For links to all instalments in this series,  go here. We're off to a somewhat lacklustre start with perhaps the most iconic fantasy map of all - J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth First impressions: Love the style, it is immensely flavourful and says something about kind of world Middle Earth is. It makes me want to dig into its pockets and see what mysteries have been scribbled on to this piece of lore. Second thoughts - As a setting map, Middle Earth is, geographically speaking, dull as dishwater. Just a slab of land with a coastline, a few mountains and woods dotted here and there. For an entire setting, it doesn't give you much to explore or evoke many impressions about the realms there and how they relate to each  other. Some will argue that there is more to Middle Earth than this, but not effectively so. This is the main campaign map the same way the Flanaess is the main area of Oerik and Faerun is the main area of Toril. As a setting map, it falls flat - Ju

Man, maps. As a teenager I spent hours pouring over them,studying areas and worlds based on them. Who was neighbouring who and what areas did they have to go through to get to each other? How many day travels deep is that forest? How few roads are in that area? How many towns per days of wilderness? I sort of left behind this level of scrutiny in my 20s in favour of more explicit and condensed information but I don't think now that this was for the better. These sort of questions are evocative and immersive. A map says a lot about the kind of setting you are dealing with. The map of Erce has gone through a lot of evolution over the years. About a year ago I thought I had settled on the map structure, but even now I am making small changes to the continent. Over the next few weeks, I will discuss different setting maps, how they inspire (and how they don't) and wrap it up with an introduction to the actual map of Erce,it's evolution, why it is way it is, what I like

The forthcoming post on the Hearthstone church is indefinitely delayed. I feel like I have plenty of good ideas about my Christianity ersatz, and plenty of ideas for making it distinct enough that it only reminds of rather than emulates, but I am stuck between a few concepts and don't have a feeling that I've quite nailed this one yet. I've written lots of other stuff and will share in a less orderly manner than I originally planned (creative impulse follows its own schedule I am learning). But I also feel a wish to discuss some more meta like subjects. Inspirations of mine, why they inspire and so forth. So you can expect some assessment of other settings in the near future as well.

This is part 2 of three parts. For intoductory notes on all three, see  Religions of Erce, pt 1: The Old Faith. The New Order Unlike the individualistic mystery cults of the Old Faith, the New Order is strongly community oriented and wholly focused on the rise and betterment of mankind. Over 1700 years ago, just prior to the founding of Nydecia, the Nine Gods of the New Order joined to make something wholly new: A unified pantheon working for a common goal: The  undeterred growth and expansion of civilization. Where the Old Gods were satisfied with their co-existent hegemony over Chaos, the Nine proposed a new world order: To altogether drive Chaos from human lands and establish realms where denizens of Law could do more than just exist; where civilization could grow, prosper and develop entirely free of the threat of the monstrous forces of Chaos. Thus were the Dominions of Law born, with Nydecia the first and mightiest of its kind. With the rise of the empire, the

Ponderous Introduction There are three major religious streams in Erce - The Old Faith, The New Order and the Hearthstone Church. Each represents an evolution (in the context of the setting, meant here in a neutral sense) of the human worldview and its relation to Law, Chaos, Others and Oneself. Briefly, the Old Faith reflects the fragmentary tribal warrior societies where survival, personal glory and achievement and prosperity for one's nearest are at the forefront - It is a religion where Law is the strongest, but not necessarily dominant, hegemony that lives in proximity to the forces of Chaos and must need be flexible in its dealings with these. The Nine Gods of the  New Order are more akin the Roman gods - A state religion (though, rather than state-sponsored gods, it is a case of states sponsored by gods) whose devotion and spread is intimately connected to the welfare and prosperity of the realms it patronises. It is community oriented and seeks the greater good

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