Aetheria

Year 53 in the Age of Ascension

Created by

Silent Cinema
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Scope

The motivation behind building Aetheria

I want to build a world where I can host my campaigns. A world that feels alive, full of conflict, and allows me to explore interesting topics that mirror the world we live in. RPGs are a fantastic way to explore the issues that we face today in a safe and meaningful way.    I want to create a foundation on which players will be able to express themselves and be able to hide wonder and excitement in every corner. I want to make this world feel like each area is unique and facing their own unique problems so that future campaigns can explore different topics.

The goal of the project

This world will serve as a foundation on which players of my games will be able to explore and make meaningful choices. I want to create a world that is breathing and living where player actions influence the direction of the world but they themselves feel like a small cog in a much larger machine and the amount of effort to affect a larger area will need to be greater.   I want the audience to feel like the adventures had in this world are therapeutic in a way. I want them to have the inspiration to explore not only the world but themselves.

Aetheria's Unique Selling point

What is special about this world to me is that it will allow me to explore some questions and topics that I find interesting about the real world. Mainly the death of colonialism, the rise of neocolonialism, multilateralism on the world stage, the role of technology in our world, and how power structures are formed and maintained in a system.   The world is built around these questions and constructed in such a way that they can be explored. Additionally the world is built to also be a great jumping off point for a variety of other topics and should have room to expand. It takes place in a time of upheaval much like our own reality.

Theme

Genre

While the use of magic-infused technology has made everyday tasks easier, there is still a great deal of respect and awe reserved for those who can cast spells themselves. Magic users are highly sought after for their skills, and those who master the art of magic often rise to positions of power and influence in society. However, the study of magic is a difficult and time-consuming process, and many who begin down the path of magical study fail to achieve mastery. As a result, those who can cast magic are highly respected and revered in Aetherian society.

Reader Experience

The world should feel mystical. Familiar but strange. The principles of magic are mundane but the application of magic to technology and the mass production of magical artifacts is just kicking off in the world creating the Age of Ascension. The use of magic in machines such as airships, trains, or ships through the use of magical engines has brought the world closer together which causes its own boons and busts. The world should feel as if it is in turmoil and like the world is walking on a razor's edge but the opportunities to create a better world and brighter future are out there ready to be wielded.

Reader Tone

The narrative tone of Aetheria can vary depending on the specific story being told, but in general, it tends to be a mixture of fantasy and adventure with an underlying sense of danger and conflict. The world of Aetheria is a place where magic and technology coexist, and where forces are constantly vying for control at all levels. While malevolent beings may threaten the immediate safety of the world, the societal pressures from the growing boom of arcanetech can prove to be a meta foe. Along with the dangers of the world is also a sense of hope and heroism as new ground is breaking providing more opportunities to those who didn't have those opportunities before.

Recurring Themes

The transition between empires and nation states due to the Era of Dominion. Including the creation and destruction of institutions in a world getting increasingly multilateral.   How power structures are formed in a world where everything is getting closer and people are getting more distant.    The societal landscape changing due to Arcanetech. How society addresses the two sides of creation and destruction caused by Arcanetech.

Character Agency

The character should feel like a cog in a machine trying to escape. With each level larger (City, Region, Nation, World) the amount of movement needed to drive that gear on the part of the characters grows exponentially. However, by forming, cooperating with, and/or changing the structure of other groups those gears become much easier to turn.

Focus

The transition between empires and nation states due to the Era of Dominion.
One theme is how often the fluid boundaries of empires due to colonialism and the oppression therein often led to empires clashing with each other. Meanwhile the nations born out of the ashes of those empires have relied more on legalism to establish their sovereignty but those echos from time past has caused those nations to inherit the fractures and strife caused by the old empires, leading to each of them trying to cope with the challenges in their own way.
Exploring how international law can be abused both pre-dominion and post.
During the Era of Dominion, empires used international law to serve the ends of the empire. Such an example is creating their own definitions of civilization in order to oppress others and putting power structures in place that benefit the empire. Meanwhile the nation-states born from the Age of Ascension have to answer to each other. While nations may have more power than another, the post-rationalization of abuses became much harder, and institutions have been built to foster relationships.
Society changing due to Arcanetech. 
Arcanetech has permeated society so much that it is commonplace. Such rapid change means that the generational knowledge becomes rapidly outdated. Older generations don't understand the newer technology and its applications. As such they are inadequately equipped to teach responsible use to newer generations. This leads to newer generations abusing Arcanetech and not fully understanding the ramifications of the technology. Highlighting the mutual failure of each generation.
Some additional/ancillary focus points
  • How our past can affect the present but we can influence the direction of our future today.
  • The challenges of getting large numbers of people to all move in one direction.
  • How the adoption of technologies affects the current power structures in a society.
  • The impact of technology on identity. Technology changes how we both present ourselves to others and how we define ourselves
  • The struggle to survive in an imperfect or sometimes even totalitarian society
  • The intersection between power and identity impacting on how people see themselves.
  • How individuals can overcome their past mistakes and find a path forward in a world that is growing increasingly socially distant
  • How to find meaning in a world that is accelerating at a pace people can't keep up with.

Drama

Power Exchange

In the Kingdom of Avalon, the ruling class of mages had long held power over the non-magical commoners. The mages controlled the government, the military, and the economy, and used their magical abilities to maintain their control over the populace. After a deadly civil war the non-magical populace forced the mages to relinquish some of their power to the commoners and the Kingdom of Avalon was restructured. Scars of the conflict remain causing a deep mistrust between the two groups.

The Sick Man of Aetheria

After a deadly war between The Principality of Darkholm and the Republic of Firewind, a peace agreement was reached through the intervention of a neutral third party, but the scars of the conflict remained. It wasn't long after that the populace revolted against the Black King of Darkholm and the seafaring nation of Darkholm collapsed. Darkholm was reformed as the nations of Frosthold and Misthaven. The relations between Firewind and Frosthold are permanently strained, and the balance of power in Aetheria had shifted in ways that would have long-term consequences for the continent.

Aether in Crisis

As arcanetech becomes more prevalent in Aetheria, its usage causes a depletion of the aether - the magical energy that permeates the world. The devices that rely on arcanetech draw upon the aether to power their functions, and as more of them are created and used, the aether is drained at a faster rate than it can naturally replenish. This results in unpredictable magical disturbances, such as sudden surges or drops in the availability of magic, and can cause severe environmental imbalances, leading to natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, or floods. Additionally, the depletion of aether also leads to a decrease in the overall magical potential of the world, which could have disastrous consequences for the future of magic and those who rely on it.

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To all our Our Patrons for their unwavering love and support.

For the amazing images. His Titanship Christopher Dravus of Ironrise Games, Our Revered Deity Basic Dragon / Rin & His Majesty Caeora