Mortal Coil: A Campaign Frame
A man the size of a house sits himself down in the middle of a field. To the east¸ soot blackens the sky: a city¸ fresh to industry¸ stinking of innovation. He watches dully as clouds of smoke reach towards him¸ like a funereal shroud seeking a corpse.
A bright spark leaps from the grass¸ flitting from dandelion to brush to weed¸ then settling upon his knee. At the center of the spark¸ a tiny feminine figure no larger than a thumbnail. She speaks¸ her voice clear as a bell¸ "So it's time for you to slumber¸ too¸ old friend?"
"No stopping it¸" rumbles the giant. "I have long been too large for the breath of our Maker to move. It fills too many souls¸ now¸ and turns their minds away from the old magic."
"Divinity¸" spits the fairy. "In our hands¸ miracles¸ magic¸ wonder. In theirs¸ it is squandered on invention¸ on machines. They are blind to what they are capable of¸ as they bleed the world dead of all color."
She stomps her feet. "Look at it! Look! They call it inspiration and progress. Grey lives and grey skies¸ that's what it is."
The fairy turns to look at her towering friend¸ but he is already asleep. The grasses of the field have begun to spread across his legs¸ to crawl up his chest. His eyes and mouth are mere indentations in a lump of earth.
In a few minutes more¸ he will be nothing more than a hillside overlooking the march of progress.
Divinity is a campaign frame for Mortal Coil written by Fred Hicks¸ author of Spirit of the Century and Dresden Files RPG. Set at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution¸ Divinity explores what happens to fantastical creatures when there is only so much magic in the world¸ and humankind begins using it up in the name of progress.
Divinity is a fully sketched out setting in the form of a detailed theme document¸ with all of the world set-up choices written out in detail. The frame is customizable by your game group. You choose a tone¸ and pick the magic level that is appropriate for your game.
Campaign frames are great ways to do a quick setup for Mortal Coil¸ and are ideal for playing a pick-up game or convention game. If your players really like the setting¸ the frame can be used for a longer term game as well. A campaign frame is also useful as a how-to on setting up a unique theme document of your own.