Rate my setting idea:

Honestly I think you’re a bit overly buttmad. Also without that picture I doubt there would be any posts in this thread. The picture attracts attentions.

Sorry I tried to delete it, the post is too old now.

You could draw attention with a better picture, I would say.

However; >the river continues for thousands upon thousands of miles
How does it stay unpolluted? It sounds like people would always want to move upstream because fuckers keep washing their clothes in the water.

What happens when people try to make the waters branch out into the desert?

What happens when people dam the river? Does the entirety of civilization past that just die?

Because that's one of the first things the PCs are going to do.

It's kind of basic but doesn't lack imagination. 20 miles is a VERY small amount of space. Very few people will exist and buildings will be tall instead of wide. It honestly just sounds like you were high when you came up with it

I'm pretty sure he means within 20 miles of the river banks, the river itself is much longer

>How does it stay unpolluted? It sounds like people would always want to move upstream because fuckers keep washing their clothes in the water.
This is one of things I considered. Water polution only persists for a few hundred miles or within the same 'realm', and either filters itself via some not understood manner or stops at the hard barriers between realms. In some realms, mainly the heavenly, pollution can not exist at all.

>What happens when people try to make the waters branch out into the desert?
The desert consumes them and their ambitions is says.

>What happens when people dam the river? Does the entirety of civilization past that just die?
Dams never work but local dams can destroy what lay beyond them for a few hundred miles. A actual closed off dam is destroyed by the river itself.

Yeah this is what I mean.

So, what are you going to use this setting for?

It's the more important thing; what sort of game are you going to run in this sort of setting?

What's the tech levels like? Is it going to be magical? Have you any players for this setting?

go back there

Here's some inspirational music/ thread theme

g.co/kgs/jCXwKt

>It's the more important thing; what sort of game are you going to run in this sort of setting?

Done know yet. The main idea is those who go to the desert and endure a trail, and then return, with enlightenment. I wanted all players to be those who have passed a trial of the desert for their realm. The idea is making people who pass the trial above normal mortals in a similar manner to how exalted are.

>What's the tech levels like? Is it going to be magical? Have you any players for this setting?
The tech level is something I am still thinking out, but it will likely be bronze age because I dislike medieval.

There will be magic, the entire act of crossing into the desert and enduring its trials are what bestows the magic of the world on the person.

I can probably find players

>g.co/kgs/jCXwKt
Really cool

I dig it. It's very impressionistic and mythological, where the details don't really matter. I don't really care that the river is geometrically impossible. Or that there's somehow no mountains or oceans known to exist. It's a mystic land suffused with trippy Gnostic cosmological DMT machine elves and shit. Got it, end of story, say no more.

That said, a setting is only worthwhile if you can organically develop stories from it. I imagine there would be a lot of religions and cultures centered around making pilgrimages down this river. Maybe some peoples emphasize traveling up the river, against the current. Others might reject the river entirely. The endless desert is their goal. A rejection of the river, the wheel, the cycle it represents. Pass the bong my dude.

I was worried that travel would be boring since if every region lies on the river, that means there's only one linear way path to anywhere. But since the river bends yet never crosses itself, maybe there's paths from one region to another that involves cutting through the desert? You start at one riverbank and end up at another, further downstream despite not walking down the river itself. Maybe charting these paths is a lucrative but dangerous profession?

I think your setting has a lot of promise. I always loved Kirkbride's trippy stuff in Morrowind, which he allegedly did a lot of uncredited writing for. Getting those same vibes here.

Amonkhet?

Sounds like Egypt crossed with Riverworld.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverworld

There are actually mountains, and sometimes water flows uphill. The river can widen until it is more than fifty miles across with islands inside its massive breadth. One of the sacred locations I thought of was the reverse waterfall between one of the realms of humans and one of the realms of heaven. Where the water leaps up to the plateau the realm of heaven rests on.

>But since the river bends yet never crosses itself, maybe there's paths from one region to another that involves cutting through the desert?
I envisioned the only people able to navigate the desert were those who had passed its trials, who would also be PCs. You don't just get a free pass though, the desert is still insanely dangerous. Basically things stop working once you're away from the river. Physicality, cause and effect, and normal ordered logic break down. You exist in non-space outside the river's banks.

The italicized things sound like kung fu moves. Are they kung fu moves?

No they aren't I believe.

Neat, never heard of Riverworld before except for that sci-fi mini series.

Islands in the river, reverse waterfalls and reality breaking down the further you get from the river are all cool ideas. If navigating through the desert is reserved for those who passed its trials, would someone who did be able to guide someone who didn't? Otherwise, if these shortcuts through the desert can't be done lightly (so no trade caravans or whatnot) is it still possible to navigate from one region to another without having to it linearly down the river? Maybe some kind of ritualistic pathfinding, where you go down the river this many miles, cross it, go down this many miles, cross it, now go up this many miles and end up somewhere that isn't the 'logical destination'?

I like the idea of those who passed the trial to be able to guide someone else through the desert. However mot likely those who did not pass the trial would have to be asleep, blindfolded, or otherwise deadened to what is happening for parts of the journey to protect them.

Whoa. Honestly I'm loving the mystique in this. Is anything able to live in the desert other than the PCs? Does something come out of the desert every now and then? Are the enlightened people the rulers of society in these realms? Do you transition to somewhere else if you were to traverse the desert? Why would you want to traverse the desert? What is below the river?
Fuck dude. You have a really good idea here, you better put it to good use.

Hell I'd play and read about this more. I like this kind of nonsensical trippy worlds with their own internal logic.
The aesthetic evokes mysticism and also awe because of the surreal nature, and some simple but effective symbolism.
You really can't play this straight as a normal fantasy adventure or you're just doing your own setting a huge disservice.
It needs something more downplayed, more moody. Themes of religion, faith, mystery, existence and the like.

>Whoa. Honestly I'm loving the mystique in this. Is anything able to live in the desert other than the PCs?
Not physical things. There are intelligences, spirits, and other things that have exited the karmic cycle in the desert. Exiting the karmic cycle is not something that you should do though.

>Does something come out of the desert every now and then?
I thought of The Asura, which are basically horrifying spirits who exited the karmic cycle. That and possibly Devas, their counterpart. Hungry ghosts as well. Things that exist outside of the karmic wheel.

The most horrible would be Mara and Yama.

Also the three great spirits of desire, The Pig, The Snake, and The Rooster.

>Are the enlightened people the rulers of society in these realms?
Some are, some aren't. Whole being enlightened makes to stronger than your average man it doesn't make you immortal or a super being.

>Do you transition to somewhere else if you were to traverse the desert?
Somewhere else on the river. There are only a few places that exist. The Wheel, which is the river, outside the wheel, the desert. There is also The Moon, which is the release from Samsara.

This shirt is based on Bhavacakra.

>Why would you want to traverse the desert?
To reach enlightenment.

>What is below the river?
River bed.

The entire idea is that the world functions on the logic of being a physical representation of Bhavacakra. The divisions of the realms of samsara, the spokes, and the links of the wheel.

>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavacakra

I am sorry I am dumb it is hard to explain.

>"I raise lanterns to light my hollows, lend wax to the thousands the candlesticks that bear my name again and again, the name innumerable, shutting in, mantra and priest, god-city, filling every corner with the naming name, wheeled, circling, running river language giggling with footfalls mating, selling, stealing, searching, and worry not ye who walk with me. This is the flowering scheme of the Aurbis. This is the promise of the PSJJJJ: egg, image, man, god, city, state. I serve and am served. I am made of wire and string and mortar and I accede my own precedent, world without am."

You explained it badly at first, and when one sees it more as allegory it grows on you.

If you were to put it in a game, make sure to play up on the mysticism and let it be known that this isn't the place for smartass stuff like trying to kill the river or so on.

Other than that, it looks ripe for development. Good job.

>River bed.

>moon
>river
>desert

What's on the moon?

I'm really interested in hearing more about who rules these realms, not to put you on the spot user, but this is fucking interesting.

I would kill the river.

The river is an imposition of reality. Where it exists, laws that govern being exist. Laws are just prisons that are not physical.

The karmic cycle is a prison. To exist outside the karmic cycle is to exist outside the river.

I would kill the river.

There isn't just one of each of the realms. They cycle down the river flowing from one to the next. You never really know how far the river goes and there can be vast swathes that are uninhabited.

Basically I only have two really done right now which are the twin cities of Alkhar and Dhivil at the reverse waterfall. They are the human and the heavenly realm's crossing and are where humans may meet their betters upon the great shining plateau of the heavenly realm. The ruler of man is chosen at random each year when each mortal passes through the reverse waterfall. One is chosen when the water that strikes them turns to blood and runs red in a great blast upwards towards the heavens. The ruler of the heavens is great and eternal. A mask worn by those there, worn by one of a council each day so it may speak using them. One day a year it is laid to rest on a cushion where it screams and screams to exorcise the agony of the heavenly realm down the river towards the realm of rage.

I like you, user.

How do you kill the river?

Journey into the desert, and tell us.

The ruler of animals would not exist and most realms of animals are primal and desolate with man returning to instinct. A great beast would rule, devouring the low cunning of those other creatures in it realm. A great crocodile that speaks with thunder after having devoured enough of man traveling down river to be infected with their bad karma. A ruler who feeds others man meat from the river and demands sacrifice so that its brothers know the evil of the world through the eyes of man and may speak praises of their brother who gave them intelligence.

user are you ok?

FUCKING
D A N K
A
N
K

When's the first session?

Fucking love this setting.

I don't really know where this could even go but I'd play it

I have been thinking about the horrors that lay in the desert and the path of the enlightened to the moon. The moon is supposed to represent true enlightenment and liberation from the cycle. Even those who pass the trial of the desert are still bound to the wheel, orbiting it. The liberation of the moon would allow one to truly end and die, exiting the cycle truly.

There would be two beings who would guide and block one. The figure representative of the Buddha and Mara, the demon who tempted Buddha. Instead of beneath a tree this Buddha would have wandered in the desert being tempted by Mara. Each passing of the trial would require at least a single sentence spoken to the hopeful by Mara.

The beasts of desire, Pig, Rooster, and Viper would exist as powerful beings representing the same things they did in Buddhism, Ignorance, Attachment, and Anger. They would be less vindictive and purposeful tempters than Mata, and stead exist as tricksters and tempters merely actings according to their nature. Sometimes they would help and sometimes hurt.

Other Asura would exist, some of those who walk the desert becoming them. The passage to the moon would be the end game of many, though many do not make it. The moon is not a place to be however and is only a place of rest.

Also the 12 Nidanas would have one's passage through the subrealms and the reflections of the wheel as one goes down river. These would change from the differing versions of the realms but always exist in some form or another.

This can't be combat oriented. You need players who are capable of slow and cerebral storytelling roleplay.

I can see it combat oriented in the same way Exalted is. However my first thought is that a person would need to describe their power based on what was spoken to them by Mara, and the nature of their enlightenment, similar to how they do powers in Nobilis.

The nature of one's enlightenment is what matters.

Where's the adventure tho?

Playing as enlightened desert walking philosophers in such a strange world seems like an adventure. Being enlightened probably makes you a big enough deal than adventure follows you.

You could make an interesting adventure simply out of day to day events on this until you realize you have to seek out enlightenment since this whole setting is so cerebral and weird and great for exploring like, anything.
Kinda reminds me of Pathologic in that aspect.

Sounds cool would play

>You could make an interesting adventure simply out of day to day events
>this whole setting is so cerebral and weird and great for exploring like, anything.

Basically do you want to play as someone trying to become enlightened or someone who is already enlightened?

And where does the adventure come in?

Traveling through the desert to pass the trial of demons and malignant spirits tempting you away from enlightenment isn't adventure? Or seeking the path to the moon? or dealing with things like Diva and Asura coming into the lands populated by mortals? Or the three beasts of temptation screwing everyone over and having to unfuck things?

I thought about essentially exactly this, set on a malfunctioning Banksian ringworld.

Sounds like Riverworld, but with deserts instead of Mountains.

Pass the bong

>starts out retarded
>turns into weird tibetan buddhist shit
Can not tell how high OP is.

Alright but what's your tax policy?

Passing through the karmic cycle is the tax. Enlightenment is tax evasion.

Someone rate OP’s setting. I can’t tell if it is good or shit.

Imho it's really good. It's not cliched, it deals with a lot of interesting concepts like karma and temptation and limitation, and it's very evocative.

smoked DMT yesterday / 10

Stop that, not everyone with new ideas is a degenerate druggie.

>Pollution just doesn't exist and no problems happen and so on

That's boring. Give the world some issues. Otherwise, it's just "Don't go 4 miles away from the river and you won't fail and you'll have no problems"

Make a pollution an issue. Empires fight to be the closest to the source so they don't have to deal with the big issue of pollution.

You're missing the point, the conflict of the world is based on the search for enlightenment and the demons that come from the desert to attempt to mislead and kill the sages in their quest.

Water pollution does happen, but only for a few hundred miles. If it continued forever then you would have the river entirely uninhabitable after the first thousand miles.

>Otherwise, it's just "Don't go 4 miles away from the river and you won't fail and you'll have no problems"
More I think it is the difficulty of some to move hundreds of miles downriver to escape pollution. It's the same problem with real life where you can simply move, but in this case you know which direction you're moving. Also it is with trying to get there when you know you're going to hit barriers, empires, etc.

If the empire upstream begins polluting then wars will happen because an entire city can't just get up and leave. This is just to stop making the entire setting uninhabitable after the first few hundred miles.

>Make a pollution an issue. Empires fight to be the closest to the source so they don't have to deal with the big issue of pollution.
There is no source, the river is eternal and endless.

This is fantastic. I would be stoked to play something in this setting.

>Pollution leaves the water at cataracts which occur periodically. You don't build your settlement near the cataracts, because the pollution doesn't disappear, it boils into the air, creating a cloud of miasma which is harmful and even fatal long term. Short term exposure to the miasma saps your health, saps your will, saps your virtue, infests you with disharmony, ill dharma, and negative feelings/emotions/motives.

>Long term exposure turns the wildlife into monsters.

>Caravans detour into the shallow desert, sometimes for tens of miles, or if the cataract is a small one, may try to shoot the rapids and hope for the best.

>The more filth and sin created by the upstream settlements, the longer, fiercer, more dangerous the cataracts grow to become.

I considered there between the barriers of realms a hard stop occurs creating essentially making pollution barges and islands that choke the river. The division of the realms create hard filters.

I am unsure if I like the idea of the river branching to get rid of pollution. Possibly it drains below along the spokes of the wheel to the center of reality. Massive whirlpools of filth that disappear beneath the earth.

Entire world is a deep caverns with some light passing through the broken cracks that create forest. No matter how hard people have tried to crawl out of the caverns none can make it out. The Deeper in the caverns you go the less light there is and more horrible creatures there are. Wars are fought between the various tribes and city states for the spots with the best sunlight. Since Sunlight makes you stronger in this setting. There are some humans who reject the power of the sun and instead go deeper into the caves to accept the more of the Bright Molten Dirt. Then there are renegade humans who go even deeper who spend all day in deep caverns full of luminous crystals and mushrooms and mediate all day.

rate my setting

Not as good as OP's/10

My concern with this and some of the other earlier points is that if there's no fluid movement between the different regions, it creates a kind of 'sectioned off theme park' vibe, which really weakens the setting in my opinion.

It should feel like a cohesive, lived-in world. Not a bunch of zones that start and end very neatly.

>It should feel like a cohesive, lived-in world. Not a bunch of zones that start and end very neatly.
That would be against the Bhavacakra's entire theme. There is only a hard filter, people can simply travel. it is only hard debris and particulates that stop. The water enters each new realm pure is the thought.

What I mean to say is, the riverbanks should show signs of transition between regions, even if the river itself is made up of hard stops. I get that the river is metaphysical but the civilizations that accumulated around it aren't. In the same way this theology is based on the conflict between pursuing the material and seeking enlightenment, the civilizations on the riverbanks are pockets of grounded existence around something that clearly transcends it.

That guy's idea of accumulated pollution negatively affecting the wildlife and being a threat that caravans have to either avoid or fight through is cool. In my mind, it's a great representation of man's works (trade, civilizations, pursuit of glory) putting him at odds with divine/cosmological architecture (the metaphysics of the river).

Neat

I really dig the setting, but the one thing I would say is that as a player I'd much prefer playing through undertaking the trials of the desert to achieve enlightenment than starting out as someone who is already there. It opens up a bunch of interesting role-play potential as a player, since you are naturally meant to develop and grow as you under these trials.