Spirit Prism

Spirit Prism was my first foray into tabletop role-playing games. I was in charge of the world building and wrote the module. The art is AI generated.

This project challenged me to think of how to weave together technology and magic, creating a high fantasy sci-fi world. I am extremely familiar with the fantasy genre but only dabble in the sci-fi genre, so combining the two together was a hurdle I learnt to overcome.

World Building and Themes

The world of Spirit Prism was built around the idea of crystals that acted as drugs.

Initially, the world only consisted of the Iridis Frontier and its Spirit Prism mines. The races that inhabited it - Fey, Humans and Constructs, all lived there and fought over the Frontier's resources. However, such a world felt too small and so we expanded the world to include the Kingdom of Man while keeping the Fey native to the Frontier. Doing so allowed us to lean into the aspect of human greed and its consequences, making humanity in the world of Spirit Prism feel more realistic. Human greed is what started the conflict between the Fey and Humans, but the fault as to why the conflict still continues to present day lies with both sides.

Humanity is also another aspect we wanted to focus on in Spirit Prism. Even though the Fey aren't humans, they share many traits with Humans, from the desire to protect those close to them and the willingness to do anything to serve their own interests. Constructs on the other hand are more ambiguous as to whether they have humanity. Whilst they do possess sentience, it can be argued that they have no soul and thus have no humanity.

With two races that can procreate, half-breeds will no doubt be born, giving rise to a new race - the Half-Fey. This introduced yet another faction in the Crystal War fought between Fey and Humans. Belonging to neither the Fey nor Humans, the Half-Fey would face their own unique set of issues, creating another race for players to create characters from and explore the theme of belonging.

The Kingdom of Man is purposely kept vague as most campaigns would take place in the Iridis Frontier itself and thus players would not require much information about the Kingdom, but need to know of its existence as that is a potential place of birth for Human characters.

The Last Drop

The module The Last Drop was based off the mini playtesting session my group conducted amongst ourselves. While we didn't get very far with it, I took the idea and expanded upon it in the module.

Since the character I created for the playtesting session was a Half-Fey, I wanted to expand upon that backstory and came up with the bar, Dave, Calix and Ren. The latter two quickly became my favourite characters due to the complexity in their backstories.

Dave

Dave slotted into the stereotype of gang boss father figure but is a genuine father figure to those he takes in such as Calix and Ren. A morally dubious character like many others in the module, he's the players' introduction to the black market that thrives in the Iridis Frontier. I made him a cautious and strict person who is very protective of his territory and his family, following the stereotype of mafia bosses. Players can choose to side with or against him depending on their character's beliefs, but players will never be choosing the wrong side as 'wrong' depends on their perspective.

Calix and Ren

Calix and Ren are the products of my years of writing traumatised characters. Both have experienced rejection from Fey, and seek to prove themselves as equally if not more powerful than those who have rejected them. They present a possible pathway for Half-Fey characters to walk or avoid, depending on the player who is creating the character.

I wanted to show the darker side of Dave via him taking in the two Half-Feys so that he has more pawns to use whilst also showing that Dave does indeed have a fatherly side to him as he grows to genuinely care for Calix and Ren. Dave is also the person who brought them together and gave them a family, thus through these two Half-Feys Dave's complexity is shown.

While Calix is a mage, his main weapon is a dagger. His character defies the stereotypes of a typical mage, shown mainly through his fighting style. Where most mages prefer ranged attacks, Calix likes to be up close and personal with his enemies, integrating magic into his weapon attacks. In his own words, "it's easier to hit them when you're at point blank range". It is also ironic that he despises the one who taught him how to use a dagger, yet it is his main weapon. This outward display represents his inward contradiction of hating humans while simultaneously yearning for their love and acceptance.

Ren is a priest due to his family status but like Calix, combines physical weapons with magic. Ren integrated the two types of fighting styles so that he could match his older brother in combat but he was still looked down upon by his tribe. Ren's fighting style still leans towards that of a magic user, unlike Calix, a outward representation of how he still has strong feelings for his Fey heritage.

Ren (above) and Calix (below)

Hawkfrost

The last character I created for the module is Hawkfrost. Since the previous characters were darker, I decided to create a character who represents hope for the Iridis Frontier. Hawkfrost shows that magic is more than just an offense tool, it can also be used to defend. His type of magic aligns with his personality and beliefs, adding to his character. Hawkfrost was the hardest character for me to flesh out as I am unused to creating characters who are well-adjusted and morally upstanding. I created him to be a model father figure and a sign that amidst the darkness of the Iridis Frontier, there are still beacons of light that shine brightly.

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