The Enchanted, Wondrous Void


So based on the last post's discussion of Enchanted Worlds and Sense of Wonder, how do you put those in a campaign setting inspired by White Star that has both fantasy and science fiction aspects?

One of my first thoughts, in line with the "Jedi" of White Star, was the cave Luke has a vision of Vader in. Does the cave draw out his fears and hatreds thanks to some kind of psionic "enchantment" put there by Yoda? Maybe not, but it is that kind of plausibly deniable Weird that can work in a science fantasy setting that doesn't want to have full blown magic users in the Present. True Detective Season 1 would be an arguably better example, but not if you want to have a bit of magic via psionics in there. Twin Peaks is another possible example so long as the White/Black Lodge is a place not actually accessible otherwise you're entering Doom territory.

That said, hinting that something like Doom's narrative happened and demons obliterated a whole civilization (or more) that opened a gate to Somewhere Else isn't so bad. A better example is probably the Orz coming through a dimensional gateway in Star Control II given they could still be around in the setting. In fact I might end up putting them in...

There's probably a lot of more magical stuff from Star Wars I don't know much about or am forgetting, but I also recall some weird stuff from Star Trek like that Negative Thoughts Golem Thing that killed Natasha Yar. There was also at least one alien that fed on negative emotions it induced IIRC, some kind of psychic vampire. More stuff that might be worth incorporated into an Enchanted Void.

Psychic imprints left where great conflicts occurred, or possibly a cultists' space station, are also possibilities. Perhaps these echoes affect PCs who themselves have been mentally weakened due to stress, fatigue, etc.

Moral states affecting places would likely be tied into the Way of the Star and Void Knights, with Star Knights perhaps suffering weaknesses when in shrines/temples dedicated to the Void. (And arguably vice-versa but I see Star Knights as too scattered to have a lot of religious centers.) Emotions might help one resist psionic forces, the tried and true example being love & loyalty helping break psychic domination.

Could there be something like an alien Fisher King who is psychically connected to the land, ocean, or maybe even Star System? Can there be a psychic bond between mystics and natural habitats so you get a kind of psychic druid?

Regarding Sense of Wonder, having massive temple/shrine craft floating in space (or secreted in the heart of a Sun) might evoke a feeling of technological awe while also tying into an Enchanted World. The holy sites could be architecturally incredible while also having some kind of psychic resonance that responds to mood and/or morals.

A limitation we might want to put on Psionics is that while you can move stuff around it's never at the level where you're telekinetically putting together a space station. There should be a sense of awe that mortal hands built the thing, like we get when we see the great ancient Wonders of our world. We could suggest the Void has a Voice, a none too pleasant one, but that the very act of civilization ("Law" in OSR)  brings order and Humanistic/Enlightenment morals to the callous hungry cold of Space. The very structures and achievements that can evoke Sense of Wonder as Science Fiction would have it would be acts of Chaoskampf against the Void.

So Dyson Spheres b/c God Wills It....


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