You have experienced something Phenomenal, so awesome and steeped in meaning and virtue, that The World must be made to understand. And so
We are Building a Religion.
What is The Religion?
- Nope
- There is no roll table
- You're just going to have to build The Religion for yourself
- You can try ChatGPT
- Or
- Consult the I Ching
You may each perform a kind of Miracle, but it is never something that can be observed directly or proven (it must be taken on faith). Prophetic visions full of vague symbolism, an indomitable will, improbable successes, a presence or charm, and things of this nature.
As The Religion spreads, it amasses The Power necessary to defend itself against The World.
At first The World will respond with apathy, and The Religion will use this in its favor.
The Religion will attract the disenfranchised.
Then The World will respond with mockery, and The Religion will use this too.
The Religion will attract the scorned.
Then The World will use brute force. But by this point, The Religion can defend itself.
The Religion will attract the violent.
Finally, The World will attempt to assimilate the Religion. But by this point, The Religion will have already begun to consume The World in kind.
The Religion will attract the mindless.
This is a game about building The Religion, which you define for yourselves.
The Miracles granted by The Religion provide little benefit in themselves.
The Phenomenon alienates you from The World, at least at first.
You are opposed by The World.
And, potentially, each other.
The odds are not in your favor.
The Power comes from the acquisition of human biomass, social networks, money, hegemony, and ???????? »Γ£ »Γ£╔, in that order, or the reverse.
The Power is not sourced from individuals, but from systems. The Miracles are like spears and shields torn off a nuclear-armed jet. The Power is drawn from the collective faith of its adherents.
It is your only hope of survival against The World.
As you attain The Power, The World will conform to The Religion. But, The Power is itself of The World. The more of The Power that The Religion obtains, the more like The World it becomes.
The game is as Weird, Psychedelic, Horrific, and Magical as The Religion has the ambition to be and as The World allows.
This game is not a power fantasy about individuals obtaining magical swords and accomplishing superhuman feats. It is (a power fantasy) about ideas, awe, communication, community; about building systems and defending them from predators, disease, mundanity.
This game is not for those who seek only linear things, who take pride in their ignorance, who desire the mundane or populous at the exclusion of all else, who do not consider what they want nor why, who neither understand nor have any interest in understanding. This game is ill-defined by design.
This sounds freaking AWESOME. It feels to me as if there's a kind of poetry in this that could arise spontaneously in play. I also love the "ill-defined by design" concept. Wondered if Lacuna is an influence on this part of your idea? I haven't said much about it yet, but this is bang on with what I think is going on with some of the missing info and sometimes conflicting or confusing information in that game. Great stuff, sir!
ReplyDeleteYa I did have lacuna in mind with that ill-defined by design part :).
Deletelove this!! it sounds like a familiar pattern π
ReplyDeleteoops it's not looking at my google account haha. anyway that is really neat! have been thinking for a while how cool a campaign would be where you found a religion, but over time it escapes your grasp
DeleteYa I've realized that the idea of creating a religion is a campaign goal that is very consistent in general with what I want out of TTRPGs. Not about creating a religion per se, but in having to a) explore ideas, and b) navigate and leverage social systems.
DeleteThis post has been sitting in my brain for days now, what a powerful concept. The imagery, yeah, but also the way it contains/deploys worldview. I think I might borrow some of this structure for the Lakelands/PYTHON, which is in some ways shares the focus on cultbuilding + a new form of religiosity rubbing up against The World. If that's cool, ofc.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it left such an impression. Someone looking for a more conventional game might prefer more robust mechanics or guidance but ya for the most part I'm pretty happy with it how it is, would like to bolt it onto something at some point and try it out. Ya feel free to borrow, I hope it goes well!
DeleteA very interesting framework
ReplyDelete