Distinguishing Portals from Rifts in RPG and Fantasy-Adventure Story-Telling

With so many publications of Nine Portals for RPG, the difference between portals and other means of crossing thresholds can be confusing for dungeon masters, game administrators, and players. This post answers some common questions about portals of all kinds. 

The new glossary features all manner of Nine Portals related lore and myth, however, some details which distinguish portals from wormholes, etc., are addressed in this post. 

What is the difference between a rift and a portal? 

A portal is a door between two separate places. Portals are for the most part artificial, and thus intentional. A rift is a tear in the fabric of the space/ time continuum. Rifts are usually natural openings. A rift breaches barriers between worlds and different time periods. Rifts work along ley lines (thesaurus: dragon tracks). Ley lines are energy streams which surround the earth. Where two or more ley lines cross, a nexus is created, and a rift will open in the nexus. There are spells for opening such rifts, but all rifts are relational to ley lines.

What is a natural portal? 

A portal created by the gods or supernatural forces is considered by mortals to be a natural occurring portal. Natural portals were first created by the fire giants of Gygatherion, and the fairy folk who waded with their kin in the fiery depths of primordial earth. 

What is an artificial portal? 

An archway erected from stone, metal, or wood creates a doorway between worlds when blessed by divine magic, enchanted by arcane magic, or infused with super science and technological means. All portals are to some extent artificial, unless they are created by raw forces coincidentally, unintentionally. 

What is an elemental portal?

When the first portals were hefted up by the Giants of Gygatherion, they implemented a system of elemental properties. That is, all dimensional doors of the universe had to be in harmony with cosmic principles. The first portal of ice was carved from the shard of Primordius, the eternal dark lord of the ultimate void. This ice portal was brought to Gaia Saar, and nested in mount Threshaven by the frost Giants. The next portal of primordial earth was the fire portal. This portal was set in the underworld of Gaia Saar in an infernal kingdom called Agnus. It's twin was hauled to the towering mount Threshaven, and hidden from mortals. The elements of water, salt, venom, metal and air contributed to the creation of earth, all being congealed into the ultimate elemental plane of middle earth by the Demi god, Gygatherion. The daughters of venom betrayed the elder gods, and gave knowledge of the primordial portals to the first sorcerers of earth. To amend for the offense to the gods, the Wizards of Gaia Saar set up a shrine to Gygatherion's father, Alu, in the temple city of Talos. 

Elemental portals, for example, include earth, water, ice, metal, air, and fire portals. The secondary portals are mixed elemental portals. For instance, the Necro portal is a portal of salt and venom combined. The hydro portal, as well, is a secondary portal constructed from the principle polarities of water, ice, and metal portals. 

Teleportation devices and other constructs can be referenced as portals in your portal router matrix diagram, or in the master control document. Ergo, not all teleport platforms are really doors between two places. The lightening portal, for instance, is a converter or transmutation apparatus. High powered electromagnetic frequencies scramble the atoms of a teleported creature, and move the separated components of the creature along a conveying path of electrical beams. Chaos portals completely disregard elemental laws of the Giants, but these arcane instruments are none-the-less portals in essence. 

Questions regarding the use or implementation of portals in role-playing games are welcomed. Please address your questions to us on Twitter at @9portals or by leaving a comment on this post. 

Traditional and Dynamic Portals in RPG

TRADITIONAL VS. DYNAMIC PORTALS Portals—whether they function traditionally or dynamically—play an important part in the process of storytelling for role-playing games. You detect a slight draft in the south junction of the temple, and in an alcove at the south-east corner of the oratory you can see a faint beam of light touch the head of Abraxar upon the altar of Arathor. Typically, a game master will decide on whether to make a portal visible or to merely hint at the presence of a portal. The decision to make a portal obvious may have everything or nothing to do with the sequences of events and encounters that the game master has planned out for players. Yet, making this distinction between the obvious and elusive portal is the craft of the cunning game master. (The process of declaring a portal is predetermined in the master control document, or it may be annotated on the portals router with a simple hash mark or other indicator of the game master’s preference). Players who can see a portal may be tempted to enter the portal without having a better look around the environment. Perhaps, keeping the portal in the shadows will allow for a more likely encounter with pursuers coming up the rampart on the heels of the players. There are myriad reasons to consider forehand the nature of portals when plotting a router. In essence, portals are traditionally considered a magical passageway through space/ time between two places. For the most part, this default is largely agreed upon. Dynamic portals, however, greatly enhance the overall richness of fantasy-adventure storytelling. Fundamentally, dynamic portals are constructs of magic which are deeply rooted in ancient lore or elemental properties. To make more sense of such diversity in portals, the entire portal system is divided into a hierarchy of greater and lesser gates. The archetypal portals, those portals which existed in the beginning of the physical universe, are classified as Greater Portals or primordial portals. Within the category of the greater portals are the primary portals (ice/ fire/ water/ air), secondary portals (metal/ poison/ gas/ necro), and the one ultimate portal (earth). Lesser portals are those portals which are in common use, namely variants of the traditional portal. These portals include, but are not limited to, the following categories: chaos, techno, and supernatural. The greatest exception, and by far the most diverse of portals, is the chaos portal. While chaos portals are considered lesser portals, the power of such portals is unbound by the laws of order. This means that chaos portals do not heed any laws of the greater elemental portals, and can be used to move from anyplace on one map to anyplace on the same map or any other map. Thus, chaos portals can act as a conduit between realms of extreme opposites, or simply teleport a wizard from his front door to the local tavern on the same map. Diversity in portals procures consequences in game play, particularly for the player characters. There are as many mutations and psychological effects from some portals as there are various gifts and experience points which may be earned or bestowed upon player characters. …

Portal Plots and Routing for Storytelling in Role-Playing Games

Utilize portal routing charts across multiple maps--and blend genres with confidence! Nine Portals was created to expand the ordinary role-playing game into the extraordinary collaboration of story telling RPG’s. To accomplish the impossible, 9 Portals makes use of nine greater portals of power and an infinite range of lesser portals, thus greatly expanding the potential for mixing, merging, and configuring RPG genres. Portals are the bridge between maps. Each portal is plotted on a portal router document. The portal router document allows the game administrator (the portal master) to access different maps quickly and accurately. In a sense, the game is micro-managed behind the scenes by a series of controlled documents. In the event that some players venture through a portal, while others do not, the game administrator will have little difficulty in maintaining a steady game flow. This is because each map and portal is documented on the portal router diagram/ portal matrix. Mechanical levers, switches, catapults, spacecraft, and just about anything else can be plotted onto the document as a reference document. The document is given a number or short name, for example Mechanical Documents 101. Portals may be considered mechanical constructs, particularly when a mechanical means of activating, accessing, or powering a portal is required. Complex thresholds like the fire portal may require some specs for operation, skills, combat, and other rules of which can apply to portals in various RPG's. (Attributes, hit points, weight, and dimensions of a portal's threshold are outlined in Ultimate Portal Master's Guide). The portal master knows where to find the document containing the fundamental information about a mechanical apparatus, such as a lever which shuts down a portal from a completely different map. That's because it has been documented well, and more importantly, it is easy to find from the portal matrix! However, Nine Portals offers more than a means to manage maps, documents, and cross referencing charts. Nine Portals is all about the creative imagination of The Storyteller's Thesaurus . Portals offer a means to greatly expand a game beyond the ordinary box and lid of your basic or advanced game set. Mixing and merging becomes easier, because the portals are redefined by 9Portals.com/portals (more information in our books, however, is necessary to play 9PRPG style games to their full potential).