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Title and Dedications

High action roleplaying in a world of Indian myth!

Written byThorin Tabor

Edited byMegan Turner

Published byTab Creations LLC

Saga Machine system byThorin Tabor

Art byMkultra Studios, Carlos Jaramillo

Map byRobert Altbauer

Layout byPaolo Bosi

Special thanks toTammy Ryan, Matías N. Caruso

Exceptional playtesting byKat Davis, Carroll Emerson, Ben Goreham, Micah Hollis-Symynkywicz, Matthew Kamm, Matthew Pennell, Jesse Pingenot, Brian Richburg, Atom Smith, Darin Strouts, Eric Wir-tanen

Tab Creations isAtom Smith, Ben Goreham, Jesse Pingenot, Matthew Pennell, Thorin TaborSam

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Title and Dedications

This book is dedicated to all of our Kickstarter backers who helped make the game possible.

We would also like to dedicate this book to our families, whose unflagging support has helped get us to this point.

Designation of Product IdentityThe following items are hereby designated as Product Identity in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, version 1.0a: Any and all Tab Creations logos and identifying marks and trade dress, such as all Tab Creations product and product line names including but not limited to Tab Creations, Saga Machine and Against the Dark Yogi; any specific characters and places; capitalized names and original names of places, artifacts, characters, countries, geographic locations, gods, events and organizations; any and all stories, storylines, histories, plots, thematic el-ements and dialog; and all artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, illustrations, maps and cartography, likenesses, logos, poses or graphic designs. The above product identity is not Open Game Content.

Designation of Open Game ContentSubject to the Product Identity designation above, the following portions of Against the Dark Yogi are designated as Open Game Content: The entirety of the Basics chapter, Systems chapter, Equipment chapter and Consequences chapter; all traits listed in the Characters chapter; and all stat blocks listed in the Non-Player Characters chapter.

Tab Creations, Saga Machine and Against the Dark Yogi are trademarks owned by Thorin Tabor, under license to Tab Creations LLC. All rights reserved. All other content is ©2013-2014 Thorin Tabor. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This document is a work of fiction.

Check us out at http://www.tabcreations.com

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents3 Table Of Contents

7 Introduction8 Inspiration8 Themes8 Recommended Reading8 Getting Ready For Play9 Glossary

11 Setting11 Overview12 Life In Bhurloka

12 Castes13 Family Life13 Language14 Society14 Government15 Warfare

15 Religion16 Worship16 Ascetics18 Gods20 Astras

21 Cosmology & Metaphysics21 The Three Worlds21 Dharma22 Karma22 Purity25 Reincarnation25 Prana

27 The Dark Yogi27 Story Of The Dark Yogi29 Forces Of The Dark Yogi29 The Eighteen Wicked Kings30 The Forbidden Sutra30 Geli Yuga31 Chosen Of Dharma

34 Gazetteer34 Afkala34 Dhar Desert34 Ewanti35 Fondhya Mountains35 Foreign Lands37 Ghendava Forest37 Gusala38 Jaru Kingdoms38 Mount Niru38 Najal Raj39 Negadha Kingdom39 Rajbat Lands40 Renka

41 Rivers41 Tendaka Forest42 Tendaka Kingdom42 Underworld43 Wenga Jungle43 Wodeha43 Wolaya Mountains

44 Echra: Center Of The Najal Raj44 History44 Customs45 The City46 Lands46 Rulers47 Issues

49 Basics49 Overview

49 Actions50 Consequences

50 Characters51 The Eight Stats52 Traits52 Karma

54 The Action Mechanic55 Simple Actions58 Extended Actions59 Opposed Actions60 Skills

65 Consequence Mechanic65 What Is A Consequence?66 Levels Of Severity66 Adjudicating Consequences66 Effects Of Consequences67 Duration Of Consequences

69 Systems69 Health Points (Hp)

69 Damage70 Healing

70 Prana71 Chakras71 Mechanics73 Austerities

75 Combat75 Starting A Combat75 Rounds77 Actions78 Defense78 Willpower79 Attack81 Concentrate

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Table of Contents

81 Interact82 Move84 Example84 Wait

85 Vassals & Elites85 Rules For Elites86 Rules For Vassals

87 Maladies89 Hazards

89 Avalanches89 Catching Fire89 Cave-Ins & Collapses90 Drowning & Suffocation90 Falls & Collisions90 Forest Fires90 Magma90 Sleep Deprivation91 Starvation & Dehydration91 Temperature Extremes91 Underwater Movement

91 Wealth & Titles91 Exchange Rates92 Receiving And Granting Titles93 Tribute From Titles

93 Performances93 Giving A Performance

94 Divine Boons95 Size

97 Characters97 Character Creation

97 Overview98 Past Lives99 Concept And Stats100 Caste102 Paths102 Finishing Touches

104 Character Advancement104 Sadhana105 Purchasing New Traits105 Resolve Karma

105 Reincarnation106 Enlightenment107 Resolve Karma108 Past Lives109 New Life109 Enlightened Retreat

110 Paths110 Universal Path

113 Path Of The Archer116 Path Of The Ascetic120 Path Of The Chakra Master122 Path Of The Charioteer125 Path Of The Performer127 Path Of The Raja130 Path Of The Spearman132 Path Of The Trickster135 Path Of The Wildman137 Path Of The Yogi141 Path Of Vows143 Weakness Path147 Inhuman Path152 Path Of Adharma

155 Equipment155 Properties156 Encumbrance157 Armor

157 Light Armor157 Heavy Armor157 Shield

157 Weapons157 Bagh Nakh157 Bow158 Chakram158 Club159 Gada159 Katar159 Khanda159 Kukri160 Spear160 Staff160 Unarmed Strike160 Urumi160 Zaghnal

161 Accessories162  Craft Tools162 Transportation163 Trade Goods164 Astras

164 Adharmaastra164 Asurastra164 Devastra164 Echniastra165 Ferunaastra165 Omdraastra165 Phamiastra165 Zaryastra

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Table of Contents

167 Running The Game167 Planning A Session

167 Revealing Or Concealing Target Numbers167 Planning Challenges168 Gm Hands168 Giving Out Karma168 Using Bad Karma168 Facing Defeat

169 Planning A Campaign169 Life, Death & The Fatal Property170 Total Party Kills170 Across The Generations

171 Running Combat171 Tracking Prana171 Declaring Actions171 Adjusting Stat Blocks171 Using Vassals

173 Non-Player Characters173 Stat Block Format174 Humans181 Animals187 Bestiary201 Yakshi203 Individuals

217 Consequences217 Bleeding217 Blocked Flow218 Bolstered218 Concealment218 Cover218 Dazed219 Desire219 Disabled220 Encumbered220 Fatigue220 Fear221 Fixated

221 Low Posture221 Stun

223 Kumari223 The Setup223 On The Way To Echra

224 Arriving In The City224 Meeting The Maharaja225 The Investigation

225 Journey To Find The Kumari226 Searching For The Yaksha Kingdom227 Meeting The Yaksharaja227 Facing The Yuthamukhya227 Rewards

229 The Border229 The Setup

229 Behind The Scenes230 A Call For Aid

231 Meeting The Maharaja231 If The Pcs Don’t Bite

232 On The Way To Zeusambi232 Meeting The Vanaras233 A Stop In Ogachakra233 Devarata The Warden234 Facing The Dekshaka Nagas235 Into Gusala

235 Zeusambi236 Rescuing Gotama

237 Stopping The Attack237 Rewards238 Books238 Films And Video238 Comic Books238 Roleplaying Games239 Special Thanks To Our Backers240 Open Game License Version 1.0A241 Index242 Character Sheet

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introductionhe world of Bhurloka is one of myth and legend, and at the center of it, the great subcontinent stretches from the burning Dhar Desert in the west to the sweltering Wenga Jungle in the east, from the snow-capped Wolaya Mountains in the north to the Endless Ocean of the south.

A thousand cities with myriad customs fill the subcontinent. Hundreds of city-states and small kingdoms parcel up civilization, with great swaths of untamed forests and mountains wedged in between. Wandering ascetics practice austerities on mountain-tops, seeking spiritual enlightenment and supernatural powers. Rajas stand before their palaces speaking to their peoples. Archers, surpassing all others in skill, com-pete for great prizes and boons. Chariots roll and elephants march with armies to war. All the while, the devas look down upon the world from their celestial home, watching events and warding off attacks from their eternal rivals, the asuras.

But Bhurloka stands at the precipice of disaster. In the east, a sinister figure—the Dark Yogi—has risen to power. It is whis-pered that his forbidden sutra gives him the power to directly attack dharma, the very order of the universe. And this attack has many wide-ranging consequences.

This attack on dharma hastens the coming of the Geli Yuga—the fourth and final age of the cosmic cycle. When the Geli Yuga comes, eighteen wicked kings will arise to power in Bhurloka, bringing about the birth of the demonic asura Geli, who will one day climb the heavens and cast down Lord Omdra and the rest of the devas who rule the Three Worlds. Geli will sit upon Mount Niru and continue his reign of terror for 10,000 years until the world comes to an end and is reborn again.

With dharma under attack, things are already beginning to be out of balance. The Dark Yogi has many would-be allies and disciples, opportunistic men who would use the imbalance of the world as a chance to advance their own ruthless interests without repercussion. They are many and the numerous city-states of Bhurloka are divided.

Through all this, however, dharma does not sit idly by. As the balance of the world is under attack, dharma seeks to correct the balance. Towards this end it has reached out and selected but a few to champion its cause. These chosen of Dharma may be devout ascetics, peerless archers, cunning chari-oteers, fierce wildmen, charismatic rajas or any other number of things. However, they are all foremost heroes. They have been given enlightenment to see through their many incarnations, to what must be done to restore the balance of the world and defeat the Dark Yogi.

Now is a time of legend.

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

Inspiration

Against the Dark Yogi is heavily inspired by Vedic and later Indian myths and legends. Bhurloka is a world that closely mirrors the Vedic depiction of our own world, and most locations, gods, heroes and events have direct parallels. Nevertheless, Bhurloka is a fantasy world, and room has intention-ally been left for creative interpretation and variation. The game master (GM) is free to run the game sticking to or varying as much as she wants from these myths.

Themes

Balance and order is an important theme because the heroes are ultimately seeking to correct the imbalance brought about by the Dark Yogi. This theme is also emphasized by the paths system in character creation, giving each character different roles.

The consequences of one’s actions are another important theme. Not only do ac-tions come back to affect players in the form of karma, but the endeavors, successes and failures of the player characters can affect the game across generations as heroes reincarnate and see the mark that their previous incarnations left on the world.

recommended Reading

Some players and potential game masters may already be intimately familiar with Indian mythology, while some may not. For those who are not already experts on the Vedas, the following sources contain a wealth of useful information that can directly apply to participating in an Indian myth-themed game:

Ǭ Amar Chitra Katha produces a wide range of comic books, depicting stories from Indian myth. While these comics are intended for children, they are very accessible.

Ǭ George Williams wrote Handbook of Hindu Mythology (ABC-CLIO, 2003), a quick and useful manual for looking up characters, places and events in Indian myth.

Ǭ As with many topics, wikipedia.org has a wealth of information of any number of subjects in Indian myth.

Getting Ready For Play

Against the Dark Yogi is a tabletop role-play-ing game. If you do not know what that is, a wealth of information is available online—more than could ever be reproduced here. To play you will need this book, a group of friends, pencils, paper, a standard deck of poker cards for each player and ideally some tokens. Play is designed to take place in one or more sessions—a few hours one evening should suffice.

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

glossary

The following is a glossary of common terms used through the text.

Adharma: The opposite of dharma. The power to go against dharma to make the universe in a state of imbalance or an unwell state.

Bhurloka: The world in which Against the Dark Yogi is set. Also used to refer to the subcontinent where the game takes place.

Chakra: A nexus of prana within the body, located along the body’s center. There are four higher chakras—crown, brow, throat and heart—as well as many lower chakras.

Dharma: The power that maintains the very order and harmony of the uni-verse, without which there would be only chaos.

Geli Yuga: The final age of the world’s cycle, in which the demon asura Geli is born, dethrones the gods of the Three Worlds and begins a 10,000 year reign of darkness.

Karma: One’s cosmic debt for acting for or against one’s dharma, one’s natural role in the universe. Acting in accordance with dharma nets good karma, which acting against it nets bad karma.

Kumara: The title of prince.

Kumari: The title of princess.

Maharaja: The title of high king.

Maharani: The title of high queen.

Mantra: A spoken sound, word or syllable that is meant to produce change, or invoke a siddhi or other supernatural ability.

Mantri: A high-ranking advisor to a raja or other ruler.

Prana: Life energy. Part of the cosmic ener-gy that flows into and out of everything in the universe. Expressed with every breath in and out.

Raja: The title of king.

Rani: The title of queen.

Rishi: A yogi who has obtained the highest levels of spiritual wisdom and power.

Sadhana: The process of acquiring new experiences and capability.

Siddhi: A powerful supernatural ability that can be acquired through devotion and study. Literally means “attainment.”

Sutra: A body of knowledge or specific lore. The word literally comes from the verb

“to sew,” as the pages of palm leaf books are sewn together.

Three Worlds: The three planes of exis-tence rules over by the gods—the earth, sky and heavens.

Yuvaraja: The title of crown prince. Literally means “Young King.”

Yogi: A male practitioner of yoga, the practice of obtaining spiritual power.

Yogini: A female practitioner of yoga.Sample

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