Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Some Sample Super Skills

 

4 I know a guy: Summon 25-point creatures, Friendly (+¼), Expanded Class of Beings Any useful sort of person (+½) (9 Active Points); Summoned Being Must Inhabit Locale (-½), Arrives Under Own Power (-½) 1

Notes: The character can find an otherwise ordinary person with a needed skill, talent, or resource more or less anywhere, so long as someone of that type would be found in such a place. The person in question will be inclined to be friendly, and will be wiiling to help out the character at least for a day or two. Asking him to engage in combat is likely to end the friendship. Appropriate SFX: Luck Super Skill, PRE Super Skill, Black Magic

 

21 I found some horses: Summon 120-point Any sort of horse, Expanded Class of Beings Any sort of horse (+¼), Loyal (+½) (42 Active Points); Summoned Being Must Inhabit Locale (-½), Arrives Under Own Power (-½) 4

Notes: The character is able to find a horse wandering around, anyplace that such a horse might reasonably be found. The horse may be a riding horse, pony, draft horse, or any other horse built on up to 120 points the GM feels is appropriate. The horse will be relatively loyal to the character, willing to perform simple tasks according to its nature for at least a few days, or to serve in battle for a very short time. Appropriate Special Effects: Luck, PRE, Animal Handling, Black Magic, Green Magic.

 

15 There's never an angry mob when you need one: Summon 50-point Any sort of angry mob, Expanded Class of Beings Any sort of angry mob (+¼), Devoted (+¾) (70 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), -1 ¼), Summoned Being Must Inhabit Locale (-½), Arrives Under Own Power (-½), Incantations (Complex; Exhorting the mob; -½), Requires A Skill Roll (-½), Gestures (-¼) 7

Notes: (x32 number of items)If the character can find a crowd of people, he can generally convince them to form an angry mob so long as they speak his language and have no special reason to be hostile towards him. The angry mob will be willing to do quite a bit for the character as a mob, though as individuals they may certainly balk at unreasonable requests. "Let's get the bastards" is an appropriate request for mob action. "Lets all throw me your money pouches" is not. The mob will stamp and shout hapilly for the character for some time, but once actual combat begins are likely to disperse after the first turn or two if they are able. This is not true mind control; the character can not choose to turn the city guards into an angry mob to prevent them from arresting him. However, he might be able to rally the city guards to go after another target, so long as the guards have no special reason to dislike him. Appropriate Special Effects: PRE, Oratory, Black Magic

 

17 Don't hurt me!: +6 with DCV (30 Active Points); Requires A Skill Roll (-½), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Must be aware of attacker; -¼)

Notes: Enemies really don't want to hurt the character. Even when they target him or her, they find it difficult to put their hearts into it. This only works against attackers the character is aware of. The skill roll should be a CHA or skill roll appropriate to the specific SFX of the super skill. Appropriate SFX: PRE, COM, Oratory, Seduction, Persuasion

[L. Marcus]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

. . . I never - ever - expected to find, anywhere on Earth or off it, a write-up with the title "I Know A Guy".

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Oddhat,

 

Couldn't someone with a Heaven or Hellstone use the Stone to bestow the Majick Talent upon his/herself? In other words, your sample character, Xiu I belive his name was, could have fed his Hellstone with his own blood and then used it to bestow Sight, Astral Projection, or both upon himself?

 

As far as game mechanics go, this would have occured by the character buying the points for himself and the Stone would have provided the 'effect' for the change, if I understand your system correctly.

 

This would seem to fit with the miraculous nature and variable abilities of the Stones. It would also provide yet more motivation for the power hungry to hunt to the Stones...

 

Granted, I don't think, due to the nature of a Hellstone, that Xiu would want to have the Sight after he had succumbed to the temptation of the Hellstone. He seems to derive a certain pleaseure from killing now...

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Oddhat,

 

Couldn't someone with a Heaven or Hellstone use the Stone to bestow the Majick Talent upon his/herself? In other words, your sample character, Xiu I belive his name was, could have fed his Hellstone with his own blood and then used it to bestow Sight, Astral Projection, or both upon himself?

 

Yes. In the short term he'd use the stone to fuel the powers (i.e. assign the points from the VPP and pay the END out of the END reserve), in the long term he'd pay experience points to buy the powers for himself. It's one of the few ways a non-magically active PC could justify gaining magical talent.

 

In practice and in game, this technique is one of the more closely held secrets of the monasteries. The vast majority of users of Stones of Power never think of learning internal magic, most users of the Gold who aren't already magically active use up their stone's charge before they can earn that much XP, and most users of the Red end up Greedy, Lustful Megalomaniacs fairly early, and spend their energies building wealth and slaking their appetites (i.e. spend their XP on Wealth, Perks and Followers) and improving on their physical presence (sinking XP into stats). Users of the Hell Stones in particular tend to see the White, Black and Green as "weak".

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Oddhat,

 

I like that --- the monasteries produce magickers.

 

The Stones are in no way animate, are they? In other words, they don't have personalities, talk to their owners, etc.? Granted, some of the sorcerers may seem to hear the Stones talk as they slowly go crazy, depending on the type of their mental illness...

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

I like that --- the monasteries produce magickers.

 

All part of seeking enlightenment, and keeping the balance of power against the secular authorities.

 

It's not an assembly line; a novice has to show great potential and dedication to justify the resources needed to awaken his Talent, and then has to persevere through the training (in game terms, earn the XP to purchase The Sight and other powers). But it does happen, and is part of the way that the monasteries maintain their status.

 

The Stones are in no way animate, are they?

 

They have no minds of their own, but they do develop an emotional charge that affects their users. The game effects of this are built into the mandatory Side Effects limits on Red Magic.

[Kristopher]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

You might have already addressed this, but I can't recall at this point.

 

Are there ever any "wild talents", people who have from birth, or at some point spontaneously develop, 1 or 2 magical abilities without the training or the prerequisites?

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

You might have already addressed this, but I can't recall at this point.

 

Are there ever any "wild talents", people who have from birth, or at some point spontaneously develop, 1 or 2 magical abilities without the training or the prerequisites?

 

Not really. Black, Green, Red or Gold magic could be used to give someone an unusual ability or set of abilities, as with Vampires and Chimera (Chimera in this context being creatures permanently transformed by magic), and there are self trained magickers who only show a very limited range of powers. However, things like a high power telekinetic who isn't trained in other magic and isn't using a Heaven or Hell stone don't really fit.

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

 

They have no minds of their own, but they do develop an emotional charge that affects their users. The game effects of this are built into the mandatory Side Effects limits on Red Magic.

 

Does this emotional charge affect those who wield the Gold? Could the emotional charge of a Stone, in fact, 'speak' to any user, even one who is using the Gold facets of a Stone? To continue this idea: picture a Stone that had been used as a Hellstone for centuries and then was 'converted' to a Heavenstone. Would it still bear the negative emotional charge of all that time? Would it's masters have left an emotional imprint on it? Would the opposite also be true --- e.g., a Heavenstone that had been used as such for centuries but was then charged as a Hellstone --- would it bear the emotional charges of the monks that had fed the Gold for centuries? Or is the charge erased overnight?

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Does this emotional charge affect those who wield the Gold?

 

This is another case where the Mechanical and Conceptual levels of the setting both need to be taken into account.

 

In Game Mechanics terms, Gold Magic has no side effects, and recharging a Heaven Stone requires the character to be free of strong negative emotions (a condition adjudicated by the GM). The amount of positive emotional energy (an objectively real force in the setting) contained in the stone is reflected by its Gold END reserve.

 

From a Conceptual point of view, users of the Heaven Stone will feel an echo of those positive emotions as they release the Stone's energy. Just holding a charged Heaven Stone will be comforting to most people, and more so if the holder has used the power of the stone before.

 

In Game Mechanics terms, Red Magic spells are always built with Side Effects (though a character with a good Power Skill can avoid these some of the time), and recharging a Hell Stone involves immersing it in fresh blood. The stronger the negative emotions felt by the source of the blood (among other factors, such as youth, Magical Talent, and emotional connection to the holder of the Hell Stone), the more recoveries the Hell Stone can draw from the blood. The amount of negative emotional energy (an objectively real force in the campaign) contained in the Hell Stone is reflected by the Stone's Red Magic Reserve.

 

From a Conceptual point of view, users of a Hell Stone will feel an echo of those negative emotions as they release the stone's energy. To most people, this will result in a rush of anger or fear. Regular users of Red Magic find the sensation pleasurable. Even holding a charged Hell Stone can make the holder nervous or angry, though again an experienced user of Red Magic will find the sensation pleasurable.

 

Mechanically, it is possible for a Stone's Gold and Red END reserves to both contain END. The Gold END reserve can't recover while the Red END Reserve contains END. The Red END reserve does not have that problem. To "Purify" a Heaven Stone requires spending all of the END in the Red END Reserve (with all the attendant risks), so that the Gold END reserve may once again take recoveries.

 

Conceptually, a Stone that contains both Gold and Red magic (END in this case) will cause mixed emotions in the holder. Experienced users of either type of magic will find this sensation both seductive and disturbing. Purifying a Hell Stone risks tempting a user of Gold Magic into exploring Red Magic; using the Gold Magic contained in a Hell Stone can remind a user of Red Magic of what he has lost. There are no game mechanics to reflect this; it's at the role play / story level of the setting.

 

A purified Stone is a Heaven Stone from a mechanics point of view; it carries no Red Magic at all, even if it spent many centuries as a Hell Stone. On the Conceptual level, the Stone has been redeemed, and is no more likely to corrupt its user than any other Heaven Stone.

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Mini projects on the front burner for the Imperium setting right now:

 

Law and Order in the Imperium

 

Armor in the Imperium

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Linked adventure recaps from post #1

[SatinKitty]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Bump !

[L. Marcus]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Owwie!

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Geeze! SatinKitty, instead of bumping, why don't you contribute? Weren't you the one that wrote one of the storylines for the vampire attack? Well, where have you all gone from there? What new and fantastic adventures have you had?

 

Or, what other interesting characters are in the campaign? What spells? Inquiring minds want to know....

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Government, Law and order in the Provinces of the Imperium

 

The following applies primarily to the Imperium, but also loosely applies to the cities of Shen Zhou, with the important difference that officials are appointed (through the Imperial Exam System) rather than elected in that empire.

 

The Provincial Government operates under a Provincial Governor appointed by Roma. The Governor in turn appoints Provincial Officials and Magistrates. These Provincial Officials and Magistrates serve at the pleasure of the Governor (he may dismiss them at any time), but will commonly continue to serve even after a change in administration. The Governor is charged with interpreting and enforcing the laws of Roma, and does not himself make laws. There is no Provincial legislature, but top Officials and Magistrates do act as an advisory board to the Governor. Within limits, each city is self governing within a Province. Governors have the power to both appoint and remove municipal officials, but rarely exercise that power so long a steady flow of trade goods and tax revenue is maintained. Regular gifts from municipal officials to the Governor are also expected.

 

The people of each city freely elect Members of the Urban Senate, Urban Magistrates, and the Tribunes of the Soldiers, Guildsmen, Plebs, and Treasury. In practice, behind the scenes political maneuvering generally keeps the choices open to the people limited.

 

The Urban Senate makes laws within the city (though the laws of Roma and pronouncements of the Governor take precedence), controls the budget, and in theory reviews all senior civil service appointments.

 

The two Urban Consuls are appointed by the Senate, and most commonly represent power blocks within the senate. They mediate within the senate, decide on points of order, appoint city officials, and serve as the highest judges of the city in rare cases important enough to be heard before the Senate.

 

The Tribunes advocate for various interest groups, with powers varying somewhat by city and group. The Tribune of the Guildsmen, for example, is elected to represent the interests of all guildsmen before the Urban Senate and appointed city officials; the holder of the Tribune of the Guildsmen’s office will generally be the head of one of the city’s more powerful guilds. All Tribunes share three important powers; no Tribune is subject to arrest or physical restraint while in office, all Tribunes may demand cooperation in the investigation of complaints, and Tribunes may bring legal charges against any official or private citizen with the exception of a fellow Tribune.

 

Urban Magistrates act as administrators of city services, investigators, and judges in civil and criminal cases within their jurisdiction. A small city may have only a single Magistrate, while a city the size of Pari or Londinium may have separate Magistrates of Roads, Sewage, Aqueducts, Grain and Bread Distribution, Public Health, and the Vigils. A staff of Appointed Officials (including citizens, freedmen and slaves) takes care of everyday governance and the provision of services, while the Magistrate sets policy, appoints officials, and interprets disputes.

 

Appointed Officials may remain in place for decades, quietly making decisions and advising their masters, while Senators, Tribunes and Magistrates come and go around them. This can put an Appointed Official into a position of considerable power, so long as he avoids angering an Elected Official to the point that the Appointed Official is relieved of his office. Appointed Officials need not be citizens; some of the most powerful men in the Imperium were appointed to high office as slaves and then used the revenues of their offices to buy their own freedom.

 

The Urban Vigils are both the police officers and fire fighters of a city. The Commander of the Vigils is appointed by the Urban Magistrate, most commonly from within the Vigils and on the recommendation of the previous commander. The Vigils themselves are most commonly veterans, or following a family tradition of service. The Vigils must work closely with the Tribunes, but maintain their own chain of command. In theory the Vigils have the right to charge any person other than a Tribune with a crime and bring him before a Magistrate, but in practice the vigils exercise caution before bringing charges against the rich and well connected.

 

Trials occur relatively quickly, and the hiring of lawyers or other legal representation is permitted. Sentences can include fines and loss of property, public flogging, enslavement, and execution. Creative forms of execution are always popular arena entertainment. Long term imprisonment is uncommon.

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Travel, Trade and the Perils of Empire

 

This applies mainly to the Imperium, but similar conditions exist in Shen Zhou.

 

Banditry is a perennial problem throughout the Imperium. Landless veterans and escaped slaves sometimes turn to banditry for survival, and even Patricians may turn to banditry after a lost family power struggle. Slavers attack honest travelers and even raid outlying towns and villages in the hopes of forcing ransoms or selling their victims at a distant port. Provincial and municipal officials charged with preventing these abuses have been known to turn a blind eye in exchange for bribes. Small villages and towns may depend on banditry for their livelihood; the inhabitants of these towns are considered to be rebels against the Imperium. Despite all of this, trade continues, and military roads in particular tend to be well patrolled. It is rare for organized bandits or slavers to strike near a major city or military outpost.

 

The Roman military roads crisscross the continent, stretching out from Roma to the far shores of Gaul and the edges of the Magadha Empire, even reaching up into dark Germania and down to the wilds before Mutapa. On the most heavily trafficked roads, Roman Forts are set roughly every 50 miles, serving as way stations for weary travelers and as transfer points for the Imperial Mail. Small towns often grow around these forts, and even small cities, profiting from the trade along the roads. Smaller rest areas are located every 5 - 10 miles along major roads, with a small hostelry offering its services to travelers. It is possible for a caravan of trade goods to move from Pari to Roma in eighteen days or less along the roads in good weather, and an Imperial courier riding full out and changing horses at each fort can make the trip in six days. The Imperial Mail boasts that a message sent to any city in the Imperium will arrive in two months or less, and at least along the roads such is usually the case (much faster means of communication are available to the rich and the Imperial Government).

 

Trade caravans moving by land travel as much as possible along the military roads, and when possible employ guards. Imperial Mail wagons are highly desirable traveling companions, as the mail carriers tend to be well armed, well trained, and reliable veterans. The most valuable goods move only as part of a military convoy.

 

Sea and river trade are able to handle much larger cargoes, and are the true lifeblood of the Imperium, but Sea Traders are beset with problems of their own. Pirates sponsored by the Rus, Shen Zhou, the Dene, the Kalait, Mutapa, and even Magadha prey upon Roman trade ships, and Roma herself sponsors small pirate fleets as well. Independent pirates operate from hidden ports in Caledonia, Germania, and the Medowlands. Complicating the issue, pirates need only change their flags to be accepted as respected traders at many ports, especially if a sufficient bribe is paid to local officials. A shipment of trade goods sent by sea from the Meadowlands to Roma may reasonably arrive in just over two months.

The great Air Ships of the Imperium evoke awe even among better educated and more cultured citizens, but have had little impact upon travel or trade for any but the very rich. By Air Ship, it is possible to travel from Roma to Pari in just three to four days, weather permitting. Air ships carry little cargo, but often carry extremely important letters and small packages. Air Men, those who crew the airships, are recognizable by their wiry muscularity and extremely over-developed thigh and calf muscles. Despite the dangers of storms and rumors of air-pirates, it is widely acknowledged that Air Ships are the safest way to travel.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

If you want to send me the material on this in a postable fashion, I'd be happy to host it for you.

[Susano]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

If you want to send me the material on this in a postable fashion' date=' I'd be happy to host it for you.[/quote']

 

Same here.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Same here.

 

Hey! Ill arm wrestle ya for it?

[Susano]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Hey! Ill arm wrestle ya for it?

 

He could always CC the emails.

[James Gillen]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Despite the dangers of storms and rumors of air-pirates' date=' it is widely acknowledged that Air Ships are the safest way to travel.[/quote']

 

"I hope this experience hasn't discouraged you from flying, ma'am."

[zornwil]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

I'll arm-wrestle for posting his stuff, too!

 

Have enjoyed what I've read on the thread but only slowly catching up.

[Markdoc]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

 

The Roman military roads crisscross the continent, stretching out from Roma to the far shores of Gaul and the edges of the Magadha Empire, even reaching up into dark Germania and down to the wilds before Mutapa. On the most heavily trafficked roads, Roman Forts are set roughly every 50 miles, serving as way stations for weary travelers and as transfer points for the Imperial Mail.

 

Snip...

 

A shipment of trade goods sent by sea from the Meadowlands to Roma may reasonably arrive in just over three months.

 

A couple of teeny-tiny nitpicks - though a fort every 50 miles is reasonable, you're probably going to want more regular way stations. A courier who tried to flog his horse 50 miles in a day would kill or founder it - and it's two to three days travel for most people (to put it in perspective, from Londinium to York on the roman road was considered a week's to 10 days' travel in good weather: that's about 200 miles). The real life Imperium Romanum was supposed to have a a mutatio ("a changing" or changeover station) every 5 miles where a courier could get a bite to eat, a drink and a change of mounts. Typically they had a stable (and presumably a guard or two) and a small tavern/foodstall. Every 15 miles (which was considered a typical day's journey) was a mansio ("a rest" or stopping place) which usually had a small garrison/police force, a tavern and or inn, stables, foodstalls and in at least some cases a bathhouse and several restaurants. From what you had written so far, I assumed your Imperium was older and more cosmopolitan than the original - so I'd expect at least a similar level of service

 

With the shipping I suspect you have the opposite problem - ships moved much faster than land transport and in good weather a trip from Bari (in southern Italy) to Alexandria in Egypt might take as little as 4 days. However, the same passenger who exulted on his 4 day trip to Alexandria took two months to come home via the turkish and greek coasts, with unfavourable winds enforcing stays of many days in some ports. It wasn't that the ship travelled slowly - but that if the wind was bad (meaning a head wind or a lee wind) the ship didn't travel at all, and you sat around drinking and playing dice (or getting into trouble if you are a PC)

 

Otherwise, excellent stuff.

 

cheers, Mark

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

A couple of teeny-tiny nitpicks - though a fort every 50 miles is reasonable, you're probably going to want more regular way stations. A courier who tried to flog his horse 50 miles in a day would kill or founder it - and it's two to three days travel for most people (to put it in perspective, from Londinium to York on the roman road was considered a week's to 10 days' travel in good weather: that's about 200 miles). The real life Imperium Romanum was supposed to have a a mutatio ("a changing" or changeover station) every 5 miles where a courier could get a bite to eat, a drink and a change of mounts. Typically they had a stable (and presumably a guard or two) and a small tavern/foodstall. Every 15 miles (which was considered a typical day's journey) was a mansio ("a rest" or stopping place) which usually had a small garrison/police force, a tavern and or inn, stables, foodstalls and in at least some cases a bathhouse and several restaurants. From what you had written so far, I assumed your Imperium was older and more cosmopolitan than the original - so I'd expect at least a similar level of service

 

With the shipping I suspect you have the opposite problem - ships moved much faster than land transport and in good weather a trip from Bari (in southern Italy) to Alexandria in Egypt might take as little as 4 days. However, the same passenger who exulted on his 4 day trip to Alexandria took two months to come home via the turkish and greek coasts, with unfavourable winds enforcing stays of many days in some ports. It wasn't that the ship travelled slowly - but that if the wind was bad (meaning a head wind or a lee wind) the ship didn't travel at all, and you sat around drinking and playing dice (or getting into trouble if you are a PC)

 

Otherwise, excellent stuff.

 

cheers, Mark

 

Thanks for the info, I couldn't find a good source on travel times and Roman Road layout and so tried to work it out from google maps, then added a bit. I had assumed stops on the roads other than the forts, but I'll make that clear in the posts.

 

The shipping time from the Meadowlands (North America) to Roma by sea seems about right just looking at a map and going from the length of time it took for colonial era ships to go from London to Boston, but I'd be glad to adjust it if you have more solid numbers.