TEXT:  
  Board Enterprises proudly presents 
  Build Your Fantasy World in  
  Small Bites 
   
   
   
  The Aṿatar of MΛnΘΤΘ 
   
  aka All About Warrior Priests 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  1 
  BUILD YOUR FANTASY WORLD IN 
  SMALL BITES 
   
   
  First, thank you for checking this out!  That old 
  saying of “knowing is half the battle” is wrong!  
  Showing up is half the battle, so you’re halfway there! 
   
  So what is this?  Board Enterprises has been 
  creating and publishing fantasy role-playing games and 
  source material for over 25 years.  We believe that the 
  core of any good FRPG campaign is a good game world.  
  We’ve created a good game world, and we’ve made it 
  free for you to use. 
  http://www.boardenterprises.com/fletnern.html 
   
  But that’s not enough.  Publishing a game world 
  was never what it was all about for us.  Throughout our 
  books and blogs, you will see the ever returning concept 
  of “Make it your own”.  In order for you to run a great 
  game, you need to be able to make things your own.  If 
  we handed you a fully developed game world, you might 
  be able to use it, but it wouldn’t be your own.  Only by 
  being part of the creation process can you truly make it 
  your own, and that is what we’re looking to do here.  
  That would be “enough” for us. 
   
  So how do we plan to go about doing that?  Glad 
  you asked!  We’re going to show you all about our game 
  world of Fletnern, but in small bites.  We want you to be 
  a part of it!  We want you to suggest, criticize, ask 
  questions, and fully involve yourself in the process.  We 
  want you to help us make the world of Fletnern what you 
  want it to be. 
   
  But you may not want to use Fletnern, certainly not 
  in its entirety.  That’s great!!  Really!  But there is still a 
  great deal of value here.  We’ve been doing this for a 
  long time, but even our world isn’t complete.  As we 
  build a game world together, you’ll see things we do that 
  will work for you.  (Not everything, but some things 
  will!)  You’ll learn from us, and we’ll learn from you!  
  This will be a collaborative effort, and we’ll all be better 
  off for it.  Rising tides raise all ships! 
   
  We would love it if you decided to use Fletnern as 
  your game world, but even if you do, it can (and should) 
  still be your own.  You won’t run it the way we would.  
  Your player characters will impact the world, whether in 
  small or epic ways.  The end result will be something 
  that is uniquely yours, and shared with your players. 
   
  We invite you to check out this free first edition of 
  Small Bites, and keep checking around for other pieces 
  of the puzzle.  You can find them on our website at the 
  address above, and you can find them in our blog posts 
  and in the Fletnern wiki.  But please do more than read 
  them - get involved! 
   
  (OFFICIAL) INTRODUCTION 
   
   
  Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!!!  Welcome to the 
  first edition of our Small Bites modules.  This month our 
  theme is Warrior Priests as seen clustered around the 
  Avatar of Manoto. 
   
  But more importantly, what is this thing?  Well, 
  most people are seeing it as an e-zine published monthly.  
  In many ways, it is that, but that’s not it.  This is a way 
  for the folks at Board Enterprises to share everything 
  we’ve put out this month with you, our supporting 
  audience.  We’re going to pack it full of stuff, from 
  characters to equipment (magical and otherwise) to rules 
  to advice on how to build worlds and master games.  
  Game Master - you know what we mean! 
   
  This is our first one and is also going to serve as a 
  freebie that we use to try to explain what we’re doing 
  here, so we really hope you like it!  If you do, and want 
  more of this kind of stuff, please visit our Patreon page 
  and pledge your support.  (more about that towards the 
  end) 
   
  So what’s here?  Well, let’s jump right in! 
   
  Table of Contents 
   
  Build Your Fantasy World in Small Bites ...................... 1 
  (Official) Introduction .................................................... 1 
  Fletnern Wiki .................................................................. 2 
  The Sounding Board ....................................................... 6 
  Lifestyles of the Magical and Mundane ....................... 12 
  Optional Rules .............................................................. 13 
  Wet Behind the Ears ................................................. 14 
  How to Play a ... ........................................................... 15 
  How to GM a ... ............................................................ 16 
  Gold, Silver, and WHAT!?! .......................................... 17 
  News of Fletnern .......................................................... 19 
  The Good Life .............................................................. 22 
  Monsters and Other Menaces ....................................... 23 
  Characters with Character ......................................... 23 
  Church Bells ................................................................. 24 
  By the Numbers ............................................................ 26 
  Campaign Starter Kit .................................................... 26 
  Huge Adventures ...................................................... 30 
  Small Towns and City neighborhoods .......................... 31 
  Tavern Talk .................................................................. 32 
  Mass Market Magic ...................................................... 33 
  A Funny Thing Happened ............................................ 34 
  Pull Back the Curtain .................................................... 35 
  Y? Y? Y!....................................................................... 37 
  In Conclusion ................................................................ 38 
  Patreon .......................................................................... 38 
   
  
  2 
  FLETNERN WIKI 
   
   
  Years ago, Board Enterprises started a wiki for the 
  World of Fletnern.  As Fletnern was always intended to 
  be free, we thought that rather than try to put out a huge 
  massive source book, the wiki would serve to get content 
  to the people more quickly, and even then we were 
  thinking more about “bite sized pieces”. 
   
  But the wiki grew in fits and spurts.  One of the 
  main goals of this project was to focus more attention 
  (from us and you) on the wiki so we could grow it faster 
  and better.  So here is our pledge:  We’re starting at a 
  guaranteed four posts per month (one per week roughly).  
  As this project and the support through Patreon 
  increases, we are willing to go at least to thirty-one per 
  month (one per day).  As this is our first bite sized piece, 
  we figured we’re going bigger than four, but not yet to 
  one per day. 
   
  All of these posts are out on the wiki as this is 
  published and you can refer to them.  We have gathered 
  them here, because we think they are valuable in a group, 
  and they all pertain to our theme for the month.  All of 
  them are also tagged as being in the categories of 
  “Helatia” and “Warrior Priests” in case you are more 
  comfortable using the wiki instead of this edition. 
   
  Avatar of Manoto 
  Legend 
      On Manoto 11, 652P, an unusual child was born to 
  Apkeeta Emorphine, a priestess of Manoto.  She was 
  never an exceptional priestess, but her child was 
  definitely something else.  You see Apkeeta claimed that 
  the god Manoto had come to her one night and 
  impregnated her with his avatar. 
      This is not the first time a young woman has claimed 
  that she was carrying an avatar, but when the priests 
  (both those of Manoto and of other gods) questioned the 
  omens and signs, they all seemed to indicate that this 
  really was an avatar of the war god. 
      Apkeeta would never have survived the birth had it not 
  been for some of Helatia’s best healers and midwives.  
  The baby is rumored to have been about 30lbs, and 
  Apkeeta is a thin framed woman.  She named the baby 
  Woatao, but nearly everyone simply calls him Avatar.  
  His name means “provider”, though in an ancient dialect 
  that no one uses anymore. 
      There is a great deal of question about whether or not 
  this is truly the avatar of Manoto.  Many question why he 
  would choose a spindly girl to carry this avatar.  Others 
  simply don’t believe that an avatar could be real.  
  However, those who have seen the avatar typically walk 
  away believing that he is the real thing - a divine child in 
  the mortal world. 
  GM Only 
      There is fair reason to question why Manoto would 
  choose such an odd woman to carry a war god’s avatar.  
  Several of the reasons include the fact that she was 
  actually pretty, and he did not want anyone to question 
  his tastes.  He also did not want to sideline an active 
  warrior priestess during and after the pregnancy.  He 
  feared for her sanity during the event and took the closest 
  form to human he was able to, though he still appeared to 
  her as an 8’ tall hulking goliath. 
      Upon achieving his full abilities (which may never 
  happen), the avatar would be equivalent to a rating 4 war 
  god using rock and wood as his tools.  Manoto has 
  foreseen a major religious conflict brewing in the future 
  and hopes that his avatar will be able to lead his people 
  (and the rest of the continent) against the threat or 
  discourage the coming invasion.  This is a very long-
  term plan, and Manoto is trying to protect his people. 
      During the avatar’s existence, Manoto will be reduced 
  to a rating 5 war god.  Despite his loss of power, he will 
  be extremely active.  He is certainly not helpless in his 
  current state.  He has an army of minions that he has 
  created over the centuries, many of whom have barely 
  acted.  Flinda and Sinadatti agree with his plan and will 
  attempt to protect him from divine attacks.  The other 
  gods of the pantheon believe that this action is too rash.  
  They also believe that their followers would become 
  more devout if faced with the threat of a crusade from 
  another religion.  Manoto’s quick action may postpone 
  the attack and thus postpone the religious fervor that 
  comes from those fearful of losing everything. 
      The avatar will require nine years to grow to his full 
  size.  At the ripe old age of nine, he will stand 6’9” tall 
  and weigh about 350lbs.  His attributes will be similar to 
  a titan, even at this greatly reduced size.  At this point he 
  should not have the ability to use his own divine powers, 
  at least not consciously.  Manoto will have several 
  minions around him, trying to subtly protect him.  
  Sinadati and Flinda will keep a watchful eye out as well. 
   
  Constance of Fortitude 
  Group 
      The Constance of Fortitude religion (known primarily 
  simply as Constance) worships Manoto by all four of his 
  aspects:  the powers of the individual, team-work, tactics, 
  and defense.  This religion is the most popular/common 
  of the Manoto religions gaining huge followings in the 
  major cities of the Dinsthain pantheon.  They believe that 
  only through balancing the four aspects can a warrior 
  truly achieve greatness, and so they praise historic 
  generals and officers who led their armies more than 
  individuals who may have accomplished valor on their 
  own. 
      The Cathedral of Constance in Helatia has recently 
  been gifted with an avatar of Manoto.  Assuming this is a 
  real avatar, the sect has incredible power in addition to 
  
  3 
  all of the donations that have been rolling in since the 
  avatar was born. 
   
  Helatia, The Guard of 
  Group 
      In Helatia, there are three different sets of city guards:  
  Central City, Dock and Wall.  The Cuggouiss are the 
  central city guards.  They wear burgundy tunics over 
  their chain mail armor.  They walk beats through the city 
  armed with spear and shield.  They are the most 
  stereotypical city guards in Helatia.  The Dumbresse are 
  the dock guards.  They are the least equipped wearing 
  only sabers and having blue and white uniforms.  They 
  report to the harbormaster and are used as police and tax 
  collectors.  They are also customs agents and the city’s 
  defense against smugglers.  The Abramno are the wall 
  guards, dressed in uniforms of gold tunics over chain 
  mail.  Armed with spears and long bows, they protect the 
  city’s walls and gates.  They are considered to be the 
  city’s defensive army.  Helatia maintains a cavalry troop 
  (green studded leather) and a navy (white uniforms) as 
  well, but the Abramno is the main line defensive unit in 
  the city or should the army take to the field. 
  Abramno 
  Group 
      The Abramno are the wall guards of Helatia, dressed 
  in uniforms of gold tunics over chain mail.  Armed with 
  spears and long bows, they protect the city’s walls and 
  gates.  They are considered to be the city’s defensive 
  army.  Helatia maintains a cavalry troop (green studded 
  leather) and a navy (white uniforms) as well, but the 
  Abramno is the main line defensive unit in the city or 
  should the army take to the field.  The Abramno are 
  expected to be polite to visitors, though they are also 
  expected to prevent enemies from entering the city’s 
  gates.  While they drill with the cavalry, the two units are 
  separate and have a strong, friendly rivalry. 
  Cuggouiss 
  Group 
      The Cuggouiss are the central city guards of Helatia.  
  They wear burgundy tunics over their chain mail armor.  
  They walk beats through the city armed with spear and 
  shield.  They are the most stereotypical city guards in 
  Helatia.  They act as constables, sheriffs and auxiliary 
  defensive soldiers.  They also run the prison and act as 
  bailiffs in the courts (along with guards provided by the 
  Cathedral of Justice). 
  Dumbresse 
  Group 
   
  The Dumbresse are the dock guards of Helatia.  
  They are the least equipped of the military units wearing 
  only sabers and having blue and white uniforms.  They 
  report to the harbormaster and are used as police and tax 
  collectors.  They are also customs agents and the city’s 
  defense against smugglers.  While they are often 
  considered to be more carefree than typical military 
  units, they also find themselves in brawls more often 
  than their peers.  This is because the people of Helatia 
  are for the most part calm and civilized people.  The 
  same cannot be said for the sailors who visit her ports. 
   
  Helatia 
  City 
      Helatia is the second 
  largest human city and the 
  chief 
  trade 
  port 
  for 
  northern 
  Drentae.  
  Culturally, it is similar to 
  the height of Greece.  The 
  hills around Helatia can be 
  severe, but they are most 
  typically filled with farms, 
  vineyards 
  and 
  pastures.  
  The climate is wet, though 
  typically not too cold and 
  completely dominated by 
  the ocean (best weather 
  match on Earth would be 
  Portland). 
      Helatia 
  is 
  a 
  major 
  trading port and one of the 
  typical arrival points for 
  trade goods coming from 
  Hughijen.  It is also the 
  center of the salt trade for 
  the 
  northern 
  half 
  of 
  Drentae having both sea salt production and salt mines 
  within its borders.  While not a dominant military power, 
  Helatia does have a strong navy.  It is ruled by its Senate, 
  a complicated representational governing body, too 
  intricate to explain here. 
   
  Issac the Martyr, The Knights of 
  Group 
      The Knights of Issac the Martyr are dedicated to the 
  service of the god Jassper, patron of cities.  Issac was a 
  sergeant of the guard in a town between Helatia and 
  Snobist.  His town was attacked by barbarian raiders 
  from the north, but he refused to leave his post.  
  Although outnumbered and wounded, he continued to 
  
  4 
  fight on, until eventually with sundown, the raiders 
  retreated.  Reinforcements arrived eventually, but not 
  until after Issac had died of his wounds. 
      The Order of Issac the Martyr was established to pay 
  tribute to the honorable profession of city guards.  Most 
  of its members are nominated as an honorarium, and few 
  of the members are devoutly dedicated to Jassper.  One 
  of the main uses of the Order is to grant title to city guard 
  commanders, so that they can join the ranks of the lesser 
  nobility. 
      The order does hold a small keep in the fjords north of 
  Helatia.  All members are required to make a pilgrimage 
  to this keep shortly after they have been knighted.  (They 
  are also expected to bring a gift, typically donated by the 
  ruler who knighted them.)  The assumption this implies 
  is true:  a member of the order need not be involved in 
  the knighting of a person into the order of Issac the 
  Martyr.  Any ruler has the ability to perform this 
  ceremony.  The order does have the right to refuse 
  members upon their pilgrimage or for a lack of a 
  pilgrimage.  Knights of Issac the Martyr wear a bronze 
  medallion in the shape of a small tower with two ribbons 
  (pink and purple) hanging from it. 
   
  Order of the Divine Rampart 
  Group 
      The Brothers of the Order of the Divine Rampart, or 
  Ramparters, are a teaching group dedicated to the god 
  Manoto.  They were founded about 60 years ago and are 
  a relatively young organization.  Based out of the 
  Bastion of the Divine Rampart, this group builds and 
  staffs schools throughout the areas between Rhum, 
  Snobist and Helatia.  The areas where the sect has taken 
  off are typically a mix of the Rhoric and Xandrian 
  society.  They may speak Xadras, but that is mainly 
  because the traders out of Helatia offer them more.  They 
  are a racial a mix of the two, and culturally a bit closer to 
  the conservative Rhorics. 
      The Ramparters will typically come to a mid-sized 
  town and offer to teach at a school, if the town will help 
  them build one.  The Ramparter will then set up shop and 
  teach reading & writing, some mathematics and 
  bookkeeping, and martial skills.  The schools are for 
  boys ages 10-15.  Classes are typically from noon to 
  dusk in order to allow the boys to finish their chores in 
  the morning and be home for dinner.  Half the time is 
  spent in studies and the other half in practice drills.  Each 
  boy will learn wrestling and boxing, but they will also be 
  taught a weapon.  Each Ramparter will teach the 
  weapon(s) he is most familiar with, and spears and bows 
  are the most common. 
      Once the school has established itself, the boys will 
  also begin building a rampart around the town.  Often 
  this work will be described as a project to keep the boys 
  busy and improve their strength and feelings of 
  community.  This is certainly part of the project, but the 
  ramparts are also being erected to slow down the centaur 
  warlords.  The centaurs are seen (by the Order) as the 
  biggest threat to the general area, and they need to be 
  contained.  By training young boys and men and by 
  providing a rampart, the Ramparters feel they are helping 
  to make these towns much more difficult to attack, thus 
  discouraging the centaurs from preying on them. 
   
  Parpheneus 
  Legend 
      Parpheneus was a priest of Manoto in or near Helatia.  
  A giant sea monster had been plaguing the port city and 
  greatly interfering with the sea trade.  Parpheneus was 
  visited with a dream from Manoto.  He was instructed to 
  go out into the woods and climb a tree.  There he would 
  wait and do battle with a dragon.  Fearing for his life but 
  faithful to his god, Parpheneus left on the trip.  He saw a 
  huge oak tree and knew this was the right spot.  
  Parpheneus slept in the tree for three days when he was 
  awoken by the tree shaking.  A dragon had coiled itself 
  around the tree and was attempting to crush the tree so as 
  to bring Parpheneus down to ground level where he 
  could be eaten.  Parpheneus thought the dragon quite 
  stupid and taunted the dragon for his futile attempts.  For 
  three more days, the dragon crushed the giant oak in its 
  coils, until the tree had been squeezed into a thin pole. 
      Parpheneus was concerned that the dragon would 
  eventually accomplish his goal, so he armed himself with 
  his spear and prepared to do battle.  Just as the tree was 
  about to fall, Parpheneus leapt from the tree and drove 
  his spear into the back of the dragon’s head.  The dragon 
  struggled mightily, but it was exhausted from having just 
  squeezed the tree for three days.  Parpheneus clung to his 
  spear and continued to work it into the dragon’s head.  
  Eventually the dragon died, but Parpheneus’ spear was 
  ruined from the acidic blood of the dragon. 
  
  5 
      Manoto again visited Parpheneus in a dream and told 
  him to craft the tree trunk (now a thin pole) and the 
  dragon’s fangs into a harpoon.  Parpheneus did as he was 
  told hammering the fangs into the shape of a harpoon tip.  
  With this weapon, he returned to Helatia and took 
  passage on a ship.  Parpheneus and his crew sailed for 
  three days until they were attacked by the sea monster, a 
  giant armored narwhale.  Parpheneus threw his harpoon 
  into the creature’s head and then leapt on.  The creature 
  was unable to free itself from the barbed harpoon, and 
  Parpheneus slew the creature in less than an hour.  The 
  crew saved Parpheneus from drowning as the creature 
  went down.    Upon returning to Helatia, Parpheneus 
  gave his spear to the temple in case another sea monster 
  should ever need to be slain.  It hangs behind the altar in 
  a smaller temple to Manoto in Helatia’s dock district. 
   
  Semphesteus 
  Region 
      The Ocean Semphesteus separates Drentae from 
  Hughijen.  Named for an ancient Tandish god, it is most 
  often referred to simply as Semphesteus.  It is the most 
  traveled ocean in the world, carrying traders back and 
  forth between the two closest continents.  
      Helatia is the main trading port on the west side of 
  Semphesteus, while Purity is the main port on the east. 
  South of Semphesteus the sea becomes the Anglic 
  Straits.  Cartographers disagree as to whether the Anglic 
  Straits are part of or simply next to the Ocean 
  Semphesteus.  
   
  Supernatural Reconnaissance Office (SRO) Group 
      The Supernatural Reconnaissance Office (SRO) is a 
  small unit of mages and mentalists within the 
  government of the city-state of Helatia.  It is their job to 
  use “supernatural” (magical or mental) means to monitor 
  enemies and other threats to the city-state.  As such, they 
  use their spells and proficiencies to look at enemies, but 
  they also use these methods to monitor the seas and land 
  to be forewarned of any natural disasters that might 
  affect their region. 
      They are small in number, typically 12-15 active 
  casters, but there are a much larger number of 
  bureaucrats that make notes of everything they detect 
  and keep extensive files.  Though those files are not 
  considered open, certain members of the Senate seem to 
  have obtained access.  There are many personal secrets 
  in those files; many people hope they stay secret. 
   
  Warriors of the Faith, The 
  Group 
      Though they wish to be known as the Warriors of the 
  Faith, they are most frequently called the Cult of 
  Horroag.  They “recruited” children from orphanages 
  and trained them for war.  As their band grew, they 
  began taking bigger and bigger mercenary jobs.  They 
  only take jobs that their priests agree to after consulting 
  Horroag and the signs. 
      Raised their whole lives within the cult, the soldiers 
  are devout and will actively risk their lives pursuing the 
  desires of their god, as told to them by his priests.  They 
  fight with the confident belief that death in battle will 
  send them straight to paradise.  The god Horroag is a 
  dashing knight, but also a disciplined soldier.  He 
  communicates mostly through dreams and visions sent to 
  his priests.  In this fashion, they know about the evils of 
  the enemies and preach these to the cult before every 
  battle. 
      The Warriors of the Faith are trained to fight with 
  sword (infantry) or spear (cavalry).  They all carry 
  shields and wear armor.  They typically travel in large 
  numbers (8-24), even when not on missions.  They will 
  not hire out in units less than 15. 
      While there are several camps that move throughout 
  the northern regions, the unit’s main temple is Helatia.  
  In 645, a new temple was established in Villai, but it is 
  still reasonably small.  The temples are the only two 
  permanent bases of the religion. 
  GM Only 
      The cult does have a secret fortress on an island south 
  of Helatia.  Here they store religious artifacts and other 
  war prizes.  This fortress is solidly built and well 
  defended.  Deep within its cellars are some magical 
  items of incredible power.  This is also where most of the 
  incriminating evidence about the origins of the cult is 
  kept. 
      The Warriors of the Faith are essentially a mercenary 
  force and as such they see battle differently than many 
  other militaries do.  Each unit has a commander and 
  various sub-commanders beneath him.  Additionally he 
  has an Executive Officer.  Formerly called the Logistics 
  Officer, this officer is in charge of the “business” of 
  warfare, though each handles that business in a different 
  fashion.  Some are feared by the men, some are loved, 
  most are ignored or more likely endured by the men.  
  The XOs can fight, but that is not their primary function.  
  They handle the logistics of rations, paying the men, 
  negotiating deals with employers, writing reports (to the 
  home office), buying and maintaining livestock, etc. etc.  
  They also handle loot and who gets it.  For this they 
  often have a number of the biggest soldiers to help them 
  intimidate the rank and file in order to hold onto the best 
  loot (as this is divided amongst the officers).  XOs do not 
  take over leadership of the unit if the commander dies, 
  that is for the sub-commanders.  Still, they are 
  considered “second in command”. 
      There are many levels within the organization.  As a 
  soldier advances in the ranks and through the officer 
  corps, they are taken into deeper and deeper levels of the 
  organization and its secrets.  Those that the current 
  officers do not believe can handle the ultimate secrets 
  will never make it to the top levels of the organization. 
  
  6 
   
  THE SOUNDING BOARD 
   
   
  Again - This is our first edition, so we didn’t want to 
  hold back on the blog posts we included under this topic.  
  While we are expecting four to six per month, we did not 
  want to skimp as we started. 
   
  When Culture Leads to Combat 
   
  The Xadras people of Helatia believe in schooling.  
  They have universities; they even have universities for 
  things other than magic.  In fact, the first university in 
  Helatia was for the training of naval officers, so now 
  (culturally) every university in Helatia trains their students 
  in the aspects of sea faring.  What does this really mean?  
  Well the mages are typically taught astrology as the basis 
  for learning about magic - astrology and star navigation.  
  The mentalists are taught cartography and geography, 
  because chances are they are going to wind up being relay 
  telepaths.  In knowing where the various cities are and the 
  continent’s lay out, they have a better chance of 
  understanding how the different relay stations will work. 
   
  But are there other impacts?  You betcha!  If the 
  culture believes in schooling, then if you plan to be more 
  than a “regular” soldier / warrior / fighter, then you better 
  get some training.  What does training in the martial arts 
  lead to?  Specialization! 
   
  Standard soldiers in Helatia are taught to fight with 
  spear and shield and might even be trained to perform 
  maneuvers like shield walls and various formations.  But 
  that’s about it.  Within Helatia, successful (surviving) 
  soldiers will typically choose a school to attend for further 
  training, and each of these schools has a different style of 
  martial art.  Just as Asian martial arts follow different 
  disciplines, so do these.  But what do they do? 
   
  Helatia is a port city, and it was founded by people 
  willing to travel the seas in order to find freedom.  While 
  the city is maintained by olive groves and other farming, 
  they still look to the sea for inspiration.  So rather than 
  have their martial arts patterned after terrestrial animals, 
  they pattern them after sea animals, especially scary sea 
  animals. 
   
  As we get into these, please understand that in 
  Helatia, soldiering is seen as an honorable profession 
  among professionals.  In this culture, these martial styles 
  are seen as normal and even cool.  Mocking a soldier 
  because he has a shark fin looking helmet will be a slight 
  against his honor and every other soldier who hears it is 
  likely to help him defend his honor. 
     ▪   Sharks (sometimes barracudas) - These soldiers see 
  themselves as juggernauts in battle.  They smoothly slide 
  through 
  battle 
  sites, 
  striking 
  where 
  they 
  see 
  opportunities, but always on the move.  Obviously these 
  types of soldiers do not work in units that use shield wall 
  tactics.  While they are one of the rarer styles, they can 
  be incredibly effective in battles that do not run in tight 
  formations.  They are often heavily armored and seem to 
  prefer plate mail styles, with strong breastplates but 
  lesser armor on their arms and legs to allow them to 
  move more freely.  They are experts in their armor, able 
  to move far more quickly than would be expected in 
  armor that heavy.  Their armor is always custom fit.  
  These are not standard militia soldiers issued a suit of 
  armor, but instead connoisseurs who can afford far 
  better.  They are also infamous for having some of the 
  largest helmets, feeling that once they see where their 
  prey is, they need the protection over the ability to watch 
  other portions of the battle.  Those helms are nearly 
  always decorated with some manner of crest, stylized to 
  look like a shark’s fin.  This makes it easy for their allies 
  to see them as they cut their way through a battle (since 
  they don’t stay in formation). 
   
  Sharks are most commonly dual weapon fighters.  
  This allows them to move through a battle slashing from 
  both sides as they close in on their prey.  The “signature” 
  move of a shark is typically a double weapon parry 
  followed by a disarming move.  This is often the only 
  thing that will slow them in their movement around the 
  battle, as stopping to block, double disarm, and then 
  attack does take a few moments (or most likely at least 
  two actions).  They favor slashing blades and will not use 
  piercing weapons as stabbing and withdrawing would 
  slow down their smooth movements. 
   
  The most famous (and wealthy) sharks will often 
  wear their breastplates with shark motifs etched into 
  them, but then have some manner of exotic arm (and 
  sometimes leg) armor.  Since they want their arms 
  armored, but still to have as much freedom of movement, 
  they have been known to have dragon scale covering 
  their arms, but steel everywhere else.  While something 
  
  7 
  like nemean fur would seem to work better, they 
  typically avoid the use of fur as it ruins the overall look. 
   
  A historic (and really famous) shark was Janos 
  Barlarkik (thought by some to have been raised within 
  the Xadras culture but actually of Rhoric blood).  He lost 
  his right eye in a battle with the Tanta Bosh.  Afterwards, 
  he tended to move his head in an odd fashion.  It was his 
  unconscious way of compensating with his left eye for 
  not being able to see out of his right.  While he was not 
  considered a saint while alive, after he died, the priests 
  found out that he was indeed favored by their war god 
  and was quickly made a ranking officer in the celestial 
  army.  He is therefore often thought of as Saint Janos.  
  While alive, he trained hundreds of soldiers; some he 
  trained to be sharks.  His sharks wanted to be like their 
  hero, so they copied his odd head movements.  Typically 
  only by imitation, this odd head movement has become 
  common amongst sharks.  Many believe it is them trying 
  to see better out of their great helms, and perhaps for 
  some it is, but it is simply patterning their hero. 
     ▪   Octopi - These soldiers are trained to fight back to 
  back, most typically with a sword and a baton (or any 
  parrying weapon).  Obviously, they are not cut out to 
  face archers, certainly not at any distance.  The idea is 
  that with eight limbs (like an octopus), the enemy never 
  knows where the attack is coming from.  They tend to 
  strike out in unexpected ways, including blocking for 
  each other so the intended target can get an attack in 
  under the now blocked weapon.  They are often trained 
  to kick as well, especially if they can pull it off as a 
  surprise. 
   
  They would often be considered to be wearing 
  “medium” armor, most commonly chain mail, but often 
  with added decorations (that will act defensively).  
  Octopus shaped epaulets are often seen as are some truly 
  spooky helms.  When three octopi fight back to back to 
  back, they are often called squids.  As a normal course of 
  battle, these teams call out to each other in coded phrases 
  that allow them to shift around, further confusing their 
  enemies as to exactly who they are fighting. 
     ▪   Crabs - As might be expected, a crab fights inside 
  heavy armor and relies on that armor to keep him safe, 
  more so than most other forms of defense.  They do tend 
  to use shields, but smaller shields that will block melee 
  weapons, because they typically are too slow to get out 
  of the way.  These are certainly “tanks” intended to 
  absorb damage from enemies while others kill those 
  same enemies.  It is not uncommon for crabs to use 
  weapons that are slow and ponderous, but if and when 
  they hit, deal an enormous amount of damage.  Their 
  fighting style is often to wait for the perfect time to 
  strike, even if that means that they don’t attack as often 
  as others might have. 
     ▪   Eel - Eels are actually fighting mages, typically 
  trained to have a spell in one hand and a weapon in the 
  other.  The idea is that they will fight in more of a 
  swashbuckler or dueling style with their weapon (most 
  commonly a lighter, faster sword), and then when the 
  time is right, unleash a devastating spell right into the 
  enemy’s face.  Though lightly armored, they are not the 
  glass cannons seen in other battle field mages. 
   
  We went on a little too long on this one, so we’ll 
  stop here, but we want to bring the point home:  
  Knowing things about a culture, in this case that they 
  prize schooling over experience and that they are 
  romantic about the sea, can directly lead to knowing 
  more about how they fight and what they will do in 
  battle.  As a GM you may not need to know this about 
  your world, but your games will be a lot more engaging 
  (fun) if you do. 
   
  Priests 
   
  I’m not going to talk about alignments.  I have to 
  keep telling myself that. 
   
  Priests - In LEGEND QUEST, healing magic is 
  performed by mages who have power levels in healing 
  magic or by wizards who can cast all six schools.  Healing 
  magic does not come from the gods.  The main reason for 
  that is that when I wrote LQ, I wanted each religion to 
  teach things that made sense to that religion.  Yes, the god 
  of healing teaches his priests to be healers.  But the god of 
  evil magic teaches his priests to be sorcerers.  And the god 
  of war teaches his priests to be warriors.  And the goddess 
  of beauty teaches her priestesses to be artists, or possibly 
  illusionists. 
   
  Not every priest should be a healer!  OK, I only 
  really know my religion well, but there are a billion of us 
  worldwide, so I’m going to claim some common ground.  
  We have priests who lead the parishioners.  They preach, 
  they hold services, they even counsel.  But we also have 
  those who work primarily as teachers - lots of those!  We 
  do have some who run hospitals (healers).  We have some 
  who pray all day long, often in seclusion.  We have some 
  who administer the workings of the individual churches or 
  the larger regional or national or global communities - yes, 
  bureaucrats.  Most have other things they do.  Some coach 
  kids, some maintain the grounds, some cater to the poor or 
  sick (by going to them, which is different than just being a 
  healer).  What about the ones who study the scriptures?  
  These guys are historians, detectives and translators all 
  wrapped in one.  There are lawyers and diplomats, and I 
  think I’m done going on and on.  (Can add musicians?  
  organists, singers, etc.?) 
   
  Here’s the point:  Are we supposed to assume that 
  every priest, no matter who he or she serves, learns magic?  
  So in order to run a decent sized church, you must be a 
  powerful spell caster, likely with the ability to bring the 
  dead back to life?  What if you’re just charismatic and 
  have a great speaking voice?  Can’t minister to a flock of 
  believers?  How did all those high priests get to be high 
  priests?  Did they all wander the countryside slaughtering 
  horrible monsters?  Isn’t that the only way to gain 
  
  8 
  experience points?  I tend to think that while adventuring 
  priests are fine, it isn’t for everyone.  Someone needs to 
  stay home and tend to the faithful, the church itself, the 
  books, etc.  The adventurers and the missionaries (I forgot 
  to mention missionaries?) can go out into the wilds. 
   
  Major Wars in RPGs 
   
  Years ago, I wrote a magazine article on this, but I’m 
  guessing that most people reading this blog do not have 
  access to some old out of print regional RPG mag.  I 
  wanted to give some reasons that major wars are great for 
  RPGs - ALL genres of RPG, but I’ll focus on fantasy. 
   
  First - governments spend more money on weapons 
  and defenses during a war - huge money!  For fantasy, this 
  means the government paying for magical weapons to be 
  created to give to their operatives or officers.  This 
  increases the number of magical weapons and defenses in 
  the world, expanding the stuff people can loot.  Plus, they 
  tend to get more inventive during wars, so there will be 
  different types of magical stuff then there might have been 
  before. 
   
  Second - no war is going to be over quickly.  That 
  means that they serve as sub-campaigns within the overall 
  campaign.  I mean, that is where the term campaign was 
  borrowed from.  So these aren’t one shot adventures, but 
  instead developing sub-plots that can really hold the 
  interest of all the players. 
   
  Third - the enemy should have so many men, that the 
  player characters cannot simply go out and kill them all.  
  If the PCs can slaughter the whole enemy army 
  singlehandedly (and in the old rules, they really could), 
  then you need to be playing a different game!  The fun 
  part of this is that some players have never actually met 
  their match in battle.  By putting them up against an 
  invading army, even if they are six times better than the 
  common enemy soldier, they will get worn down by the 
  constant press of enemies until they retreat or die. 
   
  My last point (and I could really go on for hours), is 
  that wars force GMs to develop different types of 
  missions.  Maybe the first thing is defending a wall.  Does 
  the wall hold or do they have to flee?  As they flee, there 
  will be skirmishes along the way to the next battle site.  
  Are there raids against each other’s camps?  Do the 
  players need to help with the logistics (maybe hunting 
  some meat, gathering more militia, guarding a weapons 
  shipment)?  Do different styles of units need to be handled 
  in different ways?  (Wow, I hope so!)  Can the players get 
  involved in any of the negotiations, maybe simply as 
  bodyguards or messengers?  Are there any dirty tricks 
  going on, either offensively or defensively?   
   
  Clearly the point is to develop the war as a major 
  thing - tens of thousands of soldiers converging on a 
  couple of spots, some drama leading up to the actual 
  battles, reactions to the battles themselves, etc.  I actually 
  write out how the major battles are going to turn before 
  playing through them, because I refuse to believe that a 
  small squad of adventurers can turn the tide of a major 
  battle.  A couple of times, I’ve needed to alter that course, 
  which is fun too.  By knowing how things are going to 
  turn, I can write it up almost like it’s a wilderness 
  adventure with a series of encounters, which makes it 
  easier for me to run. 
   
  What’s a Professional Soldier? 
   
  Anyone checking deeper into the Council of Barons 
  on Fletnern will start to see that the “standing armies” of 
  these baronies are listed at incredibly low numbers.  
  Forsbury is listed as having 300 and this is considered the 
  largest standing army in the Council.  So if Baron 
  Forsbury wants to invade his neighbor, does this mean that 
  he either travels with less than 300 guys or brings a 
  militia?  Not necessarily. 
   
  So where do the rest of his troops come from?  Well, 
  Baron Forsbury is an unusual case.  He is a Cattle Baron 
  and as such has vast herds roaming his lands.  Those herds 
  are controlled by cowboys, all of whom have been trained 
  for battle.  Now they are considered light cavalry or even 
  raiders in a military sense.  These are not knights mounted 
  on horses!  But they are some of the most skilled 
  horsemen and not too bad with their crossbows. 
   
  For the more “normal” noblemen, here are some 
  thoughts:  Most small towns are going to have sheriffs and 
  deputies.  These are trained military men, but they are not 
  part of the “army”.  Similar comments could be made 
  about the tax collectors, the jailors, the forest wardens, 
  even the dog trainers and hunt master.  Almost every able 
  bodied man who is employed at the castle is likely trained 
  at least to some degree in the ways of war.  This may not 
  be true for the cooks and butlers, but it might be. 
   
  The issue is that few lands can afford to have 
  standing armies of great size where all the soldiers do is 
  stand post.  They have to be doing something that actively 
  needs to be done.  Now you might think we’re splitting 
  hairs.  Is the soldier standing post at the border and 
  
  9 
  helping the tax collector part of the army?  Not always.  
  He might be a tax collector, a customs agent, a policeman, 
  or any number of other jobs.  When a modern army goes 
  off to war, the border agents stay on the borders, but when 
  one of my fantasy militaries marches, the border agents, 
  tax collectors, and bailiffs suit up and march right along. 
   
  So what do I suggest you do?  First, figure out what 
  the army is expected to do.  Are they the police as well?  
  Do they guard the royals and the walls?  Is the smith 
  maintaining the weapons part of the army?  Is he expected 
  to fight in the field or just travel with them to maintain 
  equipment?  Why?  because if you don’t know what is 
  expected of them, then you don’t know what is expected 
  of their leaders.  If the General is in charge of only the 
  standing forces, he may need to use politics to get the 
  proper equipment instead of simply ordering his logistics 
  unit to order or manufacture it.  Does it matter?  Yeah - 
  Generals who worry only about training troops to fight are 
  completely different types of leaders then if they need to 
  manage the cooks and cobblers too. 
   
  I know - If you’re playing a game where the 
  “fighter” becomes a lord simply because he passed some 
  threshold of experience and his army shows up out of 
  nowhere, you may not care about things like leadership, 
  tactics, or logistics.  You don’t care that the “lord” is a 
  complete moron who can’t even write his own name, as 
  long as his strength attribute modifiers grant him extra 
  damage.  But the rest of us understand that there are 
  different types of leaders.  Some can manage the day-to-
  day business of an army, and some cannot.  Knowing how 
  to get an army into the field and properly fed is vastly 
  more important than whether they have super strength, but 
  I guess that’s lost on some of the gold farmers out there. 
   
  Idea Sparks - Military Units  
   
  OK - I often describe myself as being an idea man.  
  By this I mean that I can typically develop a ton of ideas in 
  a short period of time.  I can develop a “100” supplement 
  (100 Towns, 100 Professions, 100 Bar Drinks, Gods & 
  Demons) in a day, though it takes me a ton of time to 
  finalize, edit and format it.  I assume this is a combination 
  of my ADHD and imagination, but I think most people 
  who are drawn to being game masters have similar traits. 
   
  But even though I can typically come up with a huge 
  number of ideas, I often try to find a device that will help 
  me.  Here’s my most recent one:  I need to establish more 
  of Fletnern’s military units, both regular army and 
  mercenary.  So here’s what I’m doing - I’m using school 
  mascots.  A unit is nothing without a cool symbol, so 
  while I can come up with all manner of military units, I 
  want cool mascots and symbols to give them some life.  
  Here’s what I mean: 
   
  There is a particular school that I don’t like, but has a 
  fantastic defense line.  So these guys are going to be 
  heavily armored, shield users, probably less than others 
  with their spears and having a red “wave” as their symbol. 
   
  Their rivals I like even less, but they are still a decent 
  team.  I don’t like them, so I am going to characterize 
  them as being stupid and bullies, a dangerous combination 
  in armed men.  They are the tigers, so they will use a tiger 
  on their emblem, and have striped patterns of steel and 
  bronze on their shoulders, but their officers keep a small 
  eagle as a pet.  Not sure why, but I’m going to give them 
  split armor (plate mail chest and shoulders, chain mail 
  arms and legs).  I’m going to give them swords (sort of 
  gladius/leaf blades) and spiked bucklers. 
   
  There’s a pro team in a port city named for a sea 
  mammal.  My perception is that they have never been very 
  good, but they’ve had some good QBs, so I’m going to 
  make them a poorly disciplined unit with good officers.  
  I’m going to give them fins on the top of their helmets to 
  represent their mascot.  Let’s give them battle tridents, all 
  the better to keep the enemy away from the greener troops. 
   
  I don’t enjoy basketball, so taking the team from a 
  city I hate, let’s make them bandits.  I assume they’re all 
  felons anyway.  But they’re named after a car part.  How 
  do I use that?  Let’s go with horseshoes.  They use a horse 
  as their symbol and actually sew horseshoes onto their 
  leather gloves, where the iron will lead when they punch 
  with their fists.  Nasty, tattooed criminals quick to take 
  advantage of anyone, dressed in horsehide leather armor. 
   
  I’m going to just keep going.  I have college teams, 
  pro teams, at least four sports to leverage - more than 
  enough ideas to generate dozens of military units, if not a 
  new 100 list.  I can generate general personalities/cultures, 
  general gear specs, and mascots/colors.  What can you do 
  with a start like this? 
   
  The Military Machine - Gear 
   
  Do you know what your militaries carry?  I mean 
  actually carry - not just “chain mail, spear, shield”.  We 
  came out with An Army’s Arms a while back, and to be 
  honest, they didn’t sell well.  Each book is a detailed 
  description of an army and their gear.  I mean - really 
  detailed.  Well, that didn’t work the way we wanted, so we 
  loaded up A Baker’s Dozen Tribes with a lot of gear notes.  
  That did better, but with sales of Army’s Arms low, we 
  
  10 
  didn’t publish the others we were preparing. 
   
  But back to the question - Do you know what they 
  carry?  Does the army issue each soldier with his kit?  Do 
  you know what’s in it?  In order to know, you need to 
  know how they’re fed.  If there is a chuck wagon that 
  travels with each battalion, then they need a lot less than if 
  each squad cooks for itself.  The point today isn’t really do 
  you know what they have, but more to the point, Do you 
  know who made it?  If you think about all the stuff a 
  soldier normally carries, even if it is just the combat 
  system relevant stuff (armor and weaponry), who made it 
  is very important.  If you have an army of 6,000 
  swordsmen in scale mail, someone had to make all that.  
  You need a lot more than a couple of blacksmiths to bang 
  out 6,000 swords.  Worse yet, if they all carry bows, then 
  you need 6,000 bows and probably 120,000 arrows - not 
  counting the ones they lose practicing.  Who is making all 
  that? 
   
  This is the way I build my worlds - I ask myself 
  questions like this and then develop the answers.  
  Depending on the place the army exists, there might be a 
  weapons factory.  If there isn’t, then there are a series of 
  weapon crafters and armorers - and they might be of 
  different skills.  Now very few of my soldiers carry 
  swords, but you still need to figure out who crafted their 
  spears, shields and armor, even if it is studded leather.  By 
  figuring out some of the army of smiths who were 
  working for the military, you can probably figure out who 
  the player characters would go to for theirs.  It gives those 
  guys a reason for existing, not just waiting on the couple 
  of adventuring parties wandering around the city. 
   
  I love the Three Musketeers - I won’t get into it, 
  because this is already too long, but I love A. Dumas.  One 
  scene from the original book that I love is when they have 
  to go to war.  They’re told to get their stuff together and 
  show up in a few days ready to march.  Well, the heroes 
  have squandered their pay on booze, partying and women.  
  They have no funds to go out and buy war horses, 
  uniforms, etc.  They wind up selling a diamond to get the 
  money, but the concept that the officers and nobles had to 
  supply their own gear from the pay they received (and that 
  they typically didn’t unless forced) entertains me.  In that 
  world, there must have been a host of tailors for military 
  cloaks and uniforms, horse traders with steeds from nags 
  to the finest, weapon smiths capable of etching coats of 
  arms and other insignia, saddle makers, bag makers, 
  scabbard makers, etc. etc. etc.  No - You don’t need to 
  make up each and every one of these businesses!  You 
  could, but I wouldn’t suggest it, unless you have players 
  who love to role-play shopping.  But you do need to have 
  a handle on the fact that these folks exist and need to have 
  shops in your world.  I’ll go so far as to say that you ought 
  to have a portion of the city (near the garrisons) where a 
  soldier could find all these shops within a few blocks of 
  each other - a mercenaries’ mall. 
   
  Maybe some of you have your worlds developed to 
  this point, but I’m guessing few do.  Maybe you just work 
  off a price list - chances are it isn’t enough.  I strongly 
  suggest that you find the happy medium - a place where 
  your players believe that you have nearly everything 
  developed, but you have not bothered to work on anything 
  that is never used.  Utopia, right?  But beware - get too 
  detailed, and you won’t be able to remember it all anyway.  
  Then you wind up stumbling during game sessions while 
  you check your notes on that guy who sells the silvered 
  armor. 
  Post Script 
   
  But knowing who built it may not be enough either.  
  Do you know what the natural resources of each region 
  are?  Now Fletnern has international trade, so on one 
  hand you could say that it doesn’t matter what their 
  resources are, they can always import them, but that is 
  much more expensive.  What do I mean? 
   
  Centuries ago during the Orc-Ogre Civil War, the 
  ogres were the more established culture, but the orcs had 
  been trained as soldiers.  Once the orcs and their goblin 
  allies rebelled, they lost contact with the copper mines 
  and the bronze smelters.  The ogres had some of the best 
  forged bronze weapons, but the orcs had to make due 
  with iron.  Not steel, iron. 
   
  But that was centuries ago.  If the Brinston army 
  wants to import steel it can, right?  Well, recently (in 
  Fletnern), the Latvich army of Garnock had retreated 
  during one of their historic empire building pushes.  
  Garnock supplies its iron not by mining it, but by having 
  hundreds of peat collectors out in the swamps bringing in 
  bog iron.  While this works, it is not a sure way to refresh 
  a huge amount of lost steel armor.  Plus, there was an 
  embargo against them due to their aggressive war - so no 
  imports.  They passed a law that all ferrous metals were 
  now the property of the government and sent squads of 
  soldiers out to manors and farm houses to collect 
  everything they could.  Iron buckets, steel cutlery, even 
  steel horse tack wasn’t safe.  All because I knew where 
  their iron and steel came from and knew that they had to 
  do something drastic. 
   
  OK, another proof that I go way over the top:  I am 
  working on how many of everything you need to have in 
  a city.  Believe it or not I started this project maybe 25 
  years ago by opening up a phone book and jotting down 
  how many restaurants there were in a town of 40K so I 
  could try and mirror that in Rhum.  But here’s the point 
  on this:  If your army’s archers are wearing leather 
  armor, where did all the leather come from? 
   
  This typically winds up being less about there being 
  a shortage of leather and more about what type of leather 
  it might be.  For example, in Forsbury they raise (and 
  eat) beef cattle.  Most of the leather in Forsbury is steer 
  leather.  In Scaret, they farm every flat piece of land, so 
  only the hills are open for pastures.  They raise (and eat) 
  goats; the sheep are less for mutton and more for wool.  
  
  11 
  So leather in Scaret is going to be goat.  Garnock is 
  between the two and has better leather processing 
  factories, so rough hides are brought into Garnock and 
  turned into artistic clothing, which in turn is sold back to 
  the original breeders of the hides.  So in Garnock, you 
  can have just about any kind of hide. 
   
  Is there more?  Well, yes.  How long does a horse 
  live?  Well there are a lot of horses used in Forsbury, by 
  cowboys, by caravans, and by simple riders.  If a horse’s 
  useful life is about ten years, then 10% of all the horses 
  in Forsbury are probably killed or die every year.  That 
  produces a certain amount of horsehide! 
   
  What’s the moral of this story?  Well, honestly, I 
  think the moral is:  Just buy Board Enterprises products, 
  because they are the only ones crazy enough to think this 
  stuff all the way through and then have their economies 
  take it all into account.  This is way too much nonsense 
  for a normal (read “sane”) GM to keep in his or her head. 
   
  Divine Alchemy yields magic items 
   
  I was thinking through some “divine alchemy”.  
  Should these pilgrimages include things like:  put a dragon 
  fang, a lit blue candle, the long sword, and a live chicken 
  on the altar in order to enchant the blade?  So I was 
  thinking that these pilgrimages should have sacrifices 
  associated with them.  Not only does it make them harder 
  to do (requiring more adventuring instead of just showing 
  up), but these are gods - they like sacrifices. 
   
  Now I have all sorts of rules about sacrifices in my 
  game.  Chief among them is the idea that sacrificing a 
  person to a god allows that god to require ten years of 
  service from that soul before they are released to their 
  eternal reward.  Well, I was thinking of a dog breed I 
  developed as a temple guardian for the main war god in 
  Fletnern (Manoto, god of war in the Dinsthain pantheon).  
  What if someone sacrificed one of these “sacred temple 
  guardians”?  I think we have too dark a concept of 
  sacrifices.  Since the vast majority of us are monotheistic, 
  we don’t see sacrificing in a good light.  I am trying to 
  role-play my NPCs, and I think giving a sacred dog to 
  your god would be a good thing. 
   
  So here’s what I’ve come up with:  You find a 
  “perfect” dog (unblemished and the right color, etc.).  You 
  raise it for a certain period of time, maybe six to ten 
  months.  You have to follow some rather serious 
  restrictions on how you raise it, including what you feed it, 
  etc.  After that, you sacrifice the dog on Manoto’s altar in 
  a special ceremony.  You have now created a dog angel 
  that will serve Manoto in the afterlife.  Manoto is a war 
  god, so he has legions that battle other divine armies all 
  the time.  Not only did you just help your god, but when 
  you eventually die, you get your dog back as a celestial 
  war dog to work with you in the divine army. 
   
   
   
  Sounds a little sick to us modern folks, but not only 
  do these folks have faith, but they actually have lots of 
  gods around - gods that grant them spells and magic items.  
  They can damn near prove that that the dog becomes an 
  angel.  Isn’t that a good thing? 
   
  A couple of extra things.  Some people who have 
  done this ritual swear that the angel dogs must be 
  following them around, because they have been awoken 
  from sleep just before an ambush by loud barking that no 
  one else heard.  The ritual is typically done by younger 
  people (teens) because it is pretty exhausting to train the 
  dog in this fashion (too tiring for old men) and because the 
  amount of time you spend with the dog is something a 
  married guy just couldn’t do.  Lastly, or those of you still 
  thinking this isn’t for you and your more hack and slash 
  campaign:  A priest (maybe the one in your party) is 
  contacted by one of Manoto’s angels.  It seems that there 
  is a dog breeder who is not following all the proper tenets 
  of raising these dogs.  Because of this, young faithful men 
  are going through all the work to create these angel dogs, 
  but it isn’t working.  This breeder needs to be punished.  
  Boom, your next mission.  The breeder will have an 
  extensive family of guys who are training fighting dogs 
  (those guys do tend to be rather rough or at least nasty) as 
  well as a herd of war dogs.  Maybe there is some special 
  dog on that breeding farm that they have to rescue.  It 
  might be destined to be a special temple watch dog or it 
  may be destined for one of the party members. 
   
  You see, I like the gods being involved in the 
  campaigns; I just don’t like the gods being so predictable.  
  Pray for X hours and get these spells.  That’s not for my 
  style of play. 
  
  12 
   
  LIFESTYLES OF THE MAGICAL 
  AND MUNDANE 
   
   
  About a year after the avatar was born, the priests 
  of Manoto in Helatia felt that they were being too narrow 
  in their focus on the avatar.  This was a gift to the entire 
  world and not just to the city of Helatia.  So they reached 
  out to the larger temples around the world and asked 
  them if they had young warriors who would make good 
  bodyguards for the young avatar.  At the Temple of 
  Manoto in Forsbury, only one young man stood out:  
  Bartholomew Michael, chief Constable of the Baron’s 
  Guard. 
   
  Mikey as he’s known jumped at the chance, but he 
  needed to get the high priest to negotiate with the Baron 
  and Baroness.  He was eager to go, but he was 
  committed to his obligations in Forsbury.  Being a friend 
  and a diplomat, the high priest was able to convince the 
  rulers to give the young man a leave of absence.  After 
  all, it was only a year. 
   
  Mikey arrived in Helatia early in winter, ill 
  prepared for the cold, wet weather of the sea port.  He 
  had a decent leather jacket and wool sweaters, but they 
  didn’t work with his armor and at first, he froze.  He was 
  the baroness’ favorite, and she had given him some 
  spending money when he left, so first things first, he got 
  himself a good woolen cloak to keep the chill and 
  dampness off his armor. 
   
  Knowing he was a “short timer”, the local warrior 
  priests restricted his access to the avatar.  It was two 
  weeks before he was even allowed to participate in one 
  of the viewings.  Here he saw what appeared to be a five 
  or six year old child playing in a clumsy way with his 
  mother and a mentoring priest.  He spoke in a child-like 
  way and seemed fascinated with his own body, staring at 
  his fingers and laughing when his strength overwhelmed 
  the priest.  Mikey was fascinated, and from that moment, 
  all doubts of the child’s parentage fled his mind.  Surely 
  this amazing one year old was divine in origin. 
   
  As phenomenal as an avatar is, once you take up a 
  sentry post, the avatar becomes a bit more common 
  place.  There were now warriors from around the world 
  standing post for the avatar, and Mikey was only needed 
  to “work” every third day.  Fairly quickly, he was 
  allowed to be a direct guard at the viewings, but again, 
  only one of his work days out of the three, but these 
  times were magical. 
   
  Standing watch at a viewing involved being there 
  when the child was brought in, before the crowds.  
  Seeing the child interact with his mother and the various 
  priests, seeing things only a dozen people in the world 
  were witnessing with this most important being in the 
  world were everything Mikey had wanted but never 
  knew he wanted.  Those days flew by, but the others 
  were not so special. 
   
  Despite stories of other religions attempting to 
  attack, assassinate or kidnap the avatar, nothing of the 
  sort happened.  Mikey wasn’t a simple sentry, but the top 
  officer of the city’s police.  Unable to lead or investigate, 
  he felt himself starting to lose some of his edge.  Plus his 
  “days off” were just boring.  Here he was in what might 
  be the oldest human city in the world, with warriors and 
  warrior priests from everywhere, and he was bored.  
  Clearly he was doing something wrong. 
   
  By the first signs of spring, he had corrected his 
  course, and this is roughly how his days would go.  
  Waking in the temple dormitory, he would practice his 
  morning routines.  These local folks had some incredible 
  facilities for bathing, but Mikey did a more quick clean 
  up and hurried off to morning prayers.  Every morning, 
  he prayed to Manoto to give him the strength and 
  devotion to accomplish all that was expected of him, and 
  he typically felt his god had heard him. 
   
  Mikey had met an enormous number of warrior 
  priests and had formed a small cadre of like-minded 
  warriors.  They would train in the mornings and take 
  most of their meals together.  The dorm they stayed in 
  had been part of a seminary dedicated to Brakin the god 
  of life and justice, but with the huge needs of the Manoto 
  temple, the priests of Brakin had offered up the 
  additional housing.  This meant the martial trainings 
  were taking place in gardens, but the fighting men tried 
  not to damage any of the landscaping. 
   
  As weeks passed, Mikey learned more about these 
  other men and their cultures, including some words from 
  their languages.  But it was his afternoons that he 
  devoted to the most important training.  Here at the 
  cathedral he had access to warrior priests who were 
  absolutely the greatest in the world, and he wanted to 
  learn more.  Mikey was a fairly standard “sword and 
  board” soldier, but he was more board than sword.  A 
  skilled defense man, he wanted to know more. 
   
  All it took was asking the right local priest who the 
  best shield man was, and Mikey was soon training with a 
  priest considered untouchable in a duel.  Mikey 
  continued to work with him, but most of that training he 
  already knew.  Sensing his discontent, his shield master 
  introduced him to the trainer of the local warrior priests.  
  Knowing martial arts was vitally important, but these 
  guys were willing to go the extra step and use magic in 
  their combat styles.  Training as though he were a 
  complete novice, Mikey started to master the art of 
  “sword magic”, which would give him the edge he 
  lacked on the offensive side. 
   
  Though he had intended to stay a year, word came 
  to Mikey that the Baron was heading off to war to 
  support one of his cousins.  Further, the Baroness was 
  about to give birth to her first child, and all the portents 
  indicated this would be a son.  Struggling to choose 
  between his god and his homeland, Mikey felt he could 
  continue to serve his god at home, but could not serve 
  
  13 
  the Baron from afar, so he spent the last of the spending 
  cash the baroness had gifted to him and teleported home. 
   
   
  So why does Mikey’s story work?  Mikey could 
  have stood post at the cathedral and been part of the 
  force that confirmed that nothing bad would happen to 
  the avatar.  That is what most followers would do.  But 
  Mikey isn’t just a “fighter”.  He is an officer and an 
  investigator.  His best investigatory tool is his friendly 
  personality and his ability to come off in a disarming and 
  courteous manner.  Dull sentries would have stood guard 
  and probably eaten well in their off hours, but Mikey 
  formed friendships.  He asked around about who people 
  were and what they knew.  He used the same social skills 
  that allowed him to get citizens to talk freely to him to 
  get the priests to tell him who could train him in different 
  ways. 
   
  And he took the time to learn.  Most masters of 
  their craft enjoy teaching capable and interested students, 
  but the student has to put in the work.  Mikey was in the 
  perfect spot to be able to work a few days a week and 
  train the others.  He was also open minded enough and 
  humble enough to start over from the beginning in order 
  to learn something brand new.  He didn’t ignore all of his 
  old lessons, just learned the new and is still figuring out 
  how to combine them all. 
   
  So is he a warrior priest - not really.  He knows a 
  trick or two of magic, but has no plans to further those 
  studies.  If we had to put him into the old rules, we might 
  describe him as being a Lv2 cleric, followed by being a 
  much higher level fighter.  That would give him a couple 
  of spells to use without really making him a “priest”. 
   
  Is he the world’s greatest shield man?  No, but 
  unless and until he can “up his game” (advance, gain 
  experience, whatever you want to call it), he is probably 
  as good as he is going to get for now. 
   
  Was it the right thing for him to do to race home?  
  Well that depends.  He is right - He can not only 
  continue to practice his religion at home, but he can 
  serve as a role-model for the younger generation while 
  doing it.  He can share stories of the avatar and help 
  convince any doubters that the avatar really is the son of 
  Manoto.  Meanwhile, he has placed himself back in the 
  good graces of the Baron and Baroness, especially with 
  his hurried return because he felt that he needed to be 
  there to guard her and her son (in some ways snubbing a 
  demi-god for a prince).  That’s the kind of loyalty that 
  gets returned. 
   
   
  The point of this was not necessarily to get as 
  detailed as some of the future Lifestyle articles will get 
  into how their lives are spent but to give a sense of some 
  of the things that can come up outside of battle that still 
  help to mold the character and craft their stories.  It 
  doesn’t always have to be about how many monsters you 
  killed. 
   
  OPTIONAL RULES 
   
  Shield Magic 
  Points=10 
  Casting Time=50 
  Materials=N/A 
  Effect=+5DefxPow 
  Accuracy=−10/+5 
  Range=0/+0 
  Area of Effect=1/+0 
  Casting Fatigue=½xPow 
  Sustaining Fatigue=½xPow 
  Min Power=1 
   
  Shield magic is a trick similar to the more common 
  sword magic trick.  Where sword magic allows a weapon 
  to act similarly to an animated attack enchantment, shield 
  magic allows a shield to act as though it had a defense 
  enchantment cast upon it.  This acts as both a physical 
  and 
  magical 
  defense 
  enchantment 
  providing 
  an 
  additional +5 defense per power level used whether the 
  caster is attacked by a weapon or a spell, and it lasts for 
  as long as it is maintained, working against every 
  incoming attack. 
   
  The caster must be holding some manner of shield 
  for the spell to work.  It cannot be cast upon a weapon or 
  anything else, though it has been successfully cast upon 
  items that would best be considered toy shields and still 
  worked.  Metal shields will not resist the casting of this 
  spell, as the spell is in many ways cast over the shield not 
  actually on it.  The trick can only be cast upon a shield 
  the caster is holding and will end if the caster loses 
  control of the shield.  While it acts like a defense 
  enchantment, it will work in conjunction with other 
  defense spells.  It will not however work in conjunction 
  with an animated parry enchantment.  If this were to 
  occur, the higher power level (between shield magic and 
  animated parry) would be active and the other would be 
  suppressed.  Shield magic can however be used in 
  conjunction with a melee weapon containing animated 
  parry levels. 
  
  14 
   
  Wet Behind the Ears 
   
   
  Everyone has to start somewhere, and here we lay 
  out what we think a starting character needs to look like.  
  We’ll give you some stats from a LEGEND QUEST point 
  of view, but please rely on the narrative and not the 
  numbers when making things work in your world or your 
  campaign. 
   
   
  So what is a warrior priest?  A warrior priest is an 
  official member of the church’s clergy, sometimes called 
  a priest or brother or monk, not simply a member of the 
  congregation.  In most cases, warrior priests worship a 
  war god, but there are other churches that will train some 
  of their clergy to be warriors.  While most religions rely 
  on faithful members of the congregation to act as guards 
  and protectors, there will often be things (sites, objects, 
  relics, etc.) that are considered so sacred that only 
  members of the clergy are allowed near them.  In these 
  cases, non-war related religions will still need warrior 
  priests to serve as guardians. 
   
  So what’s a holy warrior?  Holy warriors are 
  typically not members of the clergy, though they can be.  
  Holy warriors are what some games/worlds refer to as 
  templars or paladins.  Holy warriors typically resemble 
  knights and are most focused on the arts of war; warrior 
  priests lean a touch more towards priest than they do 
  towards warrior.  In truth, the warrior priests are a more 
  common, less pigeon-holed archetype, than the holy 
  warriors.  Holy warriors are typically cavalry, while 
  warrior priests are typically infantry, but this is not a 
  hard and fast rule that must be followed. 
   
  But they aren’t the priest template either.  While 
  they typically can cast some manner of healing spells or 
  at least defensive spells, they are also focused on battle 
  and combat.  Where a healing priest might hang back 
  during a battle and heal any injured folks who come to 
  him, a warrior priest is going to be out in the battle and 
  only stop to heal when the battle has died down and he 
  has no opponents near him.  So in one view, a healing 
  priest keeps people alive to continue the battle, while a 
  warrior priest will save them from death if he is able 
  afterwards. 
   
  As a split classed character, the warrior priest needs 
  to be good at more than one thing.  Typically this is 
  fighting and spells, but how this works in different rules 
  sets can fluctuate.  Despite the “warrior” description, this 
  guy needs to have some Willpower or whatever it’s 
  called in your game.  With a relatively low Strength, the 
  warrior priest can still serve as an effective “tank” as 
  long as he has the ability to cast and wear armor.  Killing 
  other folks is not his job.  His job is to fight and help his 
  side win.  While killing other folks does help his side 
  win, staying alive is actually a better tool/goal. 
   
  Lots of words - let’s get into it!  We think a warrior 
  priest’s top attribute is Willpower.  This helps him cast 
  and sustain his spells, as well as allowing him to fight 
  longer than his opponents who may tire too quickly.  
  Strength and Endurance are important as well, but clearly 
  secondary.  Knowledge, Agility and Psyche cannot be 
  too low, and should probably be at least in the “average” 
  categories. 
   
  The defense combat skills are vital - both armor and 
  shield.  These can keep him from taking damage.  He 
  cannot be a complete fool on offense and will need to be 
  competent in some melee weapons.  Which?  Well, the 
  priest side of him should guide his weapon(s) of choice, 
  probably whatever his god uses.  If his god is the god of 
  soldiers, then whatever they use, which is probably going 
  to be a spear.  He should be able to use his spear 
  offensively, as well as defensively.  Knowing how to 
  fend off attackers allows him to stand above a fallen 
  comrade and prevent any further damage to him. 
   
  On the spell side, the warrior priest is more likely to 
  be looking at defensive spells more than healing spells.  
  Remember, healing is something that comes later, after 
  he survives the battle itself.  The defensive spells are 
  something he uses during the battle, most commonly on 
  himself, unless he is specifically a bodyguard to someone 
  else.  You will see in our write up below that we gave 
  our warrior priest example the Shield Magic spell from 
  this edition’s optional rules. 
   
  Other skills do depend on the style of this warrior 
  priest.  If he is expected to serve a community as a parish 
  priest, he needs Politics and other social / public 
  speaking skills.  If he is a warrior monk who lives 
  amongst others, things like Etiquette might be more 
  important, so he doesn’t act out.  If he is amongst the 
  people (or army) but not really in a leadership role, then 
  social skills are probably less important.  If he’s an 
  officer, then at least Leadership is needed. 
   
  Even more non-melee related skills:  Again, it 
  depends on the intent of the character and the design of 
  the god.  Some war gods are centered around steel, and 
  this would probably lead to some manner of metal 
  smithing, weapon craft or armory skills.  Others are more 
  
  15 
  the berserker style, which might bring in some different 
  magics (beast mastery, nature manipulation, etc.).  Still 
  others are more disciplined and major military, which 
  would likely call for tactics or even senses as used to 
  determine ranges and defensible positions.  The 
  Ramparters described earlier all have construction skills 
  for building fortifications, which is not unusual either. 
   
  As with any heavy armor user, starting money is a 
  problem.  We see this warrior priest as a chain mail and 
  shield user - at least at the start, but affording all of this 
  is difficult at best.  Rather than spend character points on 
  money, we suggest the lesser starting armor and shield 
  shown, with the character buying better gear as soon as 
  they start to earn some money. 
   
  Last minute stuff?  Add first aid, as a sub for 
  healing, when casting isn’t going to work (likely due to 
  fatigue).  Don’t forget Theology and Reading & Writing.  
  It’s rare and odd for a spell caster to not be able to read, 
  and a priest needs to have studied his religion. 
   
  What’s not here?  Tricks have replaced full blown 
  magical abilities.  We’d recommend the Aid trick later 
  on as a better version of first aid.  There are no missile 
  weapons, unless you consider thrown weapons.  Nothing 
  wrong with throwing javelins, but this guy is intended to 
  be a brick on the battle field, not someone dancing 
  around behind the melee. 
   
  Warrior Priest:  250 character points - Strength 6 
  Knowledge 5 Endurance 6 Willpower 6 Agility 5 Psyche 
  4.  Armor Group 1 (Mails 2) Etiquette 2 First Aid 2 
  Native Language 3 Read&Write Native 1 Running 1 
  Shield Magic trick 2 Shields Group 1(Large 2) Spears 
  Group 1 (Spear 2) Streetwise 1 Theology 2.  100sc 
  bought: spear, small shield, cloth armor, 20 extra silver 
  coins. 
   
  What did we miss?  The Willpower is a bit short, 
  but starting a character with more than a 6 Attribute is 
  too costly, especially when doing more than one thing.  It 
  would be nice for him to have better weapon skills, as he 
  only has a base 75% chance to hit.  He’s more of a 
  warrior monk and not intended to speak in front of 
  people, but that’s OK, he can learn those skills if he 
  needs to.  With only a 5 Knowledge, he’s only 50/50 on 
  the Shield Magic, so hopefully that’s something that can 
  be improved later on. 
   
  Once properly equipped, he has a 52 parry against a 
  single opponent (using all his shield levels).  Not shabby!  
  That goes up to 62 if he has the Shield Magic running.  
  Raising the Agility to 6 is 16 points and helps parry and 
  initiative, but increasing Shields or Large Shield gets a 
  similar parry at 10 points (though not if there are 
  multiple targets). 
   
   
  HOW TO PLAY A ... 
  Warrior Priest 
   
   
  We’re actually going to keep this entry short for 
  two reasons:  First, we put a lot of it into Wet Behind 
  the Ears.  But second, there are just too many ways to 
  go about it. 
   
  What we described in Wet Behind the Ears is a 
  “standard” warrior priest - a defensive fighter with some 
  protection and healing spells.  This is exactly what we 
  would expect from a warrior priest who answers to a war 
  god.  But what if the warrior priest is worships a 
  different style of god?  Here are some examples: 
   
  Berserker - The second most common warrior priest is 
  the berserker priest.  The god may be a god of strength, 
  rage, bears, or whatever, but cannot be “god of soldiers” 
  as these guys are as dangerous to their teammates as they 
  are to the enemy.  Instead these warriors rely on their 
  “divine” magic to push their bodies beyond the normal 
  physical possibilities and thus become even more 
  powerful combatants.  The problem is that as their rage 
  grows to fuel their strength (and other attributes) their 
  ability to differentiate between friend and foe declines 
  rapidly.  Great during the battle, but a real concern after 
  it is over. 
   
  Berserker priests can be a bit easier to role-play 
  because they tend to be pretty one-sided.  They fight; 
  that’s about it.  True role-players can get into some of the 
  issues of regret (over things they did while they were not 
  in control of themselves), but a berserker religion would 
  have ways for them to rationalize these issues. 
   
  Inquisitors - While not a common player character 
  archetype, you will see these as NPCs, and there is no 
  reason a player cannot shape one.  Inquisitors are warrior 
  priests who are using their spells and magic to 
  investigate.  Quite often, inquisitors are using spells that 
  detect lies in order to determine the truth and then punish 
  the guilty.  Being judge, jury and executioner tends to 
  make these folks far less patient, and they should be 
  feared for good reason. 
   
  It shouldn’t matter if the detect lie “spells” are 
  something other than spells.  They could be mentalism or 
  a magic item.  No matter how he does it, an inquisitor 
  will see himself as an extension of divine justice and 
  therefore anything he does can be rationalized as the 
  god’s will.  These are not people who can be reasoned 
  with. 
   
  A close cousin is the inquisitor is the witch hunter.  
  These folks see some aspect of magic (or all magic) as 
  evil and in need of being destroyed.  While they do need 
  the detection style magics of the inquisitors in order to 
  
  16 
  find and identify the witches, they also need defensive 
  spells or something that will allow them to “parry” the 
  evil magic as it attacks them.  These make for very good 
  player characters because they have such an easy 
  explanation as to what they are doing adventuring - they 
  are out looking for evil magics that they can smite.  They 
  don’t belong in the city, but instead out in the field, 
  unlike so many other styles of priest. 
   
  HOW TO GM A ... 
  Warrior Priest 
   
   
  So we just got finished telling you that there were 
  all sorts of ways to play a warrior priest, because there 
  are so many types of warrior priests.  So the same must 
  be true for how to GM one.  Nope!  Actually, in many 
  ways, they can all be lumped together and game 
  mastered in a very similar style. 
   
  First off, a warrior priest has his faith.  We define 
  faith as his personal beliefs in the divine.  This is all 
  about him, what he thinks of his god(s), and how that 
  controls his life.  While GMs may wish to give the priest 
  reasons to doubt his faith, this is a pretty exceptional 
  thing and should probably be left until the warrior priest 
  is a well-established character, and only be used in 
  games with a strong role-playing element.  In other 
  words, this level of drama, does not fit into every game 
  style. 
   
  Next most important is that the warrior priest has 
  his religion.  We see religion as the community of faith.  
  A warrior priest may serve the war god, and have great 
  faith in his god, but it is the church community that 
  makes up his religion.  Here there are other priests, most 
  likely in a hierarchy, the laity (non-priest members of the 
  religion), rules and traditions, churches and temples, art 
  and treasures.  Hopefully you’re getting the idea.  Faith 
  is internal, and religion is external.  (oversimplified!) 
   
  It is the religion that the GM can most easily use to 
  control, motivate and drive the warrior priest.  Most 
  easily, the people of the religion can be quest givers.  
  Whether this is a member of the congregation coming to 
  the priest for help or an order from his superiors, they 
  make for easy explanation missions.  Of course, the 
  priest is going to want to help these people or feel 
  obligated to follow instructions. 
   
  But perhaps more importantly, the GM can begin to 
  build this community and allow it to support the 
  character outside of missions.  The war god’s 
  congregation should include armorers and weapon 
  smiths.  These people would probably be happy to have a 
  prestigious warrior priest using their equipment.  It 
  would serve as a sort of advertising.  The same could be 
  said of nearly any merchant of vendor, including tailors 
  (you can’t wear your armor all the time), leather workers, 
  and even grocers and restaurants. 
   
  But to fully bring the priest aspect out, the warrior 
  priest should have access to some full time priests who 
  have more direct contact with their god.  Did the 
  character do something questionable on the last mission?  
  The god may send a messenger to the high priest or local 
  prophet with a warning.  Something great happen?  That 
  can be communicated too.  Does the god need something 
  specific 
  to 
  happen? 
   
  Having 
  these 
  messages 
  communicated directly to the player character sends a 
  message that this PC is special and incredibly important. 
  That may not be the case.  Having the god tell the high 
  priest to send the character makes the high priest more 
  important, and the PC more of a pawn to be placed on 
  the board.  This should not be seen as condescending, but 
  instead more realistic. 
   
  This also offers the issues of:  is the priest telling 
  the truth?  Not every high priest is a bastion of faith and 
  piety.  Some of them are highly political animals and the 
  orders may actually be coming from the “king” and not 
  the god.  The orders may be coming from the priest or 
  priesthood, especially if it is one of those “go retrieve the 
  ancient sword of St. Whatshisname”.  High priests tend 
  to avoid getting their hands dirty, and having a lower 
  priest go off and retrieve an artifact or relic will bring 
  some honor to the priest who does the job, but more 
  honor to the church that then proudly displays that 
  important artifact. 
   
  For the missions that actually do come from the 
  god(s), you need to figure out what it is the god wants.  
  Gods have extremely long “lives” and therefore have 
  plans that can span generations.  They also have long 
  memories and can carry a grudge better than any mortal.  
  Typically a god is most concerned with receiving 
  adoration, typically in the form of prayers.  This means 
  that 
  they 
  need 
  worshippers, 
  and 
  who 
  creates 
  worshippers?  Typically missionaries.  High Priests may 
  maintain the faithful the god already has, but it is the 
  missionaries that are going to add new congregations, so 
  it is these missionaries that the god is going to be most 
  eager to see his warrior priests aid.  We are assuming 
  that a warrior priest is not suited as a missionary, because 
  he lacks the proper skill set, but that is not a universal 
  truth. 
   
  As GM, you can determine how structured the 
  religion is.  Few fantasy religions would be as structured 
  as what we are familiar with today.  This will determine 
  if the warrior priest needs to check in with his order or if 
  he can have pretty free rein.  As we’ve mentioned in 
  various spots, his home church should offer great 
  benefits, not the least of which would be healing and 
  shelter.  Don’t forget that many religions are allied, so 
  priests of non-war gods may still be available to him. 
  
  17 
   
  GOLD, SILVER, AND WHAT!?! 
   
   
  In keeping with our warrior priest theme, we’ve decided to give some examples of what some of the wide range of 
  holy symbols these guys might carry could cost.  We haven’t strayed too far from some of the more normal aspects of what 
  constitutes a holy symbol, but just because we haven’t doesn’t mean you can’t.  Anything can be a holy symbol, as long as 
  the one using it understands the symbolism. 
   
  One of the more common alternatives would likely be something along the lines of etching the holy symbol right onto 
  the warrior priest’s breastplate.  This may not be for the best, because if the breastplate takes real pounding during a battle, 
  the holy symbol may not be recognizable.  Do non-recognizable holy symbols work?  Probably not. 
   
  One of our other ideas is a silver plated gauntlet.  Assuming the god’s symbol was an armored fist (certainly seems to 
  find its way into heraldry, so why not), then such a “holy symbol” would simply require the warrior priest to raise his fancy 
  glove in a fist.  Crests or decorations atop helms can also be used, but they run a similar risk that the breastplate holy 
  symbols do.  Anything placed on a helm should either add to the safety of the wearer or break off with ease.  Otherwise, 
  some enemy is going to grab the priest by his helmet holy symbol and fling him around, or at least unhelm him. 
   
  There’s a lot of jewelry here, but the ideas should be nearly limitless.  In a society where multiple gods make 
  themselves known frequently, there are bound to be symbols and devices beyond imagining.  And gods can have multiple 
  symbols.  Don’t forget that historic religious figures may have their own symbols and warrior priests may carry a holy 
  symbol that marks them as members of a particular sect or order, rather than the more generic holy symbol of the god or 
  goddess as seen by the world at large. 
   
  We think we’ve done a decently broad gambit of materials here, so hopefully you’ll find something you can easily use 
  for your game.  But don’t let anything stop you.  Precious metals are easy; maybe the best holy symbols need to be made of 
  rarer materials.  After all, if a god is known to be a dragon slayer, a holy symbol carved from a dragon’s tooth / fang would 
  be better.  A forest god may want her priests to weave a garland of vines for a holy symbol.  If the vines turn brown, it may 
  not be so holy, so the seemingly cheap and easy holy symbol may be a frequent annoyance to gather the materials. 
   
  Description 
  Class 
  Com 
   Mats/ 
  Base  
   Cost at 
  Source 
  (sc)  
   Cost in 
  City (sc)  
   
  Notes 
   APP 
  Bracer, leather, w/ 3"d bronze medallion 
  (holy symbol) 
  Clothing 
   
       4.00 
      10.00 
      15.00  
  F 
  MET 
  Pitcher, porcelain, miniature (holds 2oz.) 
  (holy symbol) 
  Clothing 
   
          -   
       1.10 
       1.65  
   
  POT 
  Horn, hunting, ram’s, w/silver-plated 
  steel chain 
  Furnishing 
   
       8.40 
      60.00 
      90.00  
   
  HNT 
  Horn, hunting, ram’s, w/silver-plated 
  steel chain, w/ holy symbol carved into 
  horn (of an elk) 
  Furnishing 
   
       6.40 
      65.00 
      97.50  
  F 
  HNT 
  Statuette, alabaster, relief carving of 
  seahawk, 6"l x 3"t 
  Furnishing 
   
          -   
      21.50 
      32.25  
   
  MAS 
  Statuette, mahogany, winged dog (angel), 
  5" tall w/ 15" wingspan 
  Furnishing 
   
          -   
      28.00 
      42.00  
   
  WOD 
  Blessing of ship by Marina priest(ess) 
  Service 
   
          -   
          -   
      25.00  
   
  SAL 
  Astrolabe, brass with gold plating, 
  decorative, 3"d, holy symbol 
  Tool 
   
       0.50 
      12.00 
      18.00  
  F 
  GEM 
  Broach, cloud (sheepskin pillow ~4”) w/ 
  lightning bolt (faceted amber, 1.75”, ~28 
  carats) (holy symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
    240.00 
    400.00 
    600.00  
   
  GEM 
  
  18 
  Description 
  Class 
  Com 
   Mats/ 
  Base  
   Cost at 
  Source 
  (sc)  
   Cost in 
  City (sc)  
   
  Notes 
   APP 
  Broach, colored glass on steel pin, 
  “torch”: brown handle with yellow and 
  orange “flames” 
  Valuable 
   
          -   
       7.50 
      11.25  
   
  GLS 
  Necklace, cable, gold (0.045"), 18" 
  Valuable 
   
      34.60 
      54.70 
      82.05  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, cable, gold (0.07"), 18" 
  Valuable 
   
      77.15 
    118.50 
    177.75  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, cable, silver (0.045"), 18" 
  Valuable 
   
       1.90 
       5.20 
       7.80  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, cable, silver (0.07"), 18" 
  Valuable 
   
       4.20 
       8.70 
      13.05  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, cable, steel (0.045"), 18" 
  Valuable 
   
       0.16 
       2.40 
       3.60  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, cable, steel (0.07"), 18" 
  Valuable 
   
       0.35 
       2.60 
       3.90  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, chain, gold, 18"/280 links, 
  <1oz. 
  Valuable 
   
       6.00 
      31.00 
      46.50  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, chain, gold, 18"/92 links, 
  ~4oz. 
  Valuable 
   
      26.30 
      46.50 
      69.75  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, chain, silver, 18"/280 links, 
  ½oz. 
  Valuable 
   
       0.30 
      19.00 
      28.50  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, chain, silver, 18"/92 links, 2oz. 
  Valuable 
   
       1.40 
       8.30 
      12.45  
   
  GEM 
  Necklace, chain, steel, 18"/92 links, 
  ~2oz. 
  Valuable 
   
       0.14 
       5.80 
       8.70  
   
  GEM 
  Pendant, bronze, lightning bolt (holy 
  symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       2.00 
       4.20 
       6.30  
   
  MET 
  Pendant, carved oak, tree-man (holy 
  symbol) 
  Valuable 
  c 
          -   
       6.00 
       7.98  
   
  WOD 
  Pendant, copper, flying fish (holy 
  symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       1.60 
       3.76 
       5.64  
   
  MET 
  Pendant, crystal, hollow sphere (holy 
  symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       0.10 
       8.00 
      12.00  
   
  GLS 
  Pendant, silver, angel wings, 3" wide 
  (holy symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       5.30 
       8.50 
      12.75  
  F 
  GEM 
  Pendant, silver, bow (holy symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       3.00 
       5.20 
       7.80  
   
  GEM 
  Pendant, silver, heart, three dimensional 
  (holy symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       8.00 
      10.80 
      16.20  
   
  GEM 
  Pendant, silver, horse's head, 3"d (holy 
  symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
      11.00 
      13.80 
      20.70  
   
  GEM 
  Pendant, silver, shield&spear (holy 
  symbol 
  Valuable 
   
       6.00 
       9.50 
      14.25  
   
  GEM 
  Pendant, steel, sword, 3" long (holy 
  symbol) 
  Valuable 
   
       0.20 
       2.00 
       3.00  
   
  MET 
   
  Notes: 
  Note F: Fancy - This item has some manner of artwork or other fancy embellishment that considerably increases its value.  
  The price shown factors this into the costs. 
  Mats/Base:  cost if sold as raw materials.  Ignores any craftsmanship of the item. 
   
   
   
  
  19 
   
  NEWS OF FLETNERN 
   
   
  Just putting some of the events discussed in this 
  book into context for you.  We’re big believers that time 
  lines make history far easier to understand.  Here’s the 
  link to timeline so you can fit some of these events into 
  the world as a whole. 
   
  593P 
  Order of the Divine Rampart founded 
  610P 
  Warriors of the Faith (Cult of Horroag) founded 
  645P 
  Second cathedral of Horroag built in Villai 
  652P 
  Manoto 1:  The Avatar of Manoto is born in 
  Helatia 
  658P 
  The war god Manoto expects the holy war to 
  begin.  He hopes to stall the most important 
  battles until his avatar is fully grown. 
  661P 
  Avatar should be “fully grown”.  Up to this 
  point, the priests and the faithful will be 
  standing post to protect him from any harm.  
  The 
  point 
  will 
  come 
  when 
  the 
  god 
  communicates to the priests that the avatar is 
  ready. 
   
   
  So what year is it now?  Well, that’s up to you!  
  The play testers at Board Enterprises are currently 
  playing in 655P, and some comments may slip through 
  implying that this is the “true” or current date.  But it 
  doesn’t matter what we’re doing, only what works for 
  you! 
   
  The Priestess Twists and Turns 
   
  Not everyone believes that this is the avatar of 
  Manoto.  Several conspiracy theories and motivations 
  have developed in Helatia and around the world.  (Yes, 
  the birth of an avatar of a major god is news around the 
  world.)  Here are three “truths” that game masters should 
  choose between: 
  1. She’s telling the truth, and it’s all real.  The god 
  of war took physical form, was with the 
  priestess, and fathered this child with her.  The 
  avatar is half god and will be able to wield 
  divine powers at some point.  Most of this book 
  assumes this to be the truth. 
  2. She’s lying.  She found herself pregnant, and 
  due to embarrassment or in order to save her 
  career, she decided to lie about the child’s 
  father.  She had gotten her “job” due to her 
  looks and had attracted the wrong attention 
  from someone in power.  In this scenario, she is 
  likely attempting to protect him as well.  Expect 
  the allied churches to back the “avatar” at first, 
  but as time goes on, they will seek to distance 
  themselves, which may not be easy to do. 
  3. She thinks she’s telling the truth.  In this 
  scenario, a being of great power (we’re 
  assuming a titan) transformed himself into the 
  image of the god Manoto and fathered the child 
  with her.  She was visited by an 8’ tall man who 
  looked exactly like the statue on the top of the 
  temple, so she had every reason to believe that 
  he was her god.  This scenario starts to get very 
  odd, because she can pass any form of magical 
  truth detection, because she is not lying; she 
  believes what she is saying.  However, since the 
  child is not divine, there will be issues.  But the 
  child will still grow to the super-human aspects 
  that will cause most folks to believe he is an 
  avatar of their war god.  Even the priests will 
  have a difficult time telling a half-titan from a 
  half-god. 
   
   
  But what are the motivations and nuances to this?  
  These points can be used with multiple “truths”, 
  especially because no matter what the truth is in your 
  world, some will believe and some will not. 
   
  Manoto is putting out that he accepts the child, 
  but those trying to interpret the signs and omens 
  imply that he is adopting not creating. 
  o 
  This 
  could 
  be 
  because 
  he 
  is 
  embarrassed about his choice of 
  mother (beauty over prowess) 
  o 
  This could be because he does not 
  want to completely show his hand.  He 
  is expecting a holy war and is trying to 
  stack the deck in his favor before it 
  actually kicks off, but does not want to 
  entirely show his hand. 
  o 
  This could be because the child really 
  was the child of a titan, but Manoto is 
  adopting the child as his own.  He will 
  support the child, but the child will 
  never be divine. 
   
  The whole thing was about money.  As soon as 
  the avatar was announced (before he was born), 
  donations have been pouring into the temples of 
  Manoto at such a pace that other churches have 
  been slighted.  Since the birth, this has only 
  increased.  Whether it is the mother of the 
  avatar or the entire organization of Manoto’s 
  priesthood, the whole thing is a scam. 
   
  The huge “baby” they presented was actually 
  the child of a giant.  But even that wasn’t 
  enough for them, so they have been substituting 
  different children (typically giant children) to 
  pretend that the child is growing at such an 
  alarming rate. 
   
  They have brought in the greatest weapons 
  masters in the world to train the child (true), but 
  he still remains a clumsy fool who can barely 
  
  20 
  hold a sword (false).  {Despite his height, trying 
  to train a three year old to fight is a difficult 
  task.  Though the avatar seems to be taking to 
  weapons training fairly well (especially around 
  and after his fifth birthday), not much should be 
  expected from a three or four year old, even if 
  he is an avatar.} 
   
  Rather than admit to the minor scandal of one of 
  their “fighting” priestesses getting herself 
  pregnant, the entire Helatia Manoto religion has 
  decided to try and pass off this enormous lie.  
  Boy are they going to be embarrassed when this 
  lie is proven wrong. 
   
  Expect the avatar to be assassinated before he 
  achieves adulthood. 
  o 
  Either the avatar is a fake, and they will 
  kill him before that can be revealed 
  o 
  or he is the true avatar, but Manoto’s 
  enemies will do anything they can to 
  prevent him from achieving his full 
  powers. 
   
  The avatar was moved out of the main 
  cathedral, because there were concerns that he 
  was beginning to manifest his powers and may 
  have been causing minor earthquakes.  They 
  have moved him to a villa where the walls and 
  ceilings have been strengthened, just in case. 
   
  Prophets and Prophecies 
   
  Viesoaleedes is a divine creature of some manner, 
  but as to whether it is a god or elemental, no one seems 
  to know.  It is most commonly described as a “vaporous 
  pit” which many wrongly translate as a lava pit.  More 
  correct might be to say it is a boiling pool of yellow and 
  orange mass.  (you can see why people prefer to just say 
  “lava”.) 
   
  In some manner Viesoaleedes is connected to the 
  core of the planet, and this connection allows it to know 
  what is going on in the world, now, in the past and in the 
  near future.  As such Viesoaleedes is the “god” of 
  prophecy.  “Her” followers contact her by performing the 
  proper rituals at volcanoes and sacrificing certain rare 
  metals.  “She” is referred to as female despite being 
  neither sex because she has been known to spawn “lava 
  elementals”.  Thus she is seen as a “mother”. 
   
  Viesoaleedes grants visions of different times to her 
  followers.  Many believe that they are simply breathing 
  in dangerous gases from the volcanoes and hallucinating, 
  but they are convinced these visions are divine in origin.  
  One such priest / follower was Furytaer Dour.  Furytaer 
  has had many experiences with his patron and received 
  many visions.  He has written down these revelations and 
  seeks to prove that Viesoaleedes is a true god of 
  prophecy. 
   
  One of Furytaer’s visions showed the son of 
  Manoto coming to live in Helatia.  He wrote down 
  everything he could remember about the vision (which 
  was not much) and sent the letter to a governmental 
  official.  The official ignored the “crack pot”, but as it 
  was a letter delivered to him at his office, the official’s 
  staff catalogued the receipt of the letter.  After the 
  avatar’s birth, Furytaer sent another letter and began 
  preaching on street corners that Viesoaleedes had given 
  him this vision five years before the avatar was born.  
  After Furytaer was jailed for disturbing the peace, the 
  official and his staff tracked down the original letter and 
  saw that indeed, he had predicted the avatar’s birth five 
  years earlier. 
   
  Those who believe in the avatar see this as proof - 
  another god prophesied the coming of the avatar.  Others 
  are more skeptical.  Both the re-discovery of the letter 
  after the birth of the avatar and the fact that even a blind 
  squirrel finds a nut once in a while are used to discredit 
  both the avatar and Furytaer.  Plus Furytaer is a kook.  
  He’s just not the sort of person that inspires people to 
  believe his ramblings.  Further, after being released from 
  prison, Furytaer has disappeared.  No one knows where 
  to find him.  His jailors think he was saying something 
  about assassins coming for him, but they didn’t think 
  anything about it.  Without the “prophet” around to 
  question, his case is weaker. 
   
  The story of Furytaer and his visions will be part of 
  the dialog after the avatar is born.  Everyone seems to 
  have an opinion, but none of them need to be based on 
  facts nor even be consistent.  Still, it makes for a good 
  story and a lively debate, so it keeps coming up in 
  taverns and inns. 
   
  News from the battle fields 
   
  Here’s a “news” story that will catch the attention 
  of the bards and other travelling story tellers.  Each will 
  put his own spin on it, but it will become a myth or 
  documented fact, depending on who is listening.  
  Something to entertain the travelers as they settle into an 
  inn for a long night’s rest: 
   
   
  The enemy was closing in fast on a group of 
  soldiers who were desperately trying to evacuate 
  civilians, but kept getting fouled up by bad (overly 
  muddy) roads and civilians who are wounded or infirm.  
  Most importantly, there was an officer amongst the 
  retreating soldiers who knew some battle plans, 
  including how a certain cache of weapons was being 
  delivered to his side’s HQ.  Had he been captured by the 
  enemy and tortured to reveal this information, it would 
  have been a serious blow to his side’s efforts. 
   
  Just as the soldiers were about to surrender as the 
  enemy arrows begin to fall around them while pushing 
  wagons through the mud, a platoon of immaculately 
  uniformed allies showed up marching towards the enemy 
  forces.  There was no way this unit could have marched 
  here in this rain and mud and look that good, it just was 
  
  21 
  not possible.  Yet, here they were, and they were 
  marching straight towards the enemy. 
   
  The enemy begin to truly rain down arrow volleys, 
  but the new squad used a turtle formation to advance and 
  the arrows were unable to hit and kill any of them.  
  About 20 yards from the enemy, this turtle formation 
  broke and they all ran into hiding behind trees and small 
  hills.  The enemy saw them and put away their bows to 
  ready for a charge, but then was surprised by this odd 
  change of tactics and they now also had to scamper off 
  into the trees and hillocks seeking out the new squad.  
  But they couldn’t find them.  Assumedly this new enemy 
  had retreated, but without being seen, which seems 
  impossible. 
   
  Was this some masterful illusion cast by one of the 
  wounded who then died on the road to the next fort?  
  Were these angels who were unwilling to fight mortals 
  for fear of escalating the war further?  Were they some 
  mercenary band who really was this good at approaching 
  a battle, but then melting away into the countryside?  No 
  one really knows.  But in the time it took the enemy to 
  attack the new squad, prepare for melee combat and then 
  search the area for them, the retreating soldiers, the 
  wounded and the officer all escaped. 
   
  Spouts Spotted 
   
  Priests of the sea goddess Marina are commonly 
  trained in weather magic.  Some others are trained in 
  elemental magic, but all of them are trained in 
  navigation.  This is because they often serve as 
  navigators on ships crossing the seas.  Their spells and 
  prayers help to guide the boats quickly and more 
  importantly safely across open stretches of water. 
   
  For those ships not carrying a navigator priest, a 
  blessing is performed before the ship leaves port.  Some 
  captains see this as an additional tax, but it legally must 
  be performed.  In Scaret, it is mainly a formality, but in 
  Helatia the priest performing the blessing expects to be 
  invited on board so he can see the charts and plans and 
  possibly advise as to dangers that the captain should 
  avoid.  Shunning the priest is disrespectful, but not 
  enough to get more than a disagreeable grunt from the 
  priest as he goes off to find someone more willing to 
  accept his valuable advice. 
   
  So with blessings being performed and paid for, it 
  is not too surprising that when water spouts began 
  showing up in the shipping lanes, captains began to get 
  upset.  Certainly weather patterns occur, and Marina 
  cannot be held accountable for every wave or cloud, but 
  an overabundance of water spouts concentrated in one 
  area is enough tocause concern and even a little anger. 
   
  There is good cause for concern.  Each one of the 
  water spouts spotted in the area marks the arrival of a 
  powerful water elemental.  These elementals have come 
  to search for the long lost tomb of Trowbrell.  Trowbrell 
  was an “ancient spirit”, one of the “elder gods” who 
  ruled the world before the current gods came and put 
  them down.  These elder gods were extremely powerful 
  and ruled the various races by fear, where the current 
  gods work with the mortals. 
   
  Thousands of years ago, Marina and her siblings 
  trapped Trowbrell in a deep water trench, and he remains 
  there to this day.  His prison is not weakening, and these 
  elementals stand little chance of reversing what the gods 
  did.  If the elementals could free Trowbrell, he would 
  have freed himself centuries ago. 
   
  In any case, these elementals are enemies of 
  Marina’s and causing all sorts of trouble.  Think of them 
  as water demons if you must.  A single water spout can 
  easily sink a standard merchant ship or whaling vessel.  
  While Marina’s priests are using their magic to avoid the 
  spouts, not every ship has one of her priests, and not 
  every one of her priests is powerful enough to anticipate 
  the spouts early enough to avoid them.  (Assume none of 
  the priests are powerful enough to defeat these 
  elementals.) 
   
  If one of these water spouts were to be encountered 
  by a sailing ship on the open sea, it would take a nearly 
  miraculous amount of magic to offset the water spout.  
  Failing this (and all but the most extreme adventuring 
  parties should fail this), the ship could try to out run the 
  water spout.  As the spout is not there to attack ships, this 
  might be possible, but if the ship attracts the water 
  spout’s attention, it will attack out of spite.  An attack 
  from a water spout should overturn the ship simply by 
  coming into contact with it.  As it touches one side of the 
  ship, the force upwards will overturn the ship.  After the 
  ship flips on its side, the water spout will change 
  direction and wander off, leaving the sailors and 
  passengers to drown or attempt to survive in the middle 
  of the ocean. 
   
  Things that would attract the attention of the water 
  spout include:  being too close to it, less than a half mile; 
  use of powerful magics, especially if they are elemental 
  in nature; powerful prayers to “good” gods, or attempts 
  to communicate with the elemental of the water spout. 
   
  The elementals will be searching the bottom of the 
  sea.  The water spouts are just a manifestation of the 
  powerful elemental being there.  There are likely 10-12 
  water spouts in a very large section of the ocean, so 
  while any one ship would be unlikely to encounter one, 
  some ships will encounter them, and it will be obvious to 
  anyone putting the pieces of the puzzle together that 
  there is more than one out there. 
   
  Should anyone determine that the water spouts are 
  searching for Trowbrell, the religious leaders of the 
  region will panic.  Releasing Trowbrell would be 
  monumentally bad - destroy entire port cities kind of 
  bad.  Marina is confident that Trowbrell is firmly 
  contained and will not respond well to the pleas and cries 
  of her people.  She may take it as a lack of faith in her. 
  
  22 
   
   
  THE GOOD LIFE 
  Religious Charms 
   
   
  According to the customs and traditions of the 
  religions followed in Helatia, money is a thing of mortal 
  governments and has no place involved in religious 
  ceremonies.  For this reason, when members of a church 
  or temple wish to donate to their religious institution, 
  they must go and get a charm, instead of just throwing 
  coins into a box, basket or plate. 
   
  A charm is a small token, often times similar in size 
  and weight to a coin, but pressed with a religious image 
  on it.  Many sizes and shapes are used but most often 
  they are crafted to weigh exact multiples of the local 
  coins.  This way, if a charm is made of silver and weighs 
  exactly what a silver coin does, then it is pretty easy to 
  figure out what the charm will cost. 
   
  Obviously, charms can be crafted from any metal, 
  but as with coins are most typically copper, silver or 
  gold.  In some cases, such as the war god Manoto, they 
  are also struck from iron or steel.  By giving these tokens 
  or charms, the faithful can donate to the church without 
  donating mortal coins.   
   
  What the faithful don’t get involved in is that after 
  services, one of the clergy will bring the charms back to 
  the charms dealers and sell/exchange them for coinage.  
  The charms dealers pay a price similar to the base metal 
  value and thus are making a profit for striking the 
  charms.  This is very similar to how governments 
  actually make money by selling coinage.  (Don’t think 
  about modern pennies or nickels though!)  Because the 
  charms dealers are actually reselling these same charms 
  over and over again, they can make a good living having 
  only struck the series of charms once. 
   
  Charms are crafted specifically for certain divinities 
  or religions.  They most often show images representing 
  the gods or some important aspect.  Some of these 
  charms can be quite large, including one pound silver 
  bars that have been struck with the image of a saint or of 
  the cathedral itself.  There will be multiple charms 
  dealers, each with his own designs.  The faithful will go 
  to the dealers whose designs they like, thus creating 
  competition to make the best looking charms.  Charms 
  dealers tend to cluster around the cathedral areas of the 
  city.  Some sell far more than just charms, offering live 
  animals and other sacrifices as the religions consider 
  appropriate. 
   
  Charms may be cast (one side) or stamped (double 
  sided).  Even when they are the same weight as the local 
  coins, they may be of a different shape.  This is 
  commonly seen in round coins and square or diamond 
  shaped charms.  Weight comparisons are commonly easy 
  math numbers, such as equal to five silver coins or equal 
  to twenty copper coins.  But if the region has a 
  “standard” wage, the most common charms will be 
  whatever is considered the proper offering for folks 
  making that wage.  For example, if the standard wage is 
  10sc per day, the week is ten days long (so 100sc per 
  week), and the standard tithe is 5%, then 5sc charms are 
  going to be the most common.  This is often to gently (or 
  not so gently) nudge the members of the church to 
  contribute what is “right”. 
   
  Most charms are cast into artistically designed 
  molds, though some are hammered for images on both 
  sides.  Unlike coins, though the images should be 
  beautiful, they do not have to be identical.  This allows 
  the charm mold makers more freedom of expression than 
  would be seen in a coin mold maker. 
   
  To the non-faithful, this may seem like a silly waste 
  of energy - casting their own religious “coins” instead of 
  simply using the one provided by the government, but to 
  the faithful, mortal coinage is an affront to the gods.  
  Mortal coinage has a value set by the local government, 
  and the mortal government should not be allowed to 
  dictate anything to the gods and their temples, not even 
  the value of the offerings that their people bring in. 
   
  There is a bit of a racket here with the trading of the 
  charms back to the charms dealers by the priests and 
  clergies.  This is most often done at the base metal value 
  of the charms, which in some ways negates the mortals 
  setting “limits” on the gods, but most of the charms 
  merchants either donate large sums to the churches or 
  they offer better than required exchange rates.  They can 
  typically afford to do this. 
   
  One difference in the charm makers business is 
  those charms that are not intended as donations.  Some of 
  the charms they make are intended to be kept by the 
  buyer and not sacrificed at the temple.  These will cost 
  far more than their coinage weight, as the charm maker 
  will need to legitimately cover the costs of mold making 
  and casting of each charm.  If these are returned to the 
  charms maker, he should give a much better rate to the 
  church. 
   
  These charms are sometimes referred to as “home 
  charms”.  They can take a similar form to regular ones, 
  but more often they will have a hole that allows them to 
  be worn on a chain around the neck, much like a holy 
  symbol.  Others might be small statuettes or figurines 
  that are intended to be displayed at the home.  Most 
  buyers will understand the difference in the prices, and 
  only buy the home charms for themselves and not for 
  sacrifices, but there are times when someone wants to 
  show off and will carry in a three pound silver statue to 
  donate to the church. 
   
  
  23 
  MONSTERS AND OTHER MENACES 
  Characters with Character 
   
  Brother Aurius of Manoto 
   
  Aurius is a warrior priest of Manoto in Helatia.  
  One of the top warrior priests, he was a devoted follower 
  of the long sword.  He has been practicing lately with a 
  scythe.  It is a huge unwieldy thing.  Furthermore, he 
  seems to be practicing sweep decapitations with the 
  scythe.  This is extremely odd, especially since he seems 
  to be doing it covertly, such as only very early in the 
  morning or in closed practice rooms.  Many of the other 
  warrior priests and priestesses have noticed this odd 
  behavior. 
   
  About 70 years ago, a group of followers of 
  Manoto were exploring the northern tundra when they 
  heard the sounds of battle.  They hurried to investigate 
  and discovered a Lunderhonni (one of the goddess 
  Shade’s angels of death) locked in battle with a horrible 
  creature.  The creature was said to be a cross between a 
  killer whale and a crocodile.  The Lunderhonni drove the 
  creature beneath the ice, and the explorers hurried to aid 
  her.  She smiled as she “died” and faded away.  Through 
  she left the world, she left her weapon behind, an 
  enchanted scythe.  Scholars suppose that she was either 
  rewarding the explorers for trying to help her or trying to 
  aid them should the beast return.  They took the scythe 
  and hurried back to Helatia.  Not knowing what to do 
  with a divine weapon, they gave it to the temple of 
  Manoto.  It did later slip out that the Temple of Manoto 
  had a Lunderhonni’s weapon, but the priests of Manoto 
  denied the rumor and the priests of Shade were forced to 
  concede that they had no proof.  (The current priests of 
  Shade rely on magic, so they are not very concerned, but 
  they would be furious if they discovered that their 
  “allies” have such an important religious artifact.)   
   
  Aurius is training to use the weapon.  The High 
  Priest of Manoto believes that the avatar is going to lead 
  the priests on a crusade, and he wants to use every trick 
  he has.  Aurius was considered the best of the warrior 
  priests and the best suited for changing weapons.  The 
  scythe he practices with is an exact duplicate (to his 
  specifications) of the Lunderhonni’s weapon, which has 
  not seen the light of day in 70 years. 
   
  Clearly, Shade is aware that the scythe is in the 
  hands of the priests of Manoto, but the priests of Shade 
  are not.  Shade’s priests will be highly upset with the 
  priests of Manoto when they find out.  Shade is above 
  that.  She feels the weapon is where it will be used most 
  effectively. 
   
  GM Only 
   
  The scythe acts as though it is enchanted with 
  sharpness-vorpal, animated parry (+30), and soul 
  sucking.  Any soul sucked will be considered sacrificed 
  to Shade.  (This is a standard soul suck and not a funnel.) 
   
  Uzzinnulla, High Priest of Manoto 
   
  Uzzinnulla is the High Priest of Manoto at the 
  cathedral of Constance of Fortitude in Helatia.  Known 
  as Uzzi amongst his friends, and the children who cannot 
  pronounce his name, he is both the leader of the 
  congregation and the clergy.  One of the older high 
  priests in Helatia, Uzzi was 62 when the avatar was born.  
  He had been expected to retire and spend his remaining 
  years in peace with his wife, but with the activity and 
  controversy around the birth of the avatar, he has been 
  forced to stay on rather than leave the running of the 
  church to a younger, newer high priest. 
   
  Uzzi joined the clergy in his teens and has been in 
  the cathedral seemingly his whole life.  In the early days, 
  he was trained as a spearman and went on to be a 
  training officer.  Being a spearman, he was training lay 
  members of the congregation and built relationships with 
  an enormous number of soldiers.  After about a decade as 
  a training officer, Uzzi was also trained to train soldiers 
  on artillery weapons, especially ballistaes.  These are not 
  common weapons within Helatia, but some of the naval 
  vessels are equipped with them. 
   
  Uzzi has been married to Aggliki for 38 years.  She 
  was a bright scribe, but didn’t show much promise.  The 
  two have turned out to be fantastic partners, as Aggliki 
  has raised their five children and served as the high 
  priest’s wife for all social functions.  Uzzi is at his root a 
  scholar.  Despite years spent training soldiers, he has 
  always taken an intellectual, strategic approach to his 
  training methods.  This has allowed him to walk a thin 
  line between the rough and tumble soldiers in his 
  congregation and the philosophical politicians and clergy 
  of Helatia. 
   
  Perhaps most importantly, he has been able to 
  communicate the facts and stories about the avatar in 
  such a way that more people have been able to believe in 
  the avatar.  Unfortunately, this has led to a huge inflow 
  of donations to the religion and sacrifices to Manoto.  
  With all the money involved, many have accused Uzzi of 
  making the whole thing up, but it is far more the result of 
  his skilled communications.  He also brought the major 
  religions of Helatia together early on in hopes of 
  smoothing any jealousy or other issues. 
   
  The Uzzi of today is a wise and seasoned leader of 
  his people.  He does not have a warrior’s build, being 
  slighter in build.  This doesn’t mean he cannot fight, but 
  he is not physically suited for it.  If a war were to start, 
  he would be better behind a ballistae, than a spear.  This 
  doesn’t mean he is useless.  He is a charismatic and well-
  loved leader, both in military and spiritual matters.  His 
  counsel is sought by the other religious leaders in the city 
  and some Senators 
  
  24 
   
  CHURCH BELLS 
   
   
  Helatia is a cosmopolitan city.  With its sea port 
  and the travelers it brings, just about any set of beliefs 
  can be found in the city.  With its liberal attitudes 
  towards religion, nearly any religion is allowed within 
  the city.  They have even tried to make accommodations 
  for religions with human sacrifices, while barring the 
  human sacrifices, of course. 
   
  Manoto is seen as the patron god of the city.  He is 
  believed to have protected and inspired the earliest 
  settlers as they sought to build the city centuries ago.  
  But while many would expect this to cause them to be 
  aggressive or violent towards their neighbors, nothing 
  could be further from the truth.  Manoto, at least as he is 
  seen by the people of Helatia, is a defensive war god.  In 
  many ways Helatia can be seen as similar to our Athens, 
  with Athena (a war goddess) as their patron. 
   
  The most common religion of Manoto practiced in 
  Helatia is the Constance of Fortitude (or most commonly 
  Constance).  Manoto is seen as having four aspects:  the 
  powers of the individual, team-work, tactics, and 
  defense.  Constance focuses on all four of these aspects, 
  though not all Manoto religions do. 
   
  It is the cathedral of the Constance religion that 
  received the avatar.  To most of its members, this is 
  proof that their religion is the true religion of Manoto 
  and any others are faulty in some way.  This attitude 
  does not go over very well with followers of those other 
  religions, but so far the only conflicts have been minor 
  brawls in taverns. 
   
  The cathedral of Constance is only one of the 
  churches following this specific religion in the city.  
  Most of the priests at these other churches were trained 
  at the cathedral, so the practice of Constance in Helatia is 
  fairly uniform.  There have been efforts to spread their 
  brand of Constance across the continent and world, with 
  the cathedral in Helatia seen as the center of the global 
  religion.  These efforts have not yet been very fruitful, 
  though the avatar just might change that. 
   
  Not surprisingly, the soldiers of Helatia are 
  amongst the most devoted followers of Manoto, but 
  Helatia is not a military power, certainly not on the land.  
  While some of the sailors and naval officers do show 
  deference to Manoto, many of them follow Marina as 
  goddess of the seas. 
   
  The largest religion of Manoto outside of 
  Constance is Zanakta more commonly known as The 
  War Twins.  “Zanaktians” are more common outside the 
  city, in the more rural areas, though there are several 
  small Zanakta churches inside Helatia as well.  In the 
  Zanakta religion, both Manoto and his sister the goddess 
  Shade are seen as war gods.  This goes back to the 
  legends of the beginnings of the Dinsthain pantheon 
  when Brakin (king of the gods and god of life and 
  justice) brought Manoto and Shade into being in order to 
  help him defeat the evil elder spirits (the Great War of 
  the Gods).  While other religions see Shade as the 
  goddess of death, the Zanaktians believe these other 
  religions are misunderstanding her place in the cosmos.  
  Though she is a bringer of death (as a war goddess), she 
  is not the goddess of death.  They believe that death, 
  being the absence of life, has no gods.  How can there be 
  gods to control an aspect of life where there is no life?  
  Though often seen as a backward, rural / provincial 
  religion, Zanakta is accepted by most in the region as a 
  valid religion. 
   
  In these pantheon religions, mortals often attempt 
  to shape the gods into “boxes” that they can understand. 
  One of these devices to better understand the gods is the 
  use of families.  Manoto is seen by most theologians as 
  having two sons:  Hoam and Quimgrow.  Most of the 
  legends imply that these two were created by Manoto in 
  order to become his smiths and armorers.  As they grew 
  into their own, neither wanted to serve as weapon maker 
  to their father, and they both diverted from his original 
  wishes - Hoam to become god of craftsmen and 
  Quimgrow to become god of miners.  Different religions 
  treat Manoto’s reaction to this differently with some 
  believing that he supported their being their own gods 
  and some believing that he retains bitterness over the 
  “betrayal” of his sons. 
   
  However, more commonly found in Constance 
  churches and cathedrals are shrines to “members of 
  Manoto’s family” that are not (by theologian standards) 
  directly related to him.  For example, in the cathedral in 
  Helatia, there are “sacred alcoves”, 10’ across and 4’ 
  deep.  Each holds a 6’ statue of one of the “related” gods, 
  such as Fissik (god of knights), Tackim (god of strategy), 
  and Tomskin (god of cavalry soldiers).  Much smaller 
  
  25 
  “mini-shrines” to other gods can be found around the 
  cathedral. 
   
  While the priests may not preach and teach the 
  wrong relationships within their own religion, they do 
  very little to prevent their followers from believing these 
  families exist.  It is too often easier to link the gods of 
  strategy and cavalry to the war god than to try and link 
  the gods of craftsmen and miners.  Difficult to 
  understand religions are difficult to spread, while easy 
  religions do seem to catch on far faster. 
   
   
  Another sect of warrior monks is the Champions of 
  St. Sylvado.  Slyvado is considered a saint because his 
  followers believe that Manoto sent angels to encourage 
  him to start the order as well as guiding him after he 
  began the work of his god.  Slyvado had been a 
  Constance priest, but he was called to form a community 
  of warrior priests that could serve as a militia or military 
  unit for places that lacked their own. 
   
  The order was never intended to be restricted to 
  only those who took the oath of brotherhood, but over 
  the years, it became clear that the order could train lay 
  people, but could not truly include those who were not 
  fully devoted to the Champions in their ranks.  The 
  “Oath of Brotherhood” is now required of all who are to 
  be ordained into the order, but is in reality several 
  promises tied together.  Amongst the oaths included is 
  one in which the brother renounces his family ties in 
  favor of the brotherhood within the order. 
   
  This oath has had far broader ramifications.  
  Originally only intended to strengthen the ties of 
  brotherhood, this oath has been analyzed by the courts of 
  Helatia.  By renouncing one’s family, the Champion 
  gives up any lands and any inheritance.  Many 
  Champions over the years have used this to remove 
  themselves from any family issues where there could 
  have been problems determining the line of succession.  
  Additionally, bastards have used the order to both gain a 
  family that isn’t hostile to them and remove themselves 
  from contention with more legitimate heirs.  For this 
  reason, the order has been referred to as the Holy 
  Bastards, but never by the people they have helped. 
   
  The Champions of St. Sylvado are a well-armed 
  and well trained group of crusaders, always willing to 
  help in the rural regions.  Unlike the Ramparters, the 
  Champions tend to come and help, but then return to 
  their monasteries, where the Ramparters come early and 
  stay.  The Champions will wear heavy armors, at least 
  chain mail.  Everyone in the order is trained to fight, 
  though some of them are primarily smiths or other 
  craftsmen instead of primarily being warrior priests.  
  Like many of the others discussed here, they are shield 
  users, but they do not typically favor one weapon over 
  another.  This works because they do not fight in 
  formations. 
   
  There are currently four monasteries in the order, 
  the first and primary one being in the hills west of 
  Helatia.  They live a communal life-style, what we might 
  today call cenobitic monasticism.  Most of their money 
  comes from donations, either by those who like having 
  the monks pray for them or from those who were saved 
  by their activities in the past. 
   
   
  Other Manoto related religions include The Long 
  Trail.  Since practitioners often refer to themselves and 
  each other as “travelers” they are sometimes called the 
  Travelers of the Long Trail.  This religion praises both 
  Manoto and the god of travelers Ixaricks.  These 
  travelers are the soldiers and teamsters who travel the 
  trade routes, typically with the major caravans.  As they 
  are away from home for such long periods of time, the 
  religious community comes together to support each 
  other and make sure the families have what they need.  
  This is a smaller religion, but the members of each 
  church community are fiercely loyal to each other.  They 
  accept faithful from other areas quickly, and the Long 
  Trail churches may be the only way the family of a 
  teamster new to town may be able to survive in the new 
  location. 
   
   
  One of the smaller congregations that still makes its 
  presence known is the St. Bevelius Demon Hunters.  
  Oddly, members of the Demon Hunters come from both 
  Constance and Zanakta, and they do not seem to feel that 
  their religions are in any way at odds. 
   
  The Demon Hunters believe that any magic that has 
  to do with conjuring is demonic.  They believe every 
  conjured creature is coming straight out of hell, and no 
  matter what the intentions of the mage who summons the 
  creature, allowing it to walk the mortal planes is 
  allowing evil out of hell.  For this reason, they have a 
  crusade to wipe all knowledge of conjuring from the 
  planet.  In order to do this, they will frequently burn any 
  books of conjuring they come across, though the core 
  sect based in Helatia is stockpiling these records in the 
  vaults beneath their church.  They believe that they may 
  be able to study these texts in order to better understand 
  how to attack conjurers and conjuring in general. 
   
  The St. Bevelius’ Demon Hunters have several 
  small chapters in the region, but they often need to meet 
  in other religions’ churches (nearly always Manoto’s 
  churches).  They have made themselves known by their 
  frequent attacks on temples dedicated to the god of 
  magic.  While they claim to have no problems with the 
  sorcerers of these temples, the sorcerers typically side 
  with the conjurers and as allies of evil, the sorcerers need 
  to be taken out as well. 
   
  Not much is known about St. Bevelius other than 
  the fact that he killed a powerful demon with a “blessed” 
  spear.  He did not found the sect, but has been chosen as 
  their hero. 
  
  26 
   
  BY THE NUMBERS 
   
   
  Order of the Divine Rampart 
   
  The Ramparters are a holy order of warriors 
  dedicated to the main war god of the continent.  As such, 
  they need to be portrayed as warrior priests.  But how do 
  you do that? 
   
  In that old rules game, I like these guys as clerics.  
  Heavy armor, decent weapons (maces, flails, morning 
  star, etc.), and a couple of spells.  I really like that.  They 
  are defensive fighters, who like to use shields and earth 
  works to defend villages against bandits, and sometimes 
  centaur bandits.  Give them a heal spell or two and some 
  other defensive spell, and they should work pretty well.
   
  I like the same thing in LEGEND QUEST.  Load 
  these warrior priests up with armor, shield, and the trick 
  Aid.  At 5 points, Aid is very similar to the First Aid 
  skill, but there are a few differences.  Both will close a 
  bleeding wound.  Aid will return a point or two of Life’s 
  Blood, but with a casting fatigue.  First aid simply closes 
  the wound, adding no LB but requiring no fatigue to 
  perform (unless the character has already gone past their 
  combat turns towards exhaustion). 
   
  One of the big issues here is that if a Ramparter 
  follows the true mage role of Healer, they would be 
  affected by the magic and steel rules, making it much 
  harder for them to wear mundane iron and steel armor.  
  Chain mail would give them a -30% on all spells cast, 
  which seems far too heavy a penalty to deal with on a 
  regular basis.  The Aid trick is not affected by those 
  same rules, and therefore allows steel armor, shield and 
  weapons, as well as a tiny heal spell. 
   
  Whichever way they choose to go with healing, 
  they should show it off.  This is only a role-playing tip 
  and therefore not By the Numbers, but it is important.  
  Most commoners / peasants would interpret magical 
  healing as divine in origin, no matter what the rules of 
  your particular game are.  The fact that these guys can 
  heal magically would reinforce that their god is powerful 
  and present - an incredibly important demonstration 
  when trying to convert people to your religion.  So every 
  time a boy gets slightly injured while in classes or on the 
  rampart, a warrior priest should be healing him in front 
  of an audience. 
   
  There’s a reason we included the Shield Magic 
  trick in the optional rules - Because it is perfect for these 
  guys.  Just a touch of magic that can truly help out and 
  affect those numbers as seen in the Wet Behind the Ears. 
   
   
  CAMPAIGN STARTER KIT 
  The Ramparters of Piottopia 
   
   
  A Campaign Starter Kit intends be just what it says 
  - a full introduction to a new campaign or sub-campaign 
  that you can quickly use.  The point of a CSK is not to 
  hand you a series of modules with all the monster specs 
  and treasure detailed, but instead to give you the 
  background, the motivations, the setting, and the 
  characters so you can set things up yourself.  Oh, we’ll 
  give you ideas for the missions, but you’ll have to jot 
  down the numbers of coins and how hard the monsters 
  are to kill. 
   
  If that seems like a cop out, please understand that 
  we’re trying to keep this generic and you can’t be 
  generic when you’re constantly giving character stats.  
  Further, most GMs have their own style of play.  Some 
  like the monsters to be incredibly tough; some like there 
  to be huge numbers of lesser bad guys; some want to 
  keep the magic items at the barest minimum.  That’s 
  great!  This will still work for you! 
   
  Plot: 
   
  The Ramparters have begun one of their schools in 
  the town of Piottopia.  As always, they mixed teaching 
  the young men with building a rampart around the town.  
  The problem arises when the current priest of the town 
  begins to get jealous of the people moving towards the 
  Ramparters and away from his congregation. 
   
  In order to run off the new religion, this priest 
  decides he is going to kill the leader of the Ramparters.  
  But just killing him isn’t enough.  He wants to sacrifice 
  him on the altar the Ramparters recently set-up in order 
  to permanently prevent the Ramparters from attracting 
  the attention of their god. 
   
  Background: 
   
  The bad guy is Reverend Panos Constandus.  He 
  has been a priest of Laenta, Lady of the Hearth.  His 
  family has been the dominant family in the town and the 
  countryside.  Not only are they unwilling to abdicate 
  power, but they are likely the largest family around, 
  giving them quite a power base. 
   
  The issue grows from Panos’ approach to religion, 
  his and all religions in general.  As the third generation 
  of priests in Piottopia, he sees their religion as his 
  pathway to wealth.  The family has been subtly milking 
  the town for three generations.  Since the Ramparters 
  have come to town, many of their donations have been 
  diverted. 
   
  Piottopia is a fairly standard farm town.  The main 
  crops include wheat, grapes, olives and livestock (goats).  
  These are family farms, small but prosperous.  The land 
  
  27 
  is good, and there is ample rain from the nearby seas.  
  The summers are not as long as might be found in some 
  other regions, but they do allow for enough crops to be 
  grown.  Salt and spices (mint, cloves, and vinegar) are 
  the main preservatives. 
   
  In addition to the active violence against the 
  Ramparters, the Constandus Family is also spreading 
  stories about Manoto being an absentee god who doesn’t 
  care about his followers.  These stories will be told 
  during sermons, but also as “standard tavern talk”.  The 
  negative bend of the church services has further alienated 
  families who were starting to lean towards the 
  Ramparters, though of course the Constandus Family 
  refuses to believe that they are part of the reason people 
  are leaving their church. 
   
  Characters: 
   
  The easiest player characters could be either 
  Ramparters who came to town to help build the school 
  and rampart, or some of the kids who were being taught 
  at the school.  These could be warrior priests as we’ve 
  described them in Wet Behind the Ears.  They could also 
  be more traditional fighter / warrior types. 
   
  It is less likely to see a lot of magical types.  
  Depending on how you want to play the warrior priest 
  angle, there certainly could be religious spell casters, but 
  massive battle mages just don’t fit the campaign 
  properly.  This certainly leaves space for traveling 
  minstrels (typically spell singers, though sometimes 
  illusionists).  Other magical types could easily be 
  mentalists as Helatia produces the largest number of 
  telepaths in the world. 
   
  Roguish characters are more likely to lean towards 
  bandits, 
  highwaymen 
  and 
  other 
  “rural” 
  thieves.  
  Burglars, pickpockets and other more urban robbers may 
  have moved down from Helatia, but are likely to stand 
  out.  Some of the more sophisticated rogues, like jewel 
  thieves or forgers, really feel out of place in this 
  campaign, but conmen and gamblers just might be 
  passing through or laying low in Piottopia. 
   
  What else?  Any wilderness or frontier folks can 
  work.  Hunters, trackers, bounty hunters, and explorers 
  can make sense.  One of the biggest threats in the region 
  is the centaur warlords to the south, so anyone 
  specializing in battling centaurs or other “mounted” 
  warriors would be welcome. 
   
  Let’s go further out!  Trapsters who mine areas 
  with traps might be prefect against the centaurs.  Miners 
  and ditch diggers would have been attracted by the 
  rampart project.  Other builders and craftsmen might also 
  be attracted, seeing Piottopia as an up and coming town 
  that might be in need of their services. 
   
  What about non-humans?  This region is the most 
  cosmopolitan in the world.  Halflings are nearby, and 
  elves and dwarves are not unheard of.  Ogres and half-
  ogres are not entirely uncommon, but would likely be 
  seen suspiciously.  About a generation ago, an army with 
  many orcish soldiers was defeated in the area and the 
  deserters were numerous.  So were the offspring of some 
  of the raping and looting activities.  This means that 
  while they are not welcome, half-orcs are not 
  uncommon.  The Ramparters have brought many of these 
  half-orcs into their fold, finding them good warriors and 
  converts. 
   
  Missions: 
   
  The campaign starts with the Constandus Family 
  attempting to kidnap Brother Yanhus, the leader of the 
  Ramparters in town.  Brother Yanhus is a charismatic 
  and friendly man of about 35 years.  He served as a 
  soldier (with the Cuggouiss) before joining the Order 
  full-time.  He has begun to serve as a mentor to many of 
  the young men of the town, forming bonds with them 
  and earning their loyalty.  Panos wants him removed, 
  first by kidnapping, and later by sacrificing him. 
   
  Panos will not be involved in the actual kidnapping.  
  He will send six of his cousins to do the job.  Early in the 
  morning, when Brother Yanhus steps out of the 
  Ramparters’ barracks, they will put a grain sack over his 
  head and carry him off to a waiting wagon.  How the 
  player characters find out about the kidnapping can help 
  to justify why they are the ones involved in the posse to 
  attempt to rescue Yanhus. 
   
  If any of the PCs are Ramparters or being 
  trained by them, they may actually witness the 
  kidnapping by being awake early.  (Brother 
  Yanhus is always the first awake and out of the 
  barracks in the morning, so he was a predictable 
  target.)  If not, then some very young trainees 
  will likely be the witnesses. 
   
  If any of the PCs can track, they will be 
  summoned as quickly as possible in hopes that 
  they can track the wagon.  The wagon has 
  thinner wheels than most in this region, which 
  could increase the chances of tracking it along 
  country roads.  If need be, it may have rained a 
  bit last night, making the tracking even easier. 
   
  If any of the PCs are mentalists, they will be 
  summoned to attempt to contact Yanhus via 
  
  28 
  telepathy.  Even if the PCs are simply mage-
  types, they will be summoned because the locals 
  do not fully understand magic and will not 
  know what the mages are capable of.  (Yanhus 
  is knocked out shortly after being taken and is 
  not able to be contacted by telepathy.) 
   
  Any residents of the town, especially those with 
  some manner of business, would likely have 
  been on the streets or opening their shops.  They 
  would have been at risk for having been run 
  over as the wagon raced out of town. 
   
  Any character type could have either risen early 
  and been looking out a window or have been up 
  all night and have heard the commotion as the 
  barracks is almost directly across the street from 
  the local inn and tavern.  This is the catch all 
  category and not truly dependent on who the 
  character is. 
   
  The kidnappers struck at dawn in order that they 
  could carry out their attack, and then get back to their 
  homes and appear to have been where they should have 
  been all night.  They will take Yanhus to an abandoned 
  farm about six miles outside of town.  This farm is 
  considered cursed because the olive trees that were here 
  caught some type of fungal disease and were burned to 
  prevent the disease from spreading.  The farmer was 
  destitute with the loss of his olive trees and moved to the 
  big city to die a poor beggar.  Therefore, no one goes 
  here, but the buildings are still mostly standing. 
   
   
  If the party attempts to fight the fleeing kidnappers, 
  they should be met by four of the kidnappers shooting 
  bows back at them.  Between the horses, the head start, 
  the bows, and there not being more than one or two 
  witnesses (compared to the six kidnappers), there should 
  be no way the party or its characters can fight the 
  kidnappers at this time.  The kidnappers are armed with 
  bows and various pieces of farm equipment they can use 
  as weapons (knives, daggers, flails, machetes, sickles, 
  clubs, etc.). 
   
  The easiest way to find Brother Yanhus is to track 
  the wagon.  A wagon and three horsemen (three others 
  were on the wagon) should be easy enough to track.  The 
  kidnappers are not professional criminals and believed 
  that they could pull off their crime with no witnesses or 
  at least no witnesses willing to risk getting involved.  
  Clearly, they were wrong. 
   
  The kidnappers all wore masks - bandanas covering 
  most of their faces and hats pulled down to cover their 
  hair and eyes.  No one witnessing the crime will be able 
  to identify any of the kidnappers.  The two kidnappers 
  who will stand guard over the priest are family members 
  from another village.  The locals won’t know them.  
  They brought the wagon (a two-wheeled flatbed), so no 
  one will recognize it either.  There were four horses, one 
  pulling the wagon and three being ridden.  The wagon 
  horse was not a draft horse, but instead a riding horse, 
  which may seem to be a clue.  It just shows that they 
  really did not know what they were doing, though they 
  did rely on a faster horse to pull the wagon.  Any 
  character with ranching or animal handling skills will 
  likely be able to pick that out. 
   
  This first mission is intended to feel like something 
  different - an investigation more than a “wilderness 
  adventure”.  But it is also intended to be relatively easy.  
  If the characters can track the wagon to the “ghost farm”, 
  they can confront the two “guards”, and a fight will 
  likely erupt.  These guards are jumpy but not exactly 
  alert.  This means that given the chance, they will rush 
  headlong into battle.  As they are aware of the intent to 
  sacrifice the priest, they expect to be hanged if caught.  
  As they are hiding in an old barn, they will be unlikely to 
  have a chance to flee battle once it has been started. 
   
  The other four kidnappers are local Constandus 
  thugs.  They are farm hands on the various farms and 
  will appear to be hard at work in the fields by the time 
  anyone comes looking for them.  They rode the four 
  horses away from the ghost farm, so those horses will be 
  at their homes.  This should not be a clue, but the one 
  used to pull the wagon may have some light injuries that 
  would show it had been improperly used as a draft 
  animal.  This is not the kind of proof that could convict a 
  Constandus, but it can help to clue the party in on who is 
  behind this.  The two-wheeled wagon will be at the ghost 
  farm. 
   
  After being rescued, Brother Yanhus will have no 
  idea who could have captured him.  He struggled upon 
  being grabbed, but during his struggles on the wagon, 
  someone hit him over the head and knocked him out.  He 
  will likely need to be revived upon rescue.  While he 
  does wonder if Panos had any something to do with this, 
  but he has too generous a heart to let anyone else know 
  his suspicions.  If either of the two guards survives, they 
  will claim they were hired to help kidnap an evil priest 
  who was turning the people to demonology.  This is 
  close enough to the truth that they should be able to tell it 
  convincingly.  They will claim they do not know who 
  hired them, which is less true - they don’t know exactly 
  who hired them, but they were brought in by their 
  cousins.  At this point, the villagers will not believe that 
  the Constandus Family had anything to do with the 
  kidnapping, and party members who are too public with 
  their accusations will be shunned.  Things in Piottopia 
  will quickly become mundane again. 
  
  29 
   
  If the party fails miserably to find the ghost farm, 
  you can either supply them with a professional tracker or 
  allow the kidnappers to bring Yanhus back to town in the 
  middle of the night a few days later.  They will attempt 
  to drag him to the Ramparter’s temple and kill him on 
  the altar.  Since he was snatched from the barracks, that 
  is the building that will be more heavily protected, not 
  the temple.  Perhaps the party could discover the 
  kidnappers at that point and battle them over Brother 
  Yanhus. 
   
  The second mission should be a revenge mission of 
  some sort.  Some of the Constandus Family or their 
  supporters will be angered at the party for killing their 
  cousins at the ghost farm or for things the party might 
  have said around town.  A small number (probably two 
  or three) will attempt to ambush one or two of the party 
  members a couple of weeks after the kidnapping.  This 
  should be another mistake on the bad guys’ part as they 
  will likely confront the party members as they are 
  leaving the tavern, not realizing that the rest of the party 
  is in the tavern and ready to join the fight.  The battle 
  will be bowmen on horseback against the party when 
  they are not fully ready for battle.  Should any be 
  captured, they will admit that they are distantly related to 
  the two at the ghost farm and felt a family obligation to 
  avenge them - but won’t admit a familial relation to the 
  Constandus Family. 
   
  Rather than give away exactly who the bad guys 
  are, the party should be sent on some side quests: 
   
  They are sent to Helatia to retrieve an important 
  relic that will be installed in the Piottopia 
  church.  This will allow them access to any 
  armor or weapons they might try to afford, or 
  even trainers they could not find in Piottopia.  
  Perhaps they can be given some manner of 
  reward by the Order of the Divine Rampart for 
  having saved Brother Yanhus.  On their way 
  home, they will likely be set upon by bandits, 
  because they are carrying the relic in a silver 
  and gold reliquary.  (The relic might be a lock 
  of the avatar’s hair.) 
   
  A barn with six horses was rustled.  The victims 
  were distant members of the Constandus 
  Family, which might bring the players into 
  more contact with the rivals they do not yet 
  know they have.  A posse will want to track 
  down and retake these horses.  The reward for 
  this should be tiny (no more than 100sc), but the 
  bad guys should have some more valuable loot. 
   
  One of the farms in the outskirts of town was hit 
  by centaurs.  A posse is needed to go after the 
  centaurs.  The centaur bandits have stolen 
  something of modest value, but something vital 
  to the survival of that family’s farm (their seed 
  for next spring, a plow, the harnesses for the 
  plow or other equipment, etc.).  There will be no 
  reward from this mission as the victim family is 
  barely making it now, but it will help to build 
  the good will of the people in town towards the 
  Ramparters.  and the centaur bandits have some 
  good loot! 
   
  A ceremonial weapon of some kind is missing 
  from the temple.  Probably made of precious 
  metals, the Order will be concerned that it could 
  be melted down for its metal value.  The only 
  suspect is an odd peddler who came to town and 
  now is nowhere to be found.  The party will 
  need to find him and get the weapon back.  But 
  he isn’t a simple peddler, but a skilled bandit 
  and fence, with some skilled bandit friends. 
   
   
  There can be several other styles of missions based 
  on the Ramparters and those who worship Manoto.  The 
  god may wish the party to go on a pilgrimage of sorts in 
  which they perform certain seemingly menial tasks that 
  will result in an item of theirs being blessed by the god 
  (blessed being +1 Strength, magical strengthening of 
  their armor, stronger shield, better holy symbol, 
  whatever works for you).  Along the way, they will 
  continue to help people out, performing some smaller 
  tasks, such as killing a rabid dog that is attacking two 
  small girls (watch out that the party doesn’t catch the 
  disease, or perhaps the priest at their next stop can cure 
  it). 
   
  Any supplies being brought to the church will need 
  to be protected, and the party can act as guards.  While 
  normal supply shipments will not be targets, the delivery 
  of a ballistae or other siege weapon might. 
   
  Characters who worship gods other than Manoto 
  might find themselves on quests for their gods or 
  religions as well.  The gods are very in touch with their 
  mortal followers now and will want to cement loyalties 
  as best as possible. 
   
  
  30 
  Building the Future: 
   
  Panos will either be abandoned by his goddess 
  because of the kidnapping or will have been abandoned 
  some time before it.  He will however find himself a new 
  friend, some manner of vengeance spirit / demon (spirit 
  of betrayal?).  Though they pretend to still be 
  worshipping as they always have, the Constandus Family 
  and their supporters will be converting towards this evil 
  spirit who emphasizes selfishness and vengeance for 
  perceived slights. 
   
  The town will become more and more polarized 
  between the two religions, neither of which is what the 
  townsfolks were raised with.  Even those who are now 
  following the demon will not fully realize what they are 
  doing.  Panos will keep the worst of the new religion to 
  himself by making sacrifices late at night when he is 
  alone in the temple.  What he is preaching to his smaller 
  congregation is rationalizations for their feelings of envy 
  and greed, telling them that these are fine feelings and 
  OK to act on.  He is clever enough to make these 
  changes subtle, but they will continue to grow over time. 
   
   
  This is not intended to be an epic campaign on its 
  own, but instead introduce the region and some of the 
  religious activities going on.  The intent is that 
  eventually this campaign could get caught up in the holy 
  war that is brewing.  But until that happens, they can be 
  involved in much smaller fights, often centered on the 
  evil growing in their hometown. 
   
  With Helatia being so close, the campaign would 
  likely move there as the small town will be unable to 
  logically keep a moderately powerful party busy.  Helatia 
  offers far better shopping and training, as well as the port 
  which can transport the party anywhere in the world.  
  This should allow them unrestricted advancement. 
   
  When you’re ready to get the holy war going 
  (assuming you take that direction), the players and their 
  characters should be happy and willing to return “home” 
  to get more directly involved. They don’t necessarily 
  need to be there from the beginning.  Sometimes it is 
  more realistic to have them hear that there is a problem at 
  home, but by the time they get there, things have already 
  escalated. 
   
  Huge Adventures 
   
   
  While every campaign should have an overriding 
  arc that ties it together, we think every campaign world 
  should too.  This means that there may be times that 
  more than one, separate adventuring party gets caught up 
  in the same event(s) because they are on the same world.  
  These can be wars, natural disasters, religious 
  movements, famine, plagues, whatever! 
   
  But every party doesn’t necessarily have to be as 
  involved as every other party.  Maybe the war breaks out 
  and one party has chosen a side and is fighting gallantly, 
  but the other just needs to get through the territory where 
  the war is being fought.  Something as big as a major war 
  should impact an entire continent, but that doesn’t mean 
  that every player character will be heavily invested in it. 
   
  That is what this is going to be about - major world 
  impacting things, that could ripple through multiple 
  campaigns, even if they don’t get the PCs killed. 
   
  There is a reason that Manoto placed an avatar 
  where he did when he did.  There is a religious conflict 
  brewing, between the Dinsthain Pantheon and the 
  Jemmistake Pantheon of Myork.  How big it becomes 
  and what happens is not yet set, but the conflict is 
  unquestionably going to come. 
   
  While many of his brethren have chosen to sit and 
  wait, expecting that the conflict will drive their followers 
  into a heightened sense of prayer simply due to their fear.  
  But Manoto is actively working within his powers to 
  prevent damage to his followers.  He may not have 
  chosen the best possible way, nor will his actions prevent 
  the war, but he is trying. 
   
  In 658P, Manoto will be drawn into direct conflict 
  with the Jemmistake gods.  The point of this CSK is not 
  to get anyone too deep into that holy war and the 
  conflicts surrounding it.  But the point is to let game 
  masters know that this CSK can be the start of something 
  far bigger - something we will be getting into in future 
  issues! 
  
  31 
   
  SMALL TOWNS AND CITY 
  NEIGHBORHOODS 
   
   
  A few notes on the village of Piottopia, either for 
  use with the Campaign Starter Kit or for other purposes.  
  It is a reasonably normal town in the region around 
  Helatia and could be used in most settings. 
   
  The village is home to approximately 550 people.  
  Villages and settlements are reasonably close together in 
  this region, so there are not many additional folks that 
  would be considered outside the village’s boundaries but 
  still belong to the village.  This doesn’t mean that all the 
  farmers live directly in the town center, but they come 
  there for church and to trade.  There are other villages 
  within five or six miles of Piottopia. 
   
  There are roughly 200 people who live in the town 
  and would not be considered primarily farmers.  These 
  include the religious folks, the innkeeper and his staff, as 
  well as some of the minor craftsmen.  In this region there 
  are many grape and olive producers, both of which need 
  presses to extract the juice or oil from their products.  
  Because of this, there are carpenters and wood workers 
  in town who specialize in crafting and repairing these 
  tools, as well as some of the other specialized needs of 
  these farms.  There does not happen to be a grist mill in 
  Piottopia, but there are three within ten miles, all run by 
  waterwheels. 
   
  None of the farms are more than 50 acres with the 
  average being right around 30.  Typically the farms 
  growing wheat or other annual crops are longer and 
  narrow.  This allows for fewer turns of the plow during 
  spring, and allows the homes to be closer together, as 
  they often cluster at one end.  The vineyards and olive 
  orchards tend to be a bit more square, but rarely 
  completely, just blockier rectangles.  The “village 
  boundaries” are approximately two miles by two miles. 
   
  Though there are cart trails leading from the farm 
  homes to the village center, these are rough and 
  unpassable (by vehicles) if there have been heavy rains.  
  The only main road is barely better, but it does have 
  bridges over the streams and gullies and is wide enough 
  for ox drawn wagons to pass each other.  This is the road 
  that runs through the center of the village and contains 
  the inn and churches. 
   
  When the Ramparters came to town, they needed 
  space for their buildings.  There were three spots that 
  they might have used.  They took the one off the main 
  road for their barracks.  This is to a degree “behind” the 
  inn and had been used as an open field to graze horses 
  kept at the inn’s tiny stable.  Being “unused” it was easy 
  for the Order to get rights to it and build their housing. 
   
  The best spot on the main road they had saved for 
  their church and school.  This caused a bit more 
  problems for them as it had traditionally been used as a 
  town square where they would sometimes hold harvest 
  festivals, though these had died out in recent years and 
  the lot was mostly overgrown.  In order to tamp down 
  the negative response, the Ramparters cleared a spot just 
  a few dozen yards further away from the village center.  
  This could now be used as a town square of sorts and 
  was now in much better condition than the spot they 
  took. 
   
  The temple of Laenta is now nearly directly across 
  the street from the temple of Manoto.  The Ramparters 
  did this on purpose, hoping that parents would drop their 
  sons off at the Order’s church as they went in for their 
  own services.  This did work, but it also fostered the 
  rivalry between the two temples. 
   
  Other than craftsmen and minor merchants, the 
  only other main place in town is the inn.  Simply known 
  as the Piottopia Inn, it has stood for generations.  It is the 
  gathering place for locals and any visitors to the village.  
  They will always have some manner of stew ready for 
  travelers, but they serve very little food.  The tavern 
  room is full every night, but some of the locals bring 
  their own drinks. 
   
  Leoccracis “Leo” is the innkeeper, along with his 
  wife and four daughters.  He is the main seller of spirits 
  in the town, so even if they are not selling drinks by the 
  glass, he has typically sold the folks in his tavern room 
  their bottles.  His stable can handle up to six horses 
  (manage them yourself), plus another four under an 
  awning next to the stable.  There are six minor rooms for 
  rent (two cots each) and one “suite” (actually just a 
  larger room with multiple windows and a bed with a 
  feather mattress - queen sized).  His daughters take up an 
  additional two minor rooms, but will give up their rooms 
  if the inn is full.  In extreme situations, Leo and his wife 
  will give up their room as well (identical to the suite). 
   
  The Constandus Family is spread throughout the 
  region, in Piottopia and the surrounding villages.  There 
  are fewer than 100 of them in Piottopia, but likely close 
  to 300 within 15 miles.  While this makes them strong, it 
  does not make them dominant.  They are not one purely 
  aligned family.  There are several families that consider 
  themselves to be only distant cousins to Panos and would 
  be appalled if they knew what he was doing. 
   
  The rampart that the Ramparters are building 
  encloses the village center but not the entire four square 
  miles that is the village.  Rather, it will enclose an oval 
  over 500 yards long and roughly 300 yards wide, but 
  with jagged edges.  The jagged edges are due to property 
  lines they needed to follow.  They also had to build brick 
  arches to allow the streams that run through town to 
  continue to flow as they did originally.  Though boys can 
  get through the arches, centaurs cannot, so the 
  Ramparters feel confident that they do not weaken the 
  defenses.  The space enclosed will be roughly 26 acres 
  and includes a pasture of an acre and a half for any 
  livestock brought in. 
  
  32 
   
   
  TAVERN TALK 
   
   
  My name is Guiseppe Vilvaldo O’Connerghy, but 
  you can call me Guido, everybody does.  My mother was 
  Latvich and my father was Bortish, so naturally I grew 
  up a little confused.  I was comfortable in neither 
  culture, so I went on the road.  My father taught me the 
  fiddle, while my mother taught me to sing.  They may 
  have performed calmly in churches and at festivals, but I 
  learned very quickly to speed up the tempo and make 
  them more tavern appropriate. 
   
  I cannot say I’ve been all over the world, but I’ve 
  seen a lot of taverns and covered more miles than most.  
  Does that make me the best person to tell you about these 
  vital crossroads of cultures and happiness?  Maybe not 
  the best, but definitely one of the best!  And that is what I 
  hope to do - Tell you about the taverns so you can better 
  understand the culture of the people who inhabit them 
  every night. 
   
   
  Ah Helatia, that port of the exquisite and the exotic.  
  Nothing can be normal in Helatia, not even the wine.  
  Stroll into any tavern in Helatia and you will bump into 
  the difference in smells.  Their taverns don’t smell like 
  taverns.  There’s no scent of stale beer, or urine, or body 
  odor, none of that.  Seems great right?  not always.  You 
  see they drink some strange stuff in Helatia. 
   
  One of their most common drinks has this licorice 
  taste to it - anise I guess.  But it also has wormwood for 
  flavoring; what will these people think of next.  OK, so 
  it’s not entirely awful, but it is weird, and weird isn’t 
  what you want when you come in off the road.  What’s it 
  called?  Well that depends on what bar you’re in, 
  because they all call it something different.  The easiest 
  way to order it is to ask for their “anise spirit”, but expect 
  a lot of differences.  Some brew it from anise (I think), 
  but most flavor some other alcohol with anise to arrive 
  here.  Some add sugar while others don’t.  Like I said, 
  “Surprise!” 
   
  And don’t freak out when they pour some water in 
  and it gets cloudy instead of clear.  It’s not a magic trick 
  or someone trying to poison you.  The stuff just does 
  that.  I think they put sugar in the water, but I don’t know 
  if it’s the sugar or the water that clouds the stuff up.  
  Besides, getting nervous about clear liquor going all 
  cloudy white is a sure sign that you don’t know what 
  you’re drinking, and the bartenders will take advantage 
  of you.  The stories about it being an aphrodisiac are just 
  that - stories.  Broads drunk on this stuff are equally 
  willing or un- as they are on normal booze.  It’s just that 
  Helatia girls are pretty wild when they want to be, and 
  their idea of appropriate is way past what you’ll find 
  elsewhere. 
   
  They do drink wine in Helatia, and most of it is 
  reasonably good.  They favor whites to reds, something I 
  don’t always agree with, but these are fine wines.  But 
  they are “fine”, as in not great but good enough.  They 
  drink wine with meals, certainly lunch and dinner, but I 
  think they drink it in the morning too.  But outside of 
  meals, wine is no longer the drink of choice.  That’s 
  when they turn to the hard stuff. 
   
  You’d think with the hard stuff going down, they 
  would be a city-state of drunkards.  Well, maybe they 
  are, but nowhere near as bad as some of the others I’ve 
  seen.  The trick with their liqueurs and aperitifs is that 
  they sip at them all night long.  They don’t really drink, 
  just sip.  Notice, I’ve never lived in Helatia, just visited, 
  OK passed through. 
   
  They are one of the top producers of gin, and their 
  gins are mighty fine.  Pure, clear, these guys are fantastic 
  chemists and distillers.  You’re waiting for the “but”, but 
  there isn’t one.  If you like gin, get your ass to Helatia.  
  You won’t find better.  I will suggest that if you’re 
  importing gin, get it in small quantities.  You can usually 
  find gallon or two-gallon ceramic jugs.  Those are far 
  better than letting your gin swill around in some of those 
  old barrels for a month or two while it walks its way to 
  you on the back of some shabby mule. 
   
  So what else?  You will find elderberry wines, 
  along with some other fruit wines.  Not my thing, but 
  you never know.  They are surprisingly good at meads, 
  but about half the mead made in the city heads north to 
  the Tanta Bosh towns where they love the stuff, so you 
  may have a tougher time finding it.  Lastly, those same 
  distillers who do such a great job with the gins seem to 
  mess up the brandies.  The only thing I can think of is 
  that they see brandy as something to cook with and not 
  something to drink.  In any case, you’re better off 
  avoiding them! 
   
  The best thing about taverns in and around Helatia 
  is that you really will be made to feel at home!  This isn’t 
  one of those places where the regulars get upset because 
  you “stole” their stool - no sir!  You sit anywhere you 
  like and expect the regulars to start the conversation with 
  you.  “Who are you?”  “Where you from?”  “How long 
  you in town?”  It’s great!  They love music and 
  musicians.  The culture of universities and learning must 
  completely permeate their culture, because they want to 
  know everything.  If you’re from a place they’ve never 
  been, they want to know all about it, and will call their 
  buddies over as soon as you tell them something they 
  find interesting.  For those of us who love a great gab - 
  it’s one of the best places to be. 
   
  
  33 
   
  MASS MARKET 
  MAGIC 
   
   
  North of Helatia there is a chain 
  of islands known as the Oykiledrum 
  Islands.  (In the Tanta Bosh 
  language, Oykiledrum means islands 
  of the springs, so the additional 
  “islands” is not necessary, but still 
  often used in Helatia.)  These islands 
  are famous for their hot springs. 
   
  As the story goes, Hrarangrr the 
  Chosen was lost at sea and caught in 
  the ice.  He was dying of exposure 
  and wandering the ice flows when he 
  saw an odd cloud on the ground.  
  After stumbling miles towards the 
  cloud, he entered it, but almost 
  immediately fell into a hot spring.  
  The hot waters saved him from 
  freezing to death. 
   
  Hrarangrr eventually made it 
  home, but he had mapped the way 
  back to the hot spring and brought 
  his tribe to their new island home.  
  There they worshipped the spirit of 
  the hot spring, and most assume the 
  spirit had actually called Hrarangrr to 
  it when he was in danger. 
   
  Because 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  worshipping the spirit of the hot 
  spring, other nearby hot spring spirits 
  awoke from their slumber and called 
  out to people as well.  Most of those 
  who went off to worship these spirits had at one time 
  been members of Hrarangrr’s tribe, but some outsiders 
  came as well. 
   
  The hot spring spirits taught their followers to make 
  a special type of bow that would trap the many wind 
  spirits around the islands - trickster spirits who were 
  responsible for wrecking many boats along the island 
  shores.  Once bound within their bows, the spirits would 
  empower the bows with mystical energies, allowing the 
  archers to shoot vastly farther than a non-magical bow 
  should be able to. 
   
  Carving these bows takes an expert wood carver 
  taught the secret of binding the wind spirits.  The carving 
  itself often takes a month, while the binding ritual is long 
  and difficult, putting the person performing it in jeopardy 
  from the wind spirits and any of its ilk that are around.  
  For this reason, the bows are most commonly sold for 
  around 750sc to compensate both the carver and the 
  ritual performer for their time and risk. 
   
  The people of Hrarangrr have been living on these 
  islands for a dozen generations and have captured so 
  many of the wind spirits in this area that it is impossible 
  to sail near the islands.  The only way to move by boat 
  through the Oykiledrum Islands is by oar.  The people of 
  these islands use long boats and canoes to move around 
  and to fish, but the lack of winds keeps them relatively 
  safe from any larger sailing ships. 
   
  Oykiledrum Bows:  magical (spirit trapped-weak air 
  elemental).  Any arrow fired from these bows will have 
  double the normal ranges.  There will be a force of wind 
  felt leaving the bow with the arrow, but typically this 
  breeze is not enough to cause any additional effects. 
  Long bow 750sc.  Great bow 900sc. 
   
   
  
  34 
   
  A FUNNY THING HAPPENED 
  TO ME ON THE WAY TO THE 
  ADVENTURE 
   
  Mob Violence 
  Setting:  Any generic ‘you are walking along the road 
  through a farming area’ set-up. 
   
  Description:  As you are traveling, you hear a lot of 
  yelling and see men by a farm house with torches.  As it 
  is still bright day light, they are probably intending to use 
  the torches for harm. 
   
  What’s Going On:  The leader of the men is jerk and a 
  bully.  The others with him are his buddies - bullies and 
  jerks as well, but followers.  The house they are 
  intending to assault is owned by “a foreigner”, someone 
  not from here originally or of a different ethnicity or 
  race.  The leader has invented a grievance with the 
  foreigner and is intending to burn his house down in 
  retaliation for this grievance. 
   
  Twists: 
  1. The foreigner saw the lead bully beating his 
  wife and stepped in.  The wife is now hiding in 
  the foreigner’s house and the leader wants to 
  burn it down with both of them in it.  His 
  buddies think they are rescuing their friend’s 
  wife from the foreigner and aren’t thinking too 
  clearly on what will happen when they set the 
  house ablaze. 
  2. The foreigner is a much better farmer than the 
  leader or his buddies.  The leader has convinced 
  them all that the foreigner is a witch (or 
  something equal) and needs to be burned out in 
  order to save their crops.  “Obviously” the 
  foreigner is doing something evil / magic to get 
  such better results. 
  3. This is a simple case of racism run wild, and the 
  bullies are planning on teaching the foreigner a 
  lesson for having the gall to move into their 
  town. 
   
  Threat Level:  This is intended to be a simple encounter 
  with the party fighting against commoners with torches.  
  As such, there should be more bullies than party 
  members, but not overwhelming.  For parties with too 
  much experience, this encounter is likely too simplistic 
  and certainly too easy.  Expect the foreigner to help 
  during the fight. 
   
  Two serious threat alterations:  1)  Killing these 
  men will not be acceptable in this society.  You cannot 
  just wander the roads killing people you think might be 
  enemies.  If a party member is going to obviously kill 
  one of the bullies, the foreigner may shout, “Don’t kill 
  him.  Please just drive him off.” or something along 
  those lines.  It will be very difficult for the foreigner to 
  find legal help if there is a pile of bodies at his door.  
  Without legal help other bullies will show up next, and 
  the foreigner will be run off. 
   
  and 2)  The bullies could throw a torch and start the 
  house on fire.  At that point the foreigner will need to 
  worry more about the house than the fight, and the party 
  will need to do the same very quickly or the foreigner 
  will lose his house and be run off. 
   
  Rewards:  The foreigner will want to reward the party 
  and probably ask them to watch his house while he goes 
  to get the sheriff or equivalent.  He knows exactly who 
  the bad guys are, and hopefully the sheriff can help keep 
  them from coming back.  But the foreigner’s rewards are 
  unlikely to be coins. 
   
  This could be used to introduce a new character 
  into the party.  Maybe the house does burn 
  down, and the foreigner, now with nowhere to 
  live, joins the party on their adventures.  
  Possibly he is a druid, and that was why his 
  crops were so much better than the local farms. 
   
  The foreigner is an herbalist and that’s why his 
  crops were better.  He will give the party the 
  limited amount of product he has currently and 
  offer them a 40% off discount for the rest of 
  their lives. 
   
  The foreigner is a normal farmer and cannot 
  offer them much, but he will give them free 
  shelter (and probably a good meal) every time 
  they pass this way.  The bully leader’s wife may 
  leave him for the foreigner, and so the party has 
  made two contacts. 
   
   
  We envisioned this as a halfling being the 
  foreigner, and yes, he beat up the bully, or at least got his 
  wife away from him.  The bully is in such a rage because 
  he got beat up by a halfling.  He cannot allow this 
  foreigner to live to tell the tale of how he beat his wife 
  nor how he was bested by someone literally half his size.
  
  35 
   
   
  PULL BACK THE CURTAIN 
   
   
  Pull Back the Curtain is intended to give you 
  some insight into how our chief game designer, John 
  Josten, writes.  How he writes games, how he writes 
  Fletnern, and how he game masters.  That is why it is 
  only available to the Game Master level Patreon 
  supporters. 
   
  Not all of what he has to say is going to make sense 
  to all of you.  For some of you, it may seem like common 
  sense, something you realized years ago.  For some of 
  you, it may seem completely off base; while for others, 
  you may just not follow it.  That’s because all of our 
  games are different.  Different GMs see things 
  differently.  Different players force GMs to act in certain 
  ways.  There isn’t a standard campaign, just as there isn’t 
  a standard GM. 
   
  So are we warning you not to read this?  By all 
  means, NO!  But we are asking you to filter it.  The goal 
  of The Sounding Board is to help game masters from 
  all games and walks of life to create fun content that will 
  engage their players and make those players want to keep 
  coming back week after week, or how ever often you 
  have gaming sessions.  That is the point here too.  With 
  the more limited audience, we hope to be able to get into 
  specifics that just wouldn’t work in the straight blog. 
   
  This is also going to give John and our other writers 
  a chance to respond directly to questions you ask, 
  whether they come through email, Patreon or the blog.  
  Just send them in.  It make take us a bit to answer them 
  here, but if you send in a question we plan to answer in 
  Pull Back the Curtain, we’ll try to get the answer to 
  you as soon as we write it, even if it doesn’t come out in 
  Small Bites for a couple of months. 
   
   
  Mass Combat 
   
  Quite often, when we (modern folks) think of 
  fantasy battles, we think of the epic battles depicted in 
  movies like Braveheart and Excalibur (at least I do).  
  These are not that different from some of the battles seen 
  in movies depicting the American Revolutionary War or 
  even the American Civil War.  From my limited 
  memory, these are quite similar to movies depicting the 
  First and Second English Civil Wars.  Big, epic, huge 
  numbers in a huge field clashing in the middle. 
   
  But that doesn’t work for role-playing games.  
  When one player is controlling one character, huge 
  battles are a nightmare.  At the very least, that one 
  character on the battle field is at risk of being hit by 
  masses of arrows from archers he cannot individually 
  identify.  So what do you do? 
   
  Well, I have actually studied a lot of battles, though 
  admittedly mainly in the American history.  I strongly 
  believe that for every huge epic battle, there are dozens 
  and dozens of skirmishes, many taking place at the same 
  time (generally) as the huge epic fights.  This is where 
  the player characters can and should be used (and I think 
  would be used by any clever general). 
   
  First, what do I mean?  As two armies begin to 
  come together, they send out scouts to either locate the 
  enemy or locate the enemy’s weakness(es).  Especially in 
  the American Civil War, sending out your cavalry units 
  for recon was both vital and often played a part in who 
  won or lost the battle.  I’m not going to get into all the 
  details, but there is at least one famous battle where the 
  cavalry went off to recon, but then decided to attack 
  something they didn’t have orders to attack.  Because the 
  cavalry was out of place and didn’t participate in the 
  battle, it was lost. 
   
  A game world example:  The party is sent out to 
  locate any enemy troops and if they encounter any 
  enemy “spies” (other recon units) they are to engage and 
  kill them to prevent any of “our” secrets getting to 
  “them”.  These are great missions, because the party 
  cannot simply blunder around in the forests.  They need 
  to be stealthy.  They need to spot enemies before they are 
  spotted.  They need to see an enemy’s ambush before 
  they walk into it.  Great challenges without relying only 
  on melee might.  Plus, the job is not to meet the enemy in 
  a line and fight them, but to prevent them from escaping 
  and carrying off valuable information, so the tactics must 
  be different. 
   
  Another:  A battle is brewing along the border.  The 
  massive military buildup has begun and military camps 
  are in various places.  The party is assigned a stretch of 
  the border and must make certain no enemies cross into 
  “our” lands.  Do they post sentries, set traps, cast spells?  
  What type of enemies will cross?  If the enemy is 
  magical, I like to have them utilize conjured creatures or 
  other “monsters” by sending them across to test the 
  strength of the lines, seeking a weak point where they 
  can concentrate their attack.  There are many examples 
  from history of a river serving as a barrier between two 
  armies and the trick is how to cross the river without 
  being at the enemy’s mercy while you’re doing it.  
  Another “thinking man’s mission”. 
   
  But why?  Why must the party be kept away from 
  the rank and file?  Well, first off, because it is too hard 
  on the GM to legitimately run a massive battle and still 
  concentrate on the tiny number of player characters.  But 
  within the confines of the game, the generals shouldn’t 
  let adventurers inside their lines.  Why?  Because they 
  are not soldiers.  They have not been trained to fight 
  shoulder to shoulder and shield to shield.  I haven’t met 
  an adventuring party yet that used shield wall tactics, but 
  most armies do.  What do you do with the barbarian 
  swinging the claymore?  Or the short dwarf with the 
  
  36 
  battle axe?  These guys take up far too much room and a 
  proper military machine would cut them down.  How?  
  Unless you are using rules where the player characters 
  frequently have 20x the hits to kill as the soldiers (which 
  unfortunately many do), a shield wall of soldiers with 
  spears could probably put three men up against a single 
  claymore wielder, and three on one, they should be able 
  to cut him down.  If not, there are ranks of guys behind 
  them to step up and keep the pressure going until they 
  do. 
   
  Why else?  Magic!  The rank and file solders are 
  probably not familiar with magic and could be put off by 
  a sword that sings as it kills people and sucks their souls.  
  The cavalry horses are probably not familiar with 
  fireballs and thunderclaps and will likely bolt if a cloud 
  of deadly magical gas slips by them.  Adventuring 
  parties should be a major distraction to drilled troops.  
  Plus, as I said earlier, what adventuring party wants to be 
  standing under a hail of arrows, never knowing when bad 
  luck alone was going to skewer them? 
   
  The real point of this article is to get you to think 
  about battles more like a Vietnam War movie where a 
  patrol is moving through territory and encountering 
  enemies instead of an epic battle.  Some of the recent 
  movies (too often based on actual events) work too, 
  where the small band is besieged by a group of chaotic 
  attackers.  Here the PCs should probably have something 
  to protect, something they cannot move or is too 
  dangerous to move, and they must hold out until 
  reinforcements come.  These can make excellent 
  missions, even if they cause the party to miss the big 
  battle. 
   
  One last example from one of my most recent 
  campaigns:  The armies are gathering in the field, but the 
  battle mages (only possessed by one side) are staying 
  inside a castle.  The party’s mission is to sneak into the 
  castle and begin assassinating battle mages before the big 
  battle erupts, otherwise huge numbers of soldiers are 
  going to be killed by the huge crowd control spells.  But 
  inside the castle, many of these spells are too dangerous 
  to cast, so the advantage slips.  I loved how this worked, 
  because once the castle was aroused and began to 
  counter attack, they proved to be too much for the party 
  (one of the most powerful I’ve ever run).  This forced the 
  PCs to back out the way they came.  Was their mission 
  accomplished?  Primarily yes.  They had devastated the 
  enemy battle mages, even though about 40% were still 
  alive, and another 20% were able to be resuscitated.  Plus 
  there remains a public debate to this day - was there 
  really an attack at the castle?  or is that just BS from 
  those who lost the battle? 
   
  The Blog and blog posts 
   
  So how do I write the Blog?  This is what normally 
  happens: 
   
  I get an idea that I either write down on a scrap of 
  paper or I enter into my QUICKfile file.  QUICKfile 
  started about 15 years ago.  Every once in a while I cut 
  and paste as much stuff out of there and into the files 
  where it really belongs, but even still, it’s 366 pages right 
  now.  Yep - 366 pages of partially developed stuff.  And 
  they’re crammed in there.  This isn’t one sentence on a 
  page as a reminder. 
   
  OK - so idea.  Then I usually mull over them while 
  driving.  Since it takes me from 15-55 minutes to drive to 
  and from work every day, I have way too much time to 
  think through them.  At this point, some of them get split 
  into multiple posts. 
   
  It usually takes me about 40 minutes to actually 
  write a post when I sit down to do it.  What I love about 
  the blog is that I can write in the “stream of 
  consciousness” style.  I just write.  It doesn’t have to be 
  professional; at least I don’t think it does. 
   
  Then on Sunday morning, I go back and look at all 
  the mostly or partially written blog posts I have.  I pick 
  the one that appeals, and I edit it.  Here’s the real info on 
  me.  What it takes me 30-40 minutes to write, it takes me 
  about an hour to edit.  I hate editing!  What’s included in 
  editing?  Spell checking (because Word cannot really 
  spell check) and grammar check.  If you are really 
  relying on a computer to proof your work, you’re doing 
  it wrong.  I also have to try to make it readable.  My 
  early posts got some constructive criticism on how I was 
  presenting them, where they just looked like a huge 
  block of words and turned people off, so I try to avoid 
  that. I also have to do some fact checking (typically), 
  even if it is spell checking the names of some of my 
  cities and people (which Word really doesn’t do for me).  
  And I have to put in the links.  That seems easier than it 
  is, because with multiple places that people can go 
  (various distributors, sometimes my own sites, etc.) I 
  have to both balance where I send them while trying to 
  put my best foot forward.  Yes, that means that if one site 
  has a glowing review of the product I’m linking and the 
  other has nothing - I’m going with glowing! 
   
  Once edited, I typically set it to post Sunday 
  evening.  If I know I won’t be around the next Sunday, 
  I’ll typically do another (pick a mostly done, and edit it).  
  That way I typically have something posting most 
  Sunday nights.  Then again, there are those times when I 
  realize at 8:00 on Sunday that I didn’t do the post, I then 
  rush the edit process and get something out there. 
   
  So what am I saying?  I’m saying that I spend most 
  of my Sunday mornings, while the family is asleep, 
  editing blog posts so I can continue to keep Board 
  Enterprises out in the public and hopefully somewhat 
  relevant.  and then I give them away for free.  Thank you 
  to everyone who does anything for me on Patreon.  I 
  would likely go insane without you! 
   
   
  
  37 
  Y? Y? Y! 
   
   
  Helatia was always meant to be “Ancient Greece”.  
  Not Sparta!  Far more like Athens.  In some ways the 
  intelligentsia of Fletnern. 
   
  Here in their marble city, they attend schools and 
  lectures and are absolutely convinced that their way of 
  life is superior to those other cultures in the world.  The 
  problem is that in some ways, they just might be right. 
   
  While there are universities in other cities, the 
  schools in Helatia started out for knowledge’s sake, and 
  not for some tawdry reason like learning to cast spells.  
  In fact, their schools are highly philosophical and too 
  often not very practical at all.  They also believe 
  themselves to be a democracy, when that simply isn’t the 
  case.  At one point, it might have been, but even their 
  representational form of government has been hijacked 
  by the wealthy land owners. 
   
  In many ways, that was why the Cult of the Avatar 
  worked in Helatia - the city is run by philosophers and 
  lacked the “Spartan” element.  Though few believe that a 
  holy war is coming, there is still a strong contingent that 
  has turned to learning more about war and battle just 
  because they believe the avatar is real and want to learn 
  more about his religion.  The warrior priests are doing 
  everything they can to teach those open to training, 
  before the major battles begin. 
   
  I really like the avatar scenario because I think it 
  allows us to analyze the age old concept of “what would 
  we do if a major religious event occurred today?”  This is 
  perhaps better for those without a religious bend, but I 
  think they would have a very hard time understanding 
  what would happen to people who believe.  You can 
  choose one of the variant versions as explained back in 
  News of Fletnern, but assuming that the avatar is really a 
  divine creature, what is the impact. 
   
  We’ve all seen preachers and cult leaders swear that 
  they held some manner of secret power and then tried to 
  use that secret to get money and donations.  Assuming 
  this avatar is real, then it is not a set-up.  This sect really 
  has the secret to immense power.  They have a WMD 
  that they could likely use offensively or defensively. 
   
  But the question remains - what do people do?  Do 
  religious folks of other gods wonder why their god hasn’t 
  given them an avatar?  Do they question why Manoto 
  had to put this avatar down now and what is his end 
  game?  Do other Manoto worshippers in other cities 
  believe or do they feel that if it were really an avatar, he 
  would have been placed in their far more deserving 
  community? 
   
  But what about the faithful in Helatia?  Do they all 
  believe?  Do some of them doubt?  This is a city of 
  philosophers; surely they can’t all simply accept that an 
  avatar has been born amongst them.  This is part of the 
  reason that there is so much stir about Apkeeta 
  Emorphine.  No matter who Manoto had picked to be the 
  mother of his avatar, the mortals would have second 
  guessed his decision.   
   
  And you just cannot forget the money.  I know this 
  is a strange an unusual comparison, but I remember 
  when a child fell into the gorilla pen at Brookfield Zoo 
  just outside of Chicago.  A female gorilla picked up the 
  child and carried him over to the keepers’ door.  I think it 
  was $3million that flooded into the zoo in donations 
  from around the world.  That was something like three 
  years’ worth of donations.  The same has happened here.  
  People from all over the globe have been sending 
  donations to the cathedral. 
   
  But it’s not just money.  Works of art, relics, 
  enchanted weapons, and above all else, tourism has been 
  coming in too.  Not all of this is simply beneficial.  Some 
  of these tourists believe themselves to be entitled to 
  certain things, either because of the donation they just 
  gave or “who they are”.  Managing all of that is nearly 
  impossible.  To be clear, some of those religious folks 
  jealous of the arrival spot of the avatar expect to be 
  allowed to carry him off to wherever they are from, 
  because of how important they are. 
   
  So there is now all this extra money for the temple 
  and the city (in the form of tourism).  But that has 
  ramifications too.  The other temples are not getting as 
  many donations, because they don’t have an avatar.  
  There are fraudsters all over the place (both in Helatia 
  and abroad) who are now selling fake relics of the avatar.  
  Within months, you could probably have purchased any 
  number of avatar umbilical cords and his favorite blanket 
  as well.  As honorable as the warrior priests are, they 
  would have had to worry about their own people 
  smuggling such artifacts out.  The temptation to steal the 
  avatar’s pacifier would seem too much for some people. 
   
  Placing the avatar in Helatia forced me to think 
  through more of the interaction between the gods and the 
  mortals.  No longer could I assume that the gods were 
  not going to meddle in mortal affairs.  Here was some 
  serious proof that they were willing to meddle. 
   
  The fun part for me as a GM was that I never 
  actually told my players whether it was true or not.  In 
  fact I implied to several of them that it was a fake.  So 
  there have been discussions amongst my players where 
  some are convinced the avatar is a fake and others can’t 
  believe I would have spent so much time putting a hoax 
  in place in my world. 
   
  Since I started to write in the avatar, I’ve worked on 
  a lot of religious “issues” in Fletnern.  I’ve had to 
  consider pilgrimages, divine “magic”, and how the 
  various religions interact with each other.  Most get 
  along, but our history shows that the religions that seem 
  the most similar are typically the ones who go to war 
  with each other. 
   
  
  38 
   
  IN CONCLUSION 
   
   
  This has been our first edition, and we truly hoped 
  you liked it.  If you did, please check out our Patreon 
  page and sign up!  Not only will you continue to get 
  great content, but you will also get a say in what is 
  coming out next, because that is what this is intended to 
  be - a conversation between a content provider and our 
  customers.  We need your help.  Yes, we need your 
  financial support, but we also need your feedback on 
  what worked here, what didn’t, and what you want to see 
  more of. 
   
  This volume is honestly a little bigger than we 
  expect to be normal.  We got hugely eager and wanted to 
  throw everything and the kitchen sink into this one.  That 
  was probably a good idea from the standpoint that it 
  shows you a lot of what we’re aiming for.  But we don’t 
  want to try and trick you!  We’re shooting for an e-zine 
  that on average will be a little shorter.  As our base gets 
  bigger, we hope to expand that, possibly consistently 
  going to 40+ pages monthly, but let’s be real - That’s a 
  LOT of content!  We have it, but we don’t want to over 
  promise. 
   https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4503957
   
   ��������������������������
   ����������������������
   �����������������������
   
  The Secret Word is:  Spirit 
   
  PATREON 
   
   
  So what’s the deal with us and Patreon?  Well, as 
  we’ve said, we really want to increase the feedback and 
  the two-way conversations between Board Enterprises 
  and you our customers.  We haven’t done a great job of 
  that over the years, but we’re hoping to keep getting 
  better. 
   
  Did you like the theme?  Let us know!  Did you 
  like some of the articles?  Let us know that too.  Did you 
  dislike an article?  Yep, let us know that as well.  
  Seriously, 
  we 
  want 
  a 
  two-way 
  conversation.  
  Constructive criticism?  We can take it (the constructive 
  kind, not trolling please). 
   
  So what are we asking of you?  Well, if you want to 
  support us, please pledge some money.  Just interested in 
  seeing where we’re going with Fletnern and the wiki?  
  Great, become a World Walker.  It’s only $1 a month, 
  and we’ll give you new people, places and things around 
  Fletnern.  Interested in learning more about the world 
  and getting all sorts of ideas for new characters for you 
  to play and even ideas and strategies for characters you 
  may already be playing?  Become a Player Character, 
  aka Player.  It’s $5, and we will give you as much 
  content as we can!  Are you a game master?  Are you 
  building your own game world or using Fletnern?  Then 
  you want all the secrets and behind the scenes 
  information.  Then you’ll want to sign up as a Game 
  Master.  GMs don’t just get more articles; they get pieces 
  of the articles that the Players shouldn’t know about.  
  GMs pledge $10 a month, but we’ll be giving you pieces 
  of the world you can use in yours, giving you advice on 
  how game worlds can or even should be built, and 
  coaching you on GMing. 
   
  Confused?  Pledge $1 for now and see how things 
  go.  If after a couple of months you think we’re falling 
  down on the job, you can pull out and you’ve lost next to 
  nothing - probably less than you paid for lunch today.  
  But if we impress you, why not advance up to the Player 
  or GM levels and become a fully active participant in 
  building out this world. 
   
  Oh, and there is more!  For every dollar that you 
  contribute via Patreon, we’ll give you a “Board Buck” 
  that you can trade in for any Board Enterprises products, 
  whether it be LEGEND QUEST or generic.  It’s a two-for-
  one deal! 
  
  39 
  Sample Character 
   
   
   
   
   
  Standard Warrior Priest 
  Warrior Archetype 
   
  Strength 
  6 
  Armor Group 1 
  Knowledge 
  5 
     Mail Armors 2 
  Endurance 
  6 
  Etiquette 2 
  Willpower 
  6 
  First Aid 2 
  Agility 
  5 
  Native Language 3 
  Psyche 
  4 
  Native Locality 2 
   
   
  Read&Write Native LNG 1 
   
   
  Running 1 
   
   
  Shield Magic trick 2 
   
   
  Shields Group 1 
   
   
     Large Shield 2 
   
   
  Spears Group 1 
   
   
     Spear 2 
   
   
  Streetwise 1 
   
   
  Theology 2 
   
  Equipment:  Spear, Shield (small), Cloth armor. 
  20sc remaining 
   
  
  40 
  Lifestyles 
   
   
  Warrior Priest
  Monthly Cost 
  Income:  Avatar’s Bodyguard 
  +0 
  Room:  Religious Dormitory 
  -2 
  Board:  Barracks Meal Plan 
  -76 
    Morning:   
   
    Mid-Day:   
   
    Evening:   
   
    Extras:   
   
  Furnishings:  Urbanite Meager 
  -29 
  Equipment:   
   
  Clothing:  Urbanite Average 
  -28 
  Laundry:  Average 
  -12 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Savings:   
  -147 
   
   
  As this is our first Lifestyle summary, it is important to note that few people could (or would) live this cheaply.  These 
  are devote religious warriors who have pledged their lives to protect the Avatar.  Not included in this are things like night time 
  entertainments (whether drinks at a bar or other), the upkeep of their equipment (because we don’t know specifically what 
  that equipment would be), and any other hobbies or extra-curricular activities. 
   
  So where does this money come from?  Well, the temples of Brakin are handling the costs of rooms.  The temples of 
  Manoto are handling the costs of food and probably laundry.  The cost of upkeep and replacement of furnishings and 
  clothing is either coming from the warrior priests themselves or more likely their patrons or families. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Copyright 2017 John Josten/Board Enteprises 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/_GM Books/World Building & Game Design/Board Enterprises/Board  Enterprises - Build Your Fantasy World - The Avatar of Manoto aka All About Warrior Priests.pdf