EMPYREAN

Award each participating player 1 Development point for each completed story chapter. A story chapter is equivalent to a coherent story unit within the ongoing storyline. A storyline can consist of many stories, and each story can consist of many chapters. A single gaming session will rarely complete more than a couple or three chapters, and sometimes a single chapter is barely completed during a single session, and may need to span across two or three sessions. You can devise additional story milestones and achievements that award bonus Development points as necessary.  Avoid handing out Development points for feeling generous, because these tend to create a precedent of expectation, it must be clear why someone has gained a Development point. Avoid handing Development points to specific players. Players share their achievements, it is part of the benefits of group play, so the results of achievements are also shared between the players. If you do choose to award indi...

Empyreans can further refine their powers so that when they're already activated, they can pour even more of the force of Destiny to create a mighty burst of power, called a Surge. Following are some examples of what can be achieved using the Surge mechanic: Aetherean Whirlwind:  (Requires Aetherean Edge). Your melee attack for this round attacks all enemies within melee range. In addition you can disengage from melee and move up to your movement at no action cost. Dimension Edge:  (Requires Aetherean Edge). You can make a ranged attack with your melee weapon. You attack the air, tearing the space that divides you and your target in order to teleport your attack to them. The ranged attack receives supremacy, and you maintain all the benefits of Aetherean Edge. Winged Avenger:  (Requires Empyrean Wings). Your empyrean wings harden, doubling as weapons for the round, granting you Supremacy to melee attack rolls, allowing your melee combat roll result to be used as a...

The following talents are available exclusively to Empyrean characters. Empathic Soul : (Requires Insight Level 5, and Empyrean character). You are inherently attuned to your spirit, having subconsciously trained your Insight to adjust to the ebb and flow of the Spirit World. This has made you a natural Empath with an improved ability of Second Sight and Soul Speech. You can use Insight instead of Spirit when rolling for Second Sight or Soul Speech. You can also spend 1 Destiny to gain an exceptional vision from the near future. If you use this during combat, you gain a number of bonus dice equal to your successes as bonus dice to any rolls made in the next round. You can actually swap the successes between bonus dice or additional rounds of duration. Unrelenting Spirit : (Requires Resolve, Spirit Level 4 or Level 5, and Empyrean character) You fight without hesitation or fear, naturally channeling your Inner Fire into your attacks. You gain +1 dice in your melee combat roll...

Empyrean Powers are a natural extension of the "Surge of Inner Fire" / Empyrean Inspiration / Supremacy mechanic. They are meant to enrich this experience by making it more specific and more diverse, implying that different Empyreans will have access to different powers and not just invoke the benefits of Supremacy for a given type of rolls. Most Empyrean Powers work in a similar way. They are activated as a minor action by spending 1 Destiny, and they remain active for an entire scene. Their success, magnitude and power are also measured by a Spirit roll made when the Empyrean Power is first invoked. This spirit roll does not benefit from Supremacy. When using the Ability system, the Spirit roll is the Invocation power. A character can maintain 1 active Empyrean Power at a time, plus an additional Power if they have Spirit Level 4, or three powers at a time, if they have Spirit Level 5. Empyrean Powers can be further developed through the concept of surges (which i...

The Empyrean game is actually an extension on EMCore. The main reason for this is that EMCore can be used as a baseline to play human characters in any setting. Each new gaming experience and major concept introduces a new major extension. While it's fully possible to just play Empyreans using EMCore, and extending it via its built-in mechanics, the Empyrean extension is better suited in order to play Empyrean characters, and fully enjoy the experience. Following the modular design of the rest of the system, Empyrean has a baseline system and several extensions. We are going to elaborate on the baseline Empyrean system here, and handle the extensions in separate entries. Empyrean Characters The first thing that happens with Empyrean is that a new type of character, the Empyrean is now introduced. Empyreans are mortal embodiments of the ancient and immortal Aethons, with a growing recollection of their past immortal life, and a growing ascension into the pursuit of th...

Ydris the Strong is a legendary Arandorean hero and one of the first Empyreans of Arandor. Together with other Empyreans she rose defiantly against Akronas and the Hexad long ago. It is said that it was Ydris who destroyed one of the original overlords in a duel, and she and her allies nearly defeated Akronas before he could ascend into godhood. Sadly, it didn't come to pass. Tragedy befell the ancient heroes, and a terrible fate lay in store for those among them that were taken captive alive. Chained in torpor inside giant suspension tanks, the great heroes were used as batteries producing elixirs for the immortal gods of the hexad, and their chosen. Ydris was given as a gift to Nalatoth, the overlord of Anatheras, and through the hundreds of years that she remained imprisoned in the palace vaults, her memories sunk into oblivion. Then, one day, a sudden and unexpected power surge ripped through the palace vaults, destroying the suspension tanks. Some of the forsaken captives ...

Background Kaltos led a peaceful and relatively unassuming life, in the small subterranean settlement of Atias, deep in the bowels of the citadel of Anatheras.  He helped run the settlement's church, lending moral, psychological and physical support to those that needed it. Although he was hardy and strong-willed, he didn't have the violent spirit needed to practice in martial ways. When a gang tore his settlement apart in a brutal rampage, Kaltos was among those who fell first, but died last, after much pain and torture.  When Kaltos returned from death, he was still in agony, and had to pull himself out of the terrible torture that the gang had inflicted on him. He could not remember exactly what had happened. He gazed in disbelief at his healed wounds, and gasped at the new sensation of a godlike flame living inside his chest.  One would think that it was a sensation of pride and excess, but it was quite the contrary. A humbling and reverent sensation - ...

"In pale frost, the land entire lay covered in the days of old. The Elder Race built their Empire, all across the ancient world. Their cities ruined, the frost was gone, melted before mankind ascendant, The Ancients hid, became forlorn, sleeping the dreamless sleep eternal. But mankind fell, from lofty peak, for all their dreams of glory, and in their sundered world they hid, paying the price of folly. Weary, the sun, in fury cast, his last dying breaths of flame, and thus the Elders, did at last, return their world to claim. Covered in frost, the mountain peaks emerge among the ruins of old. Then he'll return - their ancient King, to lead the conquest of this world." - Legacy of a Dying Sun Forlorn Prophecies

Combat can become quite complex. This is a very simple and straightforward implementation of several additional combat mechanics that aren't covered by EMCore system. Again, because EMCore is very simplistic with how it handles combat, the rules found here can greatly enrich the combat experience during a game. Combat is turn-based, thus it is broken down in sequences that are called "turns" where everyone makes an action according to the various rules. The combat rules can be used for any intense and dramatic action scene that doesn't necessarily involve combat. Generally speaking, any character or creature has a single action each turn. A character's action is represented by their full Movement score, and can actually be broken down into smaller segments or "minor actions". The following example actions illustrate how different actions can be combined within a single turn. Immediate Action: Fight in close combat while maintaining your guard (Cos...