Roles. Some consider them gifts from the heavens, some the awakening of an ability internal to oneself, and others still that they are part of a vast global conspiracy using smoke and mirrors. Regardless, Roles are one of the cornerstones of society.
When one earns sufficient merit, possesses sufficient resolve, or comes across certain knowledge, there is the chance that they will be given a Role. One who serves his country dutifully may earn the Role of "Soldier", another in a completely different situation may be granted the role of "Librarian", and just as these Roles tied to occupations exist, so too do others. Apprentice, Conjurer, Saint, Champion, Divine Spear, Sword Saint, Genocider. The Roles are all-encompassing. Some are commonplace, some are unique to individuals.
The Role is not merely a name, though. Upon receiving a Role, one obtains a core ability, or "Aspect", inherent to the Role. These Aspects are the cornerstone of this world's magic. A Soldier might be able to strengthen his body, materialize weapons, or any other number of things. A Librarian might be able to learn information faster, to appraise objects on the spot, and so on.
A newcomer to a Role begins with one such Aspect, but as time goes on, if they act in tandem with the nature of the Role, that Aspect will strengthen and new ones may also arise.
...at the same time, if one turns against their Role, if a Soldier betrays their country or falls to cowardice, then the opposite will occur. Similarly, it is possible for one's Role to change, whether that be in a Soldier becoming a Wandering Swordsman after losing his country, or an Apprentice becoming a Magus when her knowledge has reached a pinnacle.
While there are some Roles that grant their owners the power to change the world, many are more mundane, and indeed out of the adult human population, upwards of eighty percent of them are estimated to possess a Role of some kind.
Roles have changed the face of the world. Projectile weapons and other creations far beyond what should be a near-medieval society have been crafted by Innovators, leading to a technological standard not far from the modern era, albeit with different underlying principles. At the same time, Roles have created a monstrous gap between individual human potential, and so this is a world of turmoil where power rests not with political orders but with those individual people. An emperor who cannot cow his country may find himself supplanted by one who can.
In other words, while many of the creations of this world could be said to exist in the space known as "modern fantasy", the setting of the world itself is undoubtedly medieval.
This story is an open-ended adventure centering around the players, similar in nature to a tabletop campaign, albeit with a more freeform style. I'll be controlling NPCs and there are some overarching plot elements that will largely take the form of "arcs". That said, there will be open-endedness in how the players tackle each arc, given how much I hate railroading. It's possible to entirely ignore those overarching plot elements and pursue one's own desires, or split off from the group and do one's own thing, if that's your speed.
The story begins in the town of Thele, a bustling metropolis. Thele is a trade city on the Western Isle, a small politically-independent island off the coast of a much larger continent by the name of Knoth. All walks of life find themselves in Thele, but at the same time, there seem to be some strange undercurrents brewing in the region.
This is something of an aside, but in the interest of forwardness, the core idea of Roles has been inspired by the web fiction "A Practical Guide to Evil". With that said, the existence of such Roles is the only core similarity, and the mechanics of this world are entirely different, so it's for the best that the two aren't conflated.
When one earns sufficient merit, possesses sufficient resolve, or comes across certain knowledge, there is the chance that they will be given a Role. One who serves his country dutifully may earn the Role of "Soldier", another in a completely different situation may be granted the role of "Librarian", and just as these Roles tied to occupations exist, so too do others. Apprentice, Conjurer, Saint, Champion, Divine Spear, Sword Saint, Genocider. The Roles are all-encompassing. Some are commonplace, some are unique to individuals.
The Role is not merely a name, though. Upon receiving a Role, one obtains a core ability, or "Aspect", inherent to the Role. These Aspects are the cornerstone of this world's magic. A Soldier might be able to strengthen his body, materialize weapons, or any other number of things. A Librarian might be able to learn information faster, to appraise objects on the spot, and so on.
A newcomer to a Role begins with one such Aspect, but as time goes on, if they act in tandem with the nature of the Role, that Aspect will strengthen and new ones may also arise.
...at the same time, if one turns against their Role, if a Soldier betrays their country or falls to cowardice, then the opposite will occur. Similarly, it is possible for one's Role to change, whether that be in a Soldier becoming a Wandering Swordsman after losing his country, or an Apprentice becoming a Magus when her knowledge has reached a pinnacle.
While there are some Roles that grant their owners the power to change the world, many are more mundane, and indeed out of the adult human population, upwards of eighty percent of them are estimated to possess a Role of some kind.
Roles have changed the face of the world. Projectile weapons and other creations far beyond what should be a near-medieval society have been crafted by Innovators, leading to a technological standard not far from the modern era, albeit with different underlying principles. At the same time, Roles have created a monstrous gap between individual human potential, and so this is a world of turmoil where power rests not with political orders but with those individual people. An emperor who cannot cow his country may find himself supplanted by one who can.
In other words, while many of the creations of this world could be said to exist in the space known as "modern fantasy", the setting of the world itself is undoubtedly medieval.
This story is an open-ended adventure centering around the players, similar in nature to a tabletop campaign, albeit with a more freeform style. I'll be controlling NPCs and there are some overarching plot elements that will largely take the form of "arcs". That said, there will be open-endedness in how the players tackle each arc, given how much I hate railroading. It's possible to entirely ignore those overarching plot elements and pursue one's own desires, or split off from the group and do one's own thing, if that's your speed.
The story begins in the town of Thele, a bustling metropolis. Thele is a trade city on the Western Isle, a small politically-independent island off the coast of a much larger continent by the name of Knoth. All walks of life find themselves in Thele, but at the same time, there seem to be some strange undercurrents brewing in the region.
This is something of an aside, but in the interest of forwardness, the core idea of Roles has been inspired by the web fiction "A Practical Guide to Evil". With that said, the existence of such Roles is the only core similarity, and the mechanics of this world are entirely different, so it's for the best that the two aren't conflated.