The Maiden Saga: Role Playing Game Read online

  Magic Mirror

  A human spirit bound to a looking glass.Cost – 1 Point of Constitution.

  Advantages – unobtrusive, unpaid and ever wakeful, a magic mirror should make an excellent guard as well as providing advice and even companionship. Naturally if you wish wisdom from your mirror you must bind a wise spirit.

  Disadvantages – while these artefacts have caught the imagination of storytellers, they have severe drawbacks. Human spirits tend to resent being bound to things at the best of times, while spending fifty years with a view of the opposite wall of a corridor does nothing to abate this feeling. Ask who is the most beautiful of them all and the answer is unlikely to be flattering, while any thief worthy of the name should be capable of persuading a magic mirror to remain silent merely for the promise of adding it to the loot.

  Banishment – simply smash the mirror.

  The Game – a Magic Mirror is in effect an NPC.

  Cornucopia

  A spirit of fruitful harvest bound to a horn.Cost – 2 Points of Constitution.

  Advantages – an unending stream of fruit, nuts or grain. With a cornucopia you will never starve, while if all else fails you can always set yourself up as a greengrocer. A single cornucopia fruit produces enough to feed a party of five or two large trolls.

  Disadvantages – an unending stream of fruit, nuts or grain. The problem with the cornucopia is that the spirit in question is not sentient and will continue providing bounty at a steady rate regardless of circumstances. A cornucopia is only capable of provididing fruits of the harvest, a diet some consider lacking in variety.

  Banishment – the spirit can be dismissed at the cost of 1 Point of Constitution.

  The Game – you can never go hungry or thirsty, while you gain mystique worth 4 Game Points in Allure.

  Souleater

  A minor demon bound to an edge weapon.Cost – 3 Points of Constitution.

  Advantages – the slightest nick of a souleater’s blade is likely to kill, as it enables the demon to draw out the soul of your victim.

  Disadvantages – you have linked a weapon to an enraged demon who would like nothing better than to own the soul of the wielder.

  Banishment – the demon can be banished at the cost of 2 Points of Constitution.

  The Game – Any damage you cause is increased tenfold. However, after using a souleater in combat you must make a throw of the six dice. Any quadruple means you have cut yourself and costs 5 Points of Constitution, while a quintuple costs 10 Points of Constitution and a sextuple 20.

  Summoning

  Summoning brings a being into corporeal reality, but only works with those being of sufficient power to be called on by name. This requires a period of trance in which the summoner is completely helpless, but once the demon has manifested it makes a terrible foe, although as it has corporeal reality it can be destroyed but not actually killed.

  The Brown Man

  A horrible raggedy thing of rotting bones and grave windings, tall and lean with great long arms that scratch and claw.Cost – 1 Point of Constitution

  Advantages – The Brown Man is fast and strong, cruel and voracious, also so terrifying that the mere sight of one is often enough to send hardened veterens into headlong flight.

  Disadvantages – It is also almost impossible to control, unable to distinguish between the enemies and the companions of its summoner and needs a constant supply of victims. If it doesn’t get them it will turn on you.

  Banishment – unless destroyed, the Brown Man can only banished at the cost of 3 Points of Constitution.

  Wind Raith

  A huge, grotesque demon with immense, leathery wings and a body halfway between that of a nightmare owl and a spiny toad.Cost – 2 Points of Constitution.

  Advantages – A Wind Raith can swallow a man at a gulp and has no difficulty carrying two people in each clawed fist, although experienced persons prefer to ride on its back. It follows lethal instructions with murderous glee and will not harm its summoner.

  Disadvantages – This collosal demon requires the weight of a horse in meat each day, and while it can be left to hunt and called back at will, this is likely to attract unfavourable attention.

  Banishment – the demon can be banished at the cost of 2 Points of Constitution.

  Gan

  The principal god in Hai, but to all intents and purposes a demon, Gan manifests as a hammer wielding giant some one-hundred feet tall.Cost – 3 Points of Constitution.

  Advantages – Gan is invulnerable to anything short of heavy artillery and capable of reducing a keep to rubble with a few blows of his hammer.

  Disadvantages – Gan is not uniformly reliable and needs to be persuaded to carry out any given act rather than simply commanded.

  Banishment – Gan will leave of his own accord after a single task but always demands a boon, such as the construction of a mountain top shrine. It is best to comply.

  All demons are effectively NPCs.

  Statistics

  Brown Man

  Wind Raith

  Gan

  Experience

  25

  50

  100

  Dexterity

  25

  25

  50

  Intelligence

  1

  10

  50

  Constitution

  50

  100

  200

  Power

  50

  150

  300

  Pride

  25

  50

  100

  Allure

  1

  1

  10

  Craft

  1

  1

  50

  Greed

  50

  110

  20

  Guile

  20

  1

  20

  Wealth

  1

  1

  50

  Wisdom

  1

  1

  50

  Total

  250

  500

  1000

  Any summoner is sure to encounter fear and antagonism, often leading to attempts at assassination. Even in Aegmund witches and warlocks, while respected, live as isolated pariahs.

  In a combat situation the summoner can take no part in the exchange and must be protected. The demon manifests after the sixth throw and acts independently under the summoner’s instructions, or in the case of the Brown Man at random, attacking the combatants with the five fewest Game Points in Greed.

  Other demons exist and can be created at the discretion of the GM or proposed by a PC subject to the GMs agreement. The cost of summoning is always high and the drawbacks considerable.

  Half-men & Beasts

  “Within w
as an iron cage and in it sat the troll, a bulky, hulking manthing shaped like a giant goblin save for his skin being stone-grey in place of green and his genitals, fortunately, being in more reasonable proportion to his body. Stark bald, his head resembled nothing so much as a lump of granite, and Elethrine could see why the legend of trolls being made of rock had arisen. In height he was perhaps two heads above Aisla, while the breadth of his chest and his great, solid muscles spoke of enormous power.” Maiden

  The Maiden Saga has no shortage of half-men, some of which are dangerous and all of which can cross-breed with humans. In game terms these are NPCs, and in order to decide their attributes the GM should throw four dice, one after another. The four scores – w, x, y & z – can then be used to calculate the half-man’s Game Points according to the following table -

  Dwarf

  Troll

  Goblin

  Nymph

  Ogre

  Experience

  2w

  W

  2

  2

  2

  Dexterity

  2x

  2

  4

  6

  4

  Intelligence

  2y

  1

  2

  1

  2

  Constitution

  2z

  10+w

  2

  2

  10+w

  Power

  5+w

  15+w+x

  2

  2

  20+w+x

  Pride

  5+x

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Allure

  y

  1

  1

  10+w

  1

  Craft

  10+w+x

  1

  2

  2

  1

  Greed

  z

  2z

  10z

  5z

  2z

  Guile

  w

  1

  w

  1

  1

  Wealth

  3x

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Wisdom

  3y

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Any PC wishing to play a half-man should take the above table into account.

  There is also a possibility of encountering beasts, ravening or otherwise. These are unlikely to attack without provocation, but will defend themselves. Such conflicts are always in Power, and if you win you have either killed or captured your beast. Some values –

  Beast

  Power

  Bear

  20

  Wolf

  15

  Wolverine

  12

  Elephant

  30

  Ape

  15

  Mandrill

  10

  Deer

  10

  Riding beats can be captured by a conflict in Craft. If already tame, they can be ridden immediately, otherwise a second conflict in Craft is necessary.

  Beast

  Craft

  Horse

  10

  Camel

  12

  Elephant

  30

  If for any reason you need to take pot shots at a beast you must be carrying a suitable missile weapon. Roll the six dice and a double counts as a hit, a triple as a kill.

  “Even as a massive, mail clad leg kicked in the leaden frame Elethrine was rolling from the bed. Glimpsing the strange, bird-like claws on the boot, she thought for one dreadful moment that she was under assault from some grotesque monster. The invader gave a thoroughly human roar of greed at the sight of her naked breasts as he jumped into the room, and any illusion as to what was happening was dashed from her mind. Seizing a pair of scissors from her dresser as the man’s hand closed on her other arm, she stabbed at his chest with all her force, deliberately aiming for what she judged to be the strongest part of his armour.” Captive

  All four novels of the Maiden Saga were originally published by Nexus, an imprint run by Virgin Books for unabashed erotica. The game came be played without the erotic element, in which case it becomes a novel but straightforward RPG, but this is a fantasy world built as background for erotic stories and works best when used for its original purpose. The books are also more than a little tongue-in-cheek, and this too is reflected in the game.

  Should you wish to seduce an NPC, or better still a fellow PC, this is not only permissable but actively encouraged. It is also the only way to steal glory points, a sure route to personal agrandissement and possibly victory. Indulge yourself, express your darkest fantasies and think nothing of shame, which is both fugitive and illusory. You may wish to make a great hero your besotted lover, to gather a hareem of a dozen concubines, even to be ravished by slavers, the choice is yours. The thing is to make it an achievement. (See Example 5.)

  When it comes to anything but the most straightforward sex, you need to bear in mind the differences between the eight peoples and their cultures. The Hai take beauty for granted and so may take a perverse pleasure in the grotesque, while among the Makeans beauty is not only rare but in direct proportion to an individual’s value as a slave and therefore the most precious of attributes. To the Aeg, to be spanked is a gesture of erotic conquest, to the people of Ythan a mundane punishment without sexual overtones. The Mund are proud and obsessed by shame, making nudity a powerful taboo, while a Vendjomois will think nothing of going naked all day. In Aprina to imagine being enslaved is a favourite fantasy, a concept that would be almost meaningless in Oretea.

  The first question you need to ask is: what do you like?

  The general rule in RPGs is to create a strong character: a powerful warrior, a deft physician, an adept in magic, whatever it might be. In the Maiden Saga things go rather differently, or at least they have the potential to. You might want
to be a character like Talithea or Irqual, whose main aim is always their personal advantage; or then again you might want to be the slave of some vindictive Makean Elite Lady, or an Aprinian girl stranded in goblin haunted wilderness.

  Anybody can be the seducer or the seduced (with the probable exception of a goblin), but which you’re likely to be depends on the difference between your Allure (attractiviness in sexual terms) and your Greed (lust in sexual terms). The more lustful you are in comparison with how attracitve your are, the more likely it is that you will be the seducer, and vice versa. The basic values for the different peoples are as follows -

  Allure

  Greed

  Aeg

  7

  5

  = 2

  Mund

  6

  1

  = 5

  Hai

  8

  3

  = 5

  Ythan

  2

  7

  = -5

  Makea

  1

  8

  = -7

  Oretes

  4

  2