Month: June 2024

One of the important things for the World is familiarity. I remember reading a great (and hefty) first RPG by a Scottish crowd and one of the things I remember most is not their evocative prose or the art which captured the sort of neo-victorian fantasy world, but that they took the time to use different names for things like “sword”.

You gotta makes changes where it matters but also remember that the language you’re using to write the game (British English in this case) is different to the language they’re using in the world (which I’ve named ilsien). Things will be translated if they’re common enough. It was one of the issues I had with Skyrealms of Jorune, which being one of my favourite games, I tried to foist on players a couple of times. And while they got to grips with Thriddles, Shanthas, Muadra, Dyshas…they struggled with Shenters, Iscins and Incleps.

So, language has to be “common” but there has to be rules for adding new words.

Below are a list of the words I’ve used so far and the meaning for them. This will be the start of the Lexicon.

Places

L-ilsien – the name for the archipelago, containing all of the domains who are enjoined to the Shining City and the Court.

Inis – a city on the northmost coast of the island of Erea

The Shining City – city on the eastern coast of Plattesaal, home of the Court

The Court – political centre of the isles, where all Princeps and Families attend

Privetch – city on the North coast of Prive, an island south of the Saaland

Saaland – a large island with the most important cities

Plattesaal – the flatlands on the eastern side of the Saal range

Hindersaal – the rural western side of the Saal range.

The Saal – a mountain range reaching across Saaland

Lenut – a small village on the western side of the Saal located in a dense and lush forest

Alben – port town on the north coast of Saaland

Erea – a large crescent-shaped island east of Saaland.

Losung – a volacanic island south of Erea and East of Saaland

Terona – a small island between Erea and Prive

Wizardry

Wizards – the spellcasting caste of L-Ilsien society

Wizards Staff – symbol of a Wizards craft

Charms – small, usually non-magical tokens, necklaces or bracelets. May be imbued with wizardry to provide protection or other small advantage.

Runes – written language representing concepts in the True Speech which may accompany a small instance of wizardry. If used with actual wizardry, the roll gets a +1 boon (not stackable)

• Shoth – the rune for Courage
• Lir – the rune for Freedom
• Sakkin – the rune for Sharpness
• Seher – the run for Protection

Signs – these are like charms, but used by simpler folk. These can be enhanced by wizardry and provide a +1 boon (not stackable)

• Hold – this movement of an open palm to close the tips of the fingers is used to evoke silence among those who see it.
• Ward – the open palm with the thumb tucked to the centre, pointed at whatever offends you – this operates as a shield. Reflexively used when people don’t like something, it can act as a magical defence.
• Calm – placing your left hand, palm to their right, fingers pointing to your right on the head of someone else can help, if they are willing, bring them into a meditative state.
• Spit – spitting at a person is a surrogate for a curse. Used along with a rhyme by children.
• – thumb and first finger, held aloft is a sign of defiance and resistance. The meaning is lost to time, but it is most often used by disobedient children when called to bed.

The Guild – the organisation responsible for training, certifying and policing wizards

The Hall of Scrolls – a large library of papers, scrolls and books

The Questioner – one of several mentors within the Guild

Ilsien – the language and the people of L-ilsien (the speakers)

True Name – the secret name given to every person at their majority

True Speech – the language by which the world was made, the root language of all

The Balance – the metaphysical representation of how much change a Wizard can make in the world before there are consequences

Becoming – the simple ceremony of giving someone their True Name at their majority

Unbinding – the Last Rite given to the dying where their name is taken back and their spirit is set free to be reincarnated from the Sunless Lands

Handfasting – the non-magical rite where a couple bind themselves together (with symbolic string or rope) as a form of marriage. This rite is renewed after 1 year, after 3 years and after 7 years.

Bane – any wizardry used to harm another.

Things That Go Bump

Dragons – older than writing or speech, the Dragons are forces for the Balance, attracted to Imbalance, representing air and fire. Millennia old, knowledgeable and fearful of their True Names being discovered.

Old Ones – older than writing or speech, the Old Ones represent darkness and earth. They are ravenous for worshippers (who become their agents in the world) but despise light. They can invade the dreams of those close to their temples, creating nightmares of tentacles and unbound malleable flesh.

Kobalos – creatures of darkness who service the Old Ones in their dark places. Smaller than humans but capable of dark wizardry. They despise the light but can cloak themselves in the flesh of others.

The Silver Lake – the metaphysical representation for the barrier between the Living and the Sunless Lands (this was the Black Gate but I’m rethinking it.)

Sunless Lands – the realm of the dead, a static and unchanging place of eternal twilight with no sunshine or stars where the spirits of the dead wait to be reincarnated

Shades – spirits who, for whatever reason, retained their name after they entered the Sunless Lands. They roam these lands, retaining their memory, oftimes resenting the living.

Revenants – a shade which has managed to return through the Black Gate. They often re-inhabit their previous body but can also occupy the bodies of others.