The Turakian Age is Seriously Underrated

[Lord Liaden]

On 3/29/2021 at 1:48 PM, Steve Long said:

The question of how far large ships can go up that river chain is a good one. Given that the land around where the Ordring flows out of Lake Beralka is described as "marshy," I don't believe large ships could make it all the way through -- and there might be other obstacles (heavily churning water at the Ettinstone, narrows, rapids, etc.) that would get in the way even further down. (Personally I kind of think that the waters at the Ettinstone would preclude further navigation by seafaring-size ships, but I can also see some story value in letting them go further -- a town might spring up at the highest navigable point that depends largely on using smaller ships to get goods further upriver and to the lake, and that could be a good starting point for adventures.

 

I definitely assume that there are some smaller rivers/large streams flowing out of the Nagyrians (and for that matter, most other mountain ranges) that are too small to get on a world-sized map. If I ever get to explore specific parts of the setting in detail, we can do smaller scale maps that show those bodies of water.

 

TA references a merchants' semi-permanent meeting place at the Ettinstone. I could certainly see Aarn establishing an outpost there, or a would-be king seizing land and setting up his own city. Or possibly Aarn (or some other government) could establish some (massive and probably at least partly built by magic) bridges so that caravans can easily cross the Loskell and Ordring at nearby convenient points.

 

Thanks again for all the input and suggestions, folx!

 

I would consider the rivers being navigable to decent-sized cargo vessels -- at least equivalent to the "Shaanda barges" -- all the way between Lake Beralka and Aarn (with provisions for getting around the Ettinstone) to be a major factor in Aarn's growth. That would make Aarn the gateway on the Sea of Storms to the Beralka/Shaanda/Mhorec system for traders from the southern Westerlands as well as Northern and Central Mitharia. Combine that with Aarn being the only deep water harbor between Bellinberg and Tatha Gorel, and its proximity to the High Pass into Tornathia, and you have more than enough stimulus to build it into the largest city in the world.

 

Tavrosel, which might be Ambrethel's second-largest city, would derive many similar advantages from its location, as its magnificent harbor would make it the natural exchange point across the Sea of Mhorec for the many desirable goods from the eastern region of Mhorecia: minerals and enchanted items from Arutha, fine iron and steel work from Hrastarin, cattle and leather from Ingushel, gemstones and jewelry from Mount Keluurazond, plus the products of Khoria coming through the Great Pass.

[Lord Liaden]

Deleted due to irrelevance. 😔

[pawsplay]

The Turakian Age is probably the Hero setting I know the least about. For a 6e player, where should I jump in?

[L. Marcus]

... How is that even possible?

[Lord Liaden]

As the man said after he took off all his clothes and jumped into a cactus patch: "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

[L. Marcus]

Rough-and-ready acupuncture. 

[Lord Liaden]

On 4/7/2021 at 6:50 PM, pawsplay said:

The Turakian Age is probably the Hero setting I know the least about. For a 6e player, where should I jump in?

 

Could you define that question a bit sharper, please?

[Lord Liaden]

Just as general advice to a 6E player, many of the fantasy-related books written by DOJ-Hero had the Turakian Age in mind as their default reference, and when that material was compiled and updated for 6E its applicability to TA also carried over. For example, TA often refers to character templates and other game elements provided in the 5E Fantasy Hero genre book, so if you have the 6E book you get their updated versions there. (I can't speak to Fantasy Hero Complete as I haven't seen that.) If you have the 6E Hero System Bestiary you've got practically all the creatures and races from the setting. If you can lay hands on the Hero System Grimoire for 6E, that gives you all the magic spells TA refers to. Any further elaborations on those elements in the setting book and its attendant volumes would be easy to translate to 6E.

[pawsplay]

So is 5e Turakian Age "complete," that is, can I play it right out of the book with minimal homebrewing? Are there any things in the transition from 5e to 6e that really mess with any of the setting assumptions?

[Lord Liaden]

As far as transitioning from 5E to 6E, as I mentioned earlier, if you have the relevant books in addition to TA almost your only chore would be recalculating the point cost of a few things. If you don't have those additional books you'll have a substantial task converting, mostly for spells.

 

I've noticed variation among everyone's definition of "homebrewing," but I can tell you that the TA world book includes adventure "seeds" but no full adventures. It has quite a few geopolitical maps, but only one map of a narrow location (Aarn), and that's a little sketchy. There are a few additional sources for adventures and maps, as noted on this thread. TA has a fair scattering of statted NPCs, and the book, Nobles, Knights, And Necromancers contains many more, but they're spread over much of the world.

 

Generally speaking, The Turakian Age is very broad in the range of places it covers, but rather shallow in detailing any one of them.

[pawsplay]

Does it have spell cost divisors or anything oddball like that?

[L. Marcus]

Yup, divide by three. 

[Lord Liaden]

15 hours ago, pawsplay said:

Does it have spell cost divisors or anything oddball like that?

 

6 hours ago, L. Marcus said:

Yup, divide by three. 

 

That's the default for the magic system, which you're of course free to ignore, but doing so will mess up the point balance for spell-casting NPCs. TBH when I used TA I ignored that and let PCs buy some spells in Multipowers.

[Old Man]

On 4/12/2021 at 9:31 AM, Lord Liaden said:

 

 

That's the default for the magic system, which you're of course free to ignore, but doing so will mess up the point balance for spell-casting NPCs. TBH when I used TA I ignored that and let PCs buy some spells in Multipowers.

 

I wish ECs were still a thing.

[Spence]

2 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

I wish ECs were still a thing.

 But they are.  I was just rereading the section.

[Lord Liaden]

Do you mean, in 6E? An optional thing?

[Old Man]

I can’t find ECs in either 6e FH or FH Complete. I know I’m in the minority, but I found ECs to be perfect for keeping spell costs down while enforcing similar limitations and sfx, without making spells outrageously cheap like MPs do. 

[Spence]

21 minutes ago, Old Man said:

I can’t find ECs in either 6e FH or FH Complete. I know I’m in the minority, but I found ECs to be perfect for keeping spell costs down while enforcing similar limitations and sfx, without making spells outrageously cheap like MPs do. 

 

57 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

Do you mean, in 6E? An optional thing?

 

No I mean in Hero 5thR.  And 4th and 3rd and........

 

I gave up on 6th.  Too many things sterilized on the alter of...... well I have no idea.

 

5thR is not perfect, but it is the only version pre-change that I have enough hard copies to lend to players. 

So 5thR it is. 

 

TA is also 5th so no changes/conversion necessary. 

 

[Lord Liaden]

I heartily agree. I prefer 5E myself, although I borrow a few elements I like from 6E, and from 4E. I also have a huge whack of stuff for 4E, and the differences between 4E and 5E are so few and relatively minor, it's easy to use material written for either of them with the other, with almost no changes.

[Spence]

11 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

I heartily agree. I prefer 5E myself, although I borrow a few elements I like from 6E, and from 4E. I also have a huge wack of stuff for 4E, and the differences between 4E and 5E are so few and relatively minor, it's easy to use material written for either of them with the other, with almost no changes.

Absolutely.  The core of Hero has never really changed much rule and play'wise. Mostly costing changes. 

 

Then came "The Change"

 

[cue dark and dramatic 1950s occult theme music]

 

 

[Chris Goodwin]

1 hour ago, Spence said:

Absolutely.  The core of Hero has never really changed much rule and play'wise. Mostly costing changes. 

 

Then came "The Change"

 

[cue dark and dramatic 1950s occult theme music]

 

 

 

Which "The Change" are you talking about? 

[Ninja-Bear]

2 hours ago, Chris Goodwin said:

 

Which "The Change" are you talking about? 

Well obviously it the EVIL change from 5th to 6th.  The one where Steve Long in a fit of power induced madness irrecoverably marred Hero System! (What do you mean I’m being overly dramatic Gary?)

[Chris Goodwin]

51 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Well obviously it the EVIL change from 5th to 6th.  The one where Steve Long in a fit of power induced madness irrecoverably marred Hero System! (What do you mean I’m being overly dramatic Gary?)

 

I thought it was the one from 3rd to 4th, where Range Modifiers went from -1/3" linear to -2 per doubling.  That one was SUPREMELY EVIL!

[Ninja-Bear]

I came in at 4th ed. so I’m vaguely aware of those changes.

[Lord Liaden]

Bottom line, between 4E and 5E I have more villains, NPCs, monsters, gadgets, weapons, spells, optional rules than I could ever possibly need. I wouldn't mind more in the way of adventures and maps, but 4E did better with that than 5E, and 3E and earlier adventures aren't hard to adapt, so I'm not hurting.

 

TA in particular could really benefit from both, regarding specific locales in the world.