Millenia ago the Gods changed how the mystical forces on the world were governed and used. No longer were the mortals able to pluck the power from the very air and use it. So they altered it, thinking the mortals were not clever enough to find a way to use it again. The God’s crystalized the magic and placed the power in the four elements of the world. Now mortals did indeed determine a way to use magic again, albeit at a much lower proficiency. Magic users now require a focus staff made of the very essence of magic. These crystal staves store the mystical energies required to cast spells, needing to be recharged over time. The magic users scribe, etch, or carve the spells symbols directly on the staves and focus the energy through the symbols.

This weapons has been made popular by several heroic and near mythical adventuring types that have served the Empire over the last three centuries. They are large, powerful weapons, with a distinctive look to them, suitable for Heroes and those who think they are heroes.

Rome. It was defined by its Glories and its Horrors. What were its military's ranks.

I am always looking for rank structures to use in games. It is my hope that you will share some of your historical knowledge or ranks and/or reveal to us the hierarchy of ranks in the games that you play.

Food is Life. Food, what is eaten, when it is eaten, and how it is eaten, says a great deal about a culture.

Every culture has a different idea of what constitute's breakfast. Even regions inside the same culture can vary quite a bit (like grits with hot sauce in Texas or Fishcake mix in omelets in New Hampshire). What do they consider 'food' first thing in the morning in your space?

The School of Jundera is the most ancient school of Amandaeanic magic. Few know it's history.

Do you Remember?

The Magic Guild is one of the first Humanti Guilds, one of the first organizations that crossed clan bloodlines. It has become one of the most powerful, having a prestigeous place in history and becoming the 'official' judges of way and order/chaos.

The Seeker was a mystic guardian from long ago. He was a hero and a companion to Greater Heroes. To ensure the Realms would be protected, he charged his apprentices to teach others.

BlenderofSixElement's Way is the system of magick known to all the known world of Arth. There may be native minor magic systems, but the only effective system is BlenderofSixElement's Way.

The followers of this school specialize in the control of the Fog phenomenon. In a world where most magical effects have only a short duration, theirs can stay active for hours, even days in some rare cases.

Folk magic is more of a magical tradition than a school of scholarly research being as old as the hills, some say as old as time itself. It is as deeply ingrained to the psyche of the country folk as the changing of the seasons and has been passed down from father to son and mother to daughter for countless generations.

Here, fantasy meets science-fiction. Little green men have built automated outposts for the research of this planet.

These are mystic traditions and their attendant sources.

One magical/ technological item I have had for Elves and Dwarves are Glow Balls. It seems unlikely that Elves would risk fire in their natural environments. It seems unlikely that Dwarves would keep wasting precious oxygen to generate light. So I came up with these solutions.

Okay. How do your people see? We in the 21st century take good illumination for granted, allowing us to stay up and active for many more hours than our ancestors. Like so many things in a fantasy, people just kind of gloss over it... or think that candles illuminate like a 100 watt bulb. So how do people light up the night in your setting? How late do they stay up if they can light the night?

Following a discussion we had on the site, I thought we could start up a thread to post the pre- and post-apocalyptic effects of a comet/minor planetary impact on a campaign world.

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia.' But only slightly less well known is this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.'

More Viceral Tips for Horror Gaming!

This piece is dedicated to Captain Penguin