A new ruleset for Wind on the Steppes

This blog has been sleeping for such a long time, that I’m not sure that anybody is still following it. All my apologies for those who were interested in it. Still, I’m feeding it today with some feedback, and I hope I will start it again when I’m finished with the current project: convert Wind on the Steppes to the newly edited D100 ruleset Revolution D100.

I’m working hard on it, so I hope that it can be ready for 2017. I’ll try to integrate some material from this blog. In the meantime, I encourage you to have a look at Revolution D100.

The SRD can be found here http://alephtargames.com/images/ogl/rd100_srd.zip

The rulebook has a very reasonable price for its 256 pages and can be found here

Pdf €10.90: http://www.rpgmeeting.org/en/component/hikashop/prodotto/revolution-d100-pdf

Dead tree €27.90 + €8 shipment: http://www.rpgmeeting.org/en/component/hikashop/prodotto/revolution-d100

There are no rules for shamanism in the SRD, but of course they will be present in Wind on the Steppes.

The lucky visitors at Dragonmeet can have a look at the Alephtar Games' booth.

Shamanic Trance: an example (1)

a Shamaness

There is a small paragraph in the WotS rulebook about how to role-play a spirit contact: it encourages improvisation and story-telling during these phases of the game, leaving relatively much freedom to the players’ imagination in the way they describe their experience. In order to illustrate this, I will present a couple of examples of how I imagine what can be a shamanic journey in the play, inspired from a real gaming session. It will also clarify some mechanics.

Of course, this represents my understanding of the sources I consulted and every group can freely conceive another spirit world according to its own sensibility and long as it is consistent with the shamanistic beliefs.

In this first post on the subject, we’ll start with a simple case of a shaman trying contact one single spirit at once.

A major shaman tries to coax a hostile creek nature spirit (ichchi) preventing the party to reach its goal. Shaman’s features: POW18, Knowledge (Spirit World) 69%, Allegiance Animism 74%, Perform (Sing) 38%, Persuade 46%, Soul Escape 54%.

Griffins

Griffins, from a Scythian piece of gold jewellery

The Griffin as described in the BRP and proposed in WotS corresponds to the descriptions of imaginative medieval European travelers coming back from Central Asia and Middle East. However, the griffins depicted in the steppe artwork like the Scythian’s, but also by ancient Greeks and Persians (which is not so surprising) are slightly different: they are smaller and with the full body of a lion. I suppose that the huge griffin with the forelegs of an eagle is referring to the medieval heraldic symbol and became therefore the RPG-canon. I propose here alternate statistics for this “steppe griffin”, up to the Game Master to use this one or the “standard” BRP-griffin, or both.

Women as PC and NPC

A Mongolian Woman, painting of Dashtseren GUNGAA

More than many other medieval cultures, the nomadic one can offer opportunities for interesting role play of a traditional woman, that is not only as a shamaness, an artist or a kind of tomboy. A recent blog entry about women on the Celestial Empire blog reminded me that I wanted to write a bit more about this topic in order to encourage women as PCs -and hopefully as player as well.

First statement: Nomad women are no Barbie girls, they can be as terrible as she-wolves.

Second statement: Nomad women have much more freedom, at least of expression, than many of their sisters from other medieval settled civilizations.

Some tasks are of course traditionally reserved to them, like cattle milking or raising babies, as others are reserved to men. But women must take care of the camp when men are away: they command the servants and the slaves and have to be able to protect the cattle and the children from all the dangers of the Steppes, including predators like wolves. They are helped in this task by dogs, which obey to them. They are skilled at survival. Women need therefore not only various skills, but also a strong willpower, both things which make women PCs interesting to play. In the domains they are assigned to, they are the rulers, but outside of this, they must not stay shy and self-effacing.

The Moon and its Phases

I've been GMing a WotS game (blog in French) for a while and since I am sometime a bit of a stickler, I wanted at some point to know the true moon phase, sometime in the middle of the 6th century, as the action took place during the night.

There are actually multiple reasons to want to know a moon phase:

- visibility in the night (can adventurers come up to a place without being sighted? Do they see approaching foes? How shall the GM describe what they see?)

- beliefs and supernatural forces (is this a good moon for an endeavor?  How powerful is moon-magic tonight -see the new powers below-?)

- calendar & events (is there a festival? Is this a special period for ceremonies or rituals?)

I found a web site where you can find out the moon phase at any time in the past or in the future. It is in French but shall not be very difficult to understand. This is the web site of an official office for calendar, so it shall be fairly sure.

Of course a GM may choose the moon phase randomly or decide it according to what he sees more fit for his scenario. But when playing a historical game it can become important for a GM to know what it actually was.

As explained in the WotS book, Nomads used a lunar calendar and waited very carefully for the right moon before for instance starting a military campaign or burying a dead. The moon calendar ruled the dates of the religious ceremonies. According to Chinese sources, the Köktürk sacrificed to Tengri in the 5th month around full moon, to the ancestors on the 7th day of the 7th month, and may be to the Earth on the 3rd day of the 2nd month. And more coarsely, visibility is decisive when hunting or sneaking up on an enemy camp.

The Great Ancestor K'Dai, beyond his function as fire demon and ancestor for shamans and smiths,  was related to the moon. I therefore propose two more powers which you may like to use in your campaign:

- Recover Power

Granted by: K'dai

Range: self

Duration: see description, permanent

Power point cost per level: 1

This power reduces the time required to recover lost power points. During 1st and last quarter, the rate is reduced by 1/4 (all power points in 18 hours). During 2nd and 3rd quarter, rate is reduced by 1/2 (all power points in 12 hours). During full moon, rate is reduced by 3/4 (all power points in 6 hours). On new moon days, the power is ineffective. Each level divides the required time by the level. Ex: during 1st quarter, a use of this power at level 3 allows to recover all the Power Points in 18/3= 6 hours.

If you don't know the phase of the moon and want to find it randomly, roll 1D20: 1= new moon, 20= full moon, even = 1st or 4th quarter (-1/4 rate) and odd = 2nd or 3rd quarter (-1/2 rate)

The power can be proposed as Heroic Power:

Base range: self

Duration: permanent

Heroic Point cost: 3 per level

Power Point cost: -

The power is inoperant if the Batyr is under cover or until the moon raises, let it be in the night or in the day.

Taboo: never fight, dance, play, work or have sex on new moon

- Favorable Moon

Granted by: K'dai

Range: self

Duration: see description, permanent

Power point cost per level: 3

This power allows to know the best date for an endeavour. On this day, and for 24hours, PCs involved in the action can receive skill bonus. The total of all skill bonuses are equal to the highest Allegiance of the shaman divided by 5 time power level and can be allocated at will among any skill the GM sees acceptable (*). These bonuses are not permanent and are discarded as soon as used. The GM decides which day is the best. The shaman may also ask which day is the worst, in which case the effects are inverted: the GM chooses when and how much penalty shall be applied.

Ex: a shaman with 83% allegiance and CHA 13 will allow up to 68% skill bonus points at level 4 ([83/5=17]*4). These 68 points could be used for several skill rolls, e.g. +40% for one single archery die roll and +28% for one single use of a spell.

(*) optional, the total amount of skill bonuses a single character can enjoy cannot exceed his Allegeance [Tengri]  (or Ancestors for shamans and smiths, whichever is higher)