This is Part 07 of a series wherein we talk about generating an entire campaign, on-the-fly, for your favorite fantasy role-playing game(s). In the future, it might have a tighter focus on either D&D or Pathfinder, but for now, let's consider this material more-or-less generic.
NOTE: All the usual polyhedron dice are used for DCS, though today, we'll only be using 1d12.
What existed before this world? Was it another world, filled with heroes? An endless plane of energy or thought? Or maybe there was nothing at all?
Absolute Beauty
Roll 1d12:
01 -- The world before was enveloped in happiness. Joy was universal; ugliness simply didn't exist. Everything was beautiful to behold, including those who dwelled there. The gods fought over this world, like it was a precious jewel, and it was destroyed in the conflict.
02 -- The previous world was composed with harmoniousness in mind. All things, whether natural or constructed, were inspirational to behold as a matter of course. The very structure of the world was lyrical to behold. A trickster god introduced the concept of jealousy among the people who lived in that world, and the ensuing corruption turned that it into this world.
03 -- The previous world was much like this one, except that happiness, satisfaction, hope, and joy were feelings as common as air. It was a world that was as near to being a paradise as this plane of existence could support. The gods spoiled it in a war of their own, that had nothing to do with that world.
04 -- The old world was like a second paradise of the gods; in fact, the mortal people who dwelled upon it may, themselves, have been gods. They were nearly perfect in every way, but their one flaw was pride, and it ultimately destroyed them, and their world.
05 -- The old world spawned spontaneously into a nearly perfect form. All beauty known since has, whether knowingly or otherwise, been held in comparison to that which existed then. That world remained perfect until the gods chose to reform it, for reasons no mortal can comprehend.
06 -- The old world was created by the gods for a race of angelic-like beings, supposedly as a reward for deeds unknown. It was a perfect world, but proved to be a trap; the gods were fearful of the power these beings had come to possess; they waited until the others came to dwell upon that world, then destroyed it to be rid of them.
07 -- The old world was practice for the gods, who were attempting to create a paradise for themselves. It turned out to be too perfect, and many of the gods wished to remain upon it. Those that opposed this desire deliberately corrupted that world, hoping to force the errant gods to leave it. That world decayed into this one, but some say that not all the gods were driven from its face.
08 -- The previous world was created by a demonic being of incredible power. It was a hellish place of pain and torment. It held one vein of perfect beauty, though, which ran through all the land. Powerless to corrupt this loveliness in the world, the demon chose to destroy everything, simply to be rid of it.
09 -- The old world was much like this one, except the beings who lived upon it were formed by the gods to be perfect. So beautiful and accomplished were they, that the gods grew jealous of their creations, and sought to wipe them out. A war was fought, and the gods nearly lost. In the end, they destroyed the old world, in order to destroy their perfect children.
10 -- The old world was a place of natural beauty beyond description. Ugliness did not exist, even though the mortal beings who dwelled upon it were much like those of the present world. The gods grew resentful that the mortals of that place lived in a paradise to rival their own, so they destroyed it. They did choose to save some of the mortals that dwelled on that world, and brought them to the present world. Some say that happy dreams are race memories of that earlier place.
11 -- When the gods were forming their paradise home, they took the very finest part of it, and created the old world. In time, that world was ruined by evil beings who'd come to dwell upon it. Their corruption continued throughout the ages, until the old world became the present world.
12 -- Reality is cyclic, oscillating between ugliness and beauty. As the present world claws its way out of squalor, barbarity, and filth, as natural chaos falls before civilized order, it grows ever closer to a peak of perfection. After this, the world will begin to slide back down into ugliness and disorder. The previous world was nothing more than the most recent peak int his cycle.
To be continued...
Image: Clothing, apparel, helmet and game by Ian Gonzalez, released under the Unsplash License. Modified by David in Inkscape.