Random Acts: Dangerous Magic

Magic in Strange Eons is a dangerous passtime and a treacherous career path. Most spellcasters die very young, slain by a ill advised choice of spell, for failing to use the right protective wards, or even casting one too many spell and draining his own life force.

It is because of this "weeding out" process that most mages and clerics are quite proud of their survival. But it also results in an almost casual disregard for the lives of acolites and apprentices, as the spellcaster knows not to get too attached...

Whether a Mage, Cleric or even Druid, all use of magic is about the accumulation and use of POWER. This power may be derived from a planets homeostatic life force, alien patronage, or dread mathematical formulae (See Random Acts: Religion for details).

But how do the really powerful spellcasters DO it? How do they amass power and prestige without dying or having their souls sucked out? Well, it all comes down to powerful "friends" and magic items.

Magic Items: Magical devices of all sorts come in many shapes and sizes, from enchanted daggers, potions and rings, to vast mechanisms and artifacts of terrible power. Smaller scale magic items should be hightly thematic, such as a ring or similar device that grants the wearer/user access to one or more spells. Such spells may drain Hit Points as per normal spellcasting, or perhaps the device has a "battery" that powers this effect (and that can be drained).

As a rule of thumb, I would recomment requiring that magic items be made from rare materials such as the body parts of weird creatures such as elementals, xenogen, elementals or other beings. Have the creature chosen make sense, such as using the hide of a creature that can become invisible to make a cloak of invisibility and the like. Be creative.

The most powerful forms of magic items are those that have permanent effects and always do what they are built to do. In Strange Eons such items take the form of weird machines from mans prehistory, repaired or rebuilt by enterprizing wizards, Xenogen or awakened machines.

Some examples of some magic items and wonderous machines are found below:

Mirror of Thought
A minor magical device made from the scales of a Star Worm (xenogen Vimanas). By concentrating on it, the owner can form an image of his thoughts in the glass.

Poisontree Staff
Made from the branches of the Death Tree of Tethys, these black staffs are much sought after by Mages. Any successful strike with the staff deals normal damage and poisons the creature hit. The poison deals 1d10 additional points of damage immediately (Strength negates DC 14) and another 1d10 points of damage 1 minute later (Strength negates DC 14).

Riding Golems (Mecha)
These can be anything from enormous clay or stone golems, giant animated skeletons of enormous demons and powered by undead or horrid things resembling straight out of the adolescent wet dreams of H.R. Giger.. All of these devices are big, powerful and built to bring fearsome war on the enemy. Players who cannot be creative should NEVER be allowed to create or run War Golems.

Xenogen rarely use War Golems, preferring to use enormous monsters or engaging in battle themselves. Some monsters of the xenogen are just as large and fearsome as any war golem and often are accompanied by smaller xenogen or undead who can dwell within the creatures like parasites, waiting to be "deployed".

Vimanas (Spaceships)
"O King, this beautifully decorated airplane had been manufactured by the demon Maya and was equipped with weapons for all types of combat. It was inconceivable and indescribable. Indeed, it was sometimes visible and sometimes not. Seated in this airplane under a beautiful protective umbrella and being fanned by the best of camaras, Maharaja Bai, surrounded by his captains and commanders, appeared just like the moon rising in the evening, illuminating all directions."
- Swami Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta, Srimad Bhagavatam
Vimanas are machines originally created by ancient magics to fly through the sky and between the worlds using the mysterious force of "Gravitas" for propulsion. These vessels are all wonders of engineering.

Regardless of their original design, vimanas are almost always refitted and redesigned to reflect the taste of the new engineer. And so these vessels tend to look more like flying fortresses, strange beasts or sailing vessels.

Powerful Friends
Another avenue to power for spellcasters is to seek alliance with non-humanoid intelligences, which in this case will mean the Xenogen. These alien entities posses a potency in the use of magical energy that astounds human mages. However rather than taking levels in Mage, Cleric or other spellcasting class, the xenogen have an ability to create magic items without the need for spellcasting ability, ignoring any spellcasting requirements.

Natural magical powers are also common (even hum-drum) to xenogen. Differing types and classes of xenogen can survive in environments nigh impossible for humans (without magical aid that is), such as the depths of space, crushing gravity or hostile atmospheres. Because of these resistances, and the ability to fly, pass through walls or other powers make the use of these creatures quite appealing to power hungry spellcasters.

When a xenogen makes common cause with a mortal, it will often be a mixed blessing. These things are WEIRD and will not really understand the needs and wants of its mortal "friend" (or perhaps it simply wont care). The more powerful the xenogen, the more extreme things will be asked for its favor. Human sacrifice or other depravities are common prices in these deals, but might also be a desire for rare materials or other things.

XENOGEN FAMILIAR
Hit Dice: 1d8 (4 hp), AC: 16 (+2 size, +4 Dex), Attacks: Bite -2 melee (1d3-3)
Str 4, Dex 18, Mind 18.
Communication +10, Subterfuge +10, Knowledge +13, Physical -2.

A familiar is a alien creature summoned from a distant star by a wizard to act as a companion and adviser. No two familiars are like, but the form of one of these creatures is usually reminiscent of some being that brings fear or revulsion to humans; a familiar could resemble a diminutive human, rat, a cat-sized spider or toad, a maggot or slug the length of a human arm, or any other repulsive creature. Familiars are actually formless spirits, only assuming a physical shape that its master can comprehend. Regardless of form, familiars are oozing, bloated things. They are capable of speech in a gurgling voice.

Half-Xenogen

"They may have been ugly. they may have been evil. But when it came to poetry in motion, the Things had all the grace and coordination of a deck-chair."

-- Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites (on the creatures of the Dungeon Dimensions)

On rare occasion, the xenogen take human lovers, creating vile and corrupt offspring. Such people are generally twisted in body, often qith mismatched appendages and possible suckers or small tentacles in odd places. Others are distressingly human in appearance, and keep their mutation under their skin so-to speak.
Half-Fiend +3MIND, -1STR or -1DEX

Marcus Rolands Forgotten Futures

Forgotten Futures is a "rules light" role playing game system and setting. The system itself is a simple dice pool system that is easily adapted to individual tastes. Though it is the way in which Mr Roland has used this system that really makes this game stand out.

Forgotten Futures focuses its game world(s) around the "Science Romance" stories of the late 1800's and early 1900's, what we now would refer to as "Science Fiction" or "Fantasy". These stories and settings are the source of all sorts of plot devices and character standards that have been aped by later writers and moviemakers ever since.

Many of these wonderful stories may be found in HTML format of the Forgotten Futures website along with its associated setting. Check them out for a delightful read.

Roleplaying in the speculative worlds of H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edith Nesbit is no small task. All of these worlds not only demand that the gamemaster and players maintain a character whose outlook, mannerisms and sense of right and wrong are very VERY different from modern characters, but that he do it with style.

But Mr. Rowland does it right. His presented game worlds are presented with a true dedication and obvious love of the genre. He works very hard at maintaining the feel of the time and settings while making his simple (but not too simple) system reflect this. Pure genius in game creation.

For thosewho love folklore and fairy-tale games, I GREATLY recomment the Forgotten Futures VIII: Fables and Frolics. The system for magic is brilliant! All player characters have a MAGIC score that goes down in potency based upon the characters age (though older characters spend their age as character build points), making magic more "natural" for children. Offsetting this requires that an ageing character learn the Wizardry skill, though such people will be very odd by other adults.

Neat stuff!

Strange Eons: Life on Tethys

Civilization on Tethys is one that is never far from the fiercer side of life. The great heat of the long day and the aggressive quality of its life-forms make life furtive and often quite brutal. Still, there is still great beauty here, with the long steamy day, food is plentiful and there are a great many wondrous plants and animals.

As Tethys is a world full of great passions, so too are its people. The people are a fatalistic but yet energetic people, seeing life as a short chance at adventure, and pursuing action and drama at almost every opportunity.

Storytellers and theater are both well developed on Tethys, with many stories told and re-told of tragic adventurers and unwise love. Daring sword fights, wrestling and acrobatic displays are common at theater events, which can be very dangerous. Boasting is expected by hunters, with the overly modest being seen as unmanly (or unwomanly).

Music is mostly drums, singing and the playing of bone flutes. These are all quite developed and beautiful.

Many seemingly suicidal contests of bravery exist amongst hunting cultures. Many of these involve the stalking and slaying of predators single handedly, but also include the cunning theft of dinosaur eggs (either to eat or raise the young as a mount), daredevil swimming competitions or climbing games and the like.

Still, all is not fun and games on Tethys, far from it. Life is hard here in that there are a great many predatory beasts and plants, not to mention hostile neighbors. Hunting is extremely dangerous, both from accident and the beasts themselves, and the many competing predators such as carnosaurs and insects. A few generalized beasts can be found below:

Grendel (Grinning Devil)
HD: 8d8+43 (79 hp), AC 16, Talons +9 (2d8+5) or bite (2d6+2).
The Grendel is a vicious predator and scavenger that can sometimes be found traveling in packs of 3-5 members. These monsters stand 9-10 feet at the shoulder, but are roughly 20-25 feet in length.
Bachelor males often travel alone, and exist mostly as scavengers, in which role they are a particular nuisance to man. Few human hunting parties have the offensive power to drive off a Grendel when it is stealing their kills. Some wizards and druids have been known to use such Grendel's as guardians and for war.

Thunderbeast
HD 16d8+124 (196hp), AC 18, Gore +20 (2d8+15).
House-sized herd beasts that can be found wandering the Plains of Thunder in central Aphrodite. Their horned and sheilded heads are potent weapons indeed. Still, these creatures are not always overtly dangerous to man unless made to feel threatened. Some brave folk have been known to captuse young thunderbeasts to act as war beasts.

Ridged Dragon
HD 6d10+5 (63hp), AC 15, Tail Slap +9 (5d4+7).
The ridged dragon large, well defended, utterly stupid herbivore. Standing about 8 feet tall at the middle of its back, the humped spine of the ridged dragon is covered in a double row of leaf-shaped plates. Its tail also has four or more boney spikes of up to 3 feet in length on it.

Sky Dragon
HD 7d10+21 (59hp), AC 17, Bite +11 (2d6+2).
Hollow-boned flying saurians, sky dragons typically live off of marine wildlife they can swoop in and capture. Sky Dragons are mostly all wing with small, boney arms attached to each. Their mouth is long and filled with sharp teeth that they use to snap at prey from the air

Technology
As tethys is such a wild place, and its weather hostile to ferrous metals, the forging of steel is a rare skill. Bronze-age style metalwork is widespread as are a great many uses of local plants and animals as building materials.
Wood craft is very well developed, with massive fortresses of wooden palisades being a necessity to keep out predators. The cultivation of the many exotic plants and plant-based materials is taken to a high art of workmanship on tethys.
Hidden (or hoarded) caches of relic weapons do exist, as do relic machines such as robots and vehicles. These are mostly held by guardian constructs or wizards.

Flying Machines
The many ferocious life forms found on the land of Tethys has created the incentive of travelling by air. For most of the people of Tethys, this is impossible, as few have the know-how or the means to make flying machines. Most who travel by air must make do with riding the dangerous sky dragons, a prospect unavailable to most.
The mad wizard Oegegr, has been working for ages on creating a wide range of flying machines. His craft use enormous "bags" made from giant spider silk and filled with a strange mixture of gasses. The resulting device can carry as much as a medium-sized watercraft throught the skies, with the only real dangers being weather and flying predators such as pterasaurs or enormous insects.

Armor and Temperatures
Due to the great heat and humidity, wearing armor can be extremely hazardous to an adventurers health. During the long day of Tethys, armor other than sheilds adds a cululative difficulty to the characters save vs extreme heat depending upon the material it is made from. All leather armor adds a +2 to the Phy+STR save, while Metal armor adds a +4 to the DC.

More to come...

Strange Eons: Mutant Strangeness

Whew! This has been a busy month. And though going to get far busier, I will endeavor to continue the Strange Eons setting.

In the near future, I plan on further detailing the world of Tethys, focusing on specific regions, peoples and adventures. Tethys is a big place, full of mystery. And I look forward to exploring it.

Mutant Weirdness in Strange Eons
As the setting of Strange Eons is awash with strange energies, magic, breeding programs and alien interference in the ecology. I have decided to allow mutants. The actual appearance of the mutant is up to the player.

Mutants are almost always despised by most people, being seen as living symbols of mans degeneration into something less than human. Mutants should expect to be blamed for every plague and crop blight, as well as the birth of more mutants.

Many are exposed in the wilderness by their parents where they are often picked up by other mutants.

The "Many Race" Question
As an alternative to the listed races, allowing Humans, Human Mutants and Animal Mutants can give the game more than enough "races".

Hyper-Cephalics can easily be a Human Mutant with the Dual Brain mutation, and Beastfolk can just be Anthropomorphic Amimals (see below). I leave this decision to the Game Master.

Mutation Character Creation
Create a character from any race, applying the mutation rules found here. Of all the races, only the Beastfolk embrace mutants, as they themselves are highly mutable in appearance.

Please note that though Androids are a created race, they are derived from organic material, and thus can mutate. Such mutations are seen as an error in their manufacture, and are almost always terminated. Some Android mutants are considered "specialists" despite their inherant drawbacks.

Anthropomorphic Animals
Anthropomorphic animals are animals who have been mutated, whether by accident or on purpose into human-like form. Such creatures can be made with the rules found here.