How Much, How Big ?

Horses (from the blog les-verts-tacots)

This is a question which arises in many situations during a game, and many settings propose guidelines or even price lists. But in an economy based on exchange, it is difficult to set any price list, and in an oral culture, accounting documents are missing. We are therefore obliged to extrapolate from reports written by foreign visitors. The following guidelines try to give a comprehensive estimate of numbers to be found among nomads, either for exchange or to estimate the size of an encounter. I based these numbers on reports from visitors or on the amount of beasts sold every year at the town market in Bukhara.

The following numbers are very rough, may vary widely and are only given as guidelines to create an encounter or as background elements for player characters.

Size of a camp

The camp of an important Bey can be as small as 50 yurts, split in groups of 3-6 yurts, each one housing a family. Such a camp would have 5-6000 heads of sheep and 3-600 horses. Goats, cows and camels are less numerous. The usual ratio between animals could be the following:

10-20 heads of sheep / horse

50-100 heads of sheep / goat

1 cow / 10 horses

1 camel / 5 to 20 horses (depending on the area)

An average family consisting in 6 members is expected to have 4 yurts and take care of 40 horses, 400-head flock of sheep, a few goats, 4 cows or yaks and 4 camels. In desert areas, increase the proportion of camels. Since camels and cows have a similar usage, it is possible that an isolated family lacks one of them.

Costs of goods

These can widely vary according to variety, scarcity or quality. The BRP rule using item value levels instead of money is therefore well suited to this setting. One can use sheep as kind of reference, if not as currency.

Cheap items are supposed to be made by the Nomads themselves.

One sheep is an “inexpensive” item.

An average item like an average horse costs about 10 inexpensive ones (sheep).

An expensive item “costs” at least 10 horses or 100 heads of sheep. For example camel, slave, metal armour, high quality silk dress, or wolf fur coats. Of course, there is no price limit to expensive goods.

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%.

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)