Religions in Susarra

One of my favourite parts of Susarra is the Temple Quarter, which is my attempt to cram every useful cliche I can think of about ancient world religion and from Conan stories into one place.

But then I have to slow down, and realise that not every religion can be about dark-eyed temple maidens and snake-worship much as I might like them to be. So I have had to think about the sorts of religions that would thrive in a place like Susarra.

There's the gods of the establishment, here represented by The Celestial Gods (sometimes called the Vagabond Gods) who were thee deities of the Nomads who conquered the city some 150 years ago. Like their followers, a rich and prosperous life has suited them pretty well.

Gim (Tyrant of the Gods, Ruler of the Celestial Court, Commander of the Legions of the Air. The Tyrant's patron god)
Syrise (Bride of Gim, mistress of horses, the desert and travel, sun-goddess, sister of Rahi)
Rahi (Bride of Gim, goddess of cities and the moon, sister of Syrise)
Harela (The Witch-Mother, Gim's mother, betrayer of his father, queen of spirits and demons, patron of sorceresses)


Then there the cults; faiths people join for a sense of belonging. Some are pretty harmless, other swallow up a worshippers life completely.
The All-Loving (a twin-aspected deity, a male and female couple who will share their love with any and all, their followers are known for their slightly glassy-eyed disjointed approach to the world)
The Transcendent Mother
Rijahas the Apocalyptor (a robed western deity whose priests ceaslessly predict and seek to avert new apoclaypses)
Jirissa the Dragon (an Oracular Goddess)
Uitama (a southern god of serpents, venom and wealth)

Then there are the trade gods, deities who prosper because their temple offers something useful.
Serapis (a god of dreams and sleep, one of the oldest faiths in Susarra)
Qedesh (her cult is dedicated to physical pleasure; they teach a courtesanal form of magic)
Epis (castrated eunuch-god)
Garham (a God of trade and wealth)
Harrahava (a horse god)

And the gods who represent people's cultural identities
Garoth (a northern War-God, axe-wielder, monster slayer)
Thalena (law goddess from an eastern culture)
Appellon (a male fertility god)
Inidia (a messenger goddess, patron of young lovers)
Baerela the True Mother (a mother goddess and patron of female fertility)

The problem now, is that half of these gods (beyond the bolded ones, who already do) could have magical societies of their own; but the city risks being flooded with spell-casters already. Any more and the demographics would be totally distorted.

Turning a game into a book

It's pretty well known at this point that I want to turn SoS into a book; we have the material, a lot of which I'm very proud of, and there's an interesting environment at the moment for publishing games. The tools are out there - DTP, Print on Demand, SRD and OGL that mean it's a better time to try your hand at getting a game out than it has ever been in the past.

[What this means, ironically, is that's it's also the worst posssible time to try publishing a game, since there's so many other people's work out there.]

Now I'm at the stage of trying to turn a set of ideas, rules and notes into a publishable document, which is definately harder than just sitting around and saying "wouldn't it be cool if". And once I have gone beyond that then I have to look at converting everything into a properly laid out PDF.

A couple of very vaguely related maps

A crazy project to re-engineer the Med and the Sahara.


A ancient Turkish World Map.


A map of Ethiopia.


A article about the shrinking of Lake Chad, something that's a direct inspiration for the receeding Sea in Susarra.

More Susarra reference matter

Here's some reference material for Susarra:

A Times article on the libraries of Timbuktu.



















An excerpt from Dunsany:

THE GODS OF THE MOUNTAIN

ACT I

SCENE: The East. Outside a city wall; three beggars seated on the
ground.


OOGNO These days are bad for beggary.

THAHN They are bad.

ULF (an older beggar but not grey) Some evil has befallen the rich
ones of this city. They take no joy any longer in benevolence, but are
become sour and miserly at heart. Alas for them! I sometimes sigh for
them when I think of this.

OOGNO Alas for them. A miserly heart must be a sore affliction.

THAHN A sore affliction indeed, and bad for our calling.

OOGNO (reflectively) They have been thus for many months. What thing
has befallen them?

THAHN Some evil thing.

ULF There has been a comet come near to the earth of late and the
earth has been parched and sultry so that the gods are drowsy and all
those things that are divine in man, such as benevolence, drunkenness,
extravagance and song, have faded and died and have not been
replenished by the gods.

OOGNO It has indeed been sultry.

THAHN I have seen the comet o' nights.

ULF The gods are drowsy.

OOGNO If they awake not soon and make this city worthy again of our
order, I for one shall forsake the calling and buy a shop and sit at
ease in the shade and barter for gain.

THAHN You will keep a shop? (Enter Agmar and Slag. Agmar, though
poorly dressed, is tall, imperious, and older than Ulf. Slag follows
behind him.)

AGMAR Is this a beggar who speaks?

OOGNO Yes, master, a poor beggar.

AGMAR How long has the calling of beggary existed?

OOGNO Since the building of the first city, Master.

AGMAR And when has a beggar ever followed a trade? When has he ever
haggled and bartered and sat in a shop?

OOGNO Why, he has never done so.

AGMAR Are you he that shall be first to forsake the calling?

OOGNO Times are bad for the calling here.

THAHN They are bad.

AGMAR So you would forsake the calling.

OOGNO The city is unworthy of our calling. The gods are drowsy, and
all that is divine in man is dead. (To third Beggar) Are not the gods
drowsy?

ULF They are drowsy in their mountains away at Marma. The seven green
idols are drowsy. Who is this that rebukes us?

System Document

Here's a link to the System Document in Google Documents.

Making stuff with Alchemy

This is a bit of a system note about making non-magical things with Alchemy.

The relevent skill is Philosophy, and it requires both a laboratory and reagents to proceed.

Coloured Salts: difficulty 11, produce coloured flames when burnt
Gunpowder (small amounts): difficulty 13 - enough for a flash-bang in a fire, not enough to do damage.
Poison (simple): difficulty 9 - a simple poison that has to be consumed, but doesn't have a disguised taste or appearance, a strength equal to the roll. -3 for disguised appearance, -3 for disguised taste, -5 to be weapon deliverable
Acid: difficulty 15 - strong enough to dissolve or weaken metal, needs to be kept in glass, strength 9 attack

The Seven Hearts of Magic

Susarra of the Desert
Panjirei in the Western Sea, drowned in a Tsunami
Ossora of the Rivers - once a rich and powerful city, it was sacked by its enemies, and destroyed so thoroughly that it survives only in the afterlife
Frozen Kalikai - beneath the northern ice
Eightfold Pagoda of the Heavenly Way
Silent Ways - deep, deep underground
Ghoma - A floating city that wanders the seas
Savalia - a city built around a volcano in the deep jungle, inhabited by people with the heads of animals
The City of Ivory - exists in the Dreamlands