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Evokers and Verve Effects

Arthur Reyes compiled an interesting article detailing two new magic systems.

Introduction

This is the first draft of a magic system I am writing for my current work-in-progess. The setting is science-fantasy, influenced by a number of games, settings, and sci-fi/fan authors, so some of the details have a pseudo-scientific feel to them. Some details will seem strange or hopefully enticing, and I mention a few attributes/terms that are new to my setting. (My ruleset is a mix of RQ3, Stormbringer 1, HarnMaster 3) All of this, of course, could be changed pretty easily while still retaining the mechanic.

Magic

There are many unexplained phenomena in the universe, but two of these phenomena are so common and understood well enough, that they can be reproduced and taught. Evocation is the manipulation of ethereal matter. Psionics are incredible powers of the mind. Other types of magic exist as well. Verve effects, which are a natural form of exercising mental fortitude. Symbiosis, which is the strange practice of integrating one’s being with organic life forms found on the planet Vainu.

Evocation Magic

Magic in the Glittering Void is created via willful manipulation of the essence of ethereal pseudo-matter to produce matter and energy in various forms. The illithid manipulated essence using machines to produce matter for building their cities and slave-moons. Many of these machines are found through-out the glittering void, but are under strict control of various guilds and governments. When a new machine is discovered, there is usually an intensive struggle among existing guilds to acquire such devices.

Pseudo-matter can be extracted from the ethereal plane and stored within specially prepared vessels. If released into the Prime, pseudo matter will spontaneously take on random elemental forms resulting in sometimes spectacular displays. Once stored, a person can, with intense effort, will raw pseudo-matter to take on a desired element and form.

1 measure of pseudo-matter can affect or create up to six enc (1 SIZ) of real matter. Evoking any fraction of six enc of real matter uses the entire measure of pseudo-matter. Six measures of pseudo-matter weigh 1 enc.

Pseudo-matter remains under the mental control of the creature which last touched it.

Pseudo-Matter
Pseudo-matter is a grey misty substance. It is the raw material of the universe from which all matter is created. It is sometimes referred to as ether or ethereal matter, named after the plane from which it is drawn. All evocations require a certain amount of pseudo-matter to be on hand.
Unformed Pseudo-Matter is magical, meaning that an evoker can turn measures of pseudo-matter into magic points. One measure of pseudo-matter can be turned into one MP for free. In actuality, more magic points are created, but it costs magic points to manipulate pseudo-matter in the first place. The skill required to do so is based on the lowest skill of Earth, Fire, Air or Water. These magic points can be used immediately, in conjunction with another evocation, or placed in a nearby magic point matrix. If the magic points are to be used in combination with another evocation, roll against the lowest skill of all the elements and forms involved. If the roll fails, all the pseudo matter is expended. A critical failure can result in catastrophic results.

Evocation Skills
The art of evocation requires the caster to have both INT and POW (or at least MP reserve). Each element requires its own skill in order to evoke the element properly. There are also Form Skills which measure the evoker’s ability to mold ether into a desired shape.
Failing an evocation results in the loss of one magic point, and all pseudo matter involved in the evocation. A critical failure can result in catastrophic results.

Learning Evocation Skills
Form skills are the only ones that are actually taught to an apprentice. Since an individual need only see a rainbow, experience heat, or drink water in order to get an inkling of various elements and forces, all element skills are immediately available to the apprentice. These skills are opened with a rating of the characters Magic Skill Modifier + d6.

Evocation Equipment
Every evoker requires two pieces of equipment in order to apply their craft.

Gloves of Manipulation
This dull gray hand gear, when primed, allows the evoker to reach into the pseudo-barrier of a vessel to extract ethereal matter. It costs 1 MP to prime a pair of gloves, which remains primed for as long as the evoker wears the gloves. It costs 1 point of POW to create the gloves, and this is the final lesson that every graduating journeyman learns before stepping forth into the world.

Vessel
Vessels come in a variety of shapes. A typical vessel is made of a glass like material, in order to see its contents, and has 3 AP. One end has a pseudo-barrier which prevents ethereal matter from making contact with the physical world, but allowing primed gloves to reach through or interact with the vessel’s contents.
A common hip vessel is typically 3 – 4 enc in size, holding 18 – 24 measures of pseudo-matter. Smaller amulets of size 1 hold 6 measures of pseudo-matter. Remember, an evoker can only draw essence from one vessel at a time.
An evoker can create a vessel by expending 1 point of POW.
If a vessel is broken, the contents will sudden react with the Prime Material Plane transforming into random amounts of various elements. This is rarely damaging in an of itself, but a GM may decide that a critical failure on a Simple Luck roll produces an extraordinary effect.

Staff of the Ethereal Eye
These rare illithid artifacts are capped with tiny portals to the ethereal plane. By expending magic points, an evoker can open the eye releasing ethereal matter as needed. Some staves are limited by the amount of ether which can be released in a single melee round.

Goggles of Ethereal Sight
These relatively common devices are used by most merchants to prevent them from being swindled by conmen. They allow the wearer to quickly determine whether an object is relatively permanent or under the effect of an evoker’s temporary pseudo-matter matrix.

Evocations
Each evocation requires the caster to evoke One Element and One Form. The caster wills pseudo-matter to take on the quality of a certain element in the desired form. It costs 1 MP for each measure of pseudo-matter to be manipulated.
Evoking an element will produce the most generic example of such an element. Evoking water will produce the liquid, but it is not guaranteed to be pure or drinkable. It costs one additional MP per measure to produce a specific example of an element.
An evoker may attempt complex elemental compositions, such as a Radiant Ice Bolt, or Smoking Water for example. While such evocations do not require additional measures of pseudo-matter, they do require one addition MP per element evoked up to four points per measure. Evokers use the lowest skill among the evoked Elements or Form to determine success. They may not evoke complex forms.

Limits to Evocation

You cannot evoke living things, or the product of a living thing, such as a bird or a sandwich.
You cannot directly evoke Positive or Negative Energy.
You cannot evoke complex objects, such as moving parts.
You must be able to see your target. You can’t evoke into a closed box.
An evoker may only draw pseudo-matter from one source at a time.

Quality
While it is possible to evoke Minerals into the shape of a sword, without knowledge of actual sword forging or metallurgy, the object will be a sword at least in appearance. It will not be sharp and will likely break on first use. In order to evoke an object of quality, the caster’s evocation skill roll must be equal to or lower than the appropriate knowledge or craft skill.
For this reason, an artisan will typically evoke raw material, and then work it with more mundane skills.

Rule of Four
If the GM cannot determine what the elemental composition of an object is, she is free to rule that it is a complex object requiring a base of 4 MP per measure of pseudo-matter being shaped, instead of one.

Forms
Elements can be evoked into a variety of shapes and functions. The multiplier after the Form name is the additional cost in magic points to produce such an affect.

Antipathy/Sympathy
Touch, Maintainable
An existing object is touched and imbued with the desired element to make it more like the element in question. Objects can be granted luster with Radiance, grow hot with Fire, or become incorporeal with Air or Mist. Books can be made flame-retardant with Water, or a suit can become wrinkle free with Steam.
An antipathic effect damages the object. A sympathetic effect enhances or makes the object resistant to the elemental effect. Causing paper to catch fire is an example of an antipathy effect. Making paper fire-retardant is sympathetic.
The duration of Antipathy/Sympathy is instantaneous, and can be maintained by a number of time units equal to POW. The unit of time that this duration is measured in is subject to a magic point multiplier. To make the Antipathy/Sympathy effect permanent, sacrifice one point of POW.

Duration
Time Unit Multiplier:

Rounds x2
Minutes x3
Hours x4
Days x5
Months x6
Years x7

Example
Ki’rin is running down a hallway, trying to escape her beholder friend who has gone temporarily insane. She comes to a dead-end. She decides to make a nearby wall sympathetic to Air, thereby making it insubstantial long enough to slip through. Based on Ki’rin’s size of 9, the GM rules that she can barely squeeze through a hole of size 6. She doesn’t want to risk getting stuck in the wall once the effect ends, but she doesn’t want to maintain the spell in case her crazy friend catches up with her. Ki’rin decides to make a size 12 hole, using 2 measures of pseudo-matter. The wall will remain sympathetic to Air for less than 1 round, giving Ki’rin enough time to squeeze through the opening.

Imbuing living things with pseudo-matter is random, incredibly dangerous, and possibly fatal. First, the evoker requires one measure of pseudo-matter on hand for each point of the target’s SIZ. Secondly, the evoker must touch the target and overcome the targets POW on the resistance table, with his own magic points. If the target fails, they must make a Simple Luck roll. If the Luck roll succeeds, the target is sympathetically attuned to the element, regardless of the evoker’s intent. If the Luck roll fails, the target then must make an Integrity roll. Failing the integrity roll, the target explodes. Take the size of the target and look up the resultant damage from the Bolt Table. Now double the dice. The blast is increased by one hex for each 6 points of size the target had.

Bolt
Throw, Instant
The evoker wills pseudo-matter to remain unformed while held in the hand. She then throws the ether, wiling it to become a bolt as it is released. Not every bolt will do damage, but non-damaging affects are possible. Radiance can be used to blind. Vacuum could cause a singer to lose his breath. The table below can be used to determine how much damage is caused by the bolt, or a resistance the target must roll against to overcome its affects.

An evoker must succeed at a Throw attempt in order to successfully strike a target.

Measure	Roll
1	D3
2	D6
3	D8
4	D10
5	D12
6	2D8
7	2D10
8	2D12
9	3D8

Example
If Ki’rin were to fire a d10 bolt at a rushing guard, she would need 4 measures of pseudo-matter.

Beam
Line of Sight, Maintainable
The evocation creates a beam of element force emanating from the caster in a straight line toward the target. The number of measures to create the beam; per the damage table for bolt; is the same number required for each hex the beam will travel through. Beams nearly always hit. The chance of missing might be adjusted if vision is impaired.

Example
Later on, the beholder manages to corner Ki’rin in the mess hall. Ki’rin doesn’t really want to injure her friend, but she is seriously reconsidering their relationship. She is running low on both pseudo-matter and magic points, and decides to gamble it all. She informs the GM that she is going to invoke a beam of radiance, hoping to blind the beholder. The beholder is three hexes away. She decides on an d8 affect (3 measures), which would use up the last of her (3 x 3) 9 measures. She can’t afford to extend the duration, but she is guaranteed a successful strike in this well lit room. Since radiance doesn’t really damage non-photosensitive objects, the GM decides that the damage roll will be a resistance roll against the beholder’s CON. Since the thing is all eyes anyway, he decides to double whatever Ki’rin rolls. Luckily Ki’rin rolls an 8. 16 vs the beholders CON of 13 is just enough to blind the beholder who breaks down into a sobbing fit.

Ball
Throw, Instant – Maintainable
Like a bolt, unformed pseudo-matter is thrown toward a target. On impact, the element is released in a radius. The size of the blast costs a number of measures per the Bolt Table and 6 additional measures for each hex outward from the point of impact.

By imbuing the bolt with extra pseudo-matter, the blast can be maintained for a certain time. You could for example, throw a ball of shadow at a lamp, suppressing its luminosity for several minutes.
The inner blast radius, being the point of impact and ½ the number of hexes in the radius receives full damage. The outer blast radius receives ½ damage.

Example
Ki’rin wishes to throw a ball of fire that will do d8 damage on impact. She wants the radius of the blast to be two hexes in size. This will require 3 measures for damage, plus 12 for the increased radius for a total of 15 measures of pseudo-matter.

Emanation
~, Maintainable
The element is evoked outward from the caster in all directions. Emanations require 6 measures of pseudo matter for each hex in the radius of the effect, after the first. See the description of blast for damaging effect. The evocation does not affect the caster.

Example
Ki’rin is about to be grappled by several fortress guards. She decides to create a sudden emanation of Air in order to knock back her attackers. Using 11 measures of pseudo-matter, she can create a two hex emanation of air with a d12 intensity.

Form
Touch, Permanent
The evoker wills an element into being gradually, between his open hands, without explosion. An object created takes on the form desired by the caster but will retain its form only if the element is solid. Such an object is permanent. An evoker could, for example, evoke water in the shape of a column, but as soon as the evocation ends, the column will splash to the ground.

	FIRE	AIR	EARTH	WATER	POS +	NEG –
FIRE	Fire	Smoke	Magma	Steam	Radiance	Ash
AIR	Smoke	Air	Dust	Mist	Lightning	Vacuum
EARTH	Magma	Dust	Earth	Ooze	Minerals	Grime
WATER	Steam	Mist	Ooze	Water	Rainbows	Ice
POS +	Radiance	Lightning	Minerals	Rainbows	Positve	Shadows
NEG –	Ash	Vacuum	Grime	Ice	Shadows	Negative

Verve Effects

Anyone with POW has the ability to prepare themselves in advance of a situation. This is like psyching yourself out before rushing into combat, or bracing yourself to look into a semi-opened coffin. Heroes and Villains can do this automatically, while NPCs can do this so infrequently that it isn’t worth determining its probability.

Verve effects are very much like a limited form of psionic ability. Many psionicists have attempted to prove or disprove Verve as being anything other than vague manifestations of latent psionic ability, but the results have, as yet, been inconclusive. Verve differ from psionics in that there is no philosophical body of knowledge, learning, or training involved in honing these skills.

A character can produce one Verve affect as an action in melee. The effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the character’s POW. Only one effect may be in play at a time, and attempting a different effect ends the previous effect immediately. The cost is 1 – 3 MP.

Steel Mind
This verve effect prepares your mind to see awful things, or to shut out distractions. The character gets a +5% boost to their Static SAN Score for each MP spent.

Steel Body
Sometimes you know you’re going to get hurt. This Verve effect revs you up and prepares you for it so it doesn’t hurt so much when it happens. The character gets 1 HP for each MP spent.

Steel Being
This verve effect prepares you to resist the corruption of Chaos. The character receives a +5% boost to their Integrity Score for each MP Spent.

Elemental Sorcery

Chris Robb developed this sorcery system of elemental magic. It uses standard sorcery skills (Intensity, duration, etc) and allows the sorcerer to use the forces of Air, Darkness, Earth, Fire, Light & Water.

ELEMENTAL SORCERy

Elemental Sorcerers use the same basic skills as Standard Sorcerers;

Ceremony, Enchantment & Ritual as well as the following:

Intensity, Duration. Range. Multi-Spell

They also have a new skills called Forms.

New Skill: FORMS
Allows for shaping of effects

FORMS DEFINED

All FORMS are in 10′ units as a base, and doubles in size with each additional point of intensity.
All FORMS (Except EARTH) require Duration to sustain it. (Earth forms are always permanent)
CONE – (05)
Closed end towards caster, 10′ long, 10′ wide at open end (Range for Cones is how far the cone extends from the caster.)
SPHERE – (05)
10′ diameter. (Range for Spheres is a distance away from the caster that the sphere forms)
WALL – (05)
10′ tall, 10′ long, 1′ thick. (Range for Walls is the distance away from the caster that the wall forms)
CYLINDER – (05)
10′ tall, 10′ diameter
RING – (05)
10′ tall, 10′ diameter, 1′ thick. (Range for Rings is how far the ring extends from the caster)
CUBE – (05)
10′ tall, 10′ wide, 10′ deep. (Range for cubes is how far from the caster the cube forms)
WAVE – (00)
This is a special form of rings & walls. It will move from the caster to the end of its range.

Elemental forces are:

AIR
DARKNESS
EARTH
FIRE
LIGHT
WATER

AIR
Air does 1pt of direct damage per point on Intensity. It does no static damage.
When used as an assistive/resistive force 1pt of Intensity will move 2pts of size, or equal 2pts of strength.

DARKNESS
Darkness does no damage, it is used for effects.

EARTH
Earth does 1D6 Damage per point of Intensity. It causes no static damage.
When used as an assistive/resistive force 1pt of Intensity will move 5pts of size, or equal 5pts of strength.

FIRE
Fire does 1D8 damage per point of Intensity. It does 1pt damage per point as static damage.
Fire cannot be used as an assistive or resistive force.

LIGHT
Light does no damage, it is used for effects.

WATER/ICE
Water does 1D6 damage per point of Intensity. It does no static damage.
When used as an assistive/resistive force 1pt of Intensity will move 3pts of size, or equal 3pts of strength.

Elementals come in 4 sizes:

Small : 5pts
Medium : 10pts
Large : 15pts
Huge : 20pts

Normal Success : 1 Service
Special Success : 2 Services
Critical Success : 3 Services

Chris’ article was originally published II June MMX

Battle Blade / Battle Club

Makes a weapon look and handle as if it were of superior material and craftsmanship.

Battle Blade (Battle Club)

2 Points
Touch
Instant, stackable, reusable
War God

This spell must be cast on a melee weapon and will only last so long as the caster is holding the weapon. Battle blade will make the weapon look and behave as if it were made of an immediately superior material and quality. Thus a bronze gladius of good quality would behave as if I were an iron sword of excellent quality.

The weapons AP are adjusted to match the new quality for so long as the spell runs. AP lost only transfer to the weapons normal AP when the spells wears off if its original AP value was breached. Thus a bronze gladius with 10 normal AP which took on AP of 12 for the duration of the spell would: •Revert to 10 if 0, 1 or two AP were lost.
•Revert to 9 if 3 AP were lost, 8 if 4 AP lost etc.

Additional quality is simulated through an additional +5% to attack and parry rolls per 2 magic points spent. Superior material is simulated through an additional +1 point of damage per 2 magic points spent.

This spell was originally published XII October MMVI

Attract Missile

This spell is detailed in Sandy Petersen’s The Big Hit adventure published in Heroes Magazine Vol 1 No 6. Republished here as a service to fellow RuneQuesters who do not have access to the magazine in question.

Attract Missile

Ranged
Passive, temporal

If the caster overcomes the target’s magic points, this spell causes the next missile aimed at the target, or anyone touching the target, to strike the target. An individual standing between the target and a missile-user may be struck by happenstance. Even a missile that would normally miss will strike the target. Fumbles are determined normally.

Each additional point of Intensity increases the number of missiles drawn to the target by 1. Thus, if a target were hit by an Intensity 7 Attract Missiles spell, the next 7 missiles fired at him, or anyone touching him, will strike him. The spell has no effect on melee weapons.

Art from The Big Hit – Avalon Hill Heroes Magazine, Volume 1 number 6

Illium Cromia

Illium Cromia is an island with an ancient and powerful civilisation. Forming part of the Western Isles, its once invincible legions conquered most of North Western Gaia. Now, centuries later, many a Dalatian, Slavinian and Aquatinian can trace their roots back to the Island.

Caveats

This is not Troy, Illium was just a nice sounding name for the Isle of Cromia.

GEOGRAPHY

The largest and most densely populated island of the group simply known as the Western Isles, it is also situated far south of the other major islands. Indeed if Illium Cromia were any more distant it would not have een considered as part of the island chain.

Illium Cromia is also separated from the path that the submerged mountains, which form the rest f the island chain, follow. Cromia is unique in that its origins are volcanic, vis-à-vis, it is not formed from the peak of a submerged mountain thrust from the ocean by the tremendous pressures caused by tectonic movement. Being volcanic, is not only an older island, but is also growing relatively faster than the other main islands in the group: Valatia and Fornudia.

The volcanic origin of this island has led to it being a virtual paradise in places, with much of it covered in thick forests, which have risen from rich volcanic soil. Verily the only places on the island that are not covered in ancient deciduous forests are the areas where volcanoes are still active and lowland areas, which are the home to vast green meadows of various grasses and grain. The lowlands make for excellent farming and a large part of is cultivated, producing a wide variety of crops.

HISTORY

Due to its relatively remote situation off the coast of Gaia, favourable currents, warm climate and fertile soil, the people of Illium Cromia have never been lacking for food. Crops which practically raise themselves allow for hands to be employed in other occupations. Time that would otherwise be spent trying to survive from day to day could be spent on other activities, such as art, philosophy, invention and war. As such, Illium Cromia fast became a cradle of civilisation in the northern hemisphere. Over time the various tribes on the mainly human populated island were able to settle their differences.

Chieftains from the most powerful tribes set up a council that met annually to settle disputes. Ianjoora, a small town on the southern coast with no real value, was chosen as a neutral place to meet. As the decades wore on and the island prospered, a growing population demanded more of the council. Tribal leaders were replaced by representatives of burgeoning city states. The city states had their own agendas and were often in competition with each other.

Eventually, in order to preserve peace between the major city states, the council took a decision to disband in favour of establishing a formal government to whom the city states would answer. The government was first known as the Cromian Conference, after the extensive and turbulent talks which were common in its first few years.

Ianjoora had grown over the years and grew further when the Cromian Conference decided to govern from there. The Conference most notable improvement in structure over the old tribal council was to include a mix of representatives from the six provinces – thereby allowing fair representation for all the cities – as well as merchants, priests, guild masters and military within its ranks. Together they took an oath to strive for the betterment of Illium Cromia. Thus was the Cromian Confederation was born.

MILITARY

The Cromian military developed mainly from a need for an engineering corps. As the once barbaric population of the island slowly became civilised, warrior types found work as city guards and such. Each city had its own idea of what was required of its guard, different uniforms, styles of armour, weapons and pay. Local efforts to better city infrastructure were made, including the building of roads and bridges within their sphere of influence. Roads outside cities surrounds were non-existent however, making inter city travel an arduous affair.

One of the last big changes made by the council was to establish a central engineering corps. The Engineers Corps was tasked with formalising road links between the cities. As time passed, the engineering corps gained prestige. They were seen to be doing things, erecting marvelous viaducts and aqueducts to link the major cities together with stone roads.

With the advent of roads came the requirement for policing of the roads from bandits and wild animals. The corpse expanded its activities to include special policing units. Their splendid uniform and superior pay soon had many city guards transferring to them. The police units ranks swelled. The corpse enjoyed a large degree of popularity as a result. Being a member meant prestige, both to the member and his family.

It came to be that during the formative years of the Conference, the city state of Thejora, being by far the most powerful and feeling that the government was not acting in their interests, announced that it was not interested in being part of the Cromian Confederation. Relations between the Confederation and Thejora deteriorated rapidly and war erupted between the powerful city and the Confederation. Cities were hesitant to allocate their forces to the government, fearing that they would be left with no means of defense should the Thejoran army turn their way.

The only alternative was to make use of the engineering corps police. After a few skirmishes, a combined force of engineer corps police and city state guards defeated the Thejoran army at Etra, in the Agripinian province. A settlement was reached between the Confederation and Thejora, resulting in Thejora joining the Confederation.

As a result of the war, military representatives (being city guard captains and the chief of the engineering corps police), insisted on the formation of a standing army. The corps police were reinvented as the First Cromian Legion, taking a crossed pick and spade as their standard, a reminder of their engineering heritage. They also retained their blue uniforms and plate armour as opposed to subsequent legions who were issued scale armour and had green uniforms.

Seven legions were established in all, one garrisoned in each province while the First legion continued its duties of policing the extensive road network which eventually linked all the cities.

CROMIAN EXPANSION

Having mercantile and military representation in government proved to be a big step for the Cromians. Eager to open new trade with neighbouring islands and the Gaian mainland, with whom there had previously been little contact, small vessels made their tentative way to foreign lands. While most trade envoys were warmly received and firm routes established, there were always exceptions. Shipyards came into being (notably along the coast of heavily forested Mungar Province) to meet the demand for bigger, faster and more seaworthy trading vessels started to receive orders from the military.

Illium Cromia used to be a far bigger island. Some five hundred years before, the island extended seventy kilometres further south west. A huge volcano, whose legendary eruptions would send earthquakes through the island and cause tidal waves along the coast of Gaia, marked the furthest extent of the island. Due to the volcanoes temperous nature, the population of that part of the island was minimal. This was fortunate, for one fatal night, Mount Kralium as it was known, bellowed outs its defiance to the world for a last time. Vast clouds of superheated rock and ash were spewed high into the atmosphere, while its slopes came alive with rivers of molten lava. Sometime near dawn Mount Kralium collapsed in on itself cracking the earth as it did so, to allow the oceans water to rush in.

The resulting explosion has become a part of legend, passed down from Cromian father to son. The earth shook with such force that whole buildings fell to the ground, galleys sunk in the harbour and a huge wave swept along the coast, washing away whole villages. Thousands died that night, not all of the Cromian for the resulting tidal waves had ravaged the coasts of all the western isles as well as western Gaia.

Within a day of the disaster, Cromian legions were marching west, while its navy, still reeling from the swath of destruction the wave had cut through its galleys, was working throughout night and day to sail west. What they found when they got there was so horrifying that some witnesses were driven mad. A whole piece of Illium Cromia had disappeared beneath the waves, hundreds of leagues of land had simply vanished overnight. The land that remained, between where Mount Kralium had stood and the Whitestone Hills had been seared clean of any life. Not a blade of grass or a buzzing insect remained.

In the five hundred years that followed, life would slowly return to what became known as the scoured lands. Yet the lands remain windblown, inhospitable and still for the most part, blackened rock with only the occasional clump of grass or low stand of stunted trees. The only sign of civilisation is Fort Kralium, erected in the coast to defend against any landing by Valatian forces.

The death of Mount Kralium has a resounding impact upon Illium Cromia. Until then, the isles navy and legions had held sway over the western isles and much of the Gaian seaboard. With its navy all but destroyed by the tidal waves, the isles remaining galleys were overwhelmed by those of the Valatian navy. The change of power was swift and had far-reaching effects.

Until then Illium Cromia had enjoyed dominance in the area for centuries. Trade and technology exchange with the Gissian Empire had provided them with far superior galleys, tactics and methods of arming their legions. As a result, their navy had never seen defeat against Valatia. As time went by, Cromia’s sons began to colonise Gaia, in what is now knows as Southern Dalatia and Slavinia while Valatia was blockaded, receiving little new technology. Envy grew to enmity which grew to hatred.

Subsequent to the Mount Kralium disaster the whole balance of power in the isles changed. While Forundis remained more or less neutral, the Valatians seized the opportunity handed to them and turned the tables on Cromia. Some disastrous attempts to invade and conquer Cromia followed. Numerous battles followed wherein the Cromian legions prevailed, but at a terrible cost. The loss of life was so great that some cities devastated during the war were abandoned and a whole portion or north eastern Cromia, where many of the battles took place, reverted to the wild as the populace was too diminished to tend the land.

Illium Cromia was first detailed on IX May MMIII

The Shadow Legion

Out of the ashes of Tau, at the dawn of this new age birthed in fire and chaos a warrior arose and brought forth a new era in warfare throughout Gaia.

The annals record Rocheval the Red, once personal friend and confidante to General Tiberius breaking through the chaos siege of Tau with a few dedicated men and seeking aid to bring back a force to attempt to break the siege.
Rocheval did not return. Tau was raised and General Tiberius disappeared without a trace.

The few survivors of Tau tell of the betrayal of Tiberius and Rocheval in their hour of need, but Rocheval did return to the ashes with a handful of good men, all that was left after fighting his way back through the Vale of Osria.

With the great walled city of Tau destroyed the Chaos forces dispersed into the countryside and their tyrant – the bitch queen Tanjha was never seen again. Without leadership the looting chaos hordes ravaging the countryside were easy prey for an organised defence and counter strike which Rocheval immediately recognised and organised. The black and red banner was raised and the sons of men gathered under it. Using unconventional guerrilla tactics, traps and surprises Rocheval led the resistance and systematically eradicated pockets of Chaos spawn. Caught like a headless beast without direction the scourge was wiped from the north.

Once again the banner was raised and the Shadow Legion was born. Many warriors gathered to join the quickly growing (in fame and size) legion, mostly people who had nothing to lose, who had lost families to the war or those who had scores to settle.

With it’s numbers swelled the legion spread forth and grew from strength to strength, becoming the most feared and revered mercenary company on Gaia.

Their fame grew and spread far and wide, as Chaos retreated and man’s greed flourished the legion had many employers and has struck fear into the hearts of many a general and king who have found themselves on the wrong side facing the legion.

The Rievers of the shadows, the Harbringers of doom, the Black death, the legion has had many a name which they have earned over and over. Rigorous training and standards make the legion what it is as well as the unconventional tactics envisioned by Rocheval. Generals have been surprised to find unarmoured charcoal smeared warriors appearing behind their lines; viscous ambushes and traps as well as “dummy” warriors and armies. The legion has always stayed one step ahead and has changed the way Gaian generals see a battlefield and a foe.

Now the legion has upwards of a thousand elite warriors including five hundred heavy cavalry and many skilled archers. Although the legion accepts men and women with no questions asked about history, any prospective legionnaire must prove their skills in rigorous testing and combat trials.

“Strike like a daemon, fade like a shadow” ~ legion motto.

This article was originally published X December MMII

Bridge Trolls

A slightly whimsical look at an alternate type of troll to the standard (cave) trolls found on Gæa.

Trolls on Gæa

The trolls of Gæa are secretive creatures who have a tendency to dwell deep in rocky mountains although on rare occasions, they can be encountered in other terrain. Little is known about their behaviour, mostly due to the fact that anyone attempting to engage in a study on the subject finds themselves eaten in relatively short order. There is only one kind of troll on Gæa, which for game purposes, is the cave troll from the RuneQuest monster book.

Other types of troll such as mistress race, dark, trollkin etc are endemic to Glorantha, which is not Gæa.

THE BRIDGE TROLL PHENOMENON

Too cool not to share. Bridge Troll by Gido @ Deviant Art

No one is aware how the bridge troll phenomenon started. Trolls being dim-witted creatures at best are usually unable to comprehend even the simplest of barter concepts. It would appear that sometime in the distant past a troll settled at the site of a bridge in order to avail itself of the easy pickings to be had in the form of travellers who wished to cross the bridge.

Trolls, being lazy beasts are want to settle near a reliable source of food. What is strange from this case was that somehow, over time, the troll was able to curb its appetite and learn to barter for passage over the bridge. Perhaps it was the innate troll laziness which allows it to identify with the benefits of not having to catch its food. Over time, other trolls of above average intelligence learned of the benefits of being a bridge troll and sought out to take up residence at other bridges.

While the benefits of being a bridge troll are relatively obvious, there are also some drawbacks. At times, prospective bridge trolls have met with untimely death through, inter alia:

Taking up residence on a bridge too close to human or orc territory with the result of the local residents setting about slaying the troll.
Attempting to build their own bridges with disastrous consequences.
Losing their place to a stronger bridge troll.
Starving after taking up residence at a disused backwater bridge. This is either through stubbornness, or just plain stupidity.

Bridge trolls are further noteworthy insofar as some have actually, although very rarely, been able to construct rudimentary yet strong bridges. Of further note is the fact that some have learned to band together for mutual benefit – unheard of for normal trolls and still very rare for bridge trolls. Some bridge trolls have even gone so far as to set up working ferries across broad rivers.

Where one will be likely to encounter a bridge troll

Bridge trolls are unlikely to be encountered within proximity to lands which are more than sparsely inhabited by orcs or humans as the inhabitants of these lands will usually drive them out. Even so, there is a small chance of coming across a troll bridge in such lands in areas or times where there has been little presence of any local warriors.

Troll bridges are more common in the wilds and on backwater roads with little traffic. Areas where there is a above average population of normal trolls usually have an inverse population of bridge trolls. It is assumed from this observation that normal trolls and bridge trolls do not get along well.

What to do when you come across a troll bridge

Most importantly, have something – preferably a decent supply of food – to barter. If one does not have food to barter, remembering of course that food to trolls is basically anything meaty, one may:

Try to barter something else.
Run away.
Try to discuss the matter with the troll in a fast talk kind of way (discouraged).
Try to fight the troll (also discouraged, unless one has brought a reliable number of warrior friends along).
Mosey along and hope to find a crossing elsewhere.

The World

An overview of the world of Gæa.

The world map is bound to change a lot as continent shapes have been drawn from memory and only three continents currently have names.

Gæa circles a yellow sun, slightly larger than the earth’s own sun. In size, Gæa is larger than the earth but temperatures are much the same due to it orbiting a bit further away from the large sun.

Gæa spins on its own axis much like earth, although at a slightly faster rate. The faster rate of spin and larger size combine to allow a day length comparible to those of earth.

As such, a Gæan year is 427 days long and is split into 13 months, most or which have 33 days. The number of days per week differ between cultures.

Due to the length of the year, many cultures have adopted a concept of six seasons, where the Summer and Winter are of such length that they are divided into two sections each, First Summer – from the end of Spring to Mid Summer, Second Summer – from Mid Summer to Autumn. The same would apply to Winter.

Gæa has two moons, a shiny white moon which orbits nearby and affects the tides and seasonal cycles, and a dark moon, which appears as a small surly green globe on the horizon if it is seen at all. Its orbit is further out than the yellow moon and is also elliptical. Thus the green moon is invisible for most of the time. Many believe that its cycle has an affect on the spirit plain and can be used to channel magic.

Life in the Empire

Class structure among the Lizard Men.

Class Structure

The inception of the alliance of primitive gissian tribes, which would eventually knit together to build a vast empire, resulted in certain thought processes becoming engraned into the culture of the lizard men. The very nature of the first alliance resulted in an “us and them” class division. The tribes who joined the alliance began to benefit from the pooling resources and, in time, the giss who had stayed apart realised that the grass was indeed greener on the other side. Initial petitions by Jarak (outsider) tribes to join were granted but, as time went by, the population began to grow too fast. Surplus giss resulted in the first fights over food and other resources since the alliance began.

Jarak tribes were no longer welcomed and over time, the term grew to encompass any non alliance member, giss or otherwise. The giss had begun the climb to civilization. The tribes had become houses, each of whom belonged to the Gissian Federation. Each house supplied young giss to serve in the defense and administration of the federation. As borders expanded, it became apparent that the houses could not supply enough giss to meet the expanded administrative needs of the federation. New laws were passed, allowing for individual Jarak to become citizens of the federation upon application. In order to gain their citizenship, they had to serve a term of duty in the service of the federation. By this time, the giss had been in contact with the humans from the north and a human word was coined for these non-house citizens – the Foederati.

Another concept which the giss inherited from their human neighbors was that of slavery. The giss had long followed a strict, yet simple, code of law. If anyone acted to place themselves outside the law, punishment would be severe and in most cases, deadly. As time progressed, the concepts of lenience and lesser punishment for lesser offences made its way into gissian law. Lesser criminals were given the opportunity to repay society for their offences. Stripped of any rank, they were named as slaves and forced to work for the federation until their debts had been repaid. Later on the concept of selling slaves became more common and a slave industry developed. As the demand for slaves grew, raids into neighboring lands became common. These raids were often followed by wars of retaliation and once again, new legislation was drafted. Only criminals could become slaves. These criminals included prisoners taken from any enemy the federation was at war with. Slaves who had paid off their debts or had been freed via some other mechanism became Jarak. The children of slaves were born as Jarak, to all intents and purposes, free.

Thus a four tier class system became entrenched within the federation and later the empire. On top are the Kaderasti, those born to or who had been accepted into one of the great houses. The emperor, ranking officers, officials and senators are all Kaderasti. Next are the Foederati, citizens who may hold land and who had served the federation and empire, yet had not joined a great house. Although freemen (freegiss), the Jarak are lowly and may not own land. In certain times, they have been hated and persecuted. Last come the slaves. So low that they may not even entertain the idea of joining the Jarak auxiliaries in the legion. Giss despise slaves as the lowest form of life. an old Giss proverb recounts “Better it is to die than a parasite be,” referring to preying on ones own kind like a criminal. Slaves and criminals are equated as one in Gissian culture.

The Great Houses

The great houses are not simply what the tribes became over centuries: Lizard men are ovoviviparous and the females usually give birth to a brood numbering anything from one to nine infants. The female will usually care for its young for a few weeks before they are placed in a nursery with other young, pooling their resources to find food and protect the young from danger. This is still the practice among the primitive Jarak giss who inhabit the jungles and islands off the southern coast of Araktor. Among the civilized giss, these nurseries later became the basis for a clan, where youngsters raised within the nursery usually remained together, until they matured. It became the custom for females who reached maturity to leave their birth clan and seek another clan to join. Young that were born to a clan nursery inherited the maternal clan name, vis-a-vis the name of the clan who had accepted their mother, not that of her birth clan. Thus, even though the father may have belonged to a different can, the young would belong to their mothers clan. Over time, the riverside nursery pool of the clan was replaced by an enclosed nursery house. The word clan fell out of use, as giss would ask each other in which nursery house they were raised, and later on, which house they belonged to. As adults, some male giss change their house allegiances, although most will stay with their birth house. Very rarely will a female remain with her birth house. In the cases where this happens, it is usually because no male child has been born to their mother.

As the empire grew, so too did the wealth and honor of certain houses, so that today there are some extremely powerful and ancient houses. Pride in ones house is the backbone of gissian society, no matter whether born or adopted by ones house. The head giss of the most powerful house is usually the most influential giss in the senate, which in most cases ensures that he or she is emperor or at least that the emperor is of the same house.

Currently house Udrak rules the senate, but the emperor is old and his house is weakening. Before them, house Glanhas was the most powerful house for over two centuries, until Mimbrus I lost the sword of Gorgoth, causing house Glanhas to loose its honor and with it, its influence.

Welcome to Araktor

A geographic introduction to Araktor, the continental home of the Onyx Empire.

Araktor is a large continent which straddles the Gæa’s equator. Situated to the South-East of Gæa (the continent), Araktor’s northern most tip is only a few degrees in latitude south of the Wika-Waka wetlands, Gæa’s southern most point. It is a warm continent covered for the moist part by lush grassland, forest and jungle, bar an arid lowland region which spans much of the north west “horn”.

The equator bisects Araktor a few degrees south of its widest point. As such, much of the area it lies across is highland terrain, including the towering Cimmerii Cloud peaks. As a result, the vegetation is mostly very dense forest with only small tracks of equatorial jungle near the coast. Further south, once the highland plateau drops off, the vegetation rapidly becomes a dense, impenetrable jungle. The land to the north of the equator is separated into two “horns” by the Tranquil Bay, so named for its glassy waters, calm air and lack of storms. The two horns could not be more different. In the east, the dense forests from the equatorial highlands continue, gradually changing from the evergreen hardwoods further south to deciduous hardwoods the further north one travels. The woodlands north of Lake Kyror are all deciduous and are the last place left on Araktor where elves can be found.

The western horn is very different. The highlands north of the Cimmerii Cloud peaks continue for some time before an escarpment is reached. A great rift valley extends from the escarpment to Water Town, in the far north. If the valley were any lower and if the range of hills along the Tranquil Bay were not present, the land would have been sea bottom. The climate of the valley is hot. The hills to the west and highlands to the south and east block all but the most persistent rain clouds from bringing their moisture to the interior. Certain areas still support the fragile grassland that once covered lowlands, but in the most part, it is desert, some natural, other man/giss made.

The warm jungles of the south are the ancestral home of Lizard Men, a race of intelligent bipedal lizards who, over many centuries, have carved a vast empire, spanning the entire continent of Araktor as well as parts of Gæa and Vasniss.

This article was last updated XX August MMII