Wild Blue Yonder - Civilisation RPG

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OHT

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I was a little loathe to post this, as i might start feeling unwanted pressure to deliver (as was the case with my other design that is yet to be finished, Stone Horizons) but i thought, what the heck, new site, new development thread. So here it starts, WBY, a game where you roll up your civilisation and then create characters that fit the age. You can play the civilisation growing part of the game, or just ignore that and play as you would any other. Here's the start, creating your home civilisation.

More to come later.

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Civilisation Creation

In Wild Blue Yonder (WBY) the types of character you can play are determined by the civilisation that birthed you. So before you can choose your vocation, you need to create your civilisation. Each civilisation in the game has 10 ratings that describe its strengths and weaknesses, determining your civilisation descriptors (thus which vocations are Iconic within your civilisation), and also creates a number of secondary scores such as resource and coin production, population growth and life expectancy. Two methods for creating your civilisation are presented below, as well as the optional 'Flight from Apocalypse' method.

(Note: The example used in this civilisation creation tutorial is Muldraan, which will be used in official future publications as the default civilisation of the characters. However, you can create your own civilisation using the tools found in this chapter and the civilisation chapter and easily swap it with Muldraan if you so wish).

Method 1 – Random

Roll d100 10 times and apply them to your civilisation ratings in order. The ratings and their descriptions can be found below.

Method 2 – Civilisation Shaping

Roll d100 10 times and place the results where you like among your civilisation ratings. The ratings and their descriptions can be found below.

Method 3 – Flight from Apocalypse [Optional]

Use method 1 or 2 to create your civilisation ratings. These are your ratings when you fled your homeland. Use the Random Events tables to chart your voyage to safety, the results of which can alter any of your civilisation ratings and secondary scores, as well as create cultural schisms, new NPCs and many other things besides (see Random Events). Once you have reached your new homeland, you have your starting civilisation and probably have a number of problems ready made for play and some Cultural Quests ready to go.

Civilisation Ratings

Magic – The higher this score is, the more spell-casters your civilisation has, and the greater magical buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Magic rating may seem enchanted to those from civilisations with lower ratings. Examples of Magic vocations include Witch, Enchanter, Mystic and Bard. Examples of Magic buildings & accomplishments are Ley-lines, Magician's Tower, and Mana Storage.

Religion – The higher your religion rating, the more the various churches of your civilisation effect day to day life, and the better religious buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Religion rating sometimes see secular power suffer and might appear self-righteous to visitors. Examples of Religion vocations include Seer, Shaman, Zealot and Missionary. Examples of Religion buildings & accomplishments are Standing Stones, Temples, and Commandments.

Law – The higher your law rating, the more local authority has a say on the lives of civilians, and the better law buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Law rating can seem stifling and authoritarian to visitors. Examples of Law vocations include Catch-pole, Smuggler, Bailiff and Anarchist. Examples of Law buildings & accomplishments are Jail, Duelling School, and Census.

Military – The higher your military rating, the more expansionist and aggressive your civilisation can become, and the better military buildings you can create (depending on your time-line). Civilisations with a high Military rating can seem harsh or despotic to visitors. Examples of Military vocations include Rifleman, Barbarian, Charioteer and Infantryman. Examples of Military buildings & accomplishments are Watch-towers, Monument, and Gunpowder.

Culture – The higher your culture rating, the better your civilisation accepts change, the arts and the rights of your citizens, and the better culture buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Culture rating can be baffling, beguiling, or challenging to visitors, if their own beliefs or world-view is narrow. Culture vocations include Artist, Philosopher, Gambler and Entertainer. Examples of Culture buildings & accomplishments are Longhouse, Theatre, and Printing Press.

Agriculture & Husbandry – The higher your agriculture & husbandry rating, the more your civilisation is concerned with harnessing nature and living off the land, and the better agriculture & husbandry buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Agriculture & Husbandry rating might appear folksy, down-to-earth or self-sufficient to visitors. Agriculture & Husbandry vocations include Herbalist, Hunter, Guide and Tracker. Examples of Agriculture & Husbandry buildings & accomplishments are Farms, Stables, and Conservation.

Infrastructure – The higher your infrastructure rating, the better your civilisation can deal with the vagaries of existence as you have structures in place to cope, and the better infrastructure buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Infrastructure rating may appear to be smothered in red tape, or highly structured to visitors. Infrastructure vocations include Emissary, Politician, Spy, and Financier. Examples of Infrastructure buildings & accomplishments are Road, Hospital, and Sanitation.

Trade & Manufacturing – The higher your Trade & Manufacturing rating, the more productive and industrious your civilisation becomes, and the better Trade & Manufacturing buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Trade & Manufacturing rating might appear to be greedy, or hard-working to visitors. Trade & Manufacturing vocations include Engineer, Craftsman, Merchant, and Gunsmith. Examples of Trade & Manufacturing buildings & accomplishments are Trading Post, Guild House, and Steam Power.

Scholarship – The higher your Scholarship rating, the more cerebral, sedentary and research based your civilisation becomes, and the better Scholarship buildings you can create (depending on your Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Scholarship rating can appear quiet, thoughtful or weak to visitors. Scholarship vocations include Anatomist, Linguist, Sage, and Scientist. Examples of Scholarship buildings & accomplishments are Museum, University, and Medicine.

Maritime – The higher your Maritime rating, the more at home on the water and more adventurous your civilisation becomes, and the better Maritime buildings you can create (depending on Time-Line). Civilisations with a high Maritime rating can appear course, flighty, or hardy to visitors. Maritime vocations include Sailor, Privateer, Pirate, and Diver. Examples of Maritime buildings & accomplishments are Merchant Vessels, Lighthouse, and Fisheries.

Example: Bob's group decide to use method 1 for creating their civilisation and opt not to use the Flight from Apocalypse option, so that they can get going as soon as possible. They roll d100 10 times and place them in order on their civilisation sheet. They gain the following results.

Magic – 47

Religion – 92

Law – 17

Military – 56

Culture – 25

Agriculture & Husbandry – 38

Infrastructure – 23

Trade & Manufacturing – 50

Scholarship – 51

Maritime – 75
 
Determining your Time-Line

Once you have created your ratings, add them all up. The resulting number is the current Time-Line of your civilisation. This tells you your technological age and the sort of equipment, technology and vocations that your civilisation supports. Your Time-Line can be improved during play, showing cultural progress.

Time-Line

0 – 99 Pre-History

100-199 Tribal Age (Hunter/Gatherer)

200-299 Agricultural Age

300-399 Antiquity (Bronze + Iron Age)

400-499 Feudal Age

500-599 Age of Chivalry

600-699 Age of Discovery

700-799 Gunpowder Age

800-899 Age of Reason

900-999 Age of Steam

Example: Adding up the 10 ratings that Bob's group rolled results in the Time-Line of 474 for their civilisation. Looking at the Time-Line chart, this results in a Feudal civilisation.

Pre-History (circa pre 10,000 BC) – Scattered groups of nomadic humanoids. Bone and antler tools, flint knives and arrow-heads, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, low life-expectancy.

Tribal Age (circa 10,000 to 4,000 BC) – Increased social structure, larger groups of humanoids, increased artistic expression. Elders tend to hold control over the tribe aided by Shamen, Witch-Doctors and the like.

Agricultural Age (circa 6,000 to 2,000 BC) – Typified by the first sedentary settlements dependent on cereal crops and animal husbandry. The start of more complex social structures and barter economies.

Antiquity (circa 4,000 BC to 400 AD) – The birth of civilisation as we know it. Complex social structures, trade, the military complex, city states and expanding borders. Bronze and iron production, metalworking and crafts become more important. Governments and hereditary emperors appear.

Feudal Age (circa 400 AD to 1200 AD) – A time of treaties, wars, and fealty to the feudal order. The city states start to merge to create areas that resemble nations. Dynasties are born and die in flames. Social order tends to be ingrained and hierachical. Class struggles.

Age Of Chivarly (circa 1000 AD to 1400 AD) – Romanticism and pageantry are king. The first stirrings of the professional artist, musician, architect. Literature appears. More leisure time for the better off leads to patronage of the arts. Idealism and stirrings of nationalism lead to the nation state and hereditary monarchies and nobility. Class struggles remain.

Age of Discovery (circa 1400 AD to 1650 AD) – Curiosity, drive, and increased leisure time lead to new discoveries, both scientific and secular. Equipment such as the sextant allows greater maritime explorations, and advances in medicine and the natural sciences improve quality of life. Patronage at a high. The golden age of monarchy.

Gunpowder Age (circa 1500 AD to 1750 AD) – Inter-dynastic strife due to interconnected claims to territory and crowns. The gun comes of age and the cannon revolutionises siege-craft and the battlefield. The golden age of maritime exploration and warfare.

Age of Reason (circa 1750 AD to 1850 AD) – Governments start to supplant monarchs as the means of governance. Scientific advances continue apace and reason overtakes superstition and religion in more enquiring minds. The great metropolis starts to take resources and manpower from rural areas. Learning and learning institutions are the hub of activity in this age.

Age of Steam (circa 1850 AD to 1900 AD) – The return of servitude to power the great workhouses and factories of the start of the mass porduction age. Steam, railways and the revolver compete with the work of the steam-powered grafts of the Flesh-Smith. The age of colonialism and trampelling primative civilisations underfoot for territory and resources to fuel growth.
 
Civilisation Descriptors

Now that you have created the base ratings of your civilisation and have determined its current Time-Line, make a note of what type of civilisation you have created on your Civilisation sheet. Every Civilisation Rating of over 70 results in a Civilisation Descriptor. The descriptors of your civilisation determine which vocations are Iconic within your civilisation. Iconic vocations gain a +1 bonus to their Effective Rank (see character generation). The type of descriptors your civilisation hold also allow it to start play with some buildings already in place. Buildings can alter your civilisations creation of Coin, Resources and Stores, or allow specific vocation actions, housing of exotic mounts and many other things besides (see Buildings and Accomplishments).

* Denotes Agriculture & Husbandry. # Denotes Trade & Manufacturing.

Rating-Descriptor-Free Building

Magic-Fantastical-Your civilisation starts play with a Nexus.

Religion-Theocratic-Your civilisation starts play with a Shrine.

Law-Judicial-Your civilisation starts play with a Jail

Military-Militant-Your civilisation starts play with a Barracks.

Culture-Progressive-Your civilisation starts play with a Long-house.

A & H*-Agrarian-Your civilisation starts play with a Well.

Infrastructure-Bureaucratic-Your civilisation starts play with a Palace.

T & M#-Mercantile-Your civilisation starts play with a Marketplace.

Scholarship-Academic-Your civilisation starts play with a Forum.

Maritime-Seafaring-Your civilisation starts play with 1 fleet of fishing vessels.

Example: The ratings that Bob's group created for their civilisation results in 2 descriptors for their civilisation as both the Religious and Maritime ratings are over 70. Looking these ratings up on the descriptors chart, they see that their civilisation has the Theocratic and Seafaring descriptors and also start play with the shrine building and 1 fleet of fishing vessels. They note this down on their civilisation sheet. Looking ahead to character generation, the group know that religious and maritime vocations are likely to be Iconic and start thinking about the type of characters they want to play. Tired of calling it 'their civilisation', they name it Muldraan – City of Sails.
 
Its very interesting, and my first thought was that with some tweaking this might be a good method of creating planetary civilizations in a Star Trek-esque sci-fi game. My only hesitation is that one would essentially be random-rolling the very type of game they are playing, unless the world in question by concept supports vastly different levels of civilizations.
 
Please develop this concept further. I will need to steal it in the future.
I am very interested in seeing where you take the basic concepts and how it will affect chargen and gameplay.
 
Please develop this concept further. I will need to steal it in the future.
I am very interested in seeing where you take the basic concepts and how it will affect chargen and gameplay.

Don't worry. I have about 500 pages of this backed up. Been playing and developing it for about 3 years now.
 
Cultural Significance (CS)

This score reflects the reach of your civilisation and ultimately how many hexes you can directly control. Cultural Significance can be improved during play in a number of ways (see Improving Cultural Significance), however, your starting score is easy to determine. If your Culture rating is 01-50, you have 1 point, and if your Culture rating is 51-00, you have two points. Add 1 point to this for each Civilisation rating that is over 70 and then add 1 point for each age your civilisation has passed through beyond the Agricultural Age.

Example: Muldraan's Culture rating is 25 (1 point) and its Religion and Maritime ratings are over 70 (2 points). It has passed through Antiquity and is currently in the Fedual Age, so adds a further 2 points for a total starting Cultural Significance score of 5. Bob notes this down on the civilisation sheet.

Hex Ratings

0-14 Untouched Wilderness

You cannot Survey untouched wilderness under normal circumstances

15-29 Wilderness

30-44 Disputed

Can build Trade Post to get 1/2 Resources from Hex. Population up to 50.

45-59 Frontier

Trade Posts get full Resources from Hex. Can build Farms to get ½ Stores from Hex. Population up to 250 and the Hex counts as part of your civilisation if your CS allows it.

60-74 Settled

Farms get full Stores from Hex. Population up to 1000.

75-89 Civilised

Population up to 10,000.

90+ Metropolis

Tech level must be 700+. Population up to 100,000.

Your home Hex automatically starts with a Rating of 75 and is presumed to be either grassland or prairie (see Terrain section for details). At the beginning of play, roll a d100 for each adjacent Hex and divide the result by 2.

Example: Muldraan is the civilisation of the party. Their home hex has a Rating of 75 (Civilised). As Muldraan is located on a coastal hex, it only has 3 adjacent hexes. The party roll 37, 12 and 33 for those hexes. Thus, the adjacent hexes have Ratings of 19 (Wilderness), 6 (Untouched Wilderness) and 17 (Wilderness). Muldraan starts play surrounded by largely unexplored lands and will need a lot of investment to allow the civilisation to grow in the future.
 
Controlling Hexes Through Cultural Significance

You automatically control the home hex of your civilisation, which costs you 1 point of your CS. You can expand your control to adjacent hexes for the purposes of gaining additional Stores, Resources and Coin. As can be seen in the Hex Rating section above, you only begin to gain these bonuses once a Hex has a rating of Disputed or better. However, you can only extend your control over a Hex if that hex has a rating of Frontier or better, and you can only do so if the total number of hexes you currently control is lower then your CS. The extent of the borders of the hexes you control is known as your Sphere of Influence.

Example: Muldraan only controls its home hex as all of its adjacent Hexes cannot be directly controlled.

Your Immediate Environment

It is presumed that you know the nature of the hexes adjacent to your starting position. You can survey all hexes surrounding your home hex that are not Untouched Wilderness hexes. Surveying other hexes during the game requires a Civilisation Action and the spending of Resources, Coin, or Stores (see Civilisation Actions).

Hex Survey Table (Roll d100)

01-35 Roll on Terrain table

36-55 Roll on Resources table

56-70 Roll on Civilisation table

71-85 Roll on Humanoid table

86-87 Roll on Special Hex table

88-89 Roll on Discoveries table

90-91 Roll on Impediment table

92-93 Roll on Special Resources table

94-95 Roll on Environmental Hazard table

96-00 Roll on Notable Creature table

Example: Muldraan only has 2 hexes adjacent to its home hex that can be surveyed. The group decide that the hex to the south is the untouched wilderness that cannot yet be surveyed. They start with the hex immediately to the west of Muldraan and roll d100. The result is 39 (Resources), a useful result. This hex remains grassland like their home hex, so they roll on the grassland resources table, getting 12. This hex has the Herds resource, a useful source of additional Stores once Muldraan manages to improve the hex enough to build a Trade Post there. For the hex to the north of Muldraan, they roll 97. Oh dear, that is a Notable Creature. It is still grassland and so the GM chooses a typical creature for its notable inhabitant. The city knows well that the land to the north is ranged by a family of Sabre-Tooth cats, who hunt the herds nearby. As they are notable creatures and not just common-garden monsters you could find anywhere, the GM decides that they are beasts of unusual size and strength and are indeed Primeval Sabre-Tooth cats. They are going to take some shifting.

Improving Hex Ratings

Your civilisation can increase a Hex Rating during Down-time by investing Resources and Coin and Taking a Civilisation Action, just like increasing your Civilisation Ratings. The actions of the PCs might also have an effect. Each point you raise a Hex by costs 5 Resources or 10 Resources for Untouched Wilderness Hexes. However, to raise a Hex to a new category costs an additional 5 Resources and 10 Coin.
 
Starting Civilisation Buildings & Accomplishments

At the start of play, your civilisation does not just spring into being with no resources, it is presumed that it has been in existence in its current form for some time, even if you have used the optional Flight from Apocalypse civilisation creation rules.

You gain a number of free Accomplishments and Buildings dependant on your civilisations Time-Line (see below). Before you choose which ones you want, check that they fall within your Time-Line and that the relevant rating of your civilisation is high enough to qualify you to build it. If you gain free accomplishments, they raise your Cultural Significance (CS) by 1 point for each one gained.

Agricultural Age – 1 Free building

Antiquity – 1 Free building, 1 free accomplishment

Feudal Age – 2 Free buildings, 1 free accomplishment

Age of Chivalry – 2 Free buildings, 2 free accomplishments

Age of Discovery – 2 Free buildings, 3 free accomplishments

Gunpowder Age – 2 Free buildings & Arsenal, 3 free accomplishments

Age of Reason – 3 Free buildings & Arsenal, 3 free accomplishments

Age of Steam – 3 Free buildings & Arsenal & Foundry, 3 free accomplishments

Example: Muldraan is a Feudal Age civilisation and so qualifies for 2 free buildings and 1 free accomplishment before play starts. The players decide to go for Docks and to upgrade their Shrine to a Temple. Keeping the religious theme, they choose Commandments as their free accomplishment. They note this down on their civilisation sheet. Commandments results in an increase of 2 points to Muldraan's Law rating, so they change that to 19 and add 2 points to their Time-Line also. As they now have an Accomplishment they also raise Muldraan's CS by 1 point to 6. Muldraan's profile now looks like this.

Magic – 47 Current Time-Line: 476

Religion – 92 Civilisation Descriptors: Theocratic, Seafaring

Law – 19 Cultural Significance: 6

Military – 56 Hexes Controlled: 1

Culture – 25

Agriculture & Husbandry – 38 Buildings & Accomplishments: 1 fishing vessels,Temple, Docks, Commandments (A)

Infrastructure – 23


Trade & Manufacturing – 50

Scholarship – 51

Maritime – 75

Fishing Vessels

They come in many shapes and sizes, but perform the same function. Each time that you build Fishing Vessels, you create enough craft to fish 1 water hex. Like other ships, fishing vessels need facilities in order to come to shore, however, unlike other ships, each coastal or river hex can beach enough fishing vessels to fish 1 water hex without need for a Dock, harbour or deep-water anchorage. Otherwise, you are limited by those buildings as to the number of ships you can house or build.

Cost: 30 Resources, 30 Coin

Requirements: Time-Line 200-999

Docks

Docks can only be built on coastal hexes or hexes that have a Significant river running through them. Docks can house as many fishing vessels needed to fish a number of water hexes equal to your CS. They can also house a number of merchant vessels equal to your CS and an equal number of long-ships or triremes. Docks can house 1 garrison of marines or soldiers and produce 1 Coin each year for your civilisation. Significant Docks produce 2 Coin each year for your civilisation, reduce casualties due to Famine by 20% and can house 2 garrisons of marines or soldiers. Significant docks also grant you 1 free point of Workforce when you are building Maritime buildings or researching Maritime Accomplishments.

Cost: 80 Resources, 60 Coin

Requirements: Maritime rating 21+. Time-Line 300-999

NPCs: Once you have completed this building, or you start play with it, you gain 2 NPCs from the list of Trade & Manufacturing or Maritime vocations. If the docks building is Significant, you gain 4 NPCs from the list of Trade & Manufacturing or Maritime vocations.

Temple

You build a complex of temples devoted to the Gods of your civilisation. You must first have a Shrine building before you build a Temple, which replaces the Shrine. Theist spell-casters that use the Religious Observances Down-time action within a Temple building lower their base daily Indifference score by 2 points until the start of their next down-time action.

You can house 2 units of soldiers or knights within a temple, or 1 garrison of soldiers or knights within a Significant temple. Significant Temples create 1 Coin per year for your civilisation and grant you 1 free point of Workforce when you are building a religious building or researching a religious Accomplishment.

Cost: 60 Resources, 50 Coin

Requirements: Must first have a Shrine building. Religion rating 41+. Time-Line 275-999

NPCs: Once you have completed this building, or you start play with it, you gain 2 NPCs from the list of Religion vocations. If the temple is Significant, you gain 4 NPCs from the list of Religion vocations.

Commandments (A)

Your seers, prophets and priests receive a visitation from one or more of your Gods, or a Deity makes a public appearance to lay down their laws. Increase the Law rating of your civilisation by 2 points. Additionally, you can develop Witch-Hunters and Knights earlier than other civilisations. The Witch-Hunter time-line is changed to 475-825 and the Knight (Templar & Hospitaller only) time-line is changed to 400-750.

Cost: None

Requirements: Requirements: Must have a Temple building. Religion rating 71+. Time-Line 01-800
 
I so want to play this the more I read this thread. I may do some homebrewing for 20th and 21st Century tech levels as well.
 
A slight detour from civ building to show a random result from the Special Hex table that you might discover when you use the Survey Hex Civilisation Action.

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08-10 Awakened Woodland – This dark, forboding and tangled wood is literally alive with purpose. The limbs of trees seek to trip the unwary, huge predatory man-traps lunge from the tree-tops, seeking to swallow prey; slowly dissolving those unfortunate enough to be trapped in their slippery cups. Shrubs move by night and thrash during the day, and raking brambles shred the unprepared. Even the animals hate intelopers; flying squirrels mob visitors, relentless boars seek out humanoids to charge and huge clouds of bats bear small creatures aloft to drop them onto impaling branches. The very moss and lichen eats your face in your sleep and swarms of forest leeches suck you dry if you leave any flesh exposed. Horned Hunters roam here, searching for sport, and Maiden Trees grown giddy with spite lurk in tangled thickets. Even these Fey avoid the Crowned Bears that on occasion pull the chariot of the inhuman Thorn King. Brave these terrors though and you might just find the remains of the Motherlode Centipede, a bronze segmented and many-legged automaton designed to carry troops to the battlefield safely within sealed compartments. Thirty feet long and twenty tons in weight, you'll have trouble moving it without the Wired Brain, which was removed aons ago, and powers the creature. Perhaps finding the brain first would be the better move.

When you discover this hex, change its rating to Untouched Wilderness. Awakened woodland is only found in forest/jungle hexes.
 
A slight detour from civ building to show a random result from the Special Hex table that you might discover when you use the Survey Hex Civilisation Action.

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08-10 Awakened Woodland – This dark, forboding and tangled wood is literally alive with purpose. The limbs of trees seek to trip the unwary, huge predatory man-traps lunge from the tree-tops, seeking to swallow prey; slowly dissolving those unfortunate enough to be trapped in their slippery cups. Shrubs move by night and thrash during the day, and raking brambles shred the unprepared. Even the animals hate intelopers; flying squirrels mob visitors, relentless boars seek out humanoids to charge and huge clouds of bats bear small creatures aloft to drop them onto impaling branches. The very moss and lichen eats your face in your sleep and swarms of forest leeches suck you dry if you leave any flesh exposed. Horned Hunters roam here, searching for sport, and Maiden Trees grown giddy with spite lurk in tangled thickets. Even these Fey avoid the Crowned Bears that on occasion pull the chariot of the inhuman Thorn King. Brave these terrors though and you might just find the remains of the Motherlode Centipede, a bronze segmented and many-legged automaton designed to carry troops to the battlefield safely within sealed compartments. Thirty feet long and twenty tons in weight, you'll have trouble moving it without the Wired Brain, which was removed aons ago, and powers the creature. Perhaps finding the brain first would be the better move.

When you discover this hex, change its rating to Untouched Wilderness. Awakened woodland is only found in forest/jungle hexes.


See, thats incredible. This is a book I'd buy.
 
An entry from the Infrastructure Random Events table and the building that can mitigate its effects. Also an explanation of how your Workforce score limits how quickly you can build things.

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81-90 – Natural Disaster. Roll on the table below for severity and details on which type of disaster has befallen your luckless civilisation. Some entries might not fit into your civilisation's environment. If the result does not make sense, choose another.

Severity (Roll 1d100)

01-40 – Mild – 2d10 deaths and 1d4 Coin of damages to all civilisation buildings*

41-65 – Moderate - 1% population loss and 1d10 Coin of damages to all civilisation buildings

66-90 – Major – 1d4% population loss and 2d8 Coin of damages to all civilisation buildings

91-98 – Catastrophic – 1d10% population loss and 1d100/2 Coin of damages to all civilisation buildings

99-00 – Apocalyptic – 5d10% population loss and all civilisation buildings are levelled

* Buildings that are damaged only have half their usual effect on your civilisation until they are fully repaired. For this purpose, Wonders that are buildings suffer only half the Coin damage rolled as they are made of better materials – they also have a 50% chance of surviving an Apocalyptic disaster with 1d100 Coin of damages.

Type (Roll 2d10)

2 – Wild-fires:

3 – Earthquake:

4 – Volcanic Eruption:

5 – Drought:

6 – Floods:

7 – Disease:

8 – Ash-Clouds:

9 – Dust-Storms:

10 – Tidal Wave:

11 – Nexus Explosion:

12 – Famine:

13 – Pestilence:

14 – Migration:

15 – Big Freeze:

16 – Heatwave:

17 – Asteroid:

18 – Tornado:

19 – Avalanche:

20 – Hurricane:

Barracks

You build a complex of defensible buildings to house your army. A Hex that has the Barracks building has a Defence Rating of 2 and can hold 2 garrisons of troops. Troops housed in a Barracks building start play as Green Troops (VR 5). Barracks grant you 2 free points of Workforce when you are repairing damage caused by a Natural Disaster (see Random Events for details).

Cost: 40 Resources, 40 Coin

Requirements: Military rating 21+. Time-Line 325-999

NPCs: Once you have completed this building, or you start play with it, you gain 2 NPCs from the list of Military vocations.

Workforce

Your workforce score limits the amount of Resources and Coin you can commit to Building Projects, Accomplishments and Wonders each year your civilisation takes one of those actions. Your starting workforce total is calculated by dividing your civilisation's current population by 1000, rounding down. Some buildings, wonders, and accomplishments can adjust your workforce score, as can various vocational abilities and spells.

Your current Time-Line also has a bearing on your Workforce total. Civilisations gain +1 Workforce when they enter Antiquity, the Feudal Age, the Age of Discovery, the Age of Reason, and the Age of Steam.

When your civilisation takes the Building Projects, Accomplishments or Wonders Civilisation Action, the sum of the Resources and Coin you can commit to that years effort cannot exceed your Workforce score.

Certain buildings, accomplishments, wonders, spells, and vocational abilities grant free points of Workforce. This increases the sum of Resources and Coin you can commit to the relevant Civilisation Action by the number of free Workforce granted. Free Workforce additions do not cost you Resources or Coin to use – they are effectively gifted to you by the populace, character, or institution that grants them and so do not come from the total of your civilisation.

Example: Muldraan has a population of 5000, therefore its Workforce score is currently 5. However, the city has collected 2 extra points by moving through Antiquity and its current Time-Line placing it in the Feudal Age, for a total Workforce score of 7. When the city later decides to improve its Temple building to a Significant Temple, it can only spend a total of 7 Resources or Coin each year it takes the Building Project Civilisation Action. The community leaders spend 4 Resources and 3 Coin on improving the Temple this year. It's going to be a long job...
 
Hey Tristram, take a look at this monster profile. Would you care to do a 5 minute doodle with your own take on what you think it looks like?

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Heather Priest (Mantis mimic) Creature Rating 15-25

When dusk descends and the light becomes uncertain, in certain areas with loose or sandy soil, such as heath-land or the land that borders the shore, a strange site can confront travellers – one or more human shapes on their knees praying in the gloaming. Approaching closer, the traveller can just discern the supplicants are in a serene pose, hands clasped together and head lowered. Stray too close, however, and these pious worshippers reveal their true nature, erupting from the soil in a shower of spines, legs and clacking mandibles. The humanoid shape splits in two to reveal cunningly marked claws and compound eyes to rain death on those it fooled.

Sometimes these creatures are found in twos or threes (known as congregations). Their true nature is unknown.

Base Stats

Str 2, End 3, Ag 4, Kn 0, MS 0, Pre 0

Risk: Str (d6), End (d6), Ag (d8), Kn (d4), MS (d4), Pre (d4)

Size: Large

Damage: Raptorial forelegs 1d6*, mandibles 1d4*

Base Stat Points: 9

Base Health: 20

Base Defence: 1

Base Rank: 2

Effective Rank: +1

Fortitude (Morale): 4

Fortitude (Exertion): 5

Fortitude (Coercion): 6

Movement Rate: 4

Base Exps: 50

Professional Skills (40% + CR): Larceny (Impersonation)

Primary Skills (35% + CR): Raptorial forelegs, Stealth (Hide)

Secondary Skills (25% + CR): Stealth (Move Silently), Perception

Hobby Skills: N/A

Praying Lure: Somehow, the Heather Priest has adpated to hunt intelligent humanoids, whether as a result of magic, or by some other means, is not known. It buries its lower body beneath the loose soil of heath-land or sand-dunes, and rests its upper body on the surface. Its adpatations and markings mean that when at rest, the Heather Priest resembles a man praying on its knees. It even makes a hum that resembles a religious dirge. If a creature comes close, the Heather Priest must make a Larceny (Impersonation) test, success indicating that its potential victims have been fooled by its ruse. When a victim comes within 10 feet of it, its forelegs lunge forward and its lower body errupts from the soil to reveal its horrific true nature. The victims of this attack must make a Risk 3 Agility test or be surprised for 1 round. Whether the victims are surprised or not, the Heather Priest acts first in the intitial combat round.

Raptorial Forelegs: The Heather Priest's front appendages not only strike quickly and cause nasty wounds, they have inwardly facing spines on each interior surface, effectively trapping anything foolish enough to have come within reach. On a successful hit, and after damage is rolled, the victim must make a Risk 3 Strength test or be held fast and drawn into range of the creature's mandibles. Its mandibles automatically cause 1d4 points of damage in the same round, that ignores all armour and Base Defence. This mandible damage is also taken in each subsequent round until the victim is dead or manages to break free. The victim can attempt a Risk 3 Strength test each round to get free, but can perform no other action whilst attempting to do so. Alternatively, the stuck victim can make a melee attack against the Heather Priest with a -25% penalty. The forelegs have a reach of 10 feet.

Creature Rating

25 – Scything Forelegs – Damage inflicted by the Heather Priest's raptorial forelegs ignores 1 point of armour.
 
well, first pass at this...

Before...
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33725363794_d460202e12_z.jpg
 
probably needs some adjustments to fit the description of the raptorial forelegs
 
Nice!

Much more unpleasant than the picture in my head, which is always a good thing. With the addition of 2 praying mantis legs with the backward facing spikes then it's truly fearsome!
 
I think I can do much better (and creepier actually). I'm going to give it another shot tonight when I've got some free time.
 
Here's a witch spell.

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Preparing the Precious Poppet

Rank: 3

Sympathetic: Some hair, nails or bodily fluid from the target fashioned into a doll representing them.

Range: See below

Area of Effect: 1 target within range remotely affected by the Poppet

Duration: see below

Casting Time: 1 hour to create the Poppet via this spell

Description: You create a doll from rags, straw and sawdust and add the components from the intended target to finish the ritual. This doll is called a Poppet and can be used to remotely affect the chosen target. You choose whether the Poppet is beneficial or malign when you cast this spell and once set, this purpose cannot be reversed. Under normal circumstances, you can only have 1 active Poppet in service at a time, however, your down-time action can increase this number – if you observe a white witch's Sabbath, you can have more beneficial Poppets in service, and if you attend a black Sabbath, you can have more malign Poppets in service (see Witch's Sabbath for details). Creating a Poppet costs you xps equal to the proposed target's Base Rank x 10.

You can dismantle a Poppet at any time without causing damage to your intended target, otherwise the enchantment lasts for as long as you hold possession of your Poppet, until a successful Dispel Magic is cast upon it, or one of the Poppet actions found below disenchants it.

To affect the target of your Poppet, you must spend an action miming the desired effect on the doll in your hands. The target cannot be more than 30 feet away unless you have observed a Witch's Sabbath, in which case that range can be increased (see Witch's Sabbath for details). The range of actions you can perform on your Poppet and the results of those actions can be found below.

This spell is only used to create the Poppet, you do not need to use magic to subsequently affect your target remotely, you simply spend an action doing so.

Beneficial Poppet Actions

Sowing – You use a needle and thread to stitch up your Poppet. This results in the target regaining 1 point of health. The Poppet only has space for 8 rows of stitches before it can no longer benefit from this action.

Clothing – You cover the Poppet in miniature clothing you have previously made. This allows the target to lower a Risk test due to cold by 1 point. Before the target can benefit from this again, the Poppet must have its garments removed and destroyed, and a new set produced.

Remote Curse Lifting – You can use your Poppet to remove your target of a curse as though you had cast Remove Curse upon them, thus theoretically increasing the range of that spell. The target makes the Risk test demanded of them in that spell description. Using your Poppet in this fashion disenchants it.

Swap Condition – You use your Poppet to remove a condition from your target and place it within the doll. You can remove a single poison or disease from the target if they make a successful Risk 3 Endurance test, at which point any physical evidence of the condition leaves the target and enters the Poppet. Using your Poppet in this fashion disenchants it.

Malign Poppet Actions

Smiley Face – You rearrange the Poppet's features to create a sickly grin on your target if they fail a Risk 3 Mental Strength test. Secondary Character allies of the target take 1 point of Fortitude (Morale) damage if the target fails its Risk test and the victim suffers a -25% penalty to all Influence tests attempted during the rest of the encounter. You can only perform this action once on your Poppet.

Needles & Pins – You stick a needle through your Poppet. Needles must be left in place, as removing them disenchants the Poppet. The target takes 1 point of damage that ignores all armour and Base Defence if they fail a Risk 3 Endurance test. The Poppet only has space for 8 needles before you can no longer inflict this action on your target.

Marionette – You move the Poppets limbs in a fashion you desire, moving their actual body in a way and direction you want. The target must make a Risk 3 Mental Strength test in order to resist the urge – success disenchants the Poppet. If the target fails the Risk test, they move as you wish for the rest of the encounter, maybe attacking allies, walking off a cliff, or any other nasty things the current environment allows. You must spend an action for every action you want your target to perform. Using the Poppet in this manner disenchants it at the end of the encounter.

Remote Curse – You can use your Poppet to inflict your target with a curse as though you had cast Placing the Pernicious Curse upon them, thus theoretically increasing the range of that spell. The target makes the Risk test demanded of them in that spell description. Using your Poppet in this fashion disenchants it.
 
NIce version of a Voodoo Doll, especially the benefits of the "Poppet". Making it a Poppet that can help as well as hurt is much creepier I think.
BTW, why limited to 8? Is that based in Lore, System or just random.
 
NIce version of a Voodoo Doll, especially the benefits of the "Poppet". Making it a Poppet that can help as well as hurt is much creepier I think.
BTW, why limited to 8? Is that based in Lore, System or just random.

System based. That's actually a high amount of healing compared to other spells of comparable Rank, but mitigated by the xp cost of making it, the components needed and the fact you have to spend an action per point to heal/inflict the damage.
 
Here's a Seer spell.

Message in a Bottle

Rank: 3
Animism: Intoxication: +3
Sacrificial: 7 health or 45gc
Theist: Indifference: +3
Range: Touch
Area of Effect: A piece of parchment or paper
Duration: Up to 1 year
Casting Time: 1 hour

Description: A marvel of pre-cognition, during the casting of this spell, you enter a trance and write one word on a piece of parchment or paper before sealing it into a vessel such as a vase, wine bottle or the like. At any time during the next year you can take the message out of the bottle and read it. You choose the time to do so and the question you want an answer to, although the answer is only ever a single word and may be cryptic. You must spend 10xps to power the spell and can only have 1 message in a bottle active at any one time.

Example: Philo put a message in a bottle after his master was incarcerated on false charges and Philo had to flee the town of his birth. Now, 6 months later he is ready to free his master and has infiltrated the traitor Baron's dungeon. He knows the time is right and opens his Message in a Bottle, asking for the password to get past the guards. On his piece of paper is simply written “Hippopotamus”.
 
Once your Alchemist reaches Vocation Rating (VR) 15, he is able to create mystifying artistic items meant to pass on his knowledge in ways that are indecipherable to the unitiated.
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15 – Allegory & Symbolism – You are skilled in hiding snippets of the alchemists lore in pieces of art such as paintings, sculptures, books and the like. To create an allegorical work you must take the Craft an Item down-time action, succeed with the relevant Craft skill test and then spend 15xps. The resultant work of art holds information for the initiated, should they know where to look. An allegorical work can hold 1 Concoction or Potion formula within it. An adept studying the work must make a successful Lore (Alchemy) skill test in order to learn it.

Alternatively, you can hide messages, doctrine, directions to a certain hidden place or item, orders, or anything else you want hidden from prying eyes. Using Allegory & Symbolism for this purpose only costs 5xps.

Allegorical works are usually associated with their creators and can see the adept responsible being sought out by eager apprentices – or becoming the target of ignorant witch-hunters.
 
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