Travelling

Mythic Bastionland is largely a game about travelling. How does that work?

PLAY

The Company are part way through a journey between two distant holdings. Ref points to their current Hex location on the map.

Ref: Okay, you wake up and clear away the camp. It’s…

Ref makes a few rolls on the Nature Spark Tables for Sky and Weather.

Ref: There’s a pale haze in the air, not enough to really hinder your view, but gives a slight fuzz to the forested mountains in the distance. There’s a dull humidity in the air, no breeze at all, a contrast to yesterday’s bitter storm!

Moss: Yeah, sounds better to me.

Tal: So we keep going, right? 

Tal gestures to their final destination on the map, then to the next Hex in that direction.

Tal: Head over there, I think. Wait, can we see anything around us?

Ref: Sure, you camped on a decent vantage point, so you got a good look at your surroundings. You can see this Hex is mostly rolling hills, a few patchy forests.

Ref points to the Hex Tal had indicated as their next destination.

Tal: In that direction it looks much the same, no sign of any real points of interest.

On their own map, Ref sees that a different adjacent Hex has a Monument landmark. In their notes this is an “Eternal Hearth”.

Ref: Over to the West you can see there’s some sort of structure in amongst the hills, a little smoke rising from it. 

Moss: Ah… we could go and get some proper rest over there. It’s kind of out of our way, though. 

Tal: Yeah… we’re in good condition, though. Maybe let’s just mark it on our map for now and check it out another time.

Moss: Okay, works for me.

THOUGHTS

Focusing on long distance travel calls for a sort of “zoomed out” approach that can be daunting in comparison to the more moment-by-moment play of exploration and combat. 

Here I like that Ref takes a moment to set the scene beyond just the paper map in front of them. Even seemingly inconsequential weather and sky descriptions help to paint the scene of the Knights travelling across great distances and significant passages of time, and give some evocative sensory context in comparison to the relatively abstract Hex map. 

The Spark Tables are a great source for this, and I always keep them to hand when running the game.

Ref also ensures the players have the information needed to make interesting choices. In particular, telling them that they can see something in a neighbouring Hex, but not outright stating what it is. Now they face a choice between continuing to their destination or taking a detour to a potentially useful location. 

There’s also a good amount of generosity on display here. Ref states that there’s a haze in the air, but not enough to obscure the Knights view. They also assume that the Knights set up camp on a vantage point, allowing them to easily survey their surroundings. I’d always lean in this direction, but I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to make the Knights’ lives difficult when the dice prompt it. 

For example, if the weather roll was “Solid Fog” then I think it’s entirely appropriate to say that the Knights can’t see into their neighbouring hexes, perhaps even needing to travel blind unless they have a way to maintain their course. 

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Which Virtue?

We're entering the final 24 hours for Mythic Bastionland!

Here's a little extract from the Oddpocrphya section of Mythic Bastionland.

PLAY

After their character died last session, Tal has created a new character, the Riddle Knight. The Company are already worn down, having suffered CLA loss on their journey. They’re hunting a rogue knight who’s been harassing travellers.

Ref: So this is the hill where you heard the rogue knight was last spotted. What’s the plan from here?

Tal: How about we search for tracks. I can roll Clarity for that, right?

Ref: Erm… Hang on.

Ref looks at the Action Procedure and asks a few clarifying questions to Tal.

Ref: So the risk is that by scouring around these woods looking for tracks you might attract some unwanted attention.

Moss: Wait, if we’re just searching for something quickly could I use Vigour instead? That’s for like… athletic stuff, right?

Ref: Hm, no, I think that doesn’t really work here. Clarity is sharp senses and quick thinking, which is what’s being used here. 

Tal: Urgh, we’ve both got super low Clarity at the minute. I wish I’d thought of this before we came all the way out here.

Ref: Well there’s always another way. Instead of scouring for tracks you could try to find somebody to talk to, see if they’ve encountered the rogue knight.

Tal: Oh, and if we get “guidance from a Seer” then we recover our Clarity, right? I know it’s quite far, but we could travel over to this sanctum (points to the map) where we know there’s a Seer living.

Moss: Works for me, we might get some other good info while we’re there.

Ref: Great, so which way are you travelling?

THOUGHTS

With just three Virtues to choose from, it’s usually quite clear which Virtue should be used for a particular Save, or damaged by a particular harmful effect. Ref is pretty confident that Clarity is the Virtue to use for covertly tracking an enemy, and I’d agree with them here. 

In those cases where it’s not so clear I tend to err on the side of giving the players the final say, but I’d hope that these instances are rare. If they start occurring frequently then I’d perhaps take a moment to talk through the Virtues with the players, making sure everybody understands what each of them represents for their character. 

In this example we see that having low scores in a Virtue can create some interesting moments, here driving the players to seek out a Seer in the hope of both recovering their Clarity and getting the information they were looking for. 

If there wasn’t a Seer nearby then Ref could still have suggested some alternative directions for them to take, and speaking with the locals is usually a good direction to nudge players toward. 

If the players are desperate to restore a Virtue, and the most obvious means of doing so is too far away, then remind them that Remedies exist, suggesting where they might be found. Although they represent uncommon goods, a holding will usually at least be able to point them in the right direction. For Stimulant, which is used to restore Clarity, perhaps they’d be directed toward a local herbalist or alchemist in service of the ruler, remembering that these things are never given away for free.

If all else fails, remember that moving to a new Season or Age restores all Virtues, so sometimes an impromptu time skip can be the best way to move things forward. 

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This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.

If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon. 

Sparking Conflict

Mythic Bastionland is approaching its final week of funding! 

Go and check it out.

Now onto the actual post.

So you've built a nice Mythic Bastionland realm where everybody lives happily alongside each other.

Let's fix that. Who do we have in in the four holdings of this realm?

The Amber Knight rules over Archforth, the Seat of Power in the centre of the Realm
The Boulder Knight rules over Buckwall, a fortress in the West
The Chain Knight rules over Castle Churn in the North
The Dawnfather, high priest of a sun cult, rules over the town of Daybreak in the East

We'll use the Spark Tables in the Quickstart to make them nice and complicated.

First we'll give each one an internal conflict. The Drama, Woe, and News tables can all work for this, so we'll just jump between them.

Archforth: Jealousy/Family - A powerful family, let's say they're more money-powerful than knightly-powerful, jealously eye the seat of power, waiting for the Amber Knight to slip up and allow them to seize the support of enough of the other vassals.
Buckwall: Sanctioned/Famine - The harvest failed, so food is being strictly rationed, so much so that people are actually starving. Tough times over here.
Castle Churn: Tournament/Content - A tournament is being planned, and I guess "content" means that this holding can comfortably spare the resources to make it a lavish event. A real contrast to Buckwall.
Daybreak: Banishment/Duel - The Dawnfather has been challenged to a duel, with the loser being banished from the realm. He seeks a champion, as he's no fighter himself. 

Next we'll take each pairing of Holdings and create some inter-holding conflict. Here's we're rolling first on the Relationship table to see how the Rulers are connected, then on the Conflict table to see how their Holdings are in conflict with each other. I like the idea that the relationship between rulers and holdings might not always add up. Sometimes the council make demands of their ruler, and sometimes circumstances give you little choice but to go to war with a dear friend. 

Archforth and Buckwall

Harmonious/Friend - The Amber and Boulder Knights share a lot of common interests and values, enjoying a unified desire for peace in the realm. 

Bloodfeud/Occupation - Buuuut, the conflict between their Holdings goes back further than themselves. Powerful families within each Holding have long feuded, and each have seats in their respective councils, ensuring the feud continues. The current status is that Archforth keeps a small garrison inside to Buckwall, an occupation attempting to keep things contained. 

Archforth and Castle Churn

Hateful/Peer - The Amber and Chain Knights once travelled together in the same company, but quickly grew to hate each other. The Chain Knight especially resents this new situation where the Amber Knight holds authority over them. 

Theft/Negotiations - Thieves from Castle Churn have stolen a tax coffer headed to Archforth, denying it of course. Archforth has entered into tense negotiations to try to amend this crime, hoping to avoid sending an armed presence to another of its holdings. 

Archforth and Daybreak

Friendly/Rival - The Amber Knight and the Dawnfather share a friendly relationship, though the Dawnfather is open about his desire to convert the whole Realm to his cult. This honesty actually keeps things quite civil, and so far no boundaries have been pushed... until...

Waterway/Standoff - Daybreak is the Realm's sole eastern port, and Archforth has used it to ship merchants in and out of the realm for generations. The Dawnfather has now cut them off, demanding a higher cut of the profits. The negotiations have stalled at a deadlock, with neither side benefiting from the current situation, but neither wanting to give ground to their rival. 

Buckwall and Castle Churn

Hateful/Supporter - The Boulder Knight has the poorest lands in the realm, the Chain Knight has the most bountiful. Surplus grain has long been traded at a generous price, but resentment grows each year that Buckwall becomes more reliant upon Castle Churn. 

Deceit/Skirmishes - Under a false banner, soldiers from Castle Churn have been attacking the outer lands of Buckwall, hindering their already struggling farmlands, hoping to stir the vassals into rebellion against the Boulder Knight. 

Buckwall and Daybreak

Adoring/Successor - In desperate times, the Boulder Knight has proclaimed the Dawnfather as his successor, swayed by the promises of his cult. 

Conquest/Truce - Of course, this didn't come about peacefully, but followed a failed attempt by Buckwall to conquer some of the outer lands of Daybreak's domain, the oath of succession being a necessary part of the truce to avoid a violent counter-attack against the Boulder Knight's weakened realm. 

Castle Churn and Daybreak

Secret/Peer - The Chain Knight is secretly a part of the sun cult, with equal rank to the Dawnfather. Perhaps the Dawnfather is the face, the Chain Knight the brains. 

Debt/Tension - The wealthy lands of Castle Churn provided a lot of early support to the Dawnfather in establishing the sun cult, and likes to give occasional reminders that this debt should be repaid some day. 

You could work through even more Spark Tables to flesh this out, but I think it's a good starting point. 

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Mythic Bastionland - RAIDER MODE

Want to play Mythic Bastionland, but don’t want to be a Knight?

Well, it’s probably the wrong game for... no... wait... what if you were a Raider from beyond the seas instead?

MYTHIC BASTIONLAND - RAIDER MODE

This is untested. To be honest it’s mostly written off the cuff.

Play the game as normal, but with the following changes:

Raiders, not Knights

Roll your character as normal, but do not take a Knight type. You do not automatically know Feats.

Instead pick 1 from each of the following lists. 

Every raider hides a Blade (d6).

Birth

1. Ice: Take Monstrous Furs (A1, treat as plate).
2. Stone: You know Focus.
3. Sea: You can drink saltwater.

Childhood:

1. Toil: You know Deny.
2. Travel: You can Gallop as if you were a steed.
3. Thorns: Attack as 3d6 when unarmed.

Now:

1. Slaughter: You know Smite.
2. Sail: You can speak with your ship’s spirit.
3. Stories: Take a horn and masked helm (A1). The animal on your mask respects you.

If two Raiders in the same Company make the same choices then they immediately fight each other. Loser has to change one.

Gold, not Glory

You don’t gain Glory. Instead your reputation is measured in Gold.

Now this doesn’t necessarily mean gold, but represents the riches you have on taken and flaunted. Riches which you presumably gained by raiding. If a raider has a lot of gold then it’s usually safe to assume they carry a brutal reputation with them.

Even if you squander all your riches, the reputation rubs off. It’s like people look at you and think “yeah, if they wanted more gold they could absolutely take it”.

Gain 1 Gold when you successfully raid a Holding. Gain 2 if it’s a Seat of Power and you get some really good stuff.

Gain 1 Gold if you murder another Raider of higher Gold than you and take their stuff. Gain 2 if you totally humiliate them.

Trading and mercenary work might get you paid, but it won’t get you Gold.

0 Gold - Sea Worm: Other raiders see you as utterly disposable.

3 Gold - Sea Crow: Some raiders know your name, and you get a petty funeral if you die.

6 Gold - Sea Wolf: Even the greatest raiders know your name and will invite you aboard.

9 Gold - Sea Bear: Worthy of a proper funeral, and you’re in a few stories.

12 Gold - Sea Hawk: You should have died by now. It’s suspicious if you aren’t actively seeking death.

Ships, not Steeds

You serve on a Longship (7gd, A1) led by a Sea Wolf. Roll their Virtues on d12+6 and their Guard on 2d6.

The ship has enough axes (d8 hefty), shields (A1, d4) , and javelins (d6) for the whole crew.

The rest of the crew are a warband of Raiders: VIG 13, CLA 10, SPI 10, 4gd

Bad Reputation

Arrive in the Realm by water. Commoners who see you will hide, flee, or plead. If you consistently don’t kill them they might start to see you merely as dangerous traders.

If you return to a Realm you have already raided they have improved their defences.

Knights hate raiders as a whole, but you might be able to talk them around to you personally. Depends what you do. Are you really all that bad?

Wait, Vikings weren’t really like this

Who said anything about Vikings? See also my universal caveat: MYTH NOT HISTORY.

Enjoy!

Make sure to spread the word!

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This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.

If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon. 

Mythic Bastionland is Reality

After a week of funding, Mythic Bastionland has surpassed the Kickstarter totals for Into the Odd and Electric Bastionland combined!

As you might expect, the last week has been taken up by dealing with all of this, so I hope you'll forgive a lighter blogpost this week. Next week's post will be an untested, slightly silly variant of Mythic Bastionland for those who are already bored of the core game before it's even out. 

Oh, and yesterday I did an AMA on Reddit, which you can read here. 

Until next week, I appreciate everybody helping to spread the Mythic word. 

Mythic Bastionland is LIVE

 It's finally time!

Mythic Bastionland is LIVE NOW over on Kickstarter, so go and pledge if you want a copy of the book.

Feel like sharing the link around? Thanks, that would be great!

Having a great day-one really helps with visibility on Kickstarter, so I appreciate everyone who's able to jump on board right away. 

The Toil

 First of all, go and follow Mythic Bastionland on Kickstarter

Less than a week till launch, and as you'd imagine I'm quite busy!

So this week, enjoy a little art preview.

THE AMBER KNIGHT

THE EYE

Make sure to spread the word!

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This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.

If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.