Okay... my original idea that the stamp was important doesn't work with Shaping magic... a good mage could counterfeit stuff way too easily.
So, to have a secure currency, they would have had to make them out of specific metals. Let's see...
Four metals: copper, silver, gold and white gold.
Two sizes: small and large (large being 5x the weight of the small and 5x the value).
Copper = 1
Lg. Copper = 5
Silver = 10
Lg. Silver = 50
Gold = 100
Lg. Gold = 500
White Gold = 1000
Lg. White Gold = 5000
That would work, but is probably too big of a difference. If commoners get a copper for about an hour's work, then a copper would be about $5 by modern American standards... A lg. white gold coin would be $25,000. Yeah, that's a bit too much.
Okay, assume that Silver & White Gold are the same thing... they're both whitish, right?
Maybe drop the size diff...
Copper = 1 ($5)
Silver = 5 ($25)
Gold = 25 ($125)
White Gold = 125 ($630)
Better... Let's go with a silver as what you get paid for a normal day's work... 10 coppers. Gold is a week's work. White Gold is a month's work.
Tokens = .1 to .5 (pocket change)
Copper = 1 ($5)
Silver = 10 ($50)
Gold = 50 ($250)
White Gold = 200 ($1000)
It's illegal for anyone other than a white or royal mouse to own Imperials (white gold coins). They are strictly reserved for the nobility. Lower classes who manage to get their hands on them are generally stuck selling them to an upperclass moneychanger who will generally only pay as though they were gold coins.
Hm.
Tokens = .1 to .5 (basically $5 to $25, .1 being a typical hourly wage]
Copper = 1 ($50) [1 day's wages]
Silver = 7 ($350) [1 week's wages]
Gold = 30 ($1500) [1 month's wages]
White Gold = 360 ($18,000) [1 year's wages]
As a general rule, you get an income equal to 1/100th of your total money spent on investments.
So, a peasant who manages to save up 100 coppers could buy a partial share in some store or large farm and net about a copper a day. Yeesh, that's way too good. That's about a... let's see... 365 coppers per year on an investment of 100 coppers... about a 365% interest rate. A realistic interest rate would be closer to 5-10%. I think I could see saying that for every 5000 coppers you invest, you get 1 copper back per day.
Two Weapon Combat Edge: lets you use a light weapon in each hand. Primary advantage is ability to do a Bind/Attack. Basically, you can either attack or parry with one weapon, then apply its success level as a bonus to a follow-up attack the same round. Naturally, you have to be within attack range and all that.
Should some weapons add more or less than +d6 per extra success level? I could see blunt weapons doing +1 or +2 damage but only adding +d4... I doubt there would be any +d8 weapons... I think that would have to be reserved for piercing stuff like arrows and spears if I had it.
+d4 per level: blunt weapons, oversized blades
+d6 per level: edged weapons
+d8 per level: piercing weapons like arrows, spears and stilettos.
Maybe just keep it simple to begin with. I'm not sure I really need any serious differences between a mace and a sword for Hyperborean Mice.
Some more possible diffs:
Biting: -5 to hit unless you grapple them first. Better damage than punches, though...
Punch: 1d2 (1/2 stun)
Bite: 1d4, -5 to hit if not grappling
Kick: 1d3 (1/2 stun), -1 to hit
Knife/dagger: 1d4
Short sword: 1d6
Long sword: 1d8
Two-handed sword: 1d12
Axes do +1 damage, but are -1 to parry.
Polearms have reach, but are -5 to attack at close range (parrying is unaffected)
Blunt does 2 smaller dice but 1 point per die is Stun. Soft & blunt does 1/2 stun.
Rats can fall 50 ft without serious injury.
They can see further than mice (2 ft vs 6 inches of clear vision). Give 'em +1 Per.
Unbalanced: the equivalent of Reeling. You have to spend your next action regaining your balance. If you absolutely have to take an action before then, you can spend a Drive Point to remove your Unbalanced state. If you are already Unbalanced and something makes you Unbalanced again, you fall down instead. If you've already fallen down as well, you get an extra Unbalanced trait and have to spend an extra action (or Dp) to get rid of it.
Charge: move & attack in one action, then become Unbalanced.
Roll with Blow: spend a Drive point to cut the amount of damage that you just took in half, after which you become Unbalanced. If you spend more than one Drive point, cut the damage in half again for each additional one.
Give the PCs a free Drive point once every major adventure, so that even mage-types can become more durable. Hm. There could reasonably be a "level UP!" option... when you declare one, everyone gains +2 HP and +1 Drive point.
Falling: make an Acrobatics roll vs the difficulty (based on height) or take 2d6 damage. +d6 if encumbered, +d6 if landing on something hard like concrete or rock, -d6 if landing on something particularly soft. With a crit, you land on your feet and are just Unbalanced. With a double crit, you land on your feet.
Roll Acrobatics. The difficulty is the number of paces you fell.
Polearms get extra range and possibly extra damage, but suck for parrying. Best used in large formations where you can't be flanked.
"Tall" might give +1 to hit with melee attacks due to extra reach, but since I'm using non-humans it's probably not appropriate.
Finishing Blow: This is a powerful attack intended for finishing off a fallen or otherwise helpless foe. The target gets a +5 bonus to Evade the blow, but if they do get hit they take an extra 2d6 damage.
Danger Sense (per): This is the skill of sensing danger through tiny, normally unnoticed sounds and sensations. You can roll it to try and snap out of sleep if attacked while resting. It also determines the difficulty of ambushing you. The difficulty varies according to how hard it should be to realize that something is amiss (snapping out of sleep is easier than realizing your drink is poisoned).
Spend a Drive point to use a Dodge/Evasion manuever during circumstances when you normally couldn't, such as when you've been knocked down.
Hm. Been reading over the Usagi Yojimbo book at home. Interesting system. As an exercise, I tried to figure out how hard it would be to convert HM over to use that system.
Magic would presumably be a sixth stat that always starts at 0 (and goes to d4 if you get Improved Magic Trait x1, d6 if you get it x2, etc. ).
New gift - Improved Magic Trait: if your Magic rating is currently zero, it becomes d4; otherwise, it goes up 1 die size to a max of d12.
New careers -
Mage: applies to Lore: Magic, Presence, Sense Magic and
Shaper: applies to Lore: Magic, Shape Spell, Craft and Observation. Gifts are Improved Magic Trait and Artistic (+1 to Craft, Presence, etc.)
Healer: applies to Lore: Medicine, Shape Spell, Probe Spell and Inquiry. Gifts are Improved Magic Trait and Investiture?
Beast-handler: applies to Animal Lore, Compel Spell, Influence Spell, and Riding. Gifts are Improved Magic Trait and Animal Empathy.
Evoker: applies to Lore: Magic, Manipulate Spell, Spark Spell and Presence. Gifts are Improved Magic Trait and Magical Reserves.
Hm.
Or each spell could be a Gift on its own, meaning that most mages would only be able to perform a few spells.
MAGICAL GIFTS:
These gifts cover spells and spell-casting. Unlike most gifts, when they "exhaust", it actually means that you suffer a level of fatigue, rather than exhausting the gift.
Manipulate Spell:
- always: you can cast the Manipulate spell by rolling against 2d4 (instead of the usual 2d8). If you fail the roll, you suffer a level of fatigue.
- always: you can cast a concentrated Manipulate spell whose effective Strength is equal to twice your Magic rating, but only lasts one round. Also, you suffer a level of fatigue automatically.
Hm. Roll vs 2d8 to cast any of the six standard spells. The right Gift will reduce the difficulty to 2d4. Dunno... I'd have to look at that.
Magical Reserves:
- X(5): you can tap this gift to power a spell, as per the spell's description.
Manipulate:
- spend Magical Reserves or Focus to telekinetically move objects as long as you concentrate. Your effective strength & speed (for contests) is equal to your Magic rating, but you suffer a -2 penalty to tests (your opponent gets an extra 2d12 to roll).
- spend Magical Reserves or Focus to telekinetically shove or pull an object for a single action. Your effective strength & speed (for contests) is equal to your Magic rating.
- X(auto): improve the strength of your continuous manipulate so that there is no penalty.
- X(auto): perform a shove or push but maximize your roll.
Hm. To steal an idea from other systems, let's group them together.
Gift: Internal Magic - grants Probe and Shape spells.
Gift: Physical Magic - grants Manipulate and Spark spells.
Gift: Mental Magic - grants Influence and Compel spells.
That way, being able to throw around all 6 spells costs 3 Gifts... exactly your beginning allotment of "free" Gifts. You're better off taking a mage-career, of course, which will give you one too.
Healer: Internal & Improved Magic Trait. Applies to Medicine.
Shaper: Internal & Improved Magic Trait. Appies to Craft.
Evoker: Physical & Improved Magic Trait. Applies to Presence.
Beast-handler: Mental & Improved Magic Trait. Applies to Animal Handling and Riding.
Sorcerer (compels monsters for the army): Mental & Improved Magic Trait. Applies to Tactics.
Cavalry: Mental & Improved Magic Trait: applies to Influence, Tactics, Riding and Spear.
I ought to go ahead and do a short glossary for Hyperborean Mice. As I've recommended to other folks, it can say a lot about the setting.
Setting Glossary
The Alabaster Temple: this enormous white stone abbey (spread over a number of buildings and farms) is the center of the Church. Any priest of decent standing will have been trained here.
The Black Paw: a small and mysterious organization of elite assassins that operates in Haven. The Paw marks their kills with a black pawprint on the forehead, so that folks will know who really killed them. They sell their services to the wealthy, but they also eliminate individual gleaners who have offended the leadership of the thieves. Most people in Haven are terrified of the Paw and won't offer shelter or protection to someone that the Paw is hunting for.
The Church: the official religion of the Fallows is the worship of the First Ones as gods. The Church is a huge and sprawling organization that ministers to the populace but also acts as the empire's primary bureacracy and record keepers.
The Citadel of the Titans: an enormous wooden structure so tall that it seems to loom over the rocky ground of the forbidden lands despite being very distant. The Citadel is said to be the home of the ancient Titans. Legends claim that the First Ones bound three terrible serpents to guard it and that they still devour anyone who approaches unless they are of royal blood.
Clothing: intelligent mice wear clothes not to cover their bodies (except during bad weather) but to distinguish them from feral mice. As a result, most mice only wear couple of pieces of clothing at a time, preferably ones that show their occupation and status. The upper classes tend to wear more and more ornate garments, but most commoners can't afford to.
Crows: large, black birds that are surprisingly intelligent. Many of them can actually talk, albeit in a kind of heavily accented pidgin tongue. They have been known to trade with towns on the outskirts of the empire, but are considered very untrustworthy and are often blamed for mysterious thefts. They are mostly interested in shiny objects and food and will readily trade one for the other. Crows who travel into the inner regions of the Fallows are liable to be driven away or killed by the military.
The Empire: the government that rules the Fallows. The current Emperor is Luciel XXIV, a direct descendent of Luciel the Divine, leader of the First Ones. The government's reach used to extend to the edges of the Fallows and beyond, but these days it is in decline and only truly controls the inner lands.
The Fallows: the great field that the First Ones conquered and where they established their empire.
Feral: a common term for mindless mice, to distinguish them from the talking sort. Feral mice fear talking mice instinctively and avoid areas where they can be found, so they are extremely rare within the borders of the Fallows.
First Ones: the original White Lords, the white mice who conquered the Fallows and established the empire. According to popular belief, the First Ones eventually ascended to godhood and became the gods. Since the current White Lords are their descendants, it's common to refer to the First Ones as White Lords as well.
Fleaman's Day: one of the most popular festivals in the empire, Fleaman's Day is celebrated by lighting bonfires and dancing around them to music. It is a day of festivals, feasts and public entertainment in all of the larger towns. It is believed that the burning of the bonfires was originally intended to frighten away the demon Skzentic. By ancient tradition no one ever gets married on Fleaman's Day; it's seen as inviting Skzentic to destroy the newlyweds.
The Forbidden Lands: a large stretch of rocky land between the Fallows and the Citadel of the Titans. Unlike the wildlands, which are merely unpatrolled, entrance into the forbidden lands is illegal and has been since the early days of the empire. Military patrols still travel along the edge of this territory periodically, but it's mostly to guard against anything coming in to the empire, rather than to prevent folks from entering the forbidden areas. The forbidden lands are extremely dangerous and many mice who do cross the border never return.
Forsaken: mice who are only semi-sentient, with no magical ability and a tendency to act like mindless wild mice during stress. They used to be very rare, but they are becoming more and more common on the edges of the Fallows. The children of forsaken mice are sometimes forsaken and sometimes outright feral, but (almost) never fully intelligent. It's commonly believed that their parents were cursed by the gods for some hidden sin.
Gleaners: a common term for organized groups of thieves, especially around Haven. The gleaners of Haven are commonly thought of as a tightly disciplined guild of thieves and killers, but the gleaners are actually quite disorganized. Their leaders are called bosses and the common thieves fear to offend them, lest they encounter the Black Paw.
The Gods: the spirits of the First Ones who still watch over the empire. Only the name of Luciel the Divine, the ruler of the gods, is commonly known amongst the populace, and even the church records don't say what all of their names were, because some of them were purged during ancient power struggles in the early days of the empire. Traditionally it is assumed that there are 12 gods.
Haven: the largest city in the Fallows and her unofficial capitol. Haven is widely known as a city of great opportunity, but is rife with crime and has enormous slums. The young and naive are drawn here seeking their fortune but often fall prey to the city's disreputable elements. See also gleaners and the Black Paw.
Hoorooru: a great horned owl, Hoorooru was banished from the Fallows during the time of the First Ones, but his depredations are still feared. He is referred to as the Silent Death, and many mice believe that he is the father of all owls and their god. Some towns on the edges of the empire have offered sacrifices to placate him or even worshipped him outright, but this practice has been banned the cult suppressed. Many mice refer to any owl as Hoorooru, mistakenly believing that there is only one owl in the region.
The Imperial Palace: the huge stronghold of the White Lords. The original structure was built as a fortress of metal and stone to protect them from the Ka'ats, but later generations have expanded it into an ornate and barouque monstrosity. Each emperor has added at least one new room and often an entirely new wing. It extends for a great distance underground as well as on the surface.
Jumping Mouse: a species of intelligent mice who are not actually descended from the First Ones, but were granted intelligence by them. Jumping mice are somewhat rare and have not thrived like rats have, but they are still considered to be citizens of the empire.
Littermates: a common term for fraternal twins, siblings given birth to at the same time who aren't genetically identical. It's very common for children in the lower classes to have littermates (forsaken mothers have even been known to give birth to five or six children at a time) but it's rare among the upper classes. White mice generally only have one child at a time, with the occasional twins. The royal family hasn't had more than one child live from a single birth in generations.
Ka'at: huge and terrible monsters who once warred against the First Ones, Ka'ats are now believed to be extinct and none have been seen inside the Fallows for many generations. According to ancient texts, they were gigantic four-legged monsters that fought with tooth and claw and considered mice a more tasty meal than any other. Some of them are said to have possessed magical powers and been capable of speech, but the ancient texts vary on this point. The imperial throne is made from the skull of a Ka'at slain by the first emperor.
Mage: any mouse who has been trained to use magic, especially if they pursue it as a career.
Magic: all intelligent mice have some level of magical power inside of them. With sufficient training, they can learn to produce magical effects in their vicinity by exerting those energies externally.
Mouse: the term mouse is most correctly used to refer to actual mice, but since they dominate the Fallows in both numbers and political power, it is also commonly used as a general term for all of the intelligent rodents.
Priest: any mouse who is a member of the Church, instead of just a follower of it. Priests are no longer considered members of their own family, but are now part of the Church. They cannot inherit from their relatives, making the priesthood a good spot to send "unneeded" children from noble families. It keeps them from making trouble. Most priests are white mice.
Rat: the talking rats of the Fallows are not descendants of the First Ones, but were granted intelligence by them so that they could be used as slaves. They have a lot more freedom these days, but they are still generally an underclass in the Fallows.
Riding Beetles: any of several breeds of strong and oversized beetles that are bred as beasts of burden and mounts. They are raised in special farms from eggs and grubs and require several years to reach adulthood. The males have large and ornate horns and are favored as mounts by the upper classes, while the females are smaller, unornamented, and generally used as beasts of burden. Riding beetles are quite strong and almost tireless, but very stupid.
Scurrying: the act of dropping to all fours and running like a mindless feral mouse is known as scurrying. It's regarded as a disgraceful and shameful act, much like soiling oneself in public, but even highly ranked mice have been known to scurry when in mortal danger. Scurrying is much faster than running upright, but it's impossible to carry anything in your paws when you do so and wearing restrictive garments (especially armor) may make it impossible.
Shaping: magic can be used to sculpt metal, wood, stone or even living flesh into new forms. This process is known as Shaping. Lacking proper forges or any extensive knowledge of metallurgy, the mice of the Fallows depend on Shaping to mold raw or scrap metal into useful implements.
Shrew: a predator similar in appearance to a small mouse, shrews are known for their voracious appetites and their horrifying habit of making their lairs in the homes of mice that they have eaten. They vary in intelligence from mindless animals that run on all fours to intelligent but bestial savages who can walk upright and wield weapons. The mindless shrews are generally found alone, but the more intelligent variety often group themselves into gangs led by whichever shrew proves best at providing food for the entire group. Failed leaders are often cannibalized by their followers; shrews are always hungry. Some shrews actually have a poisonous bite.
Skzentic: the demonic lord of pests and parasites. Many ancient rituals (particularly Fleaman's Day) were originally intended to placate or ward off Skzentic and his children. Some particularly depraved cults have sprung up around the worship of this entity, but they have all been banned by the empire. There is a great deal of disagreement about Skzentic's appearance, with popular depictions being a great bloated toad, a huge, half-rotten fly and a huge, bloated tick with a hairless mouse's head.
Sssa: the Keeper of Secrets. Sssa is rumored to be a huge and highly intelligent serpent with magical powers. Banished from the Fallows by the First Ones, Sssa still lurks around its borders. Sssa likes to talk with travellers from hiding and often promises them magical aid if they will perform small, nonsensical tasks for him. He has a reputation for slowly and gradually leading his followers to commit greater and greater crimes on his behalf. His motivations for this are obscure and having voluntary dealings with the serpent is forbidden by law.
The Titans: a mysterious race of giants as tall as trees. They are mentioned only in the most ancient of surviving texts in the Church archives. The First Ones apparently considered themselves the children and slaves of the Titans. It's believed that they declared the forbidden lands to be such in order to make sure that no one disturbed these sleeping giants. The enormous structure visible beyond the forbidden lands is referred to as their Citadel.
Tzarchul: an extinct species that lived in the Fallows before the time of the First Ones. Little is known about them, but their ruins dot the countryside. Physically, it's believed that they resembled fat and tailless rats. Important Tzarchul had a habit of burying their wealth with themselves in hidden tombs protected by cunning traps.
Weasel: common term for any mustelid-like predator. These monsters have been responsible for the destruction of entire villages, but thankfully are quite rare. They are regarded as being so dangerous that whenever one is sighted, the imperial army is dispatched to kill it.
White Lord: any of the white mice who form the nobility of the Fallows. The White Lords are all descendants of the First Ones. The royals are particularly noted for their pink eyes and tendency towards albinism. All White Lords are believed to possess strong magical potential, even if they never learn to use it. The term can also be used to refer to the gods themselves, since they were the original White Lords.
White Mice: white fur is considered the mark of noble blood amongst mice and the upper classes are almost entirely white mice. Mice of other colors are generally considered commoners, although those with patches of white in their fur can at least claim to have some noble blood.
Wildland: a general term for the wild and lawless areas where the empire's control is negligible. Outlaws and bandits often hide in wildlands. Many small towns and villages that used to be considered part of the empire proper have gradually found themselves forced into independence as the empire's influence wanes and its size contracts.