Aalam Book Two: Rules, Race, and Lore

"Life is fascinating. Everyone is so different, yet fundamentally the same. We are everything in this world and nothing to the universe. The perfect contradiction. Pieces to a whole. Unmolded clay. Perfectly imperfect."

~D'vear Lambovuar, Scholar of House Esmee~

Aalam's second book contains information about the world and its people. It takes a deep dive into its inhabitants by examining the races and explaining their origins, differences, strengths, and weaknesses. So please come and explore the vast and wonderful world of Aalam.

This book highlights the different races in the world. There are five different races worldwide, and two have subcultures divided within them. The Races are Humans, Elves, Oratho, Krevin, and Misuji. Humans and elves have subcultures within their race that developed during pivotal historical periods. The Human subcultures are the desert-dwelling Shi'komi and the conquerors of the sea Domador de Aqua (DDA). The Elves have three subcultures: The Graul protectors of the forest, the city-living Bosseur, and the high society Magi (High Elves).

Each race and subculture has unique racial features, combat bonuses, and vulnerabilities tied to its history. For example, Krevin's rough history of subjugation forced them to break free and develop their nation in tall grassy lands, savannas, and dry, arid sands. Their experiences gave them their racial bonus, helping them easily traverse rugged terrains such as tall grass and desert/sand. They also have a plus one to their Haste. Their combat bonus gives them a plus one to their Toughness and Acrobatics as well as access to one of their three passive traits:

Mbele- Can gain a plus one to their movement.

Ujasiri- Can ignore some crowd control attacks.

Roho- Can recover mana during battle.

But the Krevin does have some vulnerabilities. They excel at some weapons but not others. Because their environment consists of high temperatures and dry land, they are weak against water-based attacks. They take extra damage if hit with a water-enchanted weapon or a water spell. Note: this does not mean they can't get in the water. They can swim, bathe, float, and be in the rain. They are only weak versus water majik attacks. This wealth of information about your future character's history, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses is readily accessible, easy to digest, and wrapped up in the beautiful second book of Aalam. This book literally puts the world at your fingertips.

Thank you, everyone, for your support. I was going through my newsletters and blog posts and was dumbfounded that I hyped up books one and three but didn't even mention book two! Doh! Book two has the most illustrations than any of the four. I want to shout out the fantastic artist David Sanjuan https://www.artstation.com/dsanen, Whiskey Robinson https://www.artstation.com/whiskey_robinson, William Hallett https://www.artstation.com/wil_hallett_art, and Spencer Instagram @spencil_studios. They helped me bring my world to life, and I will be forever grateful for their work. I am writing the fourth and last book, which are quick-run modules and campaigns to help the storyteller and players enjoy and play the game. The whole point of me creating this game and building this world is to make it easy for people to play Tabletop Role Playing Games. Having players feel comfortable and confident in their ability to play these games is everything to me! So, thank you to everyone who supports me, reads my newsletters, visits my site, and hanging with me. I do this for you! I love you like the soft sound of a bubbling brook.

Take Care

Randall Harris