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Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:19 PM
OPEN FOR COMMENTS.

These are rules for a PbP game (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?604844-Wandering-among-ten-thousand-tombs-Game-Thread) on these forums.

Everything down to the next post saying "OPEN FOR COMMENTS" is fixed as far as that game goes. Changes to the rules not applicable to the ongoing game will be marked with italics and will be mentioned in OoC in the game thread. Everything after that next "OPEN FOR COMMENTS" post will be responsive to critiques.

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:21 PM
Beneath the ever-traveling barge of the sun sprawls the Red Land, the harsh scrubland of weeds and succulents among red-orange stone weathered to sand. Nomadic herders wander there.

The Black Land is the fertile river valley that splits the Red Land from the rocky ochre hills down to the verdant saltmarsh by the purple sea. At the high parts of the Black Land, above the floodmark, cities of the living sprawl among lower-lying farmland that is renewed each year by the river floods.

In the parts of the Red Land near the living cities, the houses of the sleeping ones stand silent and ornate, filled with treasure and dreams.

These faces of the Red and Black Lands make the Waking Land, where the living walk and gods and demons dream. The Sleeping Land comprises Duat and Ament, the back faces of the Red and Black, where those who dream and gods and demons walk.

Rules: a Barbarians of Lemuria variant, to be further discussed in subsequent posts. Briefly, characters are built from a pool of points assigned to Attributes (Strength, Agility, Mind, Appeal), Careers, and Combat Abilities (Initiative, Unarmed, Weapons, and Ranged). Their Ka is their vital force, and it is lost or spent in combat and in other tasks. All tasks are resolved by rolling 2d6, adding applicable Attribute and Career or Ability, and comparing to a target number (usually 9, modified upward for especially difficult tasks).

Ma'at and Heka: Ma'at is the proper form of the Lands. Heka is the force that pervades the Lands, eroding and adding to Ma'at. Using Heka consumes a portion of the user's Ka. Each Career may use Heka, and each knows different spells for specific purposes. There is no all-purpose Magician career.

Links for Additional Setting Material:
The dreaming city
(https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/necropolis-of-saqqara-egy-giza-saq.htm)The enduring and beautiful city (https://www.ancient.eu/Memphis_(Ancient_Egypt)/)

Barter economy (https://www.quora.com/Did-ancient-Egypt-have-money-How-did-it-work)
Trade in ancient Egypt (https://www.ancient.eu/article/1079/trade-in-ancient-egypt/)
Weights and measures (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/measures.htm)
Wages and payments (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/prices.htm)

Daily life (https://www.ancient.eu/article/933/daily-life-in-ancient-egypt/)
Clothing (https://www.ancient.eu/article/1037/fashion--dress-in-ancient-egypt/)
Food (https://www.ancient.eu/video/1615/food--drink-in-ancient-egypt-slide-show/)

Deities (https://www.ancient.eu/article/885/egyptian-gods---the-complete-list/)
Medicine (https://www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Medicine/)
Magic (https://www.ancient.eu/article/1019/magic-in-ancient-egypt/)

NPC names (https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/egyptian-names.php)

Mittani (https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/forgotten-empire-ancient-kingdom-mitanni-005103)
Kush (https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/ancient-kush-2nd-millennium-b-c-4th-century-d/)
Ethiopia
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Ancient_Egypt_map-hiero.svg
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Highlands)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ancient_Egyptian_towns_and_cities

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:25 PM
In the Two Lands, when a hero attempts a task the hero's player usually rolls
2d6 + relevant Attribute + relevant Career

and compares the result to a target number. If the roll equals or exceeds the target, the hero succeeds. Usually, the target number is 9 (for tasks that would be challenging for the unskilled). No roll is required if the task would not challenge the unskilled.

The target may be modified upward for exceptionally difficult tasks.
Generally, the modifier is +1 if the task would be challenging for someone skilled in it, +2 if the task would be challenging for a master, +3 if the task would challenge the best in the city, +4 if the task would challenge the best in the region, and +5 if the task would challenge the best in the Two Lands.

Two special types of tasks are attack rolls and rolls for the use of Heka.

The difficulty of an attack roll is
9 + target's Agility + target's Combat Ability;

the attack roll is
2d6 + attacker's Agility + attacker's Combat Ability.


The difficulty of a Heka roll is
9 + target's Strength or Mind (whichever is relevant, if any) + reduction in maximum Ka cost.;

the Heka roll is
2d6 + user's Mind or Appeal + user's relevant Career.


Heroes may assist each other in attempting tasks. Each assistant who has a Career relevant to the task may make a task roll, and if it is successful then their lowest die is added to the principal hero's task roll. This applies equally to combat, the use of Heka, or any other task. Note that anyone assisting in the use of Heka will incur a cost in Ka that equals their lowest die, and the principal may distribute some of their own cost onto assistants.

Rolling a 2: a 2 always fails. If you choose to subject your hero to woe, you can make a roll of 2 a Calamitous Failure and narrate how badly things go wrong. The benefit of doing this is that your hero immediately regains d3 Ka.

Rolling a 12: a 12 always succeeds, even if the target number is greater than 12. If you roll a 12 when the target number is less than 12, this is a Mighty Success. Basically an ordinary success, plus an extra effect. The extra effect will depend on what type of task you were trying to achieve. You can spend 1 Ka to make an ordinary success a Mighty Success. If you already have a Mighty Success, you can spend 1 Ka to make it a Legendary Success (a Mighty Success, plus another Mighty Success).

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:26 PM
Heroes are a special type of character, gifted with more impressive Attributes and greater Career accomplishment than the ordinary characters.
An ordinary character has 1 point to spend on Attributes and 1 point to spend on Careers. A hero, on the other hand, has 4 points to spend on Attributes and 4 points to spend on Careers. The points are spent to attain ranks in each of four Attributes and four Careers. A hero's chosen Careers then may grant additional points to spend on ranks in Combat Abilities.

In Attributes, Careers, and Combat Abilities, ranks have the same significance:
rank -1 is subnormal (this is not a possible rank for a Career);
rank 0 is normal ability or passing familiarity;
rank 1 is above normal, a skilled worker (the journeyman);
rank 2 is superb, a master;
rank 3 is the best in the nome;
rank 4 is the best in the region;
rank 5 is the best in the Two Lands (only one hero may have rank 5 in a given Attribute, Career, or Combat Ability).

To build a hero, first allocate 4 points among the Attributes of Strength, Agility, Mind, and Appeal. Strength and Agility define the hero's physical might and alacrity. Mind treats of tasks related to understanding or figuring out factual information, such as medical diagnosis, crafting items, using Heka, researching legends, etc. Appeal focuses on one's personal bearing and ability to favorably impress the people they encounter. It's not necessarily related to beauty but appearance is a component. No Attribute may start at higher than 3. The lowest value for a starting Attribute is -1, which gives an extra point to spend on a different Attribute.

Next, allocate 4 points among four Careers. No Career may start at a rank higher than 3. No Career may start at less than 0. Heroes may roll for any type of task, not just those associated with their Careers, but outside their careers, heroes are so ill-informed that they must roll at -1.

A hero's highest-ranked Career determines their Caste rank, which is added to their Ka. Low Caste has rank 1, Mid Caste rank 2, and High Caste rank 3. No hero may start play in the Exalted Caste (rank 4).

Next, allocate points to Combat Abilities of Initiative, Unarmed, Weapons, or Ranged. Each hero has one point to spend here. Additional points are granted equal to the hero's ranks in combat-related Careers. For example, a heroic Soldier 2 - Huntsman 2 would have a total of 5 points to spend on Combat Abilities. An ordinary Soldier - 1 would have two points to spend on Combat Abilities. The minimum starting value for a Combat Ability is -1, which gives an extra point to spend on a different Ability. The maximum starting value is 3. Combat Ability ranks have the same significance as Career ranks.

Determine Ka. The formula for starting Ka is
4 + Strength + Mind + Caste rank.
also in consideration: 5 + Appeal + Caste rank

As explained in The economy of Ka, this formula reflects the hero's importance in Ma'at, the eternal order. The gods of Mythic Egypt smile on those who are likeable and devoted to highminded endeavors. Ordinary characters have fewer Ka than heroes - they start with 1 Ka, plus any Appeal, plus Caste, so that a High Caste ordinary might have 5 Ka at most.

Select Favors and Spites. Your hero is Favored by at least one of the gods (https://www.ancient.eu/article/885/egyptian-gods---the-complete-list/), and gets a bonus die on task rolls associated with one aspect of that god's authority (roll 3d6 and use the better two). For example, a hero Favored by Heka would get a bonus die on rolls for using Heka. A different hero, Favored by Apis, would get a bonus die on rolls for physical exertion. Your hero may be favored by other gods as well, but the gods are jealous, so for each additional Favor your hero will be Despised by a different god. Spite of a god adds a penalty die to relevant task rolls (roll 3d6 and use the worse two). Favors and Spites can be stacked with or can cancel out situational bonuses or penalties, so in some circumstances you might roll 4d6 and use the best or worst two dice while in other circumstances you might roll just 2d6 despite your hero's Favor or Spite.

Write a backstory for your hero. A good backstory has a few sentences describing the character's childhood, a few sentences describing their experience in each of their Careers, a sentence or two for each of their transitions between Careers, and probably a little bit about their Favors and Spites.

That's it - you have built your hero.

Now, equipment.
Each hero begins with the trappings (and possibly the property) necessary for their Careers with greater than 0 rank. They would have spare change, except that the Two Lands run on a grain-based barter economy; so instead, they have a few bracelets and bangles of gold and silver, and a few friends who owe them favors. They owe favors too. For example, a Soldier 1 - Smith 3 - Merchant 0 - Beastmaster 0 would have a medium weapon, armor or shield or both, an anvil and hammer, and a forge. They also might have friends from their time as a soldier, a smith, and so on. If they were favored by Hathor in her aspect as the goddess of friendship, or by Set in his aspect as a comrade of war, or by Ptah in his aspect as the god of craftworkers, they could have a set of really reliable friends.

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:31 PM
Ka is the vital essence, the portion of Ma'at that anchors a person's soul to the Waking Land in life and to the Sleeping Land after life. When Ka is separated from the Ha (body) and Ba (personality), a person passes between the worlds. A little bit of Ka gets separated when a person needs to sleep. If all the Ka is separated, the person is at risk of death.

Each character begins with an amount of Ka that is determined by their Strength, Mind, and Caste (which is determined by their highest-ranked Career). The formula for starting Ka is
4 + Strength + Mind + Caste rank.
also in consideration: 5 + Appeal + Caste rank.

This formula reflects the importance that a character holds in Ma'at, the eternal order. The gods of Mythic Egypt smile on those who are likeable and devoted to highminded endeavors. This formula also implies that most unarmored characters (other than heroes) can be killed by a single accurate attack with any sort of weapon. Even heroes, at the beginning of their adventures, are vulnerable unless they wear armor or carry a shield.

Ka is separated from Ha by injury, by illness, or by practicing Heka. Additionally, each day of work separates 1 Ka at sunset, just before the character begins their night-time rest within the Sleeping Land. d3 Ka are restored each morning at sunrise, as the character returns to the Waking Land. The restoration of Ka is reduced by 2 for lack of sustenance, and does not happen without rest. Thus, an ordinary person doing ordinary daily labor and getting adequate sleep and nutrition is in a state of balance - they lose and regain 1 Ka each day. Injury or illness or practicing Heka or lack of rest or sustenance can throw this balance awry, sometimes leading to death.

Another character can aid the restoration of Ka by making a successful task roll, which will add the character's Physician Career rank to the number of Ka that are regained at the next sunrise.

If all of a character's Ka is separated, then they are on the verge of permanently crossing from the Waking Land to the Sleeping Land and they cannot recover Ka normally. A successful Healing task must be accomplished before the next sunset to prevent the character from going forever to the Sleeping Land and to enable them to regain Ka at sunrise. This is a one-shot task, although the character attempting the task can spend Ka normally to reroll as many dice as they want.

Permanently gaining and spending Ka: A hero gains 2 Ka to their total each time they survive an adventure. They may spend Ka to attain greater ranks in Attributes, Careers, or Combat Abilities. This all is discussed in the character advancement section below.

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:32 PM
Ma'at and Vocations: Ma'at, the Eternal Form of the Two Lands, establishes a proper vocation for every person and expects that each person will fill that role for their entire life. In order to discern a character's Ma'at, exams are given at the verge of adulthood (around age 10). For Mid Caste or High Caste careers the exams are written; for Low Caste careers they are oral. One's performance on the placement exams reveals one's destiny.

A hero's Ma'at is extraordinary in that the hero will have multiple Careers during his or her adventures. Typically, a hero's Careers progress upward through the Castes; however, a hero who suffers under a god's Spite might have fallen down the ladder of accomplishment.

Heros begin play in the Low, Mid, or High Caste, according to their highest-ranked Career. The Exalted Caste can be attained only through adventuring.

Note that Caste affects Ka according to
4 + Strength + Mind + Caste rank.


Exalted Caste (rank 4)

Advisor: Nobility; Being second only to a Pharaoh; Commanding the kingdom when the Pharaoh is unavailable; Creating laws; Passing judgments; Commanding armies; Having servants and owning slaves; Having great wealth and possessions, including a palace; Reading and writing.

High Priest: Being highly respected; Being the highest servant of the Gods; Speaking directly with the Gods and obeying their will; Knowing all the rituals; Using Heka in the manner of their God; Having a temple, servants, and slaves; Collecting grain and enforcing laws; Reading and writing.

Nomarch: Nobility; Being third only to the Pharaoh and Advisors; Commanding a Nome (region) of the kingdom; Passing judgments; Commanding soldiers; Having servants and owning slaves; Having great wealth and possessions, including a palace; Reading and writing.


High Caste (rank 3)

Architect: Designing pyramids, temples, palaces, and simple homes; Understanding advanced Pythagorean mathematics; Having servants, possibly slaves, and a sanctuary; Reading and writing.

Astronomer: Keeping the calendar of days and weeks and years; Predicting floods and storms; Identifying the proper times for planting and for harvest; Navigating by the stars; Calculating the proper names for souls; Reading and writing; Knowing advanced mathematics.

Oracle: Speaking in prophecy; Predicting the future; Never being wrong, only misinterpreted; Using Heka, but for divination only; Having a small temple.

Physician / Embalmer: Healing the sick and wounded through simple surgery, dentistry, setting of bones and traditional herbal remedies; Preparing the dead for burial; Having servants, possibly slaves, and a sanctuary; Reading and writing.

Priest: Being a servant of the Gods; Obeying the will of the High Priest; Knowing most of the rituals; Using Heka in the manner of their God; Having servants, possibly slaves; Living in a Temple; Enforcing laws; Reading and writing.


Mid Caste (rank 2)

Artist: Painting reliefs and murals; Decorating tombs, temples, and palaces; Reading and writing but only a little.

Captain / Charioteer: Commanding and fighting from a chariot; Using swords, bows, spears, maces, and axes; Wearing armor and using shields.

Craftsman: (Baker, brewer, smith, carpenter, etc.) Preparing baked goods, beverages, pottery, jewelry, metalwork, boats, ships, furniture, and other goods; Having useful tools; Having a workshop with apprentices.

Courtier: Managing the household or offices of a Nomarch, a High Priest, or even the Advisor; Organizing parties and events; Starting and gathering rumors; Acting as a gatekeeper and favor-arranger; Being seen around the city; Feasting and drinking; Reading and writing but only a little; Knowing who is important and who is only self-important; Supervising, rewarding, and punishing servants.

Scribe: Reading and writing; Supervising most day-to-day government activities; Transcribing stories, contracts, judgments, and decrees; Accounting for funds; Staffing a nomarch's court or even the Kingpriest's court.

Stonemason: Knowing how to take an architect’s plans and make them real; Commanding laborers to build; Being a site manager; Knowing advanced mathematics; Reading and writing.

Teacher: Reading and writing; Imparting knowledge to others; Influencing critical thought and philosophy.


Low Caste (rank 1)

Constable: Patrolling to prevent crime; Helping to find lost animals, children, and objects; Investigating crimes; Arresting people; Enforcing the judgments of priests and nomarchs; Using weapons.

Entertainer: Dancing; Juggling; Performing theater; Acrobatics; Working a crowd.

Farmer: Growing crops; Raising livestock; Being the pillar upon which all of society functions.

Fisherman: Piloting boats on rivers; Avoiding crocs and hippos; Fishing; Swimming.

Foot Soldier: Fighting on foot with swords, bows, spears, maces and axes; Wearing armor and using shields; Marching long distances.

Hunter: Tracking beasts; Taming beasts; Navigating wilderness; Hiding from prey; Identifying and avoiding predators; Using a bow, spear, or other weapons to bring down prey; Running.

Merchant: Transporting the goods of craftsman and farmers for a fair charge; Navigating by starlight; Conveying payment from customers to suppliers; Tending to draft animals; Packing and repairing carts; Maintaining a market and charging fees for its use; Haggling; Good with a knife.

Musician: Producing and playing music on drums, pipes, harps, and horns; Singing.

Servant: Doing the bidding of your employer; Domestic skills; Cooking, cleaning and so on; Menial tasks such as laboring in construction; Being unintentionally privy to secrets of your employer.

Sailor: Piloting ships and boats out to sea; Maintaining ships and boats; Navigating by stars or landmarks; Fighting from ship; Using swords and bows; Swimming.


Untouchable (rank 0)

Slave: Being condemned to toil or fight for a term or indefinitely as a punishment for crime; Having no rights; Enduring deprivation and the lash.

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:39 PM
Ma'at is the proper form of the Lands. Heka is the force that pervades the Lands, forming and eroding Ma'at. Using Heka reshapes a character's reality and consumes a portion of the user's Ka. A Brewer, a Healer, and a Warrior each have their own approach to Heka, and each knows different spells that improve their performance in their respective Careers.

Any character may spend their Ka to make use of Heka.

The most basic use of Heka, accessible by any character without any task roll, is to allow the character or any other character to re-roll a single die from a task attempt for which the character has rank 0 or higher in a relevant Career. This costs one Ka. Such basic use can be made once each day for each of the practitioner's ranks in the relevant Career (even rank 0 gets one use). For example, a Soldier 3 could grant himself or his companions 3 combat-related re-rolls each day at the cost of 1 Ka per re-roll.

Another basic use of Heka is the Twist of Fate, also accessible by any character without any task roll - you can spend 1 Ka to state a fact about the setting that is not unquestionably false to the narrative. Such a fact then becomes true for all purposes.

A third basic use of Heka is to spend 1 Ka to increase an ordinary success to a Mighty Success, or to increase a Mighty Success to a Legendary Success.

Other uses of Heka can be accessed only by a character who has the Priest Career (even at rank 0). Such advanced uses cost 1 or more Ka depending on what the player rolls and on the difficulty of the target number for that roll. The default difficulty is 9 just like any other task roll. Difficulty may be increased by the Strength or Mind of a targeted person. Further increasing the difficulty by 1 reduces the maximum Ka cost by 1. Thus, the formula for difficulty for a Heka roll is
9 + target's Strength or Mind (whichever is relevant, if any) + reduction in maximum Ka cost.

The formula for the task roll is
2d6 + higher of Priest rank or other relevant Career rank + Mind.


A Priest of rank 0 or higher can access a "first circle" of Heka to accomplish, in a few minutes and without equipment, what otherwise would require up to a day to be accomplished by someone skilled in one of the Priest's other Careers and properly equipped. This costs a number of Ka equal to the value of the lower die rolled in the attempt. For example, if the character is a Brewer-3 Priest-0 and rolls (1, 5)+3 = 9, they can in just a few minutes prepare a vat filled to the brim with mash and hops and yeast. This will cost them at least 1 Ka, but it could cost 6 Ka or even more. As another example, a Soldier-3 Priest-1 could roll (2, 3) + 3 = 8 and fail to cause the death of a nearby enemy by Heka. This failure will cost the Soldier 2 Ka. Raising the target number for the task roll to 10 (instead of 9) would reduce the maximum Ka cost to 5.

A "second circle" of Heka can be used by a Priest of rank 2 or higher to accomplish, in a few minutes, something that is natural but that could not be accomplished by any person. This costs Ka equal to the value of the higher die rolled in the attempt. For example, if a Brewer-3 Priest-2 wanted to quickly ferment their vat of mash to obtain fresh beer, or to spoil the beer of a distant rival, they could do so by rolling (2, 4)+3 = 9. This would cost them 4 Ka. If a Physician-2 Priest-2 wanted to eradicate an infection from a wound, they could do so by rolling (3, 5)+2 = 10. This would cost them 5 Ka.

Finally, a "third circle" of Heka can be used by a Priest of rank 3 or higher to accomplish entirely unnatural or extremely improbable things. Such a use costs Ka equal to the value of both dice rolled in the attempt. For example, if a Brewer-3 Priest-3 wanted to summon a minor demon of beer vats, who would ensure that there always was a full vat of beer, or who would persecute the Brewer's despised rival, they could do so by rolling (3, 4)+3 = 10. This would cost them 7 Ka - a result that could lead to their death!

Keeping in mind that the base Ka for an ordinary Priest is 4, it will be understood that Heka is risky. Ka spent on Heka is regained at the same rate as Ka lost in combat.

If a character receives assistance in their use of Heka, the lost Ka can be shared among the character and the assistants according to the character's wishes. This can be dangerous for the assistants.

Reducing the Difficulty of Using Heka: A hero can make the use of Heka easier by one or more ritual practices. Each ritual diminishes the difficulty of the task roll by 1. Exemplary rituals include:

meditating for d3 hours;
ritually bathing and shaving body hair for d3 hours;
imbibing a special beer or tea prepared by a first circle use of Ka;
reading aloud from a scroll (related to the intended use of Heka) for d6H minutes;
making notes about the intended use of Heka for d6H minutes;
playing a musical instrument for d6H minutes;
dancing for d6H minutes.

The rituals can be stacked against increases of difficulty to reduce the Ka cost of using Heka. For example, by performing three rituals, a hero could reduce their maximum Ka cost by 3 points while still making a task roll with difficulty 9.

Calamitous Failures of Heka: The use fails, and attracts the attention of a demon who temporarily Spites the hero or one of the hero's companions for actions related to the use; An unexpected unfavorable result is obtained; The use fails, and attracts the attention of a demon who prevents the hero or one of the hero's companions from getting adequate rest.

Mighty Successes of Heka: The hero gains Favor of Heka for their next use of Heka; The Ka cost is divided equally among all those present at the scene (rounding down); The hero keeps their success and may re-roll one die for the Ka cost; The next night, the hero has a dream that reveals a useful mystery; The use attracts the attention of a demon who temporarily Favors the hero or one of the hero's companions for actions related to the use.

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:41 PM
Ha: The physical body is a manifestation of the soul in the Waking Land. It can be left behind in short sleep or eternal sleep, when the Ka partially or entirely separates from Ha.
Ka: The vital essence preserves existence. In life or death, the Ka is sustained by offerings of food and drink. If proper offerings are not made at the burial of the body (Ha), the starving soul becomes a ghoul that hunts the ghosts of Duat. Using Heka separates a person's Ka from their Ba and Ha, just as does an injury or illness. Ka can be recovered with time and rest.
Ba: The personality is trapped in the flesh and cannot leave the body
without proper funerary rites. A Ka that passes to the afterlife without its Ba becomes a ghost that helplessly wanders through Duat.
Akh: The proper combination of Ka and Ba, sustained by offerings, becomes an Akh in the Sleeping Land.
Ib: The heart is the seat of thought, will, and emotion. The heart survives death and is judged by Anubis by weighing against the feather of Ma’at. Those whose evil or chaotic Ib outweighs the feather are condemned to wander as demons in Duat.
Sheut: The shadow contains a part of the human soul that is closely linked to Ib. Controlling one's shadow (for example, by standing on it) gives power over their thoughts.

Ren: The name of a person's soul, given secretly at birth, gives the knower power over the person's actions.


Duat: The bad and dangerous part of the Sleeping Land, equivalent to the Red Lands of the Waking Land. Ghosts, demons, and ghouls roam Duat.
Ament: The safe and comforting part of the Sleeping Land, equivalent to the Black Land of the Waking Land. Properly nourished souls congregate here in villages and cities much like the Waking Land.

Tibbius
2019-12-04, 01:44 PM
Combat in the Two Lands is resolved by making attack rolls (a special sort of task roll) to hit an opponent, and applying damage to the opponent's Ka when an attack is successful.

Attack rolls are made in descending order of priority, which is rolled as
2d6 + Initiative + Mind.


The target number for an attack roll is
9 + target's relevant Combat ability + target's Agility.


The roll itself is
2d6 + attacker's relevant Combat ability + attacker's Agility.


The relevant Combat ability is determined by what type of weapon the character is using. The three potential abilities are Unarmed, Weapon, and Ranged. Either Unarmed or Weapon can contribute to the target number for an attack that is directed at the character. If a character has a shield, they use their Weapon ability.

A damage roll is
weapon dice + hero's Strength (or Agility for a finesse weapon).


There are five classes of weaponry in the Two Lands:
unarmed = d3;
light melee = d6L (lower of 2d6);
medium melee = d6;
heavy melee = d6H;
ranged = d6.

A light weapon is something wielded with one hand, easily concealable or innocuous, not really war-like. Some light weapons are finesse weapons. A small shield is a light weapon.
A medium weapon also can be wielded with one hand, but is not concealable and is obviously intended for hurting people. A large shield is a medium weapon.
A heavy weapon requires two hands (cannot be used with a shield) and is unquestionably meant to be deadly with a single blow.

There are two classes of armor:
light armor deducts 1 from damage received;
medium armor deducts 2 from damage received and also deducts 1 from Agility.


There are two classes of shields:
a small shield deducts 1 from damage received and also deducts 1 from attack rolls;
a large shield deducts 2 from damage received and also deducts 2 from attack rolls.

Calamitous Failures for Combat: Lose your next action; Suffer Spite on your next attack; Grant Favor to the next attack against you; Lose your nerve and flee.

Mighty Successes for Combat: Gain an extra attack; Gain Favor on your next attack; Gain Favor to your damage roll; Regain as Ka all damage you inflict in this attack; Impose Spite against the next attack against you; The target of your attack loses their next action; One ally of your target loses their nerve and flees.

Tibbius
2019-12-06, 09:01 AM
The Delta or Lower Land: This is the most fertile region of the Black Land and is the grainbasket of the Great Middle Sea. It spreads northward, east and west away from the River, from Menefer to the Sea. People of the Delta have a reputation as farmers, fishers, hunters, and sailors, but many citizens of high caste and mid caste live in the cities of the Lower Land. The Delta comprises twenty nomes or governorships, each ruled by a nomarch appointed by the Kingpriest. Some exemplary names of Delta nomes, proceeding from the capital of the Lower Land at Menefer generally down the river and west to east across the Delta:



White walls (capital Menefer, greatest city of the Two Lands)
Foreleg (capital Khem)
Westmost (capital Yamu - a fishing port and fortress against the Libyan raiders)
Southern shield (capital Ptkheka)
Northern shield (capital Zau)
Bull (capital Amun)
West harpoon (capital Timinhor)
East harpoon (capital Pithom)
Black ox (capital Hut-heryib)
Calf and cow (capital Tjebnutjer)
Prospering scepter (capital Iunu)
Gem of the east (capital Tjaru - a great fortress, and place of exile for criminals condemned to defend the frontier against the Sinai raiders and the Mittani)
Ibis (capital Weprehwy)
Hatmehit (capital Djedet)
Throne of Horus (capital Semahbedet)
Prince of the south (capital Per-Bast)
Prince of the north (capital Djanet)
Plumed falcon (capital Per-Sopdu)



The Upper Land: The River's valley, this part of the Black Land is considered more sophisticated and certainly more concerned with religion. The capital and commercial center Menefer and its associated tomb city Saqqara mark the border between the Lower Land and the Upper Land. Further upriver, the people have a reputation as priests, physicians, architects, and scribes; of course, all these fancy folk rely upon the labor of the lower castes among them. Thebes is the religious, cultural, and political center of the Upper Land. The Upper Land is composed of 22 nomes (proceeding downriver from the First Cataract to Memphis):



Land of the bow (capital Abu, a fortress town that holds the frontier with Kush)
Throne of Horus (capital Behdet)
Shrine (capital Nekheb-Nekhen)
Scepter (capital Waset, the city of the temple of Amun, also the capital of the Upper Land and the Two Lands)
Two gods (capital Gebtu, commercial center for trade with the Red Sea)
Crocodile (capital Iunet)
Cowgirl (capital Seshesh)
Great Land (capital Abdju, chief city of the cult of Osiris)
Phallus (capital Ipu)
Cobra (capital Tjebu)
Set animal (capital Shashotep)
Viper mountain (capital Per-Nemty)
Upper sycamore and viper (capital Zawty)
Lower sycamore and viper (capital Qis)
Hare (capital Khmun)
Oryx (capital Hebenu)
Anubis jackal (capital Saka)
Ferryman (capital Tayu-djayet)
Two scepters (capital Per-Medjed)
Upper sycamore (capital Hesen-nesut)
Lower sycamore (capital Shedet)
Knife (capital Tepihu)

Tibbius
2019-12-12, 03:01 PM
The issue of character advancement or self-improvement is (from a simulationist perspective) a glaring defect of roleplaying games generally - the idea that by engaging in a few hours or days of fast-paced action, one can immediately enhance one's strength or intelligence or professional skills.

Barbarians of Lemuria handles self-improvement in down time, between adventures, and takes an indeterminate period of time that can be adjudicated by the GM. Adventuring gives a boost to self-improvement, in terms of 2 Advancement Points per adventure survived.

Character advancement works kind of like this in the Two Lands, as well. Except instead of Advancement Points, the hero gains Ka - 2 Ka for each adventure survived. Ka can be retained (making the hero more durable) or traded (during extended down time) for enhancements to Attributes, Careers, or Combat Abilities.

The math:
gain one rank in an Attribute costs Ka = new rank (so going from rank 3 to rank 4 costs 4 Ka);


gain one rank in a Career or Combat Ability costs Ka = old rank, minimum 1 (going up one rank from -1, 0, or 1 costs 1 Ka, going from rank 3 to rank 4 costs 3 Ka);
down time about 1 month for the first Ka that is spent, 2 months for the second Ka, 3 for the third, etc. (so 10 months to go from rank 3 to rank 4 in an Attribute, or 6 months in a Career or Combat Ability).

Tibbius
2019-12-16, 11:38 AM
Open for comments.

Tibbius
2019-12-18, 09:28 AM
Sunder: On a successful attack, take a penalty die to your damage roll; you destroy your opponent's shield, armor, or weapon (pick one).

Bypass armor: Take the target's armor protection as a penalty to your attack roll, but gain a bonus die to your damage and ignore armor protection if you hit.

All-out attack: Grant a bonus die to your attack roll and to each opponent's attack against you.

Aggressive stance: Add 1 to your attack roll and to each opponent's attack against you.

Defensive stance: Subtract 1 from your attack roll and from each opponent's attack against you.

Total defense: Take a penalty die from your attack roll and from each opponent's attack against you.