The Setting

Introduction




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The Dawn II

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Akaon tried to channel the fire that burned within him, giving shape to the innummerable hopes and dreams contained within his being. He created perfection effortlessly, each creation better to the one before, and yet, it was all futile. For all his power, everything was to him as a passing plaything was to a child – an inconsequential triviality, whilst Akaon yearned for the profound, the unknown, that over which he had no mastery. So in his solitude, Akaon begun to despair, for what was to some the ultimate liberty, the ability to do all they willed, also became their prison. What meaning was there in existence if all was preordained in a certain manner, if all that came to pass was already perfect, or happened exactly as they willed it? And then the eternity that encompassed him acquired substance, and from nothing, something came to pass. A second impossibility occurred, one that had come to balance the first. A being unfolded from the darkness, a wondr...
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Empyrean - Core System

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The Dice: This is how the dice functions:  We have almost exclusively 12-sided dice in Empyrean.  Each dice has the following potential results: Botch, Failure, Success, Critical Success.  The Botch Number is 1. Botch counts as -1 success for the entire roll.  Failure counts as 0 success. Success counts as 1 Success, and  Critical counts as 2 successes. The Success / Target number determines the minimum result needed to score a success. So for a roll with 8+, any result of 8 or higher is a success (and any result between 2 and 7 is a failure). The Critical number determines the minimum result needed to score a critical. So for a roll with 10+, any result of 10 or higher is a critical is a critical, whilst any result between the critical number and the success number is a success, and any result other than those is a failure or a botch if that result is 1. Each roll is usually made by at least 2 dice while unmodified. The basic number of dice ro...
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The Concept of Empyrean

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So what is "Empyrean"? Empyrean derives from the Medieval Latin empyreus, an adaptation of the Ancient Greek ἔμπυρος empyrus "in or on the fire", which when ascribed to a person describes someone who is "of fire" or "contains fire". Empyrean has been used in ancient and medieval times to describe the higher realms of heaven where everything is divine fire. In our context, an Empyrean (sometimes also referred to as an "Incarnate") is an Aethon who has incarnated as a human. Therefore in that context we are actually talking about empyrean humans, but that is needless semantics. So what is an Aethon, then? The word Aethon is also ancient greek in origin. It translates as "fiery" or "burning" and has the same root as Aether which is, in other words, the quintessence of heaven. An Aethon could be a being of the flame of heaven, or someone who burns with that flame. In our context, an Aethon is very...
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