Date: Sun, 20 Mar 1994 13:45:00 BST
Sender: Mythus Fantasy Roleplaying Game List <[MYTHUS L] at [BROWNVM.brown.edu]>
From: "John R. Troy (JRT--Mad Demiurge of Vargaard)" <[j troy] at [genie.geis.com]>
Subject: JRT-ART: Vocation Creation
Title:
CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR MYTHUS CAMPAIGN-- SOME GUIDELINES FOR CREATING
VOCATIONS
Over 10 years ago, I started reading RPG magazines. At that time, the
role-playing game hobby was young and somewhat unpolished, and most game
systems were based on character classes and an experience level system.
Because of the limitations placed on what a character class could do, and the
narrow variety provided in the core systems, primary submissions to magazines
like "The Dragon" (as it was called back then) were new character classes.
While they were desperately welcome options at the time, because a class and
level system contained different rules for each separate class, the GM would
have to memorize these new rules, tables, class spells, and whatnot, which
added to the game's baggage and complicated play for all involved.
Fortunately, the Mythus game, like many of the newer role-playing games
today, has taken advantage of the paradigm shift from a design based on "class
and level" to a newer form based on "skills and attributes". In the Mythus
game, players are still required to pick vocations, which is similar to
picking a character class or profession in older systems. Yet, because all
the K/S areas in the game are the same for each class, no matter what the
vocation, a persona skilled in Criminal Activities--Mental, for example, uses
the same rules whether he or she is a Thief, Bandit, Assassin, or whatever.
Since the vocations are based on bundles of skills with base STEEP points
assigned, new vocations can be created without a need to write new rules or
refer to rules for another vocation. This allows the GM to create new ones
without having to test new rules and their effects on the rules system and the
campaign.
In fact, perhaps you are beginning to see the need for expansions right
now, and have started creating other vocations. Most likely, your players
have also suggested, or even pleaded for the creation of a new vocation so
they can create the persona they truly envision. In addition, because many of
you have played other fantasy games on the market right now, you probably want
to create vocations that match the character classes or professions used in
those systems ("Okay, let's see, hmnn. I don't see anything similar to a
paladin or ranger--guess I'd better create them"). While creating these
vocations is much easier and better balanced than in older systems, without
care, it can be unnecessarily overused . The GM must temper his or her need
to create the scores of vocations he has boiling inside his already taxed
brain.
USING THE MYTHUS VOCATIONS AS IS.
There are 35 vocations in the core Mythus rules, not counting the optional
racial vocations. Mr. Gygax and Mr. Newton have made these creations as
"generic" as possible. By generic, they not tied down to any one specific
culture, civilization or state. In the rth setting, there are varied
cultures besides the ropean setting which many FRPGs bases themselves on,
including such areas as wild untamed land of Magmur, tribal/colonial Vargaard
and Amazonia, the jungle lands and varied civilizations of Afrik, the mythical
Lemuria and Atlantis, all the way to the Oriental Chinsungeese states. As a
result, the Mythus game's vocations have been honed for use in all of these
lands. In addition, since "Epic of rth" is not required to play Mythus, the
vocations have all been designed for unmodified use for alternate campaigns as
well. The skills of a merchant persona would be the same in any country or
virtually any alternate world (with of course, the exception of native
language spoken.)
If you have any doubt's, lets take a look at a specific culture. You've
started a campaign based in rth's Nippon, as you and your players have been
playing an oriental based RPG before. Yet, as you and your players look, you
all think creating new vocations will be necessary, since there aren't any
vocations for such oriental archtypes like the Samurai, Yakuza, or the all-
popular Ninja. But the standard Mythus vocations do cover these areas. What
is a member of a Yakuza syndicate anything else but an urban based Thief! A
Samurai is just a noble warrior, a Cavalier. Even the Ninja is basically an
Assassin, possible with additional K/S areas as Yoga, Acrobatics/Gymnastics,
Juggling (Physical), and perhaps Endurance, Tolerance, and Mental Perception.
With the ability to add K/S areas after the vocation is picked, most players
will be able to mold the character into what they truly wish.
Some players may wish to create a persona based on character classes or
professions in other system. Depending on the system of your previous
campaign, they can probably be found under a new name in this system, or, in
some cases, the character class is based on common fantasy archtypes. For
example, some warrior type games have classes like "Barbarian", "Berserker",
"Paladin", or "Ranger". Yet, with a little adjustment and with GM guidance,
the player could have the true persona he wishes. Many of the talents of a
particular class can be translated into K/S areas in this system, particularly
Physical K/S areas. For example, the ranger class of the AD&D game is able to
track opponents, has a bonus to fight and kill against a particular creature,
can use two weapons with no penalty, has empathy with nature and wildlife, and
might gain access to nature oriented spells. This can be easily translated
into the Mythus system. A persona attempting to emulate a "ranger" could
either choose a physical combat based vocation (especially mercenary/soldier
or hunter), and add or enhance the vocation with the following areas:
Weapons--Special Skills (The Florentine and Specific Target sub-areas),
Hunting/Tracking, Survival, Nature Attunement, and Animal Handling, and
choosing from Natural oriented Heka generating areas as Dweomercrft (Green
School), Priestcrft (Moonlight), and/or Herbalism! With enough of these
skills added to a vocation, the persona will fit the fantasy archtype of
"ranger".
In other cases, the character class or profession from the other game
system has unique powers or spellcasting abilities, which the players are
sure to miss. Of course, some of these can't be translated due to the nature
of the Mythus system. For example, turning or damning undead is not possible
(and should not be introduced) in this system. Yet, with proper work and GM
guidance, personas in the Mythus game can gain similar abilities. Unlike
other games, Mythus vocations don't have innate powers or abilities, but
certain K/S areas have powers, such as Apotropaism, Necromancy, and Yoga. In
addition, Non-human vocations can choose a Heka-based power, and those with
abilities in Mystical areas have a chance of gaining a similar power. And
every persona can gain one or more quirks and/or counter quirks. The Mythus
Magick book even mentions and option allowing Vows to provide powers for a
character such as a Knight.
Let's suppose a player wishes to create a persona similar to the AD&D
Paladin class, probably one of the most complex and well-liked classes in
that system. In that system, the Paladin takes a vow involving upholding the
principles of law, justice, virtue, holiness, and the like, thus gaining
abilities like detecting evil via concentration, casting minor priestly
dweomers, has an aura of protection vs. evil creatures, and gains a steed of
special nature. For the Mythus game, a persona could develop a "paladin" in a
few ways. By taking the cavalier vocation and adding priestcrft (of sunlight
ethos, of course!) the persona becomes a partial practioner! The wide variety
of castings available might replace some of the powers, so they might not be
needed. It is simple for the GM to give the player's persona a quirk that
allows the persona to "sense" a vague impression of evil in a certain area, as
long as it was minor and did not disrupt game balance. Simulating the Aura
could be done via the Apotropaism K/S area, which could protect from other
things as well. Another way to simulate this aura would be to grant a
protective power as a result of a Vow of service taken by the persona (which
might also enhance the Priestcrft area as well). The Vow would balance the
power(s) granted with dutious service and limitations (acting as the "counter-
quirk", for all intents). Other benefits, like the special steed, would be
gained via adventuring.
And, unlike the AD&D Paladin, this persona, a "Holy" Cavalier, could still
add variety. Via the spellsongs and music K/S areas, the persona could also
become a "Holy Troubadour"! Choose the combination of Demonolgy and Exorcism,
and you have a "Holy Crusader", fighting against the hordes of Pandemonium!
Better yet, the system could be used as inspiration to create vow taking
warriors of other ethos. The Moonlight ethos could have similar cavaliers
with vows and powers, and imagine "Guardians" of Balance, "Avengers" or
Twilight, "Anti-Paladins" of Gloom, created with similar skills as befit their
moral codes!
WHEN AND HOW TO CREATE NEW VOCATIONS
Even with the vocations listed in the system, and the suggestions, there
is room for moderate expansion. The GM is advised, before creating new
vocations, to look into both the need and design of the new vocation
carefully. First of all, the vocation K/S bundle significantly different from
others. This is very important. Why bother creating a new vocation if only
one or two K/S areas are going to be added. As a rule of thumb, a significant
difference would be an addition of more than 4 extra K/S areas, the removal of
the same amount, or the assignment of one or more areas at a higher level.
Thus, the creation of a "gladiator" vocation (professional arena fighter) is
probably not needed, as the Mercenary/Soldier vocation would cover it, or a
"captured" "primitive" with the Warrior vocation.
Yet, there are cases for the creation of a new vocation. For example,
Appendix L of the Mythus game has an entry defining the Forester, one skilled
in hunting and tracking, herbalism, and other areas. While, I mentioned that
a ranger could be created via the addition of these areas, the amount of STEEP
in tracking, for example, would be lower for a Mercenary/Solder how chose this
vocation, rather than if the player wishing to create a ranger chose Hunter,
which is unfortunately not a civilized vocation. Thus, there is a significant
need to create this vocation. And some areas definitely cry out for
vocations. There are only a few Non-human vocations currently available, so
many GMs will wish to expand on the races available. In addition, for widely
used races, the non human vocations could probably be expanded with their own
sub-vocations, such as Elvish Cavaliers, Dwarfish Priests, Elvish
Poet/Musicians, Alfen Moutebanks, etc. (One of the reasons the AD&D game is
more popular than the D&D game is because the former lets characters pick
classes for their characters, while the latter is like the Mythus game in
which there is only one standard race type a player can pick from.)
Much inspiration can be found in Appendix L. of the Mythus book. Some of
the listings are only based on another vocations SEC level, such as a
Vavasor, Lord, or Banneret. In other cases, some listings are levels of
power. (Sorry players, there is no way to create a Hierophant or Demiurge
vocation, and even Acolyte or Apprentice should be avoided). Yet other areas
can be developed. For example, we currently have no true "Mystic" vocation in
Mythus, and the same goes for a Friar, or a Mendicant Monk. While a Conjurer
could be created by a "failed" dweomercrfter, depending upon player demand,
the GM might wish a vocation that assumes automatic failure in return for high
initial STEEP in Conjuration. "Dark" vocations, such as Witch/Warlock,
Sorceror, Demonurgist, Necomancer, and Nethercrfter, are also absent and
could be created, at least for use by the GM to round out EPs and MPGs, if
nobody wishes to create such a vile persona.
In creating and developing the vocation, the GM should try to make it as
culturally independent as possible. The GM should only bother to create such
a vocation if it truly has a different bundle of K/S areas, and would be
difficult to create just by adding the appropriate K/S areas after creation.
In the oriental campaign mentioned above, Samurai's and Yakuza are just
Cavaliers and Thieves with a fancy name and a different cultural outlook, as
mentioned above. The standard K/S bundles in those vocations would suit the
campaign fine. However, in the case of the Ninja mentioned in the previous
section, it would not be a bad idea to create a Ninja vocation (or a vocation
entitled "Assassin, Martial") based on the standard assassin, removing a few
foreign languages, and perhaps Mental Criminal Activities, lowering
Toxicology, and adding Yoga, Juggling, and Acrobatics/Gymnastics to create a
more accurate ninja. Similarly, these is no such vocation to portray an
oriental martial monk or priest created at all, and that would be needed for a
campaign of this style.
Another point should be made. Vocations should only be created if they
have some significant impact on adventuring, unless the GM needs them for
other purposes. Creating a Spy vocation, for example, has a great deal of
adventuring capabilities. Yet, creating a farmer would be relatively useless
to a potential adventuring persona. Because of the nature of the Mythus game,
OPs don't need to have vocations, just assigned primary K/S areas, and a
farmer would not have a wide diversity of these. It would be better for a
player creating a persona who was a farmer to be something like a thief, with
STEEP in the Agricultural K/S area! The GM might wish to create some of
these "non-adventuring" areas to have a base for all of his or her MPs and
OPs, but some of these areas are too narrow to justify a new vocation. A cook
or a butler would not be a very good choice to create, but an Innkeeper or a
Nobleman might be varied enough in K/S areas to be justified. While a Scribe
may not be the best adventuring character, there are a wide variety of skills,
the profession is mutable, and the persona would probably have a high SEC
level (especially if the persona is based in gypt!), warranting its creation.
The GM should use good judgement in the creation of non-adventuring vocations.
AN EXAMPLE OF A NEW VOCATION
Here is an example of how a vocation would be created in a particular
campaign. A player looks at the skills available, such as Buffoonery (his
personal favorite), and wishes to base his career around it. While the player
could just choose Buffoonery as an extra K/S area for another persona, the
player would rather create a persona that specialized in this area (his
highest K/S area, in other words). He looks at the Poet/Musician vocation,
but does not want to deal with music that much. The Mountebank vocation might
suit him, yet he doesn't wish to be "seedy", playing a outlaw. He asks the GM
if something could be created that would allow him to be a wandering comedian.
The GM doesn't see much point in creating a vocation specializing in
Buffoonery alone. However, the player expands on this, thinking of old
traveling shows and vaudeville acts, thinking of an Actor/Entertainer
vocation. The GM, after looking at the Poet/Musician vocation, feels that
this suggestion will fill a legitimate hole in the campaign. He thinks of the
following roles that could be filled: Comedy, Drama, Plays, Performance,
Illusion, Feats of Skill, Juggling, Acting, the Arts, the Urban Crowd,
Circuses/Carnivals/Fairs, and Traveling troupes.
An entertainer would probably start around SEC 4, being a Freeman, although
not of great status. The entertainer would either wander from town to town,
job to job, on a tour, or whatever, or would be more or less permanently based
in a large town or city, and would be entertaining primarily peasants and/or
freemen, having in touch with them than with any of the aristocracy. Because
of the nature of the campaign, while the GM is trying to create a universal
vocation, when in doubt, he will base this K/S areas needed on the types of
entertainment found in Western uropa, particularly Francia or the Avallonia
isles.
The GM determines that the Actor/Entertainer highest skills will be in
Buffoonery (for comedians, as well as general entertainment), as well as
Thespianism (for acting). Thus, this vocation becomes a Spiritual one. He
adds a few other primary skills, Deception (for stage tricks as well as
convincing acting), Influence (to add to dramatic skill), and Literature (for
knowledge concerning the Arts). Thinking of what other skills an "All around"
entertainer would have, he adds (at various levels of STEEP)
Acrobatics/Gymnastics, Juggling, Ledgermain, Hypnotism, Escape, and Fortune
Telling. Current Events are also added to enhance both Buffoonery and to add
"daily news" to the show, History is added to help in the creation of plays
and skits, and Creative Writing will enhance both Thespianism and Buffoonery
(the entertainer is assumed to write his or her own material). Because this
form of entertainer is multi-faceted, the vocation will has music,
poetry/lyrics, and musical composition added, although as tetriary levels. To
enhance the thespianism skill, skills in disguise, impersonation, and sports
(for mock combat) are added as well. Travel is added to aid the wandering
entertainer.
There is still room for additional K/S areas, so the GM thinks what would
be needed to round out the vocation. Since this is a Heka-Active Milleu, the
GM decides that, an entertainer would need a little skill in the Grey School
of Dweomercrft, since many urban areas have Heka for lighting and practical
purposes. (Think of going to a modern-day movie which calls for special
effects, only to see effects produced like it was a 50's B-Movie!) A few
"survival" skills are added, like Jack-Of-All-Trades (for the "off-season"),
Street-Wise (assuming that the entertainer needs contacts in an urban area and
is closer to people of these ilk), Printing (for writing programs), Survival
(to supplement travel), and Combat, HTH, Non-lethal (for those times when
brawls end up breaking out, particularly when buffoonery is used!).
After juggling a few numbers, the following vocation is created:
ACTOR/ENTERTAINER (SPIRITUAL VOCATION)
Buffoonery 20 SPSpd s
Thespianism 20 SPCap
Deception 16 MRCap
Influence 16 MRCap s
Literature 16 SMCap
Acrobatics/Gymnastics 12 (PMCap + PNCap) x 0.5 s
Combat, Hand-to-Hand, Non-Lethal 12 (PMCap + PNCap) x 0.5
Current Events 12 (MRPow + MMPow) x 0.5 s
History 12 MMCap*
Juggling 12 (PMSpd + PNSpd) x 0.5*s
Writing, Creative 12 MMCap
Disguise 8 PNCap
Dweomercraeft, Gray School* 8 MMCap*s
Escape 8 (PMCap + PNCap) x 0.5
Hypnotism 8 MRPow*
Impersonation 8 SMPow
Jack-Of-All-Trades 8 PMCap*s
Legerdemain 8 PNCap
Sports 8 (PMCap + PNCap) x 0.5*s
Travel 8 (PMCap + PNCap) x 0.5
Fortune Telling* 4 SPCap*s
Music 4 PNCap*s
Musical Composition* 4 SMCap*
Poetry/Lyrics* 4 SMCap*
Printing 4 PNCap
Street-Wise 4 SPCap*s
Survival 4 PMCap
Total 260
The total is at 260 points, a little higher than the standard 248-252 that
many classes have, but it matches the Mountebank, the Heka K/S areas have
relatively low STEEP levels, and Combat is limited to Non-lethal hand to hand,
thus, it is balanced. Now, let's take a look at the final product.
First of all, the GM has created an interesting balance of skills that are
not held by any other vocation. While the Mountebank has a few skills in
several of these areas, the Mountebank is not a highly skilled or true
thespian or comedian. And, while poet/musician is another form of
entertainer, the vocation does not specialize in acting, illusion, or comedy.
The vocation's K/S bundle has been selected with the ropean setting in mind,
as entertainment is highly variable from culture to culture, state to state,
(an Nipponese Geisha would not use the same vocation, for example) but there
are actors in many other states. The vocation assumes a wide variety of
entertainment. The performer is suited to be part of an acting troupe, a
vaudeville show, a traveling circus (as an acrobat or a clown), a prestigious
theater company, you name it. Thus, one player might be a star performer in
a circus, another, a wondering comedian, the third a serious thespian in a
primary city!
And, the vocation is well-suited for adventuring. The persona already has
several useful K/S areas, such as Deception, Influence, Acrobatics/Gymnastics,
Juggling, and Hypnotism. The Gray school of Dweomercrft will be also very
useful in combat situations. Add a few Weapon based K/S areas, a Criminal
Activities or Espionage K/S area, and a perfect adventuring type will be
built. This vocation is more suited to urban adventuring than other types,
but it is also very mutable. Add Journalism and Political Science, and the
entertainer could influence politics and become a social commentator! Add
STEEP to the Dweomercrft, Grey School K/S area, as well as a few other Heka
K/S areas, and the persona becomes a potent partial practioner over time! And
of course, after major adventures have been undertaken, the persona has an
instant play to write and perform, perhaps becoming a smash hit ("Yon
dumalduns conjured before us, thou shalt not defeat us, for we serve justice
and have purpose most noble"!). Buffoonery can also be used to make things
lighter for the party, even in the face of death, and of course, comedy
routines based on near deadly encounters could be a welcome change, for
players as well as personas. ("So here we are, before a conjured horde of
dumalduns from the netherspheres, facing death, and Hank, that stupid
barbarian yutz from Mongolia, laughs! Laughs! We're going to die, and he
laughs like you are right now! Is this guy a lunatic or what!"). And, the GM
can create adventures based on a comedian's or playwrights actions. (On rth,
a comedy routine aimed at the deities of the Babylonian pantheon could enrage
a group of Shammash soldiers in a tavern. Have fun, GMs!).
With proper guidelines and prudent implementations, other vocations
similar to this can be created. These are only guidelines, however, and
creating vocations is each GMs prerogative. The Mythus game allows virtually
any type of fantasy persona to be created. Through extra vocations, and the
players customization's of them, all personas in the campaign will be unique
and well-rounded. Have fun, and may your campaign have the richness and
diversity you and your players wish.