staying up late, playing games
I was faintly annoyed that the English translation was never completed and Google Translate really struggled. So…I’m doing a slightly AI assisted read-through of the book.
https://www.rpgpub.com/threads/humanydyne-a-rather-mechanistic-readthrough.11211/
I’ve done a lot of worldbuilding here and on the RPGPUB but the place where the most content for Tales of Distant Lands lives is on the Patreon. Thers’s heaps of member only material available for free – certainly enough to actually play the game.
Tonight I was interviewed by the Harboiled GMshoe, Dan Davenport
https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2024/09/22/qa-matt-johnston-rise-of-rlyeh/
We talked about the recent release of Rise of R’lyeh and touched on some recent books we have released. It’s a quick read – particularly with a screen reader!
The strange aeons arrived and R’lyeh rose from the dark waters.
A Dark Past
When the darkness came for me,
There was no-one who stood in their way
In 1998, the unthinkable happened.
It started with immense earthquakes under the Pacific Ocean as the Earths crust was torn and rent under the oceans. As the modern world turned their eye to the seismic events and did their best to cope with the resultant tsunamis over the days and weeks to follow along every coast along the Pacific (and beyond). The warnings were clear as the surge travelled to the east to the coast of the Americas and west to Asia and Oceania. Millions died as as a sequence of waves, hundreds of metres high inundated port cities and millions more were claimed by the destruction and pestilence to follow. Those who survived, by being inland or on high enough ground, found a world changed. The seas did not recede to their previous levels, staying more than 10 metres higher than previous; nor was there enough surviving infrastructure to allow any semblance of normal society. Anyone sent to the flooded cities either did not return or came back changed by their experiences. They spoke of vast basalt edifices dwarfing the skyscrapers of the past, the dark clouds of noxious smoke that billow from their chimneys, of terrible winged things that shrieked around their formidable spires and the city being filled with horrid fishlike humanoids hunting humans for sport. Their stories were not too far from the truth.
Using the acclaimed Year Zero Engine and specifically the Step Dice version pioneered in Twilight 2000 and used for more than a dozen other third party games, this promises a level, grounded, modern action system.
This also enables use of other supplements for Twilights 2000 without modification, whether you want the interdimensional invaders of Through the Silver Gate, the Dragons from Here Be Dragons, Supersoldiers from Enhanced or Psychics from Twilight Tangents.
Rise of R’lyeh contains mature themes (cosmic horror, death, invasion, infection, body horror, climate collapse, the end of the world, violence, mental illness, war, human sacrifice, cannibalism and other subjects which might cause distress. Please make use of appropriate safety and consent tools at your discretion with your players (X Card, Lines and Veils) to ensure that the game is enjoyable to everyone.
Drennus is a Privean pirate who fights with a long blade. He’s matched against Blackfeather, a Saalian dockworker. Both have seen several scrapes in the past
Drennus
Body d10, Pirate d10, Past: Grew up on a Privean pirate ship (+1). Has a long blade (+1 to hit, 2 damage). Drennus is wearing boiled leather armour (1d6)
Blackfeather
Body d8, Dockworker d8. Past: Tarxian Sewer Rat. Has a ShortBlade (+1, 1 damage). He has no armour.
Drennus and Blackfeather roll their combat abilities.
Drennus is rolling 2d12. He’s argued that both of his +1s add to his d10 in Body and d10 in Piracy. He rolls 8 and 6. Two successes, making for 3 damage.
Blackfeather is rolling d10 and d8. He’s only got the bonus for the blade. He rolls and scores a 9 and a 5. One Success. He decides to Push the d8, getting a 6 on the second roll. Two Successes, making for 2 damage
Both got two Successes so both hit, though technically as Blackfeather rolled highest, his blade is quickest. Drennus is inflicting 3 Harm, whereas Blackfeather is only inflicting 2.
Drennus rolls for his armour, getting a 5. It doesn’t protect him this time. He takes 2 points of harm.
Drennus’ Body is down to d6 but Blackfeather is down to d0. Blackfeather is down!
No quarter is asked, none given.
As Blackfeather received 3 points of Harm, Drennus also rolls on the Critical Table. He’s rolling d10 for his ability with a +1 for the blade, so d12! He scores a 7, meaning Blackfeather has a leg injury that will take a month to heal.
Blackfeather lies on the ground, writhing from the pain. Drennus can end it here for him, but instead he kicks dirt at him and walks away.
The art for Enhanced or Through the Silver Gate doesn’t vibe well with Whole New World so I’m hunting for an artist again to produce the cool retro-space vibe I need for this.
“The human race is going to be adrift, desperate for a rock to cling to while they catch their breath.”
There’s really no FTL in the setting. Sure, FTL tech was used to get the humans here, but it’s a kinda of a one way trip. They were catapulted here.
We can assume some technological advances. Particularly in computers, sensors and maybe even some bioware. But the space ship tech? “the only way humans have ever figured out of getting somewhere is to leave something behind.” I do like the idea of sarcastic robots.
The ship has limited life support, limited fuel but effectively unlimited energy when the solar veil is deployed. This can, with time, replenish fuel stores.
“That’s what I love – out there we face great odds. Death. But not evil.”
We’ve always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments. These moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or perhaps we’ve just forgotten that we are still pioneers. And we’ve barely begun.
Blade Runner is one of the published games by Free League which uses a version of the Year Zero Engine (YZE) which eschews dice pools in favour of stepped dice. This means that instead of just adding more dice until you’re rolling a handful of clickety-clacks, you increase the ‘magnitude’ of the dice for skills and attributes. A d6 becomes a d8, a d8 to a d10….etc.
Blade Runner and Twilight 2000 use the same base system. Blade Runner is a little simpler, having an advantage/disadvantage mechanism whereas Twilight 2000 just uses a sequence of modifiers from a small table which promote or demote your dice up or down the magnitude scale.
Now, while there are a couple of supplements for Blade Runner available (Fiery Angels is out, Replicant Rebellion is coming), there are literally hundreds of scenarios and campaign materials for Twilight 2000.
So, even if you don’t want the clean, accuracy of Twilight 2000, you still have a heap of materials to use.
Take your Blade Runner characters into the Deadzone. Enhance their psychic abilities with The 23rd Letter. Introduce a zombie plague with Twilight Tangents. Bring in superpowers with Enhanced. Add in Magic with De Occulta, add in Vampires with Exsanguine. Find mythos horror with Rise of R’lyeh or have them fight Dragons, Elves, the menace of the Gloom or even Space Marines. All of these are available for a couple of dollars to enhance or change the direction for your Blade Runner game.
Next, a brief chat on how to use Alien resources with Blade Runner, taking advantage of the Easter Eggs which litter both.
Through the Silver Gate is a new alt-campaign for Twilight 2000 cementing it as a flexible and practical modern task and combat resolution system.
It sits alongside Here Be Dragons and The Gloom as possible alt-campaigns for T2K on the premise of “what if it wasn’t the Soviets….”
This means it’s perfectly possible to play T2K and not be as concerned with the current situation in the world.
So, saddle up, grab your packs and get to the front line. The Orcs have all but taken Virginia and are moving North. Tales of Dragons flying over the Appalachians and a large silver sphere has materialised on the front lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Let’s take the fight to them!
This book contains:
This is particularly inspired by a few sources including
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Janissaries, by Jerry Pournelle
Cannibal Halfling: The Forbidden Stairs
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
The Long Stair, a very long thread on RPGnet.
You might see some other influences from the Del Toro movie Cronos, to TORG.
One of the issues I’ve seen raised repeatedly is the current state of the world. That Twilight 2000 represents something a little too close to reality with the current conflict in Ukraine. It’s kinda hard for some of us (old, aged, seasoned) GenX to fully understand as we grew up in the shadow of constant potential nuclear devastation from the USSR in the height of the Cold War. That’s when Twilight 2000 was birthed, in the state of existential worry.
But things are different now. People are more informed, possibly better informed, but certainly more. However there’s never been more uncertainty in the world.
This is the result of masticating this idea, in conjunction with others, on how to use a modern, tactical ruleset without the potential triggers it might cause. And this was born the idea of Twilight Dimensions or, in other words, alt-campaigns for Twilight 2000.
GDQW did this first with MERC 2000, where they took away the apocalypse and made the game more about mercenaries in a more milsimmy-way. But I’m more interested in other things. Like what if there was an interdimensional invasion? Or what if the minions of Cthulhu rose up and took over the world. And this book is a part of that.
Once she was sure that everyone was asleep, Joy crept from her stuffed straw pallet and slipped out of the room. She was sure no-one would have heard her move because of the constant put-put-put from Makaira’s snoring. But even as she pulled the door closed, she wouldn’t have seen a pair of eyes flick open.
Once outside the room, she muttered some words and felt a flush of joy as the magic coursed in her, and she became invisible to the world, yet fully visible to herself. for not a moment did she consider if her spell had worked, she just was confident in its working.
She padded down the steps towards the open door and stepped out into the night. A cat hissed at her passing and she wondered at the strangeness of those creatures and their keen senses.
From an upper window, Shei gazed out upon the yard, wondering if Joy would be leaving but as nothing came into view, they curled up on the straw and listening to the rhythmic snoring of the older mage, fell back into their nightmare.
Joy could hear the last of the town revellers as she crept along the dirt streets, doing her best to stay in the shadows. One could never be sure if the invisibility was complete and she had seen too many pranks go awry at the Guild when an inexperienced apprentice had forgotten to mask their own shadow as well as their body. Joy would make no such mistake; she had practiced the art of invisibility for slipping off into the woods and watching nature for hours on end.
Finally she arrived at the strange fish-shrine in the town. Someone had left two burning candles there, to the fish-effigy was wreathed in an ethereal flickering light. The trapdoor was still secured.
Outside, across the square, one of the many porthole taverns were closing their trade. Porthole taverns represented the roughest of places – where the clientele wasn’t even trusted to enter the hearth but instead were passed drinks through a small window. She crept closer, careful not to disturb any stones and then she spotted the three unpleasant men she’d spoken to earlier. One, the ringleader, seemed very much the worse for wear and he coloured the air blue with his language.
All three sloped off into a small cul-de-sac and then parted ways, the leader shuffling into a one room shack. As she peered in the window, she could smell only man sweat and fish work and all she could see was a lone table and chair, a poorly tended fireplace with a pot hanging above it and poking out of a dark alcove, two grubby feet.
She debated whether to investigate further but was wary – these were rough people “of the knife” it was said. Feeling slightly defeated she returned to her lodgings and crept back inside.
As she opened the door to their room, she heard Shei hiss “and where have you been”
Shei questioned her at length, knowing the dangers of snooping around at night, and berated her for carelessness and how they’d be sick with worry if she did not return. Makaira made a loud snort that seemed to indicate he was still asleep but then he spoke “Do I have to lock fast your jaws to make you stop wittering through the night?”
Joy related her journey to them both and Makaira surprised her by standing up and starting to dress. Even moreso when he did not put on his ceremonial garb that he went everywhere with. Makaira was not the sort of Wizard to be seen about town so unadorned yet here he was, beard and hair uncombed, ready to step out into the night.
The three made their way in darkness, not bothering with invisibility or any form of camouflage until they arrived at the Shrine. It was now Deepnight and it seemed that anything that had occurred here had long since departed. The candles were burned down to their wicks.
Makaira nudged Shei towards the locked trapdoor and Shei, taking the meaning, obliged. The lock was simple, only two tumblers, and Shei picked it expertly but the mechanism wouldn’t release. “It’s held fast by magic”. Joy wondered at the implications of this when Makaira stood to his full height and uttered a single word “Haba”, which means Raze in the True Speech. Instantly the trapdoor itself was rendered to splinters which hung in the air for a moment as if surprised, and then fell into the darkness of whatever was below the door.
Clicking his fingers, Makaira summoned a magelight which he tossed into the blackness and then stepped into the hole.
Below, lit by the eerie magelight, was a small pontoon at the end of a long cave. There was some evidence it had been used due to the marks of feet on the greenish slime so common to caves and harbours but there was nothing else to be seen. The cavern waters carried the smell of the sea and they all surmised this must lead to some secluded opening on the coast. Joy recognised this a s smugglers hole, not uncommon when folks wanted to avoid taxes or move good unseen.
With nothing else to be gleaned here, they climbed out of the hole. Shei expressed some concern at the trapdoor which lay in fragments, but Makaira ignored them and bade Joy to lead them to the ringleader.
In this odorous little shack, standing above it’s owner, Makaira spoke quietly into the darkness. Both Joy and Shei recognised some of the words. Shei saw them form as certain musical notes which they had used many times in attempts to sway the minds of others. A reminder of the kinship between magic and song.
With his mind utterly enslaved, the ringleader confessed all. He was part of a clandestine gang who were moving people in and out of the lands unseen. He personally was responsible for the deaths of at least six people. Their motives were partly about money but there was a revolutionary aspect to it that left Makaira very uncomfortable. He sent the man back to sleep with no memory and then the three returned to their lodgings.
Rising fashionably late, they decided to inform the wizard Alaric of the goings-on. He again displayed considerable prepared relaxation but promised them he would take action. Uncertain of his sincerity, they made their way down to the port to find the ship they awaited.
The Wanderer was a sleek vessel, narrow of beam but quick on the wind. It’s master, Spicer, was a lean Osslan who inspired confidence and strength. He agreed to their haggling for the trip to round the top of Saaland and out to the West.
As they loaded their belongings aboard the Wanderer, Joy spotted a commotion in the square. A large crowd was gathered. Spying through the eyes of a seabird, she saw the ringleader being hoisted to a pillory. The Wizard Alaric must have made good on his promise. The Wanderer slipped it’s moorings and headed East out into the open sea before turning Northeast. After a day at sea, it rounded the northern horn and set a course due West for Alben.
Spicer took great delight in teaching anyone who would listen about the sails and lines. Makaira spend most of his time in silent meditation with only the occasional snore but Shei and Joy were quick to follow instructions and soon were able to tack and steer without supervision.
Alben came into view a day later, a town brightly lit by greenish magelight. It was clear the place was wealthy, maintained by the lucrative Ironworks in the region. The Wanderer slipped quietly into the dock with Shei and Joy securing her to the harbour wall and Spicer off to unload cargo and collect supplies for the next leg of the journey.
I wrote some notes a while ago so forgive me for brevity. This morning on the bus….I kinda expanded them. Images are placeholders, I’ve pinged my artist, Dino, to produce some nice original art.
The Long Stair was an internet thread on rpgnet which imagined, possibly to excruciating detail, what happens when a fantasy world crosses over with ours.
This was then followed up with crossing Forbidden Lands (Free Leagues flagship fantasy game) with Twilight 2000 (IMO the best evolution of the YZE).
Now, we had written stuff a while ago about Narnia which kind of tracked with this. (OMG that was 2008).
The idea what what would happen in our world if there was interaction between modern soldiers and fantasy races with magic.
So, Twilight 2000 only really deals with humans. Sure you can get supplements (right here) that add in horrific monsters (in The Gloom) or Dragons (in Here Be Dragons) or mutations (in Enhanced) or Zombies (in Twilight Tangents) but we hadn’t covered Orcs, Goblins and Elves – the standard fantasy fare.
I use the word race very deliberately. There’s only one human race. There is only one surviving human species.
In this photo-fantasy world, they didn’t get humans, they got Orcs, Goblins and Elves. In the hominid evolutionary tree, Orcs are the descendent of ape-like ancestors similar to the modern day Earth Gorilla. Goblins too – descended from chimpanzee-like ancestors.
| The Orc is a tribal, aggressive species standing on average 1.8 metres (6’) though specimens are recorded much larger. In terms of body mass, the Orc is commonly up to 500 lbs (226 kgs) of muscle and bone. They have a characteristic gait with the heavily muscled arms reaching down to their knees and can reach a top speed of 40 km/h – fast enough to outrun all but the fastest sprinters. Physically humans are not a match one on one. They have astounding endurance and are very hard to kill.
Orcs are smart, maybe not human smart, but they can learn. They’re delighted to learn about new weapons and toys, new ways to create fire or explosions and they find slapstick humour, particularly where someone gets hurt, to be utterly hilarious. (Not so different from humans). Orcs live in Prides, where the decisions of the family group are decided by the female Orcs. They’re responsible for food prep, for rearing young and also for the social order. All of the females in the Pride are related but many of the make Orcs will be “hangers on”, drawn by the “wealth” of the Pride (territory, conquests, potential for mates, charismatic leadership). The females select who is their mate (if any) this adds to the males prestige. Orcs are opportunistic omnivores, able to digest everything from raw meat to tree bark. They are seldom cannibals but will consider humans and even Goblins as a valid food source. Culturally, the Orcs will form war bands for conquest, based on loose alliances. They can, however be controlled by the Fein who have millennia-old spells to ensnare the mind of the Orc and turn them to war. |
 |
| STR | AGI | INT | EMP |
|---|---|---|---|
| d20 | d10 | d6 | d6 |
| Close Combat d12, Stamina d12, Mobility d6, Ranged Combat d8, Recon d10, Command d10 | |||
| Brawler, Melee, Killer, Load Carrier, Ranger | |||
| All Critical Thresholds are +1 when attacking Orcs. And their melee attacks Critical Threshold is reduced by 1 | |||
| Equipment: Sword, Halberd, Mail Armour, Shield | |||
| Goblins are the arboreal equivalent of the Orc, weighing much less (50 kgs) and much smaller in stature (1.2m, 4 ft). Their arms are proportionally longer and well suited for moving through trees. On land they’re fast but not for sustained periods. Proportionally they’re stronger than most humans reflecting a life of action rather than sedentary life. Goblins are also smart tool-users, proficient at the bow and practiced with crossbows of their own design.
Goblins live in large community groups, each numbering around 100 individuals. Under normal circumstances, they hunt and forage for food but have been put to work in agriculture and war by the Fein. |
 |
| STR | AGI | INT | EMP |
|---|---|---|---|
| d10 | d12 | d8 | d8 |
| Close Combat d8, Stamina d12, Mobility d6, Ranged Combat d10, Recon d12, Command d6 | |||
| Brawler, Archer, Mountaineer, Pitcher, Combat Awareness | |||
| Goblins can move through the trees at twice ground speed. | |||
| Equipment: Short Sword, Long Bow, Leather Armour | |||
| The Fein are a slender race of humanoid elfin vampires, reaching 2.1 metres (7 ft) in height. They wear long flowing robes and have golden adornments on their fingers, beck and ears, which are long and pointed. At some point in their past, the Fein developed a type of magic which extended their lives but required the living to sacrifice theirs. They will feed on any living creature, draining its life fluids (blood, sap, ichor) to sustain their own lives. This way the Fein can live for thousands of years. A human will sustain them for 1 month, an Orc for two months and a large tree for a year.
They still eat food for pleasure and sustain their lifestyles through the control of other races, notably Goblins for manual labour and Orcs for war. Their history is a long series of highly triumphant novels about how their intervention has been vital for the survival of all. The Fein worship their royal family, a particularly wretched line of vampires who only feed on other Fein. At some point in the past, they were creatures who lived commensally with the trees using magic to create song and great works, but over the years their lust for immortality drove them to use their magic to unnaturally prolong their life. Culturally the Fein consider all races to be subservient, as they alone are uniquely long lived. Their methods are cruel and their magic is effective. They are often armed with a keen and slender needle rapier which is effective against armour, ignoring any protection provided by mail armour. |
 |
| STR | AGI | INT | EMP |
|---|---|---|---|
| d8 | d8 | d20 | d12 |
| Close Combat d12, Recon d12, Command d12 | |||
| Killer, Intelligence, Interrogator, Psy Ops, Fein Magic | |||
| With but a touch, the Fein can drain Hit Points from other creatures 1 per turn, healing their injuries. This operates through their Opifex | |||
| Equipment: Rapier, Opifex, Magic Scroll | |||
The Fein use Magic powered by their own life force and the life force of others. Each effect requires at least the expenditure of 1 Hit Point, which can be regained immediately using their Opifex. Humans can learn Fein Magic and use an Optifex.
The Optifex is a piece of magical technology resembling a pocket watch with an interior filled with glass, blood and some sort of insect-like creature. The Optifex cannot be dismantled without killing the creature. This technology enables the Fein to live effectively forever through the vampirism of other species.
The Fein have a complex ritual which is performed on every Fein. This causes every Orc and Goblin to be immediately subservient to Fein, effectively giving the Fein an extra d12 when using Command with Orcs and Goblins. It has no effect on Humans. Removing the Regent enchantment from a Fein is considered a serious punishment as these Fein are also vulnerable to the influence.
The caster can open an Schwartzschild Bridge (actually a Morris-Thorne Wormhole) between two locations. This spell creates a shimmering globe of silvery metal which, at the predetermined time, will transport anything that walks though it to the desired destination. The primary component is at least 200 grams of orichalcum (which may be re-used). Rather than being an unobtainable mystery substance, Orichalcum is a specific ore of copper and nickel (and can be manufactured).
The Bridge is opened above a specific pattern made in Orichalcum powder by the spell. To close the bridge, break the pattern. The pattern is automatically generated (similar to cymatics) depending on the destination and each pattern is unique.
There is no guarantee that anyone crossing a Bridge will survive. Sometimes they come out the other end ‘reassembled’ incorrectly and survival at the other end can also depend on the presence of life-sustaining conditions.
This spell exists in many forms across cultures. It causes direct harm to a target, Each Hit Point invested causes a point of damage and Stress may also be exchanged for enemy damage, point for point. The flesh of the target is scored and burned by the spell, including their internal organs. Cause of death will be inexplicable to normal medicine if it kills the target. The Caster may also choose to spend a Permanent EMP level to inflict an immediate Death Save on the target.
This spell completely ignores armour and can be cast line of sight or may have effectively infinite range if there is a sympathetic connection (hair, etc).
The ritual for placing a minimum of three stelae to enable the forming of a dimensional chiasmata (the overlap of two dimensions) on the basis of a Silver Gate. Stelae must be forged from a conductive metal. The first three stelae must be placed within 16 hours of each other and the ritual performed over each one. Additional stelae can be added later. The maximum distance between them is 1.054 kilometres. If performed correctly, the next 32 hours will see the region within the stelae boundary change as the other dimension begins to write itself over Earth, changing plans, changing the air, even changing the sky.
The specific dimension is dictated by changing the directions within the ritual. If the stelae are destroyed, any areas not covered begin to revert though they will not be the same. For the chiasmata to maintain, there must be at least three stelae.
This spell takes the body of a deceased person and summons life back into it. Any decomposition will remain and can be healed (in theory). The spell does not remove the cause of death (wounds do not heal, cancer is not cured) but for the time being, they are alive again.
The spell also won’t heal any putrefaction processed (They’re still rotting). The Referee deducts 1 level from one Attribute, if it is from STR, AGI or INT, it’s likely decomposition. If it’s from EMP, it’s likely due to feeling the pull of death. If the target has an Attribute that was previously reduced to 0 due to another spell or injury, they retain that handicap.
This is an examination of being a starfaring race in the Dark Forest.
The idea of a violent and hostile void out there filled with predators lurking in the vast darkness between the stars.
So, where did this one come from?
Communists in the Funhouse is a euphemism used in Denmark to describe a woman who’s at a certain stage of her menstrual cycle. My wife and I thought this was hilariously phrased and as a result, it had to inspire a mini-game.
So, if it tickles you, pop along and download it:
The third RPG I’ve posed to the Jam is
The concept is being a disaster relief operative. A little like “International Rescue” also known as Thunderbirds.
Now there are differences
The second RPG I’ve posted for the Jam is
This game is the “Sharpe” of RPGs. The idea of romping around Spain putting Napoleon back in his place has entertained me for years while watching the TV movies and also then reading the books.
If you’re familiar with the concept, you’d have no trouble at all with the system.
So far I’ve posted two entries for the Jam
The first is….Talking to Dragons
This is the base system for “Tales of Distant Lands” and could be considered a QuickStart so it’s also available on DTRPG. I’ll still be working on the full release of Tales of Distant Lands obviously
We will be hacking together some entries for the one page game jam over the coming month.
Pop onto our discord if you want to join in.
Today we made two private entries public.
Both are more detail on the Cunning Folk. Cunning Folk are the “lesser” wizards of the worlds. People who have a smattering of wizardry in one area. They’re cure-alls, chanters, wind workers and fish-callers, but the title may be used for anyone who has a little magic and uses it to enhance their trade.
The Song of Rusal and Erse
In the history of Saaland, Rusal was a legendary warrior, poet and prince. In the story, Rusal become enchanted with a woman he sees on a passing ship and pursues her by jumping in the water.
But the waters are too strong for him to catch her. The song is about his call to the woman as the waves eventually take him. She can only watch as he drowns.
The second part of the song describes how the woman, Erse, takes the same route on the ship years later and the shade of Rusal rises from his watery grave to court her once more. This time she chooses to jump into the water and they embrace, the waves bearing them to the depths.
The story highlights the dangers of recklessness and obsession and serves as a warning tale to intemperate youth. Various renditions of the story exist with the apocryphal Rusal (also known as Russe in the south of Saaland) having varying accomplishments and adornments. He has also been syncretised into other heroic myths.
The identity of Erse (Elspe in the south of Saaland) is less straightforward but is said to represent the historical drowning of Lady Erse on the crossing between Erea and Saaland. Erse was exiled from Saaland during the overthrow of her father, a local warlord and was able to return in her old age, once all of her enemies were dead. Her sorrow at her dead family results in her throwing herself from the ship once she sights the coast.
In the tongue of Saaland, these verses rhyme and are accompanied by music.
The waters of Saaland speak his name,
Rusal, the prince of legend,
Warrior with a heart of poetry,
His eyes found her on a passing ship,
An ethereal vision,
Her silhouette a beacon on the horizon.
With reckless abandon he plunged,
Into the depths, toward her shadow,
The waves mocked his valiant pursuit,
Their cruel embrace dragging him deeper,
His call to her lost in the roar,
His fate sealed by the unforgiving sea.
Years drifted by like autumn leaves,
Erse, her heart laden with sorrow,
Returned to the waters of her exile,
Her eyes searching for a coast long unseen,
A spectral figure rose from the depths,
Rusal’s shade, his love undimmed by death.
This time she did not hesitate,
The waters held no terror, only reunion,
She leapt from the ship, arms wide,
To meet her lover beneath the waves,
Their embrace a final, fateful dance,
The sea their eternal witness.
Together they sank into legend,
Two souls bound by the currents,
Their story a whispered warning,
To those who chase shadows on the water,
Recklessness and obsession,
The waves’ unyielding toll.
In Saaland, their tale endures,
Rusal, the poet prince, and Erse,
Echoes of their love and loss,
Resounding through the ages,
A myth to temper youthful ardor,
A love as vast and perilous as the sea.
One of the important things for the World is familiarity. I remember reading a great (and hefty) first RPG by a Scottish crowd and one of the things I remember most is not their evocative prose or the art which captured the sort of neo-victorian fantasy world, but that they took the time to use different names for things like “sword”.
You gotta makes changes where it matters but also remember that the language you’re using to write the game (British English in this case) is different to the language they’re using in the world (which I’ve named ilsien). Things will be translated if they’re common enough. It was one of the issues I had with Skyrealms of Jorune, which being one of my favourite games, I tried to foist on players a couple of times. And while they got to grips with Thriddles, Shanthas, Muadra, Dyshas…they struggled with Shenters, Iscins and Incleps.
So, language has to be “common” but there has to be rules for adding new words.
Below are a list of the words I’ve used so far and the meaning for them. This will be the start of the Lexicon.
L-ilsien – the name for the archipelago, containing all of the domains who are enjoined to the Shining City and the Court.
Inis – a city on the northmost coast of the island of Erea
The Shining City – city on the eastern coast of Plattesaal, home of the Court
The Court – political centre of the isles, where all Princeps and Families attend
Privetch – city on the North coast of Prive, an island south of the Saaland
Saaland – a large island with the most important cities
Plattesaal – the flatlands on the eastern side of the Saal range
Hindersaal – the rural western side of the Saal range.
The Saal – a mountain range reaching across Saaland
Lenut – a small village on the western side of the Saal located in a dense and lush forest
Alben – port town on the north coast of Saaland
Erea – a large crescent-shaped island east of Saaland.
Losung – a volacanic island south of Erea and East of Saaland
Terona – a small island between Erea and Prive
Wizards – the spellcasting caste of L-Ilsien society
Wizards Staff – symbol of a Wizards craft
Charms – small, usually non-magical tokens, necklaces or bracelets. May be imbued with wizardry to provide protection or other small advantage.
Runes – written language representing concepts in the True Speech which may accompany a small instance of wizardry. If used with actual wizardry, the roll gets a +1 boon (not stackable)
Signs – these are like charms, but used by simpler folk. These can be enhanced by wizardry and provide a +1 boon (not stackable)
The Guild – the organisation responsible for training, certifying and policing wizards
The Hall of Scrolls – a large library of papers, scrolls and books
The Questioner – one of several mentors within the Guild
Ilsien – the language and the people of L-ilsien (the speakers)
True Name – the secret name given to every person at their majority
True Speech – the language by which the world was made, the root language of all
The Balance – the metaphysical representation of how much change a Wizard can make in the world before there are consequences
Becoming – the simple ceremony of giving someone their True Name at their majority
Unbinding – the Last Rite given to the dying where their name is taken back and their spirit is set free to be reincarnated from the Sunless Lands
Handfasting – the non-magical rite where a couple bind themselves together (with symbolic string or rope) as a form of marriage. This rite is renewed after 1 year, after 3 years and after 7 years.
Bane – any wizardry used to harm another.
Dragons – older than writing or speech, the Dragons are forces for the Balance, attracted to Imbalance, representing air and fire. Millennia old, knowledgeable and fearful of their True Names being discovered.
Old Ones – older than writing or speech, the Old Ones represent darkness and earth. They are ravenous for worshippers (who become their agents in the world) but despise light. They can invade the dreams of those close to their temples, creating nightmares of tentacles and unbound malleable flesh.
Kobalos – creatures of darkness who service the Old Ones in their dark places. Smaller than humans but capable of dark wizardry. They despise the light but can cloak themselves in the flesh of others.
The Silver Lake – the metaphysical representation for the barrier between the Living and the Sunless Lands (this was the Black Gate but I’m rethinking it.)
Sunless Lands – the realm of the dead, a static and unchanging place of eternal twilight with no sunshine or stars where the spirits of the dead wait to be reincarnated
Shades – spirits who, for whatever reason, retained their name after they entered the Sunless Lands. They roam these lands, retaining their memory, oftimes resenting the living.
Revenants – a shade which has managed to return through the Black Gate. They often re-inhabit their previous body but can also occupy the bodies of others.
