Around The World

This week we're going to introduce and take a look at the first entry in an ongoing series related to the world-building of Rimukyr. The rules of Realm of Runes itself are designed to be setting agnostic, especially with the removal of money from the system as discussed here. Even so, first-party adventures, like Sunk Costs, need a world in which to be set. That's where Rimukyr comes in. But that setting and world are larger and more varied than just what shows up in an adventure, and building a world is a fun experience of discovery. Something I have found in my experience as a player of RPGs, however, is that setting information is most often directed at GMs, and much of it makes for dry reading if you're not already very enthusiastic to learn about a new fantasy world.

All of these influences come together to shape Meeuwissen's Atlas of the World. This informational series will be the primary method by which the majority of Rimukyr's world-building elements are provided to both players and GMs alike. Adventures will still include important world-building details required for that adventure in an omniscient format, but one of the things that makes the Atlas of the World special is that it is written from a diegetic perspective. This atlas is presented as compiled by a world-traveling character within Rimukyr itself, incorporating a personal perspective and anecdotes from the travels which served as the research basis for the work itself.

One of the best features of this diegetic style is its versatility. The Atlas of the World can be used as a GM resource for setting your own adventures in Rimukyr. It can also be used as a player resource for building character backstories for adventures which take place in Rimukyr. And, perhaps most interesting, it can serve as a character resource as well! Since the volumes of the Atlas of the World exist within the world itself, it's easy for your character to have one or more of its installments on hand. This helps bring the meta information available to players back into character focus, alleviating some of the uncomfortableness of using out-of-game knowledge in game, while still providing a handy tool, especially in more sandbox style adventures.

Another aspect of the Atlas of the World that benefits from being written from this diegetic perspective is the tone of the presentation. Meeuwissen's Atlas contains maps as the author experienced them, and the information about nations and settlements is provided as more of a travel guide than an encyclopedia. This style goes a long way to alleviating the difficulty of absorbing information from drier, fact- and mechanics-focused works. The Atlas of the World is meant to be a fun read more than a list of vital statistics, and that engagement in turn helps to improve retention of the information. Even if you don't remember details, you'll probably have a good idea of which section to search to get a refresher.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of presenting the Atlas of the World as a diegetic document, though, is the potential for it to be incorrect or incomplete as necessary. By setting the Atlas within the world itself, if serves as a snapshot of Rimukyr from one person's perspective, at the time that it was experienced. If any of the information needs to be adjusted to facilitate an adventure or to better fit a party's preferences, that does not inherently invalidate the atlas. By not being presented as an omniscient, objectively correct document, Meesuwissen's Atlas serves as a fun and easy gateway into the world of Rimukyr. A building block to be used and altered as needed. The author shares their experience with the world, but your experience may vary!

Next time we'll take a glimpse at another, concurrent project that has started developing in parallel with Realm of Runes. It's Realm of Runes related, but something completely different. I'm really excited to introduce this one, so stay tuned!