The Only Fantasy World May You'll Ever Need

First, this will make more sense if you go here: http://eotbeholder.deviantart.com/art/The-Only-Fantasy-World-Map-245738593 [LINK FIXED]

The original artist has made a very clever and affectionate parody of... well, every fantasy world since Robert E. Howard's Hyboria, Gygax's Greyhawk, etc. He also very kindly posted a blank version so fans could customize it to their heart's content, which is what I've done here. I kept a lot of the names he created )Hellfire Imperium, Jade Empire, etc.), but I decided to change some of them. This is a slow process, and I've changed my mind so many times that I can't keep track of the changes. If you have any comments or suggestions, please post them. 

If you click on the map, it gets bigger.

EDIT: Whoops! Originally uploaded an old version of the map. Now new and improvenated!

Mythic Greece: Combat Styles

Thinking about RuneQuest 6 combat styles right now. Here are my disorganizedthoughts on which ones should be included in my RQ6 Mythic Greece campaign.

Achaean Combat: This is the cultural style for all Achaean warrior-aristocrats, involving swords, spears, and shields. It emphasizes one-on-one combat, not formation fighting. It emphasizes force over elegance.

Chariot Combat: An obvious one. Chariots were used to carry heroes into combat, who would jump off and join the battle, run up along the chariot-pole and fight from there, fling javelins into battle, or use a two-handed spear or lance to "joust". The two-handed spear, shield, one-handed spear, and javelins are the most typical weapons for this style.

Mounted Combat: For Amazons, Scythians, and other horse-riding barbarians. Horse-bows and lances, plus shields.

Siege Warfare: Many heroes are "sackers of cities", so they would be skilled in this type of combat. However, fer complicated siege engines would be involved here, mostly ladders, rams, etc. Since it's at such an early stage, though, maybe there should be a cap on this skill?

Skirmishing: This seems appropriate, especially for any hero described as "swift-footed" (e.g., Achilles, Atalanta, etc.) The Amazons and Scythians are mounted skirmishers.

Unarmed Prowess: Should probably be divided into "Boxing" and "Wrestling". Boxers could use the cestus, a type of boxing glove consisting of leather straps wrapped around the hands for protection. The spiked version included what is essentially a pair of spiked "brass knuckles".

Other Combat Styles
Achaean Hunting Style
Berserker (Ajax the Greater)
Excellent Footwork (no specific reference, but it seems appropriate)
Intimidating Scream (Diomedes was "Master of the War Cry")
Spear Combat (Diomedes was noted as a "great spearman", Menelaus was "Spear-Famed)
Archery (Odysseus, Paris, Teucer)
Shield Wall a nd Formation Fighting: mostly civilized nations, like the Trojans.

Note that there's no shipboard fighting style. This is because the Achaeans don't seem to fight while at sea; they land there ships, jump out, and fight on land.

I also recall a scene where Achilles uses his shield as a weapon. Not sure if this should be a separate style or not.

Thoughts and comments are welcome, as usual.

Guy

Mythic Greece: Heroic Abilities

It seems to me that heroic abilities in Greek myth (Heracles' phenomenal strength and perseverance, Achilles' invulnerability, the ability of various characters to understand the speech of snakes and birds and bees, fly with cute little ankle-wings, great running speed, etc) should not require magic points or devotional pools to work; they are divine in origin, but they don't have to be activated. Also, the Greek gods are typically depicted as being able to give a divine gift, but not being able to take that gift away; to me, this says that a hero doesn't need divine approval to use his gift. If the hero does something that displeases the god, the god can put a condition on that gift (Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo; however, when she spurned his advances, he gave her another "gift" that nobody would ever believe her prophecies.) Miracles, of course, are probably subject to divine approval, and the gods themselves manifest in some way when those are cast.

Here are some gifts that might be given to the children or favorites of the gods; it is not complete by any means. Some of them are actually from mythic heroes; others are some that seem right to me. How they translate into game terms remains to be seen.

“Godlike” strength, vigor, beauty, speed, etc.

"Impenetrable" skin, like Achilles

Acute hearing and sight

Ability to talk to/understand  horses, bears, bees, dolphins, etc.

Ability to move over water, snow, unstable surfaces without hindrance

Flight (usually winged, like Calais and Zetes)

Move and/or see underwater without hindrance

Breathe underwater

Ability to dodge or parry anything, even things that cannot normally be dodged or parried

Immunity to fire, poison, other harmful substances

Regaining your “strength” when you touch the ground (like Antaeus)

Having a terrifying or awe-inspiring presence

Never fail at a particular skill

Predict weather/tell when storms are coming

Berserker rage

Heroic Inspiration (inspiring confidence in others)

Immortality (self-resurrection)

Prophecy

Something like the old Multimissile

Like the above, but with melee attacks, unarmed blows, etc.

Stunning Glance (paralyze with a look(

The Evil Eye (put a curse on someone)

“Earthquake stomp”

Tactical insight

Defensive Insight

Berserker Rage

Mythic Greece: Weapons and Armor

I'm using various published game sources, such as Aaron Allston's excellent Mythic Greece, as shortcuts to get this game up and running. It was originally published as a supplement for Hero Games' Fantasy Hero system, as well as ICE's Rolemaster. As such, it has hit locations (though not necessarily the same as RQ6), so it gives me a place to start with the armor. I trust Aaron's research here, at least for game purposes, but I'll probably have to do some thinking about how this all fits together for RQ purposes; for instances, IIRC, there are no rules in RQ6 for overlapping armor. All metal is bronze, BTW.

Wealthy or Powerful Achaeans:
A helmet, either leather with bronze knobs, leather with a layer of boar-tusks, or a bronze helm.
Coat of mail
Leather codpiece (like an athletic cup, I suppose)
Breastplate and greaves (greaves might be linen, to help protect the shins from bruising when carrying a tower shield)
Belt, leather, may be worn over the coat of mail
Buckler or Tower shield
Sword and long spear.

Good Achaean Troops:
Helm
Breastplate
Linen greaves
Tower shield
Spear.

Lesser Achaean Troops:
Helm or leather skullcap
Buckler with either a boar spear or sword

"Peon" Achaean Troops:
No armor
Sling or bow, usually a short bow.

Miscellaneous:
Charioteers sometimes wore a suit of articulated bronze plate, known to us as the Dendra Panoply.
Clubs were often used; Heracles had a massive, bronze-headed one.
Short spears were often used as javelins. Really strong heroes might use long spears as javelins.
It was not uncommon for great heroes to rip up a boulder and use it as a missile, or to pummel somebody with.
Boxing gloves were strips of rawhide wrapped around the boxer's fist. The cestus was a variation of this, with something like brass knuckles with spikes thrown in.


Amazons:
Helmet, usually reinforced leather.
Body armor, made of tanned beast hide (lion, boar, etc. for wealthy amazons, goat for poor ones).
Girdle: leather, which may be worn over the body armor
Amazon Shield, a small, crescent-shaped shield, equivalent to a target shield.

Designing A Mythic Greece Campaign in RQ6

RuneQuest 6th Edition has come out, and it's stunning. I've been playing RQ since it came out in the 70s, and have been in a RQ3 campaign for about 20 years now. This edition is very different from that;  not only does this make no direct references to Glorantha, but it is designed to be customizable to fit your fantasy world the way you want it. The best example of this is the magic system(s). I Glorantha, everybody has access to some magic; in RQ6, this is not the default assumption. Take a look at some of the reviews in the link above if you want to know what other people think about it; I'm going to be designing a RQ6 campaign based on Greek myth. Though I'm assuming you have a copy of the rules, comments and questions are welcome even if you don;t have it. I have a thread going over at the Design Mechanism forums.


I figure that the best way to learn the rules is to jump right in and start designing some characters. OK, that's pretty straightforward, and the designers do a great job of walking you through it. After the basic character generation steps that everybody has to go through,  get a grasp of the RuneQuest rules. Any input would be very helpful, as I'm having a hard time absorbing the details of the system. I have a few campaign books from other games to assist me, as well as several shelves of books on Greek mythology and culture, but translating that into a playable setting is a Herculean labor. 

Here are a few observations just off the top of my head: 
1) Culture: Though we're accustomed to thinking of the Greeks as civilized, Homer's Achaeans act a lot more like Barbarians. The standard Barbarian cultural skills* describe the Homeric heroes much more than the standard Civilized skills (which would be more appropriate to Classical-era Greece, specifically Athens). Egypt, the Hittites, the Minoans, Colchis, and the Trojans would be better candidates for Civilized cultures. (I'm skipping over the Combat Styles for the moment).
* Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Endurance, First Aid, Locale, Perception; and either Boating or Ride.
   Professional Skills: Craft (any), Healing, Lore (any), Musicianship, Navigate, Seamanship, Survival, Track.

2) Careers: Most of the Barbarian Careers except for Mystic and Shaman; Priest is fairly common, and Sorcerer is rare (and is usually open to women only). Add Farmers and Alchemists to the Career list. 

2) Magic: Magic Points do not come from the Self; they must be replenished from sacrifice, magical locations, veneration of the gods, etc. Folk Magic exists, but it is not ubiquitous; it can be obtained from hedge wizards, wise women, and other types on the fringes of society. Priests of the Olympian gods may offer a few spells. No spells are associated with non-magical professions. 

3) Animism is not practiced by Greeks; it is practiced by Scythians, the proto-Celts, and other barbarian types. 

4) Mysticism is not practiced by the Greeks. Egyptians have some Mystic cults. "India" and "China" practice Mysticism, but they are on the far edges of the world. 

5) Sorcery is practiced mostly by solitary women of divine ancestry, such as Calypso, Circe, and Medea. 

6) Theism: The Olympians and their associated gods are worshiped, and provide miracles to their priests and priestesses. Many gods have subcults that provide different miracles to their priests and priestesses. Lower ranks may learn folk magic related to the gods at their basic Folk Magic percentile. The default Rune system is not used, but the gods all have one or more specialties that might perform the same function as a rune. Note: Demigods and heroes who have divine blood do not have to be priests (or even cult members!) to receive a Divine Gift. These gifts usually function automatically, and do not require magic points or other costs. (Note: I need to work out some kind of process by which a character can opt to be a demigod during character creation, how many Divine Gifts, etc.) 

That's what I've got so far. Please share your thoughts on running a Greek campaign, even if you don't know the RQ6 rules.

Guy 

The Dungeon Dozen

The Dungeon Dozen:

'via Blog this'

This is a blog made up almost entirely of tables for various situations in role-playing games. If you need a table for why fighters chose to become fighters, or why there is an underworld, or interesting items in an ogre-king's hoard, this is the place to go.  You might be able to put together a great sandbox campaign just based on these tables! For those that [pun alert] roll that way,  this is a truly fantastic resource.

When In Rome, Do As The Romans Do: Invade Britain!

From time to time I flirt with the idea of running a game set in Roman times. There are a number of RPG supplements that cover this period of history, such as GURPS Imperial Rome, Mythic Vistas: Eternal Rome, The Glory of Rome for 2nd edition AD&D, Roma Imperious, and Chaosium's Rome and Cthulhu Invictus, just to name the ones I own. This is one of my favorite periods of history, but it can be pretty intimidating to run or play in because of the historical and geographical scope of the subject matter.

Zozer Games' 43 AD by Paul (Mithras) Elliott, may be a solution to that dilemma. The eponymous date is, of course, when Roman legions invaded Britain. It's ideal as a Roman campaign setting for many reasons, but the main advantage is that it provides a compact yet diverse background that can justify many types of adventures. Though player characters are most likely to play Roman legionnaires, they are not identical tin soldiers; they come from diverse backgrounds and have different personalities and capabilities. Besides fighting woad-stained tribesmen, characters engage in exploration, espionage, diplomacy, and investigations, among other exploits.

There is an abundance of reference material for the players and GM alike, so that Roman PCs and Celtic NPCs can be played with ease. A timeline of the Invasion covers the first battles in 43 AD to the rebellion of the Northern tribes the late second and early third centures AD. Though included as a resource, the GM does not need to feel constrained by it. Elliott suggests that "The whole point of roleplaying within a historical setting such as this, is to answer those 'what ifs' as well as give players the thrill of participating in historical events. A writer of historical fiction must conform to the historical record, but the GM and players have no such limitation." In other words, if the players make a major alteration to history (such as helping Boudicca win), it's   a chance to explore an alternate history. Carpe diem!

As in Elliott's other historically-based games (many of them freely available on the Zozer website), the supernatural is not neglected.  Both the Romans and the Celts used magic, so spells and rituals are included in the rules-light system. The gods and religions of both peoples are discussed in some detail.  Horror is not neglected either, with opponents such as Black Druids, Skinchangers, the Flayed Man, the Headless Killer, Fomorians, the undead Cauldron-Born, Face Feeders, and individuals such as Longinus (the Undead Centurion, the one who was present at Jesus' crucifixion), Scathach the Witch, and the Old Crone of Aberros. This distinguishes it from such works as Chaosium's Roman setting for Call of Cthulhu (Cthulhu Invictus), and replaces it with a very eerie, unique Celtic otherworld.

The game system, derived from the one Elliott used in his previous game Zenobia, is light and flexible. Character Creation covers Attributes (Might, Hits, Fate, Craft, and Learning), Cultural Origin, Character Type (such as Coward, Old Veteran, Thinker, Callous Survivor, Killer, etc.), Social Class, Events that led you to become a Legionnaire, Allies & Enemies, Background Details, and Wealth & Equipment. As befits a game depicting the exploits of Roman legionnaires, the combat system packs a lot of punch.

I really like this game, but I must admit that I will probably use Risus to run it, since I rarely run any other game system these days; I even took a stab at my own Roman/Celtic Risus setting many years ago.  There's a lot that I can use without any alteration, and much of the rest is easily adaptible. Though I've seen comparable sourcebooks for ancient Rome, there is also enough information to run Celtic adventures as well, including Celtic horror (which is alien in its own way).  Fans of Rome, the Celts, military action, and horror would mst likely find a lt they can use, no matter what campaign they want to run.  At $19.99 for a PDF, I think I got my money's worth.

'via Blog this'

Risus Monkey: Risus On The Brain

Risus Monkey: Risus On The Brain:

'via Blog this'

Random Thoughts: Time Travel

If time travel to the future is possible, this brings up a couple of questions. (Actually, it brings up a potentially infinite number of questions, but you know what I mean...)

1) If only one future can exist at a time, it will be virtually impossible to travel to that exact same future more than once. This is because, when you return, decisions are made and events occur that will have an impact on that future.
ex: The year 3000, which you traveled to from early 1998, never had a Sarah Palin candidacy in its history because she hadn't been chosen as a Vice Presidential candidate at that point. Later on, in September 2008, the year 3000 not only had Sarah Palin as VP in its history, but she went on to become President when John McCain died in office.  Your next trip to 3000 AD didn't take place until March 2012, in which you learn that Barack Obama was defeated in the November Elections by... Donald Trump???


2) If alternate futures can coexist, it is possible that travellers from alternate realities can come back to the present to either make sure their reality comes to exist/ceases to exist. Perhaps the travelers are alternate versions of each other... or the player character's children... or the player character himself...
ex: Bob Smith is destined to have a son who will invent a way to destroy the world. He is visited by the following time travellers:

• His grandson, John Smith, who wants to kill Bob Smith  to keep Bob's son from inventing the device that will destroy the world.
• His grandson, John Smith, who wants to make sure that Bob's son invents the device that will destroy the world, to use as a threat against the aliens who take over the earth in his own time
• His grandson, John Smith, who wants to make sure that Bob's Son invents the technology that can be used to destroy the world... or reverse the decades of environmental damage that have almost exterminated the human race.
• His grandson, John Smith, who wants to make sure that Bob's son is really a daughter, who will solve all the social and economic problems of the world.
• His granddaughter, who wants to make sure that Bob never has a daughter, because she will become a dictator who will enslave mankind.

Tempus fugit!

Professor M.A.R. Barker, creator of Tekumel, dead at 83

'via Blog this'

Risus: HERESY!

I have a confession to make. I have never played Paranoia.

Ok, that's not quite right. I played in one session of Paranoia, and it didn't go well. I had a blast, but some of the other players really did not, so the campaign never took off. Twenty years passed.

I own the Second Edition rules, and some of the adventures, but I never actually worked my way through the rules to the point where I wanted to actually run a game. But I had an idea a few years ago: a Paranoia-type campaign set in a fantasy world. Instead of the Computer, you have The Oracle; instead of Alpha Complex, The Temple (rather like a megadungeon). The players are Inquisitors instead of Troubleshooters; they may belong to Heresies instead of secret societies, or they might secretly be demons instead of unregistered mutants. A dead Inquisitor is replaced by a simulacrum instead of a clone.  Automatons take the place of robots. Instead of technological assistance, they have amulets, talismans, relics, holy symbols, prayerbooks, etc. -- though they might be cursed, or inappropriate for the current mission, or both.

That's all for now.

Game Settings I Wish I Had Time To Work On

 An alternate history pre-Columbian America campaign with a twist -- the fringe-archaeology theory that America was visited by Celts, Norsemen, Irish monks, Romans, Phoenicians, Chinese, etc., is literally true, and those civilizations still exist alongside Native American civilizations. I'm envisioning kind of a Robert E. Howard kind of feel, with the adventurers being Europeans who discover a very different New World than Columbus did. I teach high school world history, but I don't have a talent for alternate histories, though they're one of my favorite sub-genres of science fiction.


This setting (let's call it Mundus Novus, "New World" in Latin) isn't meant to be a serious alternate history, but more a setting for adventure. I have two conceits: that remnants of ancient civilizations survived (somehow) in Mundus Novus (alongside native cultures) long after their parent civilizations failed, and that they do not have more than sporadic contact with the civilizations of the Old World that leaves little mre than tales of unusual strangers from far-off lands.


This reality is also a fantasy setting; the natives believe in magic, though I'd say that most of what they believe in is superstition and chicanery. The rest, however, is the province of dark, bloodthirsty gods, served by Aztec priests, Druids, worshippers of Odin and Moloch.  


I do have some notions about which civilizations are to be found in Mundus Novus, thugh this is NOT the product of much research:


Phoenicians, who have set up colonies around the Gulf of Mexico; they founded a great trading city on the site of New Orleans in our reality.
Mayas or Aztecs in Mesoamerica
Irish colonies following the trail blazed by St. Brendan; possibly on Manhattan Island
Pagan Celts (somewhere in the Northeast?)
Norsemen in Vinland
Romans (maybe around the Chesapeake Bay area?)
Chinese on the West Coast (legendary Fu-sang)
Pueblo cultures in the Southwest(maybe Anasazi?)
Mississippian Native American cultures, including Cahokia 
The "Lost Tribes of Israel" (haven't made up my mind about this one yet)
Incas


This is just brainstorming, and will most likely change, if, as I stated in the title, I have time to work on it.

Risus Dungeoneers

I have been remiss in mentioning Risus Dungeoneers, a PBeM campaign over at http://www.epicwords.com/campaigns/1630 .  It;s a classic dungeon crawl style campaign using Risus rules. I play a monk. Here he is:

He Geng Yan

Oriental monk, blessed by spirits at his birth, raised by the wise monks of the Spirit Dragon monastery. Trained in the “Sagacious Fist style” of martial arts. Appointed Guardian of a lost artifact, his efforts to locate it have been thwarted by a mysterious conspiracy involving a double of Yan called Tong Su-Shi!

Bare-Fisted Ascetic (4) (dodging arrows, punching out small armies, running up walls) 
Humble Student of Ancient Wisdom (4) (uttering cryptic aphorisms , throwing the oracle bones, knowing what one hand clapping sounds like)

Mystic Wanderer (3) (going with the flow, redirecting chi, laying on the "quivering palm")

Questing Dice (5): Assisted by Willing Spirits (Yan can only use those spirits which naturally reside in the area, if any, and he can only ask their assistance, not compel it.)

Hook: Seeking a lost artifact while opposed by mysterious conspirators.

Tale: Born to a poor family, He Geng Yan was unusual almost from the time he was born. He always seemed to be watching or listening to someone his family couldn’t see, and often spoke “baby talk” as if he was conversing with these unseen beings.  Family and neighbors were baffled by the infant, and opinion was divided as to whether he was a prodigy, feeble-minded, or possessed by spirits benign or corrupt. A visiting sage determined that Yan had been visited by spirits at his birth, who gifted him with a blessing.  He offered to take Yan to a monastery, where he would be raised to understand the gift of the spirits.  His family accepted the offer, to the relief of nearly everybody in the village.

Yan grew up in the Spirit Dragon Monastery, where learned as much from the wisdom of the monks as well as their library of ancient scrolls.  He became sensitive to the flow of chi and learned to direct it, becoming proficient in the Sagacious Fist martial arts style.  He was always aware of the presence of spirits around him, and learned to interpret what they said by reading the oracle bones, which told him that the spirits had blessed him at birth because he had been chosen as the guardian of a long-lost artifact of power.  The spirits, unfortunately, could not or would not tell him the nature of the artifact, but he did learn that it had been taken far away by a horde of barbarians many years ago.  He soon realized that he would have to take his leave of the monastery to find the answers he sought.

At first, he had some success. He learned about the Barbarians who took the artifact, and learned the path they had taken from the Kingdom. However, he soon began encountering strange obstacles (people he sought dying suddenly, scrolls and documents disappearing before he could read them, etc.). Also, people began mistaking him for someone named Tong Su-Shi, who apparently annoyed the wrong people, who came to Yan for restitution. Though mostly annoying, some of these encounters have led to attempts on his life.  Though Yan has pursued his mysterious doppelganger, he has never encountered Tong Su-shi, who is somehow a few steps ahead of the hapless monk.

Recently, his relationship with the spirit world has been complicated by the appearance of some mischievous spirits, who do their best to irritate and frustrate him.  Seers and diviners have told him that he has angered them somehow, but Yan does not recall how and the spirits canno or will not tell him.

Reading these various signs and portents, Yan has concluded that he must leave his native land to venture into the realm of the Barbarians, where the mysterious artifact was taken.  He hopes that the mysterious events that have been plaguing him will be left behind, but he is also rather daunted at the prospect of journeying amongst uncivilized strangers. He knows that he cannot find peace within himself until he has fulfilled the duty set upon him at his birth.

Description: Small man of "Oriental" descent, whose frame and features betray his peasant origins. However, his ascetic training and mastery of his chi has made him leaner and more graceful than a peasant farmer would ever be. His head is shaved, with "Sagacious Fist' symbols tattooed along his chakra points (running from his head to the base of his spine). When using his chi powers actively, his eyes flash eerily.

When travelling, he wears a simple, homespun hooded robe.

Risus Monkey: Another Risus Community PSA

Risus Monkey broke the news before I did (no surprise, since I tend to update my blog on a geological time scale), but there's now a Risus forum:

Risus Monkey: Another Risus Community PSA

Experiment in Progress

I've started to dabble in placing commercial links to the Blog. I hope to restrict them to appropriate links, that have something to do with the topics I;m writing about or gaming in general. I regret the necessity of descending into crass commercialism, but the economy has hit me rather hard. If this becomes offensive to the point you'd stop reading this blog, let me know; I'd like to have that information.

Mid-Morning of the Demigods

After staring at the Marvel Comics version of the Nine Worlds I posted here, I realized that I didn't want to come up with my own "fantasy superhero" world, I pretty much wanted to play around with a Norse one.  (Besides, coming up with your own world is a lot of work! Why not just adapt one that is already there?)

So, the focus of this campaign is demigods. I interpret this as something likethe offspring of gods and mortals, or the lesser offspring of goods like Thor, Odin, Freyja, etc.  Other possibilities are available, too, if the characters wish to explore them.  Since Walt Simonson's run of Marvel's Thor comic inspires me so much, it'll probably be a major influence, but I won't be using its continuity.  One idea that I do like is that Midgard is really our world, so the PCs can be modern characters who discover their divine heritage and the Nine Worlds from a modern pesrpective. The ones who do know something about Norse mythology will have some advantage, but I feel like I can change any details to suit me; the ones that don' know much won't have to grasp everything at once. Perhaps the world the characters know is the illusory one?  This is starting to take on elements of Percy Jackson, too. I think I'll resist the urge to include a version of "Camp Halfblood" though I'm thinking of including elements of "American Gods".

Time to dig out the reading material, I guess.  More as it develops.

Cowboys and Indie Bands - Risusiverse

It's not that other games CAN'T handle genres like this... it's just that Risus makes it so darn easy! Congratulations on another fine setting, Dan (Risus Mariachi!) Suptic!

Cowboys and Indie Bands - Risusiverse

A Devastation of Demigods

In my last blog post, I talked about running a game where the player characters ar demigods  -- I used the term "fantasy superheroes" to describe them, and compared them to Marvel's Thor.  Though I don't want to run a "Thor" campaign, or even an "Asgard" campaign, I've begun to think of the world that such a campaign would exist in... and dang, if I didn't come across another Marvel comics illustration that captures the feel of what I want:

I like the idea of different "worlds" connected together by an "axis mundi" of a sort. The idea of climbing a "world tree" is very appealing, but again, it's very connected in the popular imagination to the Norse pantheon. Other possibilities that spring to mind are a cosmic dragon, clutching the worlds in its coils (which brings up images of Cthulhoid tentacles as well); a road, with hosts of heroes riding grimly to war against against an army of Giants; or a river, with tributaries, rapids, whirlpools, and waterfalls. All of them have possibilities... but I like the tree-metaphor. Many other European and Asian mythologies use the tree-metaphor, so I might keep it.

In Norse mythology, the number and nature of the "nine worlds" varies according to the source, but the term "the nine worlds" crops up in many cases (including the scholastic works of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in their seminal periodical, "The Mighty Thor").  Each of them is home to a particularly family of beings. Some of these worlds are:

1. Asaheim: home of the Asgardian gods such as Odin and Thor.
2. Vanaheim: home of the Vanir (Freya, Freyr, Njord)
3. Jotunheim (home of the Jotuns, or giants)
4. Midgard: home of men
5. Alfheim: home of elves
6. Hel: home of the dead, ruled by a goddess named Hel or Hela
7. Svartalfheim: Home of the Dark Elves (who may be the same as the Dwarves, to the chagrin of many fans of R. A. Salvatore)
8. Muspellheim: land of fire
9. Niflheim: land of ice

None of these are detailed to any significant extent in Norse mythology, so I am pretty free to do what I want to make these playable worlds. For one thing, there's a fire world and an ice world, but no sea world.  Some random thoughts on these issues:

1. Different families of gods living in different worlds. How do the gods of the sky-realm differ from the gods of the earth-realm or the air-realm?
2. Dwarves: since they're obsessed with smithing and creating, make their world a sort of steampunk/gearpunk technology. Gloranthan dwarves (Mostali) have an idea that the world is a broken machine and they're trying to fix it.
3. I see the area between the worlds as filled with weird, alien horrors (of a Lovecraftian variety), which is why the World Tree is the main path between the worlds.  
4. There is no "ocean-heim". Does each world have its own sea, or are they all connected?
5. How do ordinary mortals fit in? They won't be the main focus of the campaign, but do they even exist?
6. What beings regularly travel between the realms?

This is a world-in-progress, and continues to evolve. Comments are much welcome.

 

"By the Power of Asgard!!!" Fantasy + Superheroes = a Demigods Campaign

In the interests of full disclosure, this post isn't about the new Thor movie (which I still haven't seen), but the movie did remind me of a half-baked Champions campaign I worked on a long time ago. It took place in a magical universe, similar to the Norse concepts of a number of magical realms linked together (presumably, a World Tree, a cosmic river, or something else like that). The PCs would be demigods, sort of like fantasy superheroes (CF the aforementioned God of Thunder).  The landscape, the winds, the rivers, the celestial bodies, all could be alive and interacted with the PCs; too, there would be obviously-magical featues, such as the River of Flames, the River of Forgetfulness, the Undeworld, the Upper Sky, and other myth-laden places.

The PCs would be demigod-like beings. My working concept is that these beings, while possessed of amazing abilities, are not divine in the sense that the Olympians and Asgardians are, in that they don't receive worship (though they probably do receive tribute in the form of worldly goods). They do possess mighty abilities that set them apart from other mortals; they are the leaders of powerful tribes.  If you read my post on using divine epithets for Questing Dice in Risus, these might be used for the cliches for these characters (e.g., "Shooter from Afar", "Protector of Fugitives", "The Earthshaker", "Sacker of Cities", "The Cloud-Gatherer").  I thought it would also reinforce the mythological feel if the characters used divine weapons and vehicles such as Thor's hammer (instead of just casting lightning) or Athena's Aegis, or summoning up a wind to carry them or changing into an eagle to fly instead of flying like a superhero. Another convention is that they wouldn't refer to themselves as "God (or Goddess)of ___", since they don't regard themselves as gods. They could be "Lord of the Dead" or "Mother of the Harvest".

If this isn't a superhero campaign, it also isn't a traditional fantasy campaign.  There are a lot more potentially world-destroying monsters, such as Typhon, the Midgard Serpent, or the Fenris Wolf to cope with. And that's the kind of beasts the PCs should be encountering. This is an age when these threats have not all been locked away; they remain to threaten the ordinary mortals whom the demigods protect.  Perhaps even the previous generation of "titans" is still around, provoking a revolt by the PCs themselves!

As is evident by the illustrations I've chosen, I was greatly influenced bt the Walt Simonson run on Marvel Comics' THOR in the 1980s. He played up Thor's mythological elements while infusing it with an epic, heroic style that most previous witers and artists had neglected. Especially impressive were Thor's battle with the Midgard serpent (while suffering from a major curse from the death-goddess Hela), and Thor's invasion of Hela's realm of the dead against impossible odds. The heroic sacrifice of Skurge the Executioner, one of Thor's former foes, holding the Bridge of Death while the other heroes escaped from Helheim, is a crowning moment of glory in a superbly told epic that elevated Thor beyond a mere comic book character.

Questing Dice, By Jove!

"Questing Dice" is one of my favorite options from the Risus Companion, which is jam-packed with usefuleness to begin with.  If you trade in one starting dice, you can get 5 dice than can be used once each (per adventure) on any cliche, as long as that cliche is being used in furtherance of a specific purpose. This purpose is the "quest" for which the Questing Dice mechanic was named, and this purpose must be specified when the dice are purchased. This doesn't have to be a literal quest (as in Holy Grail), however; it can apply to any situation which would limit the usefulness of the dice to specific situations. In fantasy games, one such application would be to represent the patronage and divine assistance of a god.


The Greek gods are fairly well known to gamers, so I'll use them as an example.  The best known ones are the Twelve Olympians, which are actually 14 if you count Hades, Hestia, and Dionysus.

• Aphrodite: Goddess of love and beauty.
• Apollo: God of music, healing, plague, prophecies, poetry, and archery; associated with light, truth and the sun.
• Ares: God of war, bloodlust, violence, manly courage, and civil order. 
• Artemis: Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, childbirth and plague. In later times she became associated with the moon. 
• Athena: Goddess of wisdom, warfare, battle strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason. 
• Demeter: Goddess of fertility, agriculture, horticulture, grain and harvest. 
• Dionysus: God of wine, parties and festivals, madness, civilization, drunkenness and pleasure. 
• Hades or Pluto: King of the Underworld and god of the dead and the hidden wealth of the Earth.
• Hephaestus: Crippled god of fire, metalworking, stonemasonry, sculpture and volcanism. 
• Hera: Queen of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings and empires.
• Hermes: God of travel, messengers, trade, thievery, cunning wiles, language, writing, diplomacy, athletics, and animal husbandry. He is the messenger of the gods, a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into Hades' realm.
• Hestia: Virgin goddess of the hearth, home and cooking. 
• Poseidon: God  of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, storms, earthquakes, and horses
• Zeus: The king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, law, order, and fate.

These would be fine for use as Questing Dice in my game, but  I think I can make them even better. Every god also had a number of divine epithets or "nicknames" that describe their scope of authority. These are often more evocative than "God of Animal Husbandry", and reveal more interesting aspects that many overlook:    

• Aphrodite:  She Who Turns To Love;  Averter of Unlawful Desires; Spying; Peeping; Whispering; Of the Sea; Of Night
• Apollo: Foreseeing; Shooting from Afar; The Hunter; Healer; Leader of the Muses; Of the Mice; Of the Wolves; Of the Locusts; Of the Mildew; Rescuer; Averter of Harm; Protector of Starngers, Foreigners
• Ares: Beastly; Brutish; Of the Horses; Murderous; Manslaughtering; Slayer of Men; He Who Rallies Fighting Men; Stormer of Walls; Swift, Fleet 
• Artemis:  Huntress; Of The Hunting Nets; Of the Laurel/Cedar/Walnut Tree; Of the Beasts/Deer/Wolves/White Birds; Of the Lake/Broad Plains/Wetlands; Friend of Young Girls; Helper of Childbirth; Leader of the Dance
• Athena: War-Sustaining; Bridler of Horses; War-Trumpet; Defender; Of The Counsels; Worker; Contriver of Plans and Devices; The Deceiver; Born of the Head (of Zeus)
• Demeter: Of the Earth; She Who Sends Forth Gifts; Giver of Wealth; Of the Furrows; Great Mother; Bringer of Law; Dark-Veiled; Dark Cloaked
• Dionysus: Of the Bacchic Frenzy; Noisy, Boisterous; Mad, Raging; Of the Night; Of the Torches; Of the Feast; Giver of Increase; Of the Grape; Of the Wine-Press; Of the Phallus; Of Liberation, Of Freedom; Androgynous
• Hades or Pluto: Of Wealth; Zeus of the Underworld; Receiver of the Dead; Savior of the Dead; Ruler of Many; Host of Many; Master of Dreams; God of Curses; Master of the Furies
• Hephaestus: Renowned for Skills; Famed Worker; Of the many Crafts; Lame One; Of the Crooked Feet; The Sooty God; Bronze-Smith, Copper-Smith; Ingenious, Inventive
• Hera: Girl, Virgin; Betrothed Bride; Married Woman; Widow; Midwife; Of Marriage; Of the Chariot; Of the Flowers; Whose hand is Above; Of the Heights; Pioneer; Goat-Eater; Queen of the Gods
• Hermes: Keeper of the Flocks; Ram Bearer; Of the Market Place; Crafts, Wiles; Of the Crossroads; Of the Games; Interpreter, Translator; Guide, Minister, Messenger; Of the Golden Wand; Thief, Robber, Rustler; Deceiver, Dissembler; Trickster, Conniver; Wily, Shifty, Many-Turning; Glad-Hearted; Luck-Bringing; Keen-Sighted, Watchful
• Hestia: Of the Hearth; Of the Councils; Of Many Prosperities; Eternal Virgin
• Poseidon: Of the Horses; Earth-Shaker; Of the Waves; Savior of Sailors; Bull of the Sea; Averter of Earthquakes
• Zeus: Of the Rain; Dark, Murky; Of the Thunderbolt; Furious, Raging, Boisterous; Of Fair Winds; Watcher of Sea Havens; King, Chief, Ruler; Of Hospitality; Of the Stranger; Punisher of Murderers; Puts to Flight, Defeats, Banishes

This latter approach encourages the players (and the GM) to be more creative in describing the actions of their characters, always a good thing with Risus.  I left out a numbe of other epithets, references to sacred attributes, and sacred places, all of which could fit into the relevant "quest".  Gods of other pantheons also such epithets, or you could make up your own for an original fantasy world.