The Painted Dream
Concept
The Age of Gods has ended. One by one, they vanished from this world, for reasons known to no one but themselves. Eventually, all that remained of them were echoes, traces in the world left when they were still grand, works that had yet to be undone by the passing of time, if they ever will be. They persist in the religions and legends as well, worshippers still offering prayers in abandoned temples, stories being told of a world greater and more mysterious than that of today.
One of those legends tells of one of the gods who still lingers.
In a great Citadel at the edge of the world, in the land of eternal snow, the Painter-God, his true name long forgotten, still lives, creating works in his solitude unlike anything ever seen by mortal eyes.
The legend also says that those who would brave the Citadel's many perils and meet him would receive a boon - the Painter would put their wishes onto his canvas, and in doing so, they would be fulfilled, no matter how great and small in scope.
There have been many who have believed the legend and sought to find and conquer the Citadel, great heroes, entire armies, even normal people brave or desperate enough to bet everything on that one, ephemereal chance, a favour of the one trace of the divine still in this world. The halls of the Citadel are said to have become their graves - most of them, at least. Some have never seen it, buried under the ever-falling snow. Some might have found their heart's desire.
The characters are another such group - those who have a wish that they want fulfilled so intensly that they are willing to risk everything to achieve it and pursue the legend.
Only time will tell which of the fates of those who quest for the Citadel will await them.
Character Creation
The system is a standard #lords d10 affair.
There are four stats to track:
- Physical
- Mental
- Social
- Integrity
Perception is handled via physical or mental rolls, depending on the situation. Integrity is used, among other things, to resist magical attacks and other related effects.
You have 20 dice overall to assign to your stats. You also have a single speciality, which lowers the difficulty to succeed at tasks. (success number for related tasks being 5 instead of 6) This speciality can be anything; from something that the character picked up as his or her job, to a magical sword.
Magic exists, Mental or Social being the relevant stats, depending on what kind of it you pick. The carefully codified, almost mathematical sorcery would use Mental as the stat of choice, while a song that could alter the world would use Social. Everyone can be assumed to know at least some magic, as while the gods have departed this world, and with them many of various miracles, magic, although dimnished, did not quite fade away - and those who quest for the Citadel tend to be well-prepared.
One thing of note for the chargen is that the character also needs a wish - their motivation for coming to the Citadel. It is something that they feel strongly enough about to risk death in pursuit of a legend which has already claimed thousands of lives, after all.