Key Notes

Esoterica is all about things happening on a grand scale. It is, by its nature, an ultimate crossroads of any other conceivable place or even (if the GM wishes to go that route) time. And thus its at least theoretically possible that even the most unlikely of things might happen and conversely that the most likely of things may fail to occur despite any expectations or assumptions to the contrary.

Esoterica has no exact borders, no precise limits, and no definite absolutes...other than those an individual GM wishes to impose. It should feel "wide open" and liberating, but also dangerous and unpredictable. A wise player should harbor an awareness of uncertainty and risk when piloting their character through the Realms mysteries and travails, and a wise GM should inject the unexpected and unpredictability whenever things seem to be getting too staid or safe.

Most of the the slopes should be slippery, and most of the wickets should be sticky...most of the time.

The Nature of the Multiverse is Unclear

Many theories exist to explain why the multiverse is the way it is but they all have their problems. There are two good reasons for this:

• We believe that fantastic and mysterious things are generally more fun when specifics aren't asserted and individual imaginations can roam freely. Like a good magic trick, once you know the secret its anticlimactic and ruins the mystery.
• The second is all about the GM. The more room we give individual GM's, the easier it is for them to slot Esoterica into their campaigns as they can more easily tweak the Esoterica multiverse to fit in with their own cosmology.

The Great Game

Esoterica is a common place for the various powerful entities of Generica both temporal and immortal to wage war, settle their differences, plot and scheme against each other, pursue cross-dimensional conquest, manipulate events on a grand scale for their own benefit, and so forth. This ranges from powerful empires of more mundane planes that are aware of and can travel to Esoterica, to so-called "gods", "daemons", and "elemental" beings, as well as threats "native" to Esoterica itself.

Whilst the PCs should be able to play a significant role in events, they should never quite loose the impression that their achievements and failures are only a small part of a vaster, labyrinthine game, with stratagems too subtle and epic in scope for mortal minds to fully appreciate.

A subtle "wheels within wheels" approach is the intent, where the true mastermind is always one step ahead, whilst the supposed mastermind is a mere servants of another power even if they are unwilling servants or unwitting pawns. Every now and then though a plot unravels and some kind of closure is reached by persistent enough adventurers, do-gooders, or meddlers. Such a "reveal" is excellent fodder for the final scene of an entire campaign.

Magic is Common and Diverse

Like the multiverse itself, the fundamental nature of magic is unclear; though many have their pet theories it's not understand why so many diverse forms of magic have arisen throughout the multiverse and why magic doesn't always work the same in every Realm.

Esoterica, by its very nature, is magic rich; people need to be able to travel between planes and for obvious design reasons the Realm needs to accommodate all of the various magical disciplines found in the various realms of Generica. Thus a vast diversity of magic systems might be encountered or used in Esoterica, though some are far more common than others. The GM has a great deal of latitude in this area.

Native Esoterica magics tend to be focused on travel, dimensional forces, and survival in various climes and places due to the practical realities of its extra-planar nature and cross-planar hi-jinks.

However, whilst low and medium powered magic should be slightly more common than other realms, powerful magic should be as rare, if not rarer, than in other realms due to various pressures. Esoterica is host to some of the most powerful entities both mortal and immortal found in any Realm. Due to the realities of competitive advantage, those on the top tend to keep up-and-comers down, and those on the way up tend to get in over their head. Also, though mortal population tends to cluster around a relative handful of "safe" places, Esoterica is an incredibly vast (as in practically infinite) expanse within which even a surplus of powerful individuals amounts to very little in the grand scheme.

If the magical width, depth, and danger is put into the metaphor of an ocean, the waters are very wide and very deep, but safe harbors are few and far between and the water is full of sharks and other toothy monsters. Thus while many might sail blithely upon the ocean's surface upon some manufactured conveyance, only the bravest, strongest, and luckiest divers are able to plumb its depths and survive. Dabblers or those who overstep their limits tend to run afoul of the many hazards, or else simply get gobbled up by something more dangerous than themselves.

Magical Devices

All things that can be found in other Realms can potentially make their way to Esoterica due to its planar nature. Thus, unsurprisingly, magical and technological items of broad manufacture have proliferated.

Magical machines are also more common in Esoterica than in other realms but they are a relatively recent thing. Strange combinations of mechanical and magical principals are dubbed Arcanickal devices in Esoterica, and have started to become somewhat unremarkable (though not commonplace) in Sanctuary and a few other large settlements.

If a particular GM is using Esoterica in conjunction with another Realm or campaign setting and they do not want such devices to proliferate beyond Esoterica, they can simply decide that such devices are powered by pure Vim or 'Tween current, etc, and thus don't work (or at least not for long) in more mundane realities.

Settings

Healing

Magical healing is more common in Esoterica than the other Realms because of the prevalence and variety of magical disciplines. Alchemy is also better understood in Esoterica than elsewhere although magical potions are still costly because most alchemists are traders and avoid flooding the market with their wares to keep prices inflated.

Additionally, the Paramedics skill exists, representing a primitive form of medicine. Herbal healing (KS: Herbology, PS: Herbologist) is also very common because of the prevalence of strange and exotic plants taken from the various Planes. Herbologists are also skilled in ensuring that their services fetch a good price.

Artifice & Magic Level

The Realm of Esoterica’s default Artifice Level is High, although the Artifice Level of Planes will vary. Rumours persist of extremely advanced societies that may still exist, although only ruins have been found so far. The level of magic is also high and it is not uncommon for magic and technology to be combined to produce (‘Arcanickal Devices’)

Much of Esoterica’s higher Artifice and Magic Levels have been achieved by reverse engineering from archaeological discoveries. As a result, the actual workings of such devices are not always properly understood.

Character Points

Races

Native

• Humans: Humanity is the predominant sentient race of Esoterica, though they come in different varieties.
• Merren: A rare race of humanoids called the Merren is native to the Tears of Vrylakos. They have an innate ability to fly through Tween-space by will alone.
• Ælves: Some communities of elves reside in the 'Tween, where they are more typically referred to as Ælves.
• Daemonkith: Daemonkith is the term used by the Chamber Philosophick to collectively refer to beings or daemonic origin and heritage.
• Luuzians: Enlightened Lizardfolk who claim to have been rescued from a path of destruction and dark ways by Luuz, a legendary prophet-hero now worshiped as a god.
• Na'Garo: The Na'Garo are an offshoot of humanity who inhabit the deep 'Tween, living nomadic existences on clannish fleets that travel hither and yon, wherever the Winds of the 'Tween might take them.
• Grell: Averaging three feet long, these grub-like creatures have no arms or legs but use their innate telekinetic abilities to interact with the world around them and levitate themselves, and telepathy to communicate. Grell take decades to mature, and younger Grell have limited intellectual capabilities; however Grell that survive into their eighth decade and beyond usually mature into formidable thinkers. Between a hundred and two hundred years of age, surviving Grell weave a glowing cocoon around themselves and effectively cease to exist over the course of a few days, never emerging from the cocoon again. Cut-open cocoons are empty and no one knows the true story of what occurs, though pet theories abound. Grell are almost all agoraphobic and overcome their fear of open spaces only with great difficulty. Small pocket communities of Grell can be found here and there, and they are always a rarity.
• Drachti: large sentient winged and stingered insect-like creatures originating from a sector of 'Tween space far from Sanctuary. A colony of Drachti settled a small collection of Shards a few days from Sanctuary several centuries ago, and bizarre hive-like ships of Drachti are sometimes encountered in the 'Tween. They are never piratical and seem content to keep to themselves, but become very aggressive if attacked.

Other Dimensions

As part of the Chamber Philosophick’s wider work in developing its Universal System for the Classification of the Multiverse, our esteemed colleague and Honorary Fellow of the Chamber Philosophick, Ley Armund is developing the Taxonomic Scheme for the Classification of all Living Things. Currently, Armund’s work is focussed on the known Planes, although our Scholars fastidiously log and catalogue any life forms encountered in the course of their own studies for further investigation and classification. Currently, the Taxonomic Scheme for the Classification of all Living Things extends to the following life forms, categorised by the Chamber’s supposed planar origin for convenience:

• Apocalyptica Races
• Barbarica Races
• Celtica Races
• Classica Races
• Gothica Races
• Gygaxica Races
• Tolkeinica Races

In addition to those living things that have already been classified by the Chamber Philosophick, a number of other life forms are awaiting further investigation and classification.

Means to Power

There are many different ways for characters to gain power and be recognized in the Realm of Esoterica.

PSIONICS

Psionics exist within Esoterica although in many cultures, Psionically gifted individuals are often confused with practitioners of certain magical disciplines.

On Sanctuary, a group of Psions who are currently Fellows of the Chamber Arcane are trying to obtain formal recognition of their talents and are petitioning the Chamber Prime to further split the Chamber Arcane into the Chamber Arcane and the Chamber Psionick.

SUPER SKILLS

Super skills exist within Esoterica and are often the result of strange, magical bloodlines; training in forgotten disciplines that blend skill with magical or psionick flair; or gifts endowed in return for allegiances.

MARTIAL ARTS

TBD

Professions

“It’s fair to say that some of the Chamber’s Fellows are ever so slightly obsessed with categorising everything and anything for the Great Work. I despair at such wasted effort and it saddens me to think that a former colleague may have spent a year of research time so that I can conveniently refer to my grandmother’s ear horn as O/A/H/124578! Really, I fear that the Chamber is spending so much time dichotomising, unitising and reclassifying things that we are becoming a society dedicated to the administration of a cumbersome, opaque and ultimately unworkable system. The Chamber Philosophick needs to return to its routes: field science, profound philosophy and making the unknown known!” - Extract from an interview with Benton Wiles, former (and discredited) Fellow of the Chamber Philosophick, Cosmological Philosopher, Issue 7, ECY788

As part of the Great Work (the Universal System for the Classification of the Multiverse), the Chamber Philosophick is attempting to further catalogue all living things by their knowledge, skills and history. The activity is an extremely challenging one, but the Chamber Philosophick is confident that our most revered Honourable Fellow, Sofia Harmann, daughter of the great Henrietta Illias Harmann will succeed in this stimulating and exacting task. Currently, the Taxonomic Scheme for the Further Classification of all Living Things by Knowledge, Skill and History extends to the following:

• Professions of Apolyptica
• Professions of Barbarica
• Professions of Classica
• Professions of Celtica
• Professions of Gothica
• Professions of Gygaxica
• Professions of Tolkeinica

In addition to the above, a number of items are awaiting further investigation, assessment and classification: