Aradeia
1814 M.A.
Scope
The motivation behind building Aradeia
Exploring Themes I rarely see
Aradeia, or rather 'Legends of Aradeia', is my outlet for all the creative juices that I do not use for anything else. It is a fantasy story of a continent at war that has only been held together by the efforts of a peaceful loving matron called Pa'axi - a mortal. What I wanted to achieve with this world is creating a canvas for all the colourful ideas and stories that have no frame elsewhere. I want it to be a vessel to create a positive environment away from reality. We have enough to deal with already. We don't need extra stress in the games and stories we love.Fun in Danger
The Legends of Aradeia are supposed to represent the middleground between fun and fascinating scenarios in a somewhat serious yet easy-going atmosphere. People should have time to roleplay and explore the world without enemies crushing their heads in all the time. It's supposed to be focussing on character interaction, filler episodes and more in combination with debates and the rare occasion of dungeon crawling. Players should have the opportunity to see their characters (and their backstories!) come to life.Giving my characters a home
Over time, I have collected a list of NPCs that have never been used and never had the opportunity to talk. Since writing about them alone doesn't satisfy my need to make them come to life, I want them to be able to interact with people and grow on their own because of that. In order to achieve it, they need character interaction and adventures by themselves. I look forward to give them the story they deserve.The goal of the project
My own goals
I'm creating this world to be the framework for a campaign, a novel and a video game. The novel might not be published as a separate work, but I surely want it to be played. All characters and settings, all letters and legends will be created to entertain and inform the people using the system. For me, it will be an opportunity to give my head some rest. I am full of ideas, full of characters and sceneries, events and rituals that it would be a shame to let go of them completely. I want my audience to dive into Aradeia and create a character that will stay with them till the end of their lives. Stories are a wonderful pastime, especially when you feel as if the world is crushing down on you. Over the years, I have grown close with all my creations and I remember nearly all of them; their names, their appearances, even their social backgrounds. I want to give my audience ways to be happy in challenging times like these.Aradeia's Unique Selling point
The most uncommon (maybe unique) aspects of my world are:
- Elves and Dwarfs are generally immortal; they can only be killed in order to die
- Elves and Dwarfs become a part of nature when they are killed and can never be revived
- Humans, Ork, Halflings, Half-Bloods (Catfolk, Birdfolk etc) and others are all seen as the mortal, the Omni; they aren't enemies
- Fights are due to madness or immorality
- Tale Keepers are the most important class in Aradeia, especially for the mortals
Theme
Genre
About Genre
The Legends of Aradeia are mostly set in High Fantasy/Medieval Fantasy/Epic Fantasy dipping into Comedy, Romance, Tragedy, Horror/Thriller, Action and just the general Fluff. Its nature is bright and glowing and the world itself is somewhat friendly, but the bright-coloured environment can be too much for the less upbeat people in Aradeia. With time, should the group take too long, the world will be drained from its colours and turn to a grimmer, darker world. Especially if the war rushes forward without anyone stopping it, it'll drain the life from everything surrounding it, changing its friendly demeanor to a threatening stance.Technology and Magic
In Aradeia, there are two poles to technology and magic (which are seen as one). You have the alchemists on one side and pharmacists and the healers on the other. You have the artificers, and the wizards and sorcerers. Many magically inclined people are also connected to healing, potion dwelling and creating magical trinkets, whereas artificers, smiths and mechanics are very apt when it comes to everyday devices. Only few dare to cross the two paths and those are considered especially dangerous, mocking both the immortals' teachings and the celestials' blessing. So far, there has only been one family who has been allowed to teach and practice both and not be reprimanded by either side.Reader Experience
When it comes to the feel of the world, I think there's a connection between the whimsical wonder of the videogames we played as kids (think of the Kokiri Village or the Zora Domain of Ocarina of Time) and the grimmer, more realistic ideas of Dragon Age and the like.
It's supposed to feel a bit nostalgic and friendly while there is a feeling of urgency to preserve said nostalgia and warmth. My goal is to have the players and readers like the different people that they meet in the world, get to know them deeply, make friends with them even and realize that all of them might be gone soon if you don't act on the quests at hand.
Aradeia is strongly connected to the past, so as a group working with Tale Keepers, you are supposed to dive into Aradeia's past and fix the present to secure a happy future for everybody.
Reader Tone
I think Aradeia is somewhere in the middle when it comes to the tone.
There will be very dark moments, especially when it comes to the main quests, but also very light-hearted and happy moments in the cities that have more freedom from Immortal ruling.
Wondrous things happen to ordinary people all the time. Most are rather harmlos though (like grabbing a Floomel instead of a carot during harvest).
Recurring Themes
- Detective Stories/Investigation: During the war prep, the law has issues keeping up with the misdeeds in society. As a Tale Keeper's group, the players are meant to solve these cases, big and small, in order to help out the public.
- Family, Friends and Allies - There's always time and space to create friendships and find allies to protect the mortal realm from the war. There will always be tasks to complete and memories to collect that will be useful in the long run.
- It's all about hope, despair, madness and sanity: People will lose hope and slowly drown in their own thoughts and doubts. Many of the enemies will be broken by what they have seen, heard or otherwise perceived. Find a way to calm them down, convince them of your good intentions, or be ready to kill someone who might be innocent after all.
Character Agency
I believe the character agency is quite high. While the video game I am planning for will have a set group going through the motions and solving the issue, it will be the players' task to prevent the war from happening since there is basically no help available otherwise.
Choices will have consequences, both good and bad; the allies you make along the way will have an impact on the information and support you will get, and there will be a change in reactions when it comes to choosing a certain species, but maybe not in the way that you might expect. (For example, Orcs are part of the Omni which makes them common allies of every mortal race, as in halflings, humans, half-folk, gargoyles, etc).
In a campaign, I'd really love to incorporate a PC's backstory into the setting, so that everyone can fully connect to the world it plays in.