Agyris FAQ

"How can I play in Agyris?"

Currently, there are 2 ways to participate in an Agyrian Campaign:

1. Find a Gamemaster (or become a Gamemaster), and start learning about the world right here on this website. Just about everything that I know about Agyris is up here, and there are a good many things that I forget about, and have to look up on the site myself. Then, once you've got a good feeling for it, start your game.

2. Play in Adventures in Agyris, a high-quality play-by-post role playing game.

"Why make yet another fantasy RPG setting?"

I would have to say because of the desire to make a fantasy setting that lived and breathed on its own, and had it's own unique flavor. So many fantasy settings are terribly generic, with the addition elements (such as psionics) to somehow make them "different." This "kitchen-sink" approach tends to add "new" elements as they come into fashion, creating a hodge-podge fantasy world that is similar to all of the other "additive" worlds. I like a rather "subtractive" method, which strips out things that are unnecessary, or that are overused in the genre. In essense, I think that a campaign world is defined as much as what is put in, as what is left out. In Agyris, we strip out a great number of things such as orks or psionics, and replace them with elements that assist to uniquely define the world. It is really difficult to create a unique world that contains everything: orks, psionicists, necromancers, vampires, kobolds, wood elves, knights, etc. All of the worlds that share these same elements begin to look very similar. I don't hate vampires, or psionics, or wood elves, but I just found them a bit over used in their present state. I might use the basic concept of a zombie, but redefine and recraft it into a completely different creature, that better tells the story of the land.

"How long have you been working on Agyris?"

Daniel: (Aggran) I've been working on my own original game worlds since 1985 or so. (Rob Proctor, Travis & Chad Trent, Brent Carey, and Jason Roberts were early participants from this time.)

First there was LandSea (borrowing too heavily from Ursula LeGuin), then Blazenwood (one of the Earthsea islands), then Monak, then Oceanus (a return to the LandSea idea), and then finally Agyris in about 1993. (In 1995 Gyr was totally remapped to its present look, moving cities & nations all over the place, but improving it immensely.) Travis Trent played and Gm'd in these early forms of Agyris ('83-'87 and '92-'95), and had a great deal of input and creation of it. He helped refine the overall "Bell concept" of the world, and created many memorable legends, places, races and characters. It is safe to say that Trav has logged on more Gyr hours than anyone besides myself.

In each generation of game world, I would keep my favorite parts, and put them in a new map. I'd drop the ideas that were less interesting (like savage elves) or that were unsatisfactory. For example, on the Blazenwood map I first had Antharis, which has never left.

Shannon Potratz (Voya) has been illustrating Gyr since 1995. Ben Hunter has recently contributed 60+ fantasy illustrations. Travis Trent, Brent Carey, and Rob Proctor have been contributors since the late 1980s or so. Brent (stenchling) joined (and prompted) the Agyris web site team in 1999, and has spent hours building the technical side of the site.

Countless others have played in the Agyris or pre-Gyr settings, and made valuable contributions as well, including: Grant Holloway, Curtis & Lena Cooley, Jason Roberts, Chad Trent, Dave Bergeron, Keith Proctor, Roger.

"How much of this site is original?"

To my knowledge, all of it. All of the illustrations were made by myself, Shannon Potratz, or Ben Hunter. All of the stories, content, races, gods, were created by myself, or by one of the contributors, or were inspired from copyright-free sources such as folklore and mythology.

"What is Fudge?"

Fudge is a free game system created by Steffan O'Sullivan, who has worked professionally in the game industry on several GURPS titles. Fudge is simple and clean, and promotes role-playing and imaginative play. It is easy to convert to your favorite game system, and is very easy to learn. Learn more about Fudge here.

"Why did you use Fudge?"

Well, it's good, free, people use it, and I know that I won't get sued for using it. (I can get a royalty-free license for my own "Gyr Fudge") Also, I am not remotely interested in creating my own game system, and Fudge is better than anything that I could make up anyway. Plus, it is such a minimal system it really isn't that far from being a "generic" game system. With Fudge, I am able to provide a free game world and free game mechanics; a complete package!

But remember: Use whatever system that you want! If you play 3rd Edition Ruins & Raiders and you love the system, use it!

"How does this site make money?"

It doesn't. Agyris.net is free for anyone to use, for no charge or hidden fees. Everything that I have access to, the public has access to - there is no "hidden information." Eventually, I'd like to have an Agyris Online Store, that we could use to sell Gyr products to help subsidize the cost of maintaining the site. But that's later. It is my goal to provide Agyris free of charge for as long as possible. (Hopefully for my lifetime.)

"How long has this site been up?"

We started the web project (eGyr) in mid 2000, with a hopefull "official" launch in the summer of 2001. A beta version went up in March 2001. Like anything else, it always seems to take longer to make something than you first thought. We first talked about putting Gyr online in 1997.

"Why Agyris.net and not Agyris.com?"

The ".com" implies commerce and a cost to use the service. ".net" implies network, with less of a commerce angle. This series of webpages is technically a network, so there you have it. Agyris is free, and will remain so, for as long as I am able and interested in the project.

"Can I use Agyris for my own campaign?"

Yes, please do, and let me know if you do. The site is an excellent resource for running a Gyr campaign, which is why we put it online. (Plus, I was having a difficult time organizing and cross-referencing my work.) I use this site as my primary Gyr reference for my own games. Also, it is a useful tool in educating my players about all of the Gyr-specific races, names and vocabulary.

"Is there a printable version of Agyris?"

Well, actually, there are some large, printable sections available as pdf. Get them here.

"Can I download or print the illustrations?"

Sure, for personal use only. Permission is denied for any other use, without prior written consent from the creator.

"Why does Agyris/Gyr/Gyritus/Gyris mean?"

I made up the word "Agyris", hoping to evoke images of an ancient foreign world, steeped in history and strange cultures. However, it seems that there are a couple of German companies are called "Gyr" and "Agyris." Over time I've found out that "Agyris" was a Greek tyrant-king, and that it also means "a place of assembly" in latin. Weird. There are no current plans to change the name; I like it.

"Why do you waste your time on this?"

Simply put, for the joy of creation. I love creating stories, illustrations, sculptures, myths, creatures, villains, etc. Gyr is the most interesting way for me to focus my creativity/skills on one project. Plus, I love the fantasy genre. (If it wasn't Gyr, it would be something very similar.) I thank my wife Dawna for putting up with all of my constant silliness and Gyrspeak.

"Where did you get your illustrations/graphics/maps from?"

They are all the original work of Shannon Potratz, Ben Hunter, and Daniel Davis. None were stolen from any other site or source. Please don't steal any of them for your site, as these graphics represent years of our own unpaid work. I'm proud to be connected to the talents of everyone involved. You have our permission to use the images for your own personal profit-free games. (Personal use only.)

"How did you make the maps?"

Well, I did some rough drawings first, locating all of the cities/nations/landmarks that I could think of at the time. And then I inked it, using fiber-tiped tech pens (like the micron). I work larger than actual size, so the original Discovered Lands map is about 24 inches tall. Next, I took a stat camera shot of it, reducing it so that it would barely fit onto a scanner bed. Then I took it into Photoshop, airbrushed it, applied layers, and basically colored it. Then, saving it as a tiff, I imported it into Freehand and added fey lines, city names, icons, and the key. I really wanted to create a hand-hewn looking map; I hate fantasy maps that look like they were photographed from a satellite, or were made on a computer.

"Do you accept original submissions ?"

Yes, but please be aware that I have many more ideas for places that I have not yet fully fleshed out, so new places/people/things may fit in better than ideas for established places/people/things. Also, all submissions become the property of Daniel M. Davis, and that by submitting content, you understand and accept this policy. You will be credited, however, and your submissions, which are subject to editing and changes. The reason for this is simple: For Agyris to have a future it must have one sole editor/owner/director, who can make decisions about it. With a variety of owners of Gyr content, we basically could become a committee; I believe that committees ruin most good ideas. Gyr doesn't need a committee.

"Where are the Orcs? (And horses, and wood elves, and Drow, and...")

Well, I hate to disappoint, but there are no orcs found in this official version of Agyris. You're welcome to put them into your own games, for sure, but you just won't find any info for them here. Why? Well, there are literally hundreds of web-based fantasy campaign worlds on the net, and just about every one of them has orcs and all of the other standard fantasy trappings. It has been our aim here at Agyris.net, to provide something new, a world that might just surprise and amuse the players (Explorers) from time to time. Again, for your home-run Agyris games, please feel free to do whatever you'd like... you are the GM, right?