Septimonium: Wasteland notes

The Arena: Just wanted to drop a couple notes about playing Red Sand Black Moon in the post-apocalypse. Here's my setup for playing most of my games. It's a small arena, more suitable for pit fights, but it's ample if you just want to get a quick game in. RSBM can be played on larger arenas; I have another arena that is 7x5 "areas" large. RSBM (as well as Red Sand Blue Sky, and Qwik) use an area movement system (which I adore- no measuring needed! You can also denote an area with terrain instead of border lines.) To show the areas on my arena, I've simply marked the intersections using a Sharpie.

I always make sure to have MORE-than-enough dice in easy reach. By the way, those are my rusted dice which I made specifically for post-apoc play. They're standing up well to all the rolling, though I do roll on a nice, soft surface. If they do start chipping, I think the random patches of color among all the rust will only add to the effect.

The fabric I use is called VFF Suede, which I find in the clearance area at Joann's Fabrics every once in a while. I've gotten it in dark brown, light brown (shown here) and a nice forest green. The fabric has a nice cloth backing to the "seude-ish" top, is durable and rolls out flat very nicely. It also takes a light layer of paint fairly well. I've recently flocked a couple patches with superglue and static grass to see if that's a viable technique (so far so good!) 

Going to Rubikon: In my post-apoc setting, older generations discovered a set of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." The citizens took these tales as a guide from The Oppenheimer (their god -- more on that later) on how to model their lives. But English is a far different language in the Wasteland than it is now, so many of the passages are poorly translated (as was the title.)

One such passage (as translated for the Wasteland) tells of how Great King Julii made war on his enemies by going to the city of Rubicon. That simple concept is used all over the Wasteland; When two armies wish to war with each other, they must first march to the city of Rubikon and touch the "Rock of War," a large boulder in the center of the city's main square. So when war is declared, one side will usually tell the other, "We're going to Rubikon!"

In fact, before committing ANY act of violence, a citizen must touch the rock of war. But a solution was needed to allow gladiatorial combat across the wastes without having to travel to Rubikon for every combat. So the War Priests of Rubikon allowed scores of pieces to be chipped from the Rock of War. These smaller rocks were mounted on plinths and set at the gates to every arena. Before every match, as the combatants enter the arena, they'll rub the rock. The phrase used to enter a small fight -- especially in the arenas and pits -- is called "Rubbing the Rubikon."

Rubbing the Rubikon is only allowed for smaller fights and some skirmishes. Armies must still march to the city of Rubikon.

Still, as in every culture, there are the few hotheads and murderers who lash out in fits of derangement, anger and violence, having not first rubbed the Rubikon. A small rule modifies the rite: As long as a Rubikon stone is rubbed before the next sunrise, then the rite is fulfilled. Failure to do so results in execution at the hands of the War Priests (at least if the perpetrator is discovered.)