The Near Zone

The Near Zone: Fantasy, sci-fi, and roleplaying

  • The Family War, Part 1: The Question of Children

    The Family War, Part 1: The Question of Children

    Part 1 of an academic account of the civil war between the Party for Science and Prosperity and the fundamentalist New Federation Organization.

  • Hermit’s Arcana: A Tarot Solitaire

    Hermit’s Arcana: A Tarot Solitaire

    The game of Hermit’s Arcana is a one-player solitaire/patience game using a tarot deck, based on the game 22 Offerings which was created by David Llort. The rules have been changed slightly and an additional divination section has been added, if one wants to use this game as an aide to practicing tarot readings.

  • The Counter-Plot

    The Counter-Plot

    Dramatis Personae “You should think about adding magic into the routine,” said Prince Miy Z.K. to Master Kunah S.A. “A flare at the right moment, or a lift of wind to carry you into the air. I would like to see that.” “Go to Kobarobada for their harvest festival,” said Master Toprak C.M. “They put…

  • The House of Knowledge

    The House of Knowledge

    CONTENT WARNING: Extreme violence, torture, and mass murder. “It’s up through the navy that this demon came. He was called Daoud and he took the form of a beautiful human, lean like a wolf, like a hawk of the land. He enlisted with the Armada as a matross and was employed on land, one of…

  • The Angel’s Bridge

    The Angel’s Bridge

    A sorcerer sits atop a mountain, basking in the light of a wonder, when everything darkens and he must fight for his life.

  • A Description of the City Anaris

    [wpedon id=”566″ align=”center”] Intended for the hands of my friend Boltar, 19th archivist of the Undannekan Library in Gazbek Greetings, I greet your father and your father’s father, all those in your clan, and all those in the Undannekan Library. I hope this letter finds you in stout health. Here I beg you to get…

  • The Creation Myths of Vahea

    The Creation Myths of Vahea

    Look into the birth of a fantasy multiverse with the four creation myths that explain reality’s beginning: the myth of Death’s Children, the Invention of Life, the War of the Five Hells, and the Seven Mortal Ages.

  • The Young Hounds

    In The Young Hounds we follow two children of the count, the militaristic heir and his more artistic sister, as they struggle to make sense of a world of war and an enemy they know only by rumor and legend.

  • Fatima and Jerod

    Fatima and Jerod

    A short sketch about two people trying to find happiness together in a future, the same way we do today.

  • The Houses of Humanity

    The Houses of Humanity

    A short description of the human civilization of a far future, where they are enslaved to the universe-spanning Sublime Organization.

Got any book recommendations?

Get In Touch