Ok over the quiet period FG have during winter I am planning on doing some work on the documentation, doing things like adding in the Psion rules that actually work and similar things.

So while I am at it, is there anything people would like to see in the overhaul?

Expanded skill lists for character types would be good, listing costs for some of the more usual choices.

Expanded costs for higher levels of graduated skills, such as weapon mastery, first aid etc.

Standardised rules for new PC races, ie Troll.

Magic works slightly differently than the rule book suggests. Lower end spells can be bought.

The light/dark soul specials affects....i.e. cure/cause paralysis + mend/break bones.

also a list of affects cause poison can do would be nice.

As an aside any chance of expanding the list of soul caster skills, grey casters can't get a secondary class so we do tend to have to specialise which I accept is a penalty but since the soul list is basically spell level, magic points and last/dark rites which grey casters cant get anyway it would be nice to have a few other skills to buy. (ambidex would be nice as grey casters are the only class not able to get it)

another idea which i though would be good is racial skills, which any member of a race can buy regardless of class's.

Hi

I know it may be a pain in the ass and maybe not always a good idea but a marketing system - cost of things even if it's general, drinks, food, provisions, sundry items, even go into armour and weapons, potions, scrolls maybe.

Mike

No need to buy potions off the market. Just come see your local potion manufacturer and check out his list of products. If i don't have it in stock today i may be able to do next day delivery depending on my access to local ingredients and stock on hand.

got any that dont strike someone dead instantly?

I resent the last remark, i produce no potions that will strike you dead instantly. I have a few that will make you sleep but these are purely for coating surgical instruments to anaesthatise patients.

Any other potions that do harm would obviously be illegal under the laws of the lands. Possession or production of poisons is punishable by a heafty fine and the use of them punishable by burning at the stake. Not that i have studied the laws on such things in particular depth for any reason other than a loyal citizens obligation to know these things.

As a potion maker i have of course looked into the effects of poisons on a victim so as to aid my ability to heal them. As yet i have not found an instant death potion i can use.. erm study!

one thing that poped to mind during the event was damage calls for spells...any chance of claifiying what is wanted for each spell effect....lexample the spell distruption weapon...i tend to vary between distruption triple, magic triple, light triple and enchanted triple as my call depending on my mood simply because it doesnt specify what the call is in the rules.

Good point I have been combining the disruption damage with the existing benefits.

I know we still got a couple of months or so till next event but i was wondering if we are likely to see the new rules up on the site prior to the event? would be nice to have a few weeks to familiarise ourselves with the changes prior to gaming,

I've seen too many events where rule changes happen at the event they are announced at and the confusion that such changes bring.

I quite agree with you Mark, what ill do is post any changes/additions to the rules here on the forums as soon as I make them as I should be overhauling the rulebook over the next week or two as long as work gives me a break. That way you get the time to review the changes before the event.

Ok here are some of the updates for the rulebook that I have completed so far.

I am still working on others and the other suggestions as made above.

Feedback and criticism welcome.



Poison Lore
Cost: 2
Allows a character to recognise poison if he sees it on a weapon or in a vial. He cannot tell the type of poison but through a close examination he can tell the poisons approximate level. This skills is also required if a character wants to use poisons without them accidentally effecting the character as he attempts to administer it.

(Yes i will refund people the 1 point difference if they already have the old skill)



Feral
Ferals are an odd race, they seem to be some sort of bizarre crossbreed between animals and elves. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes from the huge bear Ferals to the smaller rat Ferals and everything in between. Little is know of them except that generally they are a pretty nasty bunch. They started appearing on the borders of the protected zone in the last few months, coming from the undead lands. One thing is clear and that is they hate the undead at least as much as we do. Generally they hate outsiders as well and are openly hostile towards them, an outsider being anyone non-Feral and not of their particular tribe. Having said all this, the Ferals exiled from their tribes seem to have a more understanding view towards others and from them much as been learnt.
It seems that until recently the Ferals had an understanding with a being called the Great Protector. In return for them keeping all outsiders from their home and the surrounding lands he would keep them safe from the undead. Apparently both sides honoured the arrangement, until very recently when it is said that the Ferals not only allowed a group of thieves to break in to the old temple in the heart of their domain, but also allowed the interlopers to escape with the item the Great Protector had arranged for the Ferals to keep safe.
With the deal broken, undead poured in to the lands of the Ferals. In the confusion the leader of the Ferals was killed and the tribe scattered. Now smaller tribes roam the undead lands seeking either somewhere else to live or some way to win back the favour of their Great Protector.
Whether by chance or manipulation the Ferals have been turning up in the protected zone in ever increasing numbers and are proving to be a problem for the guard, as if they did not have enough on their plate as it was. Only in time will we begin to see the far-reaching consequences of the arrival of the Ferals in our part of the world.

Special Rules:
Animal Kin
All Ferals have the features of an animals or birds and they gain some of the abilities of that creature. For example a wolf feral may gain the ability to track by smell or sniff out hidden creatures, an eagle feral may have the ability to see tiny details. If you want to play a feral, decide on the animal type and the refs can tell you what abilities that type of feral has.

Racial Hatred
Player character Ferals will always be outcasts from Feral society, consequently they are hated by the more traditional Ferals who live by the old ways and are trying to redeem themselves in the eyes of their Great Protector. If a character encounters such Ferals they are likely to be attacked on sight because they are seen as traitors and the cause of the Ferals fall from grace.

Outlaw Race
Ferals are considered an outlaw race by the authorities in the protected zone.

Makeup:
You must make a reasonable attempt to look like the animal you choose your feral to be.

Psion
Psions are a recent occurrence in the world; the first Psions started appearing not long after the T’cra re-emerged in to the world, whether there is any connection to this event is unknown. Because the powers of a Psion are very new and almost nothing is understood about them, many Psions have been treated with fear and, sadly, outright hostility because anyone seen to be using inexplicable powers is subject to suspicion. This is because of the discovery of certain types of undead living amongst us seemingly unaffected by the power of the Life Stone.

Psion Class Restrictions
If you wish to be a True Psion then you must choose to be one at character creation, making Psion your primary class. If you start out as another character class you can never become a True Psion but you can buy psionic powers, making you a wild Psion.

True Psions can wear any armour although they may never wear any armour that covers the head.




Psion Skills

Power Points
Cost: 1
This ability grants the Psion 2 additional Power Point to power his abilities.


Psion Abilities
Cost: Varies
This allows the Psion to buy additional abilities. The cost is dependant on the level of the ability and how hard the Psion find it to learn the ability.
For Specialist School Powers: Cost = 1 point per ability level
For Normal School Powers: Cost = 2 points per ability level
For Opposing School Powers: Cost = 3 points per ability level

Rejuvenation
Cost: 4
Speeds up the basic recovery rate of Power Points to 2 points for every 10 minutes of non-strenuous activity.


Harness Subconscious
Cost: 4
If a Psion chooses he may spend a half an hour attuning his mind and his subconscious into one. He must be at full power points before trying this and if attacked or interrupted for any reason the Psion cannot try again until the next day. However if he succeeds then he doubles his Power Point total. The points last until used and anything over his normal maximum cannot be regained by any means. It should be noted that although the powers used by the Psion only use the normal number of Power Points, damage taken in melee deducts double the number of Power Points while this ability is in effect. This ability can only be used once per day.

Meditation
Cost: 4
With this skill a Psion is able to enter a trance where he concentrates utterly on regaining his power. It takes 20 minutes of careful meditation to enter this trance but once entered the Psion regains 1 Power Point for every minute that he remains in the trance. The Psion must remain undisturbed during this time and loud noises like combat or even people talking in a tavern would be sufficient to disturb him and prevent him from entering the trance. If disturbed he must begin the whole process again. If he is struck during the meditation he will take damage as normal but lose 3 Power Points per point of damage inflicted.


True Psion
Cost: 6
To become a True Psion you must purchase this skill as a starting point. Buying this skill gets you 3 x lst level Psionic abilities of your choice and 6 power points to start you off. If you buy this skill you can never learn mage or soul spells. When you buy this skill you must choose one specialist school and one opposing school. You get your specialist school free and your free Psionic abilities must be from this school.



Wild Psion
Cost: 4 per level of ability
Wild Psions are very different to True Psions. Any class can buy the Wild Psion Skill at the listed cost. This is NOT increased if Psion is not your primary class. The skill gets you the ability and the 3 Power points per level of ability. Wild Psions only gain back power points by a good nights sleep and as such once they have used their power points they cannot regain them until the following day. This ability can be bought multiple times.


Psionics
Where magic originated from the planes surrounding the universe, psionics is a power that comes from within the user. While this means a Psion is relying on no external help, it also means that it is very exhausting being a Psion. There are two sorts of Psion, firstly there is a True Psion, someone who was either born with the gift or learnt to use it or someone who has been taught how to hone the powers of their mind. Secondly there is the wild Psion, someone who has the talent for psionics but never learnt how to use it.

There are 5 schools of Psionic Abilties:
• General
Everyone may learn these powers. Cannot be a Specialist or Opposing School.
• Metabolic
This school focuses on the control the cells in the body.
• Mental
This school focuses on the mind
• Psychokinetic
This school focuses on movement.
• Energy
This school is focused on the control and manipulation of the energy.

Using Psionic Powers
Psionic powers are considered innate and cannot be interrupted if the caster is struck, however the caster does need to call some sort of verbal to let others know what is happening. The verbal needs to end “…psionic spellcasting Power name” Other than that the verbal is discretionary on the part of the user. Psionics may be resisted with spell resists as if they were spells.

The casting cost of Psionic abilties varies dependant on what school the Psion is casting from.

Specialist School Abilities Cost 1 Power Point per level of ability
Normal School Abilities Cost 2 Power Points per level of ability
Opposing School Abilities Cost 3 Power Points per level of ability

Wild Psions always use their abilities as if they are Specialist School abilities.

Regaining Power Points.
Power Points are regained through rest. Eight hours sleep will return all used Power Points to a Psion. Other than that they regain used points at the rate of 1 point every 10 minutes of non-strenuous activity. ANY strenuous activity in a 10 minute block means that no points are regained. .

Because being a Psion is physically draining, any disease or poison effects that the Psion suffers have additional effect. If a Psion has a poison or disease of any level they are unable to regain Power Points in any way until it’s cured as the body is doing all it can to fight off the disease or poison. A Psion with an untreated mortal wound or un-splinted crushed limb can also not regain Power points.

Wild Psions can only regain points by a good nights sleep.

Mental Overloads.
When a True Psion goes to negative on his Power Point totals through use of his powers he will undergo a massive mental overload. The overload weakens him mentally and physically, and is usually accompanied by some outward sign ranging from such as bleeding from the nose, eyes or ears for a minor overload to inadvertently summoning a creature from another plane for a more severe overload. If this were not enough, the Psion loses 1 loc. all over and half his Power Points until he gets 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Elemental Magic
Mages choose one of the four elements to be his school. These are Earth, Air, Fire and Water. He may only ever learn spells from that elemental school.

Unlike soul casters, mages are not given their spells for free when they advance their mental discipline level. Instead they must learn the spells from books or scrolls. The magic bound within such tomes is very volatile because it does not like being contained within them; it wishes to be free and in the world once again. In order to learn a spell a mage must battle with these energies and defeat them. In game terms, for a mage to learn a spell he must do battle with a physical representation of the spell. If the mage wins the battle he learns the spell. If he fails he risks death or at the very least serious physical or mental harm. Now you would think that this would make becoming a mage potentially perilous. For these reasons mages have developed mental discipline skills. If you have the mental discipline skill of equal level to the level of the spell you are trying to learn you can be harmed by the spell but you cannot be killed. In game terms, even if the mage loses to the elemental all wounds taken are halved IF he has a mental discipline of the same level as the spell. This means that a mage can attempt to learn any spell of any level as long as it is of his element but he takes a big risk by not having the required mental discipline level. Mages can also be granted spells by an elemental of their type; sometimes spells are given in payment for services rendered to the elementals.

It should be noted that thanks to the work done by the Order of Sortilege’s in advancing the causes of magic. Level 1 and 2 spells from all four spheres can now be bough and learned safely at the Order without needing to go through the often time consuming and frequently dangerous process described above.

With the coming of the darkness mages lost two very important sets of skills. Firstly they lost the ability to scribe spells. This meant that the spells that had been committed to paper prior to the arrival of the legions of darkness were the only spells available, if a mage failed to learn the spell and it escaped, that spell was gone. The other thing now lost to the mages is the ability to make magical items. Once the world had many but since they are very effective at killing the minions of the darkness they were targeted and destroyed soon after the darkness arrived. Recently, the elementals have formed new deals with mages and they are now able to create magical scrolls again. Also elemental magical items have also been seen in the hands of brave heroes and mages fighting the undead so it looks like there is some truth to the rumour that there is indeed a new way of creating magical items.

Monster Credits.
Anyone who monsters events earns monster credits as our way of saying thanks. Monstering one event will earn one monster credit. You can also earn monster credits by writing plot for the players. Anyone who wishes to write some plot should submit it to us with the reasons why they wish to run the plot and what they hope to achieve. If we approve the plot and use it you will get a monster credit. Monster credits can be used in two ways, firstly you can use a credit to get yourself a £10 discount off an event price. We can only allow a certain number of credits to be used this way per event but if you have enough you can play use them to play for free. Alternativly, monster credits can be used to gain SP’s for characters. One monster credit will get a character one additional SP to spend on your character.