This page details the introduction to Daydream - the why behind its existence. Further, it includes a depiction of who the Infused are, relative to everyone else; as well as a description of the world of Reverie, and how it differs from a setting like Golarion or Faerûn.
Few internally consistent worlds based on the Hellenistic period exist which support a d20-compatible system. The most popular settings seek, more or less redundantly, to mimic the European late middle ages. This - though it's an exaggeration to do so - might be called a tragedy; many, over the decades, have voiced interest in settings inspired by other parts of history. Few responses have surfaced - and this is a justifiable circumstance; placing classical high fantasy heroes directly into Greece would have less than consistent results.
Daydream is a setting designed to evoke the ideas of the mighty heroes of Grecian myth, the stories of Olympians clashing with the Titans. Daydream tells a story of Hellenistic mystery cults, powerful Oracles, the Gods walking among men, and the intense power of divinely-inspired resolve. Though the titles differ, and Daydream's peoples and champions are not those of ancient Greece, an aura of mysticism and the extraordinary amongst the everyday persists.
Like the Titanomachy of Greek mythology, in which Zeus the Olympian once lead a war against Cronus the Titan, Daydream lays out the divine Arbiters against the scheming Pristines. In calling to the secretive Hellenistic mystery cults, Daydream sets up an opposition between the Loyalists and the Conspirators: sympathetic rites paying heed to the Council of the Holy Arbitration against the absurd cultic rites of sympathisers to the Pristines. In this period, with an eye on the heroes of Greek myth, Daydream sets the Infused up for stories of legend.
The Infused are the chosen avatars of the Holy Arbiters. Literally infused with a tiny fraction of their cosmic power, the Infused are the more-than-mortal heroes that venture forth to save Reverie from the Ancient Pristines and their unholy schemes. Like Heracles (known to Rome as Hercules) or Achilles (the hero of grief of Homer's Illiad), the Infused are massively more powerful than their mortal counterparts, initially a match for ten of their own and with a great potential to rise far beyond.
Beset by the devilish schemes of the Pristines, the Infused work to help the Arbiters indirectly via the Council of the Holy Arbitration, as well as for the more mundane (yet arguably as powerful!) network of nobles and royalty leading the nations - and finally for the guilds of all sorts which drive it. Using advanced technology like that of the Greeks, and varied magics fuelled by their divine blood, the Infused come in many forms and with many skillsets - but are universally known as heralds of divine power.
Only the Infused can present mastery of such varied talents - either through direct divine inspiration, or by an empowering gift by which they can learn. Only the Infused gain the power of conviction - an ability to directly invoke an ancient blessing on Reverie's people. Only the Infused learn to wield the artefacts of the Arbiters and of other origins - lesser beings almost always incompletely invoke their powers, if at all. Only the Infused can stand against the vengeful Pristines, now beaten back by the Holy Arbiters, albeit not yet destroyed.
Reverie is a world of magnificence - albeit not merely the beautiful kind. With towering forests tended by nymphs, sprawling poleis inheriting ancestral elegance, vast plains imbued with runic power, and peoples of the draconic Empire spanning countries, the world is no place for mortal people to feel safe. Yet the powerful hands of the Holy Arbiters carry out this safekeeping - the Infused, extensions of the Council, roam the land and keep their polis safe.
Despite this, the world is slowly falling into turmoil. The long-lived Empire is in a lengthy and ending age of decadence - a general decline in standards and conduct amongst the elite. Its cracks are not only showing - which has been true for some time - but growing ever deeper. Though a golden age yet persists, usurpers mutter and scandals have become pervasive; scoundrels lurk more plentifully than ever before, it seems... and, given their confidence, are perhaps fuelled by some deeper, darker power.
Yet further, the Empire is not - and, for much of its life, never was - the only player in politics. The isle dwellers, with their intensity and devotion to industry, locked away from the continental world for a millenium, developed foreign and frighteningly efficient technology. The rewound and golems, products of clockwork and prehistory respectively, provide upsets of their own. The kami and the sheltered ones, in the memory of their Great Devouring, keep war on the tip of the perennial tongue.
Reverie is a world of opportunity, the aftershocks of rapid development and industry amidst an untamed, vast wilderness providing a backdrop for ever-escalating acts of heroism. There's always someone to save, always a raid to repel, always a story the accused desperately tells. Reverie burns with the hearty passion of the isle dwellers and breathes out cool whispers to the children of Destiny. The polis needs its heroes. The Arbiters need their avatars. Reverie won't wait for long.