Armchair Bugbear

The default state of the universe is a primordial chaos without consistent form or coherent rules. It is a festering and writhing mass of disparate parts. At the centre of our corner of the cosmos, there is a galactic being whose psyche began to make sense of the chaos. It cannot cope with the incoherence of the chaos beyond its bounds and swirls like an immense slumbering star whose influence envelopes the worlds around it in a semblance of order and consistency.     This being, who goes by many names - the Archon, the Great Dreamer, the Elder Mind ... is ultimately responsible for the formation of every observable phenomenon. Were it ever to rouse from its aeons-long sleep, the illusion would finish and everything that ever existed would be wiped from future past and present. Its sphere of influence is known as the Dream. Energies that enter into the Dream from the endless chaos arrive as malformed organs, alien mineral formations and improbable monstrosities, so offens...

— CHARACTERS — Characters have 6 attributes: STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS & CHA. Roll 4d6 and drop the lowest and swap 2 or 3 around as desired. Note the result, modifier and checks: 3           = -3 = 1-in-6 4-5      = -2 = 1-in-6 6-8      = -1 = 1-in-6 9-12      = 0 = 2-in-6 13-15 = +1 = 3-in-6 16-17 = +2 = 4-in-6 18           = +3 = 5-in-6 STA starts at 2d6, SAV starts at 15, COM starts at 0, MAG starts at -1, SKI starts at 2. STR is added to melee damage and saves against crushing. Checks are used for breaking down doors. DEX is added to DEF rolls and saves against tripping. Checks are used for sneaking. CON is added to STA rolls and saves against poison. Checks are used for holding one’s breath. INT is added to starting MAG and saves against spells. Checks are used to guess an object’s qualities. WIS is added to ranged a...

A deity is any immortal being who possesses great power and disciples who honour them in exchange for favour. Some of those beings--saints, ancestors and 'gods' proper appear to be abstract, residing in some unseen spirital realm. Others, however, are very much present and physical. They can be located, seen and touched. Followers of those abstract religions decry the latter as 'cults'. The first deities were the trolls. Their power was control over stone - they could shape the earth like a potter shaping clay. The mortals who dwelt in the primordial grasslands worshipped them in exchange for remaining untrodden by their gargantuan feet. The trolls would erect stone pillars where offerings would be received and would aid their followers by gathering stone into great walls to protect them from threats, and to provide shelter from the unforgiving sun. Since the Sun came and turned the trolls to stone, worship of those ancient beings is very rare, except in places where mo...