Aperita Arcana Done

Ebon Gryphon Games have at last released the finalised version of Aperita Arcana to us backers — see my earlier posts for a description of the Aperita Arcana supplement for the Monsters & Magic role-playing game.

The cover art is nice, with a good balance of light and dark, if slightly too much on the dark side. I am not a big fan of 'digital' art [this is actually an understatement] but the elfin lady on the cover truly has an incredible expression, her eyes showing both surprise at the appearance of the demon and a firm will to control it. The demon is slightly less realistic but I really dig the "glow-in-the dark" pentacle.

Aperita Arcana is available in PDF format from RPGNow. I have no idea whether a dead tree version is in the works.

Edit: Aperita Arcana is now available from RPGNOW both as a softcover and as a hardcover book! Should you have bought the PDF, get in touch with Ebon Gryphon Games to redeem a $10 coupon to buy the book.

It is also available from Amazon but then only as a softcover.

Aperita Arcana Available by End of Month

Duchess Phenaella

If you don't know about Aperita Arcana yet, please refer to my previous posts, here and there. In a nutshell, it is a Monsters & Magic supplement by Ebon Gryphon Games that expands on the core M&M rules by adding new advancements, new spells and spell lists, rules for ad-lib spells, and much more. I warmly recommend this supplement, even if M&M is not your go-to system, if only for the excellent GMing advice scattered throughout the supplement, and for all the material that can be salvaged irrespective of your gaming system (e.g., the advanced ‘language’ rules).

Well, here's the good news: according to the latest KS update (12 January 2015), Aperita Arcana should be available before the end of the month!

A Red & Pleasant Land: The Alice – A New Character Class

I am crap at writing reviews, so instead of writing a review of the marvellous Lamentations of the Flame Princess sandbox supplement titled A Red & Pleasant Land, I will be posting a blog entry for each of its chapters. That will be my way of writing a review of sorts, by showcasing how inspiring reading the book has been to me.

Chapter II of A Red & Pleasant Land is entirely devoted to the description of a new LotFP character class called The Alice. Now instead of merely paraphrasing this chapter (because that's pretty much all you can do with a technical piece such as a new character class), I'll be repurposing The Alice character class for the Monsters & Magic role-playing game, along the lines of what David Rollins has done for D&D 5e.

The Alice
a new character class for Monsters & Magic

Prime Attribute: Dexterity
Physical Hit Points: D4
Mental Hit Points: D10
Starting Money: 3D4×10

As explained in A Red & Pleasant Land, whereas your average adventurer sets out looking for adventure, in the case of Alices, it is actually adventure that seeks them. The Alice is a mysterious magnet for odd occurrences, perplexing phenomena, and extraordinary endeavours.

Restrictions
Alices are human, and from a civilised background.


Alice Traits
✠ Light Armour
✠ Simple 1-Handed Weapons
✠ Tool of the Trade: Choose one particular Game or Musical Instrument
✠ Luck Manipulation (as described in Aperita Arcana)
✠ Read and Write
✠ Exasperation, per the text in A Red & Pleasant Land, but use the Effect Engine instead of rolling the dice, i.e.:

• Difficulty: whatever is causing the exasperation, or a GM-set value (p37 of M&M)
• Minor effect, subtract 5 and read the resulting number on the Exasperation table on p31 of A Red & Pleasant Land
• Major effect, subtract 10 and read the resulting number on the Exasperation table, allow for some leeway
• Extreme effect, let the Alice choose the number on the Exasperation table

Alice Advancements
Each time the Alice levels up, instead of letting the player choose the advancement, have them roll 1D100:

1D100 Roll	Results
01-20	The Alice may choose one of the Monk traits on p17 of M&M as an Advancement
21-70	The Alice may choose one of the Thief traits on p22 of M&M as an Advancement
71-74	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table on p32-33 of A Red & Pleasant Land
75	The Alice gets Recognise Faction or Function of Any Voivodjan Aristocrat as an Advancement
76-79	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
80	The Alice may replace STR with CHA in a combat roll
81	The Alice gets Identify Drugs & Plants as an Advancement
82	The Alice gets Lie Convincingly as an Advancement
83	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
84	The Alice gets Voivodjan Etiquette as an Advancement
85-87	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
88	The Alice gets an extra language as an Advancement
89	The Alice gets Artistic Forgery as an Advancement
90	The Alice gets Appraise Treasure as an Advancement
91-93	The Alice may replace STR with DEX in a combat roll
94	per the text of the Alice D100 Level Up Table
95	The Alice gets Dodge Missiles as an Advancement
96	The Alice gets the Stalwart Defence stance (p42 of M&M) as an Advancement
97-98	The Alice gets Sylvan Sympathy as an Advancement
99-00	The Alice gets Utterly Blasé as an Advancement

As a bonus, I am adding a further sub-class of the Alice, the Goose-boy, devised by yours truly, and inspired by Lúdas Matyi, the Hungarian epic poem written by Mihály Fazekas.

The Goose-Boy
a new Alice sub-class for Monsters & Magic

Secondary Attribute:Wisdom
Starting Money: 5D6

The Goose-boy is the commoner counterpart to the Alice. The Goose-boy starts as a young peasant boy who leads a quiet life but who is severely wronged by some upper-class NPC, and who sets out on an adventure to settle a score with the NPC.

Restrictions
The Goose-boy is a human from the sticks. The player must choose the reason the PC has become a Goose-boy; possible reasons are:

• stolen property
• someone forcibly married his sweetheart
• killed relative

Goose-boy Traits
✠ Light Armour and Shield
✠ 1-Handed Weapons
✠ Country Bumpkin: Choose one particularly lowly profession such as goose boy, pig herder, etc.
✠ Luck Manipulation
✠ Disguise (p23 of M&M)
✠ Exasperation

Goose-boy Advancements
As the Alice above, except:
75 Sense Orb Loc - the Goose-boy may detect the hidden human settlements of Voivodja
84 Exhort the Commoners - the Goose-boy may stir up trouble against the aristocracy
88 Thieves' Cant - the Goose-boy has learnt the secret language of lowlifes
89 Impersonate Trade - the Goose-boy may pass off as a trader or an artisan
90 Rigmarole - the Goose-boy may fast-talk his way pretty much anywhere

If you are using my 13C setting, Goose-boys are agents of the Trickster.

The Knights of Rhodes

The Knights Hospitaller (Latin: Fraternitas Hospitalaria) were one of the most prestigious True Faith military orders during the Crusades, when they distinguished themselves in battle against the Crescent Moon. However, at the end of the 16th century, the order is but the shadow of its former self. The disputes between New Wayers and Old Wayers have rendered the presence of religiously-minded knights in battle utterly obsolete, since most battles of the day are now between Europeans.

After the fall of the Crusader states, the order had to relocate to Rhodes, and then finally to Malta in 1530. The order is now mostly known as the Knights of Rhodes after their earlier home.

Dispossessed of their lands in the Levant, rendered idle by the internecine conflicts in Europe, the Knights of Rhodes now resort to piracy against Crescent Moon ships in the Mediterranean, or have become sellswords at the service of the various European powers, and in particular of the Iberian powers, who are the only ones still actively fighting against the Way of the Crescent Moon in distant lands.

The original statutes of the order contemplated the service of the sick pilgrims to the Holy Land, and the defence of the Crusader states. Their habit is a red surcoat with a white Maltese cross emblazoned on it.

The order of the Knights Hospitaller as a role-playing clerical cult: 
Temple traits: Protect True Faith pilgrims, Wage war against the Crescent Moon
Worshippers' Alignment: any non-Evil/Worshippers' Allegiance: Old Way of True Faith
Temple Weapon: Sword
Spheres of Activity: Cure, Protect, Shelter the Faithful.
Powers:

• all Knights of Rhodes have the Tenacious trait (from the Aperita Arcana supplement)
• Lawful Good Knights of Rhodes may choose advancements from the Paladin Traits pool on p18 of the M&M core book, replacing 'Evil' with 'Crescent Moon'

Holy Symbol: Maltese Cross.
Spells: Combat, Guardian, Healing, Protection.

First Preview of Aperita Arcana

The good folks at Ebon Gryphon Games, who have already brought us the fantastically useful Collectanea Creaturae bestiary for the Monsters & Magic frp game are up to a second supplement for M&M.

Aperita Arcana adds a lot of new character classes and sub-classes to the main ones from the core M&M book.

The nice thing about Monsters & Magic is that character classes are not simply a bland collection of die modifiers, hit dice, allowed armour/weapons, or numbers of spells per level. In M&M, each character class is fleshed out by a series of traits and advancements that it may use but, again, not as mere 'plus sometings' but as narrative tools to enliven your role-playing experience (and kick ass — that's the magic of the Effect Engine).

Anyway, as a backer of the Collectanea Creaturae Kickstarter, I have received my preview PDF copy of Aperita Arcana, and I am simply astonished at the quality. I was expecting a number of new character classes and sub-classes (see my previous post), but there's much much more in Aperita Arcana:

• Chapter 1, which is 62 pages long without the art, does detail the new classes and sub-classes, followed by
• Chapter 2 with new races, and with new twists for the already-existing ones, but there's more:
• Chapter 3 with lots of new spot rules and advanced rules for the Effect Engine,
• Chapter 4 with equipment,
• Chapter 5, new rules and variants,
• Chapter 6, sample cults, examples of religious organisations...
• Chapter 7, a lengthy discussion about the magical tropes in fantasy,
• Chapter 8, Magic Items,
• Chapter 9, Spells.

It thus appears that Aperita Arcana, which had initially been advertised as a small add-on to the Bestiary, has eventually become a kind of big "PHB+DMG+DDG" supplement — to use classic fantasy parlance.

Much like I believe that Collectanea Creaturae, because of the way it gives examples of monsters' motivations etc., is a must-buy supplement for any classic fantasy GM, I also believe that Aperita Arcana is a must-buy for any GM who wants to spruce up their classic fantasy adventures.

Monsters & Magic RPG is in the Latest Bundle of Holding RPG Pack

If you are True Role-Players I gather you already know about the Bundle of Holding web-site: it is an easy way to acquire a bundle of PDF files of role-playing games and/or supplements at a significantly lower price than the addition of buying each of them separately.

The other cool thing about the "Bundle of Holding" special offers is that ten percent of your payment goes to two charities, viz.
 - Amnesty International
 - Doctors Without Borders

Note that you get to set your payment yourself, but you have to beat a minimum amount to get hold of the "bundle". Also, there are usually two steps, one basic bundle, and one with more nifty stuff in it. However, there is no upper limit. This is a nice way to encourage giving to the charities.

But the bundles are short-lived, and you must act quick to grab 'em!

Well, all this premise to tell you that the current Bundle of Holding is  a treasure trove of seven indie RPGs by women RPG writers. Amongst the games of the second tier, the fantastic Monsters & Magic role-playing game (by Sarah Newton), which is currently my game of choice for high fantasy.

Aperita Arcana Nearing Completion

Aperita Arcana is a dual-system supplement for both the Monsters & Magic and the Fate game systems (to be honest, I want it because of what it brings to M&M).

It is being brought out by Ebon Gryphon Games, the very same good folk who are behind the fantastically useful Collectanea Creaturae supplement, also both for Monsters & Magic and Fate.

Aperita Arcana adds a lot of character classes to the basic ones in the M&M core book; the current roster is as follows:
 - Alchemist
 - Arbiter
 - Barbarian
 - Beastmaster
 - Blademage
 - Blood Mage
 - Bounty Hunter
 - Chosen
 - Cultist
 - Duelist
 - Elementalist
 - Enchanter
 - Gladiator
 - Inquisitor
 - Knight-errant
 - Martial Practitioner
 - Mercatant
 - Minstrel
 - Religious Scholar
 - Shaman
 - Summoner
 - Treasure Hunter
 - Vanguard
 - Wandering Sage
 - Witch Hunter

Some of these classes, e.g., the Alchemist, have already been posted on the Google+ M&M community. Check them out, they're really fantastic!

I used to hate new classes when I played AD&D, but for Monsters & Magic it is really different: since a class a mostly a collection of traits, they add wonderful role-playing potential in terms of what effect the player may try to attain.

The icing on the cake is that Aperita Arcana is going to be FREE for us backers of the Collectanea Creaturae kickstarter :-)

Collectanea Creaturae In Dead Tree

Collectanea Creaturae, the top-notch "monster manual" supplement for Monsters & Magic is now available in dead tree format from Amazon in the United States.

It should also be available soon from RPGnow and from the European Amazon web-sites.

Collectanea Creaturae Is Out!

I just love it when a Kickstarter project delivers on time. Collectanea Creaturae, the book of creatures (and more!) for the Monsters & Magic role-playing game has been funded in January 2014, and the availability date for my pledge level (PDF only) was shown as "Estimated delivery: May 2014". Well, I have just received from Ebon Gryphon Games the link to download my copy of the PDF, and it's only April :-)

The book is a whopping 170 pages long, with the following sections:

Introduction, 5 pages.
This is actually much more than a mere introduction. The 5 pages are chock full of great ideas about how to GM particular situations in Monsters & Magic. If you've ever tried GM'ing an old school module doing conversions on the fly, like I did, you'll find this part very useful.

A-Z List of Creatures, 130 pages
The creatures here are not mere stat blocks. Each of them is given motivations and effects, which are what makes Monsters & Magic really different from similar games. Some of the entries have so many ideas of cool effects and consequences that they provide all the necessary elements for an afternoon of gaming just by themselves!

Also, some groups of creatures are given their own stats, e.g., Bandit Gang has its own stats independently from Bandit. Wolfpack has its own stats independently from Wolf. Again, this is perfectly in line with M&M's elegant way of handling different "sizes" of encounters.

There are also many boxed texts interspersed through this section providing interesting facts about the various creatures such as etymology of the creature's name, differences with the classic fantasy version (if any, and why), possible variations (incl. powered up versions or "bosses"), constructs made or owned by the creature, suggestions to use some of the creatures as non-human races, etc.

Appendix 1: New PC Races, 7 pages
The races suggested as being available as PC races are: Centaur, Faun, Goblin, Lamia, Nymph, Orc, Tanuki.

Appendix 2: Familiars, Animal Companions, and You, 12 pages
The title says it all. Given the importance of companions, sidekicks, mounts, etc. in Monsters & Magic, this is again a very welcome chapter, chock full of interesting ideas.

I've only skimmed through Collectanea Creaturae, but I already know I won't be able to GM my M&M games without this book close by any longer!

NPC: Faustus Verantius

The following introductory text is mostly from Wikipedia, but adapted to the setting:

Faustus Verantius (born ca 1551) is a polymath and former bishop from the Most Serene Republic of Venedig, but with close ties to the Fair Kingdom.

Faustus Verantius was born in the port city of Sibenning within a mixed Romance-Slavonic noble family. He is the nephew of the archbishop of Gran, and he has widely travelled throughout Europe and the Fair Kingdom. During his youth, he studied physics, engineering and mechanics in various Romance universities. Verantius was chancellor for the Fair Kingdom at the court of the Emperor of the One Faith in Burgstadt. He has been often in contact with Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe.
Following the death of his wife, Verantius took religious vows, and left for the Fair Kingdom. In 1598, he was assigned the titular see of Tschanad (in the part of the Fair Kingdom occupied by the Empire of the Crescent Moon), until 1608.
In 1609, back in Venedig, he joined the Clerics Regular of St Paul and committed himself to the study of science.

Homo Volans

There, he published, at his own expense, his magnum opus: the Machinae Novae, which contains 49 large pictures depicting 56 different machines, devices, and technical concepts: water and solar energy, the universal clock (Plates 6–7), several types of mills, agricultural machinery, various types of bridges in various materials, machinery for clearing the sea, a dual sedan travelling on mule (Plate 47), special coaches, and Homo Volans (Plate 38) a forerunner of the parachute. The latter has even been tested by Verantius by jumping from St Martin's Cathedral in Pressburg.

Verantius can be used as a patron for the PCs, or as a connection providing James Bond-like gadgets, like the rectangular-shaped parachute depicted on the right hand-side.

FAUSTUS VERANTIUS - Monsters & Magic version
Strength 11 (0)
Dexterity 11 (0)
Constitution 15 (+2)
Intelligence 17 (+3)
Wisdom 15* (+4)
Charisma 11 (0)

Class and Level Cleric 6
Age 65
Move 12
Armour Class 17
Physical HP 45
Mental HP 37

Traits:
-Exorcism [Turn Undead]
-Religious Lore (Old Way)
-Clerical Magic
-Former bishop in partibus infidelium
-Cleric Regular of St Paul

Advancements:
-Amass knowledge (temple trait)
-Inventor
-Linguist
-Perform Ceremonies
-Signature Item: Dictionarium, +1 to any language-related check

Weapons: None.
Armour: None.
Languages: Latin, High Language, Romance, Slavonic
Allegiance: Old Way of True Faith

This post has originally been inspired by this blog entry.

Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli

The Clerics Regular of St Paul (Latin: Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli) is an Old Way religious order founded in 1530 in Mailand, one of the most prosperous cities of the Empire of the One Faith.
Its members emphasise study and knowledge rather than proselytism or the defence of the faith. They are also more usually found in large, prosperous cities than on the frontier. Despite this scholarly disposition, the Clerics Regular of St Paul do have their lot of strange practices, like over-zealous penance, and the ringing of church bells every Friday at 3pm. The Clerics Regular of St Paul live in community-like monasteries in which everything is shared.


The Clerics Regular of St Paul make, in addition to the three standard religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, a fourth vow never to strive for any office or position of dignity. Their habit is a black cassock.

The order of the Clerics Regular of St Paul as a role-playing clerical cult:
Temple traits: Amass knowledge, Teach the faithful
Worshippers' Alignment: any non-Evil/Worshippers' Allegiance: Old Way of True Faith
Temple Weapon: None.
Spheres of Activity: Knowledge, Learning, Teaching.
Powers: Double trait bonus on any knowledge-related check.
Holy Symbol: Holy Cross and Holy Book.
Spells: The Clerics Regular of St Paul favour knowledge-related spells.

Collectanea Creaturae

I am definitely not a big fan of kickstarter-advertised products. I'd rather an author wrote his or her product, play-tested it, found a publisher, and made it available to us in dead tree format through our Favourite Local Gaming Shop.

However, I also know that 99% of rpg authors have a day job, and the 'normal' procedure above may not always work out for them. Thus, in spite of being fully aware of the harsh realities in the life of a non-professional rpg author (hey, I am one of them, after all), I still do avoid kickstarters because they're usually not delivered on time — If and when they are delivered: most of them seem not to be, if one is to believe all the stories that get mentioned here and there.

This having been said, I sprang to my credit card when I saw the kickstarter for Collectanea Creaturae by Travis Casey and Julian Stanley. Travis and Julian have consistently been posting excellent stuff over at the Monsters & Magic community on Google+ (I love their Alchemist sub-class), so a book of monsters for M&M by them was a no-brainer.

At the moment, the kickstarter is fully funded by the current level of pledges. However you may want to jump on the bandwagon, especially if you live across the pond— the $25 level of pledge gets you a dead tree version of the book rather than the PDF. Unfortunately I did not choose that particular level because of the extra cost of shipping to Europe ($20). Sigh.

Armour Class Conversions

It used to be simple. There was only one rule set, and it had descending armour class (descending— why, oh why?)

Then the OSR came, and each rule set had its own way to compute armour class — and it was usually ascending. I am hence providing you a small table to convert from classic fantasy AC to the values used in my favourite OSR systems:

the Bektaşis

This is a companion blog entry to the Janissary.

The Bektaşi Sufi order is a syncretic Sufi order that originated in Persia but is now firmly established in the Empire of the Crescent Moon. The order emphasises the esoteric aspects of the Way of the Crescent Moon; as a result, it is viewed with much suspicion (if not downright hatred and/or fear) by the average cleric and faithful of the Way of the Crescent Moon. As with other Sufi orders, the Bektaşis go through a secret initiation ceremony; once accepted, they must swear total obeisance to the leader of their tekke (fortified shrine), called the baba.

Hakikat, which means 'Truth', is an essential element in the esoteric teachings of the Bektaşi Sufi order. In gaming terms, Hakikat is the ability to see the Truth through God, e.g., invisible beings, illusions, etc. This is an action that requires a minor effect on a WIS action check.

Mârifetullâh, which means 'Knowledge', is the term used by the Bektaşis to describe the mystical intuitive knowledge reached through ecstatic experience rather than revealed or rationally acquired. In gaming terms, Mârifetullâh is the ability for the PC to get information about some unknown topic through a mystical trance. This is an action that requires a major effect on a WIS action check.

The Bektaşi Sufi order as a role-playing clerical cult:
Temple traits: Protect the order, Obey the baba
Worshippers' Alignment: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil/Worshippers' Allegiance: Crescent Moon
Temple Weapon: Scimitar.
Spheres of Activity: Loyalty, Mysticism, War.
Powers: Hakikat (see above), Mârifetullâh (heroic scale, see above), Mind link with fellow brethren and with the baba (epic scale)
Holy Symbol: Open Holy Book.
Spells: Followers of the Bektaşi Sufi order favour spells that are useful in war (damage, protection), and knowledge-related spells.

Monsters & Magic Is Out!

Monsters & Magic is available at last! For me it is the fantasy role-playing that bridges the gap between the 'Old' and 'New School' types of play — types of play that are complementary and not irreconcilable, by the way. I actually wonder why no-one had thought of such a system before.

The game is only available in PDF format on DriveThru at the moment, but again it's definitely the ruleset I recommend to everyone in the OSR movement, even if they prefer dead tree (the hardcopy version, by Chronicle City, should be available in August). I let the author, Sarah Newton, present her work:

Monsters & Magic is an “Old School Renaissance” fantasy role-playing game with a difference. Combining the atmosphere of classic fantasy games with modern RPG mechanics, it lets you use old school fantasy gaming material with little or no conversion [賈尼— basically: armour class and, in some cases, hit points] with a new and innovative set of rules [賈尼— this is actually the genius idea: it's a brand-new system, but it uses the well-known tropes of the most famous classic frp]. Battle giants, defeat dragons, explore deadly dungeons and mysterious wilderlands — and bring your favourite adventures, supplements, spellbooks, and bestiaries to brilliant new life!

This complete fantasy role-playing game features:

✠ the Effect Engine, a modular open-licence rules system
✠ action-packed adventure from 1st to 20th level and beyond
✠ rules for castles, kingdoms, guilds, and warships
✠ Silvermoon, an introductory adventure for levels 1-4
✠ new rules for alignment, hazards, encounters, treasures, epic and mythic gaming, and more!

I have posted two blog entries with regards to Monsters & Magic: a new cult, and a new sub-class. You may have a look at them to get the gist of the system, plus there are almost 20 pages of preview on DriveThru.

Also, check out Sarah's great interview here, with a good view into her vision of the game, and a few hints at future products!

the Janissary – a new fighter sub-class for Monsters & Magic

Secondary Attribute

picture by yasinyayli from deviantArt

Wisdom

Starting Money
5d8gp

The Janissaries are an élite fighting order of the Empire of the Crescent Moon, largely influenced by the beliefs of the Bektaşi Sufi order. The Janissaries are gathered through the Knabenlese system, whereby children of True Faith families within the Empire of the Crescent Moon are taken from their family, converted to the Way of the Crescent Moon, and trained to become exceptional soldiers.
Every five years, the recruiters in charge of the Knabenlese system scour the lands far to the south of the Fair Kingdom for the strongest sons of the sultan's True Faith subjects. These boys, usually between the ages of 10 and 12, are then taken from their parents and given to Crescent Moon families of the region to learn their language, customs, and religion. These boys are then enrolled in Janissary training, supervised 24 hours a day, and subjected to severe discipline, amongst others: prohibition from growing a beard, from taking up any skill other than war, or marrying. The Janissaries are extremely well-disciplined (a rarity in the armies of the region).

Restrictions
You must be any lawful alignment and/or have the Way of the Crescent Moon allegiance; you lose your janissary status if you drift to a different alignment/allegiance, instead becoming a fighter. You only associate with like-minded characters, and may only work with unlike-minded characters for a very focused, single-purpose mission, quest, or adventure, and never in the employ of non-Crescent Moon patrons. You must evenly divide 90% of any treasure you receive or of any loot you find between the Janissary corps and the Bektaşi Sufi order, and you may only use the remaining 10% to buy military gear or military-related training.

Janissary Traits
✠ Use Light and Medium Armour and Shields
✠ Weapons Training: as fighter
✠ Arquebus: you are the only fighters equipped with this firearm (1D10 damage instead of 1D8)
✠ Enemy of the Infidels
✠ Esprit de corps: you work better when surrounded by fellow janissaries
✠ Personal hygiene: you have a reputation for personal hygiene, at a time when this is still an 'option'; a a result, you are less likely to contract maladies.

Janissary Advancements
✠ Pose as a True Faith fighter
✠ Sniper: you double your DEX bonus when using the arquebus from a place where you cannot be seen
✠ Lover (heroic scale): since you cannot marry, you may develop a deep homoerotic bond with a fellow janissary, who will do his utmost to protect you; this lover functions as a sidekick (q.v.)
✠ Clerical Magic (epic scale): begin to acquire clerical spells as a 1st level cleric, increasing by 1 level per level thereafter
✠ Tekke (epic scale): establish and preside over a militarised Sufi shrine

Other Advancements
✠ Damage Focus stance
✠ Fighting Lore: as fighter
✠ Devotion To Deity: as cleric
✠ Other Traits From Deity: as cleric
✠ Steady Aim stance

Janissary Character Sheets
Use the custom box to list special effects, clerical spells, and other advancements.

Saint Elizabeth

St Elizabeth is by far the most popular female saint throughout the Fair Kingdom. Her name is the most popular given name across all classes— there is a big chance any woman your party meets will be called 'Elizabeth', irrespective of whether she's a humble peasant, a handmaid, or a noblewoman. The Blood Countess herself is called Elizabeth!

The historical Elizabeth was a 13th century princess of the Fair Kingdom, born in Pressburg, who was betrothed to a Landgrave of the Empire of the One Faith when she was 4 and he was 11. They married ten years later and had three children. Her husband departed to fight against the Empire of the Crescent Moon when she was pregnant with their third child, but he died on his way to war. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, and renounced the world to take care of the sick and the poor, until her death at the age of 24. She was canonised 4 years later, based on several miracles, the most famous of which is the miracle of the roses.

The legend of St Elizabeth's Miracle of the Roses
(from Wikipedia)
One day the young but pious St Elizabeth, in the company of one or more serving women, descends from her castle down to the village below the castle. She is carrying meat, eggs, and bread under her mantle. Supposedly she has taken items from the family dining table to distribute to the poor in the village, against the wishes of her family, who frown upon such behaviour. Halfway down, she unexpectedly meets her husband, who asks, upon seeing her bulk, what she is carrying. Embarrassed and speechless as she is, she does not know what to say. The Landgrave opens her mantle, and to his surprise (in some versions this takes place in the dead of winter) finds her carrying a bouquet of roses.

Pilgrimages to her grave drew as many people as those to Compostela, until they were halted by the New Wayers in 1539 by the forcible removal of St Elizabeth's relics.

St Elizabeth as a role-playing clerical cult:
Temple traits: Cure The Sick, Feed The Poor
Alignment: Lawful Good/Allegiance: Old Way
Temple Weapon: None.
Spheres of Activity: Charity, Chastity, Humility, Patience.
Power: Miracles of healing work at her grave in the church of the hospital she founded after becoming a widow.
Holy Symbol: Rose(s).
Spells: Clerics of St Elizabeth (they are all female) cannot cast any offensive spells or, more generally, any spells that may cause damage to the world.
Allied cults:
- allied with  the Third Order of St Francis
- allied with the Teutonic Order, which adopted St Elizabeth as its secondary patroness

Monsters & Magic — A New Old School RPG

Sarah Newton (well known for a zillion works, but especially for her Mindjammer novel and her Achtung! Cthulhu line of supplements) has been working since last year on a very innovative set of rules that will fill the gap between Old School and, er, new school (do they have a name?) role-playing games.

This new role-playing game is called Monsters & Magic, and I have been lucky enough to be involved in its play tests since the very beginning. I can guarantee that the system is terrific, very scalable, and that it will appeal to grognards and sophisticated gamers alike.

The extra bonus is that Sarah has striven to keep M&M backwards compatible with the most popular fantasy role-playing game, meaning that you will be able to re-use all the heaps of modules and supplements that you've been accumulating for years, as well as all the great stuff that the OSR movement is publishing these days.

M&M will be published by Sarah's own Mindjammer Press, and will be printed and distributed by Chronicle City [if I have understood the press release correctly].

An additional bonus is that M&M will feature great art (look at the gorgeous cover by Jason Juta!) and... British spelling!