On Friday, the Swords of Stock (formerly Fenrus' Very Best) were in the Tomb of Queen Serenavalla, last of the Golden Age Queens of Tailmisia, seeking her undecomposed silver elvish corpse in order to talk with her ghost about who should rule the Greatwood.
They came upon a puzzle (the Queen had always intended for the very clever and very strong to be able to reclaim her belongings from the tomb) that included a series of traps in the form of 5' wide 30' long mosaic strips on the floor.
The question arose, "Can we jump them?"
Can they?
I flipped to the index of the DMG and looked up jumping. Oh, page 82. No, not 82 in the DMG, there's no jumping entry here. Someone check the PHB.
Huh, the jumping proficiency, which gives rules for if you have it... but no default rules for jumping. Interesting.
Did I go over to my computer and scroll through the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide pdf? No. I frantically checked all the other 2e books I own. Meanwhile, half of the party walked into another room and began their scientific jumping trials. They put out a measuring tape and began jumping from a standstill to see if they could make it across.
Eventually, since a heroic and enterprising member of the group was able to broad jump 4.5' from a standstill, we agreed that they could probably jump it. To be safe, they never did, rather using a slow and tortuous method of casting dispel magic, crossing the mosaic, and sleeping on the far side so they could use a dispel magic to escape.
But the question lingered. Where the hell are jumping rules in 2e?
Oh, as I thought: they're in the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide. A 1e book.
Now, let me just say that I love 2e. It's the perfect iteration of D&D. I'll never change. I've houseruled it to death. I just added a houserule granting specialists a -2 penalty to all saving throws made against spells by opponents hit by spells of their specialty to represent their increased understanding of how their own school of magic works. I use Combat and Tactics 15 second rounds, but don't reduce the duration of spells to match (should a first level spell only last 15 seconds? That seems like not even magic at that point). It doesn't break the game, because the game is flexible and doesn't exist on a razor's edge of functionality.
But 2e is missing so many important things. And they're all in 1e.
This means I have to get the 1e books, since I finally have a real group of flesh and blood people, in person, to play with and I can't take the time while people are typing on IRC to putter around through 1e pdfs.
What rules am I talking about?
The data for construction a holy water font? In the 1e books. 2e hints at, but never grants the full explanation, of how holy water is made. Things like exposure rules from the Wilderness Survival Guide. The jumping rules in the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide.
The fact of the matter is, 2e doesn't appear to have been designed with just itself in mind. It is an expansion of 1e and while many of the rules are different, it builds on rules that people were either expected to know or have access to. But 2e was my first D&D, so I never had the 1e books.
Now, it's time to fill in the gap.
Ruminations on fiction, roleplaying, and assorted irritants.
Showing posts with label 2e. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2e. Show all posts
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Monday, October 24, 2016
Books of Arunia: On Alth'is and the Wild
This book was found by Fenrus' Very Best in the rooms of the Red Lances after their slaughter at Stock. It was first written in X.439 under the reign of King Lucas by the scholar Theodosius of Elborg.
IN THE SIXTH AGE the northern reaches of Craftsman's Reach were the location of a new revival of half-elven ancestry; the kingdom of Al'this, in response to the formation of Calantheas and Teraspis in the central Reach. The Althissan state encompassed the southern portions of what are now the Untamed Lands and the northern portions of the Reach, particularly around the Aelfwater. Rulership was confined to a number of families that grew up in and around the borders of the elven kingdom—many of the Althissan rulers were trained magicians and sorcerers who learned their craft in the haunts of Tailimisiä. This, of course, set the stage for the later antagonisms between the Thessalian lords and chiefs of the Reach and the elves of Talimisiä.
The Althissan capitol was built south of the Low Plain, straddling a number of small hills. It is, today, a windswept moor. Unlike other great cities of the past such as Temeros and Cathadria, the old city of Altem has no treasures, no secret caches of hidden gold, and no mysterious vaults. The rain and acidic soils have reclaimed most of the stone, leaving only a few great plazas of mosaic stone exposed to the bleaching sun. Perhaps it's because the kingdom was tenuous, small, and only lasted for a brief time. Perhaps it's because old Altem was never a city of any great size.
For a few brief centuries, Al'this clung to the north and its roots as a heritor of Ys. Part of that connection rested in the Al'thissan requirement that, like the later-to-follow Protectorate of Dorlinum, its supreme leaders and highest levels of functionary must all be magic-users. Wizards were the order of the day in Al'this, and a number of sites were chosen to serve as magistracies throughout the north of the land.
Contest with the dwarves of Mount Sirune and the foemen of Hard Heath and the Untamed Lands further north was inevitable. Battle rocked Al'this almost from its very first days, and Calanthea and Teraspis gave the Al'thissans no quarter along their southern border. It was with great perspicacity, then, that the Al'thissan rulers, who were known as Altharchs, made bargains with the remaining populations of stone giants throughout the Reach, drawing them inexorably northward, and awarding individual giants with generalship of the Al'thissan armies.
Even within Al'this, there was an intrinsically dangerous tension: the subjected Thessalians of the Reach, who thought of themselves as a noble people descended from the Spear-bearer, and resented the presence of Al'thissan sorcerers, who considered themselves to be descendants of the half-elves of Ys. The Thessalian retaliation that emerged in the centuries after the fall of Al'this was, of course, a concerted hatred of the Elvish powers, which ended with the war between Tholnia and Tailimisiä.
IN THE SIXTH AGE the northern reaches of Craftsman's Reach were the location of a new revival of half-elven ancestry; the kingdom of Al'this, in response to the formation of Calantheas and Teraspis in the central Reach. The Althissan state encompassed the southern portions of what are now the Untamed Lands and the northern portions of the Reach, particularly around the Aelfwater. Rulership was confined to a number of families that grew up in and around the borders of the elven kingdom—many of the Althissan rulers were trained magicians and sorcerers who learned their craft in the haunts of Tailimisiä. This, of course, set the stage for the later antagonisms between the Thessalian lords and chiefs of the Reach and the elves of Talimisiä.
The Althissan capitol was built south of the Low Plain, straddling a number of small hills. It is, today, a windswept moor. Unlike other great cities of the past such as Temeros and Cathadria, the old city of Altem has no treasures, no secret caches of hidden gold, and no mysterious vaults. The rain and acidic soils have reclaimed most of the stone, leaving only a few great plazas of mosaic stone exposed to the bleaching sun. Perhaps it's because the kingdom was tenuous, small, and only lasted for a brief time. Perhaps it's because old Altem was never a city of any great size.
For a few brief centuries, Al'this clung to the north and its roots as a heritor of Ys. Part of that connection rested in the Al'thissan requirement that, like the later-to-follow Protectorate of Dorlinum, its supreme leaders and highest levels of functionary must all be magic-users. Wizards were the order of the day in Al'this, and a number of sites were chosen to serve as magistracies throughout the north of the land.
Contest with the dwarves of Mount Sirune and the foemen of Hard Heath and the Untamed Lands further north was inevitable. Battle rocked Al'this almost from its very first days, and Calanthea and Teraspis gave the Al'thissans no quarter along their southern border. It was with great perspicacity, then, that the Al'thissan rulers, who were known as Altharchs, made bargains with the remaining populations of stone giants throughout the Reach, drawing them inexorably northward, and awarding individual giants with generalship of the Al'thissan armies.
Even within Al'this, there was an intrinsically dangerous tension: the subjected Thessalians of the Reach, who thought of themselves as a noble people descended from the Spear-bearer, and resented the presence of Al'thissan sorcerers, who considered themselves to be descendants of the half-elves of Ys. The Thessalian retaliation that emerged in the centuries after the fall of Al'this was, of course, a concerted hatred of the Elvish powers, which ended with the war between Tholnia and Tailimisiä.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Books of Arunia: On Tyreth and Its Foundations
This book was first discovered by Fenrus' Very Best in the inn rooms of the Red Lances. It was first written in X.501 by the scholar Ambrosius of Kjellos as a gift for King Magnus. This is a summary of its contents, eliding a great many chapters.
TYRETH CASTLE is constructed upon a rise overlooking the Aelfwater, one of the few fortified natural formations in that region that was not built upon in some past age. In the time of Tholnia, the very northern stretches of the Reach were not fortified at all. The Tholnian seat was located in old Ambar, and the Reach was known as a land of barbarians, unfit for habitation save by the tribesmen, the gnomes, and the halflings. The most powerful force during the early Xth Age was the dwarf-prince at Aella's Hall, also known as Mount Sirune.
After the war of the Elven League in the 3rd century, the White Harts of Tyrnen Wood, fearing an elvish invasion of the Reach from Talimisiä, surveyed their land and decided to move their hall to the shores of the Aelfwater upon a hillside. This began the dynasty that, in X.285, captured the Kjellan peninsula under the leadership of Lord Valyn Karhart.
King Valyn was the first of the Kjellan kings, made so by fire and sword, after conquering the war-torn peninsula and its nobility. King Valyn left his daughter Alina behind to care for the manor and the lands from whence they came. This, my king, is where the first Lady Protector of the Reach came from, and by the 5th century this position was solidified as the place from whence the heir should come.
The procession of Kjellan kings went thusly: King Valyn, who ruled until X.319; Queen Alina, who ruled until X.355; King Baldur, who ruled until X.398 and who brought the Order of the Forge Divine to Kjellos; King Solyce, who ruled until X.415, and who moved the seat of power to Elborg and its ancient castle, resulting in being poisoned by his own high advisors; his younger brother, King Lucas, who ruled until X.459, after slaughtering those who plotted against his brother and committed the regicide; and lastly you, my lord, King Magnus, third son of King Lucas, and lord of Elborg, Kjellos, and the Reach until this very day.
THE HEIRS of the great kings improved the fortified manor at Tyreth little by little. Queen Alina built a motte upon the hilltop and surrounded it with a palisade of wood. In her day, there was no such silver trade along the Silverlode, and the elves were considered to be an enemy of the Reach. The town of Stock did not exist, and the empty elvish temple of Nunianor was filled with darkness and shadow—in the days of King Valyn, a powerful sorcerer inhabited it and made it his home. Thus, there was no threat of elvish armies approaching along the fords, but merely from across the lake.
When King Valyn died and his daughter was called from the exile of the Reach, she placed her own son in charge of the manor house. This was Baldur Dwarf-friend, who often abandoned Tyreth to reside for long stretches at Mount Sirune, in the shadow of Aella's Hall. To his credit, he reinforced the manor and established the first houses of Tyreth town upon the slopes of the hillside. He, too, extended an offer to the dwarves of Effningas to take up residence at his castle, and for a time a small band of such mercenaries did.
Baldur ascended to the throne and signed a lasting treaty of peace with the elves of Tailimisiä. He was known as a bridge-builder, throwing new constructions across the many rivers of Kjellos and the Reach, as well as a diplomat and peacemaker. When the Ambarites threw the Order of the Forge Divine out of the Bay of Ahrain, it was Baldur who gave them a permanent home in the Five Hamlets of Kjellos.
Prince Solyce fortified the manor further, erecting its outwalls and building up the town. It was during Baldur's reign that the position entitled Lord Protector was created, precisely for Solyce himself. The modern structures that we know on Tyreth hill are courtesy of Prince Solyce, who was later killed in a plot surrounding his reclamation of the ancient imperial castle at Elborg and identification of himself with the imperial pretender Thesus Spear-bearer.
You, my lord, increased the might of the Reach, and made it a true colony of Kjellos.
TYRETH CASTLE is constructed upon a rise overlooking the Aelfwater, one of the few fortified natural formations in that region that was not built upon in some past age. In the time of Tholnia, the very northern stretches of the Reach were not fortified at all. The Tholnian seat was located in old Ambar, and the Reach was known as a land of barbarians, unfit for habitation save by the tribesmen, the gnomes, and the halflings. The most powerful force during the early Xth Age was the dwarf-prince at Aella's Hall, also known as Mount Sirune.
After the war of the Elven League in the 3rd century, the White Harts of Tyrnen Wood, fearing an elvish invasion of the Reach from Talimisiä, surveyed their land and decided to move their hall to the shores of the Aelfwater upon a hillside. This began the dynasty that, in X.285, captured the Kjellan peninsula under the leadership of Lord Valyn Karhart.
King Valyn was the first of the Kjellan kings, made so by fire and sword, after conquering the war-torn peninsula and its nobility. King Valyn left his daughter Alina behind to care for the manor and the lands from whence they came. This, my king, is where the first Lady Protector of the Reach came from, and by the 5th century this position was solidified as the place from whence the heir should come.
The procession of Kjellan kings went thusly: King Valyn, who ruled until X.319; Queen Alina, who ruled until X.355; King Baldur, who ruled until X.398 and who brought the Order of the Forge Divine to Kjellos; King Solyce, who ruled until X.415, and who moved the seat of power to Elborg and its ancient castle, resulting in being poisoned by his own high advisors; his younger brother, King Lucas, who ruled until X.459, after slaughtering those who plotted against his brother and committed the regicide; and lastly you, my lord, King Magnus, third son of King Lucas, and lord of Elborg, Kjellos, and the Reach until this very day.
THE HEIRS of the great kings improved the fortified manor at Tyreth little by little. Queen Alina built a motte upon the hilltop and surrounded it with a palisade of wood. In her day, there was no such silver trade along the Silverlode, and the elves were considered to be an enemy of the Reach. The town of Stock did not exist, and the empty elvish temple of Nunianor was filled with darkness and shadow—in the days of King Valyn, a powerful sorcerer inhabited it and made it his home. Thus, there was no threat of elvish armies approaching along the fords, but merely from across the lake.
When King Valyn died and his daughter was called from the exile of the Reach, she placed her own son in charge of the manor house. This was Baldur Dwarf-friend, who often abandoned Tyreth to reside for long stretches at Mount Sirune, in the shadow of Aella's Hall. To his credit, he reinforced the manor and established the first houses of Tyreth town upon the slopes of the hillside. He, too, extended an offer to the dwarves of Effningas to take up residence at his castle, and for a time a small band of such mercenaries did.
Baldur ascended to the throne and signed a lasting treaty of peace with the elves of Tailimisiä. He was known as a bridge-builder, throwing new constructions across the many rivers of Kjellos and the Reach, as well as a diplomat and peacemaker. When the Ambarites threw the Order of the Forge Divine out of the Bay of Ahrain, it was Baldur who gave them a permanent home in the Five Hamlets of Kjellos.
Prince Solyce fortified the manor further, erecting its outwalls and building up the town. It was during Baldur's reign that the position entitled Lord Protector was created, precisely for Solyce himself. The modern structures that we know on Tyreth hill are courtesy of Prince Solyce, who was later killed in a plot surrounding his reclamation of the ancient imperial castle at Elborg and identification of himself with the imperial pretender Thesus Spear-bearer.
You, my lord, increased the might of the Reach, and made it a true colony of Kjellos.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Swearing in Aruniä
I have put this together as something of a play-aid for those playing in the current Craftsman's Reach campaign (Fenrus' Very Best, as they are currently known). For that reason, it will focus on the kinds of PCs that are actually in that game, but some of the general concepts can be applied across the board in the 10th Age.
The Big Difference: Intensifiers and the all-purpose Fuck
The intensifier and exclamatory FUCK does not exist in the 10th Age, because swearing is modeled after a classical/medieval mashup. Obscenity is a part of life, and there are no blushing violets who will turn away from engaging in the swearing language. Fuck is used as an obscenity, but only as a verb -- "The gods fuck me," for example.
What, then, are the swearing conventions, if you can't just pile up fucks on things?
A lot of them are explicitly sexual in nature, even more so than the now-denuded "fuck" and "fucking." Being fucked by other things in nature, including the gods, is a common complaint. Being pissed on is as well—"Fortune pisses on me," for example. Rather than exclaiming "fuck", someone in the 10th Age is much more likely to exclaim, "I am fucked!"
A swear that does carry over from the modern world is "Fuck me!" though it is often embellished a great deal ("Fuck my ass").
Hell
Hell and damnation is a very different set of terms in the 10th Age. For one thing, "hell" is not a unitary place, but rather a realm with seven layers. One does not tell people to go to hell, but one might exclaim "Seven hells!" as an exclamatory curse.
Body parts
Common curses refer to the sacral and genital parts of various deities and even regular folk. Male gods, for example, are commonly referred to by their testicles and penis ("Heimir's hairy balls!", "By Haeron's cock!") and goddesses are referred to by their own generative organs ("Vaela's cunt!"). More proper or uptight folk might refer to other identifying marks of the gods ("By Heimir's barrel!" "By Haeron's hammer!", "Star and stone!", etc.)
Bodily functions
"Piss", "pissing", and "shit" are all common swears in the 10th Age.
The Dead
Since there is such a taboo on interacting with dead bodies in the cultures of men, the most obscene combination one could utter would be a sexual or bodily act involving the dead. This would be highly insulting to dwarves, who revere their dead as ancestral spirits.
Priests
Certainly raunchy priesthoods might very well indicate that, when things go bad, their gods are fucking them. Heimir, Raya, etc., are gods wherein their priesthoods would have no issue with exclaiming, "Ah, Heimir fucks me!"
Dwarves
Dwarven swearing is inventive and frequently sexual, graphic, and violent. For male dwarves, this often focuses on their pride and joy: their beard. "Shit on my beard," is a particularly vile phrase. Dwarven humor can focus around performing sexual acts with the family members of the other person engaged in the joke. Dwarven threats sometimes involve acts of violence, beards, and family members ("I'll dip my beard in your boy's blood", "I'll tear your father's beard out by the roots", etc.).
Female dwarves focus more on the violent aspect, often referring to the hands and generative organs of male dwarves. ("I'll flatten your prick", "Draw that blade and I'll break your hands", etc.).
Elves
Wind elven swearing is generally inventive and referential. They often refer to past elvish histories with gruesome content, making allusions to characters in the elvish story-cycles. This can lead to a complex tapestry of content.
Wood elves swear in a much more straight-forward way, complaining about the various qualities of trees in relation to body parts.
Gnomes and Halflings
These races generally take on the swearing conventions of whoever they are near.
The Big Difference: Intensifiers and the all-purpose Fuck
The intensifier and exclamatory FUCK does not exist in the 10th Age, because swearing is modeled after a classical/medieval mashup. Obscenity is a part of life, and there are no blushing violets who will turn away from engaging in the swearing language. Fuck is used as an obscenity, but only as a verb -- "The gods fuck me," for example.
What, then, are the swearing conventions, if you can't just pile up fucks on things?
A lot of them are explicitly sexual in nature, even more so than the now-denuded "fuck" and "fucking." Being fucked by other things in nature, including the gods, is a common complaint. Being pissed on is as well—"Fortune pisses on me," for example. Rather than exclaiming "fuck", someone in the 10th Age is much more likely to exclaim, "I am fucked!"
A swear that does carry over from the modern world is "Fuck me!" though it is often embellished a great deal ("Fuck my ass").
Hell
Hell and damnation is a very different set of terms in the 10th Age. For one thing, "hell" is not a unitary place, but rather a realm with seven layers. One does not tell people to go to hell, but one might exclaim "Seven hells!" as an exclamatory curse.
Body parts
Common curses refer to the sacral and genital parts of various deities and even regular folk. Male gods, for example, are commonly referred to by their testicles and penis ("Heimir's hairy balls!", "By Haeron's cock!") and goddesses are referred to by their own generative organs ("Vaela's cunt!"). More proper or uptight folk might refer to other identifying marks of the gods ("By Heimir's barrel!" "By Haeron's hammer!", "Star and stone!", etc.)
Bodily functions
"Piss", "pissing", and "shit" are all common swears in the 10th Age.
The Dead
Since there is such a taboo on interacting with dead bodies in the cultures of men, the most obscene combination one could utter would be a sexual or bodily act involving the dead. This would be highly insulting to dwarves, who revere their dead as ancestral spirits.
Priests
Certainly raunchy priesthoods might very well indicate that, when things go bad, their gods are fucking them. Heimir, Raya, etc., are gods wherein their priesthoods would have no issue with exclaiming, "Ah, Heimir fucks me!"
Dwarves
Dwarven swearing is inventive and frequently sexual, graphic, and violent. For male dwarves, this often focuses on their pride and joy: their beard. "Shit on my beard," is a particularly vile phrase. Dwarven humor can focus around performing sexual acts with the family members of the other person engaged in the joke. Dwarven threats sometimes involve acts of violence, beards, and family members ("I'll dip my beard in your boy's blood", "I'll tear your father's beard out by the roots", etc.).
Female dwarves focus more on the violent aspect, often referring to the hands and generative organs of male dwarves. ("I'll flatten your prick", "Draw that blade and I'll break your hands", etc.).
Elves
Wind elven swearing is generally inventive and referential. They often refer to past elvish histories with gruesome content, making allusions to characters in the elvish story-cycles. This can lead to a complex tapestry of content.
Wood elves swear in a much more straight-forward way, complaining about the various qualities of trees in relation to body parts.
Gnomes and Halflings
These races generally take on the swearing conventions of whoever they are near.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Character Journals: Einar Hallrson
Einar Hallrson, was born some sixteen years ago to a large
farming family on the banks of the Icewater River near the border between Craftsman’s
Reach and the Untamed Regions. Working as freeholders to provide the Tyreth
Castle and the town of Stock with a steady supply of meats and tubers, the
Hallrson family did everything they could to live frugally, setting aside a
small amount of savings each season. When
the Hallrson family finally did indulge in minor luxuries, it drew the envy and
attention of the ungoverned men who lived beyond the river.
Early one morning, while Einar and his older brother Kinaan
were working in one of the fields, smoke rose from their homestead. Before them
they found their possessions, home, and family- burning. A raiding party of
bandits carried off anything of value, while Einar and Kinaan fled to Tyreth
Castle and then shortly after, Stock.
For months the brothers begged for food, money, or work all
the while living in filth and straddling the edge of starvation. The shock of
this awful event changed Kinaan more dramatically than Einar. Over time, Kinaan
became bent on finding his way to the capital in Kjellos. There they would look
for relatives of the Hallrson family. Kinaan believed that in Kjellos they
would find that their relatives, not only existed, but surely were wealthy
merchants who would take them in to their lavish life without hesitation or
question. Einar believed Kinaan had gone mad.
One busy market day, Einar waited on the steps of the Temple
of Law in Stock for Kinaan to return from attempting to sell what little they
could find. Kinaan never returned, and Einar stayed on the steps for three days
watching the street. As the sun set, an
Acolyte of Haeron brought Einar within the temple, and provided him with food,
shelter, clothing, and his first chance to bathe in many months. There Einar
received the teachings of Haeron and pledged himself to service of the god of
forge and law.
Now armed with the doctrines of law and order, and the
desire to see his justice be done, Einar sets forth as a paladin adventurer in
Haeron’s golden company.
Einar Hallrson- 1st of Greening X.511
The unmitigated failure of my first mission from the order
has left me rattled still. As it stands, I am not certain of how I will rescue
those still enslaved in the depths of the Stockmine or return the mine to the
Silver Mining Guild from Orc control.
But I gave my word that I would complete this task, and my word is my
bond. I must find new, more righteous, adventurers to aid me if I am to succeed.
It has been nearly four weeks since the poisoned body of my
once companion was found on the streets of Stock outside the temple of the Winter
Queen. In my mind I cannot help but imagine Alfred’s final moments, limply
being dragged, looted, and left to succumb to his wounds in the dirt. I wish I
had been there, to help him in return for him having helped me so many times
before.
If the town folk’s rumors are true, it seems as though my
party member was involved in some minor nefarious endeavor to defraud our local
trickster of some trinkets. Was it worth
it Alfred? Despite his attempted crimes, he did not deserve to die like
that. To worsen the matter, our rather flighty wizard Eldarian still has yet to
return from her most recent disappearance. Part of me hopes that she turns up
sometime in the indeterminate future at the bottom of a bottle surrounded by a
pack of nearly wild animals. I feel as though I am once more waiting for
someone who is long gone. Reliable
people are hard to find in these trying times. Though dwelling on that thought
now, I’m sure Lucan feels the same.
News has reached me that the men at arms Stallir Andrus had
gathered at my request were dispatched to deal with this awful business in the
lowlands with the knolls. I can’t help but feel responsible for whatever fate
befell them. It is best to attempt to manage only one crisis at a time however,
and there are more pressing concerns.
I am no longer
brought to anger at the thought of being used to take arrows and blades by
those who only sought to steal and deceive, as anger has never served me well
in the past. I hold on to the notion that despite being aligned with such
adventurers, I stayed true to my mission and purpose. This failure is a cheap
lesson. Even now, I am far from my
lowest point. There are still those trapped beneath the mines that suffer every
day because of my inability to complete my mission. My suffering is nothing in
comparison to the horrors they certainly endure. I will find a way to free them, even if it
means I must do it myself.
18th of Sowing X.511
Against all odds the Stockmines are cleared thanks in large
part to the group of adventures I met by chance in Stock. Most of the orcs that
once held the mines are dead, while many fled out in to the hills after seeing
Thimble’s magic decimate their ranks. Likely half of those that fled were
killed at the hands of the other surviving orcs. The guild hall now can reclaim
its land and revive the flow of silver through the town of Stock.
15 lives saved, but 10 lost. The dwarf, elf, and eight
humans that perished lost their lives because I was incapable of completing my
task almost a month ago. When I am able, I will seek out their families to pay
them some form of reparations for my failings. In addition to the citizens of
the greater region of Stock and Tyreth Castle, we found the bodies of nearly 20
orc slaves. I wonder if Haeron’s justice is owed to them as well?
This group of adventurers- Fenris in particular- have
surprised me. He stood out and engaged the Bone Biter alone while I retreated
into a doorway. He has shown far more honor and courage than expected based off
the rumors the old wives told me back in Stock. For all of his summersaulting
quirks he has proven himself someone I would be happy to align myself with.
Still, I must not forget the lesson that Alfred had taught me; trust must not
be easily given. Now that these adventurers have been paid and our contract
completed, I imagine they will have little interest in risking their lives to
help the realm unless they are paid handsomely for it.
For now, my attention turns to Tyreth Castle, my second
home. News has reached me that the order there is in dire need of support after
attempting to stand against the knolls on the low plains. I wonder if the
knolls encamped in the old elven wind temple have anything to do with the
attacks on the low plains. It may be worth taking a long way around and doing
some more investigation at the temple. Certainly, traveling over the low plains
to get to Tyreth Castle is out of the question. I will ask Lucan what news he
has heard from the castle.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Oh Right, That's Why I love 2e
Having had the chance to play Fifth Edition and Second Edition in close proximity to each other now, I can say this: in comparison, there is clearly one edition that I favor, and it is the second. Fifth edition is nice, but it is, in essence, a diet soda.
Last week we played 5e again. The players had gained a level in the first session because they fought six orcs. Six orcs is not recommended for three level 1 characters. According to the formula in the DMG, six orcs are worth 1,200xp when encountered together. Three level one characters are only recommended to fight 300xp worth of enemies in any given encounter, and that would be "deadly." They should all really have been level 3 in order to effectively fight six orcs.
During this session, they were all level 2. The maximum "deadly" encounter experience recommended is 600xp. As part of a strategy to overcome a somewhat large band of orcish raiders (15+1 captain), they got into a one-on-one fight with the orcish captain. Who turns out was worth 1,100xp. Twice the "permissible" limit for the players. Any given stroke by the captain could have killed a character, and it made two attacks every round. They won. They're level 3 now.
This idea of balancing is grating to me. The fact that the game is designed to have such a huge variance in monster ability between a regular orc and a slightly better orc is grating to me. I'm used to players fighting whatever they want whenever they want and fleeing if it's big or has a lot of magic or turns out to be a very good fighter. But for the most part they can estimate how dangerous things are.
An orc warchief can be estimated at a certain level of competence. Even if an orc chief is around level 4, a group of well-equipped and wise level 1 characters could take him down if he was alone. Generally, humanoid monsters don't scale their attack damage by level. That's not the case in 5e. A regular orc can deal, let's say, 1d12 damage with his axe. An orc captain deals 1d12+1d8+6 or somesuch. That's a LOT OF DAMAGE. The scaling effect of high-damage to high-hp means that powerful enemies can annihilate low level characters with a single hit and creates a sort of treadmill between the hp of the characters and the damage output of the foe.
There have to be ways to remedy this, I'm just not sure what they are. The damage treadmill is one of the most irritating aspects of CRPGs; the independence of ability and damage output is what makes most roleplaying games work. The world-setting would make very little sense if certain enemies could simply stride through hordes of their foes, killing one with each stroke. These creatures would be more-or-less unstoppable to small groups of level 0-3 knights and militiamen.
I'll find a way to cope. My wife really prefers 5e. I think Jason might as well.
Last week we played 5e again. The players had gained a level in the first session because they fought six orcs. Six orcs is not recommended for three level 1 characters. According to the formula in the DMG, six orcs are worth 1,200xp when encountered together. Three level one characters are only recommended to fight 300xp worth of enemies in any given encounter, and that would be "deadly." They should all really have been level 3 in order to effectively fight six orcs.
During this session, they were all level 2. The maximum "deadly" encounter experience recommended is 600xp. As part of a strategy to overcome a somewhat large band of orcish raiders (15+1 captain), they got into a one-on-one fight with the orcish captain. Who turns out was worth 1,100xp. Twice the "permissible" limit for the players. Any given stroke by the captain could have killed a character, and it made two attacks every round. They won. They're level 3 now.
This idea of balancing is grating to me. The fact that the game is designed to have such a huge variance in monster ability between a regular orc and a slightly better orc is grating to me. I'm used to players fighting whatever they want whenever they want and fleeing if it's big or has a lot of magic or turns out to be a very good fighter. But for the most part they can estimate how dangerous things are.
An orc warchief can be estimated at a certain level of competence. Even if an orc chief is around level 4, a group of well-equipped and wise level 1 characters could take him down if he was alone. Generally, humanoid monsters don't scale their attack damage by level. That's not the case in 5e. A regular orc can deal, let's say, 1d12 damage with his axe. An orc captain deals 1d12+1d8+6 or somesuch. That's a LOT OF DAMAGE. The scaling effect of high-damage to high-hp means that powerful enemies can annihilate low level characters with a single hit and creates a sort of treadmill between the hp of the characters and the damage output of the foe.
There have to be ways to remedy this, I'm just not sure what they are. The damage treadmill is one of the most irritating aspects of CRPGs; the independence of ability and damage output is what makes most roleplaying games work. The world-setting would make very little sense if certain enemies could simply stride through hordes of their foes, killing one with each stroke. These creatures would be more-or-less unstoppable to small groups of level 0-3 knights and militiamen.
I'll find a way to cope. My wife really prefers 5e. I think Jason might as well.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Class Experience: Reinforcing Playstyles
There are guides to awarding class experience in the 2e DMG. That table has been reproduced below for your perusal. This concept can be taken and adapted to many systems that give out generic experience or other types of character-advancement points. The lesson of class experience rewards has already been incorporated by systems like Hârn, BRP, Aftermath!, and CoC where abilities improve when you use them as you use them.
What, then, is that lesson? These awards serve a number of purposes. The first is to reinforce class archetypes. The second is to guide play. The third is to simulate an in-game effect. Each of these purposes is important, though I would argue that reinforcing class archetypes is perhaps the strongest of these factors while guiding play is the weakest.
Reinforcing class archetypes. Warriors war and wizards wiz, and this is an essential element of the playstyle of earlier Dungeons and Dragons games. The obsession with mixing and matching skills and powers to create nebulous classes or to deconstruct classes altogether does not pervade pre-Skills and Powers D&D (note that I actually like a lot of the Players Option books... just not the character building of S&P).
There are good in-setting reasons for these archetypes that are built into the core assumptions of D&D. We aren't, for example, considering an underlying setting in which anyone who says the magic words can cause magic to function—magic takes dedication, both mental and physical, and an understanding of deeper philosophies. These class archetypes (warrior, wizard, thief, etc.) dictate the career of a character and the things they will learn. However, absent the rules awarding those characters with experience for doing class-like things, there is no other incentive to adhere to the archetype.
The presence of individual class experience encourages players to do class-like things. Wizards gain experience for using magic to solve problems, which encourages them to apply spells to as many problems as possible. Warriors get experience for fighting. When all you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. This works the players into the player-character mindset, reinforcing the tools those characters have at their disposal to approach problems.
Note that I generally give ALL classes xp awards for diplomacy, thereby making the diplomatic option equally attractive to all players. This economics-of-experience can mould and shape the way players get into character, which is pretty cool.
Guiding play. In much the same way as the xp awards reinforce the class archetypes, they also shape the play of players. Whereas class archetypes deal with in-setting reality, play-guiding deals with out-of-character incentive. These two work in hand in hand; above and beyond the effect of reinforcing archetypes, however, the play-guiding effect teaches players how to play that type of character.
Simulating in-game effects. The in-game effects are alluded to above; wizards learn how to use magic better by using magic. Warriors improve their skills at combat by fighting. While it is potentially possible for a character to go from level one to level twenty without ever getting into a combat (although I can't imagine the insane quest rewards the DM must be giving out for this fabricated character), it makes little sense for a warrior's ability to swing a sword to improve simply because he talked to a bunch of people and worked out a problem.
Let's examine a low level warrior killing, say, goblins. He is likely in a party; for sake of ease, let's say a party of 5 people. Goblins are worth 15 experience points each. Because he is with 4 other characters, he will get a total of 3xp per goblin on the straight reward value. But, the individual award for a warrior when fighting a goblin is 10xp per. This is three times again as many experience, just for him. Because fighting is what he does, improving his fighting happens faster when he is actually fighting.
In a scenario with 10 goblins, the warrior will receive 30xp from the goblins and 100xp from individual class awards. A wizard, however, will receive the flat 30xp. If the wizard used a level one spell throughout the course of the fight, he will get an extra 50xp, for a total of 80xp. HOWEVER, spells have more utility than simply combat: that wizard may get an extra 50xp next time the party goes to a town because he used a sleep spell to knock out some knights and help steal their manor-keys.
For these three reasons, I love individual class awards.
What, then, is that lesson? These awards serve a number of purposes. The first is to reinforce class archetypes. The second is to guide play. The third is to simulate an in-game effect. Each of these purposes is important, though I would argue that reinforcing class archetypes is perhaps the strongest of these factors while guiding play is the weakest.
Reinforcing class archetypes. Warriors war and wizards wiz, and this is an essential element of the playstyle of earlier Dungeons and Dragons games. The obsession with mixing and matching skills and powers to create nebulous classes or to deconstruct classes altogether does not pervade pre-Skills and Powers D&D (note that I actually like a lot of the Players Option books... just not the character building of S&P).
There are good in-setting reasons for these archetypes that are built into the core assumptions of D&D. We aren't, for example, considering an underlying setting in which anyone who says the magic words can cause magic to function—magic takes dedication, both mental and physical, and an understanding of deeper philosophies. These class archetypes (warrior, wizard, thief, etc.) dictate the career of a character and the things they will learn. However, absent the rules awarding those characters with experience for doing class-like things, there is no other incentive to adhere to the archetype.
The presence of individual class experience encourages players to do class-like things. Wizards gain experience for using magic to solve problems, which encourages them to apply spells to as many problems as possible. Warriors get experience for fighting. When all you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. This works the players into the player-character mindset, reinforcing the tools those characters have at their disposal to approach problems.
Note that I generally give ALL classes xp awards for diplomacy, thereby making the diplomatic option equally attractive to all players. This economics-of-experience can mould and shape the way players get into character, which is pretty cool.
Guiding play. In much the same way as the xp awards reinforce the class archetypes, they also shape the play of players. Whereas class archetypes deal with in-setting reality, play-guiding deals with out-of-character incentive. These two work in hand in hand; above and beyond the effect of reinforcing archetypes, however, the play-guiding effect teaches players how to play that type of character.
Simulating in-game effects. The in-game effects are alluded to above; wizards learn how to use magic better by using magic. Warriors improve their skills at combat by fighting. While it is potentially possible for a character to go from level one to level twenty without ever getting into a combat (although I can't imagine the insane quest rewards the DM must be giving out for this fabricated character), it makes little sense for a warrior's ability to swing a sword to improve simply because he talked to a bunch of people and worked out a problem.
Let's examine a low level warrior killing, say, goblins. He is likely in a party; for sake of ease, let's say a party of 5 people. Goblins are worth 15 experience points each. Because he is with 4 other characters, he will get a total of 3xp per goblin on the straight reward value. But, the individual award for a warrior when fighting a goblin is 10xp per. This is three times again as many experience, just for him. Because fighting is what he does, improving his fighting happens faster when he is actually fighting.
In a scenario with 10 goblins, the warrior will receive 30xp from the goblins and 100xp from individual class awards. A wizard, however, will receive the flat 30xp. If the wizard used a level one spell throughout the course of the fight, he will get an extra 50xp, for a total of 80xp. HOWEVER, spells have more utility than simply combat: that wizard may get an extra 50xp next time the party goes to a town because he used a sleep spell to knock out some knights and help steal their manor-keys.
For these three reasons, I love individual class awards.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Holy Orders: The Forge Divine
Of all the knightly orders in the North, it is likely that the Order of the Forge Divine is the oldest and most esteemed. It traces its roots back to the end of the second Second Empire, when the Mileans ruled the North from the Cloud Sea to the Sea of Gold. The sacred knights of Haeron gathered in the west to found the order during the Second Elf-Dragon war, when the rulers of Synd threatened the west. The western provinces of the Empire remained more or less in tact thanks to the presence of the Milean Temple. The Western Divine, Sormus Calinus, gathered the clerics of the Sun Shores at a great conclave at the seat of the Western Temple, at the ruins of what is now Nightguard Temple in Tholverin.
During the Synod of Nightguard, the Forge Divine was organized and established as a chapter of the Western Divine's authority. Its first Grandmaster, Orlandus Sunholme, brought together the disparate orders of Hierian clergy and built a keep on Sunholme Isle in the bay south of the Kaelian Marsh. In the following Ages, the Forge Divine acted as a semi-independent religious order, owing no allegiance to the secular rulers of the nearby kingdoms. It helped knight together the Sun Shores and provide a cultural lynchpin for the human lands of that region, most particularly powerful during the Sixth and Seventh Ages.
Sunholme Keep was abandoned after the Ambarite kings forced the Forge Divine to withdraw from the puppet-kingdoms it was establishing. Golnian power aided in this expulsion, and a long siege of Sunholme Keep ended only when King Baldur Karhart extended his protection to Grandmaster Larelus and invited the order to settle at Elborg in X.337. For one hundred and seventy-three years (as of the year X.510), the Forge Divine has been governed from the Kjellan stronghold of Highwater Keep, near the Five Hamlets of Elborg.
The Order of the Forge Divine has no holy book equivalent to the Codex Devout of the Order of the Sword Militant. The sacred texts of the Forge Divine are, in fact, cobbled together from centuries of rulings and writings. Collectively these are called the Sacral Index and are stored at Highwater Keep in the archives, which were taken from Sunholme Keep when the Forge fled.
Grandmaster: Sieur Severin Kjora
Master of the Reach: Sieur Aras Gorr
Paladin Ranks within the Order
Paige (levels 1-3)
Knight
Knight-Sergeant
Knight-Captain
Knight-Master
Chapter Master
The Forge Divine prizes skill at smithing, and treats its sword- and armor-smiths with great reverence. The symbol of the Forge is the golden anvil of Haeron. Paladins of the Order are not technically full priests, but they are inducted as clerics minor of the Temple. This is even though the High Lawkeeper and the central Temple of Miles does not recognize the authority of the Order Divine to conduct Hierian ceremonies.
There are several major chapters of the Forge within Kjellos and one in the region of Craftsman's Reach. The Forge holds its lands directly from King Karhart, and thus owes him their fealty.
All members of the Order of the Forge Divine may receive either the Religion (Haeron) or Blacksmithing NWP for free.
During the Synod of Nightguard, the Forge Divine was organized and established as a chapter of the Western Divine's authority. Its first Grandmaster, Orlandus Sunholme, brought together the disparate orders of Hierian clergy and built a keep on Sunholme Isle in the bay south of the Kaelian Marsh. In the following Ages, the Forge Divine acted as a semi-independent religious order, owing no allegiance to the secular rulers of the nearby kingdoms. It helped knight together the Sun Shores and provide a cultural lynchpin for the human lands of that region, most particularly powerful during the Sixth and Seventh Ages.
Sunholme Keep was abandoned after the Ambarite kings forced the Forge Divine to withdraw from the puppet-kingdoms it was establishing. Golnian power aided in this expulsion, and a long siege of Sunholme Keep ended only when King Baldur Karhart extended his protection to Grandmaster Larelus and invited the order to settle at Elborg in X.337. For one hundred and seventy-three years (as of the year X.510), the Forge Divine has been governed from the Kjellan stronghold of Highwater Keep, near the Five Hamlets of Elborg.
The Order of the Forge Divine has no holy book equivalent to the Codex Devout of the Order of the Sword Militant. The sacred texts of the Forge Divine are, in fact, cobbled together from centuries of rulings and writings. Collectively these are called the Sacral Index and are stored at Highwater Keep in the archives, which were taken from Sunholme Keep when the Forge fled.
Grandmaster: Sieur Severin Kjora
Master of the Reach: Sieur Aras Gorr
Paladin Ranks within the Order
Paige (levels 1-3)
Knight
Knight-Sergeant
Knight-Captain
Knight-Master
Chapter Master
The Forge Divine prizes skill at smithing, and treats its sword- and armor-smiths with great reverence. The symbol of the Forge is the golden anvil of Haeron. Paladins of the Order are not technically full priests, but they are inducted as clerics minor of the Temple. This is even though the High Lawkeeper and the central Temple of Miles does not recognize the authority of the Order Divine to conduct Hierian ceremonies.
There are several major chapters of the Forge within Kjellos and one in the region of Craftsman's Reach. The Forge holds its lands directly from King Karhart, and thus owes him their fealty.
All members of the Order of the Forge Divine may receive either the Religion (Haeron) or Blacksmithing NWP for free.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Magic Once More: Controlling Access to Spells
One of the more interesting subjects that has crossed my mind is the access to various spells in the 10th Age by wizards-at-large versus the access that specific wizards or organizations have to certain spells and magic. Primarily, spell lists may help differentiate orders or students of certain masters by including some rare spells while excluding other common ones. Customization of access, rather than hard and fast rules about what spells wizards may learn, can give various traditions of magic a flavor without requiring the wizard to take a special kit or subclass.
This idea, of course, comes from the Encyclopaedia Magica series, which lists the frequency of each spell in the D&D world at large. One way to augment these lists is, of course, to create proprietary custom spells which are only available to people within the order, college, or apprenticeship.
The very first question to be asked is usually: "What stops spells from becoming available to everyone in the setting as a matter of blanket effect?" The answer, of course, is that wizards are clannish and anti-scholarly. They hate sharing information, in particular spells, because of the sunk costs involved and the direct effect knowing spells that no one else does has on the power differential between a wizard and his colleagues. Wizards may not be so reluctant to teach commonly known spells, but any that they develop themselves will likely not be available in the world at large until long after their death.
Of course, this brings up a point I've heard in other places, which is that many spells that are widely known by mages are not, in fact, the same spell. I generally have wizards determine what their magic missiles look like individually for this very reason. The logic behind this supposition is that some spells, though they are "common," actually, rules-wise, represent a diversity of common-application spells that are developed in parallel by very many wizards at once. The original magic missile, for example, may not have proliferated at all—perhaps it was merely witnessed by a wizard, who created a parallel copy for his own.
Because of this anti-scholarly attitude, a great many restrictions can be justified. This includes access to spells that create certain magical items, and therefore those magical items themselves. This is one of the ways I differentiated the old Milean Schools—they had not only widely divergent interests, philosophies, and spell lists, but also created vastly different armories of magical items to equip themselves with.
Developing a list of spells known by a wizard's master is an important element of this process. I always have mages upcharge adventuring PCs for learning spells that are otherwise not widely available, as well. Thus, while fireball may cost 1,500 gold to learn, a specialized level three spell that is known only to a handful of wizards may indeed cost upwards of 5,000 gold in training.
This idea, of course, comes from the Encyclopaedia Magica series, which lists the frequency of each spell in the D&D world at large. One way to augment these lists is, of course, to create proprietary custom spells which are only available to people within the order, college, or apprenticeship.
The very first question to be asked is usually: "What stops spells from becoming available to everyone in the setting as a matter of blanket effect?" The answer, of course, is that wizards are clannish and anti-scholarly. They hate sharing information, in particular spells, because of the sunk costs involved and the direct effect knowing spells that no one else does has on the power differential between a wizard and his colleagues. Wizards may not be so reluctant to teach commonly known spells, but any that they develop themselves will likely not be available in the world at large until long after their death.
Of course, this brings up a point I've heard in other places, which is that many spells that are widely known by mages are not, in fact, the same spell. I generally have wizards determine what their magic missiles look like individually for this very reason. The logic behind this supposition is that some spells, though they are "common," actually, rules-wise, represent a diversity of common-application spells that are developed in parallel by very many wizards at once. The original magic missile, for example, may not have proliferated at all—perhaps it was merely witnessed by a wizard, who created a parallel copy for his own.
Because of this anti-scholarly attitude, a great many restrictions can be justified. This includes access to spells that create certain magical items, and therefore those magical items themselves. This is one of the ways I differentiated the old Milean Schools—they had not only widely divergent interests, philosophies, and spell lists, but also created vastly different armories of magical items to equip themselves with.
Developing a list of spells known by a wizard's master is an important element of this process. I always have mages upcharge adventuring PCs for learning spells that are otherwise not widely available, as well. Thus, while fireball may cost 1,500 gold to learn, a specialized level three spell that is known only to a handful of wizards may indeed cost upwards of 5,000 gold in training.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Egyptian Kits Part Three: Wizards
Wizard Kits
Amulet Maker
Amulet makers are minor wizards much like scorpion charmers. They are looked down on by the scholarly caste, clerics, and real wizards alike. However, the common folk often buy charms from these masters of spirit-lore.
Requirements: Wisdom 12
Role: Amulet makers are not wizards in the same sense as Hekau are. They do not study spells or enact rituals to call forth magic from the Golden Breath. Instead, they focus on the creation of small magical items and potions which they can either sell or use themselves.
Amulet makers may sell their amulets to the common folk and serve as a local wise-man. They may also reside in noble households and make amulets for the powerful. Many temples often keep amulet makers on hand to equip their servants and clerics with powerful magical items.
Weapon Proficiencies: Since it is needed to make their charms, a dagger is always kept on hand as a free proficiency slot.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Profs: reading/writing (Desert Khewed), pottery
Special Benefits: Amulet makers may create amulets imbued with magical powers. Amulets can take any form, but are often simple seals worn around the neck, ankles, or wrists. The simplest amulets an amulet maker may craft are those that sold to common folk. These cost only 5 copper to manufacture in addition to whatever material it is made of (most often clay, formed by the wizard himself). They may have one of the following effects:
Protection Against Magic: +1 to saves vs. spell
Luck: +1 to saves vs. Breath Weapon
Strong-mind: +1 to saves vs. Petrification
Safety: +1 to saves vs. Rod
Ka: +1 to saves vs. Death
In addition to these simple amulets, Amulet Makers may also create amulets capable of storing wizard spells. While Amulet Makers must learn spells and keep them recorded on papyri, they cannot themselves use magic. Instead, they imbue their amulets with the ability to replicate the power of a spell. These amulets may be used many times, however they are prone to breaking from the strain of the magic contained within. Additionally, each additional time in a 24 hour period that they are used increases this strain. The following chart shows the spell storage capacity of various materials and the costs associated with producing a working amulet of those materials.
Amulet Material Cost Storage Failure Chance
Clay 5 copper 1 25/40
Bone 10 copper 1 25/25
Stone 10 silver 1 15/10
Copper 1 gold 2 15/25
Bronze 2 gold 2 15/10
Brass 10 gold 2 10/10
Iron 20 gold 3 15/25
Steel 20 gold 3 15/10
Silver 100 gold 3 10/10
Silver and Gold 500 gold 4 15/25
Gold 1000 gold 4 15/15
Gemstone 5,000 gold 5 10/10
Gemstone 8,000 gold 6 -10%/10
Composite 15,000 gold 7 -20%/10
Masterwork 40,000 gold 8 -40%/10
Add +10% failure chance for offensive spells
Add +5% failure chance per spell level
Add +/day% failure chance for every use within 24 hours
Amulet makers may also make magical items as any wizard of the appropriate level. They do not need to use a permanency spell, and any spell they have stored in their memory qualifies as one “being cast” for the purposes of making a magical item.
Special Hinderances: Cannot cast spells as normal wizards.
Hekau
Purity Rating
8 Gold all three effects
7
6 Electrum all spells cast at max effect
5
4 Silver +1 bonus to effective level
3
2 Copper +1 bonus to duration, damage, -1 penalty to saves
1
0 (average) spells cast normally
-1
-2 Iron -1 penalty to duration, damage, +1 bonus to saves
-3
-4 Tin -1 bonus to effective level
-5
-6 Mercury all spells cast at minimum effect
-7 Lead all previous three effects
-8 Profane no spellcasting
Sleep: Immediately after sleeping, the Hekau’s purity rating drops by two levels. Purity returns at a rate of 1 level for every three hours. Every six hour period following this without sleeping increases purity by 1 level (max level 7).
Eating: Immediately after consuming food, the Hekau’s purity rating drops by one level. This may be increased by the DM depending on how much food the Hekau has consumed. Purity returns at a rate of 1 level for every six hours. Every six hour period spent without eating after that adds 1 level purity (max level 6).
Ablution: The Hekau may pay 500 gold multiplied by his next purity level and that number of hours to positively increase his purity. This expenditure purchases time and materials in a sacred temple to perform the rites necessary to purify his body. Negatives are considered positives for the purposes of ablution. To achieve level 0, the wizard need only pay 250 gold and spend 30 minutes in ritual.
Sexual Impurity: Immediately after performing any kind of sexual activity, the Hekau’s purity level drops by three levels.
Contact with Corruption: Being exposed to corrupted food, flesh, or other rotting things will reduce the Hekau’s purity. These objects must touch the Hekau physically without intervening substances (ie, the Hekau may wear gloves to handle the dead). Each individual contact reduces the Hekau’s purity rating by one.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Egyptian Kits, Part Two: Priests and Rogues
Following the popularity of the other kits posted here on the same subject last week, I present the Priests and Rogues.
Priest Kits
Priest Kits
Urban Priests
In addition to any other weapon proficiencies, urban priests receive a free proficiency in the scourge. All urban priests also receive the proficiency religion (cult) for free and reading/writing (Desert Khemri) for free.
Occulted Cleric of Aha’seb
The occulted clerics of Aha’seb are the servants of the god of magic and supply the secret rituals that keep the Breath of Gold flowing throughout the world. Aha’seb is pictured as a serpent-headed god with a cobra’s hood, breathing the flow of magic into the air; for this reason his priests all wear cobra-headed masks or long silvery hoods to represent the hood of a cobra.
Requirements: Intelligence 11
Role: The clerics of Aha’seb are secretive and clandestine. They support those princes and nobles who give money to the temple. This causes many to see them as a mercenary order but nothing could be farther from the truth. The clerics of Aha’seb follow the divine designs of their god, taking orders directly from the temple at Nebet.
Weapon Proficiencies: Clerics of Aha’seb may be trained in the mace, the sling, or the staff.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Profs: ancient history (Khewed), ancient languages (Archaic Khemri), spellcraft
Equipment: As per a normal cleric
Special Benefits: Clerics of Aha’seb may use magical items normally reserved for wizards. They may also perform the Ritual of Ablution for Hekau in order to ritually cleanse them. In addition, they are masters at dispelling magic and receive a +5 bonus to dispel any wizard spells when casting it. Finally, they are trained at seeing the unseen and can detect magic at will and detect invisibility once per day.
Special Hinderances: None
Spheres Allowed: Major; Astral, Creation, Divination, Protection, Necromantic Minor; Summoning, Wards
Mortuary Priest of Akhemet
The most high cult of Akhemet is the most powerful organization in Khewed. Mortuary Priests are extremely political potent and even the lowliest carries great respect in Khewedi society. The mortuary cult has displaced the ancient power of the Nesut-Bi’it and essentially rules Khewed through the influence it exerts on the local rulers.
Requirements: Wisdom 15
Role: The mortuary priesthood rules the Khemren people and controls Khewet from the city of Per-Medjed. It also governs the rituals of death and supports the massive industry of crypts and burial chambers on the far side of the Khetemesh and Wadi rivers. Mortuary priests may service one of the cults many temples, or they may be wandering mendicants bound to perform ritual duties in any city they come to pass. Either way, they are afforded a great deal of deference.
Akhemet, with his jackal-head, often decorates their predominantly black clothing.
Weapon Proficiencies: The Mortuary Priests may be proficient in the mace, the khopesh, and the flail.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Profs: etiquette, heraldry
Special Benefits: When turning undead, mortuary priests may choose to either destroy them (instead of turning) or control them at their will. In addition, the undead suffer a -2 penalty to strike mortuary priests and will be very averse to doing so.
Special Hinderances: None
Spheres Allowed: Major; Combat, Guardian, Necromantic (reversed and normal), Healing Minor; Sun, Weather, Protection
Rogue Kits
Boatman
The boat-people are those who make their living fishing or otherwise operating watercraft on one of Khewed’s three life-giving rivers or along her rocky coasts. They are considered to be a lesser class of folk by most Khewedi, though the clerics insist they are close to the waters of the beginning of the world.
Requirements: Membership of a boatman family.
Role: The boatmen make all transport and fishing possible in Khewed. These are not the powerful merchants that operate ships sailing to Ninfa or Ishtria but the little craft that ply the rivers and waters. Most internal trade in Khewed is up or down one of the three great rivers, and thus boatmen are positioned to be at the heart of trade there. They are thought of as a lot of thieves and pirates by many nobles, but have proved important in the schemes of Khewedi politics time and time again.
Weapon Proficiencies: Boatmen may be proficient with any weapon, unlike most rogues.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Profs: swimming, seamanship
Equipment: As per a rogue
Special Benefits: The boatmen are a tight-knit group and each family wears distinguishing facial tattoos to mark them out amongst their mates. Other boatmen will generally come to the defense of one of their own, regardless of his family ties.
Special Hinderances: Boatmen are generally frowned upon in polite society and receive a -1 reaction penalty when in the company of urban NPCs.
Merchant
Poisoner
Poisoners are adept at crafting and administering the poisons brewed in Khewed. They are a key component of politics in the three lands. They often wear a public face of propriety, masquerading as wealthy merchants, minor nobles, or clerics.
Requirements: Dex 14, Charisma 16
Role: Poisoners are elite assassins who carry out their work quickly and with a minimum of fuss. They are necessary to the operation of society and every noble house or temple assumes that there are Poisoners who have secreted themselves amongst their ranks. For this reason, many take precautions against them.
In public life, many poisoners use a disguise to make them appear to be a different build, hair color, or other such affectations. This allows them to disappear into their assumed life.
Weapon Proficiencies: Poisoners prefer silence, stealth, and speed. For this reason they may only be proficient in daggers, slings, and saps or blackjacks.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Profs: heraldry, disguise
Equipment: Poisoners begin play with the starting money of a thief as well as a small supply of Type F poison - enough to administer to one person or to coat a blade for one hour.
Special Benefits: Poisoners may brew potions as assassins. Their find/remove traps skill, their open locks skill, and their pick pockets skill all begin at 0%. However, their Move Silently and Hide in Shadows skills begin at 30% and 20% respectively. For all this, their most potent power is that of having an assumed identity. Shem the Water Merchant may also be Shem the Poisoner, a horrifying prospect. Poisoners must spend profligate amounts of money to create and establish an assumed identity of any potency; they generally begin play with a low class assumed identity which they will most likely shed over the course of a campaign. Acquiring a higher class assumed identity is possible (and desirable).
They may emulate (but not actually perform) many class abilities with this power as long as it is a non-magical ability and reinforces their false identity. This includes emulating commonly used skills that they may reasonably be assumed to have. However, each emulation of a class ability or non-possessed skill must be checked against Cha -4; if the check fails, the limits of their knowledge become apparent.
Special Hinderances: Once a poisoner is exposed in any given city, their ability to assume a new identity there is destroyed, as is whatever previous identity they may have had.
Reciter
Reciters are entertainers, heralds, and holy speakers. They are private citizens who make their wages by hiring themselves out to entertain nobles, recite religious poetry, or stir crowds into a fervor. The bard class is most suited to be a reciter.
Requirements: bard
Role: Reciters are the personal relations experts of Khewed. They may serve as major-domos in a household, simple traveling performers, religious adjuncts to a cult, or simple rabble-rousers. Most reciters, however, have a patron organization or noble house which utilizes their skills.
Weapon Proficiencies: Reciters may be proficient in slings, clubs, short bows, daggers, and the khopesh.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus profs: reading/writing (Desert Khemri), heraldry
Equipment: As a rogue.
Special Benefits: Reciters gain the benefits of the Hekau’s purity chart in terms of casting spells. Additionally, they may perform purification ceremonies in any cult to which they are affiliated (instead of just Aha’seb) to raise their purity. All other benefits due bards apply. They may use scrolls of both priest and wizard spells without more than the normal chance of failure for a priest or wizard of equivalent levels.
Special Hinderances: None.
Sesh
The sesh are Khewed’s scribal class. They are seneschals, recorders, and stewards. Some sesh may even know a bit of magic like a hekau (these would be bards that take the class) while others are focused on more material magics such as architecture and engineering. The sesh is a master of moving money and materials, both on papyrus and in reality.
Requirements: none
Role: Every noble house employs a bevy of sesh, and they are seen as an upper middle-class role. Sesh are also employed by temples, which in many ways act like noble houses. Sesh may also be engineers or doctors (wabau) or engineers and they, outside of the priestly caste, alone share the privilege of literacy with the princes.
Weapon Proficiencies: Sesh never begin the game proficient in more than a simple dagger (with which they sharpen stylus’) and a club or staff.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus profs: reading/writing (Desert Khemri), heraldry, and one of the following: engineering, healing, herblore, local history (region), ancient history (region), ancient language (Ancient Khemri)
Equipment: The sesh begins with a supply of papyrus, ink, and styluses as well as wax tablets for drafting. Two jars of ink, 20 sheets of papyrus, 2 styluses, and two wax tablets. Otherwise they buy equipment as a rogue.
Special Benefits: Bards who are also sesh use the hekau table of purity.
Special Hinderances: None.
Urchin
Urchins are those rogues that infest the great cities of Khewed. They often live on the street or in hovels. They work the black markets, serve merchants, and steal for a living.
Requirements: None
Role:
Weapon Proficiencies: sling, dagger, sap/blackjack, club, short sword, single weapon style
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Bonus Profs: local history and one of the following: blind-fighting, forgery, gaming, gem cutting, begging, jumping, read lips
Equipment:
Special Benefits:
Special Hinderances: Urchins have the reek of the streets about them and suffer a -2 reaction penalty with lower classes such as husbandmen, a -3 penalty with middle classes such as merchants and sesh, and a -4 penalty with upper classes such as nobles or priests. Slaves count as the class of their patron.
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