Marrowlight wrote:Any chance of putting the FAQ back up then, or letting someone else do so?
Anyone wanting to can post this on their site, so long as they give me credits and post a link to
http://www.trustrum.com
Wormwood FAQ and Errata
Several errors and alterations that snuck past the editors of the original Wormwood ™ Dimension Book have created a good deal of confusion amongst Wormwood fans over the years. Add to this book’s small size and the result is a lot of questions. Here are some answers.
The Living Planet
Q: Where is Wormwood located in the Megaverse?
A: Wormwood exists in an entirely alternate dimension. Technically, this means that it is possible for alien races, foreign to the planet but native to the dimension, to visit Wormwood (possible campaign idea?).
Q: After a body is absorbed by the Living Planet, how long until it decomposes?
A: Wormwood lacks the usual agents of decomposition, such as maggots, earthworms and microbes, which help the process along on planets such as Earth. Thus, the only factor is the speed of the planet's recycling process and the state of the body when it is buried. Based on the extent of Wormwood's control over its environment, 1D4+1 days might be a good estimate for a severely wounded body and double that for a corpse that was undamaged.
Q: What are the chances of Wormwood making new Battle Saints or Battle Saint Orbs?
A: Though both are Wormwood symbiotes, no new Battle Saints or Orbs have been made in recorded history; they have just always been there. It is unknown if the symbiotes were made by the planet itself or, as one theory suggests, its “creators”. If you absolutely, positively, just HAVE to have an answer, I would say yes, but I would add that such a process would cause drastic effects on the area surrounding the symbiotes birth (such as no Communion powers working within 500 miles/800 km of that spot for several centuries) due to the drain on the planet's energies at that spot.
Q: Does Wormwood have magnetic poles?
A: No, which explains why the Navigation skill cannot be chosen by natives. If someone tries using a compass on Wormwood, it is not affected by any naturally occurring magnetic fields. Some off-worlders (and some emulating natives) have taken to calling the direction that appears as "north" (towards the top of the page) on the maps in the Dimension Book as "True North" for the sake of simplicity. However, for the most part, the inhabitants of the planet have no idea what you are talking about if you use any of the magnetic directions. Instead, the natives use landmarks, settlements, and the Locate Home Town prayer of communion as points of navigational reference.
Q: Does the Dimension Book actually say what the planet looks like?
A: Yes. The surface of Wormwood (its skin) ranges in color from a range of tans to pastel pinks and is hard and smooth. The sky is yellow with tints of blue during the day, a mix of soft pinks and orange at dusk with the night being a star-filled black. The only vegetation to be found is that which has managed to find purchase (and water) within that rare dirt that has gathered in some areas like a second skin of dust. The most likely places for these plants to grow are areas where this dirt, which has been brought to the planet through eons of random dimensional portals, has been blown and gathered by the planet's light winds.
Q: How is time counted on Wormwood?
A: The day is 12 hours and the night 13 hours long. This "day" is based upon the rising and setting of the sun. Due to a lack of any seasonal change, the natives of the Living Planet have adopted Earth’s system of 365 days to a year. The years are told with the suffix “A.D.” for “After the Darkness”, with Year 1 A.D. marking the arrival of the Unholy to Wormwood.
Q: Does the Wormwood sky have stars?
A: Yes, it has its own constellations.
Q: What other celestial bodies can be seen in the Wormwood sky?
A: There is a sun and two orange moons. As for the rest of the Living Planet's solar system, who can say (yet another campaign idea)?
General:
Q: Don't you think that the Unholy, and Wormwood as a whole, is underpowered when compared to the rest of the Rifts game setting?
A: This is because Wormwood is one of the earliest Rifts products. Also, though the Unholy is no match for most of the major villains in other sourcebooks, his power level is in proportion to the Wormwood environment as a stand alone campaign setting. Besides, the Unholy’s might is not to be found in his sword arm or mystic knowledge, but in the formidable evil of its Host and the broad span of its machinations.
Q: Just who are these mysterious people that keep bringing these alien objects and substances to Wormwood?
A: There are several gates to other dimensions and worlds on Wormwood, most notably in the city of Worldgate. By using these portals the humans of Wormwood travel to these other realms and trade for what they need. Dimensional expeditions are usually conducted by powerful nobles or the Cathedral, though independent shifters can open up their own portals, or use one of the temporary ones, and do what they wish.
Of the four permanent Rifts to Earth, one is controlled by the Unholy (The Lalibela Rift), Two by the Cathedral (the Calgary and Romania Rift) and one is in constant contention because it lies in no man’s land (the Old Detroit rift).
Q: Where does all that wood you see in the dimension book’s artwork come from?
A: It is all brought in from off-world. Seeing as how it is abundant and easy to get a hold of in most other dimensions, it is fairly common to see raw wood in the cities. However, it is more rare in a refined form, such as planks and furniture, which is why those items are symbolic of the owner’s station and class. Much of the imported wood is reserved by the Cathedral for the crafting of gunstocks.
Q: I sometimes see a reference to a group called "confessors" in the original dimension book, but isn't that the name of an NPC Apok?
A: Yes it is. What happened is that the Apok O.C.C. was originally meant to be called the "Confessor O.C.C." but was later changed and the name, which was too cool to go to waste, was used on the NPC. At some points in the text this was not revised and so where it should say "Apok", it instead says "confessor".
Q: Why can't any of the Wormwood dimension book O.C.C.s take the Navigation skill?
A: Navigation and cartography was developed using a mix of astronomy, mathematics and knowledge of polar direction. Because Wormwood lacks magnetic poles and because of its shifting nature, the Living Planet’s inhabitants have never been able to refine the science of proper navigation.
Q: The Hospitaller Knight O.C.C. has an alignment restriction which states that if the character is not of better alignment than anarchist by third level, he loses his healing powers? What healing powers?
A: This is an error that managed to get past the editor; the Hospitaller has no healing abilities beyond his paramedic skill.
Q: If there are no native psionics on Wormwood, why is there such a thing as a Psi-Booster Stone?
A: Many scholars believe that the Living Planet has evolved the stones it offers in answer to the countless dimensional travelers that have trod its surface (perhaps even the minions of the Host), many of which do have psionics. This hypothesis lends support to the belief that Wormwood is constantly evolving.
Flora and Fauna:
Q: Can animals and plants from other worlds survive on Wormwood?
A: Plants can only survive on Wormwood if soil is also transplanted and someone must water them as Wormwood has very little natural rain. As for the animals, sure they can eat from food caves and fountains found in the wilderness, but is that all they need for survival and is the climate ideal for their species? See also the following question.
Q: Under the Monk O.C.C. it says that monks help by "working in the fields". As Wormwood has no topsoil (or earth for that matter), just what fields is the writer talking about?
A: Soil is perhaps the easiest thing to get from another dimension and over the course of centuries dimensional travelers have brought loads of topsoil to Wormwood for the express purpose of creating farms which grow alien foods (such as corn and, wheat). Rain, being as rare as it is, is not depended upon to feed the fields and thus the humans create fountains whose waters can be made to flow into the fields. "Fields" is also a general term which enshrouds not only the afore mentioned soil farms, but also the food caves from which the populace draws the majority of its sustenance.
Q: Do animals and other species that are born on Wormwood, though not native, become M.D.C. creatures in further generations?
A: While their may be exceptions (it is up to the GM really), no would be the most accurate answer. Only humans who are born on the Living Planet, even if their parents are from a S.D.C. world, become M.D.C. beings.
Q: Because the humans of Wormwood are M.D.C. creatures, does this mean they also have supernatural strength and endurance?
A: No, unless gained from an O.C.C. or other such means.
Q: Do Wormwood humans do Mega-Damage when they punch and kick?
A:. Yes, but only under certain circumstances. See the updated combat rules elsewhere for more details.
Q: If Wormwood humans do Mega-Damage with a punch what happens if they try punching a non-Wormwood, S.D.C. human?
A: See the updated combat rules.
Q: Does Wormwood have Faeries?
A: No, other than any who may have been brought from other worlds. Though alive, in perhaps a greater sense than planets such as Earth, even the most evil of Faeries finds the lack of nature disconcerting to say the least. Also, it seems that a planet that is alive in the sense that Wormwood is awes, frightens and captivates them all at the same time, making them feel very uncomfortable to the point where they become jittery and paranoid.
Q: In the dimension book’s comic, the Battle Saint needs a "soul battery" (life force batteries?) in order to become active and yet no mention of this is made under its statistics. All that is mentioned is a need to rest after 24 hours of use. What is the story with this?
A: This is just another instance where the conception created by the comic strip contradicts the conception presented in the role-playing material. In this case, use the rpg method of resting after 24 hours of use and disregard the "soul battery" approach.
Q: The Apok mask seems to be disconnected from Wormwood, or at least not connected to it in the same way as the other symbiotes; does it die if removed from Wormwood?
A: An Apok's Demon Mask would either lose all of its power or retain a portion of them (GM's discretion). The Apok, however, would retain his supernatural strength and remain a Mega-Damage being.
Q: If a wounded person uses a Battle Saint or Orb does the M.D.C. of the symbiote use the pilot’s current M.D.C. or their maximum amount? Similarly, what if the person is wearing or using a symbiote or worm that boosts the pilot’s M.D.C.?
A: The Battle Saint/Orb/Knight/Angel uses the pilot’s current M.D.C. or hit points as a base. An apok’s demon mask increases the amount of M.D.C. that the war machine uses but no other symbtioes or worms will; in all other instances only the pilot’s natural M.D.C or hit points are used.
Weapons, Armor and Equipment:
Q: Do Wormwood TW black powder weapons require gunpowder?
A: No. Wormwood TW black powder pistols and rifles are fueled with P.P.E. although they do fire balls of resin instead of magical force as per most TW weapons from other worlds. See elsewhere in this book for further details.
Q: What are Wormwood’s guns, swords and other weapons made of?
A: The barrels of the guns, the blades and hilts of the swords and other melee weapons are made of poured resin. Because resin is a liquid in its primary state, it does not have to be heated to be shaped and therefore it is actually easier to make these items from resin than it is from metal. Note that the nature of resin also causes melee weapons made from it to inflict M.D. rather than S.D. Most stocks and the rest of the musket or pistol is also made from resin, but as a separate piece, and is fashioned to appear like wood. Only the most well-to-do warriors can afford weapons that incorporate real wood.
Q: Where do they get that leather to make their armor, saddles, boots, etc.?
A: Again, ”leather” is something which can be gained fairly cheaply by dimensional raids, bartering or even from creatures which have migrated to Wormwood and whose skin, when treated, is basically identical to leather. This latter explanation is why it is possible for the leather armor to be an M.D.C. object.
Q: Do weapons made from resin counts as magical for the purpose of determining whether or not they can harm supernatural creatures harmed only by magic?
A: No, they do not.
COMBAT
Hand-to-Hand Damage
One of the most often asked questions concerning Wormwood is just what happens when a human from Wormwood (a M.D.C. creature) punches a human from Earth or a similar world (a S.D.C. creature), and vise versa. Except for the Apok and any other human who somehow gains the benefit of a supernatural P.S. and therefore causes M.D. with all hand-to-hand strikes, use the following outlines for determining the outcome of such attacks.
S.D.C. Human attacking M.D.C. Human: The S.D. attack causes no harm.
M.D.C. Human attacking S.D.C. Human: The attack causes the usual amount of damage, except that it is S.D. instead of M.D.
M.D.C. Human attacking M.D.C. Human: The attack causes damage as normal, except that it is M.D.
M.D.C. Human vs M.D.C. Creature/Monster: The attack causes damage as normal so long as magical weapons are not required to cause harm. M.D. is caused instead of S.D.
) so I simply said the rift acted like a force field against the Host Demon . But any clerification on this subject would greatly be appreciated .