Strange — RPGaDay #26

As with Cthulhu Hack before it, I have sought to find something strange through the use of as much original source materials as practical. Thankfully, the existence of contemporary material makes this possible, alongside the commentary of more recent academic considering the prevailing belief in the supernatural through varies lenses.

A key consideration is the changing landscape of belief, but that is not the only one. Indeed, in and of itself, change in faith and worship are themselves driven by wider changes in political, economic and social shifts. People were moving from the countryside into towns as landowners robbed them of their livelihoods, securing common lands that might have once allowed the unemployed to eke out a self-supported existence. The nations were at each other’s throats over territory, reach and religion, which in turn filtered down to the labouring classes as a need to provide support or a push to embrace a certain facet of faith.

The century is unsettled by warring personalities at stratospheric heights compared to the humble man working the land or tending to his trade; the collateral damage is like a fine rain of debris, noticeable for many, troublesome for most, directly impacting few in a way that causes immediate harm. In the end, that debris gathers and changes the landscape in ways impossible to predict at the outset.

The upheaval in belief and the clash of houses and nations unsettled belief and it makes for a rich unwilling of folklore. Strange occurrences and unexpected changes become targets for tales of the supernatural and uncanny. In The Dee Sanction, these strange events and occurrences become far more menacing; these manifestations threaten anyone and everyone because they presage unnatural forces that have little consideration for humanity. The conflicts of contemporary Europe are nothing compared to the ageless rivalries and dominion of the Fae, the spectral, the cadaverous, and the demonic.

Every day during August, I’ll be writing something new on The Dee Sanction and aim to connect the word prompt of the day with the development of the game. Check out the concept, the list and the graphics over at AUTOCRATIK.