It’s quite often that I see an online comment from a new Shadow World player about what books to buy. More specifically what Master Atlas might be appropriate putting aside the availability of each edition.
When I’m working on new material and always keep both the 3rd Ed. and 4th Ed. opened up as reference. For the most part, they are identical, barring the inclusion of “Character Creation” and “Bay of Izar” material in the 4th Edition. Generally I prefer the layout, typeset and organization in the 3rd Ed.
One small detail that strikes me the most is the interior title of the book. In the 3rd Ed. we see this:
THE MASTER SHADOW WORLD ATLAS AND ENCYCLOPEDIA KULTHEA THIRD EDITION
I believe this is the first time we see the term “Encylopedia” to describe the volume. I wonder if Terry wanted to differentiate between “Atlas” material that covers maps and places and the broader information that’s best described as “Encyclopedia”. By the 4th Edition, however, it’s back to this inner title:
ShadowWorld: Master Atlas 4th Edition
I’ve always been a proponent of expanding the Atlas substantially, and 3rd Ed. seemed like a start to that. Assuming people have access to multiple editions, what is your preference, 3rd or 4th Ed. and why??
One of the least utilized of Shadow World creatures are those that dwell “Beyond the Pale”. Known as the Agothu, they seem to have appeared in the “Atlas Addendum” found in the Emer box set. I’m going to write more about the addendum in a separate blog, but in my mind, it’s where much of the essence of Shadow World was set down after a number of generic third party SW modules.
The Agothu, or “Older Ones” are very reminiscent of the Cthulhu mythos: indescribable extra-dimensional beings of terrifying appearance and power. They are brought full-fold into the setting by at least the Master Atlas 3rd Ed. (anyone have 2nd edition to check?) with some changes and expansion from the original Addendum material. Generally, these creatures come in two types: Agothu and Agothu Servants (also known as Destroyers) although it’s not given that an Agothu is more powerful or higher level then a servant. In fact, several of the Destroyers are formidable…
Terry expanded the creatures by adding a Agothu (Breathless) and increasing the Destroyers from 5 to 7. Interestingly, one of the Destroyers, the “Nof-Kef” was eliminated in later books. If I recall, the Nof-kef was specific to the third party module “The Orgillion Horror” and it appears that Terry struck that creature out of Canon quite early? My own impression is that the Agothu were added in the Atlas Addendum to incorporate the material in Orgillion, but Terry then embraced it and made the Agothu his own.
Unfortunately, he never really incorporated the Agothu into his later material. There is a mention in the Grand Campaign, but aside from that, the Agothu are only used in reference to Shrek.
A Tresh
That’s unfortunate because the Older Ones are yet another cool element that makes Shadow World a unique setting and not another Orc/Skeleton/Dragon fantasy world. Agothu are between 5th and 30th level so they can be incorporated into any campaign. Agothu are also an example of Terry’s creativity and feature some of his most descriptive writing.
For example:.
are vaguely humanoid, but their oversized heads are little more than skulls. Their bodies are covered by a skin like grey parchment, dry and peeling. Their large, claw-like hands are skeletal. Their eyes show moisture, however, oozing a bloody liquid as they move in their sockets.
Or this:
They are covered by tough, toenail-like protrusions, which form a scaly skin. Life Eaters have beaks instead of mouths, surrounded by an array of eight squidlike tentacles, tipped with hollow spines. They have four eyes in the front and four in the rear of their elliptical skull. Four ears crown their heads, each protected by a bony tusk. Their four arms end in four-fingered talons.
Imagine your players encountering this fella:
are vaguely anthropoid, with a certain ‘melted’ look. Closer inspection reveals a tripedal rather than bipedal structure, with skin pulsing with external veins and arteries. Their feet are mere stumps, and their three long arms each end in three strong tentacles, each equipped with a row of powerful suction cups with sharp serrated rims. The head is no more than a neckless ovoid punctured by three nostrils and three unblinking eyes,
This is really the stuff of nightmares and in line with the grim dark feel of the Emer: The Great Continent. At this risk of being redundant I’ll say that it’s this Shadow World specific content that brings the setting to life.
It’s been 5-6 years since I blogged about a new encompassing Shadow World “Master Atlas”. Since Terry’s passing it’s unlikely that we might see it, but most of the material is there, ready to be collated and reorganized, and new material fills in gaps without altering Canon.
I thought it was worth revisiting now that RMU is being rolled out. I don’t think it would difficult to move RM stats and rules to a support supplement and make the setting rule agnostic.
I’m corresponding with a number of long time Rolemaster users. One of the most surprising things I encounter is the rigid adherence to any published material. To distill: “If it’s published, it’s Canon “.
Look, there is solid material in many of the Companion books, but they are only proffered as alternate material. So many RM users take these fringe rules as absolute. Why is that?
It’s clearly stated in RM Companion 1 that these are “alternate” rules…In my opinion they get a bit crazy after RM3. It’s not that they are bad rules, but they aren’t official rules. That bleeds thru in comments throughout the web. Is it just me?
One of my favorite Shadow World blog topics is examining the unique elements that makes SW my choice of setting and showcases Terry’s creativity. I firmly believe that if Shadow World were to continue it should be a “2.0” version that embraces key elements, eliminates some generic tropes and also allows for SW to be used in other game settings–and adapted for RMU. That’s sounds like a tall order, but I don’t believe it requires a significant amount of new material, just a strong editorial pass.
Shadow World already has cool, cultural weapons, but they aren’t emphasized. In this blog I wanted to talk about the various cool dart guns and crossbows that are sprinkled throughout Terry’s work. Given the various tech levels in Kulthea and access to unique and superior materials, it’s possible to standardize some of these weapons to add to the atmosphere and uniqueness to the setting. So, instead of using a generic “light crossbow” the player or NPC may use a “Dyari Handbow” or a “Janak Springbow”.
So let’s look at a few crossbow weapons found in Shadow World.
GoldenEye Eye of Nygoret.
A beautiful light crossbow, of mahogany with a golden alloy bow (+15) and a special spring mechanism that allows it to be re-cocked quickly and fired every round without penalty
Kedrick Bularis.
Double Crossbow: A compact weapon that nevertheless has the full range and power of a full-sized heavy crossbow, it also has two stacked bows and twin triggers. Thus, two shots can be fired before reloading. There is a ‘safety’ switch, and a device also holds the loaded quarrels in place, so the bow may be carried primed and loaded.
Sulfean Kuldir.
Dart Gun: A curious, baroque affair, it looks like a contorted pistol of some kind. It is fashioned of a variety of fine metals and woods, and fires tiny metal darts with the same effectiveness as a Light Crossbow at 1/2 hits. It holds clips of 12 darts, and can be fired 2x a rnd
Wurliis.
Heavy crossbow with four ‘bows.’ Can fire one shot at a time, two shots at the same target (each at –5) or all four shots at one target (all at –10) before having to be reloaded and cocked
Kalta:
Featured in the Rolemaster Fantasy Weapons supplement. Loari Dart Pistol. Fire 2x/rnd (missile & melee). Can be poisoned. 10 dart clip. (Also used by the Prince Guard in Eidolon)
Per the descriptions, none of these devices appear to operate due to magical properties; instead they are just technologically advanced. I’ve started assigning different types of crossbows to certain cultures rather than the generic weapons found in Arms Law. This is just a small part of Shadow World, but one that should be expanded on.
Has anyone come up with their own unique, cool weapons?
For those following the news around AI content generation, you are probably aware that software like ChatGTP has already been leveraged as a tool in TTRPG’s. There are a number of youtube videos that are worth exploring, and I encourage content creators to check out a few.
While there are some arguments that using AI tools is “cheating” and lacks human input and creativity, the truth is that most adventure hooks fall into about 10-12 literary devices. Of more interest to me is a common problem we discuss quite a bit here on the Rolemasterblog: ICE and SW needs content and there are few authors that can start and finish works that are ready for publication. These AI tools are in their infancy in many ways, and it’s possible to only create text content, but stat blocks, creatures and virtually any type of material to populate an gaming supplement. Using an AI tool like ChatGPT, the author is more akin to a composer or conductor than a 1-man band–they design a wire frame of input, has the AI generate bulk content and then it can be edited or directed as needed.
Could this speed up the process for getting ICE products to market? Is this a helpful tool for authors that may have the skills but perhaps not the time or experience?
I spent 1 minute using the AI as follows:
ME: write an adventure idea in the kulthea shadow world setting
ChatGPT: In the Kulthea Shadow World setting, the players are a group of adventurers who are hired by a mysterious figure known only as “The Watcher.” The Watcher claims to have information about a powerful artifact that has been lost for centuries, hidden somewhere in the treacherous swamps of the Shadow World. The artifact is said to possess the power to control the very fabric of reality itself, and is highly sought after by many powerful factions and individuals.
The players must navigate the treacherous swamps, fighting off dangerous creatures and avoiding deadly traps set by rival groups who are also searching for the artifact. They’ll also need to be on the lookout for signs of the ancient civilization that once inhabited the area, as the artifact is believed to be hidden within the ruins of one of their temples.
As the players get closer to their goal, they’ll discover that The Watcher is not what they appear to be, and that the true nature of the artifact is much more sinister than they could have ever imagined. The players must choose whether to continue their quest, risking everything to gain control of the artifact, or to destroy it before it falls into the wrong hands.
The adventure is filled with action, intrigue, and moral dilemmas, as the players navigate the dangers of the Shadow World and confront the true purpose of the artifact they seek.
While generic in some respects, I wonder that can be attributed to the lack of SW content online in general. I would imagine that a similar query using the Forgotten Realms could get quite specific!
Is that output anything novel or something I couldn’t have come up with? No, but it was a very general request. A quick scan actually provides a solid wire frame for a good adventure, one that fits into Shadow World. References to powerful artifacts, powerful factions and individuals, and the power to control the fabric of reality itself hits many of Terry’s SW meta themes.
I’m going to play around with this some more, but try to input specific SW content to see what happens!! Has anyone been using or experimenting with AI content?
Over the last 6 years (barring the gaming break during COVID), I’ve had a chance to really experiment with high level gameplay via my “Legends of Shadow World” and another adventure I’m testing that also takes place on Charon.
Part of that game testing was introducing hard rules for Ascendancy that I was pondering back during that blog post in 2017. I think that post covered most of my thoughts, but there are really two parts to this:
Additional vested powers that are gained at higher levels.
The ability for characters (PCs or NPCs) to gain worshippers.
I’m still playing around with #2, but I’ve started instituting some specific benefits per #1. I’m generally starting these at Lvl 20, but I may bump that up to 25th lvl. Here are a few benefits that we’ve tried:
Character is treated as +1 size.
Stun reduction
Magical resistance
Disease & Poison resistance
Essaence sensitivity
Inherent spell ability (as appropriate)
Self-healing
Acute senses
Heroic stat gain
Of course one obvious benefit is that this helps the disparity between casters and non-casters at higher levels. It also helps the “drudgery” of high level advancement where the marginal increase to skill ability is di minimis.
I don’t see this as a rule change for Rolemaster, instead I see this a natural progression of Terry’s implied rule setting in Shadow World. SW already “bent” the rules for multi-classing, clearly needs a benefit for ascension to local God hood, and in general SW is seen as a high-level setting. Ascendancy provides a new paradigm for high level adventuring, not unlike the 1983’s D&D Immortals supplement and can make high level Shadow World “post-level” in some aspects.
Would this differentiate Shadow World even more? Provide a different style and purpose of play at higher levels? What other game systems include rules for ascension?
Rolemaster has been criticized for years for being too crunchy, or having too many tables. It might be helpful to remind ourselves that AD&D had it’s share of charts and tables too.
