| When I first began work on TOTEM, my overriding aim was to create a game where the method for task resolution existed both in our world and in the world of the Ice Age Hunters. I wanted to use something they would use. I settled on stones. I know you can buy coloured glass beads and polished stones in garden centres and flower shops, but I wanted the real thing and so I scoured my local beach looking for pebbles. I chose two colours, orange and grey, to represent two essential elements in the lives of the Tribes: the Sun and the Earth. Orange stones are Sunstones, grey stones are Earthstones. Use glass beads, ornamental pebbles - whatever you can find ... use different colours - it doesn't really matter. You'll need maybe ten of one colour and ten of another, put them in a bag and you're ready to go. I wanted to remain authentic, so I bought a piece of soft patchwork leather, stained it and made it into a bag by stitching it with leather rawhide (sold as rawhide for 'gothic' pendants). I put in my beachcombed stones and created a bag tie by cutting up an old leather belt, knotting the terminals and just tying it around the neck of my bag. Instant Pleistocene 'rune stones'!! For those wedded to their dice, use six-siders. Even results are successes, odd results are fails (see below). It's a simple binary mechanic. Instead of drawing 1 or 2 stones, roll 1 or 2 dice instead. To get into the Ice Age mood buy haematite dice! I swear I must get hold of some of those one day… TASK RESOLUTION When a Hunter wishes to accomplish some task, the Game Master asks the player to draw ONE stone from the bag. This is the default draw. If the stone is a Sunstone then the task succeeds. If it is an Earthstone then the task fails. You may be using different colours, but the method is the same. If the Hunter has a Talent relevant to the task then let the player draw an extra stone, any stone that is a Sunstone indicates success. In addition, the GM may decide the task is easier than normal (due to some in-game factor) and allow an another stone to be drawn. Refer to the table below: Difficulty Stones Drawn % Chance Average Task 1 50 Easy Task 2 75 Routine Task 3 87.5 Drawing more than 3 stones severely warps the probability of failure! Drawing 4 stones gives a success 93.75% of the time; drawing 5 stones gives success 96.88% of the time, drawing 6 stones gives success 98.44% of the time, and drawing 10 stones gives success 99.9% of the time! Keep the draws low. Alternatively the GM can make the task harder. Instead of asking the player to "draw 2 stones", he can ask the player to "draw 2 Sunstones", which reduces the chance of success below 50%. To really make a task formidable, the GM can ask the player to draw "3 Sunstones". He is asking the player to draw that amount of stones, and for them all to be Sunstones. A tough proposition. Remember: the default draw is 1 stone. A Talent that has some bearing on the Task will, in this case, reduce the number of Sunstones required by one. Example: the Hunter wants to climb up a cliff and over the overhanging precipice. This is very difficult and so the GM asks the player to "draw 3 Sunstones". The player reminds the GM of his Climbing Talent and so the draw is reduced to only two Sunstones. It cannot be stressed enough that this is a very fluid system and should never be subject to intense scrutiny or endless mechanical debate. The GM can simply pluck a number out of the air based on the difficulty of the situation as he sees it. Or the player can pick a difficulty if the group is that way inclined ... just grab a stone or two and get on with it. Don't pretend to be playing a realistic game, either. This isn't a simulation - it's an atmospheric fantasy roleplaying game. Treat it as such. FIGHTING & INJURY What happens when a Hunter is trampled by an auroch or falls from a high cliff? Does he survive? How hard is it for a Hunter to kill a wildcat? A lion? An ogre? TOUGH RATINGS Living creatures are rated according to how tough they are. Hunters have a Tough rating of 3. They can sustain three good hits before collapsing and dying. When that 3rd Tough point has been lost the Hunter is weak and struggling to stay alive, the GM may make all of his subsequent actions more difficult if need be. At this level of injury the Hunter is sure to come away with some visible reminder, perhaps a scar or a limp, perhaps a missing eye or a recurring pain. Other creatures are rated according to the following table: Creature Auroch Bison Cave Bear Cave Lion Eagle Goat Horse Hyena Mammoth Ogre Red Deer Reindeer Rhino Wildcat Wolf * These animals are invulnerable to single hits and must be injured with a Sunstone success of two or more in one draw. RESOLVING FIGHTS When situations involve violence, it is best to resort to a ‘blow by blow’ account of the story. The GM needs to narrate events in ‘turns’, switching between player characters and non-player characters until everyone involved in a scene has had an opportunity to state their intentions. Turns represent a flexible amount of time, somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds. When it is his turn in the flow of events to act, a Hunter’s player usually makes a draw of stones to determine the result. Any Sunstones indicate that he has inflicted damage on his victim, one good hit per Sunstone. Often there will be pain, shock and some incapacitation associated with these injuries - the GM should adjudicate this based on the circumstances of the damage sustained. If all of a Hunter's stones were grey then he failed to hurt his opponent and also suffered a single good hit himself! When Hunters gang up on a victim they have a much better chance of success, bringing down the animal before it can recover and get away. Big animals such as bison, rhino and mammoth will harm any Hunter who fails to strike them; lesser creatures can only harm one Hunter at a time. The difficulty of an attack is determined by its Tough rating. If the Tough rating is equal or less than that of the Hunter (3) then the player draws the default one stone. If the Tough rating exceeds 3 but is less than double (6) then the player must draw 2 Sunstones. Finally, if the creature’s Toughness rating is double that of the Hunter’s, then the draw made is 3 Sunstones. Damage suffered outside of a fight (falling from a tree, being hit by a rock, burnt in a fire and so on) should be adjudicated by the GM based on terrain, circumstance etc. A single good hit should be appropriate for most eventualities, however. WEAPON EFFECTS The stone drawing system is suitably abstract enough to get by without delineating the exact damage and cutting capabilities of different weapons, replete with measures of ‘reach’, ‘hit points’, ‘speed’ and so on. This could all be narrated after the fact (after the stones have been drawn and the stones studied, in other words). For a GM who would like some detail of weapon strengths to be abstracted into the stone drawing system, then use the following rules: Hunting Spear – The default weapon; when a Sunstone is drawn as per the rules, a hit is scored on the victim. Quick to use, capable of being thrown 20m, dangerous and able to keep a single predator at bay. Ogre Spear – Short with a large and heavy flint head, this weapon is made by ogres and their style of hunting involves close quarter combat. The ogre spears do a lot of damage to game, but are incapable of being thrown. For an ogre this is not a problem, they are tough and able to take a few knocks from the animals they try to kill. An ogre would gain an extra stone to draw if attacking a larger than man-sized creature with one of these spears. If a Hunter was facing an ogre armed this way he would conversely reduce his draw by one. Sling – The sling is a leather pouch on a strap whirled over the head to propel river pebbles at speed. The range of a sling is 60m. Because sling-stones, like arrows, aren’t very effective, the player draws one less stone to attack if the victim is man-sized or bigger. Bow & Arrows – A good yew bow has a range of 120m. Its arrows can be tipped with flint or bone and like the sling do less damage than a Hunting Spear - the player draws one less stone to attack if the victim is man-sized or bigger. HEALING Injuries sustained would in real life deteriorate and kill an Ice Age Hunter. Fortunately this is not real life and we give the benefit of the doubt to our hairy heroes! Each Tough point lost can be recovered in a different manner. Level of Injury Healing Method 1st Tough point - Good meal and warm night's rest 2nd Tough point - As above for 3 days, or Healing Herbs 3rd Tough point - As above for 2 weeks, plus Healing Herbs Mention has already been made of Healing Herbs, how do they work in play? Anyone can look for suitable herbs, but a Hunter with the Healing Herbs Talent will be better at this task. It takes a day to find herbs suited to a particular medicinal purpose. State the purpose when you go searching. · Injuries - Bruises, bleeding, broken bones, etc. · Ailments - Sickness, fevers, pains, fits, etc. · Special - Magical herbs required for specific purposes... Next draw ONE stone, or two if Talented. If a Sunstone is drawn the herb is found in one day. As with creating items, if two Sunstones are drawn, then the herbs are found in half a day. If no Sunstones are drawn then no herbs were found. The time to find herbs moves up to two days now (obviously there are no suitable herbs locally). Keep extending the time period if needed. The GM may make finding herbs more difficult or easier as described in Task Resolution. Anyone wanting to know if a creature survives its injuries just draws a number of stones equal to the Tough points it has left. If any are Sunstones then the creature recovers after a week. If all are grey then the creature dies within days. GMs are free to use this rule for player characters who do not receive treatment if they wish. But be warned – it will kill characters! |
 |
 |
 |
| Tough Rating 4 4 6 6 1 1 2 2 8* (shrugs off hits of 1) 3 2 2 5* (shrugs off hits of 1) 2 2 |