Wednesday Wits (Reincarnation in Lakeport)

Hey guys, this is a bit of a different article for us. Today we’re going to take a look at one of the underlying themes of the Lakeport setting and examine how it interacts with the gods of the setting. There are also a few cultures and species that follow different beliefs (or have a different reaction to this process) and we’ll take a brief look at each of those. We’re going to deep dive into some fairly deep topics (and these are only how the apply to this setting), so grab your oxygen tanks, we’re going deep.

Reincarnation in Lakeport

The people of Lakeport share a common belief that souls are reincarnated after a person dies. Most folks view the mortal life that people live as an experience for the soul, or a way to season it. The choices that people make during their lives adjust and mold the soul into a different type of consciousness. Depending on the beliefs of the soul, the life they live either moves them closer to the goal of joining with their chosen deity, or moves them away. The further a soul is moved away from the beliefs of their god, the longer they spend in the Underworld before they can be returned to a new life in the world. Souls have agency during the transition from death to rebirth, and I’ll talk about that in a second. First let’s dig into the gods that are integral to this process.



Oskar, Lord of Death

Hassur, Lord of the Afterlife

Ahrimaius, Lord of Creation


These three deities play an integral part of the reincarnation cycle, and here’s how.

Oskar

Oskar (and his associated divine minions) are responsible for claiming the souls of the dead and escorting them to the gates of Sheogrol. During this time, they also record the lives that the souls lived and judge them on their progress towards their deities. Souls that diverged widely are often sentenced to an extended stay in Sheogrol to burn away the impurities that the most recent life has imprinted onto the soul. There are times where a soul can plead its case and either change deities or earn a reprieve from judgment if the Judge finds merit to their case. Oskar’s duties end when the soul passes through the Gates of Sheogrol and into the care of Hassur.

Hassur

Hassur (and his divine minions) have two primary responsibilities in the reincarnation cycle. The primary task assigned them is to make sure that souls are watched over while they are prepared for reincarnation. This means burning away impurities and punishing souls that lost their way (as determined by Oskar). They also watch over souls in transit to the Well for reincarnation. The majority of Hassur’s minions have a secondary role that they embrace, the temptation and damnation of mortals from across the world. By providing something for the world to strive against, they reason that they make stronger, better souls in the exchange. Hassur disapproves of this secondary hobby, but he does believe that stronger souls are more capable of handling the threats of the world. Once their appointed time has passed, Hassur shepherds the souls to the Well of Creation where they are reincarnated into a new body.

Ahrimaius

The Mad Tinker is the final component of the reincarnation cycle. He is responsible for binding freshly cleansed souls to new lives as they are about to enter the world. The Well of Creation is the last stop on this cycle for souls before the cycle begins anew. Ahrimaius typically makes sure that souls find appropriate mortals, but every once in awhile, something strange happens and a soul reincarnates in a different life. This is also the point at which souls go dormant, and are incapable of acting on their own.

The Destination

The goal of this process is to refine souls into ideal forms for the Gods and Goddesses of this world. Most are welcomed into the divine realms of their deities where they bask in the eternal rewards of a completed cycle. Some are elevated to divine servants, where others perform other tasks for their lords and ladies.

The Journey

The process of refining the soul can take thousands of years before the soul is in it’s idealized form. The person carrying the soul has no idea how far along they are in the process, and it’s not an easy process. Some folks claim that they have minions of their chosen deities watching over them, to keep an eye on their soul to help ensure it continues its journey with little interruption. The clergy of Oskar discourage this belief, because the gods aren’t supposed to interfere with a soul’s journey.

Important Questions

Where do new souls come from?
When a person does an extraordinary job of living their life, the consciousness of that person is separated from the soul and is added to the Well of Souls. When Ahrimaius decides to create new souls, these consciousnesses are the raw material new souls are made from.

What about magic that brings people back from the dead?

In most instances, the journey to Sheogrol takes enough time that most restorative magic can be used to return the dead to life.

Why do some people talk about past lives?

There are some people who have a very tight connection to their soul, and they can draw memories of past lives from it. This can be a very dangerous thing, because the soul is not supposed to interact with the consciousness it’s riding with, and this often causes Madness.

How do i know which God or Goddess my soul is working towards?
Often, you won’t know that, but if you study the teachings of all the Deities, you will find a religious view that feels right to you. This is often an indicator of which Deity your soul is working towards.

Cultures that don’t fit this mould

Dragons

The souls of Dragons do not reincarnate, and the gods of Dragonkind are very tightly lipped about what happens to them after they die.

Fey

Most of the Fey creatures don’t have souls of their own, and have a similar concept called an Arcana that binds them to reality. When the body of a Fey dies, their Arcana is shattered and the bits and pieces of it are scattered across the world.

Ogres

Ogres, as a construct race created by the giants don’t have souls of their own. They have a bit of the arcane spark that the Giants used to create them originally, and when they die that spark is extinguished.

Conclusions

That’s our deep dive look at how Reincarnation works for this setting, and we hope this gives you another look behind the curtain. We’ll probably add some more ideas and game mechanics that tie into this concept (I’m thinking a couple of backgrounds) for 5th edition D & D. We’ll be back with more mischief and mayhem later on.




Game On, Game Fans