by Douglas Bramlett
Setting and Background
"The Turning of the Wheel" is a modification of the current state of the
Quan Empire for use as a large epic campaign setting in Talislanta. The
information herein can be the basis for many game sessions of intrigue
and conspiracy. The basic ideas are these: what happens to the Quan
after the Kang take over? do any of them think to strike back? What form
would that rebellion take? The following is one set of answers.
In the year 618 (NA) the Kang finally seize total control of the Quan
Empire.
Confined to the old imperial capital of Tian, hundreds of Quan youths
raised to inherit the opulence and decadence of their sires seemed
suddenly robbed of their futures. Many a night was spent listening to
the tales of their aged grand sires and grand dames, tales of the way
their ancestors forged a mighty empire from the ruins of the lands of
the Mazdak, how they subjugated entire races to do their bidding. The
youths listened, and dreamed.
They watched as the coffers of an empire built by scores of their rulers
were drained by the brutal Kang to fund military expeditions against
ancient enemies. Many of the youths accepted their fates: puppet rulers
and administrators who had once been kings but now ruled over the fast
fading ashes of an empire.
But some of them had listened. Some had dreamed. Those few began to
raise their spirits in a cry of dissent. They took down the displays of
martialry that had lain dusty for scores upon scores of years. They
quietly armed themselves with ancient swords, antique bows, decorative
armors and began to train in their homes at night. The mere possession
of these belongings might earn them a swift death if the Kang found out,
but they were determined.
They hearkened back to the tales of their ancestors, tales of conquest
and skill, barbarism and cunning. They recalled those tales and
something within them began to stir. While they dream of rebellion and
train themselves in secret to overthrow the imperious Kang, they are
still few in number and realize the folly that open dissent would be.
Some few of their leaders even begin to suspect that the other subject
races of their old empire practiced the same treacheries. One of the
leaders, Qua-susano, suggests that cooperation with the other subject
races, the Mandalans, the Vajra, the Sun-ra, might enable the
acquisition of resources necessary to actively fight back, but many of
the other rebels dismiss such talk, seeing the other conquered races as
slaves still. Another leader, Qua-shari, suggests distracting the Kang,
encouraging them to wage costly wars against the Saurans, the
Mondre-Khan, and the Chanans, and while they are away, their attentions
diverted, the rebels can seize control of the government once more. Many
rebels dismiss this idea. They wish to have something left to rule once
they oust the Kang. The strain upon the empire's wealth to be involved
in three simultaneous wars would leave nothing. A third leader,
Qua-kucha, suggests sowing conspiracies and dissension amongst the Kang
overlords in an effort to get them to battle one another, effectively
destroying themselves from within. This idea too meets with little
support as few of the Quan yet see fit to integrate themselves so deeply
into the Kang hierarchy.
Eventually, the whispered revolutions of the youth reached the ears of
their elders. Some of the elders recalled the disreputable court wizards
of the past - sulking, brooding Quan who found more interest in the
manipulation of the elements rather than the ruling of empires. Mumbled
mentions of the secret cabals of wizened wu-jen made their way to the
ears of the youths. The youths listened, and by day sought out the old
court advisors, wizards, and wu-jen.
They found the monkish elementalists living at the fringes of Tian. Many
were simply outcasts from the greater mass of beaten Quan - historians,
scholars, and poets. But here and there among them they found old Quan
who like themselves, listened, dreamed and whispered of rebellion. These
wu-jen taught the youths that each Quan is noble and has the ability to
take control of his own destiny.
Just as the Kang Warlords grow secure in their absolute rulership of the
Quan Empire, the young rebels and the old wu-jen find one another and
small groups begin to formulate plans of rebellion. Will the past repeat
itself? Will the Quan once more grow to become the conquerors they once
were? The Wheel of Ages turns and the future is never certain.
New Archetypes
New Skill
MonQuan:
Proficiency in the ancient Quan technique of martial arts which
utilizes grapples, throws, and subduing attacks. In essence, this style
of hand to hand combat uses the practitioner's weight and dexterity to
avoid damage and quickly subdue a foe. Basic maneuvers of MonQuan
include the throat strike, hip throw, hammer block, and palm thrust.
MonQuan stresses ending a combat quickly - subdue your opponent and he
is at your mercy. MonQuan masters are not averse to striking, stunning
an opponent, and then killing their incapacitated foe with a handy
weapon.
Maneuvers include:
Hip Throw and Palm Thrust - success indicates that you have
seized your opponent and slung him away from you, or pushed him
violently away a number of feet equal to your Str.
Hammer Block - success indicates you smash your opponent's arm
with a fierce blow, doing normal hand to hand damage. Critical success
prevents further use of that appendage for a number of rounds equal to
your Str.
Throat Strike - success indicates you drive your hand into your
opponent's throat. Opponent takes full hand to hand damage and must roll
vs. Con or be stunned for a number of rounds equal to the attacker's
Str.
Grapple/Hold - success indicates that you have seized an
opponent in a fierce hold immobilizing him. A contested Str roll between
the attacker and opponent must be successful every round for the hold to
be maintained.
On a result of a partial success on a MonQuan roll, consider the
attack to be a standard hand to hand attack for purposes of damage. On a
failure, nothing occurs. On a botch, the MonQuan practitioner has moved
in too close and opened himself up to his opponent who receives a +1 on
his next combat roll against the practitioner.
GM Notes:
The Quan rebellion is scattered. The Quan rebels are few and often very
young and inexperienced. Some few may have gone to the wu-jen monks for
instruction, but largely the Quan make do with what they learn in the
capital of Tian, or in other cities where they serve as administrators.
Presented above are three main ideas for re-taking the Empire: working
with the other slave races, sending the Kang off to war, manipulating
the Kang to fight one another. Game Masters are encouraged to keep the
resistance cells of Quan small and may take any and all of the ideas as
starting points, perhaps even allowing the PCs to come up with new plans
of their own. Perhaps the different ideologies leads to even more
friction among the Quan nobles, hampering their efforts. Perhaps the
Quan rebels splinter in sub-sects of rebellion each working towards a
similar goal, but using different plans and strategies. One thing is
sure however, the Quan will need the cunning and ingenuity of their
forebears to defeat the Kang for they will never be able to fight them
in a direct physical confrontation. Not yet.
Notes on terminology: a lot of the names in here are sort of things that just
first sprung to mind. Feel free to change at will. The names wu-jen and MonQuan
in particular are things that I would most likely change to better fit a Tal
campaign, but they are good for the purposes here.
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Thanks to Jonathan Elliott, Peter Lind, Tipop, and the rest of the Tal list for
inspiration for this endeavor.
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