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.
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?
To continue along with the most recent blog posts, I wanted to dive into other spiritual/godly beings introduced into later editions of the Shadow World Master Atlas. Much of this material seems abstract to me, as it was rarely interjected into source book and/or adventure material.
Greater Spirits of Orhan.
Excerpts from the Master Atlas and Powers:
These are powerful servants and aides of the Lords of Orhan; in essence they are demigods. Spirits are more numerous and more likely to be encountered (or at least seen) by an adventurer than the Lords themselves….
Their nature is similar to that of the Lords, but they lack the omniscient power and are rarely worshiped as gods themselves…
The Spirits of Orhan are believed to trace their origins from one of three sources: they are lesser beings who entered this space-time with the Lords and have always served them, children of a Lord and Nymph mating, or they are offspring of a Lord mating with a human or Elven female. The last, while not unheard of on Kulthea, are rarely powerful enough to reside on Orhan with the Lords. More than sheer Essænce control, the Spirit must be enough like a Lord to endure the stretch of time as a nearly omnipotent being and maintain his ‘humanity’ as it were. A few children have fallen from grace to violent insanity over the millennia and had to be destroyed by the Lords at great emotional and physical cost. These occurrences are a special tragedy for the Lords of Orhan.
Terry then goes on to describe 7 of these demi-gods (4 Demi-gods of Charon as well), but states that: “There are in fact dozens of these beings“. For me, this raises two frustrations I have had with SW over the years. First, that seemingly setting critical elements are introduced much later in the book series (see my blog post on Jewel Slime); second that despite the importance of these new elements they aren’t really incorporated into later material. I couldn’t find 1 reference to the Orhan demi-gods in the Master Atlas timeline, Emer I, Emer II & Emer III. They are not present in any of the “history” of Kulthea. These are beings that are 60th to 80th level!
Nymphs.
The next section in the SW Atlas covers “Nymphs”: fairy folk that are tied to elemental or geographic features: Trees, Grottos, Oceans, Caves and Hills, etc. Very much like “Thematic Demons”, they are defined thusly:
The Essænce given form and personality, the Nymphs are of a similar nature to the Lords of Orhan, but are tied to the earth rather than Orhan.
While I haven’t used Nymphs much or perhaps at all in my campaign, they touch upon an underlying metaphysics that are constantly hinted at, but never really formalized in rules: the Essaence is fundamentally transformative and can imbue consciousness, powers and personality into the physical world. Perhaps that is why many have gravitated towards the Essaence/Anti-Essaence paradigm. The Unlife/Anti-Essaence represents some malevolent will that usurps thought and personality; so too should the Essaence have intent and will as well?
Local Gods.
Per the Atlas:
In many cases an apparent “local” god is actually a different incarnation of a Lord of Orhan or Dark God. There are also, however, many superhuman beings who can legitimately be considered gods. Most, while in most respects non-corporeal, are linked to a specific location and their power diminishes tremendously with distance from that place.
Local Gods introduce a second principal to the setting; one of “Ascension”. How does one powerful being make the transition from formidable to Godly? What is this process? Laia, a Demi-god was:
Daughter of Cay, Laia is one of the few children of the Lords of Orhan who has been elevated to “godhood.”
It appears that the Lords of Orhan can bestow Godhood upon a chosen few? As we discussed in the previous blog, can a powerful being ascend if they have gathered enough power and worshippers? How do these Gods attain the ability to “Channel” to their followers? How does a being become a local God? Through permeation of the Essaence over time? Do sentient beings make a local god? Do they first define a concept that “Becomes” via their collective will?
I blogged on this subject 5 years ago, but it never really drew comments or further discussion.
The Shadow World setting is basically a Greek-Roman polytheistic pantheon that has a number of other spiritual layers bolted on: Hero/Demi-gods, Alien Agothu, god-like Lords of Essence, locally potent natural Spirit creatures and Local Gods. Perhaps this is part of the criticism that Shadow World is a “kitchen sink”?
In my efforts putting together the Shadow World Channeling Supplement, I wanted to review other system settings and see what material might be helpful. I was curious about the Empire of the Petal Throne gods (also interdimensional beings rather than traditional “gods”), and reviewed the Religion supplements for Runequest (Cults of Prax) and Harn Religions. While much of me wants to respects the totality of Terry’s creation, another part wants to pare some of the material down. I’m not sure how I feel about Dryads, Neiads, and other Fairy Folk in my SW setting, and I don’t where to fit in Demi-gods to an already crowded religious table-top.
Do Demi-gods, Nymphs and Local Gods fit into your Shadow World campaign? Should the path to Godhood become a part of the Rolemaster game system or the SW setting? Do we have enough Godly beings? Too many? Not enough?
Davon’s comment on my last post made me think a bit more about the “Charonic” pantheon in Shadow World. In that blog post, there were really 2 items that felt like they needed a more in depth explanation that Terry never really provided: The Dark Gods and the Dragonlords. In this post, I wanted to delve a bit more into the Dark Gods and perhaps narrow down to some plausible choices that fit the SW narrative and history. But first I would encourage readers to check out a file I put up last year, the Shadow World Channeling Supplement. This expanded upon the various religions and “Priesthoods” of the various Orhan and Charon gods and included new Base lists for each of the Gods.
Let’s first list a few theories about the origins of the Dark Gods:
They are former Lords of Orhan who turned from the benign ways of their brethren.
They are escapees from some inter-dimensional prison.
They are the result of experiments by the Althans to create non-corporeal life.
Davon in his comment, cited some references to the Dark Gods relationship to “Demons of the Pale”, which could be related to #2 above.
The Dark Gods are Avatars created by the Lords of Orhan.
The first theory is probably the easiest to matriculate into SW canon. While the Dark Gods don’t appear until early in the Second Era, the Lords of Orhan are not discussed individually in any material way in the First Era or the Interregnum. There is no issues with the specific Dark Gods not being mentioned as part of the “Orhan contingent”; none of the Gods in general are touched upon. One could also argue that “Gods” didn’t really gain power until they had enough active worshippers–a common idea in fantasy literature and gaming. Therefore the Gods really didn’t coalesce their power until they had sentient beings repopulating Kulthea in the early Interregnum. The Gods of Charon, by virtue of their smaller worshipper base and perhaps the mitigating effects of their exile to Charon just have less power overall compared to their brethren.
The second theory feels a bit to vague and hand wavy for me. Aren’t the Lord of Orhan refugees from another dimension already? Were they escapees from some inter-dimensional prison themselves? Do the Charon Gods need the implication of escapees or convicts to justify their morality (or lack thereof)? This solution just raises more questions that need to be solved. Plus, Kulthea is already filled with powerful beings: Lords of Orhan, Demons from Beyond the Pale, Agothu, Thalan, spirits, local Gods, minor Gods and Avatars, surviving Lords of Essence, Andraax…. For me, adding yet another god-powerful batch of refugees seems unneeded at this point.
The third theory just doesn’t work for me. As powerful as the Lords of Essence seemed to be, and certainly Kaedena as Empress of the Galaxy was), the idea that they could create god-like beings is too much.
The fourth theory, that Davon mentions is the Dark Gods relationship to Demons, the Pales or even “Beyond”. That’s certainly workable, but I would make a few points. Demons are “alien” and those from “Beyond the Pale” are beyond mortal understanding. The Dark Gods are fairly simple in their motivations and many of them couldn’t even really be called “Evil”. In fact they tend towards “anthropomorphic” appearance and behaviors. Many of the Dark Gods have Temples in the major cities throughout Kulthea. A few, like Scalu, are certainly strange or terrifying, but certainly not alien beyond mortal understanding. Most of the Dark Gods are similar to the Lords of Orhan, but perhaps less Greco-Roman inspired.
The final theory is touched upon in the Master Atlas. The full relevant section as follows (bold emphasis mine):
This close pass by the comet disrupts the function of the Eyes of Utha, causing an unbalance in the Flows. Also, the moon Charón passes through Sa’kain’s tail. Soon after this event the Dark Gods—cruel counterparts of the Lords of Orhan—begin to appear. Unlike the Lords, these entities revel in manipulating the peoples of Kulthea for their amusement… and their amusement includes human sacrifice, perverse rituals, and bloody warfare. To counter these new deities, the Lords of Orhan create manifestations—Avatars—of themselves and appear in these forms on the Shadow World. They present themselves as gods, and they allow their powers to be channeled for generally benevolent purposes. They also allow their demigod spirits to travel to Kulthea and intervene directly in world affairs. The origin of the Dark Gods remains unclear, shrouded in the superstition and myth of a time long ago. Some Loremasters suspect they are actually former Lords of Orhan who turned from the benign ways of their brethren. Others hold that they are escapees from some inter-dimensional prison, or even the result of experiments by the Althans to create non-corporeal life.
So clearly, the Lords of Orhan created Avatars of themselves in RESPONSE to the Dark Gods. This also touches upon the beginnings of the Lords of Orhan’s manifestations on Kulthea through their Avatars; perhaps this was the beginning for organized religions? This passage still leaves the origins of the Dark Gods unclear. They are an opposing force of the Lords of Orhan, they too have “Demi-gods” that manifest on Kulthea and they have a broad base of followers. And they are NOT of the Unlife.
In the end, what is the answer? Whatever is best for you and your campaign of course! However, given the opportunity, should the origins of the Dark Gods be changed or clarified?
After working on the Nomikos Library Project and some other tinkering with the Master Timeline, I thought I would identify some key world events that are integral to the the setting but might need further clarification in the event of new SW material.
When did the Althans discover the Essaence? -15,000 FE. Althans are able to identify and utilize the Essaence. Why is this important? The Althans combine technology and Essaence and leverage latent abilities via genetic manipulation so their use might even be “pre-Arcane” with no formalized spell lists. Essaence use was not found throughout the Althan population, and Essaence has only been found exclusively on Kuthea, Orhan and Charon. (It’s not clear if Essaence extends to the other solar system planets).
When did the Lords of Orhan arrive? -80,000 FE. Why is this important? The Lords predate the Althan civilization on Kulthea by 50,000 years and it’s implied that the “rift” that gave them access also allowed Essaence to permeate the planet and it’s surroundings. What’s not clear is what, if any, role did the Lords have with the development of the Althans? Were they also god figures to early Althan society?
When did “fantastic creatures” first appear? Between -10,000 and -6,000 FE. Per the Atlas 4th Ed.:
Many peoples and creatures from other planets and Pales are brought to Kulthea for scientific experimentation. Masters of genetics, the Lords of Essænce alter plants, animals, and races to suit their whim
Why is this important? This provides one source of “magical” or fantasy creatures that are found on Kulthea in the present timeline. However, are they descendants from the ancient Lords of Essence experiments? Weren’t these creatures, and almost all life wiped out at the end of the First Era? The Lords of Orhan rescued representative flora and fauna and brought them to Orhan; did they then reintroduce them to the planet during the reseeding that occurred in the Interregnum?
4. When did the Dark Gods of Charon first appear? 450 Second Era. Why is the important? Are the Dark Gods contemporaries of the Orhan pantheon or something new? Per the Atlas:
The origin of the Dark Gods remains unclear, shrouded in the superstition and myth of a time long ago. Some Loremasters suspect they are actually former Lords of Orhan who turned from the benign ways of their brethren. Others hold that they are escapees from some inter-dimensional prison, or even the result of experiments by the Althans to create non-corporeal life.
That’s a wide range of theories and I feel it needs to be a bit more precise at this point. As the counter-pantheon to Orhan, the Dark Gods play a important part of the setting. And it should be clarified that they are not of the Unlife.
5. When did the Unlife appear? 2000-3000 Second Era. Why is this important? The appearance of the Unlife is relatively late in the timeline and only 6,000 years in the past. It’s easy to assume that the Unlife was the opposing force throughout Kulthea’s history, but it’s not.
6. When did Demons first make an appearance? -10,000 FE. The Ka’taviir/Althans opened gates to other planes “The Pales” during their experimentation with the mysterious Essaence. The Empress Kaedena had a Demon bodygaurd (Morloch) and Demons were let loose during the Interregnum.
7. When did the Dragonlords show up and from where? For beings of such power, and who have such a prominent role in the setting, the lack of origins for the Dragonlords is a problem. Per the Atlas:
The origins of the Dragonlords are shrouded in the temporal mists which divided the First and Second Eras. It is not known if dragons shared Kulthea with the Althans, or if they came into being during the Interregnum
If you have read some of my other material, you know that I proposed a solution, but this really needs to be pinned down.
8. When did the Elves and other races appear? c.-100,000 – -90,000. Interregnum. Per the Atlas:
The Lords of Orhan send their servants, the Fey Folk (Nymphs and Sylphs, Naiads, Dryads, and Oceanids) to Kulthea to begin nurturing fragile life back from the edge of oblivion. Next, the lords return the sentient peoples to Kulthea: Elves, Mortal Men, and certain exotic races: Hírazi, Centaurs, Fauns and Mermen
What’s not clear is if any of these races or sentient creatures were part of the Lords of Essence experiments that were brought to Orhan at the end of the First Era, or whether they are creations of the Lords of Orhan. Are they evolved from Altha stock? Can they interbreed?
Anyway, just a few points in history that I think are important in the setting. Are there other’s that you think need clarification or modification?
Rolemaster Companion I is considered one of the best Companions of the series (although I think RMC II is the fan favorite). Not only did it include a few character classes that many feel should have been included in the original Professions (Paladin among one), it also introduced Arcane magic.
However, not only is RMCI a great addition of optional rules for Rolemaster, it also includes the kernels of many important elements of Shadow World. Published around 1986, RMCI was soon followed by the revised “Loremaster” setting, the Shadow World Master Atlas boxed set. It’s not hard to imagine that some of the material in RMCI was either inspired by earlier modules like the Iron Wind or alternatively, that RMCI material was inserted into the soon to be published Shadow World books. At that time, Shadow World was to become the world setting for Rolemaster so it makes sense that there was solidarity between the rule books and the setting, or as much as was possible. While Terry didn’t appear to have much input in the content of RMCI, I would have liked the opportunity to ask him about the pollination of elements and ideas from earlier works.
There has been a lot of writing concerning “Appendix N” in the OSR community and cultural historians. For those that wanted to understand the root of D&D, Appendix N is considered required reading, more so with the passing of Gary himself. Now, with Terry’s passing, we are left with a new “Shadow World Appendix” trail of material from ICE’s first product, “The Iron Wind“, to early MERP modules like Court of Ardor, Creatures and Treasures and RMCI. While the Iron Wind was mostly a Pete Fenlon creation, Terry expanded the sandbox with the Cloudlords of Tanara and established some setting tropes that would be developed further in Shadow World. Now, with the possibility of new Shadow World material by third party authors (again), I think it’s important to understand the evolution of the setting to establish writing guidelines for any new material.
So let’s examine some elements in the Rolemaster Companion and see if it’s possible that included material directed or influenced the forthcoming Shadow World setting.
Credits and Designer Notes. Primary design credits were given to R.Mark Colborn. I’m not familiar with any of Mark’s other work, but RMCI seems to be an amalgamation of rules from a variety of contributors. Terry is listed as “Editorial Flunky” and given Production credit as well. More fascinating to me is the Designer Notes in 1.1. Here, Mark, offers that the supplement began with the Spell Coordination list to explain some of the material in the Court of Ardor! He continues on a later paragraph:
“The other reason for this supplement is simply because there are things I wanted in Rolemaster which we do not have yet from the good and busy folk at I.C.E., and this game is too good to switch to another. I wanted to be able to make every item of Ardor, and C&T.” (emphasis mine).“
Why does Mark’s comments strike me? Obviously, Terry was the author of Court of Ardor, but in 1986, Middle Earth was firmly entrenched in the MERP rule set. Furthermore, CoA was considered a quirky, odd book that was outside of ME orthodoxy. But, as we all know, CoA could be considered very “Shadow World” or even a primer for the Shadow World brand and style. So is the Spell Coordination list the only Shadow World “pre-cursor”, or does the RMCI hold other SW DNA worth reviewing? Let’s continue.
2.1 Arcane Magic. While I’m not sure that RMU has embraced Arcane Magic in the primary ruleset, Shadow World ultimately did in the Master Atlas. Besides generally cool spell lists, the Arcane lists were peculiar and a bit setting specific with “Earth Nodes”. We’ll get to that in a bit. On page 4 is a boxed text vignette, a book excerpt by the Loremaster Yh’tomit regarding “Studies Beyond the Common White Lore”. There is much to parse from this section, but a few tidbits that struck me when I first read the Companion:
“…the study of the origins of the Arcane Tomes is the mention of the Draconic Wizards, or Dragon Mages”
“Whence the Arcania?…..Under his instruction I have mastered them all, ascended because of them…”
“…I saw the ragged edge of a great wing. I knew then that my master Leilamag was indeed greater than I had dreamed”
“…are these people who have gained the ability to become, I mean, to be dragons? And to move back and forth between the form and Essence?”
“Is it greater calling themselves Dragon Lords and riding the beases backs, or to be able to ascend into true might–to take not just the form but also the Essence as well–to be both Dragon and Dgraon Lord?”
Consider that this was pre-Shadow World, but we were aware of a Dragon Lord in the earlier product The Iron Wind: Oran Jatar. This brief passage ties together a number of elements: the primal Arcane Magic, the existence of Dragon Lords, and the idea that a Mage can “ascend” to a higher form and choose between human and draconic form. Rather than a Dragon Lord appearing whole cloth, this hints at a “Ritual” that could be allowed in game for such an ascension!
2.2 Earthnodes and Earthblood. To me, the inclusion of Earthnodes is very specific setting, but one that Rolemaster embraces. Of course The Iron Wind introduced The Flows of Essence, but Foci themselves aren’t found until the SW series. RMCI also offers that Earthnodes often will have “phenomena”: rare herbs, valuable ores, lairs, shrines or magical or supernatural manifestations”.
Terry followed this practice; most major Foci have some unique structure, object or creature at their epicenter. More notable is the tie between Earthwardens, structures and Foci in Shadow World.
2.4 Magical Languages. RMCI introduces the idea of various magical languages and their utility to various types, or specific spell lists. This is a great concept, and the section includes Iruaric for Arcane spells and Alchemist lists. Shadow World also adopted magical languages and tied them to spell lists. I believe this is a concept that could be strengthened even further in new SW books. I’ve blogged some of my own ideas before.
3.1 Arcane Spell Lists. While these lists could use some revision, that are cool, great lists. Certainly “Earthblood Ways” faintly echoes the later Loremaster and Navigator “Flow” lists. For me, these Arcane lists are perfect as the powers of the “Earthwardens” in Shadow World. I’ve re-worked these lists in my BASiL project, but it’s not necessary to do so–these lists are great in a SW campaign for use by Earthwardens, Dragon Lords and even the Storm Wizard.
7.6 Mage Drakes and Essence Drakes. In this section we have 2 types of Dragon/Mage hybrids. The Mage Drake requires the caster to be level 20, know the Arcane lists to that level and undergo a “Ritual of Ascension”. The second type is the Arcane Drake–a Mage Drake that has attained 50th level. Interestingly, these Dragon Lords can be either good or evil and not inherently a creature of the Unlife as depicted in the Iron Wind.
There are a few other kernels of SW throughout the book, but for me, the RMCI is a good resource for SW specific rules and concepts. We know that Terry was often unconcerned about the gap between the SW setting and the rules support from Rolemaster. As Mark says in his designer notes, the Companion was meant to “rulify” some aspects of the Court of Ardor. In turn, I’ve been interested in modifying Rolemaster to better suit Shadow World. Whether through the BASiL lists, addendum material or SWaRM (Shadow World alternate RoleMaster). If or when ICE allows new Shadow World material, understanding the evolution of the setting might in turn help create better products.
