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Copyright © 2000 by Mark Damon Hughes <kamikaze@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu>, All Rights Reserved.
All trademarks and copyrights referred to herein that are not owned by Mark Hughes are owned by someone else. You are permitted to download, print, and use this document free of charge, but you may not redistribute it except as provided in condition 6 below. Always refer others back to this original at <http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~kamikaze/Phobos/>. You may create derivative works (including but not necessarily limited to
additional rules, sourcebooks, settings, adventures, and characters) of
Phobos, with the following conditions:
6. If you want to distribute copies of Phobos itself, in whole or in part, or distribute derivative works for a fee or charge, other than in a magazine or other periodical, or publish an official Phobos supplement, you MUST first obtain written permission from Mark Damon Hughes <kamikaze@kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu>. |
There are several genre assumptions in Phobos:
The powers available on different worlds, or even regions of one world, can be described with a set of four "reality levels": Technological (TL), Magical (ML), Spiritual (SL), and Psionic (PL). There are thirteen levels for each axiom from 0 (none) through 9, A, B, and X (ultimate/ubiquitous power). The default reality levels for Earth in Phobos are TL 8, ML 1-7 (it starts at 1 and quickly increases to 7), SL 2, PL 0, but GMs should feel free to adjust these to taste.
Reality levels are generally only useful information for the GM, to regulate what level of "weird stuff" belongs in a specific campaign.
Societies and individuals are classified into levels of technology to determine which skills and equipment are available to them. Phobos needs only new equipment levels for TL 0-7, and a few additional rules for TL 9-X. Such things may be forthcoming in future supplements.
Note that tech levels merely describe what is available locally; I usually assume that all technology is physically possible in all universes that might appear in a Phobos game.
Magic, Spiritual, and Psionic Levels are much like tech levels, except that they actually measure what is possible in the area. On the scales below, the real universe is TL 8, ML 0, SL 0, and PL 0; Fritz Leiber's Nehwon is TL 3, ML 7(?), SL 8, PL 0; Middle Earth is TL 2-4, ML 9, SL X, PL 0; Katherine Kurtz's Deryni stories are TL 3, ML 3, SL either 0 or 6 (but apparently without spirits), PL A; Walter Jon Williams' Metropolitan is TL 7, ML A, SL 0, PL 0.
Each kind of magical, spiritual, or psionic ability has a minimum required ML, SL, or PL. Below that level, that ability cannot be performed (a spell cannot be cast, a god cannot perform that kind of miracle, you cannot read minds, etc.), continuing temporary enchantments are dispelled, and permanent enchantments are suppressed until back in the necessary ML, SL, or PL.
Some universes will have special exceptions, but these levels should cover a great many worlds.
The actual levels possible do not necessarily restrict what powers people believe in - despite the real Earth having ML 0, SL 0, and PL 0, some people continue to believe in fairies and vampires; others believe that Jesus's face appears in tortillas and commands them to kill doctors "because taking life is wrong"; and some believe that people can read minds or see the future, if only you slip a twenty to Madame Zora or call the psychic hotline, staffed by *REAL PSYCHICS* who strangely can't make a living doing anything but telemarketing. Fantasy worlds can be just as superstitious as ours, or even more so, since they often have evidence that SOME supernatural effects work.
Finally, not all (or any) individuals of some cultures know about all possible magic, spiritual, or psionic levels - this is especially true in most modern fantasy/horror settings.
|
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
by Richard Brautigan | ||
|---|---|---|
|
I like to think (and
the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure water touching clear sky |
I like to think
(right now, please!) of a cybernetic forest filled with pines and electronics where deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms |
I like to think
(it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology where we are free of our labors and joined back to nature, returned to our mammal brothers and sisters, and all watched over by machines of loving grace. |
Once again, note that tech levels merely describe what is available locally; the default assumption is that all technology is physically possible in our universe at least (and technology, like all matter, is impossible on spiritual planes). The best way to make a universe where certain technologies are not possible is to just describe (roughly) what physics changes had to be made - for instance, a universe operating on Newtonian physics will have no transistors or solar power cells, and therefore no personal computers (analytical engines and maybe vacuum-tube electronic mainframes might be possible), small cheap electronics, or many other elements of the modern world. Or it might be a universe with no high-energy chemical reactions - the kind of slow reactions used in biology would be mostly unaffected, but you'd then have no gunpowder or explosives.
If a character is attempting to use a skill or equipment that is not available at the the tech level the character learned the skill at, a penalty of -2 per tech level difference is reasonable. Relearning a skill at a higher tech level requires abandoning all but the Skill Base and starting over from there.
| TL 0 | Primitive - does not use tools at all |
| TL 1 | Stone Age - Paleolithic clubs, stones, spears, and fire, up through Neolithic villages, early agriculture, and domestication. |
| TL 2 | Bronze to Iron Age |
| TL 3 | Medieval - Europe after the fall of Rome, pre-Shogunate Japan |
| TL 4 | Late Roman/Chinese/Early Renaissance - pre-gunpowder |
| TL 5 | Late Renaissance to Enlightenment - post-gunpowder |
| TL 6 | Steam Age - 1820-1909 |
| TL 7 | Early Industrial - 1910-1944 |
| TL 8 | Late Industrial - 1945-near future |
| TL 9 | Post-Industrial - Walter Jon Williams' Hardwired, Pat Cadigan's Synners |
| TL A | Interplanetary - Bruce Sterling's Schismatrix |
| TL B | Interstellar - Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, F.M.Busby's The Long View |
| TL X | Transhuman/Deus Ex Machina - Walter Jon Williams' Aristoi, Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep, Iain M. Banks' Culture novels |
Note that technology is not intelligence - primitive humans are just as intelligent as modern humans (they usually don't have as rich a diet, which stunts intellectual growth, but they also don't keep morons in their gene pool, so it evens out), they just don't have as many neat toys. See Tarzan of the Apes by E.R. Burroughs for an example of an intelligent primitive.
| ML 0 | None - though Wyrd still operates for influencing luck. |
| ML 1 | Subtle - herbs, luck charms, divination, omens and premonitions. See the Magic: Cantrips rules for some of the possibilities. |
| ML 2 | Lesser Supernatural Beings |
| ML 3 | Ritual Magic - enchanted magic items can be created, and difficult and time-consuming rituals can produce magical effects. Magic items are always restricted in effect to those effects possible at the given ML. See the Magic: Ritual Magic rules. |
| ML 4 | Unintelligent Animated Dead |
| ML 5 | Greater Supernatural Beings |
| ML 6 | Unreliable Formulaic Magic is possible. See the Magic: Thaumaturgy rules. |
| ML 7 | Pre-Cast Spells - scrolls, gems, etc. |
| ML 8 | [THIS MAGIC LEVEL LEFT BLANK FOR SECURITY REASONS] |
| ML 9 | Reliable Formulaic Magic |
| ML A | Spontaneous Magic - spells cast according to general laws of magic, no need for formulas (though they may be more reliable). |
| ML B | Natural Magic - all beings have one or more magical abilities innately, and can usually learn more. |
| ML X | Wishes are granted on thought alone - go see the movie Forbidden Planet if you think that's a good thing. |
| SL 0 | None - gods and spirits do not exist, and any such that enter an SL 0 universe are destroyed; immortal souls that enter an SL 0 universe become mortal for the duration of their stay. |
| SL 1 | Spirits exist - they can only be sensed and communicated with, usually, though occasionally they can possess a mortal. Until SL 4, spirits can only exist, incorporeal, sharing the physical world. |
| SL 2 | Ghosts and Undead - souls can survive death by staying in the physical world (note that "animated dead" skeletons and corpse zombies are not "undead", and have no souls - they're just biological/magical robots). |
| SL 3 | Spirit Magic - shamans can bind spirits to perform miraculous tasks or animate objects. |
| SL 4 | Spiritual Planes exist - Heaven, Hell, Hades, Valhalla, etc. Spirits can now exist in these planes as well as the physical world. |
| SL 5 | Immortal Souls - the dead become spirits or go on to an afterlife. Anyone who dies in a lower SL universe is pretty much dead forever, unless their souls can remain in the world as ghosts or undead (usually not considered a pleasant situation). |
| SL 6 | Gods exist - they are essentially just powerful spirits; subtle miracles are possible for large communities of worshippers. |
| SL 7 | Priestly Magic Rituals |
| SL 8 | Divine Intervention - gods perform obvious miracles, send avatars, and otherwise fool around in the world. |
| SL 9 | Priestly Spell-Casting |
| SL A | Greater Gods - gods increase in power and can perform major miracles at whim, but there are usually fewer of them. |
| SL B | One True "Bob" - there is a single omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, morally ambiguous deity. Any lesser gods (aka archangels, saints, demons, etc.) are almost always in His, Her, or Its service. |
| SL X | Everything in the universe is in the Mind of "Bob". |
There are no psionics in the standard Phobos setting, but they are defined here for comparison (and possible future expansion).
| PL 0 | None |
| PL 1 | Minor, uncontrolled precognition, empathy, clairsentience, and aura sense possible |
| PL 2 | Minor, controlled ESP |
| PL 3 | Empathic healing |
| PL 4 | Minor, uncontroled psychokinesis |
| PL 5 | Major, controlled ESP |
| PL 6 | Minor, uncontrolled telepathy |
| PL 7 | Major, controlled psychokinesis |
| PL 8 | Psychic surgery |
| PL 9 | Major, controlled telepathy |
| PL A | Teleportation |
| PL B | [THIS PSIONIC LEVEL LEFT BLANK FOR SECURITY REASONS] |
| PL X | Ubiquitous psychic abilities - see The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. |
Certain areas may have slightly higher or lower power levels than others. Peaks increase the ML, SL, or PL by 1 or more, while Shallows decrease them by 1 or more; there may be additional effects to either. A Peak or Shallow rarely exceeds 30m diameter, and most are closer to te smallest known size, a mere 2m. Any Actives can automatically sense the direction to a Peak or Shallow's nearest border when within 100m.
They can form naturally, or may be created with powerful magical rituals. All benefits or penalties listed below apply if either the caster or target are in a Peak or Shallow, though going from a Peak to a Shallow averages back to normal. Most are spheres centered on a point, while others are cubic, in the form of a path or walkway, or more complex shapes.
In Magical Peaks, every motion, word, or thing seems oddly more important and significant - a wind blows, and you feel that you have acheived satori. The first spell cast there each day (starting at dawn) is at a +5 bonus and -2 Wyrd cost (which can reduce the cost to 0), and further spells are at a +2 bonus and -1 Wyrd cost (ditto). All characters recover Wyrd at a rate of one point per hour, unless they would recover even faster.
Magical Shallows seem dull, lifeless, and boring, compared to whatever is "normal" around them. It can be difficult for magically-sensitive characters to focus their attention and concentration in a Magical Shallow. All magic spells are at a -2 penalty and +50% Wyrd cost. Wyrd cannot be recovered in a Magical Shallow.
Spiritual Peaks are usually attuned to only a single religion, often only a single god or spirit. All rituals or spirit-approved activities are at a +2 bonus (thus a forge which is one of Hephaestus' Spiritual Peaks would assist any mechanical work as well as miracles by his priests). Spiritual Peaks form around sites of their specific activities, popular or once-popular shrines, or places frequented by the spirit or god. In addition, Spiritual Peaks act as Spiritual Shallows to enemies of that religion, and a normal region to neutral religions. For example, a Spiritual Peak of the God of Darkness could form in a deep cave, and would act as a Spiritual Shallow to the God of Light, but only normal ground to the God of Engineering.
Spiritual Shallows affect almost all religions and gods, giving a -5 penalty to all Spiritual magic. Spiritual Shallows are usually areas where a worshipper committed extreme blasphemy, or where the gods or spirits let a worshipper down and were railed against, but some are areas where all spiritualism is difficult.
Psionic Peaks make it easier to think coherently, for longer durations, and increase the mind's resilience. All Psionics are at a +2 bonus, and lost points of current Intuition, Logic, or Presence recover at a rate of one per hour.
Psionic Shallows are difficult to concentrate in, and they enervate anyone who remains in them too long, eventually sucking out their will to live. They apply a -5 penalty to all Psionics, and drain one point of current Intuition, Logic, and Presence every hour. The lost points recover at the usual rates. After a day or so in a Psionic Shallow, most characters will expire, unable to care enough to continue breathing.
The following are the materials that directly influenced or fit well into this setting. Those marked * are those which, but for a few minor differences, might as well BE this game's setting.