Lannit, the Dreaming Deep

Impossible to source thanks to Pinterest >:(

 Lannit is the only gas giant in my Planetary Romance setting. It is one of the three worlds which commonly house dreaming bodies, along with its moon Bazran and comet-like Amethyst Court. However, it is unique among these: called the Mutable Dream, within its impenetrable wall of wind and pressure is a foggy, wondrous world that shapes itself according to the whims of its inhabitants. And by heaven, do those whims change, for the Dreaming Deep is changes both the perception of time and the minds of its inhabitants. For this reason is it the most dangerous, and most seductive, of all the worlds which hold dreams.

When a person dreams on Lannit, most of the time it is easily forgotten. The mind that dwells most often in their waking bodies need not fear the dangers of that place. But for those whose mind wanders more often than not, the dangers are acute. Artists, Addicts, and the Bright and Good wander through the Dreaming Deep, becoming enamored with its impossibilities and its potential. Eventually they never wake, and they dream forever in an endless irrational dance of becoming and glory. One moment a poet, the next a shoemaker, the next an interdimensional death god, the next a long lost princess, the next a forlorn button popped off a boot.

Perhaps some seventy years hence, they might find a shape amenable to once again dream. They then wake on a different world, in the real solar system, feeling dazed and incomprehensibly solid. But they are no longer the person they were, not even physically, the only thread connecting them to their old lives a continuity continually broken. All of living is new and old to them. A simple piece of toast is foreign, maybe boring, maybe exciting; but all the grandeur of the Emperor is equally as foreign, equally as boring, equally as exciting.

Despite/because of the danger, there is a proliferation of drugs that cause dreams there. The most potent is the actual outer atmosphere of Lannit, but the most common is a cactus that grows on Bazran called Lernira, which picks up some diffuse particles. Such drugs are magically potent, and help sorcerers to power their art (of course at great risk). But many users are simply self-destructive and/or hedonistic. Societies that overuse such substances gain great power at the cost of being by nature ephemeral. Still, some societies of that sort leave behind ruins, which suit well adventuring types.

A Cult for Every Monster: A-E

Everything has a Cult these days

Aboleth

Type: Octopus Worship, Mystery/Hive Mind/Parasite Cult (Servant of Madness/Sea)

Theology: Kill the usurper gods, Join the Eternal Clarity of the Mind Lords

Benefit: Secret Knowledge, Psionics, Plentiful Fish, oblivion, Mutation

Rarity: *

Angel

Type: Celestial/Saint Worship, Mystery/Catholic/Solar Cult (Servant of Good)

Theology: Immortal + Light = god / Hear the Words of the Lord's Messenger

Benefit: Blessing, Secret Knowledge, Afterlife

Rarity: *

Animated Armor

Type: Cargo Cult/Idolatry, War Cult (Servant of War)

Theology: Bring your offerings to the warrior god and his servants, and you will be protected.

Benefit: Powerful Warrior, A Deity at your Command

Rarity: ****

Ankheg

See Dire _____ but with more bugs and rocks

Rarity: *****

Awakened Plant

Type: Nature Worship, Fertility Cult (Servant of Nature)

Theology: The Ancient One dispenses their wisdom/He is lord of harvest

Benefit: Protection, Increase in Harvest, Wisdom

Rarity: **

Banshee

Type: Ancestor/Fairy Worship, Cthonic Cult (Servant of Death)

Theology: Propitiate the Herald of Death, Honor the shepherd of souls

Benefit: Ward off Death, Secret Knowledge, Curses, Katabasis, oblivion

Rarity: ***

Basilisk

Type: Beast/Ancestor Worship, Cthonic Cult (Servant of Stone/Death)

Theology: Venerate the Perfect Idols, Feel the Holy Gaze

Benefit: Katabasis, Ward off Death, Oblivion, Big Fuckoff Monster

Rarity: ****

Centaur

Type: Beast/Nature/Charisma Worship, Fertility Cult (Servant of Nature)

Theology: Children to the Barren (ew)/The messenger of Nature/The Perfect Horseman

Benefit: Fertility, Increase in Harvest, Animal Kinship, Powerful Warrior

Rarity: ***

Chimera

Type: Beast Worship, Mystery/War Cult (Servant of War/Monsters)

Theology: Holy Abomination, Give Us Strength

Benefit: Secret Knowledge, Mutation, Big Fuckoff Monster

Rarity: ***

Cloaker

Type: Beast Worship, Parasite/Thief/Cthonic Cult (Servant of Night/Monsters)

Theology: Hidden lord of night, king of bats, sneaks, and thieves

Benefit: Beneficial Parasite, Stealth, Protection from mimics

Rarity: *****

Cockatrice

See Basilisk, but with more Birds

Rarity: *****

Coatl

Type: Beast/Celestial Worship, Mystery/Fertility/Solar Cult (Servant of Good/Dragons/Blood)
Theology: Holy Egg which shall hatch into messiah/sacrifice blood to stop the end of the world
Benefit: Secret Knowledge, Increased Harvest, Kinship with Snakes, Afterlife, Avert Armageddon
Rarity: *

Cyclops

Type: Beast/Charisma/Cargo Worship, Cthonic/Fertility/War/Mystery Cult (Servant of War/Smiths)

Theology: Son of the titans, have mercy on us!

Benefit: Big Fuckoff Monster, Fertility

Rarity:***

Demons

Type: Beast/Devil Worship, Cthonic/Fertility/Parasite/War Cult (Servant of Evil/Fire/Blood)

Theology: Descend the pit, Rule with Blood, IÄ! IÄ!

Benefit: Pleasure, Fertility, Secret Knowledge, Strength, Summoning, Katabasis, Afterlife, etc.

Rarity: *

Devils

Type: Devil Worship, Cthonic/Civil/Mystery/War Cult (Servant of Evil/Law/Blood)

Theology: According to "The Compact of Power", bylaw 14, we are rightly slaves to MOLOCH

Benefit: Slaves, Strength, Secret Knowledge, Summoning, Ward Off Death, etc.

Rarity: *

Dire ____

Type: Beast/Nature Worship, Fertility/War Cult (Servant of Nature)

Theology: KING OF BEASTS KING OF BEASTS KING OF BEASTS

Benefit: Victory, Big Fuckoff Monster, Mutation

Rarity: **

Djinn

Type: Elemental/Fairy worship, Mystery/Civic/Cthonic Cult (Servant of Creation/Elements)

Theology: Behold the Splendor of their cities! Adore their Pure Spirits!

Benefit: Slaves, Secret Knowledge, Wealth

Rarity: **

 

Doppelganger

Type: Fairy/Octopus Worship, Mystery/Thief Cult (Servant of Trickery)

Theology: It will change endlessly, and Never be satisfied

Benefit: Shapechanging, anonymity, Secret Knowledge

Rarity: ***

Dragon Turtle

Type: Dragon/Beast/Octopus worship, Cthonic/Fertility cult (Servant of Sea/Dragons)

Theology: Turtles all the way down

Benefit: New piece of land, Katabasis (elemental water plane), Big Fuckoff Monster

Rarity: ***

Dragon

You probably already know what dragon cults are like

Rarity: *

Drider

Type: Devil/Ancestor/Saint worship, Cthonic/Thief cult (Servant of Lolth, duh)

Theology: Its a big spider lady, close enough to Lolth

Benefit: Big Fuckoff Monster, Spidery Blessings

Rarity: ***

Dryad

Type: Nature/Fairy Worship, Fertility Cult (Servant of Nature)

Theology: Something, something, Princess mononoke

Benefit: Improved crop yields, protection in woodlands, secret knowledge

Rarity: *

Elemental

Type: Elemental Worship, Mystery/Solar Cult (Servants of Chaos)

Theology: Before Everything, there was pure matter. We serve its emanations.

Benefit: Big Fuckoff Monster, Secret Knowledge, Elemental Blessings

Rarity: **

Ettercap

See Drider, but with more primordial giants

Ettin

See Cyclopes, but with more duality

Rarity: ****

 

What's Going on Here?

The above list is a general outline of possible cults where the central figure is a monster. 

Type is a classification meant to reflect the nature of the cult and the object of veneration. Split into three sections [X Worship, Y Cult, (servant of Z)]. The cult may be convinced to direct their veneration to a greater subject of the same type. As well, the cult may worship their venerated object as a servant of a higher power, as indicated in the parenthesis. 

Boring List

• Ancestor: Worship of great dead people
• Beast: Worship of Fuckoff Huge Monster (normally in vain to pacify them)
• Cargo: Worship of Works of the Past/Foreigners
• Celestial: Worship of Angels and Celestial Beings
• Charisma: Worship of Someone Who Should Really Know Better
• Devil: Worship of the Actual Devil
• Dragon: Worship of big fiery lizards
  
• Elemental: Worship the Elements, which comprise and order the world
• Fairy: Worship of Capricious Trickster spirits
• Idolatry: Worship of Something Wrought by your Hands
• Nature: Worship of an Embodiment of Nature
• Octopus: For some reason people worship this horrible octopus that hates them
• Saint: Worship of Someone in Paradise

Slightly more interesting list

• Catholic Cult: Approved by the Church, mostly servants
• Civic Cult: Centers around Law, Kingship, and Prosperity
• Cthonic Cult: Centers around Darkness, Stone, Wealth, Madness, Death
• Fertility Cult: Centers around Growing, Sex, Food, Sex, Wine, and Sex
• Mystery Cult: Centers around Secret Knowledge, Transcendence, and Enlightenment
• Parasite Cult: Centers around "Beneficial" Parasitism, Leeches and such
• Solar Cult: Centers around the Sun
• Thief Cult: Followed by thieves and Criminals
• War Cult: Followed by Warriors, Centers around Iron, Bloodshed, Courage, and Madness

Theology is the things that the congregation believes about the venerated. What it is, how to obtain blessings, the nature of those blessings, eschatology and afterlives, etc. Only brief snippets are given here, with alternative beliefs separated by slashes.

Benefit  is the things that the congregation believes their deity actively blesses them with. Items in Italics are blessings that may or may not actually come about, but are believed to be given out regardless.
(Katabasis is the idea of descending into the underworld to consult the dead. Most times this just results in death)

Rarity is a measure of commonality, reasonability, and response from the deity of a cult. 1 star means it is basically already a deity (or would set itself as one) and reasonable polytheists would probably worship it (e.g. Angel, Aboleth, Nymph). 3 stars means that it is reasonably awe-inspiring, but either doesn't care for, or can't benefit, worshipers (Banshee, Chimera, Centaur). 5 stars means that it is both ridiculous and harmful in a way that cannot be propitiated (Cockatrice, Cloaker).

A (novel) Setting in 13 items

 Something, something, pun about bandwagons

This isn't actually a roleplaying setting, its a setting for a few stories I'm writing, and an exercise in worldbuilding. But its got a lot of good material culture so I thought it would be neat to do the 13 items challenge (?) with it.

1. a gourd of Bird-honey, the sweet gall of the song-doves, which heartens and makes sharp the sun-addled mind
   
2. a Pearlescent Cloak, the traditional garb of the herdsmen of the plains, spun from the wool of their squat animals. Sometimes it may flash the color of whatever its hem touches.
   
3. a skin of Mountain Wine, made from the sweet, watery fruits of the mountain by the barbarians that live there.
4. a Water-urn, a sacred object blessed by a cistern-spirit, an urn with two eyelets for rope, makes clean even foul river-water.
5. a Magician's basket, a spherical thing of woven reeds with a lid sealed with animal fat. Contains a fearsome spirit.
6. a Herdsman's Goad, a tool for pain and murder.
7. a Purplecloth tunic, another product of the mountain-barbarians. 
8. a Riverman's knife, for cutting grasses and reeds to eat
9. a torch of Plainsfire. While inside the apartments of the plains cities people offer bird-honey and jewelry to the cistern spirit, on the plains they offer meat and fire, and such fire shows allegiance to squalls and grasses, and cannot be put out by them or do harm against them.
10. a Citybeast, a very tame rodent which sustains itself on scraps and rotten food. Delicious fried and spiced.
11. a bolt of Farcloth, said to come from the lush land over the mountains, neither keeps you warm or cool, but is dyed with many colors and patterns and is very soft.
12. some Citybeast Soap, made from the plentiful and aromatic fat of these little creatures.
13. a Circlet of beads, which identifies the wearer as one of special status. Different beads imply different honors: wood implies one who is blessed, bone implies a good herdsman, metals are for those who are wise.
    

Locheil's setting questions for my Space Fantasy

 

Which specific NPC do I want to piss off the least?  

You probably don't want to piss off the Amethyst Emperor. His palace assassins will mess you up, and could probably follow you to any planet in the system. He's pretty hard to piss off though, since you'd need to actually be in his court (an erratic and incredibly fast space station) to do so.

Which god should I want to piss off the most? 

If you are anything like a cross-section of the OSR community (that is, a no-gods no-kings heathen), you probably want to piss of the Cult of the Golden Nimbus, the resident theocracy of the greenhouse-prarie planet Akron.

What's the worst thing I could meet at a crossroads? 

A Salipish Gravatic-Sorcerer, because that probably means your crossroads are about to erupt into space *or* that your crossroads are the property of a Salipish floating-warlord.

What's the nearest thing that can utterly destroy me to your starting town? Or starting town equivalent? 

Depends a great deal on what planet you are on. Oredonian sea monsters (and undersea ruin-reactors) for Oredon; the crushing pressure of the dream barrier for Lannit and its moons; Roche-limit asteroids, boiling tidal geysers, and crashing sky-fortesses for Salip; Falling into a predatory plant on Akron; and the aforementioned Assassins in the Amethyst Court.

Is apotheosis open to my character? If not, why not? 

Probably not open because there isn't ostensibly any gods. You might be able to do something godlike with the tech in Oredon's ruins, or the ruins in the Reverie Belt, and you could probably get a cult as a dreamer in Lannit, as a warlord on Salip or Kazran, and the Amethyst Court is basically heaven.

Do people in your world have souls? Why? 

People have dreaming bodies, and sometimes reincarnate, but there's nothing really seperating the soul from the body and mind. Reincarnation is just people sometimes coming back from the dead with a new body, nothing about your essence inhabiting a different body.

Does jazz exist in your setting yet? Can I invent it and not be stoned to death? 

The people of Akron can do some wild things with a bugle and not!cello, but pianos and saxaphones haven't been invented. Really depends on who's the possible stone-thrower.

What's the weirdest country/polity/region/area on your map? 

Akron is weirdest in terms of ecosystem (thermosynthetic and carnivorous plants) but is basically a medieval world, Lannit is weirdest in terms of geology (a hollow gas-giant with an internal dream world), Bazran and the Amethyst court are weirdest in terms of diversity of magic and races.

Do guns exist yet? If they do, is there anything making them weird/different?
guns exist but are basically gravititional or magnetic crossbows, flinging sharp bits of metal with no combustion.

Is there a divide between mundane/magical animals? 

A Visual Summary of the 7 Kingdoms

Man

Woman 

Child

Farmer 

Warrior

Priest

Sage

Noble

Plains

Swamp

Mountains

Hills

Waters 

Forest

 Village

Town

City 

Keep

Ruin

Festival 

Marriage

Funeral

Home

Boat

Clothes

Coin 

Food

Jewelry 

Art

Miscellaneous