Training Day

I've been playing with training times a little in my games, always treading the line between forcing too much downtime between adventures and forcing too many potential adventures that are ticking away and getting worse (or better) on their own. The current state of affairs in the campaign is that characters require one night of rest in a town or other defended position (8 hours) in order to gain the benefits of levelling up (no resting and gaining hp in the dungeon).

Now we're here to talk of training and acquiring new WPs and NWPs. My rule in the past has been that 1 month of uninterrupted training time will grant any WP (3 months of attenuated "every night but also adventuring" time will grant it) while 3/6 months for NWPs is the norm. However, I'm thinking of approaching this from an entirely different stance.

The new rule, effective as of now (I'll let everyone know if the results are catastrophic) shall be based on hourly quotas.

Weapon Proficiencies: Must accumulate 6 months of general use OR 60 hours of training with some other character who knows how to use the weapon.

Non-weapon proficiencies: Must accumulate 120 hours of training with some other character who knows the skill sought or 240 hours of experimentation on the character's lonesome. Language skills can never be learned without a teacher.

News of Arunia, Festing 506

A great battle has been fought in the Hammerdeep Vale of Auruxol. Hundreds of orcs lie dead, joined by many dwarves and leveemen from the imperial heartland. The Imperial Oculus, Hydrophis Schoolman, in command of the relief forces dispatched by Miles has made use of a cunning strategy to draw the orcish foe out of the mountains. Two hundred or more of these foul beasts came ravaging through the countryside on the evening of the 15th of Festing. While the rest of the empire celebrated the Summerfeast, Hammerdeep frantically prepared to receive their guests.

The orcs, led by the worg-mounted chieftain Azok, launched an all-out assault on the town of Cardun, home to both dwarves and men. The Ironbreaker serjant, Sieur Lucian Martel (Lucanus Martellus in Varan), raced to Hammerval to summon the dwarven militia and instruct the Knights of Miles to garrison themselves in the town. When the orcs came howling out of the mountains, burning and thieving as they went, it was only to meet the combined arms of thirty knights, alongside the famous Knight Militant, Sieur Thetis.

As the Knights of Miles twice attempted to throw back the orcs, the Hammerval militia (under the leadership of the Gaethaff Sveila Whiteaxe) moved in behind the orcish lines and made fast the dwarven shield-wall. With a great clangor the dwarves beat their blades upon their shields and made themselves known to the orcish foe. The orcs, realizing they were caught between two forces that were maneuvering to annihilate them, turned about and threw themselves with frantic desperation against the dwarvish lines, hoping to escape.

Azok was one of the many felled, and most of his Companion Warriors. The southernmost camp of the orcs has been completely destroyed, scattered to the winds. This represents a massive blow to the orcish plans to lay siege to Hammerval. However, the war may not yet be won.

Across the sea, during the last month of spring, the Sacred Armies are on the move. Vagrysj the Lion has suffered repeated losses along the borders of his slave-empire. For all those victories, the Sacred Army itself has suffered setbacks; the cities of the goblins are notoriously untrustworthy. Mamil al-Tyfir has raised an army of its own to ensure the Sacred Armies do not lay permanent claim to goblin lands. Even so, clerics of the Northern Rite have constructed a temple-necropolis in the Moon Kingdoms and threatened to withdraw their forces if the goblins threaten it. The alliance of the Sacred Armies thus threatens to dissolve even as they punish the ogre king for his hubris.

Essad, this spring, was rocked with discontent and rebellion. The slave uprisings in the Agricon have become an endemic threat to Thurayn and the Masters who command it. It seems these slave risings may be funded by Dorlish coin, for none other than the master scholar Reynarius di Llun has volunteered to lead an assault on the forces of the Iron Guard of Thurayn from the Dorlish border with the hopes of burning down the southern slave camps and ending the reign of the Rex Exactor.

In the west, the elvish reavers have been quiet for another year, striking but rarely against the Ralashite borders and, by sea, not at all. Some turmoil has been heard in Tailimisia concerning the continued rule of the Hierophant. In Silversong, King Anundarien Towerborn has called a council of the nobility of that kingdom for the purpose of determining where that kingdom stands in relation to the Elvish Question.

And lastly, in Agstowe, it is said that plumes of smoke have been seen curling from the maw of the Wyrmburg, indicating that perhaps the great Wyrm of Agstowe is stirring in his sleep.

Libram Mysterium Vol. II

Ladies and Gentlethings, in time for halloween I present to you the Libram Mysterium Volume II, the Horror Collection. Featuring a tale by yours truly, Le Dieu Perdu. Buy your copy today!

Tome depicted does not represent actual tome delivered.

Temple of the Storm God

No, not an adventure. An archaeological site in the real world!

Dwarves of the Hammerdeep

The dwarven clans of the Hammerdeep settled in the borders of the First Empire of Miles during the reign of the Empress Lyrulan, who was the first Milean ever to meet a dwarf. As a sign of good will, the empress made a pact with the reclusive dwellers in the great gray mountains of Hârnholme and invited many to come and settle within the bounds of her kingdom. This they did, establishing the city of Hammerval in the dawn of recorded time, and marking them as one of the earliest official colonies of the home country to receive a colony-stone.

The nature of the Hammerdeep settlements is such that fresh travelers come from the Arinnfal and points north each year to settle within the comfortable structure of the imperial clans. While the life of a dwarf in the Arinnfal seems perpetually at risk (of war with the Stonemarkers, the Karlungs, and the Weyls, or at risk of slipping into civil war or war with the great underground orcish and goblin kingdoms of Middlemark), that of a dwarf in the empire is safe, protected, and well-appointed. Indeed, the dwarves of Hammerval have reached an agreement with the emperor and their duke, Darius Anarjent, that grants them essentially free reign in the Hammerdeep and the mining towns in exchange for their services as the official imperial mint of golden coin.

The largest clans in the Hammerdeep are listed below:

The Goldhar are an ancestral princely clan of the great city. Their clan name refers to the predominance of their golden hair. Many golden beards can be seen in the great city of Hammerval and its satellite settlements. They are one of the ancient noble clans of Hammerval, having lived in its walls since the city's founding.

The Goldhar clan-prince, Aedwin Thorosson Arnulfr Goldhar, is also the hall-prince of the city. He is known for his conciliatory politics with the imperial authorities and often refuses the advice of the elder thanes of his council, who were appointed by the hall-prince Thorgi Malufsson Vhítøx nearly two centuries ago.

The thanes of the Goldhar clan are:

Halgrinn Magnisson
Thorold Gurnisson
Haraldr Hadrasson
Thinga Alfirsdottir

The Vhítøx are one of the great noble clans of the duchy. Their name means "white-axe," and they are a clan of weaponsmiths who provide swords and spears to the city. They are one of the more powerful noble clans in Hammerval, having hosted a string of hall-princes in the last few generations. Their leader, the clan-prince Hurri Goroldsson Thengrist Vhítøx, stands in open opposition to Prince Aedwin.

The thanes of the Vhítøx clan are:

Tolmund Fargonsson
Grimund Berdredson
Eirik Angirson
Malgir Hurlison
Forgrinn Alaksson
Thormar Thormansson

The other noble clans, of lesser importance, are the Barsteinn (Blackstones), Drengrinn (Stouts), Eikir (Oakwood), and Fjalltind (Highpeaks). Their thanes are:

Torsti Oroldsson Magnus Barsteinn
Otha Othasdottir Horolf Drengrinn
Ledda Hengisdottir Lond Eikir
Torri Torrisson Tordir Fjalltind

The Hársmitha are the minting and smithing clan that produces the coinage for the entire empire. The Hársmith clan-prince is Ogundir Logirsson, and he personally owns many of the smelters used to melt the Auruxol gold.

The Strekdei are the mining clan that controls the mines directly adjacent to the city, including the works at Nainon and in the mountains. The Strekdei clan-prince is Agmundir Agmundirsson, and he is a very conservative dwarf indeed, little concerned with the goings-on outside the mines.

The Boerhúl clan includes most of the largest farms in the duchy.

The sign of the city is a pair of crossed hammers above a triangular mountain peak. The other sign of import, that of the Strekdei, is a mining pick with its pick side down, surmounted by a dwarven lamp. This sign marks out mines of importance in the Duchy.

The Baronial Houses of the Heartland

Administration in the imperial heartland relies on the loyal baronial families that directly serve the emperor. The families are here enumerated.

The Baronies
Beaulan
Noble Family: The Sercel
Seat: Sercellus
Sign: Three shells argent on a field verde
Patriarch: Lord Domnus Sercel

The Sercel family is a relatively new one in the scheme of the Thyrnessan heartland. They rose to prominence during the time of King Aras, particularly in his service during the War of the Sword. Several of the young knights of one family perished to uphold the king's law; in gratitude, he knighted and elevated their father, the families' founder, Sercellin, to the rank of a Magnas and granted him the territory of Beaulan—the "good land" of the forest.

Biraus
Noble Family: Dracus
Seat: Dragas Hill
Sign: Two green dragons intertwined on a field d'or
Matriarch: Lady Filia Dracus

A family with a pedigree more ancient than the Dracus cannot be found in the Heartland. They claim descent from an ancestral branch of the First Men and tell many tall (and likely unfoudned) tales about First and Second Empire ancestors who fought and slew dragons in the north or Synd. Whatever their stories may be, they do tend towards slightly duskier skin than other noble families of the heartland, and many of the Draconian children have amber eyes.

Colmir
Noble Family: Averl
Seat: Aversford
Sign: A hart chief on a field argent, a chevron azure
Patriarch: Lord Morlanus Averl

The Averls of Aversford were minor knights in the time of King Aras. They distinguished themselves under Tamerin I by helping quell the outlaw rebellion of the Bandit Kings. Morlanus' father, Ephicus, was granted not only Aversford, but all of Colmir as his reward.

Cordrais
Noble Family: Ruber
Seat: Torne
Sign: A field gules
Patriarch: Lord Huthorus Ruber

The Ruber family can trace its line back to the time of Myrea the Witch-Queen when the red-bearded northern men who helped fight against her sailed into Miles. They have held Cordrais ever since, though their red beards have long since left them due to intermarriage in the heartland. However, many Rubers still have a few strands of red hair amongst their wild thickets of brown.

Huthorus Ruber is known as one of the mightiest drinkers in the province, and often goes toe to toe with Heimiran priests. Three of his doughty sons are captains in the mounted tagmata.

Delac
Noble Family: Solander
Seat: Solander
Sign: A sun in chief d'or on a field gules
Patriarch: Lord Calvus Solander

The Solanders have ruled Delac since before the Galoen kings took command of Thyrnesse. Their manor in Solander is as large as the homes of many counts, and they are one of the few heartland families not to support the emperor without reservation. The Solanders have no children in the civil service, nor in any knightly order. Calvus Solander rarely attends court in the city of Miles, and instead can be found administering justice over his people in Solander itself.

Gilmair
Noble Family: Mirandolus
Seat: Tor Mirandol
Sign: A tower argent on a field azure
Matriarch: Lady Tolana Mirandolus

The Mirandolus were castellans of Tor Mirandol until Aras Galoen elevated Sieur Vorgas of Mirandol to the position of baron. Since then, his family has held Gilmair as a joint-barony beneath the rule of the Duchy of Auruxol (since its re-creation under Darius Anarjent by Tamerin III) and the emperor's heartland. Tor Mirandol provides one of the essential bulwarks against the chaos of the Auruxol Mountains and orcish incursion into the heartland.

Laglans
Noble Family: Melun
Seat: Melun
Sign: Two olive trees on a field azure
Patriarch: Lord Gerolus Melun

Lorvais
Noble Family: Beauclerc
Seat: Beauclerc
Sign: Three sun discs on a field verde
Patriarch: Lord Durus Beauclerc

Meridé
Noble Family: Calamus
Seat: Calamyr
Sign: Three bundles of flax on a field azure
Patriarch: Lord Lambertus Calamus

Temais
Noble Family: Sejent
Seat: Tumilent
Sign: Five roses on a field d'or
Patriarch: Lord Mornus Sejent

Valmont
Noble Family: Arcantis
Seat: Arcantor
Sign: Three rings d'or on a field verde
Patriarch: Lord Mellifleur Arcantis

The Arcantine family of Valmont maintains a single castellan at Castra Martellus (Sieur Ardel Martellus) for the purposes of controlling both the outlaws of the Noranian Forest and the dangers of the Mermarche Mountains. The Arcantines claim (though none are certain if the claim is true) to be descended from the wizardly servants of King Roland the Wise. Legend has it that Arcantor was granted to them in honor of their service to this goodly king, but the truth of the matter is lost to the mists of Thyrnessan history.

The Celestial Science

Excerpts from the treatise by Philopater of Miles, Imperial Magus, written in X.498.

Many who practice the Art adhere to the ancient and somewhat outdated belief that the flow and flux of their potency derives from the so-called Slumbering Dragon or the Third Wyrm, or whatever appellation they wish to give it. This mistaken belief, of course, comes from the translations of old Wyrmish legend discovered in the Dragonfells, the Emberlands, and the former provinces of Synd. Whatever the Wyrms believed, their access to this mythical or fabulous "breath of the dragon" is something that we modern mages cannot hope to match. Ask any student of the Wyrmish Art—their rituals are missing key components, rely on nonsensical grammatical constructs, and are extremely taxing to the corporeal form. They are incomplete.

Whether the world is truly the shell of a slumbering dragon or not, we may dismiss the notion that human and elvish sorcerers have access to this "breath of the dragon." It clearly is not so. If we did, our magic would necessarily more closely resemble the Art of those ancients. However, we have observed, and it is a growing consensus amongst mages and scholars of renown, that efficaciousness of magic may be tied instead to cycles observed in the Heavens. After all, is this not the very foundation of the venerable practice of Astrology, which is said to predict the alterations of the world?

Allow us to then to investigate the celestial science from its root and we will understand exactly how our own Art is affected and, in many ways, enslaved to the motion of the stars. The wellspring of mannish magic is not to be found below us, but rather above. We can trace the creation of the stars through the mystery cults of Galos the Seer, back to a time when Arunia was lit only by the presence of the World-Tree Asca-Irminsul. Before the advent of the stars, perhaps, all magic was descended from the principle of the dragon's breath (though there is an argument to be made, not in this book but perhaps in a future treatise, that even gigantine and pyskie magic does not make use of this essentially Wyrmish principle).

Indeed, the most ancient tablets recovered from the Jungles of Zesh hint at a considerably different system of magical Art in which the presence of the stars was not accounted for. However, at some period removed from the time of the original Sorcerer-King, Zeshimite magic underwent a massive and important shift. This, I believe (and shall hence argue) represents the time when the fixed and wandering stars were introduced into the Heavens. The sea-change in magic represents a sudden freeing of available magical energy and codification of previously slapdash system into one governed by knowable laws.

The stars were created by Galos at the latter end of the Night Age. They are made of a material almost never found terrestrially. This fabled star-stone is a quintessence, a fifth element capable of influencing the other four due to its purity, its incorruptibility, and its endurance. Even during the War of the Chains when the Aelio themselves wished to remove Galos' influence from the heavens, they could not muster the power to destroy the very stars. They are immortal and eternal.

From the stars descend the rays of magic that cause the beginnings of all events on Arunia. Though they may not be co-eternal with the world, they have become inextricably bound with it. Their movement is the cause of all mannish and elvish sorcery, and stirs up the lesser more earth-bound elements of Arunia into patterns that can be predicted (though never with complete accuracy). Thus, the motion of the stars is itself the source of magic. The celestial science governs the Art.

Archaeology Dungeons

Today on classical archaeology dungeons: the site of Tel Kedesh. Do with it what thou wilt.

Altering the Rules

This page will serve as a running list of all the rules alterations we use in the 10th Age. Anyone is free to adopt them, and in many cases they're simply optional rules from various 2e books that we've welded together.

Kits

Dwarven Defender
Dwarven Sharpshooter

Kits that have been ruled impermissible
Troubleshooter (thief)

NWP/WP Rules

Characters cannot trade NWPs for WPs. However, due to the lack of a common language and the general bilingual nature of most people in the Atva-Arunia, characters made in the setting receive a number of NWPs = to their bonus NWPs for intelligence JUST to spend on languages. More can be spent from the all-purpose slots. Only mages start knowing how to read, and that only their Language of Power.

No character, warrior or otherwise, can shift NWP slots into WP slots.

Two-Weapon Fighting - available as a prof (as per C&T) but it costs 3 slots.

Shield Mastery - only available to be learned in game, mostly taught by very old dwarves.

Mastery and Grandmastery - only available to be learned from certain dwarves and elves of extreme age and skill.

Time and Combat

We use the 15 second C&T combat round. This means we multiply the length of all spells by 4 (1 round now equals 4 C&T combat rounds when the fighting breaks out) during combat.

As I think of more, I'll add more. These will eventually be compiled into a rules supplement for FG&G.