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Religion in the Known World:

Religion in the Known World:

Perhaps more than any other institution it is faith which has dominated the minds of men in the known world. It was after all faith which saw the earliest of humanity's ancestors bow to the Pagan Gods, and during the Age of Titans it was Metan who taught sorcery to Its first priests, ending the domain of the cannibal cities. It was the Most Holy who drew mankind from the darkness of Antiquity's end through the ceaseless labor of its church, and it is the transcendent Diel who even now unites the hearts and minds of our neighbors to the north in the Second Covenant. Even here, the rising Multiplicity shines like a star among those who flock to its radiance, promising rebirth and unity for a shattered mankind. Moreso than any fleeting empire, it is the faiths which endure and last through humanity's history. Written here are those most familiar to the peoples of the known world.

It should be noted these are written from a very knowledgeable perspective. The average inhabitant of the world possesses a far less complete and nuanced view of religion on average.


The Great Faiths:

It is unknown when exactly the first of the Great Gods came upon the earth, but all agree it was after man committed the Primordial Sin, and the cities of humanity became charnel houses of untold misery. One by one they flitted down from the Outer Dark with gospel and miracle, and brought their ways into the world. They are different from the petty gods and spirits of the earth, this is certain. They are impossible for humans to understand, yet humans are understood by them. They act always indirectly, through miracle or prophet, and are almost only seen in vision, save for the early days of their arrival, which is heralded by great portents and shakes the foundations of the era in which they appear. Each promises an idea of Heaven, of paradise, that can be attained by following their scripture.

And each, without fail, if their ways are followed, create lasting societies that do not fall to the cannibalistic anarchy which is the default state of human existence. Primordial Sin is not wholly annihilated, it cannot be, but it is so lessened that so long as the people continue to believe, their land shall not be eaten from within, by their own hand. As countless peoples rise and fall, as grand empires fade into memory, the Great Faiths yet stand, immovable by time, guided only by their tireless quests for Heaven.

Perhaps in some distant future era, it will be reached.

But not this one.

The Temple of Metan and the Sages:

Of the Great Faiths of the known world, Metan is the oldest and most obscure. During the era of the Titans and their cannibal cities, mankind lay oppressed, herded like cattle and devoured by the hundreds to sate the appetites of their engorged masters. With few means to fight back in an era where physical strength dominated, life was bleak and hope all but quashed.

It was in this era that Metan appeared to a select few humans in dreams and waking visions. Speaking in symbolism and riddle, it slowly lead its first followers to decipher its meaning, and revelation after revelation would lead them to attain the first understanding of Gnosis, becoming the first sorcerers, the Sages. With his cunning and wisdom he plotted to overthrow the Titans and spread both the miracles of Metan and lay sorcery to his fellow men, and in this regard he succeeded, amassing a great following of magi.

Using their newfound power, they struck down and sealed away the Titans, leading men in a rebellion that saw the remaining Titans exiled to the far reaches of the earth, if they were not exterminated outright. Following this great war Metan's priests established the first true human realm in the known world, Haim-Haneh, and would lay down the laws and teachings which are followed to this day, though only in the cloistered temple-cities which remain of that mighty land.

The reason for Metan's obscurity in the modern era is due to its highly complex system of laws and taboos, which to many constitute a burden they would rather not bear. The Writ of Metan is often criticized for its seeming contradictions and nonsensical prohibitions, which are so numerous it would be exhaustive to make a list of. However, this is in truth the most important facet of Metan's faith, for breaking its law is as important as following it.

The Writ of Metan is in actuality a code meant to be challenged and broken. While it serves as a decent enough set of moral guidelines for the plebeians and laymen, written into its endless laws are deliberate loopholes and flaws which are meant to be understood and exploited, each one expanding like a fractal of knowledge which allows further secrets to be unveiled. At first they are simple things, but as one delves deeper into the Writ's myriad cracks the revelations grow greater and greater, with the reader finding ways to skirt not just the law of man, but natural law as well. Metan's Writ is, as they soon find, a guide as much as a code, one which teaches the user how they may align themselves with Metan's will to create wonders and shape reality.

The Temple of Metan values knowledge, law, and secrecy. Its priests are masters of law and are tasked with righteous judgement in both secular and religious cases. Furthermore, they are known for their prowess at binding demons in inescapable chains, forcing them to serve divine will rather than their own nefarious purposes. The will of Metan, it is said, is to elevate mankind into enlightened philosopher-kings, and while it is a harsh and stern teacher it is also a fair one. It has given mankind the tools needed to reach its perfected state, and it is up to mankind to learn to make use of them. It accepts use of the Gnosis more than any other faith, but its core is built on the use of Metan's Writ to decipher the true teachings of their god.

Of course, some might say that Metanism is simply a mask for Gnostic sorceries to set about their dark arts, and freely turn sorcery against the good and righteous under the pretension of faith. For this reason they are frequently distrusted, and perhaps rightly so. The Metanic emphasis on mystery does little to set such fears aside.

Metan is commonly depicted as a floating inverted pyramid, and a set of wheels within wheels. Its symbols are the triangle, multiple triangles arranged into a hexagon, or a spoked wheel. The Sages are depicted as wizened old men and women atop flying carpets. The faith values discipline, fairness, studiousness, and general intellect. Its miracles often involve binding demons, manipulating the laws of reality, and creating complex sorcerous mechanisms and constructs.

The Most Holy and the Savior Ushia:

Life is the soul enslaved by the flesh. Undeath is flesh commanded by the soul. To achieve heaven is to attain perfect control of one's own body such that its hungers may be quelled and its weaknesses quashed. The will of the Most Holy is to achieve this heaven on earth, and the Savior Ushia is the example given that this may be attained. This is the core of the doctrine practiced by the Ushian Church.

Following the age of Antiquity's collapse, the varying lesser powers swelled like the tide to devour the realms of fallen Nedesia and shattered Haim-Haneh. It was a time of great misery and apostasy, where men turned from righteous faith and towards Gnostic arrogance and unwholesome sacrifice. Into this era came the Savior, though it simply called itself Ushia. It would travel from kingdom to town to village, preaching its gospel. It was described as gentle and kind, but firm in its convictions. Indeed, of the great prophets its life is most documented, with no taboos regarding its depiction or speaking of its name.

Ushia claimed to serve an entity called the Most Holy, a being which loved humanity and wished for them to attain the perfect body and reach heaven on earth. It preached of charity, immortality, and martyrdom, for heaven on earth could only be obtained through generations of refinement and sacrifice. Furthermore, it claimed to be a creation of the Most Holy, and a representation of the perfected form which humans must strive to attain.

This made the powers that be most concerned. Necrotheurgy was rightfully feared at the time, associated only with death and horror. As such, Ushia was swiftly seized and burnt on the pyre. Yet, when the flames died down and the wailing onlookers saw its charred remains, Ushia's body was said to have glowed with holy light, reforming as if unharmed. With a booming voice it declared a war upon those who had turned away from the Most Holy's teachings, and in subsequent decades converted much of the southlands before, it is written, ascending to reunite with the Most Holy itself. Only many centuries later did the church's power wane with the rise of Multiplicity.

The priests of Ushia are renowned as healers and as raisers of the dead, fielding armies of sacred corpses in defense of their living flock, and curing the sick and diseased through their miraculous arts. All they ask in return is your corpse upon death, so it may be used to further the understanding of life and death and bring mankind closer to heaven on earth. Their grisly work has yet to bear fruit, and all too often their innovations are turned against them by secular necromancers who use their discoveries for their own ill designs, but they continue to struggle onward in the name of the Most Holy.

Others, however, consider them to be little more than deluded necromancers masking their ambitions with promise of healing and respite, making monsters of men and dreaming of a day when the chosen few rule a world of the obedient dead, an eternal planetary grave preserved in the void of the Outer Dark.

The Most Holy is depicted as a shining white star, a towering human skeleton, and a lake of black water. The Savior Ushia is depicted as an angelic young human of indistinct race or sex, with a perpetually beatific expression, clad in a simple robe. The Church's symbols are stylized pyres, sets of wings, angelic figures, and skeletal figures. The faith values charity, self-sacrifice, martyrdom, and humility. Its miracles involve cleansing flame, resurrections, impossible resilience, and acts of healing.

The Divine Duality of the Father and Mother:

From chaos must arise order, and order must come from willing duty. Duty must be backed by love, or else only tyranny shall result. Such are the teachings of the Father and Mother, the austere Great God and its mortal bride, who pleads to the iron-willed deity on behalf of its frail and fallible worshippers.

But this was not always so.

The Father arrived as a pitiless God, demanding obedience without question and punishment without leniency. It did not understand humans, as even calculating Metan and the alien Holy One did. It broke its chosen peoples in a crucible without end, and for a time it was thought that the Great God would burn itself out, and leave only a brief mark on human history.

This was changed by the love of a single person. It is unknown who she was, or what she was like, other than that she was singularly strange, and compassionate beyond all measure. Whereas all other Great Gods chose their prophets, the human that would become the Mother offered herself as its consort, and in doing so transfigured it into the stern, harsh, but fair being it has since become, a being which now understands mankind in ways it did not before.

So the priests of the Divine Duality preach, anyway. The doctrine is one of repression and virtue. Strive to be good, strive to be pious, strive to be charitable. Good deeds are done with one’s hands, not hymns. Forgive those who falter, but mete out justice should the hand of mercy be rebuked. The Duality is so known for its brutal justice in one aspect, and its loving mercy in the other. Mass executions and entire villages saved from famine. Barren churches and stern-faced priests but safe and loving homes. Holy wars sweeping multiple kingdoms which may bring down a great evil, or burn the hapless nonbeliever kingdoms to the ground. To some, they are avenging angels and heroes to those in need. To others, they are terrifying zealots, the most intolerant to alternative Gods of all the Great Faiths, and especially worship of the Titans. The worship of the Duality is submission to their wisdom, exchanging freedom for security, but it is a security backed by the divine rather than the fallible promises of kings. Heaven, they say, is already here. Humans can already attain it. No more change is needed, no great quest, no great transfiguration. Just live simply, and live virtuously. And should anyone ever

Of course, detractors level their accusations. Has the Father truly learned, or could it again become an all-smiting terror? Is the Mother truly a legendary saint, or a sorceress which had somehow done the unthinkable, enthralled a Great God to her own unknown will. Was she even human in the first place, or was the whole act of their union a mere play-acted thing by the being which was truly always the Mother and Father both? Can mere humans truly achieve heaven while remaining human, or is it a madness doomed to failure? For uncounted centuries the Duality has stood unchanging, its uncompromising zealotry a silent refutation of the heresies spawned against it. Yet neither has it spread across the world despite the claimed self-evidence of its simple truth.

The Duality is depicted as a male and female figure, often grand statues, faceless, wrapped around one another and embracing. Its faith is symbolized by a great eye, symmetrical doubled symbols. It values simple virtues, hard work, honesty, and obedience. Its miracles are often

The Sacred Host and the Lord-on-High:

Can all humans truly attain Heaven? How many among them have the strength of character to become and remain worthy? Should they try fruitlessly to enlighten the ignorant masses who can only save themselves? No, say the exemplars of the Sacred Host, chosen of the Lord.

The faith of the Host arrived from distant lands, and its first adherents are unknown. It is an old faith, but to the people of the Known world it is a mystery, only recently adopted. The Lord-On-High, sometimes depicted as the Lady, or as a sexless figure, demands only personal holiness. Your relationship with the Lord is all. Your own conduct, your own spiritual growth, is all. It came down and did not preach, it is said. It simply acted in a physical form, so achingly perfect, so beyond criticism in all ways, that those who saw it could not help but seek to embody it themselves. It gave no answers, but merely allowed itself to be watched, learned from, by those who sought it out. And from there, the Actions of the Lord were written. Freely disseminated, never preached. Always available, never forced upon anyone. Its priests are men and women of action, their ways spoken through their own acts of charity, of valor, of piety. They praise the Lord and sing their gospel to the Lord alone, but let others see them, indeed seek to perform such that others do see them, such that they are given the chance to take on the path themselves.

The Actions of the Lord is an easy tract to find, where its exemplars walk.

It is not an easy path to follow.

Perfect modesty. Perfect humility. Perfect charity. Perfect righteousness. Perfect valor. Perfect judgment.

Even if you cannot be perfect, you must strive to be nothing less. The Lord demands it. Seek perfection until you perish, and join the Host if you are worthy. That is all that is worth doing in life, and the exemplars, if asked, shall say as much.

In places where their faith dominates, it is often a land which, rather than being ruled by the servants of the Lord, merely exists in symbiosis with them. Sometimes, kingdoms have been founded in wild places purely because exemplars dwelled there, for the benefits they bring. What lord would not wish such righteous folk to live among his lands, helping the needy, slaying the beasts, bringing wisdom?

But it is not without flaw. For every true exemplar or aspirant of such, another falsely wears the title through ignorance or willful malice. True followers, while they preach with action rather than sermon, are given leave to take action against their fellows who have strayed from the path, or never walked it at all. But how does one prove such a thing? Many a serpent lies within the lands of the Lord, adored by those who do not know better. Some say this too is good, for how can one strive to be perfect without facing the ultimate temptations which come at the precipice of enlightenment? If one walks themselves into damnation, they have only themselves to blame, when the truth is so easily seen.

However, if that truth is suppressed, if the wicked would seek to erase the writ of the Lord, to exterminate its followers, such that no one would exist to teach its ways to others, then the perfect exemplars of the perfect lord may unite into a wrathful host, and remind the Known World that they are a force which is not to be trifled with.

To those opposed to the Host, it is a cruel institution indeed. Countless souls may be saved from misery if the Host simply built churches and held sermons, instead of leaving it in the hands of the masses. How many humans could be said to be literate, they say? What good is a book which cannot be read and is not read from by the masses? Is the Host for the highborn alone? The Host says that its exemplars are but a pilgrimage away. Study them and not the book, if you are unlearned. Perfection is not won without effort. If you would spend your life toiling in secular labor, then do so. If you are willing to abandon your earthly duties to achieve Heaven, then you have already begun your first steps to communion with the Lord.

The Lord-On-High is depicted as a human of any race or sex, with immaculate armor or regal clothing, their face obscured by clouds while the angelic figures of the sacred host flit around them on wings of light. Its miracles are associated with light, the sky,

The Diel and its Prophet:

The newest of the Great Faiths, the Diel is a rising power in the tropical north, competing with the ancient cults which previously held sway over those lands. During the apex of the Ushian Church's rule in the south, the tropics found themselves in the presence of a new prophet. Uniquely among the Three Great Faiths, the Prophet of the Diel's name and appearance have been erased from history, and while depictions of them are allowed, it is understood these faces are mere fabrications meant to show how the Prophet could have been anyone, for indeed this was the Prophet's desire, to exist only as their teachings.

The Prophet claimed to represent the will of the Diel, a transcendent force which sought to create Heaven from the world, rather than bring the world, or man, to Heaven. In the ancient days, when Paganry ruled unchallenged, the covenant of man and nature was writ in blood and suffering. What option was there, then? Absolute submission. The Diel is a force like that which pulls down the earth. Allow it to flow through one's soul, and it shall guide you to bliss. Human sin is what led to damnation, and it is only through relieving yourself of responsibility that one can find inner peace. In a world of lies and false gods, such words would lead to madness. But the Diel is real, and the Diel is wise. To follow it, even imperfectly, grants fortune. Still, it required trust, at first. Towards this end, the miracles of the Prophet were focused on the mastery of the mind. True to his name, the Prophet would give prophecy, and predict things which would come to pass. And indeed, they often did. Few if any have replicated the oracular accuracy the Prophet displayed. His holy book compiles his prophecies, and more have come true than not, though many say the rest simply have yet to manifest themselves, while others believe the Path takes measures to ensure their truth.

Regardless, it cannot be denied that the Diel has had a beneficial effect on its followers. Its lands are civilized and its people learned, for through the rituals of the Diel they are inspired to ever greater heights. The peasant that works takes joy in his work, for he knows it is the Diel's will that he tills the fields. All that the Path asks is nothing less than total submission to the Prophet and his far-reaching orders. Indeed, it is believed that even the Prophet's natural death was in line with the will of the Diel, for their holy book continues to advise its readers and counter the Path's foes even centuries after their death. It is as if even from beyond the veil his words echo across time, prepared for every possibility and eventuality. The future the Diel has offered is one where sin-inclined men need not lead themselves astray, for by giving themselves wholly to the control of this transcendent being perfection may be reached.

It is this seeming invincibility that sees the north grow ever more confident of the Diel's future supremacy, viewing the southern cultures as backwards and barbaric. It is likely there will be a great confrontation someday, if indeed it has not already begun. Or perhaps something even stranger will occur. Whatever the outcome, it is no doubt within the parameters of the Prophet's great and encompassing plan.

That said, if such a thing were true, to some it could be seen as a grave threat to man's spirit. If all things are to be planned by the Diel, and man's will stripped away, then what is he but an automaton puppeted by some greater being? Detractors argue that it is little but divine slavery, and must be opposed at all costs.

The Diel is not given a defined form (though it is depicted as manifesting as a glow around those who are in communion with it), and the Prophet, their name, appearance, and sex stricken from history, is portrayed in innumerable forms, marked only by the veil that covers the subject's face. The Path's symbol is as well a stylized eye, or eyes, the flags and ornamentation of the Path's property otherwise marked with verses from the calligraphy of their holy book. The faith values community, harmony, and above all submission to and trust in the will of the Diel and its Prophet over one's own free will.

The Multiplicity:

The Multiplicity is something very new in the world of El-Enlil, a mere few centuries old and spreading rapidly across the Known World. Originating in the South, the movement was started by a collection of radical theosophists, who claimed to have received revelatory visions from what would later be termed the Multiplicity.

It must be understood that in the eyes of most humans, to worship that which humanity is associated with is a backwards and even dangerous mode of thought. Humans are flawed, tainted by Primordial Sin, and even without it, allowed it to take root. Maybe not right now, maybe not them personally, but if humans are left without divine guidance for long enough, their works shall always fall to ruin. A long and prosperous history belongs to those who keep faith in the gods, the more removed they are from man's sin the better. It is for this reason that the strange and alien deities of the Great Faiths are so revered and widespread, for not only is their power mighty but so far removed are they from mankind's flaws that they are surely existences which can be trusted to guide us to a benevolent future.

Thus when it was claimed that it was mankind which was most deserving of worship, and that the earthly kings and holy men would be the gods of the new age, the new prophets only barely escaped with his life as enraged orthodox believers descended on them. However, his message was persuasive to those who listened, and his following slowly grew, particularly among the aristocracy who chafed at the power of the Ushian Church, which dominated the south at the time. Furthermore, its long reign of prosperity had indeed led to a period of lethargic apathy, and while its power waxed its support waned in the halls of the secular rulers. The principle was simple. Mankind had failed to attain divinity during the age of Titans because it was corrupt and immature, and that manner of ascendance, that of theophagy, was inherently sinful. Rather, one must strive to be saintly in life and worshiped in death, and if one is worthy they shall join the immortal saints of the afterlife, which collectively make up the whole of human spiritual power. Even Golamis, Ushia, the Mother, the greatest Exemplars, and the nameless Prophet of Diel were included in this holy court. The separation of the Great Faiths was misunderstanding and selfishness on behalf of the orthodox powers, who were corrupted by material greed and twisted by alien logic. It was a syncretic combination of the Great Faiths, ancestor worship, and the innumerable saint cults associated with such, and one that greatly appealed to those who sought a more hopeful and comprehensible view of divinity. Rallying the noble banners behind him, Hubon and his co-conspirators led a rebellion against the Great Faiths and the Ushian Church in particular, which despite their best efforts were defeated, the church's capital sacked and many of its secret arts stolen, leading to a subsequent proliferation of secular necromancers, which the now greatly-diminished Ushian Church spends much of its time combating or policing.

While wildly popular in much of the south and growing in the north, the Multiplicity is subject to a great many criticisms by those who oppose it. Primarily, it is believed by detractors to be nothing more than a confabulation on part of its originators, who was either deluded or outright malicious in his intent and sought to create a religion which could benefit and be manipulated by secular powers, ascribing them divine traits they surely did not deserve and allowing worldly powers to dictate divine doctrine, which shall surely lead to fracturing and disaster for the fledgling faith, if it has not yet become woefully corrupt already. Yet, there are notable Multiplicitists who truly seek to embody sainthood and have performed great deeds of heroism and selflessness. It is far too early to determine the truth, but should Multiplicitism be founded on lies the whole of the Known World may suffer as its believers are driven to their own self-destruction. Given the current state of things, some believe this process may have already happened. Regardless, it is one of the most persuasive and non-denominational faiths, so whether truth or lie is notable for being easy to adopt, exploit, and adhere to. Even with numerous setbacks, it has always sprung back into prominence.

The Multiplicity is simply portrayed as an assemblage of various saints of various degrees of importance, now-deceased founders among them. Its symbol is a circle with a line running vertically through it, extending downwards for a length typically half again the height of the circle. The faith values freedom, enlightenment, and happiness.

The Lands and Peoples

The Known World encompasses all which is known to the people whose roles the reader shall inhabit. The Borderlands is but one of its indistinct edges, vast stretches of chaos from which order may be forged, for a time, in the long slow passage of human history. Recorded herein are the rough understandings of the cultures, peoples, and geographies of the Borderlands, and all else relevant to understanding it.


Regions

Herein are broadly listed the cultural spheres and their edges.

The Midlands

The midlands are the largest portion of the Borderlands. A sprawling temperate clime, the midlander realms are countless petty kingdoms interspersed with stretches of lawless wilderness. The mask of civilization slips easy from the midlander, who behind gilded armor may well be an eater of men or simply a true monster given rank in exchange for lending its power. Always the wars between realms, steel clashing against steel for but a few leagues of land.

The South

In the south, where the air grows cold, civilization gives way to brutish animalism. Here the beasts are monstrous and the men ruthless, either iron-willed through discipline or tempted into mad anarchy. Further still are the lands where the pagan faith of the terrestrial gods still holds sway, its practitioners changed to reflect their worship of the earth itself.

The North

In the warmer winds of the northward region can be found the remnants of once mighty empires, though all lay claim to the great throne. It is here the ruins of human civilization pile most deeply, and pagan barbarism is but a whispered rumor. Esoteric cults and terrible sorcerers are the plague of this land, along with the countless internecine struggles.

The Wastes

Lands barren by chance, or by the pollution of sorcery or the Outer Dark's malefic radiations. Here dwell unwholesome things, beasts adapted to privation or monsters which thrive in bleak and empty places. The few outposts of reason are blighted and suffering, though they do so with pride.

The Mountains

Islands of the Low Heavens where strange things dance and fly along eerie winds. They are places where the beasts of the world above can be seen clearly, and in turn they may see back.

The Seas

Mysterious and wrathful, the untamed seas host nothing but danger and are best avoided, unless one wishes a challenge.

The Dark Continents

The sprawling mass of caverns beneath the earth, home to the Hidden Folk and more besides, all the things rejected by the sun. A lightless mad purgatory and the tomb of empires. Horror can be found there, but treasure too, if one can survive it.

The Heavens

Divided into Low Heaven, where birds fly and other things as well, below the clouds, and High Heaven, the suffocating boundary between the Known World and the endless Outer Dark. Things live in High Heaven too, but nothing which a mortal may truly grasp. It is the liminal world between the familiar and truly alien, fit only for angels.

The Underworld

A place fearfully whispered of, an inverted world with a sea of flame above and a balefully glowing hell below. Vilest of pits where the foulest secretions of flesh and spirit congeal into hateful false existence, its taint reaching through the darkness to the world above, echoes of its attentions found in the most cursed of ruins which scar the world.


Peoples

Listed here are but some of the many breeds of man, and things which were once man, and things which were never, and the cultures they belong to.

True Men

Humans as is commonly known, and commonly known is their great legend. Once, man cowered in caves and forests, fearing the might of the unthinking Terrestrial Gods, the beastly masters of the world they lived in. However, killing the weakest of them and consuming their flesh, the hunters grew strong, becoming divine themselves. The Titans. From this they carved the first cities and tamed the first fields, and for a time all was good. But the merry hunts for monstrous gods did dwindle, and in time the Titans found that no more ventured into the lands of man. So hungry were they for the numinous essence of the divine that they turned on one another, and in doing so went mad, for the potency of their cannibalistic hunger instilled all men who yet live with Primordial Sin, the subconscious cannibalistic urge. For all know, to eat the flesh of another human being is to grow stronger, wiser, longer-lived. And deeper still, the curse pulls the mind towards fulfillment of this dark hunger. It is rationalized, made palatable. And then indulged. And while one man may eat in moderation, another consumes recklessly, and many behind him. And so it is that the civilizations of men have ever feared Primordial Sin, of having their works devoured from the darkness within their walls, or they have embraced it, becoming cannibal demigods ruling through sheer might over their herds of lessers.

It was the latter which encompassed all, during the age of the Titans. Cities were great sacrificial grounds consecrated in blood, surrounded by seas of fearful flesh waiting their turn in the butcher's pit. Hell brought to earth, overseen by the maddened and addled gods of man. Unrestrained, Primordial Sin was all. Children devoured their parents, and parents their children. Loved ones slew one another for the trace of godhood in their flesh.

It was into this madness which the Great Gods came. Strange but unfathomably vast beings from the Outer Dark itself, bringing their alien gospels. The first of them taught the first miracles, and from them would descend the first sorcerers, practitioners of gnosis. Again and again they came, some fading over millennia, others lasting to the present. Terrible were they, but benevolent too, so the Great Faiths say, for it is inarguably true that those realms which devote themselves to a Great God whole-heartedly do not collapse into the cannibalistic hells which await any other tribe of man.

So it is to the present. Man wrestles with Primordial Sin, kept in check by faith and one's own will. Trust that the alien interlopers truly wish to save humanity, and offer us heaven. It is, for many, all which keeps them sane. Others walk the path of hubris, delusion, or desperation. To turn from the Great Gods to cults to lesser things, or simply worship themselves. To walk the road of the apostate may only lead to ruin, or the loss of one's humanity, fully pledged to a path that is for better or worse a departure from what they once were.

For those countless true humans who yet live, they may be divided roughly into three main cultural spheres.

The peoples of the midlands, descended from countless heroes and saints, or so they claim. They are certainly a warlike and zealous people, who cling tightly to their faiths which run the gamut from the rising Multiplicitist movement to the Ushian Orthodoxy and Titan cults, and others besides. A faction of moderate cannibals, they approve the consumption of their enemies slain in combat but abhor the consumption of others for the sake of it, while chiding those who refuse to partake as lacking proper mettle. At war with foreigners as much as themselves, midlander country is the best place to look to ply one's trade as mercenary. Being spread across the Borderlands, they also serve as the crossroads for many a visiting stranger, and so those looking to interact with many different cultures would do well to wander here.

In the coldest south where the pagan gods still hold considerable sway, their armies of degenerated wild men vast, many feel the Titans to be their truest protectors, the once and always gods of humanity, their tragic mistakes a thing to weep over, not condemn. And so the cannibal knights of the south hold the grisly reputation of humans most inclined to predate on others to increase their own strength, while also being known for their stalwart protection of the north from the invading hordes of man-creatures that ever spill from past the Known World. Yet still the Great Gods mark their will here, the sternest and most unyielding of them, who serve as islands of reason in a savage and untamed land.

In the balmy north is a constant presence, the self-named empires and their foreign faiths. A cultured and esteemed people, the northerners are not unlike their midland cousins, but each lays claim to heirship of a vast and long-forgotten realm. Followers of the Diel, of the Lord's Exemplars, of the planetary and ancestral cults, and of countless minor saints. But this growth is not without cost, for the prosperity of the north is built upon chattel slavery, and many are ground to the bone upholding the glory of the shimmering imperial remnants. Yet still, for learning, for history, for peace from the slavering monsters of the borderlands, there is no better people to live alongside. So long as their walls yet stand.

The Afflicted

Some individuals are afflicted with a sickness, or an infestation. They recover, or die, and all is well. Some, however, breed true. No greater example of this is there than the Blighted Men of the Ushian faith, who dwell deep in the wastes. They are martyrs all, burning their bodies away through exposure to the very essence of the Outer Dark, all for the aim of their Great Work, the task given to them by the Most Holy, their Great God, and their revered savior, Ushia. They are kept at arm's length, but are accepted so long as their blight is kept in check, and concealed. Their services are valuable, after all. Less charitably treated are the Fungal Men, who bear a consuming parasite upon them. Or perhaps they are but puppets of flesh for the mind within the mycelium? None can say. They are dwellers in the Dark Continents, built for survival in lightless realms. Little can be said of them.

Demi-Humans

So named for being a degree removed from man, but otherwise natural beings. They breathe, eat, breed, and are healthy, and distinct from true men as the maned panther is distinguished from his striped cousin. Most well-known of these are the wild men, those worshippers of the Terrestrial Gods grown to detest civilization, who through union with beasts of the wild obtained great strength but lowered their rational mind to near-animal savagery. Ever do they spill from the cold south, seeking to leave not one stone atop another, such that their own sinful use of tool and script may finally end. Though still, there are those among them who repent of their ways and live for themselves, or the Great Gods, as zealot berserkers, or simply seek lives of peace. Then there are the Serpentine Men, indolent and cunning, who have lived in the sunlit lands for as long as history has been recorded. Are they truly men? For who would seek to be like serpents, a vile and hated predator of humans? Some say that it was a perversion, a mad race which sought to leave their humanity behind to better slake their thirsts, while others say it is the greatest trick of serpents, to mimic humans and so live among them. None can say, and the serpentine men do not tell. So too are there the Oneiric Men, the dreamlike people who made their pacts with the Hidden Folk, the fae beings which made their presence known only after the Terrestrial Gods and Titans both were banished and set to slumber. They follow their own inscrutable logic, and cannot ever be truly known save by their own kin. And then the Abyssal Men, the Dark Continents, which degenerate into a kind of beastliness untouched by the wild dignity of the Terrestrial Gods. Instead they have withered and become lesser than all other kinds of men, forsaking the pursuit of life, love, or meaning in exchange for freedom from Primordial Sin, losing all else in the process. Most mysterious of all, the Marinal Men, scaled and gilled, given over to the unconquered sea, ruled by things never seen by man or the sun. Why have they made their pact? Perhaps even they have forgotten, and merely live with the consequences.

These are but a handful of demi-human lineages, and more have been wiped out, or are yet to be born, than can be recorded in these pages.


Half-Dead

Consumption of human flesh turns the eater into a giant, unbound by natural law through the furious gleam of their divine numen, imposing their shape upon the world and becoming realer than existence around it. But if consumed improperly, deviation can occur. The body and soul are warped. Sometimes they simply go mad, becoming feral brutes. Other times they die and live, at once, becoming abominable things, in which the spirit dictates the body's law, and not the other way around. The Vampiric Men are those which consume human blood alone, and indeed were made to do so, to be perfect bodies by which a sorcerer may become a living cauldron of sanguitheurgic power, at the cost of the frequent draining of victims. Then there are ghouls and Ghoulish Men, the damned and their progeny who, by feeding on the rotting carrion of the divine, were overcome by the distorted numen within it, requiring ever more to stave their hunger, even as they degenerate into progressively more monstrous forms. Often, both are paired together, but isolated populations can be found in any dark and gloomy land.

Chthonic

A tumor below the earth, the progeny of Chthon can be said to be one of the few truly inhuman intelligences, and of them, the only ones who would act as men do, settling and claiming land rather than dwelling hidden by themselves. However, their realms are a parody and mockery of human civilization, hells upon the earth where they may torture and violate as they please, with the aim to make the whole world thus. Countless times has the foulness of Chthon risen from the earth, and countless times has it been forced back, but not without cost. The taint can be felt by the populations of Chthonian Men, humans tainted by the malignant attentions of their demonic masters, and so bearing their features. Shunned by all, they congregate in the ruins of their former realms, and merely seek survival. Greatest of all such enclaves are those descended from mighty Rhemnysia, greatest empire of the Known World to bow before no Great God. Its corruption and collapse was similarly legendary.

Celestial

The Celestial Choir came with the Great Gods, all of them. As scavenging fish trail behind the shark so too did the angels come with the gods, acting as their messengers and servants yet adhering to their own agendas as well. It is rare to see a celestial being, but their influence can still be felt, for the Celestial Men, winged humans touched by their power, dwell in places of faith as envoys from the High Heavens, a meager but strongly felt connection to the will of the Great Gods. If the burden is one they can bear, that is. For there is a fallen or false angel of man, lost of faith or never having it, existing for every pious specimen.

Golems

With the channeling of numinous essence, life may be given to many things. Earth, water, wind, flame. But this is a nothing-life, a short life, brief spasms of motion followed by collapse into dormancy. For it to be sustained, it must be interred within a suitable body, one built for that very purpose. This is a golem, an artificial thing made of inanimate parts, which through spiritual strength acts as a man does. First were golems of clay, mute and servile, created by Haim Haneh, the first city ruled by a Great God. Then there were golems of flesh, made from fresh corpse-parts, selected for beauty by the Ushian Church, and selected for strength and availability by the sorcerers who stole their secrets. Newest of golems are the clockwork men of Gloris, the republic which drowned, who are the sole wardens of the mechanical wonders of that once-wisest of lands.

Man-Beasts

Fleshcraft has always been associated with the creation of monsters. It remains so. But also has it birthed new races of thinking beings. One may argue if they are human, or merely wearing humanity as their face. For all know, one need only mix infant and animal to grow for themselves a servant. Panther, raptor, bull, horse, common choices for an aspiring sarkitheurgic lord, though the serpentine men ever prefer their snakelike servants. In old Rhemnysia, the fleshcrafted beasts were common, living alongside Chthonian masters, and most fleshcrafters do not bother with their own designs, but simply copy the methods of that long-lost land. Few can surpass them in the art, so few try.

Man's reign was born from sin, and to sin he shall return. So it has always been said. Since the days of the First Men, who ate the flesh of gods and in doing so became them, only to turn against one another in anthropophagic frenzy, ruin has followed our people. Stumbling from one madness to another, the world crawls with our mistakes. Warring kingdoms, monstrous creations, shameful degenerations, and things far worse. But even so, the degraded world clings to whatever yet offers hope or comfort. The Great Faiths, wardens of civilization, grant what succor they can, and salve the cannibalistic hunger inflicted upon us through the deeds of our ancestors, so long as we follow the alien scriptures they have brought forth, carried from the fathomless Outer Dark. And at the fraying edges, the powers banished by holy writ yet ever watch for weakness.

In this world, El-Enlil, the soul of man is laid bare, in all of its terrible wickedness and all its righteous passion. When humanity is truly a people cursed, afflicted with consuming destructive impulse only restrained by devotion to alien gods, what figures shall rise among them? Who shall pick up the sword or the sigil or the word and strive for greatness, or become but another forgotten soul in a realm which ever seems to change, yet never truly has. Here, in the distant and untamed Borderlands, is a place where futures can be made or broken through skill and chance, through cunning and bravery. So will you seek glory? Power? Respite? Or will you simply be a pawn to those who do?

We have fallen from grace, and little hope remains.

We can only struggle on.

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What is Fall From Grace?

Fall From Grace is a total overhaul mod which takes the game Dwarf Fortress and transplants it into a dark religious fantasy setting inspired by media like Berserk, Dark Souls, and other dark fantasy fiction, where humanity, afflicted by the supernatural burden of their past actions, have pledged themselves to alien gods for salvation, or through hubris have sought to become gods themselves. But such apotheosis is not to be our story. Ours takes place in its periphery. The ruins of countless civilizations litter the land, and the place where the tale is told, the ever-changing Borderlands, is a dismal patchwork of feuding kingdoms and decaying empires. It may seem like a typical medieval fantasy world on the surface, but the deeper one pries, the stranger things become. Play a landed lord, a noble knight, a powerful sorcerer, a cunning mercenary, a wandering barbarian, an inhuman monster, a cannibal demigod. The world of El-Enlil, the grand argument for the soul of man, awaits.


Download Link: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=16953


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==========================================================================
What is Fall From Grace?

Fall From Grace is a total overhaul mod which takes the game Dwarf Fortress and transplants it into a dark religious fantasy setting inspired by media like Berserk, Dark Souls, and other dark fantasy fiction, where humanity, afflicted by the supernatural burden of their past actions, have pledged themselves to alien gods for salvation, or through hubris have sought to become gods themselves. But such apotheosis is not to be our story. Ours takes place in its periphery. The ruins of countless civilizations litter the land, and the place where the tale is told, the ever-changing Borderlands, is a dismal patchwork of feuding kingdoms and decaying empires. It may seem like a typical medieval fantasy world on the surface, but the deeper one pries, the stranger things become. Play a landed lord, a noble knight, a powerful sorcerer, a cunning mercenary, a wandering barbarian, an inhuman monster, a cannibal demigod. The world of El-Enlil, the grand argument for the soul of man, awaits.

Would you like to help support the creation, maintenance, and improvement of this mod and others like it? Consider donating to my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themodsmith
Have an issue? Report it in the bug report channel of the Discord: https://discord.gg/hDY8KT7pXE

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INSTALLATION:


To install it, drag and drop it into the 'mods' folder in the dwarf fortress main folder. If there is not one, make one. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE installed_mods FOLDER, THAT IS NOT THE RIGHT FOLDER.

This mod is an entirely self-contained experience. When selecting it for world generation, DEACTIVATE all other raw files, including the vanilla ones, from the selection. The Long Night comes with copies of those raws within it, meaning it needs nothing else from any other folder to function. All you need is the mod to be active. Feel free to experiment if you really want, but if it causes problems I can't help.

Also, it comes bundled with custom worldgen and colors data. Copy the worldgen data into the worldgen file in Dwarf Fortress\prefs (if you do not have a prefs folder go to advanced world generation and hit save, this will generate one). You do NOT need to override any pre-existing worldgen templates. When you load the Fall From Grace mod, only choose from these world presets in Advanced World Generation unless you really know what you are doing. If something goes wrong and you haven't used these to gen your world, I won't be able to help you, because that can cause a lot of problems I can't fix. You don't need to delete these if you want to generate a vanilla world, just don't choose them when generating a non-Long Night world. These parameters may change, requiring an update, but I will announce in the changelog if that is done. If you do not have a prefs folder, got to advanced world gen and SAVE the parameters. That should generate one.

The colors are not as necessary, just choose them if you prefer that palette.

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Changelog:

2.67 Changes:
-Fix to some wizard transformations not working, and elemental-based ones are now castes within the human creature.
-New creatures added to the fungal zones of the Deep Continents.
-Blighted humans should rot slower.
-Fix to some nations not having altars.
-Two new kinds of beaver added.
-New spell type added, "Bane". This makes enemies more vulnerable to physical attacks.
-Demonic invaders should be more aggressive.

2.63 Changes:
-Fix to being unable to appoint sheriffs.

2.62 Changes:
-A fix to being unable to appoint multiple captain-equivalents. It may still be restricted depending on if you have nobility in your fort or not, depending on your location, but you should be able to appoint them when you are supposed to as of now. However, this change is an experimental one to streamline the process of appointing soldiers, so if it fails it may cause issues. If you find anything odd pertaining to off-site wars or the ability of nobility to appoint soldiers, please let me know.

2.61 Changes:
 -I accidentally left in an old set of worldgen parameters. New ones have been given which I feel are better. Use these for a better experience, unless you really like the old ones.
-Fix to the Altar of Gnosis system. It didn't work but now it does. You can use the Altar of Gnosis to learn mesotheurgic spells, the simplest and weakest ones, but still formidable. Want to learn stronger spells? Send parties out into the world to steal books of powerful magic, or enlist a powerful sorcerer as a citizen of your fort.
-Giant chieftains will now be elected without waiting for 50 citizens to join your fort.
-Fixed a crash caused by eel duplication
-New spells added. Mesotheurgy gets the spell Lesser Slowing, which can reduce the speed of an enemy. Logotheurgy gets Greater and Mass Slowing.

2.6 Changes
-A complete overhaul/revamp of the lore and setting, additional data will be forthcoming but it is completely playable as of now

I kinda like to keep it realistic. I used to do archery, and it just isn't something that is viable in any way in close combat. Off course, it's a fantasy game so you could say you want something fun like Legolas in LOTR, but I'd prefer more realism.

Crossbows IRL are actually famous for long loading times. You simple can't fire them in close combat.

HOWEVER, my counter-offer would be to give archery a bigger chance of one-shotting opponents. This is actually what bows and crossbows are good at. If you have time to aim, you can IRL pretty much hit where you want. I myself shot a plastic deer in the eye actually, and I'd say my level was just a bit above novice!

With high skills in DF, yeah you should be able to shoot a creature in the eye if you want to.

So the attack modes should have something like "aim real carefully", and if you aimed at the head, you'd then get a nice chance to plunk the arrow through the brain of the target. In return it would take even longer.

This would make archery usefull as a sort of tactically interesting thing - where you maybe run away, circle around, turn sneak on, approach the enemy from behind and then aim real carefully for the head.

I agree that with normal weapons and normal people they shouldn't be used to do Equilibrium-esque gun-kata, and crossbows are definitely slow-firing normally. But bows are definitely faster-firing than crossbows (depending on the user and the kind of bow). So why do they have the same reload times? They should be different, and if you're going to make it different I'd say you should make it moddable as well, but I'm biased in that regard. Though also, things like repeating crossbows definitely exist, and with moddable reloading times it would be possible to simulate that mechanically. Also, while again I agree with mundane people being limited to the mundane limits of these kinds of weapons, the game is also built to simulate demigods and superhuman warriors in addition to the average goon, so building the groundwork to allow these weapons to be taken to Legolas-tier stunt shooting wouldn't be breaking the intent of the game too much so long as it was something you had to earn by getting that good at the weapon rather than any low-tier archer being able to do it.

My main issue is ultimately the forced-reload mechanic though, which is just completely unjustifiable and is what actually makes an adventure mode ranged fighter nerfed into the ground imo. When reloading is mandatory you can't do basic things like shooting, running away, reloading in a safe area, and shooting again or fighting in the method you suggest. Every arrow fired is a commitment to standing perfectly still and completely vulnerable to however many turns and getting eviscerated by the enemy once they close the distance. If nothing else this absolutely needs to be changed. If I, as a peasant-level goof with a rusty dagger, can kill a legendary archer so long as he misses once, not because I was lucky but because game mechanics arbitrarily lock him into a reloading "animation" rendering him completely defenseless to my most basic attacks, then something is wrong.

Any plans to migrate this, amongst other projects, to the Steam Workshop?

I have plans to migrate a fair amount of my work to the steam workshop. In fact, I'm practically pacing around my room forcing myself not to, I want to so bad. The problem is with steam's lack of adventure mode and third party utilities like Legendsviewer, testing things properly is really hard and tedious. Having the Long Night to deal with is a huge headache already, but I am fully resolved to start porting my work as soon as adventure mode comes out at the very least. Though admittedly I might have to bite the bullet and port one or two earlier than that given how long it is taking, but no promises.

Currently DF struggles with ranged weapons in adventure mode. This is primarily because reloading a ranged weapon is both automatic and time consuming. One or the other would be fine, but as things stand using a ranged weapon is essentially suicide, as you'll only get one shot off before you are forced to reload your weapon, during which time you are highly vulnerable and easily dispatched. It makes things like bows and crossbows unusable for solo players, and even with NPC allies you might be rushed down anyway. If the player could choose to reload their weapon, then at the very least they could get one shot off and then look for a good opportunity to reload. If it were made faster, then an automatic reloading situation would be more tolerable. I personally think implementing one or both of these features before adventure mode is re-integrated would be a good idea, as then players wouldn't have to deal with these issues from the get-go, and it would also open up modding opportunities for things like repeating crossbows for faster-firing weapons, or heavy arbalests for more powerful, slower weapons, to give some examples.

Necroing this after 8 years because it's still a good idea. I was going to make my own post explaining why but I'll just do it here.

Take this example. Adding "Cholaxium" (a metal I just now made up) to the game tells players nothing of its properties for example, and there's no way to convey it easily in game unless you have a reaction with a description that uses it, and even then it means the player would need to know to find that reaction (its own description limited to a certain number of characters) to find the description which explains what Cholaxium is and how to use it, rather than simply clicking on Cholaxium to read the description itself, a far easier alternative given the player may well be more likely to encounter the material before stumbling upon the reaction that uses it, if the civ they play even has that reaction. The same could be said for any item for example. What is a Jornian puzzle box? Why is it different than a normal one? What about a weapon just called a swayyal? How do you know what that is? And what if that swayyal is made from cholaxium? It just becomes gibberish with no way to easily parse it in-game.

Essentially anything outside mythology/history (embedded in the public consciousness, you could add orchichalum or a katana to the game and most people would know what you are talking about or find out with little effort) or descriptive names (hard gray metal, soft yellow metal, axe-bayoneted compound crossbow, etc) suffer from this issue, and so you're either limited to cribbing from the ancients or utilizing a clunky, long-winded descriptive naming schema that either jarringly stands out from the rest of the game (an inventory of "gold, silver, and gleaming purple metal") or mandates overhauling all other content to make it match tonally, the alternative being peppering your mod with custom nomenclature and then demanding the player flit between the game and tabs of your mod's wiki (if you even made one) to know what it is they are looking at and what to do with it.

And yes, with graphics you do gain the advantage of a visual aid, but details like texture, scent, taste, utility, special attacks, or historical significance among other things can't easily be gleaned from a pixel sprite, but can be explained in a description. This change could allow a large portion of time spent out-of-game to be negated, allowing the player to learn from and experience the mechanics and lore of the mod within the game itself rather than scrolling through explanatory text on the forum or steam page or wherever.

That said, I understand this could get complicated. Nested descriptions, such as a means to select a cholaxium swayyal and be able to navigate to the description for a swayyal and cholaxium within the same item, would be more work than merely adding making the DESCRIPTION: token available to a broader range of things, so I would say the loss of that wouldn't be too significant if it stood in the way of implementing this feature.

In addition I don't think the currently extant vanilla stuff needs to be given descriptions should this be implemented, given most of it is easily understandable stuff found in the real world like historical weapons and armor, or real-world plants and minerals, but if that is what would be required to make this happen I would personally comb through all the raws on behalf of the development team and add descriptions to everything that needed them, something I am capable of and very willing to do.

In short, expanding the utility of the description token would be a massive boon for the creative efforts of the modding community with minimal effort.