"Iron Game Chef" Lives!

[greyorm]

And an appetizer, let anyone forget the Reverend is out here brewing up a fine gourment vegetarian mess! Mm-mm, good.

In ancient times, before history began, before Egypt or Babylon, in a timeless aeon, there was a land wrapped in the thick, green embrace of the jungle. From this sweltering womb grew civilizations that pushed back the ever-encroaching jungle with mighty walls of yellow and gray stone and mighty works of wonder, for their mystics and priests studied the stars that line the heavens and made marvels of mystical power, including the very cities themselves.

In these cities, extensive courts of noblemen vie against one another for the service and blessings of the wizard-priests and access to their masterpieces, hoping to add their mystic power to their own and divine the magic surging untapped within the structure of ancient edifices swallowed by the jungles. In so doing, they hope to achieve Harmony, and so ascend to the ivory throne of the Seven Cities of the jungle's womb.

In the untamed jungles there lurk dangers which keep ambitious men from its secrets. These are the savage Children of the Green, living in societies forged by ancient cataclysms in times before men stood upright beneath the stars or could count the diamonds scattered across the night sky...the Children of the Green are demons, claim some, led by fallen gods -- gods who were once stars above, now cast or fallem to the black, sweltering earth in search of the power held by its wizards and denied them as gods.

Can you wrest the mystic secrets from the wizards who hold them, and will you do so by force or diplomacy? Will you brave the savage jungle to reclaim ancient places of power and divine their secrets? And then, do you have what it takes to use your knowledge and power to protect the cities of man from the savage things without? Or will you become one of the Forsaken cultists of the Jungle...or something worse...

[Zak Arntson]

Tentative title: Animal Moot

Introduction
It is a time before humans, before man stole speech from the animals. Whenever an animal feels slighted by another, that animal may call for an Animal Moot. All the animals show up to show their favor for the accuser or the accused. All witnesses share their side of the story in the form of a storytelling contest. The winner is not necessarily the one who was right, but the animal who entertains and persuades the crowd.

Materials
Six-sided dice, four dice minimum. A pawn for each Player (like a chess piece). One Moot sheet for the entire group. A timer.

If you don't have a Moot sheet, draw the following. It's a square divided into fourths, with arrows coming out of it. Each square should fit one die. Around the square is a snake eating its tail. The snake is also divided into four sections. The head, the tail, the rump and the chest. Each square has a single arrow, pointing to a single body part.

Notice how there are circles along the snake (1 for Tail and Head, 3 for Rump and Chest). These are where you will put your pawns.

Code Select Expand


tail ___.___ head
    /   .   \
   O    .    O  
  /   | .     \
 /   [--|--]   \
 |   |  |  |-> |
......--.--......
 |   |  |  |   |
 O <-[--|--]   O
  O     . |   O
   O    .    O
    \___.___/
rump    .    chest


Setup
Everyone rolls a die. Whoever rolls highest gets to choose whether to be the Accuser or the Accused. The lowest roller is whichever wasn't chosen. The Accuser puts her pawn on the Head circle. The Accused puts his pawn on the Tail circle. Starting with the lowest roller and moving on up, that Player chooses an Animal. If you want to be an Animal already chosen by another Player, you are related to that Animal somehow (grandmother, son, wife, etc). Remember that family doesn't always get along. If you aren't Accuser or Accused, you place your pawn on one of the Rump or Chest circles, depending on your roll:

Code Select Expand


 1 <-[--|--]   6
  2     . |   5
   3    .    4


Play
All narration must be in first person, as if the Player is the Animal addressing the Moot.

Accusation - The Accuser begins the story and spends no more than 1 minute (timed) inventing the crime. After the minute is up, the Accused then spends 1 minute (timed) telling his side of the story. After this, the arguments begin.

Arguments - Everyone rolls their die. The highest puts a die in one of the four squares. The next highest puts a die in another square, and so on. In the case of ties, the Accuser puts a die first, the Accused next and from there it's oldest to youngest Player.

After the dice are placed, see those arrows? Thats the direction you add the values in those squares together. For example:

Code Select Expand


     7
     |
   [---|---]
   | 4 | 1 | - 5
   |---+---|
9 - | 3 | 6 |
   [---|---]
         |
         7


You find the highest sum. If there is a tie for highest, the next highest wins. If all are equal, then see below. The highest sum will point to a part of the Snake.

Accused - The Accused gets 1 minute to plead his case and


... TO BE CONTINUED ...

[Mike Holmes]

Raven-San showing his abilities again in his quiet yet effective fashion.

But wait! What's this?!? Zak-San from nowhere makes a late appearance! Strong, yet savory odors waft from his game. Will he be able to storm in from behind and take the competition with well crafted gaming dishes?

We shall See!!

[talysman]

ah, my preparation is almost finished, as well! since I am rewriting much of what I already have, I do not want to reveal all my surprises just yet,
here is just one more teaser of what is coming:

http://www.globalsurrealism.com/rpg/Co9C_charsheet_v3.pdf

(incidentally, never let anyone tell you that you can't do a decent PDF without Acrobat. I installed OpenOffice, Ghostview, and RedMon, spent about 15 minutes configuring and testing, and now I can "print" an OpenOffice document directly to PDF format. yay!)

[Mike Holmes]

The tension mounts! We're in the closing hours of the Iron Game Chef competition. Many challengers are involved. Who's meal of gaming goodness when actually tasted in it's full state of preparation will prevail? Stay tuned!

[Walt Freitag]

I just realized there appears to be an ambiguity in the rules:

Submissions to this contest must be made no later than midnight CDT on Oct 16th, 2002.

Is that the midnight at the start of the 16th, or the midnight at the end of the 16th? Tuesday evening or Wendesday evening?

- Walt

[Mike Holmes]

Technically midnight belongs to the day which it ends. That is to say tonight. I tried to make that plain above where I said this morning that there are "but hours left". About 13.5 at the time of this posting.

Get ta postin' peeps!

Mike

Edited to note that I am a dunce. Details below. Thanks Walt. ;-)

[Mike Holmes]

Whoops! It's only Teusday.

(We've always known that the chairman was a bit addled)

Well, what a relief. You all have one more day to produce.

I think I'm just very excited to see these designs all complete. :-)

Mike

[M. J. Young]

Technically midnight belongs to the day which it ends.

Techically, 12:00:00 AM is the start of the new day, not the end of the old. This is because 12:00:00.01 is the new day. Midnight translates to 0:00:00 in military time, which is unambiguously the beginning of the new day.

Now, the usage of "by midnight" is not consistent. It frequently is used to mean something on the order of "before the postmark changes to the next day". So whichever Mike wants it to mean is within common use.

--M. J. Young

[contracycle]

Well, I decided that I would post the "gimmick" idea I head.  I might even argue that it is an RPG in the strict sense that you need to take on a role, but really this is a "sub-game" that would have been a (hopefuly novel) element in a more complete design.  Nonetheless, I thought it was an interesting idea and that I should type it up, and I may as well post it.  There was a broader idea incorporating more keywords, but I 'm in the throws of having my room painted and furniture needs to be moved.  This incorporates numbers although not perhaps numerology, but is very African.  It also partly arises as a thought experiment in magic systems and the construction of meaning in RPG's.  I give you...

Bones

Bones is a mechanic intended to operate as a magical layer in an existing game.  It is based on the reading of divinatory "bones" as practiced in sub-saharan Africa.  This idea was intended to be set in a broader game, but is offered here on its own as a mechanic which could, in principle, be added to other games.

Who Am I?
You are a "sangoma".  A sangoma is a "spirit diviner", although I don't have an exact translation.  A sangoma usually works divinations as to what ailment afflicts a person, and which are then treated by a herbalist or healer.  Sangoma are also, however, attributed with other mystical powers and the ability to curse, cast out spirits and placate the ancestors.  Sangoma routinely engage in rituals of purification more or less in the form of taboos, given in return for magical powers manifest in a fetish known as a bone.

What Are Bones?
A Bone is an object endowed with magical resonance and which a sangoma employs in the use of divinatory magic.  A Bone is not necessarily strictly a bone – stones, shells, beads, or bits of wood are often used as "bones", and in the modern day some sangoma even use manufactured objects.  A sangoma accumulates their bones over time, and they are kept in a special "bag", usually a piece of leather that doubles as a mat on which the bones are thrown. To play, a sangoma player must have their own bones in their own bag of bones.  It is expected that most bones will be dice liberated from most gamers extensive stocks.  However, a DIE USED AS A BONE CAN NEVER BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE, EVER AGAIN.  On your honour.  Bones need not be dice; they can be anything you feel is appropriate, if you feel comfortable with that.  However, dice have the virtue of being, well, easy to read, and you get to choose the size completely freely.  Each bone should be significantly different – different colour, size, material – so that they can be read easily.

What Do I Do?
A sangoma player can do one major thing – they may roll and interpret the bones.  To roll the bones, pose your question in your mind, lay out your bag/mat and cast the bones onto the surface.  Make your interpretation (see next section) by pondering the layout of the bones, which face is showing, their proximity etc., and explain your interpretation to the audience.  Whatever interpretation is given becomes a Truth as far as the game is concerned, and must be incorporated in later play.  The spirits have, after all, spoken.  The precise use to which this is put may vary; this may be used as a magic system in a conventional style of game, or may be used as a device used by the play group, perhaps once per session.  There may well be more than one sangoma present, and they may all roll and interpret separately.  When rolls of the bones are made in sequence, later interpretations should not outright contradict prior announcements, and should rather deepen understanding of these events.  However, new information revealed by the bones may well provide an insight into how to obviate a prediction or condition identified by prior rolls of the bones.

How Do I Read The Bones?
By looking at them, and knowing what they represent, and why you chose them.  By thinking about the question, the problem you are trying to understand.  At the most basic mechanical level, a character might have 1 die as a bone for each of several aspects of magic, and roll these in order to gain insight into whatever vexes them.  For example, a character might have a bone representing earth magic, and the value showing on the bone indicates the degree of influence of that aspect on the question at hand.  Magical aspects need not be rigidly defined; they might be categories of problem like "relationships", "wealth", or more obscure concepts such as "evil influences" or "temptations of power".  The player defines the function of the bone when they are selected, and these are explained to the GM if the game has one; otherwise, the sangoma is the only person who needs to know.  Knowing what a bone MEANS, knowing why it was it chosen, and its personal significance to the sangoma are all applied to the way the bones turn up on the mat.  Proximity of bones to one another indicates influence of one aspect on another.  All bones influence each other, like planets in mutual gravity wells, and bones grouped together can be thought of as representing powerful sympathies.  The sangoma may interpret bones falling off the mat as whatever seems appropriate contextually.

Where's The Theobabble?
Divination may give the wrong impression; the sangoma is not predicting the future per se.  The world carries on in its own way, but these influences are echoed in the spirit world.  And because the spirit world is accessible, knowledge of the present and the probabilistic future may be understood through a random process.  The bones, through the sangoma's connection to the spirit world, "capture" these potentials and present them to the sangoma.  The dice are a manifestation of the same "random seed" that is driving the real world; hence they turn up on the mat representing the present state of their associated aspect in its bearing on the problem at hand – they turn data into information.  A divination does not predict the future so much as take a snapshot of the present, from which inferences about the future may be drawn.  This information is the basis of the prediction that the sangoma finally gives, secure in the knowledge that the spirits guide the bones.  This is why subsequent "divinations" can counteract earlier predictions.  As further rolls are made, possibly with differing bones, new and different information may be brought to light

How Does This All Work?
Lets take a sample Sangoma, one with 5 bones.  Three of these are dice: a d6 representing Luck, a d8 representing Danger, and a d4 representing the four points of the compass.  One is a rather interesting brown stone, and another is a broken piece of wood from a guitar.  These last are declared to represent "prospects of wealth" and "social prestige".  The sangoma lays out their mat and rolls the bones after meditating on the question or problem: how may we find the Gem of Stars?  The bones show an interesting picture: the danger bone is showing 6 near the compass bone showing North.  Luck is showing 2 and is some way off, and suggests that it will not be a strongly influential factor.  The "wealth" stone lies off the line between these, but nearer to the dice pair; its face is flat and oriented towards the pair of dice.  The social prestige bone (piece of wood) lies away from all the others, nearer the dice pair than anything else.  It is varnished side down, revealing its inner curve.  The sangoma interprets: "danger lies in the north, but benefit may be derived.  The circumstance is understood, and allies stand ready to help."

How Do I Use It?
This was intended to be a magic system for a fairly mechanically conventional system.  I like the idea of magic systems being a radically different mode of play, which I think allows the very difference in mechanical design to be virtuous by lending exoticism, rather than simply being confusing.  Throwing the bones would be a powerful act and not one undertaken lightly – a reading bestows huge directorial power on the player acting as sangoma.  Game mechanics in the conventional system could be designed to mandate a period or cost of making such a roll.  Furthermore, access to bones and the points at which new bones are acquired can also be mechanically governed to integrate with a system of action resolution.  The aim here is to make being a sangoma a qualitatively distinct experience, and one that is profound within the game world.  This profundity is expressed through the player's directorial control, exerted through the role of the sangoma reading the bones. In the more conventional system referred to above as the context for the sangoma device, the GM may be the only sangoma, and conduct a reading weither as an NPC or as a GM-sangoma, speaking at the outset of as session.  This might serve as a good device for clearly signalling the start of play from setup.    The GM would then be bound to incorporate those determined elements in thebplay of the session, in this scenario, but of course got to choose the bones and knows an awful lot the players don't.  Unearthly wisdom should be easy to pull off.

[contracycle]

NIGHTTIME (Noösphere) ACTIONS:

Seek Chamber or Character
Transcend Chamber
[/list:u]

serves 2-4.

I presume you are holding back "Penetrate Chamber or Character"?  If there are courtly arts in the day, surely there must be nookie in the Noösphere?  And if real world courts are any example, we'll also need to know about serving for six.

[talysman]

NIGHTTIME (Noösphere) ACTIONS:

Seek Chamber or Character
Transcend Chamber
[/list:u]

serves 2-4.

I presume you are holding back "Penetrate Chamber or Character"?  If there are courtly arts in the day, surely there must be nookie in the Noösphere?  And if real world courts are any example, we'll also need to know about serving for six.

nope, no nookie... but then, everyone in the Noösphere is a rival who's out to get you, so you probably wouldn't want to nookie-ize them, anyways. and in the "real world", they would gladly knife you in the back, if they thought they could get away with it. so there's pretty much no nookie there either, because you are much too distracted.

whether there's nookie in the Court or not, no one knows, since they must transcend the individual Chambers before they can reach the Court. maybe that's what they're trying to find out...

I'm about to do some massive proofreading and rewrites, but the rules are finished. they should be posted very late tonight ... most likely in three parts.

and THEN... I will need to wash the pans. the kitchen stadium is a mess!

ADDENDUM: now that I have begun posting the Co9C rules (below) I can think some more about this... there's two possible ways nookie could enter the game:

[list=1]
[*]as an incidental action with no game effect; the artist has a real world assignation that has nothing to do with the game, but is added for color.
[*]as a description of an artist's Add Motif or Intensify Motif action; the Motif would be based on the artist's sexual partner, and sex is simply the artist's way of meditating.
[/list:o]

for #2, I would say the artist would take one day to acquire an ally ("blonde waitress"), then add the Motif the next day.

heck, I suppose if someone had a use for a particular ally, the "hire ally" roll could be described as a seduction....

[Palaskar]

Horus v0.2 Errata

A number of things were not mentioned or were incorrect in the 0.2 version of Horus. Here are the fixes:

Technology of the Empire:

The technology of the world of Horus is roughly equivalent to that of the late Roman Empire in our world, with ironsmithing, aqueducts, and chariots instead of riding horses (the Mongols being the only known exception.)

Science of the Empire is roughly equivalent to that of the Arabian empire at its height, with astronomy and algebra.

History of the Empire:

The Empire has gone through a number of cycles, beginning with a golden age, degrading into complacency and later, corruption, only to be revitalized by the reincarnation of Tut-Ankh-Aten (Tutankhamen in our world.)

The first cycle began with the reign of Tut-Ankh-Aten, Akhenaten's son-in-law. The second cycle began with Siddharta (the Buddha in our world), the third with Yehoshua ben-Joseph (Jesus in our world), and the fourth with Mohammed. Now is the time for the fifth cycle to begin, but no savior is forthcoming...yet.

The first cycle saw most of the growth of the Empire through inter-marriage and diplomacy.

The second cycle brought the mystic Pythagoras, whose numerology is now used thoroughout the Empire, and Siddharta's idea of "Awakening" -- that any human can attain peace comparable to that in the Afterlife simply by becoming "awake" to the true nature of reality.

The third cycle brought Yehoshua's idea of forgiveness -- that anyone, no matter what crime they have commited, can enter into the Afterlife if they only profess their true and honest apology; and the idea of a personal relationship with the Aten -- an elaboration of the Babylonian idea of a personal, guardian diety who is responsible for and helps give life to a person.

The fourth cycle brought Mohammed's idea of submission, that simply by submitting oneself honestly to the Aten, one can be assured of a place in the Afterlife.

Who knows what ideas the fifth cycle will bring?

Lands

In the Setting, I mentioned the Indians, Israelites, and the Arabs, but gave no mention of them in the 'Lands'
category. Here they are, along with some others:

The West Khemites include the Phoeniceans, the Sea Peoples, and the Carthaginians.

The East Khemites include the Israelites, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Arabs, the Indians, and the Malays.

The North Khemites include the Greeks, Latins, and Etruscans.

The South Khemites include the Ethiopians and Congolese.

Not mentioned in Horus 0.2 are the Kelts, who are skilled at ironsmithing, weaving, and mysticism.

Unexplored lands include the jungles of central Africa, southern Africa, what is in our world North America, the rainforests of South America, and the continent of Austrailia.

Wounds

I neglected to give details on what wounds do, or how to heal them, so here it is:

Wounds give no penalty during combat, but after combat, they must be patched up by a Ka using an appropriate Trait, or the wounded Ka will bleed to death.

A Ka will heal any number of wounds with one month's bedrest, or two months, if the Ka does not rest.

If a wounded Ka engages in combat, his wounds reopen, and must be tended to after that battle or he will bleed to death.

In the example, under "The Art of War," I neglected to pay points for the actions of the Ka and Antagonist.

Corrected Example: The Art of War

For example, a Ka and an Antagonist with the Signatures "Khemitic Soldier" at 170 and 190, respectively, and armed with spears are facing off. The Aten determines that using a tool (the spears) gives each a +1 Success bonus. The Ka's Player and the Aten each roll a six-sided die. The Player gets an even result, the Aten an odd result. The Player elects to stun his Ka's opponent.  The Ka's Signature is now 160, and the Antagonist, 180.

The Player and Aten roll dice again. This time, both the Player and the Aten roll even. The Ka wounds his opponent, who elects to dodge, reducing the Player's next Success by 1. The Ka's Signature is now 150, and the Antagonist, 170.

The Player and Aten roll again. Both roll odd. The Antagonist's dodge is wasted as both opponents circle. The Ka's Signature is now 140, and the Antagonist, 160.

The Player and Aten roll again. The Player rolls odd, while the Aten rolls even. The Antagonist dodges. The Ka's Signature is now 130, and the Antagonist, 150.

Another roll, and both roll even. The Ka thrusts, but the Antagonist dodges and simultaneously stuns the Ka. The Ka's Signature is now 120, and the Antagonist, 140.

Another roll. Both roll even again. The Ka is pressed back and stunned again. The Ka's Signature is now 110, and the Antagonist, 130. Fatigued, and sensing possible death, the Ka throws up his hands in surrender and is captured and taken back to the Antagonist's camp for future exchange.

Spiritual Warriors: Using Tut-Ankh in combat

A Spiritual Warrior's Tut-Ankh determines his fighting style. If the Spiritual Warrior describes his character fighting in the style of his Tut-Ankh, the Ka gains +1 Success.

For example, if a Spiritual Warrior who has Sekhmet as his Tut-Ankh describes his attack as "a vicious swipe at the attacker with his hands curled into claws" would probably gain +1 Success, while the same character who describes his action as "a nimble dodge out of the attacker's way" would probably not, since lions, Sekhmet's animal, are known for their claws, but not their dodging ability.

Aten: Tut-Ankh of Humans

In the example under "Beasts", the Tut-Ankh of "Human" is given, but no god is given. Aten should be considered the god of humans, since the representation of the Aten is that of a solar disk whose rays terminate in human hands.

[talysman]

still furiously cooking, but the first few dishes of my RPG are ready to be served! this should allow all to savor the taste as I prepare the desert.


The COURT of 9 Chambers
a role-playing game of artistic transcendence

PREFACE

In "The COURT of 9 Chambers", YOU are an artist, gifted with an understanding of a shared dreamscape known as the Noösphere. players take on the roles of surrealist and symbolist artists in the mid 20th century who have turned to mysticism.  "The COURT of 9 Chambers" (Co9C) is a game of egos, each artist attempting to gain control of this mystical realm through superior use of Ideal Forms (called Motifs) ... or, barring that, through dirty tricks.

Co9C's unique features are Art Combat and a numerology game mechanic.

BACKGROUND

Centuries ago, Moorish scholars fleeing the Spaniards brought a precious library of Greek and Arabic occult texts back to their homeland in North Africa.  A circle of artists visiting Tangier just after the Great War stumble upon the texts, including a NeoPlatonic numerology treatise called The Court of Nine Chambers; it described a system of nine "spheres" or “Chambers” associated with the first nine numbers, which were connected to the Ideal Forms of all things. The treatise also described how to project one's mind into these spheres during a dream-trance; by exploring the spheres, one could transcend them all and achieve the secret sphere of the number zero, the Court, which contains all other Chambers within itself.

Electrified with desire, the group begin cooperating to achieve this ultimate  transcendence. But soon, egos flare... the artists begin squabbling over whose interpretation of the Chambers is the correct interpretation. The final breaking point came when one artist asks the shocking question: what if only one person can achieve ultimate transcendence? Or what if the first person to achieve transcendence can block out the others?

The artists disband amidst great animosity, going their seperate, jealous ways.

As a mystical artist, you seek the ultimate transcendence, but fear that one of your ex-colleagues (the characters of the other players) will achieve it first, perhaps blocking you from ever reaching your goal.

OVERVIEW

"The COURT of 9 Chambers" (Co9C) works best with 2 to 4 players. no GM is required.  Conflict resolution requires several ten-sided dice; also, the system includes a simple mechanic based on numerology.

Play is based on day/night cycles. During the daytime, each character can take one "real world" action; during the nighttime, play moves to the shared dreamworld called the Noösphere. During dreaming, each character gets at least two "dream world" scenes; the minimum number of scenes during nighttime depends on the number of players:

Code Select Expand


  2 players:    4 scenes per player
  3-4 players:  3 scenes per player
  > 4 players:  2 scenes per player


Playing with more than 4 players is not recommended, although it can certainly be attempted, especially with a “team play” option. Your group may also wish to limit the game session; play ends when one player is the first to achieve Transcendence or after the time limit is up. Two hours should work fine.

Basic sequence of play:

daytime
[list=1]
[*]players announce the daytime action of their characters
[*]objections, if any, are explained
[*]if necessary, vote; vetos of actions must be unanimous
[*]make last-minute changes to action, if desired
[*]roll for the action; this may require more than one roll
[*]the winner of each roll describes the results
[*]write any changes to record sheets
[/list:o]

nighttime
[list=1]
for each scene:
[*]players announce the Noösphere chamber and painting their characters enter
[*]players announce actions for their characters and paintings
[*]objections, if any, are explained
[*]if necessary, vote; vetos of actions must be unanimous
[*]make last-minute changes to action, if desired
[*]roll for the action; this may require more than one roll
[*]the winner of each roll describes the results
[*]write any changes to record sheets
[/list:o]

During the announcement stage of either the daytime or nighttime phase, announcements should be made in Essence order, although it does not hurt the game too much to use a different order (since there is an opportunity to debate or change actions.) Initiative is actually determined by the resolution roll; if Andre Loup announces he will paint today, while Saul Vidor announces he will attack Andre, roll Saul's attack first, since it might prevent Andre from finishing his painting. If Saul's attack failed, Andre's picture was completed before the attack; otherwise, Andre works on the painting after the attack (assuming he is not in the hospital.)

Some actions require two dice rolls, one after another. Usually, the first roll must succeed or the action fails completely. Other actions – opposed actions, usually – may give an automatic free action to the defender if the attacker fails.

Obviously, this is a very abstract conflict resolution system. Successful die rolls mean achieving a goal; no successes means the goal remains out of reach, but does NOT mean a fumble or a "swing and a miss" in most cases. The player rolling the dice gets to describe failed actions on simple rolls.

GLOSSARY

The following glossary should suggest some of the other unique aspects of Co9C and prepare the reader mentally before diving into character generation..

[*]ALLIES are Non Artist Characters who are controlled by a player
  character. Allies can be used for extra real world actions (but not
  art-related actions.)

[*]ARTISTS are player characters, unless you modify the game for GM
  play and allow artist NPCs. Everyone is an artist. Well, everyone
  that matters.

[*]CHAMBERS are mystical embodiments of the first nine numbers. Within
  the theory of the Court of Nine Chambers, every concrete (visual)
  object and every human being resonates with one of the Nine
  Chambers, sharing its Essence.

[*]CONFOUND is used here to mean "drive an artist out of a
  representation of a Chamber". it can only be done in the Noösphere.

[*]COURT means three things (and a whole lot more): it is the system
  of mysticism practiced by the artists, the numerology tool used by
  the artists in their mysticism, and the ultimate goal of their
  mystical pursuits. Sense # 1 is sometimes symbolized by a hashmark
  (tic-tac-toe symbol); adding letters and numbers in the correct
  arrangement gives the tool described by Sense #2. Sense #3 is
  represented by the number zero.

[*]CRITIQUES are published articles attacking a painting on aesthetic
  grounds.  These can be devastating attacks, but are difficult to
  do.

[*]DAYTIME in Co9C specifically means waking time -- time spent
  doing real world actions.

[*]DISTANCE in Co9C is abstract; it is a number representing
  how far away a character is from the main action in the real
  world. You can assume that Distance zero equals the starting city
  (Tangier, for instance.)

[*]DREAM-TRANCE is the state a trained mystical artist can enter in
  order to explore the world of the Nine Chambers.

[*]ESSENCE is a number representing which of the Nine Chambers
  resonates with a person, place, thing, or Motif.

[*]EXTROVERT is a score used to resolve real-world actions made
  against a person, place, or thing other than yourself. it is an
  abstract representation of ability to manipulate the real world
  through physical or social means.

[*]FAKE (or HOAX) refers to a specific kind of Icon representing
  something rare or unreal.

[*]ICONS are embodiments of a Motif in the real world that can be used
  to enhance Introvert rolls when acquiring or Intensifying a Motif.

[*]INTENSITY represents how strong a Motif is in the mind of an
  artist. Artists find more personal and mystical meaning in
  high-Intensity Motifs.

[*]INTROVERT is a score used to resolve real-world actions that change
  oneself or affect a Motif; it is also used to act in the Noösphere.

[*]LOCALES are, well, locales: places you can go in the real
  world. They are treated as Tools or Icons.

[*]MEDIUM/MEDIA is used in the artistic sense: the substances used to
  make a painting or work of art. Artists in Co9C are assumed
  to be working with two-dimensional media, as opposed to sculpture
  or music.

[*]MONOGRAM means initials of the proper name of a person, place, or
  thing; it also means the initials of the visual nouns in the title
  of a painting.

[*]MOTIFS are the symbols (images) that bubble forth from the artist's
  soul; you use Motifs in paintings and in the Noösphere.

[*]NIGHTTIME in this game means any time spent in a dream-trance.

[*]NOÖSPHERE is the fancy name used for the mystical world only
  artists can see, a world of Motifs embodying the nine primal
  Chambers.  The word was coined by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, but
  he used it to refer to the real-world embodiment of human ideas. In
  this game, the meaning is closer to Douglas Hofstadter's
  "Ideosphere" or (better yet) the Platonic Ideal World.

[*]OPPOSED ACTIONS are any roll by one player that attempts to affect
  another player's character or something controlled by that
  character. Opposed actions in Co9C are unusual when compared
  to other game systems: they are not handled by opposed rolls.

[*]PAINTINGS, for mystical followers of the Court, are more than just
  colors on a canvas; they are embodiments of the power of Motifs as
  well as the Chambers themselves.

[*]PARODY is the technique of copying a painting to undermine its power
  or use it against the original painter.

[*]PORTRAITS are paintings of people, of course, but they are used as
  Noösphere allies, as opposed to ordinary paintings, which are
  Noösphere locales.

[*]QUALITY is the measure of a painting's value. It is the equivalent
  of Introvert for paintings.

[*]"REAL WORLD" is sometimes enclosed in quotes. The mystical artists
  of the Court do not feel that that "real world" is more real than
  the Nine Chambers; some even feel the "real world" is less
  real. Nevertheless, all of the artists are aware that there's a
  whole world of people, places and things out there that can serve
  as inspiration – or an obstacle -- for their journeys through
  the Chambers.

[*]RUIN is used to mean an attack on a painting or Tool.  Attacks on
  people in the real world are just called "attacks", while attacks
  on Motifs in paintings in the real world are called critiques.

[*]SCENES are the "turns" or "rounds" of Noösphere
  actions. Normally, each player get one action per scene and at
  least two scenes every nighttime phase. Daytime actions are
  technically broken into scenes as well, but since there is only one
  action per day, there is no need to label the individual scenes in
  the daytime.

[*]TOOLS are physical objects that improve real world actions, mainly
  actions that require Extrovert rolls.

[*]TRANSCEND means either to conquere or to completely understand or
  sometimes both at once, at least when it's used in reference to the
  Chambers.

[*]WOUNDS in the game are represented abstractly as points gained when
  someone damages you. There are actuallytwo kinds of Wounds,
  physical and psychic, but psychic wounds heal immediately when you
  wake up, so they are less important.

[/list:u]

Before proceeding to character creation, there are two concepts you will need to understand: how description is used in the game and how to calculate Essence using the numerology system known as the Nine Chambers.

LAWS OF DESCRIPTION

when creating Motifs, you must follow a specific pattern with several restrictions. this pattern and its restrictions are together called the Laws of Description.

[list=1]

[*]descriptions must be in the form adjective + noun,
  although there can be more than one adjective (when the Motif
  described is Intensified.)

[*]descriptions must be static and visual -- something
  that could be recognized in a painting. Abstract nouns or vague
  descriptions do not help an artist transcend the Chambers, so they
  are not allowed.

[*]descriptive adjectives must be a color, texture,
  shape or material.  exceptions: adjectives derived
  from static, visual nouns that describe a visual aspect of other
  nouns, such as "snake-like", "snow-laden", "bright-eyed".

[/list:o]

Note: there is no Law restricting Motifs from being "impossible" or "ridiculous", as long as the Motif can be painted AS IF it were a real world object. However, beginning characters should restrict themselves as much as possible to "realistic" Motifs, making the Motifs more exotic later in the game; this way, it creates a feeling of artists pushing further into experimental territory as their quest for transcendence progresses.

THE NINE CHAMBERS

The mystical artists in this game use a numerology technique called the Court of Nine Chambers; a simplified numerology system is built directly into the game rules to emphasize the characters' behavior as well as to truly capture the flavor of conflicts between insane numerologists. Players will soon find themselves making decisions based on the mystical symbolism behind a word instead of a "real world" (or simulated fantasy world) statistic.

The Court of Nine Chambers, basically, is a tic-tac-toe symbol with each box labeled with one of the numerals 1 through 9 inclusive. The letters of the alphabet are arranged in the boxes like so:

Code Select Expand


                  |          |          
                  |          |          
            1     |    2     |    3    
                  |          |          
            AJS    |   BKT    |   CLU    
            __________|__________|__________
                  |          |          
                  |          |          
            4     |    5     |    6    
            DMV    |   ENW    |   FOX    
                  |          |          
            __________|__________|__________
                  |          |          
                  |          |          
            7     |    8     |    9    
            GPY    |   HQZ    |   IR    
                  |          |          
                      |          |          


Each numeral has a mystical meaning, connecting many symbols deemed by the mystical artists to be related. The idealistic representation of the numerals in the Noösphere are called the Chambers, while the value of each Chamber is called its Essence; the Chambers contain numerous people, places, and things, called Motifs.

Every noun and proper name has its numeric value, its Essence. Computing the Essence of a noun (Motif) is easy: look up the first letter of the noun in the Court of Nine Chambers and assign that number as its Essence.  For proper names, create a monogram of the name (leaving out all articles and prepositions; for the names of paintings, leave out everything except specific, visual nouns.)

Each letter of a monogram is checked in the Court diagram and its number is written down. The numbers are then added up in modulo 9: in other words, if the sum of the numbers is greater than 9 (more than one digit,) the digits of the intermediate sum are added together to create a new sum. If that new sum is greater than 9, keep adding the digits together until you have a single digit number.

Each Essence number will be a single digit. Furthermore, an Essence of zero is impossible: zero is the last Chamber that contains and transcends all other Chambers, the Court itself, and the mystical goal of the circle of artists.

SAMPLE CHARACTER SHEET

This sample character sheet works well if you prefer quick “scratch sheet” character records to fully-designed record sheets.

Code Select Expand


name: __________________________________  monogram: _____

Extrovert: _____  Introvert: _____         Essence: _____

appearance: _____________________________________________

favorite place: _________________________________________

Motifs:                         | Tools:
                               |
                               |
                               |
                               |
                               |
                               |
                               |
                               |
                               |
==========================================================
       WOUNDS:               DISTANCE:
==========================================================
             1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9
==========================================================



Paintings and allies are recorded on seperate record sheets.

The numbers across the bottom represent the nine Chambers. As a character transcends each of the Chambers, the player circles or checks off that numeral.

Here is an alternate fully-designed character sheet that puts more emphasis on the Nine Chambers:

http://www.globalsurrealism.com/rpg/Co9C_charsheet_v3.pdf

In this sheet, there is no seperate section for Motifs and Tools; instead, they are written in the box labeled with the Essence number of the Motif or Tool. You can use the format "+1 Motif: bubbling pool" or "+2 Tool: great mallet".

CHARACTER GENERATION

To make a character in Co9C, start with the non-numeric elements. Give your character a full name, then compose the character's monogram (it's just his initials.) Write down a notable visible characteristic of the character's appearance and the character's favorite places. These should both fit the Laws of Description: they should be one or more adjectives followed by a noun.

Appearance should probably be limited to:

[list=a]
[*]a garment, hat, or other accessory the character customarily wears; or,
[*]a physical feature (nose, eyes, hair, beard, hand.)
[/list:o]

Places should be specific and visual, something recognizable from a painting or photograph. Thus, "heaven" is not a valid place, nor is "hell", but "cathedral" and "graveyard" work. Monuments also work as places, as do distinctive landmarks, such as "burnt tree".

Note that you can write down as many appearances and favorite places as you wish; however, when you choose your first Motifs, you will only be allowed to choose one Motif from each group, and that Motif must be a single adjective plus a noun.

Now that the name and description is out of the way, calculate the Essence number from the character's monogram (see the NINE CHAMBERS section for a full description.) Essence is used in the dice pool mechanics: when you roll your ten-sided dice, any die matching your Essence counts as a success. This may seem like a low probability of success, but you will discover later that you can use other items (Tools and Motifs) to get extra target numbers to match, thus increasing your chances.

Next, divide 9 points between Extrovert and Introvert scores; the scores must add up to 9 and neither score can be below 1. While Essence is your character's target number on die rolls, Extrovert and Introvert are your character's dice pools. All of your Noösphere actions use Introvert dice pools. Real world actions use Introvert dice pools when your  action affects yourself (meditation, inspiration, health recovery) and use Extrovert dice pools when your action affects something or someone else, either physically (attacking, pushing, building, fleeing) or socially (buying and selling, persuading, getting a critique published.)

Just to make matters worse, there are a couple real world actions that require two rolls: one roll using Extrovert to actually perform the action (usually a creation roll) and a second roll using Introvert to determine how inspired the action is.

That's the basics of the character. All that remains is to select Motifs, a painting, and a Tool.

CHOOSING MOTIFS AND TOOLS

As hinted at before, Motifs are symbols that grant a bonus on Introvert rolls in the Noösphere, while Tools are objects that grant a bonus on Extrovert rolls in the real world. There are also things like Locales and Icons (and Iconic Locales) that are treated as special kinds of Tools. The game mechanics are the same: when rolling your dice pool, you get to add one die for every Intensity level of the Motif or Tool, and when counting successes, you get to match your Essence number and also the Essence number of the Tool or Motif you use.

Characters begin the game with three +1 Intensity Motifs: one based on their appearance, one based on a favorite place, and one object based on an animal or movable item. Each of these Motifs has one adjective, since they are only of Intensity +1; during the game, a player can attempt to increase their Intensity.

Example Motifs:

[*]brick tower
[*]crystal sword
[*]fiery apple
[*]foggy moors
[*]glowing obelisk
[*]golden arches
[*]green sphere
[*]red hair
[*]rough sweater
[*]spiney toad
[*]torn derbie
[*]watery eyes
[/list:u]

Each of these Motifs has an Intensity of +1, because each contains one adjective. "curly red hair" would be a +2 Intensity Motif, but beginning characters are only allowed to take +1 Intensity Motifs. Your character could have curly red hair or long black hair as an appearance, but could only take "curly hair", "red hair", "black hair", or "long
hair" as a beginning Motif.

If the character sheet you are using does not seperate Motifs based on Essence number, you will need to write the Essence number after each Motif.

Code Select Expand


  +1 GREEN SPHERE  (1)
  +1 TORN DERBIE   (4)
  +1 BRICK TOWER   (2)


If you have seperate boxes for each Essence number, you would record the same Motifs like so:

(in box 1) +1 MOTIF: GREEN SPHERE
(in box 2) +1 MOTIF: BRICK TOWER
(in box 4) +1 MOTIF: TORN DERBIE

Remember, your character is a painter, or at the very least an artist that works with pen and ink, charcoal, or pastels. Your Motifs must be static and visual, since you will be using them in paintings.

You character also begins the game with one +1 Tool, which gives a bonus on Extrovert rolls that match its function, such as a paintbrush (used to paint, of course) or a gun. Tools are described similar to Motifs, but instead of visual adjectives, a Tool has only one adjective: good, great, or excellent. a good paintbrush is a +1 Tool, an excellent paintbrush is a +3 Tool. Tools do not go above +3 Intensity.

Tools have an Essence number determined in exactly the same way as a Motif's Essence is: find the first letter of the noun part of the Tool's name in the Court diagram and use the numeral in that Chamber as its Essence.

You can begin the game with any reasonable Tool. Remember, a Tool is a bonus item, not an ordinary item; lowercase tools are assumed to be readily available, so you do not need to specify “I bought a paintbrush and easel today” or “I own a car”: it's just there when you need it.

YOUR FIRST PAINTING

Every character begins the game with one painting. Paintings are crucial to the game: not only do they act as allies in the Noösphere, but also they act as locations you can visit during your dream-trance. You will need to make at least eight other paintings before winning the game -- perhaps more paintings, if one or more of your paintings is stolen or destroyed.

Your painting has its own record sheet, which must be displayed face up during the game; since the group as a whole acts as GM, everyone's actions must be open and subject to scrutiny.

Any painting will have a title, a monogram, an Essence number, a Quality score, and one or more Motifs. For your first painting, the Quality will be equal to your character's Introvert score. Your first painting will only have one Motif, selected from the three Motifs chosen previously.

There can be other images in the painting, but only one image will have the necessary emotional depth to make the painting useful in the Noösphere.

For your painting's title, it can be just about anything; however, the monogram is only made up of the visual nouns in the title. Thus, you can choose the title "woman with large vibrating stick", which would have a monogram of "WS", or "three rabbits, a brook, and sunlit field", which would have a monogram of "RBF". The painting's Essence is calculated from the monogram, the same as for a player's character.

SAMPLE PAINTING RECORD SHEET

Code Select Expand


title _______________________________________________

monogram ________  Essence _______  Quality _________

description _________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

medium or media _____________________________________

Motifs:





=====================================================



The "description" and "medium or media" sections are just for color. Have a little fun describing your paintings!

WOUNDS AND DISTANCE

There are two other boxes listed on the character record sheet: Wounds and Distance. Both of these are in-game values that will vary throughout play; both scores begin at zero, and neither will ever drop below zero. Each is written as two numbers seperated as a slash; for esample, your Wounds might be listed later in the game as 3/1. The first number is a physical wound, while the second number is a psychic wound. Likewise, you may have a physical distance and a psychic distance. Psychic Wounds and Psychic Distance return to zero when you wake up; they are not permanent effects. Physical Wounds and Physical Distance, however, only change when you take an action to change them.

RESOLVING ISSUES

Now that your character is complete, you are ready to play. The various game mechanics have been mentioned several times, but the important details were glossed over. How do you resolve issues such as combat or movement in Co9C? And how do you resolve disputes between players in a GM-less game?

By now, you should have a basic grasp of how to resolve actions: tell everyone what action you will take, determine whether this is an Extrovert or Introvert action, use a Motif or Tool (if one applies to your action,) and roll the dice. On a simple roll, you succeed if you get any successes at all. If the action you were attempting allows degrees of success, the number of successes you rolled equals the degree of success. In contrast, if your action would affect something you do not control (something belonging to another player, or one of the Chambers themselves,) your action is an opposed action: roll your dice as before, but count which dice match your Essence score as your successes and count those that match your target's Essence as your target's successes. If your successes outnumber your target's successes, you win; if your target's successes outnumber yours, your target wins. The degree of success is the difference between the winner's successes and the loser's successes.

Here are some examples:

simple roll: Bouffe Noel wants to add a new Motif. Since new Motifs are always added at the +1 Intensity, degree of success does not matter, only whether she succeeds or not. Adding Motifs is a real-world action, but it is an internal process, so Bouffe makes a simple Introvert roll. If her Introvert score is 6, for example, she rolls 6 dice. Her Essence score is 7, so if she rolls 0, 5, 7, 7, 2, and 3, she has two successes, so she adds a new Motif; if she rolls 6, 5, 9, 1, 0, and 4, she gets no successes, so she doesn't add a Motif.

Suppose the Motif she is trying to add is "paper bag" and that she owns an Icon that looks like ... a paper bag. This is a +1 Icon with an Essence of 2, so she would roll 7 dice instead of 6 and needs to match 7 or 2. If her rolls were 6, 5, 2, 9, 1, 0, and 4, she gets 1 success and adds the +1 paper bag (2) Motif.

simple roll with degrees of success: Saul Vidor wants to hire a hoodlum; never mind why, he has his reasons... Saul's Essence is 5 and his Extrovert score is 5 (he's more outgoing than Bouffe.) If he rolls 5, 3, 5, 1, and 2, he gets two successes -- which, unfortunately, means that his hoodlum's Extrovert score is also 2. Giving his hoodlum a name (Roxxo Mulhannahan), Saul decides to equip him with a gun. Saul rolls 2, 2, 7, 5, and 1 for one success and gets a +1 Intensity good gun (7). Not good enough! Saul tries to find a gunshop Locale and rolls 5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 for one success, locating a +1 Intensity good gunshop (7) Locale. Now Saul looks for a better gun at the gunshop, using two bonuses:

[*] +1 good gun (7) Tool (for trade)
[*] +1 good gunshop (7) Locale
[/list:u]

He needs to match either 5 or 7 on 7 dice and rolls 6, 7, 7, 3, 9, 9, and 5 for three successes: a +3 excellent gun (7), which he gives to Roxxo. Now, when Roxxo performs an action that gun ownership might improve, he can roll 5 dice (2 for Extrovert, 3 for the gun) and needs to match 4 (his Essence) or 7 (the gun's Essence.)

opposed roll: Andre Loup (Essence 4, Introvert 4) wants to confront Saul Vidor over some dispute he had with Roxxo Mulhannahan. He's going to look for him at night, in the Chambers. First, he needs to find the metaphorical location Saul is hiding out, so Andre makes a 4 dice Introvert roll and gets 4, 1, 1, and 7; since Andre's Essence is 4 and Saul's is 5, Andre gets one success and Saul gets none: Andre knows where Saul is in the Noösphere.

Saul moves on his next scene to another painting (no roll required,) but Andre tries to catch him. This time, he rolls 5, 7, 4, and 1: one success each, a tie. Andre arrives in Saul's painting, but watches Saul vanish into the swirling colors of the dreamscape.

What if the players get into a dispute? Suppose Saul's player said he was attacking Andre and fleeing at the same time, and Andre's player objected. "You can't do that! It's against the rules!" As mentioned in the OVERVIEW section, players can object to each other's actions, then each side explains their case; the group then puts it to a vote. Everyone gets to hear the intended actions of each character before the dice are rolled, so there is a chance to object to a proposed action before it happens; after the vote, there is a chance to change actions.

If someone objects to an action, the challenger must explain the reason; the only acceptable reasons are impossibility, vague description, failure to prepare, or failure to follow the rules. The challenged player has a chance for rebuttal. To keep the game flowing, each player should only spend two minutes to present a case.

Once a challenger's objection and challenged player's rebuttal have been presented, the group votes.  If everyone except the challenged player agrees with the objection, the action is denied. If even one player agrees with the rebuttal, the objection is overruled.

Andre's player objected to Saul's taking two actions during one scene. He presents his case: "The rules say that there is only one action per scene. Fleeing my character is one action, attacking my character is another action. Plus, if your character flees first to avoid speaking to my character, he can't possible be around to attack me."


Saul withdraws his action because he can't think of a rebuttal. Since Andre is in Saul's painting, Saul has the painting attack Andre instead.

Another possible area of dispute are the descriptions. Co9C is very abstract, so players are expected to spice it up by describing actions. If an entire combat is resolved with one die roll, it is up to the winner of that die roll to fill in the details of how the combat was won.

Description in Co9C should be specific and visual. Players cannot use a description to get something they did not roll for; also, a roll to injure can delay a character, but cannot kill the character -- only the player who made a character can decide when that character dies. (Dead characters get no daytime/"real world" actions, but can still act in the Noösphere, although they will probably not be able to win the game.)

The winner of a die roll describes what happened; on a tied opposed action roll, the player rolling the dice describes why the character didn't succeed. If the winner were to describe something another person in the group objects to (on the grounds it gives the character something the action didn't cover, or on the grounds that the results are impossible) someone could object as before, leading to a statement of reason and a chance for rebuttal as before. The players vote, descriptions are revised as necessary, and the game carries on.

WINNING THE GAME

The first player whose character transcends all nine Chambers (thus passing into the hidden tenth Chamber of numeral zero) is the winner. Barring that, if the players choose to end the game either spontaneously or through a pre-arranged time limit, the winner is the player whose character transcended the most Chambers. If there is a tie, use the number of paintings as a tie-breaker; only count paintings still in the character's possession. If there is still a tie, then there is more than one winner.

So how do you transcend a Chamber?

TRANSCENDENCE

To achieve transcendence, your character must enter one of the Chambers and make an opposed action Introvert roll against the Essence of the Chamber. This is an opposed roll because you are at odds with the Chamber, attempting to dominate it and become its master, grasping all of its secrets in one blinding moment.  

You cannot use any Motifs to transcend a Chamber unless that Motif is present in the painting you have entered. And you must enter a painting: that's the only way to travel in the Chambers. There is also a trick to this roll: since the painting you are using to reach the Chamber also represents the Chamber, you cannot use your painting's Essence or Quality. you are, in fact, attempting to transcend your own painting.  Your painting, normally your best buddy, does not like this idea.

The Motifs you have added to the painting can be used, however; that's one of the reasons why you add Motifs to a painting in the first place -- you are conquering the painting (and thus the Chamber) with your Motifs.

Example: Andre Loup (Essence: 4) starts on the road to transcendence in the 1st Chamber (Essence 1). He has two Motifs (+1 argyle socks (1) and +1 brass cage (3)) used in a painting ("head of broccoli #23", 5" x 8" watercolor, Essence 1.) His Introvert score is 4.

Andre is able to enter the 1st Chamber by entering his painting. He now meditates in the Noösphere, using his painting's Motifs to assist. He rolls 6 dice (4 for his Introvert and 1 each for his two +1 Intensity Motifs.) He has to match one of three numbers:

[*]1, the Essence of the "argyle socks" motif used in the painting
[*]3, the Essence of the "brass cage" motif used in the painting
[*]4, his own Essence
[/list:u]

Since this is an opposed action, any rolls equal to the Essence of this Chamber (also 1) count as opposed successes. Fortunately, because he used an Essence 1 Motif (good strategy!) all the 1s rolled count for Andre as well, cancelling out the Chamber's successes. All Andre needs is one roll of 3 or 4 to transcend this Chamber.

Later, Andre adds another painting: "cardigans and dust at my feet" (11" x 14" oil) using the same two motifs, plus "+2 blue broken wineglass (5)". He pumped up this painting because it matches his own Essence of 4, cancelling out his own 4s. he needs to match:

[*]1, the Essence of the "argyle socks" motif used in the painting
[*]3, the Essence of the "brass cage" motif used in the painting
[*]5, the Essence of the "blue broken wineglass" motif used in the painting
[/list:u]

He rolls 8 dice this time. Any roll of 1, 3, or 5 allows him to transcend the 4th Chamber.

If Andre had another useful Motif but wasn't able to add the Motif to the current painting, then he could take an extra scene in the Noösphere to prepare by attempting to bring that Motif into his dream. He rolls Introvert opposed to the Essence of the Chamber, but this time is allowed to use the painting's Essence (which won't help him) and Quality (which adds dice.) these changes only last until he leaves the painting, however, and do not affect the real world at all.

(still to come: CHARACTER IMPROVEMENT, ACQUISITIONS, PAINTINGS, MOVEMENT, and other details about actions)
now located in part 2, here:
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=37470#37470

[Mike Holmes]

OK, last day. No, really this time.

Again, just to be clear, and to avoid ambiguity, please have your posts stamped with a time that is 11:59 PM (the time stamp does not do seconds), or earlier, when converted to Central Daylight Savings time. If you are confused about when that might be, I suggest that you get it in earlier, just to be sure.

Off to read what's been posed so far. Very cool lookin'.

Mike