Overview

The premise behind Balzu is both simple and complex. At a very high level, the mod is about the player's choice between good and evil. Durs, the world of Balzu, is a tumultuous place, ripe with opportunities for both good and evil. Good-leaning players will find ample opportunity to demonstrate their courage and virtue in the face of overwhelming obstacles. Evil-leaning players will find equal opportunity to prey upon and exploit others in their pursuit of wealth and power.

But, as the old hermetic adage goes: As above, so below. The battle that must take place in the player's own soul between choosing a life of good or a life of evil is reflected in an on-going battle in Heaven, where warring factions battle over the ultimate destiny of Durs. This celestial conflict is waged not only in the higher and lower planes, but also in the material world, where representatives of each faction ('angels' and 'devils') do their best to sway the hearts and minds of men, promising power or protection in exchange for their undivided allegiance.

But Balzu is not a mod about blacks and whites, stereotypes, or clear-cut lines of allegiance. The angels and devils themselves are the children of an older race, the Ancient Ones, or Chaotics: primordial beings that follow no laws, obey no allegiance, and act in ways which elude even themselves. As humanity is the child of both the Ancient Ones and their offspring, the new gods, they are no more predictable than the celestial powers; they have a chaotic strain, the seed of free will, and the power to choose their own destiny, which makes Durs a world of perpetual uncertainty for both humans and the Divine.

The player's dilemma, then, is reflected in the cosmological basis, or mythos, of Balzu: the choice between a life of conscious good or intentional evil, or to surrendering to unconscious drives and forces. The world that they find themselves in is a world of constant upheaval: wars, famine, plague, and political intrigue are constant forces that must be met and conquered in order for the player to survive. In Balzu, the player does not take on the role of a 'mysterious hero', prophesied to redeem mankind, but the role of an ordinary person who must make difficult choices to survive in an unpredictable and brutal world. Events will unfold, with or without the player's help; it is up to the player to decide how best to handle them. They may choose to accept the burden of being a hero in an often thankless world, or to climb the mountain of power on the backs of their opponents. Or, avoid choosing altogether by descending into a personal realm of madness and despair.

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