M I R A M A R K A

I'm finally speaking out about my role-playing game. I've been indecisive for a very long time regarding the structure of this game. I believe the first drafts date back to 2014 or 2015, when I introduced the recurring characters of this universe.

I'll write to you as I speak; it might be a bit messy, but it's my rawest vision of the subject, and therefore the most authentic.

The Beginnings of Miramarka

The oldest pieces I’ve found about Miramarka are these illustrations. I think they were the starting point for bringing Miramarka to life. Back then, I called it "Gifted Society."

The idea behind it wasn’t even to create a role-playing game but rather a comic book. The concept was simple: we’re in our world, in the near future, where people are "enhanced." To achieve this, they get their powers "tattooed" on them, and these powers are bought and sold.

Then came the idea of division. I’ve always loved how wizards in Harry Potter coexist with Muggles—a hidden society that lives in secret while still sharing their infrastructure.

You can see something I introduced during those early creations: plaques on the front of houses. These plaques allowed access to the alternate version of the world, reserved for the “members” of Miramarka.

Characters began to take shape, but there was still no role-playing game—just stories, and above all, illustrations.

Even though the universe wasn’t fully fleshed out, one thing remained constant: these marks, somewhat resembling tattoos, which symbolized the source of power for the “Marked”—the individuals with powers in Miramarka.

Plenty of illustrations, plenty of stories, but no role-playing game—just a distant idea, since I preferred playing in heroic fantasy settings. So, I set Miramarka aside and focused on developing Nyndor’s Universe instead.

The Nyndor Period

So, Nyndor’s Universe—where to begin? Initially, I gave this name to a narrative framework I ran between 2015 and 2016 using the Dungeons & Dragons system.

It was a multiverse world, where very rare individuals bore a mark (yes, another one) of the Traveler. Travelers could use temples built by their ancestors to journey between universes. These temples acted as gateways. Naturally, the Travelers of the current era had no knowledge of this and unwittingly stumbled into alternate universes, unable to understand what was happening to them. A world entirely different, yet with people who didn’t recognize you—you get the idea.

Incidentally, it was for this game that I created the map you’re familiar with from Minimal Roleplay!

This was followed by a whole bunch of artworks and reused characters. Here’s a small selection:

I ran quite a few games in Nyndor, but in the end, something was missing. I had what I wanted in some ways, but I found myself missing the Miramarka system.

The Progress of Miramarka

So yes, alongside everything else, Miramarka is making its way forward—role-playing game, video game, and a whole bunch of things. What I remember is a new story and a lineage system starting to take shape.

At this point, I have a more logical vision of Miramarka and its universe. The Markians live in the human world, in a society that has hunted them down over the centuries (witch hunts, etc.). These Markians have powers stemming from their lineages. Initially, these powers are insignificant and nearly nonexistent, but some of them hone their abilities and become powerful. A Markian can have multiple lineages, resulting from crossbreeding, which allows them to mix powers and develop unique abilities.

Back to the story: among these lineages, there is the Démiourao lineage, very important for protecting the Markian secret. This lineage has the power to create parallel spaces to our world. They developed technology to create these living spaces for the Marked, in order to hide from normal humans. A whole government is formed, with laws, rules, etc. Anyway, I won’t dwell too much on this lore, as it’s no longer current.

I turn it into a potential role-playing game, create illustrations, and take the opportunity to write lore about my recurring characters and all sorts of little things like these:

So, it’s all well and good, but it doesn’t solve my problem. It’s still a contemporary game, and it doesn’t allow for the kinds of battles you’d find in D&D, or the development of crazy abilities, or the acquisition of quirky equipment, etc.

I decide to merge this lineage system with Nyndor’s, which gives me a dedicated character sheet and a new game system that I test in a small campaign. It works, but... I’m not completely satisfied. The spell creation process (all custom-made) is tedious, and the system isn’t flexible enough to accommodate my changing ideas. So, I put it aside for a long period to focus on my other activities.

2024 · The Return of the Mark

I think I’ve forgotten a thousand things above, but you get the idea. And anyway, this is where the serious stuff begins. In 2024, I had an idea that allowed me to take the best of everything and create the new Miramarka.

The concept behind this new lore is that the Earth rests on a stack of planes. These planes are real but inaccessible to humans, at least. These underlying planes are diverse and varied; they can be empty or civilized, and all types of universes can develop within them. The Markians exploit these planes to build their world, connected to the original plane—Earth.

What you need to know is that disasters and tragedies on Earth originate from these underlying planes. When one plane suffers a catastrophe, the entire stack of planes above it is affected.

In Miramarka, you play as guardians of planar stability, tasked with preventing the creation of these tragedies.

I won’t dwell too much on the lore of Miramarka, I’ll write a dedicated article about it later if you’re interested.

In this role-playing game, you’ll find a unique combat system, along with item, equipment, and spell generation—basically, a good mix of video game elements like Diablo and traditional role-playing games. The missions for players can take place in any type of universe, and you’ll find relics and equipment that you can carry over from one universe to another... In short, plenty of exciting things to look forward to.

I’m also currently writing an introductory scenario that allows players to create their character throughout the story. It’s an initiation, but more importantly, an initialization scenario.

That’s it for now, we’ll stay in touch!

#miramarka