The Apparatus (Setting)

Setting

The setting is divided into four Origins of power:

• Fury, the first Origin, which seeks freedom and domination of the universe
• Integrum, the second Origin, which imprisoned Fury to create order and seeks stability in the universe
• Strange, the third Origin, born from a damaged Integrum and seeks meaning in the universe
• Void, the fourth Origin, which seeks to end all things, destroying the universe

Fury

Fury is the oldest of the Origins. In the ancient history of the universe, powerful creatures called Titans shaped natural law and dominated lesser creatures. The Titans warred with each other endlessly for singular dominance of the entire universe until The Founders came and imprisoned them. Now the Origin of Fury is almost entirely imprisoned by The Integrum. There are some places where The Integrum is weak or damaged that Fury can leak into the universe. In these places The Integrum is twisted by the will of still-imprisoned Titans who are served by Fury cults trying to free them.

Though the Primal language is rarely used, the real world linguistic inspiration for it is drawn from ancient Mesopotamia (e.g. Akkadian, Sumerian, Babylonian). There is no coherent sense of culture in Fury, outside of the individual habits and personalities of the Titans.

More at Fury.

The Integrum

The Integrum is the second oldest of the Origins. During The First Age, The Founders arrived in the universe. They warred with the Titans and won. The Titans were imprisoned within a vast machine called The Apparatus, acting as fuel to produce the energy necessary for The Integrum to exist. The Integrum has the most stable and coherent natural laws of any Origin. It comprises the Mortal Realm, the Astral Sky, the Divine Realm, and the Grand Designs.

The Integrum has many languages and cultures, each with different real-world inspirations.

More at The Integrum.

Strange

After the defeat and imprisonment of Fury, and until the end of the Gilded Age, The Integrum comprised the entire universe. However, at the end of the Gilded Age there was a cataclysm called The Shattering, in which one of the Creators of The Integrum was destroyed. This cataclysm gave birth to the third origin, Strange.

At the furthest reaches of the oceans of The Integrum lies the Strange Sea, far from the realms of mortals. It is across the Strange Sea that this origin can be found. Unlike The Integrum, whose laws follow a logical pattern of cause and effect, and Fury, whose laws are dictated by the will of a rational being, the laws of Strange are shifting, fluid, and unquantifiable. Strange is the origin of dream and madness.

Though distant, Strange still influences The Integrum, through dream magic, Strange weather, and other exotic phenomena.

More at Strange.

Void

The same cataclysm that created Strange also created Void. The Shattering earned its name because a large part of The Integrum was literally shattered. Beyond the broken part of the universe there was only an empty void called The Abyss. This is where the Origin of Void was born.

At a cosmic level, the first three Origins are at odds with each other. Fury seeks a freedom which will destroy The Integrum and Strange. The Integrum seeks repairs that would eradicate Strange and forever imprison Fury. Strange seeks to replace The Integrum and absorb Fury. However, Void is the one thing that all three Origins will unite against.

Void seeks nothing less than the complete annihilation of all things. The existence of the universe is an offense to the powers of Void. Indeed, it is the existence of Void that prevents the Origins from eradicating each other, because no one Origin can overcome Void alone.

More at Void.

History

A unified perspective of history is provided from the perspective of the origin of The Integrum. This version of history is split into (listed chronologically) The Lost Age, The First Age, The Gilded Age, The Shattered Age, The Dark Age, and The Dawn Age.

More at History.

Rules

Character Creation

1. Choose a Class
2. Choose a Race
3. Determine Ability Scores
4. Choose starting Feats

Adventuring

• Actions
• Combat
  • Attacking and Defending
• Size
• Magic
  • Spells

Ideas for Discussion

What if fatigue was split into mental fatigue and physical fatigue, and became a unified mechanic for lots of things, like encumbrance = physical fatigue.

Relatedly, what if armor didn't have special rules about agility checks and movement, and instead was just encumbrance, and by extension physical fatigue?

Physical fatigue would cover things like might/agility checks and defenses, physical attack rolls, movement speed, and initiative.

Mental fatigue would cover things like wits/resolve checks and defenses, magical effect rolls, and initiative.