Omen is a fantasy game set primarily on modern earth. Play will be broadly focusing on magic and magic users, rather than the mundane aspects of the world. While there's nothing to stop you building a (non-magical) business empire or running for Parliament, the game is set up to encourage action within the witching community. Seeking power within a faction; pushing the boundaries of magical knowledge; trying to gain sway with angels or demons: these are all good character goals.'
In order to deal with the effects of magic being common knowledge and to allow for a society with equality so much greater than our own, Omen is set in an alternative version of modern earth. The world of Omen is generally similar to our own - characters can do things like drink Coca-Cola and watch Doctor Who. However, if players have the occasion to actively engage with public figures such as politicians or celebrities, they will be NPCs created by the GMs, rather than people one would recognise from our world.
Omen is set in 2020, rather than 2016, in order to make the disconnect between the real world and the world of Omen clearer and easier. It can be assumed that society and technology have not advanced much.
At it's core, Omen is a game about people. Strange and dramatic things are happening on a scale that covers the world - and beyond - but the drivers behind dealing with it are people. People are exciting and messy and complicated. Sometimes they do great things, sometimes they get it wrong. They have big, fundamental disagreements about important things. Even in a world which seems extraordinary, people are, when you get down to it, just people.
With that said though, Omen is set in a world full of magic. While it's something a bit weird and complicated, but ultimately boring to most people, practitioners see the excitement of the possibilities that magic offers. As a result, there are strong themes of investigation and discovery, as well as the scope of creativity and the power of knowledge. The world is big and exciting, and full of amazing things.
Although the game draws a significant amount of inspiration from the Bible and Christian mythology, it is not a notably religious game. In particular, the question of God has been left out of it - your character's religious beliefs are up to you, and no gods will be appearing in the game. If you are concerned, please feel free to talk to the GMs!
While dramatic and horrifying things can and will happen, Omen is a broadly hopeful game. Bad things will happen, but they can be overcome. Cleverness and creativity are both encouraged.
To ensure fun for all, we encourage players to avoid choosing character goals which involve directly and violently targeting other players. While ‘Allow the rise of a demon’ may involve throwing some other players under the bus, it is still a good character goal. ‘Kill ten other PCs’ is not.
It is possible for your characters to die in setting, and it is possible for your character to cause the deaths of others. However, this is still the modern world - murder is taken about as well as you might expect. Players are encouraged to take retribution in other ways - loss of credibility, destruction of research, and so on.
If your character does die, you will of course be more than welcome to create another character, and the GMs will help ensure that they aren’t disadvantaged by arriving late. Or, who knows. With all the metaphysical weirdness going on, death might not actually be the end…
Omen is inspired by numerous sources, including: