Creating an RPG Campaign Calendar, Part 2

Here's another batch of ideas for developing a calendar. While I'm on the subject, I'd like to take a moment to observe the seventh anniversary of this blog. 

-Nate

Holidays

In addition to laying out the basic days, weeks and months of the year, it's important—and it adds depth in the background of a campaign—to determine holidays for the setting. As mentioned above, these can provide plot hooks for the PCs, individualized for clerics and others based on the cultures from which those characters come. Suggested below are a few of the possibilities based on previous material that describes the different religions and societies of the setting.

Winter and Summer Solstices

It should come as no surprise that these days are sacred to priests and followers of the Sun God, since they represent the sun at its strongest (summer solstice) and weakest (winter). Practitioners observe them in two different ways. Just prior to the winter solstice, they fast for the day and spend their time in quiet meditation, considering all the ways in which they still have darkness in their lives. The next day—New Year Day—is a time for feasting and giving gifts: ones that have religious value, among those who lead comfortable lives, or alms for those who do not. The summer solstice, on the 14^th of Cancer, is celebrated with major festivals that involve religious rituals and various entertainments such as processions, public dramatic performance and the like.

Phases of the Moon (Dates Vary)

In a similar way, the elves make their religious observances during full and new moons. Due to the roughly twenty-nine-day cycle of the moon's phases, this means that these tend to shift by a day or so every month. This fact has led some to believe the elves are haughty in their disregard for a regular calendar, but the elves see their own symmetry in the process. They observe the new moon with fasting and meditation, much like worshipers of the Sun God practice on the winter solstice, and celebrate the full moon with feasting in an outdoor or similar natural setting.

Eclipses (Dates Vary)

These events are considered important by the curious group known as the Navigators. They view them as a celestial conjunction between the male and female powers of the sun and moon, respectively. While they are widely known to celebrate with feasting and revelry, accompanied by lengthy discussions of matters important to their organization, some also believe that they engage in other, more hedonistic and possibly even orgiastic, entertainments.

Pilgrimages

Another religiously-related event that can happen at any time throughout the year is the pilgrimage. Depending on the person undertaking the journey, it can be directed toward any number of destinations. For example, elves from Homeworld feel the longing occasionally to visit the great forests of that planet (although this happens less now that they've cultivated pristine forestland on the planet Sylvanus); the dwarves feel a similar yearning to return to the mountain fortresses from which they or their ancestors hailed. This urge occasionally arises among gnomes, halflings and humans, but less often. It is almost unknown among half-orcs and other humanoids. 

Curiously, those who adhere to the Cult of the Void view the Asteroid Belt as a destination for pilgrimages, since the apparent destruction of that world embodies the entropic force of their deity. A small subset of their number even believe that the asteroids, which occasionally drift away into a planet's atmosphere and thus burn up as meteorites, provide some kind of mystic hint regarding what might transpire in the near future.

Birthdays of Important People

Throughout the known planets, the birthdays of political leaders and other influential individuals provide another reason for celebration; just a few examples are provided here.

• The birthday of Imhotep, high priest of the Universal Architect, occurs on the 21^st of Sagittarius. This is a day when the faithful of that god show their gratitude by performing some kind of service for the church, although some of the wealthy just send a monetary donation.
• Qasim al-Saqr Ra'is, leader of the corsairs who first claimed the Holy City, has his birthday on the 17^th of Aquarius. This affair is a chance for members of the Captains' Council to celebrate their successes and show off their wealth, in the form of public feasting, processions and other public entertainments.
• King Edmund III, titular head of the Royal Interplanetary Company, was born on the 23^rd of Virgo. His day is a break from normal work, celebrated with food and drink, song and dance—ranging from the common fare of the working classes to the sumptuous entertainments enjoyed by the nobles.
• Finally, it should be noted that the elves and dwarves generally don't celebrate birthdays, seeing the course of a year as being but a small part of their long lives.

Anniversaries of Important Events

In the same way as birthdays, the anniversaries of events such as battles, treaties and similarly important occurrences provide another excuse for celebration.

• Among the dwarves occupied in mining the Asteroid Belt, First Delve is a holiday that marks the beginning of those efforts. Taking place on the 13^th of Capricorn, it provides a break from their normal work, a time for singing songs of old and future glories, before returning to work the next day.
• The elves observe anniversaries of departure dates for their arkships, which set out on long journeys between the planets. These consist of short, somber prayer services, calling on the Moon Goddess to continue her blessings for those travelers.
• In the Crossroads asteroid colony, the annual return of a familiar comet brings three days of festivities that include various competitions at archery, fencing, footraces and the like, culminating in an aethership regatta inside the asteroid belt itself.

Adding to the Calendar

Another benefit of using a calendar in one's campaign setting is that the deeds of the PCs can eventually be added to it. For example, a hero who hails from the Holy City on Homeworld and who ends up defeating a powerful and dangerous foe could eventually have her birthday observed as a local holiday there. Such would likely also be the case for the other PCs in their hometowns. Similarly, the anniversary of the great victory itself could become its own day for celebration, with tales of the great deed being told forever thereafter.

Creating an RPG Campaign Calendar

Devising a yearly calendar for an RPG campaign setting can have numerous benefits. For one thing, it helps create a more concrete sense of how time passes, weaving the events from a series of adventures into the overall scope of the setting, rather than just focusing on those specific days on which the PCs encounter problems and peril. For another, it provides a frame of reference for players who like to keep detailed notes about their characters' exploits. What is more, it can be used to introduce holidays and their related religious observances and popular festivals, thereby introducing plot hooks for the GM to use in the campaign. Most importantly, though, it helps to make the campaign world feel like a real place, one in which other NPCs live their lives in ways that makes sense given their environment and the passage of time.

As with the Sol System in general, this calendar uses Earth as Homeworld and thus is based upon its astronomical movement. It was devised by clerics of the Sun God and the Universal Architect, and is generally accepted as a useful and accurate method of tracking time. An exception to this is the elves, who find that it does not fit well with their lunar-based religious rituals, which end up passing from day to day throughout the different months (see below for more details).

Thirteen Months of Twenty-Eight Days Each

To best approximate the 365+ days of Homeworld's revolution around Sol, scholars divided the year into thirteen months that each contain twenty-eight days. Each week is made up of seven days, named for the known bodies in the solar system, and each month consists of four such weeks. As such, every month looks the same:

The thirteen months, then, are named for the thirteen constellations of the zodiac—those groups of stars in front of which the sun is seen to rise during that month. They are:

Capricorn – Aquarius – Pisces – Aries – Taurus – Gemini – Cancer

– Leo – Virgo – Libra – Scorpio – Ophiuchus – Sagittarius

One Extra Day

In addition to these 364 days is a New Year day that falls after Sagittarius and before Capricorn, the day which marks the start of a new revolution for Homeworld around the sun and thus that is set aside as a day of rest and celebration for the start of the new year. It happens to be the winter solstice, the day in which the northern hemisphere sees the smallest amount of light, and thus marks the end of the sun's “old life” and thus the beginning of a “new” one.

Behind the Scenes: Rationale This calendar is designed to use a system already familiar to the players and GM, while adapting it so that is seems a little more exotic and takes more inspiration from the Earth's heavenly movements.

Storming the Razor Caves Review

When I first received the email with the download for this scenario, two thoughts crossed my mind. First, I was frustrated because this was released five and a half months after its predecessor. Second, I noticed that it's twenty-six pages in length, shorter than the scenarios that came before it.

Even so, I think this is an adventure that will make for some fun sessions. It starts out in Freeport, but then leads to a place called Hangnail--a wretched hive of scum and villainy on an island not too far from the Serpent's Teeth. It's pretty heavy on combat, but includes good opportunities for roleplaying and--more importantly, in my opinion--some challenging action aboard a ship at sea. Although overall it might be a little light as far as the total number of encounters are concerned, the ones it does have are solid and seem to be leading into an important conflict that will be on par with Sea Lord Drac's plot, the Barbarian Invasion, and other such battles that have been woven into the history of the Freeport setting.

-Nate

Another PDF Compilation

Here's a link to a PDF that compiles the space fantasy material from this blog for the past year or so.

Aetherial Adventures 4

-Nate

Temple of Ptah, Part 2

Presented here are stats for the clerics who occupy the temple of Ptah, a description of their daily routines, and adventures hooks for situations in which normal life is disrupted.

-Nate

Daily Life in the Temple

For the most part, life in the Temple of Ptah is idyllic. The clerics' basic needs are met through contributions by the local community, who handle such things as preparing food, cleaning, washing laundry and the like. Some earn an income by copying scrolls and books, while others undertake research on behalf of patrons. Others, while pursuing their own studies, aid those who come to the temple seeking knowledge. Indeed, the temple and its library are usually open to the public, since the clerics believe that freely sharing information is the best means of promoting learning in general.

The exception to that openness is the special collection of texts and artifacts that Imhotep deems to be potentially dangerous—ones that could corrupt a mind that is not ready for considering them. These are kept in the secret library hidden in the catacombs, detailed above. Should the need ever arise, these clerics can arm themselves for battle. While they are not so dangerous in combat, the arsenal of magic that they can wield would be daunting indeed.

Adventure Hooks for the Temple of Ptah

There are many ways in which this temple can be used in a (space) fantasy campaign; here are a few of the possibilities.

• This is, of course, a good place for the PCs to visit if they are seeking important information or are in need of healing.
• When a plague breaks out on Homeworld, this temple becomes the center of efforts to treat those who are infected and to find a cure.
• While they could always make an offering as payment for such services, they could also arrange to complete some kind of task—for example, accompanying a team of clerics to an important site, or perhaps helping them recover a text or relic from a dangerous location—in lieu of money.
• Another option for a suitable party is to lead an expedition into a wilderness area in search of a rare and exotic plant or animal needed for study.
• Taking that idea a step further, the PCs could be asked to accompany a band of missionaries who are bound for a new settlement or even a whole other world.
• For any of the three previous options, it's always possible that rivals or enemies interfere with the process, seeking to claim the desired item, information or creature for themselves.
• The PCs could be present when a thief infiltrates the temple and tries to steal an important item, possibly one from the secret library.
• Alternately, they could be recruited to pursue a thief who escaped with the illicit item, with orders to see the item returned or, failing that, destroyed.
• For a twist on that, the thief could stow away aboard their ship, and thus the PCs run afoul of the clergy who come in pursuit.
• Conflict erupts when explorers discover a world filled with alien ruins; while the clerics of Ptah want to explore them and catalog all that is within them, others—such as agents of the Royal Interplanetary Company—claim hegemony and seek only to tear them apart for the valuable materials that they contain. 
• A band of wererats have infested the catacombs and thus spy upon the priests and snoop into their research; just what they intend to do with the information they acquire is not clear.   

Cleric of Ptah (Initiate)

CR ½

XP 200

Various human cleric 1

LN medium humanoid

Init -1; Senses Perception +3

DEFENSE

AC 9, touch 9, flat-footed 9 (-1 Dex)

hp 9 (1d8+1)

Fort +3, Ref -1, Will +7

Resist None

OFFENSE

Spd 30 ft.

Melee Warhammer +0 (1d8)

Special Attacks Spells

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 10

Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 9

Feats Iron Will, Skill Focus

Skills Craft (writing) +10, Heal +7, Knowledge (any three) +7, Linguistics +7

Languages Common, three more

SQ Aura, channel energy 1d6, orisons, domains (artifice, knowledge)

Combat Gear Warhammer, chain shirt, light steel shield, clothing, holy symbol, books and writing materials, healer's kit (most of this is not carried during normal daily activities)

Spells per Day: 3/2+1

Spells Prepared: Detect magic, guidance, read magic; animate rope, comprehend languages, sanctuary

These clerics lead privileged lives, having been chosen to worship the Universal Architect and study what lore they can obtain from this world as well as others. They are well fed, meaning that they are generally robust, but somewhat awkward when it comes to social situations. 

Cleric of Ptah (Patriarch)

CR 6

XP 2400

Various human cleric 7

LN medium humanoid

Init -1; Senses Perception +4

DEFENSE

AC 9, touch 9, flat-footed 9 (-1 Dex)

hp 42 (7d8+7)

Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +10

Resist None

OFFENSE

Spd 30 ft.

Melee Warhammer +5 (1d8)

Special Attacks Spells

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 19, Cha 10

Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 14

Feats Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus

Skills Craft (writing) +16, Heal +14, Knowledge (any three) +13, Linguistics +13

Languages Common, three more

SQ Aura, channel energy 4d6, orisons, domains (artifice, knowledge)

Combat Gear Warhammer, chain shirt, light steel shield, clothing, holy symbol, books and writing materials, healer's kit, headband of inspired wisdom +2 (most of this is not carried during normal daily activities)

Spells per Day: 4/5+1/4+1/3+1/2+1

Spells Prepared: Detect magic, guidance, read magic, resistance; comprehend languages, detect evil, detect magic, endure elements, protection from evil, sanctuary; augury, make whole, owl's wisdom, spiritual weapon, wood shape; dispel magic, invisibility purge, magic circle against evil, stone shape; divination, minor creation, tongues

These clerics are every bit as entitled and coddled as their lower-ranking brethren, only more so. They enjoy extra privileges due to their seniority, including being able to call on initiates for help with their research and other projects. 

Imhotep, the High Priest

CR 12

XP 19,200

Male human cleric 13

LN medium humanoid

Init -1; Senses Perception +6

DEFENSE

AC 9, touch 9, flat-footed 9 (-1 Dex)

hp 75 (13d8+13)

Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +15

Resist None

OFFENSE

Spd 30 ft.

Melee Warhammer +9/+4 (1d8)

Special Attacks Spells

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 23, Cha 10

Base Atk +9/+4; CMB +9; CMD 18

Feats Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (x4)

Skills Craft (writing) +19, Heal +21, Knowledge (history, local, religion) +22, Linguistics +19 

Languages Common, Elven, Draconic, Celestial

SQ Aura, channel energy 7d6, orisons, domains (artifice, knowledge)

Combat Gear Warhammer, chain shirt, light steel shield, clothing, holy symbol, books and writing materials, healer's kit, incense of meditation, headband of inspired wisdom +4 (most of this is not carried during normal daily activities)

Spells per Day: 4/5+1/5+1/5+1/5+1/4+1/3+1/1+1

Spells Prepared: Detect magic, guidance, read magic, resistance; comprehend languages, detect evil, detect magic, endure elements, protection from evil, sanctuary; augury, make whole, owl's wisdom, spiritual weapon, wood shape, zone of truth; dispel magic, helping hand, invisibility purge, locate object, magic circle against evil, stone shape; discern lies, divination, minor creation, sending, spell immunity, tongues; break enchantment, commune, fabricate, hallow, true seeing; find the path, greater dispel magic, major creation, mass owl's wisdom; dictum, legend lore

Imhotep, the high priest, is entirely dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. He is a kind and benevolent person who seeks to help others gain enlightenment as much as himself. For that reason he rarely prepares offensive spells, except in dire circumstances when enemies or danger threaten his temple and fellow clergy members. Some say that he is too trusting and perhaps even naive, but Imhotep maintains that “Truth will always prevail over deception or falsehood, given enough time and effort.” 

Temple of Ptah

Drawing inspiration from the old Spelljammer setting, here's a layout for temple dedicated to Ptah, the Universal Architect.

-Nate

The Temple of the Universal Architect

Situated atop the hill overlooking the city from its southern side, this temple is the center of faith in the one deity who has planned all things. 

1. Entry

Broad double doors, stout wood banded with iron, provide entrance into the temple (hardness 5 and 40 hit points; DC 25 Disable Device check to break). Inside is a twenty-foot-by-twenty-foot chamber barred by a similar set of doors, allowing the priests to seal the building in the event of trouble.

2. Sanctuary

This broad, circular, open chamber is capped by a dome that rises to fifty feet in height. In the center stands a statue of the deity, facing north—the direction of the darkness that represents ignorance. Around the outside wall are shelves filled with books, scrolls, tablets and other such texts. The rest of the floor is open, providing the space in which the faithful place their prayer rugs.  

3. Study Niches

Each of these areas, set off from the main sanctuary, has a table and chairs for those who wish to study. Natural light is provided by tall windows.

4. Clerics' Quarters

These chambers are furnished with half a dozen beds, beneath each of which is a footlocker for storing personal items. There's also a table and chairs for study or recreation. 

5. Minarets

At each corner of the temple, a tall and narrow tower rises sixty feet into the air. A spiral staircase leads upward from ground level, leading to a trapdoor in the floor of the open platform at the top. From these positions, clerics use tripod-mounted telescopes to observe the heavens. A waist-high railing encircles each such platform. On their bottom levels, the minarets open into the temple's catacombs.

6. Tunnels and Burial Niches

These tunnels are cramped and dark, making for uncomfortable passage. Bodies of deceased clerics that have been properly prepared—through mummification, of course—are place in the niches, which are then covered over with thin stone slabs.

7. Secret Library

Those texts and artifacts that the high priest deems to be too dangerous for most individuals to study are kept here. One of the burial niches (see map) actually contains a secret door, which requires a DC 25 Perception check to locate, and a similar Disable Device effort to bypass. Just what this collection contains is left to the GM to determine.

   

Religion in a Space Fantasy RPG, Part 3

Continuing this line of inquiry, we can turn our attention to how concepts for their different deities help people decide how they should live their lives.

-Nate

Notions of Right Conduct

Having established which types of deities are worshiped in the campaign setting, one then starts to understand just how followers of those deities are expected to act based on their individual faiths.

Those who espouse the Universal Architect, for example, promote activities involving learning and building. After all, they believe that their god understands the master plan for the entire solar system, and they try through study and exploration to discover that plan. This leads to a generally lawful mindset. Just what one does with information gained, however, and how one tries to shape the world, is open to interpretation, and thus opens the door to good or evil tendencies.

In contrast to that, proponents of the Sun God try to embody honor and righteousness along with learning. Just as their god represents the source of light and thus life in the solar system, they work to expose evil and promote justice for all. Thus they tend to be both lawful and good, with a rare exception of neutrality in one aspect or the other.

Worshipers of the World Mother encourage the practice of mercy and thus the establishment of equality among all people. After all, any given world provides plenty for its inhabitants; seeking more than what an individual needs is greedy and even wicked. This sometimes brings them into conflict with the merchant princes and others, when they work to protect newly discovered worlds from harsh exploitation and and speak out against imbalances in labor and wealth. They are good at heart, but do not have strong tendencies toward law or chaos.

For followers of the Moon Goddess, freedom is something to be maintained at all costs. They generally respect the laws of the place in which they live, but do not hesitate to criticize and even take action against laws that don't seem to promote the common good. In this way, they stand somewhat between those who revere the Sun God, the World Mother and the Void. For that reason, some view them as being flighty and noncommittal. They tend toward chaotic or neutral outlooks in regard to ethics, and neutrality or goodness when it comes to morality.

Those who believe in the ultimate power of the Void believe that the solar system faces inescapable doom; it is only a matter of time before the end of all creatures and things will come to pass. For that reason, some are absolute hedonists, taking what pleasure they can from life before it ends. Others work actively to bring about chaos and destruction. In this way, they are almost always chaotic, and few promote goodness.

Further Developments

One of the fun aspects of developing a setting and campaign for an RPG is putting together different elements and then seeing how they develop. While this is most common with Player Characters and adventures—as they say, no plot ever survives contact with the PCs—it can also happen with the background for a world. Take, for example, the deities that are introduced in a previous article. Considering some of their attributes, logical extrapolations can lead to some intriguing and dramatic situations.

• Male and female relations have some interesting implications for interaction between clerics who worship the Sun God and the World Mother. Given that life cannot exist without the necessary interaction of the two, some members of these faiths conduct elaborate rituals that emphasize this interaction. They often take place during a planet's summer solstice. Given that they embrace fertility, clerics of the World Mother don't feel puritanical about such events, but some clerics of the Sun God regard them as scandalous.
• There is a small subset among clerics of the Sun God who view the relationship between the system's primary star and its planets as justification for members of their order to practice polygamy. After all, since the primary star isn't limited to just one world, then why should they who worship it be so limited?
• Although, given their belief in one god who is the Architect of the Universe, clerics of Ptah claim to look beyond such divine attributes as male and female, some view that dichotomy as necessary to the act of creation. Known as the Navigators, this group is known to participate in some of the aforementioned rites involving clerics of the Sun God and World Mother. They take as their symbol the compass and the square, which are emblematic of that union. What is more, they make much use of innuendo involving their group's activities and “the exploration of heavenly bodies.”
• Some of the more patriarchal followers of the Sun God view worshipers of the Moon Goddess as their rivals, since she is a strong female figure who does as she pleases. So far, occasional biased sermonizing is all that has come of it.
• Given their embrace of entropy, and the fact that this doesn't make them popular with others, worshipers of the Void must usually be secretive about their faith and activities. That is why they sometimes where their holy symbol as a tattoo, often on the chest, where it can be covered or revealed as necessary. This is accentuated because, while some cultists just see entropy as an irresistible force in the galaxy, those of evil alignment actively work to cause destruction through acts of murder, arson and the like. 
• Because deciphering and then implementing the plan of the Universal Architect requires a clear mind, some congregations who revere that deity prohibit the consumption of alcohol and other mind-altering substances. Of course, there are others who maintain that certain concoctions can help a worshiper transcend the normal limitations of thought and invention.