The scope of Insula is intentionally
restricted: rather than playing as world-striding cosmic forces
controlling the fate of a whole world, you will be confined to a single
small region--prototypically an island, though any partly-isolated
geographical unit, like a peninsula or sheltered valley, will do.
There are no victory conditions; the only goal
of the game is to tell an interesting story. You'll need some method of
generating random numbers, some method of sharing and updating a map, and
a way of recording the actions that take place in each round. At least 3
players are recommended, but the more players participating, the more
diverse and interesting the resulting world will be.
This document is a work in progress, and is
currently considered incomplete.
The start of the Peterborough
Chronicle, one of the ancient Anglo-Saxon annals of the history of
England
How to play
Initial setup will require a blank world map. This map will represent
an expanse of sea or relatively barren land, about the size of a large
island: think Ireland, Iceland, Borneo, or Japan. The game is divided
into rounds, which will last for an agreed-upon length of time (say, one
week). During a round, a player may roll 1d6 to determine how many
action points they gain. As long as they have action points remaining,
they may spend those action points during a round to perform various
kinds of actions, either in their role as a god, or representing the
more natural vicissitudes of fate and the impersonal forces that govern
the world.
Each time you perform an action, provide a description of what is
happening in the game world and why. This narrative element is the core
object of the game, not a minor bookkeeping detail!
Bonus points
Players may save up action points indefinitely. To encourage spending,
however, if you end the round with less than 3 points, you get an
additional point at the start of the next round. This effective is
cumulative once: if you end two rounds in a row with less than 6 points,
you get 2 additional points at the start of the next round.
Phases of play
Early in the game, the map will be relatively blank--featureless water,
or an undefined expanse of uninhabited land. For an interesting history
to unfold in this place, you'll need to spend some time developing the
landscape before the first people show up. Later in the game, when the
land is more thickly inhabited, big changes to the landscape may be
equivalent to great catastrophes. To reflect the changing tenor of the
mythical history that is unfolding here as it progresses, different
actions may have different costs depending on the phase of the game.
The game is divided into three phases, which we will simply call
"early," "middle," and "late." The "early" phase focuses on (but is not
exclusively governed by) creation myths: how the land came to be in the
first place. The "late" phase focuses on (but is not exclusively about)
peoples and heroes and deeds of renown. The "middle" phase is a
transitional period between the two. While rounds of play nominally
represent about a generation (~25 years in human terms), the "early"
phase belongs to the ill-defined and murky past, and its rounds have no
defined or definable length.
The phase of the game is decided by a majority vote. When a majority of
players vote to advance the phase of the game, it changes at the start
of the next round.
Your divine profile
Although not all actions you take in the world will be the actions of
the particular divine role you occupy, you are encouraged to develop a
divine profile to act as your "character" in the game world, and to aid
in role-playing. Keep in mind that the gods of Insula are not the
world-ruling gods of classic high fantasy, or the embodiment of
sprawling cosmic forces: they're more like the local gods and spirits of
animist pantheons, the regional and national gods of ancient Iron Age
peoples, or even the genii loci of a particular sacred mountain, tree,
or river.
Your divine profile doesn't have to include an abstract sphere like
"war" or "poetry" or "love" (though it certainly can!). What it should
include is a name, a story of how your god came to be--born of the
primordial sea, a child of earth and sky, erupted from the forehead of
another god, etc., etc.--and a short description of your god's
personality.
You may also optionally elect to associate your god with a place of
power, which comes into existence at the same time you do, for no
additional point cost, at the location of your choosing. This will
represent the place most closely associated with your god, or where your
god is most concretely embodied in the world. Your place of power cannot
be altered or destroyed by anyone but you--but if you choose to allow
its destruction, it cannot be re-created.
Actions
The table below shows the actions players can take during a round,
grouped into broad categories. A detailed description of each category
follows.
| Action |
Phase 1 cost |
Phase 2 cost |
Phase 3 cost |
| Shape land |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Name location |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Natural event |
3 |
3 |
2 |
| Migration event |
10 |
5 |
5 |
| Population event |
- |
3 |
2 |
| Legendary creature event |
10 |
5 |
5 |
| Legendary figure event |
- |
5 |
5 |
| Founding event |
- |
5 |
4 |
| Destruction event |
- |
5 |
4 |
| Prophetic event |
- |
3 |
2 |
Actions can
always be a positive
retcon as long as they don't interfere with the state of game
as it currently stands. What that means is that, while actions are assumed
to take place in the "present," you can retroject them into past
rounds/eras if that doesn't conflict with any action a player has already
taken--so if you want to add episodes to the story of a hero who has
already died, you can still use a
legendary figure event to
do so, provided you're not creating contradictions in the known history of
that hero or what happened after their death. If you're retconning an
action in a previous phase of the game, whose point cost is different from
the current phase, use the
higher point cost as the base cost:
you can't save 4 points by retconning a Legendary Creature Event in after
the end of the first phase!
Shape land
So the heavenly gods commanded Izanagi and Izanami to give
shape to the drifting land; granting to them a jeweled spear, they
thus deigned to charge them. So the two, standing on the floating
bridge of sky, plunged the jeweled spear into the sea and stirred it
up until it churned furiously; and as they withdrew it, the brine that
dripped down from the point piled up and became the first land, the
island Onogoro.
--Kojiki
Shape the landscape over a small area of the map. The exact size of the
area will depend on the size of the map: 1" or 250 pixels in diameter
might be a useful rule of thumb. For areas of the map that have not yet
been altered, this can action can be considered as much defining what
already exists in an area than explicitly creating it.
Although the kinds of terrain you can create with Shape land are
not explicitly constrained, you may want to decide in advance what
approximate climactic zone your country lies in, and use that as a
guideline. An isle in the far north is unlikely to have tropical
rainforests; an equatorial land will not have large deserts or glaciers.
Izanami and Izanagi creating Japan with
the spear Amenonuhoko.
Name location
So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the
face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore
is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound
the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter
them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
--Genesis 11:8-9
Names in Insula aren't just random concatenations of nice-sounding
syllables--they have meaning and power. Thus, regions and places on the
map are not automatically named. Although some actions and events allow
you to name places, you may also spend points to name them as well. Names
given in this way may be descriptive ("Blue Ridge Mountains," "Black
Forest," "The Empty Quarter"), or they may be more abstract, but if the
name doesn't mean anything in the language the game is being played in,
you should strongly consider providing a translation that hints at its
origin.
The great bull Donn Cuailnge (right)
was the cause of the Táin
Bó Cúailnge; in the end, mortally wounded, he wanders Ireland
causing places to be named, before returning to home to die.
Natural event
A natural event is any non-divine event which has a
major effect on the world, that 1) doesn't permanently alter the
landscape (use Shape land for that), 2) doesn't
immediately alter the cultural-political arrangement of the world (use Population
event for that), and 3) has some narrative consequence.
Plagues, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, harsh winters, bountiful
harvests, strange omens, comets, and many other kinds of miscellanea can
all fall under this heading.
Migration event
So that they were the Tuatha De Danann who came to Ireland. In
this wise they came, in dark clouds. They landed on the mountains of
Conmaicne Rein in Connachta; and they brought a darkness over the
sun for three days and three nights.
They demanded battle of kingship of the Fir Bolg. A battle was
fought between them, to wit the first battle of Mag Tuired, in which
a hundred thousand of the Fir Bolg fell. Thereafter they took the
kingship of Ireland.
--Lebor Gabála Érenn
Migration events concern the arrival of sentient
beings to your shores. As a general matter, the gods you play as are not
the people-making kind; such beings exist in the world, and arose
elsewhere long ago, though, and eventually some will show up looking for
new homes. The local gods may choose to aid them or hinder them,
depending on their inclinations.
When you decide on a migration event, choose the location of
arrival, the name or culture of the people,
and (optionally) the name or names of their leader or leaders.
You may name the place they arrive for free, including if it is already
named (places may always have more than one name). The people
in question do not have to be human, but you shouldn't also
feel restricted to the "ISO standard" fantasy races (orcs, elves,
goblins, dwarves, and so forth)--you are free to make up your own kind
of sentient being.
Once they have arrived on your shores, it can be assumed that new
peoples will found minor villages and settlements from time to time
wherever they can, and will gradually spread out; however, major
settlements of historical importance require Founding events
(not available in the first phase of the game), and the formation of new
cultures from those already present require Population events (also
not available in the first phase of the game). If a people arrives
during the first phase, they will generally be restricted to a minor
presence, representing an ancient but mostly-forgotten prehistory.
Population event
A Population event covers almost anything of major
social, cultural, and political important among the peoples of your
land: kingdoms breaking up, new cultures forming, new political or
religious movements, technological innovations, economic collapses, and
so forth--even major wars of conquest. You are not very limited in
practical terms to what a population event can do, except that you
cannot destroy major sites (see Destruction event),
alter the landscape (see Shape land), found major
sites (see Foundation event), or bring in new peoples
from overseas. Also keep in mind the guidelines of good collaborative
storytelling--don't randomly wreck things other players are working on
for no reason!
If a population event concerns a particular location (say, a battle is
fought there), you may name it or give it an additional name for free.
Founding new cultures
One primary use of population events is founding new cultures
from peoples that have already come to the shores of your land. As these
peoples spread out, build new settlements, and adapt to their new home,
they may come to understand their relationship to their compatriots
differently, or be influenced by already-existing cultures, or the
course of historical events. New cultures may even represent a fusion of
existing populations (including a genetic one, if they belong to the
same species).
It will fall to you to name and define the unique traits of the new
culture, and when you do, you should think about how this culture
defines itself. Cultural identity is often formed in opposition to
another identity, the creation of a new ingroup and outgroup
distinction. This can be along axes like language, diet, politics,
religion, geography, and so forth, but consider other, more fantastical
kinds of opposition as well: night versus day, overground vs underground
(cf. the Milesians and the Tuatha
Dé Danann), the living vs the dead (cf. the Fluters in Vattu),
or other mystical or symbolic binaries.
Legendary creature event
Humbaba, his voice is the Deluge,
his speech is fire, his breath is deadly.
He hears the forest's murmur for sixty leagues;
who is there that would venture into his domain?
--The Epic of Gilgamesh
A Legendary creature event is any event concerning a
mythical beast, a monster, a legendary being like a dragon, giant, or
unicorn, or some other fantastical, nonhuman entity. This can be its
creation, an action it undertakes, or its death/destruction. You may use
this ability to interact with the legendary creatures other players have
created as well, unless they have claimed it as an avatar,
a being especially connected with their divine persona. A legendary
creature can only be claimed as an avatar when it is created; a player
may not have more than one avatar at a time; and an avatar lasts until
it dies or is destroyed.
If a legendary creature event concerns a particular location (say, the
creature is slain there), you may name it or give it an additional name
for free.
Legendary figure
event
A Legendary figure event is any event concerning a
hero, leader, or cultural figure of one of the peoples inhabiting your
land. This can be the event that propels them to eminence, a deed they
accomplish, or their death. Unless they are for some reason immortal
(say, they come from a deathless race), legendary figures aren't assumed
to live longer than normal members of their society--for ordinary
humans, that means they are relevant usually for only about two rounds.
If the legendary figure in question is unusual in this regard, be sure
to explain why.
If a legendary figure event concerns a particular location (say, they
do something particularly noteworthy there), you may name it or give it
an additional name for free.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu slay the monstrous
Humbaba in the Forest of Cedar.
Founding event
A Founding event is the principal way to add new
inhabited locations to the map. Founding events require at least one
people to be present in the region! The place founded can be a city, a
fortress, a monastery, a shrine, or almost any other kind of inhabited
place; you may name it or give the location an additional name for free.
While population events can change the fortune of
these locations, and name location can give them new
or additional names, they continue to exist in perpetuity unless someone
uses a destruction event on them.
Destruction event
Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were
perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities.
Evidence of their wickedness still remains: a continually smoking
wasteland, plants bearing fruit that does not ripen, and a pillar of
salt standing as a monument to an unbelieving soul.
--Wisdom 10:6-7
A Destruction event is any event--whether by divine
intervention, war, or natural disaster--that wipes out an inhabited
place. Even if a city is sacked, or stricken by a plague, or burned, it
is assumed to recover and rebuild--unless you use a destruction
event on it. Then, it is reduced to ruins permanently,
unless refounded by a founding event.
The Last Day of Pompeii (1830-1833),
Karl Brullov
Prophetic event
Prophetic events can be used to set up conditions for
later events, to provide narrative unity across time, and to make it
clear (in both diegetic and extradiegetic terms) what actions various
gods are likely to take should certain circumstances occur or re-occur.
A prophetic event involves creating a prophecy, which can be given to a
hero, a religious figure, or a random oracle. Any player
may later fulfill that prophecy, with the cost to do so being reduced by
one point: for instance, if you prophecy the founding of a city in a
particular place, another player may choose to fulfill that prophecy
according to the terms you set out; if they do so, the founding event in
question costs 1 point less. The cost of an event can't be reduced by
more than 1 point, even if in theory it could fulfill multiple
prophecies.
Optional rule: divine
profile generator
If you want to add a bit of stochastic flavor to your divine profile,
choose an origin, a nature, a style, and
a sphere at random from the following lists, then try to
describe the being that these attributes suggest to you.
You can select as many elements from each list as appeal to you, and if
you select an element you don't like, feel free to discard it; these
lists are meant to be a tool to facilitate creativity, not to restrict
it.
Divine origin
The divine origin concerns how your god came to be; it may represent
simply the most popular legendary tradition about your god, or the best
understanding of the sages, or simply what your god told the other gods
when they showed up one day at the heavenly council.
- Born from the void/chaos
- Born from the ocean foam
- Born from the ocean depths
- Child of a sky-god
- Child of the moon
- Child of the sun
- Child of a star
- Wrought by a forge-god in their workshop
- Born of a union of sea and sky
- Born of a union of earth and sky
- Born of a union of darkness and light
- Born of a union between earth and sea
- Child of fire
- Child of lightning
- Child of frost
- Child of storms
- Born from a dead god's flesh or bone
- Paradoxically self-creating
- Eternal and uncreated principle of nature
- Origin unknown even to other gods.
Divine nature
The divine nature concerns what your god's inmost being is about; it
will naturally inform an extend--and in turn be informed and extended
by--their origin. Divine nature is also closely connected with style.
- Elemental: associated with a fundamental material or substance (or
multiple materials) of the world.
- Mysterious: difficult to understand or explain to mortals; often
(but not always) thus also associated with darkness or the
transcendent.
- Life-giving: associated with growth, and/or beauty, and/or change,
and frequently, though not always, positively regarded by mortals.
- Chaotic or destructive: associated with change, and/or destruction,
and/or upheaval, and thus frequently, though not always, negatively
regarded by mortals.
- Horrific: not merely mysterious but actively threatening or
(apparently) hostile to those who attempt to understand. Maybe has
something of the Outsider in their nature, or maybe just has an
inhuman mind or values.
- Benevolent: specifically aligned with at least some mortal values in
some ways, and interested in furthering those values.
- Ruling: seeks to shape and control the natural world, or its
inhabitants, or their particular divine sphere; this naturally sets
them against gods of competing spheres or values, or mortals which
disagree with them.
- Calming: seeks to soothe, and/or heal, and/or calm upheaval and
destruction in the world. Although they do not seek to rule in the
same way as a Ruling god, they do seek to impose a particular vision
of their sphere on the world. This does not necessarily make them
either benevolent, or friendly.
Divine style
The divine style is how a god is often conceived of by their
followers, a mythological archetype, and how they interact with the
world. This is connected with, but is not the same as, both their nature
and their origin; it also relates to how they are worshipped, but if a
god doesn't exert specific control over their mortal worshippers, the
actual nature of that worship can differ considerably from what you
record as their particular "style."
- Paternalistic sky-god
- Tender of a garden
- Psychopomp/bearer of the dead
- Resurrecting messiah-figure
- Wilderness-prophet
- Devourer of the wicked
- Chooser of the slain
- Guardian of the gates of paradise
- Genius loci
- Absent god
- Imprisoned god
- Solitary hunter
- Weaver of fates
- Slayer of monsters
- Sacrificial animal
- Ominous presence
- Primordial monster
- Dead god
- Mother of monsters
- Lord of carrion
- Wandering singer
- Rebel against the gods
- Trickster
- Avenging destroyer
Divine sphere
The divine sphere concerns the things your god actually has power over,
or demonstrates a direct affinity for--essentially, why people might
pray to them. A sphere that contrasts in interesting an unexpected ways
with a particular style and/or nature can help you come up with a unique
divine profile as you attempt to aesthetically resolve those
contradictions. Most gods, even minor gods, are associated with multiple
spheres; you can and should feel free to select multiple random items
from this list.
- Life
- Death
- Order
- Chaos
- Change
- War
- Peace
- Trade
- Wealth
- The earth
- The harvest
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- Spring
- The sky
- Mountains
- Plains
- Stars
- The sun
- The moon(s)
- Night
- Day
- Sorrow
- Lost things
- Doomed quests
- Secrets
- Fire
- The hearth
- Cooking
- Childbearing
- Disease
- Healing
- Fortune-telling
- Water
- Metal
- Forges
- Knowledge
- Writing
- Farming
- Doorways
- Roads
- Ruins
- Shadows
- Animals
- Plants
- The deep sea
- Earthquakes
- Volcanoes
- Silence
- Singing
- Theater
- Weather
- Rain
- Wind
- Storms
- Lightning
- Blood
- Illusion
- Dreams
- Sleep
- Memory
- Suffering
- Beauty
- Hatred
- Vengeance
- Danger
- Healing
- Love
- Ambition
- Statecraft
- Strength
- Mercy
- Judgement
- Ice
- Gold
- Pearls
- Seashores
- Meadows
- Ships and sailors
- Philosophy
- Law
- Graves and graveyards
- Livestock
- Rice or grain
- Craftsmanship
- Masonry
- Art
- Travel
- Fear
- Anger
- Friendship
- Wells
- Walls and fences
- Mirrors
- Weaving and spinning
- Alchemy or chemistry
- Messengers
- Wine or spirits
- Fishing
Feedback, reports on attempted play,
and suggestions are welcome; the best way to contact me is via Tumblr.
Index
