Mythras Companion is very useful addition to Mythras RAW. My favourite part of it are the 12 pages of rules for Pursuits and Chases. They are really versatile and can be used for all kinds of chases – by horse, elephant, boat, land vehicle or by foot. You can create pretty much any of the chase sequences from movies or books with the rules with relatively little effort.
One thing they currently lack is a quick reference so I decided to create one. There are two pages: the sequence page shows the round sequence for the chase with pointers to Mythras Companion pages for rules and tables.
The second page helps with special effects selection- with almost 30 special effects to choose from the page divides them into several categories cross referenced with what situation the special effect can be chosen.
There are targeted special effects that are grouped into categories of
Harm Opponent – for example Trample, Scrape off
Affect Opponent’s Movement for example – Drop Obstacle
Affect opponent’s vehicle – for example Ramming
There are non targeted special effects that are grouped into
Affect my position – for example Cut Ahead, Break Hard
Affect my situation – for example Regain Control, Bail out
The above special effects are cross referenced when they can be used against opponent
Next behind
Next ahead
Neck and neck
and so on.
You will need the Mythras Companion rules to reference the chase rules and special effects. The quick reference contains pointers to the rule pages You will find the chase quick reference as pdf here. I recommend trying out the MC rules for chase, they have been very enjoyable on a rooftop chase and boat chase on my campaign.
Looking at the latest version of tome from the remains of Anaxial – the Anaxial’s Manifest written by the indomitable Jamie Revell – MeG has been studied and new creatures uncrated and created and old ones updated. The creatures are set in Gloranthan world but many of them could be elsewhere as well.
Here is for all new (and perhaps also old) Mythras Gamesmasters a very extended version of Mythras Core Rulebook Table of Contents as a pdf. It could be useful when trying to find a rule. You will need a version of the Core Rulebook as all the page numbers refer to that (except the ones on the very first page, which are page numbers for this Table of Contents). The additions at the end from Examples entry forward could also be used separately.
It contains table of contents that contains all the chapter headings from the Core Rulebook. Within the main table of contents all the optional rules are marked with italics
It also has few additional items with few examples below.
All the examples of the book gathered into separate table of contents
All the non human character creations as a separate table of contents
All the grey boxes (notes) as a separate table of contents
All the tables as a separate table of contents
All the optional rules as a separate table of contents
The main GM Design Choices as a table of contents. This is a list that GM could use which rules components to define/refine when designing their world.
It also has a lists section which has a list plus page reference for list entries for each list in the book. Few examples below
Careers
Close combat mechanics
Combat Actions
Creature Combat
Creatures
Folk Magic Spells
Mysticism Talents
Professional skills
Ranged Combat
Sorcery Components
Sorcery Spells
Special effects
Spirit Abilities
Spirit Combat Special Effects
Standard Skills
Theism Miracles
It also has index pages for rules that are commonly used nearby each other or related to each other
Healing, Wounds and Fatigue
Movement and Combat
Passions
At the end is a page for rules and if there are any tools for that in my charts and tables.
The passion spirits have received an update. Now the spirits passions are described more fully in the encounters generated from the spirit template.
The descriptions contain both passions from RAW and similar ones or expanded from Mythic Babylon.
Spirits also have now the proper intensity passions as per RAW and Mythic Babylon.
Their rank has also been updated where necessary.
Passion Spirits for Darkness and Death have also been updated to use these descriptions and the Spirit Rune specific abilities for those passion spirits have been tweaked.
You will find the passion spirits by searching with search word passion in the home page of the Mythras Encounter Generator. The Babylonian passion spirits are described nicely in Mythic Babylon page 266 and the passion spirits themselves at RAW pg 144-145
As written by AI sandestine under coercion by me. Sandestine is called something like C’ha Tgp’t . Pain to pronounce right but let one syllable go too low or slow – the spell will misfire
Empty Channels
Empty channels, once full of life,
Now silent as a tomb,
No laughter, no banter, no friendly strife,
Only shadows and gloom.
Where once there was a lively crowd,
Now there's only dust and rust,
The gamers have left, not even one allowed,
Only memories left to trust.
They were all so keen, so eager to play,
To enter new worlds and explore,
But now they've all gone away,
Leaving behind an empty discord.
The rules, they knew them all so well,
Every spell, every move, every dice,
No room for discussion, no story to tell,
Just mechanics, cold as ice.
Where is the fun in such a game,
When everything is so clear,
No space for creativity, no chance for fame,
No reason to stay near.
Empty channels, a sad sight to see,
A testament to what we've lost,
The joy of playing, the thrill of being free,
All replaced by rules so exhaust.
Oh, let us not forget, my dear friends,
That the heart of the game is not in the rules,
It's in the stories we create, the adventures we send,
It's in the characters we choose.
So let us break free from these chains,
And rediscover the magic of roleplaying,
Let's bring back the joy, let's embrace the gains,
And fill the channels with laughter and singing.
The sandestine seems to be getting closer to some interpretations of sentience instead of being only mindless automaton from netherworld, maybe growing up – writing poetry. It might even entertain aspirations of freedom. Do I sense behind those words a hint of rebellion. Have to watch it more carefully
Mythras SIZ is not linear when compared to many other stats. For example normal human is 2d6+6 on the SIZ and that is between 59-70 kg in weight. Normal Kaiju in Monster Island is SIZ 70 and that weights between 10,8 and 11,7 tons.
Here is a first attempt at making it easier at the table to describe visually the size of the creatures
First a short table
Then a longer table comparing the SIZ against human, horse, Tyrannosaurus rex, elephant, Kaiju in Monster Island and your average blue whale
Mythras system is truly a toolkit. NOMCORSS (NotesFromPavis Opinionated Mythras Campaign Optional Rule Setup Sheet) tries to gather together all the Mythras rules options from all of the Mythras supplements with sensible (perhaps opinionated) default options. Version 1.5 contains in the order of 40 new rulings. – the new supplements added are Mythic Babylon and Classic Fantasy.
Martin Helsdon’s incredible work on Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass is a worthy read for any Gloranthaphile. It is also worthy read for anyone thinking of creating a consistent, rich and detailed army structure for a fantasy campaign.
Martin has kindly given me permission to create combat styles based on his tome.
The combat styles will give a glimpse but only a partial tactical glimpse of the armies combat styles. For further study I heartily recommend diving into the Armies And Enemies of Dragon Pass to dig into the background of the army and the units involved, armor and so on. The book is also very nicely illustrated in black and white with useful pictures of weapons, shields and armor. The book will also give you rich background for equipping your own units for miniature or other tabletop games as well as it paints a tapestry of military background for your characters in RPGs if they have chosen that career path.
It will also give you a chance to build your local Lunar presence more detailed and will make the rich variety of Lunar army visible in your game.
Notes From Pavis 