#empyria wb

[squidknees]

rewrote most of the humans page on the Empyria lore site. even this bonkers JRPG world is not free from stupid rumours

[squidknees]

cleaned-up version of the potion diagram, now up on my lore site

[squidknees]

thinking about “potions” in Empyria...

essentially, pre-packaged single-use spells. pulling the tab lets the mana flow into the spell circuits, activating the effect inscribed on them.

it’s unsafe to store too much mana in a simple container, so potion effects tend to be weak, but they’re easy and convenient to use.

[squidknees]

humans in Empyria are warped and shaped by the makeup of the magic background field where they were born. Remy’s parents moved before they had him, which makes for some strange family photos.

[squidknees]

figuring out some iconography for the Church of Aether. it is... really difficult to make a four sided symbol that doesn’t look kind of like a cross

[squidknees]

examples of fashion styles among the nobility of Empyria, for the lore site.

[squidknees]

List of things you might find on a bookshelf in Empyria:

A pocket-sized “human phenotype” reference, where you can look up physical features (ear shapes, tail types, etc.) and see which cities produce humans with those traits. Extremely incomplete, and some chapters are sketchy, or straight up incorrect.

A collection of depressing fairy tales, including one about a man who died in a senseless war and came back as a horrible rampaging monster, razing his hometown and eating people until his wife found and properly buried his corpse.

A romance novel about a farm girl who gets rescued from bandits by a dashing adventurer. The back cover claims it gives a “realistic look” into the adventurer lifestyle, but it’s mostly just the two of them cutting down generic villains and gazing soulfully into each other’s eyes.

A Church of Aether pamphlet about how the world is going to end again soon if you don’t stop using those blasphemous magitech washing machines.

A cheap paperback about Rugged Heroic Adventurers sailing to an unexplored Outer Continent and roughing it out in the Perilous Jungles that definitely exist beyond the outer seas. They fight a variety of lovingly-described “beasts”, which are totally different from monsters for reasons that are never really made clear.

[squidknees]

example monsters for the lore site. a coastal bonebeast, a batfly, and a spiny slime.