Listen to a tale my children...
There is a story still heard, in the quieter places, far away from the frantic din of the city streets of our own world. An ancient and almost forgotten tale, it sings from the lips of a very few. Some say, it is only wishful fantasy, for somewhere in the long misty corridors of time, its origins were lost to us. The story tells of a portal to a wondrous land. A place quite different from our own modern world. And yet, somehow, not so very far away. A land, where what was once lost to our ancestors, was never lost at all.
It is said, noble glory yet remains there, inhabiting a mythic landscape of where gods still trod the earth, beautiful crystal-spired cities rise from the depths, lost civilizations await to be found, and fantastic beasts of legend still roam the lands. It is a place where the night air is filled with long told stories, handed down from generation to generation, of ancient evils stirring and seeking release, wondrous feats of wizardry, and the battles of the great heroes of the ages.
Called by many names throughout time, this land is known to the Seekers of the Great Forgotten Empires as...
Welcome to the World of Argontath! You are about to embark on a journey into a wondrous world that will find you in the midst of wizards casting spells of unparalleled power, thieves making there way silently through the shadows and warriors engaged in perilous combat. Argontath is a place where adventure abounds, danger awaits the unwary, and even the Gods will exert their power in the everyday lives of the inhabitants.
In your travels across the lands of Argontath, you will encounter a variety of people and cultures… from the great warlords of Darrtethia to the statuesque dragonmen of Rithgar. You will interact with the crafty merchants of Olladra and never see the shapes moving around the dark corners of the Bandit Kingdoms.
As you and your compatriots seek out your fame, fortune and glory you will hear rumors of fantastic treasures in ancient ruins of a lost civilization in the savage jungles of the Ypprisimo. You will witness first-hand the destructive powers of the Keepers of the Flame as they and their pirate cohorts ravage a port town and make off with the booty. If you are fortunate enough you may even find yourselves beholding the vast sky of the Hawk Plains and be able to sit at the camp fire and share your life story with the Hawk Nomads and their comrades, the noble horsemen, the Vothaur.
From the parapets of a great keep you will feel the very ground shake from the hoof beats of a thousand armored horses as they carry the Khormanian Darklance Cavalry to their next confrontation against the grand wizards of Lankhoria. You may find that you will need to seek out the wisdom and knowledge of the elves of Moonrise, an ancient city that sits atop a mile high spire that rises up from a lake of mysterious, dark waters.
These are but a few of the grand adventures that await you in your sojourn through Argontath!
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THE GATEWAY RPG SYSTEM
The Gateway RPG System uses percentile dice to determine the success of a characters actions. It is designed to be intuitive and easy to play. While character attributes follow a 3D6 curve, most of the other mechanics are even simpler. Virtually all rolls determining success or failure of a task are determined via the roll of percentile dice.
The core virtues of the system are timeless. Primary characteristics of the Gateway RPG System that have emerged from decades of play, across many different varieties of the system are as follows:
The system is remarkably friendly to newcomers. It is easy to describe the basics of the game system, and the percentile mechanics, to non-gamers.
Players of other game systems often find this system to be much less mechanistic and less of a barrier to the actual act of roleplaying. Less time spent on game systems usually equals more time available for roleplaying and thinking in character.
Most of the information players need to know is present on their character sheets.
Characters tend to evolve based on practicing the skills they use the most. They do not arbitrarily gain experience in skills and qualities based on ephemeral elements such as levels or experience ranks.
Combat can be very quick and deadly, and often the deciding blow in a conflict is the one to land first.
The Gateway RPG System is remarkably modular: levels of complexity can be added or removed as needed, and the core system works equally well with considerable detail as it does with a minimal amount of rules.
The internal consistency of this gaming system allows for rules judgments to be made rapidly and with little or no searching through a rulebook for special cases.
SKILLS
The ease and use of skills are very easy to explain. Simply roll under the skill percentage to successfully complete an action. There are times when modifiers are given to the task at hand that will influence the overall roll.
10% of a skill percentage is called a Solid Success and will sometimes give benefit to the action performed such as seeing an extra detail that would not normally be seen. Critical Success is when a 01% is rolled on the dice. This will garner instant success of the action performed.
COMBAT
DECLARATION: You will be asked what your actions are for each melee round (10 Segments). Called Shots must be declared in this stage of combat.
INITIATIVE: The GM will call out initiative (1-10). This is based on the characters weapon initiative, their SIZ score modifier, and their DEX score modifier. If using miniatures and a combat map, you may move one 5 square in any direction for each segment.
ATTACK: When your weapon initiative is called, respond by calling out your characters name. At this point the GM will have you roll percentiles (1d100) to determine if your attack, is successful. The number of attacks a character may perform in any given round is solely based on their proficiency with the weapon. You may also use this round to attempt a disarm of the opponent if they are holding a weapon.
DEFEND: When a person, or creature, attacks your character, you may respond by dodging the attack or parrying the blow with your weapon or shield. You may make several such maneuvers during a combat round, but each successive action will be at a penalty of -20%.
SOLID STRIKE: A Solid Strike occurs when you have rolled 10% of your attack score (rounded down, i.e. 48% attack score would solid strike on a roll of 04% or less). A Solid Strike is automatic double damage, but it can be dodged/parried by rolling 10% of your dodge/parry score. Armor absorption is ignored.
CRITICAL HIT: A Critical Hit occurs when you have rolled 01% on the percentile dice. These hits do mass amounts of damage and most likely kill. The GM will sometimes refer to a chart to determine just what type of damage you have done. It is possible to dodge or parry a Critical Hit, but you must roll a 01% to do so. Critical Hits ignore all armor absorption.
FAILURE: A Failure occurs when you have rolled a 96-99% on the percentile dice. All this means is that you have somehow made a misstep or put yourself out of position to make another attack. You lose the rest of your attacks for the current round and the next round. Your character may still dodge/parry during this time as you collect yourself.
FUMBLE: A Fumble occurs on a roll of 00% (100%). The GM may refer to a chart to determine what exactly happened and what generally happens is NOT very good. Like a Failure, you lose the rest of your attacks for the current round and the next round. However, you are unable to make any defensive moves through the rest of the current round.
CALLED SHOTS: A Called Shot must be announced during the Declaration phase of combat. A modifier will be given depending on the area of the body the character wishes to hit. Called Shots do double damage and in some cases cause immediate death. Armor absorption applies.
ARMOR ABSORPTION: When a person is hit by an attack they may roll Armor Absorption based on the type of armor worn. The better the armor, the better the protection (in most cases). Some creatures and player races have natural armor. Solid Strikes and Critical Hits ignore armor absorption. For every hit point of damage that is absorbed, subtract that number from your armors total armor points (AP). Once your armor has reached 0 AP, it is useless. Armor can be repaired.
STUNNING: If a creature or player character has more than half of their remaining hit points taken away in one blow, the person is considered stunned for 1d4 melee rounds. Only defensive actions (dodge/parry) may be taken at a 30% penalty while they gather their wits. The opponent gains a +10% to all attacks.
SPELL CASTING
These are the different types of spell casting:
WIZARDRY: The Power of Wizards, Warlocks and Sorcerers.
MANTRA: Clerical prayers given of the Gods.
LOW FOLK LORE: Lesser nature magic.
HIGH FOLK LORE: Greater nature magic.
SONG LORE: Musical magic of the Bards.
RUNE LORE: A rare magic that harnesses the power of creation.
WORDS OF POWER: The rarest of magic. Power of the Spirit.
Your overall ability to cast a spell is based on your proficiency. The higher the proficiency, the higher effect the spell will have. Unlike other RPGs, the system I use allows for the caster to use below minimum effect, thus a Wizard with the Flame Strike spell, could use the magical flame to light candles from a distance with out any damage resulting to the surrounding area.
Another facet to spell casting is the use of Will Power to modify, or manipulate, the effects of a spell. Will Power allows for some latitude in how a spell (except Mantras) will act. 10% of Will Power will allow the caster to manipulate the spells effect. An example is a Wizard with Force Disc, a spell that creates a paper thin disc of magical force used to carry heavy objects, wishes to spin the disc around his body in order to keep creatures at bay. The Wizard would make his Will Power check (at 10%) to do so. The manipulated Force Disc spell would do damage to any creature unlucky enough to venture into the Wizards Strike range.
ALIGNMENTS
There are no character alignments in the Gateway RPG System. Each character benefits from performing good actions (helping someone in need, or charity) and will suffer the consequences from poor choices (murder, theft only if you are caught!).
LAST WORDS
The GMs job is to tell an interactive story, act the parts of the NPCs, help the players, but most off all, make the world a fun environment for the players to adventure in! I look forward to our adventures in the coming weeks!
Argontath was originally created in 1978 with a dear friend of mine, James Corman (1966-1982). It has been a labor of love and many hours of enjoyment with good friends, sticky pop stains, and greasy pizza (with a few potato chips tossed in for good measure). I hope that you too, will find equal enjoyment!
The Bandit Kingdoms
Dakar
Darria
The Darrtethian Imperium
The Free Pirates of Frandell
The Hawk Plains
The Khormanian Empire
The Golden Kingdom of Lankhoria
Lork-Ta
Mahg-Lastria
Mahg-Maranda
The Morthian Swamps
Olladra
The Knight Kingdom of Paladar
R'K'K
Rithgar
The Forests of Shimbala
Shimbala
The Yyprissian Jungle
The player races of Argontath are quite diverse. Here is a quick listing of the races, their nationalities and their country of origin:
RACE: KHOMAN (Human)
Bandite (The Bandit Kingdoms - Land of the Silent Hand)
Frandellian (Frandell - Chain of the Frandellian Pirates)
Hawk Nomad (The Hawk Plains - Lands of the Hawk Nomads)
Khormanian (Khormania - The Khormanian Empire)
Lankhorian (Lankhoria - The Golden Kingdom)
Lork-Tanian (Lork-Ta - Borderlands of the Unspoken One)
Morthok (The Morthian Swamp - The Fens of the SLith)
Olladran (Olladra - The Grand State of Olladra)
Riken (RKK - Great Hive of the Mantis Warriors)
Ypprisian (The Ypprisimo Jungle - Land of the Yeth-Kari)
RACE: SHIMBA (Elven)
Darrian (Darria - The Silver Realm of the East)
Shimbalan (Shimbala - Realm of the Spires of Dawn)
RACE: MAHG (Dwarven)
Lastrian (Mahg-Lastria - Great Chasm of the Mantle)
Marandan (Mahg-Maranda - Gem of the Southern Star)
RACE: DARRTETHIAN
Darrtethian (Darrtethia - The Darrtethian Kehendrate)
RACE: DAHK-SHAAR (The Lion People)
Dakarian (Dakar - The Steppes of the Dahk-Shaar)
RACE: VOTHAUR (The Horse People)
Hawkanian (The Hawk Plains - Domain of the Vothaur)
RACE: RITHGARIAN (The Dragon People)
Rithgarian (Rithgar - Jewel of the Dragon-Lord)
RACE: SATYR
Shimbalan (The Forests of Shimbala - The Satyrs Domain)
SPECIAL
Paladarian (Paladar - The Knight Kingdom of Paladar)
The following race/nationalities are part of the Paladarian society:
Khoman: Khormanian - Lankhorian - Ôlladran
Shimba: Darrian - Shimbalan
Mahg/Mahg-Marandan
Darrtethian
The gods of Argontath play a very important role in the day-to-day affairs of the people. Each god is given worship, even though a particular deity may not be their prime focus. Phu'Zuul, the Goddess of Decay and Disease is worshipped by all in hopes that her touch might over look them. Homage is given to the All-Father, Odaden, with the thanks of creation. Even Kyste, the insect god is given minor prayer so that the many-legged creatures of the khaas may not enter their home. The Gods are quite involved with the different races of Argontath, in as much as they will seek to influence events, grant favor, and even curse those that are blasphemers.
They are broken up into four distinct groups. The Mantri, who are called the Lords of Light and considered by many to be benevolent beings. The Kirei, who cause the hearts of many to weaken and are thus given title, The Lords of Darkness. The Lethin, Lords of the Elements and all their righteous fury. And finally, the Khaas, Lords of the World. Only Odaden, the All-Father, sits alone and judges from the everlasting skies.
The Creator When one looks to the sky, the Creator can be seen. Odaden is worshipped by all and given thanks at the beginning and end of each day. The priesthood of Odaden is made up of Ôlladran initiates from the other twenty-one priesthoods. The Priesthood of Odaden works to keep the balance between each of the other priesthoods.
Lord of the Mantri - Life and Healing Deity of Healing and Life. Tara is the most widely worshipped deity on Argontath. The clergy of Tara is reputed to have great healing powers and rumored to have the power of life restoration. Second only to Odaden, the Taran Priesthood is the most respected. Tara is the patron of the Knight Kingdom of Paladar.
Lord of the Mantri - Wisdom and Light Argontathian Deity of the Sky; the name means The Bright Shining One. Popular to swear by, but not seriously worshipped in the civilized human countries. It is believed by some that he rides his fiery bear across the heavens, spreading the Halo of Light over the skies. Sain is the patron of the Hawk Nomads.
Lord of the Mantri - Strength and Physical Prowess Deity and Lord of Strength and Physical Prowess. A favorite among smiths, soldiers, and warriors. It is rumored that Rath will, in times of dire need, bestow great strength onto an individual to help them, but only if called upon. Many smiths pay homage to Rath as the deity of metalworking. Rath is the patron of Shimbala.
Lord of the Mantri - Love and Peace Comek is the Deity of Love and Peace, and the beneficial emotions generally. Comek is the opposite of Koron, the Lord of Hatred. Comek is one of the more popular deities of Argontath. Comek is depicted as male and female and sometimes combined as one being. Comek is the patron of the Free States of Comek.
Lord of the Mantri - Weather and the Seasons A very ancient Argontathian Deity identified with Weather and the Everchanging Seasons. Placatory sacrifices are common to soothe Mantush's sudden violent swings. Not many city dwellers worship Mantush with fervor as he is popular mostly with farmers and nomads.
Lord of the Mantri - Growth and Fertility Tamen is the Deity of Growth and Fertility. Tamen is generally referred to as the "Land Mother." Tamen is widely worshiped by farmers and others who live off the land, while most city dwellers consider worship of Tamen old-fashioned.
Lord of the Mantri - Joy and Pleasure Delpha is the Deity of Joy and Pleasure in the forms of eating, drinking, singing, sex, humor, and good company. Delpha is worshipped widely in various and sundry ways.
Lord of the Kirei - Death and the Undead The God Whose Name Is Not Spoken.' These are but a few of the terms used to refer to the first of the Lords of the Kirei, the Deity of Death. The Final God does have name, known by all {Akbal}, but spoken by only the fool-hardy as it is believed that anyone speaking the name aloud will die instantly. Various circumlocutions are used to avoid mentioning him; he is known as 'The God of Eternal Sleep', 'The Life Bane', 'Death' or 'The Nameless One' and other such names. The Final God is worshipped by all so that his touch might pass them over.
Lord of the Kirei - War and Justice Voltar is the Lord of War and second only to The Final God in the line of the Kirei. Voltar not only sees over war but also strife, revenge and justice. Voltar is often considered to be the son of The Final God. Voltar is worshipped by more fanatical soldiers and warriors. An initiate priest of Voltar has shackles placed around his or her wrists and ankles with an unbroken chain connecting the respective appendages. It is said that when a priest breaks his or her chains they are ready to venture into the world.
Lord of the Kirei - Chaos and Destruction Khedra is the Deity and Lord of Chaos, Destruction, Lightning, and Thunder. Khedra is believed to be the right hand of Voltar. Khedra is worshipped only by a few people as the road to Chaos and Destruction usually leads to the end of the life of the cultist. Khedra is worshipped mostly by deranged and violent lords, soldiers, and warriors. Khedra is also referred to as the ‘Lord of Entropy’.
Lord of the Kirei - Hatred and Betrayal Koron is the Lord of Hatred, Loathing, Fear, Betrayal, and most of the other negative emotions. Koron is widely sworn by, but worshipped by a relatively small cult. Clergy and followers of Koron are fanatically vengeful.
Lord of the Kirei - Night and Trickery Dhrakos is the Deity and Lord of Night, Trickery, and Deception. Dhrakos is extremely unpopular with the general population. Dhrakos is the patron of the Bandit Kingdoms and of thief and assassin guilds.
Lord of the Kirei - Decay and Disease Phu' Zuul is the Lady of Decay, Disease, and Age. She is considered to be the Handmaiden of Death. Phu' Zuul is worshipped by small cults in Lankhoria and Ôlladra, but is widely prayed to in hopes of warding off her touch.
Lord of the Kirei - Pain and Suffering Sindra is the Deity and Lady of Pain and Suffering. While Koron dominates the actively negative emotions, Sindra is the ruler of the passively negative: Despair, Acquiescence, Sorrow, and Masochism. Sindra is secretly worshipped by those with a sadistic streak throughout Argontath, since physical pain is within her province. Sindra does have a few temples in the larger cities of Argontath.
Lord of the Lethin - Water The Argontathian Lord of the Sea. Worshipped by sailors everywhere. The Azure Sea is believed to hold the underwater palace of Manetoaka. Manetoaka is the patron of the Dwarves of Mahg-Maranda.
Lord of the Lethin - Air The Deity and Lady of Air and the Four Winds. Demose is not seriously worshipped by human-kind, but more by the intelligent air-faring races. The elves of Darria and Shimbala also hold Demose in high regard.
Lord of the Lethin - Earth The Lord of the Earth. Garonda is believed to be the son of Rath and Tamen. Garonda is worshipped by farmers and miners. Garonda is the patron of the dwarven realm of Mahg-Lastria.
Lord of the Lethin - Fire Cymoté is the Lord of Fire. Cymoté is believed to live within one of the active volcanoes of the Frandellian Chain. Cymoté is the patron of the pirates of the Frandellian Isles and blacksmiths everywhere.
Lord of the Khaas - Animals of Land and Sea Maroc is the Lord of Animals of the Land and Sea. Maroc is worshipped by many of the barbaric and nomadic tribes of Argontath. Most followers of Maroc find hunting for sheer pleasure disgusting. Maroc is the patron of the Dahk-Shaar.
Lord of the Khaas - Insects and the R'K'K Kyste is the Deity of all Insect-kind. Kyste has many human followers on the isle of R'K'K called the Riken, but outside R'K'K, Kyste has few followers. Kyste is the patron of the Riken and the insect race known as the R'K'K, or the Mantis Warriors.
Lord of the Khaas - Magic and Runelore Rithgar is the Lord over the Dragonkind and Magic. Some human-kind pay Rithgar homage with the intent to gain power over others. Rithgar is the only known deity to actually have lived upon Argontath upon the isle of Rithgar, called by others the 'Dragon Isle.' Rithgar is also known as the ‘Bringer of Magic’ as it is believed he created both the Sunstone and the Moonstone. It is known that Rithgar is not very forgiving of followers who fail him.
The timescale for Argontath is measured by the Odadenic Calendar of Reckoning. The Ages of which are known are named after the major event of that Age. Only the High-Patriarch and High-Matriarch of the Odadenic Priesthood are allowed knowledge of the Age of Seeding (A.S.) through the Age of Ascension (A.A.). These histories are contained in the Codex of Odaden.
There have been 18 Ages that have passed. The current age is the Age of New Beginnings (N.B.). There is no set amount of time for each age. An age comes and goes as events transpire.
Here you will find a PDF file with the complete World History of Argontath.
DOWNLOAD FULL VERSION OF WORLD MAP
7500x5000 (25.4 MB) - JPG FORMAT
Places of Interest
There are several different types of Magic...
WIZARDRY: The spells of Wizards, Warlocks and Sorcerers - Intelligence Based
MANTRA: Clerical Spells given to the Priesthood by the Gods - Manna Based
LOW FOLK LORE: Lesser Nature based spells of the Druids - Endurance Based
HIGH FOLK LORE: Greater Nature based spells of the Druids - Endurance Based
SONG LORE: The magical musical lilt of the Bards voice - Leadership Based
RUNE LORE: A very rare magic using tools for the creation of items - Skill Based
WORDS OF POWER: The Channelers power. Very rare - Spirit Based
10% of Will Power score will allow the caster to manipulate the spells effect, except for Mantras, Rune Lore and Words of Power.
A spellcasters ability is based on their overall percentage score of the spell in question. The higher the ability, the more powerful the spell may become after proper training.
Proficiency Ranks:
Rank 1 (01-40%)
Rank 2 (41-50%)
Rank 3 (51-65%)
Rank 4 (66-75%)
Rank 5 (76-85%)
Rank 6 (86-95%)
Rank 7 (96-00%)
The powers of runelore are complete, but the text file is so large, it crashes Flash and the website. I am placing up a link to runelore until such a time that I can figure out how to properly display said text.
LINK TO POWERS OF RUNELORE
Adventuring requires a lot of equipment; both traveling and camping gear are needed as well as armor and weapons. Good outfitting makes any expedition much easier; you never know when you will need an extra five feet of rope, a silver mirror, or that vial of holy water. It is also often useful to find out from the GM the type of adventure planned and use that as a basis for buying your equipment. For example, an underground adventure would require more lanterns and torches than an expedition through a desert.
For some players this is the most enjoyable part of equipping a character - deciding whether to buy a cloak or a cape, a lantern or torches, a war dog, or even bagpipes.
A wide variety of items are available for purchase. Included in the equipment list is armor, shields, helms, barding, survival gear, cooking utensils, writing implements, documents, maps, clothing, musical instruments, illumination devices, provisions and supplies, mounts, tack and harness, transportation, animals and livestock, religious items, herbs, land and furnishings for any housing acquired-such as mansions, town houses, keeps, and castles. As a rule, any equipment sold back will fetch no more than one-half the original price paid.
The PDF file below is a complete listing of all items available for your character.
These are the sheets need to play a character and keep track of the players in the World of Argontath. The sheets are in PDF format and may be printed for non-commercial use.
The Character Sheet has all the pertinent information about your character's abilities, strengths, weaknesses, family history, equipment, combat abilities, and skills.
The Spell Sheet has required space to record your spells, spell abilities, saving throws, and your skill casting percentage with the spell.
The Gamemasters Sheet includes all of the party/character information the GM will need to properly run a campaign.
CHARACTER CREATION
I will add a PDF file at a later date that will give you step-by-step instructions on how to create a character for use in the World of Argontath.
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