A realm of Legendmaking, a state of mind, and promoting the development of your own personal mythology!
This site is not meant in any way as a challenge to, nor a rip off of, the holders of the copyrights that are covered here. It is meant as a praise for the astounding and enigmatic works from which it originates, as well as adding details that we feel are useful in using the setting and game mechanics. I, myself with nearly 30 years of RPG experience have never seen such a complete and well developed RPG setting, especially one that is grounded right here in our own world, during our own time frame. And to top it off, Steven Brown has graciously given me his permission (via email back in 1998) to provide the information. Visionary Entertainment Studios was purchased by Chip Dobbs recently and he has also given his approval for me to provide the information on this site not only for the purposes of operating the PBEM (Play By Electronic-Mail) from here, but also to help promote the spread of the Everlasting among RPGers. Hopefully Chip will be sucessful in growing the Everlasting into a viable and long lasting RPG, as its incredible nature deserves. However if what you see interests you, I highly recommend purchasing the actual books (as the info needed to actually play this game will not appear here in any detail). If only a portion of the material interests you, then you may be able to get by with purchasing a single "Foundation" book, but be warned that you will be missing out on a much larger portion of the "Secret World".

The Secret World is an RPG (Role Playing Game) setting developed by Steven C. Brown (yes, he is also the author of several books for White Wolf). It is based off of the mythology of our own historical world. If you find this interesting, please check out his books:

All material that is not already covered under the above book copyrights (or as specified as quotes covered by other copyrights) are copyright the owner of this site (or contributing parties as noted) 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.

These books are published by a company formerly owned by Steve (recently changed ownership), Visionary Entertainment Studios, Inc. (VESI).

Anyone who is into High Fantasy RPG's, Gothic RPG's, or even Modern Fantasy RPG's will probably like these books. The game mechanics are a bit unwieldy at first, however once you get used to them they are usable and very reasonable. As a matter of fact there are some distinct benefits to using this type of an action resolution system. The details are carefully thought out and put together using mythology from our own history and earthly cultures (Aboriginal, Native American, Indian, Asian, African, European, etc.), and thus makes sense and fits together in a workable and playable way.

This Secret World is our own world, but viewed from a different perspective. Steve has extensively used quotes and color text that makes you think about the possibilities that his concepts and ideas might be real. Each of the "Gentes" (races) of immortals, has their own good and bad points. One interesting thing about the setting is the fact that as the characters grow in experience they not only grow more powerful, but at the same time find it harder and more difficult to control their powers and abilities. All the protagonists in this game are subject to some sort of "Torment" that tears at them mentally or psychologically. So as they become more powerful in some ways, they become less powerful in others. This makes for a great story line, as there is always internal struggles going on while the characters deal with external struggles.

Angels become Imperfect. Gargoyles fall victim to their own fate as the Abyss consumes them and the Horrification changes them. Vampires loose what little humanity they had left and slowly Damnation overtakes them in their thirst for blood. Manitou loose their humanity as Animalism overtakes them. Ghuls suffer from Degeneration as their unliving bodies slowly rot away and their minds become more and more depraved. The proud Djinn spiral towards Hubris and eventually becoming megalomania. Questers develop an ever growing sense of Doubt as to the the quest that they have sworn their very very soul to. Revenants are doomed to Detachment from the world of the Living, as they crave and drain the Life Force from the living around them in a manner similar to Vampires with blood. The Possessed (Dream/Nightmare Lords from another dimension or time) slowly Corrupt the psyche of their mortal host, often causing insanity or worse. Reanimates suffer from Angst as they try to deal with the horror and self loathing that is part of their inhumane existence. The heroic Daevas (think of the "Highlander" series; or the Greek, Celtic, Norse, or other Deities of mythology, suffer an impending sense of Doom (their place in the world is nearing its end). Dead Souls (Ghosts) suffer from Imprisonment, being permanently tied to some place or event due to their actions in life that have condemned to their restless existence between the world of the Living and the world of the Dead. There are more examples, based on the other Gentes not listed here.

Note: Despite this being an incredibly impressive setting and a fairly playable system, the books are a bit lacking in the way of editing, so you will need to have a little patience with the books. They are not perfect, but they are well worth dealing with the editorial and typographical problems, in my humble opinion.

This email based game will take place around the Midwest of the United States. Primarily the southern regions of Michigan, with some activity likely bleeding over into other nearby areas (other Midwest states, and possibly other parts of the world). This is a modern day fantasy game so no similarities to real people, past or present is intended.

Now to learn more, you must enter the Secret World and view the Lexicon of the Everlasting.