Meandering Thru the Multiverse

Exploring Atlantis 10: The Greek Pantheon Part 3

2014-06-12T15:33:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I added any Greek gods for Atlantis:The Second Age, so here are four more. (Part 1, Part 2)

Zeus
Persona: Zeus is the god of the sky, oaths, rulers, and law. He is the father of many heroes and all the Olympians, either literally or figuratively. Zeus is regal, judgmental, lusty, and authoritative. He is the supreme god of the Greek pantheon. Zeus is usually armed with a thunderbolt, and rides in a chariot drawn by the Hippoi Athanatoi, horses who are the children of the Four Winds.
Symbol: The thunderbolt, the eagle, and the oak
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Air, Law
Precepts: Uphold all oaths and punish oath breakers.
Follow the rules of hospitality and avenge any wrong done to those who seek it.
Do not rebel against a land's rightful ruler.
Do not harm an eagle.
Storms are the wrath of Zeus. Do not fear them unless you have offended him.

Hades
Persona: Hades is the god of the underworld, wealth, the dead, and all things beneath the earth. He sits on an ebony throne, overseeing the underworld. Hades is stern, gloomy, fair, and pitiless. He is the ruler of the dead and jailer of those who transgress against the gods. Hades possesses a helmet of invisibility, and rides in a golden chariot drawn by four black horses.
Symbol: The key, Kerberos the three headed dog, the bird headed staff, and the narcissus
Realm: Hades
Dominion: Death, The Dead, Law
Precepts: Observe the proper burial customs.
Look away when making an offering to Hades.
Do not let anyone steal from you. Punish the offender.
Do not let entreaties for mercy cloud your judgement.
Death is the eventual lot of the living. Do not seek to cheat it.

Artemis
Persona: Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, wild animals, the hunt, and childbirth. She is a virgin goddess, punishing those who would violate her modesty. Artemis is chaste, graceful, energetic, and wrathful. She is the huntress and the bringer of sudden death, particularly to women. Artemis is armed with a silver bow and arrows, and rides in a chariot drawn by six golden antlered stags.
Symbol: The stag, the moon, the hunting dog, and the silver bow and arrows.
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Animal, Death, Fertility
Precepts: Be chaste and modest in all your actions.
Aid anyone in need of a midwife.
Do not let anyone of the opposite sex look upon your unclothed form.
Do not let those who transgress against you go unpunished.
The greatest pleasure in life is the hunt. Do not forgo it, except at great need.

Hermes
Persona: Hermes is the god of travelers, trade, tricksters, and boundaries. He is the herald of the gods and guide for the dead. Hermes is cunning, eloquent, mischievous, and friendly. He delivers dreams and loves a good prank. Hermes is usually equipped with his famous staff, purse, traveling cloak, sandals, and cap.
Symbol: The kerukeion (caduceus), the pédila (winged sandals), the petasos (hat), and the tortoise.
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Fortune, Travel, Trickster
Precepts: Do your best to come out on top of any transaction.
Aid fellow travelers who are in need.
Do not turn down a request to act as a messenger.
Do not let an opportunity for a good prank go to waste.
Treasure and wealth belong to those who can keep them. Do not fail to
illustrate this fact to others, if the opportunity arises.

And We're Back....... Sort Of

2014-06-06T16:30:00.000-04:00

Due to both an ongoing medical issue in our household and being really busy at work, I haven't been able to game or post on this blog. Work has now slowed down, so posting will resume, but my Atlantis: The Second Age game is on indefinite hiatus until the medical issue is resolved. I still have a few Atlantis themed posts in the works and should get them up next week. I'm also working on a new feature tentatively titled Panning for Gold, where I will examine a book, movie, historical period, etc., and see how many gaming ideas can be gleaned from it. Stay tuned.

No Actual Play Post This Week

2014-04-18T16:15:00.001-04:00

There will be no actual play post this week. Most of my players attended a gaming convention this past weekend, so we didn't have a game. Some people just don't know how to set priorities:).

Exploring Atlantis 9: Meet the PCs Part 4

2014-04-18T16:12:00.001-04:00

(Here are Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

I haven't finished introducing all of the player characters yet. Next up is YD's character, Ulhurr. Ulhurr is an Uluka, or Owlman. The Owlmen are one of the Andaman races created by the Atlanteans as specialized soldiers and servants after their failure with the Nethermen race. There are a variety of other Andaman races including Nemeans (lion-men), Anubim (jackal-men), Asena (wolf-men), Balam (jaguar-men), Tritons (gill-men), and Taurans (Minotaurs or bull-men).

All Andamen share certain traits regardless of species. The blood of an Andaman, when mixed with milk and fed to the type of animal the Andaman was created from, will tame the animal, making it easier to train and loyal to that Andaman. All Andamen are allergic to silver and take extra damage from it. Andamen are at a social disadvantage when dealing with Atlanteans and have a natural reluctance to attack them. Andamen who are not Nemeans also are at a social disadvantage when dealing with Nemeans. These traits are believed to be side effects of magic used to create the Andamen or to have been bred into them deliberately by the Atlanteans.

The Uluka's racial abilities include swift and silent flight, a limited ability to communicate with birds, excellent hearing and vision, and the ability to operate in an oxygen poor environment for extended periods.

Name: Ulhurr        Profession: Scout
Race: Uluka (Owlman) Culture: Curracurrang     Age: 27    Renown: 0

Attributes: Str +1 Dex +1 Con 0 Spd +3 Int +1 Per +2 Wil +1 Cha 0
Combat Rating +2 Magic Rating +1 Wealth Rating +1
Hit Points 18 Hero Points 5 (1 in Fire, 1 in Earth, 1 in Air, 1 in Water, 0 in The Void, 1 in Empyrean)

Skill Levels:
Atheltics 5 Evade 9 Handicraft: Bowyer/Fletcher 2 Influence 2 Instinct: Initiative 3 Languages: Atlantean 10 Literacy: Atlantean 3 Lore: Engineering 5 Parry 4
Perform: Dance 2 Profession: Guide 10 Resolve 1 Stealth 10 Tracking/Shadowing 5
Unarmed Fighting 2 Weapon: Gun 0, Heavy 0, Melee 7, Ranged 10, Thrown 0

Talents: Advanced Missile Training

Disadvantages: Relationship: His brother is an enemy
                              Internal: Claustrophobia
                              External: Bad Luck

Destiny: To bring the Curracurrang culture to a level of civilization equal to any in the world

Walking the Life Paths. Ulhurr had a savage Upbringing and was the child of a retired Hero. He had a Childhood Encounter where he "Watched a god renew his life force in a Vril pool. When he looked upon the god's true form and began to burn, the god took mercy on him and saved him from the awesome sight." Family Status brought the result "Family lost all wealth through betrayal or mismanagement." Ulhurr went through the Previous Adventures section 3 times. By the end, Ulhurr had made an enemy of his brother by causing him to lose face (He exposed the fact that his brother was responsible for the family's lost fortune.), fought pirates in the Saharan Sea and "threw a spear through ten men…or at least that’s how the story goes", and discovered a little known fact during his academic studies, becoming skilled in engineering.

Exploring Atlantis 8: Actual Play Report Part 2

2014-04-10T15:58:00.000-04:00

(You can find Part 1 here)

The party retreated down the road until they were just barely within visual range of the grove. There, they paused to rest, shake off the effects of the wraiths' fear attack, and plan their next move. Their biggest concern were the bows carried by two of the men in the grove. If they again fell prey to the wraiths, the party felt that they would be easy targets for the men. Ulhurr, the owlman, volunteered to fly back to the village and recruit villagers armed with bows to assist in the attack. Everyone else agreed to this plan and Ulhurr flew off toward the village.

After Ulhurr left, the remaining party members rested while still keeping an eye on the grove. It wasn't long before they noticed six people at the grove's edge. Five were the same men as before, along with another individual wielding a long staff. Asrok wanted to get a better look. Using his assassin skills, he melted into the underbrush and silently moved into blowgun range of the men. (Note: Asrok used his Talent, Shadow Walking, in order to move unobserved.) He had previously coated some of his darts with paralysis poison in order to have a nonlethal attack option in case some of the men were mind controlled villagers. Since he had them, he decided to put the darts to good use. In very short order, he had taken down three of the men, including the two bowmen.

The men in the grove knew they were under attack, but were not able to spot Asrok. In retaliation, the staff wielding man directed a group of wraiths towards Asrok's general area. The wraiths started flying in a gradually shrinking spiral around Asrok. It was only a matter of time before they found him. In desperation, Asrok made a mad dash between the wraiths. Somehow, he made it.

Upon seeing all this activity, Phoibe, Tafkap, and Naseer prepared for battle. However, the three remaining men chose to rapidly retreat back into the grove and the wraiths followed. Asrok rejoined the others. They decided to press forward with an attack on the grove and not wait for Ulhurr and the villagers to arrive. Phoibe, the priestess, told the others that if they trusted to the power of Athena, she could protect them from the fear caused by the wraiths. (Note: Phoibe planned to use her Talent, Righteous Words, to inspire the party and help everyone resist the wraiths' fear attack.) They entered the grove, Phoibe loudly chanting a prayer to Athena.

Meanwhile, Ulhurr had caught up with the group of villagers who were transporting the injured attackers (formerly missing villagers themselves) back to the village. He explained the party's desire for more bowmen to assist in attacking the grove. The villagers agreed, and when they arrived at the village, four bowmen were added to their group. They all set back out for the grove. After a short distance Ulhurr told the villagers that he would fly on ahead and rejoin the party. If he deemed the situation too dangerous, he would fly back and warn the villagers.

By this time, the rest of the party had encountered the wraiths again and discovered that, indeed, Phoibe's words helped them resist the wraiths' attacks. Powerless, the wraiths retreated. They continued toward the center of the grove unopposed. At the center, they found a gigantic blackwood tree of enormous girth. The tree had grown into the side of a small building, causing it to collapse. Asrok, Tafkap,and Naseer chose to examine the ruins, while Asrok circled the tree. It was determined that the building was probably a small shrine used during rites connected with the planting or harvesting of the blackwood trees. Asrok discovered a crevice in the tree large enough to admit entry into the apparently hollow interior.

During this time, Ulhurr had arrived back at the location where he had left his companions. They were nowhere to be seen. He did find the three men Asrok had poisoned. Surmising that the rest of the party had reentered the grove, Ulhurr took to the air hoping to see or hear something through the grove's dense canopy. Instead, he encountered the bats once again. They were still guarding the tree. Five individuals, larger than their brethren, broke away from the cloud of bats and headed in Ulhurr's direction. Ulhurr landed on a nearby treetop, unlimbered his bow, and in an amazing display of skill, quickly dropped three of the bats. (Note: Ulhurr used his Talent, Advanced Missile Training, to attack the bats.) The bats crashed through the canopy, landing near the rest of the party. Seeing the skewered bats, they realized that Ulhurr was in the canopy above them. Phoibe shouted to Ulhurr, asking him to join them. Ulhurr dropped through a thin spot in the canopy, leaving the bats behind.

Reunited, the party entered the crevice at the base of the tree. Inside, they found a common sleeping area large enough for 8-10 people. They poked unenthusiastically at the filthy bedding before discovering a small tunnel leading down and to the right. After lighting a small lantern, Asrok crawled in first, followed by Tafkap. It was a tight fit for the burly Lemurian. The rest of the party followed, though Ulhurr did so with the greatest of reluctance. (Note: Ulhurr has the Disadvantage, Claustrophobia. His player could have activated it for some temporary Hero points, but chose not to. He still roleplayed it though.) When Asrok reached the end of the tunnel, he could see that it led to a small underground chamber that was obviously part of the ruins above. As he exited the tunnel, Asrok was attacked by two of the men from the grove, They had positioned themselves on either side of the tunnel exit. Asrok rolled across the chamber and drew his sword. Tafkap gathered his legs beneath himself and sprang from the tunnel mouth. The two of them quickly dispatched both of the men. The rest of the party entered the chamber. It was furnished with a few crude pieces of furniture and was slightly less filthy than the sleeping chamber above.

At the far end of the chamber, a tunnel large enough to walk through single file sloped downward into the earth. Faint light emanated from the tunnel mouth. The party entered cautiously. At the other end was a room hollowed out between the great tree's roots and lit by a few fitfully burning torches. Cells had been dug into the walls of the room. Behind wooden bars were the blacksmith and his family. The party released the captives and tended to their injuries. When asked about the man with the staff, the family told the party that he had been there, but had left through the large tunnel at the other end of the room. No one in the family knew where that tunnel led, but when they had first been captured, they had witnessed another prisoner being dragged into it. They then heard some faint screams. The other prisoner never returned. A debate about what to do with the family then occurred. The family wanted to return to the village immediately. Much of the party wanted to continue down into the tunnel. A compromise was reached. The blacksmith and his family would wait in the hollow tree for either the party to return or for their fellow villagers to arrive. The party would follow the man with the staff.

This tunnel was larger than the others. It was almost ten feet in diameter, with walls of tightly packed earth. At the far end, they found what appeared to be a large, natural hollow in the earth. It, too, was lit by a few fitfully burning torches. The hollow was approximately 20 feet high, 40 feet wide, and 60 feet long. At the far end, a large hole could be seen plunging straight down into the ground. Between the hole and the party stood the man with the staff.

In a querulous voice, the man demanded to know "Are you here to serve Meiroth?" When he received no reply, he began to pray and threatened the party with "Meiroth's wrath". Tafkap strode up to the man and, almost casually, struck him down. Gravely injured, the man continued to pray to Meiroth and to berate the party. Asrok and Phoibe conferred. Neither of them had heard of a god, demon, or spirit named Meiroth.

Phoibe stayed behind to treat and guard the wounded man while the rest of the party continued towards the hole at the far end of the hollow. Blood smears could be seen around the hole and a strange rumbling could be heard coming from its depths. Suddenly the rumbling became louder and the injured man began cackling with glee. "I think we are about to meet Meiroth" shouted Tafkap as a gigantic worm-like creature erupted from the hole. Purple, with a yellow underbelly, the creature possessed an impressive mouthful of teeth, vestigial eyes and two small stalk-like tentacles on its face. Ulhurr took to the air as Tafkap and Asrok moved in to attack. Naseer moved to one side and cast a spell. Fire sprayed from his hands and scorched the beast. The worm writhed in pain, which caused Asrok to miss with his attack. Ulhurr also missed while trying to target one of the stalks. Tafkap struck a mighty blow to the creature's side. He was surprised at the toughness of the worm's slimy, segmented body. It tried to crush Tafkap under its bulk, but he nimbly dodged out of the way. It then tried to grab Ulhurr out of the air with its mouth, but missed. In retaliation, Ulhurr chopped into the worm's densely boned skull with his axe. Naseer again bathed the creature in flame, while both Tafkap and Asrok sliced into it with their swords.

Tired from his spell casting, Naseer fell back to where Phoibe and the prisoner were. Phoibe had bound and gagged the prisoner, in case his prayers were having an effect. Freed from guard duty, Phoibe charged into fray with her spear, stabbing deeply into the worm's underbelly. Tafkap, Ulhurr and Asrok had also scored additional hits on the creature. The worm thrashed to the side, smashed into Asrok, and knocked him down. Phoibe and Tafkap both stabbed the creature one more time before it fell back into the hole.

Asrok noticed that he was experiencing an unpleasant tingling sensation on the slime covered portions of his body. Naseer then attracted everyone's attention when he said "I don't think that worm was Meiroth. I think that's Meiroth." and pointed at the ghostly glowing apparition floating above him.

Exploring Atlantis 7: Actual Play Report Part 1

2014-04-04T16:31:00.000-04:00

I kicked off my Atlantis: The Second Age game this past weekend. Over all, it went fairly well. I could definitely stand to be more familiar with the rules than I am, but that will come with time.

The party consists of Phoibe, the Hellene priestess, Tafkap the Lemurian warrior, Asrok the Hesperian assassian, Naseer the Ophiran sorcerer, and Ulhurr the Uluka (owlman) scout. The adventure started with everyone on board a ship bound for Azae, one of the islands that make up Atlantis. However, due to a fierce storm, the ship found itself run aground off the shore of Diaprepea, an Atlantean island just to the south of Azae. The party had the choice of either waiting for the ship to be repaired, waiting at a nearby village for another ship to eventually come by, or to travel several days to Mehedra, the capital city of Diaprepea, and seek passage to Azae from there. The party decided to rest at the village for a day or so and then journey to Mehedra. They rested at the village tavern and spoke to the tavern keeper about the island in general and about their planned travel route. The party learned that Diaprepea was famous for producing excellent soldiers and not much else. They also learned that the mountainous interior of the island was the abode of unnatural monsters, whose origin was rumored to be a long lost Atlantean military base. They also learned that their planned route would take them past a pre-Cataclysm blackwood grove that was rumored to be haunted. (Note: Atlanteans plant a blackwood tree when a child is born. The tree is tended during the life of the person it was planted for, and when that person dies, it is fashioned into a coffin. Because so many people were lost beyond recovery during the Cataclysm, uncut blackwood groves dot Atlantis, and are often considered haunted.) In fact, the villagers had suffered from several disappearances in the past few months, and it was strongly suspected that the blackwood grove was involved.

The party spent the night at the tavern, which also doubled as the village inn. Upon awakening,they discovered that the village blacksmith, along with his entire family, had been abducted during the night. Ulhurr examined the blacksmith's home and determined that around 8-12 people were involved in the abduction. The tracks led to the road in the direction of the blackwood grove. The party, along with 5 villagers, set out in pursuit.

As the party neared the grove, they entered some ruins. The villagers explained that a pre-Cataclysm town once stood here, but that most of the stone had been carted away long ago. Only the occasional low wall or pile of rubble was present now. Suddenly, a ragged group of 5 men burst from concealment amongst the ruins and began hurling stones at the party. (Note: Very poorly aimed stones, I might add. This was just the beginning of a night filled with abysmal die rolls by the GM.) Ulhurr, Tafkap, and Asrok quickly put down 3 of the attackers with well placed arrows. Naseer cast a shield spell on himself. Phoibe charged one of the remaining attackers and stabbed him with her spear. The last attacker threw a stone which ineffectively bounced off Naseer's shield. Asrok then shot the last foe with an arrow, wounding him severely.

Three of the attackers were dead. Phoibe treated the survivors, who were recognized by the villagers as two of their own who had vanished months earlier. All of the attackers looked disheveled and gaunt. The survivors appeared to be mentally unbalanced, wild-eyed and mumbling to themselves. They did not respond coherently to questioning, though one of them did warn everyone to "Stay away from the tree!". The party decided to send the villagers back home with the injured attackers and explore the grove themselves.

They approached the grove. Ulhurr flew into the sky to conduct an aerial reconnaissance. The branches of the trees were too tightly interwoven to allow him to see into the grove, bu he did spot one tree near the center of the grove that was larger and more gnarled than the other blackwood trees. When he flew toward it, a large flock of bats took to the air from the branches of the tree and headed in his direction. He turned around and reported his findings back to the rest of the party. The party decided to split up. Ulhurr would fly to the large tree and draw the bats to him, while the rest of the party advanced on the ground.

Ulhurr engaged in a delightful aerial ballet with the bats, who seemed unable to touch him (Note: More of that absymal die rolling I mentioned earlier.). The rest of the party entered the grove. At first they noticed nothing except for the darkness under the canopy of the regularly spaced trees. Then they noticed movement out of the corner of their eyes. They gradually realized they were surrounded by insubstantial wraiths, who then attacked. Other than feeling a slight chill and a sense of unease, the party suffered no ill effects (Note: Next game, I'm using a different d20.). They did discover that, likewise, their weapons had no effect on the wraiths. As they continued forward, they encountered 5 men advancing toward them. These five seemed better armed than the previous five, though still wild and disheveled looking. At that point, the wraiths attacked again, unnerving everyone except Naseer. Upon realizing that he was the only one unaffected by the wraiths attack, Naseer cast a spell that caused a glowing, wailing, green wall to rise up between the party and their new attackers. It didn't actually do anything, but it stopped the advance of the men. Naseer then led everyone back out of the grove.

In the meantime, Ulhurr had grown bored with playing tag with the bats. He decided to up the ante. Grabbing his axe, he flew directly to the tree and cut off one of the uppermost branches. This had an immediate effect on the bats. They converged on the tree and started flying around it, only chasing Ulhurr if he approached too closely. Undaunted, Ulhurr performed another flyby, chopping off another branch. Then he noticed a green flare lighting up the sky in the direction of the road. It was Naseer, using a spell to let him know that the rest of the party had left the grove. Ulhurr rejoined everyone else.

Temporarily stymied, the party retreated back down the road toward the village. And the grove? The grove awaits their return.

Exploring Atlantis 6: The Greek Pantheon Part 2

2014-03-28T12:45:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more Greek gods for Atlantis: The Second Age.
(Part 1, Part 3)

Poseidon
Persona: Poseidon is the god of the sea, fresh water, earthquakes, and horses. He is the father of many heroes. Poseidon is impulsive, wrathful, lusty, and competitive. He is one of the three supreme gods of the Greek pantheon. Poseidon is usually armed with a trident, and often rides in a chariot drawn across the surface of the sea by brazen hoofed horses.
Symbol: The dolphin and the trident
Realm: Aegae and Olympus
Dominion: Water, Earth
Precepts: Compete for what you want, even if it currently belongs to another.
Protect that which is yours.
Do not let a slight go unanswered.
Do not harm a dolphin.
Water is sacred. Do not pollute it.

Dionysus
Persona: Dionysus is the god of grapes, wine, ecstasy, and madness. He is the patron of theater. Dionysus is hedonistic, riotous, uninhibited, and inspirational. He usually travels with a procession of maenads (wild women). Dionysus is usually armed with a thyrsus, and often rides in a chariot drawn by exotic beasts, such as leopards, lions, bulls, and griffons.
Symbol: The thyrsus (a fennel staff tipped with a pine cone) the cup, and the grape vine.
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Fertility, Moon
Precepts: Reward hospitality when you travel.
Celebrate freely.
Do not let the uninitiated view the Mysteries of worship.
Do not cut down a grape vine.
Wine is sacred. Do not refuse it.

Hera
Persona: Hera is the goddess of women, marriage, childbirth, and the night sky. She is alternately a patron or foe of many heroes. Hera is jealous, vengeful, solemn, and majestic. She is the wife of Zeus, whom she often advises, and queen of the Greek gods. Hera usually wears a crown and veil, and often rides in a chariot drawn by cattle.
Symbol: The pomegranate, the cow, and the cuckoo
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Fertility, Law
Precepts: Offer counsel to those in need of it.
Render aid to any woman during childbirth.
Do not harm a woman in a temple of Hera.
Do not let a slight go unanswered.
Marriage is sacred. Do not dishonor it.

Exploring Atlantis 5: The Greek Pantheon Part 1

2014-03-21T16:22:00.003-04:00

There are only a few pantheons detailed in the Atlantis: The Second Age rulebook. The Greek pantheon isn't one of them. (In this version of the game, the Atlanteans don't worship Poseidon. Instead they worship a group of African gods that, for the most part, are represented in present day Voudon.) This means I'll have to create some gods for Phoibe the priestess to interact with. Fortunately, there are rules that cover this.

Each pantheon has an overall set of tenets called Dogma. These are rules that worshipers are expected to follow. The example pantheons in the book all have 5 or 6 tenets each. For the Greek pantheon I have chosen the following tenets:

Sacrifice to the gods. It is their due.
Strive for excellence in all that you attempt.
Do not discard the gifts of the gods. Pursue any talents you may have.
Participate in religious festivals. It is a duty as well as a privilege.
Hubris is not pleasing to the gods. Do not think to place yourself above them.

Each god also has a persona, or description, a symbol or symbols that are associated with the god, a realm, where they usually reside (in Atlantis, the gods are physically present in the world. Your character can visit them, though surviving such a trip is questionable.), and one to three Dominions, purviews they hold power over. For every dominion a god has, there is an accompanying Precept, which defines two duties expected of followers and three actions which are proscribed for followers. (The pantheons in the book promptly break this rule. There seems to be little correspondence with the number of duties or proscriptions and the number of Dominions they possess. So I decided to create two duties and three proscriptions for each of my gods and call it a day.)

The Greek gods reside atop Mount Olympus, though a few have residences elsewhere. Zeus reigns over the other gods as head of the pantheon. They appear and act much as mortals do, though they are immortal and unaging. Unless otherwise stated, this is the realm for all of the Greek pantheon.

Athena
Persona: Athena is the goddess of craft, wisdom, law, knowledge and war. She is the patron of the city of Athens, and is often involved with heroes and their undertakings. Athena is brave, thoughtful, deliberate, and just. She is one of the virgin goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Athena is usually armed and armored with a spear, goatskin cloak, helmet, and shield.
Symbol: The owl
Realm: Olympus
Dominion: Craft, War, Law
Precepts: Teach those who are willing to learn. Learn from those who are willing to teach.
Uphold the law wherever you travel. But remember, the purpose of law is to
serve justice, or the law serves no purpose.
Do not take part in an unjust war.
Do not take credit for the works of others.
Knowledge is sacred. Do not cause it to be lost.

I will post other Greek gods as time permits. At the very least I need two more for Phoibe, since a character with the Talent: Dominion Access gets one primary god for free and one additional god for every 5 points in Lore: Theology that the character possesses.

Exploring Atlantis 4: Meet the PCs Part 3

2014-03-20T12:57:00.001-04:00

The next player character belongs to JC. She is playing a priestess of Athena, so this is a good opportunity to talk a little about how gods and religion work in Atlantis: The Second Age.

In Atlantis, anyone can call on the gods. However, priests are better at it than most other people, thanks to the Talent: God's Ear. In order to win a god's favor, a character must make a successful sacrifice to the god. This will earn the character Hero Points, which must be used within a number of days equal to the characters Charisma score.

Characters can also purchase the Talent: Dominion Access. This allows a character to manifest a power associated with a god's dominion. For example, JC's character, Phoibe, wishes to determine which one of a tavern's patrons was involved in a nearby robbery. Determine Guilt is a major ability in the dominion of Law of Phoibe's primary god, so it would cost 6 Hero Points to invoke. Phoibe prays to Athena and looks the patrons in the eyes. The thief's guilt is evident to her. In addition, Phoibe also has access to the minor abilities of one of Athena's dominions for free. This is a permanent choice, and cannot be changed later.

Name: Phoibe        Profession: Priest
Race: Human Culture: Hellene     Age: 26    Renown: 0

Attributes: Str +1 Dex +1 Con +1 Spd 0 Int +1 Per +0 Wil +1 Cha +3
Combat Rating +2 Magic Rating +1 Wealth Rating +2
Hit Points 21 Hero Points 8 (1 in Fire, 1 in Earth, 2 in Air, 2 in Water, 1 in The Void, 1 in Empyrean)

Skill Levels:
Animal Handling 2 Influence 4 Investigate/Search 5 Languages: Atlantean 5, Hellene 10, Lemurian 3 Literacy: Hellene 3, Atlantean 4 Lore: Theology 10, Folklore 1, Herb lore 2, Agriculture 1 Medicine 8 Parry 1 Profession: Priest 10 Resolve 5 Ride 1
Unarmed Fighting 1 Weapon: Gun 0, Heavy 0, Melee 2, Ranged 1, Thrown 0

Talents: God's Ear, Dominion Access, Righteous Words

Disadvantages: Relationship: Followed by a mysterious group with unknown motives
                              Internal: Sacred vows to Athena
                              External: Susceptibility to alcohol

Destiny: To be Athena's greatest priestess, and found a temple school in her name

Walking the Life Paths. Phoibe had a rural Upbringing whose parents were laborers (farmers). She had a Childhood Encounter where she "Met and was mentored by a wizened slave who claimed to be a king from a faraway land. He gave her his only possession, a trinket, and told her it would make her Queen." Family Status brought the result "Family is blessed by the gods for some past deed done by your ancestors." Phoibe went through the Previous Adventures section 3 times. By the end, Phoibe had traveled the world in search of knowledge and the truth, solved a math equation that unlocked the untapped recesses of her mind, and was allowed to study the sacred tomes of Aesculapius, becoming more skilled in medicine.

Exploring Atlantis 3: Meet the PCs Part 2

2014-03-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

Next up in Meet the PCs is EC's character:

Name: Asrok        Profession: Assassin
Race: Human Culture: Hesperian     Age: 24    Renown: 0

Attributes: Str +1 Dex +4 Con 0 Spd 0 Int +2 Per +2 Wil 0 Cha +1
Combat Rating +2 Magic Rating 0 Wealth Rating +5
Hit Points 20   Hero Points 6 (1 in Earth, 2 in Air, 2 in Water, 1 in The Void)

Skills:
Athletics: 10 Deception 6 Disable Mechanism 8 Evade: 6 Influence: 5,
Instinct: Initiative 4 Languages: Atlantean 10, Hellene 5 Literacy: Atlantean 7
Lore: Theology 3, Navigate 3 Parry: 6 Profession: Assassin 10 Ride: 8 Stealth: 10 Unarmed Fighting: 10 Weapon: Gun 0, Heavy 0, Melee 10, Ranged 9, Thrown 5

Talents: Shadow Walking, Wealthy

Disadvantages: Relationship: Scorned Amazonian lover
                              Internal: Code of conduct- Unwilling to kill bystanders
                              External: Debt of service to Atlantean crime lord

Destiny: To become the most skilled assassin in the world

Walking the Life Paths. Asrok had a civilized Upbringing and is the "Child of a Retired Hero". He had a Childhood Encounter where he "Saw a star fall from the sky and found its remains." Family Status brought the result "Family is poised for greatness or unbelievable failure." Asrok went through the Previous Adventures section 3 times. At the end, Asrok had battled alongside the great Nubian warrior Shabataka and learned the art of misdirection and evasion from him, made a lifelong friend in the city of Tartessos, and made an enemy of an ex-lover.

Asrok is a good example how the Life Path system can be useful to the GM as well as the player. EC chose Hesperia as his male character's culture. (He did so because he liked the accompanying skills and bonuses, without bothering to read about Hesperia.) But Hesperia is the land of the Amazons. A native male assassin should be an unlikely prospect in Hesperia. But what if there was an organization of male assassins in Hesperia? It would be greatly feared and hated.

Thus were born the 'Little Brothers of the Night', an order of assassins that is the terror of Hesperia. Run by women, (this is still the land of the Amazons after all), the 'Little Brothers' are trained by women known as the 'Elder Sisters'. All answer to the 'Revered Mother', whose identity is known by few, if any, of the other members. It is this organization that Asrok has fled Hesperia to escape after a romance with one of the Elder Sisters went bad (which accounts for his Disadvantage: Ex-lover for an enemy).

The Life Paths also can be used to tie some of the characters together. If we look back at Tafkap's Life Paths, we see that he spent some time fighting with the Amazons. This can explain how he and Asrok are acquainted. They met during Tafkap's time in Hesperia. In Asrok, Tafkap saw a skilled travelling companion from whom he could possibly learn some new fighting techniques. In Tafkap, Asrok saw a ticket away from his current problems in Hesperia.

Exploring Atlantis 2: Meet the PCs Part 1

2014-03-06T11:45:00.003-05:00

In a previous post, I promised to introduce you to the player characters for my Atlantis: The Second Age game I am preparing to run. This will also give me a chance to talk a little about character creation in the game. I'll start with RM's character.

Step 1: Choose a race. Of the 13 races available, RM chose to play a Lemurian, an advanced race of intelligent apes. Physically strong and technologically advanced, Lemurians could at one time have laid claim to the title of world rulers, but now most reside in isolation on the continent of Lemuria. Lemurians are also the only characters that normally have access to firearms, but RM chose not to equip his character with any. (This decision by the normally rabid gun enthusiast caused another player to ask "Who are you and what have you done with our friend?") This also set the character's baseline attributes and granted a few special abilities available only to Lemurians.

Step 2: Choose a culture. There are many, many cultures in the game to choose from, and all cultures are available to all races. RM chose the most obvious one for his character, Lemuria. This gave his character a variety of skill bonuses and a +1 to his intelligence.

Step 3: Choose a profession. This is as close to the concept of character class as this game gets. Of the 4 broad professions available, RM chose The Slayers, which gave him access to the Slayer Talents. (These talents can be chosen by other professions, but at a higher cost.) Within the profession, RM chose Warrior. This gave him a variety of skill bonuses, a +1 to his wealth rating, and the Slayer Talent, Cleave, which basically lets a PC hit multiple opponents per melee attack.

Step 4: Walk the Life Paths. (This is one of the features that led me to pick Atlantis: The Second Age for my next game. Last year I ran a very short campaign of Fortune's Fool. One of the things the players particularly enjoyed about it was the character creation Life Path system. I wanted to run a game where that was a part of character creation again.) A character's Life Paths are determined by a combination of choice and random die rolls. RM chose a civilized Upbringing and rolled "Child of Thieves". For Childhood Encounter he rolled "Switch places with a prince and asked to rule in his stead. After 1D20 (15) months the prince returned and took his rightful place." Family Status brought the result "Entire family killed in a great war." The Previous Adventures section can be chosen up to 5 times. Each trip through this section ages the character a random number of years. RM decided to go through this section all 5 times. At the end, his character had dined with a cannibal king and lost an eye, formed a love/hate friendship with a noble, found a strange and valuable device, gained a devoted wife and fathered 3 children, and fought with the Amazons. He's had a very busy life and the game hasn't even started yet!

Step 5: Final Details. There are a slew of things tucked into this category. Character Age (determined by Race and Previous Adventures), which can modify Attributes , Hit Points (determined by Race and the CON Attribute), Renown (which is sort of a combination of experience points and reputation), Hero Points, which are similar to fate points or bennies in other games, and are distributed into different Atman elemental categories, 30 Customization Points to spend on Attributes, Skills, and Talents, Disadvantages to choose, which the player can bring into effect in order to earn more Hero Points, and a Destiny to choose for the character. RM did all this and the finished character looks like this:

Name: Tafkap (which is a really, really bad joke)       Profession: Warrior
Race: Lemurian   Culture: Lemurian     Age: 33    Renown: 6

Attributes: Str +3 Dex +1 Con 0 Spd 0 Int +3 Per +2 Wil 0 Cha 0
Combat Rating +2 Magic Rating -2 Wealth Rating +1
Hit Points 20   Hero Points 5 (2 in Earth, 2 in Air, 1 in Empyrean)

Skills:
Athletics: 10 Evade: 8   Handicraft: Weaponsmith 2, Needlework 2 Instinct: Initiative 4 Languages: Lemurian 10, Atlantean 3, Hellene 3 Literacy: Lemurian 2 Medicine: 2 Parry: 7 Profession: Slayer 10 Ride: 2 Stealth: 6 Unarmed Fighting: 7 Weapon: Gun 2, Heavy 0, Melee 10, Ranged 8, Thrown 6

Talents: Cleave

Disadvantages: Relationship: Jealous royal cousin of prince he switched places with
                              Internal: Claustrophobia
                              External: One eye

Destiny: To found the world's greatest fighting school and train disciples of renown

I will post the other characters later (but probably just the Life Path results and the Stat summary).

Day 28 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: What's the single most important lesson you've learned from playing D&D

2014-03-03T08:42:00.000-05:00

Edit: Looks like my last post didn't manifest and I just now noticed.

I didn't start playing D&D in order to learn anything. I play to relax, to socialize, to have fun. I play because it's interesting, it's exciting, it's diversionary. Not to learn a lesson.

But, of course, you learn something from any activity you participate in. Role playing games can teach a number of different lessons. The single most important lesson I've learned from playing D&D? Flexibility.

As a player, you have to flexible when facing the challenges presented to you during play. The obvious answer may not be the one that works. As a DM, you have to be flexible when your players perform some completely off the wall action instead of what you expected them to. In order to set up a session you have to be flexible in order to accommodate everyone's schedule as best you can. And a certain amount of flexibility is useful in bringing the disparate personalities around the table together into a functional gaming group.

Day 27 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything different when you first started gaming

2014-02-27T11:16:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure we could have done things much differently. In our relative isolation, there weren't any local game stores to patronize, few, if any, other gaming groups to become involved with, a scarcity of gaming products, and no internet, of course. I don't even think we were aware there were such things as gaming conventions to attend.

We didn't suffer from the personality clashes that seem to pepper so many of these reminisces, so no regrets there. We were always eager to welcome anyone who showed any interest in the game. I suppose we could have put more effort into recruiting new people. That may be the one thing I would do differently, if given the chance.

All in all, we had a great time, and I remember it fondly.

Day 26 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: Do you still game with the group that introduced you to the hobby

2014-02-26T08:45:00.000-05:00

No. While I am still in touch with 2 of my high school gaming group, neither plays anymore. One of them was part of my current group, but between work related travel and the distance he lives from the rest of us, just can't make it. The other one has abandoned RPGs in favor of an obsession with board games. So I do get to play games with him, just not RPGs.

Day 25 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: Longest running campaign/gaming group you've been in

2014-02-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

The longest running D&D campaign I have participated in was probably our high school campaign run by Mike. It lasted almost 2 years. The longest running gaming group I played D&D with was the same high school group as mentioned above. We played together a little over two years.

If we are talking about games other than D&D, it's a close call. The longest running campaign I have participated in was either Robert's first edition Warhammer Fantasy campaign or Art's Amber game. They both lasted about 4 years real time. Robert's Traveller game also lasted that long, but I joined it after it had been running for about a year.

Answering the second part of the question is a bit harder. When does a group quit being the same group? When I started college, none of my high school gaming friends came with me. I got involved with a new group by simply walking up to a guy I didn't know because he had a Player's Handbook under his arm. That group lasted a year, then our DM left to do an internship. Part of that group joined up with a few other people and started playing. A couple of my high school group then started or transferred to the same college and they started playing with us as well. I suppose that is either 3 or 4 groups, though some of the groups shared members. none lasted much more than 2 years.

After college, there were a few of us who still lived close enough together that we could continue gaming together. There are 3 of us who still meet regularly, 1 who comes occasionally, and 1, (who I have been gaming with since high school), who shows up when the stars are right. We have been gaming together for about 28 years, longer for some of us. Along with the remains of my wife's college gaming group, which consists of 3 people as well, and one other occasional person, our current group of regulars have been gaming together for over 18 years.

Day 24 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First movie that comes to mind that you associate with D&D

2014-02-24T12:58:00.001-05:00

Another question that I am not sure how to answer. The only movie that comes to mind is the animated Rankin/Bass movie The Hobbit. Besides the obvious inspiration that D&D owes Tolkien's works, one of my regular high school and college players was a second cousin of mine. He had a copy of the film and had watched it so many times that he had memorized it, songs and all. During a game, he would occasionally break out with a thematically appropriate song. (In college, he had a tendency to sing all of the songs after a night out on the town.)

Edit: I guess that answers yesterday's question as well:)

Day 23 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First song that comes to mind that you associate with D&D

2014-02-24T12:38:00.001-05:00

Hmm... I don't know if I have ever consciously associated a particular song with D&D. I don't use music when I run a game, and I can't remember ever having addressed this topic before.

Day 22 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First D&D based novel you ever read

2014-02-24T12:26:00.003-05:00

(Weekend posting did not occur as planned.)

The first D&D novel I ever read was the first D&D novel, Quag Keep. I have been an Andre Norton fan since a librarian recommended her books to me when I was 11. I am fairly sure that I read it before I actually played D&D.

I haven't made a practice of reading D&D based novels in general. Mostly I've read whatever has happened to cross my path by chance.

Exploring Atlantis 1: Game overview

2014-02-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

I don't intend to do much in the way of reviews on this blog. There are plenty of places on the internet to find that sort of thing. You can generally assume that if I'm talking about a game product, I like it. However, I do feel that I should describe the product at least a little so that anyone considering purchasing it might have more to go on than just my enthusiasm for it.

Atlantis: The Second Age is a sword and sorcery RPG currently put out by Khepera Publishing. It is the third edition of a game originally published by Bard Games. The biggest differences between this iteration of the game and previous ones are the lifepath character creation system and the removal of non sword and sorcery type creatures. There are no elves, dwarves, unicorns, or fairies in this version. If neither of those things appeal to you, you might be happier with the second edition of the game, which Khepera currently also has available in pdf form.

There are a few problems with the game I feel I should address, however. While the overall production value for the pdf is fairly high (as of this writing, the printed version is not available), it shows signs of being "rushed out the door". There are a few more typos than I am comfortable with, and several places where it appears that two different versions of the same information weren't reconciled. As an example, in at least one place in the book, there are references to a Speak Language skill. In other places, the skill is referred to only as Language. This caused some confusion during character creation. There are a few organizational issues. An example of this is the placement of the Racial Attribute maximums almost at the end of the character creation section. It is possible to start a the beginning of the character creation section, get to the end, and realize that you have spent more points on your attributes than allowed.

One other thing to be aware of is the fact that the bestiary section is very small. There is advice on how to create creatures for your game, but if you aren't the type who enjoys doing that, you might be better off waiting for the official Bestiary.

After indulging in what could be categorized as nit-picking, I will take this opportunity to state again: I like this game, I am happy I purchased it, and I am preparing to run it very soon. In future posts I will discuss what I like about the game in greater detail, and introduce you to the player characters in my game. In the meantime, grandexperiment has a nice variety of posts on Atlantis: The Second Age character creation that I can recommend.

Day 21 D&D 40th Anniversay Blog Hop: First time you sold some of your D&D books

2014-02-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

The only D&D related item I have ever sold was my Dragon magazine collection. At the time I hadn't played any version of D&D in 10 years or more. My not-yet-then wife was still running the FLGS at the time. She suggested taking the magazines to the store and selling them there. They were taking up a lot of space, and I hadn't touched them in forever. Honestly, I couldn't think of a good reason not to. It was a little sad to go by the store and watch them disappear day by day. Considering the fact that I eventually lost most of my game collection a few years later, it was just as well that I sold them.

Day 20 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First non D&D RPG you played

2014-02-20T08:02:00.000-05:00

The first RPG I played other than D&D was Gamma World. It was the first edition boxed set, if I remember correctly. We enjoyed it, but didn't play it a lot. The most memorable campaign was one that actually started out as a D&D game, where our arch enemy was a hyper-intelligent gargoyle, Fontaine. When we eventually tracked him down, we discovered that he wasn't a gargoyle at all. Fontaine was a Gamma World mutant who had discovered a portal between the worlds. Naturally, we followed him back to his world in order to put an end to him and his nefarious plans.

Day 19 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First gamer who just annoyed the hell out of you

2014-02-19T10:20:00.001-05:00

I suppose I have been pretty lucky in this regard. I haven't actually had to regularly game with anyone I've found particularly annoying. I have run into gamers at conventions that were a bit hard to take, but that comes with the territory. I can't recall any specifics, though.

Day 18 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First gaming convention you ever attended

2014-02-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

My first gaming convention was a local one. My FLGS used to hold one every year. It didn't exactly have a name, just "The Rusty Scabbard Gaming Convention". (If you have read my previous posts, you know that "The Rusty Scabbard" was the name of my FLGS.) For a local convention, it was pretty nice. There was a large selection of games, and a decent selection of vendors. I enjoyed every year I attended.

In point of fact, the local conventions were so enjoyable that my local college group decided that we would hold our own. We held it for two years and had a great time. (After that, we lost our faculty sponsor and disbanded.)

I have attended a variety of other conventions, but not in many years. The heyday of my convention attendance was during the mid '80s through the mid '90s, which included regular visits to GenCon. Of course it was a lot more affordable back then, and a lot easier to arrange the time off.

Day 17 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: First time you heard that D&D was somehow evil

2014-02-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

I think the first time I encountered the idea that D&D was "evil" was the infamous book, Mazes and Monsters, or possibly the less infamous, but similar book, Hobgoblin. I didn't run into either of these books until I was in college, after I had been playing for several years. (I somehow have avoided seeing the movie adaptation of Mazes and Monsters.) After I read those two books I began listening to the experiences of other gamers, and found out that the idea that D&D was "harmful" or "evil" was something that a lot of them had run afoul of at one point or another. This was new to me. When we started playing in high school, (and we actually played at school), we experienced none of this. People who thought it was weird, yes. People who thought it was evil, no. I think there was so little awareness of the hobby in the population at large, that it just didn't register on any level, for good or bad reasons.

Day 16 D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop: Do you remember your first edition war

2014-02-16T15:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't participated in an Edition war. My group was usually happy to play whatever was available, at least until 3rd edition came out. By then, we weren't playing much D&D at all, so it didn't matter that most of us didn't care for it. We did play a 3rd edition game, but it kind of fizzled out due to lack of enthusiasm.