals of Reath gather in the stretch of inhabitable land in the north-east. They are slightly nomadic, for congregated mortals attract attention. The new dangers of this world seem to sense mortals.
