**SAINT SEIYA: Legacy of the Saints** Version 0.9 A Thrash sourcebook by The Learning Lich INTRODUCTION Journey of the bronze saints It all began in Mexico in 1992, in a country far far away where the comic stands were full of superheroes, just superheroes, and nothing but superheroes(with an handful of true alternatives),and the non-cable television was full of boring re-runs of boring series and silly cartoons(with the exceptions of Robotech and a few, with a space of 3-4 years between each!) *NOTE: Yeah, I know, there always was the cultural channel but hey! back then I was an airhead like any other!*. When suddenly something happened, it was a september weekend, in the so-called saturday-morning cartoons. Here was this strange cartoon, a japanese cartoon about armored dudes fighting each other. I though: "Well, another saturday-morning cartoon", but then, I started to notice some strange things, things Ihaven't seen before: pretty good martial arts action, flashy powers(an totally new concept back then, in Mexico at least),exageratedly dramatic speech, and blood(back then, I used to looove blood), and said: "hey! this one looks different!" and that was it: this show wasn't really good, it wasn't original at all, it wasn't even intelligent entertaiment!. The point is:this thing was different,an anternative concept... alternative entertaiment in a country with absolutely no alternatives!...A different option in the country of absolutism!. And I wasn't the only one who noticed, soon Saint Seiya became the most popular animated TV show around: the armors, the flashy powers, the cinematic action, the return of the big-eyed dudes...all in a fantasy martial arts format resulting in an absolute success!. The series were going great until the end of the first season where the heroes defeated the "almighty" Golden Saints. The second season came repeating the same "disgrace damsel" formula, less formidable enemies and less cinematic powers...there was when the series got into decadence;and the third season came, again with the same formula, a slightly better drawing style, a little more cinematic powers, and enemies that were a total bunch of wimps!!. I never saw a TV show that got that high to get that low; but the series really did have a purpose, for as people really showed they liked what they saw soon the monopolic mexican TV began delivering more anime like Sailor Moon, Dragonquest, Magic Knight Rayearth and so on. As soon as the first three anime shows came up people realized how sloppy Saint Seiya really was, and became forgotten. Still, I think the anime series that started it all in Mexico deserves something better. So here I am, writing this, my tribute to what was the first anime I knew as such. Just don't scare becuase of what I said,Saint Seiya isn't really bad(not that bad at least!), and the concept is propituous to a really good RPG. The main reason I'm writing this is because in the year I have playing RPGs I have seen a lot of tries of adapting SS characters with TSR rules, Palladium rules(Palladium rules aren't bad, specially with Ninjas&Superspies around) and so on... sadly, all that tries have been futile due to the lack of an RPG that captures the the true escence of anime and I have found Thrash just perfect for the job and here I am, presenting you this book(or what intends to be). This book was writen thinking on all that SS fans around, but principally to all of you who are not familiar with SS in order to introduce you into the SS universe. I could have just writen the new rules, maneuvers and so for playing SS characters on Thrash(after all, any SS fan already knows the story and stuff),but what of the people who just doesn't know SS? besides, what I'm trying to present here is a sourcebook in the most serious possible way, so I'm presenting in this book as much information on SS(and Greek mytho- -logy)as possible for me.Hope you all enjoy as much playing it as I(and every people that helped me) did writing it...enjoy! -Israel "The Learning Lich" Reyes- Notes About the Desing Theory of Thrash Anyone not oblivious to the game is already familiar with it's logic: I personally don't recomend this for your first RPG experience for Thrash works way different of the rest of RPGs in the aspect of it can be way more difficult and time consumig the generation of characters if the player doesn't know what he/she wants: In an ordinary RPG you build a character based on randomly (sometimes unwillingly) picked items, skills, and so on... no difficulty, no complications, no hard desicions making. Thrash was designed to give players exactly what they want, first creating the character in story terms and then adapting that using the rules;the problem in giving the players what they want is that players gotta know what they want first, and it is a fact that RPG newbies don't, and I'm not blaming newbies, but introducing them into RPGs with this game can surelly confuse and even scare them of RPGs unless the party counts with a very experienced(and patient) GM. Still, what makes Thrash so good is the fact that the game's logic if complicated, will surely get players to the "exactly like that" character. No matter genre, backgrounds, powers etc. Another important thing to be remarked is the only flaw of the system: it's very easy to abuse of; if not careful, the GM can end up with a super characters party making this game the muchkins paradise. Having to remember everyone of the golden rule in character creaiton: What it is on the paper is the reflection of a conceptual character, or as Blackbird would say: "the one that existed before the numbers came into play". Just a little bit Changed As you continue reading trough this pages you will notice a few changes from the normal Thrash so I will start by presenting the few things that change when dealing with SS characters: 1) Creation: In the normal Thrash starting characters would normally have an amount of Character Points equally to their intelligence+agility+40, here in SS characters aren't that fortunate(intelligence+agility+30), mainly because in Thrash a player starts the game with a character that among other things, has already finished his training, in SS you start the game as a trainee, which implies that you still have things to learn from your master, which implies less CPs. 2) Birthdate: Normally this wouldn't have any importance, but in SS the GM needs to know the character's BD in order to figure their zodiac sign, for if they ever have the chance of becoming a Golden Saint*read story so far* he will have to assing the proper cloth and tests acording to the character's zodiac sign. For obtaining a character's BD the player can freely choose or roll 1d12 to determine month and 1d20+1d10 to determine day. 3) Armor: I had to change the normal stats for armor, weakening them, for in SS armor is the most common thing; I mean, if I had left the normal armor stats as they were originally the shortest fight would last for hours for characters would have an average covering value from 5 to 8. 4) Sorcerery: In SS there were some characters that showed powers which could only be denominated as sorcerery(ie illusions etc.); in SS sorcerous powers are treated as manuevers(no scrolls, no chanting, no rituals), the AP cost is the same but multiply the Chi costX1.5 rounded up; still, in SS the only magic paths existing are the illusion and enchantment. 5) What you need to play: In the original Thrash you only needed 1d6, 2d4 and one-heck-of-a-lot-of-d10, this time just add 1d8 and 1d12(use the whole dice set in resume) and percentile dice, yeah, this GM still loves percentiles for in RPGs as in real life there are some events that just can't be solved in a "yes" or "not"(like when you cross the street and the probabilities of a drunken-good-for-nothing knocking you down with his car or the weather). Networking The official Thrash Home Page can be found at: http://www.blueneptune.com/~jcluney/ewen/thrash.html but of course you can always get by at: http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/roberts/182/thrash.htm and you can always e-mail Blackbird at blackbird@earthdome.com or me at azalin1@hotmail.com Special Thanks to... I would have liked to write this whole thing by myself(I would have been very proud), but I didn't. Sometimes we must recognize we can't rely just on ourselves all the time, besides, it's so nice to interact with others... ...here's all the people I had to rely on. Ernesto "Orochi Sensei" Ramirez: for telling me when did I screw it up and for some really cool ideas. Cesar "Guerrero Pacheco" Pacheco: for all the harassment that forced me to think on ice elemental maneuvers. Aeris Gainsborough: for getting me into a BIG depression that leaded me to work on this book in order to post the version 0.9 at the end of my springbreak. Jorge "red head Tomoe": for allowing me for the first time to play Thrash as a player rather than as GM, thing that got me out of my deep depression. ...and of course, Masami Kurumada, for giving me my first anime experience. Disclaimer Saint Seiya was created by Masami Kurumada and I am personally very thankful for it. Author's notes and apologies There's also another very good SS RPG in the SS FAQ by Silver Dragon productions on the net, if you play Champions you're in for some fun!. Please don't think bad of me, I really like American comics and superheroes, I do like Marvel, DC and the others, but I just don't like the overflooding of the superheroes genre in comics... Well, I have apologized now so please don't go burn my house. CHAPTER 1:BACKGROUND Production notes Saint Seiya was published in 1986 by shonen jump and produced for the japanese television that same year by Toei Doga. Proven the popularity of the series, these were extended from 52 to 114 to episodes during which 4 movies were released: Saint Seiya:The Movie,Hot Battle of the Gods, Legend of the Hot Blooded Boys and Warriors of Armagedon.It is notable to remark that the second season featured an original story not featured in the manga... sadly, the remarkable thing of it is the fact that the japanese public didn't like the story featuring(a re-run of the golden saints saga with underpowered enemies) and the series popularity went down the drain, and when the third season arrived trying to retrieve the series popularity the series public was no more, so Toei decided to cancel the series. Saint Seiya has also been broadcasted in Spain and Mexico in 1992,in France and Indonesia in 1988, in Italy in 1990, in Hong Kong and Thailand in 1990, in Taiwan in 1991, Indonesia in 1988, and also in Brazil, Switzerland, Monaco, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Chile, Argentina,Malasya and Brunei. After that, rumors has been running(in Mexico at least) about the existence of a fourth season(and even a movie)covering the Hades saga that is the true ending of Saint Seiya; still,the rumors aren't(and I don't think they'll ever be)confirmed and have not any solid basis,so if you want to know the true ending of SS buy the manga or read the FAQs on the net. NOTE: There's a lot of SS fan fiction on the net and should never be mistaken for real parts of the series(years ago, I myself fell into that trap once). The man with the seventh sense(bibliography) Work Year Ring Ni Kakero 1978 Fuuma no Kojiso 1982 Saint Seiya 1986 Silent Knight Sho 1992 Bit-X 1996 The story so far ...In the times of old, in a country in the middle of the world that later would be bound to be the womb of civilization, there was a select group of men with the task of carrying on the gods will, these men were brave and bold, a single punch from them would reach the very stars and a single kick from them would shatter the very earth; these men were called saints and their job was to mantain the peace wherever it was needed. Their society was divided into three groups:Bronze, Silver and Gold, being the golden Saints the highest in rank,with almost mythical power yet confined each one to his own house. It is told that each saint draws his powers from a stellar constellation bound tohim by destiny and each saint was known to possess a special suit of armor that linked them to their guardian constellation, these sacred cloths are told to be very special, each capable of embuing even the least of mortals with unimaginable powers. The saints sanctuary was governed by a pope, being he the only saint in real contact with the saints misstress, the goddess Athena. It is told that every 200 years Athena reincarnates into a human so she can walk between the mortals. But this time things will not be that simple, an evil force has taken control of the sanctuary by suplanting the pope and tried to kill the just-born Athena; fortunately,the baby Athena was rescued from death by the golden saint Sagitarius Aioros and put into safety by leaving the baby under the care of a righteous man called Mitsumasa Kiddo, sadly, he sustained a terrible battle with the saints on his way out of the sanctuary and wouldn't last much longer, so his last will was for mister Kiddo to take good care of the baby he is leaving under his care, and lend his cloth to the champion who one day will rise to defend her and save the world from destruction. Kiddo's next move was to gather every little bit of information possible about the saints world, it wasn't a hard job for he was a man of resources and head of the Graude foundation. He realized that only one set of saint clothes wouldn't be enough to acomplish the job encommended by the now dead Aioros, so he began searching for the whereabouts of every set of saint clothes without an owner around the world. The next step would be to find warriors capable of wearing that clothes, in order to acomplish this he started recruiting young kids in order to give them the proper training and sent them to the respective places so they can claim the cloths. Sixteen years passed and Mitsumasa Kiddo died from a terrible disease, leaving the Graude foundation in the hands of his adopted daughter, Saori, as he decided to name her, and the 10 kids that long ago were selected by the Graude foundation now have gathered together with Saori as the bronze clothed saints of pegasus, draco, cygnus, andromeda, phoenix, unicorn, hydra, Lion, wolf and bear. From the aforementioned group only the first five would be chosen by the destiny to fulfill their power and face the now corrupted sanctuary leaded by Ares, the God of war who 16 years ago possesed the golden saint Gemini Saga and, using his body,killed the pope: Aries Shion, suplanting him and seising over Athena's sanctuary. After Ares defeat, in a battle that costed the lifes of some of the sanctuary's strongest warriors, including more than half of the golden saints. Athena's sanctuary was weakened,still, soon they would face a new battle, this time against Poseidon,who reincarnated at the same time Athena did,and now has his forces and sancturay just built. The Battle against Poseidon was hard,even if not as hard as the one in the sanctuary against the golden saints. The saints were battle weary and the sanctuary was still weak when they would still have to face one more god,Hades, the god of the realm of the dead, but this time, Hades avatar is one of the Saints: Andromeda Shun. Saint world The world of SS in single terms: It's our average world at the end of the 20th century. Technology is a bit more advanced and so(read Thrash). For SS story terms this game takes place 2 years after the final battle in the Realm of the Dead, the sanctuaries all over the world are just finishing their self-reconstruction and a new generation of sacred warrios is born. I decided it this way in order of avoiding troubles messing with the original story, besides, I don't like having to manage with "idol characters", of course the GM can ignore this and set the campaing wherever in the SS timeline they prefer and agree but at least I would rather leave Shiryu and the others live their lives(after all, they deserve it, don't they?). As I'm using the end of the original story as a checkpoint I guess I wont have to explain the fact that from this point on everything is apart from the real story and, in fact, can be considered a big, life-long, live-action fanfic. A very important part of SS is their "organizations" and their infrastrucutre. I'll be presenting you a short introduction to each group so later we can get more deeply into them: Athena's Sanctuary: The main place where players are most likely to start in. The home of the bronze, silver and golden saints. This is the place I'll be giving more importance in game terms. Asegard: The place of Odin's Warrior Gods far away in the north. Underwater Kingdom: In the depths of the sea, near Athena's sanctuary. This was the place where the saints fought the marine shoguns. The Realm of the Dead: The underworld far beyond the styx. The Graude Foundation: The womb of SS story. The foundation formerly owned by Mitsumasa Kido and now by his daughter, Saori. The cosmos The cosmos is the special force that rules the SS world, for game purposes it's the same as normal Chi(for a better reference read Thrash), but in Saint Seiya it's given a more deep meaning... "Every living being is the product of a big cosmic explosion, an explosion that never ends that provides every living creature a source of infinite energy, every person no matter who, still posseses that cosmos deep within him and, whenever he needs he can make his cosmos to explode again and use that energy to crush the very stars". The fact that place the Saints above mortal men and make them so powerful is their ability to explode their microcosm and that's why the Saints are viewed, treated, and feared, as angels or demigods. OK, OK, this doesn't differ much from "the energy that flows through all the living things like water and burns in them like fire", but Saint Seiya introduces a new element to this concept: the macrocosm. The cosmos as known in SS is divided in microcosm and macrocosm. The microcosm is the cosmos within the person, the energy that every human posseses, this energy has a defined limit depending on the person(namely the "Chi" atribute), still, a person can extend this limit with the proper training; there's no established limit on how much can a mortal grow his/her cosmos, it can be as much as his desires, ambitions, and force of will. The macrocosm is the cosmos outside the person, the energy that floats free in the air and fills the entire universe; it's told that the strongest Saints are not only able of explode their microcosm, but to draw energy from the very macrocosm, extending their power far beyond their normal limits and, even if for a few instants, reach a state of divinity!. This ability is denominated by most Golden Saints as "the seventh sense". Trainees and Saints As aforementioned above,the Saints are divided in three groups:Bronze, Silver and Gold. Payers will start the game as trainees of one of these 3 guilds. I know it would be fun to already start the game as fullfledged Saints but I feel it would be much better if players experience for themselves the effort that implies earning a Saint cloth by oneself for another thing that made Saint Seiya what it is was the constant message they were transmiting: EFFORT!. Besides, it's not very likely that starting characters have enough points to cover the requisites of any of the 3 guilds, if it happens, the GM should still submit players to some truly hard tests in order to prove players worthy of the Saint cloth. Remember, it's spirit that Saints are made of and the message is effort, so go now young trainee and may the wind always blow on your back!. A few notes about villains There's a lot of people who like to play villains in RPGs,and there's nothing wrong with it; but the main idea of SS is cooperation and group bonds. One of the things that made SS so good in its moment was the incredibly high friendship and honor standards displayed: the chivalry's top ideals. The ideal of a SS campaing is a solid group with strong ties, cooperating and watching over each other. Besides, as honor is a fact of such importance in this game all fights tends to be to death so players will understand villains tend to live pretty damn short lives so I don't recommend villain PCs, not even honorable ones. If these reasons are not enuff the only thing I can do is citing two very good arguments from TSR: "characters that like to go it alone or getting evreyone angry at them are very likely to have a short career" and "As players argue they get angry, as they get angry their characters start fighting among themselves,as the characters fight the players continue to get more angry and once anger and hostility takes over a game no one has fun, and what's the point of playing a game if the players don't have fun?. CHAPTER 2:LOCATIONS In the background you recieved a brief introduction to the different locations and societies, here you will a find a deep(or as deep as possible) description of the SS world. As the game is about SS it is asumed for default that the campaign will take place on Athena's Sanctuary, but creative GMs can try to change this and take their campaigns on a different location like Asegard or the Underwater Kingdom. Background: The history as known of the place as well as its purpose and culture based on their particular mythos, their political and socioeconomic ambient and a brief description of the geography. The "Atlas" of the place if you prefer. Warriors: A detailed scope at the place's holy defenders: their descriptions, powers, requeriments and armor type. No matter the place the GM decides to place the campaign players will always start as trainees on their way to become Saints/Berzerkers/Mermen/Knights/whatever. Armor: Each sanctuary has a different name for their warriors special armor acording to their customs, mythos, etc(ie even if the Saints armor is called "cloth" that doesn't mean it's made of cloth, that's just the armor's name). N.P.C's: A list of the most important and not-so important characters in that place. ATHENA'S SANCTUARY Geography On Athenas, Grece. Very deep within what is thought as a touristic zone of ruins is the Sanctuary; constituted of several temples and other ancient constructions all dedicated to the Goddess Athena. As with the other sanctuaries its society is a military one entirely and there are no citizens or townsfolk except for the soldiers families that live on the outskirts far from the real sanctuary. The place's orography is a rocky and montanious one away from Grece's forests but next to the Aegean sea's shore. Athena's temple On the highest peak is Athena's temple quite recognizable for the 60ft tall statue of Athena's figure with a giant round body shield in her left hand and a smaller figure of a winged woman standing on the palm of her right hand, being that winged woman the personification of Nique, the goddess of victory. Athena's temple is actually divided in two smaller temples(but each the size of a cathedral), the first one is the one where the pope resides and the second is the temple designated for the residence of the goddess human form, for every 200 years Athena reincarnates into a human being. When the goddess reincarnates, she lives on that temple and seldom goes out, being the pope her only conection between her and the sanctuary. The 12 sacred houses The peak's height is not formally known but the only way to Athena's temple is a giant ladder 8-hours long(running) and the way has 12 stops, each for one of the 12 sacred houses of the golden Saints, Athena's guardians. These temples are the golden Saint's home and are often secluded to them, going out only when the pope calls for them and only on a serious need. Each temple is about the size of a small cathedral and there the golden Saint lives in solitude with one or two servants at most. Society Trainees and some soldiers live in small modest houses along the sanctuary's territory while most soldiers and officers live in barracks near the important temples and constructions; Saints and higher-ranked officers live on the smaller temples surrounding the area, the Saint's rank will mark his temple's proximity to the sacred house of Aries, the first golden house. Male and female Saints interact togheter without any prejudice but male and female trainees are trained on different areas for discipline reasons: Males train in the center of the sanctuary near the big colyseum while females train on the very outskirts of the sanctuary entering the grecian woods, often residing solely on that area until the time comes for them to be tested in order to become full fledged Saints; the female training area is absolutely forbidden to all men in the sanctuary and intrusion is heavily penalized. While there is much gratitude towards Pegasus Seiya and the brave warriors who defeated Hades there is also people that blame the "foreigner Saints" for all of the chaos the sanctuary faced after the death of Arles, the former pope, and so there is still a strong prejudice towards foreigners; foreigner trainees face constant humiliation and prejudice on the part of many soldiers, Saints, and even trainees, being constantly blamed for the "destruction of the sanctuary". All trainees, male and female, are tested in the colyseum in order to gain their sacred clothes being the only exception the bronze-Saint trainees that are sent to foreign countries to gain their cloth. Actual situation After the Battle against the god of the dead the sanctuary was lying in ruins, with no pope, and the majority of their warriors dead; the infrastructure reconstruction work took 1 year and the new pope has been elected recently. Warriors: Saints(see chapter 3) N.P.C's Generic Soldier/Generic Officer/Generic Jailer/Generic Trainee Chimera Rigel Int7 Focus7 Cha5 Will9 Str8 Ag8 Sta9 App7 AP15 Chi62 Health60 DT28 Rage26 Soak27 Birthday: March 3 Zodiac Sign: Pisces Skills: Blades2, Leadership4 Disciplines: Psychokinesis4, Body Hardening6, Meditation4, Positive Chi7, Weapons Mastery2. Advantages&Disadvantages: Psychic8, Mentor5, Phobia:Reptiles Rank: Silver Style level:7 --Base Accuracy:15 Base Dam+4 Focus Dam+4 Maneuvers: Konjin ACC+1 AP+2 Chi:4 Dam+0 Move:1 Kinetic Aura ACC:N/A AP:1/turn Chi:1/turn Dam:Soak44 Move:N/A Kinetic Strike ACC:N/A AP+3 Chi:6 Dam+4 Move+0 Ki-Ai Special Maneuvers: Chimera Explosion (Chi blast: continuous, explodingX2, extended duration, homing, Ki-Ai) ACC:21 AP:11 Chi:8 Dam:1d10+8 Move:0 Cloth: Silver// Cover4 Impact+10 Thrust+20 Enc:0 Augments: ACC:18 Dam+8 Health:66 Powers: Power Channeling, Impervious to Cold, Disposition: A snob of inmense arrogance treating almost anyone under demigod status as inferiors. Still, deep inside that arrogant mask lies a noble and faithful warrior always there for those that need him. Background: When Chimera returned from his two-years long training journey he just discovered that his world was just turned upside down: The sanctuary was lying in ruins and almost every Saint was dead. He is the main man behind the sanctuary's reconstruction. During the day can be found asisting ongoing reconstruction works but very few people has ever seen him at night; no one knows for sure what he does or where he is once the sun sets but recently an officer was found on a tavern nearby the sanctuary's borders that claim to have seen him at the colyseum fighting a girl that Chimera called "Arthie". Letuz Int:?? Focus:?? Cha:11 Will:?? Str:?? Ag:?? Sta:?? App:11 A.P:?? Chi:?? Health:?? DT:?? Rage:?? Soak:?? Skills: Holistic Medicine6/ Leadership10/ Blades5/ Staves6/ Shield4/ Swimming6 Disciplines: Body Hardening6/ Meditaition6/ Feng Shui6/ Aura Power5/ Telepathy11/ Positive Chi8 Advantages&Disadvantages: Calm7/ Aura of Power/ Elemental(light)/ Psychic:?? Rank: Pope Style level: ?? --Base Accuracy:?? Base Damage:?? Maneuvers: ?? Appearance: A 7 feet tall white man with long blue hair that flows to the waist in white priestly robes, sandals on his feet an usually wearing a silver mask and an amber helmet resembling a dragon's head with two blue, translucent oval-shaped gems as eyes. Disposition: Quiet and unnaturally calm of slow paced movement and gentle manners. His sole prescence is like that of an angel. Background: No one knows for sure this man's whereabouts and his past is a mistery. At the time of the elections of the new pope a war was about to start among the candidates when suddenly this man just pop up and proposed himself with a prescence that impressed even the would-be golden Saints. No one ever protested. ASEGARD Background Warriors: Berzerkers, Valkyries, Warrior Gods Underwater Kingdom Background Warriors: Mermen, Mermaids, Marine Shoguns The Hades Background Warriors: Maseis, Furies N.P.C's CHAPTER 3:THE SAINTS Saints is the name of the goddess Athena's warriors and is the group I'll be placing most importance. The Saints differ from other divine warriors in many ways. For starters, Saints do not make use of weapons: First, among every other divine warriors group the Saints are a group specially proud of their cosmos; second, even if Athena was a warrior goddess among other things she hasn't been known of using weapons; second, as their name implies the Saints were not created just as a warrior group but as Athena's representatives, more like Athena's angels than just her warriors and because of that even if their rank is not official within the sanctuary's military they seem to enjoy more respect and authority than any officer. The players will always start the game as trainees, warriors on their way to become Saints. The different Saint Guilds have different requeriments for the aspirants to cover, that prerequisites reflects the complexity of the training process and what is expected from members of that Saint Guild. In the original story a Saint could never increase in rank: a bronze Saint was always a Bronze Saint and the same for Silver, but as this is a game I think there should always be the incentive of going up in "level" so I decided to ommit this fact of the story and let players the oportunity of upgrading their characters from bronze to silver(and who knows, maybe even gold) if they cover the desired guild's prerequisites, just remember that aspirants will always have to pass trough some serious tests(truly dangerous ones), also remember that in order to become a Golden Saint the Zodiac sign of the cloth must be the same of the aspirant and as there are only 12 Golden cloths and only 1 of each Zodiac sign aspirants are in for a fight in order to earn the right of presenting the acording tests. Players should also remember when thinking on upgrading their character's rank the fact that each guild has different kinds of duties, specially true for the Golden Saints whose problems are almost entirely bureaucratic(in fact, as they are the highest ranked men on the sanctuary after the pope they don't have the need to go out and risk their lives anymore). Players should always be aware of this in order to avoid unnecesary disapointments, what's more, because of their action-lacking way of life there isn't a good idea to have Golden Saint PCs; yet, it stills a great way to retire a character. Style Allowed: Pankration(read Thrash Sourcebook) Classes: Bronze, Silver and Golden Saints. Armor: Cloth The Bronze Saints Athena's champions. The first Saints to be sent on any mission and consecuently the ones with more chances to prove(and improve)their abilities; you can think of them as Athena's ambassadors for they are often sent around the world to do Athena's bidding, many of them leave their cloth on the place they died/retired/whatever,so when there are trainees for Bronze Saints their training is not limited to Athena's sanctuary and they are often sent to foreing countries in order to retrieve their fallen warriors cloth; also, as their tests are usally on foreing countries they are known for be ones having the weirdest tests, like having to revert the flow of a big waterfall,beating a big cosmos with your own while underwater and chained and other fun things. Prerequisites:Will7 Chi32 Health40 Body Hardening2 Positive Chi2 Mentor2 Spontaneous Moves Style3 30 Experience points Armor:Bronze Cloth The Silver Saints These are higher ranked Saints. Can be called "officers" but their rank is apart from that of the sancturay's military; they interact with high officers in a cooperative way, and even if their rank is not official in the military they seem to have more authority than any officer in the comand chain. They are generally more powerful than the normal Bronze Saints and their Silver cloth provides them of more privileges than bronze cloth; whats more,their guardian constellations are higher ranked. As they are more related with the military they tend to be familiar with several weapons even if they specialize in none. It's not frequent for them to be called on missions except for diplomatic or VERY special ones, the kind not even Athena's champions, the bronze saints, are suitable for. Prerequisites:Focus7 Will7 Str8 Chi50 Health52 Leadership2 Body Hardening4 Meditation2 Positive Chi6 Weapons Mastery Mentor5 Style5 30 Experience Points Armor:Silver Cloth The Golden Saints There are many legends tell us about these legendary warriors,the most powerful men on earth.It is told that they could move faster than light itself and a single attack from them would slice mountains.It is also told that their Golden cloth can imbue even the least of mortals with cosmic power. There were 12 Golden Saints, each drawing their power from one of the most important zodiac constelation: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgun, Scorpius, Sagitarius, Capricornius, Acuarius,and Pisces. While in life,the Golden Saints were the highest ranked men in the sanctuary, second only to the pope; still, they rarely went out of the sanctuary and were often secluded each to their own sacred house. Their last and most wonderful adventure was their battle against the 108 warriors of Hades, where they sacrificed themselves so Athena and the Bronze Saints could defeat the god of the realm of the dead. As all of the 12 golden Saints are now dead new warriors have risen in order to become the new golden Saints so aspirants are surely to have some competence. Prerequisites:All primary attributes9 Chi90 Health60 Leadership5 Feng Shui2 Meditation4 Positive Chi8 Vital Points2 Aura of Power Calm4 Chi Overloading4 Elemental:Light Psychic8 Aura Power1 Clairvoyance8 Precognition3 Psychic Healing9 Telepathy8 Style9 Light Aura Light Vortex Lightspeed 45 Experience Points Armor: Golden cloth *As you might have already guessed the game wasn't designed for players to become Golden Saints; OK, they are powerful, have authorithy and stuff, but their life is quite a bit death boring, besides, that's what is really expected from any aspirant to a Golden cloth(so players better watch their words when refering to any Golden Saint, even if a trainee!);players can always give it a go if they really want, even if when they finally cover the prerequisites all of his/her peers are likely to be old and gray* The Female Saints It was no long ago since the sanctuary opened its doors to women. For centuries it was a men's job to defend Athena for in the ancient greek society women hadn't participation at all, no voice nor vote... in fact, in good old Greece people was sure women hadn't any reasoning capabilities!(I better stop talking about good old Greece before good old girlfriend beats the good old living pulp out of me). Well, times have changed and Athena's sanctuary if reluctantly, has been gradually accepting the allowance of women in the Saints world. Female don't differ much from normal Saints, they can be either silver or bronze(there has never been a Female Golden Saint yet) and they can get pretty damn powerful also, the only apparent changes are that they train in a specific part of the sanctuary forbidden to all men, and their cloth: Female Saints cloth consists only in breast plate, gauntlets, and a mask...Females always wear masks in order to disguise their feminity; in fact, should a Female Saint ever get her face discovered by any man, the female has only 2 options: love that man or kill him at the instant. Prerequisites:Depeding on wheter silver or bonze Armor:Plate Trainees This is the category players will start as. As a trainee,the character will find him/herslf in the sanctuary under rigurous training for one day becoming a Saint. Depending on who is the character's designated tutor is the kind of Saint the charcter will become(ie a Bronze saint can't train a Silver Saint). There's no reason why a tutor should not train a group of characters (in fact, in a campaing players will always start as "classmates" of the same tutor). In order to become full-fedged Saints the trainees must cover the prerequisites needed for their chosen Saint Guild; then,when their tutor feels he/she has taught everything he/she was meant to, the tutor may ask to the pope for authotization to submit their pupils to the proper tests for they can attain their sacred cloth and the Saint rank. Prerequisites:none Armor:Leather Armor CHAPTER 4:POWERS New disciplines Cloth Repair This is the mastered art of repairing the saints cloth. It requires a long ritual-like process that needs a personal sacrifice,generally on the part of the cloth owner, who must spill a half of his blood; this puts the owner's life in danger indeed(make a stamina roll, should the player fail, he enters into a coma). The Chi cost,time required and difficulty is as follows: Type of Cloth Damage Chi cost Time Difficulty Bronze less than 1/2 20 1hour 10 1/2 25 1:30hours 10 3/4 35 3hours 12 broken 60 6-8hours 15 Silver less than 1/2 30 1hour 11 1/2 33 2hours 12 3/4 50 6hours 15 broken 80 12hours 18 Gold less than 1/2 30 3hours 12 1/2 50 5hours 15 3/4 85 6hours 16 broken 120 24hours 20 Only when the cloth is destroyed the blood sacrifice is needed. The characters level in the cloth reapir discipline can't exceed their level in the enchantment magic path. Meditation(Revised) *AUTHOR'S NOTE:While the original version of the discipline wasn't bad I think that if what players want is a quick Chi restoration they would choose Positive Chi instead so I saw myself in need of beefing up meditation a bit so the discipline can be a bit more apealing*. The character can spend as much time as he/she sees fit(but a minimum of 30 minutes is needed) then, the roll is made against a difficulty of 18 with a bonus of +1 to their roll per every 30 minutes spent in meditation; should the player succeed, the character will have his/her Chi and health completely restored!. If a character rolls a "10" he/she will not only have their Chi&health restored, the character will also have a temporal bonus of their meditation levelx2 above the normal base!, damage or Chi expenditure will be substracted from the temporal bonus first. If the character is under the effect of a poison or toxin before meditation started the roll will have a penalty of -3 and the player will only be able to restore 1d4 per level of meditation but the poison effects will be slowed to 1/10 while meditating. Style Lore "Fool! You can't use the same technique twice with me!" -Generic Golden Saint- A common thing between experienced saints is the fact that, when a saint spends enough time studying a particular maneuver that maneuver becomes ineffective against him/her. In order to get a basic understanding of a maneuver, the character must spend time studying the maneuver to counter, a minimum of 7 turns minus 1 per level of style lore(only 2 turns if the character voluntarily recieves the attack); then, the character makes a constested roll of intelligence+style lore vs the attack roll, recieving a bonus of +1 to save against that particular maneuver for each number that the total exceeds the attacker's roll. The bonus is permanet, but can only be done once per level of style lore. A character can roll repeated times against a particular maneuver retaining the highest roll. Players with the Spontaneous Moves advantage will also add the bonus obtained to their SM roll if trying to mimic that particular maneuver. Twin Swords As practitioners of the weapon arts improve themselves they start developing some tricks of their own for they become more and more familiar to their weapon to the point where the weapon is almost as another limb of the swordsmen. This tricky technique consist in the use of two swords, one in each hand, allowing the swordsman to perform two weapon maneuvers simultaneously as per Simultaneous Combo, so the swordsman can parry a joined attack(provided the attackers are only 2), parry an incoming blow while responding back inmediatly(this simultaneous attack can't be dodged and attemps to parry are at -3), and add +2 to the accuracy of a Double Strike. A roll is required each 5 turns in order to mantain coordination and if the swordsman gets stunned in the course of the fight no more rolls can be made for that encounter. The AP cost of a simultaneous maneuver is that of the maneuver with the highest cost+2. This discipline is only taught to those well versed in the ways of the sword(swordfighting & kenjutsu) and must also posses the Weapons Mastery discipline. The cost of this discipline is 3 CPs per level at character creation. New advantages Chi Overloading(2/level): When the saints achieve the "Seventh Sense" they learn how to draw energy from the macrocosm rather than the microcosm(the cosmos within the person). Rise the character's base Chi by a number equal to the level of the advantage squared each time the character reaches his/ her rage threshold. Maneuvers AUTHOR'S NOTE:If you find here relatively few maneuvers is because the normal Thrash rules are more than enough for the job of generating almost every saint maneuver. This section will only cover those maneuvers/modifiers that for some reason would be difficult to replicate or simply are not there. This book also features maneuvers that are not in the series but I though cool to include. New Modifiers Chi blast Area effect blast(+4):The blast has an effective diameter of 3ft/1mt, so when directed at a specific target everyone on the same hex the target is have to evade the attack or suffer damage as the target. Increase the AP by 5, the Chi cost by 3 and the accuracy by 1, decrease range by half. If applied on a Chi blast with the multiple blast modifier triple the usual number of blasts. Piercing blast(+0):Instead of the standard energy ball,this Chi blast consists in a thin, narrow beam with all of its strenght concentrated in a sigle point. The blast is +2 to damage but also -1 to accuracy due to the narrowess of the beam. The beam can pass trough armor, wood, doors and anything alike and can also be combined with a vital points attack, but if this is the case the blast will be -3 to accuracy and -4 to damage. Phasing blast(+2): The blast has the hability of "phasing out",passing through solid objects without harming them, and then "phasing in" again. Perfect when dealing with "human shields" or energy barriers. Power blast(+4):Instead of stopping having hit the target,the blast traspasses the target and continues hitting and traspassing everything on its way also. This combined with the area effect modifier makes the perfect attack against angry mobs. Increase the AP cost by 5 and the Chi cost by 5. Chi Shock Freezing Shock(+1): Instead of an energy explosion, the grab causes the victims to have part of his body frozen and encased in ice(ie arms, legs, etc.). This only inflicts 1d4 damage but renders the victim's frozen limbs effectively impaired and what is worse, the frozen flesh needs profesional medical treatment so that 1d4 of damage wont go away until the victim gets the proper treatment. Can be used to completely encase in ice an opponent if used as a mega-attack. Earth Encasing(+2): Rather than energy coming from the character, at the moment the character grabs his/her opponent, the ground below the victim rises and encases the character. This does no damage, but the opponent is encased in earth and inmobilized until the prison is broken somehow. Super Golden Cage This awesome manuever consist in a storm of narrow beams coming from almost everywhere,just like a cage or a web. The oponents has to dodge as many times as the attacker's focus; if the defender fails a roll, then he/she will also recieve the rest of the attacks. Each beam will do 1d4(do not add base damage); can be mantained more turns by paying the Chi cost again. Prerequisites:Chi blast(light blast) Character Points:6 Accuracy:-1 Action Points:ALL Chi cost:6 Damage:Special Move:none Elemental Fire Melt Earth The elemental can turn any rock-based groud portion into a lava-pit. The pit has a 2 hex diameter(or 1 per 2 points of focus if a mega-attack) and will last for 1 turn per 2 points of the character's focus. Characters trapped in the lava pit will suffer 1d6(do not add the base damage) each turn spent in the pit and each turn the victim has a chance of getting out the pit by beating the attacker's roll on a agility+style roll(levitation or flight maneuvers can get the victim out of the pit with no problems).If a mega-attack the only way out of the pit(apart of flight and levitation) is a jump(with a penalty of -2) or a super jump;the mega-attack version doesn't recieve the 2d6 damage bonus of a mega-attack however. Prereuqisites:Magma blast Character Points:7 Accuracy:+3 Action Points:8 Chi cost:8 Damage:special Move:none Ice Ice coffin This technique patented by Acuarius Camus consist in encasing a DEAD opponent in ice....an ice that not even a Golden Saint can break!!!. Physical, focus, psychic, elemental and magical attacks do absolutely no damage(not even a scratch!), the ice never melts(NEVER!). The ice coffin can only be destroyed by VERY special(GM discretion) enchanted weapons.Should the ice coffin be used on a living target the victim can break free by beating a will+focus roll against 25 or 20 for a Silver Saint,you can't use this against a Golden Saint, the victims can roll once per hour but will also suffer 1d6 points of damage each hour due to the intense cold(absolute zero!) and will have a penalty to their roll of -1 per every hour spent on the coffin. The technique has several uses from the most beautiful grave for the fallen in battle to those dreaded "Saints" that like to have an "exact" count of their victims. Prerequisites:Freezing Shock,Elemental Wall Character Points:5 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:5 turns Chi cost:15 Damage:Special Move:none Earth Dust Storm The elemental can rise a dust storm that will last for 1 munite per point of focus. The area must be a place full of dirt or dust in order to perform the maneuver. The area covered will have a radius of 1 hex per 2 points of the character's focus and opponents will be effectively blinded. Character Points:5 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:8 Chi cost:8 Damage:none Move:none Sand Pit The elemental can turn a potion of ground(any ground, even asphalt) with a diameter of 1 hex (or 1 hex per point of focus if a mega-attack) into quicksand. Victims will sink into the sand pit at a rate of 1ft per turn and the only ways to go out of the pit are levitation, flight or a jump against the attacker's attack roll;the pit has a dept of 3ft/1mt per 2 points of focus (or 1/1 if a mega attack). Victims loose initiative and half their AP for the first 2 turns, while in the sand victims will be -3 to all athletics&evasion maneuvers for their legs are entangled. Attemps of escaping the sand pit will have a penalty of -2 per every 2 turns spent sinking for each instant it is more and more difficult to break free, not to mention that once the victin is totally inmersed it's a matter of minutes for the victims to die from asphyxia. Prerequisites:Elemental Wall, Focus6 Character Points:5 Accuracy:+3 Action Points:6 Chi cost:8 Damage:Special Move:none Wood Alter Wood The character is able to increase/decrease wood's health points as much as the wood object's totalXcharacter's focus(or "/" for the inverse). Character Points:3 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:5 Chi cost:3 Damage:N/A Move:none Grow/Wither Plants The elemental can grow normal plants up to 2 times their size per Chi point spent or wither them: 1 Chi for pot-plants and 5 Chi for normal size trees. Character Points:2 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:6 Chi cost:special Damage:N/A Move:none Light Lightspeed This Legendary technique is the one used by the Golden Saints to move themselves at the speed of light. For the duration of the maneuver the character is considered to have an effective agility of 15, can go anywhere within his/her line of sight with but a though(as per instant teleport) always have the initiative and the A.P cost of any maneuver used while in lightspeed is 1!.Lasts for 1 turn per 2 points of the character's focus. This maneuver can't be bought at character creation. Prerequisites:Positive Chi7,Light Vortex Character Points:10 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:4 to activate Chi cost:9 Damage:N/A Move:N/A New Psychic Maneuvers Kinetic Aura Same as Chi-Gong, but this aura also gives complete inmunity to Konjin&kinetic attacks; +3 to roll with impact(when aviable); half damage and no serious injuries from falls.The character can also parry Chi blasts. Prerequisites:Psychokinesis Character Points:5 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:1/turn Chi cost:1/turn Damage:N/A Move:N/A Motion Field The Psychic can generate a circular sphere of force of 1 hex radius that can be used to transport self or up to 6 persons. If the Psychic needs to dodge an incoming attack while flying it can be done with a -2 penalty. Double character's move while flying. Prerequisites:Psychokinesis7 Character Points:5 Accuracy:N/A Action Points:6/turn Chi cost:6/turn Damage:N/A Move:N/A Ghost Strike(super) This strange mental assault searches into the deepest of the victim's mind inducing him/her an illusion related to his/her most terrible phobias that not only will render the victim helpless, but is also likely to create a trauma. The illusion will last only 1 turn in real time in wich the victim will appear to be paralized but in the mind of the victim the illusion can last for several turns, the illusion is a mere mental effect and only exists in the victim's mind, no one but the victim can see the illusion. The Ghost Strike's effects can be fought with a contested will+focus roll:success means the person still experienced the illusion but emerged unharmed and a failure means the person fell completely to the illusion's effects and will be paralized in shock for 2d4 turns and a strike while in this state will render the victim unconscious. Persons afected by the Ghost Strike's effects will develop a severe phobia after the fight. Prerequisites:Telepathy8 Character Points:5 Accuracy:Special Action Points:10 Chi cost:18 Damage:none Move:none CHAPTER 5:ARMOR "We are far apart from the Saints forged from bronze, silver, and gold!" --Atlas Armor or cloth is the most common thing in SS for almost every single character in SS world uses it. The Saints cloth is more than just a protection amd deserves a careful study. The Saints Cloth These are very special suits of armor, no one knows exactly where did they came from or who or what forged them, but they are rumored to be made of the same matter gods are made of, there is also rumored to be one Saint cloth per each constellation. These armors are really special and are told to have a life of their own, all of them fit into their current owner regardless of size and each cloth have unique powers like making their owner fire-resistant or even inmortal!. Cloth Special Powers For game purposes, the Saints cloth is considered an artifact with its level depending wheter it's Bronze, Silver or Gold. All cloths automatically posseses the following enchantments:indestructible,mangifier conduit,summoning and extra damage(level varies)plus other powers depending on the cloth's rank, powers with a Chi cost still need the character's chi to work,but the Chi cost is halved to a minimum of 1. Each Saint cloth is embued with unique special powers related to their constellation.When characters attain their cloth they can choose any 1 special power for the armor for free; it can be almost anything: from discipline- related powers to enchanted weapons within the cloth; if an enchanted weapon is chosen, reduce the cost of all its powers by 25% as per transformations (see Thrash Sourcebook); if the chosen power has a Chi cost cut it by half and if it depends on an accuracy roll use the owner's focus+style+cloth level as base accuracy *The GM also has personal discretion on players selection(it would be far too abusive to have a cloth that can resurect its owner time after time!)*. Bronze Saints choose one power and Silver Saints can choose 2. Cloth Healing and Repairing As aforementioned above,the cloths are told to have life of their own, that life force comes from the cloth's guardian constellation; sadly, it means that it can also die,loosing all of its special powers and turning into normal armor, not to mention that this is the worst thing a Saint can experience for it is like loosing one's honor(a character's cloth is more than just armor, it's the character's emblem, the symbol of their guardian constellation, the badge that certifies him/her as a Saint,the crown of years of constant effort, his/her pride and joy!).When a character recieves an impact with a damage that surpasses the cloth's impact value, the cloth suffers a crack,when a cloth has as many cracks as its thrust value, the cloth dies from massive damage. On the good side, a cloth can also heal by itself as long as no part of it has been destroyed. The healing rate will depend on the cloth's rank. When a part of a cloth is destroyed it can only be repaired by a Saint with the cloth repair discipline. Cloth's Life and Will A special quality of the Bronze and Gold cloths is the fact that the cloth not only has a life, it also has a will of its own; in fact, in order to earn the Saint rank a trainee must prove him/herself worthy to the cloth's criteria,that means that characters guardian constellation will be effectively watching over them in times of need(what means special favors on the part of the GM from time to time), but that means that characters behavior as a Saint must please their guardian constellation, otherwise, it may suspend its divine aid from the character or take away the cloth's special powers or even the cloth itself!. Constellations have different spirits and mythology so each will expect different behavior according to their will(ie while pegasus will expect good will and a pure soul from their Saints hydra may allow some nasty behavior). Besides,if players have chosen themselves a constellation for their characters it's because their character empathizes with that specific myth. Silver cloth also has will of its own but Silver Cloth's constellations always seems to give their Saints freedom of action(nice deal huh?). Cloths Leather Armor Cover. Imp. Thrust Enc. Powers 2 +0 +2 -1 Say, you're kidding right? Bronze Cloth Artifact level:6 Covering:3 Innate Powers:+1 accuracy, Healing Rate: Impact:+4 extra damage1, Power Strike 1d8cracks per week Thrust:+10 (at will) Encumbrance:0 Silver Cloth Artifact level:9 Covering:4 Innate Powers:+3 accuracy, Healing Rate: Impact:+10 extra damage2, Power Channeling, 1d20cracks per week Thrust:+20 Half damage from elemental Encumbrance:0 attacks of 1 element (only for elemental characters), +6 health, +1 armor crush. Plate Artifact level:9 Covering:3 Innate Powers:+3 accuracy, Healing Rate: Impact:+8 extra damage3, Power Channeling, 1d12craks per week Thrust:+16 Half damage from elemental Encumbrance:0 attacks of 1 element (only for elemental characters), +5 health, +2 armor crush. Golden Cloth Artifact level:12 Covering:7 Innate Powers:+6 accuracy, Healing Rate: Impact:+20 extra damage5, Power Channeling, 1d4cracks per day Thrust:+30 Half damage from all elemental Encumbrance:0 attacks, +10 base Chi and regenerates 1d4 Chi every turn, +4 armor crush. *This bonusses apply to any person wearing a Saint Cloth, not only the cloth's original owner. As you might have already guessed the Cloths are weightless and impose no encumbrance penalty* AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the original story female plate was ordinary armor but for game purposes this may sound quite unapealing for female players so I decided to change that for everyone to feel pleased. Armor Crush "That clumsy armor seems like a duty for you mortal, I'll be taking it away from you right now!" --Poseidon Even if the Saints cloth is told to be indestructible, sometimes, only sometimes,the attack of a Saint is so strong that it is capable of destroy it; this use to happen in death or life situations when Saints unconsciously aling with the macrocosm; in fact, it is told that Golden Saints are powerful enough to blow a cloth to pieces with little or no effort!. Whenever a 10 is rolled on the attack die that attack has automatically "armor crush" value,that means that should the attack be succesful,the defender must succeed a contested roll of will+artifact vs the attacker's attack roll resulting in the destruction of part of the cloth if the defender fails *it would be a good idea that players state what part of the body they are attacking before rolling*. When a cloth has bonuses to armor crush add that number to the die roll when considering armor crush(ie in the case of Silver Saints a "9" rolled is automatically considered a "10" for armor crush purposes), also add that number to the will+ artifact roll whenever the cloth has to save against armor crush. Do not add the armor crush bonuses to the character's attack roll, the bonuses only apply to armor crush purposes and should never be applied to combat(ie even if a Golden Saint has +4 to armor crush a 3 rolled for attack is still a 3 and not a 7! did you understand?). CHAPTER 6:THE OLYMPUS "Just take a look at yourself you mortal!, you may be this world's strongest Saint but, besides of that, you are NOTHING!" --Hades In SS gods play a very important roll for they are the ones that give born to any and all conflicts in the SS universe(the important ones at least), they're the ones pulling strings behind the events controlling humanity's fate from their comfortable place in the mount Olympus: Ones, using their divine powers to create natural disasters and possesing nation rulers to wage wars among other nations, others, sending heroes and champions trying to stop the chaos caused by their brethern.Order and chaos, good and evil, the eternal struggle between oposite interests, and precisely,in order to protect the gods many interests in this world they create their champions, namely, the Saints, Mermen, Berzerkers, and so on. Gods in Game Terms Though the posibility of players of actually facing a god is minimal (I personally don't think the GM wants to rush up the whole greek pantheon in the first three game sessions *Muchkin GMs are a case apart and I wont discuss it at the moment*) there's always a chance of meeting one every now and then (after all,players are not very likely to try slaying every god they met *just please, don't try to peep on any goddess when she's taking a bath!*), and for that matter I deem necesary the creation of rules for generating gods. Attributes: First and most important...DON'T ROLL FOR ATTRIBUTES, don't even bother on writing them...Why?: Attributes are a measure unit for characters and consecuently are stipulated in human terms and you can't measure gods in human terms, not even numbers above 15, and if you have to asign a number to a god's attibute use Avogadro's!. Skills&Disciplines: Gods have not skills&disciplines, not as we know them at least; I mean, if Apollo is considered in some regions to be the god of agriculture that is because he has power over wheater, earth and plants, not because he has an agriculture skill of 20!. Advantages&Disadvantages: This is where the gods power is. Each god can have different powers acording to their spehere of influence: Elemental powers, psychic abilities, artifacts, etc. The following are the conditions under which all the gods are: -Gods can not be taken by surprise(still they can wait and see what are characters up to). -Gods have unlimited Chi and don't have Dizzyin Threshold. -Gods powers are absolute(When a god is a "water elemental" that's because he has OMNIPOTENT power over water). -Gods are inmune to mortal magic. -All gods have telepathy15, Astral Power6, Aura Power4(minimum), clairvoyance(absolute), Precognition(absolute), Psychic Healing9, Sorcerery9, Necromacy13 and Masophetamenos: The secret technique that the gods use to be eternal, consists in generating a younger body within the old. This technique is absolutely secret and a god will NEVER teach it to any mortal. The only exeption ever has been Roshi, the former Golden Saint of Libra. -All gods have aura of power(ABSOLUTE power). -All gods can Induce Fear, metamorph into any creature, Teleport to ANY place(on earth or not), Posses the body of any person(no saving trow), Draw Line, Chi Push, Curse(Dim Mak included), Ghost form, Levitate(self or others) and Regenerate. -Gods health is sooo relative: Even if characters decide to duke it out against a god they can be fighting all day long and the god will be fresh as a letuce; gods may opt to retreat from battle for the brave warriors to live to fight another day; a god will only be able to be knocked out in VERY special as well as critical moments(GM discretion). Gods can only be slain by means of unique artifacts such as Sagitarius Arrow. -Gods don't have maneuvers, not as we know them as least. Should a god use his power on a mortal I suggest the accuracy of the attack to be the victim's accuracy+6 and the damage be it from 1d6 to 6d6, but of course this is much too relative and a god can also choose to kill instantly a victim if he/she wants to(but of course this is way too grisly besides of resulting in hurt feelings). -Gods can Armor Crush at will. This in addition to any other divine powers at the GM discretion; if you think I'm exagerating is because a god is just that..Would you expect less from Zeus or Hera?. Don't be afraid, as I already told you all your party doesn't have to be fighting on every god they met, besides, not all the gods like war or apocalipse...in fact, some are very friendly ^_-(look for Venus). Zeus in a Box Here's a summary of the principal Gods existing on as many mythologies as I could research(the important ones at least), their most popular myths and their relationships(and feuds) with other Gods so when GMs decide to use a God on their campaings they can be more familiar to them(besides of saving you all the work of library research) *AUTHOR'S NOTES AND APOLOGIES*: First, let me tell you all that if you are of the ones that still have that romantic version of greek mythology, with the romantic heroes and stuff you better skip this part for here you will find the ugly truth;greek mythology isn't beautiful or romantic, it isn't even politically correct!: The Olympus was an eternal orgy between brothers, fathers&daughters,mothers&sons and almost every "mix and match" your perverted mind can think of; Hercules wasn't the "goody two shoes" hero your little brother saw on the disney movie but a murderer, rapist and even an bisexual!....Well, I could be here another 20 pages talking about my personal point of view but the point is...Good old Greece's definition of hero: A jack who kills a lot, rapes a lot of women, steals property and lives to tell about it, a completely different concept of Masami Kurumada's vision of the greek pantheon, for Kurumada's vision is a way christianized, poetic and romantic (not to say politically correct) Olympus;I'm only presenting this data to your disposition so GMs can from their own criteria when running their campaings. Uranus The live personification of the sky, the most accurate aproximation of greek mythology to God for he and Gea(mother earth) were the first two living entities. He casted Gea's sons, the cyclops, to the hades(the realm of the dead) and then he married her, giving born to the 7 titans. To avenge Uranus cruelty, Gea convinced the titans to attack Uranus while he was sleeping, the attack was commanded by Chronos, the younger of the titans, who castrated him with a scythe and trew his father's sexual organs to the sea; while in his agony, Uranus warned Chronos for he was bound to give birth to a son that will defeat him and strip him from his glory, and then, he died. A few drops from Uranus blood dripped over the earth and that gave birth to the Erines, avengers of every unjust bloodshed. Later, the titans rescued the cyclops from the abyss and let Chornos rule the earth. Chronos Few time after their freedom, Chronos sent the cyclops again to the abyss and married his sister, Rea. In order to prevent Uranus prophecy that an offspring of his would overtow him he devoured every children product of their union. Enraged, a pregnant Rea fooled Chronos by feeding him a rock in diapers and ran away to mount Liceus, in Arcadia, to give birth to a baby that she leaved under the care of Gea, that baby was Zeus, and Gea hidden him hanging his cradle on a tree, that way Chornos oracle was unable to find him, not on earth, nor in the sky or the sea. When the time came for Zeus to battle his father Rea prepared Chronos a drink made from honey, mustard, salt and wine, same that made him vomit their former "meals" namely Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, all reviving. Then, Zeus started the battle against Chronos and the titans, leaded by Atlas; the war endured 10 years during which Zeus went secretly to the realm of the dead in order to recruit help between the tarterus inhabitants, he killed Campe, the guardian of the gates and rescued the cyclops and the men with the hundred arms; on their way to the battle the cyplos provided the gods with weapons: a trident for Poseidon, a helmet that produces darkness for Hades and a thunder for Zeus. After winning the war against Chronos Atlas was punished with holding the earth on his back for eternity and the titans were forgiven. Zeus After dethroning his father Zeus became the gods sovereing. His union with Mnemosine gave birth to the 9 muses and a similar affair with Eurinome gave birth to the 4 stations and the 3 fairies. His union with Hera is very stormy, the union of an unfaithful husband and a jealous wife. Zeus story is one of love affairs almost entirely. Some offsprings from their various affairs are: Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Arthemis, Dionisius, and Heracles. Hera Her weddings night with Zeus endured 300 years, having this number a deeper meaning, this number means the duration of a somewhat long period for the harmony of certain cosmic fenomenom. She used to bath in the Canatus fountain, near Argos, in order to permanently renew her virginity. Her union with Zeus gives birth to Ares, Hefesus and Hebe. She lives constantly killing (or trying to) the offsprings of her husband's affairs. Poseidon Brother of Zeus and Hades. After defeating Chronos the three brothers "rolled dice" in order to see who would keep which part of the earth: Zeus kept the sky, Poseidon kept the seas and Hades kept the realm of the dead. His most famous grudge was the one against Athena in the isle of Atica, where he stuck his trident where the Acropolis rises as a sign of posession; then Athena came and planted the olive, Athena's simbol of property. Poseidon challenged Athena on Duel and she accepted, but the fight was stopped by Zeus who resolved the fight by vote: male gods voted for Poseidon and the goddesses voted for Athena, ending in a tie, tie that was broken by Zeus vote; as the olive was so benefical to the region of Atica Zeus gave it to Athena. Enraged, Poseidon sent huge waves to destroy the region of Triasia where the goddess built her city, then, she had to move to Athenas. As Poseidon continued to fight another gods for territory Zeus prohibited him to create more floodings, then he went to the oposite extreme, creating droughts. *Something very important must have happened at the olympus for Zeus to permit Poseidon to rise his waves again, GMs can use this for a very interesting campaing* Demeter Protector of agriculture, specially of wheat and every seed which is used to make bread. Her most famous celebration was the "tesmoforia", which was a series of magical rituals women performed to endure the land's fecundity. Even if single, she is the patronizer of weddings and the secret union of married couples. Hades falls in love with her daughter, Kore, and asks her hand to Zeus. In order to avoid troubles with Hades or Demeter he just gives an ambigual response, one that his brother can use as an excuse to kidnap her. Demeter sends Hermes to warn Hades that if he doesn't returns her the friendship between the two would end, Hades answer is that Kore can return if she hasn't eaten his food, thing she hasn't done at the moment of Hermes arrival so he releases her, but later a servant of Hades tells him that she eaten a few seeds so Demeter and Hades agree that Kore spends 3 months per year with Hades. Apollo The male beauty personified. God of music, medicine, prophecy, combat, agriculture and cattle raising, also adjudicated to the sun. Leto, his mother was cursed by Hera that she wouldn't give birth in any place where the sun shines and sent the snake Pyton to kill her. She gave birth to Arthemis in ortigia and Apollo in Delus. After four days of having born, Apollo asked for bow and arrows to Hefesto and killed Pyton in the Delfos oracle. Upon Hades complaints, Zeus killed Apollo's son, Ascelpius, for resurect a human being, and because of this, Apollo, enraged, killed the cyclops; Zeus was to cast him to the realm of the dead for eternity but, upon Leto's intervention the punishment was reduced to one year of esclavitude. Athena Patronizer of industry and every art that requires intelligence and dexterity. An expert military tactician. Offspring of an Affair between Zeus and the titan Metis. The oracle told Zeus that the product of that affair would be a girl but, should she give birth a second child, this would be a boy that would dethrone him, so after their union he kills her and eats her in order to make sure she wouldn't give birth, not even dead. Few hours after Zeus haves a killing headache upon arrival to Triton lake, where Hefesto hits him on the head for him to vomit, and from that vomit emerged Athena wearing an armor with a helmet that not even Zeus thunder could pierce and a shield. Many gods and demigods have tried to marry her, all failing. During Troya's war she asked for weapons to Hefesto and he denied to recieve a payment but saying that the payment would be herself, and then he raped her; sadly, Hefesto came too soon, then Athena took his semen with a piece of fleece and trew it on the floor, fecundating the land which gives birth to Erictius: half man half-snake; as Gea denies any parentship so does Hefesto Athena takes the child and leaves him under the care of Aglaurus, daughter of the king of Athenas, another half-man half-snake. CHAPTER 7:PLAYING ZEUS Well, I know what you're thinking right now: Why a GM section if this little piece of crap is but a sourcebook?, specially because as this book is more likely to be played by SS fans they already are suposed to know how to master a campaing the SS style, but first, as I mentioned in the introduction I wrote this book thinking in everyone, not just SS "otaku" *even if a non SS fan would normally have no reason to pick this source book, but it would be my pride and joy if I could introduce a person, any person,to the SS universe via this book...if this is your case please let me know!*. Second, this so- called GM section not only contains tips on how to run SS campaings, but also contains mastering tips of general situations, situations that most GMs have to deal with and can get some GM newbies into some serious troubles. Expert GMs should have no problem when dealing with "mastering dilemas" but, even if Thrash was though(or so I think) for experienced players and GMs I know of several RPG players for which Thrash is hardly the second RPG of their lives (or their first, as my actual party)and precisely,this GM section is dedicated to them, the future GMs that are being introduced to RPG with Thrash. Well, here we go... Genre Conventions As mentioned in the Thrash main book,genre conventions are a group of characteristics that distinguish certain genre(ie:in action flicks crashing cars MUST explode,in anime, characters MUST have 100 blood liters and drop 3 each time they get hit etc.) and GMs should be aware of this when running any SS campaing for they are part of the things that give SS that feeling. These conventions are basically the same rules under which any martial arts anime works: 1.-Characters bleed a lot!!(aproximatley 3lt for each blow on them) 2.-Characters can get injured every now and then, but will never spend more than 2 days on hospital(even if they broke an arm or get one of their eyes poke out) 3.-Even when they can aparently take a lot more damage,characters are required to act very dramatically each time they are given a good blow. 4.-Even if they can revive an infinite number of times(GM discretion), characters are required to act properly each time they face death. 5.-Each enemy will claim to be the most powerful ever(this part optional) 6.-Characters will cause cracks or even break all and every wall or stone object they are slammed against. 7.-All the fights are plagued with speech. 8.-There will always be a wall or similar solid object where characters always be slammed against each time they recieve a blow that sends them flying. Honor and the SS world In the Saint Seiya world this is a factor of supreme importance,SS world is plagued with honor everywhere and I can count with one hand's fingers the few fighters in SS world who weren't honorable; in a world where honor is given such an importance I think its a good idea stating the meaning of honor in SS terms: 1.-Honor means absolute loyalty to your masters, your liege, your superiors, your friends, and every person deserving it. 2.-Honor means not attacking any opponent that is lying on the ground. 3.-Honor means not taking on any oponents weaker than you(unless dictated so by your masters); if forced to fight,only applying enough strenght to prove your oponent it's not a good idea to try you on, but fighting with all your might oponents that are proven as true warriors. 4.-Honor means always keeping your word until the last consecuences. It's important to remember players that in SS absolutely everyone will despise a honorless warrior(even villains), not to mention that hangin around honorless warriors mean they'll be selling your hide at the first chance for personal gain with absolutely zero remorse.Every player in the game is assumed to have a personal code of honor and, as characters are very likely to start the game as "trainees" a dishonorable act while in your sanctuary would likely mean you'll never get the saint rank. Make them Human Your party of player characters are far more that just "fighting machines"...OK, OK, they're warriors, but don't think on them just as hack n' slashers, but (also)as human being that eat, breathe, go the bathroom, have feelings and ambitions. Even if life in the sanctuary is a life of restrictions there are a lot of fun things that can be done when your master is not seeing you: a quick escape to the nearby tavern at night or peeking into the females training area...even if your characters are trainees they're still youngsters, so get them into youngster's problems. Tormenting Players It can be really fun sometimes to make fun of a character(specially true for cursed characters), in fact, luck is a random element that GMs can use(and abuse of) to give campaings some special flavor and make characters more human. Having fun at the expense of players is not a bad thing as long as GMs be aware of not making the "bad seasons" too frequent, what's more, GMs should be careful on notice when the bad things are happening more and more often to the same "particular player character", specially when there is one or more player characters behind the "particular player character's" bad days; if this is the case, the GM should poke his nose a little to see what's the problem with the players and set the things straight: a game's intention is for the players to have fun, and I mean ALL of the players, a game stops being fair when a player stops having fun, specially if it is because the rest of the players are having it at his/her expense, it's no fun to be the laughtingstock!(of course there are some players that love to play Bozo but that's another story); if necesary, the GM should "pull strings with the gods" in order to give conflicting players a taste of their own medicine. APPENDIX1:MISCELANEOUS Generic N.P.C's Through the long road of the Saint, characters will be facing several kinds of people and hazards: from wild animals if training in the wilderness to intransigent officers to normal people. Even if sometimes part of the fun can consist on generating all of these menaces on the run there are some GMs that prefer things nice and already organized(myself among them), so I'm writing this section thinking on MYSELF(it was about time, wasn't it?). Soldier Int6 Focus4 Cha5 Will4 Str5 Ag6 Sta6 App6 AP9 Chi12 Health24 D.T14 Rage14 Soak6 Skills: Polearms2,Blades1,Blunt weapons1,Swimming1 Equipment: Spear ACC+2 AP-2 Dam+2 Move+1 Leather Armor Cover2 Impact+0 Thrust+4 Enc-1 Style: Special Forces1 --Base Accuracy:7,Base Damage+1 Maneuvers: Body Flip ACC:7 AP:7 Dam:1d6+1 Move:1 Foot Sweep ACC:6 AP:6 Dam:1d6+1 Move:1 Bladerunner ACC:6 AP:10 Dam:1d10+3 Move:6 Background: Even if they are the very least in the command chain they should not be underestimated or considerated as just "pawns" or "cannon fodder" for when in groups they can be a really powerful force giving troubles to most Saints....nah!. Soldiers will be on groups of 1d6 when on rest, 3d6 when standing guard and 2d6/5d6 when patrolling, double that when under yellow or red alert. Officer Int8 Focus7 Cha8 Will7 Str8 Ag9 Sta9 App7 AP14 Chi20 Health36 D.T17 Rage22 Soak15 Skill: Blades3,Interrogation2,Intimidation1,Leadership4,Misile weapons2, Shield2,Survival2,Swimming3,Trown weapons2. Disciplines: Body Hardening2,Iaido3,Kyudo2 Equipment: Short Sword ACC+1 AP-1 Dam+2 Move+0 Platemail Cover3 Impact+10(soak25) Thrust+20 Enc:-1 Style: Special Forces6 --Base Accuracy:15 Base Damage+4 Maneuvers: Body Flip ACC:15 AP:7 Dam:1d6+4 Move:1 Foot Sweep ACC:14 AP:6 Dam:1d6+4 Move:1 Knife Hand ACC:16 AP:5 Dam:1d6+4 Move:1 Uppercut(ExtraF/PwStrike) ACC:16 AP:6 Chi:3 Dam:1d6+9 Move:1 Multi-Srike ACC:17 AP2/strike Dam:1d4/strike Move:1 Slice Upper ACC:16 AP9 Dam:1d10+9 Move:2 Special Maneuvers: Mega Punch(mega-attack) --Heavy Punch:ChiChg/ExtraF/PwStrike/Dashing/Prepared ACC:19 AP:all Chi:19 Dam:3d6+11 Move:6 Background: The brave military man who, through strenght, will, and cunning, achieved a higher and higher rank 'till getting where he is now. Even when these men didn't focused their training on growing their cosmos like the Saints did nor they haven't a sacred cloth officers are powerful men on their own right and is not a good idea to try on any of them if you are not as powerful as a Silver Saint. Officers will always be acompanied by 1d6 soldiers when on rest(to a minimum of 2) and 3d6/6d6 when on mission. These stats can be used from lieautenants to generals. Jailer Int6 Focus5 Cha7 Will5 Str5 Ag7 Sta7 App5 AP11 Chi15 Health28 DT15 Rage17 Soak7 Skills: Blades2, Blunt weapons1, Whip3, Interrogation6, Intimidation4 Equipment: Whip ACC+2 AP-2 Dam+2 Move+1 Flak Vest Cover2 Impact+2(soak9) Thrust+0 Enc+0 Blowing Horn Style: Special Forces2 --Base Accuracy:9 Base Dam+3 Maneuvers: Body Flip ACC:9 AP:7 Dam:1d6+3 Move:1 Foot Sweep ACC:8 AP:6 Dam:1d6+3 Move:1 Joint Lock ACC:8 AP:8/turn Dam:1d4stun Move:1 Pin ACC:8 AP:10 Dam:1d4stun Move:none Multi-Strike ACC:12 AP:3/strike Dam:1d4/strike Move:3 Snare ACC:10 AP:5/turn Dam:1/turn Move:1 Background: Our average jack in charge of the dungeon, this man knows little apart from inflicting pain(thing that he loves); this "officers" will always be the ones standing guard on the prison's corridors and disposing of the prisoners(specially when an interrogatory is involved), true artists of pain and torture(so better stay out of trouble kids!). When on interrogatory there will be always be 1d2(flip a coin) jailers persent, when patrolling they will be on groups of 2d4 and should an attemp of escaping ever happens the nearest jailer will blow his horn on an alert that will be heeded by 1d6 groups of 2d4 jailers. Should the escape be succesful the escapee will face 4d6 soldiers if a succesful Stealth roll is not made. Trainee Int7 Focus7 Cha6 Will7 Str7 Ag8 Sta8 App7 AP9 Chi21 Health32 DT16 Rage22 Skills: Any(GM discretion) Disciplines: Body Hardening1, Blind Fighting1, Positive Chi1 Equipment: Leather Armor Cover2 Impact+0 Thrust+4 Enc-1 Style: Any --Base Accuracy:9 Base Dam+3 Maneuvers: Knife Hand(Males) ACC:10 AP:5 Dam:1d6+3 Move:1 Claw Hand(Females) ACC:10 AP:5 Dam:2d4+3 Move:1 Spinning Trust Kick(Males) ACC:9 AP:6 Dam:1d6+3 Move:2 Flying Reverse Turning Kick(Females) ACC:8 AP:10 Dam:1d6+3 Move:1 Background: An all-purpose useful instant male/female trainee for all your needs: competence, social interaction, love affairs, death feuds...anything you need them for. Undead Warrior Int? Focus:N/A Cha1 Will4 Str9 Ag9 Sta:N/A App1 AP13 Chi:N/A Health28 DT:N/A Rage:N/A Soak8 Style: ??? --Base Accuracy:14 Base Damage+5 Maneuvers: Crescent Kick ACC:15 AP:8 Dam:2d4+5 Move:1 Knee Strike ACC:15 AP:7 Dam:1d6+5 Move:none Claw Hand ACC:15 AP:6 Dam:2d4+5 Move:1 Background: Cursed souls of warriors from all around the world that now wander turned into unliving mockeries of their former selves. These aberrations are monstrous skeletal forms in broken and rusty armors(not to say useless). How did they got into that state is a mistery, maybe they can't find peace or just commited the mistake of letting themselves get killed in the wrong place(like the Cloth's Graveyard). Undead warriors can be found in very special places like the Cloth's Graveyard or the Realm of the Dead and will always attack on groups of 6d6; if destroyed, the creatures will reform in 1d4 days and will have a bonus of +1 on their attack rolls should they fight again that character/s, each time a character party returns to the place they fought with the monsters there's always a 30%(the GM rolls secretly) chance of fighting the same group of undead should they involve in combat again, the attack bonuses are cumulative each time they encounter again. If a character gets his/her health reduced to 1/4 fighting these monsters the GM will secretly make a stamina roll for that character after the fight(provided the character survived), if the roll is failed the character will fall under a terrible disease and die within a week, the deceased character will turn into an undead warrior in 1d4 days without any sense of humanity and but a few, muddled memories, in any case all the character's feelings will be evily twisted. While in disease, the character can be cured but only by a Saint with the Cure Lethal Diseases power or the Water of Life that is only found in Yamien, whatever the remedy it must be delivered within a week or the victim will die and is forever lost. Average man Int6 Focus2 Cha5 Will3 Str4 Ag5 Sta4 AP8 Chi8 Health16 DT12 Rage9 Soak4 Skills: anyone depending on job and personal preferences Background: Your typical all-around peasant, in all their forms, sizes, colors and flavors; in SS there can be found almost any type: average citizens, athletes, merchants, and inside the territory of the sanctuary there can be found blacksmiths, armorers, and other not-so-contemporanean jobs. These stats can change acording to the person's profesion and to tell the truth are completely irrelevant, after all, your trainees aren't likely to attack on every dude they met(again, I'm saying this), but just in case they are... Generic Wild Animal Stats for when adventuring in the wilderness Alligator Str8 Ag6 Stamina7 Health21 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:7 AP:5 Damage:1d6+4 Move:none Jaw Lock ACC:N/A AP:10 Damage:2/turn Move:one Bird of Prey Str4 Ag9 Sta4 Health12 Maneuvers: Beak ACC:11 AP:4 Dam:1d4 Move:3 Diving Attack ACC:12 AP:10 Dam:1d6+1 Move:6 Talons ACC:10 AP:7 Dam:1d4 Move:0 Bear Str9 Ag8 Sta9 Health36 Maneuvers: Claw ACC:9 AP:6 Dam:1d6+5 Move:none Bite ACC:8 AP:5 Dam:1d6+5 Move:none Camel Str8 Ag6 Sta10 Health30 Maneuvers: Rear Kick ACC:4 AP:10 Dam:2d4 Move:1 Dog Str4 Ag6 Sta6 Health18 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:6 AP:5 Dam:1d6 Move:none Elephant Str14 Ag4 Sta20 Health60 Maneuvers: Ram ACC:4 AP:10 Dam:1d6+11 Move:3 Horse Str8 Ag8 Sta10 Health30 Maneuvers: Rear Kick ACC:6 AP:10 Dam:2d4+4 Move:1 Panther Str8 Ag10 Sta8 Health24 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:10 AP:5 Dam:1d6+4 Move:none Claw ACC:11 AP:6 Dam:1d6+4 Move:none Pounce ACC:9 AP:9 Dam:1d6+4 Move:4 Snake: Boa Str10 Ag3 Sta6 Health18 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:3 AP:5 Dam:1d6+6 Move:none Constriction ACC:3 AP:8 Dam:Special Snake: Poison Str3 Ag3 Sta4 Helath12 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:3 AP:5 Dam:1d6 Move:none Venom ACC:Special AP:1d4minutes Dam:Special Tiger Str8 Ag8 Sta8 Health24 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:8 AP:5 Dam:1d6+4 Move:none Claw ACC:9 AP:6 Dam:1d6+4 Move:none Pounce ACC:7 AP:9 Dam:1d6+4 Move:4 Wolf Str6 Ag8 Sta7 Health21 Maneuvers: Bite ACC:8 AP:5 Dam:1d6+2 Move:none Pounce ACC:7 AP:9 Dam:1d6+2 Move:2