Thorns: Uprising
is a mature, self-hosted play-by-post RPG, set in an original Victorian-esque steam-era fantasy world called Vita. The opening Kingdom of Anaxas is under the strain of impending civil war, but there are nine other kingdoms in development that will all have their unique struggles. In Anaxas, the ruling class, known as the galdori, are becoming increasingly fearful that their stranglehold on the lesser races is weakening, and a burgeoning resistance has cropped up in the capital city, threatening to undermine the government and endanger anyone in its path in the pursuit of freedom.
This RPG focuses mainly on plot/character development and story building rather than combat, and players are encouraged to make realistic characters rather than awesome, unstoppable heroes. Amid social drama and political intrigue, crime and violence, their struggle could be to topple the galdori, quash the resistance or merely to survive.
Provides examples of:
- Alternative Calendar: 10 months, 40-80 days each. And the days are really long.
- Busman's Vocabulary: pretty much every social group; the Resistance have their own code words, the pirates and mob have their slang, and the wicks have Tek. Even the galdori students have their own slang terms.
- Functional Magic: Magic is a genetic ability, and spells are cast by speaking to the mona (sentient particles that make up the universe).
- Oh, My Gods!: "Oh my gods" is not specifically used, but the variation "godsdamnit" and "good goddess" as well as many other god-specific curses are.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Ghosts are souls that refused to go into the afterlife and sort of, kind of, literally destroy the other soul from the inside out when they take over their bodies in possession.
- Reincarnation: the afterlife leads to the antelife, which leads to another life. A tenet of both Vitanism and Circlism.
- Steampunk: some have accused Thorns of being this, but it's just sort of "not quite." Lots of airships, lots of Victorian-era technology, and LOTS of clocks. Vita seems to be hovering between Steampunk and Clock Punk. With other stuff.
- Universe Bible: the Thornswiki, also known as The Lore.
