Spes Magna Games

One thing I’ve not touched upon so far in my rough draft Tiamat’s Throne is religion. I’ve made few hard decisions regarding the topic. For example, I’ve deliberately not added a cleric character class to the setting’s science fantasy. Tiamat’s Throne includes real-world religions since settlers from Terra spread through the stars, colonizing exoplanets and bringing diverse cultures with them. So, in Tiamat’s Throne, one can encounter Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, et cetera. One can also encounter devotees of dragon cults, death-worshipping necromancers, and other fantasy staples.

It seems more prudent to me to say that no religion — not even the one I favor — grants anyone any special powers than to say that only some religions or all religions do. Healing spells have been rolled into the magic-user’s bailiwick. The cleric’s other main feature — special power over the undead — is missing from the setting so far, and it is likely to stay that way.

I am, however, considering modifying the class feature of experts and warriors. As it stands now, the respective class feature of these two classes are as follows:

“Experts have a knack for success, and can re-roll a failed skill check once per hour.”

“Warriors have uncanny luck on the battlefield. Once per fight, they can automatically evade an attack that would otherwise have hit them.”

It might be a good idea to have optional class features that would permit experts and warriors to be more customized, perhaps based on training package. So, for example, there could be a paladin training package for warriors that would permit the character to substitute the standard warrior ability with a paladin ability.

Tags: A to Z 2013, Stars Without Number, Tiamat's Throne

People have played quoits for centuries. Halflings particularly love the game, which they play outdoors, using rings made of rope that are tossed at pegs of differing lengths stuck in the ground at increasing distances from the tossing point. Dyes stain the rope rings to help keep straight which player tossed which ring. Players set the longest peg closest to the tossing point; the shortest peg is the farthest away.

Players determine who goes first via some appropriate method, such as a coin toss or odds-and-evens. The game is played in rounds, and the players alternate who goes first each round. The number of rounds played varies, as halflings typically prefer to play quoits until an agreed-upon score is reached. One hundred points to win a game is quite common.

When a ring is tossed, the player chooses which peg he aims for and makes a ranged attack roll. The closest peg is AC 8 [11], and a successful ringing earns 5 points. The middle peg is AC 6 [13], and is worth 10 points, and the farthest peg is AC 4 [15] and earns 15 points. In addition to tossing skill, players enjoy a strategic element as well. Landing a ring atop an opponent’s ring immediately after the opponent earns points is called a “deny”. A deny cancels the points the opponent earned from his most recent turn. The player who scored the deny also earns the usual number of points for a successful ringing.

Tags: A to Z 2013, quoits, Swords & Wizardry