Myths of Memory – A Guiding Fate Setting

Myths of Memory is a micro setting for Guiding Fate. It provides a setting you can use to play out your ideas and conflicts. The following provides some setup but feel free to modify the setting and history to make things your own!

Myths of Memory was inspired by thoughts on how narratives are constructed from history. Its magic system of being able to touch an item and learn about its history allows characters to be able to literally hold history in the palms of their hands. This power can in turn be used to fuel the creation of Myths which allows the use of mystical abilities at the cost of the past. This straightforward resource expenditure can be seen as a personal reflection of the larger social interactions between legend and history. The decisions society makes about how and what history we are to remember as well as how much time or resources we dedicated to that remembering.

If you have read the Lord of the Rings you might recall the at times lengthy descriptions of genealogy which Tolkien provided. These were in keeping with the more ancient practice of using stories and sagas to relay one’s history and ancestry, which Tolkien had studied. These narrations provided a cohesive form which people could use to recall the past, at the cost of blurring the line between fact and fiction.

The mythologization of history can act as a broad uniting force, as in the case of the Matters of Britain, France, and Rome, collections of medieval romantic literature. These tales often blur the line between history and story as kings and deeds warp and merge into a grander all-pervading tale of a country. 

Relics of history distort from being fossils or unusual bones to being seen as coming from mythical animals and giants. The technique of using sheepskin to filter gold from mountain streams becomes the story of a Golden Fleece. Objects can trickle down providing both a link to history and a story which surrounds them.

Of course, Myths of Memory encourages you to use any source of either folklore or story to add to the setting, not just to restrict it to quesi-historic tales. You can have Jack the Ripper acting as spymaster for Londinium while Peter Pan sparks a revolution. It is only a matter of how you want to play the game.

Remembrance

The people of world Scoria are able to concentrate on an object and receive psychic visions about its history and owner. The more important the object, the easier to slip into the mind of the owner. This skill is referred to as Remembrance the objects used as focuses as Mementos.

This ability compels the various peoples to venture the world over to secure relics and artifacts. These can in turn be used to grant the wielder some of the skill and insight of the original owner. The sword of a knight used in a grand battle can allow some with Remembrance to gain the skills of the knight or the pendant of a skilled orator can teach someone speechcraft.

Remembrances play an important part in the prestige of Scoria and are usually used to justify a person’s position in the aristocracy. Someone of peerage will have a large collection of Remembrances which have been passed down to them and if lost, broken or just stop working, then more need to be acquired. Thus, adventurers need to delve fallen kingdoms to find new relics. The recent Dawn War has made securing Mementos of lost empires even more urgent. 

Grimoires

The kingdom of Orlean was the first to uncover these unsettling entities. The Grim, as they were referred to, had tales to tell, but only to those who could feed them. Pieces of history, one by one. They could grant readers the power of stories and myths at the cost of Mementos, consumed by the fiction.

They appear in the umbra of the observed, the corner of the eye, the tingle of an unfamiliar texture, the clash of a fallen object. Once collected, the Grim feeds its host the beginnings of a tale. A tale the reader has the ability to expand beyond the borders of its pages. The new protagonist gives the Grim Mementos for it to consume, adding their own power and flavor to the tale, granting the protagonist mythic abilities only permitted to those of legend.

Grims depend not just the Mementos of Scoria, but on a flux of emotions from those they narrate. As the material sacrifices the protagonist makes to the Grim increases, so do the extremeness of the situations they find themselves in. The situations the Grim create charge them with the valence between emotions.

With the Grimoires’ emergence, the face of Scoria is changing.

Tephranite

Most lands in the world are active and flowing. They swell, shrink and occasionally burst. The lands are rich with volcanic activity, occasionally burying entire villages in their ash. Often the only protection are Remembrances which pass on the memories of previous eruptions granting ideas as to when they might erupt and the signs to look for. Still, this activity often leaves cities buried, tempting targets for those looking for Mementos if the environment can be braved.

And among this danger lies an even more valuable resource. Tephranite mirrors the furious power of the volcanos. Refined and mixed with additional substances, Tephranite can be used to direct its explosive power in ways otherwise completely impossible.

Tephranite is the miraculous substance which allows Fury Trains to rocket down their lines, direct explosives in mines to perform more safely and extensively, and create jump-packs to permit a boost to exploration. And with the Dawn War, Tephranite is finding use in ever more exotic weaponry, from rocket lancers to missiles directed in flight by the ordinance they were fired from.

Unfortunately, the techniques used for growing Tephranite crystals to fulfill their tasks, whether as fuel or ammo, are highly involved and usually require Mementos to pass on the knowledge of their creation. These Tephranite Mementos possessed by the various guilds which pass on their mysteries are of high interest to outside parties.

Mechanics

As for how to represent these bits of lore in a game of Guiding Fate, here are some suggestions.

Allow each character a Memento aspect. Characters can select a Memento to start with and describe what insight that Memento grants. The player can choose an aspect for the Memento and starts each new scene (the lowest level of scenario) with a free invoke on that Memento aspect. So a character might have a Memento aspect of The Great Botanist’s Pressed Flower Book which the character could invoke in a scene once for free. Alternatively, a player can choose to have the Memento grant the character a stunt, instead of an aspect.

Through the course of an adventure, characters can acquire additional Mementos but only one can be chosen to fill the Memento aspect or stunt slot. The selection of the Memento can be done during a Transition phase in a game.

Enemy characters might likewise have Memento aspects, depending on how challenging a GM wishes to make them.

Though instead of having a Memento, a character can sacrifice their slot to a Grim to gain a legendary power. If they choose to do so, the character can select a power from FATE Venture City power catalog here and gain a trouble aspect from their Grim companion. The aspect behaves like a normal aspect, but slants towards being invoked against the character. This new trouble aspect might represent the Memento they were forced to sacrifice, such as The Lost Ancestral Shield, or it might be the whims and manipulations of the Grim, like A Tale of Sorrow and Woe.

If the player chooses to have a Grim aspect, the player will need to occasionally make a sacrifice of a Memento to their Grim to feed them. The exact intervals are left to the GM (you might do it after the end of every Scenario of Dramatic Level 2), usually those who have Memento Aspects should be gaining collections of Mementos while those with Grim Aspects are not expanding their collections as rapidly.

If a character wants to overcome or remove someone’s Grim or Mythic aspect, they can do so by unraveling the truth behind the myth. 

Narratively this means the character providing some explanation for how the myth, legend or story came about. It might mean explaining how dragons are the result of mistranslations describing far away exotic animals. It might explain the context or reason their legend was created, such as telling how the story of the lord Rubin being rewarded for his honesty by the fairy lord is meant to convey the importance of host-guest relationships. These explanations do not have to be true in the real world, as long as it could be true in this world, the GM is encouraged to accept it. 

If a character needs more information about another character’s myth in order to come up with some explanation for it, they are encouraged to use Remembrance or to secure an important item of their target which they can use as a Memento. This allows the more abstract concept of knowledge about a character to be represented in more physical terms.

Once the narrative behind the myth has been addressed, the character rolls to create an advantage against the target character. The skills used to create the advantage or oppose it are left to the situation or GM. If the character succeeds in creating the advantage, that character’s explanation of the myth is translated to an aspect which is placed upon the target. While that aspect remains, the target is unable to use their mythic power.

If you want an even higher powered game, a GM might grant characters two Memento/Mythic slots.

As for Tephranite gadgets, it is best for a player to describe how their Tephranite invention works and just represent it using skills and character aspects. For instance, an explorer using Tephranite powered rocket boots might have high athletics, or an aspect like There is a Flash.

History

Fall to Myth

Many kingdoms predate the founding of the current nation states. However, most seem to have traded their history for the power of the Grim’s myths. As a nation reached a certain development they would often find ways to reliably forge a connection to their mythic realms, places created from their collective unconscious. This brought them to the attention of the Grim, who used the portals to slip into the Written world (as they call it).

Once the Grim had arrived, the people offered more and more of their Mementos to them in exchange for their myths and the powers they contained. 

Eventually truth and fiction blurred too heavily for new Momentos to have the same level of resonance as they once achieved. As the most potent of Momentos dwindled, so did the institutions, offices and skills of the nation. Then the country itself faded into myth. 

Time flows, a new people are forged, they study the ashes of the Mementos left behind and the cycle begins anew.

The Dawn War

Just a few years ago, the war between Orlean and an alliance of 3 major kingdoms concluded with Orleans’ defeat after their Sun King was finally beaten by the 4 Heroes.

Duat served as the catalyst. Orlean’s recent capture of it led to a flow of Mementos from its deserts. They brought knowledge and prestige to Orlean but also uncovered insight into the Grim and a vague picture of their power.

With this knowledge Orlean constructed a Bridging Portal, allowing Orlean to physically transport themselves to their myths and legends, though at the cost of many Mementos. They referred to this fictional realm of chivalry as Chanson. With the relics and powers they obtained from this place, they launched the Dawn War.

Twilight of the Sun King

The Sun King of Orlean seemed eternal. Even acting together the other nations of Londinium, Nibelung and Asturum were faring ill. It was only after the arrival of the 4 heroes that the Sun King was finally defeated.

Now begins the tense negotiations and skulduggery over the collections of Orlean, which threatens if not another war, then at least the outbreak of violence.

The Heroes

The heroes were united under Ranulf Wegener and his Grimoire. All four of the heroes drew power from his Grimoire as it told their tale.

Joan – A female Rocket Lancer with trouble remembering her past. She was found by Ranulf after she attracted his attention protecting a family’s collection of personal Mementos from a local crime lord. He suggested his repository of Mementos might have some clues to her past.

She has pledged to use her popularity to lead Orlean into a new age. While technically she holds no official place in the nation’s administration, she has already started butting heads with the officials of the deceased Sun King. Mostly on supplying provisions to those of Orlean affected by the war.

Bradely Burrows – The hero from Londinium.

A farmer before the war, he fought in full blast gear hauling a lumbering shield. Used a large Tephranite gun to guide his drill rockets.

He came on the outs with the government after he led a small revolt on account of Londinium claiming Memento Mori tags from the soldiers without compensating their families. (The tags are used to pass on training to other soldiers).

Currently assigned a guest of honor to the crew of the Endeavor. This Fury ship is set to explore the Mythic realm of Londinium, Albion, as a type of exile for him.

Didn’t fully trust Ranulf and so tore out some of the pages of the Grimoire of the Sun King (the Book of the Dead) and kept them.

Ranulf Wegener – The hero from Nibelung.

A well known author who was famed for his journeys of discovery to collect obscure Mementos of everyday life in fallen kingdoms rather than the relics of the more renown.

He was the one who originally put together the band of heroes.

He had come in contact with a Grimoire and was using its power to collect noble warriors to challenge the Grimoire of the Sun King. No one knows about his Grimoire except the other heroes.

After the fall of the Sun King, he took possession of the Book of Dead and has been little seen since.

Adelina Torrico – The hero from Asturum.

Twin to the king of Asturum, she had been known for her melancholy and remoteness. She ghost wrote several moderately popular novels.

She knew Ranulf through his collection of common Mementos which she used as reference for her stories. Their friendship predates his contact with the Grimoire.

She proved very apt at connecting and drawing on the power of Ranulf’s Grimoire and quickly joined his endeavor. 

Since returning she has become quite the celebrity, reportedly to the chagrin of the king.

Organizations

Londinium

The nation of Longinium believes you need to use your Mementos to learn the most from them. The heir which shows the greatest talent having studied the family Mementos is chosen as heir.

They often cheat by collecting other Mementos from outside the family to learn skills or knowledge.

Thus the Londiniumers often go out on journeys of discovery to cover the fact they are collecting and using other Mementos.

Mythic Realm – Albion

Nibelung 

In Nibelung, nobility is determined by possession of certain sigil Mementos which are often fought over or stolen. Additionally, the family with the elector Mementos votes as to who becomes king. The interregnum period of selecting a new king is always a time of cloak and dagger.

Mythic Realm – Minnesang

Asturum 

In Asturum, a noble creates extensive memoirs and Mementos. Using these created Mementos, Asturum scions select one of their ancestors’ sigil Mementos to study under. They now effectively lead a dual life with the mind of their dead ancestor sitting in their head. 

Mythic Realm – Estoria

Orlean 

It is Orlean tradition that the inheritor of an estate is the one who brings the most new Mementos to add to the family library or museum. The Royal Remembrance Society assists in identifying particularly valuable ones, such as those pertaining to the Matter of Orlean.

Mythic Realm – Chanson

Furious Heights

Not quite a guild, but something of an association of jump-pack enthusiasts. They push the limits of what jump-packs can achieve and continue to work towards a pack which can grant members sustained flight.

They are often willing to provide new jump-packs to be tested in the field, provided they are returned to be analyzed. Though, these packs can be temperamental.

Anthroposophical Society

This society is dedicated to understanding the mysteries of mythology. The upper echelon are aware of the existence of the Grim and have started collecting more information about them. They have even begun experimenting with Bridging Portals to works of fiction and other more esoteric experiments.

Persona Constellations

• Earle Adams – A successful Memento curator, he stepped aside after a scandal. Allowed a more ambitious member to take his place. Regrets it now as he does not like the direction Remembrance Hall is being taken in. Currently coming up with grand, if impractical, schemes to get back in the Hall’s good graces. Tends to reorganize people’s things and uses Remembrance on them while he does so. Slightly nosy.
• Oliver Mays – A forgetful Fury ship captain losing his mind to disease. Trying to complete one last grand voyage before he is gone. Keeps a large number of Mementos on his person which look like mere nick knacks (from fake medals to novelty pins). He uses these to recall things more clearly.
• Aurora Parrish – A hunter who uses her rare talent for being able to use natural Mementos from the environment. Trying to pivot to being an academic by using her skills to find rare animals. It has been an uphill climb getting attention. Smokes Tephranite cigarettes and coughs when excited.

Antagonist Constellations

• Jack Glenn – Killer who uses the knife of an infamous serial killer. Believes that using it brings the two closer.
• Ethan Morris – Deep in debt to the wrong people. Knows a little bit about scrubbing Mementos which he uses to steal things. A suspicious and nervous personality. Currently works on a Fury Train and uses his ability to prepare things for a big heist.
• Julie Holt – An Aristocrat attracted to Anthroposophical philosophies. Her desire to be an actor led her to collect a Memento of a famed actor who she feels is speaking to her. Now she infiltrates high social circles and both promotes and connects various Anthroposophical societies.

Character Constellations

• Mariana Horne – A youth posing as a private investigator. She has taken on the identity of the real investigator who infiltrated the Anthroposophical cult she was a part of. Only she got away. Still, she has a keen insight into human nature.
• Katheryn Velez – Made a faustian pact with Grim to be wealthy and powerful. Feed it to all her family’s Mementos. Now she is recruiting people to help her kill a Grim.
• Felipe Holt – A writer who was drafted into fighting the Dawn War. He took the stories being told to him by his fellow soldiers and wrote them down. Eventually embellished the tales and sold them. Part mythology, part history it keeps the tales of the soldiers alive.
• Russ Wilkinson – Originally, not very confrontational. Constantly relives a Memento he has of a great warrior. Now he is starting to have a hard time distinguishing between the Remembrances of warrior and his own memories without knowing why.
• Jack Glenn – Came into possession of the Memento of a great engineer and significantly increased their own skill. But has become obsessed with completing the Magnum Opus the engineer was working on.
• Helga Blankenship – Believes Mementos should be balanced in perspective. Tries to collect Mementos which show multiple viewpoints on the same event. Conjoined Mementos. Has amassed quite the collection of such Mementos.
• Amanda Austin – Believes she can remove her fear by feeding a Grim her Mementos of being a coward. But this just results in the Grim telling a story of running away from trouble. Needs to face the effects of being a coward.
• Devon Kaufman – A mysterious figure using a Grim to collect Mementos from corrupt officials. He then feeds these Mementoes to his Grim to enhance his tale and make his legend grow even larger. The officials might be corrupt, but should history be squandered his way?

Lore Constellations

• A story based off of a separate oral folk tradition which the aristocracy co-opted. (E.g. The story of Robin Hood was twisted to make him a bad guy, or to have a local lord claim credit for his deeds.)
• People pay large fortunes for The best and most renowned teachers who have the most extensive collections of Mementos.
• A small cult is trying to create a Bridging Portal to one of their fictional realms.
• legend says that you give away a piece of yourself with each major remembrance you create. 
• When creating the Bridging Portal to a mythic realm, people were asked about Mementos which might connect to this mythic place. Somewhere out there is a list of this data.
• A legend of the nation turns out to have been taken from a defeated foe.

Object Constellations

• A Memento mori tag. Shows some of the life of a Londiniumer who fought in the war when you use Rememberance on it.
• A Memento which grants the skills of a great orator but also her anxiety and imposter syndrome.
• A Memento from a grandparent. The tooth of a bear which set him on another course in life.
• Memento of a Londinium minister which no one has been able to sync with. It is finally synced by a wielder thinking petty revenge plots which are the types of thoughts the minister unloaded into the Memento. That and all the secrets of the nobility she knew which she would use to get her revenge.
• A tattoo depicting a mythic event.
• A broken sword from a forgotten myth. The legend of this knight was absorbed into another.
• A mythic staff which serves as a primitive gun/repository for Tephranite and can direct its explosions

Location Constellations

• A cathedral with a sacred relic in it. No one is allowed to Remembrance on it, but supposed it played an important part in the nation’s founding.
• Tephranite laboratory built like a maze to contain the various types of explosions.
• A castle from the country’s mythic past brought here by a Grim.
• A house where you need to use Remembrance to unlock doors. A Museum to one person.
• A tacky souvenir location trying to cash in on the history of the hero who fought here long ago.

Plot Constellations

• Florence Martel, Orlean’s Grand Librarian and called the “Knight of Books” secured the safety of the Grand Library of Orlean and all its Mementos when he betrayed the secrets of the Sun King. But the bargain was doubled-edged for the allied nations. Now each of them bicker over who should have the sibling books to the Sun King’s Book of the Dead (the Book of Breath and the Book of Eternity Traversing). All the while Florence has hidden them away with none but he who knows where they are.
• There are forces at work to see if manipulating aspects in the Mythic Realms crossed over to by Bridging Portals have direct effects on the culture and soul of a nation.
• There are whispers of a coming Grim called the Turning of the Page. A story of fire and fury relaying a tale of the end of the world.
• Nathaniel Pike, the field marshal of Londinium is working to bring Albion troops across the Bridging Portal into the world. The start of a new mythic age of Londinium is also planned to be the renewal of the war.