The Laws of It All: worldbuilding guidelines and principles

ooo mr lynch you know i love a good lever

a whole console of Laws: setting toggles and switches and levers. people and combat and knowledge and death all at your fingertips. go ahead, pull/twist/flick/lick a few, you're only fucking up a world.

Peter Kohler is kind of my best friend

the world

1. is old; all buildings and structures used to be something else in at least one way that is immediately evident. all of them hold a secret history that is revealed on closer inspection, as do any treasures or relics of importance.
   
   this thing holds echoes of a...
1. wedding
2. battle
3. execution
4. betrayal
5. coronation
6. worship
7. oath
8. suicide
9. birth
10. burial
2. is new; things are still being created; choose a few core elements to be absent from the setting etc. over the course of the session, reveal the progress made towards the creation of these things. 
   what still remains in the womb of the world?
fire
1. the sun
2. stars
3. moon
4. oceans
5. mountains
6. trees
7. mammals
8. reptiles
9. magic
10. death
11. birth 
3. is bustling; add reminders of other agendas, nations, wars, trade etc. to the encounter table. players are constantly asked to choose sides, to further one agenda against the other, and the impacts of their actions on these conflicts should be tangible. 
4. is still; the character's are watched, their presence as active agents both upsetting and intriguing to all. players are asked to do the things no one has done

central figure is definitely Vivienne Mugler, maybe the whole collage is too??

people 

1. are rare: 4/6 people know given person, 1/6 times someone is around, 2/6 times someone overhears
2. everywhere: 1/6 people know given person , 3/6 times someone is around, 4/6 times someone overhears
3.  are communal: wrongdoings followed up on 4/6 times,  disappearances noticed after 1d6 days, always followed up on
4.  are isolated: wrongdoings followed up on 1/6 times,  disappearances noticed after 3d6 days, 3/6 followed up on

now I KNOW you're fuckin with Shintaro Kago

knowledge 

1. is rare: it's either dangerous to uncover or dangerous to know, the most useful knowledge is both
2. is extremely easy to access but there is a (concealed) 2/6 chance that it's totally false and a 2/6 chance that it's partially false
3. can only be held only by experts, and they will always alter it slightly to suit their agenda, which they always have
4.  is constantly evolving; everyone has strong opinions about the nature of reality.  every time you seek out the answer to a question, there's a 3/6 chance that it's changed slightly and a 1/6 chance that it's totally wrong

Morgan Robles u rock my world

treasure

1. is the necessities of life; food, water, shelter, fire etc.: these things are not available by default; without significant effort, characters will die
2. alters or mutates your character: treasure cannot be unequipped; once used, it grants the character new abilities permanently and significantly alters their appearance or functionality
3. is relics of a more mythic past: treasure always has an agenda tied to its history, and works subtly or overtly to carry out that. creatures, especially long lived ones, will recognize and have opinions about any given treasure. 
4. is leftover from a more advanced past: treasure has dramatic effects that cannot be duplicated in any other way but always has some kind of fuel or ammunition, is delicate, and cannot be repaired if broken.
5. is for sale, for the extremely wealthy: people are generally aware of treasure and the effects it has; it carries connotations as a status symbol and people will generally assume you are extremely wealthy or important if they see you with it. 
6. is dangerous: treasure is powerful but invariably causes harm to the user and/or causes collateral damage to other creatures or aspects of the environment. it is regarded with fear and suspicion

its impossible to be cooler than Akiya Kageichi it just cannot be done

magic

1. is ephemeral and names its undoing as it is cast; fairytale logic
2.  is rare; there are only 1-3 types of places it can be found and characters do not have access to it starting out
1. caverns and caves
2. in tombs
3. tops of mountains
4. deep in forests
5. ruins
6. faerie realm/otherworlds accessed in ways both specific and strange
3. is common but
1. dangerous to its surroundings
2. dangerous to the user
3. cruel to other beings
4. requires expensive materials 

Ken Kelly ik ur up there shooting lasers at god now

combat

1. is brutal every exchange ends with a wound for one of the parties, including failed player attacks. when first majorly wounded, roll to do anything but freak out on your next action.
   track hit locations and effects like so:
1. head/neck: roll 4/6 +1 per each action taken or collapse
   1 arm: can't use that arm
   2 arm: can't use that arm
   chest: lose next action, roll 1/6 + 2 per each action taken or collapse
   back: lose next action, 1/6 of being paralyzed, roll 1/6 +1 per each action taken or collapse
   stomach: roll 1/6 +1 per each action taken or collapse
   1 leg: move only by using support or crawling
   2 legs: crawl
2. is cinematic; players get at least 1 chance to respond before consequences, even on failures, 2 against weaker foes. (so like; he swings the blade  🠊 what do you do  🠊failure  🠊 the blade is about to strike your flesh 🠊 what do you do??? ), you can choose to get sent flying to reduce damage taken by one step or to cause collateral damage to increase your damage by one step

Agostino Arrivabene you have my whole heart and brain and ass

death

1. is common; death is entirely possible as a consequence for failure. 
   characters are replaced via some combination of:
1. designated respawn points
2. on the spot resurrection at some kind of cost to the (un)dead character
3. hireling promoted to PC
4. new character chosen from an existing troupe or company
5. wanderers are common; wandering PC is introduced at the earliest opportunity 
6. player plays as an immortal controlling force; a god, fate, possessing spirit, ghost, parasite etc. who moves to a nearby mortal NPC host
2. is uncommon; player's must agree to their character's death, otherwise characters are always injured and left for dead/mutated/taken prisoner/robbed/forced into oaths or service/humiliated