The name "Ohunkakan" derives from Ohœ-kaka., a Lakota word meaning "myth" or "story of the remote past." Ohunkakan is pronounced o-HOON-ka-kan: "o" like oh, "HOON" like soon, "ka" like spa, and "kan" like khan.
Ohunkakan was seeded through a genesis quest, but when or by whom is unknown.
In Ohunkakan, the old stories still live. Tale-tellers practice their art throughout the recursion, the constant flux of their tellings and retellings weaving an ever-changing tapestry of myth that shapes the fabric of reality. Landmarks, villages, and even the patterns of stars shift across the landscape, the familiar freely mixes with the mythic, and elements of dim ages stubbornly persist alongside images pulled from modern Earth. Even today, a tale told powerfully enough might just become true.
The terrain of Ohunkakan is vivid and changeable; every object seems to shudder and breathe with life as if freshly imagined. Throughout the plains, old men repair even older cars with parts dug up from middens deep in the hills intermixed with ancient serpent bones, and then they trade stories with far-ranging hunters beside towering tipis of shimmering hides. Towns of stocky whitewashed houses by day transform into rings of hoodoos by night, the townsfolk whispering from within the stones. Grandmothers watch sitcoms on flickering screens of painted hide while their grandsons wrestle giants in the wilderness. Locals find nothing odd or out of place in this. Though Ohunkakan was spun from the traditional stories of the Lakota people, the ever-shifting flood of modern anachronisms shows these traditions continue to change and evolve.
The inhabitants of Ohunkakan are as variable and inscrutable as the land. Birthed by the stories themselves, each was cast out into the world when their tale was finished with them. Most take human shape, but others are animals, plants, or inanimate objects: delicate men whose stag antlers show only in shadow, sparrow-eyed old women who reveal a flash of wing when they dance, and dirty, heavy-footed men with faces like granite are all possible. As they are already trained to understand the part their lives play in the continuing cycle of myth, the incidence of the spark among them is unusually high.
The oldest and greatest of these figures are truly legendary. These elders-Coyote, Iktomi, the Stone Child, the Blood-Clot Man, and many others-carry with them a pocket of warped reality in which the logic of their own particular story dominates. Within these bubbles of myth-time, ancient dramas spring up naturally, incorporating unsuspecting wanderers as fresh actors in living stories. Often escape is impossible until the individual tale is brought to a satisfactory conclusion, though clever victims often find ways to spin new endings onto old tales.
For example, where Coyote walks the world is tinged with absurd humor, and foolishness always leads to comedic consequences. Those passing must be wary of being caught up in his elaborate pranks. Similarly, the Grandfather of Bears might force passers-by to hold up a mountain with uncanny strength so he may dig for grubs underneath, becoming angry if they cannot accomplish the task.
Other, less-revered spirits slip across the landscape as well, playing out their own endless retellings in the wilds. In distant and dangerous places, fearsome things stalk-some are well-known figures of story and song, while others are only vague memories of beasts slain long ago in half-forgotten tales. These giants, man-eaters, and double-faced horrors lure uncertain victims down dangerous paths with their trickery, tempting heroes to venture forth and slay them. But as long as they are spoken of, the monsters will return, for killing a story is a difficult thing.
Ohunkakan spirit, typical level 3, tasks related to telling and creating stories as level 5
A peculiar kind of narrative magic is practiced in Ohunkakan, allowing storytellers to alter the world around them with the power of their words. This ability is highly esteemed, and those with powerful stories to tell are welcome in every village. Skilled storytellers might move a village away from an oncoming storm, calm a long-standing feud between families, or produce many other fantastic effects.
Some professional tale-tellers act as healers, collecting curing tales to help the weary fend off magical maladies or curses. Each cure requires participation from the patient to complete the tale. Often this is a simple process-perhaps bathing in cedar smoke or spending a night atop a sacred bluff with a red ribbon tied around one's hands. But more complex curses require more complex Coyote level 6, trickery and deception as level 8, resist trickery and deception as level 2; regains 2 points of health each round Easily fooled despite his swagger, Coyote's frightful resilience allows him to bounce back from any setback.
Grandfather of Bears level 8; stories ensnare targets within short range and hold them in thrall until the story is concluded; can confer limited supernatural abilities on targets while they are in thrall to a story Storyteller level 5, tasks related to telling and creating stories as level 7; can create story bubbles within immediate range Creating story bubbles is similar to creating recursions, except no nexus is required and a good story, properly told, takes the place of the reality seed.
Iktomi's Web: Iktomi, the trickster-spider of many tales, knows of other worlds and desires to travel to them. He struts bandy-legged about Ohunkakan spinning a thousand snares, weaving a web to catch world-walkers so he might pry the secrets of translation from them. Had he access to an inapposite gate, he would wreak unpredictable and terrifying havoc on the fabric of other worlds with his narrative powers.
Iktomi level 6, trickery and deception as level 8, resist trickery and deception as level 4; anyone ensnared in a trap woven by Iktomi must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or act as the trickster-spider directs for up to one day after being released from the trap
The Spreading Silence: In the distant east a hole rips across the world, growing as legend and speculation fly to swallow up stories in a star-filled stain of night-blue absence. Around its edges reality devours itself and spits out horrors: trees with serpent branches writhing themselves apart, animals giving birth to monsters, and blood spilled across dust accreting into manlike shapes that sprint off on rabbit legs. The hole will unravel the world if not woven an ending of its own.
Level: 1d6+1
Form: A fist-sized butterfly cocoon, rattling with potency
Effect: The wielder activates the cocoon by prying it open manually, releasing the whirlwind trapped inside to manifest at a location the wielder can see within long range. The whirlwind buffets objects and skews passing physical projectiles (modified by two steps in the defender's favor) within an immediate distance of its origin point.
If used outdoors, the whirlwind also raises a cloud of swirling dust that obscures sight and chokes breath. Living creatures that breathe that are caught in the cloud suffer a fit of coughing that renders them unable to act in the following round.
The whirlwind lingers for a number of rounds equal to the artifact's level. Normally, it then rushes back into its cocoon, but if the depletion roll indicates that the artifact is depleted, the whirlwind instead spins off in a random direction, to wander the world of its own volition.
Depletion: 1–3 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Ohunkakan (mythological)
Law: Magic
Form: Amber-colored crystal
Effect: If placed next to the body of a creature that was recently killed, at dawn the body is returned to life and health.
Depletion: Automatic
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Ohunkakan (mythological)
Law: Magic
Form: Delicate wooden flute with the symbol of an
elder spirit carved upon it
Effect: There are as many kinds of flutes as there are elder spirits. When played, the flute confers an ability of the elder spirit carved upon it for one hour. The kinds of flutes include (but are not limited to) the following:
Sometimes the user of an activated animal flute exhibits some of the behavioral characteristics of the animal carved upon the flute, even for flutes that do not transform the flautist.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+4
Origin: Ohunkakan (mythological)
Law: Magic
Form: Yellow stone painted with a bestial eye
Effect: The incidence of foolishness increases dramatically near the trickster's charm. Any d20 rolls the bearer makes provoke GM Intrusions on a result that is 1 higher than normal, which usually means on a 1 or 2 instead of just on a 1. This effect does not require a depletion roll.
The bearer also gains the ability to get a major effect on any task roll, even a failed roll. The player and the GM should work out the details, but the consequences of failure can't be nullified completely. Usage of this ability requires a depletion roll.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10