In 20 questions, this FAQ aims to give
precise answers to the various questions you may have about Eoris Essence:
- What is Eoris Essence?
It is a table top role-playing game that
features a vast world centred on the idea that we are made and we make history
through our choices. In this case what we choose is more important God or her
Creation, will lead us to choose sides in a war that threatens to end all.
- What is the style of the game?
Eoris Essence is a science fantasy rpg in which the exploration of purpose of being
and of action are key. Characters explore the world around and the world within
as they take part in a moral dilemma that revolves around the idea of
importance and what one is willing to do for what one believes in. A key
question hangs over the characters as they face or escape the historical events
that occur around them.
- What are the themes of the game?
Given the vast cosmological, ideological,
elemental and historical features of the game there are many possibilities for
theme. High fantasy and deep character development clash with high action
packed scenarios and situations that face the bigger than life ideas of the
“celestial” we have with a sense of personal realisation and purpose.
- What makes the Essence rpg game “transcendental”?
It speaks from the heart of things and its
implications on life and the world. It is based on the idea that choices make
history, and become inevitable. Our constant search for home is at the heart of
why reason and desire clouds every thought and every decision a character
makes. There must be a reason to kill and a reason not to kill, a reason to
stay home or a reason to leave. Simple choices based on simple desires
unavoidably escalate driving the characters into change. What a character is at
the beginning, is not who she is in the end. It also explores the belief in God
and why we believe in her/him. What makes God, God and why do we delve into the
murky road that is answering the big questions of life by ourselves. Ignoring
the rest of the universe and what happens within those, we decided, are our
enemies and perhaps, in the journey making them our friends is at the core of
why the thematic pushes characters into consideration of “the other” and of the
self.
- What do you mean by “Science fantasy”?
Simply put it means there is no real
“fantasy” in the Essence rpg. Instead, whatever seems magical or unreal has an
explanation that is based on a logic that is inherent to the world of Eoris.
This logic explains everything and creates a filter in which the people see
their “magical” world as we the computers we are working with now. We know it
has a logical explanation, but once we think about how a microchip can store
data when the power is out we start to question if we really do understand. Can
we picture information in a magnetic medium? Does this information move around?
Is it static? Likewise the people who developed the microchip did not develop
the use of electricity. Our human technology is a collective construct no one
understands completely. Push that into a thousand years of advancement and we
have Saeia, Eoris’ all-tech. Likewise, it also means there is no real science
on the setting, but ideas based on the general knowledge derived from
observation today.
- What is the setting of the game?
A world beyond our physical realm that lies
in the fringes of existence and that is home to the Great Spirit, God. Cradle
of life and origin of the Consciousness, this world is perhaps even more real
than ours and it lies at the brink of dissolution. Its many cultures now face
the unconscious of God made flesh, the Last Spirits, who seek to destroy her
regardless of the cost. There is no evil, no good, and no absolutes other than
the reality presentd and the choices that make us free.
- What are the game’s main sources of inspiration?
Many things have inspired the game so the
answer to this question will undoubtedly have gaps. The landscape of our
country, Colombia, has been of paramount importance. Animal diversity and
“human-animal” cooperation with a strong desire for an attainment of peace are
at the core of the game and seem omnipresent whilst travelling through our
country. Video games have also inspired.
Starting with
Xenogears and moving to Shadow of the Colossus, the influences are great and
hard to describe. A feeling of the magnificent mixed with the idea of simple
landscapes that seem tranquil and even unimportant. A celestial event reduced
to a series of human emotions and interactions that are perhaps very real to
most of us. Technologies that serve as a means to exalt our human spirits and
desires and the contradictory idea that our spirits and truest longings are not
of greatness but of closeness to what is around us. A man staring into a lake,
rather than conquering it, perhaps speaks louder of the spirit of the Essence rpg,
than a vast warship moving through the cosmos.
- How are South American elements included in the game?
Unavoidably we are South American.
Colombian to be precise, and this gives the game a different approach to how
societies see each other. It is not feudal, it is not modern and it is not
tribal. It is mix of things in which many forms of government, of religion and
culture had to learn to grow together and come to terms. From the most
civilised and educated, to the most uneducated, primal and perhaps childish of
beings, this world shares its sceneries equally. There is a history of
tolerance growing into acceptance, growing into understanding that is easy to
see happening on our continent daily. There is also a great desire for more.
Like everyone is expecting something larger than life to happen. We believe in
a one true god while also believing in thousands upon thousands of small
deities, spirits, who share this world with us as much as God and everyone
else.
- Who will be the Characters?
Well… that’s up to you. We designed a game
system that literally allows you to play as conventional humanoid characters.
But we have seen players have characters that are simple animals of this world
attempting to survive as the rules of men and gods alter their habitats. Truly
this game offers many possibilities that are fun and easy to explore.
- What types of Characters can be played in Eoris Essence?
Basically any type. Truly, check it out for
your selves. Nevertheless, main characters could be the Contacts, beings who
have the ability to redefine the fabric of the world instinctively. That is,
without the need for advanced technologies.
- Inhabiting the world of Eoris could be explained by using
what examples of popular media?
The idea of cultural/biological diversity
that mixes the old traditional scenarios with advanced technologies found in
games such as Xenogears, some final fantasies, Journey (the video game). Also
an idea of vast landscapes like those found on Shadow of the Colossus,
especially when referring to the evocative feeling and the sense of wonder of
the simple mundane. The idea of multiple warring groups may be compared to
starcraft’s races and their desires for survival or universal dominion. The
incredibly (almost fantastically) talented characters and their close relation
to many forms of intellectual and physical prowess could be compared with over
the top protagonists like Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. Finally, the idea of
the “Dream of the Universal Consciousness” which is Eoris itself, has levels of
depth and exploration comparable to Inception and Paprika.
- How do I find the Eoris books?
You may visit www.essencerpg.com, our blog, facebook,
twitter or look for the books on amazon. You may also join any forum in the internet
and create a thread, through which the creators will contact you.
- How is the game system?
Designed to have a complex, long and fully
detailed Character generation process that offers so many options some may feel
daunted, the Essence System provides thousands of options for players to choose
from. It also includes three games in one. You may play as Xylen (ordinary
beings), Sil (free spirits of God) or Kalei (Spirits that serve the unconscious
will of God and seek to destroy her).
- Eoris is a complex world with many mysteries and secrets.
Will there be a revelation or must we come up with solutions on our own?
The idea is for every gaming group to
create their own version of the game and make it their own. This however does
not in any way clash with the idea of a fixed idea given the cosmological order
of Eoris. Nevertheless, new expansions are underway where secrets will be
revealed and the history will advance to explore the furthest depths of the
war.
- Is Eoris Essence an on-going series?
Eoris is a world creation that has many
years in the making and encompasses wondrous efforts from its creators. It is
indeed an on-going series.
- What will the style of the scenarios and adventures be
like?
When directly relevant to the historical
events of the world, the style is an escalating, over the top, celestial
confrontation between beings who wish to overcome one another no matter the
cost. In this struggle inner demons arise and the true purpose behind every
action is revealed.
Nevertheless, the setting is presented in an open and free
manner so that Players and GMs alike may decide on what form of game they will
experience. This is based on the idea we had when we first played roleplaying games:
The world is but the scenario, events and characters are what matter. The more
we played D&D, the more we realised that what was being proposed was a
world where anything could happen. This is also the case for Eoris Essence. We
feel that anything could and should happen. We welcome everyone to experience
the world of Eoris in as free a manner as possible.
- What does the Primordial Clay or “custom species creator”
do?
Allows character to modify any previously
existing species, or create their own. Narrators (gaming masters) use this tool
to create enemies and antagonists, new species, vehicles, and any creation that
is based on a physical form.
- What are the creatures of Eoris Essence’s bestiary? Are
there classic enemies like goblins and dragons, or an entire new wave of
creatures?
Basically any the Narrator wishes to
include on the setting so long as it is not a magical species or race. Only
biological creatures inhabit the world of Eoris. Magic simply does not exist.
- Who are the “Aiej”?
The spirits that inhabit the world of Eoris
and that represent or embody the soul of a particular thing. Some spirits are
fragmented into different beings instead of just one. For example the Sil as a
whole embody the spirit of life in a certain fragment of the universe.
- Will Eoris Essence have expansions?
Yes. But it is important to realise the
books that are currently for sale present a version of the world and of the
game that is open, free… but also unique to the limited edition. Never again
will the books be printed in the same manner or with everything they have
including the three game modes.
