After the Battle

I must admit I'm a little confused, brother", Dharak says as the two of them rummage around in the dark for decent firewood. "I had assumed that you all were members of -- or employed by -- the Academy of the Mind. Yet Duplar wields a lightning wand, and didn't someone refer to a recent attack on the Karazthan? Who really is in charge of your group, and how did you get hooked up with them?".

"And for that matter, how well do you know these two Vornes, anyway?", he says, exaggerating the Filgan pronunciation of the term for kandar nobility. "They both make quite a show of their supposed plainness -- the outcast, the 'simple soldier.' But brother, I can smell a slaveholder, and those two reek of it".

"But I can also tell a man of honor, and for all your roguish pretensions, I feel I can trust you. Everything about you tells me that you've broken out of the slave mind, the meek acquiescence that allows the kandar to keep our people in chains."

"If you tell me you trust these kandar, I know your trust is freely -- but not easily -- given, and I'll be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt".

Jal's easy, understanding grin and comradely tone immediately convey an impression of understanding - and sharing - Dharak's point of view. The bard pauses to lift a hefty branch, not dissimilar in shape and size to a good-sized cudgel.

"I'm very much of your mind, friend Dharak," he replies, "the 'forgone conclusion' of Kandar superiority sticks in my throat as it does yours. Inertia, that's all, and the memory of great heroes and high deeds from the past...." For a moment it seems he might drift off onto another subject, but then he pulls himself back to reality with an effort.

"The realities of this world dictate that wherever you go, there they are. By and large, arrogating the right to run everything and own everyone. But any people has its' good and bad lots, and the kandar, for all their mishandling of our people, are no exception."

"Kylar I've known for a while, and he is pretty much as he seems to you; a soldier first and foremost, a career legion officer. He is kandar, and thinks as one, but before that he's a soldier and thinks as one. He has a keen sense of honour and justice, and I've never seen that affected one whit by what race the person he deals with springs from. I've fought at his side and I trust him."

He pauses, using the branch to idly sweep grass-stems about.

"Duplar, he is from the Kara, but he has some sort of links to the Academy as well, I don't understand exactly what. He seems well respected, and liked, not least by young Reylorna, which seems to bode well for his approach to humans in the academy. For a kandar mind-ripper", for an instant his tone is as hard and jagged as a broken blade, "he's pretty decent. He's already put his life on the line for all of use at least twice."

"This is basically an Academy/Kara jaunt," he finishes, "but Kylar, Ryzar and I simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - we got involved when that monster attacked the Kara building. Between you and me, I think the kandar have screwed something big up on the magical front, and nasty things are leaking through again."

He shrugs, and drops the stick on the pile. "I don't know if that's helped you at all," he says, "life's never entirely simple. But that's an answer to your question."

"I myself have met some kandar of good character. If you say these two are among them, that's good enough for me, brother." responds Dharak. He pauses. "Don't know if I'll be able to hold my tongue if Kylar keeps swearing by Kardak, though. Of all kandar false gods, that one's the most obscene."

"So something's targeting the Mentalists and the Mechanists, eh? The two most important pillars of the status quo, and someone's trying to tear them down." A devilish grin steals across his brown face. "Ordinarily, I'd be all for it. But judging by the human corpses, this entity appears to be an equal-opportunity destroyer. So whoever this otherworldly adversary is, he is my enemy as well."

"And though there might well have been a magical screwup of some sort, hese attacks do not appear at all random. The powers that be seem to have attracted the attention of something intelligent, malevolent, and aggressive."

"I can't wait to learn more about this adversary."

As he finishes speaking, Dharak withdraws his mind shield into his own skull. He carries his armload of wood to the bonfire, then joins the search for survivors.

Welcome to the world of Kalyr, scene of struggles between the ancient and decadent kandar civilisation, and their rebellious human slaves. A world of psionics, arcane technology, strange alien races, mystery and intrigue.

Campaign Information

• Rating: 12, or whatever it's US equivalent might be. I avoid lurid descriptions of blood and gore, and any sex occurs offstage.
• Theme/Focus: The struggle between the conservative kandar that believe in the status quo and the rebellious humans with some kandar allies is a major focus, as is the intrigue between different kandar guilds and clans.
• Morality: Characters may be forced to make difficult moral choices, and anyone who tries to solve every problem with violence will be forced to face the consequences of their actions
• Realism: Tending toward the realistic. Those who continually get into fights will get hurt, or even killed.
• Outlook and PC Importance: Players are frequently pawns in much greater schemes, of which they may be only dimly aware. It is possible, however, for individuals to make a difference.
• Continuity/Time Frame: It's a combination of a episodic game and a 'soap opera' style plot. It will go through several adventures, between which new players may join.
• Characters: Character generation is detailed on under GURPS Rules, on 125 points.
• PC Group Structure: There is scope for both party-based and individual plot threads.

Administrivia

• Gamemaster: Tim Hall tim @ kalyr.com.
• Mailing List: Kalyr, the world of Kalyr
• Status: In Progress, Waiting List
• Game System: Currently GURPS, but considering converting to Fudge
• Player Experience: I expect players to have read all my background material and be able to come up with a good character concept with a well thought-out background story. Knowledge of GURPS is not essential, the words matter more than the numbers.
• Time Frames: I usually check mail daily. I expect players to be able to post at least weekly and preferably more often.
• Drop-Dead Dates: Please inform me if you're going on holiday for more than a week! I will 'ghost' the PCs of unresponsive players on autopilot, but I may drop players who have gone AWOL for more than a month.
• Turn Style/Format: There is a formal turn structure with consolidated archived turns, but outside of combat, players are encouraged to respond directly to each other's posts. I'll consolidate things at appropriate points.
• PC Autonomy: PCs have a lot of autonomy, but any events described in my GM posts should be considered to have happened. I'm happy to run solo threads when PCs split up.
• Combat: I handle combat in detail, but I do not expect to play things out on a one-post-per-round basis, that would be far too slow! I will play out combat until it reaches a point where a player decision is required. There will be no references to game mechanics in public posts.

-- Tim Hall - 27 Oct 2003