Introduction
Master Mellius,
It has been over a decade since the destruction of the monastery and
my subsequent shameful flight from darkness. Although I have strayed
from the path of righteousness that you so painstakingly taught me
to follow, I find myself looking to you once more for wisdom in my
hour of need. I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive
me my transgressions of the past even if our once common God cannot.
My lust for knowledge and power have cast me from the protection of
Ralstans bosom and brought disgrace upon me and the monastery, but
naive as I once was, I have gained the wisdom of a lifetime and more
through my experiences and observations. I would give this knowledge
as a parting gift to the one I hold in the highest regard, I would
give this knowledge to you. Though the journals enclosed are but a
simple culmination of my second-hand earthly perceptions, I hope you
can gain a greater understanding of this world we live and die in,
and in doing so I hope to indirectly further Ralstans cause, perhaps
as penance for my sins.
The journals commence with the birth of Daergoth the events of which
still haunt my dreams and go on to document everything that I have
seen and learned since my departure so long ago. I have detailed the
wondrous creatures of the Kingdoms; her flamboyant peoples, cities
and cultures; I have noted the many organisations who teach, govern,
or ultimately control, described many religions and gods foreign to
our teachings, I have also documented my findings concerning the holy
relics of these barbaric deities; and finally upon pain of death I
have included details of the Arcane studies I now devote my life.
Although I have made every effort to make these texts as detailed
and complete as possible, I am no longer as naive as I used to be in
thinking that one mortal could possess all the knowledge in the world.
There are many mysteries upon the face of Dio, vast amounts of
knowledge that I have yet to discover, much more than any mere
mortal could begin to understand in but a single lifetime. I have
travelled many highways, roads and rarely trodden paths, and even I
have not yet seen all the wonders of the Kingdoms.
My reasons for delivering these texts to you may not be apparent,
and so I will attempt an explanation. My time in the Kingdoms has
come to an end and I will soon be making a new journey of discovery
across the vast expanse of Westerness. By the time you read this
letter I will have set sail in search of the Old World and other
places hinted at in the ancient texts.
I hope and trust that these texts will be made available to any who
seek the knowledge within them, but I also warn you that much
of humanity is not yet ready to know the truths of the universe.
Much of this knowledge should be kept secret. You alone are the
only one I know who possesses sufficient character and wisdom to
keep them safe and judge the worthiness of would be readers. Thus
I have given them to you, my most wise and trusted mentor.
Your Student,
Hector
About this book
This book is a reference guide to a role playing game called Haze, as
well as a guide to role playing within the Island Kingdoms, a small
part of the world of Dio. This book describes the Island Kingdoms in
all their glory, including their peoples, cultures, creatures, and
the like. It also serves as a reference to the Haze role playing
System, listing the rules as well as how they all fit together; with
plenty of examples along the way to help you better understand the
concepts.
Role playing games have been around for some
time now, most role players grew up with them, but their are a few of us
still playing that can remember when their was only one RPG. Their has been
a lot of controversy about role playing in the past, some claim that role
playing is evil in some way or that role playing game books (like this
one) are somehow evil in nature. For years extremists have associated role
playing games with Satanism, something that no self respecting role player
(or satanist for that matter) is comfortable with.
Lets set the record straight right now; Haze is not a religious document
nor does it contain any religious doctrine, rules, laws or beliefs of
any sort that relate to the real world. Yes this book does contain
references to religions that don't exist or indeed some that are based on
the beliefs of religious groups on earth, but this is in no way intended
to encourage people to join one of these faiths any more than Julie Andrews
playing the part of a nun in the sound of music was intended to convert
people to Christianity!
Haze and role playing are forms of entertainment, art works to poke you in
the imagination, not sticky webs of tangled lies to make you worship some
fictitious dark god.
Back story
This book is written as a series of journal entries by our would be hero
hector. Hector is a failed monk, embittered by his monastic incarceration,
he harbours great hatred for his father and older brother for sending him
away to become a priest.
Just as Hector was beginning to adapt to his new life and possibly even
like it a bit, all hell broke loose, literally. Hector began his journal
shortly after that day, now known as the dawn of evil when the legions of
undead burst forth from the underworld and destroyed the empire of Ka.
Role playing
Role playing is defined as 'An instance or situation in which one
deliberately acts out or assumes a particular character or role.' In
terms of role playing as a hobby, role playing, in its simplest form,
is a group of people using their imagination to assume the role of a
fictitious character in a fictitious situation. One person in the
group suggests and describes a situation, while the other people in
the group respond by describing the actions of their characters. The
first person then describes the outcomes or consequences of the group's
actions, and updates his description of the situation, to which the rest
of the group responds with their characters' actions - and so on. But
this example is very simplistic, clinical and generalized. As you can
imagine, this example can easily get out of hand, and therefore,
role playing has rules to provide some sort of structure. In this text,
these rules are known as the Haze role playing System.
The rules that govern the Haze role playing experience stand out because
they are less concerned with balance or detailed completeness, instead
the rules try to maintain a sense of believability.
We've tried to make the system real enough so that you fear for your
alter-egos life just as you would fear for your own if you go dragon-
slaying! The laws of the jungle apply... stupidity leads to death!
Players
The players each control their small part in this play of life and
death, they create and develop their alter-egos, imagining what their
alter-egos would do in the situations presented by the game master (GM).
They record their successes and learn from their experiences.
The players are the reason the game exists at all, they breathe life into
pages of numbers and give personality to their alter egos. They guide
their AE's along the paths of treachery and heroism, deciding their moral
fate, making friends and enemies along the way.
The game master
One in the gathering of friends is nominated as the GM or Game's
Master if you like. It is his role to maintain reality and enforce
the rules where needed. The GM controls all that is not the player's
alter egos. He creates the story and guides the plot, leading the party
into peril and providing the way out. The GM is the writer, editor and
director of the story, which unfurls its wings in the course of an
adventure. In essence the GM is the rest of the universe.
Alter-egos
The alter egos are heroes of old, great knights, powerful wizards, wise
holy men and dastardly rogues. A party of alter egos is in essence a
band of adventurers forged from the thoughts of the players. The alter
egos are at the core of the GM's story, his world moulds itself around
them, allowing them to change and influence the course of history.
Goals
When the GM designs an adventure for his role playing group, there is a
clear goal to be achieved. Rewards of experience and treasure are given
to the bravest of the adventurers, making it all worth their while, or
not. The GM should always specify a clear objective for the party to
attain; this ensures that the story has direction and meaning to
the players.
GMs should be careful not to dictate player actions too directly. The
players should be free to choose their own direction - a good GM is
prepared for this and an even better GM can think on his feet to lead
the players back to the main storyline without them feeling that they
are being railroaded.
Adventurers
The adventurers of Dio are a hardy lot, the world is a dangerous place
deadly creatures, agents of evil even legions of the damned prey on the
weak and unprepared. Those who venture forth from the relative safety of
towns and cities are brave indeed, or stupid, often both.
Your AE is one of these adventurers. Being an adventurer doesn't make your
AE better or worse than the average human, it simply gives you a reason
to be away from the normal drudgery of life. Your AE ended up on this path
for some reason, perhaps like hector you are a victim of circumstance,
maybe you're a travelling minstrel seeking your fortune on the road,
whatever you choose for your AE, it should be something that drives you,
something that makes you AE get up in the morning and adventure! After all
it'd be a pretty boring game if you role played getting up and doing the
dishes.
Dio
Dio's cultural soup is a curious mix, it resembles our medieval europe
in it's complexity and warlike nature. Kingoms tend to be small, one or
two powerful empires exist almost completly dominating their surrounding
regions. Fealty is owed, sometimes demanded and taxes are payed to the
kings, often via lords of lesser stature.
Dio's climate is similar that of iceage earth. Great glacial sheets
dominate the polar regions of the planet, winters are hard. The rest of
the planet is temperate for the most part with some expanses of cold dry,
windswept desert.
The most striking thing about Dio is the existence of Magick. The rare
natural occurance of supernatural power in the planets inhabitants has
had a curious effect on the development of civilization. Even thought
those born with Magickal power only account for one in every thousand
or so "normal" members of the population they have had a
profound effect on almost everything throught the ages, Wizards fill the
histories with tales of villany and heroism. Many fear magick and those
who wield it, fear leads mobs to embark on witch hunts, wild forrays to
slay as many Magick wielders as they can.
Motivation
The Heroes of Dio have many causes that motivate them; fame, riches
religious fervour, protection of the weak. The adventurers life calls
to many.
Dragons of evil stalk the lands, distressed damsels need saving from
wicked demons and treacherous sorcerers commune with the forces of
darkness, architecting the downfall of the powers of light. Their is never
a dull moment on Dio. The gods vie for souls of men and the mortal armies
ape the conflict on earth, Dio is not a place of peace!
Amidst this great game of the gods, people carve out an existence for
themselves. Like fireflies, the strongest souls come and go in the night that
is their life, burning brightly they are remebered for their beauty and bravery,
these are the adventurers, saviours, villains, saints and heroes of Dio.
Role playing tips
Roleplaying is not an exact science. Everyone has their own way of doing
things, and their own way of expressing themselves. It is for this reason
that some refer to roleplaying as an artform - there is no right or wrong
way to do it; it all depends on your tastes.
Probably the single most important thing to remember for an ejoyable
roleplaying session is to keep balance. I don't mean stand on one leg but
rather, don't be too extreme. Many new role players fall
into common social traps and become one of the roleplaying sterotypes;
- Rules lawyer
-
This is the player (or GM) that insists on following the rules to the
letter, they try to find and exploit loop-holes in the rule system to
give themselves an in-game advantage. This is all very well and good
but it tends to slow down the game a lot not to mention
that nobody likes a smart-arse! If you find yourself being a rules lawyer
remember this... you're probably spoiling the game for your fellow
players, just go along with the GM for a while and see where he takes you
for a change.
- Extremist
-
The extremeist is the excitable sort that wants to play a unique (read
bloody impossible to GM) AE with bizzarre behaviour patterns. While this
is great once in a while it soon becomes tiresome for all of the players
as this person tries to hog center stage with their special
Alter-ego. Please do this from time to time, but not every game, it
excludes others and makes them fade into the background.
- Shy bunny
-
The shy people, some of the best role-players I've ever met have been
shy to begin with. They usually sit and listen, taking in the story and
not contributing much, they role dice and ponder their AE sheet from time
to time but they never seem to do anything unless it involves following
someone elses lead. The shy bunnies are the most common of role-players
after all you've been put in a room with a bunch of people some of which
they may not know and they've been asked to act like a medeival lord,
hell most of us get a bit reluctant at this point. After a while, they
tend to come out of their shell and participate, be patient wit the shy
bunny, encourage them to participate but don't force them on to center
stage, you may scare them off.
- Loud mouth
-
The attention hoggin loud mouth can be funny and entertaining but they
usually overpower the shy bunnies and drown everyone out. If you have
more than one of these in your roleplaying group then you've probably got
either heaven or hell. If everybody is a loud mouth then you tend to have
upbeat games, but the GM will often not be able to get a word in edgeways.
- The good roleplayer
-
The good role-player is one who is a happy mix of all of the above, he
knows the rules well enough to not have to constantly refer to the books,
he gets into his AE's and makes them different every time. He shouts when
it's appropriate, listens when it isn't, he interacts with his
companions, questions them in character. The good roleplayer tries to
create an intresting AE that compliments the story. In short the good
roleplayer is their to have, and give a good time.
Roleplaying can take a lot of dedication and hard work for some people
to be any good, others are just naturally talented while the rest have
some manner of talent in between.
New players should be encouraged by the group, tell each other how well you
think you're doing acting out your AE's actions. Most of all be patient with
each other and make sure you all have fun. That's why we play, fun.