Development Update, 12/10/13

I have finished designing and writing and am proceeding into layout. I am about 40 pages in and I am about 25% done. The process of layout will reveal odd paginations and spacing issues that will neccesitate new illustrations and new text requirements to insure a good look and feel as well as maintain consistency.

The biggest challenge, however, is applying the styles to all the bloody tables! So many tables!

I have already begun the first stages of writing the Sorcery of Cydoria sourcebook. I've got some powers defined for the Guardians of Adhara as well as a few powers for the Saahir (Sorcerers).

This animated music video is pretty much what I'm trying to capture in Swords of Cydoria

C2C - Delta from CRCR on Vimeo.

Development Update 10/1/13

I just wanted to give an update on what I've been working on since the play-test ended.

I've been statting up opponents!

Here's what I have written up so far.

Creatures

• Anator
• Bula-Kaa
• Cobalt Catamount
• Dankana
• Darth-Thorn Bush
• Devil-Wolf
• Vorm of Flame
• Flesh-Worm Swarm
• Girah
• Go-Atan
• Ko-Lop
• Ku-Bawa-Mavu
• Larvae
• Mutoran Serpent
• Oso
• Sand Squid
• Spiny Spider
• Strangle Vine
• Swamp-Worm
• Terax
• Tonbo
• Toxic Ant Warriors
• Trapactus
• Tyrant
• Viper, Giant
• Warhawk
• Wolf Locusts
• Wooly Munglor

Aya

• Ith
• Aya Zombie
• Cin
• Sikinti
• Shabeeha
• Jann
• Gravel Ghost
• Marid
• Blade Guardian
• Celestials
• Primordials

Intelligent Humanoids

• Bakari Traveler
• Nilian Deathstalker
• Dakazi Outcast
• Deru Scout
• Guzi Warrior
• Knorr Hunters
• Loracz
• Malusian Overlord
• Malusian Soldier/Guard

Here's what I still have to finish.

• Naxarian Brood Mother
• Brux Laborer
• Feral Brux Smasher
• Jinx Pickpocket
• Feral Jinx Bandit
• Slimeskipper Warrior
• Orix Warrior
• Feral Orix Raider
• Kronk Hunter
• Targ Savage
• Trox Rampager
• Phanosian Agent
• Quorian Diplomat
• Roshu Scavenger
• Tintazi Scout
• Tintazi Warrior
• Ts'emekwes Savage
• Vark Slaver

All the Human NPCs

• Aero-Pirate Captain
• Aero-Pirate Crewman
• Barbarian Chieftain
• Barbarian Warrior
• Barbarian Shaman
• Savage Cannibal
• Cult Acolyte
• Cult Leader
• Guardian Healer
• Guardian Sage
• Guardian Warrior
• Guardian Shaper
• Military Officer
• Military Soldier
• Personal Guard
• Artifact Hunter
• Zephyr Pilot
• Bandit
• Constable
• Drifter
• Drover
• Gladiator
• Hunter
• Inquisitor
• Kataris Assassin
• Noble Adventurer
• Al-Muahat
• Evoker
• Saahir of Kahn
• Spy
• Techno-Heretic
• Thief
• Thug

Phew! That's it, assuming I don't think of more creatures. I'm already thinking of having different ecological "theme zones" in western Markania. The deserts of Eris and Narvus are home to reptiles, lots of giant reptiles. The poison jungles of Dushan are filled with giant insects. The icy wastes of Sakata are the home to wild robotic creatures and artificial life forms. The plains east of the Loka Loka mountains are where you find the mammals. There is some bleed over of course. You're going to find giant insects and robot bears in the deserts of Eris too. 

Anyway, here's a sample.

Spiny Spider

Spiny spiders are man-sized tarantula-like spiders covered in needle-sharp quills. Spiny spiders are carrion scavengers like hyenas or vultures. They follow other predators hoping to let other creatures do the hunting. They move in after a kill has already been made and hope their quills keep the other carnivores away.

Level:	2	Size:	Medium
Physical:	+3	Dynamic:	+3
Mental:	+1	Psyche:	+1
Armor Value:	4	Hit Points:	12
Move:	12m (6)

Skill	Bonus	Specialties
Athletics	2
Awareness	1
Evasion	2	Evasive
Influence	1
Insight	1
Resistance	1
Subterfuge	2
Unarmed Fighting	5	Bite
Wilderness	2

Characteristics

Unarmed Parry: The spiny spider takes no damage from performing the Unarmed Block reaction against a melee attack.

Quills: The long body quills of the spiny spider make it difficult to fight in personal combat. Anyone making a hand-to-hand or melee attack must succeed at a skill test [Agility + Evasion +1d20 vs 15 (Difficult)] as a free reaction to avoid the quills and make the attack. Failure means the attacker could not get close enough to make the attack or made the attack and took 1D6 damage (attacker’s choice). Alternatively, the player may ignore the skill test and make an attack anyway but will take 1D6 damage.

Attacks

Bite: Major; 2m (1); +7 melee attack; 1d8+3. 

Final Play Test Revision

I finished my last play test last Friday and it was fantastic! We played the same scenario three times with different conditions. We made some final tweaks to the rules in the first run-through so that when we went through the last two run-throughs, the rules worked flawlessly!

Special thanks to my play testers: Scott Demars, David Olsen, Jeff Low, Jeff Mason, and Jeff Dodd.

The play test draft is available in the upper corner or from this link.

This revision includes:

1. removing multiple actions advantage 
2. revised martial arts advantage 
3. revised how reactions work (now allows defender to choose between active defense or passive defense, whichever is higher)
4. revised base target numbers (now equal passive defense) 
5. lowered parry bonus for shields 
6. changed Luck recovery to over-night instead of 10-minute rest. 
7. re-wrote grab/grappling (now two different actions) 
8. added some new passive defenses (Defiance, Endurance) 
9. added new reactions (defy, endure) 
10. re-wrote and clarified how Hide/Sneak/Search work and how Stealth/ambush works.
11. changing how Dive and Duck work; 
12. changing how ranged attacks work; 
13. changing all attack modifiers to affect difficulty; 
14. clarifying surprise rules; 
15. adding damage to a grab attack; 
16. change evade to "cautious move"; 
17. added a "bluff" and "feint" maneuver to gain surprise; 
18. dodging away from two opponents provokes a free attack from the other opponent; 
19. added a "Skepticism" defense; removed reference to "Power Points" in this document, adding all reference to Power Points to the powers supplement; 
20. moved all opponent ability rules to the creatures "sourcebook".

My next step is to finish writing up all the creatures and opponents. After that, I will be moving into layout. 

More New Aero-ship (Zephyr) Designs

Throughout the week, whenever I was waiting for a query to populate or during lunch, I drew some more zephyr-ship designs on scratch paper.

A small tranport, very fast with three propeller nacelles and four internal lift pods the bulges on the hull).

A slow transport with six lift pods but only two propeller nacelles, armed with three gun turrets.

A small transport, like a greyhound bus, with four lift pods and two propeller nacelles with humongous propellers.

 A big modern transport with a four propeller nacelles and an unknown number of lift pods concealed inside the long horizontal cylinders, perhaps a new kind of lift pod that circulates anemoi along the length of the ship. The cockpit is located high atop the bow.

 Another new design with eight lift pods and four nacelles with no propellers, perhaps a form of impeller? Jet engines would be terribly inefficient in Cydoria since the Oudh has increased the amount of energy needed to approach the sound barrier.

A wide-bodied transport with four lift units and four propeller nacelles.

New Aero-Ship (Zephyr) Designs

I was in a two-and-a-half-hour long meeting yesterday, roughly 25% of which required me to speak. The other 75% required me to listen quietly and respond if asked. Whenever I have to sit and listen quietly, I start doodling. Here is the end-result of my doodles.

What you're not about to see are the 20 pieces of scratch paper with unused design ideas, vague shapes, and design-dead-ends. What follows is what I finally came up with. New aero-ship designs. When I finish the new version of the game, they will be called Zephyr-ships, powered by anemoi (instead of zephyrium).

Visible on the outside of the hull are the lift-unit pods, strategically placed along the hull to provide lift while maintaining structural integrity. I tried to go for a 1920's era aircraft design, with a little bit of Chris Foss inspired hull shapes.

Up first, a light transport. Small, with six lift-units. 

Second, a medium transport, roughly the same size and shape as the Serenity. It's got eight lift-units and a wider hull. Visible in the second view are some improvements, a little flat ledge that runs around the hull. You can also probably tell that the first design was originally much more rounded and curved on the bottom, which I didn't like, so I tried to straighten it out and flatten it more.

Finally, the heavy transport, the air-liner/heavy lift cargo plane of the Cydorian era. It's got ten lift-units and ten in-line propellers on two nacelles. It is the most intentionally Chris Foss-ian. 

If I ever get time, I'll model these in DOGA. 

The Many Apocalypses of Uruta

Uruta is an ancient world with a complex history. Over the eons, several civilizations have risen and fallen, leaving their mark upon the ancient world.

Modern Cydorian civilization is arguably the most technically and culturally advanced civilization currently on Uruta followed by the Dakazi, Kalloans, and the mysterious and remote Syanese and Yarpans. However, the Cydorian civilization is barely 500 years old.

Cydorian scholars have identified at least seven civilizations that predate the modern age. Little is known about these previous civilizations other than a few legends and the mysterious artifacts and archaeology they left behind.

The following represents all that can be conclusively said regarding these cultures:

The First Age, "the Zuni"

The dakazi of Ragana have a legend that they descend from an ancient race known as the Zuni. The Zuni were a sophisticated race of ophidian sorcerers that ruled Uruta millions of years ago. Purported artifacts and archaeological evidence of Zuni origin have yet to be verified. If the Zuni did exist, they left little behind and are extinct today. Dakazi legends say that the Zuni retreated to cities deep under the surface of Uruta and will one day return to reclaim their mighty empire.

GM Note: The Zuni are, of course, an anachronism. Their presence in the setting disrupts the timeline from our own real timeline and shifts Uruta over to that of a fantasy world or alternative reality. Unless, of course, there really wass a race of serpent-men from dinosaur-times now living at the center of the Earth. Their presence is to provide awesome pulp sword-and-sorcery serpent-men opponents who are secretly scheming for their return to dominance.

The Second Age, "The Pre-Humans"

Archaeological evidence supports the theory that there was once a civilization of pre-human ape-men who built great cities of massive blocks of dark basalt nearly 100,000 years before the modern age. Little is known about this early society but many of their ruined cities are still occupied by their degenerate ape-thing descendants.

GM Note: This is also an anachronism meant solely to provide awesome sword-and-sorcery fights in ancient basalt ruins occupied by degenerate ape-men.

The Third Age, "The Consumers"

The earliest known verifiable civilization on Uruta rose 18,500 years ago. This civilization of pre-humans was based on the use of fossil fuels for energy  and transportation and the rapacious consumption of limited natural resources. It is unknown where this civilization initially arose, but it left its evidence and artifacts across the known world.

This civilization lasted nearly a thousand years before destroying itself in a cataclysmic war over those same resources when they began to diminish. Very little is left from this period other than concentrated areas where layers of congealed rust and bits of concrete can be found about a meter below the surface of Uruta. It is theorized that these areas were once cities. If true, then the first civilization consisted of literally hundreds of thousands of cities, some larger than many modern kingdoms.

The First Interregnum

The fall of the Consumers is marked by a period of several thousand years of poisoned atmosphere, water, and ecosystems. Much of the life of Uruta disappeared during this period and the world resembled a desert planet blasted by toxic clouds of radioactive dust.


GM Note: The Consumers are, of course, our modern society. By the time of Swords of Cydoria, there are no more fossil fuels, period. They were all used up during this period. Indeed, much of the easily available mineral resources of the Earth were extracted and depleted during this time, leaving nothing but rust and dust for future civilizations. Cydorians have to make do with plant and animal-based oils for fuels and lubricants. Although iron and other metals can be easily collected from the fields of rust and re-smelted back into metal, the lack of coal and other fuels kept the Cydorians from experiencing the same industrial revolution we enjoyed. The Consumer civilization fell to a global thermonuclear war sometime around the year 2500 by our reckoning. 

These people are called "pre-humans" in-setting because, although they were actually human, the modern Cydorian believes that humans were created on Uruta by the Sdarans a mere 10,000 years ago. Thus the "humans" of the Third Age couldn't possibly be the same humans as modern Cydorians. And really, that's mostly correct.

The Fourth Age, "the Builders"

Archaeological evidence suggests that a second proto-human civilization rose to dominate the globe 16,000 years ago, known as "the Builders" for their cyclopean cities and massive carvings and statuary. Many Markanian mountains and valleys were carved into the likenesses of heroes and rulers whose names are lost to time. Examples include the Valley of the Kings on the Garza River in Eris, where gargantuan carvings of forgotten kings sit on giant thrones that line the walls of the deep canyon above the Falls of Kanos; the unknown ruler carved into the side of Mount Khos in Targa, guarding a labyrinthine tomb; the ancient City of Columns deep in the Korulan forest; the massive slab foundations under the city of Ramanam; and many others.

The Second Interregnum

The second civilization lasted for four thousand years before being destroyed when what appears to be two rogue planetoids, Asag and Kur, struck Uruta, destroying Thumn and rendering the world uninhabitable for five hundred years.  The impact reshaped the surface of Uruta, creating new continents and seas, lifting new mountain ranges and creating vast rifts and chasms. Meteorites fell upon the surface in a constant fiery rain. The atmosphere was thick with ash and smoke and noxious gases. The skies darkened for centuries. Uruta entered an ice age. The entire world was covered in ice and no living thing could survive.

GM Note: The Builders are the "Egyptians" and "Mayans" of this setting. They arose on the continent of Europe sometime around the year 4000 by our reckoning and built impressive cities out of massive stones. They eventually conquered the world and developed a technologically advanced civilization that included space travel, nuclear power, computers, etc. The Builders are responsible for creating the Cyberdroids.

In the year 5000, they discovered the coming of Asag and Kur and the impending and inevitable collision to occur around the year 8000. Over the next three thousand years, they terraformed and colonized the planets of Mars, Venus, Mercury, Titan, and Ceres and built artificial space stations around Jupiter and at the various trojan points throughout the solar system. The twin planetoids came into Earth orbit in the year 8000. Asag collided with Earth in the Indian Ocean. Kur had a near-miss and got caught in the Earth's orbit. Over several thousand years, Kur has had several near-misses with the Moon, causing enough gravitational stress to break the older satellite apart into several large chunks. Although millions had been relocated from the Earth to the space habitats and terraformed worlds, millions more still perished in the impact. Earth became uninhabitable. 

The Fifth Age, "Nexus"

For a time, the only inhabitants of Uruta were the cyberdroids. Freed from their servitude to the Builders, the cyberdroids developed their own society and culture. They built a network of 64 domed cities across Uruta that would become known as Nexus. The greatest of the cities were Nil and Ohn. The city of Nil was destroyed when they attempted to conquer all of Ohn by infecting the other cities with a plague that corrupted the minds of cyberdroids. The Nilians were defeated by the united armies of the other cities and the plague was stopped, sealed away in vaults deep within Uruta.

Nexus continued to thrive for millenia and the deeds of their great heroes would pass into legend. Eventually, Nexus would collapse city-by-city until only a single city survived: the domed city of Ohn. Technically, no interregnum exists before the rise of Nexus and the coming of the Sdarans.

GM Notes: The first domed city built was 00, later known as "Nil". The second was 01, or "Oh-One". Nil is the source of "evil" robots while Ohn is the source for "heroic" robots.  It was the freed computer virus of the Nilians that corrupted the aya and brought the final downfall of the Sdarans (see below).

The Sixth Age, "The Sdarans"

11,000 years ago, aliens known as the Sdarans came to Uruta. It is unknown from where the Sdarans came, but it is said that they ruled an empire known as the Sdara Vatra that encompassed dozens of worlds, both natural and artificial. The Sdarans were beings of great sorcery and reality-shaping power, able to create worlds from nothing and bend reality to their will. The Sdarians built several colonies on Uruta, the most famous was located in what is today known as Norukar. The Sdarans left behind many powerful artifacts which were collected by their successors, the Adarans, and stored in deep vaults. The Sdarans restored Uruta to habitability after the collision of the planetoid

The Sdarans were a strange race possessing characteristics of cyberdroids and of humanoids (though not necessarily human).

The Sdarans faced two great crises. The first was the result of a great war between worlds as the Sdara Vatra was dissolved. Legends say that entire worlds were destroyed during this period and that all contact between worlds was lost at the end of this great war. The second came at the hands of their artificial servants, the aya. The aya rose up against their masters and caused the collapse of the Sdara Vatra on Uruta. The Sdara Vatra were wiped out overnight.

GM Note: The Sdara Vatra was known as the Solar Federation during their height. They were cyborg transhumanists and other uplifted species with mastery over gravitation, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, terraforming, genetic engineering, force fields, free limitless energy, and even dimensional engineering with the capability to create pocket universes. They ruled all the planets of the solar system and sent colony ships out into the galaxy but FTL technology eluded them. 

The Sdara Vatra were responsible for several major changes to Earth at this time. They brought life back to Earth through extensive and radical terraforming and genetic engineering. They created the global force field known as the Od to a) protect the Earth from the constant rain of meteorites, b) acts a global energy source, c) serve as a medium for the existence of the aya, and d) enhance man's latent psychic powers. They created the "seeds of life" which allowed genetic engineers to create entirely new organisms and species. They created the Guardians as a force to protect the peace throughout the solar system. They are responsible for the myriad new life-forms, including new intelligent sophonts, that exist on Earth during the time of Swords of Cydoria.

By the time of Swords of Cydoria, all that remains of the Sdara Vatra are their relics, their artificial worlds (some abandoned, some still occupied by isolated feral communities), the races they created, and they mysterious and reclusive Zhuvitans.

In story terms, the Sdara Vatra were the "Ancient Astronauts" of the setting, coming to Earth and appearing as gods to the primitive survivors of the Asag impact. In addition, the revolt of the Aya is a futuristic equivalent to Milton's Paradise Lost and the revolt of Lucifer and the Fallen Angels. The aya, for their part, were infected by the recently freed Nilian techno-virus, which corrupted their programming and turned all technology against man-kind. 

The Third Interregnum

The period following the fall of the Sdarians is known as the Third Interregnum. Common belief is that all life on Uruta was created by the Sdarans and continued to evolve after their disappearance. 
At some point during this period, Uruta was visited by aliens from the planet Melkior. These aliens built several subterranean kingdoms and today are known as deru.

Other evidence suggests additional visitations from other alien races such as the Didanians and Phanosians, though how these races entered the Oudh is a mystery.

The Seventh Age, "the Adarans"

6500 years ago, while mankind was still living in caves and following the migrating herds of grazing animals across the steppes, the inhabitants of the city of Adarah, located in what is today the Poison Jungles of Dushan, built an empire that ruled much of eastern Markania and parts of Yarpa. The Adarans consisted of four humanoid races or castes, collectively known as the Naxarians: the Yedrixes, the Jinxes, the Bruxes, and the Orixes. Each of the four caste races served a specialized role in Adaran society.

The Adaran Empire was similar to the Roman Empire in both size, scope, and technology. They conquered much of Markania and came into conflict with the ancient kingdom of the Dakazi in Ragana while mankind still huddled in caves and followed herds of wild animals across the tundra. The Adarans built thousands of great cities across Markania, Cydoria, and even western Yarpa.

The Terat War

3500 years ago, the Adaran Empire fell as a result of a great war with the dark lord Xorin and his twisted army of mutants and hybrids known as terats. Xorin attacked the cities of Adarah with a combination of designer plagues and giant monsters. Although Xorin and his army was ultimately defeated, the damage was done. The cities became uninhabitable and the territories surrounding them became poison jungles infested with terats spawned by uncontrolled generator pits.

Much is known about this civilization as many of its survivors are immortal, the beneficiaries of Xorin's life-altering science, and live to this day. In addition, much of its history was preserved and studied in the universities of Cydoria.

GM Notes: The Adarans are the Romans and/or Atlanteans of Cydoria. They were a great culture that fell to a terrible cataclysm. Their influence is still felt today and their descendants (and even som survivors) live in small enclaves in human cities.

The First Kingdom of Ragana

The dakazi formed the Kingdom of Ragana 4000 years ago when Takshaka, the first Raga of Ragana, conquered the various warring tribes of the lower Garza river valley below the Falls of Kanos. His empire flourished for centuries before it was overthrown by the invading of the Adaran Empire. The dakazi of Ragana lived under Adaran rule for five hundred years until the Adaran armies were forced to withdraw to fight the armies of Xorin. 

The Age of Darkness

Following the fall of the Adaran Empire, the Naxarians scattered and subsisted in caves and forests. A few built new cities but none could regain the glory of the Adaran Empire. There was no civilization for 2000 years.

The Eighth Age, "The Cydorians"

1500 years ago, the humans started to build the City-States of Cydoria. Throughout Uruta, human cities such as those in Kallo, Sya, and Aerapa began to emerge. Sea trade began to flourish tanks to the Fornaxians and the subsequent invention of the Zephyr-ship fifty years ago in Zinj made contact and trade with Sya and Aerapa possible. Modern Cydorian scholars refer to this current period as the "Cydorian Age".

Play-test revision 8/19

I have uploaded the 8/19 revision of the Play-Test rules.

I had a good play-test last Friday with lots of great feedback and suggestions. Nobody got really hurt or were in any danger, so maybe I overcompensated and my bad guys this time around weren't tough enough.

This revision:

• Adds Defenses as a derived attribute to make combat faster. 
• Changes all references to different difficulties in combat to Attack modifiers vs. target's Defenses.
• Changes the number of Advantages you get per level.
• Revises the ranged combat rules. 
• Removes reference to nomad tribes. 
• Updates page references.
• Updates Luck Point calculation.
• Replaces AGI modifier with min STR to Armor.
• Replaces AGI modifier with min DEX to Shields.
• Revises Blind Fighting rules.
• Removes references to Social Conflict. I'll save that for an expansion.
• Increases the Max Skill Bonuses for Specialists.

I still need to re-write the rules for creating characters at higher level. I thought they were plain but they were plainly not. They were still very poorly worded. 

I'm going to run two more play-tests and head to layout. 

Cydoria vs. Numenera

The game Numenera was released on Drivethrurpg.com yesterday and I purchased it. I purchased it because when I read the description of the game, I thought "Hey! This game has a lot in common with Swords of Cydoria!"

Like, a lot.

I'm in no way saying that Monte Cook ripped off my ideas. I'm saying that we independently came up with a lot of the same ideas or same kinds of ideas. In several places, I like some of his ideas better and wished I'd thought of that. In other places, there are obvious differences.

First, what do the two games have in common?

They are both set in a far-far-future Earth, many eons removed from our modern society. Enough so that Earth almost resembles an alien world compared to today.

They both use Arthur C. Clarke's concept of advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic.

They both have genetically modified post-humans: Xoogs and Abhumans.

They both have "wizards" that master super-advanced technology as a form of magic. Cydorian wizards use a world-spanning force field called the Oudh, super-gadgets, and artificial intelligence energy beings called Aya. Numenera  wizards use nanotech which is everywhere, a globe-spanning "data-sphere", or implanted cybernetics.

They both rely on the theme of the cyclical nature of civilization and history, that the present is built on the successive layers of past civilizations. Cydoria has multiple super-advanced civilizations building upon the previous before being wiped out by various apocalyptic catastrophes. Numenera has the "Ninth World" built upon the previous eight "worlds" or epochs.

They both have strange future-tech artifacts from lost cultures that mimic magic items in D&D.
Frankly, even with all the work I put into my fictional future-history, I'm a little jealous of the concept of the Ninth World and wished I'd thought of something that cool. I also like the idea in Numenera that the soil is composed of silica and fine-grained metal and plastic from the decayed and ground-up remains of the eight previous worlds.

As for wthe differences?

Well, the biggest difference is in tone. Swords of Cydoria is much more humanistic. The people in Cydoria are pretty much like people from the 19th or early 20th century. Numenera's people are more post-human, more removed from our way of thinking.

Swords of Cydoria is also more pulp. It's meant to feel like an adventure story from the 1930s. It's Flash Gordon and John Carter and Buck Rogers mixed with Star Wars and Firefly.

Numenera is more of a modern sci-fi story. It's more rooted in transhumanism and post-modernism.

Cydoria is more grounded in a sense of realism. It's dirty and greasy, almost steam-punk with an overlay of Sword and Sorcery. Whereas Numenera is very gonzo. There are giant goldfish mounts and holographic clothing. Numenera feels a lot more like the new 4E version of Gamma World.
I'm very impressed with Numenera's setting and there's a lot in it I wish I had thought of or had done. Numenera adds a lot more interdimensional and interstellar action. I tried to keep Cydoria more firmly rooted. Cydoria has magic-tech, but mankind never created FTL. Instead, in Cydoria, Mankind terraformed and settled all the worlds of the solar system and created artificial worlds out of space habitats. I tried to keep magic and interdimensional stuff out of it.

I really like what Numenera's done with its previous 8 worlds. It has done a much better job with imagining and integrating the legacy of those worlds with the 9th world.

Other than that, I think I like my monsters better.

Play-test Update 8/14/13

I just uploaded a new version of the play-test document to Google Docs. This is the 8/14/13 revision.

This revision has several big changes.

1. I introduce a new kind of "Pre-Hit Points" called Luck Points. I got feedback that there weren't enough hit points for a heroic game, so I added Luck Points, which represent NOT getting hit (what D&D hit points are technically supposed to represent). You can also spend Luck Points on modifying your attack rolls. Once you run out of Luck Points, you take damage to your Hit Points as wounds. Luck Points are also easily recoverable in between fights. The basic idea originated in d20 Star Wars Vitality Points and Wound Points, but it was something I've been thinking about for D&D Hit Points for a long time.
2. I introduce two new "character types", essentially frameworks for spending skill points. I could just open it up and say "you have 16 skill points, buy whatever you want". Instead, I like putting structure and restrictions. The original "character type" gave you one primary skill, max level 4-8, four secondary skills, max level 2-6, and unlimited tertiary skills,  max level 1-4. I have now introduced the "specialist" which has one primary skill, max level 5-12, with no secondary skills, and the "Jack-of-all-trades" with no primary, but eight secondary skills, max level 2-6.
3. I removed the hard cap on Reactions. Now you get a number of Reactions equal to your Agility bonus with no penalty. Every reaction you take after that suffers a cumulative -2 penalty. 
4. I added teratic potions to the equipment list.
5. I listed all the specialties in the skill list for ease of reference.
6. I changed the name of the genetic engineer alchemist. I know, AGAIN! I like the Arabic origin and exotic sound of this new name.
7. I changed how I express heroic tasks to be a bit more formulaic and shorter.
8. I re-expressed the combat rules to be a little clearer, making use of the new standardized format.
9. A few other minor revisions, changes. 

As always, I appreciate comments, feedback, and suggestions. I can't wait to play-test these changes on Friday night. 

Playtest Update, 7/30/13

We played a second playtest session last Friday. Two new players made characters: a brux scoundrel and a cyberdroid hunter/tracker.  Chargen went well and quickly for them.

I ran the group through a randomly-generated dungeon I made online. I substituted Cydorian equivalents for the D&D monsters and used my quick-and-dirty opponent rules.  The story was that they had to recover a stolen item kept in a bandit stronghold located in an ancient bunker dug under a mesa. 

The first character who opened the door rolled initiative and failed and took three crossbow bolts (I rolled two 19s to hit and another high number). He backed up and said, "I'm out. I'm walking back to town."

The other characters had a devil of a time digging the four Jinx crossbow snipers out of their cubby holes and killing them. The players only had to roll a 12 or better to hit them, but they just couldn't! The Brux wound up killing almost all the jinxes. They finally got them out but they were hurt bad!

Lesson learned: my jinxes had WAY too many hit points. They each had 16 HP, which is 3 more than the average 13 of a player character. Minor NPCs should not have the same hit points as player characters. That has been adjusted. Though I'm considering giving PCs more hit points instead. 

I gave them morphic potions which gave them regeneration for 1d8 turns. They were back up to full and able to continue.

After that, the PCs were a little more circumspect regarding rushing into rooms. They set off two traps, one of them poisoned. They also avoided a room and the fight therein because it wasn't a part of their mission.

So, not too many changes as a result of this session. I made bruxes large creatures, which gives them more hit points but makes them easier to hit, and likewise jinxes and deru are small creatures with less hit points but harder to hit. I also clarified area effect attacks and re-worded some other small bits here and there for better clarity.

I added a first draft of some gadget rules for guild technicians and techno-heretics. 

I converted the rules for creating forgeries from the original game.

I also added a first draft of the opponent creation guidelines, which won't be in the final rules but are useful for creating bad guys and creatures to fight. 

I still need to finish the wilderness survival rules, then add morphic potions and convert the artifacts.

Check out the PDF of the current revision of the playtest rules up there to the right. I welcome feedback and suggestions. It's a living document and will be updated weekly.

Edit to Add: I am considering removing the limited reaction rule and welcome opinions about that.

Playtest update

Ran my group through the first playtest of the new rules last Friday. The playtest went well overall. The group found some things I needed to iron out.

1. Some Advantages need to be removed.
2. Some other Advantages need to be revised.
3. Lots of bits were left in from earlier iterations of the rules that needed to be changed/removed.
4. Some combat actions need to be revised.
5. Remove Stun/Shock Threshhold as a thing.
6. Clarify some minor bits.
7. Rearrange and clarify the Character Concept chapter.
8. Give the humans something to make them stand out from/better than the other races.

Overall, combats with the system went VERY smoothly. I especially liked using tokens to keep track of limited immediate reactions and the tactical choices having limited reactions creates.

I will finish updating the rules and post a new updated PDF tonight.

The playtesters created three characters:
A human martial artist focused on Unarmed Fighting.
A human techno-heretic focused on Guildcraft.
A human artifact hunter with a focus on Awareness.

They were all prisoners in an Erisian prison camp, dumped in the middle of the desert. They slept during the day and hiked eastward at night. On one night, they fought a large lizard predator. That fight went fairly well for them. On another night, they fought three other freed prisoners who were trying to steal their stuff. That fight went poorly and the techno-heretic was knocked unconscious. We cut that fight short when we realized we forgot the stun/shock rules. After that, I decided to excise those rules for being stupid.

Then they got picked up by a Zephyr-ship. Next week, they'll be level 2, buying some equipment, and going on a real mission.
The techno-heretic is forcing my hand a little because I hadn't converted the invention/gadget rules yet from the BRP edition. I worked on some guidelines for that today. I'll see how they work this Friday.

Exiled in Eris

The following is how I'm going to run my next Swords of Cydoria adventure. It's cribbed from what I wrote for my other blog "Exiled in Eris".

Your character was once a (insert character background) growing up in the peaceful kingdom of Demetria (or other homeland). The kingdoms of eastern Cydoria were once simple medieval lands protected by mounted knights and men-at-arms. Wizards studied in their towers.  The ancient race known as Yedrix dwelt in the deep forests. The Deru excavated great subterranean kingdoms under the mountains.

You gathered with the others to hear bards recount the stories of great heroes who slew dragons and clashed with the forces of darkness in the wild lands to the west. But you were content to be a (character background). You had heard stories about the other City-States of Cydoria, maybe even traded with merchants from those places, but overland travel through the terax-infested wildlands was difficult and fraught with peril. The only save means of transport was via flying aircraft known as zephyr-ships.

Ten years ago, the City-State of Vrildar suddenly started equipping its troops with weapons and vehicles of forbidden technology. They quickly conquered their neighbors and turned their attention towards Demetria. 

The kingdom of Demetria called forth their greatest knights and most powerful war-wizards to stand against this invasion. Troops were mustered by the tens of thousands. Armies were arrayed against the mechanized onslaught of the Vrildarians. Even the Guardians of Adhara, normally neutral, chose to align themselves with the Demetrians. The subsequent war was called simply "the Invasion".

You volunteered to defend your homeland. You were issued your own weapon of forbidden technology. You fought bravely, but ultimately the war was lost. Talen, the capital of Demetria, was destroyed  by a single weapon of unimaginable destruction. When Demetria surrendered, you were rounded up with the other prisoners of war. You were shipped off to a prison camp with your fellow veterans, separated from your family who were sold into slavery in the cities of the Vrildarian allies.

NOTE: This introduction assumes the characters are Demetrian prisoners of war. However, the characters can be imprisoned for any number of reasons. They could be criminals, political prisoners, slaves to a warlord, etc.

Ten years have passed.

Ten hellish years as a Vrildarian prisoner and laborer. Your work built the infrastructure for the colonies of your new overlords from the Empire of Vrildar. For the last ten years, you have been (choose or roll one):

1.    Building roads

2.    Clearing forest/jungle

3.    Mining ore

4.    Crushing rock into gravel

5.    Digging trenches

6.    Building a pipeline

After your work was done, you were sent to a prison in Eris, thousands of miles from your homeland. Eris is a lot like Arizona or Nevada. Hot, arid, dry, and generally uninhabited.

In the last decade, you have faced the harshest living conditions, endured the cruelest punishments, and have performed the most grueling work imaginable. You have been the lashed by the whip, subjected to electrical shocks, and have had to perform unspeakable acts to survive.

Today, guards removed you from your work detail. You were taken away, a burlap sack was placed over your head and your limbs were bound. You were placed in the back of a motorized transport and driven somewhere. You were taken out of the transport. You may have thought, "This is it. This is the day they execute me." Instead, the bag is removed. You blink in the hot sun.

One of the guards tells you, "Prisoner (or Prisoners if more than one player character is a veteran), the Vrildarian Empire has decided in its munificence to show leniency towards you. Your period of incarceration is ended. You are free men. Go in peace. Glory to the Empire! Hail Vrildar!"

A bundle is dropped on the ground a dozen feet away from you.

The guards re-board the motorized transport and drive away, leaving you alone somewhere in the desert, lost.

You open the bundle, inside you find a few meager items.

·         a poor quality knife

·         a wool blanket

·         a skin of water

·         2d4 days worth of rations

·         a ball of twine

What do you do?

The first session would then revolve around the player character's survival in the wilderness and the search for civilization. The settlement of Sweetwater is a few days away. The character will need to find some food, perhaps by digging for underground critters or eating some of the sparse cactuses.

The GM should roll for random encounters every twelve hours. Most encounters are visible from miles away before they occur, giving the player characters 10-40 minutes to prepare.

1. Large lizard
2. Venomous Snake
3. Man-sized Spider
4. Tintazi hunting party (1-4 tintazi), willing to trade information for one of the items above.
5. Large vultures known as "Varks" (1-4)
6. Find the remains of a dead prisoner, +1 knife, wool blanket, twine, empty water skin
7. Another prisoner, 50% friendly/50% antagonistic
8. 1-4 Bandits attempt to rob and/or enslave the player character
9. Human hunter from one of the settlements, friendly, will offer the player character food and water and directions to the settlement
10. Barbarian hunter from one of the tribes, 40% friendly/40% wary/20% antagonistic
11. A sealed barrel of water, once buried in the sand, has been exposed by the wind
12. Sand storm
13. Young sand squid
14. A Vrildarian patrol of 2-8 soldiers in a transport takes 2-12 ranged pot-shots at the character before driving off.
15. Giant beetle known as "Kolops" 
16. An Orix hunter from the Badlands decides to track and hunt the player character
17. An merchant zephyr-ship transport flies by overhead en route to a nearby settlement
18. Tire tracks. One direction leads to a nearby settlement, the other direction leads to the prison
19. A small pile of stones, indicating the location of a buried sack of 10-60 gold pieces
20. An old rusty weapon half-buried in the sand
1. Ballistic Pistol with 1-4 bullets
2. Sword
3. Axe
4. Mace
5. Hammer
6. Explosive hand grenade

I will provide a hex-map of the region soon. Eventually, the player character will find a nearby settlement. There they can get water and food and equipment. They'll have to earn money, however, but paying work is hard to come by in the settlement. If the player character wants to survive, they're going to have to recruit some more allies and become adventurers.

NPC illos

While I was on vacation in Iowa I had the opportunity to do some NPC portraits. Here's what I've done so far. I'll probably scan them in proper tonight.

Welcome to Acik-Sehir

The free trade city of Acik-Sehir (pronounced "ay-chick say-heer") is an ancient Raganan city built on the banks of the Garza river. Acik-Sehir is the outermost city of the Kingdom of Ragana, located on their northwestern frontier. It was established as a trading post for Raganan trappers, hunters, and fishermen. The city soon became an important locus for trade between the xenophobic Raganans and the outside world: the only Raganan city where outlanders were welcome.

Acik-Sehir became the most prosperous city in the region. The city facilitated trade with the neighboring kingdoms of Dazi, Otar, and Baho, the subterranean tribes of the Tintazi, and the mountain aeries of the bird-men known as the Roatin. Occasionally, overland caravans would arrive from eastern lands beyond the Loka-Loka mountains with representatives from other kingdoms. Zephyr-ships from Cydoria began to arrive fifty years ago, opening trade with the technologically advanced eastern city-states. The city gained even more prominence in the last two decades with the annexation and settlement of nearby Eris by the Vrildarian Empire.

The city is divided in two by the Garza river. The western city is reserved for Dakazi. Outlanders may only visit the western city with a pass and must be escorted by a Dakazi guardian at all times. The eastern city is given over to the Outlanders, a neutral zone where all are welcome. Although there is nominal law enforcement, visitors to the eastern city are essentially left to their own devices. As a result, the eastern city has become as much a home to pirates and smugglers as it is to merchants and traders. It is filled with intrigue, a place where spies and terrorists may freely meet, a place of bounty hunters and bandits, gamblers and explorers. The city is notorious for its brothels and casinos and many Cydorian nobles visit for the epicurean experience alone.

The architecture of the western city is typically dakazi, consisting of walled compounds and villas with squat domed buildings. Each compound is home to a clan. The eastern city is a mixture of dakazi and human architecture, with walled compounds and square multi-story buildings. Most neighborhoods cluster around a large water well.

The city itself is roughly four kilometers across. The east and west cities are connected by two bridges. The north bridge is a drawbridge allowing riverboat traffic from the north. The south bridge is a low bridge, the last navigable point before the Falls of Kanos.

Palace of a Thousand Steps

The home of the Krall of the City, an ancient palace, modest with a few amenities. The title of Krall is roughly analogous to Baron, though it is assigned, not inherited. The current Krall is Kastar'r, a pragmatic realist. Kastar'r is unenthused by his posting here. He is a somewhat corrupt and mercenary leader, willing to accept a bribe from an outlander but uncompromising regarding the welfare and safety of his own people.

Temple of Anaka

A large stepped-pyramid surrounded by a placid moat. The temple is overseen by the Hierarch of Anaka, a masked figure with no name. The Hierarch is sympathetic to the plight of refugees from the Great War. Rumor has it that he is secretly an ally to the Demetrian Resistance.

Arena of Champions

A large arena with gladitorial combats, wild animal fights, public executions, and other entertainments.

Temple of the Dragon

A smaller temple devoted to the dragon-god of the Dazi.

Zephyr-Ship Landing Field

Originally built as a walled enclosure for livestock, the wide flat area has since been converted to a landing field for flying zephyr-ships. Warehouses were constructed inside the city walls to accomodate goods transported from across Markania.

The East Market District

Once a neighborhood devoted to Outlander shops and services, the area has become famous for its brothels, bordellos, casinos, saloons, and black markets.

The Warrens

The ancient city sits atop a labyrinth of sewers, subterranean aquaducts, and tunnels. Many are home to tribes of primitive tintazi.