Sunday, December 22, 2013

Writable character sheets

Writable character sheets in MS Word format is now available for download.

The document utilizes the "Snowcard Gothic" font.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

The Commanders

Rebellion is ripe across the Empire and Praetor and Knight Commander Salinator is moving his forces to quell the uprising in the province of Pantoria. At his command are the skilled Prefects Daruis, Emanicus and Lauria along with 15,000 imperial legionnaires. But as usual nothing is simple in the Empire – and everything is about politics. Can the Praetor keep his officers working together or will it be personal fame and glory that win or lose the day for the Empire?




The Commanders is a 4 hour adventure for 3-4 players who take on the roles as Imperial commanders.

The adventure focuses on management, decision-making and the individual relations between the commanders rather than combat and tactics. The latter is of course for the Game Master to decide, although the 4 hour game time stated above can easily double if equal emphasis is placed on all these focus areas. Whether this is good or bad is left to you to decide! 

The Commanders adventure is available from the downloads page.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Adventure: What Dwells in the Mountains

It is early autumn in the city of Earlhall, situated in northern Menlor. A group of men and women, until recently strangers, have assembled in a lofty hall beloning to a local noble. Gold has drawn them here - or at least the promise of gold. A young dwarf by the name of Tharil Bokhvar is searching for his lost ancestral home and believes he is close to a breakthrough. But the mountains are a dangerous place and so he has journeyed here to find able help on his quest. And with the promise of finding a forgotten dwarven city, with all its treasures, such help is not hard to find...

The adventure "What Dwells in the Mountains" is scheduled to premiere the weekend Before Christmas. Unlike the prefabricated characters of previous adventures, players are here encouraged to create their own. Which will join the Hall of Heroes and which will be forgotten in the mists of Time?

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Errata Centuria - Age of Steel

EDIT: Please note this post has been replaced by the permanent Errata page.

Below is listed errata and corrections for the first printed edition of the Centuria - Age of Steel Core Rule Book. The list will be updated if further errors are found.

Page 46: Tests. An alternate approach
When using the alternate approach of adding a fixed modifier to Tests that are more difficult than routine the standard conversion of 1d10 = 6 should be used. Thus a Challenging Test is Inf3d10+6, a Hard Test is Inf3d10+12 and a Very Hard Test is Inf3d10+18.

Page 78: Injury
The text "On a Critical Success select the Injury above or no Injury if the character would already receive the lowest result" is redundant - a character cannot receive an injury on a success - let alone a Critical Success.

Page 84: Belladonna description
The text "The character suffers -1d5 to INT and KNO after 1d5 minutes. INT and KNO is lowered by a further -1d5 each passing hour for 1d10 minutes. If the character survives INT and KNO is recovered by +1 per day." should be the following instead:"The character suffers -1d5 to INT and KNO after 1d5 minutes. INT and KNO is lowered by a further -1d5 each passing hour for 1d10 hours. If the character survives INT and KNO is recovered by +1 per day.".

Page 86: Roleplaying example
The description explaining why a bandit must test for an injury is wrong, citing that it is because the bandit received more than 10 Trauma. The text should read: "As the bandit, who has a total of 36 Hit Points, takes more than Hit Points/10 (=4) Trauma he must test against TOU or receive an injury."

Page 88: Mental trauma
The description for suffering mental trauma is wrong. The correct text should read: "Whenever a character suffers more than WIL/10 (round up) Insanity at a single occation the character must also make a Routine Test against WIL to avoid Mental Trauma."

Page 93: Spells, Learning Spells
Mages cannot learn Spells with a level exceeding (INT/6), not (INT/3) as stated in the text. (INT/3) is added as a limit to how advanced Rituals a character can learn.

Page 162: List of Spells, Hydromancy
The spell "Water Shield" has the description "The caster is surrounded by a wall of fire, making attacks against the caster +1d10 more difficult and providing Damage Reduction of S5 B10 T5 E10.". Correct description should be"The caster is surrounded by a wall of swirling water, making attacks against the caster +1d10 more difficult and providing Damage Reduction of S5 B10 T5 E10.". 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

An Unexpected Journey - revisited

The adventure "An Unexpected Journey" can now be downloaded together with complete character sheets and the necessary documents.

See the Downloads page.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Age of Steel - Demo print

The order just went to the printworks for 15 demo exes of the core rules for Centuria - Age of Steel. Its a big step for me personally  on a hopefully long road of letting this project grow.


Delivery should be within less than 2 weeks time.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Map: Age of Information

Though a lot of work remains to be completed, a teaser for the Age of Information is added in the form of the very first compiled map of the age.


Full resolution image can be downloaded from the downloads page.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Characters: Consul Quadrata

The members of the Council of Mages, leaders of the Empire's mages, are known as consuls. The position requires political savy as well as magical skill but the power and prestige granted is a lure for many. There are nine consuls in total, with a tenth chair reserved in the Council's circle for the Emperor himself.

Quadrata has had a hard struggle to reach her post within the Mage council. Firstly she is a rather unconventional magician who rely more on strength and physique than knowledge and prowess. Secondly, her looks has always worked against her, being far from anything that could be described as beautiful. All this has turned her rather bitter and she is now struggling to maintain the power she has achieved. She often finds it difficult to pick sides in the internal power struggle of the council and her attempts to always be on the winning side has not made many friends among the other councilors.

Quadrata is highly suspicious towards human servants. She has a lifeguard consisting of four earth elementals of the third rank. Her servants are animated skeletons and she is said to consort with a number of demons of low and middle rank.


 
 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Characters: Mondus Cicurinus

The highest position attainable within the Imperial administration is that of mondus; governor of an entire province. A mondus however do not rely on the Imperial administration to manage a province but rather must control the existent structure of that province. Needless to say those that attain this position are not only skilled and powerful but also well connected in the province that they serve.

Cicurinus has a long background in the Imperial administration and it is through hard work he has achieved his position as mondus of Pantoria. He speaks openly about his belief that the ancient traditions of the Empire has led to stagnation, nepotism and corruption.

Before his career within the Imperial administration Cicurinus was a promising mage but he was disgusted by the wizard politics and sought a different career. Within the administration he discovered things were not much better and it is now his firm belief that a revolution is necessary to restore justice and order. Born and raised in Pantoria, he is more than familiar with the political climate of the province and has been able to construct a stable alliance able to resist imperial occupation.

Cicurinus is a rather popular leader in Pantoria, the most powerful and wealthy of the Empire’s domains. With most of the province’s nobility supporting his goals his position is rather unthreatened. With a loyal guard of exiled Tumapec warriors it is also most difficult for those that do oppose him to gain a foothold in his court. Beside these fearsome warriors he also has a group of undead ultors serving his will – a force specialized in tracking traitors and thus ensuring his continued rule.


Part of Age of Steel: Characters.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Governors, Generals and Merchants

Not all characters are adventurers; characters who's strength are not in their blade or in their magic but in their wealth and influence.

Such characters has responsibilities which cannot, or at least should not, be entirely ignored. Land requires management, as does soldiers and merchant enterprises. The Governor Expansion contains rules for large scale trading, land revenues and army campaigns. It does not, however, wander away from roleplaying – merely filling in the gaps between where the roleplaying should take place.
Download it from the Downloads page.

 

Characters: Killian Drake

The semi-successful adventurer Killian Drake is a famous character on the northern continent. A dashing man not too skilled at hiding excitement or disappointment, Killian has moved into his early thirties but show no intent of quitting his chosen career. Well-travelled and well-spoken the quests he has undertaken has all been stories with two sides: on one side he was the one who found the treasure of the abandoned orcish temple in Erwodol, but on the other he was also the one who discovered that the temple wasn’t abandoned and that some things that lurks in darkness are best left alone.

However, due to his quite astonishing skill of persuasion and twisting a story he is in no short supply of work and his persona is surrounded by glorious tales of adventure and treasures. Only a few malicious rumors, started by ex-companions (they don’t seem to stay for long), hint at a different truth. Killian is not too happy discussing such things but would never lose his face over a simple conversation. He was last known to leave on the adventure to search for the lost dwarven city of Ulmaar. Those that know him agree he will likely find it, along with the horrors most certainly awaiting him inside.



Part of Age of Steel: Characters.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Characters: Praetor Iullus

The members of the Lord's Council, generals of the Imperial army, are known as Praetors. The position requires not only military skill but also sufficient personal resources as a Praetor is expected to cover some of the expenses of the army from his or her personal coffins. The post however conveys much political power and a chance for both fame and glory leading the Imperial legions.

Iullus is skillful general with experience from a number of campaigns dealing with local warlords and trollfolk in the southern reaches of the Emhan Sea. Exceptionally young for a man of his standing, Iullus inherited his post after his father who was allegedly killed by a Tumapec arrow during a campaign. Holding the post of Prefect at the time, he quickly grasped the empty seat and due to his charisma and reputation for personal bravery was quickly accepted by the legions. This ability to seize political opportunities has been a hallmark in Iullus career and he has been praised for his good results defending the Empire.

As Praetor, Iullus commands two full legions with a total strength of 10’000 soldiers, with the bulk being heavy infantry. A vast horde of camp followers and the large Marculus family estate has also provided him with additional resources.

Iullus latest move has earned him less praise as he, on his own accord, confiscated the Imperial navy and set sail for the province of Ossaria to quell the increasing numbers of corsairs. As an illegitimate invasion of the province could spark a civil war the Lord’s Council initially supported his actions with the hope of putting Iullus on trial upon his return. The young Praetor however managed to convince his army – and more importantly the navy – to stay put in Ossaria and set up his own administration replacing that of previous Ossarian governor Agricola Venakh.

 

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Characters: Emperor Cenom

Though raised to the throne, Cenom is a new player on the political scene of the Empire. He has been seated on the Grand Throne for three years and although an inspirational leader to the people most of his experienced advisors view him as a puppet ruler, a front for their own power. This state of affairs has been difficult for Cenom to accept and he has been forced to put his hope in the hands of the people to restore power to him. He stays out of politics as far as able and is focusing on the health and welfare of the imperial citizens. While this has granted him much praise it has given him few allies among the powerful.

As Emperor, Cenom rules over millions of people. The Imperial administration is formally at his command along with the legions and provincial garrisons. His personal body guard is made up of a corps of Menokhian griffon riders and his servants are too numerous to assemble on the grand plaza of the capital city Amoros. However, beyond his palace there are too many powerful people with influence over his assets and those held as loyal by the emperor himself is far fewer in numbers.

 

Friday, October 4, 2013

Characters: Consul Seneca

The members of the Council of Mages, leaders of the Empire's mages, are known as consuls. The position requires political savy as well as magical skill but the power and prestige granted is a lure for many. There are nine consuls in total, with a tenth chair reserved in the Council's circle for the Emperor himself.

Seneca is an experienced politician who has been one of the Empire’s prominent citizens for a long time. Many see him as aspiring and ambitious, but without doubt the Empire needs such men as long as they remain loyal. And Seneca’s loyalty is rarely in question – to him he is the Empire. Long ago he was a skillful battlemage and he is most skilled at biomancy and enchantment. When his body could no longer perform the feats of its youth he instead focused on abjuration and evocation. Seneca always requires things to be done in his way and he loves to outdo his fellow consuls. To this end he often keeps the other consuls blind as to his plans, which has gained him many enemies over the years. But his popularity with the emperor along with his warrior past means he is no foe to be taken lightly.

Seneca prefers to surround himself with the best of the best as this associates their fame with him. He has a very extensive network of spies, a private army of around two hundred mercenaries and several mages working as his protégés. But with all the strong willed people in his entourage Seneca is less in command than what he knows.

 

Age of Steel: Characters

Following this post will be a series of portrayals of characters found in the Age of Steel. Most characters have appeared in an ongoing Centuria campaign called 'The Necromancer's Legacy'.

Disclaimer
Images shown are not character portaits (Centuria does not have any rights associated with the images) but rather Googled results showing similarity with how the character is portrayed or described. Unfortunately images have been stored locally without any source reference to be included.
If an owner of such an image would like it removed from this site or would like a reference added please see the Contact page.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Monsters, beasts and animals


"What separates a monster from a beast or a beast from an animal is not an obvious science and scholars have throughout the centuries attempted to find a way to categorize all living beings.

Beasts are generally considered to be mindless beings, devoid of emotion and impossible to reason with. Animals are recognized as being somewhat intelligent and capable of bonding with other living beings – both members of their own species and occasionally humans. Monsters are explained as the most dangerous of creatures – intelligent, yet estranged from humanity due to diet, habitat or magical properties.

Most humans do not hesitate to kill a dangerous beast, animal or monster if given the opportunity. They are all considered lesser beings and are also treated as such. "

 
Time to release a third expansion module: the Monster Expansion! Find it on the downloads page.

Friday, August 16, 2013

World Map - Age of Steel

The world map for the Age of Steel is now made available for download. It covers all the kingdoms listed in the core rules along with a few uncharted shores. Each pixel corresponds to 1 km, making the map 4724 x 4724 km which is roughly the size of North America. This includes both land and water - the land mass is approximately the same size as Europe, ignoring Russia.


A current project is to expand the map to include more lands intended to be chartered during the Age of Knowledge. While the current map is 40x40cm and 300dpi the expanded map will be 80x60cm with the same resolution.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The Age of Knowledge has arrived

The updated version of the core rules for the Age of Knowledge is now available for download. It contains changes to career choices, world description and gear. All standard rules are present so the Age of Knowledge book does not require the Core Rule book as well.

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Planes of Existance


"While the common hedge wizard or sorcerer gain their powers from a natural disposition towards magic, more civilized mages strive to understand the magical currents of the world. Theoretical magic is thus the field of understanding magic in a logical sense, often through the use of geometrical figures that represent different degrees of understanding.

In accordance with current belief the present theory explaining the structure of the world identifies five different planes of existence. These are known as the Mortal Realm, in which the world of men exists, the Spirit Realm, where spirits and other incorporeal creatures exists, the Realm of Unlife, where spirits deprived of their will to exist will journey, the Abyss, home plane to all demons, and finally the Elemental Planes, home to the elements of earth, fire, water and wind. Mages have identified that when a self-conscious being dies its soul will detach from the Mortal Realm and travel to the Spirit Realm. There it will stay until the spirit grows tired enough to forget much of the person it was in life and eventually what life was as well. In this stage it will drift from the Spirit Realm into the Realm of Unlife.

The fact that souls can travel between these places freely under these conditions have led many mages to attempt to travel to another realm using their powers, or have the realm come to them through a dimension portal. Needless to say such practices are dangerous but have given mages the possibility to understand and interact with the beings existing on the other planes."

The description above is taken from the introduction of the Magic Expansion to Centuria. In it you will find a detailed description of the four dimensions outside of the Mortal Realm and the Powers and creatures associated with them. You can find the Magic Expansion available on the Downloads page.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

An Unexpected Journey

A single-meeting adventure by the title of "An Unexpected Journey" was played out yesterday as the first test run of Centuria's Age of Knowledge rules and setting.

Four adventurers, for this occasion all males, set out on a journey to the colonies with a ticket to the World's Largest Steamer, the fabulous Gerard's Pride.


The journey did not however, go as planned.

Big thanks to all you adventurers who joined me to create this entertaining story. The script for the adventure can be found on the Downloads page.

Monday, July 15, 2013

The World of Centuria - Age of Knowledge

“ ’There he is! Don’t let him get away!” the voice echoed in the dark narrow street.
A dark figure ran around a corner, cape fluttering in the light evening breeze. Four guardsmen where in pursuit, their dark blue uniforms with golden buttons glistering in the occasional light from an electric lantern. Their sergeant had one hand on his sword while the others had muskets at the ready.
‘Fire’ shouted the sergeant, but the hunted character threw itself around the corner just as a salve of musket bullets smacked into the facing brick wall, leaving the dust hanging in the gloom from a distant light.
‘Fix bayonets! That mage killed a Lord of the Assembly! I will not have him get away!’ the officer shouted at his men and then led them in pursuit around the corner.
The dark pathway soon twisted again and they continued, not taking any notice of the shadow as it moved behind them. With calm steps the figure left the alleys and walked out onto the main street. It lowered its mantle hood before stepping into the light of the lanterns and produced a fine cane from the darkness of the cloak.

The sergeant realized it was hopeless as they turned around a third corner. The culprit had eluded them. Sternly, to hide his disappointment, he led his men back out to the main street. At this time of night it was all but empty, the only noise being the light fizzing from the lights and the rhythmic sound of a walking stick hitting the pavement. A lone gentleman was walking the street, some thirty meters away. His eyes narrowed. The murderer must have looked like a gentleman to gain entry into the Assembly’s halls.
He led his men in a quick jog until they caught up with the man, who paid them no attention. As they closed he felt doubt – disturbing the wrong man, especially at this time, could have serious repercussions. But there had been something…
‘Excuse me, sir,” he said to the figure as he and his men slowed down.
The man turned around, but instead of a face the sergeant found himself looking at a black leather mask, covering most of the face but the mouth. And the mouth was smiling.
The guardsmen didn’t even react – there was no time. With lightning speed the cane hit the sergeant on his knee, causing him to fall down in agony. He heard a few quick blows before the street turned silent. As he struggled to get up he saw the mystic man run away along the street. He turned and the sergeant swore he could see him wink before he disappeared into the night.”
The world has moved on. Gunpowder, invented in the Age of Steel by the gnomes has figuratively exploded in the hands of men. Firearms have replaced swords in most countries and with the advance of science, magic finds itself on the retreat.
Harnessing the power of nature in a physical sense has become the quest of the age, giving birth to many more inventions such as the steam engine and the electric light. Medicine is also a progressing field, although with the populations flocking to the cities disease run rampant – at least among the poor. While many speak of the new age as a time of wonders and advancement for the vast majority it has in fact brought on harsher times. This is especially true for the orcs as the deployment of musket-armed forces has all but wiped out the last remnants of their ancient empire. Instead they find themselves as slaves, serving in the factories of men.
Not all embrace the new technologies however. The Empire, torn apart into rebellious provinces, is still staunchly traditional, refusing to abandon its ancient ways. Similar sentiment can be found among the ancient elves who watch in horror as forests are cleared to fuel the machine cities of men and dwarves. But there is conflict among the elves as well, as the young leave their homelands to seek out adventures in the human cities.
In a way the world has become smaller when people from all nations and races can be found living together and with inventions such as the railroad carrying passengers to distant destinations in a fraction of the time it used to take. But the world has also gotten larger, as explorers are beginning to find unchartered lands at the edges of the maps. The cannon-armed ships of the northern powers have even managed to cross the Sea of Dragons, reestablishing contact with the southern continent. It was not the happy reunion intended, however, as politics soon turned the situation into a war – turning the former province of Khamlira into a Gothic colony. Indeed, colonization seems to be the second trend of the age, as the northern kingdoms expand west, east and south. But the wealth brought from the colonies have also sparkled conflicts, forming new nations in their wake.
Thus the world continues to move, but perhaps at a faster and more frightening rate.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Core Rule Book

The Centuria Core Rule Book is now available for download.

You'll find the rules as a PDF file on the Downloads page.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 7

As walking corpses are about to surround the adventurers in the desert tomb battlemage Isani decides it is time to make use of her magical powers.

As the undead approach Isani decides the Spell ‘Ward against Undead’ is extremely appropriate. The Spell is from the Biomancy school and has a level of 2, so Isani makes an Easy Test against Biomancy. The Test is successful and Isani erects the ward, and in doing so acquires +2 Fatigue. The undead halts at the borders of the ward, unable to progress any further.

Robert: “Good call, but now we’re surrounded.”
Lucas: “We need to act. Undead will never grow hungry or weary, they will simply wait until we  succumb to thirst or hunger.”
Elisabeth: “We’re going to die in here!”
Sara: “Calm down, Aida! I have a few more Spells up my sleeve.”


Isani decides to use the Spell ‘Explosion’ from the Evocation School which she aims at the zombies blocking the exit. This Spell is of level 4 and inflicts 6d10B Damage. Isani succeed with her Test and rolls 50 Damage. Using the Group rules Daniel notes that the explosive Damage should be multiplied by the Spells Blast quality, increasing it to 250 as the undead zombies has no armor. Each zombie has 36 Hit Points and, as Blunt Damage inflicts the same amount of Trauma for zombies, Isani brings down 6 zombies with her Spell.

Daniel describes how the massive force shakes the corridor and rips the zombies apart. The group now has a path through and Isani gives the order to make a run for it, before the zombies manage to close their ranks. They sprint for it and manages to get out of the tomb in a few minutes. For their strenuous run Daniel gives them +5 Fatigue.

Isani has now accumulated 11 Fatigue and is Lightly Strained. She decides to use a Potion of Rejuvenation and loses all her Fatigue. This requires her to make a Very Easy Test against TOU to resist any side effects, at which she succeeds.

The group comes together do discuss how they should proceed in their quest. This tutorial though has come to an end. The story is however continued in the Core Rules book.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 6


As the sun closes to zenit the group of adventurers finally reach the reclusive desert tomb which is their destination. Daniel describes a massive bronze door protruding from the mountain side, covered in elaborated carvings which have nearly been blistered away by the desert wind.

The group decides they had better put up camp outside of the tomb, so Tyrian and Larcus makes a joint Test against Survival. They manage to find a good campsite in a shallow cave, saving them some time from putting up the tents.

As they still feel rather fresh Isani decide they should start exploring the tomb immediately and then return to camp to formulate a more detailed plan. Aida is to look for traps while Larcus should keep an eye out for any inscriptions which might tell them something about the place. Isani and Tyrian will be prepared to deal with any trouble that comes along.

The massive doors present the first obstacle as they do not want to open. The group finally resort to having their horses pull part of the door out of its hinges. The dark tomb opens up beyond and after securing the horses and lighting a torch they move forward.

As Aida is looking for traps and Larcus for writings Daniel has them rolling separate Tests against Search. After looking around Aida feels confident that there are no traps in this part of the tomb, while Larcus have discovered old writings all over the dusty walls. After a Challening Test against his Runes writing Skill Larcus reveals that the text is a written warning to all that would enter the tomb and it describes the terrible fate that awaits any who enter – in great detail. Lucas roleplays how Larcus share his revelations with the other characters.

Lucas: “Eh, this is not good.”
Elisabeth: “What, you found a spelling mistake?”
Lucas: “Larcus gives Aida a long stare. No, the text is a warning – we’re not supposed to be here.”
Sara: “It’s a tomb. Of course they didn’t intend for visitors. Does it tell of any dangers?”
Lucas: “Not really, but it describes the myriad of horrible fates that await us.”
Robert: “I don’t care for such supersition. I suggest we move on.”
Elisabeth: “I agree. There’s nothing of value to be found here.”
Sara: “Alright, we keep moving. But stay sharp.”
Elisabeth: “Like a dagger in the back…”


As they press forward Daniel now and then asks them to make a Test against Awareness. While nothing is approaching them right now he doesn’t want the players to assume something is happening just because they make an Awareness Test. After a while the party has explored several of the windling corridors but found nothing but dead-ends or empty rooms Aida suddently hear something approach. The group decide to stay and wait, weapons at the ready. Daniel then describes the sound of shambling feet and how a human shape suddently separates from the darkness. Its rotting flesh and tattered bandages leaves no doubt as to it belonging to the undead.

Daniel requires everyone to make a Routine Test against Fear. Isani, Tyrian and Larcus succeed but Aida fails – the young theif obviously not accustomed to this sort of danger. Aida fails by 16 degrees and Daniel, reading from the Fear table, declares she becomes frozen with fear, unable to move until she succeed with a Routine Test against WIL. If successful she will still suffer +1d10 difficulty due to tremors for the rest of the encounter. She will also receive 1d10 Insanity points, and Daniel rolls the maximum result of 10.

They roll for initiative and Tyrian is first out. The clumsy corpse do not even try to evade his attack but despite his blade biting deep it does not stop the creature, which retaliates with a great axe. Tyrian narrowly escape but the group realizes this creature is nothing like the bandits they encountered the night before. Isani is next out and also deals Damage, badly mangling one of the corpse’s arms. Aida manage to succeed with her first Test against WIL so may perform Actions, although with +1d10 difficulty. She and Larcus decides to hold back as the narrow corridor do not allow them all to attack at the same time. Only after Tyrian and Isani have mangled the corpse into a pulp does it finally cease to resist.

As Aida received 10 Insanity points during a single encounter she is now required to make a new Test against WIL to avoid Mental Trauma. Since Aida didn’t have any Insanity priort to the battle she has gone from 0 to 10 – increasing her degree of madness from Stable to Unsettled. This increases the difficulty against Mental Trauma by +1d10. Elisabeth decides to use a Fate Point to lower the difficulty by -1d10 and succeeds with the Test. As she is now Unsettled, Aida will from now on have -1d10 difficulty against Fear.

As the group reforms to recover from the battle they suddently hear more feet approaching – and from all directions…

Friday, June 14, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 5

Larcus is just about to get hit by an arrow.

Daniel rolls for Damage, which is Inf3d10+3 Thrusting Damage. The result is 21. He rolls for Hit Location and the result is 23, which is the left arm. Trauma is noted as T/5 and Pain as P/3 – Larcus thus receives +5 Trauma and +7 Pain as the arrow cuts his arm. After this it is Larcus’ Turn.

Daniel: "Do you want to do anything on your Turn? Remember you got +1d10 difficulty as it is your second Action." Lucas: "I think I’ll take cover behind the big rocks."

As Larcus takes cover all characters involved in the battle has had their Turns, so a new Round begin. Isani starts by taking two swings against the bandit she engaged in the previous Round, using her heavy flail. The bandit dodges the first but is hit by the second in the stomach. Sara rolls Inf4d10 for Blunt Damage and rolls 22, which is reduced by the bandits leather jacket to 17. The Damage location specifies T/2 and P so the bandit suffers 9 Trauma and 18 Pain.

Next it is Tyrian who wants to use his Martial Art sequence (see page 68) against the bandit he is engaging, using his broadsword. He decides to take two Actions on this round, performing the first of his sequence moves Opening Attack, Follow-up Attack, Aimed Attack and Final Blow.

The first attack is a success but is dodged by the bandit. On the second attack both Tyrian and the bandit has +1d10 as it is their second Action, but the bandit has a further +1d10 due to Tyrian having performed a sequence move. Tyrian roll a Critical Hit and the bandit a Critical Failure. Tyrians blow hit the bandit in the right arm, which is normally protected by the bandits leather jacket, but the Critical Hit will ignore this armor. Tyrian rolls Inf4d10+5 Slashing Damage and the result is 38. Damage is calculated as T/2 and P so the bandit takes 19 Trauma and 38 Pain.

As the bandit, who has a total of 36 Hit Points, takes more than Hit Points/10 (=4) Trauma he must test against TOU or receive an injury. Due to now being Heavily Wounded the bandit receives +3d10 to the normally Routine Test. The Test results in 43 against 21 – which yields the worst possible injury. Tyrian severs the right arm of the bandit, who receive a further 19 Pain and apart from fainting starts to bleed heavily. Quite soon the bandits realized they should have picked easier targets and retreats into the night. Three of them lie dead at the camp while the party have sustained only minor injuries. However, Isani is not happy with Larcus’ performance during the battle. Sara and Lucas plays out a conversation between their characters.

Sara: “Larcus, what did you think that you were doing!? I expect you do to your part, not run and hide like a child at the first sign of danger!”
Lucas: “I’m sorry Isani, I just got startled by the sudden attack. It won’t happen again!”
Sara: “Very well. We’d better try get some sleep now. Tyrian, why don’t you take the first watch? Wake me when you’re feeling tired.”
Robert: “Yes, milady.”


Daniel, who feels the party did rather well awards Isani, Tyrian and Aida with +1 Combat XP. Since Larcus didn’t actually participate in the battle he gains no increase. The night passes without any incidents and the following morning the group continues towards the tomb.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 4

The group of adventurers is no moving towards the distant tomb through the desolate desert landscape. Unknown to them a group of 8 bandits have spotted them and seeing the four horses and expensive gear of Isani and Tyrian decided it would be loot well worth the effort. Daniel decides that the bandits dare not risk an open confrontation so will try to ambush the characters once they have set up camp. He rolls a collective Concealment Test for the bandits, 2, 7, 8 resulting in 17 against the banits Skill level of 25 and thus 8 degrees of success.

During their travel Daniel makes a few secret Tests against the characters’ Awarness Skill as he doesn’t want the players to know what is happening. He informs Tyrian and Aida, who both succeeded with the Test, that they get the feeling of being followed.

Elisabeth: “I think we are being followed.”
Sara: “Why? Have you actually spotted anything?”
Elisabeth looks at Daniel who shakes his head.
Elisabeth: “No…”
Sara: “Then I’m sure we got nothing to worry about.”
Elisabeth: “Right, right, don’t trust the thief. We’ll come to regret it I’m, sure…”
Robert: “Tyrian doesn’t like Aidas rather disrespectful way of expressing herself, so he decides to keep quiet for now.”


As the sun is setting the road is getting too dark for travel. The group wants to find a campsite which Daniel declares to be a Routine Test against Survival. Tyrian has the highest level of Survival at 22 but Robert think this Test is going to be important. Since Larcus also have a decent level of Survival at 19 he offers to lend aid. Both character must then make a Test but at Easy difficulty. As they both succeed Daniel explains that after a few minutes they manage to spot a good campsite a little distance off the road, protected from the wind by a few protruding rocks. Group leader Isani agrees the spot looks good so the group start pitching their tents in the hard desert soil. They make a campfire which they gather around for a late meal. Robert is keen on pointing out that Tyrian is keeping an eye on the surroundings and that he has his weapons close.

Daniel decide this is the moment for the bandits to strike but he gives the group a last chance at detecting the assault by making a Test against Awareness. As the characters are focused on their meal he decides the Test will be Challenging, except for Tyrian who get a Routine Test as Robert stated he was being more aware than average. This time Tyrian and Isani succeed with their Tests while Larcus and Aida fail.

Daniel: “Suddently an arrow comes out of the dark and just misses Tyrian to insead hit the rock behind him.”
Robert: “We are under attack!”
Elisabeth: “I told you all!”
Sara: “Defend yourselves!”
Lucas: “Oh, no!”
Daniel: “Time for battle! All make a roll for Initiative.”


Isani rolls 12 against 15, Larcus 25 against 15, Tyrian 19 against 19 and Aida 15 against 22. Daniel notes their order as Adia, Isani, Tyrian and Larcus after their degrees of success or failure. For the bandits he roll a single Test, 16 against 16, so places them after Tyrian. However, since both Larcus and Aida failed on their Test against Awareness Daniel rules that they will be surprised and may not act on their first Turn in the battle. This places Isani first in the Turn order on the first Round.

Sara: “Is there anyone nearby whom I can attack?”
Daniel: “You had just enough time to notice the archer a few meters away.”
Sara: “Can I reach him on a Move, my speed is 4 meters.”
Daniel: “No, it’s a Full Move then.”
Sara: “Ok, but I’ll make a Move then to be able to charge him next round.”
Daniel: “Tyrian, your turn.”
Robert: “Can I see anyone else?”
Daniel: “You think you saw a movement to the left of the camp.”
Robert: “I Move in that direction.”
Daniel: “You se a bandit hiding behind a rock.”
Robert: “I want to attack him if possible?”
Daniel: “Yes you can. Your second action then, +1d10, and it’s poor light from the camp fire +1d10. It’s a Hard Test to hit.”
Robert: “I use one of my Fate Points to lower it by -1d10.”


Robert rolls 2,3,4 and 7 equals 16 – well below his Martial Art level of 27. Daniel makes a roll for the bandit, which is Challenging as it’s his first action in poor light. The bandit rolls 15 against 20 on his Reaction an manages to Dodge the attack. Tyrian decides to save his remaining Actions for defense.

After Tyrian it’s the bandits Turn. 3 bandits with melee weapons moves forward. The remaining 4 of them have ranged weapons so Daniel decides they will try to place one hit on each character. 2 out of 4 arrows hit – one for Aida and one for Larcus. Aida gets to react first but since she is Surprised she suffers +1d10 difficulty. She rolls a Challenging Test against Dodge and the result of 2, 3, 7, 9 equals 21 is well under her exceptional Skill level of 32. Next is Larcus who is also surprised. He rolls 4, 5, 7, 9 equals 25 against a Dodge of 22, which is a failure.

Daniel: “You are hit!”
Lucas: “Ouch!”
Daniel: “Do you have any armor?”
Lucas: ”Uhm, no.”
Daniel: “No Damage Reduction then. Lets see what damage you receive…”

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 3

Larcus the Monk have been sent to gather supplies prior to the group’s departure towards the desert tomb.

To avoid having the other players wait for very long Daniel decides that Lucas gets to roll a few Tests rather than roleplaying the entire episode.

Lucas asks for what there is to find in the marketplace so Daniel tells him to make a Routine Test against Awareness. Lucas rolls 5, 2 and 9 for a total of 17. Larcus has Awarness at level 18 so the Test is successful. Daniel describes some of the commodities that Larcus can see, among them a stable renting horses and several merchants selling food.

Larcus decide to start with the food so Daniel lets him make a Test against Barter. Since there are several suppliers selling the same merchandise Daniel lowers the difficulty of the Test to Easy. Lucas rolls 7 and 9 which is lower than his Barter Skill at 19. Larcus gets to buy the food at standard prize, which Daniel deems is 2 silvers for each ration. As the group is expected to travel for at least a couple of days Larcus buys 30 rations for 60 silver – which is most of his rather limited coinage. And he still hasn’t got the horses!

As the rental stable is offering horses for 50 silvers a week Larcus decides to try a different approach. As the monk has much higher level in Charm than Barter, Larcus tries to convince the rental owner to offer him two horses for free. Daniel deems this to be a Challenging Test, but Larcus tells the rental owner the horses are needed by the temple for a most crucial cause. Since this is not true Larcus gets to roll a Routine Test against Deceive. The result is 3, 9, 9 – a total of 21. Since two 9’s were rolled it is a Critical and since Larcus skill level is 24 it is a Critical Success. The rental owner, who perhaps have been a little lax in visiting the temple these last weeks, sees this as an excellent opportunity to get even with the gods. He offers two horses to Larcus freely, without him ever having to Test against Charm. Happy with this Larcus returns to the others.

As the characters already have everything else they believe themselves to require they decide to set out in the late afternoon to avoid the scorching sun on their way to the tomb.

Monday, June 10, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 2

As both Robert and Elisabeth are new to roleplaying Daniel helps them with their characters. While Daniel himself finds the process rather fun he knows it can be a bit tedious so he asks his players if he should roll their characters or if they want to do it themselves. Sara and Robert wants to go through the process themselves so Daniel lets them try on their own while he helps Lucas and Elisabeth with their characaters.

As all are new to the system Daniel is not very strict on imposing rules and conditions on the characters as he wants everyone to like the character they are playing.

In the end the group has created four characters: Isani the Battlemage, Larcus the Monk, Tyrian the Mercenary and Aida the Thief. Daniel has decided that Isani should be the group leader as her profession as a battlemage is the highest status in the group. Daniel has explained to Sara that her character has been hired to find and explore a tomb in the mountains to the north and to assemble a small group for doing so.

Together with the players Daniel decides that Isani and Larcus are old friends who have spent some time studying together. Isani have also met Tyrian during a shorter campaign against a nearby tribe of goblins and Aida was caught stealing by Isani and has been forced to join the group to avoid severe punishment.

Starting to play

With all set to go Daniel gives a short monologue where he describes the city they are all currently in and also the market square at which they currently are. He adds to Robert and Elisabeth that he now expects them to act as their characters but if they want to ask or do something outside of the game they just have to say so.

Daniel begins by asking each player to describe his or her character to the other players. Once this is done he asks Isani what she wants to do.
Sara: “Well, I start by greeting everyone and explain about our mission”.
Lucas: “Are you paying us?”
Sara looks at Daniel.
Sara: “Am I?”
Daniel: “The reward you’ve been offered is after the tomb has been explored. You have only asked your fellow adventurers to come here – it’s up to you if you want to pay them.”
Sara: “I don’t have very much money…”
Robert: “My character would expect to be paid in advance for a mission like this.”


Eventually Robert, Lucas and Sara agree on a salary which Sara’s character pays from her private funds. Since Elisabeth’s character Aida is forced to join she doesn’t get any pay.

Isani sends Larcus to buy supplies for their journey as he is the most skilled barterer. They also want to rent horses for Larcus and Aida so they don’t have to walk. After this task has been completed the group will be set and ready to embark on their first quest!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

A Roleplaying Example, Part 1


This example is an extract from the Centuria Core Rule Book.

The Campaign

Daniel has been roleplaying for some time, mostly as a player in another roleplaying game, but has decided he wants to try to be a Game Master. He has read through the Centuria core rules and decided he wants to try to make a campaign from scratch.
He invents a story where a cabal of mages has been intriguing against each other to become the first to find the fabled artifact known as the Necromancer’s Stone. One of these mages has in secret arranged for a group of adventurers to travel to a tomb where the mage believe the stone to be kept. He has done this without alerting the adventurers as to his identity. To them he claims he is a scholar and that his interest in the tomb is purely academic. He does not mention anything about the stone. The mage’s plan is to send an experienced assassin after the group who will try to steal the stone if they were to retrieve it form the tomb.
Once he has his main plot complete Daniel thinks a bit on the main locations of the adventure. He places the whole campaign in the desert environment of the northern Empire. He imagines the adventurers will be hired in a city, there’ll be a road covered by bandits leading to the tomb and there will be the tomb itself.
He draws up a quick map of the city and invents a couple of residents which might be interesting for the campaign. He also prepares a map of the tomb and inserts a couple of different enemies, mostly undead like zombies or mummies. As he does want to provide some alternative routes he also invents a secret entrance into the tomb which will take the characters past much of the tombs guardians.
Content with this he sets out to find a group of players.

The Characters

Daniel has convinced his four friends Sara, Lucas, Robert and Elisabeth to try out the roleplaying campaign that he has invented.
Sara and Lucas have been roleplaying before so Daniel talks to them about what kind of characters they wish to play to see if they could fit into the adventure. Sara would prefer to play a mage or perhaps a warrior, while Lucas has his mind set on a more scholarly character. Since the adventure is rather action oriented he suggests Lucas can play a monk, which is a learned character who still has a lot of proficiencies which might come in handy in other situations. Lucas is happy with this so Daniel no focuses on Sara. Daniel suggests that Sara could perhaps combine her intended careers and play a battlemage. This suits Sara fine so Daniel move on to help Robert and Elisabeth.
For Robert and Elisabeth Daniel decides it is best that he helps them along. As Robert is more of a silent type Daniel suggests he play a mercenary, which is not necessarily a very talkative sort. While Robert will still have the opportunity to converse as he sees fit this gives him the option of observing the game for a while as his character tags along until he feels he understand how most things work. Robert likes this idea as he is used to computer games and enjoys to play a skilled fighter.
Elisabeth is more of a talker than Robert but perhaps less of a gamer. Daniel suggests she take on the challenge of playing as a thief as it is a sort of character which will likely engage in much conversation of one sort or another and also because it would be a valuable asset to the group. Elisabeth is ok with this and Daniel is happy as it will be rather easy to explain why the different characters have come together as their occupations and skills complement each other admirably.     

The world of Centuria

“Dressed in their finest silk robes, made in the colors of House Altieres and Custodes, the two mages strode forward. Wizards of lower rang stepped aside with a slight bow as they passed, careful to show their respect. At last they reached the end of the corridor and a servant held open a door into a small waiting room. However, the door into the next corridor was already open, so there was no time to enjoy any of the delicacies presented, and the pair continued forward.

The second corridor ended in a massive porthole and before them a circular room could be seen. Magic wards and symbols covered the smooth walls and as they entered they felt the eerie feeling of magic sparkling at their sandal-clad feet and jumping at the jewelry which they wore at their wrists.

A voice sated with power made them look up.
‘Seneschals, you are late.’
Surrounding them in a circle of thrones placed above the circular room nine stern faces looked down upon them. The mage-consuls of the Council of Mages did not like to be kept waiting.


To avoid the stern gazes of the archmages above the two mages turned to face the tenth throne. No mage would ever be seated there as it by tradition was reserved for the emperor, and therefore left empty. But in horror the mages found themselves staring into a pair of purple eyes which no man could ever read.
‘Gentlemen,’ spoke the emperor, ‘the hour is late. Let us hear what you have discovered on your journey so that we can proceed with our meeting.’ ”

Centuria takes place in the world of Aladron, home to the Free Peoples, gods, monsters and other creatures, yet to see the light of day and enter the annals of known history. The event above takes place in one of Aladron’s three major settings, the Imperial Province. There is more to read about the Imperial Province and the other settings in the chapter Nations & Peoples.