some INFORMATIONS regarding MANY THINGS

ABILITY SCORES have changed since last i spoke of them. now, rather than having set bonuses for different kinds of actions, your character spends points of the ability score to receive bonuses while also reducing the value rolled against for saving throws. see below for what different ability scores may be spent on:

• VIOLENCE: for every point spent, +1 to either the attack roll, or +1 damage die rolled for the attack (when rolling multiple dice, take the higher value)
• SKILL: for every point spent, +1 to any physical skill check (see below for rules on skills)
• STRENGTH: for every point spent, +1 to forcing open some door/gate/container, or being able to carry huge amounts of weight
• STAMINA: cannot spend; stamina is only reduced when it takes damage from attacks after hit points are all gone.
• CHARISMA: for every point spent, +1 to reaction rolls and other social-based rolls
• INTELLIGENCE: for every point spent, +1 to any knowledge skill check (see below for rules on skills)
• MAGIC: for every point spent, +1 to roll for casting of spells, in addition to other magic-based checks
• COSMOS: for every point spent, +1 to rolls of a cosmic nature, such as getting miraculous gifts from a spirit or summoning some weird creature

SKILLS come in two sorts: physical and knowledge. physical skills include the picking of locks, climbing walls, sneaking, hunting, etc. knowledge skills include deciphering languages, knowing things about some monster, etc. different difficulties of skill have different chances, but when you spend points of Skill on it, these chances increase by 1 for every point spent. you may choose to be trained in a skill or some skills, in which case your base chances with it will increase by 1 point.

• Trifling Predicament: 10 in 20 chance of success
• Modest Predicament: 8 in 20 chance of success
• Worthy Predicament: 6 in 20 chance of success
• Significant Predicament: 4 in 20 chance of success
• Confounding Predicament: 2 in 20 chance of success

In the small country of VORARE, all that anybody cares about is eating. the sorcerers here use a specific brand of spellcasting that uses up bodily reserves of energy, meaning that they are constantly stuffing themselves with food. very powerful wizards might be incredibly corpulent and obese, but suddenly emaciated with the casting of a single incantation. To go up in the chain of command here, one must kill and eat one's higher-ups. The Queen is sometimes called the High Cannibal. most small animals are eaten whole and alive. the rich have huge pet snakes, which some claim to be gifted with intelligence via magic. No metal currency is accepted here, and all of your mice, rats, owls, fungi, slaves, etc. must be traded in for the real version in the nation's ports. Questing Beast coins are never accepted for this reason.

there is a small island which is currently named Rule. you can find in this island nation the Fairest Court System in the entire world. if anything happens to you, the perpetrator will be found and exactly what happened to you will be inflicted upon the criminal. An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth, a Theft for a Theft, a Death for a Death. however, every 39 years, the city cycles over to a mirror-city named Corrupt. here, nothing is ever punished. everything is burning and stolen and killed and nobody will ever own up to it and take a punishment for it. there is no court system and there is no ruler. currently, the island has been Rule for 26 years, which means in another 13 it will cycle over to Corrupt.

RELIGION is incredible in its variety, complexity, and weirdness, both in the real world and in The World with no Name. the most widespread faith in the region we will be playing in is The Concordance of Ahjax, really not so much its own religion as innumerable smaller cults that grouped together under the same moniker. then there is the chaotic otherworldly spirit with the ever-watchful eye and the angular form, which is hostile to all other religion and hostile to the world as a whole. there are three major gods that form a sort of pantheon of friends, where different groups will worship one specific spirit but will also respect and acknowledge the existence of the other two. The customs, rituals, and strange strictures from each religion are multi-layered and complex, as are the relationships between major religions. This doesn't even include lesser cults, sects, and faiths that one might find hidden in the area.

the major religions of the area are as follows (posts regarding each of these faiths and philosophies are forthcoming):

• The Concordance of Ahjax: a monolatric faith where the followers hail an immense multitude of saints, demigods, demons, spirits, godlings, etc. each worshiped being is connected to a great god named Ahjax, and they are said to be aspects of it.
• The Pantheon of Friends/Allied Pantheon
• The Graveyard: a religion regarding life, death, decay, and the impermanence of all things. The Graveyard is both a physical being/location (it is one of the 5 moons of the planet), but it is also an indistinct metaphysical location where all things go after death. the concordance of ahjax considers following The Graveyard a heresy, punishable by jail and torture (note: this punishment is only possible within the nation-state of the concordance of ahjax)
• Growl: a deity of energy and of cosmic things. it is energy, and it can work with energy, and so can those creatures and people connected with it. the concordance of ahjax considers following Growl a heresy, punishable by jail and torture (note: this punishment is only possible within the nation-state of the concordance of ahjax)
• Makoto: the being known as Makoto is a chaotic deity, associated with natural disasters and change. the concordance of ahjax isn't certain as to its opinion regarding Makoto, but the high council says to be wary of followers of this deity, as they might be connected to followers of the more heretical other gods.
• Bill Cipher, the Weirdness Demon, the Ever-Watchful Eye, the Pyramid, He Who Makes and Breaks Promises: i literally stole this god from a cartoon, just go watch it it is very good. he is a chaotic being of unnatural disasters, of pure unadulterated unpredictability and of neverending change.

the concordance of ahjax is the most widespread religion in this region, and it is much more personal and the more distant and impersonal allied pantheon and ever-watchful eye. the saints and godlings of the concordance are much closer to the people than the strange spirits of the pantheon. The Concordance has gods of fertility, harvest, hearth, hunting, fighting, etc. that feel close to the people, whereas the allied pantheon has only distant and alien gods that embody vast and important cosmic concepts. Bill Cipher is just incredibly weird and dangerous, and yet there are many who follow him.

of course, there are also many, many demons, spirits, ghosts, alien beings, devils, godlings, etc. that are smaller in scope than any of the faiths described above.