Articles and discussion on Roleplaying including Shadow World, Forgotten Realms.
I have not posted for several months, but diligent in watching other posts here and on the Rolemaster Forums. What are your thoughts? We have done well with this blog, but if users migrate to the official RM Forum, what should we do??
What is our role here and Shadow World?
One of the enjoyments of reading Terry’s Shadow World books, is finding a interesting but vague tidbit that just cries out for more detail. I previously blogged about one such nugget, the Mazatlak Pillar City, and today I wanted to speculate on the Clycallah War Machines.
There are only a 3 mentions of mentioning or relating to these War Machines in the Master Atlas:
5977: Gaalt: [Clycallah archeologists discover a
Wôrim underground vault containing strange
vehicles.]
5983: The Raven Queen’s armies first encounter
the Clycallah war machines, rebuilt from ancient Wôrim designs. They are routed by the huge walking mechanical terrors. Later encounters are inconclusive
Gaalt: The Raven Queen launches a new assault,
this time led by land and air drakes, each
with a Quaidu rider. They prove an even match
against the Clycallah war machines.
That’s not much to go on, but it definitely sparks the imagination. From these few points we can conclude that:
Where is Clycallah? Per the Master Atlas, it is in Gaalt:
G. Clycallah: [Cool Temperate/Seasonal–Wet &
Dry] Laan (Mixed economies/Republic (TL:6-7).
This little realm would have fallen long ago to
Gaalt but for two things: the powerful Mages
among the Laan, and their machines. The
Clycallah’s war machines (based on Wôrim
technology) strike terror into even the Raven
Queen’s elite forces, and they are powerful
enough to defeat her Troll warriors.
Who are the Wôrim? Again we are left with only a few references that they were a vanished, technologically advanced race during the Interregnum:
c.-30,000 – -20,000: The Wôrim empire, centered
in Gaalt, is founded and expands rapidly
and is soon at odds with the Jinteni and Elven
populations.
What else do we know? Per the Master Atlas we also have some possible conflicting info that:
The Lydians might be descendants of the Wôrim
Trogli might be descendants of the Wôrim
The Wôrim might be the pre-cursors to the Laan.
Other than that, there is little, if any, real data on the Wôrim. Unlike the Jinteni which were fleshed out quite a bit in Emer III, we only have a few more hints on the Wôrim found in the Haalkitaine book:
Corridors: Most of the tunnels correspond to the usual
Wôrim trapezoidal profile with periodic buttresses of a
grey stone. Some sections were cut from solid granite,
but where there was only earth the halls were faced with
granite slabs. It is these areas — mostly to the west —
that have deteriorated the most. There are many caveins
caused by water seepage from the sewers; some have
opened cracks between the two networks while some
have shifted or even completely blocked corridors.
Also typical of the Wôrim, there is little decoration or
engraved writing; the stone cutting is precise and starkly
angular. The only apparent written records are etched on
the oval metal canisters which hold the bodies — and those
are the as-yet undeciphered dot patterns believed to be
the Wôrim written language.
Anyway, circling back to the Clycallah War Machines, we are left wondering about it’s abilities. Clearly it must have some offensive capacity–it is called a “War Machine” and they can battle with Dragons! Chemical reactions are not reliable on Kulthea, so traditional explosive weaponry seems unlikely. The Jinteni had energy weapons–perhaps these War Machines were armed with laser guns!
What are your thoughts? Have you ever introduced Clycallah War Machines in your campaign? What do you think they look like? What type of weapons could you imagine they have?
Unfortunately, in my attempts to contact Rolemaster and Shadow World authors, I discovered that Tim Taylor had passed away in 2020. Tim was quite prolific in the late 80’s and early 90’s and had 3 Shadow World modules published and contributed to a number of Rolemaster products.
His obituary:
Tim Scott Taylor November 30, 1959 – November 8, 2020 Tim S. Taylor was born November 30, 1959 in Berea, Ohio to James and Ruth Taylor. He grew up in Columbia Station, Ohio, outside Cleveland. He died at home November 8, 2020 in Port Townsend, Washington after a brief struggle with cancer. Tim attended Columbia High School, graduating in 1978, and Ohio State University where he received undergraduate degrees in history and philosophy with a minor in mathematics. He was especially interested in military history, strategy and tactics, game theory, role playing games and board games. He was a lover of eclectic music. He greatly enjoyed sharing his music with friends and found joy in introducing people to board games of all sorts as well as role playing. In the 1990s Tim worked as a disc jockey at WICR radio station in Indianapolis where he hosted radio shows including “Time Without Meaning” featuring music he mixed live in the studio, and “Around the World in 60 Minutes”. Tim also worked as a proofreader and layout tech at Macmillan Publishing in Indianapolis. A Tibetan Buddhist, Tim volunteered many hours at the Tibetan Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana. He was a close friend of Thubten J. Norbu, a Tibetan lama and refugee from Chinese oppression in Tibet. Tim served for several years as Prof. Norbu’s personal secretary, writing articles, letters and speeches for him. Tim arrived in Port Townsend, Washington in 1999. He volunteered for a year at the PT Public Library and worked at Ravenstone Tiles, an art tile company in town. He was also a writer and game designer. Tim designed and published several war games, wrote books and articles, created a deck of Tarot cards inspired by a dream, and wrote fantasy role playing modules. In the last couple years of his life he went by the name ‘Crow’ and dressed all in black. He had many friends in the area and gave Tarot readings, which seemed uncannily accurate, at the Cellar Door in downtown Port Townsend. Tim/Crow was preceded in death by his father James Taylor. He is survived by his mother Ruth Taylor, sisters Tammy Taylor and Toni Cassidy, brothers-in-law Pete Wieneke and Ed Cassidy, three nieces and three nephews, and his long-time friend and housemate Laura Reutter.
I wish I had the chance to interview Tim, it sounds like he led an interesting life.
This blog series started in my post on the relationship between Shadow World and the Rolemaster Companion I. That got me thinking a bit more about a topic that was percolating in my head for a number of years: what would the
Essaence powers of the Ka’ta’viir and Earthwardens look like exactly. In the first part of this blog series, I did a quick review of existing Arcane spells lists found in the first 4 Companions.
What would these proto-spell lists developed by the Ka’ta’viir and ultimately the Earthwardens look like? I think it’s illustrative to see what Terry says about the Earthwardens and what they did. We know that:
-They were a group of Ka’ta’viir that left Kulthea, were trapped in a time dilation and only returned after Kulthea was laid waste.
–They created Essaence artifacts like Flute Keys, Twig Bridges and Shell Shields and magical crystals, but they also constructed the Coral Roads, Sea Tunnels and left megalithic structures and Guardians throughout the hemisphere.
The powers in that second section above are very much in line with the central ideas of Arcane Magic, but we also know that the Earthwardens had the knowledge and technology of the Althan/Ka’ta’viir civilization as well. In my SW campaign, the Earthwardens are one “splinter group” of the Ka’ta’viir that returned to Kulthea. These groups were not monolithic, but were general philosophies within the group as follows:
Erudites. These members were more focused on developing their knowledge of Essaence and science and it’s believed they initiated the early separation of the realms of Essence and Mentalism.
Elementalists. The Ka’ta’viir delved into the fundamental and raw powers of the Elements and manipulation of the physical world. Much of their legacy is found in the Magician Base lists.
My goal was to define and finish 10 Arcane lists f or use by the Earthwardens. The goal was to encompass most of the powers hinted at by Terry and be illustrative of early magic before the split into the three basic realms.
My rough ideas with loose spell list titles:
In part 3 I’ll have the finished draft lists. But for now, can you think of any “proto-magic” that should be included and fits with the Earthwardens and Lords of Essence in Shadow World?
It seems almost ironic that a blog covering RPG’s has difficulty in finding new contributors. Right? Roleplaying games are a purely creative endeavor, a collaboration story-telling among it’s player and referee participants. By nature an improv process.
We have been lucky here at the Rolemasterblog in having a number of great contributors over the last 8 years (is that right Peter?). We want more bloggers! D&D and other systems have dozens and dozens of blogs–Rolemaster has a couple at best. Competitive disadvantages compel the few survivors to circle the wagons and join talents. Rolemaster was a powerhouse in the industry–even if that might not happen again, it still deserves a strong forum for ideas and advocacy. I see great ideas, thoughts and even discussion topics over at the Rolemaster Forums–many of those ideas can be expanded upon in a blog.
I have reached out to few people about writing for the Rolemasterblog. These are creative, talented and experienced GM’s–masters of the RPG craft after decades of gaming. Why won’t they write a blog post or two? Everyone has a difference answer: no time, don’t want to be criticized, aren’t confident writers, don’t want their players to read the blog for insight etc.
I would only point out that outside perspective is important. Potential new players, curious about “old school games” will google “Rolemaster”, “Shadow World”, “MERP” among others. If they see new, fresh content, they will click on it. They will believe that Rolemaster is still relevant. Let’s show them why.
If you have an idea, want to discuss your thoughts in a more public forum, or share the creative parts of your campaign or game, write for us! Contact Peter, he can set you up with access and the Rolemasterblog will grow as a blog and Rolemaster may be helped in the process. Isn’t that what we all want?
In my previous post, I touched upon the connection between the RMCI Arcane Spell Lists and viability for their use in Shadow World. I also posted about Druid concepts and the legacy of the Earthwardens and felt the existing Arcane lists were quite suitable to adopt as Earthwarden base lists–“proto magic” for early Shadow World magic.
Conceptually, the RMCI Arcane lists are fantastic and really fit well with Shadow World, but like most spell lists I see quite a few flaws and a need to adjust them to fit better into Shadow World. So I am re-writing them for use in my own campaign. There are a few Earthwardens around besides the Dragonlords and the Storm Wizard).
Ideally, all Shadow World Arcane lists should be more raw and fundamental than the refined lists found in Spell Law’s Essence, Channeling or Mentalism realms, but more structured than ritual magic. They should have over-arching scope with broad themes that reflect the origins of Essaence manipulation by the Ka’ta’viir.
A quick review and general thoughts on the Arcane lists found in Companions I-IV. Many of these lists feel like a rehash of other Profession Base lists and just a work around for casters via the Arcane realm.
Companion I
Bladerunes. A great list, and one could argue would be the progenitor of the Alchemy lists and more permanent object enchantments. But as an Arcane list, it feels too “small” or narrowly focused to me. Would early Ka’ta’viir develop lists to imbue modest magical powers into swords and armor when they were creating more organic and powerful artifacts and they were a tech level 11+ society? I re-wrote this list, and expanded it into an additional “Protection Runes” list, and made them both Essence realm. Even after making my own improvements on the list, for my campaign, I didn’t think Bladerunes met the requirement for “Arcane” in Shadow World.
Earthblood‘ Ways. This list has a number of spells that work well with the SW foci and Essaence Flow but needs to be fine tuned a bit. I removed the various “Guardian” spells (Earthbeast, Earth Guardians) and developed that into another list, and incorporated Essaence Flow lists found in the Navigator lists that Terry created.
Entity Master. Another solid spell list, but I think it needs to collate the “Guardian” spells from Earthbloods, as well as Demonic Gates to reflect the Lords of Essence’s experiments and forays into the Pales.
Ethereal Mastery. This is another example of a spell list that mixes a number of concepts and mechanics that don’t really fit upon in depth analysis. Some of these spells should be ported over to “Entity Master”, while others could be made into a whole other list.
Mana Fires. This is interesting, but not much different than traditional Magician elemental lists. This needs to be punched up and maybe use Plasma criticals.
Spell Coordination. This makes no sense as an Arcane list.
Shapechanging Ways. A more powerful version of Animist/Druid lists. This can be improved.
Companion II.
Spell Triggers. This is a lot like Spell Coordination above and Spell Laws “Spell Enhancement” and “Spell Reigns” lists. They are all “spells for spells” that enhance, extend, store or create contingencies for other spells. I think this is more indicative of a short-coming in Spell Law; these are addressing a problem with more problematic spells. I don’t see this as an Arcane list at all.
Metal Lore & Stone Lore. These feel more like standard Essence lists: Stone Lore is basically a slight variant of Earth Law. I think the Arcane lists should include something very Elemental, but these don’t feel epic enough to me.
Wood Shaping. This has great potential for Earthwardens, but like Stone Lore above, it’s basically an Animist/Druid list. However, lvl 25th “Living Wood” is a great spell and is definitely more of the feel and scope that I’m thinking of.
Companion III.
Plasma Mastery. This list merged and adapted with “Mana Fires” feels like a good Arcane list.
Nether Mastery. This feels better as a list for the Unlife with some modifications?
Companion IV.
Acid Law. Again, this one feels like another Magician or Essence list rather than Arcane.
Sonic Law. At first glance, this is another Essence list, but there is a tie with ancient Druid tradition, megaliths and mythology and even physics. I think there is a foundation for a cool Arcane/Earthwarden list.
So putting this all together, the “Arcane Realm” and lists presented in the first few Companions create a great framework to adapt to Shadow World. Terry did introduce Arcane magic in the Master Atlas and it’s clear through the timeline that the Althan’s and Ka’ta’viir progressed and developed their ability to tap and manipulate the Essaence.
So what might those spells and powers look like? I’ll offer my own solutions in part 2!
One of the most prevalent elements of Shadow World is the connection between Kulthea and the “Pales” and other dimensions. The Ka’ti’viir discovered these realms later in the First Era, brought “Demons” and other denizens to Kulthea for study and experimentation and the devastation wrought at the end of the First Era, created rifts and portals that increased the incursions of Demons into the Shadow World.
The Master Atlas mentions “Demons” 153 times (Lugroki are only mentioned 43 times) and they appear to be the default adversary in Shadow World and at the middle of most of the major conflicts, including the Wars of Dominion.
The continual presence of Demons throughout Kulthea is one of the reasons I modified the various Demonology lists in BASiL. In my lists, Demons must be actively sent back (banishments) or sent back through an open gate. They don’t simply disappear at the spell duration. So while many Demons arrive to Kulthea through Gates, Rifts and other Essaence phenomena, some others are Demons brought through various summoning spells.
If you think about it, the story of Kulthea is one of other dimensions. The Shadow World is a crossroads for a variety of dimensional beings; a Skinwalker Ranch” of the universe! The true antagonists of Shadow World are Demons, Dark Gods, Agothu and the Unlife–it’s not really the story of Orcs, Goblins and Trolls; and really not even Dragons.
If you utilize the Pales in your campaign, you should check out the Book of Pales, that I posted on the RMForums. It’s really just the beginning of a book; I have outlined NPCs, major figures, more creatures, more Demons and some adventure ideas in the hopes that it could be published some day. But it’s a start and hopefully contains some useful ideas for introducing the Pales to your players.
Generally I’m staying away from rule hack discussions, but some posts over at the RMForums and an email from another GM pushed me to write up a quick post on the subject of stat gains.
We are constantly tinkering with stats, stats as skills, and even debated the need or utility of Temporary and Potential stats. In the end I decided to keep Temp/Pot since it ties in with several spell mechanics in BASiL and “stat draining” effects. But I have been doing stat gain differently for quite a number of years. The stat gain roll chart is just another unneeded chart, and adds randomness into a rule that might not need one–you don’t randomly roll for skill rank development do you?
We use DP’s for stat gains. 1 DP + +1 to a Temp stat score, and like our skill rank cost progression it is +1 per point. So adding 1pt to strength is 1DP, but 2pts to Strength is 1+2, 3 pts is 1+2+3 etc. Certainly a player could opt to raise a stat quickly at the cost of most of their DP’s, but this method adds to the cost/benefit system we have built into our rules, and smooths out Stat gains over many, many levels.
That’s just our solution.
For ardent Shadow World users, the magical glass Laen is akin to Mithril in Middle Earth; a rare, precious and valuable commodity. Unlike Mithril, Laen doesn’t really seem to be forged into armor (although Laen plates or scales may be possible and cool looking?), but it can be formed into weapons. Many of the powerful beings found in the Shadow World books wield Laen weapons in a variety of colors–sort of a Star Wars lightsaber aesthetic.
The Master Atlas describes Laen:
Laen (1000-10,000 sp): An extremely hard volcanic glass
which can be forged into very keen-edged, almost
indestructible, weapons. Laen can also be tinted, and (vary
rarely) is naturally colored. It should be considered
enchanted. Laen is also very unusual in that it becomes more
pliable as its temperature is lowered. Because of this, unique,
magical cold forges must be used to work laen into tools and
weapons.
But perhaps the source code for Laen can be found in I.C.E.’s first product, The Iron Wind.
Over one ofthe Guildhalls in Uda Tyygk is set a woven band of colored
glass: Laen (‘lane) it is called by the Udahir. Smoother than ordinary
glass, and yet stronger than steel, its transformation into weapons and
jewelry represents the pinnacle of achievement in the smallest, yet not
the least, of the Udahir guilds. Most of the Laenworkers never touch the
substance, but create objects of normal glass or gems, for Laen cannot be
made and by custom only the greatest of them may use it.
Laen well merits its special rarity, formed as it was solely by the powers
that shaped the earth . Laen itself is neither rock nor metal, but magic, the
trapped energy of the unmaking of the world within a mineral. Impurities
in the host rock give varied colors and properties, as a rainbow depends
upon dust for its beauty. Conjure an image of frozen light and you behold
Laen, the greatest natural treasure of the world.
Nature guards her hoard well. Laen can only be hewn from the surrounding basalt with the utmost patience before it will assume the shape
for which it is prized. Pride is taken not only in the finished product, but in
the effort and materials whereby it was created. White Laen, which is actually clear, predominates, for it is both the most available and the
strongest variety, being pure. Other prevalent varieties among the Udahir
are red, green and blue (which resist fire, magic and cold respectively),
and a much rarer silver Laen, which is neutral and extremely receptive to
enchantment.
There are a few discrepancies from the original material (written by Pete Fenlon) and Terry’s later work. Should we consider Laen to come in colors or is it mostly tinted during it’s crafting. Furthermore, does Laen have intrinsic resistive powers related to it’s coloring?
Bonuses. Per the Mater Atlas, Laen should be considered “magical” with a bonus of +25, but Laen weapons found throughout the SW books have bonuses even higher. It is never mentioned that Laen can be forged into differing qualities, and generate higher bonuses; must we assume that magical bonuses can be layered atop the natural +25?
Fabricating and Forging. Like many of the enchanted metals and alloys that Terry introduces, Laen requires a special “Cold Forge” to be worked properly. It’s not clear how that would work, but in my own campaign, I modified the methodology using an “Essaence Forge”. I think it gets to the same result: a specially channeled flow of Essaence acts as “Cold Flame” to work Laen and other enchanted materials. Using the Alchemist lists, “Work Laen” is a 20th level spell, which certainly limits it’s production. The Udahir have Laenworkers, but as stated in the Iron Wind, only the “greatest of them may use it”.
Ubiquity. There are several cultures that utilize Laen: The Forest People of the Emerald Forest, The Kuluku (inherited from the Jinteni) and the Udahir in the Mur Fostisyr, and as mentioned, Laen weapons are found on most of the notable NPC’s in the books. So how common is Laen? Work Laen is a 20th level Alchemist spell in SL; but Laen if often mentioned as a resource in various SW books. Someone is mining it and using it!
Laen is a great example of a setting specific element that differentiates SW from other standard fantasy settings. How is Laen used in your campaign? Do PC’s have Laen weapons? What are your thoughts?
