Crypts and Wyverns

205 REP

Foundation
Scene

Inspiration

Created by

Charlie Dorsett

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Scope

The motivation behind building Crypts and Wyverns

On the night of November 19th 2020, I had a dream about a magical world in which people used a Scape Key to enter a magical realm to play a Massively Multiplayer Imaginal Game. The dream was so viscerally real that when I woke up I started producing artwork to explore the idea further. I quickly fell in love not only with the game but the world and wanted to see it grow into something even more than it had originally been in my mind. That is when I realized that I had an idea for a litRPG game and story that would be really fun to tell and also fun to play with my friends. The idea of playing around with the meta of a magical game taking place in a magical society is almost irresistible. I also realized, that this setting in the story would give me the ability to play around with questions of nostalgia, game mechanics, and societal norms in a way that the other worlds in stories that I write just don't allow for. I want to build a world that captures my love of MMORPGs and table top role playing games that is essentially a love letter to JRPG's and to the various forms of fantasy that I have loved over the years.

The goal of the project

First and foremost, I would like to have a playable game in the Cypher System that I can enjoy with my friends. It is not that the story itself is unimportant, it is just I would love a a world that we could explore that is fed by our collective memories of the various MMORPGs and table top role playing games that we grew up playing. It's also been a really long time since I've played with first person in a story or novel, and the experience of such a game would allow for greater immersion of the reader into the setting. More than anything though I think getting to explore the nostalgic view of a legendary or mythological setting from the point of view and perspective of a society built on magic would be fascinating. What kind of legends and stories do they tell? I hope to create a story that is thrilling and interesting filled with mysteries that readers will want to solve and a game role that has the same affect on players. I hope the players will want to read the books and the readers for want to play the game, so I can share my love of a table top role playing games with more people.

Crypts and Wyverns's Unique Selling point

Unlike any of the other stories that I have written, this story in the world will be comprised of so much meta-content that hopefully it will spark joy in people in the same way champions online did for me when it originally launched. I want readers to see them selves in the characters, and even more to Desire to be one of the players in the world itself. In someways, I feel like the best selling point about this story that makes it most unique is that I am working on a companion game that will be playable alongside the actual story.

Theme

Genre

I have to answer this question into ways, because the book is fundamentally a lit RPG book, but it is one that takes place in a steampunk high fantasy setting. The "real world" of the setting is the natural evolution of a fantasy world into an art deco, steampunk setting, and the game itself is more of a sword and sorcery/high fantasy world built to capitalize on the public's nostalgia. Well the game and the story itself are lit RPG, they are in and of themselves a hopepunk/steampunk/magic punk setting that will draw on elements of all the above to hopefully make for an interesting world for people to explore.

Reader Experience

Initially, the world should feel excited/exciting. The book is going to begin with the launch of the dreamscape game, so it should embody the thrill and exhilaration that such a launch would have. Given the rules by which the world operates, namely that many of the treasures and lewd mind from the game could actually benefit people in their real lives, when the stakes get raised that should add another level of complexity and excitement to the world if not more tension and horror/gloom.

Reader Tone

Crypts and Wyverns was intended by the devs to be a noble grey world, but when the secrets come to light, the story takes on the character of a hopepunk story while the world becomes more noble dark. The hardest part of this story and setting will be to pull off the tonal shift when the secrets are revealed so they don't feel cliche. The world is noble gray — think final fantasy meets forgotten realms.

Recurring Themes

Redemption, for self, society, and the world as the sins of the past come back to haunt the present. The game itself is centered around heroism the recapturing the glory of the lost golden age of magic. Secrets of the lost world and forgotten history. Hidden arcana that leads to great power and terrible risk. Glitches in the game that can be exploited for gain or loss.

Character Agency

The characters will be able to change the world within the limitations that the game provides. Should they find access to any of the controls or commands that the devs have built in to the world, their level of agency would increase. Spoiler for the setting and book 1-ish the elder gods who originally lived within the dreamscape the game was built to have control over the dream and thus over the game and have the ability to alter the rules although this requires some effort on their part and they cannot do it on a whim.

Focus

Class Relations Given the nature of magic in the real world, most people have no need for employment. Metric allows for most of the basic needs that a person has to be met without much issue, which has led to a dearth of employment opportunities for people who do not fit the few extremely specialized roles necessary to keep the wheels of society moving. As a result, many "regular folk" began playing dreamscape games not only for escapism but to find a way to gain fulfillment that they were not able to find in their regular life. The rigid class structure that built up over time as a result of the hegemony of the various magical girls that run the real world, many of the under classes live their lives as spiritual nomads moving from game to game seeking meaning, purpose, and camaraderie from those that they encounter within the dreamscapes. Upper class players have the advantage of installing augmentation charms onto their scape keys to grant them unfair advantages within the games. Many also employ legions of players to aid them in achieving their goals and ambitions within the game world.

Mythological Influence Once the gods ruled the world, dark sinister gods who craved worship and sacrifice for the meager gifts they bestowed upon their followers. Under the banner of the flag of Honor, the Holy Quaternion fought off the Lieges of Mount Ameslin and banished them to the domains from which they came, or so the story goes. The story of the Holy Quaternion is a staple of international legend with every nation claiming that they lived in their lands and performed their deeds there. The mythic struggle of the world has been turned in to the background content and lore for the game Crypts and Wyverns.

LGBT Relations What are the most pervasive themes of the setting is the relationship between gender identity, sexual orientation, and performance. One of the goals that I have with this world, like many others that I write, is to make it as inclusive of as many types of people as I possibly can. I also hope to bring in a lot of non-binary identity into the story as a way to not only share my experience of the world, but to also explore some of the questions and themes related to gender identity and sexuality that I have in my mind.

Drama

The dreamscape in which the Planescapers of Myth Engine built Crypts and Wyverns was not forged by an Oneiromancer but discovered as a vacant void in the nether realm. The world itself was not empty, but dormant as the gods slumbered for untold aeons.

The Umbral Phoenix Eterna has launched an invasion of the realm of Nalea to add it to her growing empire as she spreads her influence throughout the planes.

Not long after the Lieges came into being the first faithborn arose. The clans disagree about whether the faithborn are closely related to Lieges, or if they are incarnations of the deities themselves. It is possible that they were a combination of all the above. Alosrin serve Sembris, God of Abundance Evindal serve Dolerin, Deity of Beauty Gilmaer serve Cyohr, Deity of Shelter Kelkrana serve Qhutin, God of Loyalty Maeral serve Myris, Deity of Forgiveness Qinsarra serve Iaris, Goddess of Miracles Saarthyra serve Orla, Goddess of Death

Ring of Shadows and the Ijath Order