Artpunk? Artbook!

There's a war on artpunk. Or is there? Honestly, I don't really care - people have the right to think what's right and wrong - and to express these feelings. In case of my artpunk-ish setting, the Ashen Void - any publicity is a good publicity. Especially when the written content is of any positive quality. And I believe it is!

(in addition, I've made a no-art edition as well, for all those haters who still want to enjoy over seventy random tables without the need to damage their eyesight with the disgusting, AI-generated deformities!)

BUT - to be honest, I'm quite tired of wars within the hobby. Being it edition wars, wars on artpunk, or even wars on particular people, no matter whether they deserve the hate or not. Fuck it. Negativity is rarely a sign of an improvement.

I'm still quite enamored with the basic idea of artpunk RPGs. But the think I'm working on has quickly evolved beyond the artpunk aesthetics. In fact, it has quickly evolved outside the role-playing games. Or even games in broader sense.

The Black Tome of Nothingness will be an artbook. And while the basic idea was to make a book that could be handed to the players as an in-game artifact, the actual thing quickly became something more. At least for me, from the author's perspective. The statement above is still true - there will be nothing about any kind of game mechanics, rules or "laws". But for me, the maker - the process is much more important. So, you may expect a messy mix of styles and ideas, sprinkled with an unhealthy dose of ugly artwork.

 

The thing will be quite sizable - for now, I have ideas for over 200 entries (very briefly described HERE). And each one of them will be a full-sized mix of artwork and handwritten bullshit. And only like 5 are already done. 

The process of creating them is quite interesting in itself. I have like 3-5 sentences-long descriptions of each entry. And when I start to lay out the basic images that relate to the text, the new text is also born. And it leads to the new doodles. And so on - until I run out of space on one A4-sized workspace (yes, everything is made digitally). Any leftovers are noted, as in most cases they are some cross-references to other entries. 

I love making it. It's fun.

Judging from my pace of creating previous things - expect the Black Tome to be released somewhere in mid-2040s! I will try to keep you up to date - but I think you know me already.

Oh, and the February sale of all my shit on DriveThru is still on! Grab yourself a PDF or two, while they're 30% off!

Black Tome of Nothingness - list of topics 4/4

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE
 

Shimmering Dimension - our plane of existence.
Shroud, the - veil separating the mundane and the divine. Most likely a sophisticated form of a Timeless Machine.
Silver People - the original inhabitants of the Silver Sphere. Some classify them as one of the Feeble Races.
Singing Columns - associated with Crystal Towers - but located Beyond, amongst the Grave of the World.
Sinful One - the Saint who escaped the Exile Ritual.
Sirui - the Diviners. One of the Noble Houses. Many Saints seem to be obsessed with their destruction.
Sisters of Dawn - keepers of the Tower of the Exalted Light in the Church of the Saints.
Soulless Monarchs - Saints who tried to gain control of Radh but turned on each other.
Sources of Magic - flows of energy that once powered the Eternal Machines. Now they are all dead.
Staves of Function - the most common examples of Abstract Technology.
Stone Circles - portals between the Spheres. Some were also built on other celestial bodies (moons?).
Sun Priests - extinct sect of the Enlightened Ones. The ones who built the Transplanar Sundial.
Taroz the Diviner - High Priest of the Wall, obsessed with the idea of summoning the Godkiller.
Temple of the Shroud - a place where the Veiled One resides.
Temporal Liches - participants of the Mage War who were trapped between time and space, life and death.
Thanatomorphosis of Rhanorr - destructive death cult of Vokra. Eaters of the Saints.
Theogonia - work of Reerd the Eyeless, covering the origins of the Lesser Deities, as well as both Deicides.
Thol - desert-like wasteland at the bottom of the Stone Sphere, beyond the Black Plains.
Tlorn - a destroyed kingdom of the Brass Sphere. Claimed by the Fungi of Llai.
Tnaro - one of the Noble Houses. Masters of the Flesh Sorcery.
Tower of Blood - bottom part of the Iron City, located at the Inner Surface, pointing at Fear.
Tower of the Exalted Light - topmost part of the Church of the Saints. Guarded by the Sisterhood.
Tower of the Moon - an opposite pole of the Altar of the Sun. Built on Danaad.
Transplanar Sundial - the most powerful of the Timeless Machines located in the Stone Sphere. Now lost forever.
Tree People - mythical inhabitants of the Inner Spheres. Some claim that they created the Root Maze.
Triangle of Despair - a philosophy which describes the Nothingness as of three nightmarish possibilities.
Ttatonyl - a being who stole the Rite of Sanctification to fight the gods. Highly admirable.
Ttth - the Soul Crystals. Ancients who created the Spheres - or maybe even the entire Shimmering Dimension.
Ullu-Abo - the Black Root. A Plant Deity that pierced into the Silver Sphere from below, looking for the surface.
Umber Tome - accursed book that caused at least one major disaster in the past.
Underworld - the Deeper Spheres. That’s where the secrets of Nothingness are hidden.
Unknown Entity - not much is known about the force meddling with the world’s story throughout its existence…
Un-Tower - the bottom part of the Church of the Saints. Much older than the temple built above.
Valleys of Naalu - place where the Pyramids were destroyed. Most likely buried during the Collapse.
Vardi the Timeless - the Last Chronomancer. Executed and buried in the Colorless Tomb.
Veiled One - mysterious deity of the Church. Even the Lesser Gods don’t know much about him.
Vaults of Kresht - an ancient treasury, Secret Chamber from the time of the Pyramid Wars.
Vokra - the Grave City. Built around the Wells of the Damned. Final resting place of many historical figures.
War of the Spheres - conflict amongst the Ancient Ones that led to their destruction.
Watcher of Ngaros - fourth Eater of Madness. One who was fascinated with the mystical energies of the Spheres.
Water Serpent of Ssest - a Saint occupying the Aqueducts. The Defiler of Pathways.
Weapons - behold the edges that shaped the world!
Weeping Pilgrims - useless herd of lamenters over the fate of the world. But there is a Saint that follows them.
Wise Women of Radh - one of the major factions of the Iron City. The first ones who descended there?
Wounded Crags - the edge of the Stone Sphere, far beyond the Ash Basin.
Xeddia - one of the Noble Houses. The Necromancers. Even the Engineers turned their backs on them.
Xonn - capital of the Silver People. Control Panel of the Outer Spheres.
Xosoko - Ancient Race, masters of All That Was Hidden. Sculptors of the pocket dimensions.
Yngar Bridge - the only known passage between the Silver and the Brass spheres.
Youngest Son, the - mythical figure from the Iron City’s past. Presumably devoured by the Demon Lord of Fear.
Yvesi - the Mathematician. The Second Eater of Madness. The One Who Deciphered The World.
Zaat - the Gray Planet. Home - or the former prison - of the Cyclops. Now barren and devoid of any life.
Zodaar - the Nightmare King. One of the most prominent figures from the Mage Wars.

Black Tome of Nothingness - list of topics 3/4

PART ONE | PART TWO

Lesser Deities - petty gods, still delusional about their power over the world. Fodder for the Blade of Murder.
Library of Uncountable Sapphirine Deaths - Secret Chamber containing the most important books of all.
Liturgy of Reversal - ritual performed by the Chronomancers that led to their destruction.
Llai - Fungal Forest sprawling through the destroyed portions of the Brass Sphere. Home of the Plant Gods.
Lovers - madmen afflicted by their imprisoned muse - a goddess or a saint assimilated by the Spheres themselves.
Mage War - the largest man-made cataclysm since the Pyramid Wars. Looks like we never learn.
Magic - for some, incomprehensible powers of the universe. For others, just the energy powering the Spheres.
Maze of Roots - overgrown tunnels below the Reservoir, inhabited by the last remaining Korri.
Mindless Forces - the Primeval Gods. Representation of the forces of nature which shaped reality.
Miracles - all cases of successful uses of the Abstract Technology during the Age of Men.
Molten Spheres - transitional areas between the layers of Deep Underworld
Moon Kingdom - home of those who escaped the Pyramid Wars to settle on Danaad.
Museum of Time - sacred vault of Radh, containing numerous artifacts of the past.
Mutterings of Phandra - written by the First Eater of Madness, contains information about the Ancient Ones.
Muurn - the one who Hunts Down the Lost. Shadow God, courageous enough to remain active even these days.
Naygrar - once the tallest peak of all the Places Beyond destroyed in a magical explosion that buried Ganth.
Ngaros - the Infernal Observatory. Build deep underground to determine the Sources of Magic.
Nghsh - one of the Ancient Races. Ones that were bound to operating the Eternal Machinery of the Spheres.
Nightmare Thrones - demonic interfaces to the Spheres, made by the degenerate inhabitants of the Iron World.
Noble Houses - last descendants of the Enlightened Ones, entangled in the eternal power struggle.
Nothingness - that’s how we call our reality - a tear in the Shimmering Dimension, in which the world resides.
Null Wraiths - creatures born of the disasters of the Mage War. Echoes of the Sundial’s destruction.
Nybel of the Night - Saint protector of Kothra. Has disappeared into the Un-Tower.
Nynal Vost - one of the few humans to ever reach the Gray Planet of Zaat.
Obfuscated Doorways - work on the topic of the Secret Chambers. Attributed to Yvesi.
One Who Speaks Words No One Wants To Hear - the final, Fifth Eater of Madness. The Harbinger of Apocalypse.
Othuriarth - the Jade Rift. The Primal God whose awakening has started the First Deicide.
Parasitic Worlds - the most known book on the topic of the Spheres. Filled to the brim with false information.
Pantheon, the - the currently active Shadow Gods of Nothingness. The Contained Gods are literally worthless.
Phandra - the Discoverer of Truths. The first Eater of Madness. The one who knew everything about the past.
Plant Gods - the most powerful beings currently alive that aren’t cursed with consciousness.
Portals to Hysteria - a scroll describing all known connections between the Spheres.
Priesthood of the Wall - those who guard the border with the land of the dead.
Pure People - last descendants of the Enlightened Ones. The Noble Houses seem to be obsessed with Pure Blood.
Pyramid Wars - the war that caused the heavens to fall down on earth, causing the Collapse.
Pyramids - the most powerful war machines ever created by humans. Almost led to the destruction of the world.
Purgatory Theorem - my own theory about the world being a transitional space, something not as cruel as the reality described in the Triangle of Despair - but still quite unsettling.
Raktai - one of the Ancient Races. Poisonous amphibians who disappeared even before the War of the Spheres.
Reerd the Eyeless - Third Eater of Madness. The One Who Knew All Names. Croyle?
Red Sands - desert-like cavernous halls, full of ruined Eternal Machines. Located in the Iron Sphere.
Reservoir Temple - a fortress guarding the place where the Aqueducts end.
Rine - the second, smaller moon. Has a very unstable orbit, so It’s rarely seen. It sends visions to the worthy.
Road of the Giants - half-mythical pathway through the Spheres.

Rhud - I think that the author of this tome deserves an entry about himself.

Saints - humans who were blessed with the powers of the Veiled One and received almost godlike powers.
Sapphire Chambers - place where the Lesser Gods walled themselves to avoid the Othuriarth’s hunger.
Sapphire Gate - destroyed magical portal to the Sapphire Chambers, located at Naygrar's peak.
Secret Chambers - concealed parts of the Spheres, extremely difficult to find without a key or a guide.
Scientific Mysticism - religion and/or philosophical movement devoted to the Geometric Gods.
Scars of the Earth - massive wounds of the planet, often piercing through several Spheres.
Scroll of Hidden Realms - oldest known tract on the Spheres, describing their names and properties.
Shadow Gods - those Lesser Deities who weren’t consumed by fear. Still active today.
Shapers - inhabitants of the Spheres of underworld, highest-ranking Engineers.

Black Tome of Nothingness - list of topics 2/4

  

PART ONE

* * *

Eaters of Madness - five greatest sages of all time.
Emerald Crown - artifact of the Ancients, used to operate the Transplanar Sundial. Now lost.
Engineers - the (Ancient) ones who had the power to operate the Eternal Machinery.
Enlightened Ones - people of the past, who understood the Abstraction of the technology of the Spheres.
Erkal Crystals - the rarest secretions of the broken Eternal Machines. Found only in the Inner Spheres.
Eternal Machinery - technology of the Ancient Ones - or the magic propelling the Spheres.
Eternal Monarchs - corpses raised as rulers of Vokra. Still better than relying on gods, if you ask me.
Exile - a ritual stripping a Saint of their power. Can be used to temporarily power the Abstract Technology.
Eyeless Queen - Goddess of Stagnation, residing below the Castle.
Fates - either the goddesses of cruelty - or the Saints who devoured them. The truth is unclear now.
Fear - inner sun of the Iron Sphere. Said to be extinguished during the war between the Ancients.
Feeble Races - us, the humans. And some other, much more elusive ones, trapped in the Nothingness along us.
Figurines - artifacts from the Inner Spheres, left as the clues by the Shapers.
Five Candles, Five Wounds - a blasphemous tome about the true purpose of the Eaters of Madness.
First God of Murder - slayer of the Jade Rift, bearer of the Blade - as well as its second victim.
Flesh Sorcery - Intricate rituals of human sacrifice to gain access to the Abstraction. Domain of House Tnaro.
Followers of the Black Tome - one of the factions of the Mage War. The Seekers of Iaad.
Forbidden Palace - buried below the Un-Tower. Tip of the Iron City.
Forge City - half-mythical place, heart of the Iron Sphere. Left deserted after the War of the Spheres.
Formless Idealists - faction of philosophers who worship chaos as the “Great Mover of the Spheres”.
Ganth - the only known human settlement located Beyond. Now buried under millions of tons of rock.
Gardens of Danaad - forests or other dense foliage located on the larger moon, visible from here.
Geometric Deities - those gods who survived the First Deicide by cheating and bending the laws of reality.
Geometrists of Sorrem - priests of the Geometric Deities. Or the scientists of the Depths. Or both.
Ghoul Lanterns - the only devices that allow the navigation through the Bone Sphere.
God of the Wall - the One who Guards the Dead. The Bone Sphere itself.
Godkiller - the entity responsible for the Second Deicide. Disappeared without a trace afterwards.
Grand Measurement - obsession of the Scientific Mystics, may be a reminiscence of the Pyramid Curse.
Grave of the World - endless sea of shattered stone. Anomalous monument to the Collapse of the Stone Sphere.
Great Symmetry - the “impossible” and “unnoticeable” force of the universe that keeps it in motion.
Heretics - the most radical of the Antitheists, actively seeking the destruction of everything divine.
Hidden Sphere - portion of the Emerald Realm that was ripped out and corrupted, creating the Sapphire Vault.
Hrithia - a long lineage of assassins. Their history is intertwined with the Noble Houses.
Honnaop the Bone Sorcerer - a Saint who descended through the Bone Vaults into the Bone Sphere.
Hyperdimensionalists - faction of the Mage War who wanted to collapse the Spheres to reignite the Fear.
Hyperglyphs - trans-dimensional means of communication, the original way to command the Eternal Machines.

Hallucinations of Rhud - I’ve stumbled upon the booklet when I was halfway done with my research on the Black Book you’re reading now. At first glance I thought it was written to discredit Rhud and his masterpiece. I couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Ice People - constructs of the Engineers, remaining in a constant state of war with the Silver People.
Inner Surface - located at the Iron Sphere’s Centre, once illuminated by the Fear.
Iron City - a colossal spire that pierces through all the Spheres. Partly inhabited by humans. Also known as Radh.
Itt’ib - the Entropy Sludge. The Ancient Ones who emerged from the corpse of Othuriarth.
Kadri Plains - anomalous wasteland, sometimes accessible via the tunnels below the Church of the Saints.
King, the - the last hereditary ruler of mankind. Disappear without a trace, probably into the Underworld.
Kingdom of Light - our home. But there is no light left. Only laughter in the dark.
Korri - one of the Feeble Races. Inhabitants of the Maze of the Roots and the Daughter’s Gardens
Kothra - the Prison City. One of the biggest complexes of Secret Chambers. Ruled by the Priesthood of the Wall.
Kresht - one of the oldest human settlements, located in the gorge between the Church and the Castle.
K’tegh - subhuman troglodytes, either created by the Raktai or devolved from humans.
Lcanter - one of the Noble Houses. The ones who gained access to the Iron City.
Lenses - made of pure silver, allow to peer into the Underworld Spheres. Conduits of insanity. Ngaros!

Black Tome of Nothingness [and its huge list 1/4]

Well, I'm cannibalizing my own projects once again, fusing ideas together. But in most cases, ones who do this with their creative output do so to create something more coherent, easier to digest. But not me. I'm stitching two projects together to make them even more convoluted and difficult to grasp.

THIS and THIS post. They contain something useful about the thing I started working on after releasing the Ashen Void. And HERE are some doodles about the second part. And THIS also ended up on the chopping block. And I liked the idea for the cover artwork. So I'll reuse it.

The book will look like a babbling of a madman. It won't be artpunk. It will be an artbook. And it will be ugly. No PDFs. Only printed copies. And I'm making it solely because of THIS.

What should you make out the following bullshit? And from the next three posts? I don't know! I think it's a proto-master-index of the artbook mentioned above. Brace yourself, the list is quite massive.

* * *

Abstract Technology - lost powers of those gods who really deserved the title.
Alcove of the Eyeless Queen - the First Nightmare Throne, at least the first in the Stone Sphere.
Altar of the Depths - enormous Secret Chamber, thought to be a central connection between the Spheres.
Altar of the Sun - a flawed interface to the Transplanar Sundial, built to replace the Emerald Crown.
Amber Sculptures - figurines whose discoveries always led to a disaster. The last one was found a few weeks ago.
Ammonite Prophets - the fossilized wise men of the past, encased in the timeless monument deep below.
Ancient Ones - former rulers of the world. Inhuman in every respect.
Anomalies - Scars of the Earth, places where the toxic radiation of the Inner Spheres poison our realm.
Antitheists - the Cult of Nothing. The only ones I respect.
Ash Basin - the sea of dust. Or the burial site of one of the Primordial Ones.
Aqueducts - the only labyrinths we need.

The Annotations - the Book within the Book. A Glimpse of Light in the Darkness.  I’ve added them here, to explain and expand on Rhud’s thoughts. I know it only fuels the flame of your confusion, as I often ask even more questions, without providing answers to the already existing ones. But you must forgive me. Frankly, you don’t have a choice other than tossing the Book you’re reading into flames.

Beltai - the Goddess of Heresy. I almost admire her.
Black Plains of Iaad - the place where all the remaining gods will be sacrificed during the Third Deicide.
Black Tomes - you are reading one of them. Probably the final one ever written.
Blade of Murder - the god-killing weapon. The only force of true balance in this world.
Blighted City - huge complex of ruins, presumably once inhabited by the Raktai.
Blood Crystals - solidified ichor of the Eternal Machinery.
Book of Infernal Angles - the only detailed description of the Pyramids that survived to this day.
Book of Ngaros - full of diagrams leading to the Sources of Power. Unfortunately, written by a lunatic.
Book of Whispers - another tome full of nonsense. But in this case, fights over that nonsense led to the Mage War.
Book Plague - cause of destruction of the Nobility of Vokra. Connected with the Umber Tome.
Bone Keepers - sect of traveling undertakers. The ones able to speak with the dead.
Bone Vaults - ossuaries of mankind, the only testimony of our past that is free of deception.
Breutsk Quarry - one of the few Places Beyond that wasn’t destroyed by the Jade Rift.
Broken Saints - those whose bodies and minds have rejected the Communion of the Veiled One.
Brorg - the Crumbling God. Some say it’s a reflection of the Stone Sphere’s condition.
Burial Dimension - a strange Outer Sphere of the world, separating our reality from the Underworld. Bone Sphere.
Carved Path - a long stairway of ritual importance. Connects the Wells and the Temple of the Shroud.
Castle - one of the topmost parts of Nothingness. A king-less house of the Nobility.
Celestial Bridge - one of the last Miracles that still works as intended. Connects the Church and the Castle.
Chamber of Convergence - a place of holy rituals of almost all major factions of Nothingness.
Chronomancers - one of the factions from the Mage War. Obsessed with the past and the lost knowledge.
Church of the Saints - monument to mankind’s ascension. The final slap to the face of gods.
Cleansing - a temple beneath the Castle, maintained by the Noble House Sirui.
Collapsed Sphere - a huge portion of the Stone Sphere that was destroyed during the Pyramid Wars.
Colorless Tomb - resting place of the last participants of the Mage War.
Communion - process of Sanctification, during which the mortal human becomes a Saint.
Contained Gods - the greatest cowards that ever existed. Deities who entombed themselves to avoid devourment.
Croyle - one of the Noble Houses. All are born blind. They serve the Queen.
Crystal Towers - spires brimming with Abstract Technology. Most of them have been claimed by the Nobility.
Cyclops - invaders from the Gray Planet of Zaat. One of the Ancient Ones.
Danaad - larger of the two Moons. Visible once per 33 years. Home of the Moon Kingdom.
Daughter, the - offspring of the last King of the Castle. One of the first Saints.
Dead Forests - Anomaly surrounding the outer walls of the Castle. Cursed by the Chronomancers’ magic.
Deep Stronghold - an underground fortress overseeing the fringe of the Collapsed Sphere.
Deicide, First - forging of the Blade of Murder and killing of Othuriarth.
Deicide, Second - emergence of the Godkiller. I still mourn his failure.
Demons - strange creatures, originating from the Iron Sphere.
Desert Chasm - located in the middle of the Wastes of Thol. It reaches the Silver Sphere.
Diagrams - sacred drawings usable to conjuration of magic. Different schools were compiled by the Watcher.
Disciples of Paradox - faction that emerged after a war between Scientific Mystics and Formless Idealists.
Dranth - now ruined Temple of the Thousand Gods. Home of the Heretics, Broken Saints and philosophers.

Deicide, Third. Now we live in these times, when the gods emerged from the Sapphire Chambers to fight the hopeless war amongst themselves. Their hubris is too great to let them accept the fact that they’ve become executors of the Godkiller’s will. That they let themselves to the sacrifice. And that their blood seeps through the stone to finally enrich the lifeless soil of Iaad.

The Eaters of Madness

The five greatest sages of all time, widely regarded as the ones who pushed mankind further ahead, more than any other person (or even more than any discovery). Despite the fact that all of them lived in different times and their expertise differed greatly, they had one thing in common. They all went insane, crushed by the unbearable weight of their knowledge. Thus, their name. The Eaters of Madness.

The First Eater of Madness was Phandra. The Discoverer of Truths. The Whispering Oracle. 

The Second Eater of Madness was Yvesi. The Mistress of the Infinite. The Measure of Impossibilities.

The Third Eater of Madness was Reerd the Eyeless. The One Who Knew All Names.

The Fourth Eater of Madness was the Watcher of Ngaros. The Master of Wounds of the Earth. The Follower of the Lines.

The Fifth Eater of Madness was the One Who Speaks Words No One Wants To Hear. The Nameless Harbinger of Apocalypse. The Bell-Founder.

Ancient Races of Ortix

 

There were numerous Ancient Races that roamed the Ortix. Some of them were just visitors from distant stars and/or different dimensions, while the ones listed below had (or still have) significant impact on the planet’s history, shape and possibly even its ultimate fate.

• Cyclops - invaders from the dying world of Zaat, Engineers of Flesh. It’s possible that they are the ones who created the Feeble Races, including the humans.
• Nghsh - the ones who designed and operated the Eternal Machines.
• Raktai - poisonous amphibians, probably the interstellar travelers.
• Ttth - the Soul Crystals. The factual creators of Ortix. Possibly creators of the entire Shimmering Dimension.
• Xosoko - the ancient rulers of Ortix, masters of the Hidden Sphere.

It’s almost impossible to determine if the Engineers and Shapers were the separate species or races of the Ancient Ones or if they were just a status of the extremely powerful individuals. 

I am currently working on the Ortix Cyclopedia - an alphabetical list of Ortix-related bullshit. A really substantial list, covering, well, the entire campaign setting. Also - something huge is coming. And it's related to this topic. Stay tuned.

I've answered Jeff's questions from 2011!

Well, better late than never! In fact, I'm not sure if I've stumbled upon these questions before. Nevertheless, now it's a perfect moment to answer them.

(artwork by me, made in 2020)

What is the deal with my cleric's religion? 

Well, all gods despise humans and other Feeble Races (no elves dwarves halflings, sorry), so I guess you're fucked.

Where can we go to buy standard equipment?

There are some stores in the Iron City.

Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?

The best way is to perform proper rituals to strike a deal with some Eternal Machine. If you find any and manage to determine its function.

Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

Nhonaop the Bone Sorcerer.

Who is the greatest warrior in the land?

It's widely believed that the King's Champion is the one, however it's easy to calculate that he's over 130 years old now, and that may complicate things abit.

Who is the richest person in the land? 

Reerd the Eyeless, a long-dead sage, enthroned in the city of Vokra as one of its Eternal Monarch. It's said that his wealth is immesurable, despite the fact he's just an ancient corpse.

Where can we go to get some magical healing?

Find the Necromancers, if you're brave enough. Or the Eternal Machinery.

Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?

You can't. Grow some balls and die with dignity.

Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?

I do not plan to include Vancian magic. Or spellcraft is either technology- or ritual-based.

Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC? 

In either Iron City or Grave City.

Where can I hire mercenaries?

In almost every major settlement.

Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?

Some Quarters of the Iron City.

Which way to the nearest tavern?

Follow the stench of vomit.

What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

Spawn of the Plant Gods.

Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?

The Assassination Wars.

How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes? 

It's said that you can find anything you're looking for in the Iron City. But it may be only a rumor.

Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

Numerous!

What is there to eat around here? 

You're lucky! Not all plants are sentient!

Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for? 

Remnants of the Pyramid Technology, the Emerald Crown, the Abstract Tech, the Blade of Murder and so on.

Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?

This information will cost you at least 500 coins, my friend.

World of ortix - the principles

As I said - the World of Ortix will be "ugly, convoluted and linguistically inferior" - and you've had a glimpse of the gibberish nonsense I will include in the book. OR NOT - as everything is still evolving and mutating.

Meanwhile, here are three principles of the game/setting/whatever it will become. Enjoy more gibberish nonsense.

Artwork by me.

Everything is Weird
Even though the basic elements of the setting may look familiar, many aspects of them - from background to details - aren’t typical. Additionally, logic isn’t extremely important - some things are weird just for the sake of being weird. Ortix isn’t Earth - and will never be. It’s safe to assume that some fundamental laws of physics are different from those affecting our world.

Nothing is Certain
There are many contradictions here. Things that make no sense and ideas that cancel each other (or even themselves). This shouldn’t worry you - although it’s your duty as a GM to interpret things, no matter how coherent or gibberish they are, there is no right or wrong way of using the contents of this book. You should utilize them in a way that will fit into your playstyle and bring fun to your table.

Scientific Mysticism
The World of Ortix is a mix of advanced technology, myths and legends. Both aspects of the world’s description are intertwined on multiple levels - there can be subatomic nanotech devices granting the gods their divine powers and reality-altering machines of a size of a mountain, operated by rituals and human sacrifice. It’s an important part of the setting - in fact, it comprises the very outline of the in-game reality.

The Antitheists

 

Quite well-organized faction of those who view the gods as unworthy of any attention. The gods despise mankind - and should be treated the same way. Antitheists aren’t passive in their ideology - they often kill religious zealots and attack and desecrate temples.

Even though the active worship of the gods isn’t extremely popular, most people fear them. This makes the Antitheists not very welcome in most human settlements, as it’s believed (not without reason) that their actions can bring the wrath of gods.

Heretics

The most radical Antitheists call themselves the Heretics - and they bear this name with pride. The Heretics openly state that the world should be cleansed from all that is divine. They actively destroy everything that is connected with deities - including Abstract Technology and places of power associated with gods. Over the years, they’ve also gathered significant amounts of knowledge about godhood and its various aspects.

The Heretics call themselves the followers of the Godkiller. Some recent rumors say that they somehow managed to locate, overwhelm and kill a minor Shadow God.

Somewhat paradoxically, the Heretics’ main hub is Dranth - the City of the Thousand Gods.

The Geometric Deities

Two-dimensional gods of the numbers. They have discarded their comprehensible forms to gain - according to Yvesi the Mathematician - the “Ultimate propelling Power”. It was required to set the Spheres of Ortix into motion. Or maybe they shed the third dimension to escape the fate of their brothers, devoured by the Mindless Forces during the First Deicide. Or both.

They took the basic forms:

B’o. The Square. Empowerment, design, improvement, containment.
S’u. The Triangle. Severing the lines, balance, observing the minute detail.
N’i. The Circle. Boundlessness, eternal journeys, cycles of energy.

Over 7800 words are now written, divided into 100 entries, covering various aspects of the setting. Even initial detailing of these things gave birth to 74 new items which must be described. The general shape is still very chaotic but I've already dropped the most ridiculous ideas. Despite that, it still will be really weird.

The Pyramid Wars

 

About three thousand years ago, at least two powerful factions of the Enlightened Ones engaged in wars that led to the destruction of the entire eastern subcontinent. The Enlightened Ones, using the Abstract Tech they gathered for centuries, built the most powerful war machines the world have ever seen - the floating Pyramids with weaponry able to torch cities and melt entire mountains within moments.

Now the Desert of Thol covers the entire eastern peninsula. In the past it was a fertile land of green plains and crystal-clear springs but its ecosystem was totally and irreversibly destroyed by the terrifying weapons of the Pyramid Wars. Now Thol is almost lifeless, dry and scorched by the sun. Despite that there are still men and women that decide to travel to the desert. Maddened by oppressive heat, they traverse the sands in search for even tiniest bits of the forbidden, destructive tech from the time of war.

Eight or nine Pyramids were built. They were engineered and assembled using the Abstract Technology originating from the Deeper Spheres. The Pyramids were both the ultimate tools of destruction and the altars of the Primordial Forces, able to channel the hyper-entropic thoughts of the Primal Gods and focus them into beams of pure annihilation. Luckily all the Pyramids were destroyed, along with their creators and their entire civilization.

The Book of Infernal Angles contains the names of the Pyramids:

Mortontradd
Ormendzhar
Toralemmris
Ghaathrnor
Ashtinumtyer
Emwarruntlor
Voralemnothra
Xarntonran
Lorarnodorsar

The Shroud

 

Veil that separates the material and immaterial. Some do believe that it’s composed of physical fabric, torn during the Mage War. They spend their entire lives looking for the tatters.

There are also other Mystical Fabrics - or the Indescribable Veils. They separate the Spheres - and separate the human minds from the sparks of thoughts about the Inner Mysteries of Ortix.

“The Shroud was made by the Great Abstraction - the most powerful Eternal Device ever created. It was weaving it for millennia, slowly shaping the boundaries of Ran-Gor. Separating the Ran from the Gor.”

“IT was hiding beyond the Shroud. The Primeval Insanity. The Well of Starlight. The Pillar of Darkness. Now its deathless pseudopodia slowly creeps into our reality, boring through the Spheres and sowing its toxic seeds. If there is a way to close the wounds of the Shroud, we must find it. If not, our fate is sealed.”

***

Yes, the stuff I will post in the nearest future will most likely refer to the first idea behind the creation of this blog. Of course, I will also post other stuff. Or not. Or I will disappear for the next few months, like many times before.

World of Ortix

When I started this blog (switching from the Terminal Space, back in the Golden Age of Blogging, damn I really miss those times), I did it mainly for posting stuff about my upcoming weird Sword&Planet / Science Fantasy / Gonzo Fantasy campaign setting that was slowly taking shape in my head. I was heavily inspired by Planet Algol (Blair, you need to come back) and my head was literally bursting with ideas.

And then over eleven years have passed.

Not much was done, at least not on topic of Ortix. Sure many ideas were written down but I cannibalized lots of them for the other projects. But the core remained intact and the last attempt to shape it into something more coherent was in 2019. And now I decided it may be a good moment to finally get it done.

Do not expect the end result within the next decade tho - since it started in 1997, it should take me next 25 years to complete it! More seriously - I don't even aim to complete the "Book of Ortix" or whatever it should be named. I treat it more as a thought experiment and way to keep myself occupied in the most creative way possible, while having fun at the same time. Of course I will post (or at least try to) the things I make, here on the blog.

So far I've compiled the loose list of one hundred ideas, both new and really old, that could be incorporated into the setting. Some of them are rather down to earth, while others (like four inner spheres of the planet) are outrageously gonzo. We shall see what will emerge from that mess.

With the Ashen Void I've experimented with full-color AI art and rather clear and "semi-pro" layout. This time I'll come back to the roots - World of Ortix will be ugly, convoluted and linguistically inferior, sprinkled with strange, hand drawn artwork.

But - as I said before - do not expect any coherent releases on this topic within the next twenty five years.