Uresia: Grave of Heaven
Encyclopedia
Uresia: Grave of Heaven is an anime
-inspired fantasy world for the Big Eyes, Small Mouth
role-playing game
written by S. John Ross, and includes maps drawn by the author. Uresia was originally published by Guardians of Order
.
Uresia is a world in which all the gods destroyed themselves in a heavenly war which sent the godly realms crashing towards earth, destroying the continents and killing most of the population. Now, centuries later, new civilizations have arisen on the spray of islands left behind, influenced by the nature of the dead gods.
Uresia, like most S. John Ross works, is a gentle humanist
satire
applied to role-playing games, oscillating freely between the grim and the overtly silly, with constant themes of history, horror, humor and humanity. Obvious influences include the Slayers
and Record of Lodoss War
anime series, and other fantasy works including the Zork
computer games, the gamebooks of Joe Dever
, and the Discworld
novels. The world's apocalyptic origins are, according to the author, inspired by the opening scene of Project A-Ko
.
Uresia was published in 2003 and a new edition, adapted to the D20 System
published by Wizards of the Coast
, appeared in 2004. An online publisher of electronic gaming material, Cumberland Games and Diversions, is owned by S. John Ross and has published both font and electronic-book supplements for Uresia, first under license, and then as Uresias sole publisher after acquiring the rights in 2005. Ross also maintains Blue Lamp Road, a homepage dedicated to the fantasy world, and featuring fan-written expansions and characters.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
-inspired fantasy world for the Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is a roleplaying game that was designed to simulate the action of anime and manga. It is frequently referred to by the acronym BESM. The title alludes to the common anime drawing style of characters with huge, expressive eyes and comparatively small mouths.BESM uses a...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
written by S. John Ross, and includes maps drawn by the author. Uresia was originally published by Guardians of Order
Guardians of Order
Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games . Their first game is the anime inspired Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming...
.
Uresia is a world in which all the gods destroyed themselves in a heavenly war which sent the godly realms crashing towards earth, destroying the continents and killing most of the population. Now, centuries later, new civilizations have arisen on the spray of islands left behind, influenced by the nature of the dead gods.
Uresia, like most S. John Ross works, is a gentle humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
applied to role-playing games, oscillating freely between the grim and the overtly silly, with constant themes of history, horror, humor and humanity. Obvious influences include the Slayers
Slayers
is a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...
and Record of Lodoss War
Record of Lodoss War
is a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based around the work he originally created for a world called Forcelia for role-playing games . There have since been multiple manga, anime and computer game adaptations, several of which have been translated into English...
anime series, and other fantasy works including the Zork
Zork
Zork was one of the first interactive fiction computer games and an early descendant of Colossal Cave Adventure. The first version of Zork was written in 1977–1979 on a DEC PDP-10 computer by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling, and implemented in the MDL programming language...
computer games, the gamebooks of Joe Dever
Joe Dever
Joe Dever is an award-winning British fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982....
, and the Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novels. The world's apocalyptic origins are, according to the author, inspired by the opening scene of Project A-Ko
Project A-ko
is an animated movie that led to later releases set in the same series, and spinoff release as well. This parody series references a number of other works of anime from the 1970s and 1980s...
.
Uresia was published in 2003 and a new edition, adapted to the D20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
published by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
, appeared in 2004. An online publisher of electronic gaming material, Cumberland Games and Diversions, is owned by S. John Ross and has published both font and electronic-book supplements for Uresia, first under license, and then as Uresias sole publisher after acquiring the rights in 2005. Ross also maintains Blue Lamp Road, a homepage dedicated to the fantasy world, and featuring fan-written expansions and characters.