diff --git a/systems.tex b/systems.tex index 9ae2462708bfd19fec15f0b8beec17ac2195c501..4778428a26a2c8e98b22dcd40f0b8963797bc666 100644 --- a/systems.tex +++ b/systems.tex @@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ Cities are \tn[7], Towns are 9, and \glspl{village} are 13. A successful roll indicates a working knowledge of the place. \makeRule{makeCamp}{Make Camp}{Intelligence}{Vigilance}{8} +\index{Camping}% starts with a safety check of the area, during daylight. That secures enough space for people to wander a short distance to take a piss in the bushes, or just relax for a bit. @@ -174,6 +175,12 @@ Despite their slow gait, they can out-pace almost anything in the long-term.% \subsection{Journeys on Water} +The coast is a barren border between land and death. +The sea looks calm, but every \gls{storm} brings waves taller than castles. + +Humans begin all sea-voyages by hauling a boat from inland, into the sea, so all boats must be small. +Meanwhile, gnomes maintain ships inside grottos, which gives them time to build larger vessels. + \makeRule{mend_sail}{Mending a sail}{Dexterity}{Seafaring}{10} \makeRule{navigate_ocean}{Navigation open oceans}{Intelligence}{Seafaring}{12} diff --git a/traits.tex b/traits.tex index 0ea2120ac91731bdc9b966b67bd3476bb157ccff..bc688d0f5ac13468a49b465d402fb967ec3b60a7 100644 --- a/traits.tex +++ b/traits.tex @@ -679,27 +679,32 @@ Sailors don't just sail, they typically know how to fish, coordinate reefs, work \end{description} \begin{exampletext} - The assassin finished his finest piece. - It had cost him two whole \glsentrylongpl{gp} to gather the wool, paper, and wax, and have the \gls{paperGuild} fashion the white squares. - It took him \emph{days} to sew everything together. + ``Everyone wants to sail, nobody wants to build a boat''. + Keelvore muttered the old phrase, as if cursing an enemy. + Nobody could reliably cart stone from another land with two-man boats, and nobody could build a larger boat -- \gls{storm} destroys everything at every coast at the end of each \gls{cycle}. - The assassin tested the sails on a warm, sunny day. - They billowed fine, and looked perfect. + ``It's impossible!'', he shouted at his own schematics. - And tomorrow, he would sell them for a good price to the captain of the Black Seal -- a proud captain, but a cruel and mean man. - The captain would demand they go up, his men (who knew better than to argue with him, or question his judgement) would put up the sails, and off they would go. - And the sails should hold, at least till they had gone out a day. + ``What's `impossible'?'', a little voice asked, somewhere under table-height. + She hopped up to stand on a stool, and examining the maps, and oversized boat-designs. + Keelvore couldn't tell if she wanted to see the problem, or simply did not understand this one word. + Either way, she was hooked. - Once the sail went up, he would work on their anchor's chain. - The captain (and his crew) didn't stand a chance. + ``My cousin lives in a grotto, here'', she fingered a map. + ``If you could take the boat's mast down, it could live safely inside, even if it were twenty \glspl{step} long''. - The assassin relieved the desk of the weight of his large stomach, greeted the shop-keeper with a friendly wave, and asked cheerily if the shop intended to purchase and mend old sales when they sell new ones. + ``Could little people really build such a boat?'', Keelvore tried to sound non-insulting. - ``Of course -- we can always salvage some material, but just give them a little discount.'' + ``Would big people really want to sail a boat made with little hands? + I couldn't build it, but I could orchestrate the building. + How many humans do you have for labour? + What shall I call you?'' - The assassin had his trophy. - The ship's old sale would identify it by the weave, the holes, and little adverts woven into the edges, along with the date. + ``Maybe twenty?'' + ``Then we can do it -- `Maybetwen' -- stop drinking, we must plan with sober heads.'' + + Keelvore suddenly had doubts, but it seemed somehow too late to back out, even if nothing had begun. \end{exampletext} \subsection{Stealth}