Ah, I would forgot. I could not find a general description of the process of making test, check or whatever the name you will take for the process - I assume (from the combat section) that it is 3d6 roll + statistics value for statistics checks or 3d6+total skill value for skill checks.
Yes, that's right. I need to note that somewhere.
As for elemental spells, I think I want all the elements to function somewhat differently. There won't be easy switching of type. There are still lots of possibilities.
Oops. I keep forgetting I'm calling it Chaos Magic now. 'Elementalism' is just a subset of it. It also includes concepts of rage, passion, insanity, randomness and luck.
I should remember to change that in the document.
You could go with Master of Magic/Heroes Of Might and Magic IV where different elemeents were associated with different spheres.
Another thing I'm considering:
30 hybrid spells. 10 at each tier (not including Archmage).
Each tier has one spell of each possible pair of paths. These spells can only be gained if you have both path talents of the appropriate tier. As appropriate for the costly investment, they would probably be slightly more powerful than single-path spells of the same tier.
I'll probably finish the existing lists first.
Examples:
Holy/Nature Initiate: Holy Steed: Your animal mount becomes divinely empowered!
Arcane/Death Adept: Enslave: You place a curse on the target. He or she remains free-willed but starts suffering lifedrain if he or she disobeys your commands.
Holy/Chaos Adept: Aura of Vengeance: Your righteous aura ignites you and your allies with vengeful flame that burns more brightly when enemies wound you.
Or something like that.
Edit: Archmage is very strongly influenced by Master of Magic in that regard. Holy = Light. Arcane = Force. Death = Shadow. Chaos = Fire/Ice/Shock/Sonic. Nature = Water/Earth/Poison.
Or something like that. Nature and Chaos are the two most associated with natural phenomenon. Nature is closer to the land and the plants and animals, while Chaos is the destructive forces of natural disasters and powerful storms.
Some more world stuff:
Zer Terall is the capital of the underground realms of the Myrdanar. Its position is central to their caverns and well-carved tunnels stretch out from it to their other major settlements and many minor ones. It is, thus, the most accessible centre of trade in the underground. It is also, technically, completely lawless.
There is no written law. There is no government. There are no courts of justice. There is only power and influence. Do as you please, so long as you can get away with it. This does not mean that Zer Terall is a mere den of scum and villainy. It is chaotic, but it is full of equal parts great vice and great virtue. It is a city of heroes and villains.
There are three forms of protection for the populace of Zer Terall.
Each of the great houses has their own retinue of houseguard. They are well-trained and loyal to their houses. They protect places and people where those houses wish to protect their interests or their reputation. As powerful as the houses are, they still rely on the support of the people and with few exceptions do try to maintain good faith.
A force for good in the city is the Justicars. They are a volunteer organisation of peacekeepers that while funded only by donations and bounty rewards, manage to act as a civilian police that doesn't owe allegiance to any of the great houses. Because of their status, those that join are usually of virtuous heart, wanting to do some good in the world. It's not a job for anyone wanting power or riches.
Though few in number, there are also solitary heroes patrolling the streets, seeking out terrors to vanquish. They sometimes work with he Justicars, though some conflict with them just as often due to differences in methods. Zer Terall's lawless nature means there's no universally agreed upon 'right' and the heroes are known to fight each other almost as often as they protect the weak and vulnerable.
The closest thing Zer Terall has to a governing body is the Council of Twelve Houses. Each house appoints a representative to sit on the council. The Council's purpose is to decide the direction of the Myrdanar Nation, especially with regards to political actiities with other nations. Though they have no real official authority, when unanimous their influence amongst the houses and general populace allows them to push forward their plans with minimal resistance. However, unanimity amongst the Council is rare except in wartime.
The one rule of the Myrdanar functions a bit more like this:
"Do as you please, but anyone may oppose you if they wish."
I have started adding a 'common terms' page. Also! I have reworked how archmages themselves work, to better fit my idea.
Archmages don't get new spells of vast power. They have the ability to magnify existing spells to be effective on an army, city-wide or even nation-wide scale. I'm calling this something like 'realm mastery' or 'realmcasting' for now.
A nature archmage could cast stubborn flesh on an army, affecting every soldier in it. The maximum size of the army affected may be limited in some way.
All archmage spells will cost a stupidly huge load of mana crystals. Nations pay to support their archmages. The costs of doing so are not trivial. Archmages have to do their realmcasting from properly-equipped mage towers. If forced to relocate in a rush, an archmage may have to take weeks to months to regain the ability to realmcast.
It'll go something like this:
Single-target spells cast as archmage spells affect one 'unit'. A unit may end up being a cohesive military group up to 1000 men or something.
Aura spells cast as archmage spells affect one 'army'. If the army divides or disbands, the archmage chooses which part retains the aura.
Some spells may be given different ranges and areas when cast as archmage spells, if they require specific notes.
I suppose there may be some additional spells that exist only as archmage spells. These would be spells that would be pointless on an individual adventurer's scale. Or some spells that work quite differently on a realm scale.
Yes, I'm thinking of Master of Magic again. :)
Normal spell: lava flow (causes lava to bubble up and flow out from a small crack in the earth over the span of a few rounds).
Archmage version: raise volcano (causes lava to bubble up and flow out from a colossal crack in the earth over the span of a year).
I've been working on some more stuff. Some is duplicates of what you've already read. The plan is to compile a setting book from all this (plus what I've written and not posted) eventually.
Spiritual Beings
Before Deutero, there was a world Deuterans call the Prime. If it had another name, it is known only to those that escaped its destruction: The Primordials. While they vary in strength and abilities, one trait common to all Primordials is that they are discorporate, ghostly spirits. Their influence in the world is often vague, if backed by vast power.
Fifteen Primordials held great power on the Prime as archmages and retained - or even increased - their potency after escaping its end and coming to Deutero. These fifteen former archmages are now the gods of Deutero, presiding over its many peoples as divine figures. The vast majority of the spirits inhabiting the world were their mortal followers on the Prime. Their number is gradually being added to by Deuteran ghosts transfigured into divine spirits.
Spirits are capable of building bodies for themselves from earthly material or possessing living creatures. This allows them greater ability to act upon the world, albeit at the cost of limiting themselves to a single form. The gods themselves cannot do this; it is generally thought that their power is too vast to be contained in any crude shell. Nonetheless, there have been many attempts by several of the gods to incarnate themselves. To date, none have succeeded.
Mysteries of the Divine
There are several prominent theories regarding the vast power the gods are sometimes able to exert on the world - and why they do not do so more frequently. After all, given the power they have displayed in the past, there must be a reason why they are not constantly active in Deutero's affairs.
The oldest and still most prominent theory is that the gods are partially barred from Deutero. Their ability to act is governed by the consent of mortals. Where enough of a mortal population are willing for a god to act upon them or the area they inhabit, a window is opened through which that god can enact his or her will. Under this theory, what the mortals desire is not relevant - only that they desire that their god will act at all. This fails to explain why there are no instances of a god directly aiding a favoured peoples' military actions. Certainly, an army of faithful would generate enough consent to allow their god to go with them. Opponents to the theory argue that such a limitation is blasphemous to consider; the gods are far too great to be so confined by mortal will.
Similar to the consent theory is the idea that belief is a power source for the gods. There are fewer theologians that agree with this theory, citing the decreasing overt actions of the gods over time, whereas the population of believers has increased significantly.
The second most prevalent theory is that the gods are not limited by anything mortal, but they are limited by each other. It is known that Mevyann created a pact - with the consent of each other god - preventing them from coming to harm. It may be possible that many more pacts have been formed between the gods since then, each limiting their actions even further. This adequately explains the rampant worldshaping performed by the gods in Deutero's prehistory compared with the extremely rare incidence of divine intervention in the modern era.
It does not help that different gods have given different and conflicting explanations for how and why they act.
And a bit more on some of Malevi's buddies.
"Enough good wrought outweighs any evil done in its pursuit."
Malevi's Vassals of Balance are an old order of knights dedicated to Malevi's aspect as the Keeper of the Fallen. The central tenet of the Vassals is that good and evil are spiritual currency. The greater one's positive balance of virtue upon death, the greater the position one is granted in Juric's Divine Kingdoms. The Vassals are divided amongst themselves on whether it is a worthy act to sacrifice their own spiritual balance - that is, do great evil - in order to allow another to perform and even greater good rather than perform that good directly. All Vassals are permitted to perform lesser evils in the pursuit of greater good, but having a negative balance is what is considered truly sinful. Each member of the Vassals is required to keep an account of all of his or her actions that would affect his or her spiritual balance. These accounts are audited periodically by the priesthood.
The Vassals are predominantly human, with a small number of Rhayud Rhuz. Organisationally, the Vassals owe loyalty to Malevi first, and to Juric second. Generally, the edicts of Malevi do not contradict those of Juric and the faiths of both gods tend to be cooperative, if not entirely trusting of each other. The Vassals of Balance are sworn to Juric's Holy Army and must march with the Vassals of Order, Justice and Harmony when called to war. Vassals of Balance that find themselves on opposite sides of a war will refuse to fight each other; they have no such qualms when fighting the Vassals of other gods.
The Vassals of Balance have a small following amongst the Myrdanar, although the core priesthood of Malevi tends to consider them a heretical splinter. The Myrdanar offer no loyalty to Juric at all, even if they will serve his son.
The Vassals of Balance are trained in the knightly arts as well as in the magical traditions of holy magic and death magic. The use of undead is discouraged but permmitted if necessary. The Vassals do not shy from necessary evil. In fact, they act in full expectation that they will be required to do some evil to achieve their goals. Penance is paid by balancing the books.
The greatest sacrifice a Vassal of Balance can make is to ask Malevi to broker a deal with Mevyann - where the Vassal's soul is traded for the salvation of others. Although it is not proven, it is commonly thought that demons crafted from the souls of Vassals of Balance are the easiest to dissuade from malevolence... if an appropriate bargain is met.
I've been alone here for a week and a half. Has this dried up for good? What would revitalise interest?
Ah, but interest has been revitalised! A few questions here, but hopefully you find them useful.
Firstly, let's assume that someone doesn't want to be a caster, either because they like the sword and board idea or because they feel like AM SMASH is fun in any system... How much support of that are you planning to implement? After all, not everyone is magical.
There will be a lot of talents that allow non-magical characters to be awesome. There are already a few, but I will be adding more. I may also add some abilities that only work if you don't know any magic.
Second, assuming you complete what I shall refer to as the Infinity Core Rulebook Set (Unless you can complete one for all 3 systems), would you then consider work on an Advanced version? Ultimate Talents, perhaps? Infinity Magazine?
After I finish Archmage, I may expand out into the others. I don't have any specific plans for what I'll do in the future.
Thirdly, is there any kind of hashed up timelines for each system? Particularly Archmage, but I'm intrigued by mechanism and Awakening too.
If you search back through this thread a bit, you'll find an initial timeline for Archmage. It's not fully detailed, but it does give a bit of world overview. I have no set timelines for the others yet, only vague ideas at what they're like.
And, last but not least, would you consider running a small playtest, assuming enough dedicated players? Here's a thought... you could, as the system's not complete or established long enough, use a few people to play a part in the history of each system? Some dialogue, a mook fight, a boss fight, and a bit of closing dialogue?
I'm very interested to see how the systems look when finished, and look forward to seeing more of your quality work.
I am considering doing something like that soon. At the very least, I need to finish the injury, breakdown and overload charts, and the recovery system. Then a combat test can be run.
Another two weeks of no work. Blaaaargh.
Maybe I can try raising a topic.
There's a thing common to fantasy that irks me, but seems to be nearly unavoidable. It's the unrepeatable act.
The unrepeatable act is when some historic NPC does something or creates something that cannot be done by another (PC or NPC). Very often, there is no reason given why it can't be done again, and it's usually an act not backed up by any game mechanics at all.
I've already got a few of these in my setting, and it bugs me a little. I've tried to write in good reasons for that, even if some are just speculation on the part of theologians.
Let's have an example:
Bess the Blacksmith acquires a great dragon's heart and uses it to heat her forge. With this mystic fire she forges a sword that is forever as hot as a dragon's fire, setting ablaze all it touches and granting its bearer immunity from all forms of fire.
Pat the PC hears the story (perhaps by reading it in the fluff text of the artifact in the game book) and decides to make one. Killing a powerful dragon takes some mighty work, but presumably it's the sort of thing PCs are expected to be able to do at a certain level, and so Pat gets a dragon's heart. Can Pat just straight up make a dragonfire sword? What if this turns into an industry? Unique artifacts being mass-produced seems rather silly.
If not, what are the criteria for creating something singularly powerful? If it's a thing for background NPCs only, why is that? The common 'no you can't because it's a story thing' grates on me. If a PC can't set to work making a legendary artifact, I want there to be a good reason. It could even be as simple as 'creating a legendary artifact invariably takes decades of dedicated work; thus it's not practical for an adventurer to do it'. But if that's so, then every NPC that does the same better damn well be held to the same rule.
Lord Verel Alastra was a student of necromancy, belonging to the House of Malevi. While he performed little practical necromancy of his own, he spent many decades refining his knowledge of the workings of the undead - their weaknesses and strengths. When his age began to trouble him, he could not resist the draw of potential immortality. However, while he had the means to make himself an undying ghoul, the requirements for that ghastly existence frightened him. So, the keen alchemist set to work on a purified form of undeath that would sustain a semblance of life without need for cannibalism.
His daughter, Loroi, was his first test subject. Without her knowledge, he had arranged for her to be fatally poisoned. At her deathbed, Alastra offered her what he called the elixir of life; its creation was built partly upon necromantic pact magic and thus could only be taken willingly. When she ingested the crimson elixir, her heart stopped beating, yet she did not die. The elixir swiftly replaced her blood, continuing to circulate by means of magical animation. The alchemist was elated, although more for the success of his invention than his daughter's recovery.
Lord Alastra spent months observing Loroi's condition, and with her they discovered the various boons and weaknesses inherent to her newfound unlife. Perhaps as a consequence of being sustained purely by death magic, her appearance gradually changed. Her skin became as pale as the moon and she grew pronounced fangs - similar to common depictions of the five gods of death. She displayed an aversion to clear sunlight, to the point of weakening physically and becoming more susceptible to injury while the light was upon her skin. She had no need to drink, eat or breathe, though she still required sleep; Loroi began sleeping during the day to avoid the light's deleterious effects. Like most undead, her wounds would not heal themselves and if she exerted herself, her energy would not return by rest alone.
Fearing that she had become a mere variation on a ghoul, he brought her fresh human flesh to keep her healthy and sane. He of course did not tell her where it came from. Loroi disliked the taste of the meat and could not properly digest it. Instead, she found she enjoyed the blood on the meat and would suck it from each piece, leaving the drained meat on her plate.
Lord Alastra performed further tests on her vital fluids and discovered that the elixir of life had an insurmountable flaw. As it transmuted the blood, it would not replace itself and would run out if he did not supply her with additional doses of the elixir. Alastra quickly realised the solution to this problem: She could simply drink the blood of humanoids to replace any amount of elixir lost due to exertion or injury.
Satisfied with the results, Verel used the elixir on himself. He did not know, however, that his daughter had discovered evidence of his betrayal and his foul deeds, and had replaced the contents of his vial with the very same poison that he used to kill her. Loroi's death had never been made public, so she inherited his estate and continued to manage it. She was beyond suspicion, well known to have always been loyal to her father.
Loroi realised she could not keep up her habits of blood-drinking without some kind of assistance, so she founded a secret organisation called the Crimson Court. She invited several others to share in her immortal state; while she could not reproduce her father's elixir of life, she knew it ran through her veins and any that willingly drank her blood would be granted the same transmutation.
They were the first vampires.
In current times, the Crimson Court is known through fearful whispers and rumour. It is known that the occasional vampire breaks off from the organisation to operate independently or to attempt to form his or her own blood cult. It's also said that such treasonous bloodsuckers do not last very long.
Are vampires evil?
Vampires are only as evil as they act. Their requirements for living make this difficult, unless they can find willing donors instead of ambushing people in dark streets.
Can I be one?
Yes. Vampires are undead, and they have several special qualities that set them apart from living characters. However, they are not necessarily more powerful. Despite their powers and immunities, they are intensely difficult to sustain and have a far more arduous time recovering from injuries, especially during the day. Such a character would also be deeply encouraged to follow a few personal codes:
1. Remember your tithe of blood to your superiors.
2. Keep your vampirism secret.
3. Don't create new vampires without authorisation from a Court Elder.
Is that a vampire?
No, that's a light-skinned Myrdanar. That said... if that Myrdanar is a vampire, it would be difficult to tell.
Ghouls are the animated dead that retain their minds. They must consume the flesh of the living to sustain themselves, lest they succumb to decay and become ravenous zombies.
Deepsight: Ghouls can see perfectly in normal darkness. This replaces any normal vision racial traits they may have.
Light Sensitivity: Ghouls suffer -3 Perception while in bright light.
Undead: Ghouls are not living creatures. They cannot recover Health Points, Energy Points or Stability Points normally or by magic other than death spells. They are not subject to poisons and diseases except to those that explicitly affect undead. Ghouls do not need to eat, drink, breathe or sleep.
Rotting: Ghouls normally look like pallid, gaunt versions of their living selves. A ghoul with zero Health Points remaining looks like a walking corpse and may display numerous oozing wounds and discoloured lesions, although efforts to disguise this can be made.
Shambling: Ghouls cannot suffer from unconsciousness. A ghoul with zero Energy Points remaining gets one fewer action points on its turn and cannot move at any speed faster than walk. Ghouls cannot be knocked unconscious.
The Hunger: A ghoul with zero Stability Points remaining must spend all available actions and as many Energy Points as possible to pursue, subdue and devour humanoids with no regard to its own safety or recognition of friend or foe. A ghoul acts in an instinctive, animalistic way in this pursuit and cannot use any skill or ability requiring rational thought.
Devouring (Double Action): Whenever a ghoul consumes at least one kilogram of humanoid tissue dead no more than one hour, it gains the benefit of the Recover Action. A ghoul can gain this benefit from a single corpse no more than once per that corpse's original Fitness Bonus. Alternatively, a ghoul may elect to spend a use of Devouring to heal injuries. Three uses will heal a minor injury, seven uses will heal a moderate injury and twelve uses will heal a major injury. The ghoul may choose which injury to apply these uses to and they do not all have to be spent at once.
Torpor: A ghoul may elect to enter a comalike state wherein the body and mind are preserved in stasis. While in torpor, a ghoul cannot act but is allowed to make perception tests to awaken if presented with stimuli.
Vampires are an alchemical refinement of ghouls that see themselves as purer and more sophisticated. Nonetheless, they are still undead and suffer from many similar problems.
Deepsight: Vampires can see perfectly in normal darkness. This replaces any normal vision racial traits they may have.
Light Sensitivity: Vampires suffer -3 Perception while in bright light.
Light Weakness: Vampires suffer -3 Strength and Fitness and suffer +3 to injury rolls while in bright or normal sunlight.
Undead: Vampires are not living creatures. They cannot recover Health Points, Energy Points or Stability Points normally or by magic other than death spells. They are not subject to poisons and diseases except to those that explicitly affect undead. Vampires do not need to eat, drink or breathe but must sleep.
Death's Shadow: Vampires normally look like pale versions of their living selves. A vampire with a -1 or greater pain penalty due to loss of Health Points has pronounced fangs and dark scleras. A vampire with a -2 pain penalty due to loss of Health Points has stark white skin and sharpened, frightening features. These qualities can be disguised.
Slumbering: An unconscious vampire automatically goes into torpor.
Bloodthirst: A vampire with zero Stability Points remaining must spend all available actions to pursue, subdue and drink the blood of humanoids with no regard to its own safety or recognition of friend or foe. Unlike a ghoul, a vampire retains its intelligence in this pursuit and does not have to spend Energy Points (to avoid torpor) although it cannot overcome the compulsion.
Blood-Drinking (Special): A vampire may drink blood from a target in lieu of a successful grapple attempt. Whenever a vampire drinks blood, the target loses 3 Fitness and the vampire gains the benefit of the Recover Action. A vampire cannot gain this benefit from a corpse (although the Fitness loss can kill). Alternatively, a vampire may elect to spend a use of Blood-Drinking to heal injuries. Three uses will heal a minor injury, seven uses will heal a moderate injury and twelve uses will heal a major injury. The vampire may choose which injury to apply these uses to and they do not all have to be spent at once. A vampire fed the fresh blood of a humanoid (at least one litre) gains the same benefits.
Torpor: A vampire may elect to enter a comalike state wherein the body and mind are preserved in stasis. While in torpor, a vampire cannot act but is allowed to make perception tests to awaken if presented with stimuli. If in torpor due to unconsciousness, a vampire may make tests to recover only if the scent of fresh blood is near. If humanoid blood is poured into the vampire's mouth, it awakens instantly and recovers from all unconsciousness effects.
For simplicity's sake, an adult humanoid loses a litre of blood per 3 Fitness loss and vice versa.
I will likely create some undead talents. Ghouls may be able to get abilities that grant them extra bonuses from Devouring, such as 'memory eater' that can grant visions or maybe temporary skills from eating someone's brain. Vampires will get blood-fueled talents that grant bonuses (especially to speed and strength) if they spend Health Points to activate them. I am receptive to suggestions.
Edit: Ooh, another idea for a ghoul talent: Cloak of flesh. Instead of devouring a body, you incorporate its flesh directly into your own, taking on the appearance of that person!
I'm considering a limitation on natural recovery:
When you receive HP, EP or SP damage (not including point loss due to ability use or spellcasting), mark off that many boxes on the corresponding damage grid with a single stroke (in pencil, so it can be erased when you recover). Then mark a number of boxes with an additional stroke (to form a cross) equal to half the damage you received (round up). Crossed boxes do not heal when you take the recover action and are healed last when healed by magic or special abilities.
Crossed boxes are marked off from left to right, starting at the top of your grid.
When you rest for eight hours, you recover up to one row of crossed boxes, starting with the lowest row which has at least one crossed box. (this equates to up to a quarter of your total points, approximately)
My concern is that adding a second type of notation in the damage grids may add unnecessary complexity.
Example time!
Let's say you have 18 Health. Your grid looks like this:
_________
|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|
Close enough.
Next you take seven damage! You mark off seven boxes like this:
_________
|/|/|/|/|/|
|/|/|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|
Then, cross half that number (four).
_________
|X|X|X|X|/|
|/|/|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|
|_|_|_|_|
Healing the boxes with a single stroke is as easy as taking a few actions to regather your strength. The crossed boxes aren't likely to go away during the fight.
For those that haven't seen the grid, it goes like this (this rule isn't changing):
Each reserve pool is laid out in a grid of four rows, each row containing 1/4 of the pool's total points. If the pool does not divide evenly, add one point from the remainder to the first row, second and so on until the remainder has been accounted for.
When you receive damage, lose points or spend points, you mark them off from left to right, top to bottom. When you heal points, you erase the marks in the opposite order (right to left, bottom to top).
For Health and Energy, if you have at least one mark in the 3rd row, you suffer a -1 pain penalty to tests. If you have at least one mark in the 4th row, the penalty is -2 instead. You only take the worst pain penalty, regardless how many you are suffering.
For Stability, the 3rd row grants a +1 stress modifier. This increases strength bonus, applies a discount to energy point expenditure (but not loss or damage) and a penalty to tests. If you have at least one mark in the 4th row, the bonus or penalty increases to 2.
As requested, something special for the non-mages!
Cost: 9 XP
Requirements: 4th Level, No Mage Talents
By refusing to learn any outward expression of your magical potential, you have turned it inward and forged it into a protective barrier.
While your stress modifier is zero, add your Cognition Bonus to your Physical Resistance and Mental Resistance against magic effects.
Hellooooo...?
They don't have to be consecutive. You can't save them up, though. They must be spent toward either recovering or healing a particular injury. I'll clarify that when I add them to the rulebook.
As for the refinement, I suppose that's from the perspective of the vampires. I could easily change it to derivation for a more objective meaning.
Magic items! Now, I'm not sure how common I want these to be, but potentially, they could exist. If rare, they would be very valuable and useful to have.
Stasis Capsule (Arcane)
This dark steel capsule is about nine inches in length. Its exterior is detailed with complex arcane sigils, inlaid with silver. It can contain one litre of fluid.
Anything stored within the capsule while it is sealed is not subject to the passage of time.
Thermal Vessel (Chaos)
This cylindrical vessel carved from the leg bone of a large creature is marked with wild, expressive runes. It can contain one litre of fluid.
While sealed, the average internal temperature of the vessel cannot change (although items of different temperatures will affect each other if stored together).
If ruptured, the thermal vessel will explode with fire (if its internal temperature is above zero) or ice (if its internal temperature is zero or below).
Notice that for storage purposes, the stasis capsule is just better. It's probably significantly more expensive, though.
What about a bag of holding?
I'm leaning toward no. Carry all your stuff the old fashioned way!
I was thinking about means for wealthy vampires to make their lifestyle practical, actually. I could just ditch them, leaving them needing a feeding stock if they don't want to go hunting all the time.
I don't think I really want characters to have 'trinkets' all that much. I want to avoid the Christmas tree effect as well.
I'm not especially set on a style of magical items right now, so I'm open to suggestions.
By the way, the reason for the disorganised mess is that I try to post here whatever pops into my head (so long as I decide it fits in the game). It's so the thread is kept alive and so there's a wide variety of topics to choose from when commenting on it. I'm sort of scattershot stream of consciousness. If I shotgun ideas into Archmage often enough, maybe I'll hit all the blank spaces eventually!
And when I'm writing at 5 am, my ideas may not fit together so smoothly. It happens to be 5 am about now.
If you want me to write a lengthy response, ask me about a particular setting point! I'll probably spill out a whole lot of nonsense.
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I will admit that I will never read all of this, I find forum reading agonizingly slow and labourious. That said I saw a post not long back about wanting to find a way of making legendary artifact items so that they can't be mass produced, If I may I'd like to add a few suggestions:
Firstly, most craftsman, particularly during the height of their craft's value, are Extremely secretive about their methods and techniques. Mostly because of knowing that if it was common knowledge just how easy it was to do a lot more people would do it and ruin the market. That being said a description of an artifact class item and how to make it is bound to be rife with exemptions, inaccuracies and even purposefull misdirections, making it possible for a PC to make one, but only after extreme work to ferret out the truth.
Secondly if it were possible to mass produce a fantastic artifact, it probably would have been done by the original craftsman. if it were easy to figure out the method the one who made it in the first place would have churned them out non-stop.
As I see it there at least two good ways to go about this. The first is the dark secret method. Wherein it's available for the PC to discover that in order to create that magnificent flaming sword the smith had to bind the majority of her soul into it during the crafting, or bargain her body away to a demon. Perhaps it had to be quenched by plunging it straight into the dragon's heart, thus destroying it (it may be possible for the PC to get a dragon's heart but to get them on mass may be tricky, especially once the dragons are on to you.) or perhaps it required an innocent sacrifice or to be quenched in the smith's own blood and flesh. Sorry for rolling off so many specific examples, when you get on a roll it can be hard to stop.
The other good method that comes to mind is the 1 in a million method. The idea that it takes such a specific set of parameters to get the artifact to work that well that it's next to impossible, and only came about the first time by a stroke of immense fortune. Good modern day examples of this are for instance Damascus steel (true or "Wootz" Damascus in particular) which was traditionally made by taking a specific vein of ore and spending years working with it until you could finally mix things just right to make it work, then having to start all over on a new vein when the first ran out because the ore is slightly different. or the making of the Japanese Katana, where they say that even the greatest most expert smiths will only make a blade that quenches properly without cracking about 75% of the time (don't quote that number)
Just riffing some thoughts, hope it helps.
Yeah, that's probably how I'll end up doing it.
Other thoughts:
Minion Rules!
Running a large number of combatants can be super complicated, especially in a system that has individual wound locations and effects. So, a minion rule is probably necessary. Summoned creatures would use these rules, too.
Here's the proposed system:
A minion that runs out of HP is disabled.
A minion that runs out of EP is unconscious.
A minion that runs out of SP is catatonic.
Basically, deplete one of a minion's reserve pools to defeat it. No need to roll injury/breakdown/overload/whatever. Maybe after the fight, you can check for survivors and roll random injuries/death for those that were disabled.
Playing the same system over and over again is boring to me anyways. I am always looking for new ways to skin the fantasy cat. F&@* that cat, man. Really.
What is the motivation for this work? Why do you feel it is a system people would want to play, given other systems that can produce the same kinds of games?
Do you say to a painter, "Why do you paint? There are already a lot of paintings!"
I create wolds and systems because I want to, and because I hope others will enjoy them. I also do this to stave off the seemingly inexorable tide of insanity that looms over me.
The most important thing about Archmage is that it is my creation. It represents my world in a uniquely special way that no other system can. I am creating it for myself to play, and for my friends to play, and I hope that maybe others out there might like it as well. If not, that's okay.
In other news, map!
This is Deutero. See if you can spot the major tectonic boundaries!
At some point I'll add notes about where stuff is.
A beautiful map UR. Is hauntingly familiar somehow, yet I am sure I have never seen it before. Almost like I can see the coast of Norway... ;)
I made it using a fractal map generator I found somewhere years ago (I forget) then edited it and outlined it in Photoshop.
To be entirely honest, yes, your comments did leave me discouraged for a while. I hate that I am that sensitive that I can be influenced by such things. I really wish I could keep myself working regardless what people say.
Ugh.
Anyway, though I have done no work since my last post, I have been thinking about how to make martial arts neat and also thematically tied to the setting.
I'm okay with martial arts achieving magical effects, though I want them to differ from spellcasting enough that martial arts are not just another kind of casting.
Right now, I'm vaguely thinking of creating five schools of martial arts, each with a selection of talents based on one kind of magical philosophy.
Holy: Holy martial arts would probably be about asceticism and detachment from the mortal 'self', gaining powers to ignore physical limitations and requiring extreme discipline. It may be rather simple in effect overall, but provides outright boosts to all parts of the body's capabilities. Divine will substitutes where the flesh is lacking.
Arcane: As an arcane mage studies to analyse and manipulate the patterns of magic, an arcane martial artist may do the same thing but with the mechanics of the body. An arcane martial artist studies the workings of the muscles and nerves and even magic to create precise katas that can create the optimum effect with minimum effort and even distort or break spells with their strikes. It would be the least damaging style, featuring mostly nerve strikes that disable limbs and impart penalties.
Death: Death martial arts would be all about the killing blow, and possibly also stealth. Ninjas! Perform strikes that not only injure, but sap the very spirit from your enemies to empower yourself. The longer a fight draws on, the weaker your enemy grows and the more you strengthen from stolen will!
Chaos: Berserk rage! Throw out all semblance of reason and destroy everything in your path! Kill kill kill! Ahahahahahahaha!
Nature: Nature magic would probably favour unarmed combat the most, and may go as far as producing bestial features for enhancing the martial artist. Fight like an animal, relying on nothing but your own strength and toughness! It could also enhance senses and instinct.
Prime (untyped): Weapon-mastery? This could be a 'pure' style that relies on the utmost pinnacle of mundane, mortal training. It owes nothing to any of the great powers. I dunno.
Environments of Deutero
An improved, high resolution map of Deutero that better shows what the climate is like.
The Peopling of Deutero
A sepia map showing the migrations and propogations of the species across the lands of Deutero.
If some of this makes no sense, point it out. I'm not going for absolute realism, but I may have made an obvious mistake that might irk an anthropologist. I dunno.
A bit of religion to pass the time.
The Black Pentad is one of the smaller religious orders in the Deep, but one of the most feared. The Black Pentad involves the worship of the five gods of Death, with Mevyann as the central and most important figure.
I wrote a little thing. I was going to do more but eeeeeh I'm tired.
"Unto Malevi, I give my wealth.
Unto Lyriasha, I give my secrets.
Unto Shelas, I give my passions.
Unto Yldrienne, I give my body.
And unto Mevyann, I give my soul!"
Nice words in that poem/affirmation. Works for me.
[goes off to look at new maps. By all means irk the anthropologists. They've been irking people for decades...]
Ok cool. I see this is a flat projection of the whole. So the Krodanoi jumped west to the east side of the map (assuming North is at the top).
Where is the equator, or is this one hemisphere...?
Each part of it means something important, each is a step on the path:
The cultist hands over their worldly belongings to the cult (Malevi, God of Wealth).
The cultist imparts any important secret knowledge they hold to the cult (Lyriasha, God of Knowledge).
The cultist breaks ties with any family or loved ones, dedicating wholly to the Pentad (Shelas, God of Joy).
The cultist offers him or herself as a live sacrifice, as materials to further the cult's needs (Yldrienne, God of Renewal).
And finally, the cultist's soul is willed on to Mevyann, who will transform it into a demon in her service. At least, that's what they believe happens to their soul. Who knows if it's true?
I may change the order of the first three. I dunno.
I have decided that of the Chaos gods, each favours a different element:
Helior likes fire (flames of justice!)
Argath likes frost (because ice age megafauna are badass)
Aldran likes lightning (science!)
Shelas likes sonic (partytime!)
And Ragann likes all of them, being lord of the world's fury and all that catastrophic nonsense.
You might wonder where acid is. That falls under nature magic instead.
Not much here lately.
I think I may replace the human discount to buying talents with:
"Your talents and spells cost 1 less of each reserve point required to use them (minimum 1)."
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I started writing a conversation between Malevi calling Lyriasha out right after the creation of the Myrdanar, but it's not working out well. Ugh.
It goes something like this:
Lyriasha: "I finished making the Myrdanar the most perfect people in the world."
Malevi: "You made all the men into bishies and made the women look like you!"
Lyriasha: "Yes, and it's great."
Malevi: "Did you forget they used to be elves? Sure, the men are kinda the same, but the women aren't used to that kind of... encumbrance."
Lyriasha frowny face at Malevi.
And then they talk about plans to take over the world.
There's a thing common to fantasy that irks me, but seems to be nearly unavoidable. It's the unrepeatable act.
…stuff…
I dislike these as well. In my games they do not exist. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t stories and such, but rather that the stories rarely tell everything. To use your own example, a story may tell of how Bess the Blacksmith acquired a great dragon's heart and used it to heat her forge and then forge a sword that was forever as hot as a dragon's fire, setting ablaze all it touches and granting its bearer immunity from all forms of fire.
However, it may have neglected to mention that she had been a master smith, that she had to make special preparations to prevent the forge it from literally going up in flames, that the sword she made represented an accumulation of work and experimentation with many failed attempts, that her final attempt taxed her so greatly she nearly died, and finally, in creating the blade so much magic and essence was drawn in from the heart itself that the forges magic was weakened to the point that a second such blade may have been impossible.
For the most part, it’d take some time to do between adventures, but if a PC wants to pursue such an activity in there off time, I let them. First they have to research the truths behind the legend and figure out how they are going to replicate the feat, they may even take an idea and decide to make something new or try to improve on the design, but they may also fail and need to try again several times before they achieve their goal depending on just what they are trying to do and how difficult it is.
******
Also if you are looking for direction I’d like to hear more about the martial arts. Being a martial artist I’m always interested in what others come up with, both the fluff and the mechanics.
This was a delightful read.
Are you willing to comment on the seventh school of magic?
Can you elaborate on how Wraiths who did not become "divine" using Juric's method survived? Are there Archmagi among them?
I like your minion rules!
Oh hey!
I've been super depressed for a while and not done anything here. Maybe this recent activity can reboot some of my motivation.
Okay!
Answering questions:
Martial Arts
I may be leaning toward making mystic martial arts and spellcasting incompatible. You can have martial powers or spells, but not both. The reasoning is more a fluff one than mechanics at the moment:
Spellcasting is external magic. Even when you cast a spell to empower yourself, you are taking mana out of your body and using it to affect a change in yourself or the world.
Martial arts is internal magic. Rather than projecting mana out of your body, you focus its cycles within you to allow you to achieve miraculous feats.
Magic pros: Do spells that affect the world around you.
Magic cons: Mana leaves your body with each spell, leaving your mind weakened. Overuse can overload your mind and body, causing harm.
Martial arts pros: Mana remains in your body, so you do not become mentally drained by using the abilities.
Martial arts cons: Largely limited to self-affecting abilities.
Mechanically: Spells cost stability points. Martial arts don't, though they may have stance or triggering requirements (such as 'if you didn't move this turn, you get the effects of blah martial arts', or 'if you strike the same opponent twice this turn, the second hit gains the effects of blah martial arts')
The Seventh School:
It was developed during the Maelstrom, but not by any of Deutero's gods or their followers. ;)
Wraiths and Stuff:
I may have been hasty to label the gods as wraiths. They do work along similar lines, but there is a lot of overlap in the 'powerful incorporeal something' territory. Basically, the escape route used by the gods let them bring along friends. There are probably quite a few archmages among them, though only fifteen had the method that made them gods.
Some of the non-godly spirits and wraiths that used to be archmages might be somewhat bitter about having missed out on that. While the majority of Primordials are loyal to their gods, there are some independent factions and individuals.
Whoops. Given the timeline I'm using, the Myrdanar Pact of 13 Generations doesn't quite fit. I was trying to work out an estimate for when the pact is supposed to be completed, and discovered it should already have happened. Even with long elf lives, it doesn't stretch out far enough.
I think I may have to name it something different, maybe not declaring a timeframe at all.