Gokrenxia
61st year of the 2nd Age
Scope
The motivation behind building Gokrenxia
For as long as I can remember, I have been a builder of worlds, of characters, and stories. I have an old rolled-up artist paper protected with contact paper outlining my first fantasy continent, Elleck-Mire, from nearly thirty years ago. I have rolls of acetate paper of the same size representing overlays cataloging the changes and impacts over ages. There has always been something inside of me desiring to build fantstic worlds. Gokrenxia is a means to draw out the stories written upon my soul and find joy through creative process.
The goal of the project
First and foremost, I want to have fun! Gokrenxia is a creative outlet. As life and scheduling conflicts have become more and more challenging for my role-playing crew of 20+ years, I have found myself aching for the drama, the challenge, and the adventure TTRPGs. It was about 3 years ago I discovered Ironsworn and the world of solo RPGs. With that in mind, my hope is to build an interesting world in which I want to explore and tell dramatic stories of the challenges of good standing against the tide of evil.
Gokrenxia's Unique Selling point
Gokrenxia is the story of the fall of a great and powerful empire that had lost sight of its people; where those in power abused it to their whims and pushed those who served past the breaking point. As a result, the arrogant masters of the land were thrown down from their pedestals and brought low to meet their servants eye to eye.
In the power vacuum that followed, new Kingdoms were carved from the old Empire. Across the land, each of these new Kingdoms forges their own path, in their own way, striving to avoid the mistakes of their predecessors while navigating alongside countless others attempting to do the same.
The grandchildren of the revolution are just beginning to understand the realities faced and the difficult choices that must be made by those in power, the lesser of many evils, the greater good, and the price that comes with this newfound freedom.
Breaking the Elven grip upon the land may have just been the more simple task...
Theme
Genre
Gokrenxia is a gritty fantasy world set in the aftermath of a great war over 60 years ago. The world rebuilds in the shadows of the towers and mansions of the former Elven upper class, where hard-working folk toil to follow the laws, pay their taxes, and make ends meet in exchange for the the illusion of safety, protection, and freedom to live their lives as they see fit. Magic is powerful and alive, organized into orders of scholarly pursuit. Warfare has been honed and sharpened, allegedly to defend the safety of the people against any would-be threats to the status quo.
Reader Experience
In many ways, the world of Gokrenxia feels familiar, wherein the deadly schemes and machinations of those in power go unnoticed by the oblivious masses as they continuously collide just beneath the surface of polite society. The news and stories of wars and atrocities are happening in places far away, beyond the safety and refuge of the city walls -- until "random, isolated events" allegedly perpetrated by the "fringes of society" spill into the markets, the temples, and the taverns.
In other ways Gokrenxia draws upon unfamiliar, fantastical beasts and powerful magics wielded by the powerful to ostensibly altruistic ends.
Reader Tone
Life in Gokrenxia is challenging, but not impossible. Those in power have a vested interest in ensuring their subjects have access to the basic necessities, but by no means makes it easy to get ahead. For the commoner, life is neither bleak and hopeless, nor roses and puppy dogs.
Recurring Themes
- A war weary world filled with distrust, skepticism, and political intriuge.
- The sins of the fathers - A crumbling husk of a city destroyed three times over by occupying armies, eventually abandoned to time. The angry soldier seething for vengance after losing his parents to the war. The one-legged elf with thinning hair and a critical word.
- The hope to do more, to be more, to grow beyond that which we are born into.
Character Agency
The world does not want to change. Those in power covet their wealth, their control, and their comfort and they will fight claw, tooth, and nail to keep it that way. That said, even the smallest choice made by a single being has the power to set in motion a chain of events impacting and potentially altering the course of the history.
Focus
Drama
Wars and rumors of wars
Political unrest has consumed some minor kingdoms, entrenching it in a brutal civil war. Each side is backed by different alliances. Bordering kingdoms are understandbly concerned about the conflict spilling over into their territories while refugees pour across their borders in numbers too great to sustain.Decline of the Elves
After the dust of the Great War settled, the Elves discovered much too late they'd not carved enough land to sustain their people. As such, the largest Kingdom of Elves suffers from terrible overpopulation. There has been a slow but steady exodus from the once shining Elven cities to the lands of surrounding Kingdoms over the last 50 years. Neighbors fear an Elven incursion and harbor deep mistrust, while many Elves recall firsthand a time when the surrounding land was theirs alone.Dissent amongst the Kynekin
Without a single grand vision unifying the Kynekin of Vath'azen several clusters of Kynekin broke away, establishing their own militaristic states. What changes will these new players will bring to the political climate?Of Clan & Country
After the death of their King and their captial was laid to waste, the once proud Dwarven Empire of the Stormbreak Mountains has fractured. Clans squabble over ancient familial claims to mining rights. Nearly every mountain city has entrenched itself, becoming a jealously guarded fortress distrustful of those Dwarves not known by blood. What lies in the ruins of the captial?
Gokrenxia is a work of fiction. Names of characters, places, events, organizations and locations are all creations of the author’s imagination for this fictitious setting. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Unless otherwise stated, all artwork and content are Copyright ©2023-2024 Koragath. Default cover image created leveraging dream by WOMBO.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form without the permisison from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.