Not all Races speak Common. In a strict campaign, this can lead to the possibility of an adventuring group getting together at 1st Level and being totally ignorant of another PC's tongue. They'll have to learn the new Common Tongue during the campaign itself. Their ignorance of another's tongue could lead to some very interesting role-playing. This, of course, is the strict interpretation. In most of our campaigns we simply allow the non-Common-speaking PC's to take a basic Level 1 knowledge of the Common language being spoken in the campaign, but only if they can rationalize it in their origins to the satisfaction of the Creator. Not bad, huh? A free Skill, simply for embellishing the origins of a PC. ("I picked up some Common as a child. My Demonian masters trained me in it such that I could truly know my enemy...") Of course, some Players may not wish to share their rationalizations with the rest of the group. Either way works. Call it as you see it, Creators. It's your campaign.

Is that XP Table correct?

It looks like it's pretty easy to make the XP needed for the lower Levels. In SenZar, where adventure can be nothing short of instantly lethal, the lower levels can be made quickly in most campaigns. We believe that this allows a certain level of competence quickly within a chosen Profession, but only after paying for it in the fury of all-out combat. The PC rises to a certain level of proficiency relatively quickly, then hones that rough edge to a razor sharpness as he slowly progresses on. If you crunch the numbers on the XP table, you'll see that there is a relatively easy climb to make 10th Level, then an increasingly more difficult climb from there until 20th.

Explain how and why I should "tweak" an XP award?

How? The Creator can judge that the difficulty of an encounter was less than that of a "typical" encounter of that sort. Example: The PC fights a Shadar Steel Battle Golem, but he's assisted in combat by the entire Death Horde; thus, you lower the relative danger level of the encounter as you take into account the unfair advantage the PC had. The Creator adjusts the XP modifier, either up or down from the norm, to what he perceived as the relative danger of the encounter. Some Creators will award only the normal XP for an encounter. Whether this is right, wrong, or simply lazy has yet to be determined.

As for the why: This entirely subjective control factor is set into the mechanics to allow the Creator to monitor, adjust, and control the level-advancement of the PCs in his campaign. And to brand his Combat Slobs with such ego-deflating things as "Ah, but your fight against Lord Valthrustra and all of his Shadar minions was only 'Simple' at best," or "I don't care if he cast the Dragon's Breath on you, you only get 'Easy' for this...". Creators, unite against the Player Menace!!! ("And you thought we were favoring the Players. You have all fallen right into our trap! You will be 1st Level forever! Trapped in my Fourth Age campaign!" [Grand Ranter of the Royal Order of Creators, South Tower Chapter])

Can we customize Professions?

Of course. If you just want to "tweak" a Profession a bit in order to give it a unique flavor, then we suggest a 1:1 Skill trade. For instance, if you have a Rogue who wants to have a pirate's background, simply trade out one of the Skills that come with his Generation Package for, say, Swimming or Navigation. Just be sure to keep it at a one Skill to one Skill ratio, and, most importantly, get it okay'd by the Creator before you do it. And, while you're at it, see if he's game for trying a Pro-tweak by swapping Special Powers...

In which Age should I start a campaign on SenZar?

The choice is up to the Creator. There are eight different Ages, plus a prehistoric Age, in which to adventure. Each Age has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, some of which are expressed by the suggested Character Generation Bonus Points for that particular Age. We suggest, however, that you start your first campaign in the Eighth Age, which will give you the most freedom to do your own thing with the world. This particular Age is the most stable, and offers the full choice of all the currently known Races, Professions, Freaks, Monsters, and Magicks. If you choose to adventure in another Age, just remember to keep the timeline in mind: For instance, if you ran a Third Age campaign, you couldn't use the Mokarr as a Race, because they had yet to be created as a Race. Keep it in mind, of course, unless you willfully intend to re-write the timeline to suit your campaign (which is fine with us).

What's a good place to start my campaign on SenZar?

The bestest and biggest melting pot on SenZar is Zengara, the Forever City. The city is perhaps the best launching point for the first campaign that you run, simply because almost any and all of the PCs, despite their chosen Race or Profession, can rationalize being there. The same cannot be said for the Holy City of Rel (Arcturus), where any non-Human would probably be purified on sight. Also, Zengara is home to the Collegium, where many of the best spellcasters are trained (and where there is 24/7 access to all manner of libraries, training facilities, and, of course, things magick). From Zengara, you can sail or travel or transport with relative ease to virtually any place in the world, which makes it a perfect place for an adventuring base.  

I keep hearing about immortals in SenZar, but what about the mortals?

To put things into proper perspective: Mortals are common, Immortals are rare, rare, rare. For the first (and probably only) 20 Levels of your PC's adventuring career, you will be mortal. Life is hard, especially on SenZar. And although you may make a few of your lower Levels quickly (if you manage to survive, that is), you will soon discover that it can and probably will take some time to earn enough XP to make it to 20th Level. Even then, you will not be worthy to break on through to become an immortal unless you have truly made a difference in the way things are. So enjoy your mortal career. It may very well be the only one you ever have.

Why do you use the term "Creator", and is it blasphemous?

The term "Creator" refers to the person who runs the show, sets the scene, and moderates the game for the rest of the players. Unlike other Fantasy Role-Playing games, which may employ such terms as "Keeper", "Game Judge", and even "Dungeon Master", we use the term "Creator" to describe in the most illuminating terms the true role of the "dude who runs the game." And, no, it's not blasphemous at all. In fact, it's really one major-cool compliment. Consider this deeply...

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