Introduction and F.A.Q. for Äêmallaën
Wednesday, 2. April 2008, 18:02:37
As it was about the time to start uploading some information about my world, I start with a Flash (written in Spanish) I used to show as an introduction for the dedicated website, a gallery for storing logos, maps and some other images and a short FAQ which I hope to keep expanding little by little.
During a backup recovery error I lost the "fla" file used for creating the introductory animation (among some other files) for my fantasy world, so I can't directly translate it. And given that I don't use Flash since a few years ago, I won't install it and work in a new animation for just a fistful of words... But what I can do (and seeing this entry, have done
) is translating the text from the intro -and here you have.
I usually think it's a good summary of the concept I wish to offer about my humble creation.
F. A. Q. about Äêmallaën
In view of your eyes, a DARK LAND opens...
...which HISTORY get lost in mind of WISES and prophets...
...where LEGENDS speaks of HEROES and unnamed beings...
...which myths are from BARDS and WITCHS' mouths...
...a world where NIGHT means fear and DARKNESS is madness...
...riddled of CHIMERAS and FANTASTIC and NIGHTMARE shapes...
...a world of magic and SUPERSTITION, of warriors and shamans...
...where HORRORS lacking appearence and unreasoned creatures...
...STALK as mist among SHADOWS...
Welcome be, traveller, to
World of Äêmallaën
Where does the concept about Äêmallaën comes from?
Being a fantasy lover in general, and to the AD&D role-playing game in particular (and HackMaster, too) and considering in that time Dragonlance and Ravenoft as my favourite worlds, I weigh up the chances of joining those two campaigns in a single one, taking whatever the most I liked from each.
However, I hardly had some information about them at the time I started writing the first outlines about Äêmallaën and, in any case, it would be a quite hard task to unite both campaign settings, taking in mind what it would entail. On the other hand, since a long time ago I wished to create an own world, where I could set my fantasy tales and role-playing game's adventures. So I decided to start more or less from the scratch, creating a world of my own, despite the obvious existing influences, as the numerous winks to Ravenloft, or the magic, freely based in the excepcional and wonderful worlds imagined by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, as well as the AD&D system itself... what is more, Äêmallaën is inspired in so different titles as Fallout or R.E.H.'s Hyborean Age, among others.
So, how would you define Äêmallaën?
Äêmallaën is a ficticious world belonging a dark fantasy setting which expects to get away from clichés and archetypes related to traditional settings, approaching in essence to more exotic universes as Athas (Dark Sun), because of races and tipical creatures (as dwarves, minotaurs, etc.) are reinvented and show themselves as something new and different, instead of be confined to defined guidelines repeated over and over again.
Although some heroic figures does exist, generally speaking starrings of the stories set in this world aren't much more than mere adventurers or even plain people, usually lacking a defined moral, trying to emphasize avoid Good-Evil or Order-Chaos duality. There aren't usually neither wizards in tunic, grey beard falling down to the ground and crook in hand, nor swordmen who defeat full armies they alone.
As well as Tékumel, it is tried to detail the world in a general way even though individual characters are left aside, offering rule systems for role-playing games too, for use as campaign setting, though this isn't its main purpose.
Can I help you in expanding this world?
Of course you can. What I need the most now are artistic collaborators: drawings, tales, role-play adventures and campaings... or even translations to other languages.
With regard to expanding the world itself, I tend to be more strict and probably won't accept many works as canonical. Otherwise, I'll be pleased to receive any contribution, even a general opinion about the world or just a review about the offered RPG systems could be of help.
Why adopt world of Äêmallaën to AD&D and not to d20 system?
Besides my own personal preferences, rules for AD&D (less heroic and less oriented to power-gaming the playable characters) fits better in this world as it was originally conceived. In any case, I consider that the system exlusively designed for this setting is a better choice.
Can anyone be resurrected in Lathizgum?
Such thing isn't possible at all. Some human lore says that, once a person is dead, his soul travels to another plane, quite similar to the retaining spheres where gods and daemons resides, where it get trapped forever... If bringing back a soul could be done (and, therefore, reviving his body), gods and daemons could run away from their jail as well, and walk free along Lathizgum!
Any priest, any god neither (by means of his own power) can restore life to any dead... but for undead, and take in mind they are just unwilling corpses lacking a soul.
During a backup recovery error I lost the "fla" file used for creating the introductory animation (among some other files) for my fantasy world, so I can't directly translate it. And given that I don't use Flash since a few years ago, I won't install it and work in a new animation for just a fistful of words... But what I can do (and seeing this entry, have done
) is translating the text from the intro -and here you have.I usually think it's a good summary of the concept I wish to offer about my humble creation.
F. A. Q. about Äêmallaën
In view of your eyes, a DARK LAND opens...
...which HISTORY get lost in mind of WISES and prophets...
...where LEGENDS speaks of HEROES and unnamed beings...
...which myths are from BARDS and WITCHS' mouths...
...a world where NIGHT means fear and DARKNESS is madness...
...riddled of CHIMERAS and FANTASTIC and NIGHTMARE shapes...
...a world of magic and SUPERSTITION, of warriors and shamans...
...where HORRORS lacking appearence and unreasoned creatures...
...STALK as mist among SHADOWS...
Welcome be, traveller, to
World of Äêmallaën
Where does the concept about Äêmallaën comes from?
Being a fantasy lover in general, and to the AD&D role-playing game in particular (and HackMaster, too) and considering in that time Dragonlance and Ravenoft as my favourite worlds, I weigh up the chances of joining those two campaigns in a single one, taking whatever the most I liked from each.
However, I hardly had some information about them at the time I started writing the first outlines about Äêmallaën and, in any case, it would be a quite hard task to unite both campaign settings, taking in mind what it would entail. On the other hand, since a long time ago I wished to create an own world, where I could set my fantasy tales and role-playing game's adventures. So I decided to start more or less from the scratch, creating a world of my own, despite the obvious existing influences, as the numerous winks to Ravenloft, or the magic, freely based in the excepcional and wonderful worlds imagined by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, as well as the AD&D system itself... what is more, Äêmallaën is inspired in so different titles as Fallout or R.E.H.'s Hyborean Age, among others.
So, how would you define Äêmallaën?
Äêmallaën is a ficticious world belonging a dark fantasy setting which expects to get away from clichés and archetypes related to traditional settings, approaching in essence to more exotic universes as Athas (Dark Sun), because of races and tipical creatures (as dwarves, minotaurs, etc.) are reinvented and show themselves as something new and different, instead of be confined to defined guidelines repeated over and over again.
Although some heroic figures does exist, generally speaking starrings of the stories set in this world aren't much more than mere adventurers or even plain people, usually lacking a defined moral, trying to emphasize avoid Good-Evil or Order-Chaos duality. There aren't usually neither wizards in tunic, grey beard falling down to the ground and crook in hand, nor swordmen who defeat full armies they alone.
As well as Tékumel, it is tried to detail the world in a general way even though individual characters are left aside, offering rule systems for role-playing games too, for use as campaign setting, though this isn't its main purpose.
Can I help you in expanding this world?
Of course you can. What I need the most now are artistic collaborators: drawings, tales, role-play adventures and campaings... or even translations to other languages.
With regard to expanding the world itself, I tend to be more strict and probably won't accept many works as canonical. Otherwise, I'll be pleased to receive any contribution, even a general opinion about the world or just a review about the offered RPG systems could be of help.
Why adopt world of Äêmallaën to AD&D and not to d20 system?
Besides my own personal preferences, rules for AD&D (less heroic and less oriented to power-gaming the playable characters) fits better in this world as it was originally conceived. In any case, I consider that the system exlusively designed for this setting is a better choice.
Can anyone be resurrected in Lathizgum?
Such thing isn't possible at all. Some human lore says that, once a person is dead, his soul travels to another plane, quite similar to the retaining spheres where gods and daemons resides, where it get trapped forever... If bringing back a soul could be done (and, therefore, reviving his body), gods and daemons could run away from their jail as well, and walk free along Lathizgum!
Any priest, any god neither (by means of his own power) can restore life to any dead... but for undead, and take in mind they are just unwilling corpses lacking a soul.
