WELCOME to The World of Vagra!
since November 21 1997.Sorry, the current PBEM is (places currently limited to 25) but you can submit a New Character Form for consideration next time, or register to be advised of the next Vacancy ... or you can become a Lurker "behind" an existing PC. Thanks!
However, Vagra has been designed primarily as a medieval-style sword-and-sorcery setting in which several basic suppositions are held to be true:
1) All the various "standard" fantasy races are present - as well as the Arboo, unique to Vagra. You may add other races of your choice, but in any event please be aware that the setting is designed so that at the start of campaign time all the major races are more or less equal. That is, their number, abilities, situation and magic use are quantified to derive relativity with every other major race.
This is done in an attempt to provide a genuine contest between the races - a level playing field, as they say - so that no matter what race(s) Players favour they will have to work to advance that people ahead of any other.
"It seems the gods have flung all peoples here together, to play at war and dominance for their avid pleasure. Who will lead, who will triumph, if that be the case? A burden, aye, of destiny, to forge the greatest race." - Alarosa the Poet/Sage
2) While Vagra is a magical world, magic use is not yet highly developed. Certain races make certain magical items; others make others. Nowhere will you find every sort of item being made together, even in cities of magic such as Kro. Nor are items mass produced: they are instead what they should be, rare and possibly unique. Similarly wizardry is still being learnt - it is unusual to find a mage above 15th Level, and the highest are only a few levels more than this. Thus the number and type of spells available in any one region is generally limited. GM's wishing to be true to the setting should enforce such limitations.
Again, this is done partly to establish equivalence between the races (Players should not be able to justifiably complain that the gods are racist); but mainly it is an attempt to introduce more of a balance between spell and sword than is found in most magic-using RPG games.
"Whether it be an external force or a trick of the mind, or both, we know the power is present; we learn more uses for it daily; and we have yet to discover its boundaries. It may be that there are no limits ... but it is far too soon in our knowledge to begin to tell." - Revauld the Philosopher/Mage.
3) Concurrent with these is the fact that populations are, by the standards of many fantasy settings, small. The humans of the Western Kingdoms presently (as at 870 AL) number approx. 3 million in total, and they are more numerous than any race except the Western Elves (and perhaps the Orcs). Thus individual kingdoms and the cities within them are comparatively weak - an army of 20,000 is a mighty force indeed, and only found in times of war.
This is a deliberate design limitation. It allows Players to exercise a reasonable degree of control over even the largest army, while also (theoretically) preventing the "a vast horde sweeps across the country from nowhere" spoiler tactic. It also maintains perspective in the relative strength of the races, and balances with the mid-level knowledge of magic.
"The knight's sword, the mage's ken, the cleric's call, the bard's pen - which of these, pray tell me, has more power over men? None or one or all, say I, depending where the heart lies." - attributed to Pyrian the Wise, once Duke of Haj.
4) The different races in general occupy regions to themselves; there are few places where pressure for space sparks inter-racial tension. Not that such does not occur: but generally these pressures are as a result of other events. Thus a race can reasonably expect to get on with its own development without having to conflict with another. Of course, they may want to ....
Adventurers of one race in another's territory then are, if not rare, uncommon; and should be played as such. However there are regions (eg Tanju, Kro) where folk of all races inter-mingle as a matter of course. And just because an elf in human lands might be uncommon does not mean the people will be antagonistic.
"Only the winds cross every land. Only the rain falls on every race." - Barbarian proverb
As you will quickly appreciate, the dynamics of Vagra are rather different from most other RPG worlds. This may or may not be to your liking. If it isn't, there are any number of ways to "spice it up" so it is more in tune with your own campaign needs. But changing any one of the above factors will tend to throw the whole setting out of balance. If you really want more magic/more people etc the setting would have to be advanced by, say, 200 years in time. But you'll have to make up your own extrapolated maps history etc etc etc (good luck!).
