Bursting out of the viscous black liquid that lies at the utter depths of the rendering pits you draw yourself together folding in your gills and maggot tubes within your carapace. The ichor flows freely now and out of the primal chaos utters thought to your circumstance. You are reborn to wreck bloody vengeance on the overlords of the radiant spires that rise above the churn of the harvest lands where once you dissolved and ran down the drains into the utter nonbeing of the chaos pits which float beneath the firmament. No longer a being of light, but a leviathan whose veins course with unformed thoughts as thick and black as tar. The world that rises far above you is light and structure and clarity but it stands on a foundation of filth and corruption thousands of miles deep. To take your vengeance and regain your name you will have to crawl though the degenerate muck and catacombs of blackened bone which house the forlorn and desolate yet, you feel quite certain that in all your trials you will face no foe more terrible than yourself.

 In the fourth epoch of the Astrolabe of the Grand Pattern, a discordant tremble emerged to the great concern of the Conclave of the Rites. By some it is whispered that rebellion, impossible and unimagined followed but others whisper that the rebellion was struck down before it could take root and untold millions were dissolved, rendered down to their base ideological structures and drained down into the chaos of unformed imagination on which the great work floats, that those who execute the purge were in turn purged by ever smaller circles until the last self disincorporated leaving only rumour and a slight wobble along the axis of the Astrolabe. But if all life rose out of the chaos pits, as it is chiseled on the backs of the Children of the Living Book of the Law then what darker thought might rise again out of those depths which once knew and loved the light?

 This is the tale of the fallen as they claw their way up from the forgotten depths. This is the mystery of the unknown sin. The consequences of the abomination of the great rebellion or the abomination of the great lie are about to break forth. Agents of the Conclave guard the upper depths bringing light where none has shone before but the tale begins in the squalid passages of the lower darkness where creeping things gnaw at the foundation of all things and unknown fluids drip and pour down and ever down into the primal chaos. In the darkness grows a greater darkness and some whisper that at the final day that darkness will be known for the truth and the tower will fall and the light will fail and chaos will swallow up the very memory of a beautiful and ordered world for be they rebels or innocent victims in all the world, only the reborn are truly free.

My interest is piqued. Do carry on.

Leviathan
Even in the upper reaches of the towers of light it is whispered that a horror lurks in the depths of chaos.  Ancient and perhaps first of all living things, it floats as vast as the world itself, an amorphous horror that drinks deeply of the sewage draining down from above and dreams of ephemeral  things that crawl and strut like bubbles for its amusement.  Such are those who have clawed their way out of chaos to seek the light far above.

The Guide
There is no sight in the darkness of the depths.  The things that slither, gnaw and crawl there work by sound and feelers, having only tiny shrunken eyes or great blind staring ones.  There is no light to guide the newly risen through the sagging labyrinths to the vaulted halls of the upper reaches.  But as the newly risen children of Leviathan stumble about in confusion seeking nourishment and direction.  A dim light grows into their sight revealing sagging columns caked with an eternity of clotted filth like melted wax on the shaft of a candle.  A hunched figure covered by a ragged cloak stumps towards them leaning on a staff that bears a dim grey light.  This one speaks with a squeaking whisper of a voice which unlocks language in newly formed minds, "If you would rise to find your identity and your place you must follow me for only I know the winding paths that lead true to the stairs of the first ascent."

Not waiting for an answer it turns about and shuffles away and eyeless things slither and scramble into the shadows before its light.

The Cracks
Many are the ways and paths of the lowest labyrinth.  If they forsake the guide, the newly risen will soon find that there are broad cracks in the floors and walls around them.  In the darkness these will seem impassable but if two wander apart they will soon find themselves across a crack where their feelers can reach out and touch each other.  There are also gnawing hungry things which will seek them out and attempt to feed on them.   Should they remain still for too long more and more will come drawn by their wan bodily heat and surely drag them down and devour them entirely.  After some futile wandering the guide will return and patiently say, "Whatever aspirations and dreams you may have cannot flourish in this place.  Follow me and take the first steps towards self knowledge or remain and languish in the depths for all time."  Should they choose to wander the guide will not return for them again.  If they attack it the guide will be easily overcome.  Its frail and spindly form provides little nourishment and after a short while the light on its staff will fade and die entirely leaving the newly risen alone in the darkness with untold thousands of hungry crawling and slithering, gnawing, nameless things.

Note
To the experienced gamer this is clearly a rail road.  Like the most ancient stairs leading down into the dungeon: if one turns back now there is no adventure.  There will be many opportunities to grow and develop and make choices further on.  True the game master could allow the players of the newly risen to find the stairs themselves but the guide is an important character who provides a ready mouthpiece for setting details and plays an important role at times.  In any case, such intransience from players may indicate that they'd rather be playing basketball or something.

Note: System
I could cook up a system where the character is composed of words or insights representing its growth towards self knowledge but I probably won't.  I might tie it to Dark Passages , at which point it becomes more of a traditional dungeon crawl or Dragon Shadowed Lands where I'd be making true the point that the Elves and Dwarves are in the core as standard expectations but more can be done with it.

The Deep Wells
The Great Work's supply of pure clear water lies in these deep aquafiers.  Their vaulted ceilings are an elaborate bas relief of cherubs linked in winding columns and flying buttresses.  The water drips from their eyes slowly and behind them lie the great layers of sand and charcoal that filter out the pure element from the trickling sludge of the sumps.  The tiny creatures that wallow and burrow in the filth are no less a part of the system of purification as they lay their eggs and crawl to the lower depths bearing away the filth and bringing nutrients to the squalid wretches below in an eternal cycle of death and rebirth.

The Burning Chasms
The metallic waste of the Spires and Harvest Lands are cast down into the vast open pits from which they were dredged.  There in the pits are ever burning fires from which new ore is recycled.  Heat from the Burning Chasms is piped and funnelled back up to the lands above for cooking and the heating of the birthing pools of the carnivals.

The folk of the Burning Chasms are stocky and broad of limb.  Their ethos is one of hard work and stoicism.  Their skin blackened with soot and burns they seem a race apart and perhaps they are that for their ugliness and coarseness forever divide them from the people of the Harvest Lands with whom they trade their metal work for food and wood.

Chancellors of the Conclave
The Conclave is the ultimate level of governance in all The Great Work.  It is a body of three hundred and sixty chancellors.  These are drawn from the radiant folk of the spires consisting of mandated equal numbers of poets, dreamers, mathematicians, architects, lawyers, and madmen.  The conclave makes decisions for the governance of the whole work that The Creator may be free to contemplate and direct as It will.
Each councillor is responsible for nominating their successor to be ratified by the whole body.  All votes are unanimously carried nor is any vote made until consensus is achieved.  It is rumoured that early in the first building a motion was not carried and the entire Conclave was literally dissolved and washed out of the Chamber of Eternal Mirrors by The Creator.

Factors
Each Chancellor is aided in their work by five factors which undertake to enforce the directives of the Conclave.  Each of these factors in turn direct three thousand six hundred gendarmes who work on the more individual issues.  Factors are drawn from the servitor class of the Shining Spires.  A rarified breed of the baser race found on the Harvest Lands but carefully bred and trained to meet the expectations of their betters.

Gendarmes
The enforcement of Conclave Directives fall to the executive branch of government.  Drawn from the Harvest Lands and chosen for their intelligence, size, beauty, and complexion the gendarmes wear elaborately decorated and armored military uniforms and are given to preening.  Gendarme service carries the highest breeding priorities and access to all the high arts and sciences of the Shining Spires.  They are well fed, well entertained, well bred, and utterly ruthless in their enforcement of order among the lower classes.  The worst punishment a Gendarme can receive is assignment to the policing of the lower depths and those who fall so far are often bitter and sadistic.

Rod of Correction
The gendarme's implement of action and badge of office is a long brass rod fitted with a bayonet.  When its weilder wills it, this weapon casts bolts of lightning that can burn a foe to dust.  The weapons are seldom used for more than pest control as there are other more subtle tools available to keep order among the lower classes.

The Lowest Stair
Once it is found, the first stair is a long and winding tunnel.  The steps are chipped and cracked and the bas-reliefs so worn and eroded that one might think the walls were naturally lumpy and the interlocking humanoid shapes half-imagined.  There is no railing and the steps are often uneven.  Owing to they symmetry of The Great Work there are actually three lower staircases but one of these is blocked and the other cut off by the cracks in the foundation of the world.  A lone Gendarme is posted at the top of the stairs.  Ancient and all but forgotten its beard and hair fall to its knees covering much of its uniform.  It sleeps in a small nook beside the stairs and lives on the fluids dripping through a small tube in the nook and on the occasional slithering thing it spears with the bayonet on its Rod of Correction.

The Gendarme is know to the Guide and will allow the Newly Risen to pass if they are in its company.  It is very lonely and bitter in its long exile, however and will wish to interview each who passes its station in great detail.    The Guide is impatient but knows the value of the Gendarme of the Lowest Stair's good will and will listen patiently for a reasonable but not too interminable time.  If asked about its posting to the lower depths it will complain bitterly of the injustices that befall one who disintegrates young ruffians of higher station no matter how appalling their crimes may be.

For all its age, the Gendarme is a Gendarme yet and well armed against armed foes.  If attacked it will give a good showing and should kill at least a couple of its assailants before perishing.  It cannot be bribed or threatened effectively as Gendarmes are very well conditioned against such deeds.  It might on the other hand, talk itself to sleep given enough time.

Note
It is assumed that the player's characters are initially newly risen cyphers with no knowledge of their former station.  Their bodies are roughly arthropod-like, resembling a cross between a crayfish and a nasty bug.  Their eyesight is limited to a short range of browns and a distance of about twenty yards if they can get any light at all.  At this point their greatest asset is their armored durability but as they ascend they will occasionally moult, moving towards a more humanoid form as they regain skills and abilities they lost.

If some player characters die along the way they may moult and revive as a result or take on a character of the people they are presently among, thus diversifying the group and lending new skills and abilities in spite of what might be seen by some as a loss or failure.  This should probably be pointed out at the outset of the game as some might not see the appeal in starting out as a deformed arthropod.

The Peoples of The Great Work
At the outset it should be noted that The Great Work is inhabited by people with a striking resemblance to earthly humans.  They are in the main, bipedal, upright, and having two arms, two legs, and a head.  Yet, they are not human, being rather more varied and in some being also insect and machine.  The particulars vary greatly but internal fluids are distributed through tubes and most internal organs are mechanical in nature.  It might be expect that they are born of a common kindred and the mechanical parts are grafted on, but this is not so.  The very act of breeding is worked with a womb mechanism in which the infant will grow and develop around the specialized mechanisms that will be needed to function in their assigned station.  Breeding priveledges are strictly controlled and children are raised in specialized educational institutions that prepare them for their role in life.  The parents are given opportunities to aid in the teaching and raising of the child but only under supervision.  As there are no males or females rather, each creature has a retractable genetic material receptacle that opens when stimulated.  The higher classes dwell in spacious fraternity houses with others of their station and profession while the lower classes live in barracks or common rooms close to their work with limited personal space.

The folk of the spires are almost transparent and glow with an inner light.  The multilayered robes of gossamer fabric they wear resemble the wings and shell of an insect and some do indeed have delicate stained glass wings that whir and click with gears of brass and steel.

The Harvest Land folk are heavier in build and sturdy with large hands suitable to heavy labor in the mills and fields.  Many have bone-bonded brass exoskeletons to reinforce them and prevent injury in long and repetitive hard labor.  There are many specialized variations of a work related nature.

The folk of The Burning Chasms are shorter and stockier than those of the Harvest Lands and have thick hides and even bone-bonded ceramic-carapace plates to protect them from bursts of sparks and molten metal from the smelting pits.

Those of the sumps and the lower depths are degenerate creatures well suited to sifting through the muck and filth that washes down from above from great pipes and tiny capillaries alike.  The order of these lower realms is a more natural order than the machine-like precision of the lighter places above.  There is little in the way of enforcement, the hundreds of varieties of being each fill their niche, recycling and renewing the detritus of the higher orders, fighting amid the squalor for broken remnants of civilization.

The Grinders and The Wheels
Beyond the first stair lie the wheels.  These look like tubular passages thirty feet in radius, with a slowly revolving inner wall.  The floors are, grooved with heavy wear.  There is course sand strewn in the path.  A constant groaning and a slow squeak  and a steady thump, thump, thump echo and reverberate in the passage.  The Guide motions for the Newly Risen to wait.  The thumping grows louder.  Coming into view of its light, a huge creature, nearly the size of the passage itself grinds forward thump, thump, thump on thick stocky legs, the inner wall, linked to it, turns as it advances.  Sniffing, its head turns towards the light, its small eyes squinting but its head is too large to squeeze into the corridor and its tentacular tongue too short to reach the tasty morsels that recoil from its hot and dusty breath.  

"The grinders march to turn the shafts there are ninety of them marching the courses of the nine shafts of the great mill works in three shifts of thirty, ten to a wheel with each being rested and fed after each full revolution.   We must follow in its course until the shaft aligns with the lift and then we will see."

If the group choses to follow the grinder they will arrive at the side ramp which leads to the stables where the grinders are fed on dried fodder brought all the way down from the Harvest Lands by way of the lift.  A shift of handlers lounges in hammocks in an alcove on the left of the passage, waiting for the next shift.  A pair of glowing orbs light the chamber.  Beyond it in the stables twenty grinders rest in their stalls grunting to each other in their rough way, watching for an opportunity to break loose and rampage free and terrible eating what they will, but especially handlers.

Note
The grinder gives a bit of action here.  And a brief round of combat can be fought with its tongue as it tries to grab a snack before the inertia of the works drags it forward.  In the unlikely event the grinder is killed it will be slowly dragged down the passage ahead of the group the works hardly slowed at all.  When they reach the portal of the lift there will be trouble with the handlers when a dead grinder shows up.

The Portal of the Lift
There is a great gateway in each wheel that aligns with a gateway in the shaft once per revolution.  At the same time a cylindrical car arrives from above, which raises again as the wheel aligns.  The car is a contrast of fine brass filigree and the dust and ruin of endless years of operation.  A shift of grinder handlers is arriving from the station above with a waggon load of fodder, they greet The Guide with laughter and will make disparaging remarks about the Newly Risen and hint at a dark fate that awaits them above in the City of Squalor.

There are twenty seven stairs that lead from the wheels to higher levels of The Lower Labyrinth but the lift passes eighteen levels full of lost and wandering things, some of which crawled up from below and some which wandered down from above and all of which are hungry and unhappy with their lot in life.

The handlers are creatures of the Burning Chasms given the important, if dull work of maintaining and managing the three great shafts which power the works.  They are hunched and armored with brass plates and bear long barbed goads.  Bored and irritable they trade crude jokes and jostle each other to bide their shift.  Fresh and unusual travellers provide them an opportunity to show their bullying nature and callous disregard for the well being of others.

Note
Cue the fight music.

The Rim and The Wall
The Harvest lands are made up of three joined and overlapping circles, each 2310 miles in diameter.  At this distance the light of the spires is dim and the shadows of the void are long.  The superstitious folk who dwell in these lands are the poorest and most numerous of the inhabitants of the Harvest Lands.  Around the outer rim a wall rises.  The material appears to be ivory, carved in great detail 78 layers deep.  It is said that each layer tells  the story of a dead world in great detail.  The inner most layer, the only one that can be read in any practical sense, tells of a world forever renewing in the dawn and ending in the darkness, the grotesque forms of its inhabitants are recorded in realistic detail.  It is told that The Creator first raised the wall when refuges from that world emerged from the void in all their horrific splendor and were only turned away at great cost.  Each layer of the wall represents another incursion from the void and the raising of another line of defense.

Note
While Imperial measures like Feet and Inches have been used in this document, they are only rough approximations of the actual units that are used, much as English has been used to approximate a language that is not spoken anywhere on Earth and couldn't be managed by human vocal apparatus if it was.  Even so, certain truths like mathematics remain constant while others like gravity and the cube square law do not.

Author's Note
So, what's this all about then?  Well, a few days ago there was a thread on a certain other elf game talking site where someone asked what the other posters would like to see in a fantasy game.  There was immediately a long list of features like no traditional elves, dwarves, and dragons, no gender inequality, no re-warmed historical cultures, no animal people and so forth.

And I got to thinking about what that would look like.  I'm not going to quite say this is parody or any kind of a statement.  It's just a thought about what such a world would look like.

I am wondering if this parallels Children of the Sun or Mechanical Dream at all.  It's all been done before of course and there's nothing new under the sun.  Which is why I started by scrapping the stars and planets in general principle.  The starless void "above" The Shining Spires is indeed the same void the grotesques wandered through in Beyond the Gates of Tallow if anyone is keeping track of such things.  This is because the starless void is really without place or time being everywhere and nowhere at once.  As such it gets around a lot.  "The other day upon my stair I met a man who wasn't there.  He wasn't there again today I wish he'd stay away."

For a change of pace I thought I'd head down the mechanical road.  I think Dragon Shadowed Lands is probably more structure and book keeping than most people like so I'm going with a variation on where my current thinking is when it comes to the next version of Dark Passages.

Characters
Initially, it is assumed that the players will be among the Newly Born Children of Leviathan rising out of the thick and trenchant raw chaos to shake the foundation of the world.  This does not mean that they are all alike or uniform in function.  Only certain English miniatures companies seem to think Chaos works like that.  So from the start the players will need to roll for the abilities of their characters.

Roll 3d6 for Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.  Odd, I'd swear that looked familiar.

Next Roll d% twice on the Traits table.

Armored +2 Armor Class
Beautiful +1 Charisma, +1 Constitution
Big Head +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, -1 Charisma
Clawed 1 Attack Per Arm, damage die down
Extra Arms +2 arms
Extra Legs +2 legs
Feelers no penalty for fighting in darkness
Fine Barbs +4 to climbing and grappling
Heavy Build +1 Strength, +1 Constitution, Wings allow Controlled / Safe Fall
Heavy Tail +4 to resist slams and knockdown, rear sweep attack damage die down
Gaping Maw free bite attack per round damage die up
Large Body size is large
Light Build +2 Dexterity, -1 Strength, -1 Constitution, Wings Allow Flight
Luminescent Illuminates 30' Radius
Mandibles Free bite attack auto grapples on hit
Prehensile Tail frees one arm when climbing, prevents falls on failed climbing rolls, free grapple attack
Pincers two attacks standard damage die auto grapples on hit
Poisonous if bitten, attacker must save verses your Constitution or take damage by their size.  Blood applied to weapons gives same effect.
Small Body Size Small Wings enable Flight.
Small Head -1 Intelligence and Wisdom +2 Constitution and Dexterity
Spinnerete can spin a 5' radius web once per cycle, automatically grapples passers must beat your Constitution to break free
Stench Gland fills a 5' radius with foul odors that cause -2 to all success rolls due to stinging eyes and choking
Stinger poisonous attack
Tentacles may make two free grapple attacks
Thick Hide +1 Armor Class
Wings slow fall if Large Body and Heavy Build, Control Fall if Large body or Heavy Build, Glide if Medium and Normal Build, Fly if Small Body or Light Build, Soar if Small Body and Light Build

Okay, your character is done now.

Playing "The Game" (I need a better title.)
The game sets a target number for a variety of actions to represent their relative difficulty.  To determine whether an action succeeds roll a twenty-sided die to beat the target number for the action.  If the roll is less than the Attribute associated with the action the player can choose to re-roll their first attempt.  If their attribute is greater than twenty they can make a second re-roll if the first re-roll is less than their attribute minus twenty.

Size and Strength and Dexterity
Tiny -4 / +4
Small -2 / +2
Medium 0/0
Large +2 / -2
Huge +4 / -4

Learned Lore
Skills represent a trained ability to complete a specific action.  Some skills allow multiple dice to be rolled, representing being able to do more in less time.  Thus a character with a Fight skill level of 3 can roll for three attacks in the time others take to make one.  Others allow a certain number of spells to be cast or a given distance to be moved before making another roll.

Climb (Dexterity) Level x 10' per  Check
Craft (Intelligence) Level Man Days Per Day
Deceive (Intelligence) Resist Vs Level + Intelligence
Devise (Intelligence) + Level to Success
Fight (Strength) 1 Attack Per Level Per Round
Knowledge (Wisdom) + Level to Success
Magic (Intelligence) Level Spell Levels Per Cycle
Negotiate (Wisdom) Resist vs Level + Wisdom
Notice (Wisdom) Resist vs Level + Wisdom
Shoot (Dexterity) + Level to Success
Sneak (Dexterity) + Level to Success
Swim (Constitution) Level  x 100' per test
Toughness (Constitution) Level HD

Combat Sequence
Fights are resolved with one side attacking, then the other.  If surprise is achieve by the use of stealth or failure to pay attention (if the players aren't paying attention neither are their characters) the attackers get a free attack before initiative is determined for the first round.  Each round roll 1d6 for each side with the highest roll going first.  If the roll is tied then combatants fight in order of their Dexterity scores.

Just Asking For It
If a combatant charges a foe with ready weapon with a greater reach than that of their own, their target gets to make a free attack out of sequence.  If a combatant turns to flee rather than making a fighting withdrawal any enemies they are in melee with can make a free attack against them.

Valid Targets
To use a close combat weapon like a sword or knife the attacker must move close enough to hit their target.  To use a ranged weapon like a bow or crossbow they must be able to see their target and be closer to them than the weapon's maximum range.

Hitting The Mark
In order for an attack to hit and inflict damage the attacker must roll higher than the target's Dexterity on a twenty sided die.  If the target is unaware of the attack the difficulty drops to a flat ten.  If a ranged weapon is used and the target is farther than half the weapon's maximum range then the difficulty is increased by four.

Inflicting Damage
Damage is inflicted based on the size of the weapon used and the Strength of the user.  Weapon sizes refer to the size of the creature the weapon is designed for, rather than being the actual size of the weapon itself.  A weapon one size larger than normal can be used if the creature uses all of its hands to do so.  A weapon of one size smaller than normal can be used to make an additional attack in each of a creature's hands.  As a point of size is four points of Strength wide a weapon size shift shifts the damage of the weapon.

Strength and Damage
1 - 4 d4
4 - 8 d6
9 - 12 d8
13 - 16 d10
17 - 20 d12
21- 24 d8 + d6
25 - 28 2d8
 
Taking a Beating
Everything has a Hit Point Total that represents the amount of damage it can take before being killed or destroyed.   For the most part Hit Point Totals can be rolled, based on the size of the object.  Particularly large and heavy objects can be treated as having more Hit Point Dice just like particularly tough and experienced characters.

Size and Hit Points Per Toughness Level
Tiny d4
Small d6
Medium d8
Large d10
Huge d12
Gigantic d8 + d6
Gargantuan 2d8

Constitution and Hit Points
1 - 4 (-2)
5 - 8 (-1)
9 - 12
13 - 16 (+1)
17 - 20 (+2)
21 - 24 (+3)
25 - 28 (+4)

Armor
A character may have natural armor or wear actual armor.  Armor Class is based on the character's Dexterity as modified for their size and the type and amount of armor worn.  If an attack roll is greater than the target's Dexterity but lower than their Armor Class, the attack bounces harmlessly off the armor.

Size and Armor Class
Tiny -4
Small -2
Medium
Large +2
Huge +4

Armor Material
Bone, Chitten, Wood
Iron or Bronze +1
Steel +2

Heavy Armor +2 Armor, -2 Dexterity

Is this a game your making, or a play by post game?

Magic
The Great Work is a magical place and the laws of physics really only show up for work by force of habit.  Those who have studied the mysteries of creation can shape and weave the somewhat questionable reality of their surroundings almost at will.  There is a price and a limit of course.  A character's Magic skill level is the number of Spell levels they can cast between sleep cycles.  Each spell has a level assigned which indicates its relative power.  In order to cast a spell the magician must either study it from a book of spells or be taught it by a teacher.  Memory can be unreliable so a book of spells is a powerful aid in casting a spell as it prevents the spell from being miscast.  When a spell is attempted without one the player must beat a difficulty equal to the spell's level +10.  A staff or wand can be used to touch a target without provoking a free attack from a weapon of equal or less reach.  Amulets can be used to store magical energy, each spell level placed in an amulet costs the magician the ability to use it when it is stored and can be released at a later time.  Some staffs and wands incorporate amulets.

Spells can be cast as an action in combat whereas rituals take a significant length of time.  A cycle is a 16 hour work day followed by eight hours of "meditation."  Rituals can be interrupted and resumed but the magician must make a difficulty 10 + Ritual Level to figure out where they were when they get back to it.

Spell Miscast Table
Caster Wracked for 1d12 damage
Random medium object awakened and enraged
Caster Immolated for 1d8 damage in a 5' radius
Wrong Target Affected
Effect Inverted
Intent Subverted
Caster Warped re-roll one physical trait

Radiant Aura
Level 1
The target is surrounded by a bright glow removing the penalty to hit for darkness and giving a similar penalty to those who see best in the dark.

Attunement
Ritual Time: 1 cycle per level
Level: 1
The magician binds their aural pattern to that of a magical item thus mastering it.

Inscribe Spell
1 cycle per level ritual
Level 1+
A spell can be marked into a scroll, spell book, or similar record.  Inscribing a spell involves a partial casting of the original spell

Create Amulet
100 cycles per level ritual
Duration: Permanent
Level 1+
An amulet with a capacity of 1 per casting level is created.

Cocoon
Level 3 1 cycle ritual

The subject of the spell is encased in a natural membrane in which they transform over the period of thirty cycles.  Upon emerging they must discard their current physical traits and roll new ones.  An additional physical trait can be rolled if they have a skill level to sacrifice for the purpose.

Create Staff
300 cycle ritual
Level 3
Magically prepares a piece of wood or bone to conduct magic from the caster.  A magician must create their own staff or use an attunement spell to bond themselves to an existing one.

Lurking Shadows
Level 1 Spell
The Great Work is a magical place and there are spirits in the rock and in the air and in the darkness.  The shadows behind and around target become agitated and seize all targets in the area.  While shadows are not very strong the effect is very disconcerting and those affected must make make a saving throw against 10 + Caster level or be surprised for one round.  If the roll is lower than the target's Wisdom they can re-roll.

Thorns of Wrath
Level 3 Spell
The subject's bones suddenly grow sharp thorns which tear through the skin causing 1d12 damage.  This horrible affliction permanently reduces the target's Constitution and Dexterity by 3 but the new growths cause 1d4 additional damage with any unarmed attack, grapple, or slam.

Quote from: Snowman0147;822527Is this a game your making, or a play by post game?

It's ideas I'm having, mostly.  Really, it might add up to a game eventually.  I do these now and then, for some reason.  Something inspires a thought and I play around with it until I'm bored.  I just find a forum more inspiring than a word processor screen.  Perhaps it's just the thought that someone's actually going to read it.

The City In The Uttermost Depths
Down where the refuse and filth of The Great Creation seeps and settles at last, a hideous city festers.  Owing to a peculiar sponginess of the rock there are thousands of natural caves and pockets which offer a natural foundation for habitation.  Layer upon layer of tunnels and cave complexes and grand ampitheatres lie in a chaotic tumble without rymme or reason.  Here a grand palace in a pool of filth and lowly hovels wedged between decadent mansions.

At the center of the city is the great cesspit who's noxious glowing vapors give light to the whole.  It is no small matter that making any spark or fire is a high crime in the dim city.  Flash fires are a terror that even the worst villains respect and dread as such are no respecters of persons.

The populace feeds on the scuttling and wretched, pulpy things which spawn incessantly in the darkness and the pale and noxious fungi which infest the dank shadows almost faster than the locals can consume them.  It is poor fare and despite their constant feasting the entire populace has a starved and hungry mien and manner.

It is likely The Conclave would have long since had the entire place purged with fire, just to be sure, if the city didn't produce a number of valuable commodities.  The gasses which light the city are gathered and bottled and shipped to places far above to serve as fireless lights in the darkness.  Chemicals with arcane properties are distilled from the filth and refuse.  Victims for dark and secret rituals are seldom missed from among such squalid masses.  Perhaps most of all, condemnation to the utter depths is a fate that has kept many the idle thought from turning from their appointed station.

The Shrouded Ones
The dozen gendarmes assigned to the deepest city are mostly cloistered in the shaft station.  From there they meet with representatives of the various factions that hold power in the city.  Foremost among these are "The Shrouded Ones," a mysterious band that polices the city.  These tall, skeletal figures are wrapped in pale, ragged shrouds and bands and are acknowledged as having dreadful magical powers by all the folk of the city.  They seem able to appear out of fumes and shadows wherever The Law of the Creator is being broken.  Armed with two pronged sword-forks they execute judgement without hesitation or mercy.  There are many theories about The Shrouded Ones.  Most say they are the fallen followers of The Creator who followed it out of The Void at the beginning but were punished for dissention and cursed to mete out judgement on the lowest of the low for their terremitry.  Others say they are hollow ghosts of those who broke the law and were damned to enforce it in death.  It is occasionally whispered that they are a cabal of sorcerers who seek to hide their own sins with a veneer of zealotry while preparing to rise against The Creator itself.

The Law of The Creator
There are two times three times seven laws written on the Rock of the Covenant by The Creator Itself and these are enforced by the gendarmes and lesser officers throughout The Great Work.  Many of these seem arbitrary or pointless in the context of present times but they are the sola scriptura of the Conclave.

Thou shalt not disturb The Creator's Peace.
Thou shalt not impose thine own will upon the Creator's Works.
Thou shalt not question the will of thine superiors.
Thou shalt not damage the works of The Creator.
Thou shalt not speak ill of The Creator nor It's works nor its Will.
Thou shalt abide the judgement of the officers of The Law unto thine own destruction.
Thou shalt not envy those who are your betters.
Thou shalt not consume the flesh of thine neighbor.
Thou shalt not seek to breed without consent of thine master.
Thou shalt not contemplate the mysteries of The Great Work.
Thou shalt make thine work and thine station thine greatest treasure.
Thou shalt not withhold thine knowledge from those who rise to replace you when you are no longer useful.

I find myself a bit torn on the working of skills and attributes.  Just adding a straight point to 1d20 makes attributes too important as does +1 per point over 10 and -1 per point under 10.  +1 per point over 15 and -1 per point under 5 is nice because it allows the DM to ignore the stat bonuses for most creatures as they'll fall into the no bonus range but many people hate it because of the ten point dead zone.  I quite like the reroll of dice rolls under the attribute but it's a big departure from D&D and the advantage of using a D&D based system is its universality.

I'm very happy with having Size add to damage and Strength increases the damage die but you can't quite do that with Constitution as large creatures can still be sickly and small ones healthy but I've never liked the penalty to hit points as it doesn't work with rolled hit points.  "Oops, sorry, it turns out your opponent was already dead."  But I think I need to normalize the skill and attribute bonuses and make them work better in the overall framework.

For attributes I was thinking they could add +1 for every four points with each point providing a bonus to an specific skill or activity.  So for example Strength would look like this:

1 Swimming + 1
2 Strength Save +1
3 Fighting +1
4 Strength Test +1

It's a bit awkward but even more so when you put in penalties to scores under 8 but at least each point is actually doing something.

In the end I think I want to go with clean +1 per point over 10 and -1 per point under 10 rather than attempting to enforce concepts like "broadening the sweet spot" or "bounded accuracy."  The problem is that this makes it hard to beat high attributes when used as target numbers so having a skill at level one will provide a +5 bonus and points will work up from there.

So:

Playing "The Game" (I need a better title.)
The game sets a target number for a variety of actions to represent their relative difficulty.  To determine whether an action succeeds roll a twenty-sided die to beat the target number for the action.  If the roll is less than the Attribute associated with the action the player can choose to re-roll their first attempt.   If their attribute is greater than twenty they can make a second re-roll if the first re-roll is less than their attribute minus twenty.

Will become:
The game sets a target number for a variety of actions to represent their relative difficulty.  To determine whether an action succeeds roll a twenty-sided die and adds their skill level +4 and Attribute -10 to meet or beat the target number for the action.  The target number is often set at another character's unmodified Attribute level.  The Game Master is, of course, free to assume base line attributes of 10 with Strength and Dexterity appropriately modified by Size and otherwise ignore the attributes of most minor non-player characters.

Things like this keep me up at night.  I must be nuts.