James Maliszewski

Friday Feature: The Making of the Unmakers

Last week's Friday Feature presented Aranalar, a sword +1, +2 vs the Unmade. I have since received a few emails and messages asking me, "What are the Unmade?" That's a very good question and one I'd like to begin to answer in this post. To do that, though, we have to first take a look at the Makers.

The Makers – or ja-Chanaldalu in the Onha language – are th...

About the Friday Feature

No doubt some of you are wondering about the "Friday Feature" tag I placed before my most recent post. Allow me to explain.

At the start of 2023, I'll be adding unique regular benefits for all the patron tiers above Subscriber. The Friday Feature is one of those benefits, intended for patrons at the Supporter tier and above.  Four to five times each month, I'll make a post that perta...

Friday Feature: Aranalar

Aranalar ("Indomitable") is a sword +1, +2 vs the Unmade forged from alchemical steel. Its blade is single sided, forward curving, and,like all Kulvuan osuna, intended to be wielded from the back of a teteku, The blade itself is approximately two feet in length and bears a maker’s mark that identifies it as a product of the famed Bejanakoru workshop of los...

An Experiment

Since everyone seems to be playing around with AI art these days, I thought I'd give it a whirl and see what I could come up with. Bear in mind that I have no idea what I'm doing with this thing. After a couple of false starts, though, I was able to generate the image attached to this post, depicting a "sorcerer summoning a demon in a darkened chamber lit only by glowing braziers." All things c...

Creatures of sha-Arthan

To be clear, this is another work in progress. Some of the entries are incomplete; others have not yet been updated to the new format. In addition, there are many more entries that have not been written and are thus excluded from this draft. Nevertheless, the PDF describes more than forty creatures and can be found here: 2022-11-30 23:20:26 +0000 UTC View Post

A Work in Progress

Even more so than the Player's Guide section, this is incomplete: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1siZJXuWRBIozPoz9CpLJbZhtNSYzgaM2/view?usp=share_link

However, I thought you might enjoy an early look at one of the setting sections of the draft, since, even in its ...

Updated sha-Arthan Player's Guide

Work continues on The Secrets of sha-Arthan – slowly, admittedly, but progress is being made. I wanted to share a little of that here for the benefit of my patrons. An expanded and updated version of the Player's Guide is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AxWNE...

Pronunciation

I'll be honest: I really like the idea of audio posts and this is a good example of where the format is quite useful.

This is My Voice

I Live

First, an apology for the lack of new posts over the last month. The real world has, unfortunately, kept me busy lately. Beyond that, I've hit several significant rough patches with the development of sha-Arthan's rules that I'm still working through. In particular, I'm contemplating weakening the traditional D&D-like class arrangement for something looser so as to accommodate a wider range...

Advancement & Equipment

Another revised section for your perusal: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1igQFv2k9eYpB3Mun1fhlxT93dpf4A9kW/view?usp=sharing

It remains my goal to get all the player-centric materials done before month's end at the latest, so that I can spend May focusing on setting m...

Sorcery

Here is a link to the rules for sorcery: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15bl1wQbo1mxRj37Eu_gv5GWpithjBK9e/view?usp=sharing

Please note that this is not the revised magic spells document. That's still in the process of being prepared, but I anticipate it should be don...

Small Update

Here's the link to a very slightly revised character class document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z-k7EqiyAioFcKGyMOevsSdn84R8ZCbJ/view?usp=sharing

There should be at least one more document coming this weekend, possibly two. I've been making some very good progre...

Revised Character Classes

As promised, here is a slightly revised version of the basic character classes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z-k7EqiyAioFcKGyMOevsSdn84R8ZCbJ/view?usp=sharing

As with everything, this document is still in flux, with small changes being made regularly. However, thi...

Damage, Saving Throws, Skills

Here's another draft of some rules material: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XZ7TSrdX5lJQCkKD5buBGGtHu4ffrV2F/view?usp=sharing

More to come, including updated character class and magic documents.

Scion Dynasties

A slightly updated version of the Character Classes is coming shortly, consisting mostly of minor corrections and additions. One part I wanted to share in advanced was the following section, which will be added to the scion character class: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p4l1...

Alignment

In sha-Arthan, alignment represents one’s loyalty to a person, organization, religion, realm, or philosophy. An alignment thus represents what a character values in life. Choosing an alignment is entirely optional; no character is required to have an alignment. However, there can be benefits that make aligning oneself attractive, just as there can be drawbacks that make it less so. C...

Character Classes Draft 2.0

Here is the latest working draft of the Secrets of sha-Arthan character classes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSRMbqSHksOdrRElgUgfpd4E0xbJGmM1/view?usp=sharing

As with previous drafts, this one is a work in progress, though one that is (I hope) a little closer to ...

Units of Measurement

As I progress through the latest revision of the rules, I've been considering the standard units of measurement. D&D (and most fantasy RPGs) have traditionally used US customary measurements, but there have been exceptions, like RuneQuest, that have made use of metric measurements. 

Do you have a preference?

A Preview

Here's another piece of artwork I wanted to share, this time of an additional class I've been working on, based on feedback received of the existing classes. With luck, I'll be able to share the details of the class, along with updated versions of all the other classes in the next day or two. 

There has, in fact, been a great deal of work done in the last couple of months, which I wi...

Vault Warrants

(This is a bit of work-in-progress text concerning an important aspect of adventuring within the city of da-Imer. Certain small details may change, but what follows is essentially what will appear in the final version, minus certain game mechanical elements, which I'm still pondering.)

The Vaults beneath da-Imer have been inviolable for more than a millennium, since the reign of ...

The Eternal Effigy of Alu Zai

Among the most recognizable pieces of sculpture on sha-Arthan is the Eternal Effigy (or da-Rikan) of Alu Zai. A seven foot tall statue of marble, the Eternal Effigy is the work of a nameless pre-Luminous artist whom history has dubbed simply the Sculptor of Alu Zai. Unsurprisingly, the da-Rikan was found in the ruined coastal city of Alu Zai before being transported t...

Cover Draft

Baritanya

Baritanya are reptilian beings of strange intelligence that travel between the spheres of the Great Dark. Their travels greatly tax them, however; they must recuperate on a sphere for many years before they can again move on. Many who alight upon sha-Arthan choose to remain there, employing their powerful abilities (such as sorcery) to lord it over lesser beings, including Men.

The Status of sha-Arthan

As promised, here's the latest word on how things are unfolding on my end.

1. Needless to say, I'd hoped to be farther along the path to completing the Player's Guide than I am. Two things have prevented it. The first are the distractions of everyday life; since September I've simply had to deal with all manner of mundane issues that have diverted my attention – nothing horrible thankfu...

Quick Note

I'll have a longer post to share this evening, in which I talk about the current state of the whole sha-Arthan project and related matters. I continue to be more distracted by other matters than I'd like, but, even so, I have not been wholly unproductive.

Elemental Honorifics

The Olyosh Dras Chamri (“Principles of Hidden Power”) asserts that there are five primordial elements out of which everything in the Four Worlds is constituted: energy, matter, mind, time, and void. The sages of the Light of Kulvu incorporated this idea into their own metaphysics, thereby ensuring it became widespread. In doing so, they also popularized the custom...

Thoughts on the Scion

Apologies once again for the comparatively long silence. I continue to be distracted by some real life matters that have prevented my being as productive as I would like. While I wish I could say that they're wholly out of the picture and there are clear skies ahead, I cannot. 

Nevertheless, I have not been idle and work continues behind the scenes on sha-Arthan and related projects....

Update

I wanted to let everyone know that I am alive and well, albeit very distracted by a couple minor but nonetheless absorbing matters that have kept me from both blogging and work on sha-Arthan. That should change in a few days, as I get out from under these other affairs. I very much appreciate your patience and continued support. 

Dritlor

Here's the finished illustration of the risen dead, the Dritlor. Game statistics to follow within a few days.