tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83469979175915587472024-03-13T23:09:53.109+00:00Vaults of NagohChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-4633915582789262742013-03-11T17:57:00.001+00:002013-03-12T04:17:48.608+00:00Lets Read Mythus pt 25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Mythus</i> spell lists: my face when. </div>
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<br />
Last section of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> <strike>spell lists</strike> sample castings, which so far have been boring enough to make a Chaos Sorcerer throw his hands up and rededicate himself to the service of <a href="http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Khorne">the lord of the skull throne</a>. Oh well, time to haul on the waders, broach a bottle of something nice and numbing, and once again enter the perverse world of <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Previously:</b> Apotropaism and Astrology.<br />
<b>Today:</b> Herbalism, Mysticism, the art of the section.<br />
<br />
As before, each grab bag of example castings covers Casting Grades I-V, with 3-5 example castings per level. Casting time is hidden away in the name of the spell, for which see <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lets-read-mythus-pt-23.html">LRM pt 23</a>. Heka costs are as noted in <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lets-read-mythus-pt-22.html">LRM pt 22</a>.<br />
<br />
First up we have <b>Herbalism</b>, which is a little different to what we've experienced so far. Don't get too excited though: different != better. The wrinkle of this clump of spells is that some Herbalism Castings are used to create potions, oils and similar. These Castings include a Materia Cost in their entry, which -- AFAICT -- is the cost per potion created.<br />
<br />
Herbalist infusions are the Twinky of <i>Mythus</i> arcana, in that they last indefinitely until opened and then have only a 1% cumulative chance/day of going off. This might be a nice variation on the old 'potion roulette' game if it wasn't so damn fiddly. I mean, does your idea of high adventure include tracking "date potion was opened"?<br />
<br />
As far as I know <i>Mythus</i> has no potion miscibility rules either. Shame that. It seems that your Heroick Personaeaeae can glug Heka-charged potions down like a dipsomaniac without any of the lolarious side-effects we know and love from the One True DMG. *sadbemusedface*<br />
<br />
<h3>
Herbalism I</h3>
<br />
<i>Auraread Spell</i><br />
Scan one target's aura to get a sense of their innate Heka ('none', 'little', 'lots'), general level of health, and whether their aura is "<i>...beneficial, neutral or baleful</i>".<br />
A general purpose <i>detect magic</i> + <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/status.htm">status</a> + Mythus-ised version of <i>know alignment</i>(?).<br />
<br />
<i>Botanomancy Spell</i><br />
Determine the composition of Mundane or Preturnatural herbal substances. 1 substance may be identified per BT for BT = 1/10th STEEP.<br />
<i>Identify plants</i>, presumably useful in the context of other Herbalism castings.<br />
<br />
<i>Detect Poison Charm</i><br />
Touch ranged, infallibly detects the presence of poison "<i>...or similar toxic substance...</i>" (huh?) in one subject, living or otherwise.<br />
The dull! It burns! In a really tedious way. <br />
<br />
<i>Healing Poultice Spell</i><br />
Magic(k) Elastoplast for your boo-boos.<br />
Enchants a prepared poultice to heal 2d6 Physical damage when applied. Also doubles healing rate for remaining damage. Has no effect on poison or disease. <br />
The first spell with a Materia Cost: 120 BUCs.<br />
Enchant bandage of <i>CWL</i>. Might be handy to put a cost on low-level healing for your old school game. Otherwise dull.<br />
<br />
<i>Love Potion Spell</i><br />
Creates a potion which causes the imbiber to "<i>...become enamoured of, or attached by filial or brotherly love...</i>" to the first living thing they see. Effect is similar to the Magnetism K/S Area and lasts 1 day/STEEP! <br />
Materia Cost: 100 BUCs.<br />
If you said <i>philter of love</i> you're probably not far off. The exploit potential of this for a cunning user is off the charts. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Herbalism II</h3>
<br />
<i>Detect Disease Spell</i><br />
You channel the spirit power of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_%28Blackadder%29">Dr Gregory House</a>, but skip straight to the third (correct) diagnosis.<br />
Caster can identify type, cause, contagiousness and strength of an disease, and whether it was Heka-induced. Casting can also uncover "<i>...disease vectors on non-living sort, so that contagion potential from objects or places can be determined.</i>" <br />
So a combined diagnosis/forensic epidemiology <i>detect cholera-infested pump</i> spell. Very handy for the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/small-but-vicious-dog-steals-hearts.html">grubbier</a>, <a href="http://hereticwerks.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Wermspittle">wermspittled</a> sort of Classic game.<br />
<br />
<i>Identify Disorder Spell</i><br />
Uncovers presence and type of Mundane or Preturnatural mental disease/disorder in one subject. Useless against Supernatural disorders of the mind. I've no idea what the distinction between Preturnatural and Supernatural insanity is and, guess what, no page ref. is offered.<br />
Diagnose madness for those who simply can't be bothered with the patented Mythus <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lets-read-mythus-pt-21.html">madness guessing game</a>. May be useful for your game if you use insanity rules.<br />
<br />
<i>Identify Poison Cantrip</i><br />
As Detect Poison Charm + type and strength of poison, how it was administered, and nature of antidote and treatment. Casting can identify Entital (godly?) poisons, but won't reveal cure.<br />
Another instant diagnosis casting. I do worry that the way these are presented may reduce the herbalist to either "Ok, I follow standard practise" or "We drop everything to get the cure, then treat according to standard practise".<br />
<br />
<i>Sleep Potion Formula</i><br />
Creates an odourless, tasteless 1fl.oz. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flunitrazepam">potion of roofies</a> at a cost of 20BUCs. <br />
Imbiber with Physical TRAIT < herbalist's STEEP gets drowsy for 2d6 CT, then drops into a deep sleep for 1hr/10 STEEP + 1 AT/potion's potency - target's M TRAIT.<br />
Multiple potions may be administered to extend duration of effect.<br />
Quite apart from the obvious date rape/kidnap applications this may have medical utility as a general anaesthetic. I'd still feel a bit dirty introducing this to my own game though.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Herbalism III</h3>
<br />
<i>Adjust Chi Ritual</i><br />
A 15 minute ritual restores 1d3 damage to each TRAIT and "<i>...balancing losses...to a like extent (1d3 from stronger to weaker)</i>". Also lends 3d3 points of the caster's Heka, whatever good that might be. <br />
Duration is 5 minutes/STEEP. Cost is 30 BUCs.<br />
Not sure of the utility of this spell. May be intended to stop people on their last legs from pegging out until more permanent assistance can be rendered. <br />
Would not use as written.<br />
<br />
<i>Herbal Poison Formula</i><br />
30 BUCs of herbs and malicious intent combine to create a colourless, tasteless, odorless poison which can be added to food or drink.<br />
Poison's Str = caster's STEEP. Onset time can be quick (1 AT - CT=caster's STEEP) or slow (up to caster's STEEP in AT), depending on whether or not you want to savour the gagging, choking and throat-clutching fun.<br />
Sly little 'inheritance accelerator' effect, the sort of thing that some consider <a href="http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Races_of_War_%283.5e_Sourcebook%29/War_in_D%26D">beyond the pale in a heroic fantasy setting</a>. Gary, by contrast, seemingly agreed with the Ankh-Morpork Assassin's Guild dictum that when a man is tired of checking his every meal for poison he is tired of life.<br />
Would I use IMG? Oh heck no! The bodies would be hip-deep by tea-time.<br />
<br />
<i>Resist Poison Formula</i><br />
Imbiber gains immunity to the effects to one poison (selected at creation) for 1 AT/STEEP of creator. Poison remains in system and may take effect when this effect ends.<br />
Costs 30 BUCs.<br />
<i>Slow poison</i> as a potion. Handy if you have the slightest inkling what's coming...<br />
<br />
<i>Resist Disease Formula</i><br />
Resists the effect of diseases up to Str 50 + 1/extra Heka expended for 1 hour/STEEP. <br />
Although not directly affected anyone under the effect of this infusion may still be a carrier.<br />
Costs 30 BUCS.<br />
Slow disease. Might be useful if away from meaningful medical care.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Herbalism IV</h3>
<br />
<i>Identify Potion Charm</i><br />
Identify 1 potion with a successful Herbalism check. DR is "Easy" for mundane potions, "Moderate" for Preturnatural, and "Routine" (x1.5) for Supernatural potions. This is an especially Mythus-ey casting description, combining a bad case of Manglish with a fade out at the end.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Clarity, concision, completeness? Sorry mate. We're all out of those.</span></div>
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Dear, oh dear. (*gluk gluk* on many levels)<br />
<br />
<i>Minimize Poison Spell</i><br />
Creates a potion which minimizes damage caused by a single poison when drunk. Toxins still have to be neutralised after the fact.<br />
<ul>
<li>Staged damage poisons do minimum damage each time they take effect.</li>
<li>Fixed Str poisons do 1/10th of their normal damage over a period 10 times as long, but with 10 times as many stages of damage. </li>
</ul>
Do you care much? Nope. Ne meither.<br />
Costs 40 BUCs.<br />
Far too fiddly for my simplistic tastes. Either you're poisoned, or the poison has been delayed and you're a bit woozey, or it's been neutralised. Anything else is just TL;DR. You seriously want us to track "1/10th the damage 1/10th as often for 10 times longer than normal"? FRO! We have adventures to be getting on with.<br />
<br />
<i>Painkiller Formula</i><br />
Imbiber gains 4d3 Physique and feels no pain from Physique Damage, but suffers a 25% penalty to their Mental Reasoning and Mental Mnemonic Categories for 1 hour/10 STEEP.<br />
Formula created is listed as 12 oz. in volume. Is that an American beer measure or sommat? *chuckle*<br />
Cost 40 BUCs to create.<br />
Bah! Would not use. Simpler, superior 'rageahol' rules are available which use proper Imperial measures (pints, ya pansies!), and they didn't waste a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS6-vI70oc0">perfectly good Judas Priest title</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Semi-related:</b> While we're on the subject of energy-restoring, SAN-blasting beverages, do you want to see something even crazier and more perversely masochistic than the geek show that is LRM? <a href="http://afieldguidetodoomsday.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/radioactive-review-brawndo-thirst.html">Here!</a>
Here's a link to a man blogging the experience of drinking an expired can of Brawndo of his
own free will. Why? For (post-apocalyptic) SCIENCE!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Herbalism V</h3>
<br />
<i>Flying Potion Formula</i><br />
Creates a potion that confers flight for 1d10 ATs + 1 AT/10 STEEP. Duration is always variable, so the subject will never be certain how much flying time they have left. <br />
No speed or type of flight (birdlike? perfectly controlled? hovering possible?) listed. Shabby.<br />
Costs 500 BUCs.<br />
Random flight duration? Yeah, enjoy your screaming Icarus impersonations. Pass.<br />
<br />
<i>Healing Infusion Formula</i><br />
Creates a potion which cures 5d6 Physical damage. <br />
Costs 250 BUCs.<br />
Potion of <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/cureSeriousWounds.htm">CSW</a>. Pass on, nothing of interest here.<br />
<br />
<i>Hekaberry Spell</i><br />
Create magic grapes of matjgickqkalness.<br />
Infuses no.# of berries = STEEP with 1 Heka each. Eat them to gain the Heka.<br />
Casting costs nothing and berries are good for 1 day/10 STEEP.<br />
<i>Goodberry</i>, the mana years. Dull.<br />
<br />
So Herbalism Castings -- at least as far as presented here in the DJ:M rulebook -- are pretty much the 'palliative care + potion creation' school: low octane healing with a side order of dull and obvious. I'm not sure if things get more interesting at higher levels, but thus far: no'mpressed.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
Herbalism dispatched we move onto <b>Mysticism</b> Castings. As you may recall from way bck when in our skills K/S Areas overview mysticism in Mythus = Californian mysticism (yoga+crystals). So brace for earnestness, self-satisfaction, and elongated vowels.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Mysticism I</h3>
<br />
<i>Clairaudience Formula</i><br />
Hear what goes on in a 1 rod radius at a range of up to 1 chain/STEEP. Effective range is reduced by wood, brick or metal walls, and completely negated by lead, gold or Heka barriers.<br />
<br />
<i>Clairvoyance Formula</i><br />
The classic remote perving spell.<br />
See what goes on far away. 1 chain radius at a range of 1 furlong/STEEP. Barriers reduce range as Clairaudience.<br />
<br />
<i>Crystalomancy Spell</i><br />
Overclock your mystic hippy crystal. <br />
You can treat it as a crystal of +1 quality (see the Mysticism K/S Area description) for 1 hour + 1 AT/10 STEEP.<br />
Pretty boring buff to your pet rock. Would not steal.<br />
<br />
<i>Faith Healing Ritual</i><br />
Cure 2d10+2 damage to one TRAIT in one target. Amount of healing is limited by the tagret's faith in the mystic, so max healing = their Spiritual Psychic Capacity. Half the damage healed vanishes when the casting duration (1 day/10 STEEP) expires.<br />
Sort of interesting. <i>CLW</i> with a couple of minors twists.<br />
<br />
<i>Fakir Cantrip</i><br />
Confers temporary ability in Endurance or Yoga K/S Areas for 1 AT/10 STEEP. Skill conferred = 1 point/Heka spent, max = caster's Mysticism. Stacks with existing skill.<br />
A fiddly-er version of the <i>control body</i> spell from EPT. Stick with the original.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Mysticism II</h3>
<br />
<i>Discern Presences Spell</i><br />
Grants the ability to *ping* normally invisible incorporeal spirits at up to 1 chain/10 STEEP away. What constitutes an incorporeal spirit?<br />
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Note that spirits sniffed out by this casting are <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ColourCodedForYourConvenience">colour-coded for your convenience</a>.<br />
Might be useful for a game where ethereal creepers and ghosts are a big thing.<br />
<br />
<i>Hemisphere of Yang Cantrip</i><br />
Caster radiates pure masculinity and UV in a 1 rod radius/10 STEEP. I am not making this up:<br />
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The caster is so yangtastic his mere presence causes 2d3 Physical damage to light-sensitive creatures. He also casts at 90% of normal Heka cost, with any ranges measured from the edge of his aura of manliness. This zone of bulging vascularity lasts 1 AT/10 STEEP.<br />
Muscle Wizard approves.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> A mystic goes about his business, yesterday.</span></div>
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<i>Penetrate Disguise Formula</i><br />
"That's not a real nose. Look, it comes right off!"<br />
Negates mundane disguises automagically and can penetrate magickal ones with a DR "Hard" roll vs. Spiritual TRAIT. Able to detect were-creatures (given as "Therianthropes" in the text *gluk gluk*)<br />
Negates the utility of a couple of K/S Areas, because muggles can suck it. Do not want.<br />
<br />
<i>Sending Ritual</i><br />
Sends a mental message up to 1 mile/STEEP + 1 mile/Heka spent.<br />
Must be in a language the recipient understands.<br />
Similar to the <i>Influence of Gemini</i> Astrology casting, but half the price. Mystics probably run the Aerth Telegraph Service.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Mysticism III</h3>
<br />
<i>Mystic Skill Bonus Formula</i><br />
Grants +1 point/10 STEEP in any K/S Area. This lasts for an hour/10 STEEP. Caster cannot use on himself. Multiple castings do not stack.<br />
Big whoop. +bullshit bonus in a (wonky variation on a-) percentile based system. Pass.<br />
<br />
<i>Mystic Visions Spell</i><br />
Another "clue me" spell. 5 minutes going "Ooooom. Ooooom." grants a vision of some event "<i>...that is destined to occur.</i>" A Special Success on the casting roll grants the effect of a Divination Casting called Prevision, a casting which isn't even in this book! *gluk*<br />
Bonus effect: restores 1d3 to each TRAIT. Because meditation.<br />
Care much? Nope. <br />
<br />
<i>Power of Wood Charm</i><br />
An odd little casting which grants a smattering of wood-themed benefits for 5 minutes/STEEP.<br />
<ul>
<li>grants +1 bonus/10 STEEP of caster when using a wooden tool or instrument.</li>
<li>gain "renewing Heka armour" (<span class="st">¿</span>Que?) = 1/10th STEEP against attacks with wooden weapons.</li>
<li>target rendered immune to attack vegetable spells for the duration.</li>
</ul>
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*sigh* Shall we just take as read the extended rant about whether adding more petty situational bonuses to something useless makes it worthwhile, or if doing so just complicates things pointlessly?<br />
<br />
<i>True Sight</i><br />
Allows the caster to penetrate Preturnatural disguises, illusions and shadows, as well as detecting the alteration of "<i>...material, object, creature, being, or aura...</i>". Does not render the invisible or hidden visible.<br />
What the balls? This casting description just raises more questions than it answers: <br />
<ol>
<li>Why bother when you already have Penetrate Disguise for less Heka? </li>
<li>What's all that tosh about "<i>...maskings...affected by illusions or shadows...</i>" vs. plain old hiding?</li>
<li>How does this casting interact with the existing (if demented) Perception rules. </li>
<li>Gary: Y U hate non-caster characters?</li>
</ol>
Another exemplary "How Not To...", courtesy of <i>Batdance Sniffus</i>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Mysticism IV</h3>
<br />
<i>Heka Sight Spell</i><br />
Caster can see Heka flow in a 1 rod/10 STEEP radius. Useful for typing Heka (Pretur-, Super-, Pos, Neg, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark">charm, strange</a>, etc); detecting magickal items; uncovering concealed Heka landmines. Allows a rough numerical estimate of the Heka in the area.<br />
Another bleedin' <i>detect magic</i>? Pass.<br />
<br />
<i>Mass Hypnosis Spell</i><br />
Radiate Jobsian reality alteration field.<br />
Causes 1 target/point in caster's SP Category in a radius of 1 foot/STEEP to stand and gawp at the caster if they fail a DR "Extreme" (x0.1) Spiritual Psychic Category test. This lasts for as many Battle Turns (30 second intervals) as the amount by which the targets failed their test. So all you have to do is keep track of how long anything up to 20 creatures are affected. <br />
Got that? Good.<br />
And here, in a nutshell, is why <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is not good, and why those responsible should be ashamed of themselves. No one looked at this and bothered to ask "Are you serious Gary?" <br />
<br />
<i>Mystic Bullets Charm</i><br />
You can blast out <span style="color: red;"><b>MIND BULLETS!!!</b></span> which cause 4d3 Spirit damage to [Team Evil]. Hit unerringly out to 1 yard/10 STEEP. You get 1 missile and can expend Heka for extras (up to +1 per 20 STEEP). <br />
Seventy-five Heka for an average of 8 Spirit Damage. Seems legit, and not at all a waste of words.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Mysticism V</h3>
<br />
<i>Baraka Ritual</i><br />
Create secret Heka well of secrecy. <br />
Caster has to find a remarkable natural feature, then cast this rite once a week for five weeks in succession. This creates a reservoir with starting Heka = 1/10th caster's Mysticism STEEP and a max = Mysticism STEEP. This well generates 1 Heka/day and increases its capacity 1/month, up to a maximum for its type:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Draining a Heka reservoir completely destroys it.<br />
You can have 1 Heka well/10 STEEP and they are rated "remarkably uninteresting, probably background noise" by most Heka-detection castings. <br />
Very gygaxian naturalistic, a nice change from some of the contextless WTF-ery in this section. This might actually be a useful steal for <i>Birthright</i> or <i>Dark Sun</i> influenced games. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
<i>Mystic Missile Charm</i><br />
Another magical projectile spell. Does 5d6+5 damage to 1 member of [Team Evil] up to 1 chain/10 STEEP away. If you said that this hits unerringly and ignores Physical armour you'd be right.<br />
Another "pew pew" spell? Really? Say it with me Gary: "scaling by level".<br />
<br />
<i>Power of Aerth Charm</i><br />
Another multiple minor enhancements casting, like Power of Wood above. Dirt, clay, sand and all things formed from them ("<i>...brick, ceramic, glass, pottery, porcelain, etc...</i>") count as earth for the purposes of this casting, no mention of stone though. Target is able to:<br />
<ul>
<li>Move overland at 2x normal movement speed</li>
<li>Walk through earth at normal movement speed.</li>
<li>Breathe while immured in dirt.</li>
<li>Immunity to earth-based effects from castings (damage, restriction of movement, etc).</li>
<li>Identify the general nature of anything stored in an earth-derived container.</li>
</ul>
These effects lasts 5 minutes/STEEP, which means at least 4 hours at Casting Grade V.<br />
Irritatingly the spelling "Aerth", rather than the plain English word 'earth', is used throughout the casting description.<br />
Less futile than <i>Power of Wood</i>. Would steal.<br />
<br />
So Mysticism. I'd sum it up as "all over the shop like a pissed-up unicyclist". A couple of stealables vastly outnumbered by the tosh.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Art of the Section</h3>
<br />
There are only a couple of b+w flavour pieces in this chapter, both by Daniel Gelon.<br />
<br />
P287 - Creepy merchant - Gelon<br />
Seemingly posed for a portrait before his cupboard of arcane paraphenalia. Visually interesting, excellent use of hatching and shading, if subject matter is taken as wizard rather than merchant it even makes sense in context with the text. I really like this piece; it has a really characterful 'Jimmy Saville as skeevy Renaissance gentleman' vibe.<br />
<br />
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I see that and think <i>WFRP </i>or maybe <a href="http://russnicholson.blogspot.co.uk/">Russ-illustrated</a> <i>Fighting Fantasy</i>. Believe me, that is high praise.<br />
<br />
P291 - I dunno monolith - Gelon<br />
Robed wizard/druid type activating a mystic triathlon. Presumably a rendition of the <i>Baraka Ritual</i>.<br />
Specimen sample of good use of hatching and shading.<br />
<br />
This chapter has been kind of a disappointment really. Given the word count expended on Heka-capable K/S Areas -- and the implied *Unf! Unf! Unf!* Phuq da muggles! Casters are lord! that went with that -- I was expecting the sample Advanced Mythus castings to be more impressive than they are. This was the designers' chance to showcase their originality and give me reasons why "I must have this other book!" was the appropriate response to <i>Mythus Magick</i> (sold separately). What do we get instead? A bunch of 'seen if before', a bucket of boring, and a couple of semi-good ideas. Very disappointing.<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> We examine the deep arcana of <b>Chapter 14: The Campaign and Gamemastering</b>. Expect the gygaxisms to be strong with this one. <br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> the <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, Russ f-ing Nicholson, teh intawubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-68721478254511261992013-03-04T17:00:00.000+00:002013-03-04T17:07:51.958+00:00Lets Read Mythus pt 24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"On a lonely planet spinning its way to damnation amid the fear and
despair of a lonely human race, who is left to fight for all that is
good, pure and gets you smashed for under a fiver?" </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A scholar of Mythus exegesis displaying best practise, yesterday</span></div>
<br />
Such an introduction can only mean one thing: its time to continue the thankless self-inflicted swedge through the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> spell descriptions. Y U do this? In search of stuff that might be useful in games people actually play.<br />
<br />
Today's main event is The Gygax Forgotten Classic, a flat race over pages 284-294 of the <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> course. <br />
Going: dull to middling. <br />
Weather: overcast, dry.<br />
Anticipated obstacles: opaque language, repetitive format, unintuitive mechanics, massive drinking. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lets-read-mythus-pt-23.html">Previously</a>: Dweomercraeft (wizardin') and Priestcraeft (godbotherin').<br />
Today: the filthy specialist matjickqkcks of Apotropaism, Astrology, etc. <br />
<br />
As before, each grab bag of example castings covers Casting Grades I-V, with 3-5 example castings per level. Casting time is hidden away in the name of the spell, for which see <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lets-read-mythus-pt-23.html">LRM pt 23</a>. Heka costs are as noted in <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lets-read-mythus-pt-22.html">LRM pt 22</a>.<br />
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<br />
And with that: "Bog snorkels on gentlemen."<br />
<br />
<h3>
Apotropaism I</h3>
<br />
<b>Abram's Safekeep Formula</b><br />
Protects 1 small object from mundane damage (small fires, rot, being eaten by pests, etc.). Also makes it remarkably uninteresting to thieves or vandals, who have to make a DR "Hard" test vs. their Spiritual Metaphysical CATEGORY to notice it. Duration is 1 week/10 STEEP.<br />
Semi-useful. Might steal. *gluk*<br />
<br />
<b>Iron Nails Charm</b><br />
Enchants normal nails with warding aura.<br />
Two crossed nails ward area against "<i>...Netherrealm, malign nature and Evil creatures or beings...</i>" (this particular recurring wordy mythus-ism will henceforth be denoted by the shorthand "[Team Evil]"). One nail can hold closed doors, windows and the like. Entering warded area or opening secured item requires DR "Hard" check vs. Mr Evil's Spirit TRAIT and causes 1d6+1 Physical damage.<br />
<i>Protection from evil</i> with nice folkloric mechanic.<br />
<br />
<b>No Surprise Spell</b><br />
Subject gains infallible spider sense to imminent danger for 5 minutes.<br />
I honestly have nothing to say about this spell.<br />
<br />
<b>Protection from Fire Cantrip</b><br />
Magickal smoke alarm, awakens from sleep if needs be. Thankfully only applies to uncontrolled fires. If subject is targeted by fire they gain a one-off +10 Avoidance bonus. Lasts 1 day/10 STEEP.<br />
Semi-cool in a petty magic/cantrip way.<br />
<br />
<b>Safe Passage Ritual</b><br />
Allows caster + 1 mate/10 STEEP to amble past natural hazards with ease (precarious pathways and aggressive animals are the cited examples). <br />
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Useful, if a bit "Screw your skills, I have Heka!" for my taste.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Apotropaism II</h3>
<br />
<b>Harn's Hidden Passage Spell</b><br />
Anyone within a 1-rod area centred on the caster vanishes from normal vision so long as they don't talk or do anything wildly conspicuous. True Sight casting and/or guard dogs negate. [Team Evil] have 1 DR penalty when attempting to target apotropaist using this casting, even if they spot him.<br />
Quite cool. Not so much classic <i>invisibility</i> as a mobile "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMNJuSl91qY">IGNORE ME!</a>" field.<br />
<br />
<b>Protection from Deception Cantrip</b><br />
Causes lies to sound grating to the ear. Criminal Activities, Mental and/or Deception are useless against this Casting, because phuq muggle skills. Visual deception like Sleight of Hand is not negated.<br />
<i>Detect Lie</i>. Nothing more need be said.<br />
<br />
<b>Protection from Paralysis Charm</b><br />
Grants Paralysis Resistance at 20% + 1/10th caster's STEEP + 1% per Heka spent. Test against DR "Moderate"(x2) in most cases. So, if you boost Resistance to even 50% only an Autofail on your roll = "Gak! I cannot move!" And this is another reason I hate Mythus' screwy take on d% mechanics.<br />
<br />
<b>Warning Alert Formula</b><br />
Causes tinkling sound and silver glow to limn any [Team Evil] or hostiles who enter a 1-rod radius/10 STEEP centred on the caster or any point he designates.<br />
<i>Detect evil</i> with a side order of <i>detect hostility</i>. S'ok I suppose.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Apotropaism III</h3>
<br />
<b>Alchindus Sigil Formula</b><br />
One shot anti-evil claymore. Causes 2d6+2 Spirit damage to the first [Team Evil], thief or desecrator to come within 1 ft/10 STEEP of the sigil.<br />
No ruling on whether the sigil has to be in plain sight, whether it can be hidden away, or what.<br />
Another <i>guards and wards</i> effect, though Unearthed Arcana's <i>sepia snake sigil</i> was cooler.<br />
<br />
<b>Eviltracks Agony Charm</b><br />
Hammer nails into a hand-/footprint left by a [Team Evil] member to cause them 2d6+2 Physical damage (ignores armour). One nail per print. Other castings can enhance the damage inflicted or pin the bad guy in place.<br />
Tin-eared name aside this spell is semi-cool. I remember a cheesy horror film (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkRnDB6u5Tg">Warlock</a>?) that used this gimmick to good effect. So bonus points for folkloric precedent.<br />
<br />
<b>Full Consecration Ritual</b><br />
Wards a 1-rod radius against [Team Evil] for 5 minutes/STEEP. Malign gribbler with a Spirit TRAIT < the caster's STEEP shun the area. More powerful creatures can enter warded area, but take 2d6+2 Spirit damage.<br />
Another variation of the <i>protection from evil</i> spell, as previously mythusized by Priestcraeft castings. Nowt to write home about in a game where Spirit = 6x(3d6) or so.<br />
<br />
<b>Unseen Sentinel</b><br />
Forces a minor spirit to guard a 1 chain diameter area for 5 mins/STEEP. Spirit can only warn those who enter the area, and alert caster of intrusions.<br />
So, an alarm system. *meh* We have these things called dogs...<br />
<br />
<h3>
Apotropaism IV</h3>
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<br />
<b>Invisibility to Undead</b><br />
Does exactly what it says on the tin: da undead no can see you.<br />
Unliving creatures (WT-? *gluk gluk*) are less affected. They can spot you and your delicious brainmeat/blood/lifeforce with 100% - apotropaist's STEEP vs DR "Hard".<br />
Again with the non-intuitive probabilities Mythus? Seriously, FRO!<br />
<br />
<b>Protection from Drowning Cantrip</b><br />
Magic life vest lasting 1 day/10 STEEP. Causes you to bob about in water, mud, quicksand, etc. If held under you do into suspended animation until a breath can be drawn.<br />
S'alright. Might be worth a level 1 spell slot in a Classic game. <br />
Usable content? Consume! *gluk gluk*<br />
<br />
<b>Protection from Fear Spell</b><br />
Negates fear from any source. ANY source. The description is very specific about this:<br />
<br />
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Synonym abuse? Oh my yes. *gluk gluk*</div>
<br />
Don't see what's inherently magical about negating fear, trepidation and apprehension; where I come from we have a wonder substance called 'alkyhol' with similar effects.<br />
Reason <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Sucks #1,593: the game lacks any dutch courage and/or medicinal booze healing rules. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Apotropaism V</h3>
<br />
<b>Abjure Spell</b><br />
No, doesn't allow you to become an oathbreaker with impunity. Actually causes 5d3 each of P, M and S damage unless to anyone in the 1 foot diam./STEEP area of effect who doesn't truthfully announce their membership in [Team Evil].<br />
No idea what's going on here. Some sort of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVznw-KtQx0">confess your crimes!</a>" *slap, slap* thing going on?<br />
<br />
<b>Chant of Guarding Cantrip</b><br />
Negates Heka-powered compulsion (<a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt17.html">Attacks to Control, -to Influence, etc</a>) around the caster for 5 mins per 10 STEEP. Mundane forms of persuasion still work.<br />
Alright counterspell to all the 'boogly-boogly, you must obey me' mechanics scattered hither and yon in <i>Gradgrind's Piffledross</i>. Dunno if I'd use it in a Classic game though.<br />
<br />
<b>Protection from Curses Spell</b><br />
Negates the first Curse inflicted by [Team Evil] on subject. Max Casting Grade negated = caster's grade in Apotropaism.<br />
Kinda handy. Might be adaptable to a Classic D&D game if your evil types use a lot of curses. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Astrology I</h3>
<br />
<b>Astromancy Spell</b><br />
Three paragraphs of 'goes nowhere fast' waffle wrapped around another uninspired 'clue me' spell. The caster has to reveal their plan to the GM, who determines likelihood of success based on a bunch of ass-pulled criteria and DRs.<br />
Screw that! Dice for it.<br />
This spell is bad, and those involved should feel bad. It is classic "How not to..." material.<br />
<br />
<b>Influence of Scorpio Spell</b><br />
Detect precious metals in 1 rod/10 STEEP diam. General direction only, no clue as to relative values of detected loot.<br />
Stealable. *gluk gluk*<br />
<br />
<b>Know Disposition Cantrip</b><br />
<i>Know alignment</i> + <i>detect reaction</i>. Can be blocked by Castings or - probably - <a href="http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0202.html">sheet lead</a>.<br />
Dull, and no mention of whether it is socially acceptable to *ping* people with such an intrusive spell.<br />
<br />
<b>Minor Horoscope Formula</b><br />
Another vague-to-uselessness 'clue me' spell. Allows the GM to foreshadow coming events within a 1 week horizon. He can do this anyway, coz he's the GM!<br />
<br />
<b>Star Chart Place Formula</b><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychometry_%28paranormal%29">Psychometry</a> on a place.<br />
Affects 1 chain dia./10 STEEP. Caster picks up general impressions about things that happened in the location. Can be performed remotely at unspecified DR penalties.<br />
Similar to the old AD&D psionic ability. May be of interest to others.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Astrology II</h3>
<br />
<b>Best Time Formula</b><br />
Cast the auspices for the most opportune time to do a thing. Can result in DR modification in your favour. So, time-constrained free <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt7.html">Joss</a> (Mythus probability-shifting Fate Points).<br />
Thematically appropriate, but a bit bland as written.<br />
<br />
<b>Influence of Venus Cantrip</b><br />
Short duration charm person effect which causes the target to become "<i>...temporarily enamoured of the astrologer or another of the opposite sex...</i>" Allows caster to manipulate target per the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/lets-read-mythus-pt14.html">Magnetism K/S Area</a>. Bit creepy in the date-rapey implication that "<i>...the target will only vaguely recall the Influence of Venus Effect, and what transpired when it was active.</i>"<br />
Erm, no. <br />
<br />
<b>Influence of Virgo Ritual</b><br />
Grants a 20 point STEEP boost to a not-Astrology K/S area for 2 hours + 1hr/10 STEEP. Requires the subject to be within spitting distance of scholarly books or a living expert in the subject. On a Special Success 1d3 STEEP are retained permanently.<br />
Free skill points. Why would you not cast this exploit as often as possible?<br />
<br />
<b>Star Chart Item Spell</b><br />
Psychometry on an object. Success as DR "Moderate" Astrology checks grants impressions about the creator, how the object has been used, etc. Max checks: 1/10 STEEP. Failure = no meaningful impressions. Fumble = no impressions from this item ever.<br />
More specific than the area psychometry casting above. May be semi-useful if you like that sort of thing.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Astrology III</h3>
<br />
<b>Ascendant Cantrip</b><br />
Allows the caster to have two Influence of castings active at once, rather than the normal restriction of one at a time only. Both expire when the shortest duration is up.<br />
Meta-magic effect. Utility outside <i>Mythus</i> - limited.<br />
<br />
<b>Influence of Cancer Formula</b><br />
Doubles healing rates for 1 day/10 STEEP. Negates Shock, soothes fear, and suppresses the desire to self-harm.<br />
Handy long-term 'peaceful healing' effect. Might be useful for NPC hospitallers and general down-time healing in your game. *gluk*<br />
<br />
<b>Influence of Mars Spell</b><br />
Grants 10 Physical Attribute points and +10 STEEP to one Combat K/S Area for 5 mins/10 STEEP. Special Success = 20% chance permanent +1 to a Physical Attribute, 80% chance +1 to Combat K/S Area.<br />
Another 'spam this daily for great justice!' casting. Why spend hard-earned Accomplishment Points (Mythus XP) when you can just set easy-to-renew Heka on fire?<br />
<br />
<b>Know Truth Charm</b><br />
Causes people to <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zork_Grand_Inquisitor">blow glue, sorry, glow blue</a> in a 1 rod/10 STEEP diameter. A person's glow will turn black if they lie.<br />
Area effect <i>detect lie</i> with nice FX. B+, would use. *gluk*<br />
<br />
<h3>
Astrology IV</h3>
<br />
<b>Influence of Mercury Spell</b><br />
Doesn't cause Mad Hatter-ish behaviour. Instead amps Mental Mnemonic Power (Int.) by +10 to a maximum of 40 for 5 mins/10 STEEP. No chance of permanent increase.<br />
I'm not sure how/if modifying one's stats in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> modifies K/S Areas. I'll leave the full implication of such a cascading nightmare of char sheet adjustment to the reader... *shudder*<br />
<br />
<b>Influence of the Moon Cantrip</b><br />
Creates a 1 rod radius/10 STEEP cloud of sleep mist. Eveyone in the area has to make a DR "Easy" test vs. Spiritual Psychic Capacity or spark out for 1AT/10 STEEP of the caster.<br />
A non-HD-capped, area effect version of the classic D&D "You Win" button. <br />
<br />
<b>Kayyam's Wisdom Ritual</b><br />
Has up to 4 effects, each of which takes 5 minutes to invoke.<br />
<ol>
<li>caster renders himself immune to drugs which would impair Phys, Mental or Spirit.</li>
<li>caster can detect lies flawlessly.</li>
<li>caster can take ectoplasmic form.</li>
<li>caster can grant a Spirit bonus to 1 person/10 STEEP equal to 1/10th the Caster's Astrology which acts as Spirit armour. The caster gains a pool of bonus Heka = twice the Spirit points bestowed.</li>
</ol>
<br />
All this lasts for AT = caster's STEEP.<br />
Medium-term buffing spell with an odd 'spooky spy form' side. No idea how this got past the Interesting Police. Possibly folkloric origin? <br />
<br />
<h3>
Astrology V</h3>
<br />
<b>Aetherscan Cantrip</b><br />
Caster is able to detect Aethereal creatures or Aethereal-influenced Heka for 1 AT/10 STEEP. Theycan also detect illusions as such with a DR "Hard" Astrology check.<br />
Combined <i>detect ethereal+illusions</i>; might have some utility for an old school game.<br />
<br />
<b>Arago's Influence of the Sun Cantrip</b><br />
Caster becomes a solar system. No, really. He radiates bright light in 1 rod diameter/10 STEEP and has small glowing planets orbit him. This bizarre effect causes 5d3 Physical damage per CT to all Undead and light sensitive creatures. Creatures not used to light are dazzled for 1d3+5 rounds after the effect ends.<br />
I kinda like this as a replacement for things like <i>sunray</i> or <i>daylight</i>. The "Yes, in Mythus the universe really does revolve around the caster" factor is beyond parody though. *gluk* for several reasons then.<br />
<br />
<b>Influence of Gemini Spell</b><br />
Magic walkie-talkie. Allows 1-way communication only. Duration: 30 seconds/10 STEEP, range: 1 league/10 STEEP. Can be intercepted by Castings or Telepathy.<br />
Pretty *meh* variation on the various <i>sending</i> and <i>message</i> spells probably already present in your preferred game. Pass.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Mysticism I</h3>
<br />
Enough! I can take no more. Page 289 and the sheer drudgery of this tosh is forcing me to tap out.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Screw you!" said my poor, suffering skullmeats "I didn't sign up for this sort of abuse."</span></div>
<br />
Ye gods, is there <i>anything</i> more tedious to read in an RPG than spell/power descriptions, especially low-level ones? If there is, I can't think of it. Page after page of minor modifiers or petty exceptions to this/that/t'other rule. I know you need rules for spells -- otherwise it all degenerates into some sort of degenerate Forge-inflected <a href="http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=50256">Magic Tea Party</a> (like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everway">Everway</a>), and nobody wants that -- but there's simply no excuse for making the mystery and wonder of magic so. damn. boring.<br />
<br />
Long story short: the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> castings are banal systematisation of the fantastic at its very, very worst. To paraphrase an old saw: "Magic system? There's no magic in it!"<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> It all goes a bit bell-bottomed and patchouli-scented when we finally look at sample Herbalism and Mysticism castings. On the bright side: artwork by Gelon and Mitchell.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, the <a href="http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/waste-and-recycling/news-dirtiestsmelliest-most-thankless-profession-world-sewer-diver">environmental graffiti</a> website, teh intawubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-36168297458854073922013-02-25T20:02:00.002+00:002013-02-26T11:49:57.751+00:00Lets Read Mythus pt 23This week in Let's Read the Garynomicon we'll look at the sample Dweomercraeft (wizardin') and Priestcraeft (godbotherin') Castings on offer to players who foolishly assumed that <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> was a complete game in itself.<br />
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Reading scores of Mythus <strike>spells</strike> castings descriptions: it'll do that to ya.</div>
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<br />
For those <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">playing along</a> at home we're starting on page 278 of the big brown book. Expect the usual acronyms, neologisms, and wordiness, and - for this week only - the introduction of an additional rule: drink once each time you've seen this somewhere before.<br />
<br />
<b><br />Sample Castings</b><br />
Casting Grades (aka Spell Level in D&D-ese) I-V, 3-5 example castings per level.<br />
<br />
Casting time is included in the name of the spell. This wouldn't be so annoying except that the text explaining required casting time isn't even listed in this chapter. The casting times are all the way back in the <i>Mythus Prime</i> section on p22! "Put magickal casting times in the magic chapter? Oh what a card you are my lad..." For the record: <br />
<br />
<b>Mythus Casting Times</b><br />
Eyebite - instantaneous<br />
Charm - 1 CT (3 seconds)<br />
Cantrip - 5 CT<br />
Spell - 1 BT (30 seconds)<br />
Formula - 5 BT<br />
Ritual - 1+ AT (5 minutes)<br />
<br />
Oh, and the E/F/M notation that precedes the descriptive text of each spell. If you check <i>Mythus Magick</i> you discover it means "Effect, Force, Material". So "spell effect" in any game that got edited to make sense to the people of Earth.<br />
<br />
<b>Dweomercraeft I</b><br />
<br />
Armor, Physical Cantrip<br />
Anti-kinetic energy effect. Useless against Mental or Spirit attacks. <br />
Costs the base 20 Heka + 1 per point of protection desired to to a max = Caster's Mental TRAIT. Lasts 50 minutes, or until destroyed. <br />
Basically a fiddly combination of the D&D spells <i>mage armour</i> and <i>stoneskin</i>. Sucks.<br />
<br />
Detect Heka Spell<br />
*ping* presence, type, source and strength of Heka in a 1 Rod radius. <br />
<i>Detect magic</i>, innit.<br />
<br />
Reflections Spell<br />
Basic scrying spell. Requires a reflective surface. <br />
Spy on someone for 5 mins per 10 STEEP. <br />
Difficulty depends on how far away they are and how well you know them. <br />
Lead, stone and various dweomers block your tele-perving.<br />
<br />
Trigger Effect Formula<br />
Creates trigger for other magical effects. Used in conjunction with another casting. Description is gobbledegook.<br />
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"Whaaaa-?"</div>
<br />
Remember the nightmare of nested effects that was 3E <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/contingency.htm">contingency</a>? All that for 20 Heka. *shudder*<br />
<br />
Wickaflame Charm<br />
Spark 1 or more small non-magical flames in existing tinder. Range is 1 Rod per 10 STEEP. <br />
Probably meant to be a "wave hands, lamps light" spell; actually an arsonist's charter.<br />
<br />
<b>Dweomercraeft II</b><br />
<br />
Armor, Mental Cantrip<br />
Anti-brainfondling defence. <br />
35 Heka + 1 per point of Mental defence. Max = Mental TRAIT if caster is Full Practitioner Master Race, MRCap if Partial Practitioner Untermensch.<br />
Otherwise as <i>Armour, Physical Cantrip</i> above.<br />
<br />
Forcedart Charm<br />
Creates a single "dart-sized missile of golden energy".<br />
Dart does 2d6+1 per 10 STEEP Physical Impact damage at a range of up to 1 chain per 10 STEEP.<br />
Hits unerringly, ignores physical armour. Muggles cri moar plz.<br />
A <i>magical missile</i> you say? How unprecedented.<br />
<br />
Heka Trap Spell<br />
Magic landmine on on object that endures until triggered. <br />
Say the wizard's chosen safe word or take damage = 3d6(+caster's MRCap+any extra he buys at 1:1 Heka). Damage is any non-continuing type.<br />
Boring "gotcha!" version of a <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/guardsAndWards.htm">guards and wards</a> effect.<br />
<br />
Ritual of the Heart Ritual <br />
Expend a week, Heka equal to 2xSpirit TRAIT and make a DR "Hard" Dweomercraeft roll to bind a 'mascot' or totem item.<br />
Why would you want to do this? Refer to <i>Mythus Magick</i> for more.<br />
This casting is one you may <i>find familiar</i> (pun intended, for once).<br />
<br />
<b>Dweomercraeft III</b><br />
<br />
Armor, Spiritual Casting <br />
50 Heka +1 per point of Spirit defence.<br />
Doesn't prevent attempts to forge Spiritual Links, just grants ablative soul padding.<br />
Otherwise as <i>Armor, Mental</i> casting.<br />
<br />
Avoid Heka Attack Ritual<br />
Grants an Avoidance roll (aka Saving Throw) against any one Heka-powered effect. <br />
Base chance to avoid is the average of your Physical Speed scores + 10% of you STEEP in the skill used to create the effect. This chanced is then modified by arbitrary GM-fiat difficulty levels.<br />
Don't waste your Heka.<br />
<br />
Heka Darts Charm<br />
Creates multiple darts (1 per 10 STEEP), each doing 1d6+2 Physical Piercing damage at a range of 1 yard/STEEP. Darts Strike unerringly and ignore physical armour.<br />
Several <i>magical missiles</i>, eh? The innovation! It burns!!!<br />
<br />
Implant Spell<br />
Photographic memory of written text for 24 hours. Caster can duplicate anything memorized for the duration of the casting.<br />
Semi-interesting, I might use that in a Classic game. Actual usefulness, is that you? *gluk gluk* <br />
<br />
<b>Dweomercraeft IV</b><br />
<br />
Armor, Heka Cantrip<br />
75 Heka +1 per point of anti-Heka armour.<br />
Otherwise as A<i>rmor, Mental Casting</i>.<br />
<br />
Barrier Formula<br />
Magical electric fence in 1 foot radius/STEEP.<br />
Lasts 5 minutes per STEEP +5 mins per Heka spent.<br />
Barrier causes 1d3+1 damage to any creature touching it. Physical beings take Physical damage, otherworldly beings and ghosts take Mental or Spirit damage. <br />
A creature damaged must <strike>save or</strike>, sorry, wrong game make a DR "Hard" check against its PNPow (or MRPow, or SSPow *gluk gluk*): success = pass through barrier taking an additional 1d6+1 damage, fail = recoil. <br />
Successive tests to push through the barrier are at DR "Moderate" for 2nd attempt, "Easy" for the 3rd.<br />
Non-absolute <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/protectionFromEvil.htm">protection from evil</a> spell. May be of interest for your Classic game if you dislike the existing spell.<br />
<br />
Mask Heka Spell<br />
Renders the Heka aura of an object or area undetectable. <br />
Up to 1 rod diameter per 10 STEEP. Permanent until dispelled.<br />
Masking an area from Supernatural and Entital Heka requires additional castings.<br />
<br />
<b>Dweomercraeft V</b><br />
<br />
Cloud of Magick Spell<br />
Heka smoke bomb.<br />
Lasts 5 minutes per 10 STEEP and makes everything in a 1 foot diameter per STEEP *ping* equally when detected for Heka.<br />
<br />
Heka Bolt Charm<br />
Straight line burst of Heka hitting every target in a line out to 1 furlong.<br />
Does 5d6 Physical Piercing damage +1d6 per 10 Heka to a maximum of 10d6.<br />
Hits unerringly. Ignores physical armour.<br />
Wizard HAET queueing!<br />
<br />
Invisible Alert Formula<br />
Creates an alarm bubble up to STEEP feet in diameter. <br />
Lasts 1 AT per STEEP + 1 AT per Heka spent.<br />
Any physical thing ("...including gaseous liquid...") entering this zone of misanthropy alerts caster to "<i>...direction of passage, point of breach, and who or what passed into or out of the sphere</i>."<br />
Might be useful for paranoid sleeping wizard, except: nocturnal animals exist, that is all. <br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft, General</b><br />
Rites and rituals which affect only those who follow a particular <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/lets-read-mythus-pt15.html">ethos</a> (white hat, black hat, one of <i>Mythus</i>' three shades of ambiguous hat), pantheon or religion.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft General I</b><br />
Rites Ritual<br />
Seven quasi-sacramental rites: <br />
<ul>
<li>Birth</li>
<li>Death</li>
<li>Marriage</li>
<li>Separation/Divorce</li>
<li>Acceptance of Ethos, Pantheon and Deity</li>
<li>Service</li>
<li>Penitence</li>
</ul>
Regular participation in these rites is required to keep in good standing with one's religion.<br />
Basically the clerical <i>ceremony</i> spell from <i>Unearthed Arcana</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft General II</b><br />
Blessing, Minor, Spell<br />
One-off +/-5 bonus to next die roll. <br />
May only be cast on person who follows the same pantheon.<br />
Yeah, the <i>bless</i> spell for a percentile system. It's even reversible.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft General III</b><br />
Consecration Formula<br />
Hallows a sacramental object or area so that any sacrilegious action or profane touch causes 1d3 Spirit damage to anyone not of the ethos. Damage from multiple acts of desecration stack.<br />
A direct damage equivalent to the d20 SRD <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/hallow.htm">hallow</a> spell?<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft General IV</b><br />
Blessing, Major Ritual<br />
Negates opposing curses resulting from Grade I or II Castings, or grants +/-10 bonus to one die roll. Can also be used for non-mechanical social effect (blessing crops, animals, ships, etc.) if you want to burn Heka for the sake of seeing the peasants smile.<br />
Additional subjects can be blessed in the face for 5 Heka each.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft General V</b><br />
Guidance Spell<br />
Allows the caster to bother Upstairs for advice, or to give good counsel to others in accordance with the tenets of their ethos, pantheon and religion. Anyone following the advice enjoys the benefit of the Blessing, Minor Casting.<br />
A classic 'clue me' spell, with a minor mechanical benefit. Is a clue worth +65 Heka to you?<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraft, Basic</b><br />
Common spells. Less 'pastoral care' than General Castings.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft Basic I</b><br />
<br />
Lightsee Charm<br />
Causes 1 object per 10 STEEP to glow like a candle for 5 minutes per STEEP. <br />
Renders books readable, dark passages navigable, etc.<br />
Light is visible from 100 yards in darkness.<br />
A less torch-negating <i>light</i> spell.<br />
<br />
Prayer Cantrip<br />
Increases the STEEP of one of the caster's K/S Areas by 10 for about 2 minutes. <br />
Can be used to enhance caster's own Priestcraeft K/S for cheesy synergy shenanigans. <br />
Half the Casting description is spent advising the GM to punish uses of this spell which are contrary to the ethos of the caster.<br />
Interesting meta-magic effect, not sure if it would be back compatible to Classic games.<br />
<br />
Produce Meal Ritual<br />
Produces one typical priest's meal (as appropriate for the religion) per 10 STEEP. <br />
So: 20 Heka/day, no expenditure on rations. <br />
<br />
Pronouncement Spell<br />
Caster spends 1 Battle Turn (30 seconds) pulling rank and proclaiming [preferred flavour of god] is on our side. The player is required to state exactly how 'we're right, they're wrong' today.<br />
All within 1 chain radius enjoy/suffer a half-strength version of the DR modification granted by Joss in their support/opposition to the stated fact.<br />
An actual worked example would have been helpful here.<br />
Pronouncement can also compel agreement and obedience from any co-religionist with a lower STEEP than the caster. This lasts 1 AT per STEEP.<br />
A supercharged version of <i>command</i> affecting a 40yd diameter? Not bad for 20 Heka.<br />
<br />
Smokecloud Formula<br />
Generates stable, non-moving incense smoke (complete with caster-selected scent) in 1 foot radius per STEEP. <br />
The smoke lasts 1 AT per 10 STEEP and reduces visibility to 6 feet.<br />
<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fogCloud.htm">Fog cloud</a>, sponsored by AirWick? <br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft Basic II</b><br />
<br />
Healing, Minor Formula<br />
Restores Physical damage: 2d3 damage per 10 STEEP of the caster.<br />
Touch range, instantaneous effect.<br />
<a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/cureLightWounds.htm">CLW</a>. That is all.<br />
<br />
Heal Mental Damage Ritual<br />
Restores Mental damage to someone other than the caster: 1d6 damage per 10 STEEP of the caster.<br />
Touch range, instantaneous effect.<br />
<br />
Meditate Spell<br />
Allows meditating casters in a 1 square rod/10 STEEP area to gain the benefits of an hour of meditation in 5 minutes. <br />
D&D4E style short rests: done first by EGG.<br />
<br />
Rightcourse Cantrip<br />
Divinatory casting which indicates whether a given course of action will result in transgressions against the ethos of the caster. <br />
No idea why this has an area of effect, duration and range.<br />
Spend 35 Heka to play "Mother may I" as an in-game effect? Not to all tastes. Pass.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft Basic III</b><br />
<br />
Bounds of Action Charm<br />
Restricts a physical target to a 1 rod radius area centred on their current location for 1AT per 10 STEEP.<br />
There's a paragraph of rules about breaking free of this effect, but its limited to characters with a PMPow (aka Str) of 30+.<br />
This is an interesting, pulpy variation on the old standby of <i>hold person</i>.<br />
<br />
Enhance Spiritual Power Formula<br />
Boosts the caster's Spiritual Mental Power and Spiritual Psychic Power to the maximum Capacity possible for each Attribute for a duration of 1AT/10 STEEP.<br />
If no increase is possible then both Attributes are enhanced by +1 each instead.<br />
Resembles nothing so much as the <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/owlsWisdom.htm">stat enhancing spells</a> of the SRD.<br />
<br />
Enlightenment Ritual<br />
The player gets to ask the GM one "Yes/No" question about past events or contemplated activites, which must be answered truthfully.<br />
Another "clue me" spell, one with echoes of the <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/contactOtherPlane.htm">contact other plane</a> Classic D&D spell.<br />
<br />
Heka Defences Cantrip<br />
Grants the target 1d6(+caster's SMCap if a Full Practitioner, SMPow only is Partial Practitioner) protection which wards against all damage types.<br />
Otherwise similar to the Physical, Mental or Spirit Armor cantrips.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft Basic IV</b><br />
<br />
Protection from Lightnings Spell<br />
Generates a magical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage">Faraday cage</a> of 1 yard diameter/10 STEEP centred on the caster.<br />
The spell dissipates _dice_ of electrical damage equal to the caster's STEEP (1/2 STEEP if a Partial Practitioner).<br />
A nice counter-balance to the hair-raising (no pun intended) <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lets-read-mythus-pt-21.html">power of electricity</a> in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. <br />
<br />
Sanctification Ritual<br />
Can either double the damage inflicted by the Consecration Formula (above), or can be used to enhance a single consecrated object (for example, the priest's holy symbol). For each 100 Heka expended the sanctified object will cause 1d3 Mental and Spiritual damage on sight, 2d3 Physical damage upon touch, to any being of an opposed ethos within a 1 rod radius.<br />
An interesting variation on clerical turning. Probably a bit number-crunchy for players of Classic games though.<br />
<br />
Wound, Spiritual Charm<br />
Causes Spirit damage of 1d6(+1d6 per 10 extra Heka, max added dice = 1/10th caster's STEEP) to one target within yards = STEEP.<br />
<br />
<b>Priestcraeft Basic V</b><br />
<br />
Heal the Soul Spell<br />
Heals Spirit damage: 1d6 per 10 STEEP (1d3 per 10 STEEP if Partial Practitioner).<br />
The target must be of the same ethos as the caster.<br />
<br />
Thunderbolt Cantrip<br />
Calls a lightning bolt from the blue within 1 yard/STEEP.<br />
This causes 5d3(x1d6 Exposure roll) Electrical Physical damage to the primary target and 3d3(x1d3) to all subjects within a 1 rod radius. <br />
The accompanying thunder <i>startles</i> all creatures with a Mental Reasoning Power (aka Intelligence) of 10 or less; startled creatures run in panic for 1d3 Critical Turns (or stampede if animals).<br />
A numerically fiddly version of D&D's <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/callLightning.htm">call lightning</a> spell with a nice panic!!! fillip.<br />
<br />
Word of Command Charm<br />
Causes 1 subject(+1/10 STEEP) within earshot to obey a single word command for the next CT.<br />
This is the Classic D&D <i>command</i> spell, right down to the proviso that "Die!" results in auditors only appearing dead for one <strike>round</strike> CT.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
If you're at all familiar with any of the spell lists from Classic D&D your <i>deja vu </i>will be going nuts by now (feel free to drink until it abates). The Castings on offer indicate a typically Gygaxian folkloric implied setting; one where wizards lurk over scrying pools, sling various sizes and shades of burning arcane arrow, and leave cursed objects lying around, while priests alternately bless their flock and call high-amperage arcs from the sky onto the heads of the unbelievers, etc.<br />
<br />
Some of the spell variations from the more familiar D&D norms are interesting (and the similarities are certainly not worth a lawsuit); it's just a shame the spell names are so, soooooooooooo tin-eared. Seriously, "Ritual of the Heart Ritual" is only the stand out offender in a full and busy field: "Summon Familiar" is quicker to say, conveys more information, and doesn't repeat itself in an awkward <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment">Dept of Redundancy Dept </a>way. Once again <i>Advanced Mythus</i> reminds us that <b>editing is not optional</b>.<br />
<br />
In the Small Mercies column of the ledger: at least the bad joke that was <a href="http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Dungeonomicon_%283.5e_Sourcebook%29/Maginomicon#Material_Components:_A_Joke_Gone_Way_Out_of_Hand">material components</a> didn't make it into <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. <br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> Apotropaism, Astrology, Herbalism and Mysticism Castings. <br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> teh intawubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-26704626330889625242013-02-18T07:00:00.000+00:002013-02-18T07:07:33.494+00:00Lets Read Mythus pt22Today's subject for dissection in the ongoing <i>Let's Read Mythus</i> debacle is <b>Chapter 13: Heka and Magick</b>. Please be warned that this post may contain higher than recommended levels of gibberish and is likely to induce second-hand outbreaks of:<br />
<br />
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<br />
The <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">customary rules</a> apply, with an additional fillip that one should also drink every time the reader is prompted to "buy our other book for full details of this". Because nothing builds bonhomie like a naked cash-grab.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Heka and Magick</b> is a self-confessed crippleware chapter comprising pp276-294 of the <i>Dangly Jibblets: Minkdust</i> rulebook. The introductory paragraph admits that the Castings which follow are no more than "<i>...a sample listing of basic Castings, sufficient to get your campaign off the ground.</i>" Where can you get the full skinny on casting in <i>Mythus</i>? Well, if you said in the <i>Mythus Magick</i> book (sold separately), then reward yourself with a drink.<br />
<br />
So what do we actually get for our money? Two pages of poorly cross-referenced rules/notes text and a bunch of what anyone not being trollsued out of the industry by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Williams#In_control_of_TSR">Lorraine Williams</a> would just call 'spell descriptions'. Oh, and a new page header: a still life of a squished wizard amid the paraphernalia of his trade.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis10HoONh6GzMfVUuI80fj01djbBREmgsLGq1aV8eiuZkqVYFG9fQU4HRfJCgrjW4avJCkchDbeJLtnfLzitA27wY_jBP7Caok88_pg43-cLCwjDOn7DSPVeQnBLdXGKyCRWQ1CSK0w6I/s1600/mythus+ch13+header.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis10HoONh6GzMfVUuI80fj01djbBREmgsLGq1aV8eiuZkqVYFG9fQU4HRfJCgrjW4avJCkchDbeJLtnfLzitA27wY_jBP7Caok88_pg43-cLCwjDOn7DSPVeQnBLdXGKyCRWQ1CSK0w6I/s320/mythus+ch13+header.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Insert your own "Caryatid squashed by the weight of verbiage" gag here</span></div>
<span id="goog_1748158466"></span><span id="goog_1748158467"></span><br />
<br />
After a paragraph of shilling for the patch to this broke-ass 400-pages of half-a-game we jump straight into the subject of Heka (pron. HEE-ka). Two paragraphs rehash what we've already been told about half-a-dozen times now: that Heka works like magic electricity; that 'impure' versions of Heka -- variously called Baraka, Orgone or Mana (Mmmmm, thesaurus abuse! *gluk*) -- exist in worlds not as dominated by the Pure Spellcaster Master Race as is Aerth; that even unintelligent creatures can use Heka instinctively; and that Pure Heka is of three sorts: Positive (from the higher places and spheres), Negative (from the Other Place), and Mixed.<br />
<br />
Yeah. So far this feels like what it is: a précis of something longer, more involved, and baroquely over-complicated.<br />
<br />
Next up: <b>Demographics of Heka</b>. A paragraph spent explaining the prevelance of Heka-slingers in the populace. The figures boil down to 1-in-100 for people able to cast at all, with various sub-breakdowns for who can use what type of Heka; who draws their Heka from one, two or three Attributes; and who gets to be a touched-by-the-dice-gods Full Caster. This is dull stuff and probably billonga setting book, not rules chapter. A more practical use for this section would have been putting the bloody shifty, elusive rules for determining Full Caster-ness here.<br />
<br />
Next is half-a-column on <b>Types and Sources of Heka Energy</b>, which starts with a seemingly unrelated paragraph about the nine Grades of Casting Power, and an aside that certain special Grade X castings exist and that these are on a par with Supernatural Castings of Grade I. Nope, not a clue. If you want to know more: cough up for <i>Mythus Magick</i>. <br />
<br />
There's also a rehash of the three types of Heka (Preturnatural, Supernatural and Entital), which are entirely different from the three types introduced above. If you recall from way-back-when in <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/lets-read-mythus-pt3.html">LRM pt3</a> Supernatural and Entital are 1:10 and 1:100 Mega-Damage Heka.<br />
<br />
And finally a list of things you can squeeze for Heka in the <i>Mythus</i> universe:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1w2rifnIzb5dgCSIRTHatz48GlhrhJsFheWMRN0ATtAjMhZNwE1Z0QnL06x6463-gEUhHq3NOTNErZ4z1GU8Vo_yRqP_Q6mSJ4GoH2F8Wl3GnolyUipPDdQoM0444wiCKklAMJGZ7DEw/s1600/mythus+p277+quote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1w2rifnIzb5dgCSIRTHatz48GlhrhJsFheWMRN0ATtAjMhZNwE1Z0QnL06x6463-gEUhHq3NOTNErZ4z1GU8Vo_yRqP_Q6mSJ4GoH2F8Wl3GnolyUipPDdQoM0444wiCKklAMJGZ7DEw/s400/mythus+p277+quote.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Sources 1-5 are pretty much what you'd expect: push button, recieve mana. But source 6 "Entital vegetable substances" confuses the bejaysus out of me. WTH is an Entital vegetable? Some form of otherworldly arcanocabbage? The freshly-peeled god-corpse of Nazi-fighting root veg <a href="http://britishcarrots.co.uk/dr-carrot-is-back/">Dr Carrot</a>? No clue given. Oh look, they do give us a helpful clue as to which book to refer to...<br />
<br />
After that particular unintended Mythusian mindscrew we're off again to half a page + a couple of big-ass tables regarding <b>Heka from K/S Areas</b>. This begins with the word "Imprimus" and goes downhill from there with a load of waffle on who can generate Heka from where, how fast, how much, and from which skills. Most of this is semi-familiar from other chapters, but I lack the will (or remaining SAN) to check if there are contradictions between blocks of text. <br />
<br />
One thing that jumps out is a table that would have been useful, oh say, back in the damn skills chapter! To whit: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2JVzCIE62DaN82n585reRz8GLmz32jpgUS_A9RIg675rMj62w95wI9beXRDc9qXTQh1BBVK8e2XD2H-joFJ4niZNykok1bXZe_pvirlvjUX3d9PB7p8lnHC3ZdlMBUexcxCNWnantzM/s1600/mythus+p276+table.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2JVzCIE62DaN82n585reRz8GLmz32jpgUS_A9RIg675rMj62w95wI9beXRDc9qXTQh1BBVK8e2XD2H-joFJ4niZNykok1bXZe_pvirlvjUX3d9PB7p8lnHC3ZdlMBUexcxCNWnantzM/s320/mythus+p276+table.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Idiot-savant version of a unified Heka Skills table I ranted about <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/lets-read-mythus-pt15.html">back here</a>. </div>
<br />
Now, so far as it goes that is a not-entirely-useless table. At least now -- nigh-on 180 pages after it might have first come in handy -- a player can see at a glance which K/S Areas grant Heka, how much and from what character stats. That might almost be called useful, at least for the purpose of buzz maintenance. *gluk*<br />
<br />
And then you realise that thick block of text over there on the right is footnotes. <br />
<br />
Yes, the true horror of this brute of a table only really bursts forth when you start digging into the notes. Most of the them either waffle on where a single terse sentence
would suffice, or outright re-iterate things we were told back in the
relevant skill descriptions. In the latter case "See description, pXXX"
is perfectly sufficient.<br />
<br />
Call me a grouchy infographics snob, but a case could be made that if footnotes take up more space than the table they accompany, then the way you are attempting to present your information is objectively not right. A first draft is supposed to look like a sharp-cornered, burr-edged, over-complex mess; a professionally designed tool for use in play is not.<br />
<br />
A final squeezed-in section on <b>Regenerating Personal Heka</b> tells you how much Heka you get back per hour per skill from your K/S Areas, and also how much you gain back from Attributes, Categories and Traits. It is four paragraphs of word salad that looks like English at first glance only. The accompanying table is especially sad-making.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Prithee good sir. Art thou shittin' me?!"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Nay sir<span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span> I be not. Now draw forth thy slide-rule and get thee to reckoning."</span></div>
<br />
Yes, excellent. No foreseeable problems with player rebellion here. An excellent response to the oft-heard lament that the AD&D Psionics rules were insufficiently fiddly.<br />
<br />
And that's your lot on the subtle wonders and intricacies of Heka and Magick in <i>Mythus</i>. <br />
<br />
Oh, wait. You want the mechanics for actually using Castings in play? In the Heka and Magick chapter? How precious. How quaint. <i>Those</i> are way back in the earlier Combat chapter, on p218. Which in turn requires reference to the Core Game Systems (chapter 11) and the K/S Area descriptions in chapter 10.<br />
<br />
Hope you enjoy the delicious breezes kicked up by repeated thumbing through big fat books, coz you're going to be doing a lot of that. There's not even a single appearance of <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/lets-read-mythus-pt14.html">That Damn Table</a> in the one place where it might have actually have been of some utility. Useless!<br />
<br />
<b>Sample Castings </b><br />
After the seemingly unedited logorrhoeaic H<span class="st">ØRF! that opened the chapter we turn with -- probably misplaced -- relief to the <strike>spell</strike> Casting descriptions which comprise</span> pp278-294 of this slithey tome.<br />
<br />
Sample Castings of levels I-V (Roman numeras as original) are given for the schools of Dweomercraft (wizarding), Priestcraeft (clericing), Apotropaism, Astronomy, Herbalism, and Mysticism, at a rate of several per level, which is nice.<br />
<br />
"But Chris, you gormless knock-kneed bogmonkey," I hear you cry "Where are all the other types of magickqkck which the many, many K/S Areas of <i>Mythus</i> use? I count a mere six lists there."<br />
<br />
Why yes, gentle reader. Although puffing itself as a game that presents nine, sorry, IX levels of magic in nigh-on a score of schools and traditions, the core <i>Mythus</i> book presents only samples of six schools, and only up to level V. As for the rest, they are found in a lost tome of eldritch lore entitled... yes, I think you can see where this is going... *gluk*<br />
<br />
Although the vastly superior <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units">Imperial measures</a> are used in all instances (I kid you not, there are ranges given in rods, chains and leagues in there!), there are a couple of gross procedural niggles even before getting into individual spell descriptions. The unexplained acronyms are annoying ("WTF is E/F/M? Any corresponding entry in the Glossary? Of course not!), and repeated inclusion of BHC (Base Heka Cost) that remain constant across all schools and levels but are not integrated into a single simple table is just an offence against good design.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Base Heka Cost -- Casting Grade</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
20 -- I</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
35 -- II</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
50 -- III</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
75 -- IV</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
100 -- V </div>
<br />
That there: not flippin' rocket surgery!<br />
<br />
Get past the Mythusisms of the layout and descriptions, and many of the Castings will look familiar to role-playing veterans, albeit with any sense of wonder and
magic pummelled out of them by a leaden prose style. For example:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01YjQuAJnYoK3TSRJ4V_S9DLuM7mUAmem_o5mK0H6jTP2-6ZSFlit2RUiHygdtDdSRZwSSybexHOf3c6kcqjy2NJGEOdWoADwBXMydE-13zQgs1qxlUsmu6lVOpFcwxmSh7K8yUvZDIU/s1600/mythus+p278+quote.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01YjQuAJnYoK3TSRJ4V_S9DLuM7mUAmem_o5mK0H6jTP2-6ZSFlit2RUiHygdtDdSRZwSSybexHOf3c6kcqjy2NJGEOdWoADwBXMydE-13zQgs1qxlUsmu6lVOpFcwxmSh7K8yUvZDIU/s400/mythus+p278+quote.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Zzzzzzzzz."</div>
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> We grind the individual Casting descriptions for anything that might actually be of use in a Classic D&D game. It will be as glorious, life-affirming and full of colourful pageantry as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele">Passchendaele</a>. Oh, wait. That's not what I meant at all...<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6kjgEX_vLCZUItLnEY5jS8eShggB39_ZkikD_X-kVglSRu7Ua3uvc4k1FRj0ZmQ8cgabBYT-5HgFh7r-jmCs0gNbpYC8ezY-7odJamSJqkcm161rFsMF3VQZ43gEpFstNIpW5i9jg94/s1600/two+gun+headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6kjgEX_vLCZUItLnEY5jS8eShggB39_ZkikD_X-kVglSRu7Ua3uvc4k1FRj0ZmQ8cgabBYT-5HgFh7r-jmCs0gNbpYC8ezY-7odJamSJqkcm161rFsMF3VQZ43gEpFstNIpW5i9jg94/s400/two+gun+headshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>Pic Sources:</b> the <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, the <a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=213">hark a vagrant</a> webcomic, teh intawubz. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-50307676681514793292013-02-11T09:00:00.000+00:002013-02-11T09:00:02.537+00:00Let's Read Mythus Interlude 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4jtRCAl5UcCDoonPNk3SoypgvkG3p8kMBH6ckhOSZMw83KayPcy5uTTpacp9NsmHcb9Z2_HW1I-rERfTQrDsM5PTaPQyDhzfvmlCqUFHQPtxnd5oLMDv6MI9DrG4uKDCHi6z0c8Pdoo/s1600/Pulp-O-Mizer_LRM1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4jtRCAl5UcCDoonPNk3SoypgvkG3p8kMBH6ckhOSZMw83KayPcy5uTTpacp9NsmHcb9Z2_HW1I-rERfTQrDsM5PTaPQyDhzfvmlCqUFHQPtxnd5oLMDv6MI9DrG4uKDCHi6z0c8Pdoo/s400/Pulp-O-Mizer_LRM1.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
After a hiatus entirely too long, fraught, and
full of fractal fail for my own comfort the ill-considered dissection
of <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> returns, a mere eight months later than expected (in RPG Kickstarter circles this is known as '<a href="http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2013/01/the-tenkars-tavern-overdue-kickstarter.html">business as usual</a>').<br />
<br />
This week I have elected to inflict upon the world the
long overdue <b>Art of Chapter 12</b> post; a light <i>amuse bouche</i> of a thing wherein your humble host dons
polo-neck and beret, and attempts to channel art critic mojo into his tiny monkey brain.<br />
<br />
Those
playing along at home may wish to note the following modifications to <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">the customary rules</a>:<br />
<ul>
<li>When a piece of art has no relation to the content: take a drink.</li>
<li>When a piece of art would have been better in good, honest black-and-white: take 1 drink. </li>
<li>When a piece of art is just downright bad: take 2 drinks.</li>
<li>When the writer loses it and lapses into foaming, windmilling "No moron! Do it like this! THIS!!!" mode = drain your glass.</li>
</ul>
There's a lot of art in the expanses of <i>Mythus</i> chapter 12: incidental art in black-and-white and full-page colour plates.<br />
<br />
<b>B+W Lineart</b><br />
<br />
p216 - Ellisa Mitchell - tree, sword + runestones.<br />
Tree has semi-anthropomorphic bole, tree-impaling sword is obviously perilous (in the Arthurian sense), runes may or may not be a bilingual bonus that translates as "Please do not stab the trees". Lightning in the background echoes the anguished twisting of the branches - nice touch; portentious. Fine use of negative space and directional cues. Content is semi-related to text (Heka-based attacks).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQUnZnuspv7Ff_Mi4rsw4zmAvnyM6LPA9enox2AV7oVbdnyQFCIlJ1UoJbOCZ-LbJHeI8uBG84566EIb7Fek7L6QJV3xIfp5DGkFrztB2nLJIOJ074giYlD8Cq8nUtEIjvLBnwghBkq0/s1600/mythus+p216+pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQUnZnuspv7Ff_Mi4rsw4zmAvnyM6LPA9enox2AV7oVbdnyQFCIlJ1UoJbOCZ-LbJHeI8uBG84566EIb7Fek7L6QJV3xIfp5DGkFrztB2nLJIOJ074giYlD8Cq8nUtEIjvLBnwghBkq0/s320/mythus+p216+pic.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Tres folklorique, non?</div>
<br />
p229 - Ellisa Mitchell - stylised griffon.<br />
Excellent composition draws your eye to the mad, starey bird eye of the griffon. Consistent penwork(?) across the furred and feathered parts of the beast give it a coherence of form lacked by many monster pics while retaining the heraldic essence of the beast. A fine balance, nicely struck. Whoever sculpted the recent GW <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybu3BVsS8eeE2ONl9fGSxtz2nXPgWf01BLxCrmQQow49rf-9XFZpy78E2qDRwJDdcAm-R8-_UwS20yOUJ5jwUIrfK2fUbGGMMVFj8PkxYjhQOjr1ZWzqUbjrUalOFiYz_6o_BvqOBsTLx/s1600/death_claw_griffon_karl_franz_warhammer.JPG">Empire Griffon model</a> (aka: the Warturkey) should look at this picture and cry in shame.<br />
Picture has no relation to content. Seemingly a space filler. Shame, it deserves better. *gluk* <br />
<br />
p232 - Tony Szczudlo - Bad-ass fantasy African warrior standing in a cave mouth.<br />
Once you get past the 'Mbongo McSkullhat of the K'lishe tribe' first impression this picture is kinda cool in a <i>Savage Sword of Conan</i> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaro_%28novel%29">Imaro</a> way. The picture is well-executed: good composition, fine detailing, clever use of negative space and shading. The few fantastic elements (the skull helm, the odd pick-mace weapon) convey the idea of a fantasy Earth subtly and well. <br />
Shame it's stuck in the midst of the awful, forgettable, multi-page example of play section. *gluk*<br />
<br />
p234 - Ellisa Mitchell - eyes+snakes glowhenge.<br />
A pretty generic henge-as-portal image. Lidless eye and winged serpent motifs add a little weird to an otherwise unremarkable image. Well composed and executed, although some of the linework on the trilithons makes them look a bit wooden.<br />
Seems a bit out of place in the combat chapter. *gluk*<br />
<br />
p240 - Ellisa Mitchell - weapons crossed over a shield.<br />
Well drawn in a 70s comic art way; clever use of linework and blocking to convey a sense of shine and reflection, but sadly a bit "yawn" in the subject matter. At least the picture makes sense in context (the endless pages of weapon descriptions), although it would have worked just as well smaller and without a frame, breaking up one of the interminable columns of text.<br />
<br />
p243 - David Miller - generic mitteleuropan watchman mit polearm in generic mitteleuropan townscape.<br />
Adequately drawn, but nothing that would dare show its face in, say, a <i>WFRP</i> book. Again, "yawn". *gluk, gluk*<br />
<br />
p245 - ??? (no visible credit) - conquistador being loomed over by two giant <a href="http://www.commissionedcomic.com/?p=5071">skeevy balds</a>.<br />
A nice little piece of <a href="http://drbargle.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-old-school-is-pathetic-rant.html">doomed pathos</a> in 90s fantasy art, this is the antithesis of the flavourless genericrap that infested the contemporary AD&D2E rulebooks. Good composition and line use; a sense of captured movement; my simple brain and untutored tastes actually like. This belongs somewhere better than in the midst of weapon descriptions. *gluk*<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr4dd2-sSebHng2suRUqXbI95xVqkX_CJDOu25xe5pRyXG75Icb9ZsCzIB-R-qNWzXwGHRZh9DJJXx6rE1XWHS0a75ccFy9khEcW6S3xC1foV9dGBFAyl3ExXm3uvtrevYi4TxFTBYag/s1600/mythus+p245+pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpr4dd2-sSebHng2suRUqXbI95xVqkX_CJDOu25xe5pRyXG75Icb9ZsCzIB-R-qNWzXwGHRZh9DJJXx6rE1XWHS0a75ccFy9khEcW6S3xC1foV9dGBFAyl3ExXm3uvtrevYi4TxFTBYag/s320/mythus+p245+pic.png" width="250" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Insert your own "You're boned!" caption</div>
<br />
p251 - Dave Miller - conquistador on a ship, Grecian temples in background<br />
Presumably supposed to represent Mythus' default anachronistic hotch-potch setting of Aerth, this is ok. Good composition and use of space, workmanlike rendering of content. The problem it that it's the sort of picture the eye would skip over without pausing were it in a comic. No wow! factor; just another day in the life... *gluk, gluk*<br />
I suppose the conquistador's armour is semi-relevant to the surrounding text (armour types).<br />
<br />
p274 - ??? (no legible credit) - Sven Beardsson, knotwork chiseller, poses before his latest work<br />
A burly viking type wearing Greco-Roman armour, presumably an intentional anachronism. The linework is fine, but the composition is a little odd, with the central figure off-centre. The background (Norse knotwork and Bayeux Tapestry-style human figures) is so-so.<br />
No idea what the picture has to do with healing (the related text). *gluk*<br />
<br />
p275 - Ellisa Mitchell - Angrycorn is angry! GRRRR!<br />
Although the content - an angry charging unicorn in close-up - is unexpected, the technical execution of this picture is very good. Fine flow of lines, excellent less-is-more crosshatching. Another picture where Mitchell uses directing lines and shading to draw your attention to the beast's eye.<br />
Not sure what a unicorn has to do with healing rules though. *gluk*<br />
<br />
<b>Colour Plates</b><br />
<br />
After the "Mythus art not terrible! shock of the preceding pictures the full-page, full-colour, gloss paper-printed "Behold our magnificence!" images that follow are generally disappointing given what they might have been. As a general rule what art there is is spread over a larger area than it probably merits...<br />
<br />
p257 - Midgette and Meyer - Armwrestling in the tavern<br />
Another scene from the rich and exotic world of Aerth, in this case renaissance arm-wrestling. The composition is cluttered, the background a featureless wash, the facial proportions and eyelines of the score of onlooking characters are fuxxored, the central drama is uninteresting.<br />
I'm really not keen on this picture, and can't imagine why it would merit inclusion, let alone an entire page. *gluk gluk* <br />
<br />
p260-261 - Midgette and Meyer - knights brawling in the road<br />
Let me start by saying that 3/4 of this <b>two page spread</b> is worthless space-filler. No, seriously. Look:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbeOgJoDgvfAzyMJgumyrOQnY_BrC5HnPpnTGfI6nI9K0qiHhbo17DU63i9okNv3OTlZ37d-Zv9fpe1IQwy10KQj6FQVPJ5oeGX5K8t0E6gh6RwxHCxUwW7opW1CIN3M8OWlZKWsxa70/s1600/mythus+p261+pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbeOgJoDgvfAzyMJgumyrOQnY_BrC5HnPpnTGfI6nI9K0qiHhbo17DU63i9okNv3OTlZ37d-Zv9fpe1IQwy10KQj6FQVPJ5oeGX5K8t0E6gh6RwxHCxUwW7opW1CIN3M8OWlZKWsxa70/s320/mythus+p261+pic.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Are you f-ing kidding me?! </div>
<br />
That's the image as it appears in my <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> soft cover. 11" x 17" of next-to-nothing. It may seem unremarkable to you, but I find this picture profoundly offensive. It's no more than a piss-poor knock-off of a Prince Valiant comic panel, but it has adopted in my mind an almost totemic status. This picture can stand as a microcosm of the entire Mythus experience: needless bloody boring bloat overwhelming what <i>should</i> be interesting and exciting.<br />
<br />
Watch this:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMqn_IsbMEkx2YVrFU7ai2gO6MaVvvr_BJsEZ7tXDTtjdjmaQbe2_N66xNBCHYjmmnqXXy65xQ4xEjXpXPS9MkfnYU-sp2vL6Q89JiiLKUROdu4bTcXo5varE0gfU8Y_QE1qNyytht7M/s1600/mythus+p261+pic+crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMqn_IsbMEkx2YVrFU7ai2gO6MaVvvr_BJsEZ7tXDTtjdjmaQbe2_N66xNBCHYjmmnqXXy65xQ4xEjXpXPS9MkfnYU-sp2vL6Q89JiiLKUROdu4bTcXo5varE0gfU8Y_QE1qNyytht7M/s320/mythus+p261+pic+crop.png" width="319" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
20% of the space: 100% of the action </div>
<br />
Even after trimming to its essentials the piece is unremarkable; even a bit dull. Can you imagine if, for example, a Games Workshop artist circa 198X had the temerity
to turn this in as a completed piece? John Blanche (GW Art Director and <a href="http://gothicpunk.tumblr.com/">sensei of blanchitsu</a>) would have had his
head!<br />
<br />
This should be a black-and-white incidental piece breaking up text somewhere; it lacks sufficient clout for its canvas.<br />
<br />
*pause*<br />
<br />
I think that was a 'drain your glass' moment there.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXu17G9dqMxTBJP6JR_FYh8Ir4voGRKLUSyrlqN4Pa8sidSnvJBaS9wrla_90eJ5TRvNd4ATH1SoRepBn4WGSBZ0C0PPydi6tigC2k87EPiP16s8Iu-jy9vRESbzgX0m8vZ4VSuZ226A/s1600/Double+K+-+3-77+crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXu17G9dqMxTBJP6JR_FYh8Ir4voGRKLUSyrlqN4Pa8sidSnvJBaS9wrla_90eJ5TRvNd4ATH1SoRepBn4WGSBZ0C0PPydi6tigC2k87EPiP16s8Iu-jy9vRESbzgX0m8vZ4VSuZ226A/s400/Double+K+-+3-77+crop.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
p264-265 - Allen Nunis - lizardmen hunt a giant wombat in a mesascape with pteradons.<br />
Now this is more like it! Attention-getting subject matter, good composition and an interesting use of colour palette; almost cartoonish, but in a good way. Although blown up rather larger than it probably merits (another glossy paper double-page spread where a single page would suffice), this picture is pulp as owt! I especially like the slightly bewildered look on mega-wombat's face. Bollocks to Aerth! I want to know more about the world in <i>this</i> picture please.<br />
<br />
p268-269 - Allen Nunis - the Zulus (+ their cheerleader) haet little red goblins!<br />
Another characterful piece, the sort of thing that would have worked as a comics book 'pin up' picture back in the day. The content is a little odd, but may be the film "Zulu" as told from the AmaZulu perspective. Although a little comic book in framing and execution for some tastes, the sheer liveliness of the composition, and interesting use of negative space and stylisation to represent a fantastic, dreamlike quality, make for an interesting whole.<br />
Not sure why its in the diseases section though... *gluk*<br />
<br />
p272 - Midgette + Lamont - "Gercha!"<br />
<br />
My favourite piece of colour art so far: "Rhino HAET street dance!" Yes, I know it's supposed to be a rhino hunt gone wrong somewhere generically East Indian, but I prefer to view it as a dramatic illustration of a lost <i>Just So Story</i> in which rhino and elephant, rajah and archers unite to cleanse the land of verminous infestations of street dance troupes. Yes, the dancers may have disguised themselves in the traditional Indian man-nappy (pron. dhoti) but Rhino knows those synchronised flailers for what they truly are.<br />
<br />
Joking aside, the picture share a similar comic book stylised realism of form and colour style with the other colour art in this section. Although there's nothing inherently 'fantastic' about the subject matter, the composition is interesting, the subject matter non-boring, and the only weak point is a background which seems more tree-lined boulevard than wild Indian jungle. <br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
Sadly for the self-styled "<i>...quantum leap in roleplaying games...</i>" there is no quantum leap beyond the 90s gaming industry standard in the use or quality of art. Difficult to believe that <i>Mythus</i> was published only a year before Mayfair Games showed the industry what <i>could</i> be done with the full-colour-and-graphics-on-every-page <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_%28role-playing_game%29">Underground RPG</a>. A pall composed of deadline fever and vague client definitions seem to loom large over many of the pictures in <i>DJ:Mythus</i>, a confluence of circumstances which prevents "<i>...this game far beyond any others</i>" from even matching the achievements of earlier games like <i>Dragon Warriors</i> in creating a coherent game world with its art.<br />
<br />
Not that a unified art style is the be-all-and-end-all of a game. The two biggest names in the transatlantic fantasy gaming industry (TSR, GW) used whole stables of artists - each with their own tastes and styles - to excellent effect. I'd love to know what went wrong here...<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> We peruse, critique and mudlark <b>Chapter 13: Heka and Magick</b>. A chapter in which teeth are ground, heads are scratched, and salient similarities are noted.<br />
<br />
<b>Supplemental Mythus Madness:</b> For those truly sick of mind, <a href="http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/copyright/cases/tsr_vs_gdw2.txt">here</a>
is the full text of TSR's "Waaaaah! My toys!" lawsuit designed to
strangle DJ:M in the cradle. The sheer effrontery of beating someone
with a stick he invented has to be seen to be believed.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> the <i>DJ:Mythus</i> rulebook, <a href="http://doublek.smackjeeves.com/">Double K</a> webcomic, Thrilling Tales' <a href="http://thrilling-tales.webomator.com/derange-o-lab/pulp-o-mizer/pulp-o-mizer.html">pulp-o-mizer</a> cover generatorChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-64331242776661650272013-02-02T11:00:00.000+00:002013-02-02T11:00:01.074+00:00Gleefully Late to the Party, AgainReading <a href="http://www.dungeon-world.com/">Dungeon World</a>.<br />
<br />
But lo, mere reading is not enough. I must share its goodness with others (most of whom will probably say "Dude, we know" in <a href="http://venturefans.org/vbwiki/Henchman_21">Henchman 21</a> voice). <br />
<br />
<b>Gripes</b><br />
<ul>
<li>the layout of the free pdf is a bit wonky (section headings at the bottom of the page? No! Bad layout monkey!); </li>
<li>the idea of structuring adventures around <b>Fronts</b> ("...a collection of linked dangers -- threats to the characters specifically and to the people, places, and things the characters care about.") and <b>Moves</b> (IGOUGO as a dungeoncrawling mechanic?) is a bit unusual; </li>
<li>the use of Warhammer-ish ability keywords in the statblocks might not be to all tastes. </li>
</ul>
But!<br />
<br />
<b>Raves</b><br />
<ul>
<li>the writing is clear and entertaining; </li>
<li>there's at least one instance of "wish I'd thought of that" on every page; </li>
<li>it has the kind of 'obvious in hindsight' GMing advice I'd have killed for back in the day; </li>
<li>this is what the writers think of as an <i>entire</i> stat block:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Ankheg </b><br />
<i>Group, Large</i><br />Bite (d8+1 damage) 10 HP 3 Armor<br /><i>Close, Reach</i><br />Special Qualities: Burrowing<br />A hide like plate armor and great crushing mandibles are problematic. A stomach full of acid that can burn a hole through a stone wall makes them all the worse. They’d be bad enough if they were proper insect-sized, but these things have the gall to be as long as any given horse. It’s just not natural! Good thing they tend to stick to one place? Easy for you to say--you don’t have an ankheg living under your corn field.<br />
Instinct: To undermine<br />
<ul>
<li> Undermine the ground</li>
<li> Burst from the earth</li>
<li> Spray forth acid, eating away at metal and flesh </li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<br />
That's it. Next! (I especially like the inclusion of monstrous To Do lists for all.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
In conclusion: <b>Dungeon World</b>, my face when: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF43wSY9MY4zLy4genAte6zMBBNoKhus_AfenTAzWN3RLoEVkap8r5S3_bPcLbAtP-RVIw6faDkgIkX7Lrjnr2g2PrjSXpZmsiNylhQpM4tzTFsImI-bz91689skEFUdjFuo5F3D-hwg/s1600/DF+fun+cropped.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF43wSY9MY4zLy4genAte6zMBBNoKhus_AfenTAzWN3RLoEVkap8r5S3_bPcLbAtP-RVIw6faDkgIkX7Lrjnr2g2PrjSXpZmsiNylhQpM4tzTFsImI-bz91689skEFUdjFuo5F3D-hwg/s320/DF+fun+cropped.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Ermagerd! So gooood."</div>
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> the famous Dorf Fortress fun image.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-54102260208924008572013-01-23T21:08:00.001+00:002013-01-24T01:20:32.573+00:00Skinning the Dead for Fun and ProfitRegular readers will know that I consider Classic D&D's Treasure Types to be a horrible, irredeemable mess that should have died a final death around 1989. So it should come as no surprise to hear I've been tinkering with treasure generation yet again.<br />
<br />
Semi-related to which, here's a half-formed thought occasioned by the monster Yield mechanic of <a href="http://www.kenzerco.com/index.php?cPath=25_26/">Hackmaster 4E</a> and by the Egg Hunter campaign concept from Noism's epic <a href="http://monstersandmanuals.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/most-mammoth-rpgnet-bestiary-related.html">Let's Read the Monstrous Compendium</a>.*<br />
<br />
Skin/gut/nest-rob a treasureless beastie: a party can garner 10 x lvl^2 gp per turn of gutting, up to a maximum gp value = its XP.<br />
<br />
The form this treasure value takes is dependent upon the creature type (hide/fur, feathers/scales, organs/secretions, eggs/young, etc.), but usually has to be hauled back to town and converted to hard cash at a market. <br />
<br />
Bigger, more dangerous creatures are worth more to interested purchasers (fur traders, tanners, haberdashers, corset-makers, wizards and what-not), but take longer to render down into sweet convertible value.<br />
<br />
Why a value per turn? Coz more experienced adventurers are more
practised in skinning and jointing beasties purely as a function of
their experience as scavenging murderhobos. Pay a time penalty: derive
extra loot. <br />
<br />
And that is how you get value out of whales, beavers, owlbears, and similar loot-less beasties. <br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
*Ka-ching!*</div>
<br />
<br />
* On the subject of <i>Let's Reads</i>. Yes, <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/p/lets-read-mythus-compiled.html">LRM</a> will be returning. I intend to finish it if it drives me mad.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> wikimedia commons. Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-12247526016590936852013-01-22T18:00:00.000+00:002013-01-22T18:00:04.986+00:00Truly Random Charges for Magic ItemsJust a thought. Rather than generating the number of charges remaining when a wand (/rod/stave/misc. charged item) is discovered in play instead: <br />
<br />
Pick (or roll) a number between 1 and 20.<br />
Each time the wand is used, roll a d20.<br />
If the number matches the pre-selected one, the wand is out of charges.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>If the wand was a looted object and/or previously used against the party by someone else, pick 2 numbers. {reflecting depletion through use, duh.}</li>
<li>If the wand was crafted by the wizard him/herself: pick 1 number, roll d30 when used. {This incentivises crafting by PC wizards, and reflects a maker's mastery of his own creation. "<span class="st">I know every nut and bolt and cog; I built it with my own hands!</span>"}</li>
</ul>
<br />
Why bother with this rules wrinkle rather than "xd10 charges"?<br />
<br />
Because - contrary to what contemporary D&D orthodoxy would have you think* - magic is chaotic, unpredictable and will probably let you down at exactly the worst possible moment. This variant models the uncertainty of a world without fuel gauges on magic items.<br />
<br />
In addition, it's engaging in play: <i>every time</i> a wand is used there's a chance (rolled by the user, no less!) that it blows a fuse and reverts from throbbing arcane phallic extension to useless decorative back-scratcher.<br />
<br />
* <a href="http://faustusnotes.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/post-scarcity-fantasy/">Post-scarcity D&D</a>? *pshaw* There's no way a plan that goes "bind the power of Kaos to bootstrap an industrial revolution" ever ends well.<br />
<br />
<b>Hat-tip:</b> Zak S for <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/lucky-number-kung-fu.html">Lucky Number Kung-Fu</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Bonus Factoid:</b> According to the magic items chapter of the <i>One True DMG</i> (AD&D1E) there's a 1% that any wand discovered is rigged to 'backfire' when used. Whether this is due to malignancy on the part of the creators, or the innate perversity of magic, or just down to thaumic decay over time, is undisclosed. And quite what 'backfire' entails is left for the GM to determine. (cue evil laughter)<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
<b>Unrelated:</b> Oh look. A <a href="http://www.dndclassics.com/">DNDClassics pdf purchase site</a>. Looks like WOTC decided to do the blindingly obvious after four years of fighting the tide. What was that line about even a stopped clock being right twice a day?<br />
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-33680326803390585632013-01-20T18:00:00.000+00:002013-01-22T16:57:29.730+00:00Mastering Forbidden LoreAs far as I recall the process of wizards forcing new forms of blasphemous eldritch lore into their bulbous craniums is almost completely handwaved in B/X-ish D&D. Fine by me; that just leaves all the more room for personal tinkering.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7Cs2oHTSJl1zPm_QpUNSn4LAn3uCCC_hF_JJF1x3zbGFVvcidzrwpdJys90_E3oWEe1IgC6A_9iKHyKSE5TXMSnbn_9jKjHl91WC6IUL_M_LxG8QPDJ0KAPf0AFBAxghuTwvgVIJzHs/s1600/throbulator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7Cs2oHTSJl1zPm_QpUNSn4LAn3uCCC_hF_JJF1x3zbGFVvcidzrwpdJys90_E3oWEe1IgC6A_9iKHyKSE5TXMSnbn_9jKjHl91WC6IUL_M_LxG8QPDJ0KAPf0AFBAxghuTwvgVIJzHs/s320/throbulator.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A wizard, yesterday</div>
<br />
Here's my personal take on larnificatin' new spells, a sub-system more than a little influenced by the casting rules from good old "Chainmail".<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Spell Mastery</b><br />
Binding the power of Chaos to your will in new and interesting ways is a non-trivial endeavour. When a wizard discovers a new spell (on a scroll, in a spell book, graven into an arcane crystal, w/e) he must attempt to master it through successive castings.<br />
<br />
Every time the wizard casts a spell he has memorized but not yet mastered, roll the following:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2d6 +Level +Int mod –Spell Lvl vs. TN 12</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Pass = <b>Spell Mastered</b> - spell takes effect. Wizard cackles like an agitated hen coop.</li>
<li>Fail, roll 7+ = <b>Partial Mastery</b> - spell takes effect, caster enjoys cumulative +1 bonus to future mastery rolls for this spell. Wizard gloats.</li>
<li>Fail, roll 3-6 = <b>Not Mastered</b> - spell fizzles. Wizard snarls and kicks handy apprentice/familiar/peon. </li>
<li>Snake Eyes = <b>"Oops!"</b> - spell backfires horribly. Roll on your preferred spell misfire table.</li>
</ul>
Mastery rolls have an automatic +1 bonus if the wizard has already mastered a spell with a thematically related effect (<i>suggestion, charm person/monster,</i> <i>dominate</i>, etc.)<br />
<br />
Degrees of mastery achieved over known spells should be noted in the player's grimoire:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
[ ] = Not Mastered, [/] = Partial Mastery, [X] = Spell Mastered. </div>
<br />
Accumulated Partial Mastery bonuses can be represented with multiple slashes, thus: [///] = +3 bonus to mastery rolls for that spell.<br />
<br />
Once a spell has been cranium-wrestled into submission a wizard can memorise and cast it per the normal rules. <br />
<br />
<b>Additional Wrinkles to the Rule</b><br />
<br />
First level wizards start with mastery of their known spells (IMG: 1d6+Int mod of the spells from the starting list). This rules given above apply only to attempts to extend their mastery of magic beyond these rote-learned Old Reliables.<br />
<br />
Rolls to master spells may be made between adventures. Each roll cost 100gp/spell level (to cover material components, consultation fees, thaumotropic drugs, and third party damages) and take 1 week.<br />
<br />
When a new level is gained the player may attempt to master a
number of spells of their choosing equal to their character's Int mod. After these
rolls the player may also pick any one unmastered spell on their list, this is now wholly
understood. <br />
<br />
Until 9th level is attained only spells that the character can cast may be rolled for. Wizards of levels 9+ can roll to understand and cast higher level spells. For example, an Int 16 W10 would have a chance of casting <i>wish</i> (10,+2,-9 = TN 10 on 2d6).<br />
<br />
Spell Mastery rolls can also be used instead of the existing Rogue scroll use rules, or as a shortcut for mastering looted magic items through empirical experimentation.<br />
<br />
I should probably include some form of rules for thaumotropic drugs that enhance mastery attempts. You know, stuff like Elric's Hellebore, a Skaven Grey Seer's warpdust, etc.<br />
<br />
<!--9-->
Oh, and this is the 200th post here at VoN. Go my lazy, wandering-off-for-months-on-end self!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Edit 22/01/2013:</span></b> Modified difficulty of casting without mastery. Thanks to <b>-C</b> for the catch.<br />
<br />
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<b>Pic Source:</b> teh intawubz<br />
<!--9-->Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-77870461720869617952012-07-19T18:30:00.000+01:002012-07-19T18:35:30.053+01:00Towards a More Simplified Corpse RobbingBeing of an unashamedly lazy nature when it comes to GMing duties, I'm constantly on the lookout for ways to simplify loot generation. This is particularly true when it comes to 'pocket money' treasure carried by wandering monsters, NPCs, etc.<br />
<br />
<b>Problem:</b> My loathing of Classic D&D Treasure Type tables (too damn fiddly and involved by half).<br />
<b>Solution:</b> steal and a adapt a simpler, more intuitive treasure generation method.<br />
<br />
Reading <a href="http://fightingfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Advanced_Fighting_Fantasy">Advanced Fighting Fantasy</a> recently -- the original pocket paperback <i>AFF</i>, not the <a href="http://www.arion-games.com/AFF.html">Arion Games</a> 'printed on sheets of beaten gold' re-release -- I happened upon a table I just wish I'd known about/remembered when I was working on <i>Small But Vicious Dog</i>.<br />
<br />
Behold, in all its glory, the original version of the <i>Advanced Fighting Fantasy</i> random treasure generator:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>d6 Treasure</b><br />
1 -<br />
2 1-3gp<br />
3 1-6gp<br />
4 2-12gp<br />
5 Special Item <br />
6 1-6gp + Special Item<br />
<br />
Humanoid -- d6<br />
Monster -- d6-1<br />
Undead -- d6-2<br />
All Others (Animal, Bird, Insect, Magical Creature) -- d6-3<br />
<br />
<b>2d6 Special Items</b> <br />
2 Enchanted Axe: +1 skill<br />
3 Potion of Invisibility<br />
4 Magic Sack: 5 items weigh as 1<br />
5 Silver Arrow<br />
6 1-6 jewels, 10gp each<br />
7 1-3 gems, 25gp each<br />
8 Scroll of ESP<br />
9 Healing Potion<br />
10 Cursed dagger: -2 skill<br />
11 Poison potion<br />
12 Magic Sword: +2 skill</blockquote>
<br />
Clever innit? Presence, quantity and quality of loot generated with a couple of d6 rolls and reference to only two tables. A treasure system simple and intuitive enough that even the dozy kids can see how it's supposed to work. What a difference from the opaque gabblestorm of Classic D&D <b>Individual Treasure Types</b> (HC: I-VII in <i>Labyrinth Lord</i>, TT: P-V in <i>BECMI</i>, J-Z(?) in <i>AD&D</i>) which had anything up to a dozen or more separate die rolls and gave you no way of telling at first glance roughly what a creature may be carrying. I know which system works better for me in the midst of play...<br />
<br />
Simply adapt the Special Items sub-table to the D&D magic item types, add a couple of house rules for higher HD monsters, and that's my new go-to 'monster pocket money' swag table:<br />
<br />
<b>Individual/Non-Lair Treasures Revised</b><b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>d6 Sweet, sweet loot!</b><br />
1 -<br />
2 1-3gp<br />
3 1-6gp<br />
4 2-12gp<br />
5 Special Item <br />
6 1-6gp + Special Item<br />
<br />
Humanoid* 1d6<br />
Monster 1d6-1<br />
Undead 1d6-2<br />
Animal**, Conjuration*** or Lowlife**** 1d6-3<br />
<br />
* Anything with intelligence, a culture and the potential for acquisitive habits.<br />
** Beasts mundane, giant and prehistoric.<br />
*** Elementals, golems, animated statues, invisible stalkers, etc.<br />
**** A broad monster type from BECMI's <i>Creature Catalogue</i>. Lowlife covers creatures which are "<i>...non-intelligent and have a very simple lifestyle.</i>" (CC, p3) - Plants, Bugs, Worms and Goos.<br />
<br />
Special Items? Roll 2d6 on the subtable to determine type, then resort to the customary magic items tables:<br />
<br />
<b>2d6 Special Items</b><br />
2 Ring<br />
3 Misc. Weapon<br />
4 Misc. Magic<br />
5 Jewel (1d100x10gp)<br />
6 Gems (2d20x10gp)<br />
7 Non-magic items* <br />
8 Scroll<br />
9 Potion <br />
10 Swords<br />
11 Armour <br />
12 Rod/Wand/Stave<br />
<br />
* Keys, faction identifiers, plot coupons (roll on the <i>Vornheim</i> "What Has It Got In Its Pocketses?" chart or nearest local equivalent), non-magic <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/treasure.htm#tableMundaneItems">gadgets and gizmos</a>, etc.<br />
<br />
Notes: <br />
<ul>
<li>Multiply cash by total HD of creatures defeated. So knocking over 5
bugbears out for a stroll will net you 15 x whatever you roll on the
random swag chart. Sometimes this will be 0gp, other times the party
will end up with a bag of cash and maybe a shiny thing.</li>
<li>Cash value is gp equivalent only. You can dish it out in copper,
silver, platinum, even electrum (*spit*) if that floats your boat.</li>
<li>You only even find one instance of Special Item per encounter, usually in the hands of the biggest, burliest monster present. If magical that item will probably be of the lowliest power for its type.<br />
</li>
</ul>
That's the entire non-pre-placed treasure system reduced to 3-4 die rolls. Maybe a couple more if you roll 'scroll' or 'intelligent magic sword' on the item type sub-tables.<br />
<br />
This mod does increase the probability of discovering magic items in the possession of WMs substantially from the baseline D&D Treasure Tables. But then again, only two types of wanderers (Humanoids, Monsters) have even the possibility of carrying Special Items, which keeps the sheer <i>Diablo</i>-ness within semi-reasonable bounds ("Why exactly were the beetles carrying magic boots?"). Of those random items two-thirds will be either a bit of extra cash, non-magical gear, or one-shot items. As for wandering undead, summoned entities and the clean up crew, they're now wildly dangerous <i>and</i> dirt poor.<br />
<br />
Thoughts? Criticisms? Demands that I actually finish the job before posting?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-50392004930712630172012-07-17T20:00:00.000+01:002012-07-17T20:00:02.332+01:00Subway MegadungeonsHere's a half-formed thought on megadungeon mapping. (albeit one that has probably already been done to death, then resurrected as a zombie thrall, turned by clerics, dispatched by adventurers, and then ground down for glue)<br />
<br />
Need an megadungeon/underworld map quick? Use an underground map ('subway' in Western Continentalist).<br />
<ul>
<li>Each station marker is either a single isolated room, or a <a href="http://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/maps/geomorph-mapping-project/">Dyson Logos</a>/<a href="http://davesmapper.com/">Dave's Mapper</a> geomorph; </li>
<li>interchanges between lines are larger pre-planned clusters of levels; </li>
<li>the lines between stations are the seemingly endless tunnels, sewers, burrowings and wormholed cellars that give the undercity its intimidating scale. </li>
<li>The railway interchanges? They might be Saturday Night Specials, sealed sub-areas, or dimensional portals to other worlds entirely.</li>
</ul>
I've recently decided to expand the Vaults into a full-scale T<a href="http://quicklyquietlycarefully.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/tekumel-style-underworlds.html">ekumel-style underworld</a>. Being an unabashed Englishman I've decided to use the classic London Underground map as the basis of my underworld.<br />
<br />
Here's a <a href="http://www.london-tubemap.com/">spatially corrected version</a> (created by Mark Noad) which combines the clarity of information of the classic Harry Beck schematic map with the spatial clarity of the 1930s <a href="http://www.clarksbury.com/cdl/maps.html">geographic version</a>.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihnHJnLneQee4WUZuBufRurMEfIbL_0YQxAW3HeNA_mZl5u4k76T93A6r5byV9qcwpSDr2evfWSpF7Dt82vdXvg4NMW22p68IT3EtNtHk3fSocIfrfG4QEsXu0wbmACEH0T3I_wOFKwE/s1600/spatial+london+tube+map+layer1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihnHJnLneQee4WUZuBufRurMEfIbL_0YQxAW3HeNA_mZl5u4k76T93A6r5byV9qcwpSDr2evfWSpF7Dt82vdXvg4NMW22p68IT3EtNtHk3fSocIfrfG4QEsXu0wbmACEH0T3I_wOFKwE/s320/spatial+london+tube+map+layer1.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
The existing Vaults megadungeon will be roughly where the Bank-Monument interchange is. Lots of connections from there to as yet undefined areas underneath other parts of the Lost City of Nagoh. Some might spin off from Level 1 of the existing megadungeon, others from levels further down.<br />
<br />
All I need to do is repurpose the exasperatingly familiar pale blue line of the River Thames as a canyon, rift, escarpment, or perhaps some sort of odd underground environmental anomaly, and Bob's yer muvva's bruvva: instant undercity ~and~ a schematic layout of the Lost City of Nagoh.<br />
<br />
Yes, this is all very lazy DM. But I have good form for that. My world map? The Green Lantern map of Mosaic. My Sea of Os'r map? An old map of the Aegean Sea, flipped and rotated. It works for me. Less time wasted mapping = more time for play.<br />
<br />
Pic Source: <a href="http://www.london-tubemap.com/">Mark Noad</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-67311791835089111962012-07-16T19:00:00.000+01:002012-07-17T11:57:11.832+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt 21Week five covering the Combat chapter, and - after our educational detour through <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lets-read-mythus-pt20.html">Uncle Gary’s Bumper Glossary of Armaments</a> - we return to the matter of Combat game mechanics. Exactly why the weapons and armour info wasn’t either hived off to the existing <b>Heroic Persona Resources (Equipment) </b>section of the Chargen chapter, or put at the very end of this chapter, eludes me.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">usual rules</a>
apply. More confident/experienced readers may wish to institute the
Typical English Summer variation (empty the contents of a garbage bin
into a paddling pool, then sit in same while someone sprays you with a
garden hose).<br />
<br />
Note: much as I was tempted I won’t be instituting a new Drinking Game rule:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"drink every time the reason for doing a particular thing in ‘this’ fashion rather than ‘that’ more intuitive/logical/user-friendly manner escapes me." </blockquote>
That way lies booze-fuelled madness on a scale fit to make even noted scholar-poet Ollie Reed say "steady on!"<br />
<br />
Suffice it to say, my face this week:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRFpKe_yRcT_eqySyqqJbjU7ktZVVhmM6Wz4R2i0c2Ua-sNf0tyVdgWi514ExROaQZeCNHJ1FXsA1AspZX3re9POTMsZc9189H3zwqghaKr59qkhHrEZBN1K5AWG2EcWxiKZi8sPvgPo/s1600/im-confus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRFpKe_yRcT_eqySyqqJbjU7ktZVVhmM6Wz4R2i0c2Ua-sNf0tyVdgWi514ExROaQZeCNHJ1FXsA1AspZX3re9POTMsZc9189H3zwqghaKr59qkhHrEZBN1K5AWG2EcWxiKZi8sPvgPo/s320/im-confus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The section under examination today is entitled:<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
More on Damage to Personas</h2>
<br />
and it opens with a solitary orphaned paragraph of introductory matter at the base of page 255.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCahZtkUvCzaeJohzMM7KZmt7Hro4MZPwzm4qdW8mPCNI2LkkFUwRMp51dyyliFlzoWX9vcZw80pJOuUkQ7zJ_nbZPD_nsvZrPPcbjBA-7vE9Toeb5JhdbYZNmuwqa1F0TutnxW8ej7d0/s1600/mythus+p255+quote+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCahZtkUvCzaeJohzMM7KZmt7Hro4MZPwzm4qdW8mPCNI2LkkFUwRMp51dyyliFlzoWX9vcZw80pJOuUkQ7zJ_nbZPD_nsvZrPPcbjBA-7vE9Toeb5JhdbYZNmuwqa1F0TutnxW8ej7d0/s320/mythus+p255+quote+3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Layout 101: this goes at the TOP of the page.</span></div>
<br />
Separating this clump of actually useful page references from the related material is all sorts of bad formatting practise, and the people responsible should feel ashamed of themselves. Gentlemen charge your glasses; I feel we may have regular recourse to them this week.<br />
<br />
After a double page spread devoted to the Simplified Armour Tables + a picture our newest field of exploration resumes on page 258. The bulk of the More on Damage material extends across pages 258-275 and is broken up substantially by incidental pictures and several full-page spreads of, well, let's abide by the existing cultural convention and call it 'art', shall we? <br />
<br />
I’m sure there was a perfectly logical layout reason for 11 pages of information being strewn across 20 pages, but it's a subtle, esoteric rationale to which I am not privy. Perhaps colour plates could only be inserted into particular signatures. Whatever the reason there’s a lot of art here: some good, some adequate.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Dazing</h3>
<br />
Take more than your Wound Level (75% of Physique) or Effect Level (80% of Mental or Spirit) in damage, or get reduced to a zombified state by an <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt17.html">Attack to Control</a>, and you count as being dazed. Dazing is all sorts of not good for your HP, as evinced by this handy list of penalties:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwYgq_DlzCrgX2yn9CNCtg1w1SkQxPydWRrDO_zhswtqRjIKDKSG0MbQZUD0LI-H_iwqOgV22px0lT5DMjnNmGeSQwyus2r4DUvqz9vFVuonH9bFahkaWxIvDCrk1mp5m70Or1YaLf9k/s1600/mythus+p258+quote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwYgq_DlzCrgX2yn9CNCtg1w1SkQxPydWRrDO_zhswtqRjIKDKSG0MbQZUD0LI-H_iwqOgV22px0lT5DMjnNmGeSQwyus2r4DUvqz9vFVuonH9bFahkaWxIvDCrk1mp5m70Or1YaLf9k/s320/mythus+p258+quote.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, all of these. "F**ked are you. Crap are you doing." -- Yoda</span></div>
<br />
Dazing is an all-or-nothing effect (there's no 'half-dazed' or 'double dazed') and it lasts until you are back below your EL, or have recovered to 90% of your maximum Physique. So basically being dazed in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is a 'you lose' effect. <br />
<br />
The <i>Mythus</i> Dazed status is a marked departure from classic games like AD&D or RQ, where you fight at full effect right up until you fall over dead, or from specific wounds systems like WFRP and RoleMaster. In fact, it appears to have more in common with the 'death spiral' mechanics of such 90s-style games as Shadowrun, Vampire, etc. Whether you like that type of thing is a matter of private conscience.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Permanent Damage</h3>
Take more than your Critical Level (CL) in Physique damage and there's a chance you come away from the whole unpleasant experience with some form of lasting agony souvenir. Critical Level? 90% of Physique damage (not that the multi-page Appendix K: Glossary section sees fit to remind us - bad form!). Be your candy ass more than 90% dead? Roll d% on the Permanent Damage table, deducting 10 per Joss spent.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Enjoy your pain and disfigurement.</span></div>
<br />
Lost Physique Attribute points can be restored by magick, but seemingly as a one-time-only event (the rules are hazy in their wording). A healer can use Alchemy to mitigate Permanent Damage, -10 to the d% roll per 40 STEEP. We are warned that "<i>...when the magickal restoration is finished, no further Heka use will affect the persona’s wounds/scars, and the remaining scars are permanent.</i>" As an additional kicker: if any Attribute is still below 6 after healing the HP must be retired.<br />
<br />
*meh* Dull. <i>RoleMaster</i> and <i>WFRP</i> handle character mutilation with more panache.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Shock</h3>
<br />
An HP who takes take their WL or more in Physical damage must be treated within PMCap Battle Turns or roll on the Shock Table. Ditto anyone who requires daily medical treatment and doesn’t get it. (Here would have been a good place for an actual numbered page reference to the healing rules on pp274-275, but no.)<br />
<br />
It is nice to see thick, rich, dense lashings of jargon slathered across the page like gravy on a Sunday lunch: I’d almost forgotten what game I was reading for a second. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
How you check for shock? Roll d% +/- HP’s PMCap and other modifiers, compare to table:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq0v6WXj00-2ZMQ97Plil1KWal6ROGGd1jndnImiRArnCZnTsbCpRWugIIR3IkPpjHnt1fa9ureVbLGc2WAJwWJ8dh5EktBv4OOMgP325bON-mjV0fAwEPJsYlnezHyT6CA3acINsUco/s1600/mythus+p259+boxout+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq0v6WXj00-2ZMQ97Plil1KWal6ROGGd1jndnImiRArnCZnTsbCpRWugIIR3IkPpjHnt1fa9ureVbLGc2WAJwWJ8dh5EktBv4OOMgP325bON-mjV0fAwEPJsYlnezHyT6CA3acINsUco/s320/mythus+p259+boxout+1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We’re warned that any Attribute dropping to 0 = death, which is an old friend of a rule by now. The reader is also reminded (again) that any character with less than 6 in any Attribute should be retired as "<i>...that persona will be useless as an HP.</i>" Really? Reading these words from the man who pioneered ‘3d6 in order’ is rather sad-making. <br />
<br />
Doubly irritating is this little throwaway line: <br />
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<br />
No! Unacceptable! See also: any and all previous <i>Lets Read Mythus</i> rants on incomplete rules in a 400-page rulebook.<br />
<br />
So far, so <i>Mythus</i>: a bunch of present, but hardly correct, rules that manage to combine prescriptive with vague in the usual ‘crap sandwich sprinkled with extra jargons’ fashion. For example, the reader is explicitly cautioned in the Permanent Damage description to roll for such damage _before_ checking for Shock. I’ve no idea why this should be the case, given that any character in Shock is going to be unconscious anyway. Seeing as both Dazing and Shock are dependent upon WL, while Permanent Damage is dependent upon (more severe) CL it would make more procedural sense to order things thus: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Dazing > Shock > Permanent Damage</blockquote>
<br />
Why bother checking for limb loss immediately if your pretendy pet person is going to be in a coma for anything up to 1d6 months? It may be something to do with healing procedures, or with the in which Attribute losses are multiplied together, but the text is gnomically silent on this.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Damage from Other Physical Injury</h3>
Dazing, crippling and shock trauma are dispatched in less than a page, leaving most of pp259-274 (minus art) to cover rules for other sources of physical injury. To whit:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Acids and Alkalies (sic)</li>
<li>Cold & Exposure</li>
<li>Disease</li>
<li>Electricity & Lightning</li>
<li>Fire & Flame</li>
<li>Heka-Engendered (Other)</li>
<li>Motion Damage</li>
<li>Poisons and Antidotes</li>
<li>Starvation & Dehydration</li>
<li>Insanity & Madness</li>
<li>Other Susceptibilities</li>
</ul>
<br />
Some of these get a paragraph, others a couple of pages. Some, like asphyxiation/drowning, are omitted entirely, even though the garotte makes an appearance in the weapon lists. I’m not entirely sure why some of these rules are in a Combat chapter, rather than a more general adventuring/survival rules chapter, but I find myself coming to the position that rules for offensive starvation, combat diseases and/or martial dementia are sadly under-explored facets of fantasy adventure gaming.<br />
<br />
Another layout gripe: the heading hierarchy is b0rked. All the sub-headings in this section are boldfaced only, with a tendency to blur into one long undifferentiated textwall. Even the page-long rules for Poison & Disease suffer from boldface-only headers. By contrast individual poison/disease descriptions are called out with big, fat "h2" headings. Poor formatting choice, one that I will now proceed to improve upon.<br />
<br />
<b>Acids and Alkalis</b><br />
Concentrated acid and/or war salts inflict the Chemical damage type. All such substances have a Damage Rating and a Burn Duration, mechanical conceits which should look more than a little familiar to flask rogues* and old school burning oil fans. A typical flask of caustic joy will cause 4d6 damage (multiplied by Exposure roll) to a single target and retain its potency for 2 AT (about 10 minutes Earth time, 1 turn D&D time). Some corrosives have an open-ended Burn Duration, for extra hilarity potential.**<br />
<br />
* Gamer Jargon: flask rogue - a <i>D&D3E</i> exploit which used a combination of demijons of acid/alchemists fire + the reduce object spell + sneak attack damage to cause hideous damage per round. <br />
** Fancy burning a tunnel to the Inner Aerth using the power of vitriol? Talk to an alchemist buddy...<br />
<br />
<b>Cold & Exposure</b><br />
Chillification or sauna damage. Very hard science-based. Well, there are some very specific numbers. Does that count as scientific?<br />
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<br />
Anyone outside the ‘ideal’ temperature range for their state has to make a "Moderate" (x2) DR roll versus their PM Category or become Dazed until they warn up/cool down. Outside the ‘tolerable’ temperature range that DR changes to "Hard" (x1). Immersion in water at the lower end of the temp scale increases DRs by +2. Fear ice water: it lusts for the death of your blubberless monkey ass.<br />
<br />
On top of that outside the ‘tolerable’ range takes 1 point of Physical damage per AT (5 minutes) of exposure. Cold can also inflict Permanent (limb-stealing) Damage (as above). Enjoy your frostbite.<br />
<br />
These are rules of <i>LotFP</i>-ian brütality that will make your characters fixate on the warm/cold weather gear section of the kit list and demand the invention of the barometer (or the pixie sparkle pseudo-science Aerthish equivalent) as soon as possible. If killing characters one extremity at a time is your thing, the heat/cold rules in <i>AD&D Dark Sun</i> or in the <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm">d20 SRD</a> were less fiddly and prescriptive.<br />
<br />
<b>Disease</b><br />
Two pages of rules for contracting coughs, agues, murrains and fevers? This pleases Father Nurgle. It pleases me rather less; there's plenty of necrotising wordybloat here that could be jettisoned to no loss. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
As will probably be no surprise to man nor beast by now diseases in <i>Hatpants Gibblets</i> come complete with their own stat blocks and rules. Vide: <br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
What do all those headings mean? <br />
<br />
<b>CON-R</b> (given as CON-T in the example diseases above): this is the Contagiousness Rating of the disease, a measure of how infectious it is if exposed. This is usually around 50-60 for something powerful and nasty like Typhus or the Black Plague, higher for real horrorshow ailments like AIDS (cited as an example of such in the original text) or Ebola. CON-R is opposed to the higher of the HP’s Physical Categories* in an opposed K/S-vs.-K/S contest.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Disease wins = Persona contracts the lurgy in all its manflu-riffic glory<br />
Tie = Persona becomes a carrier<br />
Persona wins = effects shrugged off</blockquote>
<br />
The DR of the contested roll can be modified one way or the other by degree of exposure and state of health. <br />
<br />
* By the rules you can fight off a disease using your manual dexterity and reflexes, which seems... unusual. Maybe you're adept at dodging sneezes, I dunno.<br />
<br />
<b>Incubation Period:</b> how long you wander around coughing on people before your world explodes in 'orrible gooeyness. If you’re a carrier the disease can remain active in your system for up to 10 times the incubation period. <br />
<br />
<b>Strength and Short Term Effects:</b> Each disease has a Strength Rating, which is used to buy effects according to the table below:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I’ll take a grande madness with six Spirit damage per week and extra Dazing, space for pustules."</span></div>
<br />
<b>Long Term Effects:</b> effects that persist after the disease is reduced to Str 0. Insanity and Permanent Damage are the two examples given.<br />
<br />
Additional titbits extracted from the mess of texwall:<br />
<ul>
<li>Herbalists can treat diseases, with a successful roll reducing Strength Rating by 10% of their skill level (20% for a Crit). As the disease’s Strength is reduced so are the effects.</li>
<li>Fighting off a disease with bed rest and whisky uses the normal healing rules (see p274), but instead buys off poison Strength Rating rather than fixing damage. Herbalism and/or Oriental Medicine skills can accelerate this recovery. </li>
<li>Damage inflicted on TRAITS is removed from whichever Attributes the player elects.</li>
<li>Physical damage afflicted by a disease can cause Shock and Permanent Damage.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Although mechanically logical the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> disease rules are a step backwards in breadth and usefulness from those found in the Disease and Parasitic Infestation rules on pp13-14 of the One True DMG. I’m sure the two would mesh together more than adequately though.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Electricity & Lightning</b><br />
Crackling, arcing, fusing and charring: all the good stuff. Damage is inflicted per the table below:<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_719657990"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6ryBMrO2U"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Tesla! Nicolai Tesla"</span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The rules for current electricity are downright nasty! If you grab something electrified, you can’t let go and will continue to take damage. Anyone who grabs you also becomes part of the circuit. If an electrical current hits water anything within d% yards of the source suffers this electrocution shock effect.<br />
<br />
Are stunlocking electrical effects and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UosmKd1krWU">bloodtrocution</a> relevant to the interests of Old School GMs? Who can say? But I suspect you could power the world if you managed to harness the energy of all the Evil GM Hand-Rubbing.<br />
<br />
<b>Fire & Flame</b><br />
In the words of one of America's most erudite and influential cultural critics: "<i>Heeheeeheeheeeheheee. Fire! Fire! Hee hee. Fire’s cool.</i>" (pause for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jgrCKhxE1s">extended twiddly guitar solo/beer break</a>) Everyone's favourite exothermic reaction does damage per round + chance of igniting. What’s not to love? <br />
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<br />
Extinguishing your crispy self through the magic of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop,_drop_and_roll">stop, drop and roll</a> (screaming in agony and flailing optional but recommended) is a DR "Moderate" roll vs. PM Category. <br />
<br />
No rules for smoke inhalation though? Oh Gary, your completism-fu is weak today.<br />
<br />
<b>Heka-Engendered (Other)</b><br />
A one paragraph placeholder noting that many Heka-induced forms of pain use the surrounding rules unless otherwise stated. Nice to know, but a waste of a para.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Motion Damage</b><br />
The joy of crashing, banging or falling into things. HPs suffer 1d6 damage per 10’ fallen/dropped (déjà vu!) or per 5mph the object was moving. This is multiplied by an Exposure roll (x1d6) to establish exactly how inelegant and wince inducing the impact was, for a grand total of 1-36 damage per 10' fallen. Light objects may do 1d3 damage per 10’, large and heavy ones more. Remember that armour is usually not much good against Impact damage.<br />
<br />
Do you have falling rules? This is probably of little interest. <br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Dragon Warriors</i> - still the best falling damage illustration</span></div>
<br />
<b>Poisons and Antidotes</b><br />
Another skinny little chunk of rules disguising itself in the customary <i>Mythus</i> textual fat suit (*gluk gluk*). This time the subject matter is fun with toxins.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Any resemblance of Fink Angel to your humble author is purely coincidental.</span></div>
<br />
<i>Advanced Mythus</i> poisons have a statblock similar to that of diseases, thus:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ah, so that’s where <i>D&D 3E</i> cribbed its ideas.</span></div>
<br />
<b>STR</b> is the Strength Rating of the poison ("Gorsh, yu don't say?"). This is 1-100 for mundane poisons, with <20 being weak, and >60 being very powerful.<br />
<b>Longevity Rating: </b>shelf life after creation, plain and simple. <br />
<b>Effect Rate:</b> time to onset.<br />
<b>Physical Form:</b> Six types, although the distinction between liguid and oil is rather too subtle for my simple brain. <br />
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<br />
<b>Purpose:</b> Injure or Incapacitate. All poisons are one or the other. I've no idea if 'both' is an option.<br />
<ul>
<li>Injury poisons do Physical damage equal to their STR at periods = Effect Rate x1 and x2, with a last little fillip of 50% of STR at Effect Rate x3. Instantaneous poisons do the whole STR x2.5 at Effect Rate x1. (That make sense?)</li>
<li>Incapacitating Poisons cause sleep or paralysis for hours = STR.</li>
</ul>
Poison can cause Shock and Permanent Damage, with a ‘severed’ organ being damaged by the poison. Only rare poisons cause loss of Attractiveness.<br />
<br />
Fortunately there are ways of preventing the old "<a href="http://theorwellprize.co.uk/george-orwell/by-orwell/essays-and-other-works/decline-of-the-english-murder/">More entirely cyanide-free tea vicar?</a>" routine from getting out of hand.<br />
<ul>
<li>Antidotes are treated as being functionally similarly to poisons, although they take effect instantaneously. Antidotes oppose their STR to that of the poison. Treat any positive remainder as the poison's Strength Rating.</li>
<li>The First Aid skill can reduce poison by STR = first aider’s STEEP.</li>
</ul>
Because this is Gary’s game, and EGG is <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#poison">no moralistic pussy when it comes to the heroes daubing their blades in venom</a>, you can merrily brew your own poisons (and antidotes) with the <i>Toxicology</i> skill. <i>Herbalism</i>, <i>Botany</i> and <i>Chemistry</i> may also be helpful.<br />
<br />
<b>Heka-Engendered Poisons</b><br />
Because <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is an unabashed caster fap game (with several citations for public indecency in this regard) magic-slingers can make their own poisons, which are just plain better than those available to dirty muggles. Yes, wizardy types can totally whip up potions of gagging, choking and throat clutching as a function of their broader skill base. The reader is directed to <i>Mythus Magick</i> for the full skinny, but its nice that the subject gets at least some attention in the core rulebook. <br />
<br />
<b>Strength Rating:</b> can be up to 99 for natural and Preternatural poisons, up to 199 for Supernatural poisons. I think the latter are demon venom and suchlike. I think...<br />
<b>Longevity Rating:</b> Depends on Heka expended.<br />
<b>Effect Rate:</b> Buy with Heka.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Purpose:</b> Injury or Incapacitate.<br />
<b>Physical Form:</b> As well as the mundane methods Heka-Engendered poisons can also be administered by:<br />
<ol>
<li>Gaze</li>
<li>Glyph</li>
<li>Ray (field)</li>
<li>Touch</li>
</ol>
<br />
These 'magic poisons only' physical forms kind of rock IMO. The idea of a basilisk poisoning you with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddington_Bear">Paddingtonian</a> hard stare, or Heroic Personas going down to poisonous blasts of radiation, or some poor sap carefully deciphering the words "<i>Caution: these runes toxic if read. Oh.</i>" fill my cold black heart with wicked glee. <br />
<br />
Although there’s definitely room for a bit of simplification I quite like the <i>Mythus</i> poison rules. The division of poisons by effect, rather than by method of administration as in One True DMG implies that the two games' poison rules might be used in a complimentary manner. Whether this was deliberate and intentional on the part of EGG is debatable, but it wouldn't surprise me.<br />
<br />
<b>Starvation & Dehydration</b><br />
Dying from lack of food and water. Slow, ignominious, unglamorous: I’m sure readers of Let’s Read Mythus can empathise.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Starvin': 3 days + PMCap hours, then Dazed. For every day over 5 take 1d6 Physical damage.<br />
Thirstin': 1 day + PMCap hours, then Dazed. Every 4 hours without water take 1d6 Physical damage.</blockquote>
<br />
Physical damage inflicted by starvation or dehydration cannot be healed unless and until the character first satisfies their hunger or thirst.<br />
<br />
Not bad, but <a href="http://www.lotfp.com/RPG/products/lotfp-weird-fantasy-role-playing">LotFP</a> already does similar for the "save vs." crowd. And I can think of another 'debilitating deficiency in an essential of life' that was tragically overlooked here. *cough, cough*<br />
<br />
<b>Insanity & Madness</b><br />
Another big chunk, the substance of which The Man Himself had already dispatched faster and better back in the day. The rules spread across two full pages, but only a column or so is actual rules. The rest of the textblock is descriptions and potted rules for handling the various insanities.<br />
<br />
<i>Mythus</i> uses a pretty orthodox Sanity Check mechanic, with rolls triggered by one of six criteria:<br />
<ol>
<li>Character takes Spiritual EL in damage (DR Hard)</li>
<li>Character takes Mental EL in damage (DR Moderate)</li>
<li>Witness death of a loved one, or happen upon their mutilated body (DR Moderate)</li>
<li>Subject to prolonged torture (DR Difficult to Extreme)</li>
<li>Confronted by extremely powerful monster/supernatural being (DR Hard)</li>
<li>Effect induced by magic item or spell.</li>
</ol>
Two separate rolls are made against the characters MR and SM Categories (trans. Int + Wis), with each failure inflicting an additional 1d3 damage in that TRAIT for each level of DR (Moderate = 2d3, Hard = 3d3, etc). If _both_ rolls are failed the character gains one or more mental aberrations, with the total damage inflicted being used to purchase eccentricities from the table below.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">On the menu today...</span></div>
<br />
Insanities gained are supposed to be kept secret by the player and role-played as appropriate. All the other players are expected to work out what has happened to their increasingly erratic friend.<br />
<br />
Mental Aberrations are usually permanent, at least until diagnosed and healed by skilled care or magick. Insanities induced by poisons, drugs or <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt17.html">Attacks to Derange</a> are not, and generally last only as long as the effect that induced them. Of course, if an induced insanity pushes the HP over his effect level there's a good chance a 'death spiral' of mental degeneration will kick in. Clever that.<br />
<br />
These are OK rules, but nothing that <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> and <i>AD&D</i> didn’t already do just as well. One thing that does bug me is the terminology: why are ‘madness’ and ‘insanity’ deemed two different things in this particular Gygaxian schema? Any mental health professionals out there have a handle on the logic?<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Other Susceptibilities</b><br />
"<i>Physical, Mental and/or Spiritual Damage can be inflicted by certain kinds of things being ingested, touched, proximate, or perceived (seen, heard, and/or smelled).</i>" You can be excused a slight flicker of déjà vu there in that the preceding sentence looks more than a little familiar to someone who read the earlier section on Susceptibilities (<a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lets-read-mythus-pt19.html">back on page 230</a>). We’re informed that *these* Susceptibilities are distinct from the ones discussed earlier. Why? No idea. Gary says so. Shut the hell up!<br />
<br />
Because the preceding list of stuff to be violently, dangerously allergic to wasn’t thorough enough we are given an even more big-ass list:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Just as in our world anything is someone's fetish, so in Mythusworld everything is someone's bane. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="color: red;">
<b>[froth mode engaged]</b></div>
The organisation of the (actually very simple) rules in this section is a topic-hopping word salad with a definite ‘deadline panic’ reek about it. You think I’m overstating the case? Ok, take a look at this and then tell me that it’s a model of brevity and clarity:<br />
<br />
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<br />
The above was not from some kid’s mimeographed joke game from the early 80s. That was an <i>actual piece of published rules writing</i>. Written by supposed professionals. In 1992.<br />
<br />
Does this impress me? <br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Nope.</span></div>
<br />
When parsed for sense it turns out there are two paragraphs of rules plus example regarding Contact Susceptibility. Then a column of nested bullet points about Allergic Reactions, of which there are seemingly two types: Severe Reaction and plain old Allergy. Finally we get a bunch of guff about Proximity Susceptibilities, along with a table of degrees of Susceptibility on page 274, which probably should have been front-and-centre. <br />
<br />
It would make much more sense to define Contact and Proximity, and <i>only then</i> talk about the mechanics of Allergic reactions. That is simple procedural logic: define area of effect first. In fact it’s so simple, logical and intuitive that’s the order I’m going to look at the section. It might not be correct in terms of the order the Blessed Gary wrote things, but I refuse to be complicit in such obvious wrong.<br />
<br />
Watch this: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Contact:</b> Take damage per round if you are touched with, are proximate to, or perceive the inimical substance/stimulus. Amount of damage varies, as does whether you take Mental, Physical or Spiritual damage, or more than one type.<br />
<br />
How far is sensory range for the purposes of Contact? That’s covered under Allergic Reaction, sub-type B, sub-sub-heading 2 (once again, not kidding). Sound = 150’, visual perception = 30’, smoke = 20’, odour = 10’.<br />
<br />
<b>Proximity:</b> Take damage if you’re within a set distance of the thing you’re allergic to, aware or not. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>Allergic Reaction:</b> remain in contact with your bane for a certain period of time; take damage (up to 1 per CT). If exposed for a prolonged period suffer side effects, for example "<i>...a lowering of one of its Attributes, its movement capacity, or some other ability such as Perception, combat, etc.</i>"<br />
<b>Severe Allergic Reaction:</b> As Allergic Reaction + suffer Dazing (q.v.).</blockquote>
<br />
And that’s the second set of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Susceptibility rules, reduced to 155 words + 1 table and translated into a form comprehensible to busy GMs. That definitely counts as <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">a page of wordswordswords reduced to one simple rule</a> in my book.<br />
<div style="color: red;">
<b>[froth mode disengaged]</b></div>
<br />
Could you make use of these rules? Well, that depends. Most classic gamers will disregard this Susceptibilities section as needless pixel-bitching that they can handle with their own common sense; new schoolers will despise these rules as written for a lack of clarity and completeness. If you're going to re-write them so that they make sense, you might as well just institute your own Fatal Weakness rules.<br />
<br />
Sadly, that conclusion on the subjectomabob of Susceptibilities, ver2 is also my general conclusion on the <b>More on Damage to Personas</b> section as a whole. There are a couple of half-decent rules hidden in the undergrowth of this particular ruined temple of blahblah, but whether hacking them out of the morass of surrounding material is worth it is an open question. The poisons rules are okay, and the idea of contesting a disease with opposed rolls has the germ of a fun medical mini-game in there somewhere, and the electrocution rules are nicely bloodthirsty, but apart from that there’s not much to write home about. <br />
<br />
Three good ideas in 9 pages or so? I’ll happily drink to them, but as a final total it’s pretty sad; definitely not up to Zak’s <b>One Good Idea per Page, Minimum</b> rule. This part of <i>Batman's Slippers</i> has lots of fuss over nothing busywork, and plenty of ‘done better elsewhere’.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<h2>
Healing</h2>
<br />
The Combat chapter ends with two pages of healing rules (pp274-275). Yeah, healing rules. I know, I know:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mr Sleepy Office Bunny: he speaks for us all.</span></div>
<br />
Healing rules are a necessary element of an RPG, but no one actually raves about them. I mean, when was the last time you indulged in wild-eyed, zealous fanboyish frothing about a game because of its healing rules? Nope, me neither. (braces for answers in the comments, yer smart-alecs)<br />
<br />
<b>Normal Physical Healing</b><br />
This is pretty standard. You heal <i>n</i> damage/day, more with medical treatment ("Prime Rate"), none if exerting oneself. Nothing you haven’t seen a thousand times before then. For once in /AM/ history the brawny-but-dumb catch a break in that the more beefcake you are the faster you heal:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Prime Rate: +1/2 per day": I just saved you a whole column.</span></div>
<br />
Note that anyone with less than an average of 6 in the three Attributes in their PM Category <i>cannot heal damage naturally at all</i>. This gives a bit of context to the earlier admonition that characters with stats lower than 6 should be retired, but also means that the physically puny in Mythusworld are entirely unable to recover from injuries. (Probably their own fault for not being outside the pure blooded <strike>Aryan</strike> Heka-slinger master race.)<br />
<br />
We also get a last couple of name checks to our new friends Dazed and Shock, one of which (paraphrase: "Your Shocked checkbox is unticked after 24 hours of bed rest") might have been an actual useful footnote 16 pages ago. <br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Normal Mental and Spiritual Healing</b><br />
Use the above Healing Rates table, but swap in the MR or SM Categories for PM (*gluk gluk*) and replace "per 24 hours" with "per 12 hours". Prime Rate is obtained through the ministrations of an Oriental Medic or Yogi.<br />
<br />
<b>Heka-Assisted Healing</b><br />
This is basically a placeholder paragraph reminding the reader that various "<i>...Heka-Generating K/S Areas, such as Priestcraeft, Religion, Mysticism, Alchemy, Herbalism, and Yoga...</i>" are the place to go for healing magic. Good to know.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Regeneration </b><br />
You can grow favourite lopped off bits back either through the power of certain 1337 skills, or by resorting to magick. Again, good to know.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Rejuvenation</b><br />
The restoration of Attribute points lost to age or Permanent Damage is a rejuvenating magick exclusive. Who knows, maybe in Mythusworld all those stupidly expensive snake oil cosmetics actually do work.<br />
<br />
<b>Life Restoration by Casting </b><br />
Two paragraphs which repeat the point that a resurrection attempt is a one-time-only deal twice. Jeez! We get it EGG: there’s no D&D-style ‘revolving door of death’ in <i>Mythus</i>.<br />
<br />
So two pages of 'dull but necessary' then. Much as expected. We pass on without regret or backward glance.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> a "Lazy McBastardson phones it in" post of art criticism for chapter 12 before we fearfully lift the lid off the sepulchre of chapter 13: <b>Heka and Magick</b>*. You know, I’m growing to loathe and despise that particular mis-spelling. On the bright side though, it has given me a possible nerd rap pseudonym: Extraneous K.<br />
<br />
* Thankfully no relation to the pewter molesting kitschmongers at <a href="http://www.mythandmagic.net/">Myth & Magic</a>. <br />
<br />
<b>Pic Sources:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, <i>Dragon Warriors</i> book 1, Jollyjack's <a href="http://www.collectedcurios.com/spiderandscorpion.html">Spider & Scorpion</a>, teh lectrowubz<br />
<div style="color: red;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: red;">Edited 17/07/2012 (to add correct healing table and some extra snide.)</span>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-56106050177201087992012-07-09T23:00:00.000+01:002012-07-09T23:00:00.569+01:00The VillarsThere is a 20% chance any castle/settlement encounter on the Nagai Plains* is with a Villar, one of the famous living towers of the Wilds.<br />
<br />
* Between the Deus Tines, the Crumbling Hexlands, the Footprints of Ayrvaat and all the ruins, lost cities, brigadoons, soft places, nomad tribes and ideocults out on the Plains I'm surprised there's any room left for the grass.<br />
<br />
What does a Villar look like? Well, pretty much this:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">That little blob to the bottom right. Your guy.</span></div>
<br />
Most Villars amble along with a slow, smooth elegance (the inhabitants feel less rocking than in a ship) which covers the ground as rapidly as a running horse. Others stand still for years on end, arms crossed and 'chin' rested contemplatively on one immense hand. Yes, Villars are able to climb, albeit slowly and with great care.<br />
<br />
These self-willed colossi of unknown origin are perfectly happy to have people move in to their summit towers, it seems to fulfil them in some undisclosed manner. They will happily negotiate to travel to particular locations in return for maintenance work, repairs, beautification, or the eviction of annoying pests (birds, harpies, etc). Villars are rarely if ever hostile (treat all 'hostile' reaction rolls
as 'avoid/ignore'), but will occasionally stomp or kick in self-defence.
Hoofed by an unhappy castle? Save or die I'd say.<br />
<br />
A Villar is largely immune to mind control magic (<i>charm castle</i>? Fek right arf!) and is protected from most physical harm by its massive size and stone-hard skin. It takes immense power to do anything more than mildly inconvenience a Villar. An <i>earthquake</i> spell or <i>horn of blasting</i> might do one some harm, whereas something like <i>move earth</i> or <i>stone to mud</i> might cause them to trip or stumble. Why not try seeing what happens if you <i>summon</i> an earth elemental inside a Villar's leg? That should put a smile on the GM's face...<br />
<br />
The walking towers will not approach within 'sight' range (~11 miles) of normal, sedentary castles or cities, which they refer to by an archaic name whose closest modern equivalent is 'sleeping kindred'. They will cheerfully wander through small or impermanent settlements (villages, tent cities, camps, etc.) with all the blithe disregard of a man for an ant's nest. Dungeons? Villars <i>really</i> don't like to talk about dungeons, and will change the subject politely but firmly.<br />
<br />
Inhabitants? 50% chance occupied, in which case use the OD&D castle table. If you like a bit of gonzo on ya dinner then you might instead want to roll on BBGLF's <a href="http://builtbygodslongforgotten.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/space-fantasy-castle-inhabitants.html">Space Fantasy Castle Inhabitant Table</a>. If the Villar is vacant then you can always roll up a plot hook on BTBG Al's <a href="http://beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/random-table-ruined-building-contents.html">Random Ruined Buildings Contents</a> table (coz a 100'+ tall walking castle isn't plot hook enough in itself...).<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><br />Pic Source:</b> <a href="http://waynebarlowe.wordpress.com/">Wayne Barlowe</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-39113612688360002782012-07-09T19:30:00.000+01:002012-07-09T19:34:16.104+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt20Ah me, where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday that I first jokingly broached the idea of a Lets Read of <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> (and for the life of me I can’t remember why that ever seemed like a good idea). Now here we are, 20-odd weeks later, still deep in the Combat chapter, facing yet another wodge of text, tables and wonky formatting. <br />
<br />
Today we exhume the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> rules on Weapons and Armour, which sprawl across pages 235-256 in a bloated abandon reminiscent of an orgied-out Roman emperor. Those last few hardened, dead-eyed souls still <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">playing along at home</a> may wish to charge their glasses with something nice and paint-stripping now.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Weapons and Armour Information and Tables</h2>
<br />
<br />
The section opens with a couple of paragraphs of introductory busywork. In brief: "here are tables of stats for war gear, uses them." (a paraphrase, not the original gygaxian prose) The customary intro is followed by a column of text explaining what all the abbreviations in the forthcoming tables mean. <br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">These abbreviations.</span></div>
<br />
<b>Sub-Area</b> -- what weapon skill sub-area you use to bash people.<br />
<b>WP</b> -- Weapon Points. How much the weapon adds to your skill.<br />
<b>C</b> -- Composition; what your thwackenstick is made from. (M for metal, W for wood, C for combination)<br />
<b>S</b> -- Speed Factor. Not ‘SF’? I’ve no idea why not.<br />
<b>DT</b> -- damage type (P for piercing, C for cutting, S for stunning, B for blunt, etc.)<br />
<b>Dam</b> -- base weapon damage<br />
<b>Reach</b> -- striking range (in yards)<br />
<b>Price</b> -- price in Mythusbucks.<br />
<br />
Additional notations for missile weapons:<br />
<br />
<b>T</b> -- thrown weapon? Y/N distinction.<br />
<b>Price</b> -- given in a ###/## format. The number before the slash is weapon price, after is price per shot<br />
<b>ROF</b> -- rate of fire per round (before modification for skill level)<br />
<br />
Not sure if any of these are worth toasting as OMJ (Original Mythus Jargon - <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">gateway to liver damage since Feb 2012</a>); with the exception of 'WP' and 'SF' they’re all pretty standard RPG jargon.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Weapon Tables</h3>
Remember the weapons tables back in the <i>AD&D PHB</i>; the ones that sprawled across a page or so, and which were so lovingly parodied in <i>Hackmaster</i>? Well, the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> weapon tables cover <u>four</u> pages: pp236-240, the whole of pages 236-240. That's two pages for listings of melee weapons, one page for missile weapons, and then another page of missile weapon ranges, of which there are five: Point Blank, Short, Medium, Long, Extreme. Why five? Because three range brackets would just be soooooo unrealistic, of course.<br />
<br />
In total the tables give stats for: <br />
<br />
Melee Weapons -- 18 swords, 9 shields, 59 others -- total 86<br />
Missile Weapons -- 8 bows, 9 xbows, 23 others -- 40 total<br />
<br />
Almost all the special rules and footnotes from EGG's iconic <i>AD&D</i> weapon tables are in there, along with a few new ones. There are 13 special weapon abilities all told, and it looks like this is where all the special attack stuff I was lamenting the lack of <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lets-read-mythus-pt19.html">last week</a> has been hanging out. Want to unhorse/disarm/entangle? See here:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Yeah, lotsa combat options, all hidden away in the footnotes.<br />
<br />
Its nice to see some familiar old friends (hold at bay, prod off horse, etc.) poking out of the sanity-devouring accretion of <a href="http://zalchis.blogspot.com/">Zalchisian</a> proportions that is the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> rule set. But - and isn’t there always a ‘but’ - I do have one small niggle with these super secret esoteric rules of doubleplusobscurity. Namely, that the half-written rule problem which so often plagues <i>Advanced Mythus</i> rears its ugly head again. For example:<br />
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<br />
Ok, great. But what DR are you supposed to test against? A straight DR "Hard"(x1) roll? A DR derived from the relative weapon skills of the participants (in the manner of a <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt9.html">contested K/S vs. K/S roll</a>)? Does the guy you’re trying to do stuff to get an <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt17.html">Avoidance roll</a>? Are we told? Are we hell. <br />
<br />
The footnotes to the missile weapon tables are much simpler, with only one special rule and a couple of notes on ammunition cost. But then what else did you expect regarding a series of variations on a theme of string and twigs? It's not like <a href="http://www.endless.hu/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/Crecy_01.jpg">anyone armed with a bow was ever instrumental in winning a battle</a>; no, not like Gary's beloved pole-arms. <br />
<br />
Wassat? "Gunpowder weapons?" Wash your filthy mouth out!<br />
<br />
A couple of other takeaways from the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> weapon tables:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Pike, Mancatcher and (Bill-)Guisarme(-Voulge) are slow as owt at SF 10. Enjoy your going last.</li>
<li>Rapier, Scimitar, Mancatcher and Lance practically do your fighting for you, adding 10 WP to your skill (12 if you pick up a heavy lance). Sure, coz lancing is super-easy and takes no practise at all...</li>
<li>Daggers are able to unhorse opponents. Nope, it says so right there on page one of the grand unified melee weapon table.</li>
<li>Long bows and crossbows negate the first 5 Armour whenever they hit. Some melee weapons (particularly the Renaissance-era ones: halberd, 2H sword, morningstar, pick, pike) ignore even more; anything up to 2x their inherent WP!</li>
<li>Some weapons are officially useless against armour, either doubling armour values per hit, or causing 0 damage.</li>
<li>Throwing a rock at someone? That's Hand Weapon, Missile (sub-area: <b>darts</b>). <span class="st">¿</span>Que?</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
Weapon Descriptions</h3>
<br />
As well as the four pages of tables for 120+ types of weapon, we’re also offered no less than eight pages of text defining those weapons. The weapon lists are pretty much what you'd expect of a Cold War-era militaria nerd's knowledge base: the majority of stabbinators are European or Japanese, with a scattering of notorious weapons (bolas, blowgun, shaolin shovel, <i>cho-ko-nu</i>, tulwar) from other cultures. I spotted no African, Amerindian, or Polynesian weapons, and very few Indian and SEAsian ones, so all you maquahuitl, tlinga, katar or chakram fans are SOL. <br />
<br />
But fret not knife-on-a-stick fetishists! All the classic Gygaxian pole-arms are there. All. Of. Them. Because a game without glaive-guisarmes and six alternative names for the ranseur(!) is no game at all. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Each and every killtoy gets one paragraph of potted description covering such germane information as:<br />
<ul>
<li>general appearance, </li>
<li>cultural origin,</li>
<li>use in combat, and</li>
<li>minimum strength requirement to wield. </li>
</ul>
The minimum strength requirements are, to put it mildly, problematic. For one thing I've no idea why this particular rules wrinkle wasn’t defined earlier and integrated into the weapon tables: it’s not like a there’s a lack of space. For another thing more than a few of the requirements seem rather over-inflated. Min PMPow (Str) of 13 to use a katana? Min Str 15-16 to use a pole-arm? In a game where normal humans have Str 10? That seems steep to someone used to RQ's 'Min Str 7/9' requirements. To cap it all there's no mention of any penalty for using a weapon that's too heavy for you, just a blanket ‘you must be this high to ride’ number. PMPow 15 and you want to use a PMPow 16 weapon? RULES SAYS NO!<br />
<br />
Dear oh dear. That is no way to run a whelk stall...<br />
<br />
A couple of weapons from the tables ('chopper', 'generic shield') are missing text descriptions, and there are a few other odd Easter eggs hidden among all the wordswordswords:<br />
<ul>
<li>Pig feathers (a metal version of the classic sharpened stake) don’t even belong on this table; they’re an emplaced battlefield obstacle, not a weapon.</li>
<li>Manopele? An armoured sword-breaking gauntlet covered in blades and spikes. METAL as all hell.</li>
<li>A Foot Bow (Long) - or possibly a Foot (Long) Bow - is basically a giant crossbow that uses you as the body. See that wacky scene in Hero [link].</li>
<li>Get your bow wet and you lose *at least* 50% range and any bonus damage. Get your compound bow wet and its 75% likely to come unglued. Bow users: enjoy your 'hostage to a dick GM' status.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Finally we come to the all-important question of utility. Is this section useful? <br />
<br />
Arguably not. If you've read the <i>AD&D</i> weapon rules you've had most of the benefit of this section, and the writing herein is the worst sort of completist, minutiae-obsessed game writing. I’m not going to take EGG to task for failing to anticipate the later prominence of Google and Wikipedia, but I know for a fact that handbooks of medieval warfare and weapons (produced either by <a href="http://www.waynesbooks.com/weaponbooks.html">game designers</a> or by <a href="http://www.ospreypublishing.com/">general interest publishers</a>) were readily available in the 1990s. Eight pages spent defining a spear, katana or pike is naught but just needless busywork and completism. <br />
<br />
And then there’s this particular weapon description:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Argh! the obvious! I'm blind! I’m completely blind!!!</span></div>
<br />
Is that subtle self-parody, or just complete loss of proportion? I don't even know any more. <br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Advanced Mythus: Chaos plot?</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Armour Tables and Descriptions</h3>
<br />
<br />
Just when you thought it couldn't get any fiddlier and pixel-bitchy, we finally come face-to-face with the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> armour rules in all their infernal glory. They're only six pages in toto*, and include rules for natural (monster) armour, for humanoid (suit) armour, for barding (animal) armour, and no less than three variations on the theme of simplified <i>Advanced Mythus</i> armour. Yes, you read that right. <i>Mythus</i> even manages to make a meal of simplifying thing.<br />
<br />
* Wait, did I <i>really</i> just write 'only six pages of armour rules'? What is this game doing to my head?! More worryingly, why are the armour rules lodged in some poor little Scottie dog? <br />
<br />
The crux of the Mythus armour system is the Armour Categories table:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Because a dozen armour locations makes sense in a game with four hit locations.</span></div>
<br />
You can only have one piece of armour per Category, but each piece of armour grants its protective bonus to all the listed Hit Location Areas. Does that make an oz of sense to you? Thankfully there are a couple of paragraphs of worked examples and rationales for the hopelessly confused. The self-awareness test is again failed with a helpful suggestion that "<i>...it would be a good idea to create an armour sheet to help you keep track of it all</i>."<br />
<br />
<h3>
Natural Armour</h3>
Monster armour in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is weird and a bit irritating in that completely negates the benefits of multiplied damage from hit location rolls. No, seriously. Read this: <br />
<br />
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<br />
So, according to this, rolling for Hit Location on a monster is nothing but busywork. <br />
<br />
The above conclusion is not just me interpolating meaning for dramatic effect. This textual WTFery is entirely supported by the example gratis offered as elaboration and clarification. Consider the armour schema of a Mythus monster:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Because a unified 'All Others' column would never work. </span></div>
<br />
Argh! That's just stupid! A single row of 'Normal' armour and note to the effect of "deduct this from damage before multiplying for Area hit" would cut that whole over-elaborate table down one value, two modifiers, and a footnote, and all in a grand total of three lines. Watch:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Stone Golem</b><br />
Armour, Non-Vital 20* (Electricity 10, Blunt 5)<br />
* deduct from damage taken /before/ multiplying for hit location</blockquote>
<br />
Natural Armour? Nothing natural about it! Kill it with fire, salt the earth, and start from scratch!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Human(oid) Armour</h3>
<br />
Rules for artificial armour. Cost for bigger suits scales in a linear fashion (+100% for each +3' of height above human norm), while protective value scales not at all. So a 12' tall giant's suit of armour costs three times the human norm (no, not eight times) and blocks exactly the same damage that a human size suit does. I'll just leave that bizarre little nugget o’ Mythuslore there to enrage anyone who understands cube-square mathematics, shall I?<br />
<br />
The introductory paragraph of madness is followed by another para' explaining the abbreviations used in the tables on the following pages (a bunch of damage types, "AP Cat" = Armour Protection Category, "SF Pen" = Speed Factor Penalty). This is delicious jargon, and we drink to it. (*gluk gluk*) <br />
<br />
After the decompression of OMJ terms into English we're then given something that, at least in a bad light, looks a little like an armour encumbrance rule:<br />
<br />
Running: -1 yd/BT per -1 SF penalty.<br />
Walking: -1 yd/AT per -1 SF penalty.<br />
Dodging: impossible in armour with SF 5+. Why SF 5 or more? Because phuque, that's why! <br />
<br />
Whether you’ll care enough to remember something as fiddly as this in play is up to the conscience of the reader. I wouldn’t give it a second look myself.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Armour Tables</h3>
<br />
Cover pp248-249. Listings of all the information you could ever want or need for both individual items and for full suits of armour. Annoyingly there's no 'bespoke' vs. 'off the peg' organisation, everything is all mixed in together in alphabetical order. Could have been handled better IMO.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Page 2 of 2, page 1 is just more of the same.</span></div>
<br />
There are several footnotes at the base of the second page, and the old <i>Mythus</i> crime of using both bullet points (·) and askterisks (*) in a font where there is almost nothing to distinguish them rears its head again. "Bad editing staff! No cookie for you!"<br />
<br />
All those different numbers by damage type probably relate, in some subtle way, to the Weapon-vs.-AC tables of <i>AD&D</i> fame, but I'm blowed if I can tease out any correlation beyond the most obvious.<br />
<br />
Astute observers will note that shields make a reappearance, this time giving their defensive stats rather than Speed Factor damage. A rational mind (as opposed to the mercilessly Martian logical one that actually laid out <i>Advanced Mythus</i>) would probably have hied the shields off into a single unified table all of their own.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Armour Descriptions</h3>
<br />
Pages 250-253 are a primer on the art of armour, from the evolution in styles of full plate right down to the subtle delights of Cuissarts, Demi-Jambarts and Tuilles. (Nope, me neither without checking) One paragraph per suit or piece of oddly shaped metal. The Speed Factor penalties from the armour tables are reproduced in the description. My cursory flick-through turned up no text/table conflicts.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Barding Descriptions</h3>
<br />
Armour for animals. Warhorses (+elephants +monsters) only. Work and riding horses are unable to wear barding. Why is not explained, they just can't. Barding of a particular type always protects per the table. I assume the listed price is to bard a horse rather than a war-elephant or something equally rock-and-roll. Nothing is said about the price of armouring other creatures. Presumably it's an "If sir has to ask, sir cannot afford" situation...<br />
<br />
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<br />
The table is pretty self-explanatory to anyone familiar with the human(oid) armour tables.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"SF Pen" percentage is actually a penalty to the mount's speed.</li>
<li>Chamfron and Front Plates are additional 'bolt-on' armour. Everything else is a big coat of horse reinforcement.</li>
</ul>
A textual note that creatures of Phaeree cannot wear any ferrous-metal barding
(iron, steel, adamantine) and must wear bronze reveals that the latter
metal offers only 70% of the protection of steel. This implies a whole
other level of detail regarding non-iron weapons and armour, a world of
which we (perhaps mercifully) know nothing.<br />
<br />
Useful? Depends on how fiddly you like your tinned horse rules... <br />
<br />
<h3>
Cost of Weapons and Armour</h3>
<br />
Price of stabbers and tinbitz varies by quality.<br />
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<br />
Quality in turn affects <i>only</i> the amount of damage your shiny toy can take in parries. Spending 10x the normal amount on a weapon of "Unsurpassed" quality modifies its innate Weapon Points, Speed Factor penalty or encumbrance effect by precisely 0. You want a better weapon? Go kow-tow to the Heka-slinger: they have the monopoly on improving weapons. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Silly muggle! All mundane quality is equally worthless; only magick has mechanical benefits in Mythusworld."</blockquote>
Price variations with no useful purpose in-game? *pffft* Seen better. Heck, written better.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Damage To And Repair Of Armour</h3>
<br />
An opening plaint on the complexity of modelling wear and tear on armour before we're informed that if a piece of armour takes maximum damage 10 times (ie: blocks damage, but some still gets through to you) it falls to bits. That drops to "5 penetrating hits = crumple" if its a buckler. Again, no variations for quality. <br />
<br />
We do find the limits of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> armour fiddliness though:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Note Gary's polite use of the word 'purist'.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Averaged Armour</h3>
<br />
Most of pages 255-256 is spent in tacit admission that the default armour system of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is overcomplicated to the point of absurdity. The reader who might actually want to play a game of <i>Mythus</i> some time before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_death_of_the_universe">heat death of the universe</a> is offered three alternate system of simplified armour calculation. <br />
<br />
The first alternative system is <b>Average Armour</b>, and it offers three levels of coverage (half, 3/4, full) in six remarkably familiar types.<br />
<br />
Half armour = byrnie (coat) only<br />
three-quarter = byrnie + greaves and gauntlets<br />
full = the above + helm, shield, brassarts<br />
<br />
The armour types are (stop me if you've heard this one before):<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hello old friends. What are you doing in a dump like this?</span></div>
<br />
Want simpler? Pick an off-the-peg <b>Averaged Armour, Simplified</b> suit: all the joy of damage types with none of the number-juggling of pick'n'mix armour.<br />
<br />
Want simpler even than that? Choose <b>Averaged Armour, Unified Damage Types</b>, which is basically the <i>Mythus Prime</i> armour system.<br />
<br />
The numbers are run for you in one last page-spanning table:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Start simple, get more complex? Such is not the <i>Mythus</i> way!</span></div>
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
And that's the skinny on arms and armour in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. Wasn't it both fun and infinitely useful for your nice, simple, rules-light Classic game?<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Pwa-hahahahahaha!!!"</span> <br />
<br />
Sorry, no. Couldn't keep a straight face there. <br />
<br />
Seriously, some stuff here might be of interest to <i>AD&D</i> players, or to <i>RuneQuesters</i> who want a bit more mechanical fiddliness to their arms and armour rules. Almost anyone else should probably take these weapons and armour rules as a cautionary example of the dangers of excess.<br />
<br />
I think I’m going to go and read classic super simple Brit-gamer RPG <a href="http://www.arion-games.com/AFF.html">AFF: Dungeoneer</a> until my desire to hunt down the surviving members of GDW’s editing department and make them eat pages of <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> while screaming "You! You let this happen!" abates. I may be some time...<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> Dazing, Permanent Damage, Shock and more. And that's just what's going on inside my head...<br />
<br />
<b>Pic source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, teh netlowubz<br />
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-58524208161404592202012-07-02T20:00:00.000+01:002012-07-02T20:00:04.904+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt19Welcome again to Let's Read Mythus, our weekly trawl through the Gary Gygax's post D&D masterwork. Today we trudge into the murderous mess that is the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Physical Combat rules, which may or may not be of usable salvage value to players of other games.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<h2>
Physical Combat, Lethal</h2>
<br />
<br />
Week three of Combat, and we finally get to the crux of the matter: thwacking dudes with swords. And, no, that's not just me being a bloodthirsty lowbrow bogmonkey; we have it on good authority from the pen of the master his own bad self:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">One of us. One of us. One of us.</span></div>
<br />
One nice short paragraph saying that Lethal Combat is dangerous (No, really?) and assuring us that "<i>Note that while these rules may seem complicated, once you get used to them they're quite easy. They are designed to simulate reality and the actual suspense which exists in combat</i>." Ok. So the confusion, tears, pain and screaming were actually a desired outcome borne of careful attention to verisimilitude, and not just my reflexive horrified reaction.<br />
<br />
Front and centre attention is drawn to the all-important sidebar, to which anyone daring this section will probably want to cling to like a drowning man snatching at a life ring:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is your (war)god now!</span></div>
<br />
Pages 223-230 are all just footnotes to this.<br />
<br />
The main thing to note is that, unlike every other form of combat in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>, Lethal Physical Combat offers absolutely no option to do anything other than hit someone. There's no option of attacking to cripple, or blind, or disarm, or anything else. Eight pages of mechanics for hitting and hitting back. And that's it.<br />
<br />
Oh, I tell a lie. You can parry someone else's attempt to hit you. Big whoop!<br />
<br />
Notable new jargon:<br />
<br />
<b>Basic Attack Chance (BAC)</b> -- weapon skill STEEP + modifiers for high Perception and quick reflexes<br />
<b>Final Attack Chance (FAC)</b> -- This is your BAC after all modifiers; what you actually roll the die against.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Weapon Information</h3>
<br />
Pages 223-225 are full of information, tables and worked examples explaining how to determine attacks and damage with a particular weapon. It starts thus:<br />
<br />
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<br />
And, like some sort of aspie Terminator, absolutely does not stop until the end of p225. There is a <i>lot</i> of info here, all divided up into sub-sections corresponding to the numbered points above:<br />
<br />
<b>BAC</b><br />
This is STEEP + Weapon Points + Bonus for Physical Perception. Each of these gets some defining blurb.<br />
<br />
<i>STEEP</i> we know. That's your skill level with the weapon in question derived from the relevant Combat (HTH, Lethal, or Hand Weapon, or Hand Weapon, Missile) K/S Area sub-area. Mmmm, delicious jargon. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
<i>Weapon Points</i> are a novelty. These are a seemingly ass-pulled number that a particular type of weapon adds to your BAC. I'm a bit vague on what Weapon Points represent: possibly some abstraction of reach and handiness? All weapon, except HTH, Lethal weapons like nunchaku and tai-fu, have Weapon Points. Why? No idea. Magic weapons have bonus Weapon Points over and above the norm for their type.<br />
<br />
<i>Bonus for Physical Perception</i> are granted for high stats according to the following table:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Just for completeness, we're also told how to work out BAC for characters who lack the correct K/S sub-area to correctly wield their chosen stab-toy. Half-trained klutz BAC is Weapon Points + 1/2 the relevant general Combat skill (HTH Lethal, Melee or Missile). Total combat virgin BAC (for those with no relevant weapon skill) = Weapon Points only. Enjoy your sudden, messy death.<br />
<br />
<b>Attacks per Round</b><br />
Varies by type of weapon and by skill with weapon. We're helpfully referred back to the skill descriptions, and forward to the weapon tables later in the Combat chapter. Try to enjoy the breeze as the pages flap back and forth during the orgy of cross-referencing this section requires.<br />
<br />
<b>Damage</b><br />
A couple of tables giving bonuses to Physical damage. These are just clarifications of simple rules:<br />
<ul>
<li>High STEEP damage bonus is +1 per 5 points of skill over 40. At 71+ this increase to +2 per 5 points. So +4 at 56-60, +5 at 61-65, +10 at 76-80, etc.</li>
<li>High PMPow (aka STR) damage bonus is +1 per point over 12. So +2 at 14, +3 at 15, etc.</li>
</ul>
There is also a table of bonus damage per die for being extra HUEG:<br />
<br />
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<br />
The bonus damage per die is a nice touch not often seen outside some of the more obscure sub-rules in <i>AD&D</i>, but I'm not sure how often this table will actually see use. Remember that the implicit setting of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> game is a rigidly humanocentric place where even the bog standard fantasy races are <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/lets-read-mythus-pt-6.html">strictly optional</a>: something like ogre or ice giant is definitely not a default character type in this game.<br />
<br />
A list of damage types (previously seen in the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt17.html">Heka-Based Attacks section</a>) make a re-appearance for the sake of completeness. The damage types follow the previously defined rules.<br />
<br />
<b>Reach or Range</b><br />
One paragraph. Range for claws and martial arts is 1 yard, and longer weapons have a longer reach (given on the weapon tables). Missile weapons have the best range. Waste of a paragraph, you might as well have just written "refer to weapons tables" and been done with.<br />
<br />
<b>Speed Factor</b><br />
Again, one paragraph. Again, could have just been a "refer to weapons tables" reference. Martial arts attacks and weapons = 3. All other weapons consult the weapon tables. Echoes of <i>AD&D</i> are echo-ey.<br />
<br />
<b>Parrying</b><br />
Durability of parrying weapons, etc. Actual rules for blocking incoming objects with other objects are given elsewhere, this is just commentary on filling out your weapon description. <br />
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<br />
Shields modify the damage capacity for their quality and composition according to the last column of this table. So an average spear will be (Average quality, Combo composition) 8/20, while an average rimmed shield will be 8/30. Exactly what these numbers mean is explained later in the Combat chapter, under Parrying. Try to restrain your excitement.<br />
<br />
<b>Magazine</b><br />
What's left in your <i>cho-ko-nu</i> or quiver? You must know. It is important! Yes, of course <i>Accountancy Mythus</i> tracks every last arrow, bolt, and sling bullet. Did you honestly expect anything different?<br />
<br />
Congratulations. You've now filled out the relevant stats for one weapon. Now go back and do it again for all your other jabbification devices. It shouldn't take that long. It's not like you intended to spend any time role-playing or anything...<br />
<br />
So far I'm strongly reminded of <a href="http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Rolemaster">the 1d4chan entry for RoleMaster</a>? ("An ancient classic from the Dawn Times. If you picked up this game in
1980 and started making a character immediately, then you should be
almost ready to play this Friday.") Most of this stuff is just a waste of words. Two-and-a-half pages to define the qualities and characteristics of your weapon when the basic rules for using the damn thing only take a half-page sidebar is just sheer pandering to the 'no common sense' element of the readership.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Final Attack Chance (FAC)</h3>
<br />
As those who bothered to read the <b>Physical Combat, Lethal</b> summary boxout will already know, FAC is what you actually roll against to hit. It's calculated as the sum of your BAC +/- the scads of modifiers detailed over pages 226-227. Simple enough, right?<br />
<br />
Modifiers to BAC differ from a lot of difficulty modifiers in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> in that they are linear modifiers (+/-n), rather than adjustments to Difficulty Rating multipliers. I have no idea why this exceptionalism exists, and there's nothing in the text to enlighten me. Any suggestion of a savage <i>Mythus</i> playtester revolt in favour of traditional percentile modifiers is naught but wildest speculation on my part. ;)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Advanced Mythus playtesters, circa 1991</span></div>
<br />
Some modifiers only apply to ranged attacks; others apply to all Lethal attacks. "<i>Hand weapons, martial arts and natural attacks use only the Attacker's Movement, Target's Movement and Position tables.</i>" This is explained in the text, rather than being marked up on the page-spanning table of modifiers where it might actually be helpful. I've taken the liberty of correcting the oversight.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Sooooo many modifiers. Soooooo much scope for clarification and simplification.</span></div>
<br />
<b>Dodging</b> in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is subsumed in this (sub-)section and takes the form of a mathematically insignificant 'always-on' modifier to FAC. Dodging bonus is available only to people with crazy-good reflexes, and is usable only when wearing light armour. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Runequest fans will be feeling some more <i>deju vu</i> about now.</span></div>
<br />
The situation isn't as bad as it looks at first glance given that <i>Advanced Mythus</i> HP's Attributes are generated on 2d6+8 rather than the more traditional 3d6. So anyone with better than average (for an HP) reflexes will get at least some dodge bonus, however insignificant. And boy are dodge bonuses insignificant: +1-2% for dodging when the act of walking grants a -5% modifier is just what can reasonably be called a b*llsh*t bonus.<br />
<br />
So that's yet another grudging, pixel-bitching, mechanically inconsequential stat modifier to keep track of. Which - I'm sure we can all agree - is a hallmark of good game design. <br />
<br />
A couple of additional notes extracted from the dense text on FAC:<br />
<ul>
<li>BAC can never be reduced to less than 10% of initial score by negative modifiers.</li>
<li>FAC is usually a DR "Hard" (x1) skill check. Judging from the worked example offered expending Joss is (seemingly) the only thing that modifies this DR, rather than playing with the percentiles.</li>
<li>By default all of a character's attacks are taken on the same initiative score.</li>
</ul>
This section has lots of wordiness and some p*ss-poor organisation of
info. I'd have done it all very differently. Small mercy: at least the
GDW layout chimps managed to get all FAC stuff onto one two-page spread.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Special Hits/Special Misses</h3>
<br />
Crappy layout orphans the Crits/Fumbles text from its accompanying table. The Lethal Combat Crit/Fumble rules are pretty much a rehash of the Non-Lethal ones <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt18.html">we've already looked at</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Crit</b> = maximum possible damage (*snore*)<br />
<b>Minimal Hit</b>* = minimum possible damage<br />
<b>Fumble</b> = roll d%, deduct weapon skill and 20% per Joss spent, compare to table<br />
<br />
* a hit reduced in effect by Joss. We're even given a page reference to the rule.</blockquote>
<br />
The <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Lethal Combat Fumble table is pretty poor. How poor? Well, let's just count up the entries shall we? I know that number of entries isn't a guarantor of quality or anything, but bear with me).<br />
<br />
"One... two...three... (fades out)"<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTzjWrAnMVY">Musical interlude</a><br />
<br />
(fades in) "six... seven."<br />
<br />
Yes, that's it. This table has a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJxKvwMIVtA">Sesame Street-worthy</a> total of only seven (7) entries, of which one is "<i>The attack misses, but nothing else happens.</i>" <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Never has a lethal mis-step been so Dull. Dull. Dull.</span></div>
<br />
I've seen rules-lite old school Fumble tables with more character and interest than this. <i>RoleMaster</i> would look on it with pitying contempt and even jolly old <i>WFRP</i> would amble over, take a shufti, and wander off chuckling. Whatever happened to the promised "<i>...elective complexities which place this game far beyond any other</i>"? Bad show! <br />
<br />
Fourteen <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt10.html">Appraisal sub-areas</a>; seven possible combat fumbles. Do you ever get the feeling that someone had their system design priorities a little confused? If even the most allusive mention was made to 'other game systems on the market' famous for their critical hit systems I might have a little more time for this section. But no: zip, zilch, nada.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Applying Difficulty Rating to FAC</h3>
<br />
Three paragraphs confirming that - exceptional circumstances withstanding - the DR for a FAC roll is almost always of "Hard" (x1) difficulty. Waste o' words, but an excuse for more pain-numbing swiggery. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
We're also given a table of automiss/Fumble chances for high FACs. It's more than a little reminiscent of the standard autofail/Fumble table from back in the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt9.html">Core Systems chapter</a>, but it's nice to have it here for completeness.<br />
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<br />
Might be handy for a percentile game player who lacks a fumble table and feels the need of one. Otherwise <i>c'est inutile</i>. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Parrying</h3>
Parries in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> are (gamer jargon) elective interrupt actions which require you to reserve attacks. Hope you remembered to reserve some attacks when you were going nova earlier. There's no word on whether you have to declare intent to parry in advance, or simply declare it in reaction to a connecting hit. That bucket of angry eels is left in the lap of the GM, because he doesn't have enough to worry about already.<br />
<br />
You can parry any melee or thrown missile weapon (although trying to block a sword with your hand is not recommended). Launched projectiles (arrows, bolts, etc.) can only be blocked with a shield. <br />
<br />
We're also given a lick-and-a-promise note to the effect that:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Oh, hell no! You did not just do that! <br />
<br />
I'm usually prepared to give <i>Mythus</i> the benefit of the doubt, but that is amateur bullshit in the first degree! This is not some kid's fantasy heartbreaker 'zine where "Coming soon" or "Under construction" is acceptable. <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is a full-on <i>magnum opus</i>: an inch-thick, professionally produced rulebook with a bunch of names on the colophon, playtesters galore, and <b>a 60+ page combat chapter</b>. There's no excuse for <strike>doing a Mearls</strike> half-assing any part of the rules and promising "Yeah, we'll do it right in some other book". That just smacks of attempting to double-dip the punters' wallets for something you should have done right first time.<br />
<br />
Deadline-crushed amateurism, lazy design, or cynical set up for a later cash grab? You decide. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Ma! Get me my hack whomping 2-by-4 from the shed!"</span></div>
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<br />
Weekly fit of frothing and moonhowling concluded, we return to the rules for parrying. Parrying in <i>Chadpants Doofus</i> Physical Combat is a straight roll by the Defender against their own BAC, with the DR dependent upon the weapons in play. No, a parry is not a contested roll in any way, shape or form: that would just be stupid! <br />
<br />
Fortunately for my blood pressure the information required to perform a basic parry is actually present in the rulebook, mainly in the form of another handy table:<br />
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<br />
Actual rules for parries disposed of - in five lines and one table (which could easily have been simplified *gluk gluk*) - we move onto the related sub-rules for <b>weapon damage from parries</b>. No sub-section heading; just an unheralded topic shift somewhere in the depths of a textwall. You may remember the numbers from the table presented in the Parry section of Weapon Descriptions above. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Coz it would have killed you to explain that earlier.</span></div>
<br />
Both sides of a successful parry roll for weapon damage.And, yes, mutual *ting ting SNAP* action is possible.<br />
<br />
Is any of this stealable? IMO, nah. The <i>Advanced Mythus</i> parry rules are a half job; the sort of thing you'd expect to see in a nice, sleek two page combat system like <i>Stormbringer</i>, not in an ultra-complex RPG which trumpets itself as "<i>...a quantum leap in roleplaying</i>." You can't even riposte FFS! If you're going to nick quick-and-simple parrying rules something like <i>Necromunda</i> has better, and that's a toy soldiers game that uses d6s!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Strike Location</h3>
<br />
If a hit gets through without being parried (or if the players just decide to take the damage instead of broaching that particular barrel of nightsoil), then roll d% on the Strike Location Table to determine where your mighty swing hits.<br />
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<br />
No, that is not a bad joke on my part. That is the unified <i>Advanced Mythus</i> hit location table for any and all creatures in the game world in its entirely. Roll d%, get a damage modifier of x1-4. That's it. <br />
<br />
Honestly, this is all a little disappointing. Given what we've already seen of this game I sure that you were expecting a hit loc' table of positively Dwarf Fortress detail and specificity: hit locations down to the metatarsal and specific internal organ. Instead we get pure functionalism: four Vulnerability Categories (*gluk*) reminiscent of the "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBeh1jkanrE">This is where you hit him to kill quickly, or slowly, or to cripple</a>" speech from <i>Spartacus</i> (the movie, not the even more homoerotic tv show). <br />
<br />
To add insult to injury the hit locations aren't even defined in a non-abstract way, they're nothing but damage multipliers. Would a mere dozen words expended on "Ultra-Vital = face or groin, Super-Vital = neck or guts, Vital = torso, Non-Vital = limbs" have broken the word limit, or somehow imposed crippling constraints upon EGG's creative vision? Obviously so.<br />
<br />
And the waffley footnote that "fragile or tough creatures adjust roll by +/-5-10" is neither nowt nor sommat: a mere house rule. If <i>WFRP 1E</i> can expend a few lines explaining how the sole hit location table can be modified to take into account the wild variety of non-human physiologies in a fantasy world, then a game with <u>seven types of standard physical damage</u> which spends more than two pages on its Buffoonery skill has no excuse.<br />
<br />
One other point to note: looking at the above table suddenly Special Hits don't seem so special any more. That rare
'1/10th of skill, maximum damage' hit will be overshadowed by doing
average damage but hitting in Vital or better area 40% of the time.<br />
<br />
More than half of the Strike Location section of the Physical Combat rules is taken up by something semi-related: the mechanics for using a specific sub-area of a Weapon K/S area:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The opportunity to select one's damage multiplier? Yes, I am interested. Please go on.</span></div>
<br />
Roll to hit as normal, then roll Weapons, Special Skill (Specific Target).<br />
<br />
<b>Success</b> = choose your damage multiplier. ("Hurr durr. I choose x1.")<br />
<b>Failure</b> = roll on the Strike Location table w. a +20 modifier. >100 = miss. <br />
<br />
And that last disappointment disposes of Step One of the combat summary: hitting. We now move onto Step Two: hurtin'.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Applying Physical Damage</h3>
<br />
If damage isn't parried, and the person using these rules hasn't lost the will it live by now, damage is done. Armour will (probably) soak some of the pain, and the remainder hurts your HP or <strike>monster</strike> Monstrous Persona. So, that's a classic soak mechanic which is an RPG Orthodoxy at least as old as <i>Runequest</i>, and probably has even hoarier antecedents in wargaming. <br />
<br />
Of course, this being Mythus it doesn't remain a simple deduction operation. There are tables to be cross-referenced of course! Each of your four <whiny voice="" wally=""> Vulnerability Categories </whiny> has separate armour scores for each type of physical damage. The worked example of some dude in maille and shield takes up the better part of a column.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Say it with me now:"AC5".</span></div>
<br />
Yes, the negative numbers are intentional. As regular readers may recall, lightning damage is to armoured warriors in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> approximately what King Herod was to infant schools. So inventing some form of primitive <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Lightning-rod-diagram.svg/220px-Lightning-rod-diagram.svg.png">lightning rod</a> will probably be a priority for any tinboys who manage to drag themselves through character generation ~and~ armour calculation with an ounce of their sanity intact. <br />
<br />
To add final insult to injury we're informed that magic armour doesn't have any of this number crunching to deal with. Magic armour - being magickqkc and thus inherently better than dirty mugglemetal - has one armour value per Vulnerability Category against all types of damage.<br />
<br />
FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU-!!!<br />
<br />
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<br />
It's at about this point a sane person would be thinking: "Hmmm, is my game perhaps too fiddly?"<br />
<br />
<b>Wound Level</b>, <b>Critical Level</b> and <b>TRAIT</b> damage thresholds get name checked and defined again, along with a page reference to full rules (on p256) for the Shocked, Dazed and Permanent Damage conditions. <br />
<br />
Shocked, dazed and permanent damage about sums up my experience of the Physical Combat, Lethal rules so far. The whole thing is just a morass of simultaneously abstract and over-complex dissociated mechanics [link] with little meaningful relation to one another. <br />
<br />
Particular niggles:<br />
<ul>
<li>You can hit the dude, and that's it. </li>
<li>FAC Modifiers could do with being simplified and rationalised.</li>
<li>Dodge bonuses are so insignificant as to be all but meaningless.</li>
<li>Rules for Crits/Fumbles during the deadly, high-stakes dance of blades are both abstract and dull.</li>
<li>There is no relationship between accuracy of hit and actual damage done. Acceptable in a game as abstract as OD&D, just insulting in a game as complex and fixated on 'realism' as <i>Advanced Mythus</i>.</li>
<li>There is only a single (very specialist) option for modifying hit location. An option of which effective utilisation will require more system mastery than most players will care to invest.</li>
<li>Seriously, you call that a hit location table?!</li>
<li>The parry rules are a clunky, half-done job and fill me with displeasure on many, many levels.</li>
<li>There is no option whatsoever for using Heka in Physical Combat. No one-off accuracy increase, no way to enhance dodge or parry bonus, or no damage boost: nothing.</li>
</ul>
<br />
The bulk of pages 230-231 are taken up by additional rules and notes of special cases which may apply to Physical Combat, Lethal in certain circumstances. These are: Susceptibilities, Invulnerabilities, and Exceptional Attacks.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Susceptibilities</h3>
<br />
Some creatures suffer additional Physical damage from certain substances. This is Wounding type damage, which is a new one on me. The list of magic allergens should be eminently familiar to any role-player or reader of horror fiction:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Silver, Crystal, Iron, Fire, Irridium(?!), Salt, Wood, Blessed Water</blockquote>
<br />
<b>Contact:</b> merely touching the inimical item will cause 1d3 damage (or minimum weapon damage) to the susceptible. Salt and Blessed Water cause 1d3 damage per oz, with 30-80% of possible damage being done by bulk applications.<br />
<b>Insinuation:</b> stabbification causes the susceptible x2-10 normal damage after all other modifiers (Armour, Hit Location, etc.).<br />
<br />
There are also rules for non-weapon Susceptibilities (garlic allergy?) later in the rulebook.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Invulnerabilities</h3>
<br />
These are classic D&D-style immunities to [named thing], usually balanced by a corresponding Susceptibility to [other thing]. Usually all-or-nothing, and players will usually have to puzzle out the Achilles' Heel of whatever creature they're facing.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Exceptional Attacks</h3>
<br />
These are basically rules for screwing characters over with attacks which don't do much direct damage, but still have a catastrophic effect if they take hold. Snakes and swarms of insects are the cited examples, but we're informed many other types of (undefined) attack also fall into this category.<br />
<ul>
<li>Unarmoured individuals are allowed to parry such attacks and/or attempt Avoidance [link].</li>
<li>Armoured individuals either suffer automatic attacks per round (by swarms of killer bees), or have to suffer a Super- or Ultra-Vital Hit to be affected by scorpion stings, snake bites or poison blow darts. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Would I use these rules? Nah, Classic D&D does all this with exception-based rules found in the monster descriptions or with Saving Throws.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Tying It All Together</h3>
<br />
An extended worked example is spread over three pages (pp232-234). The only way it differs from any other worked example you have ever read is that the example GM is a fan of seemingly arbitrary dick moves that screw the players.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
<b>In Conclusion:</b> the Physical Combat, Lethal rules of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> are loosely jointed, dissociated, and all kinds of scrappy. There's very little coherence of elements into a symbiotic whole, nor is there much sense that these rules are part of the same system as the rules for Mental, Spirit, or Non-Lethal Physical Combat.<br />
<br />
In a section which almost requires a clear, orderly progression of useful information, the characteristic <i>Mythus</i> sins of dense formatting and verbiage are *still* in full effect. As is often the case, a good hard proofreading and procedural precis/ing wouldn't have gone amiss. <br />
<br />
In its entirety the Physical Combat, Lethal section reads like nothing so much as a heartbreaker version of <i>AD&D</i> combat written by a guy who liked <i>Runequest</i> but couldn't be bothered to deliver the full <i>RoleMaster</i> level of complexity he originally envisioned.<br />
<br />
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend these rules to others. They are beta release quality in a world where superior finished articles already exist.<br />
<br />
<b>Next time:</b> Weapons and Armour, 20 pages thereon. And, yes, there will be pole-arms.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Sources:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, the intawublChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-25548862447026365752012-06-30T15:23:00.001+01:002012-06-30T16:02:33.919+01:00The Whole Place is Infested with Buggerwumps!Or, that time when emergent complexity generates more fun than you can eat.<br />
<br />
Regular readers will know that I've a tendency to write silly open-ended placeholder names in my wandering monster tables. Case in point, the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/zombies-in-my-vaults.html">Masked Sleepers</a>. Another case in point, the mysterious Buggerwump.<br />
<br />
Note to the confused. This is a Buggerwump:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Art by <b>Zak S</b>. Name coined by <b>crow</b>. Originated <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/and-who-is-this.html">here</a>.</span></div>
<br />
And this is its stat block:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Originated in White Dwarf #009 IIRC.</span></div>
<br />
I don't know what the dice were doing the other night, but almost every time an encounter occurred up it came up as "7: Buggerwump". As the <strike>Stair Stalker</strike> Buggerwump is, by its very nature, a <b>% in Lair: 100%</b> beastie that meant each one needed a new staircase to lurk on. Me being a simpleminded creature, I assumed that the vast majority of these staircases had to lead somewhere.<br />
<br />
Cue a smoke break for the players as I desperately thumbnail in a d12 "Where do these stairs go?" table, then chuck some dice at a page to generate new sub-areas using the <a href="http://fightingfantasist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/advanced-fighting-fantasy-random.html">Advanced Fighting Fantasy method</a>, and then scrabble for the dungeon stocking table.<br />
<br />
Of course, some of the new rooms were stocked with monsters, and - my dice being in full-on trollface mode - a disproportionate number of these rooms were inhabited by, yep, more Buggerwumps. Which meant more staircases. And more rooms. And more...<br />
<br />
Before I knew it this one boring little cluster of empty rooms on the way to somewhere else was a mad Escher-channels-Piranesi mazework of scuzzy little sub-areas connected by a stupid number of twisting, overlapping, no-sense-or-logic staircases. The whole section - quickly dubbed The Labyrinth of Countless Stairs ("Of course it was here all along. Look, s'got a name and everything.") - echoed to the high-pitched "Blubalululup" cries of the resident Buggerwumps.<br />
<br />
As time went on, the players got a bit weirded out by the situation ("Why are there so many staircases? And why are there nothing but these weird bloopy things living here?"), so they pressed relentlessly on in search of a way out. Of course, their charging from room to room went via the staircases, which provoked attack after attack from the (territorial) Buggerwumps as they went. Their reaction when they finally encountered a ramp leading upwards was just comedy gold ("Not a staircase? I call trap!"). <br />
<br />
Meanwhile I'm merrily rolling dice for the heck of it, making random "blubalululup" noises, and laughing myself breathless. Some days it's good to be DM.<br />
<br />My point? Not much. I just had a "I know! Right?!" moment about random generation and had to share. If nothing else I'll say thanks to <b>Gorgonmilk Greg</b> for making me look at the Stair Stalker again.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> Buggerwump by <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/and-who-is-this.html">Zak S</a>. Stair Stalker nicked from <a href="http://gorgonmilk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/forgotten-fiends-squonk-and-stair.html">Gorgonmilk blog</a>.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-63587897856736306272012-06-25T14:00:00.000+01:002012-06-25T14:00:00.094+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt18Week 2 of our textual interrogation (*puffs Gauloise in pretentious French manner*) of the <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> Combat chapter. Having previously disposed of the mechanics for making people's heads explode (not a patch on classic <i>WH40K</i> <a href="http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b141/Doghouse12/GorkaMorka/weirdboyz3.jpg">Ork Weirdboyz</a> mechanics IMO) we move onto the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> take on using kicking, punching and throttling to get what you want. Hopefully there'll be something here worth looting for Classic D&D players. If not I'll have to find a way to pay the due and proper <a href="http://joeskythedungeonbrawler.wordpress.com/">JOESKY tax</a>.<br />
<br />
Note: The full filthy exposé of the sordid details of Lethal Combat in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> has been pushed back to next week. Personal reasons, subheading: meatworld obligations.<br />
<br />
For those keeping score at home <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lets-read-mythus-pt17.html">the usual rules</a> apply. And remember:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<h2>
Physical Combat, Non-Lethal</h2>
Crushing your enemy in a manner that leaves the poor sucker alive to suffer your gloating, tea bagging, knocking over his favourite vase, etc. So anything from boxing to kung-fu to wrestling. <br />
<br />
All forms of non-murderous fighting use the <b>Combat, HTH (Non-Lethal)</b> K/S Area. The essential rules for beatdowns are contained in another of the Combat chapter’s handy <i>sidebars of usefulness +3</i>, without which confusion and raeg would reign unchecked.<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our only defence against gibbering madness.</span></div>
<br />
You could pretty much use the above sidebar as the non-lethal combat section. Everything else on the relevant pages is footnotes and worked examples to the above.<br />
<br />
And brace for new jargon: <br />
<ul>
<li><b>Base Attack Chance (BAC)</b> - PMCap Attribute + bonus from table + HTH (non-lethal) Skill. This is, as you might expect, your chance of hitting someone before any modifiers are applied.</li>
<li><b>Physical Resistance (PR)</b> - PM Category + 1/2 HTH (non-lethal) Skill. This is your ability to avoid unwanted manhandling by grabby types.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Non-lethal combat in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is resolved using the opposed K/S vs. K/S method introduced back in the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt9.html">Core Mechanics section</a>. As previously explained Difficulty Ratings are derived by deducting one skill from another and comparing the remainder to a table, so having the better skill total is *really* advantageous. I'm once again struck by how far <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is from being a straight percentile system.<br />
<br />
The rules mandate re-rolling ties until there is a winner, which seems rather arbitrary. I mean; it's not like the image of two fighters locked in combat, every nerve and muscle straining for advantage lacks verisimilitude. I'm sure it all made sense in Uncle Gary's head though.<br />
<br />
Once successfully latched on to the foe like a <a href="http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/ride-em-cowboy.html">mad dolphin-groping sex octopus</a> (link SFW) you can do one of three actions: <b>Overpower</b>, <b>Stun</b> or <b>Disable</b>. These additional skill rolls are the ‘roll damage’ part of HTH, Non-Lethal. Interestingly there seems to be no quick, simple ‘smack in the face for minor effect’ option. This is because muggles can’t have nice things.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Attack to Overpower</h3>
<br />
Grab and lock/hold/pin for the purpose of manacling, dragging away to your lair, or whatever other kinky crap floats your <i>naus</i>. Speed Factor 5. DR to succeed depends on relative weight of combatants, per the following table:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cake: making you a better fighter since 1992.</span></div>
<br />
Enemy is pinned for 2d6 CT (4d6 on a Crit), and is unable to even speak if his grappler so wishes. You can re-roll a successful Attack to Overpower to extend pinning. No option for taking advantage (stabbing, picking pockets, writing rude words on their forehead, etc) while you have an enemy pinned: someone else has to come along and help you with that.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Attack to Stun</h3>
<br />
Smack about for the purpose of "<i>knocking the defender silly</i>".<br />
Speed Factor 3.<br />
Does 1d6 Stun damage per 10 STEEP, or fraction thereof. So STEEP 27 = 3d6 damage. Double damage on Crit.<br />
If Stun damage > Target’s PNCap stat they’re stunned for CTs = excess. Also suffers 10% of Stun damage as Physical damage. Stunned condition is treated as overpowered above, but the attacker doesn’t have to remain sat on them. Extending a Stun is a DR "Easy" BAC roll for the attacker. After the worked example there’s an additional KO/kill <i>coup de grace</i> rule. Take one CT to kill opponent with any weapon capable of doing 18 or more damage.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Attack to Disable</h3>
<br />
Exert force and leverage for lasting damage. An additional wrinkle to either an Overpower or Stun attack, although you have to declare the attempt before you even roll to hit. Work through one or the other, as above, and then roll HTH, Non-Lethal again ("Hard" difficulty) to dislocate or break a limb. Speed Factor is 3 or 5, depending on whether you’re putting icing on a Pinning or decorating an Overpower cake. If adding Disabling to an Attack to Stun 20% of rolled Stun damage is inflicted as Physical damage rather than the usual 10%.<br />
<br />
<b>Success</b> = 1d10 Physical damage + limb Disabled for d% ours.<br />
<b>Crit</b> = 1d10+10 Physical damage(?) + limb Disabled for d%+20 days.<br />
<b>Fail</b> = no damage, no Disable ~and~ your previous Overpower/Stun attack is negated.<br />
<br />
Yeah, you can actually suck so bad at inflicting lasting injury that your target can actually recover from a fairly inflicted Stun solely to marvel at your incompetence. Why? Because life is unfair, and because EGG believes in nothing being final until its final. Not too keen on that ‘fall at the last hurdle and all your previous work was just a waste of time’ element; it has a definite ‘snatch away at the last minute’ air which is likely to discourage people from *ever* using Attack to Disable.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Weapons to Enhance Non-Lethal Attacks</h3>
<br />
This is a vague waste of two paragraphs that explains (poorly) how blunt weapons (coshes, clubs, quarterstaves, etc.) can be used to enhance HTH, Non-Lethal attacks by inflicting more Stun damage. Damage from weapons is added to Stun points derived from skill and 30% of Stun points are applied as Physical damage. The explanation of weapon Speed Factors in HTH, Non-Lethal is a mess, and would have been better replaced with a simple "use weapon’s Speed Factor if slower than the norm for the type of attack" rule.<br />
<br />
So after the relative clarity and brevity of the sidebar summary the Physical Combat, Non-Lethal ultimately peters out in one last sorry splurge of jargon-riddled wordiness. Sad really. I think that deserves one last drink to salve the disappointment. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
As with almost every D&D-derived unarmed combat system more complex than B/X’s "you do crap damage with your fist" rule, these Non-Lethal combat rules are an overcomplicated shambles. <i>AD&D</i> brawling rules: mess. <i>D&D3E</i> grapple rules: mess. <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Non-Lethal HTH combat rules: yep, mess. Whatever his undisputed merit as a game designer, EGG was no masterful writer of fast, fun, evocative brawling rules.<br />
<br />
Would I use these rules IMG?<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
No. Really, no. From the general 'calculate, compare to table, recalculate, then roll to hit > recalculate and roll against another metric to damage' rule to the specific Attack to Disable 'failed last roll undoes all previous actions' tosh, these rules are just too fiddly and time-wasting to bother with. I wouldn't touch them with yours.<br />
<br />
My personal simplifying, lightness-adding fix would change Physical Combat, Non-Lethal from the ground up to a unified simultaneous action mechanic (which may look familiar to /Necromunda/ players; that's because I know to steal from the best). Thus:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Combat, Non-Lethal</b><br />
Combatants make an opposed roll of their HTH, Non-Lethal skill.<br />
<br />
<b>Tied rolls (or both fail)</b> = the two fighters struggle for advantage this round.<br />
<b>Undisputed winner</b> = check to stun/pin/throw loser + option to Disable on next attack if stun/pin successful.<br />
<b>Winner Crits</b> = as win + option to Disable right now.<br />
<br />
There’s no concrete mechanic advantage to having the initiative, but the attacker does get to set the terms of the fight. After all, no one is likely to initiate a grappling contest they think they’ll lose, right?</blockquote>
<br />
And that’s brawling in under 100 words. <br />
<br />
PR? No such thing. A character can either has a relevant fighting skill, or they don't. If the latter your (crap) fighting ability is derived from stats alone. <br />
<br />
Add the sidebar’s Bonus to BAC table, some clarified pin/stun/cripple rules, some proper rules for smacking people about with blunt objects, and you’re gold. If you want additional complexity then add a matrix of possible outcomes (crit, pass, fail or fumble vs. ditto), a note on the hazards of brawling with monsters/guys with actual weapons, and maybe - if you're feeling especially frisky - some rules for using Heka in martial arts.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This, or you're just wasting our time.</span></div>
<br />
Above all, <b>Keep It Simple Stupid!</b> <br />
<br />
To put it in terms familiar to all D&D players any non-lethal fighting rules more complex than a simple "roll to hit > save vs. paralysis or be pinned" operation will turn off any but the most hardcore grapple fans. There’s no point to rules for attacking to <i>not</i> kill a dude being slower and more complicated than the ones for killing outright: such rules WILL just sit there unused.<br />
<br />
Once again the hobbyist with five minutes on his hands sits there asking the professionals what was so hard about that?<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> at last! the long-expected skinny on Lethal Combat in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. <br />
<br />
<b>Pic source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, the intarwubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-78727660634636875722012-06-24T11:00:00.000+01:002012-06-25T12:40:27.774+01:00Fungal Murderhobos of the WildsHey you! Do you want to play a vicious bastard murderhobo who is also a giant toadstool? Sure, it might be a bit too weird for <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/">traditional tastes</a> or insufficiently haut weird for <a href="http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/">others</a>, but some people want to play a giant toadstool with an incomprehensible agenda, right? Beats playing another bloody elf, amirite?<br />
<br />
<b>Myconid Class/Race</b><br />
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Requirements: WIS 9<br />
Prime Req.: Wis, Con<br />
HD: d6<br />
Attacks as: Cleric<br />
Save as: Cleric<br />
Weapons: any 1-handed weapon (melee or thrown missile)<br />
Armour: leather, chain, shield<br />
<br />
(or use the Mutant Class from the Mutants & Mazes chapter if you have access to Goblinoid Games damn fine <a href="http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html">Mutant Future</a> retro-clone)<br />
<br />
Oh come on, you know these guys. Big meaty ambulatory shrooms with humanoid limbs and eyespots; pacifist underworld hippies who just want to tend their fungus groves and groove on the communal telepathy spores.<br />
<br />
Mycon adventurers are rare in the extreme. No one know why they arise, what their long-term aims are, or exactly what a giant fighting truffle wants with sacks of swag. Its theorised that they're an evolutionary (or possibly a psycho-cultural) response by the Myconid communal intelligences to the threat posed by surface-dweller incursion into the mythic underworld. But who knows what mushrooms think.<br />
<br />
Whatever the cause, one of them has left the cave-commune and gone on a looting spree with a bunch of upworlders. <br />
<br />
<b>General Guff</b><br />
Mycons stand about 5' tall and weigh 140lbs on average.<br />
They 'speak' (well, communicate in a weird fungusy way) Mycon and hoot a pidgin Common through their creepy sphinctery mouth holes.<br />
Mycons absorb nutrients through mycelial mass extruded from their footpads when at rest.<br />
They don't sleep, but instead go into extended blissed-out trance/fugue states for 3-12 hours a day (random 3d4 per night).<i> Sleep</i> spells work on Mycons, and push them into this fugue state early.<br />
Their flesh is delicious.<br />
<br />
<b>Racial Abilities</b><br />
Myconids enjoy the following natural advantages:<br />
<ul>
<li>Move silently 2in6 (+1 at levels 4,6,8)</li>
<li>Nightvision - see 60' in conditions of non-total darkness (as MF)</li>
<li>Chemosynthetic diet - a varient form of Photosynthetic diet, involves the Myconid standing in a pool of biomass while they rest. Can derive sustenance from almost any old crap.</li>
<li>Tireless - do not suffer from forced march/lack of rest penalties. </li>
</ul>
<b>Weaknesses</b><br />
Coming as they do from a world you may not understand, Myconids suffer a couple of minor hassles:<br />
<ul>
<li>Weak Eyespots ("Funglyboy no like sunlight!") - suffers -2 to hit and all checks in bright light (as Albinism drawback, see MF).</li>
<li>Fussy About the Thermostat ("Funglyboy no like hot/cold!") - suffer +2 damage/die from extreme heat or cold (as Thermal Sensitivity drawback, see MF).</li>
<li>Alienation ("Funglyboy no like lonely.") - if unable to meld with other Myconids over an extended period suffers fungus equivalent of depression (treat as if <i>cursed</i>, as the spell)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Although unable to cast spells Myconids do gain innate fungus-themed abilities as they advance in level.<br />
<br />
<b>Lvl XP Abilities</b><br />
1 0 -<br />
2 2,500 Poison spores(1)<br />
3 5K Fungal rapport(2)<br />
4 10K -<br />
5 20K Hallucinatory spores(3)<br />
6 40K Fungal alchemy(4)<br />
7 80K Create fungal zombies(5)<br />
8 160K -<br />
9 320K+ Sporelord of the Mycelial Underlands<br />
<br />
footnotes<br />
(1) as Poison Spores power (MF) - 1d6 damage in 10' radius 1/day. Increases to 2d6 dmg, 2/day at 5th level and to 3d6 dmg, 3/day at 9th.<br />
(2) as Neural Telepathy power (MF) or <i>tongues</i> spell (LL), 1/day.<br />
(3) as Mental Phantasm power (MF) or <i>confusion</i> spell (LLAEC), 1/day.<br />
(4) may brew any potion it has previously ingested at zero cost, 1/wk. Yes, this includes poison.<br />
(5) as <i>animate dead</i> spell, 1/day.<br />
<br />
Unless otherwise noted rate of ability use increases +1/day per 2 levels after first gaining access to it.<br />
<br />
Sporelord of the Mycelial Underlands (name level)<br />
At 9th level a Myconid may establish a colony of their own sporelings in a warm, moist sheltered location cleared of hostile presences. If sufficient biomass is available the Myconid will take root and sporulate, generating 1d6x10 1HD myconid followers practically overnight. The colony will grow in a slow, inexorable, passive-aggressive manner so long as sufficient biomass is available.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> Planescape Myconid Sorcerer by <a href="http://sebbythefreak.deviantart.com/">sebbythefreak</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-77672039827601406082012-06-22T18:30:00.000+01:002012-06-22T18:30:01.392+01:00Bestiary of the Vaults: Turboghouls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Turboghoul</b><br />No. Enc.: - (2d6) <br />Align: Chaotic Noisy<br />Move: 240' (80'), special <br />AC: 6<br />HD: 3<br />Att: 2 or 1 (2 claws, overrun or lasso) <br />Dmg: 1d3/1d3 or special<br />Save: F3 <br />Morale: 9<br />HC: XXI (TT:B)<br /><br />An experiment in thaumonetic augmentation gone horribly wrong, or fallen ophanim, or damned human remnants cursed to perpetual nomadism, or a reified manifestation of settled mans' fear of the predatory nomad, or the result of an unknown <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/memestorms-and-ideocults.html">memestorm</a>, or just some mad wizard's twisted joke; whatever their origin the people of the Wilds know and fear turboghouls as monstrous speed freaks from a surreal otherworld.<br /><br />These hyperactive cannibals hoon about the Wilds on self-powered prosthetic wheels sowing chaos and fear. Their idea of a fun evening: tear into an isolated settlement under cover of night, capture the inhabitants, and gnaw off their legs. Those few who survive the agony and trauma of a turboghoul 'hazing' are turned into more turboghouls by methods obscene and obscure.<br /><br />Being inherently nomadic (and understandably averse to stairs and ladders) these creatures are never encountered underground or in a fixed lair. They are undead and can be <i>turned</i> by clerics as 3HD creatures.<br /><br />Thanks to the snarling howls of their engines and their constant excitable screaming turboghouls never enjoy surprise. Their assaults rely on crazy bravado, rudimentary hit-and-run tactics, and sheer speed. <br /><br />Turboghouls attack with a charging overrun attack, with lassos, or with strikes from their wickedly sharp claws. <br />
<ul>
<li>Overrun: turboghoul moves at triple normal speed (howling like Halford all the while), causing 2d6 damage on impact.</li>
<li>Lasso hits: no damage, save vs. paralysis or become entangled. Entangled targets of man-size or smaller will be dragged away at high speed by their whooping, screeching captor (this causes 0-3 (1d4-1) damage/round). The damage stops only when either the turboghoul or character dies. Rules for cutting a rope? Cause 1hp damage vs. AC1d6 (varies round to round).</li>
<li>Claw attack: 1d3 damage + paralysis for 2d4 turns (save negates). Steal Momentum: turboghoul adds half the normal movement rate of a creature it has paralysed to its own movement for the duration of the paralysis effect.</li>
</ul>
Unlike their grave-robbing kin turboghouls have no bite attack. This is because they are all punctilious in wearing head protection when traveling at speed. Roll d30 for each pack of turboghouls encountered:<br /><br />d30<br />1 sack w. eyeholes<br />2 bucket w. eyeholes<br />3 coalscuttle w. eyeholes<br />4 mask, clown<br />5 mask, fanged iron<br />6 mask, gimp<br />7 mask, guy fawkes<br />8 mask, gas-<br />9 mask, welding<br />10 mask, hockey<br />11 mask, tights<br />12 headscarf, flowery<br />13 headscarf, beduoin<br />14 hood, liripiped<br />15 hood, monastic<br />16 turban, elaborate<br />17 hat, sombrero<br />18 hat, stetson + bandanna<br />19 hat, fancy feathered<br />20 hat, wizard's pointy<br />21 helmet, monstrous skull<br />22 helmet, common<br />23 helmet, knightly<br />24 helmet, winged<br />25 helmet, pickelhaub<br />26 helmet, futuristic<br />27 helmet, football<br />28 helmet, extra-spiky chaotic<br />29 birdcage<br />30 goldfish bowl<br />
<br />
<br />Turboghouls have little respect for any being slower than themselves, and none at all for anyone who lacks respectable haberdashery. Those without hats will be lassoed and eaten first. <br />
<br />
Known turboghoul variations:<br /><br />Hoverghoul - Inhabit swamps. 180' move over water or flat land.<br />Jetghoul - Inhabit wide open plains. 240' flying move.<br />Tankghoul - punky-looking turboghouls on all-terrain tracks. AC4, 150' move.<br />Springhoul - *Boing* "Time for death!" 120' move, with non-magical <i>blink</i> effect at will.<br />
<br />
And, for <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/djangos-gurnery.html">Djangos Gurnery</a><br />
<br />
<b>Turboghoul </b><br />
P/M/S: 10/6/12<br />
Skills: Dodge(P) 6, Melee (P) 5, Crazy bike acrobatics (P) 4, Navigation (M) 3, Select cool hat (S) 2<br />
Powers: Paralyzing touch, Turbo nutter superspeed (move up to 80mph in 5 second bursts)<br />
<br />
<br /><b>Pic source:</b> an unholy kludging together of existing art by actual artists Kev Walker and Dawn Breaker.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-36441174811064973852012-06-18T12:00:00.000+01:002012-06-18T14:57:42.312+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt17After a couple of weeks of slacking off like some kind of lazy slacking slacker from Slacksville it is time for the performing bogmonkey to once again shoulder the yoke and plough on with Let’s Read Mythus like he means it.<br />
<br />
Having finished our extended swedge through skills - which has probably driven away all but the most ghoulishly fascinated of readers - we finally enter the dark and bloody ground that is <b>Chapter 12: Combat</b>. Or, as I prefer to think of it: <br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCHUCMiJ_Ew">Rejoice! Rejoice</a> </div>
<br />
As anyone who has ever read an RPG may have anticipated, the Combat chapter of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is a big brütal chunk of text and tables. To be precise it is no less than 67 pages (pp208-275) of the rulebook, which some people would consider enough space in which to write an entire game. <br />
<br />
Thankfully for the sanity of all involved the Combat chapter is broken down into a series of largely self-contained sections, which seems to indicate that some proofreading and meaningful editorial input happened.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Not visible in this image: Physical Combat, Kitchen Sink</span></div>
<br />
The delightful new discovery of clear and distinct subject headings does make my job of précis a little easier, but it’s still not exactly a walk in the park of RISUS-ine brevity.<br />
<br />
I don’t exactly begrudge <i>Mythus</i> this profligate expenditure of page count for a couple of reasons you may (or may not) agree with. To whit:<br />
<ol>
<li>There is a lot of meat here. I mean a *lot*. <i>Mythus</i> combat appears to be substantially more involved than many well-loved classic "I roll to whack ‘im!" systems. I mean, you have rules here for about 8+ ways of thinking people to death even before you get to ‘how to stab’. </li>
<li>Many gamers (at least in my experience) consider the combat chapter the point at which an RPG stands or falls. Rightly or not the logic seems to be that if a game can’t model combat in a coherent, interesting manner, then why trust that the designers did anything else right? Contrariwise: get the rules for the fast-moving, high-stakes situation of combat right, and you probably have a workable game chassis half done...</li>
</ol>
<br />
One last detail that may or may not be relevant: this chapter has a different page header image to the one found in the preceding chapters. The themed page headers are a nice touch, which makes for a handy 'flip to' guide if nothing else.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Not Frazetta by any stretch, but it fills the space</span></div>
<br />
And now, to quote the opening sentence of the chapter: "<i>So, the HPs have got themselves into a fight?</i>" (Mythus, p208)<br />
<br />
<i>Advanced Mythus</i> combat -- as those who have followed this archaeological misadventure since the <i>Mythus Prime</i> may expect -- is devoutly RPG orthodox: <br />
<br />
Surprise > Initiative > Hit > Damage/Effect<br />
<br />
Such adherence to the time-hallowed traditions of RPGs (and wargames) is only to be expected from the man instrumental in bringing us the RPG to which <b>all</b> others are mere 'fix this game' fantasy heartbreakers. For once in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" appears to be a general governing principle.<br />
<h2>
Pre-Combat</h2>
Stuff you need to do before the glorious bloodletting can start. Hey, don't knock it; even the Vikings did their prep work before setting of on a slaughtering spree (their due diligence involved running longships over condemned prisoners: <i>Mythus</i> combat doesn’t quite ask that much).<br />
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(Just an aside: these boxouts are a godsend, and you can probably run combat based on them alone.)<br />
<h3>
Establish the Environment</h3>
<br />
Three paragraphs to tell us that the GM needs to decide who is where and what the local environment is like. The text adds very little to the boxed combat summary.<br />
<h3>
Determine Surprise</h3>
<br />
This section opens with the admonition that "The next thing to do before wading in and swinging is to determine whether either of the parties has surprise." You can tell someone was having fun writing the Combat chapter. <br />
<br />
<b>Natural Surprise</b><br />
Not strictly 'surprise' as you or I might understand the word, Natural Surprise in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> actually covers everything that D&D did with its rules for encounter distances, evasion, and the like. Long story short: one side or other <b>always</b> gets Natural Surprise, and can choose to evade for 1d10 rounds, or peacefully confront for the purposes of parley, or attack (with automatic initiative in the first round). Sadly there’s no option in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> for hilariously dumb "stand and gawp at each other for up to two rounds" mutual surprise situations that could arise in AD&D.<br />
<br />
<b>Total Surprise</b><br />
Again, not surprise according to a plain English interpretation of the word. Total Surprise covers ambushes (usually) planned and executed in advance through use of skills. Requires a skill roll against Criminal Activities, Physical (the Ambush or Hide sub-areas are suggested, which seems logical enough). It's suggested that the better the plan presented by the players, the easier the DR should be.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Success</b> = your side gets a free round and automatic initiative (as Natural surprise) in the second round. <br />
<b>Crit</b> = 2 free rounds + automatic first go in round three. <br />
<b>Fail</b> = you only get Natural Surprise. <br />
<b>Fumble</b> = you get no advantage. If the GM fancies the opposition might even gain Natural Surprise on you.</blockquote>
<br />
There’s also the option to try and enhance Natural Surprise to Total Ambushtastic Surprise without the benefit of prior planning by making individual "Moderate" DR Criminal Activities, Physical (Ambush) rolls for each ambusher. The rule is a bit odd, in that some having ambushers fail their rolls doesn’t negate the success of others. So you can still be ambushed by /some of/ a gang of bushwhackers, even though spotting their mates will have you on your guard. Oh well...<br />
<br />
The whole Surprise section could do with a good hard proofreading. The text is ambiguous and poorly worded in places, and the rules for Natural vs. Total surprise could probably do with some re-ordering. You know: "Total Surprise? (Y/N), then Natural Surprise", rather than vice-versa. And the idea of partially successful ambushes still granting a free round of action ~and~ automatic initiative in the next round: that’s an outright unexploded minefield of arguments waiting to happen.<br />
<br />
<b>TL:DR:</b> surprise rules in AM are passable, but nowt revolutionary. You probably have access to more entertaining rules already. *cough* GURPS Goblins *cough*<br />
<h2>
Initiative and Persona Actions</h2>
Strictly RPG Orthodox, albeit with the inevitable <i>Advanced Mythus</i> fiddlyness: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Declare action, and then roll 1d10 +/- modifiers.<br />
<ul>
<li>One action/character/round. </li>
<li>Actions taken in ascending order.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<br />
The basics are all there in the boxout. Additional details, worked examples and optional rules then pad this slick elegance out to a full two pages. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
Stat modifiers to initiative are pretty intuitive ("A decent Physical Neural Speed score makes you a quicker shot. Makes sense"), but the Speed Factors definitely merit some additional mention. Yes you <a href="http://knightsnknaves.proboards.com/index.cgi">perverted</a>, <a href="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/">masochistic</a> AD&D/OSRIC-lovers, that means exactly what you think. I’ll just leave you to go hog wild on these, shall I?<br />
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<br />
<br />
Everyone else: Speed Factors mean that anything and everything you might want your imaginary gonk to do modifies your stat-modified initiative score in some way. Speed Factors will probably be catnip to AD&D players.<br />
<br />
They’re all a bit much for me though: I'm a dumb-and-happy 1d6/side/round Basic boy. YMMV.<br />
<br />
There are some right howlers in the Initiative section, not least in the combat movement rules, which are vague enough to make abstract combat games like OD&D seem hardcore simulation-ey. Movement at full speed (modified by other actions taken) is assumed, so at least there’s no fiddly square counting. But this movement is abstracted as instantaneous, simultaneous and uninterruptible*. So, for all <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazP4WXYCg8vAYd5ptVUehSdE5X2NqwHd18kCZJSUX24hoCkmID4uqulrRZVmMiAz9l0o_3So8dL-TeceBHbrlEonREy9gco4emQyb7Iera3FDwNmaPqokQdDkrYB83_bj0a1ZfznVb4M/s1600/porpoise.jpg">intensive porpoises</a>, movement in baseline <i>Advanced Mythus</i> combat is by instajumping blinkyportation. <br />
<br />
(* Wot, no Wait/Reserve Action option? Nope, sorry. Only an ‘elect to go last’ option. So no ‘waiting to react to his move’. Keeps things simple, but its likely to merrily kick immersion in the crotch.)<br />
<br />
Want to half-move and attack? You can, but it costs you both penalties to initiative (move = 6 + weapon Speed Factor) at full whack. So your quick lunging dash into combat likely goes off *after* the other guy instantaneously moves (twice as far) away from your attack. No I’m not joking. I here quote: "<i>...movement is always assumed to occur before combat in simultaneous action!</i>" (AM, p211) Cheers.<br />
<br />
*sits back to listen to the simulationist types froth and gnaw their shields*<br />
<br />
Then there are the turboghouls in one of the worked examples. These guys close to melee range at a speed of 180 yards/CT, or 36 metres/second (about 80mph unless my maths has been adversely affected by the boozahol). Are speed freak biker ghouls a thing on Aerth then?<br />
<br />
So standard <i>Advanced Mythus</i> initiative is a bit, let’s be nice and just say ‘wobbly on its feet’. The section might not fit any of the strict catagories outlined for the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">Mythus Drinking Game</a> but the sheer emergent oddness on offer is definitely worth a drink. *gluk gluk*<br />
<br />
<b>Optional Spacing of Actions</b><br />
This rule, which moves things away from stop-motion combat into a more fluid form, seems a little RuneQuest inflected to me. You take one action, and then take your next action (move, attack, whatever) again every 10 -Attack-Ranks- initiative spaces later (faster for non-standard weapon attacks). <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Martial artists: not dissimilar to Woody Woodpecker</span></div>
<br />
The round ends once the slowest (highest Init score) character involved has taken an action. <br />
<br />
For the purposes of unopposed (Total) Surprise rounds we’re told that 20 initiative counts = one CT (~5 seconds). So this rule offers the option of measuring actions in combat by the ¼-second, or about as fast as a human can consciously react. Even AD&D didn’t get this anal about things! "Granular enough for ya?"<br />
<br />
One possible oversight: there's no guidance on how/if the Speed Factor rules for different actions (moving, tumbling, etc.) are supposed to interact with this optional system. Do you, for example, move 10 initiative positions after your initial action, or 16 later? Nope. Nothing. That could either indicate a lack of playtesting of this option, or just an implicit authorial view that such decisions are best left to the tastes of individual gaming group. Who knows? <br />
<br />
Spaced Action Initiative would appear to change the dynamic of Mythus combat from the standard "Your init comes up: go <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova">nova</a>, then stand around to survey the carnage" method to one with more ebb and flow within a round. Whether spending this additional time and bookkeeping on combat is your idea of fun is a personal matter. Would I use this? No. Oh dear lord no! But then I am a simpleminded creature who balks at anything more complex than "I go: you go". If you like the RQ combat action economy it might be worth a look. <br />
<br />
One small mercy: at least the writers of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> didn’t go for a Judge Dredd RPG-style map of actions divided up by initiative segments.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Just goes to show: it could always be worse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Funky slant and drop shadow as original formatting)</span></div>
<br />
<h2>
Avoidance</h2>
<br />
Rules for avoiding unwanted situations if surprised. Not mentioned at all in the Combat Summary boxouts, which might have actually been helpful.<br />
<br />
Given the examples on offer (avoiding bandits, dodging falling rocks, avoiding the gaze of a vampire and basilisk) these rules seem to combine into one simple rule everything divided up between the evasion tables and saving throws in all known forms of Classic D&D. This sort of universal mechanic appears more than a little lost and lonely in the ‘a rule for everything’ world of <i>Advanced Mythus</i>, but its brave, to say the least.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Tell me little rule, are you quite certain that you are in the right place? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is <i>Mythus</i> you know. We’re all detailed-fixated neckbeards here..."</span></div>
<br />
Avoidance is a straight d% roll against the combined Speed Attributes in a given trait (sorry) <b>TRAIT</b>. So a Physical avoidance roll would be PMSpd + PNSpd, a Mental avoidance roll would be MMSpd + MRSpd, and a Spiritual one would be SMSpd + SPSpd. Factors against the HP (e.g. blast area effect) increase DR by 1 or more; factors in their favour (e.g. stuff to duck behind) make things easier. So, nice and simple, if a little swingy for some tastes.<br />
<br />
It’s a GM call on whether a roll against <strike>Fort, Ref or Will</strike> Mental, Physical or Spirit is appropriate. Gee, did you see that silly Freudian slip there? How did that ever happen? Joking aside, the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Avoidance mechanic is pretty much the D&D3E three save schema, as done first by Gary in 1992. So that’s yet another layer of irony to the claim that Gary was ripping off D&D.<br />
<br />
Some guidance on what Avoidance roll to use when would have been nice, but the <i>Mythus</i> original sin (glossing over) leaves this mechanic open to all sorts of hilarious abuse by cunning players. Can you resist an unexpected rock fall or ambush with a Mental Avoidance roll? Rules don’t say no. Why not see if you can sell it to your GM? <br />
<br />
"I disbelieve the incoming arrows and demands that we surrender or die."<br />
<br />
You know, between the turboghouls, stop-motion combat solipsists, gangs of wandering murderchemists, and crushing economic inequality the implicit setting of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is beginning to seem like a pretty cool place: more like <a href="http://libraryroleplay.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/brom-011.jpg">The Muppets Take Athas</a> than <i>Epic of Aerth</i> (*spit*).<br />
<br />
<h2>
Mental Combat</h2>
<br />
Giving people terminal ice cream headaches in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is easy and fun: <br />
<br />
Step 1: have access to mind-affecting powers, spells or skills<br />
Step 2: establish contact by staring at them, bidding Heka vs. their mental defences<br />
Step 3: expend more Heka the following round to take a blender to their precious cranial matter<br />
Step 4: maniacal laughter<br />
<br />
The full and official summary is as follows:<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">No maniacal laughter step? For shame!</span></div>
<br />
Hmmm. The mechanics presented here -- link, then activate power -- smell more than a little like the AD&D2E psionics mechanic, which dates to the <i>Complete Psionics Handbook</i> © 1991. Given that I’ve no idea who, if anyone, was cribbing off whose notes let’s just chalk this similarity up to parallel idea development.<br />
<br />
Several paragraphs of jargon-rich textual commentary restate in more words the delicious brevity of the summary, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one by now (*gluk gluk*). The reader is warned that someone who has no relevant skills won’t even know that a mind-wizard is hobnailing about their consciousness, and certainly won’t be able to fight back. So that’s the Muggle vocations fuxxored them. We’re also cautioned that Cranial Lobe Fighting only works on entities that actually have minds: you cannot brainstab plants or inanimate objects. Spirits and demons, fine: domestic furnishings, no. <br />
<br />
We’re also given a paragraph on expected outcomes of Mental Combat skill rolls. This is a chunk of very useful mechanical info’ which would have been better placed in a table, not lost in the textwalls. Basically, using any mental power requires a skill roll, which can have the following effects: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Pass</b> = You're in thur brain, killing thur cells<br />
<b>Crit</b> = Your thrusting invasive presence is HUEG and causes double damage<br />
<b>Fail</b> = Their lobes are unresponsive to your sultry blandishments. No further mental attacks for 1 AT (5 minutes)<br />
<b>Fumble</b> = You dun sprained your third eye and suffering 3d6 Mental damage. No Mental Attacks for the rest of the day.</blockquote>
<br />
There are four types of mental effect in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>: <b>Drain</b>, <b>Paralyse</b>, <b>Derange</b> and <b>Control</b>. Each has distinct effects and comes complete with a worked example. Helpful. (Good Mythus! Have a cookie.)<br />
<br />
<b>Drain</b> -- symptoms include "<i>...numbing fear, shock, panic and confusion.</i>" Cost to establish link = victim’s MRCap, with a successful attack causing 1 point of Mental damage per Heka expended. The victim becomes Dazed and has to make an Insanity check once they have taken their EL* in Mental damage, and a drooling vegetable once they’ve taken damage = Mental TRAIT. There are lots of useful page references to OMJ** terms and related materials here, which is nice.<br />
<br />
* You remember this <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/lets-read-mythus-pt-5.html">from back in chargen</a>, right? It’s a damage threshold thingie.<br />
** OMJ = Official Mythus Jargon: usually capitalised, often acronymic, and generally non-intuitive. Not to be confused with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestral_Manoeuvres_in_the_Dark">OMD</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Paralyse</b> -- symptoms include being "<i>...immobilised and unable to think clearly</i>". Cost to establish link = victim’s MRPow + MRSpd, which seems costly until you recall that paralysis is generally a "save or lose" effect in most RPGs. If damage caused either raises Mental damage past their EL, or exceed their MRPow + MRSpd in one attack, the target is paralysed for BTs (30 seconds) = excess damage. It the attack meets both criteria the target is paralysed for both durations in sucession.<br />
<br />
Seems pretty straightforward. But this is definitely not the plain old "save vs. paralysis" all Classic D&D players know and love. Why not? Well, mental paralysis effects in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> stack. An already paralysed victim can be stunlocked much more easily: they are paralysed for additional BTs = total (not excess) damage inflicted. They can also be mindwiped by spamming enough paralysis damage to exceed their Mental TRAIT. If the latter happens to an otherworldly/spirit entity it is banished from this plane. If it happened to an HP, well, prepare to spend the rest of the evening rolling a new dude.<br />
<br />
<b>Derange</b> -- symptoms include "<i>...short-term Insanity</i>". An attack to Derange is a bit different from other Mental Attacks in that the cost to establish a link = target’s Mental TRAIT and the effect (induced insanity) takes effect immediately. Each point of Heka expended above the target’s Mental TRAIT drives them insane for 1 AT (5 minutes), /cumulative/. The worked example cites an attack expending 100 Heka vs. a target with a Mental TRAIT of 90 which leaves them exploring the outer reaches of unreason for 55 AT (10 + 9 + 8 + ...), or about 4+1/2 hours.<br />
<br />
<b>Control</b> -- symptoms include "<i>...victims move slowly, [...] as if they were a somnambulist</i>". Cost to establish a link = target’s MR Category (or half this if they’re over their Mental EL). Exerting control is then either a skill roll, contested only if the target is Heka-active, otherwise just roll the dice:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Pass</b> = w00t! New thrall who does your bidding slowly, as if Dazed<br />
<b>Crit</b> = Your new mindbitch obeys with dexterity and alacrity (not Dazed, still your puppet)<br />
<b>Fail</b> = Nope, wasted that Heka.<br />
<b>Fumble</b> = They are thoroughly no'mpressed and are immune to your control attempts for 24 hours.</blockquote>
<br />
Being controlled causes 3 points of Mental damage per hour to the victim, but does render the controlled being immune to further Mental or Spirit attacks (which rule seems tailor-made for cunning player exploitation...). Duration is indefinite, but the invoker of a Control effect usually cannot cast any other effect while their maintain their control. Exception: unlike auras, psionic or innate ‘charming’ abilities Control spells are fire-and-forget. <br />
<br />
The Mental combat mechanics are quite crunchy, and could easily be retrofitted by those Classic game GMs looking to give a little add variety to paralysis, insanity or charm/complusion effects.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Spiritual Combat</h2>
<br />
As with Mental Combat the deadly art of soul wrestling is quick and simple, and will ideally end up with bits of soul ground into the carpet:<br />
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Spiritual Combat is not usable on plants or animals. Has a Speed Factor of 5, whereas Mental Attacks have an effective Speed Factor of 0. So in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> punching someone in the soul is slower than abusing their mind. Go figure. On the other hand it does say that range is limited by perception, so the potential for sly lazy man's <a href="http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1672/roleplaying-games/optional-teleport-rules">scry-and-die</a> Spirit assault shenanigans (try saying that three times fast!) is wide open.<br />
<br />
There are four Spiritual attack forms, of varying utility. These are: <b>Weaken</b>, <b>Demoralise</b>, <b>Confound</b>, and <b>Subvert</b>. Which incidentally would make a great title for a <a href="http://www.burningwheel.org/">Burning Wheel</a>-style social combat chapter. <br />
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<b>Weaken</b> -- symptoms include "<i>...an overwhelming sense of apathy, hopelessness, failure, and depression.</i>" (aka ‘that <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/p/lets-read-mythus-compiled.html">Mythus Monday</a> feeling’). Weaken is perhaps best typified as the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26h-H6CFO-A">voracious violation of volition</a> power. It requires Heka = target’s SMCap to forge a link, and then costs one Heka per point of Spirit damage. When damage = Spirit EL the person becomes completely demotivated and apathetic. They won’t move or eat without coaxing, and won’t attack or defend themselves at all. Oh, and they have to make an Insanity check to avoid slipping into catatonia. Damage = Spirit TRAIT reduces the target to a will-less zombie permanently controlled (as the Control Mental attack) by their attacker. So that’s save-or-lose with a side order of character hijack. Nasty!<br />
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<b>Demoralise</b> -- covers both fear effects and what players of Classic D&D would call Turning effects. The mechanic applies equally to both the living and the undead (no exception-based "Immune to fear" antics here). If the Spirit damage caused by this attack exceeds the target’s SMPOw+SPPow they will leg it for AT = excess damage. Doesn’t affect anyone who has already taken their EL in Spirit damage: they’re too spiritwracked to care.<br />
<br />
One thing which occurs to me is that nowhere in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> have I yet seen any reference to mundane options to intimidate/put the fear into opponents. UWP* strikes again.<br />
<br />
* Unconscious Wizard Privilege. Perhaps best summed up as "What do you mean, non-casters should get nice things and the chance to play the whole game?" A longstanding unspoken assumption in RPGs.<br />
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<b>Confound</b> -- essentially ‘cause stupidity’. Costs Heka = Spirit TRAIT and results in the victim being Confounded* for 1 CT = excess Heka expended. The target is also unable to use any Spiritual or Mental Heka abilities for 1 AT per point of damage. They can use Physical Heka abilities, but seriously, how often is that going to be an option. This attack has no effect on someone who has taken more than their EL in Spirit damage.<br />
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* The definition of the Confounded effect is another instance of the annoying tendency towards circular cross-referencing in the Mythus index. There is no definition in the Attack to Confound description to explain what being confounded actually entails in game terms. Can a character make use of Mental skills while confounded? Refer to Confound in index. "See Attack." Look under Attack, where we find "Confound p214". Which is right back where we started. If that’s intended as an editorial in-joke (like the duplicate <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/dejaVu.htm">deja-vu</a> psionic power descriptions in the 3E <i>Psionics Handbook</i>) it’s not one I find amusing.<br />
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<b>Subvert</b> -- symptoms include "<i>...act[ing] as if of the opposite moral persuasion</i>", which sounds like nothing so much as the infamous old <i>helm of opposite alignment</i>. Expending Heka above the target’s Spirit TRAIT turns them into a sneaky traitor intent on furthering the subverter’s nefarious agenda for 1 AT per excess Heka. A subvertee won’t directly attack their former friends, but will indirectly put them in harm’s way. What exactly this entails is left entirely to the discretion of the gaming group, which just seems like a recipe for squabbling and logic chopping.<br />
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Unlike the Mental attack to Control there’s no need for a Subverting attacker to puppet-master their new buddy; the convert operates normally and at no penalties. Subverted characters can resist once per AT according to the Spirit Combat Summary sidebar and can be counter-subverted by their allies if correctly diagnosed.<br />
<br />
I’m not sure of the utility of Subversion as written. It seems to be another sneaky scry-and-die exploit, which, thanks to the inherent information asymmetry of RPGs, will greatly favour the GM.<br />
<br />
The Spirit Attacks could definitely do with a little honing and planishing. Weaken is an outright killer, and Demoralise is a semi-decent save-or-suck mechanic. By contrast Confound and Subvert are the victims of poor editing and insufficient development. Both of the latter are so broad reaching that a sight more definition and clarification wouldn’t go amiss. As written neither is something you’d look at twice: there are easier ways to get what you want. <br />
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And then, to cap it all, the terminal paragraph of the Spiritual Combat section just exacerbates the situation: <br />
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So there are Spirit versions of the Mental attack forms too? That seems a little redundant. Are you going to tell us anything about them? No. Ok then.<br />
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In conclusion: Poor-to-middling, and not suited for my game anyway. Pass, though <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=YMMV">YMMV</a>. <br />
<h2>
Heka-Based Attacks</h2>
<br />
A slight misnomer, given that both the preceding section were also technically about Heka-based attacks. This is actually the ‘cause Physical damage with Heka’ spell-chucking section of the combat rules. It’s a pretty substantive chunk of stuff; no less than 5 pages on putting the hurting on someone with magic. Lotsa tables, lotsa little details to be teased out and examined for value.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Attack Forms</h3>
<br />
Four types: <b>Targeted</b>, <b>Area Effect</b>, <b>Summoned Spirits/Creatures</b>, and <b>Illusions</b>. At first glance this just looks like some serious ‘defining for the sake of it’ *gluk gluk* territory. However a little bit of digging turns up all sorts of unconsidered trifles. <br />
<br />
<b>Specific Target</b> -- a catch-all category covering any spell with a one person area of effect: defensive spells, magic missiles, "<i>...gravity-modifying Castings</i>"(!), and so forth. This section has passing references to casters being able to absorb incoming Heka and cautions about the hazards of overload on same. All this implies some kind of magic duelling mechanic -- no page reference though, shame. There’s also an unelaborated hanging reference to something called Negative Heka, which appears to absorb a character’s inherent Heka.<br />
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<b>Area Effect</b> -- everything from fireballs to weather manipulation to anti-Heka effects. Can be absorbed or resisted to Heka Armour, but not negated by Magick Resistance (which is probably the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> equivalent of the powered-by-arbitrarium Magic Resistance ability possessed by some of AD&D’s more powerful monsters).<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A Heka-based Area Effect Attack in action, yesterday</span></div>
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<b>Summoned Spirits/Creatures</b> -- "<i>Minions. Kill that asshole over there!</i>" That is all.<br />
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<b>Illusions</b> -- these are pretty nasty under the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> magickqykc system, causing damage and/or killing outright. Must either be dispelled or interrupted by Dazing/KOing the caster! An illusion can be disbelieved with a "Very Difficult" roll vs SP but only "<i>...if the target knows it is an illusion</i>". Information asymmetry makes the players the GM's bitches once more.<br />
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<h3>
Attack Methods</h3>
<br />
Three types: Castings, Heka Powers, Magickal Devices. Castings go off the following round, Heka Powers straight away, Magickal Devices are ‘refer to user manual’. Just replace the OMJ terms with the D&D equivalents of 'spells', 'SLA', and 'magic item' and you have a pretty solid handle on what's what here. <br />
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It's kind of interesting to see how EGG restates the magical effects rules of D&D without actually using any of the jargon which /he himself established/. Makes me wonder if we’re going to see Not Brand X references to ‘Brain Flayer’ and ‘Regarder’ monsters in the Bestiary section.<br />
<br />
The basics out of the way we get the Heka-Based Combat Summary. Sadly this is something of a dense mess compared to other Combat Summary tables. For example: section A2 under Activating the Casting. That’s at least three or four separate operations kludged together under one heading. A sad drop in standards from the otherwise clear and usable Combat summaries we’ve already seen. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Dense, isn’t it?</span></div>
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<h3>
Attack Process</h3>
<br />
And, at last, 217 pages into the book, we have actual game mechanics for how to smack people in the face with magic(k).<br />
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<b>Chance of Success</b><br />
Hitting dudes <i>dans la bouche</i> with your accumulated magic princess pixie sparkle power is a function of your character’s Heka-active skills. The rules are more than a little reminiscent of Chainmail, with variable chance of successful casting based on relevant skill level and Casting Grade (trans. ‘spell level).<br />
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Most casters are limited to Castings = their level on our old friend That Damn Table. There is, of course, an exception for <strike>Special Snowflake Teachers Pets</strike> Full Practitioners, who once again get preferential treatment. You remember Full Practitioners, right? Smarmy silver spoon sucking b*st*rds who rolled well in chargen, and then got lucky on a die roll when they <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/lets-read-mythus-pt-6.html">picked a Vocation</a>. These living offences against character balance get the following additional perks:<br />
<ul>
<li>a bonus DR shift when casting a spell in their pet school/ethos</li>
<li>the ability to try and cast spells above their pay grade</li>
</ul>
Of course, <i>Mythus</i> being <i>Mythus</i> it couldn’t possibly be as simple as ‘cross reference your skill with Casting Grade, modify skill, roll’, so we’re offered an additional table of Casting DR Modifiers.<br />
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So now it goes: cross-reference skill against Casting Grade, modify DR by circumstances, modify skill, roll’. Nice and simple and mathematically transparent, <i>n'est-ce pas</i>?<br />
<br />
After all that palaver you’ll be glad to hear that if your spell does goes off it hits the designated target automagically. Spells don’t require a roll against BAC (Mythus for ‘hit roll’), nor do they roll for hit location. <br />
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Spell damage absorption is based on the average of the target’s armour. Thankfully the calculations involved in working that out are the target’s problem, not yours.<br />
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<b>Special Success/Failure</b><br />
Heka-based Attacks in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> can crit or fumble, which is a nice change from the fire-and-forget reliability of magic in D&D.<br />
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<b>Crit</b> = Maximum possible damage<br />
<b>Minimal Success</b> (someone blocks the spell by spending Joss) = minimum possible damage<br />
<b>Fumble</b> = roll on the Special Failure, Heka-Based Attack table, d% minus your skill:<br />
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Pretty prosaic. Seen better. <i>Stormbringer</i> and <i>WFRP</i> chuckle quietly to themselves.<br />
<br />
<b>Damage Types</b><br />
Heka-based attacks usually deliver one or more types of energy or physical effect, some of which are more than slightly reminiscent of the D&D damage types finally formalised in 3E [link to SRD]. The nine commonest effects are: <br />
<ol>
<li>Piercing</li>
<li>Cutting</li>
<li>Blunt</li>
<li>Fire</li>
<li>Chemical</li>
<li>Stunning</li>
<li>Electrical</li>
<li>Impact</li>
<li>Continuing</li>
</ol>
<br />
Some damage types have special rules, which each get a paragraph or so of text on p219. <br />
<br />
<b>Stunning</b> -- concussive force. If Stunning damage exceeds the target’s PNCap Attribute they go spark out for BT = the excess damage. Only 20% of stun damage counts as actual Physical damage. That’s a nice little overpressure/blast rule there.<br />
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<b>Impact</b> -- hits across a broad area ignoring physical armour, which grants you legitimate free rein to howl "Ze armour, it does nuthink!" in your best cod-Mitteleuropan accent. Falling damage and 10-ton rocks give the gift of Impact damage.<br />
<br />
<b>Explosive</b> -- area effect damage. Does multiplied damage (termed Exposure) to targets. The primary target suffers x1d6 damage; anyone else in the blast area suffers x1d3 the listed damage. Enjoy your pain and screaming.<br />
<br />
<b>Continuing</b> -- damage that just keeps on giving. Re-roll and apply damage again at the end of successive CTs until you rid yourself of whatever is causing the hurt. Acid, being on fire, bagpipes, etc.<br />
<br />
Completists and nitpickers (probably the only type of people who have actually managed to get this far into the Lets Read Mythus experience) may also remember Electrical damage, which appears to be tragically overlooked on the table above. Leccy causes more damage the more metal armour you wear. A quick flick through the index reveals that the rules for electrical damage in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> are hived off in the Damage from Other Physical Injury section, which is much, much later in the combat chapter. Ditto the full rules for the sweet, blessed caress of lovely, lovely fire, which does at least get a passing nod above.<br />
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<b>Applying Damage from Heka-based Attacks</b><br />
There’s about a page on how you work out averaged armour values against Heka-based attacks. Yes, it’s a necessary element of the rules, but even for <i>Advanced Mythus</i> this is some dry, dull stuff. The sheer ‘RoleMaster for the accountancy crowd’ feel of this section is perhaps best represented by the example table of averaged armour:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Will to live ...fading.</span></div>
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I’m sure that’s very important and useful, but boy does it look too much like actual skull-sweat-involving work for my tastes.<br />
<br />
And with final cheerful reminders that especially bad things happen when damage taken exceed a character’s Effect, Wound and/or Critical Level, or -- Heaven forefend! -- TRAIT score, we’re done with Heka-based attacks.<br />
<br />
Could you exploit these rules for a Classic game? Well Doug Easterley did something with a Chainmail-derived magic system in his <a href="http://swordsofathanor.blogspot.co.uk/">Savage Swords of Athanor</a> a while back, and I understand that Goodman Games’ <i>Dungeon Crawl Classics</i> also goes down the path of duelling wizards doing something other than just firing rote spell at one another. So it’s definitely possible. But then again, Classic D&D is so simple and robust you can slap almost any magic system onto it, up to and including the ones from <i>Ars Magica</i> and/or <i>Vampire: the Gothening</i>.<br />
<br />
Personal quibbles about Spiritual attack forms, poor layout, and sheer wordiness aside there are definitely some stealables in this section. So cheers. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Next Time:</b> we get down and dirty with the deadly Mugglicious arts of punchjutsu and fechtschtabben, aka Physical Combat. <br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, <i>HOL</i> rulebook, <i>Judge Dredd RPG</i> (GW 1985), JollyJack's <a href="http://www.collectedcurios.com/spiderandscorpion.html">Spider & Scorpion</a>, teh intarwubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-33988422550495183552012-06-11T18:00:00.000+01:002012-06-11T18:00:04.880+01:00Lets Read Mythus Interlude 1Précis-ing the <b>Combat</b> chapter of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> into a form comprehensible to the human mind is currently kicking my ass (appropriate really). So, while I try to get my head around the intricacies of killing doodz in the very hautest of haut gygaxian games, here's some supplemental insight on the true meaning of <i>Mythus</i> derived from the long out-of-print <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/14967993/Mythic-Masters-Magazine">Mythic Masters Magazine</a> (hereafter MMM).<br />
<br />
This "<i>...NOT a magazine; it's a game supplement</i>" was a bucket of gygaxian musings on-, defences of-, and errata for <i>Advanced Mythus</i> circa 1993. The contents are thick and glutinous in their density of information and opacity of language: this is Gary the wordsmith, unconstrained by an editor, and proudly clad in full no.1 ceremonial dress uniform of the Vancian wordsmith's guild. Even MMM editor Frank Mentzer makes a joke about shuddering when EGG handed him the disk containing these articles.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to parse the whole thing. That's an exercise for the (hypothetical) morbidly fascinated reader. Believe me though, it's an eye opener. Here's the contents page. See for yourself if anything tickles your perverted fancy:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Reads like a list of blog posts, doesn't it? Makes yer fink... </span></div>
<br />
The main reason I've taken a digression from drunkenly lashing <i>Advanced Mythus</i> with whips of scorpions is to draw attention to one particular section of MMM: skill errata. Several pages of skill errata. You might not care for it, but as someone who's just spent six weeks trudging the wilds of the K/S Area system this is relevant to my (morbid, horrified, unable to look away) interest.<br />
<br />
<b>Feature Section: Knowledge/Skill Areas</b><br />
The errata on offer here isn’t a simplifying clean up (dear me, no!) of the existing <i>Advanced Mythus</i> skill system: instead it’s full-on American luxury* elaboration. Which is nice. Because I'm sure that we all agree that the sole and overriding problem with the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> skill system was a paucity of detail. <br />
<br />
* more = better, and hang the quality.<br />
<br />
I've grown accustomed to the sheer baroque density of the <i>Mythus</i> skill system, but this still has to be seen to be believed. <br />
<ul>
<li>Whole new K/S Areas (including Conversational Foreign Language, Dance, Judgement, and the ever-necessary Plumbing); </li>
<li>New uses for skills. Dance (Spirit skill: ORLY?) now hones Physical Attributes, Yoga now allows you to sit in fridge for extended periods, while knowing about chess, riddles or wargames grants bonus Mental armour;</li>
<li>More new sub-areas than you can shake a stick at. Seriously, if a K/S Area (even a lowly Physical one) stands still too long it gets 6-12 <strike>tumours</strike> sub-areas slapped on it. Three-and-a-half pages are taken up just listing the things, let alone defining what you can use them for!</li>
<li>A revision of how sub-areas are acquired, with even less internal rhyme-and-reason than the original rules.</li>
<li>Rules for sub-sub-areas (by product) within the new
Economics/Finance sub-area of Mercantilism. Because the fandom was
crying out for even more detail on earning a living; </li>
<li>A new Rudimentary Knowledge rule, which gives players another option with which to short-change themselves.</li>
<li>Page after page of amended and corrected skill cross-feeds. Tharsends of 'em! </li>
</ul>
Reading this article at one gulp is, well, let's just say bewildering.<b> </b>The Stankhanovite 'all must be codified' madness: <b>It. Just. Doesn't. Stop!</b> In fact, the combined experience of reading <i>Advanced Mythus</i> and then MMM on the subject of skills is more than a little akin to watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKRWO7aHEk">Red Army marchpasts</a> from back in the Soviet era. Behold and fear the relentless tread of a bizarre and grandoise philosophy alien immune to rational argument. <br />
<br />
I suppose this article does answer some of my bitching about rules insufficiency in the published <i>DJ:M</i> rulebook. But it hardly lightens the load on the poor bewildered player who just wants to play a game of Lets Pretend with his mates. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Advanced Mythus</i>: "What you mean: chargen <i>mini</i>-game? Mini is for the weak!"</div>
<br />
<br />
There's plenty on offer on top of the "needs moar baroque! MOAR!!!" elaboration of the skill system in MMM. This little volume offers page after page of text confirming that, no, Gary really wasn't kidding when he wrote <i>Mythus</i>; he meant every damn word.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">EGGnu. Not joking.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Mystical Manifestations: Mythus Game Rule Expansions</b><br />
As well as expended skill rules we're also offered revised and corrected rules on skills by age and inherited wealth. These make geriatric toffery an ~even more~ optimal <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt8.html">character creation option</a> in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. <br />
<ul>
<li>Being older grants both more K/S Areas, and additional STEEP points to spend on them. </li>
<li>High social class grants bonus skills, languages, special connections, ~and~ the possibility of inheriting supplemental starting swag up to manors, ships, or stables of fine mounts. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Young and/or poor people? They get, well, spat upon. Actual penalties to number of skills and to skill levels in the skills you have left are supposedly balanced by a couple of NPC contacts, Quirks, and maybe a second language for the especially lowly. Right-oh.<br />
<br />
Sweet merciful Anansi! I though <i>GURPS Goblins</i> had unjust social standing rules. Its like a socialist utopia by comparison with <i>Advanced Mythus</i>! To favour rich old farts once in your RPG character generation system may be considered an oversight: to do so twice indicates a settled policy. <br />
<br />
<br />
As well as vouchsafing unto the devout Mythus-ites additional <a href="http://www.face-painting-fun.com/images/swiss-soccer-fan-crazy.jpg">Switzer madness</a> in the chargens, and walking us once again through the risibly simple process of generating an <i>Advanced Mythus</i> character, and introducing his new alternate history Weird Science-Fantasy (or, as we call it: soft scifi) setting, Gary also has some editorial/authorial points to make.<br />
<br />
And boy! does he make 'em.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The Town Cryer's Gone Mad</b><br />
No, really. That's the title of Gary's editorial/soapboxing column in which The Man Himself takes strident issue with the 'whispering campaign' against <i>Mythus</i>, and excoriates those too stupid to understand his simple little game.<br />
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Yes, because <i>Mythus</i> is the epitome of simplicity and lightness, and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't understand how to use a reference book. Seriously? <i>That's</i> your counter-argument? It would maybe hold water coming from someone who'd mastered the art of efficiently formatting information (see: That Damn Table, my endless bitching about poor layout, disgressive waffle and lack of page references, etc.). As it is, it just reads like a 'stupid people need not apply' tract.<br />
<br />
Of course - as later events illustrated - this 'us and them' ranting about uninformed, unprofessional "<i>so-called reviewers</i>" in certain publications turned out to be something other than merely the paranoia of a man at war with an incomprehending world. Still, this is a little embarrassing to read. I kinda wish Frank Mentzer had spiked it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Gamespeak...the DJ Patois</b><br />
A two page(!) essay on the True Scientific Realism of the game systems in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>, and on why this makes an entirely new <i>lingua jargonica</i> a logical necessity.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"During a CT the HP will probably need to know his BAC, WP, FAC, or make a Link, or expend ACE heka (as indicated by casting Grade) to start a casting, and then add more heka points for R&D considerations. Those are the highlights."<br />
-- EGG, Mythic Masters Magazine #1, p4</blockquote>
Yes, 'highlights'. Also *gluk gluk*, because that last deserves a stiff drink.<br />
<br />
Gary is seriously calling this reasonable. I've looked long and hard, and even run magnets over the page, and I can't detect a hint of irony in his assertions. Just remind me EGG: what was that you said about "<i>The game is too complex</i>" being 'crap' and 'hogwash'?<br />
<br />
We're also presented with the following assertion:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Those imposing [Dangerous Journeys] books are daunting to the dilettantes and casual participants who believe that shallow milieux with minimal rules enable easy play and empower those employing such devices. Wrong. What these sorts of games do is limit the scope of play to the particular genre and milieu and force conformity through lack of choice."<br />
-- EGG, Mythic Masters Magazine #1, p3</blockquote>
So there you have it. All that fun you've been having with your fast, light, 'rulings, not rules' games: mere delusion arising from false consciousness. You haven't really been having fun at all. How could 'dilettantes' suffering 'forced confirmity' in such 'shallow milieux' possibly be enjoying themselves? You poor deluded fools! Don't you know that simplicity <i>constrains</i> creativity? <br />
<br />
Let's just take a moment to savour it fully, shall we? <br />
<br />
<i>"...minimal rules [...] force conformity through lack of choice."</i><br />
<br />
That single statement is nothing less than a Genesis Bomb of assbackwardry. It is the totipotent seed for the entire ecosystem of Spaceyan <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FT8vqqz1xs">WRONG!</a> we now know as <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. It is a signpost on the primrose path to the perdition of systematised fantastic banality wherein dwell <i>GURPS</i>, <i>RoleMaster</i> and <i>D&D3E</i>.<br />
<br />
It's hard to believe - and a little sad to think - that this comes the same man who once asked "<i>Why have us do any more of your imagining for you?</i>" Oh Gary. What happened?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>TL;DR:</b> If you have any interest at all in the creative mind behind <i>D&D</i> and/or <i>Mythus</i> - or in the study and treatment of logorrhea - then go read <i>Mythic Masters Magazine</i>.<br />
<br />
The potted highlights above don't do justice to the full experience. To fully savour the crazy you simply have to read MMM<i> </i>for yourself! It's a truly rich and heady brew (albeit probably not in the way the author intended). Part rules supplement, part 'how to', part soapbox, and <i>in toto</i> a surreal time capsule from another universe; MMM is a quantum window showing us that even Hackmaster's Gary Jackson(tm)(c)(r) was naught but a pale shadow of the <strike>crazy uncle</strike> Father of the Game. <br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Next Time:</b> Combat (contingent on me finally wrestling that SOB of a chapter to the ground)<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> Mythic Masters Magazine, Philip M. Jackson's <a href="http://www.collectedcurios.com/spiderandscorpion.html">Spider & Scorpion</a>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-24285043730841515322012-06-04T10:00:00.000+01:002012-06-04T10:00:05.952+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt16[note: His Nibs is away. This posted through the dubious magic of Blogger's scheduled post facility.] <br />
<br />
<b>K/S Usage for Economic Gain</b><br />
This terminal section of the Core Game Systems chapter was co-written by EGG and his son Ernest, and is probably the only example of father/son tag-team game writing I’ve ever seen. It comprises seven pages on accumulating filthy lucre by standard boring capitalist methods (i.e. not glorious merry theft or looting). The rules presented are rather abstract, involving lots of basic sums and die rolling and not much actual adventure. <br />
<br />
There are three methods of multiplying money by money in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>: <br />
<ol>
<li>Ownership of Real Property</li>
<li>Consultation Services</li>
<li>Professional Investment</li>
</ol>
Three big-ass tables showing which skills governed by which TRAITS are good for which kind of moneymaking. AFAICT without checking thoroughly every skill in the game is mentioned in one or other of the three. Say what you like about Gygax <i>pere et fils</i>, them boys are Swiss in their thoroughness. Thus:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Completist, prescriptive, dubious utility: must be Mythus.</span></div>
<br />
WAKE UP! If I have to be awake while I <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flensing">flense</a> some sense out of this, so do you.At least we have sweet, sweet booze to help us.<br />
<br />
<b>Ownership of Real Property</b><br />
Making money from owning physical stuff and exploiting its use value.<br />
<br />
1. Invest up to 5,000BUCs x STEEP in something related to a chosen skill (farmland and tools for Agriculture; a forge and tools for Smithing/Welding; presses, ink and paper for Printing, etc.). This investment is tied up for a minimum period of one game year.<br />
2. Determine start-up period: 4d3 months -1 month per 10 STEEP<br />
3. DM determines Difficulty Class and modifiers to base chance of success. No help here, not even a page reference. I quote: "<i>This is left strictly to the GM.</i>"<br />
4. Add 10% of any other relevant skill to base skill, then divide by DR. <br />
5. At the end of the game year, roll d% to determine profit/loss. <br />
<ul>
<li>Pass/Fail = Each percentage point under/over the target number = 1% profit/loss.</li>
<li>Crit = As Pass, plus you get an additional d% profit and 1-3 points added to the skill used to make the roll. In future you can <strike>squander</strike> invest 2d3x5,000BUCs per skill point in this field.</li>
<li>Auto-Fail = Break even, but investment money is tied up unproductively for an entire game year. ("Eh?")</li>
<li>Fumble = As Fail, plus an additional d% roll loss. Yes, you can end up losing more than you originally invested. </li>
</ul>
<br />
5. Adjust value of investment:<br />
<ul>
<li>Crit = +20% of initial investment</li>
<li>Pass = +10%</li>
<li>Fail = -10%</li>
<li>Auto-Fail = -20%</li>
<li>Fumble = you've probably already lost your shirt...</li>
</ul>
<br />
At the end of the year you can either maintain the investment, rolling again for income year after year, or just sell it off. There are no rules for market variations or anything like that: you get back what's left. <br />
<br />
The worked example is a half-a-page or so about farming.<br />
<br />
*Phew* Who knew that attempting to own stuff could be such a hassle.<br />
<br />
<b>Consultation Services</b><br />
Making money through the pretence you are a reliable and trustworthy authority on something.<br />
<br />
1. Spot/create need for your skilled services in Law, Linguistics, Seamanship, Occultism, etc.<br />
2. Contact potential clients<br />
3. Pitch potential clients<br />
4. Set price and negotiate payment<br />
5. DO STUFF (I think this is where the skill roll happens)<br />
6. Collect payment, or at least try to.<br />
7. Determine reactions of customers and others affected by your interventions. A big deal is made of the complications of trying to get money out of people who owe it to you. It all gets a little Hackmasterish in the sheer level of adversarial GM-ery:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Screw them over. Gotcha.</span></div>
<br />
8. Determine effect on SEC, income, net worth, etc.<br />
9. Determine effect on future uses of that skill.<br />
<br />
The worked example has almost nothing to do with the rules presented above, instead being the story of an apprentice wizard consulting a scholar about translating an obscure text. They end up eaten by a demon. And the reader ends up none the wiser.<br />
<br />
Do I liketh this? <br />
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<br />
No, I liketh it not. Not at all. That page could have been used for something! (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
<b>Professional Investment</b><br />
Judging from the list of skills that can exploit this option (Buffoonery, Thespianism, Influence, etc), this would appear to be something of a ‘impresario’ mechanic. Printing and Chemistry are also mentioned as possibilities. I’m not entirely sure why: are roving bands of chemists-for-hire a thing in Mythus-world? <br />
<br />
1. Study the market for one week, uninterrupted.<br />
2. Gather resources. Spend up to 2,000 BUCs per STEEP in selected skill.<br />
3. Have an action plan. One which takes into account such things as: <br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Look! Indenting! Actual, real honest-to-goodness indenting.</span></div>
<br />
4. Have a clear idea of the goal.<br />
5. Invest time: 4d6 - 1/10 STEEP in weeks.<br />
6. Roll skill check, add 10% of any other relevant skills involved the multiply by DR (usually "Hard"). The worked example specifies that you can bring in outside help for either a set fee or percentage of the gross.<br />
<ul>
<li>Pass/Fail = Each percentage point under/over the target number = 1% profit/loss</li>
<li>Crit = As Pass, plus you get an additional d% profit and 1-3 points added to the skill used to make the roll. In future you can invest 2d10 x 2,000BUCs per skill point in this field.</li>
<li>Auto-Fail = Break even. (Once again. "Eh?")</li>
<li>Fumble = As Fail, plus additional 2d% loss.</li>
</ul>
On a Fail or Auto-Fail you’re out 10-30% of investment on top of your other losses, but you have the option to plough in more money to re-work the plan (and gain a re-roll to the skill check). The cost of this re-working is to top up the lost 10-30% of the initial investment, then spend +50% more money and time.<br />
<br />
The worked example for Professional investment (Rodney the Reformed Thief attempts to set up a troupe of acrobats and jugglers) takes up a larger word count than the rules.<br />
<br />
<b>Worked Examples</b><br />
The section ends with one last page of examples showing how you can use three sample skills - Agriculture, Apotropaism, Architecture (Really? The first three on the list. You were really reaching there, weren't you lads...) - to make money.<br />
<br />
I'm not keen on this particular part of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> system. Seven pages of dense text and poorly formatted rules in investments, and the outcome is decidedly sub-optimal IMO.<br />
<br />
Section #1 (Real Property) is basically a skill roll, and #3 (Professional Investment) is #1 tinkered with to explicitly include the existing Combined Effort rules (see p124). I'm not sure the two actually differ enough to justify entirely separate rules; a couple of notes to one block of rules would do the trick. #2 (Consultation Services), well, that’s so vague as to be a waste of paper. You might as well just refer to the Core Mechanics section. <br />
<br />
It’s a shame really. The whole K/S Usage for Economic Gain mess could have been rejigged into something short-and-sweet - and a sight more flavourful - with a bit of effort. One investment mechanic, one 'hire yourself out for pay' mechanic, plus a big old random table or two of complications to your clever moneymaking scheme (e.g. 75: Your investment is infested with Gnomes, deal with it or lose d% of value). And change the title to something catchier, like "Getting Rich Without Having to Die Trying" or "What Are We To Do With All This Lovely Money?".<br />
<br />
In conclusion: skip this bit. <i>Traveller</i> and <i>WFRP</i> (or, more recently, <i>ACKS</i>) did trading/earning a living better. Heck, <i>K.A.Pendragon</i> does return on annual investments with more character in an appendix, and that's a game where money can be handwaved entirely.<br />
<br />
Just goes to show: if your problem is runaway Gygaxian acturialisms, the solution probably isn’t to add more Gygaxes (Gygaxii?).<br />
<br />
<b>Art of the Section</b><br />
The best thing in this entire section is this pic of Sir Beardknight de Beard and a dragon having a shouting match about something.<br />
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Now where have I seen that before?<br />
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Oh yeah:<br />
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<br />
-----<br />
<br />
And that is the end of <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> Chapter 11. Let joy be unconfined and frolicking in the park be the order of the day, at least until next we board the <a href="http://www.crossedcomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/crossed_02_07-b.jpg?f22064">Mythus party bus</a> (NSFW).<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> Our first toe-tip into the piranha-infested river of wordswordswords that is the <b>Combat</b> chapter. Early highlights include: the dark arts of surprise and avoidance; enough information on Speed Classes to make the cold black heart of your average AD&D player flicker into life again; and giving those you disapprove of <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bfJzD8fMStE/TWMpjufjhbI/AAAAAAAAAEY/zansnDIMjb8/s1600/Explodo.JPG">the explodo</a> in the head and soul.<br />
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<b>Pic Source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, the intarwubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-56387484300079531232012-05-28T23:35:00.000+01:002012-05-29T00:43:36.213+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt15<i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> + opinionated gabshite + alkyhol: mix and stand well back.<br />
You know the drill <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/p/lets-read-mythus-compiled.html">by now</a>.<br />
<br />
A note to the confused: You will see references thought-out this stream-of-consciousness jabbering spree to something called That Damn Table. I include it here again for reference purposes:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">To know it is to loathe its ubiquity.</span></div>
<br />
Today we’re going to cover the last batch of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> K/S Areas, then have a brief rant on how I’d have done things differently (and arguably better), before finally talking about the incidental art of this section of the book. It’s gonna be a long one, so charge your glasses.<br />
<br />
And we start this week’s final thicket-thrash with:<br />
<br />
<b>Mediumship</b><br />
Described as the reverse of Exorcism, this is the art of inviting spirits to appear for the purpose of wasting everyone's time with table-rapping "Your grandfather sends platitudes but no useful directions to where he buried the gold/hid the title deeds" antics. No compelling of spirits is allowed, and failure/fumble "...could bring a hostile or malicious entity..."<br />
<br />
Bored now.<br />
<br />
We're offered two paragraphs of rules for séances. Said exercises allow the Partial or Full Physical Manifestation (given their own <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-letter_acronym">TLA</a>s as P-/FPM *gluk*) of spirits through ectoplasm (or, as the Victorians knew it, oiled muslin) leeched from the Physique TRAITS of séances participants. The benefits of having a spirit Physically Manifest escape me. I've checked the index, and that either sends you into a "refer to" loop, or to an entirely unrelated appendix. F--ing amateurish. Rules for resisting potential unwelcome ectomonglers? Left in the lap of the GM, presumably as extra credit homework.<br />
<br />
Bored and irritated by half-assery now.<br />
<br />
Characters with the Mediumship K/S Area also gain access to Medium Castings in accordance with the inevitable reprinting of That Table. According to all the tables relevant to this section Mediumship does generate Heka, but there's no mention of this in the text. <br />
<br />
Bored, irritated and wishing this skill description would die in a fire now.<br />
<br />
Would I touch Mediumship for an Classic RPG? As written, no. In fact: Hell no! <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Mediumship reads like it belongs in an Arcana Victoriana game like <a href="http://www.forgottenfutures.com/game/index.htm">Forgotten Futures 4 and 8</a> or <a href="http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1593">For Faerie, Queen and Country</a>: it’s gutless, deracinated spirit magic for the bored middle classes in a pre-TV age. I get that it’s also supposed to represent the character invoking ancestor spirits, genius loci, ideolectic gestalts, etc. but the flavour text and rules on offer are far too Derek Acora [no link, the man is vermin] for my tastes.<br />
<br />
<b>Metaphysics</b><br />
We’re given the better part of a paragraph of definition of metaphysics before EGG cuts to the chase and explains it in game terms. It turns out that under all the philosophy syllabus waffle this is a non-evil equivalent of Demonology with the option to make "roll to detect celestial influences" checks. So, angelology for a world with stabbable spiritual entities. ("Jeez EGG, that’s all you had to say.")<br />
<br />
As well as generating Heka, which is pretty standard issue for an <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Spirit skill, Metaphysics also has a half-baked ‘gain Spiritual strength’ rule. At 41 skill, and at every 10 points gained thereafter, a person may make a "Hard" (x1) difficulty Metaphysics roll to gain a point of SMCap. After gaining two points thus the difficulty of future rolls increases to "Difficult" (0.5). Hey, free stat points. Shame that none of the Physical or Mental skills enjoyed such an advantage.<br />
<br />
Metaphysics skill as written is all over the place. It’s academic metaphysics, and stat-enhancing meditation/spiritual exercises, and an detect angelic meddling skill, AND a spotter’s guide to celestial beings too. I’d probably break this into a couple of skills if I were going to make use of it at all.<br />
<br />
<b>Multiversal Spheres & Planes</b><br />
Knowledge of the position and makeup of the multiverse, divided up by plane.<br />
<br />
Eleven sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Alternate Material Planes</li>
<li>Elemental Planes</li>
<li>Shadow Plane</li>
<li>Negative and Positive Planes</li>
<li>Aethereal Plane</li>
<li>Nether and Pandemonic Planes</li>
<li>Empyrean and Concordelysian Planes</li>
<li>Entropic and Celestial Planes</li>
<li>Temporal and Panprobable Planes</li>
<li>Abyssal Plane</li>
<li>Astral Plane</li>
</ol>
All that lot fits together in a manner which may look more than slightly familiar to AD&D veterans.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, because the problem with AD&D’s Great Wheel cosmology was that it wasn’t complicated and prescriptive enough.</span></div>
<br />
No useful information or stealable moving parts in this skill description. It just sits there without even a helpful reference to the Mythus Magick book where the cosmography of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is actually explained. More and more I begin to fear that this game isn’t actually comprehensible without the <i>Mythus Magick</i> book in close attendance: not quite 400 pages of crippleware, but dangerously close.<br />
<br />
<b>Musical Composition</b><br />
You can make up instrumental music, but not write lyrics (because that’s an entirely different discipline, roight?). The Musical Composition skill generates Heka if you have all three of Spellsongs, Music and Poetry/Lyrics. A character with this skill can also read music with a DR of "Easy". Even someone afflicted by the bane of music dyslexskia (like Skwizgaar Skwigelf "I do nots wish to talks about it") finds this last a bit eyebrowish. Is sight-reading so risibly easy?<br />
<br />
Musical Composition has no skill cross-feeds (no, not even to the obvious ones) and no sub-areas. I find that last a bit peculiar, as what constitutes ‘good’ composition in, for example, the classical Chinese musical tradition != ‘good’ in the traditional West Asian or European modes.<br />
<b><br />Mysticism</b><br />
Ooh, this sounds like it might be cool. So what kind of mysticism does <i>Advanced Mythus</i> deem worthy of coverage as an entire skill in its own right? Sufi? Buddhist? Taoist? Qabbalist esoterica? Blakean whackdoodlery? Nope, this is 70s Californian mysticism, so we get two pages of rules about crystals and crystal-derived woo-powers.<br />
<br />
Ah yes. Those powers. A mystic knows eleven of them, listed A-K:<br />
<br />
A. <b>Self-Improvement:</b> meditate 1 hour/day and make an Easy skill check to gain +1 per 4 bonus to AP/General awarded. That means "25% bonus to XP" in standard gamer.<br />
B. <b>Self-Healing, Heart & Mind:</b> meditate 2 hour/day and make Hard skill check to heal 2d6 damage to both Mental and Spirit TRAITS. 1/day.<br />
C. <b>Mental/Spiritual Defence:</b> presenting your crystal as a shield awards Armour vs. magic effects that harm mind or spirit according to the table below:<br />
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D. <b>Mental/Spirit Offence:</b> allows the crystal-waver to attack manifested spirits using 50% of their Mysticism or Dweomercraeft skill.<br />
E. <b>Mental Heka Force Amplification:</b> meditate 1 hour + Hard skill check to boost one Heka-using skill by 50% for 5 minutes. 1/week only.<br />
F. <b>Heka Concentration:</b> meditate for up to 2 hours + make Hard skill check to dump 1 Heka/minute in crystal.<br />
G. <b>Visions: </b>using Mysticism to "clue me" is one DR easier than normal when using a crystal as a focus.<br />
H. <b>Self-Healing, Body: </b>as power B, but a Difficult skill check. 1/day.<br />
I. <b>Heal Others, Mind & Heart: </b>as power B, but base difficulty of Hard, +1 DR per additional person healed. 1/day.<br />
J. <b>Heal Others, Body:</b> as power I, but for others. 1/day.<br />
K. <b>Scrying:</b> "Easy" skill check to see invisible presences. Rules on types of crystals required to scry other planes.<br />
<br />
Access to the above powers are governed both by state of mind and by the purity of the crystal the mystic has attuned (navel gaze for 7 hours, Easy skill check). The requirement that mystics "...must be sane, sober and not Dazed to use a crystal with any degree of success" which just goes right against the grain of verisimilitude for what we actually know about Californian mysticism.<br />
<br />
As well as dictating your ability to use your skill crystal quality also gives modifiers to base DRs ~and~ determines the Heka storage potential of your pet rock. All these factors are determined by crystal price, which makes hearty mock of the outmoded concept of mystics as people who abjure earthly wealth.<br />
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A textual note says that high quality rocks can be X2-3 the listed price. I wouldn't have objected to this information as a second footnote to the table.<br />
<br />
In addition to the powers above the Mystic gains Mystic Castings according to That Table, generates Heka, and has access to two additional perks:<br />
<br />
<b>Dreams & Visions:</b> another "obtain clue" skill, with DR determined by how often in the past month the mystic has bothered the sublime crystalline entities (or whatever) that his little tchotchke(sp?) resonates with. The reading referee is cautioned in special invisible to players italicised text not to dish out too many clues in response to "clue me" skills. EGG sagely reminds us to "<i>...always make the HPs work for most of their information. [...] Thinking is worth a score of successful die rolls.</i>"<br />
<br />
<b>Detect Spirits and/or Magick: </b>a Mystic, or maybe his crystal, will *ping* in the presence of spirits (detection DR is dependent on magnitude of manifestation) or magic (Base DR "Extreme", one DR easier per 100 Heka expended), or if the Mystic or his friends become the subject of a magical Link. No idea about what this last entails, but I console myself with a delicious soothing beverage. (*gluk*) <br />
<br />
The downside to using a pretty stone as a lever to move the world? Anyone else touching your crystal scrambles the attunement (hippies don’t share well); your crystal crumbles to dust if you ever fumble a Mysticism roll; and lastly, you are a pretentious crystal-gazing woo-monger.<br />
<br />
As you may have surmised by now this skill contains the makings of a pretty comprehensive patchouli-scented Hippy Crystal Chick class, if that’s something that floats your boat.<br />
<br />
<b>Nature Attunement</b><br />
This is Druidism as skill. Unfortunately it’s not the cool ‘20 years of training, then you get buried alive in a flooded coffin to compose your dissertation in verse’ druidism the Romans wiped out, but instead tediously worthy ‘listen to the land’ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM">crying Indian</a>/<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=GROLIES">GROLIES</a> one. I’m really not kidding:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">purity, sense, feel: nice of Gary to highlight the hippy detection keywords for us</span></div>
<br />
Doing any of the things listed above is DR "Hard". Users of this skill can also blend into natural surrounding at a base DR of Easy, modified by terrain and vegetation. <br />
<br />
Finally Nature Attunement has five non-standard sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Growing Things</li>
<li>Natural Cycles</li>
<li>Personal Relationship</li>
<li>Animal Husbandry</li>
<li>Exotic Places</li>
</ol>
Instead of actually doing anything useful in their own right all these sub-areas do is provide cross-feed to other skills: <br />
<br />
<i>Growing Things</i> gives 10% cross-feed to Agriculture and Herbalism,<br />
<i>Natural Cycles</i> cross-feeds to Ecology and Geology.<br />
<i>Personal Relationship</i> (grossly mis-named) actually benefits your Hunting/Tracking and Survival skills. Go figure. <br />
<i>Animal Relationship</i> cross-feeds to Animal Husbandry, but not at all to Riding or Animal Handling.<br />
<i>Exotic Places</i> cross-feeds to Phaeree Flora and Fauna and Subterranean Aerth knowledge.<br />
<br />
The highly developed spiritual and metaphysical connection to the living world granted by Nature Attunement does not generate Heka in any way shape or form.<br />
<br />
<b>Necromancy</b><br />
One of the bad-boy rock star magic skills. I’m sure you don’t even need this defined for you, right? Ha! This is <i>Advanced Mythus</i>, of course it gets defined! Cue one very skippable paragraph of thesaurus abuse (*gluk gluk*) telling you what necromancy is. Of course it generates Heka, and of course you gain access to Necromancer Castings according to That Table. <br />
<br />
Most of the word count in this skill description is expended on 3 rather unimpressive abilities you gain by virtue of sending off for your mail order skull ring. I’m almost embarrassed to expose EGG’s nomenclatural shame here, but:<br />
<ol>
<li><i>Coldbody</i> - lower body temperature by 1° F per skill point for up to 1 AT (5 minutes) per STEEP. One/day AFAICT.</li>
<li><i>Darksee</i> - infra- and ultravision by other names. You see in the dark as if it was twilight. Always on.</li>
<li><i>Shadowskulk</i> - hide in shadows. DR Easy (total darkness) or harder. Lasts 1 BT (30 seconds) per STEEP. One/day.</li>
</ol>
So sad. You’d expect a fan of Vance, KAS, <i>et al</i> to be better at evoking the terror and majesty of Death Magic (yes, it rates the caps) in his ability names, wouldn’tcha? I mean, I can throw "Chill of the Grave", "See in Darkness" and "Enrobed in Night" down as substitute names with precisely zero thought on the matter.<br />
<br />
Anything worth stealing here? Naaaah. <i>Advanced Mythus</i> necromancers can’t even animate zombies from the look of it. You’ve probably written a better necromancer class yourself, or <a href="http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Tome_of_Necromancy_%28DnD_Other%29/Necromancy_with_Class">know a guy who has</a>. <br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Occultism</b><br />
Knowledge of the names and hierarchies of ghosts, elementals and similar entities: a handy skill for mediums, conjurers or anyone else determined to get bossy with those bodiless folk in the spirit world. By contrast with the needless wordiness of many <i>Advanced Mythus</i> skill descriptions this one actually feels rather like a précis of a (missing) longer section on spirit magic and Truenames. <br />
<br />
Learning about spirits is easy; a simple d% roll determines whether or not you learn the name of a useful entity. On a success skill check the character learns a spirit’s name and then rolls two more d% to determine whether they know it’s supernatural rank and/or leverage-enabling Truename (see table below).<br />
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Spirit entities have a crazy number of names, anything from three for the lowliest up to eighteen names for the most powerful. I’ve no idea what use this information actually is; it’s just thrown out there with us left to infer it by reference to other Spirit skill descriptions (Conjuration, Sorcery, etc). Creatures of Major status or above have multi-part Truenames that can’t be wholly learned through Occultism. Don’t ask how you can learn their full Truename though; the text is stonily silent on the matter.<br />
<br />
Occultism has no sub-areas or cross-feed to any other skills: an all-or-nowt skill. It does grant Heka = STEEP, but there appear to be no Occultism castings, so for once there’s no Special Guest Appearance from That Table.<br />
<br />
Whether you’d ever make use of this skill in your non-Mythus game depends on whether you care for Truenames, or for creatures having a dozen or more situational epithets. Personally I’ve always found that "I am known by many names" mythology shtick a bit pretentious and vaguely absurd. Too many aliases = cheap and shifty in my book.<br />
<br />
<b>Painting (Artistic) </b><br />
Distinct from Painting (House), which seems to be missing (*tsk*). Characters with this skill can make pretty pictures [link], assess the value of artwork (toe-trampling makes Appraisal skill saaaad), and also know art history. Painting as a Spirit skill though: is that right? Let’s just take the snide historian gibe about art history not being a proper intellectual discipline as read and move on, shall we?<br />
<br />
<b>Pantheology</b><br />
Mythology knowledge. In a world with manifest divinities this is probably something more than just a gateway field of study for geeks; knowing which god to make propitiatory obeisance to may actually be useful. The skill grants broad general knowledge about all pantheons in the game world, but the further away a pantheon is from your home culture area, the harder are skill checks required to remember salient information. Proximate pantheons are "Hard", those more distant "Difficult" or "Very Difficult".<br />
<br />
Sub-areas can be taken (to no apparent benefit), and there are nineteen of these listed, from Atlantean to Voudoun. <br />
<br />
This skill is simultaneously vague and game world specific; a lot of work for the player and GM. Pass. <br />
<br />
<b>Phaeree Folk & Culture</b><br />
Distinct from the Phaeree Flora and Fauna skill this is "<i>...the study of the many intelligent races inhabiting the Aerth’s counter-world"</i>: poxy pixie politics.<br />
<br />
There are six sub-areas to this skill: three Races of [faction] Nature and three Culture of [faction] Nature sub-areas. You can pick the Seelie, Borderer or Unseelie factions as fields of, for want of a better word, interest. No cross-feeds to other skills, and you’re limited to a ceiling of 35 in your skill until you spend time in fairyland.<br />
<br />
This is a boring, unevocative take on faerie lore. All the legwork is left for the GM, or to a later (never published) <i>Mythus Phaeree</i> sourcebook.<br />
<br />
(Oh, and that misspelling, like Magick and -craeft, just gets more annoying with time.)<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Philosophy</b><br />
Front and centre: "<i>...philosophy adds 10% of its STEEP to the Influence K/S Area</i>" (you remember <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/are-you-ready-for-more-drunken-ranting.html">that particular mess</a>, right?), which is yoking the ‘philosophy and rhetoric = trufriends4eva’ connection a little too tightly for my tastes. What’s the skill good for in itself? Well, aside from being another "clue me" skill philosophy also makes you "<i>...a sophisticated kind of person...</i>", and one "<i>...not easily misled by sophistries and falsely persuasive arguments.</i>" <br />
<br />
Pwahahaha!!! Oh my sides! I can only wonder how many philosophers EGG ever met. <br />
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<br />
<b>Poetry/Lyrics</b><br />
Good for writing odes, sonnets, ballads, librettos which don’t grate on the ear (DR "Easy" or harder). The skill also covers critical analysis and history of poetry and music.<br />
<br />
Poetry/Lyrics has no sub-areas, but does cross-feeds 10% to Etiquette/Social Graces, which bonus "<i>...applies across all cultures and societies</i>", as we are informed in italics most grave. Poetry/Lyrics also grants Heka to a character provided they have some ability in all three of the Spellsongs, Music and Musical Composition K/S Areas.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Priestcraeft (sic)</b><br />
This chunky page-long description open with two paragraphs on determining Full or Partial Heka Ability, which is practically a reprint of the similar section in the Dweomercraeft skill description. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: not the right place for this rule. <br />
<br />
After this we’re introduced to the requirements to become a full-fledged priest. These are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Full Heka Ability</li>
<li>STEEP of 31+ in Religion K/S Area (q.v.) </li>
<li>Exclusive devotion to one god of one pantheon</li>
<li>Vow of Faith/Pact with Evil (depending on whether your god is white or black hat) to chosen god</li>
</ul>
<br />
In return for all the above you gain both crazy Heka and access to a bunch of special Tutelary Castings specific to your ethos. In return you are at the beck and call of an inscrutable, omnipotent egomaniac (already a familiar experience to many players). Non-priests with the Priestcraeft skill gain somewhat less Heka and have access to non-Priest Castings in accordance with That Table.<br />
<br />
We’re informed that, unlike many skills, Priestcraeft has ‘insular’ sub-area. Once the pomposity has been hacked away (I kid you not, the word ‘Ethoi’ is used no less than three times in one paragraph!) it turns out this means: "pick the sub-area of Priestcraeft that matches your god, abjure all others; that’s you now."<br />
<br />
The five Ethoi of Priestcraeft are:<br />
<br />
<b>Balance</b> - disinterested neutralism. Taoists, nature worshippers, etc. Has some overlap with the Elemental School of Magic. Basically this guy:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Gloomy Darkness</b> - black hat maltheism. Combines chaos with tyranny for delicious full-fat double evilburgerness. Has so much in common with the Black School of magic it ain’t even funny. <br />
<b>Moonlight</b> - ‘little from column A, little from column B’ omnivorous ethos. Moon and sea gods.<br />
<b>Shadowy Darkness</b> - grey hat darker-and-edgier antihero ethos. Non-evil gods of death (Osiris, Hades, etc.) hang out here. Has a lot on common with the Grey School of Dweomercraeft.<br />
<b>Sunlight</b> - white hat light and order. Sun gods, lawgivers, etc. Corresponds to White School of Dweomercraeft.<br />
<br />
Not much of use here for Classic RPG gamers. Classics players generally already have god-bothering rules to their satisfaction.<br />
<br />
<b>Religion</b><br />
Knowledge of the rites and rotes of any one religion and pantheon, which must be chosen when the skill is taken. A STEEP of 31+ in this skill is required to be an ordained Priest of a temple. The skill generates Heka, but appears to have few if any in-game uses.<br />
<br />
<b>Sculpture</b><br />
The art of making sharp, vivid, three dimensional images from physical stuff. A necessary skill for anyone with a yen to shape golems. Sculpture offers no sub-areas, because the skills involved in casting bronze, carving stone or wood, shaping clay, or shaping jade are all same-same. The skill offers no skill cross-feeds, mainly because as written it's just too broad and vague to meaningfully apply to Masonry, Forging/Welding, Carpentry (another mentioned-but-MIA skill), Jewellery, etc. But hey, those are just lowly Physical skills; it’s not like they do actually matter in Mythus-world.<br />
<br />
<b>Sorcery</b><br />
The other bad boy rock star magic skill. This is the one that lets you grow a goatee, dress in full <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Halford">Halfordian</a> mode and generally act like the villain in the film adaptation of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Wheatley">Dennis Wheatley</a> book. Provided you have even a smattering of skill in the Demonology K/S Area, and are prepared to make a Pact with Evil (Vow of Faith by another name) forfeiting your soul, this is the full-on demon magic.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yeah, almost exactly like that, wicker man and all.</span></div>
<br />
What do you get in return for selling 21 grams of spiritual self? <br />
<ul>
<li>a non-trivial <i>multiplier</i> to the Heka generated by this skill. The text says anything from double to ten-times normal, but I think we all agree that x6.66 is the most thematically appropriate.</li>
<li>access to Sorcerer Castings per That Table.</li>
<li>the ability to call up infernal entities to do your bidding, Faust-style</li>
</ul>
Which segues us nicely into the half-page of demon invoking rules. These are largely a copypasta of the Conjuration rules with specific reference to evil-themed paraphernalia. The Heka cost and difficulty of upsetting the MADD element is given in a table coyly named "Called Beings":<br />
<br />
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<br />
But wait! There’s more. A sorcerer also gains five innate ‘in the inverted pentagram club’ minor powers. The names of these last aren’t as groan-inducingly bad as those listed under Necromancy, but they’re still not much to write home about.<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Delusions</i> - win a contested K/S roll to mentally troll ("Look again. You’re eating maggots.") a person within one chain (66ft), up to 3/day.</li>
<li><i>Flamesdance</i> - control flames. Flames can be made to flicker, dim or expand in size by up to x6(.66) for damage + chance of setting things afire. Usable 1/day.</li>
<li><i>Impsummon</i> - you get a squeaky little infernal minion to order/kick about. Usable 1/week.</li>
<li><i>Kiteseyes</i> - you can see through the eyes of any carrion bird out to a maximum range of 6 leagues. 1/day.</li>
<li><i>Ratseyes</i> - you can see through the eyes of rats. Mean-spirited mice and black squirrels are also "...good candidates for being pawns of this power!" 1/day.</li>
</ul>
<br />
There is a Carcosa-style suggestion that you can exploit the knowledge provided by this skill to fight evil, so long as you don’t summon demons, make pacts, or cast the naughty Sorcery spells. ("<span style="font-family: Arial;">Goat Boy finds that disgusting. Where is the fun in that?</span>")<br />
<br />
Is there anything here usable for a Classic D&D game? Not really. <i>AD&D</i> already has a string of mid-to-high-level summoning and binding spells that form a perfectly adequate demon-bullying mini-game in their own right. It is refreshing to see EGG just plain not giving a phuq about possible ‘RPGs are satanic’ clucking though. The sorcery skill has a definite air of "This is the subject matter under discussion and <i><span class="st">honi soit qui mal y pense</span></i>".<br />
<br />
<b>Streetwise</b><br />
The ability to fit in and not embarrass yourself among sub-cultural groups within your own culture. Examples sub-cultures listed include urban proletariat, rural peasants, mercenaries, beggars, etc. You know one sub-area of non-standard etiquette per 10 skill points. The skill is also good for identifying those groups traditionally shy of local law enforcement.<br />
<br />
<b>Thespianism</b><br />
"<i>All that fuss. Why not just try acting dear boy?</i>" - Laurence Olivier to Marlon Brando<br />
Includes both ability to act and knowledge of stagecraft. No cross-feed to Disguise, Persuasion or to anything else you might think related. I’m still not sure if this skill doesn’t render the Impersonation superfluous.<br />
<br />
<b>Witchcraeft</b><br />
Dunno why this is distinct from Sorcery, other than Gary had a Witch class bug up his butt right from the early days of D&D. IIRC it was an example class as far back as OD&D. Whatever the reason we are informed that "<i>...any individual practising Witchcraeft is of vilest malevolence and dedicated to Evil.</i>"<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Sooooo Evil! Burn immediately.</span></div>
<br />
After a couple of paragraphs of introductory matter which might as well have just read "refer to Sorcery" (*gluk gluk*) we’re treated to a column or so on the all-important administrative requirements of being a witch. We’re told of the benefits of regular attendance at Sabbats and Esbats (basically bonus Heka: so much for turning up; more for being boss hag; even more "<i>...if especially honoured for evil works.</i>" I can’t believe that known punster Gary missed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentioned_in_Despatches">mentioned in Esbatches</a> gag...), and of the swingeing punishments inflicted on witches who fail to keep their covens up to regulation strength: "<i>If ever a coven should have exactly seven members for even as short a time as seven hours, the remaining members are lost, for their Pacts are foreclosed, and each and every one is doomed!</i>"<br />
<br />
In return for their dedication to the infernal bureaucracy witches gain their bonus Heka, access to Witch/Warlock Castings per That Tables, and two witchy-themed minor powers: <br />
<ul>
<li><i>Eyebite</i> - give someone the Evil Eye. This is basically a pre-incarnation of the SRD’s silent/still spell feats.</li>
<li><i>Beastform</i> - the witch can adopt the form of a totemic carnivore (wolf, bear, or big cat) between midnight and dawn on nights when the moon is either full or dark.</li>
</ul>
Could you use this as the basis for a Classic RPG witch class? Not really. Half the skill is a recycling of the (already half-recycled) Sorcery skill, and the non-spell abilities of Witchcraeft are pretty duff. There’s nothing here to appeal to anyone who wasn’t aroused by the internal politics of the <i>AD&D </i>Druid class (one boss per area, fight to advance, etc.).<br />
<br />
<b>Writing, Creative</b><br />
You can make stuff up and write it down, or polish non-fiction into an entertaining read. I’m surprised there’s no self-pitying authorial plaint on the difficulty of writing here; maybe EGG got that out of his system back in the Difficulty Ratings section of this chapter. Creative Writing cross-feeds 10% to the Influence K/S Area, which I suppose represents speechwriting and such.<br />
<br />
<b>Yoga</b><br />
Don’t expect a thorough-going examination of the magic(k)al benefits of a 5,000 year old mystic tradition here, Mythus yoga is fakir tricks, pure and simple. The skill description covers the better part of a page, but the core of it is that the skill grants "...resistance to Mental and Spiritual attacks, immunity to normal fires, the ability to heal Mental, Spiritual and Physical wounds, and the ability to slow physical body functions." All these benefits, as well as innate resistance to Insanity-causing effects, are granted per the Yogi Abilities Table (reproduced below):<br />
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<br />
As well as making you an unkillable pucnic-basket- plundering hobo the Yoga K/S Area also generates Heka, and cross-feeds 10% to Hypnotism, Perception, Acrobatics/Gymnastics, Endurance, Mysticism and Nature Attunement. Yes, all of them.<br />
<br />
You’ve seen this skill before in your Classic D&D game. Split the abilities up among a bunch of levels and you’ve pretty much got the Monk (aka Mystic if you speak BECMI). The body control thing? That was right there in <a href="http://www.tekumel.com/gaming_rulesEPT.html">OEPT</a> all the way back in 1975.<br />
<br />
And, having reached page 200 alive and (relatively) sane, I am glad to report that is the end of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> K/S Area descriptions section. 64 seemingly endless pages of:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mythus skills: my face when</span></div>
<br />
Was it worth the swedge? Arguably not: an average of a couple of <i>possibly</i> interesting elements for your game per dozen pages really doesn’t justify the effort expended. I’m just glad I did it so that no one else has to.<br />
<br />
<b>How I’d Have Done It Differently</b><br />
<br />
Before we call <i>finis</i> on this gibbering horror for all time I’m just going to indulge myself with a brief retrospective of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> K/S Areas section, why it sucks, and how it could be made better. Trust me, this is a necessary exorcism for someone who’s just spent <i>six weeks</i> staring into the void.<br />
<br />
The number one improvement would come from having a guy like this on the staff:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Hello. I'm here to edit your text."</div>
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<br />
Everything else flows from there.<br />
<br />
For starters, the universal skill lists on pp100-101 would have been moved to the K/S Area Descriptions section, with *copious* page numbers and textual references in the Vocations section.<br />
<br />
Second, <i>each and every skill</i> would have to justify its existence in the book. If you’re going to have a comprehensive skill system, then it has to be comprehensive, not half-done and lopsided.<br />
<br />
Duplicate another skill? We have that thanks. Off you trot.<br />
Stupid number of sub-areas? They get purged and/or the skill gets split up into two or more separate skills, which then have to justify their own existences.<br />
Vapid waffle text? Expand skill description to a meaningful degree, or cut: pick one.<br />
<br />
Then, and only then, I’d have put the surviving Heka-active skills in a section of their own, maybe called something sensible and obvious like Heka-Active Skills to indicate that they are not quite like their mundane counterparts.<br />
<br />
All the skills would be collected into one table with a fat wedge of relevant information all in one place. Thus:<br />
<br />
<table><tbody>
<tr><th>Name</th><th>TRAIT</th><th>Heka from</th><th>Casting Access?</th><th>Sub-Areas?</th><th>Other Abilities?</th></tr>
<tr><td>Arglbarglism </td><td>M </td><td>Skill+MMFoo </td><td>Y (Arglbargl) </td><td>Y (# of) </td><td>Y/N (see pXXX) </td></tr>
<tr><td>Chodmancy </td><td>M </td><td>Skill+PNBar </td><td>Y (Choddery) </td><td>N </td><td>N </td></tr>
<tr><td>Gonkology </td><td>P </td><td>Skill only </td><td>N </td><td>Y (# of)</td><td>Y (see pXXX) </td></tr>
<tr><td>Murblnurfism </td><td>S </td><td>Skill+Ssblah </td><td>Y (Murblnurf) </td><td>N </td><td>Y (see pXXX)</td></tr>
<tr><td>etc </td><td>etc </td><td>etc </td><td>etc </td><td>etc </td><td>etc </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There’d be one, and only one, instance of That Damn Table, renamed to something logical like Casting Access for Heka-Active Skills. The newly renamed table would have a header or footnote explaining that all Heka-active skills that gave casting access did so according to this one table; no exceptions.<br />
<br />
After that, Heka-active skill descriptions, edited down to the needful information. Got a bunch of setting material and/or worked examples? That’s what the <i>Mythus Magick</i> book is for. The Rulebook is for the rules you need to play the game. The clue is in the name.<br />
<br />
There’d also be one <i>clearly marked and logically placed</i> explanation of the process of checking for Full or Partial Heka Ability in characters. This also would be page referenced to within an inch of its life because we have respect for the time, effort and money the reader has expended upon our game.<br />
<br />
Bosh! Greater clarity, ease of reference, ~and~ a bunch of pages saved for more actual substantive content. The whole section would actually read like a usable rulebook rather than as a bunch of half-thought-out fob-off skill descriptions interspersed with setting essays, authorial advice, worked examples and over-stuffed uber-skills. <br />
<br />
Job done. I am rock!<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Art of the Section</b><br />
Before I finally collapse into a gibbering heap for the rest of the week I’d just like to mention the three b+w pictures which *ahem* grace the Spirit K/S Areas section of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> rulebook. All three are b+w incidental art, rather than the full page colour spreads we’ve come to know and loathe.<br />
<ul>
<li>p182 - Daniel Gelon pic of a Faerie Prince and his court, complete with robed <i>eminence gris</i> naturally. Odd bits of this picture include the weird black dot doll eyes of the prince and the Bowie homage(?) focus on his groin as the focal point of the entire composition. This piece is <a href="http://www.somethingawful.com/d/dungeons-and-dragons/">WTF Mythus?</a> territory.</li>
<li>p195 - Not visibly credited (Mitchell?) pic of an Ogre standing before a Mycenaean-looking tomb. The ogre is characterfully drawn with a slightly pathetic air which gives the impression that beating on this guy would have a slight whiff of 'bullying the local weirdo' about it. </li>
<li>p198 - Ellisa Mitchell pic of a generic Conan-style fantasyburg. This architectural style in this picture will be more than slightly reminiscent to anyone who saw the opening reel of the execrable <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/solomon-kanes-north-devonian-cousin-and.html">Solomon Kane film</a>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> K/S Areas Use for Economic Gain, in which Ernie Gygax and his old man expend seven pages laying down the law on earning your keep in /Advanced Mythus/.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic Source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook, <i>Mythus Magick</i>, <a href="http://www.eviltwincomics.com/previews.html">Action Philosophers</a>, the intarwubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-47483869042642671742012-05-21T11:00:00.000+01:002012-05-21T11:00:02.671+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt14<div class="original-line">
It being - as is traditional around this time of the week - Monday, it's once again time for our regular dive into some obscure, archaic, densely-written text which speaks unto us of eternal verities about tragic, self-destructive ambition.</div>
<div class="original-line">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="original-line">
<i>"Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,</i></div>
<div class="original-line">
<i>Returning were as tedious as go o'er.</i></div>
<div class="original-line">
<i>Strange things I have in head, that will to hand,</i></div>
<div class="original-line">
<i>Which must be acted ere they may be scanned."</i></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="original-line">
<blockquote>
-- MacBeth, Act 3, Sc4</blockquote>
(It is like that Bill Shaxberd bloke was reading my mind, but I was referring to <i>Advanced Mythus</i>.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Jpg0TLsbRHEZ3NcFuWFEbMtezbwXyZxLNChU3yYY0gcN9svvLl4UaFLv-44NXkyWInFl9t5S2LnfpxAk8hZ10GBp3R2kuryZ_hNArp0559SGcm-ARSPROCp3uH93aEzkB_i8CpJlP8I/s1600/bogsnorkel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Jpg0TLsbRHEZ3NcFuWFEbMtezbwXyZxLNChU3yYY0gcN9svvLl4UaFLv-44NXkyWInFl9t5S2LnfpxAk8hZ10GBp3R2kuryZ_hNArp0559SGcm-ARSPROCp3uH93aEzkB_i8CpJlP8I/s320/bogsnorkel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I think I saw something useful over that way."</span></div>
<br />
<b>Spirit Skills</b><br />
Pages 175-200 of the <i>Dangerous Journeys: Mythus</i> rulebook cover K/S Areas governed by the Spirit TRAIT. And may <a href="http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/37/48110356.jpg">the Future Buddha</a> help your accursed soul if the preceding sentence means something to you. This is the shortest of the three skills sections in terms of number of skills, but still longest in terms of page count. <br />
<br />
Here's what we'll be looking at over the next couple of weeks:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWNkJBZss6Jo8QKv4IG4ZBQrXrLooLrq0jXXFgytt4aNjDLnlLTAs_S7paObQWy5m1xzaWOj6zhQJJjGvueHm9R5RJoOGDz5pO2_RE2kcylpQTFCJ3eKse1ABIpeEH4fmTqL4af4p5m0/s1600/mythus+p100+boxout+2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWNkJBZss6Jo8QKv4IG4ZBQrXrLooLrq0jXXFgytt4aNjDLnlLTAs_S7paObQWy5m1xzaWOj6zhQJJjGvueHm9R5RJoOGDz5pO2_RE2kcylpQTFCJ3eKse1ABIpeEH4fmTqL4af4p5m0/s320/mythus+p100+boxout+2.png" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
For the purposes of comparison with the other sections of the skill lists:<br />
<br />
<table><tbody>
<tr><th>TRAIT</th><th># skills </th><th># Pages </th><th>Skills/page </th><th>Heka Y/N? </th></tr>
<tr><td>Mental </td><td>60 </td><td>17 </td><td>3.5 </td><td>6 </td></tr>
<tr><td>Physical </td><td>43 </td><td>13 </td><td>3.3 </td><td>4 </td></tr>
<tr><td>Spiritual </td><td>37 </td><td>26 </td><td>1.4 </td><td>20 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Even without reading any skill descriptions raw numbers clearly indicate that Spirit skills are supposed to be a big deal in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. There's quite a bit of implied setting scattered about in these skill descriptions, in a way that we've only previously encountered in the (*shudder*) language skills. Also - in stark contrast to the casual dismissals given to many earlier skills - these chunky skill descriptions contain actual game mechanics and defined character benefits.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of Unconscious Wizard Privilege going one here: either your skill is magicky ('Heka Active' in Mythuspraak), or it ain't worth a damn. <br />
<br />
For example <br />
<ul>
<li>Leadership, Military Science, or Seamanship - 1 paragraph apiece, no references to other rules sections</li>
<li>Alchemy (partial rules) - 3+1/2 pages; Exorcism - 2+1/2 pages; Mysticism - 2 pages. All have additional references not just to other sections of the rulebook, but to a whole other 400-page tome entirely devoted to magic.</li>
</ul>
From this it can safely be inferred that - for all its pretensions towards being the apogee of versatile fantasy gaming - <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is actually a game about being a wizard, albeit one in an alternate Earth where magic is a workable replacement for science. <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is provably *not* a game about brawny warriors (Howardian barbarian or otherwise) leading armies to crush the thrones of the world beneath their sandaled feet: the rules for executing these classic adventure fantasy tropes in the game are practically non-existent. <br />
<br />
To adapt an old management cliché: what gets rules gets done.<br />
<br />
One other thing before we once again launch ourselves screaming into the abstruse abysm of the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> skills-verse. That Table. We've encountered That Table before several times in the Mental skills section, but I'll reproduce it here:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjNnHSvdJkLDioWtnYet-ozLfoo2vqrZmyqNAtygHfhkmmXOCOy50RBtJVuIRqN3Nu9j7FVl-DqJWPgg5WY0PJ16q-tRc7f8cL3j-bBis5ayowK__YVsPFmirhdLad5J38qGmKNJfv4o/s1600/that+damn+table.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjNnHSvdJkLDioWtnYet-ozLfoo2vqrZmyqNAtygHfhkmmXOCOy50RBtJVuIRqN3Nu9j7FVl-DqJWPgg5WY0PJ16q-tRc7f8cL3j-bBis5ayowK__YVsPFmirhdLad5J38qGmKNJfv4o/s320/that+damn+table.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
That Table makes over a dozen appearances in this section under various names, but invariably containing exactly the same information. (Distrust anyone with that many pseudonyms and no visible means of support.) I kid you not, after a while this thing leaves you feeling a little like the wolf in the old <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghG0lWxRABM">Droopy cartoons</a>: wherever you turn, it's already there.<br />
<br />
Enough preamble, on with the winnowing:<br />
<br />
<b>Alchemy</b><br />
I presume I don’t need to define what alchemy is for this audience. No? Good. This is the first of the BIG skill descriptions that are something of a motif of this section. The (partial) rules for alchemy given here cover about four pages. <br />
<br />
Alchemy is, as we noted back in the equipment section, a rich boy's game. Doing magichemistry requires <i>at least</i> 150K in expenditure for alchemical implements (cup, dagger, pentacle, ring, rod, wand), and anything up to an extra 200K(!) for alanthors, basins, lodestones, etc. All these can be used as regenerating Heka stores, with their self-renewing Heka being good <i>only</i> for the purposes of doing alchemical magic.<br />
<br />
Oh, and you also have to buy an alchemical lab, which modifies the DR of whatever you're attempting by non-trivial amounts. No lab at all? All alchemy is 2 DR harder for you than normal.<br />
<br />
So what does all this expenditure get you? <br />
<br />
Well, you gain Heka, which is nice, and so do your alchemy tools, as mentioned above. You also gain access to Alchemical Castings (spells) gained per That Table. <br />
<br />
On top of all the above - at which most non-Spirit skills can only gaze with envy - yon Alchemy K/S Area-haver also enjoys the opportunity to perform <strike>mad science</strike> Alchemical Operations. These are kind of like <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/lets-read-mythus-pt12.html">Hekaforging</a>, which regular readers may recall was the art of imbuing items with power through the magic of hitting them. Alchemy infuses Heka into items using the power of applied money. Rules for doing this take up a column of dense, closely written text, which takes quite a bit of parsing out before it makes sense.<br />
<br />
Yes, your alchemist character can turn lead into gold. Shazaaming 1lb of lead into a similar amount of gold will take 320 Heka and a bunch of skill rolls, the last at a difficulty of “Hell no!” (Base DR: Extreme, x0.1 skill). Note that such noodle-twisting of the laws of nature can only be performed at certain auspicious times. But you can do it...<br />
<br />
As well as the basic ‘do this, get that’ rules the Alchemy skill description also covers: <br />
<ul>
<li>Creating artificial life (golems, homonculi, meatpuppets, etc). Animals can be reanimated as you like (no souls, see), but reanimated corpses - known as alchemical zombies (or Corpse Golems, or 'Frankensteins' if you're Jeff Rients) - may be taken for a joyride by malign eldritch intelligences. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BnOUOkcr9c">Herbert West, Reanimator approves</a>! </li>
<li>Bringing back the dead with the power of your <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBN56wL35IQ">bloilping</a> hiccupy glassware and wacky rites. These rules are largely implied/inferreable.</li>
<li>Rules for transformation of <i>materia</i> (Latin for 'stuff') based on binary oppositions and lunar phases (one page), complete with another page of example stuff you can make. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizueLblC__LKG9pudbNrZsfT1UsCGp4wFyFsKIIYog3QpjZzjny0RjZt1zfrLO2Zli4tRM5xkTpM7ZPygwXvQcPpb-5J6mHxDhU3IkVRlX4wv8B9-jqNm-joL19WIyYyDs3oJ0G0HF7U8/s1600/mythus+p178+boxout.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizueLblC__LKG9pudbNrZsfT1UsCGp4wFyFsKIIYog3QpjZzjny0RjZt1zfrLO2Zli4tRM5xkTpM7ZPygwXvQcPpb-5J6mHxDhU3IkVRlX4wv8B9-jqNm-joL19WIyYyDs3oJ0G0HF7U8/s320/mythus+p178+boxout.png" width="282" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yes, because nothing says arcane mysteries of the universe like a standard price list.</span></div>
<br />
I see three ways for an alchemist to make gunpowder/napalm there, but science absolutely positively never-ever can't? Right-oh Gary, that seems perfectly fair and reasonable.<br />
<br />
Full and complete rules for alchemical items and castings are, of course, found in the <b>Mythus Magick </b>book (sold separately). Insert your own pithy sarcastic comment about turning dross into profit here.<br />
<br />
You know, in some games this single skill description would form a chassis for an entire magic system. In <i>Advanced Mythus</i>, it is merely one of many ways in which caster wank is made manifest. Is any of this stuff salvageable for non-Mythus games? Well, I've long been seeking a way to give non-wizardy characters the ability to play with magical effects [link to old alchemy article]. Would I use this one? Maybe. With some work. ‘Scuse me (*gluk gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
<b>Animal Handling</b><br />
The woo-tastic art of beastie whispering, like in that estrogen-drenched Robert Redford film. Distinct from Riding/Teamstering and/or Agriculture: Animal Husbandry in that you can use Animal Handling to Crocodile Dundee/Beastmaster non-domesticated animals to your will. There are six degree of affinity rated 0 (unaffected) up to 5 (bonded) achieved by successive skill rolls.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Table might be useful as the basis for a beastmaster class if you don't have such in your Classic game.<br />
<br />
<b>Astrology </b> <br />
EGG takes a substantial paragraph to tell us that in a magical world astrology is more than woo; it actually does what it says on the tin. Astrology generates Heka, and characters knowledgeable in Babylonian numbers also gain Heka from their Astronomy skill. Zodiac-fanciers also gain Astrologist Castings (planet- and zodiac themed divination) according to That Table.<br />
<br />
<b>Buffoonery</b><br />
Another big skill at no less than 2+1/2 pages. This is the remainder of the <a href="http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Fools%27_Guild">Fool's Guild curriculum</a> (see also: Acrobatics, Juggling). EGG obviously intended that foolery (in the cap-and-bells, ‘speak truth unto power’ sense) be a big deal in games of <i>Advanced Mythus</i>; there are a *lot* of mechanical options here.<br />
<br />
The Super Clown Power skill grants the ability to do stand-up, physical comedy and minor magic tricks. Essentially comedy magician <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU9PWCqEdPE">Tommy Cooper</a> with malicious intent and an even sillier hat. These abilities are typified as either Ploys or Physical Actions, because calling them ‘Routines’ and ‘Pranks’ would obviously be far too nebulous and abstract to make any sense in context.<br />
<br />
<b>Ploys</b> - gabbling at an audience for an Action Turn (about five minutes in old money) allow you to modify their reaction to something on a skill roll (usually of Moderate or Hard difficulty). There are no less than 12 types of ploy: <i>Amuse, Distract, Pay Heed, Suspect, Belittle, Enrage, Question, Trust, Confuse, Feel Assured, Re-evaluate</i>, and <i>Value</i>. Clown-san gets them all: no sub-areas for him. <br />
<br />
I’d have reduced that list to half-a-dozen, or maybe to just a single ‘modify public reaction’ ability. But that’s just me.<br />
<br />
<b>Physical Actions</b> - with a skill check (usually vs. DR of "Hard") the fool can do any of the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Cause Minor Injury - create booby-trapped devices that cause 1d6 Physical damage and stun a target for 1-2d6 CT (rounds).</li>
<li>Precipitate Stumbling, Tripping or Falling - cause <i>Humiliation</i> (no defined effect, but makes ploys more effective), <i>Delay</i> (no defined effect), or <i>Physical Damage</i> (1d3 to 3d6+3 + 1 CT delay per point of damage).</li>
<li>Set Minor Trap - 8 types of trap: <i>Catching, Damaging, Gas, Light, Noise, Prank, Severing</i>, and <i>Spray</i>. These generally replicate the above actions, or cause a one-time minor status effect. The killer clown knows how to make 1 type of trap per 5 skill points he has in Buffoonery.</li>
</ul>
The Physical Action rules are objectively badly written.<i> Cause Minor Injury</i> directly duplicates <i>Set Minor Trap</i>, which in turn repeats information in the <i>Precipitate S, T or F</i> section (which anyone without a tin ear would just have called ‘Pratfall’). This mess of half-formed ideas could have been reduced to one single list of effects, some of which were only available through traps, others through either traps and/or physical antics. There’s simply no excuse for this. I know Gary could do better when he wanted to. Just read the <i>Guards and Wards</i> spell description in AD&D; lotsa info, clearly formatted. Heck, *I* can lay out rules better than Buffoonery does when being flippant! [<a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/sbvd-pretty-pictures-edition.html">SBVD</a>, <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/djangos-gurnery.html">DjG</a>]<br />
<br />
I think this is the first time the 'Every page of wordswordswords that could have been reduced to one simple rule: take four drinks' rule of the <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">Mythus Drinking Game</a> has come up, or at least the first time in a long while. Let us celebrate in the traditional brain cell-killing manner. (*gluk gluk*)<br />
<br />
The Baboonery skill description has all the makings of a full-blown killer clown class, <b>IF</b> re-written good and hard by someone with a hatchet. It’s just not for me though; I don’t get the Jester-as-adventurer archetype, and have no desire to. I know some people dig the <a href="http://images.wikia.com/warhammer40k/images/3/30/Harlequin_Troupe_Master.jpg">Harlequin warrior</a> vibe, but I can't just get past the mincing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK66hHbwj1c">Mr Claypole</a> jester look:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSH5m5ltgQV5TN1RHFBO9_k450ko-ypbS06Uw2DdtY988SgrFGZ2ZWq9n_yN4auY1KCYZC2-l_xM-nOyhSN_ED0DRl_nheOt2MW-FXFTWg3c-FGmyHXDRE2AZpxviDf4NroEbbID6CSjg/s1600/rainbow+robber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSH5m5ltgQV5TN1RHFBO9_k450ko-ypbS06Uw2DdtY988SgrFGZ2ZWq9n_yN4auY1KCYZC2-l_xM-nOyhSN_ED0DRl_nheOt2MW-FXFTWg3c-FGmyHXDRE2AZpxviDf4NroEbbID6CSjg/s320/rainbow+robber.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/02/06/ive-robbed-the-rainbow-to-make-you-gay/">Actual real advertising image</a> from a more innocent age.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
A final couple of notes on Buffoonery before we smack it in the head with a shovel and roll it into an unmarked grave: <br />
<ul>
<li>This skill description appears to have influential on the Jester class found in Joe Bloch's <a href="http://www.adventuresdarkanddeep.com/">Adventures Dark and Deep</a> theoretico-retro-clone (of an alternate universe Gygaxian 2E).</li>
<li>I think I've just tumbled (no pun intended) to what the Clown College career in <a href="http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Buttery_Wholesomeness">HOL: Buttery wHOLesomeness</a> was parodying.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Charismaticism</b><br />
Essentially <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair">gladhanding plausible fraud</a> ability, this is a version of the Deception K/S Area (q.v.) for Spirit-focused types. We’re actually referred back to the Deception skill for mechanics. Charismatification is usable in conjunction with “<i>...Influence, Espionage, Leadership, Thespianism, Hypnotism(!) and Mediumship(!!)</i>”. (Multiple exclamation marks as original text. I’ve no idea why.) <br />
<br />
Possession of the Charismagicjizm skill also adds to an HP’s Attractiveness score: +1 Att per 20 skill points. No idea if this is supposed to be because of the innate attractiveness of clubbable hucksters, or a 'good moral character' bonus, or what. It's either an oversight, or perhaps EGG wants the reader to meditate on the uses and abuses of charisma.<br />
<br />
I’m really not all that keen on this skill. It duplicates Deception to no benefit, and is worth mention at all only because the word Charismaticism is a classic Mythus neologism designed to: <br />
<ol>
<li>make your spell checker cry, </li>
<li>increase my blood alcohol level, and </li>
<li>send the <a href="http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/">Campaign for Plain English</a> into frothing berserker rage.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<b>Conjuration</b><br />
A page on the basics of making spirits, departed souls, elementals and godlings appear to do your bidding. This is basically the entire <a href="http://www.stormbringerrpg.com/">Stormbringer RPG</a> magic system compressed into one handy skill. <br />
<br />
The Mighty Xagyg is quite unabashed about conjuration’s use of magic circles, pentagrams and thaumaturgic triangles. This gives the skill description a slightly sulphurous whiff reminiscent of the One True DMG, and of the days before TSR ran scared of calling a demon a demon. Whether this as a direct <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TakeThat">take that!</a> to early 90s TSR, or just Gary doing fantasy magic the way he things it should be done (rooted in real world occultism), is an open question.<br />
<br />
The conjurer is able to use his puritan-baiting pentacles to drag all sorts of creature into the physical world according to the table below: <br />
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<br />
<br />
The accompanying text helpfully defines what each of these categories means directly below the table, rather than in another section or book (as is traditional in <i>Advanced Mythus</i>).<br />
<br />
Base DR is modified by things as varied as material preparations, bribes/sacrifices offered, use of spirit name (covered under Occultism skill), truename (see Demonology skill), or invoking the spirit’s superior. This whole can of worms is sensibly handwaved with a notice to ‘refer to other skill descriptions’.<br />
<br />
Failing a conjuration roll just wastes time and money, but fumbling one is all kinds of (actually defined) bad. At best 1d3 of your expensive spirit-wrangling toys spark and melt like burnt out fuses. At worst the conjured entity (or its bigger, meaner cousin) appear in your pentacle to ask "What’cha doing?"<br />
<br />
So, yeah. <i>Caveat invocator</i>.<br />
<br />
Once you’ve got a beastie in your pentacle you can torment it with various Conjurer Castings (gained, as usual, per That Table) in order to “<i>...encourage their cooperation</i>”.<br />
<br />
As well as all the above there’s a paragraph on Heka generation from Conjuration; another para’ on the implements, <i>material magica</i>, rites and writings necessary; and a note that you can make the physical items into Conjuration-specific Heka reservoirs if you like. Pretty comprehensive then.<br />
<br />
Conjuration cross-feeds to, and is cross-fed by, the Sorcery skill at 10%, which I think is the first cross-feed we’ve seen this week. There’s also a passing mention of sub-areas in this skill, but whether this refers to the types of creature summoned, or is just an erroneous reference that sneaked past the editors, is unclear.<br />
<br />
Would you use this skill for a Classic D&D game? Maybe, if the ‘summon-and-bind in pentagrams’ aspect of fantasy is a thing in your setting, and the ‘one spell, one entity’ system of <a href="http://www.lotfp.com/RPG/products/carcosa">Carcosa</a> isn’t to your taste. It’s certainly more flavourful than the ‘fire and forget’ monster summoning/planar patsy spells of modern (WOTC) D&D.<br />
<br />
<b>Divination</b><br />
Runecasting, gut-gazing, tea-leaf gawping, daphnomancy (divination by burning laurel leaves apparently *gluk gluk*) and the like are all covered by this skill. Divination is somehow distinct from the - superficially almost identical - Fortune Telling skill in ways that elude me. <br />
<br />
There are no sub-areas: you either know divination, or you don’t. If you know divination you gain Heka, have access to Diviner Castings per That Table, ~and~ you can demand that the GM ‘clue you’ by reference to an annoyingly overcomplicated divination sub-system.<br />
<br />
The better part of a page is spent on the particular mechanic in question. Most of this text defines the modifiers to skill DR a character will have to take to get answers to various degrees of question (from simple ‘yes/no’ up to actual useful information) from their GM. <br />
<br />
Oh, wait. No, I got that wrong. The actual wording is that “...the GM should always secretly make the HP’s divination rolls.” <br />
<br />
... Right ...<br />
<br />
So basically the already-busy GM has to spend actual time, effort and skull sweat pixel-bitching difficulty modifiers to a behind the screen roll which should be a simple “Do I let them know this? (Y/N)” binary decision. That’s just...<br />
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*wipes froth from mouth*<br />
<br />
I do not like this skill. It is an over-fiddly mess, nothing that D&D’s <i>commune</i> and <i>contact other plane</i> spells didn’t do better a decade-and-a-half earlier. Divination belongs in an unmarked grave along with Buffoonery.<br />
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<b>Exorcism</b><br />
Exorcism is the arcane art of evicting unwelcome (and usually foul-mouthed) boojums from people, animals or objects. Distinct from Apotropaism in that Exorcism is getting unwelcome visitors out of people/places once they’re in, rather than keeping them out in the first place.<br />
<br />
The 2+1/2 pages(!) of rules for the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> exorcism mini-game seem to be modelled on actual Catholic exorcism. I’m not sure if this is a function of Gary having seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlFhybmvrY0">The Exorcist</a> right before writing the skill description, or of the man’s active Christian faith. Could be either/neither/both.<br />
<br />
A possessing creature will be of one of nine degrees, and the more powerful the creature, the harder it is to shift. The Difficulty Rating of getting an unwelcome visitor out of their current vessel is modified by: <br />
<ol>
<li>the nature of what they inhabit (human, animal, tree, building, etc.),</li>
<li>what knowledge of the possessor the exorcist has (origin, nature, power, name, place in the arcane hierarchy, etc.),</li>
<li>the relative power of the exorcist and possessing spirit.</li>
</ol>
<br />
Fortunately the skill description has a bunch of tables furnishing us with all this information. Look! There’s one of them now:<br />
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<br />
There are nine steps to the process of exorcism, although the first six are really just actions performed with ritually prepared (and possibly Heka infused) items. First off the possessed is botherized with: candles, symbol, fumigant, wash, incense, and consecrated oil, in that order. The better part of a page is devoted to the exact details and requirement of these items.<br />
<br />
Preliminary nuisance tickling over with, steps 6-9 of the interloping entity eviction process are: <i>naming</i>, <i>rebuking</i>, and <i>reciting the rites of exorcism</i>. This is when the investment of time, effort and Heka pays off, and actual skill rolls are made ... At least, I think that's what happens:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Nope. No idea. It’s probably Enochian or something...</span></div>
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What happens to spirit, vessel and/or exorcist as a result of the exorcism is determined by reference to yet another table. The specially unpleasant effects for Fumbling are buried tastefully out of sight in the accompanying text.<br />
<br />
As well as providing hours of exegetic and number juggling entertainment for anyone who takes the skill, Exorcism also generates Heka and allows access to Exorcist Castings (per That Table). There are no sub-areas or cross-feeds to other skills.<br />
<br />
Is the Exorcism skill retrievable for use in a non-Mythus game? Well, although chunky the skill description isn’t as egregiously offensive in its mechanics as, for example, the Divination skill. The stuff that's there generally makes sense in context. These rules might be usable for <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> or other modern horror RPG that needs an exorcism mini-game, but they're <i>way</i> more complicated than I personally would ever use for Classic D&D.<br />
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<b>Fortune Telling </b><br />
The Fortune Telling K/S Area is the art of divination by card reading, phrenology, palmistry, runes and/or tealeaves. It is not to be confused with the Divination K/S area, which is the art of fortune telling through card reading, phrenology, palmistry, runes. It is likewise not to be confused with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87mKwgYR6A">Victorian railway engineers Robert Ste(v/ph)enson</a>.<br />
<br />
Unlike Divination, Fortune Telling gets sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Cartomancy (inc. Tarot)</li>
<li>Palmistry and Phrenology</li>
<li>Runes (inc. I-Ching)</li>
<li>Tea Leaf Reading</li>
</ol>
One sub-area only until you get to 41 STEEP in this skill, then you can pick a second (or specialise if you hate yourself...).<br />
<br />
Fortune Telling is yet another ‘roll to clue me’ skill usable at the mercy of the GM. As well as letting you play Gypsy Rose Lee the skill also generates Heka and gives access to Fortune Teller Castings per - yes, you guessed it - That Table.<br />
<br />
There is no reason for this skill to exist as something separate from Divination. It is just credulous, lowbrow foretelling in ethnic costume.<br />
<br />
<b>Herbalism</b> <br />
Herbalism in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is not just knowledge of which plants can be harvested for Heka (complete rules in <b>Mythus Magick</b>, available from all good remaindered book stores); it is also the only curative paradigm that actually works on Aerth.<br />
<br />
Scientific medicine? *Pshaw!* You seem to be forgetting that science is unreliable hokum. To quote the Alchemy skill description: “<i>Because it contains some concepts of science, this Area is always a difficult and uncertain practise.</i>” (p175). Note that animals are still treated with (non-wootastic) Veterinary Medicine, which may be something to do with them not having <strike>souls</strike> spirits (again, see the Alchemy skill), but for actual people in Mythus-world it’s nettle poultices and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Middle-earth_plants#Athelas">athelas</a>, or nothing. Go figure...<br />
<br />
As well as generating Heka and granting access to Herbalist Castings (spells) according to That Table, Herbalism also allows the designated medic character to: <br />
<ol>
<li>Double Physical healing rate with a “Moderate” (x2) skill roll.</li>
<li>Heal Mental damage at a rate of skill x0.2/day with a “Hard” (x1) skill roll.</li>
<li>Heal Spirit damage at a rate of skill x0.1/day with a “Difficult” (x0.5) skill roll.</li>
<li>Cure disease at double normal rate with a Very Difficult (x0.25) skill roll, or at normal speed with a variable DR.</li>
<li>Immunize against disease with a variable DR, based on rarity of disease.</li>
</ol>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_2s0-rZcvI">All ist clar, ja? Goot!</a><br />
<br />
Included for the edification of the reader is a table of DRs by rarity of disease.<br />
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<br />
The skill description is rounded out with a column of caveats, commentary and general blah blah (also pronounced *gluk gluk* in this part of the world).<br />
<br />
As you can see Herbalism manages to tread heavily on the toes of several other skills, simultaneously making Acupuncture, First Aid and Botany (all non-Spirit
and non-Heka generating) all feel a bit small in the pants. There's no good game mechanical reason to take any of those three if you have the option of spending skill points in Herbalism. <br />
<br />
Would I use this? I suppose Herbalism has its place in a fantasy RPG. You could do worse if you’re going to have non-spell magical healing in your game. <br />
<br />
<b>Impersonation</b><br />
The art of pretending to be someone you’re not. I don’t know why this isn’t just a function of the Disguise or Thespianism (*gluk*) skills, but there you go.<br />
<br />
Two types:<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Impersonate type of person</b> – base DR “Moderate” (skill x2), 1-2 DR harder if you’ve no clue how they would act, another 2-3 DR harder if impersonating in front of that type of person. Being of the right social class (SEC) or having relevant skills will reduce penalties.</li>
<li><b>Impersonate specific person</b> – base DR “Moderate” (skill x2), modified as above, and even more if you encounter people who actually know the subject of your imposture. 10% of Buffoonery, Disguise and/or Thespianism skills can be added to skill level where appropriate.</li>
</ol>
Impersonation cross-feeds to and from Disguise at 10%. Which necessary inclusion leaves us all greatly relieved, I'm sure.<br />
<br />
<b>Jury-Rigging</b><br />
Screwdriver-&-duct tape-o-mancy is a spiritual exercise. Who knew? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Loyola">Ignatius of Loyola</a> missed a trick there: the very concept of Jesuit Father MacGyver would have filled the Protestants of early modern Europe with fear and awe. <br />
<br />
Cheap gags aside, there are no actual rules for getting stuff to work when it shouldn’t. Difficulty Rating is too situational to be defined, and the whole mess is dumped in the GM’s lap with the blithe assurance that “<i>...it’s theoretically possible to jury-rig something with no knowledge of how it works, no tools, and no help whatsoever. (That is, if you can beat a DR of “Extreme”!)</i>” <br />
<br />
Ah, now I see why this is a Spirit skill: jury-rigging in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is ‘clap your hands if you believe’ cargo cult engineering, not <i>actual</i> problem solving through deductive reasoning and ingenuity. It's some guy poking around and fixing a machine 'as if by magic'.<br />
<br />
*crickets*<br />
<br />
Nothing here the old <i>Metamorphosis Alpha/Gamma World</i> Tinker with Artefacts charts didn't do better.<br />
<br />
<b>Leadership</b><br />
You can lead people. D&D from its ‘O-’ iteration onward devoted entire sections to the skilled arts of command under pressure. <i>Advanced Mythus</i> gives you a paragraph: six lines of text, no formal rules. This makes Caesar, Alexander and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRPZvwTRh9g">Patton</a> sad pandas, and once again gives the lie to the brag that Mythus is a game “<i>...far beyond any other.</i>”<br />
<br />
Sub-areas? Skill cross-feeds? “Pwahahaha!!! No.”<br />
<br />
<b>Magnetism</b><br />
In <i>Advanced Mythus</i> terms Magnetism is a form of Hypnotism (q.v.) that works on the Spirit rather than the mind. It is difficult to magnetise the unwilling, or someone who hasn’t already taken their Effective Level in Spirit damage. So it's a case of emotionally abuse, <i>then</i> Magnetise ... I think.<br />
<br />
Three possible uses, although poor formatting manages to kludge them together into two text blocks numbered ‘1’ and ‘3’ respectively:<br />
<ol>
<li>All non-hostiles within 20’ radius regard the Magnetist (Magnetiser? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOsS0Hym0Jw">Magnet Monster</a>?) favourably. This requires a skill check vs. “Hard” DR.</li>
<li>If one non-hostile is concentrated on for AT = their SPCap Attribute (*gluk*) they act as if hynotised for 1 hour per 10 Magnetism skill points. Whether this requires a skill check to effect, or just time, is unclear. Affected subjects can be controlled per a Spirit attack to Subvert (explained in the Combat chapter, but nearest D&D equivalent is the <i>charm</i> spell: ally, not mind slave). No post-hypnotic suggestion is possible, but the person will refuse to believe they were ever magnetised.</li>
<li>Heal Spirit damage equivalent to the Mental damage healed by Hypnosis (1d6 per DR, cause damage on a fumble).</li>
</ol>
<br />
Being a pervy soul-fondler doesn’t generate Heka, surprisingly. Nor does it make you a better Hypnotist, Charismatic, or public speaker in any way.<br />
<br />
Would I use this? Not in a game that already has <i>charm</i>, <i>dominate</i>, <i>affinity/antipathy</i> and other such mind affecting spells as standard, and probably not in any game with an existing Hypnotism skill either. It’s just a bit *meh*.<br />
<br />
<b>Medicine, Oriental</b><br />
This is Chinese medicine through a pop culture filter, plain and simple. There’s not even a pretence that the 5,000 year old Indian medical tradition gets a look in. This is Yin-Yang balancing; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra">chakras</a> don’t get a mention. Yoga? That’s for fire-walking and meditation purposes.<br />
<br />
Oriental Medicine in <i>Advanced Mythus</i> is largely another palliative care skill. It increases healing rate to "Prime" (which equates to bed rest + medical care AFAICT), also adding 10% of skill level to a regular patient’s disease resistance. The benefits of Oriental Medicine stack with Acupuncture in all instances.<br />
<br />
There are no sub-areas, and likewise no skill cross-feeds. Nope, not even to Herbalism, which, IIRC, is a substantial part of Oriental Medicine. <br />
<br />
So scientific medicine doesn’t work in Mythus-world, even though First Aid, Veterinary Medicine, Herbalism and now traditional Oriental Medicine all do. Likewise gunpowder can’t be created, but all sorts of bizarre alchemical explosives can. There’s really no consistent internal logic there, just a knee-jerk ‘anything that smacks of lab coats does not belong in my fantasy game’ mentality.<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<br />
And that one last gripe about the one last skill I have the stomach to sample in one sitting brings us right back round to some of our opening comments far, far above. <br />
<br />
Were I a less charitable person, or one prone to edition jihadery or game snobbery, I'd cite this entire section of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> as the bad old gygaxian 'muggles can't have nice things' mentality in action. You know, the same one that unintentionally spawned the <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards">linear fighter, quadratic wizards</a> meme, a stick with which D&D was long beaten by its detractors. As I am a generous soul - not a joyless game purity <i>fedayeen</i> - I'll instead call it as an intended authorial focus. It sort of makes sense to expend a lot of words on mechanics about the magic-slinging skills in a game about adventures in a world where magic is a workable substitute for science.<br />
<br />
The very specific lacunae in which physics as we understand it just stops working? (western medicine, gunpowder, etc) Sadly, that's Gary falling into the trap of trying to *enforce* the fantastic, rather than making wonder so appealing in itself that resorting to science is perceived as sub-optimal. That's just a little too much "It works like this because it does!" for my tastes. If you're confident in your setting and mechanics you shouldn't even need to roadblock certain non-genre-appropriate options, people will be too busy having fun with all your cool new stuff to miss the same old, same old.<br />
<br />
Grumbles aside, this week’s schlep through the skills has been surprisingly rewarding. The first chunk of Spirit skills has the makings of three or four types of specialised wizard class for a fantasy game, as well as a complete exorcism mini-game for modern/historical horror buffs. The dozen-or-so pages interrogated have also been replete with exemplary instances of ‘don’t do it like this’; scattered with jargonic excuses to lubricate the system; and have also given me a little bit of insight into the intended game buried beneath the verbiage and cruft.<br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Advanced Mythus</i>: an alternate world <i>Ars Magica</i> that got out of hand. (It’s just a shame <i>Ars Magica</i> already existed and was, y'know, better...)<br />
<br />
<b>Next Time:</b> more Spiritual exercises, literal and figurative, as we relentlessly grind our way from Metaphysics to Yoga. Who knows, we might even hazard a peek at K/S Area Use for Economic Gain: seven ages of light and fluffy witticisms and sparkling humour.<br />
<br />
<b>Pic source:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys Mythus</i> rulebook, <a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/836141-bog-snorkelling-championship-hits-northern-ireland">Metro</a> newspaper <a href="http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/02/06/ive-robbed-the-rainbow-to-make-you-gay/">Sociological Images</a>, the internetChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8346997917591558747.post-42140628768457270612012-05-15T02:11:00.002+01:002012-05-15T05:13:57.560+01:00Lets Read Mythus pt13Perhaps inevitably, the curse of 12a struck. Guess who lost his article on Sunday afternoon, and then managed to copy the blank save over his back-up? Who's a clever Chris, eh?<br />
<br />
Right now we are deep in the roiling digestive mess that is <i>Advanced Mythus</i>. I do not like it in here: it is dark and gloopy, and there are enigmatic nodules scattered about that belch mysterious mind-warping substances in the faces of the unsuspecting. <br />
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<br />
What began as a clean, clinical autopsy has turned into something darker and more primal: a chaos-f**ked abomination fathered by <i>Heart of Darkness</i> on <i>Fantastic Voyage</i>, <a href="http://vimeo.com/31022612">probably with onlooking sweary Muppets</a>. Perhaps some day I will have delved far enough to be restored to a world of light and air and sanity, and will be able to once again perceive the whole of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> as the fat harmless ruminant it is. But now, the beast is the world.<br />
<br />
Torturous extended metaphor aside, today I share with those few of our readership who have not yet fled screaming some thoughts on <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Physical Skills, J-Z. <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-read-mythus-prelude.html">The usual rules apply</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Jack-of-all-Trades</b><br />
You comprehend the esoteric mysteries of bodging (which is actually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodging">a skill in itself</a>, not just a pejorative. Who knew?).<br />
<br />
Six sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Carpentry</li>
<li>Construction (all)</li>
<li>Masonry</li>
<li>Mechanics</li>
<li>Printing</li>
<li>Smithing/Welding</li>
</ol>
Unlike almost every other skill in the game each sub-area possessed functions at 40% of the skill. So actually worse than skill <strike>speciousization</strike> specialisation, and with none of the (dubious) benefits of same? How does that make sense? No idea why this skill even exists. <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ludo">Ludo</a> agrees:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
“Smell bad!”</div>
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<br />
Just pay attention in class and get the real skill.<br />
<br />
<b>Juggling</b><br />
Clown college skill. Rules for ‘roll to flamboyantly not drop things’ spreads over a page or so. We are cautioned that juggler != jongleur. This is nice to know, coz I'm always getting those two types of loud, badly-dressed public nuisances mixed up.<br />
<br />
Juggling has sub-areas (I can almost hear Biology, Engineering and the like raging):<br />
<ol>
<li>Balancing Self and Items</li>
<li>Fire "Breathing" (sic)</li>
<li>Knife (et al.) Throwing</li>
<li>Sword Swallowing</li>
<li>Tossing and Catching of Objects (juggling /per se/)<i> </i></li>
</ol>
<i>Balancing</i> and <i>Sword Swallowing</i> are pretty self-explanatory. <br />
<i>Fire-breathing</i> does 1d6 damage and may set someone on fire.<br />
<i>Knife Throwing</i> can be used instead of Combat, Hand Weapons, Missile, adding 1 yard to range per 20 skill points.<br />
<i>Tossing and Catching</i> can be used to snatch missiles out of the air and throw them back according to the following table:<br />
<br />
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<br />
Juggling cross-feeds to and from Acrobatics/Gymnastics by 10%. In an additional wrinkle a player may take 10% of the average of their Juggle + Gym skills and add it to any one of their Criminal Activities or Combat skills.<br />
<br />
(This skill description is dedicated to the memory of Juggling, which was recently found beaten to death in an alley by skills unknown.) <br />
<br />
<b>Leatherwork</b><br />
As clothwork, but with animal skin. You know every part of turning integument into inventory. The skill description gives construction times for various leather items. Crude shoes or shield cover: 1 day. Good shoes: 1d3+1 days. Leather armour, boots or saddle: 1 week. Cuirboulli: 2 weeks. Might be handy for your game. <br />
<br />
<b>Legerdemain</b><br />
Stage magician tricks: "<i>...close up magic, card tricks, prestidigitation, ventriloquism, misdirection and illusions...</i>" Can be used for stealing on a successful check. Treads shamelessly on the toes of the Criminal Activities, Physical sub-areas of Pick Pocketing and Shoplifting/Pilfering (probably as a deliberate distraction tactic...)<br />
<br />
<b>Masonry</b><br />
You heap up stone, and hit to make pretty. The Construction skill sits there wondering "WTH jackass? That's my shtick." Masonry "<i>...includes the skill of carving inscriptions and decorations in stone, but is far from true sculpture</i>" which implies that EGG never saw a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rose+window&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=DJyxT6TwOISA8gPHucXTCQ&ved=0CIwBELAE&biw=1280&bih=701">rose window</a> or <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fan+vaulting&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=KJyxT-mRIoOX8QPLvdW7CQ&sqi=2&ved=0CIkBELAE&biw=1280&bih=701">fan vaulting</a>. Knowing Masonry offers no benefits to finding secret doors (physical or mystical), which seems an odd oversight.<br />
<br />
<b>Mechanics</b><br />
Blue-collar version of Engineering. A bodging skill for things with moving parts. Too plebian for sub-areas.<br />
<br />
<b>Mines & Mining</b><br />
Horny handed 'dig holes to get stuff out of ground' skill. Distinct from Speleology and Subterrenean Aerth knowledge in ways that actually make sense! (Oh be still my beating heart) No sub-areas though, coz mining is all just swinging a pick, innit?<br />
<br />
<b>Mountain Climbing</b><br />
Another terrain bothering skill. Tethered, free-climbing and rappelling. Ascend at 10% walking speed, descend at 25%, or rappel at 'trotting' pace. Once check per BT (30 seconds) during a short climb, or once per 4 hours for extended schleps up Everest.<br />
<br />
<b>Music</b><br />
Useful for Spellsongs (q.v.), or to accompany singing for one's supper.<br />
<br />
Seven sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>A Cappella</li>
<li>Horns</li>
<li>Keyboards</li>
<li>Percussion</li>
<li>Stringed, Bowed</li>
<li>Stringed, Plucked</li>
<li>Woodwinds and Reeds</li>
</ol>
Each sub-area taken allows you to play one specific instrument.<br />
<br />
<b>Perception (Physical)</b><br />
Noticing things using your senses, modified by your intelligence. This skill is wholly and entirely distinct from Perception, Mental; which is the knack of noticing things with your mind, modified by your senses. ...<br />
Nope. Me neither.<br />
<br />
Four sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Noticing</li>
<li>Hearing</li>
<li>Searching</li>
<li>Tracking</li>
</ol>
<br />
The sub-areas are basically belt-and-braces copies of other skills or sub-areas. One difference is that Physical Perception, Tracking is defined as understanding how and why a person/creature moves where they do, rather than spotting spoor. Physical Perception, Tracking: "He should be over there", Tracking/Hunting skill: "Told ya so." Far too fiddly for my tastes.<br />
<br />
<b>Police Work</b><br />
Hateful anachronism, just like the Criminology skill (see <a href="http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lets-read-mythus-pt10.html">LRM pt 10</a> for <i>that</i> rant).<br />
<br />
Four sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Stakeout</li>
<li>Shadowing</li>
<li>Interrogation</li>
<li>Evidence Analyzing</li>
</ol>
Sun-areas 1-2 should just be usages of hiding and sneaking. Interrogation should just be Influence, Persuasion with menaces. Evidence Analyzing is a function of those otherwise worthless science skills. I know <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadfael">Cadfael</a> (CSI: Shrewbury Abbey) was already a thing in 1992, so there’s no excuse for this skill. <br />
<br />
<b>Printing</b><br />
You can squidge ink onto pages and have it make words and pictures, because you have the clever. You can also abuse this skill to forge documents, which makes Criminal Activities, Forgery sad.<br />
<br />
<b>Riding</b><br />
The traditional 'make enslaved dumb animal carry your lazy biped ass' skill: "<i>...when riding you receive your mount's/draft animal's movement rate and don't expend a lot of energy walking.</i>" One of the skills everyone gets, because all humans are exploitative monkeys.<br />
<br />
Seven sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Horses, Mules and Asses</li>
<li>Camels</li>
<li>Elephants</li>
<li>Racing</li>
<li>Difficult/Unbroken Animals</li>
<li>Mounted Combat</li>
<li>Teamstering</li>
</ol>
<i>Racing</i> uses the Gambling mechanic, although why it's a sub-area in itself instead of just "resolve races using the Gambling mechanic and your Ride skill" is unclear.<br />
<br />
<i>Mounted Combat</i> limits attack ability to Riding skill, but adds height advantage bonus to attacks. I have no idea how the two interact. Is height advantage bonus to weapon skill capped by Riding, or is it situational? We are not told. As Riding skill is a function of SEC you can expect upper class people to regularly beat your peon self from a great height.<br />
<br />
We're also given a helpful table of sample trotting/running speeds so we don't need to refer back to the equipment section. Camels can't trot, apparently.<br />
<br />
<b>Seamanship</b><br />
Operate ship, also navigating by sun, moon and stars (Why does the Navigation skill exist again?) No sub-areas, which is perfectly fine: it's not like ships are the most complex and diverse machines ever devised by pre-industrial man, or like ships and seamanship are integral parts of some of the greatest adventure stories in the canon of human story-telling. ("Rassa-frassa mid-western landlubber.")<br />
<br />
<b>Smithing/Welding</b><br />
Bend metal to your will. No rolls necessary, as banging on something will always make it do what you want eventually. <br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*pffft* Where's the skill in that? It's just a matter of time and repeated hitting.</span></div>
<br />
No sub-areas, probably for some zen 'all metal-bashing is one' reason. Similarly no skill cross-feeds, not even to some of the Arms and Armour sub-areas you might think were related. Smithing/Welding adds to Heka, which gives me a new respect for the arcane knowledge possessed by MIG/TIG/<a href="http://www.comicvine.com/dogwelder/29-12152/">dog</a> welders. <br />
<br />
<b>Speleology</b><br />
Exploring and mapping caves without "<i>...getting lost, falling, or running into pockets of poison gas</i>." Completely distinct from Subterranean Aerth in that there are no cheesily named sub-areas: you either know caving, or you don’t.<br />
<br />
<b>Sports</b><br />
Sublimated aggression displays, beloved of philosophers and the less academic kids.<br />
<ol>
<li>Mounted Individual Sports</li>
<li>Mounted Team Sports</li>
<li>Individual Non-Violent Sports</li>
<li>Individual Violent Sports</li>
<li>Team Sports</li>
</ol>
<i>Mounted Individual</i> = racing, hunting, jumping, jousting, etc. Would be less irritating if the Riding skill <i>on the same page</i> didn't already cover these. Cross-feeds 10% to and from Riding, which just heaps on the annoying.<br />
<i>Mounted Team</i> = polo, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTgL_Hbzxqs">buzkashi</a>, pig-/peg-sticking, and such. Cross-feeds 10% to and from Riding.<br />
<i>Individual Non-Violent</i> = tennis, golf, track-and-field, and about 90% of all other sports. Consult your GM for skill cross-feed.<br />
<i>Individual Violent</i> = boxing, wrestling and "mock combat afoot". Sheer completism when Combat, HtH, Non-Lethal already exists.<br />
<i>Team Sports</i> include lacrosse and "team mock combat". Cross-feeds Combat, Hand Weapons "<i>...at the usual 10%</i>." Fear the netballists!<br />
<br />
<b>Subterranean Orientation</b><br />
Direction sense, like a pigeon. Also works above ground. Waste of words: Navigation already has a 'natural compass' ability.<br />
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<br />
<b>Surveillance/Security </b><br />
This skill makes me both sad and angry. Surveillance/Security, is "<i>...used when guarding or protecting an item from theft, acting as a bodyguard, or monitoring an area to prevent intrusion...</i>" WAAHARGLBARGL! These are already covered by Perception checks, or by using stealth skills in opposed rolls, surely? You don't need a separate 'guard thing' skill! High skill level here apparently serves to "<i>...negate Total and Natural Surprise</i>"; a whole new area of (unexplained) <i>Advanced Mythus</i> mechanical jargon for us to toast.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Survival</b><br />
Roll to not die of exposure/starvation/thirst/own stupidity in the wilderness. It's explained that arctic survival != desert, jungle or island survival, but apparently this isn't sufficiently important a distinction to merit sub-areas. We're informed that surviving indefinitely in a non-native environment would require a skill of 61+, which is (referring back to the skill level table on page 70) "<i>Pioneer-level knowledge and mastery. Past-master skill.</i>" little short of Nobel prize skill.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I think you misheard me Edward. I said 'past mastery', not... Oh, never mind.</span></div>
<br />
<b>Swimming/Diving</b><br />
Swim speed is 25% walking pace, or up to 75% if you push yourself. This seems ...generous. Diving allows you avoid falling damage when dropping into water, according to the following table:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Increasing difficulty per 10 feet. Now where have we seen that before? *cough* monk *cough*</span></div>
<br />
Pass = no falling damage<br />
Fail = half normal falling damage<br />
Fumble = falling damage is if hitting a solid surface<br />
<br />
<b>Tolerance</b><br />
A column of 'resist alcohol/drug/poison by flexing' rules. I have no idea how the 'delay effect' rule of Tolerance interacts with Advanced Mythus other poison rules.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Because "save vs. poison" is just nonsensically simplistic.</span></div>
<br />
<b>Travel</b><br />
Tourism skill. No, really. From the book:<br />
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<br />
This skill is just a *horf* of over-generalised hot nonsense which treads on the toes of several existing skills. Etiquette, Geography/Foreign Lands, Sociology/Culture (and arguably History, Law, Politics, etc.): all rendered worthless by one over-general catch all skill.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Expert? Hah, your years of study and exploration are worthless in the face of my <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/">Lonely Hipster</a> guide!"</blockquote>
<br />
<b>Weapons, Special Skills</b><br />
Specific tricks you can perform with weapons. In effect, 3E feats - specifically the crappy Fighter-only ‘pay to perform your class role’ ones - a decade early. Nothing you haven’t seen in <i>RQ</i>, <i>WFRP</i>, <i>RoleMaster</i>, etc.<br />
<br />
Four sub-areas:<br />
<ol>
<li>Florentine</li>
<li>Fast Draw</li>
<li>Specific Target</li>
<li>Blind Fighting</li>
</ol>
You know one trick per 25 skill points, and can apply it to one weapon skill sub-area per 10 skill points. Thankfully we’re offered a worked example, as the wording on how and when sub-areas are gained is less than optimally clear: <br />
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<i>Florentine</i>: two-weapon fighting. Base Attack Chance (or ‘Attack Bonus’ in Gamer Phoenician) is limited to the lower of weapon skill and Florentine skill. Ambidextrous people have no use for this sub-area.<br />
<i>Fast Draw</i>: roll vs. a DR (varies by location of weapon) to draw weapon at no initiative penalty. Bit *meh*. I can see a way to make a fun fast-draw/iaijutsu mini-game out of this using the gambling rules. Gary seemingly couldn’t.<br />
<i>Specific Target</i>: called shot. Roll to hit, then roll against this skill, to hit a specific body part. Fail on this skill means a roll on some Hit Location Table at +20, with 100 or more being a straight miss. I’m afraid I don’t know enough about the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> hit location mechanics to decide if this ‘trade miss chance for greater accuracy’ effect is a worthwhile skill or not. <i>Fading Suns</i>’ Accenting rules did this better.<br />
<i>Blind Fighting</i>: make a skill check at a DR of Hard (x1) or harder to ignore darkness/blindness penalties for 1d6 rounds. <br />
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And there we have the <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Physical skills. As a Frenchman might say, with a particularly world-weary Gallic shrug and a draw on his Galloise: "<i><span class="st"><i>ç</i></span>a existe.</i>"<br />
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This week’s trawl has not been a pleasant experience. Endless infuriating duplication, repetition and redundancy in skills; clumsy wording and opaque phrasing; and occasional claymore mines of poor design waiting in ambush. Little found here would be useful without enough rework to constitute starting from scratch.<br />
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Perhaps I should make the stretch to attempt a Mythus version of the <a href="http://maliszew.livejournal.com/450708.html">D&D is always right</a> thought experiment: but I just can't do it. Lord knows I’ve tried, but the assumptions and internal logic informing the design choices behind <i>Advanced Mythus</i> skills are so far removed from my own ingrained preferences that it’s like trying to comprehend the mores of an alien culture: weird, vertiginous, and sometimes a little nauseating. I like to think I’m a pretty broadminded guy, but I’ve almost lost count of the number of times reading this section has reduced me to "Why? Why would you even say/think/do that?" bewilderment in recent weeks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MioTbB2ozrZVPGMD2JTUU_UwFwhQ9PG3W0MEaE1femKMxdiFpy_98HR1AyoQ4Z_4GB7j5nQMfVMgPlnrLRK6_pj-2UHj3XEuIb_BrV6watSDv_6_eqBChDVKVmhFo-G4w9PzGq9cGpM/s1600/despair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MioTbB2ozrZVPGMD2JTUU_UwFwhQ9PG3W0MEaE1femKMxdiFpy_98HR1AyoQ4Z_4GB7j5nQMfVMgPlnrLRK6_pj-2UHj3XEuIb_BrV6watSDv_6_eqBChDVKVmhFo-G4w9PzGq9cGpM/s200/despair.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Appraisal:14 sub-areas</b> </div>
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Never forget</div>
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<b>Next Week:</b> we enter the rarefied world of <i>Advanced Mythus</i> Spiritual Skills, including the Gygaxian take on Metaphysics, Painting as spiritual exercise, and no less than 13 appearances by Featured Very Special Guest Star *That* Table. The madness commences next Monday with no less than 3+1/2 pages on Alchemy.<br />
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<b>Pic Sources:</b> <i>Dangerous Journeys Mythus</i> rulebook, <a href="http://theairtightgarage.tumblr.com/">Quenched Consciousness</a> tumblr, <a href="http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ludo">Muppet Wikia</a>, <a href="http://diylol.com/">diylol.com</a>, teh intarwubzChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04072272223837426211noreply@blogger.com5