The Maiden Saga: Role Playing Game (6 page)

Thus Kaea has a fair chance of winning, but if she doesn't she is no worse off than she was before. Talithea is unlikely to want to expend a Glory Point in the circumstances, so she and her hunting party simply ride away. If Kaea does win, then she has gained herself 1 Glory Point, which she can either keep or use to improve her total score. By offering to take Kaea with her, Talithea has lost nothing.

Had Talithea won the initial roll she might choose to ask Kaea what a Hai girl is doing in the middle of a Mund forest, half-naked and surrounded by bits of red agaric mushroom cap. Kaea would then have to defend herself as best she could, probably against Talithea's overbearing Pride, at 18 points to 4. In the unlikely event of Kaea winning she will gain a full 4 Glory Points, but if she loses Talithea gains 2 and Kaea is obliged to tell the truth. Kaea has no Glory Points to expend and so is at Talithea's mercy.

Assuming Kaea wins and is taken back to Thieron, on the coast, she now has the task of crossing the sea. By using her Primary Drive, Allure, she has an excellent chance of persuading a ship's captain to take her aboard. This will be hardest if he is a fellow Hai, but also safest, whereas it would be easy to seduce a Makean with her beauty but he is very unlikely to keep his word. Assuming that the shipmaster is a NPC and not another PC, it is up to the GM to decide how he will behave, keeping within the background and spirit of the game.

 

 

In both the above examples the conflict is one against one, but this will not always be the case. It's obviously harder to overcome two opponents than one, either by force or negotiation, and three is harder than two, but seldom two or three times as hard, while an inept companion can be more of a drawback than an asset. So, instead of simply adding up the Additional Attribute points, these should be added and then reduced by a percentage according to how many are involved – 20% for 2, 30% for 3, 40% for 4 and 50% for 5. The result should be rounded up or down to the nearest integer, and only if half or more of those involved are using their Primary Drive can they make sixes. It is assumed that no more than 5 people can take on a single opponent, either in combat or negotiation.

This assumes that one PC is in conflict with between two and five NPCs. A group of up to five PCs can work together following the same rules but may prefer to function individually, in which case they must decide who takes on which opponent.

Points lost from a pool must be subtracted from among those attributes used in the conflict, to the PCs choice. As usual, these refresh with the next sleep period.

If a group of NPCs, however large, has a clear leader, that person alone needs to be persuaded unless the GM decides otherwise, although if combat kicks off the whole group will fight.

 

 

For example -

 

Bormontal the Nymph Breeder is determined to produce nymph/human crosses with the red-gold hair typical of Aegmund. His initial attempt involved the kidnap of Aisla, the daughter of a sergeant-at-arms in Korismund on the border between Mund and Aegmund and ended in disaster (see
Maiden
). Realising the advantages of employing a male Aeg and one or more female nymphs rather than the other way around, he has travelled north to Aegerion and there enlisted the services of one Dakar as guard. Dakar, a fletcher by trade, has no idea of Bormontal's true motive, but is likely to accept the use of the nympharium as one of the perquisites of his job without fuss. Returning south, they touch land at Utan, a Dwarven city on the north coast of Apraya.

Here they meet Raiklin N'Jokolana, the Aprinian scholar, who is intent on travelling to the city of Ap-Ythan in search of rare texts relating to the origin of humanity. Bormontal, always keen to keep his overheads down, persuades Raiklin to travel with them, sharing the costs of the journey and of Dakar's employment as their mutual guard. Bormontal and Raiklin are PCs. Dakar is an NPC.

Reaching the Ythan border, they encounter a customs point, where the officer in charge, Tordan, demands the payment of duty on the import of one slave, barbarian, male. Dakar, who is in the stern boat idly whetting the magnificent greatsword he purchased with the advance on his wages, does not hear this exchange. Bormontal and Raiklin decide to persuade Tordan that he has misinterpreted the law. Tordan is an NPC, so the two PCs choose which Additional Attribute to use, Wisdom. Bormontal has 12 Game Points in Wisdom, Raiklin an impressive 36, but as they have chosen to argue together their effective total is 38 ((12+36)x0.8) rather than 48. Tordan also has a fair bit of Wisdom, 10 Game Points, but is clearly at a disadvantage. However, noting that discussion is in progress and keen to earn his pay, Dakar now comes forward – the GM being responsible for this sort of decision. Dakar is a young man, with just 3 Game Points in Wisdom, but as he is determined to put his outsized boot into the discussion he must be included, unless Bormontal and Raiklin choose to argue with him first and risk reducing their own efficacy. With Dakar involved their pool of Game Points has actually been reduced to 36 ((12+36+3)x0.7). To further complicate matters, Tordan's two juniors step forward, both young men with little more than their native Ythan ability in Wisdom, 7 Game Points each. The customs officers therefore have 17 ((10+7+7)x0.7) Game Points against the PCs 36.

 

 

Losing Your Cool

 

Dakar is a good humoured young man and has little or no understanding of the concept of slavery, so is unlikely to realise the implications of the discussion. Even if he does, the idea of him being the slave of an Ythan is so absurd as to be laughable. Raiklin, however, is exceptionally sensitive to the issue, having recently had his daughter rescued from Makea, where she had been made a fighting slave for the amusement of the populace (see
Innocent
). There is a significant chance he will be unable to control his temper.

This chance is expressed as the probability of four of the six dice showing the same score on any one roll. As the PCs are operating as a group this relates to the proudest member, the one most likely to take insult, which in this case means Raiklin. The result is that the conflict is immediately restarted in his Primary Drive. That is Wisdom so things continue as before in this instance, only now Raiklin has ceased to argue with cold, precise logic and instead is jabbing an extended forefinger into Tordan's chest as he expiates on the abomination of slavery.

The conflict has now escalated, and from now on if either group throws just
three
dice with the same score at once then the conflict restarts a second time but in Power, in this case when Raiklin loses his temper completely and headbutts Tordan. Dakar, who is not only keen to demonstrate his abilities as guard but has begun to take in the full implications of the conversation, gives a roar of fury and wades in with his greatsword.

If you're unsure how all this works it might be an idea to play the conflict out.

 

 

“Across the field the guardsmen moved into formation, spread wide to contain the charge. Iriel dug her heels into her horse's flanks, keeping pace with Kaissia, a trot, a canter as she dipped her lance, a full gallop, tearing across the grass at the oncoming guards, hooves thudding on packed soil, her hair streaming out behind her.

As Kaissia yelled the command Iriel pulled hard on one rein, turning her horse at the last possible moment, at the podium, to crash full against the line of pikes. Kaissia was screaming as she was stuck through, but in pure rage, her own lance plunging into the chest of a soldier as she and her horse went down together, crushing both lines of pikemen to create a gap through which Iriel tore. Her horse hit the podium, rising to the boards, men scattering, others going down beneath her hooves, Aurac screaming commands, and silent as Iriel's lance took him full in the open mouth.”
Princess

 

If Dakar does run amok then the conflict is going to get messy.

Most of the people you are likely to encounter will not be armed. No self-respecting Aeg will leave the village without a hunting bow and a dagger, probably an axe too, even if they are just nipping out to gather firewood. The same is true in the backwoods of Mund. In both cases, and in Hai, nobles will carry something as a badge of rank, but otherwise only guards and soldiers will normally go armed.

In this case, Dakar has his greatsword, Bormontal is carrying a dagger and Raiklin is unarmed, while Tordan has a sword and his juniors are armed with crossbows. Combat is a conflict in power and skill, and so in any close combat situation the following values, plus their points in Experience, are added to their Game Points in Power before the combat begins, creating their Combat Points.

 

Figures allow for the difficulty of reloading a missile weapon in close combat and such factors as a musket butt making an effective club. If a PC is carrying more than one weapon, the players must state which weapon they are using when the conflict begins. Characters using a club or sword, but not a greatsword, and also a dagger but no shield should add 1 extra point.

 

 

If the character is carrying protection they should also add -

 

If the character is a professional combatant they should also add -