Chapter 3

•  The Story of Odyum
  •  Introduction
• Journals & Stories
  • Season 1

Violence and the Supernatural
The fantasy setting of Odyum is violent, deadly and filled with magic and monsters. Other dimensional beings, demons, and sorcerers torment, stalk and enslave humans. Monsters, gods, magic, insanity, cannibalism, war and heroic adventure are all elements of this site. Some parents may find the violence and supernatural elements inappropriate for young readers/players. We suggest parental discretion. Please note that none of us here condone or encourage the occult, the practice of magic, the use of drugs, or violence.

The worlds of Odyum are a brutal place of blasted rock cast in Iron. The design of the worlds is based heavily on the artwork of Luis Royo, and draws further inspiration from sources like Heavy Metal Magazine, video games such as Brütal Legend, and dramatized historical shows such as Spartacus: Blood and Sands.
Odyum is a bleak place of mounting danger and horror, where mortals huddle together in massive walled cities, seeking the protection of numbers, while savage beasts roam the wilderness outside their towering iron walls.
As is the case however when many are forced into tight confines, tempers run high within the cities and violence and power struggles are common place. Decadence, sin and corruption are rampant, and wealth and power lure men to commit atrocities far beyond the wickedness of the monsters beyond the parapet.

Odyum is my own home made creation, but you will find it does draw heavily from other sources.  If I were selling this campaign setting I would be sued for plagiarism but because it is just for fun and I am making no profit from it I hope those I am borrowing materials and ideas from  will take it for what it is, compliments.  I am using a great deal of the Pathfinder core campaign setting (The Inner Sea) to help me write Odyum, so there will plenty of similarities there for those who are looking.

Politics, sex, military strategy, violence and crime. These things are considered mature themes by North American culture. In this game I will be addressing these issues, using them as plot elements and I do not intend to censor these areas for "good taste".
The idea that an RPG has to meet the PG13 standard is ridiculous, and if this were a movie it would be rated NC-17 at the very least and if it were a video game it would be rated A. The main reason for this is graphic violence and sexual content.
Violence is an important part of the story, and the nature of combat in Odyum is very violent. Combat situations may not happen every session, and one of the ideas of the game is to avoid unnecessary violence, but when I does happen I hope that we will all be prepared for it.
The political aspect will be visible only rarely at first, but the game will have a strong political backdrop as the story progresses, and the characters are going to be involved in political issues. Once the group becomes established there will be sessions that are entirely political maneuvering, no combat, just politics.
Crime is another issue. I will not be making crime look sexy or stylized. I plan to show the victims as people, not just faceless NPCs who had a bad night. If you intend to be a light hearted criminal then start working on a new angle, because I will not allow it. Crime is a serious issue in the game world just as it is in ours, and it has consequences. So choose your criminal activity carefully if you plan to do any at all.
Sex... If you are uncomfortable with the idea, or you yourself are not mature enough to handle the subject appropriately then you need to re-think your involvement with this game.  Odyum has graphic sexual content and there are game mechanics for sex since it will actually be important to the story from time to time.  Not every sexual encounter will be role-played through mind you, only those that matter to the storyline or the pace of action.  If your character picks up at the local bar and gets laid do not expect the party to wait while you indulge your fantasies.
One thing to be said now that we have discussed both crime and sex: Rape is a crime, and it happens. I will not have an NPC rape a PC with out first discussing it with the player in private, and the event must have a purpose to the story, and I expect that no PC will rape an NPC or another PC without giving the same considerations. Further, any such activity that does take place in the story will be dealt with candor and discretion, I am not going to role-play rape for sheer entertainment. Do we have an understanding? Rape can enhance a story, but it is not something people should have to role-play through. In fact, role-playing a rape scene could be almost as traumatic as actually being raped to some people, so lets respect the feelings of our fellow gamers.
The supernatural is a big part of the Sins of Man campaign, and it is going to involve most, if not all of the mature themes we have just discussed. I want one thing made clear here, I do not condone the worship of demons! Even though it is prevalent in the setting, it is not something I myself have ever been interested in doing, nor do I recommend it to anyone else. The supernatural elements of this campaign are fictional, and not intended to resemble any real-world religions or spirituality. This is a work of fiction, and not to be taken literally.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I don't think any of the above is going to be a problem with this group, but because this is a public web site I wanted to explain for the sake of the random readers what the boundaries are, so addressing those issues, I feel, is important.

Now for something important...  If you look further into this site then you are agreeing to see content of the above stated nature.  If you don't want to see this kind of material then you should navigate away from this page now.  Please, you have been warned.

1.       Attendance: The campaign runs on a bi-weekly schedule.  I expect consistent attendance and adherence to this agenda.  If you are a “one shot” character then you are exempt from this rule.  All one shot characters are not welcome for more than two sessions before they will be asked to either join the campaign permanently or stop attending.

2.       Attendance Exceptions:  If you are going to miss a game session, or are going to be late for one, let me know in advance.  I would like at least one full days notice if you are going to be absent and at least an hour’s notice if you are going to be late (that’s an hour from start time, not your arrival time).  If you want to take some time away from the game by all means do so, but notify me in advance and give me a general idea of how long you will be gone for.  I would prefer you attend one game session before you take your leave, that way your character can be written out more effectively.

3.       Non-Attending Players:  In the even of absence you are expected to accept any changes to your characters status when you return.  I will make every effort to keep your character in the same state as they where in the last session you attended, but occasionally characters may have to fight or spend gold while you are away.  Do not, I repeat, DO NOT cry to me about your character being a few gold short or having suffered an injury while you were away.  I will try to avoid this as much as possible but occasionally these things just happen.

4.       New Players:  I don’t care if your little brother wants to play too.  I select players, and if you want someone to join I want to meet with them first.  I want to sit down and talk with them outside of the game table.  That means meeting them in a restaurant or at the bar or something, and getting to know them before I offer them a spot in the game.  Do not, I repeat, DO NOT tell your friend I am interviewing them to join the game.  I am just seeing if I can stand being around them without wanting to strangle them.

5.       Dice Conventions:  All players will make their roles on the designated rolling surface and they will not grab the dice before anyone can see the roll.  Honesty has been severely lacking in my previous gamers and it has made a skeptic of me.  Please humor me; roll where I can see it.  Also, I will make rolls in secrete often during the game…  To bad! I’m the GM!  It’s my Job!   Once per session however the group may call for a roll to be remade in the open.  This is once per session, not once per session per player.

6.       Book Use:  Players are welcome to use the Core book, as well as the information on this site during play.  If your character uses anything else from other sources please take the time to write it all down outside of game time, because once the game starts you will not be allowed to look at any other books without my permission, so have the stats for that new spell written down in your own notes please.

7.       Rule Discussion: Discussion good!  Arguing BAD!!!  I welcome discussion about the rules, but no arguing.  If an agreement cannot be reached I make the final say, for better or woe.  Alright?  You may say “Hey!  Don’t I get a save?”  But I don’t want to hear “That’s dumb!  What the f*** happened to my save?”  Also, my rulings may not always coincide with the source books.   This is because I prefer story and drama to rules and dice.

8.       Jokes and Off-Topic Discussion:  Enjoy yourselves, but don’t get carried away.  If everyone wants to talk about Lord of the Rings or Foot Ball instead of the game then lets take a break and have a discussion.   If there is someone who is irritated by this however let’s try to get back on topic quick.  Thanks!

9.       Potluck:  Please, I beg of you, please bring your own snacks to the game session.  It’s not that I don’t like you all, but my resources are short.  All players are welcome to chip-in for pizza or other goodies, but don’t just sit there and ask me if I have any food to give you.  As a general rule I don’t even have enough food to give myself.

10.   Alcohol: Social drinking is welcome within limits.  A few beers well spaced out is OK, but if you start swaying in your chair or passing out you will be asked to leave the table.  You can stay around, but your character will be removed from play and you will be taking a break.