Telenet Campaign Summary

DM:	Keith Piddington
Players: (in order of appearance)	Rob, Bryony, Kim, Charlotte, Dave R., Alan, Bernard, Warren, Vern, Cheryl, George, Angela, Cathy, Maureen, Neil, Lawrence, Tara, Dave E., Randie
Location:	Victoria BC
Dates played:	June 1984 - December 1994
Rules system:	Victoria Rules (modified 1st Edition AD&D)

As written at the time, this is the world-notes document read by players in Telenet upon their introduction to the game. SO YOU WANNA PLAY D&D? Welcome one and all to the mad world of Telenet.  This is a place where most things function -- if not exactly as the Players’ Handbook specifies -- at least well enough to give what I hope will be a reasonably playable game. First, a description of the world... Telenet is a fairly large, not-too-dense planet 4th from a standard sun-type star somewhere in a galaxy most self-respecting astronomers wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.  The circumference of the planet is roughly twice that of Earth, but a slightly reduced density leads to gravity being about what we’re used to.  The atmosphere is slightly thinner than ours at sea level, but stays breathable longer at higher altitudes.  Most typical minerals can be found in or on Telenet with the notable exception of uranium, which the DM retains the right to foist on some unlucky adventurers at a future date. Telenet has one moon just slightly smaller than ours, which (for simplicity’s sake) behaves just like Earth’s does in regard to rotation, phases, etc.  Exception: a lunar cycle is 30 days, not 28, thus giving exactly one cycle per month.  Telenet’s moon (in many places called Rata) itself has a small satellite, visible to most only at full moon.  About once every millennium the moons rotate such that the smaller one is seen as a black dot in Rata’s centre for the entire full-moon night -- this "Eye in the Sky" is often held responsible for famine, disasters, wars, etc. -- and in fact is usually completely blameless. Tides on Telenet are somewhat similar to what we’re used to seeing, except the influence of the sun (usually called Joor) is a little less.  Due to the faster surface rotation speed, however, the Coriolis force is considerably greater than on Earth, leading to higher current speeds in the oceans and some truly wicked weather everywhere. A day on Telenet is supposed to be about 24 hours long, but various magics (some even intentional!) have set records of 22 hrs. 54 min. and 27 hrs. 14 min. for day lengths in elvish memory.  There are 30 days to the months and 12 months to a year. Telenet’s weather is something else again.  Between the super-strong Coriolis force, the sheer size of the surface, the varied landforms, and assorted spellcasters’ attempts to control it, the weather is unstable at best.  Variation abounds, both from hour-to-hour and year-to-year, and forecasting it correctly for longer than a few hours in the future is a daunting task for even the wisest sages and highest-level Nature Clerics. One general benefit of all this is to create a wide-ranging "temperate" zone, but the seasons are much more pronounced than we’re used to.  Adventurers can usually expect to lose about one day a month to extreme weather; sometimes several in a row, and more if they’re operating in extreme climates to begin with. A description of numerous rule changes from previous versions of the game appears here, the most noteworthy of which is: Telenet, due to an unfortunate incident several centuries ago, is plagued by a slight glitch in the system that transmits magical energy from point to point.  Thus, the following are permanent features of life here: all spells thrown over distance or involving travel -- this includes any spell with a range greater than "touch" and any spell that moves the caster or recipient (Teleport, Fly, etc.) -- have a 01% chance of failure/reversal. all spells other than travel thrown on oneself or by touch have a 00.5% chance of failure/reversal.  Note that this includes level-draining by undead creatures. All spells thrown by device (wand, item, etc., not scroll) have a 02% chance of failure/reversal. Except when they’re throwing spells, most magic items -- potions, relics, artefacts, weapons, armour, shield, and devices -- work as expected. Scrolls are a special case that the DM will worry about at the time. The level, class, stats, ability, or whatever of the caster or recipient have no bearing on the glitch -- it’s the same for everyone. This applies to spells thrown by Magic-Users, Illusionists, all Clerics, Rangers, Paladins, and anyone using a scroll or appropriate device.  However, the following are never affected by the glitch: the innate abilities of Monks and Paladins spells thrown via the music of a Bard effects of herbs psyonic abilities things the DM doesn’t want it to affect.  Example: if an entire adventure is centered on the operation of one particular device, scroll, or whatever, the glitch will be conveniently ignored. Failure means the spell is simply lost and the points are gone for the day. Reversal is the fun one.  Here, a spell can backfire (a cure causes d8 damage to the casting Cleric, etc.) or a side-effect can occur (the armour on a nearby creature falls off, all magic is lost within 10 feet, everybody in the room is ‘healed’, etc.).  The DM will advise as to results.  In any cast, spell points used are lost to the caster for the day. All spellcasters are made aware of this during their 0th level training; other characters have likely heard of it, or seen results, via swearing spellcasters and unpredictable occurrences.  Characters coming from off-planet, however, could be in for a few surprises... Legend has it that on some parts of the planet magic hardly works at all. So, there you have it.  Some things are still up for changing, revision, updating, or whatever, and suggestions or ideas are always welcome. Above all, this is a game, to be approached with a sense of humour -- augmented by a few stiff belts if the opportunity allows.  If and when your character dies, or things go badly, it’s not worth the effort wailing about it.  Chances are nobody will listen anyway.  If you find yourself in need of a new character, just talk to your friendly DM. It really doesn’t matter a whole lot whether a party accomplishes scads of good deeds during the course of a session, as long as you all have fun not doing it.  So cheers, dears, many more beers, and here’s to the health of my random monster generator! Originally dated May 14 1985 with updates noted April 12 1987 and June 9 1988

 

 

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