They say this world is one of balance. For all you gain, you have to give something in return...
Shadows of the Past
- Thread starter Azel
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- Original Fantasy
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- Ongoing
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Statistics (63 threadmarks, 97k words)
User Total Azel 63 -
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Prelude
- Location
- Germany
They say this world is one of balance. For all you gain, you have to give something in return. It may look as if one could bypass this simple rule, but in the end, fate will always get its due. If you believe in this, they say, then the fall is no surprise. With every road built, it would move a bit closer. With every garden grown, it's hardships would be felt all the more. With every piece of knowledge written into tomes, the fires that to come would burn all the brighter.
The great empire of Cualli had done all of these things. Nobody knew when or how it had begun, for it stood for so long that even its own history had passed into myth. For hundreds of generations, it had spread ever farther and risen ever higher. From the Burning Isles to the south, to the vast expanses of the Broken Sands to the north. From the endless ocean to the west, to the White Peaks in the east. The wild lands where tamed and dense jungles turned to farms and gardens to feed the great cities. No man or woman living in it knew need, for the arcane might of its scholars and the wonders they wrought meant that the meanest servant could live like a lord.
It must have seemed as if this realm would stand forever, but it was not meant to be. For all it had gained, it would have to pay a terrible price and pay it did. Nobody knows how it happened. To few survived the darkness that followed and so Cualli passed back into the realm of myths. Some say that its ways and lack of respect had offended the gods and they've send terrible plagues to punish man. Others claim the spirits of the land rose up to become what they where meant to be once more instead of the forms that man had tried to press them into. Sometimes it is said the scholars called terrible demons into their service and that they broke free to hunt and consume all that they laid eyes upon. Nobody knows the truth and after so many generations have passed, perhaps nobody ever will.
A broken world is all that is left. The jungle took back what was once claimed from him and great trees stand in between the shattered ruins of the past. Strange and terrible creatures stalk their shadows, preying on the unwary who venture too far into the wilds. Not just jaguars and coyotes, but far stranger things. Of walking trees they speak, of great beasts of flesh and bone that seem to be born from nightmares and even the dead may not rest forever in the deepest underbrush. In some places, the very air itself is said to still bear the taint of past sins and chokes the life out of any who breath it while in others the waters are so tainted that they make the flesh rot from your bones, should just a single drop fall on your skin.
So do the stories say. Carried from mouth to mouth by those who brave the paths between the trees to carry them among the few that live between what's left of their ancestors glory.
But it is not great empires and calamities that govern your life, for you are born into a simple tribe. Other matters are much closer at hand.
Pick Tribe:
[] [Tribe] Farmers
While the great farms of the past are gone, they still left behind rich soils and some places are still safe enough to make use of them. Your tribe is among those who found such a spot and ever since tends to these lends to eek out a living. Not every harvest is plentiful, but starvation is rarely a concern and the passing traders gladly bring rare goods from other settlements for any surplus you sell them. Yet it is also risky to stay in one place forever, for the predators of the jungles may find you all too easily, be they beast or man. Yet it is mostly a peaceful life and the endless patience of corn and cassava mean that many of your tribe have time for others matters then farming too.
[] [Tribe] Hunters
It may be risky to constantly move through the underbrush, but yet it can also be rewarding. As long as you do not deviate from the safe passages passed down by your fathers, the creatures of the wild rarely bother you, but sloth and peccary make for a filling meal and many others who you meet in your travels will gladly trade for their pelts and meat. It is still a life of many dangers and hardships and every member of the tribe is expected to pull his own weight. There can be no weak hunters, lest they become prey.
Yet one cannot ignore the past, for wisdom may be gleamed from it. The fall has cost these lands much and your tribe has learned its lesson from it to avoid such dire events in the future.
Pick a tribal value:
[] [Value] Oral History
Among your people it is believed that the Cualli forgot to much about themselves in their complacency. Whatever they have lost, it might have prevented the fall. So your people value stories about the past above all else and seek wisdom from the tales of success and failure of their fathers.
[] [Value] Strength Above All
What use is there to moan about a past that will never come again? Your tribe lives in the here and now, not in the stories of before. By strength of arm and wit they survive from day to day. It was sloth and weakness that brought down Cualli and your people strive to never show either.
[] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
Strange things walk among the trees, just beyond mans ability to see. Cualli was blinded by its own power and forgot to see that around itself. It is not the lore of magic or history that your tribe guards, but about the land and its inhabitants.
Among these people you are born. Just another child among many to be brought into this world. And yet, maybe you will stand apart from all the others. So much has been lost, waiting to be reclaimed. So much has changed, waiting to be discovered. So much was destroyed, waiting to be rebuild.
The world has changed so much, why should it not change again?
But this lies in your future, because right now, you are just another babe in the arms of a mother. Whatever grand ambitions you will have some day, it will have to begin with growing up.
You are a:
[] [Gender] Boy
[] [Gender] Girl
Authors Note:
The setting of Cualli is, as you've might have noticed, based on pre-columbian Mesoamerica. I've always wanted to run something a bit different from the usual medieval fantasy, yet recognizable enough for those enjoying the genre.
What held me back the most was how to run the character generation. This quest is going to have a somewhat complex homebrew mechanics part and I always dreaded to ask in the first post to basically write a tax form worth of arcane numbers, which require a lengthy document to understand.
Therefore, I decided to start with the yet unnamed hero of this story in his infancy. Character generation will be done over the course of a few chapters of growing up, with the environment and choices impacting who he or she will be. So no asking for Strength score on a scale from 1 to 10, but rather who this person you want play is as a person.
Obviously, you will get the lengthy document about how everything works in due time.
The great empire of Cualli had done all of these things. Nobody knew when or how it had begun, for it stood for so long that even its own history had passed into myth. For hundreds of generations, it had spread ever farther and risen ever higher. From the Burning Isles to the south, to the vast expanses of the Broken Sands to the north. From the endless ocean to the west, to the White Peaks in the east. The wild lands where tamed and dense jungles turned to farms and gardens to feed the great cities. No man or woman living in it knew need, for the arcane might of its scholars and the wonders they wrought meant that the meanest servant could live like a lord.
It must have seemed as if this realm would stand forever, but it was not meant to be. For all it had gained, it would have to pay a terrible price and pay it did. Nobody knows how it happened. To few survived the darkness that followed and so Cualli passed back into the realm of myths. Some say that its ways and lack of respect had offended the gods and they've send terrible plagues to punish man. Others claim the spirits of the land rose up to become what they where meant to be once more instead of the forms that man had tried to press them into. Sometimes it is said the scholars called terrible demons into their service and that they broke free to hunt and consume all that they laid eyes upon. Nobody knows the truth and after so many generations have passed, perhaps nobody ever will.
A broken world is all that is left. The jungle took back what was once claimed from him and great trees stand in between the shattered ruins of the past. Strange and terrible creatures stalk their shadows, preying on the unwary who venture too far into the wilds. Not just jaguars and coyotes, but far stranger things. Of walking trees they speak, of great beasts of flesh and bone that seem to be born from nightmares and even the dead may not rest forever in the deepest underbrush. In some places, the very air itself is said to still bear the taint of past sins and chokes the life out of any who breath it while in others the waters are so tainted that they make the flesh rot from your bones, should just a single drop fall on your skin.
So do the stories say. Carried from mouth to mouth by those who brave the paths between the trees to carry them among the few that live between what's left of their ancestors glory.
But it is not great empires and calamities that govern your life, for you are born into a simple tribe. Other matters are much closer at hand.
Pick Tribe:
[] [Tribe] Farmers
While the great farms of the past are gone, they still left behind rich soils and some places are still safe enough to make use of them. Your tribe is among those who found such a spot and ever since tends to these lends to eek out a living. Not every harvest is plentiful, but starvation is rarely a concern and the passing traders gladly bring rare goods from other settlements for any surplus you sell them. Yet it is also risky to stay in one place forever, for the predators of the jungles may find you all too easily, be they beast or man. Yet it is mostly a peaceful life and the endless patience of corn and cassava mean that many of your tribe have time for others matters then farming too.
[] [Tribe] Hunters
It may be risky to constantly move through the underbrush, but yet it can also be rewarding. As long as you do not deviate from the safe passages passed down by your fathers, the creatures of the wild rarely bother you, but sloth and peccary make for a filling meal and many others who you meet in your travels will gladly trade for their pelts and meat. It is still a life of many dangers and hardships and every member of the tribe is expected to pull his own weight. There can be no weak hunters, lest they become prey.
Yet one cannot ignore the past, for wisdom may be gleamed from it. The fall has cost these lands much and your tribe has learned its lesson from it to avoid such dire events in the future.
Pick a tribal value:
[] [Value] Oral History
Among your people it is believed that the Cualli forgot to much about themselves in their complacency. Whatever they have lost, it might have prevented the fall. So your people value stories about the past above all else and seek wisdom from the tales of success and failure of their fathers.
[] [Value] Strength Above All
What use is there to moan about a past that will never come again? Your tribe lives in the here and now, not in the stories of before. By strength of arm and wit they survive from day to day. It was sloth and weakness that brought down Cualli and your people strive to never show either.
[] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
Strange things walk among the trees, just beyond mans ability to see. Cualli was blinded by its own power and forgot to see that around itself. It is not the lore of magic or history that your tribe guards, but about the land and its inhabitants.
Among these people you are born. Just another child among many to be brought into this world. And yet, maybe you will stand apart from all the others. So much has been lost, waiting to be reclaimed. So much has changed, waiting to be discovered. So much was destroyed, waiting to be rebuild.
The world has changed so much, why should it not change again?
But this lies in your future, because right now, you are just another babe in the arms of a mother. Whatever grand ambitions you will have some day, it will have to begin with growing up.
You are a:
[] [Gender] Boy
[] [Gender] Girl
Authors Note:
The setting of Cualli is, as you've might have noticed, based on pre-columbian Mesoamerica. I've always wanted to run something a bit different from the usual medieval fantasy, yet recognizable enough for those enjoying the genre.
What held me back the most was how to run the character generation. This quest is going to have a somewhat complex homebrew mechanics part and I always dreaded to ask in the first post to basically write a tax form worth of arcane numbers, which require a lengthy document to understand.
Therefore, I decided to start with the yet unnamed hero of this story in his infancy. Character generation will be done over the course of a few chapters of growing up, with the environment and choices impacting who he or she will be. So no asking for Strength score on a scale from 1 to 10, but rather who this person you want play is as a person.
Obviously, you will get the lengthy document about how everything works in due time.
Mechanics
- Location
- Germany
Mechanics
Every character or creature has Attributes, Skills and Traits.
Attributes are general characteristics of a character and divided in Physical and Mental. The baseline for an adult human is 5.
Skills are specific things you learned to do well. They are associated with two attributes or the same one twice. Whenever you perform an action requiring a skill check, you roll 1d100 and add +20 for every rank in the skill and +10 for every point in an associated attribute.
Traits are narrowly defined abilities or properties of your character. They might enable you to perform specific actions or can modify skill checks under specific circumstances. This can be anything from dedicated training in a specific weapon, literacy or the loss of a limb.
If you attempt to do something that is opposed by another character, such as fighting, you both roll the relevant skills to the action and compare results. The character with the higher result gains one degree of success and another degree for every 10 points his result was higher then that of his opponent. What these degrees mean depends on the specific circumstances of the check.
If there is no direct opponent, you roll against a fixed difficulty rating, but this works otherwise the same.
Note: This system is intentionally designed to bloat numbers quite fast as you gain Skills and Traits. The chance of a untrained farmer defeating a trained swordsman are slim to none, even with all the luck in the world.
Attributes
Physical
Strength - Governs how much physical force you can exert and is vital for damage in combat.
Dexterity - How nimble and coordinated you are. Used for many physical activities.
Constitution - How well you can stomach physical exertion and wounds.
Wounds - This is always 5 times your constitution and shows how many hits in combat you can take before loosing consciousness or dying. For every number of wounds equal to your constitution you have taken in combat, your attributes and skills are lowered by 1 point until you are healed again.
Mental
Intelligence - This denotes how well you can analyse problems and retain learned information. Hugely important for knowledge skills and higher learning.
Charisma - How well you can get others to listen to what you say.
Concentration - Denotes how well you can focus on a task and take note of minor details when distracted.
Skills
These are the skills you have discovered so far.
Combat
Combat is done in turns during which every participant can act once. Everything done in a turn happens simultaneously, so you resolve all actions at the same time and apply the results at the end of the turn.
The attacker rolls his weapon skill against the defenders Evasion. If the defender has a shield, he can instead use his blocking skill. Some traits, circumstances or special weapons might allow the defender to use other skills to deflect an attack too.
If the attacker has any successes in this check, he deals his weapons base damage and one additional point for every net success. Special weapon qualities might change this. The defender detracts the damage reduction from his armor and then suffers the remaining damage in wounds.
A weapons damage and effectiveness against armor is given by its quality and material.
Quality increases the base damage. The possible qualities are Simple -> Regular -> Exceptional -> Masterwork -> Artifact.
The material comes into play when trying to break weapons and shields of another combatant and a weapon gets a strong damage penalty when used against armor made from superior materials. They are are divided in the categories Natural (Bone, Stone, Leather, Wood) -> Bronze / Iron -> Steel -> Magical -> Artifact.
The difference between the material of weapon and armor determine the effectiveness of armor.
Lastly, weapons can have special qualitites:
Reach - The weapon has exceptional reach and can be used to keep an opponent away from you. You can use your skill with the weapon to evade an attack by keeping the enemy away from you.
Bleeding - If you deal more damage to an enemy then his Constitution score in a single hit, you tear open a bleeding wound. Every round, your opponent rolls a d10 for every bleeding wound he took. If the result is higher or equal then his Constitution, he takes a wound from blood loss.
Impact - The weapon is more efficient against armor. Consider the material of armor one step lower then it actually is.
Armor offers a fixed amount of of Damage Reduction, which is deducted from all damage after the material modifier was applied. Depending on how heavy it is, armor deducts an Armor Penalty from all physical attributes and skills which have at least one physical attribute linked to them. The Armor Penalty and DR from armor and shields stack.
A custom fitted armor has the Armor Pentalty lowered by one step. Shields can't be custom fitted.
Healing
Once a day, you make a Healing check to regain lost wounds and a Infection check to see if your wounds became infected.
Healing Check:
1d10 + Constitution - Wound Penalty - 2 for every level of Infection
If the result is equal or higher then 10, you regain a wound.
If the result is lower is equal or lower then 0, you lose an additional wound.
If your wounds where dressed, you automatically regain one wound, regardless of the check outcome.
Infection Check:
1d10 + Constitution - Wound Penalty (doubled if wounds are not dressed) - 2 for every level of Infection (halved if wounds are dressed) - 0.5 for every undressed wound
If the result is equal or higher then 10, you lose one level of Infection
If the result is lower is equal or lower then 0, you gain one level of Infection
Dressing Wounds:
To dress wounds, you roll Medicine against a DC equal to the number of wounds multiplied by 10. Multiply this DC by the Infection level - 1, if the wounds are already infected. Add 50 to the DC if you are trying to treat yourself without aid. Add 50 to the DC if you don't have Wound Dressings and need to improvise the materials.
When using an improvised dressing, the wounds are considered dressed, but you still gain half the usual penalty to infection checks and do not automatically heal a wound per day.
Closing Bleeding Wounds:
To close a bleeding wound, you roll Medicine check against the number of multiples of the patients Constitution plus one, times 50.
Example: A Constitution 5 patient took 10 wounds from a sword strike. The DC to close the bleeding wound is (2 + 1) * 50 = 150
Other Rules
Intimidation and Resistance
Intimidation checks work by the attacker picking a physical and a mental attribute to browbeat you into submission. You do the same to defend against it. Usually, these will be your highest, but circumstances might restrict you to certain attributes.
Example: A large group of guards trying to make you give up would make Strength unavailable, since you know that you can't beat them all by brute force, but outrunning them (Constitution) or loosing them somehow (Dexterity) are valid.
Potions and Poisons
Each of these substances has a Quality Level, determined at creation. The specific impact of this value on its function is denoted in its description.
Every time before a poison takes effect, the person can roll a d10. If the result of that roll is lower then his constitution score minus the poisons quality, the poison is loosing one quality level and is fully negated if its quality reaches 0.
Every character or creature has Attributes, Skills and Traits.
Attributes are general characteristics of a character and divided in Physical and Mental. The baseline for an adult human is 5.
Skills are specific things you learned to do well. They are associated with two attributes or the same one twice. Whenever you perform an action requiring a skill check, you roll 1d100 and add +20 for every rank in the skill and +10 for every point in an associated attribute.
Traits are narrowly defined abilities or properties of your character. They might enable you to perform specific actions or can modify skill checks under specific circumstances. This can be anything from dedicated training in a specific weapon, literacy or the loss of a limb.
If you attempt to do something that is opposed by another character, such as fighting, you both roll the relevant skills to the action and compare results. The character with the higher result gains one degree of success and another degree for every 10 points his result was higher then that of his opponent. What these degrees mean depends on the specific circumstances of the check.
If there is no direct opponent, you roll against a fixed difficulty rating, but this works otherwise the same.
Note: This system is intentionally designed to bloat numbers quite fast as you gain Skills and Traits. The chance of a untrained farmer defeating a trained swordsman are slim to none, even with all the luck in the world.
Attributes
Physical
Strength - Governs how much physical force you can exert and is vital for damage in combat.
Dexterity - How nimble and coordinated you are. Used for many physical activities.
Constitution - How well you can stomach physical exertion and wounds.
Wounds - This is always 5 times your constitution and shows how many hits in combat you can take before loosing consciousness or dying. For every number of wounds equal to your constitution you have taken in combat, your attributes and skills are lowered by 1 point until you are healed again.
Mental
Intelligence - This denotes how well you can analyse problems and retain learned information. Hugely important for knowledge skills and higher learning.
Charisma - How well you can get others to listen to what you say.
Concentration - Denotes how well you can focus on a task and take note of minor details when distracted.
Skills
These are the skills you have discovered so far.
Wrestling - Strength & Dexterity
Bladed Weapons - Strength & Dexterity
Bashing Weapons - Strength & Dexterity
Spear Fighting - Strength & Dexterity
Archery - Strength & Dexterity
Throwing Weapons - Strength & Dexterity
Evasion - Dexterity & Dexterity
Blocking - Constitution & Dexterity
Bladed Weapons - Strength & Dexterity
Bashing Weapons - Strength & Dexterity
Spear Fighting - Strength & Dexterity
Archery - Strength & Dexterity
Throwing Weapons - Strength & Dexterity
Evasion - Dexterity & Dexterity
Blocking - Constitution & Dexterity
Survival - Intelligence & Constitution
Tracking - Intelligence & Concentration
Endurance - Strength & Constitution
Sneaking - Dexterity & Concentration
Perception - Intelligence & Concentration
Tracking - Intelligence & Concentration
Endurance - Strength & Constitution
Sneaking - Dexterity & Concentration
Perception - Intelligence & Concentration
Herbalism - Intelligence & Dexterity
Animal Lore - Intelligence & Concentration
Spirit Lore - Intelligence & Intelligence
History - Intelligence & Intelligence
Spirit Talking - Intelligence & Charisma
Astronomy - Intelligence & Intelligence
Medicine - Intelligence & Intelligence
Surgery - Intelligence & Dexterity
Animal Lore - Intelligence & Concentration
Spirit Lore - Intelligence & Intelligence
History - Intelligence & Intelligence
Spirit Talking - Intelligence & Charisma
Astronomy - Intelligence & Intelligence
Medicine - Intelligence & Intelligence
Surgery - Intelligence & Dexterity
Diplomacy - Charisma & Concentration
Intrigue - Charisma & Intelligence
Charm - Charisma & Charisma
Intrigue - Charisma & Intelligence
Charm - Charisma & Charisma
Alchemy - Intelligence & ???
??? - ??? & ???
??? - ??? & ???
Combat
Combat is done in turns during which every participant can act once. Everything done in a turn happens simultaneously, so you resolve all actions at the same time and apply the results at the end of the turn.
The attacker rolls his weapon skill against the defenders Evasion. If the defender has a shield, he can instead use his blocking skill. Some traits, circumstances or special weapons might allow the defender to use other skills to deflect an attack too.
If the attacker has any successes in this check, he deals his weapons base damage and one additional point for every net success. Special weapon qualities might change this. The defender detracts the damage reduction from his armor and then suffers the remaining damage in wounds.
A weapons damage and effectiveness against armor is given by its quality and material.
Quality increases the base damage. The possible qualities are Simple -> Regular -> Exceptional -> Masterwork -> Artifact.
The material comes into play when trying to break weapons and shields of another combatant and a weapon gets a strong damage penalty when used against armor made from superior materials. They are are divided in the categories Natural (Bone, Stone, Leather, Wood) -> Bronze / Iron -> Steel -> Magical -> Artifact.
The difference between the material of weapon and armor determine the effectiveness of armor.
| Weapon 3 or more steps worse. | No damage dealt. |
| Weapon 2 steps worse. | Multiply Damage Reduction by 4. Dealt damage is halved (rounded up). |
| Weapon 1 step worse. | Multiply Damage Reduction by 2. |
| Same level. | No effect. |
| Armor 1 step worse. | Divide damage reduction by 2 (rounded up). |
| Armor 2 steps worse. | Divide damage reduction by 4 (rounded up). |
| Armor 3 or more steps worse. | Damage reduction is not applied. |
Lastly, weapons can have special qualitites:
Reach - The weapon has exceptional reach and can be used to keep an opponent away from you. You can use your skill with the weapon to evade an attack by keeping the enemy away from you.
Bleeding - If you deal more damage to an enemy then his Constitution score in a single hit, you tear open a bleeding wound. Every round, your opponent rolls a d10 for every bleeding wound he took. If the result is higher or equal then his Constitution, he takes a wound from blood loss.
Impact - The weapon is more efficient against armor. Consider the material of armor one step lower then it actually is.
| Name | Skill | Encumbrance | Qualitites | Base Damage | Regular | Exceptional | Masterwork | Artifact |
| Knife / Dagger | Bladed | Light | Bleeding | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 |
| Short Sword | Bladed | Light | Bleeding | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 |
| Sword | Bladed | Medium | Bleeding | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 |
| Bastard Sword | Bladed | Heavy | Bleeding | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 |
| Two-Handed Sword | Bladed | Heavy | Bleeding, Impact | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 |
| Handaxe | Bladed | Light | Bleeding | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 |
| Axe | Bladed | Medium | Bleeding, Impact (only when wielded with two hands) | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 |
| Heavy Axe | Bladed | Heavy | Bleeding, Impact | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 |
| Staff | Bashing | Light | Impact | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 |
| Mace / Hammer | Bashing | Medium | Impact | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 |
| Two-Handed Hammer | Bashing | Heavy | Impact | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 |
| Short Spear | Spear | Light | Bleeding | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 |
| Spear | Spear | Medium | Bleeding, Reach | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 |
| Long Spear / Lance | Spear | Heavy | Bleeding, Reach | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 |
| Sling | Throwing | Light | Impact | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 |
| Spear (Thrown) | Throwing | Medium | Bleeding, Impact | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 |
| Atlatl | Throwing | Heavy | Bleeding, Impact | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 | 4d8 |
| Bow | Archery | Light | Bleeding | 1d6 | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 |
| Longbow | Archery | Medium | Bleeding | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 |
| Warbow | Archery | Heavy | Bleeding, Impact | 2d6 | 2d8 | 2d10 | 4d6 | 4d8 |
Armor offers a fixed amount of of Damage Reduction, which is deducted from all damage after the material modifier was applied. Depending on how heavy it is, armor deducts an Armor Penalty from all physical attributes and skills which have at least one physical attribute linked to them. The Armor Penalty and DR from armor and shields stack.
A custom fitted armor has the Armor Pentalty lowered by one step. Shields can't be custom fitted.
| Type | Armor Penalty | Simple | Regular | Exceptional | Masterwork | Artifact |
| Armor - Light | -1 | DR 1 | DR 2 | DR 4 | DR 8 | DR 12 |
| Armor - Medium | -2 | DR 2 | DR 4 | DR 8 | DR 12 | DR 16 |
| Armor - Heavy | -3 | DR 4 | DR 8 | DR 12 | DR 16 | DR 20 |
| Shield - Light | -1 | DR 0 | DR 1 | DR 2 | DR 3 | DR 4 |
| Shield - Medium | -2 | DR 1 | DR 2 | DR 3 | DR 4 | DR 5 |
| Shield - Heavy | -3 | DR 2 | DR 3 | DR 4 | DR 5 | DR 6 |
Healing
Once a day, you make a Healing check to regain lost wounds and a Infection check to see if your wounds became infected.
Healing Check:
1d10 + Constitution - Wound Penalty - 2 for every level of Infection
If the result is equal or higher then 10, you regain a wound.
If the result is lower is equal or lower then 0, you lose an additional wound.
If your wounds where dressed, you automatically regain one wound, regardless of the check outcome.
Infection Check:
1d10 + Constitution - Wound Penalty (doubled if wounds are not dressed) - 2 for every level of Infection (halved if wounds are dressed) - 0.5 for every undressed wound
If the result is equal or higher then 10, you lose one level of Infection
If the result is lower is equal or lower then 0, you gain one level of Infection
Dressing Wounds:
To dress wounds, you roll Medicine against a DC equal to the number of wounds multiplied by 10. Multiply this DC by the Infection level - 1, if the wounds are already infected. Add 50 to the DC if you are trying to treat yourself without aid. Add 50 to the DC if you don't have Wound Dressings and need to improvise the materials.
When using an improvised dressing, the wounds are considered dressed, but you still gain half the usual penalty to infection checks and do not automatically heal a wound per day.
Closing Bleeding Wounds:
To close a bleeding wound, you roll Medicine check against the number of multiples of the patients Constitution plus one, times 50.
Example: A Constitution 5 patient took 10 wounds from a sword strike. The DC to close the bleeding wound is (2 + 1) * 50 = 150
Other Rules
Intimidation and Resistance
Intimidation checks work by the attacker picking a physical and a mental attribute to browbeat you into submission. You do the same to defend against it. Usually, these will be your highest, but circumstances might restrict you to certain attributes.
Example: A large group of guards trying to make you give up would make Strength unavailable, since you know that you can't beat them all by brute force, but outrunning them (Constitution) or loosing them somehow (Dexterity) are valid.
Potions and Poisons
Each of these substances has a Quality Level, determined at creation. The specific impact of this value on its function is denoted in its description.
Every time before a poison takes effect, the person can roll a d10. If the result of that roll is lower then his constitution score minus the poisons quality, the poison is loosing one quality level and is fully negated if its quality reaches 0.
Last edited:
Charactersheet
- Location
- Germany
Charactersheet
Name: Yaxkin
Age: 16
Birthday: Long Count: 1.6.16.14.6.0 - Tzolkin: 7 Kib - Lunar: 8.25 Decline
Occupation: Traveller
Attributes
Strength - 6 ( 809 / 10500 )
Dexterity - 8 ( 1532 / 18000 )
Constitution - 6 ( 622 / 10500 )
Intelligence - 5 ( 3748 / 7500 )
Charisma - 5 ( 804 / 7500 )
Concentration - 6 ( 1002 / 10500 )
??? - ??? ( 0 / ??? )
??? - ??? ( 279 / ??? )
??? - ??? ( 163 / ??? )
30/30 Wounds
Wound Penalty every 6 lost wounds
Skills
Bladed Weapons - 4 ( 220 / 1500 )
Archery - 3 ( 300 / 1000 )
Evasion - 3 ( 671 / 1000 )
Sneaking - 3 ( 562 / 1000 )
Survival - 4 ( 216 / 1500 )
Tracking - 2 ( 224 / 600 )
Endurance - 4 ( 219 / 1500 )
Perception - 4 ( 454 / 1500 )
Herbalism - 3 ( 510 / 1000 )
Medicine - 4 ( 69 / 1500 )
Surgery - 2 ( 138 / 600 )
Animal Lore - 2 ( 224 / 600 )
Spirit Lore - 4 ( 360 / 1500 )
Spirit Talking - 3 ( 541 / 1000 )
Astronomy - 3 ( 534 / 1000 )
Diplomacy - 3 ( 598 / 1000 )
Intrigue - 3 ( 683 / 1000 )
Charm - 3 ( 230 / 1000 )
Alchemy - 2 ( 168 / 600 )
??? - 1 ( 63 / 300 )
Traits
Equipment
You've found this little disc on your first trip into a ruin of old, the Warriors Compound in the faded city near the migration path of your tribe. Made from purest gold and carved with great skill, it shows a Cualli calendar on the front and a drawing of a few constellations to aid finding the right day on the back.
Total Encumbrance: 5 / 11 (Strength + Constitution)
Funds:
2 Tlaltepoztli
26 Quachtli
296 Cacao Beans
Conversion:
1 Quachtli (sheets of cotton) = 300 Cacao Beans
1 Tlaltepoztli ("Hoe Money", copper tokens) = 8,000 Cacao Beans (roughly 27 Quachtli)
Alchemical Recipes
Other Recipes
Companions
Name: Yaxkin
Age: 16
Birthday: Long Count: 1.6.16.14.6.0 - Tzolkin: 7 Kib - Lunar: 8.25 Decline
Occupation: Traveller
Attributes
Strength - 6 ( 809 / 10500 )
Dexterity - 8 ( 1532 / 18000 )
Constitution - 6 ( 622 / 10500 )
Intelligence - 5 ( 3748 / 7500 )
Charisma - 5 ( 804 / 7500 )
Concentration - 6 ( 1002 / 10500 )
??? - ??? ( 0 / ??? )
??? - ??? ( 279 / ??? )
??? - ??? ( 163 / ??? )
30/30 Wounds
Wound Penalty every 6 lost wounds
Skills
Bladed Weapons - 4 ( 220 / 1500 )
Archery - 3 ( 300 / 1000 )
Evasion - 3 ( 671 / 1000 )
Sneaking - 3 ( 562 / 1000 )
Survival - 4 ( 216 / 1500 )
Tracking - 2 ( 224 / 600 )
Endurance - 4 ( 219 / 1500 )
Perception - 4 ( 454 / 1500 )
Herbalism - 3 ( 510 / 1000 )
Medicine - 4 ( 69 / 1500 )
Surgery - 2 ( 138 / 600 )
Animal Lore - 2 ( 224 / 600 )
Spirit Lore - 4 ( 360 / 1500 )
Spirit Talking - 3 ( 541 / 1000 )
Astronomy - 3 ( 534 / 1000 )
Diplomacy - 3 ( 598 / 1000 )
Intrigue - 3 ( 683 / 1000 )
Charm - 3 ( 230 / 1000 )
Alchemy - 2 ( 168 / 600 )
??? - 1 ( 63 / 300 )
Traits
You are trained in the use of knives for combat. Add +20 to your Bladed Weapons skill when using a knife, dagger or similar weapon. Add +10 if you are using a short sword.
When using your Herbalism skill, add +5 per rank in Survival and when using Survival, add +5 per rank in Herbalism.
You have learned to watch your surroundings closely and even subconsciously, giving you an edge in combat. When you defend yourself in combat, add +5 per point of your Concentration attribute to your result.
You have learned that just evading attacks isn't enough to win a fight. At the beginning of a combat turn, you can announce an enemy to position yourself against and determine a number that is detracted from every Evasion check made in this turn. You can only use Evasion to defend against attacks in this turn. In the next round of combat, you gain the same value as a bonus on all attack rolls against the picked enemy.
You have learned how to always keep a knife in reach. As long as you have a knife on you and a free hand to draw it, you can retrieve it without spending any time or effort. This trait does not apply when you are ambushed.
Extensive knowledge about the vital areas of humans and animals allow you to make devastating attacks with weapons that offer the necessary precision. When using a Light close combat weapon, increase the base damage by one step. If the target is unaware of the attack, increase it by two steps.
You have trained to fire a bow while on the move. Receive no penalty for using the Archery skill while sneaking or running.
You have learned to ambush your foes. When you attack someone out of hiding, you gain +5 on your attack for every degree of success of your Sneaking check against the targets Perception check.
You have learned to artfully steer a conversation to or away from topics without others even noticing. With a successful Intrigue check, you can make others reveal information you desire and make them think they told you it voluntarily. Likewise, you can avoid answering a question in the same fashion.
Not considered an essential skill by most people, the written language of old Cualli is a necessary thing to master, if you want to pursue the knowledge of the time before the Fall.
By drawing upon the essence of a Fleshweaver, you took it's unnatural hunger for yourself. Once every lunar cycle, you must devour a living animal or human, lest the hunger takes part of your self. When this happens, the craving for living flesh will become greater until you will eat anything, just to be sated.
You can heal Fade damage by devouring the essence of a living being. If you do not do so once in a lunar cycle, you take one point of Fade damage per day until you sate your hunger. Furthermore, you can eat raw meat, blood, offal and similar substances without ill effects and derive nourishment from them.
You can heal Fade damage by devouring the essence of a living being. If you do not do so once in a lunar cycle, you take one point of Fade damage per day until you sate your hunger. Furthermore, you can eat raw meat, blood, offal and similar substances without ill effects and derive nourishment from them.
By eschewing the chance to strike at your enemy, you prepare yourself to defend against his strikes. You can't attack in the combat turn where you use Full defense, but add your weapon skill to any defensive check against close combat attacks.
Equipment
Material: Bronze
Quality: Exceptional
Encumbrance: Light
As a reward for finding his apprentice and a codex from old Cualli, the smith Noche coated your obsidian dagger with bronze. Not even a minor dent or edge is there where the metal meets the stone and the black obsidian and golden bronze seem almost to flow into each other. No single little nick or uneven patch is disturbing the edge, which is just as sharp as before. The handle is still the same bone you gave it away with, but the carvings are now coated with a thin layer of bronze too, making them stand out all the more from the white background while the pommel has gained a grinning picture of the sun in bronze.
Quality: Exceptional
Encumbrance: Light
As a reward for finding his apprentice and a codex from old Cualli, the smith Noche coated your obsidian dagger with bronze. Not even a minor dent or edge is there where the metal meets the stone and the black obsidian and golden bronze seem almost to flow into each other. No single little nick or uneven patch is disturbing the edge, which is just as sharp as before. The handle is still the same bone you gave it away with, but the carvings are now coated with a thin layer of bronze too, making them stand out all the more from the white background while the pommel has gained a grinning picture of the sun in bronze.
Quality: Regular
Encumbrance: Light
Quiver: 30 arrows (Natural, Regular, Light Encumbrance)
Made from the pleasant smelling, deep red wood of a rare tree in your area, this bow is one of the finest your tribe can make.
Encumbrance: Light
Quiver: 30 arrows (Natural, Regular, Light Encumbrance)
Made from the pleasant smelling, deep red wood of a rare tree in your area, this bow is one of the finest your tribe can make.
Encumbrance: Light
A rough belt made from tanned hide that is holding a few small clay vessels for easy access.
Can hold up to 5 doses of herbal or alchemical substances.
Contents:
- 1x Numbing Brew (Quality 5)
- 1x Grave's Kiss (Quality 1)
- 1x Jungles Scent (Quality 7)
- 1x Clotting Salve (Quality 4)
A rough belt made from tanned hide that is holding a few small clay vessels for easy access.
Can hold up to 5 doses of herbal or alchemical substances.
Contents:
- 1x Numbing Brew (Quality 5)
- 1x Grave's Kiss (Quality 1)
- 1x Jungles Scent (Quality 7)
- 1x Clotting Salve (Quality 4)
You've found this little disc on your first trip into a ruin of old, the Warriors Compound in the faded city near the migration path of your tribe. Made from purest gold and carved with great skill, it shows a Cualli calendar on the front and a drawing of a few constellations to aid finding the right day on the back.
Encumbrance: Light
A small pouch with various tools, like needles, knifes and scrapers. In a pinch, it carries everything you need for a surgery even.
A small pouch with various tools, like needles, knifes and scrapers. In a pinch, it carries everything you need for a surgery even.
Made of three wooden pearls, held together with a small rope out of red and green string, this good luck charm was gifted to you by Matlal, who bears its counterpart. In truth, it is the anchor for a minor bit of magic, which allows a short message to be whispered to the who ever holds the other piece of the pair. After sending a message, you can not send another for 13 days.
- 2x Clotting Salve (Quality 3)
- 5x Curare (Quality 4)
- 21x Wound Dressing
- 24 days of rations
- 1x Unknown Codex (Small) - Found among dead Stone Men in the Fleshweaver Ruins
- 5x Curare (Quality 4)
- 21x Wound Dressing
- 24 days of rations
- 1x Unknown Codex (Small) - Found among dead Stone Men in the Fleshweaver Ruins
Funds:
2 Tlaltepoztli
26 Quachtli
296 Cacao Beans
Conversion:
1 Quachtli (sheets of cotton) = 300 Cacao Beans
1 Tlaltepoztli ("Hoe Money", copper tokens) = 8,000 Cacao Beans (roughly 27 Quachtli)
Alchemical Recipes
Numbing Brew
Base DC: 150
When drunken, this brew purges the pain and troubles of injuries from you. You can ignore the penalties from being wounded for some time after drinking it.
Lasts for 1 minute per quality level.
Clotting Salve
Base DC: 180
A thick, white paste. When spread into a bleeding wound, it immediately makes the wound scab over and stops the loss of the blood.
Cures a number of bleeding wounds up to its quality level when used.
Mosquito's Bane
Base DC: 150
A light oil that repels insects from any who rub it on their body. The odor is quite strong and makes it easier for animals to track you by scent, but it can keep away even the nastiest insects without fail.
Lasts for 1 hour per quality level.
Grave's Kiss
Base DC: 210
This dark red liquid can either be used as a medication or a poison. When carefully given to a patient in small doses, they fall into a death like trance and will feel no pain or distress when a shaman treats the most grievous wounds, but a full dose is lethal.
Can keep a person unconscious for one hour per quality level, if a skilled healer is there to administer it regularly. When a full dose is ingested at once, the consumer receives a penalty of -1 to each of his attributes every round. If all his attributes sink to 0, he person perishes from this effect.
Purging Sludge
Base DC: 150
When a person eats this green sludge, they will start vomiting within moments. This expels any poisons they have in their body, even if the poison was injected instead of ingested.
Removes one quality level of poison from your blood per quality level.
Jungles Scent
Base DC: 150
A heavy cream that covers up the natural scent of a person and makes it blend into the surrounding scents.
Lasts for 1 hour per quality level.
Base DC: 150
When drunken, this brew purges the pain and troubles of injuries from you. You can ignore the penalties from being wounded for some time after drinking it.
Lasts for 1 minute per quality level.
Clotting Salve
Base DC: 180
A thick, white paste. When spread into a bleeding wound, it immediately makes the wound scab over and stops the loss of the blood.
Cures a number of bleeding wounds up to its quality level when used.
Mosquito's Bane
Base DC: 150
A light oil that repels insects from any who rub it on their body. The odor is quite strong and makes it easier for animals to track you by scent, but it can keep away even the nastiest insects without fail.
Lasts for 1 hour per quality level.
Grave's Kiss
Base DC: 210
This dark red liquid can either be used as a medication or a poison. When carefully given to a patient in small doses, they fall into a death like trance and will feel no pain or distress when a shaman treats the most grievous wounds, but a full dose is lethal.
Can keep a person unconscious for one hour per quality level, if a skilled healer is there to administer it regularly. When a full dose is ingested at once, the consumer receives a penalty of -1 to each of his attributes every round. If all his attributes sink to 0, he person perishes from this effect.
Purging Sludge
Base DC: 150
When a person eats this green sludge, they will start vomiting within moments. This expels any poisons they have in their body, even if the poison was injected instead of ingested.
Removes one quality level of poison from your blood per quality level.
Jungles Scent
Base DC: 150
A heavy cream that covers up the natural scent of a person and makes it blend into the surrounding scents.
Lasts for 1 hour per quality level.
Other Recipes
Curare
Base DC: 150 (Herbalism)
A simple poison made from various plants. When applied to a weapon, Curare causes the victim to lose on wound per turn of combat as his muscles go limp. Unless an antidote is administered, it is lethal within minutes.
Base DC: 150 (Herbalism)
A simple poison made from various plants. When applied to a weapon, Curare causes the victim to lose on wound per turn of combat as his muscles go limp. Unless an antidote is administered, it is lethal within minutes.
Companions
Age: 24
Birthday: Long Count: 1.6.16.5.15.12 - Tzolkin: 8 Akbal - Lunar: 0.12 Coming
Occupation: Former Mercenary
Attributes
Strength - 6 ( 0 / 10500 )
Dexterity - 7 ( 0 / 14000 )
Constitution - 7 ( 0 / 14000 )
Intelligence - 4 ( 0 / 5000 )
Charisma - 4 ( 0 / 5000 )
Concentration - 6 ( 0 / 10500 )
35/35 Wounds
Wound Penalty every 7 lost wounds
Skills
Bladed Weapons - 5 ( 0 / 2100 )
Bashing Weapons - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Archery - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Evasion - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Sneaking - 5 ( 0 / 2100 )
Survival - 5 ( 0 / 2100 )
Tracking - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Endurance - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Perception - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Weaving - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Woodcarving - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Medicine - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Animal Lore - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Spirit Lore - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Astronomy - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Diplomacy - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Intrigue - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Charm - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Traits
Equipment:
- Exceptional Obsidian Knife
- Exceptional Longbow
- 22x Exceptional Obsidian Tipped Arrows
- 6x Exceptional Bronze Tipped Arrows
Total Encumbrance: 5 / 13 (Strength + Constitution)
Birthday: Long Count: 1.6.16.5.15.12 - Tzolkin: 8 Akbal - Lunar: 0.12 Coming
Occupation: Former Mercenary
Attributes
Strength - 6 ( 0 / 10500 )
Dexterity - 7 ( 0 / 14000 )
Constitution - 7 ( 0 / 14000 )
Intelligence - 4 ( 0 / 5000 )
Charisma - 4 ( 0 / 5000 )
Concentration - 6 ( 0 / 10500 )
35/35 Wounds
Wound Penalty every 7 lost wounds
Skills
Bladed Weapons - 5 ( 0 / 2100 )
Bashing Weapons - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Archery - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Evasion - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Sneaking - 5 ( 0 / 2100 )
Survival - 5 ( 0 / 2100 )
Tracking - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Endurance - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Perception - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Weaving - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Woodcarving - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Medicine - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Animal Lore - 4 ( 0 / 1500 )
Spirit Lore - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Astronomy - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Diplomacy - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Intrigue - 1 ( 0 / 300 )
Charm - 2 ( 0 / 600 )
Traits
When you are spotted while sneaking, you can try to make a Quick Retreat. Re-roll you Sneaking check. If you succeed, you can get away before the enemy can attack you, but he will still be aware that you where present. If you fail this second check too, you loose your attack in the first round of combat and get a penalty of -10 to defense in the first turn for every degree of failure of the second check.
By eschewing the chance to strike at your enemy, you prepare yourself to defend against his strikes. You can't attack in the combat turn where you use Full defense, but add your weapon skill to any defensive check you must make.
You learned how to use a bow even in close combat. When engaged in close combat, you can shoot your enemy with a bow, but you halve the bonus gained from your Archery skill when doing so.
When using Tracking to follow an animal, you gain a +5 bonus for every rank in Animal Lore. When using Tracking to follow spirits, you gain a +5 bonus for every rank in Spirit Lore.
By impairing your chance to defend yourself, you can strike a vicious blow to your enemy. You can take up to 10 points of bonus per level in the weapon skill you use for an attack, but you get twice this bonus as a malus on all defensive actions in the next turn.
You are not easily cowed into submission. You can retry a failed Intimidation check once at a -50 penalty.
You have learned to ambush your foes. When you attack someone out of hiding, you gain +5 on your attack for every degree of success of your Sneaking check against the targets Perception check.
Equipment:
- Exceptional Obsidian Knife
- Exceptional Longbow
- 22x Exceptional Obsidian Tipped Arrows
- 6x Exceptional Bronze Tipped Arrows
Total Encumbrance: 5 / 13 (Strength + Constitution)
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Lore
- Location
- Germany
Known Spirits
Minor Spirits
Spirits
Calendar
Minor Spirits
Usually found around dawn and dusk near the fruit bearing trees, these spirits look a lot like monkeys, if you can spot them. As long as they stay in the shadows, only the most attentive onlooker might see them, where others just notice a slightly darker patch of shadows.
While mostly similar to spider monkey, the few differences are stark. Bearing three tails instead of one and their yellow eyes have two parallel slits. Their faces resemble eerily that of a man and while they are nearly always silent, their cries when agitated sound oddly human too.
These spirits are rather harmless though. They have no hankering for meat and prefer overripe fruit. When they feel their meal threatened or are approached, they might defend themselves, but usually they prefer to run away instead. While a single one of them is neither strong nor dangerous as far as spirits go, they always come in large packs that can easily overwhelm the unwary.
While mostly similar to spider monkey, the few differences are stark. Bearing three tails instead of one and their yellow eyes have two parallel slits. Their faces resemble eerily that of a man and while they are nearly always silent, their cries when agitated sound oddly human too.
These spirits are rather harmless though. They have no hankering for meat and prefer overripe fruit. When they feel their meal threatened or are approached, they might defend themselves, but usually they prefer to run away instead. While a single one of them is neither strong nor dangerous as far as spirits go, they always come in large packs that can easily overwhelm the unwary.
These small spirits seem like embers dancing in an unseen breeze. They look almost playful as they twist and turn in the air, dancing around things and their compatriots, yet it is dangerous to approach them. When startled, the small ember can turn into a mighty blaze, scorching flesh from bone and blackening even stone. Where one of them might still be dodged if agitated, they tend to come in huge swarms that fill entire rooms, making it perilous to cross such locales.
However, these spirits are not malicious in nature. If left alone, they will not attack or pursue someone out of their own accord. Some daring individuals who walked inside their swarms even say that they are merely warm to the touch and that it is pleasant feeling when they brush against your skin during their movements.
However, these spirits are not malicious in nature. If left alone, they will not attack or pursue someone out of their own accord. Some daring individuals who walked inside their swarms even say that they are merely warm to the touch and that it is pleasant feeling when they brush against your skin during their movements.
Spirits
Small moths that look harmless on their own with only their strange, orange glow hinting at their true nature. These spirits lay their eggs into the living flesh of their unwary hosts, where they and their spawn start to dig cavities into their victims. After a while, only the outer skin remains, held in shape with thin strings of a black material that anchors it to the remaining bone.
The host doesn't notice any of this. He might experience some prickling or numbness in the affected areas, but without digging into his own flesh, he will never notice the spirits who devour his insides. After a while, the Flesh Moths spread into the skull and the victim starts to behave oddly and seek the company of others. When close to uninfected persons, the moths will travel from one host to another to spread.
As the body starts to be nearly entirely consumed, the moths have full control of their host and use it to travel around and hunt for new hosts. Often the remaining skin of the host starts to acquire tears and rips at this point, revealing its true nature for all to see.
A single moth is all it takes to spread into a new body. Such a mild start usually means the host has weeks or months before being wholly consumed, but the swarms that are released by a host being crippled to much to move are known to take over a man in mere moments.
The host doesn't notice any of this. He might experience some prickling or numbness in the affected areas, but without digging into his own flesh, he will never notice the spirits who devour his insides. After a while, the Flesh Moths spread into the skull and the victim starts to behave oddly and seek the company of others. When close to uninfected persons, the moths will travel from one host to another to spread.
As the body starts to be nearly entirely consumed, the moths have full control of their host and use it to travel around and hunt for new hosts. Often the remaining skin of the host starts to acquire tears and rips at this point, revealing its true nature for all to see.
A single moth is all it takes to spread into a new body. Such a mild start usually means the host has weeks or months before being wholly consumed, but the swarms that are released by a host being crippled to much to move are known to take over a man in mere moments.
Statues made from stone in the shape of man. Despite looking ponderous, these spirits move easily and swiftly as if they where made from flesh.
In the time before the Fall, they served old Cualli. Some have been driven mad by the Fall or reverted to the feral natures they had before being made servants, while others still carry out the orders of their passed masters or have started to perform actions that make only sense to their alien minds with unrelenting dedication.
To approach them without knowing what kind of Stone Men they are is dangerous and foolhardy. Some might appear peaceful and yet become raging beasts upon spotting a man.
In the time before the Fall, they served old Cualli. Some have been driven mad by the Fall or reverted to the feral natures they had before being made servants, while others still carry out the orders of their passed masters or have started to perform actions that make only sense to their alien minds with unrelenting dedication.
To approach them without knowing what kind of Stone Men they are is dangerous and foolhardy. Some might appear peaceful and yet become raging beasts upon spotting a man.
These spirits take the shapes of wolves and live like them in many regards. Nearly always travelling in large packs, they are some of the greatest hunters who prowl the jungle. Taller then a man and with the wits to match, few are those who can claim to have seen them and lived to tell the tale.
They have no fur, but are garbed in figments of earth and greenery, which flow around them and fool even keen eyed hunters. Their gaze is said to sap the will of all they level it on, to make it easier to rend their prey apart with mighty claws.
They have no fur, but are garbed in figments of earth and greenery, which flow around them and fool even keen eyed hunters. Their gaze is said to sap the will of all they level it on, to make it easier to rend their prey apart with mighty claws.
These spider like spirits are found mostly in the Red Forest, though some say that they venture forth from there sometimes. From the flesh of their victims, they weave great nets around their nests. Once touched, the vile sludge clings to the poor soul who stepped into it and fixes them into place. The Fleshweaver is always perfectly aware of any thing or creature touching its net and will quickly come for its latest morsel.
In a fight, this spirit often tries to kill its victims with his legs before encasing them in a cocoon made form the same substance as its net. However, they are also known to spit globs of the substance to catch those trying to run from them and their bite confers a poison that dissolves the victims flesh and bones, given some time.
In a fight, this spirit often tries to kill its victims with his legs before encasing them in a cocoon made form the same substance as its net. However, they are also known to spit globs of the substance to catch those trying to run from them and their bite confers a poison that dissolves the victims flesh and bones, given some time.
Calendar
This quest uses a modified meso-american calendar (mostly known as Maya Calendar, but it was in fact used in the entire region). It is divided into 3 separate systems to track time, which serve different purposes.
Long Count
This system tracks the solar year and will be the most common way to measure time in the quest.
The basic unit is a day, called Kin. They are numbered 0 to 19 in every month, with the 0th day being referred to as "the seating" of the month.
Next comes the month, called Winal. The Winal are named and there are 18 Winals of 20 Kin in every year. At the end of a year, there are 5 days who are not formally part of a month, which are called Wayeb and are considered to be the days of bad omens as the borders between our world and the spirit world grow thin during these days.
The list of Winals and their names can be found here.
This sums up to the solar year, called Tun.
While the real world Maya calendar knows no leap days, this quest will use them. The first Tun of every Katun lengthens the days of Wayeb from 5 to 10, thus bunching up the leap days for 20 years.
The Katun is a group of 20 years.
Next comes a Baktun, which are 20 Katun or 400 years.
The greatest unit of the Long Count used in this quest is the Piktun, which are 20 Baktun, 400 Katun or 8,000 Tun.
Long Count is written by starting with the largest unit and then going down.
Yaxkins birthday is thus:
1 Piktun . 6 Baktun . 16 Katun . 14 Tun . 6 Winal . 0 Kin
Thus 10,734 years and 120 days since the beginning of the Long Count.
Tzolkin
This is the ritual calendar and not tied to the movement of any celestial bodies. It assigns a number and a name to every day. Unlike the Long Count, the numbering of days starts from 1 and goes to 13, and there are 20 names.
There are no changes to the Tzolkin in comparison to the real world equivalent, which is why I suggest you read up on it here.
Lunar Calendar
While the Aztecs and Maya tracked the moon and its phases, it was never formally part of their calendars. For the purpose of this quest, I have added a Lunar Calendar to the system.
This calendar is divided into 16 months before resetting. Even numbered months (0, 2, 4, etc.) have 30 days, while odd numbered months have only 29. The 16th month is special and has 31 days, after which the months reset to 0.
The days are numbered from 0 like the Long Count, with 0 to 12 being the waxing phase (called Coming). Then follow either 1 day for the full moon (called Reign) or 2 days if the lunar month has more then 29 days. The next 14 days are the waning phase (called Decline) and end with the new moon (called Absence), which has always 1 day, except in the 16th month where it has two.
Example:
Long Count
This system tracks the solar year and will be the most common way to measure time in the quest.
The basic unit is a day, called Kin. They are numbered 0 to 19 in every month, with the 0th day being referred to as "the seating" of the month.
Next comes the month, called Winal. The Winal are named and there are 18 Winals of 20 Kin in every year. At the end of a year, there are 5 days who are not formally part of a month, which are called Wayeb and are considered to be the days of bad omens as the borders between our world and the spirit world grow thin during these days.
The list of Winals and their names can be found here.
This sums up to the solar year, called Tun.
While the real world Maya calendar knows no leap days, this quest will use them. The first Tun of every Katun lengthens the days of Wayeb from 5 to 10, thus bunching up the leap days for 20 years.
The Katun is a group of 20 years.
Next comes a Baktun, which are 20 Katun or 400 years.
The greatest unit of the Long Count used in this quest is the Piktun, which are 20 Baktun, 400 Katun or 8,000 Tun.
Long Count is written by starting with the largest unit and then going down.
Yaxkins birthday is thus:
1 Piktun . 6 Baktun . 16 Katun . 14 Tun . 6 Winal . 0 Kin
Thus 10,734 years and 120 days since the beginning of the Long Count.
Tzolkin
This is the ritual calendar and not tied to the movement of any celestial bodies. It assigns a number and a name to every day. Unlike the Long Count, the numbering of days starts from 1 and goes to 13, and there are 20 names.
There are no changes to the Tzolkin in comparison to the real world equivalent, which is why I suggest you read up on it here.
Lunar Calendar
While the Aztecs and Maya tracked the moon and its phases, it was never formally part of their calendars. For the purpose of this quest, I have added a Lunar Calendar to the system.
This calendar is divided into 16 months before resetting. Even numbered months (0, 2, 4, etc.) have 30 days, while odd numbered months have only 29. The 16th month is special and has 31 days, after which the months reset to 0.
The days are numbered from 0 like the Long Count, with 0 to 12 being the waxing phase (called Coming). Then follow either 1 day for the full moon (called Reign) or 2 days if the lunar month has more then 29 days. The next 14 days are the waning phase (called Decline) and end with the new moon (called Absence), which has always 1 day, except in the 16th month where it has two.
Example:
| Date | Phase | Name |
| 0.0 - 0.12 | Waxing Phase | Coming |
| 0.13 - 0.14 | Full Moon | Reign |
| 0.15 - 0.28 | Waning Phase | Decline |
| 0.29 | New Moon | Absence |
| Lunar Month changes | ||
| 1.0 - 1.12 | Waxing Phase | Coming |
| 1.13 | Full Moon | Reign |
| 1.14 - 1.27 | Waning Phase | Decline |
| 1.28 | New Moon | Absence |
| ... | ||
| 15.0 - 15.12 | Waxing Phase | Coming |
| 15.13 - 15.14 | Full Moon | Reign |
| 15.15 - 15.28 | Waning Phase | Decline |
| 15.29 - 15.30 | New Moon | Absence |
| Long Count | Tzolkin | Lunar | Notes |
| 1.6.17.10.7.16 - 16 Mol | 12 Kaban | 15.11 Coming | |
| 1.6.17.10.7.17 - 17 Mol | 13 Etznab | 15.12 Coming | Unmaking - bad for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.7.18 - 18 Mol | 1 Kawak | 15.13 Reign | |
| 1.6.17.10.7.19 - 19 Mol | 2 Ajaw | 15.14 Reign | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.0 - 0 Chen | 3 Imix | 15.15 Decline | good for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.8.1 - 1 Chen | 4 Ik | 15.16 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.2 - 2 Chen | 5 Akbal | 15.17 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.3 - 3 Chen | 6 Kan | 15.18 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.4 - 4 Chen | 7 Chickchan | 15.19 Decline | Empowering - good for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.8.5 - 5 Chen | 8 Kimi | 15.20 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.6 - 6 Chen | 9 Manik | 15.21 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.7 - 7 Chen | 10 Lamat | 15.22 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.8 - 8 Chen | 11 Muluk | 15.23 Decline | bad for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.8.9 - 9 Chen | 12 Ok | 15.24 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.10 - 10 Chen | 13 Chuwen | 15.25 Decline | Unmaking - bad for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.8.11 - 11 Chen | 1 Eb | 15.26 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.12 - 12 Chen | 2 Ben | 15.27 Decline | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.13 - 13 Chen | 3 Ix | 15.28 Decline | good for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.8.14 - 14 Chen | 4 Men | 15.29 Absence | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.15 - 15 Chen | 5 Kib | 15.30 Absence | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.16 - 16 Chen | 6 Kaban | 0.0 Coming | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.17 - 17 Chen | 7 Etznab | 0.1 Coming | Empowering - good for Alchemy |
| 1.6.17.10.8.18 - 18 Chen | 8 Kawak | 0.2 Coming | |
| 1.6.17.10.8.19 - 19 Chen | 9 Ajaw | 0.3 Coming |
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Locations and Contacts
- Location
- Germany
Locations and Contacts
Tribe
The tribe into which you where born and grew up among. A rather sizable group of hunters and gatherers who travel around the lands in a one year long cycle. After some strife during your years as an apprentice, you where slightly alienated from them. While the rifts have been mended over the years, there is still a healthy distance between you and most members of the tribe, which prompted you to leave them behind and travel the world.
Once a year, the tribe stops at a small farmer village that lays directly on the caravan route between Tlamaca and Zacatl.
Tlamaca - Tlamacatzintlihuacan / Wise Mens Place
Long known to you as a place of learning, you had dreamed of going here long before you actually could to learn from the Wise Men who rule this city and the smiths who are said to work metal here. It is a large city for this time that is centered around the palace of the Wise Men, an old palace from before the fall, and mostly consists out of repaired buildings of the old Cualli city in this place. It is protected by a sturdy stone wall and the guards under command of the Wise Men.
Due to the Wise Men and artisans who live here, Tlamaca is a rather busy place with many traders coming from far and wide to ply their wares on its marketplace or buy valuable products from the artisans.
Xoxo - Xoxohuictetl / Green Stone
A small settlement which surrounds a large copper mine a bit to the north of Tlamaca.
Nono - Nonotzale / Unity
Home of the nameless group that has split from the Wise Men and opposes their teachings, this cities location is as of yet unknown to you. All you know that it is to the west of Tlamaca and the path there is perilous and skirts areas that are touched by the spirits.
Zacatl - Zacatltlalmonton / Grassy Hill
Next to a large river, this small city has been built on top of one of the few dry places that rises out of the surrounding swamps. It is an important trading location, but the river is fickle and so it can be a bustling place in one month and a slum filled with starving people in the next.
Nearby are the ruins of a large city from before the Fall, which is usually only called the Sunken City, due to it being mostly flooded.
Tribe
The tribe into which you where born and grew up among. A rather sizable group of hunters and gatherers who travel around the lands in a one year long cycle. After some strife during your years as an apprentice, you where slightly alienated from them. While the rifts have been mended over the years, there is still a healthy distance between you and most members of the tribe, which prompted you to leave them behind and travel the world.
Once a year, the tribe stops at a small farmer village that lays directly on the caravan route between Tlamaca and Zacatl.
Occupation: Shaman
Relationship: Master
On a childish whim, you traveled with him to a large ruin near your tribes path and aided him with his work. Impressed by your natural skill, or more likely luck, he offered to take you on as an apprentice, which you gladly accepted.
In your time together, he taught you the trade of a healer and herbalist, about the spirits, and even the basics of a the rare skill of Alchemy. As his age began to catch up with him, you tended to him until he passed away in peace.
Relationship: Master
On a childish whim, you traveled with him to a large ruin near your tribes path and aided him with his work. Impressed by your natural skill, or more likely luck, he offered to take you on as an apprentice, which you gladly accepted.
In your time together, he taught you the trade of a healer and herbalist, about the spirits, and even the basics of a the rare skill of Alchemy. As his age began to catch up with him, you tended to him until he passed away in peace.
Occupation: Shaman
Relationship: Good Friend
Once you knew him as Atl and he was your fellow apprentice under the shaman Mahuizo. Back then he was a timid and slightly clumsy boy, but over the years he has grown a lot. When your master died, he became the new shaman of the tribe.
He has a good relationship with the chieftain and is well liked among the tribe folk.
Relationship: Good Friend
Once you knew him as Atl and he was your fellow apprentice under the shaman Mahuizo. Back then he was a timid and slightly clumsy boy, but over the years he has grown a lot. When your master died, he became the new shaman of the tribe.
He has a good relationship with the chieftain and is well liked among the tribe folk.
Occupation: Guard / Huntress
Relationship: Good Friend, former Master
A mysterious woman at first, who constantly seemed to be around wherever Mahuizoh went. At first you didn't particularly like the rather abrasive woman, a mutual feeling, but after impressing her in a hot-headed challenge, she agreed to teach you and a friendship grew. Her rather sharp tongue and mind can be rather endearing once you got to know her.
When you left the tribe, she stayed behind to watch out for Icnoyotl like she did for his master before.
Relationship: Good Friend, former Master
A mysterious woman at first, who constantly seemed to be around wherever Mahuizoh went. At first you didn't particularly like the rather abrasive woman, a mutual feeling, but after impressing her in a hot-headed challenge, she agreed to teach you and a friendship grew. Her rather sharp tongue and mind can be rather endearing once you got to know her.
When you left the tribe, she stayed behind to watch out for Icnoyotl like she did for his master before.
Tlamaca - Tlamacatzintlihuacan / Wise Mens Place
Long known to you as a place of learning, you had dreamed of going here long before you actually could to learn from the Wise Men who rule this city and the smiths who are said to work metal here. It is a large city for this time that is centered around the palace of the Wise Men, an old palace from before the fall, and mostly consists out of repaired buildings of the old Cualli city in this place. It is protected by a sturdy stone wall and the guards under command of the Wise Men.
Due to the Wise Men and artisans who live here, Tlamaca is a rather busy place with many traders coming from far and wide to ply their wares on its marketplace or buy valuable products from the artisans.
Occupation: Scholars
Relationship: None
While they where the biggest reason for you to travel to Tlamaca in the first place, you've only met one of them so far and said meeting went anything but good. You still desire to join them and are currently trying to unravel a riddle they gave you to undergo the trials they require prospective apprentices to undergo.
Relationship: None
While they where the biggest reason for you to travel to Tlamaca in the first place, you've only met one of them so far and said meeting went anything but good. You still desire to join them and are currently trying to unravel a riddle they gave you to undergo the trials they require prospective apprentices to undergo.
Occupation: Herb Trader
Relationship: Aquaintence
On your first day in Tlamaca, you've met this kind old woman next to the marketplace and talked a good long while with her about your shared interest in herbs and healing.
Relationship: Aquaintence
On your first day in Tlamaca, you've met this kind old woman next to the marketplace and talked a good long while with her about your shared interest in herbs and healing.
Occupation: Smith
Relationship: Friend
Trying to see how a smith works, you traveled to the artisan district and met Noche working on a bronze blade. The gregarious man was more then happy to indulge your curiosity and after the discussion drifted to his missing apprentice Ixtli, who had gone missing on a trip to some nearby ruins.
After finding Ixtli and bringing him back to Tlamaca, you asked if you could stay with them for a while and have moved into their house.
Relationship: Friend
Trying to see how a smith works, you traveled to the artisan district and met Noche working on a bronze blade. The gregarious man was more then happy to indulge your curiosity and after the discussion drifted to his missing apprentice Ixtli, who had gone missing on a trip to some nearby ruins.
After finding Ixtli and bringing him back to Tlamaca, you asked if you could stay with them for a while and have moved into their house.
Occupation: Smith Apprentice
Relationship: Friend
You've met him wounded in some ruins near Tlamaca, the result of an ill fated expedition. Through your skill in medicine, he made a full recovery and arrived safe and sound back home, even with the codex in hand that he had set out to find. His quiet and withdrawn manner reminds you a bit of Icnoyotl and while you have become quick friends since then, it's sometimes hard to tell with him.
Relationship: Friend
You've met him wounded in some ruins near Tlamaca, the result of an ill fated expedition. Through your skill in medicine, he made a full recovery and arrived safe and sound back home, even with the codex in hand that he had set out to find. His quiet and withdrawn manner reminds you a bit of Icnoyotl and while you have become quick friends since then, it's sometimes hard to tell with him.
Occupation: Street Urchin
Relationship: Informant
When walking the streets near the market of Tlamaca, you spotted this young girl playing a game with some passersbys and cheating them out of their beans. You followed her afterwards and learned that she lives in the slums, apparently together with other orphans and earns her bread in this fashion. By promising her 30 beans a month for her services, you got her to keep her ears open for you and get you rumors from the worse parts of town.
Relationship: Informant
When walking the streets near the market of Tlamaca, you spotted this young girl playing a game with some passersbys and cheating them out of their beans. You followed her afterwards and learned that she lives in the slums, apparently together with other orphans and earns her bread in this fashion. By promising her 30 beans a month for her services, you got her to keep her ears open for you and get you rumors from the worse parts of town.
Clothing per set:
Basic (rough fabric, farmers garb) - 100 Beans
Regular (decent cotton) - 1 Quachtli
Fancy (good cotton, possibly died) - 2 Quachtli and more, depending on quality and artfulness
Leather Armor:
Armor penalty applies to all physical attributes and skills and is reduced by 1 point if the armor is custom-made, which costs 50% markup.
Wood and Leather Shields:
Weapons:
Bronze Dagger - 10+ Tlaltepoztli
30x Bronze Arrow - 1 Tlaltepoztli for Regular, 2 for Exceptional
Other:
Trail Rations per day - 2 Beans
Wound Dressing - 5 Beans
Basic (rough fabric, farmers garb) - 100 Beans
Regular (decent cotton) - 1 Quachtli
Fancy (good cotton, possibly died) - 2 Quachtli and more, depending on quality and artfulness
Leather Armor:
| Type | Penalty when worn | Simple | Regular | Exceptional |
| Light | -1 | 2 Quachtli | 4 Quachtli | 8 Quachtli |
| Medium | -2 | 6 Quachtli | 12 Quachtli | 1 Tlaltepoztli |
| Heavy | -3 | 18 Quachtli | 40 Quachtli | 3 Tlaltepoztli |
Wood and Leather Shields:
| Type | Penalty when worn | Simple | Regular | Exceptional |
| Light | -1 | 100 Beans | 1 Quachtli | 3 Quachtli |
| Medium | -2 | 1 Quachtli | 4 Quachtli | 8 Quachtli |
| Heavy | -3 | 4 Quachtli | 10 Quachtli | 1 Tlaltepoztli |
Bronze Dagger - 10+ Tlaltepoztli
30x Bronze Arrow - 1 Tlaltepoztli for Regular, 2 for Exceptional
Other:
Trail Rations per day - 2 Beans
Wound Dressing - 5 Beans
Xoxo - Xoxohuictetl / Green Stone
A small settlement which surrounds a large copper mine a bit to the north of Tlamaca.
Nono - Nonotzale / Unity
Home of the nameless group that has split from the Wise Men and opposes their teachings, this cities location is as of yet unknown to you. All you know that it is to the west of Tlamaca and the path there is perilous and skirts areas that are touched by the spirits.
Occupation: ???
Relationship: ???
When you tried to find out where the troubles of Xoxo stemmed from, you've met the mysterious man in the jungle. He told you of his group, which opposes the Wise Men and offered you to join them in their quest to knowledge, if you would slay the Wise Man you unknowingly traveled with at the time.
Accepting the price, you became part of their group, but elected to stay in Tlamaca to work for them in the shadows of their enemies stronghold.
Little do you know yet about Matlal, except that he has knowledge of the higher lores. Due to a partially failed ritual, he is blind, but possesses a powerful sight wholly alien to you, which allows him to see deeper then flesh and bone.
Relationship: ???
When you tried to find out where the troubles of Xoxo stemmed from, you've met the mysterious man in the jungle. He told you of his group, which opposes the Wise Men and offered you to join them in their quest to knowledge, if you would slay the Wise Man you unknowingly traveled with at the time.
Accepting the price, you became part of their group, but elected to stay in Tlamaca to work for them in the shadows of their enemies stronghold.
Little do you know yet about Matlal, except that he has knowledge of the higher lores. Due to a partially failed ritual, he is blind, but possesses a powerful sight wholly alien to you, which allows him to see deeper then flesh and bone.
Zacatl - Zacatltlalmonton / Grassy Hill
Next to a large river, this small city has been built on top of one of the few dry places that rises out of the surrounding swamps. It is an important trading location, but the river is fickle and so it can be a bustling place in one month and a slum filled with starving people in the next.
Nearby are the ruins of a large city from before the Fall, which is usually only called the Sunken City, due to it being mostly flooded.
Occupation: Trader
Relationship: Good Aquaintence
On your first journey from your tribe to Tlamaca, you hired as a scout for him so that he could evade some bandits in the area. After proving competent in that task, he warmed up to you and gave you some advice about the life in Tlamaca and cities in general and offered to hire you as a guard or scout whenever you have the same destination as him.
Relationship: Good Aquaintence
On your first journey from your tribe to Tlamaca, you hired as a scout for him so that he could evade some bandits in the area. After proving competent in that task, he warmed up to you and gave you some advice about the life in Tlamaca and cities in general and offered to hire you as a guard or scout whenever you have the same destination as him.
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[X] [Tribe] Hunters
[X] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
[X] [Gender] Girl
[X] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
[X] [Gender] Girl
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] [Tribe] Hunters
[X] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
[X] [Gender] Girl
[X] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
[X] [Gender] Girl
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[X] [Tribe] Hunters
[X] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
[X] [Gender] Girl
[X] [Value] Knowing The Spirits
[X] [Gender] Girl
Prologue 1: Boredom
- Location
- Germany
You idly throw another rock into the water. For almost ten days now, you are already done with your chores before the sun has reached it's zenith. Not that you appreciate the drudgery. A girl of merely eight years is not supposed to do any of the important work in the encampment. It is just an endless stream of get this, take that, bring this over there and don't pester the people working and so on. The life of a hunter tribe braving the deep jungle on unbeaten paths is supposed to be exciting or at least that's what the children of the farmers you always meet near the end of the year tell you, but so far, you can't really agree.
When the tribe marches, you are right in the middle of the trek. Among whining babes, expecting mothers and those to old or crippled to go very fast. Usually bearing a pack that weighs as much as yourself. You just walk all day, except when a runner comes back from the scouts and tells you to make camp for the night. Then you sleep a few hours, before marching a few hours more, stopping for a small meal, marching some more and repeating that until your reach the next clearing in your yearly path.
And when you are not on the move, you sit among the tents all day doing this and that for everyone who can't be bothered to walk ten steps on his own. Even if your mother Tlalli is around you all day, she rarely has time for you. If she is not cooking, she is taking care of the small children and if those are quiet for a moment, she is tending to your stocks. That apparently must be done for what feels like half a day on each and every day, even if all she does is turning fruit and meat around, but apparently that is vital work and she can't just stop for a while to do something with you.
It's much better when your father Iuitl comes back from a hunt with his group. While he is never there for more then a few days before going back out, he always has a bit of time for you. On the other hand, the hunting parties returning means other work. Not the dull, but the gross kind. Gutting a pig is obviously nothing you are allowed to do, because you can apparently spoil meat by being to dumb to cut it, which seems like kind of a achievement to you. Your part is always to gather the guts and other offal left over from the butchering and stuff it into the offering pots. Large clay pots filled to the brim with the half-rotten mush left of the last hunt. Calling the stench stomach turning is greatly underplaying just how disgusting the smell can become after a while and even with the lid closed, it still wafts out until you seal the pot with fresh clay again.
Apparently the spirits like these things. Why, you can't even guess, but the elders always say that it's of great importance to properly pack away the leftovers of butchery, lest they come on their own and think your tribe denies them their due.
You are Yaxkin, the sun in the life of your parents, and you are, in a word, bored.
Another rock flows into the small stream. Where just a few weeks ago a few toads and salamanders would have been startled by it, nothing stirs. Pickings have been lean for a while now and when another hunting party came back with empty hands, the woman had started to hunt and cook those things living here to stretch the rations a bit.
You sigh once, not out of any real emotion, but more as a statement to end your visit to the stream bordering the camp. The tribe will probably move on in a bit to the next clearing, where the game is more plenty again. Not that much longer until you reach that farmer village again. Maybe you complain quite loudly about their pestering you for stories, but you do quite like the farmer children, for they seem to always have time to keep you company at least.
As you wander between the tents and back to the central fireplace though, you spot someone who makes you quickly run the rest of the way. Your father has returned and is speaking to the chief. You can't just barge into him for a hug as it is your first impulse, especially with how grim the chief looks at the three sloths that seem to be your fathers parties whole catch, but at least you can stay and listen in.
"So nothing more over at the ruins either?" "Should we have plucked the young from their mothers teats? The game is gone already. I think the spirits scared off what little was left so that we move on. Ill omens if we stay any longer if you ask me." The chief just shook his head at that and gestured to your father to pass the small catch to the woman waiting with a knife in hand. "Let the shaman decide what the spirits want. He wishes to stay a few days longer, so that he can gather some herbs among the ruins. If there's nothing left there to hunt anyway, he will move out tomorrow. Besides, there are two more parties out and they need to come back before we break camp." "I take it I shall gather them?" "Indeed." Then the chief swept his gaze over the gathered people and nodded once to confirm what he already said. "Be ready to break camp in four days. We will move once everyone has returned and the offerings to the spirits where made."
And just like that, your mood had soured again. Breaking camp means days of hauling things from one place to another, followed by marches, followed by hauling things from one place to another in the new camp. Apparently this was your punishment for complaining too loudly about having nothing to do, even if it was just in your head. And your father will move out again before spending any time with you. In fact, he is already talking to the others of his party and will probably be gone by sunrise.
It is not much longer until you are deemed old enough to learn a trade or join the hunters and gatherers. But right now? That is too far off. You are not one of the little kids anymore and while you can't match the skills and strength of the hunters, you are certainly capable of doing something that isn't just walking around lugging things.
With fire in your heart, you walk up to your father. A mere four days is rather quick to break camp and able hands will be in short supply. As distracted as he is, you might just wheedle out his approval for you to do something interesting.
You are going to ask him to...
[] Join him on his way to the hunter camps.
The hunter parties always make smaller camps to store their supplies and sleep at night. While it's not entirely safe to go there since they are rather far out, it's not truly dangerous either. Surely he wouldn't mind you coming along this time.
[] Join the shaman to gather herbs.
While it's a bit of thankless task to help the old man in his errands, he loves to talk with anyone when he has the time. On the journey to the ruins, you can certainly get some interesting stories out of him with no other work distracting him. Learning a bit about his trade and the spirits would be great.
[] Join the party giving the offerings to the spirits.
You've always wanted to see a real spirit of the jungle. The elders always tell about the strange and terrifying things around you, but you never saw one yourself. You can't recall a single group venturing out for an offering running into trouble, so why shouldn't you be allowed to sate your curiosity?
[] Stay at camp.
On a second thought, maybe waiting a while longer isn't so bad. The jungle is dangerous after all.
AN: Your name, Yaxkin, is not yet set in stone. You will be able to change it at the ende of the prologue.
When the tribe marches, you are right in the middle of the trek. Among whining babes, expecting mothers and those to old or crippled to go very fast. Usually bearing a pack that weighs as much as yourself. You just walk all day, except when a runner comes back from the scouts and tells you to make camp for the night. Then you sleep a few hours, before marching a few hours more, stopping for a small meal, marching some more and repeating that until your reach the next clearing in your yearly path.
And when you are not on the move, you sit among the tents all day doing this and that for everyone who can't be bothered to walk ten steps on his own. Even if your mother Tlalli is around you all day, she rarely has time for you. If she is not cooking, she is taking care of the small children and if those are quiet for a moment, she is tending to your stocks. That apparently must be done for what feels like half a day on each and every day, even if all she does is turning fruit and meat around, but apparently that is vital work and she can't just stop for a while to do something with you.
It's much better when your father Iuitl comes back from a hunt with his group. While he is never there for more then a few days before going back out, he always has a bit of time for you. On the other hand, the hunting parties returning means other work. Not the dull, but the gross kind. Gutting a pig is obviously nothing you are allowed to do, because you can apparently spoil meat by being to dumb to cut it, which seems like kind of a achievement to you. Your part is always to gather the guts and other offal left over from the butchering and stuff it into the offering pots. Large clay pots filled to the brim with the half-rotten mush left of the last hunt. Calling the stench stomach turning is greatly underplaying just how disgusting the smell can become after a while and even with the lid closed, it still wafts out until you seal the pot with fresh clay again.
Apparently the spirits like these things. Why, you can't even guess, but the elders always say that it's of great importance to properly pack away the leftovers of butchery, lest they come on their own and think your tribe denies them their due.
You are Yaxkin, the sun in the life of your parents, and you are, in a word, bored.
Another rock flows into the small stream. Where just a few weeks ago a few toads and salamanders would have been startled by it, nothing stirs. Pickings have been lean for a while now and when another hunting party came back with empty hands, the woman had started to hunt and cook those things living here to stretch the rations a bit.
You sigh once, not out of any real emotion, but more as a statement to end your visit to the stream bordering the camp. The tribe will probably move on in a bit to the next clearing, where the game is more plenty again. Not that much longer until you reach that farmer village again. Maybe you complain quite loudly about their pestering you for stories, but you do quite like the farmer children, for they seem to always have time to keep you company at least.
As you wander between the tents and back to the central fireplace though, you spot someone who makes you quickly run the rest of the way. Your father has returned and is speaking to the chief. You can't just barge into him for a hug as it is your first impulse, especially with how grim the chief looks at the three sloths that seem to be your fathers parties whole catch, but at least you can stay and listen in.
"So nothing more over at the ruins either?" "Should we have plucked the young from their mothers teats? The game is gone already. I think the spirits scared off what little was left so that we move on. Ill omens if we stay any longer if you ask me." The chief just shook his head at that and gestured to your father to pass the small catch to the woman waiting with a knife in hand. "Let the shaman decide what the spirits want. He wishes to stay a few days longer, so that he can gather some herbs among the ruins. If there's nothing left there to hunt anyway, he will move out tomorrow. Besides, there are two more parties out and they need to come back before we break camp." "I take it I shall gather them?" "Indeed." Then the chief swept his gaze over the gathered people and nodded once to confirm what he already said. "Be ready to break camp in four days. We will move once everyone has returned and the offerings to the spirits where made."
And just like that, your mood had soured again. Breaking camp means days of hauling things from one place to another, followed by marches, followed by hauling things from one place to another in the new camp. Apparently this was your punishment for complaining too loudly about having nothing to do, even if it was just in your head. And your father will move out again before spending any time with you. In fact, he is already talking to the others of his party and will probably be gone by sunrise.
It is not much longer until you are deemed old enough to learn a trade or join the hunters and gatherers. But right now? That is too far off. You are not one of the little kids anymore and while you can't match the skills and strength of the hunters, you are certainly capable of doing something that isn't just walking around lugging things.
With fire in your heart, you walk up to your father. A mere four days is rather quick to break camp and able hands will be in short supply. As distracted as he is, you might just wheedle out his approval for you to do something interesting.
You are going to ask him to...
[] Join him on his way to the hunter camps.
The hunter parties always make smaller camps to store their supplies and sleep at night. While it's not entirely safe to go there since they are rather far out, it's not truly dangerous either. Surely he wouldn't mind you coming along this time.
[] Join the shaman to gather herbs.
While it's a bit of thankless task to help the old man in his errands, he loves to talk with anyone when he has the time. On the journey to the ruins, you can certainly get some interesting stories out of him with no other work distracting him. Learning a bit about his trade and the spirits would be great.
[] Join the party giving the offerings to the spirits.
You've always wanted to see a real spirit of the jungle. The elders always tell about the strange and terrifying things around you, but you never saw one yourself. You can't recall a single group venturing out for an offering running into trouble, so why shouldn't you be allowed to sate your curiosity?
[] Stay at camp.
On a second thought, maybe waiting a while longer isn't so bad. The jungle is dangerous after all.
AN: Your name, Yaxkin, is not yet set in stone. You will be able to change it at the ende of the prologue.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Join the party giving the offerings to the spirits.
[X] Join the shaman to gather herbs.
While it's a bit of thankless task to help the old man in his errands, he loves to talk with anyone when he has the time. On the journey to the ruins, you can certainly get some interesting stories out of him with no other work distracting him. Learning a bit about his trade and the spirits would be great.
While it's a bit of thankless task to help the old man in his errands, he loves to talk with anyone when he has the time. On the journey to the ruins, you can certainly get some interesting stories out of him with no other work distracting him. Learning a bit about his trade and the spirits would be great.
- Location
- United States
Hmmm...
@Azel, if we go to talk to the shaman are we allowed to specifically ask him to give us more lore? I'd love to know more about these stranger things walking around the jungle.
- Location
- nz
[x] Join the shaman to gather herbs.
- Location
- Germany
[X] Join him on his way to the hunter camps.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Join the shaman to gather herbs.
[X] Join the shaman to gather herbs.
While it's a bit of thankless task to help the old man in his errands, he loves to talk with anyone when he has the time. On the journey to the ruins, you can certainly get some interesting stories out of him with no other work distracting him. Learning a bit about his trade and the spirits would be great.
While it's a bit of thankless task to help the old man in his errands, he loves to talk with anyone when he has the time. On the journey to the ruins, you can certainly get some interesting stories out of him with no other work distracting him. Learning a bit about his trade and the spirits would be great.