|
1 RPGnet <http://www.rpg.net> |
|
2 <http://www.rpg.net/slib/ads/forward-ad.php?nextURL=http://www.skotos.net/games/federation&imageURL=http://www.skotos.net/media/custom/parchment-sf-728x90.jpg> |
|
3 |
|
4 |
|
5 Reviews <http://www.rpg.net/reviews/> Forums <http://forum.rpg.net> |
|
6 News & Press <http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/press.phtml> Columns & |
|
7 Info <http://www.rpg.net/columns/index.phtml> RPG Wiki |
|
8 <http://wiki.rpg.net> RPG Shop <http://shop.rpg.net> |
|
9 <http://www.rpg.net/members/> |
|
10 |
|
11 |
|
12 Wind in the Flowers: Re-inventing a Game |
|
13 |
|
14 |
|
15 The Emperor to Come |
|
16 |
|
17 *R. Sean Borgstrom* |
|
18 January 31, 2002 |
|
19 |
|
20 |
|
21 Much of the *Nobilis* setting draws its passion and temper from the |
|
22 character of Lord Entropy, the anointed ruler of the material Earth. |
|
23 Callous, oppressive, and indisputably malevolent, he has created a |
|
24 government and code of law that reflects his own nature. He sanctions |
|
25 sevenfold vengeance, extends the protections of his law to the enemies |
|
26 of all Creation, and forbids the Nobilis love. He embodies the concepts |
|
27 of Destruction, Desecration, and Scorn. Because of his existence, these |
|
28 things afflict the Earth. |
|
29 |
|
30 *Nobilis* pursues a value-neutral approach towards such entities as Lord |
|
31 Entropy. Destruction, Desecration, and Scorn are ugly things, but also a |
|
32 part of the natural order of Creation. For player characters, loyal in |
|
33 some sense to the universe, Lord Entropy is not the enemy -- he is a |
|
34 cruel lord, but not an inadequate one. He makes a fine villain for |
|
35 characters who simply /must/ foment rebellion -- but in most games, he |
|
36 is not a villain at all. Rather, he represents an unpleasant part of the |
|
37 order of things. He is a natural force that one cooperates with or works |
|
38 around. |
|
39 |
|
40 *Nobilis* is not a horror game. I've always intended that it be a game |
|
41 of wonder and horror, balancing the ugly elements of the setting with |
|
42 beauty. Getting strong reactions out of players -- terror in a horror |
|
43 game, fascination in a game of mystery or conspiracy, romantic fantasy |
|
44 in a romance, the spiritual experience in a religious game -- depends |
|
45 entirely on the person running the game. /I/ can't directly put wonder |
|
46 and horror into *Nobilis*. Instead, I must produce a toolkit that the |
|
47 player group can use to evoke those reactions. That's one of the central |
|
48 purposes of both mechanics and setting. |
|
49 |
|
50 In this respect, placing Lord Entropy alone at the pinnacle of Earthly |
|
51 power was a mistake. You can use him easily to invoke a sense of horror, |
|
52 but he just won't take the players' breath away with the beauty, wonder, |
|
53 and scope of his nature. He is a single point of darkness in a key area |
|
54 of the setting, with no brightness to mitigate it. At the same time, I |
|
55 found his place in the world a very useful tool during game design. |
|
56 |
|
57 For example, Lord Entropy's code of law forbids love. (Specifically, to |
|
58 the Nobilis -- half-divine beings and the default character type.) This |
|
59 isn't a physical law, nor is Lord Entropy omnipotent. Characters can |
|
60 break the law, and can even get away with it. At the same time, Lord |
|
61 Entropy is powerful and cunning, providing powerful incentive to follow |
|
62 his code. This combination of traits gives much more significance to the |
|
63 decision to love. Every time one of the Nobilis gives their heart, even |
|
64 in relative secrecy and safety, it forms the core of a powerful and |
|
65 dynamic story. Weakening Lord Entropy's power base weakens that story. |
|
66 |
|
67 Similarly, because Lord Entropy extends the protection of his law to the |
|
68 enemies of Creation -- the Excrucians -- launching a preemptive strike |
|
69 against that enemy takes on new significance. Instead of a tactical |
|
70 decision, the choice whether to gather evidence against the enemy or |
|
71 attack prematurely becomes a real, meaningful choice. |
|
72 |
|
73 In the Hogshead edition, therefore, I set out to create a thematic |
|
74 balance for Lord Entropy in the topmost levels of Earth's power |
|
75 structure -- without balancing his temporal power. The first edition |
|
76 offered a useful tool: the "Council of Four," an august governing body |
|
77 to which Lord Entropy belonged. The combined decision of the three other |
|
78 members could thwart him -- although this didn't happen very often. |
|
79 |
|
80 The new edition introduces the character of *Ananda*, who sits on the |
|
81 Council of Four. He shines with a terrible glory. Humans and the weaker |
|
82 Nobilis cannot enter his presence lest his countenance drive them mad |
|
83 with joy. The world sings in his presence. Grass and trees become |
|
84 crystal instruments. Concrete buildings clamor out hard-edged refrains. |
|
85 Birds pour out symphony after symphony, until their hearts burst from |
|
86 the strain. |
|
87 |
|
88 Some of you may wonder why we would choose such a stark and hostile form |
|
89 of beauty for a character intended to balance out a monster. In fact, in |
|
90 his original conception, Ananda had a kind beauty, a tame beauty, a |
|
91 loveliness to put one in mind of rainbows and waterfalls. From the |
|
92 perspective of /my/ injecting beauty into the game, that would have |
|
93 worked. As soon as the first words went onto the page, though, it became |
|
94 clear that, as part of a toolkit for creating wonder, that idea didn't |
|
95 work at all. |
|
96 |
|
97 The members of the Council of Four, I discovered, need stark detail and |
|
98 absolute magnificence. Anything less would less would compromise the |
|
99 feel of the game. *Nobilis* postulates that many of the /player |
|
100 characters/ have personal presence exceeding that of Napoleon or |
|
101 Elizabeth I. Ananda stands several steps higher on the ladder of |
|
102 authority. Further, members of the Council of Four must play a small |
|
103 role in the game. (Why overshadow the player characters?) Since Ananda |
|
104 should rarely appear "on screen," the person running the game has very |
|
105 little time to make an impact with him. Thus, his beauty strikes like a |
|
106 thunderbolt; it does not drift to the senses in gentle waves. |
|
107 |
|
108 Ananda is a creature of conscience. In this, he is unique on the Council |
|
109 of Four. (When creating Ananda, I did not know this for sure -- but, in |
|
110 response to a playtester request, we've added a short box describing the |
|
111 other two members. Now, I know.) He represents a court of last resort -- |
|
112 a final hope for Nobilis desperate for justice or succor. He is a |
|
113 benevolent administrator who might take action in a worthy character's |
|
114 name. |
|
115 |
|
116 So that Ananda does not become a panacea, an escape from all the terrors |
|
117 of the setting, we limited his authority. Ananda knows of an |
|
118 "unacceptable" horror that will come to pass if he casts his vote |
|
119 directly against Lord Entropy's in Council. His greatest protest against |
|
120 Entropy's actions is an abstention. Ananda must abstain, and the other |
|
121 two members of the Council vote against Lord Entropy, for the Council to |
|
122 overrule Lord Entropy's decisions. Ananda remains one of the four |
|
123 Imperators directly charged with governance over the Nobilis and the |
|
124 mortal world, but his inability to vote his conscience limits his power |
|
125 base. |
|
126 |
|
127 Ananda, like the other members of the Council of Four, is an Imperator |
|
128 -- a great spirit, the essence of several fundamental concepts of the |
|
129 world, served by several of the Nobilis. He embodies the concepts of |
|
130 Murder, the Infinite, and the Fourth Age. The Fourth Age immediately |
|
131 follows the current era; when the very nature of the world next changes, |
|
132 Ananda's essence will pervade reality. For this reason, many call him |
|
133 the Emperor to Come. |
|
134 |
|
135 *Nobilis* does not insist on an explanation for the groups of concepts |
|
136 that the Imperators embody. However, one might reasonably believe that |
|
137 Ananda is the essence of murder because the Excrucians seek to murder |
|
138 Creation -- the Third Age, the current Age, /could/ end with the death |
|
139 of all worlds. Similarly, the Third Age could end with the Excrucians' |
|
140 utter defeat. The universe could then, in theory, endure indefinitely; |
|
141 this would explain why he embodies the essence of the Infinite. |
|
142 |
|
143 Since *Nobilis* detailed Lord Entropy's home -- his "Chancel," a pocket |
|
144 reality he created -- the new edition also describes Ananda's Chancel. |
|
145 This is the Cityback, a vast world hidden behind modern cities. The |
|
146 Cityback is home to wild flora, fauna, and urbana (living elements of |
|
147 urban life, such as scavenger shopping carts), as well as Ananda's |
|
148 "ombudsmen." These ombudsmen help the modern world function. For |
|
149 example, Ananda's ombudsmen protect and facilitate the mysterious |
|
150 process by which cows become packages of plastic-covered meat at |
|
151 supermarkets across the world. |
|
152 |
|
153 The Council of Four remains a dark and oppressive institution. Ananda's |
|
154 addition to the world does not change this. Still, by taking his place |
|
155 on the Council, by building the Cityback, and by being Ananda, he brings |
|
156 hope to the world. |
|
157 |
|
158 |
|
159 R. Sean |
|
160 |
|
161 |
|
162 What do you think? <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> |
|
163 |
|
164 Go to forum! <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> |
|
165 Go to Top <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> | New Topic |
|
166 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/post.php?f=88> | View Threads |
|
167 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&collapse=0> | Search |
|
168 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/search.php?f=88> |
|
169 |
|
170 Topics Author Date Latest Reply |
|
171 James and the Small Caps |
|
172 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=81&t=81> (2) new Kibo |
|
173 08-20-2002 16:29 02-10-2003 01:23 new |
|
174 Art <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=77&t=77> (1) new Lxndr |
|
175 04-26-2002 07:36 04-26-2002 07:36 new |
|
176 The Original Nobilis Club |
|
177 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=76&t=76> (3) new Bret Gillan |
|
178 04-17-2002 11:28 03-17-2003 17:48 new |
|
179 Questions & Thoughts |
|
180 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=64&t=64> (3) new Pyske |
|
181 03-20-2002 18:31 05-01-2003 13:03 new |
|
182 Noble Buddhism? |
|
183 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=61&t=61> (9) new Tlaloc |
|
184 03-20-2002 12:17 12-10-2004 01:20 new |
|
185 Noble Suicide <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=58&t=58> (9) new |
|
186 Eric Christian Berg 03-20-2002 07:43 01-18-2005 16:27 new |
|
187 Art Notes <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=54&t=54> (4) new R. |
|
188 Sean Borgstrom 03-14-2002 16:31 03-21-2002 03:44 new |
|
189 Ack...you just lost my sale |
|
190 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=45&t=45> (10) new SteveD |
|
191 03-14-2002 04:06 03-15-2002 06:29 new |
|
192 Onomastikon working URL |
|
193 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=36&t=36> (4) new Jorge |
|
194 Hernández 03-06-2002 12:51 08-20-2002 16:10 new |
|
195 Why do angels change names ? |
|
196 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=33&t=33> (10) new philippe |
|
197 tromeur 03-06-2002 10:13 12-10-2004 01:34 new |
|
198 R. Sean, some examples? |
|
199 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=32&t=32> (3) new Arref |
|
200 03-05-2002 08:17 03-13-2002 20:28 new |
|
201 Sounds great, BUT... |
|
202 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=28&t=28> (2) new Kane |
|
203 02-27-2002 16:43 02-27-2002 17:30 new |
|
204 Sort of backwards? |
|
205 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=21&t=21> (8) new Eric Finley |
|
206 02-20-2002 14:25 02-28-2002 09:35 new |
|
207 Programmer nature slips out! |
|
208 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=20&t=20> (2) new Sean |
|
209 McCarthy 02-20-2002 13:18 02-21-2002 10:30 new |
|
210 Object Lesson Damage |
|
211 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=15&t=15> (1) new Darren |
|
212 Miguez 02-13-2002 12:45 02-13-2002 12:45 new |
|
213 How about this? |
|
214 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=12&t=12> (2) new Kristian |
|
215 Lund 02-13-2002 11:30 02-14-2002 01:17 new |
|
216 Now, this was strange! |
|
217 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=9&t=9> (7) new access.denied |
|
218 02-13-2002 07:44 02-16-2002 21:44 new |
|
219 Briefs on the other two? |
|
220 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=5&t=5> (5) new Eric Finley |
|
221 01-31-2002 18:39 02-13-2002 10:36 new |
|
222 Forum now works <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=4&t=4> (1) new |
|
223 Sandy Antunes 01-31-2002 17:36 01-31-2002 17:36 new |
|
224 limited series <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=1&t=1> (2) new |
|
225 Sandy Antunes 01-21-2002 17:41 01-31-2002 17:36 new |
|
226 |
|
227 Go to Top <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88> | New Topic |
|
228 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/post.php?f=88> | View Threads |
|
229 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&collapse=0> | Search |
|
230 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/search.php?f=88> |
|
231 |
|
232 Newer Messages |
|
233 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&t=81&a=1&> | Older Messages |
|
234 <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88&t=1&a=2&> |
|
235 |
|
236 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
|
237 |
|
238 * Editing, Development, and Production |
|
239 </news+reviews/columns/wind27mar02.html> |
|
240 March 27, 2002 |
|
241 * Affiliations </news+reviews/columns/wind20mar02.html> |
|
242 March 20, 2002 |
|
243 * How to be a Hollyhock God </news+reviews/columns/wind13mar02.html> |
|
244 March 13, 2002 |
|
245 * Naming Conventions </news+reviews/columns/wind06mar02.html> |
|
246 March 6, 2002 |
|
247 * Art Notes </news+reviews/columns/wind27feb02.html> |
|
248 February 27, 2002 |
|
249 * Dynamic Nobilis </news+reviews/columns/wind20feb02.html> |
|
250 February 20, 2002 |
|
251 * Systems Change </news+reviews/columns/wind13feb02.html> |
|
252 February 13, 2002 |
|
253 * Treachery </news+reviews/columns/wind06feb02.html> |
|
254 February 6, 2002 |
|
255 * The Emperor to Come </news+reviews/columns/wind31jan02.html> |
|
256 January 31, 2002 |
|
257 * The Changing of the Guard </news+reviews/columns/wind21jan02.html> |
|
258 January 21, 2002 |
|
259 |
|
260 |
|
261 Other columns </news+reviews/columns.html> at RPGnet |
|
262 |
|
263 [ Read FAQ <http://forum.rpg.net/faq.php> | Subscribe to RSS |
|
264 <http://www.rpg.net/rss.phtml> | Contact Us <mailto:www@rpg.net> | |
|
265 Advertise with Us <http://www.rpg.net/ads/info.phtml> ] |
|
266 |
|
267 Copyright © 1996-2006 RPGnet & individual authors, All Rights Reserved |
|
268 RPGnet® is a registered trademark of Skotos Tech Inc., all rights reserved. |
|
269 |