Here I will list House Rules and ideas I have as far as system and game, and how I want to tell the story.

I will try to be fair, and generally don’t want to kill characters. In the event of the dice describing a death, I will usually try to turn the story towards a severe injury, or something similarly appropriate.

The system we are using is called Mythras - this link is to the core rule book, which I suggest purchasing. At Drivethru RPG it is currently about $7 USD, so it shouldn’t break the bank, and it’s always cool to support game designers.

If you’d like to check it out and get a feel for it first, here are some links to some free short-form iterations of the system, as well as some cool toolkits created by fans of the system:

The first is called The Mythras Imperative.  The depth we will be going system wise will be greater, but, if you are content to verbalize your intentions to me, we should be able to make it work.

The second free resource is The Mythras Character Creation Workbook. There is some stuff that this doesn’t cover, but we should be able to get a character up fairly easily.

The third free resource is a very cool tool kit called Notes From Pavis. It has everything organized very nicely and collects a lot of game specifics from across a lot of the publications and settings. The combat style cards are helpful, but there's tons of stuff he's done that's great.

If you have Runequest 6, I recommend getting the free tools, and seeing the differences. I honestly suggest getting the new version because, this game is basically in its 9th edition and the system has been combed through thoroughly. There have been improvements on things like movement and combat traits that change the game in subtle but substantial ways.  I do have both books, so I can ultimately bridge the divide.  There are some rules (like Hero Points) that I carry over from RQ6 as well.

I like to facilitate players creating heroic characters. You guys are supposed to save the world, and to do that you gotta be great.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:39, Sun 04 Apr 2021.

Hero Points

I will award Hero points in this game. They can be used to pay for various things usually payed for with points from elsewhere.  Hero points can also be collected, where Luck points, for example, “replenish.”  Hero Points can be used, or substituted for, the following things:

- Luck Points (and all of their uses)
- Experience Points (up to 3 per session- none repetitive)
- For stat improvement. A statistic can be improved by spending a number of Hero Points equal to the statistic.  The change is permanent.  Statistics can still be improved by 1/10 of the species max through the sacrifice of an experience roll, per session (but that increase is not permanent).
- Hero Points can be used to get “Heroic Abilities.”  Similar to Mystic talents (but generally more specific), they represent abilities outside of- or that amplify- the usual abilities existent through gameplay.

I use Hero Points to try and give players some different choices in terms of how to improve and push their characters towards goals
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:27, Sat 03 Apr 2021.

Setting, Magic & Spellcasting Notes

The setting will be medium Magic. Magic points will be recovered at a rate of 1 per 6 hours while awake, 1 per 3 hours of sleep. This means that a normal person could use magic to augment crops, help with dinner and tidy up a bit, and would still be fresh the next day to do it again. Combat, on the other hand, that might easily consume 6 to 10 MP in a single battle, might take two or three days to fully recover from. Prolonged fights or successive battles are dangerous in this way as they can exhaust a players mana (or magic resources) and leave them vulnerable without magic options in combat- or worse- vulnerable to spirit attacks.

Some consumables will restore MP as well as have other benefits. Food is one of the ways I will try to weave culture into the story, and some cultures, as well as individuals, will make dishes and beverages that will grant different perks.

I am also going to make casting magic before the pressure of battle as “Easy” for game purposes.  But once engaged (Strike ranks have been rolled), the rolls will be standard. If anyone on your team is injured, a willpower roll is needed, or casting during battle becomes “hard.”

Casting in advance will also use the Extended duration rules for boosting.  Casting a spell in the battle itself will have the standard duration.  As players you won’t have to worry about this too much as the GM will be narrating the fights- but it will have an impact. If players can get into the idea of role-playing their characters being prepared before entering battle, they will do substantially better in those battles.

In fact, guarding against being unprepared is recommended, as the surprise rules in this game are as brutal as they would be in real life. Setting an ambush is a good way to kill a lot of people quickly in this game. So don’t get caught flat footed...and don’t be afraid of trying to catch an unsuspecting foe unawares- they will probably not survive the encounter, if everything goes as planned.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:00, Sat 03 Apr 2021.

More Magic Setting Notes

As a culture, Saladorian Magic is woven into the web of life, albeit on a smaller scale. It’s usually used to help with menial tasks, and so folk magic is common.  All other Magic and practices are uncommon, unless experience- or culturally- specific. Which is to say, if you are a mystic- there’s a reason. There is a story. You know/knew someone.  Unless in your city/village “everyone does it.”  Likewise if you are a shaman, sorcerer, or theist. If your culture is Civilized, theism, sorcery and potentially mystic paths will be available. Nomad and Barbarian cultures add Animism & Mysticism is more easily accessible. Sorcery becomes rarer.  Some regions have more specifics as well we can go over during character generation.

Animism is pretty much by the book, but with a few tweaks. Ancestor spirits will be able to help in ways similar to nature spirits without having to possess the Animist completely. Also, because death isn’t the (general) outcome of spirit combat in this game (tho MP exhaustion and incapacitation in a battle are certainly problems), some spirits that Players may have access to may be more aggressive. Predator spirits, or spirits that can engage other people in spirit combat.

Spirits are common in this setting though, and so are spirit wards. Strong spirits, however, are always a problem.

Some of the deadliness of spirits in this system RAW will be nerfed a little bit in this game.  Most spirits won’t kill people, only incapacitate them, and generally won’t possess people aggressively (again, with some exceptions- basically spirits that expressly have that trait). These would be wraiths, or haunts or spirits generally linked to a place, or random hostile entities. But someone on the team should be a Shaman.  It will allow for Role-Playing solutions in many instances vs combat. Only strong or very specific spirits will kill, and those spirits should be few and far between, and generally, not a surprise. Losing a spirit battle will leave you wiped out of Magic Points and incapacitated. So a shaman could, theoretically, beat almost anyone in a fight, without ever actually fighting. Just his spirit wiping someone out and knocking them out.  Of course, they will wake up- but even then, they would be extremely vulnerable to spirit combat due to low Magic Points- at least for the first day or two.

Mysticism is standard.  Schools will be listed as they are known in the “Cults, Guilds & Brotherhoods” section.

Theism is standard. Gods & Pantheons will be listed as they are known in the “Cults, Guilds & Brotherhoods” section.  Theism is very strong in this game, and tied to specific traits of Gods for that reason. So, if you worship the Night God, it’s possible that during the day some of your spells may not be as effective- or may not work at all.

Sorcery is standard. And standard is potent. But sorcery can be Magic point cost heavy in a way that forces its use to be somewhat strategic. Also- if you are going to play a sorcerer, I recommend getting the latest rules. There is some math involved in how the spells are calculated before they are cast, and the book will explain it better than I can. It’s not complex, but it is very flexible with a lot of options, and if you want to get the most out of a sorcerous character, you should understand the system.

With sorcery, certain schools may offer different shaping skills beyond the standard mechanics, depending on their nature.

We will also be using the Magic Fumbles table (Monster Island, pg. 130)

Some of the deadliness of spirits in the game will be nerfed a little bit.  Most spirits won’t kill people, only incapacitate them. These would be wraiths, or haunts or spirits generally linked to a place, or random hostile entities. But someone on the team should be a Shaman.  It will allow for Role-Playing solutions in many instances vs combat. Only strong or very specific spirits will kill, and those spirits should be few and far between, and generally, not a surprise. Losing a spirit battle will leave you wiped out of Magic Points and incapacitated. So a shaman could, theoretically, beat almost anyone in a fight, without ever actually fighting. Just his spirit wiping someone out and knocking them out.  Of course, they will wake up- but even then, they would be extremely vulnerable to spirit combat due to low Magic Points- at least for the first two or three days.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:33, Sat 03 Apr 2021.

Passions

We will be using them. We will figure out good ones that we can apply to situations. If they aren’t being used, we can tweak them until they fit.

Luck

In general, enemy Criticals and player fumbles will lead to really bad days, so, as GM, I will generally use your Luck points to force re-rolls in those situations.  If you have specific ways you do or don’t want Luck used, let me know, but forcing those re-rolls iis key, in my experience.

Towards the end of episodes, players are encouraged to use unused Luck points to switch dice around for criticals.  Because of some of the skill advancement tweaks we are using, those criticals can end up helping later.  Any unused Luck points can also be used during the skill advancement phase, as afterwards, the pool of Luck points replenishes.

Character Improvement

Improvement rolls will be meted out as described in the RAW- with one exception.

Critical rolls will grant automatic 1% skill advancements. Right on the spot. You can get better at fighting in one session if you just Crit all over the place.

Which makes considering when to use Luck or Hero points to manipulate dice a detail players should tend to. It can nudge skill progress forward, especially skills used often.

Art

I did not create any of the art I use in this campaign to help with the flavor. Where possible I try to include watermarks or tags so that if you want, you can attempt to find the art yourself (so you too can have a file full of gorgeous artwork you have to figure out how to use lol). If, by chance, an artist sees their work and does not want it on this free RPOL game- for any reason- please contact me directly via Rmail or DM and it will be pulled down immediately. I’m not trying to violate the artists, just use art to help tell the story, and maybe expose some folks to some great art & artists.

With that it mind, you may see art that is from popular fantasy outlets- wizards of the west coast, Pathfinder & DND art, Gwent etc.  I don’t want players to feel like the art is pulling you out of the storytelling too much, so if “Magic the Gathering” art is going to push you, specifically, OUT of the vibe, more than drawing you in, let me know. I could, potentially, limit certain source stuff if it’s too evocative. At the same time, the art is going to be some of how I’m telling stories, so if you hate artwork with your games, this might not be the game for you.

Nor will there be artwork included in every post. Some of the imagery may be only meant to evoke a feeling, and not to represent every member, specifically, of the party. So, everyone is Conan in the Frank Frazetta artwork. And everyone is Red Sonja. And everyone is the little cloaked figure in the distance of the wide, sweeping landscape painting :)


This message was last edited by the GM at 05:12, Sun 04 Apr 2021.

Posting Rules & Guidelines

Writing/Home Rules:
This game is co-written by you as the players and the GM.  We will be world building together, but most world descriptions and the results of attempted crucial actions will remain the responsibility of the GM. Crucial actions include attacks and skill checks. This is where the game mechanics will come into play. You post the attempted action, the GM will post the results. In some cases, the GM will not need such strict environment control, and in this case the GM will PM you the results and allow you to describe it yourself.

There may be times where I'll have to adjust to make things work. I'm flexible like that. But the GM has the final say. If there's an issue, plea your case in a PM.

Posting Guidelines:
Writing will be purely third person past tense in all story related threads, as if you were writing a story about what some guy did a year ago.  Having said that, I’m not going to police your tense or grammar excessively.  We all make mistakes.  Give it your best. Be descriptive. Keep true to your character. If you metagame, give me something sub-par, or do something out of character, I will call you on it, and possibly ask you to edit your post. It's meant to be fun, but everyone appreciates a real effort.

Try not to get offended by what another character/NPC does. We're all adults, let's act like it. If it's within the scope of the character, go with it.

Currently there is no timeframe for posting. I would like to move quickly as I plan to cover a lot of ground and RPOL games notoriously fizzle out before getting too far.  Also, there is a little bit more Covid downtime before things get really busy, and I'd like to try and get the ball rolling to see if we can keep momentum once life is back in full swing.

Within your posts:
[*] SPEECH will be in a color of your choosing and in "quotes". Try not to use what someone else is using. Ex: "Peace be upon you, Friend."
[*] THOUGHTS will be in italics. Ex: I don't know how I'm getting out of this one.
[*] Speaking softly, mumbling, whispering etc will be in small or sub. Ex "Who does this guy think he is, anyway?"
[*] Yelling in CAPS, speaking with force in bold. Ex:""Get out. Now! NOW! NOW!!"
[*] Inflection can be used with Italics within a speech. Ex: "You really don't understand what's going on, do you?"

OOC (Out of Character) threads will be an open forum, but keep it respectful. Please try not to metagame.
OOC within a storyline thread should be in Orange. Ex: OOC- I swing my Greatsword. If I hit, CM: Impale

Private Messages within the storyline thread are reserved for mechanics and questions to the GM.
Dice Rolls should be included in PMs within the storyline, if any were made.
Private Messages can also be used if a character is speaking to someone else where others would not hear or understand, IE in another language or in someone's head via telepathy or some such.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:18, Sun 04 Apr 2021.