Last Days of Atlantis: Character generation notes

Roger Burton West

November 18, 2005

1 General rules

Points budget: is 220, with up to 100 points of disadvantages (though I'd recommend giving serious thought to stopping at 50). See also the note below regarding languages.
Influencing Success Rolls: (described on page 347) is not available.
Tech level: is TL1^; count it as TL1+1 or TL2 for cross-TL skills. Standard starting wealth for Atlanteans is $750; as usual, 80% of this will be tied up in housing, transport, etc., though a single weapon may be counted as ``wardrobe'' rather than ``adventuring gear''. Note that the rest of the world is at straight TL1 (i.e. bronze age).
Equipment: is mostly TL1 bronze. Bronze ``TL2''-style weapons (shortswords, long spears, etc.) may be bought for the listed cost in spite of their tech level, but note the quality rules at 275. Orichalcum-backed bronze weapons and armour count as iron; TL2 iron weapons and perhaps more importantly armour are therefore available, at twice the listed cost. Solid orichalcum might be even better, but would be insanely expensive. Signature Gear (85) is available.
Names: can be found at the Onomastikon; taking a Greek name and sophisticating it is a good start, though for Amazon names the Wikipedia article has a more comprehensive list. Typically the form of a person's name is ``(name) of (place)'', or sometimes ``(name) (epithet)''.

2 Advantages

Languages

available are Atlantean, Greek (native Atlantean gives broken Greek, and vice versa), Khemite and Themiscyran. Other languages for Obscure Foreign Types ad lib.

Literacy

is standard for Atlanteans but must be bought, as it's certainly not standard in the rest of the world. (Or if you prefer, tell GCA that you're building a 217-point character.)

Oracle

is available, though the more accurate Precognition is not. Not all Oracles put on the level of show of a Pythian.

Religious Rank

coexists with Status and therefore costs 5 points per level. There are five ranks in the Atlantean hierarchy; ranks 3-5 give a +1 bonus to status.

Status

in this game will typically be 2-3.

Status Examples

7 The Emperor

6 The nine princes

5 Senior members of the royal family

3-4 Lesser cousins, the aristocracy

1-2 Wealthy merchants, sea captains, soldiers risen through skill to trusted posts, minor landowners

0 The common people

-1 Slaves and gutter scum

Talents

beyond those in the Basic Set are available:

Allure: (5pt/level): Dancing, Erotic Art, Makeup, Sex Appeal, Singing.
Bard: (5pt/level): Heraldry, Literature, Musical Influence, Poetry, Public Speaking, Singing.
Devotion: (5pt/level): Autohypnosis, Exorcism, Meditation, Religious Ritual.
Goodwife: (5pt/level): Cooking, Diagnosis, Gardening, Housekeeping, Sewing.
Mariner: (10pt/level): Boating, Crewman, Freight Handling, Knot-Tying, Meteorology, Navigation, Shiphandling.
Master Builder: (5pt/level): Architecture, Carpentry, Engineer, Forced Entry, Masonry.
Sage: (10pt/level): Archaeology, Expert Skills, Geography, Heraldry, Hidden Lore, History, Law, Literature, Occultism, Philosophy, Research, Theology.

Trained by a Master

is available, as are Weapon Master and most of the cinematic skills.

3 Disadvantages

Alcoholism: is becoming more common. Other addictive drugs tend not to be available.
Bully: would once have been unthinkable, but is now all too frequent.
Compulsive Carousing: tends to go together with alcoholism, but either could occur on its own.
Congenial: is a common quirk.
Intolerance (non-Atlanteans): is not universal but still quite common.
Gluttony: is on the increase, clearly a sign of the times.
Laziness: is also more frequent than it used to be - and not the good sort of laziness that causes someone to find an easier way to get the job done.

4 Skills

Riding: is rare, since Atlantean horses are about the size of modern ponies.
All warriors: will know Shield, Shortsword, Spear, Thrown Weapon (Spear) and Wrestling (Sport).
Some warriors: will also know Bow and/or Sling; ranged weapons are acceptable, though relying exclusively on them would be considered cowardly.
Noble warriors: will also know Teamster (Equines).
Elephant Cavalry: will know Riding (Elephant) and Animal Handling (Elephant), Bow, or Spear plus Thrown Weapon (Spear).
Priests: will know Knife, Lasso, Religious Ritual, Staff, Theology and probably Animal Handling.
Athletes: will know Teamster (Equines), Running, Boxing Sport, Wrestling Sport and Throwing. Some will also know Riding, though horse races are a relatively minor part of the contests.

5 Techniques

Chariot Archery: (Hard, default Bow-6, cannot exceed Bow skill level) is the technique of firing a bow from a chariot or other wheeled vehicle. Modifiers for firing while moving may not reduce the Bow skill below the Chariot Archery level.
Chariot Spear-Throwing: (Hard, default Thrown Weapon (Spear)-6, cannot exceed Thrown Weapon (Spear) skill level) is the technique of throwing a spear from a chariot or other wheeled vehicle. Modifiers for firing while moving may not reduce the Thrown Weapon (Spear) skill below the Chariot Spear-Throwing level.
Sharp Turn: (Hard, default Teamster-1, cannot exceed Teamster skill level) can be learned to offset the -1 penalty to Teamster skill for performing a $120\,^{\circ}$ turn after two yards (or a $60\,^{\circ}$ turn after one yard).

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Last Days of Atlantis: Character generation notes

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Roger Burton West 2005-11-18

Status	Examples
7	The Emperor
6	The nine princes
5	Senior members of the royal family
3-4	Lesser cousins, the aristocracy
1-2	Wealthy merchants, sea captains, soldiers risen through skill to trusted posts, minor landowners
0	The common people
-1	Slaves and gutter scum