Rubicon

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The war between Heaven and Hell is an infinite struggle. It has existed before anything else, and will exist long after everything else crumbles to dust. The battlefield for this struggle is Rubicon, the realm of chaos and unpredictability; more commonly known as the Material Plane, or the equivalent of “earth”. Unlike Heaven or Hell, Rubicon exists as a place where no one morality rules, no force of the cosmos directs life, and no being is permanent

Most rubiconians know of the other planes, but talk about the upper and lower planes of Heaven and Hell as if they were fiction; some worship the planes, some deny their existence, and some even strive to travel to one of the planes, but largely they are treated like the theology of our world with an added understanding that "Well, they are real, but they're just so far from our understanding of the world". Most that have been thrown into the infinite war would rather keep these forces out of Rubicon than truly partake in their battle.

The only thing keeping Rubicon from being a total battlefield at all times is it’s corrupting nature to the other planes. As its name suggests, any being from Heaven or Hell who enters Rubicon can never truly go back. They lose a part of themselves that they can never reclaim; entering Rubicon means that you lose any semblance of immortality you may have. Angels and demons become mortal, gain lifespans, and can be slain like any other living being. To those that have always lived in Rubicon, this is normal. Lives begin with the understanding that they will someday end, and most do not seek a way out. Those that do seek an escape often make contact with Heaven or Hell, sometimes both, and wind up being thrust into their war as a consequence. Those that deal with devils become a target for Heaven, and vice versa.

These forces, natives to Rubicon that allied themselves with the forces of light or darkness, became the forefront of the war. Sages, the rubiconian forces of light, had gifts bestowed upon them from the heavens. They had the power to summon angels and weave magic from divine essence. These sages were also put in charge of a relic of the Heavens, the Right Eye of Rubicon, a piece of the world imbued with divinity that would allow Heaven to watch over the world from beyond the planar divide. Their opposite, the Witches, rubiconian forces of darkness, had gifts bestowed upon them from the depths of Hell. They could summon demons, weave magic from the abyss, and guard their own relic; The Left Eye of Rubicon. Just like the Right, the Left eye is a piece of Rubicon that allows Hell to watch over the world from beyond the divide.

Now, both Heaven and Hell seek something truly native to Rubicon; an artifact called the Athaneos that would allow a native of Heaven or Hell to cross over without losing their immortality. The efforts of the infinite war, as well as those who seek to protect Rubicon, have shifted to claiming this artifact, leaving you all with a choice: What side do you all fight for?

This campaign will be heavily inspired by Bayonetta and biblical themes, and the course of the campaign will be decided mainly by what you all chose to fight for. I would rather everyone fight for the same end goal, even if they don’t start allied with the same side. If this setting is voted on, I want a setting specific vote to be held: The end goal will be to side with Heaven, Hell, or Rubicon? This goal can shift over the course of the campaign when new information is gained or opinions are altered, but this is to avoid as much deep-seeded betrayal plots from happening as possible.

For Rubicon, your races will be limited to the following: Rubiconic, Fiendish, and Celestial. I have an entire page on races and cultures, so check that out!

For character creation, keep your scope in line with the hook; as in, you’re more than welcome to make a satan-inspired character, guardian angel, or an otherwise more-than-mortal character for this campaign. For anyone not familiar with the Bayonetta story, the Left and Right Eyes are not just “relics”, they are living breathing people that Heaven and Hell treat like objects in their dispute. Thus, great opportunities for character creation for those interested. Domain Bearers are another great opportunity for character creation, being bastion of a worldly theme by birth. And if you aren’t interested in all that, there’s still plenty more to work with. You could be the product of a union between Heaven and Hell, targeted by both? You could be a remnant of the ancient beings that once ruled Rubicon like the angels and devils rule their respective planes, seeking to recover Rubicon's independence from the other planes? You could be a witch who made a deal with a devil to retrieve the immortal artifact, or a sage who did the same for heaven. Whatever it is, I want everyone to be on the same (ish) page by the end, so PLEASE discuss what you all would like to align with before getting deep into character creation.

I highly reccomend talking with one another about knowing eachothers characters before the start of the campaign. Literally mandating a "you must know eachother for a year" didn't even force you all to be genuinely friends with one another... so... there's not much point in that this go around. I won't even try, but I highly reccomend it.

For Rubicon, the main gimmick will be Patrons and Piety. Regardless of what side the party allies themselves with, each person will have a vague or specific patron force that grants them extra goodies. This will replace Specials in order to grant you a more specific, game-altering experience without overloading stats. Your patron can simply be Heaven, granting you vague divine power by being aligned with divine forces, or the opposite for Hell. You can be a patron, gaining power from the worship/allegiance of followers. Your patron could be a guardian angel NPC, or a specific demon, or a chaotic force on Rubicon (Archfey are the main magical powers on Rubicon so far). You can even do a duo with another player to have a player-player patron-client duo. The stats are hazy right now, but I want this to function like Bayonetta’s demons and demon forms (for those not familiar, summons and powerful boosts to gameplay).