Monday, November 6, 2023

The Flesh and the Devil Can Wait

caro et diabolus expectent

Every reality has its edge cases. The joints of creation don't fit smoothly together, and in the gaps terrific power waits to be seized. There are Secrets As To The Workings Of The World, and only through the World can one know them.

No one can be told what THAUMOS is. You have to see it for yourself.


The first time a wizard spends dawn to dusk in a given hex, they may open themselves to inspiration. If they do, they have a 1-in-6 chance of learning a new Secret.

If inspiration strikes, either roll to determine the Lore...

  1. Fire
  2. Flesh
  3. Beasts
  4. Heavens
  5. Dream
  6. Sea

...or let the wizard choose. 

If the Lore was randomly determined, roll 2 dice and learn the Secret that matches [SUM]. If it was chosen, roll 1 die and learn the matching Secret.

Each Secret occupies a Knowledge slot, of course.

Thoughts

Although THAUMOS is woefully under-playtested, already I fear that the acquisition of new Secrets will be too slow. Currently the only way to learn them is through tutelage by those who already know--even ignoring the clear chicken-and-egg problem, this hardens the borders of acceptable playstyles for those who hope to gain more arcane power. Shall a Lore be forever closed to the Cabal because they slew its only practitioner? And what of those Secrets unknown to any NPC?

These rules aim to kill two birds with one stone. They provide a way to learn Secrets without needing a mentor, while at the same time encouraging exploration. In many hexcrawl games, travel is motivated by the search for new dungeons to delve and treasure to plunder. 

For wizards in THAUMOS the treasure is power, and that too can be plumbed from the world itself.

-V

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