The Maiden Saga: Role Playing Game (12 page)

 

*which may well be a thousand miles away and have been looted a thousand years ago.

 

 

Persuading spirits follows the normal rules, as they are effectively NPCs. Ghostly retainers have 100 Game Points, but it is up to the GM how these are distributed.

 

 

Binding

 

This is the creation of a link between an insubstantial being, anything from a human spirit to a minor demon, and an inanimate object. Considerable concentration is required, as you must first lull the being into a false sense of security, then hold its attention as you mark out the appropriate glyph on the object and pour a libation to entrap the being.

There are practical limitations on binding, For one thing, the object retains its original form and only alters in effect according to the nature of the being. What you can and can't do is a matter for your imagination and the patience of the GM, but some examples might prove helpful –

 

Magic Mirror

A human spirit bound to a looking glass.Cost – 1 Point of Constitution.

Advantages – unobtrusive, unpaid and ever wakeful, a magic mirror should make an excellent guard as well as providing advice and even companionship. Naturally if you wish wisdom from your mirror you must bind a wise spirit.

Disadvantages – while these artefacts have caught the imagination of storytellers, they have severe drawbacks. Human spirits tend to resent being bound to things at the best of times, while spending fifty years with a view of the opposite wall of a corridor does nothing to abate this feeling. Ask who is the most beautiful of them all and the answer is unlikely to be flattering, while any thief worthy of the name should be capable of persuading a magic mirror to remain silent merely for the promise of adding it to the loot.

Banishment – simply smash the mirror.

The Game – a Magic Mirror is in effect an NPC.

 

Cornucopia

A spirit of fruitful harvest bound to a horn.Cost – 2 Points of Constitution.

Advantages – an unending stream of fruit, nuts or grain. With a cornucopia you will never starve, while if all else fails you can always set yourself up as a greengrocer. A single cornucopia fruit produces enough to feed a party of five or two large trolls.

Disadvantages – an unending stream of fruit, nuts or grain. The problem with the cornucopia is that the spirit in question is not sentient and will continue providing bounty at a steady rate regardless of circumstances. A cornucopia is only capable of provididing fruits of the harvest, a diet some consider lacking in variety.

Banishment – the spirit can be dismissed at the cost of 1 Point of Constitution.

The Game – you can never go hungry or thirsty, while you gain mystique worth 4 Game Points in Allure.

 

Souleater

A minor demon bound to an edge weapon.Cost – 3 Points of Constitution.

Advantages – the slightest nick of a souleater's blade is likely to kill, as it enables the demon to draw out the soul of your victim.

Disadvantages – you have linked a weapon to an enraged demon who would like nothing better than to own the soul of the wielder.

Banishment – the demon can be banished at the cost of 2 Points of Constitution.

The Game – Any damage you cause is increased tenfold. However, after using a souleater in combat you must make a throw of the six dice. Any quadruple means you have cut yourself and costs 5 Points of Constitution, while a quintuple costs 10 Points of Constitution and a sextuple 20.

 

 

Summoning

 

Summoning brings a being into corporeal reality, but only works with those being of sufficient power to be called on by name. This requires a period of trance in which the summoner is completely helpless, but once the demon has manifested it makes a terrible foe, although as it has corporeal reality it can be destroyed but not actually killed.

 

The Brown Man

A horrible raggedy thing of rotting bones and grave windings, tall and lean with great long arms that scratch and claw.Cost – 1 Point of Constitution

Advantages – The Brown Man is fast and strong, cruel and voracious, also so terrifying that the mere sight of one is often enough to send hardened veterens into headlong flight.

Disadvantages – It is also almost impossible to control, unable to distinguish between the enemies and the companions of its summoner and needs a constant supply of victims. If it doesn't get them it will turn on you.

Banishment – unless destroyed, the Brown Man can only banished at the cost of 3 Points of Constitution.

 

Wind Raith

A huge, grotesque demon with immense, leathery wings and a body halfway between that of a nightmare owl and a spiny toad.Cost – 2 Points of Constitution.

Advantages – A Wind Raith can swallow a man at a gulp and has no difficulty carrying two people in each clawed fist, although experienced persons prefer to ride on its back. It follows lethal instructions with murderous glee and will not harm its summoner.

Disadvantages – This collosal demon requires the weight of a horse in meat each day, and while it can be left to hunt and called back at will, this is likely to attract unfavourable attention.

Banishment – the demon can be banished at the cost of 2 Points of Constitution.

 

Gan

The principal god in Hai, but to all intents and purposes a demon, Gan manifests as a hammer wielding giant some one-hundred feet tall.Cost – 3 Points of Constitution.

Advantages – Gan is invulnerable to anything short of heavy artillery and capable of reducing a keep to rubble with a few blows of his hammer.

Disadvantages – Gan is not uniformly reliable and needs to be persuaded to carry out any given act rather than simply commanded.

Banishment – Gan will leave of his own accord after a single task but always demands a boon, such as the construction of a mountain top shrine. It is best to comply.

 

All demons are effectively NPCs.

 

 

Statistics

Any summoner is sure to encounter fear and antagonism, often leading to attempts at assassination. Even in Aegmund witches and warlocks, while respected, live as isolated pariahs.

In a combat situation the summoner can take no part in the exchange and must be protected. The demon manifests after the sixth throw and acts independently under the summoner's instructions, or in the case of the Brown Man at random, attacking the combatants with the five fewest Game Points in Greed.

Other demons exist and can be created at the discretion of the GM or proposed by a PC subject to the GMs agreement. The cost of summoning is always high and the drawbacks considerable.

 

 

“Within was an iron cage and in it sat the troll, a bulky, hulking manthing shaped like a giant goblin save for his skin being stone-grey in place of green and his genitals, fortunately, being in more reasonable proportion to his body. Stark bald, his head resembled nothing so much as a lump of granite, and Elethrine could see why the legend of trolls being made of rock had arisen. In height he was perhaps two heads above Aisla, while the breadth of his chest and his great, solid muscles spoke of enormous power.”
Maiden

 

The Maiden Saga has no shortage of half-men, some of which are dangerous and all of which can cross-breed with humans. In game terms these are NPCs, and in order to decide their attributes the GM should throw four dice, one after another. The four scores – w, x, y & z – can then be used to calculate the half-man's Game Points according to the following table -