The Legacy

A guide to my campaign world, a conversion from Palladium FRPG to GURPS Fantasy

Introduction

In GURPS, game worlds are described as having one of five different mana levels...

* No mana (dead to magic)
* Low mana (magic rare, spells are more expensive and harder to cast)
* Normal mana (standard for fantasy setting)
* High mana (spells are cheap, and even some non-mages can cast)
* Very high mana (everyone casts, magic is abundant)

For my translation of the Palladium world, I'm setting it roughly 800 years after what's in the books... a magical catastrophe has burned out a lot of the mana from the world... most areas are considered 'no mana' which means you cannot cast spells and you cannot recharge your mana fatigue... near a ley line is considered 'low mana' you can recharge but very slowly (about 1/5 normal rate)... at ley line junctions it is considered 'normal mana'...

Certain races (based on the natural PPE for that race) are considered personal mana enhancers... which means if you are a member of that race, you can cast and recharge as if you were in a zone one level better than current...
for example: an elf in 'no mana' is instead 'low mana' for himself only, the same elf at a ley line junction would be 'high mana'...

The races that are mana enhancers are Elves, Goblins, and Changelings...

Areas that are 'no mana' are very low on life energy and have a hard time supporting any kind of plant/animal life... all cities are located on/near ley line junctions and those who can cast magic tend to have higher social status...

Each city has become its own independent state and trade between cities is a prize target of bandits and other denizens of the wastelands...

Because of the their innate mana enhancement most goblins and changelings have become valued resources instead of hated monsters... most elves, goblins, and changelings are pressured to join the wizards guild as soon as they are able, an elf, goblin, or changeling who doesn't is sometimes considered inferior...

The dwarves on the other hand are believed to be behind the catastrophe and they as well as the gnomes have become outcasts... according to rumor, the dwarves and gnomes have constructed large underground cities which are believed to be powered by huge mana storage crystals...

The orcs and ogres have completely abandoned the cities, preferring to live as bandits and outlaws. Trolls for the most part are city-dwellers but a rogue troll can sometimes be found amongst the bandits...

The wolfen and their smaller cousins the kankoran are also city-dwellers but the tend not to stick to any one city, instead traveling between the cities, following various caravans along the trade routes. The coyles, on the other hand, have forsaken the cities altogether and can occasionally be found with orcs and ogres but more often they form their own bandit groups...

Races

Races Available
human
elf
changeling
goblin
kobold
troglodyte
hobgoblin
troll
kankoran
wolfen

Other Races
dwarf
gnome
coyle
orc
ogre

Character Points

100 pts starting base.
25 pts to spend on Social advantages (guild ranks, wealth, appearance, etc).
-50 pts max from disadvantages.
-5 pts automatic from quirks.
* restriction: no attribute/skill/spell higher than 15 without 10 pt Unusual Background.
* restriction no attribute/skill/spell higher than 18.
* exception: if you have an advantage or skill that gives a bonus to skill you buy that skill up to 15 and then apply then bonuses.
* exception: if you have a racial package with attribute modifiers, you apply those modifiers after purchasing the attributes from baseline 10.

Guilds

* everyone in New Timiro who is at all employed belongs to at least one guild, with 2 or 3 being more common.
* all of the guilds fall under one of 4 combines: Medical Combine, Martial Combine, Mercantile Combine, and Mentalist Combine.
* each combine consists of 1 major guild, 1 or more sub guilds and a variety of minor guilds.
* membership in a major guild costs 10 pts per rank level, sub guild costs 5 pts per rank level, minor guild costs 3 pts per rank level.
* starting characters cannot have higher than rank 3 in any guild.
* you may purchase membership in as many guilds as you can afford.

1)Medical Combine
major: Church of Aethos
sub: physician's guild
minors: Royal Academy, New Timiro Orphanage, veterinarians guild, Fine Arts College

2) Martial Combine
major: Holy Order of Thorgrim (knights)
sub: Sacred Order of Thorgrim (monks)
sub: Mercenarium
minors: War College, armourers guild, weaponsmiths guild, blacksmiths guild, general labor guild

3) Mercantile Combine
major: Merchants Guild
sub: Black Guild (thieves/unofficial)
minors: crasftmans guild, innkeepers guild, bankers guild, actors/musicians guild, farmers guild, artisans guild (goldsmith/jewelers), food service guild, teamsters guild, beggars guild

4) Mentalist Combine
major: Wizards Guild
sub: Alchemists Guild
sub: Psi Guild
minors: New Timiro Royal Library, Libram Magus, astrologers guild, apothecary guild, architects guild, masons guild

Guild Council/Grand Council

New Timiro is ruled by the Grand Council which is composed of 2 Lord Councillors from the Medical, Mercantile, and Mentalist Combines and 1 Lord Councillor from the Martial Combine. This is to offset the influence they gain through Legal Enforcement.

All the guild members who are rank 4 and 5 comprise the Guild Council which oversees the day-to-day running of the city. Any guild member may request to address the Guild Council on any matter, but the chance of your request being granted varies depending on how much status you have. It is considered better to have one of your guildmasters bring it before the Guild Council because they generally have more status.

Status

You do not purchase Status as a separate advantage, instead you gain levels in status from having Wealth, being a member of a certain race, and membership in one or more guilds.

Wealth
* Dead Broke: -2 status
* Poor/Struggling: -1 status
* Average: +0 status
* Comfortable/Wealthy: +1 status
* Very Wealthy/Filthy Rich: +2 status

Race
* human, elf, changeling, goblin, kobold: 1st class (+0 status)
* hobgoblin, kankoran, troglodyte, troll, wolfen: 2nd class (-1 status)
* orc, ogre, coyle: outlaws/bandits (-2 status)
* dwarves/gnomes: all-around despicable (-3 status)

Guild
* major guild: rank-1 = +status (except wizards: guild rank = +status)
* sub guilds
- alchemist: rank-1 = +status
- psi/physician/sacred/mercenarium: rank 5 = +3, rank 4 = +2, rank 3 = +1
- black: none (not officially recognized by the Guild Council)
* minor guilds: +1/2 status for each additional guild membership regardless of rank.

Law

The laws in New Timiro are pretty straight-forward, don't kill anyone, don't steal from anyone, don't make a nuisance of yourself. Where it gets complicated is that the magistrates more often than not will find for the side with the higher status. The finer points of the law are designed to protect the high in status from the low, and not the other way around.

Anyone may accuse another of a crime, but unless the accuser is of higher status than the accused, it is generally ignored. Of course a well placed bribe can and does change minds.

There is one Primary Law, that states that during times of crisis or attack the Grand Council can declare Martial Law. During this time members of the Martial Combine have the authority to utilize any and all citizens of in defense of the city.

The City-State of New Timiro

The largest city on the continent, it is located on the southeast corner of the continent approximately five miles from the Timiro Bay.

Two of the largest ley lines in the world cross overhead and can often be seen during the daytime. Nighttime in New TImiro can sometimes be an eerie experience in that the ley lines provide a constant bluish light which bathes the city. It's these twin ley-lines that have kept New Timiro strong when many other cities have fallen to the Orken hordes.

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