GURPS Fantasy , shared world, recruiting

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Badass.


Crude blackpowder grenades would also be cool- and still TL3 doable. Maybe they are ceramic? 'Greek fire' flasks would be fun.



Not sure if his knightly types would be okay with any of this. We don't know what their rules of war are like.


I like it, though. Let's see what Agramar says.

For now,I see "Georgians" as Proud and Arrogant till bordering stupidity(Think French Knights at Agincourt,but multiplied).

Im not saying that they are incompetent or stupid per se,just that they scorn on use of ranged weapons(Knightly class) and avoid it as much as they can.

Ill name Flying lizards "Zmaj" = on Croatian it means Dragon (If you like sound of it).

So I was seeing them as guys in plate,with long lances,long spear,sword/shield and Bow....bound by their "knightly" traditions.Not always riding Zmajs(Or Zmajeve :>Croatian).
Maybe during winter theyre in semidormant period due cold...etc

Also Lance charging in aerial combat sounds fantasy,Zmajs tearing at each other while plumetting toward earth while riders(strapped in saddles) try to inflict as much dmg as possible and detach their Zmaj from another in time to avoid colliding with earth.

Or Lance charge in swoop on ground units,with landing and Zmaj tearing with Jaws,claws and sweeps of tail while rider strikes with Lance and later with spear or broadswords(if cavalry around).

We can assume that Zmaj is Magical creature and has some mana organ that helps him fly besides wings.Its Fantasy after all...and we can handwaive Physics to some extent.

Bombardment from above strikes me too much as modern concepts if used as main offense role.Though throwing pots with burning tar on ships is acceptable.

Opinions?

Edit: I started forming guidelines for writeup of this.

I could use help with religion though.Id like some Monastic orders and some Martial orders...that will be easy after I(preferably someone else...Im really bad at it) devise religion.
I can expand,just to get base and few guidelines on it.

Originally Posted by combatmedic

EDIT- I'm thinking almost of WW1 aircraft here, and the romantic ethos that surrounded the men of the 'dawn patrol.'
EDIT- They could also act as couriers.

Y Knights of air as WW I and not WWII Stukas or B19s.

[tantric]

I love making religions - what do you have in mind?

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by tantric

I love making religions - what do you have in mind?

I dont have a clue...thus asking for help :))

Though "Georgia" is imo so far(maybe will change):

Nobles rule the land and amuse themselves with warcraft mostly(think Samurai).
Martial provess is beside honor one of most important facets of their society.
Nobles think of themselves as Arian race,better than rest of world(-5 Disadv range).
Free man work as farmers or cattle hearders or are part of some nobles retinue.
Serfs toil.
Slavery is common...
Hunts on Barbarian tribes for slaves is standard.
West of country is lowland and bread basket of Kingdom while in East terrein rises rapidly toward impassable mountains..cattle is main product there.
They have access to abundant ore mines of high quality,enabling them to produce cheaper and superior military equipment which is beside slaves their main commerce activity.
Due trade and natural resources they are really rich.

Id like to have some Martial Monastic orders also,and even one or two comprised of woman.
I think they would hold religion high on their list of priorities.
Church shouldnt be to much corrupt.More as centers of learning and literarcy.

Dunno ...Do your magic :))
Thanks

Edit:Maybe they share Religion(or partially) with Hellas ?!?

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Another question: what sort of weapons and armor are the 'dragoneers' using?

Plate and swords or lances look cool- but are not necessarily a smart choice on a flying critter. You don't want to crash your mount into anything while flying- so 'knightly' lances are impractical. Heavy steel armor will further burden your mount, possibly hindering take offs and maneuverability.

Perhaps bows makes more sense? 'Saddlebags' or wicker baskets , chock-full of arrows? Lightly armored archers that can fly out of range, but- thanks to gravity- can bombard the enemy on the ground with arrows. If the critters are gliders [seems likely for something so damned big] it might be possible to learn to shoot pretty well from the perch.

These guys would be perfect for spotting the enemy at a distance, scouting, terror attacks from above,etc. Combined with your heavy infantry spearmen and your mounted knights....could be very nasty.

EDIT- I'm thinking almost of WW1 aircraft here, and the romantic ethos that surrounded the men of the 'dawn patrol.'


EDIT- They could also act as couriers.

If you've read the "Her Majesty's Dragon" series, one sees the truly cool potential of large dragons with riders and captains. The dragons themselves are the real weapons, but there are several to dozens of men on each, to defend against others. "Boarding actions" are common. The neat thing is, of course, that while muskets and gunpowder are key to the books (being all Napoleanic and all) they're clearly NOT key to the concept. Crossbows, spells (perhaps), longbows, and sword-to-sword action all fit well within this.

And the point of it all, of course, is that these guys are valuable because they're rare. Like an Age of Sail Frigate or Ship of the Line, one or two showing up in an area can change the entire dynamic of a battle.

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

If you've read the "Her Majesty's Dragon" series, one sees the truly cool potential of large dragons with riders and captains. The dragons themselves are the real weapons, but there are several to dozens of men on each, to defend against others. "Boarding actions" are common. The neat thing is, of course, that while muskets and gunpowder are key to the books (being all Napoleanic and all) they're clearly NOT key to the concept. Crossbows, spells (perhaps), longbows, and sword-to-sword action all fit well within this.

And the point of it all, of course, is that these guys are valuable because they're rare. Like an Age of Sail Frigate or Ship of the Line, one or two showing up in an area can change the entire dynamic of a battle.

Idea was to give Dragons(Zmaj) 2-3 extra attacks,that would turn them into real weapon.

Even when it lands on ground with Jaws+claws it can attack 2 targets in front + make a tail sweep in several hexes arc.

I was thinking of 3-4 Dr tops on them,though maybe adding some harness(barding) to protect vitals or body could be doable...Combatmedic ?

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by combatmedic

Actually, recycling can be low tech. Read about the rag and bone trade, sometime. Fascinating stuff.

If we're talking necromancy, I'm thinking I'll have to get involved and add a few things from something I've been working on.

Mana is limited and aspected, but it also accumulates in the souls, bodies and bones of practitioners. This means that when someone dies, as their soul is released, so does mana return to the world; as their body decays, so does mana return to the world; as their bones are consumed, so does mana return to the world.

The storyline I've been working on begins after a large cataclysmic battle in a citystate area which was being united unwillingly, an area where the erstwhile conquerors were defeated and the deaths of their mages, along with soldiers from both sides, caused a massive release of necromantically aspected mana which led to greywalkers, a type of conscious undead, to arise amongst all the neighboring city states.

Oh, and as for another necromantic/elemental religion, in the religion called Palo, bones hold the mana of the dead, the more powerful the people were in life, the stronger the bones, these bones are placed in a cauldron called a nganga, along with earth and sticks, and channeled through a spirit, or mpungu, consumed in the process as the energy is channeled by these necromancers, called paleros.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleros
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/wo...s/11venez.html

[tantric]

I've done quite a bit with Palo

Second post on this thread

I've expanded it since then - specifically it should use Cosmic Modular Abilities. Heck, I even have a GCA file. But I think this kind of thing isn't appropriate for this world

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by tantric

I've done quite a bit with Palo

Second post on this thread

I've expanded it since then. Heck, I even have a GCA file. But I think this kind of thing isn't appropriate for this world

Well, we'd have to file off the serial numbers/christian bits to make it less like actual Palo, but multiple necromantic and elemental religions can easily be appropriate in an aspected mana world.

In effect, the bones in Palo rituals would function as mana stones, one time use items which could be tapped to provide boosts of energy for aspected magic.

[tantric]

I hadn't considered power-bones - good catch. I ended up with a Path with most of the spell from the Spirit Path, then rituals to summon the different spirits. Medium and/or Oracle as prerequisites. The spirits occupy the 10pt/point cosmic modular abilities slot(s). What Christian bits?

[DAT]

I may have missed it, but I didn't see much in the way of descriptions of barbarian cultures.

One that came to mind was a group of small to medium sized clans of nomatic yurt living; composite bow, spear/saber, and long knife armed, lizard* riding, barbarians that ranged over a large stepp area herding other lizard creatures and hunting bison like dinosaurs. The clans are experts at camouflage, flanking attacks, and hit and run tactics. In a 'peaceful' state, they would sell hides and horns to traders for metal/weapons and other goods. In times of war, the clans would gather, elect a war leader and act like the Mongol hordes or "Coming of the Horse Clans".

They would have shamanic traditions and pay respect to elemental related "gods" sun, moon, thunder, snow/ice, etc.
-Dan

*The lizards I was thinking of looked like the taun tauns from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. They have high endurance, are decently fast, are able to jump long distances, and are able to eat just about anything.