Some questions about Osyrhia (for a role-playing campaign)

(I'm not sure it this post should be here, since it's not strictly related to the Fairyland band, or on the band's section, since Osyrhia is the world where Fairyland's albums' story takes place. Admins feel free to move the post if you feel convenient.)

After unleashing a dozen clones of Morgoth in Krynn; sending Sargeras to break Middle-Earth to pieces; setting free a horde of countless Zerg in Silithus (Azeroth) to ravage Kalimdor from bottom to top; and having Takhisis invading Aiur; I've finally met with a world I don't want to bring to ruin. In addition, I realize my players might need some break between so many cataclysms. For these reasons, I'm planning on setting one of my next campaigns (or even a few of them) in Osyrhia.
The bad news is that I'm lacking lots of background and lore about the world in order to outline a good campaign, so before I start comming up with some filling for each hole, I think it'd be good to check what is already made on the topic. The things I'd like to know (or I will have to "improvise" if they are not defined) are:

• Demography: is Osyrhia an entirelly human world? Are there other races like elves, dwarves, fairies, tree-folk, etc? What are Cenos' armies composed of? Demons, undead, orcs, mutant ninja turtles, maybe a mixin of all those?
  
• Characters: a good campaign needs good NPCs, and the two Fairyland's albums can provide a few of these: Doryan is quite well defined throughout the first album; but the Fall of an Empire storyline introduces some names without giving too much background: who is Solan? And even more intriguing, when the Eldanie Uelle theme says "Solan has called the help of the one", ¿who is that "one"? and what is the relations between Solan and that one?
  
• Mythology: "There was a land the gods named Osyrhia. On this land they rose 7 continents. On each
  of these continents, they put a king and to each king, they gave a stone...". How many Gods are we speaking about? I don't need an exact number, but at least some approximation: are there a few, a few dozens, millions?
  
• Geography: we know that there are seven continents, an "Endless Sea", and the names of a few places. But once I leave the players to cluelessly wander on their own through the world, I'll need to know the world in higher detail. It would be ideal if there were some maps somewhere, but according to Google there are none on the Web . If I have to come up with my own maps, I would like to be able to at least get near to Phil's vision of Osyrhia. BTW, is Osyrhia a flat world (like the Diskworld), a spheric one (like real-life planets), or has it some unique shape?

Of course, I understand that maybe Phil is too busy working on the new album to answer these questions. Luckily enough, I'm planning this campaign quite ahead, and I won't start preparing it (beyond gathering some background material) before a few months from now. Any bit of info provided when you find time for it would be really appreciated; although when I start setting up the campaign I'll make up everything I don't know... it's just a game after all

Hi.

Nice idea

Let me put my hands on the full concept, and I will put it here. I also have a map of Osyrhia I can provide. I'll get back to you when I have found everything in my oh so messy computer...

I've sent you a mail with the concept and 2 maps of Osyrhia. Get back to me if you have any question...

Send me a pm/email when you get this ready, I'm a big fan of RP

Phil_Giordana wrote:I've sent you a mail with the concept and 2 maps of Osyrhia. Get back to me if you have any question...

These maps are really awesome! I just have a couple of questions about them. The first one is just curiosity: which tool (or tools) did you use to make them? The one with names could be possibly hand-drawn or done with generic imaging software, but I'd bet that the nameless one involves some specific map-making software. I've tried dozens of different tools and never seen one capable of producing such a great result. The second question is a bit more practical: what would be the scale of the maps? I could count the distance in pixels between any two points in the world, either as a straight line or following an arbitrary path, but then I'd need some factor to convert such number to the actual distance ^^;
About the concept document... it is comprehensive, providing a solid background, filling all (or at least, most of) the holes in the storyline left by the song's lyrics (for example, there is no way to tell, just from the songs, how long it passes from the events of the "The Fall of an Empire" theme until "The Awakening"; on my case I thought it'd be something between some months and a few years... I felt quite short ^^; ), and granting some insight on some aspects that the songs don't cover too deeply.

I'm now not only reassured that this will be the first world in my campaigns I'm not planning to break, but also that I won't let the players to break it (and, with some of the players continuosly looking for flaws in the rules to exploit with exponential power-growth infinite loops, this is easierly said than done ).

So, in summary, thanks for these materials. They should be enough (or almost) to create a campaign worth both making and playing.

Shardnax wrote:Send me a pm/email when you get this ready, I'm a big fan of RP

What exactly do you want? Just knowing about the campaign setup, the game-system upon which it would be played, or stuff like that? Or maybe playing on it?
Some overall comments on the campaign and the bigger setting where I will fit it:
If you look at the beginning of my initial post on this thread, all the events mentioned there are actually interconnected; there was a reason for the inter-reality multiverse-scale cataclysm; and the campaign(s) in Osyrhia will also be related in some way to these events (hint: why hasn't Osyrhia been affected by the cataclysm?).
Within this clash of realities, on my games some weird combinations have already been seen, such as an Evangelion armed with Yamato guns piloted by... Gandalf!; or a bard playing his Strat through psionic loudspeaker connected via a runic laptop. Needless to say that, on such a setup, any existing game-system felt short to the campaign's needs. After some attempts, I realized that common systems such as WotC's D20 weren't flexible enough to extend them to my needs, so I finally created my own system. The first versions of it where really simple and had lots of flaws; so after some playing and several "hot-fixes" and patches, I put together what I had labelled the version 2.0 of that system. It had become extremelly complex and still felt short for some issues, but once the scripts I had generated the character sheets, those characters could be played on a table-top session. Since I left Spain behind and came to Ireland, the Internet is the only viable mean to go on with the campaign, so I've been working during some months in the 3.alpha version of the system, which is almost unbreakable, flexible enough, and so complex it can't be played at all without the help of a computer. I expect to have a beta of the software by this summer, and am planning to test it on a "Karazhan run" tailored to the most system-breaking players and characters from my old campaign (if the system can endure that, then it can endure whatever ). If everything goes as planned, I'd be starting to run some of the new sub-campaigns on this fall (although the Osyrhia-based one is not likely to start at least until Score to a New Beginning comes out and I've listened it). Since the campaigns are going to be mostly online from now on, it is possible for additional players to join the adventure (or the carnage, depending on how do you see it ).

So, whatever you want to know about this project, feel free to ask (either on this thread, or by PM); but try to be a bit specific about what do you want to know.

herenvardo wrote:

Phil_Giordana wrote:I've sent you a mail with the concept and 2 maps of Osyrhia. Get back to me if you have any question...

These maps are really awesome! I just have a couple of questions about them. The first one is just curiosity: which tool (or tools) did you use to make them? The one with names could be possibly hand-drawn or done with generic imaging software, but I'd bet that the nameless one involves some specific map-making software. I've tried dozens of different tools and never seen one capable of producing such a great result. The second question is a bit more practical: what would be the scale of the maps? I could count the distance in pixels between any two points in the world, either as a straight line or following an arbitrary path, but then I'd need some factor to convert such number to the actual distance ^^;
About the concept document... it is comprehensive, providing a solid background, filling all (or at least, most of) the holes in the storyline left by the song's lyrics (for example, there is no way to tell, just from the songs, how long it passes from the events of the "The Fall of an Empire" theme until "The Awakening"; on my case I thought it'd be something between some months and a few years... I felt quite short ^^; ), and granting some insight on some aspects that the songs don't cover too deeply.

I'm now not only reassured that this will be the first world in my campaigns I'm not planning to break, but also that I won't let the players to break it (and, with some of the players continuosly looking for flaws in the rules to exploit with exponential power-growth infinite loops, this is easierly said than done ).

So, in summary, thanks for these materials. They should be enough (or almost) to create a campaign worth both making and playing.

Shardnax wrote:Send me a pm/email when you get this ready, I'm a big fan of RP

What exactly do you want? Just knowing about the campaign setup, the game-system upon which it would be played, or stuff like that? Or maybe playing on it?
Some overall comments on the campaign and the bigger setting where I will fit it:
If you look at the beginning of my initial post on this thread, all the events mentioned there are actually interconnected; there was a reason for the inter-reality multiverse-scale cataclysm; and the campaign(s) in Osyrhia will also be related in some way to these events (hint: why hasn't Osyrhia been affected by the cataclysm?).
Within this clash of realities, on my games some weird combinations have already been seen, such as an Evangelion armed with Yamato guns piloted by... Gandalf!; or a bard playing his Strat through psionic loudspeaker connected via a runic laptop. Needless to say that, on such a setup, any existing game-system felt short to the campaign's needs. After some attempts, I realized that common systems such as WotC's D20 weren't flexible enough to extend them to my needs, so I finally created my own system. The first versions of it where really simple and had lots of flaws; so after some playing and several "hot-fixes" and patches, I put together what I had labelled the version 2.0 of that system. It had become extremelly complex and still felt short for some issues, but once the scripts I had generated the character sheets, those characters could be played on a table-top session. Since I left Spain behind and came to Ireland, the Internet is the only viable mean to go on with the campaign, so I've been working during some months in the 3.alpha version of the system, which is almost unbreakable, flexible enough, and so complex it can't be played at all without the help of a computer. I expect to have a beta of the software by this summer, and am planning to test it on a "Karazhan run" tailored to the most system-breaking players and characters from my old campaign (if the system can endure that, then it can endure whatever ). If everything goes as planned, I'd be starting to run some of the new sub-campaigns on this fall (although the Osyrhia-based one is not likely to start at least until Score to a New Beginning comes out and I've listened it). Since the campaigns are going to be mostly online from now on, it is possible for additional players to join the adventure (or the carnage, depending on how do you see it ).

So, whatever you want to know about this project, feel free to ask (either on this thread, or by PM); but try to be a bit specific about what do you want to know.

Both maps were done in photoshop, with the help of Cinema 4D for some details such as the mountains.

For the scale: from the western tip of Llendala to the eastern end of the Havenrod, count about 9 000 kilometers...(yep, it's a small world after all)

OMG I've just checked the current version of each tool:
Photoshop CS3 (Standard, not even the extended versions) = $649 ≈ €412.
Cinema4D R10.5 (The cheapest package) = €685 + taxes
Total: over €1100.
That's far beyond what I could currently afford ^^;
I think I'll have to stay with the far cheaper combo GIMPShop +Inkscape (total €0 ) even if it's not so powerful.

About the scale: western tip of Llendala is at coord 90,794 on the map; eastern end of the Havenrod is at 1739,505. That's roughly 1675 pixels; so 5376 m/píxel. That will do, thx ^^

I'd just like to play it, maybe we could have a "History and Lore of Osyrhia" section added to the forums?

Also, I'd love to see those maps if Phil is ok with it

Shardnax wrote:I'd just like to play it, maybe we could have a "History and Lore of Osyrhia" section added to the forums?

Also, I'd love to see those maps if Phil is ok with it

Go ahead, spread Them! :p

My account on photobucket seems to have broken, so I've placed the maps on my website's server for you to access:
Here they go:
Map with names.
Map without names.
I would have embeeded them in the post itself, but once you see them you'll understand why I didn't

Thanks for providing the maps to anyone wanting them. I'm not that good at all this internet stuff and couldn't have done it myself

It could be interesting, once your done with the campaign and have checked out any loophole, to create a website with an online version of the game (probably plain text, like some other sites do). This way, many people could play...

On a side note, your work will greatly help me refine some geographical details. Until now, I've mainly concentrated my efforts on the "big picture", but relating to Osyrhia from a RPG character's perspective will surely need more "small scale" details, such as the location of the ruins of K'hal Damara, a most complete description of the woods of Lilianath, the citadel of laemnil...

So as you go along, don't hesitate to contact me for details...

RPG based on Osyrhia is an AMAZING IDEA!!

Will be nice to play while listening to Fairyland's music...!!

Phil_Giordana wrote:Thanks for providing the maps to anyone wanting them. I'm not that good at all this internet stuff and couldn't have done it myself

I'm wondering, who do you have in charge of the website at http://www.fairyland-metal.com/? It shouldn't be too hard to upload the stuff there and make it accessible. Maybe a section titled "Osyrhia", "Lore", or something like that could be added to put these things in?
There is the advantage that it would be easier to find that in the official website than digging through the forums (someone really interested might end up doing a search within the forums, but that's not a general case); and if, for any reason, my own site's server (where I put the files) goes down, it doesn't make much sense for people to not being able to reach the maps (BTW, it's actually going down on may 31st, during 20 minutes or so, for electricall maintenance; so if the links seem to be broken that day, just try later and they should go fine).

Phil_Giordana wrote:It could be interesting, once your done with the campaign and have checked out any loophole, to create a website with an online version of the game (probably plain text, like some other sites do). This way, many people could play...

I'm not sure what do you mean by that; could you be a bit more specific or paste a link to some example?.
As I have it planned by now, the campaign itself would use the game system I'm currently working on; which relies on a program (more exactly, a few pieces of software, including the master's and players' program, as well as an editor to create stuff like spells, monsters, game maps, classes & races, and so on) I'm also working on. You may think of the program as some kind of messenger with several game-specific functionalities (so, for example, instead of telling the game master "I attack the monster X", you could just click the "attack" button, then click on the monster X on the map; and the approrpiate message is sent to the game master automatically). The software used will be freely available and cross-platform; and I have no inconvenient of publishing all the "Osyrhia-related" material once the campaign has been played (of course, I wouldn't like my players to have access to all this material before playing).

Phil_Giordana wrote:On a side note, your work will greatly help me refine some geographical details. Until now, I've mainly concentrated my efforts on the "big picture", but relating to Osyrhia from a RPG character's perspective will surely need more "small scale" details, such as the location of the ruins of K'hal Damara, a most complete description of the woods of Lilianath, the citadel of laemnil...

So as you go along, don't hesitate to contact me for details...

Good to know; although I want to point out that currently I'm focusing most of my efforts on getting the system and the software ready; so I won't be working in campaign-specific details for a while.

Hello to all of you,

I'm also a big fan of roleplaying games, and I wouldn't mind on helping with the background part of the game, such as divinities, particular locations, local legends and such...

If things get moving I'll try to participate, but anyway it's a great idea !

Good luck.

Sephinor wrote:I'm also a big fan of roleplaying games, and I wouldn't mind on helping with the background part of the game, such as divinities, particular locations, local legends and such...

Most of the background was already provided by Phil through the "concept" document (at least at the "big picture" scale), including the details about deities (the whole "creation myth" for Osyrhia is part of that document), most prominent locations, some legends, and an account of the world's history. Also, Phil offered to go into details of the smaller-scale stuff "as needed":

Phil_Giordana wrote:On a side note, your work will greatly help me refine some geographical details. Until now, I've mainly concentrated my efforts on the "big picture", but relating to Osyrhia from a RPG character's perspective will surely need more "small scale" details, such as the location of the ruins of K'hal Damara, a most complete description of the woods of Lilianath, the citadel of laemnil...

So as you go along, don't hesitate to contact me for details...

I don't know if Phil would be ok with sharing that document. His criteria with the maps could cause someone to think that there will be no problem, but since that doc was written by Phil, he owns the copyright rights on it. Which means that it can only be published / reproduced / distributed with explicit permision. Also, who knows, maybe Phil has some reason to hide the knowledge from general access (although I think this is not likely: the history accounts in the document are cut at the exact point of the end of the The Fall of an Empire album, so it isn't spoiling out anything about the next album).
Nevertheless, both because law requires it and because I also think it's the most logical approach, Phil has the final say about sharing that doc (on a side note, if I were to put it on my webserver with the maps, I'd put as well a conversion of it to the higly standard PDF format, for all those who cannot spend hundreds of $$$ in M$ Office software).

Sephinor wrote:If things get moving I'll try to participate, but anyway it's a great idea !

Things are already in motion
To be clearer, I've been working on the system that will enable online playing for several months (although the last few weeks it has been non-stop and huge progress has been made). As soon as the system is ready, I will prepare some media (ie: datafiles for maps, monsters, etc, in the system's format) and the campaigns will begin. Now that we are switching to online gaming, there is allowance for new players to enter in the new campaigns. If somebody is interested in this, I'm trying to keep the minisite at http://towo.dragon-tech.org/ as up to date as I can, so you might want to check it from time to time.

Go ahead, you can put the concept online. I already did on our former forum, but this one doesn't accept very long posts. And as you said, there's no revelation whatsoever about the new album's story...

Phil_Giordana wrote:Go ahead, you can put the concept online. I already did on our former forum, but this one doesn't accept very long posts. And as you said, there's no revelation whatsoever about the new album's story...

Done But...
instead of putting the files on arbitrary places of my website's server, I've put a bit of order for all this stuff and built up a mini-site for that material (also including some interesting links). The site can be accessed at http://www.dragon-tech.org/osyrhia/ or at http://osyrhia.dragon-tech.org/ (note: due to DNS propagation delays, which are a technical thing about how the Internet itself works, it's possible that the second address provided doesn't work for some people during a few hours; within a maximum of 48 hours it should be working from every computer connected to the Internet).

If you want something else to be added to the site, just contact me and I'll upload it

Ok, that's great! Thanks a lot.