Mesopotamian Currency

I've been doing a very brief bit of research on the money that was used by the Mesopotamians, and have become pretty sure of what they used.

(sorry about that sentence, it reads rather strangely)

So, the Mesopotamians used the silver shekel, and (I believe) silver mina, with their value based on the amount of grain. Using a base sixty (?) system, I'm pretty sure I read that 1 shekel equalled about sixty mina, and each mina had a 'base price' of about 10 grains I think?

So yeah, not 100% sure, but my players won't know any better, so everything's cool.

I'll post about the Mesopotamian pantheon soon, as I've got it all sorted out (i.e. who was descended from who, their domains, for lack of a better word, and which cities that they're patrons of).

I'm also finishing off a not-quite-accurate-but-good-enough-for-me hexmap of Mesopotamia.

Weapons & Armour in Mesopotamia

I've been researching the weapons used in mesopotamia, and looking at the list of weapons and armour in my copies of B\X, to see what I need to get rid of.

As a note, it turns out the Mesopotamians were very advanced in terms of military. I mean, there is evidence of them forming shield walls, phalanxes, and squares in battle!

So, onto the list of what weapons are allowed:

Battle Axe

Hand Axe

Short Bow

Dagger

Short Sword

Sword

Two-Handed Sword

Mace

Club

Javelin

Lance

Pole Arm (specifically pikes, or at least their equivalent)

Sling

Spear

Staff

So, for those reading along with their B\X books, that means every weapon except for the long bow, crossbow, and war hammer.

The new weapons are two in number, being the Egyptian bladed mace, and spearbreaker.

The Egyptian bladed mace is, quite simply, a normal mace with a large blade stuck on the back of it. Costs 16 gp (or rough equivalent, I'll post about money later) and deals 1d8 damage, and, if using weapon vs. armour class tables from AD&D, uses whichever is better: broadsword or mace (light or heavy, you decide).

The spearbreaker is essentially a handle with two sharp prongs, in which you catch a spear and proceed to snap it. Costs maybe 20 gp, and requires a roll to break the spear?

Now, onto armour in Mesopotamia.

Looking at the B\X list, we find shield, leather, mail, and plate.

Here is where I'm torn. The Mesopotamians had shields, leather, copper studded leather, and bronze or iron breastplates and other such armour. My initial thought is to keep the B\X armour list as is, but swap mail for studded leather and just note that plate is essentially a breastplate and maybe greaves, over some leather armour.

That's it for now, next up: Money in Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian Setting

So, I've decided to start work on a fantasy Mesopotamian setting for D&D, although I might end up running it under a different system.

For the purpose of the blog, I will post the setting information on this blog.

So, I am stuck with a few things, and as I hate making decisions, I've put up two polls.

The first one is for the era in which to set it:

1. The Empire of Sargon the Great. About early 2000 BC, Sumerians have fairly recently been conquered, so, while Akkaddian is still the common tongue, a large amount of people will speak

Sumerian.

2. The 'middle age'. There are several empires: The Hittite Empire, Babylonian Empire, Assyrian Empire, and the Egyptian Empire, so a lot of food for conflict.

3. The Assyrian Empire at its height, in 650 BC. This also has the advantage of a more civilised Europe and western Africa, allowing the players to go to more familiar waters if they want.

So that's the first one, and the last one, the level of fantasy:

1. Normal D&D level, with magic and monsters everywhere.

2. 'Historical' level, with all their beliefs being real (ruins infested with demons, etc.)

3. Somewhere in between the two.

Cool, hope you make the decision for me!

A Fantasy Campaign, and the Assyrian Empire

I've recently started work on a historical fantasy setting, and I decided to set it in Mesopotamia, but I'm trying to choose between the empire of Sargon the Great, the time of several empires (the Hittites, Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians), or the Assyrians at the height of their power.

And just a note on the Assyrians, I never realised how massive it was. Seriously, look up the Assyrian Empire in 650 BC.

Their empire stretched from parts of Turkey all the way down to past Thebes in Egypt. Look at the size of that thing!

My Setting

I've started on creating the setting for our game (still undecided on the rules).

For the basis, I've created a rough map of the Kingdom of Ether, and a few surrounding nations, and made a fairly detailed hex map for Ether, though I still need to stock the map.

The kingdom is centered around the Jewel of the Eastern Coast, Etherim, made entirely out of jade, obsidian, and marble.

There is currently great tension between Ether and the surrounding nations, as they are members of the Church of the Triumvirate (I found this on some blog or other, I can't remember which one), while the officials of Ether worship their own pantheon.

The reason for this is that Ether is ruled by a foreign warlord from a distant land (ans Assyrian culture, determined using Kellri's CDD#4), though most of the natives of the kingdom worship the Church (being, like the surrounding nations, a basic Germanic culture).

So that is my setting so far. I'm currently working on a list of German and Assyrian names to help me name NPCs, as well as details for the two religions.

Update

Well, looks like I just might get a game going again. Of course, at this point, I still don't know whether we will be playing Traveller, Advanced Fighting Fantasy, some edition of D&D, Rolemaster: The Basics, or T&T.

While I love T&T and D&D, I'm hoping the players will choose one of the others because, much to my annoyance, I've never actually been able to play any of the others.

With regards to the Grand Universe, I've almost got an entire sector mapped out.

So yeah, will most probably post more soonish. : )

In the meantime, enjoy this awesome painting that just screams adventure and chivalry to me.

An Idea for a Modern Campaign

Just a random idea I had today, but basically it is a modern rpg game, but set in the 50s or 60s, with the characters being greasers (or, if the game is set in England, Teddy boys).

I'm not sure what rules I'd use, maybe some form of S&W, but with AD&D's unarmed combat. Weapons would be knives, bike chains, the occasional gun, and things like broken bottles, etc.

I might post more on this later.

Metroid Prime Trilogy

I finally managed to track down a copy of Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii, and have been playing it as much as possible (well, playing Metroid Prime 1, at least).

It's a really awesome game, though I don't particularly care for the Wii controls, and wish I could use the Gamecube controllers. Oh well, life sucks and then you die. : )

As for the Grand Universe, I'm so totally stealing the Space Pirates from the Metroid games. The Space Pirates are a nomadic alien race of, well, space pirates.

I just have to have them in the Grand Universe. I mean, an entire species of space pirates. So, for my games, any space pirate encounter has a 50% chance (yeah I know, I love 50% chances) of being an encounter with Space Pirates.

I'll most probably post their stats for Traveller and D&D (my 'version) later.

New Source of Inspiration

Wow. I didn't realise so many of my posts started with new. : )

Anyway, onto the topic of this post: My new major inspiration for the Grand Universe is Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I mean, this book is awesome. Near-human androids working on the colonies, trying to escape back to Earth, where they are hunted down by bounty hunters working for the police. The Rosen corporation trying to keep the androids alive, and, while this is going on, a fake police department set up by escaped androids, as well as the post-apocalyptic setting, with the mainly empty cities, and the almost complete lack of non-human life left on Earth.

So yeah, this book is definitely added to major sources of inspiration.

New Project

As I've finished rolling up a sector (yes, an entire sector. I have no life.), I'm now starting on working up a fantasy sandbox campaign, starting with the map from Palace of the Silver Princess, and chucking in all of the various modules I own (even the new 4th edition one), and doing some basic modifications.

Not sure about the system, but right now I've got either Rolemaster Basics (from RMSS), AD&D 1st and 2nd editions combined, B/X or T&T.

Most probably will post more on this later.

An system for more realistic damage in Traveller

Well, I've just been reading this article on traumatic damage sort of, well, 'simplified', and the sadistic part of my mind had a cunning plan to utilise it and construct a damage system for Traveller.

While it will be quite bloody and gruesome, making combat even more violent, it may just lead to some amazing stories of heroism, with PCs with shattered bones and massive blood loss somehow clinging to life and pulling through, despite the odds.

It will also lead to a lot more characters being rolled up. :)

Whenever a character has been shot, roll 2d6 to determine where the shot hit (or, even better, get the players to state where they're aiming and adjust the difficulty).

2-4 head

5-6 chest

7-8 abdomen

9-10 limb (1-3 leg, 4-6 arm, 1-3 right, 4-6 left)

11 pelvis

12 neck

After that, just check the damage done and whether the character is wearing any form of armour in that location, then check up to see the what damage level dealt.

1-6 light -2

7-12 medium no modification

13-18 heavy +2

19+ very heavy +4

Now, roll 2d6 + the damage level modification on the following charts to determine the injury dealt to the character (yeah, this system is full of charts, get over it!).

Head

1 and less: Scalp wound. Heavy bleeding

2-5: Cracked jaw. 20% chance victim cannot breath. Light bleeding, unable to close mouth properly.

7-9: Face wound. Several bones damaged, 50% chance extreme haemorrhage, lots of shock, face paralysed.

10-12: Bad scalp wound. Extreme haemorrhage, heavy bleeding.

13+: Skull fracture. Blood leaking from ears/nose/throat, blood in white of eyes, loss of vision in one eye, loss of smell, lose consciousness in 2d6 rounds. 80% chance enter coma, if not almost instantaneous death.

Neck (all 50% chance damage to neck muscles, unable to hold head upright)

1 and less:Brachial Plexis damaged. Numbness and partial paralysis in either left or right arm.

2-3: Stellate Ganglion damaged. Pupils dilated, loss of long vision.

4-6: Jugular wounded. Heavy bleeding and hypolovemic shock.

7-8: Cranial nerves. Unable to shrug shoulders or rotate chin, tongue paralysed, hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing.

9-11: Spinal cord. Paralysis.

12+: Larynx and Trachea. Spitting blood, sucking neck wound, difficulty with breathing, high-pitched, noisy respiration.

Chest

2 and less: Ribs fractured. Difficulty in breathing, making it hard to do any exerting activity.

3-6: Collar bone/shoulder blade damaged. Unable to move arm unless splinted, and a lot of pain with any type of activity.

7-9: Sucking chest wound.

10-12: Tension Pneumothorax. Victim unable to breath, pass out in about fifteen minutes, and will suffocate if not treated.

13+: Heart. Massive blood loss, heart failure. Very quick death.

Abdomen (80% chance localised pain, nausea and reflex vomiting)

2 and less: Stomach muscles. Great pain, almost impossible to do most things without immense amounts of pain.

3-5: Blood vessels. Cuts off supply to leg, making it impossible to stand very soon, and may cause severe swelling in the leg.

6-7: Intestines. After a day or two after receiving the injury, severe pain, fever, vomiting and, if untreated, death in a week.

8-10: Bladder/kidney. 50% chance massive haemorrhage, otherwise long term renal failure, 50% chance fatal.

11+: Spleen/liver. Massive pain in upper abdomen, massive haemorrhage, shock and death very quickly if not treated.

Pelvic wounds

Unable to stand, 50% chance cuts off blood supply to leg, with heavy bleeding and haemorrhage.

Limb

3 and less: Extreme pain, hard to use limb.

4-7: Muscle damage. Very hard to use limb.

8-10: Bone cracked/shattered. Extreme pain, blood loss, Practically impossible to use limb.

11+: Massive haemorrhage.

Notes

Sucking Wounds: Victim will feel short of breath, air visibly sucked in through wound. Low oxygen will cause unconsciousness in ten minutes.

Bleeding and haemorrhage: Usually, if heavy, unconsciousness and death, very faint, suffering penalties to all activities.

Just a note

Just a quick note to say that I revised the d100 background chart to get rid of #92 a slave, as there was already a slave, so I fixed it up to be a demonicist. If you want to know what that is, just have a quick look at the bottom of the post, where I put a footnote.

A link to my old blog

Just a quick post for now.

Here's a link to my old blog, the database. Basically, it was where I just posted things I created for various rpgs so I wouldn't lose them. Take a look, there might be something good over there.

Well, I might just post something of greater interest at a later point. :)

A decision and other news

Well, because I always start millions of projects and then never follow up on them, I've decided to set myself a minimum of two posts a week on this blog, even if it is about something totally random.

And, on another note, I'm going to be going on holiday to Melbourne soon, just for a few days to catch up with some friends and one of my brothers, so I most probably will be posting even less for a short time.

Well, I'll just sign off with this awesome painting of the Battle of Austerlitz.

Hope you like the painting!!

d100 chart of character backgrounds

I created this table a while ago for a T&T game that I almost ran (i.e we never played it in the end). If you use it for D&D or something, it might require some modification. Hope you enjoy : )

1. A thief

2. A crusader only just returned

3. A member of the Royal Guard

4. A duelist

5. An errant knight

6. A young noble seeking fame, fortune and glory

7. A hardened mercenary

8. A common thug

9. A conman

10. A bounty hunter

11. A pirate

12. A privateer

13. A corsair from some distant land

14. A farmer

15. A merchant

16. A courtier in exile

17. A soldier

18. A sailor

19. A priest

20. A priest of an exotic religion

21. A murderer on the run

22. A spy

23. A healer

24. An veteran of a recent war

25. An assassin

26. A druidic priest

27. A heretic

28. A marine

29. An escaped slave

30. An officer

31. A cavalryman

32. A pick-pocket

33. A professional gambler

34. An executioner

35. A revolutionary

36. A common peasant

37. A miner

38. A poet

39. A musician

40. A fake priest

41. A wandering charlatan

42. A wandering 'law-giver'

43. a hunter

44. a disgraced condottiere

45. a knight

46. an elf-child*

47. a fake prophet

48. a priest of a dying out faith

49. a political exile

50. a psychologically disturbed war veteran

51. A sage

52. a man from the Moon

53. a man from the seas at the end of the world

54. a survivor of a totally destroyed city (like what the Romans did to Carthage)

55. a beggar

56. a tomb robber

57. a member of the Watch

58. a schizophrenic

59. a witch-hunter

60. a lover of an evil witch

61. a member of a cult

62. an escaped soul from the House of Darkness**

63. a barbarian savage

64. a bandit

65. an artist

66. a diplomat

67. a detective

68. a drug addict

69. a depressed alcoholic

70. an explorer

71. a herdsman

72. a fisherman

73. a decadent noble

74. a madman

75. a shaman

76. a scholar

77. a grave digger

78. someone stricken with wanderlust

79. a cartographer

80. a writer

81. a wandering trader

82. an alchemist

83. a juggler

84. a scientist

85. a taxidermist

86. a psychotic who believes is a deity

87. a disgraced or di

88. a wanted criminal

89. a cannibal

90. a nomad

91. a retired general

92. a demonicist***

93. an inn-keeper

94. a racketeer

95. a gatherer of intelligence

96. a viking

97. a messenger

98. an engineer

99. a prince from a conquered principality

00. a visitor from another world

*an elf-child is someone who was raised by elves

**sort of an underworld, the underworld of Akkaddian religion

***demonicist comes from the English verb (seriously, look it up in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, its under demo-) demonamachy, meaning 'to fight demons', so we get, demonicist, 'someone who fights demons'.

A bit on the Grand Universe

Well, I've started working out the details of the Grand Universe. For the main SF elements, I'm drawing inspiration from Shatterzone (a fairly awesome OOP rpg by WEG, the guys who did the Star Wars d6 rpg, which is also incredibly awesome), some elements from the computer games Quake 2, Metroid, and lastly, most of the stuff from Traveller's Third Imperium.

As for the rules, I've been working up on the new Mongoose Traveller.

Now, for the required SF division of the galaxy into several convenient sectors:

The Hub: The Hub is where the interstellar nations mainly rule, from the Consortium of Worlds, safe behind the Shatterzone, to the two greatest of all nations, the Third Imperium, and the Imperium of Man*. The space of the Hub is always filled with merchants and pirates, police ships and the mighty war fleets of the nations, battling in the cold ice of the void.

The Primitive, or 'Victorian', Zone: The Primitive Zone is dominated by the one planet, called Earth, with it's various nations having ventured into space in primitive starships powered by steam. Although the nations of the Zone are weak, the armies are some of the finest, and there is no sight more glorious to see then an army of red-clad soldiers lining up on some forsaken world, bravely facing the charge of a horde of barbarous aliens.

The Medieval Rim: The most primitive of all sectors in the galaxy, the people of the Medieval Rim are made up of a strange assortment of dozens upon dozens of strange creatures, from humanoids like elves to massive dragons. Although travel between the worlds is limited, there are a few exceptions, and occasionally some have traveled to the Hub, and every now and then a lone starship has come under assault from a huge dragon, dwarfing the scout ships of the Hub.

The Unknown: The Unknown is a vast region of unexplored space, filled with hostile aliens and the occasional savage human population. Although it is stated that none from the Hub have ever entered the Unknown, ancient records tell of a united humanity waging war in the unknown against a horrifying opponent, called the Strogg**.

Well, that pretty much wraps up the sectors of space within the Grand Universe!

*The Imperium of Man is from Warhammer 40,000. An incredibly awesome setting, if I do say so myself.

**The Strogg are from the computer game Quake 2 and 4. They are, of course, lurking in the Unknown, gathering their strength for a huge assault on the galaxy.

And because I can....

A whole bunch of pictures of things that I like, and of other such stuff.

The Begining

Hey!!

Well, I'm Anthony and this is my blog for RPGs, whatever life things I find interesting enough to mention, and other random stuff that pops into my head about music, art, writing, miniatures, war games, etc.

As for the title of the blog, that comes from a setting that is sort of working itself out in my mind. Basically, it is every rpg and miniatures game's setting I want thrown into the one setting, with shatterzone characters leaving their home to go to Traveller's Third Imperium, and then go to the Fighting Fantasy world.

In other words, it is, to my mind at least, the definition of awesome.