The 13th Warrior meets The Land of the Giants.

You are the progeny of heroes. Your ancestors fought so that you would not have to – or so they thought. They raised havens and settled green oasis's for the civilised folk to shelter within and exiled vile cannibal clans, lawless barbarians and depraved beast cultists. They stormed the fastnesses of the Beast Lords and strode through ice storms that could freeze the blood in your veins and sandstorms that could strip the skin from your bones. They forged weapons of honour, infused Runestones with the faltering power of the old ones and raised mighty stone circles. They resisted the skeins of the Otherkin's plans and laughed into the jaws of beasts that could swallow a longhouse or yurt whole. They left their social inferiors humiliated in the dust and tamed behemoths. These mighty heroes did all this and more, so that you wouldn't have to – so that civilisation could tame these wild lands.

They failed.

Now it's your turn.


So my musings about a 'points of light' setting for d&d 4e have turned into yet another game system. My plans are that this will not compete with SH for my time - although i am finding it easier to write this, than SH.

This system is a 3d6 roll over system (although the number of dice you roll increases with experience) that encompasses play from novice levels to legendary levels.

An intermediate character and a sorcerer spell are found below.

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Binding the Gallows Tree
Learn: (Mystic skill pursuit) TN 32 - Mythic
Area attack
Maintain: (Mystic skill pursuit) TN 32 - Mythic

Effect: The sky darkens, the undergrowth rustles as ropy tendrils wriggle forth, and animals quiet. The gallows tree bursts from the earth in the social phase of the round following the casting of this spell. This blackened and diseased arboreal giant scatters loam about the forest floor. Cracks in its bark ooze black liquid and clutching vines snake down from its spotted canopy. The canopy of the gallows tree covers an area of 20 yards square. Everyone in this area, bar the sorcerer, is subject to a (5d) +8 melee attack from the vines of the tree in the combat phase of each round that the gallows tree is bound. The vines inflict +2 damage on each successful hit. Once a victim's Physical Vitality has been reduced to zero, the poor unfortunate is dragged into the air and strangled to death. There are no known means to harm the gallows tree, but its vines can be severed if they are dealt more than 8 points of damage in a single blow (Defence TN 23). Death comes to a hanging victim, 2 rounds after he is pulled aloft. The gallows tree disappears after 5 rounds, although the sorcerer can prolong the stay by making a maintain skill test in each subsequent round.

After casting this spell for the first time, the gallows tree makes a habit of sprouting up, on occasion, near the demesne of the sorcerer. Unless he offers up a sacrifice of 3 sentient beings to the tree within a week of its arrival, the next time that it makes an unbidden appearance, the only victim will be the careless sorcerer. Some tomes point out this drawback - some do not.

Round Order

Rounds are split into 4 phases. They are, in order, Social, Skill, Combat and Spell. Social attacks are handled first, and then skill attempts, combat attacks, and finally spell attacks. You can only attempt 1 of these actions in each round. Manoeuvres are attached to the action being undertaken and so can fall anywhere in the round. Social speed is equal to your Interaction score, skill speed is equal to the statistic modifying the attempt, your armour and weapons determine your combat speed, and your Mysticism score determines spell speed. Your passive defences are activated in response to an attack (of any kind) and therefore fall in the same phase of the round as you suffered the attack. Passive defences do not use up your action for the round.

You make Renown attacks during the Social Phase. You choose from the three Instigating Renown attacks – Fear, Command & Persuade and Vilify. Your opponent might chose to counter your attack with an Opposing Renown attack of their own, either Charm, Respect, or Humiliate respectively. You must reduce your opponent's Social Vitality score to zero to have the desired effect upon him, whether you are making an Instigating or Opposing attack. See Renown attacks.

Skill attempts are made next. Depending on whether you attempt a manoeuvre, they may have an affect on another type of attack. See Skill pursuits.

Combat attacks come third and are either melee or ranged attacks. If you reduce your opponent's Physical Vitality score to zero, you can chose which condition you want to inflict him with. For melee attacks, the choices are: Flight, Neutralise, Slay, Maim, and Humiliate. For ranged attacks, the choices are: Flight, Slay, and Maim. See combat attacks.

Last, come spell attacks. There are four different types of spell attack; Targeted, Area, Passive, and Passive Area. For targeted spells, you must reduce your opponent's Mental Vitality score to zero before the spell takes effect. Area spells normally require your opponents to make some kind of defensive test and do not need to overcome Mental Vitality. Passive and Passive area spells just need to be cast. If you want to maintain a spell, the attempt comes in the Skill Phase of the round. See spell attacks.

fwiw i think Dire Lands was a much cooler name.

Quote from: Aosfwiw i think Dire Lands was a much cooler name.

Yeah, i hear you. I also thought about calling it Hagen, as i thought that was Danish for haven, but sources vary and it could mean 'strong defender' or port, depending on the language. Also, that name turns up in Siegfried and is a teutonic word...The name might still change.

I wish I had your brain...

for dinner...

Quote from: James J SkachI wish I had your brain...

for dinner...

Whereas, i wish i had your dinner...for my brain...

Here's Bjorn Fellsted's completed character sheet.

Character classes are all done now except for a few class specific rules like Runestone creation for Runemakers, arms & armour creation for Warforgers and Supplications for Beast Cultist Supplicants. Then it's some stuff for Position, environmental & terrain rules, companions. After that it's monsters & society and it's done!

Looks easy on the computer screen anyhow!

Edit: Scratch Runestone creation & arms & armour creation. They are sorted. Terrain obstacle ranks next!

Environmental conditions have been done. Ooh, the weather is nasty in Beast  Lands. Better name?

Terrain tomorrow while i'm whittling away at SH.

I don't want some wierd IP issue with the name Dire, as a good part of the setting is dire animals (ahem - Behemoths).

Dire is a perfectly good English word meaning desperate, Dan. No-one can copyright it. OTOH, call the big animals Behemoths. Dire=BIG is a WotC thang.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmicedesperate, Dan.
-clash

Oh you!

A little taster of the ferocity of the elements.

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Wild Storms

All types of wild storm are either Mythic – TN 32 or Legendary – TN 39 in severity and require that an Outdoor skill pursuit test against either one of those difficulties be made per round that it persists. A normal severe weather condition can suddenly turn at a moments notice into a wild storm. All types of wild storm last for 3d6 rounds only, before returning to the last prevailing weather condition. Mythic wild storms double all penalties to pursuit totals for its duration and cause double the amount of Vitality damage that you take. This damage is taken for each round that the storm persists. Legendary wild storms treble all penalties and Vitality damage.  

Rainstorms: In the turn of a heartbeat, the torrential rain afflicting you becomes a physical force hammering at you. You are battered and bruised by the force and liquid seeps into your lungs. If your Social Vitality total is reduced to zero you suffer from the Crazed condition. This causes you to run about shrieking and tearing at your hair as the drumming in your skull threatens to split it. You suffer a permanent penalty of –1 to your Interaction statistic, should you survive. Rainstorms inflict 4 points of Physical Vitality damage on a failed Outdoor pursuit test. If your Physical Vitality total is reduced to zero, you are Drowning. You have a number of rounds equal to your Durability score before you die (minimum 1 round). See Medical Skills for details on how to help someone who is drowning.

There are 3 kinds of 'hit points' in Beast Lands. They are represented by Vitality. Physical Vitality is the amount of physical punishment you can take, Mental Vitality is the amount of physchological punishment you can take and Social Vitality is the amount of societal punishment you can take.

All 3 are dealt with by seperate attack types. Melee and ranged attacks for Physical Vitality, Spell attacks for Mental Vitality and Renown attacks for Social Vitality. Once one of these totals is reduced to zero, you are afflicted by a condition determined by the attacker or attack.

Here are the conditions you can inflict via a normal melee attack:

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Melee

For melee attacks, add your melee attack pursuit total to the number rolled on your dice (3, 4 or 5d6) and match it against your opponent's Melee and Ranged Defence TN. Every point above his Defence TN results in 1 point of Physical Vitality damage. Add any bonuses to damage for weapon or circumstance and subtract your opponents Physical Soak score. This is how much damage you inflict. Once your opponent's Physical Vitality has been reduced to zero, you can choose how your superior skill has affected your opponent.

Each beast and opponent entry lists the most likely condition that it inflicts on you if you come out on the losing side, as well as detailing some conditions not available to characters.  

Flight

Your opponent drops anything held in his hands and flees at top speed away from you in the next skill phase - his morale, health and confidence in tatters. His current Mental Vitality total is halved.

Neutralise

Neutralising your opponent can mean divesting him of his weapons and knocking him prone and defenceless, rendering him unconscious, or stunning him so that he doesn't know which way is up and which is down. Neutralised opponents instantly have their current Social Vitality total towards you halved. This tends to be the accepted limit of behaviour in civilised lands unless deadlier force is justified. It shows some respect towards your opponent.

Slay

You kill your opponent. If you kill a person in civilised lands, this is likely to have dire ramifications, unless justified. You suffer a penalty of 2 points to your Renown attack pursuit total when making an opposing Renown Humiliate attack to an instigated Renown Vilify attack made against you, unless the deed was justified (although, out of sight, is out of mind, of course!).

Maim

You maim your opponent as a present to remember you by. Maimed opponents suffer the same consequences as the Neutralised condition. The opponent also permanently lowers one statistic chosen by you, by 1 point. Maiming a person in civilised lands might be more socially acceptable than slaying him, but it is still likely to have ramifications unless justified. You suffer a penalty of 1 point to your Renown value when making an opposing Renown Humiliate attack to an instigated Renown Vilify attack made against you, unless the deed was justified (although, out of sight, is out of mind, of course!). Needless to say, your victim will probably hate you forever.

Humiliate

You rub your opponent's face in the dirt, kick him when he's down, spit on him, divest him of clothes and equipment, or otherwise humiliate him. His current Social Vitality total regarding all parties is halved. This is the most acceptable form of victory in civilised lands, when justification for more deadly force is not present, but your opponent is counted among your enemies. This shows no respect for your opponent.

Just to let any interested parties know - this project is dead.

As i have been asked to make some pitches for 4e products, this is going to form the basis for one of them. Which was pretty much how it started out in my head anyhow!