[HEADING=1]A Wanderer's Romance[/HEADING]
Our ancestors.
The Origins that did not take physical form paid a great cost. They were left unable to affect their world directly, relying upon influencing men with words and knowledge. Their teachings led to our understanding of elemental balance, the formation of the Legendary Styles and the universal Code of Combat that define our world today.
However, since the Creation, humanity has grown and prospered. Kings and lord rule over hundreds of islands at a time, waging wars both in the shadows and in the light. War-bands cross back and forth over the endless cerulean ocean, while pirates prey on the precious trade that sustains many islands. All of this combat carried out according to the ancient Code of Combat. Or, at least, most of it. This is your world: brutal and beautiful, full of blood and art- often the art of spilling blood.
Recently, kingdoms have been falling apart, their Kings challenged and slain, after their elite guards were challenged and slain as well. However, this challenger is not taking the Kings' places: he's simply killing and moving on. This is what worries most people. Whoever it is seems to be seeding anarchy just for anarchy's sake.
King Sityr of Bastion Island has called for mercenaries to get to the bottom of what's going on. That would be where you come in. Bastion Island lies near the last Kingdom to be hit, and Sityr, despite his Kingdom's small size, fears that he is next.
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Welcome to A Wanderer's Romance, a game of swordplay, dueling, and magic. I'm your GM, SamtheDeathclaw, whom some of you may know. This game is based on a Creative Commons system produced by Christopher McDowall. While I would normally link you to the game itself, it is irrelevant to this game: I have removed and edited content to make it work as a play-by-post game, enough so that the original game would likely only serve to confuse a player.
In the days of yore, the Origins handed down to humans a system of understanding the nature of all living things. All living beings' spirits express themselves in four categories, with which you may be familiar: Air, Earth, Fire, Water.
These make up every individual's stats, as it were.
Air is the element of introspection, inwards, to the Mind and the Self. It is expressed in wit, willpower, courage, and communication. It governs communication and interaction, as well as self-control.
Earth is the element of looking outwards, towards the Body and the World. It is expressed in resilience, practicality, sensation, and physicality. It governs strength and endurance.
Fire is the element of emotion and hot blood. It is expressed in passion, creativity, leadership, and drive. It governs the emotions and charisma.
Water is the element of calmness and cool logic. It is expressed in control, grace, intuition, and instinct. It governs the senses and critical thinking ability.
There is, however, unknown to many, a fifth element, the meta-element: Balance, which is an individual's ability to demonstrate these elements in tandem, rather than in opposition. Balance is equal to the number of matching elements in an individual's elements, and tends to not be expressed except in extraordinary circumstances.
These make up every individual's stats, as it were.
Air is the element of introspection, inwards, to the Mind and the Self. It is expressed in wit, willpower, courage, and communication. It governs communication and interaction, as well as self-control.
Earth is the element of looking outwards, towards the Body and the World. It is expressed in resilience, practicality, sensation, and physicality. It governs strength and endurance.
Fire is the element of emotion and hot blood. It is expressed in passion, creativity, leadership, and drive. It governs the emotions and charisma.
Water is the element of calmness and cool logic. It is expressed in control, grace, intuition, and instinct. It governs the senses and critical thinking ability.
There is, however, unknown to many, a fifth element, the meta-element: Balance, which is an individual's ability to demonstrate these elements in tandem, rather than in opposition. Balance is equal to the number of matching elements in an individual's elements, and tends to not be expressed except in extraordinary circumstances.
Tests: Most actions in A Wanderer's Romance will be resolved through Tests. A Test is simple: you roll, through the Escapist's chatroom dice-rollers, two six-sided dice (2d6, in RPG terms) and add two elements to the result, depending on what task you are attempting. For example, to fire an arrow is a Test of Earth and Water, as it is a test of the character's physical abilities, drawing the bow, and their senses, aiming the bow. So one would roll 2d6, and add the character's Earth and Water's score, and compare that total to a Target Number (TN) set by the GM.
Let's take, as an example, a character with 2 Earth and 1 Water, who wishes to fire an arrow at a target 50 yards away. Not an especially difficult task, so the GM sets the TN at 10- easily doable, the player only needs to roll 7 or better. The player rolls, and gets a 3 and a 4. Seven exactly! The player succeeds, and the arrow flies true.
Matching: There is one not-as-simple thing to keep in mind with Tests. Let's say, for example, that the player from before instead rolled 3 and 3, for a total of 9. As this is less than 10, the arrow would miss. However, those dice are Matching- the player rolled a 3 on both dice. This occurrence is special in the rules. When the dice Match on any given roll, the character adds their Balance to the total, as a certain twist of fate or simple good showing on the character's part make that particular roll that much better.
Let's take, as an example, a character with 2 Earth and 1 Water, who wishes to fire an arrow at a target 50 yards away. Not an especially difficult task, so the GM sets the TN at 10- easily doable, the player only needs to roll 7 or better. The player rolls, and gets a 3 and a 4. Seven exactly! The player succeeds, and the arrow flies true.
Matching: There is one not-as-simple thing to keep in mind with Tests. Let's say, for example, that the player from before instead rolled 3 and 3, for a total of 9. As this is less than 10, the arrow would miss. However, those dice are Matching- the player rolled a 3 on both dice. This occurrence is special in the rules. When the dice Match on any given roll, the character adds their Balance to the total, as a certain twist of fate or simple good showing on the character's part make that particular roll that much better.
Combat is more or less handled the same as Tests. Whichever combatant has the highest Balance score reacts the most quickly, striking first. He then declares what Style he is using to attack (more on that later,) and the defender must declare what Style he is using to defend himself. These Styles determine which elements are added to the rolls, but beyond that, nothing is changed from Tests, including the special rules for Matching. After the dice are rolled, the attacker's Attack and the defender's Defense rolls are compared. If the Defense is higher than the Attack, nothing happens- the attack is deflected harmlessly. If the Attack is higher than the Defense, the defender takes damage.
Damage is a single six-sided die, with no elements added to it to begin with. This roll is subtracted from the defender's armor value, then applied to the character.
1-: A Damage result of 1 or less is a glancing blow. It stings, but little damage is done. The defender takes -1 on further defense rolls, as the attacker is inside of his defenses already.
2-3: A Damage result of 2 or 3 Staggers the defender. It hurts a lot, but ultimately the damage is minimal. However, the defender is put off-balance by the attack, allowing the attacker to immediately make a follow-up strike before the defender gets a chance to counterattack.
4: A result of 4 Weakens the defender. Blood sprays and limbs sag, but the defender is not out of the fight yet. A defender reduces all of their elements and their armor value by 1 (to a minimum of 0) for the rest of the combat.
5: A result of 5 defeats the defender outright. They may pass out from blood loss, or be otherwise at the mercy of their opponent. If the victor wishes, they may then kill the loser, but the winning strike is not the deathblow.
6: A result of 6 outright kills the defender. If the attacker chooses, they may downgrade this result to merely Defeated.
Armor, as previously mentioned, subtracts from damage the wearer would take. This makes it very powerful. However, it also restricts the wearer a great deal: the wearer subtracts his armor value from his Balance score.
An armor value of 0 represents no proper protection- nudity or average clothing fall into this category.
An armor value of 1 might represent basic padded cloth or leather armor, a buckler or small shield, or simple innate toughness.
An armor value of 2 represents chain mail, reinforced leather, some other mid-tier armor, a relatively heavy shield, or, again, nearly supernatural toughness.
An armor value of 3 represents plate mail, ceremonial armor, other heavy armors, a tower shield, or outright supernatural toughness.
An armor value of 4 is almost impossible for humans to attain without the use of Legendary Styles or Legendary Armor.
Damage is a single six-sided die, with no elements added to it to begin with. This roll is subtracted from the defender's armor value, then applied to the character.
1-: A Damage result of 1 or less is a glancing blow. It stings, but little damage is done. The defender takes -1 on further defense rolls, as the attacker is inside of his defenses already.
2-3: A Damage result of 2 or 3 Staggers the defender. It hurts a lot, but ultimately the damage is minimal. However, the defender is put off-balance by the attack, allowing the attacker to immediately make a follow-up strike before the defender gets a chance to counterattack.
4: A result of 4 Weakens the defender. Blood sprays and limbs sag, but the defender is not out of the fight yet. A defender reduces all of their elements and their armor value by 1 (to a minimum of 0) for the rest of the combat.
5: A result of 5 defeats the defender outright. They may pass out from blood loss, or be otherwise at the mercy of their opponent. If the victor wishes, they may then kill the loser, but the winning strike is not the deathblow.
6: A result of 6 outright kills the defender. If the attacker chooses, they may downgrade this result to merely Defeated.
Armor, as previously mentioned, subtracts from damage the wearer would take. This makes it very powerful. However, it also restricts the wearer a great deal: the wearer subtracts his armor value from his Balance score.
An armor value of 0 represents no proper protection- nudity or average clothing fall into this category.
An armor value of 1 might represent basic padded cloth or leather armor, a buckler or small shield, or simple innate toughness.
An armor value of 2 represents chain mail, reinforced leather, some other mid-tier armor, a relatively heavy shield, or, again, nearly supernatural toughness.
An armor value of 3 represents plate mail, ceremonial armor, other heavy armors, a tower shield, or outright supernatural toughness.
An armor value of 4 is almost impossible for humans to attain without the use of Legendary Styles or Legendary Armor.
The combat rules are also used in quasi-battles, called Contests. These are non-violent contests of skill, such as horse racing, chess games, or tea ceremony. There, damage represents appropriate things instead: falling behind in a race, falling into a weak tactical position in chess, so on and so forth. The elements used in attacking and defending will be determined by the contest, and armor values- obviously- don't apply.
Instead of attacking, a combatant may choose instead to Focus. When Focused, a combatant may chose to release the Focus when attacking or defending, gaining a +1 to that roll, and a +1 to any damage rolls they cause. Once Focus is released, you are no longer focuses. Focus does not stack, and is automatically released after combat. If something would prevent you from Focusing, the action may not be taken at all.
Millenia ago, the Origins taught humanity the Legendary Styles. The resulting war decimated the islands. The Origins promptly came together to impose a Code of Combat on all those who would fight, supernaturally revoking those who break the Code's mastery of Legendary Styles.
The Code is actually fairly simple. It consists of three main points:
-Combat is between two equally-matched opponents and no others. The combatants should have ample time to appraise one another before the start of combat.
-The ideal resolution to combat is the surrender of the weaker combatant. Injury is regrettable but an accepted risk, as is death. Both are best avoided.
-With power, comes duty to protect oneself.
The following are violations of the Code, as examples:
-Attacking someone already engaged in combat.
-Attacking one or more opponents as part of a group, such as mass arrow fire.
-Killing an opponent who has openly surrendered.
-Continuing to fight after one has been beaten.
These violations invite reprisals from the Origins. Anyone who breaks the Code immediately has their Balance score reduced to 0, and regresses to Initiate in any Legendary Styles they knew.
The Code is actually fairly simple. It consists of three main points:
-Combat is between two equally-matched opponents and no others. The combatants should have ample time to appraise one another before the start of combat.
-The ideal resolution to combat is the surrender of the weaker combatant. Injury is regrettable but an accepted risk, as is death. Both are best avoided.
-With power, comes duty to protect oneself.
The following are violations of the Code, as examples:
-Attacking someone already engaged in combat.
-Attacking one or more opponents as part of a group, such as mass arrow fire.
-Killing an opponent who has openly surrendered.
-Continuing to fight after one has been beaten.
These violations invite reprisals from the Origins. Anyone who breaks the Code immediately has their Balance score reduced to 0, and regresses to Initiate in any Legendary Styles they knew.
Magic is a powerful force. No one is quite sure what it is. Many say it is the toolbox of creation, which the Origins left available to those who could harness it. The Origins universally refuse to answer where it comes from. Perhaps they don't know themselves.
At any rate, Magic is a force to be reckoned with. Not in the fireballs-and-horrible-death sense, but in the sense that a Fire Mage can bend minds with barely a word, and an Air Mage can communicate instantly over vast distances.
Magic is subtle, but powerful. A Water Mage doesn't have supernatural control over Water, but rather control over the aspects of Water: for example, Water's dominion over the senses allows a Water Mage to craft illusions, hiding things from the senses of others. A full description of these schools of magic can be found later on.
Air Magic uses the power of the mind and soul, drawing from inner power and channeling it outwards.
Earth Magic deals with the physical and draws upon the energies of the world.
Fire Magic draws upon the desires and emotions of the caster and those around him.
Water Magic is subtle in its ways, sensing and shifting things while being barely detectable, requiring complete
concentration to wield.
At any rate, Magic is a force to be reckoned with. Not in the fireballs-and-horrible-death sense, but in the sense that a Fire Mage can bend minds with barely a word, and an Air Mage can communicate instantly over vast distances.
Magic is subtle, but powerful. A Water Mage doesn't have supernatural control over Water, but rather control over the aspects of Water: for example, Water's dominion over the senses allows a Water Mage to craft illusions, hiding things from the senses of others. A full description of these schools of magic can be found later on.
Air Magic uses the power of the mind and soul, drawing from inner power and channeling it outwards.
Earth Magic deals with the physical and draws upon the energies of the world.
Fire Magic draws upon the desires and emotions of the caster and those around him.
Water Magic is subtle in its ways, sensing and shifting things while being barely detectable, requiring complete
concentration to wield.
Name: The cultures of the Islands are vast and varied. Any name you can imagine could likely come from one island or another.
Gender: As with most things, sexism varies greatly between islands and kingdoms. Some cultures will not let women do anything beyond raise children, others are matriarchal.
Age: Simple enough. For ease, the Islands use the same seasons and year system we use, though not all islands may experience all seasons.
Physical Description: How does your character look? Height? Weight? Eye color? Hair color? Interesting features? How do they move? How do they dress? So on an so forth.
Philosophy: Your character's take on the world, summed up in no more than two sentences. "The strong must protect the weak," "Freedom is for those who earn it," and "Knowledge leads to enlightenment," are all good examples.
Personality: Who is your character? What is their culture like? Do they break from this culture? How did they learn the above philosophy?
Elements: Personality and Elements are intrinsically linked. Your Elements define who you are, and vice versa. You have 6 points to spend, and all Elements start at 0.
Air:
Earth:
Fire:
Water:
Balance: Balance is equal to the number of Elements which are equal. For example, a character may have 4 Air, 2 Earth, 0 Fire, 0 Water. As both Fire and Water are 0, their Balance is 2.
Specialties: Every character begins play with two Specialties, which represent their out-of-combat abilities. Examples include Archery, Acrobatics, Cooking, Geography, Deception, Leadership, Horse Riding, Sailing, and so forth. Whenever you make a check involving your Specialty, you gain a +2 bonus on that check.
Armor: Choose a value between 0 and 3, and subtract it from your Balance score. This is your armor value. Your choice as to just what it represents.
Weapon: Each character begins play with one weapon and one sidearm. See below for a list of choices.
Styles: Each character begins play with two levels of ability. For example, one could be an Initiate of Fire Magic and an Initiate of General's Cry, or a Student in Fire Magic. See the next post for Styles and further description of Magic.
History: The tale of your character. Feel free to share backstory with your fellow players, or not. The Islands are vast and multitudinous, it is entirely possible for two people to live in one kingdom and never meet.
Gender: As with most things, sexism varies greatly between islands and kingdoms. Some cultures will not let women do anything beyond raise children, others are matriarchal.
Age: Simple enough. For ease, the Islands use the same seasons and year system we use, though not all islands may experience all seasons.
Physical Description: How does your character look? Height? Weight? Eye color? Hair color? Interesting features? How do they move? How do they dress? So on an so forth.
Philosophy: Your character's take on the world, summed up in no more than two sentences. "The strong must protect the weak," "Freedom is for those who earn it," and "Knowledge leads to enlightenment," are all good examples.
Personality: Who is your character? What is their culture like? Do they break from this culture? How did they learn the above philosophy?
Elements: Personality and Elements are intrinsically linked. Your Elements define who you are, and vice versa. You have 6 points to spend, and all Elements start at 0.
Air:
Earth:
Fire:
Water:
Balance: Balance is equal to the number of Elements which are equal. For example, a character may have 4 Air, 2 Earth, 0 Fire, 0 Water. As both Fire and Water are 0, their Balance is 2.
Specialties: Every character begins play with two Specialties, which represent their out-of-combat abilities. Examples include Archery, Acrobatics, Cooking, Geography, Deception, Leadership, Horse Riding, Sailing, and so forth. Whenever you make a check involving your Specialty, you gain a +2 bonus on that check.
Armor: Choose a value between 0 and 3, and subtract it from your Balance score. This is your armor value. Your choice as to just what it represents.
Weapon: Each character begins play with one weapon and one sidearm. See below for a list of choices.
Styles: Each character begins play with two levels of ability. For example, one could be an Initiate of Fire Magic and an Initiate of General's Cry, or a Student in Fire Magic. See the next post for Styles and further description of Magic.
History: The tale of your character. Feel free to share backstory with your fellow players, or not. The Islands are vast and multitudinous, it is entirely possible for two people to live in one kingdom and never meet.
Weapons are often prized possessions for warriors, as they can't exactly fight without them. (Usually.)
Weapons are those that are often used for combat. The categories used in various styles are: Straight Sword, Curved Sword, Axe, Spear, Glaive, Staff and Maul. These are obviously broad categories. A Curved Sword could be a cutlass or katana, a scimitar or saber.
Sidearms are typically carried in case of being disarmed or having ones weapon broken. Typical sidearms are daggers, darts, and bows. (Though the bow is usually forbidden in combat, except against other archers.)
Weapons are those that are often used for combat. The categories used in various styles are: Straight Sword, Curved Sword, Axe, Spear, Glaive, Staff and Maul. These are obviously broad categories. A Curved Sword could be a cutlass or katana, a scimitar or saber.
Sidearms are typically carried in case of being disarmed or having ones weapon broken. Typical sidearms are daggers, darts, and bows. (Though the bow is usually forbidden in combat, except against other archers.)
Here [http://i.imgur.com/rMvl7cl.png] is a chart of example tests, and their respective elements. It also serves as an example of what sort of choices for Expertise would be appropriate.
This system lacks a system of "levelling up," but the players are still expected to advance as time goes on. The only way to do so is to study under someone else. In order to become an Initiate in a style, you must spend an entire day studying under at least a Student of the style, then meet a TN10 task using the elements of the style. At that point, you gain the abilities of the Initiate of that Style.
To become a Student, you must study under a Master of the Style. The Master will inevitably set some seemingly unrelated tasks to teach the Initiate a lesson about the truth of the style, which usually involve learning a new Specialty. Then, once the Master has determined the Initiate is ready, they must attempt a TN12 task once per day, using the elements of the style. If the Initiate passes twice in any given three-day period, he becomes a Student of that style.
To become a Master, one must defeat a Master of that Style in a duel, though the rank is only granted if the Master deems the Student ready for the responsibility and power.
To learn a new Specialty is much simpler. One must simply study with someone who has that Specialty for a day, then pass a TN10 task for it.
Elements are rarely permanently increased. Upon ascension to Master rank, the new Master may choose to increase one of his style's associated elements by one.
To become a Student, you must study under a Master of the Style. The Master will inevitably set some seemingly unrelated tasks to teach the Initiate a lesson about the truth of the style, which usually involve learning a new Specialty. Then, once the Master has determined the Initiate is ready, they must attempt a TN12 task once per day, using the elements of the style. If the Initiate passes twice in any given three-day period, he becomes a Student of that style.
To become a Master, one must defeat a Master of that Style in a duel, though the rank is only granted if the Master deems the Student ready for the responsibility and power.
To learn a new Specialty is much simpler. One must simply study with someone who has that Specialty for a day, then pass a TN10 task for it.
Elements are rarely permanently increased. Upon ascension to Master rank, the new Master may choose to increase one of his style's associated elements by one.
The Last Ocean is what the Origins call this world. To most humans, it is simply Home, and the sea is simply the Sea. Or, if they're feeling fancy, the Cerulean Sea.
In the first days, the Origins came to this world, and found only water. From the water, they raised up land, though any attempts to make something larger than a few dozen miles across quickly sunk back under the waves. So they made thousands and thousands of islands, making each one unique and different from its neighbors. Just because one island is an eternally baking desert does not mean the island a few miles to the south is not a freezing evergreen forest.
As each island is so different in climate, the humans who eventually emerged (the stories say, from Origins who decided to become mortal) founded vastly different cultures on each. The Origins who remained each took up residence on an island apiece, and took to leading the humans. As the Origins can communicate instantly with one another, they kept warfare low and simple.
This changed when the first Legendary Style was taught by a rogue Origin. His style, Stinging Bee, began scouring the world, as no one else had anything to defend against its power.
Until the other Origins rallied, and taught the humans more styles to counter Stinging Bee. Sadly, this had the unintended consequence of only perpetuating the violence, even once practitioners of Stinging Bee were hunted to extinction.
And so the Code of Conduct for battle was drafted, and enforced through control over the Legendary Styles.
Now, open warfare is virtually unheard of. War-bands of no more than a dozen are the only military forces, but their clashes are spectacular and bloody. Through their deaths, a new paradigm has arisen: the Kings. They may style themselves different ways, but ultimately, they all control territory with an iron fist, for good or ill. Those who live outside the protections of these kingdoms often find themselves plagued by common pirate attacks- often too common to not be intentional.
And this is where the world is today. Save for the man roaming the land, cutting down Kings and their elite guards without effort, of course.
Island specifics are yours to decide. Only major guidelines are pre-industrial technology, and the existence of Origins. Though, even then, the Origins are not always worshiped as gods: many islands have a pantheon of gods they pray to, as well as an Origin who helps them.
In the first days, the Origins came to this world, and found only water. From the water, they raised up land, though any attempts to make something larger than a few dozen miles across quickly sunk back under the waves. So they made thousands and thousands of islands, making each one unique and different from its neighbors. Just because one island is an eternally baking desert does not mean the island a few miles to the south is not a freezing evergreen forest.
As each island is so different in climate, the humans who eventually emerged (the stories say, from Origins who decided to become mortal) founded vastly different cultures on each. The Origins who remained each took up residence on an island apiece, and took to leading the humans. As the Origins can communicate instantly with one another, they kept warfare low and simple.
This changed when the first Legendary Style was taught by a rogue Origin. His style, Stinging Bee, began scouring the world, as no one else had anything to defend against its power.
Until the other Origins rallied, and taught the humans more styles to counter Stinging Bee. Sadly, this had the unintended consequence of only perpetuating the violence, even once practitioners of Stinging Bee were hunted to extinction.
And so the Code of Conduct for battle was drafted, and enforced through control over the Legendary Styles.
Now, open warfare is virtually unheard of. War-bands of no more than a dozen are the only military forces, but their clashes are spectacular and bloody. Through their deaths, a new paradigm has arisen: the Kings. They may style themselves different ways, but ultimately, they all control territory with an iron fist, for good or ill. Those who live outside the protections of these kingdoms often find themselves plagued by common pirate attacks- often too common to not be intentional.
And this is where the world is today. Save for the man roaming the land, cutting down Kings and their elite guards without effort, of course.
Island specifics are yours to decide. Only major guidelines are pre-industrial technology, and the existence of Origins. Though, even then, the Origins are not always worshiped as gods: many islands have a pantheon of gods they pray to, as well as an Origin who helps them.
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let me know.