Degenesis Project

Degenesis Project 

For this project, I decided to create artwork for a tabletop RPG game called Degenesis made by SIXMOREVODKA for my university course work. It merges the visionary design with the intuitive gameplay and dense worldbuilding, which allows the player to travel in the future of the 26th century. In the game, there are seven cultures Borca, Franca, Pollen, Balkhan, Hybrispania, Purgate and Africa. There are thirteen cults Spitalians, Chroniciclers, Hellvetics, Judges, Clanners, Scrappers, Neolibyans, Scourgers, Anubians, Jehammedans, Apocalyptics, Anabaptists and Palers, which inhabit the earth. What drew me to the game is the fact that it allows me to create something that has a piece of me with it, a piece from my culture, my country, my history. I liked that I had the opportunity to get my own brain working, by just reading the text and picturing something in my own mind. The culture that I went with is the Balkhan and the reason behind that is my Bulgarian heritage. I wanted to create something modern today, but also some traditional Bulgarian clothing and accessories. I looked through the books that the players are given to learn how to play the game. The book that I looked at was “Degenesis: Rebirth Edition”. In that package, there are two books “Primal Punk”, which includes information about the lore and the world of Degenesis and the second one is “Katharsys”, which contains the game system supporting Degenesis as well as a GM section to help the player start with the game. 

Helena "The Rebel"

For the female character “Helena” I started off with creating a character sheet in the website ( https://degenesis.com/ ) using the character generator. There I was able to choose from various of options about her culture, concept, and cult. For her culture, I chose the “Balkhan”, because initially the fact that there was a chance for me to include my culture in this project. Then I chose “The Visionary” as her concept, the reason for that was that I wanted her to be “Woke”. The visionaries are the people who see the world as it is, they are reasonable and are able to see the course of the future. It kind of reminded me of the concept of the “Red pill” from “The Matrix” (the movie from 1999). But what is the red pill? There are two pills that are being introduced in the movie “the red pill” and “the blue pill”. The red pill is described as the solution for knowing the truth in life, it allows you to see the world for what it really is, in the movie they explain it as continuing to fall down the “rabbit hole”, which means that the person is continuing to lean the truth about the lies that were in the world to break them and obtain freedom. Whereas the blue pill describes the continuity of the current state of life, such as continuing to live life without knowing it meaning or running away from the truth in order to stay as it is. In the movie, it is described as waking up in bed without caring for your “destiny” or such profound ideas. So basically, the people that want to know the truth no matter how painful it might be will take the red pill and the people who want to continue living through the concept of the pink glasses take the blue pill. Because of her concept I think that she is someone who has taken the red pill, she wants to know what the future holds for her and she wants to see the people around her for what they really are. She is rebellious and strong. She knows she is beautiful, and she knows how to use that to her advantage. As her cult I chose apocalyptics, they are a cult that knows how to express their emotions, they are strong and mischievous. Which I believe goes well with the personality I am trying to create for her. I was allowed to choose the attributes and skills for her. I made her athletic and tough, with good stamina. I boosted her dexterity, stealth, and mobility, which makes her very dangerous, very sneaky because that means she has the sleight of hand. Which combined with her high level of seduction and negotiation, expression, conduct, and art makes her a vicious cunning enemy without anyone realizing it. I also boosted her survival, cunning, deception, and focus levels to boost that up.

The reason she has a basic understanding of artifacts lore is that, when she was younger, she was stolen away from her original concept by the apocalyptics from the traditionalists, where is her brother as well (Alexandar). Therefore, I decided for her to have the trademark taken. This is why I introduced the red pill, she already knows the truth even though she was young when that happened and her prime mission is to find her brother, reunite and seek vengeance from the people who stole her, no matter the cost.

Alexandar "The Tough Dog"

For the male character, I created another character sheet by using the generator. I named him Alexandar, which is a very famous and old Bulgarian name. He is Helena’s older brother. By culture he is Balkhan. His concept is “The Traditionalist”, they are from the people who follow the order because they believe that it separates them from the apes. They stay true to their traditions and honour their family. They are the type of people who implores people to look to the past when today’s questions are hard to bear. He clings to the ancient rules, never adapting them, no matter what happens. They hate change, only wanting to guarantee continuity. His cult is the “Scrappers. I chose this one because the people in this cult are drawn towards the ruins, they dig in the dust and dirt, which brings them closer to the era of the ancient people. They work tirelessly, digging all the way down until they can drag technical wonders caked with soot into the light of day. When they hear the wind whistle through gaping windows and the old buildings creak in the midday sun, they know that this is their home. Here, they know every nook and cranny. No one can beat them in the wasteland.

He is manly and strong, very athletic, and tough. He is good at using brute force and is extremely skilled at brawl and melee fights. The high stamina allows him to keep on fighting. He is a skilled craftsman and extremely skilled in navigation. He knows his way around the forest and knows how to get away from traps with ease. He has grown up looking after himself, his survival and orienteering skills are high, he knows how to survive anywhere, wherever he is he can feel at home. He has fast reactions and dominance ounces from his every move to the way he speaks, his gaze is much scarier than any weapon he owns. He is a tough dog. His faith is strong, and he is extremely good at artifact lore. He could be very persuasive and is always focused on what he does. He is a creature of habit; he follows his routine every time. He has a very strong family bond, the only alive relative he has is his sister that he has not seen or heard of since she was taken as a child. However, hope dies last, and he will not give up on the chance of finding her and being brought back together.

Environment 

On page 99 of “Primal Punk” the history of the Balkhan culture could be found, through the book there are illustrations of the people that inhabit the places and some environment pieces. After I finished reading the section for the Balkhans I found out that there is a part, which describes the Bulgarian capital “Sofia” and the river “Iskar”. There is a detailed description on how the place looks like in the 26th century: “Sofia itself lies on the northern slope of the Witoscha Mountains. Ramrod-straight streets lead past palaces adorned with pillars, metal-covered buildings, and dusty apartment blocks. Some end in giant plazas, others get lost in the forests’ proliferation. The Voivode’s palace is an octagonal hall clutched in steel ribs that would have room enough for dozens of Surge Tanks.” – When I read that it gave me a post-apocalyptic feel, a place where people had to rebuild from scratch because something horrible had happen. It was a new start for everyone, everything old was lost, people were at war again and now they have been turned to a more primitive way. I have the advantage of seeing Sofia for myself, a truly beautiful place. Being the capital it's also very busy, life always flows.