Finishing touches (Fantasy Friday #31)

Next, a camel to help carry stuff and get around ~ that’s another 150 gp ($30,000-$75,000).  With a Strength of 18 and being a Large quaruped, camels can carry up to 900 pounds, with 300 and 600 being the maxima for light and medium loads, respectively.  Buying a medium tent for Kavvuraz (and maybe a friend) to live out of and a pavilion to serve as zir refozev, or court, sets zim back another 115 gp ($23,000-$57,500).  Finishing out Kavvuraz’s tools for living with a bedroll, a blanket, a tent cover, and a folding chair costs 17 gp 6 sp ($3520-$8800).  We’re down to 187 gp 4 sp ($37,480-$93,700) and, since the quissians are nomads, we need to track encumbrance as well.  The lightsaber is 2 pounds, the ceremonial armor is 4 pounds, and the cloak is 5 pounds.  Carrying zir home puts another 113 pounds on the camel’s back, adding up to 124 pounds, plus Kavvuraz’s naked weight, for that noble and ill-tempered animal to carry across the sands.  Speaking of, Mythic Races notes that quissians weigh between 250 and 350 pounds (there’s no die-roll chart, sadly).  That means our camel is already at a medium load.

A lamp and 54 hours’ worth of oil (which is to say, 9 pints) costs a gold piece ($200-500) and weighs 10 pounds.  Desert nomads don’t expect to easily find fresh food while wandering, I would imagine, so Kavvuraz probably keeps, let’s say, 4 weeks of trail rations (28 pounds and 14 gp, or $2800-$7000).  Animal feed is heavier, so let’s only give Kavvura’s camel six days of food (60 pounds and 3 gp, or $600-$1500).  You know, with the load on the camel, it won’t be moving all that much faster than Kavvuraz would on foot, so why don’t we just throw a pack saddle on it and use it just for carrying things?  That’s 15 pounds and 5 gp ($1000-$2500), and a harness and dandy brush cost another 2 gp 2 sp ($440-$1100) and 4 pounds.  New totals: 230 pounds (armor, cloak, and weapon would be carried by Kavvuraz, naturally) and 162 gp 4 sp.  Huh, the decision to not have the refo riding the camel might mean we could have space for significantly more feed!

A book of religious legal commentary (treat as an adventurer chronicle (religion)) sets zim back 50 gp ($10,000-$25,000) and a pound, and a book of letters covering the subregion bounded on one side by the Dragon Coast and on another by the Pearl Coast also seems highly appropriate.  It also costs 50 gp, but weighs 3 pounds.  Of course, what kind of refo would go around without a copy of their holy text?  Well, to be fair, the worship of Time isn’t a textual religion, but there are a few compilations of famous writings on the faith by famous teachers that function similarly to a holy book.  That takes 25 gp ($5000-$12,500) and 2 pounds.  A couple ounces of ink cost 16 gp ($3200-$8000) and a pen to use it is 1 sp ($20-$50), while 10 sheets of paper to use it on is 4 gp ($800-$2000).  A case to carry all those sheets in is 1 gp ($200-$500) and a half pound.  Kavvuraz, like everyone, starts with a free outfit ~ like many Scarhasi, ze chooses a 4-pound hot weather outfit.  Let’s give zim a signet ring, too, to mark their status as refo ~ that’s 5 gp ($1000-$2500).  I almost have Kavvuraz buy a bunch of water, but then I remember that quissians don’t need it!  Everyone needs coffee, however, so let’s give Kavvuraz a couple pounds of ground kahve, maybe 3 pounds actually, which would cost 4 gp 8 sp ($960-$2400), and a coffee pot and 2 cups (4 pounds and 5 gp, or $1000-$2500).  I guess some waterskins are necessary after all, for the coffee-making.  Let’s go with 4 waterskins, for 16 pounds and 4 gp ($800-$2000).  New totals:  270.5 pounds and 5 sp.

A simple but sturdy board game could set Kavvuraz back 2 sp ($40-$100) and 2 pounds.  I also want zim to have a deck of fortune-teller cards, because I can’t imagine a Time-floater without a deck (or, as with tarot nowadays, fifty).  Let’s trade in 2 days of trail rations for a common deck (Kavvuraz, it seems, is humble in terms of his things); that incidentally saves his camel a pound and a half.  It occurs to me that another two days of rations should translate into a flint and steel to light the lamp, and the coffee will need an actual fire to heat, so let’s add, say, 3 days’ worth of firewood for 3 cp ($6-$15) and 60 pounds.  Kavvuraz finishes at 329 pounds (barely a medium load) and 0 cp.

Let us begin the shopping trip! (Fantasy Friday #30)

Memory Walk [Fate, mind-affecting]
You torment an enemy causing them to relive their most horrible memories.  Time:  Standard action.  Target:  One creature with an Intelligence of 3 or higher within 30 feet of you and in your line of sight.
Make a Float upon the Sea of Time check.  The result of the check determines the result, if any.
DC 20:  If the target fails a Will save (DC equal to your Float upon the Sea of Time roll), the target takes 2d6 points of Time damage and loses their swift action on their next turn.
DC 25:  As DC 20, except the target loses their move action on their next turn.
DC 30:  As DC 20, except the target loses their standard action on their next turn.
DC 35:  As DC 20, except the target loses their standard and swift actions on their next turn.
Special:  You can spend a Time point to increase the damage by +2d6.
You can maintain memory walk from round to round, extending the normal duration.  Maintaining the memory walk power is a standard action, and you must make a new Float upon the Sea of Time each round.  If you take damage while maintaining memory walk, you must succeed on a Float upon the Sea of Time check (DC = 15 + damage taken) to continue maintaining the power.

Sever Force [Destiny]
You can block another Time-floater’s access to the Flow, preventing them from spending Time points and making it difficult for them to use Time powers.  Time:  Standard action.  Target:  One Time-surfing creature with a Fate score of 1 or higher that is within 60 feet and within line of sight.
Make a Float upon the Sea of Time check.  If your target fails a Will save (DC = the Float upon the Sea of Time check), the effect (if any) is determined by your check result:
DC 25:  The target cannot spend Time points for a number of hours equal to its Fate score.
DC 30:  As DC 25, plus the target gains a cumulative –1 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Combat Maneuver Defense, saving throws, and skill checks.
DC 35:  As DC 25, except the target gains a cumulative –2 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Combat Maneuver Defense, saving throws, and skill checks.
Special:  This Time power has no effect on targets with a Fate score of 0.
You can spend a Time point to double the duration of the effect.

All Kavvuraz needs now, I think, is equipment, and then they’re done!  3000 gp (equivalent to $600,000-$1,500,000), and they already have a moonbeam blade for free from their class.  We are thus covered for melee weapon, and I don’t really see the good refo carrying a missile weapon, so we come to the tricky question of armor.  Quissians live in a hot desert, deep in the dunes nomading far from cities.  Armor tends to be famously uncomfortable in those situations.  After a bit of googling about fabric choices in the dry heat of the desert, I figure that silken ceremonial armor seems the most appropriate for Kavvuraz, but I wanna check the rules for robes and things to see if they obviate the need.  That’s when I remember that cloaks of resistance provide bonuses to saving throws, not AC ~ I was thinking of bracers of armor.  However, I think I can get better protection from the ceremonial armor than the bracers with the money available.  Unenchanted, that’s 30 gp ($6000-$15,000) for a +1 armor bonus and no penalties.

The robe thought, however, pushed me to really consider the idea of a desert Jedi that is core to Kavvuraz ~ both desert and Jedi suggest robes, so I start to wonder if spending a bunch of money on a fancy magic robe for Refoaz might not be appropriate.  I set myself the task of paging through the magic robes Pathfinder’s published.  Nothing particularly affordable comes up ~ robes and cloaks and things tend toward the mid-range expensive.  Only three items interest me that cost less than 3000 gp, and they all violate the general guideline of not spending more than half (hell, more than two-thirds) of your net worth on a single item.  I’m okay with that, though, generally speaking ~ breaking that guideline leads to fewer magic items (avoiding the mass-production feel of many D&D games/settings) and to magic items that have more weight on the plot (thus giving them more identity and story than just being, again, mass-produced industrially).  My options are: robe of the master of masters (2300 gp = $460,000-$1,150,000), abjuration cloak of the hedge wizard (2500 gp = $500,000-$1,250,000), and cloak of the dark tapestry/of the night sky (same cost as the cloak of the hedge wizard).

The robe of the master of masters is more appropriate to a different sect of Time-floaters, the Shivrad sect that interact with the All of Time by means (and metaphors) of ecstatic dancing ~ so that gives us four major sects that have spread beyond the Hemeya Sea and its broad range of Time religions: the Destiny-focused Haćo, the Fate-focused Tosj, the Alys who submit themselves to the Flow, and the Shivrad who dance with Time.  The Alys are most common in Not!Central Asia, Not!India, and Not!Southeast Asia rather than in Scarhas itself, and the Shivrad are focused in Not!Persia, with some members throughout the rest of Scarhas and Not!Central Asia.  The Haćo and Tosj have spread across Not!Maghreb and Scarhas, with some found in Not!Central Asia, Not!West Africa, Not!Central Africa, and Prester.  The other two are vaguely similar (in that they both actively aid desert survival by means of endure elements), but there’s something more aesthetically pleasing about the cloak of the night sky ~ we’ll just make it Haćo-specific rather than Desna-specific, for obvious reasons.  That eats up all but 500 gp ($10,000-$250,000), and the silken armor is another 30 gp ($6000-$15,000) gone into the purses of merchants.

Choosing Kavvuraz's Time powers (Fantasy Friday #29)

Eyes Over the All of Time
This regimen trains you to sense images that you cannot normally see by reading the surface thoughts of others.  During this regimen, an assistant looks at a series of cards with common objects painted upon them.  As the deck cycles through the different images, you must read the surface thoughts of the assistant to determine what card they are looking at at that time.  Time: 1 hour.  Requirements: A deck of image cards and an assistant.
Make a Float upon the Sea of Time check.  The result of the check determines the benefits of the regimen:
DC 13:  You successfully read one-third of the assistant’s surface thoughts.  You gain a +1 Flow bonus on Float upon the Sea of Time checks made to use the Telepathy application of the Float upon the Sea of Time skill.
DC 18:  You successfully read two-thirds of the assistant’s surface thoughts.  You gain a +2 Flow bonus on Float upon the Sea of Time checks made to use the Telepathy application of the Float upon the Sea of Time skill.
DC 23:  You successfully read all of the assistant’s surface thoughts.  You gain a +2 Flow bonus on Float upon the Sea of Time checks made to use the Telepathy application of the Float upon the Sea of Time skill.  In addition, if you successfully use Telepathy against an unwilling target, you can also sense the target’s surface emotions and stray thoughts as if on the third round of a detect thoughts spell.

Quiet the Mind
This regimen trains you to block out distractions and stray thoughts.  It requires little more than finding a quiet, secluded spot and slipping into a meditative trance to clear your mind of doubt, questions, fear, and the chaos of the galaxy.  Haćo use this technique to open themselves to the flow of Time, allowing them to see distant places and events.  Time: 1 hour.  Target: You.
Make a Float upon the Sea of Time check.  The result of the check determines the benefits of the regimen:
DC 13:  You meditate, but your mind is still clouded by external stimuli.  You can add one use of the farseeing power to your Time suite, but once it is used, it cannot be regained by any means.
DC 18:  You meditate, quieting your mind except for but a few small distractions.  You can add one use of the farseeing power to your Time suite.
DC 23:  You meditate, quieting your mind entirely.  You can add one use of the farseeing power to your Time suite, and you gain the benefits of the Visions talent (if you do not already know it).

Let’s see, which talents do we want Kavvuraz Refoaz to have?  The first ones to catch my eye are in the Haćo Consular tree.  Adept Negotiator allows the Haćo to argue someone into what is essentially a sanctuary-like effect (and, not so incidentally, unlocks a talent that would allow zim to replace Diplomacy with Float upon the Sea of Time, essentially).  Meanwhile, Skilled Advisor would allow zim to give zir allies bonuses by means of shouting out tips and hints.  Fate Sense from the Haćo Sentinel tree would make sense, representing insight the good refo would have gained from zir own almost-fall to zir own Fate; Consumed by Fate is less about insight and more about anger, but that works here, too.  All Sides of the Wheel isn’t about Fate, but about failure, and that seems appropriate, too.  Some talents, like the Control talent Focus on the Moment (which lets you regain spent Time powers), are just sort of generically useful.  Temporal Perception from the Sense tree is directly applicable to a refo’s work, boosting Sense Motive and Perception, and Heightened Awareness is another means of doing the same  Meanwhile, the Cleanse Mind talent from Haćo Consular would seem to be super useful, too; Indomitable Will from Control is similar but affects you rather than allies.  Crucial Advice from the Guardian Spirit tree would also be wonderfully useful to a refo.

As for Time powers, Fated Rage is another option that could represent the reverbations of Kavvuraz’s flirting with Fate, as are Fear, Hatred, and Memory Walk.  Temporal Disarm could be useful to a judge, but refo judge people who have failed to follow religious obligations and duties not those who have done wrong.  I think bailiff-like powers might be thus less appropriate.  Counterspell-like powers such as Rebuke, Resist Flow, and Sever Flow probably fall into a similar category ~ although, thinking about it, Sever Flow could be an effective punishment. . . . 

I think I’ll go with Memory Walk and Sever Flow as Force powers, remnants of zir days on the edge that have remained somewhat useful in zir work as a refo.  It does give zim a rather weird vibe when judging ~ zir decisions and behavior echo with compassion and understanding rooted in zir own journey, but zir methods are brutal and rough.  As for talents, let’s take Crucial Advice and Cleanse Mind.

Guardian Spirit Talent Tree (Temporal ~ available at odd levels to everyone with Temporal Sensitivity as a replacement for a class feature)
You have a spirit watching over you, providing advice and continuing your training in the Flow.  Although Time spirits cannot physically aid you, their guidance is critical to your success.
Crucial Advice:  Once per encounter, when you fail a skill check, you can reroll the skill check with a +2 circumstance bonus.  (In the case of skill checks with multiple possible results, such as when activating a Time power with multiple effects, failing a skill check is defined as achieving less than the minimum DC for that check.)

Haćo Consular Talent Tree
The following talent belongs to the Haćo Consular talent tree, which is available to members of the Haćo class.  Any character who can normally choose talents from the Haćo Consular talent tree can choose this talent as well.
Cleanse Mind:  Once per turn as a swift action, you can remove one ongoing mind-affecting effect from a single allied target within line of sight.

Finishing off Amon Assemon (Traveller Tuesday #28)

Land transport starts at the energy tech level, which is 8.  Having no water doesn’t change it, but having no land would.  The 2d6 for x-factors gives us an 8, so it stays there, with triphibian vehicles being the state of the art on this moon.  That gives us a base and a maximum for water transport technology.  Now, the dryness of the moon changes things, subtracting one from its tech level, and a 2d6 roll of 4 lowers it by another level, meaning that the moon can produce water transports about equivalent to what the United States did in the mid-20th century (G3TL 6), making submersibles, scuba, and amphibian vehicles the most advanced such tech they can produce.  I’m not sure said production happens much, though, considering that Amon Assemon lacks large factories and things for exporting products.

Air transport takes its base from the energy tech level, and is modified only by the x-factors, which don’t have any effect, thanks to an 8 on 2d6.  At TL 8, that means hypersonic jets and (again) triphibian vehicles.  That sounds rad, but jets still require atmosphere to work, so they are likely not produced here much, either.  Space transport, likewise, tracks with energy, and a starport-in-name-only has no effect on its advancement.  However, the xenophobia demonstrated by the Assemonite qweens does, to the tune of dropping the space transport tech level by 1.  2d6 come up 10, though, which gives that level back to space transport, resulting in an 8.  These qweens can build space shuttles, space stations, and non-grav ships of Maneuver 3-5.  No native noetic drives yet, however.

Without cities to receive subsidiary starports and spaceports, I imagine that Amon Assemon actually does only have the one Class E Starport.  Though the moon could build orbital cities, that starport indicates that they don’t really have the will to do things like fill up the LaGrange points, so there aren’t any subsidiary Assemonite settlements.

Personal weaponry and armor and things starts with energy tech (like almost everything).  Their desire to accept compromise rather than actually end up fighting doesn’t change that level, but their bullying tactics of showing off their military might in bluster does, adding one, putting it at the maximum level of the tech.  Do the x-factors change that?  6 on 2d6 says no.  These qweens fight ~ well, bluff and intimidate ~ with laser guns and ablative armor.  Heavy military tech gets the same modifiers, but tracks with land transport.  Which doesn’t change anything, but the x-factors might.  A 10 on 2d6 would, but 9 is the upper limit for the tech, so once again it is stuck where it is.  Assemonite war vehicles ~ which probably display a similarly over-the-top drag aesthetic as their fashion, for extra size and intimidation ~ show off their particle accelerators, target-designated missiles, and lightweight composite laminate armor.

Two out of ten technology levels have been running into their ceilings.  With the Rose Brothers just a few thousand feet below and a rising movement agitating for putting more (read: all) the power into the hands of the people by utilizing advanced computing/communications technology, that clicks right into place.  A large contingent of the agitators are scientists, engineers, and inventors who see it as a way to push the boundaries of Assemonite technology and knowledge further than it can while Parliament keeps such a tight grip on everything but free trade.

Novelty tech levels still need to wait until the subsector is mapped before I can establish them, since novelty imports can take the slot.  Local prototypes are TL 9, straining to achieve TL 10.

The world gains a Green travel code, indicating free travel to and fro.  As for trade codes, the Drag Moon is LG (low-gravity), of course, and is As (asteroid) as well, despite technically being a moon.  Hey, classificatory systems always include weirdness like that.  It’s also obviously Lo (low population) and gets Va (vacuum) for having no air.

Let’s see, the last few details could use working out . . . .  Hydrographics 0 might not actually mean that there’s no surface water (it only probably means that), so we roll 2d6-7 and add the result to 0.  So if we roll 8-12 (before the subtraction), there will be a tiny bit of water on the surface.  However, we roll a 6, which is -1 after the subtraction, which means the surface of the Drag Moon is dry, dry, dry.  Which also means there’s no hydrography to have a composition, so we skip that.  Nor are there any oceans and lakes, obviously.

By definition, a Size 0 Hydrosphere 0 planet has little geological activity, with the entire surface being but a single tectonic plate.  That just leaves the number of volcanoes (which is based on the seismic stress factor) and specific temperature details to work out, but as I’ve stated, I don’t know how to do all of those computations for a satellite.  I’d love help from any Traveller nerds who might be reading this

bUWP:  α-3D-0704-α0-A (α Greve-Eau Pleine-α Bishop Scheumack-Ishee-Amon Assemon)/E000346-8/X/As-LG-Lo/Em