Joss

[Scott]

In a galaxy far, far away, Darth Weigel posted this

I was thinking why isn't a heroic fighter inherently magical? I know the computer games have mana for everybody these days but it misses the mark. "Secular" characters like the fighter generate more excitement than some stodgy coot in a robe any day of the week.

What I'm trying to say is shouldn't there be some "magical representative" of heroism and glory? Or just deeds like helping someone?

I know one can argue that its already represented in the hit points but shouldn't it be marked off somehow for in-play "implementation"?

and this

But what I'm driving at is a score that is like a personal mojo that takes on a "life" of its own rather than be manipulated by the player it is the opposite. The player has to own up to his destiny making the unknown fraction of xp translated to that unknown fraction of hp which represents luck or the supernatural into somethingof a supernumerary exponent that is "magically potent". Sort of dormant but magically powerful or "spirituallly reflexive" under the right circumstances.

I was thinking JOSS might fit the bill. As my Mythus experience is still very limited, I was hoping an expert might weigh in with an opinion.

[GT]

Indeed, in Mythus joss rpresents the inherent "luck" and "good karma" that seems inherent to the brash but heroic. It is not unlimited, but it can alter a situation enough to make a difference. There was also "anti-Joss"... ^__^

[geneweigel]

But was it supposed to represent the same residue in the components of magic item creation?

[GT]

Not directly--although any character could accumulate Joss. It's hard to compare Mythus to AD&D--I actually feel that Mythus had the better system for such things. But you could give Fighters in AD&D a somewhat watered-down version of Joss I reckon... kinda like a minor "Change Reality" to impose a bit of the balance that you are seeking. All the way back in 1979, my original DM incorporated "luck points" which were hard- earned and hoarded for the right moment. I never incorporated that into my campaign, but...

[dcas]

So what did Joss do? Give you a mulligan when you needed it?

[GT]

Heh! you could "spend" it when you needed it to better your situation. Page 129 of the Mythus manual gives a run-down on this... It was not omnipotent and could be countered by joss spent by opponents. Basically, it emulated the dumb luck that might save your behind in a dire situation. It wasn't necessarily easy to come by... if your HP (character) attempted an extremely difficult task and succeeded, you might get a point or two; and likewise at the conclusion of an extremely difficult module (like Necropolis or Lost Ziggurat, for example... ^__^)

[dcas]

I'd like to hear some more about this Lost Ziggurat module. This is the 2nd time I've heard you mention it.

[GT]

I've threatened Rob to hand it over to him at some point when he finishes all of his other projects. It was an unpublished Mythus adventure (like the city setting of Ascalon in that respect). It was set in Babylonia in a strange underground labyrinth built by the evil Irra-Dumu, and the majority of encounters were based on the old Sumerian-Akkadian-Babylonian mythos. There was a brief trip to Tyre involved, and a possible tie-in with the Starfire Guild. My group ran it, and Gary got to review the critter stats; then T$R intervened and the project halted. But, who knows... it may yet see the light of day.

[dcas]

You could hand it over to me instead. . . . Of course, that wouldn't help get it published.

[GT]

I promise that when I get a new scanner, you and Scotty and Gene will be the first to see the thing. I think Scott may have seen a critter stat list from the adventure--don't remember for sure. Gary made me tone down one of the monsters a bit. It has weaknesses, but they are not easy to take advantage of... And remember, you're dealing with demons, undead and a would-be demi-god!

[Scott]

It would probably translate well into LA.
I've seen the monster list, but it was one of the files I lost when my computer crashed, along with tons of old letters from Gary, Rob, Ernie, Luke, Mark Ratner, etc. The shadow critters, the monsters from the lower planes, the Unhallowed Rules, the Changeling rules, etc. etc. etc.
Definately looking forward to seeing it.

[Scott]

Of course, I'd like to see how it translates into a D&D, CU, C&C, "generic" format as well.

[dcas]

admin said:

It would probably translate well into LA.

That's what I was hoping.

[geneweigel]

If you read page 102 of Mythus it says the term "joss" is Pidgin English for "deus". As in "deus ex machina". Which if you look at it thats exactly what it is: a way out of an impossible situation. I think we recently had a conversation about "d.e.m." somewhere. Where the hell was that?

Anyway, thats not what I was aiming at in my elaboration elsewhere although it could be extrapolated later on from what I was driving at.

[geneweigel]

I found it, It was the Deities & Demigods thread that I was sidetracked on.

[dcas]

If Necropolis can be D&D-ized, I would think that Lost Ziggurat could, too.

GT, I take it that LZ is a typewritten MS. at this point? How many pages? Might it not be possible to photocopy it and send it out to a few folks (ahem) for transcription? Or were you planning on investing in some OCR software along with the new scanner?

[GT]

Well, actually the text is on a disc, although it started out hand-written/typewritten---but all of the maps are currently hand-written on graph paper. I'm sure it can be D&D-ized a la "Necropolis", but because of the "Sumero-Babylonian Culture" of it, it stands better in Mythus. I wanted to run some of you guys through it at some point to get some other points of view. In my old group of players it claimed three or four victims out of a party of twelve... ^__^

[Lord Kjeran]

Chello!

That sounds like an excellent adventure for Mythus!!! I always liked the Middle Eastern as presented therein...they had the feel of "ancient and wicked" civilizations, old and decadent.

And I really wanted to see the Ascalon set...

Tony

[dcas]

I was reading the old "Lejendary AsteRogues" files and it appears that there was a Joss "stat" in there, too.