The World of Gaianar

In a world where darkness looms, and the shambling dead outnumber the living, a handful of heroes can rekindle the dying light.

All rules for The World of Gaianar are located on the website, and are free.

Game Type: 
Roleplaying Game
Crunch: 
4 - Moderately Crunchy
Players: 
2+
GM?: 
Yes
Free?: 
Yes
Excerpt: 

There was once a time when the world of Gaianar was a world of life, beauty and peace. But that was centuries ago. A time of technology it was, with ships of the sea, beneath the sea, upon the wind, and beyond the world. Great machines generated energy that powered technological devices; robots aided in man's chores and man's fighting. Computers let people speak across great distances. Medicine brought the sick and wounded back from the brink of death. Underground trains brought people across a continent in a handful of hours. But the world was shallow, corrupt, and devoid of inner strength. When the technological age came, the great nations forgot their faith in the spirit, and religion was abandoned, scoffed as an outdated superstition. With the exception of a few isolated areas, most notably the Isle of Gales, materialism and secular humanism became the only faith. This weakness of spirit would be Gaianar's downfall.

Darkness fell upon the world, darkness in the form of Scaxathrom, Lord of Vipers. He wielded powers of the spirit, and used them to destroy the things of technology. The few Priests of Good that remained were powerless to stop the Viper Lord's reign. As the technological infrastructure collapsed on a global scale, millions perhaps even billions died, both from war and famine. Lord Scaxathrom was unstoppable. He ruled for fourteen decades, a time later called "The Wrath of Scaxathrom".

Generations later, the Viper Lord was at last destroyed, by two holy warriors whom were later canonized: Saint Jareth, patron of warriors, and Saint Kyle, patron of unfair odds. They were empowered by the nearly forgotten God of Good with spiritual gifts to fight the incarnation of Evil. The Viper Lord was cast down, but not before he animated the millions of dead that lay scattered across the lands.

Today, Gaianar remains under populated, poor, and haunted. Broken, crumbling skyscrapers stand like dead sentinels against the sky. Deadly radiation belts hang over ruined nuclear power plants. And the people live by medieval standards, fighting with sticks, clubs, and swords.

The shambling dead still harass the living, and cultists still worship Scaxathrom as well as a host of other evil, bloodthirsty gods. They must be stopped, else the Viper Lord may yet return and destroy Gaianar forever. Gaianar is wounded, but not yet dead. In an age of unlikely heroes, there is still hope, like a candle against the darkness of night.