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VIV. Game Master Stuff
a. Foreword
b. Realm of Neo Lemuria in the Sky Hurricane.
c. Game Design & XP Awards.
d. Logic in XP Design.
e. Logic in Artifact Design
f. Populating the World with Monsters.
g. Fantastic Creatures
h. Notes on Monster Design
a. Foreword
Neo Lemuria is an alternate Earth reality game, with themes and
concepts based loosely on Legends of the Sky Hurricane. The
Sky Hurricane is an inter-dimensional void filled with vast expanse of
space, with giant multicolored, cloud-like forms shifting about. Some
cloud forms have secret gateways to fantastic worlds hidden within, where
alternate reality Earth exists with different evolutionary path and history
from our own.
Travel in the Sky Hurricane is possible through a combination of magic and
technology. Navigators with strong Magic or Psionic
powers can guide flying ships through the maelstroms, and locate gateways
to other worlds. The Sky Hurricane is an ever changing environment
where laws of physics may not apply, woe to the traveler who does not have
a good guide.
b. The Realm of Neo Lemuria in the Sky Hurricane
 The
Realm of Neo Lemuria was discovered by sheer luck or mistake, by a visiting
Sky Hurricane trader ship named Hooseki in NL
2010. The UWK (Union of Watinolibumoawna Kingdoms) visitors
established friendly trade relations with the Kingdoms of Lemuria, as they
have done so with the Realm of Kotus, an earlier
discovery.
Since the initial contacts between Neo Lemuria and the UWK visitors in NL
2010, UWK trade and exploration ships have found 2 other Realms inhabited
by sentient beings. The UWK government has established limited
diplomatic and trade relations with major nations on the new Realms.
The cultural impacts on the newer Realms are limited, because visitors are
rare and far in-between.
The game setting of Neo Lemuria includes 5 Realms, in a part of the Sky
Hurricane known as the Jacosub Cluster.
Each Realm contains a different alternate reality Earth, inhabited by
sentient beings. Each Realm may have hundreds, or even thousands of
autonomous Nations and States, inhabited by fantastic races and monsters.
The Game Master has the freedom to create a variety of environments in this
game setting. To keep the game setting consistent, the following
guidelines should be observed:
1. The Jacosub
Cluster is in an obscure corner of the Sky Hurricane. Visitors from
outside of the Jacosub Cluster are unknown.
However, there are some speculations on how the UWK acquired knowledge
of Sky Hurricane travel. The UWK government claims their scientists
and mages stumbled upon the Sky Hurricane by accident
2. Limit the number of inhabited Realms in the Jacosub Cluster to five. Other Realms in the Jacosub Cluster may exist as empty or dead
worlds. A special 6th world named "Realm of Shadows"
is in planning stages.
3. The UWK Guilds own the technology of Sky
Hurricane travel, in the Jacosub Cluster.
To travel between Realms, player characters must purchase airfare tickets
through their local ticket agents. The Game Master should NOT allow
the player characters to acquire their own ship.
4. Technology in Neo Lemuria Realm (not UWK) is
limited to late 19th century, or equivalent. Steam powered
locomotives, early model internal combustion cars, and some electric
powered vehicles are permitted. Airplanes with advanced
electronics tend to crash on Neo Lemuria. There are plans to build a
zeppelin for testing purposes.
5. Hamburgers, hamburger restaurants, and
anything named hamburger is illegal and banned from Neo Lemuria
Realm. No hamburger related products may be imported to Neo Lemuria
Realm. Hamburger related businesses are NOT welcomed on Neo
Lemuria. Taco bell is acceptable, McDonalds is not.
c. Game Design and XP awards
Game design in Neo Lemuria RPG is broken down to 3 levels: Chapter,
Module, and Campaign.
Chapter: An adventure that takes 30-60 minuets to play.
Chapters contain predefined goals, trigger events, random encounters, and
predefined encounters.
Module: A module contains 2-10 chapters, and a major goal
to accomplish.
Campaign: A campaign contains 2-10 modules, and a quest.
At GM's option, each module can contain a major goal.
A goal can be something simple, like searching for edible mushrooms in the forest
for lunch. Avoid cliché goals like "rescue the
princess," or "save the kingdom."
A trigger event is a predefined condition, that must be meet in order to proceed. Good game design use
trigger events that propels the players into the next chapter. Bad
game design use "follow this arrow and turn left." Using a
key to unlock a diary that reveals important information about someone's
love life is a good trigger event. The act of finding the key would
make a good goal.
Neo Lemuria RPG is a skill advancement based system. Experience
points (XP) are awarded to players for good role-playing.
Players may use XP's to purchase skill advancements, or new skills.
The Game Master awards 1-6 XP per chapter to every player, and more for
accomplishing major goals. A major goal that spans the whole campaign
is a Quest.
Typical XP Awards, per chapter:
1 point for participation.
1-2 points for good role-play.
1-3 points for accomplishing a minor goal.
For modules & campaigns:
6-10 points for accomplishing a major goal.
10-20 points for completing a Quest
In addition; we encourage the GM to award bonus points for
"non-violence." Players who take the extra effort to avoid
using brute force should be rewarded. XP's should never be awarded
for combat itself.
d. Logic in XP design
If you use the guidelines on XP awards listed above, a module with 6
chapters and 1 major goal is worth 6 to 46 XP. Assuming if the GM
awards ~30 XP per module, a campaign of 7 modules with a quest would earn
210 to 230 XP.
It takes 10 XP to buy a 1st level skill, and 200 more XP to raise it to 6th
level. Thus, it'd take 7 modules of 6 acts each, to earn enough XP to
raise a skill to 6th level from scratch. Believe me,
we're not being very generous here.
Since 1st level skills only cost 10XP, we limit the maximum number of
skills and spell lists a character can have to 20. If the character
is at maximum, the player may opt to "forget" some skills to make
room for more.
Yes, someone who earns 200 XP can buy 20 x 1st level skills. Consider
the scale and dice range we use in Neo Lemuria RPG: 1d10 + Stat +
Skill Level. Someone with level 6 skill gets 1d10 + Stat + 6, versus
someone with 1st level only gets 1d10 + Stat + 1. 5 on a scale of
3-22 is worth over 25%! In AD&D terms,
that's +5 to THAC0!
e. Logic in Artifact design:
Ever been in an AD&D game where players dish out their Sword of
Sharpness +5, Full Plate +5, Ring of Protection +5, and a Shield that can
absorb dragon breath, turn undead. +5 AC, and act as an emergency
floatation device?
In this game, if you want powerful magic items, you'll have to EARN it!
Minor artifacts are petty items, because they only offer +1 bonus.
Major artifacts can be pretty gross, with bonus reaching as high as
+6. But, the PC can only have ONE, and the artifact starts at level 1
after binding to its new master. It takes 200 XP to go from Level 1
to Level 6 in this RPG.
The true power and benefit of the major artifact is not in the blunt end of
+? to damage. The benefit is in the XP
system. For every XP a PC gains, the artifact also receives 1
XP. What does this mean? If the PC is using a major artifact
sword, the PC does not have to spend any XP on sword skill, because the
artifact itself earns XP toward higher levels!
Thus, in a campaign where the PC earns 100 XP, the artifact also gains 100
XP. The PC can spend the 100 XP on some other skill, while the
artifact's 100 XP goes toward its own levels. This is like getting
double the XP from an adventure! THAT is the power of the Major
Artifact.
f. Populating the world with Monsters
Neo Lemuria RPG is geared toward humanoid type monsters, with statistics,
skills, weapons, and intelligence. An Orc
in AD&D is a pitful 1 HD creature. In
Neo Lemuria, an Orc with sword skill level 6 will
clobber you in style. The rule to making monsters is, make your own
rules! If you lack imagination, go dig up your old AD&D monster
manual.
If you need to make generic cannon fodders, here are some average
scores for humanoid monster types. Note that Kawaii
rating is relative, since a Lizard man has little chance of charming an elf
with flattery.
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Monster
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Beef
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Neko
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Guru
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Kawaii
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Momo
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Ataru
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Mokona
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Kobold
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2
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2
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2
|
?
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2
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4+1d6
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1+1d6
|
|
Goblin
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2
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3
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2
|
?
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2
|
6+1d6
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2+1d6
|
|
Orc
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3
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3
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2
|
?
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3
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7+1d6
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2+1d6
|
|
Hobgoblin
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3
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3
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3
|
?
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3
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8+1d6
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3+1d6
|
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Gnoll
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4
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3
|
2
|
?
|
3
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9+1d6
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2+1d6
|
|
Lizard Man
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4
|
2
|
2
|
?
|
3
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10+1d6
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2+1d6
|
|
Bugbear
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5
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4
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3
|
?
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3
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12+2d6
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3+1d6
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Kobold - Small dog faced humanoids, 3'-4' tall. Needs both
hands to hold a normal (1d6 damage) sized melee weapon like short swords
and clubs, cannot use long sword & longbow sized weapons.
Goblin - 4'-5' tall ugly & bald humanoids.
Orc - 5-6' tall pig faced humanoids
with fangs.
Hobgoblin - 6-7' tall humanoid resembles a taller goblin.
Gnoll - 6'-7' tall,
dog faced humanoids. Looks like a giant hairy Kobold.
Lizard man - 6-7' tall lizard humanoid. 2 points of natural
armor (think leather hide). Can bite for 1d3 points of damage.
Bugbear - 7-8' tall giant hairy
goblins, can use a normal 2 handed weapon in one hand. 1 point
natural armor.
Spice it up!
Give your humanoids infra vision (60, 90, or 120 feet), skills, and
equip them with weapons & armor. A goblin is not a generic 1-7
hit point creature that does 1d6 damage.
Here's an example of a goblin:
Grax Redhead, Goblin
Beef 2, Neko 3, Guru 2, Kawaii
2, Momo 2, Ataru 9, Mokona 5.
Melee Roll: 1d10 + 2 (beef) + 3
(weapon skill)
Ranged Roll: 1d10 + 3 (neko) + 4 (weapon
skill)
Defense Roll: 1d10 + 3 (neko) + 3 (armor)
Equipment: Studded leather armor (2 points), Shield (1 point), Short
Sword (1d6), Short Bow (1d6). Quiver with 20 poison tipped arrows
(double damage), pouch with healing and poison herbs.
Skills: Antisocial-Bully Level 2, Language-Goblin Level 4,
Language-Hobgoblin Level 2, Lore-Animal Level 1, Lore-Herb Level 2,
Weapon-Short Sword Level 3, Weapon-Short bow level 4, Wilderness survival
Level 3.
This Goblin has a good chance of kicking a PC's butt. Given the
chance to use his bow and arrow, Grax the Goblin
can probably kill a PC with 1-2 shoots.
A goblin spends his/her life in a tribal society that values strength and
war. It's illogical to assume that all goblins attack as 1 HD
monsters. You'd think, after spending 10 years hunting with a bow,
the Goblin would be a good shoot? Hunting deer is not a sport; it's a
matter of life (food) or death (starvation) in the winter.
What if this freak of a Goblin on steroids whips the PC's butt?
Well, uh, if you're playing Fatality mode, the PC is dead at -10 Ataru.
If you're playing non-fatality mode, the PC is "knocked out" at 0
Ataru.
The monster strips the PC nude & takes everything, undergarments
included. The Goblin will run into the forest with his loot, wearing
the PC's underwear on top of his head while chanting "baka baka".
g. Fantastic Creatures
If you want to convert powerful (4 HD+) fantastic creatures from
AD&D monster manual, you can try this formula:
1. Use Attack and Defense ratings, instead of individual Statistics.
2. A creature's base Attack rating = 1d10 + Hit dice + 1-6 Rank
(depending on age/experience).
3. A creature's base Defense rating = 1d10 + (10 - Armor Class) +
Modifications.
4. Assign extra Defense rating for natural armor, if necessary.
5. Ataru (Hit Points) = 1d6 for every Hit
Dice. If the result is too low, try HD rating + 1d6 / HD.
6. Attack damage & special attacks: try to convert them to
d6 and d10's. Reduce number of attacks if necessary.
Examples:
Giant Crocodile, Rank 3 age/experience
Attack: 1d10 + 7 + 3.
Defense: 1d10 + 6 (AC4 monster,
10 - 4 = 6).
Ataru: 7d6
Number of Attacks: 1 bite.
Damage per Attack: 3d6.
Optional Rule: If the Crocodile does more than 12 points of
damage to a man sized (or smaller) target in a single attack (bite), the
target is "swallowed" and takes additional 1d6 points of damage.
Red Dragon, (10 HD)
Rank 2 age/experience
Attack: 1d10 + 10 + 2
Defense: 1d10 + 11 (note:
10 minus -1 AC = 11).
Ataru: 10d6
Number of Attacks: 3, one bite and 2 claws.
Damage per Attack: Bite: 3d10, Claws: 1d10 each.
Beefing up the dragon: (Think Optional)
Dragon Breath:
Breath cone of fire once every 3 rounds. A cone of fire
that does 10d6 base damage, up to 200' in length. For every 20' away
from the cone's starting point, the damage is reduced by 1d6. Dragon
Breath is a combination of fire element and magic attack.
Example: Anyone within 20' of the fire cone takes 10d6 damage, 21-40' takes 9d6, 41'-60' takes 8d6, and so
on.
Dragon Scales:
The scales on the dragon will absorb the first 3 points of damage from
attacks. A sword hit that does 5 points damage will have the first 3
points deducted, leaving 2 points as "pass through".
Immunity:
Immune to fire and fire magic based attacks.
Magic User:
Can use fire based spells with unlimited Mokona
points. The spell level is equivalent to the Dragon's age/experience
level. Spell casting roll is 1d10 + HD + age/experience.
More HP:
Increase Ataru to 10d6 + 10.
Hill Giant, Rank 6 age/experience
Attack: 1d10 + 8 + 6
Defense: 1d10 + 6 + 2 (armor)
Ataru: 8d6
Number of Attack: 1 (weapon)
Damage per Attack: 2d10
Hill Giants wear thick fur/hide armor (2 point) and use giant clubs (2d10
damage). If 8d6 Ataru isn't tough enough,
give it 8d6+8.
Notice the dragon's Attack roll is 1d10 + 12, while the Hill Giant is 1d10
+ 14? Age & Experience of the monster does make a
difference. A veteran Hill Giant has more experience in battle than a
young dragon.
h. Notes on Monster Design:
Monsters should be DANGEROUS.
Neo Lemuria is not a game where 200 Hit Point (Ataru)
fighter/rangers walk down a dungeon with Plate +5, Shield +5, and Long
sword +5, cleaving through a red dragon like it was a small Kobold.
In this game, even a seasoned "veteran" PC can be killed by a
band of goblins. Normal PC Ataru (Hit
Points) range from 3 to 18 points, which makes arrow hits (1d6 damage)
dangerous. Imagine bumping into a Red Dragon with fire breath that
does 10d6 damage! If the Player is suicidal
and dumb enough to charge a dragon, by all means, toast him to charcoal.
An experienced monster is more dangerous than an inexperienced one. A goblin may be weak, but, a
goblin with Level 6 weapon skills is much more dangerous than an
inexperienced Hobgoblin or Gnoll.
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