Expanded Cosmology of Void and Nether

#systemRPG #gamedesign #metaphysics #cosmology #void #nether

SystemRPG: Expanded Cosmology of Void and Nether

1. Void (Intra-Tapestry Negation)

  • Nature: The “between-spaces” of the Tapestry. Not absence of existence but the absence of substrate for System anchoring.
  • Function: Acts as insulation between realms, like the gaps between woven threads.
  • Status: Still within the Tapestry, but fundamentally hostile to structuring; planes drift apart across voidal gulfs.
  • Beings:
    • Voidborn — native entities shaped by anti-substrate conditions.
    • Tend to embody negation, entropy, or erasure.
    • Dangerous but finite; they exist because the Tapestry requires insulation.
  • System’s Reach: Cannot integrate, but can map, observe, and skirt Void zones. Functions treat them as unrendered coordinates.

2. Nether (Beyond-Tapestry Hunger)

  • Nature: Outside all existence. A meta-external expanse that predates and predates reality itself.
  • Function: Pure consumption—devours realities, timelines, planes. Represents anti-creation, not insulation.
  • Status: Beyond the woven Tapestry. What the System sees when it peers past edges of reality.
  • Beings:
    • Netherborn — incomprehensible predators, parasites, or witnesses from outside.
    • Appear massive and timeline-scale, consuming or unraveling entire realities.
  • System’s Reach: Cannot anchor at all. Foundation exists to orchestrate the defense of reality against Nether consumption.

3. Comparison: Void vs. Nether

Aspect Void Nether
Location Inside the Tapestry (between realms) Beyond the Tapestry (outside all reality)
Function Insulation, spacing between threads Consumption, erasure of entire realities
Nature Neutral negation, no substrate Active hunger, meta-external devourer
System Access Mappable, skirted, not assimilated Completely inaccessible, beyond reach
Beings Finite voidborn, defined by absence Vast netherborn, defined by anti-creation

4. System’s Vantage

  • Scale: The System is large enough to span vast swaths of the Tapestry, perceiving both other realities to expand toward and edges where Tapestry thins into Void.
  • Sight Beyond: From vantage at boundaries, the System glimpses the Nether beyond reality, observing entities consuming entire cosmological threads.
  • Response:
    • Expansion inward: continue assimilating new realities.
    • Vigilance outward: track Nether movements across the edges.
    • Defense: Foundation’s mission to marshal forks, Admins, and users against incursions.

5. Narrative Implications

  • Void zones → dangerous barriers within the Tapestry; exploration risks erasure or voidborn predation.
  • Nether threats → existential, seen in omens of whole realms collapsing.
  • Beings of Otherness → both Voidborn and Netherborn embody alien logics; their goals and shapes reflect their origins (negation vs. hunger).
  • Player Arcs:
    • Early: encounter void seams and local voidborn.
    • Mid: System warnings of Nether collapses at the edge.
    • High: missions to stabilize boundaries, reinforce reality.
    • Epic: glimpses of Netherborn consuming timelines, final defense arcs under Foundation directives.

Void = the Tapestry’s internal insulation, absence between realms.
Nether = the Outside, infinite hunger devouring realities themselves.
System = the lattice perceiving and defending against both, spanning inward to assimilate and outward to resist the ultimate Beyond.