Jackals & Hounds

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[Jason Petrasko]

[Bob the Fighter]

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Oh FYI

For those who are interested, XI Scorpius 5 is a real star.



It is listed as a star system that could potentially have a rocky planet.


Sean

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The Persona – Immortal Children of Ra

Step 1: Power In Time

Each Persona gets 18 Points to distribute between

Past (Egypt)
Present (America)
Future (Narmer)

No Time Frame can have less then 2 or more then 8 Points in it.

System Note: If a Persona gets down to 1 Power in a Time Frame he or she cannot Initiate Scenes or Conflicts in that TF. If a Persona gets to 0 in that TF, then he or she slips out of time there and his or her avatar is in limbo until summoned by someone. This someone COULD be another Persona controlled by either the players or the GM. So yes a Persona could be summoned by a Jackal as well. <chuckle>
If a Persona goes to 0 Power in all Time Frames, they have been lost and snuffed out. Their Avatars become mundane and often insane.

Step 2: Avatars

Avatar creation is fairly simple. It is just the physical host that the Hound resides in. It can be either gender (or hermaphroditic) and look however the Persona wants. However, a pale skinned red haired Celtic super model MIGHT look out of place in ancient Egypt. Part of Avatar creation is also choosing a mundane life for the Avatar. Slave, King, rock n roll singer, starship pilot etc…

The Avatar has all the skills necessary to do it’s job, whether as prince or pauper. It is generally very charismatic however, even if not physically comely. The aura of the Hounds draws people to them.

Egypt: Generally Dark skinned, generally Middle Eastern or Nubian (black) skinned. Dark hair, which is often short of bald. It is certainly possible to be a member of another Mediterranean ethnic grouping.

America: Anything goes honestly.

Narmer: Humanity has transformed somewhat. Cybernetics are common as are mutations. Feel free to be a lil more creative with your form.

System Note: An Avatar cannot be changed even if a Persona goes to 0 Power in a Time Frame and is brought back. However, if the Persona has the Card – Power of Set, they can play it and change their persona. This costs 1 Power though. Also, Avatars can die from mortal weapons and means. If so the body can be regenerated but it can be hard to explain why someone who was dead has come back.

Step 3: Horus Companion

Just as the two gods Horus and Re became connected, so did Horus gift some of his power to each of the Hounds. This manifests as a companion of some sort. The Horus Avatar however, never changes once its form is chosen. It can be anything from an animal, to a ring or inanimate object, to a Human of unremarkable visage. In every Time Frame its form is the same so if you choose something odd, it could stand out. The Horus is one part database of information and one part familiar. Although it cannot Summon its Hound, the Companion can hold Skills or Powers for the Avatar and can speak to any other Hound or Horus Companion.

System Note: The Horus Companion does not disappear unless the Persona is completely lost. Then it also becomes a mundane object or being. Since it can communicate across Time Frames, the Companion can warn other Hounds of dangers to its Persona although in differing TF.

Step 4: Skills & Abilities

‘Skills’ is a generic kind of term and has two meanings in Jackals & Hounds. The first are the Avatar Skills which are never spelled out but are appropriate for the occupation of the Avatar. The second are skills specific to the Persona, which are available to ANY of the Avatars. Also, the Horus Companion’s general skill level can be purchased up, its base level is 2.

Abilities & Powers are interchangeable words. It basically describes the metaphysical and supernatural abilities that each Persona possesses. Every Avatar has access to these powers and abilities.

So a Persona has 30 Points to spread among their Avatar Skills, Persona Skills, and & Supernatural Abilities. These are detailed below.

System Note: Any Persona Skill or Ability can be instead or also given to the Horus Companion. Also, to change the power level of the campaign, you can raise or lower the amount of initial purchase points.

PP = Purchase Point (30)
SP = Skill Point

Avatar Skills

Egypt (1 PP = 1 SP)
America (1 PP = 1 SP)
Narmer (1 PP = 1 SP)

Persona Skills

Time Frame Information (1 PP = 1 SP)
Martial Arts (1 PP = 1 SP)
Blend Socially (1 PP = 1 SP)
(More Skills to be added – some might be 2 to 1 in purchasing)

Blessings of Isis (Supernatural Abilities)

Invulnerability (to Mortal / Mundane Weapons)
Mask Self (From other Jackals and Hounds)
Summon (Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Beast, or Shadow) – These are each separate powers
Sacred Weapon
Track Jackals (or Hounds)
Leech Power
Summon Hound (must know name)
Summon Jackal (must know name)
Share Power (If given to a Horus Companion both the Persona and the Companion must have this power)

(More abilities on the way…)

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A few more delicious (I hope) tidbits for the judges to look over...

Mechanical Considerations

D4by3

All resolution in Jackals & Hounds is done by the use of a single die roll. This includes Skills, Abilities, and all Conflicts. Contests are generally single roll events though occasionally, in the case of a chase or physical combat, it may take more then one set of rolls to gain a satisfactory outcome.

Contests

Basic Information

The basic roll made in Jackals & Hounds is a simple 1d4 + (Skill or Ability) + Special. The Persona (Player or GM Controlled) with the highest roll wins. If two people tie for the highest, then those two people continue to roll to break the tie. It is important to note however, that anytime a d4 is rolled, Consequences occur.

Consequences

When a die is cast, it actually affects a Persona in two ways. First he or she may win or lose the current Contest. This has obvious results. They either do or do not succeed in what they were attempting. Secondly, the Persona may gain or lose Power in this Time Frame. Power is fickle and always fluctuates, so when a Persona acts, she may succeed but still lose some of her Power. On the other hand, she may fail in her attempt but gain some power from it.

Power Fluctuation
1 Persona loses 1 Power in this Time Frame
2 Status Quo
3 Persona Gains 1 Power in this Time Frame
4 As 3 above, but Persona also pulls a Heirglyph (Card)

Combined Contests

When two or more Personas on the same “side” of a Contest come together, it can boost the power of their roll. In this case, one Persona is the Pharaoh and all others are the Princes. To be able to support the Pharaoh, the Prince must have a relevant skill or ability.

For example: Sally’s Avatar in the Future is a doctor. Karl’s Avatar is a cyberneticist and Jenny’s is a mutie bar dancer. Karl, can be a prince to Sally but Jenny could not.

However, a Persona without a relevant skill may become a Prince by sacrificing a point of Power in this Time Frame and this gives a +3 Bonus to the Pharaoh for the length of the contest. All other Princes add their relevant skill modifier to the Pharaoh’s roll.

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Scenes & Game Flow

Jackals & Hounds takes place in a series of connected scenes where Personas vie for power and control mostly against the Jackals but sometimes against each other. As enlightened as the Invincible Children are, they are at heart, still Human. Thus they have fickle desires and a sense of arrogance that often puts them at odds with one another.

Added to this is the fact that some Personas are more powerful in a certain Time Frame (TF) then others and this can lead to cooperation (or competition) through the changing of scenes.

Taking a Scene

At the beginning of every session, unless it ended in a cliff hanger or the GM wishes to pass to one of the Players, the Game Master creates the first scene and the first conflict. This will often set the tone for the session. (More on this in Part IV).

When a Persona goes to take (or steal some would say) a scene, he or she must adhere to three (3) rules:

1. The new scene MUST be in a new Time Frame
2. The Persona must declare one Conflict / Contest to be resolved in the scene
3. The Persona must set the scene by describing what is going on and who is with him or her at that moment

Now a Persona may try and take a scene at any time, even in the midst of an extended Contest, as long as no rolls are pending. Essentially once the participants in the contest go to throw some dice those rolls must be finished before the scene can be taken.

For Example: Sally is playing poker versus the Jackal Bond. She is losing badly. Jenny cannot take the scene while Sally and Bond are rolling dice to resolve conflicts, however since this is an extended contest (multiple rolls), Jenny can take the scene and move it to Ancient Egypt where she can try and intervene in some way on Sally’s behalf.

To take a Scene, a Persona needs to do one of two things:

1. Play the Amun Hieroglyph (if held) or
2. If contested (Scene taking does not have to be contested) then the Thief (Scene Taker) must succeed in a contest, rolling D4 + Power (of the Time Frame he or she is trying to take the scene to) vs. D4 + Power (of the current Time Frame) This is usually

For Examples: Jenny has a Power of 7 in Ancient Egypt. Since she does not have the Amun Hieroglyph, Jenny has to have a Contest with the GM Hal who had taken the previous scene. Hal uses the current Jackal Power in the modern day of 5. In this case chances are Jenny will win but even in losing the contest, the Jackals might gain some power in the Modern America TF.

If another player has the Amun Hieroglyph, then he or she may contest the Scene Taking ONLY if the Thief played the Amun Hieroglyph originally. In this case it becomes Contested as in #2 above. Also, since this is a Contest, one side or the other (or both) can declare a Pharaoh and Princes.

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Now for some Added Flavor....

Settings:

Narmer (The Future)

“If the Undiscovered Country is death, then Narmer is certainly the place we have been looking for all these years.” – Aristotle Smith, 2619 C.E.

Power shifted in the 21st century away from nationalism and concern over borders to internationalism and a desire to move into space. Citizens no longer worried about where they were born as much as who they worked for. In time the corporate entity became as important as the State and in some places supplanted it.

In 2107, the people of Earth formed the TEC or Terran Economic Community. Its goal was to raise the standard of living for every Human as well as exploring space and finding places for people to live. At first this consisted of orbital or lunar colonies but eventually the entire Solar System was colonized. Then, in 2207 the first FTL drive was tested. Mankind was set loose upon the stars and the Jackals & Hounds went with them.

Narmer itself was first colonized in 2553. It became an important space and shipping hub, connecting the two ends of the TEC together. By 2582 it was decided that although the atmosphere was breathable, Narmer itself was a dead world. So the corporations instituted Project: Giza to create a world sized city. With advanced techniques and technologies, they managed to complete it in less then twenty years. Over a billion colonists from all over the TEC came to Narmer and doubled its population. Even with all the modern facilities though, Narmer became less and less necessary as a shipping hub. FTL engines were becoming faster and could travel further. By 2608, Narmer’s economy was dying and first class colonists were leaving for other, more hospitable worlds. The world city was hard to maintain, even with robots, and parts of it fell into disrepair.

It began to become a haven for the wretched parts of society and fringe scientists. In a short time, with the degrading of the atmosphere generators, the atmosphere also became dirty and oppressive. Narmer Corp pulled out of governing the system and it was left to petty corporations and government bureaucracy. There was very little one could do on Narmer and it sank to the bottom of the TEC worlds in importance. To an outside enemy however, Narmer was still strategically placed in the middle of the TEC.

The Accusers came in 2682, destroying a TEC patrol squadron and obliterating Narmer’s orbital installations. Combined TEC and corporation military forces held off the invasion but the Accusers gained a foothold on the system. Every day Accuser attack ships bomb sections of the planet. Over a million people have died on the world.

Other worlds have also been attacked but the Hounds sensed their adversary here. So they came en masse to Narmer, recognizing that this could very well be the end game of their ancient battle.

The Accusers

Xeno-Entomologists suspect that the Accusers evolved from some sort of insect on their Homeworld. Their society is matriarchal and relies on a rigid caste system to ensure survival for the race. The Accusers are over two (2) meters tall and hunched. Drones and Warriors have four arms while the Matriarchs have six. Shell coloring varies between dynastic lines but ranges between navy blue and deep purple to an almost olive color. Evolution has given them a psychic scream which paralyzes prey (Humans) and the ability to digest internal organs quickly. Accuser soldiers often feed on the fallen during battles to keep up their enormous strength.

Jackals & Hounds on Narmer

All of the Jackals are not with the Accusers though most are. The battle between the two adversaries is often bloody and direct. Gone are most of the political underpinnings as brute force has come to the forefront. People on both sides (Human & Accuser) are also partially aware of the Jackals and Hounds among them. Beyond the super science, there is an awareness of a greater spiritual conflict.

This is also the endgame. The Jackals have turned to brute force and destruction to impose ignorance on Mankind and the Hounds have finally shown their hand and have come out to meet the challenge.