TEXT: 
  Introduction
  
  
  Game Design
  Greg Christopher
  Layout Design: 
  Greg Christopher
  Art Direction:
  Greg Christopher
  Typesetting:
  Greg Christopher
  Cover Artist:
  Anton Kolyuhk
  mantontheblog.blogspot.com
  Artists:
  Alexandra Alvarsson: morphera.deviantart.com
  Nicholas Avallone: www.angryfungus.com
  Martin de Diego Sabada: almanegra.deviantart.com
  Sam Filstrup: tigerhawk01.deviantart.com
  Kip Hayes: xero-sama.deviantart.com
  Jimmy Jacobsson: www.jimmyjacobsson.se
  Britt Newstead: daestwen.deviantart.com
  Dedication
  This book is dedicated to my friend Craig Brasco. He has been a steady friend through the 
  long and treacherous path of writing a series of RPGs, providing advice, insight, and opinion 
  when others left me hanging in the wind. As a graphic designer, he has also provided me 
  with invaluable technical advice on a variety of issues over the years. Thanks Craig, I cannot 
  express how much I appreciate your friendship.
  Additionally, this book is dedicated to my wife and our two children. I will love you always.
  A Note about Contributors
  All of the artwork in this book has been donated by the artists. In addition to the above 
  credits, each image placed in the book links back to the artist’s gallery. Please take the time to 
  visit them and consider buying a print. This book would not have been possible without the 
  generosity of these artists. I am eternally grateful for their support. I am also grateful for the 
  constructive criticism of my friends and family. 
  Copyright Notice
  Except as otherwise identified, all written portions of this book ©2011 Greg Christopher, 
  all rights reserved. All artwork in this book is owned by its artist. The mention of, use of, 
  or reference to any company, trademark or product in this book is not a challenge to the 
  trademark or copyright in question. This book is not for sale. Download a free copy at   
  www.chubbyfunster.com.
  
  
  How does this game work?
  Table
  Novarium is typically played 
  around a table as illustrated. Every 
  person in the game should be able 
  to see and hear each other clearly.
  The Architect
  One person is called the 
  Architect. They are responsible 
  for a lot of the creative aspects 
  of the game and they are usually 
  the most experienced person
  in the group.
  The Architect typically sits at 
  the head of the table, sometimes 
  with a screen propped up in 
  front of them to shield their 
  notes from your view.
  The Goal of the Game
  In Novarium, there are no winners or losers.
  You are playing a group of people struggling 
  to carve out a small patch of civilization in a 
  fantastical world called Vaena, filled with vile 
  creatures, terrible villains, and more than a few 
  strange surprises.
  The Players
  Everyone else is a player in 
  the game. A player has one or 
  more characters. A character in 
  Novarium is just like a character 
  in a book or a movie, only YOU 
  get to decide what they do.
  The Architect will present the 
  players with a situation, and 
  the players describe how their 
  characters respond. There is no 
  pre-determined story, everything 
  in the game evolves out of the 
  complex interplay between 
  Players and the Architect. 
  
  
  Making Characters
  Characters
  The first thing you need to do 
  before starting to actually play is 
  make characters. After all, you 
  cannot roleplay without a character.
  Multiple Characters
  In Novarium, you control multiple characters. 
  One is a Novaria which is a very powerful woman 
  with amazing magical powers. However, a Novaria 
  needs to spend a lot of time reading, studying, and 
  experimenting with magic. So while you are not 
  playing your Novaria, you have secondary characters.
  Callia Shadowmind
  Mike needs to make a character. He decides 
  that he wants to start out playing his Novaria. 
  Using the character creation book and a few 
  dice rolls, he creates a Novaria with a talent 
  for mind-control and the manipulation of 
  shadows and light. He names her Callia 
  Shadowmind to reflect this.
  He decides to not create his second character 
  until he knows more about the game.
  Korena Sayuth
  Angela has played Novarium 
  before. She draws up a Novaria 
  character named Korena Sayuth, 
  but decides to make another 
  character as well.
  Tighnar the Brave
  Angela wants to play another character 
  right away. She really likes to be a brute 
  fighter so she creates a Dwarf named 
  Tighnar the Brave. After talking with 
  Mike, she decides that Tighnar has been 
  a long time friend of Callia Shadowmind 
  and that is why he is accompanying her.
  
  
  More Characters
  Attachments
  Every character in Novarium has a strong 
  connection with another one, a relationship 
  called an attachment.  These affect gameplay 
  in various ways, but they also serve to keep the 
  group bound together, despite differing interests.
  Gender
  Because only women can cast magic, 
  they have taken over the positions of 
  social power once held by men. Human 
  society remains sexist, but now in the 
  opposite direction. Power corrupts...
  Ophelia Sindaris
  Like Angela, James doesn’t want 
  to start the game playing his 
  Novaria. He creates it and then 
  begins work on another one.
  Willarion Dunmoor
  James really wants to play a tough mountain 
  man, so he creates a Sculari. A Sculari 
  is a kind of human male not relegated to 
  household work or field labor. James decides 
  that Willarion got his combat training while 
  fighting in the wars with Tighnar the Brave.
  Talendra Sayuth
  Jennifer decides that she wants her 
  character to be closely related to 
  Angela’s Novaria; Korena Sayuth. 
  After making sure that Angela is fine 
  with it, Jennifer creates a Novaria 
  named Talendra Sayuth and declares 
  that the two characters are sisters.
  Talendra has a special way with fire 
  and earth magic, but she is actually 
  pretty good at all forms of magical 
  attacks used to strike others with 
  damage; whether throwing a fireball, a 
  lightning bolt, or a ball of acid.
  
  
  Establishing a Home
  The Mark
  All the characters together are called a Novarium (hence 
  the name of the game). At the start of the game, the entire 
  Novarium gains possession of a piece of property called a 
  Mark, similar to a political unit like a barony, only a Mark 
  gives you ownership of the magical energy found in the land.
  Fonts
  Fonts are places where magical energy, called 
  Essence, bubbles out of the Divine Realm and 
  into the real world. The Prime Font is merely 
  the first one discovered in an area. Essence 
  serves as a kind of currency between the 
  Novaria and so it is highly valued. 
  The Mark
  The Architect describes how the group 
  has been called in for a chance to take 
  possession of a new Mark that is being 
  opened up on the frontier. The governing 
  Exarch (a magical title, similar to a Duke) 
  of the area invites the Novarium to an 
  elaborate feast and present thems with the 
  terms of the deal.
  The Architect writes out the terms on a 
  piece of paper and slides it over to the 
  players. After some negotiation, the deal 
  finalized and the group signs the document.
  The Architect describes how the group 
  travels to their newly granted territory. 
  Their land is dominated by a rough wooded 
  hill that conceals a small cave where the 
  Prime Font is hidden from view; a pool of 
  sparkling blue water that glows softly with 
  magical power.
  Establishing a Home
  James draws out a sketch of the land that 
  the Novarium owns and then places a few 
  squares on the map to indicate potential 
  building sites. He shows his construction 
  plan to the group and they agree with his 
  suggestions. They pull some money out of 
  their group funds to cover the costs.
  Korena Sayuth
  Angela tells the group that 
  Korena offers to go to the nearby 
  villages and begin raising the 
  workforce and buying the 
  supplies to build structures.
  
  
  The Game Begins
  The First Season
  The Architect tells the group that it will take an entire season to hire 
  the workers, get the construction materials together, and secure the 
  political deals with nearby nobility to make this construction project 
  happen. Any characters not devoted to this task can spend the season 
  doing something else, like exploring the surrounding area.
  Seasons
  Gameplay in Novarium is broken into seasons. 
  During each season, you will be in control of 
  one of your characters. While this character 
  goes out into the world, the other characters 
  stay behind to tend to your property or perform 
  tasks like studying or recovering from an injury.
  Mike chooses Callia
  Jennifer chooses Talendra
  Angela chooses Tighnar
  James chooses Willarion
  
  
  The First Day’s Travel
  Heading Out
  The players consult the map of the nearby area 
  and decided that they want to travel upriver to 
  the town of Durmich. Nestled against a huge 
  cliff face, Durmich is the closest population 
  center to the Novarium’s land grant.
  Casting Magic
  A magic-using character has varying levels of aptitude in 
  different kinds of magic. Casting a spell involves combining 
  two elements; a method (how the magic works) with a 
  materia (what the magic works on). You then roll a number 
  of dice depending on how complex the spell is to perform. If 
  you roll less than the sum of your elements, you succeed.
  A Rainstorm is Brewing
  The Architect tells the group that after a few 
  hours of walking along the river bank, the 
  skies begin to darken and it looks like rain 
  might be coming soon. She pauses so that 
  the players have an opportunity to jump in 
  with potential actions...
  Through the Rain
  The Architect tells Jennifer than Talendra 
  has detected several small fires about two 
  miles away on top of a hill. Crossing their 
  fingers that this isn’t leading them into a 
  hostile confrontation, the group heads in the 
  direction Talendra indicates.
  The Architect tells them that within a few 
  minutes, it begins to rain. The rain quickly 
  accelerates into a full downpour. Soaked and 
  tired, they finally reach a clearing and spot 
  the hill. There is a large manor house that 
  looks over a small vineyard.
  Overjoyed, they climb up the hill.
  Hopefully, whoever lives here will shelter 
  them from the storm...
  Casting Sense-Fire
  Jennifer declares that Talendra is going to 
  cast Sense-Fire. She has a Sense of 5 and 
  a Fire of 13, for a total of 18. She wants to 
  sense any fires within several miles of their 
  location, so the Architect tells her that is 
  going to involve rolling 3 dice. She rolls a 6, 
  a 2, and an 8, for a total of 16. Since that is 
  less than 18, the spell succeeds!
  
  
  The Goblin Servant
  Knock Knock
  The players decide to knock on the heavy 
  oak door of the manor house. The Architect 
  describes how they hear some shuffling of feet 
  inside and then the door is opened a small 
  crack. A weak voice says “hello?”
  Goblins
  A goblin is a humanoid race with a long and 
  glorious past. Unfortunately, it is definitely 
  past. They have now been reduced to 
  vagabonds, thieves, bandits, and occasionally 
  serving as household servants for those that 
  can’t afford higher quality staff. 
  Callia takes the lead
  Mike describes how Callia steps forward 
  and says that they are travellers along the 
  river that got caught in the rainstorm and 
  were hoping to find some shelter from the 
  elements for the night. He describes how he 
  wants to Callia to shake her coinpurse softly 
  and offer to pay for the hospitality.
  The response
  Since Mike has not tried to actually 
  influence someone in a strong fashion, the 
  Architect decides no rolls are necessary. 
  They already made some notes about this 
  house anyway and the servant is amicable.
  “Come in, come in. Welcome to the house of 
  Lady Premshire. I am her servant, Galloe.”
  The door opens and there is a small 
  unkempt Goblin standing in the foyer.
  
  0
  A Strange Encounter
  While the Master is away...
  Galloe describes how Lady Premshire is actually 
  in Durmich that evening on business but that 
  they would be welcome to stay in the guest 
  bedrooms in the east wing.
  Strange Creatures
  The world of Vaena is filled with all 
  manner of strange creatures and folk. As 
  you explore it, you will come into contact 
  with unusual events and strange beings. 
  Investigate them with caution!
  A Strange Little Girl
  As they are being led down the hall towards 
  the East Wing, the Architect describes one 
  of the doors to the garden opening and a 
  young girl, maybe 12 years of age, walking 
  through it. She had deep sunken eyes and a 
  bit of blood on her cheek. Seeing the party, 
  she hissed that she was not expecting visitors 
  and disappeared down a corridor.
  Questioning Galloe
  The characters immediately ask Galloe about 
  the strange girl. At first he tells them to be 
  quiet and continue to their rooms. Angela 
  describes how Tighnar steps forward and 
  grabs Galloe by the shirt. “Tell me what 
  strange things are going on around here!”
  The Architect asks for a Magnetism test, on 
  which Tighnar barely manages to succeed.
  “Hush, come with me,” Galloe says and 
  once inside the east wing, he closes the door 
  firmly and twists the lock.
  “I had hoped that Esmerelda would not be 
  aware of your presence here tonight. She is 
  dangerous and I advise you to stay awake 
  until dawn, if you know what is best for 
  you. Go quickly from this place as soon 
  as you can, my Master will return by mid-
  afternoon. I will have to take care to make 
  excuses for you. I should never have let you 
  in this late. There will be hell to pay.”
  
  
  And just that quickly, you can step out of the 
  mundane world and into the sublime...
  To enter the strange world of Vaena,
  continue to the Novarium Rulebook.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Novarium/Novarium - Introduction.pdf