There's a special conceit in Erce concerning gods - They are strictly for humans (and their related lawful races such as Dwarves and Halflings). In D&D, it is common to find racial pantheons - The elves have their own pantheon, the dwarves, orcs and oozes and jellies all have their own racial deities. I am not going that direction, because it's not what I am observing in European mythology as being the case and I think running with this a bit not only plays well into the themes I have set out for Erce, but also makes for some interesting angles for a game world - Curiously, given that I am cripping earth mythology here, I haven't seen much of this in fantasy. So anyway, in places mythologies like the Nordic and Celtic ones, we see that gods is generally something connected to humans. Other beings like trolls, elves, dwarves, etc don't enjoy their favour or patronage. The supernatural races are as often, if not opposed, then subjugated to the gods. More

Being a write-up of how alignment works in Erce and a few ponderous notes on said write-up. Pic unrelated. Alignment Alignment in Erce runs on either a 2 or 4 point axis. The most fundamental and unavoidable one is Law vs Chaos – This is an either/or disposition. If you are not Lawful you are, by definition, Chaotic – There is no in between. This alignment axis is more of an allegiance, or even obligation, than an ethical or philosophical outlook that dictates ones actions – It is most fundamentally choosing sides in a cosmic battle. An adherence to a metaphysical, but very much tangible, faction. The other polarity is an ethical one: Good vs Evil – Unlike Law and Chaos, most people are not strongly aligned with these to be truly considered either. Though good is known and valued all across the West, the notion that people ought to be guided wholly by ethical choices is not a universal one. Being morally upright is a value that must be weighed against other values lik

Although Erce has simmered in the visions of authors like Zelazny, Poul Anderson and Moorcock and in many ways seeks to make sense of the original Law/Chaos dichotomy of old D&D (such as presented in Keep on the Borderlands ), the primary inspiration for its alignment structure (and developed well before my encounter with the OSR inspired me to take things up a notch) is Nordic mythology. A brief sketch of their worldview will go a long way towards understanding the worldview of Erce - The Aesir , the gods, were the upholders of Law, who kept humanity safe from the Chaos of the wilderness (which is full of predators, Jotun and monsters) and even built great cosmic walls to keep them at bay. The Aesir may rule the roost before Ragnarok, but they are essentially usurpers of the cosmic order and self-aware of being so (they know Chaos will get the upper hand again at Ragnarok), having killed the first Jotun to shape the world and subjugated the rest to fit their world order. In

Erce is most fundamentally a setting where mundane people can leave behind their regular homes and enter a dark and chaotic mythic wilderness. In the human dominions of Law, the gods rule and they have ordered the lands and made them relatively safe. Beyond the divine dominions, in the wilds, Chaos rules and all bets are off. Here one may encounter bloodthirsty elves riding with goblins in wild hunts; troll sorcerers abducting babies for their thaumaturgic rituals; woodlands that are larger on the inside than the outside and paths that can not be retraced. Conversely, one may also meet with an elven champion of life, song and laughter who arrives to save villagers from undead incursion, a cunning giant wizard who will trade ancient spells for a small favour and demonic imps who wish only to show you the true meaning of free will. Hildebrandt captures a lot about the feel of Erce. The champions of humanity who enter these mythic lands are inevitably touched by the gods an

Erce started out as one of those teenage love affairs – A setting to end all settings, that would have room for all the fantasy elements I loved and wanted to see in a world – When only this setting was fleshed out, I would have a world that I could run any campaign of any kind I'd ever want to. A perfect and inclusive vision of everything fantasy meant to me! And also keep alive those most precious glimpses of vital nostalgia from my emergent adolescence. Small task indeed. It started out in my mind as a sort of Dragonlance + Greyhawk mix, but with 'better done' Tolkien inspiration. And stayed like that, mostly dormant, unpolished and wholly unfinished, for a long time. Fast-forward a decade or so, and I began to re-visit my old notes. Only now, my fantasy inspirations had broadened quite a bit – The Sword & Sorcery of Conan (and Red Sonja too, I like comics), Thieves World and Jack Vance; the terrible mediaevalism of A Song of Ice and Fire; the hodge-podge gonzo