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BryanMaloney

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About BryanMaloney

  • Birthday 01/21/1966

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  • RPG Biography
    Started with AD&D in early 80s then moved on.
    First(?) person to apply GURPS Martial Arts rules to Western swordsmanship.
    Co-author of GURPS Swashbucklers revision (years ago, not recent one).
    Participated in ill-fated attempt to revise RuneQuest many years ago.
    Author of "Mistress Clam" and other silly cults.
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    near Corpus Christi TX
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  1. I do not remember if I already posted this or not, so I'll post it. I have started writing cults up, and the first one (Gaderunglice Cyric--Congregational Church) has been posted on these boards at http://basicroleplaying.com/showthread.php/3658-Niwe-Angelcyningdom. I suppose it would count as "alternate" and just post a link to avoid cluttering up this thread. If I have already posted this, but the post just hasn't shown up, simply consider me silly and absent-minded. The writeup is, of course, subject to revision. It amounts to my attempt to develop a set of Cristlic (Christian) template writeups for RuneQuest. Before anyone gets upset, I'm a Christian, myself.
  2. I just put up a cult for the Angelcyningdom campaign I am planning, it's the second message in the thread. http://basicroleplaying.com/showthread.php/3658-Niwe-Angelcyningdom
  3. Gaderunlice Cyrice Mythos and History The Gaderunlice Cyrice began as a revitalization and reform movement within the Eldrecyrice and Angelice Cyrice. It was part of a larger wave of reform that swept Europe some centuries before. It rejected the ritualistic and communal approach to religion more typical of the older churches and insisted upon personal knowledge of religious doctrine, strict personal piety, and very high community-enforced standards of morality. It also stressed personal simplicity and was suspicious of great personal wealth. Roughly a century ago, religious conflicts within Angelcyningdom became political, and large numbers of Gaderunlican fled across the ocean to the West in order to pursue their religion unopposed. They set up strict communities that were ruled by Cyrice elders. This was over a century ago, since that time, the doctrines of the Gaderunlice Cyrice have undergone sweeping changes. Part of their original doctrine was complete rejection of any hierarchy above a congregation. This was from their belief that what they considered “corruptions” in the Edrecyrice and the Angelican were imposed from above. There were informal conventions to discuss controversies, and direct consultation of the Haligneboc was considered the final authority. Over time, this permitted gradual evolution of fundamental doctrine, although its adherents would call it “refinement”. Nature The Gaderunlice Cyrice is the dominant faith in man of the northeastern Landbunde. It serves as the main spiritual force in many communities. As such, it acts to hold members together, reinforce social norms, and support community goals. Individual leaders act as community consciences. It praises charity, mercy, and forgiveness. Local leaders often coordinate poor relief and care of widows and orphans within a community. As a solid bulwark of local society, it is usually a conservative force and is very often on the side of the local status quo or of local interests against those of Angelcyningdom. The local leader is often among the best-educated men in the community. Organization Each individual group within the Gaderunlice Cyrice is completely independent. There are informal associations by geography, but these have no authority over members except for expulsion from the association. The size of a given “temple” depends entirely upon the number of people attending. There are two Major Temples, in Botulfston and in Filadelfia. There are several Modest Temples, but the vast majority are Minor Temples. It is not uncommon for a single town or city to have several Minor Temples of the Gaderunlicans, with no desire to pool their resources to build anything larger. Membership Standard. Most members are brought up within the Cyrice and are automatically initiated by the age of 16, although it is common for younger adolescents who show sufficient knowledge to also be initiated. A would-be convert needs to show standard knowledge of cult skills. Initiation consists of a profession of faith and a short immersion in water. Restrictions Members are nominally prohibited from a large number of behaviors deemed immoral. Common members usually only face cult retribution for murder, theft, sex outside marriage, refusal to care for family, “serious” lying, or severe cruelty to people or animals. These can be subject to “interpretation”. Theft from the native tribes is often overlooked, but sex outside marriage with a native would not be. Lying might be punishable, but a popular and influential town leader would be much less likely to be punished than a local “troublemaker”. The supernatural forces of discipline within the cult are far from omniscient and respond as strongly to community opinion as they do to any objective truth. When the two are in severe conflict, they often do not act, but this is not taken as necessary proof that community opinion is wrong, since someone might be employing supernatural protection. Animism is prohibited. Animists who join must never use those abilities again or face punishment. Skills Lore (Cristness), Literacy, Customs, Insight, Oratory, Teach Magic The primary form of magic practiced by the Gaderunglican is Mysticism. However, lay members are permitted to learn one or two non-violent Folk Magic spells. By the time a member wishes to advance, he is expected to have no interest in further indulging such frivolity. Mystical Talents: Invoke Aura (Serenity or Mastery), Invoke Indomitable, Invoke Pain Control, Enhance Fatigue. Theism: Consecrate, Excommunicate, Exorcism, Lay to Rest. Gifts Upon becoming a diacon (dedicated), a member may learn an additional Theism spell from the following list: Dismiss Magic, Pacify, Reflection, Sacred Band, Spirit Block, Steadfast. Each additional rank permits the member to learn another of these spells. Allies and Enemies The Gaderunglice Cyric is allied, more or less, with most other Cristlic groups. Members can usually rely upon basic civil treatment from other Cristlics. It considers all Animist cults to be enemies, but it generally overlooks the minor Animism practiced by the Eldrecyrice. At one time it had merciless hostitility against practitioners of Folk Magic, who it lumped in with Animists as “feondlic”. This has since greatly relaxed and lay members are permitted to learn some Folk Magic spells, although there is still some suspicion.
  4. I've started designing a campaign that won't be played for a year or so--I intend to start playing it once I return to my home state where a new job is promised me by this time next year. When casting around for ideas, I happened to be reading some US colonial history. It struck me: This is an excellent place for a fantasy adventure setting. We have brash, full-of-themselves "civilized" people, many of whom have little to no qualms about being thorough hypocrites. There is a set of "ancient kingdoms" that are far away and not easy to get to. The English colonies were independent of each other and functionally independent of the Motherland much of the time, regardless of the law. Likewise, the colonies grouped essentially three (or four) separate countries when it came to economy and culture. There was a vast hinterland, full of dangerous people. There was a lot of political and religious infighting. I don't feel like doing a straight translation or a "His Majesty's Royal Alchemist" take on the matter, although those would be wonderful settings, where Benjamin Franklin is a master sorcerer, etc. I still want to play a more "primitive" sort of setting. Unfortunately for me, I like my silly arbitrariness to have a veneer of sensibility. After all, a "primitive" version of the New World wouldn't be the New World at all if taken in the full context of history. No matter how much I want to pretend otherwise, the New World was a product of a very long chain of history. Okay, no problem. Cheat. I like setting metaphysical underpinnings early, anyway. So, therefore, Rule 0: This world isn't actually real. It is a result of a "weak many-worlds interpretation". There is one (or a few) actual "real" realities, but multiple other para-realities can spin off them. Many of these zip along for a while, run out of "steam" and sputter out. A few last a Very Long Time . A very few don't work right. Most of the subsidiary realities "go in a straight line" from their origin. Their vectors don't cross other vectors. The freaky ones start out screwy--literally. Their vectors are not straight, and they intersect the source once or more. The results of this essentially amount to "readjustments" from time to time. The source vector is "privileged", and it is a natural tendency for child vectors' traits to realign toward the parent if there is an intersection or a close approach. This is what happened in this universe. Whenever the point of divergence, the child ran closely parallel to the parent, which severely constrained the freedom of the child universe. Most of the inhabitants didn't think about why nations did odd things from time to time, or why weather patterns suddenly wrenched into different paths. Most of the time, most people couldn't notice, and the ones who looked deeply into it tended to go loopy, so they didn't think about it too often. In any case, a "deflection" somehow occurred in the 11th century AD, which pushed the child further away from the parent and made its path more "curvy" than "straight". The biggest result of this was that William the Bastard was repulsed and Harold retained his throne. This also happened to repel the mini-crusade that William was charged by the Pope with carrying out in England. This led to a very different world, but it didn't turn out as differently as it "should" have, specifically because of the "curvy" path of its universe. Whenever the path took it "too close" to the parent universe, there was a "readjustment". Given the status of people as "observers", the readjustments had repercussions that simply make no sense. In short, they resulted in a retardation (from our standpoint) of technology, science, and basic rationality. However, for no good reason, people explored, settled, etc. They made up rationalizations afterwards. Magic did not "take the place of technology". It is essentially a result of the interaction between the "observer effect", the "child" status of this universe, and blah foo wiggy zrpl (or insert other gibberish). But there was no great rationalization of magic that one would have expected to occur in cultures that would be like our own Enlightenment. As always throughout its history, some few discerning people managed to pierce the veil and get an inkling of their actual status--pale reflections of a more "real" reality. They often killed themselves, went catatonic (and starved), or otherwise retreated from the world. Even a fairly well-informed person could soon realize that the world doesn't "make sense", but people and cultures have learned to simply not look too hard (for the most part). All of the above is, of course, utterly unnecessary. I could make up the world as I like and metaphysics can go whistle. However, I hope to be able to use this in the campaign. Anyway, already designing some of the major "cults" for the setting: 1: Gaderunlice Cyrice. Predominately in the northeastern Landbunda (colonies). It is descended of spiritual rigorists who sought to purify the national church. It is not, however, much like its original form. There is great diversity of practices and beliefs, but the majority of member congregations see little problem with simply glossing over their differences. Two elements that tend to unite them is that internal emotional transformation is the true sign of salvation, and a de-emphasis of the Trinity, with some congregations almost embracing full unitarianism. For the laity, the second issue has little importance. It is intense personal transformation that matters. Practices Mysticism with a little Theism, tolerates Folk Magic, dislikes Sorcery, condemns Animism and whatever Theism that is not Aetspraeclic in origin. 2: Angelice Cyrice. Found throughout the Landbunda but concentrated in Mariasland. It strongly emphasizes ones place within the community and the Godlic (Divine) nature of Cynlic (royal) power. as a matter of course, those born into higher social status are "Dedicated". In many ways, it is only nominally protesting. In the Mother Country, it is the preferred church of the Cyningesgaderung ("Royal Party") in the fractious court and government of the homeland, although the Cyning is never officially an adherent. Practices Theism with a little Mysticism, tolerates Folk Magic and Sorcery, condemns Animism and whatever Theism that is not from Cyriclic (church-ly) origin. 3: Eldrecyrice. The so-called "Old Church" is still nominally directed from Rome, although the Cantwaraburge Aercebiscop (Archbishop of Canterbury) essentially runs its hierarchy and usually chooses his own succesor. As such, it is sometimes hostile to the Edlrecyrican of other realms, even though they are technically the same organization. This is the most popular church in the Landbunda. Practices Theism and Animism, tolerates all other forms of magic, depending upon source. 4: Ealdracyrice. The "Church of the Elders" is very influential in the more northern Landbunda. It is characterized by heavy stress on communal religious experience and a "stripped down" ritual life in comparison to the Angelice Cyrice and Elrecyrice. Its governance is intermediate between the congregational independence of the Gaderunlice Cyrice and the strict hierarchy of the other two major churches. It simultaneously rejects the intense personal experience demanded by the Gaderunliceran and the heavy traditionalism of the Angelican and Eldrecyrican. It is also the most explicitly xenophobic of the major churches, regarding the hinterland as having been Godesgeraeden (God-ordained) to be taken by the Angelingas from the native inhabitants. This makes it very popular on the frontier. It practices Folk Magic and Theism, tolerates Sorcery, condemns Animism and any other magic that does not originate from a church or the privileged members of Angelice society. 5: Nithelandlic Cyrice. Brought to the middle Landbunda by non-Angelic settlers. In many ways it resembles the Eadracyrice, except it is less xenophobic and restricted mostly to people of Nithelandlic ancestry (by custom, not explicit rule). It practices Folk Magic and theism, tolerates Sorcery, condemns Animism and any other magic that does not originate from a church. 6: Weallbytlan. Not a religious organization. It admits any freeborn man who professes belief in a single Creator Being. It is known that it binds its members by oaths of secrecy and it has various degrees of initiation. It is often involved in public charity and likewise often appears to be a drinking society of local leading men. Uncounted contradictory legends exist about its purposes and other activities. Teaches sorcery and mysticism, tolerates all other forms of magic. Minor "cults": 1: Gesamnianscolan (Universites). Each Landbund has set up one of these, and they compete for status. Used to train lahwitan (lawyers), healaecan (physicians), and provide "finishing" education for wealthier families. All teach sorcery. Some teach mysticism. Graduates tend to look down on Folk Magic and Animism. Only the basics of magic are taught in lecture or tutoring. Higher levels are taught though private gebrothorscipan (brotherhoods), which all see each other as rivals. Wealthier young men come to the Gesamnianscolan with basic grounding in sorcery provided by family tutors. 2: Other religious organizations. This includes Iudeis Aefestnes (Judaism), Beofianlic Cyric (Trembling Church), and several different groups of Ungemodigans (dissenters) that have separated from larger religious groups. There are also rumors of survivals of ancient paganisms, but accusations have always turned out to be false. There are also family traditions that are highly informal, usually teaching only Folk Magic and usually restricted to the lower social classes.
  5. The release of RQ6 and a pending wife-ectomy have nudged me to look into resuming gaming. When looking around, I realized that the last time I was involved, there was no actual honest-to-goodness especially for fantasy "d100" system out "live". Yes, that's how long it's been. Now I look around and I see a plethora, a veritable plethora, I tell you. Already I've discovered Magic World, RQ6, Legend, OpenQuest, Renaissance, and AEONS. I get that they're all running on the same fundamental engine, but how do they compare among each other? Is there, perhaps, a table, somewhere?
  6. Is this pretty much "the place" for talking about RQ-ish games? As far as I can tell, it's the most active. Just wondering.
  7. Since this is a board post and not a magazine article, I will dispense with a long introduction. Short version: Happy that RQ6 is out, not utterly thrilled with social status tables. They are workable, but not quite to my taste. So, I decided to cook up a few based on actual historic information. My choices were mostly constrained to data I could easily snatch (see references at end). This has led me, so far, to 5 tables that are based on data for Athens (4th c. BCE), Roman Empire (14 CE), Roman/"Byzantine" Empire (ca. 1000 CE), England (ca 1290 CE), and England (1688 CE). These cover a fairly wide span of time. Unfortunately, they all pretty much qualify as "civilized" cultures. That's not a problem for me, since I tend to run games more in "civilized" settings. Unfortunately, detailed social tables are harder to find for what RQ would call "barbarian", "nomad", or "primitive". I hope to find more on that, given that what little I have found on recent research in the economies of surviving pastoralist cultures indicates that their famous "egalitarian" structures are not nearly as equal as we led ourselves to believe. Before I get to the tables, a bit on methods. I harvested "social tables" from different sources. At their most basic, they list levels of income/wealth and the number/proportion of people at that level. More useful ones also include specific professions or cultural status names. My choices of specific cultures were purely driven by what I could find. I am not an anthropologist or historian, so I did not do more than cursory checking for reliability. However, when there were two potential sources, I tended to choose the more recent one. Everything else was simply a matter of calculating percentages of population, sometimes combining levels, such as when a source might list several levels as being of a certain high social rank. I then translated this to d100 rolls. The first thing I quickly discovered was that the elites of historical cultures were usually far less common than a 100 on percentile dice. This meant that, for four of the five cultures, I ended up having more than one table. If you're of the preference that you are happy to have royal scions be as common as--as 1% of the population, or if you consider the default RQ tables to apply "to PCs only", then you probably haven't even read this far, anyway. I converted the original data to "bare subsistence basket" units. This corresponds to the amount of wealth in a culture that would be barely enough for a "typical" family unit to survive for a year, including food, clothing, shelter, etc. Fortunately, this is a long-established historical/anthropological principle, so conversion factors were included with the original data sources or easy to derive from other data sources. This amount of value roughly corresponds to $PPP300, which is 300 "purchasing power parity" dollars in the year 1990 CE. A "purchasing power parity dollar" is a unit of value that corresponds to the equivalent of $1 purchasing power in the USA, fixed to whatever reference year is chosen. It does turn out to be not too numerically from the 375SP "maintenance value" in RQ6 for the lowest non-outcast social level. There is another critical level below this one. This would be "starvation level". If a family does not generate at least 184SP in a year, a family members is going to die from starvation/exposure/etc. that year. I have not made this number up. I calculated it from converting other sources to RQ SP. Of course, this is not 184SP in cash, but the sum value of everything that is earned, begged, borrowed, or stolen. Each of the table has six columns, to wit: "1d100", "Class", "Notes"/"Example Title", "Money Mod", "SP per Year", and "X per Year", where "X" is a currency or unit of accounting of that culture. Money Mod and SP per Year are essentially as explained in RQ6 for the "Social Class" and "Maintenance Costs" tables. You may note that I do not mention "slave" as a specific status or title. History does not support such an economic distinction for any ancient or medieval culture I know of. Slavery certainly existed, but it was a legal status, and it was not automatically reflected in economic hardship or even complete social inferiority. Those practices had to wait for more "advanced" centuries. There were chattel slaves, but there were also slaves who had more influence and wealth at their disposal than the majority of free people in their culture. From an adventuring standpoint, a slave would be "out in the world" for only two reasons. If he were a representative or companion of his owner, then he would have at his disposal whatever resources his owner cared to spare. If he were not authorized, then he would be a fugitive and likely be at the lowest level, equivalent to "vagrant". Thus, there is neither need nor sensible reason to have a specific economic status called "slave" in any of the following tables. I don't feel like writing a transition to the tables. So I won't. Athens, ca. 4th century BCE Athens is the most egalitarian of the cultures I looked at. It is the only one in which the highest social level actually would fit on a single d100 roll. Likewise, the difference between lowest and highest levels is quite narrow compared to the others. It was a place that factored war in as a regular event and was ready to practice on whatever other city-state looked cock-eyed at them. They were also big into political and personal intrigue, and a great soldier could still find a downfall due to bad public relations. The drachma (dr) was a small silver coin. How small? Darn small. Does it matter? Not to me. I just included it for "local flavor". I inserted an "artificial" division in the Thetes class because it had quite a large jump over the Demoi. My use of "Demoi" and "Thetes" are not accurate. I adapted them to fill out the table. Remember that the words are Greek, so one pronounces "Polites" as "poh-LEE-tes", not "poh-lites", okay? Then again, some of the people who read this could be living in a place where a man who introduces himself as "Manuel" (mahn-well) gets called "man-yoo-el" all evening, anyway. [TABLE] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Notes[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]dr per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-23[/TD] [TD]Demoi[/TD] [TD]Owns no property, only personal goods[/TD] [TD]0.5[/TD] [TD]185[/TD] [TD]29[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]24-48[/TD] [TD]Thetes Micros[/TD] [TD]Lowest-level property owners[/TD] [TD]1.5[/TD] [TD]2000[/TD] [TD]340[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]49-71[/TD] [TD]Thetes Megas[/TD] [TD]Better-off property owners[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]8500[/TD] [TD]1300[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]72-96[/TD] [TD]Polites[/TD] [TD]Citizen, has voting privileges[/TD] [TD]5[/TD] [TD]20000[/TD] [TD]2900[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]97-98[/TD] [TD]Zeugitae[/TD] [TD]Lowest level that can hold public office, eligible to serve as hoplites[/TD] [TD]9[/TD] [TD]65000[/TD] [TD]10000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]99[/TD] [TD]Hippeis[/TD] [TD]Eligible to serve as hoplites or cavalry[/TD] [TD]11[/TD] [TD]90000[/TD] [TD]14000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]100[/TD] [TD]Pentakosiomedimni[/TD] [TD]Leading citizens, eligible for highest offices, eligible for any military position[/TD] [TD]14[/TD] [TD]150000[/TD] [TD]25000[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Roman Empire, ca 14 CE This is the Rome of Augustus and Tiberius. When the Romans ran around acting like we expect Romans to act, except without nearly so much actual sex and perversion. The Empire was on the way up, but it hadn't really hit its economic stride. There was still room for sufficiently cunning sociopaths to carve a niche into history, their close relatives, and the odd passer-by. In short, perfect for typical RQ player characters. The sestertius (HS) was a unit of accounting that at one time corresponded to yet another small silver coin. By this time, though, the sestertius of accounting had ceased being related to real money (sound familiar?). This is a multi-table table. I think you can figure out how to use it. The Class labels are really only conveniences. The "Augustales" class is only weakly attested, but some people do think that it did fulfill a role as a "leaders of the nobodies" or "has money but no status" class. Decuronial is a short-hand for "member of a local senate" or "other local muck-a-muck". The divisions between Equestrian and Senatorial were not nearly as hard-and-fast as these tables indicate. Families went up and down those ladders a lot, and many even simply disappeared into the commoners. Likewise, while wealth usually corresponded to Senatorial rank, there were some Senatorial families who had to be supported by donations from the Emperor. Regarding the Emperor, let's talk money--big money. The top end of these tables does not even start to tickle the sandal soles of the real high rollers of the Empire in this era. The highest level on this table is below 1 million HS. Nero personally gave the treasury an average 60 million HS out of his own pocket throughout his reign. Tiberius handed out 100 million on at least two occasions--from his own funds, not state funds. Emperors could blow 0.5% of Rome's total GDP in a single go, from their personal funds! That's over $80,000,000,000 in terms of late 2013 USA GDP. Nobody rolls like Romans roll. In short, in Rome, if you make the top dogs angry, you will be dead. They will hire whomever is necessary to kill you, and only the wealth of another top dog will be sufficient protection. Even if characters luck out and roll a top-level Senatorial family, there is a bigger shark already swimming around. [TABLE] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]HS per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-10[/TD] [TD]Outcast[/TD] [TD]Vagrants, Beggars, etc.[/TD] [TD]1/2[/TD] [TD]270[/TD] [TD]130[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]11-65[/TD] [TD]Common[/TD] [TD]Laborers, Domestics[/TD] [TD]5/8[/TD] [TD]350[/TD] [TD]165[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]66-92[/TD] [TD]Skilled[/TD] [TD]Farmers, Skilled Labor, Soldiers[/TD] [TD]0.75[/TD] [TD]500[/TD] [TD]250[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]93-99[/TD] [TD]Augustales[/TD] [TD]Craftsmen, Traders, Tutors[/TD] [TD]1.5[/TD] [TD]2000[/TD] [TD]950[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]100[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on Next Table[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]HS per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-88[/TD] [TD]Augustales, Decuronial[/TD] [TD]Merchant, Local Senator[/TD] [TD]2.5[/TD] [TD]5250[/TD] [TD]2500[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]89-99[/TD] [TD]Equestrian[/TD] [TD]Equestrian[/TD] [TD]5[/TD] [TD]20000[/TD] [TD]9000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]100[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on Next Table[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]HS per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-68[/TD] [TD]Senatorial, lowest[/TD] [TD]Vir Clarissimus[/TD] [TD]9[/TD] [TD]60000[/TD] [TD]30000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-89[/TD] [TD]Senatorial, middling[/TD] [TD]Vir Spectabilis[/TD] [TD]14[/TD] [TD]240000[/TD] [TD]120000[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]90-100[/TD] [TD]Senatorial, highest[/TD] [TD]Vir Illustris[/TD] [TD]18[/TD] [TD]1500000[/TD] [TD]860000[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Roman/"Byzantine" Empire, ca 1000 CE If you're presuming that this will be "Like Rome, only not so much", you're not too far off the mark, except that there is a lot less total wealth to go around, and the low end of the pile is even lower. Late Roman/Byzantine culture (they called themselves "Roman") was highly stratified and rural. The presumption was that God had ordained a specific order for society. The adventurism of old Rome was often not appreciated, although dynamic emperors (such as those around 1000 CE) could stir things up a bit. The nomisma (N) was a--nope, you're wrong--gold coin, a later version of the old Roman "solidus". In addition to the incomes on this table, the highest levels of society had access to even more wealth, but not as much as in old Rome. For example, the head of a typical administrative district had a pay of about 500N per year, while the three most influential districts paid their administrators an average of 2880N per year. The class names are essentially made up. [TABLE] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]N per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-10[/TD] [TD]Katoteros[/TD] [TD]Vagrants, Outcasts[/TD] [TD]1/2[/TD] [TD]200[/TD] [TD]1 7/8[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]11-91[/TD] [TD]Katoteros[/TD] [TD]Tenants, Urban marginals, Farmers[/TD] [TD]2/3[/TD] [TD]400[/TD] [TD]3 2/3[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]92-95[/TD] [TD]Mesos[/TD] [TD]Urban workers, Military (enlisted)[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]650[/TD] [TD]6[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]96-99[/TD] [TD]Anoterikos Mikros[/TD] [TD]Traders, Skilled Craftsmen[/TD] [TD]1.5[/TD] [TD]2000[/TD] [TD]18[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]100[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on Next Table[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]s. per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1-66[/TD] [TD]Anoterikos[/TD] [TD]Large Landowners[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]3000[/TD] [TD]25[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]67-100[/TD] [TD]Anoterikos Megas[/TD] [TD]Nobility[/TD] [TD]7[/TD] [TD]37500[/TD] [TD]350[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] England, ca 1290 CE Okay, ka-niggits and wizards and dragons galore--okay no wizards or dragons, but at least ka-niggits and a lot less puritan attitudes than most of us are led to believe. You should see the contemporary paintings I've seen of the bath-houses frequented by the "better" sort--I digress. Anyway, while there was certainly law and order, it could be patchy, and very silly things like dynastic interests and Crusades could divert people to violence. This is the most stratified of the cultures and has the most complex table. England in this period was in many ways two parallel cultures. The Urban and rural worlds did not see each other as being "the same place" in the way that somebody living in Corpus Christi would see himself as every bit as much a "Texan" as someone living 150 miles outside of Genado does. The money units in this table are pounds sterling (£) and shillings (s), 12 shillings to the pound. In this period the pound is only a unit of accounting--no actual pound coin exists. Unlike for the two Roman tables, this one is "complete". It includes the revenue of King Edward Lovely-Legs. There was a less wealth to go around than in the Old Days. [TABLE] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Result[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-83[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on "Rural" Table[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]84-100[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on "Urban" Table[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Rural[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]£ s per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-10[/TD] [TD]"Beggars"[/TD] [TD]Displaced, Wanderers, Vagrants[/TD] [TD]0.5[/TD] [TD]200[/TD] [TD]£1[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]11-58[/TD] [TD]Peasant[/TD] [TD]Cottar, Laborer[/TD] [TD]2/3[/TD] [TD]425[/TD] [TD]£2 s3[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]59-98[/TD] [TD]Freeholders[/TD] [TD]Franklin, Yardlander, Yeoman[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]950[/TD] [TD]£5[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]99[/TD] [TD]Lesser Landowner[/TD] [TD]Yeoman[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]4000[/TD] [TD]£21 s3[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]100[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on Rural Table 2[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Rural 2[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]£ s per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-86[/TD] [TD]Knights[/TD] [TD]Knight[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]9500[/TD] [TD]£50 s7[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]87-98[/TD] [TD]Barons[/TD] [TD]Baron[/TD] [TD]7[/TD] [TD]45000[/TD] [TD]£240[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]99-100[/TD] [TD]Earls, Archbishops, Royalty[/TD] [TD]Earl, Archbishop, King[/TD] [TD]18[/TD] [TD]600000[/TD] [TD]£3200[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Urban[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]£ s per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-10[/TD] [TD]"Beggars"[/TD] [TD]Vagrants, Beggars[/TD] [TD]0.5[/TD] [TD]275[/TD] [TD]£1 s5[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]11-57[/TD] [TD]Townsman[/TD] [TD]Journeyman, Tradesman, Servant[/TD] [TD]0.8[/TD] [TD]550[/TD] [TD]£2 s11[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]58-85[/TD] [TD]Craftsmen[/TD] [TD]Mason, Carpenter, Weelwright, Waggoner[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]900[/TD] [TD]£4 s9[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]86-90[/TD] [TD]Clerks/Professions[/TD] [TD]Lesser Clergy, Lawyer, Clerk[/TD] [TD]1.5[/TD] [TD]1750[/TD] [TD]£9 s4[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]91-99[/TD] [TD]Lesser merchants[/TD] [TD]Merchant[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]2500[/TD] [TD]£13 s4[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]100[/TD] [TD]"Burghers"[/TD] [TD]Rich Merchant, Guildmaster, Rector/Vicar[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]10000[/TD] [TD]£53 s4[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] England and Wales, ca 1688 CE For those of you of a swashbuckling, piratical bent, it's hard to beat the late 17th century. Fortunately, some nit-picking git named Gregory King felt the need to write a tedious essay about how England was doing everything wrong and wasting her resources, making herself 'orribly vulnerable to those excessively French people in France or those smelly Hanoverians, or some such harrumphy sentiment. From a gaming standpoint, it was the heyday of the single-most stupid craze to have ever swept the world: Honor. This was when the well-heeled and well-bred acted like a bunch of crack-addled street thugs. On the plus side, it was also the period that gave us women like Julie d'Aubigny (better known as "La Maupin"). Pounds and shillings are still used, although gold pound(ish) coins have now been issued. There was a lot more total wealth going around than in previous centuries. However, there were even more people around, and the distribution was less top-heavy. [TABLE] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD]SP per Year[/TD] [TD]£ s per year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-18[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]"Scum", "Unfortunates"[/TD] [TD]0.5[/TD] [TD]275[/TD] [TD]£1 s11[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]19-69[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Laborers and Farmers[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]900[/TD] [TD]£6 s5[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]70-91[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Townsmen and Freeholders[/TD] [TD]1.25[/TD] [TD]1500[/TD] [TD]£10 s9[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]92-98[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Gentlemen and Merchants[/TD] [TD]2[/TD] [TD]4000[/TD] [TD]£28 s9[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]99-100[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Roll on Next Table[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]1d100[/TD] [TD]Class[/TD] [TD]Example Title[/TD] [TD]Money Mod[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]SP per Year[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]01-91[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Masters, Esquires, and Knights[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]7500[/TD] [TD]£54[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]92-97[/TD] [TD]Baronets[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]4[/TD] [TD]13000[/TD] [TD]£93 s7[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]98-100[/TD] [TD]Lords[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]5[/TD] [TD]20000[/TD] [TD]£144[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Sources Mayhew, NJ. .1995. Modeling medieval monetization. in Britnell, RN & Campbell, BMS. A Commercialising Economy: England 1086 to c. 1300, Manchester. Source of the England 1290 data. Scheidel, W & Friesen, S. 2009. The size of the economy and the distribution of income in the Roman Empire. Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics. Source of the Rome 14 CE data. University of California at Davis. 2013. Early Income Distributions. http://gpih.ucdavis.edu/Distribution.htm. Source of the "Byzantine" and England/Wales 1688 data. Kron, G. 2011. The distribution of wealth at Athens in comparative perspective. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 179:129-138. Source of the Athens data.
  8. Stepping outside game mechanics, perhaps the appropriate mechanic would depend upon the setting's or character's metaphysics. A "Tulpa", for example, is an "illusionary" being that can be called into "existence" in some traditions. A Tulpa is an apparently concrete manifestation of a person's will, intentionally called into externalization. It is, for all intents and purposes "physical" and "solid", but it is also "llusionary"--it is not a real being. Instead, it is a smaller version of the underlying metaphysic that all perceivable reality is merely a type of illusion. A glamor, on the other hand, has been portrayed as something perceivable only to the target, only to mortals, only to the unprotected, etc. Those who can pierce the glamor see the targets acting quite inappropriately to the actual environment. I could see room for both in RuneQuest, the former perhaps being more suitable for mysticism.
  9. Let's look at it this way: 18 shows up 1/216 of 3d6 rolls (supposedly). That would mean that in London around roughly AD1000, there would be roughly 40-50 people at the "pinnacle of human ability" in some area or another. Doesn't sound all that special, anymore, does it? Why should 18 scores get extra love? If you want to make up NPC tables that greatly reduce the frequency of rolling in the tails, feel free. However, RQ has never been the game where "If you roll 18/00 you rule the world."
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