Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Glossary of the Nine Portals

This glossary is for personal use only. All rights belong to Thomas P. Walton. 
Aesirion: The shrine to Alu and the elder gods in the Gaia Saar, and in the home of King Futharion.
Agnus, continent of: The fiery realm beneath the land and sea of Gaia Saar. Agnus is surrounded by a subterranean sea of lava. The entire continent of Agnus is pitted with tunnels.
Aldus was also a scribe and scholar in Talos.
Aldus: Elder mage, wizard, and head priest of the order of Alu.
Alu: The elder god of the gods. Alu created the portals of refinement (those portals intended to aid in reshaping chaos into order in the universe).
Aquatic realms: These are worlds made mostly or entirely of water.
Arch, portal: The arch over a portal entrance.
Asgandor: Mystical sage and scribe from the order of Talos. Asgandor discovered the continent of Agnus buried far below the realm of Gaia Saar.
Biomechatronic: Biological, mechanical, electronics as applied to organisms, instruments, gadgets, assemblies, and devices.
Chaos computers: Random data generating computers with semi self-awareness.
Chaos key/ keycard: A portal key that works to activate, operate, unlock or secure chaos portals.
Construct: A created object with a specific purpose or identity. In portal terms, a construct is a physical component or counterpart of an energy portal.
D’Hern: The race of necromancers from the necroverse, who came to Talos from the far eastern ridge of Salamander Canyon.
Diabiscus: The atrium to the tunnels under Mt. Threshaven. Seedraum vault’.
Diablocleus: The planet body of pure evil created from the first void portal of diabolism.
Draum Vault: Dream room. The portal room to places long bygone. The draum vault is the retro-maniac’s paradise.
Event horizon: The point of no return within the force field of a portal.
Futharion: Greatest king of Gaia Saar.
Gaia city: The city of the king, Futharion.
Gaia Saar: Planet and home-world to Gaians, and the kingdom of Lord Futharion.
Goblinoid: Goblin like creature.
GREATER portals: those portals which are used to call upon the forces of the primary portals, summon monsters from other dimensions, and traverse to other galaxies or universes.
Gygatherion: Son of Alu. Father of Futharion. Grandfather of Othelan. Started the first divine bloodline in Gaia Saar. One of the good giants.
Infernal realms: These are worlds made of fire and brimstone.
Lava realms: The infernal lakes of the underworld realms.
Lore: The combined history, mythology, religious beliefs, mysticism, and culture of a people.
Malaar: The scribe and scholar of Talos. Malaar is best remembered for defeating lord Truul, and for having survived the first smash portal in the known universe.
Mecha Men: Mechanized humans. Cyborg converts.
Mechanized: Mechanically altered, augmented, converted, or enhanced objects or organisms.
Necrocracy: The absolute rule of the necromancer elite, a guild of evil wizards who practice unholy sorcery and super-science.
Necromancer Elite: See Necrocracy.
Necromancer: Diviners of the dead. The evil wizards who set lose the undead upon Gaia Saar. The necromancers created monstrosities of dark sorcery and super-science.
Necroverse: A virtual world weaved over the quasi-realm of the undead. The necroverse is home to both monsters and necromancers. The openings to the necroverse are often hidden in cemeteries and other houses of the dead.
Othelan: Son of King Futharion.
Pendulum (mechanism): A weight attached to a length of cord. In portal construction these oscillating instruments indicate when a portal threshold is open or closed (active/ inactive).
Port Caladrake: The shipyard south of the peninsula of Talos.
Portal berserker: Dwarven warriors who dive into smash portals and necro portals to pursue and vanquish all evil in the known universe.
Portal lore: The history and mythology of all portals, from the modern time to the primordial.
Portal wizard: Masterful magician of portal magic.
Portal: An opening in the fabric of space/ time. A breach through barriers via magical doors. A magical opening between two separate (distant) places.
PRIMARY portals: the first four portals in the hierarchy of portal archetypes.
PRIMORDIAL portals: The nine portals created as conduits for the energy of the gods to flow into the universe, thereby organizing chaos into order.
Rift rogue: Rangers who wander the uncharted realms of the cosmos, as a result of traversing portals. These lone-wolf fighters have become less human in their multi-dimensional travels. Usually beginning as a quest to save their home-world, a rift rogue sets out on a journey that ends up changing his/ her perception of the purpose and meaning of life, space, and time.
Rift: Literally a tear in the fabric of space/ time.
SECONDARY portals: the second group of four portals in the hierarchy of portal archetypes.
Skol-braun (phrase): A toast for brown ale.
Smash portal: A colossal portal. This portal eats all, and distorts all space and time that it does not devour.
Talos: Home to the good wizards of Gaia Saar. The temple of Alu resided in Talos, under the care of the arch mage, Aldus.
Teleportation technology: Technology which is either enhanced by teleportation means, or technology that has developed new means of teleportation.
Terra-X: The tenth greater portal discovered, and also the dark moon of the diabolical planet, Diablocleus. Mining on the Diablocleus, and portal magic on Terra-X, is a rumor spreading throughout the realms among portal wizards.
Threshaven: The first physical manifestation of the portals on the human world was the ancient mountain of Threshaven. The mountain is the entrance of the gods to the earth and home-world of Gaia Saar.
Threshold: A place that is neither here nor there. In terms of portals, it is the point at which one is no longer in either realm. To cross the threshold is to no longer exist in either world. Exiting the threshold is basically being teleported to the other end of the portal.
Truul, Lord: The evil son of Alu’s bloodline. Mutated by the daughters of Venom, Truul murdered his cousins. Truul was the first enemy to conquer Gaia Saar. One of the evil giants who started the bloodline of the goblinoids, trolls, and ogres in Gaia Saar.
Uber: Super (power).
Ultimate Magic, High Magic, Low Magic: Ultimate magic is that magic which is beyond the first two level preceding it. High magic is generally working with conjuration and summoning of spirits. Low magic is essentially healing and natural divination.
Ultra-phobic horror/ terror: The point beyond unreasonable fear. Total pandemic breakdown of the senses.
Undead: Raised from the dead as non-living, hostile and carnivorous, entities.
Veximus, Conrad: The cyborg emperor. Veximus conquered Gaia Saar to save Gaia Saar, but ultimately was involved in the final destruction of his homeland.
Vorania: Wife of Gygatherion, and lady for the eastern realm.
Zorbos: An asteroid world or system of moons surrounding a black sun. This system was partially created by the destruction of Talos on Gaia Saar.
This glossary is for personal use only. All rights belong to Thomas P. Walton. 

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

TRADITIONAL VS. DYNAMIC PORTALS

Read PORTALS MANUAL to empower your games with portals, and expand your repertoire in game mastering with multiple dimensional constructs. Add over 40 portals of power to your bag of tricks. Implement new vorpal weaponry in your arsenal. Inscribe new Necro elite spells into your tome of power! 


Portals—whether they function traditionally or dynamically—play an important part in the process of storytelling for role-playing games.

You detect a slight draft in the south junction of the temple, and in an alcove at the south-east corner of the oratory you can see a faint beam of light touch the head of Abraxar upon the altar of Arathor.

Typically, a game master will decide on whether to make a portal visible or to merely hint at the presence of a portal. The decision to make a portal obvious may have everything or nothing to do with the sequences of events and encounters that the game master has planned out for players. Yet, making this distinction between the obvious and elusive portal is the craft of the cunning game master. (The process of declaring a portal is predetermined in the master control document, or it may be annotated on the portals router with a simple hash mark or other indicator of the game master’s preference). Players who can see a portal may be tempted to enter the portal without having a better look around the environment. Perhaps, keeping the portal in the shadows will allow for a more likely encounter with pursuers coming up the rampart on the heels of the players.

 There are myriad reasons to consider forehand the nature of portals when plotting a router. A closed in arena, for instance, may have portals of particular elemental nature, and perhaps even a diabolic or necro portal. Warping from other elemental planes, or smashing through the locks and guards across the galaxy, monsters emerge from four towering portals (rolling d20) they attack!

In essence, portals are traditionally considered a magical passageway through space/ time between two places. For the most part, this default is largely agreed upon. Dynamic portals, however, greatly enhance the overall richness of fantasy-adventure storytelling.

Fundamentally, dynamic portals are constructs of magic which are deeply rooted in ancient lore or elemental properties. To make more sense of such diversity in portals, the entire portal system is divided into a hierarchy of greater and lesser gates.

The archetypal portals, those portals which existed in the beginning of the physical universe, are classified as Greater Portals or primordial portals. Within the category of the greater portals are the primary portals (ice/ fire/ water/ air), secondary portals (metal/ poison/ gas/ necro), and the one ultimate portal (earth).

Lesser portals are those portals which are in common use, namely variants of the traditional portal. These portals include, but are not limited to, the following categories: chaos, techno, and supernatural.

The greatest exception, and by far the most diverse of portals, is the chaos portal. While chaos portals are considered lesser portals, the power of such portals is unbound by the laws of order.

high level w/ portals both hidden and visible, by Thomas P. Walton
This means that chaos portals do not heed any laws of the greater elemental portals, and can be used to move from anyplace on one map to anyplace on the same map or any other map.

Chaos portals can act as a conduit between realms of extreme opposites, or simply teleport a wizard from his front door to the local tavern on the same map.

Diversity in portals procures consequences in game play, particularly for the player characters. There are as many mutations and psychological effects from some portals as there are various gifts and experience points awarded or bestowed upon player characters (See the original Portal Master’s Guide [Gui de Mestre Portal]).

Portals also present solutions to problems. Consider their myriad uses.

A necro portal, for instance, may act as a gateway to the deceased spirits with knowledge of hidden treasure rooms.

Mylia places the urn containing the ashes and bone of bygone king Ashram on the alter before a 9’ black mirror standing in the center of the chamber. A smoky mist rises from the urn, and without warning a grim and ancient face forms on the black mirror. Aritole pores over a book written in an arcane language, when his cry of “ah-hah!” startles everyone. “I’ve found the name of the long dead steward of Kryarthenon!”

While the necro portal in this example merely summons the souls of the dead into a vessel, there are far other uses for necromancy in role-playing adventures. For instance, the infamous necromancer elite has been building a series of doors between strategic areas for an undead strike on the town of Caladrake or some other realm.
portal router sample, Thomas P. Walton

A portal router will help the game master keep track of where undead emerge from, and where the players can travel to other maps, and so on.

Portals in most games are merely the pinnacle between dimensions, or the threshold between two separate places. In the Nine Portals universe such portals are the conduits of the gods, maintained by the elusive fiery spirits of the netherworld.



To be continued...

Relevant books:
Portal Master's Guide - 1st edition

Ultimate Portal Master's Guide

Book of Doors RPG


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Portal Lore Revised for Role-Playing Games

Portal Lore
Volume one
Thomas P. Walton
10-20-2015

Rumor has spread about the portals of the nine archetypes manifesting here and there, in both the realms of fantastic beasts and the medieval lands of men and dragons.  – Malaar, the wise.

About this book…

To better understand why there are nine portals in my role-playing system, I will tell the tale of the legend behind all portals.

As with many of the ancients, the elements were the building blocks of the world. The lore of portals would be incomplete if I did not include the history of the elements, and the creation of the ultimate potential for existence… Midgard (a.k.a., Middle Earth), which in my fiction I call Gaia Saar.

Most game lore is based on the Hermetic philosophy in regard to elements. I’ve decided to run my RPG universe a bit differently, mainly because the Teutonic system is so much more interesting, and in greater detail.

We begin with the element of ice, and thus, our first portal in the entire universe is born…

The Beginning
Darkness held the ultimate void in its tendrils of domination. Yet, it was from this darkness that the polarity of contraction manifested as ice. From ice came forth the fire of the younger gods, who then formed the ultimate portal for giants--the fire portal.

Between these two polarities emerged the parallel universe of air and water, thus forming the air and water portals. These four portals are referred to as the primary portals of power.

The secondary portals formed from fire and air, and gave birth to iron. The aggressive, wild expansion of elemental fire threatened to burn away all that darkness dominated. So, then, the spirit of air flew before the curling flames of endless energy, and presented fire with the element of iron as its child god. Fire taught iron the ways of strength, determination, and conquest through expansion—unlike the contraction of the great darkness the elements fled from through outer-space. 

And so, the metal portal was born of fire and air.

Hearing of this newborn god-child, the element of water went unto the ardent god of fire, and gave him a second child. The child was Venom.

The spirit of venom was as restless as her fiery father. She projected herself out into the void, but found that she could not expand, nor create, nor find joy in any part of the universe.

The father of ice was envious of his fiery children, and so drew water to himself. Ice tore away the power of life from the spirit of water. Fire saw this, and in a fit of rage fought against the great darkness of Ice. In their cosmic struggle, the element of yeast scattered everywhere in the cosmos.

Water and ice formed yeast.

The quick intellect of Air saw the opportunity to steal power from the spirit of darkness. So, he took from Ice the designs of the elder gods. In his cleverness, the great spirit of air breathed his life-force into ice, causing the darkness to slumber, and took from him the salts of the essence of life.

Ice and air formed salt, and thus the first necro portal was born.

These were the first eight portals.

Then something miraculous happened… As the fairies and the giants waded in the fiery depths of their great work, a new element gave birth to all life. This element, the ultimate potential in the entire universe, is a place we call home, or also known as Earth. 

These are the nine portals of power.

The giants settled down beneath the earth and the seas. Others took up great houses for themselves upon the earth. The fairies settled in the trees, and others hid in the secret portals of flame, in the infernal realms beneath the deepest depths of the earth. Those who remained built doors of magic. With these magical doors, the giants could traverse the realms in the entire universe, and keep mechanisms of the greater portals in order.



From the Darkness
In the beginning there was only darkness.

Wading in the fiery depths of their great work, the fire giants were the first to behold the work of their fairy cousins: A new elemental spirit formed from the variations of the primary and secondary components of the universe. Alu sung the child a beautiful name, and her name was Gaia. From Gaia’s gay and merry voice a song was heard. The giants took up the song, making variations of their own. The fairies picked up the melodies, and Alu cried with joy!

The earth was then formed from the great composition of the elements. The realm of Gaia Saar was then born into existence by the imagination of the children of Alu.

When the age of men reigned strongest on Gaia Saar, the fairies hid their younger cousins in the sea, while the fairies themselves entered the secret doors set in trees and knolls. The fire giants returned to their infernal realms by way of the mountain, which later became the center of all power in Gaia Saar.

Gaia Saar, once a great kingdom (driven from power by the cybernetic armies of Truul, and again by the Borg from the necroverse), built its brick monasteries and towns closest to the ancestral mountain of the gods. It was from this mountain that all the spoils of wealth pored into the kingdom.

((Truul came from the depths of Threshaven, and was a foul mutant expelled from the world of gaints. The Borg, a cybernetic race of machine-men emerged from the first metal portal with the help of the dwarves.))

A final battle was fought on the peninsula of Talos, between the druid-mages and the necromancers.

However, an unforeseen consequence of the firing of vorpal weaponry triggered a cosmic phenomenon unseen before such times. A great smash portal tore the realm into ruins, leaving fragments of Gaia Saar across multiple realms in the cosmos.

A rare journal was set down by the sage Malar, or Malaar, who in legend is said to have walked firsthand among the people of Gaia Saar on their day of doom. We cannot completely dismiss the legend as myth, nor can we ignore the importance of the value in this lore.

((Talos is the south peninsula where the counsel of mages resided in Gaia Saar’s kingdom))

Alas, the orifices of Threshaven are all that remain of the dead planet. For in all realms exists the greater portals of power; whether these be manifestations of nature, the supernatural, or replications of the elder archetypal portals, all realms harbor a secret door to the center of the universe—a pinnacle of all dimensions, which was so very long ago the beloved kingdom of Gaia Saar.

Taking account of the recordings of Malar, the great sage of that period in Gaia Saar, we can see that the kingdom of Gaia Saar was in its last years a historical treasure trove of artifacts—Many relics baring symbols associated with the gods who were believed to have dwelt deep within the mountain Threshaven.

Relics of the ancients aside, Gaia Saar in its latest years was indeed a historical treasure.

It is said that long ago there was an uncanny rogue-mage venturing the farthest reaches of the realms in search of the origins of Gaia Saar’s many people. The rogue is believed by the sages of Talos to have discovered the secret to unlocking the first of the great doors of Mount Threshaven. Barring the curious adventurer from the secrets of the gods, Threshaven was shrouded in vorpal mists, which is said to cause men to lose track of time, or disorient the human mind enough to cause hallucinations of other dimensions. Malar, having been the first explorer to sketch a rough map of the mountain, sought the entrance to places beyond the realms of man, and to seek out the secrets of the gods.

Malar describes the mountain of Threshaven as a colossal rock, broken only at various angles by smooth stones which must have once been the great stepping stones of giants. These flights of steps reached a monolithic door at either side of the mountain. Other orifices or doors existed in this great mountain of the gods which seemed to mock the senses of men. Sometimes these were pools of glistening light and mist. Other thresholds were described as being entirely made of empty spaces never illuminated by the light of the sun.

Malar describes one particular portal of interest, which he referred to as the fire portal.


From the portal of fire came both the builders and destroyers of the world—the fire giants.
- Malaar, the wise.


The Giant King

The coming of Lord Truul is a tale of bitter seduction.

In the earliest years of man, the giants remained inert in a cloister of portals at the base of Threshaven. From therein the haggard and twisted giant spawn, Truul, emerged from his long slumber. It is written in the ancient lore of our people that, slender and seductive spirits came upon the lonesome giant, Truul. They were the daughters of Venom, one of the secondary elementals to shape the earth.

Truul was lured by the silky smooth beauty of these spirits, and lay with them. The passions of great magic were shown to Truul, but in everything the spirits taught him there was no love—For the daughters of Venom were not unlike their mother, who was without joy, and who was herself as restless as her fiery father. Therefore, Truul shared their pain, anxiety, which drove Truul to prove himself worthy of recognition. It became a burning anxiety, which in time drove Truul to do the will of darkness.

The other giants were angered by Truul’s insistence, for he had roused all of his cousins from their epoch of sleep. The great work is done, protested the elder of the giants. But, Truul did not feel satisfaction.

Obsessed with the rite to rule, Truul sought the advice of the ladies of Venom, who in time taught Truul all that they knew of portals and sorcery, for they were unreserved spirits who held nothing back, and shared Truul’s passion for extreme outcomes—For to them, the daughters of Venom, nothing short of conquest was worthy of invention.

After the poisoning of his kin, Truul ruled supreme all the lands of the underworld. But this was not enough for Truul. In time, his hordes withered into weakness. They had not the power of order, for that power rested in Alu, their elder father, and the giants of Truul were chaotic and vulgar in their practices. So, Lord Truul set out to find human consorts.

Capturing the daughters of men, elves, and other humanoids, Lord Truul deformed and molested the gene pool of order. He created the dark and foul creatures of which were feared throughout all of Gaia Saar.



After a victorious battle between the denizens under Threshaven and the Alfs of the far eastern shores of Gaia Saar, Lord Truul returned to his grotesque kingdom. With him were many slaves. But, few were in the service of Truul, for he did most of his own fighting, being the biggest giant alive on the earth, standing at eighteen-feet tall.

Back within his gruesome abode Truul ate a portion of his slaves. Their viscera littered the morbid halls under the earth. His meal however, was interrupted by the swift return of his spirit wives, the daughters of Venom.

When the daughters came to him, they did not make love to him as they had many a night before. Rather, their faces were grave, and Truul recognized the fear in them. It was a fear that made Truul, sick, and he detested them. However, the sisters pressed their concern upon the deaf ear of Lord Truul, who feared nothing himself.

It was told to Lord Truul by the sisters of Venom, that the eldest father, Alu, was aware of their destruction upon Truul’s kin. All-father Alu, who ceaselessly holds back darkness, and transforms chaos into order, forever painting the beauty of the cosmos, stopped in his great work to look upon the daughters of Venom with furious vengeance.

So terrified of the wrath of Alu, the daughters begged Truul for protection. But, Truul had forgotten Alu, and could not remember ever hearing of him. So, Truul laughed contemptuously at his slender spirits, and named them as lying serpents. Truul’s nonchalant retort offended the daughters of Venom, for such spirits did not tell lies—at least not intentionally. They were, though venomous and fiery, very pure spirits of their elemental maker.

Alu sang his sadness into the hearts of the daughters of Venom, forbidding them to traverse the realms, and removing their ability to fly between the great spaces of the stars. Never again would they behold the beauty of Alu’s almighty work. So, the sisters, fearing for their end, slithered into the pores of Truul’s gigantic body.

When Truul had finished his feast, he carelessly fell asleep. Abruptly, Truul awoke. He discovered great pain in his body, a pain he’d never felt before. The very blood in his veins burned, and every nerve in his body was on fire. His oversized heart, a gift from the fairies of old, was burdened with labor.

The daughters of Venom gave their remaining life-force to Truul, so as to hide their identity’s imprint within the monster they had created. In the process of nesting their spirit DNA into Truul, the power of venom turned Truul’s blood to acid, and corrupted his body.

Truul found himself driven by a great thirst, and went hastily to the pools in the depths of his lonesome cavern. Upon seeing his reflection in the water, the giant roared with confusion and anger. And he felt something else… fear. Lord Truul had never known fear or defeat, even before his victory over his brothers and sisters of the giant mountain.

In the waters of the dark cavern, the giant looked upon a face which was a texture of foul color, greenish and gray. His eyes were completely black, which did not contrast well with the dark spots growing all over his body. Truul touched his hooked nose with a long talon-like finger.

Desperate to breathe the sweet air of the world above, Lord Truul made his way up the bone cobbled steps to the surface world. Upon reaching the outside world, Truul tried to stand erect, but found that his back was hunched. Terrible pain moved the bones in his body, and his neck shot fire into his melon sized skull.

What came out of that mountain was a monstrosity so fearful, that the people who remained in the kingdom of Gaia Saar hid in a fit of ultra-phobic terror.



The eldest giant, Gygatherion , was a good and faithful son of Alu, though he was prone to wandering from the great halls of his father in search of adventure. It just so happened, that one evening Gygatherion  stumbled upon the horror that was Truul.

Aloft the highest peak of Threshaven, Gygatherion battled Lord Truul. The beast known as Truul was fiercer than Gygatherion  had ever fought before. Truul’s talons tore through Gygatherion ’s divine armored breastplate, and wounded him. But the valiant son of Alu was not easily defeated. With all the power of his will and his heart, Gygatherion  hefted a mighty ax, and decapitated the arm of Truul.

Truul leapt a hundred feet down to an adjacent tier of rocky slope on the side of the mountain. The ugly giant entreated the magical stone empowering a metal portal. Truul slipped under the arc, and then passed through the glowing threshold.

Gygatherion  pursued his prey, but Truul was gone from the lands of Gaia Saar.

After this epic battle between the sons of Alu, Gygatherion freed what remained of the slaves of Truul. And for good measure, Gygatherion ensured that all monstrosities created by Truul were slain by his own ax.

Alu was briefly dismayed by the actions of Gygatherion , but he received his son warmly. And all was forgiven. Then, on the next beautiful day on Gaia Saar, Alu visited the lands with his son. Therein the strongest bones of the earth, Alu commanded his son to take a bride from the daughters of men. Alu believed that the good heart of his son, Gygatherion, would flow through the bloodlines of men, and a fair king would be ensured for a long, long time.

True to his father’s will, Gygatherion set out to find a wife.

Vorania, lady of the southern peninsula of Caladrake, was a rare marvel of creatures both fair and wise. Her hair was the color of midnight, smooth as silk, and her eyes glowed like green sapphires above her sharp nose and high set cheekbones. Upon their first meeting, Gygatherion could not move his gaze away from Vorania’s eyes, his hands longing to pass through her silky hair, and press against her olive skin.

At length, within the course of their marriage, Gygatherion and the Lady Vorania were blessed with a son. The almighty Alu came to Gaia Saar one last time, to bless his grandchild, who he named Futharion. It was a name which passed on into legend in the nine realms of mortal men.



The Blessed Lands of Gaia Saar

In the golden days of yore, King Futharion was lord of the land and all that lived in the realm of Gaia Saar. Futharion’s eyes were keen and farseeing. He saw all that transpired over the lands of Gaia Saar. From his high seat the lord watched his lands grow rich in culture and kinship. 

Upon his high Olympian brow rested the circlet of Ardor, a golden set jewel, hexagonal, red, and blazing. Futharion’s eyes held a far and remote quality, blue as the flames of Andromeda, and kindling with ancient wisdom. The king had aged nearly a century, but for those who looked upon Futharion, their king looked not a day older than forty-five.

A tall king was Futharion. His great hall was indeed built by his own hand, and he was as skillful in masonry as he was skilled with a blade. Overall, Futharion was a king mighty in stature. It was never doubted in the minds of the people that their King was the lord of the land, and his domain was all that was the planet Gaia Saar. Some even thought Futharion immortal. Gaians revered their king so highly, that many had forgotten Alu almighty, the grandfather of the giants, and the divine architect of Gaia Saar.

Far off to the barrens in the east, and at the shores of the south sea, cloisters of mages congregated in secret guilds of darkness. Word of these factions reached the ear of the elder sage, Malaar of Talos.

In Talos, the order of the clergy of Alu worked to refine, retune, and rebuild the forces of chaos into the harmonized order of nature which was almighty Alu’s plan; A plan known to only a few wise men, mages, who had themselves been selected by the ancient grandfather of giants, and long before the kingdom of Futherion was raised from the bones of the earth.

Malaar, who was both councilmen and friend to the chairman of the guild of magic, approached Aldus with the news of these factions of chaos with seasoned caution. The elderly sage knew all too well the fiery nature of Aldus. The arch mage Aldus brooded over the possibility of war often. An ancient man himself, Aldus was born before the golden age of Gaia Saar, as was Malaar. This more than anything else made the two scholars kinsmen of the older world. Yet, Malaar was the more patient and thoughtful of the elders, whereas Aldus was as temperamental as he was powerful in magical knowledge. In the past, Aldus was cautioned by Malaar for his rash actions in the east, where factions of desert wanderers dabbled in ancient knowledge outside of the order of Alu. Vast firestorms hurled down meteorites like canon balls plummeting to a battlefield—except, that in the case of the east, no war had ever been declared by either side. Malaar was weary of the east, to be sure. However, in his friend, Malaar had little faith in his better judgment.

In an attempt to avoid unnecessary conflict between the south of Talos and the far east, Malaar devised a plan to scout the peaks of the eastern borderlands in secret. Having made his decision to keep his friend in the dark about his plans, Malaar announced his temporary leave of Talos to the arch magus, Aldus, stating that he would himself visit King Futharion with their quarterly announcements on the prosperity of Talosians in the name of his highness, and onward to the pinnacle of Threshaven, whereat the shrine of Aesirion Malaar would pay Talos’ homage to the all-father, Alu.

Being deep in study of his worm eaten books, Aldus was absent of all concern about worldly affairs, and so thus Aldus agreed to Malaar’s request of leave from Talos.  

Walking northbound on a cobbled road, Malaar paused to peer back at the high citadel of Talos. It’s white towers glistened in the sunrise with an auburn hue. The enchantments of Aldus, he remembered taking notes on this magic during one of their lectures in the courtyard of wizards. Malaar let his sentiments break apart like flower seeds in the wind. Onward was his risky venture, and far it would be. Wizards of Talos walked, and seldom had need to ride a horse. Yet, a horse was what Malaar needed to make his journey over the eastern ridge. The rogue scholar would acquire a horse once he arrived to greet the king in the great city of gold. 



Bountiful were the fruits of the prosperous and proud people of Gaia Saar. Gaians, as they referred to themselves, were stout in mind, body, and spirit. Every harvest was a banquet. Every book a treasured classic. Every portrait a work of art. Architecture in Gaia city was functionally aesthetic.

Here and there were the abundant harvests of wheat. Children ate pastries without care, and they danced their little feet merrily to the sounds of flutes and harps. Gay were the people of Gaia, for no man was required to work more than his share of a few hours, though many gleefully offered of themselves to help others in their labors. No task was too great or too small for a Gaian. Nearly every man was physically able to heft great loads, and the women were more than half the strength of the men. Powerful were their people. And kindness was never beneath their dignity. To all were all welcome, was the way of Gaians.  

Archetypal hierarchy of portals



There are nine archetypes. These are the nine greater portals of power in the cosmos. These portals are further divided by primary and secondary categories, followed by the ultimate portal, and myriad lesser portals.

The four primary portals are ice, air, fire, and water.

The four secondary portals are metal, necro, hydro, and solar.

The ultimate portal is earth. The earth portal is interchangeable with a number of names, and has many variations. Some of these variations include tree portal, druid portal, grove portal, stone portal, or mound portal.

Lesser portals exist either as clones of the greater portals, or as components of mixed variants of the infamous chaos portal. Chaos portals may be artificially crafted by means of super-science and sorcery. These portals are common means of moving wizards from one place to another on just about any plane of existence, and even a fabricated or virtual universe (Including the necro-verse).

Evil portals, despite the power of order, are abundant in the physical universe. While the Diablocleus is said in legends to have been shut out of the material universe, the realms of the living are never devoid of the wicked thresholds of evil.

The diabolic portal is by far the most evil portal in all the material realms. In essence, the diabolic portal is really an inter-dimensional orifice of a colossal demonic or vampiric intelligence, which exists as a fluctuation of form and shapelessness. These entities were not included in the divine plane for the material universe, and thus must exist outside of its laws. This, however, does not prevent diabolic forces from luring adventurers into their portals. Diabolic monstrosities who grapple the unwary passerby hide within these portals. To stray into a diabolic portal is to die in the belly of a monster that is beyond mortal comprehension.

Chance of survival in an encounter with a diabolic portal entity is thin. Those rare few who have survived such encounters are driven to madness, and twisted by the evil within the diablocleus.

From whence these diabolic portal entities come from is unfathomable. Yet, it is written in shunned tomes of the ancients that an unspeakable being emerged from the Diablocleus, and poured itself into the fabric of space/ time. It then distorted the apparatus of space/ time in the cosmos, which created a chaotic rift in the material universe. But, this rift did not go unchecked by order of the divine. It was by the giants and fairy folk who refashioned the chaotic rift. Some of the disobedient fairies duplicated these chaotic portals to create a means of traversing the still unknown universe, but in discordance to the power of the space/ time continuum. For this violation of the cosmic plan, the power of ultimate creation banished these fiery beings into the realms of darkness.

As a never ending battle between the forces of order (forges of the elder fairies) and that of evil (the giants of venom and destruction), newer portals continue to manifest in the universe.

Portals of order

Contraction is the first instance in the universe. The second phenomenon was the creation of the fire and ice portals. When light broke the darkness of the void, and entropy clawed at the seals of light, a power of harmony was realized. Thus, the two primary polarities of fire and ice were crafted by the giants of the universe.

All primary portals are extreme components of the material universe. That is, primary portals have properties which function within the strictest confinements of the four elements. For instance, a fire portal is less likely to manifest for any significant length of time in the realm of ice.

It is said that Vroc was the first creature on the material plane to build an artificial fire portal. The original portal to land in the realms occurred in ancient times on the continent of Agnus, which churns restlessly in the subterranean underworld on Gaia Saar.

In essence, the fire portals exist between the ordinary universe and the infernal realms. The infernal realms are oceans of lava and brimstone, and are populated by aggressive creatures.

In magical lore fire portals rule over the force of will and transcendence. Fire portals can be summoned by magicians while facing south.

Ice portals exist in the frigid wastelands of the north. Ancient civilizations lost to time are buried in some of the remotest corners of the universe. Their libraries remain unexplored by most mortals. Some portal wizards have discovered the secret locations of these doors to the realms of inert, icy lands, where ancient knowledge is frozen in time.

Ice portals can be summoned by magicians while facing north.

Air portals emerged from a series of dragon tracks or ley lines crossing over the cosmo-sphere congruent to the greater fire portal. These dimensional passages through empty space open to lofty cities among the clouds, and to hidden places of the demi-gods who long to hide from the curiosities of mortal men. Air portals may be guarded by griffons or other winged beasts.

Air portals may be summoned by magicians while facing east.

Water portals—and their mechanized variant, hydro portals, exist between realms of water. These realms are of an aquatic beauty so unearthly that many adventures are lured in, whence never to be seen again. Some water portals are traps, and player character may be required to roll a saving throw against drowning.

Water portals are typically summoned while facing west.

Metal portals are the craftsmanship of the both medieval times and high tech civilizations. The combination of magic, metallurgy, and super-science is not uncommon in fantasy realms. Rather, these are some of the most commonly used portals, because they are long lasting, and can be crafted by any race.
(It was recorded by the sage Malaar that the kingdom of Gaia Saar fell in part due to the metal portal of the borg armies fighting alongside the dwarves and Gaians in a battle against the necro-elite at the peninsula of Talos).

Solar portals exist within the cosmic plan as a system of interplanetary conduits. Some interstellar portals are said to exist, and allow passage between solar systems, from one star to another. However, the latter is rare, and well it is hidden from the warring races of earth.

While these ancient constructs are secondary to the first four portals, earth portals are the ultimate potential of elemental portals in the material universe.

Earth portals go anywhere and anyplace on the planet. Most earth portal are the product of ancient elvish gods, or the landscaping craft of the high druid cast. These portals connect hidden druid groves with the places of fays and fairies, or open to the deep and dark places of the dwarf empires.

It is well known that dwarves and elves have fout for power over these natural portals, and have constructed artificial arcs (containment fields generated by physical confinements), and have positioned these arcs over the invisible thresholds where the portals were known to appear.

The dwarves favor earth and metal portals in the pursuit of hidden treasures and gemstones.

The elves guard the oldest earth portals for their healing powers, and to protect the sacred knowledge of the elder gods. As well, elves use the earth portals as a means to fight the hordes of undead. Evles typically have no interest in the metal portals of the dwarves or of the technological variants of cyborgs and men.

Some fo the most ancient earth portals are referred to as tree portals. This is because the ancient trees were formed from the ultimate element of earth, and were favored by fays and fairy folk who had helped to shape the earth and the forests before the days of yore.

When the all-father Alu had called home the fairies, they left behind spirits to guard their dimensional doors, so that the fairies might later revisit their magical groves.

Tree portals may be passive, without wards to guard them. Others have been imbued with wills of their own, and will lacerate intruders with their branches.

Portals of disharmony
The third phenomenon in the universe is known by the name diabolic portal. These ruptures in the cosmic design were the prisons for colossal inter-dimensional beings who rebelled against the primordial builders of the world. Long ago, the giants and fairy folk waded in the infernal fluids of a primordial sphere, shaping the universe. When disputes broke out, the war of the giants ruptured the original cosmic core, fracturing the centrifuge of cellular divinity, and forever removing its imprint upon the coming of sentient beings, save for the highest elves, who the fairies had other dealings with.

Diabolic portals kill any who enter their threshold. These portals will attempt to grapple characters with their tentacles.

Necro portals are the artificial portals for the most nefarious necromancers to walk under the earth. These doorways exist between the world of the living and the realms of the undead. With these weak points in the fabric of space/ time, necromancers are able to work unspeakable magic and super-science, creating the ghastliest monstrosities of undead and cybernetics.

In essences, necro portals cross over a quasi-universe or virtual realm which acts as a barrier between the realm of the dead and the realm of the living. Within this necroverse a living creature can endure and exist along side the deceased, conversing with the dead, and raising the undead in ways never possible in the realm of the living. The necroverse is a realm between two frequencies of reality, which is broadcasted from a series of nodes which form a network between places associated with death.

The doors to this evil matrix realm are hidden in the ancient tombs, recluse sanctuaries, and places shunned by the light. Rumor has it that some of these portals are burrowing their way into the heart of the world’s greatest cities by way of district graveyards, cemeteries, and forsaken battlefields, long haunted by the ghosts of violence and murder.

Naturally occurring necro portals are extremely rare, but have been reported to manifest in the physical universe.

While a construct will have an arc and masonry, the naturally occurring necro portal will lack all the components of the necromantic arts, and rather resemble a spiraling phantom staircase, or a whirlpool made entirely of shadow.

Most necro portals are riddled with arcane and devilish symbols, and are preceded by a flight of what appear to be cobble stone, but are indeed bones.

Detecting necro portals may require a remove illusion spell, as most necro portals are well concealed in layers of dark enchantments.



Monday, November 2, 2015

Traditional and Dynamic Portals in RPG


TRADITIONAL VS. DYNAMIC PORTALS Portals—whether they function traditionally or dynamically—play an important part in the process of storytelling for role-playing games. You detect a slight draft in the south junction of the temple, and in an alcove at the south-east corner of the oratory you can see a faint beam of light touch the head of Abraxar upon the altar of Arathor. Typically, a game master will decide on whether to make a portal visible or to merely hint at the presence of a portal. The decision to make a portal obvious may have everything or nothing to do with the sequences of events and encounters that the game master has planned out for players. Yet, making this distinction between the obvious and elusive portal is the craft of the cunning game master. (The process of declaring a portal is predetermined in the master control document, or it may be annotated on the portals router with a simple hash mark or other indicator of the game master’s preference). Players who can see a portal may be tempted to enter the portal without having a better look around the environment. Perhaps, keeping the portal in the shadows will allow for a more likely encounter with pursuers coming up the rampart on the heels of the players. There are myriad reasons to consider forehand the nature of portals when plotting a router. In essence, portals are traditionally considered a magical passageway through space/ time between two places. For the most part, this default is largely agreed upon. Dynamic portals, however, greatly enhance the overall richness of fantasy-adventure storytelling. Fundamentally, dynamic portals are constructs of magic which are deeply rooted in ancient lore or elemental properties. To make more sense of such diversity in portals, the entire portal system is divided into a hierarchy of greater and lesser gates. The archetypal portals, those portals which existed in the beginning of the physical universe, are classified as Greater Portals or primordial portals. Within the category of the greater portals are the primary portals (ice/ fire/ water/ air), secondary portals (metal/ poison/ gas/ necro), and the one ultimate portal (earth). Lesser portals are those portals which are in common use, namely variants of the traditional portal. These portals include, but are not limited to, the following categories: chaos, techno, and supernatural. The greatest exception, and by far the most diverse of portals, is the chaos portal. While chaos portals are considered lesser portals, the power of such portals is unbound by the laws of order. This means that chaos portals do not heed any laws of the greater elemental portals, and can be used to move from anyplace on one map to anyplace on the same map or any other map. Thus, chaos portals can act as a conduit between realms of extreme opposites, or simply teleport a wizard from his front door to the local tavern on the same map. Diversity in portals procures consequences in game play, particularly for the player characters. There are as many mutations and psychological effects from some portals as there are various gifts and experience points which may be earned or bestowed upon player characters. …

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Plotting Portals in RPG's

NexusUtilize portal routing charts across multiple maps--and blend genres with confidence! Nine Portals was created to expand the ordinary role-playing game into the extraordinary collaboration of story telling RPG’s. To accomplish the impossible, 9 Portals makes use of nine greater portals of power and an infinite range of lesser portals, thus greatly expanding the potential for mixing, merging, and configuring RPG genres. Portals are the bridge between maps. Each portal is plotted on a portal router document. PortalMatrix2-219x300 PORTAL ROUTER SAMPLESThe portal router document allows the game administrator (the portal master) to access different maps quickly and accurately. In a sense, the game is micro-managed behind the scenes by a series of controlled documents. In the event that some players venture through a portal, while others do not, the game administrator will have little difficulty in maintaining a steady game flow. This is because each map and portal is documented on the portal router diagram/ portal matrix. Mechanical levers, switches, catapults, spacecraft, and just about anything else can be plotted onto the document as a reference document. The document is given a number or short name, for example Mechanical Documents 101. fireportal schematicPortals may be considered mechanical constructs, particularly when a mechanical means of activating, accessing, or powering a portal is required. Complex thresholds like the fire portal may require some specs for operation, skills, combat, and other rules of which can apply to portals in various RPG's. (Attributes, hit points, weight, and dimensions of a portal's threshold are outlined in Ultimate Portal Master's Guide). The portal master knows where to find the document containing the fundamental information about a mechanical apparatus, such as a lever which shuts down a portal from a completely different map. That's because it has been documented well, and more importantly, it is easy to find from the portal matrix! However, Nine Portals offers more than a means to manage maps, documents, and cross referencing charts. Nine Portals is all about the creative imagination of The Storyteller's Thesaurus . Portals offer a means to greatly expand a game beyond the ordinary box and lid of your basic or advanced game set. Mixing and merging becomes easier, because the portals are redefined by 9Portals.com/portals (more information in our books, however, is necessary to play 9PRPG style games to their full potential).