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Song of Avaria is a text-based roleplaying game that incorporates both MUD- and MUSH-like features to create a dynamic storytelling experience in an intricate and expansive fantasy world.
Setting
Avaria is a world much like Earth, with a host of cultures and countries spanning a large globe. The various kingdoms, republics, and empires of Avaria have analogues within Earth's own history, though none are an exact match. The continent of Ruvera corresponds roughly to Europe, that of Ruleska to Asia, and Idiri to Africa. The island of Jalanjhur, almost a continent in its own right, occupies the place of India and is a valued trading partner to some in Avaria and scarcely more than a rumor to others. More information can be found on each of these landmasses in the Geography section, along with descriptions of the diverse political entities that call these places home.
Perhaps the most significant difference between Earth and Avaria is that in Avaria magic is real. As it happens, magic in Avaria is very much like magic as it has been historically believed in and practiced on Earth. Large-scale magic and flashy spells are the fodder of stories and legends, and generally taken with a grain of salt -- though there just may be more than a grain of truth in these tales. But the magic that most consider real is both different from this and amazingly diverse: weather magic, harvest rituals, charms and talismans, alchemy, divination, spells to cure maladies of the mind and body, voodoo magic, the evil eye, and a host of other things both helpful and malign. For many in Avaria, magic is also synonymous with religion -- priests are socially-approved magi, prayers are both invocation and evocation, miracles are at once magical and divine.
Religion is deeply important to most in Avaria, blending seamlessly with politics as well as people's everyday life. Kalentism and Azadi, similar to Christianity and Islam, are the dominant faith systems of Ruvera and western Ruleska, and are spread and championed by the Kalentoi Empire and the Sirdabi Caliphate, respectively. But numerous other belief systems exist as well, with worship of spirits and ancestors common in much of Idiri, as well as in certain parts of Ruvera that have resisted Kalentoi influence. There are followers of other gods as well, from the mercurial Nirzali of Idiri to the God of Good Thought worshiped by Elestaarians in Irzal. Regardless of one's particular belief system, the idea of a Creator of some kind is widespread, whether one believes it to be personified God, an overarching force of nature, a visionary Dreamer, or simply a vital essence immanent in all existence.
Politics are still more complex and shifting than religion, to which they are often tied -- sometimes with perfect sincerity, sometimes as a rationalization for pursuing more worldly self-interest. The Kalentoi Empire and the Sirdabi Caliphate are the major powers in the part of the world on which the game presently focuses, though other powers exist elsewhere, simply less known to the peoples of Idiri, Ruvera, and western Ruleska. The Kingdom of Merouen has recently achieved greater unity and influence in Ruvera, with which it seeks to rival its putative ally and liege, the Kalentoi Empire, and to expand its territory at the expense of its neighbors. In Idiri the Emirate of Koumbasi chafes against its subservient status under the Sirdabi, while on the opposite end of the Caliphate the province of Irzal is plagued not only by barbarian incursions but by rumors of rebellious unrest. And all across the known world alliances are shifting, old traditions are being increasingly challenged, and new modes of thought are coming into being.
Overall Avaria is an unsettled place, where it seems like anything could happen. It is a time of great opportunity, as well as great threat.
The central setting of Song of Avaria will be the great portside metropolis of Omrazir, one of the major cities of the Sirdabi Caliphate and a key link between the continents of Idiri, Ruleska, and Ruvera.
Development
The original concept for Song of Avaria came about in 2016, and its adaptation as a MU* began in 2020. It is created using the Evennia Creation System and is currently in the early stages of development.