Against the Dark Yogi

Title and Dedications

High action roleplaying in a world of Indian myth! Written by Thorin Tabor

Art by Mkultra Studios, Carlos Jaramillo

Edited by Megan Turner

Map by Robert Altbauer

Published by Tab Creations LLC

Layout by Paolo Bosi

Saga Machine system by Thorin Tabor

Special thanks to Tammy Ryan, Matías N. Caruso

Exceptional playtesting by Kat Davis, Carroll Emerson, Ben Goreham, Micah Hollis-Symynkywicz, Matthew Kamm, Matthew Pennell, Jesse Pingenot, Brian Richburg, Atom Smith, Darin Strouts, Eric Wirtanen Tab Creations is Atom Smith, Ben Goreham, Jesse Pingenot, Matthew Pennell, Thorin Tabor

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Title and Dedications

This book is dedicated to all of our Kickstarter backers who helped make the game possible. We would also like to dedicate this book to our families,

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Designation of Product Identity The following items are hereby designated as Product Identity in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, version 1.0a: Any and all Tab Creations logos and identifying marks and trade dress, such as all Tab Creations product and product line names including but not limited to Tab Creations, Saga Machine and Against the Dark Yogi; geographic locations, gods, events and organizations; any and all stories, storylines, histories, plots, thematic elements and dialog; and all artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, illustrations, maps and cartography, likenesses, logos, poses or graphic designs. The above product identity is not Open Game Content. Designation of Open Game Content Subject to the Product Identity designation above, the following portions of Against the Dark Yogi are designated as Open Game Content: The entirety of the Basics chapter, Systems chapter, Equipment chapter and Consequences chapter; all traits listed in the Characters chapter; and all stat blocks listed in the Non-Player Characters chapter. Tab Creations, Saga Machine and Against the Dark Yogi are trademarks owned by Thorin Tabor, under license to Tab Creations LLC. All rights reserved. All other content is ©2013-2014 Thorin Tabor. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This document is a Check us out at http://www.tabcreations.com

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Table Of Contents Introduction 8 Inspiration 8 Themes 8 Recommended Reading 8 Getting Ready For Play 9 Glossary 11 Setting 11 Overview 12 Life In Bhurloka 12 Castes 13 Family Life 13 Language 14 Society 14 Government 15 Warfare 15 Religion 16 Worship 16 Ascetics 18 Gods 20 Astras 21 Cosmology & Metaphysics 21 The Three Worlds 21 Dharma 22 Karma 22 Purity 25 Reincarnation 25 Prana 27 The Dark Yogi 27 Story Of The Dark Yogi 29 Forces Of The Dark Yogi 29 The Eighteen Wicked Kings 30 The Forbidden Sutra 30 Geli Yuga 31 Chosen Of Dharma 34 Gazetteer 34 34 Dhar Desert 34 Ewanti 35 Fondhya Mountains 35 Foreign Lands 37 Ghendava Forest 37 Gusala 38 Jaru Kingdoms 38 Mount Niru 38 Najal Raj 39 Negadha Kingdom 39 Rajbat Lands 40 Renka

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41 Rivers 41 Tendaka Forest 42 Tendaka Kingdom 42 Underworld 43 Wenga Jungle 43 Wodeha 43 Wolaya Mountains 44 Echra: Center Of The Najal Raj 44 History 44 Customs 45 The City 46 Lands 46 Rulers 47 Issues 49 Basics 49 Overview 49 Actions 50 Consequences 50 Characters 51 The Eight Stats 52 Traits 52 Karma 54 The Action Mechanic 55 Simple Actions 58 Extended Actions 59 Opposed Actions 60 Skills 65 Consequence Mechanic 65 What Is A Consequence? 66 Levels Of Severity 66 Adjudicating Consequences 66 67 Duration Of Consequences 69 Systems 69 Health Points (Hp) 69 Damage 70 Healing 70 Prana 71 Chakras 71 Mechanics 73 Austerities 75 Combat 75 Starting A Combat 75 Rounds 77 Actions 78 Defense 78 Willpower 79 Attack 81 Concentrate

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Table of Contents

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81 Interact 82 Move 84 Example 84 Wait 85 Vassals & Elites 85 Rules For Elites 86 Rules For Vassals 87 Maladies 89 Hazards 89 Avalanches 89 Catching Fire 89 Cave-Ins & Collapses 90 90 Falls & Collisions 90 Forest Fires 90 Magma 90 Sleep Deprivation 91 Starvation & Dehydration 91 Temperature Extremes 91 Underwater Movement 91 Wealth & Titles 91 Exchange Rates 92 Receiving And Granting Titles 93 Tribute From Titles 93 Performances 93 Giving A Performance 94 Divine Boons 95 Size 97 Characters 97 Character Creation 97 Overview 98 Past Lives 99 Concept And Stats 100 Caste 102 Paths 102 Finishing Touches 104 Character Advancement 104 Sadhana 105 Purchasing New Traits 105 Resolve Karma 105 Reincarnation 106 Enlightenment 107 Resolve Karma 108 Past Lives 109 New Life 109 Enlightened Retreat 110 Paths 110 Universal Path

Path Of The Archer Path Of The Ascetic Path Of The Chakra Master Path Of The Charioteer Path Of The Performer Path Of The Raja Path Of The Spearman Path Of The Trickster Path Of The Wildman Path Of The Yogi Path Of Vows Weakness Path Inhuman Path Path Of Adharma 155 Equipment 155 Properties 156 Encumbrance 157 Armor 157 Light Armor 157 Heavy Armor 157 Shield 157 Weapons 157 Bagh Nakh 157 Bow 158 Chakram 158 Club 159 Gada 159 Katar 159 Khanda 159 Kukri 160 Spear 160 160 Unarmed Strike 160 Urumi 160 Zaghnal 161 Accessories 162 162 Transportation 163 Trade Goods 164 Astras 164 Adharmaastra 164 Asurastra 164 Devastra 164 Echniastra 165 Ferunaastra 165 Omdraastra 165 Phamiastra 165 Zaryastra 113 116 120 122 125 127 130 132 135 137 141 143 147 152

Table of Contents 167 Running The Game 167 Planning A Session 167 Revealing Or Concealing Target Numbers 167 Planning Challenges 168 Gm Hands 168 Giving Out Karma 168 Using Bad Karma 168 Facing Defeat 169 Planning A Campaign 169 Life, Death & The Fatal Property 170 Total Party Kills 170 Across The Generations 171 Running Combat 171 Tracking Prana 171 Declaring Actions 171 Adjusting Stat Blocks 171 Using Vassals 173 Non-Player Characters 173 Stat Block Format 174 Humans 181 Animals 187 Bestiary 201 Yakshi 203 Individuals 217 Consequences 217 Bleeding 217 Blocked Flow 218 Bolstered 218 Concealment 218 Cover 218 Dazed 219 Desire 219 Disabled 220 Encumbered 220 Fatigue 220 Fear 221 Fixated

221 Low Posture 221 Stun 223 Kumari 223 The Setup 223 On The Way To Echra 224 Arriving In The City 224 Meeting The Maharaja 225 The Investigation 225 Journey To Find The Kumari 226 Searching For The Yaksha Kingdom 227 Meeting The Yaksharaja 227 Facing The Yuthamukhya 227 Rewards 229 The Border 229 The Setup 229 Behind The Scenes 230 A Call For Aid 231 Meeting The Maharaja 231 If The Pcs Don’t Bite 232 On The Way To Zeusambi 232 Meeting The Vanaras 233 A Stop In Ogachakra 233 Devarata The Warden 234 Facing The Dekshaka Nagas 235 Into Gusala 235 Zeusambi 236 Rescuing Gotama 237 Stopping The Attack 237 Rewards 238 Books 238 Films And Video 238 Comic Books 238 Roleplaying Games 239 Special Thanks To Our Backers 240 Open Game License Version 1.0A 241 Index 242 Character Sheet

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introduction he world of Bhurloka is one of myth and legend, and at the center of it, the great subcontinent stretches from the burning Dhar Desert in the west to the sweltering Wenga Jungle in the east, from the snow-capped Wolaya Mountains in the north to the Endless Ocean of the south.

the subcontinent. Hundreds of city-states and small kingdoms parcel up civilization, with great swaths of untamed forests and mountains wedged in between. Wandering ascetics practice austerities on mountaintops, seeking spiritual enlightenment and supernatural powers. Rajas stand before their palaces speaking to their peoples. Archers, surpassing all others in skill, compete for great prizes and boons. Chariots roll and elephants march with armies to war. All the while, the devas look down upon the world from their celestial home, from their eternal rivals, the asuras. But Bhurloka stands at the precipice of pered that his forbidden sutra gives him the power to directly attack dharma, the very order of the universe. And this attack has many wide-ranging consequences. This attack on dharma hastens the Geli Yuga comes, eighteen wicked kings will arise to power in Bhurloka, bringing about the birth of the demonic asura Geli, who will one day climb the heavens and cast down Lord Omdra and the rest of the devas who rule the Three Worlds. Geli will sit upon Mount Niru and continue his reign of terror for 10,000 years until the world comes to an end and is reborn again.

With dharma under attack, things are already beginning to be out of balance. The Dark Yogi has many would-be allies and disciples, opportunistic men who would use the imbalance of the world as a chance to advance their own ruthless interests without repercussion. They are many and the numerous city-states of Bhurloka are divided. Through all this, however, dharma does not sit idly by. As the balance of the world is under attack, dharma seeks to correct the balance. Towards this end it has reached out and selected but a few to champion its cause. These chosen of Dharma may be devout ascetics, peerless archers, cunning chariany other number of things. However, they are all foremost heroes. They have been given enlightenment to see through their many incarnations, to what must be done to restore the balance of the world and defeat the Dark Yogi. Now is a time of legend.

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Inspiration

recommended Reading

Against the Dark Yogi is heavily inspired by

Some players and potential game masters may already be intimately familiar with Indian mythology, while some may not. For those who are not already experts on the Vedas, the following sources contain a wealth of useful information that can directly apply to participating in an Indian myth-themed game:

Vedic and later Indian myths and legends. Bhurloka is a world that closely mirrors the Vedic depiction of our own world, and most locations, gods, heroes and events have direct parallels. Nevertheless, Bhurloka is a fantasy world, and room has intentionvariation. The game master (GM) is free to run the game sticking to or varying as much as she wants from these myths.

Themes Balance and order is an important theme because the heroes are ultimately seeking to correct the imbalance brought about by the Dark Yogi. This theme is also emphasized by the paths system in character creation,

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Amar Chitra Katha produces a wide range of comic books, depicting stories from Indian myth. While these comics are intended for children, they are very accessible. George Williams wrote Handbook of Hindu Mythology (ABC-CLIO, 2003), a quick and useful manual for looking up characters, places and events in Indian myth. As with many topics, wikipedia.org has a wealth of information of any number of subjects in Indian myth.

The consequences of one’s actions are another important theme. Not only do ac-

Getting Ready For Play

of karma, but the endeavors, successes and

Against the Dark Yogi is a tabletop role-play-

the game across generations as heroes reincarnate and see the mark that their

ing game. If you do not know what that is, a

more than could ever be reproduced here. To play you will need this book, a group of friends, pencils, paper, a standard deck of poker cards for each player and ideally some tokens. Play is designed to take place

Chapter 1 - Introduction

glossary The following is a glossary of common terms used through the text. Adharma: The opposite of dharma. The

power to go against dharma to make the universe in a state of imbalance or an unwell state.

Bhurloka: The world in which Against the Dark Yogi is set. Also used to refer

to the subcontinent where the game takes place.

Chakra: A nexus of prana within the body,

located along the body’s center. There lower chakras.

Dharma: The power that maintains the

very order and harmony of the universe, without which there would be only chaos.

Geli Yuga

cycle, in which the demon asura Geli is born, dethrones the gods of the Three Worlds and begins a 10,000 year reign of darkness.

Karma: One’s cosmic debt for acting for or

against one’s dharma, one’s natural role in the universe. Acting in accordance with dharma nets good karma, which acting against it nets bad karma.

Kumara: The title of prince. Kumari: The title of princess. Maharaja: The title of high king. Maharani: The title of high queen. Mantra: A spoken sound, word or syllable that

is meant to produce change, or invoke a siddhi or other supernatural ability.

Mantri: A high-ranking advisor to a raja or

other ruler.

Prana: Life energy. Part of the cosmic ener-

in the universe. Expressed with every breath in and out. Raja: The title of king. Rani: The title of queen. Rishi: A yogi who has obtained the highest

levels of spiritual wisdom and power.

Sadhana: The process of acquiring new

experiences and capability.

Siddhi: A powerful supernatural ability that

can be acquired through devotion and study. Literally means “attainment.”

Sutra:

The word literally comes from the verb “to sew,” as the pages of palm leaf books are sewn together.

Three Worlds: The three planes of exis-

sky and heavens. Yuvaraja: The title of crown prince. Literally

means “Young King.”

Yogi: A male practitioner of yoga, the practice

of obtaining spiritual power.

Yogini: A female practitioner of yoga.

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setting This chapter contains a wealth of setting information describing life in Bhurloka, the metaphysics of the setting, the myriad of locations to adventure in or visit, and the various gods venerated in the world.

Overview Against the Dark Yogi takes place in the In-

dian-inspired world of Bhurloka. The name Bhurloka literally means “earth world.” The term is used to refer to both the world itself and the great subcontinent on the world, which holds civilization and is of primary importance. This subcontinent is naturally

west is the burning Dhar Desert, separating Bhurloka from the distant Sassani Empire. To the north are the imposing Wolaya Mountains and various realms of celestial beings, separating Bhurloka from the great steppes that are in the process of being conquered by the Khans. To the east is the impenetrable Wenga Jungle, which cuts the subcontinent south is the Endless Ocean. Bhurloka, the world, is said to be one of the Three Worlds. The “Three Worlds” are: The Celestial Realms: The most famous of look down upon the worlds they rule. The Sky: To which the birds ascend and where the planets cycle through the ether. Bhurloka: The earth, the world of beasts

When the word “Bhurloka” is used, it is most commonly used to refer to the civibetween the Dhar Desert, Wolaya Mountains and Wenga Jungle. It’s a land of a thousand

customs and a dozen major languages. It’s divided up into hundreds of little kingdoms, many not more than a city-state with some surrounding forests and villages. Some of these kingdoms owe allegiance to others, forming a network of feudal loyalties, while others are entirely independent. In lesscivilized pockets, tribes of wildmen roam the forests, mountains and deserts. But in the end, Bhurloka remains a shining jewel, favored by both the gods and men. Although there are numerous kingdoms and city-states across Bhurloka, they all share something of a common cultural background, which both serves to provide a and distinguishes them from the wildmen tribes or foreign kingdoms. This common cultural background can be traced back to the ancient Elyan tribes, who descended out of the northwest, conquering the Trevidian peoples that were settled in Bhurloka. The Elyan tribes brought with them much of the religion, caste system and purity customs found throughout Bhurloka today. Over time, the customs of the Elyan and Trevidian peoples merged together, creating the cultures found in Bhurloka today. On the coast, life in Bhurloka is dominated by the sea, while inland it is dominated by the mighty rivers that fact, much of the land in Bhurloka consists of fertile river valleys and farmland, working to feed the many peoples and kingdoms. These valleys of civilization are separated by vast tracks of untamed forest, rugged mountains, steamy jungles and burning deserts.

Chapter 2 - Setting To the north, closer to the Wolaya Mountains, the climate is temperate. However, as one travels south, the climate slowly becomes more subtropical. The subtropical region centers somewhere around the Fondhya Mountains; from there, as one travels south, the climate then becomes more and more tropical, until one reaches the sweltering lands at the tip of the subcontinent. Each year Bhurloka progresses through wet season and the cool season. During the dry season the weather gets progressively hotter and there is very little precipitation. The dry season transitions into the wet season, where the temperature remains very warm but the humidity skyrockets and the rains unleash its torrents on the land each day. Finally, the heat lets up and the year transitions to the cool season, where the temperatures drop and the rains dry up.

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As the civilization in Bhurloka is primarily an agricultural one, the cycles of day-to-day life follow the seasons and the yearly cycles of planting and harvest. By bringing in fertile silt. Planting happens at this time. The crops then grow, and are with all the hard work and fanfare that entails in an agricultural society. In the grand scheme of things, these yearly cycles are but small segments of the turning of the four Great Ages, of which the world is believed to be in the third. In each of the Great Ages, the world is said to veer further and further from the true path of dharma. The last of these ages, the Geli Yuga, is said to be a terrible age of sin and strife. It is into this age that the Dark Yogi seeks to bring the world.

Life in Bhurloka Like all things, life in Bhurloka goes in cycles. The seasons go through cycles, the years go through cycles, the generations go through cycles and the ages go through cycles. In each incarnation, a soul gets a glimpse of what life is like in the subcontinent.

Castes People in Bhurloka are divided up into a variety of castes, of which there are four main groups. At the top of the caste hierarchy is the Brahmin, the priestly or scholarly caste. Just below them are the Kshatriya, the ruler or warrior caste. Third on the caste hierarchy are the Vaishya, the merchants and farmers. These three castes are known as the “Twice Born” castes; individuals are born once into the world and “reborn” later in a sort of coming-of-age ceremony where they swear to abide by the divine teachings. Finally, the lowest in the caste hierarchy are the Shudra, the servant or slave caste. This caste system caste the more members it possesses. But are the casteless or outcaste individuals. These people are outside of the caste system and, consequently, face restrictions in many kingdoms. This category includes people from the wild tribes who do not follow the caste system, as well as all foreigners. Typically within one lifetime there is little mobility between castes, although it has been known to happen in extraordinary circumstances. More commonly, however, mobility between the castes happens between lifetimes, as a soul is reborn higher or lower on the caste scale. Some souls are even reborn as various nonhuman beings, either considered above or below the human station.

Chapter 2 - Setting The caste system does much to dictate the possible jobs an individual can hold, as does the family of the individual. People born and raised in a family of carpenters typically become carpenters; those born to ermen. All this is less set in stone for epic heroes, however, because epic heroes are exceptional by their very nature.

Family Life

polygamy, but is occasionally practiced in some areas in exceptional circumstances. Society in Bhurloka recognizes three hijra. This third gender consists of men with a feminine gender identity. Hijras are sometime sought to perform ceremonies because they are thought to have a strong spiritual connection.

Family in Bhurloka is of paramount importance. Families largely determine one’s profession, arrange marriages, take care of children, provide support in one’s old age, pass down spiritual traditions and hold one’s primary loyalties. Extended families also tend to live together under one roof

Many holidays are celebrated throughout the year, although most of these vary from region to region. Several holidays, however, are recognized in some form across all of Bhurloka. One of the most important of these is the Festival of Light, which is at the end of the wet season. During this holiday, people exchange

don’t live under the same roof, nevertheless, keep close ties to their distant family members. These distant relatives provide a network of support for those who are traveling or need to leave their kingdom.

Another important holiday is the Festival of Color, celebrated near the end of the cool season. In this holiday people throw colored powders and perfumes and light

Another important aspect of life overseen by families is the coming-of-age rituals practiced across Bhurloka. Male members of twice-born castes undergo a ceremony called the Upanayana when symbolizes their acceptance of their duty to their families and society, as well as the transference of spiritual knowledge. The ceremony involves receiving a thin, sacred thread. Females have a ritual they undergo called a Ritushuddhi which takes place

norms are loosened during this time. Finally, the Festival of Knowledge is held during the dry season. It’s a more serious holiday, honoring the great spiritual teachers of the ages.

Language Bhurloka has no common merchant their own language. Across the subcontilanguages, although a few major ones account for most native speakers. A list of they are spoken are below:XX

Marriages are traditionally performed during the dry season and are largely arranged by the families of the two individuals being wed. Polygamy, the marriage of more than one wife to a husband, is widespread but uncommon because properly taking care of multiple wives is an expense that can

In addition to the human languages, there are various celestial languages and animal languages as well. The primary speakers of these languages are not human, but nevertheless, humans can learn to speak them, just as exceptional animals

the marriage of more than one husband to

on occasion.

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Chapter 2 - Setting MAJOR LANGuAGES

COMMON SPEAKERS

Aldu

Rajbat tribes, northwest Bhurloka

Cajarati

West-central Bhurloka, along the coast

Demil

Southern tip of Bhurloka

Dilugu

East-central Bhurloka

Nerathi

West-central Bhurloka, south of the Cajarati regions

Pingali

Far east Bhurloka

Prej Brasha

North-central Bhurloka, primarily in the countryside

Wondi

Northern Bhurloka through Eastern Bhurloka

celestial languages. Animal languages do not have written forms. Despite the existence of these written forms, only a small portion of the population is literate. These are primarily Brahmin. 14

Society Age. Life centers around agriculture, even for those who are not directly agricultural workers. Crops are planted at the end of are then harvested during the cool season. Kingdoms with good harvests survive and thrive; those with poor harvests either must trade, raid their neighbors or begin to starve. Wealth and the economy are still very primitive. While gold coins are known and occasionally used in trades or as tribute, most wealth is held in the form These animals typically are much more practical forms of wealth, as eating is something everyone needs to do while most individuals have little practical use for gold, despite its ornamental luster.

Without a widespread, coin-based economy there is little in the way of full-time shops. Most villages and cities instead have occasional market days where those looking to trade bring their animals or other goods to market and seek to trade them for what they seek. Trades larger than a cow or two are fairly uncommon, and when they occur they are typically deals made between two families to exchange large numbers of goods. Families are also important when traveling, as Bhurloka has little in the way of inns or hostels. Instead, families typically arrange for a traveling family member to stay with distant relatives when traveling to a region, or if there are no relatives there, they arrange for them to stay with an allied family. Those without such connections must either rely on their caste or status or beg a place to stay for the night.

Government Most of Bhurloka is divided up into many city-states and small kingdoms, with networks of fealties and loyalties between them. Standing astride these smaller political entities are a few larger kingdoms. Finally, at the outskirts of subcontinent, and in particularly harsh regions, there are a variety of wildmen tribes, each with their own clan structure and customs.

Chapter 2 - Setting Typically, most cities in Bhurloka are ruled over by a raja (king), or sometimes a rani (queen), who is also typically the most wealthy individual in the city. The raja’s rule may extend over just the city or it may include jurisdiction over surrounding villages and lands as well. For cities that are completely independent, the city’s raja holds full sovereignty, but for others the raja owes fealty to a maharaja (high king). In the larger kingdoms, the raja of the capital city is the maharaja, while the rajas of all the other cities in the kingdom owe fealty to him. Many rajas, particularly those who rule larger cities, don’t do so without help. Instead they appoint advisors and aids to help administrate their rule. These advisors, known as mantris, are typically very important people themselves, and in some kingdoms they become the real power behind the throne.

Warfare Bhurloka has a long tradition of warfare as well as a highly-ingrained sense of what is and is not acceptable in war. This sense of honor in warfare plays into the caste system because when kingdoms war, it is typically only the Kshatriya who march to war, and subsequently, when a kingdom is conquered it is only the Kshatriya who are honorable targets for violence. That is not to say that tribute is still usually demanded from the conquered and slaves may be taken, but a have to worry about being stabbed by spearmen if a battle rages nearby. Armor in warfare tends to be light or there are groups such as the Rajbat warriors who are known for heavier armor.

Archery is usually seen as the pinnacle of personal warfare. Much of the mystique given to the sword in other cultures is given to the bow and arrow in Bhurloka. the Kshatriya (warriors) tend to be archers, although among the lower-born, spears and zaghnals (war picks) are very common. Technologically, larger blades really haven’t hit their stride in Bhurloka, as bronze blades have the tendency to bend and have to be straightened in the middle of combat. Horses are known and used in Bhurloka, although they are primarily used to pull chariots. Because the technologies of the saddle and stirrup are unknown, long-distance travel on top of horses tends to be less viable. In situations where speed doesn’t matter, cheaper and much more ubiquitous oxen are used to pull carts and wagons. This means that horses tend to be the provenance for a chariot. Since they are an expensive warfare accessory, chariots tend to be associated culturally with generals, tacticians and commanders. In addition to horses, elephants are used in warfare as well, but they require someone even more wealthy and ostenhigher than even the cost of keeping a chariot and several horses.

Religion Religion holds a very central place in the culture of Bhurloka. Religion teaches how to follow the path of dharma and achieve enlightenment; religion teaches of the various gods in the universe and how to properly pay respect to them; religion plays a traditional role in the caste system and in the system of purity to which the various castes abide.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Worship Worship in Bhurloka is extremely ritualized. A large portion of worship lies in knowing and performing the correct rituals, or at least getting a Brahmin who knows the correct rituals to perform them. This latter option is sometimes the only option, as some rituals are closely held secrets by individual families of Brahmin, or lineages of gurus and students going back generations. Beyond rites and rituals, common acts of worship ples, chanting religious mantras, praying, fasting and undergoing austerities. Religious institutions in Bhurloka are not ones concerned with orthodoxy and a correct way of doing things; they are more concerned with rituals and tradition. Individual gods do not have singular religious institutions, but

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leads to extreme behavior among ascetics, who might go to exceptional lengths not to tell lies, not to speak or to always perform their meditations. Many of these vows also lead to the popular image of the ascetic as a wizened old hermit living in the forest and refusing to own any sort of possession beyond her own simple clothes. In addition to sacred vows, ascetics also regularly undergo harsh austerities. These austerities typically involve meditating and then undergoing a sort of ritualized impurities and obtain increased spiritual energy. Examples include fasting, lying for hours, standing on one leg in the hot sun for hours or sitting on a mountaintop until one begins to freeze. The whole point

One god may be worshipped in drastically

obtain spiritual wisdom and energy.

across Bhurloka. In fact, a single god may be

With these vows and austerities, however, comes spiritual power. A skilled ascetic is able to obtain siddhis (perfections) beyond those of common people. She is able to transcend the mundane world and achieve supernatural feats worthy of the gods themselves. Such exceptional abilities are not taught in the traditional sense, but must be intuited through absolute devotion, austerities and meditation. As such, there

It may be within the dharma for one group of people to worship a god in one way but within

Ascetics Individuals seeking cosmic understanding open to any of the castes, even if it is most commonly associated with the Brahmin This path in life involves taking, and adhering to, sacred vows. It also requires regularly undergoing harsh austerities in the pursuit of spiritual understanding and power. Ascetics have put themselves on a path of worship and spiritual purity above that of the common people. Having and deserving this degree of purity consequently requires adhering to strict vows beyond

epiphany and spiritual realization. There are eight primary siddhis to which ascetics may aspire: Anima Siddhi: Reducing the size of one’s body, even to the size of the smallest mote. Garima Siddhi: Increasing one’s density, Istva Siddhi: Possessing absolute lordship and command over others. Laghima Siddhi: Decreasing one’s density, even to the point of being weightless. Mahima Siddhi: Expanding the size of one’s body, even to the size of the world.

Chapter 2 - Setting Prakamya Siddhi: Mastery of achieving through one’s actions whatever one attempts. Prapti Siddhi: Having unrestricted access to all objects, regardless of bodily distance. Vastva Siddhi: The power to subjugate all to one’s will. In addition to the eight primary siddhis, some ascetics also pursue the power of the Omkara, a mantra of unsurpassed potency. It is said that with the Omkara, one need only mutter a single syllable to bring spiritual retribution down upon one’s enemies.

Other Paths to Spiritual Power Ascetics are not the only individuals to pursue siddhis. Yogis are similar individuals who pursue spiritual power, but their path towards enlightenment is

Yogis are on a path that pursues acquiring while yogis may give devotion to the gods, just as anyone might, this is not their primary tactic in the pursuit of spiritual power. Many yogis begin their journey learning at the foot of a guru, and as they grow in lore and understanding, they begin to act as a guru themselves. They study sutras (written bodies of knowledge) and meditate upon their meanings. Regardless, the pursuit of spiritual power make vows and undergo austerities to obtain their wisdom and spiritual power. Without the focus of worship, though, their available to travel bodily with their thoughts, see the auras of living beings and look back through time itself.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Gods the very important to the very small. There are gods for individual mountains, rivers and archways, as well as gods for larger concepts such as storms, marriage, contracts and the sun. Some sages even say that there are 330 than there are humans. What celestial beings are or are not distinction, but generally speaking, the

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devas and the asuras. The devas, who rule the Three Worlds from their seat on Mount Niru, are typically the more benevolent gods. They largely rule the universe with an unparalleled wisdom. On the other hand, the asuras, from their cities underground in Patala, eternally plot to seize rule of the Three Worlds from their deva foes. They are typically less benevolent although there are exceptions in both camps. In the hierarchy of cosmic power, the devas and asuras are at the top. Below them are the various other celestial peoples, such as the vidyaharas and the yakshas. Below the ranks of the celestial beings are epic heroes, such as the Chosen of Dharma, and epic villains. And below them are the earthly peoples, such as humans and nagas. As one continues down the scale of cosmic power, next come beings, such as the undead preta. Even though the celestial distinctions are a comprehensive list, but many of the most important ones are described in brief below.

Azhas Azhas is a deva and the exalted goddess of the dawn. Typically she is portrayed as a beautiful young woman with elaborate adornments, riding a golden chariot across the sky. This chariot precedes Zarya’s each day, hearkening in the dawn. She is

devotees. Azhas’s devotees are mostly found throughout the Rajbat Lands, although she has pools of devotees wherever Zarya’s followers are found.

Echni most important devas in Bhurloka’s pantheon, second only to Omdra himself. His all gods are traditionally burned. He is most commonly depicted as a mighty red humanoid with two heads, one depicting his destructive nature and the other his From his heads he has butter. He rides either a ram or a chariot a messenger between the gods, serving as a link between the heavens and the earth.

Fashan Fashan is the god of journeys, marriages and roads. He is also the chief deity responsible for guiding souls from the world of god Yena then takes dominion over them. Fashan is a benevolent god, protecting travelers from bandits and wild beasts and leading his adherents to wealth. He is most commonly depicted as a beautiful man carrying a golden spear and riding a chariot pulled by goats. Fashan is also a brother to Weruna, Notra and Zarya, the sun god. He has been known to drive the sun across the sky in Zarya’s absence.

Neya Neya is the greatest architect and tradesman among the asuras, having constructed numerous cities and other structures throughout Patala and beyond. He is highly revered among the rakshasa clans, as well as numerous peoples throughout northern Bhurloka. Among his greatest creations were the Tripura unrivaled splendor. These cities were built of

Chapter 2 - Setting gold, silver and iron, and were located in heaven, in the sky and on earth, respectively. They were later shot out of the sky by the devas, but it is said that the ruins of the cities still lay undiscovered somewhere in the wilds of Bhurloka. Neya is most commonly depicted as a bejeweled man with a large mustache and architect’s tools.

Notra Notra is a deva and the god of honesty, contracts, meetings and friendship. He is known for a close relationship with Weruna, and together they act as the keepers of order and law among the devas. He if most commonly worshipped at sunrise when a new contract or agreement is made, with his blessing being sought to keep all parties true and honest in their dealings. Notra is the brother of Weruna, Fashan and Zarya.

lifetime. He is most commonly depicted as a golden humanoid, holding a stick, a lotus and beads. Prhespati is said to have dominion over three lunar mansions, in which he

Weruna Weruna is the asura of water and the celestial oceans, as well as the divine lord of all lands found under the waves. He is most commonly depicted as a four-armed man wearing golden armor and wielding a noose made from a water snake. He rides the great crocodile Nekara. He is also said themselves are said to be his thousand-eyed spies, looking down at every movement of humankind. His human devotees are primarily found along the western coast of Bhurloka, but he also has many devotees among the naga.

Omdra

Weyu

Omdra is the lord of the devas and the ruler of the Three Worlds. He is a god of thunder and storms, wielding a thunderbolt as a weapon as he looks down upon the world from his throne high on Mount Niru. Omdra

Weyu is the god of the wind, breath and

defeat of the great serpent Wrota, who drank all the waters of the world, leading to drought and starvation. To prepare for this battle, Omdra drank copious amounts of intoxicating soma, a substance he is said to still regularly enjoy. Devotees of Omdra are found throughout Bhurloka. He is most commonly depicted nails and beard. Into battle he rides the noble man-bird Keruda, the lord of all suparnas.

Prhespati Prhespati is the guru of the devas and the arch-nemesis of Zhakra, the guru of the asuras. He is the god of wisdom, eloquence, the other devas on behalf of devout humans. Many sutras and other scholarly works are attributed to the god, who has accumulated grandiose stores of knowledge over his vast

a destroyer, powerful and heroic. It is only all mantras can be uttered, and as such he holds dominion over them, including the dreaded Omkara. Weyu is most commonly depicted as a beautiful man of a blue complexion seated atop a gazelle or sometimes a shining coach pulled by 49 white and purple horses. He is anything but stealthy and is said to make a great deal of noise wherever he goes.

Yena Yena is the grim god of death who rules Naraka and holds power over the souls of the deceased from their period of death until their next incarnation. He is also the judge of the dead, responsible for sending worthy souls to Svarga and letting unworof Zarya. He is most commonly depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid with red clothing. which he pulls the souls of the dead away

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Chapter 2 - Setting from their bodies and down into the

Astras

keeps two dogs. These dogs each have four eyes and wide nostrils. They guide the road leading from Patala into Naraka, and also serve as his messengers. Yena is most commonly worshipped in the east of Bhurloka.

The gods have access to weapons beyond those of the earthly peoples. These astras (god weapons) can be so powerful that they are able to obliterate entire armies with a single use. Mighty heroes who have impressed the gods and been granted a divine boon may even be granted the ability to call upon such weapons.

Zarya Zarya is the sun god and one of the most important devas in the Three Worlds. He is most commonly depicted as having four hands. Each hand holds a conch, a gada, a chakra or a lotus. He rides a chariot pulled by either a horse with seven heads or seven horses, each representing one of the colors of the rainbow. Despite his importance and widespread devotees, he is seen by many

Zhakra Zhakra is the guru of the asuras, and a very 20

is depicted as having a pale complexion with four arms. In each arm he holds a stick, beads, a lotus or a bow. He is shown as appearing middle-aged with a friendly demeanor, but missing an eye, which was He is known for his ability to see through all maya (illusions), disguises and other tricks.

Just as the gods are able to transcend a physical form, so astras are as well. Typically the chanting of a particular mantra. This calls from the gods a great weaponized energy that empowers whatever physical weapon the hero holds. Gadas might glow with spiritual energy, or a radiant arrow of pure energy might appear in a bow. Even improvised weapons or natural weapons can be imbued with the energy of an astra. Even as part of a divine boon, however, access to astras does not usually come specify a stipulation on their use and the consequences for breaking it. Such stipulations might be to never use the astra on the righteous, never to use it in anger, never to use it on unarmed foes or even to only surrender. Whatever the requirement, breaking this stipulation always comes with dire consequences. Such consequences can be anything in the range from perunavoidable death.

Chapter 2 - Setting

Cosmology & Metaphysics energy and with individuals pursuing spiritual power using that energy. It is a world ruled by the devas, but it is just one of three such worlds. It is a world where there is more than meets the eye.

The Three Worlds The devas look down from their seat on Mount Niru, reigning over the Three Bhurloka is but a part of the lowest of these Three Worlds. And accepting the humility of this is something to which ascetics apply themselves.

Finally, below the skies is the world of earth, and on its surface is Bhurloka. Here humans live and build their kingdoms. Beasts roam the wilds. In the center of it all is the subcontinent, the primary setting of Against the Dark Yogi. Below the surface of the earth lie the seven realms of Patala, the underworld. jewels and riches, but they are as dangerous as they are beautiful. Here the asuras make their home. As they are the ancient enemies of the devas, they are forever plotting to take over the Three Worlds and claim them as their own. On the lowest of the seven realms of Patala is Nagaloka, the home of the naga. Below even Patala is Naraka, the realm of the dead. It is to this dark realm that

Rising from Bhurloka itself, upwards through the skies and into the heavens is Mount Niru. This sacred mountain is hidden deep in the Wolaya Mountains, and

Yena. Then they either remain in Naraka to

is high upon this mountain that the devas make their home. But even they do not live on the summit, for the summit is the resting place of Prehma, the absolute being.

incarnation, or they are sent to Svarga for their period of bliss. Unlike the shining halls of Patala, this is a realm of emptiness and darkness, and it is one forbidden to mortals.

Surrounding the heights of Mount Niru are the other celestial realms, the most important of which is Svarga, the realm where the blessed dead exist in bliss for a period of time before they are reborn again into their next incarnation.

Dharma

Below the celestial realms are the heavens and earth. It is this world to which the birds ascend. And it is in this world that the planets continue their wandering cycles through the sky. Nine planets travel through the skies. the two invisible planets located at the poles of the night sky, around which all the other planets and stars turn.

One of the most deep-seated beliefs in Bhurloka is in a concept called dharma. Dharma is not just a force in the universe, but a very intimate and personal force. Everyone and everything has a dharma, which can be thought of as their “correct destiny” or the role they are meant to play in life. This role includes many moralistic behaviors, such as not lying, stealing or murdering. In this way, dharma can be thought of as morality. universal. It might be within the dharma of a beggar to take small amounts of food in order to not starve to death, but this would not be within the dharma of a raja. Similarly, it would be within the dharma of a tiger but this would not be within the dharma of a deer. In this way, dharma can also be

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Chapter 2 - Setting thought of as “proper behavior.” Dharma dictates the roles of all things, and it is the can be denied, but only at one’s detriment. In this way dharma can also be thought of as destiny. Dharma dictates the order of the universe; not even the gods are above it. This is exactly what the Dark Yogi is attacking: the order of the universe. Should he be successful, and dharma overthrown, there will be no order in the cosmos. There will be no just consequences for one’s actions. There will be no destiny or order or morality. And when the last bit of dharma dies, the world will come to an end and be born again into the next great cycle.

Karma

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Put simply, karma is a measure of how one has acted in accordance with one’s dharma. Acting in harmony with dharma results in good karma, while violating dharma results in bad karma. This can be thought of in simple terms as “do good things and good things will happen to you; do bad things and bad things will happen to you,” but it is more than that. Since dharma encompasses not just morality, but one’s destined role in life, acting against that destined role also generates bad karma while acting in accordance results in good karma. For epic heroes, it is within their dharma ing people, defeating great evils, righting ing in accordance with this earns good karma, killing helpless opponents, violating oaths, Karma doesn’t just accumulate, though. It resolves. Good karma resolves into good into bad outcomes and detriments. These

repeatedly throughout her life, but they her time in the underworld and her next incarnation.

has good karma, good things happen. This karma: it resolves. Similarly, bad karma

karmic debt before they are reincarnated into the next life. It’s also why performing ing builds up good will with the universe.

Purity An important part of dharma is the idea of purity. It is of vital importance to maintain one’s purity because remaining pure (or clean) is within the dharma of anyone with a caste. Retaining purity dictates a number of practices, such as not touching the dead, not eating feces, not eating certain animals and a variety of other actions. This is perhaps the most basic expression of dharma. Violating basic purity laws results in bad karma, which means bad consequences such as sickness or social disdain. Touch the dead and get sick; that’s simple karma. rules practiced across Bhurloka. Most of the important ones are found consistently from kingdom to kingdom, but many of the minor ones have local variations or exceptions. Listed below are the most important or common purity rules. Violating them is bad karma. Each of these rules is ranked in terms

Chapter 2 - Setting PuRITY RuLE

SEVERITY

Do not touch the dead or touch the feces of any animal.

Severe

Do not break a vow that you have given of your own volition.

Severe

Do not eat the meat of any animal with hands, fangs or talons.

Severe

Do not kill, except for those who have gravely transgressed against you.

Severe

Do not eat dairy that has not soured, except for that of cows.

Severe

Do not touch those who are tainted or impure.

Moderate

Do not eat plants that have grown in feces, mushrooms, onions or garlic.

Moderate

Do not steal.

Moderate

Do not disobey your more elder relatives.

Moderate

Do not beat or perform cruel acts on any living creature.

Moderate

Do not tell a lie.

Light

Do not disobey someone to whom you owe fealty.

Light

Those who have violated a purity rule not only gain bad karma, but are now considered tainted. Others may not touch them without tainting themselves as well. This taint lasts until the individual

In addition to becoming tainted due to the violation of a purity rule, there are several other times in life when an individual may become tainted. These times do not accrue bad karma, but they do require that

ritual. The complexity and length of the ritual is determined by the severity of the taint, which corresponds to the severity

undergone before the individual can be pure again. These times include when a close family member dies, when a fellow student or coworker who shares a residence

of some of the rituals necessary to cleanse a taint are as follows: SEVERITY

PuRITY RITuAL

Light

Bathing in pure water

Moderate

Three days of isolation and chanting mantras. The ritual must be performed by a Brahmin. The typical cost is three chickens.

Severe

Ten days of isolation and an elaborate ritual. The purity ritual must be performed by a Brahmin. The typical cost is a gold coin.

forcibly touched by a tainted individual (such as during a grapple). ally by being exposed to a source of taint, such as touching a corpse or feces. Most of which depends on the material the necessary rituals for objects are listed below.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Looting Bodies

It is, perhaps, particularly important to take note of the purity rules regarding the touching of dead bodies and their possessions, as these run somewhat counter to the habits of player characters in many role-playing games. Put simply, unless a character is a Dalit, it is a violation of purity laws and dharma to touch corpses or loot their possessions. Not only that, but it also a violation of dharma to order others to touch corpses or loot bodies (unless they are Dalit), and even receiving an item that has just been looted from a body is a violation of dharma, as that item has been tainted by having been on the corpse. This is not to say that once an item has ever been on a corpse it is forever tainted (and thus a violation of dharma to touch), however. Most items can be cleansed if the proper are advised to only bother cleansing items that are particularly important.

MATERIAL RITuAL Cloth

Must undergo a washing rite with water and cow’s urine, and then Brahmin and typically costs three chickens.

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Food

May not be cleansed. Food remains tainted forever.

Gems

Must undergo a washing rite with water, ash and earth, and then ritually and typically costs three chickens.

Gold, Unstained

There must be a ritual wash with water, ash and earth overseen by a Brahmin. Hiring a Brahmin to perform the ritual usually costs a chicken.

Metal

Must undergo a washing rite with water, ash and earth, and then ritually and typically costs three chickens.

Money, Coins Stone

This involves a ritual wash with water, ash and earth overseen by a Brahmin. Hiring a Brahmin to perform the ritual usually costs a chicken.

Straw

This involves a ritual wash with water, ash and earth overseen by a Brahmin. Hiring a Brahmin to perform the ritual usually costs a chicken.

Water

Must ritually pass through a mesh of kusa grass. This ritual does not require a Brahmin. Water from a corpse or feces, however, may never be cleansed.

Wood

Must undergo a washing rite with water, ash and earth, and then ritually and typically costs three chickens.

Chapter 2 - Setting

Reincarnation Over the course of a lifetime, how well a much good or bad karma she accrues. This

When a person dies, her soul is collected by the god Yena or one of his many celestial servants. The soul is then brought to the underworld of Naraka and is judged. Those who were particularly virtuous and acquired large amounts of good karma in life may be sent directly to Svarga, where they will exist in bliss for a time before their next incarnation. Most souls, however, will their accumulated bad karma, before being sent to Svarga or reborn into their next life. A few enlightened souls may not be reborn at all. Those who have risen the highest through the cycle of birth and rebirth instead achieve moksha. These rare souls have escaped the eternal cycle of birth and death, and as such no longer have to the rest of eternity. For everyone else, however, there is another life to live. They are reborn as humans, animals or even celestial beings,

gender. They will have a new family, new obligations and a new start.

remember it all as clear as day or they may always remember something of their duty to overthrow the Dark Yogi and stop his attack on dharma. (It’s recommended that GMs let players decide exactly how much they want to remember from their previous lives, and let them role-play it accordingly.)

Prana The Three Worlds are permeated in a sun and into every living being in creation, connecting them all in a cosmic web of life. When in the body, this energy is known as prana action and every breath. Every heart beat is an expression of prana, as is every movement of the arm and every thought. To be in motion is to have prana. Over time, the amount of prana in one’s body raises or lowers. Sitting quietly and meditating raises one’s prana because one is not expending prana on movement, nor on thought. Similarly, rigorous physical or mental exertion lowers one’s prana. And at its most base, that’s exactly what tiredness and fatigue is: a lack of prana in the body until one can rest and recover. everywhere in the body equally. Instead it builds up in certain pools throughout the body called chakras. These chakras are located through the center of the body, starting at the crown of the head, then traveling down the torso to the groin, then

Souls who have been reborn will not remember their past lives, except perhaps

the soles of the feet. The chakras above the waist are called the higher chakras, and the ones below the waist are the lower chakras.

Since they have been empowered by dharma they have been granted insight into their previous lives since they were empowered. They may

The particular chakra the prana pools every chakra has its own spiritual, emotional

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Chapter 2 - Setting CHAKRA

CATEGORY LOCATION

ASSOCIATIONS

Crown

Higher

Crown of the head

Higher consciousness

Brow

Higher

Between the eyes

Perception and intuition

Throat

Higher

Middle of the throat

Expression and growth

Heart

Higher

Center of the chest

Compassion and resolve

Hip

Lower

Top of the hips

Fear and lust

Thigh

Lower

Middle of the thighs

Anger and resentment

Knee

Lower

Center of the knees

Jealousy

Calve

Lower

Middle of the calves

Confusion and wishfulness

Ankle

Lower

On the ankles

Sole

Lower

Soles of the feet

and actionable associations. The more prana in a particular chakra, the more the

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individual. So, those with more prana in their crown chakra are more prone to thought; those with more prana in their brow chakra are more prone to observation; those with more prana in their throat chakra are more prone to socializing; etc. Chakra masters are those individuals with the spiritual learning and skill to manipulate these energies, changing the redirecting it into their choice of chakras. are as shown above. Normally the amount of prana a body can the excess prana just slips away, and it takes

Malice, violence and hatred a great deal of spiritual will and training to retain it. Particularly powerful ascetics and yogis are able to do just this, however. By performing austerities they can build up good will with the universe. This good will is then immediately cashed in, taking the form of an increase of prana that allows their chakras to Even then there are limits, however. When one accumulates an obscene amount of energy into a small space, such as a human body, eventually that energy begins to smoke and smolder within the individual. Eventually this smoke builds up and can threaten anyone around its source. It smothers plants and animals. It blots out the sun. But the wisest ascetics and yogis avoid this build-up of power. Doing otherwise is an act of arrogance.

Chapter 2 - Setting

The Dark Yogi The Dark Yogi is the biggest threat to the world in generations and is set up to be the primary antagonist of Against the Dark Yogi campaigns. He is a wicked yogi and ascetic, saturated in spiritual power yet twisted and corrupt. He is the mastermind behind the Eighteen Wicked Kings who each seek to bring war to and rule their own lands in Bhurloka. He rules from his tower far in the east and commands a growing army of rakHe is in possession of the Forbidden Sutra, and with its foul knowledge, he has launched an attack on dharma itself, divorcing actions from consequences and seeking to break the karmic cycle. This, if it happens, will bring about the Geli Yuga, the the demonic asura Geli will be born and stopped, all order will end.

Story of the Dark Yogi Tamapara was a powerful ascetic. He was a devotee of Omdra, known for his wisdom and his piety. Young brahmin would travel hundreds of miles to learn at his feet. He mastered many siddhis and was a welcome guest in the home of many a raja. One of these rajas was Mayoor, who once ruled a forest kingdom far in the east. He was a great leader and commander and held the respect of his people. His reign was marked by abundance and prosperity, partly due to his father who, during his reign, conquered the kingdom’s longtime rival to the south. Mayoor’s kingdom still reaped the spoils. One of these spoils was the kumari Sujata, daughter of the vanquished king. To bring peace to her people when her kingdom

She lived a pampered life, and the Raja Mayoor treated her well. But she did not love him, nor did she wish to rule at his side. She spent her days making devotions and asking the gods what she should do, and one morning the god Fashan appeared before her. She said to him, “I do not love my husband, yet I am bound to him for the sake of my people. I do not wish to live as I do, so what should I do?” Fashan spoke, “Are you mistreated?” “No,” she said. “Then your duty is to your people. You will follow.” And so she had her answer. One year, before the harvest, Tamapara traveled to Mayoor’s kingdom. His arrival was celebrated, for Raja Mayoor was honored to host such a powerful ascetic. A great feast was held, and Tamapara was invited to sleep in the Raja’s palace. However, Tamapara was fasting, and he sat at the palace in meditation throughout the feast. While in the palace, his meditation was interrupted by Sujata, and the two began a long conversation. They spoke of the gods; they spoke of duties; they spoke of past times and their longings. And they fell in love.

Raja Mayoor was furious when he found out. He ordered his guards to search the kingdom for her, to enter every house, to overturn every bed until she was found. So the guards searched, but mighty was the strength of Tamapara’s siddhis, and they Without Sujata to speak on their were already a conquered people, but now

27

Chapter 2 - Setting they were suspected of helping her escape. Violence among them spread, as did

series of scrolls. And written on these scrolls, inked in a language long dead, was

escape for long. Despite her love for

one could attack dharma itself. Recognizing their potency, Tamapara took these scrolls.

its toll on her health and she succumbed to death a year later from grief. Tamapara was devastated by Sujata’s death. He had not only loved her, but he had broken many of his vows to run away with her. So he began a set of severe austerities, undergoing harsh penances for seven years until Omdra himself appeared before him. “Oh lord Omdra,” Tamapara spoke,

28

Tamapara continued to raid Naraka until there was nowhere else he knew to look. It was then that he approached Yena and demanded his beloved. But Yena simply laughed and said, “You shall never have her, for she has been placed in my charge until the turning of the next cycle. She belongs to death now.” But still Tamapara would not accept this, and he fought Yena for seven

much for her.”

And Tamapara took her back to Bhurloka.

But Omdra replied, “It is not to be. For her you broke many of your vows, and she went against her dharma to be with you.

Still, Sujata found no happiness. Although she now dwelt in the world of the living, she was little more than a preata, unable even to fully perceive the world around her. She had little awareness that she had even

in Naraka, consumed by insatiable hunger and unquenchable thirst. And there she will remain until the world as it is known has ended and the next great cycle begins.” But Tamapara, consumed by grief and anger, would not accept this. If Omdra would not return her, he would do so himself. wrest her from the grip of Yena, lord of the dead, and take her back to the land of the living. He would steal her from death and then they could be together. So it was that Tamapara began his assault on the underworld. Descending into the earth, he made his way through the seven layers of Patala and down to the gates of Naraka itself. He scoured the underworld looking for his lost love, but nowhere

Deep in Naraka, locked away behind seals and vaults, where not even the dread minions of Yena dare to go, he found a

with her. She constantly wanted for food and water, and yet none brought her comfort. Tamapara despaired, and then the Fashan and Echni. They cursed him for his actions, so that he may never know peace. And Tamapara wept. Then he clenched his If Sujata would not know happiness until the next cycle, Tamapara would bring this one to an end. If he were cursed to know no peace, neither would the world that cursed him. He would watch it burn and begin anew. He would invoke the Forbidden Sutra he had discovered; he would attack dharma itself; he would tear away his actions from their consequences. He would call the Eighteen Wicked Kings age of the world. Then the cycle would end. returned to Raja Mayoor’s kingdom and

Chapter 2 - Setting demanded its rule be laid at his feet. The furious raja refused, and when he did, Tamapara obliterated the city with the Om syllable. So then he went to Sujata’s people and bid them follow him, and when they did not he turned them into rakshasas, bent to his will. Finally, in the ruins of the fallen city, he had them build for him a great tower. Residing there, he became known as the Dark Yogi. Secure in his new stronghold, Tamapara began to invoke the Forbidden Sutra. He called forth the Eighteen Wicked Kings, the would make war across all Bhurloka and everyone would tremble at his name until the demonic asura Geli would be born, and this cycle come to an end. And now the Dark Yogi is a threat to all the world.

Forces of the Dark Yogi From his tower, Udarka Tama, the Dark Yogi’s reach extends out across Bhurloka like a shadow. Not only does he have the spiritual reach of the Forbidden Sutra, but grown mighty as well.

Rumor has it that the Dark Yogi has even sought to bring a few asuras into his fold, either as allies or directly under his rule. But whether he will be successful in this has yet to be seen. The Dark Yogi has taught his most trusted forces the Path of Adharma, and for many this is a sought

The Eighteen Wicked Kings According to the ancient sage Kenaka the by the coming of eighteen wicked kings. These vile kings would each be reincarnated in the kingdom they were foretold to plunge into war and famine. And when

now come of age and walk Bhurloka, bringing war in their wake. They are among the most powerful disciples of the Dark Yogi, and each has been instructed in the Path of Adharma, the powers unlocked by the Forbidden Sutra. Other Wicked Kings may have already been born, but have not yet come of age. Still, not all yet walk Bhurloka, and so there is hope to prevent the coming

The Dark Yogi commands the warriors more wicked kings walk the world of the surrounding WICKED KINGS regions he has conquered, as well as Udavarta among the Rajbat Varayu among the Yakshi legions of slaves and other vassals. But Janamejaya among the Najal Vahu among the Gandharvas not all of his forces Pururavas among the Nagas are even human. The Vahula among the Ewanti people of his lost Sahaja among the Beasts and Birds Sujata were long Vasu among the Tendaka ago transformed into Ajavindu among the Renka Vrishaddhaja among the Vanaras rakshasas, and now they serve as some of Rushardhik among the Negadha Dharana among the Vidyadharas his most elite forces. They scour the counBigahana among the Rakshasas tryside recruiting others of their ilk Dhautamulaka among the Wodeha Sama among the Devas and wiping out all Hayagriva among the Gusala Geli among the Asuras that oppose them.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

The Forbidden Sutra

Geli Yuga

The Forbidden Sutra is an unearthly body of knowledge possessed by the Dark Yogi and is his key weapon in attacking dharma. Through it, he has learned the Path of Adharma (see page 152), and has taught various traits on that path to his most powerful and trusted followers.

Together the Three Worlds are said to cycle through four ages, each age shorter and more

The Forbidden Sutra is an esoteric work, clearly powerful and ancient, but its true origins remain a mystery. The Dark Yogi found and claimed the sutra while it was sealed away, deep in the forgotten passages back to Bhurloka, he slowly translated it from its ancient script and began practicing their secrets. Still, however, there remain passages of the Forbidden Sutra that not even the Dark Yogi has been able to translate, and so their knowledge remains locked away in a forgotten tongue. But their translation may be only a matter of time. 30

Still, the Forbidden Sutra has yielded many secrets. While it has allowed the Dark Yogi to learn many of the traits of the Path of Adharma, it also has allowed him to forge a number of powerful Adharmaastras (see the gods. He has given these to his favored followers, and certainly each of the active Eighteen Wicked Kings possesses one. It’s also what has allowed him to hasten the coming of the Geli Yuga.

Yuga, is the age of truth, where Dharma is at its purest. This is followed by the Treta Yuga and then the Dvapara Yuga, during each of which the world ventures further and further from the true path of Dharma. Bhurloka currently is thought to be in the Dvapara Yuga. of vice. In it, the demonic asura Geli is born, age before the worlds are destroyed and the entire cycle begins again. Before the coming of the Geli Yuga, though, there are said to be a number of harbingers that ensure its coming. Foremost among these are the descent of Dharma and the coming of the Eighteen Wicked Kings; only when Dharma becomes weak enough can the Eighteen Wicked Kings be born, and only when all of the Kings are born does the world descend into the dark age that ensures Geli’s birth. Once born, Geli will rise up, overthrow the devas and begin his total dominion over the Three Worlds. During his reign, the people of Bhurloka will face more hardships than they have before. People will forget their spirituality; rulers will become unjust; gurus will no longer be respected and will be attacked in the streets; wrath and pride will rule the day; the caste system will cease to be. On the throne of Mount Niru, Geli will sit until the world ends.

Chapter 2 - Setting

Chosen of Dharma The signs may show that the Geli Yuga is nearing, but it is not upon Bhurloka yet. world. Recognizing the attack upon it by the Dark Yogi, it has begun to reach out and empower chosen heroes to defend the Three Worlds, to defeat the plans of the Dark Yogi, and to slow the coming of the

of their kind. Being chosen by Dharma has given them a certain resilience against untimely death, unless adharma intervenes. It also gives them a greater than usual insight into their past lives, allowing them to remember the events of previous incarnations including knowledge from one

of Dharma; they are the player characters.

generations-long struggle against the Dark Yogi and his Forbidden Sutra. Finally and most importantly, it has granted them a vital duty in defending the Three Worlds.

The Chosen are greater than mere mortals. They are empowered heroes, paragons

The Chosen of Dharma are the last best hope for the world.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Gazetteer Bhurloka is a rich and varied world, from the tops of the highest peaks of the Wolaya Mountains, down to the depths of Naraka. It’s a world of ten thousand bejeweled splendors, and ten thousand terrifying locales. Its surface is divided up into many great and minor human kingdoms and an even greater number of unexplored realms. This section provides an overview of the in Bhurloka that are ripe for adventure

Afkala southeast of the Fondhya Mountains, between the Kenga and Kedaruri rivers. It is an ancient and decadent kingdom, known for its many opulent and skilled artists. It is also a kingdom that has long been in decline.

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one of the largest cities in Bhurloka for a thousand years. The city was once at the heart of a vast empire ruled over by the legendary hero Nenu, the very man who established the purity laws followed across Bhurloka today. The city’s population has shrunk in recent generations, leaving many buildings abandoned and crumbling. Nature has slowly snuck in to take over these buildings, with creeping vines and lairing wildlife. kingdom only in name, with each city’s raja fractured and impotent, as the many city

Dhar Desert The Dhar Desert is a vast sandy wasteland that marks the westernmost borders of the Bhurloka subcontinent. It’s a hostile and -

Legend holds that the Dhar Desert was not always the wasteland it is today. Thousands of years ago, the asuras were making war on the devas and one of the greatest battles of that war happened on a fertile plain. When the astras used in that battle struck the ground, they ravaged the countryside, drying up all the water and striking dead all of the plants. Ever since, that land has been barren, and it is now called the Dhar Desert. Maybe somewhere out there the ruins of that battle remain. It’s said that somewhere to the west, beyond the Dhar Desert itself, the foreign lands of Sassani can be found. But Bhurloka knows only of these lands through a handful of exiled royal lines and the few hardy merchant caravans that somehow brave the wastes to bring trade beyond Bhurloka’s borders. The desert is said to be impassible by any army. And it is home to only a few tough nomadic tribes.

Ewanti Ewanti is a wealthy kingdom found on Bhurloka’s west coast. It is a prosperous major port city of Wedodara and a series of well-maintained roads connecting the north of Bhurloka to the south. The kingdom is divided in two, bisected by the Fondhya Mountains. Despite their political unity, each half of the kingdom has something of its own cultural identity united to form the country. The north is ruled from its capital city of Akkayini, while the south is ruled from its capital city of Nehishmati. Both cities are ruled by the same royal line, passed down from generation to Over the ages, the seat of the Maharaja has switched between Akkayini and Nehishmati, as each city’s fortune has risen or fallen.

Chapter 2 - Setting Currently the seat of power is Akkayini. This city is also regarded by many as a holy city. It is said that when the devas and asuras churned the ocean to attain the nectar of immortality, a drop fell to the earth at Akkayini, blessing the land. The spot where the drop is said to have landed now is home to a vast temple. This temple honors the devas, and some asuras, who helped churn the ocean.

Fondhya Mountains In the very center of the Subcontinent lie the Fondhya Mountains. These ancient, rounded mountains not only serve as barrier to travel, but they also form a cultural barrier, separating the people of northern Bhurloka from the peoples of the south. The Fondhya Mountains are not only a rugged terrain, but they are also the home to numerous clans of rakshasas, wandering bhoots and other such hazards that make the location of one of the only known open gates to Patala, and thus the rest of the underworld. This makes them the destination for creatures, heroes or other individuals who might want to travel down into the depths of the world. Legend has it that back in the mists of time, the Fondhya Mountains were once vastly taller and more imposing than they are today. In fact, they once grew so tall that they began to impede the path of the sun as it traveled across the sky each day. Rather than let this happen, the gods chose the legendary ascetic Ekastya to travel to the Fondyha Mountains and deal with the problem. Such was his mastery of the siddhis that he forced the mountains to bow before him, and ever since the mountains have been rounded and shorter.

Foreign Lands are other human kingdoms. To the west, beyond the Dhar Desert, lies the burning empire of Sassani, while to the east, beyond the sweltering jungles of Wenga, lies the ancient and enigmatic kingdom of Funan. To the north, deep in the Wolaya Mountains, the non-human kingdoms of the Yakshi, Gandharvas and other higher beings are hidden, and to the south stands the Endless Ocean, beyond which legend holds exists a strange and pale tribe.

Funan The Funan Empire is said to be a highlyorganized civilization, with many texts and scholarly works. It’s said to have an advanced canal system, linking distant settlements by water and making trade possible by boat. The capital of Funan is the fabled city of Dalmak, a city as rich with splendors as it is splendidly large. Particularly impressive to travelers from Bhurloka are its vast stone temple complexes acknowledging many of the same gods as honored in Bhurloka, albeit by strange foreign names. The people of Funan are said to build their houses on stilts and have other strange customs, such as eating strange fruits and using perfumed woods and pearls as money in trade. Their idea of justice is said to be peculiar as well, with those accused of crimes demonstrating their innocence through brutal trial by ordeals, involving carrying red-hot chains or retrieving gold rings from boiling water.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

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Sassani The Sassasni Empire has a reputation in Bhurloka for being a vast desert empire empire is far more varied than mere desert, borders, many conquered in various points of the empire’s past. The empire has its capital in the city of Ctiziphon, located along the banks of the mighty Degris River. There its ruler, the Shahanshah, overlooks his empire, over which he theoretically has absolute authority. In practice, though, the power

behind the throne is said to be in the hands of the magi, the priestly caste of the empire. This caste is known for hostility to travelers from Bhurloka. In recent generations, the Sassani Empire has been on a warpath, conquering many neighboring cities and small kingdoms while propping up others as vassal states. This has led many in Bhurloka with a mind for such things to look at the empire with growing unease, and to remain wary of the Maharaja in the Najal Raj, whose ancestry descended from the Sassani Empire.

Chapter 2 - Setting

Ghendava Forest

Gusala

The Ghendava Forest was once a mighty wood that spread throughout northcentral Bhurloka, from Ewanti to Gusala, encompassing all of the area that is now the Jaru Kingdoms and beyond. It was the home of the Dekshaka tribe of nagas, and was said to be a sacred place, protected by Omdra himself.

Gusala was once a prosperous kingdom ruled

When the Jaru Kingdoms were founded, however, the powerful hero Eljuna cleared most of the forest away, burning it to the ground and opening the land up for cultivation and agriculture. In doing this, however, Eljuna angered Omdra, who struck him with an arrow, wounding him amid the

Sujata’s desertion changed Raja Mayoor, and he began to punish her people for her actions.

deference to Omdra, when he had built his capital on the cleared ground of the forest, he named it Omdraprastha.

Today, Gusala is the seat of the Dark

Today, while the Ghendava Forest is still quite large, it is a shadow of its former self. It is a wild and untamed land, prowled by restless beasts. It’s also the home to the remaining Dekshaka naga tribe, who lurk deep in the woods, plotting against the Jaru Kingdoms and seeking their revenge for the loss of their forest home. Despite this danger, the Ghendava Forest is still a sacred place, and it is one frequented by solitary ascetics and yogis desiring to live the life of a hermit deep in the woods and to seek enlightenment.

bors in the past, it was then a kingdom in changed when the renowned yogi Tamapara visited, staying as a guest of the Raja and running away with the rani, Sujata.

people diminished. This decline continued until Tamapara returned to the kingdom as the Dark Yogi and single-handedly took it for himself (see page 27).

the kingdom’s capital of Ayithya, the Dark Yogi has personally constructed a tower within which he resides, practicing his austerities and continuing his attack on dharma itself. been won over by the Dark Yogi’s personal charisma. To their numbers are added the various rakshasa clans that have answered with the promise of war and spoils. Historically, Gusala was known for its countryside and its welcoming people. Today none of these things are as they were. The forests have largely been cleared for timber by the growing rakshasa clans, its people have become suspicious or hostile to strangers,

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Jaru Kingdoms The Jaru Kingdoms are a morass of citystates and small kingdoms, all linked by shared cultural customs and overlapping ethnic groups. They are in a constant state to generation, year to year and as small wars break out between the many kingdoms. Legend holds that these petty kingJaru Kingdom that stretched across the Kingdom was ruled over by the hero-raja Tendu. As Tendu grew old, however, he divided his kingdom between his many sons. These sons in turn divided their kingdoms between their sons, and over the centuries the Jaru Kingdom was fractured.

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In recent years, the growth of the Najal Raj to the north has prompted some of the Jaru Kingdoms to put aside their see the Najal Raj as an unwelcome foreign some of the last remaining native opposition in the Northwest. As a politically divided land, the Jaru Kingdoms have no central capital; however, the largest and most culturally-important cities in the region are Westinapur, Geushambi and Feranavasta. The most powerful of the Jaru rajas is Taryodhana, raja of Westinapur.

Mount Niru Mount Niru is the tallest mountain in in the Wolaya Mountains. It is the pillar of the world, stretching from the earth all the way up past the sky and into the heavens. It is also the mountain on which live the devas, and on which Svarga, the place of their dharma, resides.

The path to Mount Niru is perilous, and one tread successfully by only the gods and the mightiest of heroes. Once at the foot of the mountain, to begin to climb the slope, one must pass through an archway guarded by Just as Mount Niru is the pillar of the world, so is it a central point for the heavens. Each day, as the sun travels across the sky, it does so from a central point around Mount Niru. Similarly, the planets and all the stars make a similar journey with Mount Niru at the center of their celestial rotations.

Svarga Located high on Mount Niru is Svarga, the blissful realm where the dead who have lived according to their dharma but have not yet obtained moksha, are sent between incarnations. Here they enjoy paradise and the fruits of their karma for a period of time until they are once again sent back to the mortal world in their next incarnation. This realm is ruled over by the devas, who have been known to visit the souls of particularly devote ascetics.

Najal Raj The Najal Raj was founded by the Maharaja Pebur a generation ago, carved out of a collection of petty city-states and small kingdoms through a series of alliances and conquests. Today the Najal Raj is one of the more powerful kingdoms in northern Bhurloka and is seen by many as the only real counterweight to the similarly-growing power of the Dark Yogi in Gusala. Nevertheless, many also view the Najal Raj with suspicion because Pebur and the current Maharaja are of a royal line descended from high-born foreigners from Sassani. They have even gone so far as to make Sassani the language of the court in the Najal Raj, a move that has angered many of the natives of the region. Geographically, the Najal Raj is largely composed of a number of fertile river valleys, providing ample land for agriculture.

Chapter 2 - Setting These river valleys then gradually give way to more rugged land as one approaches the Wolaya Mountains to the north.

Echra Echra is the capital of the Najal Raj and a city of many splendors. It is located along the banks of the Wemuna River. Brought to particular importance a generation ago by the Maharaja Pebur, Echra is a city on the rise. More on the city can be found in the expanded Echra section (see page 44).

Negadha Kingdom The Negadha Kingdom is known for its advancements in astronomy, philosophy, mathematics and science. It has long been a center of learning and education, with

Rajbat Lands In the northwest corner of the Bhurloka subcontinent are the Rajbat lands, home to peoples have their own tribal system and seldom welcome in the lands of the Rajbat, but it is said that those who do manage to befriend them are always honored guests. The Rajbat tribes are particularly known for their skilled warriors, who, unlike the warriors in much of Bhurloka, typically go into battle in heavy armor wielding both a circular shield and a sharp blade.

to study at the feet of its many renowned yogis and sages.

The Rajbat Lands are harsh and arid. In them, the forests that cover much of northern Bhurloka gradually give way to scrubland, and then even the scrubland gradually gives way to desert as one approaches the Dhar. Rain is

The Negadha Kingdom is also known for its somewhat unusual patterns of social structure and government. Many cities in the kingdom are lacking a local raja, but are

little water to be found beyond the banks of the mighty Zeraswati and Zondu riversheds, sis in the otherwise unfriendly land.

Similarly, marriage patterns in Negadha tend to be unusual, with children being taken in by the mother’s family.

Politically, the Rajbat tribes are disorga-

The Kenga River Delta comprises a large portion of the country. While it provides a busy waterway further into the heart of the

build their homes and other structures in The capital of Negadha is Rajkor, a mighty fortress built atop a hill overlooking the Kenga River. In recent generations, the Maharaja’s generals have been growing increasingly restless. They have warned the Maharaja of the growing might of the Dark Yogi in Gusala and have been advising war. If many of the generals have their conquest of many of the kingdoms to the west.

The tribes have an internal network of allies and enemies going back generations. These allies and enemies sometimes include the neighbors to the region, and in fact many of the Rajbat tribes either sided with or fought against the raja Pebur a generation ago during the establishment of the Najal Raj, to the east.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Renka Renka is an island kingdom ruled over by the legendarily cruel rakshasa Raja Ravema, said to have many heads. The capital of the kingdom is a foreboding and mighty fortress situated on a small plateau Mountains. Surrounding this fortress is RenBhurloka. It is from here Ravema overlooks the island and surrounding ocean, plotting his next expedition to the mainland. Renka has already put in place the kingdom of Tendaka as a vassal state, but this is not the limit of Ravema’s ambition. The island is the largest in the known world, and stands several hundred miles

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the subcontinent’s east coast. It’s a rich and varied land, with the Trigata Mountains forming the highest point and the landscape gradually sloping downward to the ocean. The people of Renka are an industrious and prosperous people. They are unsurpassed mariners and skilled merchants, plying their trade up and down the coasts of the subcontinent and beyond. In fact, the teeming ports of Renka are one of the most likely places in Bhurloka to encounter foreigners. The island also has a history of being led by rajas who wrested the kingdom from the previous raja. While Ravema is the current ruler, he took control of the island from the Yaksha Gabera before him, who in turn took it from the rakshasa Zamali.

Chapter 2 - Setting

Rivers

Zeraswati Rivershed

Bhurloka is home to numerous mighty rivers. These rivers serve as the lifeblood of civilization in many ways, providing paths for trade and travel, not to mention life-sustaining waters for peoples and crops. These rivers can be divided into six major riversheds.

the center of the Rajbat Lands. The river is said to be sacred to a goddess that bears the

Beyashru Rivershed The Beyashru Rivershed begins in the towards the Endless Ocean. Along the way, its rivers cut through the Jaru Kingdoms making their way to Ewanti, where they provide both transport and silt for the fertile river delta.

Geuvery Rivershed The Geuvery Rivershed begins in the high hills along the west coast of Bhurloka and continent, eventually reaching the Endless Ocean on the east coast. The river is protected by a goddess and considered sacred.

Kedaruri Rivershed The dominant rivershed in the central subcontinent, the Kedaruri River and its tributaries, begin high in the Fondhya Mountains and make their way through the wilderness until they reach the ocean. It is one of the largest wilderness riversheds in Bhurloka, with much of its length still unexplored.

Kenga Rivershed The Kenga River is a sacred river, as are many of its tributaries. It is the mightiest river in Bhurloka and one that provides vital water to much of the north. The Kenga Rivershed is also particularly prone who live along its banks plan for during the wet season every year.

her and who drink from the river are said to sometimes be granted sacred knowledge.

Zondhu Rivershed The Zondhu Rivershed is a mighty system Bhurloka, bringing water to the arid landscape as it slowly transitions into the Dhar Desert. Many place the western border of Bhurloka at this river.

Tendaka Forest The mighty Tendaka Forest is the largest forest on the subcontinent. It stretches from the Fondhya Mountains in the north all the way into the Tendaka Kingdom in the south. In between it stretches from one coast to the other. Although the forest is largely wilderness, it is home to both the vanaras as well as most of the rakshasa tribes in Bhurloka. For the most part, the vanaras are located in the northern and eastern parts of the great wood, whereas the rakshasas are found further to the south and west. Despite the historical home of the rakshasas being here, their numbers are now dwindling as many tribes have along the outskirts of the forest between these two groups are the scattered empty homesteads of numerous yogis and ascetics who once sought isolation in Tendaka their current incarnation instead. Physically, the forest is less imposing are massive and ancient, the forest has little in the way of undergrowth. With the pleasant until encountering some of the forest’s more hostile inhabitants.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Tendaka Kingdom Tendaka is a kingdom built at the southern edge of the forest from which it takes its name. It is an old kingdom and one geologically isolated from most other kingdoms in Bhurloka by the vast stretches of wilderness to the north. Tendaka Kingdom is currently a vassal state to the Renka, having been conquered by the island country just a few years ago. Since then, Ravema, the Maharaja of Renka, has put his younger brother Ghera into power as raja of Tendaka. Ghera is both a rakshasa and a harsh ruler, prone to eating those who displease him. Since coming to power, he has sought closer ties to the many rakshasa tribes of Tendaka Forest, something he has been thus far successful in achieving. While these the Tendaka to repel potential invaders, its 42

proximity of the rakshasas. The capital of the Tendaka Kingdom is Khenasthana, a city at the mouth of the Geuvery River. It has historically been known for both its mariners and boat-makers, and that trend continues today as more and more trees are felled in order to build boats for Tendaka’s and Renka’s growing armies.

Underworld Beneath the surface of Bhurloka are the underworlds. These consist of the seven layers of Patala, the shining underworld that is home to the asuras and the naga, and Naraka, the land of the dead and the domain of the god Yena. The former of these two underworlds is a place visited by

many epic heroes while the latter is a land forbidden to living human eyes.

Patala Patala, the shining netherworld, lies beneath the surface of Bhurloka. It is comprised of seven layers, each deeper than the layer above it. These layers are home to asuras, nagas and other inhuman tribes. They are splendid and beautiful realms, lit by the gleam of great jewels. But they can be as deadly as they are beautiful. The seven layers of Patala are as follows: The highest layer of Patala is Atala, a domain where beautiful asuras seek to tempt lusty travelers to their deaths. It is ruled over by the asura Bera. The next highest layer is Vitala, ruled by the asura Wera-Bheva and his consort Phevani. They have a court attended by many bhoots and other restless dead. The third layer of Patala is Sutala, a layer ruled over by the pious asura raja Peli. It is said to be a realm richer than Svarga, although Peli guards it adamantly. The fourth layer is Talatala, the realm of the asura architect Neya. It is a realm of great and splendid cities in which live many asuras and other beings. the hooded naga tribes, led by the sons of the legendary naga Gedru. Here they live, plotting against the suparnas, the bird-men, who drove them to live here. The sixth layer is Rasatala, the primary home of the asuras. It is from here the raja of the asuras makes his plans against Omdra and the devas on Mount Niru. The lowest layer is Nagaloka, the home of the nagas. From this underground kingdom Nagaraja Wesuki rules, guarding the gates to Naraka, and the hellish realms below even Patala.

Chapter 2 - Setting

Naraka Naraka lies beneath Patala. It is said to be a grim realm where Yena, the god of death and justice, oversees the souls of the damned until their next reincarnation. The realm varies from place to place. In some regions it a great pit, very empty and eternally dark. In others it is a dense and sweltering jungle those with the highest karma are collected by the messengers of Yena and brought to Naraka, where they are judged by the grim god and either kept in Naraka or sent away to Svarga for a much more pleasant time before their next reincarnation.

Wenga Jungle At the eastern edge of the subcontinent civilization gives way to the Wenga Jungle, a steaming and tangled land of towering trees and twisted undergrowth. It is a perilous

Wenga Jungle and the Wolaya Mountains. of the Kenga River. Currently, however, the kingdom is in a state of turmoil, both within and without. From the outside, the kingdom is in the midst of a war with Gusala. There the rakshasa tribes, attracted to that land by the Dark Yogi, have been raiding Wodeha settlements, and the Wodeha warriors have responded, escalating the situation to all-out warfare.

to claim the throne of the kingdom. Aided by many in the local Kshatriya caste, Weyagriva has accused his brother of cowardice in the face of the rakshasa raids, claiming that he has done little to save Wodeha from

Wolaya Mountains

Because of this danger, few travelers have ever passed through the heart of the jungle, instead making an oversea journey from Bhurloka to the foreign lands of Funan, far to the east. Still, for those who brave the jungle, there is evidence that the Wenga Jungle was once not quite as hostile as it is today. Deep in the jungle the ruins of ancient temples can be found, overgrown with vines.

To the north of the subcontinent are the Wolaya Mountains. These mountains are

Wodeha

For those used to the tropical or semitropical climate of much of Bhurloka, ascending the Wolaya Mountains comes as a shock. As one ascends, the air becomes colder and colder until the land itself seems to be made of ice. Unexpected storms sometimes sweep through the mountains, and rocks can give way at unexpected times.

In the northeastern corner of Bhurloka lies the kingdom of Wodeha. It is a small kingdom known for its scholarly works and great sages. It is also an ancient kingdom, whose people migrated to their current location some thousand years ago from what is now the Rajbat Lands. It is a land of forests and hills at the junction of the

the most mighty climbers. They mark the northern edge of Bhurloka, beyond which lies the kingdoms of the yakshi, the vidyadharas and eventually Mount Niru, the home of the devas themselves.

caverns, in which live a variety of dangers.

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Chapter 2 - Setting

Echra: Center of the Najal Raj Echra is the capital city of the Najal Raj, a budding pocket empire located in north central Bhurloka. The city is located along the banks of the river Wemuna, and its lands stretch from the Wolaya Mountains in the north to the Jaru Kingdoms in the south. The city has a complex history of tribes to its west and the Jaru Kingdoms. It is ruled over by a Maharaja, a descendent of foreign conquerors from the distant land of Sassani. This, and the fact that Sassani is still the language of the Maharaja’s court, leads many of Echra’s natives and neighbors to be suspicious of the royal line. Only time will tell what will come of this. In this section, the city of Echra is presented in detail because it is an easy

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mythic world of Bhurloka. It is written from a point in time a generation since the empire’s founding and assumes that this is the city. The GM should think about how the situation in Echra may change as the city is repeatedly encountered again in are presented near the end of the section.

History The lands of Echra and the Najal Raj have a rich and varied history, stretching back thousands of years. In the earliest times, the lands were the domain of the Trevidian peoples who farmed the valleys and began lo. As the centuries wore on, these peoples were gradually conquered by the Elyan tribes that moved into the region from the northwest, bringing today’s knowledge of the gods and caste system along with them. In time, the Elyan and Trevidian peoples settled down and began to build great These city-states conquered their own lands

and warred among themselves. One of these city-states was Echra, which grew up along the river, fed by the supply of fresh water and trade that the river brought with it. These city-states were still largely the way of things, all the way until the conquest of Maharaja Pebur. At the time, Echra was just one city-state among many, and it was still under the rule of the dreaded Majaraja Rudi, whose reign is known for its wanton cruelty and hardships. Pebur was an exiled price from the foreign land of Sassani, far to the west. He brought with him a number of vassals and forged an alliance with several of the Rajbat tribes. With these resources at his command, he sieged the city of Echra for seven months while the Mahaboring kingdoms. At the end of that time the city fell, and Pebur had the Maharaja Rudi beheaded in the city square. He then crowned himself the new Maharaja. Pebur died in his old age nearly a generation ago, leaving the rule of Echra and the Najal Raj to his eldest child. Only time will tell if his dynasty will last in Echra.

Customs Echra is a land with many customs, some dating back to the dawn of history itself. It is also a land with a wide variety of customs, many changing over time since the Najal Raj has only been in existence a generation, the city’s elite. The most commonly spoken language in Echra, and the Najal Raj as a whole, is Prej Brasha. This is the language of the country folk and the various city-states from whom language of Pebur’s heritage. This linguistic divide between the powerful in the city and majority of inhabitants of the Najal Raj has caused some deal of unrest, as many see the dynasty of Pebur as foreign interlopers.

Chapter 2 - Setting The people of Echra revere a wide number of gods, but the ones worshipped the most are the ones whose domains hold the greatest surrounding it. Perhaps the most popular gods among the populace are Zarya, the sun gods are particularly revered as they hold great sway over matters important to the the edge of the great forests. Other important gods include Omdra, the god of storms and chief of the deva pantheon, Weyu, the god of wind, and Ebas, the god of waters. As with language, there is a divide in worship in Echra between the populace and the elite. While the elite worship all the same gods as do the populace, the Of particular note is the importance the Maharaja’s court places on the worship of Notra, the god of contracts and meetings. Dress in Echra is colorful, with loosefor women. Men then either go bare-chested or wear bright, wrapped-around shirts. Women wear similar shirts, but these are a sort of dress. Head pieces are common among the elite of both genders. The people of Echra celebrate many among these, however, stand out as the times of many years). The largest of these festivals is the Pitcher Fair. It takes place every four years, and celebrates the churning of the ocean by the devas and asuras. During it, the people make holy pilgrimages to the river in order to wash in its waters. The second largest festival is the Yatra. It takes place every year, sometime between

the dry season and the wet season. In this festival, a parade of chariots is sent from temple to temple throughout the land, making their way to every temple over the course of the year. People follow along for a time, holding their family idols and worshipping. The third of these festivals is Vidashami, a celebration of the victory of good over evil. It takes place in the cool season each year. During it, tales are told of great victories, and feasting occurs to commemorate the triumphs.

The City Wemuna, a major tributary to the mighty from major trading routes along the water, city is surrounded by walls from the outside, with the walls jutting out a ways into the river itself. The river banks are not walled, but guards patrol where the river enters and exists the city looking for smugglers, spies or other troublemakers. Outside the walls, the land has been cleared and used for agriculture, with the farms gradually fading away to pasture and forests. Most of the commerce in Echra happens around the river banks. The banks themselves are lined with various storage gradually give way to the great markets of the city, located a little more inland. Finally, the residences in the city, as well as those businesses supporting the surrounding farmers are located away from the river towards the city walls. ent impressive landmarks, many of which are tributes to Pebur’s reign. The most famous of these is the Red Palace, a located along the west bank of the river. The palace has a grand central dome, as

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Chapter 2 - Setting well as four slender towers that stick up from the edges of the palace gardens. These towers overlook all the quarters of Echra and out into the lands beyond. The next most famous landmark is the Nenkameshwar Temple. Although there east temple, the Nenkameshwar, is by far the largest and most ornate. The temple itself is covered with silver, and within the temple complex there are many smaller, important deva. The last of the three major landmarks

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resting place of Maharaja Pebur himself, as well as his many wives. This is a particularly unusual structure for Bhurloka, as most peoples practice cremation. But the rajas of Echra are of Sassani stock, and they brought their burial custom with them. The mausoleum’s ornate structure stands across the river from the Red Palace. It is truly remarkable for its symmetry and its sparkling beauty when it catches the sunlight.

Lands Echra is the capital of the Najal Raj, a pocket empire in north-central Bhurloka. Its holdings stretch from the Jaru Kingdoms to the lands of the Rajbat tribes, from the Ghendava Forest to the Wolaya Mountains. It is a landlocked kingdom, but has access to the mighty rivers of the Kenga river-shed. The lands of the Najal Raj are rough and hilly to the north, gradually working up to the edge of the Wolaya Mountains. This land by groves and small woods, further obscurfolk who keep to their own customs, and which are seen as backward country folk by many of the higher status residents of Echra.

To the west, the lands become increasingly arid, but they never quite reach the point of true desert. Forested bits of countryside become increasingly less common here, with scrublands and grazing territory becoming more common. The people who inhabit these lands are tough and suspicious of outsiders, regularly enduring raids from the neighboring Rajbat tribes. To the east, the lands become gradually more wooded until they eventually become the Ghendava Forest itself. Here the local farmers and headers live in the shadow of the forest, staying vigilant for the beasts that sometimes emerge from the wood. Finally, to the south, the land is the most civilized. Here the old forests have The roads are the best maintained in the kingdom, and traders venture over land or up the river from the Jaru Kingdoms.

Rulers Since Against the Dark Yogi is a game that can take place over the course of multiple generations, the ruler of Echra will likely change from generation to generation. As such, there is not only one current ruler presented here, but an assortment of sevfrom Maharaja Pebur, who founded the empire. GMs are encouraged to pick one of these rulers as the current ruler for Echra in the generation when the city is encouncity is then encountered again in a future generation. The dynasty of Pebur is below: Wamayun: Young and impressionable, Wamayun is doing the best he can to lead the Najal Raj, although due to his youth and inexperience, he may be in over his head. The people have been particularly rebellious against his rule because they see him as an outsider. To combat this, he has been adopting more and more local customs in his court, but he has also lost some support among the Najal Raj’s elite.

Chapter 2 - Setting Esam: A lazy and capricious raja, Esam is a base creature. He loves to hold feasts and festivals, making a special point to invite

his reputation and his parties than he is in running the kingdom. This leaves much of the real work to his mantri, who is the real power behind the throne. Arjumand: Having gained rulership the Maharani Arjumand has grand plans for the Najal Raj. She has been eyeing the Rajbat tribes to the west and the Jaru Kingdoms to the south, and sees them as targets ripe for conquest. She wants to expand her empire by any means possible and is not above invasions, duplicity or a well-planned political marriage. Earangzeb: the natives and their customs, Earangzeb has been trying to court the Sassani, relying on the Najal Raj’s former relations with that foreign empire. If he has his way, the Sassani will directly send support to the Najal Raj in the form of men or money. He could then use these new resources to prop up his rule or gain a position of power over his neighbors. But, of course, this Egbar: Egbar is elderly and has had a long and wise rule. However, he is getting on in years, and he is looking at

for power within the court, each planning complicate matters, Egbar has three wives and a scheming mantri, each of whom are making secret alliances for the upcoming court struggle.

Issues Below are a variety of plot hooks and issues that Echra could face that might draw player characters into adventure. GMs are encouraged to pick an issue or two from this list each generation, or otherwise use it for inspiration.

Echra, and the Naja; Raj as a whole are being threatened by invasion. One of to launch an all-out assault on the kingover from Pebur’s reign, to removing the city’s elite. Either way, war is coming and it is up to the heroes to either stop it or take sides. People have been disappearing at night from around the river banks in Echra. The populace is scared. Some whisper that the city has been cursed, while others speculate that the city’s enemies have spies in the city killing those that see them. What’s really going on, however, is a vetala has moved at night, then dumping their bodies in the river. And, of course, it is up to the heroes to stop it. The Maharaja has decided that the city is in need of divine patronage for some upcomeven the coronation of a new ruler. Either way, it’s up to the heroes to travel to Mount Niru and petition the gods on Echra’s behalf. The gods will not grant their legendary tasks to prove themselves worthy of patronage. They may even be willing to The Maharaja (or mantri) has been acting strangely, and seems much more bloodthirsty than usual. This is not simply a sudden change of moods; a rakshasa has taken terror in the ruler’s stead. It’s up to the Rebellion has come to Echra as the popuevident among the city’s elite. It’s up to the heroes to take sides, and either see their side claims victory or works out some sort of compromise that will prevent needless bloodshed in the city.

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basics gainst the Dark Yogi makes use of the Saga Machine system, adapted to

thousand foes or a skilled archer trying to pierce the clouds to make it

In this chapter we present the core of the Saga Machine everyone needs to know. In the following chapters we will expand upon this core with various subsystems, such as systems for combat and character creation.

Stats Every character has eight stats. Any time an action is made, one of these stats will be the relevant stat in question. For example, strength may be the relevant stat, and consequently that action is said to

Overview The core of Saga Machine really boils down to two components: actions and consequences.

subtract to the total for the action. PHYSICAL STATS

MENTAL STATS

The action mechanic is used to determine if actions taken by a character are successful or not. To help resolve this, it uses a deck of cards. These are typically

Strength

Intelligence

Dexterity

Perception

Speed

Charisma

in. However, Against the Dark Yogi also provides the option of using mughal

Endurance

Determination

Indian playing cards. For this option, see the sidebar on page 57.

Actions When resolving the action mechanic, the player of the character typically will declare the intent to act and the GM will call for an action to be made. The player will then play a card. The value of this card will be added to that character’s relevant stat, and this total value is compared to a target number (TN). If it’s equal to or higher than the TN, the action was a success. If it’s lower than the TN, however, the action was a failure. The GM then narrates the results of the action.

Karma Most characters will have a number of points of karma, broken up between good karma and bad karma. These points may an extra card and either taking the highest or lowest of the cards drawn, depending on the type of karma being used.

Chapter 3 - Basics

Consequences Consequences are Saga Machine’s way of characters or places on parts of the scene. For example, attacking another character

Fractions & Rounding

Against the Dark Yogi makes use of

whole numbers only. If you encounter a fraction during the course of play, always round it down to the nearest whole number. So, for example, 7 ½ becomes just 7, 22.9 becomes a mere 22, etc.

Consequences come in three parts: an what the consequence does, how long it consequences have the same hierarchical set of severities:

SEVERITY Light Moderate Severe Critical

50

Characters Mechanically, a character in Against the Dark Yogi is comprised of three parts: an array of eight stats, a set of traits and karma points. While other ratings or scores may

exist for characters, all other ratings are next chapter.

Anthropocentrism

Most characters in Against the Dark Yogi are human, and as such, the game mechanics trait indicates otherwise. This means that characters don’t need special traits for basic human things, such as the ability to walk or talk or possessing opposable thumbs. hand, the necessity of breathing or the need for regular sleep. Some characters may common sense should indicate when this is the case.

Chapter 3 - Basics

The Eight Stats In order to determine the results of one’s actions, Against the Dark Yogi divides up a character’s capabilities into eight good the character is at a broad class of actions. These ratings are called stats, and are scored for most characters on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the number, the better the character is at that class of

epic heroes and some particularly powerful non-player characters (NPCs) may go beyond this limit. Mechanically, these stats are used to help determine the success or failure of the character’s actions.

in each stat. The highest stat with normal human potential is around 10, although

up into two groups: four physical and four mental. Physical stats represent some physical aspect of a character, while mental stats represent some mental aspect of a character. What these stats represent is listed below:

Strength (Str)

Intelligence (Int)

A character’s strength is a measure of her muscle and physical power. It helps

Intelligence is a quantitative measure of how quick a character learns, how much she knows and what her capability is in terms of logical reasoning and deduction. Put simply: intelligence is used to know

she can hit and what she can push around.

Dexterity (Dex) A character’s dexterity is her coordinadetermine her athletic ability, aim with a ranged weapon and manual dexterity.

Speed (Spd) A character’s speed is a measure of how time and her ability to get out of the way when malicious people are trying to beat her head in.

Endurance (End) a character’s toughness, health, constitution and stamina. It helps a character resist disease, keep from losing consciousness from blood loss and keep from getting

51 Mechanically, any character with an intelligence of 1 or more is at least somewhat sentient.

Perception (Per) A character’s perception is a measure of how alert she is, how good her senses are and how aware she is of the world around her. Perception also includes a component of her speed of thought.

Charisma (Chr) A character’s charisma is that character’s force of personality, presence, bearing, social skills and appearance all wrapped up into one. It’s used when trying to make

Determination (Det) Determination is a character’s resolve, mental fortitude, willpower and grit. It’s used when resisting mental powers, pressing on despite the hopelessness of the situation and seeing things through to the bitter end.

Chapter 3 - Basics

Traits

Karma

In addition to the eight stats, most characters also have a variety of features and

In the end, every character has to account

take the forms of others, etc. These types of abilities are modeled mechanically as traits: special features that apply to a character. In Against the Dark Yogi, most traits are gained through character creation or chosen from a list to which the character has access (called a path). Additionally, every trait has a cost that must be paid before a character may take it. characters may gain over the course of play. traits, paths and sadhana is covered in the “Character Creation” chapter. 52

Weakness and Vow Traits Weakness and vow traits are special subcategories of traits that deserve note. These traits are usually wholly negative or hindering her in some way. These traits have no cost but provide a way for a character to make up her karmic debt, playing into the karma system.

Trait Descriptions Traits are listed in a standard format for ease of use. The basic format of a trait listing is shown below.

Trait Name

Path Keywords

Cost

Requirements: Any requirements are

written here. The trait's description is written here.

character in Against the Dark Yogi has some Both types of these points may be spent over the course of the game to activate a

Lifetime and Ephemeral Karma Every character gains some number of karma at the beginning of each session. This number is known as her lifetime karma. There are two such values: one for good karma and one for bad karma. These values may go up or down between sessions, but they rarely ever do during play. Lifetime karma is simply a starting value for each session’s ephemeral karma. Ephemeral karma is frequently gained or spent during play, and may go above the lifetime karma value or even drop to zero.

always ephemeral karma.

Tracking Karma Tracking karma is easy and ties nicely into the Saga Machine action mechanic (described later in this chapter). At the beginning of every session, a player draws a hand of cards and sets a number of cards face-down in front of her (without peeking). The cards in her hand represent her good karma. She discards or plays cards as she spends her good karma, and she draws new cards as she gains good karma. On the other hand, the cards face-down in front of her represent her bad karma. They may be played or discarded by the GM to invoke that character’s bad karma. New cards may also be drawn and placed facedown in front of the player as the character takes actions that earn her bad karma.

Chapter 3 - Basics

Spending Good Karma

Spending Bad Karma

In Against the Dark Yogi, good karma may

There are four ways that bad karma can be expended: by the GM, by the player, through a weakness or vow and when a Joker comes

Activate Trait: Some traits cost a good

card played but before the consequences of the action have been declared, the GM may choose to spend that character’s bad karma.

karma to use. To activate such a trait, the player discards a chosen card from her hand, thus reducing her ephemeral good karma. Play a Card: When making an action, a player may play a card from her hand in place of the usual card from the top of the deck. This card may result in additional cards being played from the top of the deck, as per the usual rules

karma cards over. This card forms a new stack that is subject to all the usual rules of adders and trump. Unlike with the usual rules for stacks, however, when a bad karma is spent the player must use the stack with the lowest value.

means that she is spending good karma because the cards in her hand represent her good karma. Luck: been made but before the consequences of the action have been announced, a player may discard a card from her

A player, on the other hand, can spend a bad karma before she plays a card for any action. Instead of playing a card this action simply becomes a critical failure. She takes a bad karma card and discards it. When an action is critically failed in this way, the GM is obligated to make up some bad consequence

the top of the deck, playing it as a new stack. As normal when there are multiple stacks for an action, she takes the highest of the present values. Serendipity: A player may discard a card to announce the existence of some small, convenient coincidence. A use in this manner must be accepted by the GM and may not derail or be detrimental to the game. Examples include declaring that the character remembered to bring some rope or declaring a throwing rock is on hand or the bridge the characters are crossing has a structural weak spot.

The third way bad karma can be expended is when a weakness or vow trait hinders a character. When this happens, she may either gain a good karma card or discard a bad karma card. The fourth and when it that player plays a Joker. When this happens, she has the option of either refreshing her good karma or discarding one of her bad karma cards (see page 56).

53

Chapter 3 - Basics

Don’t Mix Karma

Gaining Karma

same action. Once one form of karma has been played on an action, the other form may not be played on it. It is simply a case

Over the course of a game session, a character may gain more good or bad karma, thus drawing new cards to add to her hand or to put face-down in front of her.

GM Karma In addition to the players, the GM has a pool of both ephemeral good and bad karma as well. This karma represents not just the karma of a single character, but the karma of all NPCs collectively (except legends, who have their own pools of karma). At the beginning of a session, the GM draws a number of both good and bad karma equal to the number of players present. She may spend the good karma for any of her NPCs, and the players may collectively agree on when to spend the bad karma for those NPCs.

54

Good karma is gained when a Weakness trait may earn the character a good karma card up to once per scene in this way. Good karma may also occasionally be awarded acts or for good role-playing. Bad karma is earned when a character acts in an uncalled for, unclean, vile, deceptive or violent manner. A table of example situations for earning both good and bad karma is given below.

ACTIONS EARNING GOOD KARMA

ACTIONS EARNING BAD KARMA

Going out of the way to save innocents

Touching the dead

Showing exceptional mercy

Knowingly attacking innocents

Performing tasks for the gods Displaying great devotion and piety

Breaking a vow

The Action Mechanic In order to determine the outcome of an action in Against the Dark Yogi, a simple mechanic is used. The player of the character taking the action plays a card, adds the result to the appropriate stat for the action, adds the result to a target number (TN). If the result is equal to or exceeds the TN, the action was a success. If it is lower than the TN, the action was a failure. If it ever becomes necessary to know how much of a success or failure the action was,

So, for example, an action that got a total of 16 on a TN 10 action succeeded with Mag 6. Or an action that got a total of 9 on a TN 13 action failed with a Mag 4. Expanding upon this simple action mechanic, there are two variant types opposed actions and extended actions. We will now go over simple actions and these two variant types of actions in turn.

Chapter 3 - Basics

Setting up the Deck

The Saga Machine action mechanic makes use of a standard deck of poker cards with their own deck, although all players could share the same deck in a pinch. At the beginning of each session, every player draws a hand of cards equal to her good karma and lays face-down in front of her a number of cards equal to her bad karma (see page 52). The GM also gets a hand, although this hand is shared by all NPCs rather than being for a single character. The GM draws a number of cards for both good and bad karma equal to the number of players present at the session.

Simple Actions Simple actions are the most common type of actions, and are something of a building block that the other types of actions expand upon. When you take a simple action, you play a card. This card can either be from your hand or from the top of your deck. The value of this card is then determined, which

are always from the top of the deck, and never from the player’s hand.

the top of the deck. These subsequent cards

the top of the deck.

Once a card has been played, the player does not draw again immediately. Instead she simply has fewer cards in her hand. If

55

Chapter 3 - Basics

Card Types & Scoring There are three types of cards found in the deck: value cards, adders and jokers. Each

Value Cards Value cards are the simplest to score. They are the cards marked two through ten, plus the ace, which is low and has a value of one. Whenever one of these cards is played, it is worth the value printed on the card. This gives value cards a nice even distribution between one and ten.

Finally, whenever a joker comes out including the joker.

Adder Cards

Trumps

Adder cards are the face cards: jack, queen, and king. They are each worth +1, +2 or +3, respectively. Whenever an adder is played, the next card on the top of the deck is

Almost every action has an associated stat, and every stat has an associated card suit. See the table below.

called a stack, and for most purposes in the game, a stack is treated as if it were a single of the stack. If the second card in the stack 56

action is resolved, the player has two options: she may either discard and redraw a number of cards from her hand up to her lifetime good karma value, or she may discard one of her bad karma cards. In this way, a player may refresh her hand over the course of a session or burn through bad karma.

Whenever the suit of the card played for an action matches the associated stat, that card is said to be “trump.” This has the potential of increasing the value of the action.

third; there can be only two cards in a stack.

card on the top of the deck and set it beside

To determine the value of the stack, simply add the value of each card together. So a king (+3) and a six would have a value of nine. Or a queen (+2) and a jack (+1) would have value of three.

cards together when resolving the action. If they don’t match, simply take the highest value of the two.

Jokers Jokers are both good and bad. Whenever they come up as part of an action for any from the top of the deck or as the second action in question is always treated as critical

Remember that an adder’s stack is treated in the stack. This means that if the second card in a stack would normally be trump, that stack is not trump, because only the suit of the that if the card in the new stack is an adder, an it a stack of two as well.

STAT

SuIT

STAT

SuIT

Strength

Spades ( )

Intelligence

Spades ( )

Dexterity

Hearts ( )

Perception

Hearts ( )

Speed

Diamonds ( )

Charisma

Diamonds ( )

Endurance

Clubs ( )

Determination

Clubs ( )

Chapter 3 - Basics To clarify things, here are a few examples:

next card: an 8 of diamonds. Since these cards match she adds them together and

Example: A character with Strength 6 makes

deck: a 4 of hearts. Since the suits do not match, she takes the highest of the two (the 5 of spades) and adds it to her strength for

Example: A character with Determination 7

top card of the deck, a seven of hearts, and plays it on top of the king, forming a stack. over the next card, due to the trump, and

Example: A

character with Speed 4 makes an action. She plays a 2 of

places it on top of the queen forming a second stack, with a total of 3. The second stack’s suit takes the higher of the two and adds it to her determination for a total value of 17.

Playing with the Ganjifa

By default, Against the Dark Yogi uses a standard poker deck. Such decks are cheap, Indian playing card. The mughal ganjifa consists of a deck of 96 circular playing cards. These cards are broken down into eight suits, each containing twelve cards. The suits are as follows: When playing with the mughal ganjifa, each suit is associated with one stat as indicated in the table above. Trumps and value cards work normally; the ganjifa deck also contains a set of value cards numbering one to ten. mantri). These cards are treated as adder cards with a value of +3 and +1, respectively. In addition, they take on some of the aspects of jokers. Whenever a trump adder is played and the total value of that action would be a failure, action has been resolved, the player may then discard and draw back up to her good karma, also as if a joker had been played.

57

Chapter 3 - Basics

Target Numbers The target number (TN) of an action is chosen by the GM; she may or may not decide to share it with the player making the action. The higher the target number, greater the chance of failure. The following TNs below should be used as reasonable guidelines. DIFFICuLTY

Target Number (TN)

Trivial

4

Easy

7

Average

10

Example: A character wants to push a large

tree down and use it as a bridge. Three other characters are helping her. The primary character makes a Str/athletics action and gets a total of 13. Then the other three characters each make Str/athletics actions, getting totals of 7, 14 and 15, respectively. Since the primary character’s total her help only gives +1 to the action, but since the other two helping characters have totals higher than the primary character, they each give +2. This would be a total of +5 from all helping a +4 bonus, the total from all helping characters is +4. This bonus is added to the primary

13

58

Extended Actions

Daunting

16

Desperate

19

Absurd

22

Impossible

25

An extended action is a drawn-out action where the time the action takes to complete is of particular importance or where events can happen throughout the course of the

Group Effort Sometimes

multiple

characters

work

ing in front of a waiting crowd. In these to model this sort of cooperation. In the action, one character is designated as the primary character (usually the one accomplishing the bulk of the work) and the rest are designated as secondary. All involved characters then play a card as if they were making action, although only the total of the primary character will directly matter; all other characters will simply provide a total less than the primary character adds +1, while every secondary character with a total equal to or greater than the primary adds +2. Secondary characters who critically fail never exceed +4.

include getting a city ready for a siege before an invading army arrives, a foot chase or searching an entire forest before Mechanically, extended actions work like a series of simple actions that are taken sequentially until the action is complete. Each simple action in the series represents an interval of time spent working on the extended action. The exact amount of time varies from action to action. The interval for searching a forest may be an hour, while the interval of a foot chase may be a mere ten seconds. In addition to a TN and an interval, each extended action also has a number interval, the magnitude of success of the simple action is added to a running total. Once this total equals or exceeds the tally, the extended action is complete. Failure on the extended action is running out of time.

Chapter 3 - Basics

Opposed Actions

Here is an example: Example: A character wants to prepare a city

for an upcoming siege, and the invading army is only three days away. The GM declares that this is an extended Endurance action with TN 10, Tally 10 and an Intermakes an Endurance action and gets a 14. This adds Mag 4 to the total. On the second day she makes a similar action and gets a 12. This adds another Mag 2 for a running total of 6. The total is still 4 less than the tally. She now has only one more day to complete her action and consequently needs at least Mag 4 on the third day or the defenses won’t be completed in time. Finally, on the third day, she makes yet another Endurance action total up to 12. This exceeds the extended action’s tally and the defenses are complete!

Tally Guidelines Since an extended action’s tally represents the amount of work an extended action will take to complete, it is useful to have some guidelines for GMs to know what sorts of values to set an extended action’s tally at. Use the table below. Amount of Work

TALLY

A Bit

5

Fair Amount

10

A Lot

15

Tons

20

Absurd

30

Many times a character will want to attempt some action that another character is actively trying to thwart. These are opposed actions. Examples of actions a character might thwart include sneaking past a sentry or participating in a javelin contest. There are two parties involved in opposed actions: the initiator (the party taking the action) and the target (the party opposing the action). To make matters more complex, opposed actions extended actions. Mechanically, opposed actions work just like all the other types of actions with TN. Instead, the initiator’s action sets the target number for the target’s action to resist. Here’s an example: Example: A character is trying to sneak by a

sentry. This is a Dex/stealth vs. Per/awareness action. The initiator (the one using stealth) makes her action and gets a total of 14. This sets the target number for the sentry to notice her. The sentry then makes his action to resist and gets a 12. He fails to notice the sneaking character. If the magnitude of success or failure of an opposed action is needed, it can be the two totals. Since the initiator sets the TN for the target and a success is normally equal to or exceeding the TN, the target

59

Chapter 3 - Basics

Action Convention

It is common to reference a particular action. Such references should clearly and interval and tally. Saga Machine uses a simple convention to represent actions in game text. Examples of the convention can be seen below: Int-7: Intelligence action, TN 7. Per/awareness vs. Dex/stealth: Perception action with the awareness skill opposed by a dexterity action with the stealth skill. End/tactics-10 (10, day): Extended endurance action with the tactics skill applying, TN 10, Tally 10, Interval of a day. The convention is to use the abbreviation of the relevant stat (see page 51), followed by by a dash and then the TN. If the action is extended, the tally and the interval will follow in parentheses. Finally, if the action is opposed, instead of a TN there will be written a “vs.” and then the opposing action or score.

Skills their purview. For example, the stealth skill

Unskilled: action if a skill applies but the character does not have the skill in question. At this rank of skill, the character is noticeably capable in the particular area of

sneak or hide. In fact, skills are probably the

Adept: At this rank of skill, the character is

Skills are special traits that provide a

60

Saga Machine system.

Mechanically, whenever a character makes an action, the GM decides if a skill applies and declares the relevant skill along with the relevant stat. For example, if trying to gather information by talking to people around a city, the GM may declare that this is a Chr/socialize action. The character making her rank in the socializing skill. Any combination of skill and stat is possible as it makes doubt, every skill is listed with a default stat that can be used as an easy fall back.

Skill Ranks Not every character skilled in a particular task has the same level as the others. To represent this, skills are broken up into

what they represent are described below.

quite the professional in her particular area of expertise. She may not yet be world-renowned, but she is someone people look to. Expert: By this rank, the character is not just of a professional level of skill, but she is noticeably better than the average professional. Master: At this rank of skill, the character is a true master, towering over the vast majority of others in the skill. SKILL RANK

MODIFIER

Unskilled

-2 +1

Adept

+2

Expert

+3

Master

+4

Chapter 3 - Basics

Skill Breakdown

Specialties

There are twenty-one skills available in Against the Dark Yogi. Below is a table of all skills, followed by brief descriptions and some suggested common specialties. SKILL

DEFAuLT STAT

Animals

Det

Archery

Dex

Athletics

End

Awareness

Per Det

character specializes in. For example, a character who buys the Lore skill may specialize in languages, or a character who buys the Melee skill may specialize in axes. Mechanically, any time a character makes an action with a skill to which her specialty may apply, the action is resolved as if her skill rank were one higher. Characters who are already master of a skill gain a +1 bonus instead. So, for example, a character who that applies would be treated as if her skill were adept; or a character who is unskilled, but has a specialty that applies would be multiple specialties in a given skill, but if more than one specialty applies to an

Deception

Chr

Diplomacy

Chr

Empathy

Per

Every character gets a number of free specialties at character creation and more specialties may be purchased later.

Intimidate

Str

Animals

Investigate

Per

The Animals skill covers interacting with

Lore

Int

Medicine

Per

Melee

Dex

Perform

Chr

Socialize

Chr

reading their warning signs to training them to do tricks. The Animals skill also includes skill in riding an animal or using an animal to pull things in a directed manner, such as a chariot or plow. Default Stat: Determination Common Specialties: Horses, Elephants, Monkeys, Bears, Animal Calls

Stealth

Dex

Archery

Streetwise

Per

Despite the name, this skill covers not just

Survival

End

Tactics

Int

Thievery

Dex

Wisdom

Int

arrow, but also all manner of ranged combat, including thrown weapons. Default Stat: Dexterity Common Specialties: Bows, Trick Shots, Thrown Weapons, Called Shots, Point Blank Range

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Chapter 3 - Basics

Athletics This skill covers any number of athletic from racing to tumbling. Included under this skill are both aerobic and anaerobic Default Stat: Endurance Common Specialties: Jumping, Acrobatics,

Awareness Awareness is more than general perception; it is a skilled alertness to the world and what’s going on around you. Awareness covers noticing that someone is sneaking

62

the corner of your eye. It does not include more ponderous activities like reading a person’s body language or investigating a murder; these are covered by Empathy and Investigation, respectively. Default Stat: Perception Common Specialties: Peripheral Vision, Hearing, Smelling, the Jungle, Vibrations

Crafts anything from artwork to basic technology such as locks or tools. It covers everything from cobbling to leather working and from blacksmithing to painting. Default Stat: Determination Common Specialties: Metalworking, Brewing, Carpentry, Sculpture, Repair

Deception This is the skill of Deception. It includes body language, tricking people and disguising oneself as someone else. Additionally, deception is useful in gambling and other to read or involve deceiving others. Default Stat: Charisma Common Specialties: Disguise, Telling Lies, Inaccurate Body Language, Gambling, Sleight of Hand

Chapter 3 - Basics

Diplomacy This skill represents the art of deal-making and convincing people. It covers knowing useful techniques in argument, as well as from solid reasoning to subtle psychological tricks to seem more commanding. Default Stat: Charisma Common Specialties: Bargaining, Etiquette, Leadership, Rhetoric, Bartering

Empathy This is the ability to read a person’s body language and tone of voice to get an idea of what they are feeling or to see if they to get a bit of insight into a character’s actions or motivations. Default Stat: Perception Common Specialties: Reading Anger, Reading Guilt, Half-Truths, “Tells” When Gambling, Pushing a Person’s Buttons

Intimidate Put simply, the Intimidate skill is useful to get another character to comply or to force information out of that character. to intimidation; some may cower in fear, sobbing helplessly, while other may lash out in desperation. Default Stat: Strength Common Specialties: Veiled Threats, Applied Pain, Brute Confrontation, Cowing Groups

Investigate Investigation is the art of looking into a matter and trying to make sense of what’s disparate clues. It covers investigation of a particular area for hidden aspects (like clues), as questioning witnesses, calling up the right people and gathering information on some-

thing. Naturally, what investigation can turn up is limited by what’s available, but it’s a good place to start. Default Stat: Perception Common Specialties: Questioning Witnesses, Finding Physical Evidence, Searching Bodies, Finding Hiding Places, Gathering Information

Lore This is a broad skill covering a character’s degree of higher learning in any sort of educated topic, from history to geography cally does not include learning of a mystical nature: That’s the province of wisdom. Default Stat: Intelligence Common Specialties: The Arts, Philosophy, Languages, History, Geography

Medicine This skill is all about treating injuries and 63 characters. It covers all aspects of treatment, from administering medication to surgery and from recognizing illnesses to dressing wounds. Default Stat: Perception Common Specialties: Treating Poison, Surgery, Veterinary, Recognizing Diseases, Basic Aid

Melee A combat skill, Melee is used when striking foes with hand-to-hand weapons. This can be any variety of hand weapons, from spears to axes and from maces to swords. Default Stat: Dexterity Common Specialties: Zagnal, Spear, Kukri, Tripping, Fists

Perform The Perform skill is all about delivering a delivering a speech, acting, delivering a good

Chapter 3 - Basics insult or whatever. This is the skill possessed by kings, courtiers and entertainers. Default Stat: Charisma Common Specialties: Dance, Rhetoric, Public Speaking, Singing, Instruments

Socialize Socialize is the skill of talking to people. It’s ent social situations, being adept at the right etiquette for the right time and gathering information when in a new city. It’s used when carousing at a gathering or making small talk at the local market square. When not actively trying to deceive, persuade or intimidate people, Socialize is probably the right social skill for the occasion. Default Stat: Charisma Common Specialties: Etiquette, Small Talk, Gather Information, Carouse, Seduce

Stealth 64

This skill involves hiding and sneaking around. It covers any such aspect of stealth, actually moving in a silent, and hopefully viable an option stealth is depends on the circumstances and surroundings, but when Default Stat: Dexterity Common Specialties: Hiding,

Moving

Streetwise This is the skill of being familiar with how things are actually done in urban areas and using this to your advantage. It includes to make contacts. Default Stat: Perception Common Specialties: Dangerous Locations, Banned Goods, Secret Signs, Who to Talk To, Thieves’ Ways

Survival Survival covers the ability to survive in the wild. It is a measure of knowledge in both covers tracking and reading animal signs. or other basic natural resources. Don’t get stranded in the wild without it! Default Stat: Endurance Common Specialties: Dangerous Beasts, Mountains, Deserts, Forests, Foraging for Food

Tactics The tactics skill covers dealing with arms and armaments in ways other than direct ranged or melee attacks. It covers knowing how to put on armor correctly, recognizing as well as the actual operation of large-scale defenses, such as siege weapons. Default Stat: Intelligence Common Specialties: Forest Warfare, Sieges, Hit-and-Run, Water Warfare, Skirmish Tactics

Thievery Thievery is the general thief’s skill. It covers picking locks, breaking and entering, disabling simple traps, picking pockets, etc. Even if one is not a thief, occasional thievery can be invaluable. Default Stat: Dexterity Common Specialties: Picking Pockets, Disabling Traps

Wisdom This is mystical knowledge, such as insight into the workings of divine or semi-divine beings, knowledge of religious rituals, mystical philosophies or the mechanics of cosmic energies. Default Stat: Intelligence Common Specialties: Chakras, Religious Rituals, Devas, Asuras, Siddhis

Chapter 3 - Basics

Consequence Mechanic In the Saga Machine system, actions are just half of the equation. The other half is consecharacter’s action. Consequences can represent many things: a mortal wound, fatigue, life of the party, etc. They are as many and as varied as the actions that characters can take. Furthermore, cleverly placed consequences

What is a Consequence? a concept that many role-playing games lack; nevertheless, they are quite simple. A consequence is simply the mechanical character or upon some part of the scene. Let’s look at some example consequences in a little more detail.

Example: An archer is under attack by a

nearby rakshasa. She takes an action of diving for cover behind a fallen tree. This action grants her the “cover” consequence. This consequence gives a penalty to incoming attacks. Example: A prince is attending a fancy gathering where he hopes to seem impressive and to humiliate a rival who is also in attendance. He takes the action to gossip with the attending people of importance about his rival’s misdeeds. This grants his rival the “humiliated” consequence. This consequence gives a penalty to the rival on social actions. Example: A skilled singer and dancer wants to tell a haunting story about a king who was enchanted by a bhoot. As she takes the action to perform her story, a hush falls over the crowd as the scene is granted the “spooked” consequence. This consequence gives penalty to those present to avoid the

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Chapter 3 - Basics The outcomes of all of these situations are consequences. Note that in all of these cases be had from the consequence of the action, although a consequence in some situations This might potentially be exploitable by any party, friend or foe. Also note that consequences can be applied either to characters themselves or to the scene around the character. Deciding which consequences apply from actions is a task performed by the GM, who takes into account a number of rules of thumb detailed below, although players are free to declare their intent when taking an action or to make suggestions.

Levels of Severity Not all consequences are created equal as some outcomes obviously are more severe than others. Because of this, mechanically, of severity. Each level increases the severity 66 are as follows:

Light Light consequences are the least severe type of consequences. They are the small cuts and bruises, the single case of stuttering when delivering a speech or the minor misconception in understanding a complex story.

Moderate

Critical mortal wound, the passing out from hyperunderstanding of a story that renders it worse than useless.

Adjudicating Consequences As a general rule of thumb, the better the success or failure of the action, the more severe the consequence produced by that action. Start with a light consequence, and as the magnitude of success or failure increases, the severity of the consequence increases as well. Refer to the table below. CONSEquENCE

MAGNITuDE

Light

0

Moderate

5

Severe

10

Critical

15

This is not a hard and fast rule, and GMs should feel free to bend it when appropriate. Rather, it is a standard guideline for assigning a severity to consequences produced by an action; actions may refer to this as assigning a consequence Mag severity.

Effects of Consequences

Moderates consequences are a bit more severe. They are the nasty gash dealt to one’s arm, the insistent wavering of one’s

and deciding upon an appropriate and

Severe

process. GMs should endeavor to make all consequences of a given severity roughly on par with each other, although there will always be a certain amount of wiggle room.

Severe consequences cannot be easily ignored. They are the profusely bleeding wound in one’s stomach, the almost unintelligible speech being delivered or the deep-seated bias that renders the understanding of a story mostly useless.

Nevertheless, it is good to have a few standards from which to judge the appropriateness of consequences. A “standard” on its severity to a class of actions to

Chapter 3 - Basics

Scene Consequences

The GM may want some scenes to begin with consequences already on them. In this sorts of consequences are called “scene consequences” because they were placed on the scene before it even began. Perhaps a scene already has the “noisy” consequence, applying a penalty to actions to socialize, and applying a bonus to characters using the noise as a distraction when trying to use stealth. Or maybe the scene has the “holy” consequence, granting a good karma to characters that act particularly respectful of the area’s spiritual ties. Scene consequences can be a useful tool for the GM to promote certain behaviors among making use of the scene consequences. For example, a GM might want to promote quiet contemplation in a scene by giving the environment a “serene” consequence that rewards players with a bonus or good karma for quiet, contemplative behavior such as meditation. which it would make sense to be applied. For example, a “looking extraordinary” consequence might apply to a bonus to social actions but may also apply a penalty to actions to blend into the crowd. The quences is given below. A list of common consequences used by various systems in Against the Dark Yogi is provided later in this chapter and may also be used as a benchmark when adjudicating consequences. CONSEquENCE

MODIFIER

Light

±1

Moderate

±2

Severe

±3

Critical

±4

Duration of Consequences Consequences don’t usually stick around forever: wounds heal, people get over bad either put out or burnt to the ground. By default, consequences stick around either until the end of the scene or until an appropriate action is taken to make the

consequence go away. The type of action that is appropriate, of course, will vary with the nature of the consequence. For example, a “stun” consequence may go away once a character takes a moment to concentrate and gather her wits. Many consequences will have an obvious action that can be taken to bring them to an end; others, the GM will have to make clear. When deciding upon these, the GM should keep in mind game balance and common sense. Some consequences, however, are lasting. These consequences stick around past the end act to bring it to an end. Such consequences are usually special cases, such as the “wound” consequence used by the combat system. As a general rule of thumb, an action that causes a lasting consequence should cause a consequence one or more severities lower than it normally would. So, for example, an action that succeeds with Mag 10 would normally cause a severe consequence, but if the consequence is lasting it might only cause a light consequence. In essence severity is traded for duration.

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systems gainst the Dark Yogi contains a number of systems beyond the basics of

the game found in the Basics chapter. This chapter contains most of these additional systems, from health points and combat to social

Health Points (HP)

Damage Reduction (DR)

The world of Bhurloka is rife with violent

Some characters will have damage reduction (DR). This usually takes the form of a certain resistance to damage granted by an innate property (such as tough hide) or a piece of equipment (such as armor). Whenever a character takes damage, she reduces it by her DR before applying it to her HP. If this would reduce the damage taken to zero, she still takes one damage, however. In this way, a successful hit always does something.

course of the game, most characters will at some point take damage, representing a setback to their health and well-being. They may even die. Characters’ health in Against the Dark Yogi is represented by their Health Points

(HP). When characters take damage, they lose HP; similarly, when they heal damage, they regain HP. Every character has a maximum HP, representing a state of good health. Their current HP can never exceed this value. A character’s maximum HP can be calculated using the formula below. See page 106 for the Enlightenment Multiplier.

Max HP = (Str + End + Size) × Enlightenment Multiplier

Consequences Some traits allow a character to impose a consequence on another when damage is successfully dealt. Consequences imposed on this way are usually increased a step in severity. So, for example, if the damaged character did not have the Stun consequence and it is imposed, taking damage would give her the consequence at light severity. Taking damage again would increase its severity to moderate.

Damage consequence to be taken instead. Such a character’s health, she takes damage. Damage reduces the character’s current HP by an amount equal to the damage taken. So, for example, a character taking three damage loses three HP. The attacker’s size adds as a bonus to her damage for attacks that rely on her strength.

when they occur. When a character is reduced to zero HP or below, she risks being disabled and incapacitated. Every time she takes damage at this point, she must then make an End action. The TN of this action is equal to the number of HP she is below zero. So, for example, if she took damage reducing her to -9 HP the action would be End-9.

Chapter 4 - Systems If she succeeds on this action she continues on as before. If, however, she fails, she takes the Disabled (critical) consequence, which renders her unconscious.

Conditioned Damage Some damage is impossible to heal until a certain condition is met. This damage is called conditioned damage. Whenever it is taken, the player should make a note of it as well as the condition that allows it to be healed. Once this condition is met, the damage may be healed as normal. Until that time, however, the damage simply stays. Good examples of conditioned damage include damage from drowning (which cannot be healed until the character is once again able to breathe), damage from extreme cold (which cannot be healed until the character warms up) or some sort of mystical cursed damage (which cannot be healed until the curse is broken).

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damage is usually reserved for particularly deadly or dramatically appropriate situations, such as the attacks of a major villain of an escape from Naraka. Other properties that can be applied to attacks are described in the section on Equipment.

Healing Most known beings in the Three Worlds possess the ability to heal themselves over time. Healing is a special sort of extended action that is completed once a character’s HP is back to full. At the end of any day in which a character took the time to relax For every day spent resting in this way, the character regains a number of HP equal to her endurance.

Death

Medicine

Tales rarely tell of great heroes dying in the middle of their story, and the same is true in Against the Dark Yogi. PCs may take lasting

Characters with the medicine skill are able to tend to the wounded, helping them heal faster than they otherwise would. When resting for the night, the character’s healer may make a Per/medicine-10 action to help the character heal. On a success, she adds her Mag to the number of HP healed that night. On a critical failure, the character heals no HP, not even the points she normally would were she not tended by a healer.

disgraced, they may be robbed or their loved ones may be hurt (there is usually so much more on the line other than death), but they rarely die until they face the villain: their the game by the damage system described above. Unlike PCs and major NPCs, most characters die once they’re reduced below zero HP and fail an End action. The death consequence is instead gained in place of the usual Disabled consequence. Death is a sort of permanent lasting consequence that takes reincarnation usually happens later (for more on this, see page 105). Some situations, however, may pose a real mortal threat even to PCs. Damage from these situations has the Fatal property. If damage with the fatal property reduces the character to zero HP or below and she fails her resulting End action, she

A single healer can tend multiple characters at once in this way. She may even tend to herself. For every night’s rest, make a single medicine action. The result of the action applies to all characters the healer is tending.

Prana into a person, it is called prana life energy. This energy is always coming

Chapter 4 - Systems

individual. When a person takes an action, they expend some of their prana, channeling it into moving their arms or legs or whatever sort of work they’re doing. and they are able to act again.

Chakras When prana enters the body, it pools up in nexuses of power called chakra. These pools of power are located in physical locations around the body and are used to focus prana chakras of particular concern to the people of Bhurloka: Crown Chakra (Sahasrara): Located at the crown of the head, this is the chakra of pure consciousness. It is usually associated with the color white and is represented by the thousand-petalled lotus. It is governed by the intelligence stat. Brow Chakra (Ajna): Located at the ridge of the brow, between the eyes, this chakra is associated with both the senses and the metaphysical “third eye.” It is represented by the color purple and its symbol is a purple lotus with two petals. It is governed by the stat perception. Throat Chakra (Vishudda):

This chakra is located in the center of the throat. It is associated with expression and the interaction between individuals. It is also associated with the color blue and is represented by a silver crescent in a white circle surrounded by sixteen blue petals. It is governed by the stat charisma.

Heart Chakra (Anahata): Located in the center of the chest, this chakra is associated with resilience of mind, complex emotions, willpower and equilibrium. It is associated with the color green and is

green petals and two intersecting triangles inside, forming a hexagram. It is governed by the stat determination. Lower Chakras: The lower chakras are a series of lesser chakras located in lower

the solar plexus and groin, all the way down the legs to the soles of the feet. They are associated with the base animal instincts and with various physical conditions. They do not have a singular symbol, but are typically associated with the color black. They are governed collectively by the four physical stats.

Mechanics Mechanically, a character’s prana is represented by a number of points. These points may then be placed into any of the throat, heart or lower. This amount of prana then remains in this chakra until they are spent or otherwise forced out. all the time so outside of combat or other second-by-second situations, there is no need to keep track of a character’s prana. In combat or other similar situations, however, a character’s available prana is very much important.

Tracking Prana Keeping track of prana can easily be achieved with physical tokens. The GM can keep a pool of these tokens in the middle of the table, and as the PCs gain or lose prana they can draw or discard these tokens.

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Prana Equilibrium represent the chakra the prana is in, or by for each chakra. So if a character has three white tokens and a black token, she knows she has three prana in the crown chakra and one in the lower chakras, etc.

Chakra Limits Only so much prana can pool up in a and cannot hold any more. This places a mechanic limit on the number of prana that can be placed in a chakra (although note that there is a way in the Austerities section below to transcend this limitation). Normally, a player may not place more prana in a chakra than the value of the stat governing that chakra. The lower chakras, however, are special in this regard. They represent 72

body. Nevertheless, they are governed by a single stat. See the table below. CHAKRA

LIMIT

Crown

Intelligence

Brow

Perception

Throat

Charisma

Heart

Determination

Lower

Endurance

Prana is always entering and leaving the body with every breath a character takes, and consequently a character’s chakras are have a few prana hanging around as a sort of equilibrium. This equilibrium comes from the character’s mental (sensory) connection to the world around her, and consequently is equal to the character’s perception. Whenever it becomes important in game to start tracking a character’s prana (such as the beginning of combat) assume she has this much prana distributed among their chakras

Equilibrium = Per Spending Prana Sometimes a character will take an action that mechanically requires spending prana. This is particularly true during combat. Simply subtract that many prana from the chakra’s total. Needless to say, a character may not spend prana that she does not never go negative.

Available Prana Outside Combat When spending prana in situations that don’t require the exact tracking of prana(such as usually outside of combat), a character has only a certain amount of prana available to her. If this action comes with time to prepare and meditate (see “Meditation & Prana” below), she may take the action as if she were at capacity in all her chakras. If she is not able to do this, however, she may only act as she is at her equilibrium

Chapter 4 - Systems

Regaining Prana Prana quickly comes back over time, particularly if the character has a moment to rest and breathe. A character regains a number of prana every few seconds (a round in the combat system) based on her enlightenment (see page 106). This prana is then placed in chakras as the player sees than one prana at a time in this way. So, for example, a character with enlightenment 2 would gain 2 prana. She could place one of these prana in her crown and lower chakras each, but she could not place two in her lower chakra, as that would be putting more than one in a chakra at a time.

Meditation & Prana By sitting still and quietly meditating, a character may increase the amount of prana in her body past the point of equilibrium. As long as she meditates, her prana continues to increase (see “Regaining Prana” above) from equilibrium to the point of capacity.

Austerities There are ways, through great austerities and devotion, to transcend normal human limitations. These ways are not easy, but they may allow one to take vast amounts of Those with the proper training may then use this amassed energy in miraculous themselves and working their will upon the world.

Practicing Austerities Austerities are rigorous physical penances and acts of self-denial through which spiritual purity that one needs to hold an excess of prana. Austerities include standing motionless on one leg for long periods of time, fasting, going without sleep, standing in sweltering temperatures for inordinate lengths

of time, standing on one leg while meditating or sleeping on beds of nails. Such austerities always take their toll on one’s health, causing the loss of HP.

Gaining Excess Prana A character wanting to practice an austerity She then declares what she is doing for the freezing mountain, going without sleep, etc. Whatever the action performed is, it takes a physical toll on her body. Performing austerities takes at least eight hours. At the end of that time, the character makes a Det/wisdom action. During her austerities, she may lose up to the result of that action in HP and gains an equal amount in prana. On a critical failure, no prana is gained. Prana gained through austerities may be placed into whatever chakra the character desires and may go above the normal chakra limits, causing Typically austerities are preceded by a period of meditation (see page 73), thus when prana is gained from austerities, the chakras into which the prana is placed are already at maximum. The end result is that the austere character only typically loses HP in this way equal to the amount her chakras go above maximum. Taking longer than eight hours can grant a bonus to austerities. Taking a whole day grants a +1 bonus and for every doubling of the number of days (2 days, 4 days, 8 days...) the bonus increases by one. Once a period of austerities is over, the austerities are broken and she may not continue them. She may hold onto this prana for use later (see “Holding Excess Prana” below), but if she wishes to drops to below maximum before building up again.

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Holding Excess Prana Once a character has built up excess prana in one or more of her chakras and ended her austerities, she can hold the excess prana there for a time before it slips away. Prana held in this fashion remains in those chakras in place of her usual equilibrium. It remains until prana is spent from that chakra, until she commits an act that gains her bad karma or until she attempts to use austerities to gain excess prana again. Additionally, the excess prana goes away as the health detriments of the austerities fade from her body. For every HP she heals (no matter the means) an excess prana goes away as well. Prana held in a chakra past the normal limitations is held there under pressure. Naturally it would slip away quickly, but the sheer discipline of the character is holding ly pours out. Whenever a character spends prana from a chakra that is above capacity, 74

of its contained prana outward. This prana the action. In this way once prana is spent

Saturation Point Even with austerities and an iron will, a mortal body can only hold so much prana before the sheer concentration of energy is so great that it begins to cause side in a particular chakra ever reaches ten times the normal limits, it has reached a concentration so great that the character’s smoke pouring forth from the location of the chakra. Over time this smoke can build up, smothering the land around the character and causing a very real threat unless the excess prana is released.

Chapter 4 - Systems

Combat

Starting Consequences

Warriors clashing in the heat of battle are a staple of both legends and role-playing games. Against the Dark Yogi has a system for handling scenes of epic combat.

consequences already on characters. The most obvious example is the Stun consequence, which may occur as the result of being surprised, but other consequences are quite possible as well. For example,

In the combat system, the action is broken up into 10-second increments of time called rounds. Every round, each character in the combat has the opportunity to declare an action and have that action resolved. Actions declared in combat always require some amount of prana to enact, and every round each character regains some amount of prana. Characters need not declare an action every round, as some rounds they may want to catch their breath and wait for their prana to replenish. The bulk of the actions in a combat are likely to be attacks. Successful attacks reduce the HP of their target, bringing them one step closer to incapacitation and unconsciousness. Sometimes attacks impose other consequences as well on Eventually one side of the combat or the other will lay defeated, have made a retreat or surrender in some other manner. The combat is then over and the usual narrative

Starting a Combat It’s usually obvious when to bust out the combat system and begin to break the action down into rounds. Someone will draw an arrow, launch an unexpected attack or make their move to assault an opponent. When the situation is in doubt, however, declaring the start of a combat is up to the GM.

Starting Prana Unless something dictates otherwise, all characters start at their equilibrium prana when combat begins, and may distribute their prana however they wish among their chakras, keeping in mind the chakras’ maximums.

advantageous position, already possessing the cover or concealment consequences. Other characters may begin a combat with a low posture consequence or even with a fatigue consequence. Whether characters begin with a consequence on them is determined by the GM at the start of the combat.

Surprise A particularly important situation to consider at the start of combat is if one side managed to surprise the other at the beginning of battle, attacking them unawares. This is typically determined by making a Dex/stealth vs. Per/awareness action. On a success, the surprised party begins the combat with the Stun (light) consequence with an additional severity for every 5 Mag. Additionally, the surprising party has the opportunity to declare before the surprised party can do the same.

Rounds When using the combat system, the action taking place in the game world is broken up into short increments of time called rounds. At the end of every round, the GM calls out “new round” and each player regains a certain number of prana based on her enlightenment (see page 106). The GM also marks down this gain for all relevant NPCs in the battle. Every round all characters involved in the character who initiated the combat character’s actions, and those actions are resolved. That player then decides which character in the combat gets the next turn. That new character acts, and that

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Chapter 4 - Systems character’s

player

decides

who

acts

character who has already acted earlier in the same turn. This continues until all characters in the combat have had a turn. Once all characters have had a chance to act, the round ends and the GM declares “new round,” beginning the next round. On

cannot declare more actions and her turn comes to an end.

player of the character who acted last in the previous round gets to choose which char-

Declaring Actions Reminder: Provided she has enough prana, a character may continue to declare actions until an action requiring a card is made.

be her own character, as this is a new round and her character has yet to act. When a player declares an action, it is immediately resolved (see the “Actions” section below) and she spends any necessary prana for the action. If she can declare another action she may do so, spend the

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necessary prana and resolve that action. Multiple actions may be declared per turn in this way. A player may continue to declare actions until an action is declared that requires playing a card to resolve.

Summary

Gaining Prana Reminder: At the end of every round, all characters gain a number of prana based on their enlightenment. These prana may be put into whatever chakra the player wishes, but only one may be placed in any given chakra.

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Actions When a player’s turn comes up during a round, she may declare one or more actions. These actions are resolved one at a time, and she may continue to declare actions until she declares an action that requires playing a card to resolve. All actions cost some number of prana from a particular chakra, basic categories. Each category of action shares some basic rules. In addition there are also reactions that characters can take an attack. The following sections cover each type of actions in more detail.

characters in some way, such as drawing a weapon, intimidating another character or opening a door. Move: This category of action represents

actions mostly made to move in some fashor standing up from being prone.

Wait:

represent actions that are resolved in a way that is contingent upon other actions. Examples include waiting until an opponent moves through a door before attacking or waiting until another character has acted in order to back them up.

Types of Actions

Spending Prana

All actions that a character may declare in

Many actions require spending some number

following categories:

the prana in the given chakra by the indicated

Attack: This category represents actions

chakra, the action cannot be performed.

that are a physical attack of some sort on another character.

Concentrate: This category represents an

usually removing some undesirable consequence or invoking some sort of spiritual power, such as a siddhi. Interact: This category of action represents

interacting with the environment or other

Reactions A few special reactions exist in combat that can happen in response to another character’s action. These reactions include dodge (a reaction against attacks), resist (a reaction against attacks from vassals). All of these reactions are described in the section following the type of action that provokes them. Most of these reactions cost a prana, but a few are free.

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Defense not to be hit. Towards this end, every character has a Defense Rating that measures both character’s Defense is actually two numbers, one representing the TN to hit the character and the other representing the TN to critically hit the character. This score is written with a slash separating the two numbers. Elsewhere in the combat system, these are referred to as a “hit” and as a “critical hit” respectively. Hits usually result in the attacker dealing damage to her target. On a critical hit, the damage is usually doubled (see the “Attack” section on page 79). To calculate a character’s Defense TN, use the following formulas (Size is discussed later in this chapter):

Hit Defense TN = 6 + Spd – Size 78

Critical Hit Defense TN = 10 + Spd + Dex – Size Example: A character has a Spd 4, Dex 6 and a Size of 0; her Defense TN would be “TN 10/20” (6 + 4 – 0 = 10 and 10 + 4 + 6 – 0 = 20). This would mean that an attacking character would need a total of 10 to hit her or 20 to critically hit her.

Example: A character is attacked. Her Defense is 12/22 and the attack action achieves a total of 24. Normally this would be a critical hit. However, the attacked character decides to dodge, so she spends a lower chakra and plays a card. She chooses to play one from the top of the

a dodge is treated as a Speed action. She the trump. It’s a 5 of clubs. She takes the 5. This makes her Defense for the purposes of this attack 17/27 (5 added to each value). This means the attack is still a hit, but it’s not a critical hit.

Willpower Some beings are able to launch mental assaults on other characters, and all characters have some capability of defending against these assaults. Towards this end, all characters have a Willpower Rating. This rating works very much for mental assaults the way Defense does for physical attacks. The rating is actually a set of character, the second represents the To calculate a character’s Willpower TN, use the following formulas:

Dodge Anytime an action is made against a character’s Defense, she may respond by attempting a dodge reaction. To do this, she spends a lower prana for the reaction and plays a card. The value of this card adds to both her Defense TNs for the purposes of resolving the attack. Dodging is treated as a Speed action for the purposes declare a dodge reaction if she is aware of the action provoking it.

+ Det + Chr Example: A character has a Det 5 and Chr 7;

her Willpower TN then would be 11/22 (6 + 5 = 11 and 10 + 5 + 7 = 22). This would mean that a character making a mental assault on

Chapter 4 - Systems

Resist Anytime an action is made against a character’s Willpower, she may optionally respond by attempting a resist reaction. This works for Willpower very much how dodge works for defense. To attempt a resist reaction, she spends a heart prana for the reaction and plays a card. The value of this card is then added to both her Willpower TNs when resolving the action. The resist is treated as a Det action for the purposes of trumps, character may only declare a resist reaction if she is aware of the action provoking it. Example: A character is the subject of

intimidation (which targets Willpower). She has Willpower 13/20 and the intimidator got a 15. She decides to resist, spending a heart prana and playing a card with a value of 6. This adds to her Willpower, intimidation attempt fails, as it is only 15.

If the attacker scores a critical hit, she does double the normal amount of damage. Characters making melee attacks must be in the same zone as the target. Characters making ranged attacks can be up to two zones away. Making an attack requires spending a lower prana. In addition to this sort of basic attack, there are a number of other attack options and situations to consider. These options and situations are detailed below.

Aim When making an attack, a character may take some extra focus and attention to aim the attack particularly well. This can be achieved by spending brow prana along with the attack. One brow prana nets a +2 to the attack action, two brow prana nets a +4.

Area of Effect

Offhanded actions

Some attacks are able to target all characters in a particular zone or in several zones at once. When making this type of attack, the attack action is made only once and the result is compared to the Defense of each

character’s primary hand. Thus, all

Called Shots (see below).

hand are at a -2 penalty. This applies not only too attacks, but to any action

Attack The core action of the combat system is the attack. When making an attack, the attacker picks a target and then tries to harm the target in some way. Mechanically, this sort of basic attack is simple. Depending on whether the attacker is using a melee or ranged weapon, the attack is a Dex/melee versus Defense or Dex/archery versus Defense Action. On a hit, the attacker deals damage to the target equal to the damage rating of her weapon (see the “Health Points” section on page 69).

Called Shot With a Called Shot, it is possible to attack a particular part of the target’s body. When doing this, the attack costs additional prana and the results of the attack vary. Called shots are incompatible with Area of Head: Attacking the head costs two additional crown prana. On a critical hit, the character’s Disabled consequence increases a severity. Limb: Attacking the arm costs an additional crown prana. On a critical hit, the character increases the severity of the Disabled (limb targeted) consequence.

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Disarm

Improvised Weapons

An attack can be made against an opponent’s weapon to force her to drop it. To do this, declare it when making the attack. The attack costs an additional crown prana. On a hit, the target is disarmed and the weapon lands near her feet. On a critical

Sometimes a character may be caught with-

(attacker’s choice). This attack does not deal the usual damage.

Sometimes when delivering an attack, the character doesn’t want to deal the full usual damage of the attack, instead lessening the damage to something minimal. This is possible with any attack that lists Strength as part of the attack’s damage. Simply declare this when making an attack and voluntarily treat the character’s strength as if it were a chosen lower value when calculating the attack’s damage. Additionally, a melee attack can be made nonlethal in this way, preventing the attack from killing the target.

Fighting Blind cannot see your target. All attacks against an unseen target require an additional brow prana. Some creatures have a particularly strong sense of smell and are able to get around this penalty that way. Additionally, attacks that target entire zones need not spend this extra prana.

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with the objects around her. Attacks made with suitable objects are at a -2 penalty and deal Str +1 damage on a successful hit.

Pulling Punches

Grapple

Quiver

Sometimes the best tactic is to grab your opponent with your bare hands and grapple with them. To make this sort of attack, a character needs a free hand and must declare the Grapple. On a hit, the two characters are considered to be grappling. On a critical hit, the grappling character may give the target the Low Posture (critical) consequence. A Grapple attack does not deal the usual damage.

Shooting a bow requires an arrow, throwing a chakram requires a chakram, and special

Once in a Grapple, both characters may not declare move actions until the Grapple is broken. Breaking a Grapple is an attack requiring a Str/melee vs. Defense action. On a hit, the Grapple is broken. On a critical hit, the character escaping the Grapple may give the target the Low Posture (critical) consequence. This also does not deal damage. While in a Grapple, all actions that do not directly solely target the grappling opponent are at a -4 penalty.

In Against the Dark Yogi, it is not necesthrown by a character; instead her available or chakrams thrown, her quiver gains the Low Quiver (light) consequence, or, if she already has that consequence, it increases by a severity. (In the case of chakrams, this is not a literal quiver, but the number she has strung around her arm.) If this would ever increase the consequence above critical, her quiver is entirely empty and ammuni-

Additionally, some archer traits require a large number of arrows or chakrams and immediately increase the severity of the Low Quiver consequence once used.

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Range A character making a Ranged attack can target opponents outside of the zone she is currently in. The targeted opponent must, however, be within two zones of the attacking character.

For example, a character at Stun (critical) might spend four heart prana to reduce the stun from critical to nothing in a single concentrate, or she might spend two heart prana to reduce it from critical to moderate. Finally, multiple consequences

Trip

concentrate action, provided one has the

Sometimes a combatant may want to trip her opponent, bringing the opponent to the ground. To do this, declare so when making an attack. The attack costs an additional crown prana. On a hit, the target gains the Low Posture (critical) consequence. This attack does not deal the usual damage. On a critical hit, the attacker may deal basic unarmed damage as well, although there is no doubling of damage.

Unarmed Attacks Sometimes a character is caught without a Attacking unarmed is a melee attack that deals Str damage.

severity of each consequence. Even though this action does not require playing a card, it still ends the player’s turn.

Siddhis Many powerful ascetics apply their wisdom to learning mystical siddhis that can call upon the power of the universe to aid them. Invoking these siddhis requires the ascetic be able to properly concentrate and express a few syllables. Knowledge of each siddhi is represented as a trait, and each trait specimust be spent.

Concentrate

Interact

The Concentrate action is used for primarily knowledge to properly invoke a mantra to quences to taking a moment to really examine one’s surroundings. Typically, to perform a concentrate maneuver, one simply spends a crown prana and makes any action indicated by the GM; however, a few special concentrate actions are detailed below.

A variety of interactions usually take place ment or with other characters. These can be as simple as drawing a weapon or as complex as coordinating one’s allies. Interact actions usually cost a lower prana for primarily physical actions, such as drawing a weapon, or a throat chakra for mostly social interactions, such as intimidating. A few special Interact actions are covered below.

End Consequence

Coordinate

list their duration as being until a concentrate action is taken to end them. To bring to an end one of these consequences, declare a concentrate action and spend one heart prana per severity to rid oneself of the consequence. More than one prana may be spent this way at one time to reduce the consequence multiple severities at once. Furthermore, the consequence need not be reduced to nothing in a single concentrate.

In combat, a character may take an Int/ tactics-10 action to try to coordinate her allies. This costs one crown prana per ally coordinated. On a success, all coordinated allies increase their Bolstered consequence by two severities. With 5 Mag, they increase it immediately to critical severity. A character may not coordinate herself. Additionally, coordinated allies must be in the same zone as the coordinating character.

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First Aid A healer may take an Interact action in combat, spending a lower prana to tend to another’s wounds. This requires being in the same zone as the wounded character and succeeding at a Dex/medicine-10 action. On a success, the healer can end the Bleeding consequence on the target. A character may heal herself in this way.

Intimidate Sometimes it is possible to intimidate a foe in combat, causing them to reconsider backing down. Intimidating a foe in this way is a Chr/intimidate vs. Willpower action, and requires that target be in the same target gains the Fear (light) consequence. For intimidate costs a throat prana.

Trick 82

Tricking an enemy is an attempt to fool the enemy into letting down an opening in her defenses that can be exploited. To trick, make an Int/deception vs. Willpower action, costing a crown prana. This is then resolved critical hit. Enemies are quick to pick up on an enemy has been made it may not be made again in the same combat.

Move Outside of combat, players can simply declare where they’re moving and the GM narrates the results, setting scenes as necessary along the way. In this way, a trip from one city to another could be described in a few passing sentences or it might be an adventure on its own. In combat, however, the exact movements and positions of characters are a little more important. To help track this, combat scenes are divided up into a number of zones, each representing some distinctive part of the environment. These zones need not be regular in either shape or size, but ought to be roughly the same order of magnitude in terms of scale.

For example, if a battle breaks out around a waterfall, there may be one zone for the water above the fall, one for the water below the falls, one for each the right and Zones should be drawn out by the GM in such a way that every zone is adjacent to some other zone, forming a map of the zones either on paper or on a washable battle matt is recommended. In combat, characters will be in one of these zones and can take actions to move between zones or adjacent ones.

Occupying Zones In combat, a character occupies only one zone at a time. This represents the character actually being in that location in the game world. Multiple characters may occupy the same zone, and all characters in a particular zone are considered to be in melee range of each other. For example, a particular zone may represent a small meadow between two forests. A character standing in the meadow is said to occupy that zone. Many other characters could also be standing in that meadow, and if they were, they would be considered to be within melee range of each other, as reaching each other is just a quick jaunt across the meadow.

Chapter 4 - Systems

Basic Movement A character may normally take a move action to move from her current zone to an adjacent zone, although there may be restrictions (see “Zone Borders” on page of zones that she can move. This costs a lower prana.

Hustle Characters wanting to move more than one zone at a time may do so by making a Hustle action. To do this, spend the required lower prana and then make a Spd/athletics-10 action. On a failure, the character moves a zone, just as if she took a move action. On a success, the character moves two zones. For every 5 Mag, she may move an additional zone as well. On a critical failure, the character does not move, but trips and falls prone, gaining the Low Posture (critical) consequence. A zones moved in this way (min 1).

Intra-zone Movement A character may make a move action to move within her current zone. This does not change the zone she is in, but it may allow her to make use of her surroundings. When a character does this she should describe what she is doing to take advantage of the situation. This may grant her the Cover or Concealment consequences. Similarly, moving within a zone may allow one to circumvent those consequences, bringing about their duration’s end condition. be available. Whether either is available, and if so what severity, is determined by the GM, but a quick expenditure of good karma for serendipity may sway the GM’s mind one way or the other. Once this has been determined simply narrate what you’re trying to do and make a Dex/stealth-10 action, spending a lower prana. On a success, you gain the available cover or concealment in that zone.

Similarly, to ruin or circumvent a character’s cover or concealment describe what you’re underbrush, moving to get a batter angle ness-10 action, requiring a lower prana. In most situations this will be enough to remove the consequence, but sometimes it will merely decrease it by a severity, at the GM’s discretion.

Posture By default characters are assumed to be standing, but the low posture consequence is used to indicate characters that are crouched over, sitting, crawling or lying prone. Removing or changing the severity of this consequence is a move action and is treated exactly like intra-zone movement.

Zone Borders for characters to cross or even impassible unless certain conditions are met. For example, the border between two zones might represent a wall and be impassible unless a character can pass through solid objects or can bust through it. In addition, a border between zones can represent thick jungle growth and be In the case of borders that are impassible without certain conditions, whether a character can move through them or not is simple: She can move through if the conditions are met; otherwise, she cannot. pass through, moving across these borders costs an additional prana on top of the usual prana spent for the move action or hustle action. Sometimes, moving through a border requires a successful action be made as well.

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Example forest, a nearby hut and the surrounding woods. There are two characters marked on the map: a hero traveling down the road (A) and a restless bhoot hiding in the forest (B). The GM has determined that the lines around the hut represent walls, which cannot normally be passed through; however, the hut has a doorway leading to the road and to the forest behind the hut. Furthermore, moving between the nearby forest and the forest prana than normal. Finally, both severe cover and moderate concealment are possible in all forest zones. Neither cover nor concealment is available on the road. If combat begins, the bhoot will start it with moderate concealment.

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Wait Sometimes a character wants to take a particular action in response to another’s action. For example, if she walks through the door, I will shoot her with an arrow. These sorts of declarations form a wait action. To declare a wait, the player declares an action. In doing so, she declares the trigger event (“if she speaks,” “if she does anything hostile” or “if she starts to run”) and the response run away”). Declaring a wait costs one crown prana, spent when the wait is declared. Then, if the trigger condition occurs, the character who declared the wait gets to perform her ing action is necessary. When the response action is performed, the player must spend any necessary prana for that action.

Chapter 4 - Systems

Vassals & Elites ing heroes single-handedly defeat hordes of menacing opponents, and the same is true in Against the Dark Yogi. Handling scores of menacing opponents using the same mechanics as player characters, however, not only fails to represent the trope, it also quickly gets quite cumbersome. Thankfully, then, there are vassal rules. In Bhurloka, all characters divide into one of three categories: legends, elites and vassals. myths are made of. They are the movers and shakers of the world. This category includes the PCs, as well as major villains and acters work exactly like PCs and abide by all the other rules found in the game. Elites are the competent and exceptional characters in the world, but ones that do not quite live up to legend standards. These characters are the champions and chosen men of the villains. Any single allies granted to PCs by traits or other abilities are also elites. They play by mostly the same rules as legends, but Finally, the bulk of the characters in the world are vassals. They serve those above them and simply don’t have the weight of either legends or elites. They form the bulk of the ranks of the armies serving the villains, player characters or other forces in Bhurloka. Vassals, however, require a number of special rules that make tracking them in play much easier.

Rules for Elites As stated earlier, elites operate under the same set of rules as legends, albeit with a make it manageable for the GM to keep track

Karma: The GM need not keep track of each

elite’s individual karma. Instead, the GM simply uses her personal good and bad the elite.

Prana: The GM does not need to keep

track of which chakra holds the prana of the elite. Instead, she simply places any tokens representing prana in a single pile for the elite and spends them as if the prana were in the correct chakra.

the elite from spending prana as if they were remove prana from a chakra may remove up to a number of prana equal to what would be the maximum value of that chakra. For an elite who is capable of holding excess prana in a chakra, the GM tracks prana in that single chakra separately until is again tracked in a single pool.

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Rules for Vassals The following rules apply to all vassals.

Representing Vassals than legends and elites. Mechanically, a horde of vassals is treated a single character comprised by many individuals. This horde moves and acts as a group. So, for example, when the horde attacks, they chose a single target and make a single attack action. Similarly, when targeted, the horde as a whole is targeted. Karma: The GM need not keep track of the

karma of a horde of vassals and may instead use her personal good and bad karma to

Prana: Similarly, the GM does not need to

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keep track of each individual vassal’s prana. Instead, she simply keeps track of the prana of the horde as a whole in a single pool. This works exactly like tracking prana for elites, only the prana being tracked represents the prana of the horde of vassals as a whole.

Actions by Vassals Since hordes of vassals are treated mechanically as a single character, that horde acts as a single group when taking actions in combat. The horde attacks a single target together, moves together and occupies a single zone (unless the GM rules that the horde is too big for a single zone, in which case the horde occupies as many

The GM need only make one attack action, but on a hit this is treated as multiple (DR) subtracting from each hit’s damage. Additionally, on a critical hit, the damage any of the subsequent damages.

Damage to Vassals Part of the trope of legendary heroes facing that those opponents drop quickly, allowing the heroes to move on to the next set of opposition. The vassal rules in Against the Dark Yogi seek to emulate this. Damage Reduction: Vassals are rarely heav-

ily armored, as armor is expensive and not something regularly wasted on hordes of lesser men. However, should a horde of vassals be armored, a single individual’s DR is subtracted from the damage of the attack before it is applied.

Health Points: A horde of vassals are treated

as a single character with a number of health points (HP) equal to the number of individuals in the horde. For every HP taken as damage, an individual in the horde drops

If it is ever important whether these individuals are killed or merely unconscious, make an End-10 action. On a success, they are unconscious; on a failure they are dead. The GM may do this for the horde as a whole

Attrition Damage: When a horde of vassals deals

damage to a target, they deal the usual damage for an individual of that horde, except they deal it a number of times equal to the number of digits of individuals in the horde. So, for example, if there are 100 individuals in the horde they deal damage three times, as the number “100” has three digits. Similarly, if there are 40 individuals in the horde they deal damage two times, as there are two digits in the number “40.”

All characters have an Attrition score. This score represents their ability to reactively defend themselves against hordes of vassals. Whenever a horde of vassals attacks a character, they take an amount of damage equal to the attacked character’s attrition score in the very act of attacking. Unless the vassals have DR, this usually causes a like number of them to drop. If the attack is a critical failure, they lose double this amount.

Chapter 4 - Systems Mechanically, attrition is a reaction to an attack from a group of vassals. This reaction has no prana cost, but the character must currently have a means of damaging the attacking vassals. If, for example, the vassals are attacking from range and the attacked character does not have a ranged weapon handy, she cannot apply her attrition. A character’s Attrition value can be calculated using the formula below:

Attrition = Strength Example: A horde of vassals attacks a charac-

ter with Attrition 5. Their attack is resolved, resulting in a critical failure. Normally the attack would result the loss of 5 individuals from the horde, but because it was a critical failure, 10 individuals are lost.

being in close proximity to an infected Once the character has been subjected to the poison or disease’s vector, she is forced to undergo the extended action. Like all extended actions, the poison or disease has once a period of time equal to the interval has passed, the character must make an Endurance action. This is repeated every subsequent interval. If the character fails This usually involves taking a consequence. for successive failures. If the character succeeds on one of these actions, her Mag counts towards the tally. If she eventually succeeds on the extended action, she has recovered from the malady and no longer has to make Endurance actions.

It should be noted that hordes of vassals also have their own attrition score. This value is useful should they attack another horde of

A list of some example maladies is below.

resolving warfare.

This is a common and potent military poison

Maladies

Vector: Ingested or Parenteral Action: End-19 (3 rounds, Tally 5) E Mag damage. Vomiting and nausea,

Over the course of their adventures, characnot all threats come at the tip of a fang or an arrow. Some creatures are poisonous by nature, and some maladies are even in use in warfare by nefarious rulers. Maladies usually break down into one of two categories: poison or disease. Mechanically in Saga Machine actions with two mechanical additions. The vector is the way in which the character may be subjected to the poison or disease. For a poison this could be anything from ingesting it to having it injected into the character’s body. For a disease this could be anything from

Aconitum

followed by a feeling of burning and numbness. -2 penalty to Dexterity actions. Lasts as long as the damage persists.

Alcohol Alcohol is an extremely common poison Vector: Ingested Action: End-10 (10 minutes, Tally 5) E Increase Fatigue consequence a

socialize actions. Inhibits coordination and communication on second Perform actions. Causes vomiting

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Arsenic Arsenic is a poison that has been known for thousands of years. It is well known for being used as an intentional poison. Vector: Ingested Action: End-13 (1 hour, Tally 10) E Mag damage. Headache and a -2 penalty to Int and Per actions. Additionally convulsion and gives a -2 penalty to Dex and Spd actions as well. Lasts as long as the damage persists.

Cobra Venom

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Some cobras are known to be highly venomous and the nefarious use of their venom is a staple of some genres. Vector: Parenteral Action: End-16 (10 minutes, Tally 10) E Mag damage. Swelling and discoloration of skin. -1 penalty to use the limb or area of body where penalty to Dex and Spd. Lasts as long as the damage persists.

Ganja religious ceremonies and sometimes Vector: Ingested Action: End-13 (10 minutes, Tally 5) E Increase the Dazed consequence

a severity. -1 penalty to Dex-, Spd-, Int- and Per-based actions. Ignore -2 in penalties due to the Fixated consequence. Causes hunger.

Hemlock Hemlock is a green plant that grows a yard or two tall. It was used as a method of execution in ancient times. Vector: Ingested Action: End-19 (1 minute, Tally 5)

E

Mag damage. Paralysis. Breathing slows and eventually stops. Mind remains unimpaired.

Opium One of the oldest drugs, opium is highly addictive and causes numbness. Vector: Ingested or Parenteral Action: End-16 (1 minute, Tally 10) E Ignore up to -2 in penalties from the Desire, Fear and Fixated consequences; similarly, the same amount is added as a bonus to Det actions to avoid actions forced by those consequences. -2 penalty to all Dex-, Spd- and Per-based actions.

Plague The black plague is a historically known and usually fatal disease most commonly Vector:

carried by rats

Action: End-19 (1 day, Tally 15) E Mag damage. Appearance

of buboes on the pits and groin on

and Chr. Fever and vomiting blood

Rabhas Rabhas is a violent and scary disease transIts very name means to do violence. Vector: Exposure to infected saliva Action: End-16 (2 days, Tally 15) E Gives the Desire (critical, do violence on all around) consegeared towards paranoia or violent diately make an End-16 action or

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Soma Soma is a potent drink prepared by pressing the stalks of the soma plant. This plant grows high in remote and dangerous regions high in the mountains and is highly prized, for obvious reasons. Soma is a key component of several important religious rituals, although the unavailability of soma means that a subsay that soma is reserved only for the gods.

Vector: Ingested Action: E Increase the Bolstered consequence

a severity. Immortality.

Hazards Combat is not the only physical hazard faced by legendary heroes. Such heroes through hostile temperatures and terrain.

Avalanches Avalanches are large masses of snow or rock that loosen and tumble down the sides of mountains, threatening to bury all in their path. Noticing an avalanche in time to get out of the way is a Per/awareness or survival-10 action. A success on this action allows a Spd/athletics-10 action to get out of the way of the debris, although the TN of the action can vary with terrain. If the Per action is failed, however, the character is caught in the rubble and can only watch as stones or snow pile around her. Avoiding damage at this point is a Dex/athletics-16 action, with the resulting damage on a failure being equal to Mag, with DR worth half its usual value. Either way, the character is buried, and digging her way back out is an extended Str-10 (1 hour, Tally 15) action.

Catching Fire

or penalty.

subsequent count the amount of damage she takes increases by 1. So the second round she takes 2 damage, the third she takes 3, etc. DR does not normally apply to this damage. (an Interact action, requiring a lower prana in combat). Dropping prone during the attempt gives a +4 bonus to the action.

Cave-ins & Collapses The quintessential underground hazard, ing death or a quick, crushing death to heroes. When a cave-in occurs, a character the falling debris. If a character is in the way, a Spd/athletics-10 action is necessary to get out of the way. The TN of this action including how far the character needs to travel to get out of the way of the debris and how much time the character has. Characters failing this action are caught in the debris and takes Mag damage. Characters buried in debris or otherwise decide how much air is available before the

to dig her way out. Doing so is an extended Str-10 (1 minute, Tally 15) action.

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Drowning & Suffocation Any number of things may cause a character strangled. Whatever the cause, a simple,

Forest Fires

is if the character managed to take a full

the right conditions, can move amazingly

holding one’s breath. If so, she has a window tion begin to set in, otherwise she begins to experience them immediately. Should she have managed to hold her breath, it will be

three hazards for characters to worry about:

an End-16 action each round or increase her Fatigue consequence a severity. Once this has reached critical, she instead takes Mag damage. This is conditioned damage which will not heal until the character is breathing once again. 90

Dex/athletics-10 action will halve this damage. Collisions do not top out at 30 damage, as terminal velocity does not apply to them.

Falls & Collisions

temperature extreme. Make an End-16 action gives moderate concealment. Additionally, breathing in the smoke automatically deals one damage from the heat each round, and Finally, the character must make a Dex/athlet-

Magma

To determine the damage a character

out of the rock. This super-heated molten stone can present quite a danger for travelers. For one, it is usually accompanied by noxious fumes. For these, use the rules for

ity). On a successful Dex/athletics-10 action, however, halve the damage dealt. DR does not apply to falls. The GM should feel free to modify this base damage up or down for

Magma is also usually accompanied by extreme heat. Use the extreme temperature rules to handle this, with an interval of one round. Finally, contact with the magma will force an End-19 action each round, with the

chariot warfare, collisions are also possible.

Collisions, mechanically, work a lot like falls. To determine the damage from a collitwo colliding objects are traveling towards each other in yards per round (10 seconds). So, for example, a typical chariot travels at around 15 yards/round at full speed. If two chariots were charging directly at each other, Take this value and apply it as damage with DR not applying. Similarly, a successful

damage on a failure.

Sleep Deprivation People need sleep. By default a character needs eight hours of sleep a day to function at her best. Mechanically, once a character has gone for 16 hours without sleep, she must make an End-16 action every 8 hours. On a failure, her Fatigue consequence increases

Chapter 4 - Systems a severity due to sleep deprivation. This fatigue will not recover until she has gotten her Fatigue consequence passes critical severity, she instead takes Mag damage every time she fails the End action.

Starvation & Dehydration The body can go for a lot longer without food than without water, but either end can be terrible. Mechanically, both starvation and dehydration work the same way. For every day a character goes without food or water she must make an End-16 action for starvation or End-19 for dehydration. On a failure, her Fatigue consequence increases a severity. Once this would push her past critical severity she instead takes Mag damage for starvation or twice Mag damage for dehydration. Fatigue and damage accumulated in this way is conditioned: it may not be recovered until the character has eaten food or drank water and is no

Temperature Extremes hazard, from marching through a steamy jungle, to striking out towards a frozen mountain peak. When characters are caught out in extreme temperature, the GM should decide upon an interval of time for which the characters will have to make an End-16 action. Failing this action causes the character’s Fatigue consequence to increase a severity. Should the character already be at critical severity, she takes Mag damage instead. This damage and fatigue is conditioned and cools down or heats up, as appropriate.

As temperatures get progressively hotter or colder, the interval should decrease. Suggested intervals range from one hour to one minute. is armor. Wearing heavy armor makes extreme temperatures worse. Armor imposes a penalty to these actions typically equal to its DR value.

Underwater Movement Characters not adapted to moving underwater may still attempt to swim around. This does, however, hinder movement. Crossing any underwater zone border requires a Dex/athletics-10 action to swim, although the TN for this action may vary for particularly treacherous waters.

Wealth & Titles Much of the wealth and economy in Bhurloka is tied up in subsistence. While gold, jewels and other treasures are still very much valued, the simple fact is that most wealth that exchanges hands is tied up in chickens, cows and other trade goods. Complementing this is a system of social prestige in which those holding important titles may use their impressive status to acquire goods as part of a greater system of economic patronage.

Exchange Rates The most basic trade goods in Bhurloka are are used as well. Naturally, the relative worth of these goods varies somewhat from location to location, but nevertheless, there is something of an average exchange rate. This exchange rate between chickens, coins and cows is given below.

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Chapter 4 - Systems Remember when applying exchanges that unless one is trading with a wealthy

so many. The highest titles can only be granted by the gods themselves.

have exact change. For this, the GM should use some basic common sense. Trying to pay for something costing 1 chicken with a cow is rarely going to result in getting 99 chickens back, as most people simply don’t have 99 chickens, let alone 99 chickens they’re willing to give out in change.

With great titles comes great prestige, and

Individuals unwilling or unable to make change may be willing to strike other deals, however. They may owe chickens in future seasons, owe boons, be willing to labor in one’s service for a time or trade other goods. How much the character values these other goods or services, however, is up to her.

Receiving and Granting Titles

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In addition to material capital it is also possible to achieve great social capital, commonly in the form of being granted a title. Only those of higher title can grant a title below them, and even then, only RANK

granted the title of maharaja usually comes with lands of which one is the raja, and with these lands come responsibilities to protect the people of those lands. And while legendary heroes may leave much of the direct governance of their lands to a chosen mantri, they must still choose that mantri and ensure that the lands are governed well. Mechanically, titles are divided up into viduals holding certain titles being able to directly below. As can be seen from the tables above, titles generally fall into one of two categories: temporal and religious. A character with a title can only grant titles of one rank lower, and only titles of the same category.

TEMPORAL TITLES

WESTERN PARALLEL

5

Kshetrapati or Maharaja

Emperor or High King

4

Raja/Rani

King/Queen

4*

Yuvaraja/Rajkumari

Crown Prince

4*

Kumar/Kumari

Prince/Princess

3

Senapati

Duke

2

Sardar

Count

1

Thakur

Lord

* Cannot grant or rescind lower titles RANK

RELIGIOuS TITLES

WESTERN PARALLEL

4

Mahatma

Saint

3

Rishi

Seer

2

Guru

Master

1

Swami

Initiate

Chapter 4 - Systems

Tribute from Titles

Giving a Performance

Having a title grants a certain degree of

Giving a full performance requires at

may receive up to 1 gold coin per rank per month in tribute. So, for example, a snapati would receive up to 3 gold coins per month. This is any addition to any income from traits like Fabulously Wealthy.

Monthly Income = 1 Gold Coin per Rank Those with temporal titles may spend traditionally much of it gets redistributed back to their people. Those with religious titles, on the other hand, are expected to keep only what they can immediately use for subsistence and to give the rest away. Breaking these social rules is possible, but with it will come some degree of scorn and social backlash. The GM is encouraged to role-play that and apply social penalties as appropriate.

Performances The art of performance is a subtle but powerful ability, able to worm its way into the back of the human psyche and stalwart of observers. Performing in this way is a time-honored and respected tradition. Kings have entertainers visit their courts, traveling dignitaries bring bands of entertainers with them to perform as a sign of respect and nomadic troupes of performers wander from city to city, giving performances in each. When performing, the performer may try to invoke one of any number of reactions in the audience. Some dance to seduce; others tell harrowing stories in an attempt to scare; still others perform to inspire.

although some performances can last for hours. When giving a performance, the performer can make a Chr/perform the entire audience; have the performer make the action only once and compare to each Willpower. On a success, the performer is able to impose the Desire (light) or Fixation (light) consequence on the audience member. The severity increases to moderate with Mag 5 or greater. The performer is able to depending on the nature of her performance, but this subject and the consequence must be the same for all audience members. Note the rules for the Fixated and Desire consequences stating that they may not have more than one of each consequence at a time. Performers attempting to sway characters with one of these consequences have their work cut out for them. Their performance consequences before imposing their own.

93

Chapter 4 - Systems

Divine Boons Legendary heroes do legendary things, things which sometimes make even the gods sit up and take notice. In this way heroes can impress gods, or the gods might even owe them a debt. At such times, the gods can grant mortals boons. A hero might ask for impenetrable skin, Mechanically, boons typically take the form of adding or removing a trait. Heroes of the boon. Furthermore, the trait chosen may be chosen from any path, including and especially paths not available to the character. However, there is still a price. Characters receiving boons must still pay the sadhana cost for the trait. Should the character not have enough sadhana, she gains the trait, but her sadhana goes negative and must eventually be paid 94

ability she may not normally have access to, without unbalancing the character. For example, a character asking a god for wealth may immediately gain the Wealthy trait, or gain the Flight trait. Typically only one trait may be gained per boon in this way. Alternately, characters may ask for a trait they currently possess to be removed. This provides a way to get rid of crippling weakness traits. Should the trait removed have a sadhana cost, the hero gets the sadhana points spent on the trait back and may spend them again. At the GM’s discretion, gods may also be willing to grant other boons, such as attacking one’s enemies, providing transport to other realms, such as Patala, or providing knowledge.

Chapter 4 - Systems

Size All characters and objects have a Size score. This is simply a mechanical representation of how large they are in the game world and such as Defense and Damage. As a rule of thumb, a character or object’s size measures their longest dimension. Mechanically, size is used mostly as a mal adult human-sized character is Size matter in most situations for PCs; where it comes into play the most is for inhuman NPCs or for siddhis that can reduce or increase a character’s Size. A character’s size has several mechani-

A character’s Size is subtracted from her Defense. The GM may wish to have characters apply their Size as a penalty to actions to use stealth or other actions as appropriate. A character’s Size applies as a bonus to damage for attacks that rely on the character’s Strength.

Similarly, a character’s Size also adds to their Attrition score. imum Health Points. When changing total. In this way she may be above her normal maximum. If, however, her current HP drops, such as through damage, her new total is then immediately capped A character’s Size applies as a bonus when determining her Encumbrance limit. when determining the number of zones she can move with a move action (minimum 1). As a general rule, for every doubling of the character’s length, she is one Size larger. The same is true as one goes down the size scale. If a character’s length is not exactly the indicated value, pick the size that is closest to the character’s longest dimension. There’s a bit of wiggle room here for taking into account the character’s bulk and weight as well. You can use the chart below to help gauge a character’s size.

SIZE

LONGEST DIMENSION

SIZE

LONGEST DIMENSION

SIZE

LONGEST DIMENSION

-6

1 in.

3 cm

+3

16 m

-5

2 in.

6 cm

+4

32 m

-4

4 in.

12 cm

+5

64 m

-3

9 in.

25 cm

+6

128 m

-2

50 cm

+7

256 m

-1

1m

+8

512 m

0

2m

+9

1 km

+1

4m

+10

1.3 mi.

2 km

+2

8m

+11

2.6 mi.

4.1 km

95

characters he heart of any role-playing game is the characters. Characters in Against the Dark Yogi vows that shake the world. In this chapter, character creation is presented along with a system of character advancement and reincarnation.

Character Creation Before play can begin, each player must make a player character (PC). This section describes the steps necessary to create such a character and points to the relevant sections in this chapter that list all the necessary character creation options.

Overview Character creation in Against the Dark Yogi steps. These steps establish the character’s history, stats, place in the world, abilities and starting equipment. Character creimportant in a game spanning multiple

Past Lives: All characters in Bhurloka are reincarnated repeatedly, living through moksha and escape the eternal cycle of reincarnation. A character’s most recent past lives, however, have some sway over her current life, not

her development and the forces at work in her life as well. In this step, the player makes a series of past lives. These choices will help determine the character’s starting skills and other traits. Unlike the other steps of character creation, the choices made in this step carry over

(partially) from life to life, and as such this step is presented before the concept stage, as the player is not only working towards their current incarnation, but the character’s future lives as well. Concept and Stats: In this step, the player should take a bit of time to think about what sort of character she wants to play, where she wants to go with the concept and what choices she wants to make during this lifetime in Bhurloka. She should also determine her starting Stats in this incarnation. Caste: All characters in Bhurloka are born into some place in the caste system. Normally this does much to determine a character’s lot in life and set her position in society. Epic heroes, however, are exceptional by nature and transcend much of the caste system. Nevertheless, the caste a character was born into does much to color their view of the world as she grows up and to shape the image of the character in the eyes of others. In this step, the player picks a caste she was born. She then gains a caste trait. Paths: In the penultimate step of character creation, a player must choose the heroic paths that her character has chosen to follow. These paths will determine her initial training, abilities and starting equipment. Finishing Touches: the player calculates a few basic values based on the character’s stats and traits and records a few bits of information about the character.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Past Lives

her accomplishments and will pick a couple skills that have carried over to her current incarnation.

Life is an ongoing cycle: A person is born, a person grows old, a person dies, and then a person is reborn into the next life. With each successive life, a soul’s karma is

The steps to follow for each life are given more detail below.

altered. These past lives help shape not only a person’s karma, but also her path in successive lives. As such, determining the nature of a character’s most recent past lives is an important part of the character creation process.

Every living being, whether they know it or not, has a role that they play in life. In a past life a character may have been a brave warrior, a landowner, a wise guru, a vicious rakshasa, a bird, a beast or pious ascetic.

In this step, the player will determine a recent past lives, beginning with the oldest and working towards her current incarnation. For each life, the player will decide what role she played, will write a bit about

Pick Role

In this step the player should write down brief description of the role she played in each past life. This should be a one or two word description that is simple and gets the point across. Some examples are given for inspiration below.

ROLE 98

Administrator

Gandharva

Leatherworker

Shopkeeper

Artist

Groundskeeper

Miner

Slave

Asura

Guru

Naga

Suparna

Beast

Guard

Pishacha

Trader

Bird

Healer

Preta

Tribesman

Herder

Rakshasa

Vermin Trapper

Deva

Laborer

Ruler

Warrior

Farmer

Landowner

Servant

Yaksha

Chapter 5 - Characters

Record Accomplishments and Skills In this step the player should record a bit about her character’s accomplishments in each past life. This doesn’t have to be to elaborate to their heart’s content. To GMs these accomplishments can be useful fodder for tying plot hooks to a character’s past deeds. Additionally, the direction players take with their past lives should say something about the kind of characters they want to play, and the kind of adventures they want to go on. Finally, for each past life the player should pick two skills that relate somehow to that life’s deeds. No two of these skills may be the same across any of the past lives. These skills will carry over to her current incarnation, granting her a rank of each of the appropriate skill traits.

Concept and Stats By this point the character’s past lives one’s attention to the character’s current incarnation. The player should think for a moment about the kind of character she wants to play. Is the character strong and kind, albeit kind of slow? Is she ruthless and cunning? Is she charismatic and quick? The player should some time to form a solid image of the character in her mind. Once the player has a reasonable concept for her character, it’s time to determine the character’s starting stats for the current incarnation. The player should take the array of values below and assign one value to each of the character’s stats: Strength, Dexterity, Speed, Endurance, Intelligence, Perception, Charisma and Determination. The array of values is as follows:

[ 8, 7, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 4 ]

Past lives that were non-human in nature may instead take one of the following traits in place of one of the two skills normally granted for that life. Only one such trait may be taken per non-human incarnation, and every trait taken in this manner must relate somehow to that life. All traits listed below can be found on the Inhuman Path (see page 147).

Naturally, the areas in which the character excels should be assigned the highest values, whereas the areas in which she is the weakest should be assigned the lowest. A value of 4 is average for a human in the game world, whereas a value of 8 is world-class. Remember, the player character is not

TRAIT

Consequently her stats are overall higher than the average human. For more information on stats see page 51.

Ageless

Extra Heads

Celestial Descent

Extra Legs

Claws

Night Vision

Direction Sense

Scent

Extra Arms

Shyama Varna

99

Chapter 5 - Characters

Caste The next step in character creation is to determine the caste that the character was born into. Knowing the character’s caste from her most recent past life can be helpful in determining her current life’s caste, suggesting a pick of either that caste, one caste above it caste or below it. This, however, is not a requirement and all human castes are available to the character. Every caste grants characters born into it the associated caste trait. These traits have the same name as the caste and are given below.

Brahmin Caste

--

As a member of the brahmin caste, the character grew up steeped in tradition and learning. She learned the ancient rituals and proper ways of conducting ceremony. 100 She also learned of the respect the caste is held in. As a brahmin, when in a civilized settlea simple bed and place to stay for the night for herself and a few personal companions. This hospitality may also come with basic food and water, if available. This ability does not apply, however, if she has made a particular menace of herself in the settlement in question or has earned the ire of the settlement’s inhabitants. In addition, as long as she is pursuing non-violence, any attempt to bring her to

physical harm nets the attacker a bad karma, unless she is pursuing violence herself or is supporting those who are violent or are otherwise violating the spirit of non-violence. Finally, as the brahmin are traditionally the priestly caste, she breaks ties in religious rank against non-brahmin.

Kshatriya Caste

--

Members of the kshatriya, or warrior, caste are expected to be capable in battle and capable at ruling. The character grew up with this expectation thrust upon her, and it helped to shape who she is. As a member of the Kshatriya caste, she has the right to challenge other kshatriya (other warriors) to a fair duel. This duel, by tradition, is held within the day and participants are unarmored, wielding only a gada. Such a duel is held in single combat and lasts until one side concedes, dies or is rendered unconscious. Those who agree to the duel must proceed as described. Those who do not agree are disgraced. They immediately gain a bad karma and any temporal rank they cheat, gain an unfair edge, circumvent the duel or otherwise violate the spirit of the and loss of temporal rank until atonement. Finally, since the kshatriya are traditionally the ruler caste, they break all ties in temporal rank against non-kshatriya.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Vaishya Caste

--

Members of this caste were born into the Vaishya, or agricultural, caste. As a member of this caste, the character’s family was composed of farmers, merchants or other similar individuals. As such, she picked up on related knacks. The vaishya are generally not warriors trained in weapons, but they make do with provised weapon, the character may ignore the usual -2 penalty to attack actions. In addition, as part of the agricultural caste, the character has spent plenty of time working with animals and has gained a knack for interacting with them. Given body language, the character can calm an animal or even convince it not to be hostile. In combat, this requires an interact action and the expenditure of a throat prana. It does not work on monstrous beasts nor does it work if the animal has already been threatened or injured in the combat.

Shudra Caste

--

As a member of the shudra, or servant, caste, this character grew up in a family who served the higher three castes. While this may have been a humble origin, it also taught her how to move through a variety of environments unobtrusively and unnoticed.

By lowering her head and looking hard at work, she may move through any number of situations barely noticed. While other characters will still see her, they will pay her vant going about her work. This ability only works around the civilized; it doesn’t work on animals or ferocious beasts. Neither does it work if the character is explicitly being searched for or if the character is doing something to bring attention to herself, such as shouting, making a ruckus or wearing obtrusive clothing.

Dalit

Caste

--

touchable, one of the outcastes outside the formal caste system. While this meant many doors in society were closed to her, it also meant that the desire of the higher casted to not associate with her could be exploited. from bad karma due to touching unclean things, such as dead bodies. Doing so is part of her dharma. Additionally, when interacting with others, she may draw attention to her dalit

either gain Fixation (untouchable) (light) or gain a bad karma. This does not work on non-humans or other dalit.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Paths

Finishing Touches

The penultimate step of character creation

At this point, the character has all of her

the things that the character has pursued in life, which determines the abilities that she begins the game with and those available to her once play begins.

her starting equipment. Now is the time to make sure that all of this has been recorded on her character sheet and to add up some game play. Calculate and record each of the following as described:

The number of paths a character may pick is determined by her Enlightenment (see page 106). So, for example, an Enlightenment 3 character may pick two paths. Unless the GM has decided otherwise, all starting characters begin at Enlightenment 2. Over the course of a campaign, this value will go up as play continues and the character reincarnates with each successive life.

Karma: All starting characters begin with two good karma and one bad karma. In future incarnations, this amount will vary with the total good and bad karma they possessed at the end of their previous life.

Every path lists two starting skills, a choice of starting trait, a starting package of equipment and a variety of traits associated with that path. Once a path has been selected for a character, she gains all of the traits listed in the starting package, as well as the 102 equipment listed in the starting package

Defense: The character’s Defense values are determined by her stats (see page 78). Calculate and record these values.

they come with the path. Once play begins and a character starts earning sadhana with each session, she may spend that sadhana on any of the traits listed under one of her paths. Traits listed under paths she does not have are unavailable to her. There are a few paths that possess exceptions to these rules. Of particular note is the Universal Path. This path may not be selected and does not have any starting packages listed. The traits associated with the path, however, are available to all characters. Finally, there are a couple of paths not available to player characters. These paths are intended for use when designing villains or monstrous beasts. When this is the case with a path, it will be clearly indicated as so. Each path is listed under its own section later on in this chapter (see page 110).

Enlightenment: All starting player characters begin with Enlightenment 2. This value will increase in later incarnations.

Willpower: Like Defense, the character’s Willpower values are determined by her stats (see page 78). Calculate and record these values as well. Prana and Equilibrium: Each character should have a maximum prana value for each

value (see page 72). Record these values. Health Points: Determine the character’s max HP (see page 69).

Selling Starting Goods

With the way starting equipment works for characters with multiple paths, characters will sometimes start with multiples of the same item, or begin with items they don’t want. The GM may optionally allow characters to sell unwanted items at character creation. Each unwanted item sold in this way nets the character a chicken.

Chapter 5 - Characters Encumbrance: A character’s number of available encumbrance slots is determined by her Strength (see page 156). Attrition: Every character has an Attrition score derived from her stats (see the Systems chapter on page 86). Calculate and record this value. Languages and Specialties: Every character starts with a number of free specialties or languages equal to her Intelligence stat (see the “Universal” path on page 110).

Weaknesses: A character must have a number of Weakness traits equal to her starting lifetime bad karma, as her bad karma takes its toll on this incarnation. Look at the Weakness path (see page 143) and pick out a number of such traits. Vows: A character must have a Vow trait for every Siddhi trait she possesses in excess of her Enlightenment. Characters may also voluntarily take additional vows, including those who do not possess a Siddhi trait. Look at the Path of Vows (see page 141) and pick out any such traits.

Bhurloka Male Names

The following is a helpful list of common male names in Bhurloka, as well as some idea of what the name means. Aayushman: With long life Laxman: Auspicious Abhaya: Fearless Mani: Gem, A jewel Abhirath: Great Charioteer Manoj: Born of the mind Baladitya: Risen sun Mayoor: Peacock Balagovind: Young cow-herd Narinder: King of men Bhadran: Auspicious Naval: Wonder Bilva: A sacred leaf Nirogi: Without Illness Chandra: A shining moon Param: Being Supreme Charuvrat: Of good character Prasad: Brightness, Blessing Chitraksh: Beautiful-eyed Rajiv: Lotus Flower Daksha: The skilled one Ravi: Sun Deeptimay: Lustrous Rohan: Ascending Dhanvin: Archer Satish: Ruler of hundreds, Victorious Ekaaksh: One-eyed Siddhran: Perfection Gajabahu: Has strength of an elephant Subhash: Gatik: Speed, Fast, Progressive Tarun: Young, Tender Goswami: Master of cows Tejas: Sharp, Luster, Brilliance Hiranmaya: Made of gold Tushar: Snow, Winter Javas: udit: Shining, Grown Jay: Victory uttam: Best Karan: A warrior Vedanga: Part of the sacred knowledge Keerti: Fame Vinay: Polite Lai: The beloved one Yogesh: Lord of Yoga

103

Chapter 5 - Characters

Bhurloka Female Names

104

This is a helpful list of common female names found across Bhurloka, as well as some inkling of what the name means. Aadrika: Mountain, Celestial Madhuri: Sweetness Adwitiya: Matchless Malati: Agrata: Leadership Manisha: Intellect, Desire, Wish Ayushmati: One who has a long life Mina: With beautiful eyes resembling a Basanti: Spring Mohini: Most beautiful Bhagwanti: Lucky Nikita: Victorious, Unconquered Bhilangana: A river Ojaswini: Lustrous Chandira: Moon Padma: A lotus Chandramani: Moonstone, Jewel Prasanna: Ever fresh Chatura: Smart, Wise Priya: Dear one, Beloved Darshwana: Pure of heart Rita: Brave, Honest Devasree: Divine beauty Rohana: Sandalwood Dulari: Dear one, Beloved Saroja: Born in a lake Elakshi: A woman with bright eyes Shakti: The powerful one Eshana: Wish, Desire, Search Sharmila: The protected one, Shy Gemini: Twins Shreyashi: Good Harinakshi: One with eyes like deer Smita: Smile, Ever smiling lady Harita: Green Tanirika: Jaimini: Victory Tanya: Of the family, Body Kalinda: The sea Trisha: Wish, Desire, Thirst Kanti: Light, Lovely usha: Morning, Dawn, Sun rise Kumuda: Lotus Flower Veda: Understanding, Wisdom Lavanya: Grace, Beauty Vimala: Pure, Clean Leela: Devine Play, Amusement

Character Advancement Sadhana Characters in Against the Dark Yogi don’t advance and change. Over the course of a campaign, characters will develop new skills and abilities and get better at the skills they already have. They will pursue their paths in life, gain boons from the gods themselves and their karma will continue to resolve throughout their lives.

Over the course of the campaign, player characters will accumulate sadhana. These are points awarded by the GM at the end of each session, representing the characters’ growth, experience and accomplishments. Players may then spend their characters’ accumulated sadhana between sessions to purchase new traits, thus granting their character new or better abilities.

Chapter 5 - Characters It is up to the GM to reward sadhana each session, and up to the GM to decide the basis for rewarding sadhana. Whatever the basis for rewarding sadhana decided upon by the GM, it is generally recommended to give out somewhere around four sadhana to each player each session. Some recommended metrics for rewarding sadhana are below. BASIS

REWARD

Accomplished heroic actions

1 Sadhana

Did well at Roleplaying

0-2 Sadhana

Stuck to genre, even to character's detriment

1 Sadhana

Furthered wisdom (and can explain what was learned)

1 Sadhana

Purchasing New Traits As mentioned in the previous section, sadhana may be spent to purchase new traits. To do this, simply spend the necessary amount of sadhana marked on the trait and add the trait to the player’s character sheet. Sadhana may not go negative in this way. That is, the character needs enough sadhana to purchase it. The trait purchased must also be available to the character. Available traits are those from the Universal path and any paths possessed by the character, as chosen during character creation. Traits from other paths are not available (but may still be gained through a boon from a god; see page 94). In addition, the character must meet any requirements listed under the trait’s description.

Resolve Karma In addition to accumulating sadhana, a character’s karma also resolves at the end of each session. Has she acted in accordance with her dharma that session, or has she sinned?

Look at the character’s current good and bad karma. If, at the end of the session, the character has any bad karma, her lifetime bad karma increases by one. On the other hand, if she has more good karma than bad karma, her lifetime good karma increases by one. These numbers can be easily determined simply by counting the cards that are face down in front of her and in her hand. It’s quite possible for a character to gain both good and bad lifetime karma from a single session in this manner. In this way, the character’s karma course of her life. Then, when she is reincarnates or goes into enlightened retreat, the karma for her life resolves,

Reincarnation Not even enlightened sages live forever. At some point everyone dies, their karma 105 resolves and they are born into a new life. This is not an instantaneous process. All but of Naraka, where they are judged by Yema, the Dharmaraja, otherwise known as the god of justice and death. Then they either remain in Naraka for a time in expiation of their sins, or they are sent to Svarga to have a period of bliss. Then they are reborn, and their next life begins. In Against the Dark Yogi, campaigns can take place spanning many generations or they may take place over the course of just one. This is largely up to the GM and the preferences of the players. In campaigns that do take place over the course of multiple generations, each either peacefully in their beds, or violently in the pursuit of heroism. They will then go through the system of reincarnation, and new characters will be created, taking the

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106

Enlightenment Every character has an Enlightenment score, representing the wisdom and connection to the universe possessed by the character and carried over between her incarnations. This score is important to a variety of systems, from character creation to the character’s prana, and the only way it raises is the reincarnation system.

When a character is reincarnated, her enlightenment score goes up by one to a (something only achieved through good karma and the resolution of the campaign) moksha, and escape from the eternal cycle of reincarnation. By default, starting PCs begin at Enlightenment campaign, they reach Enlightenment 3.

ENLIGHTENMENT

NuMBER OF PATHS

PRANA PER ROuND

1*

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

2

3

3

4

3

4

3

5

3

5

4

* This Enlightenment level is primarily geared towards NPCs.

HP MuLTIPLIER

Chapter 5 - Characters

Resolve Karma the servants of Yema (or in exceptional cases by Yema himself) to Naraka. There she is judged by Yema, and the lifetime

bad karma than good will do the opposite. What caste the character reincarnates into in her next life, however, is always up to the player. Any human caste is available. The player should decide on her new caste and note this down.

When the character is born into her new life, she may have a new caste. Typically those with more good karma than bad will move up the scale, while those with more

When the character is born into her new life, her starting lifetime karma will be based on the values of her old incarnation’s lifetime good and bad karma. See the table below.

OLD INCARNATION'S KARMA

NEW INCARNATION'S KARMA

2× as many good than bad

3 Good, 1 Bad

More good than bad

3 Good, 2 Bad

Equal good and bad

2 Good, 2 Bad

More bad than good

2 Good, 3 Bad

2× as many bad than good

1 Good, 3 Bad

Finally, as usual, a character will have to begin with at least as many weakness traits as she 107 has starting bad karma.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Past Lives From her old incarnation, a character recent past lives. Mark the oldest past life was just played as her most recent one. Her karma should have just been resolved and a new caste already chosen. Write down her new starting karma as well as her new caste. Next, think about the incarnation of the character that was just played. How would this character’s role be described? Think of a good one or two word description and write it down as that incarnation’s role. Take a cant accomplishments this incarnation.

108

Finally, look at the skills from her last incarnation. Write down her two highest skills as the skills she will carry into her next incarnation. If there is a tie between multiple skills, pick one of them. It doesn’t matter if these skills are the same as those granted by a previous incarnation. If she gains a skill twice in her new incarnation she will simply have that skill trait twice, granting her two ranks in the skill. If she would lose an Inhuman trait granted by the incarnation most recent past lives, she may optionally replace one of these skills with that trait, thereby retaining the trait into her new incarnation.

Chapter 5 - Characters

New Life

reincarnate, or it may take only a year or a

At this point, the new incarnation should have her past lives and her new caste. She should also have a higher enlightenment.

demands of the campaign. However, when the character comes out of enlightened retreat, she is a changed person.

think over the character’s concept, assign her new stats and pick her new paths. These steps proceed exactly as described in the character creation section.

Characters who have gone through enlightened retreat increase their Enlightenment score by one, just as if they reincarnated. Similarly, they resolve their lifetime karma in the exact same way, giving them new good and bad lifetime karma values. They retain their current caste.

Enlightened Retreat Not every GM wants to run a campaign that takes place over multiple generations. Some may want to run a more traditionalstyle campaign where the players make characters exactly once and play those characters throughout the entire campaign. Similarly, some players may not want their characters to die and to have to make a new incarnation. The GM should work with what they expect. For GMs and players with these preferences, we present enlightened retreat as an alternative to reincarnation. With this option, characters may go into enlightened just as with reincarnation. When they enter enlightened retreat, they retreat from the world, distancing themselves from outside events and meditating on their own internal wisdom and trials. This takes time. It may take an entire generation as other characters

Characters coming out of enlightened retreat may remove weakness traits to match their new required value based on their new lifetime karma. Similarly, they must gain new weakness traits if their new lifetime bad karma would require however, must be Elderly, as time takes its toll on them. Characters not gaining new weakness traits must replace one of their current ones with the Elderly weakness. Finally, the character’s old abilities erode during the time spent in retreat. She loses all traits she purchased with sadhana, but she may choose a new path if her newly increased Enlightenment would entitle her to another. She gains the traits that come with the new path as usual. In this way characters whose players opted for enlightened retreat will remain balanced with characters whose players chose reincarnation.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Paths This section contains a variety of paths available to characters in Against the Dark Yogi. Most paths presented here are available to player characters; however, a few paths are of particular note. The Universal Path is a path shared by all characters, as some potential for advancement really is universal. Finally, at the end of the list of paths are a number of path simply contains a list of traits representing the weaknesses a character may possess. Traits must be chosen from this path as a result of bad karma at character creation or as the result of extreme injury in play. Following this path are a number of paths geared for NPCs. These paths contain traits designed to represent the basic abilities of monstrous beasts or villainous abilities designed to challenge player characters.

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All paths are presented in a standard format. First the path name is listed, followed by a description, a list of the starting equipment gained by choosing that path section, the starting skills and the starting trait granted by choosing the path are listed, followed by the traits available for purchase by those who possess the path.

Universal Path Some advancements truly are universal. This path represents such advancements. It and as a consequence, all characters may gain the starting equipment listed here and may purchase traits from this path. Starting Traits: Starting Equipment: Simple Clothing

(Worn); A number of gold coins equal to the character’s Charisma Special: All characters receive this path. It does not count toward their total number of paths they possess.

Astra

Universal

10

Requirements: May only be taken through a Divine Boon (see “Divine Boons”, page 94).

Astras are spiritual weapons usually are potent weapons whose knowledge is only passed down by the gods or, in rare cases, orally from great master to student. Mechanically, acquiring an astra requires taking the Astra trait, which is itself usually only available through a divine boon. Deities granting an astra as a boon may only grant an astra over which they preside. Typically astras are summoned forth by an astra in this way is an interact action requiring 1 crown prana. The summoned astra usually is then shot from a bow, using a normal attack action. This is not the only form an astra can take, however. Once summoned, an astra may instead power any improvised weapon such as a blade of grass. Actual use of an astra (not just the summoning of an astra or the threat of its use) is playing with power beyond mortals. Each use of an astra causes the character to gain a bad karma. Astras are good for one attack, which countered by another astra with the ability to may not be invoked again in the same combat. Even though this action does not require playing a card, it still ends the player’s turn. Additionally, many astras have very breaking of which can prove fatal to the user. These conditions may be given to the characters by the presiding god when the knowledge of how to summon the astra is presented. For a list of astras, see the Equipment chapter, page 164.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Language Universal

1

Special: All characters begin with a

number of free specialties or languages equal to their starting Intelligence stat.

By default, characters in Against the Dark Yogi are assumed to know one spoken

language, plus any they may have picked in the Finishing Touches step of character creation. This trait allows the character to know an additional spoken or written language. Spoken and written languages are learned separately. A character may be able to speak languages she cannot read or may be able to read languages whose spoken tongue she can’t understand. In Bhurloka, languages a character can learn may be either other human languages, the languages of the celestial beings or the languages of animals. Needless to say, animal languages do not have written forms. Some other such creatures may learn human languages as well. A table of languages is below.

COMMON LANGuAGES Aldu

Nerathi

Cajarati

Pingali

Demil

Prej Brasha

Dilugu

Wondi

FOREIGN LANGuAGES Funan

Sassani

CELESTIAL LANGuAGES Asura

Rakshasa

Deva

Vanara

Gandharva

Vidyadhara

Naga

Yaksha

ANIMAL LANGuAGES Bear

Elephant

Bird

Equine

Bovine

Feline

Canine

Monkey

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Skill

3

Universal

Universal

1

Special: This trait may be purchased multiple times, to a maximum of four times per skill.

Special: All characters begin with a number of free specialties or languages equal to their starting Intelligence stat.

Some characters are notably skilled in

There is some particular area of expertise within a certain skill at which the character is adept. When this trait is taken, the parent

actions involving the skill in question. (See page 60 for full skill descriptions.) Each time this trait is taken, the player must specify a skill. Her rank in this skill then increases a

below. SKILL RANK

MODIFIER

Unskilled

-2 +1

112

Specialty

Adept

+2

Expert

+3

Master

+4

When making actions with that skill to which the specialty would apply, the action is treated as if the character’s rank in that skill were one higher. Only one specialty may ever be applied to an action at a time. The character need not possess the parent skill to purchase a specialty for it. In these cases, when the specialty applies, the character is treated as if she had one rank of the skill.

Stat Training Universal

The list of available skills is below. (For a full description of each skill, see the Basics chapter on page 60.)

10

Special: This trait may be taken multiple times.

part of the character to better herself, raising one of her eight stats. When this trait is taken, pick a stat and increase it by +1.

SKILL

SKILL

SKILL

Animals

Empathy

Socialize

Archery

Intimidate

Stealth

Athletics

Investigate

Streetwise

Awareness

Lore

Survival

Medicine

Tactics

Deception

Melee

Thievery

Diplomacy

Perform

Wisdom

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Archer Of all the combat arts, archery is the most exalted, the most celebrated and the most culturally renowned in Bhurloka. All of the great warriors have had training in archery. It is the combat style of choice of kings and lords, and has come to be something of a status symbol for rulers and great warriors. Despite the name, most archery traits can be used with either bows or with any weapon with the Thrown property (such as chakrams). Starting Skills: Archery and either Starting Traits: Constructive Archery or Quick Reload Starting Equipment: Bow, Quiver of Arrows

costructive archery starting

throwing a volley of thrown weapons in an intricate pattern, the archer can quickly make simple constructs through archery. While these constructs do not have the structural integrity to last much past the end of the battle, they will least at least that long unless an interact action is taken to destroy them. These constructs may not be larger than a single zone; however, multiple uses of this trait can be combined, adding up to a larger structure. Examples of structures that can be created include ladders of arrows leading up the side of the building, bridges made of arrows leading across as chasm or over those underneath from rain or the sun.

When using this trait, spend a crown prana, specify the structure being made and make an Int/archery-10 action. The GM be constructed using this power. As a general rule of thumb, anything smaller than a zone that can be made entirely of wood and which contains no moving parts can be constructed. The higher the result of the action, the better the result is. If desired, a structure built in this way can provide light cover, plus an additional severity of cover for every 5 Mag. If not destroyed, the structure will typically fall apart within an hour or so of the end of combat. Use of this ability increases the character’s Low Quiver consequence a severity.

Far Shot arCher

10

By spending a brow prana along with a ranged attack, the archer can target an enemy further away than the usual two 113 zone limit. There is no limit to the number of zones away the target can be. However, apply as usual to the attack.

Intercepting shot arCher

chakrams with deliberate aim, an archer may intercept in mid-air ranged attacks coming her way. Doing this is a reaction and requires spending a crown prana. The character’s Defense then gains a bonus equal to her Intelligence for the purposes of resolving the attack.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Iron String arCher

15

Pulling a bowstring back more tightly can give extra power to a bow, but at the cost of time and potentially wear-and-tear on the string. With this trait, the character has mastered this take on archery. By spending extra prana from any one of the higher chakras when making a ranged attack, the archer can add +2 per extra prana spent to the attack’s damage if it hits. If, however, the attack is a critical failure, the bow string snaps rendering the bow useless until it can be restrung (a process taking several minutes). This trait may be used with thrown Instead of pulling the bowstring tighter, the archer is taking particular care to warm up her arm for the throw. Prana may be spent for extra damage in a manner identical to that described above. On a critical failure, 114 the character drops her entire quiver of thrown weapons, rendering her unable to use them with any trait that increases the Low Quiver consequence until they can be picked up and organized again (a process taking several minutes).

Knockback Shot arCher

By launching a particularly powerful shot at an enemy, the archer may knock her enemy backward. This is done by spending a throat prana with the ranged attack. On a successful hit the target is knocked backward a success, the player may optionally knock the target back two zones instead of one.

Multishot arCher

15

from her bow at once or throw a large number of weapons in very rapid succession. This allows her to target an entire zone’s worth of enemies with a single attack. By spending a heart prana, she can pick a zone and make a single ranged attack. This attack targets all characters in the individual characters within the zone, but she must pay a crown prana for each character avoided in this way. Use of this ability increases the character’s Low Quiver consequence a severity.

Penetrating Shot arCher

By spending a brow prana with a ranged attack, the archer is able to aim for a weak spot in the target’s defenses. If the attack is a success, halve the target’s DR when it applies to the attack.

Quick Reload

starting

10

The archer can ready an arrow or a thrown weapon for free. This must be done immediately before the attack action that uses the readied weapon or arrow. This neither costs any prana nor consumes an action.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Pierce the Sky arCher

throw weapons at the clouds themselves, piercing them and unleashing a torrent of rain on the ground below. By spending a throat prana and making a Dex/archery-10 action, the archer can pierce the clouds. This causes a torrent of water from the skies that provide the Concealment (light) consequence for a chosen zone. Increase the consequence a severity per 5 Mag. All ranged attacks out of this zone take the Concealment severity as a penalty. This ability increases the character’s Low Quiver consequence a severity.

Pinning Shot arCher

15

With a few careful shots, an archer can pierce to a wall or the ground. To invoke this trait, spend a heart prana along with the usual ranged attack. On a success, the target takes the Disabled (light) consequence. This is increased to Disabled (moderate) on a critical hit. The Disabled consequence gained in this way will never increase the severity beyond moderate. However, the archer may aim for the Disabled consequence is then targeted towards that part of the body (see the Disabled consequence’s description on page 219). There is no penalty for targeting a limb in this way. Finally, this attack may optionally be made non-lethal, dealing no damage when it hits

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Ascetic

Garima Siddhi

rid themselves of worldly concerns and undergo harsh austerities in the quest for spiritual perfection and enlightenment. It

Through this siddhi an ascetic may increase her bodily weight, willing its density to become higher until it is like that of iron.

not everyone is cut out for, but with all the ascetic vows and harsh devotions comes a degree cosmic understanding and power unparalleled by the more worldly paths.

To activate this siddhi, the ascetic needs

asCetiC siddhi

Starting Skills: Wisdom and either Lore or Survival Starting Traits: Iron Will or Prakamya Siddhi Starting Equipment: Rough Clothes, Jug Special: The ascetic path contains a number of siddhi traits. These traits represent supernatural powers gained in the ascetic’s pursuit of spiritual perfection. For every siddhi trait taken by a character in excess of her Enlightenment, the character must also take a Vow trait, found on the Path of Vows (see page 141); with increasing spiritual power 116 comes increasing spiritual restrictions.

Anima Siddhi asCetiC siddhi

10

Through the practice of this siddhi, an ascetic may decrease the size of her body, even potentially achieving sizes barely noticeable to human perceptions. To activate this siddhi, the ascetic activated, requiring a concentrate action, the ascetic may spend any prana she wishes from her heart chakra, keeping in mind that any remaining prana there will be lost. This reduces the size of her body, decreasing her size rating by one per prana spent. reduced size (see page 95), including an increased Defense, reduced damage and the ability to slip into very small places. This with another concentrate action, at which point she returns to her normal size.

15

makes a concentrate action and spends as many heart prana as desired. With this exertion of will she grows heavy, doubling the encumbrance it would take to carry her for every prana spent (see page 156). While this siddhi is active, she gains the number of prana spent as a bonus to damage for all unarmed attacks and as a bonus to DR. The downside is that she takes this number as a penalty to Defense, although critical hits no longer deal double damage. Finally, all move actions cost an additional lower prana. This siddhi lasts until the ascetic turns end of the scene.

Iron Will

asCetiC starting

10

Virtuous ascetics have disciplined minds that are hard to break. With this trait, the ascetic adds her current good karma to her Willpower.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Istva Siddhi asCetiC siddhi

5

With this siddhi, the ascetic gains momentary lordship over others, able to give commands as if she had a temporal title greater than her own. Activating this siddhi requires an over-

throat prana to make the action as if she had a temporal rank (see page 92) equal to the number of prana expended. This may that depend upon temporal rank, or it may who react as if they were reacting to their lord (assuming this puts the ascetic’s temporal rank over theirs). It is up to the GM to decide how a particular NPC reacts. For PCs, the players may decide how they would react to a command from their lord. Keep in mind that acting against the orders of one’s lord is rarely in accordance with one’s dharma and will likely result in gaining bad karma. Also keep in mind that commanding others to act against their dharma is itself against dharma and may also result in bad karma for the ascetic commanding them.

of the current scene, and then they may act as normal. They will be aware that the ascetic used a siddhi to command them.

Laghima Siddhi asCetiC siddhi

5

With this siddhi, the ascetic wills her body to become as light as a feather, allowing her to walk on places she otherwise couldn’t and even to ride the winds.

prana. The ascetic simply takes a concentrate action and spends the necessary prana. While the siddhi is active, she may move in ways that her weight normally prohibits, such as walking on treetops or the surface of water. Similarly, falls are slowed to a feather’s pace, causing no injury to the ascetic. For all intents and purposes, her body has the Neg property, even her equipment, up to her encumbrance limit, gains this property, although any equipment over this limit retains its usual weight. Finally, by taking a move action and succeeding at Dex/athletics-10, the ascetic can ride the winds. This moves her through the air as if she had the Flight trait. requiring a concentrate action, or until the end of the scene.

Mahima Siddhi

10

The practice of this siddhi allows a skilled ascetic to increase the size of her body to truly massive proportions, aiding her in movement, combat or other endeavors. To activate this siddhi, the ascetic activated with a concentrate action, the ascetic may spend any prana she wishes from her brow chakra (keeping in mind that any remaining prana there will be lost). This increases her size rating by one point per prana spent. This comes with all page 95), including a decreased Defense, increased damage and the ability to step lasts until the ascetic decides to end it with a concentrate action, at which point she returns to her normal size.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Omkara

asCetiC siddhi

15

A character practicing this siddhi possesses single sound that can be uttered to kill with a word.

speak. Then, as an attack action, the ascetic can utter the syllable. All other characters who are able to hear and who are in either the same zone as the ascetic or in any adjacent this for those who hear it. DR does not apply, nor does any other trait save those that can explicitly block siddhis. The target simply loses a number of HP equal to the prana spent. Characters who know the syllable is coming may take an action ahead of time to prepare, however. This must be performed before the syllable is spoken; it may not be done as a reaction. Those truly wishing to 118 avoid the syllable may do so by taking an attack action to gouge their own eardrums out. This, naturally, is permanent, but resisting the syllable is automatic. Those looking for a less extreme solution may take a concentrate action to cover their

While a higher chakra of the ascetic is associated with that chakra are automatically trump. So, for example, if the character’s gence actions would be trump. Should she this siddhi, the chakra associated with throat chakra, were making a charisma and drew a joker, that would be a critical

Prapti Siddhi asCetiC siddhi

10

Using this siddhi requires having an concentrate action to activate it. Activating but once activated, this siddhi lasts until dismissed by the ascetic (another concentrate action) or until the end of the scene. Prapti Siddhi allows the ascetic to manipulate objects at a distance, as if she were using a set of invisible hands. Treat this manipulation in all ways one would a

action taken by the character before the om syllable is spoken. Furthermore, for it to be

the ascetic, taking an interact action to use,

Det action with a TN equal to 10 plus the number of prana spent by the ascetic when speaking the om syllable.

these hands equal to the number of prana

Prakamya Siddhi

that strength and manipulate objects in her zone or any adjacent zone. The hands

With this siddhi, an ascetic is better able to realize her desires, directing her prana into her actions.

may not be used to attack, grapple or

asCetiC siddhi starting

Chapter 5 - Characters

Vastva Siddhi asCetiC siddhi

10

With this awe-inspiring siddhi, the ascetic is able to subjugate others to her will, forcing them to act per her bidding. To crown chakra. She simply takes a concentarget must be in the same zone as the ascetic. From that point, the ascetic may take a concentrate action to force the targeted character to immediately take an action of her choosing on her (the ascetic’s) turn. The ascetic can have the targeted character call upon any non-siddhi trait the ascetic is aware that the target possesses. The targeted character expends her own lower prana when making the action, but any required higher prana come from the the target. The ascetic may command her target to take only one action per turn. Additionally, if this action would normally end the target’s

Each time the ascetic forces the target to take an action, one crown prana is expended by the ascetic. This expenditure of crown prana does not cause the chakra to

The target may continue to act on her turn as normal. Additionally, she may make a concentrate action on her turn to attempt end. To do this, she simply takes the concentrate action, expending a crown prana of her own, and makes a Det action

attempt to control her in this way again. Keep in mind that forcing another character to act against dharma is itself a transgression against dharma and may result in bad karma. This includes all instances of violent self-harm.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Chakra Master Channel Prana Chakra masters have spent much time meditating and working with their inner energies. They have discovered the secrets to move their energies from one prana to another, and they have made an art out of channeling energies in and out of their bodies. Some chakra masters have even unlocked other secrets of prana, such as increasing their capacity for prana.

The character may make a special “Channel Prana” action by declaring a concentrate action in combat. This action costs no prana to perform, but it does immediately end the character’s turn, just as if it required a card to perform. When the channel prana action is taken, the character may rearrange any of the

Starting Skills: Medicine and either Athletics or Lore Starting Traits: Channel Prana or Raise the Potential Starting Equipment: Chakram

and she then gains an additional prana from the channeling. This prana may be placed in any chakra. Prana channeled in this way may not exceed the normal maximums for each chakra, even if the prana in a chakra was somehow already over maximum.

Bend the Flow

Energize Strike

ChaKra Master

15

A skilled chakra master is able to bend 120

ChaKra Master starting

her body, forcing it into chakras where it Normally all prana gained in a round However, with this trait a chakra master may place two prana in the same chakra each round. This may be done only once per round.

Bolster the Flow ChaKra Master

One of the most powerful and basic tricks a chakra master can learn is how to increase When this trait is taken, the character gains one extra prana per round. This extra prana is treated just like the other prana gained that round; this means any restrictions on which chakra it can be placed still apply. If this would preclude it from being placed anywhere, then the extra prana is simply discarded.

ChaKra Master

With this trait, a chakra master is able to channel extra prana into a powerful strike, enhancing it and making it more powerful. With an attack, the chakra master may opt to spend up to one additional prana from each of the higher chakras. For each crown or brow prana spent, the attack receives a +2 bonus to hit. For each throat or heart prana spent, the damage is increased by +2.

Energize the Skin ChaKra Master

With this trait, a chakra master is able to channel her prana to her skin, hardening it against attacks through sheer energy and force of will. By spending a heart prana the chakra master may add her Determination to her DR against this attack. This trait may be invoked as a reaction to an attack.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Force the Bleed ChaKra Master

prana, the chakra master is able to use the prana to force blood to the surface, causing the enemy to bleed from the mouth and any open wounds. By spending a brow prana along with an attack, the chakra master increases the target’s Bleeding consequence by a severity on a successful hit or by two severities on a critical hit.

Heighten the Equilibrium ChaKra Master

Many chakra masters aim not only for the their bodies for a time, but also for the reach a higher equilibrium. With this trait the chakra master’s equilibrium increases by one.

Obstruct Chakra ChaKra Master

By striking an enemy’s chakra, the chakra that location. This costs a crown prana along with an attack. On a successful hit, all prana currently in the chakra is lost. On a critical hit, the prana in that chakra pours out in prana, increasing the target’s Blocked Flow consequence by a severity. If the target struck is an elite or a vassal, she simply loses 1/2 of her current prana on a hit and takes the usual Blocked Flow consequence on a critical hit.

Raise the Potential ChaKra Master starting

Normally, a chakra can only hold so much ties can increase the amount of prana in a chakra beyond this point, but only for a time. A chakra master, however, is able to increase the capacity of her chakras in a much more permanent way. When a chakra master takes this trait, the maximum prana value for each of her chakras increases by one.

Stymie the Flow ChaKra Master

prana all around her, including the prana By spending a throat chakra when making an attack, the chakra master can target’s Blocked Flow consequence increases a severity on a hit or by two severities on a critical hit.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Charioteer Only the most skilled and important of warriors ride a chariot, and most have to settle simply for a bow or other weapon. From the back of a chariot, the warrior is able to take aim at enemies, shout tactical advice at nearby allies and, with the help of the chariot’s driver, outmaneuver her foes. This makes charioteers both versatile and mobile combatants. Starting Skills: Tactics and either Starting Trait: Hit and Run or Legendary Driver Starting Equipment: Chariot, Four Horses, Hired Driver, Spear

Chariot’s Storage Charioteer

Once per scene the charioteer may look in her 122

just happened to bring along. To do this the charioteer must either actually possess the thought to purchase the gear in question the last time she was able to do so. In the latter case, she then simply subtracts the cost of the gear from her money and pulls the desired gear out of the chariot. Gear that is not normally easily available for sale cannot be produced in this manner. Of course, for this to happen she needs to have been in a situation where she could have purchased the gear. Furthermore, the gear must be some-

Defensive Maneuver Charioteer

By having the chariot driven in an erratic and dangerous manner, the charioteer can move This trait is invoked as a reaction to an attack. Spend a heart prana while the charioteer is situated in the back of her chariot. She then adds her Determination to her Defense when resolving the attack.

Everywhere at Once Charioteer

making attacks, the charioteer can seem to be everywhere at once, coming at enemies in all directions. This trait allows the charioteer to attack one enemy per zone she moved through this turn. This costs a number of prana equal to the number of enemies attacked. All prana spent must come from the same higher chakra, but the player can choose which one. This is in addition to the usual lower prana spent for the attack action. Simply play a card to make the attack once and compare to all targets’ Defenses.

Flying Chariot Charioteer

10

With this trait, the charioteer’s chariot has been particularly blessed, gaining the ability takes a move action while in the chariot and moves it up into a zone representing the air. She then can remain in the air as long as she continues to take a move action of some sort er zone or circles around her current zone. If the charioteer fails to move the chariot during her turn it falls to the ground, dealing falling damage to everyone in the chariot and the chariot itself.

Chapter 5 - Characters

normal chariot on the ground could not. Additionally, the charioteer may ignore the to cross zone borders, but she must meet other requirements to pass through borders.

Hit and Run

Charioteer starting

10

The charioteer is particularly adept at having and can take full advantage of her mobility to attack her enemies. ioteer may immediately take one free basic move action if she is riding her chariot. Additionally, when taking any sort of move action while in the chariot, the charioteer can move one more zone than normal (two zones on a basic move, an extra one when hustling or even moving a zone when ending the Low Posture consequence).

Fighting From a Chariot character will typically have an NPC driver. There’s typically no need to

Legendary Driver Charioteer starting

With this trait the charioteer gains a legendary driver to drive her chariot. This legendary driver has her own exceptional past, history and personality. She may even be the avatar of a god! Whatever her nature, the driver is mechanically an elite of the same Enlightenment as the charioteer and, like PCs, may only be killed by an attack with the Fatal property. Additionally, with any attack that the charioteer uses that would normally target all the characters in a zone, the charioteer may exclude the driver from the attack for free. The player should work with the GM on the concept, and then the GM can tweak the driver The chariot’s driver has a sound grasp of tactics. As an interact action, the charioteer may spend a throat prana to ask the driver for tactical advice; the driver then gives her advice. This acts as if she took the coordinate action on the charioteer with 123 a basic success, increasing her Bolstered consequence by two severities. Finally, when confronted with one of

karma to ask the opinion of her driver. The

driver is just assumed to be doing her thing, controlling the chariot. When moving in combat, however, the charioteer must still spend prana to move, just as if she were moving

look at the suit. If the card is anything but a club, the driver advises the “correct” course of actions. However, on a club (a Surya or Chandra if using Ganjifa), the driver’s

the rest comes with her. This represents the necessary attention to maintain footing in a moving chariot, to direct the driver and to change focus as the

Line Up Attack

movement due to being on a chariot is covered by charioteer traits that increase movement rate (Hit & Run, Mobile Fortress and Worthy Chariot).

Charioteer

15

Using the chariot to line up an optimal shot, the charioteer can make a sure attack against an enemy. By spending a crown prana along with an attack from the back of a chariot, the charioteer may add her Intelligence as a bonus to an attack action.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Mobile Fortress Charioteer

With this trait, the charioteer’s chariot is upgraded to provide cover, all the while being even faster than before. All characters in the charioteer’s chariot automatically gain the Cover (moderate) consequence. Additionally, this chariot is even faster, and while riding in it, the charioteer can move one more zone than normal when taking a move action (two zones on a basic move, an extra one when hustling or even moving a zone when ending the Low Posture consequence).

Trample

Charioteer

15

With this trait the charioteer has become skilled in directing her driver to trample her enemies. 124

By spending a brow prana along with an attack while on the back of a chariot, the charioteer may attempt to run over the enemies already being targeted by the attack. This adds her Perception as a bonus to the damage from the attack.

Worthy Chariot Charioteer

The charioteer possesses an exceptional chariot built of sturdy material with exusual DR, HP and encumbrance capacity of a normal chariot, and if damaged it may be repaired with a day’s work and a successful Finally, this chariot is exceptionally fast, and while riding in it the charioteer can move one more zone than normal when taking a move action (two zones on a basic move, an extra one when hustling or even moving a zone when ending the Low Posture consequence).

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Performer For as long as there has been civilization in and women dedicated to their art, the act of portraying the great epics and stirring the emotions of the audience. Such performers are employed everywhere, from the courts of great rajas to traveling bands that perform in rural villages. Many are dancers, skilled in the arts of seduction; others are singers or actors. Starting Skills: Perform and either Empathy or Socialize Starting Traits: Improvised Performance or Superb Performance Starting Equipment:

Complex Themes PerforMer

Some performers are skilled enough to work complex themes into their performances, they provoke in unison. With this trait the consequences at once with their performance, albeit at a severity one less than normal. Doing this costs a crown prana. These consequences may be chosen from among any that the performer is otherwise able to impose. If the severity of the consequence would be reduced below light, no consequence is imposed.

Frightening Tale PerforMer

Some performances aim to tantalize or inspire, but others aim to frighten. With this trait the performer can give exceptionally frightening performances. Doing so allows the performer to impose the Fear consequence in place of the usual Desire or Fixation consequences when using the Performance system.

Grandiose Execution PerforMer

Even a quick performance can move large audiences. With this trait the performer is able to target an entire zone when making a performance, even if the performance is an improvised performance given in the span of a single action. The zone targeted may be either the zone occupied by the performer or any adjacent zone. Doing this costs a brow prana.

Improvised Performance PerforMer starting

A skilled performer is able to distill the essence of a performance down to a gesture, or a single spoken line. This allows the performer to give a performance (as per the Performance system; see page 93), except doing so takes only a single interact action, costs a throat prana and targets only 125 one character. The targeted character must be in the same zone or an adjacent zone to the performer and must be able to witness the performance.

Lingering Influence PerforMer

Some performances leave a lasting impact on their spectators, no matter how much the viewer tries to get the performance out of her head. With this trait, the performer may spend a heart prana per consequence imposed with a performance to make the consequence lasting. Consequences imposed in this way may not be removed through taking a concentrate action. Instead, they are ended with the end of the current scene.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Shock & Dazzle PerforMer

5

PerforMer

10

Some performances are intended to shock or dazzle their audience, and with this trait the performer has mastered this tactic. This allows her to impose the Dazed consequence in place of the usual Desire or Fixation consequences when using the Performance system.

performing arts and quite capable of making impressive leaps, twists and weaves. With just a little more training, the performer is able to translate this

Superb Performance

By spending a brow prana the performer can add her Perception to her Defense. This may be done as a reaction to an attack.

Not all performances are equal; some inspire deeper and more moving emotions than others, swaying their audiences at a primal level.

Universal Charm

When the performer imposes consequences with a performance, she may increase their severity a step with this trait. Doing this costs a throat prana, along with the usual cost for the performance. It applies to all consequences imposed by that performance.

With the correct motions and bearing, a performer is able to use her extensive charm to seduce anything! This trait allows the performer to attempt seduction on any possible character, regardless of that character’s gender, sexual preferences or race without penalty.

PerforMer starting

126

Twist & Weave

Theatric Exploit PerforMer

Particularly manipulative performances can leave the audience members in a dreamy state of awe, which makes them exceptionally susceptible to sudden unexpected attacks. Additionally, a performer with this trait can spend a crown prana with an attack to use her Intelligence as a bonus to the attack against characters who currently have a consequence she imposed through a performance.

PerforMer

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Raja Bhurloka is dotted by a thousand cities and petty kingdoms, each with its own ruling family and each family possessing many members. The path of the raja is for those who are members of one of these important or a younger son without the distinction of being the Yuvaraja. Whatever their current the raja are from a regal line and have an air about them of command and charisma. Starting Skills: Diplomacy and either Intimidate or Socialize Starting Traits: Status & Power or Inspiring Presence Starting Equipment: Fancy Clothes, Jewelry

Air of Authority raja

5

A raja was born to command. With this trait, the raja may give a command to another character and expect that character to carry out the command. Should the commanded character not perform the command, the raja has the option to immediately spend a good karma which causes the insolent commanded character to gain a bad karma for not following orders. In combat this is an interact action requiring a throat prana. The commanded character must not outrank the raja. Those who outrank the raja include any character with a title of higher rank than the raja’s highest title or any character with more titles of a rank equal to the raja’s highest title. It must be possible for the commanded character to carry out commands given one of three categories: those that take an action to perform, those that take a scene

to perform and those that take longer than a scene to perform. The option to give bad karma for not performing these actions is available at the end of the period of time it would take to carry out these actions. For commands that would take an action, the bad karma may be given at the end of the next action provided the command was not carried out. For commands requiring a scene, the bad karma may be given at the end of the scene, and for commands requiring longer, the bad karma may be given at the end of the session or other period of time longer than it would take to perform the action, as determined by the GM. Commanding a character to perform an action that results in gaining bad karma bad karma if the action is performed.

Call Out raja

5

Rajas have the right to call out a challenge to anyone of equal or lower rank. To do this they simply need to seek out who they wish to challenge and make a loud public challenges are accompanied by much fanfare. With this trait, the raja may call out any other character of equal or lower rank, challenging them to open combat. This requires the combat be either one-on-one or with similarly-matched sides. It also prohibits surprise attacks, hidden forces or other such deceptions. Should the called out individual refuse the challenge or try to cheat in some manner, she gains a bad karma in addition to a lasting Fixated (the raja) (moderate) consequence that only ends once combat has been joined. The raja is bound by similar rules regarding deception. Should the raja cheat, she gains a bad karma and the challenged

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A challenge that has been announced with imposed Fixated consequence goes away.

Commanding Bellow raja

A raja has ways of motivating her allies and vassals to perform at their very peak and in ways that even they did not believe possible. By taking an interact action and spending a crown prana, the raja is able to bellow out a command that motivates a chosen ally of what normally would be possible for that ally. The designated ally may immediately make one action. She may use any traits she wishes, but must spend her own prana to use them should they require it. 128

Fabulously Wealthy raja

Many rajas have lands that give them access to a fabulous degree of wealth or physical goods, should they ask. Whenever in a civilized settlement, the raja has access to any common good she desires that costs one cow or less. Obtaining vassal to acquire it or asking around for half an hour. The raja may call on this ability in a scene a number of times equal to the rank of her highest title. So, for example, if her higher title were rank 2, could call on this ability twice per scene taking place in her lands.

Font of Order raja

5

There is a saying in Bhurloka that a the entire kingdom, and there is some truth to this saying. With this trait a raja may spend good karma for anyone who defers to her as their leader. This includes spending good karma to redraw cards, spending good karma to activate traits and playing a card from the raja’s hand.

Inspiring Presence raja starting

A skilled raja can read the fears and anxieties of her followers and knows just the right thing to say to motivate them onward. All it takes is a few words and an inspiring presence. With this trait the raja can take the coordinate action on all available allies and spend only a single crown prana to do so, rather than the one prana per ally normally needed to do so. Additionally, coordinated allies need not be in the same zone as the raja, but they still must be within two zones.

Rank Has its Privileges raja

The peoples of Bhurloka are brought up to respect ranks and titles. Similarly, those born into such ranks are brought up to from their enemies. The higher they are are born into. There is a reason the ruling caste and the warrior caste are typically one. The raja gains DR equal to the rank of her highest title.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Regal Mien raja

10

one’s bearing, posture, movement and the very mien of the raja. A truly regal leader she faces danger head on and accepts it. In the face of such steadfast determination, even danger itself will move out of the way. By spending a throat prana as a reaction an attack, the raja is able to gain a bonus to her Defense against that attack equal to her Charisma.

Status & Power raja starting

10

This character comes from an important family, and as a member of the family is due, she has both title and servants. With this trait, the character is mechanically considered to have a temporal title one rank higher than she otherwise would (see page 92). If she would normally have no title, she is for all intents and purposes a Thakur. Should she later gain a title, she is considered to be one rank higher than that title. In addition to her title, the raja has a personal attendant who will always serve her loyally. While she is not an epic hero like the raja, she is willing to perform extreme tasks in the raja’s name and put

herself in mortal danger to serve the raja. The raja’s attendant may be used to send messages, spy on enemies, and carry equipment, etc. Additionally, when the attendant is in the same zone as the raja, the raja may spend a brow prana to bond with the attendant, gaining the Bolstered (moderate) consequence. Finally, with any attack that the raja uses that would normally target all the characters in a zone, the raja may exclude the attendant from the attack for free. The player should describe the attendant to the GM and the GM should stat the attendant as an Enlightenment 1 elite using the Attendant stat block as the basis (see page 175). However, like a player character, the attendant will not die except to an attack with the Fatal property.

Tremble Before Me raja

Just as a raja’a presence can inspire, so can 129 it overwhelm and make one tremble. That overwhelming her foes with her presence. By spending a heart prana as a reaction to an attack from a character of a lower rank, the raja can force the attacker targeting her to expend a number of extra prana equal to her highest rank. These prana can come from any chakra. Should the attacker be unable to pay the extra prana, the attack is still made, but if the attack has extra prana

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Spearman Spearmen heroes may not be as exalted as archers, but they are no less skilled, and spearmen make up much of the bulk of armies. Spearmen are skilled hand-to-hand combatants, making use of their superior reach to control the battle in the zone around themselves, attacking where the enemy least expects it. Starting Skills: Melee and either Empathy or Tactics Starting Traits: Attack of Opportunity or First Strike Starting Equipment: Spear, Shield

Armored Mobility sPearMan

Professional spearmen sometimes rely on armor to help keep themselves alive a spearman to ignore the Bulky property on 130 any armor they wear.

Attack of Opportunity sPearMan starting

Experienced spearmen are able to exploit the openings that others leave when they retreat from a face-to-face battle, striking out at the angles least expected by their opponents. This trait allows the spearman to make a melee attack as a reaction to an enemy leaving the zone she occupies. This attack must target the retreating character and costs the usual lower prana.

Dazing Strike sPearMan

15

By putting her all into an attack, a spearman can daze an enemy with the sheer impact of her blow. By spending a heart prana along with an attack, the spearman increases her target’s Dazed consequence a severity on a successful hit or two severities on a critical hit.

Drive Back sPearMan

10

With a coordinated and skilled assault, a spearman may drive an enemy back, forcing making a successful melee attack against an opponent, the spearman may spend a throat prana to force that target backwards, spearman may then move the target to an adjacent zone. Movement in this way does movement, such as the Attack of Opportunity or First Strike traits.

Feint

sPearMan

15

pate where their enemies will strike next and likewise predict where their enemies anticipate in battle where each combatant tries to fool the other into predicting incorrectly. By spending a crown prana along with an attack, the spearman may add her Intelligence as a bonus to the attack.

Chapter 5 - Characters

First Strike

sPearMan starting

10

Throw & Bounce sPearMan

Many spearmen are skilled enough that enemy. This trait allows the spearman to make a melee attack as a reaction to an enemy entering the zone she occupies. This attack must target the approaching character and costs the usual lower prana.

Parry

sPearMan

10

A spearman soon learns to parry blows deadly attacks. Doing this is a reaction that requires spending a brow prana. When this reaction is taken, the spearman’s Defense against a melee attack gains a bonus equal to her Perception.

Power Strike sPearMan

15

With an exertion of focus and careful aim, the spearman can make a powerful thrust, dealing more damage with her weapon. By spending a heart prana along with a melee attack, the spearman may add her Determination to damage if the attack hits.

range. When that happens, the best spearmen have a trick up their sleeves. With this trait, the spearman may throw her weapon as an improvised ranged attack without the usual improvised weapon penalty and, if she chooses, using the melee skill instead of the archery skill. Finally, if she chooses to spend a throat prana along with the attack, she can throw the weapon (or other object) and returns to her hand at the end of the attack.

Whirlwind of Thrusts & Jabs sPearMan

With this trait, the spearman is able to lash out all around her in a whirlwind of thrusts 131 and jabs. Mechanically, by spending a crown prana along with a melee attack, she may make an attack that targets everyone else in the zone she is in. Optionally, she may exclude individuals from her attack, but each individual excluded in this way costs a crown prana.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Trickster Tricksters are clever and resourceful heroes, relying more on wit and guile than brawn to overcome obstacles, defeat their enemies and achieve their aims. Tricksters are masters of deception, but they walk a narrow road. While many tricksters keep to the true path of dharma, it can be all too easy to slip from the path. Starting Skills: Deception and either Stealth or Thievery Starting Traits: Bag Full of Tricks or both For a Good Cause and Master of Disguise Starting Equipment: Urumi, Tailor’s Kit

Bag Full of Tricks triCKster

Over time, tricksters build up a bag of anything to gain an advantage in a frenzied battle. This large wellspring of tricks 132 allows them to repeatedly gain an advantage against opponents since they can vary their tactics in surprising ways. With this trait, the trickster may use the trick option with an attack multiple times per combat.

For A Good Cause triCKster starting

of following their dharma without quite crossing the line. With this trait the trickster no longer immediately receives bad karma for stealing or deception provided certain conditions are met. away or discarded by the end of the scene scene at the GM’s discretion). At the end of that time, if the trickster is still in possession of the stolen item, she receives a bad karma, just as others would when stealing it. For this trait to apply, she cannot have

the item away, nor does it count if she gives the item away to a traveling companion or other close ally. For deception, the trickster may ignore any bad karma from telling lies or other falsehoods provided her intentions (this is at the GM’s discretion). Despite this trait, the trickster is still subject to bad karma from other indiscretions, such as breaking vows, using astras, impurities, etc. Taking a

Great Aim triCKster

15

With experience, a trickster gains insight into the ways in which enemies move when attacked and is able to anticipate these movements, taking them into account when an attack is made. When taking the Aim option with this trait, the bonus to an attack is doubled. This means that one brow prana to aim nets a +4, while two brow prana spent to aim nets a +8.

Hide in Plain Sight triCKster starting

Tricksters are adept at making the most of cover, using it to hide them from sight or notice in combat. the Cover or Concealment consequence, she is harder to target. She must be (see page 80). This is in addition to the

Chapter 5 - Characters

Master of Disguise

Missed Me

With a few minutes of preparation and access to the correct clothing, a trickster can disguise her appearance to look like any other similarly-sized humanoid character. This includes not just base appearance, but posture, mannerisms, voice and even scent.

When successfully dodging an attack with the dodge reaction, the trickster may spend a brow prana to redirect an attack targeting her at another character of her choice in the same zone. If the attack targets multiple characters, of which the trickster is only one,

triCKster starting

the individual. While disguised as an individual, others have no possibility to see through the disguise unless the trickster does something dramatically out of character for the individual (GM’s discretion), the observer maya (illusion; this trait is not maya, but such powers can see through mundane disguises as well) or the observer leaves the trickster’s presence. In the latter case, once the observer is outside of the trickster’s overwhelming aura of disguise, she may make one Per/empathy vs. Chr/deception action to realize that something was amiss.

triCKster

10

the part aimed at the trickster. If there are no other characters in her zone, the attack may not be redirected. Similarly, the attack may not be redirected to the attacker. When the attack is redirected, simply compare the attack to the Defense or Willpower of the new target and resolve as appropriate.

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Pinpoint Accuracy

The Harder They Fall

The best tricksters are able to strike small targets with surprising accuracy, even when those targets are moving in erratic ways. They are also able to avoid striking allies when those allies might otherwise be in the way of their attacks. With this trait, the trickster can ignore the cost of crown prana usually required to perform any of the following actions: called shot, disarm, trip or any trait requiring that crown prana be spent to avoid attacking targets within a zone.

A trickster is adept at turning an enemy’s attack to her advantage, knocking the

triCKster

Sneak Attack triCKster

triCKster

15

Tricksters are skilled at popping out and attacking when their enemies least expect it. They are able to translate this surprise 134

By spending a crown prana along with an attack, the trickster may add her Intelligence bling; see page 80) or her target has the Stun consequence. Additionally, when doing this, she may add the highest of the severity of her target’s Stun consequence, the trickster’s Cover consequence or the trickster’s Concealment consequence to the damage.

When successfully dodging an attack from a character within the same zone, the trickster can spend a heart prana to knock the attacker prone, giving her the Low Posture (critical) consequence.

Trick Shot triCKster

15

Instead they are adept at making tricky attacks, tripping, grappling or disarming an enemy, rather than simply bashing her in the face until she falls down defeated. By spending a throat prana along with a called shot, disarm, grapple or trip attack, hit on a normal hit. This does not include doubling damage, but does include any a critical hit is scored, it is treated exactly as usual.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Wildman Wildman heroes are tough and intimidating individuals who were either raised in feral tribes deep in the wilderness or who have retreated deep into the woods for years in order to meditate and gain a primal purity. simple melee weapons and scare everyone around them at least a little bit. Starting Skills: Intimidate and either Animals or Survival Starting Traits: pable Toughness Starting Equipment: Zaghnal, Sack

Ferocity

Come and Get It

wildMan

wildMan

The ferocity of a wildman is such that she faces of their enemies and forcing them to either attack the wildman or face an onslaught of frenzied blows. With this trait, the wildman can let out a mighty roar and make a special attack action, paying a single throat prana. When this action is made, all targets the wildman chooses in her zone must either attack her or would not normally be subject to Attrition. These attacks are resolved immediately and TN. They may not be dodged. Furthermore, the attacking targets must pay the usual lower prana for the attack, and they cannot use other trait costing prana to enhance it. This action ends the character’s turn, despite the fact that it does not require a card.

Feral Toss wildMan

With this trait, by spending two lower prana, the character is able to both pick up and optionally hurl a heavy object at an enemy as a Str/archery vs. Defense action. In order to make use of this trait, a suitable object needs to be nearby. The object may have an encumbrance value up to 10× the character’s Strength. A nearby enemy may also be hurled in this way, but only if the enemy has already been grappled as a separate action. On a successful hit with this attack, the target takes damage equal to Str + 1/10 the encumbrance of the object. If the object thrown was an enemy, that enemy takes an equal amount of damage.

10

With this trait, the wildman is able to channel her strength into short bursts of incredible

5

When making an Intimidate action, a wildman may target all desired characters in an entire zone rather than simply an individual. When doing this, make the intimidate action only once and compare 135 the result to each target’s Willpower.

Frenzied Counterattack wildMan

The sheer ferocity of the wildman is such that enemies will fall in droves when she attacks. By spending a brow prana as a reaction to an attack and giving a mighty roar, the character may double her Attrition score against that attack.

Iron Hide wildMan

10

bring down even if they have been struck a thousand times. By spending a heart prana as a reaction to an attack, the wildman may add her Endurance as a bonus to her DR when resolving damage from that attack.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Man of the Wild wildMan

Wildmen are hardy individuals who have spent a large amount of time dealing with the many hazards found in nature. Characters with this trait may opt to add their Determination as a bonus on all actions to resist environmental hazards such as falls, extreme temperatures, starvation, drowning and sleep deprivation. damage from an environmental hazard, they may apply their Endurance as DR against it, even if they would not normally say on what does and does not qualify as an environmental hazard.

Shake Off

wildMan starting

10

A wildman is not easily daunted. She has seen some of the worst that nature has to

Red in Tooth & Claw

there is little in the human realm that can daunt her as well.

Wildmen can be reckless and feral, making their enemies pay for every inch of ground, even in the face of overwhelming attacks.

Whenever a wildman takes a concentrate action to remove consequences, she only needs to spend one prana per consequence rather than one prana per severity.

wildMan

136

With this trait, the character is able to spend a good karma to scrounge up something in nature that can be used as a tool for the task at hand. For example, a convenientlyshaped piece of wood might serve as a shovel or a piece of volcanic glass might serve as a sword. Mechanically, this scavenged equipment is treated as the piece of equipment for which it is substituting without any of the usual improvised equipment penalties. However, it breaks sometime around the end of the session, as it never was really designed for the task.

By spending a crown prana, the wildman can apply her Attrition to her attacker as if her attacker were a vassal.

Scrounge & Improvise wildMan

Wildmen are adept at making do with what making a long trip to a city to buy goods.

Unstoppable Toughness wildMan starting

Wildmen grow up in an environment where only the strong survive. The character did survive, so she must be among the strongest and most enduring. With this trait she adds the highest of her Strength or Endurance to her maximum HP.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of the Yogi Yogis are masters of meditation, delving into the disciplines of mind and will. They tend serve as gurus or pandits for others seeking wisdom. Yogis may not be as outwardly religious as ascetics; nevertheless, many yogis share a pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and empowerment with ascetics. Starting Skills: Wisdom and either Investigate or Lore Starting Traits: Disciplined Austerities or Spiritual Guidance Starting Equipment: Special: The yogi path contains a number of siddhi traits. These traits represent supernatural powers gained in the yogi’s pursuit of spiritual awareness. For every siddhi trait taken by a character in excess of her Enlightenment, the character must also take a Vow trait, found on the Path of Vows

power comes increasing spiritual restrictions.

Astral Projection yogi siddhi

This siddhi allows the yogi to meditate, projecting her consciousness wherever thought can go. This allows her to astrally project herself, spying on events or conveying messages at a distance. To use this siddhi, the yogi needs an down, meditating and taking no other action for an hour. At the end of the hour of meditation, she expends all prana in her crown chakra and focuses on where she wants to project herself. She must be able to picture the location clearly, having visited there herself in the past. Alternately, she may project herself to a person, being able to picture the person clearly from interacting with the person in the past. Then, within the span of a single thought, her consciousness leaves her body and she appears in the location meditated upon.

While astrally projecting in this manner, the yogi loses all awareness of her body, even being unable to feel pain or become aware of the situation should it come under attack. At the location of her projection, she appears as a ghostly projection of herself, translucent but clearly recognizable to anyone who knows her. If she projected to appears immediately and unmistakably in front of the subject of her projection when While projecting, she has access to all of her senses from her astral form and can move exactly as if she were physically at that location, save for the inability to interact with any physical objects, such as doors. She may even take actions, such as using stealth to hide herself, but all her physical stats are that is, every physical stat is instead replaced by the mental stat with which it shares a card’s suit. The yogi’s projection may not projecting, and her ability to draw upon other traits is limited by not being able to interact with physical objects. Anyone noticing the astral projection of the yogi may forcibly bring this siddhi to an end by striking her projection. This is resolved like any attack, except this attack is against Willpower instead of Defense. the siddhi. This siddhi otherwise lasts a concentrate action.

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Beyond Worldly Concerns

For this siddhi to work, the yogi needs

While viewing the past, she perceives all sights, sounds and smells from her current spot. She similarly loses awareness of these senses in her current time. Events are viewed at the rate of one second per second, meaning that viewing her spot over the course of a day requires lingering there for the rest of the day.

she wishes to activate the siddhi she simply declares it so. This siddhi may not

Viewing the past in this way lasts until dismissed by the yogi. However, if the

yogi siddhi

Through the exercise of this siddhi, a yogi may avoid being disturbed by hunger, thirst, maladies or other bodily disturbances.

activated; it lasts until her heart chakra is

Mental Forms yogi siddhi

or hazards such as hunger, thirst or sleep deprivation. Every time she is exposed to such a situation and would normally need to make an action to resist it, she simply reduces her heart prana by one. In this way, her heart prana is gradually worn down until it is no 138

Disciplined Austerities yogi starting

Many yogis have hardened their bodies and minds against the rigors of practicing austerities. With this trait, the yogi may spend a good karma to add her Endurance as a bonus to the action made to practice austerities.

Insight into Time yogi siddhi

With this trait, the yogi can see into the past, gazing back on events that have transpired in her current location. She needs an overin this way requires taking a concentrate action and expending all her brow prana. wants to view. This can be up to a number of days in the past equal to the number of brow prana expended.

15

With this trait, the yogi can appear to have another form. She does not truly gain that form, but she appears as if she had it. This is a form of maya (illusion). The form taken must be that of another living being with a Size no for example, a Size 0 yogi (normal human size) could appear to be a dog (Size -1), but could not appear as a small bird (Size -2). Similarly, she could appear as a random servant (a living being), but could not appear as a rock. A yogi may appear as a generic member of a group (a shudra, a cow, a soldier, etc.) individual, however, she is bound to the dharma of that individual. If she acts against the individual’s nature while wearing her appearance (for example, appearing as an enemy raja and telling the raja’s guards to stand down while their city is invaded) she gains a bad karma. She also remains bound to her own dharma and can gain bad karma in all the usual ways. Taking on an appearance with this trait yogi takes a concentrate action and then expends all her throat prana. Her illusory form lasts until the end of the scene or until costing no prana.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Mind Over Body yogi siddhi

To the disciplined yogi, an attack against her must not only overcome her body, but also her mind. Through the invocation of this siddhi, a yogi may protect herself, absorbing attacks directed against her through sheer force of will. This siddhi is activated as a reaction to an attack against her Defense. To do so, a yogi must spend a heart prana. That attack is now against her Willpower instead of her Defense. Furthermore, she may add her Speed as a bonus to her Willpower when resolving this attack.

Meditative Peace yogi siddhi

A yogi who calmly sits and meditates can shut out the world, clearing her mind to focus on her inner disciplines. This mental

state of tranquility can become so complete that it protects not just her mind, but her body as well. involves sitting quietly and taking no other she is extremely resilient from harm. While meditating, no attack short of an astra can damage her, although she may be grappled, picked up or otherwise moved around by enemies. Additionally, if she possesses the Beyond Worldly Concerns trait, no other including sleep deprivation, starvation or required by that trait. Once her meditation has ended, however, damage from any of these sources begins. Entering meditation is a concentrate leaving meditation is also a concentrate action, but it has no associated cost.

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Spiritual Guidance yogi starting

By chanting a mantra when taking an action, this character can call upon her spiritual knowledge for guidance in the proper performance of the action. Doing this requires both the ability to speak and the appropriate prana. When taking the action, the yogi chooses a higher chakra that is above its normal maximum prana. The lower chakras will not prana in the chosen chakra. For every prana expended in this way, the action gains a +1 bonus. In addition, the usual required prana for the action must be expended as well.

prana and take a concentrate action to see through any maya (illusions) in her current zone. Once seen through, the illusion is broken for her, although others will still see the illusion.

Third Eye

Travel Through Thought

yogi siddhi

140

of the following information: whether the target is a legend, elite or vassal; a basic idea of the emotional state of the target; whether the target has higher good or bad karma; and some idea of the target’s surface thoughts, consisting of a word of two. This costs one brow prana per piece of information gleaned. The player may choose which pieces of information she seeks from the above list, but she must specify which before she receives any results.

10

yogi siddhi

This trait allows the yogi to focus her spiritual perceptions to perform a number of feats. She may do any of the following:

With this siddhi, the yogi is able to travel the paths of the mind, stepping with a thought from one location to another. To

The yogi may take an interact action and spend a brow prana in order to see the prana pooling in the chakras of others. She designates one target and then stares for a moment. This lets her know exactly how

throat chakra. She simply takes a move action and expends all her throat prana. She may then move to any place she can clearly visualize within a number of miles equal to the number of prana spent. She brings with her any equipment she is carrying. She may also bring with her a number of other characters equal to the number of prana spent, including any equipment they are carrying. Any characters brought in this way must be within the same zone as the yogi and will appear in the same zone upon arrival.

or in the case of elites or vassals, how many prana the character possesses total. The yogi may also take a concentrate action to get a basic read on the spiritual aura of another. To do this, she must specify a target and then she gleans one or more

Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of Vows This path contains a list of holy vows, typically taken by brahmins, yogis, ascetics or other their pursuit of cosmic understanding. While these vows may be taken by all characters, one vow must be taken by for every siddhi trait a character acquires in excess of her Enlightenment. So, for example, an Enlightenment 2 character may possess up to two siddhis without taking a vow, but for every siddhi she Starting Traits: Starting Equipment: Special: Characters do not take this

path. Instead the path contains a variety of vows that any character can take. Special: All vow traits either earn the character a good karma or remove a bad karma when they negatively impact the mum of one karma per vow trait per scene. Violating one of these vows comes with mystical repercussions. Every time such a vow is violated, the character gains a bad karma. Additionally, the character cannot use siddhi traits or raise her prana in a chakra above maximum, until she has undergone of devotions requiring at least a week free to devote entirely to the penance. This path may not be selected by player characters selecting paths.

Vow of Celibacy vow

With this trait, the character vows to abstain from all activities of a sexual nature. This prevents her not just from partaking in intercourse, but also from partaking in on the sexual interests of others.

Vow of Fasting vow

Characters who have taken this vow have sworn to only eat one meal a day, not to eat meat and not to beg for food. Additionally, they have gained bad karma and any day in which they have performed a siddhi.

Vow of Meditation vow

A character who has taken this vow has promised to meditate without interruption once a day. The time of day must be dawn, dusk and noon are common. At this time of day, without fail, the character must quietly meditate for at least an hour. While meditating, the character cannot do anything else, not even perform free actions. Once started, the meditation cannot be stopped character or her companions depend upon it.

Vow of Non-Violence vow

With this vow, the character has sworn to do no harm to another living person or animal. What’s more, she has sworn not to carry a weapon or other instrument of death. This prevents the character from performing any action that would cause damage or HP such as pushing the character into a damaging zone or leaving her where she will be harmed.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Vow of Possession

Vow of Santhara

A character with this vow does not take that

suspects might have been stolen or looted, she cannot accept them. Finally, she may not purchase material possessions, making do only with what she can make herself or that which is given to her free of charge.

Characters who have taken this austere vow have sworn not to partake in medication, medical treatment or supernatural healing, relying instead only on natural healing should they be injured. Even receiving healing aid against their will is enough to break this vow, unless the character immediately takes a blade or other weapon and injures herself to a point where she is more injured than before she received the healing.

Vow of Poverty

Vow of Silence

This is not a vow to possess no material possessions; rather it is a vow not to become attached to material possessions.

With this trait, the character vows never to again speak or utter a single sound, other than religious mantras declared out loud with the intent of devotion. In this way this vow does not prevent the character from making use of religious traits that require

vow

not steal from others, nor loot possessions that once belonged to others. Additionally,

vow

Characters who have taken this vow must give away any possession they own if another character asks them for it. Addi142 tionally, should they see another character in need of an item they possess, they must

vow

vow

using other traits requiring speech and from trying to subvert this vow by using religious mantras to convey a non-spiritual message.

Vow of Truth vow

A character who takes this vow has sworn not to tell a lie or allow another to be deceived through inaction. This prevents the character from telling untruths, partial truths or telling the truth in a deceptive manner. It also prevents her from standing idly by as others tell what she knows not to be untrue.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Weakness Path Accumulating bad karma over the course of lifetimes can result in troubles in the next incarnation when that karma resolves. Such troubles can cause weaknesses to arise, causing problems but allowing one to Starting Traits: Starting Equipment: Special: This path may not be selected.

Instead characters beginning an incarnation with bad karma must select one of these traits for each point of bad karma they possess. Special: All weakness traits either earn the character a good karma or remove a bad karma when they negatively impact the charof one karma per weakness trait per scene. In bad karma. This path may not be selected by player characters selecting paths.

Allergy

weaKness

--

The character is allergic to something. When exposed to the allergen, the character must immediately make an End-16 action or increase her Fatigue consequence a severity. This consequence is considered conditioned is no longer exposed to the allergen. This action must be repeated every one minute of exposure. Should the character already be at critical Fatigue, she instead takes Mag damage; naturally, DR does not apply.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Amnesia weaKness

--

The character has some part of her past that she simply can’t remember. This may come back to haunt her, as people she knew but don’t remember may approach her; she might be accused of crimes she can’t recall or even be approached by lovers hurt by her lack of memory. This gap in memory may be for this incarnation or even be for past incarnations, provided the lack of memory has some clear way it will negatively impact her in this incarnation.

Bad Senses weaKness

--

hearing, touch or smell/taste. This sense is particularly poor compared to her Perception. Actions made relying on this sense 144

Cripple

weaKness

--

This character has a bad limp or some other persistent injury that slows down her movement. Actions made that rely on this

weaKness

weaKness

--

This character is not built as tough as one might expect given her usual strength and endurance. Subtract 4 from her maximum HP when determining it.

Elderly

weaKness

--

An elderly character has seen the prime of her life pass her by and is now in her golden waning years. When this trait is taken, the player selects two stats as her deteriorating stats. She may no longer take the Stat Training trait for these stats. Additionally, every time the character goes into enlightened retreat, she must choose another two stats. Once all of her eight stats have begun deterioration, she automatically passes away from old age the next time she would enter enlightened retreat; all mortals must eventually die. Meanwhile, she gains a good in these deteriorating stats present her with

Epilepsy weaKness

a -2 penalty.

Cursed

Delicate build

--

--

cannot be removed in this lifetime. The GM and player should work together to

as in relationships, combat or even perceptiveness. All cards that would normally be trump in those actions instead cause the action to be an automatic critical failure.

this happens, the character must make an End-16 action versus taking the Stun (light) consequence. If the failure is Mag 5 or greater, the severity is moderate instead. Certain

Chapter 5 - Characters

Glass Jaw weaKness

--

When it comes right down to it, the character is just easier to knock out than one might expect. When making an Endurance

The character is particularly poor when it comes to counterattacking against a horde of vassals. Reduce her Attrition to zero.

--

The character has problems getting to sleep. Every night when she lays down to fall asleep, she must succeed on a Det-16 action or she does not rest well. No sleep she gets that night counts as rest for the purposes of the sleep deprivation rules or for the purposes of natural healing. She may not even use these missed hours trying to sleep for anything

Lacking Sense weaKness

sight, hearing, touching or smell/taste. Actions relying exclusively on that sense automatically fail.

Missing Arm weaKness

--

The character is missing an arm. When performing any task that normally requires penalty.

to any action where her scrawny stature would be a hindrance. Examples include actions made to resist being knocked down or made to bodily block a character from moving past her.

Sluggish Defense weaKness

The character’s Defense is slower to react 145 than it might otherwise be. When calculating her Defense TNs, she takes a -2 penalty to both scores.

weaKness

--

--

The character’s build is stick-thin and

Ugly

she simply tries to get sleep and fails.

--

The character is missing a leg, making it tough to get around. This increases the cost of any move action by one lower prana. Finally, she is at a -4 penalty to kick.

weaKness

weaKness

weaKness

weaKness

Scrawny

Ineffective Counterattack

Insomniac

Missing Leg

--

The character is a particularly ugly a -2 penalty to any action where her terrible looks provide a hindrance.

Unlucky weaKness

--

Whenever one of her bad karma is used lowest of all these values rather than the usual lowest of two.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Vulnerability weaKness

--

The character is particularly vulnerable to some source of damage. Anytime she would normally be dealt damage from that source, double the usual amount. This source may etc.) or it may be a location (head, torso, leg or arm).

Weak Chakra weaKness

--

One of the character’s chakras holds less prana than one would normally expect, given her stats. Decrease the maximum value of the chakra by two. This weakness may not be chosen for a chakra where the value would be reduced below one.

Weak-Minded weaKness

--

The character’s Willpower simply isn’t what it might otherwise be. When calculating her Willpower TNs, take a -2 penalty to both scores.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Inhuman Path

Celestial Descent

Bhurloka is home to all manner of inhuman birds of the land, to more sinister peoples such as the rakshasas or the asuras. Starting Traits: Starting Equipment: Special: This path is intended for de-

signing inhuman non-player characters. It may not be selected by player characters selecting paths.

Ageless inhUMan

3

Although the character may grow old and die like any other mortal, she will never physically age past the prime of her life. Any to acquire the Elderly trait may be ignored.

Burrow inhUMan

25

The character may burrow through solid ground, including rock, as if it were water. This may allow a character to overcome certain zone borders or allow her to more easily move to overcome cover or concealment.

inhUMan

This character is not pulled uncontrolled to the ground like most mortals when she falls. No, the very forces of nature bend for her, allowing her to descend slowly and elegantly to the ground. When falling, she takes only half the usual amount of damage.

Claws

inhUMan

3

This character has the ability to manifest toes. Causing these claws to manifest or disappear is a concentrate action costing a throat prana. When using claws, unarmed attacks deal Str+1 damage on a successful hit.

Constriction inhUMan

15

If the character is grappling another at the beginning of her turn, she may opt to constrict around the grappled character, automatically dealing damage to the grappled character equal to her Strength. This costs a lower prana, but does not consume her action this turn.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Control inhUMan

50

With this trait, the character has special purview and control over a particular aspect of the physical world. This aspect must be

acceptable aspect. Having control over this aspect allows the character to manipulate it in a variety of ways listed below. All manipulations require a concentrate action costing a number of crown prana as indicated. All manipulations are also automatic unless otherwise indicated. Move:

manipulate the aspect, putting pressure on it in order to move it. For example, with this water out of a glass. She may not do anything 148

entire zone. Material created in this way is obviously unnatural in origin upon inspection, and merchants will be unwilling to trade for it. This manipulation costs 4 crown prana. Attack: With this manipulation the character uses her aspect to attack. This is an attack action instead of a concentrate

attack deals damage equal to the character’s Charisma and has the Ranged property. This manipulation costs 1 crown prana.

Direction Sense inhUMan

The character has an unusually good sense of direction. She gains a +3 bonus on actions to get her bearings or determine which direction is which.

requires the shape manipulation. She may push on her aspect as if she has Strength to push with equal to her Charisma. This manipulation costs 1 crown prana.

Discorporate

Shape: With this manipulation the character may intricately shape her aspect, bending it into fantastic shapes at her

switch back and forth between being solid and being ethereal. While ethereal, she may mally anything that targets Defense) unless the attacker is also ethereal. Any attack that

end of the scene or when a concentrate action is taken to end it, the aspect resumes time, water will fall to the ground, etc. This manipulation costs 2 crown prana. Destroy: This manipulation allows the

character to outright destroy anything that falls under the purview of her aspect. This manipulation costs 3 crown prana. Create: This manipulation allows the user to create her aspect from thin air. She

inhUMan

normal. While ethereal, the character may move through solid objects as she desires; however, doing so costs one extra prana.

Drain

inhUMan

15

The character may drain the vitality of a target in the same zone as her by making an attack which costs a crown prana. This is an Int/wisdom vs. Willpower action. On a success, she drains Mag HP from the target and gains the same amount.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Extra Arms inhUMan

3

The character has a second set of arms that she may cause to manifest or disappear as or disappear is a concentrate action costing two heart prana. Additionally, her normal set of arms cannot be bound when causing the second set of manifest or disappear.

Fast

inhUMan

10

The character may move up to two zones with a single move (basic) action. Additionally, the character gains a +4 bonus to hustle actions.

Fear

inhUMan

15

This second set of arms provides the character with two extra hands with which she may hold objects. For example, she may hold two two-handed weapons at once, although this does not provide her with a second attack or a second action.

immediately make a free Chr vs. Willpower action on the character observing her. On a success, the observing character’s Fear consequence increases a severity plus an additional severity every 5 Mag.

Extra Heads

Flight

inhUMan

3

The character may manifest between one and three extra heads. Causing these heads to manifest or disappear is a concentrate action costing one crown prana per head. These extra heads allow the character to observe multiple directions at once. Additionally, the character may spend one less prana than usual to end the Dazed consequence.

Extra Legs inhUMan

3

The character has a second set of legs that may be manifested or disappear as to manifest or disappear is a concentrate action costing two heart prana. Additionally, the character’s normal set of legs cannot be bound when causing the second set of manifest or disappear. Having the second set of legs grants her a +2 bonus to avoid being tripped or losing her balance due to bad footing.

inhUMan

25

as would a bird or an insect. This may allow a character to overcome certain zone 149 borders or allow her to more easily move to overcome cover or concealment.

Invisibility inhUMan

25

An invisible character cannot be seen. This bat. Unless the attacking character possesses some ability to target the invisible character succeed on a Per/awareness vs. Dex/stealth concentrate action. This action costs a brow prana. On a success, the attacker can target the invisible character for the rest of the combat, but must always spend an additional brow prana to do so (as per the “Fighting Blind” rules; see page 80). On a failure, the invisible character cannot be targeted, but the attacker may try again next round. Most characters with invisibility can move action and spending a crown prana.

Chapter 5 - Characters

Maya

inhUMan

25

Maya is the power of illusion. With this trait, by spending a brow prana per sense deceived and taking a concentrate action, an entire zone. This illusion can give or take away the concealment consequence at any severity for every character in the zone, individually. This illusion appears as whatever the character wishes and can even move or seem to interact with other characters, given any set of directions provided when the illusion is created. Should the it is created, she may do so; however, this requires a concentrate action and another brow prana. The illusion lasts until the concentrate action requiring a heart prana.

Night Vision 150

inhUMan

3

The character does not take any penalties to actions due to darkness. Other forms of

Poison

inhUMan

15

those coming in physical contact with her with a malady. Doing so is free provided an action was just taken that bring the characters in combat. This malady requires an End-13 (1 round, 10) extended action to the target gains the Bleeding consequence. It begins at light severity but increases a severity every round the malady continues. Any action that removes this consequence removes the malady as well.

Possession inhUMan

25

Through this ability, the character can control the actions of another. She needs to be in the same zone as the target and make an attack action, spending a throat prana to do so. She then makes a Chr/wisdom vs. Willpower possessed character cannot attempt to shake possession does not occur. If the possessor is ethereal, she physically inhabits the possessed character until the possession ends. If the possessor is not ethereal, her body simply slumps over and is immobile until the possession ends. That body cannot take any actions during the possession. The possessor remains aware of her body’s surrounds during this time, and the possessed body may move more than a zone away from the possessor’s body ends either at the end of the scene or when the possessor takes a concentrate action paying a heart prana to do so. While the possession is taking place, the possessor takes actions through the possessed body, using the possessed body’s physical stats. The possessor, however, still uses her own mental stats, skills and traits. She does not have access to the traits of the possessed body unless those traits represent some innate physical quality, such as claws, secreted poison, etc. Any damage goes to The targeted character remains aware of everything her body is doing and has access to all of her senses while possessed, although she cannot act. Should the possessor take any action that puts her in direct physical danger or which gains a bad karma, the possessed character may make Additionally, she may spend a good karma to make such an attempt as well. Either

Chapter 5 - Characters

is a Det vs. Chr/wisdom action that costs a heart prana. On a success, the possession immediately ends; otherwise it continues.

Pounce inhUMan

15

With this attack, a character can leap up and pounce on her target. The character may spend a throat prana along with an attack to add her Speed as a bonus to the attack action.

Scent

inhUMan

3

This character can distinguish people by scent. This gives her a +2 bonus to see through disguises or illusions, provided she is familiar with the scent she is distinguishing the target from and gets a good chance to smell the target. Unless the target is particularly smelly, smelling the target requires being in the same zone and taking a concentrate action costing one brow prana.

Shapeshift inhUMan

50

With this trait, the character may take a concentrate action to assume the form of any creature that is within one size of her own. The transformation costs one brow prana, plus an additional for each stat being increased by this transformation. While in this altered form, the character gains all the physical stats of the creature she changed into but keeps her own mental stats. Her chakras, HP and other derived values do not change. She also keeps all her own traits and gains none of the traits of the chosen creature, save those that are purely

To assume a form, the character must be familiar with the chosen creature, having encountered one before personally. She may but in doing so she doesn’t gain the stats of the individual; she only gains the stats of a appearance is purely cosmetic.

Shyama Varna inhUMan

3

The character’s skin has a celestial bluish color, marking her above the normal caste alties to social interactions due to her caste.

Superior Sense inhUMan

The character possesses some sensory capability that humans do not. The nature when the trait is gained. It may include the ability to see heat, navigate by echolocation as would a bat, sense anything happening to a mystically-linked location or track by sense what types of superior sense exist.

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Chapter 5 - Characters

Path of Adharma This path contains the forbidden teachings of the Dark Yogi. It’s possessed by him, his most trusted of followers and those evil men who have aligned themselves with him in order to exploit the world while dharma is under attack. Starting Traits: Turn the Tables and Astra (Adharmaastra) Starting Equipment: Adharmaastra Special: This path is intended for designing NPCs who are disciples of the Dark Yogi. It may not be selected by player characters selecting paths. Asking for a trait from this path with a divine boon might be possible, depending on the god granting the boon. However, even the most

accordingly.

152

Turn the Tables adharMa

Whenever the character has one of her bad karma used against her, instead of taking the lower of the two cards as usual, she as if a good karma had been spent. Additionally, the character may opt to spend her bad karma just as she would her good karma.

Abominable Toughness adharMa

With this trait, the character’s current bad karma adds to her DR.

Adharma Surge adharMa

Whenever the character has one of her bad karma used against her or she spends a bad karma, she may either decrease one of her consequences a severity or she may increase her Bolstered consequence two severities. This is in addition to the usual

Dark Will adharMa

15

With this trait, the character adds her current bad karma as a bonus to her Willpower.

Armor of Contempt adharMa

With this trait, the character adds her current bad karma as a bonus to her Defense.

Seize the Initiative adharMa

This character is particularly quick to react to threats. When one player chooses another to go next in combat this character may interject, taking her turn next despite which player was picked. She still may only take one turn per round, however, and may not use this ability if her turn has already who goes next, as usual. If there are two characters with Seize the Initiative in a combat that both try to seize it at once, the

Chapter 5 - Characters

Tongue of the Serpent

Unnatural Healing

With this trait, the character can spend a throat chakra to take an interact action. During this action she can deliver a short monologue without interruption, revealing her plans, taunting any heroes present

Whenever the character has one of her bad karma used against her or she spends a bad karma, she gains a number of HP equal to her Endurance. This is in addition to the usual

adharMa

If performed in combat, this action takes only a round, no matter how long accommodate the supernatural power of the speech. At the end of the speech the character has bought herself an opportunity to build up prana. She immediately gains prana equal to her Charisma, which she can distribute among her chakras as she sees vicinity may have heard her speech and can respond as appropriate. This trait may only be called upon once per scene.

adharMa

We’re Not So Different adharMa

With this trait, the character makes an appeal to a foe’s sense of identity, giving a short exchange along the lines of “We’re not so action that costs a throat prana. The character makes a Chr/empathy vs. Willpower action against the target. On a success, the target what the character is saying or she does not. If she buys into it, she gains the Fixation (Not Harming the Character) consequence as a lasting consequence that can only be ended 153 by surrender or the end of the scene. If she does not buy into it, she must still overcome ing the Stunned consequence. Both of these consequences increase one severity, or two on

equipment quipment is an important part of most role-playing games, and Against the Dark Yogi endeavors. Common equipment includes weapons, armor and tools used

Properties Equipment in the Saga Machine system is largely a matter of common sense. A lock-pick can be used for picking locks, not archery; a cane can be used to walk with, but may serve as a basic improvised weapon in a pinch. Mechanically, however, a piece properties indicating how it interacts with various rules systems. This is particularly true of weapons and armor. A property, for example, may indicate that the piece of equipment is big and takes up more encumbrance than normal, or it may indicate that the weapon is able to wrap around shields, negating their defense bonus. by equipment in the Against the Dark Yogi setting are listed below: Accurate X: This weapon is particularly

easy to wield. It gains the indicated bonus on all attacks. Big X: This item is large and occupies multiple slots of encumbrance. The

Bulky X: This armor is bulky when worn

and hinders the character’s movement. It gives the indicated penalty to all Dexterity and Speed actions while worn. Conceal X: This item is particularly easy to conceal on one’s person. It grants the listed bonus on attempts to conceal it against notice or upon search. Damage X: This weapon deals the damage listed when it is used with an attack. Defensive X: When used, this item proDR X: This item provides the amount of

damage reduction indicated when worn. Fatal: PCs that fail an End action from being reduced below 0 HP with this weapon are killed rather than rendered unconscious. Hands X: This property indicates the number of hands required to wield the weapon. If this property is not listed, it is assumed to be Hands 1. Inaccurate X: This weapon is particularly penalty on all attacks.

Lacking Proper Equipment or giving a speech in the court of a fancy ruler without the appropriate fancy attire. For these actions, if a character lacks proper equipment, she takes a -4 penalty to the

Chapter 6 - Equipment Neg: This item has negligible weight and

does not occupy any encumbrance slots. At the GM’s discretion, however, holding mass quantities of this type of item may add up to an encumbrance slot. It’s suggested at the very least that 100 items with the Neg property add up to one slot. Ranged: This weapon may make ranged however, this weapon requires an interact action to reload. Reach: When wielding this weapon, the character gains a +2 bonus to Dodge reactions against melee attacks. Thrown: This weapon must be thrown to sent one “quiver” of the thrown weapon. Tricky: Attacks with this weapon do not need to pay the extra crown prana to trip or disarm. Worn: This item is designed to be worn and occupies one less encumbrance slot when worn. So, for example, an item that occupies one slot (as is default) 156 occupies zero when worn. Wraps: Targets take a -2 penalty to Dodge reactions against this weapon.

Encumbrance with them until they begin to get bogged down. This is represented mechanically as a unless a property indicates otherwise, such up exactly one slot. This gives the limit the character can carry before she begins to bog down. So, for example, a character with out penalty. To determine Encumbrance use the formula below:

Encumbrance = Strength + Size Characters who carry equipment over this limit begin to take penalties to certain actions. This gives a -1 penalty to all Dexterity and Speed actions for being over limit, plus an additional -1 penalty for every full increment of the limit the character is over. So, for example, if a character has Encumbrance 5 and they are carrying 7, she would take a -1 penalty. If instead she were carrying 10, she would take a -2 penalty, since 10 is double her Encumbrance.

Carrying Characters in any game, however, when a character wishes to pick up or carry another. For this situation, use the following basic guidelines to determine the picked-up character’s encumbrance: A character will on average have an encumbrance rating equal to 10, although the GM is free to adjust this up for down for particularly heavy or light builds. If the carried character is carrying any equipment, her equipment will add to the total encumbrance, too. For characters other than typical (Size 0) humanoids, double the character’s encumbrance for each Size above 0 (so Big 20 for Size +1, Big 40 for Size +2, etc.) or halve it for every Size below 0 (so Big 5 for Size -1, Big 2 for Size -2, etc.). That’s

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Armor

leather or bronze. A dahl typically has four

Not even legendary heroes walk around armed to the teeth all the time, but when

and one for the shield hand.

sense to defend oneself with armor. Almost all types of armor in Bhurloka fall into one of several categories described below.

Light Armor Cost: 5 gold coins Properties: Big 2; Bulky 1; DR 2; Worn

dhenuka, a suit of armor made from the hide, hooves and horn of a rhinoceros. This provides a thick layer of leather covering the body with reinforcements to the armor at key areas. Parts are also used in making this armor.

Heavy Armor Cost: 2 cows Properties: Big 3; Bulky 2; DR 4; Worn

The most common type of heavy armor in Bhurloka is chaharaina or “four mirror” warriors. This armor consists of four metal plates strapped around the torso: one on the front, one on the back and one under each arm. This is then usually augmented with dastana khulahkud also has an attached sheet of chainmail that veils the face.

Shield Cost: 2 gold coins Properties: Defensive 2

The most common variety of shield in Bhurloka is called a dahl. It is a mediumsized circular shield composed of embossed

Weapons Weapons are common items, possessed by almost anyone expecting trouble. The most exalted weapon on Bhurloka is the bow, whose very name is synonymous with martial skill, but a variety of other weapons are also used across the world.

Bagh Nakh Cost: 2 gold coins Properties: Conceal 2, Damage Str, Tricky

The bagh nakh is a claw-like weapon held against the palm. With this weapon, an attacker can rake at her enemies using the four curved blades that extend from 157 the knuckle area in a manner similar to the claws of some great beast. The bagh nakh is a weapon built to cut through skin, muscle and sinew.

Bow Cost: 1 gold coin Properties: Hands 2; Damage Str+1,

Ranged

The bow is the chosen weapon of kings and great warriors. It has achieved such a mystic in Bhurloka that its very name is synonymous with the arts of warfare. Bows in Bhurloka are long and slightly-curved, stretching almost the height of a man. They them to be easily balanced on the ground bowstring stretches out and the bow loses

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Chakram Cost: 5 chickens Properties: Damage Str, Ranged, Thrown

The chakram is a circular-shaped disk with a razor-sharp outer edge. It’s a throwing weapon; typically it is thrown underhanded The hoop-like shape of the chakram also makes it easy to carry in large numbers. Typically the chakram is worn around the arm or head, or stacked onto headpieces. Individual chakrams can then be removed and thrown at enemies.

158

Club Cost: 1 chicken Properties: Damage Str+1

A club is as simple as weapons get. It’s a basic length of wood or other heavy material that can be gripped in one hand and used to beat others over the head. Clubs are favored by wildmen, feral rakshasas and other tribal sorts.

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Negligible Encumbrance

Equipment that has the Neg property has negligible encumbrance. Don’t forget, however, that these items may add up to taking an encumbrance slot when carried en masse. This is particularly true for carrying around large numbers of coins: A single coin may not weigh much, but carry enough metal around and it adds up. As a good rule of thumb, assume that 100 negligible items add up to a slot.

Gada Cost: 2 gold coins Properties: Big 3, Damage Str+3, Hands 2

A gada is a large two-handed mace-like weapon. It has a sizable metal head that is

Khanda Cost: 5 gold coins Properties: Damage Str+1

both hands. The gada is given great status in the martial arts and is the traditional weapon used for duels in Bhurloka. Its great weight means it also doubles as exercise equipment used in martial training.

The khanda is a sword with a broad and heavy blade that gets broader at the tip. The sword’s point transitions from blade to tip rather abruptly, making the tip less likely to break but restricting the sword to being a slashing weapon rather than a stabbing weapon. The khanda also has a small metal spike at the back of the hilt, allowing it to do some damage on the backswing, if necessary.

Katar

Kukri

Cost: 2 gold coins Properties: Accurate 1, Conceal 2, Damage Str

A katar is a punching dagger held using a metal crossbar that is held in the palm of the band, perpendicular to the blade. This allows one to use the full force of a punch when stabbing with a katar. In addition, it means that against the arm to easily conceal the weapon until use. Katars are typically attached to a sash when carrying them, making them easy to draw when in danger.

Cost: 1 gold coin Properties: Accurate 1, Damage Str, Neg

The kukri is a large knife with an inwardly curved blade. Particularly popular in the north of Bhurloka, the blade has religious symbolism, representing both bravery and fertility. This is indicated on the kukri by a pair of notches near the hilt. This symbolism also makes kukris important male accessory at wedding ceremonies in northern regions.

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Chapter 6 - Equipment

Spear Cost: 3 chickens Properties: Damage Str, Reach

A simple and ubiquitous weapon, the spear has been used in warfare since time immemorial. Typically the spear consists of a long of a man to up to twice the height of a man. The best spears have a sharp metal head from bone, horn or sharpened wood are commonplace as well.

Staff Cost: 1 chicken Properties: Damage Str, Reach

Staves are basic weapons, consisting of little more than long sturdy lengths of wood. They are used by even the most primitive of cultures and can travel in many social contexts 160 that other weapons cannot, doubling as walking or hiking sticks.

Unarmed Strike Cost: Properties: Damage Str, Neg

one with it, but Bhurloka is home to many

feet, head, shoulders, elbows and knees as well. Additionally, Bhurloka is home to a long tradition of combat wresting. Known as mallayudda, this form of wrestling is

draped in ceremony and tradition, making it a common sport and a customary way to

Urumi Cost: 1 cow Properties: Damage Str, Inaccurate 1,

Reach, Tricky, Wraps

Particularly popular in the south of Bhurloka, the urumi is an unusual weapon. It has one or more long, whip-like blades made from coiled up. The urumi’s blades are typically the height of a man and attached to a small handle with a guard to protect the hand. by wrapping it around the waist like a belt. deal of training because novices are just as likely to cut themselves with the long coiling blades as they are the enemy.

Zaghnal Cost: 3 gold coins Properties: Big 3, Damage Str+ 2, Inac-

curate 1

The zaghnal is a one-handed pick that is usually fashioned entirely out of metal. The weapon has a broad, sharp, beak-like piercing head, which is swung at enemies for maximum impact. Although long, its weight gives it great strength on a swing, allowing it to apply a surprising amount of force on a single point; this weak spot in the target’s armor.

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Accessories In addition to weapons and armor, a variety of other items may be of use, even to legendary heroes. Some accessories are listed below: Arrows:

section in the Systems chapter on page 80). Cost: 2 chickens Brazier: A brazier is a footed metal bowl

designed to allow coals to burn inside it. They are used to provide light or heat small rooms. Properties: Big 2. Cost: 2 gold coins Clothes, Common: This is a simple set of clothes, such as any basic laborer may wear. Properties: Worn. Cost: 5 chickens Clothes, Fancy: This is a fancy set of clothes; they are appropriate for the court of any king. Properties: Worn. Cost: 1 cow Clothes, Rough: These clothes are unadorned and made out of a course and uncomfortable material. This is usually a style worn by ascetics. Properties: Worn. Cost: 2 chickens Fire Piston:

Cost: 1 chicken

Properties: Neg.

Jewelry:

and status of the wearer. Properties: Neg. Cost: 2 cows Jug: A jug is a basic ceramic container usually used to hold water or other liquids. Cost: 2 chickens Oil Lamp: Oil lamps are typically stone

a wick. They can burn for a day on their contents in fuel. Cost: 3 chickens

Parasol: This is a collapsible canopy-on-astick. It is very useful for providing shade on hot days. Cost: 1 gold coin Pith “Paper”: This thick paper-like material is composed of thin strips of pith from plants. This entry represents about 10 sheets. Properties: Neg. Cost: 2 chickens quiver:

Properties: Worn. Cost: 3 chickens Rope: Rope in Bhurloka is usually made

to support several people. This entry represents about 50 feet. Cost: 1 chicken Sack: A sack is a basic container made out of either cloth or leather. It makes carrying things easier. Properties: Neg. Cost: 1/2 chickens Tent: This tent is large enough to house four people and can be rolled up for ease of 161 carrying. Properties: Big 2. Cost: 7 chickens Torch: This is typically a sturdy wooden stick with one end wrapped in rags and dipped in tar. Cost: 1/2 chicken Yoke: animal’s shoulders and enables them to pull heavy loads. Properties: Big 3. Cost: 5 chickens

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Craft Tools

Transportation

The following entries are for tools used in

Transportation can be important in Bhurloka, ots rule the day. Without transportation, a legendary hero is stuck walking everywhere and carrying everything.

Each adds a +2 bonus to relevant skill actions when the character uses the tool. Carpenter’s Kit: This kit contains an adze, a bow drill, chisels, a hammer, a saw, a measuring rod and other necessary tools for carpentry. Properties: Big 3. Cost: 5 gold coins Fletcher’s Kit: This kit has everything necessary for making and repairing arrows. It includes several knives, pliers, an arrow straightener and an abrasive surface for sanding. Properties: Big 3. Cost: 4 gold coins Healer’s Kit: This kit contains a variety of bandages, splints and herbs used to treat injuries. Cost: 3 gold coins Smith’s Kit: This set of tools for smith-

162

hammers. Properties: Big 3. Cost: 6 gold coins Stoneworker’s Kit: This kit contains hammers of various sizes, a large crowbar, a level and various chisels. Properties: Big 3. Cost: 6 gold coins Tailor’s Kit: This is a kit appropri-

ate for working with leather or cloth. It contains an awl, some small knives, needles, and pins and other necessary tools. Properties: Big 3. Cost: 5 gold coins Tool: This entry represents most common tools, from shovels and picks to Cost: 1 gold coin

Boat: This is a basic wooden boat powered by a single oarsman. A boat can carry 50 encumbrance. Properties: Big 20, DR 3, HP 50, Size +1. Cost: 4 cows Cart: This is a simple two- or fourwheeled cart pulled by an ox or horse and used to move around goods or people. It carries 10 encumbrance. Properties: Big 40, DR 2, HP 25, Size 0. Cost: 1 cow Chariot: An essential part of warfare for high-born warriors in Bhurloka, the chariot is a symbol of command and strategy. Chariots are designed to be rugged and are typically pulled by a team of four horses with one driver and one charioteer spouting commands and

encumbrance. Properties: Big 10, DR 5, HP 25, Size 0. Cost: 5 cows Elephant: Combat-trained elephants are the pinnacle of warfare. Their great size and ferocity can cause lesser men to cower

Elephants can carry 40 encumbrance. Stats: Page 184. Properties: Big 40. Cost: 50 cows Horse: A good horse is a luxury to most, but necessary for pulling chariots. As such, horses are animals used mostly in warfare due to their great speed and strength. A horse carries 20 encumbrance. Stats: Page 184. Properties: Big 20. Cost: 4 cows Wagon: This is a larger four-wheeled wooden vehicle typically pulled by a team of six horses or oxen. It carries 40 encumbrance. Properties: Big 40, DR 2, HP 50, Size +2. Cost: 5 cows

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Trade Goods regularly exchanged by merchants and Unless noted otherwise, for each of the trade goods listed below, the prices listed usually a few pounds. This should make for easy accounting in play. Asbestos: Asbestos is occasionally mined

Cost: 1 chicken Bone: Bones and horns are common and useful byproducts of animals. Cost: 1/5 chicken Bronze: Bronze is the most commonly used metal in Bhurloka. The best bronze is made from an alloy mixing copper with tin, although lower quality bronzes exist. Cost: 1 chicken Chicken: Chickens are a common bird

raised for their eggs and meat. The listing for chicken here represents one bird, not one encumbrance worth of chicken. Properties: Big 2. Cost: 1 chicken

Glass: Glass is a highly desirable material

into shape. Cost: 1/2 chicken Gold Coin: Gold coins are perhaps the only item used exclusively as money. The listing here is for a single gold coin, not an encumbrance’s worth of gold coins. Properties: Neg. Cost: 1 gold coin Jewels: Expensive and highly prized in

wealthy as a sign of status. Cost: 1 cow Leather: Leather is treated animal skins with the fur removed and tanned to make it last longer. Typically this is done by smearing the skin with brains or aged urine and letting it sit to remove the water from the hide. Cost: 1/2 chicken Plaster: Plaster is a useful building material

Cost: 1/10 chicken Salt: used in medicines, as a spice and in pottery glazes. Cost: 1 gold coin

Cloth: Most cloths are made from either cotton or wool, although the cloths used in the northern mountains of Bhurloka are Cost: 1/2 chicken

Silk: An expensive foreign cloth imported from the lands of Guo, silk is highly prized by the wealthy because it produces a cloth that is both thin and durable. Cost: 3 chickens

Cow: Raising cows is a way of life, and having cows is a mark of prosperity and status. Cows provide milk and meat, and can be harnessed to perform labor. The listing here is for a single cow, not one encumbrance’s worth of cow. Properties: Big 50 (But rarely carried) Cost: 1 cow

Tar: waterproof wood. It is particularly useful in the construction of boats. Cost: 1/3 chicken Wax: A common water poof sealant, wax is also melted and pressed into shapes. Cost: 1/5 chicken

Fur: in clothing or, in the mountains of northern Bhurloka, used for warmth. It’s also used as bedding. Cost: 1/10 chicken

Wood: Perhaps the most basic of construction materials, wood is also used to make charcoal and is burned directly for heat. Cost: 1/10 chicken

163

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Astras Astras are spiritual weapons usually under potent weapons whose knowledge of use is only passed down by the gods themselves or in rare cases, orally from great master to student. Mechanically, acquiring an astra requires taking the Astra trait, which is itself usually only available through a divine boon. (See the Astra trait in the Universal path on page 110 for more information.)

Adharmaastra Properties: Damage Int + Str; Ranged

This is something of a quasi-astra, forged by the Dark Yogi using forbidden sutras are tied to the individual for which they are created, dying and dimming out when the individual perishes. It appears as a sort of amulet normally worn around the individual’s neck, but it can be grasped 164 with one hand to produce a beam of an entire zone. Additionally, while worn, this astra doubles both the wearer’s current and maximum HP.

Asurastra Properties: Damage Str + End; Ranged

A dreaded weapon of the asuras, an asurastra ters within that zone. Those reduced below 0 HP by the attack do not get the usual End action for consciousness; instead they are simply considered to have failed the action.

Any memories of characters killed by this attack begin to fade until they are forgotten entirely. In this way, the asurastra can destroy even the fame of the gods.

Devastra Properties: Damage Int + Det; Ranged

A powerful weapon of the devas, devastras target an entire zone, damaging all targets within. This attack is against the minds as well as the bodies of the targets. All caught within the zone must voluntarily fall prone as per the Low Posture (critical) consequence, or be blinded for a count.

Echniastra Properties: Damage Chr; Ranged

The target of this attack is engulfed damage equal to the wielder’s Charisma every round until put out. On her turn the target may take an interact action and spend some number of lower prana to spent in this way the damage from the This astra can be countered by the ferunaastra. When this astra is used, any character possessing the ferunaastra may invoke it as a reaction by spending a crown prana. Both astras then manifest and cancel each other out. This counts as a summoning for both astras, requiring a bad karma gained for both; neither may be used again in the combat.

Chapter 6 - Equipment

Ferunaastra Properties:

This astra calls forth a torrential wave of washing away people, buildings and anything else in the way. This allows the character to rearrange the position of all of the characters place each of them in. Additionally, any vassals may optionally be washed away, out does not cause damage, use of it on vassals does not cause the character to gain a bad ited in a location that will cause them harm. This astra can be countered by the echniastra. When this astra is used, any character possessing the echniastra may invoke it as a reaction by spending a crown prana. Both astras then manifest and cancel each other out. This counts as a summoning for both astras, requiring a bad karma gained for both; neither may be used again

Omdraastra Properties: Damage Str

This weapon causes a shower of arrows to fall from the sky, piercing the invoker’s enemies. The user of this astra can specify any and all targets she wants when she uses this power, and all of them are or otherwise have cover over their heads comparable to several yards of solid rock. Additionally, the user of this astra can specify any number of targets she wishes to protect. These targets have a rain of arrows fall around them, building up some (light) consequence.

Phamiastra Properties: Damage Chr; Ranged

Use of this astra instantly creates a tunnel through the earth leading wherever else in creates a new zone representing the tunnel underground. This zone is adjacent to the zone currently occupied by the character and to any other zones of the character’s choosing. Using this astra comes with an extremely loud anything but subtle. This astra may be used outside of combat, but no more than once a day. Any jewels that would be under the earth

use of this astra.

Zaryastra Properties: Damage Chr; Ranged

Invoking this astra creates a dazzling light in one zone chosen by the user. All in that zone are immediately struck blind as a critical consequence that may be removed by concentration. In addition, the light continues to shine in that zone, dispelling any darkness and removing any Concealment consequence, no matter the cause. Any illusions in that zone are also immediately ended, and any water in the zone instantly evaporates. For the next year, no darkness will come into that zone, nor will any water stand. Finally, any targets in the zone are burned for damage.

165

running the game gainst the Dark Yogi is designed to be a fast-moving and easy-to-run game

for the GM. At the same time, it is designed to be an epic and action-

being a breeze to run, however, there are a number of tips and tricks that GMs should keep in mind to make the best possible game experience, both for themselves and for their players.

Planning a Session

Planning Challenges

All games of Against the Dark Yogi are made up of some number of sessions, and each session is like a story told about the exploits of the player characters.

When planning challenges, it is good to keep in mind the abilities of the player characters. This is particularly true of characters with siddhi traits, as these traits can

Revealing or Concealing Target Numbers

types of challenges. As a GM, challenge planning is something of balance between wanting to make the players work for their victories and giving them opportunities to achieve their moment of cool.

When the GM calls for a player to make an action she sets a target number (TN) that has to be met for the action to be a success. This number can be either declared to players beforehand or kept secret as the GM sees is, the player should know the TN. On the other hand, if the character is shooting in the dark, she shouldn’t know. Take, for example, the case of scaling a wall. A character skilled at scaling walls thus know the TN. On the other hand take the case of asking around a town for rumors of current events. With this example the character doesn’t know what rumors there are or aren’t to be found; she’s just asking around and seeing what she gets. In this case, the GM shouldn’t reveal the TN; the player simply makes her action and then gets something useful (or not) back as a result.

Against the Dark Yogi, in particular, is a mythic game. As such it is a good idea to -

with “dungeon crawls” and “wandering monsters.” It’s a genre where, when the heroes face battle, the villains will come course of generations. Think big.

Chapter 7 - Running the game

GM Hands The GM gets a hand of good karma that she can play for NPCs throughout the session. This hand can be easy to forget, so here’s how to keep it simple and potentially make the best use of it in a session. When planning a session, there are the GM wants to make sure are successful, either for the sake of the plot or for the sake of best heightening the drama. The GM hand can be set aside during play and easily brought out for just these sorts of actions. When the GM encounters such an action, she plays the best card she has from from foiling the action through bad karma. If this value ends up not being good enough, the GM can then discard cards from her hand (the “luck” use) until she gets a card that meets the requirements. Sure this blows most of the GM hand on one action, but there are rarely more than one or two 168 NPC actions like this per session that need this level of attention.

Giving Out Karma The karma system is not just a means of modifying the result of actions, it is a mechanism to reinforce the heroic themes of the genre, and a means to incentivize players to take heroic plot hooks. When the PCs go out of their way to save some traveling merchants from attack, have them each draw a card for good karma. When the PCs do something entertainingly in-genre like a true legendary hero, give a good karma.

Likewise, if the PCs are using their great powers to steal, bully or otherwise make a menace of themselves, feel free to hand out a bad karma. This is particularly true if price for it.

Using Bad Karma As a GM it’s a good idea to try to use up the PCs’ bad karma over the course of a session. Doing so not only lets the players see the use more good karma without worrying about a lifetime bad karma increase. This makes things more fun all around.

Facing Defeat Sometimes the player characters are defeated in a challenge, but in Against the Dark Yogi this rarely means death. When deciding upon the result of a sudden defeat, it is useful to keep in mind the mythic nature of the genre. If the PCs are ing tigers, the tigers may indeed eat them,

saved. If they’re defeated by human agents, they can be taken captive or robbed. Even if they all fall into a pit of lava they can remain entombed in the earth, sustained by devotion and karma until they are later unearthed. Or they might sink all the way down to Patala and have to escape.

Chapter 7 - Running the game

169

Planning a Campaign Envisioning a campaign of Against the Dark Yogi is a little like envisioning a series of

stories told about the exploits of the player characters. Each session is a fable told about the PCs, and the sessions taken as a whole make up their tale. This is a lot like the many exploits of Arjuna in Vedic myth.

Life, Death & the Fatal Property Due to the nature of death, reincarnation and the fatal property, the GM has a lot more control over PC death in Against the Dark Yogi than she does in most other role-playing games. PCs don’t die unexpectedly; they die only if the GM gave a character an attack

with the fatal property. This being the case, the GM should think of the fatal property as a narrative tool to be used to up the ante on player characters. It’s that special attack the “big bad” of the generation has, or the result of particularly dastardly hazards that have Since a PC dying to the fatal property means it’ll be another generation before her next incarnation is viable for play, the GM should be ready to end the current generation of play when she employs it. If this isn’t the case, the GM should at least have a backup plan on what happens if a PC dies. Can the other characters go to the underworld and rescue her from Naraka? Can they claim a boon for a god to give her just one more month of life? What else is possible?

Chapter 7 - Running the game

Total Party Kills An interesting consequence of reincarnation and generational play in Against the Dark Yogi is that a total party kill doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the campaign. In principle, the player characters can all die heroically in best to meet their goals, and then be reincarnated for the next generation, the game continuing from there. A plot point can even the next generation may be a golden age for the kingdom they are in, while if they fail the next generation they are born into a kingdom under brutal occupation. Of course, it is always best to know the players’ likely response to total party kill before ever forcing such a thing upon the campaign. Not all

Across the Generations 170

When running a campaign across multiple generations one of the most important things to keep in mind is that the generational

transition needs to be meaningful and interesting. Since players will be losing their hard-earned sadhana with the new generation, they ought to be rewarded in other ways. The results of previous player actions should be clear from one generation to the next. If they saved a village in one generation, in the next generation that village ought to be thriving, maybe with statues of the original heroes. Similarly, if they made enemies in one generation, the families of those enemies may have ways of seeking revenge on the heroes reborn. The events of one generation can also be used to set up the plot of the next. If the PCs save a city in one generation, a deva may descend from the heavens to foretell that in future incarnations, they will save the city again. Then, in the next generation, the PCs to them and their old astras or other weapons stored in the temple for safekeeping until their return. Of course, they’ll have to prove that they are reincarnations of who they say they are.

Chapter 7 - Running the game

Running Combat Combat has long been one of the traditional focuses of role-playing games, and epic myth as well.

Tracking Prana Prana goes up and down over the course of a battle. As such, it is useful to use a physical token to represent prana at the table.

group of vassals? Disregard karma, chakras and HP, and then simply decide how many vassals are in the group. Similarly, the challenge of an elite or legend with that stat block can be easily adjusted up or down simply by raising or lowering their Enlightenment. This will increase or decrease the number of prana making them harder or easier to overcome.

Using Vassals Vassals are a great way to pad out a combat

Declaring Actions The system of initiative in combat is meant going to want to pick other player characters in all their attacks before the NPCs have a chance to act. Let them. Have your villain take their turn at the of the round, then pick those actions against the same character. Then pass play along to one of the players. Make the players think twice about letting the villain have two actions in a row.

Adjusting Stat Blocks Stat blocks in Against the Dark Yogi do double duty, as they can represent a character of that type that is either a legend, elite or vassal. This lets one stat block be used for opponents of varying levels of challenge. Want to make the opponent an elite? Just disregard the listings for karma and chakra maximums. Want to make the opponent a

characters can lay waste to scores of vassals single-handedly, and a group of player characters ought to be able to potentially handle hundreds. Vassals can also be used to occupy a small groups, vassals can be used as something of a thematic window-dressing. 171 Small groupings of vassals are going to quickly down themselves when attacking a hero through simple attrition, letting the at hand. Large groupings of vassals, on the other hand, have the ability to deal damage multiple times with a single attack, making heroes can’t simply sit back and ignore. In to mop up the vassals before launching their This sort of thing can also conveniently buy the villain time to use non-damaging abilities to aid herself or hinder the PCs before the

non-player characters his chapter contains a variety of ready-made non-player characters and other mechanical information for running any number of challenges and scenes.

Stat Block Format

The stat blocks presented in this chapter are all listed in standard format, which I described for ease of reference below.

Character Name STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

9

5

4

5

5

6

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

10

0

6

0

11

24

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

5

5

6

4

4

Defense

Willpower 10

20 Karma

2

Attack: +12 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Attacks possessed by the character are action is listed, followed by the damage in parentheses and then any relevant properties. Skills: Archery +3 (+12); Skills are listed in the format shown. It includes the the default stat. Enlightenment: The character’s enlightenment will be listed here. If it is not listed, the character is assumed to be Enlightenment 1. Path Traits: Traits are then listed, with separate sections for each path. Unique Trait: Finally, any unique traits (not found on a path) are listed for the available for player characters even through divine boons. This character has a description. Finally, a description of the character follows.

2

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Humans

The majority of the intelligent inhabitants of Bhurloka are humans. Human kingdoms stretch across the subcontinent and are made up of numerous peoples and cultures. Here

Archer STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

5

7

5

6

5

5

4

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

11

0

5

0

11

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

5

5

4

4

6

Defense

Willpower 10

18 Karma

2

1

+10 (6); Ranged Skills: Archery +3 (+10); Athletics +2 (+8 2 (+8); Awareness +1 (+6) Archer Traits: Far Shot; Knockback Shot; Penetrating Shot; Quick Reload Of all the combat arts, archery is the most exalted, the most celebrated and the most culturally renowned in Bhurloka. All of the great warriors have had training in archery. It is the combat style of choice of kings and lords, and has come to be something of a status symbol 174 for rulers and great warriors.

Ascetic STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

5

5

4

7

7

4

5

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

12

0

5

0

10

19

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

7

4

5

8

7

Defense

Willpower

Unarmed: +7 (5) Skills: Awareness +1 (+5); Lore +3 (+10); Melee +2 (+7); Wisdom +3 (+10) Ascetic Traits: Garima Siddhi; Iron Will; Omkara; Prakamya Siddhi;

16*

25* Karma

2

1

* Boosted by Iron Will

in life and one not cut out for everyone, but with all the ascetic vows and harsh devotions comes a degree cosmic understanding and power unparalleled by the more worldly paths.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Assassin STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

9

5

4

5

5

6

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

10

0

6

0

11

24

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

5

5

6

4

4

Defense

Willpower 10

20 Karma

2

2

Kukri: +14 (6); Accurate 1; Neg +12 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Skills: Archery +3 (+12); Athletics +2 (+6); Awareness +2 (+7); Deception +4 (+10); Empathy +2 (+7); Melee +4 (+13); Stealth +4 (+13); Streetwise +2 (+7); Thievery +2 (+11) Archer Traits: Penetrating Shot; Quick Reload Spearman Traits: Power Strike Where there are people who want other people dead, there will be those who try to make a

Attendant STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

5

3

4

4

4

5

3

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

9

0

5

0

10

17

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

4

5

3

4

4

Unarmed: +1 (5) Skills: Athletics +1 (+5); Awareness +1 (+6 Perform +1 (+4); Socialize +1 (+4)

Defense

Willpower 10

17 Karma

2

2 (+6); Empathy +1 (+6);

1

175

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Bandit STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

5

4

5

3

5

3

5

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

11

0

6

0

10

19

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

3

5

3

5

5

Defense

Willpower 11

18 Karma

2

2

Khanda: +7 (7); Big 2 Skills: Athletics +1 (+6); Awareness +2 (+7); Deception +1 (+4); Melee +2 (+7); Streetwise +1 (+6); Survival +1 (+6); Thievery +2 (+7) Wildman Traits: Ferocity pop up when authority breaks down.

Chakra Master 176

STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

7

6

4

5

6

4

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

10

0

6

0

12

23

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

5

6

4

6

4

Defense

Willpower 12

20 Karma

2

1

Chakram: +9 (6); Ranged; Thrown Unarmed: +8 (6) Skills: Archery + 2 (+9); Athletics +1 (+5); Awareness +1 (+7); Lore +2 (+7); Melee +1 (+8); Wisdom +2 (+7) Chakra Master Traits: Channel Prana; Raise the Potential; Energize the Skin; Energize Strike Chakra masters have spent much time meditating and working with prana. They have discovered the secrets of this cosmic energy.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Charioteer STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

5

6

6

5

7

5

7

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

10

0

5

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

7

5

7

4

5

Defense

Willpower 10

21 Karma

2

1

Spear: +8 (6); Reach Skills: Animals +3 (+7); Athletics +1 (+6); Melee +2 (+8); Tactics +2 (+9) Charioteer Traits: Defensive Maneuver; Everywhere at Once; Hit and Run; Trample Only the most skilled and important of warriors ride a chariot, most having to settle simply for a bow or other weapon. Charioteers are versatile and mobile combatants.

Driver STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

3

5

4

3

5

4

3

5

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

6

0

3

0

10

19

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

5

4

3

5

3

Defense

Willpower 11

18 Karma

2

1

Unarmed: +3 (3) Skills: Animals +2 (+7); Athletics +1 (+4); Awareness +1 (+5); Empathy +1 (+5); Socialize +1 (+4); Tactics +1 (+6) This stat block represents a typical driver for a charioteer. Such drivers tend to be driven and familiar with common sense and basic tactics.

177

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Mantri STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

4

6

6

4

6

6

6

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

8

0

4

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

6

6

6

6

4

Defense

Willpower 12

22 Karma

2

2

Kukri: +8 (4); Accurate 1; Neg Skills: Awareness +2 (+8); Deception +4 (+10); Diplomacy +4 (+10); Empathy +2 (+8); Intimidate +2 (+6); Investigate +1 (+7); Lore +2 (+8); Melee +1 (+7); Socialize +2 (+8); Stealth +2 (+8); Tactics +1 (+7); Thievery +2 (+8) Raja Traits: Air of Authority; Commanding Bellow; Sweeping Denunciation

Performer 178

STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

4

7

5

6

5

5

8

5

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

10

0

4

0

11

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

5

5

8

5

6

Defense

Willpower 11

23 Karma

2

1

+8 (5); Hands 2; Reach Skills: Diplomacy +1 (+9); Deception +2 (+10); Empathy +2 (+7); Melee +1 (+8); Perform +3 (+11); Socialize +2 (+10) Performer Traits: Complex Themes; Improvised Performance; Shock & Dazzle; Superb Performance Performers are men and women who are dedicated to their art, the act of portraying the great epics and stirring the emotions of their audience.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Raja STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

5

5

4

4

6

4

8

5

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

9

0

5

0

10

19

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

6

4

8

5

4

Defense

Willpower 11

23 Karma

3

2

+6 (6); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Skills: Archery +1 (+6); Deception +3 (+11); Diplomacy +2 (+10); Empathy +2 (+6); Intimidate +2 (+7); Lore +1 (+7); Melee +1 (+6); Socialize +2 (+10); Tactics +1 (+7) Raja Traits: Air of Authority; Fabulously Wealthy; Regal Mien; Tremble before Me Bhurloka is a land of a thousand city-states, each one with a ruler or ruling family.

Spearman STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

6

4

5

3

4

4

5

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

11

2

6

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

3

4

4

5

5

Defense

Willpower 11

19 Karma

2

Spear: +7 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Reach Armor: Light Armor; Shield Skills: Athletics +2 (+7); Awareness +1 (+5); Intimidate +1 (+7); Melee +2 (+8); Socialize +1 (+5); Streetwise +1 (+5) Spearman Traits: First Strike; Power Strike Every kingdom and settlements needs its guards and soldiers.

1

179

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Trickster STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

4

7

7

4

7

7

6

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

8

0

4

0

13

24

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

7

7

6

4

4

Defense

Willpower 10

20 Karma

2

2

Urumi: +7 (4); Inaccurate 1; Reach; Tricky; Wraps Trick: +10 vs. Willpower (4) Skills: Deception +3 (+9); Empathy +2 (+9); Melee +1 (+8); Stealth +3 (+10); Thievery +3 (+10) Trickster Traits: Bag Full of Tricks; For a Good Cause; Master of Disguise; Missed Me Tricksters are clever and resourceful heroes, relying more on wit and guile than brawn to overcome obstacles, defeat their enemies and achieve their aims.

Wildman 180

STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

6

5

6

3

6

3

3

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

1

0

8

0

11

21

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

3

6

3

3

6

Defense

Willpower 9

16 Karma

2

1

Zaghnal: +7 (10); Inaccurate 1 Skills: Athletics +2 (+8); Awareness +2 (+8); Intimidation +3 (+11); Melee +2 (+8); Survival +3 (+9) Wildman Traits: Come and Get It; Frenzied Counterattack; Iron Hide; Shake Wildmen are tough and intimidating individuals who were either raised in feral tribes deep in the wilderness or who have retreated deep into the woods to meditate.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Yogi STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

4

4

4

7

7

6

5

7

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

11

0

4

0

10

18

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

7

6

5

7

7

Defense

Willpower 13

22 Karma

2

2

+5 (5); Reach Skills: Empathy +2 (+8); Lore +3 (+10); Melee +1 (+5); Wisdom +3 (+10) Yogi Traits: Astral Projection; Disciplined Austerities; Meditative Peace; Spiritual Guidance Yogis are masters of meditation, delving into the disciplines of mind and will. They tend their wisdom. Yogis may not be as outwardly religious as ascetics; nevertheless, many yogis share with ascetics a pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and empowerment.

Animals

Animals are commonly encountered, both as adversaries and companions. Some animals 181 are even intelligent enough to learn human languages.

Bear STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

9

5

5

7

1

5

5

3

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

17

0

10

1

10

19

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

1

5

5

3

7

Defense

Willpower 9

18 Karma

2

Bite: +6 (12); Inaccurate 1 +7 (10) Skills: Athletics +3 (+10); Awareness +2 (+7); Melee +2 (+7); Survival +4 (+11) Inhuman Traits: Claws; Extra Legs; Fast; Superior Sense (Smell) Bears are large animals that rear up on their hind legs before they attack.

1

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Chicken STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

1

4

4

3

1

4

3

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

1

0

0

-3

13

17

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

1

4

3

4

3

Defense

Willpower 10

13 Karma

2

1

Peck: +4 (1); Inaccurate 1 Skills: Athletics +1 (+4); Awareness +1 (+5); Melee +1 (+5); Survival +1 (+4) Inhuman Traits: Flight Chickens are a common bird raised for its eggs and meat.

Cow

182

STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

3

5

4

1

3

4

3

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

13

0

9

1

10

17

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

3

1

3

4

3

4

Defense

Willpower 9

17 Karma

3

Kick: +4 (9) Skills: Athletics +1 (+5); Awareness +1 (+4); Melee +1 (+4); Survival +1 (+5) Inhuman Traits: Extra Legs; Fast Cows are animals raised for their milk and meat. They are also a symbol of wealth.

1

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Dog STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

2

4

5

4

1

7

5

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

5

0

1

-1

12

20

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

1

7

5

4

4

Defense

Willpower 10

19 Karma

2

1

Bite: +5 (3); Inaccurate 1 Skills: Athletics +2 (+6); Awareness +3 (+10); Melee +2 (+6); Survival +2 (+6) Inhuman Traits: Extra Legs; Fast; Superior Sense (Smell) Loyalty: Dogs gain a +4 bonus to resist any action that would cause them to betray their master. Humans have domesticated and lived with dogs since the earliest days. The above stats represent a medium-sized breed.

Eagle STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

1

6

6

4

1

8

4

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

4

0

0

-1

13

23

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

1

8

4

4

4

Defense

Willpower 10

18 Karma

2

1

Talon: +8 (2) Skills: Athletics +3 (+7); Awareness +4 (+12); Melee +2 (+8); Survival +2 (+6) Inhuman Traits: Claws; Fast; Flight; Superior Sense (Vision) Eagles are large birds of prey that patrol the skies. They are majestic animals and ones not to be underestimated.

183

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Elephant STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

12

4

5

8

1

5

4

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

22

0

14

2

9

13

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

1

5

4

4

8

Defense

Willpower 10

14 Karma

2

1

Trample: +5 (14) Gore: +4 (15); Inaccurate 1 Skills: Athletics +1 (+9); Awareness +1 (+6); Melee +1 (+5); Survival +2 (+10) Inhuman Traits: Extra Legs Elephants are towering animals that are used as beasts of war. They have a prehensile nose and travel in herds.

Horse 184

STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

5

5

6

1

4

4

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

15

0

9

1

10

19

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

1

4

4

4

6

Defense

Willpower 10

18 Karma

2

1

Kick: +6 (9) Skills: Athletics +4 (+10); Awareness +1 (+5); Melee +1 (+6); Survival +1 (+7) Inhuman Traits: Extra Legs; Fast A good horse is a luxury to most but horses are important for pulling chariots. As such, horses are animals used mostly in warfare due to their great speed and strength.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Monkey STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

6

5

5

2

5

6

5

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

10

0

5

-1

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

2

5

6

5

5

Defense

Willpower 11

21 Karma

2

1

Bite: +7 (8); Inaccurate 1 Skills: Athletics +4 (+9); Awareness +2 (+7); Melee +2 (+8); Survival +2 (+7) Inhuman Traits: Pounce Monkeys are small primates that live in trees and are known for their tricks and sense of humor.

Snake STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

9

6

6

1

7

3

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

12

0

6

0

12

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

1

7

3

6

6

Defense

Willpower 12

19 Karma

2

1

Bite: +11 (8); Inaccurate 1; Poison Skills: Athletics +3 (+9); Awareness +2 (+9); Melee +3 (+12); Stealth +2 (+11); Survival +2 (+8) Inhuman Traits: Burrow; Constriction; Poison; Superior Sense (Scent) Snakes come in many sizes and are found throughout Bhurloka. The stats here represent a medium-sized, poisonous snake, such as a larger variety of cobra.

185

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Tiger STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

11

8

5

7

1

5

5

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

19

0

12

1

10

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

5

1

5

5

4

7

Defense

Willpower 10

19 Karma

2

1

Bite: +10 (14); Inaccurate 1 Claw: +11 (12) Skills: Athletics +2 (+9); Awareness +2 (+7); Melee +3 (+11); Stealth +2 (+10); Survival +2 (+9) Inhuman Traits: Claws; Extra Legs; Fast; Night Vision; Pounce Catfall: Tigers are good at landing on their feet. They halve any damage from falls. Tigers are large cats which patrol massive areas of land looking for fresh game to hunt and eat.

Water Buffalo 186

STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

9

4

5

5

1

4

5

4

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

15

0

10

1

10

18

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

1

4

5

4

5

Defense

Willpower 10

19 Karma

2

1

Headbutt: +4 (11); Inaccurate 1 Skills: Athletics +2 (+7); Awareness +1 (+5); Melee +1 (+5); Survival +2 (+7) Inhuman Traits: Extra Legs; Fast ticated for thousands of years. They spend much of their time in rivers.

-

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Bestiary

This section contains a variety non-human peoples and creatures.

Aspara/Gandharva STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

8

6

6

8

6

10

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

24

0

6

0

12

24

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

8

6

10

6

6

Defense

Willpower 12

26 Karma

4

1

+10 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Spear: +9 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Reach Skills: Archery +2 (+10); Athletics +3 (+9); Awareness +3 (+9); Deception +2 (+12); Diplomacy +2 (+12); Empathy +2 (+8); Melee +1 (+9); Perform +4 (+14); Socialize +4 (+14); Streetwise +3 (+9); Wisdom +2 (+10) Enlightenment: 2 Performer Traits: Grandiose Execution, Improvised Performance; Twist & Weave Inhuman Traits: Superb Performance: An aspara or gandharva may use their Improvised Performance trait against all characters of their choice in their zone, not just a single target. the scene takes an action to act as if a bad karma were played for that action. Asparas are feminine servants of the gods and devas. They are all youthful and elegant beings, possessing a superb skill in the arts of dance and song. They are the court musicians of the gods and the caretakers of fallen heroes. Many asparas are the wives of the gandharvas. Others entertain and sometimes seduce both gods and men. They take particular delight in their seductions, particularly if the target of their wiles is both strong-willed and devout. Many great sages have been distracted from their austerities by the seduction of an aspara. and sometimes of taking the shape of another on their divine errands. Asparas are said to are also said to be able to become ethereal at whim. Gandharvas are in many ways the male counterparts of the asparas. Like the asparas, they are skilled performers and musicians. They, too, sometimes act as the messengers of the gods and serve at the diva court bird. These most commonly take the form of a horse’s head or a bird’s wings. Note: They occupy a similar role to muses or valkyries in Western myth.

187

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Asura STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

10

8

8

1

6

8

6

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

60

4

10

0

14

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

6

8

6

8

10

Defense

Willpower 14

24 Karma

2

2

Gada: +11 (13); Big 3; Hands 2 +11 (11) Skills: Archery +3 (+11); Athletics +2 (+12); Awareness +2 (+10); Deception +2 (+8); Intimidate +3 (+13); Melee +3 (+11); Perform +2 (8); Socialize +2 (+8); Stealth +2 (+10); Tactics +2 (+8); Thievery +2 (+10); Wisdom +2 (+8) Enlightenment: 3 Ascetic Traits: Spiritual Guidance; Anima Siddhi; Mahima Siddhi Inhuman Traits: Claws; Control (Varies by Asura); Extra Heads; Invisibility; Dazing Strike: An asura that successfully hits a target may spend a brow prana to strike in just the right spots to overwhelm its opponent. This causes the 188 target’s Dazed consequence to increase a severity, or two severities if the second Defense TN was hit. By spending a heart prana with an attack, it may be made to target all other targets in the zone. If used with a ranged attack, this ability increases the Low Quiver consequence a severity. Asuras are a race of superhuman beings who have long been the opponents of the equallypowerful deva race. Like the devas, asuras have a much longer lifespan than that of humans. They spend their days in the pursuit of power and luxury, ever seeking a means of greater riches and lifespan. As with other celestial beings, they have the ability to gaze upon the what in this regard, however, as the devas currently rule the Three Worlds. Asuras have the ability to take on other forms, increasing or decreasing their size as apworld. These aspects are usually social in nature, as opposed to the devas’s aspects, which are usually natural in nature. Many asuras are also possessed of other powers, particularly Asuras are humanoid in appearance, frequently appearing to be large, imposing and ugly. Their skin tends to be grayish in hue with prominent facial hair on males. Some forms favored by the asuras may take on bestial traits or possess a multitude of arms or heads. The asuras mostly live in great cities in Patala, the netherworld, from which they continue to brood and hatch plots in their eternal struggle against the devas, longing for the day when they will be the rulers of the Three Worlds.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Bhoot STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

6

7

8

4

6

4

7

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

16

0

8

0

13

23

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

4

6

4

7

8

Defense

Willpower 13

21 Karma

2

2

+10 (9); Bleeding Slash (see below) Skills: Athletics +2 (+10); Awareness +2 (+8); Deception +3 (+7); Intimidate +3 (+11); Investigate +2 (+8); Melee +3 (+10); Stealth +3 (+10); Thievery +2 (+9) Inhuman Traits: Bleeding Slash: By spending a brow prana along with an attack, the bhoot can make the wound bleed profusely. On a successful hit, the target’s Bleed TN was hit. trait, the bhoot may spend a throat prana to make the transformation truly frightening. This allows them to make a Str/intimidate vs. Willpower action against all characters viewing the transformation. On a success the observing character increases their Fear consequence one severity. On a success against the second Willpower TN, the Fear consequence increases two severities. Bhoots never cast a shadow and always have backwards Wards: with earth. They must spend an extra heart prana to enter any zone where tumeric has been burned or to touch those sprinkled with earth. and violent death. Bhoots take on physical form, typically appearing as human, although some possess the ability to alter their form or appear as animals as well. Whatever form they take, their feet are always backwards facing, revealing them for what they truly are. they cast no shadows. They are known to speak with a nasal twang to their voices. These spirits tend to live at the site of their death or in secluded locations. Favorite spots ing companionship until their companion horrifyingly realizes their nature. Bhoots instinctively seek out milk and immerse themselves in it. Drinking bhoot-contami-

189

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Brahmarakshasa STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

10

8

8

10

10

8

8

10

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

63

4

11

+1

13

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

10

8

8

10

10

Defense

Willpower 16

28 Karma

3

3

Bite: +10 (10); Inaccurate 1 +11 (11); Poison Skills: Archery +1 (+9); Athletics +3 (+13); Awareness +2 (+10); Deception +3 (+11); Empathy +2 (+10); Intimidate +4 (+14); Medicine +2 (+10); Melee +3 (+11); Lore +3 (+13); Stealth +2 (+10); Tactics +2 (+12); Thievery +2 (+10); Wisdom +4 (+14) Enlightenment: 3 Ascetic Traits: Anima Siddhi; Mahima Siddhi; Prakamya Siddhi; Omkara; Prapti Siddhi Wildman Traits: Frenzied Counterattack; Iron Hide; Red in Tooth & Claw Inhuman Traits: Claws; Drain; Fear; Flight; Invisibility; Maya; Poison; 190 Disrupt Chakra: When a brahmarakshasa makes an attack, she may spend a crown prana along with the attack. On a successful hit the brahmarakshasa that chakra is lost. If the target hit was an elite or vassal, the target instead simply loses half of her prana. Love of Carnage: When a brahmarakshasa damages another character or takes damage from another character, her Bolstered consequence increases a severity. Brahmarakshasas are the malicious spirits of powerful brahmins who misused their powBrahmaraksasas possess the traits of both brahmins and rakshasas, giving them a wealth ing, possessing both horns sprouting from their heads and the traditional brahmin hair tassel. Still possessing their great knowledge and power, they make very formidable foes; few have the necessary ability to overcome them, thereby giving them salvation from their twisted form of life. In this cursed form, they retain knowledge of both their past lives and and they hunger continuously without it. them, if bothered. Despite this tendency, however, they retain the ability to grant a wide variety of boons to those that somehow manage to please them. Because of this, some seek to appease troublesome brahmaraksasas rather than provoking them to greater confrontation.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Deva STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

8

8

8

8

6

10

10

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

42

4

6

0

14

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

8

6

10

10

8

Defense

Willpower 16

30 Karma

2

2

+11 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Chakram: +11 (7); Neg; Ranged; Thrown Skills: Animals +1 (+11); Archery +3 (+11); Athletics +1 (+9); Awareness +2 (+8); 2 (+12); Diplomacy +2 (+12); Empathy +2 (+8); Investigate +1 (+7); Lore +4 (+12); Medicine +2 (+8); Melee +2 (+10); Perform +2 (+8); Socialize +2 (+8); Wisdom +4 (+12) Enlightenment: 3 Ascetic Traits: Anima Siddhi; Mahima Siddhi; Spiritual Guidance Inhuman Traits: Celestial Descent; Control (Varies by Deva); Extra Arms; Extra A deva may take a concentrate action, spending a crown prana, 191 to assume a wrathful form. In this form, the deva’s size increases to +2, her DR increases by +2 and her damage increases by +2. Additionally, she may invoke her Extra Arms or Extra Heads traits immediately. Devas are the race of superhuman beings who rule over the Three Worlds. They are celestial their ancient and equally-powerful rivals, the Asuras. Devas have a lifespan much longer than that of humans. They spend their days enjoying themselves and gazing down upon the events of the mortal world, where they sometime act as silent guardians of the worthy. Devas can take on a number of forms; in particular, many of them possess a peaceful and a in size and appearance; this is usually accompanied by some sort of crown or headdress. Many devas have blue skin while others have skin that takes on a bluish hue. ceptional dominion. Such devas also usually possess powers over this aspect. For example, the winds. Most devas live in Svarga, upon Mount Niru. It is from this shining realm that the king of the devas, Omdra, rules, looking out upon his subjects.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Naga STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

10

6

6

6

8

6

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

14

0

8

0

12

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

6

8

6

6

6

Defense

Willpower 12

22 Karma

2

1

Bite: +11 (10); Inaccurate 1; Poison Grapple: +12; Constriction (see page 147) Spear: +12 (9); Big 2; Hands 2; Reach Skills: Animals +1 (+7); Athletics +2 (+8); Awareness +2 (+10 2 (+8); Empathy +2 (+10); Lore +2 (+8); Melee +2 (+12); Socialize +1 (+7); Stealth +2 (+12); Tactics +2 (+8) Inhuman Traits: Burrow; Constriction; Poison; Pounce; Superior Sense (Smell with Tongue) Hatred of Birds: If a bird is present, the naga automatically gains the Desire (Attack the bird) (severe) consequence. Paralytic Poison: 192 per the Poison trait. Additionally, if a character is bitten again and already has the Bleeding consequence from poison, her Disabled consequence increases a severity. Nagas are a serpentine tribe, appearing as a mixture of snake and human. They have long, serpentine bodies with a human head, and sometimes fully human arms and a torso. Their snake-like portions frequently include a corba-like hood, and the scales on their serpent body gradually gives way to human-like skin on their upper portions. Despite their human qualities, nagas always have snake-like eyes and a forked tongue. Like their serpent cousins, naga possess the ability to inject potent venom into those they bite. Nagas are a proud people, and while they are not innately hostile, they can be easily provoked if they believe that they have been slighted. Foremost among the enemies of the naa naga may attack a bird on sight, or refuse to work with those who associate themselves with birds. The naga tribe primarily resides deep under the earth, living in great cities in the lowest many servants.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Pishacha STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

12

8

8

10

4

4

4

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

22

0

12

0

14

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

4

4

4

4

6

10

Defense

Willpower 12

20 Karma

2

2

Bite: +10 (14); Inaccurate 1 +11 (13); Poison Skills: Athletics +2 (+12); Awareness +3 (+7); Deception +3 (+7); Intimidate +3 (+15); Investigate +2 (+6); Melee +3 (+11); Survival +2 (+12); Wisdom +2 (+7) Inhuman Traits: Claws; Fear; Invisibility; Night Vision; Poison; Possession; Mantra Weakness: crown prana and a successful Int/wisdom-16 chant it as an interact action requiring a throat prana. Chanting the mantra immediately ends the pishacha’s possession, as well as any maladies or poison it has caused. Furthermore, it prevents the pishacha from moving closer to the character chanting the mantra on any round in which an action was taken to chant. Vile Maladies: When a pishacha strikes a target with her bite or her claws, she may spend a crown prana to increase her target’s Dazed consequence a both the dead and the living. They stand a bit taller than an average human, possessing bulging muscles, razor-sharp claws, protruding red eyes and a dark complexion. Their lower jaw juts outward, lined with jagged fangs. They also have a thin tail that whips back and forth like a cat’s. Although they are solitary predators, pishachas are thought to have their own language, known as Paisaci. They have little social structure among themselves, but packs of them have been known to form on occasion. Ultimately, however, this almost always leads to Pishachas come out in darkness, when they hunt their prey or scavenge the dead. They have -

human mind with supernatural fear. The chanting of certain mantras is supposed to drive away pishachas and cure those who

193

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Preta STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

10

6

6

6

8

6

8

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

16

4

10

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

8

6

8

8

6

Defense

Willpower 14

26 Karma

2

3

+8 (11); Fatiguing Touch (see below) Skills: Athletics +1 (+7); Awareness +1 (+7); Intimidate +2 (+12); Lore +2 (+10); Melee +2 (+8); Stealth +2 (+8); Survival +2 (+8); Wisdom +3 (+11) Inhuman Traits: Claws; Fear; Drain; Invisibility By the preta spending a throat prana with an attack, the target’s Fatigue consequence increases a severity on a successful hit or two severities if the second Defense TN was hit. Limited Visibility: Pretas are visible in mirrors, to the intoxicated and to those who can see through maya (illusion). Seeing a preta in this state invokes the preta’s Fear trait with a +4 bonus to the preta’s fear action. Mass Drain: By spending an extra crown prana when using its Drain trait, a preta may target all other characters in her zone at once. This is handled 194

desire to consume human corpses, feces or any other manners repugnant things. Pretas are invisible to the naked eye, but those with the right powers, or in certain intoxinarrow limbs, huge distended bellies and long narrow necks. the sun freezes them in the winter.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Rakshasa STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

10

8

8

10

6

8

6

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

20

4

10

0

14

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

6

8

6

6

10

Defense

Willpower 12

22 Karma

2

2

Bite: +10 (10); Inaccurate 1 +11 (11); Poison Skills: Archery +1 (+9); Athletics +3 (+13); Awareness +2 (+10); Deception +3 (+9); Intimidate +4 (+14); Melee +3 (+11); Stealth +2 (+10); Thievery +2 (+10) Wildman Traits: Frenzied Counterattack; Iron Hide; Red in Tooth & Claw Inhuman Traits: Sense (Smell) Limited Size-Changing: With a concentrate action, a rakshasa may expend three crown prana to increase or decrease its size by one. Its Size may never be greater than +2 or less than -2 rakshasa once again decides to change size. Love of Carnage: When a rakshasa damages another character or takes damage from another character, her Bolstered consequence increases a severity. truding down from their upper jaw. Their skin is wrinkled and twisted, and they growl much the same as a feral beast. Rakshasas are cannibalistic, but love to chew on the sinew between human bones. Possessed of an insatiable hunger, rakshasas can smell the scent of

their victims, and they are masters of illusions and other sorcery. Some have the powers of or human. Rakshasas typically live in small tribes that dwell deep in the forests. These tribes occasion-

195

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Rompo STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

9

7

7

8

1

9

3

7

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

16

4

8

-1

14

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

9

1

9

3

7

8

Defense

Willpower 13

20 Karma

2

1

Bite: +9 (11); Inaccurate 1 +10 (10) Skills: Athletics +2 (+10); Awareness +4 (+13); Intimidate +3 (+12); Melee +3 (+10); Stealth +2 (+9); Survival +3 (+11) Wildman Traits: Iron Hide; Red in Tooth & Claw Inhuman Traits: Claws; Fast; Night Vision; Pounce; Superior Sense (Smell) Dazing Strike: A rompo that successfully hits a target may spend a brow prana to strike in just the right spots to overwhelm its opponent. This causes the target’s Dazed 196 consequence to increase a severity, or two severities if the second Defense TN was hit. Surprising Tenacity: As a reaction to failing an unconsciousness action due to negative HP, the rompo can spend a heart prana to immediately gain HP equal to its Determination and remain conscious. This may be done only once per battle. Toughened Bones: As a reaction to an attack, the rompo can spend a heart prana to add its Determination to its DR for the round. twisted and spiky skeleton-like body, the head of a hare, the rear legs of a bear, the front arms of a badger and human ears. The creature is the size of a medium-sized dog, but can be territorial and aggressive, particularly when it is looking to feed. Rompos feed only on human corpses, preferring to act as scavengers, but they are quite against other romps who may want to take the corpse as their own. Rompos are nocturnal and prefer to live where they have a source of food. This means they are most commonly found in the wilds near cemeteries, along remote forest paths or near strewn about an area.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Suparna STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

7

8

6

5

10

6

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

28

0

8

0

14

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

10

5

10

6

6

6

Defense

Willpower 12

22 Karma

2

2

Beak: +8 (10); Inaccurate 1 Leg Talons: +9 (9) Skills: Animals +2 (+8); Archery +2 (+9); Athletics +4 (+10); Awareness +4 (+14); Deception +2 (+8); Empathy +2 (+12); Intimidate +2 (+10); Melee +2 (+9); Socialize +2 (+8); Survival +2 (+8); Tactics +2 (+7); Wisdom +2 (+7) Enlightenment: 2 Trickster Traits: Great Aim; Missed Me; Pinpoint Accuracy; The Harder they Fall Inhuman Traits: Claws; Direction Sense; Fast; Flight; Night Vision; Pounce; Superior Sense (Sight) 197 Hatred of Snakes: As long as a snake is present in the scene, a suparna automatically gains Fixation (Snake) (moderate). This lasts as long as the snake is alive. Wing Blast: With an interact action costing a lower a massive gust of wind that knocks enemies backward. This is a Str/athletics vs. Defense action, targeting an entire zone. On a hit, all characters in that zone are moved a zone away. On a critical hit they are knocked prone as well, gaining the Low Posture (critical) consequence. Suparnas are a race of bird-men. They stand as tall as humans and have fully human arms and hands. Out from their backs, however, stretch a set of great wings, and their feet are like those of a huge eagle. Their faces are dominated by a large hooked beak, much like a bird of prey, but their eyes are human. They are typically heavily muscled and have bodies covered with a thin layer of feathers. Social creatures, suparnas live in colonies of several dozen individuals. These colonies are Suparnas are celestial in nature, albeit among the lowest ranked of the celestial beings. Keruda, who serves as the mount of Omdra, the lord of the devas himself. species. The very sight of a snake can whip a suparna into a frenzy as it seeks to attack. This, naturally, has made them the age-old enemies of the naga, and these two races have been at open war several times in the past.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Vanara STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

10

8

8

7

6

6

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

16

0

8

0

14

28

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

7

6

6

6

8

Defense

Willpower 12

22 Karma

2

1

Bite: +10 (10); Inaccurate 1 Rock: +10 (9); Improvised Weapon; Ranged Skills: Animals +1 (+7); Archery +2 (+12); Athletics +4 (+12); Awareness +2 (+8); Deception +2 (+8); Investigate +2 (+8); Melee +1 (+11); Perform +3 (+9); Socialize +1 (+7); Survival +3 (+11); Tactics +2 (+9); Thievery +2 (+12) Ascetic Traits: Anima Siddhi; Mahima Siddhi Inhuman Traits: Bravery: A vanara may always take a concentrate action, spending a single heart Curiosity: consequence relevant to curiosity on a vanara imposes it at one higher 198 severity than normal. Great Jump: When making a great leap, a vanara can expend all prana in an on the Size table (see page 95). This increases the length of the vanara’s jump by up to that distance. Prehensile Tail: Vanaras have a prehensile tail, which they can use to hold objects as if they had a second primary hand. Vanaras are a race of powerful monkey-people who dwell in forests and who have their own kingdom. Brave and inquisitive by nature, vanaras are possessed of many powers. Perhaps foremost among these are the abilities to change their size and shape at will and to leap mighty distances with a single bound. The origin of the vanaras is debated, but they claim that they have a divine ancestry, a fact that would explain their considerable abilities. Vanaras stand upright like humans and are of the same stature. Their faces, however, are distinctly monkey-like, as are their feet and the layer of hair that covers their bodies. Vanaras possess prehensile monkey-like tails and are prone to dress themselves, as do humans. Despite their animalistic appearance, Vanaras possess a keen intellect and are particularly renowned for their skill in tactics.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Vetala STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

8

8

8

10

6

10

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

16

0

8

0

14

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

10

6

10

6

8

Defense

Willpower 12

26 Karma

2

1

Unarmed: +10 (8) Skills: Archery +2 (+10); Athletics +2 (+10); Awareness +2 (+8); Deception +4 (+14); Lore +4 (+14); Melee +2 (+10); Perform +4 (+14); Stealth +2 (+10); Wisdom +4 (+14) Performer Traits: Complex Themes; Frightening Tale; Improvised Performance Inhuman Traits: Drain; Night Vision; Possession Corpse Possession: A vetala can use its Possession trait to automatically possess a corpse in the same zone. While possessing the corpse, the body appears fully alive to anyone viewing it and it has the stats of the vetala given above. Ethereal: attacker is also ethereal. Additionally, while ethereal, the vetala may move through solid objects, but doing so costs an extra lower prana. A vetala is automatically destroyed if its identity is discovered and the appropriate funerary rites performed on its original corpse. Hidden Impurity: Touching a corpse possessed by a vetala gains the touching character a bad karma, just as would touching any corpse. The character doesn’t receive this bad karma, however, until the corpse is revealed as a vetala or the end of the the possessed corpse. Only one bad karma point is held back and given later in this way, no matter the number of times the corpse was touched. Mantra Repulsion: A vetala must spend a heart prana in addition to the normal prana to move towards or attack any character chanting an appropriate religious mantra. Unbound by Time: A vetala may take a concentrate action to peer into the past or future, gaining insight. In addition to gaining useful information, this may also give +4 to its next action. Vetalas are disembodied and malevolent spirits that can take possession of corpses. Once possessed these corpses appear very similar to when they were living, and sometimes the life and death, they are outside the normal bounds of space and time, giving them exceptional insight into the future and distant events. Because of this insight, many ill-advised sorcerers seek to capture vetalas and turn them into slaves. Vetalas commonly haunt cemeteries, which have a steady supply of corpses. They are repelled by the chanting of certain mantras, and their threat may be permanently ended by discovering the identity of the spirit and performing funeral rites for the individual. Note: The vetala serves many of the roles as the vampire does in western myth.

199

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Vidyadhara STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

10

10

6

8

10

6

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

24

0

6

0

16

30

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

10

8

10

6

6

6

Defense

Willpower 15*

25* Karma

3

1

+12 (7); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Unarmed: +11 (6) Skills: Animals +1 (+7); Archery +2 (+12); Athletics +2 (+8); Awareness +4 (+14); Diplomacy +2 (+8); Investigate +3 (+13); Lore +3 (+11); Medicine +3 (+13); Melee +1 (+11); Perform +2 (+8); Socialize +2 (+8); Wisdom +4 (+12) Enlightenment: 2 Yogi Traits: Body Follows Mind; Iron Will*; Insight Into Time Inhuman Traits: Control (Air); Flight; Superior Sense (Vision) Great Wisdom: Vidyadharas possess great wisdom and may spend a crown prana to add their Intelligence as a bonus to any Wisdom or Lore action. Merrymaking: When a vidyadhara is enjoying herself and generally 200 merrymaking she automatically makes a Chr/socialize vs. Willpower action against all other characters in the scene. On a success the target gains the second Willpower TN was hit. abilities. Known for their deep wisdom, vidyadharas possess a variety of magical abilities. symbolizing their semi-divine status. and stare down upon the world, watching the exploits of great heroes from afar. Vidyadharas are devoted to joy and mirth, spending much of their time doing nothing more than enjoying themselves. The time they spend watching heroes from afar, however, may prompt them to take a more active role in getting involved in those exploits. Friendly possibly to the point of distracting from other duties. More sinister vidyadharas, however, from afar and joy the spectacle.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Yakshi

Yakshas and Yakshinis are a race of humanoids that act as guardians of nature, particularly guarding glens and mountains. The males of the species are called yakshas and the females are called yakshinis.

Yaksha STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

10

6

6

10

6

6

6

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

40

0

10

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

6

6

6

8

10

Defense

Willpower 14

24 Karma

2

Gada: +9 (13); Hands 2 Skills: Athletics +2 (+12); Awareness +1 (+7 1 (+11); Melee +3 (+9); Empathy +1 (+7); Intimidate +3 (+13); Lore +2 (+8); Wisdom +2 (+8) Enlightenment: 2 Spearman Traits: Armored Mobility; Attack of Opportunity; Power Strike; Whirlwind of Thrusts & and Jabs Inhuman Traits: Night Vision; Superior Sense (Protected Location) Invocation Boon: Every yaksha has a boon he can give if invoked correctly, and or granting a consequence to the individual. Usually this consequence is lasting, being removed at the end of the session or once a certain condition is met. This consequence may give bonuses, temporary traits or other

1

201

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Yakshini STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

6

6

6

9

6

10

9

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

24

0

6

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

9

6

10

9

6

Defense

Willpower 15

29 Karma

2

2

Bagh Nakh: +7 (6); Conceal 2; Tricky Skills: Athletics +2 (+8); Awareness +1 (+7 1 (+10); Deception +3 (+13); Diplomacy +2 (+12); Melee +1 (+7); Empathy +4 (+10); Lore +2 (+11); Perform +4 (+14); Socialize +3 (+13); Stealth +2 (+8); Wisdom +2 (+11) Enlightenment: 2 Performer Traits: Weave; Universal Charm Inhuman Traits: Night Vision; Superior Sense (Protected Location) Invocation Boon: Every yakshini has a boon she can give if invoked correctly, 202

involve removing or granting a consequence to the individual. Usually this consequence is lasting, being removed at the end of the session or once a certain condition is met. This consequence may give bonuses, temporary many live under the ground, guarding the wealth found trapped in the rock. Yakshinis, on the other hand, are less portly and extremely feminine in their shape and appearance. While some yakshinis, like their yaksha counterparts, are guardians of the wealth buried under the ground, they are also frequently guardians of forests and groves and are particularly fond of ashore tress. Both yakshas and yakshinis may be solicited for aid by performing the appropriate rituals 20,000 times, writing the name of the yaksha with cremation dust at night while naked or travel the aether in one’s sleep for a time. The yakshas have their own kingdom high up in the Wolaya, where few except the mightiest of heroes are able to trek. Ruled over by the yaksha king Gabera, the capital city of the kingdom, Eraka, is said to rival even the capital city of the devas in its wealth, opulence and breath-taking splendor.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Individuals Dark Yogi. They typically are legends, but could also be represented as elites.

Against the

Anu the Trickster STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

7

9

6

8

9

10

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

36

0

6

0

13

26

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

9

8

9

10

8

6

Defense

Willpower 14

28 Karma

3

3

Katar: +10 (6); Conceal 2 Skills: Archery +2 (+9); Athletics +2 (+8); Awareness +2 (+11); Deception +4 (+14); Diplomacy +2 (+12); Empathy +2 (+11); Investigate +2 (+11); Melee +2 (+9); Socialize +2 (+12); Stealth +4 (+11); Thievery +4 (+11) Enlightenment: 3 Inhuman Traits: Trickster Traits: Bag Full of Tricks; Missed Me; Sneak Attack; The Harder They Fall Better You Than Me: As a concentrate action costing a crown prana, Anu can move any consequence he has from himself to another character in the same zone. From I Don’t Think So: Anytime Anu would take damage he may spend a throat prana to direct that damage to another character in the same or adjacent zone. The character targeted with this damage may not be the attacker. Additionally, Anu’s DR subtracts from the damage, not the DR of the target. From the point of view of anyone in the Anu is an asura of trickery and deception. Unlike most asuras, who dwell in Patala, Anu number of forms. One of his favorite tricks is to lure travelers deep into the wilderness using phantom sounds. Once in the wilderness he will lead them to various hazards, make them think they’re being attacked by wild animals or simply make them lose their bearings and sense of direction. Some say Anu was exiled from Rasatala, the sixth layer of Patala, in ages past for impersonating the raja of the asuras himself. During this impersonation he declared a week-long holiday, ordered an invasion of the Endless Ocean and tried to seduce the true raja’s many wives. In his most common form Anu appears as tall and handsome man in many-splendored clothes. He carries a katar, and his neck is adorned in garlands. If he wishes to appear hostile he will manifest four arms, three heads and his eyes will glow a threatening red color. Recently Anu has tired of his wilderness games and has set his sights on rulership. He plans to trick a ruler out of his kingdom and set himself up on the throne, playing both the ruler of the people and using his illusions to play the kingdom’s foes as well. All he needs now is a suitable

203

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Apathya Shashi Chaudhri STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

7

7

8

7

7

8

9

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

84*

2

6

0

13

24

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

7

7

8

9

8

Defense

Willpower 18†

30† Karma

3

3

* Value doubled due to Adharmaastra † Bonus from Dark Will (Will lower as bad karma is spent) Adharmaastra: (13); Ranged; Targets zone; Can only be used once per battle Urumi: +10 (6); Reach; Tricky; Wraps Skills: Archery +1 (+8); Athletics +1 (+9); Awareness +4 (+11); Deception +4 (+12); Intimidate +2 (+8); Lore +2 (+9); Melee +4 (+11); Tactics +4 (+11); Wisdom +4 (+11) Enlightenment: 3 Spearman Traits: First Strike; Parry; Power Strike; Whirlwind of Thrusts & Jabs Yogi Traits: Mental Forms; Mind Over Body; Spiritual Guidance 204 Adharma Traits: Adharma Surge; Dark Will; Seize the Initiative Warp the Land: By taking a concentrate action and spending a throat prana, Apathya is able to crumble and warp the world around her, making buildings collapse and the land roll. This ability grows stronger in the presence of bad karma. Use of this ability destroys all cover and concealment consequences in her zone and all adjacent zones. It also deals damage to all characters in these zones equal to twice the sum of all bad karma in the zones combined. She herself is immune to this damage. having just completed a period of enlightened retreat. No one knows where she came from before her retreat, which must have lasted generations, for any records of her that may once have existed have been lost with time. Traveling to Gusala, Apathya was quick to integrate herself into the Dark Yogi’s reign, servWith the rise of the Wicked Kings, Apathya’s role in service of the Dark Yogi has begun to but rather than see Geli reign for 10,000 years, Apathya would quicken the world’s passing. The way she sees it, the world is a failed and unclean place. Better to rebuild a new world To achieve these ends, Apathya possesses something the Dark Yogi doesn’t: a single scroll missing from the main text of the Forbidden Sutra. This scroll gives her the ability to warp and crumble the land around her, a power which would only accelerate with the passing of the Geli Yuga.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Avinashika STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

7

7

8

6

6

7

9

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

39

0

7

0

14

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

6

7

9

6

6

Defense

Willpower 12

25 Karma

3

1

Choker Bow: +11 (8); Hands 2; Ranged Katar: +10 (7); Accurate 1; Conceal 2 Skills: Animals +2 (+8); Archery +4 (+11); Athletics +4 (+10); Awareness +2 (+9); 2 (+8); Medicine +2 (+9); Melee +2 (+9); Stealth +2 (+9); Survival +4 (+10) Enlightenment: 3 Archer Traits: Far Shot; Multishot; Pinning Shot; Quick Reload Wildman Traits: Avinashika possess a golden choker that transforms into a golden bow whenever she holds it and chants the correct mantra. This transformation is a concentrate action that costs a crown prana. The bow can also be transformed back into a choker with a similar action. This bow never runs out of arrows, simply manifesting new golden arrows when an Low Quiver consequence with this bow. Despite only being in her late teens, Avinashika is an accomplished archer and tribal warrior descended from the hardy tribes that live on the fringes of the Dhar Desert. Several years ago her family was attacked and captured by a rival tribe. Avinashika evaded capture, living in a mystical hollow dune and plotting to rescue her parents. Avinashika has dark black hair that is kept in a tight braid. Many earrings adorn her ears, and henna ink decorations cover one arm. Around her neck she wears a blessed golden

fail, she keeps a katar at her side as well. Adept at running, jumping and hiding, Avinashika has begun to make contact with neighboring tribes, asking them of the whereabouts of her long-lost family. While she has made many new contacts and friends among these tribes, she may be too trusting of those she

has so far kept his distance so as not to alert the tribe that captured him. Instead he has been protecting Avinaskiha from the shadows, seeking to prevent the actions of those who would use her trusting nature against her. It is only a matter of time, however, until he must either reveal himself or until Avinashika discovers him on her own.

205

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Devarata the Warden STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

9

8

7

8

6

7

6

9

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

51

2

9

0

13

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

6

7

6

9

8

Defense

Willpower 15

25 Karma

4

1

Gada: +10 (12); Reach; Tricky; Wraps Skills: Animals +2 (+11); Athletics +2 (+10); Awareness +4 (+11 1 (+10); Intimidate +2 (+11); Medicine +2 (+9); Melee +4 (+12); Survival +4 (+12); Tactics +4 (+10) Enlightenment: 3 Chakra Master Traits: Bend the Flow; Channel Prana; Energize Strike; Energize the Skin Spearman Traits: First Strike; Power Strike; Throw & Bounce; Whirlwind of Thrusts & Jabs Tireless Guardian: Devarata needs neither sleep nor sustenance. He is immune 206

all severities of the Desire, Fear and Fixated consequences with an End Consequence action and a single heart prana. On a low hill outside the city of Ogachakra there stands a stoic and silent guardian, everfacing the east. This guardian is Devarata the Warden, and on the hill he stands a sleepless vigil, watching for signs of the Dark Yogi and his forces. So long has Devarata stood on the hill that the local villagers have come to accept him as piled up around his feet, and now almost reach to his knees. Devarata’s origins remain shrouded in mystery, but it is clear that he has stood in Ogachakra at least a generation, if not more, and that he speaks several local languages. Attempts to ally no more than a word or two. Despite his silence, however, Devarata is rumored to be a master of multiple rare martial is occasionally sought out by aspiring warriors and would-be heroes, seeking to train at the foot of the warden. He has yet to deem any of these hopeful students worthy of his teaching.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Nikhil Debaprasad Majumdar STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

6

6

7

9

7

7

9

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

39

0

6

0

12

22

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

10

8

8

10

8

Defense

Willpower 15

26 Karma

4

1

+8 (6); Reach Skills: Athletics +2 (+9); Awareness +2 (+9); Diplomacy +2 (+9); Empathy +2 (+9); Lore +2 (+11); Medicine +4 (+11); Melee +2 (+8); Streetwise +2 (+11); Tactics +2 (+11); Wisdom +4 (+13) Enlightenment: 3 Chakra Master Traits: Bend the Flow; Heighten the Equilibrium; Obstruct Chakra; Raise the Potential Yogi Traits: Astral Projection; Mental Forms; Spiritual Guidance; Third Eye Mental Healing: By spending a heart prana and taking a concentrate action Nikhil can pick a single consequence and remove that consequence from any voluntary targets in the same zone that he choses. A Brahmin of Pingali origin with a short beard and full mustache, Nikhil Debaprasad Ma- 207 jumdar is a master of mental disciplines and the leader of the Forgotten Army. Despite his Brahmin and Pingali heritage, young Nikhil grew up in Tendaka, far from most other Pingali or Brahmin families. As a youth he was jealous of the local Kshatriya, envying their study of the martial skills. Despite this, however, Nikhil stayed true to his family’s dharma, investing As Nikhil grew older he began to travel further from home in the pursuit of his studies. progressed, his studies moved from literature and medicine to the more esoteric topics of the mind and universal energies. In these studies, combined with his earlier pursuits, the shades of dharma in what is important to them, not just in what society feels should be important, or in the duties that seem most glorious. With this realization in mind, Nikhil reached out to those shunned by society and in need amputations or birth deformities could still have self-respect and serve dharma despite famous sage Tamapara, the man who became the Dark Yogi. This lead him to realize the dharma would be in need of defenders. To prepare for this he began to gather the people who came to him as a military force. This “Forgotten Army” would organize, but not bepreparations was at hand.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Omdra STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

16

14

12

14

10

12

14

14

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

120

4

16

0

18

36

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

12

10

12

14

14

14

Defense

Willpower 20

38 Karma

5

2

+18 (17); Big 2; Hands 2; Ranged Spear: +17 (17); Big 2; Hands 2; Reach Skills: Archery +4 (+18); Athletics +3 (+17); Awareness +4 (+16); Diplomacy +3 (+17); Empathy +3 (+15); Intimidate +4 (+20); Investigate +3 (+15); Lore +3 (+13); Medicine +3 (+15); Melee +3 (+17); Perform +3 (+17); Socialize +3 (+17); Tactics +4 (+14); Wisdom +4 (+14) Enlightenment: 5 Archer Traits: Quick Reload; Far Shot; Intercepting Shot; Knockback Shot; Multishot; Penetrating Shot; Pierce the Sky; Pinning Shot Ascetic Traits: Anima Siddhi; Mahima Siddhi; Spiritual Guidance Charioteer Traits: Defenseive Maneuver; Driver’s Wisdom; Flying Chariot; 208 Legendary Driver (Keruda); Line Up Attack; Tactical Coordination; Trample (Str 12) Raja Traits: Air of Authority; Commanding Bellow; Inspiring Presence; Regal Mein; Tremble Before Me Inhuman Traits: Keruda Steed: When riding his bird-man steed Keruda, Omdra may act as if he were riding a chariot for the purposes of Charioteer traits. Shocking Strike: Omdra may change his attacks with some of the energy of thunder and lightning by spending a brow prana along with an attack. On a hit, the target’s Dazed consequence increases a severity, or two severities on a critical hit. Omdra may spend crown prana (concentrate action) to assume a wrathful form. His size increases to +2, DR increases by +2 and damage increases by+2. Additionally, he may invoke his Extra Arms trait immediately. Omdra is the king of the gods, lord of the devas and ruler of the Three Worlds. He is a god of storms and war, controlling the weather, rain and lightning. He rules from his abode in over the dreaded serpent Wrotra, and he now spends his days drinking the hallucinogenic beverage soma. When he leaves his celestial home, he is usually seen riding his man-bird steed Keruda.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

209

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Ravema STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

12

10

8

10

8

8

10

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

66

4

12

0

14

28

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

8

8

8

10

8

10

Defense

Willpower 14

28 Karma

3

5

Chakram: +14 (13); Neg; Ranged; Thrown Gada: +14 (15); Big 3; Hands 2 Urumi: +13 (12); Inaccurate 1; Reach; Tricky; Enlightenment: 4 Wraps Skills: Archery +4 (+14); Athletics +3 (+13); Awareness +2 (+10); Deception +3 (+13); Diplomacy +4 (+14); Empathy +3 (+11); Intimidate +4 (+16); Lore +4 (+12); Medicine +4 (+12); Melee +4 (+14); Perform +3 (+13); Socialize +3 (+13); Stealth +2 (+12); Tactics +4 (+12); Thievery +2 (+12); Wisdom +4 (+12) Raja Traits: Air of Authority; Commanding Bellow; Fabulously Wealthy; Inspiring Presence; Regal Mein; Sweeping Denunciation; Tremble Before Me Wildman Traits: Frenzied Counterattack; Come & Get It; Iron Hide; Red in Tooth & Claw Adharma Traits: Abominable Toughness; Adharma Surge; Armor of Contempt; Turn the Tables Inhuman Traits: Driven by Lust: Anytime Ravema takes a Fixated or Desire consequence relevant to lust, the 210 severity of the consequence is one higher than normal. Love of Carnage: When Ravema damages another character or takes damage from another character, his Bolstered consequence increases a severity. Ravema is the raja of the Renka Kingdom and a rakshasa of legendary cruelty. He rules from his mighty fortress of Renkapura, which is said to lie at the heart of the largest city in all Bhurloka. being skilled in various sorceries and being adept at many esoteric medicines. Furthermore, he quering the neighboring Tendaka Kingdom and ever projecting his power outward.

Facing the Dark Yogi

Facing the Dark Yogi is an epic undertaking for any group of heroes, and one likely to end in capture or death unless the heroes are very powerful or have a very clever plan. When the heroes encounter the Dark Yogi, he has likely been meditating and practicing austerities. As such, all of

expend all his crown, brow and heart prana to call upon Garima Siddhi, Mahima Siddhi and He may then end his turn with Channel Prana, gaining a heart prana, which can later be used to end a consequence or Energize the Skin. In later rounds, if all the heroes are in the same zone, he may blast them with his adharmaastra. from Garima Siddhi, Mahima Siddhi and Energize Strike, if possible.

-

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Tamapara, The Dark Yogi STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

9

11

13

10

11

9

11

13

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

152*

7**

9

0

24***

44***

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

9

11

9

11

13

10

* Value doubled due to Adharmaastra ** Bonus from Abominable Toughness (Will lower as bad karma is spent)

Defense

Willpower 24†

44† Karma

5

5

*** Bonus from Armor of Contempt (Will lower as bad karma is spent) † Bonus from Dark Will (Will lower as bad karma is spent)

Adharmaastra: (20); Ranged; Targets zone; Can only be used once per battle +12 (10); Hands 2; Ranged Gada: +12 (12); Hands 2 Armor: Light Armor (2 DR; Bulky 1) Skills: Archery +2 (+13); Athletics +2 (+12); Awareness +2 (+11); Lore +4 (+15); Melee +2 (+13); Survival +2 (+12); Wisdom +4 (+15) Enlightenment: 5 Ascetic Traits: Garima Siddhi; Mahima Siddhi; Prakamya Siddhi; Vastva Siddhi Chakra Master Traits: Bend the Flow; Bolster the Flow; Channel Prana; Energize the Skin; Energize Strike Yogi Traits: Disciplined Austerities; Mental Forms; Spiritual Guidance; Travel Through Thought Adharma Traits: Abominable Toughness; Adharma Surge; Armor of Contempt; Dark Will; Seize the Initiative; Tongue of the Serpent; Turn the Tables; Unnatural Vow of Celibacy; Vow of Truth Returning Threat: The Dark Yogi has used the Forbidden Sutra to attack the way of the world. He has not achieved moksha, but he stands aside from the cycle of reincarnation. He can only ever be permanently killed by a weapon or object once belonging to Raja Mayoor, who he betrayed, or Sujata, who he fell in love with. If he is ever killed by any means other than exploiting his weaknesses, he simply returns back to life, fully formed, within a generation. The Dark Yogi, Tamapara, was once a powerful ascetic who traveled Bhurloka dispensing wisdom and pleasing the gods. However, he fell from grace when he betrayed the Raja Mayto claim her soul and return her to her previous incarnation. He failed in this task, but deep in the underworld he discovered the Forbidden Sutra, which taught him how to attack dharma. Since then he has vowed to use the sutra to bring about the Geli Yuga and the end of the world in order to end this great cycle and once again be reunited with Sujata. (See page 27 for more information.)

211

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Tamkinat the Audacious STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

8

7

6

8

6

9

7

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

36

0

6

0

14

25

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

8

6

9

7

6

Defense

Willpower 13

26 Karma

3

2

+10 (7); Hands 2; Ranged Khanda: +10 (7) Skills: Animals +2 (+8); Archery +2 (+10); Athletics +2 (+8); Deception +4 (+13); Melee +2 (+10); Perform +4 (+13); Socialize +2 (+11); Stealth +2 (+10); Streetwise +2 (+8); Tactics +4 (+12); Thievery +2 (+10) Enlightenment: 3 Performer Traits: Grandiose Execution; Improvised Performance; Lingering Trickster Traits: For a Good Cause; Missed Me; Trick Shot Brash Action: Normally performing an action that requires playing a card ends a character’s turn in combat. Tamkinat, however, can circumvent this 212 restriction once per round by spending a good karma. This allows him to continue to take actions until the next such action that requires a card. Tamkinat the Audacious is a long-limbed and wiry man, with a thick mustache and attire consisting more of patches than the original material. Despite his disheveled appearance, he is both a performer of great renown and the consort of Pallavini, the rani of Tweraka. Tamkinat grew up in a small agricultural village outside of the holy city of Akkayini, born to a family of Vaishya. He was the black sheep of his family growing up, neither interested in farming, nor in peddling goods to the travelers coming to and from the city. Instead his hand at performing in Akkayini. His performances and skill soon attracted large crowds. Despite his growing renown, however, his brash behavior and sharp tongue kept him isolated from many of the temples in Akkayini that might otherwise have given him patronage. Seeing a limit in his ability to rise in the city, Tamkinat took to the road, traveling throughout the Ewanti Kingdom. These travels brought him eventually to the city of Tweraka, which was at the time under attack by costal wildmen. Seeing the city’s palace about to fall to the raiding invaders, Tamattackers, surprising even himself with his intuitive grasp of tactics. and awarded a title. Although he declined ennoblement, Tamkinat did become the consort performer and head of the city’s guard.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Taryodhana STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

10

9

10

7

7

7

9

8

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

51

4

10

0

16

29

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

7

7

7

9

8

7

Defense

Willpower 14

27 Karma

3

3

Gada: +13 (13); Hands 2; Big 3 Skills: Archery +2 (+11); Athletics +2 (+9); Awareness +2 (+9); Deception +2 (+11); Diplomacy +2 (+11); Intimidate +3 (+13); Lore +2 (+9); Melee +4 (+13); Socialize +2 (+11); Tactics +4 (+11) Enlightenment: 4 Charioteer Traits: Defensive Maneuver; Everywhere at Once; Hit & Run; Line Up Attack; Worthy Chariot Raja Traits: Call Out; Commanding Bellow; Rank Has Its Privileges (Rank 4); Regal Mien; Status & Power (Gerna); Tremble Before Me Spearman Traits: Dazing Strike; Feint; First Strike; Parry; Power Strike; Whirlwind of Thrusts & Jabs spend any kind of prana to either move or dodge. Taryodhana is the raja of the city of Westinapur in the Jaru Kingdoms. His lands stretch from the Ghendava Forest, halfway to the city of Reva. His territory also includes the village of Omdraprastha, once a great city and the capital of the Jaru Kingdom, but now a shadow of its former glory. One of 100 brothers, Taryodhana is the eldest of the bunch. He descends not from the last line still has the rightful claim to rule all the Jaru Kingdoms. It is Taryodhana’s ultimate aim stand up in the face of both the Najal Raj in the north and Gusala in the east. Towards this end, he has already united Westinapur with Omdraprastha, winning the latter kingdom by guile in a rigged game of dice. As the eldest son, Taryodhana was raised to rule and trained in martial skills. In this he and his mastery of the gada was paralleled by no one else in the kingdom. He also proved to be extremely adept at tactics, winning the admiration of many around the Jaru Kingdoms. Taryodhana’s most trusted advisor, friend and vassal is a man called Gerna. Although Gerna was born only a servant, he won Taryodhana’s friendship early in life. In return Taryodhana has supported him where he might otherwise be discriminated against due to his

213

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Usha Lilituesh STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

6

8

8

7

7

6

11

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

78*

4**

6

0

14

30

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

7

6

11

6

7

* Value doubled due to Adharmaastra ** Bonus from Rank Has Its Privileges

Defense

Willpower 15†

30† Karma

3

3

† Bonus from Dark Will (Will lower as bad karma is spent)

Adharmaastra: (13); Ranged; Targets zone; Can only be used once per battle Bagh Nakh: +10 (6); Conceal 2; Tricky Skills: Athletics +2 (+9); Awareness +2 (+8); Deception +4 (+15); Diplomacy +2 (+13); Melee +2 (+10); Perform +4 (+15); Stealth +2 (+10); Tactics +3 (+10); Wisdom +3 (+10) Enlightenment: 4 Performer Traits: Performance; Theatric Exploit; Twist & Weave; Universal Charm 214 Raja Traits: Commanding Bellow; Inspiring Presence; Rank Has Its Privileges (Rank 4); Regal Mien; Tremble Before Me Adharma Traits: Dark Will; Seize the Initiative; Turn the Tables Draining Touch: With but the faintest of touches Usha may drain her target of a point of prana from a chakra of her choice. She gains this prana herself. In combat, against an unwilling target, this usually accompanies a melee attack. Outside of combat this ability may be invoked once per scene. By spending a crown prana and making an Int/wisdom vs. 11), +5 Usha Liliuesh is the sorceress-rani of Dropuri, an important port city at the edge of the

Said to be as dangerous as she is beautiful, few leave the court of Usha unchanged by the experience. From her palace overlooking the river she sits atop a bejeweled throne, dressed Usha is a driven and ruthless ruler. She bends others to her will using her overpowering presence or seduction. Those who do not bend to her she mercilessly crushes. Some even whisper that she is one of the prophesied Wicked Kings.

Chapter 8 - Non-Player Characters

Wicked King STR

DEX

SPD

END

INT

PER

CHR

DET

8

8

7

6

6

6

9

6

HP

DR

Attr.

Size

84*

7**

8

0

16***

28***

Equil.

Crown

Brow

Throat

Heart

Lower

6

6

6

9

6

6

* Value doubled due to Adharmaastra ** Bonus from Abominable Toughness and Rank Has Its Privileges (Will lower as bad karma is spent)

Defense

Willpower 15†

28† Karma

3

3

*** Bonus from Armor of Contempt (Will lower as bad karma is spent) † Bonus from Dark Will (Will lower as bad karma is spent)

Adharmaastra: (14); Ranged; Targets zone; Can only be used once per battle +11 (9); Ranged Skills: Archery +3 (+11); Athletics +2 (+8); Awareness +2 (+8); Deception +3 (+12); Diplomacy +2 (+11); Melee +1 (+9); Stealth +2 (+10); Tactics +3 (+12) Enlightenment: 4 Raja Traits: Commanding Bellow; Inspiring Presence; Rank Has Its Privileges (Rank 4); Regal Mien; Tremble Before Me 215 Adharma Traits: Abominable Toughness; Armor of Contempt; Dark Will; Seize the Initiative; Turn the Tables Wicked Attack: By spending a crown prana along with an attack, the wicked king may increase his target’s Dazed consequence a severity on a hit, or two severities on a critical hit. Cunning Strike: By spending a brow prana along with an attack, the wicked king may add his charisma as a bonus to damage. The Eighteen Wicked Kings are the highest ranking disciples of the Dark Yogi, and the harbingers of the Geli Yuga. They are each born to positions of high power in their respective kingdoms and are possessed of almost supernatural cunning and charisma. They make war wherever they go and wish to subjugate all Bhurloka under their rule. They also make good

Consequences he following is a list of common consequences used by the various subsystems in Against the Dark Yogi. These consequences can also be used as benchmarks when assigning one’s own consequences.

Bleeding

Blocked Flow

Physical HP Combat

Mental Targeted Prana Combat

The character loses HP equal to the severity squared at the beginning of age ignores DR. Duration: Bleeding lasts until the character

the character would lose consciousness due to negative HP. blood, causing even more injury.

This causes -1/severity to prana gained each round (min 1). Duration: This lasts until the character

takes a concentrate action to mentally remove the block.

partially blocked in some manner; this reduces the number of prana she gains each round.

Chapter 9 - Consequences

Bolstered

Cover

Mental Targeted Combat

Circumstantial Combat

This gives +1/severity to the next action that requires a card Duration: This lasts until an action is taken

The character’s actions are bolstered, either through sound tactics or through improved morale.

Concealment Circumstantial Combat This causes -1/severity to all actions made to attack or target the concealed character. Duration: Concealment lasts until an ac-

218

tion is taken to negate the concealment. For example, turning on a light to get around darkness or moving to get around concealing foliage.

The character is obscured by darkness or

This causes -1/severity to all actions made to attack or target the character with cover. If this would make the difference between a success or failure, the object providing cover is struck instead and takes damage from the attack. Duration: This lasts until an action is taken

moving to where the obstructing object does not provide cover or destroying the cover in an attack. The character has some object she can take cover behind in combat.

Dazed Mental Prana Combat This causes all attack and concentrate actions to cost an additional crown prana, except for actions taken to end this consequence. Duration: This lasts until a concentrate

action is taken to clear one’s head and remove this consequence.

The character is spacey, easily-distracted and

Chapter 9 - Consequences

Desire

Disabled

Mental Targeted Subject

Physical Prana Targeted Combat Subject

Every time the severity of this consequence increases, the character must succeed at a Det-13 action or perform the desired action at the next opportunity. This action is at a +2 bonus if it is against the character’s nature, such as harming an ally, or a +4 bonus if it involves almost certain harm to oneself. Duration: This lasts until the desired action

is indulged, a new desire is imposed (see the description under “Subject” below) or the end of the scene.

Subject: When this consequence is gained,

the consequence always has some action which the character desires to do. A character may not have more than one Desire ever impose the Desire consequence on a character that already has the Desire

instead removes the already-existing Desire consequence on a one-severityper-severity basis. So, for example, of the character already has Desire (Sleep) impose Desire (Dance) (moderate), this current Desire, leaving her with Desire (Sleep) (light). The character has a strong, deep-seated urge to undertake some action. This might be indulging in alcohol or soma, making a move on an attractive dancer or dropping a hot iron that is scalding one’s hands.

by severity. Light: and the character is slowed. All actions require one more lower prana than normal, except for actions to end this consequence. If this applies to a limb, it Moderate: The character is stuck in place. If this applies to her body or legs, she may not take move actions. If this applies to her arm, all actions with that arm cost an additional lower prana on top of the additional one already required from light severity. Severe: The character is paralyzed. She may not take any actions other than to end this consequence, and her Defense drops to 4/10 (adjust for Size). If this applies only to a limb, her Defense does not drop 219 and the restriction to taking actions applies only to those taken with the limb. Critical: The character is fully disabled. If sciousness. Otherwise the targeted part of her is useless. She may take no actions, including reactions. This lasts until the end of the scene. Duration: This lasts until a concentrate ac-

tion is taken to focus and regain one’s faculties, except at critical severity where it lasts until the end of the scene.

Subject: When this consequence is taken, it

The character begins to lose control of but then she begins to become paralyzed, followed by unconsciousness and death.

Chapter 9 - Consequences

Encumbered

Fear

Physical Circumstantial

Mental Prana Move Targeted Subject

This causes -1/severity to Spd and Dex actions. Duration:

put down to lower the consequence.

The character is burdened down by carrying

Fatigue Physical Lasting Fatigue causes -1/severity to all physical actions. Duration: This lasts until the character

rests for the night.

220

The character has become fatigued and physically worn out. This can happen due to a variety of reasons.

are highly dependent on the severity. Light: The character must spend an extra heart prana to take an action that Moderate: light fear, the character must also spend an extra heart prana to take a move action that brings her closer to the subject of her fears. Severe: ate fear, the character must immediately take a move action away from the subject Critical: fear, the character must immediately from the sheer terror. Duration: This lasts until a concentrate

action is taken to overcome one’s fear and remove this consequence.

Subject: When this consequence is gained,

the character always has something of which she is afraid.

Something makes the character fearful. Her reaction runs the gamut from intimidated to pure terror.

Chapter 9 - Consequences

Fixated

Low Posture

Mental Targeted

Circumstantial Move Combat

This causes -1/severity to all actions same scene. Duration: This lasts until a concentrate

Characters with this consequence must pay one more lower prana than usual to dodge or take move actions, other than the move action needed to end this consequence.

action is taken to clear one’s head and remove this consequence.

Duration: This lasts until character takes a

Subject: When this consequence is gained,

The character is sitting, lying down or otherwise in a position that does not give good mobility.

the character always has something

may not have more than one Fixated ever impose the Fixated consequence on a character that already has the Fixated instead removes the already-existing Fixated consequence on a one-severityper-severity basis. So, for example, if the character already has Fixated (Chickens) impose Fixated (Trees) (moderate), this instead removes two severities from her current Fixated, leaving her with Fixated (Chickens) (light). to the detriment of focusing on anything else. This may be because she feels a great anger at the target, it may be because she is feeling particularly attracted to the target or it could be due to any other number of reasons.

move action to stand.

Stun Physical Mental Targeted Combat This causes -1/severity to all reactions and the character may not take any actions other than to end this consequence. Duration: This lasts until the character

takes a concentrate action to recover from the stun.

The character is stunned due to some being surprised at the beginning of combat or sudden shock and pain.

221

kumari his chapter contains an adventure suitable for an evening of gaming. It provides a simple hook, introduces the PCs to a number of powerful potential allies and enemies, and lets the PCs make a name for themselves.

The Setup

On the Way to Echra

In the city of Echra, lord city of the Najal Raj, the Maharaja Wamayun has been trying to cement an alliance with one of the nearby Jaru Kingdoms. Towards this end, he arranged the engagement of his daughter, the Kumari Anwesha, to Yuvaraja Karan, crown prince of that kingdom.

This adventure picks up with the player characters traveling together on their way to the city of Echra. It is assumed that they already know each other and have reason to travel to the city. Each of the players is encouraged to come up with what they want to see in the city or why they might be traveling as a group.

The kumari wasn’t happy with this engagement, however, and sought the help of Gabera, the king of the Yakshas. Beseeching him, she asked him to stop her engagement to Yuvaraja Karan, and in return she agreed to become his wife. True to his word, the yaksha king disrupted the wedding plans, but when he came to collect the kumari she tried to back out of the deal, saying she had never agreed to the deal. Angered, Gabera swept the kumari up and took her back to his kingdom without anyone noticing. There he plans to go through with the deal and wed her as he was promised. However, Maharaja Wamayun only knows that his daughter went suddenly missing and that his alliance with Yuvaraja Karan and his Jaru Kingdom is in jeopardy. He has publicly announced a generous reward for the safe return of his daughter.

As they’re traveling along the road through the forest, allow each of them to make a Per/awareness-10 action. On a success, they will notice a lone traveling ascetic a short 40 bandits with blades drawn, descending upon him to attack. They can then react life. On a failure, the bandits will notice the Use Bandit stats (page 176). All bandits are a single group of vassals. The PCs ought to be able to dispatch all them, the ascetic will introduce himself as Rishi Akshat, a traveling ascetic on his way to Echra. He had been traveling the road when the bandits waylaid him. Upset that he had nothing of value, they then attacked. He thanks the PCs profusely and says that he owes them a future boon. He would also be happy to accompany them to Echra. Reward the PCs each a good karma for helping the ascetic.

Chapter 10 - Kumari

Arriving in the City

Meeting the Maharaja

Once the PCs arrive in Echra, Rishi Akshat will leave them to head to the local temple. He will tell them he can be found there should they need him. The PCs will then be

Once the PCs head to the palace, they will be greeted by several guards who will be happy to escort them to the Maharaja for an audience. They will be lead to an opulent chamber where they will be formally introduced to Maharaja Wamayun, Mantri Devak and the Yuthamukhya, the Maharaja’s guard captain.

Echra is a sizable city with a variety of of the city is the royal palace, where Maharaja Wamayun lives. If the PCs have not yet had an opportunity to spend any money they possess, they may do so now. The GM is also encouraged to come up with other attractions and interests the PCs may wish to pursue. A number of ideas are listed below:

224

The PCs may be asked to perform. Doing well will net them some friendly locals and a night’s room and board. A wrestling match is taking place in the market square and PCs may either want to participate or take small bets on the matches. PCs with chariots may engage in a chariot race around the city. There will be an entry fee (2 gold coins) and a reward (5 gold coins). There are two other competitors. Eventually, however, the PCs will hear about the missing kumari and the Maharaja’s “generous” reward for her return. They will be encouraged to inquire about the missing kumari at the palace. If they don’t come up with this themselves, Rishi Akshat or another friendly character will suggest it.

The Maharaja will explain that his daughter, the Kumari Anwesha, disappeared three days ago from her bedchambers. Her that night between the Maharaja, his wives and all his children. He was going to inform her at the dinner that her engagement to Yuvaraja Karan of the Paru Kingdoms had Maharaja will be happy to answer any other questions the PCs may have, but he knows little else of importance. Should the PCs wish to see the Kumari’s room, where she was last seen, he will tell the Yuthamukhya to escort them there. If the PCs don’t suggest this course of action, the Maharaja will suggest it himself.

Chapter 10 - Kumari

The Investigation

Journey to Find the Kumari

The Yuthamukhya will lead the PCs to the Kumari’s room as ordered, but will remain suspicious of the PCs. He is not a trusting man, and he will attempt to make sure that nothing is stolen or treated improperly. If asked questions, he will answer what he knows but will volunteer little else.

Going to the Yaksha Kingdom will require several days of journeying through the remains of the Ghendava Forest. The going

A Chr/investigate-10 or Chr/socialize-10 action in the palace will turn up the fact that the Kumari has been engaged to the Yuvaraja Karan of the Paru Kingdoms, and they were to be wed within the month. Then, suddenly

through the forest for two days, have them make Per/awareness-13 actions. On a success they will see a great tiger tailing them, leaping from branch to branch, high up in the trees. Whether the tiger was seen or not, he will leap down in front of them and begin to speak. Read or paraphrase the following: “I am Bhiru, the Tigerraja. You are trespassing in my forest. Entertain me or I will eat you!” With that he will make a gesture and 50 more tigers will become visible, prowling through the trees.

accusing the Maharaja of trying to make a fool of them. No one knows why, although the Maharaja has been trying to discern that. A Per/investigate-10 action in the room will turn up an unusual gem under the bed. This is, in fact, a gem that the yaksha to woo her into not changing her mind, but room. An Int/wisdom-13 action will let a character recognize the gem as being cut in a style of the yakshas. An Int/lore-13 action will let the character know that the closest yaksha settlement is the Yaksha Kingdom itself, across the Ghendava Forest. Should the PCs miss these clues, or are unable to come up with the appropriate knowledge, they will be approached by the in town. He will set them on the right path, coming up with any missing knowledge, or “recognizing yaksha magic” as a way of settling his debt to them.

path, but if the PCs wander far from the path, there are many dangers.

Entertaining the Tiger King is a Chr/ perform-13 action, but creative players may 225 have other ways of dealing with the situation. Roll with whatever they come up with. Should they successfully entertain the Tiger King, he will let out a great laugh and let them pass unharmed. If they succeed with Mag 5+ he will even welcome them back, should they ever pass through again. On a failure, however, he will launch an attack. Use Tiger stats (see page 186). The Tiger King is legendary (Enlightenment 4), while the rest of the tigers are two groups of 25 tiger vassals. will be another several days of travel, during which the PCs can heal. Then they will leave the edge of the forest and arrive at the foothills of the Wolaya Mountains. Somewhere here is said to be the entrance of the fabled Yaksha Kingdom.

Chapter 10 - Kumari

Searching for the Yaksha Kingdom The foothills where the PCs arrive are a rugged landscape with many twisting valleys Yaksha Kingdom is a Per/survival-13 action. a failure they will wander in circles for most of a day until the Yaksha Nenibhadra (see what they’re doing. Once the PCs have found the entryway, they may enter it. Inside, a long and winding tunnel leads them steadily downward. An Int/wisdom-10 action will let them know they it may even go all the way to Patala, the underworld. At times the tunnel opens up wide as it intersects with natural caves in a crisscrossing patchwork of tunnels. As the PCs pass one of these tunnels, they will encounter a well-armed Yaksha who will demand to know what they’re doing in the 226 Yaksha Kingdom. He will introduce himself

as Nenibhadra, guardian of the entryway. Once they’ve explained their presence, he will inform the PCs that they need to answer a riddle to prove themselves worthy to pass. The riddle is this: “What feature of a bird in answer: “It’s shadow.” Should the PCs answer the yaksha’s riddle correctly, he will warmly welcome them and lead them directly to the Yaksha King Gabera. If they answer it incorrectly, he will deny them entry, and if they try anything he will let out a loud whistle. Upon his call, 100 bears will appear from the side caverns, out of the darkness. He will then let out a battle cry and attack. Use Yaksha stats (see page 201) and Bear stats (see page 181). Nenibhadra is elite groups of 20 vassals.

Chapter 10 - Kumari

Meeting the Yaksharaja Eventually the PCs will come to the audience hall of the Yaksha King. He will be in attendance, as well as a variety of attending yakshas and yakshinis. Gabera will waste no time getting to the heart of the issue, saying “You are here for the human kumari” or something similar. Let the PCs explain their aim to him; in the end he will say: “The kumari came to be and asked me for a deal. She pleaded that I aid her and get her out of her upcoming marriage to the Yuvaraja Karan. In return she agreed to become my wife. I granted her request. I did as she asked, but when I came to claim her she tried to back out of the deal. So I swept her up and brought her here.” Gabera will allow the Kumari to be brought out and speak to the PCs. She will the PCs to rescue her. The Yaksha King will not just let her go, as he feels that a debt is owed to him. This leaves the PCs faced with a choice: Try to take her by force or leave empty-handed. Of course, PCs being PCs, they may try to strike a deal or attempt number of other tactics. Go with it, but don’t make it too easy for them. On a successful Chr/diplomacy-16 action, Gabera may be convinced to let her go if the bride. Such a replacement bride would have to be a kumari herself, would need to be at least as beautiful and the Yaksha King would is an adventure in itself!

use these stats: Gabera (use Yaksha stats, see page 201); he is legendary (Enlightenment 3). If Nenibhadra is there, he uses Yaksha stats (see page 201); he is elite (Enlightenment 3). There are also four yaksha guards of 20 yaksha guards (vassals) and two groups of 20 yakshini vassals (see page 202).

Facing the Yuthamukhya When the PCs leave the Yaksha Kingdom and return to the surface, they will encounter the Yuthamukhya and a group of 50 guards. They have been tailing the PCs ever since Echra. If the PCs are empty-handed, the Yuthamukhya will attempt to arrest the PCs for being in league with the Gabera. If the PCs instead have Kumari Anwesha with them, he will attempt to take her and claim credit for her recovery. The Yuthamukhya uses Spearman stats 227 (see page 179). He is elite (Enlightenment 3). With him is a group of 50 guard vassals; use Spearman stats.

Rewards When the PCs return to Echra, the Maharaja will be thrilled to see his daughter safe. He will hold a feast in honor of the PCs. He will bestow the title of Thakur of Echra (Rank 1) upon them. He may even ask them to perform another task in his service. But that is another story.

the border ontained in this chapter is an adventure suitable for an evening or two of gaming. It is written to follow the “Kumari” adventure presented in the last chapter, but should be easy enough to adapt to a wide variety of campaigns and scenarios. This adventure assumes the PCs have already made a name for themselves, and presents a simple hook to get the action started. From there the PCs have a great deal of agency in where they take the scenario, and this adventure explores the many possibilities.

The Setup

Behind the Scenes

The Maharaja Wamayun, lord of the Najal Raj, has long feared that Gusala is planning an attack along their shared border. He’s been preparing for this eventuality, making alliances and securing provisions (see the “Kumari” adventure, page 223). But all of the Maharaja’s preparations will be for naught if this attack comes before he is ready. To gauge the imminence of an attack he has sent a vassal, Gotama, to the city of Zeusambi to report on Gusala’s actions.

Unbeknownst to the Maharaja or anyone else in Echra, Gusala is planning an attack on their border with the Najal Raj, although this attack is being planned by the Gusalan general Apathya (see page 204) rather than at the direction of the Dark Yogi himself. Apathya is setting in motion her plans to force an earlier confrontation with the Najal Raj, hastening the coming of a war that will consume all.

The last messenger Gotama sent, however, indicated both that he had important news and that he was in trouble. Acting quickly, Maharaja Wamayun has sent another messenger to the PCs, asking for their help in safely bringing Gotama back to Echra, and dealing with whatever news of import Gotama brings.

Gotama has stumbled on these plans, but in doing so has drawn the suspicion of Apathya. Upon making the discovery he sent a message to Maharaja Wamayun asking for aid, but dared not give details, lest the meslow and wait for help, but was soon picked up by Apathya’s loyalists. They are currently holding him captive, suspecting that he is reporting their unapproved invasion to the Dark Yogi, rather than to Echra.

Chapter 11 - The Border

A Call for Aid When the adventure begins the PCs are out performing heroic deeds. The action begins in media res nest of rompos that have been terrorizing the villages north of Echra. Begin the game by the rompos to a cave near the local graves, then begin combat with the rompos charging out of the cave to initiate combat. Use Rompo stats (page 196). There are two elite rompos. If the GM is adapting this adventure to replace the rompo encounter with some other encounter suiting the PCs and their pursuits. stand victorious and it is then that the messenger from Maharaja Wamayun 230

should approach. The messenger is a thin man named Abhay who arrived during the nearby trees as the PCs dispatched the rompos. He will approach the PCs, complement then on their martial prowess and then say that he bears an urgent message from the Maharaja of Echra. When asked for the message he will repeat it verbally: “Most exalted heroes, I fear that an attack by Gusala and its dark master may be imminent on my kingdom. I bid you come to my court in Echra with all due haste so that I may explain the situation further, and ask your help in preventing this attack.” Hopefully the PCs will agree to travel with Abhay back to Echra and speak with the Maharaja. If they agree, reward them a good karma. If they do not, however, skip to “If the PCs Don’t Bite” below.

Chapter 11 - The Border

Not Epic Enough for You?

Is traveling to a hostile land to rescue a vassal with critical information not epic enough has already started? Instead of the vassal Gotama being in Zeusambi, an entire army of Echra’s has been captured, including Gotama the kingdom’s most skilled general. The PCs aren’t just rescuing an informant, they’re releasing an entire army from capture, and then leading that army against the next attack!

Meeting the Maharaja The trip to Echra will be uneventful. Once the PCs arrive in the city they should head to the palace, but be ready to improvise other activities in Echra if the PCs decide to detour (see the Kumari adventure on page 223 or the Echra section on page 44). Once the PCs head to the palace they will be greeted by several guards who will immediately ask to escort them to the Maharaja for an audience. They will be lead to an opulent chamber where they will be formally introduced to Maharaja Wamayun and Mantri Devak. The Maharaja will thank the heroes then explain that he needs help preventing a “possibly imminent” attack from Gusala. He will explain that he has long feared such an attack, and to prepare for one he sent his vassal Gotama to the city of Zeusambi to report on Gusala’s actions. Gotama ‘s last message was that he had important news, but no messages have followed. Now Maharaja Wamayun fears that something terrible has happened to Gotama. He wants the PCs to whatever news of import Gotama has.

He is willing to pay the PCs each 10 cows upon the safe return of Gotama, and says he will make them Sardars of Echra (Rank 2) should they succeed on stopping whatever sinister plot Gusala has afoot.

If the PCs Don’t Bite It’s possible that the PCs will turn down the need to be the end of the adventure, but it will require some improvising. Gusala has its own agents in Echra. 231 These agents know that the Maharaja sent a messenger to ask the PCs for aid. They will not know that the PCs have turned down the request, and will instead assume that the PCs are acting on the Maharaja’s behalf. Wherever the PCs go they will soon attract an attack by a group of assassins hired by Gusala (see the encounter below). This attack may be enough to get the PCs back on track, providing a personal stake in the matter. Should even this fail to pique the PCs’ interest, however, let them hear of an attack by Gusala in Ogachakra. This may attract their interest, getting them to head in the appropriate direction.

Chapter 11 - The Border

On the Way to Zeusambi If the PCs want to reach Zeusambi they will have to travel from Echra, either following the river and cutting through the dangerous Ghendava Forest, or they will have to arc to the north and travel through the border city of Ogachakra. Whichever way the PCs become involved in the events brewing between the Najal Raj and Gusala. Before they leave Echra, however, they has its own agents in Echra. These agents are aware that the PCs are working for the Maharaja, and they want to stop events before they are further set in motion. Towards this end, they have sent their own messenger back to warn Apathya, and also plan to proactively attack the PCs. Just as the heroes leave sight of the city these agents will launch their attack.

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Use Assassin stats (see page 175). There are 4 groups of 10 vassals each. If captured and successfully intimidated or persuaded, these agents will spill that they’re working for the Gusalan general Apathya, and that they were trying to stop the PCs from becoming involved. They don’t know of the impending border attack, nor do they know anything about Gotama. their journey, should they head into the Ghendava Forest continue on to the “Meeting the Vanaras” encounter. Should they head around the forest to Ogachakra, skip to the “A Stop in Ogachakra” encounter.

Meeting the Vanaras As the heroes head through the Ghendava Forest they will likely follow the river downstream towards Zeusambi. During this part of the trip feel free to play up the eeriness of the forest at night, or to throw in other encounters, such as with the Dekshaka naga tribe.

Along the way, however, the PCs will encounter a group of vanaras, the monkeypeople. Start by allowing all of the heroes to make a Per/awareness-10 action. On a success the hero notices that the PCs are forest that are keeping to the shadows. Give the PCs a moment to respond to this as they wish. The vanaras are at this point keeping their distance watching the PCs, as they are not sure whether the heroes are friends or foes. They are in an unfamiliar part of the forest themselves, having traveled here from the south in search of a new grove in which to make their homes. Where things go from here is largely up to the PCs. The vanaras will not initiate Likewise, they won’t initiate conversation diplomacy-10 action to get them to address the party in the open. Should the PCs ignore the vanaras or simply not notice them, they will continue to follow the PCs through the forest, allowing additional attempts to spot them or otherwise deal with them in some manner. is the relevant information: Use Vanara stats (see page 198). There are 2 groups of 20 vassals and one elite tribal leader named Emgada. If the PCs address and befriend the vanaras, Emgada the vanara leader, will tell the heroes the story of how their tribe looking for a new grove to call home. He will also ask place to stay. Should the heroes help the ones that can come to their aid later on in the adventure during Apathya’s attack.

Chapter 11 - The Border Looking for a new home for the vanaras will require a successful Per/survival-13 or Int/lore-13 action. This will lead the PCs northeast, towards the forest’s edge near

may also encounter Devarata the Warden on his hill outside Ogachakra (see the “Facing the Dekshaka Nagas” and “Devarata the Warden” sections, respectively).

A Stop in Ogachakra If the heroes decide to head around the Ghendava Forest, or they are lead northward looking for a home for the vanaras, they will eventually arrive at the city of Ogachakra. This city marks where the eastern edge of the Najal Raj meets the western edge of Gusala. Ogachakra has historically been a thriving agricultural city, but in recent generations has fallen on hard times, as rakshasas and other forces gathered by the Dark Yogi have slowed trade and occasionally Despite these hard times, however, Ogachakra still has a number of sites to see. The city is home to a sizable temple dedicated to Echni. It is also home to the the great sage Metyananda was said to have rested. Finally, Ogachakra is also home to that stands a sleepless vigil on a hill just outside of the city (see the “Devarata the Warden” section below). For characters wanting to get involved in the activities of the city, the GM can draw from any of the simple hooks below:

One of the sons or daughters of a local Vaishya becomes attached to the heroes and tries to follow them on their quest. The PCs are asked by the locals to participate in a planting or harvest festival. If they refuse to participate it will be taken as an insult unless the PCs can succeed on a Chr/socialize-13 action to turn it down with all due etiquette. Swarms of birds have been eating the seeds that the locals have been trying to plant, leaving the city hungry. The PCs can lay in wait for these birds with a Dex/ Trying to convince him to leave the city alone is a Chr/diplomacy-16 action. Regardless of what the PCs become involved in, however, they should eventually be pointed at the hill outside town where stands Devarata.

Devarata the Warden Eventually, heroes in Ogachakra should page 206). He stands on a low hill outside of town, watching the east and waiting, neither eating nor sleeping. Over the years that he has continued his vigil, he has come to be accepted by the local villagers as their protector, and as good luck. These villagers now pile up at his knees. Devarata is also said to be master of multiple rare martial techniques, even possessing the knowledge to call upon astras. These techniques could be of invaluable assistance to the heroes, and it should be suggested that the PCs seek Devarata’s training and wisdom.

233

Chapter 11 - The Border Addressing Devarata, however, may be something of a challenge. So absorbed is he in his vigil that he fails to answer most comments or questions, and those he does acknowledge are usually given only a one or two word response. Let the PCs use their creativity when it comes to getting Devarata’s attention. GMs should be ready to roll with whatever the PCs come up with, but failing any clever ideas a simple success on a Chr/ Once the heroes have Devarata’s attention, though, they still need to convince him that they’re worthy of his training. Stories of their intentions or exploits won’t sway and he demands action. If PCs ask what they can do to be found worthy, he will mention that the Dekshaka naga tribe has been encroaching on the people of Ogachakra’s lands for some time now. He wants the PCs to enter the Ghendava Forest, seek out the Dekshaka nagas and get them to stop. How the PCs do this is up to 234 them (see the “Facing the Dekshaka Nagas” section below). On their way to face the nagas, they may also encounter the vanaras (see the “Meeting the Vanaras” section above). Once the PCs have returned from this task anything too questionable in achieving one mystic martial technique: he will train them to use the Devaastra (see page 164). allow PCs to immediately purchase the Astra (Devaastra) trait and make use of it later in the adventure. PCs lacking the sadhana to purchase this trait now may still do so, but will go into “sadhana debt” until

Facing the Dekshaka Nagas The Ghendava Forest once covered a vastly larger area than it currently does. Ages ago much of the forest was burned to clear Dekshaka naga tribe have long dwelled in the forest, and they have neither forgotten nor forgiven the Jaru Kingdoms for this slight. Indeed, they have come to blame all of the surrounding human kingdoms for the loss of much of their ancient forest home. Recently, Dekshaka, the raja of the tribe, has become more aggressive. Under his direction, his tribesmen have been encroaching and seeding them with forest plants. They’ve also claimed all the areas of the forest that are prime candidates for building homes. These actions are to stop the encroachment of the human peoples, but it also prevents the vanaras from migrating to the area. Dekshaka’s ultimate goal is to slowly once again spread the edges of the forest back over human lands. If this fails he may then resort to poisoning nearby human rulers. How the heroes approach the Dekshaka nagas is up to them, but the nagas are unlikely to be very welcoming unless the particular enmity against any PC from the Jaru Kingdoms. Succeeding in a Chr/diplomacy-13 action should be enough to get an audience with Dekshaka, although he will still be suspicious, if not hostile. Any threatening moves from the PCs will invite Dekshaka is a legend. Use Naga stats (see page 192). There are also 5 groups of 20 vassals. Use Naga stats (see page 192). If the heroes work out some deal with the nagas that doesn’t involve wholesale slaughter, award them a good karma. If they kill Dekshaka in his own home give each of the PCs who participated a bad karma.

Chapter 11 - The Border

Into Gusala Once the PCs have traveled beyond Ogachakra, or past the eastern edge of the Ghendava Forest, they have entered the lands of Gusala. These are lands ruled by the Dark Yogi himself. And while many of the inhabitants of Gusala are simply put-upon villagers that have seen better days, the countryside is also crawling with rakshasa tribes, mercenaries and worse that have been brought to Gusala under the banner of the Dark Yogi and his attack on dharma.

How much trouble these hazards give the heroes is largely up to the GM. It is encouraged that GMs emphasize the nearness of the threat to Bhurloka, and remind PCs that they are in hostile territory where one slip-up might have disastrous consequences. Nevertheless, the vastness of these threats is largely beyond the scope of this adventure. It is assumed that the PCs will eventually be able to make their way to the city of Zeusambi, where they can begin to inquire about the vassal Gotama.

Zeusambi Zeusambi is a large town once known for the excellence of its woodworks. Today the city’s trade still focuses on wood, but instead of focusing on the ornate its attention has been turned to churning out the spears, staves and shields necessary to the people of the city were once open and trusting, but they have grown suspicious and hostile to outsiders. Asking around the city for Gotama will not be easy. Heroes seeking to glean information on Gotama’s whereabouts will need to succeed in a Chr/streetwise-16 or Chr/ socialize-16 action. Failure by Mag 5+ will result in the character attracting the attention of the city’s guards. These guards will attempt to capture and question the hero, wanting to know why she is in Zeusambi and what her intentions are. Zeusambi’s guards use Spearman stats (see page 179). Typically two groups of 10 vassals each will show up, with another two groups showing up four rounds later,

On a success, the PCs will learn that Gotama resided near the city’s lumber stacks, where 235 he traded in wood. He hasn’t been seen around recently, however. On a success by Mag 5+, the PCs will also learn that he was taken by Apathya’s forces, and is being held in their camp just outside of the city proper. Should the heroes learn the location of Gotama’s residence, but not that he was taken by Apathya’s forces, they can always investigate the lumber stacks. Investigating the area is a Per/investigate-10 action. On a success a piece of wood. This message tells “Friends of the Maharaja” that he is likely going to be captured by Apathya’s forces. A successful Int/streetwise-10 or Int/tactics-10 will reveal the location of Apathya’s camp. Failing all of these things, if the PCs still overhear some of Apathya’s forces talking as they travel about the city. These forces are speaking both about the “spy” they captured some days ago, and about the upcoming plans by Apathya to attack the border of the Najal Raj.

Chapter 11 - The Border

236

Rescuing Gotama Gotama is being held in a military encampment just a few minutes’ walk from the city walls. This encampment is the current home of both General Apathya and some 1,000 troops. Particularly powerful, ambitious or lucky PCs may be able to directly assault the camp and escape with Gotama in tow, but for most PCs the rescue is likely to be an exercise in guile or stealth. Sneaking into the camp requires a successful Dex/stealth-16 action to make it in undetected, a Per/awareness-13 action to locate where Gotama is being held, a Dex/ thievery-13 action to spring him from his cage and then another Dex/stealth-16 action to make it back out again. Using deception to talk one’s way in requires a good cover story, possibly a disguise and success on a Chr/deception-19 action. Failing in any of these actions by Mag 5+ will alert the camp’s guards. Failure by less

simply means no progress and another opportunity for complications. Should guards attack, use the following stats: The initially alerted guards will be two groups of 20 vassals each. Use Spearman stats (see page 179) for one group and Archer stats for the other (see page 174). the second round the archers will sound the alarm. The PCs then have until the end of that round to defeat the remaining guards and make a successful getaway. At the beginning of the third round, four groups of 20 vassals (two spearmen and two archers) will appear and move to attack. Troops will continue to arrive every three rounds with their numbers doubling each appearance until either the PCs make a retreat or all 1,000 foes are defeated. Apathya herself (see page 204) will arrive with the last group of guards should the heroes try to defeat the entire army here

Chapter 11 - The Border Assuming the PCs made a successful getaway with Gotama and did not defeat the entire army, he will be desperate to tell them of Apathya’s coming attack on the Najal Raj. What’s more, the heroes have only two days to stop the attack before it happens!

Stopping the Attack It’s come to this: the heroes must stop a and they have only two days to do it. This is Two days is not enough time to make it all the way to Echra and back unless the PCs have some means of exceptionally fast travel at their disposal. Clever PCs might still be able to accomplish this, in which 200 spearmen (four groups of 50 vassals each). These men will be placed under the PCs’ command. Even if traveling to Echra is accomplished, however, the heroes must der in time. Hopefully the PCs have made allies they can call upon, such as Devarata the Warden, the vanaras or perhaps even Dekshaka naga tribe. These allies may stand with the PCs under their command in the upcoming battle. Once battle is joined, draw out the of forest. Set out the enemy troops and the forces the PCs can deploy. Then divide the groups of vassals under the heroes’ command among the players. That player will play those troops as well as their PC in the upcoming battle. This ensures that all players have a hand in the outcome of the are vassals, and when they attack other groups of vassals they will receive damage from Attrition. Once everything’s set up, play it out as a grand mass combat!

Apathya’s archers use Archer stats (see page 174). There are 5 groups of 100 vassals each, minus any killed earlier. Apathya’s spearmen use Spearmen stats (see page 179). There are 5 groups of 100 vassals each, minus any killed earlier. Apathya Shashi Chaudhri (see page 204) is a legend. Adjust these foes as necessary given the earlier actions of the PCs, and the results of the plans they accomplished in the two days before the battle. If the GM wants to possible reincarnation or enlightened retreat, she should give all of the enemy attacks the Fatal property.

Rewards Once the PCs have both rescued the vassal Gotama and stopped the impeding attack on the Najal Raj they will likely travel back to Echra for their promised reward. Provided 237 that the PCs were successful, Maharaja Wamayun will be true to his word. He will reward them each 10 cows and make them Sardars of Echra (Rank 2). If the PCs made friends with either Devarata the Warden or the vanaras they may have these allies to call upon in the future. Devarata may consent to future martial training if he was particularly impressed. The vanaras could be valuable allies if the heroes need forces to call upon, or need to be carried to a distant location through the use of the vanaras’ “Great Jump” trait. Any of these allies could also call upon the PCs in the future. The defeated forces of Gusala might even regroup and seek their revenge on the heroes. But those are other stories.

Chapter 12 - Bibliography

Books

Apte, V. G. (1996). Hippocrene concise dictionary,

Sanskrit-English. New York: Hippocrene Books. (1969). The religion of the Veda; the ancient religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads). New York: AMS Press. Cherniak, A. (2008). . New York: New York University Press. Flood, G. D. (1996). . New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Goldman, R. P. (1977). Gods, priests, and war. New York: Columbia University Press. Goldman, R. P. (1986). . Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Mitchell, A. G. (1982). . London: H.M.S.O.. Nicolle, D., & McBride, A. (1993). dia, 1504-1761. London: Osprey. Nosov, K., & Dennis, P. (2008). War elephants. Oxford: Osprey. 238 Walker, B. (1968). . London: Allen & Unwin. Williams, G. M. (2008). mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Films and Video

Desai, C. (Director). (2010). Ramayana: the

epic [Motion picture]. India: Maya Entertainment Ltd.. Mohan, R. (Director). (1992). Ramayana: the legend of prince Rama [Motion picture]. India: Nippon Ramayana Film Co.. (Director). (2009). The story of india [Documentary]. United States: PBS Distribution.

Comic Books

Chandrakant, K., Mulick, P. & Pai, A. Abhimanyu: star-crossed prince. Amar Chi-

tra Katha, 533. India: ACK Media.

Chandrakant, K., Ram, W. & Pai, A. Krishna and Shishupala. Amar Chitra Katha,

589. India: ACK Media.

Chandrakant, K., Ram, W. & Pai, A. Vish-

wamitra: the king who became an ascetic. Amar Chitra Katha, 599. India: ACK Media. Chandrakant, K., Chavan, H. S. & Pai, A. The Syamantaka gem. Amar Chitra Katha, 591. India: ACK Media. Chandrakant, K. & Vitankar, C. M. Vishnu to the rescue (1997). Amar Chitra Katha. India: ACK Media. Indra and Shibi (1997). Amar Chitra Katha, 524. India: India Book House. Lopamudra, Vitankar, C. M. & Pai, A. Tales of Arjuna: the exploits of an exceptional warrior. Amar Chitra Katha, 525. India: ACK Media. Rao, S., Chavan, H. S. & Pai, A. Tales of Vishnu: the gentle god. Amar Chitra Katha, 512. India: ACK Media. Rao, S., Vitankar, C. M. & Pai, A. Tales of Shiva: the mighty lord of Kailasa. Amar Chitra Katha, 549. India: ACK Media. Rao, S., Mulick, P. & Pai, A. Valmiki’s Ramayana. Amar Chitra Katha, 10001. India: ACK Media. Sharma, O. N., Kavadi, P. B. & Pai, A. Tales of Narada: tales of devotion and rivalry. Amar Chitra Katha, 520. India: ACK Media.

Roleplaying Games

Fitch, D. K. (2005). Sahasra: land of 1,000 cities.

Dog Soul Publishing.

RPGPundit (2013). Arrows of Indra. Bedrock

Games.

Selinker, M. A. (1996, January). Caste of

Characters. Dragon Magazine, 189, 22.

Selinker, M. A. (1996, May). Bazaar of the Bi-

zarre: The Magic of India. Dragon Magazine, 229, 33. Varhola, M. (1993, January). Rhino’s Armor, Tiger’s Claw. Dragon Magazine, 225, 34. Varhola, M. J. & Melchor, A. (2010). vidya & varman: the arms and armor of India. Skirmisher Publishing.

Chapter 13 - Backers

Special Thanks to Our Generous KickStarter Backers

Adam and Haz Nakama, Adam Chute, Adam Everman, Adam Waggenspack, Adam Windsor,

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Chapter 14 - OGL

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 1.

or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but spemeans product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or

240

Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement. 2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License. 3.

You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.

4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to

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conveyed by this License. 6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPY-

RIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute. 7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity. 8.

must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content. 9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License. 10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute. 11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor to do so. 12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use 13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if

You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License. 14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. 15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Against the Dark Yogi. Copyright 2014, Thorin Tabor. Tab Creations LLC.

Index

Index Actions 49 Adder 56 Adharma 152 Aim 79 Archer 113

Equilibrium 72 Equipment 155 Excess Prana 73 Extended Action 58 Fighting Blind 80 Finishing Touches 102 First Aid 82 Ganjifa 57 Gazetteer 34 Geli Yuga 30 Glossary 9 Gods 18 Government 14 Grapple 80

Armor 157 Ascetic 116 Astra 110, 164 Asura 188 Attack 79 Attrition 86 Austerities 73 Bhurloka 11 Brahmin 100 Hazards 89 Called Shot 79 Healing 70 Caste 100 Health Points 69 Chakra 71, 120 Hustle 83 Chakra Master 120 Character Advancement 104 Improvised Weapons 80 Inhuman 147 Character Creation 97 Intimidate 82 Charioteer 122 Jokers 56 Combat 75 Karma 49, 52, 107 Concentrate 81 Kshatriya 100 Concept 99 Language 111 Conditioned Damage 70 Consequences 50, 65, 67, 69 Legend 85 Magnitude 54, 66 Maladies 87 Critical Failure 56 Mantri 57, 178 Critical Hit 78 Meditation 73 Dalit 101 Mount Niru 38 Damage Reduction 69 Move 82 Dark Yogi 27, 210, 211 Names 103, 104 Death 70 Naraka 43 Defense 78 Deva 191 Open Game License 240 Dharma 21 Past Lives 98, 108 Disarm 80 Patala 42 Divine Boons 94 Paths 102, 110 Dodge 78 Performances 93 Echra 39, 44 Performer 125 Elite 85 Posture 83 Encumbrance 156 Prana 70 End Consequence 81 Properties 155 Enlightened Retreat 109 Pulling Punches 80 Enlightenment 106

Purity 22 Quiver 80 Raja 127 Range 81 Reactions 77 Reincarnation 105 Religion 15 Resist 79 Rounds 75 Sadhana 104 Saturation Point 74 Shudra 101 Siddhis 81 Size 95 Skill 60, 112 Spearman 130 Specialty 112 Stats 49, 99 Stats Block 99 Surprise 75 Sutra 30 Svarga 38 Tamapara 211 Target Numbers 58 The Three Worlds 21 Titles 91 Traits 52 Trick 82 Trickster 132 Trip 81 Trumps 56 Unarmed Attacks 81 Vaishya 101 Vassals 85 Vows 141 Wait 84 Weakness 143 Wealth 91 Weapons 157 Wicked King 29, 217 Wildman 135 Willpower 78 Yogi 137 Zone 82 Zone Borders 83

241

Character Sheet Name: ______________________

Player: ___________________ Enlightenment: ______________ Sadhana: ___________________ Caste: ____________________________________________________ Paths: _________________ _________________ _________________ stats

Strength

Dexterity

Speed

Endurance

Intelligence

Perception

Charisma

Determination

skills Skill Animals Archery Athletics Awareness Deception Diplomacy

Stat Det Dex End Per Det Chr Chr

Mod ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

tot ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Skill Empathy Intimidate Investigate Lore Medicine Melee Perform

specialties

languages

____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

Stat Per Str Per Int Per Dex Chr

Mod ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

tot ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Skill Socialize Stealth Streetwise Survival Tactics Thievery Wisdom

past lives skills

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______

tot ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

defenses

Max: _______

Equilibrium:___________ Attrition: ___________ Defense: ___________ Willpower: ___________ DR: ___________

equipment

____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Mod ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

HP

traits

past lives role

Stat Chr Dex Per End Int Dex Int

feats

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______

equipment _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Encumbrance:

properties ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _______________ / ______________

wealth Chickens:

__________

Gold Coins: __________ Cows:

__________

titles Titles: ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

Rank ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

chakras Max: Int

Max: Per

Max: Chr

Max: Det

Max: End

Crown Chakra

Brow Chakra

Throat Chakra

Heart Chakra

Lower Chakra