Solest

A world watched over by the gods, plagued with strife born of man’s ambitious ego. Upon this green sphere, through the four ages of Harmony, Division, Waning, and Chaos, the gods have watched humanity evolve time and again. With each passing cycle of four, many souls advance beyond the mortal realm and become the workers of evolution. But that number is always so few, and Solest has a long way to go.

The people of ten nations walk the glimmering globe, some as old as the sun and moon, some freshly born with the dawn. These are the Nordes, the Chi’en, the Yagyu, Sosurim, Vinar, Arya, Bharata, Sadhu, Aa’krisians, and Targathans. It is to them the gods have entrusted evolution, and though Providence watches over their progress, it does not interfere save in the most critical matters.

To each nation, a herald is given, a reigning deity who serves as the voice of Providence. Pouring out from this herald is the multitude of regional deities, who protect the provinces, states, and smaller domains within each large country. They are all the manifestations of certain archetypes, who appear in forms familiar to the people of that region so there may be a keen rapport between the mortal and the divine.

However, as Providence directs, the deities are only there to guide, not to interfere. Humans must take care of their own evolution. There is no one way to do this. The proverbial “meaning of life” is not a simple equation or formula. Rather, it is the myriad of things that must be attended. Some find their calling in caring for nature, others in serving in the temple. Still others refine themselves as honour-bound warriors, and so too there are statesmen and scholars all attending to their evolutionary pursuits.

Yet there are dark forces at work. Arrogance, jealousy, greed, hatred, and selfishness are these, the imperfections which hold back the individual, and often the nation. Warlords, sorcerers, fraudulent priests, and those who serve the manifested evils exist as well. Those evils some call gods, but in truth are demons, whose very existence countermands the intentions of Providence. Although Providence is supreme among all manifested things, it is not The Absolute, and therefore cannot be without an opposing force. That force is Nescience, the embodiment of those passions which make men ignorant and blind.

It is that struggle, both in the fine realms and the physical, that the stories of Solest attend. From the struggle of an oppressed people in one age, to the individual’s quest for Enlightenment in another. While in the age of Chaos a dark lord spreads terror across a nation, the age of Division sees a civil war erupt as a part of humanity chooses its course in the times to come. Listen now, and be Aware.

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The Solest philosophy is that a character should be based on inner conflict. There must be flaws to a character's personality, as well as strengths. If a character is to be a great hero, he or she must also have something to fight, something to overcome. Any quick study of the heroes in books, video games, and comics will quickly reveal that even though they have immense strength and power, they also have many troubles.

When creating a character, think of his or her story first, not their statistics, equipment, and magic. Where do they come from? Why are they on their journey? Why do they do what they do? But most importantly, ask what problems they have.

If a hero has no problems, create some. Perhaps there's a conflict between them and their parents, or they're on a quest for revenge for the wrong reasons. Don't be afraid to let your character be a person who makes mistakes or has the wrong idea about something. They need to be able to fight themselves as well as others. That's what makes a character interesting and memorable. Even Superman has to hide his great strength, he has questions about his past, and there are things he wishes he could do, but can't. He may be a hero, but he has his share of troubles.

Further, don't always try to be a hero from the start. Try playing someone who isn't too thrilled with their mission or life. Sometimes the anti-hero is the way to go. Other times an altruistic, idealist hero would be better. And sometimes, just sometimes, a villain needs to appear. Be creative, don't just shoot for what seems cool or edgy. Cool and edgy are plain, because everyone's already done it. The stand-offish icy anti-heroine, the tortured would-be hero who doesn't talk to anybody, they've been done. They can be used again, but the player should add some flavour to them. Then they'll be remembered.

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The Game Master (GM) has two responsibilities when creating a story. One is to adhere to the lore as closely as possible. The other is to expand it, even break it a little for their own purposes. This is known as "instancing" and marked by the symbol , where a GM expands or adjusts lore for their game. If a World Architect (WA) of the SolCom Roleplaying Group finds their adjustments appropriate, the GM may be approached about their ideas, and if they want, those ideas will be incorporated into proper Solest lore.

Instancing itself however, allows the GM a wide range of freedom concerning Solest. The lore available is considered a basic model from which to grow. Certain rules, known as the Ethical Absolutes and marked with the symbol , may not be violated, but outside of these, plenty of things are fair game for adjustment.

For example, a GM may choose to set the roleplay in Chi'en. But instead of using the factions provided in the regular lore, they make up their own. This is where the GM has instanced the roleplay. However, one faction, that of Duke En-hui is considered an Ethical Absolute and cannot be changed. The GM must therefore work around this and decides that Duke En-hui, since he is a lawful character, will be a key character aiding the heroes of the story.

The GM would then lay down certain guidelines for the roleplay. Selectable races are a good place to start. It is unlikely that a Vinar or Arya would be in Chi'en, so those races are omitted. Chi'en, Yagyu, Targathans, and Bharata, however, are considered preferable choices.

The next item of consideration would be the power level available to the players. These are Low, Moderate, High, and Extreme. Most roleplays are conducted on a Moderate setting, where characters are given magical abilities of medium effectiveness. However, the GM may choose to either severely limit mystical elements on a Low setting, or may let the players go wild with an Extreme setting. Since these terms are general, it is up to the GM to specify what they mean, within reason.

Finally, the GM will want to establish a main character or group of main characters, where or how they start off, and a few basic goals to get the story rolling. After that, it is up to the GM and the players to invent the story and its mishaps as they go along. Remember, conflict and struggle are keys to a good roleplay. There should be joy and happiness, but only after much sorrow and grief.

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Since it's absurd to place an beside every piece of information, some basic groups will be given here as falling into the category of Absolutes. Instances will always be preceeded by the mark.

Deities, and any mention of them in canon lore, are counted as Absolutes. It is expected that attitudes towards Deities grow poorer as the ages decline towards Asura Yuga, but the Deities in their roles do not change.

Racial cultures do not change. They may evolve into different forms (say if science fiction was the wanted motif), but these should be variations on the basic theme, not drastic departures.

Magic does not change. The magic systems laid down may be augmented to fit a ruleset such as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but should not be heavily changed from their intial model.

Lastly, other player characters not belonging to you are strictly off limits unless you have explicit consent from the original author. Historical characters may be instanced, but any mention of player characters may only be done with the explicit permission of the original author.

Further, Instancing does not give a person any copyright over the names or concepts of Solest, nor over the Solest or SolCom names. It also does not give the person any authority over what Solest is. All original material is copyright of the original author(s).

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