URUTSK: WORLD OF MYSTERY AUTUMN GARDEN Vol. I

(c) Copyright 1985, 2000, 2008, 2009 Kyrinn S. Eis All Rights Reserved

Published by:

Alternate Reality Games (ARG) DBA

URUTSK: World of Mystery Autumn Garden Vol. I INTRODUCTION- Physical Description- I want you to imagine or remember the wilderness in or around your area. If you live in a city, think of the area with the most trees, parks, and open fields. Now imagine all of that twice as vibrant and close and dense. If you live by the coast, imagine the worst storms you can remember. Anywhere else you may live, jungle, desert, etc. imagine or remember the same intensities but keyed to those locales you know best. Now, raise the sea-level three feet (roughly a metre). As the planet is generally flatlands not much higher than sea-level, most Trees have developed long torpedo-like seed pods, similar to mangroves which allow them to grow from under the water. Cedar and cypress, sequoia, everything simply adapted to the added three feet of water. After that, subtract 10º Fahrenheit from the ambient temperature, and decrease visible light by 10%. Increase cloud-cover to precipitate rain on a daily basis over all but the deepest desert areas, and even these still receive 10x the average rainfall of the equivalent on earth. The northern polar ice extends far further to the south, and covers a continent of dead volcanoes and active hot springs that give rise to oases of plant life thriving in the humid warmth. Life Forms- It is easy to marvel at huge wild animals, like 16' elk with massive racks of thorny antlers covered in green moss, or the winter wolves that hunt them, all of them fiercely territorial, and without fear of humankind. All the animals you know that exist in your area, and all the water birds, fish, crustaceans, and odder things like:

! Fur-bearing beetles and reptiles ! Long-necked grazers able to putrefy threats

with a noxious digestive fluid they can jet a few times each day after grazing

! Riverine cetaceans, like porpoise and dolphins

! No apes or monkeys to be found, but plenty of lemurs and marmosets

! Wingless flying psychic snakes

! fewer than 1 million horses on the entire planet

! Domesticated hunting cats of every conceivable size and sort, some large enough to ride by lean and lithe individuals

! Only a handful of domesticated dog breeds: Cross-bred between foxes, jackals, coyotes, and wolves

! Toxic, four-winged frog-like creatures in a psychedelic rainbow of colours

! Extraordinarily large and majestic moths ! Small-cat-sized scorpions and spiders ! Enormous freshwater and marine fish, and

sea serpents ! Gargantuan whales and entirely marine

turtles the size of boats ! Predatory birds that are not beyond hunting

humans. 253 Million Humans on the entire planet, and easily one-third that many Humanoids, often entirely inimical to Humanity but capable of working with humans if it betters their chances of survival against the truly alien horrors that appear without warning every few decades. The Shorrannin- Shorrannin, the monstrous aliens, are like chitin-plated reptiles built upon arachnid frames and come in an uncountable number of shapes, sizes, and capabilities. A common trait is that of great and focused prescience, and some degree of psychic manipulation --ranging from mental invisibility to mind blasts or remote bodily control/possession. For their great mental prowess, no mind-detecting ability (Humanoid Aberration, nor Magic or Psionics) registers actual intelligence. In fact, the Shorrannin appear to be of only low-animal intelligence, but incredibly empathic and partially telepathic. The thoughts of nearby creatures stir them to action and seem based upon the natural or conditioned behaviours of the prey. More disturbing by far is the prescient psychic ability coupled with a sort of reflexive mimicry for constructing, meaning that the Shorrannin, although personally incapable of even understanding what a tool is, can create a device of great complexity through the knowledge of the creatures it psychically scans. Some of these creatures are over 50' tall, and simply burrow under the muck for decades and emerge when ravenous, or disturbed. Others are mite-sized, and are capable of swarming human-

sized creatures in a dozen seconds and drain them of all blood within ten minutes. Monstrous Beings- Beyond these and the Humanoids, exist intelligent races further afield from Humanity, such as the Abbekqorru, Qemrin, Qorqon. Their millennial histories are intertwined with that of the Humano-sphere's, but in virtually every case enmity and blood-fed warfare are the only results to be expected from both sides. Again, in the direst circumstances even these Monstrous Beings will forge temporary alliances with Humanity to fight against the 500-750 year cyclical mass-swarms of the Shorrannin. Ruins and Delving- The settlements, cities, and metropoli of these three intelligent 'factions' (to make a sweeping generalisation) are perpetually threatened to be swallowed up by the ever-encroaching wetlands vegetation. The number of cities, ruins, and under-cities of the Ancients is unknown, and it has been a time-honoured (if disreputable) tradition for misfits and greedy fools to explore and adventure in the vast wilds in search of these sites for the express purpose of recovering items and treasures of the Starfaring Ancients from whom all humans (save the Durn of the Southern Continent, and the Kaukara of the Chaos Isles) are derived. Ancient Wonders- The wonders of the Ancients range from minor Alchemical trivialities and toys to the creation of 'pocket universes' and travel through both the Elemental Planes, and different vibratory planes, effectively moving through parallel realities. The consequences of the titanic actions of the Ancients wrought great havoc upon the disc-shaped star-cluster in which the system is located, and destroyed the vast majority of stars within that cluster, thinning it out to roughly one one-thousandth the number of stellar objects within a volume of the Milky Way galaxy. The intelligent souls lost in that instant numbered in the quadrillions, and affected worlds several Planes distant. Planetary, Star System, and Galactic Data- Av, the star of the planetary system in which Urutsk is located, was also affected and in turn its planets suffered from its diminished nature. The

effect was roughly equal to the star dropping to 90% of its size in an instant. Urutsk and his sibling planets suffered gravitically induced earthquakes, which on some worlds resulted in a volcanic age, from which they are only now emerging. All became cooler in degrees based upon their mean orbital distance with the ellipses of some worlds radically altered into centuries of one 'season', and over a few millennia, a gradually increasing transition through the other three in a great high arc. Relatively speaking, Urutsk's orbit was not severely altered, although its axial tilt was affected less than 10% of 1º more obtuse. This resulted in greater storm activity and severity, and an overall increase in wind speeds. The average day has a 15 knot headwind at the coast, and 5-10 inland over open terrain. The flooding occurred in a rapid thaw as Av flared over a thousand years. It was during this time that the wave of debris continued to move at trans-luminal speeds outward from the detonated galactic core (the former Imperial Seat: The Sphere of Stars) obliterating everything in its path for the first 2/3rds of its global outward expansion --like a galactic-scale nova. The next span, at mere relativistic speeds, from the inward limit of the largely unexplored (and highly inhabited) Periphery Worlds, out into the companion clouds and clusters hundreds of light years removed from the former galactic plane, suffered only physical scouring of stellar winds and debris. The inner worlds' (Aqmlk, Urutsk, Elshan, and Nemahs) radiation belts were strong enough due to their proximity to Av, the system’s star, to limit hard radiation to liveable levels. This and other vectors gave rise to rampant mutations throughout the animal and plant kingdoms, affecting both Humanity and the Monstrous Beings to differing degrees, and forming many of the Humanoids –although not all. The terrible, centuries-long storms, known as The Scourge, blasted all plant life from the surface (save those in rocky crevices in the Durnish Shouth., and forced most life underground. There, in the deep darkness, the survivors of the ‘War in the Heavens’ encountered ancient human construction of remarkable technique and materials, littered with the debris of battle and terrible death. In the Underworld, humanity also met the Humanoids, Monstrous Beings, and the most dreaded Shorrannin. For as long as The Scourge swept the surface, Humanity fought The Onyx Battle in the hope of seeing sunlight again. There were wanderers in the latter decades, as the storms grew to mere epic proportions, and the first sprouts of green reappeared. This is the Spring Era, and is seen

as almost mythic, yet still recent enough to be revered. Although Urutsk's ambient lower atmospheric temperature is cooler than our Earth’s, the density of system-space filled with particulate debris in so great a concentration as to have created a 'warm' micro-atmosphere, strong enough in the Thousand Spiders (beyond Aqmlk) to support riotous plant and animal life upon hundreds of millions of rocky and broken 'skylands' interwoven in clumps of vegetation replete with shattered ruins. Humanoids and off-world Humans have traffic in the Thousand Spiders, trading tales of great deeds and rumours of lost treasure-worlds and wrought spheres said to support never before seen alien life. Travel to Urutsk is more common than Humanity would want to believe, but Human travel to space is usually a rare, once in a lifetime experience. Those mighty adventurers who wrest alien technology from their vanquished foes literally ascend to a higher plane; one in which the third dimension figures into strategy and travel considerations, and the vistas for adventure are taken to another degree of magnitude. Some of the Humanoids are former Starfaring peoples with empires of their own. Enmities in this cosmos are long and recurring, and have spanned the stars and beyond. Many of the nearest Planes and Dopples (the accepted term for the Vibratory Planes which are separate extrusions rather than the universal Elemental Planes) have worlds whose orbits occasionally pass near or to some degree, bisect Urutsk and the other planets for weeks at a time, thinning the dimensional membranes. Through these weakened walls creatures and beings more readily pass into Urutsk. Many of these creatures are so inherently destructive (Elementals of the 16 Planes, or Outer Leviathans) that the world is effectively plunged into a sort of hellish period so as to equate these creatures with devils and demons, although this is not the case. Planar Entities exist, as well as Higher Minds yet, and these are often the subject of Wizardly and Sorcerous attempts at contacting higher planes. Theurgy is the doctrine of the Hierophantic Church, while the Morpheic Church urges its followers to cultivate their inner reality while they toil in labour. Both paradigms are real-enough and capable of affecting reality if properly performed. Sacrifices are honoured by all manner of beings occult and arcane, and the half-slumbering ancient Shorrannin alter local reality for those they keep under their

mental control in isolated hamlets, or half-ruined cities engulfed in the wilds. Travel in civilised areas tends to be along boating routes through Everglades-like wetlands and stilt communities and the occasional island city or riverine stronghold. Dyke-roads are common in the most stable nations, but run the risk of Humanoid and Monstrous exploitation. The occasional airship or Ancient Aircraft can be seen, but usually only relatively near a metropolis. National boundaries are not hard and fast lines of demarcation, and territorial disputes are frequent but short lived and increasingly less bloody as Humanity faces increasing threats from the changing environment and biological competitors. A degree of pan-Human cooperation is dawning upon Urutsk, but the inevitable battles to decide ultimate governance remain to be fought. Parallel Historical Context- This first Volume covers a time period roughly analogous to the Fall of Rome, through to the Late-Mediaeval or even Early Renaissance in some respects. Accordingly, the modes and styles of dress will vary in addition to those differences which are purely regional and cultural. Bear in mind the environmental differences, namely the water and wind and cooler temperatures, along with the propensity for rain storms. Overclothes for foul weather, and waders will tend towards oiled canvas or rubber-coated like-same for 20x the cost. Contemporary Technology including Discovered Loot- Contemporary technology is a confusing mishmash of anachronistic technology from across uncounted worlds, but is generally of Human or at most, Humanoid fabrication. Lighters and cigarettes/apparatus of all sorts are commonplace, with warming herbs smoked against the bitter wind. Music has just begun to be recorded upon a multitude of platforms, with no immediate sense of supremacy as each has different strong and weak points. Electronic, Chemical, and Variable Clockwork devices are increasingly more common, as evinced by electric torches (Light Rods), chemical fire-suppressants, and remote-controlled clockwork scouts. Energy weapons exist both in the form of antique Imperial-era weapons maintained by devoted collectors and users, and those lost treasures of the

Ancients from throughout their glorious past. Thus, muskets and ducksfeet, bolt-action rifles and percussion revolvers, cartridge rifles and semi-automatic magazine-fed pistols, caseless rifles and pistols and electro-kinetic faze-blasters are all out in the world(s) to discover along with analogous armours and war-machines. Subsequently, although not common by any means, personal and military firearms are increasingly more-common on the frontier (and in latter decades, the re-conquered frontier). While Military concerns are beyond the scope of this Volume, in general, all the peoples of Urutsk have firearms of some sort by 500 New Calendar, so the Referee and players ought to discuss this before the era of play is chosen. --Likewise, the inclusion of spacecraft or the frequency of Spectral Planetary Conjunctions is entirely within the realm of the play-group's adjudication; if you don’t like it, don’t include it. For Your Consideration- A concept UWoM promotes is the rotating, episodic campaign game, where players each have a stable of characters, and take turns acting as Referee and creating the scenario for the other Player Characters to contend with. Either that session's Referee or, both the ‘Ref' and players determine the particulars of the tactical battles that occasionally/frequently/invariably occur in gaming of this sort. It may be that play groups have multiple games, some purely combative slogs, and others with detailed RolePlaying advancement and strongholds established, or the afore-mentioned off-world explorations. While I have no immediate plans to attempt a miniatures line, nor do I feel that miniatures are always appropriate for normal exploration and adventuring scenarios (preferring the theatre of the mind), I can assure you that any figures you chose to use for such purposes will be perfectly acceptable if deemed so by the play group. In a pinch, squares of paper with simple markings are more than enough to illustrate spatial relationships between combatants. Make of this setting what you desire, and enjoy yourself. SCOPE OF VOLUME I-

Volume I, is concerned with the dissolution of the Star Throne Empire’s Late-Summer of Peace; the rise of the twin powers: the new Hierophantic Church, and, the Guild Council; and, the description of the peoples, places, and peculiarities of the known world of the period between the years -7 and +777, at the foundation of the Resth Clan Confederacy on the Marnharnnan continent. WORLD DATA- The game takes place on the world of Urutsk. Physical Description- Urutsk is smaller, cooler, wetter, and stormier than Earth. Its history is riddled with mysteries and anachronisms. High-tech items have been discovered throughout the centuries and back-engineered or used as spring boards for 'new' technology. There is no Antipodal continent (Antarctica). VRUN – <’V + Roon’> is a three-tiered plateau. At its highest heights, the peaks have never been seen without snow. At its lowest point, Vrun is a riverine forest land drenched in green mosses and dense ferny undergrowth. The main plain of Vrun is still covered in dense grasses and sparse woods, interspersed with rock formations, the occasional subterranean complex, and extensive wetlands. * The Vrun tribes are descendants of the Imperials, the very Ancients whose arrival in the legendary War in the Heavens, has created the world as it is today. Soon after the Vrun set out to explore the surface of Urutsk, they encountered the Durn, and initiated relations. Under the tutelage of the native Durn, the Vrun learnt to live off the land, and also mastered chariot combat. Much of the Empyrean-Keys of the Imperial era were adapted to written notation with the help of the Durn holy scribes. However, in some incident lost to time, an affront was committed and war broke out. Where Vrun ways had influenced the Durn, the Durn were defeated. Where the traditional ways held firm, the people flourished. Seemingly coincidental meteorite strikes, and freak weather fronts aided the Durn to repel the significantly more powerful Vrun cantons. From that time forth, the enmity between Vrun and Durn has cost millions of lives over thousands of years.

During this time, the most powerful of the Vrun tribes designed tests and trials, somewhat akin to chivalric tourneys, to determine generals, marshals, warlords, and even rulers of all the peoples. Over the first four hundred years of the era, terrible campaigns of vendetta, and three (four) wars were fought. Those who still lived; those houses and institutions still staffed; entered into a period of famine and plague. This visitation claimed yet another quarter of the population of the Vrun continent, and toppled more than a dozen minor houses. The Hierophantic War, fought amid the horror of plague and starvation, sought to, and did, instate a new Hierophantic Seat, and a new tradition of Heroic Personification. This new Edict stated that all exemplars of the ethnicities, and indeed, all of creation, must always seek to excel in all areas. It also said that ‘the Manifestation of One’s Will would unite all in the highest prestige.’ This found its expression in two basic forms: Devotional Visualisation (Wish Magic), and Spiritual Autarchy (Warlockry), and not infrequently the two together. Likewise, the Guild Council fought a civil war over tariffs and labour disputes, which resulted in the Council directly overseeing the core monopoly. Competing guild divisions could, rarely, undercut the government-fixed market prices on such items as whole, broad Hkraff leaves, or playing cards, or alchemical batteries. War with the Marnharnnan Yirinn Empire throughout the era generally resulted in disastrous defeats or barely-survived financial adventure.

* The Black Crown: The Marnharnnan Yirinn Empire of Bereme Oykh – <‘BehRehMeh Oikh’> is located astride the Marnharnnan, Vrun, and Yaesh continents, and its holdings encompass most of the sub-arctic and virtually all of the arctic regions of the three landmasses. Its mountain ranges are incredibly intricate and rugged, spanning one million square miles. Within these valleys are sometimes found, ‘hothouse’ paradisal spots, complete with lost clans and strange creatures. At Year’s-Spring, the dense ocean of trees paints the landscape in green, teal, and silver leaves. By Autumn’s peak, the deciduous trees are alight with smoky mustards and burnt caramels, faded brick-reds, silver-browns, and pallid yellows, while the

cone-bearing trees are in full glory; the resinous scent carried far upon the crisp, whispering wind. Within the black and silver-flecked granite mountains, in past centuries, the Ancients built vast structures, literally, out of the stone. These included Arcades, lit by sunlight on only one day during the year via windows set high upon the peaks, or aquifers and saunas, and vast plazas beneath vaulted ceilings. It was this that the daring Yirinn who crossed the North Pole found upon their earliest investigations. * The Marnharnnan Yirinn, are the first 'civilised' settlers of the continent. Over four centuries ago, the nomadic black-ice treaders which have classically dominated the northern polar region, crossed over onto Marnharnna, and dug their way into the great Black Crown Mountains and built arcologies in darkness and security. The Marnharnnan Yirinn Empire/Bereme Oykh (MYE/BO) has ruled the northern hemisphere for almost all of those years due to the secret of the Black Metal which they found in the mountains. It gave them superiority throughout the days of swords and shields, through the refinement of firearms, and into the mechanical age. There is a significant minority, a different ethnic group which has traditionally only ever dwelt among the Yirinn. The Red-haired, green-eyed Khem or Khemesh are characterised as rather 'Gypsyish', with duellist sons and diviner daughters. Their language, make-up, and culture are distinct, but have adapted to live among the shorter, stockier, darker haired (blue-eyed) Yirinn. GREAT Empires and terrible wars of unification were the most notable feature of Urutsk. The scattered and divisive tribes of the Vrun continent battled amongst themselves to determine which faction would reign supreme and decide for the rest the fate of their beloved continent. Many lesser nations had either been destroyed or subsumed into larger entities, such as the Guilds Council, or the Hierophantic Church. Each of these combines wielded a great variety and degree of power, with the Council in ascendancy by the end of the era, and the Church in steady decline throughout. For a smaller nation, or a very powerful mercantile or scholastic house to be added to either of the greater, meant that their bloodlines would survive the dominance wars of the clans and their tribal connections.

*

The greatest of the empires during that period was the unlikely Marnharnnan Yirinn of Bereme Oykh. Born of great travail and journeying from the higher latitudes of the Vrun continent, the Yirinn peoples were dispossessed nomadic warriors-poets who had been vanquished by the various Vrun tribes, and driven into the icy wastes and jagged and unforgiving mountains above the fertile riverine valleys of Vrun’s more temperate lands nearly two thousand years prior. While most of the Yirinn, Dokirin, and Sla Mu tribes relegated to such harsh terrain had, in the course of time, grown resigned to their fate, a small cluster of young princes and Dawsham (holy bards) set off with those in their care, across the black ice expanses of the polar region in search of a new home where they could once again live as their own masters. Many thousands were lost in the treacherous, generational crossing, and others-still instead established ranges amid the wind-carved vales of razored ice and growing proficient in hunting the strange and often terrible creatures that therein lurked. Those who made the trans-polar sojourn finally reached a land devoid of Vrun outposts, and largely clear of the Starmetal debris which littered the mazes of onyx frost. The land was still one of vast, frozen wilderness, but one which ran riot with gargantuan forests of evergreens replete with fearless game and fierce predators; a sparkling white jewel which adorned a crown of carved mountains, high, stout, and defensible. That land was the far north of what would later be named the Marnharnnan continent and it well-suited the hardened and determined survivors of the epic journey. Within a short time, the nomadic hunters began to understand that a prior civilisation had dwelt within the towering mountains, and through these explorations, surmised that it had been the grand ancestors of the Yirinn, the Yirinn Ak (The Powerful Peoples of the Black Ice), the very children of the Ancients, the First Parents. Though ancient artefacts were found, these paled in comparison to the sheer magnitude of the architectural feats of engineering cities deep within the unmoveable mountain rock across distances which spanned hundreds of miles in breadth, as well as great depth. As collapsed sections were marked on the informal surveys, later explorers began to excavate these pockets, and more amazing finds were encountered. In many cases, these deep explorers never returned to the surface or more explored sectors, laid-claim to their territories and bred generations removed from the starlight of Av (Heaven’s Glory), the world’s sun.

In time, while the Vrun tribes of the old world continued their self-domination and earliest remembrances of more glorious reigns, the Marnharnnan Yirinn grew stronger in numbers and more powerful through the trial-and-error mastery of the Ancient technologies they found in each newly discovered sector of their forbearers. A few crossed back to the Vrun Yirinn tribal lands, but their claims were largely either dismissed as fantasies, or foresworn as anathema by their shaman as tampering with the land of the dead. Despite these setbacks, thousands more braved the terrible journey through the Black Crown, to the new world and new opportunities. The Story of Vahnylmyr & The Secret of His Black Metal- His name means: <Abidingly Glorious, 'Not-I, I Say', Son>

VAHNYLMYR, Son of scribes and diviners, discontent to live in the shadow of the Dzorin <Grey Knights'> mountain range, rallied many to his cause of mining and carving-out the fortress-like sheer peaks. It wasn't long before the Black Metal was found. In its ore state, impervious to any tool, only by digging it out of surrounding rock could it be liberated. No fire the people could stoke, even with great bellows, could melt the metal. Vahnylmyr studied it for nine seasons, and then discovered its secret. His alchemies finally dissolved the metal, and allowed it to be cast into any shape, then the solvent boiled away, leaving the new object. With this discovery, the relative barbarians of dozens of tribes and clans became the masters of their hemisphere. Within Vahnylmyr's lifetime, not only was Bereme Oykh founded, and he elected its ruler, but the Yirinn people were able to repel the Vrun who had tormented their ancestors in years gone by. Before his death, Bereme Oykh ruled the entire Arctic region, and encompassed more land than any empire before it. The Black Metal's secret became the obsessive goal of all other powers in the world, many, subjects of the empire. This meant that Bereme Oykh could never rest,

never relax and enjoy its recently-won empire. Wars were fought, peoples relocated and their lands sewn with stones and salt. But, the empire was never at peace. This perpetual warfare also occurred within society, and the monarchy was replaced in part by anarchy and revolutionary council. The lawless areas of the intra-mountainous nation-state fell into eleven duchies that stabilised around strong figures or councils. Often, guilds either had outright control, or wielded the power from afar. Decades of street warfare levelled two of the territories, which have rarely-since been occupied by any more than bandits and other such miscreants. All through this, the Black Metal figured into military and civil use. Black Metal is antibiotic, and its thread is used for stitches that aid in healing due to its harmonics. Its formed-flakes are used in agriculture to promote crop-growth. Its uses in all fabrication and architecture can only be understated. However, humanity being what it is, warfare dominated its uses. Once the spun polymer propellant had been rediscovered, Bereme Oykh became the first state to introduce firearms and cannon. For over a century, Bereme Oykh reigned unmatched and virtually undefeated, largely due to their firearms technology and the effective, if crude and undisciplined, use in war.

The RCC (Resth Clan Confederacy)

As the Hierophantic War of the Vrun dynastic period raged, merchants with vision embarked upon colonial missions to the Marnharnnan continent. There the colonies quickly met with grave resistance from the various local tribes of the Dokirin who had crossed-over with their Yirinn cousins hundreds of years prior. Few were the successful dealings in the early years. Persecuted Western Autarchists and other Vrun misfits paid for passage to the ‘Modern Era’, and as the waves of migrants began to dot Marnharnna’s eastern sea coast, Dokirin were forced out of their generational lands. The Stands that the Dokirin war

councils mustered were the fiercest fighting ever done on the continent, and were terribly costly to the private armies financed by business cabals and secret occult societies. When the Guild Council and Hierophantic Church were excluded from the list of possible financers, the disgruntled and disenfranchised of all Vrun came in droves, and bore the cost by willing indenture for the accomplishment, and the promise of something more for future generations. The importation of Durn estate slaves a century earlier soon proved too popular to be economically sustainable, and was at first restricted to large land holders, and eventually relegated to the clan-state as part of the indenture/citizenship process. With the attainable goal of freedom within grasp, Durnish Marnharnnans were prodigious labourers and innovators for decades. Their emergence into mainstream Resth culture was poorly met, but after enough bloodshed was spilt to win them their casual equal-honours, Durn established themselves across all strata of the RCC. This combination of foreign influence and popular support allowed the scattered colonial city-states and confederations to thrive in their swamp and riverine land and produce industries in the form of innovations and inventions, along with contracts and long-term financial agreements. Favoured trading status with distant and obscure, but wealthy, nations meant that the influence of the Marnharnnan colony could be felt across the world in the Yaesh lands, or in exotic east Durn, or Lhoman ports. Furriers and exporters of the exotic animal trade helped map out much of the costal areas, and into the remote and otherwise unreachable wilderness of the pristine continent. To the ‘High North’, peaceful relations were tendered with the jaded and largely paternalistic MYE/BO, and limited co-operation on large engineering projects involving the border, and occasional continental military co-ordination exercises and cross-border celebrations were secured. It is largely through this early interaction with the MYE that further Dokirin hostilities did not play out as poorly as they may have otherwise. As Resth, --as a peopled territory--, pushed the Dokirin out of their established lands, they migrated to Bereme Oykh in a programme paid for in part by the settlers who helped cover transportation and legal costs. Border-town relationships often crossed ethnic lines, and black and red babies were born among the fair and pale Vrun. This, over two generations, became commonplace in the original northern clan-

states, but was still significantly frowned upon in less urbane parts of the vast wetlands and riverine plains of Marnharnna’s interior. MYE/BO border cities, such as Yr Taulk and Devres both sported time-honoured Durnish Societies and many of the more basic social rights of the MYE found their way into local Resth law books. These new ‘Oneblood Cities’ often attracted more radical elements, both pro- and con-, and after much suffering, cost, and discord, the newly formed Resth Clan Confederacy passed legislation granting, ‘full equal rights to all persons in good standing with the law, and exempt from persecution due to individual particulars; these rights protected by Confederacy law.’ When the inevitable war with the Continental Vrun came, eastern Vrun Autarchic funds and support came to a most timely rescue in battling secessionists-collaborators. With Eastern Autarchic support, including a ‘light-legion’ of Autarchic ‘Knights-Dragoon’, land engagements against the heavily stacked VCA forces along the eastern sea board went seventy percent to the defenders despite a few key losses of important control points (factory cities, ports, major shipping hub, etc.). Out of this overwhelming press grew a united people of stubborn individualists and ‘futurists’ who fought off the years of VCA attempts to dominate the continent. After a dozen years of silence on the matter, the Western Isles Compact (later, Concordance) publically allied itself with the RCC. Within the month, the black schooners with frothy paddlewheels, pulled into northern Resth ports. Royal Marines recruiting lines formed opposite those of campaign troopers just beginning their co-operative deployment. Quickly, fears that a completely unforeseen takeover had occurred in place of the apparent foe swept through the original Resth Colonial City-States. Riots were met with force, but, by morning of the second week, peace was restored and the WICE Lancers and Mechanised Infantry were marched to their training facilities, no less than thirty miles out of town. After the war, rising resentment for the continued WICE presence won out over ‘Polynationalism’, as advocated by progressive Western Isles social philosophers, and the WICE were officially forbidden from the continent unless individuals immigrate under standard service terms (indenture). Most land-holding senior WICE military either obtained citizenship during which time they renounced their rank in Her Majesty’s Army or Navy, and served their time as teachers and authors of memoirs and conjectural military histories, until such time as their indenture was deemed ended.

Others moved north to polyglottal MYE/BO border cites, and established good connections in proper society. Of those that returned to the Old World, some were hired by VCA agents to act as scouts on a wilderness frontier assault in a hypothetical second war. More than a few accepted the offer, however, when the second war began, many former WICE came to the RCC’s aid and the impromptu combination (aided by a glory-hungry Yirinn military) and these defenders were finally able to irrevocably drive out the VCA from the Marnharnnan continent. Not prone to having two older and more powerful allies, the RCC had difficulty forming an official policy on pay and/or reinstatement of property rights, etc. When its final draft was aired over the wireless, the RCC declared the entire continent a co-protectorate of the three nations. In time, the Drivers’ Isles Charter would be added to the co-protectorate three generations before its troops would serve with distinction in the riverine jungles of the deep interior of Lhoma. The Resth Clan Confederacy has generally been early adopters of new philosophies and embracers of practical applications of all resources. A martial people in general, the uncooperative, but majestic, landscape made standard cities virtually impossible until late in the nation’s history. In their place, the Maln (‘frontier collective camp’) grew up on stilts and piers and houseboats. Trading posts linked these communities until dyke-roads parcelled off the clan-state and province borders. These rough roads led to actual cities (fortresses of a grand scale) that grew up along the costal regions or anywhere else the ground was solid enough to build upon. This dual identity of wild and free, and urbane and privileged has produced a remarkably efficient and diverse military as proved around the globe. However, except for martial-leaning administrations, the RCC has difficulty remaining united, and sovereign. This has somewhat retarded popular culture except for anarchic movements among the indigent and delinquent youth.

The WICE (Western Isles Concordance Empire)

* For the Western Isles Concordance Empire ethnic Class-system is the basis of society as a whole, although less emphasis is placed upon the pomp and ritual today. Non-WI-Vrun (the dominant ethnicity of the continent) are merely tolerated for financial and military purposes. Pure Blooded WI

Vrun are very rare and in times past, looked like Sidhe, and had very little concern for 'the rest of humanity', which they felt were all mongrels. In the 500’s Durnish scholars began to travel to the Western Isles, and enrolled in every course of study then available. While ostracized by the country folk in the university towns in which they lived, these Durnsmen graduated in great numbers with highest excellence, and subsequently, many were hired on as faculty in their areas of specialty. Over the next one hundred and fifty years, the number of Durn and other regional ethnicities sharply increased at universities as the best and brightest minds of hundreds of small kingdoms, and larger nation-states were sought out to expand the Empire’s knowledge and thus, it power. With a degree of favour found in all the courts that had constituents at WICE universities, the door was opened to many wondrous deals and opportunities, and the WICE grew even as the Vrun Continental Authority began incursions into the cold northern waters of the Concordance. By the late 600’s, the VCA’s open warfare with the WICE opened up a new front on the Marnharnnan continent, with the Federated States as a proxy battlefield to a large degree in the latter years. At the end of the war, as the Federated States were ceding to the proto-RCC, WICE forces were ejected from the continent and, with the aid of the Black Crown, the edict was enforced. Stemming from this slight, the WICE took fuller advantage of her foreign colonies and allied states to grow in prestige and financial power. With direct trade with the Yaeshani Court, the WICE was able to sever all ties with the Vrun continent, and her Church. The Hierophantic cathedrals were sundered, the old groves tended, mossy toppled henges refurbished with the discarded masonry, and Wodic Practices were renewed. This rejection of the Superhuman for the return of the Sidereal Glories of The Highborn era affected the world in numerous and far-reaching ways ranging from fashion and etiquette to culture and the spread of Majestic Vrun as a global language.

NOTES

CHARACTERISTICS Characteristic- Influence Certitude Reason Balance Leverage Constitution

KnowledgeTechnical

Characteristics

Influence

Certitude

Reason

Balance

Leverage

Constitution

Characteristics

Shre

Human

one

knowledge

Life Sciences Officer

Characteristics

CertitudeReason

Nerve

or

Sphere of Starspost-bellum

Con

Cantrip

Native

Profession

clone-ish

Suggested Base Starting Character: Design Points

Leverage

Leveragestationary target

rolls

Depending upon the maximum spell level source one is using.

Characteristic

Religion and Spirituality on Urutsk- * PANENTHEISM- The belief that the cosmos is collectively the deity, and that all of deiy's constituent parts are holy parts of its entirety. This belief is held by a large portion of Urutsk' less 'civilised' peoples, and also features in the multi-belief systems of the Yaesh lands, as well as certain aspects/sects of the Western Isles Vrun. * PANTHEISM- The belief (closely associated to Panenthism, above) that everything is deity, and in many ways, are individual manifestations, or facets of deity. Many Urutsk cultures which are not Panentheists are Pantheists, although this still is generally confined to less organised cultures. Notable exceptions being many of the Durnish Outlands nomads, as well as most of the seaborne tribes of the various raider nations. * PANTHEONISM ('paganism')- The identification of multiple, individual deities, each generally the master or mistress over a given portfolio or sphere of influence (Seas, Forests, Smithing, etc.). Often, these beliefs are an organic synthesis of heroic legends/myths, merged with Pantheism. Prior to the spread of the Old Hierophantic Church (and the Morpheic Church as well), this was the default for most of the Vrun continent, although regional variation was rampant. To a degree, this belief is still present under the new Hierophantic Church, with the Saints replacing the deities of the past. Official doctrine of the new HC is that these are archetypes of the human experience, and are excellent foci for dedication towards self improvement, although the Church does urge the faithful to realise that the entities are not actual, but virtual, and contained within each human as part of the Exemplar. * PERSONIFICATION- The belief that while the cosmos is a place of wonder, only sentient minds are manifestations of deity, and that deity, in fact, is only present in the person of a being (Human) which understands its own deity-nature. This is the official stance of the new Hierophantic Church, and it has been brought to the fore through the Spiritual Autarchy doctrine.

Spiritual Autarchy also serves as a cultural ideal insomuch as it places responsibility upon each individual to achieve their best in a competitive society, and essentially frees others of the need for charity and concern for their fellow, as only the Exemplar shall succeed in life's many arenas. The Morpheic Church follows a different tack as regards Personification, one diametrically-opposed to Spiritual Autarchy. It states that the collective community is the embodiment of diety, and only when the society practises Ideal behaviour does deity manifest through society's actions. This belief is seen to create a dualism in that the perceived negative traits of society are a manifestation of a negative deity, while the positive traits are the manifestation of a positive deity. As a result, the Morpheic Church has classically been seen as essentially Pantheonic, and has in fact, secured much of its attendance from 'pagan' adherants. That Spiritual Autarchy was spawned in the east, in the Morpheic Church's dominion, has led to speculation that it is an outgrowth of sublimated and syncreatised Dualism. Far from the churches of the Vrun, the Yirinn beliefs of the Sla'Mu priesthood practise a different form of Personification doctrine, that of the Fated Hero. As the society finds need for liberation from enemies, internal or external, deity 'shines down upon' an individual (and more rarely, individuals), to act as liberators or inspirational-prophets. There are quasi-dynastic lines traced back to one's relation to these Heroes, and on a cultural level, their Idealisation/Adoration serves much of the same purpose as Personification in the Hierophantic Church as a motivator, although the disregard for one's fellow is conspicuously absent in the Yirinn folk system, likely due to the ethnicity's diminished numbers on the Vrun continent, and their oppressed status therein. * THEISM- Many cultures upon Urutsk are Theistic, believing that a central figure (or small group) of deities are the supreme spiritual entities of the cosmos. While this is often the natural outgrowth of insular Pantheonism, it neededn't always be the case. Of those Outlands tribes and clans that are not Pantheonic, most are Theistic, with their private gods overseeing their culture and punishing or rewarding them as appropriate to the mores of the

group in question. Anthropologically-speaking, it is often assumed that the proximity of these Outlands groups to the Durn and their Monotheistic belief system, has been a direct influence. There are certain sects and secret societies within both the Hierophantic, as well as the Morpheic churches, that hold to more concrete Personification doctrines, which are labelled as Idolatry by their mother organisations, and often persecuted to varying degrees depending on region and level of activity. It has been traditional to hold the Avrdyn (the 'Flinty One') as deity incarnate, although ideas of the permanency vary from much the same as the Yirinn interpretation of Heroic manifestation, to a perpetual and undying (or re-living) Individual. The above belief is often an unspoken subtext of more colloquial congregations of both the Morpheic and Hierophantic churches, and tolerated much as the Saints are in their own way. The Yaesh Divine Emperor is also an example of Theopersonification, and views of his deity vary from the Heroic, titular grace, to absolute manifestation, often based upon direct communication from the Emperor in question. * MONOTHEISM- Monotheism is defined as the belief in only a single deity of omni-states (omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence). This definition itself does not preclude the existence of lesser beings of great power, whether servants of the only god, or its bedevilling accessories for working the more negative aspects of cosmic nature. The most notable culture of Monotheists is that of the Durn. Their God, Shr.d (translatable as 'The Mover Unmoved', or 'The Bearer and the Burden', among other interpretations), is held as the ultimate Creator of the metacosmos, as well as the Author of individual fates, and is held as the Father of all creation. The age-old enmity of the Vrun with the older Durn culture stems from Ancient (Imperial/Empyreal) opposition to Shr.d, and has splintered into the above many beliefs. The archeological and anthropological data evidences that the Durn culture predates all others, and as such, could be argued as the original faith. Additional information regarding Shr.d worship requires its own sourcebook, and would necessarily include details of the Durn culture and history. One notable feature of the faith is that while it is not an expansionistic religion, it is not a closed one, either.

It is not unusual for elements of Shr.d worship, even only as concepts, to appear in syncretisms and secular philosophies (along with other psychologised adoptions of other religions/cults). * WODISM- A distinct religious outlook which incorporates a blend of Panentheism, Pantheism, Pantheonism, Theism, and in some cases, even Monotheism. Practised almost entirely on the various Vrun Western Isles, Wodism is persecuted on the continent by both the Hierophantic, and to a lesser degree, by the Morpheic churches, as the Wodic Heresy. Wodism holds that the metacosmos is itself but an aspect (not the whole) of deity, and that although there are lesser deities throughout it, there is a supreme deity which has created and continues to create the metacosmos. Further, the lines between the spirits of the natural environment, of animals, and sentient beings, are but one breath of said creator, and often find themselves exchanged in different forms, sometimes even returning to their 'original' forms generations or hundreds of years later. While there is an organised ritual priesthood (male and female, sometimes mixed, at other times, distinct), the daily faith of adherents is left to their conscience and/or sensibilities until such time that their actions cause others in the community concern. Curiously, there are many similarities to ancient Durnish Shr.d practises found within Wodism, and the Western Isles Vrun have traditionally avoided the bloody campaigns against the Durn by which their continental cousins have been defined. Even the dialect of the Western Isles shares more with the Durnish tongue than it does with continental Vrun, or any other language, apart from elements of Ancient Yirinn. Generally only known and practised by the inhabitants of the Western Isles, Wodism's central tenet of integrated conservatism with nature, has seen expression in the Osahmen Bards of the continent, and this was the vehicle which brought it to the fiery attention of the Churches. A variant of Wodism exists within the Scout Lodges, and even this strain is considered too much deviance from Hierophantic orthodoxy.

The following thought-systems or philosophies are not prevalent outside of intellectual- and anarchist-circles during the first half of the Autumn era of Urutsk, but become more prevalent in its second half. Their inclusion is for completeness and as an interesting exception for the occasional individual (generally Western-Vrun NPC). * AGNOSTICISM- The intellectual position in which the possibility of deity is acknowledged, but its worship is absent, due to a lack of (clear) evidence of a specific methodology for reaching deity and sensing its will. * ATHEISM- The outright rejection of deity, and the need for its adoration (given that it doesn't exist), or even the desire to enslave oneself to the concept. Much of this stance exists within Spiritual Autarchy to the degree that there is no need for anything beyond Human-excellence, although it generally stops shy of outright rejection of all spiritual reality -- given the existence of known and observed psychic phenomena (/Psuke/ meaning 'breath' or 'spirit'). While Atheists do frequently dismiss psychic manifestations (and all other 'supernatural' events) as nothing more than unquantified Human ability (or cosmic phenomena), many others border on Agnosticism, and vise-versa. * ETHICAL HUMANISM- A philosophy rather than a religion, Ethical (or Secular) Humanism holds that the global brotherhood of Humanity is responsible for its collective state, and rejects outright indifference found within orthodox Spiritual Autarchy as untenable and ethically abhorrent. Essentially, Humanity is precious precisely because nothing else exists to call-upon, and that all Humans are due respect and every right/privilege that any individual would ever want for itself. This relatively recent (although aspects of this have existed in Yaesh cultures for millennia) position often accompanies both Agnosticism and Atheism, but is not exclusive to them.

GAME IMPLICATIONS- In most FRPs, there is some sort of Cleric or Priest (and the subsequent Paladin or Dedicated Warrior), with deities galore active in the setting to provide their believers with the supernatural power to carry out the 'good work', so to speak. This is not the case on Urutsk, for although there are powerful entities and beings (the difference between the two is that an entity is generally a-material, whereas a being has some sort of physical substance, even if this is only an energy-sheath or ectoplasmic vessel) that are certainly desirous of followers and are both capable and willing to impart some of their ousia to these adherents, theses are generally few and far between. While the setting does have definite designs in regards to deity/Deity, I have striven to make the source material for gaming adaptable to the individual Referee's ideas, while still preserving the integrity of my published canon. Rather than have characters (Player- or otherwise) that dedicate a set time of their day to rote prayers (divine 'spells'), and a specific set of such 'magic' available only to these sorts of characters, on Urutsk there are Spiritualists and Arcanists who have an expanding set of abilities with which they can affect reality. These abilities may be likened to 'gifts' and are generally able to increase in their potency as the character practises them, but can sometimes be limited or expanded due to other conditions, including that of nearby individuals and their own beliefs/abilities. Using the Point-Design system, a dedicated adherent may purchase specific abilities (spells) at a 25% discount to all associated costs (Access, Degree, Spell Slots/Points), but these are not miscible with standard spell-casting also possessed by the character. The result of this is that a 'paladin' may be duplicated by simply incorporating the desired effects (spells) into their more martial portfolio of abilities. As mentioned above, these effects are as susceptible to disruption (Dispelling) as any other.

SAMPLE BUILD- Dedicated Warrior- * Fight Dice: d10 Max'd (440) * Armour Proficiencies: ** Light Armor (100) ** Medium Armor (200) ** Heavy Armor (400) ** Shields (60) * Weapon Proficiencies: ** Simple Arms (100) ** Martial Arms (200) * Attack Bonus: +1 (300) ** Special Attack Bonus versus 'Enemy'-type: Additional +1 (900) x 1 / 24 (1x/day) (38) * Critical Tests: [+3 total; +1 each] to be divided between three categories not covered by Ethnicity (700) * Focus: +3 dedicated to determing presence of 'Enemy'-type (900) x 1 / 24 (1x/day) (29)* * Alignment Based Aura (400) ============================== = 2,968 (With 1 1st-Level Spell)- * Caster Level: 1 (1125)* * Access: Intermediate (Able to cast 0-5th) ** 1 1st-Level Spell (225)* (0-level 'orison' subtracted before discount) * 1 Slot (07)* ============================== = + 1,357 (= 4,325) This one 1st-Level Spell would be determined in conjunction with the Referee in accordance with the character's premise (Healing, Illumination, Undead, etc.). Violation of the Path's Standards eventually results in the suspension of all Special Abilities (Enemy-type, Aura, and Spell(s)) until such time as the character atones for their transgressions, as determined by the Referee.

COMBAT- * Preface- This game incorporates several features of combat that are, in many Classic-play games, generally reserved for ‘advanced’ rules, or supplements. My reason for incorporating those I have chosen, in the core product, is to potentially broaden the play-group’s ideas of what constitutes combat, and what characters are capable of. In no way do I suggest that the methods I have chosen to employ are the only or best to be had, but rather, these are my sensibilities as informed by the reading I have done and instruction I have received, but more importantly, those which I feel best represent what characters are capable of as I understand my own milieu and its underlying physics and premises. If, for example, the ability for a character to interrupt its Initiative Count to pursue an entirely different course of action seems unreasonable to the play-group using these rules, they are encouraged to discard, modify, or re-imagine that and all other features of the combat system. It is, after all, now your game to do with as you see fit. Also, please note that my understanding of combat is heroic by virtue of its terribleness, and the amazing fact that some fighters survive at all, and not by dint of cinematic illusions or desires for wish-fulfilment. While certain more forgiving elements have been included, in general these rules are justifiably lethal at all levels of play, and even heavily armoured foes are capable of being instantly slain by exceptional strikes. My overarching advice is for player-characters to avoid combat under all but the

most favourable of conditions, and even then, to be prepared for the loss of said characters, as healing in the early Autumn era is in no way as common or miraculously effective as in many other games. DEFINITION and APPLICATION of TERMS- First, I would like to provide definitions and applications of individual components of the combat system before describing the actual Procedure. * Close Combat- The basis of a character’s Unarmed, or Melee fighting ability is the Leverage PM, as discussed under that Characteristic. To recap, it is a function of the speed at which a strike is aimed at the target, with a stronger character able to close the gap faster than a figure with lower Power to move their limbs (either to attack, or to defend). The positively modified value is added to the Attack Roll, and any result which meets or exceeds the target’s Defence scores a successful Strike. --Circumstantial penalties are not applied to the Attack Roll, and are instead added (positive) to the target’s Defence Roll. Any unmodified Attack die roll that results in a ‘1’ is a Fumble of some sort (determined by attack/weapon-type), while an unmodified roll to Attack that results in a ‘20’ is scored as a Critical Hit. Critical Hits result in Critical Damage which is scored directly against the figure’s Terminal Threshold, Armour offering little assistance. The attack die-type is reduced

downward for each higher die-type the Armour offers. Thus, a Critical dagger (1d4) strike versus a Lightly-armoured figure (1d4) bypasses the equal die-type armour, doing full Critical Damage. If, instead, the target wore Medium Armour (1d6), the above mentioned dagger strike would be downgraded to 1d3. 1d3 would be the result with Heavy Armour. Et cetera. Otherwise, an unmitigated successful strike results in normal rolled damage, with any Armour reducing accordingly, and the sum subtracted from the figure’s Dodge Pool. The system is geared toward a Proficient attacker striking a stationary target on a 7+ on the Attack Roll. Clearly, a moving target/one aware of the attack, is not stationary, and instead receives its Defence Roll, as modified by particulars. See, below. * Defence in Close Combat- Defence is based upon the figure’s Balance PM, and any additions due to protective gear, or circumstantial modifiers. The rules format is geared to providing any detriments to the attacker as a temporary bonus to the target’s Defence score, rather than imposing a penalty to the Attack Roll. The figure’s Defence score is added to a d20, and is called the Defence Roll. This makes the whole affair of striking much more variable, and involves the controlling player in the process rather than having the attacker(s) simply ‘pound away’, as it were. However, if the Defence Roll (not counting any modifiers) results in a ‘1’ (a Fumble), the effect is the same as if the attacker had scored a ‘20’ on their Attack

Roll, in that the attack encounters less resistance from the Armour, and affects the target with Critical Damage. --Should both a Defence Roll of ‘1’, and the Attack Roll of the foe result in a ‘20’, then the Critical Damage suffered is twice the amount rolled; a telling blow indeed. * Close Combat Fumbles- On an un-modified Attack or Defence Roll result of ‘1’, the rolling figure performs a Fumble. A Fumbled Attack Roll requires a second d20 roll with the pertinent modifiers added. --If this sum is lower than what is necessary to score a successful Strike, the attacker has inadvertently lost its grip on the weapon and it is flung-away (1dx + Leverage 2M) feet away, where ‘x’ is the die-type based upon the weapon’s damage: :: Light : 1d8 + Leverage 2M feet :: Medium : 1d6 " " :: Heavy : 1d4 " " :: X. Hvy. : 1d2 + Leverage 2M feet Lanyards (leashes which connect to the attacker’s body) reduce the effect by one die-type, to a maximum distance of the lanyard’s length, but risk getting snagged at precisely the worst possible time. Also, if the weapon is a gauntlet (armoured glove), or natural weapons (limbs, bite, ram, etc.), the failed Attacker instead loses their next 1d2 actions.

--If the sum would have otherwise scored a Strike, the weapon is instead retained, and subsequently damaged: :: Roll weapon damage: --Light : If greater than ‘2’, the weapon is broken and reduced by three die-types (d4 becomes +1, etc.) --Medium : If greater than ‘3’, the weapon is broken and reduced by two die-type (d6 becomes d3, etc.) --Heavy : If greater than ‘4’, the weapon is broken and reduced by one die-type (d8 becomes d6, etc.) --X. Hvy. : If greater than ‘5’, the weapon is dropped at the Attacker’s feet, and the figure loses 1d2 Rounds. A Fumble with Natural Weaponry (fists, feet, horns, teeth) results in non-Critical damage of two die-types lower to the failed attacker. --Fumbled Attack versus Critical Defence: Roll one-lower die-type + Leverage 2M damage versus the Attacker. * Damage versus Critical Damage- Non-critical damage depreciates the target’s Dodge Pool, illustrating the effort involved in avoiding Critical Damage, as well as the accumulated buffeting, bruising, and other minor and relatively inconsequential effects. The character’s Dodge Pool regenerates at a rate of Constitution 2M per night of rest. Healing draughts, magic and or psionic healing can immediately refresh the victim’s Dodge Pool, provided that the figure has not suffered any Critical Damage. In any case, Critical Damage is first addressed and only if there is

remaining virtue in the healing is the Dodge Pool refreshed from that reserve. If a figure’s Dodge Pool is reduced to precisely ‘0’, they immediately fall unconscious. If roused through external agency, or 1d6 Rounds pass, the figure is too weak to participate in combat, but can still perform light activity, and may move at no more than half its normal rate. Consider this effect a concussion, or such great pain so as to numb muscles and cause general loss of coordination, and grogginess. Climbing or descending, portage, etc. are considered heavy activity, and if attempted, again result in unconsciousness. Clearly, if unaccounted for, this second bout of unconsciousness may have its own source of unseemly repercussions under these circumstances, and it is entirely possible for such a victim to drown if swimming, or fall from a mount or down a stairwell, etc. The remainder of any damage which exceeds the figure’s (Dodge Pool + 1, i.e., beyond ‘0’) is automatically converted to Critical Damage. Critical Damage is scored directly against the figure’s Terminal Threshold, and is bloody and visceral, leading to 1 point of continuing blood-loss each Round that no assistance is received. Thus, it is both possible for a figure to be slain in a single stroke, as well as for it to die by bleeding out. * Ranged Combat- Ranged weapons that are not dependent upon muscle (augmented) power to deliver their damage/Effect (namely firearms and ranged energy weapons or magic/psionic devices such as ‘wands’), use the

character’s Balance PM to determine strike success or failure. This represents Hand-Eye Coordination between the shooter and the target over the span of distance that separates them. There are times when it is appropriate that the Balance 2M is used for Effect, and other instances where Certitude or Reason’s 2M would be more appropriate, given the need to perceive proper ‘shot’ placement to maximise Effect. This choice by the Referee ought to be clarified, and used as consistently as possible if players are to feel that the universe in which their characters operate is not utterly capricious. My reason for not limiting the mechanic to one of the three is that the play-group’s sensibilities would trump my decision anyway, and that being as it ought. * Ranged Combat Fumbles- --Bows: :: Re-roll and add Leverage 2M. If the result is ‘good enough to hit’, the string/cord snaps. If it fails, the result indicates that the arrow/bolt falls short of the intended target (possibly striking a nearer target, but only for minimal damage on the die, and 1/2 (rd) modifiers -- as the Referee decides). --Rolling a ‘Natural 1’ in Firearm/Tech Weapon Combat: :: Re-roll and add the higher of Balance or /Reason/ PM. If the result is ‘good enough to hit’, the weapon simply fails to discharge/operate, and may need to be re-loaded or otherwise fiddled-with for 1 normal re-load period to regain function. If the result indicates failure, a more serious and possibly dangerous side-effect occurs,

as determined by the Referee and the nature of the weapon. * Ranged Combat Criticals- --As described in Close Combat, except that on a Fumbled Defence and a Critical Hit, the damage is 3x. * Defence versus Ranged Attacks- This is a somewhat more difficult subject to model, but the following is my advice: :: An unaware and essentially stationary target receives no Defence Roll, the Attack need only score a base 7+, but this is adjusted upward by Range and Circumstantial (lighting, weather, etc.) Modifiers. :: An unaware, but moving target receives ½ (rd) their Defence value, and only rolls 1d10 for their ‘dumb luck’ Defence Roll. If the attack-type is noticeable (and most all are), they then receive their full Defence value on subsequent attacks within that Round, but retain the d10 roll until their next Round, at which point they resume normal operations. :: Sniping from a hidden location at targets in the open, thus allowing a measure of the targets awareness of the general threat, provides the attacker +2 on their initial Attack Roll in any given Round. This bonus is lost on subsequent shots within a Round, as the targets have received warning. The figure cannot nominate to waive a Defence Roll for a further +4 to Attack, and they are otherwise considered unmoving while in this stance. :: An actively evading (‘zig-zagging’) target receives a +1 to Defence, in addition to Range and Circumstance.

See also the effects of an attacker’s voluntary reduction of IC to receive a bonus to strike. This can be interpreted as taking aim, or following and leading a target. In general, apart from Range and Circumstantial Modifiers, targets of a ranged attack are at the disadvantage. * Critical Damage and Stealth Attacks- Always take the higher of the two values, and a 1 before determining the multiplier. --Thus, a figure with 2x Stealth Attack, scoring a Ranged Combat Critical versus a simple failed Defence would roll (2 + 1 = 3x) Critical Damage. A Fumbled Defence and Critical Ranged Strike with 2x SA would result in (3 +1 = 4x) Critical Damage. Et cetera.

COMBAT ROUND PROCEDURE- A Combat Round is roughly 6 seconds in length, but may actually be shorter based upon the length of time it takes for all participants to accomplish their actions, up to and including a total of 6 seconds. Any extended action carries over into subsequent Rounds. In general, this is only important for estimating how long non-combat actions take relative to the combat, and not the opposite. 1). Declaration of hostilities: :: All participants declare their foes. :: Changing this after the fact cuts one’s Initiative Count in half (round remainder down), each time it is enacted in a single Round, for whatever reason. 2). Declaration of Focus: :: Any Focus Points to be used must be declared at this point. :: It takes 1 full Round to switch one’s Focus, although the Referee may decide to be forbearing and allow the loss of ½ as with Initiative, but is under no compulsion to do so. 3). Declaration of actions: :: It is vital that declaration of actions precede the Initiative Phase to retain a measure of the unpredictability of combat.

4). Roll for Initiative: :: Initiative is normally rolled on 1d10, with Balance 2M added. :: However, if a character was engaged in non-combat activities prior to joining combat already underway, 1d4 + 2M is substituted for that figure to represent the reduced time available within the Round joined. :: Likewise, this die-type could be adjusted upward or downward based on the sensibilities of the play-group, as determined at the moment by the Referee, to illustrate other combinations of factors, such as ‘Partial Surprise’. --I define Partial Surprise as knowing the enemy is moving through terrain which offers varying degrees of concealment/cover (for example, a large library building with many interconnected doorways and corridors, and large open areas offering intermittent concealment) where one is suspecting the enemy to be around any/every corner. The figure is ‘prepared’, but can still be caught off-guard without imposing the actual Surprise effects. :: A character may elect to voluntarily halve (rd) their IC to gain a +4 to either a single (1) Attack or Defence roll. :: ‘Hurrying’ an Attack adds +2 to the figure’s IC, but grants the target +4 Defence.

5). Initiative Count-down: :: A figure or party may regulate declared co-operative actions so as to have the individual with higher Initiative ‘hold’ their action until they can perform them with one or more ally lower in the count. In such a case, the higher Initiative Count (IC) figure(s) drop down the count and their compatriots are elevated in the count by an equal number of steps, but never to exceed the highest IC member of the co-op, where they ‘meet at the middle’ IC. In this fashion, co-ordinated troops are capable of forming and maintaining shield walls, phalanx, and other formations while on the move. 6). Movement: :: Based upon declared action (Step 3), and in order of IC, the figures move through the environment, subject to all standard terrain effects, including possible prevention of acting upon declarations.

7). Attack/Defence Rolls: Rolling two distinct d20 with each declared as either the Attack or Defence die speeds things, but is not mandatory. Likewise rolling a distinct d8 for Hit Location is a further time-saver. :: Forgoing an Attack Roll adds +4 to Defence :: Forgoing a Defence Roll adds +4 to Attack :: Wielding two weapons and Attacking adds +3 Defence to the Target versus the Primary Attack, and +5 Defence versus the Secondary Attack. :: Wielding two weapons and Defending with them adds a flat +3 to the figure’s Defence, but permits two Defence Rolls. If only one succeeds, treat as a normal Defence result. If both succeed, no damage is rolled. If a ‘dual-wielding’ Attacker confronts a dual-wielding Defender, treat each stroke as normal versus the Defence.

8). Hit Location: On a successful Strike, roll 1d8: --8: Vitals: Add 1 multiplier to damage that gets past any Armour worn --7: Head: Forces /Constitution/ PM roll versus Stun for D# Rounds, where D equals damage past any Armour worn --6: Chest --5: Abdomen: As per Head --4: Right Arm/Fore-limb --3: Left Arm --2: Right Leg/Hind-limb --1: Left Leg --Either of the following requires the player to state their intention prior to Rolling for Attack: :: ‘Aiming High’ instead rolls 1d8+2, with any result greater than 8 counting as an Arm hit (9 = L, 10 = R). :: ‘Aiming Low’ instead rolls 1d8-2, with any result of less than 1 counting as an Leg hit (0 = R, -1 = L). 9). Non-Combat Actions: :: Non-combat actions transpire throughout the Round, but only reach fruition after all Movement and Attack/Defence has taken place within the Round. 10). Bookkeeping: :: Applying Effects/wounds, counting discharged ranged weapons, etc. Repeat Procedure until hostilities cease.