Eurora Campaigning

From AJS.COM

For now, this is just a cut-and-paste of the Gaming in Eurora section from the main Eurora document. More coming soon...

Eurora is a hotbed of gaming possibilities. A campaign could cover the exploits of characters in a single city, traveling through any one client-state or traveling far from their home. There are lost cities, magical upheavals, and a great deal of political and cultural intrigue.

Contents 1 Locations 1.1 Egypt 1.2 Gaul 1.3 Germania 1.4 Lusitania 1.5 Rome 2 Campaign Ideas 2.1 Adventuring Archaeologists 2.2 Bodyguards For Hire 2.3 Dark Defenders 2.4 High Seas 2.5 Mission Unlikely 2.6 Rain Nor Sleet Nor Snow 3 Magic 4 Package Deals 4.1 Soldier 4.2 Combat Mage 4.3 Healer 4.4 Sailor 4.5 Engineer

Locations

Egypt

Gaul

Germania

Lusitania

Rome

Campaign Ideas

Running a campaign in Eurora will usually start with some essential decisions:

• Power level

The normal power-level for Eurora is 75 points. A 50-point campaign would be appropriate for non-magical, intrigue and exploration oriented campaigns while swords-and-sorcery style campaigns will be 75 or even more points.

• Location

Prague is the capital of Eurora, and so it has a strong appeal, but a coastal city like Rome or Olisipo could be great for city-based adventures. There's also the sea, or a traveling campaign (e.g. with a band of mercenaries or the military).

• Magic

Do you want the party to use magic? This will definitely change the flavor of the campaign.

• Good vs. evil

Some GMs may wish to run a campaign with characters that work to foster the destruction of the magical disasters or are simply bad people. This is not recommended, as it tends to lead to fractured parties. Still, the option is there. There are also grayer options such as a party of mercenaries who don't worry too much about the legality (and perhaps even morality) of the work as long as it pays.

Below are some sample campaign seeds which will get you thinking about what shape your campaign might take. Feel free to mix and match these ideas to create your own Eurora campaign.

Adventuring Archaeologists

Like the dashing heroes of the movies, Euroran archaeologists can meet with adventure and danger in their quests to explore abandoned cities and towns. Sometimes they are hired by Eurora to find out if a place is safe to move back into. At other times they are hired by individuals who think they know of the location of particularly valuable or powerful relics. Either way, delving into the site of magical disasters can be hard and exciting work.

Bodyguards For Hire

Since travel can be dangerous in the unprotected lands between cities, anyone who can afford it will usually hire bodyguards to make sure they and their belongings arrive safely. Magical pitfalls aren't the only sort of trouble such an group could run into, since there are bandits both mundane and magical as well as wild beasts, not to mention the fact that some customers are not all together honest with the people they hire.

Dark Defenders

Many of the darker forms of magic are outlawed and reviled within the empire. However, a party of do-gooders who feel that dark magics are the only resort to fight the forces of corruption and darkness might secretly defend a city. This would end up being a low-power fantasy supers campaign.

High Seas

The players are all officers on a sailing ship in the Lusitanian Armada. Since the Armada is responsible for the protection of the entire empire's shores, they have ports everywhere. Some ships are stationed in a particular port, and only leave when they must. However, the characters are on a ship that travels throughout the empire, and even to some foreign ports. They patrol the seas and perform various missions for the empire such as transporting officials, diplomats and/or troops; rescuing stranded ships; dealing with pirates; etc.

Remember that naval technology, like all other technology in the empire, has not progressed very far past Roman times. The galleons one might picture when thinking of an ``Armada are simply not available at this time.

Mission Unlikely

Various secret societies and organizations will be covered elsewhere. Many of them employ something like standard adventurers to accomplish their ends. Sometimes these hirelings will know what it is that they are being hired for, or even be a part of the organization. Sometimes just the opposite will be true.

Obvious versions of this campaign include a local crime syndicate or a smuggling operation. This can also very easily cross with the Bodyguards for Hire scenario.

Rain Nor Sleet Nor Snow

The Couriers are a branch of the military who specialize in moving information, important parcels and even people between the client-states of the empire. They are soldiers, like any other branch of the military, and they take their work very seriously. A Courier is expected to die to ensure the safe delivery of their parcels, if such is required. This alone could be a fertile ground for campaign ideas.

However, the Couriers have a less-public side. They are the spies of Eurora. Adventuring as a small group of spies in one of Eurora's neighboring states could be an excellent basis for a fairly low-powered campaign.

Magic

Eurora Magic covers the specifics of the Eurora magic system, but if you wish to jump right in, simply use the Standard Magic System from Fantasy Hero or have your players design their own spells. If they design their own, use these restrictions: spells may not be persistent; must have at least the Requires a Magic Skill Roll and Concentration limitations as well as one of Gestures or Incantations; and all spells are always subject to Game Master approval.

There are also very rare individuals in Eurora with special powers, referred to as charms. Both the power and the user of the power are referred to as a charm, but sometimes charm talent is also used. No one can have both a charm and spell-ability and no one can have more than one charm. A charm is always taken with the advantage Invisible Power Effect and the limitation Increased Endurance Cost: x2 END (if the power uses END). A charm must not allow the character to do anything that they could not do without it, though it may enhance an existing ability substantially. Charms must have an active point total of no more than 50 points.

A common form of charm (at least common, given that charms are very rare) is one that enhances the damage or accuracy of various forms of attack.

In some areas charms are openly and even warmly accepted. In other areas they are looked on with suspicion and perhaps even fear. They are tolerated to some extent everywhere, though. This is because of the reputation that The Hand has for scooping up oppressed charms, training them, and placing them in charge of defending the area from magical disasters.

Package Deals

These are fairly standard Fantasy Hero packages.

One Social Limitation that you will see in a few of these is Reactivation (-5pts). This reflects the fact that any character who was in the Military can be called back into service in case of an emergency. Since almost all men and many women have been in the military, this is only worth the five points if the character has distinguished themselves in such a way that they would be a particularly ideal choice for reactivation. For example, the character may have fought in an important battle or have earned some medal. In that respect, this is sort of like the Reputation disadvantage, but with very specific consequences.

Soldier

This package could be appropriate for a member of any branch of the military who has seen first-hand combat. A retired soldier might be ideal for a Bodyguards for Hire campaign or Mission Unlikely

Modify the cost for Fringe: Rank as appropriate for the character's rank from 0 (fresh recruit) to 5 (commander of a city outpost) to 10 (commander of one of the branches of the service). This is all subject to GM approval, of course.

The Language skill is a reflection of the fact that the military will have to station many soldiers in client-states other than their home. A Roman Centurion might be stationed in an outpost in Lusitania and pick up the local language there, for example.

   Skills and Talents
 
       FAM w/Common Melee Weapons              2
       FAM w/Common Missile Weapons            2
       +1 w/ Chosen Weapon Group               3
       +1 OCV w/Favorite Weapon                2
       KS: Military Combat Techniques          1
       KS: Military History                    1
       Language Skill                          1
       Choose two of:
       Interrogation, Paramedics, Riding,
       Shadowing, Stealth, Survival,Tactics,
       Fringe: Rank, Teamwork                  6
 
   Disadvantages
 
       Choose one of:
 
       Reactivation, Military Code,
       Reputation                              -5
 
   Total package cost: 13

Combat Mage

The military employs many mages, and there are also free-lance mages who would fit this package. Usually a mage who has had combat experience will have learned some fighting skills as well.

   Skills and Talents
 
       FAM w/ Single Weapon Group              1
       Magic Skill                             3
       KS: Particular Magical Tradition        1
       KS: Magical Entities                    1
 
   Disadvantages
 
       Choose one of:
       Code: School of Magic, Reputation       -5
 
   Total package cost: 1

Healer

Healers are mages who practice healing magics. Most of these are monks who practice their magic as part of their devotion. However, there are some mages who choose to follow the path of healing.

   Skills and Talents
 
       Magic Skill                             3
       KS: Particular Magical Tradition        1
       KS: Healing Techniques                  1
       Paramedic                               3
 
   Disadvantages
 
       Code of Healing                         -5
 
   Total package cost: 3

Sailor

While some of the Armada are marines who fall mostly under the generic Soldier package, a seasoned sailor has a very different set of skills. This package would also be appropriate for fishermen and explorers.

   Skills and Talents
 
       KS: Common Sailing Ships                1
       KS: Meteorology                         1
       AK: Ports of Eurora                     1
       Marine Navigation                       2
       Survival                                3
 
   Disadvantages
 
       One of:
       Military Code, Reputation, 
       Reactivation                            -5
 
   Total package cost: 3

Engineer

Engineers and skilled craftsmen (mostly men in Eurora) are needed all over the empire. From masons to architects to manual laborers, all of the construction trades are referred to as engineers. Because of the speed with which magical disasters decay cities, re-building is a constant necessity.

While this package may not sound exciting at first, any number of interesting characters can be built from it. For example, in a campaign where a group was sent to explore ruined cities for possible re-habitation, a stone-mason could be employed to determine what parts of the city were still safe. Since this is an inherently dangerous task, some survival and combat skills and perhaps stealth would be appropriate as well.

   Skills and Talents
 
       KS: Specific Trade                      2
       KS: Materials                           2
       Fringe: Guild member                    1
       Fringe: Industry contacts               1
       Select two of:
       Bribery, Bureaucratics, Climbing,
       Lockpicking, Riding, Streetwise,
       Trading, Perk: Wealthy                  6
 
   Disadvantages
 
       Depending on military status (or lack)
       choose one of:
       Reputation, Reactivation,
       Code: Military or Trade Guild           -5
 
   Total package cost: 7