Gubat Banwa 1.32

1
GUBAT BANWA
[GOO-bat ban-WA]
“War Land/Warring Lands/Warring Nations”
Father, o father tell me why

we children born from heaven’s blood
Why do we live, why do we live
The River Flows
We kill to live and live to kill

In painful bliss we search for peace
Our arrows cut lovers, spears impale brothers
The River Flows
Father, o father tell me now

Why does the sky watch as the soil is reddened
Why do sisters have to kill brethren?
Why have you left us a flame ever-burning?
Why have you left us a sword ever-piercing?
Why does the river flow?
Father, o father,
Tell us your children,
We are pierced by the arrow loosed by your bow,
We die to live, we live to die.
The River Flows
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Gubat Banwa Beta 1.3
A Filipino Fantasy RPG about warrior-braves proving their
convictions in a broken archipelago.
To you, reading this: Hey all, Waks here. Gubat Banwa has had
a lot of iterations leading here. There’s been a lot of ups and
downs, a lot of hiccups, and a lot of pagbalik-tanaw, or looking
back. This 1.3 version of Gubat Banwa is the best one yet. There’s
been some games running on our Discord, but we’d love some
large scale feedback. As I am one person doing all the lore,
mechanics, systems, auxiliary art directing, and research to make
this very unconventional setting be palatable to all audiences,
especially to colonized ones, I truly wish this game to be more
than just what I can make it to be. It deserves that.
To that end, we’d love feedback to make sure that the game is
fun, not necessarily balanced but fun. D&D 4e, the game that
inspired this, benefitted from large scale playtesting. We don’t
have that much resource.
We hope that tactical combat and war drama feeds into each
other. Feel free to join our Discord
(https://discord.gg/8h7ZrU6353) or give feedback through the
Feedback forms.
I hope you enjoy your time in the Sword Isles!
Waks
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Art Director: Dylan Briones (@illsvillainy)
Artists: Dylan Briones (@illsvillainy), Eunice Gatdula
(@huhsmile), Jul A. Refugia (@JuiceUrLemons), Noriz Mora
(@Togidemi), Tamara Catada (@tanorochen), Xrystina Marcos
(@SweetCyanid3), Ahron (@daffonahron), Gen (@Shaolinfan1),
Luisa Odulio (@ghostprinceee), RM Banas (@rmbananas), Cams
Cabezas (@breezamiii), Trina Laya (@tumbke), Fae (@indignoir),
Kai (@ClickClacKAI), Taters (@thistaters), Raj (@rajavlitra),
CamChua (@frillion)
Other Credits
Shout out to all my Patreon patrons, without whom this never
could have been easy (and maybe not possible)! More credits to
Lancer, D&D4e, Strike! RPG, Shadow of the Demon Lord,
Apocalypse World, Sagas of the Icelanders, Blades in the Dark,
and Ryuutama for inspiring mechanics.
Copyright: GUBAT-BANWA belongs to Joaquin Kyle

Saavedra/Makapatag. You can use the stuff here to remix or make
your own stuff. I encourage you to make settings, Disciplines, and
more!
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THE WANDERING SHEATHE 33
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 46
WHAT IS GUBAT BANWA? 48

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES 49
WHERE IS GUBAT BANWA? 51
A BRIEF HISTORY 52
The Seventh Sun Era 54
The Seventh Moon Era 55
The Seventh Star Era 56
The Eighth Sun Era 57
The Eighth Moon Era 58
Lay of The Sword Isles 59
WHAT ALL FOLK SHOULD KNOW 61
THE FIVE MAJOR MANDALAS AT A GLANCE 71
The Rajahnate of Gatusan 71
The Confederation of Apumbukid 72
The Nation of Ba-e 73
The Lakanate of Virbanwa 74
The Sultanate of Akai 74
INSPIRATIONAL TOUCHSTONES 76
Non-Fiction 76
Fiction 77
Movies and Series 78
Video Games 78
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Role-Playing Games 80
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE 82
LEXICON 82
HOW DO YOU PLAY? 87
THE RULES 90
THE BULAWAN RULE 90
THE PILAK RULE 90
THE TANSO RULE 90
THE PALAD RULE 91
THE DUGO RULE 91
THE PUTHAW RULE 92
Depict a War Torn World 92
Agree on a Theme and Tone 93
Care About Combat and Make It Stylish 93
Play Into the Melodrama 93
Make Every Fight Meaningful 94
Learn To Fight Together 94
Make Sure Everyone Is Safe 95
Make Sure Everyone is Having Fun 95
CASTING THE CROCODILE’S TEETH 96
ATTRIBUTES 96
CAST 97
EQUIPMENT 98
DIFFICULTY 98
DEBT 99
BARTER 100
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BAKUNAWA EATS THE MOON 102
BEATS 105
COMBAT BEATS 106
Hold At Swordpoint 106
Let Them Cower 106
DEBT BEATS 107
Owe Them One 107
Aid a Kadungganan 107
Call in a Favor 107
Festering Debts 108
Pay What’s Owed 109
Offer Betel Nut Chew 109
CONNECTION BEATS 109
Entangle 109
Temper Your Feelings 110
Press Their Soul 110
CONVICTION BEATS 111
At A Crossroads 111
The Heart Chooses 111
CHAPTER 2: FLOW OF PLAY 114
VENTURE 115
COMMUNES AND WILDS 116
ENTER PREPARATION 117
EQUIP ANTING-ANTING 117
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VENTURE OBJECTIVES 117
Reliefs 118
ARRIVE LIKE LIGHTNING 119
LEAP INTO VIOLENCE 119
CATCH YOUR BREATH 119
RELIEF 120
ENTER A SCENE 120
PREPARED 121
QUICK AND DIRTY BLOODSHED 121
TRAVEL 122
GO RAIDING 122
8
ENDING A VENTURE 125
RESOLUTION 125
Alternative Rewards 126
RESPITE 127
RESPITE ACTIVITIES 128
Attend Feast 129
Bring Forth Creation 130
Chase a Debt 131
Connect 131
Dance With Hearts and Thoughts 132
Discuss Debt 133
Ply The Market 134
Seek News and Information 134
Switch Disciplines 135
Train 135
Worship Gods and Ancestors 135
CHAPTER 3: TACTICAL VIOLENCE 138
HOSTILE ACTIONS 139

VALID TARGETS 139
WILLING TARGETS 139
LINE OF SIGHT AND EFFECT 139
SETUP THE BATTLEFIELD 140
ESTABLISH FIELD TRAITS 140
VICTORY CONDITIONS 140
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DEFEAT CONDITIONS 141
BE TRANSPARENT ENOUGH 141
USING TECHNICKS IN COMBAT 142
VIOLENT GLOSSOLALIA 143
READING ACTION BLOCKS 146
NAME 146
TYPE 146
PREREQUISITE 147
TARGET 147
RANGE 147
Area of Effect 148
ATTACK 149
EFFECT 150
SPECIAL 150
LORE 150
ACTION BLOCK TAGS 150
THE VIOLENCE ROLL 152
ROUNDS 152
TURN ORDER: AGAINST ALL ODDS 153
YOUR TURN 153
START OF TURN 153
THE TURN 153
Stride 154
Actions 154
Flourishes 156
Reflex 158
10
END OF TURN 159
REACTIONS 160
DAMAGE AND ARMOR 160
DAMAGE TYPES 161
FRAY DAMAGE 162
AFFINITIES 162
Weak (Wk) 162
Strong (St) 163
Null (Nu) 163
Drain (Dr) 163
Reflect (Rf) 163
PIERCING DAMAGE 164
HALF DAMAGE 164
DAMAGE AGAINST MULTIPLE ENEMIES 164
EXTRA DAMAGE 164
ARMOR 164
CRASHED, METTLE, WOUNDS, AND BARRIER 165
WOUNDS 166
BARRIER 166
BREATH 167
SAVES 167
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FLANKING 168
STATUSES 169
BUFFS 169
DEBUFFS 170
THE BATTLEFIELD 172
SPACES 172
Adjacent Spaces 172
HEIGHTS 173
Moving into and out of Height 173
Attacking From A Height Higher Or Lower Than The Target
174
Attacking Through A Height 174
Falling From Heights 174
OBJECTS IN THE BATTLEFIELD 175
FORCED MOVEMENT 175
TERRAIN 176
Difficult Terrain 176
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Dangerous Terrain 177
Hindering Terrain 177
Blocking Terrain 177
COVER 177
WEATHER 178
TELEPORTING 178
CARRYING 178
SWIMMING 178
FLOATING 178
FLYING 179
SIZE 179
FIELD TRAITS 180
DEATH 184
CHAPTER 4: THE KADUNGGANAN 187
THE APPROACHING STORM 187

CREATING YOUR KADUNGGANAN 189
FIRST, CHOOSE A FOLK AND CALLING 189
SECOND, ROLL OR MAKE THREE INTERESTING EVENTS 189
THIRD, DETERMINE BEGINNING ATTRIBUTES 189
FOURTH, CHOOSE A STARTING DISCIPLINE. 190
FIFTH, ESTABLISH COMPLICATIONS. 190
SIXTH, DEFINE YOUR CONVICTIONS. 190
SEVENTH, GET BEGINNING ITEMS 190
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EIGHTH, CHOOSE A MANDALA YOU CAME FROM AND YOUR STARTING
AFFINITY 190
A BRIEF NOTE ON SOCIAL CLASSES 192
THE RULING CLASS 192
THE FREEMEN CLASS 193
THE DEBTOR CLASS 193
ESTEEM 195
PROMINENCE 195
TENETS OF A KADUNGGANAN 196
KADUNGGANAN FOLK AND CALLINGS 199
FOLK 199
Bamboofolk 200
Dogfolk 201
Civetfolk 202
Eaglefolk 203
Deerfolk 203
Macaquefolk 204
CALLINGS 205
Blacksmith 205
Warrior 205
Medium Prentice 206
Cook 206
Healer 206
Spirit-Touched 206
Atubang 207
Mangkukulam 207
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Religious Man 207
Vagabond 208
Royalty 208
Servant 208
Giribasa 209
Bilanggowan 209
Paraawit 209
Farmer 210
Orangkaya 210
Wise Man 210
Hunter 211
Fisher 211
Potter 211
Boatwright 212
INTERESTING EVENTS 213
ATTRIBUTES 220
TRAITS 222
DISCIPLINES 223
HISTORY 223
The Balahala Hinagiban Kaalamdag, the Godly Weapon
Science 224
STYLE 225
Control 226
Marksman 226
Raider 227
Sentinel 227
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Support 227
DISCIPLINE MECHANICS 227
Masteries 228
INFLICT VIOLENCE 228
SECOND WIND TECHNICKS 228
FORBIDDEN TECHNICKS 229
MOUNTS 229
TECHNICKS 230
Enhancements 231
Technick Tags 231
CHOOSING A DISCIPLINE 233
RISING IN ESTEEM 234
THE FIVE MAJOR MANDALAS 234
Statehood 235
Disciplines of Virbanwa 238
Disciplines of Gatusan 239
Disciplines of Apumbukid 240
Disciplines of Akai 241
Disciplines of Ba-e 241
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THE LAKANATE OF VIRBANWA 244
Noteworthy Persons 250
Noteworthy Polities 252
Other Mandala Impressions 255
VIRBANWAN DISCIPLINES 255
Baril Witch [BRW] 258
Bladeweaver [BLW] 269
Murderglave [MGL] 279
17
Senapati [SNP] 291
Sword Saint [SWS] 301
THE RAJAHNATE OF GATUSAN 311
GATUSAN DISCIPLINES 322
Buwaya Lancer [BWL] 323
Kawal [KWL] 333
Mangangayaw [MNG] 341
Sword-Poet [SWP] 352
War Balyan [WRB] 362
THE CONFEDERATION OF APUMBUKID 375
APUMBUKID DISCIPLINES 384
Death Dancer [DED] 386
Elementalist [ELE] 398
Headhunter [HDH] 407
Tactician [TCT] 418
Tigpana [TGP] 426
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THE SULTANATE OF AKAI 435
AKAI DISCIPLINES 445
Ayam Hunter [AYH] 447
Swordfish Warrior [SWW] 456
Ritual Berserker [RBS] 465
Sarimanok Knight [SAK] 476
Strifesinger [STS] 486
THE NATION OF BA-E 496
BA-E DISCIPLINES 508
19
Flower Necromancer [FLN] 510
Mender [MND] 520
Warsmith [WRS] 529
Heavenspear [HVS] 538
Star Shooter [STS] 547
COMPLICATIONS 555
CONVICTION 560
LAST BITS 562
1-2 - LAKANATE OF VIRBANWA 562
3-4 - RAJAHNATE OF GATUSAN 563
5-6 - CONFEDERATION OF APUMBUKID 563
7-8 - SULTANATE OF AKAI 564
9-10 – NATION OF BA-E 564
KADUNGGANAN ADVANCEMENT 570
GAIN A TECHNICK 570
GAIN AN ANTING-ANTING 571
RISING IN PROMINENCE 571
WARBAND PROPERTY 572
Alcohol 573
Balyan 573
Boat 574
Companion 575
Fishing Harpoon 576
Heirloom Wealth 578
Hunting Trap 578
Sorcery 579
20
Spirit Idol 581
Stove 582
Portable Gusali 583
Tambal Tools 585
Infantry 586
Farming Tools 588
FOLLOWING 590
SETTLEMENT NAMES AND AMBITIONS 591
SETTLEMENT AESTHETIC 592
TROUBLE IN PARADISE 593
CHAPTER 5: EQUIPMENT AND SUNDRY 595
ANTING-ANTING 596
GAINING OTHER ANTING-ANTING 596
LIST OF ANTING-ANTING 597
Sword Anting-Anting 597
Protection Agimat 597
Haste Agimat 597
Tenacity 597
Spear Anting-Anting 597
Shattered Sword 598
Blackened Dagger 598
Agitator Pudong 598
Flailing Bahag 598
Lightning Anklets. 598
21
Lightning-Bleached Shawl 599
Scorched Sarong 599
Waling-Waling Staff 599
Witchpowder Bangle 599
Enchanted Rattan Bag 599
Eye of Rajah Lawin 600
Banog’s Feathers 600
Tortoise Shell 600
Mutya 600
Forgotten Cloak 600
Puya-Slaying Blade 601
Carabo Horn Breasplate 601
Kandu Shield 601
Ever Extending Blade 601
Growing Breasplate 601
Pinamaskan 602
Blessed Gadya pLATE 602
Rajah Bagidan’s Palo 602
Eye of Bakunawa 602
Part of the Black Chick 603
Empowering Tassels and Chimes 603
Violent Gown 603
Maw of Arimaonga 603
Stingray Tail 604
Shrike 604
Ceremonial Plate 604
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Ceramic Plate 604
MATERIAL CULTURE 605
D100 RANDOM WEAPON 612
CHAPTER 6: THE SWORD ISLES 615
SUGILANON, OR A STORY 616

THE LIES OF BEGINNING 617
ANG DAGHAN 617
THE FORMING OF THE CONTINENTS UPON THE WORLD JAWS 618
THE SWORD EMBEDDED INTO THE HEART OF THE WORLD 618
THE ANCIENT CYCLES 619
THE STORY OF THE FIRST HOUSE 620
THE SEVENTH SUN ERA 620
THE RAMAHASAN EMPIRE 621
PETTY MANDALAS 625
PANNAI LEAGUE 625
STATE OF VUYU 627
SRITALUK, KINGDOM OF VIOLET CORAL 629
THE KINGDOM OF SINUKU 631
NATION OF IBALONG 633
THE SULTANATE OF DAGINDARA 635
ON THE PEOPLE OF THE SWORD ISLES 637
AMONG THE TAWO: ILAWOD AND IRAYA 638
AMONG THE SINA 639
THE TAWO ACROSS THE POLITIES 640
23
ON GENDER AND SEXUALITY 640
A SMALL SAMPLING OF NON-HUMAN TAWO: SARING LAHI 642
BETEL NUT CHEWING 645
BETEL NUT CEREMONY 646
THE SOCIAL CLASSES 647
DATU, KEDATUAN, AND BINUKOT 647
The Paramount Datu 647
The Sandig sa Datu 648
NOBLE CLASS 653
Golden Web Tapestry 653
FREEMAN CLASS 657
DEBTOR CLASS 661
Peasants 661
Servants 662
Infantry 662
ON SOCIETIES AND POLITIES 665
TRADE, WEALTH, AND PROPERTY 665
Property 666
Debt 666
Domestic Trade 666
International Trade 666
On Currency 667
HUKUM, OR LAW 669
LIFE IN THE SETTLEMENTS 670
Hygiene, Makeup, and Aesthetics 671
Jewelry 672
24
Tattooing 673
Working the Field 673
Smithing 674
Woodworking 676
Goldworking 676
Weaving 677
Pottery 678
Seasons of The Sword Isles 679
Sailing 680
Winds Of The Sword Isles 681
Food 682
Hunting 682
Alcohol and Drinking 683
THE BALAY, OR HOUSE 684
TOWN HOUSES 685
COTTAGES 686
TREE HOUSES 686
FAITHS OF THE SWORD ISLES 688
IDOLS AND SPIRIT HOUSES 688
THE DAGHAN: NATURE GODS, ANCESTOR SPIRITS, AND GUARDIAN
SPIRITS 690
OFFERING AND WORSHIP 691
KAHIYANGAN 691
YAWA AND BUSAW 692
COSMOLOGY AND THE AFTERLIFE 693
THE OVERWORLD 693
25
THE MIDWORLD 694
THE AFTERWORLD 694
ANITO 695
Creation: Violence 703
HIYANG 704
Creation: Arriving From Mists 708
SAMPALATAYA 709
Creation: Forming From Bamboo 712
IMAN 714
Creation: Engendering by the Black Eel 717
THE TRANSCENDENT DICHOTOMY AND ON MATTERS
OF THE SOUL 720
NAME GENERATOR 723
CHAPTER 7: FOR THE MANG-AAWIT 726
FUNDAMENTALS 726
MANG-AAWIT BASICS 727
HARMONIES 727
Inflict Wounds Outside of Combat 729
Threaten to Start Violence 729
Expend Their Resources 729
Separate Them 729
Make Them Honor Debt 730
Bring The Drama To Them 730
26
Make Them Face Their Complications, or Entangle them in
a New One 730
Foreshadow Threats and War 730
Give Them An Opportunity With a Cost 731
Apply Consequences 731
THE FINAL PIECE: GRIT 732
JUDGESONG 733
MANG-AAWIT AGENDAS 735
Portray a Fantastical Feudal World Embroiled in War
735
Fill the Kadungganan’s Life with War and Drama 735
Play To Find Out What Happens 736
MANG-AAWIT PRINCIPLES 737
First Verse: Facilitate A Good Time 737
Second Verse: Stick True To The Fiction 737
Third Verse: Tell A Story Together 738
Fourth Verse: Lean Into The Drama 738
Fifth Verse: Address the Kadungganan, Not The Player
739
Sixth Verse: Uphold The Tragedies of War739
Seventh Verse: Every Character Has A Name And A Reason
For Fighting 739
Eight Verse: The World Moves Without Them 740
Ninth Verse: Exalt a Precolonial Southeast Asian World
740
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Tenth Verse: Let Their Kadungganan Status Be Known
741
Eleventh Verse: Let Combat Tell A Story 741
RUNNING THE GAME 742
Prep 742
The Game 746
Aftercare 750
VENTURES AND RAIDS 753
ENCOUNTERS 753
RAIDS 755
Designing Raids 756
VENTURES 756
GENERATORS 758
VENTURE SEEDS 758
TAWO ACROSS THE ISLES 764
SETTLEMENTS 768
Size 769
Location 769
TIMESONG 770
SETTLEMENTS, POLITIES AND SOVEREIGNTY 770
RAIDING AND FEASTING 771
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 773
ARCHITECTURE 774
SPIRITUALITY 775
MAGIC 776
TRADING 776
28
GENDER AND GENDER ROLES 777
HUNTING AND FISHING 777
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 778
Beauty 778
Tattooing 778
Clothing 778
Hygiene and Upkeep 780
BATTLESONG 781
SETTING UP THE BATTLEFIELD 781
ADJUCATING TECHNICK EFFECTS 782
COMPLEXITY 782
TACTICS 782
MORALE 783
ENCOUNTER LENGTH AND EXPECTATIONS 783
TRACKING INFORMATION 784
CREATING COMPELLING RECURRING FIGHTS 784
FOES 786
SPENDING GRIT 786
FOE STAT BLOCKS 787
Name 787
Origin 787
Class 787
Tier and Rank 788
Role 793
Size 795
Speed 795
29
Morale 795
Mettle 796
Affinities 796
Inflict Violence 796
Grit Ability 796
Traits 796
Technicks 797
FOE VIOLENCE ROLL 797
BUILDING ENCOUNTERS 798
Foe Values 798
Suggested Encounter Scaling 798
BUILDING FOES 801
Technick and Trait Assembly 802
ROLES AND CLASSES 803
Control Classes 804
Marksmen Classes 809
Raider Classes 814
Sentinel Classes 819
Support Classes 824
ORIGIN 829
Virbanwan 831
Gatusan 832
Akai 833
Apumbukid 834
Ba-e 835
Undead 836
30
Spirits 837
Yawa 838
Beast 840
Baikhan 841
Issohappan 845
UNIQUE BOSSES 849
Datu Warlord 849
Giant Beast 851
Makmakidum Harakay, Serpent Dragon Diwata of Mount
Pasukol 852
Angel 855
Estrella Hidalgo 857
CHAPTER 8: REAP THE WHIRLWIND 859
INTRODUCTION 859
ADVENTURE BACKGROUND 860
PROLOGUE: SEVEN DAYS OUT TO SEA 861
ENCOUNTER: FEND OFF THE SULTANATE RAIDERS 862
THE PORT TOWN OF SAMPAGA 863
Points of Interest 863
THE FLOWER LONGHOUSE 865
ARRIVE LIKE LIGHTNING: UPRIVER 867
ENCOUNTER: INLAND RESISTANCE 867
HARMAU, DATU BONGOL’S SETTLEMENT 868
RAID 1: BANWA BONGOL 870
31
E1: Lightning Flash 870
E2: Spirit Medium Summoning 871
E3: Snaking Neck 871
E4: Upriver 872
E5: Lasinung Forest 872
E6: Datu Longhouse 873
E7: Spirit House 875
THE WINDS STRIKE 877
RAID 2: BREACH 877
Encounter 1: Rooster Rips The Eagle 877
Encounter 2: The Eagle Sunders The Rooster878
Encounter 3: Steel Murders Eagle and Rooster 879
Encounter 4: Live and Die and Know 880
DENOUMENT 882
32
THE WANDERING SHEATHE
A woman walked into a small village, with nothing but the
clothes on her back--a saob-saob over a malong and paruka--
and an empty dragon-mouthed sheath.
An oripun man sprawled to his knees before her, hands scrabbling

for purchase on the muddy riverbanks.
A manggugubat walked into view, out of the reeds. He aimed his
luthang at the oripun.
“Laki! Forgive me! I meant no harm! I was simply looking for
food!” The oripun groveled, hands rising now to cover his head.
“Silence,” snarled the man. “You dare look at my wife? Burn in
Sulad!”
“Laki!”
But he heard no more, as the luthang’s cacophony ripped through
the air. Herons flew overhead.
The manggugubat pushed the oripun’s body into the river, where
nature will reclaim what is theirs. Without a proper burial,
however, the oripun will surely toil in Sulad for eternity, or be eaten
by Siginiguran.
The woman waited for the scuffle to be over. When the man
turned around and walked back into the reeds, and presumably
back to his balay, the woman continued walking on, deeper into
the village.
The village was deserted. No, it seemed deserted. As she walked
on ahead, a pack of dogs ravaged a corpse lying on the street.
33
The wind howled. The sun was still low.
A man opened his doors. “Psst!” He called on the woman. The
woman turned to him, eyes narrowed. “Don’t stay out there! You’ll
get killed!”
The woman looked about her, and in the distance saw a small
band of warriors, led by a man upon a crocodile.
She nodded and walked over and into the balay.
“What do you think you’re doing, staying outside like that?” The
man closed the door behind her. He offered for her to wash her feet,
and she did so. She removed the poor abaca slippers she had on.
“What’s happened to the village?”
“Oh don’t worry about that. Here, sit. Have you eaten?” The man
seems to be another oripun. His shoulder-length hair was tied up
into a severe bun, and he wore nothing but a simple cloth over his
shoulders like a cloak, and a piece of cloth tied around his waist like
a sarong.
“No.”
“Here, I have some taro I left in stock. I don’t have any fish or meat
however.”
“It’s all right. I am eternally grateful for you sharing your food.”
“Ah, you probably haven’t eaten in a long while. Don’t worry
about it! Unfortunately I don’t have any mamun, or betel nut chew,
so please don’t take that as a hint of non-hospitality.”
The woman shook her head. “Do not worry overmuch about it. I
will be fine.” She looked out of the window, discreetly, as that small
band of warriors walked through the town. Kicking rocks and
34
extorting whatever food or other tax they could get from the
residents living in. “What has happened to this haop?”
“Ah, I must apologize again to the Bayi. You’ve found us at a most
inopportune time. A Lakanate raiding party has arrived this
morning. We’re staying inside until they finish what they have to
do.”
The Ba-e turned to look at the man as he boiled some taro. “Why?
You do not flee inland?”
He shook his head. “Their warlord promised that we would be
slain if we did. They brought with them Makagagahum Miracles.
They summoned fire from their palms. Our guns could do nothing,
and we do not have enough witches to fight back.”
The woman watched as the men passed by. “Where is your Datu?”
“Locked up in his balay. They talk with him, saying that they’re
there to ‘negotiate’.”
“Why not just take debtors and be done with it?” asked the
woman. She gripped her dragon-mouthed sheathe.
“Oh, you. Of course you know that the Lakanate does not deal
like the rest of the polities in the known isles. They’re here to
expand their power by conquering land and territories, instead of
establishing relationships.” He shrugged as he turned the taro in
the pot. “It’s something we never thought we’d have to suffer, as
we’re just a small settlement, and our Datu’s wife is the sister of a
Datu under Rajah Batara Ambasi… but I suppose in their conquest
they will not settle until every rock is under their jurisdiction.
Come, eat.”
She nodded. She left the window and ate.
35
“I’m Ilu, by the way. What’s your name, Ba-e?”
“Odyong Pitara,” she replied, as she took a bit of the taro.
***
When they finished their meal, there was a knock on Ilu’s door.
Ilu froze. He slowly rose to his feet and walked over to it. He
opened, it just a small bit, and asked: “Who is it--”
“Don’t go hiding her in here old man!” And the man kicked the
door in, sending Ilu flying backwards. Odyong Pitara reached
around and nonchalantly caught him, placing him safely to his side.
Odyong realized that the small band of warriors have arrived at
their doorstop. Only three of them seemed to be well-armored:
wearing baluti and bringing with them kalasag. Upon their feet
they wore paruka, and had bamboo shinguards. Their bahag were
cloth and had long flowing flaps, and they wore patadyong, or a
kind of sarong, over it.
The one that kicked the man in, bringing with him a rusting kris,
walked in, without removing his footwear. He squatted down
beside Odyong, smiling. His moustache was long, and his pudong
was large, almost like a turban, and excessively decorated.
He smelled Odyong’s hair, which flowed long, braided with
flowers and thorns. “Ah… what a catch.”
Odyong sighed. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Laki.”
The man paused. His eyes widened. He turned to his lackeys and
shouted, “Did you hear this bitch? Ha! Jusko, and I thought I was
funny!” He turned and snarled into her ear, “If you don’t want to
fucking die, you’re going to do what I want you to.” His saliva was
infused with the stench of midday alcohol.
36
“Duck,” replied Odyong.
The man’s face contorted into confusion. “What--”
Odyong’s dragon-mouthed sheath clubbed his face, stunning
him, then she struck thrice: chest, groin, then face. Like lightning.
The man fell backwards, knocked out.
Odyong reached over and picked up the kris, sheathing it into her
sheathe. It fit perfectly.
“Thanks,” she replied, rising. “Ilu, I would apologize in advance
for what they’re about to do to your house.”
“What?”
“Ha! The bitch bites! Get ‘em, boys. Tell ‘er what happens to the
dog when they anger the crocodile.”
A melee ensued: two armored warriors and almost ten horohan,
or warrior debtors, against Odyong and her sheathe plus sword.
Odyong summarily dispatched of them without much trouble.
She didn’t need to advance: they attacked her for her. She
countered, wove, struck.
She disarmed a dagger that flew and punctured the eye of
another. She parried one attack, hit another warrior thrice with the
sheathe, and then leapt off of that man to impale the one she
parried with the kris. One of them she threw over and out of the
window. She sidestepped a charging attack of another to send him
flying directly into the fire of the kitchen, slapping him on the back
with her sheathe.
This dance of swords and sheaths happened in the length it would
take one to blink an eye.
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At the end of it all, half were dead, and half wished they could be.
As those incapacitated groaned in pain, Odyong sheathed her blade
and sighed. “Again, apologies, Ilu.”
Ilu watched her, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe.
“I’ll make it up to you,” said Odyong, as she walked over to the
door. “I’ll get rid of the Virbanwans.”
***
That night, after an extended detour through the docks and
killing more warriors there, Odyong made her way up to the balay
of the Datu. It wasn’t hard to find. It was smack dab in the middle
of the town, in front of the weapon’s storehouse, which meant that
they probably had some sort of fighting chance.
Just that they weren’t successful.
Odyong walked over to the balay and was immediately greeted by
two warrior men, both wielding spears. They wore a carabao horn
cuirass over silken shirts and pants, and peaked helmets.
“I’m looking for the Datu of this village.”
The two kawal, or guardsmen, simply looked at each other,
eyebrows furrowed. With a shake of their heads, they turned and
tried to shove Odyong away. Odyong caught one of their hands and
promptly broke it, then used the other hand that held a spear to
skewer the other man’s throat. Odyong then knocked the kawal out
and broke his nose with his own spear.
Inside the Datu’s balay, a man sits on the bamboo throne of the
old Datu.
The Datu himself lay to the side, skull blossomed into fragments
upon the wall.
38
The man sitting upon the bamboo throne was a man with a
peaked helmet, full armor covering him in abaca and carabao horn
from shoulders to ankles, and wearing paruka. He sat nonchalantly,
with one knee up. He held his luthang up, butt on the ground,
barrel pointing at the door.
His legions rose, brandished their weapons.
“Ease, ease,” said the Virbanwan commander, raising his hand.
The legions lowered their weapons: spears, swords, mostly. The
occasional bow.
The commander rose, pushing a crying woman from his side, who
wore a golden diadem. No doubt the wife of the now late Datu.
“So, you’re the one that has been tearing up this little village,” he
grinned, revealing his perfectly white teeth. The teeth of animals.
“Ha. Your humor does not amuse me.”
“I’m not trying to make you laugh, pretty. Now, come, then. What
is it you want? Power? Position? Wealth? You want to become a
Datu? I have power in Virbanwa. I’m Senapati Kampiyador, Third
Warlord of Batara Lakan Huwan Rekno, long may he live.”
“I want you to leave this village.”
“Ha!” The Senapati’s grin faded. “Now you don’t amuse me. Get
out.”
The legions readied their weapons.
Odyong frowned. She watched the legions. The Senapati took a
few steps forward. “All right, now you really don’t amuse me. I said,
get out.” He raised his hand and outstretched his fingers against
Odyong.
39
An invisible hammer slammed into her, into the door frame,
sending splinters in every direction.
Odyong flew, backwards and out, landing upon dirt and stone,
rolling into the bushes. The legion leapt out, then, screaming war
cries, firing arrows, rushing with swords and spears at the ready.
Odyong had no choice but to flee. She leapt over to a lost hole in
the ground, near the hinterlands where the swiddens became the
wilds, and hid there until the legions slowed their search.
It took them the whole night. Odyong fell asleep within her
hiding grove.
***
Upon a cliff, whereupon the Pak-an Galura village overlooks vast
mountains of the Masanun Island Chain, an elder man with hair
like wisps of clouds countered the attack of a young Odyong,
wearing a lambong and tubatub.
“Guro!” She snarled as she pushed herself off of the ground. Her
guro stared off over to the rolling mountains. They trained at the
edge of a cliff, where the wrong step could spell certain doom. “I
cannot get past your defense.” She rushed forward again, exploding
with a flurry of blows, but her Guro blocked them all in a furious
exchange of strikes and parries.
At the end, he locked her striking arms, and then pushed her
away. She fell backwards.
“Guro!” Her frustration dripped from her words. “I have been
training for most of my life. Getting past you is impossible!”
“Nonsense, young one,” replied the Guro, stretching his limbs.
“Nothing is impossible, not one.”
40
Odyong rose to her feet, dusting off the dust from her malong.
“I’m tired. Lets go home.”
“Not until you can get past me. Tomorrow is your final trial,
remember?”
Odyong let out a slow, dangerous breath. “How can I do that? I’ve
done all the techniques I know. I cannot get past your defenses.”
“Then it is time for your final lesson, little frog. If something
before you seems insurmountable,” he raised his hands in a ready
stance. “Then do not depend on ‘I’. That is the great lie. What is
insurmountable can be shattered with the power of ‘we’.”
***
The next morning, Odyong arrived at the shore of the village to
the sound of a bodyong being sounded.
The sound echoed across the entire island.
Odyong leapt out of the foliage and met the incoming Biray.
“What took you all so long, mga buang?” Odyong said, a small
smile breaking out from her stoic face.
Upon the prow of the ship, four warriors met her. One sat on the
side: a beautiful, rose-eyed man wielding a long kudyapi, wearing
no armor but a colorful and golden-tasselled saob-saob only worn
by royalty.
Another sat by the outrigger, a young boy with a bow longer than
him. Another sat behind the prow, a large woman with a large iron
gut. She’s the one blowing the bodyong. Her sundang glinted in the
rising sunlight.
The last one was a man with an almost flamboyant baro and
sarong get up, whereupon he wore plumage upon his pudong.
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Using sorcerous wind, he leapt from the prow of the ship and
landed upon the shore.
“Ah, have patience with us, Odyong,” said the man, grinning. His
gold-pegged teeth made it look like his mouth was made of
sunshine. “Kara-Kara over there couldn’t help but stop by a nearby
settlement to have a chance at their hipon dishes.”
Kara-Kara, the boy with the sikarom, leapt off from the outriggers
and onto the shore. “They had buttered hipon, how could I say no!
Bangol, come on, you’re with me on this, right?”
Bangol, the iron-gut warlord, leapt down from the biray and onto
the shore. “Ah, don’t bring me into this. I have nothing to do with
that,” she said, grinning.
“Not anymore, when you finished them all,” said the rose-eyed
kudyapi player, as he leapt down from the side of the biray and onto
the shore. He wore a malong, as any woman would.
“Come on I thought you were on my side Dagna!” Bangol whined,
pertaining to the kudyapi player. Dagna shrugged.
Odyong couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Tandayag,” spoke
Odyong, referring to the man with plumage upon his pudong.
“Thank the spirits that you got the message quickly.”
“Of course,” said Tandayag, smiling. “It is destiny. And liberating
villages is part and parcel for the Wandering Sword Souls. And it
looks like the fight has come to us! Grand. We don’t have to waste
time looking for them.”
Odyong nodded. She unsheathed her kris, then, and turned to
face the village.
42
The legion faced them. It was an entire army, rows and rows of
spear and swords, the occasional gun and bow. Off to the sides,
standing upon balay roofs, war drummers wrapped in drab sack
cloths banged upon agung.
Despite being of Virbanwa, their war tactics and traditions still
echoed that of their roots. The horohan warriors wanted nothing
but to fulfill their debt to their masters, while those in the ranks
that were wrapped in armor and wielding shields and ceremonial
blades no doubt wanted glory. Those richer warriors, wrapped in
decorative jewelry, painted armors, wearing pants and sarongs and
pudongs bespeckled with carnelians and ivories, looked almost
bored--some even apalled or disgusted--that their entire army had
been amassed to face this small contingent of five warriors. Five
Kadungganan.
Five Kadungganan.
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Yet the banging of agung
was louder still. The cacophony of war.
Far behind them, standing atop the Datu’s balay, Senapati
Kampiyador raised an excessively bangled hand, glinting like the
sun’s rays.
His right hand man, dripping with jewelry, blew the bodyong, and
its sound ripped heaven.
At that sound, the servant that paddled the biray that the rest of
the Wandering Sword Souls arrived upon paddled away, as fast as
they could.
43
Just as well, thought Odyong to herself. She straightened herself,
readying her blade and her sheath, her saob-saob flapping in the
cold morning wind.
There, five souls stood upon the shore, bodies hardened after a
lifetime’s worth of martial training, hands quicker after three.
Weapons at the ready, sorceries prepared.
The legions of the Senapati advanced.
The Wandering Sword Souls strode forward to meet them.
44
45
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Magsama-samang mga kaluluwa, nagdurusa at naglalabanan.
Narito sila ngayon, sa malayuang talim ng tadhana, upang masagot
ang katanungan: dapat ba tayong magkapitan sa isa’t isa?
Our souls are gathered now together, suffering and fighting.
Here they are, on the far edge of destiny, to answer the
question: should we cling to each other?
The archipelago of never ending war...

Sorrowsong, sorrowsong, that song without end,
Rejoice in the glory of combat, may we never know peace:
Gubat Banwa!
The known isles are in war. The sea burns with sorcery. Fires blaze
down bamboo cottages. Swordfish riding warlords charge in on
stone fortresses up on mountains. Armies amass upon islands
bearing sorcerous cannons. Martial Arts Braves challenge each
other to duel upon cliff-faces.
Heaven is split open by prayers and sacrifices. Boats are torn apart
by storms summoned by balyan. Brotherhood of lords war for forty
days and forty night against tyrants. An archipelago of unceasing
conflict. Why do they fight just to die?
Why do they fight just to die?
This is GUBAT-BANWA: WARRING STATES. An unapologetic
Heroic Fantasy game that rises and is based on pre-colonial
46
Philippine sensibility, mythology, and history. There are no knights
in shining armor slaying dragons here.
You play as esteemed Kadungganan: warrior-braves and martial
artists that fight for prestige, money, country, or self.
Imagine a world that uses Southeast Asian aesthetics and
influences instead of European. Knights are hardwood and
elephant hide clad shieldbearers. Dragons are gigantic floating
crocodiles and moon-eating serpents. Chivalry is loyalty to duty
and warrior prestige.
Imagine a world where spirit idols huddle in clouds of witnesses,
the mountains are the lands of the gods, and trees are temples.
Where the land itself is divine, is the realm of the spirits, and to
defile it is the highest sin.
Imagine a world where you play as buwaya riders, sarimanok
knights, and gagamba cavaliers. Where warriors and witches
perfect the use of their innate spiritual power to leap mountains
and stride the clouds. Raiders fight alongside sympathy witches, as
a herbalist healer quick-cauterizes the wounds sustained by their
hunter-trapper ally.
Brothers killing brothers. Mothers having to take up the sword to
avenge their fathers. Lovers dueling with lovers. Friends now foes.
War changes all, and in the known isles, war is eternal.
Gubat Banwa was forged in war, and it will be consumed by it.
47
WHAT IS GUBAT BANWA?
Gubat-Banwa is a tactical martial arts and war drama tabletop
RPG set in Yutadagat (“Earth Sea”), a Hyper Southeast Asian
Martial Arts fantasy setting inspired by Classical Philippines. It is
inspired by Filipino Martial Arts, Filipino Epics, Filipino Folklore
and Myth, Wuxia, Asian Dramas, and Strategy RPGs.
You play as Kadungganan, the elite warrior-braves that hail from
the manggugubat warrior class, who enjoy prestige and regard
oftentimes higher than their noble counterparts. As a
Kadungganan, your hands are bloody, your soul flecked by
violence, and you must find a reason why you fight.
As a Tactical Martial Arts game, it is inspired by Final Fantasy
Tactics, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Fire Emblem,
Dungeons and Dragons 4e, Exalted, and wuxia novels. Like
these games, Gubat Banwa places great emphasis on team roles,
player synergy, positioning, and emergent strategy. In a sense,
Gubat Banwa’s setting is wuxia by the way of Filipino Martial Arts.
An FMA game all in all. It is of the bayani genre, which means hero
or brave in many Philippine languages, and even some other
Southeast Asian languages.
As a war drama game, you must create an emphasis on
relationships with other warriors, with your loved one, and intense
politicking between settlements. Gubat-Banwa expects you to play
into these melodramas: sons having to kill their fathers for
defecting to an enemy nation, daughters having to flee to the
mountains to escape misogynistic responsibilities, loved ones
killing each other slowly due to orders and/or emotions, and best
48
friends dueling at the top of a mountain in the midst of a storm as
their ideologies bring them to a head.
Violence is the only answer, The Sword Isles says, and so it has
been since the beginning of time.
For the islands were born in conflict and in violence it shall
perish. Rejoice in the glory of combat.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
All players have the following responsibilities to remember when
running a game of Gubat Banwa.
● Depict a War Torn World.
● Agree on a theme and tone.
● Care about combat.
● Play into the melodrama.
● Make every fight meaningful.
● Learn to fight together.
● Make sure everyone is safe.
● Make sure everyone is having fun.
49
50
WHERE IS GUBAT BANWA?
The Sword Isles is the archipelago that you live upon. Five major
mandalas of power have emanated from five major nations, and in
the midst of them all are a thousand thousand polities fighting in
never-ending war.
The islands of The Sword Isles are populated by tawo, and you are
one of them. Alongside tawo live foreigners, whom you call sina.
These include humanoid beings from outside Yutadagat, all the
way to the Pale Kings and Tiger Gods in the furthest reaches of the
middle world.
Diwata, manifestations and personifications of nature, live within
trees and mountains, seas and lakes. Diwata that live in the earth
are the Yutanon, those in the sea are Dagatnon, in the sky are
Langitnon, and in the underworld are Suladnon.
Mortal folk populate and desecrate the middle world of nature
and earth known as Yutadagat. Beneath Yutadagat is the
underworld where the souls of the dead rest in elysian fields, known
as Sulad, and there are many layers to Sulad. Above Lupa is the
skyworld, where many gods, spirits, shamans, venerated ancestors,
and those killed in glorious combat live. It is known by different
names, but it is commonly referred to as Langit.
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A BRIEF HISTORY
The Sword Isles, otherwise known as The Isles of Violence, is
situated in the center of the world, crafted when an ancient war god
stabbed the world’s navel. The kris shattered into The Sword Isles,
while the world’s blood became the shallow waters.
The Sword Isles is an exonym, meaning it is what other nations
call it, particularly the dragon empire of Baik Hu. For the natives,
they refer to their own islands, and they do not have a particular
name for their cloister of isles, for their isles are part of the greater
archipelagic spear.
While peace and trade settles in the other nations, the isles of The
Sword Isles only intensify their violence, vying for heirloom wealth,
status, servants, and revenge.
But first, a brief note about time. The way Kitataknon reckon time
is as thus:
52
The hours of a day is measured in the Movements of the Sun.
There are 16 Movements: starting from dawn and ending at the
time when it is so dark that one can hardly see in front of them.
They do not reckon time at night, for that is the domain of witches
and demons.
The passing of days is measured in Moons. Every Full Moon
constitutes the midpoint of a Moon. There are 7 – 12 Moons a year.
Every moon consisted of 29 days. Weeks are not differentiated from
Moons, they are one and the same. Kitataknon measure of time
through Moons are more precise than clocks.
Years are measured in harvests. A year is the length of time
between one harvest and the next, which necessarily means this is
not set in stone, as conditions for harvest can differentiate and
fluctuate in time. Age therefore is measured in a number of harvests
you have lived through. When comparing it to real life years, just
assume that a single real life year consists of 2 harvests, so keep that
in mind when calculating character ages (a 20 year old in real life
would be 40 harvests old in the Sword Isles).
Atop that, balyan, pandita, and other wise men have recently
begun to reckon Eras: periods of time made up of multiple harvests.
There are three kinds of Eras:
- Sun Eras are times of glory and peace. Stability and comfort.
Sun Eras are followed by...
- Moon Eras are times of change, innovation, and dynamism.
Change here can be for the good or for the worse. Moon Eras are
followed by...
53
- Star Eras, that time when the darkness overpowers the sky and
only a few motes of light can be seen, is the time of darkness,
danger, violence, atrocity, hate, and sin. It is the the time when
witches and demons are most active. When a Star Era ends, it is
said to become a Sun Era once again.
THE SEVENTH SUN ERA

The Seventh Sun Era was the longest era, said to have lasted
almost a thousand years.
In the distant past, about 500 harvests hence, there were three
major polities: Tundun, Ba-e and Put’wan. These three major
polities were major players in the Greater Archipelago region of
Yutadagat, placed directly center of the entire cosmos.
Put’wan, the city of golden avalokiteshvaras and statues,
was a more powerful state of its own, a veritable kingdom, and paid
tribute to the more powerful Baikhan Empire during the time, and
ruled over the entire northern area of The Sword Isles. It was
characterized by gleaming, multiroofed pagodas, gold so abundant
that they were used impossibly as weapons and as ways to make
barges float on air, and merchant warlords that conquered and kept
away those from Naksuwarga.
Tundun, the city of warlords and copperplates, stood in war
and trade with Put’wan for most of its life. It is characterized by
great metal statues that pocked the grasslands, constant trade with
other international states, and a confluence of foreign cultures.
Tundun was a trading city first and foremost, and it manifested in
their material culture, which they passed down to their eventual
54
modern heir, Ananara. Katanas from the frigid Longbow Island of
Iyamat, to peaked helmets from the grand dragon empire of Baik
Hu, to porcelains, copperplates, and stone structures from the
Malirawat Empire, once just Rawat when Tundun still stood.
Ba-e, the city of lingas, buddhas, and royal parasols, was said
to be the richest of the ancient three kingdoms. Ba-e boasted an
ancient culture, with metal buddhas found in the grasslands put
there by people they themselves didn’t know. They traded
constantly with Baik Hu, forcing the grand dragon empire to trade
on their terms. They walked about on sarongs and silk jackets, even
the peasants, and had great command of foreign tongues.
Annuvaran Bhikkhu arrived on their shores and would preach and
teach.
THE SEVENTH MOON ERA

The Seventh Moon Era lasted for 100 years after the Seventh Sun
Era.
However, none of The Sword Isles’s nations last long. That is the
nature of the river: as it is placed atop the mountain, so too shall it
cascade down into the sea, and become nothing but heaviness upon
clouds.
Put’wan’s greatness faltered as the foreign tiger prince Maharaja
Sri Bishaya conquered Tauhaw and established the great cities that
would eventually become Kangdaya. There, the great tiger-blooded
rajahs forced alliances into the surrounding settlements, 999
chiefdoms in all. Thus they became Gatusan. The 999 chiefdoms
created the Rajahnate, with the paramount datu Sri Bishaya
55
becoming the First Rajah Batara of Gatusan. Now, the current Rajah
is Rajah Batara Ambasi, a descendant of Sri Bishaya. They wish to
enact The Great World Raid, where they will travel to all corners of
the world and raid it for prestige, esteem, people, and wealth.
In the far north, many warriors of Put’wan migrated to the island
of Siga, where they were met with other traders and travelers, and
of course the Moon Prophet. From her divination, Jaris Akai
established the Akai Sultanate. They are relatively new, but they
have established an immediate burgeoning monarchy, one that
does not force assimilation and rather only requires tribute. They
prepare the Great Conquest, with their plan of turning all of The
Sword Isles into Bal’akai Sultanate, with the eventual goal of
conquering the polities and kingdoms to the rest of the
Archipelagic Crescent.
The Nation of Ba-e prospered and stood steadfast, although they
never achieved the great heights of Put’wan or Tundun, they were
consistent, and their Nation of complexly allied Chiefdoms created
a veritable kingdom that valued ingenuity, wealth, and creation
above all. The Nation of Ba-e has stood against the test of time, but
as war intensifies, how will they answer?
THE SEVENTH STAR ERA

The Seventh Star Era lasted for 50 years, and was characterized by
intense violence brought on by the arrival of the Pale Kings of
Issohappa.
Eventually, alien life-force stealers known as The Pale Kings
arrived, astride their great chariot that is the Empire of Issohappa,
56
built on the backs of native debtors from the Far Southwestern
Continent conjoined to the World Jaws. They came and conquered
and succeeded, beating Ananara, the heir to Tundun’s great
golden city, into submission. Ananara had been forged from
Sonyoh and Malilu—a kingdom across the river from Tundun—
and had become followers of the Moon Faith. When Ananara was
defeated, Tundun came in soon enough, and afterwards so did the
third city upriver: Namayan. The Pale Kings subsumed both
Tundun and Namayan into Ananara’s borders.
However, Virbanwa’s lakans and datus did not forget form
whence they came. They carried out the Lakan Conspiracy with the
help of every polity in the isles, as well as foreign aid from
Naksuwarga, The Isles of Gold, and Sonyoh, the Mother
Sultanate.
THE EIGHTH SUN ERA

This Sun Era evidently lasted much shorter than the previous one.
This Sun Era lasted for 25 years.
After the defeat of Issohappa, there was a flourishing time. The
folk of The Sword Isles grew rich as trade with Near-Western
Continent nations became possible with opened trade routes. And
with commodities from there, they were able to become the West’s
gate to trade into and out from the entire Central region of
Yutadagat. The Sword Isles flourished: they became a trading hub
for both eastern and western nations.
57
Naksuwarga’s Thalassocratic Empire, Malirawat’s Thunder Bird
Kingdom, and Baik Hu’s Dragon Empire all traded more with the
Sword and Spear Isles.
But it was not meant to last long.
Virbanwa managed to repel the alien invaders, but the invaders
have left their mark. Ananara became the center of power for the
Virbanwan Lakanate, led by a Batara Lakan. They believe that the
Pale Kings had it right: for peace to be achieved, they have to
conquer all of Virbanwa and unite them under a single flag, banner,
and Star. In the name of peace, Empire.
THE EIGHTH MOON ERA

This is the current day. It is the 87th Harvest of the Eighth
Moon Era, as reckoned by wise men.
Warring has begun. Violence has intensified. The increased trade
has only awakened more hatred for kin, more politicking for power,
more fighting for strength and wealth and prominence. The Eighth
Moon Era, at its current state, is in a mercurial and volatile state.
While many still say that there’s still a way to “prevent” a Star Era,
or prolong it, you know this not to be true.
The intense warring brought about a million crying atrocities
across the archipelago. To cease this from happening, as well as to
protect the center of the universe, Mount Apu, the five kedatuan of
Pumirang assembled and created the Confederation of
Apumbukid. There they will hold the line, they will establish root
paths with other mountain protectors, and they will share and
trade what they know to better serve as stewards of nature.
58
War intensifies. Virbanwa seeks empire. Akai fights for conquest.
Ba-e reaches for wealth. Gatusan whets their spears for glory.
Apumbukid seeks to preserve.
LAY OF THE SWORD ISLES

There are too many polities and settlements and too many isles
to numerate in a single book, or in a thousand books. Feel free to
make up polities, give them names like “Bluewater” or
“Greenwatch”. It’s all right, those are what city names translate to
anyway.
The isles are lush and full of flora and fauna that cannot be found
anywhere else. Giant dragon-pangolins, self-replicating snakes, and
friendly monkey otters. Giant corpse flowers choke jungles, and
vast multicolored leaves and flowers explode from forests and
grasslands.
There is more than enough for everyone. No one is trying to claim
land here: there is more than enough for everyone. Instead,
everyone is trying to gather the most amounts of followers.
The intensifying of violence heralds The Eighth Star Era. New
weapons are being brought in from foreign isles, new warriors and
martial styles are being synthesized and introduced. New ideas and
philosophies are being rapidy adapted to the changing polities.
The polities, once just polities, chiefdoms, are on the rise. They
will become kingdoms. They will become empires. In their
expansion, they threaten harmony with nature.
Travel to grand temple-cities in the far northeast is common now,
to pay obeisance to the myriad gods. Pilgrimage to the Sacred
59
Lands are common for those that follow the Moon Faith. Great
Cathedral-Palaces are being built upon once swamplands.
In The Sword Isles, there are no ruins or ancient hidden cities.
No, everything at stake is here. Rising monuments and edifices are
built from the hands of burgeoning tyrants.
As these polities intersect and interlock, their steel petals biting,
you arrive. Kadungganan. Prestigious One. Will you be able to
shorten the coming Star Era to a single violent moment? Or will the
Eighth Star Era be the bloodiest one yet? Participate in the blooded
flower dance.
Rejoice in the glory of combat until violence is gone.
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WHAT ALL FOLK SHOULD KNOW
They should generally know the following:
• All those that live in The Sword Isles are either called tawo
or Kitataknon. If referring to people of other places and nations,
they will either use sina or [place name]-non. For example:
Baikhunon, or Issohappanon. When referring to the various
mandalas within the islands, they use -non. So Virbanwan folk
are Virbanwanon, Gatusan folk are Gatusanon, Akai folk are
Akainon, Ba-e folk are Mayinon, and Apumbukid folk are
Apunon.
• The basic garment for males is the bahag (think a bulky
scottish kilt, probably more colorful, and richer people would
have them made from foreign silks). For females, it is the
lambong (now in modern times known as the malong, a sort of
tube skirt that could be worn either as a skirt, or as a tube top
when pulled up to the chest. Some were so long that they could
be pulled up over the head. While debtors usually only wore
those (and undyed), warriors and other upper class would wear
additional garments on top of that: sarongs, sarouels, wooden or
golden clogs, diadems, golden crowns, black and white shawls,
silk jackets, silk gowns that reached the ankles, hardwood
breastplates, elephant hide breastplates, and the everpresent
pudong (think of it like a short turban or bandana. Grandiose
ones are large like actual turbans).
• The Folk here are usually of ruddy complexions, reddened
or browned by the sun. Those that do no work stay white and
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pale, which is a norm across all cultures, and is why “white” was
seen as beautiful, because it denoted royalty.
• White would be worn in grieving. No warring could be
done in grieving, unless it is to end the grieving, wherein a ritual
raid would be done to offer killed warriors to the datu. Although
just as often, alliance visitations are done, wherein the wife of a
dead datu gives gifts to the allied settlements.
• Betel nut chewing is the norm and offering betel nut is a
sign of hospitality. White teeth are the teeth of animals! Most
folk color their teeth crimson or black, and would file them to
either sharp points or fill them in with gold. Betel nut chew is
an easy way to stain teeth red.
• Debt Slavery is an unfortunate norm of life, but it doesn’t
have to be.
• When they seem like they will die in combat, unless they
have a good conviction, they will surrender. This is what
separates the Kadungganan from the rest.
• What is seen as beautiful is this: broad faces, flat noses, and
moon-shaped skulls. The average Kitataknon stands at 5’1” to
5’5”.
• Makeup exists, although mostly practiced by upper classes.
This includes eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick, and more.
• Eyebrow trimming and shaving was the norm. Even men
would trim their eyebrows to crescent moons.
• Gold is exceedingly abundant! So much so that it almost
values nothing to them, and is used even by debtors. They are
only valuable in the international market.
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• International trade has had a large influence on the folk of
The Sword Isles, but most of the culture is secondhand, so tawo
from The Sword Isles very commonly indigenizes foreign
cultures instead. Local culture prevails so much so that local
gods are worshipped instead of foreign gods.
• Warring is synonymous with Raiding, whether it be land
raids (gahat) or sea raids (ngayaw). There are no pirates in the
islands, they are simply warriors, because everyone is a pirate.
• Rice is abundant only for the rich for shore settlements.
The usual food is root crop taro/gabi, as well as fish. Pork and
water buffalo meat are also eaten, but they are mostly saved for
feasts. The inland settlements have access to mountainside
swiddens that let them plant great varieties of rice.
• Waters are considered as roads, not barriers. Islands are
points of interest. Some Datu would designate entire islands as
either plantations or burial sites. There’s a surplus of islands.
There was no pack animals, because they almost never carried
heavy items through jungle treks, instead loading them on light
barges that sail up and down rivers that connect settlements.
• Property here does not include land. Rather, it is heirloom
wealth, called bahandi. Instead of fighting over land, wars are
fought over debtors, trading routes, and wealth. Sometimes
iron. This is why most raids don’t end in massacre, instead
ending when the people get the resources (weapons, debtors,
trinkets and items) that they need.
• There was no need to build grand temples: the mountains
and the temple trees, the balete or strangler fig, was enough.
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Those that need to make pilgrimages to other grand temples
would travel to the other archipelago.
• In general, Kitataknon include themselves in the
kaleidescope of settlements and polities of the greater Central
Yutadagat area, which is the region of islands and archipelagos.
Think of this as the greater Nusantara/Maritime Southeast Asia
region.
The archipelago is vast and unknowable at times, the sea
being the only thing connecting all of the islands.
Nevertheless, despite the surplus of cultures, languages, and
people, there are broad strokes of shared culture and principle that
can be seen in most people of the Archipelago.
Debt Rules All. Debt is the main form of societal movement.
Entire Datu can be turned into debtors if they accrue too much
Debt that they cannot pay off. Some horohan can become
Kadungganan themselves and even Datu should they showcase
enough bravery and prowess in the battlefield.
A Multiplicity of Folk. All kinds of people live in the isles. Most
of them seem similar to humans, such as you and me, but there are
just as many of the various folk or lahi that live in the isles.
Eaglefolk, frogfolk, civetfolk, and more. All of these folk work the
same, and have no mechanical benefit to choosing whichever. They
are purely for narrative and roleplaying purposes. Additionally, the
average height in The Sword Isles is 5’4” across all folk.
The Datu Must Be Respected. The Datu is a man of charisma,
and many pay fealty to the Datu. The Datu you serve, while not to
be treated like a god, is still a person many would consider larger
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than life. Of course, as Kadungganan, you have the privilege of not
worshipping the Datu you are chained to.
Spirits live in everything. Known as Diwata, these elemental
holy powers inhabit everything in the world. In a sense, think of
them as the souls of these things. A diwata can leave an item, like a
soul would leave a body, and in doing so that thing loses its
capability. When a tawo’s soul, known as a kalag, leaves their soul,
they lose autonomy, rationality, and thinking ability. Such is when
a diwata leaves an item: should a sword diwata leave a sword, that
sword loses its ability to cut.
These diwata have particular names: kahoynon are those that live
in trees, banwanun are those that live in the land, dagatnon are
those that live and thrive in the sea. Langitnun are those that live
in the sky. Hinagbinanon are those that live in weapons, and much
more.
Ancestors are revered. The one that is the subject of most
worship are the ancestor spirits, however, known as umalagad:
ancient ancestors, folk heroes, and guardian spirits that are
wosrhipped as gods. They are prayed to given offerings, and
balyan—spirit mediums—would call upon them to bless their fate
or give them power.
Those in the Archipelago are blessed with abundant
resources. So abundant were the resources that the western
notion of land-owning was not present here: it was not scarce
enough to warrant owning land. A person could lend their
farmlands to another person, or two or more people could share a
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single piece of swidden land, and there would be enough to go
around.
Hinterland societies of chiefdoms and plutocracies, bring down
important resources from the forests, such as wild animal meats
and pelts, gold and iron ore, wax, spices, forest hardwoods, and
medicinal plants, to the shore and coastal settlements, in exchange
for foreign materials, manufactured goods such as iron tools and
weapons, livestock, and coastal resources.
Debt, Barter and Trade. There is no singular currency: within
each other, tawo trade through rice grains and foodstuffs and other
important items. With foreign sina, they might use their coinage,
or trade gold for their silver.
One of the most important and sought after commodities is
manual labor, which allowed for larger settlements, more often
raiding, and more items created for export and import. Thus the
trade of debtors was the most important trade, trading and raiding
for peons and peasants. This is an unfortunate part of The Sword
Isles life, but it doesn’t have to be.
Debt rules all. Even lordly datu can be brought low by borrowing
something that they cannot repay, becoming a debtor for that
person, or a farmer can become a datu by displaying martial
prowess and unbridled charisma. These Social Classes are not set
in stone, they are as fluid as the water upon which The Sword Isles’s
life floats.
Major trading centers are cultural confluxes. The most
important thing to know about The Sword Isles, being based on
Late Porcelain Period Philippines, is that its major trading centers
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are where large empires and kingdoms go to trade with. These
trading centers had proper anchorage fees, marketplaces, and
procedures for trading. Dispel the notion of savages trading with
foreigners on the shores, and input instead large junks having to
come down with white parasols upon docks, greeted by rich
merchant princes wearing black and white silks and golden
tasselled umbrellas.
It is important to note that major trading centers almost never
conduct raids to gain more debtors. They only trade such debt and
obligations.
Material from foreign lands are then diffused to the rest of the
archipelago from these major trading centers, trading with inner
islands and hinterland societies.
Thus the complex web of the Archipelago spins.
Trading, Raiding, and Feasting. Much of The Sword Isles life is
centered around this.
Trading to trade the items they have created or managed to get
on their own, and to gain items that they might need from other
islands and other lands.
Raiding to forcibly take items and people for manual labor from
other settlements, as well as to satisfy grudges and enact revenge.
Feasting to show off accumulated wealth, revel in the night,
conduct rituals to the spirits, and to establish even more
connections with other settlements in other islands for better
trading connections or kinship.
Not Tribes! Settlements, Chiefdoms, Rajahnates,
Kedatuans, Lakanates, Sultanates. It is easy to think of the
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setting as akin to savage barbarism in a tropical setting, but this
cannot be further from the truth. With strict codes of law, proper
honorifics and a proper way of speaking when performing tasks,
effervescent material culture of silks and parasols and golden wide-
brimmed hats and wooden clogs and excessively deocrated bahag,
the lands of The Sword Isles are sophisticated and complicated,
mired in drama and war and interpersonal relationships.
They are less savage tribes, but Chiefdoms, on the brink of what
modern scholars would categorize as statehood. Loose alliances
wherein a chief rules over each town, and each chief is connected.
In most terms (and in Gubat Banwa) this is called a Kedatuan.
Larger chiefdoms can be mandala, closer to states but without
territorial boundaries. However, the most powerful cities, the ones
that have mandalas of power forming about them, can be more or
less considered as states or kingdoms of their own. Thus,
Rajahnates or Sultanates.
Imagine Japan’s Warring States era, with their warring daimyos,
replacing “daimyo” with “datu” and “samurai” with
“manggugubat/timawa/satariya/etc”. An appealing elevator pitch
is “Imagine Tropical Southeast Asian Warring States Vikings” and
you’re a third of the way there.
Foreign Kingdoms are filled with great wealth. The kingdoms
and Empires of Naksuwarga, Ramahasa, Malirawat, Baik Hu, and
even Issohappa, are all grand kingdoms that are more or less larger,
more powerful, and richer than the settlements and cities in the
Archipelago. This is all the better, as trade with those islands can
only lend to making the Archipelago richer. Of course, the people
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of the Archipelago are no strangers to raiding even the farthest of
shores for items and materiel.
Diversity and Multiplicity are their virtues. The diversity of
the Archipelago makes it an exciting setting to venture through.
Settlements on different islands might have differing languages and
cultures, sometimes mutually intelligible and sometimes not. The
five Major Mandalas have smaller, more diverse cultures that live
within their very polities, and this is something to be embraced.
Through diversity there will be unity.
Water is the island’s lifeblood. Beasts of burden are not
common in these parts, and mounts are a rarity, not the norm. They
exist, but they are the exception. There are some trails blazed
inland, but the way to travel both inland and in between the islands
is by water. Rivers are the roads, seas and straits are the highways.
Boats are both the carriages and the wagons, carrying cargo and
stories. For most people in The Sword Isles, water is not a barrier,
but rather, the bridge itself.
There are those that came before. Other than those from the
Seventh Sun Era, there was once a diminutive people, who grew
smaller as they aged, known as the Kadanay, who had access to
powerful spiritual artifice and more advanced technology than
anything else in the Archipelago and possibly the entire known
world. Some of the Kadanay people can be found in the most
remote parts of the world, where the curse of man, civilization, has
not yet touched and Grappled with nature.
The Sword Isles is not one island, it is a myriad of towns,
chiefdoms, and monarchies. They trade with each other, fight
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against each other, have different languages and cultures, and
engage in the eternal tug of war of resources, debtors, prestige, and
wealth. Each major polity fights and has rivals, has their own
personality, needs and wants and problems. Some polities are
centralized governments, others are reliant on a sort of patron-
client relationship between Datu, others still perfectly content to
perform ritualistic headhunting against each other. The Sword Isles
is a diverse place, with 12 major players, split into five realms. They
live, war, die, trade, and feast, in an eternal conquest to survive in
the islands of divine bloodshed.
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THE FIVE MAJOR MANDALAS AT A GLANCE
There are Five Major Political Powers in the Sword Isles, each
one claiming the islands for themselves. Here they are at a glance,
something to help you encapsulate how they feel like from a bird’s
eye view. However, as with any culture, these broad assumptions
are just that, broad. Individuals will have differing cultures, and
settlements themselves can have differing cultures from each other
even if they’re in the same Mandala. Keep in mind that the
multiplicity of cultures is exalted here in the Sword Isles.
THE RAJAHNATE OF GATUSAN

- Has 999 Chiefdoms united in alliance to a single overlord, the
Rajah Batara, who controls the largest foreign trading seaport,
Kangdaya.
- Tattoos are rites of passage either in love or war.
- Are never not singing.
- Like to insult and mock as a war tactic and are prone to putting
family over others.
- Likes rice, and so most raids and trading ventures look for rice.
- Taught poetry (that is, singing and oral literature) at a very
young age. A poetic culture.
- Worship a plethora of deities: some spirit gods, but usually
ancestor gods.
- Raiding is a way of life, a way of revenge.
- Have their own reading and writing system, mostly used for
messages. Traditions and rites are passed down through songs.
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- Inspired by Pre-colonial Visayan Pintados, from Leyte to Samar
to Cebu to Bohol to the northern tip of Mindanao (Butuan) to the
southern tip of Bikol.
THE CONFEDERATION OF APUMBUKID

- Largely decentralized. 5 major polities led by 5 elders known as
Tuwan.
- Made up of 5 primary polities, each one dedicated to protecting
the Holy Mountain of Apu.
- They do not claim other polities, nor do they raid for debtors.
They focus on their stewardship of nature, a holy aspect of their
lives.
- They perform ritual killing to appease the ancestors and the
deities.
- Follow The Hiyang, oneness with nature. They pay their utmost
respect to Apu Dayaw, the spirit sleeping within the Holy Mountain
of Apu, which is said to have created causation.
- Have access to the hallowed Root Paths: a network of
metaspiritual portals connected by various holy trees, usually
either strangler figs, pagoda trees, or mangroves.
- Are raised to stewardship, but now children are also raised in
war.
- Do not have a singular writing system, but rather, multiple
writing systems scattered across the isles. For communication, they
share a writing system with the Rajahnate.
- Inspired by various Lumad and Indigenous Philippine cultures
(but are not them).
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THE NATION OF BA-E
- The oldest surviving mandala in the entire Sword Isles. Follows
a pantheon of deities and spirits similar to the Rajahnate’s.
- Have access to ancient knowledge and secrets, such as the
knowledge of waking the diwata within inert objects and binding
(willing) guardian spirits to barges to create sky barges and
cloudjunks that fly upon clouds.
- A very rich nation, with even their Debtors wearing expensive
sarong silks and bringing around expensive umbrellas. Thanks to
access to the vast wetlands of northern Rusunuga, they also have
become another major exporter of rice. And thanks to the Lake of
Puliran, the largest freshwater lake in the Sword Isles, they export
vast amounts of freshwater marine items.
- A nation on the cusp of industry, with rising necessities as
violence intensifies. They record everything: from debt to alliances
to trade in copperplates.
- Ruled by a singular Sangpamegat, an ancient title that stems
back 100,000 years.
- Venerates the number 8, and so their architecture and cloth and
culture align with 4, 8, and 16 (16 roofed houses for royals, 4 sided
houses, 8 types of primary weapons).
- Has intense trading ties with Baik Hu and Virbanwa, so much so
that Baikhan junks are almost always docked on shore. Has religion
influenced by foreign Ashinin-Annuvaran, leading to such
practices such as ritual cremation and worship of lingga.
- Inspired by Pre-colonial Tagalogs and Laguna.
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THE LAKANATE OF VIRBANWA
- Once invaded, but not colonized. They were freed after the
Lakan Conspiracy. However they structured their government after
the Issohappan one, with a Batara Lakan acting as a king, and a
Mahapari acting similarly to a pope.
- Follows the Ashen Star, a monotheistic religion that venerates
the three-aspected Makagagahum, the Almighty.
- Turns ancient gods into saint intercessors. Are imperial at heart,
and wish to conquer all of the Sword Isles and turn it into the
Virbanwan Isles.
- Now has a standing army and a printing press. They have their
own writing system that is intelligible by others in the Sword Isles
(same ancestors).
- Polities are still ruled by datu, and each datu has a probinsya
that they rule over, but a datu pays tribute to the Batara Lakan.
- Takes advantage of the vast central fields of Rusunuga to farm
large amounts of rice.
- Has larger trade with the Madaki Peninsula to the near east, the
Malirawat Empire, and the Baikhan Empire. Most of the time they
trade with them more than the other mandalas.
- Inspired by Early Spanish Philippines.
THE SULTANATE OF AKAI

- Relatively recent, almost the same age as Virbanwa.
- Ruled by a Sultan, who has a direct line to Jaris Akai the First
Sultan and the Moon Prophet of Baginda Sumongsuklay.
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- Worships the moon, and the moon has angels and devils and the
Palace of Baginda Sumongsuklay.
- Are expansionist just like Virbanwa, but do it in a similar fashion
to the Rajahnate, through trading, raiding, and feasting instead of
conquest.
- Have larger trade with the other islands of the Crescent
Archipelagic Region, meaning they have more material culture
from those regions. They have access to horses, sarimanok,
elephants, and superior weapons.
- Zealous, just as much as Virbanwa. Everything they do is in the
name of the Moon.
- Their polities serve the Sultan, and are not allied with the Sultan
like the Rajah Batara is.
- Ancient sorceries let them fly upon sky barges, summon storms
at will, and has let them access the secrets of external alchemy.
- Inspired by the Sultanates of Southern Philippines.
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INSPIRATIONAL TOUCHSTONES
Touchstones that you can consume to get a better sense of what
games are expected for Gubat Banwa.
NON-FICTION
Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society
by William Henry Scott. One of the easiest to consume and most
complete picture of 16th Century Prehispanic Philippines. Bar
none, if you want to get into Pre Colonial Philippines, Barangay is
one of the best starting points.
History of the Bisayan People in the Philippine
Islands/Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas of Franscisco
Ignacio Alcina. An integral deep dive into late 15th - early 16th
century Visayas, where the locals still remember their old ways and
practice them, with Alcina recording all of it down. Here you see
shamans climbing trees to be possessed by gods, details about
shipbuilding, the blossoming of flowers that detailed their seasons,
how they wove, and their numerous gods and spiritualities.
Philippine Folk Literature Series by Damiana Eugenio.
Integral to deep diving into Filipino Culture, and a great resource
for fantastical adventures.
Raiding, Trading, and Feasting: The Political Economy of
Philippine Chiefdoms by Laura Lee Junker. Important to
grokking how prehispanic Philippines worked and how increasing
violence led to further trade and intensified war.
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FICTION
Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi. This novel focuses on the
relations of men with nature, and is an integral part to viewing how
nature gods might be viewed in the setting. I recommend it.
Malazan: Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. An epic
fantasy novel series that focuses on the tragedies of war, the
military, and the sins of the past, complete with shapeshifting
dragon gods and skeleton fantasy neanderthals. The themes of
Malazan greatly inspired Gubat Banwa’s exploration into violence
and evil.
Shri-Bishaya and Margosatubig by Ramon Muzones. Once
serialized in Hiligaynon, English translations now abound. Great
way to look at precolonial Philippine fantasy and with all the mystic
fantasy that entails. Muzones mixes this with myth and folklore and
traditions of the Hiligaynon people Balu are inspired from
Margosatubig!
The Scar by China Mieville. The weird sea-based narrative of
The Scar that follows Armada has ingrained and inspired the weird
islands that make up Gubat Banwa.
Tigana and Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. Great and
absolutely poetic Fantasy novels both based on different time
periods (Italy and Song China respectively) that manage to create a
beautiful and intricate fantasy setting from the bones and flesh of
historical periods. Filled with equal parts action, drama, tragedy,
and touching themes, these are great novels to get in the mood of
Gubat Banwa’s brand of historical fantasy and tragic drama.
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MOVIES AND SERIES
Amaya from GMA. Unfortunately currently only in Tagalog, this
series is a glimpse into 16th Century Philippines with a costume
design to match. It’s great, although suffers from all the trappings
of being a Philippine telenovela.
Princess Mononoke by Studio Ghibli. One of the easiest
touchstones to understand how diwata and yawa are like. The
seminal Spirited Away is also perfect for trying to visualize weirder
diwata, or perhaps ninuno ancestor spirits.
Scarlet Hearts: Ryeo. A K-Drama that is a period piece. It’s great
for a light-hearted drama, and honestly in general take any drama
or romance focused K-Drama and you’ve got an easily stealable plot
for Gubat Banwa.
RWBY by Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I first became
enamored with the idea of team-based, role-focused tactical
combat after watching Team RWBY fight that Nevermore in Season
1. While Gubat Banwa doesn’t exactly emulate RWBY’s high-flying
combat scenes, it does aim for that kinetic back and forth, that
multi-hit combos, that setting up environmental pieces for slick
combat maneuvers, and the philosophy of “No movement wasted”.
Every move flows to the next. This informs Discipline design,
combat feel goals, and role design.
VIDEO GAMES
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and Final Fantasy
Tactics. Both games helmed by the seminal Yasumi Matsuno, these
intricate war narratives blend together fantasy with hard hitting
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political narratives. Gritty without being grimdark, and mixed in
with a good sense of adventure and action.
The most important things you can get from these games are the
politically focused narratives (which make for great war drama) and
the encounter design. Maps are not huge, and they are vertically
diverse, which is what you want to make combat not boring and
dynamic.
Samurai Warriors, Dynasty Warriors, and Sengoku Basara.
Less so on the one vs. 1000 gameplay and more on the high fantasy,
stylish action take on historical periods and the focus on the
different warriors, pitting them against each other. This series
made me wonder what a Warriors game based on our own ancient
heroes and warriors would look like, and helped me fantasize or
make easier for consumption the many details of Precolonial
Philippines.
Devil May Cry by Capcom. Devil May Cry is a huge game, and
while you wouldn’t look at Devil May Cry as a certainly “tactical”
game in the conventional grid-based sense, its emphasis on players
learning proper positioning, combat timing, juggling a large
number of techniques, and emphasizing style over combat
optimization, while still retaining combat depth, became a major
game design inspiration for Gubat Banwa.
Fire Emblem by Intelligent Systems. War drama,
relationships, permadeath, turn-based combat on a grid. Just as
much as FFT and TO, Fire Emblem is a huge inspiration for Gubat
Banwa. Its intense and lethal strategic combat and turn-based turns
influenced the math and feel of the game itself, more so than FFT.
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Fire Emblem is fast, lethal, and heavy, especially with their grand
OSTs and heavy stories.
Devil Survivor and Digital Devil Saga. These two apocalyptic
games by Atlus are huge inspirations for this game. The apocalyptic
feel of the game, with pocks of “tribes” in Digital Devil Saga and the
esoteric metaphysics and/or intensifying violence in Devil Survivor,
can show how far people can go when it seems like the world is
ending. In a world of intensifying violence, that doesn’t seem so
different. Both these games inspired the Affinities and combat
system of this game, and the mixing of mythologies with a focus on
Hindu-Buddhist Myths is something I hewed closely to for Gubat
Banwa, although focusing on Philippine Folk Religions.
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES
Dungeon and Dragons 4th Edition. The grand daddy of slick
tactical action combat. Its game design principles and adherence to
fulfilling its game design goals, along with build crafting and party
and role focused game design, has been instrumental to Gubat
Banwa’s creation.
Strike! RPG. A huge innovation in the Tactical Combat genre,
mixing together the fiction first of PbtA and the tactical combat of
4e. Strike’s Attack Roll is a direct inspiration to Gubat Banwa’s
Violence Roll, as well as many game design philosophies (fiction
first, Attack and Effects, relatively medium crunch).
LANCER RPG, Massif Press. The freedom of build variety, the
deep lore, and the narrative/tactical combat split has made
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LANCER one of the largest inspirations for almost every aspect of
Gubat Banwa’s design.
Exalted, Onyx Path. The focus on delivering high action wuxia-
esque martial arts in Exalted has always thrilled me, and Gubat
Banwa is me taking 3rd Edition’s Mortal rules and spinning it into
Tactical Martial Arts.
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PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
On pronouncing the terms here, which come from a variety of
Philippine languages, always keep in mind the following:
“A” is always pronounced like the “a” in “water”.
“I” is interchangeable with “E”, and pronounced like the “ee” in
“reed”.
“O” is pronounced like the vowel sound in “thought”.
“U” is pronounced like the vowel sound in “boot”.
All vowels are pronounced, none are said together.
“Daongan” is pronounced as “Da-ong-an”.
LEXICON
● Apo – Pronounced two ways. If [a-PO], then it is referring
to grandchildren in Virbanwa or Ba-e. This usage does not exist
in the other mandalas. If [A-po], then it is referring to revered
grandfathers and great ones.
● Anyo [an-YO] – Form. Similar in use to kata.
● Baluga [ba-LU-ga] - Baluga is the term for all tawo that
have mixed blood: being of tawo and sina blood. Mixing The
Sword Isles blood with Baikhan or Iyamat or Malirawat or
Naksuwargan, or sometimes even Isohappan Pale King or
Ramahasan Auraska. The baluga don’t exactly enjoy different
social circumstances. Sometimes Datu might find their
countenance, their difference, enthralling or endearing, and
thus make them wives or part of their sandil, their secondary
wives, akin to concubinage.
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● Balyan [bal-YAN] – Spirit mediums and priests of nature.
● Batara- [ba-TA-ra] – A superlative. Comes from
“bhattara”, noble lord or god.
● Bendahara [ben-da-HA-ra] - Prime minister.
● Bichara Atas [bich-ARA a-TAS] - Council of elders that
counsels the Sultana.
● Captives – War captives from war. Usually traded or
subsumed to their community, becoming dependents on the
Datu or servants for a noble or warrior. Some Servants can even
have Servants of their own.
● Datu [da-TU] – Royalty, chiefly lords. Rulers of a
settlement. Those of his family are also considered Datu, or
Kedatuan. Top of the Class system. All of the Datu’s following,
from debtors to nobles, are expected to fight at the Datu’s side
when he so calls for them, breeding a warrior culture.
● Dak-/Daku- [dAk’] – An intensifier, means “great” or
“big”.
● Diwata [dee-WA-ta] – The term for the nature gods,
spirits, and holy powers that live in everything. They have never
been human. They are expressions and manifestations of
Hiyang.
● Dyus [joos] - Minor nature gods in Sampalataya.
● Giribasa [gee-ree-BA-sa] - Local interpreters who usually
know more than one language.
● Gugu [googoo] - Prime minister.
● Hiyang [hee-YANG] - Harmony with nature and the
world. Nature itself. The very essence of reality.
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● Hukum [hu-KUM] - Judges, usually datu.
● Iwa-garo [ee-wa-GA-ro] - The guardian spirit of raids and
violence.
● Infantry - are the footsoldiers, debtors of a particular datu
or warrior who join the warrior when they go raiding or fighting.
● Katchil [catch-EEL] - Princes of the blood.
● Kedatuan [ke-da-TOO-an] – Royalty. Can also be used to
refer to settlments of a datu.
● Lakan [la-KAN] – A term for a paramount datu, a datu
that holds sway over a group of datu, and is an authority. Mostly
used in Virbanwa and Ba-e.
● Maygintawo [may-geen-TA-wo] - Rich people and
traders who ascended to rank of nobility through wealth and
merchantry in the Lakanate.
● Mentala [men-TA-la] – Magical formulas and
incantations, either uttered or written on bamboo and palm
leaf.
● Nobles – Tumao [too-MA-wo] in Gatusan, Maginoo [ma-
gee-NO-o] in Ba-e and Virbanwa. Those that are somewhat
related to the Datu but not directly. This can include blood
oathed folk. Nobles enjoy a degree of freedom and privilege, and
have access to luxuries and larger houses.
● Nono – The term for ancestors and ancestor spirits in Ba-
e and Virbanwa.
● Orangkaya [o-rang-KA-ya] - Rich people treated as
nobility in the Sultanate, who have the means to trade.
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● Pandita [pan-DEE-ta] - Wisefolk knowledgeable in the
Iman and other natural philosophies.
● Parawali [pa-ra-WA-li] – Counselors and sage advisors of
an entire settlement.
● Servants – Known as servant in the Rajahnate and aliping
sagigilid in Ba-e and Virbanwa. Servants were domestic helpers
and workers for their employers and masters. They lived with
their masters, and if they would have children, their master
would raise the child as their own. They were not debtors as
they could pay off their debt.
● Rajah [RA-jah]/Batara[ba-TA-ra]/Saripada [sa-ree-PA-
da] - Terms for trade and port lords. Rajah is used for The Rajah.
● Rajah Laut [RA-ja la-OOT] - Third ranking dignitary in
the Sultanate.
● Rajah Muda [ra-ja moo-da] - The title for the Crown
Prince in the Sultanate.
● Salip [sa-LIP] - Alien lords and datu from outside The
Sword Isles Archipelago.
● Debtors – Known as peasant in the Rajahnate, or Aliping
Namamahay in Ba-e. Debtors render labor and tribute to their
Lord. They work the swiddens, weave cotton, create pottery,
and had their own houses.
● Shahbandar [sha-ban-dar] - Port chief, collector of trade
tarriffs and anchorage fees.
● Umalagad [oo-ma-la-gad] – Ancestor spirits revered as
gods and guardian spirits.
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● Warriors – A social class wherein one is not beholden
fealty to a single datu, but vassalage and fighting for a datu is an
easy way to survive. Given equipment and training by the datu,
and is expected to fight at the datu’s side. Not just that, but them
not having to work the Datu’s fields let them work on their own
crafts, whether it be blacksmithing, weaving, pottery,
goldsmithing, etc.
● Yawa [ya-WA] – Demons, corrupted gods and ancestor
spirits, born from man’s atrocity and neglect.
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HOW DO YOU PLAY?
First of all, if you want to learn to play Gubat-Banwa, it would do
you good to read through most of this section. If you’re new to
RPGs, welcome! Role-Playing Games are games where you usually
take on the roles of characters in some kind of fictional setting,
playing around a table
This particular RPG is all about tactical combat and war drama. It
focuses on Venture where you do jobs and duties for the leader of
your polity. In a sense, it is similar to Dungeons and Dragons,
wherein you play in a party of adventurers that are well-equipped
for combat.
Here’s how you play:

First, gather around 4 to 6 players.
• 4 to 6 is the recommended number of players. You can
exceed it or play with less, but keep in mind that the game was
not written with that in mind. With that done, one has to take
upon the responsibility of the Mang-aawit, while the others
will take on the role of the Kadungganan.
• Kadungganan [ka-doong-GA-nan] (literally:
prestigious ones) are the characters or roles that the other
players will be taking upon. They have the responsibility of
immersing themselves into their warrior culture and the
emotional strain and spiritual violence that being one of the
warrior-braves brings. They are almost always of the Warrior
Class.
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• The Mang-aawit [mang-a-A-weet], shortened as MA
(literally: singer) has a special job: in every situation they
play the role of everyone else in the game world that isn’t the
player’s Kadungganan, but they also have the job of portraying
the game world itself, and letting it react to the actions of the
Kadungganan. They facilitate combat, being the ones to move
the enemy and NPC sides. The Mang-aawit usually have very
heavy responsibilities, but they are also the most rewarding.
The Mang-aawit does not need to plan events ahead of time,
or “create” a story. The story arises from the chain of
consequences that arise from the actions and reactions
between the Mang-aawit and the Kadungganan.
Then, gather some dice.

Each player is going to need at least d10, at least 3 d4s each and
then 1 of each traditional polyhedral die (d4, d6, d10, d10, d12, and
d20). A surplus of d4s, d6s, and d8s are recommended for damage
in combat.
There are a surplus of online rollers now (you can even roll
directly from Google) when you need it.
Then, some Character Sheets.

The itch or drivethrurpg page should have them!
Then, create the Kadungganan and Kadungganan party.

The Mang-aawit will be focusing on building the campaign world
and creating NPCs, along with any combat rules they might need
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when violence inevitably breaks out. To help with this, the Core
Rulebook contains a bunch of easily usable starting points below
the Character Creation section, as well as easily digestible lore for
the Mang-aawit to use.
Those that will be playing as the Kadungganan will be creating

their own warriors to fight against whatever happens in their lives.
They will fight against in both physical wars as well as social bouts
and mental violence to seize the day and survive in this land of
constant conflict.
Finally, learn the rules.

The rules are there to facilitate both tactical combat and war
melodrama. The following sections will detail the basic rules that
you will be using for the entire game.
The Mang-aawit, if the Kadungganan don’t have the time or are
not interested in learning the rules, it is your duty to teach them
the rules as they come up. Don’t worry, most of this is streamlined.
Always remember the adage: we’ll cross that bridge when we get
there.
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THE RULES
THE BULAWAN RULE

Bulawan, Bisaya for Gold or pure gold.
The Pilak Rule is this: fiction and drama over everything else.
If it makes sense in the fiction or if its particularly dramatic, it
happens. Let the story being told take precedence over rules. In
combat, if someone is Incapacitated, they obviously would not be
able to perform effects or keep an effect going, because they’re
unconscious. Additionally, this is an endorsement for the Mang-
aawit to create rulings. Rulings over rules.
THE PILAK RULE

Pilak, Tagalog for Silver.
The Pilak Rule is this: specific trumps general. A specific rule
from a Discipline or item is what will happen instead of a general
rule. If a general rule tells you that you suffer damage, but a specific
rule says that you do not suffer that damage, then you do not suffer
that damage.
THE TANSO RULE

Tanso, Tagalog for Copper.
The Tanso Rule is the rule of rounding. Whenever you must
halve something, unless otherwise stated, round down.
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THE PALAD RULE
Palad, Tagalog for palm, but can also mean fate.
The Puthaw rule is the rule of Fate and Curse. Whenever you roll
a d10, whether it be you casting the Crocodile’s Teeth, a Violence
Roll, a Save, or a Crashed Roll, you may receive a Fate or a Curse for
it.
Fate lets you roll a number of d4 equal to the number of Fate you
have and you add the highest result to the d10’s result.
Gaining Curse is the opposite: you roll a number of d4 equal to
the number of Curse you have and subtract the highest result from
the d10’s result.
You can gain up to 3 of each, but you only take the highest
or lowest of each roll. Fate and Curse cancel each other out, 1-
for-1.
THE DUGO RULE

Dugo, Bisaya or Tagalog for blood.
The Dugo Rule is the rule of Conviction: you must prove not just
to yourself but to others, to the gods, that your Conviction is
stronger than steel. Whenever you…
● ...attempt something exceedingly risky…
● ...describe an action in an impressive way…
● ...Actively play into or ramp up the drama...
● ...Let your Conviction or relationships put you in a bad
situation...
● ...the Mang-aawit pitches something for you to do...
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...gain 1 Grit, which goes into the Grit Pool. Grit accrues, rises,
and falls over the length of the entire Campaign.
Whenever you make a d10 roll, whether it be Casting the
Crocodile’s Teeth, a Violence Roll, a Crashed Roll, or a Save,
you may spend 1 Grit to gain +1 Fate for it. You can only do this
once per roll.
THE PUTHAW RULE

Puthaw means iron in Bisaya.
The Puthaw Rule is this: follow your responsibilities. Both the
Mang-aawit and the Kadungganan are both players with a different
set of Responsibilities. Kadungganan Responsibilities (which apply
to the Mang-aawit as well) are outlined above, but the Puthaw Rule
details them:
DEPICT A WAR TORN WORLD

The Sword Isles is not a nice place. In fact, it is a horrible place. It
is a place that is directly horrible because of the actions of those
that have gone before. They who have perpetuated this never
ending war, this endless cycle of blood and vengeance. This can
only be achieved if everyone is on the same page. This world is a
world primed for the kinds of stories Gubat Banwa wants to tell,
and you must play into your role as Kadungganan that must suffer
it.
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AGREE ON A THEME AND TONE
And stick to it. As a Kadungganan, you have an equal amount of
work needed to do to make sure that the entire game fits the tone
that your entire table has agreed upon. Make sure you hew closely
to it, so everyone can have fun. If you agreed on a lighthearted
game, maybe don’t inject torture into it. If you’re going for a gritty
war story, try not to stray too far from it and try to marry a dragon
to create crocodile eugenics.
CARE ABOUT COMBAT AND MAKE IT STYLISH

As a Kadungganan, your primary mode in life is to fight. You will
get into fights eventually, so operate with this in mind. In that
sense, this is a combat heavy game. What did you expect from a war
drama game set in Fantasy Late Porcelain Period Philippines, which
was characterized by intensifying violence? Remember your stats,
your rules, your abilities, so everyone can have fun when the
battlefield music plays. Remember as well to describe your actions
as cool as possible: that's the key to using your more powerful
Technicks.
PLAY INTO THE MELODRAMA

Siblings locked in eternal war. Once lovers now enemies. Once
enemies, now lovers. Play into the melodrama one would see on
Filipino Telenovelas, K-Dramas, and even Chinese Dramas. This
elevated sense of drama is what makes these mediums so
entertaining, and it is pretty entertaining to see on the table as well.
Play into them. Don’t shy away from them.
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MAKE EVERY FIGHT MEANINGFUL
Gubat Banwa fights last long. It’s made to be that way: they are
made to be interesting and major. But the only way for you to get
invested into such fights is if you made it meaningful. The Mang-
aawit will help facilitate this: maybe the current combat has your
long lost brother in it, or maybe the footsoldiers are people you
once respected. However, it is still up to you to make it meaningful
to your Kadungganan. In fact, this can lead to some interesting
emergent storytelling, if even during a combat you realize that your
Kadungganan might sympathize or what have you with their
enemy’s plight, making it a grueling dance. Pick up the slack: the
Mang-aawit may be singing the song, but you are still the subjects
of it, you are the ones guiding the song.
LEARN TO FIGHT TOGETHER

Gubat Banwa is also inherently a team-based game. Despite the
war torn land, you find a little slice of family with your allies. Thus,
your objective is not to make yourself stronger than them, but
rather, find out how to make yourself stronger for them. Gaining
abilities and skills that would help the entire party. This is a benefit
as well in combat, since much of the player and enemy math is
centered around the buffs and debuffs and abilities that can only
be attained if the players play off of each other. You will never be
able to survive alone.
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MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS SAFE
Always use safety tools and establish boundaries. Use tools such
as Lines and Veils, X, N, and O Cards, and Script Changes. If you
look up TTRPG Safety Tools on Google, you will find a whole slew
of them. Choose whichever one you think fits well with your group.
I personally am a huge advocate for Lines/Veils, X/N/O Cards, and
Stars and Wishes.
Here's a good article for safety tools:
https://optionalrule.com/2021/01/29/safety-consent-rpg-checklist/
MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS HAVING FUN

This is probably the most important one, on par with having
everyone be safe. Make sure everyone is having fun. It is not only
the Mangaawit’s job to reach out and ask if people are having fun
(the Mang-aawit is no lord or master) but also the Manggugubat’s.
Remember that this is a social activity, it is telling stories around a
bonfire. It is singing an improvised song. Sometimes it might not
get fun, or something might spoil the fun. Be open, be
communicative, and always remember that at the end of the day,
this is only a game. And games are supposed to be fun. Not just for
you, but for everyone else at the table.
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CASTING THE CROCODILE’S TEETH
If an action that a Kadungganan wants to do has an outcome
that can cause more consequences or is completely dramatic,
make them roll a d10. This is called Casting the Crocodile's Teeth:
Roll a d10 and add a relevant Virtue.
ATTRIBUTES
There are five attributes in all, the ones rolled when outside of
combat. There is Vigor, Power, Thought, Tenacity, and Spirit.
Vigor is rolled when approaching things diplomatically or when

something must be done quickly.
Power is rolled when approaching things directly, such as
intimidation or sheer will.
Thought is rolled when approaching things in an analytical
manner, using cleverness to circumvent challenges.
Tenacity is rolled when having to be patient, meticulous,
traditional, or steadfast.
Spirit is rolled when having to approach things from a
metaphysical perspective, or if you’re dealing in the inhuman.
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CAST
If the action being attempted does not have a dramatic or fate-
turning outcome (leaping a chasm has a dramatic outcome, for
example) then do not roll for it. There is no need.
Either you or the Mang-aawit can make a call on what dice to roll.
If trying to find out the make of a weapon, for example, that would
call for a Thought roll, and to assassinate a guardsman would be
either Power or Vigor.
Don’t roll for stuff that you know the Kadungganan should be
able to do easily and routinely.
If you rolled a 1-4 total, that is a miss. Dramatic
consequences befall upon you. This is always interesting.
If you rolled a 5-6, that is a weak hit. You get what you
wanted to accomplish with the action, but suffer some sort of
dramatic hitch.
If you rolled 7-9, that is a strong hit. You get what you want,
and the story rolls on from the consequences of your success.
If you rolled a 10+, that is a critical hit. You get what you
want, and you may inject drama into the scene as you see fit.
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EQUIPMENT
If you have equipment with you that is relevant to the action and
it makes sense in the fiction that it would help you, gain +1 Fate to
your roll.
DIFFICULTY
Some Actions might be harder than others, although of course
this is contextual. If the action a Kadungganan is trying to do is
exceedingly difficult, you may give the roll a Curse. If it is nigh
impossible, then simply say that they cannot even attempt the roll
until they achieve something (perhaps a tool, weapon, leverage, or
something else) that makes the attempt even remotely possible.
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DEBT
Debt is used to denote someone’s personal obligation to someone
else for doing something for them. In The Sword Isles, Debt is such
a huge concept that entire polities and villages are formed around
Debt: usually of a group of people to a Lord.
Debt in Gubat Banwa is a social value and mechanic to show how
much leverage you have over someone or how much leverage
someone has on you. You usually gain Debt to someone when they
do something for you, such as give you an item, grant you
protection, food, or even interact with you romantically.
When you have Debt to someone, they can spend Debt that you
have on them to make you do anything. This applies to you as well:
if someone has Debt to you, you can spend that Debt to pull on
your leverage on them. This is expanded below in the Debt Beats
portion.
Debt and Prominence are intricately connected. Esteem is a
measure of your personal fame, glory, and honor. Your ability to
keep face, your trustworthiness. As you rise in Esteem, you not only
become more well known across the isles, but you also become
more trustworthy when it comes to fulfilling obligations. Of course,
that means that when you don’t fulfill your obligations, the
consequence falls even harder.
Your Debt to others and others’ Debt to you have a limit equal to
2 + your Prominence.
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BARTER
In the Archipelago of The Sword Isles, there is no proper coinage.
Trade is facilitated entirely through barter: collections of valuable
items and minerals in exchange for items of equal value.
Barter is not a numerical value. Instead, items are their own
things, and it is up to the person you are selling the thing to assign
it a value, from below:
● Bahandi. Heirloom wealth. The most valuable item in the
islands. A show of wealth. Agung, porcelain pots. imported
silks, foreign weapons, captives, foreign captives.
● Rarity. Rarer items, filled usually with prestige, made from
smiths, or owned by powerful warriors. Rarities are items that
are not exactly known as bahandi across the isles, but are
valuable nonetheless, or are only popular in a single
settlement. Kadanay pottery, prestigious weapons owned by
local heroes, blessed items from a dead datu. 2 Rarities equal 1
Bahandi.
● Necessity. Necessary items. Valuable, and will almost
always be high valued in the islands. Rice, foreign coinage,
iron pieces, golden nuggets, weapons. 5 Necessities equal 1
Bahandi. 3 Necessities equal 1 Rarity.
● Commodity. Items that help life, but are abundant in the
isles so they are not as valuable. Textiles, clay pots, water, root
crops, wood, pearls. 10 Commodities equal 1 Necessity. You
can never trade in Commodities for a Rarity or Bahandi.
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Of course, there is a cultural baseline for most of these in The
Sword Isles: rice is always a necessity, porcelain jars and foreign
silks are almost always bahandi.
When trading with other people, they will usually ask for
Necessities. However, a surplus of Commodities (around 5 or
more) might tide over what the people seek. Gaining Commodities
is easy, but Necessities and Bahandi require specialized merchants
and traders to gain, but are signs of wealth. Richer datu might want
to establish good connections with you if you showcase Bahandi on
you, such as foreign armor. This means that barter tiers are not
fixed, and differ from place to place, although there are
commonalities across all settlements, especially in the trading
metropoles.
Foreigners would usually count what is just commodities to
Kitataknon as necessities. Pearls in the islands might be
commodities (pretty ones nevertheless, and used as jewelry), but
they are bahandi in Baik Hu and Iyamat. Clay pots are commodities
here, but Iyamat folk treat them as Necessities due to their ability
to store tea leaves.
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BAKUNAWA EATS THE MOON
Bakunawa is a creature--some say a diwata, others say a
yawa--who night after night conspires to eat the moon. It
almost succeeded once, but the collective noise and effort of
the diwata and the tawo managed to fight it off.
The Moon is a tool used to gauge accumulated progress to a

certain goal. Use this when something takes some time or if it
requires a lot of work put into it. In this sense, they are Progress
measures. Essentially, you would use these to track an endeavor
that takes several actions to overcome. Each Moon should be
named with the eventual goal in mind. When trying to infiltrate a
stone fortress, call it that: “Infilitrate Stone Fortress”. This lets you
remember what the Moon is for.
When the rules tell you to create a moon, doodle a circle and
separate it into segments. The Mang-aawit will tell you how many.
The most common is 4-segments. If a certain activity is difficult or
takes a long time, it might be 6-segments. If it’s extremely hard
and/or takes a really long time, it might be 8-segments.
Saniogo seeks to outrun a rushing tigbalan. The Mang-aawit states

that this is a moon with 4-segments. The Bakunawa begins to eat the
Moon.
As the game goes on, things that you do in the fiction--whether it

be from a roll or not--will manipulate the moon if what happened
is relevant. Anything that furthers the accomplishment of the goal
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of the Moon fills a segment by 1. This can come from things
accomplished in fiction. When all segments are shaded, then the
moon is Full, and whatever you were making progress toward or
attempting to do is achieved.
However, whenever something bad happens in the fiction--
usually the result of a Miss or a Weak Hit from a roll, other
times consequences of actions--the Mang-aawit draws a
single triangle on the perimeter of the Moon. This represents
the Teeth of the Bakunawa. Once you get three triangles, the Moon
is Consumed, and consequences befall you, and your progress is
either stalled for the meantime or lost completely, whichever
makes most sense in the fiction.
Saniogo attempts to leap across a chasm to escape the tigbalan.

The Mang-aawit asks for a roll, since this is a risky attempt, and
since there’s a moon for it, it’s going to affect it. Saniogo makes a
Body roll and gets a Weak Hit. The Mang-aawit nods approvingly--
he says that Saniogo leaps across the chasm, catches a loose vine,
and swings safely to the other side. No Teeth yet, the Mang-aawit
thinks. Saniogo shades in a segment of the Moon. Three left.
However, the Mang-aawit states that the tigbalan can cross chasms
with its bird wings easily. It closes in on Saniogo, and the Mang-aawit
points out that there is a rushing river before him. Saniogo says how
he attempts to rush over the river. The Mang-aawit calls for another
Body Roll, but this time Saniogo Misses. The Mang-aawit says that
Saniogo trips over a fallen branch, causing one Tooth to appear on
the Moon.
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BEATS
Beats are narrative situations that will most likely happen
or are encouraged in a game of Gubat Banwa. When a Beat is
triggered, you would look to it to let the mechanics guide and
influence the direction of the narrative that is unfolding.
Beats come with narrative triggers, written like “When…”.
These are things that you might work toward, but they’re not
things that you “use”. You have to do the trigger within the fiction
of the game to get the Beat to trigger
Beats can trigger even in tactical violence.
When a Beat is triggered, refer to the specific triggered Beat to
resolve it. It would be good to have a sheet of all the Beats and what
they do, especially for the Mang-aawit.
Beats are there to heighten the interpersonal drama aspect of the
game, so if all you want is war crimes and combat in your Gubat
Banwa game, feel free to ignore Beats!
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COMBAT BEATS
HOLD AT SWORDPOINT
When the objective of a combat is to defeat a particular
target and you defeat that target or they fail their morale roll
(whichever applies), you may hold them at swordpoint. You
may either choose to ask them any one question and they must
answer truthfully, or choose to let them go but they will get 1 Debt
to the one holding them at swordpoint. As much as possible, play
this out.
LET THEM COWER

During combat, when the player party incapacitates the leader of
the enemy or half of the enemy’s party, they may call for a Morale
roll from the Mang-aawit, who must do so. The Mang-aawit, as
much as possible, should remember this Point as follows the
fiction.
The Mang-aawit rolls a d10 once against all the Morales of the
enemy party. All characters with Morale lower than the d10 roll give
up or are otherwise out of the battle. All characters with Morale
higher than the d10 roll keep on fighting. Once a Morale roll has
been called, the Mang-aawit must roll Morale at the start of every
round after (if the combat is still continuing).
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DEBT BEATS
OWE THEM ONE

When you do someone a solid, help them when they’re in
dire straits, give them gifts, or otherwise both parties agree
that one of them owes another, they gain 1 Debt towards you.
This works in reverse as well. When someone does something
for you, gives you gift, protection, or anything that you have
to repay in the future, you gain 1 Debt to them.
This is a favorite of datu. This is how datu lock Kadungganan in
and turn them into vassals. Examples of doing something for the
Kadungganan is holding feasts in their name, granting them lodging,
letting them borrow ships and warriors, among other things.
AID A KADUNGGANAN
When you aid another player Kadungganan when they have to
make a roll outside of combat, they gain 1 Fate, and you gain 1 Debt
from them.
CALL IN A FAVOR
When you ask someone that has Debt to you to do something for
you, spend 1 Debt and choose 1 below.
● They do it, but their disposition towards you changes.
● They do it, but they ask for something marginally less in
return.
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● They can resist you, but you gain 2 Debt from them again.
Remember the limit: if you cannot gain more Debt anymore,
you must choose something above instead.
This can also be used by NPCs.
This works for most things such as, but not limited to: asking them
to follow you, asking them to protect you, asking them to fight for
you, asking them to give you money, asking them to give you shelter,
asking them to grant you information
FESTERING DEBTS
At the end of a Venture, all your Debt (both to you and to
others) rises by 1. When the Debt goes beyond your Debt limit,
the following below occurs:
If it is Debt to you, they will arrive as soon as fictionally possible
and provide you with some sort of aid. Afterwards, they lose all
Debt to you.
If it is your Debt to others, they will arrive as soon as fictionally
possible and demand you to pay back your obligations, according
to the fiction. Debt to others for their protection might lead to
them asking for you to protect them from something in turn.
Mang-aawits are encouraged to use this to introduce more plot
hooks and dramatic twists. Once you do what they demand, lose all
Debt to them.
If this is Debt to another player Kadungganan, that Kadungganan
may ask something from you, whether it be a gift or a job. If you
don’t do it, you must spend a Respite Activity on your next Respite
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dedicated to fulfilling it. Once done, you lose all Debt to that player
Kadungganan.
PAY WHAT’S OWED

You can choose to give one of the people that you have Debt
to items to pay off your Debt. Each Debt point is equal to a
Necessity. Remember that Necessities are different per place,
community, and person. If the perosn is particularly important,
such as a datu or wealthy person, they may ask for at least 1 Bahandi
to pay off 1 Debt point.
OFFER BETEL NUT CHEW

If you meet someone that you want to establish good
rapport with, offer them betel nut chew. If you do, gain +1 Fate
when conversing with them, as betel nut is usually a sign of
camaraderie, like offering someone tea or a drink. You must have
betel nut chew on your person. If you invite someone into your
property or your house, whether you are datu or not, and fail to
offer them betel nut chew, you gain 1 Debt to them.
CONNECTION BEATS
ENTANGLE
When you entangle yourself with two other people,
inexplicably, causing the three of you to have a complicated
relationship, write down what that complicated relationship
is with that person as a new Complication. This must be a
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relationship that is solid and condensible into a single sentence: if
it isn’t, or it isn’t solid enough of a relationship, it probably does
not trigger this Point.
TEMPER YOUR FEELINGS

When your feelings are stoked because of either: a
Complication or a situation, Cast with a relevant attribute,
usually Tenacity.
On a Strong Hit, you keep your feelings together, play along.
On a Weak Hit, you must avoid whatever stokes the flames of
your heart, or remove yourself from the scene altogether in some
way or another.
On a Miss, the Mang-aawit makes things worse.
It’s important to note that you will know your character best, and
will know when this Beat will trigger, but your Mang-aawit may ask
you if it will trigger for you.
PRESS THEIR SOUL

When you speak to someone who must heed what you say,
(those below your social class, those that harbor feelings for
you, etc. As determined by the Mang-aawit) Cast with a
relevant Attribute.
On a Strong Hit, gain 2 <leverage>. On a Weak Hit, gain 1
<leverage>. On a Miss, they choose 1 from below. <Leverage> can
be spent 1-for-1 to achieve effects below at any time, until the end
of a Respite or Venture (whichever comes first).
● You get 1 Debt from them.
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● You give 1 Debt to them.
● You can ask them to do something that they were already
willing to do.
● You create animosity between them and another person.
● They get flustered and they take themselves away from the
scene.
CONVICTION BEATS
AT A CROSSROADS
When you get into trouble or face a hard choice due to your
Conviction or if it is relevant to your Conviction, choose 1 below.
● You must follow your Conviction, no
compromises.
● Everything you roll until the end of the current
scene that serves to further or strengthen your Conviction
gains +1 Fate.
● You try to get yourself out of the situation as
quickly as possible.
● You reveal your Conviction to those around you,
even if you don’t want to.
THE HEART CHOOSES

When you are faced with an earth-shattering realization
that might change your Convictions, Cast the Crocodile’s
Teeth and add your Prominence.
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On a Strong Hit, you stand resolute, unwavering in the truth of
your soul. Your Conviction does not change, but you must live with
the consequences and burden of staying true.
On a Weak Hit, your heart becomes weak. You doubt everything
about your Conviction. By the next Respite, you must change your
Conviction.
On a Miss, you must change your Conviction then and there, no
matter how inconvenient it is or how much it would endanger
those around you.
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CHAPTER 2: FLOW OF
PLAY
Lumaban ka para sa mga hindi makalaban.
Magmahal ka para sa mga hindi makamahal.
Mabuhay ka para sa mga nawala nating lahat.
Para sa mga nawala, at para sa mga pwede pa nating sagipin.
Fight for those who cannot fight.

Love for those who cannot love.
Live for those lost to us.
For those we have lost, and for those we can yet save.
Games of Gubat Banwa are always played in two turns:

Respites and Ventures. Games are always moving from Respite to
Venture to Respite, etc. In video games, this is akin to a gameplay
loop. Mission, and then downtime, and then mission again.
Ventures are the bulk of the game. It is where most of the
gameplay centers around and is where you will be grappling with
violence, politics, and nature to keep yourself alive in a broken
archipelago.
Respites are downtimes of the game. It is the in-between
Ventures, the important silences, the soothing serenities, the calms
after and before storms. Here you can recuperate, heal up, collect
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new equipment, gain new abilities, or spend some more time with
the important people in your life.
VENTURE
It is not fit for a Datu not to venture.
Gird upon yourself your shields and your breastplates.
Ready your boats. Holster your remedies. War has come, and
so it shall forever be.
Ventures are episodes of excitement and danger that the

Kadungganan are so fond of putting themselves into the middle of.
During Ventures, Kadungganan are expected to defy fate, clash
swords upon spears, and suffer losses. This is the life of a
Kadungganan: one of constant peril and chaos.
Ventures are usually taken from Datu or other such leaders,
although it can also be from a lowly servants who wishes some help
from the Kadungganan, if the Kadungganan are so inclined to help.
In any case, performing Ventures for a specific datu or leader of a
specific polity almost always incurs some sort of intrigue or drama
from other polities.
Are you the lap dogs of that polity’s Datu? Are you working for
them for money, or have you fallen into their promises? Whatever
the truth may be, working under the authority of another polity’s
Datu will incur side glances and dubious notions within the minds
of those from the other polities you might encounter.
However, Ventures can be taken from any one, from any
authority. Perhaps you might even take Ventures from Diwata or
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the Langitnon. Or even the umalagad. Whatever the case may be,
each Venture will lead you into new and exciting territory.
Easy and uncomplicated Ventures, with goals of raiding a singular
settlement for example, can take a single Session. But longer and
more complicated Ventures can span multiple sessions.
There are multiple turns to a Venture:
● Preparation, wherein you prepare your loadout for that
Venture, as well as do any more last minute purchases of travel
goods. Here you also determine your Venture objectives and
how “difficult” a Venture will be.
● Arrive Like Lightning, wherein you are dropped in media
res into the thick of the action, whether it be travelling through
the forest or dropped into the middle of a sea raid.
● Resolution, wherein you find out which of the Venture’s
objectives you’ve accomplished and which ones you haven’t,
and you spend some time travelling back to a safe commune.
COMMUNES AND WILDS

Communes are any settlement, village, city, or supernatural safe
place wherein you can spend a Respite within. Communes are
important spots within the sea of darkness and war that The Sword
Isles has become. Wilds are anything outside Communes. They are
places of war and danger, unprotected by any diwata or spirit. Be
careful. Most travel will take place among the Wilds, whether it be
mountain, forest, plain, or sea.
You can only go into Respite within a Commune.
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ENTER PREPARATION
A Datu without a plan is a Datu planned to fail.
You gather around a spirit house, or a bonfire, or by a communal
house for drinks and food. You’ve taken up a Venture, whether it
be for a datu, for a noble, for a disenfranchised servant, or even a
supernatural being. You gather all you can know and all the items
you think you might need.
EQUIP ANTING-ANTING
You can only wear a number of Anting-Anting equal to your
Prominence. You can gain Anting-Anting as Rewards, but you
always receive your first Anting-Anting at Esteem 2, and then
another at Esteem 6, and then a third one at Esteem 10.
VENTURE OBJECTIVES
Before you head out for your Venture, you must speak with
whoever gave you the Venture to determine just exactly what it is
that they want you to do. Usually the Mang-aawit, roleplaying
through the NPC, will dictate the Venture Objectives. More astute
or willful Kadungganan may attempt to haggle at the objectives.
There can be multiple objectives in a single Venture. Objectives
don’t have to be completed to rise in Esteem, but they are
important in guiding where a Venture goes.
The number of Reliefs will dictate how difficult a Venture will be.
A Venture with 0-1 Relief is an Size 1 Venture.
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A Venture with 2-3 Reliefs is a Difficult Venture.
And a Venture 4-5 Reliefs is a Challenging Venture.
The difficulty of a Venture dictates what material rewards you
gain at the end of a Venture.
RELIEFS
Reliefs are respites and long rests during a Venture. Sometimes
you won’t even need a Relief, but the number of Reliefs you can get
is always limited, dictated by the MA. A single Relief is usually
needed for every 3 Encounters.
Everytime you spend a Relief, you find a safe and comfortable
area. You nurse your Wounds: remove 1 Wound.
Once all of that is done, the Venture begins.
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ARRIVE LIKE LIGHTNING
Like the lightning in the epics and tales of the ancestors, you flash
into the scene. The Mang-aawit snaps you straight into the middle
of something, whether it be the beginning of a deadly skirmish or
a dangerous obstacle blocking your path during your travel.
When the Venture begins, something is already happening. Pick
up the slack, Kadungganan.
LEAP INTO VIOLENCE

When, between two or more sides, violence is inevitable, and you
choose to engage in it, put down the battlefield and all players
(including the Mang-aawit) state starting positions, following the
fiction.
Refer to the Crimson Rule of Tactical Violence (Link to
Combat Chapter page.)
CATCH YOUR BREATH

After tactical violence, if you have been harmed, and you have
time (5 to 20 minutes), you may rest, refraining from any intense
activities that would tire you out. This is a good time to catch up
with your allies and lounge around for a bit, nursing your harm and
injuries, catching your breath. Heal 3x your Breath.
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RELIEF
Reliefs happen in between major bouts of effort, usually in
between Raids or harrowing Tactical Violence. When you find
Relief, you find a place of safety and comfort—whether it be a safe
spot in the forest, or a house that you find respite in while raiding
a particularly large settlement.
When you find Relief, remove 1 Wound.
ENTER A SCENE
During a Venture, when you have time, you and one other
character may enter into a scene. Pose 1 question to the other
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character. After that character answers, they may ask a question of
their own to you.
PREPARED
A number of times in the Venture equal to your Prominence, you
can say that you actually had something that could help you in the
current situation. Spend 2 Grit and you can flashback to tell how
you were actually prepared with that item. This is not limited to
items, but you can say that you sent a messenger to that place, or
asked someone to wait for you, and other creative uses.
This only works outside of combat.
QUICK AND DIRTY BLOODSHED

If you go into Violence but don’t wish to make it tactical or
go into the nitty gritty of bloodshed, set up a Moon with
segments equal to the number of Foes and fight like a team.
Every Kadungganan takes turns describing how they fight and react
in the fight. Each one goes until all have gone, with Violence Rolls
rolled instead of the normal non-combat Casts.
They may use their Technicks here, which usually give a roll +1
Fate.
Fill 1 segment for Weak Hit, 2 for Strong Hits, and 3 for
Critical Hits. If there are more foes than the player kadungganan,
each roll will have a +1 Curse for every 2 foes more than there are
Kadungganan.
Every time you Fail, gain a Tooth as with a normal Moon. If the
Warband reaches 3 Teeth and the Moon is consumed, the Warband
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gains 1 Wound and is considered Defeated. They may choose to
keep fighting, in which case continue the fight, but every Fail they
roll gives all of them another Wound.
This can be used even outside of Ventures.
TRAVEL
If travel is important, feel free to say that you cover 30 miles per
day, doubled if you have anything that can help with travel, such as
boats, river paths, roads, or mounts. Half it when traveling through
dense rainforest islands or when traveling on foot through islands,
without following a river.
GO RAIDING
Raids are an integral part of a Kadungganan’s life. Most of their
most important Ventures will feature Raids. Raids are bursts of
action and drama that have you traveling deeper into a place that
you are Raiding to gain wealth, treasure, something important, or
prestige. Why you’re doing it is up to you. In other games, Raids
take the place of dungeons, and in fact you can convert many
dungeons from other games directly as Raids in Gubat Banwa.
Raids are a gauntlet of Encounters, both combat and non-combat,
that a Mang-Aawit puts you through to test your Mettle. A Venture
might be made up of many Raids, particularly if the Venture has
many objectives. A common example of this is if a Venture has the
objectives of you needing to Raid multiple settlements.
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Before going on a Raid, you must dictate your Raiding
Objective. This is almost always singular. Some examples are
below! You can even roll a d10 on it.
1~2 – Wealth. You’re looking for as much wealth as possible, and
the objective area has it.
3~4 – People. You want to recruit as much people as possible, and
you must do it by force by killing their leader. Maybe perhaps you
want to liberate the people from a tyrannical leader.
5~6 – Revenge. This is a revenge raid. You want to kill and
destroy as much as possible.
7~8 – Trial. You’re doing this to prove something to yourself or
someone important to you, and you must get something from the
objective area.
Designing Raids is something an MA can think of in advance or
prep it, or they can choose to go with the flow and play it out. In
that case, the MA will always begin the Raid with an arrival
encounter, whether it be violence or not, and then roll a d10, adding
+1 until they reach the “goal area” at 12.
1-3 – An easy encounter
4-5 – An average Encounter or interesting encounter.
7 – 8 – A difficult encounter.
9 – A twist in the Raid, something that might upend the
understanding of the Raid.
10 – Treasure. A Rarity, perhaps. Maybe even an Anting-Anting.
11 – Penultimate. You find something harrowing. Something
that is connected to the goal perhaps.
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12 – Objective Area. This is where the raid will end. It might have
a boss encounter, or you might simply find what you’re looking for.
Play it out.
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ENDING A VENTURE
These are all the Venture Events that might happen during play.
Other than this, play out the Venture, using the previous rules to
stitch together a compelling narrative and game that all players can
enjoy.
RESOLUTION
A Venture finishes once you’ve either (whichever comes first or
whichever one the Kadungganan party chooses):
● Accomplished all the objectives, or
● Return to report to the one that sent you on that Venture.
Most of the time, objectives might change mid-Venture, if any, as
you go about your Venture. Kadungganan might be warriors for
hire, but they still have morals, or perhaps complications arose.
Whatever happens at the end of a Venture, whether you
accomplish your objectives, fail them, or change them completely,
you Rise in Esteem by 1 and gain 1 Technick from any
Discipline in your Style.
You also get rewards:
● If you finish an Size 1 Venture, you get 3 Commodities or 1
Necessity, MA’s choice.
● If you finish a Difficult Venture, you get 3 Necessities or 1
Debt from the one that gave you the Venture, MA’s choice.
● If you finished a Challenging Venture, you get 1 Bahandi or
3 Debt from the one that gave you the Venture, MA’s choice.
When giving rewards, always follow the fiction.
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ALTERNATIVE REWARDS
Sometimes the one that gave you the Venture might not offer a
simple wealth reward. Maybe sometimes it might be a teaching or
Technick from another Discipline or Style, or maybe it can be
Anting-Anting.
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RESPITE
After finishing a Venture (or before starting one, or otherwise
outside of a Venture), the period of rest, recuperation, material
collection, and any other recreational activities in between
missions and journeys for your polity and/or leader is called a
Respite.
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In other games, this would be considered as downtime or out of
mission. During Respite, you get to choose 2 Respite Activities.
Longer moments of peace and rest can allow for 3 Respite Activities.
This is a time of rest for the Kadungganan. Well earned rest, as
well. Let them take a breather. Let them play out character
relationship scenes of calming nature. You’re out of the sea-whorls,
out of the woods, for now. Regain all Mettle and remove all
Wounds.
Sometimes, even out on a Venture, you’ll have enough quiet time
to yourselves. This allows for the use of some Respite Activities
during a Venture, as follows the established fiction: you can’t Ply
the Market if there is no market, for example.
RESPITE ACTIVITIES
You can do whatever you want while in a Respite, speaking with
the Mang-aawit to say what you do and such. They can perform
freeplay, and it is the Mang-aawit’s responsibility to facilitate this
freeplaying.
The Following in the list are Respite Activities, which trigger
when they perform the action stated. These are mechanical widgets
that have fictional triggers. They exist to tell you that there are
mechanics for what you’re trying to do. In general, you can only
perform up to 2 Respite Activities during a Respite.
● Attend Feast
● Bring Forth Creation
● Chase a Debt
● Connect
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● Dance with Hearts and Thoughts
● Discuss Debt
● Ply the Market
● Seek News and Information
● Switch Disciplines
● Train
● Worship Gods and Ancestors
ATTEND FEAST
Feasts are integral parts of a Kadungganan and a settlement’s life.
It is where Datu can show off their wealth and skill, as well as find
a way to establish more trading connections by calling other Datu
and people from other settlements to attend the feast.
When you attend a feast, roll a d10. Something happened to you...
1 - You find someone that is interested in you, and they might give
you help.
2 - You drunk a bit too much. Something unfortunate happened
during the Feast, tell the group what it is.
3 - You impressed or helped a person or a group of people: you
know them now, and they have 1 Debt to you.
4 - Someone helped you during the Feast. Gain 1 Debt to them.
What happened? Who were they?
5 - You traded with another person: give up one of your items or
equipment and get another one of equal value (ie. If you give up a
commodity in that area, you gain something that is also a
commodity in that area).
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6 - You attract attention that you really didn’t want. What is this
attention? How is it a detriment to you?
7 - You blasphemed or otherwise offended an important person
during the feast. Who was it? You must make amends: gain 1 Debt
to them.
8 - You kissed someone you didn’t love, or otherwise did
something you immediately regret. What was it? Gain 1 Debt to the
person (or place, or faction) that you regret doing it to.
9 – You did something else that you would regret. What is it?
10 – You have no idea how but you are suddenly entrapped in
obligations with another person from the feast. Perhaps it is
marriage, perhaps it is work. Whatever it is, deal with it.
BRING FORTH CREATION

When you create, you use your expertise and knowledge to try
and cobble something together. This can be physical, like weapons
or armor, or this can be something more social, such as an
infrastructural project (like a house) or a community effort (like
assembling an army). Set up a Moon for this, with smaller items
such as weapons being 2- or 4-segments, while larger ones such as
houses being 10-segments and needing more items, as dicated by
the Mang-aawit, following the fiction.
You can advance the Moon whenever you can, in the fiction.
Everytime you choose to Bring Forth Creation as a Respite Action,
you can choose to automatically fill in 2 segments on the Moon.
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CHASE A DEBT
If someone has Debt to you, you might be able to chase them
down. Roll a d10 without adding any attributes, Fate or Curse.
On a Strong Hit, you find who you’re looking for. Interact with
them as you wish.
On Weak Hit, you don’t find who you’re looking for, but you get
clues as to their whereabouts. This can be in the form of another
NPC. You might need to look for the person on your next Respite,
by choosing this again, in which case you raise the level of your next
Chase a Debt roll by 1. Or you can follow the lead granted by the
NPC, and you may play out what happens when you try to chase
them down.
On a Miss, you don’t find who you’re looking for. Instead, one of
the people you owe Debt to finds you. If you owe no one Debt, then
you attract unwanted attention.
CONNECT
If you try to befriend someone, say who it is and make a relevant
roll. Use this if you wish to find a new NPC or some such during
downtime.
On a Strong Hit, you befriend that person, who might have
something you want or is friendly to you.
On a Weak Hit, you meet someone, but they might not be who
you were looking for, or you otherwise attract unwanted attention.
On a Miss, you meet someone, but they are hostile to you, not
the one you wanted to meet, or otherwise attract unwanted
attention.
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DANCE WITH HEARTS AND THOUGHTS
When you want to spend some intimate time with someone, play
it out. You, the other party, or the Mang-aawit sets the scene of
where it takes place.
Once the scene and context have been laid out, one of the
participants in the dance chooses 1 from below. Once they’ve
chosen and it has been resolved, move to the other participant and
they get to choose 1 below.
● Ask them a hard question. This should lead to an in-
character conversation. Hard question is of course contextual,
but it should be whatever either the one being asked or both of
the characters in the conversation don’t want to ask or hear.
● Recall something they did before. This can be an event
during a venture, leading to an in-character conversation.
● Bring up a topic. This can be any topic: the warlord you
killed in your last Venture, the new weapon you created, the
meaning of debt, if love is real, etc. Try to bring up topics that
will bring your character into entanglements.
● Reveal a vulnerable part of you. Show them something
you don’t usually show people. A soft side of you. Perhaps your
love for music, or a natural affinity to dogs. Whatever it is, it
should be something that changes their perception of you.
● Irritate them. Do something bad, something they don’t
like. They get to tell you what it is they do that they don’t like.
Once both participants have chosen, move on to the Climax of
the scene. During the climax, both of the participants choose 1 from
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below, whichever makes most sense according to the ongoing
fiction.
● Things get heated. An argument erupts. Things don’t
look good for the both of you. Play out how you resolve this. If
you don’t, that’s still okay.
● Things get hot. Something good happened along the way.
Suddenly one of you is pinned against the wall, staring at each
other, feeling each other’s hot breath. Play out how this ends.
● Things get soft. The participants open up, becoming
emotional and finally, accepting whatever comes out of the
scene. Play this out to find out what happens.
● Things work out. The scene ends up fruitful for both
participants: maybe they find a new resolve, or a new
conviction, or maybe they just learn something new about each
other in general. Play it out to find out what it is.
After the Climax, both Kadungganan gain 1 Debt to each other,
no matter how it goes down.
This Activity might trigger Beats. If the scene was particularly
impactful and complicates another character into it in one way or
another, for example, it might trigger the Entangle Beat.
DISCUSS DEBT
You may choose to meet up with someone that you have Debt to
and discuss your affairs with them. Play this out. At the end of the
scene, you may choose to spend Debt you have on them to cancel
any Debt they have on you, 1-for-1. This can be used between
Kadungganan as well.
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Of course, the scene wherein you discuss your affairs must have a
good outcome. If the outcome is bad, as follows the fiction, the
other party may choose to deny this wholly. If they do, you gain 1
more Debt to them.
You may use the Pay Off Your Debt beat here as well, to offer
gifts and items to pay off your debt if you don’t have enough Debt
to do so.
PLY THE MARKET

“Today, the market has come!” You hear the townscrier scream into
the village, but none of them needed that info. Everyone knew when
the traders from Baik Hu and when the traders from Naksuwarga
were coming. It’s time to haggle and barter.
When you go out and look a particular item, state exactly what it
is and Cast with a relevant attribute. Suffer Curse if this is a bahandi
to most people, or if it really is rare in the current place.
On a Strong Hit, you gain the item, no questions asked.
On a Weak Hit, you gain the item, but must lose something of
equal value. If you can't, you gain 1 Debt to the seller or to that
entire place.
On a Miss, you don’t find the item, but you find something else,
as dictated by the Mang-aawit. This will always be interesting.
SEEK NEWS AND INFORMATION

When you want to go out and look for information about a
particular thing, make a Cast with relevant attributes.
On a Strong Hit, you find the information.
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On a Weak Hit, you find the information, but you either attract
unwanted attention or you gain Debt to whatever gave you the
information.
On a Miss, you find incomplete information and attract
unwanted attention.
SWITCH DISCIPLINES
During a Respite, your Kadungganan may choose to change their
focus when it comes to war and violence, to better fit the task at
hand, or to hone their warrior ability to a fine point.
Choose another Discipline. You may switch to it. Replace your
Discipline Mechanic, Masteries, Inflict Violence, Second Wind
Technick, and Forbidden Technick with the new Discipline’s, but
you get to keep all your current Technicks.
If your new Discipline is from a different Style, you may also
choose to swap out one of your current Technicks with a Technick
from your new Discipline.
TRAIN
You train in the violent arts, like the hypocrite that you are. You
may swap out a Technick that you currently have with another
Technick from your current Discipline.
WORSHIP GODS AND ANCESTORS

Offer: a necessity, a ritual item, or something important to you.
Roll a flat Cast, but gain a +1 per Offering offered.
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On a Strong Hit, define one noncombat action that might
happen in the Venture. That Action will automatically be a Critical
Hit when the time comes.
On a Weak Hit, as with above, but you attract the attention of
gods and ancestors.
On a Failure, as with above, but it will only be a Strong Hit
instead of Critical, and you attract the ire of gods and ancestors.
Attracting the attention of the gods and ancestors means
something will happen to you after the worship that may have been
set in action by holy powers. This may or may not be something
detrimental to you, but it will always make something more
dramatic. Attracting the ire of the Daghan is something detrimental
to you, and is always something dramatic.
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CHAPTER 3: TACTICAL VIOLENCE
Bigkasin ang panunumpa ng pagpatayan!
Sa karahasan itinaguyod ang kapuluang ito, at sa karahasan ito
magugunaw. Higit na matulin sa kidlat, higit na malakas sa ipu-ipo.
Sa pagsala ng aking sandata, gigibain ko ang daigdig, sisibakin ko
ang dagat, at wawasakin ko ang langit. Sa dugo na itatapon ko,
iaalay ang AKO sa dambana ng TAYO. Ipagdiriwang ko ang labanan
hanggang mawala ang karahasan.
UTTER THE KILLING OATH!

In violence the islands rose, and in violence it will fall. I am
quicker than lightning, stronger than the hurricane. I shall
sunder the world with my sins. With the blood I spill, I arrive,
thundering louder than mountain gongs. I shall rejoice in the
glory of combat until violence is gone.
During a Venture, when the Kadungganan party leaps into

violence together with a goal in mind, state the battle objective and
place the units upon a battlefield, a square grid map.
Rolling in Combat has you rolling d10s still, for Violence is simply
another facet of a Kadungganan’s life.
When combat begins, consider uttering the Killing Mantra:
Rejoice in the glory of combat. What that means depends on the
Kadungganan.
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HOSTILE ACTIONS
Hostile Actions are all actions that would inflict detrimental
effects against the target, such as dealing damage, inflicting
conditions, or forceful movement.
VALID TARGETS
You can only target other units/creatures and other spaces in the
environment, or the ground. You must have line of sight and
appropriate line of effect. Unless otherwise stated, all actions that
need a target must have Valid Targets.
WILLING TARGETS
Some targets might be willing. If this is the case, you may choose
to forego the Violence Roll and instead choose whether to deal
damage, inflict effect, or both.
LINE OF SIGHT AND EFFECT

You can only target those that you can see with your line of sight,
as well as those that you have a clear shot at: your line of effect.
Line of Sight is usually blocked by blocking terrain. To find out
whether you have Line of Sight or Effect, draw a straight line from
one of your corners to the target. If the line touches blocking
terrain, then there is no line of sight or effect between you and the
target.
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SETUP THE BATTLEFIELD
The Battlefield is a grid map laid down upon a table or set up on
a virtual tabletop. Gubat Banwa uses square grids for battlefields,
although you can definitely do hexes without much difficulty. Place
down the positions of the units, as follows pre-established fiction.
Most Battlefields will have a slew of slopes and Heights and other
traits, established later. Each square is called a space, and each
space a three dimensional space, 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall.
ESTABLISH FIELD TRAITS

Field Traits are parts of the battlefield that the players must watch
out for. Point them out at the beginning of a battle, following the
fiction (there wouldn’t be any lava in a sea fight, for example). Some
Field Traits are going to be obvious from the battle map you use
(pillars and trees can be used as cover, for example), but others
might need clarification (wide puddles are Difficult Terrain, a tree
has vines that lets you move 3 spaces.) There are more examples in
the Battlefield Section of this Chapter.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Make clear the battle objectives before violence commences,
anywhere between 1 to 5. Tactical Violence is only won when the
Victry Conditions are met. Victory Conditions can change over the
course of the fight as well. Some examples are...
● Kill a target
● Stop a ritual from being performed
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● Break down the stone wall
● Get all allies to the specified location area
● Activate traps or contraptions
● Incapacitate the enemy team
● Convince them to take your side
● Ensure an escape route
● Hold out until the end of the 6th round
● Protect a particular important person or thing
● Destroy a target's ship or armor
DEFEAT CONDITIONS
After defining the Victory Conditions, define the Defeat
Conditions. These are usually directly related to the Victory
Conditions. One Defeat Condition that is almost always present is
when all Kadungganan are defeated, although in some rare
situations this might not be the case. Other Defeat Conditions are:
● A leader is killed.
● A place is breached.
● An enemy falls in love with an ally.
● An ally reaches the enemy.
● An ally attacks an enemy.
BE TRANSPARENT ENOUGH
In combat, the Kadungganan are notorious for their efficiency
and skill in the arts of war and violence. When they step into
tactical bloodshed, they will know how to size up their enemy.
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Players should know the target’s Mettle, Speed, Jump, and Role.
However, you can hide what Traits and Technicks they have, since
uncertainty is an important aspect of strategy.
USING TECHNICKS IN COMBAT

Anything considered as a Technick can only be used 1/round. This
includes Reaction Technicks.
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VIOLENT GLOSSOLALIA
Ally - Any creature that is friendly to you. This does not include
yourself.
Armor – Damage reduction, usually dictated by your Tenacity.
Will have a rating attached, usually either 1 or 2. Whenever you
suffer damage, you reduce the damage by the armor rating. Armor
does not stack.
Barrier – Barrier is an extra layer of Mettle. Whenever a
creature with Barrier would suffer damage, the damage is
deducted from the Barrier before Mettle. Barrier doesn’t stack:
whenever you would gain Barrier, you keep the higher Barrier.
Battered - 2x your Breath value. Represents you being beaten
back, with visible bruising or loss of initiative. Some effects trigger
on Battered.
Breath - Your innate fighting spirit and violent grit. This
determines what your Battered value and Mettle value is.
Brave - More powerful Foes that have x2 Mettle compared to
regular enemies and have extra Actions and Reactions. They are
equal to 2 Kadungganan.
Buff – Status effects that give you positive conditions. Most
Buffs have a set time (until the start of next turn or end of next
turn, or until X).
Debuff - Status effects that persist, hampering and debilitating.
Unless otherwise stated, all Debuffs go away by save.
Chattel - Weaker opponents, that a Kadungganan knows how
to dispatch intuitively. They go down after getting hit. 4 Chattel
are equal to 1 Kadungganan.
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Chief - A Foe that is more powerful than even Braves, having x3
Mettle. They are equal to 3 Kadungganan.
Crashed - When you are brought to 0 Mettle, you are Crashed.
Down on the ropes, suffered a harsh wound. When you are
Healed while Crashed, you may make a Crashed Roll. When
you’re Crashed, all Technicks and abilities that require you to
keep it up fade away from you.
Crashed Roll - When you are healed or at the start of your turn
while Crashed, you may make a Crashed Roll. Roll a d10: on a 5+,
go back up to your Breath value. On a 4-, stay Crashed.
Critical - When your Mettle falls down to equal your Breath
value, you are Critical.
Foe - Any creature that is hostile to you.
Reflexes – You can perform any number of this during combat.
This does not take up an action, representing easy to perform
actions.
Heal X - Anything that lets you Heal lets you recover a number
of Mettle equal to the Heal value. X can be a number, or
sometimes another stat, such as “Heal Battered”, “Heal 2d6” or
“Heal 3x Breath”.
Incapacitated - You are dying. If you suffer any more damage,
you die. You become Incapacitated when you suffer your 5th
Wound. While Incapacitated you are Unconscious, meaning any
effects that require you to be conscious don’t work anymore.
Fiction first.
Mettle - Measures tactical positioning, advantage, skill, grit,
and stamina. It is your ability to stay in the fight, weathering hits
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and advances from an opponent. Whenever you are brought to 0
Mettle, you suffer a Wound.
Melee - Melee range is all spaces adjacent to yours.
Ranged - Any attack that targets foes beyond spaces adjacent
to you are considered ranged attacks.
Rival - Indomitable Foes meant to be recurring threats. They
can sustain up to four Wounds just like Kadungganan, and have
x2 Mettle like Braves.
Self – Target yourself.
Save - Roll d10. On a 1-5, you Fail the Save. On a 6+, you Pass
the Save. Saves are usually done to save against Status Effects, in
which case you remove the Status Effect when you Pass the save.
Unit - Any creature fighting for something in the field.
Warrior - The standard opponent that takes a Kadungganan
effort to dispatch.
Wound - Physical wounds against you, actual rip and tear, flesh
flying and blood spilling. You can suffer up to 5 Wounds before
you are Incapacitated.
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READING ACTION BLOCKS
Each Action and Discipline Technick will follow the following
formatting. Most important techniques and actions will be written
in this format.
Name
Lore
Type * Tags
Prerequisite
Target | Range
Attack
Effect
Special
NAME
Self explanatory.
TYPE
Type is either if it spends an Action, Flourish, Stride, Reflex or
a Reaction. If it is a Reaction, it will say whether it is an Interrupt
or Response. The trigger for a Reaction will also be written there.
Some Techs need extra effort, in which case sometimes they
might need more than one Action Type to use. For example,
some might need you to spend Action + Flourish.
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PREREQUISITE
Some Technicks might have Prerequisites. These must be paid to
actually use the action in the first place or you must meet the
criteria.
TARGET
The target will specify whether it is self, unit, foe, ally, or a
space. Remember that targets must be valid. It will also specify
how many targets you can choose.
RANGE
Range will specify how far the target of this attack can be. This
will usually be either adjacent, melee, a [number], close [area
of effect], a number [area of effect], or self.
Adjacent just means that you only target all spaces adjacent to
you. Remember that adjacency includes all spaces that share a
common corner or side.
Melee usually means adjacent, but some Technicks and traits
might give you +1 or +2 to your Melee range, letting you strike
beyond adjacency.
A Number means you can choose a target that is within the
specified number of squares from you.
Close [area of effect] means the target area of the area of effect
is your space. This means the larger the origin space or creator, the
larger the burst. Close is not counted as a ranged attack.
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If it is a number [area of effect], you choose a space within the
specified number of spaces from you. That becomes the origin
space of the area of effect.
If the target area is Self, then you target yourself.
Counting Ranges: When you count ranges, start from a space
adjacent to the origin.
Area of Effect is blocked by blocking terrain, as it still requires line
of effect.
AREA OF EFFECT
Area of Effect ranges:
● Burst X: This is an area that targets all X spaces from its
center, which can either be an origin space or the user. The
burst goes in all directions, even up and down.
● Blast X: This is an attack that must have at least 1 space in
its area of effect that is adjacent to the origin point. X dictates
how large the area is: Blast 2 would mean it covers a 2-spaces-
by-2-spaces area adjacent to the origin point. For example: a
rifleman’s rifle technick is a Close Blast 3, which means it
affects a 3x3 space area, but one of the spaces must be adjacent
to the Unit using the Technick. The blast goes in all directions,
even up and down.
● Line X: This is an area that fills a single straight line in any
direction from its origin point. X is how many spaces the line
is long. The squares of a Line must be contiguous (sharing a
common side or corner, so you can angle the Line diagonally)
but you cannot make it so that it “snakes”, it must look like a
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straight line. Unless otherwise stated, the Line is only 1 space
tall, meaning it only affects targets on the same Height as the
creator.
● Wall X: This is an area that can be placed in any manner
as long as at least one space is adjacent to the origin space and
all spaces are contiguous with each other, sharing an entire
side. This means you cannot place a Wall diagonally. X means
how long the wall goes.
ATTACK
This will specify whether it is a Melee or Ranged Attack.
Additionally, it will specify whether it is a Physical, Magick, or
Spiritual Attack. Afterwards, it will define the damage type it deals
and how much damage, and any other effects on a hit. Physical
Attacks are martial and natural maneuvers, Magickal Attacks use
occult power, incantations, and strange mysterious words, while
Spiritual Attacks work with rituals, prayers, faith, and invocation.
If it does not have an Attack line, and only writes in Effect,
that means that Action is not an attack, and you do not need
to make a Violence Roll. You simply apply the Effect.
Any Action that has an Attack line is treated as an attack. Any
effect that lets you “make an attack” lets you use any Action or
Technick that has an Attack line.
If the attack has multiple targets, you apply any effects you have
on your attack against all targets, treating it as one attack.
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EFFECT
This specifies the effect of the Technick. Most spells are Effects
only. Effect always happens after dealing damage, if you get to deal
damage and inflict effect.
SPECIAL
Any other limitations.
LORE
The Sword Isles is a colorful place. Many things happen in the
setsuna moments between violences.
ACTION BLOCK TAGS

Almost every action will have a tag associated with it, placed after
the action type. The general tags are as follows:
• Craft. Crafts are powerful battlefield creations that
manipulate the terrain.
• Maneuver. Maneuvers are physical shows of prowess and
skill.
• Mentala. Mentala are occult spells that use a magick-user's
kinaadman, or enlightened will, to focus and shape their pohon, or
their spiritual strength.
• Ritual. Spiritual rites, rituals, and practices that call upon the
spirits of the world and the holy powers that permeate it.
• Summon. Technicks that summon powerful spirits or
creatures onto the battlefield. Summons can be targeted, and have
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Mettle equal to your Battered + your Prominence. Summons
usually have passive effects that change the battlefield.
• Song. Songs are potent song-poetries that galvanize and
strengthen souls, or weaken and destroy them.
• Tactics. Technicks that make use of strategic prowess and
battlefield knowledge.
• Trap. Traps are hidden effects placed on the ground triggered
by adjacency to it. A foe can spend an Action to try and see the Trap
by making a save. If they pass the save, they know a trap is in that
area. If not, they are unaware.
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THE VIOLENCE ROLL
The most common roll in combat is the one of inflicting violence.
When you make an attack (that is, any Technick with the Attack:
line), you make a Violence Roll. This is a single 10 sided die, or a
d10, and is similar to Casting the Crocodile’s Teeth, for what is
violence to the Kadungganan if not their destiny? You have honed
your four souls into four arms wielding eight blades.
If the Technick or action does not have an Attack line, you do not
need to make a Violence Roll. Simply apply the Effect.
Roll a d10:
1– Critical Miss: Your attack misses.
2-3 – Momentous Miss: Your attack misses, but your conviction
is stronger than steel. Gain 1 Grit.
4-5 – Weak Hit: Deal damage or inflict the effect, your choice.
6-9 – Strong Hit: You may deal damage and/or inflict the attack’s
effect.
10 – Critical Hit: You may deal maximum damage (don’t roll
damage dice) and/or inflict the attack’s effect.
ROUNDS
Each Round is 12 seconds of lightning action and thundering
tactics. You begin at the First Round in combat. A Round ends
when all units have finished their turns. In the fiction, everything
that happens in a round happens at the same time.
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TURN ORDER: AGAINST ALL ODDS
Turn Order in Gubat Banwa is alternating turns. That means 1 side
moves first, then another, then the other. Each unit usually only
has 1 Turn per round. That means once they’ve done their turn, they
can no longer perform another action.
There are three sides: Kadungganan, Foes, and Allies. The side
that has the least amount of units gets their turn first, followed by
the one that has the next least amount of units. If there is a tie,
Kadungganan always go first. If there is a tie between Foes and
Allies, Foes always go first.
YOUR TURN
"Quicker than lightning, stronger than the hurricane!"
The following are the parts of a turn.
START OF TURN
Roll to see if you stay Crashed, and then accomplish any effects
that happen at the start of your turn, and then end any effects that
end at the start of your next turn, in that order.
THE TURN
Each unit gets 1 Stride, 1 Action, and 1 Flourish to perform,
which they can do in any order. You also gain access to any
number of Reflexes.
You may choose to spend another Flourish in place of doing an
Action.
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STRIDE
Stride is this game’s name for Movement. Move a number of
spaces equal to your Speed trait. You can move into all spaces
adjacent to yours, even diagonally. You cannot move through Foe
spaces, but can move through Ally spaces, although you cannot end
your move in an occupied space. You cannot break up your Stride.
When you Stride, you spend up your Stride for that action, you
cannot insert a Flourish or Action in between steps.
Moving up into a Height higher than yours is possible as long as
you have enough Speed for it (if you have 6 Speed, and you’ve
already moved 4 spaces, and you want to get onto an H2 space from
an H0 space, you can still do that, since that’s just a difference of 2,
and you have 2 Speed left.)
The same goes for going down a Height, but if you go down to a
space with a Height difference greater than your remaining Speed,
you suffer the Height difference in piercing flat damage.
You cannot stop midway through climbing or going down into a
space. You must have enough Speed to get onto the space itself.
ACTIONS
Inflict Violence
You harness your martial arts and unleash a barrage of attacks
against the opponent. Rejoice in the glory of combat.
Action * Discipline
Target: Discipline | Range: Discipline
Attack: Discipline
Effect: Discipline
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Special: Each Discipline inflicts violence differently. When you
Inflict Violence, you choose from 1 of your Inflict Violence options,
as dictated by your Discipline’s Inflict Violence.
Grapple
You seize your enemy.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Adjacent Range
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal Prominence piercing
flat damage.
Effect: You grapple the target. A grappled target cannot move
voluntarily and cannot do Reactions. You gain Slowed while you are
grappling, but when you move, you move the grappled target with
you. A grappled target may spend an Action to try and break free
from the Grapple, in which case they make a save. They break free
from the Grapple when they pass the save. On your turn, you may
spend an action to maintain the Grapple.
Guard
You ready yourself for whatever’s coming next.
Action * Maneuver
Self
Effect: You become Guarded until the start of your next turn.
While Guarded, you cannot be brought to 0 Mettle and all damage
against you deals -2 damage. You lose Guarded when you are
brought to 1 Mettle, Unbalanced, or Juggled. You cannot Guard
while you are Unbalanced or Juggled.
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Quickstep
You flourish away, dancing through slashes and hits.
Action
Target: Self | Range: Self
Attack: None | Effect: Move 1 space without triggering reactions.
Revive
You kneel and help your ally up. The battle is not yet done.
Action
Target: 1 Crashed Ally | Adjacent
Effect: Bring the ally out of Crashed, healing them equal to their
Breath value.
FLOURISHES
Burst
You exert yourself to rush through the battlefield.
Flourish * Maneuver
Self
Effect: Move half your Speed.
Unbalance
You flourish forward and perform a skillful maneuver to disarm the
enemy.
Flourish * Maneuver
1 Unit | Adjacent
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flat damage.
Effect: Inflict Unbalanced.
Leap
You bow low and take a running start.
Flourish * Maneuver
Self
Effect: You can jump equal to half your Speed, rounded up,
letting you ignore chasms and terrain effects on the spaces you leap
over.
Second Wind
You psych yourself up. The battle goes on. Violence rages. Rejoice
in the glory of combat.
Flourish * Discipline, Scene
Discipline
Special: This is also mostly dictated by your Discipline Technick.
Shove
You lunge forward and push them away.
Flourish * Maneuver
1 Unit | Adjacent
flat damage.
Effect: Push the target 1 space.
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Taunt
Show off. You have the chops to back it up.
Flourish * Scene
The Foes | The Battlefield
Effect: Gain 1 Grit.
Knock Prone
You lunge forward and outmaneuver your opponent.
Flourish * Maneuver
1 Unit | Adjacent
flat damage.
Effect: Knock the target prone.
Interact
You fiddled with what you have.
Flourish
Self
Effect: When in doubt, when doing anything in action that would
take dexterity or a bit of focus, such as consuming an item, or
fiddling with the environment, treat that as Interact.
REFLEX
You have any number of Reflexes, which you can usually use at
any time. They don’t take up any of your Actions, Flourishes, or
Strides.
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Bolster
You reach deep within you and prove your conviction.
Reflex
Self
Effect: Spend 1 Grit when you make a Violence Roll, Crashed Roll,
or Save to gain +1 Fate on that roll, 1/roll.
Exceed
Your conviction burns through, and you go beyond.
Reflex
Self
Effect: On your turn, spend 3 Grit to give yourself another Action,
Flourish, or Stride (choose 1). You can only Exceed five times in a
combat. Suffer effects depending on how many Exceeds you’ve
done.
- First Exceed: No damage.
- Second Exceed: Suffer 1 Wound.
- Third Exceed: Suffer your Breath in piercing damage and 1
Wound.
- Fourth Exceed: Suffer 2 Wounds.
- Fifth Exceed: Suffer your Breath in piercing damage and 2
Wounds.
END OF TURN
At the end of your turn, roll to save for any effects, and then
accomplish any effects that happen at the end of turn, and then roll
for Fray in that order.
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REACTIONS
You always have 1 Reaction per Turn. That’s any Turn, whether it
be yours or an ally’s or a foe’s. All Reactions have Triggers, which
will be written in their Type line. Response Reactions take effect
after the trigger. Interrupt Reactions happen before the trigger.
You cannot React to Reactions.
Dive
You leap into safety.
Response Reaction: You are attacked * Manuever
Self
Effect: Move 1 space without triggering reactions.
Special: You can only do this 1/round.
Counter
You counter an attack and pulse them away.
Response Reaction: You are attacked by a melee attack *
Maneuver
Triggering Unit | Adjacent
Effect: Push the target 1 space away.
Special: You can only do this 1/round.
DAMAGE AND ARMOR

When you inflict violence with the intent to deal harm, you deal
damage. When you deal damage, you deduct the number of
damage you deal from the target’s Mettle.
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DAMAGE TYPES
One of the core aspects of Gubat Banwa’s combat system is the
interplay of Damage Types and Elemental Affinities. The spirits of
the world permeate every fabric of Yutadagat.
There are 8 damage types in all.
First, there are the Five Elemental Types, which you can
have Affinities against.
FIRE represents flames, blazes, and heat.
WATER represents jet streams, waves, and the cold.
EARTH represents life, growth, boulders, animals,

trees, and rocks.
WIND represents cutting gales, temperatures,

lightnings, and storms.
FORCE represents damage from things that cause

voids and vaccuums, such as wounds inflicted by weapons
and other gross brutalisms.
And then there are the Special Types, which you usually cannot
have affinities against.
SOUL represents emotional and mental trauma, as

well as pure fraying damage that scourges the very fabric of
metaphysics.
FLAT damage is straight, unbroken tearing and

violence. Flat damage cannot benefit from Attributes, extra
damage, or Strengthen.
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FRAY is damage over time, sapping at your will to
fight. Longlasting burns, poisons, and strange ailments that
sap at your will. Fray ignores Armor and Affinities.
FRAY DAMAGE
Fray is a special kind of damage that represents damage over time
from bleeding, open wounds, poisons, fire, and the like. Fray stacks.
At the end of your turn, you make a Save against Fray. On a
fail, you suffer the Fray damage and it stays. On a pass, you
remove Fray.
AFFINITIES
Affinities are your unit’s strength or aversion to the elements that
permeate Yutadagat. Affinities don’t stack. If you make an attack
against multiple targets with differing affinities, resolve all
Wk first, then St, then Nu, then Dr, then Rf. Resolve all affinities
separately (ie. If two targets have Rfs, you suffer both Rfs).
If you gain an Affinity to something, but you already have another
Affinity, you gain the newer one.
There are five kinds of Affinities:
WEAK (WK)
You are particularly vulnerable to that damage. Whenever
you deal damage that the target is Weak to, deal 2 extra
damage, and you gain 1 Grit, subtract 1 Grit from them.
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STRONG (ST)
You are resistant to that damage. Whenever you deal
damage that the target is Strong to, you deal -2 damage
and the target gains 1 Grit, and lose 1 Grit.
NULL (NU)
You suffer no damage at all from that type. When you deal
damage that the target Nulls, you deal no damage and
the target gains 2 Grit, and lose 2 Grit.
DRAIN (DR)
Instead of suffering damage, you actually heal the damage
dealt. When you deal damage that the target Drains, they
heal Mettle equal to the damage dealt and the target
gains 2 Grit, and lose 2 Grit.
REFLECT (RF)
Instead of suffering the damage, you deal the damage dealt
back onto the attack. When you deal damage that the
target Reflects, suffer the damage dealt, and the target
gains 2 Grit, and lose 2 Grit. If you also Reflect that damage,
the damage against you is cancelled.
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PIERCING DAMAGE
Piercing damage is damage that ignores Armor, Strong, Null, and
Drain. This is not a damage type, and can be put atop other damage
types: eg. Piercing fire damage or piercing flat damage.
HALF DAMAGE
If you are told to deal half damage, roll the dice, add any extra
damage, and then half the result before applying to the target’s
Mettle.
DAMAGE AGAINST MULTIPLE ENEMIES

If your attack has more than one target, roll the violence roll
separately for each target. Roll damage only once. Any extra
damage you have is halved before applying it to multiple targets.
This can cause you to suffer multiple consequences from differing
Affinities, as well as bonuses from attacking Weak targets.
EXTRA DAMAGE
Some effects will give you extra damage. Extra damage is always
added last, after everything has been calculated. If the extra
damage is applied to more than one target, halve the extra
damage. Extra damage from different sources stack.
ARMOR
Armor reduces the damage you suffer, even if it brings it to 0.
Armor usually doesn’t stack, unless it says “+X”, in which case it
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adds onto your current armor. Armor is counted after Extra
Damage.
CRASHED, METTLE, WOUNDS, AND BARRIER

When your ability to stay in combat is compromised, whether by
sword swings or tactical presses, you suffer damage. Whenever you
suffer damage, deduct the number of damage from your Mettle.
Mettle is your situation in combat. A high Mettle means you’re
aware of the battle, weapon up and ready, and actively in the fight.
A low Mettle means you’re being beaten down, back against the
wall, but you can still fight.
When you fall to 0 Mettle, make a Crashed Roll: If you Pass,
gain a Wound and go back to your Breath value. If you Fail, you are
knocked prone and become Crashed.
While Crashed...
- You cannot flank.
- You are prone.
- You cannot use Technicks.
- You are Slowed.
- All your rolls, barring Saves or Crashed Rolls, are made with 2
Curse.
- If you suffer any more damage (not including from Fray), you
instead suffer 1 Wound.
- If you are healed while Crashed, you get to make a Crashed Roll.
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At the start of your turn, you may make another Crashed Roll: If
you fail, stay Crashed. If you pass, go back up to your Breath value.
You can only gain a maximum of 5 Wounds. Once you suffer
5 Wounds, you become Incapacitated and die after 30 minutes
if not stabilized.
When you are Crashed, anything that requires you to be
conscious or needs you to be actively keeping it up fades away or
no longer continues. The MA makes the final call, but follow the
fiction. In general, most buffs disappear.
WOUNDS
When you suffer Wounds, these are obvious physical injuries:
scars along your back, gashes on your foot, missing fingers, torn
limbs. It’s up to you to decide what your injury is, as befits the
fiction. This injury has no bearing on mechanics.
You can only gain a maximum of 5 Wounds. Once you suffer 5
Wounds, you become Incapacitated and die after 30 minutes if not
stabilized with an Action. This can carry on to the next scene. If you
become Stabilized, you are no longer dying, but you must return to
a Respite before healing Wounds.
BARRIER
Barrier in the fiction is usually an actual metaphysical barrier that
protects you from violence. Whenever a creature with Barrier
would suffer damage, the damage is deducted from the Barrier
before Mettle. Barrier doesn’t stack: whenever you would gain
Barrier, you keep the higher Barrier.
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BREATH
Breath is your inherent grit and stamina. Your Mettle is equal to
4x of your Breath, and your Battered is equal to 2x of your Breath.
When your Mettle falls down to your Breath value, you are Critical.
SAVES
Some effects will allow for Saves. Saves are always rolled at the
end of that unit’s turn, and you save against all effects affecting you
that turn, but a different roll for each.
To make a save, roll a d10. On a 6-10, you Pass: the effect you’re
saving against is removed. However on a 1-5, you Fail, the effect
persists.
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FLANKING
Flanking can only be done in Melee range. If you and one
other ally are standing on both sides of a unit, you both gain +1 Fate
when you attack the flanked Unit. When in doubt about whether
two creatures flank an enemy on a grid, trace an imaginary line
between the centers of the creatures' spaces. If the line passes
through opposite sides or corners of the enemy's space, the enemy
is flanked. Only you and one other ally can get this benefit.
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STATUSES
Statuses are temporary effects upon your unit caused by attacks
or other factors. Buffs are beneficial statuses and Debuffs are
negative statuses.
Unless a duration or specific trigger is stated, all Statuses go
away on a successful save.
When you get to remove a Condition, you usually cannot remove
effects that are persistent, such as effects that linger while you’re in
a particular space.
BUFFS
Clarified: Gain +3 to all ranged attacks and Technicks.
Hastened: Double your Speed.
Hidden: You can move through occupied spaces but must end
in an unoccupied space. You are only a valid target to units
adjacent to you. Unless otherwise stated, lose Hidden when you
make an attack or suffer damage.
Shirk X: X is a Unit on the battlefield. You are not counted as
a valid target for that unit.
Strengthened X: Can stack twice and applies only to damage.
Roll another X damage dice when you deal damage. If the
damage is not rolled, simply add the damage again for each
stack. For foes: add half damage per X.
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DEBUFFS
Dazed: You can only Flourish on your turn, and cannot use
Reactions.
Debilitated: Halve damage you deal, rounded up.
Diseased: You cannot Heal Mettle, cannot gain Barrier or
Armor, cannot gain Buffs, and suffer -1 to all Saves.
Enmity to X: When you have Enmity to X, X being a unit,
you can only treat X as the only valid target.
Immobilized: You cannot move voluntarily.
Juggled: All hostile actions against you gain +1 Fate, you
cannot move voluntarily, you are Airborne (1 height higher
than your current Height) and you may be pushed 2 spaces
away on a hit. Unless noted otherwise, you fall and lose Juggled
at the start of your next turn.
Obscured: You can only target combatants adjacent to you.
Prone: You are on the ground. All ranged attacks against you
suffer +1 Curse, but all Melee Attacks gain +1 Fate. You must
spend an Action or Stride to stand.
Petrified: All damage against you becomes 1. All violence
rolls against you have Fate. You cannot move voluntarily and
you cannot be moved either. You cannot perform any actions,
reactions, reflexes, and flourishes and cannot flank.
Quiet X: X is a Technick Tag. You cannot use Technicks with
that Technick tag.
Ripped: You cannot benefit from Armor and Strong.
Rooted: You cannot move voluntarily and you cannot be
forcefully moved.
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Slowed: Your speed becomes 2. This cannot be raised for any
reason.
Unbalanced: All Violence Rolls against you gain +1 Fate.
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THE BATTLEFIELD
SPACES
Each space is five feet wide and five feet tall, which means it
is a three dimensional unit. Any space that has an object or
creature in it is considered occupied.
ADJACENT SPACES
Adjacent Spaces are every space that touch a side or corner of the
space where the target is standing. Remember that a space is three
dimensional, so this not only includes all spaces around you
horizontally, but also all spaces below and above you that share a
side or corner with your space.
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HEIGHTS
Heights start at 0. Some spaces may be taller than others, which
means they have a higher Height. If a space is not at least five feet
high or deep, then that should not be considered a different height.
MOVING INTO AND OUT OF HEIGHT

Moving up into a Height higher than yours is possible as long as
you have enough Speed for it (if you have 6 Speed, and you’ve
already moved 4 spaces, and you want to get onto an H2 space from
an H0 space, you can still do that, since that’s just a difference of 2,
and you have 2 Speed left.)
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The same goes for going down a Height, but if you go down to a
space with a Height difference greater than your remaining Speed,
you suffer the Height difference in piercing flat damage.
ATTACKING FROM A HEIGHT HIGHER OR LOWER

THAN THE TARGET
All ranged attacks against a target with a Height lower than yours
gain +1 to their range and gain +1 Fate.
All ranged attacks against a target on a Height higher than yours
suffer -1 to their range.
This does not affect Adjacent, Bursts and Blasts, unless stated
otherwise.
ATTACKING THROUGH A HEIGHT

All ranged physical attacks treat Height taller than their own by 2
as blocking terrain.
For example, attacking a unit that is on the other side of a Height
2 space while you’re on a Height 0 space means you cannot attack
that person, as the Height is blocking your line of effect.
FALLING FROM HEIGHTS

Falling from Height higher than 3 inflicts piercing flat damage
equal to the Height.
It would be good to establish Heights before combat, but make it
also follow fiction. If there’s a hill or a mountain or a bunch of trees
there then that’s probably a Height when they get to it.
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OBJECTS IN THE BATTLEFIELD
Unless otherwise stated, objects and terrain out in the field
(whether they be there due to establishment of Field Traits or from
the composition of the field itself) have a Durability equal to 12
times their Size.
Objects use Durability, which is treated as Mettle. When reduced
to 0 Durability, the object is destroyed. This can occur to cover, so
destroying cover can remove its benefits.
Outside of combat, follow the fiction. These stats might not
matter when trying to destroy some kind of barrier.
FORCED MOVEMENT
Being pushed, pulled, or shifted by attacks or effects is forced
movement. Forced movement usually only occurs in straight lines.
If the target is forcibly moved towards something
moveable, move it out of the way and continue the Forced
Movement.
If it is breakable, the target and the object both

suffer 1 + Prominence flat piercing damage. If that’s
enough to destroy the object’s durability, then break the
object and continue the Forced Movement. Otherwise, the
target lands on a space adjacent to the object.
If it’s unbreakable and unmovable, the target suffers

2 damage and lands on a space adjacent to the object.
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If a target is forcibly moved towards another unit,
both units suffer 1 + Prominence piercing flat damage
and the target continues the movement, while the one
moved into is pushed 1 space away from their original
space, out of the line of movement of the original
target. This can cause a chain reaction of pushes (a unit
pushed slams into another unit, etc.). For Example: if a
target is Prominence 2 and is Pushed 5 spaces, and they
slam against one of their allies 2 spaces behind them, they
both suffer 3 piercing flat damage and their ally is pushed 1
spaces to the side, while the original target continues
moving 3 spaces more.
● Push is forced movement away from the source of the push

in any direction.
● Pull is forced movement towards the source of the push in
any direction.
● Shift is forced movement in any direction.
TERRAIN
DIFFICULT TERRAIN
Moving into a space of difficult terrain (rubble, swamps, uneven
ground, undergrowth, trees) costs 1 extra Speed (moving into a
difficult terrain space and you have 3 Speed left, you have to use up
2 of that to move into that space). If you only have 1 space to move
left, you cannot move into that difficult terrain space.
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DANGEROUS TERRAIN
Dangerous Terrain are spaces that can be stepped on but have
negative effects upon any creature that steps on them. All targets
that move into or start their turn while in dangerous terrain
suffer 2 + Prominence piercing flat damage. This is usually born
from caustic surfaces, spikes and caltrops, raging flames, etc.
HINDERING TERRAIN
Hindering Terrain prevents movement, but they do not block line
of sight. These are things like deep water, lava, fire, or pits. These
spaces are usually considered occupied.
BLOCKING TERRAIN
Walls, doors, impassable rubble. Blocking terrain prevents
movement through the spaces it occupies, but usually can be
moved on top of. Blocking terrain removes Line of Sight and Line
of Effect.
COVER
When you are considered as having cover, all ranged attacks
against you suffer +1 Curse. Sometimes some technicks might
give you cover against all attacks.
Draw a straight line from one corner of your space to your target.
If the line is unbroken, then neither character has cover. If it’s
obstructed by terrain, it’s cover.
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WEATHER
If one of the Field Traits dictated has something to do with rain
or snow or whatever else that might be considered weather, find
out if it would have an effect on sight.
In heavy rains, thunderstorms, and snowstorms, ranged attacks
deal -1 damage and suffer +1 Curse.
TELEPORTING
If you Teleport, you remove yourself from your current space and
then reappear in your target space. You must have line of sight to
wherever you’re teleporting. Teleport ignores Reactions and breaks
free from Grapples.
CARRYING
You can carry, lift, or drag whatever during battle. If you do, you
are Slowed and you cannot take Reactions.
SWIMMING
While swimming, you can move horizontally or vertically
underwater, and your movement is halved.
FLOATING
All creatures that Float ignore difficult and dangerous terrain, but
they cannot move up nor can they move past occupied spaces.
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FLYING
Movement that lets you Fly lets you move a number of spaces in
any direction equal to the number of Fly you can move. Moving
vertically up puts you in Height.
If you are Rooted or Immobilized while in Flight, you fall to the
nearest adjacent space to you on the ground, but don’t suffer falling
damage.
INCAPACITATED UNITS
Units that are Incapacitated, unless otherwise stated, stay in the
battlefield in their spaces. However, they are not considered as
occupying the space that they are on.
SIZE
Most units are Size 1. Size dictates how many spaces they take up,
in three dimensions. So Size 1 takes up a 1x1x1 space. Size 2 would
take up 2x2x2: that would be 2 spaces wide, 2 spaces long, and 2
spaces tall. This means those of a Size larger than cover do not
benefit from the cover. However, being of larger size means you are
also effectively taller than your current height. Size 2 size means
you’re 1 Height taller than you current height, for example.
Size 1/2 sizes takes up 1/4 of a space, meaning others can take up
their space with them.
Size 2 creatures take up 2x2x2 spaces.
Size 3 take up 3x3x3 spaces.
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Size 4 take up 4x4x4.
Anything larger than this should be represented as multiple
gargantuan creatures or as something outside the bounds of
Tactical Violence.
Size 2+ creatures cannot stay in a space wherein two or more
spaces are Height 2 or higher. They must stay further from the
Height.
When moving, those of larger sizes simply move into an adjacent
space, and then move their space so that the adjacent space is the
middle of their space, as much as possible. If not, then one of their
adjacent spaces must move into the chosen adjacent space.
If a creature that is of a Size larger than a space, they must squeeze
through (for example, when a Size 2 creature tries to move through
a 1 space wide tunnel). When squeezing, their speed is halved.
FIELD TRAITS
Here is a list of Field Traits that you can lay onto the Battlefield
to help spice it up. Choose or simply roll 1d20:
1 - Heavy Rain. All ranged physical attacks suffer 2 Curse and deal
-1 damage.
2 - Thunderstorm. At the end of every round, 3 random areas get
struck by lightning, dealing 3 damage. There’s a 2-in-8 chance of
one of the units getting struck.
3 - Hanging Vines. There are various hanging vines that you can
interact with on an Action, letting you move 5 spaces in a straight
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line to any direction, without triggering Reactions. You must finish
all 5 spaces, although you are stopped if you hit an obstacle.
4 - Rushing River. Cutting through the middle of the battlefield
is a rushing river, working as difficult terrain (and enforcing
swimming if deep enough). If you fall into the river’s space, you are
Pushed 3 spaces in the direction that the river is rushing down to.
At the end of your turn, if you are still in the space of the river, you
are Pushed 3 more spaces. Those that can float or fly ignore this.
5 - Slopes. Some spaces are slopes. This means that one side of
the space is a Height lower than the other side of the space. This
means that those that might want to enter into that space from the
side that has higher Height would need a higher Jump trait.
6 - Poisonous Puddles. Some puddles are poisoned, usually in
2x2 or 3x3 spaces. When stepped upon or when you end your turn
in one, suffer Fray.
7 - Harsh Winds. The winds are harsh here. All ranged attacks
suffer -2 damage. Additionally dictate a direction from where the
winds are blowing and in what direction. Every end of the round,
all units that are not in cover (whether half or full) are Pushed 1
space in that direction.
8 - Heavy Fog. Heavy Fog dominates the entire battlefield. All
spaces except those adjacent to you are obfuscated.
9 - Lahar Flow. The area is bisected by flowing lahar. If a creature
steps into it or ends its turn in it, they suffer 5 piercing flat damage
immediately.
10 - Defiled Ground. The ground you tread upon is filled with
the corpses of the vengeful dead. Some spaces are considered
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Defiled. Any undead enemy that performs a hostile action while on
Defiled spaces gain deals 2 extra damage. An undead enemy that is
brought to 0 Mettle on Defiled Ground can make a save. On a 5+,
they rise up at the beginning of the next Round with 1 Mettle.
11 - Jade Waves. The area is made up of waters frozen in time and
crystallized into blue-green jade. A living wave woodblock print.
All damage while within the waves inflict 2 extra damage. The
Waves can count as full cover.
12 - Ancestral Ground. A 5x5 area within the Battlefield is the
burial ground of honored Ancestors, in the middle of which is a
Spirit House. All saves done while in the Ancestral Ground gain +1
Fate, and all healing grants an additional 2 Mettle.
13 - Mountainous. The field is of uneven Height. The battlefield
will default at Height 1-2, and have more Heights at 3 and above.
14 - Attuned to a Diwata. The field is attuned to a Diwata’s
element. Choose 1: Fray, Slow, Weaken, Quiet, or Root. That debuff
cannot be inflicted upon any Unit within the field. All Magickal
Attacks deal 2 extra damage.
15 - Spirit Balete. A 2x2 space is occupied by an active balete tree.
The spirit balete is a conduit to the world of spirits. Whenever
adjacent to the Spirit Balete you gain heal 1 Mettle per Start of your
Turn.
16 - Lantangan (spirit houses). A space is occupied by a spirit
house, whether it be made of hardwood from the Rajahnate,
bamboo from the Confederation, stone from the Sultanate and
porcelain from the Lakanate. When adjacent to it, you may spend
an Action to pray and heal 3 Mettle, once per scene.
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17 - The Broiling Hate of the Vengeful Dead. The battlefield is
cursed with the screams and wails of those that died without proper
recompense. All damage from Mentala technicks and Undead
creatures deal 1 extra damage.
18 - Sapping Mist. A 4x4 area is infiltrated by a strange spiritual
mist. Whenever you end your Turn within the Mist, lose 2 Mettle.
19 - Falling Blades. The battlefield has been cursed by Gattalim,
the Saint Intercessor of Blades. 1d4 random creatures are struck by
spirit blades from the sky, suffering 2 piercing flat damage.
20 - Holy Grounds of Makagagahum. The battlefield is blessed
by the presence of a Sampalataya monastery or cathedral or chapel.
All attacks from Rituals technicks and Units deal 1 extra damage.
Once per round, a random creature is teleported to a space 1d10
spaces away.
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DEATH
All folk that die in battle ascend into the heaven of their choice
or faith upon a rainbow. Their blood creates the colors that streak
across the sky.
Otherwise, all those that die go into the process of being picked
up by the many psychopomps that permeate the cosmos. They are
brought to the proper judgment as dictated by what faith holds
their soul in thrall. In The Sword Isles, this is most often Sulad,
where they will be judged accordingly to what items they were
buried in.
For Gatusanon, Ba-enon, and Apumbukidnon, if they were buried
with many gold and material wealth, they would be given the
chance to be saved by Iraon-Daron, who brings them into one of
the many heavens, usually a place of rest atop great mountains.
For Virbanwanon, this is usually the Impyerno, where they suffer
the fires of Makaubos until the end of days. They do not have a
chance for heaven unless they were redeemed by their faith to
Makagagahum.
For Akainon, they have a very similar process as with Gatusanon.
However, if they profess their faith to Baginda Sumongsuklay, they
get to be brought by Iraon-Daron to the tallest mountain on the
moon, where the Holy Moon City of Baginda Sumongsuklay lies.
There they rest and train until they are called into the final
reckoning, the Ultimate War.
Those that were not given the chance to heaven either suffer in
Impyerno, or toil forevermore in Sulad, doing what they already did
in life: trading, farming, working, raiding, and feasting. This is a
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very benign end, and even in the afterlife they might be able to die.
If they do, they reincarnate into the mortal world once again,
although with a smaller soul this time. Having a smaller soul is not
detrimental.
However, once the soul is as small as a rice grain and can fit into
the many thousand miniature caskets—usually after nine lives—
they are thoroughly buried into Si Ginarugan’s garden, never to
reincarnate again.
Those of Akai get to have their souls kept in great holy jars
guarded by six-winged Garuda in the Moon. The moon lies in the
fifth heaven.
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CHAPTER 4: THE
KADUNGGANAN
Narito na tayo, sa bangin ng pagbabago. Dadakmain mo ba ang
kinabukasan? O tuluyang ipapaslang gamit ng iyong kampilan?
Here we are now, at the cliffs of change. Will you seize the
future? Or will you slay it with your sword?
THE APPROACHING STORM

“Always remember, warriors: run like the wind, strike like the
lightning!”
Kadungganan. Those that make war. Martial Artists, Warrior
Braves, Executioners, Butchers, Warlords, Witches.
Those first one in and last one out, following the commands and
ideologies of their chiefly leaders, whether that be Rajah, Datu, or
Lakan. They are those that have obtained warrior prestige--some of
them through prowess in battle, others through heritage, or birth,
or ancestry--and have thus become elevated to the sides of their
leader, acting as their sword and shield. They are known under
many names: bhayangkara, timawa, satariya, managku, bagani,
bayani, but altogether they know themselves as Kadungganan. The
Class of Warrior-Braves.
Kadungganan hold a special place of prestige in The Sword Isles:
they almost always hold the special warrior-brave class. They are
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regarded as just below their warrior-chiefs in prestige. While they
might not be as rich as their noble class counterparts, they are
certainly held to a higher regard.
Kadungganan are free to shift allegiance as they wish, sometimes
paying only a small sum to the leader they are leaving. Thus
Kadungganan are free to choose whichever job or venture prospect
they would like. Some Kadungganan choose to stay for long with
one leader, but it is not uncommon to find Kadungganan who
exercise their freedom.
You play as a Kadungganan, someone who has attained that
warrior prestige. Kadungganan prestige differs per person, of
course, and you begin your Kadungganan career in the lowest
rungs. The tail end of the crocodile army. The feathers of the king
eagle. You will seek Ventures from those that can afford to hire you,
get stronger in power and wealth, and prove yourself amidst the
bloodshed of The Sword Isles!
The Kadungganan is the character through which the players
wage war and love in the war-torn lands of The Sword Isles. Thus,
it is integral to know how a Player, through their Kadungganan,
interact with the mechanics and fiction of the setting.
A Kadungganan has the following traits: a Name, a Folk, a

Calling, their Interesting Events, Virtues, Attributes,
Discipline, Complications, and Convictions.
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CREATING YOUR KADUNGGANAN
This will help you shape the framework of a Kadungganan that
fits snugly into The Sword Isles. This is not the be all and end all
of character creation of course, as you can find out more about
your character during play.
FIRST, CHOOSE A FOLK AND CALLING

Folk are the various people that live in Yutadagat. In The Sword
Isles in particular, there are a large number of them. Callings
define what your Kadungganan can be outside of just fighting.
Record your beginning Calling Ability. Go here.
SECOND, ROLL OR MAKE THREE INTERESTING

EVENTS
Define interesting events that might have happened before the
time of the game, which can be used to define your character or
give plot hooks. You can make some up, or roll on the
Interesting Events section.
THIRD, DETERMINE BEGINNING ATTRIBUTES

Your Attributes are the soul of your Kadungganan. There are five
gauges that measure your aptitudes. You begin with 2 points to
spread in Attributes. Find it here.
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FOURTH, CHOOSE A STARTING DISCIPLINE.
Disciplines are your martial arts. You begin with a single
Discipline, gaining that Discipline’s Mechanics, Inflict
Violence, Second Wind Technick, and Forbidden Technick.
Then, choose 1 from the four Technicks of your chosen Discipline.
Find out more here. Choose one here.
FIFTH, ESTABLISH COMPLICATIONS.

How did you get together with your current war band or party,
and why are things abrasive? Find it here.
SIXTH, DEFINE YOUR CONVICTIONS.

Why do you fight, Kadungganan? Find out in the Convictions
section.
SEVENTH, GET BEGINNING ITEMS

You begin 3 items from the Material Culture list to
determine starting value.
EIGHTH, CHOOSE A MANDALA YOU CAME FROM,

YOUR STARTING AFFINITY, AND YOUR STARTING
DEBT
You then choose a Mandala you came from and choose a
single Necessity from there.
And then, choose 1 Elemental Type (Fire, Water, Earth,
Wind, or Force) and become Weak to it.
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You have someone that you owe something to. Find out
here in the final portion of character creation. Even
Kadungganan are beholden to their obligations.
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A BRIEF NOTE ON SOCIAL CLASSES
All polities in The Sword Isles have a nominally tripartite social
class system, reflecting their beliefs on Sky, Earth, and Sea. These
are The Ruling Class, the Freemen Class, and the Debtor Class.
Remember that fathers always pass down their social class unto
their children, until such a time that that lineage’s debts are paid.
Additionally, Social Classes are more fluid than others: datu
might become dependent on other datu due to large life debts,
while Debtors are very much able to accrue so much Esteem and
warrior prestige that they become datu on their own right, and can
start their own settlements.
THE RULING CLASS

Referred to with honorifics such as Lord and Lady. These are the
ones that are rich and live in their own houses and don’t pay tax to
any ruler. The Datu belongs to this class, and is the highest of this
class. It is important that the title Datu extends to the rest of his
family, forming a royal family that is usually called a kadatoan.
Thus, the term Datu does not only mean the ruling datu, but also
all the other royalty related to that datu, although the ruling datu
holds sway over the entire community.
In The Sword Isles, the ruler comes from the royalty. That is the
first rank of nobility. The second rank of nobility are the nobles
themselves, either children of concubines or those that the datu
have formed blood compacts with for them to become allies or
vassals.
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THE FREEMEN CLASS
Those that can change allegiances freely, not indebted or merely
having little debt to a ruler. They render their work to the Datu in
form of the buwis, or tax, in exchange for the Datu’s protection.
Warriors, and subsequently the Kadungganan, come from here,
treated as the “Third Rank of Nobility.”
Note that freeman in The Sword Isles does not mean the masses,
but rather, a privileged class, one that can change allegiance at will,
by simply paying tribute to another datu. Many vassals and
retainers to nobility and royalty are freemen however, paying
tribute to them of their own accord.
Unlike Debtors, the Freemen are free to change at any time, and
do not have to work the fields unless needed. Freemen can change
their allegince freely.
THE DEBTOR CLASS

Oripun in the Rajahnate, Alipin in Virbanwa. The bondsmen,
serfs, servants, and footsoldiers for those of the higher classes. Most
Debtors are what in Europe one would call a serf: farmers and
laborers of a datu or the ruler. They live in their own houses and
render their labor up to the datu as tribute. They work until they
can pay off their debt to the datu, after which they usually continue
to live under the protection of a datu, as datu are martial rulers.
These Debtors can be sold around, although it’s not them being
sold but rather, their labor. Their value is equal to the number of
labor they still have left, which usually lasts for generations. So
much so that the bulk of debtors inherit their position. However, if
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a debtor pays off their labor obligation, they become tinubos in the
isles, or Redeemed, and no longer need to serve in obligation.
They can become freemen now, or vassals to who they wish.
Debtors can actually come from all Classes: warriors that accrue
huge amounts of obligation to another person might become a
debtor to that person, working to pay off their debt. Even datu can
become debtors, should they over extend and be unable to pay off
their obligations.
Servants are a particular kind of debtor that serve a master as
house help. Many rulers have large numbers of servants to help in
their domestic affairs. Servants are treated with affection, part of
the master’s family, with the master even treating a servant’s
child—should they be born while they served under them—as their
own.
Infantry are another kind of debtor that render both field work
and warrior duties to the one they owe labor to. They make up the
bulk of footsoldiers and boat rowers in the isles, and sometimes
serve as attendants to popular warriors.
Captives are those taken from raids and traded in major
metropoles. Captives are sold around for their labor. When they are
bought or taken in, they become either Servants or just normal
Debtors to the one that bought them, and they must render labor
unto them until they’ve paid off their debts. Capitalistic merchant
princes usually sell these captives at a profit.
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ESTEEM
Kadungganan translates to honor and prestige. Every
Venture you embark upon will grant you an amount of
Kadungganan among the eyes of all beings within The Sword Isles.
Your Esteem rises as you go through your career as a Kadungganan,
as you accrue fame and stories are sung about you. You rise in
Esteem by 1 everytime you finish a Venture, whether you
succeed or not.
A Kadungganan can only go up to Esteem 12. At that point,
they are movers and shakers. Over the course of the game, they
might now be Datu, leading their own following or kingdom, or
seizing heaven’s gates.
PROMINENCE
There are three levels of Prominence. Prominence is how well
known you are among The Sword Isles for your violence.
● Lingid/Unknown - Prominence 1. From Esteem 1-4.
Here, Kadungganan are just building their reputation, taking
jobs from Datu that need an elite warrior.
● Kilala/Known - Prominence 2. From Esteem 5-8.
Kadungganan are more recognized now, and they can go on
more dangerous Ventures and expect more rewards from Datu.
● Bantug/Prestigious - Prominence 3. From Esteem 9-12.
Bantug Kadungganan are dangerous warriors, those that have
dealt with yawa and diwata, and have brought mighty foes and
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beasts to hell. Bantug can become datu from the strength of
their prestige.
TENETS OF A KADUNGGANAN
Usa: HIMAYA
“Rejoice in the glory of combat.”
To die in battle is more glorious and more important than to die
a coward. Revere those that die in combat, or those that you have
killed, for they shall reach heaven.
Duha: GUBAT
“Fight for those we have lost, and for those we can yet save.”
Have a reason for why you fight, lest you render nature Godless
and your principles ripped and torn. Let your valor be sharp and
tempered, like the blade you wield.
Tulo: GUGMA
“When lightning strikes, let your heart be swifter.”
Die for the ones you love, but do not die in vain. Remember what
you fight for.
Upat: Kasingkasing
“Your spear must bleed with the blood of your heart.”
Love all things, and care for them. That is the burden of the
swordbearer.
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Lima: PAGTAHOD
“Know that the world is not yours.”
Respect nature, for within is divinity. Do not upset the balance,
remember to keep silent when passing through the jungle, never
point lest you disrespect one you cannot see. Value life, even as you
take it.
Unom: KAYO
“Bow yourselves before others.”
Respect your guests and those that are not you. Clothe yourself
with humility. Serve them betel nut chew, pour liquor for them, let
them sit in your most expensive silk pillows.
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KADUNGGANAN FOLK AND CALLINGS
FOLK
The people of The Sword Isles are numerous. All those born in the
islands, no matter what they might look like, are known as tawo.
Together they are all called Folk. The folk of The Sword Isles are the
people that fill the entire world. The following are the Folk that are
prevalent in The Sword Isles that you can play as. However, all sorts
of folk live in The Sword Isles. If you want to live as a frogfolk or
hornbillfolk, feel free! These are just to inspire you.
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BAMBOOFOLK
Kawayantawo. The bamboo folk are those born from a piece of
bamboo that floated in from the Endless Sea after multiple
cosmogonies. They arose after a great king eagle pecked them out
from their bamboo vessels, and gave them man and woman roles.
In essence, the bamboofolk are humans, although differences from
usual humans (such as weird hair colorings, eyes, sharper ears,
etc.) are possible in bamboofolk. Bamboofolk are the most
populous of all the folk in the Sword Isles and Yutadagat.
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DOGFOLK
Asungtawo. The dogfolk are the faithful warriors of Apu Balatik,
who followed him to the ends of heaven. As a gift for their
faithfulness, Apu Balatik blessed all dogs with the cunning ability
to hunt down all things.
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CIVETFOLK
Musangtawo. The civetfolk are those that resemble large
humanoid cats. They were the children of the god of hunting, Apu
Balatik, alongside the dogfolk. When the civetfolk did not join Apu
on his journey to hunt the stars, they were deemed lazy. However
it was the ancestors of the civetfolk that invented the great number
of traps and hunting arts in The Sword Isles now.
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EAGLEFOLK
Lawintawo. The eaglefolk are descendants of the ancient sky king
Rajah Lawin, who rules over all the sky raptors. When Rajah Lawin
was killed by Jamiyun Kulisa with his Thunderbolt, Rajah Lawin’s
electrified blood coagulated and formed into the eaglefolk in mid-
air. However, Jamiyun Kulisa asked Amihan and Habagat, the
Major Monsoons, to never allow the eaglefolk to fly, even with their
wings.
DEERFOLK
Pilandoktawo. The deerfolk are diminutive mouse deer people
descended from the Almighty Trickster from Akai history,
Pilandok. Pilandok was so great that he became the sultan once
without the sultan even knowing, while he was in the sultan’s
palace. Pilandok was cut up into a thousand pieces, and that was
how the deerfolk were born. Of course, Pilandok is still alive.
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MACAQUEFOLK
Unggoytawo. The macaquefolk are acrobatic leapers and warriors.
They helped Rajah Mangadiri fight back and kill the demon forces
of Banjarmasir, which led them to be an exalted people. Their
ancestor, Laksamana, was the one that killed the great ten-headed
demon god Maharaja Lawana, and is the reason why Banjarmasir is
the city with the most population of macaquefolk.
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CALLINGS
Kadungganan come from somewhere. Sometimes they are born
into their roles, while other times they show their valor through
battle and combat. Callings are special identifiers that help shape
a Kadungganan, helps ground them in a reality that is not one of
violence and strife. Callings are a warriors non-combat aptitudes
and skills.
When you roll in non-combat situations and your
background is relevant, gain +1 Fate for that roll.
You gain 1 Calling at character creation, then 1 more every time
you rise in Prominence.
BLACKSMITH
You are a panday, a smith, who worked the forge, smithing
weapons and jewelry and what have you to get by.
Calling Ability: You gain the Portable Gusali warband
property.
WARRIOR
You have been trained by warriors and swordsmen. All your life
you know how to fight.
Calling Ability: You will always win in one-on-one duels against
non-datu warriors.
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MEDIUM PRENTICE
You are an alabay. Alabay are the apprentices to the balyan, the
spirit-mediums and priestesses of most of the spiritual religions in
The Sword Isles.
Calling Ability: Once per Venture, you may speak with the
diwata and ask them a single question. They will answer.
COOK
You know how to cook a good meal, whether it be rice cakes,
seasoned fish, or delicious seared chicken.
Calling Ability: You gain the Stove warband property.
HEALER
You are a healer, a mender of wounds, practitioner of traditional
healing practices. The usual image of healers is a white-robed
person with a basket of wooden cups, hot water, herbs, and needles.
Calling Ability: You gain the Tambal Tool warband property.
SPIRIT-TOUCHED
You have been touched by those inhuman. Whether it be from
birth or from an encounter with a diwata or a yawa, you are
different now. Physically speaking, something about you has
changed: your eyes have weird coloring, your hair might be stark
white, what is it?
Calling Ability: You can do something that bends the laws of
physics, 1/Venture, outside of combat.
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ATUBANG
You are an atubang of a Datu or a leader, their chief minister and
counselor. You carried their bamboo scrolls and copperplate
inscriptions and made sure all things were accounted for.
Calling Ability: You have almost perfect memory of things, and
always have something to write on. Once per Venture, whenever
someone asks you for information or help, you may give it. If it
needs a roll, you may treat it immediately as a Strong Hit.
MANGKUKULAM
You practice the “dark arts”, the witcheries. You know the
answers to questions others would not dare ask. Your knowledge in
witchcraft help your violent duties.
Calling Ability: As a Respite Activity, you may (Mang-aawit
chooses 2: sacrifice a loved one, give up something important to
you, give up a necessity, put your party in danger, spend an entire
year) to conduct a witch ritual. This can be anything within the
realm of reason (changing weather, summoning a minor ghost,
etc.)
RELIGIOUS MAN
Siyak, Pandita, or Balyan. You are a religious man of your faith,
whether it be of the Ashen Star, the Langitnon, Hiyang, or the
Moon Faith. W
Calling Ability: You follow the tenets of your faith, but especially
one defined by you. Define a single tenet in a single sentence (ie.
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“All blackened soil is evil”, etc.) When adhering to that tenet, you
cannot Miss, rerolling the Cast if you do.
VAGABOND
You are a traveler, unattached to no polity or state, and serving
no leader unless you were turned into a bihag. You are well-versed
in a vast variety of cultures, as well as speaking with almost anyone.
Calling Ability: You know a lot of things because of your travels.
Once per Venture, when you encounter a foreign object or concept,
you can choose to say that you know what that is.
ROYALTY
You are true royalty, directly related to a Datu, considered
kedatuan. You are versed in the arts of royalty, politics, guile, and
the way of the court. You are considered one of the Ruling Class.
Calling Ability: At any social interaction, you are always going to
be one of the best well-dressed and most attractive. Most people
will listen to you, and at any point 1/Venture you can order one of
the lower classes to do something for you, and they will obey.
SERVANT
You were a servant that worked in the house of your master. You
owned no property, and all your possessions belonged to your
master, although it was your master that clothed you and housed
you and kept you safe. You know all household chores, your hands
and feet calloused from years of work.
Calling Ability: You cannot get tired.
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GIRIBASA
You are a translator that interpreted words and facilitated trade
between sina and tawo. You are knowledgeable in cultures not your
own, and have a good grasp of languages that not even you speak.
Calling Ability: Once per Venture, you can say that you know
the norms, cultures, and language of a settlement.
BILANGGOWAN
You are a part of the datu’s sandig, the ones that helped the datu
as their close aide. As a bilanggowan, you function as a sheriff, and
you have your own house that works as a sort of prison for
wrongdoers, called a bilanggo.
Calling Ability: You mete out justice. Whenever you punish
someone for breaking a particular law, even if they be from the
ruling class, gain 1 Grit. Law in The Sword Isles is not too different
from modern law: adultery and stealing are punished (with
grievousness depending on the culture), killing a datu is punished
with immediate death as well, and so is slighting a datu or
disprespecting someone of the ruling class. Not honoring debts can
incur death penalties as well, and sometimes some places punish
witchcraft. It changes from culture to culture.
PARAAWIT
You are a professional singer and poet that sang dirges in funerals
and epics in feasts, for several nights on end. You might be known,
far and wide, or you might be a relatively household name.
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Calling Ability: You’ve sung many songs: you never have to roll
to know a particular part or detail of your culture’s traditions or
beliefs.
FARMER
You are a peasant that tilled the fields, with working to pay off
your tributes. Or maybe you own your own farming swidden or
have an island to yourself that you cultivate relentlessly.
Calling Ability: Gain the Farming Tools warband property.
ORANGKAYA
You are a rich person, merchant royalty. You are part of a petty
nobility that is nobility due to money and not by blood. You might
have your own wares, maybe even your own boat that lets you carry
your merchandise.
Calling Ability: Once per Respite, when you Ply the Market, you
may immediately gain a Weak Hit instead of rolling.
WISE MAN
You were a wise man, a sage, a teacher, and a counselor for your
settlement. Those that need your counsel ask for you, and depend
on your knowledge and wisdom.
Calling Ability: Your advice is sharp: whenever you give advice
to your ally, they gain +1 Fate whenever they act on that advice.
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HUNTER
You go into the forest, with your knowledge of nature and your
skill in creating traps to capture all kinds of game, from wild boars
to civet cats. You use little arbalests to skewer rats, thick blades to
chop through underbrush and cut down bamboo, and create pits
to skewer down larger game. You always begin a hunt with an
offering to the forest’s diwata, and then end the hunt by giving a
portion of your game to the forest’s diwata.
Calling Ability: You gain the Hunting Trap warband property.
FISHER
You are a consummate fisherman, using a variety of equipment
such as large fishing nets, barbed fishing harpoons, tridents, and
the regular bait and line. You never forget to make an offering to
the diwata of the seas.
Calling Ability: You gain the Fishing Harpoon warband
property.
POTTER
Your skill shines through: you create pottery that has intricately
engraved designs and harder than most imports. Using the paddle-
and-anvil technique, you create items that your settlement can be
proud of.
Calling Ability: When you find potsherds, you would know how
they were made. 1/Venture, you can bring out a jarlet that you’ve
made, which can carry and preserve small items (nothing larger
than a medium sized coconut) until the end of the venture.
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BOATWRIGHT
You are a shipbuilder, and a damn good one at that. Many datu
see you out for your expertise, and they are smart in doing so. Your
knowledge of shipbuilding extends even to knowledge of the sea,
the winds, and the winding river paths of islands.
Calling Ability: Gain the Boat warband property.
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INTERESTING EVENTS
The life of a Kadungganan is anything but boring. Roll a d100 and
then half the result on the chart below to find out what things have
happened to your Kadungganan before they attained their warrior
prestige status. Events in general don’t give you equipment, but
they help give your character a sense of place in the world as well
as to help you grok the Classical Southeast-Asian setting of Gubat
Banwa.
1. You blasphemed the name of a great Datu. You were cast
out because of this, and you have never been the same since.
2. You almost became a full-fledged balyan, but you failed in
the final test, which was a test of either killing a diwata or
befriending a diwata. Which one was it and why did you fail?
3. You fell in love with a childhood friend who didn’t return
your feelings. How did you feel about it? Have you forgotten
about them? Do you still pine for them?
4. You were visited by an umalagad bringing a horrible omen.
The omen hasn’t come to pass yet, but you suffer your
remaining days in fear of what’s to come.
5. You angered a busalian sorcerer and caused her to destroy
your entire village. Now you must live, the sole remaining
remnant of your family.
6. You owed a great debt to a Kadungganan that you have
since escaped. What was the debt? Who was the Kadungganan?
Have they caught up to you already, or are they still chasing you
across the archipelago?
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7. You were abducted by a tamawo before, one of the folk of
the forest that are not like you. You don’t remember much from
the encounter, other than that they left you with a physical
marking. What is it?
8. You saw a diwata in the forest in the form of a great deer
with horns sprouting up like great branches. It fled when it saw
you. Do you still seek it? You haven’t seen a diwata since. Not
that you can’t see them, it’s just that you’re unlucky. Or so you
believe.
9. You died. Or so you thought. You were brought back from
the brink by a balyan’s pag-uli ritual and now are indebted to
them. Who are they? Are they still alive? Have you paid your
debt to them?
10. You were sent out on an important mission from your Datu
once. It caused you to lose a part of you, like an arm or a leg.
However, your Datu awarded with you with recognition that
you deserved.
11. You violated a major rule in your polity and now you’re
being hunted down by that polity’s Kadungganan. Are you still
being hunted down? Have you suffered the punishment for your
transgression?
12. You were raised in a farming settlement deep into the
plains of Rusunuga. All your life, you saw giant dragons fltying
in the clouds and warriors fighting in the fields. Eventually, you
left your farming settlement, but this was a decision you’ve since
learned to regret. Why?
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13. You fell in love with a diwata. Who was the diwata? What
did you do to earn their trust? Did they love you back? What
has happened now?
14. You killed an important figure before, and no one knows
it’s you. How did you hide this horrible deed? Did you escape
whatever land you came from?
15. You were raised in a fishing settlement in Gatusan, where
you became skilled in the arts of sailing, boatcrafting, and
harpooning. You are intimate with the Dagatnon, the holy
powers of the sea. How do those stuck in land view you?
16. You were blinded when you were younger. Who blinded
you? Was it vengeance of the gods or justice of man?
17. Your sister is a datu. Who are you? Why are you simply a
Kadungganan, when you’re supposedly kedatuan? Royalty?
18. Your brother or sister was killed. Who killed them? Do you
know them? Do you harbor hatred?
19. You were handed down an important weapon from your
parent, but you lost it somewhere. Where did you lose it? What
kind of weapon was it? Are you still looking for it?
20. You were stranded in the middle of the sea once, and you
were brought back to land by the spirits of the sea. Do you
remember this encounter? Do you dwell upon it? Has it changed
you?
21. The tamawo, fey beings from the forest, stole one of your
loved ones. Did you ever find out why? You remember the faces
and names of one of them.
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22. You were attacked by an asuwang before, ferocious
shapeshifting ghoul demons, but you managed to escape. How
did this experience change you?
23. You were exiled from your hometown for something you
did not do but was deemed impossible to redeem by the leader.
What were you accused of?
24. You were supposed to be wed but on your wedding day, a
jealous suitor killed your spouse. What did you do? Do they still
live? Do you still hunt them down?
25. You hunted down a wild boar that showed strange signs of
unnatural corruption from beyond the World Jaws. Does the
corruption still linger? Has it affected you?
26. You killed a crocodile and you were tasked to bury them
where you killed them. Did you do the deed? Are you haunted
by your actions?
27. You were once part of a great war party that has now gone
defunct. One of the members is dead. What happened to them?
28. You gained a pet king eagle once, but it has left you. What
happened to them?
29. One of your loved ones died because of something you did.
What did you do?
30. You cooked an amazing dish once that it impressed the
Datu and they held a feast for you. Who was the Datu, do you
still keep in touch with him?
31. War has led you to the edges of The Sword Isles. You’ve
seen a Pale King before. How did you escape alive?
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32. You were a binukot, a veiled maiden, royalty, once. You
escaped, somehow, and now your father hunts you down.
33. Your village was burned down by an enemy Datu. You are
the only survivor. An assassin still hunts you down.
34. War has led you at odds with a childhood friend. Who were
they? Why are they against you now? Do you still know them?
35. You’ve been chased by yawa before, but someone saved
you from them. Who was it? Do you still know them? How do
you look at them now?
36. A powerful datu has blasphemed your name and station.
Did you fight back? What were the consequences? What
happened to the Datu?
37. You were the apprentice of a blacksmith, but someone
killed your master, forcing you to wander alone. Did you know
who killed them?
38. When you were a child, you were given a vision of the gods.
How did this scar you? What lesson did you unlearn?
39. Your body is not your own. Your four-part soul inhabits the
body of another. A balyan performed spiritual surgery upon you.
Do you look for your past body, still?
40. You have Yawa-taint upon your hand. Hide it. You got it
after a yawa tried to kill you while walking down Ananara’s
streets. Will you look for a way to fix it? You hear voices in your
head.
41. You were swindled before by an Akai Sultanate orangkaya,
who went away with all your gold before. Do you still look for
them? Do you want your shit back?
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42. You were trained in one of the various martial arts schools
that pock the great metropoles of The Sword Isles. What did you
train in? What was the worst lesson you learned?
43. Angels came and destroyed your village. What happened
next?
44. You were raised in the streets of one of the metropoles, and
had to fight your way to survive, becoming anyone and
everyone’s servant. You were blessed eventually by Buyung
Limus-an, the Diwata of Beggars. Where do you travel now?
What useless item did Buyung Limus-an give you?
45. You were taught weapon art by a master who taught you
about the oppressed cycle of this world. Do you believe in their
teachings? Do you think they are just?
46. You’ve witnessed Kadungganan warring before your eyes.
How did this scar you? Why did you become what you’ve most
hated/loved?
47. You were born into great privilege and royalty: perhaps you
were a son of a well known Datu within Gatusan, or perhaps you
were the crown prince of a Datu who serves the Sultana of Akai.
Nevertheless, your privilege has blinded you to the truths of the
world. What was the one truth that enlightened you?
48. You were born in the cold wind islands of Vetani, where
trade with Iyamat is frequent, and you live in stone idjang. You
were forced out of your settlement. Who did that, and do you
hate them?
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49. You were born in Humonhon, the isle of ghosts. You made
friends with the lot of them, and have seen ghosts ever since.
Does this change how you see life?
50. You are a Sina, who arrived here in the islands of violence.
Where were you from, how did you get here, and how did The
Sword Isles change you?
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ATTRIBUTES
Metaphysically speaking, the five elements represent the four
souls of man and the void whereupon it rest. There are four
portions to a soul: The Vigor which represents physical health,
The Power which represents sheer potential strength and power,
The Thought which represents mental capacities and acuity, and
The Immortal, the everlasting soul that goes through the cycle of
life and death. The fifth component of the soul is represented by
the element of Force, and is the void or Sheath whereupon the four
souls live within, like perfectly dancing mandalas in a pond of black
liquid. Together, they make up your Soul.
The five Attributes represent the souls.
VIGOR, represented by The Vigor, represents your vivacity,
strength, and quickness. Your physical health.
Outside of combat, you roll Vigor when rolling to weather
debilitating effects, when you need to do things quickly, or when
you need to use your infectious charisma to speak to others.
> You add your Vigor to your Speed.
> You add your Vigor to the ranges of all ranged technicks and
ranged attacks.
POWER, represented by The Power, represents the strength of
your soul and sheer might. Your occult power.
Outside of combat, you roll Power when approaching things
directly, without recourse, whether it be powering through a
hardwood wall, or intimidating a lowly spirit.
> You add your Power to damage dealt by physical attacks.
> You add Power as extra damage dealt on a critical hit.
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THOUGHT, represented by The Thought, represents mental
acuity and cleverness, as water is pliable and bends.
Outside of combat, roll Thought when approaching things in a
clever, thoughtful manner, analayzing and thinking.
> You add your Thought to damage dealt by Magickal Attacks.
> You add your Thought to the number of uses you can use on
a Technick with the Charge X tag.
TENACITY, represented by The Immortal, represents your
ability to weather the storm, your innate toughness against all
things, whatever it may be.
Outside of combat, roll Tenacity when doing things in a
patient manner, taking time to let things grow, when you rely on
tradition, and whenever you must prove your unyielding will.
> You add your Tenacity to your Breath.
> You add your Tenacity to your Armor.
- SPIRIT, represented by The Sheath, represents your innate,
formless potential and skill. It also represents the strength of the
skeins of your soul, how all four are intertwined.
Outside of combat, roll Spirit when speaking with other
spirits, when dealing things of metaphysical and metaspiritual
affairs, and when needing to empty one’s mind to meditate.
> You add your Spirit to damage dealt by Spiritual Attacks.
> You add your Spirit to Saves and Crashed rolls.
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TRAITS
There are three major combat traits.
Breath represents your vitality and stamina. This is equal to 5 +
Prominence + Tenacity.
Speed represents your quickness. This is equal to 3 + Vigor.
Armor represents your abilityto weather all sorts of damage. This
is equal to Tenacity.
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DISCIPLINES
To conduct violence, the Kadungganan must learn the ways of
combat. Scattered across the isles of The Sword Isles are numerous
Violent Disciplines of Martial Arts, known mostly as Disciplines
for short. These Disciplines have arisen anew in the face of the
coming of the Second Star Era, due to intensifying violence
necessitating warriors to adapt and work together.
Each discipline has a unique way of Inflicting Violence. This is
their art, the martial art. Use these as guides to fluff your attacks.
What weapons you wield are up to you.
HISTORY
All Disciplines arise out of the need for violence and combat.
Thus, they all take inspiration from the first Martial Art, known
among the isles as Asdang. Although now known commonly as
simply "hand-to-hand combat", the Art of Asdang was in truth also
the original martial art, learned by the Malaong Paraawit
Diwatarani Pitti Dewasaya, which translates to Ancient Poet Deity
Queen Pitti Dewasaya. The story goes as follows, as presented in Sri
Saisthva's "Usakayukotnga Hilo Sutla", the One Thousand Thread
Sutla:
1 - One day, after having gone over to a nearby river to bathe
in the holy waters of Bukid Majaas, Malaong Paraawit Diwata
Pitti Dewasaya watched as a six-armed monkey fought off a
giant crowned-eagle.
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2 - It seemed like a dance, leaping from bamboo to bamboo,
parrying while in mid air, parrying in mid-strike, no
movement wasted.
3 Pitti Dewasaya learned much from this, encounter, and she
traveled further upstream after the monkey successfully
broke the eagle's wing.
4 - Moving up the river, to a small waterfall, she found a
strange floating water lily amidst the cascade. Amused by it,
she picked up a rock and threw it at the lily, but the lily simply
moved to the side.
5 - Bemused still, she decided to cast her magic upon it.
However, her invisible lance of force did not do much to the
lily, which only moved away even more, before eventually
returning to its original spot as the water displacement
receded.
6 - Finally, now irked, she summoned her one millions krises
and went over to it and struck it one million times.
7 - No matter how hard she tried, she could not sunder the
lily, and thus she pondered upon the lily's teachings.
8 - Enlightenment came when Indira Suga, The Mother Sun,
looked up at her from atop the water lily. With a smile, he
spoke her revelation: 'the soft overcomes the hard'.
THE BALAHALA HINAGIBAN KAALAMDAG, THE GODLY

WEAPON SCIENCE
The first martial arts were invented by the gods at the beginning
of time, when they resorted to war to arbitrate their concerns like
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the hypocrites they are. When they eventually taught the ways of
violence to mortals, it became known as the Balahala Hinagiban
Agham, the Godly Weapon Science. From here the first martial art
arose, violence taught by nature itself: Asdang.
Asdang began the tradition of Guros passing down what they
know to learners. "Balahala Hiangiban Kaalamdag" is now a
spiritual rite, a principle, a fabled title that all aspire to. It is the
science and tradition, revered and favored, taught from ancestors
to descendants.
All Disciplines are born from the Godly Weapon Science.
The combat arts are known differently for each of the Mandala,
although they all mean the same thing.
Virbanwa calls their martial arts Sining Pandigma.
Gatusan calls their martial arts Paagi sa Gubat.
Akai calls their martial arts Agama Pagbunu.
Ba-e calls their martial arts Pagdahas.
Apumbukid calls their martial arts Kaqalim Matarem.
Most manggugubat are expected to master a single Discipline
during their lifetime. But not you, Kadungganan. You, one of the
elite, must prove your strength in the islands. You learn a large
number of Technicks across the Disciplines to round out your
fighting style and to fit your warband's needs.
STYLE
Each Discipline has a particular Style that they are associated
with. These Styles are the five different kinds of Styles that a
discipline may fall into, informing what their best application is in
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combat. In other games, these might be called roles. In The Sword
Isles, the Five Major Styles were built to better facilitate warbands
and raiding parties, to make sure that each one was well oiled and
supporting each other. Five grandmasters created the Five Violent
Styles: the Raider Style, the Marksman Style, the Control Style, the
Sentinel Style, and the Support Style.
In the ancient of days, when the Gods warred against each other
in the Sky, there were five kinds of warriors that worked together
in perfect harmony that brought victory.
CONTROL
The Control Style is a long-range style that focuses on locking
enemies down with debilitating effects, making sure allies get a
clear shot. They do this through changing the terrain itself,
weakening opponents with debuffs, and setting opponents up for
powerful combinations. A good Control makes sure to hamper the
enemy and make a clear shot for their allies. In ancient times, they
were known as Staves.
MARKSMAN
The Marksman Style is a far range style that focuses on damaging
reliably from afar and making large areas into obstacles, like
artillery. A good Marksman deals damage reliably. In ancient times,
they were known as Arrows.
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RAIDER
The Raider Style is the close combat fighter, trading sword strikes
with the allies in the front lines. The Raider Style is a mid-range
style that focuses on mobility and quick harmful strikes, at the
expense of durability. A good Raiders kill enemies quickly. In
ancient times, they were known as Swords.
SENTINEL
The Sentinel Style is the lose-range style that focuses on keeping
enemies on them and not on others. The one that tries to get the
attention away from their allies and to them, so they can make sure
their allies are safe. A good Sentinel makes sure to keep allies safe
from enemy attacks. All Sentinels get to make Opportunity Attacks.
In ancient times, they were known as Shields.
SUPPORT
The Support Style is a mid-range style that focuses on healing
traditions and bolstering practices. This includes healing, granting
Barrier, enabling additional attacks, and granting buffs, as well as
making sure setups work greatly. A good Support strengthens their
allies and keeps them in tip top shape. In ancient times, they were
known as Crowns.
DISCIPLINE MECHANICS
Each Discipline has a particular Discipline Mechanic that only
they can use. A Baril Witch shoots from their loaded stance, a War
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Balyan is intimate with a particular holy power. Feeding into the
gameplay of your Discipline Mechanic, which is almost always
dictated by that Discipline’s Style, is a sure way to both have fun
with the game as well as to be efficient and effective in battle.
MASTERIES
Each Discipline has two Masteries associated with them. These
Masteries strengthen, shake up, or sometimes even completely
change the Discipline Mechanic. You get the First Mastery when
you gain 2 Technicks from that Discipline, and you get the Second
Mastery when you gain all Technicks from that Discipline. As with
the Mechanic Masteries only work while you’re that Discipline.
INFLICT VIOLENCE
This is what you’re made for, Kadungganan.
Inflict Violence is the basic form of attack in Gubat Banwa.
However, each Discipline has a unique form of Inflict Violence that
only they can do. These are their martial art attacks and abilities.
Each Discipline starts with three Inflict Violences, which you can
choose whenever you get the chance to use Inflict Violence.
SECOND WIND TECHNICKS

Each Discipline has a bespoke Second Wind Technick that only
their Discipline can use. This lets healing in the middle of combat
be a tactical choice, since your Second Wind usually ties in to your
Discipline’s Style or their Mechanics.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICKS
Each Discipline has a Forbidden Technick that only that
Discipline can use. Forbidden Technicks are so called because they
demand the favor of the ancestors and a willingness to give it all.
Forbidden Technicks usually need you to have a Wound, because
these Technicks need one to be vulnerable, open, bleeding. Are you
ready to give your all? You can only use Forbidden Technicks once
per Venture, as their usage exhausts the stamina and favor of the
ancestors, and you never know if you have the appropriate skill or
stamina to do it again.
You can only use a Discipline’s Forbidden Technick when you’re
that Discipline. Forbidden Technicks can only be used once per
Venture.
Some Forbidden Technicks deal harrowing consequences to you.
Those that do usually are meant for the most desperate of
moments, and their base Forbidden Technicks are more than
enough to handle the situation at hand and turn the tide. These
Grit 2 augments are there to give dramatic moments and ideas for
your characters. Always establish this before the game.
MOUNTS
Some Disciplines have Features that let you ride Mounts. You
have that Mount as long as that’s your Discipline, even outside of
combat.
When riding a Mount, you can be toppled off of it if you are
Knocked Prone or Juggled, falling into a space adjacent to the
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mount. You can get back on your Mount once adjacent to it with
an Action, even if you are Prone. If you do, you are no longer prone.
When you are pushed off of your Mount, the Mount can be
damaged. They have Mettle equal to 20 + your Breath. If the Mount
is killed, you need to wait for a Respite to get another Mount.
TECHNICKS
Disciplines each have 4 Technicks. Technicks are exactly that:
combat techniques that let you bleed and inflict violence more
effectively.
During Character Creation, you choose 1 Technick from
your chosen Discipline. When you read a Technick, the order in
which they are written is the order in which you apply the effects.
You cannot perform the same Technick more than once in a
Round.
Technicks are affected by Debuffs unless otherwise noted. If a
Technick lets you move 3 spaces, but you are Immobilized, you
cannot move that 3 spaces.
Technicks are inherently combat moves. However, you can use a
Technick outside of combat if it applies. You can only use a
Technick in this manner once per scene.
Each Technick is a bespoke mechanical widget. All the mechanics
and rules needed about the Technick will most likely be within the
Technick itself. If a Technick inflicts damage, it will say what the
damage dice rolled will be.
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ENHANCEMENTS
Enhancements will usually have either Grit 1 or Grit 2. These are
things that can be used to upgrade a Technick. Unless otherwise
stated, you would spend Grit enhancements when you first use the
Technick, meaning you cannot cast the Technick and then spend
Grit on it later down the line to enhance it.
Enhancements are not sequential. That means you can choose to
only spend Grit 2, or only spend Grit 1, or spend both.
TECHNICK TAGS
Each Technick will have a tag attached to them, customizing and
changing the nature of a Technick. There are 14 of these. They are
as follows:
• Charge X: You can only use a Technick with this tag X
times during a Venture. All Charge returns during a Respite.
• Concentration: When you use this Technick, the effect
happens at the end of the round.
• Combo: The Technick is a combo, that has a particular
effect that happens when a certain Finisher is used on the target
that the combo is used on, as dictated by the combo line.
• Field: The Technick is a field, laying down a zone with
some sort of effect. It will have a Field effect when a particular
Finisher type is performed within it.
• X Finisher: The Technick can trigger Field and Combo
effects. X will either be Blast, Burst, Lunge, or Shot.
• Heal: This Technick heals Mettle.
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• Opener: Can only be used at the start of turn, after
Crashed Rolls and Start of Turn Effects.
• Perilous: Suffer piercing damage equal to your Breath
when you use the Technick.
• Round X: This means that you can only use this ability at
Round X or beyond.
• Reliable X: If you miss with an attack or roll damage lower
than X, you deal damage equal to X. Reliable does not ignore
Armor.
• Scene: You can only use this Technick once per scene.
Remember that combats are always 1 scene.
• Stance: Stances are martial arts forms that unlock true
spiritual strength. Stances cannot stack, and when you take upon
yourself a Stance that Stance supercedes the old one. Stances will
always define when they end.
• Steady: This Technick does not provoke reactions.
• Taxing: Once you use this Technick, you cannot use it
again until the end of the next round.
• Venture: You can only use this Technick once per
Venture.
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CHOOSING A DISCIPLINE
When you first create a Kadungganan, you must choose a
Discipline: the martial art that you focus in on that contributes to
the river of blood that flows through The Sword Isles’s veins.
Choosing a Discipline might be daunting: there are 25 Disciplines,
spread across the 5 Mandalas. Read on to be guided.
Each Discipline is born from a particular Mandala. That does not
mean a Kadungganan must come from that Mandala, just that it
was created within it. Disciplines being in various different
Mandala is the norm now. For example, the Sarimanok Knight was
born in Akai, but they are just as common now as mounted cavalry
in Virbanwa.
When you create a Kadungganan, you choose 1 Discipline that
you begin in from one of the Mandalas. You can change to any
Discipline that you already have a Technick in with the Switch
Discipline Respite Activity.
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RISING IN ESTEEM
Remember that you always gain 1 New Technick from a
Discipline with the same Style any time you rise in Esteem,
which happens whenever you finish a Venture. You don’t have to
pre-plan your advancement: going around and finding out is half
the fun. However, to help with decision paralysis, you can first
solidify a proper concept in your head that you want for your
Kadungganan, such as a Peerless Swordsman or Unparalleled
Archer, and go from there.
THE FIVE MAJOR MANDALAS

Of the warring states, five mandalas are poised to change
the isles...
The Imperialist Empire, known as the Virbanwa Lakanate.
Imperialists, knights, and conquerors. They suffered the sword of
colonialism and lived to tell the tale. Now they use that same sword
upon their allies in the isles.
The Conquering Monarchy, known as the Akai Sultanate.
Berserkers and conquerors. They will conquer all of The Sword Isles
in their own way. All will be one under the Moon Goddess.
The Painted Warriors of the Endless Sea, known as the
Rajahnate of Gatusan. Raiders and warlords, they seek to expand
their reach and bring all the people of The Sword Isles under their
jurisdiction, and soon they will raid the world.
The Stewards of the Center of the World, the Confederation
of Apumbukid. Defenders, caretakers, and sentinels. Those of the
Confederation seek only one thing: to protect the Holy Mountain
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of Apu, the Central Pillar of the Earth, from all conquerers, within
The Sword Isles and without. They have since adopted an
aggressive stance on Stewardship, traveling to the sacred places in
hinterlands to protec them from expansion.
The Rememberers of the Old Ways, the Nation of Ba-e.
Tinkerers and scholars. The Nation of Ba-e, united under a single
chosen ruler known as the Sangpamegat, seeks to preserve the old
ways, the ancient scriptures, sorceries, epics, and potteries. They
trade far and wide, gathering gold and other culture, while
cultivating their own lust for knowledge and artifice. They seek to
unite all of The Sword Isles under a single banner, to establish a
burgeoning merchant state that can trade with all the corners of
the world.
All these polities are in deep war with each other, an ongoing
bloodless war that began since the dawn of time, when the Moon,
Sun, Stars, and Earth fought a never-ending war against each other
to determine who will inherit the Sky and the Sea from their
grandfathers.
STATEHOOD
One thing to note is that these Mandalas have differing modes of
definitions of states.
However, they are all in one way or another, mandalas. Mandala
is a political model that describes the patterns of diffuse political
power, wherein local power was more important than central
leadership. It is similar to how states were linked in suzerain-
tributary relationships. Each polity within a Mandala would be
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obligated to follow those higher than them, but they are more or
less their own political unit as well.
In general each political unit that has more than one Datu within
them is known as a Banwa. A single Datu’s village is a haop.
Among the five main Mandalas, each one defines it differently:
● For the Lakanate, their state is more or less the
conventional definition of the state, defined by fixed borders
and bureaucracy. However, local power is still important here,
and each local ruler still answers to the Lakan with a certain
amount of autonomy.
● The Sultanate operates similarly to the Lakanate, with all
the islands under the Sultana being part of the Sultanate, and
with Datu all being vassals of the Sultana.
● For the Rajahnate, it constitutes more of a mandala: the
power is defined by its center, the settlement at the center of
the Rajahnate, and all settlements around it pay tribute to the
Rajahnate, those further from the Rajahnate’s center
settlement paying less or even not choosing to be a part of the
Rajahnate at all, and only choosing to be associated with the
Rajahnate to facilitate trade and to create kin ties for the
Rajahnate’s help when defending against the Lakanate’s
expansion.
● The Confederation is even looser than the Rajahnate,
although all the Confederation answers to the Five Elders that
stay in the Five Grand Banwa upon the peninsula of Pumirang,
whereupon they live around the Holy Mountain of Apu.
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● The Nation of Ba-e works similarly to the Rajahnate, with
datu answering to the Sangpamegat, in the city of Ba-e.
There are Five Major Mandala that have the biggest sway in the
future of the Archipelago, who have the largest armies and fighting
forces, and are the most proactive in the wars within the islands:
The Lakanate of Virbanwa, The Rajahnate of Gatusan, The
Confederation of Apumbukid, The Sultanate of Akai, and The
Nation of Ba-e.
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DISCIPLINES OF VIRBANWA
Virbanwan Disciplines tend to believe in the power of numbers.
They work best when they are marching in step with others, as
conformity is hammered into their souls. Virbanwan Disciplines
are built with the express goal of working in step with others, so
that dominion may be achieved.
● Baril Witch [BRW]. Marksman. A keen-eyed
sharpshooter with a strange occult knowledge and skill to
guide the hand of their bullets. They hamper and damage
through the use of their ability to reload their luthang muskets
and fuse their bullets with elemental energy.
● Bladeweaver [BLW]. Raider. An ironwood and silk clad
warrior-sorcerer who fights with melee weapons and spiritual
power. They harness mentala, ancient and magical formulas
written on bamboo scrolls and then memorized, which
enchant their swordplay and lets them achieve sorcerous
enlightenment.
● Murderglave [MGL]. Sentinel. A warrior taught in the
ways of the ancient timawa of Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun,
the Goddess of Murder. With your Kinaadman, you harness
your passions and turn them into constructs and weapons of
darkness, giving yourself wholly to your cause of protecting
others.
● Senapati [SNP]. Support. A strong and unwavering
commander who bellows encouragement and orders in the
thick of combat, facing the frontlines alongside their allies clad
in gold and elephant hide.
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● Sword Saint [SWS]. Control. A priest dedicated to St.
Gattalim the Saint Intercessor of Swords. They have
internalized the Sword Principle, but not the Principle of
Cutting. Thus, they can cut down mortals, but they cannot cut
anything else. Their souls have been sharpened into blades,
and thus they cannot truly love, lest they bisect them.
DISCIPLINES OF GATUSAN
Gatusan Disciplines are built with violence and speed in mind.
They are warriors that split the sea. As much as possible,
Disciplines that can survive in the undulations of the waves arise
and thrive in Gatusan.
● Buwaya Lancer [BWL]. Sentinel. Warriors that ride in
upon mighty giant crocodiles steeds to change the battlefield.
● Kawal [KWL]. Sentinel. Garbed head to toe in armor-
raiment of the water buffalo, they are charged to protect the
isles with their shield, weapon, and tenacity. And they will
hold the line.
● Mangangayaw [MYW]. Raider. Raiders and fighters that
scour the seas and raid other war ships and shoreline
settlements without fear or reservation.
● Sword-Poet [SWB]. Sentinel. A warrior who fights with
peerless weapon dancing and weeping verses and song to twist
and wrench the souls of those that would inflict violence.
● War Balyan [WRB]. Support. Spirit mediums trained to
fight in this neverending war. They specialize in offering
healing and strengthening incantations and spirits.
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DISCIPLINES OF APUMBUKID
Apumbukid Disciplines are concerned with stewardship and
protection. They were of course, built with the protection of holy
places in mind. Their might is in the spiritual, in what is purely
natural. Their Disciplines typically have good relations with the
gods.
● Death Dancers [DED]. Raider. Ascetic Warrior Monks
that have mastered themselves and have become one with
nature, reaching levels of enlightenment impossible for others.
Through this, they help their allies, ushering their victory
through precise strikes.
● Elementalist [ELM]. Marksman. Powerful elemental
sorcerers that use their innate occult power, pohon, to
manipulate the world around them and to summon elemental
energies to slay their enemies.
● Headhunter [HDH]. Raider. Masters of the ritual art of
killing, and practitioners of the holy tradition of decapitation.
Warriors that preserve yet at the same time blaspheme the
holy rite of killing.
● Tactician [TCT]. Control. A parawali, a sage and a
counselor, who has focused on learning the tactics of war. They
have superior control over the battlefield, and can change the
tide of battle with a single proclamation or tactic.
● Tigpana [TGP]. Marksman. Archers who master the art of
sniping enemies from afar from a vantage point. A useful and
even necessary component to war in both the sea and the
hinterlands.
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DISCIPLINES OF AKAI
Akai Disciplines train with conquest and domination at their
heart. They are faithful, and their Disciplines reflect their
steadfastness and hunger for control.
● Ayam Hunter [AYH]. Control. A hunter who hunts with a
pack of feral hunting witch dogs known as ayam, who can
climb trees with their razor sharp claws and shed them to keep
them eversharp. Using a variety of traps, nets, and pits to
capture your prey, the ayam hunter never lets go of the enemy.
● Ritual Berserker [RBR]. Raider. Death berserkers
anointed with prayers of a pandita lunar bishop and, with the
help of some sugapa, a root crop like opium, transcend into
rage for the Moon Goddess.
● Swordfish Warrior [SWW]. Marksman. Warriors that
ride upon winged-swordfish to manipulate enemies with the
superior movement of their mounts.
● Sarimanok Knight [SAK]. Sentinel. A valiant warrior who
rides upon a giant rainbow-feathered rooster known as a
sarimanok. Through mounted combat they dominate the
battlefield.
● Strifesinger [STR]. Support. Sonorous martial artists that
sing and use myriad instruments to bolster their allies and
grant respite in a war-torn land.
DISCIPLINES OF BA-E
Ba-e Disciplines are, just like the Nation they hail from, eccentric
and subversive. Despite being the oldest of the Major Mandalas,
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they also are the ones that invent new ways of seeing the world,
new names for natural sciences. Past and future, it belongs to them.
They puncture holes in Hiyang and find new ways to express their
enlightenment.
● Flower Necromancer [FLN]. Control. A flower-witch that
uses the sampaguita, the death jasmine, to converse with the
dead and animate corpses of enemies.
● Heavenspear [HVS]. Raider. A heaven-scourging warrior
that is a master at polearms. Through their heaven-rending
arts they take to the skies upon spiritual arts and kites to bring
the truth like a spear unto the world: there is no throne in
heaven.
● Mender [MND]. Support. Healers and combat medics
that stay in the frontlines to support their allies with prepared
poultices and readied healing items.
● Warsmith [WRS]. Control. A warrior-blacksmith who has
taken to the battlefield to show their ingenuity and prowess,
crafting walls and weapons.
● Starshooter [STS]. Marksman. Warriors and experts of
the sport of Sipa,using their advanced knowledge of the art to
inflict violence, making even the smallest mote of dust a
deadly ball projectile.
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THE LAKANATE OF VIRBANWA
A priest, a sonat, walks out of an Earthquake baroque
cathedral. Doves flutter in every direction. He is wrapped in
three layers of silk: a robe, a jacket, and then a scarf. The
robes of a sonat. He wraps his pudong-pudog around his
forehead and it bears the seven-pointed star of his religion:
the belief in Makakagahum and all His angels.
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A peasant finishes his early morningroutine and walks back
to the inner village, offering a portion of his meal to the
marble statue of an angel. He then goes and drinks with his
friends.
As they eat, a party of armored men: dressed in abaca fiber
undershirts and bamboo breastplates, riding upon tall and
noble sarimanok, saunter into town. They give a quick
offering to the church, before walking down to an inn to find
some rest.
A young girl runs up to one of them as they removed their
moriones helmet. “Can I be like you, some day?”
“You want to be a bayani like us? Then youhave to believe
in Makakagahum and thepower that he can grant us all.” The
bayani smiles. He is buff, wide-set, and wearing a large
textile scarf around his shoulders like a cloak. “Then you
have to show your Datu that you are worthy of becoming
one.”
“I will!”
“O, Huwana, come here dear!” And an elderly woman,
wearing a simple darkundyed gray robe pulls the young girl
back to her. “O, most gracious and valiant bayani, thank
you.”
“There is no need. In fact, you must flee right now.
Evacuate into the hills, where the shelters are.”
“Why, o great bayani?”
As he speaks, the other bayani are already going about
warning the people, and the speaking kabalyero’s captain
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walks up to the Datu to tell him to gather his people and his
forces for a stand.
“Raiders have come,” says the bayani. “Wehave to fight
them back, for the glory of the Lakanate.”
“I see. May Makakagahum bless you!”
“And may the Ashen Star light your road,” replies the
bayani, just as he wheels around and brings out his bangkaw.
There is a shout, a war cry.
The bayani of the Lakanate charge, to protect the Lakan in
the name of their God.
Ambitious warlords, imperialist nobles, and opportunistic

businessmen. The river chiefdoms of Lontok, Namayan, Malilu,
and Tundun were conquered and invaded by the Empire of
Issohappa, led by the Pale Kings, which introduced to them the
concepts of land ownership, colonization, the printing press, and
the faith known as the Ashen Star.
Issohappa was driven away ten years ago, at the turn of the
century. They adopted everything that benefitted them:
Issohappan temporality, work mindset, mercantilism, and
imperialism. Tundun did not drive Issohappa away on its own: they
had the help of all the major kingdoms in the archipelago,
includingsif all the way up north to the island of Sonyoh.
Lakan Lubu, and his Queen or Lakambini were baptized. They
installed the Ashen Star as the state religion--two ideas from
Issohappa--that meshed with the native religion. Together, they set
off with a new goal in mind: to unite the disparate warring states of
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The Sword Isles into a single, unified state, known as the
Virbanwan Lakanate and to usher in the Millenium Kingdom.
For the next fifty years the Lakanate trained and grew stronger,
raiding and trading along the shores of Baik Hu for more
knowledge and weaponry, as well as more connections to gain
external wealth. They conquered the river and lake kingdoms and
expanded their domain.
They learned to create earthquake baroque structures, strong
against both typhoons and earthquakes, and through this they
created huge temples for Makagagahum, their Paramount God who
was said to rule over all the other smaller deities (called dyos)
which were in the style of their own spirit houses, albeit with a few
innovations from Issohappa introduced.
These great churches, otherwise known as simbahan, or worship
places, became the centers of Virbanwan settlements, and usually
right beside their Datu. A single Virbanwan settlement is bound to
have both a pari, a priest, and a balyan, a faith healer spirit medium,
who attend to different needs.
The Lakanate has since been growing their strength, earning the
ability to saddle and ride upon horses and sarimanok, as well as
fight with more steel armor, although not at length for the tropical
swelter of the Archipelago might overcome them. In addition to
those, they stole the printing press brought about by Issohappa,
and have since become the first mandala to begin printing texts.
They used this chance to write official government history texts
that exalted Virbanwa’s cherry-picked best qualities, and ignored
everything else. In this practice of nation-building, they exalted
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themselves, conveniently leaving out all help gotten from the other
Mandalas during the Lakanate Conspiracy against Issohappa. Save
for Sonyoh, as they have deep ties with Sonyoh. But they would
never admit that there is any mandala within The Sword Isles that
is greater than them.
The Lakanate’s power stretches from the shore city of Ananara
and conquered the river kingdoms of Lontok, all the way up to the
lake of Ba-e, where they contend the lake to this day with the nation
of Ba-e. They have also conquered polities in the far south island
chain with Vetani, as well as the far west island of Namwaran and
Ramasa.
Most tawo of the Lakanate follow the rule of the Batara Lakan,
currently Huwan Rekno. They pay fealty to him, and the Lakanate
functions very closely to a classic monarchy.
Kadungganan of the Lakanate follow after Huwan Rekno, and
while are treated like knights of their own right, are expected to
travel to the Huwan’s side when expected.
Lakanate Tawo are born with immediate knowledge of their faith,
the Sampalataya. Also known as the faith in the Ashen Star, they
follow the belief that Makagagahum, the Almighty, created the
earth from nothingness, and in the far future They will return as
the Maitresiya, the Final Prophet, and bring about the Milennium
Kingdom in the Land Above the Sky.
Materially, they have taken upon the innovations of the
Issohappans: they now wear kalsones balones, or balloon pants,
more than bahag, and they have adopted the wearing of wooden
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clogs and slippers more often than not. Some of the richer ones
even have access to leather boots and silk socks.
Growing up, Lakanate Tawo have access to military monasteries,
where they are taught the natural philosophies. The most
important thing taught here is the sovereignty of the Lakanate over
the Archipelago.
It is drilled in very early into the young Lakanate tawo’s soul that
the Lakanate, by virtue of being the chosen people of
Makagagahum and having been able to “repel” the conquest of the
“more powerful” Issohappa. The truth of this was that it was more
like all of the states in The Sword Isles chipping in to help repel the
invaders, with some help from Sonyoh.
The Lakanate thus believe that the Rajahnate, Confederation, and
Sultanate are all heathens that must be brought into the Lakanate’s
embrace. They are wrong, of course, but this fuels the Lakanate’s
imperialist ambitions, and it has thus begun its inevitable march
into the rest of The Sword Isles.
The honorifics Ginoo for males and Binibini for females is used
when deference must be taken.
Lakanate Nobles are known as Maginoo, and usually own land
and rule over swathes of peasant in addition to their own debtors.
Nobles of the Lakanate are expected to keep being nobles, and are
taught in the more advanced knowledges, given manuscripts and
exams by their parawali to pore over.
Nobles are expected to be subservient to the Datu and know the
ways of the Golden Web Tapestry, the code of conduct and political
framework among nobles, an intricate and complex web of
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manners and right speech, which “sets them apart from those of the
lower classes”.
Many nobles become warriors, Kadungganan, but also priests and
spiritual leaders. Some nobles can become Datu, if they wish, by
leaving the settlement with their own wealth and following. It is
their privilege to be able to go into any occupation that they wish.
In the Lakanate, there are two kinds of Freemen: the timawa, who
are freemen that can choose who they serve and have their own
businesses, and the bayani, who are the Kadungganan who fight for
a Datu that they choose. Bayani make their livelihood through
engaging in wars and raids with the Datu that they serve.
Slaves are called the same here as in any other settlement. They
are treated more or less the same, although the Batara Lakan has a
large crew of debtors that work for him as his personal attendants,
as royal chefs and butlers and all the more.
NOTEWORTHY PERSONS
Mandala Head: Batara Lakan Huwan Rekno. The current
Batara Lakan is a man named Huwan Rekno, who is directly related
to Lakan Lubu. He is said to be a noble man, wearing a cape and
leather boots at all times, mixing it with his bahag and baro get up
whenever he descends upon the world.
When he must present himself as he truly is: the manifestation of
Makagagahum upon the earth, he is like a saint that has fallen upon
the world. It is said that around his neck floats a halo of thorns,
which is said to signify the world upon his shoulders as he performs
penance of trying to unite the islands.
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He wears a gigantic crown fashioned like a halo of flames, with
four cardinal points depicting a crocodile, a dog, a serpent, and an
eagle. This crown burns from behind his head, like a bonfire of his
duty.
His gown is not made of cloth, but rather, of stone feathers
plucked from slain angel wings, those too weak to properly protect
Makagagahum’s chosen. The stone wings wrap arond him, ivory
and marble-like, and his face is in a perpetual pained countenance.
On top of his stone gown, he wears a veil of burgeoning silk made
from the souls of the damned that he failed to save, which he keeps
to constantly remind him of his failures, of the failures of past kings,
and those that they can yet save. The souls wail.
His feet never touch the floor. Whenever his feet touch the earth,
the halo digs spears into his neck. He floats with the strength of his
faith. May Makagagahum be blessed.
His skin is pale, as if he is dead, and his eyes are scintillating
iridescent. His hand can kill and revive with a word. When he is
forced to fight, he makes heaven descend upon his foes.
A testament to his sacrifice as the leader of this burgeoning new
Empire. He speaks slow and without menace. However, his
kabalyeros and Kadungganan are fiercely loyal to him.
Mahasenapati Akuna Salamangka. The head warlord directly
below Batara Lakan, who also acts as his right hand man. Or
woman. Akuna Salamangka was born as binukot to Datu Bigiris, of
Put’wan, as Himaya. When Huwan Rekno saw her beauty, he
sought to make her his new sandil, or concubine. However this was
forbidden in their new faith, and so he settled for making Akuna
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his Mahasenapati, or Great Warlord. She has since began
burgeoning campaigns into the plains of Rusunuga in an attempt
to conquer them, although Sinuku is nigh unconquerable. Soon she
will try to conquer all of The Sword Isles, in the name of love for
her Lakan. She is tall and immaculately beautiful, even in the
battlefield, with a face round like the moon and hair blacker than
the sea.
Maygintawo Palipidan. A warrior-merchant who made a
fortune trading items he has raided from the shores of Madaki,
Iyamat, and Southern Baik Hu. Using this trade he elevated himself
to the status of Maygintawo: a noble by wealth. He goes around
now upon his biray, which he has outfitted with all sorts of items
from across the world, collecting and recruiting Kadungganan to
be part of his rising merchant nation.
NOTEWORTHY POLITIES
Ananara is the crown city of the Lakanate, where the current
Batara Lakan, Lakan Huwan Rekno, and the royal family live,
ordained as divine ruler by the Mahapari (greatest priest), currently
Yesidru. Ananara is the largest metropole in all of The Sword Isles,
owing to its long history as being the eventual descendant of the
ancient grand chiefdom of Tundun. It is structured like a wheel,
with all roads being the spokes, and the Broken Bone Cathedral
Palace being the hub. Near the hub, all buildings are made of
bloodstone, created from the coagulated and then mined blood of
killed Pale Kings. In random areas of the city, the ancient Angel
Machines powered by Pale King blood have been colonized and
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repurposed into apartment complexes. Important due to the ever
increasing trade and population brought about by domestic and
international trade.
Port trade is lively here, and the people here really do believe that
Virbanwa is the most powerful of the polities. All people here
usually wear silk jackets, balloon pants, and simple wooden sandals
(paruka).
Barangay Lagusnilad. A large village by the Nilad River, upriver
from Ananara itself. Known best for their yearly penitents, who flay
themselves in emulation of the First Gahumnon, to strip
themselves of their sin. Lagusnilad is also well known for being
right beside fertile rice plains, and is the farming capital in the
region. It is common for them to seek help from Kadungganan to
deal with monsters in their field, or to help them appease a dragon.
They are the constant subject of raids from the banwa of Sinuku,
who fights back against the sovereignty of Virbanwa. They are led
by Datu Sedero, a well known merchant warrior and penitent, who
wants to put an end to those Sinuku upstarts.
Pinangilan. A barangay to the north of Virbanwa, it deals in
raiding traveling merchant ships that disembark or dock at Ba-e.
They are in constant war with Ba-e because of this. Their Datu,
Datu Yukul, has been stealing weaponry from Baikhan and
Naksuwarga shipments to better their weaponry. Some say they are
readying an attack against Ba-e. One that can destabilize both
Virbanwa and Ba-e, leading to a destructive conflict.
Gibankaw. On the northeastern tip of Ramasa, right below the
Virbanwa conquered island of Rusunuga. They have adopted the
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Virbanwan Faith in the Ashen Star, and have converted their
bamboo palaces and wooden spirit houses to churches and citadels.
They are most well known for their sarimanok knights, their
greatest cavaliers, which the Datu himself, Datu Isiran, trains. They
have nurtured the greatest warriors and Sentinel in the isles. Now
part of the Virbanwan Lakanate, they weather raids from the
Rajahnate who seek to reclaim their manpower from the Lakanate.
They also are locked in constant raiding with the polity of Ibalong
to their east, whereupon they have to make sure to sail around
other islands to try and not sail past waters where Ibalongan might
sail.
Vetani. A village far south, where the wind is far colder and faster.
Here ancient citadels known as idyang have been built by the
natives. Their limestone houses and hill castles have since been
adapted by Virbanwa to create sturdier, stone-based constructs,
houses, castles, and churches, even as they subsume and
incorporate Vetani to their kingdom. In Vetani, the final stages of
the training of a Virbanwan Kadungganan, known as a bayani, are
held, where they must first prove themselves worthy in the
Monastery of Ash and Tears, and then they must weather the
environment and face the roving warbands of either Issohappans
or raid the ships of Baik Hu trading vessels to the far south. Vetani
is headed by the Priest-Datu Pari Siman Damasku, who always
begins harvesting seasons with sermons, and believes that as long
as they are faithful to Lakan Rekno, no harm will come to them.
However, the expansionist empire of Iyamat has begun to creep
north, into the Southern Tip Islands, whereupon Vetani lies.
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OTHER MANDALA IMPRESSIONS
To Gatusan: Painted devils, kin eaters and trecherous liars at
worst, at best they are useful, at the very least they understand the
concept of commerce.
To Akai: Thorns on the road to unity, savages and barbarians who
practice a baser version of our Faith. May their moon be smothered
by the light of the Star.
To Ba-e: Tradition erodes, and soon they will falter like the flicker
of candlelight. Our steel and star will be enough to turn them into
vassals.
To Apumbukid: God has no eyes for chattel.
VIRBANWAN DISCIPLINES
The following are the Disciplines born from Virbanwa.
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BARIL WITCH [BRW]
“The First Teaching of Gun is this: No amount of running can save
you. Pay fealty, and prostrate yourself upon the bullet throne of
Balahari Gilusot.”
Baril Witches, otherwise known as balapari, are riflemen that use
powerful arquebuses gained through trade and replicated by native
panday sa luthang (gunsmiths). These bullets can only be fired by
a certain magenta witchdust created by witches across the world.
Baril Witches are peerless experts in the art of using the
arquebuses, and they have the immaculate ability to be able to
reload quickly, as if they were a bow and an arrow.
Guns in Yutadagat are slow and ponderous. To reload them is a
tedious, multi-stepped endeavor. They are dangerous, but better
treated as opening fire, nothing more but something to level the
field.
However, Baril Witches use a variety of gun sorceries, special
spells specifically only usable with guns, to blast through the
enemies’ defense. With their skill, they can instantly reload their
guns, sorcerously bypassing the limits of the gun.
Baril Witches are trained to be hopelessly intimate with their
weapon, learning the diwata of their particular gun--not just guns
in general--to be able to be efficient in the battlefield. With hand
mudras and incanted mantras they can summon bullets and
change their trajectories even in mid-flight. They can spin and
juggle guns and hit their target without seeing the target, due to
their intimate connection with their gun.
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Training a Baril Witch takes years, thus making them wanted in
Kadungganan parties and war armies. They’re in high demand, but
there are a low number of Baril Witches. They are thus treated as
elite artillery and long ranged units, and elite skirmishing parties
that are intended to kill will always have at least one in their ranks.
Baril Witches, however, are almost always strange in the head.
Their soul has been shaped into a bullet, after all.
If you choose to become a Baril Witch, ask yourself why you have
taken up secret knowledge only to inflict violence. Why do you use
your knowledge and power to inflict violence? Why have you
picked up the gun?
No blood on your gun; it is the bullets and sorcery that kill. Did
you pick up the gun out of necessity or out of cowardice?
Baril Witches arose from the ranks of the Lakanate after the
witches of the wood were given the chance to serve the Lakan and
be treated as nobility if they helped with the war efforts against
Issohappa. A large contingent agreed, but other witches disagreed,
going off to fight Issohappa on the sides of the Rajahnate or
Apumbukid. Those that joined the Lakanate were given the
moniker of “Star-knelt”, for they knelt to the power of the Ashen
Star. Thus, there is a tradition among the more conventional
witches in Rusunuga to spite or even pity baril witches.
The Star-knelt worked with these guns to create the Gun God
Engraves, which gave rise to Baril Witches. Baril Witches are
chosen from an early age, usually those who have aptitude to
sorcery. Thus, many baril witches in the ranks of the Lakanate are
not too happy with their forced setup. Baril Witches have since
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spread across the archipelago, with the other notable creator of
baril witches being the Akai Sultanate, who harness moondust to
strengthen their guns.
Baril Witch Technicks are known as Gun Witchcrafts.
MARKSMAN STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: GUN APOSTLE

You have peerless control of your gun, surpassing the limits of
matchlock, flintlock, and arquebus. Through your skill, you bond
with a diwata that has arisen from your gun.
1/round, whenever you Stride your full Speed or as a Flourish, you
may load your gun, giving yourself the Loaded Stance. The Loaded
Stance ends when you suffer damage or you consume it to use one
of the following effects, as a Flourish:
Gun Spin. You spin your gun, unloading shots. You can deal 1 +
your Prominence flat piercing damage to all foes in close burst 1.
Ruby Rose. You overcharge your gun. You can fire your gun,
aiming it at 1 space adjacent to you. You move 5 spaces away from
that space in a straight line. You must move all spaces, but you
simply stop when you collide with terrain.
FIRST MASTERY: GUN DEVIL

Your gun transcendence apparates more physically. When you go
into Loaded Stance, your diwata infuses your gun, giving you a
diwata-esque appearance.
Loaded Stance no longer ends when you consume it to perform
the Loaded Stance Flourishes.
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While in Loaded Stance, raise your Range by 1, and you ignore
higher Height. Gain the following Loaded Stance abilities:
Juggle Gun. You shoot, discard, shoot, discard, multiple hands
erupting from your corpus. 1/scene, when you inflict violence while
in Loaded Stance, you may perform that same inflict violence to
another foe in range.
Evening Meteor. You shoot an ally’s projectile into a new
trajectory. 1/round, while in the Loaded Stance, and you are
targeted by a ranged attack by an ally, you may spend an Interrupt
Reaction to shoot the projectile. You become the new origin space
and they can choose a new target for the ranged attack. If you are
in higher height, the attack benefits from height bonuses.
SECOND MASTERY: PINAKAHARING SITAN NG BARIL

Translates directly to Utmost Gun Devil King. You’ve mastered
your gun. You no longer go into the Loaded Stance, but rather, into
the Desecration Stance, as you impart the divine grace of your
diwata upon the battlefield. 777 arms carry 777 guns about you.
Desecration Stance is just like Loaded Stance, but with the
following effects now available to you as a Flourish.
Hail You, Full of Grace. You may consume the Desecration
Stance to immediately make a close blast 5 ranged Magickal Attack
against all foes, dealing 1d6 fire damage.
Valley of Tears. 1/round, deal 3 soul damage immediately to a
target in range 10, ignoring height, line of sight and line of effect.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: BULLET CONJURY

Bewitched Bullet
You fire a bullet that always finds its mark.
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Action * Mentala, Maneuver, Shot Finisher
1 unit | Range 4
Effect: Deal 2 + Prominence flat Force damage. If the target is
Juggled, they stay Juggled on their next turn, they do not fall to the
ground on the start of their turn, but rather, on the turn after that.
Flowing Naga
You slide in one direction, sending shots as you do. The diwata
guides your hand, you don’t even need to look.
Action * Mentala, Maneuver, Combo
1 unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. Deal 1d4 Force damage. You
may move 3 spaces, and make the attack at any point during the
move.
Combo: If the next attack against the target is a shot finisher and
it deals damage, you may shift the target 3 spaces.
Witch Climax
You send shots about you, butterflies disperse.
Action * Mentala, Ritual, Maneuver, Stance
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Magickal Ranged Attack. Deal 2 piercing Force damage.
Effect: You go into the Witch Time Stance.
Stance: Witch Time Stance stacks with any other stance you
might have currently on. When you are attacked or suffer damage,
you can consume the Witch Time Stance to cancel the attack,
immediately quickstep 1 space away inflict violence against the
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target. If Witch Time Stance is not consumed, you leave it at the
start of your turn.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: VOLATILE BULLET

You catch your breath, load your gun with a volatile spiritual
malaise and remedy bullet, and shoot yourself. The bullet stays there
in your heart. When you flourish away, you send a parasol of bullets
blossoming in every direction.
Flourish * Ritual, Mentala, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. When you next Quickstep, immediately deal
1 + your Prominence Force damage flat to all foes in close blast 2.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: FINAL BULLET REVEL “KILL YOUR GUN”

“Anything it takes,” the ancestors tell you. Anything it takes to win?
You’ve forged such an intimate connection with your GUN. “The gun
is but a tool,” BALAHARI GILUSOT tells you. “Do not get attached
to beings that have never been human. Fool, kill it! Kill it now! Before
it realizes your soul and shoots itself through you! A Gun Diwata is
new and excited, and it does not know yet its power. The power to
level entire nations. Now KILL IT! Bask in the bullet hell you’ve made,
witch!”
Action * Mentala, Ritual, Venture
Spend 5 Grit
All combatants | The Battlefield
Effect: You bring out the diwata of your gun and shoot it. The
spirit infuses the battlefield, and in its rage, explodes into a firework
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of bullet patterns, resembling mandalas, lotuses, and flowers. A
veritable bullet hell. Anytime a combatant of your choice moves
either voluntarily or involuntarily, they suffer 3 + your Prominence
piercing flat soul damage.
Special: You must Worship Gods and Ancestors to use this again,
as you must call back the diwata of your gun.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Bullet Heaven. Your bullets dance about your allies. All
allies gain +1 Speed.
Grit 2: Bullet Hell. Your bullets interact with each other, laughing
and greeting each other as if long lost friends. Butteflies and orioles
fly out of the carnage. Whenever this is triggered, deal the damage
of this Technick to all foes in close burst 2 as well.
GUN WITCHCRAFTS
SUN AND MOON DICHOTOMY
You spin, unleashing bullets, and then utter the word for the
passing of days. Contort it with your spirituality. Time stops for the
bullets, and at the end of it all, reckoning.
Flourish * Mentala, Concentration, Taxing
1 foe | Range 3
Effect: Put out 2 bullets in range. Then, choose a foe in ranged 5.
The bullets will hit the foe at the end of the round if they’re within
range 5 of the bullets. All these ranges benefit from your Agility.
Each bullet deals 2 piercing flat damage. Any unit that goes into the
space with a bullet suffers the damage and consumes that bullet.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Movement of Bakunawa. You fire three bullets now. Put
out 3 bullets instead of 2.
Grit 2: Steadfastness of the Naga. Your bullets stay. Whenever
a unit moves into a space of the bullet, they still suffer the damage,
but the bullet is not consumed.
WITCH EYE
The witch aims with a breath, letting their pohon surge through
their weapon. The diwata appears above the target.
Flourish * Mentala, Ritual
1 foe | Range 3
Effect: The target gains Witch Eye. Whenever you or an ally
makes a Magickal Attack against a target with Witch Eye, they may
consume the Witch Eye to make the attack with Fate.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Devil Eye. The Witch Eye becomes a Devil Eye instead. As
with Witch Eye, but it can be consumed on any attack, not just
Magickal.
Grit 2: Punishment. Don’t fuck with a witch. You may consume
the Witch Eye immediately to inflict violence. If the attack is a
Critical Hit, deal base damage to all foes in close burst 2 of the
target.
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FIREBIRD LANTAKA
Among the Sinukuan, The Elder God of Fire and Lightning Suku
takes upon the form of a firebird, ravaging entire plains with a single
swing of their wing. You take this meditation and drink deep, and so
does the diwata of your gun.
Action * Mentala, Perilous
Target: All combatants | Range: Close Blast 3
Attack: You summon a lantaka cannon and make a Ranged
Magickal Attack against the target. Deal 2d4 fire damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Destruction Wing. Your blast is condensed and
concentrated. All attacks made with this Technick gains Fate.
Grit 2: Lantaka Transubstantiation. You summon an even
larger lantaka, depicting the bakunawa that consumes celestial
objects. The lantaka now has a range of Close Blast 5.
SINAG KIYAPU (WATER LILY RAY)
You inhale the sea brine and manifest it into your puhon. With
another breath, you grant it as a gift to the diwata of your gun. They
accept it wholeheartedly. Maybe too wholeheartedly. Why...?
Action
Target: All foes | Range: Close Wall 5
Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. Deal 1d4 water damage.
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Effect: The target becomes become Slippery: whenever they move
or are moved, they must move 1 extra space in a direction that you
choose, which is counted as forced movement.
Enhancements
Grit 1: God Blessed Flow. You might slip and fall dear. You may
move the target 2 spaces instead of 1.
Grit 2: Deluge. Let the firmament break! Change the range of this
attack to Close Burst 2.
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BLADEWEAVER [BLW]
Bladeweavers are peerless sword-sorcerers, using their skill with
the sword and their mysterious kinaadman that lets them
strengthen and manipulate their blades. Through a seamless
weaving of enchantment and swordplay, they dominate the
battlefield.
The Bladeweavers are so called because the first of them, a kawal,
or guardsman, of the City of Broken Idols named Palaliwah, learned
how to use mentala, spells that were written in the ancient Old
Matara language, the older form of the Matara lingua franca in the
isles. These writings, usually written upon bamboo and palm leaf
manuscripts with with Kasuratan, were to be uttered repeatedly
like a mantra by someone of volatile pohon, so that the spells may
be cast.
Palaliwah began a loose order of Bladeweavers by teaching those
kawal that she could, those that had either inherently powerful
pohon or were eager to learn, and the teachings spread throughout
the Archipelago. Eventually, Palaliwah settled in the Lakanate,
becoming a right-hand counselor to the First Lakan. From then on,
the royal guard and the elite were taught in the Sword Sorceries.
This proved to have been the Lakanate’s largest asset in the Lakan
Conspiracy, as Bladeweavers could feign enlightenment to teleport
great distances, as well as protect themselves with both sword and
sorcery. A particular Bladeweaver named Maranan, the Leaf
Dancing in Cutting Fields, used this to steal Pale King intel from a
galleon in the middle of the night, and she fended off at least two
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Pale King elite warriors to get the info back to the Lakanate.
Unfortunately, she disappeared into nothingness the next night.
The Bladeweavers are taught in swordsorcerer monasteries in
Rusunuga, although there are not a lot of them. In fact, the style
has flourished even more in the Rajahnate, where they combined
the magical formulas on mentala and mixed it with their
impeccable swordsmanship to enhance their raiding capabilities.
Bladeweaver swordplay is much respected by many of the
warriors of the Archipelago, wheren they fuse not just
swordsmanship but all sorts of weaponry into their sorcery. It
presents a transcendent fusion of two powerful forces, all affixed
with a beautiful dance-like martial art, which has been called
Habul-Sulab, or blade-weaving.
Bladeweavers are taught to be careful of their power, and to only
accept chiefly patrons that would honor their ability. Those that
they know wouldn’t be using them for only wealth-gaining ends.
Bladeweavers are taught a strict oral code that boils down to:
protect those that cannot protect themselves, dismantle those that
hold oppressive power. Bladeweavers are respected for their oath,
and they are well known across the Archipelago as altruist weapon
sorcerers, although not all Bladeweavers have such an altruistic
mindset in the war ravaged land of The Sword Isles.
As a Bladeweaver, ask yourself why you have chosen to become
one who brings violence. Do you fight for peace? To honor your
code? To enforce it? How lofty is your goal, and how desperate are
you, really, to achieve and uphold it?
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Bladeweaver Technicks are known as Weapon Weaving Arts.
RAIDER STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: SWORDMASTERY

Mastery of the sword is much more than just mastery of the
weapon. It is, in fact, mastery of self, of tradition, of culture. It is the
mastery of the principle of cutting, like a rock, oneness with the
nature of something. Achieve Hiyang through swordmastery. You
are not a weapon to kill, but rather, a weapon to cut away the
brambles and tangles that bar you and your people from the future.
1/round, whenever you move into a space adjacent to a foe, gain 1
Swordmaster Die, which is a d6. You can only have up to 3. You can
spend the Swordmaster Die to do the following. You can only spend
1 Swordmaster Die per round:
- Lunge. Before making a melee attack, you may spend X
Swordmaster Dice to quickstep X spaces.
- Long Arm Defense. If you are the target of a melee attack, you
may spend a Swordmaster Die to make a Violence Roll against the
target as well. If you roll higher, you deal 1d6 Force damage and
may quickstep 1 space before the attacker’s attack against you is
resolved. If you roll lower, you suffer the attack as normal.
- Enlightened Strike. When you deal damage with a melee
attack, you may spend any number of Swordmaster Dice to add that
many Swordmaster Die to the damage roll.
FIRST MASTERY: NAGA’S REACH
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You can now spend 2 Swordmaster Dice per round. You may
choose these additional options to spend your Swordmaster Dice
on:
- Sword Silk. You throw your sword, and it flies about you in
strings of spirit. Before you make a melee attack, spend a
Swordmaster Die to extend the range of the attack by 1.
- Far Reposition. Your superior footwork and bladework will bend
the foe. When a melee attack against you misses, you may spend a
Swordmaster Die to move 1 space away, and pull the target to a
space you vacated.
SECOND MASTERY: UNCHAIN, VOLATILE BLADES

You can now spend up to 3 Swordmaster Dice per round. You can
now have up to 6 Swordmaster Dice during a scene, and you now
gain Swordmaster Dice whenever you use a Mentala. Additionally,
you have the following option to spend.
- Unchain. As an Action, spend a Swordmaster Die to increase
your melee attack’s range by 2, as you throw your weapon and
control it with the strength of your spirit. This lasts until the end of
your next turn.
- Bladestorm Barrier. As an Action, you release your weapon
and it flies about you, creating a Barrier of Arms until the end of
your next turn. You are considered as having cover against all
ranged attacks against you. All foes that move into a space adjacent
to you or start their turn adjacent to you suffer your Prominence in
piercing flat damage.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: LONG ARM SINAWALI
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Forward Stepping Strike
You lunge forward to strike at an opponent from a strange angle.
Action * Maneuver, Lunge Finisher
1 Unit | Melee 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 Force damage.
True Strike Armament

You take the advantage and move forward, striking like a viper, as
taught to you by guro.
Action * Maneuver, Steady
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: You may quickstep 1 space before the attack. Melee
Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d8 Force damage.
Unlash and Entwine

Action * Maneuver, Mentala, Combo
1 Unit | Melee 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 wind damage.
Effect: You may quickstep to a space adjacent to the target.
Combo: If the next attack against the target is a Lunge Finisher
and it deals damage, the target becomes Unbalanced.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: ADVANCING STEEL MONSOON

Flourish * Mentala, Maneuver, Scene, Heal
Self
Effect: Heal Breath and your next physical melee attack gains the
Steady tag. If you are Battered, also gain 1 Swordmaster Die.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: ENLIGHTENMENT MENTALA
Only reserved for the best of Bladeweavers. With the Mentala for
Enlightenment inscribed upon the air, you achieve a broken
enlightenment. Those that cannot handle the strength of this
Mentala disappear forever. It has happened before. Guro Sajavedra
sought out the true answer, to slice the horizon with his long arm. In
doing so, he vanished, he disappeared, became one with the Hiyang.
Perhaps he has become a spirit of weapons, or a spirit of trying to
reach what is impossible.
Flourish * Venture, Mentala, Perilous, Opener
Spend 3 Grit.
Self
Effect: For the rest of the scene, you feign enlightenment. Your
Speed gains +3, and everytime you Stride, you teleport. All your
attacks gain Steady. At every start of your turn, gain 1 Swordmaster
Die, and you ignore the Round limit of spending Swordmaster Dice.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Sword Intent. Your weapons turn invisible, become
fractals of your soul. You summon them as needed, and you always
need them. All foes adjacent to you when you begin your turn suffer
your base damage.
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Grit 2: Succumb. You inscribe the Enlightenment Mentala upon
the air, and all those that see it achieve temporary Hiyang. When
you first use this Forbidden Technick, all allies in the battlefield
also teleport 5 spaces. All your attacks gain the Reliable 2 +
Prominence tag.
WEAPON WEAVING ARTS
WEAPON WEAVING STANCE
You bow low and release your blade. To Guro Sajaveda, this is the
ultimate learning of his style. The battlefield becomes one space.
Action * Maneuver, Mentala, Stance
Self
Effect: You take upon yourself the Weapon Weaving Stance, as
all your weapons begin to float about you, as if on soul strings.
Stance: All your melee attacks have +1 range and gain +1 Fate. The
Stance ends when you are dealt damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Belligerent Stance. Your weapons become one with your
soul. While Flanked, when you attack a foe that is flanking you, deal
piercing Prominence flat damage as well to the other unit flanking
you.
Grit 2: Battlefield As One. Your soul strains as your weapons
scourge the battlefield. All your melee attacks have +2 range instead.
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HEAVEN RENDING MENTALA
The sacred ability of the Bladeweaver. With a quick utterance, their

blade is imbued with their pohon, and nothing will stand in their way.
Heaven will be cut, and hell shall be rent.
Flourish * Mentala
Self
Effect: Your next physical attack ignores Armor. If it hits, it also
inflicts Fray 1.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Blazing Kalis. Your weapon gleams with a bright light.
Your next physical attack is Strengthened.
Grit 2: Pierce Through. Your soul extends. Your next physical
attack now ignores Armor, Affinities, Barrier, and cannot be halved
for any reason.
STORM MENTALA
You fling your sword and it begins twirling into a bladed dance,
creating a field of scorn, enchanting it with the storm mentala. A
Bladeweaver tandem, Dulog and Kimat, were known to have used
this to overpower a single Pale King general
Action * Mentala, Field
All Spaces | Range 3 Burst 1
Effect: The target area becomes a Storm Field until the end of
your next turn. You and all allies that move through the Storm Field
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gain Haste until the end of your next turn. All foes within the Storm
Field suffer +1 damage.
Field: If a blast finisher is performed within the Storm Field, you
and all allies within the Field become Strengthened until the end of
your next turn. This dissipates the Storm Field.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Unlimited Blade Work. The lightning and thunder
crystallize into blades. The target area becomes Burst 2 instead, and
is treated as dangerous terrain to foes.
Grit 2: Apu Kilat’s Teaching. The lightning galvanizes your
allies. You can only use this when you first use Storm Mentala
during the scene, and gives Storm Mentala the Scene tag. You and
all allies that move through or start their turn in the target area
gains 1 extra Action on their turn, 1/scene for each ally, including
you.
SAKMIT MENTALA
“I-It was like she was disappearing and then reappearing! She was
a shadow, no. Something quicker than the shadow. Lightning? Diri,
the lightning is too loud, too bright. No, she was the wind. She was
the wind!”
Action * Mentala, Lunge Finisher
1 Unit | Range 2, ignores Height
Attack: Melee Magickal Attack. Deal 1d4 wind damage on hit.
Effect: Teleport to a space adjacent to the target.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Lightning Sakmiton. You ride the lightning. Increase the
range to 3.
Grit 2: Chaining Sakmiton. “Let light burst through!” If you hit
with the first attack, you may make another Sakmit Mentala against
another unit in range 3.
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MURDERGLAVE [MGL]
In the ancient past, the Suladnon of Murder Mahadiwa Kalakatri
Duumanun raised an order of warrior-monks whose sole purpose
was to use their passions and pain to protect those around them.
These revenant martyrs were called the Murderglave, and only a
scant few of them remain today.
Those that go through the training of the Karimlan are set out to
the middle of the forest or the sea, and taught to face their fears.
They must use their Kinaadman to harness their primal passions,
their primal emotions, and turn it into powerful sorcery that can
strengthen them against their heart. They understand the truth:
pain, fear, love, passion, regret… all these things are what makes a
human. And thus to embrace them all is the ultimate strength.
They get their power from the Suladnon of Murder, the Diwata of
Sword Hell. The final initiation of a Murderglave is being immersed
into a blood pond before an altar to Mahadiwa Kalakatri
Duumanun. Using this near-death experience, they come face to
face with the Mother of Ten Thousand Bloody Spears, and they
become transcendent.
In their transcendence, they come to enlightenment. A petty
enlightenment, but still an enlightenment to be sure: that violence
should not be the end. This was obvious, they know, but they never
wished to admit it. It is like realizing that you are being stabbed in
the face by an enemy lance at the last second because you did not
bring your shield. Thus, the Murderglave’s passion is inherently
hamstrung with regret. Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun always
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leaves them with the words: “There is no atonement for this,
sinner.”
They have been cultivated the most by Virbanwa, who creates
Murderglave chapels and training monasteries at the edges of
Virbanwan territory and conquest. This way, they seem exotic to
those in the city, while at the same time not too interfering with
the faith since they get their power from a diwata outside of
Sampalataya. They were, however, integral to the Battle of
Binangku Channel, where five poweful Murderglaves stood their
ground and staved off an entire Issohappan battalion and river fleet
long enough for their allies to be saved by Sinuku war barges.
These passions of the Murderglave manifest as tendrils of
darkness, of shadow. They understand that to embrace humanity is
to embrace darkness. And that using that darkness, they can bring
about life and light. By their pain, they create walls of obsidian. By
their fear, they shield their allies. By their love, they grant others
another chance.
If you become a Murderglave, ask yourself why you have chosen
such a bloody path. The Left-Handed Path of the Blackened Blood
is not the safest path, and is not the friendliest. Why do you suffer
to help others? When you know that all your suffering is potentially
in vain?
Murderglave Technicks are known as Murderous Rites.
SENTINEL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: PAIN AND PENITENCE

Live in regret and shame, penitent. Then claim passion.
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At the start of your turn, you may bury yourself into the Penitent
Stance, which lasts until the you exceed your Pain threshold. While
in Penitent Stance, you have Armor +1 and your Melee attacks gain
+1 range.
Whenever you suffer damage or gain a Debuff, generate 1 Pain.
You can have a maximum of 4 Pain. If you go beyond 3 Pain,
however, you lose Penitent Stance and cannot go back into
Penitent Stance while you have 3 or more Pain.
You can spend Pain on the following effects each:
- Nadir Kalasag. Spend 1 Pain as an Interrupt Reaction when an
ally in range 2 is the target of a hostile action. You may move to a
space adjacent to them and you suffer the effects instead.
- Reaping. Spend 1 Pain as a Response Reaction when an ally in
range 2 is dealt damage. You may deal 1d6 piercing flat damage to
the attacking foe if they are in range 2 of you.
- Dark Knight. Spend 1 Pain as a Flourish to become St against
Earth or Force damage while you’re in Penitent stance.
- Harvest. Spend 2 Pain when you deal damage with a Ritual or
Mentala to heal you 3 + Prominence Mettle.
FIRST MASTERY: TORMENTED DEVOTION

You can now enter into Penitent Stance as a Reflex when a Debuff
is inflicted upon you.
Gain the following actions to spend your Pain on, also each
1/round.
- Forceful Pain. Spend 1 Pain when you deal damage to push the
target 2 spaces.
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- Locking Pain. Spend 1 Pain when you deal damage to Slow the
target.
- Hateful Pain. Spend 1 Pain when you deal damage to also inflict
Enmity to you on the target until the end of their next turn.
SECOND MASTERY: REDEMPTION

You attain passion. In darkest night, in brightest day, you will only
have yourself.
You can now have a maximum of 5 Pain, and are knocked out of
Penitent Stance when you go beyond 4 Pain. 1/scene, while you are
Battered, when you lose Penitent Stance because of going beyond
your Pain threshold, you instead go into the Passionate Stance.
Passionate Stance only lasts until the end of your next turn. While
in the Passionate Stance gain the following benefits:
• You have +1 Action on your turn and 2 Reactions per
turn instead of 1.
• You can perform the various Actions and Reactions that
need you to spend Pain freely, but once at a time.
• Gain Barrier equal to your Breath.
• All foes in close burst 4 of you treat you as the only valid
target.
• All Fray damage you have you can choose to suffer
instead of saving against them. If you do, instead of suffering the
damage, you instead gain Barrier equal to the Fray damage,
which stacks.
When you lose Passionate Stance, also lose all Pain.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: MURDEROUS RIVER
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Glave
You slam your weapon into the enemy, and then rush in to keep the
pressure going. Darkness builds.
1 Unit | Melee Range
Attack: Melee Magickal Attack. Deal 1d6 Force damage.
Effect: Shift the target 1 space, and you may move into the space
they vacated. Gain 1 Pain.
Passionate Edge
Your weapon burns with murderous scarlet intent.
Action * Maneuver, Combo
Combo: If the next attack against the target is a lunge finisher
and it deals damage, the target becomes Ripped.
Soul Eater
You pull out your heart, which shines like an orb. Your weapon’s
murderous intent pulls the target toward you, and then you slam the
condensed contents of your heart into the foe.
Action * Maneuver, Ritual, Blast Finisher, Taxing
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Pull the target 1 space before making the attack. If you
cannot pull them, this attack automatically misses. Melee Spiritual
Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 soul damage. If the target has Enmity to
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you, deal 1d6 soul damage. After dealing damage, push the target 3
spaces.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: ATONEMENT

Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun has never been one for
atonement. Only when framed by the Ashen Star religion does she
understand. In Virbanwa, Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun is known
as Saint Qali, Patron of Vengeance. She doesn’t like it herself.
Flourish * Ritual, Heal, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Consume all Debuffs upon you, healing an
additional 2 Mettle per Debuff consumed.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: POSSESSION

Each Murderglave is told to bring with them a crystal, one which
they can pour their innermost darkness within. In darkest night, they
may shatter it upon their heart, and let their Passions burst forth.
Blood spills from their orifices. Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun
arrives, and possesses them.
Flourish * Ritual, Stance, Opener
Spend 5 Grit
Self
Effect: You sink into the blood and become an avatar of
Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun. You sink into the Kalakatri
Stance, which stacks with any other stance you have. While in the
Kalakatri Stance, you have multiple hands, a demonic visage, and
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tendrils of shadow and darkness bursting through you. While in the
Stance, all targets you attack gain Enmity toward you until they
deal damage to you. All your attacks gain +1 Fate, and you cannot
be forcibly moved for any reason. You lose the stance at the end of
the scene or when you are Crashed.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Reach Heaven Through Genocide. Your armor breaks
away as Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun consumes you even more.
The voices of your allies turn into white noise. You become a walking
halaran. All damage you deal also heals you. For the purposes of
spending Pain, you are treated as having infinite Pain.
Grit 2: Become Halaran. You become an altar of worship. An
Aspect of Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun, one of the 666,666. You
turn into her, become her. You are subsumed. Gone. You fulfill the
57th Lesson of Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun: “unlearn my
teachings and become a fool”. You become Huge. Whenever you
deal damage, you instead deal damage equal to the Battered value
of your target. All damage against you becomes 1. When you lose
the Stance, Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun takes you away as well.
You become one of Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun’s Aspects,
living in muder, unbent and shackled to nature and death. You die.
MURDEROUS RITES
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REGRETFUL RECKONING
You beckon with your heart burning with regret. To pull enemies to
you is the first teaching of all Murderglaves.You must suffer the hurt,
not them. Never them.
Flourish * Ritual, Shot Finisher
1 Unit | Range 3
Effect: Pull the target 2 spaces. Deal 1 piercing soul damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Fervency. A hand of shadows physically pulls the target
toward you. Increase the range to 5.
Grit 2: Revelation. An eye pulls them closer. You may pull up to
2 combatants now.
MURDERPRIEST’S CLEAVE
You have trained long and hard. Your heart is hardened, and you
will always sacrifice yourself. With your weapons, you will sunder the
world.
Action * Maneuver, Blast Finisher
All foes | Close Blast 2
Effect: All targets you hit gain Enmity of you until the end of your
next turn.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Sunder The World. Your swings can reach and crack
mountains. Increase the range to Close Blast 3.
Grit 2: Cut the River. You can cleave apart the river. If you bring
foes to 0 Mettle, you heal 2 Mettle per foe slain.
FEARSOME WALL
Taught to all Murderglave at one point or another, you use your

Kinaadman to summon a wall of frozen fear. This was Mahadiwa
Kalakatri Duumanun’s first teaching: a wall that pulses fear and
hatred.
Action * Ritual, Taxing, Field
All spaces | Close Wall 5
Effect: Lay down a wall of frozen, wailing fear in the target area.
This is hindering terrain for foes and can be used as cover by allies.
Any foe caught within the target area when you first put this space
down suffers 2 flat soul damage and is pushed to a space adjacent
to it by you.
Field: If a shot finisher is performed within the field, you and the
ally that performed the shot finisher gain Terrifying until the end
of their next turn. While Terrifying, all attempts to attack you suffer
+1 Curse.
Special: You can only have 1 Fearsome Wall at a time. When you
put down another Fearsome Wall, the last one you put down
dissipates.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Terror. Inflict Frightened upon foes caught in the target
range until the end of their next turn. While Frightened, they deal
2 less damage and can only perform Actions, no Flourishes.
Grit 2: Solidified Terror. The wall now counts as Height 3
Blocking Terrain for foes.
SPILL THE BLOOD
The final passion is Love. To control love is to tame the entire

human condition. An impossibility. And still yet, you do it. And to do
this, Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun’s priests and priestesses teach
you the final lesson: in the bleakest of nights, in the bloodiest of
battlefields, you will always have yourself. For where else could you
be? Who else could you love but you?
Flourish * Scene, Perilous, Summon
1 space | Adjacent
Effect: You summon an Umbral Clone, a manifestation of your
soul’s overwhelming Passion. The Umbral Clone is a Summon that
has Mettle equal to your Battered value. At every start of your turn,
it will move 4 spaces and make a melee Magickal Attack at a foe,
dealing 1d6 + your Prominence soul damage. If it cannot, it will
simply perform that 1 Stride and finish.
At every end of your turn, the Umbral Clone will suffer damage
equal to your Breath.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: You’ll Never Rid of the Stain. Your darkness is more
tangible. Any foe that exits a space adjacent to the Umbral Clonse
suffers 4 + Prominence damage 1/foe per Round.
Grit 2: Break Free. Your passion cannot be bound. Your Umbral
Clone becomes Size 2 and extends their melee range by 1.
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SENAPATI [SNP]
Senapati means Warlord. Senapati are born and bred on the
battlefield, born from blood spilled and shed on the pook-
karahasan, the place of violence. With formidable tactics and
peerless knowledge of the field, they guide their allies to victory.
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Senapati is the common term for commander-at-arms of a Datu,
someone who is the Datu’s right hand man, who handles the
statistics of armies and war bands and makes sure morale is high.
They know the skills of their allies, and they make sure that their
war party is optimized, ensuring victory in raids. They hire Singers
that will sing epics and songs to their armies, securing triumph and
the favor of both the umalagad and the epics.
To become a Senapati, one does not exactly need to be the right
hand of the Datu. Senapati are trained and honed in the battlefield:
anyone who gains an intuitive ability to support their allies, call out
tactics, and learn the strengths and weaknesses of their comrades
are viable to become Senapati.
Of course, guro, teachers, can and will help, as many guro have
built up military houses that teach warriors the art of war as well as
the more intricate tactics, taught in the Digmaan Bamboo Scrolls.
Senapati are sought after across all the Archipelago, and their
military tactics have been largely adopted by most of the warfare of
the Archipelago. Judicious use of the environment, tactics that
ensure victory through either guerilla warfare or positioning and
knowledge of natural formations.
Senapati are common across the isles now, even though they as a
formal tradition arose during the Lakan Conspiracy, when they
needed to rally warriors and to marshal tactics required to bring
down the Pale King Hegemony. Senapati have always existed even
before then: the title is an ancient one, belonging to the oldest of
oldest of kingdoms, written and passed down in unweatherable
copperplate.
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Senapati are warlords of warbands, but Panglima are
commanders of warrior armies. Laksamana, a name shared by an
ancient monkey god-king that killed Maharajah Lawana in
Banjarmasir, is the term for admiral of a sea warband. With the rise
of sky barges, the term Galura, a term for the spawn of the great
Eagle God Garuda, has become used as a term for sky admirals.
If you become a Senapati, ask yourself why you lead your allies
into inevitable violence. Your skills are fine tuned for the bloodshed
caused in combat. Do you revel in the melee? Do you see yourself
as a god of the battlefield? Why? Why have you chosen to be a
creature of battle, a master of war yet beholden by it?
Senapati Technicks are known as Warlord Exploits.
SUPPORT STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: WARLORD DICE

Your mastery of the battlefield is apparent and well known.
However, the most important thing is actually your mastery of your
allies. With the proper maneuvers and training, you command the
battlefield through the strength of your bonds.
Whenever you perform a Tactic, gain 1 Warlord Die, which is a d6,
to a maximum of 3. As a Flourish, you may spend a Warlord Die to
perform the following effects:
- Assure. An ally in range 2’s next attack becomes Steady.
- Mandate. An ally in range 2’s next attack becomes
Strengthened.
- Steadfast. An ally in range 3 becomes immune to all forced
movement until the end of their next turn.
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FIRST MASTERY: MAGITING
Whenever you spend your Warlord Die, you may quickstep 1
space.
You can now choose the following effects as well.
- Fortify. An ally in range 2 gains your Warlord Die. When they
suffer damage, they can roll it as a Reflex and reduce the damage
they suffer by the number rolled.
- Reposition. An ally in range 2 gains your Warlord Die. They
may spend it as a Reflex during their turn to roll it. They may move
a number of spaces equal to the number rolled, ignoring Reactions.
SECOND MASTERY: PANGLIMA

You now gain Warlord Die whenever an ally uses a Maneuver. You
can now gain up to 6 Warlord Dice.
You can now choose the following effects:
- Ignite. Spend 3 Warlord Dice and 1 ally in range 2 gains another
Action to use on their next turn.
- Quicken. Spend 3 Warlord Dice and 1 ally in range 2 gains
another Flourish to use on their next turn.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: COMMANDS

“Charge!”
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Move to a space adjacent to the target before the attack.
Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 Force damage.
Effect: 1 ally adjacent to you may move 1 space.
Combo: If the next attack against the target is a lunge or shot
finisher, it deals Strengthened damage.
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“Now!”
Action * Tactic, Field
1 Unit | Adjacent
Effect: Quickstep 1 space away as a Reflex. 1 ally in range 2 may
move to a space adjacent to the target and inflict violence. A field
of readiness expands in close burst 1 of you until the end of your
next turn.
Field: If a target performs a lunge or burst finisher within the field
of readiness, you and all allies in close burst 2 of the target gain +1
Fate on their next attack.
Execute Stratagem
Action * Tactic
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 2 piercing Force damage.
Effect: Choose 1 ally in range. They gain +1 Fate on their next
attack against the target.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: ADVANCE

You raise your bodyong. You breathe into it, bellowing the advance.
Flourish * Scene, Heal, Tactic
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. All allies in close burst 2 may move 2 +
Prominence spaces without provoking reactions.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: EDICT OF THE CONQUERING KING
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Rajaraya Pintas was said to be the first datu. He gathered the first
children of man and waged war against the gods. The Conquering
King killed all the spirits in heaven, but did not anticipate the
strength of all the demons in hell. To commemorate the datu, his
countenance was carved into the cloudstone in heaven, turning his
body into a giant walking armor, where demons and guardian spirits
dance and recreate in neutral ground.
Action * Maneuver, Perilous, Tactic
Spend 5 Grit
1 willing ally | Battlefield
Effect: You no longer take your turn as normal. Instead,
whenever the target takes its turn, you take your turn as well.
However whenever they suffer damage, you suffer the damage as
well. You can end the Edict with an Action.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Conquering King Presence. Your command bolsters
allies. Both of you have Fate on all attacks for the rest of the scene.
Grit 2: Warband’s Ultimate Tactic. You become one with your
allies, a warlord to no end. You may instead choose up to 2 willing
allies. This means that you get to take your Turn twice.
WARLORD EXPLOITS
KILAT ORDER
The Warlord utters the word, and charges forward. Like lightning,
one of their allies moves through as well, and they strike a foe at the
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same time, like twice-striking lightning. You command your allies to
descend into a whirlwind of steel, a combination attack, a meeting of
sky and sea
Stride * Tactic, Taxing
1 Unit | Range 2
Effect: You and one other ally in range may move 3 spaces. You
can move through the target’s space. If both of you move through
the target’s space, deal 2d6 flat damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: White Streaking Lightning. Your lightning reaches
further. You and the ally can now move 4 spaces.
Grit 2: Love and Thunder. Your stratagem creates a booming
effect on the battlefield. Kilat Order gains the Combo tag.
Combo: When a lunge finisher or shot finisher is used against the
target and deals damage, it pushes them 3 spaces and knocks them
prone.
DOMINEER
Command your allies to get going. This is a particularly popular

Senapati technique, one that emboldens all allies to move
immediately without recourse.
Flourish * Tactic
1 ally | Range 3
Effect: The target may Stride for free. Their next attack gains
Fate.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Coordinated Sunrise. You order two at the same time.
You may choose up to 2 allies.
Grit 2: Coordinated Violence. With coordinated strikes, you
chip off the stone from the cliff. If the target ends up adjacent to a
foe at the end of their move, they may make a physical melee attack,
dealing 1d6 Force damage on hit.
LAKSAMANA GAMBIT
When steel is drawn, fire erupts. The Warlord yells a single word,
and their team bursts into action, victory assured. Like Laksamana,
the Monkey Warlord General, you lead others to victory, even
against those unkillable.
Flourish * Tactic, Stance
Self
Effect: Gain the Laksamana Stance.
Stance: All melee attacks against you suffer +1 Curse, but if they
do hit the damage against you is Strengthened. When a foe misses
a melee attack against you, 1 ally in range 2 may move to a space
adjacent to them and inflict violence. This stance ends when you
are damaged.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Heaven Piercing Stance. You summon heaven to be rent.
All allies adjacent to you while you’re in the Laksamana Stance
gains Fate.
Grit 2: Kill Mahaladya Lawana. Kill the ten-headed demon king.
All melee attacks you perform are Strengthened.
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IMPASSION METHOD
You rush forth, burning with your passion, and your allies are filled
with your spirit. You move across the battlefield like a burning spirit
of war, and your enemies will feel your scorn.
Flourish * Tactic, Taxing
1 Ally | Range 2
Effect: The target’s next attack deals piercing damage. If it already
deals piercing damage, Strengthen it instead.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Bolstering Scheme. Your command sharpens their aim.
The target gains Fate as well on their next attack.
Grit 2: Empower. Your strength is theirs. The target’s next attack
also ignores Barrier.
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SWORD SAINT [SWS]
Sword Saints are the faithful patrons, preachers, and priests who
worship the violent aspect of Makagagahum, Makaubos, and pray
to Gattalim, the intercessor of swords, to bring their woes to God.
Makaubos is the aspect of God who will arrive at the end of all
things. He will cleanse it in a single blood tornado of steel and
gnashing of teeth.
Sword Saints are given the Blade Commission: they mus travel
from settlement to settlement to teach the word and truth of the
Ashen Star, the upcoming Edge Eschatology, or as they call it: the
Paguubos, the emptying of the land. They are taught extensively
the teachings of the Sword, and their primary conviction is this: “All
things will be cut in the end by Makaubos. We are the end.”
Those that follow the aspect of Makaubos are also taught
extensively the ways and arts of their God’s violent and jealous
aspect, which they say is the human state of their God, as all things
have the binary states of man and nature. Through communion and
following the 77 Sword Tenets of Gattalim, they sharpen their souls
until they turn their very spirits into blades. Sharper than any other
soul, they will never find love, for those that try to embrace a Sword
Soul will be bisected.
Sword Saints are seen as strangers and outsiders by the
settlements. Those of Apumbukid see them as bastards, mindless,
idiots. That they have turned themselves into “Swords” is stupid,
for they have honed themselves to be Swords that Kill, not Swords
that Cut. In essence, they are useless, and forever will be.
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Sword Saints travel as the swords of Makaubos. They frequently
travel with Exorcist and War Mendicants, forming what are called
Crusading Parties.
If you choose to be a Sword Saint, your soul has been sharpened
into a killing sword. Your soul kills you. Once you achieve peace,
you become worthless. Will you survive enlightenment?
Sword Saint Technicks are known as Blade Gospels.
CONTROL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: SWORD|SOUL

Your very being, your soul, has become a sword for killing, useless
for anything else. One thing one must understand when realizing
how useless this is is that in the isles of The Sword Isles, the sword is
also considered as a multipurpose tool: not just for cutting, but for
chopping, for splitting wood, for cutting meat, for holding arbalests,
and even for measuring grains and other such things. They are
useful. But you, as a Sword Saint, have become useless. Such is the
fate of one who has honed a sword into becoming a tool of precise
killing.
At the start of your turn, you may put down a Cut in a space
adjacent to you. You can only have up to 3 Cuts at a time. Whenever
a foe moves into a space adjacent to the cut, or through the cut,
they suffer 1 + Prominence piercing flat damage. The cuts persist.
When you put down a Cut beyond 3, the first Cut you put down
is replaced by your newest Cut.
As a Flourish, you may expend a Cut to perform one of the
following Field Slashes.
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- Cutting Fields. Inflict Ripped to all foes in close burst 1 of the
Cut.
- Proving Grounds. Inflict Fray to all foes in close burst 1 of the
Cut.
- Ineffable Blade. Move all foes within close burst 1 of the cut by
1 space, but they must stay adjacent to the Cut.
FIRST MASTERY: REGRET

You’re so close to enlightenment. Why give up now?
You can now go into the Killing Stance as a Flourish. If you do, all
your Spiritual Attacks gain +1 Fate. Whenever you deal damage, you
may also shift the target 2 spaces. You are knocked out of the Killing
Stance at the start of your next turn or when you suffer soul
damage.
When you leave Killing Stance, you can automatically expend one
of your Cuts.
SECOND MASTERY: ENLIGHTENMENT

Your sword has become as sharp as a sword, unusable for cutting.
Only for killing. You can slice with just a glance.
You are now considered as a Cut (which does not count to your
Cut limit), and you can have up to 5 Cuts in the battlefield.
Additionally, gain the following Cut effects:
- Unfurling Blossom Slash. Teleport to a Cut’s space and then
make a melee Spiritual Attack against all adjacent foes, dealing 2
piercing Force damage.
- Bleeding Heart Seal. Choose 1 target in range 3 of you. Expend
any number of Cuts. Then, draw a line from each Cut you expended
to the target. All foes that have their spaces touched by the lines
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immediately suffer Fray 2. Then, deal 2 flat damage to the original
target per Cut expended.
- Nirvana Quietus. 1 foe in range 2 of the expended cut becomes
Quiet Maneuver.
- Strip Hiyang. 1 foe in range 2 of the expended cut loses all Buffs.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: PRINCIPLE OF CUTTING

Cut Earth
This is the principle of cutting. You send a flurry of strikes so quick
that they can only see the slashes.
Action * Maneuver, Ritual, Steady
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Melee Spiritual Attack. Deal 2 Force damage.
Effect: Inflict Slowed.
Rend Heaven
Be one with the blade, lest you cut yourself. You send a second
flurry, a storm of cuts and incisions.
Action * Maneuver, Ritual, Combo
3 Units | Range 3
Attack: Melee Spiritual Attack. Deal 3 wind damage.
Effect: Inflict Fray.
Combo: When the next attack against the target is either a burst
finisher or a lunge finisher and it deals damage, inflict Fray 3 on the
target.
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Bleed Hell
Finally, become the sword, so that all you know is horrible slashing.
You sheathe and then unsheathe. All becomes still, for a breath, even
the raindrops. And then, the slashes manifest as you ease back into
your blade.
Action * Maneuver, Ritual
All Foes | Close Burst 2
Effect: Deal 3 piercing soul damage and inflict Unbalanced.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: SELF LACERATION

You let your cuts heal you, proving your penitence, your guilt.
Flourish * Ritual
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. You can expend Cuts to gain Fray X, X being
the number of Cuts expended. If you do, remove X Debuffs and gain
X times 2 Barrier.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: “ALL THINGS WILL BE CUT IN THE END”

“The Principle of the Sword is this: if your soul is not sharp enough
to cut your own flesh, then you have not learned the true principle of
the sword. The Principle of Gattalim is this: if your flesh is cut by your
own soul, then you have achieved the Sword Nirvana: that you are
now worthless and harm all those around you. Have you ever noticed
why you cannot cut down trees with your techniques?” – The 77
Tenets of Gattalim
Action * Ritual, Venture, Perilous
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Self
Effect: You achieve Sword Nirvana until the end of the scene.
All spaces within burst 2 of you are part of the Sword
Dimension: a realm where every space, every strand, is a cutting
sword. All foes in the Sword Dimension suffer extra damage
equal to your Prominence, and whenever they start your turn
within your Sword Dimension, they suffer 2 + Prominence piercing
damage. When you inflict violence against a target within the
Sword Dimension, you can choose to not roll, instead choosing to
deal damage or apply effect immediately, or both.
Enhancements
Grit 1: “I am a sword, do not contend with me.” Increase the
range to burst 3.
Grit 2: “I am sundered.” You become the Blade of Makaubos.
Expend the Sword Nirvana. Cut the battlefield in half, bisecting it
cleanly down the middle. No unit can move across the bisection. If
you wish, you can choose to die to lay down another bisection,
cutting the battlefield into four quadrants.
BLADE GOSPELS
BLADESTORM
You unsheathe your blade, moving through all the battlefield in a

storm of slashes.
1 Unbalanced Foe | Range 3
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Attack: Move to a space adjacent to the target before making the
attack. During this move, you may move through foe spaces. Any
foe that you move through suffers 1 + Prominence piercing flat
damage.
Melee Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 2 + Prominence piercing
Force damage.
Effect: Make the target Juggled.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Chaos in the Wind. Your slashes bring all to desolation.
All the foes you move through also become Unbalanced.
Grit 2: Bury The Light. Cast the battlefield aside. Increase the
range to 6.
SWORD TRAITOR
Preach the Blade Gospel: be as a sword, indiscriminate and

betraying.
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Melee Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 2 piercing flat
damage.
Effect: The target inflicts violence against the nearest one of their
allies. If none is in range, they chuck a rock against their nearest
ally, dealing 1d4 earth damage.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Sword Tomas. Doubt. If the target’s attack hits their ally,
that unt inflicts violence against their nearest ally as well.
Grit 2: Sword Judas. Betrayal. Change the range to close burst 2,
and the target to all foes.
FLYING BLADES OF MAKAUBOS
All at once a prayer and a spell. With an intercession to Gattalim,

Pintakasi (Patron Saint Intercessor) of Blades, Makaubos allows his
blades to circle around the target of your scorn, ready to bring them
down.
Flourish * Ritual, Charge 5
1 Foe | Range 3
Effect: An iridescent blade floats around the target. When the
target performs a hostile action, you may consume the iridescent
blade as a Reflex to immediately skewer them, dealing 1 +
Prominence piercing soul damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Maitresiya Prophecy. Maitresiya is the final prophet, the
return of the Son of God. He shall bring forth the ultimate reckoning,
and herald the Thousand Heavens Kingdom. Summon 3 blades at a
target instead of just 1.
Grit 2: Ripping Blades. Your blades bar the target from any
chance of redemption. Spend this when you first summon the
blades. Each blade now removes 1 Buff from the target.
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WAKAS
Final Cut: sheathe your blade once again. Revel in the knowledge
that your psalms and sermons are useless cutting words that do
nothing but rip open wounds that should have never been there. You
unsheathe your blade, and it flies about you in an endless sword
hurricane.
Flourish * Maneuver, Ritual, Perilous, Concentration, Steady,
Scene
Effect: You must use this at the end of your turn. When you do,
you breathe and ready yourself for the Retribution Slash: you
become Immobilized until the Concentration effect takes place.
Concentration: At the end of the round, deal 4 + Prominence
piercing Force damage to all foes within the space, and then inflict
Fray 4 and make them Weak to force damage until the end of your
next turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Final Cut. Wakas means end. Inflict Ripped as well, and
strip all Buffs from the target.
Grit 2: Demon of Death. This is true power. Increase the range
to Close Burst 6. Spend this when you first use the Technick.
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THE RAJAHNATE OF GATUSAN
A small company of sea raiders sang their shanties and
echoed their songs of wars to the setting sun. They sailed
home from a long day of raiding, covered in tattoos and
abaca armor and hardwood breastplates, brandishing their
kampilan and krises and bows and bangkaw spears. Their
song was a song that echoed across all of the Gatusan: “We
warriors of Datu Tupas... Are warriors undefeatable!” And
they sang and danced and chanted.
“Captain, incoming!” shouted the young man clinging atop
the roof of their karakoa, like a monkey. “To the northwest!”
All of them turned to where the sun was setting and sure
enough, there was a small battalion of them, heading
straight for an engagement. “Warriors of Datu Ha-ik Lawot!
Tiglantakas, man your stations and fire when ready!”
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The booming sound of the lantakas resonated across the
sea. The warriors of Radya Sandata sung and laughed as they
took out at least two of the incoming warriors. The others
were quick, howver.
One of them, a large brown man with tattoos covering his
face in the visage of a demon, hollered. “O, these stupid
warriors! They’ve come to take their revenge.”
“And shall we let them have it?” Asked the man standing at
the bow of the ship, raising his kalasag and kampilan. He
wore a hardwood pakil breastplate and a pakupya helmet.
“To arms! Buwaya riders at the ready!”
The slender man of the raiding party nodded, and they
began prodding the large crocodiles that rested on the back
end of the ship. The crocodiles slipped into the sea, and the
buwaya riders hopped atop them, positioning themselves
onto their mounts. There were only three of them: one of
them wielded a salapang trident, two more wielded bows.
“Charge!”
The buwaya riders split wide, hoping to flank in on the
incoming warriors, who seemed to be riding on the backs of
sharks.
“Captain!” Shouted the scout once again. “I can see what
they’re riding now! They’re... O Indira Suga! They’re balu
riders!”
And when the scout screamed that warning, the incoming
warriors of Ha-ik Lawot screamed ululating cries, and their
fish mounts took to the skies. Balu were winged swordfish,
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and the warriors of Ha-ik Lawot were infamous for having
them.
“And I thought we were going to have an easy one,” said
the captain. “Buwaya riders, advance! Men, bring out your
spears: We have a fish to catch!”
Regal raiders, ferocious merchants, and wealthy nobles. The

Rajahnate of Gatusan is a loose collection of Kedatuan ruled by
Datu. Each datu in turn, recognizes one that binds them all
together, called a Rajah. While these datu do not see the Rajah as
superior, they do go to the Rajah to resolve intersettlement
disputes.
The Rajahnate was established by the Auraskan Prince from the
far eastern kingdom of Mahajola. This prince, named Sri Bishaya,
left to establish his own kingdom. He found it in the far island of
Tauhaw, in the island hinterlands.
Eventually, Sri Bishaya had two sons: Sri Bantug and Sri Daya.
They warred for ownership of Kangbishaya and Tauhaw, and in the
end Sri Daya struck the killing blow upon Sri Bantug’s breast. Thus,
Kangbishaya became Kangdaya, the seat of the Rajah across the
Rajahnate. After Sri Daya became Rajah, he went on a tour of duty,
making sure that surrounding islands swore a blood oath to him,
and traded with him, strengthening his own mandala. Then, he
proceeded to focus his efforts on creating fortifications and
weapons to combat the invading hordes of the magalo from beyond
the jaws of the world.
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The current Rajah is Rajah Batara Ambasi, who is the third son of
Sri Malaya, who is the last direct descendant of Sri Daya. He carries
within him auraska blood, which shows in the crimson tinge of his
hair.
At one point in a dream, he saw the Suladnon Bakunawa--one of
the many sun and moon eaters--rise from the sea and attempt to
eat the sun instead of the moon, and she spoke to him, telling him
that as she will consume the sun, so will the Rajahnate consume
the islands. Promising victory, Batara Ambasi solidified his
connections and kin and proceeded to conquer a Sultanate city on
the opposite coast of his island. Through this act of supreme valor,
he consolidated his Rajahnate.
The Rajahnate’s Mandala is called the Gatusan, which
encompasses a wide variety of islands. Warrior States here are
known to tattoo, while Merchant and Farming States prefer to be
mapuraw, or natural colored.
They are known to worship a pantheon of Gods in the sky known
as the Langitnon, the heads of which are Mother Sun Indira Suga
and Lightning Father Jamiyun Kulisa.
Tawo born into the Gatusan are born into grand spiraling temple-
trees and sprawling balay neighborhoods and communes that help
each other. From a young age, they are taught by their parents their
trade and what they know about the natural world. This knowledge
is known by all--there is no “secret higher form of knowledge” in
the Rajahnate, save for the knowledge and wisdom of the elders and
the spirit mediums, who can speak with the knowledge of the
world.
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Gatusan children are taught war at a very young age, and each
person always carries a balaraw, or a push dagger, for which is their
most personal implement. In addition, Gatusan and Ibalong tawo
are expected to cultivate and sharpen their skill for poetry, lest they
be left behind in social gatherings and contests of wit.
The tawo here are not taught a specific religion--although it has
been classified as Anito-- instead being taught the reverence of
nature, of the ancestors, and the names of their own diwata. The
only thing that can be found across them is the existence of the
pantheons of the Langitnon and Suladnon--the deities of the Sky
and the Underworld respectively. Everyone knows Jamiyun Kulisa,
the Thunderbolt Father, and Indira Suga the Mother Sun. Taotao
idols can be found, modelling Somarajah Daktul, the Quicksilver
Moon, and of Dakhari Barangaw the Rainbow of Victory.
Nobles in the Rajahnate are known as kedatuan, royalty or related
to the Datu. They have access to wealth and trade routes, and
usually are proficient in Trade Mataram, the trading lingua franca
of the Maritime Known World, which spans from the Medaka
Peninsula, to Naksuwarga, and to The Sword Isles.
Gatusanon and some Akainon refer to Ba-enon and Virbanwanon
as “Baikhan” since they are the main source of Baikhan artifacts and
trade goods. Younger generations have begun to refer to them as
their Mandalas now though.
The honorifics Laki for males and Bayi for females is used when
deference must be taken.
They are beholden to almost always wearing gold and jewelry, and
have larger balay than those of lower social classes. Many tumao
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can also become spirit mediums, although many prefer to follow
their Datu into battle instead as warrior vassals.
Tumao are supporters of the datu and are often part of the
kedatuan. In simpler terms, they are the Datu’s vassals. A tumao
might be the Datu’s steward, or paragahin, who did all the hard
work of collecting and distributing tributes and preparing for
feasts.
A tumao might also be an atubang, the loyal private counselor of
a Datu. They might be a bilanggo, his personal sheriff, whose own
house served as a jail called a bilanggowan.
Many kedatuan are beholden to following lucrative trades such as
seamanship, crafting, hunting, and fishing.
In a collection of states and cities such as the Rajahnate, war was
the lifeblood that kept it running. And thus all the freedmen of the
Rajahnate, the timawa are all Kadungganan. They all follow their
Datu into combat and wage war for him.
The major prohibiting factor here is the existence of obligatory
debt: many Datu take in timawa and protect them, and this serves
as debt to the Datu.
Debtors are common here, and the Datu has the most amount of
peasant debtors that work his fields and offer him tribute.
A Datu is expected to guard and treat their servant servants most
preciously, as if they were one of their own.
NOTEWORTHY PERSONS
Rajah Batara Ambasi is the current Rajah, who heads a
Rajahnate that has at least twenty Datu under them. Rajah Batara
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Ambasi sits upon his high-backed bamboo throne: a bamboo dais
whereupon he sits in a lotus position, overlooking the Throne Hall
of the Dawneater Longhouse Palace, which takes person a few
minutes to walk from end to end. His presence looms over all: like
a god he watches. Whenever a visitor enters, he lifts his right hand
with three fingers pointing up, and another hand resting upon his
feet. His arms are covered in bangles and armlets of pure gold until
his hands, which are so scarred and tattooed that they look more
like tiger claws. He wears a sarong that is as long as the great hall
of his Dawneater Palace, and he wears three garments atop that: a
single cuirass of gold and abaca, a long-sleeved gown of foreign
silks and gold spun so thin that they are as silk, and a giant shawl
that wraps and covers his shoulders and neck, which floats about
him like a cloud and fulminates as if a living flame. His feet are
always covered, none of his tattoos can be seen by lowly mortals
and non-royalty.
His hair is white like tiger fur, braided intricately yet still wild, so
long that it lies in a spiraling pile beside his bamboo palace. Over
that he wears a golden pudong that is as tall as his torso,
ornamented with carnelians, agates, sapphires, emeralds, and
golden nuggets folded into flowers with infinite petals.
His face is intricately tattooed in crimson and black in the face of
a howling tiger, a beast rare in the islands. His eyes, most
frightening of all, are the true eyes of a tiger’s: feline, striking, and
lusting for blood.
The Rajah is a peerless swordsman, and one who has an
impeccable handle over sorceries, trained by a powerful Hexers.
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Many have tried to extinguish the flame of his majesty: his policies
tend to open up too much, and Rajahnate patriots wish for a
Rajahnate that puts their own culture first, pushing out foreign
influences.
The Rajah says this is folly, and wishes to incorporate all. His goal
is said to be this: the destruction of the Rajahnate itself. A goal
which Rajahnate faithful cannot abide.
He has managed to survive every assassination attempt thus far.
Only a truly concerted effort can bring him down now.
Rajah Batara Ambasi’s taste for grandeur is reflected in the grand
city of Kangdaya, golden and gleaming, with rivers running up its
densely populated neighborhoods. With Baikhan junks and
Naksuwargan adyongs all embarking and disembarking within,
with their marketplace always filled. The Rajah will make sure that
those that try to depose him understand why he is Rajah in the first
place.
Datu Sukarno. A mustachioed Datu who hails from the island of
Buwol, upon the grand city of Tajilaran. Datu Sukarno is a well
known scheming warlord, who wants nothing but the safety and
freedom and prestige of his home banwa. Thus, he seeks to become
the new Rajah, planning on gathering as much power as he can, to
make sure that Tajilaran becomes the trading entrepot that
Kangdaya is today. He regularly raids trading ships to Kangdaya to
try and destabilize the Rajah’s power, and he is quickly amassing a
fighting force of a hundred Kadungganan to fight beside him in the
growing tensions.
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Balina Hugyu. The granddaughter of the now dead raider-datu
Sipulapula, who fought against Sri Malaya himself in an attempt to
destabilize his power. Evidently, Sipulapula hasn’t succeeded, and
with his family returned to his homeland of Sonyoh. His
granddaughter, Balina Hugyu, is a skilled Kadungganan who excels
with the songil. She regularly travels to try and find more
challenges, in the hopes that she can be strong enough eventually
to become a Datu.
NOTEWORTHY POLITIES
Sinugpo. A city-state ruled by a long line of blue-blooded Datu,
in the western peninsula of the Ramasa Island. They hold
diplomatic relations with Naksuwarga and are known to train the
fiercest of warriors. They conduct raids along the coast of
Virbanwa, leading them to become hated enemies. They are
masters of sea raiding and are known to hold good relations with
almost all the other city-states, making them a formidable force to
anger. Their current Datu, Datu Sangbagsik, is rumored to be
plotting to overthrow the current Rajah and become the next one.
Gandara. A small fishing polity led by the Fisher-King Datu
Balahura, who has a pet whale shark. Every year, someone is
abducted by the forest, never to be seen again. None question this,
although they say it is so that fishing remains bountiful, and that it
is the unglu, lithe and tall shadowfolk that live in the mountains
and the forests that need to be appeased. Many missions are sent
there by the Lakanate but so far none have succeeded. At night,
people speak of a mysterious City of Lights, which they have come
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to call Lungsod-Liwanag. Shining City. It trades amiably with the
kingdom of Ibalong.
Norok. A popular polity led by Courtesan-Datu Sinhata. It can be
found in Salima Falls, one of the steepest and tallest waterfalls in
all of The Sword Isles. There, the Salima Hotsprings lie at the base,
heated by the volcano Duluum. The people of Norok have
monastic-sages named Tigtimbang, those that weigh or keep the
balance, and preach the holy faith of Hiyang, oneness and balance
with nature. They are most known for worshipping the holy
mountain of Ubir, whereupon a great Dakbalete can be found, said
to house a number of spirits within. The Dakbalete, known as the
Spirit’s Bathhouse, is said to be a gateway into the realm of the
spirits, as well as to Sulad. Norok is the constant giver and receiver
of trades against Pannai.
Put’wan. Once a burgeoning rajahnate of their own, they have
since fallen in glory. Much of the Put’wan warlords have traveled to
Akai, where they grew in power and fealty to the Sultanate. The
current Datu of Put’wan, Datu Sahaya, is the current brother of
Rajah Batara Ambasi. Thus while he pays fealty to the Rajah, he still
commands a great deal of autonomy. Put’wan itself was known as
the City of Gold before Kangdaya. Built kilometers along the Inagos
River, the river itself yields gold by just panning. Thus, gold was
used as decoration for houses, for plates, for weapons and armor
and more. Even debtors. A great number of goldsmiths, showing
off their skill in their craft with their ability to fashion and craft gold
like silk, come from Put’wan. In ancient times, Put’wan also had
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regular contact with Baik Hu and Loc Luang, trading and raiding
their shores.
Kangdaya. The largest city of the Rajahnate on the western island
of Tauhaw. Kangdaya is the richest settlement in the Rajahnate,
ruled by the Rajah Batara Ambasi from within its golden walled
pagodas. Known as the City of Gold, they are in position of large
amounts of iron from mining, gold from their homes and rivers,
and weapons from their diplomatic relations with the Baik Hu
Hegemony, of which they have become an honored vassal state,
thus giving Rajah Batara Ambasi the title of Hwang, and also thus
being recognized as King by not just his own people, but also by the
Hegemony of the Baik Hu Empire. Those that live in Kangdaya
enjoy greater pleasures and privileges when it comes to trade and
import. One can find bamboo-and-balete magdantang (communal
spirit houses) and layered city walls in Kangdaya, They have since
become a major target of Naksuwarga and Virbanwa during the
Second Star Era. Destabilizing Kangdaya is the key to conquering
all of Rajahnate. The greatest of the Rajahnate’s Kadungganan, all
of which are called timawa, are trained here in the Monastery of
Winds.

To Virbanwa: Feh, those knights have sat on their horses for so
long their saddles run up their ass! Fuck their livers, they don't own
shit.
To Akai: We used to raid them, now we raid each other. Come,
moon raiders: the seas part for we alone!
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To Apumbukid: Friends, but the raiding we do is a cesspool for
atrocity, breeding ground for disharmony, for Hindi Hiyang. They
don't like that, and when they strike without remorse, we don't like
it either.
To Ba-e: Like my sister always said: respect your elders! But if
they get uppity, we'll sail to their trading docks and remind them
who it was that raided the shores of Baik Hu.
GATUSAN DISCIPLINES
The following are the Disciplines born from Gatusan.
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BUWAYA LANCER [BWL]
Buwaya Lancers are often considered a threat upon the entirety
of The Sword Isles. Borne from the need to travel quickly across
both water and land, an ancient warrior tamed one of the first
buwaya, which is the native term for crocodile. It has since become
the name for buwaya that are bred to become mounts: tall, long-
legged crocodiles that are fast and have a huge amount of stamina.
Buwaya Lancers arose during the end of the Second Moon Era. To
escape capture from powerful Put’wan cataphracts, which rode
upon great six-legged steeds, the great Laksamana Tuhon
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Langkasingbangis and his reduced war band of a measly 12
managed to escape by speaking to a buwaya and the buwaya
accepting his oath, remembering that ancient warrior that tamed
the first buwaya. Thus, twelve buwaya managed to ride down the
river and boarded their biray to escape to the distant land of
Ramasa. There they honed their ability in buwaya taming, creating
saddles and tasselled bardings, made of gold and mother-of-pearl
and bamboo and more. Rajahnate Buwaya are painted in a same
manner the warriors were, although not tattooed. In this way their
bond becomes tighter, stronger.
The buwaya lancers have since become one of the most well-
known Disciplines across The Sword Isles. It has become a stable
cavalry, one used extensively by Rajahnate polities that could afford
it, and the Akai Sultanate to combat the cavalry of the other
polities.
Buwaya lancers were called thus because they were made to break
the enemy’s frontline. In The Sword Isles archipelago warfare, this
would not be the end of an enemy’s formation, as war was waged
not through formations but through force of will. However, the
ability to break the ranks through Buwaya Lancers is a very effective
tactic that has huge effects upon the moralization of warfare.
Buwaya Lancers are usually trained to use spears (bangkaw) or
tridents (salapang), but other kinds of weapons are just as viable.
Buwaya lancers are much wanted in Kadungganan parties, as they
are made to crush the frontline and stay there, using crocodile and
military armament to crush the opposition.
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If you become a Buwaya Lancer, ask yourself why you ride upon
the greatest of spirits only to bring violence. You are one with a
beast known both for death and for the ancestors. You say you
protect, so why do you let your buwaya rip that man’s head off?
Why do you stab while atop your enslaved holy power? Why do you
think you are as great as the gods themselves?
Buwaya Lancer Technicks are known as River God Arts.
SENTINEL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: BUWAYA MOUNT

You have a buwaya mount, a giant crocodile. Crocodiles are
venerated like ancestor gods in the isles, and to have one fight with
you is a sign of respect and prestige. Buwaya are powerful, can barrel
through foes, and can bite when needed.
You have a Buwaya Mount. While on the Mount, your Size
becomes Size 2, your Speed becomes 3, you ignore all water based
terrain, have 5 Speed when swimming, and you are considered as
being on a heigher Height.
Whenever a unit voluntarily moves out of a space adjacent to you,
you may make spend an Interrupt Reaction to perform a buwaya
clamp: a melee physical attack against the triggering unit. On hit,
deal 1d6 piercing earth damage.
FIRST MASTERY: MAW

When a foe that you are grappling attempts to escape the grapple,
they roll with +1 Curse.
When you hit with buwaya clamp, you may stop the target from
moving, expending all their remaining Speed.
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All foes adjacent to the buwaya gain Enmity to you.
SECOND MASTERY: REVERENCE

All spaces adjacent to the buwaya mount now become Difficult
Terrain for foes.
You can now grapple up to two units at a time.
You can now extend the range of buwaya clamp to close burst 2
instead of just adjacent.
When you Stride while mounted on the buwaya, and you move
all 3 spaces of your Speed, you create a piece of blocking terrain in
a space adjacent to you at the end of the movement, which has
Durability equal to 10 + Prominence x2.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: WATER GOD THRASHING

Fishing
You chuck a spear or perform a maneuver that brings others closer
to you.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 earth damage.
Effect: Pull the target to a space adjacent to you.
Ravage
Your crocodile savagely bites out.
Action * Manuever, Combo
1 Unit | Melee
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and it deals damage, the target becomes Weak to Earth until the
end of their next turn.
Makara Spin
Your buwaya spins and you strike in a circle, like lightning spilling
out of a cup.
All foes | Close Burst 1
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 2 earth damage.
Effect: All foes in range become Unbalanced.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: BUWAYA SOUL

Buwaya are known to also bring the souls of the dead to the
underworld as psychopomps. You and your buwaya beat your chest,
reach for that truth, prove your conviction.
Flourish * Maneuver, Scene, Heal
Attack: Heal Breath. Heal an extra 1 Mettle for each unit in the
field that has 0 Mettle.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: NAGA EXALTATION

For a second, you and your buwaya take upon the visage of a sea
dragon, glowing through the air. Your buwaya gains storm fins and
torrential whiskers, and you glide through the battlefield as if upon a
dragon.
Flourish * Maneuver, Ritual, Opener
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Spend 5 Grit
Self
Effect: Your crocodile becomes a Naga until the end of the scene.
While riding upon the Naga, ignore all terrain and Height, you have
+1 Reaction per turn, your Speed becomes 6, and whenever you deal
damage, you may push the target 3 spaces.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Dragon God. Your buwaya’s mandate is from heaven and
hell. If a foe voluntarily moves into a space adjacent to you, they
stop and cannot move the rest of their movement.
Grit 2: Naga Ascension. Naga are the dragons of The Sword Isles,
known as the Rajah of Buwaya. They are the oldest of crocodiles,
ancestors of ancestors. They are the most powerful of the spirits, not
representing anything for they are not diwata, but are simply ancient
beings that have existed in the nebulous before. When one sees a
Naga, one must perform the same obeisance one would do to datu,
even if they are datu themselves. Your size becomes Gargantuan.
Whenever you move through foe spaces, deal 2 piercing flat
damage. You can move through hindering terrain and destroy
blocking terrain. Any object you move through suffers 20 times
your Prominence damage.
RIVER GOD ARTS
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HEAVEN SEIZING ATTITUDE
Your muscles and strength is unparalleled. You can wrestle with

the Gods in the Sky. Crowns shall slip from heads unworthy. Your
spear shall impale the gods upon high, and all shall bow down at your
feet. This tenacity and boldness helped Ramasa keep their strength
even after the advent of the Issohappans.
Action * Maneuver
Up to 2 foes | Adjacent
Effect: The target becomes Grappled by you.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Break Through Heaven’s Gates. You will break down the
barriers of the sky. You may immediately move 2 spaces after the
attack.
Grit 2: Ever Lashing Waves. Like waves crashing upon the stones
on the shore, your reach spreads in every direction. Change the
target to All Foes and the range to Close Blast 2.
DEATH ROLL
“Usa: Who will find you when you are in fragments?

Duha: Do you not quiver at the sight?
Tulo: This is the divine butchering, the ancestors ripping the world.
Upat: Do you understand? You are not meant to see this.
Lima: Rejoice, then. Rejoice. Here, you shall taste bliss. Only in
Sulad will you achieve enlightenment.”
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- Pagoda Tree Sage Sutla 44
Action * Maneuver, Taxing, Perilous
A combatant you’re grappling | Adjacent
Effect: Deal 2d8 earth damage and push the target 2 spaces. This
ends the grapple.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Tenderize. Your tenderize the foe’s defenses. The target
also becomes Earth Weak, Water Weak, or Force Weak until the
Grit 2: Raw. All of your enemies witness the savagery, and they fall
in fear. All foes in close burst 2 of the target become Dazed until the
end of their next turn and are knocked prone.
BUWAYA CRASH
1. The Buwaya brings with it hell.

2. And with a bellow, it brings others with it.
- Makara Exalt Sutla 128
Flourish * Maneuver, Taxing, Perilous
All spaces | Close Burst 1
Effect: The target area falls by 1 Height (Example: on Height 0,
those spaces become Height -1). You cannot bring a space to below
-2. All combatants in the Burst are knocked Prone.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Buwaya Rampage. Your buwaya thrashes wildly, like a
rapidly blossoming flower. Deal 2 piercing flat damage to all foes
caught in the burst.
Grit 2: Buwaya Hell. Buwaya are psychopomps to the dead.
Increase the range to Close Burst 3.
RIVER GOD TRANSGRESSION
1. Woe, woe be to those that would dare defy the Buwaya!

2.That ancient god of the rivers, that dragon of the lake.
3. Woe, and calamity.
- Daknunuk Sutla 98
Stride * Maneuver, Taxing
Self
Effect: You may Stride and move through foe spaces. If you do,
the foes you move through suffer your base damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Barrel Through Mountains. Your might is such that even
the lands are cleaved. You may move through hindering terrain and
deal 20 damage to all objects that you move through.
Grit 2: We Alone Can Split the Sea. Your speed splits the oceans
in twain. Gain +2 to your Speed when you do this. If you move
across deep water or water terrain, you remove the water there
until the end of the next round, making it walkable and removing
its terrain effects.
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KAWAL [KWL]
Kawal are faithful Sentinel and defenders of their Datu, Sultana,
Rajah or Lakan. They are the greatest paragons among the
Kadungganan: they exemplify all the virtues of a Kadungganan and
then more, protecting their fellow Kadungganan by attracting the
attention of the enemy and stopping them in their tracks.
Kawal are so called because they almost always don the heavy
armor of the kalabaw, from head to toe. Clad in a mix of metal
chainmail and kalabaw hide armor, kalabaw horn breastplate, and
hardwood shields, the Kawal is an indomitable force in the
battlefield, controlling the battlefield with superior movement,
tactics, and their force of will.
Kawal only get their prestigious name after undergoing a grueling
training process, which weeds out those that cannot handle the
pressures and responsibilities of a kawal. Using techniques that
sythesize native forms as well as learned arts from Madaki and
Naksuwarga, the Kawal excels in keeping their allies safe while
staying alive. Rajahnate Datu employ techniques of the Kawal, and
more often than not they do it so that they can keep their people
safe. Akai have deployed their own contingent of Satariya, which
use giant ceremonial blades instead of spears to guard their allies.
Apumbukid is known to train entire settlements in this art as well,
the most well known one being Saginda in Pumirang, where they’re
trained by ancient guardian spirits in deep underground coral river
caves.
Kawal are well versed in all forms of combat and weaponry, and
they cannot be outmatched when it comes to their favored weapon.
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Additionally, their ability to move in heavier armor makes them
elite troops of any Kadungganan party.
If you choose to take up the mantle of the Kawal, say who you
pledge your allegiance to and why, and why your faith in them has
led you to making sure that they will never be harmed.
Ask why you give your life to them. Is loyalty your virtue or your
sin? Why do you break the sky for someone who might not do the
same for you?
Kawal Technicks are known as the Vanguard Methods.
SENTINEL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: ROYAL GUARD

At the end of your turn, you can take on the Royal Guard Stance,
which lasts until the start of your next turn. Whenever an ally in
close burst 2 is the target of an attack, you may consume the stance
to move to a space adjacent to the ally and suffer the attack instead.
Then, gain 1 Royal Charge. You can only have up to 3 Royal Guard
Charges.
As a Flourish, you can spend Charges to do the following:
- Delayed Gratification. Spend X Royal Charges. Deal 2 per X
piercing Force damage to all foes adjacent to you.
- Water Buffalo Tenacity. Spend X Royal Charges to gain 2 per
X Barrier.
- Pangolin Protection. Spend X Royal Charges to gain Armor
+X, which stacks, until the start of your next turn.
- Crocodile Watch. Spend 1 Royal Charge to gain Opportunity.
When a foe exits a space adjacent to you, you may consume the
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Opportunity to make a melee physical attack against them, dealing
1d6 Force damage.
FIRST MASTERY: SHINING BLADE

You can now gain up to 5 Royal Guard Charges. While you’re in
Royal Guard Stance, you can now be used as cover and all allies
adjacent to you gain Strong Force.
You can also spend your Royal Charge on the following effects:
- Provoke. You can now spend 1 Royal Charge to inflict Enmity
on 1 unit in range 3 until the end of your next turn.
- Rampart. You can now spend 2 Royal Charge to make all spaces
in Close Burst 2 difficult terrain for foes until the end of your next
turn.
SECOND MASTERY: GLEAMING BEACON

You now no longer need to consume the Royal Guard Stance to
suffer the attack from an ally, although you can only do it 1/round.
You now gain Royal Charges whenever you are damaged as well.
While in Royal Guard Stance, you can now spend an interrupt
reaction to inflict violence against a foe that exits a space adjacent
to you.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: FURIOUS GUARDIAN

Bash
You move forward, letting your conviction carry you.
Action * Maneuver, Steady, Combo
1 Unit | Melee
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Effect: Push the target 1 space away.
and it deals damage, the target is knocked prone.
River and Sea Anyo

You unleash a barrage of blows, each one a strike as well as a parry.
Action * Maneuver, Burst Finisher
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: All attacks against you suffer +1 Curse until your next
Inflict Violence.
Savage Tear
You pierce your weapon deep into the target.
Action * Maneuver, Lunge Finisher, Reliable 3
1 Unit | Melee
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: GUARDSTRENGTH

You remind yourself of your conviction, of why you hold your
weapon, your shield.
Flourish * Maneuver, Heal, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. If you are Battered, gain Guarded as well.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: PASSAGE OF THE KAWAL
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You bring all to bear, turning yourself absolutely impervious to all
attacks, to bring all hurt away from your allies. For that is what the
Kawal must do. For those that we have lost, and for those that we
can yet save.
Flourish * Round 2, Maneuver, Venture
Spend 5 Grit
All Spaces | Wall 7
Effect: You become the Passage. Lay down a wall of conviction
that is Blocking Terrain in the target area, and you only suffer 2
damage from any source, which cannot be raised or lowered for any
reason, even with Armor. However, you are Rooted.
The Passage lasts until the end of the scene until you spend
another Flourish to stop it.
Stance
Grit 1: Live, Die, and Know. Your conviction is steel. You cannot
be brought below 1 Mettle as long as you’re in the Passage.
Grit 2: NO, NOT YET! You are unbreakable. You upgrade yourself
from the Passage to THE UNBREAKABLE, you inflict Enmity to You
upon all foes in the field until the end of your next turn. If you are
brought to 1 Mettle while you are THE UNBREAKABLE, suffer a
Wound, and go back to Full Mettle, and gain 2 Armor which stacks.
However, you become unconscious immediately at the end of the
scene.
VANGUARD METHODS
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RAGING HARIMAU PROVOCATION
You bring your weapon up, and then slam it into the ground,
sending fury and steel across the battlefield. “A kshatriya must know
that they are the wall, and for the wall to be effective, the swords
must crash against it,” says Apumbukid Datu Daya.
Flourish * Maneuver
1 Unit | Range 2
Effect: The unit suffers Enmity to you until the end of your next
turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Far Provocation. You truly have the most glorious ability
to agitate. Increase the range to range 5.
Grit 2: Glorious Datu Taunt. Putanginamojhephoy dizon!
Increase the range to Close Burst 3, affecting all foes, 1/scene.
WATER BUFFALO CRUSHES BOULDERS
“A kshatriya never falters, no matter what weapon they hold. Their

training lets them be like the anowang, wild and perseverant, facing
challenges head on with whatever weapon their hands may fall
upon.” – Akai Datu Arrak, as she teaches her daughter the ways of
the Kerbau Satariya.
Action * Maneuver, Taxing
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Inflict Dazed until the end of their next turn.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: The Ultimate Gauntlet of Dakhari Barangaw. Your arm
glistens and shimmers with the power of the rainbow langitnon. Deal
strengthened damage.
Grit 2: Will Unbending! Faith Unending! You surge through,
like Lawana Sinigida before you. The Effect to the following: You
may move 4 spaces in a straight line in any direction. This can be
through foes, in which case they must must make a save. If they
fail: they are pushed 1 space away from your path, Dazed until the
end of the next turn, and suffer the damage of this attack. If they
succeed, they only suffer the damage of this attack.
TIDE OF IRON PAAGI
“The kalabaw’s perfect tactic is never letting a target from their

sight. A second sight, guided by their umalagad. That is the Kawal’s
ultimate skill. Perfect battle awareness.” – Confederation Tactician
Sarinlawi, trying to pick apart the skill that makes a kalabaw
kshatriya so that it can be written upon copperplate.
Flourish * Maneuver
Self
Effect: Gain Watch. When a foe enters or exits a space adjacent
to you, you may consume the Watch to immediately make a melee
physical attack against them, dealing 1d6 Force damage on hit.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Forceful Strike. Your weapon knocks them off their feet.
Inflict Unbalance on a hit as well.
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Grit 2: Blazing Stay. Your weapon stuns them for a moent. Stop
the target’s movement, expending any more movement that they
had for that particular move.
KAWAL ULTIMATUM: BULU
You call out: “You! I challenge you. Face me or face the wrath of
Jamiyun Kulisa!” Kawal are masters of the battlefield. With a single
command, they invoke the rite of violence: the Bulu, a duel in the
midst of battle. One that they will surely win. A bulu is a duel to the
death, after all.
Flourish * Scene, Maneuver, Round 3
1 Foe | Range 5
Effect: You declare a bulu with the target. For the rest of the
scene, until one of you is Crashed, or you call it off, both of you
gain Enmity to each other. However, when attacking each other,
you both have +2 Fate and deal Strengthened damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Everlasting Duel. Your duel festers into vehement hatred.
When you are Crashed, you do not lose the bulu. It stays until the
end of the scene. When the scene ends, if the target is not killed,
you and the target gain Debt to each other.
Grit 2: Sudden Death. The two of you ready a killing stroke.
Instead of dealing damage, whenever you and the target deals
damage to other, inflict 1 Wound instead. For a foe, this brings
them down by ¼ of their total Mettle.
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MANGANGAYAW [MNG]
Mangangayaw (Mah-nga-nga-ya-o) burn through the sea upon
boats that slice the waves. They raid shoreline settlements with
impunity, usually forcing those living within to travel further
inland to avoid them.
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While raiding is the main form of warring in The Sword Isles,
mangangayaw are those that are specialized in the art of Raiding.
In the art of catching enemies with their shields down, in the midst
of the night, and looting what they need. Mangangayaw might kill,
but their main goal is resources: bahandi property wealth (like
brass gongs, porcelain jars, and the like) and debtors.
Through this they get richer, stealing shoreline settlement’s
riches and porcelain and tradeware to sell from their own villages
and towns. Mangangayaw are usually not mercenaries: they usually
follow their own datu, and in truth do usually raid with their datu
during raiding season, to collect money and wealth from enemy
states.
Mangangayaw are not only feared within the Gatusan, but also
among the shorelines of the Akai Sultanate and the Virbanwan
Lakanate, although the Akai Sultanate are peerless raiders on their
own.
They have mastered boat technology and sea navigation to a point
that they raid upon the far southern shores of Baik Hu and terrorize
the shore settlements of the Malirawat Empire as well as the
Naksuwarga Empire to the north.
Demons, kin-eaters, ogres, they are called, for they are unceasing
in the face of adversity. Like a storm approaching that cannot be
stopped, only avoided, the kayaw raiders come. Kayaw is the root
word for sea raid in most of their tongues, shared among
settlements in hushed and whispered tones, too afraid to speak it
out loud lest they call their ire.
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Mangangayaw are wont to wear light armor--and truly enough
usually none at all--depending on their skin-scarred tattoos to
defend them in the midst of the sea. The bravest of them all have
tattoos that scrawl up to their faces, making them to look like
demons. Mangangayaw are brothers with Pinatikan in this regard,
and in truth, many Pinatikan are also Kayaw raiders, and vice versa.
If you take up the path of the Raid, ask yourself why and for what
reason: glory? Power? Wealth? You’re losing that reason. Why do
you enjoy the killing?
Mangangayaw Technicks are known as Raiding Arts.
RAIDER STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: MONSOON POISE

A mangangayaw must always be showing off, or else they die. No,
really: if a sea raider slows down, they will be consumed by the waves
of war. And so they must keep moving, so that they are above water.
Whenever you end your turn that you used your Stride in, you
become Raiding until the end of your next turn.
Raiding is sequential: there are three levels of Raiding. There’s
Raiding > Burning > Smoking. Whenever you gain another
instance of Raiding while you’re one of those levels, you advance to
the next level. When you get hit, however, or suffer any damage,
you lose all Raiding levels, and must begin again.
- Raiding: You have +1 Speed and gain +1 Fate to all physical
attacks.
- Burning: You have +2 Speed and gain +1 Fate to all physical
attacks.
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- Smoking: You have +3 Speed, gain +1 Fate to all Physical
Attacks, and if you roll a natural 8 (that is, it’s the result that comes
up on the dice) while you’re Smoking, you Smirk until the end of
your next turn.
Rising in Raiding level only happens 1/round.
Smirk is a special status that only you can have. While you have
Smirk, all attacks against you have Curse, and you cannot be
Slowed. While Smirking, when your attack hits, you may consume
the Smirk to automatically make it a Critical Hit.
You can only Smirk 1/round.
FIRST MASTERY: ASTRIDE WAVES

All melee attacks against you while you're Raiding, Burning, or
Smoking suffer +1 Curse.
You can now gain Raiding when you hit with an attack that you
spent Grit on.
You can now Smirk when you roll a natural 7.
SECOND MASTERY: TO RAID THE WORLD

You can now Smirk when you roll a natural 5. You now gain
Raiding when you get a Critical Hit.
You gain a new level of Raiding: Gleaming. This level comes after
Smoking. You can leave Gleaming with a Flourish. While Gleaming,
you gain the benefits of Smoking and...
...You cannot be Slowed.
...All your physical attacks are Strengthened.
...All your physical attacks have +2 Fate.
...You Reflect all Force damage.
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...You suffer damage equal to 3 + Prominence whenever you start
your turn while Gleaming. This damage does not knock you out of
Gleaming.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: HINAGIBANON

Water Pulsing Strike
You perform a strike quicker than rushing rivers.
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 water damage.
Effect: Quickstep 2 spaces.
Typhoon Redonda
You attack and, like a storm, immediately counterattack.
Action * Maneuver, Stance, Taxing
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Take on the Redonda stance.
Stance: You take the Redonda stance until the start of your next
turn. When you are the target of a melee attack, you may consume
the stance to inflict violence against that target after they perform
the attack.
Monsoon Anyo
1 Unit | Melee
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Combo: When the target next suffers a lunge finisher that deals
water damage, the target suffers 1d6 piercing wind damage.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: SEA RAIDING MOMENTUM

You leap onto boats, ride the waves, and increase your momentum
no matter what might try to hinder you.
Flourish * Manuever, Heal, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. You may move 3 spaces without provoking
reactions after healing and then raise your Raiding level by 1.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: RAID HEAVEN AND EARTH

The entire battle was a setup. Heaven sees your movements: you
were priming yourself for the ultimate raid. With your warband you
charge, strings of fate binding you together. You move like the
hurricane, slam like the tsunami. “Violence is life, and life is violence.
Rememer this dichotomy, and every move you make will be an
attack.” – The Teachings of Panglima Namwaran, warlord-datu of
ancient Tundun.
Action * Venture, Round 3, Tactic, Maneuver
Spend 5 Grit
Self and All Allies | The Battlefield
Effect: The target may move 7 spaces. If they end up in range to
a unit, they may inflict violence against the unit.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Raid Hell and Void. Your raiding reaches the
depths.Increase the movement to 8 spaces and the target ignores
Height and terrain.
Grit 2: Split the Sea, Break the Sky, Sunder The Earth. Nothing
escapes you. The mangangayaw unleashes Pauli Kita Sa Sulad,
letting each target teleport to a foe so that they are in range, no
limits, when they move.
RAIDING ARTS
ABAKA RAIDING ROPE
An abaca fiber hemp rope is tied to the hilt of one or two weapons,
letting them push and pull enemies. “This might seem like a
nondescript thing, but trust me. You’re going to want to use this.” –
Rajahnate Datu Gabat, teaching teenaged warriors on the way to
raid a settlement that had blasphemed an allied datu by saying that
his dick was small.
Flourish * Maneuver, Charge 4
1 foe or space | Range 2
Effect: Pull the target to a space adjacent to you. If the target is a
larger Size than you or the target is a space, you move to a space
adjacent to them instead.
Enhancement
Grit 1: Extended Rope. There’s some extra abaca in there. The
range becomes 3.
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Grit 2: Momentous Strike. Your strike comes from above. You
may make a melee physical attack at the end of the movement,
dealing 1d6 Force damage.
LIVE HAND
Mangangayaw are expected to be quick, surehanded, and

surefooted. None can match their skill in combat, one that is sure
even in the undulations of the sea.
Response Reaction: When you avoid a physical melee attack *
Maneuver
The triggering foe | Adjacent
Effect: Step in and perform a quick martial movement to disarm
the attacking Foe: inflict 2 + Prominence Force damage and inflict
Unbalance. If there is a foe adjacent to the target, you disarm the
weapon in a way that you strike the target with the weapon in a
smooth movement. Deal 1 + Prominence damage to that foe.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Live Blade. Your blade becomes faster than the storm. Deal
damage to all foes adjacent to the target, not just one.
Grit 2: Perfect Parry. You parry away the attack faster than
lightning. Spend this when this Reaction is triggered. Roll a d8. If it
rolls exactly a 5, 7, or 8, you immediately cancel the attack and the
target’s Turn if they had remaining actions. If not, still halve the
damage you suffered from the attack that triggered this Technick.
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MONSOON
You’ve mastered the art of Catching Lightning: a Raiding Art

taught to only the greatest of Mangangayaw. Your hands move faster
than the wind. Your attacks flow into the next one, not one being a
mistake, each one a set up for the next. All will fall under your salt,
your weapons flash like lightning in your hands.
Flourish * Maneuver, Stance
Self
Effect: You take on the Monsoon stance.
Stance: While in the Monsoon Stance, whenever you Stride, you
may move through foes. If you do, you deal 2 piercing Force damage
to them. You lose Monsoon Stance when you are damaged.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Blood on the Water. Stained red. You deal 3 piercing
Force damage instead.
Grit 2: Catching Lightning. Your monsoon has volatile lightning
and steel. While in Monsoon Stance, you now also have the
Catching Lightning status. When you are the target of a melee
attack, you may consume Catching Lightning to immediately parry
it away, canceling the attack.
SINAWALI REDONDA
Just like your practiced drills with your Guro. Your movements
become your opponent’s, and before they know it, their body is
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covered in cuts. Your mastery of the undulating waves knocks them
off balance, and you kick them toward an ally to finish the job.
Interrupt Reaction: A unit attacks you with a melee attack
within range * Maneuver
Triggering unit | Melee
Effect: Roll a Violence Roll as well. If you roll higher than the
target, you cancel their attack and you deal 1d6 Force damage to
them. If you roll lower, you suffer 2 extra damage and lose Grit.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Focused Weave. All warriors are taught to keep their calm.
Do not lose Grit when you roll lower.
Grit 2: The Beginning Lightning. You are not like the others. If
you roll higher, you can deal the damage and then inflict violence
against them, 1/scene.
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SWORD-POET [SWP]
It has been long said that the only time the people of the
Rajahnate are not singing are when they are sick, asleep, or dead.
This is doubly true for the Sword-Poet, Poetic Sword, an elite
Discipline of Kadungganan that focuses on fighting while singing.
Even in battle, even without the accompaniment of agung, they
sing a song of beauty and sorrow, one that wrenches the hearts of
enemies.
Sword-Poet, or Warrior-Poets are not a formal organization: they
rise naturally, out of the common stock of the Rajahnate or
Confederation, for in the Mandala a rite of passage into adulthood
is the ability to perform combative poetry (and all poetry was sung)
against another of the same age. They sing in either glorious
boasting tones or in low rapid-syllable drawls.
These warrior-poets, through their battles and shared techniques,
use their words and songs to defend their fellow men, letting their
violence-charged verses and words strike the hearts of enemies that
attack their allies, like the ogres they are. Their heart wrenching
melodies force enemies to focus on the Warrior-Poet, lest they face
the weight of the world. Their Gahum (spiritual power) emanates
from them, carried upon the winds of their words, strengthening
allies and crippling enemies. This philosophy has created a subset
of Hiyang faith called Hiyang Awitan, which focuses on the
philosophy that believes that song is the source of all life, and that
Diwa is a harmony constantly played across all time, and is what
connects all things together.
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Sword-Poet, whenever they sing, sing in a different language. One
more flowery and filled with impossible metaphors and idioms that
only they can truly understand. This language is known as Flower
Tongue, and it is said to be the most beautiful language never
spoken, only sung.
When you become a Sword-Poet, ask yourself: why do you fight
for a land that does not hear the notes of your sorrowsong? Your
song falls upon bloodied ears and corpses. Will you wait until your
song ends?
Sword-Poet Technicks are known as Swordsong Arts.
SENTINEL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: SWORD SONG

When you leap into violence, you begin singing a song of war. A
song of your warband overcoming overwhelming odds. A song of you
and your friends fighting for a better world. A song of you and your
family, your closest loved ones, proving their conviction in a world of
death and war.
Whenever you perform a Song, you can choose to go into Sword
Song until the end of your next turn. While in Sword Song, all foes
in burst 2 of you gain Enmity to you. You gain Strong against all
elemental damage, overriding Weak.
You can choose to end Sword Song as a Reflex during your turn
or any of your allies’ turn.
As a Response Reaction, when one of your allies is damaged by a
foe within range of your Sword Song, you may consume the Sword
Song to immediately quickstep to a space adjacent to the foe and
inflict violence against them.
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FIRST MASTERY: SKYFLOWER VERSE
While in Sword Song, you can now do the following as a Flourish:
- Flower Mockery. Choose 1 foe in range 5. Deal 2 piercing soul
damage to them and they gain Enmity to you.
- Song of Blossoms and Orchids. Choose up to 3 foes that have
enmity to you. They dance to your tune. Shift them 2 spaces.
- Corpse Flower Tune. Choose all foes adjacent to you. They
become Diseased until the end of their next turn.
- Salinggogon Petal Poem. Become Fire St and Wind St until
the end of your next turn.
SECOND MASTERY: THE SONG OF WARRIORS

Your Swordsong is now the War Song. While in War Song, all foes
in close burst 2 of you gain Enmity to you and suffer 1d6 soul
damage whenever they end a turn without attacking you.
While in War Song, you can spend a Flourish to consume it to
perform one of the following effects. If you do, you cannot go into
War Song in the next round.
- Ire of the Ancestors. All foes adjacent to you become
Immobilized until the end of their next turn and are knocked prone.
- Lost Dream of the Diwata. All allies in close burst 2 gain
Barrier equal to your Breath.
- Heavenly Bloodshed. All foes in close burst 2 of you become
Berserk. While berserking, they must attack one of their allies in
the next turn, or else they deal 1d6 + Prominence piercing damage
to themselves.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: SWORD AND SONG

Cutting Verse
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You sing and strike.
Action * Maneuver, Song, Blast Finisher
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: The target gains Enmity to you until the end of your next
turn.
Rising Tone
You explode into a quick staccato of words as your strike.
Action * Maneuver, Song
Attack: You may quickstep 1 space before making the attack.
Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 Force damage.
Effect: The target becomes Obscured until the end of their next
turn.
Crescendo Crashing Waves

You utter a forceful song, sending those in front of you flying back.
Action * Song, Combo
All foes | Close blast 2
Attack: Melee Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 soul damage.
Combo: When the target is dealt damage to a foe with a blast
finisher, push the target 5 spaces and knock the target prone.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: DREAMSONG

Dream of a better world.
Flourish * Song, Scene, Heal
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Self
Effect: Heal Breath. You Reflect 1 elemental damage type of your
choice until the end of your next turn. If you use this while Battered
and you have 1 ally adjacent to you, they also heal their Breath.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: ALMIGHTY SIDAY

You sing a siday, the folk epic songs of your people. Your song
bolsters those around you, and entrances your enemies. They are
thrown into a reverie state, forced to play out the Siday that you sing,
wherein you are the inevitable victor. However, it is a well known fact
that Siday last for up to seven days and seven nights, enumerating
the exploits of great datu and dayang.
Action + Flourish * Maneuver, Song, Venture,
All Foes | Range 5 Burst 5
Effect: You sing your song for the entire round. The target cannot
perform any any Hostile Actions until the end of their next turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: An Offering Poem. O, brave warriors, remember me lest
the waves forget us all. Suffer damage equal to your Breath to give
that much Barrier to all allies that you can see.
Grit 2: Sorrowsong. Children of sky and sea, hear my plea. All foes
are forced to make a morale save. Even those with Unbreakable
morale: they roll against 9. However, you suffer 1 Wound.
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SWORDSONG ARTS
SWORD AMBAHAN
You sing your sword’s steel in a graceful flurry about you. A

flamboyant Sword-Poet, Si Pahimuot, once performed this amidst
the kshatriya forces of Datu Mabigi, from the league of Pannai, who
hunted him down due to him killing his bride. He escaped by staying
silent—unheard of for a Sword-Poet—and amplifying the cutting
tang of his blade. He performed a quick dance, cutting all those about
him.
Action * Maneuver, Song, Field
All foes | Close Burst 1
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 wind damage to
all foes.
Effect: Put down a Sword Ambahan field in the target area until
Field: If a burst finisher is performed within the field, the Sword
Ambahan crescendos and diffuses, granting Strengthened to the
next attack of all allies within the field.
Enhancement
Grit 1: Resounding Poetry. Your song resonates. Inflict Fray 1 on
all targets you hit.
Grit 2: Booming Sound. Your song slams against all things. Also
push all targets 2 spaces.
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SONG OF CHAOS
Sing an ululating song of confusion and mockery. A confusing song

that befuddles minds and hearts, favored by Sword-Poet that prefer
a certain degree of pacifism. This song was created by Datu Belaskes,
who was born in Virbanwa but became a Rajahnate Datu and swore
alliance with Ambasi. In his quest for peace, he created a song of
chaos.
Action * Maneuver, Song
1 foe | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 2 piercing wind
damage.
Effect: If the target has Enmity to you, consume the Enmity to
deal 1d8 prominence damage and knock them prone.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Scourging Kanta. Your song rips. Consume the Enmity to
inflict Dazed instead.
Grit 2: Chaos Unending. Your song heralds unending chaos.
Target 2 foes.
VIOLENT OFFERING POEM
Sing a song that is an offering of yourself. One that utters that

undeniable truth. You sing a poem-song that infuses an ally's soul
with your song. This song is sung by ancient ascetic Balaknon to
protect villagers from raids from other polities.
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Interrupt Reaction: An ally in range is the target of a hostile
action * Maneuver, Song, Ritual
Triggering Ally | Range 3
Effect: Switch spaces with the target, and you suffer the hostile
action instead.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Tenacious Poem. You speak a word that says much about
your willingness to fight to the end. If you suffer damage from the
hostile action, half the damage.
Grit 2: Silence. Your silence sings a thousand songs. The unit that
performed the hostile action gains Enmity to you until the end of
their next turn.
PAIN WITHOUT CEASE
A song that echoes truths about the world. Sing a song of broken
lineages, of war unending, one that asks: why must you fight like
this? And do you accept that when the pain does cease, that you will
cease with it?
Flourish * Stance, Song
Self
Effect: You take the Unceasing Song stance.
Stance: While in the unceasing song stance, any unit of your
choice that starts their turn or steps into a space adjacent to you
suffers 1 + Prominence piercing flat damage. Every end of your turn,
this damage goes up by 2, to a maximum of 10. When you start your
turn and the damage goes up past 10, you suffer 10 piercing flat
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damage and the target area dissipates. You lose the Unceasing
Stance when you move, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Rampart Song. Your song hinders the victims of your
scorn. Any foe that enters the space also becomes Slowed until the
Grit 2: Ceaseless Song. Your song stretches far and wide. You
may extend the range to close burst 2.
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WAR BALYAN [WRB]
War Balyan are those balyan, or spirit mediums, that wade into
the frontlines of violence to mend hurting souls. They come with
their superior knowledge of tambal (medicinal herbs) and their
affinity and rapport with the ancestor and nature spirits to help
allieviate their allies in a war without end.
Balyan are the spiritual leaders of the polytheist-animistic faith
that encompasses almost all of the Archipelago, which is known to
outside people as Anito. Usually female, but men can also become
Balyan, although they must take upon the trappings and present as
female, becoming the asug gender. Asug, however, is said like an
honorific or a title.
As the spiritual leaders, they must know the principles of nature
and the world, including the imperative to live harmoniously with
nature, where all spirits live, as well as to do what the ancestor
spirits find good and right, so as to not incur their wrath and accrue
grave misfortune.
They are the masters of ritual, performing all rituals such as the
ritual before travel, ritual for war, ritual for the death of a Datu,
burial rites, and more. They know rites for casting off diseases,
healing wounds, as well as inflicting wounds and diseases. They
speak and ask guidance from the ancestor spirits, known as
umalagad, to give them power or answers, or to defend them in
forthcoming tribulations as guardian spirits.
As Balyan, they know the truth of the world: that nature is alive
and all things have souls, nature spirits. Those that live in the
environment are Yutanon, and nature gods are Diwata. Anything
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without its diwata loses the essence of that thing, similar to how a
tawo without a soul becomes a bumbling animal fool. A sword
without its diwata becomes a sword that cannot cut, which is what
makes a sword a sword. When a balyan is possessed by a spirit,
whether umalagad or diwata, they go into a fevered trance-dance,
wherein the spirit speaks through them, overwhelming their body.
Balyan are all at once sage and scientist. They learn about the
natural world and its secrets and teach it to their settlement. These
inscriptions stand the test of time.
Ask yourself: why do you abuse your connection with the divine
to perpetuate this cycle of endless violence? You have blood on
your hands, balyan. Does it matter whether it is yours, your allies’,
or your enemies’?
War Balyan Technicks are known as Spirit Warrior Rituals.
SUPPORT STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: CHOSEN

When balyan finish their apprenticeship and complete their
initiation rites, they are usually befriended by a single diwata.
Sometimes these are local diwata, other times they dedicate
themselves to higher callings, and become balyan and mediums of
the Langitnon. Whatever it is, each diwata is attuned in one way or
another with the five natural elements.
When you first become a War Balyan, choose a diwata that you
follow and dedicate your life to below. When choosing a diwata,
consider that when using Ritual technicks or the Flourish of that
particular diwata, the diwata itself possesses you and warps reality
through you. Use this to your advantage in describing.
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- Fire Diwata. Diwata of passion, strength, dynamism, and
flames. You can spend a Flourish to imbue an ally in ranged 3 with
power, giving their next attack Fate or Strengthened damage or
make their next attack deal fire damage.
- Water Diwata. Diwata of flowing water, of movement, finesse,
litheness, and travel. You can spend a Flourish to imbue an ally in
ranged 3 with either Haste or Clarified until the end of their next
turn or make their next attack deal water damage.
- Earth Diwata. Diwata of strength, stability, tradition, and
protection. You can spend a flourish to imbue an ally in ranged 3
with Armor +1 (which stacks) until the end of their next turn or
make their next attack deal earth damage.
- Wind Diwata. Diwata of life, breath, cold, hot, storms and
lightnings. You can spend a Flourish to give an ally in ranged 3
Barrier 5 + Prominence or make their next attack deal wind damage.
- Silence Diwata. Diwata of emptiness, the space in between, the
halting moments, time, space, and calmness. You can spend a
Flourish to give an ally in ranged 3 either Hidden or Shirk to 1 foe
that you can see until the end of the next turn.
- Healing Diwata. As an Action, you can put a healing diwata in
a space within ranged 2 of you. You can only have 1 Healing Diwata
in the field at a time. As a Flourish, any adjacent ally can Heal their
Breath. You can also use the healing diwata as the origin space for
your attacks.
FIRST MASTERY: ENLIGHTENED MEDIUMSHIP

You can now, during Preparation, choose which Diwata you’ve
befriended.
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All your Spiritual Attacks have Fate.
At the start of your turn, you may move 1 Summon that you have
by 2 spaces.
SECOND MASTERY: HARMONY

You are attuned to hiyang, and the diwata are simply
manifestations of the Hiyang: the flow of nature itself. At the start
of your turn, you can choose which diwata you’ve befriended.
Additionally, the more powerful diwata now speak to you:
- Sun Diwata. Diwata of leadership, heroism, conviction, and
healing. As a Flourish, you may give an ally in ranged 3 Exalted until
the end of their next turn. When you are Exalted, all damage you
deal ignores Affinities, Barrier, Armor, and any other damage
reducing effects.
- Moon Diwata. Diwata of change, time, seasons, witches,
secrets, and death. As a Flourish, you may give an ally in ranged 3
Lunacy until the end of their next turn. While you have Lunacy,
they Reflect all fire, water, earth, and wind damage.
- Star Diwata. Diwata of mysteries, knowledge, fate, space, time,
darkness, and shadow. As a Flourish, you may give an ally in ranged
3 Sidereal until the end of your next turn. While you have Sidereal,
they Reflect all space and flat damage.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: WARRIOR SUMMONINGS

Manifest Spirit
You send out a bolt of pure light that blasts foes from your very
soul.
Action * Ritual, Steady
1 Unit | Range 3
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Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. Deal 1d4 piercing (your
befriended diwata) damage.
Effect: A burning spike burns from the target. The next attack
against the target gains Fate.
Summon Sword Diwata

You summon a diwata of the sword from an idol trinket upon you
and cut.
Action * Ritual, Maneuver, Field
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Melee Spiritual Attack. Deal 1d6 Force damage.
Effect: A sword field explodes in close burst 1 of the target.
Field: If a burst finisher is performed within the sword field, the
field dissipates: you and all allies gain Strengthened.
Summon Purifying Diwata

You summon a diwata of cleansing, of river sources and waterfalls.
Action * Ritual, Field
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. Deal 2 soul damage.
Effect: 1 ally in range 2 of you becomes St against (choose 1) fire,
water, earth, wind, or Force damage until the end of their next turn.
A purification field appears in close burst 1 of the target.
Field: If a burst finisher is performed within, you and all allies
within can remove 1 Debuff.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: WORSHIP
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Youululate in tongues and dance in a trance as healing diwata
possess you and purge you and all those about you from wounds.
Flourish * Scene, Heal, Ritual
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. All allies adjacent to you gain something
according to your currently befriended diwata.
- Fire: The allies gain +1 damage on their next attack.
- Water: All allies may move 1 space without provoking reactions.
- Earth: All allies gain Barrier equal to their Breath.
- Wind: All allies heal equal to half your Breath.
- Force: All allies gain +1 range on their next attack, even melee.
- Sun: All allies inflict Unbalanced until the end of their next turn
on their next attack.
- Moon: All allies inflict Obscured until the end of their next turn
- Star: All allies gain Haste until the end of their next turn.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: ACHIEVE HIYANG

This is your final testament, and your own minor transcendence,
your own inkling of enlightenment. A little taste of what Achieve
Hiyang truly means. You become a little Makinaadmanon, a minor
being. How do you feel? Take that next step.
Flourish * Venture, Heal, Ritual
Spend 5 Grit
You
Attack: No.
Effect: You Achieve Hiyang. You become immune to all damage
(and this cannot be pierced through), but you cannot deal damage
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either. Instead, whenever you deal damage, you heal the target
instead. This lasts for the entire scene, but you can leave Hiyang
with another Flourish.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Resplendence. You achieve, for a brief moment, a greater
enlightenment. While you are in Hiyang, increase your idol’s range
by 1.
Grit 2: Complete Harmony. For a single, setsuna saglit, you
become one with the Supreme Soul, subsumed into Divine Nature.
You appear only as a humanoid being, but your soul bursts past
you. For the purposes of movement, range, and adjacency, you are
considered Size 4.
SPIRIT WARRIOR RITUALS
SUMMON APUNG MAKANGAYAW
"Are you happy with what you've done?" asked Makangayaw,

grinning, with burning flame shooting out of his nostrils.
The Second Man nodded. "I have lain retribution upon what my
sister has cursed upon me."
"And what have they cursed upon you?"
"Jealousy."
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With another mighty laugh, Apung Makangayaw answered: "And
so the cycle begins."
Apung Makangayaw is offered to whenever a ceremonial raid is
enacted, whether it be a raid to gain resources or a revenge raid. In
this way, the raid itself becomes more than just war, but ritual. If the
omens were bad during the offering, however, it will be a sign that
Makangayaw does not approve of the raid, and the raid will be called
off. This usually happens when an omen bird flies across their path,
or when the sky is red, or when in the distance they hear laughter
during their offerings, or when they perform their boat divinations
the boat shudders wildly. Offerings to Apung Makangayaw are
frequent, for the main mode of war in the islands is raiding.
Apung Makangayaw usually takes upon the form of a slave raider:
wearing a short bahag with nothing else, and with tattoos that cover
their entire body, the completion of the canvas. Their true form,
whenever they should want to show it, is in the form of a naga-headed
god, who sits upon a throne of seaspray.
Apung Makangayaw is one of the principal members of the Anito
faith. Anito, meaning act of worship, is the most widespread faith in
the islands, so prominent that they do consider it more as tradition
and way of life, and not just performative religion. In the Anito,
Apung Makangayaw is one of the Hundred Thousand Panganitohan,
panganitohan (meaning: things worshipped) being the catch all term
for holy powers, nature gods, ancestor spirits, and guardian deities
that would be worshipped, revered, and offered to in rituals.
Apung Makangayaw's spirit house is often situated by the shore,
always by the shore. The usual spirit idol carved out for him is made
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usually with wood from sunken boats, and showcases a naga-headed
man sitting cross-legged, with both hands upon his waist. Apung
Makangayaw idols are frequently carried unto boats that would
embark on raids.
Action * Ritual, Summon, Taxing, Blast Finisher
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 water damage
and the target becomes Weak to water until the end of their next
turn.
Effect: A spirit of Apung Makangayaw leaps out and attacks the
foe, and then implants themselves on a space adjacent to them. A
Raiding Idol now exists in the space adjacent to the foe, which is a
summon. All allies adjacent to the summon deal 2 extra piercing
damage. You can only have 1 Raiding Idol at a time.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Hiyang Reach. Your hiyang reaches through. Increase the
range to 5.
Grit 2: Share Raiding Enlightenment. Your hiyang brings
others into their enlightenment. They deal 3 extra piercing damage
instead.
FURY OF LAWANA SINIGIDA
Lawana Sinigida is the Langitnon of war and poisons. Using rituals

and incantations, you summon the spirit of Lawana Sinigida and
allow a small portion of it to bolster you and your allies' attacks. A
part of them grows crimson-pink hues, as the war god’s being
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possesses them. While important, she is worshipped less due to the
prevalence of raiding in the isles. In The Sword Isles, war is raiding.
Flourish * Ritual, Taxing, Summon
1 space | Range 3
Effect: Lawana Sinigida rips into reality. Summon a Venom Idol
in a space adjacent to the target. All allies adjacent to it inflict Fray
1 when they deal damage. You can only have 1 Venom Idol at a time.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Datu Sumangga’s Possession. The ancient warrior who
raided the shores of Baik Hu possesses you, in the name of Lawana
Sinigida. You are also counted as a Venom Idol until the Venom
Idol is destroyed, but you are not counted as a summon.
Grit 2: Intense Venom. The idol infuses your allies with odto
venom. Allies adjacent to the idol now inflict Fray 3 when they deal
damage.
TESTAMENT OF DAKHARI BARANGAW
Dakhari Barangaw is the rainbow Langitnon of victory. Using the

rites to entice the rainbow, you let Dakhari Barangaw possess you,
calling upon multicolored energy. The songs and rituals of the balyan
ensure triumph. While important, he is worshipped less due to the
prevalence of raiding in the isles. Victory is not common. However,
all know that when a warrior dies in war, they ascend into one of the
many heavens by the rainbow. Their blood creates the rainbow.
Flourish * Taxing, Ritual, Summon
1 Space | Range 3
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Effect: You summon a Victory Idol in the target area. All allies
adjacent to it gain +1 Fate to all their Violence rolls, saves and
Crashed rolls. You can only have 1 Victory Idol at a time.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Kadungganan Kabungaw’s Exploits. Kadungaw, the
ancient warrior that fought and died for his loved one Bubung
Ginbuna, possesses you, filling you with lonely victory. You are now
counted as a Victory Idol as well until the Victory Idol is destroyed,
but not as a summon. While you are a Victory Idol, you cannot be
forcibly moved.
Grit 2: Supreme Victory. The rainbow shimmers over the
battlefield. All allies adjacent to the Victory Idol instead become
immune to Debuffs and Fray.
LIGHTNING BOLT OF JAMIYUN KULISA
Pray upon the thunderbolt and make offerings to the lightning

flash. Jamiyun Kulisa is the burning father of the Thunderbolt. By
enacting supplications to him, the war balyan channels his
fulminating scorn and surges it through one of their allies,
awakening them from slumber. It is known that he killed his
grandchildren: Adlaw, Bulan, Kalibutan, and Suga. From them were
born the Sun, Moon, Earth, and Stars. All from his fulminating
thunderbolt. He lives in regret till this day.
Flourish * Ritual, Burst Finisher, Taxing
1 Unit | Range 3
Effect: A lightning bolt slams against the target, Galvanizing
them. When a foe is galvanized, you may consume the Galvanized
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at any time as a Reflex to immediately deal 2 + Prominence piercing
wind damage to all foes in close burst 2 of the target. The target is
unharmed.
While a target is Galvanized, they Drain all Wind damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Thunderous King Rajaraya Karagrag. The thundering
datu Karagrag, who protected his wife with thunderous boasts,
overcomes you, and brings the strength of the thunderclap into the
battlefield. The Galvanized target can be damaged now as well
when you consume it. You also become Galvanized until you
consume it.
Grit 2: Thunder Hiyang. Your galvanization electrifies souls.
While a unit is Galvanized, they gain +2 Speed, deal 2 extra damage,
and can ignore Height when they move.
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THE CONFEDERATION OF APUMBUKID
Let us remember where we came from. The words echoed
in the minds of the managku, the warrior-braves of their
mountain kingdom. These words echoed even as they
descended down their mountain slopes. It was time for a
headhunting raid. Today’s targets were easy and important:
those peaked helmed and lamellar wearing silk men from the
Kingdom of Baik Hu. They have arrived today and traveled
deep into Pumirang’s peninsula. Dangerously close to the
holy mountain.
The Datu, Datu Fikisi, brought his spear and bunag
headhunting axe to bear. He was covered in tattoos, each
one telling a story of victory, a story of courage and bravery
and fury. All these tattoos were imprinted upon him to give
him strength this day.
The Baik Hu caravan, trespassing upon the holy grounds of
Apu, was large, strangely so. As they passed by the mountain
road, which was flanked by beautiful blossoming trees of
azure and crimson flowers, as well as bamboo, they noticed
that guarding both the back and front of the palanquin
caravans were men and women wreathed in the kalabaw
hide vests and long habay-habay of Virbanwa.
“Datu,” said one of Datu Fikisi’s sandig, his right hand man.
“The Virbanwans trade with the land defilers.”
“This is so,” replied Datu Fikisi. “We have warned the
Virbanwan to be careful of the land, but they do not listen.
And now they trespass upon sacred ground.”
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“I suppose,” a woman’s voice this time, lying low, wearing
a large rain coat and a helmet adorned with feathers of
rainbow birds. “The promise of wealth is too much for them
to turn away.”
“They will exploit the land,” said Datu Fikisi. “We must
stop them.”
“But if we attack, surely Virbanwa will strike back!” Said his
sandig.
“That is of no consequence to us,” replied the Datu.
“Remember where we stand. Remember that Virbanwa has
already begun its conquest of the land. They must remember
who it is that dictates our fate.”
His sandig nodded. The woman spoke: “They seem to be
heading to the village of Kapkap. The trading city with the
other hinterland kingdoms.”
“Come then, let us strike as the moon cuts the night.”
And so they did, descending down upon the traveling
caravan like a lightning flash.
Stewards of the divine wilds, warrior-priests, and enforcers of

hiyang. The Confederation of Apumbukid is a collection of
kedatuans that has grown about the Holy Mountain of Apu, the
Center Pillar of the World. They are united by Five Elders, known
as the Limang Timuay.
The people here worship the Holy Mountain Apu, for climbing up
to its peak one will arrive at the gates of heaven. Within the Holy
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Mountain of Apu sleeps the Original Spirit, the one that came into
being, defying causation, and caused causation itself: Apu Dayaw.
One of their diwata, a Deity of Law named Kakum, gave them the
Code of Rajishithra, a code of law that all people of Apumbukid
must abide by. The code has orders for the stewardship of all holy
mountains, of protection of Apu, and of the maintaining of Hiyang.
Beyond the 5 Apu Kedatuan that surround the mountain of Apu,
the Confederation of Apumbukid has begun setting up their own
Kedatuan all across the Archipelago. These Kedatuan swear no
fealty but to nature, and will not back down from fighting with
other mandalas to maintain their sovereignty and stewardship.
This necessitates a certain degree of oneness with nature, and
from them comes the enlightenment of Hiyang, the truth of
oneness with nature. The truth that Nature is all there is, and all
things cycle back to nature.
The truth that all of creation is split between two forces: the forces
of man and the forces of nature, and that by choosing to fuse them
together, to live both of them in harmony, is to achieve
enlightenment, to achieve true Hiyang. By achieving true Hiyang,
one becomes a true Makinaadmanon, who fuses into the land and
becomes one with the land, embodying all its forces, its death and
its life, its fires and waters and airs and earths.
The Confederation annually congregates, at the end of every
harvest, in the grand feast known as the Feast of Sanghiyang, which
is usually sponsored by one of the Limang Timuway. There they
embody, worship, and exalt nature, but also create trade
connections, resolve petty wars, create new architectures, trade
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ideas, and even bind kingdoms together if an argument or
conversation can lead to it.
The Confederation, therefore, is in both constant trade and
constant war with the other polities, as they have access to much
resources and valuable goods necessary for international trade with
overseas kingdoms.
Meanwhile they are in need of the many goods from the shore
settlements. Thus it is a symbiotic relationship, although a very frail
one, like a loose thread that has been fraying for far too long. What
will happen of this relationship is unknown to all.
In modern times, Apumbukid has taken a more aggressive
approach in their Stewardship. Using their intimacy with the spirits
of the land, they make use of Root Paths that let them travel across
The Sword Isles without sailing. Thus they have begun to expand,
to try and take back the last remaining sanctums of nature. Before
it is lost forever. There is a Root Path in most major cities,
particularly in Ananara, Jambangan, Kangdaya, and Ba-e. These
Root Paths were instrumental to victory during the Lakanate
Conspiracy, but of course, Virbanwa has chosen to leave that out of
their history texts.
Apumbukid settlements, scattered across the archipelago, are
built upon stone and bamboo in the plains, cliffs, mountains, bays,
and even caves that the rest of the polities dare not to explore. Here
they create vast complexes and subterranean empires, guided by
the gentle hand of the diwata and umalagad, the spirits of nature,
of stone and rock and wood and earth and air and sky.
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Apumbukid has the strongest of relations with the other
guardians of the holy mountains, with Vuyu to the far south, the
Ibalong to the southwest, the Pannai to the to the Southeast, and
Sritaluk to the north. They have Root Paths so open to each other
that while Apumbukid may be the most influential among them,
they have been most influenced by those Mandalas. Trade and
friendship with Vuyu has allowed them to learn the Tactician’s
ways and the skill of the Bantara Archer from Ibalong. Their
relationship has helped them grow stronger and stronger, and no
doubt the Confederation will be first to aid these mountain
stewards when the time comes.
Tawo from the Confederation of Apumbukid are born into tight
knit communities that uphold the reverence for nature much more
than the Rajahnate. Unlike the other polities, they are born into the
responsibility of stewardship. They expand only to reclaim or
secure the sacred places of nature that lie in the hinterland.
Their main trade is merchantry and agriculture, wherein they
work the resources of the land of Pumirang and trade it both
domestically and internationally. Children are taught trades from a
young age, usually the trade of their parents. They are taught the
special reverences in that particular trade.
They keep harmony with Nature, or Hiyang, to the utmost
importance. They make sure it is not broken in all things they do.
Their swiddens and farmlands are given proper reverence and
offering. In this respect they are much similar to the other polities,
with the difference being that they value Hiyang to the point of
pacifism.
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Unfortunately, they cannot be pacifist in the Second Star Era, and
so they offer their hunts and wars to their various gods and ancestor
spirits.
They believe in the guardian spirit Iwa-garo, who protects them
during their raids. Iwa-garo is known as the First Steward, and he
is one of the six Katulusan that provide stewardship over all nature.
These Katulusan are revered and worshipped: Iwa-garo, the
Hunter; Garahana the Watcher; Irigi, the Pillar; Bahdiyatol, the
Deliverer; Karadiya, the Soother; Kidab, the Hexer.
The honorific Apu for males and Akbaye for females are used
when deference is required.
Nobles in the Confederation are known as Maengel, warrior
braves who have validated their positions as either spiritual leaders
or those that could protect their own settlements. These maengel
excelled in conflict, whether it be spiritual, social, or physical.
Maengel nobles would band together with other maengel nobles
and settle disputes with other settlements within the island of
Pumirang. They are very much like the nobles of the other polities,
with the difference that they are expected to have a higher harmony
with nature than others. Resources are abundant in Confederation
settlements, so they not only wear gold all the time, but they even
plate their teeth with it.
The Freedmen among the Confederation are given a special
spiritual warrior title known as managku. These are the
Confederation’s Kadungganan, who go out on revenge raids and
trade raids. They protect not only the maengel but their entire
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settlement, and that is their prime purpose: to protect and enact
vengeance, not to wage war.
Unfortunately, in this modern time, that has had to change.
Peasant and Servants are given the same treatment as with other
polities, although they have less amounts of debtors and war
debtors than other polities.
In accordance to Hiyang, Confederation raids are less likely to
take captives, killing those they raid and taking heads and wealth
as dictated to them by Iwa-garo, to lessen the likelihood of war, as
war is anathema to the diwata. However, the Confederation can
still take war captives, usually when the manual labor is needed in
their settlements or when the spirits tell them to during the pre-
raid rituals.
NOTEWORTHY PERSONS
Ang Limang Timway. The Five Elders of the Confederation are
as follows. They all have a primary principle and duty, in addition
to their secondary duty below, which is to steward over the
mountain of Apu, and to keep it from harm. They have taken a
more aggressive approach lately, making sure that almost every
hinterland is protected from the advancing forces of the expanding
mandalas.
Timway Surugu, the Antlered Elder of Ministry. She is the
Datu of the Kedatuan of Niyawa, to the north of Apu, wherein they
train young nobles to become good rulers.
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Timway Tabo’owan, the Diwata-Blooded Elder of
Spirituality. He is the Datu of the Kedatuan of Samring, to the
West of Apu, which trains spirit mediums and sorcerers.
Timway Pagariwara, the Meek and Calm Elder of Violence.
She is the Datu of the Kedatuan of Taraboko, to the Southwest of
Apu, which trains warriors and warlords.
Timway Diwangga, the Lithe and Covert Elder of Secrets. He
is the Datu of the Kedatuan of Rahasiyan, to the East of Apu, which
trains travelers and assassins.
Timway Koyayaw, the jovial Elder of Trade. He is the Datu of
the Kedatuan of Barahanda, to the Southeast of Apu, upon the
shores of Pumirang, which trains merchant princes and diplomats.
Sekul. Sekul is a renowned managku who travels the Root Paths
to weed out places of atrocities to prevent yawa from arising before
they have the chance. This has caused her to come head-to-head
with a large number of Kadungganan, who usually had an opposing
goal against hers. All she wants is the land’s purification and
harmony, so that future generations of her Kedatuan Rahasiyan will
not have to suffer the training to become travelers and assassins.
NOTEWORTHY POLITIES
Lawahun. A village by the mountain of Lawahun, where the Sage
of the Mountains lives. The bone-biting cold here requires the
warming magics of the Sage. Upon Lawahun, you consort with the
tawong lipod, wind spirits of the moon, and live side-by-side with
ice spirits, surviving and dealing with snow and ice. They engage in
ritual headhunting with the state of Vuyu.
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Sanggasangga. Sanggasangga is a city-state to the furthest west
of The Sword Isles, by the base of the mountain of Aplake. Here,
everyone is trained from birth to become a Sentinel against the evil
creatures from beyond the mountain barriers, known as the
magalo, fae-demons from the Forests Beyond the World. Warriors
here are trained to be magalo hunters, with the intent of protecting
nature and defeating the unnatural. Everyone in Sanggasangga
knows full well their responsibility, and carry the burden with
pride, always consorting with spirits of the forest, their own
guardian spirits, and spirits of war to make sure The Sword Isles is
safe. But the tides have become stronger....
Usambangsa. This Kedatuan sits upon Apu itself. Upon the
Central Pillar of the World. The city itself is actually mostly empty,
but kept spotlessly clean by attendant spirits and a population of
5,000 mortal tawo, who provide stewardship and cleaning. In the
middle of it is a great black stone, that looks as if the god
Apumbukid struck the mountain with an obsidian spear. It is said
that the stone leads to the sleeping place of Apumbukid himself, a
grand city of glittering crystal within The Sword Isles. It is said that
They will rise only when The Sword Isles needs Them the most.
Nerakihon. The settlement of Nerakihon is a large village
surrounding a single tree that grows atop the Berumer Mountain.
The tree, known as Punung-Neraka, has a hole upon its gigantic
trunk that, when entered, sends you plummeting deep into its root
systems. Villagers say it sends you straight to Nerak, hell, and that
every once in a while a busaw bursts out from the trunk. The
villagers have thus created a special force of demon slayers just to
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protect Nerakihon--and the rest of The Sword Isles--from the
assaults of the otherworlds.

To Virbanwa: Forgive us. Blame yourself or your God.
To Ba-e: To the river of violence we succumb, with its judgment
swift and final. It bite as cold as steel. There is enough time for
regret in hell.
To Gatusan: Why do you fight? Why do you split the seas? Fight
for something greater than you. Only then will you fear no
reproach. Only then shall you be more than just man.
To Akai: Stay your blade. The sword that destroys can never
overcome the sword that protects.
APUMBUKID DISCIPLINES
The following are the Disciplines born from Apumbukid.
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DEATH DANCER [DED]
Death Dancers are spirit warriors and enlightened hypocrites
born out of mountaintop monasteries, sea-side temples, and cave
complexes. There, they fully immerse themselves into
transcendental animism, into the teachings of Hiyang. They perfect
the Seven Harmonious Virtues, those truths about the world that
they choose to emulate, to be one with the world.
Death Dancers are ascetics to the highest degree, and through
this they become powerful warriors and helpers of the people. At
the height of their training, they are expected to walk out of their
enclaves and into the world, and to help the world in one way or
another. They do this every three years, as helping others in the way
and in the name of harmony is one of the paths to true unity with
nature.
Death Dancers believe that all combat, all war, and all violence
and death comes from disharmony, and thus they work to mend
the harmony in it. They believe that excessive violence, war for
profit, and other such unnatural causes are anathema to the world
and nature. Through this knowledge, they go through the motions
of war in order to end it.
The first Death Dancer is known only as The Wandering
Hypocrite. Said to have been the first martial artist, he spoke and
preached in matters of peace, but almost always got into a fight,
and almost always killed their opponent with nothing but their fists
and feet. When he died, his sou was not a human one, but one of a
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diwata of violence. However, many believe that The Wandering
Hypocrite never died.
The Wandering Hypocrite left behind a great number of
grandmasters to teach the principles of violence. These have
fragmented into a thousand miniature family styles: from the
Storm Fists to the Sand Kicks to the Dance of Death, but all of them
follow the same tenets as the Death Dancer, and truly all of them
claim that name.
Through powerful harmony with the world and nature, they can
use the strengths of their discipline to send their Gahum, their
spiritual power, into the world, let it surge through Hiyang, that
natural flowing energy of the universe.
Through this pure balance, they manipulate the flow and
manifestations of Hiyang and change the field of battle. Death
Dancers are beholden to only fighting with their fists as lithe
pugilists, wishing to feel the violence they inflict, both as reminders
and as penance. They must atone.
If you choose to be a Death Dancer, learning why you fight is not
difficult: it is almost always going to be to initiate peace. The
question is rather: do you truly believe this is the path to peace?
Will you fight forever, perpetually? Will Hiyang ever be healed?
Death Dancer Technicks are known as Principles of Violence.
RAIDER STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: RELENTLESS

Death Dancers never let up on their assault. As they have become
one with the Violent Hiyang, every movement they do in the
battlefield contributes to its eventual end. Every Death Dancer
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tradition or school practices the same thing. Their movements are
practiced-to-perfection twitches of violence.
You are a master of violence. You can take on up to 2 stances at
the same time. You can sink into any of the following Stances as a
Flourish:
- Palm Tree Stance: While in the Palm Tree Stance, you can
make a melee physical attack against any foe that makes a melee
attack against you, dealing 1d6 flat damage to them.
- Forceful Wave Stance: While in this stance, whenever you deal
space or water damage, push the target 1 space.
- Bounding Flame Stance: While in this stance, whenever you
deal damage to a foe, deal half damage to all foes adjacent to that
foe, to a minimum of 1 (before Armor).
- Razing Storm Stance: While in this stance, whenever you
stride, deal 2 piercing flat damage to all foes adjacent to you.
FIRST MASTERY: UNDULATING

You can now have up to 3 stances at a time.
When a foe is forcibly moved into a space adjacent to you, you
may spend a Response Reaction to catch the foe and suplex them
into a space adjacent to you, cancelling the forced movement and
dealing 1d6 Force damage.
When you deal damage while you’re in one of the stances, you
can choose to deal elemental damage based on your current stance:
- Palm Tree Stance: Earth damage.
- Forceful Wave Stance: Water damage.
- Bounding Flame Stance: Fire damage.
- Razing Storm Stance: Wind damage.
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SECOND MASTERY: RUMARAGASA
Rumaragasa [ru-ma-ra-GA-sa] means rushing or hurrying.
You can have any number of stances on at a time.
Whenever you deal damage that the target is Weak to, roll
another damage dice.
You can now take upon the following Stances:
- Gleaming Sun Stance: While in this stance, increase your
melee range by 1.
- Songworthy Stance: While in this stance, all your melee attacks
are Strengthened.
- Voidbreaker Stance: While in this stance, all your ranged
physical attacks can be counted as melee physical attacks.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: DANCE OF DEATH

Faster Than Thought
You unleash a rapid flurry of blows, so quick that your foe does not
feel it until it is done.
1 Unit | Melee
Heat Riser
You perform a grand maneuver, sending your victim into the air.
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d8 fire damage.
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Effect: Inflict Juggled until the end of your next turn.
and deals damage, shift the target 3 spaces and knock them prone.
If they collide with terrain, they suffer 2 piercing earth damage.
Lightning Scorches The Sea

You take the opportunity: you zigzag across the battlefield, sending
kicks and punches at the target, going higher with every hit. Then, at
the apex of your movement, you strike straight down, bringing your
target with you.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 4d2 (roll a d4 with 1-
2 counting as 1s and 3-4 counting as 2s) wind damage.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: INTERNALIZED VIOLENCE

Your wounds are deep and your vision fades. But you cannot give
up. Not here. Not yet. Find your conviction, and the spirit of violence
within you bolsters you, bringing the Hiyang and mending your
injuries.
Flourish * Maneuver, Stance, Heal, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath, and then sink into the Ready Stance.
Stance: The Ready lasts until the end of your next turn.
Whenever you attack or are attacked, you may consume the Ready
to immediately make the target Unbalanced and give your next
attack piercing damage.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: AVATAR OF VIOLENCE
You breathe out, and your umalagad, ancestor and guardian spirit,
bursts forth: a six-armed, flaming-eyed Avatar of Violence. The
Ultimate Hypocrite. They Who Will Bring Down Gods.
Flourish * Venture, Ritual, Maneuver, Opener
You can only use this while Battered. Spend 5 Grit
Self
Effect: You become the Avatar of Violence until the end of the
scene. While the Avatar of Violence, all your melee physical attacks
gain +1 range, +2 Fate and Strengthened 2. You cannot deal damage
less than 4.
When you become an Avatar of Violence, every start of your turn
that you have the Avatar, lose Mettle equal to half your Breath. You
may leave the Avatar by spending an Action or when you are
Crashed.
You cannot use Technicks that won’t let you make hostile actions
against enemies.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Into Oblivion! Overburst! You summon the God of
Violence instead, which lets you make a melee attack at any foe that
you can see.
Grit 2: Hiyang Sinag! Harmony Ray! You raise your fist and
consume the Avatar and God of Violence, alchemizing their
substance into a singular burning beam of fulminating disharmony.
For a brief moment, the One Thousand Violent Ancestors stand
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behind you. You collect the Hiyang Sinag into your hands, breathe,
silence takes over the battlefield, and everything becomes
monochrome for an instant.
And then you release it, and the battlefield monochrome is ripped
away by an overwhelming ray hotter than the sun.
Deal 5d6 soul damage to all foes in Close Blast 20. Any hindering,
blocking, dangerous, or difficult terrain is removed from the
battlefield. Suffer enough Wounds to bring you to only 1 Wound
away from Incapacitation.
PRINCIPLES OF VIOLENCE
FOE STEPPING STYLE
Bounce upon the heads of your foes, avoiding their strikes.

Teaching Ninth: Be as water, formless but all form, thoughtless but
all thought. The final conceit of the transcendental animism, this
oneness with nature, this Hiyang, is to be as the bamboo, swaying in
the wind, thinking not, but becoming that thing. Through
thoughtlessness, become violence.
Stride * Maneuver, Taxing
Self
Effect: Move 4 spaces. If you end your movement on a Foe’s
space, you may move 2 more spaces in any direction, even up,
although you will fall to the ground at the end of your turn. You
can only bounce from each Foe once.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Monkey Leaping Style. Your leaps and bounces dig into
opponent’s skulls. You can bounce off of vertical spaces as well. Deal
2 piercing flat damage to all foe you step on.
Grit 2: Unshackle. The earth holds you no longer. You may move
your Speed + 1 instead, flying for the duration of the movement.
TEAR THE EARTH ASUNDER
Teaching 4: Empty Immovability. Your place is illusion, unroot

yourself. When the Sword of God descends upon you? Catch it, and
bury God.
Flourish * Maneuver, Taxing
1 prone unit | Adjacent
Effect: Immediately make the target grappled and deal 3 piercing
flat damage every time they start their turn grappled by you.
You can end the grapple as an Action to make the target Dazed.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Tiger Up and Over. You suplex the foe with a savage tear.
Suplex the foe into a space adjacent to you, dealing 1d6 Force
damage.
Grit 2: Stegodon Launch. You grab the opponent’s legs and spin
to throw them away. When you end the grapple, you may throw the
target 5 spaces away, dealing 2d4 Force damage when they hit the
ground. If they collide with terrain or any unit, they suffer 2d6 earth
damage instead.
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BULALAKAW SHOOTING STAR
Learning to hone one’s self, and let nature flow through you, is one
of the most iconic abilities of the Death Dancer. Through meditation
in the scriptures that would break the gods and topple the thrones of
the devil kings below, you become the weapon of the world: you
summon the energies of hiyang and turn it into a ball of pure fraying
energy. But in so doing, you become a principle paradox. How does
one end violence through violence?
Action * Maneuver, Taxing, Shot Finisher
1 Foe | Range 3
Attack: Physical Melee Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 soul damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Charged Bulalakaw. You charge the hiyang in your hands,
turning it a sickly crimson. Make the range close blast 2 instead,
targeting all foes within.
Grit 2: Overcharged Bulalakaw. Your hiyang fulminates in your
hands. You can now instead target the spaces instead of units.
When you use this to strike at spaces, push yourself 3 spaces away
from the chosen space. However if there are any foes in the chosen
space, they suffer 3 piercing soul damage and are pushed 1 space
away.
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HORNBILL BREAKER
Teaching 2: Choose to do what must be done. Rushing: do what is

assigned to you, to your utmost ability, to the quality closest to the
one expected. Strike, and when you do, strike with utmost intent.
Hornbill Breaker expects you strike down so hard that your opponent
becomes embedded into the earth.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Push them 1 space away. If they collide with terrain, they
become Rooted as they are embedded into the terrain. You can also
knock them down prone instead, although they don’t become
Rooted.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Flying Dragon Strike. You lunge forward with a high jump
kick, breaking through. You can move 3 spaces before the attack. If
you do, your attack gains the Steady tag and you can instead deal
fire damage.
Grit 2: Lightning Dog Barrage Kick. You send a flurry of
barrages with your kicks. When you hit, after dealing damage, you
may make the attack of this Technick again.
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ELEMENTALIST [ELE]
Elementalists are potent and skilled sorcerers, feared and revered
by almost every being in the Archipelago. Known in Pannai as
busalian, in Gatusan as dalungdongan, and in Virbanwa as
salamangkero. Elementalists gain their sorcerous
occult power through knowledge and skill, through the bolstering
of their puhon through years of magickal tempering, accruing of
knowledge, and bargaining with gods. Through this, they
manipulate the elements, weaken their foes with potent wicked
curses, and destroy gods with the strength of their soul. This
sorcery is known as busali, once reserved for healing from elements,
now used for violence. Busali is an ancient sorcerous art, the Zenith
Art, taught to Apumbukid by the Ten Datu of Pannai, who have
access to great personal spiritual power, which cannot be properly
written in books. Thus it is taught down as tradition.
Elementalists are usually also well learned in the truths of the
world, in the way plants interact with the inner workings of a tawo,
as well as how the spirits deal and how Those Unlike Us work their
strange magics and enchantments. The Elementalists are powerful
harnessers of Kinaadman, the Enlightened Will, using it to
manipulate the elements and to galvanize the battlefield.
Due to their feared nature, many busalian either live away from
the village, or live as royalty. A rich enough Datu would want an
elementalist on his side, by his right hand, to curse and inflict
powerful sorcery upon the enemy. They have deserved the moniker
of living sorcerous artillery.
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In the rising tide of conflict in the Second Star Era, elementalists
have been deployed more and more onto the battlefield, due to
their ability to enact debilitating spells from afar. More and more
busalian have become trained and put to use, even if they don’t
have the same amount of personal spiritual power, or gahum, to
reach the mystical and legendary heights of past busalian. While
still revered, and widely considered as the beings that can upend
the battlefield, they have lost much of their mystique, turned into
artillery units.
If you choose to become an elementalist, it isn’t much to wonder
why you have turned your powerful elemental sorceries to war. Do
you ever wonder if your power could be used for something other
than destruction? Is this what you wanted in the first place? Is your
perfection simply the destruction of others?
Elementalist Technicks are known as The Zenith Art.
MARKSMAN STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: ATTUNEMENT, THE ZENITH ART

At the start of your the round, choose 1 element that you are
attuned to. Gain the effects of that element for the rest of the round.
Fire: Your Magickal Attacks also deal 1 + Prominence piercing fire
damage to all foes adjacent to the target. Whenever you deal fire
damage, deal 1 extra damage.
Water: When you hit with a Magickal Attack, heal all allies
adjacent to the target equal to 1 + your Prominence. Whenever you
deal water damage, deal 1 extra damage.
Earth: Gain Armor 1 against all attacks. Whenever you deal earth
damage, deal 1 extra damage.
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Wind: When you are damaged by an attack, you may move 1
space. Whenever you deal wind damage, deal 1 extra damage.
FIRST MASTERY: WEAVING

You may now, as a Flourish, choose another element that you are
attuned to, one different from the one you attuned to at the start
of your turn. You gain both benefits.
Whenever you perform a Mentala, you may choose 1 of the
following effects below as a Reflex.
Fire. Your next Magickal Attack inflicts Fray 2.
Water. Your next Magickal Attack heals you for 2 Mettle.
Earth. Your next Magickal Attack pushes the target 2 spaces.
Wind. Your next Magickal Attack shifts the target and 1 foe
adjacent to them by 2 spaces.
SECOND MASTERY: POHON OVERWHELMING

You may now start your turn attuning to 2 different attunements,
and you can still spend a Flourish to gain the benefits of a third
Attunement.
When you make a Magickal Attack, you may consume all of your
current Attunements to immediately make the attack a Strong Hit.
You suffer 2 piercing flat damage per Attunement consumed.
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INFLICT VIOLENCE: HOKOT
Hokot
“Let all be sundered and impaled by my will! Hokot!” Hokot is the
invincible lance used by sorcerers to kill their prey, attuned to the
element of space.
Action * Mentala, Shot Finisher
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. Deal 1d4 (your currently
Attuned element, choose 1) damage.
Effect: Gain Fate on your next ranged Magickal Attack.
Dakhokot
“The Greater Lance, spear through! Dakhokot!”
Action * Mentala, Field
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. Deal 2 piercing (your currently
Attuned element, choose 1) damage.
Effect: A vexing field appears in close burst 1 of them.
Field: If a blast finisher is performed within the field, all allies
may deal (your currently Attuned element) damage on their next
attack.
Batarahokot
“Heaven is lanced through by my conviction! Noble Lord Spear:
Batarahokot!”
Action * Mentala
All Units | Close Line 3
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Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 piercing (your
currently Attuned element, choose 1) damage.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: BUSALIAN HIYANG

You consume the element you have attuned to, and achieve a
temporary oneness.
Flourish * Mentala, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Gain an additional effect according to your
current attunements.
- Fire. Your next Magickal Attack is Strengthened.
- Water. Your next Magickal Attack grants 1 ally in close burst 2
of the target Barrier equal to their Breath.
- Earth. You raise the earth you’re standing upon by 1 Height until
- Wind. The next ranged attack against you suffers Curse.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: SAKUNA (CALAMITY)

“Jamiyun Kulisa, offer me your thunderbolt. Habagat and Amihan,
offer me your winds! Si Ginarugan, let the almighty Earthquake
shake the foundations of this atrocious field, and Indira Suga grant
me the authority to bring godly indignation! SAKUNA!” You raise
your hand and thunderclouds gather. You incant, writhing, spiking
utterations and ululations. When heaven has had enough of your
blasphemy, the holy powers of heaven send a fulminating lightning
bolt to the earth, embodying all five elements.
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Action * Mentala, Venture, Perilous
Spend 5 Grit
All Units | The Battlefield
Effect: Deal 5d6 piercing soul damage to the target. The only safe
place is within close burst 2 of you.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Answers. The earth crumbles. All targets are prone and
become Ripped and Weak Magick.
Grit 2: Ruin. The lightning becomes pure holy indignation, searing
away at beings. Deal 15d6 piercing soul damage instead. If this
brings a target to 0 Mettle, they are disintegrated, soul and all.
Afterwards, you are Incapacitated.
THE ZENITH ART
UNOS
“Bring me to redemption! Unos!” Manuverability is important in

the battlefield. Doubly more so for a Elementalist. Weave your spells,
and burst yourself in a direction. Unos is the spell that blasts huge
gusts of wind to move across the battlefield.
Flourish * Mentala, Taxing, Blast Finisher
1 space | Adjacent
Effect: Push yourself 3 spaces away from the target. If there is a
combatant in the targeted space, they suffer 2 + Prominence
piercing wind damage.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Dakunos. Bury the light deep within. You may instead hold
the amihan burst in, gaining Unos as a condition. When you suffer
a melee attack, you may consume the amihan burst to perform the
effect as an interrupt.
Grit 2. Bataraunos. Become the approaching storm. You may
target all spaces in close blast 3 now.
BAGYU
“I hold you to your word, magic-giver! Grant me thine strength to

vanquish ere foes! Monsoon!” Sorcery is the ability to use your own
energy to affect the world at large, which you perform by harnessing
your Kinaadman. You bring this storm down to bear upon your
enemies. Bagyu is the spell used to summon water and to let it surge
across the world.
Action * Mentala, Taxing
1 Unit | Range 4
Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 water damage.
If the target is an ally, give them 1d4 + Prominence Barrier instead.
Effect: Shift the target 2 spaces, and if they collide with another
unit or terrain, they become Unbalanced. If the target is an ally, you
can choose to give them Resist Water until the end of their next
turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Dakbagyu. Your storm is a monsoon that blesses. Change
the range to Range 4 Burst 2.
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Grit 2: Batarabagyu. Provoke the winds. You may now instead
give the target Stormed until the end of their next turn. Every time
they move into a new space, they suffer 2 piercing flat damage.
LINOG
“Heed me, grandfather earth! Grant me thine earthquake! Linog!”

The element of earth is said to be younger than his fathers, the
element of wind and water, who were first in the cosmos. However,
earth has always been very rebellious.
Action * Mentala
1 space | Range 4
Effect: A spike of earth erupts from the space, becoming
hindering terrain and can be used as cover. If a foe is in the space
chosen, they suffer 1 + Prominence piercing earth damage and are
pushed 2 spaces in any direction from the spike. If an ally, simply
move them to a space adjacent.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Daklinog. The quake changes all. You also raise the
current space you’re on by 1 Height. This must be an earth space
(soils, grasses, stone, etc.)
Grit 2: Bataralinog. And now the scales tip. You can create spikes
of earth in 3 different spaces in range now. Then, at the end of a
round, you can choose to make them crumble, letting them deal 4
piercing damage to all units in close Line 3 from each spike.
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SIGA
“Heaven crumbles and the seas boil! With nothing but my name
writ across the stars... Siga!” A popular spell amongst elementalist
that truly encapsulates their position as magickal artillery, they
summon a beam of pure fulminating flame, like a miniature
sunburst.
Action * Mentala, Taxing
1 Unit | Close Line 3
Attack: Ranged Magickal Attack. Deal 1d6 fire damage.
Effect: Inflict Fray 1.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Daksiga. My scorn fulminates with the love of the sun!
Daksiga! The range becomes Line 6.
Grit 2: Batarasiga. I am an elementalist, greatest of my tradition,
scourger of the Sword and Spear Isles! With my name engraved upon
the river of time, I shall let this crucible melt my soul! Black darker
than black, white brighter than white: scream forth from the depths
of every star’s heart and engulf this atrocious battlefield!
Fulmination, pierce through! Batarasiga! The last target of this
attack now becomes the origin space for a close burst 3 explosion
that deals 3 piercing fire damage to all Units caught within. You can
only use Batarasiga 1/scene.
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HEADHUNTER [HDH]
In the islands of The Sword Isles, despite what others might have
you believe, killing is a ritual undertaking. Among the shoreline
settlements and metropoles, killing a man is a coming of age ritual.
One that begins your journey in these islands as an individual.
Deep into the mountains of Rusunuga, in the One Thousand
Plutocracies that live upon its mountains--one of which is Vuyu--
they practice ritual headhunting. This tradition is something not
specific to them as well: warrior braves in lowland settlements
frequently picked up their slain enemies’ heads to be protrayed
upon their house, and some plucked out the hairs of their slain
enemies to use as decoration for their kalasag shields.
They do this because every body holds a certain amount of
Gahum, pure untapped spiritual power. By accruing this Gahum,
they themselves get stronger, gaining more favor in the eyes of the
ancestors. When a person dies, their Gahum is transferred to
whoever takes it, either through their head or through the sweat or
liquids from their body after a mummifying process. This is why the
burial rituals in The Sword Isles are varied, long, and revered.
The Headhunter is someone who specializes in collecting heads.
They have turned this immaculate and scared ritual act into a
business, a job. This is what the islands have fallen to. What was
once a ritual tradition, that sacred act of killing, has been
blasphemed.
The warriors of Apumbukid have learned this tradition from the
headhunting folk of Vuyu and the mountains of Rusunuga. Many
Headhunters travel to Apumbukid to cease their ritual
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headhunting with their fellow man, and instead hunt down those
that are disrupting Hiyang, as a form of ritual sacrifice and ritual
killing.
Headhunters usually trawl the lands and accept jobs from Datu
to perform headhunting ritual killings for any reason, whether it be
for revenge, for murder, or for mourning. In return, Headhunters
are given lodging and acceptance into society. A sort of necessary
evil. In this way, they are no different from any other Kadungganan,
but Kadungganan have the gall to think they are different. That
their killing is in any way more sacred or more noble.
Headhunters are trained in the mountains or hinterlands,
subjected to harsher conditions than normal, whether it be cloying
hot jungles or the near freezing cold of the highest peaks in The
Sword Isles. They are at home in the shadows of the trees, above
the unseen branches, clad in shade and vine. They do whatever they
need to do to perfect their killing art, taught in all manner of
martial arts by all manner of teachers. Sometimes these teachers
are ancestor spirits, sometimes these are diwata, sometimes these
are the folk living in these hinterland regions. Whoever it may be,
it does not matter to the Headhunter. All killing arts lead to the
ritual art of decapitation.
When you become a Headhunter, ask yourself: are you willing to
become headless to perform your duty? Ignorance is bliss,
Kadungganan.
Headhunter Technicks are known as Decapitation Arts.
RAIDER STYLE
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DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: DECAPITATION
Whenever you end your turn and you haven’t made an attack,
become Hidden until you make an attack or are damaged.
While Hidden, you gain +2 to your Speed. When you make a
melee physical attack from Hidden, you deal Strengthened damage.
Whenever you lose Hidden because of attacking, all attacks
against you gain +1 Fate until the start of your next turn.
While Hidden, you gain access to the Bide action. When you
Inflict Violence, you can choose not to make the attack, simply
spending an Action to find the perfect time to strike. If you do,
when you next inflict violence, you ignore armor, Affinities, and
Barrier.
FIRST MASTERY: THE SHADOW BETWEEN THE TREES

When you make a melee physical attack from Hidden, you also
deal piercing damage.
Gain Haste instead while Hidden. You can now also become
Hidden as a Flourish, although you still lose it when you make an
attack.
SECOND MASTERY: RITUAL KILLING

You can spend a Flourish to mark the unit that you attacked with
Decapitate as your Ritual Kill. When you attack your Ritual Kill,
you may consume the Ritual Kill to immediately upgrade a Weak
or Strong Hit into a Critical Hit.
While Hidden, you may consume your Hidden buff as an Action
to immediately teleport to a space adjacent to your Ritual Kill and
make an inflict violence against your Ritual Kill. This Inflict
Violence still benefits the results of attacking from Hidden. Once
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you use this, you cannot become Hidden again for the rest of the
scene.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: SIBAK

Killing Rite
You leap forward to take your foe’s head.
1 Unit | Melee 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 Force damage,
and then move to a space adjacent to the target.
Shaded Intent
You strike, and then drink deep of shadows.
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Quickstep 2 spaces away from the target. You cannot end
in a space adjacent to them.
and they suffer damage, inflict Obscured until the end of their next
turn.
Decapitate
You lunge from the shadows and decapitate them.
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: You may move 2 spaces before the attack. Melee Physical
Attack. On hit, deal 1d8 piercing Force damage.
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Effect: Inflict Unbalanced. If you bring the target to Mettle 0, all
foes in close burst 2 of the target become Unbalanced until they are
damaged as well.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: DRINK SMOKE AND BAMBOO

You breathe in deep, readying yourself for the killing ritual that you
must perform. The shade swallows you as you drink deep. You blend
into the sea, into the trees, into the grass.
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Become Hidden. This Hidden doesn’t go
away when you attack or are damaged. It simply goes away at the
start of your next turn.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: SELF DECAPITATION

You call upon your patron spirit--usually Iwa-garo, the holy power
of violence--and let it sing in your blade. As a headhunter, you bring
violence. In this final ritual, you decapitate yourself, and in that
perfect rite, you call decimation to befall upon your kill.
Action * Venture, Maneuver, Steady
Spend 5 Grit
1 Unit | The Battlefield
Effect: Deal damage equal to half of the target’s Mettle. You suffer
half of the damage you dealt to the target.
Enhancement
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Grit 1: Wrath of the Ancestors. The ancestors mandate the ritual
killing. All allies become Hidden until the start of your next turn.
Grit 2: Final Ritual. This is your final ritual. Immediately kill the
target if they’re not a Chief or Monster. If they are, deal damage
equal to 75% (their Breath * 3) of their Mettle. If you kill a unit
because of this, you also die.
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DECAPITATION ARTS
VANISHING SMOKE AND BAMBOO
Verse 22: “When BA~LA~HA~LA, That Supreme Soul, stepped into

the world through the paradox of creation, Idda Mangubat vanished
into the trees in Their path. The great universal consciousness’ gaze
seemed so serene that he felt themself melting into oneness just at
Their gaze”. – SONG OF IDDA MANGUBAT
Interrupt Reaction: You are the target of a melee attack * Ritual,
Taxing
Triggering Attacker | Melee
Effect: Quickstep 3 spaces, and then leave a smoke self of you in
the first space that you leave. The attack of the target goes through,
immediately dealing damage to the smokeself. The smokeself
explodes, inflicting Unbalanced on the attacking foe.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Shadow. Your smokeself becomes like you. Your smokeself
now instead does not explode. It stays as a Summon. When you
Stride, you may choose to teleport and switch places with your
smoke self instead, no matter how far you are. You can only have 1
smokeself at a time. If you create a new one, the old new vanishes.
Additionally, you can now use the smokeself as an origin space for
Technicks and actions.
Grit 2: Imbued Smokeself. You impart a part of your soul into
your smokeself. Change the nature of your Smokeself. You can
choose 1:
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- Vine Self. When the smokeself explodes, it enmeshes the
attacker in its vines. It explodes and then roots the attacker.
- Lightning Self. When the smokeself explodes, it becomes
lightning. The attacker becomes Juggled.
- Shadow Self. When the smokeself explodes, it leaves behind a
cloud of void. The attacker suffers Curse on all attacks until the end
of their next turn.
AXE BREAKS THE TREE PAMARAANAN
“To truly become the axe, you must be able to puncture the
carapaces of all those that you wish to destroy. If you cannot, then
you are ineffectual, useless.” - Si Batara Padakul, Diwata of Axes.
Action * Taxing, Maneuver
Effect: Inflict Ripped.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Leaping Ambush. You leap out from the darkness of the
trees. Gain Fate if you’re making the attack from a higher Height.
Grit 2: Axe Assassin. Gain Shirk to the target until the end of
your next turn.
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SUNDER
“Thus must all things be: to weaken the soul of a warrior, destroy
their weapon. It is akin to breaking an arm, or slicing off their head.”
- Si Diwarajah Hinagiban, Diwata of Weapons.
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Inflict Debilitated.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Sunder Spirits. Your weapon goes through their flesh. The
target cannot benefit from cover, Armor, or Barrier until the end of
their next turn as an Effect.
Grit 2: Gash, Rip, Descerate. You chop, fix your grip, and then
savage the victim of your scorn. Give the target Weak to either Force
or Earth until they pass a save.
RIP AND TEAR
“Verse 49 - However, their head split into ten thousand skulls, and
the Supreme Soul spoke: YOU HAVE DESCRIBED ME WRONGLY
IN YOUR LESSONS, They said. I AM NO GOD. I AM BEYOND GOD.
YOU CANNOT DESCRIBE ME. IN YOUR HUBRIS, YOU CANNOT
KILL ME. I AM BEYOND DEATH. NOW... ACHIEVE HIYANG.”
50 - This lesson cannot be written down, for it exists and does not
exist all at once. I apologize on behalf of the Great Hero of Heroes,
Noble Lord of Warrior-Slayers.” – SONG OF IDDA MANGUBAT
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Stride * Maneuver
Self
Effect: Move your Speed. You can move through foe spaces. If you
move through a Chattel Class foe, immediately bring them to
Mettle 0.
If you move through a Warrior Class foe, if they have Mettle equal
to or less than your Prominence, immediately bring them down to
0.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Greater Ripping. Your weapon is like a monsoon of steel.
You can now also apply this to Brave Class Foes.
Grit 2: Kill God By Stepping On Him. You can now also apply
this to Chief Class foes.
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TACTICIAN [TCT]
Tacticians are master sages and counselors of the battlefield. They
are the tactical cousins of parawali, a Discipline focused on
counseling and advice giver for families and households. While
they don’t have the superior natural philosophies of the balyan,
tacticians are well versed in the dealings of people themselves. It
just turns out that a battlefield is won and lost by their people.
Tacticians are masters of their craft, unwilling to compromise
victory. They learn all the tactics and play mindgames and tricks on
the opponent. Victory at all cost. They know how infantry men fall
to bowmen, how cavalry is important to the victory of an entire
army. Most importantly, in the common skirmish fights in The
Sword Isles, they know how to use the environment to their
advantage, and learn the weaknesses of their enemies.
If you are a tactician you have some form of knowledge or perhaps
an innate talent for sniffing out people and/or manipulating them.
A Tactician uses their usually benign knowledge to inflict violence,
and this violence is not entirely physical. Through manipulations,
they change the shape of the battlefield and exploit learned
weaknesses. A single word, a single hand movement, is all that’s
needed for the party to win.
If you take this discipline up, ask yourself why you’ve chosen to
use the knowledge of people to break and kill and inflict violence.
Why you’ve chosen to turn a benign counseling trade into one that
exploits humanity itself, and why it’s needed.
Why must you lend your wits to extending the violence? Why
play games with the lives of your fellow men?
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Tacticians Technicks are known as Peerless Tactics.
CONTROL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: PERFECT FORESIGHT

As a tactician, you have planned everything ahead. Not only that,
but you have internalized teachings and battlefield traditions passed
down among generations of warriors and likeminded tacticians. You
are a master among them. The battlefield is your plaything.
You gain access to a special Interrupt known as Tactical
Foresight, which can only be used 1/round.
Tactical Foresight
You foresaw this, and so you dominate.
Interrupt Reaction: A foe in range makes an attack * Tactic
Triggering Foe | Range 3
Effect: Cancel the foe’s attack and push them 2 spaces. They
cannot use that attack in the next round.
FIRST MASTERY: SUPERIORITY

Whenever you use Tactical Foresight, gain Tactical Dice, which
are d6s. You can only have 1 at any time.
Whenever you make an attack, you may spend the Tactical Die to
roll it alongside the Violence Roll, adding the dice’s result to the
d10 roll.
Whenever a foe makes an attack in range 3 of you, you may
consume consume a Tactical Die to roll a d6, and then subtract the
result you rolled from the target’s Violence Roll. If this causes them
to miss, inflict Dazed.
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SECOND MASTERY: DOMINATION
You can now use Tactical Foresight 2/round.
Whenever you use Tactical Foresight, you can additionally inflict
one of the following effects.
- Lockdown. Give the target Quiet X, with X being the type of the
attack they used.
- Larceny. In addition to the target not being able to use the
attack that they just used, you can use that same attack as well until
INFLICT VIOLENCE: WRACK

Hamper
Your attack bites at their speed.
Action * Tactic
1 Unit | Range 2
Pridefall
Your strike buries wounds ever deeper.
Action * Tactic
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 2 piercing Force
damage.
Effect: The target becomes Weak to Force damage until the end
of your next turn.
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Ravage
Your strike knocks the wind out of the target. Your blade is still
clean.
Action * Tactic, Taxing
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1 piercing soul
damage.
Effect: Remove 1d4 Buffs from the target and give it to yourself
instead until the end of your next turn.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: REPOSITIONING

With a snap of your fingers, the battlefield reforms, strange
contraptions and foreseen circumstances allow you to change it as
you see fit.
Flourish * Tactic, Heal, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Move all units in close burst 2 of you by 2
spaces.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: UNFOLDING CLOTH THROWN TO THE

WIND
What your enemies don’t understand is that you’ve already won
before the battle even started. You reveal a cunning plan, a devious
trap, or some other battlefield changing trick that completely upends
the enemies’ formation, and scatters them to the wind.
Action * Tactic, Perilous, Venture
Spend 5 Grit. You can only use this if you are the last combatant
of your side acting in the round.
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Effect: The target becomes Delayed. When a target is Delayed,
they can only move at the end of the round, after every other
combatant has moved. If there are other delayed units, they go
through turn order as usual (player turn > foe turn, etc).
Enhancements
Grit 1: Snapping Like a Turtle’s Beak. Deal 1d4 piercing soul
damage and they are Dazed as well.
Grit 2: Eclipse the Sun. All foes lose all Affinities (except for
Weak) until the end of the current round.
PEERLESS TACTICS
FLOWER SEED BOMB
A classic war item piece used by many Raiders and raiders in The
Sword Isles. A bamboo bomb filled with explosives and flower seeds,
when thrown at an area, it fills the battlefield with a choking cherry
smoke that hinders vision.
Flourish * Tactic, Charge 3, Field
1 space | Range 3 Burst 1
Effect: The target area becomes a field of flower smoke until the
end of the scene. All foes within the field suffer +1 Curse to all
attacks, and any unit within the field cannot be a valid target to any
unit outside the field, and vice versa.
Field: When a burst finisher is performed within, it explodes,
dealing 1d6 fire damage to all combatants within.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Expulsion! The smoke billows farther, thanks to a
concoction of pangolin piss and civet musk. Increase the range to
Range 3, Burst 2.
Grit 2: Explosion! The explosion is strengthened due to fire diwata
hiding within the petals. When the field effect is triggered, it deals
2d6 fire damage to all combatants within as well as all combatants
adjacent to the field.
MOCKERY
“A tactician must learn to exploit the weakest part of a foe: their

heart.” - The Palm Leaf Scrolls of War in Land and Sea, p. 143
Action * Tactic
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 2 piercing soul
damage.
Effect: The target’s next attack suffers Curse.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Monkey Chatter. Your mockery is relentless. The target
becomes Obscured as well.
Grit 2: Vicious Mockery. Your mockery bites, suddenly, into the
heart. The target becomes Dazed as well.
CHECKERBOARD
“Pave the path for your enemies, so they walk into their own doom.”
– The Manuscript of Lawana Sinigida, She Who Lives in War, verse
35.
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Flourish * Tactic, Taxing
1 Unit | Range 3
Effect: The target becomes Puzzled. While a target is Puzzled,
they can only move orthogonally (no diagonals).
Enhancements
Grit 1: Puzzling Daze. Your words become confusing. Choose 2
units.
Grit 2: Hindering Chess. Your command becomes unflinching.
The targets become Slowed as well.
BULIT STRIKE STYLE
You are taught, almost nonchalantly, to find the weakness of an

enemy and exploit it. And you do so. What is a Tactician without
tactics? You blur forward, creating an opening.
Action * Tactic, Taxing
1 Unit | Range 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 3 earth damage.
Effect: The target becomes Weak to Earth, Fire, or Water (choose
1) until the end of their next turn.
Enhancement
Grit 1: Ripping Venom. Also inflict Ripped.
Grit 2: Odto Venom. Also inflict Fray 2.
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TIGPANA [TGP]
Tigpana [tig-PA-na] translates directly to archer. This is the
discipline of long distance combat atop bamboo watchtowers,
treehouses and rocky outcroppings peppered across The Sword
Isles. This discipline actually originated in Ibalong, but was applied
to the rest of the archipelago by Apumbukid as violence intensified.
They measure the lay of the wind, the rustle of leaves, the whisper
of the land. What heat might do to the trajectory of a fire-hardened
arrow, the nuisance of rain. To become a Tigpana is to become one
with nature, to be as silent as the first light of dawn, to be as quick
as the darkest point in the night.
Tigpana are masters of all ranged bows: from the common busog,
or shortbow, to the rareer sikarom, the bamboo longbow, which is
so long that it had to be held under the foot to be strung. They fire
the initial strike when needing to protect a settlement, or if on a
raid, they will seek the highest vantage point to dictate the
momentum of the battle.
Tigpana are made to watch with eyes sharper than eagles. With
escalating tensions between polities, these elite sharpshooters have
descended down from upon their lofty bamboo watchtowers to
fight alongside their fellow Kadungganan. This has done nothing
to impede their skill, of course. In fact, all it has done is to show
how much more formidable a Tigpana is up close, with perfectly
lined shots that can sever the head from the neck.
While Apumbukid trains them in large numbers due to their
proactive stance on their stewardship, the art of long ranged
archery came from Ibalong, in the northwestern tip of Rusunuga,
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bordered by the volcano Magayon, the most beautiful volcano in all
of The Sword Isles, known for its perfect cone shape. The
Ibalongnon are closer to the Gatusanon than the Virbanwans in
culture, and also tattooed themselves and raided the coasts of
foreign lands. When invaders came, they were known as some of
the most belligerent warriors, evidenced by their skill with
longbows. These Ibalongnon warriors have since taught warriors
far and wide the discipline of longbow archery, and has thus bred a
new breed of Tigpana across the isles.
If you choose to become a Tigpana ask youself why you have
chosen the path of more violence, if you could’ve stayed protecting
what is yours instead. Who do you fight for? Why? Blood stains
your bowstrings, how long until it flows from your heart?
Tigpana Technicks are known as Bamboo Shrike Arts.
MARKSMAN STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: PATIENCE

As a Tigpana, you are taught proper patience. Many of your
technicks rely on the fact that you’ve claimed the perfect shot, that
your victim has been cornered. This is the path to victory, to know
when to perfectly strike, so such strikes can become precise and
killing.
As a Flourish, you can get on one knee and then gain 1 Aim. You
can keep spending Flourish to gain more Aim, to a maximum of 3.
When you next make a ranged physical attack, add the number
of Aim you have accrued to the Violence Roll. Afterwards, lose all
Aim.
You lose all aim when you are damaged.
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FIRST MASTERY: SHARPSHOOTER
You can now gain Aim whenever you end a turn without having
moved.
When you attack a foe that is in a space below you, you may give
yourself Shirk to that Unit until the start of your next turn, 1/round.
Additionally, when you spend Flourish to Aim, you can make
yourself Hidden until you attack, move, or suffer damage. 1/round.
SECOND MASTERY: SHADOW FLITTING FROM THE SKY

You can now gain up to 5 Aim.
You can now become Hidden at the start of your turn until you
make an attack, move, or suffer damage.
Whenever you deal damage with a ranged attack, you can choose
to deal the average of a die roll instead of rolling damage. For 1d2
that’s 1, for 1d4 that’s 3, for 1d6 that’s 4, and for 1d8 that’s 5.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: BREATHING PAAGI

Bamboo Dragon Wing
You swing your bow and push the target back.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Adjacent
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 space damage.
Effect: Push the target 1 + 1d4 spaces.
Hold
You wait for the perfect moment.
Action * Maneuver, Stance
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Self
Effect: Gain the Naga Hold Stance.
Stance: You have the Naga Hold stance until you make an attack
or when you Release. While in Naga Hold stance, you cannot be
forcibly moved and move 3 spaces when you Quickstep. When you
Release, you may change the range to Close Line 5.
Release
You let judgment fly.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Range 4
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 piercing force
damage.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: REFRESHING ZEPHYR

You bring the leaves and the insects to you, and feel the
rejuvenation of nature.
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Gain Hidden until the end of your next turn.
FORBIDDEN TECNICK: SHOOTING STAR GUIDES THE WORLD

“Align your shot. When you aim, breathe. That is how you know
you are one with hiyang, for hiyang is infused into the very air we
breathe. Then, yes, let go. Let go slowly. Do not have violence in your
mind, but oneness. Remember to sacrifice self upon the altar of all?
Remember then, that you are not you. You are the arrow, the bow,
the vibrations of the bowstrings, the trajectory of the bow, the
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warriors being cut down by your intent. You are all those and more.”
– Teachings of the Bantara Guro.
Action * Maneuver, Venture
Spend 5 Grit
1 foe at a height lower than yours | The battlefield
Effect: Deal 8 + Prominence piercing Force damage to the target.
Trace a line from one of your corners to the corner of the target. If
the line touches a side, corner, or enters through the space of a Foe,
they suffer the damage as well. This ignores Height.
Enhancements
Grit 1: The Sun Streaks Across The Sky. Choose 2 foes at a
height lower than you. You can trace 2 lines now.
Grit 2: The Conquering Lord Punctures the Weaver’s Net.
Deal 8 + Prominence damage to all foes in the battlefield instead.
However, attract the ire of gods and ancestors, and you cannot
incur any more Grit until the end of the session.
BAMBOO SHRIKE ARTS
BAMBOO RAIN
“Hide earth with the shadows of your arrows, archer!” – A popular

war cry for those that keep their lives in their bow.
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All foes | Range 4, Burst 2
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 2 piercing Force
damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Far Reaching Storm. You aim higher, the sun does not
stop you. The range is now Range 6, Burst 2.
Grit 2: Storm. In truth, this technique is very rarely used, since
spread out attacks are very common in The Sword Isles. Increase the
range to burst 3. Deal 2 Force damage to all foes adjacent to you as
well.
KILAT EYE
Tigpana training includes instinctively learning the trajectory of

your arrows, so that you can use it to launch the target in any
direction. Not only that, but this knowledge extends to your allies:
your skill is so great that you can intinctively turn to an ally and
entrust upon them knowledge to break the opponent’s defense.
Flourish * Tactic
1 Unit | Range 3
Effect: Give the target the Kilat Eye. When you or an ally makes
a physical attack against a target with Kilat Eye, they may consume
the Kilat Eye to give the attack Fate.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Far Eye. Marking your opponents from the shadows is the
most important skill you can do. Increase the range to 4.
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Grit 2: Arcing Eye. Now, watch out for more than one. Choose 2
foes instead of 1.
BAMBOO REROUTES THE RIVER
The Tigpana’s Response Reaction time is feared across the isles.

Nothing matches them. In truth, this is the first lesson of the
Tigpana: to catch an arrow from mid-air. The second lesson is this:
throw the arrow back.
Interrupt Reaction: You are hit by a Ranged Physical Attack *
Maneuver
Self
Effect: Roll a d10. On an 8+, you catch the ranged attack,
canceling the effects of the attack against you.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Pliancy. You bend, and your pliancy gives you a greater
chance of successfully avoiding attacks. You catch the attack on a
6+.
Grit 2: Si Taka Catches The Javelin. Si Taka is a legendary folk
hero among Apumbukid, a Hinapanun noble who fought against a
Virbanwan iron foundry village that seeked to kill the diwata of the
forest Ibusi, Apu Ibusi. You may inflict violence on the target that
attacked you.
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GURANG EYE
Tigpana are taught to watch over the entire battlefield. Entire

settlements have been saved due to the tigpana’s vigilance.
Flourish * Tactic
Self
Effect: You gain the Overwatch until the start of your next turn.
When a combatant within range 4 voluntarily leaves their space,
you may consume the Overwatch to deal 1d4 Force damage to
them.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Farther Eye. Gurang are old men, or just old in general.
And these old men hold wisdom within them. Increase the range by
+2.
Grit 2: Vigilance of a Thousand Tigpana. An old Ibalong legend
holds that a great Gatusan war fleet was shot down by Ibalongnon
who sought to protect their settlement. A thousand tigpana
stationed themselves atop a cliff that was shaped like a man pulling
back on a bowstring. When the Gatusanon came, they let loose. The
sky was darkened, and the sound was like the tears of an angry arrow
god. Gain 2 Overwatch instead of 1.
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THE SULTANATE OF AKAI
The war gongs sounded. Our armies assembled. On one
side, under the blazing crimson banner of Sultana
Yarashgara XII, the Omniscient King, chosen by Baginda
Sumongsuklay herself, we stood. In front of the flattened
plain, facing the sea. We prepared our lantakas, our
arquebusiers raised their guns, our longbowmen raised their
bamboo bows the length of their bodies. Our frontmen
raised their kampilan and kris and sundang, beating them
against their kalasag. Our cavalry rode upon water buffaloes
and elephants, wielding arquebuses and spears. We were
ready to take them on, and we will bring them down.
Off to the distance, like a black blade sweeping in from the
horizon, sailed the bastard forces of the wicked sea king,
Radya Gaputan. He declared himself true sultan and
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declared war upon us last moon, and now he comes with the
full force of his fleet.
My Beloved Sultana walked up beside me. I lowered my
head to her, the golden threads of my sarok creating a soft
rustling symphony. “Parawali,” he said. “Report.” She was
garbed in the full ensemble of war god armor: elephant hide
breastplate and steel armor from head to toe, a helmet
fashioned to make him look like the dragon that eats the
moon, and a kiwo-kiwo kris that was larger than any other.
Around her armor she wore a colorful textile sarong of white,
pink, and crimson, which flowed to her feet.
“Beloved Sultana,” I said, and I pulled out the bamboo
scroll from my sleeve. “Radya Gaputan comes in with a force
that is seven times stronger than our land army.”
“But our army is all supremely trained,” replied my Beloved
Sultana. “And they are nothing but mercenaries and
horohan.”
“It may be so, but their superior numbers leave us at a
disadvantage.”
Sultana Yarashgara XII nodded, and then said, “Did my
friend Datu Kumusuli reply?”
I smiled. “They did, oh Valued One.”
“And? What was their reply?”
The war horns began then. The agung quickened. The
entire army began screaming in rage and defiance against
the wretched horde of Radya Gaputan. On top of the hill we
stood upon, overlooking the shore, the great Paraawit sang
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her greatest song. The Neverending War of the Sultanate.
She sang of all the great battles the sultanate has fought, will
fight, and will ever fight, and told of how they were
victorious above them all.
And as the war gongs clashed and the war horns bellowed,
a fleet of colorful sails came in from both sides of the
horizon, as if rushing to meet the incoming horde. A
multitude, like fire encroaching upon oil.
“They said that they remain faithful to you, Sultana, the
Conquerer of this Earth, the Render of Heaven, the
Omniscient Queen.”
The Beloved Sultana nodded and smiled. “Good answer.”
And she raised her giant kris, and lightning struck it, and she
flared like a god.
Proud warriors, Lovers of Freedom, Sages of the Moon. The Akai

Sultanate is one of the most powerful Sultanates in The Sword Isles.
Unlike the Rajahnate, the Sultanate all serve under a single divinely
mandated Sultana, who is currently the great Yarashgara XII, the
twelfth of her name.
The Akai Sultanate was established a hundred years during the
ending of the Seventh Moon Era. Jaris Akai escaped with his family,
and through that bred a powerful line of ten sons, who eventually
became the Ten Datu that ruled over the ten regions of the region
that surrounded Siga, the island whereupon the holy capital of the
Sultanate was to be born.
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Jaris Akai, also known as Rajah Akai, faced down a rebellion from
the Ten Rajahnates of his sons, which he managed to win after the
arrival of Sihkandag, the Warrior-Priestess of Baginda
Sumongsuklay. Through her counsel, medicine, and sorceries, Jaris
Akai brought his sons to line, and then eventually established the
Sultanate.
Soon after, the Sultanate adopted the Moon Faith, Iman, as a state
religion. As more pandita wisefolk came in and taught the religion,
more culture (both social and material) was brought into the ten
islands. They crafted powerful weapons and learned great
techniques which he taught to his ten sons. Upon his ten sons, he
conquered the island of Siga and the surrounding islands, a portion
of the islands of Simipatra, and the coasts of Kalanawan.
His reign only ended due to the quarreling and politicking of his
ten Sons, who bickered and warred, fighting for inheritance of the
Throne.
Eventually Jaris Akai perished, and on the dawn of his mourning
erupted the Ten Datu War. The winner of which was Yarashgara I,
who was not the eldest but the one destined to be the leader among
the Ten Datus, as spoken by his pandita. And thus it was so, and
the rest of the ten cities and states paid fealty to him, for he and his
line became the inheritors of the Lunar Throne.
The Akai Sultanate believes in what they call Iman. It is the faith
that the Moon Goddess Baginda Sumongsuklay created the islands
after warring with the sun, and became the Resplendent Night
Queen that held sway over both night and day. Baginda
Sumongsuklay was privy to power over the most powerful realm in
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the world: the Sea, and the Sultanate became peerless sea raiders
and warriors thanks to their blessing from Baginda Sumongsuklay.
They have created Lunar Temples for her in spiritually powerful
places. All diwata pay fealty to her, the greatest of the diwata.
As of present day, the Ten Datu and the Sultana still have a
convocation at every Full Moon for feasting and trading and
speaking and organizing new ventures, as well as other diplomatic
political inventions. Lately they have been preparing, as the
Lakanate of Virbanwa readies their armies and recruits from their
villages. The Akai Sultanate will not bow.
The Tawo of the Akai are much similar to their neighbors to the
south. They have a tripartite society, and go on raids and are born
into a society of war. From a young age, they are usually told of the
Moon Faith, the Iman, and that to follow the teachings of Baginda
Sumongsuklay and die for them is the highest reward they could
have. Tawo from the Sultanate are exposed to vast trade with
Naksuwarga and Baik Hu. They have access to inscriptions and
culture from other parts of the world through this trade. This has
caused many of the Sultanate tawo to be exceedingly diverse
culturally.
Dagindara tawo share much with the Akai tawo, complete with
their centralized government, tripartite society, and tendency to be
free and war-loving. Dagindara are known to send vassal missions
to Baik Hu much more than the Akai tawo do. Dagindara share
much of their architecture with Akai, and the term Bamga for either
sexes is used when deference is required.
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Nobles in the Sultanate are similar to nobles in the Rajahnate,
with the exception that they serve and give a tribute to the Sultana.
Nobles can become pandita, or wise-men, if they become well-
versed in the Iman. They are knowledgeable in the Moon Law and
custom. Princes that are of royal blood are referred to as Katchil,
and the crown prince was termed Rajah Muda. Rajah Laut were
third-ranking dignitaries. A high-ranking council of elders known
as the Bichara Atas counsels the Sultana. Those rich enough with
the right and means to trade are treated as nobles and are called
Orangkaya.
Among the Nobles, they share much in common with the Akai as
well. Especially rich folk that do not have noble blood, the
orangkaya, are known to have their own little society within
Dagindara, and in some cases influence the decisions of the Datu.
Princes and Datu of Dagindara spend much of their time warring
with hinterland societies, much to the chagrin of the Sultana. Many
epics and songs and poetry has been born due to the constant
adventuring of nobles.
Sultanate Kadungganan are called satariya. They fight not only for
their Datu, but also for the Sultanate. When the final wars come, or
when the Sultana seeks for them, they will ride with their Datu to
the Sultan’s side.
Sultanate Kadungganan are much more socially free to move
about across Sultanate settlements due to this, as they hold the
highest debt and servitude to the Sultana, and not only to their own
Datu. They are, at times, much freeer than even Nobles, as they do
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not need to worry about the strict social taboos and other such
pleasantries.
Most orangkaya live their lives as timawa, going from town to
town either selling their wares, setting up food booths where they
sell their food, or offer other services, such as hunting, cleaning,
warring, and smitthing. Captives are more common here. More
importantly, sina debtors are common here as well, as the Sultanate
is a prime trading route for going down to Baik Hu, and thus many
raids are conducted to pirate and pillage travelling boats filled with
sina foreigners.
NOTEWORTHY PERSONS
Sultana Yarashgara XII. Yarashgara, descended of Jaris Akai, the
twelfth of her name, the Omniscient Queen, unto whom songs of
crocodile-slaying and island-rending are sung about. She is known
as the Thundering Conqueror, the Ever-Swallowing Current. Borne
to a royal family, she proved her worth as the heir to the throne,
and sought to capitalize on her father’s mistakes by expanding Akai
everforward. Yarashgara is a well-versed in the teachings of Iman,
counseled by twelve pandita--both local and foreign--and served a
tour of duty as a knight-warlord for her late father before taking the
throne. Thus, the Omniscient Queen is intimate with her subjects,
and the Sultana knows that they are primed for expansion. Their
goal is to conquer all of The Sword Isles first, and then Sonyoh, and
then the rest of Naksuwarga. She aims to become a force strong
enough to rival even Baik Hu. She keeps her wits about her,
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however, for they know treachery and betrayal whirls at every
current.
Upon her throne in the Lunar Palace, she sits upon a stone dais
that is made of the bones of a great moon-eating serpent, the
Bakunawa Throne. She sits upon it with legs folded, wearing a great
pudong that does not fall, but rather, is attracted to the sky, so it
falls upwards always, creating a spiralling crown unrivalled. It and
the rest of her garments--a lambung so long that it can cover her in
three-layers and still be long enough to cover the entirety of the
Bakunawa Throne, a shawl that can double as elongated arms and
can wield weapons, and a silken pillow that lets her fly anywhere--
is made of moonsilver-silk. Moonsilver-silk can be found nowhere
else in the world but upon the Sultana, who commissioned it from
a thousand of the Sultanate’s best weavers.
The Sultana’s sword is a crescent scimitar, the Bulan Sansibar,
that when used at its full power can cut entire mountains. She has
no need for a shield.
Pangiran Seri Rida. The elder brother of Yarashgara XII. He is
incensed. Although working as a Mahalaksamana, or Grand
Admiral, of the Akai Fleet, he connives and plans. He believes that
he is the true heir to the Throne, despite not being the eldest son.
Despite this, he chooses not to recognize Yarashgara, who was born
Ilasun, as the current Sultana. Even now, he amasses forces, not just
from Akai Kedatuan, but from Dagindara and Sritaluk as well, even
going so far as asking help from far cousins that live in Gatusan. A
full scale war is ready to tip, with Pangiran Seri Rida at its prow. All
he needs is for Yarashgara to slip up.
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Pandita Mana. A wise and widely respected pandita. He is a
heavily bearded man, wearing a turban-like pudong, and a heavy
kampilan that is more for ritual use than combat. He uses sorceries
learned from the Sacred Land to the Southeast, which lets him
manipulate light and shadow itself with a single mentala. He travels
the land as a scholar and spreader of the word of Baginda
Sumongsuklay, making sure that all beings can accept her ever-
gleaming brightness. He seeks to turn all of The Sword Isles to the
truth of Iman, to push them to a new age of enlightenment. To that
end, he travels, paying boat-owners and merchants alike to ride
upon their vessels, to travel as far as his eye can see. He grants those
that he preaches to help, in the form of healing or herbal remedies.
NOTEWORTHY POLITIES
The Holy Kedatuan of Harigii. Called solely because of the
ancient holy temple built upon a high mountain by the first few
preachers and apostles of the Moon Goddess, and was where the
First Teacher, Indra Guro, died and was buried. The Holy Temple
has since withered away to the elements, as it was built on bamboo,
save for the four pillars that it was built upon, which never wilt
away. When a person cut the pillar to examine it, the part that was
cut immediately withered and aged. Many people that live in
Harigii grow up to become priests, scholars, and monks for the
Moon faith. Harigii has since become the pilgrimage site for all
Bulanists. The current Datu of Harigii is a once-pandita preacher
named Datu Dahit Sabad.
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Jambangan. The Land of Flowers. The holy city-state in the
middle of the Sultanate’s jurisdiction. It is large enough to cover all
of the island of Siga, where it is situated. In the middle of the
archipelago is a holy pyramid to the Moon Goddess Baginda
Sumongsuklay, which they call the Holy Lunar Temple. Beside it is
the Bamboo Palace of the Sultana, the high royalty of the Akai
Sultanate, where the current Omniscient Queen Sultana:
Yarashgara XII, lives. Those that are her children and families from
her concubines live in the quarter closest to the palace, while the
other workers, debtors, and warriors live in swathes of
neighborhoods. Siga thus faces war from all sides, but it is fiercely
defended by loyal datu and Kadungganan, as well as strong stone
fortifications.
Pasara. The capital of the island of Ulahina, the crown jewel of
the Sultanate, ruled by the Datu Gaddung Kira-Kira, who is a
peerless blacksmith and a loyal vassal to Yarashgara. Pasara is an
entry city that leads into verdant forests, jade statues overgrown
now by trees, and clear streams that flow out of the mountain. The
mountain upon which Pasara lies at the base of Mount Sithi, is said
to be the home of the Diwata Sithi, Goddess of Tears and Love, and
it is said that the two rivers that stream down on both sides of the
mountain are her tears. Most people that live here are known to be
excellent entertainers and performers, creating an extravagant
economy for tourists and travelers from all across The Sword Isles
and the greater world.
Yikapu. A polity ruled by the current Mahapanglima, or Grand
General, Jamrud Wanni. Yikapu is situated on a small island south
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of Jambangan, and it is protected by moonstone fortresses and star-
bamboo towers. Here the superior military force of Akai is both
trained, stationed, and launched. The Kadungganan trained here
are taught how to use lantaka, cannons used for war, powered by
strange busalian sorceries, as well as how to use their soul to fight
back against the beguiling enchantments of both god and witch.

To Virbanwa: What we will do to your kingdom is the reason
why the Moon looks away.
To Gatusan: Wild, pure, and forever free! We would happily
include them into the ranks of our vassals, but their blades are
sharp and their tongues even sharper. To live by the blade is to die
by the blade, of course, and they shall find hell from ours.
To Apumbukid: A nuisance. They have not the strength to repel
us. Had we the effort and will, the Holy Mountain would have
become our ladder to the Holy City on the Moon.
To Ba-e: Aloft upon their elder dais, yet they have persisted
through cycles of violence. Does it grieve them to see the depths of
their own weakness laid bare?
AKAI DISCIPLINES
The following are the Disciplines born from Akai.
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AYAM HUNTER [AYH]
Hunting is a popular trade and profession in the isles. Its how one
gets pig and meat, after all. And pig caught in the forest is a ritual
sacrifice, filled with metaspiritual meaning and power. Hunting in
the isles are done either by one’s self, with traps, or with a dog or
two, who can pin down game.
When war broke out, and constant violence loomed, the Ayam
Hunters arose, pointing their traps and their dogs at their enemies.
They took it upon themselves. Now they train their children not
only in the arts of hunting, but also in war. After all, how different
can hunting a human be? While all the mandalas hunted, it was
Akai that first saw their applicability in war, and began granting
nobility and vassalship to hunters who would join the Sultana’s
following and army. An even smaller contingent of elite hunters
serve as her royal hunters, outfitted with silks and golds and jades.
Ayam Hunters use a large variety of constructed traps to control
the battlefield. They might bait their enemies, use strange pits to
make them fall, or soften the soil to make them slip quicker. Ayam
Hunters are unmatched when it comes to manipulating the
battlefield with their ingenuity and closest allies. They thrive in the
mid-range, putting down traps to shut down enemy movement and
skill.
Ayam hunting dogs are fierce and they never back down, and they
even prefer to fight against things larger than them, the devil
bastards. They rejoice in the glory of savaging a giant boar or
crocodile or stag and bringing them writhing to the floor.
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Ayam hunters are usually geniuses in trap making as well as the
ways of nature, sought after for their expertise. They come from all
walks of life, and with their ayam, they can take on whatever
challenge that will come their way, with a combination of their wit,
their innovative skill, and the fierceness of their ayam.
If you choose to be that consummate hunter, ask why you used
your hunting and trade for battle. What made you hunt the
ultimate predator? Why do you sic your hunting dogs at your fellow
man?
Ayam Hunter Technicks are known as Dog Hunting Arts.
CONTROL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: BEST FRIEND

You have an ayam that acts as a unit in combat. They have a Speed
of 5. They are Weak to Fire. They have a Mettle equal to your
Battered value.
You can spend a Flourish to command them, let them do one of
the following things:
- Sic’ Em! Your ayam strides to adjacency of one foe and makes a
physical melee attack. On hit, they deal 3 earth damage and inflict
Fray 1.
- Guard Me! Your ayam moves toward you. If they end up
adjacent to you, both of you suffer halved damage from all attacks.
- Keep Them Off Me! The ayam barks frighteningly, like
thunder, pushing all foes adjacent to you by 1 space.
If you don’t order them on your turn, they will run up to the
closest foe and make a physical melee attack if they’re in melee
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range, dealing 1d4 earth damage on a hit at the end of the round. If
they have Fray, they save for it at the end of the round as well.
If your ayam is brought to 0 Mettle, they will be Crashed as well.
While Crashed, they will heal half your Breath in Mettle every start
of their turn until they heal all their Mettle back, and they are no
longer Crashed. You can heal them instantly by using an Action to
Revive them.
However, they still suffer 1 Wound, and they will be incapacitated
when they suffer 3 Wounds.
FIRST MASTERY: HANDLER

You can now spend a Flourish to do one of the following effects:
- Stay hidden! Give your ayam Hidden until the end of their next
turn.
- That’s my boy. Give your ayam Barrier equal to your Breath.
- Slow ‘em down! Your ayam moves and makes a melee physical
attack against a foe in melee. On hit, deal 2 earth damage and the
target is Slowed.
SECOND MASTERY: ONENESS

You can now issue commands to your pet as a Reflex during your
turn, but 1/round per each command.
Your ayam can now lick your wounds while you’re Crashed. While
they’re adjacent to you, gain +1 Fate on all Crashed Rolls.
As a Flourish, you can give your ayam Defiant until the end of
their next turn. While Defiant, they cannot be brought to 0 Mettle.
You can now move a Trap as a Reflex at the start of your turn as
well, moving it 2 spaces.
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INFLICT VIOLENCE: DOG COORDINATION
Gouge
You gouge at an opponent.
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 2 earth damage.
Combo: If the next attack on the target is a shot finisher and it
deals damage, the target suffers Fray 2.
Bloodflow
You rip your prey.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 3 earth damage.
Effect: Inflict Fray 2. Your ayam’s next attack inflicts Ripped.
Sting
You leap at an opponent and break through their defenses.
1 Unit | Melee
Action * Maneuver, Opener
Attack: You may quickstep 2 spaces before making the attack.
Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 3 earth damage.
Effect: Your ayam’s next attack is Strengthened.
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SECOND WIND TECHNICK: DRINK THE HURRICANE
A special brew from the menders of Akai. Edible to both you and
your dog. When you consume it, the edges of your vision are frayed
by lightning, and everything seems to move slower.
Self
Effect: Heal Breath and give your ayam a command as a Reflex,
even if you’ve already used it that round.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: HUNTING PACK

“All right, when you’re overwhelmed? When your traps have all be
spent? Rely on this guy. This best friend of yours. In these lands of
violence, we have none other. These guys can climb trees, rip wounds,
and sharpen their own claws! All right, bud? Remember, even when I
die, you’ll never be alone. These dogs are me and your ancestors.
We’ll never let you down.” Hunter Sakdal, to his son Titi Mangita,
before going to join the ranks of the Sultanate.
Flourish * Ritual, Maneuver, Venture, Round 3
Spend 3 Grit
Self
Effect: You become The Dog Pack, one with a rushing tide of
ayam, spilling blood in their wake, until the end of the scene. You
and your ayam take your turn at the same time now, and you are
both immune to forced movement.
While you are the Pack, gain Haste and +2 to your Critical
Damage. Whenever you or your ayam deals damage, the other one
gains Strengthened on their next attack.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Rampaging Canines. You become unstoppable. You can
now move through foes. If you do, push them 2 spaces aside.
Grit 2: Dogged Strength. The strength of the pack is not to be
trifled with. You summon all your dog friends. Whenever you
attack, also inflict Rooted to the target on a hit, as dogs bite into
their heels.
DOG HUNTING ARTS
EARTH COFFIN
“May the earth swallow you!” - A common curse in The Sword Isles.
Flourish * Trap, Charge 3
1 Unoccupied Space | Range 3
Effect: Inflict Root.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Wider Coffin. You’ve expanded the trap. Make the range
3, burst 2, and it affects two combatants of your choice.
Grit 2: Burial. Your pit is deeper now, where did you find the time
to do that? The targets also fall into a space that is -2 Height.
BAMBOO SHRIKE PIT
Perfect for heavier creatures. This is a shallow pit that has multiple
bamboo spikes with fire-hardened tips at the bottom.
Flourish * Trap, Charge 3
All Spaces | Close Blast 2
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Effect: You put down a shrike pit in the target area. Any creature
that steps on a space adjacent to the trap may make a save to find
out whether they see the trap. You can choose when to trigger the
Pit. When you do, all creatures on the Bamboo Shrike Pit’s space
falls into a space that is Height -1, they suffer 2 piercing earth
damage, and they become Prone. The pit stays.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Stunting Shrike. There are bamboo spikes at the bottom
of the pit. When the pit is triggered, the target also becomes Slow.
Grit 2: Naga Maw. You increase the strength of the pit. Increase
the range to Close Blast 3.
BALATIK TRAP
Balatik are the most well known contraption and trap of hunters in
The Sword Isles: they are small bamboo ballistas that, when
triggered, skewers the unsuspecting prey with a long bamboo spike.
It turns out that this is just as effective for humans as it is for wild
boar and deer.
Action * Trap, Charge 3
Target: All spaces | Range: Close Line 5
Effect: Lay down the trap in the target area. This is a trap. When
a foe steps onto the target area, you may spend a balatik trap to deal
3 piercing Force damage to all foes in the target area and push them
5 spaces away from the line. If they collide with terrain because of
the push, the balatik arrow impales them, making them
Immobilized until they spend a Flourish to remove the arrow.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Flexible Wire. Ingenuity has made your trap harder to
dodge. Change the range to Close Wall 6.
Grit 2: Impaling Spears. Your balatik javelins pierce deep and
true. If the trap is triggered, it may immediately Immobilize the
target instead of pushing them and inflicts Ripped as well.
SILKWEAVE
You place silkweave upon your clothes or your skin, and pull upon
it whenever you need to move quickly.
Action * Maneuver, Charge 3
Self
Effect: You are pulled 2 spaces in any direction by a sudden
silkweave string attached to a tree or the ground. This ignores
Immobilized and Slowed and does not provoke reactions. If you
move into the space of another combatant, you do not suffer
damage, but they do.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Longer Silk. You use a silkbug that has longer silks. You
are pulled 4 spaces now instead of 2.
Grit 2: Nested Silkbug. A silk friend hides in your clothes, waiting
for the day to save you. You gain Silkweave instead when you use
this Technick. You may consume it at any point to trigger the Effect
of this Technick. If this brings you out of range of the attacker’s
attack, the attack against you fails.
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SWORDFISH WARRIOR [SWW]
Swordfish Warriors are skilled riders of the balu, giant swordfish
with noses sharper than spears and wings as large as an eagle’s.
While they require water to breathe, they can stay up in the air for
quite some time. Swordfish Warriors are trained by the best of the
best in their villages, as taming a balu is an entire endeavor all to
itself. One must train a balu since their infancy to form a proper
connection with them. Since balu are one of the quickest animals
in The Sword Isles, they have been used to corrale and subdue
enemy advances in war. Balu are outfitted with chain linked mails
and hardwood armors as well.
Swordfish Warriors are said to have a distant rivalry with the
other riding Disciplines, particularly the buwaya riders. This is
because they have both been invented by enemy villages. Riding a
balu is a sacred act of oneness with nature, and requires a balyan
ritual to officiate. Swordfish Warriors are known to use bamboo or
hardwood recurve bows for their choice of weapon, or any other
long-ranged implement, to attack and skewer from mid-range.
Swordfish Warriors know the lay of the land and they know the
movement of the sea. If you were a Swordfish Warrior you must’ve
begun your childhood close to water, whether it be a pond or the
ocean. You are intimate with the ways of fishing, wielding harpoon
and net to catch your prey. If anyone needs a helping hand when it
comes to fishing and hunting, Swordfish Warriors are usually well-
trained in this regard.
Swordfish Warriors tend to be the first into a battle, with their
superior speed being able to move them across the battlefield with
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relative ease. Due to their mounts, they will be usually tasked with
jobs or duties that would need quick movement or ability to float a
few feet over land and water. While balu can submerge, the riders
usually cannot hold their breath for long.
The most elite Swordfish Warriors are the Cavalry of Datu
Margosatubig, in a distant island north of Kalanawan. This island,
called Salagunting, is said to actually be the top of an underwater
coral kingdom named Sugnanti. The balu here are larger, and have
sharper swordnoses, and are said to rush through both air and
water like arrows loosed by the sea king.
If you become a Swordfish Warrior, ask yourself: why do you ride
upon the wings of legends to inflict violence? The folly of men
dapples your arrowhead, why must you enslave nature to scatter
your enemies’ entrails upon the ground?
Swordfish Warrior Technicks are known as Coral Wind Arts.
MARKSMAN STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: BALU MOUNT
You ride upon a flying swordfish known as a balu. These holy
swordfish mounts are rare in the isles, born from pearls hidden deep
within coral kingdoms. They are the favored pet of the Overlord of
the Sea, Rajah Margosatubig, whose kingdom rests right beside the
navel of the world, wherein they keep watch over Tambanokano, the
great world crab.
You ride upon a balu mount. While on the balu mount, you are
Size 2, and your speed is 5. You are considered hovering, and you
do not halve your Speed when you swim.
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Despite being large, your balu mount does not need to squeeze
through tight spaces, as it is slippery enough.
On the balu mount, you can move through foes. If you do, you
may deal 2 piercing flat damage to them, although you can only
damage a foe once per turn using this ability.
FIRST MASTERY: SEAWIND EXPERTISE

When you Stride, 1/scene, you can leave behind seawind brine on
every space that you move into. This brine is slippery terrain, which
means that wheneve a foe moves into it, all their movement ends,
they move 1 space in the direction they were going, and then fall
prone.
SECOND MASTERY: CORAL HUNTER

You can now spend a Flourish while riding your Balu mount to
give yourself Haste, but you become Unbalanced.
Whenever you quickstep, you can now also inflict violence at the
end of the movement. Your quickstep now lets you move 3 spaces
instead.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: SEA JAVELIN

Deadeye
You ready your spear or bow, and fire projectiles that shoot like jets
of water.
Action * Maneuver, Steady
1 Unit | Range 3
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Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 piercing water
damage. If the target is at least 3 spaces away, deal +2 extra damage.
Wave
You send a wave of arrows or spears like an ocean wave.
All Units | Close Blast 2
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 water damage.
Cascade
You send a hail of arrows or spears in every side, as your balu rushes
to protect you.
Action * Maneuver
All Units | Close Burst 1
Effect: Gain cover until the end of your next turn.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: CORAL PROTECTION

Your balu summons a school of similar, smaller balu to protect the
both of you.
Flourish * Ritual, Maneuver, Scene, Heal
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Gain cover and Hidden until the end of your
next turn.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: TYPHOON SPEAR SHRIKE
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You envelop yourself in rushing waves and salt sea brine, which
takes on the form of the King of the Sea, high and mighty, with a
crown of coral reefs and a mount of six thousand balu. You and your
Balu share each other’s eyes. Spirit torrents guide your arrow shots.
Your weapon turns into a shrike of pure jet water, which you hurl
against your enemy. Your balu becomes as the royal balu of Tuwan
Margosatubig.
Flourish * Ritual, Maneuver, Venture
Spend 5 Grit
Effect: You become the Typhoon Spear Shrike until the end of
the scene. While you are the Typhoon Spear Shrike: you may
Quickstep 3 spaces before or after every attack you make, all your
ranged physical attacks ignore cover and armor, and whenever you
deal damage, your arrows splash, dealing 3 piercing water damage
to all foes in close burst 2 of the target.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Thundering Strikes. Your arrows are blessed by Jamiyun
Kulisa. All your ranged physical attacks can now target close line
6.1. Each foe you hit, your arrows will still splash.
Grit 2: Summon The Coral Kingdom’s Balu. A veritable storm
of balu rise from the sea and skewer your victims. You summon all
the balu from the legendary kingdom of Margosatubig. Balu arise
from the closest source of water, even if it is condensation or rain,
and skewers all enemies. Deal 3d6 + Prominence to all foes in the
battlefield. For the rest of the scene, all spaces are enveloped by sea
brine, which is difficult terrain for all foes.
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CORAL WIND ARTS
BOW FOLLOW-UP
Fighting in the melee has helped you realize that you can take
advantage of helpless Foes. Swordfish Warriors never give up an
opportunity. As a Swordfish Warrior you are trained to keep yourself
upon your steed at all times. You become quick, moving through the
battlefield as if you were the wind itself. This is a staple of balu
archers in the Sultanate, as they need to be moving as much as
possible alongside the impeccably swift karakoas of the Sultanate.
Response Reaction: When 1 Unit within range gains Unbalance
* Maneuver
Triggering Unit | Range 3
Effect: Inflict Juggled.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Windswept. Seawinds blow away your target. Push the
target 2 spaces.
Grit 2: Double Wind. A tailwind strengthens your arrow. You can
deal wind damage instead.
BLACK TIDE KAHANAS
The Black Tide carries away all that end up within their currents,
bringing them to certain death and whirlpools. This Black Tide can
only be ridden by the royal balu of Datu Margosatubig. If not, they
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are brought to the boats of Magwayen, the Divine Boat Ferry, to
Sulad, or hell.
Action * Ritual, Maneuver, Blast Finisher
All Unit | Close Blast 2
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 earth damage.
Effect: Shift the target 3 spaces.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Endless Tide. The tide does not relent. Shift the target 5
spaces instead.
Grit 2: Violent Tide. The tide rushes and claims what is theirs.
Knock the target prone and you may shift 2 spaces.
STORM BRINE
A skill invented by the old Balu Warlord Panglima Sumarak, who

used sea water to wet the battlefield itself, carrying with him a sack
or gourd of sea water or the sea water of their balu itself.
Flourish * Mentala, Maneuver, Taxing, Field
All Spaces | Range 4 Blast 2
Effect: Place a brine field in the target area until the end of your
next turn. All units in the field deal water damage.
Field: When a blast finisher is performed within the field, the
field electrifies into blue lightning, before dissipating. All units
within the field suffer 4 piercing wind damage.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Wider Water. Your brine mentala summons the sea.
Increase the range to blast 3.
Grit 2: Churning Waters. The water you summon bubbles with
heat. The field becomes dangerous terrain for foes.
BAGAKAY STORM
“Strike as much as you can, before the water that nourishes you
becomes your blood,” – Agi Sindarak, a Swordfish Warrior warlord
from the polity of Ikadan in Kalanawan. Bagakay is a kind of bamboo
that is commonly used to make javelins and spears with fire hardened
tips.
Action * Maneuver, Burst Finisher
Attack: Move 3 spaces before the attack, and you can make the
Attack at any point in the move. If you are on a mount, you may
dismount to move 6 spaces, ignoring Terrain. Melee Physical
Attack. Deal 1d4 Force damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Enlightened Storm. Your attack burns through waterfalls.
Deal 2d4 Force damage instead.
Grit 2: Staggering Storm. The attack knocks them upon their
head. Inflict Unbalanced on the target until the end of their next
turn.
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RITUAL BERSERKER [RBS]
Ritual Berserkers are holy berserkers that kill and die in the name
of their conviction. While Faith in the Moon Goddess isn’t a
prerequisite to mag-sabil, conviction is. A conviction to die in the
face of imminent, and sometimes quite certain, death.
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All warriors can perform the sabil, that faithful war-ritual.
However, Ritual Berserkers dedicate their entire lives to the sabil.
Every venture they go out on is a venture they are prepared to die
for their faith in. This has caused Ritual Berserkers to be
particularly feared, due to their total lack of self-preservation.
The first Ritual Berserker was said to be Baginda Sumongsuklay
herself. She arrived upon the islands in times now long gone, and
traveled into the sky palace of Indira Suga and Jamiyun Kulisa, and
immediately went into a frenzy. She succeeded in breaking the sky
gates, and in her total lack of self-preservation, leapt onto the
Thunderbolt and wounded him. Brother Lightning and Mother Sun
have since left that sky palace, and now Baginda Sumongsuklay
commands the faith and trust of the warriors of Akai.
Those that become Mag-sabil berserkers dedicate their entire
lives to the emulation of that art, with the knowledge that they shall
ascend to the bladed moon heaven of Baginda Sumongsuklay
should they die in the act of pag-sabil.
The death violent art of mag-sabil has been known since the dawn
of time, once practiced in supreme deference and respect for the
datu, they will dress themselves in the vestures and raiment of
death and go on berserk fury, or as it is known in the Archipelago:
pag-sabil. You sharpen this glorious fury into your weapon. You
have forged yourself into the ultimate killing machine: your heart
is a sword, the pain you suffer is fire to the furnace.
During the beginning of the Second Star Era, pag-sabil has been
easier to initiate and invoke with the help of sugapa and other drugs
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to elevate the fury to one transcendental, communing with the
spirits of war.
The most well known mag-sabil do give themselves to the mad
fury of the moon, of the Moon Goddess Baginda Sumongsuklay, to
whom adoration and respect is required, and dying in their name
is the ultimate way to reach her Palace in the Sky.
Mag-sabil berserkers can also be found all across the archipelago,
especially those that have the same amount of zeal and loyalty to
their leaders and the spirits of their settlements. They are, however,
few and far in between in number, a small number of warrior braves
who are always ready to die for their leader and faith.
Before going out on a venture, you dress yourself in the raiment
of death and then anoint yourself with oils, as if you were being
carried off to be buried, and then dress yourself in your best jewelry,
to make sure that you bring with you your earthly wealth to the
next life and be accepted into heaven with open arms.
If you chose the violent life of the Ritual Berserker, ask yourself
who you profess your faith to. Why? Do you wish heaven? Or is this
a convenient excuse for you to inflict indiscriminate violence?
The Berserker’s Technicks are known as Faith Rage Arts.
RAIDER STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: FAITH AND RAGE

Whenever you suffer damage, gain Rage. Whenever you deal
damage, gain Faith. You can only have up to 5 of either.
You can spend Rage and Faith on the following effects:
- Rage Slash. Spend 1 Rage when you make a melee attack to
Strengthen its damage.
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- Tenacity. Spend 1 Faith when you first become Battered in a
scene to give yourself Armor 2 until the end of your next turn.
- Rapturous Strike from Lunar Heaven. Spend 3 Rage when
you make a melee attack to gain +2 Curse, but if you still hit, you
deal maximum damage, no roll.
- Invigorating Heaven Blessing. Spend 3 Faith to heal Mettle
equal to your Faith.
FIRST MASTERY: SUGAPA MASTERY

You now ingest sugapa to work you into a rage trance. You have
3 Sugapa during a Venture. You can now, as a Flourish, consume
a Sugapa to immediately gain 3 Rage.
You now gain the following effect:
- Moon Wrath Trance. If you have Rage 3 and Faith 3, spend all
Rage and Faith to enter into the Moon Wrath Stance. While in the
Moon Wrath Stance, all your melee attacks are Strengthened and
you become immune to soul damage. You are knocked off this
stance when you suffer Breath or more damage.
- Reposition. When you make an attack, you may spend X Rage
to move X spaces, without provoking reactions, to a maximum of
spending 3.
SECOND MASTERY: TRANSCENDENTAL RAGE

Your rage becomes ascendant, transcendent. You now no longer
gain Rage or Faith. Instead, you now gain Fury whenever you
suffer or deal damage. You can have up to 10 Fury. Anything that
needs Rage or Faith now only needs Fury. Moon Wrath Stance is
now counted as just needing 3 Fury.
You can now use the following effects as well:
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- Kill Angels. You leap up and strike at angels. Spend 3 Fury when
you Stride to ignore Height and deal Strengthened damage against
all flying and hovering foes until the end of your next turn.
- Bury Devils. You bury devils into the earth. Spend 6 Fury when
you Burst to knock down all foes adjacent to you and deal 2d4 +
Prominence piercing force damage to them.
- Cleave The Moon In Twain. You reach up, and in your faith
and zeal, you complete the Moon Goddess’ final testament. Spend 9
Fury and you must be in the Moon Wrath Stance. Consume the
Moon Wrath Stance as a Reflex at any point to Transcend your rage
until the end of the scene. While you are Transcending, you deal
Strengthened 2 damage, can knock targets prone as an Effect, and
whenever you are damaged, you may immediately deal 1d6 Force
damage to the one that caused you damage.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: APPROACHING STORM

Churn
You slide into position for your attack.
Action * Maneuver, Ritual, Stance
Self
Effect: Move 3 spaces without provoking reactions. Then, sink
into the Gathering Storm Stance.
Stance: All foes that start their turn or move into a space adjacent
to you suffer 2 piercing flat damage. You are Slowed while in this
stance. You lose this stance when you are moved forcibly.
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Shoulder
Your charge forward, breaking boulders.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 Force damage,
push the target 1 space and move to a space they vacated without
provoking reactions.
Effect: You cannot be Immobilized, Rooted, pushed, pulled, or
shifted until the end of your next turn.
Devastation
You finally bring your weapon down in a horrible swing, which
cleaves into the earth itself.
Action * Maneuver, Ritual, Perilous, Taxing
1 Unit | Close Line 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack, with 1 Curse. On hit, deal 1d8
Force damage. If the target is at least 2 spaces away, deal 2d8 force
damage instead.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: UNENDING WRATH

You dig deep and hold onto your conviction, even if grasping it
bleeds you. You become your conviction incarnate.
Flourish * Scene, Heal
Effect: Heal Breath. If you are Battered, immediately gain 3 Rage
and 3 Faith as well.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: BRING THE MOON DOWN TO EARTH
The ultimate zeal-rage comes from the most tranquil of souls. You
have mastered your rage, and it comes out as a silent breath. That
silent rage that none can muster, that none can overcome. Like the
ever-coming tide of the ocean, ready to overwhelm and swallow the
mountains.
Who are they to say that your faith-rage is unjustified? This world
is sundered and torn: break it even further, and in so doing bring light
to bear. This is the Principle of Fury: kill all things indiscriminately
to attain true Harmony.
Action * Perilous, Venture, Round 3
Spend 5 Grit
All Units | Close Line X, with X being the number of spaces
it takes to reach the end of the battlefield.
Effect: You perform the Final Pagsabil: deal 6d6 piercing Force
damage to the target. This damage can be Strengthened.
Enhancement
Grit 1: Cleave The Moon: Exalted Pagsabil! You bring dow the
blade to cleave all of reality. The range becomes two Close Line X,
in two opposite sides of your space.
Grit 2: Channel Baginda Sumongsuklay: Ultimate Pagsabil!
The Moon Goddess arrives and stabs the battlefield.
Change the range to the entire battlefield, and your attack is
immediately Strengthened 2. Knock all targets prone as well. The
only safe space is within Close Burst 2 of you or behind blocking
terrain.
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FAITH RAGE ARTS
HARROWING
Fury. You lash out in sabil: you move so fast that a thousand
afterimages of you—like a miniature army—erupts from your soul,
and they all attack.
Attack: Physical Melee Attack. Deal 1d8 Force damage.
Suffer damage equal to the number of foes you target. This
damage cannot be reduced in any way.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Enlightened Harrow. Reposition. You may quickstep 2
spaces before the attack.
Grit 2: Dire Harrowing. Give it everything you’ve got. You may
choose to bring all your afterimages into a single coordinated strike
upon a foe adjacent to you instead of close burst 2. If you do, instead
deal 2d6 to that foe, and then suffer Breath piercing damage to. You
can only use this Grit Enhancement 1/scene.
CHARGE
The Berserker rejoices in the glory of combat. You ready your

weapon, and engage in violence. Your wounds only make you
stronger. IN VIOLENCE YOU ARE BORN AND IN VIOLENCE YOU
WILL PERISH. YOUR FURY IS A FIRE THAT CANNOT BE
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EXTINGUISHED, IT SHINES IN THE VOID AFTER THE END OF
THE CREATION. REMEMBER THIS, BERSERKER: WHEN PEACE IS
ACHIEVED, YOU WILL CEASE TO EXIST.
Flourish * Maneuver, Ritual, Concentration, Scene
All Units | Melee
Effect: You ready your weapon. You become Charging.
Concentration: You deal 5 + Prominence force damage at the
end of the round to the target. Deal extra damage equal to the
number of attacks directed at you during the round.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Rejoicing. Nothing can stop you. Spend this when you first
use this Technick. Before you deal damage at the end of the round,
you may quickstep 3 spaces.
Grit 2: True Charged Slash. You can only use this 1/scene, and
when you first use this Technick. Inflict the Reckoning condition
on the target. At the end of the round, you may consume the
Reckoning to immediately teleport to a space adjacent to them
before dealing damage.
KURITA PIERCES HEAVEN
You swing and flourish up, bringing the victim of your scorn to the
heavens. “Verily, I say unto you: should you shed blood for your
Goddess, thus shall you find eternal life. But should you rip open
Heaven in the name of the Moon, then shall you achieve nirvana.” -
Teachings of Pandita Ashakarwa.
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1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Physical Melee Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 Force damage.
Effect: Make the target Juggled.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Align the Souls. Your weapon shall slice through the
clouds. Add the following to the Effect: make all foes adjacent to
you Unbalanced until the end of their next turn.
Grit 2: To Form A Message In The Sand. Your arm shall pierce
the heavens. If the target is Juggled, you can spend this to
immediately go up to the target and make a physical attack, dealing
1d8 wind damage on a hit and knocking them to the ground,
pushing them 3 spaces and knocking them prone.
GOD HURLS THE WORLD
You summon unto you all the spirits of wrath. You contaminate
your Soul with Kawalan, and you use that power to fling your
opponent. HURL YOUR HEART TO HEAVEN. IF IT DOES NOT
CRACK ITS GATES, THEN YOUR ANGER IS INCOMPLETE AND
INUTILE.
Flourish * Maneuver, Ritual
1 Unit Grappled by You
Effect: Fling the foe 3 spaces in any direction. They must end in
a space at least 2 spaces away from you. If they collide with terrain,
they are knocked Prone.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Strike The Iron. Your attack sticks them to the walls. If
the target collides with terrain, they also suffer Dazed.
Grit 2: Never Relinguish. Your attack sends them hurtling across
the ground, dragging them. Deal 1d4 piercing Force damage to the
target.
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SARIMANOK KNIGHT [SAK]
Sarimanok Knights are faithful and skillful warriors that fight
both on land and in the air, as needed. They ride upon their faithful
sarimanok, proud and powerful, and they make sure that their
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enemies are brought down to heel. They are trained as an elite
cavalry, and usually only the richest of Datu can outfit and train an
entire ten man unit of Sarimanok Knights, much less address the
cost of maintaining Sarimanok.
Sarimanok have been there since the beginning of time, some say.
They have been there ever since there has been the Rainbow, the
sign of victory, born from the tears of the Sky to the Sea, Their love
forbidden forever. The sarimanok are large, usually seven to eight
foot tall roosters with rainbow feathers that glisten in the sun and
sheen in the rain. Their large wingspans allow for limited flight, and
their natural hard skin is enough to deter any assailant.
Sarimanok Knights must learn to grow and feed their own
Sarimanok. They must establish a unique and special bond with
them, binding them to their very souls. As long as they are alive,
their sarimanok cannot die, cannot perish. Once a sarimanok and
their knight are bonded, they are fated by some cruel watcher to
die at the same time.
Sarimanok Knights learn to use longer weapons, larger swords or
sibat. They generally wear heavier armor to protect themselves
since they don’t need overly quick movement. However, they are
more or less stuck to their sarimanok in combat. Sarimanok, while
not bred for combat, are willing to brave the heat of the skirmish
to bring their knight to victory.
While Sarimanok Knights were born in Akai, trained from the
local warriors here who already rode upon Sarimanok when they
unleashed their raids, Virbanwa has also taken to breeding these
rainbow raptors to create a sarimanok cavalry of their own.
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However, theirs is smaller than the colorful plumage and gigantic
wings of the sarimanok of the Kalanawan region.
If you choose to become a Sarimanok Knight, ask yourself when
you started training, and for what reason? To protect your datu? To
save yourself? Your family? Why would you bring a majestic
creature into the heat of a skirmish, of a tactical engagement, where
both of you are poised to die?
Sarimanok Knight Technicks are known as Raptor Riding Secrets.
SENTINEL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: SARIMANOK MOUNT

Sarimanok eggs are found at the end of a rainbow. They are hatched
and trained by a Knight from birth. Sarimanok imprint upon their
Knight and will only be ridden by their knight. Their rainbow feathers
never disappear, and when they die they turn pale grey.
You have a Sarimanok Mount, which you can mount and
dismount at any time as a Flourish. While upon the Sarimanok
Mount, you are Hovering, and you have a Speed of 4. Additionally,
you ignore Height when moving. However, all ranged attacks
against you have Fate. While on your Sarimanok Mount, you are
Size 2 and cannot be forcibly moved by any unit smaller than you.
You can bring another willing unit onto the Sarimanok Mount
with you as a Flourish.
While upon the Sarimanok, you have Armor 2 and start combat
with Barrier 2.
FIRST MASTERY: RIP THE EARTH
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All spaces adjacent to your Sarimanok are considered Difficult
Terrain for foes, and the Sarimanok’s Speed becomes 5.
Whenever a unit voluntarily leaves a space adjacent to you, you
may spend an Interrupt Reaction to make a physical melee attack
against them, dealing 1d6 wind damage on a hit.
SECOND MASTERY: TAKE FLIGHT

When you attack a foe, you may imprint a Mark upon them. As
long as they are Marked, all their attacks that don’t have you as a
target suffer +1 Curse. When your Mark is in ranged 4 and deals
damage to an ally, you may consume the Marked to immediately
move to a space adjacent to them and inflict violence.
You can only have 1 Mark at a time, and it only lasts until the end
of your next turn. Any new Mark supercedes the old one.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: RAPTOR RAZOR FEATHERS

Fowl Strike
You and Sarimanok strike at once.
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 1d6 Force damage.
and it deals damage, knock the target prone.
Coordinated Heaven Slash

You bring the night.
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 1d6 wind damage.
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Effect: Inflict Juggled on the target.
Spiteful Shrike
You and Sarimanok stab and impale, drawing blood, incurring
hatred.
Action * Maneuver
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 1d6 earth damage.
Effect: The target gains Enmity to you until the end of their next
turn.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: SARIMANOK CRY

Your Sarimanok let’s out a rooster cry, rallying all about you, and
calling all to your attention.
Flourish * Maneuver, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath, 2x Breath if Battered. All foes in close burst 2
of you gain Enmity to you until the end of their next turn.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: DAKILANG TIK-TI-LA-OK

The almighty crow of the sarimanok, which rips the sky in half and
calls down the gods to combat. It is used frequently by Sarimanok
Knight captains to signal the arrival of the cavalry. This Technick is
taught only to the most promising of sarimanok knights, for calling
upon this great cry can cause great pain with a sarimanok that does
not want to do it.
Action * Maneuver, Venture, Round 3
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Spend 5 Grit while mounted on your Sarimanok.
All Foes that can hear you | The Battlefield
Effect: Deal 1d6 piercing soul damage and all targets gain Enmity
to you until the end of your next turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Rooster Kills The Eagle. Your tenacity shall sunder
heaven. Finally. Also gain Armor 3 which stacks with existing
Armor.
Grit 2: Thy Final Verse Is Sung. The Sarimanok and the Knight
become as one. After dealing the effect, you and the Sarimanok
entwine in spiritual harmony. The next instant, you are clad in
Sarimanok Regalia Plate, you have fused with your Sarimanok. For
the rest of the scene...
...You have +3 Speed, ignore Height, are Flying, and are treated as
if you are on your Sarimanok.
...All your attacks Mark and you can have more than 1 Mark at a
time.
...Your size becomes Size 1 but your Melee reach becomes 3.
RAPTOR RIDING SECRETS
RAPTOR RAKE
You rake the earth before you, making it impassable for foes. Used
by legendary sarimanok knight Rajah Indarapatara before it was
taught as a technique, he used it to halt the advance of Maharaja
Lawana and his army of demons.
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Attack: Melee Physical Attack. Deal 1d6 wind damage.
Effect: The target area becomes difficult terrain until the start of
your next turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Raptor Rip. The raptor’s claws grow lagrer. Increase the
range to Close Blast 3.
Grit 2: Rainbow Feathers. Iridescent feathers spot the field. The
target area becomes dangerous terrain against foes instead.
RAINBOW BIRD DIVE
You grip onto the reins of your sarimanok. When hostility befalls
your comrade, rush interrupt: sarimanok diving, wings of volatility,
scratching at the assailant. This skill, used by Sri Binantug of
Gatusan when he first rode a sarimanok, became a popular technique
taught by masters of the craft, seeing it as particularly useful.
Response Reaction: 1 ally within range becomes Unbalanced or
Juggled * Maneuver, Lunge Finisher
The Foe that Unbalanced or Juggled the triggering ally |
Range 3
Attack: Move to a space adjacent to the target. Melee Physical
Attack. 1d6 wind damage.
Effect: The foe becomes Juggled.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Rainbow Connection. Your Sarimanok picks up your ally.
The ally is no longer Juggled.
Grit 2: Iridescent Wing Striking. Your Sarimanok is more
powerful than some mortal. Push the target 5 spaces. If they collide
with another unit, you may also make that other unit Juggled.
MANAUL RIPS EARTH
You rip into the earth and chuck entire rocks against a target.
Manaul is an ancient god king who told the sky that the sea was
insulting him. The sky threw rocks in their anger, and thus made the
earth. Manaul did this because he needed a place to rest.
Action * Maneuver, Taxing, Shot Finisher
1 or 2 foes | Range 2
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. Deal 1d4 earth damage.
Effect: Push the target 1 space away and put down Size 1 Blocking
Terrain in their space.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Earth Arises. The rocks stay as boulders. Like how Manaul
created the land. Knock the target prone.
Grit 2: Heaven Crashes Down. Manaul provokes heaven. Make
the range Close Blast 3 and the target be all foes. You can only use
this Grit enhancement 1/scene.
RAJALAWIN RIPS THE SKY
The sarimanok is a creature still at home in the sky. Nothing will

change this. It will take you, it’s beloved, into its langit abode if it can.
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The rainbow beckons. By internalizing this knowledge, even you can
be suffused with the diwa of the sarimanok.
Attack: You may shift 1 space before attacking. Melee Physical
Attack. Deal 1d6 wind damage and shift the target into the space
you vacated.
Effect: Ignore Height until the end of your next turn.
Combo: If the target is hit by a Lunge Finisher before the end of
their next turn, they may be pushed 2 spaces away, knocked prone
and suffer 3 piercing flat damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Rajalawin Descends Upon Rajamanuk. You are infused
with the strength of ancient kings. Gain +2 to your Speed as well
until the end of your next turn.
Grit 2: Rajalawin Dies With Rajamanuk. You are infused with
the strength of vengeance. Gain 2 Reactions per turn until the end
of your next turn.
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STRIFESINGER [STS]
The only two times tawo do not sing is when they are asleep or
when they are dead.
Strifesinger use their voices, instruments, and ritual dances to
heal and support their allies. Without them, Kadungganan surely
would’ve languished and died. With their healing song stories and
their invigorating cacophonies, they pave the melody for a new
world.
Most settlements that have Strifesinger learn the martial art of
the Gubat Awit from other Strifesinger, although they mostly only
accept students that already know how to play a few instruments,
or have beautiful voices.
Their voices and music do not only heal and support: some of
their techniques employ the use of violent sound waves to blast
enemies off of their feet, or to make weapons dance quicker.
Grandmasters of the Gubat Awit teach the secret to amplifying
instruments into thundering sonic waves that blast enemies off of
their feet. Gubat Awit Style deals in letting their healing kalag
bolster their allies’ own. Their songs from the myriad of
instruments they learn summon spirits, as most of them are
entreaties and pleas to the Daghan to help them in their war. Thus
is the secret of a Strifesinger.
Strifesinger are few and far between. They are usually well
respected by other instrumentalists and musicians, who usually do
not take up the responsibility of war, or if they do, keep their music
out of it. The Strifesinger uses music to bolster war and combat.
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It is well known that Strifesinger tend to be bleeding hearts,
especially in such a stage as war, wherein they would readily
compose dirges for foes they have just killed, or about lost allies, or
about the nature of the wheel that is unbroken due to war.
Strifesinger quicken their allies to war, enhance their attacks, and
all the while strike from the distance, letting the rains fall like notes
upon a song.
When you become a Strifesinger, ask yourself why you sing the
warsong: you are complicit to the cycle, your conscience is
bloodied. Why does your healing song only bring more sorrow?
Why does your invigorating tale bring violence?
Strifesinger Technicks are known as Strife Songs.
SUPPORT STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: SORROWSONG

You sing a song of sorrow. Of children deaf to the cries of their
children. Of fathers and thrones empty. Of forests scourged bare, of
seas burnt to salt, all in an effort to prove one another against the
burgeoning tide of violence.
Spend a Flourish to enter into Sorrowsong Stance. While singing,
all allies within close burst 2 heal half their Breath every start of
their turn.
Whenever you suffer damage while in Sorrowsong Stance, all
allies heal half their Breath.
You are knocked out of Sorrowsong Stance when you are forcibly
moved or suffer soul damage.
FIRST MASTERY: STRIFESONG
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While in Sorrowsong Stance, gain the following effects that you
can do as a Flourish:
- Bolstering Rhyme. 1 ally within close burst 2 gains
Strengthened on their next attack.
- Farsight. 1 ally within close burst 2 gains Clarified on their next
ranged attack.
- Stir The Power. 1 ally within close burst 2 can use a Taxing
Technick that they have used this round on the next round.
- Embolden. 1 ally within close burst 2 gains Armor 1.
SECOND MASTERY: TRIUMPH

Whenever you perform a Song, you may enter into Sorrowsong
Stance.
Whenever you perform a Song while in Sorrowsong Stance, you
may heal yourself for half your Breath.
As a Flourish, you can choose the additional effect when you are
in Sorrowsong Stance.
- Chorus. 1 ally within close burst 2 gains the Chorus condition.
When a foe in range 3 of the ally suffers damage they are Weak to,
that ally may spend the Chorus to move to a space adjacent to them
and inflict violence.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: FIELD NOTES

Poetic Note
You strum your instrument, bringing out notes of remedy.
Action * Song
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1 Unit | Range 4
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. Deal 1d4 Force damage.
Effect: A single remedial note coalesces in a space adjacent to the
target. Whenever you or an ally moves into the space of the
remedial note, you heal 2 Mettle.
Electric Note
You strum your instrument again, and a blitzing note manifests.
Action * Song
1 Space | Range 2
Effect: Put an Electric Note in the target space. This note can
move 1 space every time a unit ends their turn.
When an Electric Note collides with a unit, it deals 3 wind damage
and they become Electrified. When a unit makes an attack against
an Electrified foe, they may consume the electrified to deal 2 extra
damage.
Rhapsodic Note
You sound your instrument and it creates a lance of sonorous
energy.
Action * Song, Shot Finisher
All Units | Close Wall 3
Effect: Deal 1d4 force damage to foes. Or heal 1d4 Mettle from
allies.
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SECOND WIND TECHNICK: ECHOING STRENGTH
You sound your instrument, and healing notes arise from your soul.
Flourish * Song, Burst Finisher, Heal, Scene
Effect: Heal Breath and generate 2 Healing Notes adjacent to you.
These healing notes move 1 space every time a unit ends their turn.
When a healing note collides with an ally, it grants them Barrier
equal to their Breath. If it collides with a foe, it simply dissipates.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: I LOOK TO YOU LIKE A RED ROSE

This song was sung by the first singer, a demigoddess whose name
has been lost to time. She sang it to calm the two mountains that
warred in a distant land. She died in the process, but became the
clouds and the sky. The mountains continued on and killed each
other, however, as they were bolstered by grief.
Action * Song, Venture, Round 3
Spend 5 Grit
All Allies | The Battlefield
Effect: The targets gain Haste and 1 extra Action for the rest of
the scene.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Seek The Sun. Judgment binds all we love to a memory of
scorn. All targets cannot be Crashed until the end of the scene.
When they are brought to 0 Mettle, they instead suffer 1 Wound
and immediately go back up to Critical.
Grit 2: Answers. Why, we who live, are meant to die, helpless in
our cries? All targets may immediately perform a Flourish when you
first use this Technick.
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STRIFE SONGS
BOLSTERING SONG
“Bear rapture and sorrow.” A song taught by the great warlord-

paraawit apo-apo Singpuksa and since adapted by Awitan all across
the archipelago. A song that quickens the hearts and souls of the
beings that hear it, inexplicably, sometimes bringing heroes to jovial
tears.
Action * Song, Field, Scene
All spaces | Close Blast 2
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. Deal 3 Force damage.
Effect: The target space becomes a Field of Bolstering Music until
the end of the scene. You and all allies within the field lose all
Affinities.
Field: If a burst finisher is performed within the field, you and all
allies within the field gain Barrier equal to their Breath. This
removes the field, diffusing it.
Special: This field lasts until the end of the scene or until you are
Crashed, and you cannot have more than one at a single time.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Far Reaching Echo. May our sons and daughters forgive
our sins, for we cannot. Increase the range to close blast 3.
Grit 2: Strength. Let us endure for those that will forget us. All
allies within the field instead are not Weak to any damage instead
of losing all Affinities.
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HEAVEN ENDING KULINTANG
Sing full and true, Awitan. Your song, your steps... It shall
culminate in this moment. Your song shall be the song of a thousand
weary ghosts, that sorrowsong: let them hear the cries of your heart,
the blood of your soul.
Flourish * Song, Field, Scene
All Spaces | A space that is exactly 4 spaces from you, burst 2
Effect: The target becomes a field of sonorous remedy until the
end of the scene. You and all allies within the zone gain +1 Fate on
all saves and cannot have Buffs stripped away from you.
Field: When a lunge or shot finisher is performed within, the field
dissipates and strengthens the finisher’s attack. It deals
Strengthened and piercing damage.
Special: This field lasts until the end of the scene or until you are
Crashed, and you cannot have more than one at a single time.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Generational Love. Bear Joy and Sorrow. The field no
longer dissipates when you are Crashed.
Grit 2: Reaching Echo. May our sings reach far and wide, and
maybe to our past. Change the range to burst 3.
STRIFE TOLALI
In the most primordial of times, there was a song sung by the

Daghan, thought to hold back the tide of chaos, but in truth as a
dirge to the Heavenly War that caused so much death among them.
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The song came to the Paraawit in dreams, and could only be sung
accompanied with a low haunting tune, which necessitated the
creation of the Tolali: a bamboo nose flute, whose sounds echoed the
wails of man.
Flourish * Song, Charge 3
1 Unit | Range 4
Effect: Give the target Struggle. When the target is hit by a melee
physical attack, they may consume the Struggle to roll a d10. On an
8+, they immediately cancel the attack.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Struggle Again. Why live in a world unanswered? They
succeed on a 6+ instead.
Grit 2: Rejoice in the Glory of Combat. Let us stumble so we
can learn to run. They may move 3 spaces after the attack and grant
themself and all allies adjacent to them Armor 1 until the end of
their next turn.
BURNING IN OUR HEARTS
“Bearing sins of the past, for our future is taken.” An ancient and
violent song sung by umalagad warriors as they went to battle
ancient forces of the magalo, those chaos creatures past the World
Jaw. Singing this song they killed all those that stood against them,
a song about standing against the storm, weathering a monsoon of
darkness and slashes and hurt and pain.
Flourish * Song, Scene
1 Ally | Range 2
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Effect: You and the ally become Linked. If you do, whenever
damage is dealt to one of you, you instead half the damage between
each other. When one of the Linked is healed, the other also gets
healed.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Loosed Arrow. Our sons have forsaken us for we have left
them a judgment we chose to avoid. You can now link with a foe. If
you do, whenever one of the Linked suffers damage, the other
suffers the same amount of damage as well. Healing is note shared.
Grit 2: Neverending River. Redemption is beyond us.. You may
now cut the link as an Flourish. If you do, both you and the target
suffer damage equal to their Battered value. If the target is an ally,
you instead both heal equal to their Battered.
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495
THE NATION OF BA-E
The last Baikhan junk left the harbor. Trading season with
Baik Hu had ended. Danum worked the bellows of her
master’s forge, even as the master finished her last batch of
iron blades.
“That’s enough. You go on ahead and take a break. There’s
a feast tonight, to mark the end of trade.”
Her master was Kadanay, signified by his glinting emerald
eyes. Danum nodded, as her master wiped his brow with a
nearby cloth and made his way back into his home.
Danum cleaned up what was left of the gusali, and then
walked over to a hill overlooking the harbor. From here,
Danum could see most of Ba-e, even as it glowed as the
torches were lit, as the sun dipped into the horizon.
She sat with her hammer, tossing it and catching it
reflexively, as she walked around the area. Before long, a
“psst” resounded from the trees behind her.
Danum turned and smiled. A young woman, wrapped in
crimson silk although wearing no jewelry, hid within the
tangle.
“Your Majesty, do you not think it is uncouth of you to play
around in the tangle like that?”
“Hold your tongue, Danum. I wish only that none of my
kawal know that I’m gone from my bukot.”
Danum smiled, then. “Come then, Kinaiya. The waterfall
awaits.”
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Giggling, Danum took Kinaiya’s hand and Kinaiya felt her
heart leap. She felt warm, even as they rushed down the hill
and followed up a stream. After a few more moments of
walking, Kinaiya heard the rushing of water.
They broke through a brush, and there found a lake
whereupon a waterfall cascaded. The most interesting thing
about it is the giant bronze statue, depicting a diwata they
knew by the name of Magayong Masukiling, the hibiscus
goddess of love and compassion.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to swim in that?” asked Danum,
who had already removed her lambong and was halfway into
the water. “Have you never swam in your life?”
“I... Haven’t.”
“Well there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Come on then.”
Kinaiya still hesitated for a bit, but when she saw Danum
smiling at her, she felt at ease. She shed her silks and walked
bare into the water. Cold at first, but cold was good in the
heat of Ba-e.
There they danced and played, laughing and smiling, their
glances too close, their lips almost touching...
“Danum,” said Kinaiya, as they floated about near the
waterfall. The bronze statue of the Hibiscus Goddess
watched over them. “When are you leaving?”
“In the next moon. Don’t worry.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Kinaiya bit her lip.
Danum turned to her and placed a hand on her cheek. “I
will. Don’t worry. War Smiths don’t usually head into the
497
front lines. And if we do, I’m pretty good with a hammer.
You don’t have to worry about me, all right?”
“I can’t help but.”
“Then let me leave you with a promise.” Danum leaned in
and kissed Kinaiya. Kinaiya breathed in sharply, but kissed
her back. When Danum pulled away, Kinaiya’s emerald eyes
glinted. “With that, I seal you a promise. I will return. And
we will work on helping you hone your Stonewaking
sorceries. All right?”
“All right.”
“Gotta remember, according to your own mother: trade
connections cannot be established without a bit of raiding,”
said Danum, smiling. “It’s a necessary evil to realize the
Sangpamegat’s dream of a united merchant nation.”
Ancient guardians, sacred priests, and keepers of vast lore. Ba-e is

currently ruled by Sangpamegat Kalangitan. They, poetically called
The First Kingdom in The Sword Isles, will not bow to the rising
tide of steel and sorcery of the Lakanate.
Ba-e was established sometime during the Seventh Sun Era. They
were among the Ancient Kingdoms, those disparate polities that
existed across the archipelago region for centuries. Ba-e thus is an
ancient kingdom, and owing to this fact, they have ancient
traditions, songs, and epics. Ba-e today is not Ba-e of fabled
yesteryear: golden statues of The Tranquil Sage pock the forests and
grasslands, whereupon roots and branches swarm to retake it.
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Smaller statues hang from necklaces and waistcords, a signifier of
Annuvara’s influence.
Ba-e is ruled by a Sangpamegat, Dayang Kalangitan. The Dayang
commands the fealty and loyalty of polities across the Ba-e stretch
of land, north of the Bay of Ba-e. Here, several land-based polities,
alongside the other bayside polities, all answer Dayang Kalangitan’s
call to fight back against conquerors, invaders, as well as the call to
raid or war. They are united under their love and loyalty to the
Dayang, as well as the extensive familial network that the Dayang
has made. By marrying many men, she has made them Datu by
blood, and thus continued to make more polities indebted to her.
Their extensive trade with Baik Hu has led them to become self
sustaining and wealthy. Their settlements are thousand households
on both sides of a river bank. Their trading place is a cordoned off
section of the town, wherein white parasols and other exotic
trading goods must be paid as docking fee for trading vessels to
begin trade.
Ba-e records all official documents in copperplate, whether it be
paying off debts, creating alliances between polities, and the like.
This is a practice inherited and copied by Virbanwa and Akai, but
not Gatusan and Apumbukid, who find that spoken word is more
powerful than written script.
Ba-e religions is influenced by foreign Ashinin-Annuvaran
religion, from phallic symbols known as linga being used for rituals,
to the statues of the Tranquil Sage from the Annuvaran Religion
still standing and prayed to. Ba-e dead are buried twice: once full,
and then again cremated, to purify their sins from the world, and
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so that their charred remains can become ancestor spirits that can
be worshipped. These are all influences of Ashinin-Annnuvaran
faiths.
Due to these influences, it is Ba-e that has consntructed a giant
hardwood and stone house with 16 roofs. It is not a house for living,
but rather for study. Within shelves are scrolls and scrolls of palm
leaf manuscripts as well as copperplate slates, as well as paper
scrolls imported from other regions acrossthe known world. This is
known as the Bahay Karunongan, or the House of Wisdom, the
only place in all of the Sword Isles where knowledge and writing
has been written down. This is something that Virbanwa has been
trying to gain access to, to no avail. Only the smartest and most
prestigious of parawali can be admitted within, remembered by
guardian spirits of the House of Wisdom itself. There is said to be
approximately 875,000 pieces of writing within the cascading
square-patterned shelves of the 16 roofed House. Recently, the
Balay has begun to admit students, those with promising spiritual
or martial prowess. This is a poorly veiled attempt by the
Sangpamegat to cultivate thunderous Kadungganan loyal to Ba-e.
These Kadungganan are taught in poetry, writing, politics, and
warfare. They are known as the Mandirigma ng Ilang-Ilang,
shortened to Digilang (dig[ma] + ilang-ilang, war ilang-ilang). The
Ilang-Ilang is a flower extracted for oil and is used to ward off evil
spirits.
Ba-e, similarly to Pumirang, has a most strategic position, south
of Sonyoh, and is usually the last stop of most Baikhan ships before
returning to Baik Hu, barring the Lakanate of Virbanwa.
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The royals of Ba-e are therefore swathed in silks and parasols,
flower crowns and gold jewelry. Cauldrons and weapons from Baik
Hu itself. Their lords are called Datu, but also Huang, King, due to
Baik Hu recognizing them as an official kingdom.
Ba-e royals are known to be the most pompous of nobles among
the Sword Isles. Having taken after the Baikhans that they’ve traded
with for so long, they have grand wooden longhouses decorated
with gold and built like pagodas. They wear long silk gowns and
bring parasols, are always carried upon palanquins by their
servants. When they speak, they speak in lilting tones, and they
always adhere to the Golden Web Tapestry. Their makeup and
hygiene is extraordinary even for tawo among the Sword Isles,
using white foundation and pitch black inks to create wingtips and
eyeshadows, influenced by their long history. Ba-e royalty and
nobles are horribly prone to realpolitik, vying for power over
seaports, connections with powerful warriors, trading settlements,
and positions among the court of the Sangpamegat.
Ba-e is a trading center: merchants and traders of Ba-e bring the
items brought by Baik Hu to the rest of the islands north, especially
to trade with those of the Gatusan and the myriad islands to its east,
before returning to pay back those Baikhan eight to nine moons
later.
Ba-e values material wealth. Many of them wear silk and cloth
shirts, whether man or woman, and they coat themselves in tassels
and jewelry, usually of gold. The nobility flaunt their exotic, foreign
items and wealth: black and white silks, ivory parasols, porcelain
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jars and accoutrements. Weapons from Iyamat or Baik Hu. Armor
from Sonyoh.
Ba-e is using its ancient knowledge and affinity to ancient
sorceries to begin a campaign to unite all beings under the
Sangpamegat, not through war but through trade networks and
linking. In this way, they seek to become the center of the world,
the nexus of the universal silk road.
Sangpamegat Kalangitan’s stone and jade jewelry shimmer and
glow with glowing green patterns, betraying their ability to use the
sacred ancient Kadanay artifacts.
Ba-e holds the number 8 to high regard among them. Their
houses are always of 4 sides, and royalty have access to 8-roofed
and 16-roofed houses. There are 8 holy weapon types: the sword,
the dagger, the spear, the shield, the bow, the blowgun, the javelin,
and the gun.
The most important area of Ba-e is the Lake of Pulilan, the largest
freshwater body in the Sword Isles. This lake is home to freshwater
sardines, crocodiles, and other important freshwater marine food
that has become an integral part to Ba-e life. Pulilan Silangan drains
directly into the Bay of Ananara, and through the Silangan Strait do
most junks travel into.
Their adherence and proximity to ancient Kadanay technology
has provided them with unique aesthetics, clothing, and
architecture. They prefer to cover themselves more fully, as with
the Virbanwans. Their jewelry is not gold but jade and stone,
glowing green. Even debtors wear this. The houses of the rich are
built on top of hills, with vast gardens at the bottom of the hills.
502
More importantly, artifactsmiths, panday-sa-artepakto, are a
renowned kind of smiths that craft ancient spiritual artifacts, a holy
mixture of blacksmithing, pottery, carpentry, and sorcery. These
panday are known to learn the Stonewaking Arts from Kadanay
smiths.
Becoming an artifactsmith in Ba-e is a very difficult endeavor,
requiring practical knowledge of basic blacksmithing in addition to
passing a test conducted by the sages of Ba-e and past artifactsmith.
Most artifactsmiths end up learning that they have Kadanay blood
within them, although this is not the norm.
Ba-e warriors--especially the bravest among them, the generals
and commanders--enjoy enhanced warring technology that has
allowed them to keep pace with the growing weapon prowess of
Virbanwa. Bows that have bowstrings made of light, swords that
have blades made of sun-rays, and daggers that have edges of
crystallized moongleam: all practices and smithing techniques
passed down by the Kadanay.
The most important technology among the Ba-e tawo are two
things: the sky-sampans and the artifact slates. Sky-sampans, which
are circular boats that ride upon the wind, worked upon by diwata
that are contractually bound by ancient Kadanay oath to carry the
sampan, have become a major source for personal travel. Sages and
nobility would ride upon these if they can commission them.
Even rarer are the artifact slates: slates of rock that have one side
burning bright with a light, which can then be drawn upon by the
finger, letting the person write or draw upon it. This has been used
as a letter-writing item as well as a teaching item.
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Due to their rich past, it is not unheard of for Ba-e folk to gloat or
be haughty to other states, even if they are but a shadow of their
once glorious past.
Ba-e has constant trading connections with the distant lands of
Naksuwarga, Madaki, Malirawat, and Baik Hu, but they almost
never trade Kadanay artifact, only exports from their own land.
Those that might want to make a fortune might do it, but foreigners
apparently don’t seem too interested in the artifacts of the
Kadanay, as they seem to be too “primitive” compared to their own
technologies and sorceries.
The grasslands, wetlands, and forests of Ba-e are pocked with
mysterious statues of the Tranquil Sage, cast in stone, bronze, and
gold. When you ask someone where they come from, they will
answer that they do not know. The sages will speak of brahmin.
The honorifics Ginoo for males and Binibini for females is used
when deference must be taken. Ba-e Kadungganan are known as
maharlika.
Ba-e Nobles are referred to similarly as in Virbanwa. And so they
are treated. Many Ba-e nobles are expected to know about the
artifacts of Kadanay, however, and many nobles living now are
known to have Kadanay blood and ancestry, as noted by their
glowing magenta eyes.
NOTEWORTHY PERSONS
Sangpamegat Dayang Kalangitan, the Eternal Monarch.
Once just a Dayang, she took over after her husband, Pamegat
Diwajaya, was killed in battle against a Virbanwan Warlord. Using
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her Kadanay blood, she perfected the sorceries of Stonewaking,
instilling stone and clay sculptures made by local potters and
smiths with additional utility, the ability to float, and to keep food
frozen. This technological marvels gave her the title of Hexer-
Queen.
She has frozen herself into a diwa-silk cocoon, letting her kalag
wander freely and roam, unshackled by physicality, but her body
itself is entombed upon her throne, whereupon a giant gold statue
of her has been built: a goddess with eight hands, each wielding a
weapon, and a crown that is like a balete tree.
She rules Ba-e directly, and eternally.
Maharlika Langkus. A maharlika who has only recently awoken
from a hundred year slumber, being submerged and contained in
the Temple of Resurrection, a natural temple within a large cave
upon the mountain of Tinaga. Known for his strange cloud-white
hair, he travels around the Ba-e region helping out those in need.
He is mute as well, although he can communicate well enough with
gestures and writings. Thus he brings with him a great number of
palm leaf scrolls. He is a master swordmaster, walking around with
a salawal, sarong, paruka, azure baro, and grand crimson pudong,
with tails that flow in the wind. He loves chicken as well. He wishes
to find an ancient binukot that he was tasked with protecting, the
reason for his travels.
Senapati Sibasib. A burgeoning warlord-merchant datu who
seeks to prove himself powerful, leading his haop of Katingan to
battle. He is loyal to Ba-e, and always jumps at the chance to
conduct raids against the various Virbanwa or Gatusan settlements,
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even all the way to Sinuku or Ibalong. He is one of the first ones to
adopt the Akai introduction of horses, known as kuda, in their
tongue, which the people of Sinuku also know of. While the horses
are not as useful in most of the tangle of the region of Ba-e, it has
proven useful to the south of Ba-e, where the land quickly turns
into plains. Sibasib leads his Kuda Kawal cavalry when performing
land raids. He is deeply in love with one of the Sangpamegat’s
binukot, a girl named Kinalubang Bulaklak, who actually sneaks
out from her bukot and fights alongside him with a mask on.
NOTEWORTHY POLITIES
Miatang. A coast settlement at the northern tip of the Kumintang
region. Miatang is the land nexus for trade with Pannai and
Gatusan. It is ruled by a powerful laksamana, Datu Hagutak.
Known for stone fortifications and bamboo watchtowers, they
regularly fend of raids from the northern polities. Many maharlika
are brought here as a final part of their training, where they are
forced to live in Miatang for a single harvest to provide both on the
boots training for the maharlika, as well as well needed warriors to
protect Miatang.
Pailah. Directly to the north of Ba-e, Pailah, which is ruled by
Datu Ganasakti, a son of the Sangpamegat, is one of the most
important centers of trade and commerce in Ba-e, other than the
city of Ba-e itself. Holding at least a thousand households, they craft
pottery, weave textiles, smith gold, and craft weapons. Here Baik
Hu also stations their trading junks, along with Naksuwarga and
Madaki adyongs who trade with them horses, weapons, and
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debtors. It is currently suffering from ashen star missionaries from
Virbanwa. Traders and travelers frequent Pailah due to its close
proximity with Mainit, the polity of medicinal hot springs.
Namayan. A banwa ruled by three Datu: Datu Karas, Datu
Dayawan, and Datu Mabantad. It serves as a trading polity for
Sinuku and Vuyu to the south, as well as access to the plains where
rice can be grown. However, it is constantly suffering invasions
from Virbanwa, causing it to earn a brunt of Ba-e’s maharlika to
shore up defenses. The banwa itself is built with a collection of kota,
or stone fortresses, that lets people retreate into whenever a raiding
party arrives. When needed, however, Namayan is beside a thick
jungle with many earthen outcroppings, and the folk of Namayan
can retreat there. Namayan is still also a prime trading port,
whereupon they trade with gold kernels and gold barter rings as
currency. Namayan is also the main shipbuilding polity of Ba-e.
Talim. Upon an island in the middle of the bay of Pulilan, a few
ways north from Namayan, there is the island of Talim. Used as a
respite port for most traders, it has begun to create housing
districts where traders can pay the Datu, a Kadanay named
Kiyalilidan, to rest before traveling back home. Thus Talim has
become a prime place for trading cultures and stories, most of
which are inscribed upon copperplate. Talim is known for having
the largest population of Kadanay left, whereupon they spend their
days writing upon copperplate histories and secrets and sorceries,
as well as try to find ways to replicate the Stonewaking sorceries of
their ancestors.
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To Virbanwa: Wayward stars streak across the sky. Thrones shall
fall before we do.
To Akai: Warrior Braves and courtly regals. They are royalty,
grandeur, and raiders all. They deserve respect, but we have stood
far longer than they have existed.
To Gatusan: They shall raid the world, and if we play our cards
right, they will be shackled by gold and heirloom to us. They shall
be the swordfish to our barge.
To Apumbukid: Our goals do not conflict, but their isolation will
be their downfall. The roots speak, the earth breathes. To achieve
Hiyang, one must be willing to break it.
BA-E DISCIPLINES
The following are the Disciplines born from Ba-e.
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FLOWER NECROMANCER [FLN]
Flower Necromancers are born and bred from a line of balyan that
specialized in speaking with the recently killed. More and more
necromancers have been born during the beginning of the Second
Star Era due to the rapid rise in violence, and subsequently, death.
The wandering kalag of those recently departed all cry the same
thing: Where is the justice? When will it end?
Flower Necromancers are usually, but not strictly, those alabay
when they were younger, or shaman apprentices. Through this they
learn the foremost important necromancy ritual: the ritual of pag-
uli. Through this, they may be able to resurrect a person if their
kalag is close enough. If not, then they would perform the rituals to
send off the kalag to their final resting place. Flower Necromancers
are a step forward. They took this advantage during the rise of
killing through violence, which has caused many kalag to not be
sent properly to the afterlife.
Flower Necromancers use the iconic sampaguita flower--the
flower one would smell if a beloved one’s ghost who has passed
away is near you--to promise a better end: they will grant them
peace, but only if they do one final request for them. Once the kalag
or soul has agreed, they will be bound to a sampaguita. Once that
kalag has been used, the sampaguita must be planted to the
ground, wherein it withers and then dies, finishing the elaborate
pag-uli ritual.
Flower Necromancers use the kalag bound to their sampaguita to
perform things usually thought of as blasphemous or desecratory:
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they animate bones and flesh (not of tawo, however), they grant life
to their allies, and they sap away at enemies’ vitality.
Balyan see them in a negative light. Thus, Flower Necromancers
are much rarer than the usual balyan. In a very real sense, Flower
Necromancers are simply warrior-priestesses who have absorbed
the teachings of death and used it to gain an edge. This kind of
thinking is something Ba-e obviously loves, and they patronized
and hired Flower Necromancers alongside balyan in their polities.
Only the most traditionalist of balyan sneer at them.
Unfortuantely, that is still the majority. Dealing in matters of death
is anathema to them, is too close to the sorceries of the aswang.
Despite this, Flower Necromancers follow the tenets of Dalankalag
to the bitter end, the spiritual Path of the Soul.
If you become a sampaguita necromancer, you bring with you at
all times your cord of sampaguita. Why do you carry it? Is it
atonement? You lay to rest those that are dead, but can you ever
give your own soul respite?
Flower Necromancer Technicks are known as the Corpse Flower
Art.
CONTROL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: FLOWERS OF THE SEASON BLOOM AND

WITHER
You carry a laurel of flowers, each with a different resonance, a
different symbology of death and life. You pick one, and it unfurls in
your hands.
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As a Flourish, you can Plant Flowers in an unoccupied space
adjacent to you. Planting Flowers is a Ritual.
When you plant a flower, choose which flower you put down
below. However, you cannot have two of the same flower on the
Field at the same time.
- Corpse Flower. All spaces in Close Burst 1 of the Corpse Flower
is counted as difficult terrain for foes. Any foe within the Corpse
Flower’s burst suffers Disease.
- Passion Flower. All foes in Close Burst 1 of the Passion Flower
are Ripped.
- Sampaguita. Any foe within Close Burst 1 of the Sampaguita can
only target units within the Sampaguita’s Burst.
FIRST MASTERY: JASMINES BLOOM FROM CORPSES

You can now choose the following flowers to plant.
- Demon Flame Hibiscus. All foes in close burst 1 of the demon
flame suffers Weak Fire or Earth.
- Ghost Magnolia. All foes in close burst 1 of the ghost magnolia
suffer +1 Curse to all magick and Spiritual Attacks.
SECOND MASTERY: FLOWER GARDEN WHIRLWIND

As a Flourish, you can move a flower you’ve planted 2 spaces into
another unoccupied space.
Whenever you use a Ritual, a flower sprouts from your heart. You
can only have up to 3 Heart Flowers at a time. Whenever a foe in
range 3 makes a save, as an Interrupt Reaction, you can consume a
Heart Flower to give Curse to their Save.
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- Mantiw Ghost Flower. Plant a Flower that becomes a Summon
that is a walking ghost flower goblin. A mantiw is a phantasm in
Sword Isle folklore. As a Summon, they have no Speed, but they
deal 1d4 + your Prominence as damage when a foe exits adjacency
from them. That means if a foe leaves an adjacent space but enters
into anoter adjacent space, they do not exit adjacency. However, if
they are pushed out of adjacency, the Mantiw can attack. You can
only put down 2 Mantiw Ghost Flowers per combat.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: WHIRLWIND BLOSSOM

Bloom
You let a flower petal fly out, and it cuts deep, embedding itself into
a foe’s skin.
Action * Ritual
All foes | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 earth damage.
Effect: Inflict Fray 1.
Inflorescence
You send a wave of flowers to welcome a warrior to death.
Action * Ritual, Field
All foes | Range 3 Blast 2
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 1 piercing earth
damage. Leave a flower garden field in the target area until the end
of your next turn.
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Field: When a blast finisher is performed within the field, it
dissipates into a flower whirlwind, inflicting Ripped on all foes in
the target area.
Busilak
Flowers blossom about you like a garden, and you become a
blossom.
Action * Ritual, Blast Finisher
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 2 earth damage and
make them Slowed.
Effect: If the target is suffering Fray, you may knock them prone
and give them another stack of Fray.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: CULTIVATION

You let flowers fall about you in a blossoming field.
Flourish * Ritual, Field
Effect: Heal Breath. This lays down a Blossoming Field in close
burst 2 of youuntil the end of the scene. All foes in the Blossoming
Field gain Quiet Maneuver, Mentala, or Ritual (your choice).
Field: If a Burst Finisher is performed within the field, the field
dissipates into a whirlwind of flowers. All foes in the burst suffer
Fray 5.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: SAMPAGUITA MISERY

You touch the ground and it becomes drenched in the spirit of the
dead. Your heart is rent; sampaguitas blossom from your fingers,
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from your brow. You become inert, a living bloom, as the ghosts of
thze vengeful rise above the earth in reckoning.
Flourish * Ritual, Perilous, Field
Spend 5 Grit.
Self
Effect: You become Rooted, and sampaguita sprout from your
body. Choose 1, 2, or 3 spaces that you can see. Burst 2 fields erupt
from the spaces you have chosen, becoming Fields of Vengeance
for the rest of the scene. Whenever an enemy enters, exits, or starts
their turn within the zone, they suffer 2 + Prominence piercing flat
damage. All foes within the field suffer Debilitated, and every turn
they start within a Field of Vengeance gives them an automatic Fray
stack.
You may spend an Action to remove the Rooted condition from
yourself. If you do, all the fields disappear.
Field: When a blast finisher is performed within a Field of
Vengeance, it dissipates into a monsoon of petals. All foes within
the space become Petrified.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Walking Monument. Everything turns gray. You are not
Rooted but rather, Slowed. Flowers carry you about, wrapping
around you and moving you where you need to go. You also become
Size 2. You can choose up to 5 spaces now.
Grit 2: Flower Resurrection. Like heroes of old. Like a dream.
When you first use this Forbidden Technick, you can spend this to
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perform the following effect: you may choose 1 ally that is Crashed
or Incapacitated in the battlefield. Heal them to full mettle and
remove 1 Wound from them if they are Incapacitated.
CORPSE FLOWER ARTS
GINBALIK
The signature sorcery crafted by the first of the necromancers,

following the basic principles of the sampaguita necromancers: a
wasted life redeemed in battle. You raise a sampaguita from your
cord and it wilts.
Action * Ritual, Charge 3, Reliable 2
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. Deal 1d4 soul damage.
Effect: A Vampire Orchid wraps itself about the target (save
ends). Every time an ally deals damage to the target, they heal
Mettle equal to 1 + Prominence.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Everlasting Love. Your flowers become seeds of life. The
ally heals 2 + Prominence instead.
Grit 2: True Vampirism. Your flowers draw blood. The Vampire
Orchid also now has the additional effect: every time an ally deals
damage to the target, they deal 1 extra damage.
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OCCLUSION ROSEMALLOW
When the balyan alchemists learned about the necromantic order,

some of them defected, thinking they were more practical than
current balyan. As a way to aid in combat, they created special divine
flower alchemy to distill the sampaguita’s kalag oaths into liquid
vials though flowers. Others tried to blind them.
Flourish * Ritual
1 Unit | Range 3
Effect: The foe becomes Obscured and becomes Weak to Force
until the end of their next turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Death Only Feels. The darkness bites. Also inflict Fray 2.
Grit 2: Death Does Not See. The cold darkness forces hell. Spend
this when you first use this Technick. When the target fails the save
to remove Obscured, they become Dazed.
BURNING THICKETS
Gather motes of fireleaves, crush them, and pray to let the vengeful
dead burn the thickets. A mentala that summons a thicket of thick
and hard to move through foliage. It is wrapped in phantom flame.
Flourish * Ritual, Field, Charge 2
All Spaces | Range 2 Burst 1
Effect: The target space becomes a thicket of burning flowers
until the end of the scene, which is dangerous terrain to foes. The
thicket lasts until the end of your next turn.
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Field: When a shot finisher is performed within the thicket area,
the attack with the shot finisher tag also inflicts Fray 2.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Wildfire. Your scorn spreads like hungry flame. Increase
the range to Burst 2. Any foe that moves through the space becomes
Weak to Fire until the end of their next turn.
Grit 2: Sulad Flame. The thickets become the burning pyres of the
afterworld. The field effect now gives Fray 4 instead of just Fray 2.
RAISE MALANHIG
Cast bones upon the ground and utter coaxing whispers to the
dead. Malanhig are undead that cling to this world of man due to
grudges and unfinished business. Why do you do this? Why do you
command them, depriving them of rest?
Flourish * Ritual, Summon, Charge 3
1 Unit at Mettle 0 | Range 5
Effect: The target rises as malanhig summon. Malanhig are
special summons that have 1 Mettle. It has a Speed of 3 +
Prominence, and you can move it during the start of your turn. The
malanhig has no actions, but once per turn, the malanhig may deal
2 + Prominence flat damage when a foe enters or leaves a space
adjacent to the malanhig.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Raise Warbands. Your blasphemy becomes numerous.
Change the target to 3 Units at Mettle 0.
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Grit 2: Raise Army. You bring with you an entire army. As a
Flourish, you can move all your malanhig equal to their Speed, and
then if they end up adjacent to a foe, they may deal their damage
to them immediately.
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MENDER [MND]
Known as Tambalan [tam-BA-lan] in the isles, Menders are balyan
who focus on their studies of Dalankalag, the path of the soul,
Dalanlikas, the path of nature, and Dalandiwa, the path of essence.
They pay less heed to Dalananito, the path of worship, and truly
this has led them to come at heads with other balyan. Menders
travel the isles as healers and doctors, and in recent times they have
become even more in demand due to the rising tensions of war and
violence.
They specialize in healing physical and spiritual harm. Spiritual
including any intellectual and emotional damage. Most balyan
coteries in a settlement now usually include Menders among their
ranks, always at the ready to heal. They have entire longhouses
dedicated to their patients, healing those wounded and cleansing
of disease.
Menders in particular are trained to be desensitized to the
atrocities of war and are meant to fight in the frontlines. There they
are trained to bring herbal remedies and other such potions to
quickly heal warriors and to bring them to top fighting form before
anything else can happen.
Not just that, but their knowledge of nature has them
memorizing names of flora and fauna and their functions when
mixed with each other, something that balyan don’t exactly need
to do (but most of them do anyway). While in a venture, having a
Mender is necessary to avoid eating poisonous herbs or omen
flowers, as well as finding a way to purify water and make it potable.
They do this with their clay pots and through burning of various
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herbs. They learn various drugs to enhance the capabilities of their
allies.
The first Mender was said to be none other than the panganitohan
Sri Dewa Sarripada Agas. The Mender, embodying the best of both
masculine and feminine energies, learned to combine the disparate
parts of nature to create harmonifying tinctures. These healing
remedies became known as tambal. Thus the tambalan arose: those
that used or worked with tambal. They have knowledge of
advanced healing techniques as well, although not as broad in their
expertise as balyan. They know the basics of hilot, and usually know
the correct oils to apply to the proper muscles.
Sri Dewa Sarripada Agas, known to many Menders as The Blue
Man, as they manifested before them when a Mender would first
begin their journey. Each Mender is given a snake-twin--something
usually only given as a guardian spirit to specific chosen children--
crafted by Sri Dewa Sarripada Agas themself. Then they will explain
that all tawo came from snake within bamboo, and that the snake’s
ability to shed is indicative of inherent regenerative abilities within
man. Thus, man was taught healing through natural means, instead
of forced regeneration.
Sri Dewa Sarripada Agas also taught the truth of the soul to the
Mender: there are four souls: The Vigor, The Power, The Thought,
and finally The Immortal. The Vigor is the life principle, known
usually as Diwa. It is what makes us alive. The Power is that which
can leave us during our sleep, or can be filled with puhon, and is
the soul that activates whenever sorcery is used. Without The
Power, we are like husks. Then there is the The Thought, which can
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leave us if we do not cultivate proper spiritual and mental life.
Staying alone for long periods of time can cause this. Finally, The
Immortal is the soul that collects all of our thoughts and actions
and personality. When we die, The Immortal travels to our chosen
afterlife, and can be called upon as ancestors.
Finally, Sri Dewa Sarripada Agas teaches that most ailments
happen due to destruction and imbalances within the soul caused
by an element. Most ailments begin spiritual, and only those
powerful boil over into the physical, affecting us physically. The
most grievous of ailments, such as cutting and slashes and crushing
blows, for example, is a perfect example of the element of Space
separating or pushing together the Vigor. Thus, Menders are taught
to heal the soul first, so that the physical may heal properly
afterwards.
SUPPORT STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: TAMBAL

Whenever you perform a Ritual, you go into Prepare Tambal
stance. As an Action or a Flourish, you may consume the Prepare
Tambal stance to perform 1 of the following against 1 ally in range
3.
- Healing Tambal. Heal Breath for the target.
- Clarifying Tambal. Give the target Clarified on their next
ranged attack.
- Fortifying Tambal. Give the target Resist Force, Water, or Fire
(choose 1) until the end of their next turn.
FIRST MASTERY: FRONTLINER
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All melee attacks against you suffer +1 Curse.
You also gain the following to use as a Flourish:
- Sturdy Tambal. Give the target Defiance until the end of their
next turn. While an ally has Defiance, they cannot be brought below
1 Mettle.
- Quick Tambal. Give target 2 Reactions per turn until the end
of their next turn.
- Regenerative Tambal. Give the target Regen. Every start of
their turn, they heal half Breath Mettle.
SECOND MASTERY: TAMBAL FIELDS

You can now increase the range of your Tambal to Range 3, Burst
1, targeting all allies within.
Finally you can now choose up to 2 Effects instead of just one as
a Flourish, provided you have enough Tambal.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: CLEANSING RESOLVE

Willed Weapon
Your weapon burns with empowered oils, fulminating with spirital
energy.
1 unit | Range 3
Effect: If there is an ally in between you and the target, the ally
gains Armor 1 until the start of their next turn.
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Rumsua Palm
With your other hand, you open your palm, and the Rumsua, an
eye inthe middle of your palm, a symbol for health and soul strength,
bursts through.
1 unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 2 soul damage.
Effect: Push the target 1 space. If the target collides with an ally,
the ally suffers no damage from the collision, and that ally’s next
attack against the target gains +1 Fate.
Quick Remedy
You perform a quick movement that strikes your opponent while
readying a tambal at the same time.
1 Unit | Range 3
Effect: Let 1 ally in range Heal 2 + Prominence Mettle.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: SHARED HEALING

You apply poultices upon yourself, and your spirit overflows.
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. All allies in close burst 2 remove all debuffs.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICK - SRI DEWA SARRIPADA AGAS’ FINAL
TEACHING
0 - Discord is an excuse for harmony. In the beginning all things
were harmonious. Assemble souls that have become sundered from
each other. Rejoin with that supreme soul, that supernal
consciousness, and find enlightenment.
Action * Ritual, Heal
Spend 5 Grit. You lose something important to you. If you wish to
use this again, you must gain good favor in the eyes of Gods and
Ancestors: Worship Gods and Ancestors during a Respite and you
only gain this Technick back on a Critical Hit.
1 Crashed or Incapacitated ally | The Battlefield
Effect: The target Heals 4x Breath and remove all Wounds from
them.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Mass Graves. You nourish with great love. The target also
gains Strengthened until the end of their next turn.
Grit 2: Break Limits, Mass Resurrection. Transcend limits,
establish heaven. Change the target to all Crashed or Incapacitated
allies instead.
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BATTLE REMEDIES
SUGAPA CHEW
Too much sugapa induces the unstoppable berserker fury of the

Mag-sabil. But just enough, and you will be able to bring out the
violence in their edges.
Flourish * Ritual
1 Ally | Range 3
Effect: The target gains +1 Fate to all their attacks until the end
of their next turn.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Intensified Chew. Your prime a more potent version. The
target becomes Strong to Force until the end of their next turn.
Grit 2: Berserker’s Chew. You give them the sugapa that creates
berserkers. The target also gains Strengthened. But if they don’t
make an attack on their turn, they suffer half their Breath in
piercing damage.
SALVE
Proper salves heal The Vigor first and foremost, before diving into
the intricacies of an ailment. It is the Vigor that keeps us from death,
that keeps The Immortal imprisoned within our bodies.
Flourish * Ritual
1 Ally | Range 3
Effect: Remove 1 debuff from the target.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Stronger Salve. You spike the salve with passion flowers.
Remove 2 debuffs.
Grit 2: Spiritual Soothe. You utter a silent prayer to the diwata
of remedies. The target becomes 2 allies.
KASUBHA TEA
This tea is nothing more than properly chosen safflower mixed with
ginger and steeped in boiled freshwater. However, it’s regenerative
effects grant a burst of vigor to the Souls.
Flourish * Ritual
1 ally | Range 3
Effect: The target gains 4 + Prominence Barrier.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Honeyed Tea. You slip energizing flower leaves:
salinggogon, waling-waling. The target may immediately move 2
spaces.
Grit 2: Berserk Brew. You slip bellgierent flower leaves: bleeding
waling-waling, crimson jade vine. The target may inflict violence, if
they can.
EXHAUSTIVE OINTMENT APPLICATION
This ointment forcibly causes The Power to be pushed out from the
body for a setsuna instant, causing them to lose all autonomy and
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strength for a few crucial moments. You ready it upon a kris leaf
upon your palm, and then strike your opponent with it.
Action * Ritual, Maneuver, Charge 3
1 unit | Range 2
Attack: Ranged Spiritual Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 flat damage.
Effect: The next attack against the target deals piercing damage.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Breaching Ointment. Your ointment is mixed in with
blood of martial artist monitor lizards. The target also becomes
Unbalanced.
Grit 2: Blinding Ointment. You strike your target’s face. The
next ally to deal damage to the target also inflicts Obscured.
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WARSMITH [WRS]
“The islands were forged in war, and in war it will be destroyed.”
This is an adage that holds true in most of modern The Sword
Isles society, and not dare to refute it. The Warsmith, which means
Smith of War or colloquially known as Warsmiths, are blacksmiths
that have taken up their hammers and drenched them in blood. A
particularly large settlement of Warsmith, in the region of
Kumintang, allied with Ba-e, are made entirely of smiths, lead by a
single Kadanay datu. The Kadanay are an ancient people with
burning magenta eyes, said to be one of the oldest people on the
island. They are the heirs of an ancient kingdom of gold and jade
that they have now forgotten. Another notable settlement is the
island of Tugas, an island full of sorcerers, witches, and crafters all
ruled over by four Kadanay datu, near the island of Pannai. They
are allied with both Pannai, Ba-e, and Gatusan.
Guro of Warsmith are often warriors or Datu themselves. They
teach a particular brand of combat, one that focuses on turning the
battlefield itself into their anvil, their forge, their work sheds. These
Guro teach a much coveted skill that lets Warsmith quick-craft,
creating concoctions and contraptions much quicker than other
panday. The trade off is that quick-crafting creates inherently
weaker craft, making it so that they don’t last past the length of a
battle, and that they need investiture of the Kadungganan’s
Gahum.
Warsmith are brought up and taught in the ways of the usual
Panday. However, along the way, something caused them to
change. They brought their discipline to the battlefield, and there
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they wreak havoc. They are well attuned to the ways of combat, and
through this fact, they manipulate the battlefield with shields,
quick-crafted walls, and enhancements to weapons.
Their anvils are their enemies’ skulls, and they quench their
sizzling hot steel in their blood. Their gusali, or sheds, are the
battlefield, and upon it they will craft the most powerful of
weapons: themselves and their allies.
If you take up the Discipline of the Warsmith, ask yourself why
you have made such a creative Discipline into one of the most
destructive ones. Why do you blaspheme your craft? The weapons
used to spill so much blood becomes forged encapsulations of your
sins. When you see your steel, do you not feel guilt?
Panday sa Digma techniques are known as Forge Spirit Arts.
CONTROL STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: WAR CRAFT

You bring with you a miniature gusali: a burning furnace in one
hand and an anvil tied to your back. You use this to quick-craft small
oddities in the middle of the chaos of combat, and innovation now
suddenly required in the intensifying violence in the Sword Isles.
Whenever you use a Craft, you gain a Panday Token, up to a
maximum of 4. You can spend a Flourish and 1 Panday Token to
put down a War Craft:
- Elemental Surat. Choose 1 adjacent ally. You imprint an
elemental surat on their weapon. Their next attack that deals Force
damage instead deals Fire, Water, Earth, or Wind damage (choose
1, your choice).
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- Obstacle. You put down an obstacle in a space adjacent to you.
This is considered hindering terrain and can be used as cover.
- Binding Coil. You put down a pillar of binding coil in a space
adjacent to you. When a unit moves through it or starts their turn
on it, they become Bound. Whenever they move, they are always
pulled back to the space of the binding coil at the end of their turn.
You can only have 1 Binding Coil at a time in the field.
FIRST MASTERY: ENLIGHTENED CRAFT

You can now put down the following War Craft:
- Elemental Dampening Devil Idol. Put the devil idol in a space
adjacent to you. No fire, water, earth, or wind damage can be dealt
within close burst 1 of the idol, replacing all that with space.
- Spike. Put a spike in a space adjacent to you. All units that start
their turn on the spike or move into the spike’s space suffer 1 +
Prominence piercing flat damage.
- Wall. Put down a wall in Close Wall 4. This is Height 3 Blocking
Terrain.
SECOND MASTERY: GOD CRAFT

All spaces adjacent to your War Craft become difficult terrain.
You can now spend an Action and 2 Panday Tokens to lay down
one of the following God Craft. You can only lay down 1 God Craft
on the field during a scene.
- God Shearing Ray. Inflict Ripped to all foes in close blast 3.
- Tenderizing Shrike. Make all foes in close blast 2 Weak to 1
Element of your choice.
- God Weapon. You lay down a god weapon in a space adjacent
to you. You or any ally can pick it up when you move through the
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weapon’s space and make your next attack Strengthened. If a foe
picks it up, they suffer Debilitated instead.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: MIGHTY PALO

Slam
You strike down with an attack that quakes the ground.
Action * Craft, Maneuver
1 Unit | Range 2
Hammer Down
You send a shockwave through the ground.
All foes | Close Line 2
Effect: The target is Slowed.
Binding Strike
Your weapon springs open a binding trap, cuffing the target’s
hands.
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Inflict Quiet Maneuver.
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SECOND WIND TECHNICK: PANGOLIN PLATE RIPPINGS
Pangolin plating is rare, but many warsmiths have metaphysically
folded them into shimmering iridescent scales that they have folded
into their chest. When the situation is dire, they tap on it, and the
pangolin rips through in every angle.
Flourish * Craft, Tactic, Scene, Heal
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. All foes adjacent to you gain Ripped and they
become Weak to Force damage until the end of their next turn.
FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: HEAVEN FORGED GOD BODY

You submerge yourself into the blood of the battle and you are
quenched. The battlefield becomes your anvil. Your arms become
your hammers. And the VIOLENCE YOU BRING WILL BE THE
SWORD YOU FORGE!
Action * Craft, Venture, Round 3
Spend 5 Grit
Self
Effect: You wield the God-Body for the rest of the scene, a giant
walking suit of armor, filigreed and reminiscent of demon kings.
This God-Body is a Size 2 suit of armor. All spaces adjacent to it are
Difficult Terrain, and it is considered Hindering Terrain. When you
first summon the God-Body, gain Barrier 10 + your Breath.
While in the God Body, all your attacks are Strengthened.
Whenever a foe moves to a space adjacent to you, they must make
a save or be knocked prone.
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Enhancements
Grit 1: Diwata Body. The God Body becomes Huge.
Grit 2: Batara Body. The God Body’s Melee reach gains +1 and
every time they move, all foes adjacent to them are knocked prone.
SPIRIT-FORGE ARTS
LANDASANG MALAKAT
Strapped onto your back is a blacksteel landasan, or anvil.

Whenever you need it, you can slam it onto the battlefield, and it
becomes your gusali.
Flourish * Craft, Maneuver
1 Unoccupied Space | Adjacent
Effect: You place an Anvil in target area. You only have 1 Anvil.
Whenever the anvil is damaged by a unit within close burst 2 of it,
that combatant may push 1 other unit within close burst 2 of the
landasan by 3 spaces. You can spend a Flourish to pick the anvil up.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Anvil Down. You slam the anvil down forcefull. When you
place the Anvil, push all targets adjacent to it by 1 space away from
the Anvil.
Grit 2: Lighter Anvil. The landasan can be kicked away. Any ally
can now move into the anvil’s space to move it 2 spaces.
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CRAFT KANDU SHIELDS
A shield from kandu sang across the isles. With the help of the forge
diwata and shield diwata, you craft such a shield that floats as if
sailing upon the wind.
Flourish * Craft, Charge 3
Effect: You put down a flying shield in the target area. This can
be used as cover against all attacks. You or an ally, as a Flourish,
may ride it, Flying to an unoccupied space 3 spaces away, ignoring
Height. When you land on a space, perform a burst finisher. This
destroys the shield.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Perfect Shield. Shields are stronger than others. When an
ally adjacent to the shield is attacked, they may use the shield to
gain blocking terrain against that attack. This destroys the shield.
Grit 2: Sky Rider. In ancient epics, the heroes would ride upon the
shields as if they were sampans. When you or an ally uses the shield
to fly, they may move 5 spaces instead of just 3.
ANTI-EARTH MODIFICATION
You apply a strange ritual surat upon your target’s weapon, letting
it float, never to fall.
Flourish * Craft, Charge 5
1 Unit | Adjacent
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Effect: The target gains Windstriding. When they Stride, they
may consume the Windstriding to ride upon their weapon. They
gain +1 Speed and ignore terrain and Height.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Floaty. You apply a floating surat upon your foe’s weapon,
making it so that their attacks are imprecise and hard to land. When
you apply this to a foe, you can give their next physical attack Curse
instead.
Grit 2: Flurrying Monsoon. The surat becomes a whorl of
stability. If you apply this to a foe, the foe becomes Juggled. If you
apply it to an ally, the ally becomes immune to all forced movement
until the end of their next turn.
CRAFT HARIGI
With ingenuity, you craft up a pillar that holds up houses.

Flourish * Craft, Charge 6, Combo
Effect: Lay down a height 3 pillar in the target area. This acts as
blocking terrain.
Combo: If the pillar is in the target area or is the target of a blast,
burst, or lunge finisher, the pillar collapses, falling to a space in
Close Line 3. All units caught in the Line suffer 3 piercing flat
damage and become Dazed until the end of their next turn.
Enhancements
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Grit 1: Tall Pillar. You funnel more material into the pillar. The
pillar becomes height 5, and when it falls, the range becomes Close
Line 5.
Grit 2: Construction. You create a monument worthy of gods.
Also create Size 1 spaces on every adjacent spaces to the pillar when
you first put it up.
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HEAVENSPEAR [HVS]
No gods, no rulers. This is the first teaching of the Piercers of
Heaven. Their teachings then go on to teach of the great
unbreaking, that unlashing from the earth, that great wind-calling.
With a flex of your kalag, a honing of your Kinaadman, you can fly
upon silk wings to sail the clouds.
The first Heavenspear was Sarripada Pak-an. To fend off an
incoming Akai raid, they rode upon catapults, and when the war
barges sounded, they launched themselves into the air, sailing
across the sky, and rending sails from masts and inflicting chaos
upon the raiders.
The Sarripada would continue to do this until one day, he
launched himself so high that he spoke with Lawu, the great eagle
that will eat the sun. The eagle took him into his clutches and
showed him the seven heavens, at the top of which there was no
throne but simply infinite bliss. When asked why there was no
great god that ruled over them all, the Eagle responded: “Rulership
is a mistake and a lie built by your ancestors and descendants.
Rejoice in the glory of combat.”
Sarripada Pak-an descended back into the earth upon a silken kite
that he had fashioned himself with the help of biraddali--rainbow-
winged angels--from one of the seven heavens. With this, he fought
like a hawk, swooping and killing and destroying boats.
After fending off that particular raid, he returned to the cliff
where his catapult was, and he broke it. With an intonation of his
Kinaadman, he detached himself from the earth. And upon this
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blasphemy against the natural order he founded a house of sky-
warriors, and called them the Heavenspears.
“No thrones, rend heaven and hell.” As a Heavenspear, you are
taught the Heaven-Rending Arts. These are a set of techniques that
let you reflexively move about the air as if there were innumerable
platforms about you, using your spirit to bounce off of thin air. This,
combined with a martial art focused on using polearms, makes the
Heavenspear adept at staying at range but also quick. Their
unorthodox angles of attack has been the downfall of many
warbands.
If you become a Heavenspear, ask yourself: with your enlightened
knowledge of there being no Over God, why do you fight? Do you
fight for liberation, so that all men can fly across the sky? Or do you
fight for more selfish reasons? You rend the sky but make sure that
your spear thrust is true, from your heart, and not from your
doubts.
Heavenspear Technicks are known as Heaven Rending Arts.
RAIDER STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: UNBIND

Heavenspears are taught, in one way or another, to ignore gravity.
This is the final lie. However, to achieve that, they must learn the
truth of the Waling-Waling Sutla: that they themselves are not real.
That they travel and can perform feats of grand God-killing because
reality as they know it is a structure of their own souls crafting reality
around them. Only then can they truly unchain themselves from the
shackles of the earth.
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You gain access to the Unbind Flourish: you can move 2 spaces,
ignoring height. At the end of the movement, deal 1 + Prominence
wind damage to all foes adjacent to you. If you land on a unit, deal
2 + Prominence piercing wind damage on them and push them 2
spaces away. You can only Unbind 1/round.
FIRST MASTERY: UNSHACKLE

You can Unbind twice per round now. You can move up to 4
spaces now. Additionally, you can choose to move back to your
original space after dealing damage with Unbind.
SECOND MASTERY: TRANSCEND

You can perform Unbind three times per round now. When you
drop down, instead of dealing damage, you can choose to inflict
violence instead.
If you incapacitate Chattel with Unbind, you can choose to pierce
them through with a Skyshrike, keeping them incapacitated but
not killed. While they are pierced through by the Skyshrike, they
are removed as a unit from the combat, and they are treated as
having lost a morale roll.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: STORM JAVELIN

Pierce Through
You lunge forward, impaling all in your path.
Action * Maneuver, Steady, Combo
1 Unit | Melee 2
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 force damage.
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Combo: If the next attack against a target is a lunge finisher and
it deals damage, they suffer Ripped as well.
Celestial
You spin, and send them flying.
Action * Maneuver
1 Unit | Melee
Effect: Inflict Juggled.
Special: If you use this after an Unbind, gain +1 Fate to the attack.
Crashing Thunder
You leap into the sky and send the target crashing down.
1 Unit | Melee
Attack: Melee Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 wind damage. If
the target is on a height lower than you, Strengthen this attack. If
the target is Juggled, consume the Juggled to deal 1d8 extra damage.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: REMOVE ATTACHMENTS

You dig deep and find a second wind in you. Bolstering
enlightenment billows: it is your time to strike.
Flourish * Maneuver, Heal, Scene
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. Gain Haste and ignore Difficult, Dangerous,
Hindering, and Blocking Terrain when you move until the end of
your next turn.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: BREAK THE SKY
That ultimate teaching of Lawu, The Sun Eating Eagle: impale the
sun and make the sky bloody with rebellion. With this, you become
gathering storm clouds, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Then, like that lightning dog, you descend upon the world. “There is
no god, in fact there is no self, there is only thought,” you state, as
your weapon pierces the heart of creation.
Action * Venture, Maneuver
Spend 5 Grit.
Self
Effect: Leap into the sky. You become untargetable until the start
of your next Turn.
At the start of your next Turn, choose 1 Unit that you can see: deal
4d6 piercing wind damage. The target is knocked prone. If the
target is on a Height, you destroy the Height and deal extra damage
equal to the Height they were on.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Carve Bakunawa’s Corpse. Carving the corpse of the
world. Choose 3 Units.
Grit 2: Now or Never! Mahanaga Pinamaskan! Summon the
MAHANAGA, the God of all Dragons: while you’re in the sky, the
Dragon God possesses your weapon, and you throw it at the target
of your scorn. Deal 12d6 piercing soul damage to them, pushing
them 5 spaces back and knocking them prone. If they collide with
terrain, they become Rooted, as they are impaled into that terrain.
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If this brings them to Mettle 0, the entire battlefield shatters: all
spaces in the battlefield goes down by 5 Height. Your allies float
down safely.
HEAVEN RENDING ARTS
SEA PIERCING SANAYAN
Leap down and let the waters whirl around you. The Heavenspear
Namwara used this to kill a giant sea serpent which had breached
into the air. He sped through the length of the serpent and came out
from its tail.
Self
Effect: Move 4 spaces in a straight line, no diagonals. You can
move through foes. Deal 2 piercing water damage to all units that
you move through.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Sky Rave. You shall carve your name across the heavens. If
there is a foe at the end of your movement, push them 3 spaces
away and move into their space.
Grit 2: Godshrike. And even gods shall know your name. Move 6
spaces instead.
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CLOUD LIKE A RED LIGHT BEAM
You leap into the air and are blasted in multiple different directions
by an invisible crimson force. Like an ancient Epic hero, you whistle
and call upon a red light beam. This red light beam, called by others
as the Ray of Lawu, or the Eyes of Sumongsuklay, is said to be
judgment from the missing over-god. But what is judgment without
a judge?
Interrupt Reaction: You are the target of an attack. * Maneuver,
Charge 2
Self
Effect: Move 3 spaces before the attack. If this causes you to be
out of range of the attack, you avoid the attack completely.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Jumping Strike. You become as lightning. After the
movement, make a ranged physical attack at the target, no matter
how far they are, dealing 3 piercing flat damage.
Grit 2: Skyrunner. Your feet burn with crimson lightning. You can
move through foes during the move of this Technick. If you do, deal
2 wind damage to any foe you move through.
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FLYING PINAMASKAN
A technique taught to early Heavenspears. In this godless world,

one must learn to use their weapon effectively. With their soul like a
spear, they must skewer those that are the victim of their scorn.
Action * Taxing, Maneuver
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 2d4 wind damage.
Effect: Push the target 3 spaces and knock them prone.
Special: Your weapon ends in a space adjacent to the target, and
becomes a Size 1 space. You can pick up your weapon when you
move into a space adjacent to it or when you start your turn
adjacent to it, as a Reflex. You cannot make physical attacks until
you retrieve it.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Far Reaching Lightning. Heed the consequences of
enlightenment. Increase the range to 5.
Grit 2: Non Existence. You embody the teaching of the waling-
waling sutla: you are none. You can now spend a Reflex during your
turn to teleport to a space adjacent to your weapon and pick it up.
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ACROSS THE HEAVENS
Jamiyun Kulisa is the Brother Thunderbolt, husband to Indira Suga,

the Mother Sun. In the ancient of days, the Sky Brother stepped upon
the seven heavens and reached the highest point of the sky. There he
saw the stars in the void, and realized that nothingness is part of the
supreme soul. With this enlightenment, he descended into the earth,
and thus thunder resounded for the first time.
Flourish * Stance, Maneuver
Self
Effect: Gain the Plummeting Thunder stance.
Stance: While you’re in Plummeting Thunder, you’re considered
as being 2 Height higher than your current Height.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Rising Thunder. You bend and fly into the sky. When you
inflict violence while in Plummeting Thunder, gain 1 Fate.
Grit 2: Thunder Garland. Jamiyun Kulisa bestows upon you the
lightning enlightenment. Whenever you’re damaged by an attack
while in Plummeting Thunder, you may spend a Response Reaction
to make a physical melee attack against the triggering unit, dealing
1d4 flat damage.
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STAR SHOOTER [STS]
Combat as a sport, war as combat. Therefore, war is a sport, and
you are the Ace.
The sport of sipa is a competitive sport played between two teams,
and is popular among children and teenagers. Whenever they are
not warring, they spend their time playing Sipa.
It was said that one day, Bulalakaw the Comet, descended upon
the people of The Sword Isles with a ball of stardust. With this, he
began kicking, and he launched it at people. The people caught it
with their feet, and soon the volley began. At the end of the play
session, Bulalakaw the Comet said: “Such is life, like a great volley,
yet just a part of the entire game, and not the entire game itself.
Sunder the world.”
Sipa is thus taught by comet-guro, teachers of shooting stars, and
has spread far and wide across the archipelago, from the smallest
of shore settlements to the greatest of mountain cities, played with
rattan balls instead of shooting stars. Every end of harvest, those
settlements dedicated to playing Sipa would go and have a sipa
tournament in the most prestigious tournament of all: The
Shooting Star Massacre, wherein the main stage is two large war
barges lashed together.
In recent times, however, the best of Sipa players realized that the
best of Comet-Guro have passed down a teaching by Bulalakaw
kept from the rest of competitive Sipa. Practitioners of this
particular form of Sipa were known as Starshooters, and they used
their superior kicking ability to bring violence upon the islands.
With their superior skill, they can use anything--even the smallest
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mote of dust--as a shooting star that they can kick at the victims of
their scorn.
As a Starshooter, ask yourself why you have turned this gift from
the heavens into a killing art. The beauty of the shooting star now
tarnished, turned into a horrible horrible sight in the battlefield,
one that can decapitate and puncture. Do you enjoy using
something seemingly more innocent than a sword as a killing
instrument? Do you enjoy treating war as a sport?
Star Shooter Technicks are known as Morning Star Arts.
MARKSMAN STYLE
DISCIPLINE MECHANIC: VOLLEY

You are trained to never let a ball down. In Sipa, this is not allowed.
And so you perform all kinds of twisting maneuvers, all sorts of
attacks, to keep the ball up.
Whenever you make a Ranged Physical Attack, you launch a ball.
If the attack hits, you start a Volley.
While you’re performing a Volley, you begin at Volley 1, going up
every time you hit with a Ranged Physical Attack, to a maximum of
5. You lose the Volley when you miss a Ranged Physical Attack,
forcing you to start from Volley 1 again.
While you’re in a volley, all your Ranged Physical Attacks gain +3
range and gain +1 Fate.
When you reach Volley 5, you can Spike as a Flourish.
Immediately deal 8 piercing flat damage to a foe in range 10, treat
it as a burst finisher as well.
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FIRST MASTERY: EXPERT VOLLEY
Now, whenever an ally performs a Ranged Physical Attack, they
may continue your Volley. Them missing a Ranged Physical Attack
does not reset your volley.
While you’re in volley, deal 1 extra damage with all your ranged
attacks.
SECOND MASTERY: COMET VOLLEY

You no longer lose Volley when you miss a ranged attack.
Your allies can now benefit from the additional range whenever
there’s a volley going on in the field.
While you’re in volley, gain +2 to your Speed.
When you spike, deal 10 piercing flat damage to the target and to
all foes in close burst 3 of them.
INFLICT VIOLENCE: SHOOTER

Serve
You kick up a mote of dust, a stone, a durian, a stray dagger, or
anything that you can kick, and you serve it at your opponent.
1 Unit | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 Force damage.
Combo: If the next attack against the target is a Shot Finisher and
it deals damage, they push the target 2 spaces and knock the target
prone.
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Set
You catch the ball and continue the volley.
Action * Maneuver, Stance
1 Unit | Range 4
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 wind damage.
Effect: Take on the Recieving stance.
Stance: While in the Recieving Stance, when you are damaged by
a ranged attack, you may consume the Stance to halve the damage
and then immediately make the target another unit within range 2
of you, dealing the halved damage that you suffered.
Point!
You spike down the ball, sending a meteor to the field.
Action * Maneuver, Shot Finisher
1 Unit | Range 5
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d4 fire damage to
the target.
Effect: Deal 1 + Prominence fire damage to all other foes adjacent
to the target.
SECOND WIND TECHNICK: TEAM SPIRIT

You’ve practiced all your life for this. Why give up now? Jump up,
warrior shooter! Reach for the stars, and fly upon the wings of the
hawk!
Self
Effect: Heal Breath. You are treated as being in Volley 3.
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FORBIDDEN TECHNICK: METEOR GARDEN
This Forbidden Technick, taught only to those fully inducted into
the arts of the Starshooter, emulates the first Sipa game with the
comet god. In this alternative interpretation, Bulalakaw kills all of
the 85 that saw the first game, and in the violence, the 85 became the
85 Sidereal Mansions, burning in the sky and dictating destinies if
one should seek them. To this day, the Sidereal Mansions play this
violent star-version of Bulalakaw’s game, and it is said that they were
the ones that taught this violent version of the game to the first
Starshooters.
Action * Maneuver, Venture, Perilous
Spend 5 Grit
All Foes | Range 10
Effect: Deal 2d8 fire damage to the target as you kick a perfect
star. If there is another foe within range 6 of the target, deal 2d8
fire damage to them as well. If there is another foe in range 6 of the
second target, it bounces to them as well. Keep bouncing until you
have no target left. You cannot hit the same foe twice. Every attack
is considered as a Ranged Physical Attack for the purposes of
Volley.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Flower Storm. Petals of salinggogon whorl about the field.
Increase the range to the entire battlefield. You can hit a Chief or
Brave twice.
Grit 2: Come Forth! Morning Star! You kick anything into the
air and it disappears into the clouds. At the end of the round, the
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Morning Star, Dalandaguis, descends into the field, crowned by
lightning and clouds and 180 Flames of Destiny. As it crashes and
explodes into the field, all allies within close burst 2 do not suffer
damage. All units suffer damage equal to their Battered value.
MORNING STAR ARTS
UNBREAKABLE DIAMOND INTERCEPT
“YEAHHHHHHHHHH NEVER GIVE IN! WHEN SOMETHING

FAILS, MAKE IT SUCCEED!” - Sipa Master Hanahayan.
Interrupt Reaction: When an ally’s physical attack misses a foe
in range * Maneuver
The triggering ally | Range 2
Effect: The target treats the attack as if it were a Weak Hit, as you
kick the target’s attack so that it hits.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Stone Ocean. The attack cannot be held back. Increase the
range to 3.
Grit 2: Power! Your strength is inevitable. Treat the attack as as
Strong Hit instead.
TAMBANOKANO BREAKER
“THE DRAGONS DON’T GIVE BACK WHAT THEY TAKE!

SUNDER THE WORLD!” - Shoutcaster Basaka Tagaka, during a set
point during the Shooting Star Massacre (scribe’s note: not actually
a massacre, but with the point gap at the match point, it might as
well have been).
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Response Reaction: A foe within range is damaged * Maneuver,
Shot Finisher
Triggering Foe | Range 3
Effect: Deal 1 + Prominence Force damage to the foe immediately.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Far Breaker. Your kick is done with extra force. Push the
target 1 space.
Grit 2: Bounding Breaker. Your projectile leaps to another. Deal
the damage to another foe in range as well.
REBOUNDING METEOR
“THE GREAT IWAS-IWAS HAS DODGED THE DIMAKAUSOG’S

FIREBALL STRIKE! HIS COUNTERATTACK IS SET TO FINISH
THIS MATCH!” - Shoutcaster Basaka Tagaka, during the semifinals
match point of the Shooting Star Massacre.
Action * Maneuver
1 Foe | Range 3
Attack: Ranged Physical Attack. On hit, deal 1d6 fire damage.
Effect: Deal your 1 + Prominence piercing flat damage to all foes
in close blast 2 behind the target.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Dancing Meteor. Your strike flies about the target first.
Change the range to close burst 2 instead of close blast 2.
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Grit 2: Violent Meteor. Your projectile fulminates with power. If
you deal damage to the target, deal the damage you dealt to all foes
instead.
NAGA BREAKER STRAIGHT
HE’S DONE IT! HE HAS PERFORMED A PERFECT SHOOTING

STAR SET UP! KABAKA TAKES THE SETUP AND PERFORMS
THAT IMMORTAL FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE, THE ONE TO END
IT ALL: NAGA! BREAKER! STRAIGHT!!!” - Shoutcaster Sinuka-ang-
bala, during the grand finals of the Shooting Star Massacre between
the Balangiga Crimson Pudongs and Obertura Straightened Axes.
Flourish * Maneuver, Combo, Taxing
1 space | Adjacent
Effect: You put down a spinning Naga Ball in the target area.
Combo: You or an ally may move into that space to kick it or
target it with a shot finisher or blast finisher to send it flying. All
foes in Close Line 4, with the origin being the Naga Ball’s space,
suffers 3 + Prominence piercing fire damage. They must make a
save or else be knocked prone.
Enhancements
Grit 1: Uwak Shooting. Uwak means crow. Increase the range to
Close Line 6.
Grit 2: Bouncing Naga. A naga fulminates from the line of effect
of the attack. If the attack is struck with a shot or blast finisher, the
range becomes Close Wall 6.
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COMPLICATIONS
Complications are difficult and complicated relationships with
two other characters, usually between Player characters.
Complications always make things more complicated than they
already are, and to ramp up the drama in otherwise normal looking
scenes. The Mang-aawit is expected to use your Complications to
heighten the drama.
During character creation, choose two below, or roll to
randomize. Roll a d6 (tens place) + d10 (ones place). 1-2 on a d6 is
0, 3-4 is 1, and 5-6 is 2. On a d10, if you roll a 10 and the d6 roll was
a 0, then that is a 10, if it was a 1, then that roll is a 20, and if it was
a 2, that roll is a 30.
At least two of the names you fill in must be with a Player
Character. Each blank also must be a different name. Creating
NPCs during this turn is encouraged. The names don’t have to be
singular characters either, but may also be polities or clans or other
groups.
1 - I love _____, but so does ________. We know this, but the one
we love does not.
2 - ________ killed someone important to me, but __________
must protect them.
3 - I hold ___________ dear to my heart, but they have forgotten
who I am. I saved them from ______ before.
4 - I serve my town __________ loyally, but my heart calls me to
follow __________.
5 - I committed a crime before with _________, which caused us
to be exiled from our hometown, and causing ________ to hate us.
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6 - I love __________ but __________ loves me, and I know.
7 - My mentor, _____________, does not know that I treat
___________, someone they disapprove of, like my best friend.
8 - I’m helplessly infatuated with ___________, but they don’t
know this, they only see me as a friend and nothing else... And
_______ knows this.
9 - I want to get in a relationship with ___________, but
__________, my sibling/mentor/parent, expressly disavows me
from being in any romantic relationship.
10 - I seek to kill ____________, but I cannot due to __________.
11 - My parent has arranged for me to be married to __________,
but I wish to be with _________, who I cannot be with.
12 - ____________ doesn’t know that I was once a servant of
_______.
13 - ____________ and I are siblings, but we don’t know that
_________is our parent.
14 - I am scorned by __________ for something I did to them, but
_________ thinks that they’re stupid for thinking that, and is on my
side at all costs.
15 - I have been looking for __________ all my life, and
___________ wants me to kill them.
16 - I served under __________, but left after _________ told me
to do so.
17 - I am addicted to something only _____________ can afford,
but ___________ wants me to get away from them.
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18 - I cannot explain why I am inexplicably drawn to
____________, but ___________ is always at their side for reasons
they cannot explain either.
19 - My sibling, ___________, was separated from me at birth, and
was brought up in ___________.
20 - ___________ does not know that they are my parent, and
______________ wants to kill them.
21 - I have been honorbound by ______ to protect _______.
22 - I love ______, and they love me back. However, they do not
take me seriously, and would rather be with ________.
23 - I have an important item from _______ that they gave me
when we were younger. I don’t know if they still remember.
________ wants it from me.
24 - _________, a member from the upper class, wishes to wed
me, but I do not love them. I would rather be with _______, who is
no good to me.
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25 - I had romantic relations with _______ before, but it never
went well. They’re with ______ now, and it’s making things a bit
awkward.
26 - I changed allegiances from ________ so I can be with ______.
27 - _________ is my father, and I wish to kill them because

________ told me to do so.
28 - ________ humiliated me before, and I will never forgive them.
They did it in front of _______, who I hold dear.
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29 - _______ saved me from mortal harm before, and so I have
given my life to them. However, I have done the same for _______,
and I have a feeling that they have feelings for me.
30 - _________ and ________ are good friends, however I’ve kissed
one of them and the other hates me for it.
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CONVICTION
The most harrowing question that every Kadungganan must have
an answer to is this: Why do you fight? The question resounds
across all of the Archipelago. There is not a single Kadungganan
that does not have a reason, for to bleed another with your steel,
you must first be ready to bleed yourself.
Convictions can be a word or a sentence long, defining why your
Kadungganan fights and why they have chosen to become
Kadungganan. Some might have even been forced into it. The
narrower the better, but larger-than-life declarations make for
good Convictions as well.
Convictions will color and determine many of your
Manggugubat’s actions. These can be played using Conviction
Beats. If you need help thinking up of Convictions, refer to the table
below.
1. Curiosity. Seek something, always seeking. What is it?

Even I do not know, but the pull of the unknown is enough to
put the winds upon my sails.
2. Survival. As the Archipelago drowns in the blood of its
children, I will stay afloat, by iron and fire.
3. Wealth. Slaves, connections, heirloom wealth, and
religion. Why else live if not to guarantee these things for me
and mine?
4. Valor. I fight to fulfill the prophecies and songs of eld: of a
hero who must face the darkness, with nothing but a sword of
light and a smile like the sun.
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5. Loyalty. Whether it be for their blood or for their heart,
the reason I fight is to stay true to the one who owns my soul.
6. Honor. What life is there to live, if it is not a life of virtue?
Why wield a sword if not to uphold one’s principles? Why live,
if there is nothing to live for but base animal instinct?
7. Revenge. What goes around comes around. The circle is
unbroken, and it brings with it the spike of judgment.
8. Family. My family might be broken, or not one of blood,
or like an arrow lost in the trade winds, but it is mine. And they
are all I have.
9. Spite. My soul churns and my spirit boils. I have been cast
down like false idols. I shall rise again, and those that will suffer
my scorn will know my name as I say it while impaling them
with my blade.
10. Duty. There is something that I must do, and it is
something that only I can do. Another might get it wrong. Who
else could it be but me?
11. Knowledge. There is a future that we all can see. One only
needs a light bright enough to see it. Walk with me, and let us
attain wisdom. Let the path we forge be the right one.
12. Love. My heart bleeds, enslaved, and my soul is the lake.
My passion courses like the rivers of Yutadagat for the one that
holds my life in thrall. My tears flow in devotion.
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LAST BITS
Record your name. There are names recorded below depending
on what Mandala you begin from.
Describe your appearance. This is usually important. Feel free
to use face claims: encouraged are those that look and are
Southeast Asian!
Starting Items. Roll three times on the Material Culture table.
The items you end up with also determine your value.
Starting Trinket. Decide from which of the Major (or Petty, p.
331) Mandalas you hail from. This does not decide which Mandala
you’re loyal to, just which Mandala you begin in. If you cannot
decide, you may roll a d10 to randomize.
1-2 - LAKANATE OF VIRBANWA

You begin with 1 of the following necessities: a perfumed
handkerchief, a sidereal rosary (12 beads), a penitent veil, a small
protective amulet.
Virbanwan Honorifics: Ginoo [gee-nu-O] (Masculine), Binibini
[bee-nee-bee-nee] (Feminine), Poon [Po-ON] (Lord, general)
Virbanwan Naming Conventions: Virbanwans have surnames,
mandated by the government. Their names are tainted by Pale King
nomenclature.
Virbanwanon Names: Huwan, Lesandra, Eeya, Pavlo, Ymbrosyo,
Karmala, Dyusa, Ylisa, Olrac, Dranbreb
Virbanwanon Surnames: De Sutla, Salamanka, Dabila, Oropon,
Dimauri, Magsaysay, Reyes, De Basi
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3-4 - RAJAHNATE OF GATUSAN
You begin with 1 of the following necessities: city clothing (a
bahag, baro, cloak), a decorated betel nut chew box, a porcelain jar
of palm wine, a sword handle depicting Bakunawa.
Gatusan Honorifics: Laki [la-KEE] (Masculine), Bayi [ba-YEE]
(Feminine), Sri (General)
Gatusanon Naming Convention: Gatusanon are given names
that describe qualities the family wants for them, a particular
natural phenomenon that happened during the birthing, a
beautiful tree or other natural item or the craving or fascination of
the mother while pregnant. This can be a single word, or two, or
sometimes entire sentences. Gatusanon can choose names for
themselves as well.
Gatusanon Names: Siga, Liluan, Bagul, Aliluyuk, Mahimayaon,
Haraw, Salug, Hinagiban, Daya, Hamabar, Kagiw, Gaang, Idyap,
Alangilan, Bulsuk, Kutlu, Tanaman, Adilpa, Daganas, Nasirakna,
Idda
5-6 - CONFEDERATION OF APUMBUKID

You begin with 1 of the following necessities: palm leaf scrolls,
textile cloak, bamboo staff, upo gourd.
Apumbukid Honorifics: Aplake [ap-la-KEH] (Masculine),
Akbaye [ak-BA-yeh] (Feminine)
Apumbukid Naming Conventions: Similar to the Rajahnate’s,
although the individual choosing a name for themselves after their
first conquest in love or war is common.
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Apumbukidnon Names: Felindag, Metegdaw, Asi, Atulun,
Dengeg, Dagit, Suga, Apaw, Kilut, Anyag, Abbal, Bansag, Buni-Buni,
Darudu, Kalatsutsi, Tangu, Tobok, Mayasi, Baguybuy, Yomog
7-8 - SULTANATE OF AKAI

You begin with 1 of the following necessities: a crescent moon
comb, a bronze mirror, a textile shawl, a silk sack of ice cubes.
Akai Honorifics: Tuan [too-WAN] (General)
Akai Naming Convention: Akai names are often a single or two
words. They share many names with the Rajahnate and with
Naksuwarga.
Akainon Names: Asip, Sandayli, Sumandak, Hamba, Buddiman,
Akal, Layu, Saliha, Salimin, Maputra, Patima, Bahira, Sawira,
Muhaddi, Hinda Hanman, Manalum, Gura, Gumantung, Aliya,
Angkala, Hakim, Pakrud, Aisha, Idda
9-10 – NATION OF BA-E

You begin with 1 of the following necessities: a white parasol, a
black and white silk shawl, carnelian-adorned bracelet, a rope of
Baikhan make.
Ba-e Honorifics: Gat for Males, Binibini for females.
Ba-e Naming Conventions: Similar to Rajahnate conventions.
They do not have surnames, and use usually one or two words.
Mayinon Names: Pangil, Lontok, Dula, Angkatan, Namwaran,
Tagkan, Palaba, Kalamayin, Panginoan, Bagtas, Sasaban, Salalila,
Avijirkaya, Maitan, Salihan, Talim, Lumban, Pila, Gatid, Dewata
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STARTING DEBT
Roll a d20 below to find out starting Debt that you have. If two
players roll the same debt, that can lead to some interesting
storytelling opportunities as they have the same debt to someone.
If you are only running a one shot, it is safe to ignore this part
and start playing without obligations.
1. You have 1 Debt to someone that helped you get iron for an
important project. Their name is: (Katulo, Siripata, or make one
up). They are a Lakanate noble who is obsessed with foreign
imports.
2. You have 1 Debt to someone that helped you defeat a skilled
opponent. Their name is: (Agnisa, Karis, or make one up), and
they’re a warrior from the Rajahnate who is obsessed with
explosives.
3. You have 1 Debt to someone that helped you in dealing with a
spirit, and they know a secret about you. Their name is (Pabhru,
Tuman, or make one up), and they’re a stoic knightly warrior
from the Sultanate who is skilled with bows.
4. You have 1 Debt to someone who helped you rise from your
station. Their name is (Kulum, Damiyan, make one up), and
they’re a Confederation warrior monk who loves grilled pork.
5. You have 1 Debt to someone who helped you leave an important
obligation or maybe even your bukot. Their name is (Bulawan,
Parum Jamba, make one up), and they are a tricky Rajahnate
knave who hoards bronze items, but silver tongued when it
comes to nobility.
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6. You have 1 Debt to someone who you fell in love with but was
never loved back. Their name is (Bagwisan, Kigalura, make one
up), and they are a beautiful royal noble from the Rajahnate.
7. You have 1 Debt to someone you do not remember, but they
remember you, since they helped you in an important task for
the Datu in the past. Their name is (Karadua, Suli, make one
up), and they are a merchant lord who has a penchant for
making deals.
8. You have 1 Debt to someone who taught you the art of Kulam.
Their name is (Dalumdalum, Subang, make one up), and they
are either your close friend and your sibling, and they might be
consumed with the want for strength.
9. You have 1 Debt to someone who has allowed you to preach in
their settlement. Their name is (Mashayika, Kabog, make one
up), and they are a Datu’s bendahara, or prime minister, who
has been doing their best to write all religious faiths and
teachings down on copperplate inscriptions.
10. You have 1 Debt to someone who you’ve swindled before and
they found out. They let you off lightly. Their name is (Barinaga,
Kalibu, make one up) and they are a genius and smug poet from
the Rajahnate.
11. You have 1 Debt to someone who you were betrothed to before
but they called it off, since you were not attracted to them. Their
name is (Prabha Yakul, Prakash Ibara, make one up), and they
are actually a very kind person, who has a liking for Baikhan tea.
12. You have 1 Debt to your master, who decided to liberate you
after you became a true Kadungganan Their name is (Paduka
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Asara, Iskandar Eswara, make one up), and they are a wealthy
Kadungganan themselves, loud and raucuous, who loves a good
fight.
13. You have 1 Debt to someone who bailed you out after a bad job,
where you wrongly interpreted prices and caused a small
skirmish between foreign settlements. Their name is (Rahani,
Duryapatra, make one up), and they are a well-meaning
hayohay who kept you in their farm house for a moon before
letting you go. They’re generally well meaning.
14. You have 1 Debt to a prisoner that taught you something
important. What is it? Their name is (Orohon, Agogoling, make
one up) and they are wise youth that regret whatever mistakes
and crimes they have done... But they were innocent.
15. You have 1 Debt to someone who patronized you and granted
you a monthly stipend, but you do not know who they are.
16. You have 1 Debt to one of your childhood friends, who grew up
in the farmlands with you. Their name is (Sikundu, Lungon,
make one up), and you have no idea where they are right now,
although fate is fickle...
17. You have 1 Debt to one of your friends that you literally owe
money to. Their name is (Massala, Rantaka, make one up) and
they are a snob and drink too much Baikhan alcohol, but they
have your back no matter what.
18. You have 1 Debt to someone that acted on your advice but it
affected them negatively. Their name is (Dingguan, Pasiga,
make one up) and they are one of the nicest people you have
ever met.
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19. You have 1 Debt to someone that you almost killed. Their name
is (Yumi, Marik, make one up) and they are really angry at you
because of it.
20. You have 1 Debt to someone that you made a jarlet for for free.
Their name is (Bina, Fugan, make one up) and they are a rich
noble that loves locally made products more than foreign
imports.
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KADUNGGANAN ADVANCEMENT
Esteem is the measure of your Kadungganan’s infamy and
prestige across the isles, and beyond. A Kadungganan begins at
Esteem 1, and there are 12 Esteems in all.
Prominence is the measure of your Kadungganan’s name, their
bravery, if they are worthy having songs sung about. In game terms,
these are similar in function to “Tiers”. Higher Prominence means
you encounter more popular people, more famed people, more
hated or more dangerous people. You begin at Prominence 1,
and this goes up to Prominence 3.
Prominence Esteem Benefit

1 Character Creation: First Technick
2 Anting-Anting, Technick
1
3 Technick
4 Technick
5 Rise in Prominence, Technick
2
7 Technick
8 Technick
9 Rise in Prominence, Technick
3
11 Technick
12 Technick
GAIN A TECHNICK
Whenever you finish a Venture, whether you succeed or not, you
rise in Esteem. Gain 1 Technick from any Discipline within
your Style.
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GAIN AN ANTING-ANTING
Whenever you reach Esteem 2, Esteem 6, and Esteem 10, gain
an Anting-Anting. Anting-Anting are magical amulets, talismans,
weapons, armor, and other such trinkets that enhance your violent
prowess. You can always gain more Anting-Anting, but you cannot
wear more than your Prominence during a Venture.
RISING IN PROMINENCE
Every 4 Esteem, you rise in Prominence. At Esteem 5 and 9,
you Rise in Prominence. You can do the following when you do:
● Gain another Calling.
● Gain +2 to your Attributes.
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WARBAND PROPERTY
As your rise in Esteem, you can gain items, property, and
companions that follow you around. These properties stay until you
gain your own Following. You gain these by spending a Respite
Activity during a Respite to seek it out and pay the cost, which
you must have. You can only gain a Property once per Respite.
Property have their effects applied to everyone in the Warband.
Each Property has three upgrades. The first upgrade always come
first. You have to get the first upgrade to get the second. Finally,
the third upgrade, the Following Upgrade, is only available to you
once you gain a Following at Prominence 3.
The Costs for each Property is very fiction based. If you have
Kadungganan in your warband, for example, that are both
woodworkers and spirit idols, then it would make sense for the
Spirit Idol property to be easily attainable. Let it be so. Speaking to
the MA here: if you wish it to be heavier than just that, however,
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you can ask them both to spend a Respite Activity to work on the
Property, for example.
ALCOHOL
Cost: A Porcelain Jar and Rice or Coconuts
You gain a porcelain jar of alcohol, the one of your favorite.
You can give it to appease affairs and disputes, or the Warband
can drink it when they Catch Your Breath to gain Barrier equal to
your Breath, 1/Venture. Alcohol is a very potent convincer in the
isles.
Upgrade this with Bring Forth Creation, 4-segment moon.
1st Upgrade: Alcohol Jar Collection. You can now use this twice
per Venture.
2nd Upgrade: Sugapa Alcohol. When you drink this, all the
Warband’s attacks gain Strengthened during the first round of
combat.
Following Upgrade: Brewery. Alcohol can be traded as rarities
now, and the warband can carry one each during a Venture. These
can be drunken three times per Venture.
BALYAN
Cost: Must be at Esteem 6 or higher.
You’ve befriended a balyan, who has decided to follow you as the
spirits and ancestors become agitated around your potential.
Decide to whom the Balyan is dinaitan, or befriended, to. Then,
during a Relief, you can either remove 2 Wounds instead of 1 or gain
the benefit of their dinaitan diwata.
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Healing Diwata. A diwata of healing. The Warband cannot
suffer debuffs during the first round of the next combat.
War Diwata. When you spend a Relief, the Warband gains
Fate to all attacks during the first round of the next combat.
Sky Diwata. When you spend a Relief, the Warband gains
Clarified during the first round of the next combat.
Earth Diwata. When you spend a Relief, the Warband gains
immunity to forced movement during the first round of the
next combat.
Sea Diwata. When you spend a Relief, the Warband gains
Hastened during the first round of combat.
Upgrade this by making Worshipping Gods and Ancestors

with that balyan.
1st Upgrade: Adept Balyan (3 Worship Gods and Ancestors).
The Balyan is now dinaitan to two diwata, meaning you can choose
1 from two diwata benefits.
2nd Upgrade: Katuuran (5 Worship Gods and Ancestors).
The Balyan is now dinaitan to three diwata meaning you can choose
1 from three diwata benefits.
Following Upgrade: Balyan Group (5 Worship Gods and
Ancestors). You now have a balyan group performing rituals for
you. You can now instead choose which benefit you gain from the
five, and can gain it on top of removing 2 Wounds per Venture.
BOAT
Cost: Large amounts of wood and infantry loyal to you
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You’ve been given a boat that is the main vessel in these islands.
Any kind of boat can be used to travel the isles. The infantry that is
part of this cost becomes the warriors that row the boat and
become its crew. Become acquainted with at least 3 of them.
If you have a boat, half all travel times and you can spend Reliefs
back on the boat, letting you use a single Respite Activity (except
for Bring Forth Creation, Train, Switch Disciplines, and Ply The
Market).
Upgrade this by finding a boatwright and paying them the

wood needed and a Bahandi
1st Upgrade: Merchant Barge. You can now Ply the Market
while on the Barge.
2nd Upgrade - War Barge. You can now Train and Switch
Disciplines on your boat.
Following Upgrade: Community Barge. Your boat now counts
as a Commune.
COMPANION
Cost: 1 Rarity to that person
You have an ally or friend that has decided to travel with you, for
better or for worse. The companion can pitch in to the warband
with a single one of their expertise (choose 1 when they first arrive).
Companions cannot be upgraded, but you can get more. Be careful
with too many however, as they are still folk, and you can incur
debt to them.
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1 - Blacksmith. Gain 1 extra segment when you Bring Forth
Creation.
2 - Jeweler. You can change Anting-Anting during a Relief.
3 - Potter. Gain a clay pot during a Relief, 1/Venture.
4 - Goldsmith. 1/Respite, the Goldsmith gives you a golden
accessory that is always considered a rarity.
5 - Servant. A servant that follows your commands, to the
best of their ability. You can take up to 3 Respite Activities
during a Respite.
6 - Counselor. A person that can give you advice. During
Preparation, you can ask for their advice. Gain Fate whenever
acting upon that advice during the Venture.
7 – Atubang. Someone speaks for you. Gain Fate when rolling
Face, as someone speaks for you.
8 – Hunter or Fisher. Someone collects food for you.
1/Venture, during a Respite, the Warband can gain a delicacy,
which can be consumed as an Interact to heal Mettle.
FISHING HARPOON
Cost: Trade in something that is three necessities to a fisherman.
You bring with you a net and serrated harpoon. During
Preparation or during Relief, you can go fishing. A Warband can
only have 1 Fishing Harpoon. When you do, roll with a relevant
Attribute:
Miss: You find a few pieces of fish that are worth 2 commodities.
Weak Hit: You gain either (choose 1):
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Whetfish: Interact to gain 2 physical extra damage on next
attack.
Bolsterfish: Interact to gain Barrier 1.
Strong Hit: You gain either (choose 2): Whetfish, Bolsterfish or:
Freshwater sardinella: Interact to gain +2 Speed until end of
next turn.
Brave grouper: Interact to gain Armor 1 until the end of your
next turn.
Fire octopus: Interact to immediately cleanse Fray.
Azure pearl oysters: Consume with an Interact to gain 2 Mettle
whenever you perform a Mentala until the end of your next turn.
Critical Hit: As with a Strong Hit, but you get to choose 3 now.
Upgrade this by paying fishermen to work on it, or by

Bringing Forth Creation.
1st Upgrade: Strengthened Net and Harpoon. Either a 4 moon
segment or pay 5 necessities to a fisherman. Make the Go Fishing
roll with Fate.
2nd Upgrade: Superior Net and Harpoon. Either a 4-segment
moon or pay 2 rarities to a fisherman. You can now choose +1 fish.
Following Upgrade: Fishery. Either a 6-segment moon or pay
bahandi to fishermen to work for you. You always have access to
Fish: you can never Miss on the Go Fishing Roll, and you gain +1 to
the roll as well.
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HEIRLOOM WEALTH
Cost: Can only be gained as payment for fighting alongside a datu
or by raiding coastal settlements.
These usually come in the form of foreign materials, whether it

be brass gongs, drums, foreign weapons, foreign silks and cottons,
gold from foreign lands, and porcelain jars from distant empires.
These are indicators of both wealth and strength, and exist to
exercise a certain societal hold over others.
When you arrive in a place while bringing heirloom wealth, those
of lower social classes will treat you with respect. You gain +1 Fate
when speaking with most people.
Unlike other Property, heirloom wealth cannot be upgraded, and
is always treated as bahandi. It’s main form function is to be used
as leverage, to loan out to others so that they work for you, and to
show off wealth during feasts to amass an even greater following.
HUNTING TRAP
Cost: But it for 3 necessities from a hunter
A balatik, or trapping arbalest. At the end of a Preparation or
during a Relief, you can choose to go hunting. A Warband can only
have 1 Hunting Trap. Cast with a relevant attribute.
Miss: You gain meat worth 2 commodities.
Weak Hit: Gain edible meat. When you next Catch Your Breath,
you may consume the edible meat to gain Barrier 1 at the start of
next combat.
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Strong Hit: Gain delicious meat. You may consume it to remove
2 Wounds when you spend a Relief.
Critical Hit: Gain the superior meat. You may consume it to
remove 2 Wounds when you spend a Relief and to gain Barrier 1 at
the start of the next combat.
Upgrade this by bringing 3 delicious meats to a hunter

during a Respite.
1st Upgrade: Empowering Meat. You can choose to gain
Empowering Meat instead of delicious meat. If you do, you can
consume it during a Relief to give the Warband Armor 1 (stacking)
during the first round of the next combat.
2nd Upgrade: Demon-Purified Meat. You can now hunt yawa
and bless the meat to eat it. This lets you learn the ways of preserving
meat as well. On a Critical Hit, you can choose to gain demon meat
instead of superior meat. Demon Meat can be eaten as an Interact
during combat. If you do, gain Strengthen 2 on your next attack.
If the demon meat is consumed during a Catch Your Breath or
Relief, gain Strengthen 2 on your first attack in the next combat.
Following Upgrade: Hunting Grounds. You gain hunting
grounds. Every time you return from a Venture, roll 1d6. You gain
that many meat for the next Venture, and can be an assortment of
meat, whether it be superior, empowering, or demon meat.
SORCERY
You’re given assistance by a balyan or sorcerer, or maybe you’re a
sorcerer yourself, blessing you with some form of sorcery. Name the
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sorcerer that assists you, and you can ask for their sorcery and
magick during a Relief or a Preparation. They can give you one of
the following.
Fire: The warband’s first attack in the next combat inflicts Fray
X, with X equal to Prominence.
Water: When the warband uses a Second Wind during the next
combat, they heal extra Mettle equal to double their Prominence.
Wind: The Warband gains Haste during the first round of the
next combat.
Earth: The warband is immune to forced movement until the
end of the first round of the next combat.
Force: The first time the warband Bursts the next combat, they
teleport instead.
Upgrade this by fulfilling tasks asked by the sorcerer that

helped you, usually either asking for magickal ingredients or
items imbued with spiritual power
1st Upgrade: Potent Sorceries. Give them 3 magickal items and
ingredients. You can now choose two benefits instead of just one.
2nd Upgrade: Lasting Willwork. Give them 5 magickal items
and ingredients. The benefits of the sorcery last until the next
Respite, instead of just the next combat.
Following Upgrade: Coven. Gain 10 total magickal items and
ingredients and enough Prominence and a coven of sorcerers will
arise in your shores. Gain their trust by besting them in a difficult
encounter. You can now choose three benefits instead of just one,
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and the benefits last until the next Respite, instead of just the next
combat.
SPIRIT IDOL
Cost: Have a woodworker or stonecrafter to create the idol, and
then have a balyan bless it.
You gain a holy idol that is the diwata worshipped by your
warband, whether it be an ancestor god or a diwata. During
Preparation, you can make offerings to it. If you do, the warband
gains a Blessing. They can spend the Blessing as if it was Grit.
Upgrade this by making offerings of gold and meat to the

idol.
1st Upgrade: Perfumed Idol. 10 pieces of gold jewelry and 10
pieces of meat, and then Worship Gods and Ancestors. The Warband
gains 2 Blessing instead.
2nd Upgrade: Perfumed and Painted Idol. 10 pieces of gold
jewelry, 10 pieces of meat, and two Worship Gods and Ancestors. The
Warband can gain 3 Blessing instead.
Following Upgrade: Magdantang. A magdantang is a
communal worship house. Known as simbahan in Virbanwa. It
constitutes a temple, a worship area, a cathedral, and a monastery
in one. The Warband’s blessing bleeds through. Instead of gaining
Blessing, they can instead gain a single Holy Impartment, granted
to them by the diwata of their settlement. A Holy Impartment can
be spent either to constitute 3 Grit, or to immediately make a single
roll a Critical Hit.
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STOVE
Cost: Having a blacksmith craft it for you
You carry with you a portable stove, out of local ingenuity. During
a Preparation or Relief, you can cook a meal for your warband. Cast
with a relevant Attribute, usually Thought or Tenacity. If you have
meat, fish or crops, you can consume them to gain +1 to the roll.
You can only consume 1 kind of meat, 1 kind of fish and 1 kind of
crop. All effects of the Stove only work for the next combat. A
Warband can only have 1 Stove.
Miss: Decent Meal. The warband gains Barrier 1.
Weak Hit: Delicious Meal. The warband begins combat with
Barrier equal to their health and then they may choose 1 of the
following ingredients:
- Meat. The first attack of each member of the Warband gains
Strengthened.
- Fish. The Warband gains +2 to their Speed for the first round
of combat.
- Taro. The Warband gains Armor +1 for the first round of
combat.
- Spices. All Technicks with Charge X get +1 Charge for the
next combat.
- Tea. The party becomes St against Fire, Water, or Wind for
the first round of combat.
Strong Hit: So Tasty! The warband begins combat with Barrier
equal to their Battered and they gain the benefits of 1 ingredient.
Critical Hit: Now I’m Motivated. As with the Strong Hit, but they
get to choose 2 ingredients instead of 1.
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Upgrade this by asking a blacksmith to strengthen it, or
Bring Forth Creation to do it.
1st Upgrade: Rock Hard Stove. 4-segment moon or a rarity to a
blacksmith. On a Strong or Critical Hit, you can now also instantly
succeed on a Crashed Roll in the next combat.
2nd Upgrade: Smoke and Bamboo Witchstove. 6-segment
moon or 2 rarities to a blacksmith. On a Critical Hit, keep the effects
of the ingredients until the next Relief or Respite, whichever comes
first.
Following Upgrade: Feast Hall. You have dedicated chef vassals
that craft you food for feasts and all. You can never Miss on the
cooking roll and get a Critical Hit on an 9. Additionally, you can
now prepare Feasts and get Fate when making rolls while
interacting in said feast.
PORTABLE GUSALI
Cost: Asking a blacksmith to make it in exchange for Debt or 2
rarities, or making it yourself through Bring Forth Creation, with
an 8-segment moon
Gusali is the local term for blacksmith shed. You carry yours
around with you, either through ingenious crafts of bamboo or with
the help of an assistant. These include something to spark fire, a
forge, the bellows, and the anvil.
During a Relief or Preparation, you may perform 1 of these tasks.
- Repair. Refill a Technick that has the Charge X tag by 1.
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- Damascene. You strengthen the warband’s weaponry. They
deal 1 extra damage on the next combat.
- Fold and Layer. You strengthen the warband’s armaments and
protection. They gain Armor 1 on the next combat.
- Quick Craft. You can create a single small item from iron, such
as dagger, a prick, a pickaxe, an ax, or an adze.
- Fortify. The warband becomes immune to Ripped for the first
round for the next combat.
Upgrade this with a 6-segment moon for Bring Forth

Creation or by paying a blacksmith to do it for you for 1 rarity
each
1st Upgrade: Improve. You can now choose to Improve as a
Task. If you do, the warband can now use Technicks with the Scene
tag twice instead of once during the next combat.
2nd Upgrade: Workshop Desk. You gain a desk or some other
addition that increases your workflow. You can now choose 2 tasks
instead of 1.
Following Upgrade: Lord’s Workshop. You gain a workshop of
the best quality, with fire diwata powering the forge and an import
of foreign iron for forging. You can now choose 3 tasks instead of 1.
You can now also choose to spend Repair, Damascene, Fold and
Layer, and Quick Craft more than once, gaining stacking benefits
(ie. you gain 1 Charge per Repair back, so using Repair three times
can get you up to 3 Charge back.)
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TAMBAL TOOLS
Cost: Gain a tambalan or healer companion, or gain tambal tools
through trade
Tambal tools include some jarlets, utensils, and a firestone for
creating potent potions, medicine, remedies, and poultices out of
gathered remedial herbs, flowers, and other ingredients. During a
Preparation or Respite, you can choose to Gather Ingredients. If you
do, Cast with a relevant Attribute, usually Thought or Vigor.
Miss: You find a few herbs that won’t help much. Gain 3 remedial
herbs. These can be consumed during combat by the entire
warband to gain Barrier equal to their Breath.
Weak Hit: You find a few herbs for creating medicine. Choose 1
of the mixtures below:
- Snake Oil. Consume as an Interact. Suffer 1d4 damage, but your
next attack is immediately a Strong Hit, no need to roll.
- Lunas. A sort of panacea drink. Consume as an Interact. Heal
2x Breath Mettle. At the end of combat, you become woozy. You
cannot heal Mettle when you Catch Your Breath.
- Numbing Tonic. A greater alcohol and spice infusion. Consume
as an Interact. Gain Barrier equal to your Breath and stacking
Armor +2 until the end of your next turn.
- Remedy. You can remove a single condition from you when you
consume this as an Interact.
- Fortifying Tonic. You gain Resist Physical or Resist Magick
(your choice) until the end of your next turn when you consume
this as an Interact.
Strong Hit: You can craft up to 2 mixtures.
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Critical Hit: You can craft up to 3 mixtures.
Upgrade this by asking for tambalan or other healers to help

you, or as a Bring Forth Creation for 4-segments each.
1st Upgrade: Greater Efficacy. Gain Fate when making the
Gather Ingredients roll.
2nd Upgrade: Tried and True. You can now make the following
mixtures:
- Vaporub. Use when you Catch Your Breath. For the next
combat, at the start of your turn, heal Mettle equal to half your
Breath.
- Whiteflower. Use when you Catch Your Breath. In the next
combat, you can consume the Whiteflower to immediately remove
all debuffs at the end of your turn.
3rd Upgrade: Tambalan Community. You now have a
community of healers working alongide you. You can now craft +2
mixtures.
INFANTRY
Cost: You must be at least Prominence 2, and have showcased
your strength in combat. The Infantry will come eventually when
you attract attention during a Feast. Either that or you can spare
warriors in combat and they become indebted to work for you.
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Infantry, or horohan in the local tongues, are footsoldiers and
low-ranking warriors, lower ranked than the warrior freemen.
These infantry are loyal to you, and are dependent on you.
During a Preparation, you can send out your Infantry on their

own travels. Choose 1 expedition below. At the end of a Venture,
when you return, they can give you the items they found.
- Hinterlands. Find 1d4 items from the mountains and plains,
such as: gold, rice, iron, civet, beeswax, honey.
- Coastal Settlements. Find 1d4 items from the sea, such as:
weapons, pearls, gold, foreign items.
- Unsettled Islands. Find 1d4 items from the hinterlands of
islands, such as: coconuts, wood, corals, bamboo, palm leaf.
Upgrade this by finishing a Venture and bringing back more

Infantry.
1st Upgrade: More Infantry. You can send two Infantry out on
expeditions now.
2nd Upgrade: Greater Infantry. You can now send the Infantry
to farther locations:
- Foreign Shores. Find 1d4 items from foreign empires, such as:
foreign silks, porcelain jars, foreign weapons, foreign cloth, strange
animals. You can only send expeditions to Foreign Shores
1/Preparation.
Followign Upgrade: Warrior People. You now have a veritable
cast of warriors that follow you. You can send them on diplomatic
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missions to set up Feasts in other areas, and whenever they go on
expeditions, they will now always find 4 items.
FARMING TOOLS
Cost: You gain them from Plying the Market or gain them
through Raids
Farming Tools. Scythes, bolos, adzes, axes, and wooden pillars.

The works. Set your back to it, create gardens and courtyards.
During a Respite, you can spend a Respite Activity to do some
farming. You must be able to farm in the current place. If you have
a respite in a boat, for example, it would be tricky to farm.
When you farm, choose 1 thing that you’re cultivating, putting
down up to 3 of that item. You must have it to be able to cultivate
it. These foods can be consumed during a Respite or Relief to gain
their effect.
Additionally, these can also be added to when you cook with the
Stove. If you do, gain a +1 to the roll. You can only add 1 type of crop
to the cooking roll.
- Yams: Become Immune to Diseased for the next combat.
- Rice: Gain Strengthened during the first round of the first
combat.
- Passion Flowers. Gain a magickal ingredient or magickal item.
- Betel Nut Chew. Consume to gain +1 Fate when conversing with
folk.
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- Bananas. Gain immunity to Quiet, Weak, and Ripped for the
next combat.
- Sago. Gain Resist Physical during the first round of the first
combat.
- Armor Root Crop. Gain Armor 1 for the next combat.
After the next Venture after you do some farming, make a flat
Cast. Gain Curse if the land is particularly hard, or if it isn’t planting
season. You cannot Critically Hit on this roll for any reason.
Miss: You simply gain back what you planted down.
Weak Hit: Double what you cultivated.
Strong Hit: Triple what you cultivated.
You can upgrade your farming tools by buying better ones

from farmers by giving them 1 rarities, or by crafting better
ones with 4-segment moons
1st Upgrade: Better Tools. You can now cultivate two different
crops.
2nd Upgrade: Superior Quickness. You have some sort of
magickal fertilizer. You can immediately get back what 1 crop that
you cultivated on a Preparation, even if you just planted it on the
Respite before that Preparation.
Following Upgrade: Farming Community. You now have your
own farmer dependents that help you. You can cultivate up to 5
different crops now.
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FOLLOWING
At Prominence 3, you can choose to Gain a Following. You are a
songworthy person, now. In the isles of The Sword Isles, martial
prowess and far-reaching charisma and notoriety are grounds for
you to become a Datu. You might become a Datu. Gaining a
following, a settlement of your own, is nigh unavoidable. Your own
settlement, own city. Haop, Sakop, Bayan, or Kinadatuhan in the
common trading languages. This is how datu are born. However, if
you do not want this privilege, you can opt out of it, but you still
suffer the penalty of your Debt to others rising by 2 every end of
Venture. Your fame is unavoidable.
When you gain a following, you also gain a title. This is Datu
across all the islands, but you can also call yourself Batara,
Sarripada, Lakan (in Virbanwa), Pamegat (in Rusunuga),
Timway, Tuwan, Rajah, or Sri. All these mean the same thing.
However, Rajah Batara is only reserved for the paramount Rajah
of the Rajahnate, while Sultan and Batara Lakan are only
reserved to the respective heads of their monarchies.
Rajah, Lakan, Pamegat, Batara and Sarripada are most
common among coastal entrepots, who have the most trade with
foreingers.
When you choose one of those titles, you no longer need to accept
Ventures: you can go on Ventures yourself, leaving protection for
your following, with you dictating the Venture Objectives. Many
settlements have multiple datu within them, so you and your fellow
player Kadungganan’s settlements are expected to band together to
create an actual large town.
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Your debts still linger, however. And people seeing you as
another datu now will surely incur more debt. Whenever you
finish a session, gain 2 Debt to all the people you owe a debt to,
instead of just 1. Those that owe you a Debt only gain 1.
When you gain a Following, you can establish it on any part of the
Island. Resources are always abundant, so you don’t have to worry
about that. However, you should choose whether it is lowland or
highland.
If it is Lowland, it is blessed in..., foreign trading routes, fish,

forest items, sea items.
If it is Highland, it is blessed in... iron, gold, rice, farmable
terrain, deep forest items, mountain items.
You keep all your Property when you gain a Following, but you
now gain access to Following Upgrades to better your settlement.
SETTLEMENT NAMES AND AMBITIONS

Sit down together with the rest of the Kadungganan who have
become Bantug and name your Following.
Then, write down 3 Ambitions you have with your Following.
These are the things you work towards as you grow your
Settlements. These replace rising in Prominence.
If an Ambition is fulfilled, you can gain a new Anting-Anting or a
new Technick from any Discipline, regardless of Style, or a new
Point of Interest/Person of Interest. Whatever it is, it can only be 1,
and all Kadungganan get this benefit.
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SETTLEMENT AESTHETIC
Roll 1d10 to find out what aesthetic your following has, or simply
choose. They can be inspired by any mandala.
1-2: Stone houses, cathedral temples as the center of the village,
plazas, the Ashen Star, stone paths and docks, stone walls, cold
sea winds, stone bridges and arches with statues of Saint
Intercessors
3-4: Hardwood balay, magdantang communal spirit houses,
natural temple-trees, bamboo palaces, earthenwork fortificaitons,
bamboo towers, flower-choked rivers
5-6: Lighter balay, tall and sturdy, made for mountains and
valleys and sometimes for rivers and even water, natural temples,
stone paths that lead to sacred nature shrines, Datu houses beside
natural waterfalls and streams and rivers and mountain sides,
village floors flooded with leaves and soft petals
7-8: Hardwood balay decorated with intricate filligree, multi-
tiered pagodas and mosques, complex geometrical patterns for
temples and textiles, wooden fences, houses decorated with cloth
and silk, hardwood bridges and tall stone fortifications with
cannons
9-10: Balay filigreed and decorated with flowers made of pure
gold, thick hardwood pillars supporting longhouses, golden sage
statues overgrown with foliage, huge multi-layered magdantang
reaching to the heavens, filled with gold, marketplaces always
packed, foreigners
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TROUBLE IN PARADISE
When you go out in a Venture, you leave your following behind.
Roll a 1d8 to see if something happens to them. Gain +1 to the roll
if you incurred any wrath, debt, or attention of other datu before, or
if you’ve just gained a new Point of Interest or Person of Interest
into your Following.
Gain -1 if you leave behind guardsmen gained as Materiel, or
anything else that might help protect your settlement, in exchange
for losing a five necessities or a rarity or a bahandi.
Roll once only for the entire group.
1~2 – Nothing.
3~4 – One of the people you owe debt to awaits you.
5~6 – You receive word that a rival datu wishes to raid
you or engage in competitive feasting with you, asking you
if you can make the better feast and invite more people.
7 – You are visited by a foreign trader. This attracts the
attention of other surrounding datu.
8 – Your settlement was raided while you were gone. Lose 1
Upgrade of a Property. If the Property is not upgraded, lose that
Property.
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CHAPTER 5: EQUIPMENT AND SUNDRY
Kapag wala ang sandata mo, wala ka na rin. Ipagmuni-muni mo,
Kadungganan: kapag nawala na ang patayan, mawawala ka rin.
Without your weapon, you are nothing. Think upon this,

Kadungganan: if the fighting vanishes, so will you.
It isn’t too wrong to say that a Kadungganan is only as good as the

tools he uses. Outside of combat, Equipment gives a +1 bonus to
the Cast that might be relevant to the item (such as Prayer Beads
helping with Ritual), as long as it makes sense in the fiction.
Additionally, each piece of equipment will have a Barter rating,
whether they are a commodity, necessity, or bahandi. This is in
regards to the common domestic trade among the isles. Some
settlements might view some bahandi as just a commodity, and
vice versa.
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ANTING-ANTING
As a Kadungganan, your armor is dictated by your Discipline,
representing how well you guard yourself and whatever armor you
choose to wear. Armor is purely aesthetic, especially in the islands
of The Sword Isles, where armor is usually more ceremonial in
purpose than combat.
The most important protective measures in the islands of The
Sword Isles are Anting-Anting, which translates to Magical Amulets
and Trinkets. Items filled with Gahum that can grant extraordinary
skills and feats. Anting-Anting can be attached onto weapons or
used as weapons.
Mechanically speaking, these are minor passive bonuses that
work similarly to Feats or Talents in other systems. You gain your
first Anting-Anting at Esteem 2, as one of your items burns with
the power of your legend, or as your legend grows and more anting-
anting become attracted to you. You gain anting-anting whenever
you rise in Prominence, meaning you will never have anting-anting
at the beginning of your career as Kadungganan.
The following are the Anting-Anting that you can choose from.
Each Anting-Anting only gives a single passive benefit.
Each Anting-Anting is unique: you cannot have more than
one of the same Anting-Anting.
All Anting-Anting are rarities.
GAINING OTHER ANTING-ANTING

You always gain Anting-Anting when you reach the requisite
Esteem, but you might gain Anting-Anting from Raids or
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alternative rewards. In that case, you can only equip the allowed
amount of Anting-Anting equal to your Prominence.
LIST OF ANTING-ANTING
SWORD ANTING-ANTING
A ceremonial kris, or an amulet made of broken sword parts.
Your physical melee attacks cannot be drained.
PROTECTION AGIMAT
A stone tied around your neck, struck by lightning.
You cannot suffer from Critical Hits.
HASTE AGIMAT
A bird plume that you keep on you.
During your first turn of combat, you gain Haste.
TENACITY
A hog tusk that you carry or hang from yourself.
When you Stride, ignore dangerous terrain.
SPEAR ANTING-ANTING
A broken spearhead, inlaid with gold flames.
Whenever you deal damage with a melee attack, you may also
shift the target 1 space.
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SHATTERED SWORD
A sword with a broken blade.
Every third attack you make deals 1 extra damage.
BLACKENED DAGGER
A dagger blackened by a lightning bolt from Jamiyun Kulisa.
You become Strong against wind damage, but weak to Force
damage. At Prominence 3, you Null wind damage instead.
AGITATOR PUDONG
A crimson pudong or turban with gold tassels.
While fighting a Brave or Chief, when they fall to Battered, you
deal 2 extra damage against them.
FLAILING BAHAG
A bahag with long flaps that trail in the wind, crimson and
bedazzled by gold and pearls.
When you move your full Stride, you get a Critical Hit on 9+ until
the end of your current turn.
LIGHTNING ANKLETS.
Gold anklets struck through by lightning from diwata.
Gain +1 to your Speed.
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LIGHTNING-BLEACHED SHAWL
A shawl that wraps about your entire body, granting you refuge in
the lightning.
Whenever you save, save with +1.
SCORCHED SARONG
A sarong scorched by playful fire diwata. It removes you from the
sight of gods.
You cannot incur Grit during combat, but you gain a Critical Hit
on an 8+.
WALING-WALING STAFF
A branch carved into a staff. It has waling-waling that grows every
day and dies every night.
All allies adjacent to you are immune to Disease. When an ally
with Disease moves into adjacency of you, they may make a save
against it.
WITCHPOWDER BANGLE
Magenta dust that floats from a golden bangle.
All your burst, blast, line, and wall attacks deal 1 extra damage.
ENCHANTED RATTAN BAG

A bag that lets duplicates your items.
All Technicks with Charge X gain +1.
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EYE OF RAJAH LAWIN
A heavy carnelian affixed to one of your weapons. Its heavy, and
when held on its own, feels like a storm brews within.
When the target of your ranged physical attack is at least 3 spaces
away, gain a Critical Hit on a 9+.
BANOG’S FEATHERS
A giant eagle plume from a giant eagle.
When you dive, move 3 spaces.
TORTOISE SHELL
A shell granted to you by a tortoise diwata at the end of their life.
You become Strong to Water, but Weak to Fire. At Prominence 3,
you Null Water instead.
MUTYA
A teardrop shaped gem from the heart of bananas.
Whenever you forcefully push, pull, or shift a target, move them
1 more space.
FORGOTTEN CLOAK
A cloak left behind in a cliff for a thousand years. Lonely diwata
gather about it.
You may now Quickstep 2 spaces. If you move all 2 spaces, gain
Hidden until you attack or are damaged.
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PUYA-SLAYING BLADE
Puya are the giants that live in the islands, away from the general
populace. Ancient datu used to kill these giants, who are said to be
the true ancestors of the bamboofolk, and are creations of the gods.
When you deal damage to a creature that is a Size larger than you,
deal Strengthened damage.
CARABO HORN BREASPLATE

Plated layered armor made of cut carabao horn.
You are immune to push or pull.
KANDU SHIELD
A strangely crafted shield. It looks like a kalsag, but tasseled to it
are dead diwata.
You become Strong against Force, but Weak to Water. At
Prominence 3, you Null Force instead. As a Flourish, you can
destroy the Kandu Shield to Reflect Force until the end of your next
turn.
EVER EXTENDING BLADE

A short blade that, when willed, extends longer.
All your melee attacks gain +1 range.
GROWING BREASPLATE
A golden breastplate with a tiger head on the chest. It grows
whenever it drinks upon your blood.
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Whenever you gain a Wound, gain +1 Armor, which stacks. The
armor lasts until the end of the Scene.
PINAMASKAN
A gorgeous and gigantic spear with flame patterns inlaid in gold.
Belongs only to heroes.
1/scene, you can spend 2 Grit to make a melee attack piercing.
BLESSED GADYA PLATE

An elephant hide breastplate with mentala carved onto it. It burns
when it senses battle.
At the start of the scene, gain Barrier equal to your Breath.
RAJAH BAGIDAN’S PALO

A golden smith hammer that smarks flames everytime it is struck.
Heavy.
Whenever you miss an attack, deal 1 piercing flat damage to all
foes adjacent to the target.
EYE OF BAKUNAWA
A crimson eye, with a crescent moon instead of irises. It thirsts for
blood.
Become Strong against Earth damage, but you become Weak to
Wind damage. At Prominence 3, Null Earth instead.
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PART OF THE BLACK CHICK
A part of the black chick that creates aswang. It still twitches,
sometimes.
1/Venture, you may ingest this as a Flourish. You become immune
to all debuffs until the end of the scene. At the end of the venture,
you vomit this out when you Worship Gods and Ancestors.
EMPOWERING TASSELS AND CHIMES

Gold chimes and tassels and mini-agung that create a symphony
whenever swung.
If you roll a 1 when making a physical melee attack, deal 1 piercing
flat damage to the target.
VIOLENT GOWN
A gown drawn together by a gold thread around the neck and a wide
sash. It vibrates, looking for blood. It is made of gold, but it drinks
the blood of its victims, turning red as you use it.
At the start of your turn, deal your Prominence piercing flat
damage to all foes adjacent to you.
MAW OF ARIMAONGA
A bangle that has beads that wrap around the fingers. Burns when
it enters combat.
Your melee attacks inflict Fray 2 on a Critical Hit.
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STINGRAY TAIL
Buntot pagi. Smites a demon mark upon dangerous foes.
You gain +1 Fate when you attempt to Trip. Deals Strengthened
damage against Yawa, Undead, and Aswang.
SHRIKE
A razor sharp leaf. It never shrivels up.
Every third attack you make ignores armor and cover.
CEREMONIAL PLATE
Excessively decorated gold breastplate and sarong uniform.
Tasseled with gold. Embroidered by porcelain and ceramics. Usually
worn with an abaca fiber long-sleeved tunic beneath.
You Null all Force damage, but you become Weak to Fire, Water,
Earth, and Wind.
CERAMIC PLATE
Plated breastplate made from ceramics.
You become Strong against fire damage, but you become Weak
to Force damage.
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MATERIAL CULTURE
Roll 2d8, setting one dice as the tens place and the other as the
ones place if you want to randomize. These can be considered
equipment, giving +1 Fate to relevant rolls. The barter ratings
are generalizations, it will not be the same across all polities.
11- Kupya. Steel peaked helmet. An import from foreign lands,
now forged locally. Rarity.
12 - Betel Nut Chew. When given to someone you just met, it
grants you +1 when conversing with them. Commodity at first, and
then Commodity per chew after.
13 - Abaca Rope. Thirty feet long (60 spaces). Has numerous uses.
Commodity.
14 - Glazed Water Pot. Useful for carrying water. Holds 1 water.
Commodity.
15 - Abaca Sack. A sack used for carrying things. Grants you +2
Inventory Slots. Commodity.
16 - Banig. A textile mat great for resting. Gives you +1 Mettle on
your next battle after a Rest. Commodity.
17 - Bamboo Fishing Rod. A fishing rod. Lets you fish. When used
to forage for food, grants you +1 to the roll. Commodity.
18 –Habay-habay. An abaca fiber under armor, worn similar to a
burlap sack. Usually waist length, but can reach ankle length.
21 - A clay pot of dyestuffs. Choose which color. This can be used
to dye any cloth. Commodity.
22 – Palm Leaf Scrolls and Writing Knife. Can be used to write
messages and notes. Commodity.
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23 - Clay Pot. A clay pot that can preserve anything put within it
for a three days. 1 slot only though, and it must be reasonably small.
Commodity.
24 - Tuba. Fermented coconut wine. When drunken, must
succeed on a save or else they are incapacitated for 6 hours.
Bahandi.
25 - Kasing. A hardwood top much wanted by children and
collectors. Values at Commodity.
26 - Kudyapi or Korlong. A boat lute, usually with one or two
strings, played with a plectrum. Much wanted for feasts and
celebrations. Kudyapi is used by males and korlong by females.
Values at Commodity.
27 - Agung. A bronze or war gong, used for official proceedings,
ceremonies, war, and news. Bahandi.
28 - Tao-tao. A little human being or idol usually made of wood
or stone, found in almost every household in The Sword Isles. They
represent little gods or diwata, guardian spirits, or ancestral spirits
that the common folk pray to everyday. Some settlements paint
them intricately, others laurel and perfume them. Offerings are
given to them everyday. Usually not sold, and no one in the market
would seek it.
31 - Hinalasan Burial Jar. A porcelain jar depicting a river dragon.
Used as a means of secondary burial, where the bones of the
deceased are perfumed and stuffed within in a sitting position--
with their knees up to their chin--along with their jewelry. Bahandi.
32 - Baikhan Cauldrons. Usually used for stews and soups, they
are usually traded in from the Southeast Continent (in exchange for
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local forest goods) so that they can be broken to supply smith
forges, since it was easier to trade in malleable iron than to extract
metal from ore. Necessity. Rarity to smiths.
33 - Palo. Panday tools. The palo is a two-handed stone maul for
working iron. Palo-palo is a smaller stone hammer. A pair value at
Commodity.
34 - Garol. Curved bladed spurs for fighting cocks. Valued by
those that frequent sabong fights and those that train fighting
cocks. Commodity.
35 - Bisol Tail. The bisol is a kind of ray fish with a tough and
rough tail, used as a smoothener to smooth the hardest of woods.
Commodity.
36 - Daya. A flat open boat akin to sampans. Can be used to travel
up and down streams and rivers. Necessity.
37 - Balanga. A flat clay pan used for frying. Commodity, sold by
most potters. Commodity.
38 - Gining. A large porcelain jar used for creating pangasi rice
wine. Necessity, usually comes from foreign trade with Baik Hu and
Malirawat.
41 - Kabo. A blue and white jarlet, Baikhan construct. Necessity.
42 - Dulang. Wooden pan used to pan gold from streams and
riverbeds. Commodity.
43 - Kamagi. Neck Trinket. Gold necklaces that contain hundreds
of links and rods and wires, all made of gold. Necessity.
44 - Pakil. The native term for breastplate, can be made of
kalabaw hide, kalabaw horn, elephant hide, gold, bronze, steel,
hardwood, or bamboo. It is a necessity if its hardwood, bamboo, or
607
gold. It is a rarity if its made of kalabaw hide, elephant hide, bronze,
and steel.
45 - Pakang. A kind of mallet used to drive a lukub, an instrument
to make holes in shipbuilding. Commodity.
46 - Kagingking. Branches of bamboo whereupon leaves grow,
used for rituals and decoration. Commodity.
47 - Karayang. Frying pans of pure iron. Used for cooking. Traded
in from Naksuwarga or Baik Hu. Commodity.
48 - Bakud. Poles used like staffs, made to create holes in the
ground for farming. Commodity.
51 - Subing. A bamboo jaw harp. A twanging reed plucked
between the lips or teeth with the mouth as a variable resonating
chamber. Commodity.
52 - Tolali. A bamboo nose flute, made to echo mournful human
sounds. Commodity.
53 - Bangati. A vine used as a preventative for epilepsy. Necessity.
54 - Kandit. Neck Trinket. Heavy gold sash worn by kedatuan
royalty. Necessity.
55 - Golden Flower Ear Ornaments. Ear Trinket. Four petaled gold
flower sculptures, depicting the ancient Flower of Life. Excessively
ornamented and decorated, made by the most skilled of panday sa
bulawan (goldsmiths). Necessity (Bahandi or Rarity to foreigners).
56 - Patan-aw. Ear Trinket. Dangling gold earrings where
articulation is achieved by fusing zigzagging gold wire into hollow
hoops. From these dangle multiple round, rhomboid, and foliate
spangles and ornaments. Rarity.
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57 – Paruka. Wooden clogs, sometimes made of intricate gold. A
sign of wealth. Rarity.
58 - Gold Barter Rings. Ring. Golden rings engraved with exquisite
wave patterns used as trading currency. Necessity.
61 - Tutubi Necklace. Neck Trinket. Or dragonfly necklace. Made
of gold, a kind of necklace made of thousands of granulated gold
beads, flattened to create a shimmering effect reminiscent of the
tails of tutubi, dragonflies. Expensive, bahandi.
62 - Golden Forearm Bands. Wrist Bangles. Gold bands made of
sheets of gold wrapped around the forearms, decorated with rose
and palmetto motifs. Rarity.
63 - Gold Armbands and Bracelets. Wrist Bangles. Wide gold
flaring bands worn as bracelets. Necessity.
64 - Gold Petaloid Ear Ornaments. Earring. Ear ornaments with
petaloid protrusions and floral designs. Rarity.
65 - Habul. Abaca cloth, used for a variety of things. Commodity.
66 - Salt. Salt derived from saltwater was precious. One ganta (3
liters) is Commodity.
67 - Kukot. Wooden counters for calculation of barter. Every
tenth kukot was of a different size, to help in counting. Commodity.
68 - Cast-Iron Pans. From trade with others. Wanted by panday
sa puthaw (blacksmiths). Commodity, Necessity to smiths.
71 - Bugsok. A bamboo clothes hamper that you can keep your
clothes and other items in. Commodity.
72 - Kupit. A knapsack for holding items. Commodity.
73 - Bangkat. Bamboo carrying basket. Commodity.
74 - Kupang. A skein of cotton. Commodity.
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75 - Tapul. Tar-based teeth coating that can be applied to give the
teeth polished ivory. It also acts as teeth preservatives. In most of
the cultures of the known isles, white teeth belongs only to the
animals. Commodity.
76 - Lakha. Red ant eggs chewed to grant the teeth a deep red
color. Necessity.
77 - Pandong. Any natural covering used as a lady’s cloak.
Commodity.
78 - Sarok. A headdress with a deep crown, used for travel on foot
or by boat.Commodity.
81 - Paraluman. A compass, not really used much as sailors in the
Archipelago memorize the currents, the islands, and know how to
read the stars. Rarity, but usually Commodity as its not really used
by sailors.
82 - Bronze Mirror. Used as a mirror. Necessity.
83 - Incense Pots. Valued by those higher in society, important
during death rituals, funerals, and mournings. Necessity.
84 - Bulat. A perfumed ointment, compounded of many
ingredients, used for hair fragrance and luxuriant growth.
Commodity.
85 - Puno. A fine comb for removing head lice or ringworm scales.
Commodity.
86 - Silat. A toothbrush made of vegetable husk for cleaning and
polishing teeth. Commodity.
87 - Powdered Duyong Bones. A panacea for all kinds of
treatment. Rarity.
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88 - Puso Rice Cakes. Rice cakes boiled in a little wrapper of
coconut leaves. Commodity.
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D100 RANDOM WEAPON
If you need help thinking of a weapon one would find in the
isles, go ahead and roll on the weapon table.
1-10 - Kalis. A wavy-bladed sword. Also known as a kris.
Commodity.
11-25 - Bangkaw. Bamboo spear with detachable head. The
quintessential island weapon. Commodity
26-30 - Sundang. Straight-bladed short sword. Commodity.
31-35 - Wasay. Tree-cutting axe. Commodity.
36 - Kampilan. Broadsword with a spikelet, usually decorated with
dyed tassels (kulili), chimes, and bells, often used as a ceremonial
sword. Rarity.
37-40 - Panabas. Axe-blade. The largest weapon in the isles. Often
used as a ceremonial sword. Necessity.
41-50 - Busog. Hardwood or Bamboo Shortbow. Commodity.
51 - 55 - Sikarom. Bamboo Longbow. Rarity.
56 - 60 - Kamagong Stick. Commodity.
61 - 62 - Kamagong Quarterstaff. Quarterstaff made of kamagong
hardwood. Commodity.
63 - Luthang. A rifle with a long barrel. Rare. Commodity.
64 - 68 - Balaraw. Straight push dagger. Commodity.
69 - Songil. A large and prized spear, long and with a blade that
is a foot long and a handspan wide, decorated with pearls, gold
tassels, bells, chimes, and painted all over. Usually earned by true
braves. Rarity.
70 - 75 - Barobangkaw. A lighter bangkaw. Commodity.
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76-77 - Sumpit. A blowgun usually used to fire poisoned darts.
Commodity.
78-80 - Palisay. A parrying buckler shield. Commodity.
81 - 85 - Kalasag. A large hardwood shield, meant to enmesh
weapons. Necessity.
86 - Katana. A curved blade from the island of Iyamat, the Cold-
Bow Island. Bahandi.
87 - Flower Laurel. A laurel that sings affinity with the diwata.
Necessity.
88 - Bamboo Stave. A staff whereupon is etched mentala, the
magic spells of the tawo. Necessity.
89 - 90 - War Kudyapi. A heavy boat-lute, used for thrumming
war songs. Rarity.
90 - 91 - Subing. A jaw harp, used for mournful rhapsodies.
Commodity.
92 - 95 - Palo-palo. Smith’s hammer turned weapon. Necessity.
96 - 97 - Sugob. Bamboo spears with fire-hardened tips.
Commodity.
98 - Baed. Wide shortsword. Commodity.
99 - 100 - Sling. A wooden sling that can launch small items, such
as poultices and whatnot. Commodity.
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614
CHAPTER 6: THE SWORD ISLES
Sung by Parawali Dunung Bakal, who never forgets his
words, wrapped in silk and bamboo. Never lies, for what is truth
but that story we all nod to?
Parawali Dunung Bakal has his work cut out for him: his student,
the ancient pandita of the Sultanate named Sarik Surugu, sought to
immortalize his writing, and thus he wrote what he spoke in
thirteen Copperplates, whereupon the histories and cultures and
societies of The Sword Isles itself can be found.
The Inscriptions are further appended and amended with
supplementary bamboo scrolls that have upon them drawn in faded
ink maps and artistic renditions and recreations of the peoples and
monuments of The Sword Isles.
All these are kept in Yarashgara’s personal library, although
countless copies have been forged in bamboo scrolls, and the
people of The Sword Isles have begun to memorize its contents (as
they all do, for the memory of the The Sword Isles people extends
from the individual and bleeds into family and community).
This part of the book is a long series of histories and lore pieces
that you can use when you run your own game to make sure that
you run a Gubat Banwa game within The Sword Isles.
Many of the setting pieces here will be presented in short
paragraphs and then a small table that you can roll on, to make sure
that you don’t need to read huge swathes of writing to get a game
going.
615
SUGILANON, OR A STORY
It is fair to say that history is simply another story, that many find
to be true, or that many rely on.
Like many things in the world, histories are mutable, changeable,
and rely on the eye of the infallible, as the Eclipse Teachings of the
Pangwakasang Mayitresiya say. And so we look behind us, that
ultimate meditation, to find the truth of the beginning, and to find
the trajectory of the future.
The Sword Isles is that place known as the islands of heavenly
bloodshed. To Baik Hu, we are known as the Pearl Islands of the
Barbarians. To Naksuwarga, we are simply extensions of their
empire, once conjoined, and this is true.
Our story begins an innumerable number of years ago, when the
world was made. It was only sea and sky. Then, out of the sea and
sky, came many many beings. Diwata, they are called. Burning
manifestations and beings that arise from the world and live within
them as well. Many call them gods, others spirits, others
elementals. All of them true, all of them not enough to approximate
the truth of the Diwata’s being.
Here is the truth, one that many cannot suffer to suffer. Each
island, each land, has different gods, different beginnings.
Many say: “But this is an impossibility! A paradox of paradoxes!”
But I am here to write that this is not so. Only fools and cowards
will think that to be false. Only dullards and kings will think that
our present day cannot come from multiplicity.
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THE LIES OF BEGINNING
The beginning point was a time known as The Finiting. In the
Finiting, unknowable ancient peoples, some say gods, erected the
earthen mountains from the sky and from the sea, creating the
World Jaws that keep all the Known World as we know it within.
They did this through war, almost always through war. There were
some that did it through peace.
Past the World Jaws is the Forest of Chaos, a consequence of the
ancient peoples’ defiance of the Sea and Sky Conversation. Limiting
the universe caused infinity to reject what was not infinity, and
infinity was chaos for the finite.
The ancient peoples afterwards ventured into infinity. What they
found, none knew and none will ever know. Who they were, it does
not matter, for their only consequence here is that they created the
World Jaws that now border the world.
With the Finiting of the world, our world was formed: Yutadagat.
Numbers mean nothing to nature, so an amount of time later, the
Multiple Cosmogonies crafted the many lands that now permeated
this world.
This was the end of the Infinite. The end of the Timeless. The
precise point of repetition began here, time began here.
ANG DAGHAN
The nature spirits that live within natural places, as well as those
gods of pantheons that live in sky abodes, are known collectively as
Ang Daghan, The Many. None is above Ang Daghan. No, not one.
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All are within Ang Daghan: all diwata, all gods, all goddesses, all
demons, all malevolent spirits. All are Ang Daghan.
THE FORMING OF THE CONTINENTS UPON THE

WORLD JAWS
The Earth God Nu walked to the shores of the World Jaws and
struck the sea, his spear becoming the holy continent of Zhongguo,
where the Hegemony of Baik Hu now thrives along with the Empire
of Malirawat and the two other powerful kingdoms of Larantaka
and Ashima on the Madaki Peninsula that juts out to its northeast.
The many islands of The Sword Isles were only called The Sword
Isles after the fact that they were made and were made to be part
of the old Sang Hari-Hari Empire. Each major island of The Sword
Isles was made from a different diwata or pair of diwata. Some of
them still exist today, some of them are now gone. None know
exactly, for how can one truly confine nature into lists?
So were the islands of Naksuwarga, created by the Dyaus Patar, a
powerful godhead, kings even among the diwata.
THE SWORD EMBEDDED INTO THE HEART OF THE

WORLD
Look now, to the center of the sea.
A memory strikes you, like lightning. An image of a grand warrior,
a thunderous one, tattoos running up their sky-skin, their face
perverted into a devil god grin.
Their kris impales the heart of the world. Yutadagat, in a single
instant, is boiled.
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Another lightning flash: the kris shatters. It falls upon the center
of the world.
The god is the Sky.
This is one of the many stories for the origins of the Sword Isles,
although this is the one most important and shared across the isles
themselves. The Sword Isles, when looked upon from above, is in
the shape of a shattered kris.
The heart of the world still bleeds.
THE ANCIENT CYCLES

The wise men of the Sword Isles, after having reckoned through
the use of wisdom, spirit guides, and techniques borrowed from
Annuvaran bhikkhu, have reckoned that there have been, as of
modern day, 7 Cycles before the current one.
The first six Cycles are not well known. They are so far back that
they might as well have never happened. But they did. Jade
artifacts, intricate water earthenware, and the ancient, fire-purified
bones of the various people that lived before in the Sword Isles is
proof of such.
It is said that in those times, even more monsters roamed the
lands, before the Rajah known as Rajah Baltog of Boltavara in the
south of the Sword Isles and the Rajah known as Rajah Indarapatra
in the north of the Sword Isles went to cull them. They did not do
this in concert, but they cleaned out much of the monsters.
However, these monsters have recently resurfaced in the wake of
the coming Eighth Star Era.
619
Most of the stuff of Epics among the various cultures of the Sword
Isles happen during these Ancient Cycles, describing powerful
gods, sorcery that causes entire islands to ascend into the heaven,
warriors that can ride upon shields, and flying barges.
Of course, all these things are still doable in the modern era.
THE STORY OF THE FIRST HOUSE

It was said that the first folk upon the world had a house, and they
birthed many children. One day, this timeless pair went out on a
journey, and the countless children performed much mischief in
the house. When they heard the thundering steps of their father,
they scattered into the various parts of the house to hide: those that
hid in the bedrooms became the ruling classes, those that remained
in the living room became the freemen, those that hid behind the
walls of the house became the debtors. Those who hid in the stove
and among the pots became the nomadic folks and spirit folk, those
that fled the house traveled to the eight corners of Yutadagat.
THE SEVENTH SUN ERA

The Seventh Sun Era is said to have been the longest. It was a time
of peace and innovation. During the Seventh Sun Era, said to have
lasted ove a thousand years, three states ruled over the Sword Isles:
Tundun, Put’wan, and Ba-e. During those years, the three
kingdoms had a name for the region that spanned between Ba-e,
Tundun, and Put’wan (which means it did not include the
Kalanawan area nor southern Rusunuga): Tulongarajah, which
means Three Kings.
620
Tundun, Put’wan and Ba-e have lost their luster in recent years,
but their technology and innovations persevere: the various writing
systems, writing upon copperplate and palm leaf scrolls, flying
barges rowed by guardian spirits, goldworking, and various kinds
of sorcery.
THE RAMAHASAN EMPIRE

The most powerful empire in the distant past was the Ramahasa
Empire, to the furthest East, in the Continent raised by the Sky-
Skinned Gods. It is peopled by the diverse auraskan tiger folk, who
still hew close to a divine caste system. From them arose the two
most popular faiths in the Known World: the ascetic Annuvaran
and the embracing of multiplicity that is Ashinin.
To this day, they fight and war and worship the Beings that live
in the Sea, and undergo meditation to ascend the realm of Falsity
and achieve oneness with the Chaos of Infinity.
There the faith of the Prime River or the religion known as
Ashinin, which hinges on the belief that there was a Great Being,
the Prime, known to most as The Om, that is split into three, the
Tatlubagi: of Sinhakti the Creator, Alihmbati the Preserver, and
Vararaha the Destroyer.
From that arose a Mad Monk, who was known as Annu. Annu
asked the question of “What?” when asked any question, but
through his Dog Philosophy he caused the Questioning of
Materiality and explored the Limitations of Spirituality. Thus was
born the religion of Annuvara.
621
Ashinin priests are known as brahmin, and they teach the truth
of the OM, the Prime Being. Annuvaran priets and monks are
known as bhikkhu, and they teach of Detachment, transcendence
of the material form. Each of them have a multiplicity of schools
and sects.
Ashinin-Annuvaran faiths have permeated and influenced much
of the faiths in the Sword Isles.
622
Annuvara took many from principles and metaphysicalities from
623
Ashinin but focused on the principle of Questioning, removing
materiality and attachment, and focusing on a life that would lead
to separation from gods and men and into true transcendence.
Thus, Annuvara focused on life guidance rather than spiritual
cosmogony or contextualization.
624
PETTY MANDALAS
The Petty Mandalas are called as such because they are smaller
than the expansionist and larger mandalas that play a larger role in
the Skysea War. They are at most 1 - 2 banwa in size. They are
nonetheless important and contribute to the growing enmity
between states. A Player Kadungganan can choose to play a
Mandala from the following Petty Mandalas as well.
PANNAI LEAGUE
Cooperative lords, pious folk, and disciplined warriors. On the
island of Lantiaw, north of Rusunuga, east of the Gatusan, lays the
powerful league of ten city states known as Pannai. Established by
ten monkey-headed datu who arrived from deep within the jungles
of Sonyoh, they brought with them sorceries, spiritualities, spirits,
and gods of their own and conquered the land. Pannai, wherein
local tawo lived in disparate and small banwa, were gathered up
and split into ten haop, each one following a holy monkey lord.
The Pannai League is assembled about one of the grand holy
mountains of The Sword Isles: the Holy Mountain of Madjaas,
where the gods live. There, they say, Sri Dapa etches upon the Tree
of Life the number of days for every mortal born. They believe in a
whole pantheon of gods, as well as minor gods, that live within
every single thing. They each claim a shore or island.
The League does not war against each other. Instead, they support
each other, trading with each other and supplying each other with
the other’s needs. One state, Puti, will provide weapons to the rest
625
of the states, while another state, Paiburong, will provide rice and
root crops to the rest of the states.
They are connected by rivers and the sea, and once a harvest they
all send pilgrimages to the base of the holy mountain of Madjaas to
offer prayers and thanks. The most elder of them, usually priests
and priestesses, would also finish a pilgrimage to the Holy
Mountain of Kanlaon, found deep in the island of Haraya, a day
northeast. There, the Ancient One lives.
The people of Pannai are noble and disciplined. Unlike the
Rajahnate of Gatusan and the State of Ibalong, they do not mark
their valorous acts with tattoos. They wear thick hardwood armor
and fight with both sorcery and sword. Their priests are all known
to wield swords alongside prayer chants. Their warlord datu led
huge swathes of armies to expand and conquer their domain.
The people of Pannai are constantly warring with those in the
Gatusan to protect their island.
If you come from Pannai, choose 1 item you start with: rattan
rope, holy leaves from Kanlaon, a ritual bamboo spear,
intricately engraved clay pottery.
626
STATE OF VUYU
Providers of rice and fruit, ritualistic headhunters, and celebrants
of nature. The state of Vuyu is the most powerful of the states that
live and thrive upon the Rusunugan Spine, the large mountain
range that spans the eastern edge of Rusunuga. Vuyu deals with
their fellow states as equals, despite being the most wealthy of
them. They specialize in farming, especially rice, which has become
an important export from them and has turned them into an
integral part of domestic trade.
Established by the great Winged God Apuvuyu, who came down
from the Sky to grant the first elders of the mountain-dwellers
knowledge of farming, terracing, weaving, pottery, smithing, and
warring. Finally, to create a royal line of leaders who will serve their
people, Apuvuyu took upon him a wife in one of the daughters of
the elders, who birthed the first Datu of Vuyu. With his job done,
he ascended to heaven, leaving the words: “Let us remember.” They
believe that when someone born from Vuyu dies, they ascend up to
the top of Mount Vulan, the highest point in Rusunuga, where
Apuvuyu lives in a holy city.
Vuyu lives in concert with surrounding settlements, performing
ritual headhunting, farming shared land, and trading rice and
foodstuffs with lowland peoples. They live in intimate closeness
with nature, and follow the tenets of Hiyang. They follow elder
datu, who provide them with counsel, knowledge, and guidance.
The people of Vuyu constantly war with the lowland empire of
Virbanwa who seek to invade their sacred ancestral land.
627
If you come from Vuyu, choose 1 piece of item that you begin
with: a branch of flowers, a laurel wreath, fragrant oils, a
woven abaca basket.
628
SRITALUK, KINGDOM OF VIOLET CORAL
Unbound pirates, travelers to distant lands, and friends to the sea.
Sritaluk is a kingdom built at the northwestern tip of Kalanawan. It
is built upon an ancient crab kingdom that harvested the violet
coral underneath the surf, known as taluk. The crabs are now
nowhere to be found, although some shells can still be found, and
are used as communal spirit houses.
Founded by sailors from the Rajahnate, Sritaluk has become an
enterprising “free” state, wherein those that wish to travel far off
unseen lands: usually the far northern hinterland of Majebebe,
where the land is cold and the mountains are white.
Sritaluk is ruled over by a triumvirate of merchant princes,
considered orangkaya by travelers. Sri Digna, Sri Amion, and Sri
Isakatuparan banded together to overthrow the previous tyrant,
Sarripada Bulkeiah, who imposed unfair tariffs and docking fees
upon those that traded.
Sritaluk is far away in the Gold Silk Current, but those ships that
do pass by Sritaluk are blessed with the sight of titanic crab-shell
spirit houses, datu longhouses made of violet coral, and warriors
clad in that same coral breastplates, shields, and spears. Taluk is
light in water, and thus Sritalukan warriors are adept at swimming
in water, able to fight both at boat and underwater.
Sritaluk’s mandala of influence is not wide, although thanks to
the crab gods that they supplicate to and the aforementioned skill
of Sritalukan Kadungganan, they have been able to ward off various
raids and invasion attempts from other polities, namely Dagindara,
Akai, and Gatusan.
629
Sritaluk trade in sea items: giant mother-of-pearls, sharkskin
armor, coral weapons, weapons with sharkteeth, and colorful sea
flora, octopi, squids, whale sharks, and much more. These things
are much wanted in the continents, where land is wider and the sea
much further. Trade thus with Malirawat, Baik Hu, and even
Ramahasa through Naksuwarga has sustained Sritaluk, and turned
it into a trading enterprise that none can conquer.
If you come from Sritaluk, choose 1 piece of item that you

begin with: a coral gumamela, a coral imbued with light, a
sharktooth agimat, a pearl necklace.
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THE KINGDOM OF SINUKU
Unbeatable mercenaries, sky-attuned scholars, and warrior
priests to the Old Fire and Lightning God. Sinuku, built upon the
sea shores of the same name, to the south of Ananara. Virbanwa
cannot conquer them, their skill in combat is unmatched. It is from
Sinuku that mercenaries have traveled far and wide, to the Madaki
Peninsula, to Malirawat, to Baik Hu. Due to the Sinukuan, the
prestige of The Sword Isles folk as being fierce warriors is
strengthened and emboldened. The Sinukuan are known to be
ardent in the fight to keep their sovereignty.
To the northwest of Sinuku is the Holy Mountain of Alaya. It is a
mountain with a beating heart, a pool of lava, whereupon their
supreme god, Suku the Old Bird God of Fire and Lightning, sleeps.
Due to the heat, hot springs have arisen about the mountain of
Alaya, boasting healing properties. Sinukuan ascertain time of day
and direction with Alaya: the sun rises in the direction of Alaya,
from the west, and thus Alaya is the morning. All directions going
Alaya are known as Alayaward, while all directions leaving Alaya
are known as Fromalaya.
The Sinukuan people are a noble people, with a written set of
codes that punishes thieves and upholds justice. Their Datu is a
lord due to both royal blood and valorous prestige.
The people are hardworking farmers and seafarers, but they are
most well known for their mercenarism, which has given them a
famed name across the known world of Yutadagat.
They are well-versed sailors, not only due to their skill in
navigating the deep seas, but also for their river culture, for most of
631
their lives is spent up and down the myriad rivers that arise from
the bay of Sinuku. They are in an ever strife with the crocodile folk
that live in these rivers.
They are attuned intensely to the movement of the stars, naming
them and assigning proper words to the movements of the sun and
moon. They reckon their time by the stars, and they awake at dawn
when the morning star, known as Salandaguis, the rat’s lamp,
appears in the dawn sky. They are friends with the comets.
If you are from Sinuku, choose 1 piece of item that you begin
with: clay pot, porcelain flask, a box of rice, a flake of
meteorite.
632
NATION OF IBALONG
Fierce defenders, ever-loyal braves, and unparalleled hunters.
Ibalong is a powerful city state headed by the descendants of
legendary warrior-hunters that was fabled to have cleared the
region of Ibalong of all the destructive monsters and made it a clean
place to live in. Following after their warrior-hunter ancestors, the
Ibalongan are skilled and fearless warriors who foster trade and war
with the Rajahnate. They staunchly defend their peninsula from all
forms of attack, whether it be from within the archipelago or from
foreign power.
Like the cultures within the Rajahnate’s mandala, they tattoo
themselves as spiritual markings of valor. They have a practiced and
written code, etched upon copperplate inscriptions. Their forts and
towns are protected by bamboo towers, called bantara, upon which
skilled sharpshooters wield the sikarom longbow, as large as a man
is long.
They pay their worship to the greatest of mountains in all of The
Sword Isles, Magayon, who is said to have been the corpse of a
beautiful woman, Daragang Magayon. Within Mount Magayon,
which is an active volcano, sat upon a Firesmoke Throne, is the
great elder god Gugurang, who looks over his domain with
benevolence. Thanks to him and his dedicated warriors, the
Lakanate has been having a rough time creeping into the fabled
state of Ibalong.
Ibalong is built upon an ancient city of bamboo and gold. Ruins
from an ancient age are quartered off into one section of the city,
while the current datu, Datu Laadang Amiris, and the rest of his her
633
haop lives in a more lived in a portion of the state, wherein cottages
have been built and watchtowers rise. The ancient ruins, said to be
the balay and tombs of the ancient Ibalong Hero-Datu, are revered
and considered sacred, and act as a communal spirit house for
those that live within Ibalong.
Ibalong are prone to war and trade, and they will not bow before
any other than their god Gugurang. The Ibalongan never
surrendered.
If you begin from Ibalong, choose which 1 piece of item you

begin with: a bamboo hat, a bamboo tube for storing water, a
bag made of butanding skin, a vial of ash-water with
medicinal properties.
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THE SULTANATE OF DAGINDARA
Divine scholars, devout fishers, and unfazed raiders. The
Sultanate of Dagindara, of which the city of Shrisug is the capital,
is a city established after a civil war within Put’wan. The noble
Kiling traveled to the far north shore, past the Holy Mountain of
Apu, with his own following. There they met with a resting Bulanist
coterie, and they were taught in the ways of Baginda
Sumongsuklay. They converted into Iman at that moment, and
thus they established a Sultanate, with Kiling becoming the first
Sultan.
The land they were on was called Daginda. The strip of land they
decided to call Dagindara, “Holy Mediator” in the ancient Iman
language. They established their city there, Shrisug, and began
their Sultanate.
A few generations have passed since then. The current Sultan is
Sri Saridanaw. Under his influence, they have expanded their reach,
creating a Sultanate to rival Akai.
Dagindara has subjugated much of the upriver settlements,
seizing them to sell as debtors, or letting them to harvest foodstuffs
and other forest goods upriver. While the upriver settlements have
their own paramount datu and complex societies, Dagindara rules
over them all.
The Dagindaran Sultan rules over other Datu, and those other
Datu rule over their subjects. As the transcendent ruler, the Datu
pay fealty to the Sultan. The Sultan can perform tasks and executive
decisions that could affect the entire Sultanate.
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In executive functions, Dagindara, much like Akai, speaks in the
fabled Bulanist tongue. These functions are royal and structured,
and made to show off power and wealth. Similarly to Akai,
Dagindara’s history is recorded in tarsilas, or genealogies, upon
palm leaf and bamboo.
Dagindara has extensive trading connections with both Baik Hu
and the Madaki Peninsula, wherein they gain their property wealth
in weapons, lantaka, and golden gong. A sort of merchant nobility
has formed from this trading, called the orangkaya.
Dagindara matches Akai in royalty and wealth, in moshkes and
warriors. They are locked in constant war.
If you come from Dagindara, choose 1 piece of item you

begin with: a shard of a lantaka, a miniature war gong, 3 sago
cakes wrapped in banana leaves, pondag (bamboo long flute).
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ON THE PEOPLE OF THE SWORD ISLES
The People of The Sword Isles are known as the tawo. Any person
outside of the islands (or to an extreme extent, any person outside
of their particular settlement) such as the Pale Kings of Issohapa or
the Auraska Tiger Lords of Ramahasa, are Sina.
The tawo are a large array of people, diversified by their nations,
families, and ethnic origins.
Their diversity was said to have been the blessing of the gods of
the Ancient Peoples. But those things do not matter.
What does matter is that the tawo are of one ancestry, one thread,
one connection. They were not made better or less than another.
They were all equal, born from the same earth, formed from the
same dust, pecked from the same bamboo.
And then they angered nature. The world trembled. They were
split and they split themselves. They looked at nature and
wondered and marveled, and said: If the world be three, then
surely, we are three also.
There is a little folk tale, sung across all of The Sword Isles: that
once, in a long time ago, the first man named Kausausa and his
family lived in a house. He went out and hunted a giant shark.
Seeing that he could do this, and not seeing that any of the gods
could, he said that he was surely more powerful than the gods now.
A powerful god of the Sky--different according to which
settlement you hear the story from--rained thunder and lightning
upon the man’s house. Kausausa died. His family ran to different
portions of the house to hide: those that hid in the hidden rooms
of the sleeping quarters became nobles, those that hid in the walls
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became debtors, and those that ran outside of the house became
free men.
The Sina are part of this people, as they have also observed that
they followed a similar tripartite societal structure. A popular
addition to the folk tale is that some free men traveled to the edges
of the earth, where it was cold, and thus they froze and became Pale
Kings.
Others communed with tiger gods and sea kings, and thus
Auraska and other different humanoids arose.
Thus is the way of The Sword Isles.
AMONG THE TAWO: ILAWOD AND IRAYA

Ilawod means “down the stream or river”, while Iraya means “up
the stream or the river”.
This distinction is applied to the tawo that live among the islands
of The Sword Isles, even in the largest isle of Rusunuga.
Ilawod Tawo are those that live in the larger shore settlements.
These shore settlements are usually large, and can have three or
more towns sewn together in an interweaving web of familial
relations and political connections.
Iraya Tawo are those that live deeper into the island up the
mountains, where the air is cold and perfect for farming rice and
even crops from different parts of Yutadagat, or through the deep
rainforests, in intimate connection with the rest of the world.
The Iraya Tawo hunt for foodstuffs, rare animals, wild honey, and
more items from the deep forests and the high mountains, as well
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as plant in large rice swiddens and paddies, which they then trade
down the river to the shore settlements.
The Ilawod Tawo trade these items for foreign exports, silks,
clothing, iron, and weapons to the Iraya Tawo. This symbiotic
connection is integral to the survival and flourishing of both ways
of life.
AMONG THE SINA

For the most part, the tawo that trade with foreigners don’t
distinguish them other than being sina, or those others. Those from
Baik Hu, or from Naksuwarga, or from the Medaka Archipelago, all
the way to the Pale Kings of Issohappa and the Auraska of
Ramahasa.
When foreign trade comes in, the tawo make no distinction from
where the items come from. These foreign materials are simply
from sina, and immediately become items for their own
consumption, for their own recreation, and for their own material
culture.
This lack of strict reverence for nations and states have formed a
very diverse archipelago. Many people from other states come into
The Sword Isles and as long as they can contribute to the way of life
of the tawo, they are considered as part of The Sword Isles. Thus
culture is diverse as well to The Sword Isles, and they adopt much
of their neighbors stylings and religions and cultures, leading to a
truly diverse and intermixing area. The Sword Isles has become well
known for this, despite being out of the way from the supposedly
lucrative Sea Silk Wind Path, where trade from Ramahasa from the
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far Eastern Continent has made those in Naksuwarga and Medaka
Peninsula materially and culturally rich.
Many Tawo travel to Medaka for lucrative job opportunities as
well as for trade. Many Kadungganan become mercenaries that
fight for the Medakan Kingdom, or with Naksuwarga, or even
against the Malirawat Empire.
THE TAWO ACROSS THE POLITIES

The tawo are a diverse and varied lot, but the one unifying thing
they usually have is what polity they are born in, which usually
defines their early world view and how they grow. In the following
pages, you will find how the tawo are like across the twelve largest
and most prominent polities.
Witness then how much they have in contrast... And how much
they are so alike. While it is easy to think that the states are
heterogenous--and to a degree they are--their inherent proximity
with each other has become a catalyst for inevitable cultural
sharing.
This is why the dream of unity is not that far off. One must needs
respect only the lived experience of each one.
ON GENDER AND SEXUALITY

While Classical Philippines isn’t as progressive as us these days
when it comes to sexuality, they still had some interesting takes on
it. At this point, you might have well known that most Philippine
languages don’t have gendered pronouns, and if we did, they only
came when the Spanish came.
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Another thing to note is the balyan in Ancient Philippines. While
predominantly a woman’s Discipline, men could also take it up.
While in Tagalog regions, it hasn’t been said whether a transition
to femininity was required, it has been recorded in those regions,
as well as almost every other region in the Philippines. These
people were known as asug, bayugin, or binabaye in most contexts.
They were treated like women and could even marry men. They
were supposed to wear women’s clothing and perform women’s
tasks.
While this is not exactly the most progressive idea now, we can
glean a bit from that, and we can apply a more progressive idea into
our Fantasy twist on Classical Philippines.
I’ve long thought about the idea of Classical Philippine gender
and sex being entirely functional, due to the existence of the asug.
If a man performed a woman’s duties and tasks, they were
considered women.
However, I’ve eventually come to the conclusion that another way
of doing it might have been possible: that how they presented
themselves was their gender.
So a woman who presents and wears women's clothes, but
performs the tasks of a man such as raiding, warring, and carpentry,
would still be treated as a woman, or a bayi. However, if they chose
to wear men’s clothes and preferred to be seen as a man, then they
would be treated as such.
In this manner, we can stay kind of true to what our research has
shown us: that pre-Western genders were much more malleable
than post-colonial ones. Despite this being much more in the space
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of speculation, it is one based on researched and informed
speculation. Due to some Katalonan men still probably being
treated like men despite performing the tasks of a “woman”, we can
only assume that the same is true for the other islands and cultures.
Of course, this still isn’t as progressive as we want it to be: from
what I can see, despite the malleability of genders and sex in
Classical Philippines, there was still that forced binary. While I’m
personally staying true to that portion of history--partially because
as much as I love this time period I don’t want people conflating
this time period even more as a golden age--if you prefer to play
Gubat Banwa without a stifling pre-Western binary, go ahead. As
someone who doesn’t feel exactly in line with any binary either
(especially the Western binary) I am only inclined to encourage you
to do exactly that.
Padayon!
A SMALL SAMPLING OF NON-HUMAN TAWO:

SARING LAHI
While the most popular and most widespread ancestry is the
human one that we all are, if you wish to inject some more ancestral
weirdness into your game, feel free to take some inspiration from
the ones below!
These “races” are known within the game as “Lahi”, which
translated from Tagalog to English is more or less “ancestry”.
Bukarottawo: Crocodilian folk. They are thin and lithe and walk
on both legs, and can use their tails as secondary weapons.
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Ugima: Satyr-like creatures that live in the forest, but sometimes
trade with tawo. Ugima are usually seen as maneaters, but only if
they are hungry and have nothing left to eat due to the atrocities
caused by human war.
Banoytawo: Eagle-folk, creatures that are humanoid but have
eagle-like features. Most resembling the Philippine Eagle.
Pugitatawo: Actually just octopuses that have learned how to
wield weapons, wear armor, and can now walk on land.
Tamawo: “Those Unlike Us”. They look like humans, but have no
philtrum, have pale skin, and platinum blonde hair. Some say they
have weird magics, others say that they have secret cities within the
forest.
Ubag: Inspired by the recently found skeleton of homo
luzonsensis, is a kind of pygmy human. They’re good with tools and
are usually much quicker and lither than the normal human.
Binturongtawo: Bearcat people, brothers to Musang folk but not
as friendly. They’re big and tend to be lazy, but they smell like
popcorn and hide serious muscles.
Irongtawo: Large dog people that live in little packs within the
forests. Are mostly peaceful, and help humans in catching their
prey.
Auraska: Tiger folk, usually from Ramahasa and Mahajola. They
are large, usually bearded white, and wear clothing inspired by
ancient Sanskrit India. Many nobles in the Rajahnate have some
form of Auraskan blood, leading to some of them having leftover
traits, such as crimson feline eyes, white bushy whiskers, or subtly
striped body hair.
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Kadanay: They look like humans, with the main distinguishing
trait being that they have glowing magenta eyes. The Kadanay are
an ancient people that lived in certain parts of The Sword Isles, and
they mastered the art of Waking-the-Stone, creating artifacts and
spiritual wonders from stone and jade.
Where the Kadanay went, none know. Not even still living
Kadanay can seem to remember.
Sawangtawo/Lungyi: Humanoid dragon-folk, seven to ten feet
tall, with long catfish-like whiskers, ruddy scales, and fine feathers
instead of hair. Lungyi are the highest rung of Reincarnation in
Annuvaran belief, and is the highest form of humanity right before
Enlightenment. Every man is taught that they can eventually reach
the level of Tawong Lung through cycles of Reincarnation. All
nobles, warlords, and government officials in Baik Hu are either
Tawong Lung, or have Lung blood.
Those mortals that have only one parent as Lungyi become
Bantai, halfborn. They have a much easier chance of becoming
Lungyi in their next life, and are known to possess powers and
abilities only Lungyi would have. Bantai typically have their non-
Lungyi form, but have Lungyi traits: half-tawo, half-Lungyi for
example, might have tawo with floating white hair, crimson eyes,
or sprouting antlers. While strange in The Sword Isles, and
demonic in the eyes of the Issohappan, these are holy symbols for
Baikhan.
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BETEL NUT CHEWING
Betel Nut (bonga, nganga), the fruit of the areca palm, is an
integral part of socializing in the Sword Isles. In a simple way of
understanding it, think of it as like the various tea ceremonies one
would find in East Asia. Betel nut chewing is accompanied with its
own ceremonies, given to visitors like an owner would offer tea.
Betel nut itself has a mild narcotic effect, similarly to how tea might
calm the nerves, or how alcohol might relax. Thus it is integral to
conversation. Not only that, but betel nut chewing stains teeth red,
making one “not an animal”, as only animals have white teeth.
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BETEL NUT CEREMONY
The nut is cut into segments, sprinkled with lime made from
shells, wrapped in a leaf, and chewed into a quid which produces a
blood-red spittle.
The preparation, exchange, and serving of betel nut is the most
important social act in all of the Sword Isles, even in Virbanwa. Men
carried the necessary ingredients in little baskets or pouches. A
householder who fails to offer betel nut to anyone who entered his
house was an insult inviting enmity.
On formal visits, the quids are prepared and served in expensive
and beautiful metal trys or boxes by the females of the household:
servants, daughters, or even the lady of the house herself,
depending on the social standing of the guest.
A special honor is to add a touch of musk or a slice of cinnamon
bark, or some other aromatic flavoring, to the chew.
Betel nut is also important in romance and courtship: to offer a
quid partially chewed is an act of flirtation; to send one in response
to a man’s clandestine request is an act of acceptance to his
advances. To send it unbidden is an open invitation.
Betel nut palms are extensively cultivated across the isles.
Youths chewing for the first time usually suffer giddiness like
drinking alcohol. Young
noble ladies have their
first betel nut chew as a
kind of puberty rite or
ceremony.
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THE SOCIAL CLASSES
In the land of The Sword Isles, the Social Class system is the
skeleton and framework whereupon all things dance. It is so
ingrained into society that tawo even give things in nature titles
that reflect their social rank: Datung Bayawak is a term for large
and great monitor lizards or komodo dragons, while Oripung
Bukad is a term for small and “frail” flowers that shy away when
touched.
Here are the Social Classes of The Sword Isles laid out. For each
of the Classes, there will be a short table to help you visualize what
each person of each of the Classes would look like, as so much of
society hinges upon them.
DATU, KEDATUAN, AND BINUKOT

Datu is the term for the heads of settlements. Leaders, lords, and
owners of vast amounts of heirloom wealth. In Ancient Visayas,
Datu was also the term for the closest family of the Datu: their
spouses and their children, denoting them as lordly royalty, higher
than other nobility. In The Sword Isles, we use the term kedatuan
to denote that they’re royalty, belonging to the family of a lord, so
as to not confuse the terms.
THE PARAMOUNT DATU

Larger settlements and haop, such as the Rajahnate of Gatusan or
Ba-e, would have multiple Datu underneath a single Paramount
Datu. A Paramount Datu is chosen by choice of all kedatuan in
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multiple settlements settling on one that is considered “fit to lead”
the Datu. This procedure is sometimes democratic. The parameters
for becoming a Paramount Datu usually include warrior prestige,
skillful merit, and natural charisma.
Many different areas have different ways to call their Paramount
Datu: Rajah, Sarripad, Batara, Pangulo, Kaponoan, and Lubus nga
Datu.
THE SANDIG SA DATU

The closest followers of the datu constitute a sort of inner circle
of people, called the datu’s sandig. They might not be the datu’s kin
or blood (although they can be, or might be of the nobility), but
they are treated with a similar deference. This is something that can
be found across all the polities.
Kedatuan are treated more or less with the same deference as the
Datu, and enjoy all the benefits of being nobility.
Datu are lords of their following. As already established, land is
not the scale by which a Datu’s power is measured, by their
following, known as their haop. Their haop engulfs and covers all
the people that follow the Datu: from nobility all the way to the
smallest of debtors.
Kedatuan can still fall into debt, especially should they loan
something but find that they cannot pay it back. In this manner,
kedatuan can become debtors to even other datu, or even to other
servants.
Datu are expected to be skilled in war, and truly many Datu earn
their name through valor in combat. There are also Datu that
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become Datu after being married to someone who is of Kedatuan.
Datu are usually skilled in trades as well, many becoming
blacksmiths, jewelers, song makers, and more.
Binukot are veiled princes and princesses, hidden away in special
compartment rooms in the attics of royal houses or hidden deep
within sacred caves, all caled bukot. Binukot are never shown to the
public eye, but are taught how to sing, fight, dance, and read within
their bukot. When a binukot is brought out into the public, they
are carried by strongmen or women upon their shoulders, making
sure that the binukot never let their feet touch the ground. They
are usually used as barter or leverage to create social kinship and
connections with other settlements, letting one’s own binukot
marry another datu to establish a strong bond with that settlement.
Of course, not many binukot like this arrangement.
Sandig sa Datu
1. Atubang. The datu’s chief minister and privy counselor.
2. Paragahin. The datu’s steward, one who speaks, makes
arrangements or takes charge for them.
3. Bilanggowan. The datu’s sheriff, who has a balay called
a bilanggo that acts as a jail.
4. Paratawag. Usually a slave. The towns-crier, who
announces unto the settlement through shouting from a tall
tree or delivering a message directly to the persons concerned
(such as calling specific Kadungganan for a raid).
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5. Senapati. A warlord and commander of a portion of the
Datu’s army, answering directly to the datu. In smaller
settlements, a datu takes on the role of a senapati.
6. Shahbandar. The collector of anchorage fees and the
one who sets up the port markets during the trading season.
Datu Dispositions
1. Black-toothed and quirky eyed, with a penchant for
collecting scraps to create new inventions. Would love to
explore the ancient tombs left behind by the Kadanay people.
2. Large and heavyset, always grim. Readying their haop
for war. Is vigilant, knows that another settlement is going to
come any day to attack for something they did not do.
3. A datu hellbent on correcting injustices, for they
suffered injustices of their own and they would not wish it upon
others.
4. An ancient and wizened old datu, leaning upon a staff
made of the bones of an ancient tiger. Skilled in the ways of
offensive sorcery. Seeks to create a new religion.
5. A skilled and tricky lord who knows the ways of politics
and abuses it to get what they want. Helms a large haop, which
is built upon spider web.
6. A young datu who has something to prove, and
sometimes does not listen to the counsel of the wiser due to his
rashness.
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7. A datu burning with ideals, seeking to change the
course of the world as they see it, attempting to abolish the
classes from the top down.
8. A broken datu who has suffered too much during their
lifetime, and goes into combat for if they do not, they will break
down.
9. An older, more caring Datu, who treats their followers
like their own children and cares for them as their own.
10. A militaristic Datu hellbent on conquest of the entire
archipelago. All in the name of peace.
Datu Problems
1. Another Datu has declared war upon them.
2. The umalagad, ancestor spirits, of that datu are
displeased with them, and it has caused ill fortune to befall the
settlement.
3. The diwata are rampaging nearby, and they do not
know why.
4. One of the polities is planning to conquer them.
5. A Rajahnate settlement is closing their trade routes
with them, causing a major blow to their supply lines, and will
likely cause starvation or loss of wealth.
6. They are being attacked by either the Lakanate or the
Sultanate, to further conquest (if the Lakanate) or faith (if the
Sultanate).
7. They are being raided by foreign powers.
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8. The Confederation has deemed them to be too
dangerous to the nature around them, and is launching a raid
upon them.
Datu Settlement
1. Small, cozy. Around 100 households. Mainly a trading
haop, or an agriculture haop.
2. Larger. Around 200 households. Usually adept at raids.
3. Huge. Around 300 or 400 households. Might have
connections with foreign trade, or large connections with
surrounding polities.
4. Expansive. Usually only for the capitals and
international trading entrepots. Around 600 households. Might
have more than one Datu leading them.
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NOBLE CLASS
Tumao in the Rajahnate, Timway in the Sultanate, Maginoo in the
Lakanate, Kadangyan in the Confederation.
The Nobility are usually those that have in some way a blood
connection with the Datu: either through lineage, as their relatives
(cousins, nieces, nephews, and the like), or as blood-sworn kin
(through the Sanduguan, the Blood Compact).
The Nobles are considered the second rank of nobility, right
below the kedatuan royalty.
Many Nobility act as retainers and vassals to the Datu, helping
them and doing work for the datu, should they need it, whether it
be contributing materiel, working their fields, or fighting in raids
and war engagements. However, they do not need to pay tribute,
only that they fight with the datu should the datu call upon them,
and they very commonly engage in their own pursuits, whether it
be artistic or mercantile.
GOLDEN WEB TAPESTRY

Nobility and Kedatuan, and especially Datu, are beholden to the
Golden Web Tapestry: an “elevated” form of speech that is polite
speech in all but name. One is expected to be dancing the Golden
Web Tapestry when before a noble, even if you are noble yourself,
and especially if you are of lower class. You cannot speak certain
words before them, and you must speak wholly in third-person,
never addressing the noble directly--ie. as “you”. This polite speech
is expected even amongst balyan and other spirit mediums that are
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ubiquitous in the archipelago. Other examples include burping or
talking about how dirty a noble’s nails or ears have become.
If one breaks the Golden Web Tapestry, it unravels a whole slew
of consequences. Things such as fines and debt for the lower
classes, while other nobles might suffer societal disgrace and public
shame, which is something no noble wants, as they would be
indebted, or have Debt, to the noble that they committed the
breaking of the Golden Web Tapestry to. Of course, the Golden
Web Tapestry is simply a social construct, and needs a society to be
enforced.
Nobility Problems
1. Another noble has blasphemed their countenance, and
must be punished.
2. They must be ready and need new items for makeup for
the coming feast.
3. Someone from the lower class saw them making love
with someone that they should not be making love with.
4. They have broken the Golden Web Tapestry, and seek
to evade the consequences or are being hunted down.
5. A noble is hunted down for not honoring a trading
contract with another settlement.
6. A noble has blasphemed the name of the Datu in a
feast.
7. A noble has lost their heirloom wealth and must get it
back.
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8. A noble has lost their imported texts, which they use to
learn more languages. They believe someone has stolen it, as
texts are well wanted as culture in other settlements.
Nobility Dispositions
1. An eccentric noble who pores over palm leaf
manuscripts seeking enlightenment.
2. A calm noble who loves performing tea and wine
ceremonies for their guests.
3. A generous noble who loves giving away items for the
ones that amuse them.
4. A broken noble who has seen the terrors of war, despite
not being a warrior.
5. A brave noble who is also a Paraawit, a singer, who
seeks to travel with Kadungganan to expand their song
repertoire and to create more songs for the settlement.
6. A wide-eyed noble who wants to see the world from
byeond their own little world view.
7. A wise noble who gives actually good advice, and loves
to sit upon the porch of their house observing the town.
8. A loving noble who makes sure that their debtors are
properly treated.
9. A conniving noble who has mastered the polite speech
of the Golden Web Tapestry, who wishes to climb the social
class even further.
10. An artful noble who creates paintings upon palm leaf
scrolls, and uses sorcery only to fly.
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11. A noble who thrives on the thrill of battle, usually to the
detriment of themself or their friends.
12. A strict noble who has mastered a particular form of
weaponry, and acts as a guardian or bodyguard (kawal) for
kedatuan royalty.
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FREEMAN CLASS
Freeman are a privileged class, and not a serf like class. Those of
the Freeman Class are free to change their allegiance to their datu
at any time, theoretically. Theoretically because it is not
uncommon for many freemen to own a large amount of debt to a
certain datu, or choose to become retainers for that Datu.
Freemen are considered a third rank of nobility, right below the
nobles. They do not need to work to pay off a labor obligation like
debtors—although they can accrue debt—but they can choose
what to do. Many become capitalists in their own right, become
datu, or perhaps enjoy the protection of community and helps
around the datu. Very commonly, though, whatever the pick up as
a trade, they must fight with the datu when the time comes.
A Kadungganan is a kind of freeman. They may pledge their
services to a Datu for a time, and then leave and change allegiances
whenever it pleases them, or whenever they need to. This is their
privilege: they are not part of a datu’s particular following.
Freeman, thanks to their freedom, get to enjoy a wide variety of
freedoms. Freemen usually render services to the datu. Thus many
freemen work as laborers. Some owning their own farms, others
true warriors, others professional singers, and even others as
potters and traders and merchants, sometimes with wealth
rivalling the Datu’s own.
When a Freeman either chooses, or manages to pay off their debt
to the lord they have chosen to follow, they may choose to leave,
traveling and either seeking out another lord and settlement to
follow, or perhaps building up a settlement themselves.
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Freeman Dispositions
1. A freeman who loves singing and will never give it up for
the world.
2. A freeman with a particular sweet tooth and is running
around trying to satisfy it.
3. A young one who wishes to become a Datu someday.
4. A freeman who takes great pleasure in abusing their
servant for some twisted reason.
5. A freeman who holds an important secret of a noble that
they refuse to let go.
6. A freeman who is in love with the binukot (veiled prince
or princess) of another settlement, but does not have the bugay
or bride price to be able to buy their hand in marriage.
7. An eccentric freeman who loves collecting herbs and
hides away in their balay for days at a time.
8. An overly serious freeman who does their best in their
trade and does not want to slip up, ever.
Freeman Problems
1. The freeman does not have enough wealth to be able to
move to another Datu.
2. A freeman is discontent being the retainer of a Datu, and
wishes to dethrone the datu and take it for themselves.
3. A freeman has lost their means of living, and is quickly
accruing debt. At the rate that they’re in, they will become oripun.
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4. They have lost an important piece of bahandi heirloom
wealth, one of the only ones they have.
5. They have lost the favor of the datu, and must seek a
different datu to serve.
6. Their family has been killed after a raid, and they lost
their source of livelihood to the raiders.
Freeman Trades
1. Warrior. A freeman that prides on fighting for the Datu.
Probably a Kadungganan as well.
2. Jeweler. Someone who is an expert at creating jewelry.
3. Hunter. A freeman who uses state of the art technology
and strategies to hunt down large game.
4. Weaver. A skilled weaver of silks and cottons, usually for
the Datu’s benefit.
5. Merchant. A skilled trader and peddler of wares, whether
it be foreign silks or local civets
6. Potter. A freeman who is skilled in the ways of clay
pottery. Perhaps they even have the means to craft porcelain.
They may have a number of servant under them that they teach
in the craft of pottery.
7. Sailor. A sailor and traveler, who has their own ship and
renders service to those who need it, although sometimes to those
that pay the highest.
8. Honey Tracker. A freeman who is skilled in travelling the
forests and foraging through foliage to find the best bee hives to
harvest honey from.
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9. Cook. A cook who owns their own eatery, in service to
the Datu. They usually have a number of servant and children that
help them in the kitchen, making meals for the Datu themselves.
Larger settlements might have cooks that can cook for the entire
Kadungganan or noble population.
10. Fisher. An integral trade in archipelago. A skilled fisher
who uses harpoons, nets, and traps to capture large amounts of
fish, which they then cook or trade.
11. Paraawit. A professional singer, hired to sing epics in
feasts, dirges in funerals, or inspiring war songs when going into
war.
12. Shipbuilder. A freeman who owns their own shipyard and
has their own horohan to help collect materials and help build
the ships themselves.
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DEBTOR CLASS
There are three kinds of debtors in The Sword Isles: the peasants,
the servants, and the infantry.
When these debtors are raided, they are usually taken away and
brought to markets, where their obligation and labor is sold to
others that wish to take them on. As labor is a premium in the
Sword Isles, with their being a surplus of natural resources and not
enough labor to capitalize on it, debtor obligations are usually
priced similar to bahandi. When they are bought, they usually
become servants for the one that bought them, sometimes peasants
if the buyer deem it so. Enterprising and mercantile capitalists sell
debtors at a profit.
More commonly, when a datu raids a settlement, they take in the
debtors of that settlement and turn them into debtors to the datu
instead.
Debtors make up the majority of the The Sword Isles population.
Becoming a debtor is easy: accrue enough debt through your
actions, enough that you cannot pay it off, then you wil become a
slave to that person that you owe the most. This will then extend
to your next of kin, until one of them can eventually pay off your
debt price, and free your family and generational line.
PEASANTS
Peasants render their service up to the datu, most usually working
in their field, fishing, hunting, or what else. Peasants have their own
houses, and they render a portion of their labor and work to their
datu, whom they owe their debt to. Through opportunity and
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enterprise, they can decrease their debt, and eventually pay it off in
full. When raiders come to their village, they are expected to take
up arms and fight alongside the datu. Peasants are different from
servants in that they live in their own houses while tilling the fields
of the datu, in exchange for the datu’s protection and strength in
being a settlement.
SERVANTS
Servants live in their master’s houses, and any person can have a
servant, even other servants (thus making them the lowest rung of
the Debtor Class). Servants are not to be traded away and must be
treated well, lest you become a bad master, as tradition dictates.
They must be fed and given clothing by the masters. Masters
dictate when a servant can marry and sometimes even who they
can marry. The servant’s children inherit their class until they can
pay off the debt price. Servants render all their labor to their
master, and they live in their master’s house. Should they give birth,
the master is expected to take care of the servant’s child as if it were
their own. A master may even have a favorite servant, who act
similarly as retainers, which they call their sibin.
INFANTRY
Infantry serve as footsoldiers for the master they serve, oftentimes
working as a personal guard as well. Their masters train them and
equip them, Infantry usually have similar tasks and functions to
squires: helping their masters when it comes to combat,
maintaining their weapons, and more.
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Servant Dispositions
1. A disenfranchised servant who is tired of working for
their master.
2. A beautiful servant who is in an ilicit love affair with their
master.
3. A servant who harbors a deep hatred for the one that
their master serves.
4. A servant who is wholly committed to their master until
their death.
5. A servant who would want to become free and pursue a
different trade, but cannot due to their love for their master.
6. A servant who seeks restitution for something their
master has done to them.
Peasant Dispositions
1. A peasant constantly unimpressed by sorcery and war,
simply annoyed that it gets in the way of their weaving.
2. A peasant who likes farming way too much, and is
devising multiple technology to help it along.
3. A peasant who tills lands so large that they have to deal
with another settlement hogging up too much of the space.
4. A peasant who walks around drunk all the time, but is
still surprisingly competent.
5. A peasant who is in a secret love affair with a servant.
6. A peasant who works all day in the fields but crafts poetry
at night, under the light of a small candle.
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Horohan Dispositions
1. An infantry who is beholden to war and fighting, always
looking for the next fight.
2. An infantry who sees fighting and combat as their duty
and nothing else, and they aim to be the best at it.
3. An infantry that loves their master, and will do anything
to protect them.
4. An infantry who abhors fighting, and only does it because
they are ordered to, but is scarily good at fighting.
5. An infantry filled with hatred and a longing for justice,
and wishes to depose datu and cast down false thrones.
6. An infantry brimming with a hard knowledge of truth,
and wishes to document all things they must witness in war to
make sure future generations do not witness and suffer their
mistakes.
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ON SOCIETIES AND POLITIES
The Sword Isles are rife with settlements and societies that share
many things in common, diverse and different as they are. This
includes their general outlook on crimes, laws, and dooms, as well
as the things they eat or the things that they trade.
In addition, they do share a similar way of trading and counting,
using wooden counters and rice grains as barter, and sometimes
even foreign currencies to be able to trade with other kingdoms.
The common unit of measurement for weight is sack, which
comes from sacks of rice being main forms of trade. A sack of rice
is equal to three liters of rice. Other common terms for weight is
hand, for a handful.
For length, it is the following: finger, for the length of a single
finger. Palm, for length of a palm. Foot for the length of a foot.
Arm for the length of an arm. Wing for the length of two arms
spread out wide. Most balutu or personal boats, for example, are 10
wings long.
TRADE, WEALTH, AND PROPERTY

The most important thing to note when it comes to wealth and
property in The Sword Isles is that land is not one of them. All The
Sword Isles polities view land as not theirs. Nature is not something
they own, after all.
Traders were usually professionals. They might even have their
own cargo vessels. This would mean that they are usually freemen,
or Datu themselves, or some sort of Kedatuan or Nobility.
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PROPERTY
Property is usually measured as heirloom wealth, known across
the isles as bahandi. This heirloom wealth is accumulated over
generations, and is usually constituted of gongs, porcelain, and
other such expensive items, usually items that can only be found
from outside the archipelago, but not always. Things that mostly
only warriors and nobility can afford, and is out of the ballpark of
the lower classes.
DEBT
Debt (Debt) is accrued through both materially and obligatorily,
and is an integral part to society and The Sword Isles social classes
as a result. A Datu and their family who has performed a horrible
crime is usually given so much debt that their entire family, and
perhaps even extending to their next of kin and generations after,
are turned into debtors, working for the person that they owe the
most.
DOMESTIC TRADE
Traded domestically among the Tawo of the siles are textiles,
other weavings, wood, and especially foodstuffs, as it is easier to
cultivate food such as rice from upland societies where hills can be
turned into rice farms.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Imports from outside the archipelago is a frequent source of
wealth and power as well. As of present, Baikhan porcelains are so
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prominent in The Sword Isles that most of their ceramics and
tradeware are now porcelains, and the locally produced clayware
with intricate wave engravings and psychopomp idols have fallen
to the wayside, usually used as burial jars.
Other items being imported are weapons (katana, dao, foreign
kampilan and kris) and expensive silks, parasols, silver, and culture:
usually in the form of newer religions, and brahmin that would
come from distant lands to teach about Annuvara.
Iron is another important material, especially in the time of the
Eight Sun Era. The most common way of obtaining iron was
through import or raiding, burning down nails from ships, iron
cauldrons from Baik Hu, or malleable cast iron from the
Naksuwargan Empires. They are also found in mountains and other
mining areas, and others produce iron on their own without the
need to import it from elsewhere.
ON CURRENCY
There is no currency, although the closest is rice grains, gold
kernels, and barter rings, used as a medium of exchange.
Calculations are made on wooden counters, kukot, and heavy items
are weighed with a steelyard, sinanta, and gold weighed against
little seeds in a pair of balances that can be carried around on the
person.
Gold kernels and barter rings are used as medium of exchange for
barter. This is a preferred export of Baik Hu and Madaki.
However, square-holed Baikhan coins known as caz were already
in wide circulation, especially in the Sultanate.
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To the right is a table of the usual trade goods, both domestic and
international.
Some Trade Goods
1. Kalamay. Palm Sugar. Commodity.
2. Rice grains. Measured by ganta, around 3 liters.
Commodity.
3. Coconuts. Buko. Almost like a cash crop, grown in
plantations and sold by the boat-full. Commodity.
4. Iron Cauldrons. Used to be broken down for forging.
Necessity.
5. Hinalasan. Dragon porcelain jars, from Baik Hu and
Malirawat. Bahandi.
6. Honey. Traded by men with professional skill in
locating hives. Commodity.
7. Agung. Brass or golden gongs, very much highly priced.
Usually heirloom wealth. Bahandi.
8. Cloth, woven. Elegant textiles, usually very colorful and
with complex geometric designs. Commodity.
9. Fruits and Nuts. Tropical fruits and nuts, plentiful. Acts
as 1 Provision. Commodity.
10. Blankets. Spun of dyed cloth and abaca. Commodity.
11. Abaca Fiber. Useful for creating abaca items such as
sacks, rope, and more. Commodity.
12. Fish and Goatmeat. Foodstuffs. Necessity.
13. Alcohol. Of all types, from pangasi rice wine to intus
sugarcane juice. Sold in jars. Necessity.
14. Clay Pots. Locally made, gets the job done. Commodity.
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15. Kasuba. A kind of saffron. Dyestuff. Commodity.
16. Bihag. War debtors or captives, either by debt or by
raid. Priced high, treated like bahandi heirloom wealth.
Necessity.
17. Wood. Commodity. Logs of wood, usually, or planks.
Kamagong, hardwood, is a necessity. Mangkono, iron wood,
is a rarity.
18. Musang. Civet cats, bought and sold both domestically
and internationally. Necessity among the isles. Rarity to
foreigners.
19. Wax. Found usually in forests. Commodity.
20. Pearls. From the sea. Large ones are useful for foreign
trade, as it is valuable to other states. Rarity. Bahandi to
foreigners. Smaller pearls are less valued, usually seen as
commodity, as they are easy enough to acquire.
HUKUM, OR LAW
The Hukum, a term for Law or Judge found across the entire
archipelago, is the term applied for judicial matters.
When someone performs a crime, the Datu takes upon the mantle
of the Hukum, serving both as judge and as the Law. Despite this,
it is not as arbitrary as it seems: social mores and unwritten-yet-
sung traditions already foretell and speak the laws of the Tawo into
existence. Taboos and social norms are ingrained upon every child
as they are born into this world. There is the assumption, of course,
that one does not need to be taught to be moral. That this virtue is
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ingrained into our very souls, a priviliege for being able to live
together with nature.
As the Hukum, the Datu presides ove civil cases and criminal
cases, sometimes referring to the judgment and counsel of those
trained and experts in law and custom--those that study the
Hukum. If results were inconclusive, it is not rare for the Datu to
demand a trial by ordeal, such as retrievnig an object barehanded
from a boiling pot, or staying underwater longest.
The following are considered crimes in The Sword Isles societies:
theft, defamation, murder, witchcraft (although, in the time of the
Skysea War, witchcraft is being viewed as a weapon), offense to the
Datu’s authority, and malicious vandalism (such as poisoning
livestock).
Due to the strict social class system of The Sword Isles, penalties
were fine set in accord with the litigants’ standing: crimes against
upper-class persons were fined more heavily.
If a slave killed a Datu, the slave would be killed outright.
Many crimes were to be paid by heiroom wealth. If not heirloom
wealth, then service by debt. Many people become debtors due to
the crimes they commit. Other times, a part of them was cut off,
for good measure.
LIFE IN THE SETTLEMENTS

I have been using settlements to refer to the towns, villages,
neighborhoods, and cities of The Sword Isles. This is because they
are called a variety of things in The Sword Isles: in the Rajahnate it
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is usually termed haop, as per following and already stated, but in
the Lakanate it is bayan.
Settlements are neighborhoods of around 30 or more households,
each one usually pledging allegiance to a Datu. Settlements can
band together and work together, fusing to become larger
settlements. Larger settlements are known to have more than one
Datu governing them.
HYGIENE, MAKEUP, AND AESTHETICS

Mornings begin at the first light of dawn, when the wind is chilly
and the sun has not risen up fully just yet. They then bathe, usually
in rivers, using oils and other herbal extracts to shampoo hair and
apply fragrances upon their body. Hygiene is an integral part of The
Sword Isles life: men and women both pluck their eyebrows to thin
crescents, Lakanate and Sultanate men grow their moustaches and
beards out while Confederation and Rajahnate men trim them or
clip them off with clam shaped tweezers.
Bodies are scrubbed with pumiec and other fragrant flowers,
especially among nobles, who wish to have good body odors. They
clean their ears out with feathers and swabs and brush their teeth
with a toothbrush made of vegetable husk, to polish and keep teeth
clean.
This does not make their teeth white, however: white is for the
foreigners, who are like animals. Only animals have white teeth.
The tawo of The Sword Isles pride themselves on stained teeth,
reddened or blackened, and sometimes completely pitch or
crimson. Some tawo even file their teeth to points.
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Both women and men applied makeup: from tana eyebrow paint,
pupol face powder, red kamuntigi nail polish, and yellow barak root
to rub on the body as a skin lotion.
Some children are also given skull molding, which is done
through contraptions that flattened the front of the skull, letting
the front of the skull grow backwards instead of forwards. The
Sword Isles beauty standards hold crescent moon-like skulls, called
tinangad, to the peak of beauty, alongside broad faces and flat
noses. This practice is more popular among the Rajahnate and
Confederation settlements than the Lakanate and Rajahnate.
JEWELRY
Jewelry is an important part of The Sword Isles culture: even
debtors would have bangles or anklets of gold. Some jewelry would
have carnelian adornments, or pearl, or sometimes even diamonds
and rubies. The most important jewelry is of course the gold
accessories, which range from diadems to bangles to waist cords to
sashes made of pure gold to rings to arm bands to thigh bands to
belts to anklets to ear ornaments to ear piercings and even to
golden pegs upon the teeth.
Decorative dentistry is another important component of jewelry:
those that can afford it would fill the gaps between their teeth with
gold, and others would peg their teeth with gold stubs, making it
so that whenever they grinned or smiled their mouth would shine
like the sun, akin to the epic heroes of their tales.
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TATTOOING
Tattoos are called batuk or patik, and mostly only some
settlements in the Rajahnate and the Confederation used them.
Professional tattoo artists are called Mambabatuk and those
tattooed are called binatakan. The first tattoo is usually given as a
coming of age deal, with a person’s first conquest in war or love:
either by killing another or by having sex. Tattoos are then only
given to those that continue to conquer, each new tattoo a burning
marking of his valor. They are given piecemeal, but each one would
eventually connect with other tattoos to create an intricate
painting with the body as a canvas. The most valiant of them, which
constituted a sort of warrior elite, will have tattoos up to the
eyelids, giving them a demonic look and no doubt affect their
enemies psychologically.
WORKING THE FIELD

During the early hours of morning, if it is planting or harvesting
season, they work the fields. Not only do the peasant work the
fields, but so do also the rest of the people, especially if they must
work the fields of the Datu. Even nobles, Kadungganan, and
freemen must pitch in, as a form of tribute to the Datu at some
point during the planting or harvesting season.
Most farming is done upon swiddens, using a traditional kaingin
system of slash-and-burn farming. This constituted rice farming for
some islands that had the conditions for it. The most common crop
was the root crop, such as taro and yams. Rice, while favored, was
not always in supply, and was much less available year round. In
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worse harvesting days, even nobility resorted to eating root crops
instead of rice.
Farming is stopped immediately in the sight of bad omens, such
as termite mounds and squeaking snails.
Millet is also of great importance, and in some islands is the main
crop, with rice not being grown at all.
In addition to root crops and rice and millet, bananas and sago (a
kind of starchy palm flour) were also planted in swiddens.
Planting and harvesting season is not the same across the islands
of The Sword Isles, due to varying exposure to monsoon winds.
Time was measured through harvests: a year is defined as the time
between one harvest and the next. Age therefore is measured
through how many harvests a person has lived through.
SMITHING
Smithing is a very valued skill, and one that even datu practice
due to its prestige. Being a smith, which is called a panday, does
not only mean you can create weapons and armor. Smiths can craft
all sorts of things, from gold (Panday-sa-bulawan) to iron (Panday-
sa-puthaw).
Smithing is expensive since it would mean you would have the
materials needed to craft weapons and items. It is considered the
noblest trade, as usually only the wealthiest datu could even afford
the raw material. Iron and such were usually not mined, but rather,
stolen from raids against other polities, whether it be from within
the Archipelago or from foreign influences. Regular raids to Baik
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Hu to gain iron to melt and use for smithing is a very common
raiding impetus.
A smith’s shed is called gusali. This is usually an open house
beside their actual house. Here they would have their forge, made
of hollowed out small tree trunks, with pistons ringed with chicken
feathers set so as to collapse on the return stroke. They were
alternately raised and lowered by the blacksmith’s apprentice,
knwon as masaop, to produce a steady draft. Both cylinders had a
bamboo outlet near the bottom which led to a common stone
receptacle known as a lilong, which concetrated the draft into a
charcoal fire. The anvil was a piece of iron set in a heavy wooden
block, and the smiths’ tools were: palo (two-handed stone maul), a
palo-palo (stone hammer), kipit (pair of tongs), and an assortment
of bolos for cutting the red-hot metal.
The most important tool manufactured, repaired, or retempered
by the blacksmith was teh bolo. Dohong/Dayopak was the ordinary
one, while tuwad was a larger, heavier one for woodcutting. Bako
for weeding or cultivating, pisaw was one with a short blade and
long handle to be pressed under the arm or against the ground with
the foot to leave both hands free for stripping rattan.
Additional tools used by the smith are the abluwang (drill), barit
(a rough piece of iron for whetting tools or striking with flint for
fire), binkong (curved adze), bisong (knife for preparing betel nut),
dallag (straight adze), garol (spurs for fighting cocks), kalob (spoon
bit), sabit (billhook), salat (sickle), sipol (paring knife), tigib
(chisel), tirlos (lancet for bleeding), ulok (dentist’s awl).
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WOODWORKING
Carpenters cut their own timber. They had lore for when to cut:
different species are felled during the different turns of the moon,
some are more solid on the eastern side, and “male” trees are always
stronger than the “females” of a species. Trees are felled with ax and
bolo, split down the middle with edges, and then each half is adzed
into a single plank, squared with the same tool. All carpentry and
house construction are done with skillful joinery without saws or
nails. This has lead to beautiful geometrical pegs and shapes made
to fit entire boats and houses, usually only held together by the
ingenuity of the joinery design or by thick abaca rope.
Plates, bowls, spoons, and ladles, urns called bohon, coffins, and
chests of all sizes are hewn from single blocks of wood, and often
decorated with fine carvings. Rough leaves of the hagopit tree or
biri palm are used as sandpaper, and ray fish tails or dahonan hides
are used to smooth even the hardest of woods.
GOLDWORKING
Most The Sword Isles settlements and polities almost always have
gold upon almost every person. Most gold was mined by placer
mining: gold panning in streams or riverbeds. These placers are
called dulangan, dulang being the wooden pan used. Pamiling,
sifting, was the activity.
Gold is bulawan, fine gold is himulawan. They had touchstones
known as sanitran to test its quality, but most people could
estimate content on sight. Some men would carry around little
scales and weights in special pouches to make spot purchases.
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A panday-sa-bulawan take advantage of gold’s supremely
workable material. Lumps are carved, modeled, and hammered to
shape, beat out into onionskin sheets, to be cut with shears into
silhouettes, wrapped into beads, or drawn into thin wires to be used
in filgree work or woven into thick ropes. They soldered tiny
granules together, several hundred in a square centimeter.
None have surpassed The Sword Isles smiths in this manner.
The Sword Isles gold is integral to this goldworking progress.
WEAVING
Weavers were usually those considered women. It is usually done
through the use of backstrap looms. The warp threads were not
placed in a permanent framework but rather, in one continuous
loop around a loom bar held in the weaver’s lap by a strap behind
her back, and another one suspended from a house beam or tree
branch.
Weaving is a normal part of housekeeping, and weavers supplied
clothing. In the epic literature even in the Philippines, this is the
pastime of even royal ladies. Heroes departing on ventures are
ritually clothed with magical raiments and garments by their
mothers and sisters.
Cotton and abaca are both exports here. Baik Hu called Ba-e
abaca yu-da, or jute, in the thirteenth century. Wives of
householding oripun are required to spin cotton, supplied to them
by their masters. Paid workers are employed as domestic weavers.
Tying fibers together with fine knots to produce threads is the
first task taught to young girls. Cotton is a standard part of
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blankets. Cloth straight from the loom--whether they be cotton or
abaca--are soaked in lime, sometimes dyed, and then cudgeled to
soften. Dyestuffs are red sibukaw, intensified by nino wood, indigo
tagum, yellow ginger root known as dulaw, kasuba a kind of saffron,
and an impermanent black dye known as tina. Dyed thread is used
to insert colored stripes in plain cloth, including imported silk and
sometimes even threads of gold.
The most elexant textile, considered to be a monopoly among
those of Gatusan and Apumbukid, is pinayusan. It is woven of abaca
fibers hand-selected for both their whiteness and hair-thin
structure. It is then tie-dyed by binding little pinches of cloth,
leaving a fine flowered pattern in natural color on a field of deep
red. It can be made to make pudong as thin as gauze.
POTTERY
A potter’s craft is known as dihoon. They do not employ the
potter’s wheel but rather, the paddle-and-anvil technique.
The common cooking pot is daba/koron. Wide-mouthed jars are
bogoy, and flat pans for cooking are balanga. Banga water jars are
shaped like porcelain jars. Dinner plates are Baikhan porcelain,
however: pingan lasa are large ones, lampay are small ones, and
siwit are little ones like sauce dishes.
Baikhan jars are known as ang-ang, those used for pangasi alcohol
are gining. Linoping are big ones with ears for handles, so called
because they look like men tattooed all over. Hinalasan are dragon
jars, so called because of the serpent done in high relief on their
sides. Tinampilak are large black jars, tuytuy are small black ones.
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Kabo are blue and white jarlets, often used for tea and carrying
waters.
SEASONS OF THE SWORD ISLES

In most islands, the agricultural season began when the
Constellation of Boiling Lights appeared in the night sky. Swiddens
are prepared during this time, and then two moons later--when the
Boiling Lights are directly overhead--they would plant seeds. Those
in the south waited for the Constellation of the Ballista before
planting seeds, and those in the north area waited until the
Constellation of the Coconut Palm. This is because of, as already
stated, because of the differing monsoon winds that strike different
parts of the archipelago at different times.
The seasonal rotation of The Sword Isles depended on the
flowering of certain trees. There are four in all: Katparasan,
Kattaloto, Katlawaan, and Katkisiw, which constituted the
mercurial harvesting cycle. Each season lasted for 2-3 moons each.
Each of them pertained to the particular blossoming of trees:
Katlawaan is when the lawaan trees blossomed, for example. This
would also signal planting season. Most planting seasons in the
island are during the season of Katlawaan, while those on the
northern and southern extremities begin in Kattaloto and Katkisiw,
respectively. At the final season, the harvesting season—the end of
Katparasan for most islands, end of Katkisw for the northern
islands, and the end of Katlawaan for southern islands—they end a
harvesting year, and move into the next year. The first season is
then used as a resting period.
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SAILING
Water is the lifeblood of The Sword Isles. From the rivers that
wind up to the upland societies, and down to the seas that spread
its arms in both a beautiful and terrifying embrace. When in The
Sword Isles, look for no roads or trade paths: it is the water that
provides movement. This is why there is no need for wheeled
carriages during this time: the ships that shipbuilders create are
more than capable of bringing anything they wish to any part of the
island, from coconuts to elephants.
Sailors in the islands of The Sword Isles are almost never out of
sight from land, and thus they rely on landmarks and piloting
instead of celestial observations. The waters between islands are a
means to connect, and not separate, the differing polities and
societies of The Sword Isles.
Shipbuilders are known to be usually very rich, and datu are
known to be shipbuilders as well. A wide variety of ships sail across
The Sword Isles waters: from the single canoe baroto, to the large
merchant biroko, to the outrigger warships of biray and karakoa.
Among the Lakanate the trading galyon ship, stolen from the Pale
Kings, has already arisen to dominance and has led to further trade
among the region.
Most ilawod settlements are almost never built out of reach of salt
water. Men and women that paddled would carve out their own
paddles, and were as personal to them as their weapons.
A few examples of boats...
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1. Balutu. Made usually out of a single log. Dugout
canoe. Might or might not have outriggers.
2. Biroko. A kind of boat with high sides, large sails
and no outriggers. Used for cargo.
3. Biray. A large outrigger ship with multiple
washboards for carrying even more cargo (which,
remember, includes debtors). Will usually have painted
and colorful prows.
4. Karakoa. Similar to the Biray, but larger and can
carry up to forty warriors on each side. It had large
outriggers whereupon rowers would sit upon. Its prow was
decorated and intricately painted, and would have tall
staffs of brilliant plumage (sombol on the prow, tongol on
the stern). Lantaka, swivel guns, were commonly placed on
its sides to attack. It also had an elevated fighting deck
amidship.
5. Daya. Flat open ships, similar in shape and
appearance to Chinese sampan.
6. Galyon. Stolen design from the Pale Kings. Slow
but can carry lots of cargo. Reminiscent of Spanish
galleons.
WINDS OF THE SWORD ISLES

The Amihan is the wind that blows from the Northeast, bringing
with it warm winds and constant rains. Ships from Baik Hu,
Naksuwarga, and Malirawat use this wind to travel to the isles, and
it also facilitates domestic trade among The Sword Isles.
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The Timog trade wind is a wind that circulates throughout the
archipelago during the tail end of the Habagat, around three moons
before Habagat ends. Using this wind, trading and raiding is
facilitated, and is an important aspect of interisland travel. It is the
third major wind in the archipelago.
Between the Habagat and Amihan winds, there are two other
winds that blow: Kanay the South Chill Wind, and Iphag the
Northern Wind after that. The Iphag Wind is known to have been
the wind coming from caverns deep in the earth, seemingly from
the World Below, bringing with it haunting wailing gales and warm
winds.
FOOD
Most food is made in iron stoves and pots, wherein they boil
chicken, fish, octopus, squid, pig, deer meat, goat meat, and more
foodstuffs that could be eaten. Fishermen and Hunters bring back
their catch with them at the end of the day, and freshly caught
catch is almost always cooked and eaten immediately.
HUNTING
Hunters use hunting dogs to hunt down wild boar and deer, and
chase them into balatik traps: bamboo balistas that could skewer
entire human bodies. Using these strategies they capture large
games easily. Fishermen use traps at the mouths of rivers, as well
as cast wide nets while out in the sea to catch fish and other game.
For fish in streams, they would harpoon it, and for larger fish such
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as whale sharks, they would hunt it down and bleed it out with
serrated harpoons.
ALCOHOL AND DRINKING

Alcohol is almost never drunk alone, except for those alcoholics.
Alcohol is stored in large porcelain jars, as is water, which preserves
a certain amount of chill. Alcohol in porcelain jars would ferment
and then be drunk straight through reed straws. Imagine a single
large porcelain jar, with multiple reed straws poking out of it. These
straws would be drunk communally between friends, although they
usually never shared straws.
Pangasi is rice wine stored in these jars. Kabarawaan is a kind of
wood mixed with honey and drunk in a shared porcelain jar. Intus
is sugarcane juice. Tuba is made from the sap of wild trees. Alak is
anything made with a still and drunk in small jarlets.
Drinking is an important social norm in The Sword Isles.
Drinking is usually done outside of the house, with a group of
friends, and anyone is welcome to join. It begins with the agda,
which is a sort of ceremony to persuade a person or the diwata to
take the first drink, before beginning the drinking.
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THE BALAY, OR HOUSE
The balay is the term for all the kinds of houses in The Sword
Isles. The most common type of balay, the permament settlement,
is a kind of cottage built upon thick hardwood pillars (in the case
of the balay of Datu, sometimes maed of stone or ironwood). These
square houses are then given an attic, which is where most of the
sleeping quarters can be found. The underside of the house is tall
enough to be used as either a storage (usually for weapons or
personal boats) or for livestock, in which case they would be fenced.
It should be noted that balay are almost never bare (save for
balay-balay): keys and beams are carved with stories of animals,
with sarimanok and crocodile, with large petaled flowers and
blossoms. Flowers, foliage, and gold are abundant and were used as
decorations upon a house. To the locals, these are normal. But
foreign merchants have described the balay in the Sword Isles as
“gold houses” or “flower houses”.
There are three kinds of balay: the permanent wooden structures
that could be considered as town houses, usually housing the datu
and the kedatuan, cottages made of light materials near fields and
hunting ranges which are inhabited by most of the ordinary people,
and tree houses which are important installments during times of
war.
A fourth kind of balay, known as the balay-balay, is a sort of
temporary hut structure that function as temporary shelters for
hunters, farmers, and travelers.
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TOWN HOUSES
These town houses were built upon hardwood or stone pillars,
five to ten on a side, and planted deep into the ground with
something valuable buried under the first one. The hardwood is so
sturdy and incorruptible that it can withstand two to three
generations of decay and storm.
The floors of town houses are split into two sections by a squared
beam running lengthewise down the balay. The higher portion is
made of bamboo, rattan, or cane strips lashed together on top of a
wood grill. Liquids run down the grill, and is noisy, so respectful
members of the house must stay away from that portion of the floor
especially while the datu is sleeping.
The roofs of the town houses are made of bamboo or palm leaf
shingles lashed to heavy rattan strips, rising to a ridge pole or up to
three in larger town houses. On the attic area is where the datu
might sleep.
Townhouses always have wooden ladders that lead up to the door
and might include one or many or all of the following (1d6):
1. Verandas for laundering (batalan).
2. Living spaces alongside the house (saramde).
3. A split bamboo ladder for house dogs (salugsog).
4. A decorated facade (pamulong).
5. A small room for servant (sibay).
6. A door or window large enough to pass through
(pasngawan).
A ruling datu has the largest house in the community, sometimes
30 meters long. As a town house, it not only served as their
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dwelling, workplace and storehouse, but also a community center
for civic and religious affairs, with a public lounging platform down
the front. Wooden partitions carved with high foliage creatated
separate chambers for the datu and their family.
To construct a town house large enough to entertain an entire
community was a form of competition itself.
Houses of Royalty or Nobility are constructed similarly, although
not as long or as large as a Datu’s.
Lakanate houses are known for their balay-na-bato structure,
which replaces the posts and pillars of the town house with a stone
basement instead, lifting the living room to the second floor.
COTTAGES
Non-datu and kedatuan live in smaller cottages built of larger
materials, ready to be moved every few years due to shifting
swiddens. They did not stand on thick hardwood pillars and instead
had unsquared poles. These cottages can be put up almost
anywhere, and travelers, farmers, seamen, hunters, and fishers all
construct so many so that they could rest within them. Well
traveled roads and river fords are choked by them due to this.
TREE HOUSES
Tree houses are built during times of war, upon trees or tall posts,
fiften meters from the ground. They are reachable as defensible
positions, and can contain entire families. Vines and ladders are
used to climb up it, and warriors can attack invaders from that
vantage point. These are called ilihan.
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FAITHS OF THE SWORD ISLES
In The Sword Isles, the term for religion is Tuong. When speaking
about a particular religion, they would append the name after it,
such as Sampalataya for the Religion of Makagagahum, Anito for
the religion of the Lakanate, Hiyang for the Confederation and
Iman for the Moon Faith of the Sultanate.
The differing faiths of The Sword Isles have led to a rise in even
more war in the current Skysea War. Due to the inherent belief in
Sampalataya that the Thousand Year Kingdom of Makagagahum
arrives soon, they have begun to strive to conquer all of The Sword
Isles to bring them under the Kingdom of Heaven, so that true
peace can be achieved.
The followers of the Iman, the Moon faith, are just as, if not more,
zealous in protecting their beliefs and cultures from the invading
force of those from the Sampalataya. Thus they fight to keep
themselves free, as well as to keep the islands free from a single
hegemonic power.
The followers of the Hiyang are forced to fight against all those
that would endanger the balance between man and nature, and
wuold inflict disharmony upon all.
IDOLS AND SPIRIT HOUSES

Idols are called taotao or likha in the setting. Taotao because they
usually resemble people. Likha because they are usually created or
creations of people. The taotao are usually made out of stone, clay,
wood, or gold. They depict the various diwata and umalagad,
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Langitnon and Suladnon, that are present throughout all of nature
and live within every single thing.
Larger settlements perfume and paint their taotao. Those
brahmin of the Annuvaran brought with them ancient golden
statues of Annu, the Tranquil Sage. There are also the different
bronze and jade statues of the Tuong-Ashinin, which embody their
six-armed gods, three-headed demons, and sky-skinned deities.
The faiths of The Sword Isles accept all of these as simply the diwata
of the other nations and states.
Each household has a taotao to their umalagad, or their ancestor
spirit that also acts as their guardian spirit. This is prayed to when
leaving or entering into a house.
Oustide of households, there are spirit houses called lantangan,
found usually among riverbanks or before trees, or in the midst of
settlements. These lantangan usually hold a single taotao within
them, housed in a wall-less house similar to the houses of the tawo.
Offerings of unsalted food, herbs, and rice are then laid in front of
them. Larger lantangan that is made for communal worship and
offering is called a magdantang, and is usually large enough to have
multiple taotao, representing multiple spirits and gods, to reside
within them.
Other taotao can be small enough to be carried on a person, as a
sort of talisman.
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THE DAGHAN: NATURE GODS, ANCESTOR SPIRITS,
AND GUARDIAN SPIRITS
There are three primary kinds of spirits as eschewed by most of
the faiths of The Sword Isles. They live in concert with each other
and are not mutually exclusive. Altogether, spirits are known as the
Daghan, the Multitude.
Nature Gods are called diwata by the people of the Confederation,
the Sultanate and the Rajahnate. Those in the Lakanate call them
dyus. They are the souls of all things, from the sword to the tree,
from the stars to the sea. Nature Gods that can be found in the earth
are Yutanon, those in the sea are Dagatnon, those in the skies are
Langitnon, and those in the underworld are Suladnon. The most
powerful Diwata are either Langitnon or Suladnon. The Lakanate
calls them Pintakasi, Patron Saint Intercessors. Those in the
Warring Sultanates believe the most powerful of the spirits, right
below the Moon Goddess herself, are the Malak, heavenly beings of
Baginda Sumongsuklay’s rays.
Ancestor spirits are called umalagad in almost every vocabulary,
but they are called nuno in Ba-e and Virbanwa, the most powerful
of which are saints known as Gahumnon. They are the object of
most veneration, even more so than the nature gods, for appeasing
them can dictate the wheel of fate and the temper of nature going
forward for their dsecedants. They also bestow blessings, good
fortune, and more benefices, as well as ill omens and malefices if
they are not appeased.
Umalagad also function as guardian spirits. These are spirits that
have attached themselves onto a single person or place or object,
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and have devoted their essence and beign to protecting and
watching over said person or item, often imbuing it with strange
powers and likenesses. Anito rituals are also performed for
umalagad more so than the diwata.
Nature Gods are strictly non-human beings, arising from nature
itself. Thus Ancestor Spirits can never be nature gods. However,
they are all worshippped as gods all the same.
OFFERING AND WORSHIP

Anito is a term that can be found across the isles, meaning ritual
worship, sacrifice, or offering. The act of ritual worship therefore is
called paganito. These are carried out by priests and priestesses,
usually singing and dancing to let a spirit take over them, whether
it be nature god or ancestor spirit. And through this mediumship
they may speak with the spirits, both as the spirit’s vessel and also
as the interrogator.
Paganito does not only entail spirit possession, but can also
encompass a huge number of communal rituals, such as the killing
of a sacrifice to offer as an appeasement to the spirits, and much
more.
KAHIYANGAN
All spirits have two states of being: kahiyangan, which means
“state of agreeableness or harmony,” and hindi hiyang, which
means a “state of disharmony, of disagreeableness, of allergy.”
Kahiyangan is characterized by a state of tranquility and
peacefulness. The entity would be in essence peaceful, at one with
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their chosen state of being. Like the calm wind on a cold morning,
as all things should be.
Hindi Hiyang is characterized by a state of disharmony, wildness,
chaos, and belligerence. There is something causing the spirit to be
violent, to lash out at what’s causing them ill, whatever it may be.
This is like a harsh howling wind when one wakes up in the middle
of a storm. A spirit, whether they be guardian, nature god, or
ancestor spirit, if left for too long in this state, will gestate into
yawa.
To appease these gods and spirits, certain rites and passages must
be performed, to give fealty and offerings to these gods. The
Paghiyang, which the Confederation are known to perform, is the
ritual of turning Hindi Hiyang back into Kahiyangan.
YAWA AND BUSAW

A diwata that is not appeased with Paghiyang, or left to fester in
their Hindi Hiyang state, are wont to turn into Yawa. While Yawa
can emerge on their own wholesale from atrocities and acts of grave
unnaturality, more powerful yawa come from diwata left to their
state of disharmony.
We must all live in concert with the spirits.
Busaw are a different kind of demon altogether: they are wont to
live within tawo societies, with the ability to disguise themselves as
humans, but they are known to in truth be fiendish ogres that hunt
down vulnerable men and women to satiate their need for flesh.
This, however, is Iman and Sampalataya prejudice. In truth, good
busaw can exist among evil busaw. They are, however, inherently
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non-human, and truly are demons that live in deep jungle
settlements.
Busaw are known to be large and have more than one set of arms.
They generally wear similar clothing to tawo, but their heads and
faces are like tusked tigers.
COSMOLOGY AND THE AFTERLIFE

The faiths of The Sword Isles generally share similar cosmological
beliefs, and that has formed much of the culture. The basic belief is
that the world is tripartite, as almost all things are. On top is the
Overworld, at the bottom is the Underworld, and in the middle is
the Midworld.
THE OVERWORLD
Kaluwalhatian in Anito and Hiyang, Langit in Sampalataya, and
Surgu in Iman. This is generally the abode of angels, heavenly
beings, the sun, the moon, the stars, and in Langit and Surgu, the
highest of its layers is the throne of god, whether it be
Makagagahum or Baginda Sumongsuklay. The general belief is that
the sky is composed of seven layers, and the blue sky we see
everyday is the seventh and lowest layer.
As one moves higher, one will find jars filled with souls of those
worthy to be in the sky as well as those as of yet to be born. Here
live angels and other heavenly beings, as well as powerful priests
and priestesses conversing with the spirits of the sky.
Even further up, one finds gates that bar the path between layers,
guarded by eagle gods known as Garuda, who are headed by Galura,
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the Bringer of Storms. None has been able to travel to the upper
three layers of the Skyworld just yet. However, the Sun and Moon
can both be found on the fifth layer of the heavens.
THE MIDWORLD
The land where man lives, known across the isles as Kalibutan.
This not only includes land and earth, but also the rivers and the
seas used to connect the land together. Kalibutan is composed of
three layers: the layer of air (Kahanginan), the layer of land
(Kalupaan), and the layer of sea (Kalaotan). Man is made to live in
Kalupaan, and there are other creatures that live in the Kahanginan
and Kalaotan.
THE AFTERWORLD
Sulad in Anito and Hiyang. Kalaliman in Sampalataya. Narka in
Iman. The Afterworld is composed of 7 different layers as well, and
the caverns of the world are the seventh and highest layer. Deeper
within are the rivers that lead to the layers of the dead, where those
that are not worthy of moving into the Sky (usually because thay
did not die in battle, or did not have enough wealth as judged by
Underworld gods, or committed taboos in the past) live and work
and rest, in the cold burrows of earthen villages. They do everything
they did as in life, except bear children. They live for seven lifetimes
until they are buried in a rice-grain sized coffin.
Deeper still one can find gates guarded by giants and ogres,
barring entry. There is a layer for torture and punishment, as
atonement for the sins accrued upon the Midworld. There is a layer
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where the river washes away the memories of a person, so that their
soul can then be placed into porcelain jars that become new people
in the Midworld.
Iraon-Daron, the diwata of saving lost souls, is known to venture
deep into the layers of the Afterworld to save those that deserve a
better afterlife.
One of the layers holds the earth pillars of the Midworld. They are
held up by four earth giants. When the earth giants are angered or
threatened, Midworld quakes.
At the bottom is the throne of the two gods of hell. None know
anything about them.
ANITO
The most prevalent religion amongst the isles, so embedded it is
into daily life that it is hardly considered a religion, and thought of
more as a way of life. Anito translates to worship.
Anito is the faith in the inherent divinity of nature. It ascribes that
nature is the true law, and that upon the weaves of nature all life
arises. This belief in nature encompasses the fact that diwata,
nature spirit-gods, live within every single thing, and embody them
as well. As a tawo would have a kalag, or a soul, so would a tree
have a diwata. If a person was removed of their kalag, they would
become an unfeeling husk of their former self, not truly them. So
too would a tree be, if their diwata would be removed. A tree that
is not truly a tree.
Diwata are ubiquitous creatures, permeating and living upon the
air, the leaves, the shadows and the trees. They believe that the
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most powerful diwata live in the Sky and in the Underworld. Those
that live in the sky, living within broad concepts and celestial
objects, are known as the Langitnon. Similarly, those that live
within concepts of the afterlife and subterranean objects are known
as the Suladnon. Those that live in the earth, the most numerous
of them, are the Yutanon, and those in the sea are Dagatnon.
Umalagad are the main target of adoration, even more so than the
Diwata. Umalagad are ancestors turned into gods and worshipped.
They become Paganitohan.
All creatures worth worship are known as the paganitohan. Thus
the collective name for anything worshipped, whether they be a
diwata holy power or an umalagad ancestor god, is paganitohan.
Priests and priestesses of the Anito are called balyan. Wise men
that provide counsel are known as parawali. A single settlement
always has more than three balyan, sometimes even competing
with each other. The head balyan of a settlement is called a
Katuuran.
Some of principal paganitohan are:
1. Indira Suga, the Sun Matriarch, who lives in the Sun. First of
her name, goddess of war and conquest, patron of datu and kings.
Worshipped as Indra and Dyaus Pater in other regions, considered
the wife of Hari, the Preserver God of Ramahasa. She is the wife
that brought the first mortals to earth.
2. Jamiyun Kulisa, the Thunderbolt Father, who lives in the
Clouds, Thunder, and Lightning. Splitter of the sea, he once in a
spat killed Indira Suga, his beloved sister, and thus was the region
of that cosmos ended.
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3. Maharani Gumamela, the Hibiscus Maiden of Compassion
and Love, who lives in flowers and happenings of love. Love is thy
poison, lest thy servants bestow upon thee compassion. All flowers
can never become steel, unless you first cut your pistil.
4. Mahadiwa Tala Kinabanaagan, the Bronze Multiplicitous
Sidereal Steward of Stars, who lives in the Morning Star. Mahadiwa
are the ten great wisdom goddesses that grant enlightenment to
those that seek hiyang. She is known to lead the 180 Holy Stars of
Tala, where she is the rider of the main war barge, leading 180 other
war barges and Diwata cloaked within palanquins. She is seen as
the watcher of earth, and many modern parawali see her as the
mirror image of Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun.
5. Lawana Sinigida, the Bloody Hand of Justice, who lives in the
venom forced by retribution. Sister to Kalakatri, great warrior of
revenge and vengeance. Shame to them that go not on revenge raids.
They surely shall become disenfranchised, lambasted and hated by
their ancestors, who now grovel upon blackened soil, unpure,
unclean, uncharred from the sins, they toil and they toil in the eternal
lands.
6. Dakhari Barangaw, the Rainbow Suzerain, who lives in
victory. The king of victory who has a silk jacket, bahag, gown, and
sarong made up entirely of rainbows, melting seamlessly into the
clouds. Said to be in good terms with Apung Makangayaw, and the
two treat each other like brothers.
7. Apung Makangayaw, the Bandit Monarch of Raiding, who
lives in piracy. Popular and one of the most worshipped of the
diwata, Apung Makangayaw is known as Baruna, Kadalon, and
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Suiten in other regions. He patrols the seas, and has control over
them, and can cause raids to go bad or good.
8. Apu Batara Balatik, the Arbalest Sovereign of Hunting, who
lives in the moment of a hunter’s target’s death. Rich and stoic, he
makes sure that no animals are hunted to extinction. Woe to they
that hunt these manifestations of hiyang, of bliss, of enlightement,
to extinction! Their kine and kith shall not last ever long. Cast forlorn
regrets, they are too late for the ballista has been fired.
9. Buyung Sinagmali, the First Light of Dawn, who lives in the
darkest portion of dawn, at the cusp of all beginnings. Warrior and
enemy of Si Labawanun Humadapdap.
10. Mahadiwa Rajatambal, the Lord of Remedies, who lives in
the mending of wounds and unfading scars. One of the ten
Mahadiwa, who give knowledge of healing to all traditions and
cultures.
11. Si Dapa, the Magnate of Life, who lives in legendary mountain
of Madjaas, as well as in the time of birth and deaths of all people.
Known as Sarip Apad in other regions, he is not a very well known
diwata, and really prefers to stay in his mountain.
12. Si Patpat Nagakapal, the Clay Former Monarch, who lives in
all things being created. Said to be the one to have created the
World Jaws with his wife, Malaonsina, who died after the world
was made.
13. Si Gurang Tungko, the One Who Holds the Sky Pillars, who
lives at the borders of the horizon. He wanders the earth in search
of his wife. Said to be the grandfather of Jamiyun Kulisa and Indira
Suga.
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14. Somarajah Daktul, also known as Gab’ibata, or the Child of
Night, the most worshipped deity in the cosmos, the Peerless
Shifting Lunar Overlord, who lives within the Moon, patron of
witches and asuwang.
15. Idda Mangubat, the Sovereign of War, who lives in the hearts
of warriors all. Warrior who blesses all heroes on all journeys, for
he thrives in war and war only. Was said to have been able to kill
the diwa of death itself, but was shown a world he could not bear.
16. Si Labawanun Hamadapdap, ancestor god-hero of the isles,
patron of heroes. Fought Buyung Sinagmali and collected many
wives from heaven, hell, and the various regions of the earth.
17. Si Ginarugan, slaver of souls, god of the underworld, he who
facilitates the reincarnation of the dead. All things must come to an
end.
18. Iraon Daron, the savior of souls, who delivers those that
deserve a better fate than Sulad to the tops of holy mountains,
where they rest.
19. Mahadiwa Kalakatri Duumanun. Commonly knwn as
Kaliginida, Kinaduum, and Gulongan (of the Wheel). She is the
enlightened Suladnon of Murder. Killer of men. Sister of Lawana
Sinigida, and is said to be the Scorched Manifestation of Mahadiwa
Tala Kinabanaagan. If Tala is the stars, then Kalakatri is the
darkness in between the brightness. Ever the stars spin, in a sea of
black. Pity, to the Blackened One, may she never know peace. All she
will seek and all she will find is violence. Kalakatri laughs. She spins
the wheel, forged from the skeletons of the men she has murdered.
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20. Uray Malaonsina. The Diwata of Homes and Wives. She fled
heaven after her husband, Si Nagakapal, struck her. Si Nagakapal
believes her to be dead, but she is in truth living among mortals.
21. Kadlaganpono Okot. The Lord of all Forests. While each
forest has their own diwata, Kadlaganpono Okot is the yutanon of
the concept of forests themselves. The kahoynon, the spirits of the
trees, and the banwanun, the spirits of the land, pay fealty to him,
and to him alone. Ever whistles the trees, thanks to him, as sound is
the ever-present piercer of reality, the ultimate metaphysical form.
Worshipped as Yanarani, Kinarahari, and Tattiriya.
22. Rajaraya Pintas. The Vanquishing Lord, who seized heaven.
The first Rajah, the first Raider, and the first Feaster. Rejoicer in
violence, worshipped in other lands as Vashvana, Bischumon, and
Kuvira.
The main tenet in Anito is the concept of the Hundred Thousand

Paganitohan, The Daghan. This is a concept that means that
everything has a soul, whether it be a nature god or an ancestor
spirit. Some ancestor spirits guard particular rivers or seas or
houses or trees, while other times a diwata lives within a
particularly important river or lake. Oftentimes stones or trees are
gradually weathered to look like the spirit that guards them. In this
manner, an ancient warrior’s soul becomes a stone standing by a
river mouth, which vaguely has the shape of said warrior.
Diwata are more than just spirits and gods. They are
manifestations and personifications of concepts, natures. They
both live in the thing they personify, and they are the thing they
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personify, at the same time. There are two kinds of diwata: Bound
Diwata and Unbound Diwata. Bound Diwata are usually bound
to a particular place that they personify, such as a particular tree, a
forest, a cliff face, a river, etc. Unbound Diwata travel, and can fall
inhumanly in love with humans to sire children, and can cause
good and evil upon mortals.
Anito has been influenced greatly by both the Ashinin faith. In
the ancient of days, Auraska bhikkhu arrived on the shores of The
Sword Isles to spread the word of the Ashinin during the rise of Ba-
e.
The faith of Anito does not depend on grand stone temples and
structures like those of Naksuwarga, Ramahasa, and Virbanwa. The
tenets of Anito state that nature itself is a temple enough: no
cathedral can match the grandeur of a mountain peak splitting the
clouds. No moske can match the majesty of an untouched temple
tree, growing so large that entire congregations and rituals can be
held within. No grand temple nor tower can match the brilliance of
the sun as it rises, or the moon as it crests over the horizon.
Examples of this are Mount Madyaas, the tallest mountain in the
Gatusan region, which reaches heaven, and the Four Great
Daknunuk, the Pagoda Trees wherein the four dragon guardians of
the isle sleep.
The adherents of Anito believe that when a person of particular
power, such as a datu, is killed because of an ailment, that it was
the doing of the diwata and umalagad. Thus they prepare an equal
sacrifice to the diwata--usually a large number of debtors offered
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during a feast--to appease the diwata, which have been perhaps
incensed by something the datu had done.
When someone is hanging on for dear life, a balyan coterie are
quick to perform healing paganito, powerful healing rituals that try
to return the stamina and health of a person back, usually because
of diwata stealing their life force away or some other demon
infesting their soul. If that fails, there is a resurrection paganito
performed, called the pag-uli, which is done by placing a coconut
shell on the stomach, with those of higher classes have debtors
sacrificed as well. Debtors are sacrificed violently, and this is the
way because it is believed that those of higher classes, usually datu,
were haunted by the vengeful dead of those they had vanquished.
The only way to appease them was through a similarly violent
sacrifice.
In the end if it does not work, funerals are arranged. Mourning is
a somber affair, with the bereaved family offering food and all.
Professional mourners sang dirges, eulogizing the dead. Lower
classes are buried wrapped in banana leaves, while higher classes
are placed into intricately carved hardwood coffins called longon.
These are then buried underneath the house. Secondary burial are
also a practice, exhuming the bones of the buried and then placing
them into porcelain dragon jars. Datu, however, have their own
tombs, and sometimes a guardsman would be charged to guard it
for life from robbers and asuwang, known as a dayo.
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CREATION: VIOLENCE
In the beginning of time, there was one God-King, and two God
Beings. This God-King was known as Manaul, the great eagle. The
other two God Beings were Kaptan, the God of Bedrock, and
Magwayan, God of the Waters. One day, they claimed superiority
over each other, but of course neither would acknowledge the
other’s superiority. Thus they warred, the universal arbitrator. The
two fought in whirlwinds and crashing storms. Eventually, God-
King Manaul flew to a high mountain overlooking the waters and
dropped great masses of rock upon the gods, killing them. The
masses of rock became The Sword Isles. With the end of the war,
Manaul traveled down to a clump of bamboo and struck it open,
where Si-Laki and Si-Bayi, the first man and woman, leapt out from.
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HIYANG
Hiyang can be seen as an offshoot or a branch of Anito, as it has
much of the same cosmogony and cosmology of Anito, and simply
has a greater emphasis on the principle of Hiyang and holds
importance upon material practices and ritual upon the world.
Hiyang means harmony or agreement.
The Hiyang is the faith in Hiyang--that state of perfect
equilibirum and oneness with nature. They believe that katawohan
was not meant to be treated as separate from the rest of nature, and
that they are in fact simply part of nature, and everything they do
is natural.
Conflict comes into play when there is disharmony, the breaking
of the Hiyang. When Hiyang is broken, malevolence abounds.
Therein lies sickness, war, death, ailments, and even Yawa, which
in truth do arise from human atrocities.
In matters of cosmology and cosmogony, they share many of the
same beliefs as Anito, with the added belief that the diwata and
Langitnon and Suladnon are all simply expressions of Hiyang, and
thus must be supplicated to and appeased whenever there is a
disharmony.
Those that attain a certain kind of enlightenment with the Hiyang
become known as Makinaadmanon, the Wise Ones. These
Makinaadmanon become physically one with nature, hair turned
into leaves, fingers into branches. They are sages that teach young
practitioners.
The truth of the Yawa come from them: Yawa is nature disrupted,
Hiyang destroyed. In places where Hiyang is broken, there arise
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outliers and fell creatures: undead beings, malevolent engkanto,
and the antithesis to diwata: the yawa. Writhing multicolor beings
of an inky substance, who speak in languages unknowable and have
unfathomable desires.
Hiyang is destroyed due to man’s hubris and recklessness. In their
striving for war, wealth, justice, honor, and whatever petty
squabbles they might have, they force killings upon land supposed
to be holy, massacre in front of the eyes of the diwata, and perform
other such sacrilege that forces nature to be destroyed.
The many landmarks and natural shrines revered by Hiyang are
also revered by Anito: the perfect cone volcano of Mount
Magayong, for example, wherein Magayong Masukiling resides.
The ancient Yamakuta balete tree in the island of Budugan is
another, so large that it has a natural library within, housing
thousands of palm leaf scrolls. Its roots grow and choke an ancient
brass Annu statue, which was brought there by ancient Annuvara
biksu.
The Iyam Lake in Rusunuga is still considered a holy place. There
live a society of diwata ruled over by a slumbering buwaya king.
The waters of the lake are said to have healing properties.
Another is the underground river of Kinuyo, where live beautiful
spirit maidens that hold golden silk thread that cannot be cut.
The Pannai League is assembled about one of the grand holy
mountains of The Sword Isles: the Holy Mountain of Madjaas,
where the gods live. There, they say, Sri Dapa etches upon the Tree
of Life the number of days for every mortal born. They believe in a
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whole pantheon of gods, as well as minor gods, that live within
every single thing.
They are connected by rivers and the sea, and once a harvest they
all send pilgrimages to the base of the holy mountain of Madjaas to
offer prayers and thanks. The most elder of them, usually priests
and priestesses, would also finish a pilgrimage to the Holy
Mountain of Kanlaon, found deep in the island of Haraya, a day
northeast. There, the Ancient One lives.
While there are many different ways for Hiyang to be disrupted--
usually as dictated by the diwata of that place, as they are the
expressions of Hiyang--there is a common thread among them that
Hiyang priests have collated and written upon palm leaf
manuscripts, usually known as the Rites of Accord. They are as
follows:
● Violence upon sacred ground.
● Unjust taking of too many resources without letting
nature regroew it first.
● Being too loud in sacred groves and mountains.
● Slaughter in sacred grounds.
● Filling nature with dirt and other leftover wastes.
● Not offering the first food or first shot to the diwata.
● Blaspheming the name of the ancestors and of nature.
Hiyang priests are known as Walian, ritualists and saints of the
Hiyang.
Upon the matter of temples, adherents of Hiyang believe similarly
with the adherents of Anito: that no other temple can match the
grandeur of nature itself.
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Hiyang tradition--which is all oral, as with Anito, although
teachings of sages are written down on palm leaf manuscripts--
states that building large temples for the gods is inherently
destructive, as the gods do not need that as they already live within
nature itself, their self-made temples.
Using materiel from another place and then forcing them into
shapes wholly human is anathema to the adherents of Hiyang.
In addition to spirit houses, adherents of the Hiyang put up
Pintuang-hiyang. Arched gates of bamboo and hardwood, usually
decorated with five different kinds of flowers, that serve as a gate
into the world of spirits.
When one steps into such a gate, one is in a divine place.
Pintuang-hiyang are usually placed in front of large natural altars
and shrines, such as mountains, giant trees, hallowed lakes, and
blessed rivers, which all have diwata living within them.
Once you have passed a Pintuang-hiyang, you are expected to
observe the Rites of Accord, lest they dishonor and anger the beings
that live within.
Adherents of Hiyang are also predisposed to become exorcists,
those that would fight off yawa and cleanse places of yawa
infestations. Due to their natural knowledge and observance of the
Hiyang, they become more attuned to finding out breaks and tears
in the balance, helping find out whether a yawa has caused
something bad to happen or not.
In recent times, Walian and Balyan have begun to put up
monasteries around The Sword Isles. Small settlements are usually
built around or at the base of important natural sites, such as the
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great mountains and the temple trees. These monasteries teach
natural philosophy and other fields of knowledge to young
children, helping them grow up to become monks, known as biksu
or biksuni, or to give them specialized knowledge in fields they
otherwise might not get.
CREATION: ARRIVING FROM MISTS

In the beginning of time, there was nothing but Mist. This
primordial mist was made up of pure potential, and was not air.
There were two Gods: Tungkung Langit and Alunsina. In their love,
they created the earth and the five elements spun from the
potential of the mists. And then, up on the highest space, they
created a grand one-hundred roofed palace, which they lived in and
watched over.
One day, Tungkung Langit became fed up with Alunsina’s
laziness and vanity, and struck her. In her anger, she fled.
Tungkung Langit eventually regretted this, and so man became
prone to regret. He created the great mirror in the space below in
the midworld, which became the Sea, so that he would be able to
find his love again, but he could never see Alunsina.
He would sail across the sea of clouds, but never see Alunsina
again. In his frustration, he created the earth, and the jewelry of
Alunsina became the sun, moon, and stars. Even so, Alunsina never
returned to him. When the skies thunder and rain, it is Tungkung
Langit’s regretful tears.
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SAMPALATAYA
The Ashen Star Faith. The Sampalataya espouses one major
doctrine: that all things are under Makagagahum, the Almighty,
and that Makagagahum returns soon in the body of the Prophet
Maitresiya, who brings with him Forlorn Eschatology and Rapture.
Sampalataya means faith.
Maitresiya is also a king, a Hari, who brings with him the Yukot-
Langit Kingdom. This Milennium Kingdom, which comes from the
heavens, is said to be the salvation from the final days. All those
that follow Makagagahum will be brought into this Kingdom and
then sent into the highest heavens, to live in eternity with him.
This is the main thesis of the Sampalataya. They say that after the
Yukot-Langit Kingdom has been established, Makagagahum the
Destroyer, known as Makaubos, will descend upon Yutadagat and
raze it all with a blade of light. No more valleys of tears. No more
islands of bloodshed.
Those that follow the Sampalataya believe in the Almighty,
known as Makagagahum, and his three aspects: The Creator known
as Maykapal, the Preserver, the Equalizer known as Makapatag, and
the Destroyer known as Makaubos. These three Aspects are
sometimes revered on their own right, and cults have grown
around them. Death cults and murder cults sprout from worship of
Makaubos, while many panday see Maykapal as a patron god of
sorts.
Sampalataya is an amalgamation and successful syncretism of the
native faith system, which was similar to Anito, and with the
Issohappan religion that worshipped the Umnipot, the Almighty
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God. It is worth noting that those that lived in the settlements
before the Lakanate already believed in a supreme god, whom they
called Makagagahum.
However, when the Issohappan faith arrived, they were forced to
accept the faith, which was then used to cow the many warriors and
turn them into sheep. After the Revolution, the Umnipotism
stayed, but was then quickly syncretized with local religion and
faith and belief, thus creating Sampalataya.
From Umnipotism, Sampalataya evolved intricate worship
rituals, created devotees, a priesthood was born, and stone
cathedrals with the images of the Three Aspects of Makagagahum
were erected. Devotees would spend the seventh day of each
quarter-moon in the cathedrals, called simbahan, wherein they
performed rituals and engaged in worship.
Sampalataya uses a holy book known simply as the Usangaklat,
otherwise known as the One Book. From the Usangaklat, which is
inherited from the Issohappan religion, there is a cosmogony and
cosmology.
It teaches how Makagagahum was everpresent, and was the prime
substance. Out of loneliness and love, he split into three powerful
spiritual beings that eventually became his three aspects, and how
it ended with him having to fight his three aspects to consume
them once again, to become whole. He left the world then, and was
only to return when the time is correct, so that the Maitresiya can
usher in the Kingdom of Peace.
The Mahapari is equal to the pope, and is the prime counselor of
the Batara Lakan, the divinely appointed Lakan of the Lakanate,
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descended from a holy bloodline said to have come from the first
man that stepped out of the bamboo.
The Tuong-Gahum’s Commandments are two, and are ubiquitous
and subject to much philosophical discourse: Love others as you
love yourself and Love the Almighty more than yourself. This has
given a rise to a particularly zealous brand of Kadungganan that
would gladly die for their nation and their god.
Worship of Makagagahum is not facilitated through simple
prayer, for Makagagahum is so far away from tawo that they would
not deem to listen. Instead, for prayers to be heeded by the
Almighty, one needs to speak and pray and offer to the one of many
Pintakasi, saint intercessors of Makagagahum. They constitute a
pantheon of 13, embodying major aspects of Lakanate life. When
prayers are given to these Pintakasi, they benefit from the offering
and then deliver the beseechments to Makagagahum on high, who
will then decide whether or not to grant it.
Lakanate Priests are known as pari, and they focus on speaking
and facilitating rituals to Makagagahum and the Pintakasi, as well
as conducting weekly masses, a liturgical Service Divine for the
Almighty. Due to this, balyan still exist alongside pari to facilitate
rituals for the diwata. Bishops are known as Sonat, and they
primarily exist to train more pari in districts.
Below is the list of 12 major Pintakasi that one can offer to.
1. Ahom Kalake. The Pintakasi of the Sun, patron of warriors.
2. Bwan Kabayi. The Pintakasi of the Moon, patron of
revolutionaries.
3. Gattalim. The Pintakasi of Blades, patron of panday.
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4. Hiyas Ilsabat. The Pintakasi of Rarity and Beauty, patron of
jewelers.
5. Dayang Gilunas. The Pintakasi of Healing, patron of
healers.
6. Puwang-Puwang. The Pintakasi of Space and Time, patron
of travelers.
7. Gatmakasampu. The Pintakasi of Fertility and Harvests,
patron of farmers.
8. Munatilyo. The Pintakasi of Civilization, patron of
counselors.
9. Diyan Masalanta. The Pintakasi of Lovers and Childbirth,
patron of mothers.
10. Kabli. The Pintakasi of the Bow and Harpoon, patron of
hunters.
11. Hayik. The Pintakasi of the Sea, patron of seamen.
12. Linggabakod. The phallic Pintakasi of Borders, patron of
cities.
Sampalataya is often considered one of the most important
aspects of Lakanate life. Each Lakanate village is built around a
cathedral or chapel, to the side of which would stand the Datu’s
longhouse. Due to this importance, priests also have a larger pull of
influence when it comes to politics.
CREATION: FORMING FROM BAMBOO

In the beginning of time, when there was no earth, Makagagahum
cried. His tears became the fresh water, and upon the freshwater
he laid the corpse of Ulila, the orphaned serpent god. This body
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became the earth. Before the earth was a vast expanse of sky and
sea.
Upon the fresh water, Makagagahum plucked out a piece of
floating bamboo from the waters. When he placed it by the banks
of the freshwaters, he heard a voice calling out from within.
When he opened the bamboo, out came two beings: Malakas and
Maganda, the first man and woman. Makagagahum gave Malakas
and Maganda permission to rule over the world, and to procreate
over it, and so the first man and woman set about to conquer earth.
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IMAN
The Moon Faith believes in the sovereignty of the Lunar Empress,
the Moon Goddess Baginda Sumongsuklay. Through Her, freedom
and peace is achieved. “Masi’nag tuud in Baginda.” Her Majesty is
Luminous, the rallying cry for many priests and warrior saints.
Iman means Faith in the people of the current’s language.
Iman came to the islands through Sihkandag, a young woman
wreathed in the Jambangan Monsala, the flower kerchief.
Sihkandag became fast friends with the Rajah of the island of Siga,
Rajah Akai. She served as his prime counselor and in exchange was
able to spread the religion of the moon goddess to the isles, which
was eventually accepted and turned into the state religion of the
Sultanate after Rajah Akai conquered and cowed the surrounding
settlements of his sons and became the Sultan. He then eventually
married Sihkandag, and approved--maybe even encouraged--the
coming of missionaries and pandita wise men to the islands of the
Sultanate.
The basis of Iman is still a reverence in nature, although they, like
the Sampalataya, put a much greater importance upon the worship
of Sumongsuklay. Temples built for Sumongsuklay are called
moske, and they are usually crafted in a distinct geometrical style,
out of white marble and clay and stone. These moskes are
architectural marvels, upon which even travelers bow.
Those that follow the Iman adhere to specific taboos and rituals:
the forbidding of eating pork, the loss of tattooing, the ritual act of
not butchering meat.
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Priests and priestesses are in charge of facilitating ritual worship
and masses every week. They facilitate the building of moskes in
every major settlement, as well as teach young children in the ways
of the Iman. Iman priests are still known as balyan, as with Anito,
but a higher kind of priest known as a siyak acts as a missionary
and bishop that spreads the truth of the Baginda. Additionally,
pandita wisefolk are those that might not exactly be priests
(although they can be), but are more well known for their
knowledge and ability to teach, as well as their expertise in esotery
and mysticism.
From a young age, adherents of the Iman are taught the
importance of the worship of Baginda Sumongsuklay, and how one
cannot worship any other being except for her. Additionally, at
every major point in the day (first light of dawn, sunrise, noon, and
sunset) and before going to sleep at night, one must bow heads to
the direction of Gitungan, the Holy Tomb of the First Prophet-Saint
of Baginda Sumongsuklay, Ayah Menat.
Many adherents of the Iman make it a life goal to be able to travel
to the Continent and to the lands of Qaliba, where the Holy Tomb
Gitungan is erected as a massive square stone edifice of perfect
geometry. This pilgrimage is an integral part of the faith, and is said
to be a helpful step in reconnecting with the Baginda. The goal of
the Iman, after all, is to achieve closeness with the divinity. An
impossibility now made possible due to the example and sacrifices
of the Prophet Ayah Menat.
Adherents of Iman espouse and exalt perfect numbers and
geometry, each one said to be a little glimpse of the true divinity of
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Baginda Sumongsuklay. Due to this, many of the Sultanate’s
architecture and textiles make use of intricate geometric patterns,
of squares and circles.
The religion of the people of the Sultanate before the coming of
Sikhandag was more or less similar to Anito, albeit more colored by
Sang Hari-Hari as they were closer to the heart of the empire and
were much more involved in their trade.
Until this day, the concept of diwata still lives on in Iman.
However they are not supplicated or worshipped to, simply given
offerings and treated like other humans and members of the greater
world. Baginda Sumongsuklay is believed to be the greatest of the
diwata, although some pandita contest that categorizing her as one
is an inherent heresy to her nature of being the one above all,
transcendent of natural categories.
Many adherents give themselves up to the faith. Thus the practice
of pagsabil, the act of holy rage. This is done in supreme obeisance
and bloody worship of Baginda Sumongsuklay, and acts as their
final sacrifice, as pagsabil is usually seen as a sort of ritual sacrifice.
Moskes built by panditas have become a hub for knowledge, with
culture and religion coming in from Naksuwarga, Baik Hu,
Malirawat, and Iyamat. Through them, many new technology,
known as Agham, is accrued, which is then reverse-engineered by
the pandita. A majority of Aghaman, people who study and
construct these advanced technologies, come from the Iman. Not
only because of the Sultanate’s access to the Agham (as the
Lakanate and Rajahnate are privy to trade with them as well), but
because of the Tuong-Bulan’s insistenec and teaching that all
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technology is a supreme act of emulation of Baginda
Sumongsuklay’s divinity, who created the universe.
War and raiding are integral parts to the Sultanate. These aspects
are not dampened by the Iman: Ayah Menat teaches that violence
begets violence, and that there is no way to leave this circle except
for oneness with the Baginda. Thus, to achieve true peace, noble
sacrifices must be made, in order to bring all under the lovely
closeness of the Baginda. With the coming of the Lakanate, which
try to push forth their faith as the only good faith, adherents of
Iman push forth, bolstered by their zeal and empowered by the rays
of the moon.
Baginda Sumongsuklay, as taught by Ayah Menat, is the moon
because the moon was the first piece of light in the midst of
darkness, and thus why it is the brightest thing in the night sky.
The sun is simply an extension of the moon’s gleam, bringing with
it day.
Baginda Sumongsuklay exists, then, as a counteracting force
against the encroaching tides of oblivion, which is what the ink of
night is. Baginda Sumongsuklay is both the creator and the
preserver, and in Her holy majesty, we must all be, so that the war
against oblivion can end, and the Baginda can ascend with her
creations to eternity.
CREATION: ENGENDERING BY THE BLACK EEL

In the ancient of days, there was Baginda Sumongsuklay. They
had an offspring, named Anak. Anak was given the earth to frolick
and live upon. However, one day, Anak felt horribly lonely, and
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asked Baginda to create a companion. They did so, forming out of
clay their first companion, alongside a slew of devils, dwarfs, and
giants.
This companion was named Indung. Anak was elated and played
with Indung, and Indung could ascend to heaven whenever he
needed. He became jealous of Anak’s powers, and reasoned to kill
him, and eventually to kill Baginda. He spoke with the devils,
dwarfs and giants and said that Indung was the true offspring of
Baginda. The devils, dwarfs, and giants all believed him. With a
golden sword, Indung and the creatures attacked Anak while he
slept.
But fire came from heaven and destroyed Indung, charring him
black and burning off all limbs. The Golden Sword of Indung flew
into a mountain, and was lost. All the devils, dwarfs, and giants fled
to the mountains, the trees, the rocks, and the depths of the sea,
and that is why creatures hide.
Anak pushed Indung into the waters, and Indung became the first
eel. Now alone once again, Baginda gave Anak more companions:
this time, from cracked clay, came two companions. Laki and Baye,
who were identical in all but name. This made Anak happy again,
but Anak told them that they cannot eat from the areca palm.
Laki and Baye were eventually told by Indung, by the shore of
their land, to eat the areca palm because they will learn many good
things. Curious, they both ate it. And when they did, Laki was
cursed with a penis and larger body, while Baye was cursed with
breasts and vagina. Angered, Anak left the earth forevermore.
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But Laki and Baye were powerful, they gathered enough Gahum
and used their newfound knowledge to gain true enlightenment,
and they became the two first Gods: Diyamiyon Kulisat, Brother
Thunderbolt, and Indira Suga, Mother Sun.
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THE TRANSCENDENT DICHOTOMY AND ON
MATTERS OF THE SOUL
The summary and soul of the Hiyang is this: the Transcendent
Dichotomy of ISA and WALA. As sung by Walian Prakash Arsiya.
Together, they are called Sambuo (SAM-BU-OH), which
translates to "One Whole".
Written by the sage Datu Sri Manawari, he put forth what he
thinks is the metaphysics of all things in Yutadagat. So far, he is
believed to be the closest one to the truth, short of confirmation
from the diwata. But for the Daghan, what the "truth of the world"
is is much less important.
He states as thus: all things are in two states at all times: the state
of KAISAHAN, unity with ISA, and the state of KAWALAN, or
adherence to WALA. KAISAHAN is harmony with all things, while
KAWALAN is disharmony with all things (in other words, harmony
with nothingness).
He then begins to state that all this is not a strict binary, but
rather, a sliding scale. All creatures, when they are born, are in the
middle of ISA and WALA, in a state known as KALAGITNAAN, or
centered. This is actually a very neutral state, but it is not a state of
excellence.
By performing duties and fulfilling the responsibilities of your job,
your destiny, or your chosen path in life, you move closer to
KAISAHAN, oneness with all things. As you move closer to
KAISAHAN, you find that the things you are destined to do become
easier, and with oneness, you achieve happiness, elation, and peace.
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But as you do things that are irresponsible of your chosen path,
or things that actively destroy yourself (and by consequence, those
around you), you edge deeper into the cliff of KAWALAN. As you
are in KAWALAN, things become harder for yourself: you lose the
will to perform, you become as stagnant as the swamp air, you
become unambitious and feel worse and worse. The heaviness in
your heart only strengthens.
This is the transcendent dichotomy. Datu Sri Manawari believes
that beasts and flora actually find it much easier to attain
KAISAHAN, due to their intrinsic nature being preternaturally
disposed to ISA.
On the matters of the tawo soul, Datu Sri Manawari puts forth
that there are actually two parts to the soul: the KALAG or the
higher soul, and the KALULUWA or the lower soul/second soul.
When it comes to beasts and flora, however, they have a
KALULUWA as their base soul, attuned to ISA. They then have a
higher soul, the DIWATA, the God-Living-Within, which gives
them their quality. For example, a Boar Diwata is what gives a Boar
their Boar-like quality, manifesting as a boar’s giant form, or a tree
diwata manifesting as little kahoynon.
The DIWATA can fall into either spectrum of ISA or WALA. If
they are in ISA, they are in the state commonly known as
KAHIYANGAN. Harmony and tranquility. If they are in the WALA,
they are in the state commonly known as DI HIYANG. Fall too close
to WALA and the Diwata turns into YAWA.
Such is the same with katawohan. The TAWO's higher soul is the
KALAG. A KALAG that falls into ISA is happy and tranquil, while
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one that falls into WALA is spiteful and temperamental. It is
believed, Sri Manawari writes, that to achieve a fulfilling and happy
life, one must be reaching for ISA, in a state of KAISAHAN. To
achieve this, one must be excellent in their chosen path, whatever
that may be, as long as it does not cause DI HIYANG within nature.
A person that dies while their Kalag is in KALAGITNAAN or in
KAISAHAN passes into the afterlife as peacefully as their social
standing might allow. However, a Kalag that passes while in the
state of KAWALAN is liable to become vengeful dead, wherein they
will commit atrocities to those that live: usually atrocities tied or
related to the reason why they are in a state of KAWALAN.
It is well known that people that die and are not given proper
burials or suffer violently beforehand, or are the victims of
atrocities, have their Kalag sink into KAWALAN immediately upon
physical death. Thus the multiplicity of living and vengeful dead
among the isles.
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NAME GENERATOR
Sigwa
Iraya
Gulod
Tinggi
Nagkarlan
Lamon
Aguyoy
Balaklawot
Itam
Kumintang
Mahayhay
Parang
Bakuwod
Amihan
Rarong
Sabo
Maghat
Maray
Puraw
Bulit
Pangodyong
Kalway
Kalampisaw
Lubi
Natudna
Ligasna
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Kilat
Subang
Bangut
Balirig
Ugsad
Madulum
Malasumbang
Paras
Kalaw
Humasunun
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CHAPTER 7: FOR THE MANG-
AAWIT
FUNDAMENTALS
This section of the game will focus on the basics and
fundamentals of running a game set in The Sword Isles. Alongside
this game is the KITATAK BAMBOO SCROLLS, upon which much
of the lore of The Sword Isles can be found, dealing with the nations
and all of its workings, and its strange setting that is inspired by
Prekolonyal Philippines.
The Songs of the Mang-aawit are split into three sections:
Judgesong: The fundamentals and principles of running a Gubat
Banwa game, including the responsibilities you have, your agendas,
and your principles. This includes what to expect with a Gubat
Banwa game, how to inspire others to follow the game’s theme, and
how to structure a Venture. This includes rules for Raids, the
counterpart of Dungeons in Gubat Banwa’s setting.
Timesong: This section is entirely to help you bring the feel of
Precolonial PH to your table.
Battlesong: This section is entirely focused on creating Foes for
your Players to fight in during Tactical Violence, Battlefield ideas,
set piece ideas, and non-standard battle objectives (as the objective
“kill all enemies” is not encouraged in Gubat Banwa!”). In addition,
this adds rewards that you can give to your allies, how to keep them
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engaged in combat, and how to make combat feed back to the
narrative fiction first roleplaying of the game outside of combat.
MANG-AAWIT BASICS
As a Mang-aawit, you are a player with a different set of rules and
responsibilities. You...
● ...describe the situation of the Kadungganan.
● ...react to the Kadungganan properly through the use of
your Harmonies.
● ...follow the rules and make rulings.
● ...create combat scenarios and both run and roleplay as the
Non-Player Characters (NPCs).
● ...follow your Principles in responding to the actions of the
Kadungganan.
● ...prepare and use your preparation. Sometimes you will
know things that the Kadungganan don’t know. Use that to your
advantage to set up your Verses and to stick close to your
Principles.
HARMONIES
As the singer of the Kadungganan’s brutal song, you must sing
with the Kadungganan to create the story-poem.
For the Mang-Aawit, your main mechanic is Harmonies.
Harmonies are the sounding of two or more notes at the same time,
it represents the Mang-aawit singing alongside the Kadungganan
to create a beautiful song. Mechanically speaking, Harmonies let
you guide the narrative into more dramatic and exciting shores.
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The Harmonies you sing must follow directly from the Fiction.
Another important aspect of using Harmonies is that you should
never announce to the table that you are “using” a Harmony.
Simply state what happens in the Fiction, using one of your
harmonies to guide your narration and storytelling.
Harmonies usually do not happen in Violence, as those are
dissonant to life to the aria, but the concept carries over in Miss
Triggers.
Perform a Harmony when...
- The Kadungganan get a Weak Pass, a Fail, a Fumble, or
otherwise must suffer consequences.
- The Kadungganan ask you what happens next or you have
to move the scene along.
- You find a perfect opportunity in the fiction to do so.
The Harmonies that you can choose from when fictionally
appropriate are as follows:
- Inflict Wounds outside of combat.
- Threaten to start violence.
- Expend their resources.
- Separate them.
- Make them honor an Debt.
- Bring the drama to them.
- Make them face their Complications, or entangle them in
a new one.
- Foreshadow threats.
- Give them an opportunity but with a cost.
- Apply consequences.
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INFLICT WOUNDS OUTSIDE OF COMBAT
Only inflict 1 Wound at a time, and try to use this only when
fictionally appropriate. This can come from environmental hazards
or other unavoidable harm, such as falling boulders, crumbling
houses, toppling trees, stones at the bottom of crashing waterfalls,
a Datu breaking your arm for insubordination, and so on.
THREATEN TO START VIOLENCE

The Sword Isles is a wartorn place, and combat is all the islands
know. Use this especially when the players don’t want to fight and
don’t want to risk a fight, even during a Respite.
EXPEND THEIR RESOURCES

You can cause one of their items to go to waste (such as provisions
spoiling, or rope breaking), or break one of their pieces of
equipment. This can even be anting-anting.
SEPARATE THEM
Bring the Kadungganan away from each other, for in the lands of
The Sword Isles they are strongest when with each other. Make
them vulnerable, force them to take other routes. This can be
effective when used in Violence.
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MAKE THEM HONOR DEBT
Be sure to make it follow the fiction. Have one of the people they
owe Debt to appear, and immediately make them ask the
Kadungganan to fulfill this, to complicate their lives. Make it even
worse if it is a particularly important Debt at the most inopportune
time.
BRING THE DRAMA TO THEM

If there is something dramatic happening in another place, bring
it directly into the line of action of the Kadungganan. They become
a victim of a skirmish, or a scheming Dayang or Queen brings them
into her grand conspiracy.
MAKE THEM FACE THEIR COMPLICATIONS, OR

ENTANGLE THEM IN A NEW ONE
This one is always a fun one, to make sure the drama keeps
moving along, you can take advantage of the Kadungganan’s
Complications, bringing it to the forefront, or make a new
Complication by introducing new facts about NPCs and other such
things. Remember that this must follow the Fiction.
FORESHADOW THREATS AND WAR

The cosmos of Yutadagat is ever dangerous, ever-moving. It is
much, much bigger than the player characters. In accordance with
this, make sure to foreshadow the many different ways the lands
and seas perpetuate conflict and violence in a seemingly never-
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ending spiral. This can be immediate and obvious: suddenly there
are Issohappan galleons by the horizon, or a giant’s corpse is
suddenly reanimated in the midst of the sea. Or this can be off-
screen: people here give you weird vehement glances, there are too
many vacant houses that people don’t want to enter, etc.
GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY WITH A COST

Grant the Kadungganan the ability to get something they want or
need: a Technick, Materiel, Barter, Debt, relationships, and other
such things that they might need. In exchange, however, they must
pay: usually in performing Ventures for the person or place that will
be able to grant what they want, or giving them some kind of harm
or reduction in resources. If you want to make it more dramatic,
make one of their Debt or Complications the cost.
Alternatively this can be giving an opportunity to the
Kadungganan that lets them take advantage of their archetype or
character.
APPLY CONSEQUENCES
Usually you can use this when a character Fails or Fumbles or gets
a Weak Pass on a non-combat roll, to give them a consequence that
is relevant to their current situation. If they try to use a vine to
swing over a ravine, for example, if they fail the roll you may
perform your Harmonies to make them fall into a cave within the
cliff, as that seems like an appropriate fictional consequence.
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THE FINAL PIECE: GRIT
The Mang-aawit gains Grit as well, representing the strength of
the conviction of everyone else around the Kadungganan.
Gain Grit when a Kadungganan spends Grit. You gain the
same amount as the Kadungganan spends.
Following the drama and fiction, spend Grit to...
...intensify a harmony, making the effects more dire or dramatic.
(Breaking anting-anting, forcing Kadungganan into a situation,
killing an important NPC).
...activate Grit abilities and Technicks from Foes and change the
battlefield.
...apply a harmony even if the Kadungganan gets a Strong Hit.
...give a “pitch” to the Kadungganan as to the result and
consequences of their action, or to help them keep in line with the
fiction of the game or to heighten drama. If you do this, give that
Kadungganan the Grit you spent. (eg. If you want the Kadungganan
to go and be rude to a ruling class person that they don’t like, give
them 1 Grit to pitch to them to do just that, to heighten the drama).
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JUDGESONG
“Judgesong: sing unto us the broken songs of the past, when justice
was a myth, for now justice is a lie.” - Sutla 100
Gubat Banwa wears its inspirations and setting on its sleeve:
precolonial Philippine fantasy, tactical combat, war drama,
interpolity politicking. When you go to running a game in such a
setting, it is recommended that you go through the summaries of
the major setting points found in the The Sword Isles Bamboo
Scrolls. However, it does bear to state the main assumptions of the
game here, so as to help you on your way.
● War Defines the Characters. Despite the multiplicity of
deities that exist in The Sword Isles, War is the only one that is
truly omnipresent. It hides within the shadows of the trees, in
the hooded figure standing next to your balay, in the Datu that
raises his hand to grace his dulohan. Every move, every word, is
in danger of war, in danger of extreme violence, of blood being
spilled in pursuit of freedom or peace or glory or victory.
● Inspired by Precolonial Philippine Life and Society.
Tattooed Bisaya sea raiders raiding the shores of China.
Expensive and rich Tagalog nobles trading with the nobles and
merchants from Malacca and from the Datu of the Bisaya
region. Bikolano bowmen striking from afar with their bamboo
longbows. Balyan dancing in mad-trances to call upon the
ancestors to guide their paths. Wealthy datu lords reigning over
their followers and settlements, gathering them up to raid a
settlement that has slighted them. These are just some things
that have happened in Precolonial Philippines that inspired the
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totality of Gubat Banwa. This focus on raiding and guerrilla
tactics, and probably smaller scale warfare is perfect for the
tactical combat focus, and the exaltations of warrior braves in
the battlefield gives itself perfectly to the warrior hero genre
that Gubat Banwa seeks to emulate.
● Larger than life and Dramatic. Passions are always at an
all time high in Gubat Banwa. Love can rend battlefields, hatred
can break kingdoms, revenge can sunder entire bloodlines. In
the putrid lands of bloodshed, your emotions--the scream of
your soul--is the only thing important. They will not tell tales
about your ability to live comfortably: only those brave enough
and strong enough to step into the light of the sun will be
remembered even when the Archipelago succumbs to the
violence it has wrought.
● Relationships are the only thing worth fighting for.
Your connection to your sword, your love for your settlement,
your pride for your son, your unrequited love for a lover that no
longer loves you... these are the things that run the lifeblood of
a Gubat Banwa game, the reason for all the Venturing, the
impetus for all the drama, the thing that frames and gives
context to the intense tactical combat. Relationships help fill
out and shape the Kadungganan, help them give themselves to
a cause much larger than they are, or to a cause too intensely
personal.
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MANG-AAWIT AGENDAS
As a Mang-aawit, you have three main Agendas that you want to
fulfill while running a game of Gubat Banwa.
PORTRAY A FANTASTICAL FEUDAL WORLD

EMBROILED IN WAR
Not just a fantastical world, but a world where Datu rule
settlements, fight over manpower and not just land, and raid those
that have slighted them. A world where insults are taken personally
and can lead to wars, where wives and husbands are sought for by
powerful chiefs. A world where malevolent forces of nature--which
only appear due to the actions of the mortals themselves--arise and
try to kill the Kadungganan. A dangerous and daring world that
needs those that are willing to look past themselves. This need not
be a Precolonial Philippine-inspired setting either: you can make
up a loose feudal society of Island Kings and Sea Queens on the
spot if you’re inspired enough by the lore of the game.
FILL THE KADUNGGANAN’S LIFE WITH WAR AND

DRAMA
A Kadungganan’s life is always going to be embroiled in
interpersonal conflict, relationship melodrama, and violent combat
in a setting such as The Sword Isles, where states are at war, prides
are at stake, and families are at risk. Play this up for the group. You
want players to be agonizing about an NPC that they’ve grown
attached to but might have to kill, or being intensely protective of
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a certain NPC. Even better: if the Kadungganan become intensely
protective of each other. Use their connections, their old lovers,
brothers, fathers against them. As the Mang-aawit, you are cruel
fate.
PLAY TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS

The best thing about Tabletop Role-Playing Games is that you
don’t know what will happen at the table. Even if you have an
adventure planned out, or are following a scenario or module, that
kind of structure can only take you so far. Let the Manggugubat’s
actions blossom and snowball, push their actions to the logical
limit. Have whatever structure or idea you had in mind stuck there
in the background, let it happen while the players work, and then
when you get a golden opportunity in the fiction, use it. Then, let
the players react. Find out what happens when they do.
Play to find out what happens is one of the best innovations of
Tabletop Role-Playing Games: it’s a principle and mindset that
Video Games cannot replicate. Lean on it. You don’t have to prep a
beginning, middle, and then ending, like you would a novel.
Instead, prep events that showcase more of the world, characters
that have hidden motives and agendas, and ancient spirits and gods
that have set in motion plans since the end of the Year of Sunglory.
Then, put the Kadungganan within them and play to find out what
happens when you do.
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MANG-AAWIT PRINCIPLES
When singing the song of the Kadungganan, make sure to keep
the following Principles in mind. Hew close to them at all times:
these are your choruses, your fall backs. As long as you’re following
these Principles, you’re running a game of Gubat Banwa.
FIRST VERSE: FACILITATE A GOOD TIME

An important part of this is to have a baseline and foundation
with your players as to what a good time or fun means in the
context of your own game. Perhaps they really like complicated
puzzle-combats? Maybe they’re really into the setting and want to
live through it? Maybe they enjoy the strange politicking of the
people? Others treat the game as a social encounter, and are wont
to doing other things while other players are taking their turn in
combat. If that’s the good time you all have set up, be sure to keep
to it. Let the players have fun.
Once you’ve set it up and everyone is on board, play close to it as
much as possible.
SECOND VERSE: STICK TRUE TO THE FICTION

Fiction, in the context of Gubat Banwa, is whatever is happening
in the game in that moment. Fiction comes with it a set of pre-
established norms and expectations: of course a swarm of bees can’t
be tripped down! Or maybe your dagger was poised so perfectly, it
should kill the hapless, unarmored princess. Stick to whatever
makes sense in the Fiction, which is usually what common sense
dictates you. This way, you can be sure to hew close to the
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collaborative story you’re telling and not bog down the game with
strange rulings and trying to figure out the lore and physics of a
fantasy setting.
THIRD VERSE: TELL A STORY TOGETHER

The Mang-aawit does not sing alone. Remember that you are also
a player in this game. You’re not some grand storyteller or narrative
controller, you’re a player, a singer, that simply reacts and narrates
the consequences of the other player’s actions. Of course, this
would encompass entire states potentially being appalled at
something one of the Kadungganan said during a Feast, all the way
to a man falling in love with something a Kadungganan said a few
years ago. Try to lean into the drama and tragedies of war when
telling the story with your characters.
FOURTH VERSE: LEAN INTO THE DRAMA

Gubat Banwa is a game about people filled with interpersonal
drama and violent melodramatic interactions. Bastard sons,
forgotten lovers, once-best-friends-turned-sworn-enemies,
revenge tales, wives left for dead only to return with a vengeance.
Use tropes you know from melodramatic period dramas, whether
they be from Southeast Asian sources (Telenobelas), East Asian
sources (K-Dramas and Anime), or even Western drama. A Gubat
Banwa game without interpersonal war drama is not a Gubat
Banwa game.
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FIFTH VERSE: ADDRESS THE KADUNGGANAN, NOT
THE PLAYER
This one is easy enough to understand and follow: address the
name of the character that your player is playing as and not the
player directly. This will help them get into the mindset of their
character easier. It’s a subtle but great trick.
SIXTH VERSE: UPHOLD THE TRAGEDIES OF WAR

The Sword Isles is a war torn land. Thus, it is up to you to make
sure that the Kadungganan see this as true: show burned down
villages, ships that have been wrecked and plundered, crying men
and women fleeing into settlements as refugees, slave-captives
being brought in by the warriors of a chief. Mothers weeping for
the sons they have lost, brothers grieving for the sisters that never
shall return, buried unjustly into mass graves in the middle of a cliff
nowhere. War is not a nice thing, and it will never be. The
Kadungganan suffer from it just like the rest of the world.
SEVENTH VERSE: EVERY CHARACTER HAS A NAME

AND A REASON FOR FIGHTING
Every being that they will encounter, whether it be in tactical
violence or narrative play, has a reason why they’re fighting for
their cause, or for themselves. It may be an ideology, or maybe they
do it to pay back a debt, or maybe they do it as penance. Whatever
it is, each combat encounter has a reason. None of them risk their
lives for no reason, even if they be a yawa or undead. Never let them
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be a nameless casualty: even the yawa, who have a reason for being
manifested in the first place. The young archer was skilled that you
have slain? He was Kaba, and they were the only family of a young
girl in the next settlement. The barangan sorcerer that you struck
down? Her name was Humalina, and she was the only one taking
care of a settlement that has lost their Datu.
EIGHT VERSE: THE WORLD MOVES WITHOUT THEM

This is also integral to creating the sense of a living world, which
can be used to great effect for Gubat Banwa campaigns. While the
Kadungganan are out Venturing, fighting against political
opponents, perhaps their allies are assassinated by a third party
who have held a grudge against them? Maybe as the Kadungganan
travel across the forest, a huge atrocity is performed somewhere
else in the vast jungle, which causes the yawa, the malevolent
spirits of nature, to attack all mortals that they can see? The world
does not revolve around the Kadungganan. It moves on without
them. Think offscreen.
NINTH VERSE: EXALT A PRECOLONIAL SOUTHEAST

ASIAN WORLD
The base setting of Gubat Banwa is inspired by a non-colonized,
14th Century to 17th Century Philippines. An unsung and widely
misunderstood period of our history. It was the impetus as to why
I made this game in the first place. Keep it close to your heart to
exalt Southeast Asian settings through Gubat Banwa, even if they
aren’t Philippine. Showcase the grandeur and richness of
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precolonial Datu, the sophistication of social mores and taboos, the
grandness of spiritual paganito seances, the reverence to natural
temples such as giant strangler figs and perfectly shaped
mountains, and the intense sea and land raid fighting of the
warriors. This is a setting that deserves to be elevated.
TENTH VERSE: LET THEIR KADUNGGANAN STATUS BE

KNOWN
This plays into the Southeast Asian setting and the World Moves
Without Them principles: as Kadungganan, they are high in the
social hierarchy. The people would defer to their abilities, as they
are literally either born or have earned their right to become the
warrior-braves of the Archipelago. The common folk will bow at
their presence. It is up to the Kadungganan how to react.
Additionally, Kadungganan have a reason for their prestige. They
are warriors that can do mindblowing feats of prowess in the
battlefield. Let them do so.
ELEVENTH VERSE: LET COMBAT TELL A STORY

The structure of combat in this game means that it will take up a
significant chunk of the session’s game time. This means that when
combat happens, give it significance and plot relevance. Try not to
do random encounters: every combat encounter should be for a
reason: maybe the Datu was blasphemed, or an enemy settlement’s
assassins ambush the players in their travel to show them that a
settlement wants them dead, or the players fight for the honor of
their comrade.
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Every instance of tactical violence should be significant: violence
rolls are the words, damage is the strength of their ideals, their
movement across the battlefield is their conviction to fight.
Additionally, not every instance of fighting has to be tactical
combat: remember that tactical combat only triggers when
violence is inevitable between two or more sides and they’re ready
for it. A duel does not have to be tactical combat, it can be a Moon.
Punching someone can be a simple roll.
RUNNING THE GAME

Running the game as a Mang-aawit can be a daunting task. Fear
not, however, and rely on your players to work with you. You don’t
have to put up a veneer of “planned this all along!” Remember, you
are just as much a player as the Kadungganan.
To help you in setting up and running the game however, here
are some pointers.
PREP
Safety
Once you have all the players on board with the premise of Gubat
Banwa: “A tactical combat and war drama Tabletop Roleplaying
Game of warrior-braves surviving in a war torn land inspired by
Precolonial Philippines”, the next thing you should consider is the
players’ safety. At the very least, use Lines and Veils, the X Card,
and the Oks Sign for most of the things in Gubat Banwa. Gubat
Banwa can be prone to much violence, which can include horrific
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war crimes and mutilation. Read up on the following safety tools
below:
X-Card is the easiest to implement. Simply put a card or paper
with an X on it and put it where everyone can reach it. If a scene is
uncomfortable, touch the X card to change the scene by either
skipping it or changing it. In online games, you can simply chat the
X sign or make it with your hands. It was developed by John
Stavropoulos: http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg
Lines and Veils: Lines are hard boundaries that exclude specific
content from the game, no questions asked. This could include
anything, but common lines are children being harmed, rape or
sexual violence, or racial discrimination. Veils are softer limits
where the player is ok with it being included in the game but it isn’t
explicitly described. Things that are specified as veils will be hand-
waved without going into detail or happen off-screen, like the fade-
to-black sex scenes in a PG movie. Consider writing this down on
an anonymous list.
The Oks Sign is a simple sign with the “OK” hand sign, which all
the players can use when wanting to do something or attempt
something during a scene. If all the players reply with an OK, that’s
a sign that the scene can be pushed further.
The First Session

The first session, which might also be what others call a Session
Zero, is probably the session where you help guide the players
through creating their own Kadungganan. While reading the entire
book isn’t a prerequisite for this, it will help, and at least have a firm
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grasp of the core rules, the difference between narrative play and
tactical violence, and the flow of game from Respite to Venture to
Respite.
During the first session, set the base expectations for the game.
This is important: some Gubat Banwa games can focus on
exploration, others can be hardened war period games, and even
others can be romance period drama with some intense action
scenes in between. It is important to set this down, perhaps
consolidate it into a single sentence.
Don’t stress out too much during the first session, and try not to
plan everything ahead. Only after you did the first session, set
boundaries and expectations, and get a feel for the group, should
you start actually preparing a bit more.
What to Prep?
When you do get time to prep, don’t sweat it either. Don’t try to
make a grand narrative or a huge story with plot beats and proper
pacing and ups and downs and a three-act structure--you’re playing
a game here, not writing a novel! Instead, when prepping, take into
account the world that you’re running in. What cool things you
want the players to eventually be able to do. What the NPCs are
doing and what they’re planning on doing. Always think offscreen,
that’s the secret to making a world feel alive.
One of my favorite tricks to know how to prep (as you shouldn’t
be prepping for every situation, but rather, for what the
Kadungganan expect and/or want to see) is that you ask the Players
the question: “What do you want to see in the game?” This is
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usually asked during the first session, part of the establishing of
expectations for the game. Have them fill up a list of around one to
three things. Tell them that it’s all right to send them over a private
message and it doesn’t have to be during the first session.
The trick, of course, is to give them what they want. So you prep
around those things. Three is a good number, since with the
expected number of players for Gubat Banwa, that can mean
anywhere from 12 to 15 things that you can pepper in your sessions.
And remember: you, the Mang-aawit, are a player too. You get to
answer these as well.
Another trick that is connected to the above is more related to
your immediate prep. Whenever you’re prepping, ask your players
through a message or whatnot: “What does your Kadungganan plan
to do next session?” Any answer is fine, as you can fit the next
session’s prep around that.
With that known and done, you can read up on the lore of Gubat
Banwa or play around with the mechanics, make NPCs, plan events
that will happen in the world, or prepare an event line that will
eventually end in something the players want to see.
When preparing, make sure to...
● keep track of the world. Know what’s going on, and use
that to your advantage. Have the world constantly be moving,
use things that might happen whenever your players don’t
expect it: prep for random events such as landslides or demon
gorilla attacks, not necessarily combat encounters.
● make NPCs, not just Foes. Make them interesting, give
them a single personality trait and a single quirk if you expect
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them to last longer than usual. Give them a unique thing that
lets them stand out from the rest: this can be a physical tell such
as weird hair, or even an important relationship, such as them
being the brother of the Datu the Kadungganan serve.
● listen to your players, and form your prep around them. If
your players aren’t planning on going into a deep dark cave next
session, don’t prepare a cave exploration map! Instead, if they
want to go to the wedding feast, prepare NPCs for that wedding
feast, strange encounters that might happen, and maybe even a
twist! Get the players jogging, get them reacting: that’s your job.
● take a break. Sometimes, you don’t even have to prep! The
players will ride out the game with you, and you can hand them
some of the responsibility of creating interesting NPCs! Ask
them sometimes what weird interesting thing an NPC has, or a
secret that they harbor. You are a player too, so remember to
have fun.
THE GAME
Due to the general prevailing culture right now, there is an
expectation that you, the one playing as the NPCs and adjucating
the rules of the game, are supposed to know the game inside and
out, and also know how to entice your players into a wild and crazy
fantasy world!
The truth about that is that this expectation sets you up for
failure, because even the most veteran Game Masters will know
that you simply can’t learn a game through and through especially
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when a game is different when played at your table, and because it
is as much as the responsibility of the Players to be invested into
the fantasy that I’m sure you’re trying your best to invoke. I know
many Game Masters that have been running for years and are really
really good at what they do don’t even prep! They rely on their
collected media knowledge, weird trivia, and obsession in invoking
a feel or obsession for good game mechanics.
They don’t try to “run” a game. They play it, just like the players.
What I’m trying to do is rid yourself of those expectations. Try to
play the game, enjoy it. Make NPCs that you’re inspired to make,
entice your players to get invested in them, get them invested by
making them NPCs they would care about: young idealistic boys
and girls who want to change the world, beaten old men that have
a soft spot for flowers, strong women that rule their own
settlements. Make the world receptive to them, let them talk about
the world.
Now this advice won’t work for everybody, I’m sure, and I don’t
even think a lot of people that will be getting this game will be even
reading this section (since the main draw of this game is probably
either the setting and/or the tactical Fantasy combat), but I’ll be
laying down the things that I’ve been doing that I hope will be able
to steer people that want to run War Drama in Fantasy Precolonial
Philippines in the right direction.
Improvising
Perhaps one of the most difficult skills to accomplish. How do you
improvise successfully? Essentially, what I do is I lean into my prep
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or what I already know. If you have things prepped up and you’re
stuck in a strange spot in the game where the players have reacted
and you don’t know what to do next, drive them forward. Speed
them on in the world. Let the world move on without them.
Introduce danger. Lean on what you know about the world: you’ve
established that a rogue Kadungganan is hunting after them. When
there’s a lull in the game and you’re not sure what to do next, let
the Kadungganan appear.
Some good improvisational tools are:
● A list of character names (the The Sword Isles Bamboo
Scrolls have some to help you!)
● A list of what the most relevant NPCs are doing at the
moment.
● A list of what kind of Foes can be encountered in the
immediate vicinity.
● A list of all the ongoing threats in the campaign.
● A list of quick combat encounters!
Describing
Keep descriptions to 1 to 2 sentences long, leaving long and
overwrought descriptions to really grandiose setpieces (or you
know, just use a picture). State one or two important details, and
then end it. If the players want to know more, then you give them
more. You don’t want to drabble on for too long. You want to get a
scene into the player’s heads using their senses and their
presumptions and then snap back to the question: What do you do?
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Don’t Get Hung Up On Rules
Gubat Banwa’s system usually works, but there are some areas
where the rules don’t cover. This is because Gubat Banwa is for
running tactical combat and period dramas, and not much for
anything else. Building up strongholds and learning how to weave
is not fully encompassed in the core rules, and that’s intended. For
the most part, leave these things to fiction: let them happen if the
players want them. The game is not a simulation of the world, but
a way for players to engage with it in a fun and quick way.
Follow Your Principles and Agenda

Principles are some of the most important parts of running Gubat
Banwa. As long as you’re sticking close to the game’s principles,
you’re running it right, even if it isn’t even in the same setting
anymore! Name your NPCs, give them motivations, uphold the
tragedy of war.
Communicate
Many things can be fixed with proper communication (obviously
not all things, but it usually helps!) If you made a bad rules call, or
an encounter dragged on for too long, or if you missed obvious
signs in play, be sure to talk about it with the other players. You’re
not perfect, and none of the players expect you to be either.
During the game, you still want to be on the same page as your
players, as much as possible. Be sure to remind people of what the
theme and mood of your campaign is, so that your players can be
sure to play up to it. Lead by example! Make melodramatic
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characters, have your characters cry when their brother dies! Have
sad K-Drama music playing while a beloved NPC is slaughtered by
the Kadungganan Warlord of an enemy Datu!
Rely on the magic of “Yes”, depend on “What do you do?”

When saying Yes in response to a player’s query, you play into
what your players give you, letting them get invested into the game
and having them be more excited with what you do. This relies
heavily on being on the same page as well: obviously a European
castle might not exist here in The Sword Isles, but stone idjang
citadles do! So when they say “Is that a castle?” when you describe
something in the distance, you can respond with “Yes, a kind of
castle!”
Additionally, one of the most powerful questions you can ask is
“What do you do?” This is the crux of roleplaying, and what you
want to do whenever you speak is to have everything you say
eventually lead up to that question.
AFTERCARE
Alternatively titled, after the game.
The first thing that I usually say is: “I hope you guys enjoyed the
game!” I don’t ask my players if they liked it, since that usually puts
the players on the spot. I just state that, and then usually go around
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and message my players if they did have a good time or not. That’s
pretty important.
Ending the Game

As someone who’s written serials before, what you want as much
as possible is a cliffhanger for a campaign. Now a cliffhanger doesn’t
exactly have to be a cool gotcha moment, like an evil guy coming
to their village or a mountain collapsing under them. Sometimes a
good cliffhanger is reminding the players that there are still some
loose threads unsolved even after you’ve finished a Venture. That
will definitely help keep the players on their toes, thinking about
the next session.
Now if it’s going to be a kind of “season ender” or if the session
you’re currently having is setting up for a big payoff, it would be a
good idea then not to have a cliffhanger (although loose threads
still work fine). Let the players relish at the end of a payoff. Let them
breathe. Breathing is the most important part of a game: it lets
them reflect back on the game, how much fun they’ve had, all the
memorable NPCs and events that happened, and how long they
had gotten. Keep those in mind, and you’ll be fine.
Rest
I highly recommend not jumping into prep right after the game.
Resting after a game is integral: roleplaying as different NPCs,
facilitating combat, and being the one to dole out the rules and
follow them is a heavy, heavy task. One that is usually rewarding
(and some people really do love running games!) But one that can
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take a toll on you mentally. Have a good break, maybe eat some
food with your friends, talk about your favorite thing that
happened during the game, compliment each other, have a blast.
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VENTURES AND RAIDS
Ventures and Raids are the primary way for Kadungganan to go
out and increase both their Esteem as well as earn barter and
wealth. They are integral to play, and are the second most
important aspects of Gubat Banwa, right next to the Kadungganan
themselves.
ENCOUNTERS
When talking about Encounters in Gubat Banwa, these are not
strictly tactical combat scenarios. Instead, they might be
interesting happenings that challenge the players and exhaust
some of their resources.
When speaking of resources in Gubat Banwa, that will usually be
the following: Forbidden Technicks, Barter Items, Mettle, Anting-
Anting, Debt, Wounds.
Exhausting Debt can mean them having to gain more debt to
someone, or become indebted to someone, which will have
repercussions down the line.
When designing non-combat encounters, keep in mind their debt
and what the players want from the game. If they want more drama,
give them more drama: a dead brother, a politicking noble catches
up to them, etc. Make sure that the encounter makes sense in the
fiction: that is, if the raid or current situation is in a burning village
in the fields of Rusunuga, it wouldn’t make sense for them to run
into a rich mercantile noble from Virbanwa that never leaves his
palanquin.
Here are some interesting non-combat encounters. Roll a d8:
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1 – A Wounded Person. You find a wounded person, probably
not even wounded by you during the Raid. What do you do?
2 – A Crying Child. You find a crying child, looking for their
parents amidst the flames. What do you do?
3 – Abundant Wealth. You find a house or hidden away part of
land where heirloom wealth has been hidden away. It will bring you
great wealth, but carrying it will hamper you when you Catch Your
Breath.
4 – Puzzle. Somehow, maybe diwata work, sorcerers’ work, or
ingenious planning by blacksmiths, but there is a puzzle during the
raid that forces players to confront it non-violently.
5 – Important Folk. They come across an important character.
Maybe someone tied to the place the players are Raiding, maybe
someone wandering by and has a stake in the players’ destiny.
6 – Debt. One of the players’ debt has arrived to collect what is
rightfully theirs.
7 – Willing Captive. A person runs into your arms, asking you to
take them into your barge or wing. They will always have
something they can do. If you have a Following, they join your
Following.
8 – Haunting. You encounter a spiritual or magical—or
metaspiritual?—haunting. Maybe a god speaks with you, or the
ancestors congratulate you, or demons block your path, asking for
salt or some other inane thing? Whatever it is, you must deal with
it.
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RAIDS
Raids are the equivalent of dungeon delving in Gubat Banwa. This
is because there are no inherent dungeons in The Sword Isles’s
setting: there are no ancient temples to explore, or ancient palaces
guarded by ancient kings (well, there are some, but they’re not as
commonplace as in other settings). Instead, you go on Raids!
Usually these raids are other settlements, but sometimes larger
raids can take place in mass ritual burial cemeteries, ancient
forests, cave complexes, cities, and even heaven and hell
themselves.
Roll a d8 if you need inspiration on where the Raid will take
place.
1 – Settlement. A small settlement, usually an easy Raid.
2 – Large Town. A larger settlement, with various datu within.
Usually an average raid.
3 – Abandoned Cave Complex. Ancient demons and monsters
walk within. Usually average.
4 – Mass Burial Complex. Starts above ground and usually ends
up underground or even within mountain cliffsides. Usually
average, and usually encounter Undead.
5 – Ancient Forest. Forests are filled with gods and other spirit
societies. Usually average, and filled with Spirits.
6 – City. An even larger settlement, filled with many goods. Might
not be a metropole, but close. Hard Raids, usually, but might not
have a lot of combat encounters.
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7 – Metropole. You are raiding one of the largest settlements in
The Sword Isles, the centers of political and economic power.
Would-be empires and states. Very hard raids.
8 – Heaven or Hell. You travel using skybarges into the depths
of the earth or the heights of the sky. The hardest raids to do, and
usually one that will never go well, even if you achieve your goal.
DESIGNING RAIDS
There is already a play aid in the Go Raiding section of the Flow
of Play chapter. Here’s some more details. Remember that all Raids
must have a Raiding Objective, a goal that they are working to.
This is almost always a physical place deep in the place that you’re
raiding, although sometimes it might be a state, such as “cleansing
the forest of busaw ogres”.
When constructing Raids, take into account the number of
Encounters they would have. An easy Raid would have two
Encounters. An average Raid would have three, and a difficult
Raid would have 4 or more. Each Encounter will have the
opportunity to Catch Your Breath for the players in between them.
Remember that Encounters are not strictly combat. There’s
rules for constructing combat encounters in the Battlesong
section.
VENTURES
Ventures take the longest, and are the main part of the game.
When structuring or balancing Ventures, dictate how many
Reliefs they can take. 1 is Easy, 2 is Size 1, and 3 is hard. If its a
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particularly easy or an unchallenging Venture made to get their feet
under them, you can give them 0 Reliefs instead, forcing you to
make the Venture short and last only for at least 3 Encounters.
Let the Reliefs and Objectives dictate the pacing of a Venture. A 1
Relief, 1 Objective Venture might be a single session Venture,
wherein they embark and finish it in a few hours. Longer ones
might span multiple sessions, and put the Kadungganan to the test.
Remember that for every Objective, there should be a relief.
Another easy way of putting it is if you’re planning on a Venture
that has multiple Raids, each Raid should have a Relief after them.
So a 3 Raid Venture would need 3 Reliefs, making it hard
immediately.
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GENERATORS
VENTURE SEEDS
● A datu seeks your help in raiding the shores of Baik Hu to
win the heart of the princess Humangsanun of the settlement
Ukab.
● A Daknunuk, a great and giant pagoda temple-tree, of
which there are four all in all in the entire Archipelago
seemingly protecting the spiritual integrity of the Archipelago,
is being attacked by either foreign forces or by another faction.
● A Lakanate settlement is harvesting resources from a
forest. The Datu of the settlement is preparing to slay the diwata
of the forest to be able to harvest as much resources as possible.
● A stone taotao filled wherein a diwata of war is depicted is
being hunted down by those that would use it to destroy one of
their enemies, disrupting natural harmony.
● An elder Kadanay, one of the ancient peoples that are
skilled in grand wonders of spiritual artifice and technology, has
come to your settlement for aid against a coming storm of Yawa,
brought upon by an injustice performed at sea.
● The settlement you are in is struck by magalo, strange and
chaotic fey creatures from beyond the Borders of the World,
that seek to destroy Yutadagat as we know it. You must fight
them back and find a way to prevent it from happening again.
● A confederation Datu has been killed by a diwata gone
wild. You must find out why.
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● In the Archipelago, mountains are considered to be holy
temples where gods and other spirits live. One certain mountain
has been found to have their trees slowly dying, and you must
go to find out what had happened.
● You must escort an esteemed noble lady on her pilgrimage
across the Sea to reach the Daknunuk of Mount Sakatun, in the
eastern island facing the Sea of Broken Dragons. Rajahnate and
Lakanate forces have come begun conflict.
● A Sultanate Datu conscripts your help in raiding a
Lakanate settlement, to disrupt trade or military technology.
● A Lakanate Datu conscripts your help in raiding a
Sultanate settlement to weaken their enlarging hold.
● A Rajahnate Merchant Prince Datu asks for your help in
pacifying a Sultanate and a Lakanate settlement that is proving
to be a nuisance for trade routes with foreign countries.
● A Datu asks you to be his vassals and retainers and bring a
message to an upcoming feast in his stead. The message is a
dangerous one written in palm leaf manuscript and cannot be
opened. It is a statement of intention of raiding for blaspheming
the former Datu's name.
● A datu requests your help in traveling up a mountain in
Rusunuga to raid a city upon a hill, which killed their child. This
revenge raid will need the players to travel upriver deeper into
Rusunuga, the largest of the islands.
● A young lady, perhaps the wife of a Datu, seeks your help
in undergoing a spiritual pilgrimage to a Dakbalete, a Strangler
Fig Temple-Tree. This is so that the child in her womb can be
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blessed. They will later find out that the woman is not pregnant
at all.
● A yawa outbreak has happened somewhere near the
current location of the Kadungganan. They must seek out the
cause, usually some sort of human sin or atrocity.
● A settlement has called for a raid on another settlement,
and both settlement call to the player Kadungganan for help. It
is up to the Kadungganan whom they will serve or protect.
● Your Datu asks you to go to a foreign island or land,
whether it be Baik Hu or Naksuwarga or the Madaki Peninsula,
to establish trade so that the settlement can grow richer. (Feel
free to pull from other modules and adventures for this.)
● A Rajahnate princess is abducted by a Kadungganan who
seeks to sow discord against the Rajahnate, to destabilize the
current Rajah, Batara Ambasi, and usurp the throne, replacing
it with a lordship of peasant, wherein those that work will be
the ones ruling over those that don't.
● An elder Confederation settlement where sea snakes are
worn like bracelets and giant crab shells are worn like
breastplates seeks help retrieving a lost cache of Issohappan
purawdust, which has adverse affects on nature around it.
● A rumored ancient balete temple tree has been invaded by
a sole Pale King conquistador. Rumors say that the conquistador
feasts on unnatural purawdust, and is no longer a living person,
but one death cannot claim.
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● An old Baikhan detachment is anchored on the shores of a
sea settlement, planning on claiming that settlement as part of
Baik Hu’s hegemony.
● A Baikhan warlord has arrived in the shores of a Rajahnate
settlement in full armor, and has announced that it the Baikhan
Invasion begins there. That island becomes the first wall against
Baik Hu invasion.
● A polity in a far off island filled with a settlement populated
by elephants that worship the moon goddess Baginda
Sumongsuklay. They re being hunted down by the Sultanate for
their gold and hide.
● On the base of the great mountain Darungdungan, a small
village of smallfolk live, nature imps and sprites that are
enchanted beings. They worship Harisabokid, the King of
Darungdungan, and they now ask for help, as they presume
Harisabokid is dead, and one of the twelve major polities killed
him.
● A dakbalayligo sa diwata, the spirit bathhouse, has arrived,
and the Kadungganan are sucked into them. They must find a
way back, lest the dakbalay sa liguan disappear on the next new
moon into the depths of Sulad.
● There is an outbreak of yawa somewhere near a holy site.
Diwata war with the yawa there. Neither of them are at fault,
rumors say.
● A Lakanate contingent of blasphemous Kadungganan have
appeared in the Confederation settlement known as Latika,
which is known for its great resources in manpower and being
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stationed upon the mountain of Namigawal, a holy mountain.
They have arrived to stew political unrest and to force a war with
a Lakanate settlement for means currently unknown.
● 12 Bishops from the Lakanate Clergy have begun to move
their personal Kadungganan ranks, with one of them coming
directly for your own personal settlement. Rumors and whispers
of “The 12 Riders of the Stars” abound.
● War broils, it has ever been. A young and peaceful
settlement, who have done nothing but enjoy their life beside
hot springs and follow the Mouse Deer God Pilandok deep into
the island of Baliga, is under the threat of attack by a Sultanate
force.
● Ten Datu have arrived from the far north, bringing with
them the goal to colonize the island of Tan’ai. There is
resistance from the native datu. You must choose a side.
● A young servant comes to you, low and meek, hoping for
your help in seeking out their father, who was lost in a recent
raid to a far western island of Saffuri. Things are more than they
seem, of course.
● You are invited to be retainers to a noble who must go to a
feast packed with high ranking nobles. You are expected to act
as a fluffer for the noble, and navigate a complex web of politics
to get out of the feast alive.
● A distant island that disappears in the horizon. When it
comes closer, it is obvious that this is not an island, but rather,
a giant floating crab with a shell so large that an entire coral
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ecosystem has developed on its back. There is a settlement of
siyokoy, fish men, that live on the back.
● A horde of magalo, those strange and inscrutable beings
from past the borders of the world, have infiltrated settlements
at the edge of the archipelago. They walk among you like any
other creature, but wield terrible powers and earn the ire of any
natural spirit within their vicinity.
● A powerful city state, large and encompassing two islands
in its size, is seized by the political opponent of the current
Datu, out for the head of its life. In the midst of the turmoil and
excitement, the Datu is killed during a feast showcasing their
bahandi heirloom wealth in a parade. The last surviving
members of the Datu’s kawal, or personal guard, approach the
Kadungganan for help.
● Sea ghosts lure boats out to sea and they are consumed by
the giant sea spider god that lives underneath a giant stone, flat
and smooth. Upon it are spider folk that worship the mountain
underneath the stone. Seek them out and find out why they lure
poor unsuspecting travelers out to sea.
● There is an island of ill omen, Mantiwan, the Island of
Apparitions and Specters. White shades walk upon its shores,
upon its accursed mountain, but whenever someone gets too
close, their boats are destroyed, or they begin to see hordes and
hordes of pale specters watching them from afar, with eyes of
the gods. There is a settlement here, they say, that belongs to
the Kadanay. All datu avoid it, for it is indeed an island of ill
luck.
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● Eight shrines to eight powerful balete trees, each one filled
with resonance to the spirit word, have begun to call upon for
the Shrine Ritual, seeking Kadungganan and balyan far and
wide to perform the rites and tasks. A new god arises from the
depths or screeches from the skies, ascending to seize and
devour the sun and moon.
TAWO ACROSS THE ISLES

Here is a short list of potential characters and personalities that
the Kadungganan might meet during their travels. Choose one.
After choosing, go ahead and roll on the Convictions Table in the
Character Creation section to make them more believable,
synthesize their motives and convictions with their origins.
Dimatablan. A powerful woman who wears nothing but her
bahag and strength, and an agimat that lets bullets ricochet from
her. She likes mamun and sweetened gabi (root crop), and dislikes
Baikhan tea.
Pumapagwis. A smart kid noble kid who wears the trappings of
royalty. While he is blind, he sees through his superior hearing,
allowing him to scope out the battlefield even before a war breaks
out. He is known as the Eyeless Tactician, and is known to enjoy
very trivial luxuries, such as honey tea and sugar cakes.
Dapiot. A kalabaw kshatriya who wields a kampilan and a
kalasag. She fights fiercely for her Datu, and is in love with the
Datu's binukot. She enjoys the sound of the nose flute, and is
known to be particularly good in song and melody, but not in
poetry. She likes long walks by the shore but dislikes the morning.
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Kubera sa Bulalakaw. The eternal 12 year old girl who was
blessed by the Langitnon and turned into a Diwata of Comets. She
is well versed in combat and is known for having fire feet that lets
her fly. She holds the trinity of Ancient Comet Weapons: Lontok
the Earth Pestle, Wariwari the Sea Spear, and Inikara the Sword
Streaking Across the Day Sky.
Masirum. A pandita monk found in ancient tombs, guarding a
horrible secret: a gate to the deepest parts of Sulad, where legions
of the Earthbound Aswang are kept. He, an aswang himself: a
Gabunan, an elder aswang. The tomb is the tomb of the ancient
Hexer-Datu Buyung Parangkuton, and it is packed with ancient
artifacts.
Maningning. A young adolescent girl who is also Daitan, her
daitan friend being a powerful spirit named Kaimito. She is mostly
shy and awkward, even if she wants to make friends, and she is
further ostracized due to her being a daitan. Kaimito constantly
eggs her on and encourages her to make more friends. As a daitan,
even without formal balyan training, she can converse with the
spirits and has made a penchant for solving problems with ghosts
and diwata alike.
Amedi. A young and plucky thief who is faster than her own
shadow. In truth she is aswang, which shows when one looks at her
shadow, which reveals that she has a set of invisible horns.
Whenever she shapeshifts into a cat or into her asuwang monstrous
form, she turns into a feline horned creature. She has a penchant
for shiny things, and loves stealing from nobles and other rich
creatures. She strives one day to steal the crown from Baik Hu's
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August Jade Emperor one day, but she's content with just stealing
the ruby eye of Yarashgara XII. She likes noodles and rice cakes,
while she hates plain white rice and the gluttonously rich.
Agay. A strong headed woman with a competitive streak and a
skilled blacksmith. In battle, she brings a war palo, and bashes
heads in as good as she smites the heated rods. She has a penchant
for pretty women, and can get distracted by them.
Kasandra. A bayani of the Lakanate. Fervent in her dedication to
her Datu, Datu Luksin, she fights clad in her silk cloak and heavy
elephant hide armor. Her skill with the sibat is unparalleled, and
she wears her bayani upbringing with pride. Her long straight hair
betrays her attention to discipline, and her ability to name all her
spear techniques reveals her meticulousness when it comes to her
training. Despite this, her loyalty to her skill in combat has left a
hole in her social ability, especially with those of the lower social
classes, who do not follow the same Golden Web Tapestry social
protocol that nobles tread.
Puksawan Yumi. A timawa of Datu Kalaw, a royal vassal and
retainer. He is known as the Flower Moon, as his beauty exceeds
even those of the most beautiful women dayang. It is said that Datu
Kalaw has a romantic relationship with him.
Harakay. A wind diwata who is known to transform into a
binturong-crocodile, or a dragon. He is a zealous Sentinel of his
domain, and will take it personally if someone blasphemes his
name or those within his domain. He is likely to be found near the
base of mountains, where the wind howls through caves. In his
human form, he is a beautiful young man, who can be taken for a
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woman, until he shows his true form. He fights with quick spirit
prayers and leaf blades.
Biyento Rekno. One of the princes of the Batara Lakan, the king
of the Lakanate. He is a man seemingly hellbent on his job, on
acquiring what he needs. He is heavily armored and garbed, in regal
Baikhan silvers and native gold. He's doing this so that he can
convince his father to let him go on a trading mission to Baik Hu,
wherein his beloved lives in the capital of Baik Hu, Zhong Ku.
Nia Hibii. A balyan that wears armor and goes on ventures with
her Datu in an attempt to speak to as many spirits as she can. Nia
loves collecting little items as well, and she always carries a rattan
bag with her. Her balay back in her home settlement of Bakim is
filled with items that she has collected from her travels. She is
protective of her datu, and loves nature far more than she can care
for, even moreso than her datu. She loves calamansi juice and
fragrant flowers, and hates the tea from Baik Hu and porcelain jars.
Simamari. A pandita who always carries around palm leaf
manuscripts and bamboo scrolls. These he writes upon, taking
stock of all the new things that he sees. He chronicles them back
home, writing them upon imperishable copperplate inscriptions.
He does this to expand the knowledge of the Sultanate. He loves
writing and songs, but hates sweet food.
Datu Ragyan Amamira. A fun-loving and courageous Datu, who
has a penchant for being deceitful to accomplish his goals, but only
his goals. He stays true with everything else. This does not help
him, however. He fights with a bladed yo-yo, and he strikes with a
quick blade. Many call him the Monkey Lord, for his fighting style
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and trickery. His settlement still loves him of course, and the Datu
is committed to making sure his settlement is rich and well
protected, against even the Batara Lakan and the Mahapari himself.
He loves spicy food and women, but hates men also.
Parawali Kusa Paladha. A no nonsense parawali who fights with
a hardwood staff. He always wears a shawl and long-sleeved baro,
keeping almost his entire body save for his head unexposed. His
face is almost always in a constant frown, but he cares for his
settlement and is willing to consort with Yawa to do this. Kusa is
devoted to his settlement to a fault. He loves warrior epics and
learning new things, and he hates having to sing and perform
poetry in front of an audience.
Dimatablang Dayang Kalis. A powerful noble lady that has now
escaped and is traveling the isles in search for adventure and
violence. She is well adjusted to war, and chooses not to kill if she
can help it. Her chosen weapon is a giant kris the length of her
body, which she has called Kilat, the lightning bolt. She loves eating
but hates seafood.
SETTLEMENTS
Follow the steps bellow to create a Settlement. Simply determine
its Size and Location. Each settlement is expected to have the balay
of the Datu and a place of ritual importance, whether that be a
temple, a spirit house, or a tree.
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SIZE
1. Haop - The village of a single Datu, and the households
(usually around thirty to a hundred) that follow the Datu. Has
1-2 Points of Interest.
2. Bongto - A village that is the collection of a few haop, of
two or more Datu working together. This can grow up to 300 or
more families for a single village, the size of a town. 3 Points of
Interest.
3. Banwa - A collection of villages, the size of a small city,
with five to ten Datu living together and working together.
Usually found by river mouths and shores, where trade can
sustain the population. Has 4-5 Points of Interest.
4. Dakbanwa - A collection of two to three Banwa.
Dakbanwa means “large banwa”. Not many banwa can reach
this level, due to lack of population density in The Sword Isles,
but it still exists, usually cultivated by foreign trade. Usually has
7 to 8 Points of Interest.
LOCATION
1. Mountain
2. River Valley
3. River Banks
4. Shore
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TIMESONG
This section will deal with how to bring the feel of Precolonial
Philippines to your table. This will be filled with facts about
Precolonial Philippines, its differences from modern Philippines,
and personal theories and takes on it.
Keep in mind that this is my own theories and readings on the
subject. Feel free to inject whatever more Precolonial knowledge
you have into your games. I highly encourage it. This particular
section is more interested in the dynamics of war (as that is what
will be needed in running games) and thus focuses on that. This is
not an extensive spiel or write up about Precolonial Philippines.
The sources for these are already mentioned in the Inspiresong
above.
SETTLEMENTS, POLITIES AND SOVEREIGNTY

The western definition of a “State” did not exist back then. This is
why anthropologists (who are, in the Philippines at least, working
from a Western paradigm) use the term chiefdoms and polities to
refer to them. I choose not to use chiefdoms because they have a
sort of inferior sound to them (and are defined as being a stage
before states). I personally (and in this work) reject the notion of
western civilization growth, and believe that a “nation” (as the
West defines it) is not any higher or better than the polities and
settlements that our ancestors lived in.
With that out of the way polity is defined as any identifiable
political entity, from a state to a country. We use it here to translate
the various haop, dulohan, or bayan. Haop, dulohan, or bayan is
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used similarly to the modern Filipino definition of barangay: they
are the towns made up of the followings of a particular datu.
It is important to note that only Tagalogs only really used
barangay to refer to their towns (and there is some research by
Damons Woods as can be found in their book Myth of the Barangay
that barangay was only really used in that sense after the Spanish
came). Additionally, the modern pronunciation of barangay (ba-
rang-gay) is a Spanish conception. This is because they apparently
could not pronounce or write down the -ng- sound. Thus, the
precolonial pronunciation of barangay would’ve been similar to
balangay, the boats that our forebears traveled on. That is, ba-ra-
ngay.
The concept of land sovereignty did not exist in precolonial times.
This is because of two things: there was too much natural resources
and there wasn’t enough manual labor to capitalize on it. Thus,
sovereignty and polities were not measued by geographic borders,
but rather, by the number of people that were under a particular
datu. This is an important distinction, as opposed to the classical
notion of the state, which has land borders.
Yes, a single swidden can be shared between two different (read:
friendly) settlements, provided that the datu allows it. There was
no need to fight over natural resources for it was too abundant.
RAIDING AND FEASTING

Raiding was the main form of warfare in the islands. In the
Ancient Bisaya lexicon, ngayaw was sea raids (that is, raids on
either boats or on shore settlements) or gahat for land raids (that
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is, raids that are launched from within forests or within islands).
Thus sea raiders are mangangayaw, and land raiders are
manggagahat.
The primary motive for Raiding is seizure of debtors (that is,
manual labor) to take advantage of natural resources, rather than
territories. Raids against rival groups increased chiefly status and
political sway by providing more women for more polygamous
marriages, which then supply even more debtors. Warrior Epics
only helped raise a Datu’s social status, allowing them to raise large
fighting forces across their alliance networks.
These debtors were used for both manual labor as well as
sacrificial victims to enhance status in feasts.
Feasts in Precolonial Philippines were not only celebrations as
well as means of worship or jubilation to whatever diwata or
ancestor spirit helped them, but are also status-enhancing events.
Thus their relative importance: a datu would invite other datu from
across their alliance networks to participate in feasts, so that they
can showcase their status, how grand their feasts can get, and thus
earn the respect of these other datu.
Through this, even more feasts might be made, allowing for more
debtors to arrive, more opportunities to create trading routes or
alliance networks, and more.
Datu have a monopoly on large-scale violence. Those of lower
classes (such as the warriors) can still go into war for blood revenge
or status enhancement (this being true for both shore settlements
and larger polities as well as mountain polities). However, this is
overshadowed by the datu’s conquest, and the Datu’s conquest will
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always come before an individual warrior’s reason for war. The
principal reason for warfare for the Datu is the seizing of land,
resources, and captives.
Weapons are stockpiled in the polity center. This suggested that
warfare was centralized, led by the datu as the commander-in-
chief.
The emphasis on labor made it so that battle strategies
emphasized on taking captives and other portable resources than
whole-scale slaughter.
A raiding polity would not chase after a weakened enemy. They
would instead loot the town left behind.
This has caused expansion to be less territory based and more
bond or socially based. Imagine this: a Datu who has a number of
weaker Datu following him has been raided and defeated by
another polity. Those weaker Datu that followed the defeated Datu,
would then shift their loyalties to the winning Datu, as that Datu
has been proven to be more powerful.
Raids seized debtors, elite paraphernalia, agricultural stores, and
metal weaponry.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

The principal food of Precolonial Philippines was Root Crop, such
as gabi, and other fruits such as bananas. Meat from wild boars,
deer, fish, and other game were eaten alongside it. Rice was not
actually ubiquitous. Only the richest settlements could afford it
with swidden farming, as the land was not inherently arable for
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rice. Most rice came from upriver polities, who had better farming
land for rice on hill and mountain-sides.
Alcohol was ubiquitous. It was like water. However, it is generally
not a socially accepted norm to drink alone: drinking is almost
always a social endeavor. Unless the person in question is an
alcoholic.
Farming was almost always done on swiddens for shore
settlements. Swiddens, as already mentioned, could be shared
between settlements. A work day in The Sword Isles would begin
at the first light of the Sun until the afternoon, where the sun is the
hottest. Afterwards would be rest.
ARCHITECTURE
I go more in depth about the house architecture of Precolonial
Filipinos in the Balay chapter over in the The Sword Isles
Copperplate Inscription. This is more of an overview.
Hardwood (and sometimes mangkono, ironwood) was used as
building material. The Datu’s house was usually much larger than
the other houses, and was also the townhouse and communal
gathering. Weapons can be stored here, or people could be
celebrating in the area underneath it, which was usually made large
enough so people could hang out in them. Matters of justice were
meted out here, like a king to his subjects.
Smaller houses were easier to craft, since they were made to be
easily moved with the shifting swiddens. Thus the centerpiece of
the town was the datu's townhouse.
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Even smaller houses would be built with items at hand out in the
forests, beside farm lands, beside rivers or by the shore. These
temporary housings were used by hunters, fishers, farmers, and
other workers as a brief respite from the heat of the sun after a day
of work.
Spirit houses were built alongside rivers or in front of important
spiritual landmarks. There were small spirit houses as well as
communal spirit houses (magdantang).
The general aesthetic of these houses were said to have been
grand, with sculptures upon the wood and writings upon its pillars.
It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch then to think that our houses back
then had similar aesthetics to the rest of Southeast Asia.
SPIRITUALITY
Balyan, spirit mediums, were the priestesses to the ancestor
spirits and the soul. It is important to note that the principal subject
of worship in most Precolonial Philippine faiths were the ancestor
spirits and the soul. These were the ones that were given feasts to
and were prayed to (prayers to keep one safe was offered to the
ancestors).
The pantheons and spirits that lived in nature were given
supplication and sacrifices, but for the most part they were not
worshipped. They were treated as like the Datu of nature. To be
revered and followed and respected, and not to be meddled with.
They did not need worship, for they were powerful. Prayers and
reverences to the gods and spirits were only offered whenever one
would do something in their domain. A popular example of this is
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Bisaya hunters offering their first catch to the Banwanun, who was
said to be the diwata of the forest, since they owned the forest.
MAGIC
Magic was usually unknowable, but beings with strong spiritual
power could have the knowledge of magic spells. These were called
habit. When written on bamboo bark, they were mentala, written
spells and formulas. They were apparently written in Malay for
better efficacy, but there are some papers that put forth that they
could have also been written in Sanskrit.
In Bikol, there was the concept of Puhon, which was occult power,
usually of a Datu. With Puhon, they could enact great magical
effects.
TRADING
Trading is a subject that constantly pops up throughout the book.
I give a more detailed description of this in the various polities in
the The Sword Isles Copperplate Inscription.
In general, tradnig was done through barter. Rice was used as
both a measurement as well as barter in and of itself. A ganta of rice
would value a lot.
Gold is usually not as valuable in the islands due to the immense
abundance of it. Thus, Chinese silver was more valuable and traded
for (which is reflected in The Sword Isles with Baikhan silver).
Foodstuffs sold for a lot. So did civet cats. Philippines had access
to foreign armor and weapons from trade with Borneo, Japan,
China, and Siam.
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GENDER AND GENDER ROLES
The prewestern notion of gender in the isles were functional,
from what I’ve read. Granted I haven’t read as much into
precolonial gender yet.
Those born men but went into the service of spirit mediumship
(balyan, walyan, etc.) were considered and treated as women, and
they acted like women, and there were some that would marry
other men as well.
This has caused me to think as well that maybe some datu would
be considered male (because they were referred to as a male role)
but would be born women (as there were some reports that there
were some women Datu, as written by Scott.)
This could probably go for the rest of the Precolonial Philippines.
However, remember that this is all mostly purely speculative, and
it is still up to you how to decide how to depict gender (although
anything less than a progressive view of it is not something I
endorse).
HUNTING AND FISHING

Hunting was usually done with dogs (thus the Ancient Bisaya
term for it, mangangaso). Bamboo ballistas called balatik existed
back then, as well as other traps that use pits and bamboo spikes.
Venom was also used a lot, caught from venomous snakes.
Fishing was done with harpoons and fishing nets out in the sea,
and with spears and trapping contraptions in the river.
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PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
BEAUTY
It has been written by Scott that the beauty standard in
Precolonial Visayas (and, from what I can tell, probably the entirety
of the Philippine Islands, as it was also observed in other Southeast
Asian societes) was this: broad faces with receding foreheads and
flat noses.
Thus, a popular tradition in many Precolonial Philippine polities
was skull moulding. There was considerable variation in this: some
had sloped back foreheads at front and then flattened at behind,
giving them the look of a half moon. Others were flattened on both
the front and the back.
TATTOOING
The tradition of tattooing, which has been found across many
Philippine societies, has almost always had spiritual importance. It
was a rite of passage, and could only be obtained if you had
performed an equally important thing, such as your first kill in war
or first act of sex. Not all precolonial Philippine societies practiced
tattooing. Those in Panay and in the Tagalog speaking regions
notably did not practice this, as well the Moros of Sulu and
Maguindanao.
CLOTHING
The principal clothing for men was the bahag. This is something
found across all the societies. While translated as G-string or
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Loincloth, neither are exactly true. Lowland bahag (which were
longer than upland bahag) were wide, reaching up until the knees
(they were said to be half a meter wide.)
To wear a bahag, one would pull one end of it up one’s chest, and
then the other end would be pulled up inbetween the buttocks and
then looped around multiple times around the waist. Whereupon
one would let the front flap hang down, called the ampis. Then, the
back flap would knotted and left to let down, as the pakawar. Not
only that, but bahag would be regularly decorated. Additionally,
this would be layered on top with tampi, which would be worn like
a skirt or a sarong on top of the bahag.
Bahag were so big and ceremonial to put on that men would
remove it while in the privacy of their homes.
Women in Ancient Visayas would wear lambong. According to
Alcina, they didn’t wear skirts before the coming of the Spaniards.
Instead, the lambong (which was a kind of gown or robe) could be
worn as a skirt by just tying it by the waist. However, it is commonly
pulled up to cover the breasts, the shoulders, or even the entire
head.
Precolonial Filipinos that tattooed usually didn’t wear casual
shirts like the Tagalogs that wore a baro (a collarless, short-sleeved
tunic). Why would you when your body is a work of art?
Tagalog women would wear two tapis: one longer and uncolored
one and another shorter one on top that was decorated and
colored. These were square shaped cloths that would be wrapped
and knotted around the waist to create a skirt. Above that, they
would wear shawls, baro, cloaks, etc.
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Across all Philippine polities was the wearing of pudong or
putong among the men, or tubatub among Visayan women. These
are colorful cloth that can be worn like bandanas, to headwraps, to
full on turbans. Pudong can be seen as crowns.
Also common were the baro silk jackets or badu. Sometimes
described as doublets or tunics, they vary in length, sometimes
waist-long, other times ankle-length. They frequently are collarless.
Ones made of foreign silks are wealth signifiers.
HYGIENE AND UPKEEP

Precolonial men and women across all polities oiled their hair,
used natural shampoo and soap, and bathed at least twice a day.
Not bathing was considered unhygienic. Both men and women
trimmed their eyebrows to thin crescents, and men plucked out
their beards (although Moros would let moustaches grow out).
Both men and women used makeup, from eyeliners to lipstick to
eye paint.
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BATTLESONG
This section will deal with how to set up combat encounters,
example Battle Objectives, a list of Foes that the players are
expected to find in the setting, and rules on how to make your own
custom foes! Enemies in Gubat Banwa--enemies being those that
the Kadungganan will inevitably clash against in tactical combat--
are referred to as Foes.
SETTING UP THE BATTLEFIELD

When you begin combat, you should already have an idea of what
the field looks like from the pre-established fiction: if you’re in the
forest, there wouldn’t be any lava. If you’re on the sea, why would
there be a sudden forest? Of course, The Sword Isles being a
sorcerous place, these fantastical things might very well happen,
such as strange lava diwata and coral forests in the middle of sea
currents.
The size of the battlefield is important. Never make something
more than 30x30 fields. The average field should be 18x18. This
forces combat to be close and quick, and have more Height. To
encourage better positioning, make sure that Heights are dynamic
(usually adhering to the fiction helps with this: houses and hills and
large scalable trees galore). Flat battlefields should not exist.
Heights are integral to the combat, and some Disciplines will be
using Heights to their advantage.
While setting up the battlefield, tell the players where they can
deploy. This is recommended usually to be an 6x6 area on the grid.
Make sure to intersperse your own units according to fiction, so
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that they are more believable. Before combat, have spearmen leap
out and rush towards the players, or have bowmen burst out from
the trees.
If you’re having a hard time setting up interesting terrain effects,
take a look at the Field Traits table in the combat section, which
should help inspire you, or simply use them outright. Remember
that almost every combat should have at least 1 to 3 Field Traits,
whatever that may be (heavily forested, perhaps? Or a
thunderstorm happens? Strong winds? Boulders and hilly areas?)
ADJUCATING TECHNICK EFFECTS

As much as possible, rely on the fiction and drama when
adjucating abilities. Most of the abilities only work or affect a small
squad of Kadungganan, as they are written with that in mind. Don’t
let a Technick that gives Allies strength be applied to entire armies.
COMPLEXITY
If you are a particularly new Mang-aawit, you might want to begin
with easier units to control. You may do so: simply remove 1
Technick from the Foes that you create, usually only leaving them
with Attack Abilities. Use this to help players learn about the basics
of combat as well, as it is a major point of the game.
TACTICS
Each Foe will have a Tactic section to help you determine what
they do on their turn. As much as possible, hew close to them, but
also consider common sense. Those that are easy to kill will usually
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not charge up towards the players, and those that have the ability
to turn away attacks from their allies will not hang back. However,
subverting this is just as effective to showcase that these creatures
are not simply monsters in a game to be killed: maybe one of them
is hateful or prejudiced against another one of their allies, and thus
does not do anything to protect them. Use these often, to hammer
in the fact that these are also combatants and soldiers fighting in
wars that usually they did not begin.
MORALE
Each Foe has a morale score that, if rolled over, will cause the Foe
to retreat at all costs, or surrender. Use these to also hammer in the
fact that Foes are not mindless attackers, but also people mired in
war. Use these also to cut back on encounter length, as combat can
get lengthy, and truly long combat should be saved for encounters
that are important and significant in the eyes of the players, such
as large boss fights or fights against their Datu that they have
chosen to betray.
ENCOUNTER LENGTH AND EXPECTATIONS

Encounters are going to be long and will take up a considerable
amount of time in a Gubat Banwa section, since tactical combat is
one of the main aspects of the game. Make sure that all the players
understand this and are aware of what this means: that some
encounters will get lengthy. However, Gubat Banwa is set up in a
way to make for more often than not quicker fights than others, so
expect combat to be around 45 minutes to an hour, with really
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important fights being around anywhere between two hours or so,
maybe even taking up the entire session! Gubat Banwa is built with
combat being an integral part of the narrative and the roleplaying
experience.
TRACKING INFORMATION
It would do you good to have a way of tracking down your own
units, since you control a whole squad while the players only record
a single combatant, this can get out of hand. Rest assured that the
Foes in Gubat Banwa are made considerably less complex than
player Kadungganan in anciticpation of this, and they are easy to
make. To help track the different Foes, one good way of doing this
that helps immersion is to give each foe a different unique quality:
one of them has a cow-lick on their hair, another wields a dagger,
another only has a single leg, another brings with them clay pot
bombs.
An easier way of tracking monsters, of course, is to label them
with numbers (Spearman 1, Spearman 2, etc.). Use this tactic
sparingly, and to help alleviate your tracking.
Tracking Conditions can be done with various tokens or colors,
just tell your players what the tokens and colors mean, and let them
remember along with you.
CREATING COMPELLING RECURRING FIGHTS

Stealing from iconic books, TV shows, and video games, if you
want to make an impactful antagonist that players eventually grow
attached to, it is going to go a long way to build that Antagonist as
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a Chief Class or Rival Class at a Tier that you see the game ending
(ie. If you think the game will end at Kadungganan Tier 3, make
them a Tier 2 antagonist).
Then unleash them on the players, but make sure the players
either can escape or beat them back. Or, let the antagonist do
something directly to the Player Kadungganan. In this way, they
become directly invested in the antagonist as well.
Give them a name and a strong personality. One that a Player
Kadungganan would have: assertive or mysterious or conflicted.
Afterwards, build up a reputation around them as they go through
Ventures. Let them see them once or twice on the way there, maybe
fighting once or twice, but always being bested.
Make that antagonist’s motives sympathetic. Make it something
that the Player Kadungganan would realistically also have as a
motive.
Then, at the end, let them fight. Let loose. The Player
Kadungganan will most likely win. That’s not a bad thing. The story
has done its purpose.
Maybe the Player Kadungganan will save them in the end, as well.
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FOES
Foes are the term used for enemy combatants in Gubat Banwa,
usually controlled by you, the Mang-aawit.
They for the most part use the same rules, actions, and reactions
as players (so you can use Combat Reference sheets that Players can
use). However, they cannot Taunt, Second Wind, nor Revive.
When a Foe falls to 0 Mettle, they are Incapacitated.
SPENDING GRIT
A Mang-aawit can use Grit to activate a Foe’s Grit Technicks,
Abilities, and Origin Actions. Foes can Bolster and Exceed as
well. When Foes Exceed, they suffer piercing damage equal to the
number of Exceeds they’ve already done (so if they perform their
Second Exceed in combat, that means they suffer 1 piercing damage
as they’ve already Exceeded).
They can also Spend 5 Grit to change the battlefield one way or
another, during the Start or End of the Round. The following
Battlefield Changes are examples:
1. Zone Change. You change the battlefield that the
combatants are on.
2. Roof Fall. Parts of the roof falls. Roll a d8. Place that many
half cover and terrain on the Field.
3. Herald. Put 1 new Foe on the field.
4. Second Wind. They gain Barrier 4.
5. Dust Shroud. Every space adjacent to the Foe becomes
Obfuscated.
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FOE STAT BLOCKS
A Foe is made up of a few different parts. First of all, a Foe will
have a stat block, as follows:
Name/Origin and Class

Tier and Rank | Size | Speed | Morale
Mettle | Battered | Breath
Affinities
Inflict Violence
Grit Ability
Traits (Up to 3)
Technicks (up to 3)
Reaction Technick (Only 1 at a time)
NAME
This is more or less explanatory. This is what you will call the Foe.
ORIGIN
Origins are cultural templates that inform the Foe’s traits and
showcases where they come from.
CLASS
What their Type is, to determine what Technicks they might
have.
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TIER AND RANK
TIER
Tier is the Foes’ ranking in combat, and usually represents their

strength in relation to the player Kadungganan. There are 3 Tiers
in all.
Higher Tiers past 1 would add the number of Special Actions they
have access to, and they generally have more Mettle and Damage.
● Tier 1 Foes are newly minted warriors, footsoldiers,
travelers, or faithful guardians.
● Tier 2 Foes have proven their skill, and are more skilled.
Many are enchanted beings, non human. Forces to be reckoned
with, powerful commanders and warlords who an bring down
Kadungganan themselves. This is usually the limit of human
capability.
● Tier 3 Foes are movers and shakers, seizers of heaven, and
crushers of the earth’s pillars. They are known across the world,
and their very names strike fear into the hearts of men. any are
yawa and diwata. Gods.
RANK
Rank is the Foes’ role and position in combat. Those of higher

Rank usually lead and/or command those of lower class than them.
Rank usually reflects their social standing outside of combat as
well.
Warriors
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Foes that will challenge a Kadungganan toe-to-toe. Warriors are
equal to 1 Player Kadungganan.
Handy Visual Signifiers: Confident strides, well armored or
carrying competent armaments, unafraid to get in a fight, stands tall
or exudes confidence
Chattel
Weaker adversaries, those that Kadungganan can mow down in
stylish flourishes. In fiction, these are horohan or folk without the
same “fight-staying capability” as other warriors. Chattel only
have 1 Mettle (but they are not damaged on a Miss), deal -2
damage and cannot use Grit Abilities. They equal 1/4 a
Kadungganan.
Handy Visual Signifiers: Ill-equipped, unsure on their feet,
smaller than others, wields swords strangely
Braves
Stronger adversaries, used as leaders of squads and meant to be
able to work with an entire group of people.
They represent Foes that are harder to kill, and cannot simply be
killed by Kadungganan with normal tactics. Use them if you want
to throw a challenge at your Kadungganan or show that the Foe is
important to the plot or is a major character.
• Braves have double Mettle.
• Braves can have up to 4 Technicks and 2 Reactions.
• A Brave gets 2 Turns instead of just 1.
• A single Brave is equal to 2 Kadungganan of their Tier.
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• Braves ignore the 1/round clause on Technicks.
Handy Visual Signifiers: Large, bombacious, loud, proud,
powerful, takes larger strides, taller than other chattel, exquisitely
armored, large weapons
Chiefs
The most powerful of adversaries: they are expected to be able to
handle an entire Kadungganan party on their own. As such, they
represent the most powerful of creatures, the most skilled of datu.
A single Chief is equal to 4 Kadungganan of their Tier.
• Chiefs have 4x the normal Mettle.
• They have a number of Turns equal to 4 or the number of
Kadungganan (whichever is higher).
• Have a +1 bonus to all Saves
• Chiefs can have up to 5 Technicks and 3 Reactions.
• Chiefs get access to the Shatterpoint Threshold. Chiefs
generally cannot be moved forcefully, and they are immune to
Slowed, Dazed, Rooted, and Immobilized. Whenever you inflict
one of those Debuffs or move a Chief forcibly, they gain a
Shatterpoint instead of suffering that effect. Most of the time
Chiefs can only have 2 + Tier Shatterpoints. Once a Chief
reaches their Shatterpoint threshold, their defenses are
Breached until the end of the next round. When Breached,
Chiefs can be forcibly moved, Rooted, Slowed,
Immobilized and Dazed, along with additional Breached
penalties from the stat blocks itself. At the end of that
round, they lose Breached, and lose all Shatterpoints.
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• Chiefs ignore the 1/round clause on Technicks.
Handy Visual Signifiers: Carried by others, powerful, filled with

strength, long reach, clad in exquisite armors and clothing,
expensive, orders others around, exceedingly confident
Rivals
Important, significant adversaries that are meant to be recurring
enemies through a Venture or an entire campaign. Powerful
Kadungganan, brave dimensional-hopping Datu, or peerless
Rajahnate swordsmen. A single Rival is equal to 4 Kadungganan of
their Tier.
• Rivals have double Mettle.
• They have a +1 bonus to all saves.
• Whenever they are brought down to 0 Mettle, they gain 1
Wound. Rivals can only sustain up to 5 Wounds. Rivals sustain
these Wounds for the entire Venture, and only heal them when
the Kadungganan themselves Respite. When a Rival gains a
Wound, they either continue to fight or can flee to fight another
day. If they continue to fight, they heal to their Battered value
and gain 1 Threat.
• Rivals can have up to 6 Technicks and 3 Reactions.
• Rivals ignore the 1/round clause on Technicks.
Monster
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Powerful adversaries that are larger than life, usually much larger
than other enemies. They are almost always of Size 2 or more. Only
monsters can reach the Size 5.
Monsters function similarly to Chiefs, in that they have a number
of Turns equal to the number of player Kadungganan and have
Shatterpoint Thresholds.
• A Monster will have multiple Body Parts, which can be
chosen as the target when attacking the Monster. A Monster has
Armor equal to the number of Body Parts not yet Broken. Each
body part will have a Breakage limit, which defines how much
damage that part can take before breaking and being rendered
useless. A monster will usually have up to 3 body parts. When a part
is Broken, it will usually confer conditions and penalties on the
Monster.
• A Monster has 5x Mettle.
• A Monster has a number of turns equal to the number of
players.
• A Monster will have a multiple number of Phases, usually
triggering when the Monster is Battered. These will be detailed in
their foe block.
• Monsters can have up to 10 Technicks, shared across their
multiple Phases, and 4 Reactions, also shared across their multiple
Phases.
• Monsters ignore the 1/round clause on Technicks.
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ROLE
Role is similar to Discipline Roles.
CONTROL
● Specializes in forced movement, inflicting conditions, and

literally changing the battlefield.
● More complex to run than other Foes. Has very low Mettle
● Benefits from the Protector’s protection or a Skirmisher’s
ability to capitalize on the control they put down.
A tip is to use a Control Foe as the centerpiece of the encounter,
hindering the player Kadungganan. A good Control makes enemies
easier to hit and shuts down attacks.
MARKSMAN
● Specializes in high accuracy ranged and area attacks.

● Low Mettle but accurate and usually quick.
● Benefits when Sentinel and Raiders keep the players away
from them.
Position Marksman foes far from the players and force them to
suffer the Marksman’s damage. A good Marksman deals average
damage, but as reliably as possible.
SENTINEL
● Specializes in melee attacks, controlling those in melee

range, and soaking damage.
● Punishes foes for attacking allies and keeps them away
from allies.
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● Works well in keeping Marksman and Control allies away
from the players.
Use multiple Sentinel to form a front line. A good Sentinel keeps
damage and foes away from their allies.
RAIDER
● Specializes in mobility, positioning, and high melee

damage from positioning.
● Always looks for a way to get better tactical positioning
when attacking, deals more damage with that advantage.
● Benefits when Sentinels draw attention away from them or
form flanking formations with them, as well as with Control
hampering their targets.
Raiders are your best bet for keeping players on their toes. A good
Raider deals high damage when they hit.
SUPPORT
● Specializes in granting allies buffs, additional effects,

beneficial conditions and healing.
● Has low Mettle and doesn’t have a lot of defensive abilities,
and usually stays away from the front line, although some of
their abilities force them to come closer to the front.
● Works well with Sentinel protecting them and Marksman
keeping an eye out for them.
● A good Support makes their allies stronger and removes
conditions.
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Use Supports sparingly, and when you do, have no more than 1 in
a party at any time. Use them to make your units powerful or to
force players to think around dispatching the Support first.
SIZE
Size is as already stated in the combat section. They add extra
Mettle equal to their Size -1. Size ½ subtracts 2 Mettle. Size 2 gives
+1 extra Mettle, etc. Size deducts or adds to Mettle after Tier and
Class modifications.
SPEED
Speed is self explanatory: the number of spaces a creature can
usually move with a Stride. This is usully 3, although some Traits
might give them higher Speed.
MORALE
Morale is a measure of how much an enemy still wants to keep on
fighting despite the odds. A Morale Check is triggered when:
● The designated leader (choose one when the encounter
starts) is Incapacitated.
● More than half of their allies have been Incapacitated.
The Mang-aawit makes a Morale Check once for all characters.
This is a single d10, with the target being the Morale of the foes in
question. If the roll is equal to or higher than a foe’s Morale, they
flee. If it is lower than a foe’s Morale, they stay.
If the players want to keep fighting, let them do so: but designate
a far off tile that your units can escape to once they reach it (if
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they’re retreating). If they’re surrendering, they’re at the mercy of
the player Kadungganan.
METTLE
How much damage they can take before they are Taken Out.
Unlike player Kadungganan, Foes brought down to 0 are
immediately Incapacitated, and is up to the fiction or the player
whether they are Dead or simply Knocked Out.
AFFINITIES
Will detail what their affinities are. Foes usually start with 1
Element they’re Weak to.
INFLICT VIOLENCE
Details what they can do when they Inflict Violence as an Action.
Keep in mind that Inflict Violence is not a Technick.
GRIT ABILITY
A special ability that that particular Class can do, by spending
Grit.
TRAITS
This refers to whatever unique traits they may have. Foes can only
have up to 3 Traits, and these are passive benefits for them.
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TECHNICKS
Any special abilities that a Foe might have. Foes can only have
up to 3 Technicks and 1 Reaction Technick.
Technicks have the following formatting:
[Name] * [Action Type], [Tags].

[Range, Attack, Target: Damage and any other On Hit
Effect][Effect]
Foe Technicks work similarly to Kadungganan Technicks:

you can only use a particular Technick 1/round unless otherwise
stated.
No Technick should be able to heal Foes. At most they can get
Barrier.
FOE VIOLENCE ROLL

Foes have a very similar Violence Roll, but differ when it comes
to Critical Hits. Remember that if a Technick does not have an
attack clause, then you do not need to roll it.
Roll a 1d10:
1– 3 Miss: The foe misses.
4-5 – Weak Hit: Deal damage or inflict the effect, your choice.
6-9 – Strong Hit: The foe may deal damage and/or inflicts the
attack’s effect.
10 – Critical Hit: The foe deals extra damage equal to half their
damage (before any bonuses) and/or inflicts the attack’s effect.
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BUILDING ENCOUNTERS
“This party’s getting crazy!”
Building encounters with the supplied Foe Building rules and
Foes above is easy.
A note on Encounter Difficulty: Gubat Banwa is a combat focused
game. Thus, the Mang-Aawit gets to have fun as well. Don’t worry
about accidentally killing the Kadungganan: they’re too powerful
for that. They’ll handle it. Go ham in including the most bonkers
and fun shit you want, while keeping within the parameters.
FOE VALUES
Each Foe has a value that determines how appropriate their rating
or difficulty is in comparison to Player Kadungganan number.
Warriors are equal to 1 Player Kadungganan of their Tier.
Chattel are equal to 1/4 of a Kadungganan, or 4 Chattel are equal
to 1 Kadungganan of their Tier.
Braves are equal to 2 Kadungganan of their Tier.
Chiefs are equal to 4 Kadungganan of their Tier.
Rivals are equal to 2 Kadungganan of their Tier.
Monsters are equal to the number of Players.
SUGGESTED ENCOUNTER SCALING

The following are suggested Encounter parameters. However,
remember to hew close to the Fiction. The Kadungganan can
handle it.
N = Number of Player Kadungganan.
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Easy: N - 1 Equal Tier Foes. An Easy fight should at least 1
Kadungganan to Battered.
Average: N/N+1 Equal Tier Foes. An Size 1 fight should bring
most of the Kadungganan to Battered or inflict a Wound to 1.
Hard: N+2 Equal Tier Foes. A Hard fight should have at least
half of the Kadungganan become Crashed at some point.
One thing to consider is using Chattel a lot. For an average fight,
if you want to give the feel of Kadungganan doing high action stuff,
consider building an encounter that has 3 Warrior Class Foes, and
then 4 Chattel Class Foes.
At this point, Foes don’t have excessively complex abilities. Use
this time to get the players accustomed to fights, to combat, and to
what they might face against. Remember to use environmental
effects.
At higher Tiers, feel free to get crazier with the Foes at this tier.
Give them interesting battlefield wide effects, or battlefield
changing abilities. Steal from MMOs, other Tactical RPGs, or Bullet
Hell games.
At higher Tiers, Kadungganan will be getting a lot of shit to play
around with. Use this as an excuse to go crazy with the system,
stealing from other systems, although keeping in mind basic
encounter guidelines. I recommend stealing from video games for
this for sure, especially MMO Raid Fights and good boss fights in
Character Action Games.
Finally, consider Field Traits and over the top Terrain (floating
islands, crashing ships, etc.) as they can drastically alter the
difficulty of a fight.
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BUILDING FOES
To make your own Foes is easy.
❖ Choose a Role that they fulfill, to determine what their
Traits are and what they do. When making your own Foe, feel
free to swap around
❖ Then choose a Class. These will be the core of their
fighting style, dictate what they actually do and what technicks
they use, and can be endlessly refluffed.
❖ Then their Origin. Origins are not needed, they are
optional. If you wish to showcase a generic kind of fighter —for
example, petty raiders that are ubiquitous in the isles—you can
ignore Origins. However, if you wish to put flavor and challenge
your players, slap an Origin on them. Origins do not have rising
Tier additions: when you apply an Origin to a foe, that foe gets
all of that Origin’s Traits and Technicks.
❖ Then, determine their Tier. Each Type will have a number
of Technicks that can only be used when they are a certain Tier.
Additionally, each Type begins with a single Trait from their
Role, but when they rise in Tier, you get to add more Traits from
their Role. A Foe should have a number of Traits equal to their
Tier.
❖ Determine their Rank. Whether they are a Chattel,
Warrior, Brave, Chief, Rival, or Monster.
❖ Finally, give them a Morale: this is 5 at Tier 1, 7 at Tier 2, 9
at Tier 3.
❖ Name them if you wish!
Here are the following Roles with 5 Classes under each of them.
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Most entries are split into three different categories, each
one corresponding to a Tier, with Tier 1 first, going up to Tier
3.
TECHNICK AND TRAIT ASSEMBLY

Using just the Tier 1 Trait and Technick of a foe is more than
enough. However, if you want to spice things up, especially in
higher Esteem, you can mix and match Technicks and Traits within
their Role.
Warriors can have up to 3, Braves up to 4, Chiefs up to 5, and
Rivals and Monsters up to 6 Technicks. Traits are always limited to
just 3. So a Barricade might have Steel, Summon Goblin, and
Impair for Technicks, and Ban, Unfurl, and Atrocious Aura as
Traits. That’s possible and encouraged. However at Esteem 1-2, it
is recommended that you do not add more than 1 or 2
Technicks to help speed up combat, as Esteem 1-2 is usually the
time that everyone is getting accustomed to the system.
Each Class listed below will have Traits and Technicks separated
into Tier. What these mean is that you can only slot in those
Traits and Technicks when making a foe of the appropriate Tier.
For Barricade, you cannot give them Barricade Audacity when
you are still at Tier 1.
Each Class also has a Grit Ability that they can use.
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ROLES AND
CLASSES
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CONTROL CLASSES
Breath 5/6/7 | Mettle 20/24/28 | Speed 3/3/4
BARRICADE
-- -- -- Wk --
Inflict Violence: Smash * Action, Maneuver, Lunge Finisher. Melee 2
Physical Attack against 1 unit: deals 4/5/6 earth damage. Effect: push 1 space.
Grit Ability: Batobalani Pulse * Flourish, Craft. Spend 2 Grit to push all foes
adjacent to you 3 spaces. They must save or be knocked prone. 1/scene.
Traits
Tier 1: Ban: At the start of their turn, the Barricade may choose a space in
Range 2, Burst 2. Until the end of their next turn, that space becomes hindering
terrain.
Tier 2: Rising Hammer: Whenever a foe is forcibly moved, this unit may
push them +1 space.
Tier 3: Barricade Audacity: When a craft or terrain put down by the
barricade is damaged, it deals 2/3/4 piercing flat damage to all foes adjacent to
the craft or terrain.
Technicks
Tier 1: Steel * Flourish, Craft. Put down a Size 1 blocking terrain in a space
adjacent to you.
Tier 2: Wall * Flourish, Craft, Field. Put down a height 1 wall in all spaces in
Close Wall 4. If a blast finisher is performed with the Wall being part of the
target, the Wall falls down, knocking all units adjacent to the wall prone.
Tier 3: Effigy * Flourish, Ritual, Craft. Put up an effigy to the spirits in a
space adjacent to you. As a Flourish, the barricade may shift all foes adjacent to
it to any other space adjacent to it. It cannot smash beings together. When it is
destroyed, diwata scream, and all foes adjacent suffer +1 Curse on all Violence
Rolls until the end of their next turn.
Reaction – Tier 2: Quickdrop * Response Reaction, Craft, Maneuver. When
the barricade is the target of a melee attack, quickstep 1 space and put down an
Size 1 blocking terrain in the space they left.
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WITCH
-- -- -- -- Wk
Inflict Violence: Siga/Onos/Linog/Bagyu * Action, Mentala.
Range 3 Magickal Attack against 1 unit: deals 4/6/8 damage. Choose
Siga, Onos, Linog, or Bagyu when you first make this foe to determine
the damage type of this attack. Siga = Fire. Onos = Water. Linog =
Earth. Bagyu = Wind.
Grit Ability: Dark Art Manifest. Action, Mentala, Taxing, Perilous.
Spend 3 Grit to inflict Quiet Maneuver, Ritual, Tactics, Song, or
Mentala (choose 1) against 1 foe in range 3/4/5 until the end of their
next turn.
Traits
Tier 1: Unfurl. When the witch hits with a Magickal Attack, inflict
Fray 2.
Tier 2: Lockdown. When the witch hits with Magickal Attack, the
target becomes Slowed. The witch becomes Soul St.
Tier 3: Elemental Fray. When the witch hits with a Magickal
Attack, they may make the target Weak to the damage type they dealt
until the end of their next turn. This supercedes other affinities.
Technicks
Tier 1: Gahum/Dakgahum/Bataragahum * Action, Mentala, Blast
Finisher. Range 3/4/5 Magickal Attack against 1 foe: deals 4/5/6 soul
damage.
Tier 2: Gahumya/Dakgahumya/Bataragahumya * Action,
Mentala, Shot Finisher. Close Wall 4/5/6 Magickal Attack against all
foes: deals 4/5/6 soul damage.
Tier 3: Gahumjah/Dakgahumjah/Bataragahumjah * Action,
Mentala, Burst Finisher. Range 3/4/5 Burst 2/3/4 Magickal Attack
against all foes: deals 4/5/6 soul damage.
Reaction – Tier 3: Corruption * Response Reaction, Mentala. When
the witch is damaged by a foe, you may give the Foe Ripped and Fray 2.
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HEXER
-- -- -- Wk --
Inflict Violence: Plant Insect * Action, Mentala. Inflict Fray 2 on 1 unit in
range 4.
Grit Ability: Sympathy * Flourish, Mentala, Scene. Spend 2 Grit and choose
1 unit in range 5. The Hexer and the target now gain Sympathy until the end
of the Hexer’s next turn. Whatever happens to the Hexer also happens to the
target with Sympathy, and whatever happens to the target with Sympathy
happens to the Hexer.
Traits
Tier 1: Transferrence. The Hexer may suffer Fray 2, Ripped, or Debilitated
whenever the Hexer uses a Mentala. If a foe is adjacent to them, the foe also
suffers the chosen debuff.
Tier 2: Occlusion. When the hexer inflicts Fray, inflict Obscured as well.
The Obscured lasts as long as they have Fray.
Tier 3: Bedlam. When the Hexer deals damage, they may give the target
Bedlam, 1/round. While they have Bedlam, the only valid target is the closest
unit to them, allies first.
Technicks
Tier 1: Summon Goblin * Flourish, Mentala, Summon. Summon an earth
goblin, in the isles usually known as lamanlupa, in range 3. They can be
targeted and are treated as Chattel Assassins of equal Tier. The Hexer can
only summon up to 3 Goblins at a time. Whenever a Goblin falls to 0 Mettle,
they explode, dealing 4/5/6 piercing earth damage to all foes in close burst 1.
Tier 3: Earthen Well * Action, Mentala, Field, Scene. Range 3 Burst 2
Magickal Attack against all foes: deals 4/5/6 earth damage. Effect: Lay down
an earthen well in the target area for the rest of the scene. All allies in the
well have Armor 1. A burst finisher performed within the well dissipates the
well and gives you and allies within the well Barrier equal to their Breath.
Tier 3: Plague * Flourish, Mentala, Taxing. Spread all debuffs that the
Hexer or a unit in range 3 is suffering to all foes in close burst 2 of the target.
Reaction – Tier 3: Choke * Response Reaction, Mentala, Scene. When a foe
succeeds on a save, force them to reroll it.
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ATROCITY
Wk -- -- -- --
Inflict Violence: Inflict Fear * Action, Mentala. Range 3 Magickal
Attack against 1 unit: deals 4/5/6 soul damage. Effect: the target must
move 3 spaces away from you.
Grit Ability: Agony * Flourish, Mentala. Spend 2 Grit and choose 1 unit
in range 4. They suffer Agony as a debuff. Every time a unit with Agony
moves, they suffer 2/3/4 piercing flat damage.
Traits
Tier 1: Atrocious Aura. When a foe moves into a space adjacent to you,
they must save or else lose the rest of their movement and their turn ends
immediately, even if they have Actions, Flourishes, or Strides left.
Tier 2: Mantiw (Phantasm). The Atrocity is immune to Grapple and
Slowed.
Tier 3: Forbidden Presence. When a foe makes a save within close
burst 2 of the Atrocity, they suffer piercing flat damage equal to the
number they rolled on the Save.
Technicks
Tier 1: Impair * Action, Mentala. Range 3 Spiritual Attack against 1 unit:
deals 3/4/5 soul damage. Effect: The unit suffers Curse on their next
attack.
Tier 2: Scare * Action, Mentala. Range 3 Spiritual Attack against 1 unit:
deals 4/5/6 soul damage. Effect: Inflict Immobilized.
Tier 3: Fray Soul Threads. * Action, Mentala, Taxing. Range 3 Spiritual
Attack against 1 unit: deals 4/5/6 soul damage. Effect: Inflict Dazed. Inflict
Soul Wk until the end of their next turn.
Reaction – Tier 1: Broken Ghost. * Interrupt Reaction, Mentala, Scene.
When the Atrocity is hit by a melee attack, move 2 spaces, ignoring
reactions and moving through foes.
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TRAPPER
-- Wk -- -- --
Inflict Violence: Hand Arbalest * Action, Trap, Maneuver. Close Blast
3 physical attack against all foes. Deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: Inflict
Slowed.
Grit Ability: Envenom * Flourish, Mentala. Spend 2 Grit. The Trapper’s
next physical attack inflicts Fray 3 + Tier.
Traits
Packmaster. At the start of the Trapper’s turn, you may put down a
Chattel Fist of equal tier to the Trapper in a space adjacent to you.
Tier 2: Trapmaster. All the Trapper’s traps trigger when a chosen unit
steps into a space adjacent to them.
Tier 3: Traplod. The Trapper may trigger their traps as a Reflex.
Technicks
Tier 1: Shrike Trap * Trap, Tactics, Scene. Put down a trap in a space
adjacent to you. When a foe steps into the trap’s space, all foes in close
burst 1 of the trap become Immobilized, Ripped, and suffer 2/3/4 piercing
flat damage.
Tier 2: Boulder Trap * Trap, Tactics, Scene. Put down the Boulder Trap
in a space adjacent to you. When a foe steps into the trap’s space, all foes
in close Line 5 are pushed 3 spaces and knocked prone. If they collide with
terrain, they suffer Dazed.
Tier 3: Ceramic Mine * Trap, Tactics, Scene. Put down the Ceramic
Mine in an adjacent space. When a unit steps into the traps’ space, all
units in close burst 2 suffer Fray 4, Debilitated. They become Fire Wk until
the end of their next turn.
Reaction – Tier 1: Punishing Trap * Interrupt Reaction, Trap, Tactics.
Whenever a foe saves against an effect in close burst 2 of a trap, they
suffer 3/4/5 piercing flat damage.
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MARKSMEN CLASSES
Breath: 5/6/7 | Mettle 20/24/28
Speed 3/4/5
ARCHER
-- -- Wk St --
Inflict Violence: Shoot * Action, Maneuver. Range 4/4/5
physical attack on 1 unit. Deals 5/6/7 Force damage.
Grit Ability: Aim * Flourish, Maneuver, Scene. Spend 2 Grit. The
archer’s next attack gains +2/2/3 Fate.
Traits
Tier 1: Critical Distance. If the target is at least 3 spaces away
from the archer, gain +1 Fate and Steady on your ranged attack.
Tier 2: Evasion. All attacks against the archer that are at least
from 3 spaces away suffer +1 Curse.
Tier 3: Lancing Arrow. When the archer misses on a ranged
attack, they do not lose Hidden.
Technicks
Tier 1: Rain * Action, Maneuver. Range 3/4/5 Burst 2 physical
attack on all units: deals 4/5/6 Force damage.
Tier 2: Hide * Action, Maneuver. Gain Hidden.
Tier 3: Bagyu Strike * Flourish, Taxing. The archer’s next
ranged attack upgrades a Weak or Strong Hit to a Critical Hit.
Reaction – Tier 1: Reposition. * Response Reaction, Maneuver.
When the archer is missed by a melee attack, they may quickstep
1 space.
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GUNNER
-- Wk St -- --
Inflict Violence: Shoot * Action, Maneuver, Taxing. Range 5/6/7
physical attack on 1 unit. Deals 6/7/8 fire damage. If this brings a unit
to 0 Mettle, push them 3 spaces.
Grit Ability: Arquebus Stand * Flourish, Maneuver, Scene. Spend 2
Grit. The Gunner’s next attack gains +2/2/3 Fate.
Traits
Tier 1: Loading. You may spend a Flourish to remove Taxing to
your next inflict violence.
Tier 2: Fire Dampener. Become Fire St.
Tier 3: Eagle Eye. Gain +2 to all ranged attacks.
Technicks
Tier 1: Knockback Shot * Action, Maneuver, Steady, Taxing. Close
Blast 2 ranged physical attack on all units: deals 5/6/7 fire damage.
Effect: The Gunner is pushed 3 spaces back from the target.
Tier 2: Covering Fire * Flourish, Maneuver, Blast Finisher. Effect:
All foes in close blast 3 suffer +1 Curse when trying to attack any foe
within the blast
Tier 3: Lawu Pierces the Sun * Action, Steady, Concentration.
Close Line 10 ranged physical attack: deals 5/6/7 Force damage.
Reaction – Tier 1: Overwatch * Response Reaction, Maneuver.
When a foe in range 3 leaves or enter a space within range, the
gunner may inflict violence against them.
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SORCERER
St St St St St
Inflict Violence: Mentala Blast * Action, Maneuver, Taxing.
Range 3/4/5 Burst 1 Magickal Attack: deals 5/6/7 Force damage.
Grit Ability: Arquebus Stand * Flourish, Maneuver, Scene.
Spend 2 Grit. The Gunner’s next attack gains +2/2/3 Fate.
Traits
Tier 1: Attunement. At the start of the Sorcerer’s turn, they
may choose 1 element: fire, water, earth, or wind. They become
attuned to that element, and all their damage from Magickal
Attacks can do that damage type instead. However, they also
become Wk to that element while Attuned to it.
Tier 2: Expansion. Expand all Burst, Blast, Line, and Wall
attack by 1 space and they all deal 1 extra damage.
Tier 3: Elemental Barrier. When the sorcerer first gains this
Trait, they choose Fire, Water, Earth or Wind. They now Dr that
element.
Technicks
Tier 1: Daluyong * Flourish, Mentala, Blast Finisher. Range
3/4/5 Blast 3 Magickal Attack on all foes: deals 5/6/7 Force
damage. Effect: The target area becomes warped into that
element. All units within it become Wk to Force or the attuned
element.
Tier 2: Arcing Lightning * Action, Mentala, Shot Finisher. Close
Wall 4 ranged Magickal Attack on all foes: deals 5/6/7 wind
damage.
Tier 3: Beacon * Action, Mentala, Burst Finisher. Close Burst 2
ranged Magickal Attack on all foes: deals 5/6/7 earth damage.
Reaction – Tier 2: Wind Shawl* Response Reaction, Mentala.
When the sorcerer is damaged by a ranged attack, they may use
this to become Hidden until the end of their next turn.
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JUGGLER
-- -- Wk St --
Inflict Violence: Precision Dagger * Action, Maneuver. Deal 3
piercing Force damage against a foe in range 3.
Grit Ability: Juggle Daggers * Flourish, Maneuver, Scene. Spend 2
Grit. The Juggler’s next inflict violence can be done 3 times to 3
different units.
Traits
Tier 1: Perfect Catch. When the juggler is the target of a ranged
attack, if the attacker misses, the juggler may spend 1 Grit to catch
the ranged attack and deal its damage and effects against a foe in
range 2. 1/round.
Tier 2: Kick The Bullet. Allies of the juggler can target the juggler
for ranged attacks. If they do, they may perform the attack but with
the origin space being the juggler.
Tier 3: Twice-Striking Shadows. If a foe in range 3 is damaged by
an attack, the juggler may spend 1 Grit to deal 2/3/4 piercing flat
damage to that foe.
Technicks
Tier 1: Hidden Blades * Flourish, Maneuver, Stance. Effect: Take
on the Hidden Blade stance. When you are damaged by a melee
attack while in Hidden Blade Stance, you may end the stance to
immediately deal 5/6/7 piercing Force damage to all foes in close
burst 2.
Tier 2: Ending Dirk * Action, Maneuver, Shot Finisher, Steady. Roll
a d6. The number rolled is the space of the attack, no more, no less.
If a unit is within the number rolled, deal piercing 6/7/8 soul
damage, ignoring Barrier. If the target is Battered, deal +2 extra
damage.
Tier 3: Hoodwink * Action, Maneuver, Lunge Finisher. Effect: Gain
Shirk to 1 unit in range 2 until the end of your next turn.
Reaction – Tier 2: Kasing * Response Reaction, Maneuver. When
this unit is damaged by an attack, roll a d6. They move that many
spaces, ignoring reactions.
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BLOWGUNNER
Wk -- St -- --
Inflict Violence: Slack Dart * Action, Maneuver. Range 3/4/5
physical attack: deals 4/5/6 earth damage. Effect: Inflict Slowed.
Grit Ability: Weakening Darts * Reflex, Maneuver. Spend 2 Grit
when the blowgunner inflict violence. Their attack inflicts
Debilitated.
Traits
Tier 1: Bounding Shadow. Spend a Flourish while you’re adjacent
to blocking terrain and no foe has line of sight to the blowgunner to
become Hidden until the blowgunner makes an attack or is damaged.
Tier 2: One With Nature. Become St against Earth. If already St
against Earth, gain Nu against Earth.
Tier 3: Tree Warrior. Whenever the blowgunner makes an attack
from Heights, they gain +3 Range and 2 Fate.
Technicks
Tier 1: Berserk Dart * Action, Maneuver, Shot Finisher. Range
4/5/6 physical attack: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: The target
gains Enmity to 1 unit within range 3, as chosen by the blowgunner.
Tier 2: Plague Dart * Action, Maneuver, Shot Finisher, Steady.
Range 4/5/6 physical attack: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: Inflict
Diseased.
Tier 3: Petrification Dart * Action, Maneuver, Lunge Finisher.
Range 4/5/6 physical attack: deals 5/6/7 Force damage. Effect: Inflict
Petrify.
Reaction – Tier 1: Reflexive Ripping Dart * Interrupt Reaction,
Maneuver, Taxing. When this unit is dealt damage, inflict Ripped on
the attacker.
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RAIDER CLASSES
ASSASSIN
-- Wk -- St --
Inflict Violence: Shadowblade * Action, Maneuver. Melee
Physical Attack: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: Become Hidden.
Grit Ability: Shadow Cloak * Flourish, Maneuver. Spend 2 Grit to
gain Hidden.
Traits
Tier 1: Lurk. This unit gains Shirk to all units while moving.
Tier 2: Shadowstep. When this unit Strides, teleport.
Tier 3: Shadowstriking. When this unit makes a melee attack
from Hidden, they lose hidden and inflict Shirk to this unit until the
end of the next turn on the target, 1/round.
Technicks
Tier 1: Setup Strike * Action, Maneuver, Steady, Combo. Melee
Physical Attack on 1 unit: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: When a
lunge finisher hits the target, knock the target prone and inflict Fray.
Tier 2: Blink Strike * Action, Maneuver, Mentala, Taxing, Steady,
Lunge. Melee physical attack on 1 foe in range 3. Teleport to a space
adjacent to the target before attacking. Deals 4/5/6 Force damage. If
the attack hits, do not lose hidden if this unit had it, and the unit can
teleport back to its original space.
Tier 3: Dust Clone * Flourish, Stance, Maneuver, Taxing. Gain the
Dust Clone Stance. While in the Dust Clone Stance, this unit may
spend it as a Reflex to create a size 1 clone, and then quickstep 1
space. The clone dissipates when it is hit with an attack, dealing
damage back to the attacker equal to the amount of damage they
dealt.
Reaction – Tier 2: Roll For Initiative * Response Reaction,
Maneuver. When this unit is dealt damage, they may quickstep 1
space.
814
FIST
St -- Wk -- --
Inflict Violence: Naga * Action, Maneuver, Steady. Melee
Physical Attack: deals 5/6/7 fire damage. Effect: Inflict
Unbalanced.
Grit Ability: Devarajah Stance * Flourish, Maneuver, Stance,
Scene. Spend 3 Grit to gain Devarajah Stance until the end of the
scene. While in Devarajah Stance, when this unit strides, they
deal 2/3/4 piercing fire damage to all foes adjacent to them.
Traits
Tier 1: One Thousand Naga. When this unit inflicts violence,
they may deal 2/3/4 flat damage to all foes adjacent to the target.
Tier 2: Grappler. Gain Fate on all grapple attempts.
Tier 3: Drag. Whenever this unit moves a unit forcibly,
including moving them while they’re grappled, they deal 2/3/4
piercing earth damage.
Technicks
Tier 1: Water Anyo Into Lock * Action, Maneuver, Taxing,
Steady. Melee Physical Attack on 1 foe: deals 4/5/6 Force damage.
Effect: This unit and the target both fall prone. The target is
grappled now. Every turn the target starts grappled by this unit,
they suffer 1 piercing damage, which stacks every round. Any
attempts to save against the grapple suffer +1 Curse.
Tier 2: Electric * Action, Maneuver. Melee Physical Attack on 1
foe: deals 5/6/7 wind damage. Effect: Inflict Juggled.
Tier 3: Hiyang Beam * Action, Maneuver, Scene, Round 3. Close
Line 5 Melee Physical Attack on all foes: deals 6/7/8 soul damage.
Effect: push all foes 3 spaces.
Reaction – Tier 2: Response Lock * Response Reaction,
Maneuver, Taxing. When this unit is dealt damage by a melee
attack, make the target grappled.
815
RAGER
-- Wk -- Wk --
Inflict Violence: Savage * Action, Maneuver. Melee Physical
Attack on 1 unit: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. If this unit is battered,
this deals piercing damage.
Grit Ability: Berserk * Flourish, Stance, Taxing. Spend 2 Grit
and this unit sinks into the Berserk Stance until the end of their
next turn. When they inflict violence, change the range to close
blast 3 and you may deal fire damage.
Traits
Tier 1: Rage. When this unit first falls to Battered, they become
St to all elemental damage for the rest of the scene.
Tier 2: Smell Blood. When this unit deals damage to a foe that
is Battered, they deal 2 extra damage.
Tier 3: Bloodlust. When this unit makes a target Battered or
brings the to 0 Mettle, they may perform another Action,
Flourish, or Stride. This can keep going until they no longer bring
another target Battered. 1/scene.
Technicks
Tier 1: Cleave * Action, Blast Finisher, Maneuver. Close Line 3.
Melee Physical Attack on all units: deals 4/5/6 earth damage.
Tier 2: Kalabaw Charge * Action, Lunge Finisher, Steady,
Taxing, Maneuver. Move 4 spaces in a straight line, moving
through foe spaces. Deal 4/5/6 piercing Force damage to all foes
that you move through. If you end up in the space of a unit, deal
+2 extra damage to them and push them 1 space away.
Tier 3: Magsabil * Action, Burst Finisher, Taxing, Maneuver,
Perilous. Close Burst 3 Melee Physical Attack on all foes: deals
5/6/7 Force damage.
Reaction – Tier 2: Indomitable * Response Reaction,
Maneuver. When this unit is Slowed or Immobilized, they may
immediately make saves against for either or both.
816
LANCER
-- Wk -- St --
Inflict Violence: Lance * Action, Maneuver. Melee 2 Physical
Attack on 1 foe: deals 4/5/6 wind damage.
Grit Ability: Jump * Flourish, Maneuver. Spend 2 Grit. This
unit’s next melee attack gains +1 range.
Traits
Tier 1: Reach. Deal 2 extra damage if the target of a melee
attack is at least 2 spaces away.
Tier 2: Engraved. If the target is Juggled, this unit may
consume the Juggled to push the target 6 spaces. If the target
collides with terrain, they become Rooted to the terrain.
Tier 3: Extended Blade. This unit’s first melee attack of the
round gains +1 range.
Technicks
Tier 1: Launcher * Action, Lunge Finisher, Maneuver. Melee
Physical Attack: deals 4/5/6 wind damage. Effect: Inflict Juggled.
Tier 2: Vault * Action, Lunge Finisher, Maneuver. Melee
Physical Attack: deals 4/5/6 wind damage. Effect: Move to a
space adjacent to the target that is not this unit’s original space.
All attacks against this unit by the target suffer +1 Curse until
the end of this unit’s next round.
Tier 3: Thundering Javelin * Action, Shot Finisher, Maneuver.
Close Wall 4 Melee Physical Attack: deals 4/5/6 wind damage.
Reaction – Tier 1: Skyrip * Response Reaction, Maneuver. If
this unit is attacked by a melee attack, they may move 3 spaces,
without provoking reactions and ignoring Height.
817
STRIKER
Wk -- -- -- St
Inflict Violence: Strike * Action, Maneuver. Melee Physical
Attack on 1 foe: deals 5/6/7 Force damage.
Grit Ability: Curlicue * Flourish, Maneuver. Spend 2 Grit to
Strengthen this unit’s next physical attack.
Traits
Tier 1: Bounding. When this unit makes an attack, they may
move 2 spaces either before or after the attack.
Tier 2: Heartseeker. When this unit deals damage against a
Battered target, they deal Strengthened damage.
Tier 3: Dance of Steel. When this unit misses a melee attack,
they move 3 spaces.
Technicks
Tier 1: Rushing Strike * Action, Maneuver, Steady. Melee
Physical Attack on 1 unit: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: Inflict
Unbalanced.
Tier 2: Vapor Thrust * Action, Manuever. Melee Physical Attack
on 1 unit: deals 5/6/7 wind damage. Effect: push the target 1 space
and move into the space they vacated. If they are Unbalanced, make
them Juggled as well.
Tier 3: Multistrike * Action, Concentration, Maneuver. This unit
rolls a d10. They deal 2 times the result piercing flat damage to a
target in range 2 at the end of the round.
Reaction – Tier 1: Perfect Parry * Interrupt Reaction, Maneuver.
When a unit performs a melee attack against this unit, make a
Violence Roll along with the attacker. If the attacker rolls higher,
the attack goes as normal. If this unit rolls higher, they still suffer
the attack, but this unit gets to deal 6/7/8 piercing wind damage
back. If this unit rolls the exact same natural number (that is, an
unmodified result) as the attacker, cancel the attack and deal
8/9/10 piercing wind damage.
818
SENTINEL CLASSES
GUARDIAN
-- -- -- -- St
Inflict Violence: Charging Strike * Action, Maneuver. Melee
Physical Attack on 1 foe: deals 5/6/7 earth damage. Effect: Push
the foe 1 space and then move into the space they vacated.
Grit Ability: Phalanx * Flourish, Maneuver. Spend 2 Grit to
make all spaces adjacent to to this unit become hindering
terrain until the end of their next turn.
Traits
Tier 1: Mounted. This unit is Size 2. Allies can use them as
cover.
Tier 2: Cleansing Spirit. This unit gains +1 Fate on all saves.
Tier 3: Defiant. This unit has Defiance. Defiance goes away
when this unit falls to 1 Mettle. This unit cannot be brought to 0
Mettle while they have Defiance.
Technicks
Tier 1: Magister Stance * Flourish, Stance. This unit falls into
the Magister Stance until this unit suffers Unbalanced. While in
the Magister Stance, all foes in close burst 2 suffer Enmity to this
unit.
Tier 2: Hallowed Earth * Action, Ritual, Field. Close Burst 1
Melee Physical Attack on all foes: deals 5/6/7 earth damage on
hit. Effect: Lay down a Hallowed Field in the target area until
the end of the scene. All allies in the target area gain +1 Armor.
If a burst finisher is performed within the field, the field bursts
into rainbow iridscence, granting all allies Barrier equal to their
Breath.
Tier 3: Metaspiritual Protector. * Action, Ritual, Scene. Null
all attacks until the end of this unit’s next turn.
Reaction – Tier 1: Opportunity * Interrupt Reaction,
Maneuver. When a foe voluntarily leaves a space adjacent to this
unit, this unit may infict violence upon that unit.
819
JUGGERNAUT
-- -- St -- --
Inflict Violence: Bring Down * Action, Maneuver. Melee
Physical Attack on 1 unit: deals 5/6/7 earth damage. Effect: Push the
target 3 spaces and knock them prone if they collide with another
unit or terrain.
Grit Ability: Unbending * Reflex. Whenever this unit is forcibly
moved or suffers Slowed, Immobilized, Rooted, or Petrified, spend 2
Grit to cancel that effect and this unit gains +1 Armor.
Traits
Tier 1: Momentum. Whenever this unit moves thir full Speed,
they gain cover against all attacks until the end of their next turn.
Tier 2: Iron Skin. All damage against this unit from burst, blast,
line, or wall attacks deal half damage.
Tier 3: Unstoppable. When this unit Strides, they may ignore
difficult, dangerous, and hindering terrain.
Technicks
Tier 1: Carabao Rush * Action, Maneuver. Move 5 spaces in a
straight line, moving through foes. Deal 4/5/6 piercing earth
damage and inflict Unbalanced to all foes this unit moves through.
Tier 2: Thunderclap * Action, Maneuver. Close Blast 3 Melee
Physical Attack on all foes: deals 5/6/7 earth damage. Effect: Push
the target 3 spaces back.
Tier 3: Fling * Action, Maneuver. Melee Physical Attack on 1 foe:
deals 6/7/8 earth damage. Effect: Push the target 3 spaces back and
inflict Juggled on them. At the start of the target’s turn, they are
pushed 3 more spaces and fall prone. If they collide with a unit deal
3 piercing flat damage to both. If they collide with terrain, they
become Rooted to the terrain.
Reaction – Tier 3: Shake Off * Response Reaction, Reflex,
Maneuver, Scene. When this unit is inflicted a debuff, spend this
Reaction to remove it automatically.
820
DESTROYER
St -- -- -- --
Inflict Violence: Judgment Blade * Action, Maneuver. Close
Blast 3 Melee Physical Attack: deals 5/6/7 fire damage. Effect:
Inflict Fray 2.
Grit Ability: A Good Day For War * Reflex, Maneuver. When
this unit is damaged by a foe, you may spend 3 Grit to make this
unit’s next attack Strengthened 2.
Traits
Tier 1: Blazing Hatred. All units with Fray gain Enmity to this
unit.
Tier 2: Narka Aura. All foes that move into your aura or start
their turn adjacent to you suffer Fray 2.
Tier 3: Si Wasrawana Edict. When this unit deals fire damage
to a target, they may impose their Edict. When the target with the
Edict starts their turn, this unit may consume the Edict to force
the target to spend their Stride and all their Speed to move closer
to this unit.
Technicks
Tier 1: Lokapala Ward * Flourish, Ritual, Taxing. This unit may
make 1 adjacent ally their ward. When their ward is damaged, this
unit may consume the Ward to teleport to a space adjacent to the
unit that damaged their ward and inflict violence.
Tier 2: Laksamana Whetstone Stance * Flourish, Ritual,
Stance. This unit may take on the Laksamana Whetstone Stance.
Whenever they suffer damage in this stance, they gain 1
Whetstone charge, to a maximum of 8. As a Reflex during their
turn, this unit may consume the stance to deal the number of
Whestone Charges as piercing flat damage to all foes in close
burst 2.
Tier 3: Burning Maharajah Armor * Action, Ritual, Perilous,
Scene. Reflect all damage until the end of this unit’s next turn.
Reaction – Tier 1: Kubera Command * Response Reaction,
Ritual, Scene. When 1 ally in range 2 of this unit is damaged, use
this Reaction to give the attacking unit Debilitated on their next
attack.
821
WARDEN
-- -- St -- --
Inflict Violence: Earthen Spike * Action, Maneuver. Melee
Physical Attack on 1 foe: deals 5/6/7 earth damage. Effect: Swap
places with an adjacent ally.
Grit Ability: Stability * Interrupt Reaction, Maneuver. When an
ally is the target of an attack, this unit may spend 2 Grit to move
to the ally’s space, shifting them 1 space away. This unit becomes
the target of the attack.
Traits
Tier 1: Nature Goes On. Whenever this unit suffers a Debuff,
they gain stacking +2 Barrier.
Tier 2: Reckoning. Whenever this unit deals damage, spend 1
Grit to give the target Enmity to this unit, 1/round.
Tier 3: Kalibutan. All allies adjacent to this unit Null damage
from Physical attacks.
Technicks
Tier 1: Backbreaker * Action, Maneuver. Melee Physical Attack:
deals 5/6/7 earth damage. Effect: Inflict Dazed.
Tier 2: Shift * Action, Stance, Ritual. This unit takes on the
Shifting Stance, which lasts until the end of their next turn. When
they go into the shifting stance, they transform into a giant
carabao. While in Shifting Stance, they become immune to forced
movement and Fray. Whenever a foe in close burst 3 ends their
turn, they are forcibly moved 1 space toward this unit.
Tier 3: Shifting Mangrove Method * Flourish, Ritual. Pull 1 foe
in range to a space adjacent to you.
Reaction – Tier 2: Breaking Dawn * Response Reaction, Ritual.
Whenever a foe in range 2 of this unit deals damage to an ally,
spend this to shift the target 4 spaces.
822
CHAMPION
-- St -- -- --
Inflict Violence: Glave * Action, Maneuver. Close Line 2 Melee
Physical Attack on all foes: deals 5/6/7 water damage.
Grit Ability: Weathering Stones * Response Reaction,
Maneuver. When this unit is dealt damage, spend 2 Grit to inflict
violence against the attacking foe, even if the attack is ranged.
Traits
Tier 1: River Unbent. This unit has 1/2/3 Armor.
Tier 2: Dam. Whenever an ally is the target of an attack, this
unit may half the damage as a reflex, but they also suffer half the
damage.
Tier 3: Tsunami Force. Whenever this unit moves into
adjacency of a foe, the foe must save or else they become knocked
prone.
Technicks
Tier 1: Baha Wall * Flourish, Maneuver, Scene, Field. Put down a
Close Wall 4 of rushing water. This wall is Size 1 Blocking Terrain.
This lasts until the end of the scene. If a Shot Finisher is
performed within, it deals piercing 3/4/5 water damage to all
units in the area as it becomes a wall of churning boiling water
before dissipating.
Tier 2: Current * Flourish, Ritual, Scene. This unit tethers
themselves to an ally in range 4. Whenever the ally is the target of
a hostile action, they may consume the tether to immediately
move to a space adjacent to them, no matter where they are.
Additionally, all Technicks that need an ally to be within range do
not apply to the tethered ally.
Tier 3: Deluge * Action, Maneuver, Taxing. Close Blast 5 melee
Spiritual Attack against all foes: deals 4/5/6 water damage. Effect:
The targets are all pushed 5 spaces. At the end of the round, they
are all pulled 5 spaces towards this unit.
Reaction – Tier 1: Drown * Response Reaction, Ritual, Taxing.
When a foe deals damage to an ally in range 3, spend this
Reaction to inflict Quiet X on the foe until the end of their next
turn, with X being whatever technick type dealt damage.
823
SUPPORT CLASSES
HEALER
Wk -- St -- --
Inflict Violence: Heated Diwata Blessed Dagger * Action,
Maneuver. Melee 2 Physical Attack: deal 4/5/6 fire damage. Effect:
The next attack against the target may deal fire damage.
Grit Ability: Hilom * Flourish, Ritual, Scene. Spend 3 Grit to
use this. 1 adjacent 0 Mettle Ally heals their Breath and is no
longer incapacitated.
Traits
Tier 1: Frontliner. All melee attacks against this unit suffer +1
Curse.
Tier 2: Refuge. All allies adjacent to this unit gain +1 Fate on all
saves.
Tier 3: Auto Tambal. When this unit falls to Battered, they gain
Barrier equal to their Breath, and may immediately quickstep 3
spaces. 1/scene.
Technicks
Tier 1: Spiritual Aid * Flourish, Ritual. Give 1 ally in range 3
Armor 1 and cover until the end of their next turn.
Tier 2: Strengthening Tambal * Flourish, Ritual. Give 1 ally in
range 3 Strengthened on their next attack.
Tier 3: Tambalan Stance * Flourish, Ritual, Stance. You go into
the Tambalan Stance. While in the tambalan stance, all your
rituals give allies adjacent to you stacking +2 Barrier.
Reaction – Tier 1: Supplication * Interrupt Reaction, Ritual,
Taxing. When an ally in range 3 is the target of a ranged attack,
immediately give them cover by spending this.
824
WARLORD
-- Wk -- -- St
Inflict Violence: Begin Combat * Action, Tactics. Melee Physical
Attack: deals 4/5/6 Force damage. Effect: 1 ally in range 3 may
quickstep.
Grit Ability: Now! * Action, Tactics. Spend 1 Grit. 1 ally in ranged 3
may inflict violence.
Traits
Tier 1: Umalagad Presence. All allies adjacent to this unit deal
Strengthened damage.
Tier 2: Indra Eidolon. When this unit strides, all adjacent allies
move 2 spaces as well.
Tier 3: Idda Mangubat Awatara. All allies adjacent to you reroll
all 1s and 2s on any roll.
Technicks
Tier 1: Stormblood * Flourish, Tactics. Give 1 ally in range 3 Fate
Tier 2: Giting * Flourish, Tactics. Let 1 ally move 5 spaces.
Tier 3: Bodyong * Flourish, Tactics, Taxing. All allies in range 5

gain Haste and Strengtheneduntil the end of their next turn.
Reaction – Tier 2: Tactician’s Expectancy * Interrupt Reaction,
Taxing. When a foe in range 3 of this unit makes an attack against
this unit or an ally, another ally may immediately inflict violence
upon the triggering foe.
825
MEDIUM
St St St St Wk
Inflict Violence: Call Spirit * Action, Ritual. Range 3 Spiritual
Attack: deals 4/5/6 soul damage. Effect: 1 ally in range 3 heals 2/3/4
Mettle.
Grit Ability: Ancestor Possession * Flourish, Ritual, Scene.
Spend 3 Grit to use this. The medium becomes possessed by
ancestor gods: the Medium gains, for the rest of the scene, 1 Trait
and 1 Technick from any Class, even from other Roles, of equal or
lower Tier. This can bring the medium beyond their Trait and
Technick limit.
Traits
Tier 1: Hiyang Tranquility. All allies in range 2 of this unit gain
+1 Fate on all ranged attacks.
Tier 2: Anitu Protection. All allies in range 2 of this unit gain
cover against all ranged attacks.
Tier 3: Shared Ocean of Existence. All allies in range 2 of this
unit gain Clarified.
Technicks
Tier 1: Kinaiyahanun * Ritual, Flourish. Choose 1 ally in range 3.
That ally deals (choose 1): fire, water, earth, or wind damage until
the end of their next turn.
Tier 2: Umalagad sa Gubat * Ritual, Flourish, Taxing. Choose 1
ally in range 3. They gain piercing damage on their next attack.
Tier 3: Awatara ni Mahadiwa Tala Kinabanaagan * Ritual,
Flourish, Stance. Sink into the Mahadiwa Stance. While in the
Mahadiwa Stance, all allies heal 2/3/4 Mettle whenever they start
their turn within close burst 2 of this unit. Mahadiwa Stance ends
when this unit is forcibly moved or bought to Battered.
Reaction – Tier 2: Diwata Benevolence * Response Reaction.
When a foe misses an attack agains this unit, this unit or an ally
may make a save against a single effect.
826
SINGER
-- -- Wk St --
Inflict Violence: War Kanta * Action, Song. Put down a single
note in a space adjacent to this unit. This note moves every end of
round by 6 spaces. If a foe moves into its space, the foe suffers
4/5/6 Force damage. If an ally, they gain stacking +4/5/6 Barrier.
Grit Ability: Aria of the Soul. * Flourish, Song, Field, Scene.
Spend 4 Grit. A 2x2 note appears in a space adjacent to this unit,
and moves 6 spaces every end of round. All allies within are
immune to debuffs.When a burst finisher is performed within,
the note crescendoes into a chorus, removing all Debuffs from
allies within the target area.
Traits
Tier 1: Floating Notes. Whenever this unit performs a Song
ability, 1 ally in range 3 gains Armor 1. If this unit has notes in the
field, they may move them 1 space at the end of their turn.
Tier 2: Retributive Song. Whenever this unit suffers soul
damage, deal the same amount of soul damage piercing to the
unit that damaged this unit.
Tier 3: Eversong. All allies within range 2 of this unit gain +1
Fate on all saves.
Technicks
Tier 1: Quickening Strum * Song, Flourish. 1 ally in range 3/4/5
gains Haste until the end of their next turn.
Tier 2: Sound Barrier Cut * Flourish, Song, Taxing. Deal 2/3/4
Force damage to 1 unit in range 2. All allies in close burst 2 of the
target may immediately make a save.
Tier 3: Awatara ni Salaswati (Avatar of Salaswati) * Song,
Flourish, Stance. This unit sinks into a song trance and becomes
an Avatar of Song. While they are in this stance, all allies in close
burst 2 cannot be valid targets for Magickal Attacks. The stance
ends when Salaswati is forcibly moved, is Dazed, or is brought to
Critical.
Reaction – Reactive Song * Response Reaction, Song. When 1
ally in range 3 misses an attack, they may reroll it.
827
WISE MEN (Sages, Katuuran, Parawali)
St Wk -- -- --
Inflict Violence: Purify * Action, Ritual. Melee Physical Attack:
deals 4/5/6 soul damage. Effect: 1 ally in range 2 gains this unit’s
counsel. They can spend the counsel to gain +1 Fate on a Violence
Roll or Strengthen damage.
Grit Ability: Balahala’s True Name: Batarahariraja Idda
Kalamdagan Kinaiyahan Sanghiyang Kinatas-an Balahala sa
Kalibutan (forgive me, the supreme soul’s name cannot fit this
manuscript) * Action, Ritual, Scene, Perilous. Spend 5 Grit. All allies
in the field may teleport 6 spaces.
Traits
Tier 1: Notes on Suffering. Whenever a unit in range 2 suffers
soul damage or fray damage, they may give Fate to 1 of their allies,
1/round.
Tier 2: Transcend Matamata: Matamata is the illusion of the
world. Matamata is the belief that you exist, when in truth, you are
simply the manifestations of the Supreme Soul Balahala. All allies
adjacent to you are Clarified and become Soul St.
Tier 3: Pacifism. When this unit does not make an attack on a
turn, their next turn all their damage is Strengthened 2. They may
pass this benefit to 1 adjacent ally as a Reflex during their turn.
Technicks
Tier 1: Soul Phrase * Action, Ritual. Melee Spiritual Attack: deals
4/5/6 soul damage, dealing extra damage equal to Fray stacks
currently on the target. Effect: The target becomes Debilitated. If
they’re already Debilitated, they suffer Fray 2.
Tier 2: Glorify * Flourish, Taxing, Ritual. Glorify 1 ally in range 3
until the end of this unit’s next turn. While an ally is glorified, all
attacks against them only deal 2 damage.
Tier 3: Enlightenment Harmony * Flourish, Ritual, Perilous,
Scene. All allies in close burst 3 remove all Debuffs. All Fray
becomes Barrier instead. Until the end of their next turn, they Null
all Soul damage.
Reaction – Tier 1: Clarification * Response Reaction, Ritual.
When an ally in ranged 3 brings a foe to 0 Mettle, spend this to give
that ally Barrier equal to their Breath x2. If that ally is Battered,
they also remove all Debuffs.
828
ORIGIN
Not all foes must have Origins. Foes without origin represent
units and warriors from different parts of the islands, or those that
do not hold a close allegiance with any of the major Mandalas. At
Esteem 1-2, it is recommended that you do not add Origins to your
fights, unless you and the Kadungganan are interested and well-
versed in the system.
829
Each Origin will give up 1 Origin Trait, which you put on top of
a foe block’s 3 Traits, and 3 Origin Abilities. Origin Abilities are
field wide abilities that you can use as long as you have the Grit to
use them. Each will have Tier, meaning you can only use those
Abilities when the Kadungganan are in the appropriate
Prominence.
When you have more than one Origin in a single fight, you get
access to that Origin’s Abilities as well.
There are 10 origins you can choose here: Virbanwan, Gatusan,
Akai, Apumbukid, Ba-enon, Baikhan, Issohappan, Yawa, Beast,
Undead, and Spirit.
830
VIRBANWAN
Origin Trait: 180 Burning Suns. Virbanwans are more powerful
when together. Whenever Virbanwans are adjacent to each other,
they gain Armor equal to the number of Virbanwans adjacent to
each other, to a maximum of 3.
Tier 1: To The Ashen Star. Whenever a Virbanwan unit moves,
spend 2 Grit to let any other adjacent Virbanwan unit move
alongside with the Virbanwan unit, not breaking adjacency.
Tier 2: The Measure of His Reach. Whenever a Virbanwan unit
is damaged, spend 2 Grit to let 1 other Virbanwan unit inflict
violence against the unit that damaged the Virbanwan Unit.
Tier 3: Maitresiya Prophecy. Whenever you begin a round with
at least 1 Virbanwan unit, spend 2 Grit to give all Virbanwan units
Unified until the end of their next turn. While Unified, they cannot
fall to 0 Mettle and they become immune to push, pull, shift, dazed,
unbalanced, and Juggled. Unified is also removed once they hit 1
Mettle. 1/scene.
831
GATUSAN
Origin Trait: Painted Warriors of the Endless Sea. Gatusanon
rejoice in the glory of combat. Whenever Gatusanon are flanking,
they deal Strengthened damage to the foe they’re flanking.
Tier 1: Let’s Go Raiding! At the start of a round that has at least
1 Gatusan Unit, spend 2 Grit to give all Gatusan units Haste.
Tier 2: Split The Sea! Whenever a Gatusan unit is the target of
an attack, spend 2 Grit to let the unit move 4 spaces as an Interrupt.
If this brings them out of range of the attack, they do not suffer the
attack.
Tier 3: The Great World Raid. At the start of a round that has at
least 1 Gatusan Unit, spend 2 Grit to give all Gatusan Units Steady
on all attacks, and they become immune to Slowed, Immobilized,
and Rooted.
832
AKAI
Origin Trait: Cleave The Moon! Akainon are zealous warriors
and fiercely nationalist and ritualistic. Whenever an Akainon
brings a foe to Battered or Crashed, they rejoice, gaining Barrier
equal to their Breath + Tier.
Tier 1: Ritual War. Whenever an Akai unit suffers damage, spend
2 Grit to let that unit inflict violence against the target.
Tier 2: Unhindered Steps. Whenever an Akai unit strides, spend
2 Grit to let them ignore hindering, difficult and dangerous terrain.
Tier 3: Unbreaking Will. At the start of the round, whenever you
have at least 1 Akai unit left, spend 2 Grit to give them Armor 1,
remove all Debuffs, and they gain Unbreakable Morale until the
end of the round.
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APUMBUKID
Origin Trait: Harmony. Apumbukid are stewards of nature, and
thus walk in harmony with the land. They have walked through fire.
Apumbukid units ignore difficult and dangerous terrain.
Tier 1: Elemental Attunement. Whenever an Apumbukid unit
is dealt elemental damage, spend 2 Grit to let that unit’s next attack
deal the damage type that they suffered.
Tier 2: Root Path Meditation. Whenever an Apumbukid Unit
strides, spend 2 Grit to let them teleport.
Tier 3: Enlightenment. Spend 2 Grit during the start of a round
that has at least 1 Apumbukid unit to make all Apumbukid units
immune to Fray, Debuffs, and forced movement until the end of
the round. 1/scene.
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BA-E
Origin Trait: Ancient Heritage. Ba-e was once one of the most
powerful kingdoms in the Sword Isles. They have access to greater
magospiritual artifacts. Ba-enon have cover against all Magickal
Attacks and have Fate on all attacks during the first round of
combat.
Tier 1: Ancient Jade Artifice. Spend 2 Grit whenever a Ba-enon
unit starts their turn to lay down a size 1 blocking terrain in a space
adjacent to them.
Tier 2: Apolaki Meditation. Spend 2 Grit when a Ba-enon unit
ends their turn to let another Ba-enon unit immediately take their
turn after them, 1/round.
Tier 3: Superiority. At the start of a round with at least 1 Ba-
enon unit, spend 2 Grit to impose a Type Ban: choose any Technick
Type. Whenever a foe uses that type, they suffer 2/3/4 piercing flat
damage.
835
UNDEAD
Origin Trait: Unclean. Undead stay, for atrocities linger. When
an undead unit falls to 0 Mettle, they become a pile of flesh. At the
start of their turn, they gain 1 revive token. When they hit 3, they
go back to Mettle equal to their Breath. They can be cleansed by
spending a Flourish while adjacent to them, or performing a Ritual
on them.
Tier 1: Shuffle. Spend 1 Grit at the start of the round to move all
Undead units by 1 space.
Tier 2: Ravage. Spend 2 Grit when an Undead unit deals damage
to a non-Undead unit to inflict Diseased.
Tier 3: Inevitability. Spend 2 Grit when an undead unit falls to
Battered to give them Armor 2.
LORE
The Undead are those that are supposed to be dead, but

something strange has brought them up. Sometimes it is the cause
of blasphemous Asuwang Sorcery. Other times, the power and pall
of the vengeful dead still wishing some sort of justice or penance
for their past causes the flesh of the bruied to rise from their graves,
infused with necrotic spirit. Examples of undead are patianak
female revnants, tiyanak goblins, and malanhig walking corpses.
836
SPIRITS
Origin Traits: Fabric of Reality. Spirits exist in everything.
When a spirit falls to 0 Mettle, they give stacking Barrier +2/3/4 to
all allies in the field and then they discorporate. All Spirits are St
against soul damage.
Tier 1: Holy Power. When a Spirit Support unit starts their turn,
spend 2 Grit to give all spirit units St to all elemental damage.
Tier 2: Soulpiercer. At the start of a Spirit unit’s turn, spend 2
Grit to give make their next attack deal piercing damage.
Tier 3: Kinaiyahan. At the start of a spirit’s turn, they may
choose what element they Dr, and what element they become Wk
to.
LORE
Spirits include wandering souls, strange metaspiritual

manifestations, and diwata themselves, as well as those strange
creatures that defy taxonomy and category.
Diwata are the manifestations of nature at its purest form, gods
and spirits alike. They are legion, myriad, and live within every
single thing: from swords to trees to houses. Diwata do not see
things in a human way, but rather, in nature’s way, and thus balyan
are required to speak and converse with them. Diwata are the
world, and they know this fact. Humans do not own the diwata’s
land.
837
YAWA
Origin Traits: Perversion. When a yawa falls to 0 Mettle, they
deal 2 piercing soul damage to all foes in the battlefield and they
discorporate. Unless the battlefield is purified or cleansed by
proper rituals, they will rise again after eighty seven days.
Tier 1: Fester. At the start of a round with at least 1 Yawa unit,
spend 2 Grit to put down 1 Chattel Yawa Striker on the field.
Tier 2: Desecrate. Yawa diwa fills the air. At the start of a round
that has at least 1 Yawa unit, spend 2 Grit to flip all affinities: all Nu,
Dr, St, and Rf become Wk, while all Wk become St. This lasts until
the end of the round.
Tier 3: Violence. A yawa festers and grows. Whenever a yawa is
brought to 0 Mettle, spend 1 Grit. All other yawa units gain +1 to all
damage they deal and +1 Armor, to a maximum of 4. When there is
1 Yawa left, spend 2 Grit to make the yawa a Violent Devil God: they
become Size 3, gain infinite range, but they cannot move.
LORE
The yawa exist as malevolent beings that injure man, borne out
of man’s own spite, hatred, evil, and dissonance with nature. Yawa
arise from unjust blood spilled on the ground, the masses ignored
for wealth, and more evils that only man can incur.
Specifically, they are born from specific Atrocities committed by
violence and injustice. Their form reflects the specific atrocity:
those born from mass murder might become violent yawa of wrath,
while those born from greed might be greedy yawa. Many know
838
that these yawa are warped souls of those inflicted atrocities,
perverted and corrupted.
Furthermore, many yawa are diwata that are not given proper
reverrence and have been disattached from their original purpose.
They still live within the item or object or concept that they are a
manifestation of, but they vilify it, corrupt it, pervert it into things
filled with rage. These yawa must be purified to return them to
being diwata.
839
BEAST
Beasts don’t get Grit Abilities. Instead, choose up to 2 traits on
top of Enrage to customize and make a beast.
Origin Trait: Enrage. When the beast becomes Battered, they
deal 2 extra damage, and gain +2 to their Stride until the end of the
scene.
Venomous/Blazing. Whenever the beast deals damage, they
also Fray the target.
Sharpened Claw. If attacking a target that is in a lower Height or
is flanked, the beast deals Strengthened damage.
Patience. If the beast does not voluntarily move on their turn,
they deal Strengthened damage until the end of their next turn.
Behemoth. The beast cannot be moved forcibly by smaller Sized
combatants.
Unstoppable. Deal +2 extra damage while the beast has Slow,
Root, and Immobilize. Then they ignore those conditions.
Avian. This beast ignores terrain when it moves.
LORE
Beasts encompass all animals: from animals that we might find

here in our primary world to the unique beasts that can only be
found here in The Sword Isles. Animals are part of nature, and are
respected by the people of The Sword Isles. Beasts in The Sword
Isles scale from life-force sucking mosquitos to giant slithering
pythons that cause earthquakes.
840
BAIKHAN
Origin Trait: Heirs to the Dragon. Baikhan are indomitable,
proud, and fearless. Whenever a Baikhan unit falls to Battered, they
gain +1 Fate to all attacks. Additionally, as long as a Baikhan
Support is in the field, they have Unbreakable Morale.
Tier 1: Geomancy. Whenever a Baikhan unit Strides, spend 2 Grit
to shift all units in close burst 2 of them by 2 spaces from the space
they end their movement.
Tier 2: Hell Tiger. Whenever a Baikhan has no allies adjacent to
it, spend 2 Grit to give the next attack against the Baikhan +2 Curse.
Tier 3: Dragon Javelin. Whenever a Baikhan makes an attack
against a foe larger than them or a foe with more Mettle than them,
spend 2 Grit to make their attack a Critical Hit.
LORE
The Baik Hu Hegemony is a powerful and vast empire that trades

consistently with the Sword Isles and the rest of the Archipelagic
Crescent. They ride as black steel cataphracts, ruled with an iron
fist by their immortal August Jade Emperor, with immortal
warlords and royalty being dragonfolk. Much of The Sword Isles
wealth comes from trade with this Hegemony in truth. Many of
modern material culture in The Sword Isles are the porcelains and
ceramics and silks that come from Baik Hu itself.
Baik Hu’s current August Jade Emperor is the Child Empress Zhu
Que Liu, the Vermillion Phoenix, may she reign forever. She has
her own personal mercenary company of elite warriors, known as
841
the Long Jian, the Dragon Sabers. Some of these come from The
Sword Isles.
Baik Hu itself is divided into several social classes. Below the
Emperor were the Gentry, land-owning families with close ties to
education. Below them were the Peasants, poor workers that could
only survivoe on their crops. Below Peasants were Merchants,
which while able to gain a high income, were regarded as low
because they were believed to take advantage of the labor of others
by trading items for a profit. The Debtors had little to no right, and
were considered property of their own. All these Classes, except the
Debtor, could move up in the social rungs by passing the service
exam.
Only Lungyi, otherwise known as Dragonbown, can become
royalty and emperors. Lungyi are believed to be the highest rung of
spiritual attainment, in Annuvaran teachings. These Dragonborn
take on the shape of humanoid dragons, with their bodies slithering
and serpentine and long, with floating whiskers and hair that
moves as if underwater, even in stagnant air. It is believed that
these Dragonborn are direct descendants of the Dragon Kings of
Baik Hu’s mythical foundational state, Ku Chun. They believe that
Dragonborn are born as “true inheritors” of the Empire. All other
races are simply meant to be debtors to the Lungyi.
In Annuvaran thought, it is believed that by practicing right
action, your successive reincarnations will become more and more
like Dragonborn. The Dragonborn are believed to be at the top of
Enlightenment, on the cusp of Liberation. Those born to Lungyi
842
parents are Lungyi themselves, purportedly blessed with a state of
enlightenment at birth.
Those mortals that have only one parent as Lungyi become
Bantai, halfborn. They have a much easier chance of becoming
Lungyi in their next life, and are known to possess powers and
abilities only Lungyi would have. Bantai typically have their non-
Lungyi form, but have Lungyi traits: half-tawo, half-Lungyi for
example, might have tawo with floating white hair, crimson eyes,
or sprouting antlers. While strange in The Sword Isles, and
demonic in the eyes of the Issohappan, these are holy symbols for
Baikhan.
It is not a secret that Baik Hu treats itself as the center of the
universe, and truly some might think they are right. This, of course,
is not exactly true. However, due to this, Baik Hu has begun
expanding, reaching up north to The Sword Isles and the other
empires within, in an attempt to conquer them and add them into
the Hegemony, absorbing them into the Mandate of Heaven.
In this ambition, Baik Hu has one of the largest and most robust
armies in all of Yutadagat. The war machine of Baik Hu, known as
the Sword of Creation, has staked claims in almost every major
region in Yutadagat, and has in recent times been more agressive
in terms of establishing trading colonies.
Recently, Baik Hu has become more open to trading and
accepting vassal states. Numerous trading polities in The Sword
Isles have already been accepted by the Empress as vassal states,
and have been given the title of Hwang. This includes Rajah Batara
Ambasi and Sangpamegat Dayang Kalangitan. Many believe,
843
especially scholars within Baik Hu, that this is in a bid to solidify
trading routes for easier colonization.
Baik Hu as well has been strengthening its naval armadas to
contest Naksuwarga and The Sword Isles in their own waters,
leading to more and more clashes and engagements.
844
ISSOHAPPAN
Origin Trait: Glory to the Sidereal Banner. The unit has
Unbreakable Morale as long as at least 2 Issohappan units still
stand. As long as there is an Issohappan Support unit, all
Issohappan units have +2 Speed and deal Strengthened damage.
Tier 1: Kumandante. When an Issohappan unit starts their turn
while adjacent to another Issohappan, spend 1 Grit to let them heal
2/3/4 Mettle.
Tier 2: Adelentado. When an Issohappan unit starts their turn
while adjacent to another Issohappan, spend 2 Grit to give them
Haste and Fate on their next attack.
Tier 3: Campeador. When an Issohappan unit starts their turn
while adjacent to another Issohappan unit, spend 2 Grit to let them
use their Grit Ability as a Reflex.
LORE
Issohappa is a far west Empire in the Far West Tooth of the World
Jaws. The World Jaws has four cardinal teeth, which in other The
Sword Isles traditions are known as the Pillars of the World, for
they hold up the firmament. Each Pillar has its own diwata, who is
powerful on their own right. It is said that a small number of people
from The Sword Isles sailed there during the creation of the world
and populated it. However, they were quickly subjugated by an
invading force of pale-skinned, knife-eared, 7-foot tall humanoids,
who had crimson eyes and platinum hair.
845
These beings called themselves Rex Alba, the Pale Kings. And they
believed their birthright is Yutadagat. All of it. They go forth, then,
with their Bleeding Star Emperor, who sits upon his Astral Throne.
The Emperor is counseled by a Senate. There are five Grand
Senators in all, each one being the head of a different Ministry:
War, Justice, Health, Commerce and People. The current Emperor
is Fal-Sidolfus XII, The 108th Star of Heaven, long may he reign. In
the Issohappan calendar, it is the 1521st Year after the Resurrection
of the Sanguine Prophet.
Those that sit atop, that can become Senators, Ministers, Nobles,
and Dukes, are all Pale Kings or have Pale King blood in them. No
Pale King ever becomes disenfranchised, although there are some
that might have gained their own conscience and deserted
Issohappa’s war machine. Beneath the Noble Class are the peasants:
farmers, conscripts, bandits. They live in duchies and farmlands, all
under Pale King regents, knights, and dukes. These are almost
always mortals, non-Pale Kings.
Issohappa has a standing army, composed of fusileers, pikemen,
and cavalry. They have a naval contingent as well as an aerial
contingent, which ride upon Blood-Drakes, flying bat-like
creatures summoned from the Bloody Heart of the Weeping
Mother, an artifice-cathedral at the heart of the Empire.
The Empire’s Capital is Yavum. It is carved out of the corpse of
the Far West Pillar of the Earth, after the Pale Kings slew the Far
West Pillar’s Diwata, Buyung Kanluranung Sangsangga. The Pillar
has been replaced with the Bell Tower of the Heaven-Piercing Star,
the centerpiece of the Royal Palace-Cathedral known as the
846
Mangled Hand of God, for it resembles a mangled claw reaching to
heaven. It is made of bones and ghosts-forged-into-steel.
The Mangled Hand of God still twitches, and the Bleeding Star
Emperor lives within.
Issohappa has ben expanding further to the center, where the
Center Pillar of Yutadagat stands, known as Mount Apu. Here they
believe that they will find the ruling spirit of Yutadagat, and they
will be able to fully rule the rest of Yutadagat.
The Pale Kings are ever hungry for power, for commerce and so
they send merchants to Iyamat and Baik Hu. They believe that
sending missionaries to these heathen lands will cure them of their
Sin of Ignorance, and the entire world will be placed under a single
name and empire, which must be done before the return of the
Sanguine Prophet.
To that end they have had no qualms in decimating entire
populations, or destroying entire cultures that do not adhere with
their Ashen Star belief.
There have been some infighting going on in the ideologies of the
Pale Kings as of late. None of the ideologies are beneficial to
Yutadagat.
They have come close to colonizing The Sword Isles once, when
they managed to invade Virbanwa. With concerted effort, they
were driven back. Some contingents and deserters still linger
within The Sword Isles, and Virbanwa has no doubt suffered and
internalized the suffering brought upon them by Issohappa. The
Pale Kings influence cannot be understated, cannot be avoided.
Issohappa has left the islands for now. But they are returning.
847
Through The Sword Isles, their Reconquista will triumph, and all
of Yutadagat will be theirs.
848
UNIQUE BOSSES
Here are some unique boss fights for you to use: a few Chiefs and
Monsters. These do not use the Traits from the Roles above. These
bosses do not have Origins on them yet. When building from these
bosses, it is up to you to give them a Role. If you do, give them a
Class, granting them that Class’ Grit Ability.
N is the number of Player Kadungganan.
DATU WARLORD
Lore: Datu are consummate warriors, warlords, commanders.
Seek out blood, and in the midst of the corpses will be a datu. Datu
are born from violence, after all. In their great warrior prestige, they
accrue followers and debtors, vassals and loyalists.
Use this to model the various number of Warlords the players
might visit. This Datu Warlord block is particularly malleable. You
can do the following:
- Change the St and Wk, but they must have at least 1 St and 1 Wk.
- Choose a Class from any Role to color their archetype. If you do
this, you may give the Warlord their Grit Ability, and the Datu
Warlord may use that Class’ Inflict Violence on top of their default
one.
- Once you’ve chosen a Class, append an Origin as well. Then,
swap out Traits and Technicks. Remember that Chiefs can have up
to 5 Technicks and 3 Reactions.
849
DATU WARLORD
Tier 1/2/3 Size 1 Speed 4/5/6 Morale 10
Chief
Mettle Battered Breath
96/112/128 48/56/64 6/7/8
Wk St -- -- --
Inflict Violence: Cleave * Action, Maneuver. Melee Physical
Attack on 2 units: deals 5/6/7 Force damage.
Traits
Lockdown. Whenever the Warlord hits with a melee attack, the
target suffers Slowed.
Mandate. Whenever the warlord starts their turn, all units in
close burst 2 are shifted 2 spaces.
Man of Charisma. As long as the Datu Warlord is in the field,
allies heal 2/3/4 Mettle every start of their turn.
Technicks (Up to 5)
Comet * Action, Maneuver. Range 3 Physical Attack on 1 foe:
deals 5/6/7 Force damage. Effect: Push the target 3 spaces.
Goad * Flourish, Tactic. Pull 1 foe in range 3 to a space adjacent
to this unit.
Laugh * Flourish, Tactic. All foes in close burst 5 become
Unbalanced until the end of their next turn.
Reaction (Up to 3) – Tier 1: Datu Prowess * Interrupt
Reaction, Scene. When this unit is inflicted with a Debuff, remove
the debuff immediately.
Breached: When the Datu Warlord is Breached, they only have
1 Turn.
850
GIANT BEAST
Giant beasts roam the waters and haunted isles of the Sword Isles:
from giant crocodiles, to bearcats, to lizards, to stegodon like
elephants.
GIANT BEAST
Tier 1/2/3 Size 5 Speed 3/4/5 Morale 10
Monster
15 * (N + 1) -- ¼ of Mettle
Wk -- St -- --
Inflict Violence: Rampage * Action. Melee Physical Attack
against all foes in close burst 2: deals 5/6/7 earth damage.
Body Parts
Tail. Breakage 20. When broken, the Giant Beast’s Rampage
only goes up to close burst 1.
Head. Breakage 20. When broken, the Giant suffers 2 extra
damage.
Traits
Part of Nature. The Giant Beast counts as Size 5 blocking
terrain that can be climbed. They cannot be forcibly moved.
Destroyer. The Giant Beast can move through hindering,
blocking, difficult, and dangerous terrain. If they do, that terrain
becomes normal terrain.
Technicks (Up to 6)
Tail Whip * Flourish. Close blast 3 melee physical attack on all
foes: deals 5/6/7 earth damage
Phase 2 (When Battered): Rage
Gore * Action. Melee Physical Attack on 1 foe: deals 8/9/10
piercing earth damage.
Barrel Through * Action. Move 4 spaces in a straight line,
moving through foes. All foes you move through must save. On a
fail, they’re knocked prone and suffer 6/7/8 earth damage. On a
pass, they only suffer the damage.
Breached: When the Giant Beast is Breached, their speed
becomes 1 and they only deal 2 flat damage.
851
MAKMAKIDUM HARAKAY, SERPENT DRAGON DIWATA
OF MOUNT PASUKOL
Lore: Pasukol can be found on the island of Kalaga, and is one of
the Four Great Mountains that border The Sword Isles. Upon that
mountain is a great Daknunuk, a giant pagoda tree, which can be
entered and is a natural temple. The Daknunuk acts as a
magdantang for the great Makamakidum Harakay, whose diwata
form takes upon a winged ebony serpent that floats upon storm
winds and yellow petals. He is not wont to attack for no reason,
although if he must, he will protect the Daknunuk and the
Mountain of Pasukol with all his might. In his human form, he
resembles an excessively beautiful adolescent boy.
Tactics: Harakay will wait for a creature to get in close or attack
him first before attacking back. He is conservative during the first
few rounds, but when he is Battered, he will open with Typhoon
Stream Burst and attempt to end his enemies quickly.
MAKMAKIDUM HARAKAY
Tier 2 Size 1 Speed 5 Morale 9
Monster
15 * (N + 1) -- ¼ of Mettle
St St Wk St --
Inflict Violence: Monsoon * Action. Close Wall 4 Ranged
Magickal Attack on all foes: deals 6 wind damage. Effect: Knock the
target unbalanced.
Grit Ability: Hurricane * Flourish. Spend 3 Grit to shift all units in
the field by 3 spaces, knocking foes prone.
852
Body Parts
Crown. Breakage 20. When broken, Harakay loses all St.
Wings. Breakage 20. When broken, Harakay is no longer
considered floating.
Eyes. Breakage 20. When broken, Harakay loses Enlightenment.
Traits
Wind Diwata. Harakay is considered floating and all ranged
attacks against them suffer +1 Curse.
Enlightenment. Harakay is immune to all Debuffs.
Severe Winds (Phase 2): All wind damage is Strengthened.
Technicks (Up to 6)
Jetstream * Action. Deal 6 damage to 1, 2 or 3 foes in close burst 3.
Phase 2 (When Battered): Fury

Volatile Winds * Flourish. Place a volatile wind feather in range 5.
Every end of a unit’s turn, the winds moves toward the closest unit.
When it collides with a unit, it deals 4 wind damage to all units in
close burst 2. Harakay is immune to this.
Petal Swaying in the Wind * Flourish. Harakay teleports 5 spaces.
Phase 3 (When Critical): Desperation
Storm Dragon Breaks the Sky * Action. “Let us transcend this
mortal stage!” Harakay must use this on their first turn. Deal 5
piercing wind damage to all foes and they are all Juggled. Harakay
rises up to Height 3, and begins charging. At the end of the current
round, Harakay summons a slicing wind that cuts the game in half:
all foes suffer damage equal to their Battered and the battlefield is
cut in half, removing one entire half of it. 1/scene.
Breached: While Harakay is Breached, they lose the benefits of
Severe Winds and Wind Diwata.
853
854
ANGEL
Lore: Angels are the Bleeding God’s slaves. They are hatched from
white-blood eggs cultivated in an underground dungeon under the
Mangled Hand of God. They use the dripping blood of the Bleeding
Star Emperor to power their sorceries. The Angels are like dogs, but
they sing heavenly hymns praising the name of the Almighty. They
will attack indiscriminately, and will focus on the target that is
attacking their leader.
ANGEL, Issohappan Raider

Tier 2 Size 1 Speed 4 Morale 8
Warrior
24 12 6
Wk Wk Wk Wk St
Inflict Violence: Holy Claws* Action. Melee Physical
Attack on 1 foe: deals 6/7/8 Force damage. If the target is non-
Issohappan, deal +2 extra damage.
Traits
Holy Slaves. When an angel falls to 0 Mettle, they become
inert armor. At the start of their turn, they gain 1 revive token.
When they hit 3, they go back to Mettle equal to their Mettle.
They can be cleansed by spending a Floursh while adjacent to
them, or performing a Ritual on them.
Atrocity. The angel is Wk to Soul damage.
Weird Armor. The angel gains has Armor 3. As long as they
are benefitting from this Armor, they are counted as not being
Wk to anything. Whenever the angel is Ripped, this armor
goes down by 1, until it is gone.
Technicks
Halo * Flourish. All foes in close blast 3 suffer +1 Curse on
their next attack.
Blades of Light * Flourish. All foes in close burst 2 become
Slowed.
855
856
ESTRELLA HIDALGO
Lore: A hidalgo is a noble knight with his own holdings, land,
estate, and squires in their
Homeland in the far western continent of Issohappa. Many
knights travel far and wide in search for adventure, to fill their
noble days with
trhill and excitement, as their ancestors would in their conquest,
for they have conquered most of
the world. Estrella Hidalgo are particularly skilled and honored
hidalgo, knighted rightfully by the Emperor himself. This Star-
Knighting (hence the name, Estrella-Hidalgo) blasts open the
knight’s soul and replaces it with a shard of the Bleeding God,
imbuing the Star Knight with powers and sorceries they could have
never imagined. Estrella Hidalgo sit upon a steed of starclouds built
from their own sidereal rituals. They travel to The Sword Isles in
hopes of conquering it once again for the Crown, or at least
establishing a foothold.
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ESTRELLA HIDALGO Issohappan Sentinel
Tier 2 Chief Size 2 Speed Morale Unbreakable
5
112 56 7
St -- -- -- St
Inflict Violence: Astral Saber * Action, Maneuver. Melee Magickal
Attack on 1 foe: deals 6 soul damage.
Grit Ability: Bitter Bloody End * Action, Round 3, Ritual, Maneuver.
Spend 5 Grit. Inflict Violence 2 + 1d4 times.
Traits
Holy Calling. The Estrella Hidalgo gains Fate and Strengthen on all
attacks.
Burning Bright Bulwark. All spaces adjacent to this unit are
difficult terrain.
Geryon Rushing. The hidalgo is mounted upon a starcloud steed
called a geryon. They may move through foe spaces, dealing 4 flat
damage to any foe they move through.
Technicks (Up to 6)
Damascene * Flourish, Ritual. A Damascene Blade hovers about 1
foe. Any foe can only have up to 3 Damascene Blades. This can be
consumed as a Reflex to deal 2 piercing soul damage.
Astral Shield * Action, Ritual. The Estrella Hidalgo and all allies in
close burst 2 gain Armor 2.
New Angelus * Flourish, Ritual, Scene. The Estrella Hidalgo
summons and becomes a Size 3 walking armor of blasphemous ivory
feathers and crimson ebony steel. This armor has Durability 36. While
in the
walking armor, Astral Saber’s range becomes close blast 3 targeting
all foes.
Breached: When the Estrella Hidalgo is breached, they lose Geryon
Rushing and Holy Calling.
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CHAPTER 8: REAP THE WHIRLWIND
“In the ancient of days, in the islands of The Sword Isles, back when
the earth was black and the sea was white, and there were grand
bridges that connected The Sword Isles to the rest of the grand
Naksuwargan Archipelago and the Madaki Peninsula, there ruled
warring kingdoms. The two most powerful ones were two Rajahs:
Rajah Lawin, the Ever Rising Eagle King, and Rajah Manuk, the
Earth-Sundering Rooster Lord.
In their warring, they sundered the earth, intensified violence. The

gods came down and punished them, turning Rajah Lawin into the
eagle, and Rajah Manuk into the chicken. Hence, the eagle is the king
of all flying birds, while the rooster is the king of all terrestrial birds.”
Reap The Whirlwind is an introductory adventure made for

those just getting into Gubat Banwa. It is made for Lingid
Prominence Kadungganan. This is written with 5 players in mind.
INTRODUCTION
The seas rise for a glimpse of the fading moon. The clouds incline
to hug the earth, but they never meet. A wicked fate.
In Reap The Whirlwind, the Kadungganan have travelled to the
city of Sampaga, ruled by the grand descendant of Rajah Lawin.
Here he helms a burgeoning trading port, where some Sonyoh
vessels dock before heading for Ananara. There, in Sampaga, the
Kadungganan will be sent to take care of the pest that leads an
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inland settlement threatening to take over Sampaga, led by the
descendant of Rajah Manuk.
ADVENTURE BACKGROUND
Datu Bagwis is the lawintawo, or eaglefolk, datu of Sampaga. His
mortal enemy is Datu Bongol, who has accrued a number of
peasant followers and has been training them in the martial arts in
the mountains of the island Galuga, where Sampaga is the principal
settlement. Datu Bongol is the descendant of Rajah Manuk, and in
his ancestor’s footsteps, he wishes to overthrow Datu Bagwis and
install himself as the new Datu of Sampaga, uniting the other allied
settlements up the river basins.
Datu Bagwis wishes to keep his power, of course. Who would
want to lose their ability to rule? But to Ruy, Bongol is simply a
nuisance, and a nuisance is perfect for a small warband of Lingid
Kadungganan to squash.
Datu Bongol was not born into nobility. He became Datu by

virtue of rising up from his station as a peasant peasant and honing
his martial ability. Now known for his skill with the pestle, which
he uses similarly to a bludgeon, he has accrued his own following
and established his own settlement upriver of Sampaga. His motive
is plain: Datu Bagwis’s edicts only harden the life of those in the
upriver settlements, and thus he wishes to replace Datu Bagwis.
860
PROLOGUE: SEVEN DAYS OUT TO SEA
Here is an easy way to begin the campaign: let the Kadungganan
be riding on the same biroko, or outrigger ship, on the way to
Kilumkilom. This is a perfect time for them to introduce their
characters. Either start with a roll call, going around the table to
ask each player who their Kadungganan is and what they’re doing,
letting roleplay happen.
Biroko are large merchant ships usually used for trading or travel.
They are lashed-lug boats with a hull of 15 meters long and 4 meters
wide.
This particular biroko is a ship named Silapayapa, which means
“They Who Are Peaceful”. It is owned by one of the Kadungganan
onboard, ask among your players who it will be.
While on the way there, ask which one of your players would
know the most about Sampaga. This is most likely someone with
an Origin from the Rajahnate, or someone with the Vagabond or
Atubang backgrounds. If none, choose whoever makes the most
sense. They will know the most about Sampaga, and will know
about Datu Bagwis, Datu Bongol, the warring upriver, and the state
of Sampaga as a burgeoning trading entrepot.
After a few more hours of traveling, they will find a small raiding
ship, slaughtered by a Sultanate karakoa. When the biroko comes
closer, the sole survivor--a young pretty boy named Yumul. He will
introduce himself as a Kadungganan from Sampaga, and will ask
for the help of the Kadungganan in fending off the karakoa men,
who are all warriors of the Sultanate. If the Kadungganan choose to
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help, let their Kadungganan instincts take over, and they ram their
biroko to the side of the karakoa and they climb aboard the ship.
ENCOUNTER: FEND OFF THE SULTANATE RAIDERS

Victory Condition: Defeat all foes or the foes retreat or
surrender.
Defeat Condition: All Kadungganan become incapacitated.
Foes:
Difficulty: Normal
2 Spearmen (Kaat, Usara)
2 Striker (Tarem, Minik)
2 Archers (Lubtang, Maga)
Once they succeed, the karakoa will escape, and Yumul will
clamber onto the biroko the Kadungganan are on. Even on a defeat,
the karakoa will leave, but Yumul will be killed.
Eventually, they will find Sampaga. Off in the distance, you begin
to see the ships and balay of the settlement. Large, proudly
Rajahnate, with dragons carved onto prows. Fishermen and
hunters walk to and fro upon the shores, carrying their catch for
the day. They are covered in tattoos, as shore Rajahnate settlements
were expected to tattoo their warriors and debtors.
You come closer. Off in the distance, as if floating upon the
horizon, you see other ships approaching, although at a much
slower pace. The sky moves without you. A foreign adyong or two
lie anchored in the docks.
As you arrive at the settlement, the place is aflame with activity.
Fishermen are pulling boats up the shore, ships are being tied to
862
wooden planks. Men and women all the same are readying
weapons, krises and kampilan and balaraw push daggers. You’ve
arrived at an exciting time.
THE PORT TOWN OF SAMPAGA

Once the group arrives in Sampaga, the port chief, known as a
shahbandar, an old man with a scraggly beard and a beer gut, but
with a glowing, joyous demeanor named Mudaram, asks for port
payment, asking for something they consider a Rarity or at least
three Necessities. If they cannot pay this, Mudaram simply says that
they owe him 2 Debt each.
In the marketplace, you see exports: civet cats in bamboo cages,
crocodile skin, pots of wax and honey, and hardwood being piled
onto trading boats. A pair of rowdy children playing trumpo runs
across your path. A few men and women selling their wares call you
over: some of them sell octopus and fish, others sell local silks and
foodstuffs: taro, gabi, rice.
Being a trading city, feel free to roll on the Material Culture Table
in the Core Rulebook of Gubat Banwa. All things can be found here.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Roll 1d8
1. Dakbalay sa Kahimut-an. The pleasure building, a balay
that is three stories tall, and wide enough to house a surplus of
pleasure rooms. The influx of foreigners has caused Datu Bagwis
to capitalize on this, using his women alipin into pleasure-givers
for those that can afford the pay. All payments go to him, of
863
course. The women that serve there will say that the alipin are
always taken care of, or given proper treatment. Asking for a
night of service would cost you at least 5 Commodities, or 2
Necessities.
2. Warrior Training Grounds. A fenced off area just below the
stone platforms of the noble district where Kadungganan and
Horohan train and spar. It is a pastime for many of the people
to watch intense sparring matches. When the Kadungganan go
there, they will witness an intense sparring match between the
two best spearmen in the city: Irong Kilat and Luhong
Ginsirungan.
3. The Flower Longhouse of Datu Bagwis. An old longhouse
that was carried in from the port city. The Datu lives within,
facilitating communal activities and religious activities as well.
4. The Balay of Bugna the Panday sa Bakal at Bulawan. Bugna
is a famed smith who uses her powers to help Datu Kalawag in
making weapons to arm his men to ready their siege against the
Atakuta. She is fiercely loyal to her Datu, and should Datu
Bagwis fall in battle, she will step in. She is a celebrated warrior
as well, given the name Flickering Flame for her skill with a
digmapalo, or warhammer. She is softspoken, erudite, and
meek.
5. Mangrove Parian. Near the east side, down the second
river, it runs through a mangrove forest. There, trade from
richer Sultanate and Lakanate settlements is done. There are
less people here now, as Datu Bongol’s warbands have enacted
raids upon it recently.
864
6. Ragadyo’s Commodities. A small balay that sells all sorts of
items from the entire archipelago. Ragadyo is an enthusiastic
young boy who loves speaking with manggugubat, since he
wants to go off on manggugubat adventures one day as well.
Ragadyo’s father, Sanakti, is off on a trade misison to the
Sultanate.
7. Amano Eatery. South side, up the Daganas river, is the
eatery of Amano, a dakbalay with many annexes and rooms.
Amano is a middle-aged warrior who has been given the
privilege of being a kedatuan, and now works as the premier
cook for nobles and other manggugubat of Yahabru. Amano is
witty, quirky, and confident. It is destroyed when you arrived,
ripped apart by Datu Bongol’s warbands.
8. Daganas River. The Daganas River is where most of the folk
of Sampaga bathe, laundry, and do other things that need water.
It is surrounded on both sides by white limestone stones.
Corpses lays strewn across the water.
THE FLOWER LONGHOUSE

The Flower Longhouse is wooden and long, and has three roofs and
with pillars tall enough to house community gatherings underneath
it. You see balyan nursing wounds and divining omens, secretaries of
the datu dealing with tributes and anxieties, as well as the right-hand
men of the datu lounging about.
The moment you arrive, the atubang of the datu comes to meet you.
A pleasant woman wearing oversized cloth that wraps around her
like a loose blanket. “Greetings!” She introduces herself. “I am
865
Daraakan, the Datu’s atubang, or attendant. If you’re the
Kadungganan that answered the summons, please follow me inside.”
Within, the main room of the longhouse is truly long, with large
windows so that the coldest of winds can pass through. At the end of
the wooden hall is the dais of Datu Bagwis, decorated with flowers
and palm leaf foldings, lukay, similar to origami.
“Finally,” says the eaglefolk. His wings spread out behind him like
a cloak, and his eagle-like head is crowned with majestic gold-brown
feathers. “Come, let us make this quick.”
Datu Bagwis will not be fond of entertaining any questions. All he

knows and cares is that a certain Datu Bongol has been too much
of a thorn in his side, especially when he wishes to expand
Sampagan trade even further. For the safety of the Sampagan
people, he asks for you to ride his river barge inland and deal with
Datu Bongol himself. He is not too powerful yet, so a few
Kadungganan should be enough to deal with them.
If the Kadungganan accept, they will gain 1 Debt to Datu Bagwis
for letting them use his river barge.
The Kadungganan may begin the Preparation now. If they do,
Datu Bagwis will offer to give them a single necessity, in exchange
for 1 Debt to the Datu.
866
ARRIVE LIKE LIGHTNING: UPRIVER
As you travel upriver upon the river barge, you are besest on all
sides by another warband.
ENCOUNTER: INLAND RESISTANCE

Victory Condition: Defeat all foes or the foes surrender/escape.
Defeat Condition: The barge suffers more than 24 damage, or all
Kadungganan become Crashed at the same time.
Foes
Difficulty: Normal
2 Swordsman (Sinidat, Pakid)
2 Spearmen (Paumaga, Maragsa)
4 Chattel Archers(Hamog, Banog, Lawug, Dahug)
1 Field Healer (Liwat)
Field Traits
Ambush. The field is not equal. The Kadungganan stand atop a
river barge that would be 15 spaces long and 10 spaces wide. The
foes stand on cliffs on both sides of the river that are 4 Height
higher than them. With various spaces that are 1, 2 and 3 Heights
so that the Kadungganan can find a way up there.
Barge. The barge is not yours. Each attack against it forces it to
suffer 2 damage. Once it reaches 24 damage, it collapses.
If the Kadungganan are defeated, they will be captured by the

warband and brought to Datu Bongol. If they are victorious, they
arrive eventually at Datu Bongol’s settlement safely.
867
HARMAU, DATU BONGOL’S SETTLEMENT
You arrive at a certain hilly outcropping, with the side facing the
river a craggy cliff. Favorable as natural defense, but atop that are
earthen walls that hide the longhouse within.
Within, the houses are the same as any settlement, those balay.
The ones living here are a mix of the usual tawo as well as the other
kinds of lahi: escaped Auraska, unggoytawo or monkeyfolk,
musangtawo catfolk, ugima, palakatawo frog folk, and even the rare
insect kin.
The people here are exceedingly hospitable. All Kadungganan
may choose to do 1 Respite Activity while here, except for attending
a feast. Here they will find a grand assortment of people.
1. A mothfolk named Sagaru, who traveled from Iyamat. Is
good with staff fighting, and is an ancient bhikkhu. He loves rice
cakes and seeks love.
2. A toadfolk named Igkuludlit who loves bathing in the
nearby streams. Is super chill, and will make the Kadungganan
tea if they wish. Wishes to eventually travel the world.
3. An eaglefolk named Ogkan, who is actually the warrior
daughter of Datu Bongol. She wishes to also travel the world,
loves people shorter than her (she’s 6 feet tall) and is
exceedingly beautiful. She has a penchant for whip techniques,
but wishes to see through her father’s ambition.
4. A musangtawo named Gadim. A violent cat with only one
eye left, he trades sugapa, a kind of opioid, and likes teaching
868
people to go apeshit. He is the settlement’s parawali, or
wiseman.
5. An unggoytawo named Paha, a meek monkey who loves
learning about new cultures, and wishes to find stories that she
can record upon palm leaf scrolls. She wishes to find magick
that can eternally preserve palm leaf manuscripts.
6. A lazy auraska named Sundara, once a slave in the far east,
now a warrior that gets to enjoy the way of life here. He has
become a celebrated carpenter, and he loves crafting wooden
toys for the children here.
If they head into the center of the outcropping they will find Datu
Bongol’s longhouse, also fortified by another layer of wood and
earth walls.
If they enter through the river barge, this is immediately a

raid.
869
RAID 1: BANWA BONGOL
This is the Raid presented as a pointcrawl, with the Datu
Longhouse as the goal location.
E1: LIGHTNING FLASH

Location: Wooden docks, boats upon the shore. Steep rising
land. Little fisher and huntsman huts, slowly getting denser as it
goes up the incline.
Victory Condition: Defeat the foes or let them escape.
Foe Makeup:
2 Strikers
2 Archers
4 Spearmen Chattel
870
After the Encounter: They can leave as the banwa is alerted to
their arrival, or they go even deeper as lightning begins striking the
Raid: a spirit medium has begun to summon their god.
E2: SPIRIT MEDIUM SUMMONING

Location: In the midst of the rest of the banwa. Houses all about.
A spirit house in the middle, where the spirit medium is most
likely. Thunderclouds gather overhead.
A spirit medium attempts to stop your efforts by summoning a
frog god. Your Victory Condition here is to defeat the balyan in 5
rounds.
1 Gatusan Medium
3 Spearmen
4 Chattel Archers
On a defeat, a fire god arrives, which is a Tier 1 Beastly Giant

Beast.
After the Encounter: Catch their Breath. They can choose to
either go deeper into the banwa (E3) or go around, upriver instead
(E4).
E3: SNAKING NECK

Location: A snaking position that goes up to a craggy
outcropping, where the datu longhouse is sitatued. Warriors from
higher elevations pepper you with arrows and poisonous blowdarts.
Foes:
4 Chattel Archers
871
2 Blowgunners
2 Jugglers
After the Encounter: They can advance to the Datu Longhouse

(E6), or they can choose to go into venture into the forest around
the rocky outcropping (E5).
E4: UPRIVER
Location: The river courses. Off in the distance is a craggy cliff
face that leads directly to the datu longhouse.
Upriver has the warband encountering one of the folk. Play this
out. Grant them Grit if they stoke even more drama from out of it.
After the Encounter: They can choose to cross the river to an

abandoned spirit house on the other side of the river, where a forest
of dead, blackened trees lie (E7) or they can go up the Datu
Longhouse (E6), although this requires a 4-segment Moon
wherein they try to climb the side. If they succeed, they arrive in E6
without the Datu knowing they are there.
E5: LASINUNG FOREST

Location: A thick forest with snaking paths and cold water. The
giant tree leaves provide cooling refreshments from the heat of the
sun. Snakes and owls and civet cats run across the path.
Encounter: It takes a 4-moon segment to get through this, with
the goal of getting through the thick foliage of the forest. Lasinung
872
is all consuming: once you enter it, multicolored hibiscus bar you
from exiting, you can only enter deeper.
The water here is cleansing. Those predisposed to matters of
nature would intuitively know that this is particularly blessed
waters.
They can drink of it, to gain Barrier equal to their Breath on the
beginning of their next combat, or they may fill up gourds and
jarlets with it to drink, consuming it as an Interact during combat
to heal Breath.
After the Encounter: They find a cave that leads directly up into
the underside of the datu longhouse in E6.
E6: DATU LONGHOUSE

Location: The longhouse is not as grand as shore settlements, but
great all the same. Giant hardwood pillars and multiple roofs create
a spear that lances into heaven. The Datu is within. You may speak
with him. The Longhouse halls are long and of polished wood.
Swords, armor, and gongs hang from the hardwood walls. The
windows are wide and the wind is cold. The Datu sits on a large
dais, with palm leaf stretching into the edges of his seat. Eagles and
roosters are carved into the beams, the story of Rajah Lawin and
Rajah Manuk.
You encounter the right hand men of the Datu.
Afterwards you arrive at the objective location, wherein you may
speak with the Datu.
Datu Bongl is a short yet muscular chickenfolk who always has
his hand on his marble pestle. He wears a thick water buffalo hide
873
breastplate and a hardwood salakot, or wide-brimmed hat. He
wears a corded abaca undershirt that falls to his knees. His gaze is
intense, filled with promise and conviction. He cannot be swayed.
Datu Bongol is belligerent and hostile to newcomers. Especially
considering that the river barge belongs to Datu Bagwis, if they
arrive in Harmau with it. He will demand why they are here.
Why are you here?
This is the final staging port for our final attack against Datu
Bagwis. Do not get in our way.
Why do you fight?
I have proven my conviction in blood and steel: I fight so that the
inland settlements may be free from Datu Bagwis’ exploitation, and
so that I may reign and bring Sampaga to newer heights.
Who fights for you?
These are disenfranchised warriors that have seen my prowess. I
am not nobility, I am not blue blooded. I have earned this station
by the strength of my hand.
The Kadungganan may choose to fight with Datu Bongol, in
which case they will join the Datu for the final attack against
Sampaga. If not, then they shall fight Datu Bongol there in his
longhouse.
Victory Conditions: Defeat Datu Bongol.
Defeat Conditions: All Kadungganan become Incapacitated.
Foes
Difficulty: Hard
Datu Bongol (Chief)
4x Archers Chattel
874
4x Spearmen Chattel
Field Traits
Longhouse: The longhouse is large enough for a melee. It is
10x16.
Windows: Parts of the longhouse are large windows. When any
combatant is pushed through, they are pushed out of the
longhouse.
Breakable Floors: Whenever a combatant’s attack is misses, if
the violence roll was odd, they will break the space they are
standing on, and move into an unbroken space adjacent to their
original space.
ESCAPE
If Datu Bongol is slain, the rest of the warriors will escape. Tell
the Kadungganan that they must escape the settlement safely, lest
they suffer. This becomes a 4-Segment Moon with the goal
being: Escape safely. Follow the fiction. If they fail this, each
Kadungganan suffer Wounds and are turned into prisoners that
will be brought to the final fight.
If the Kadungganan are defeated, Datu Bongol gives them one last
chance. They will next awake upon his royal fighting barge,
embarking on the final fight against Datu Bagwis.
E7: SPIRIT HOUSE

Location: A broken spirit house, silent against the babbling of
the river. Within is a lone spirit idol, made of hardwood, moss
covering it now, and a single wilted flower as a hat.
875
This is Himasawun, the Diwata of Harmau. This information is
given to the warband through a spark of spiritual inception.
The warband is transported back into the distant past, when the
great town of Sampaga actually extended up this river, all the way
to Harmau. There, Datu Bagwis killed Himasawun, forever tainting
this land, and forcing this side of the river to never blossom again.
And thus why it has been this way.
Himasawun then gives each warband an Anting-Anting of their
choice before passing fully. In the Anting-Anting are the memories
of Himasawun’s 143,783 harvests of life.
After the Encounter: They go back across the river. Traveling

deeper into the forest will not bode well: even now, the cold touch
and stench of yawa permeates.
876
THE WINDS STRIKE
If the Kadungganan escape safely, they may travel back to Datu
Bagwis. They may regale what they know, or what will happen. In
any case, all roads lead to war.
RAID 2: BREACH
This Raid is made up only of a single Encounter, denoting a final
battle.
If the Kadungganan allied with Datu Bongol, they will ambush the
longhouse. This will be Encounter 1.
If the Kadungganan stayed faithful to Datu Bagwis, they will
defend the longhouse from Datu Bagwis’ forces. This will be
Encounter 2.
If the Kadungganan become prisoners, they must choose whether
to fight for Datu Bongol or Datu Bagiws, in which case you go to
the referred Encounter. If they choose to fight for Datu Bagwis, they
begin within enemy forces.
If the Kadungganan chooses to fight both, they may do so, leading
to Encounter 3.
If the Kadungganan slew Datu Bongol, this leads to Encounter 4.
ENCOUNTER 1: ROOSTER RIPS THE EAGLE

Victory Condition: Defeat Datu Bagwis.
Defeat Condition: Datu Bongol is brought to 0 Mettle or the
Kadungganan are incapacitated.
Foes
877
Difficulty: Hard
Datu Bagwis (Gatusan Sentinel Datu Warlord)
Sagindila (Brave Guardian)
4 Chattel Archers
Field Traits
City: The fighting takes place outside of Datu Bagwis’ longhouse.
There is a wide area in the middle, but various balay of Heights 2+
around the area as well. These houses are considered blocking
terrain.
If defeated, the Kadungganan are brought before Datu Bagwis.

Datu Bagwis will gain another Debt from the Kadungganan, and
they will be told to serve him as his vassals.
If victorious, the Kadungganan install Datu Bongol as the new
chief of Sampaga, and reforms begin. Inland settlers also travel and
make house in Sampaga.
ENCOUNTER 2: THE EAGLE SUNDERS THE ROOSTER

Victory Condition: Defeat Datu Bongol.
Defeat Condition: Datu Bagwis falls to 0 Mettle or the
Kadungganan are incapacitated.
Foes
Difficulty: Hard
Datu Bongol (Gatusan Sentinel Datu Warlord)
2 Strikers
2 Spearmen
Field Traits
878
terrain.
If defeated, Datu Bongol takes over Sampaga and beheads Datu

Bagwis. Reforms begin. Bongol allows the Kadungganan to become
his vassals, and the Kadungganan owe him 1 Debt.
If victorious, Datu Bagwis beheads Datu Bongol and pushes back
the rest of the inland settlements. Datu Bagwis will have council
with the rest of his people to see the next best course of action,
which the Kadungganan may participate in.
ENCOUNTER 3: STEEL MURDERS EAGLE AND

ROOSTER
Victory Condition: Defeat Datu Bongol and Datu Bagwis
Defeat Condition: The Kadungganan are incapacitated.
Foes
Difficulty: Very Hard
Datu Bongol (Gatusan Sentinel Datu Warlord)
4 Chattel Assassins allied to Bongol
4 Chattel Fists allied to Bongol
Datu Bagwis (Gatusan Control Datu Warlord)
4 Chattel Guardians allied to Bagwis
4 Chattel Healers allied to Bagwis
879
Datu Bagwis and Datu Bongol will still try to defeat each other
here, but when they both fall to Battered and notice the
Kadungganan still standing, they will redirect their efforts and
attack the Kadungganan.
Field Traits
terrain.
If defeated, Datu Bongol and Datu Bagwis will continue fighting.

Whoever has more Mettle when the Kadungganan are defeated will
win. The winner will kill the other and the Kadungganan will owe
them 1 Debt, and that Datu will make them his vassals.
If victorious, both Datu Bongol and Datu Bagwis are defeated.
You can choose to kill them or not, but the fate of Sampaga rests
with you now.
ENCOUNTER 4: LIVE AND DIE AND KNOW

Victory Condition: All foes are defeated.
Defeat Condition: All Kadungganan are incapacitated, or Datu
Bagwis is brought to 0 Mettle.
Foes
Difficulty: Hard
1 Brave Guardian
1 Brave Hexer
4 Chattel Spearman
880
4 Chattel Fists
4 Chattel Archer
All of the Foes here have Unbreakable Morale. They fight for their
dead datu. Name them.
Field Traits
terrain.
If defeated, the warriors finally defeat Datu Bagwis, and they

establish Datu Bongol’s daughter, Ogkan, as the new datu.
If victorious, the remnants of Datu Bongol’s insurrection

disappear. What is next for Sampaga?
881
DENOUMENT
At the end of it all, depending on what happened, the
Kadungganan will still be at the forefront. Use this to spring off
into your own games! Thank you for enjoying the game.
Rejoice in the glory of combat until violence is gone.
882
883
884

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1

Father, o father tell me why

We kill to live and live to kill

Father, o father tell me now

Copyright: GUBAT-BANWA belongs to Joaquin Kyle

WHAT IS GUBAT BANWA? 48

CHAPTER 2: FLOW OF PLAY 114

CHAPTER 3: TACTICAL VIOLENCE 138

HOSTILE ACTIONS 139

CHAPTER 4: THE KADUNGGANAN 187

THE APPROACHING STORM 187

CHAPTER 5: EQUIPMENT AND SUNDRY 595

CHAPTER 6: THE SWORD ISLES 615

SUGILANON, OR A STORY 616

CHAPTER 7: FOR THE MANG-AAWIT 726

CHAPTER 8: REAP THE WHIRLWIND 859

An oripun man sprawled to his knees before her, hands scrabbling

The archipelago of never ending war...

THE SEVENTH SUN ERA

THE SEVENTH MOON ERA

THE SEVENTH STAR ERA

THE EIGHTH SUN ERA

THE EIGHTH MOON ERA

LAY OF THE SWORD ISLES

THE RAJAHNATE OF GATUSAN

THE CONFEDERATION OF APUMBUKID

THE SULTANATE OF AKAI

Here’s how you play:

Then, gather some dice.

Then, some Character Sheets.

Then, create the Kadungganan and Kadungganan party.

Those that will be playing as the Kadungganan will be creating

Finally, learn the rules.

THE BULAWAN RULE

THE PILAK RULE

THE TANSO RULE

THE DUGO RULE

THE PUTHAW RULE

DEPICT A WAR TORN WORLD

CARE ABOUT COMBAT AND MAKE IT STYLISH

PLAY INTO THE MELODRAMA

LEARN TO FIGHT TOGETHER

MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS HAVING FUN

Vigor is rolled when approaching things diplomatically or when

The Moon is a tool used to gauge accumulated progress to a

Saniogo seeks to outrun a rushing tigbalan. The Mang-aawit states

As the game goes on, things that you do in the fiction--whether it

Saniogo attempts to leap across a chasm to escape the tigbalan.

LET THEM COWER

OWE THEM ONE

PAY WHAT’S OWED

OFFER BETEL NUT CHEW

TEMPER YOUR FEELINGS

PRESS THEIR SOUL

THE HEART CHOOSES

Fight for those who cannot fight.

Games of Gubat Banwa are always played in two turns:

Ventures are episodes of excitement and danger that the

COMMUNES AND WILDS

LEAP INTO VIOLENCE

CATCH YOUR BREATH

QUICK AND DIRTY BLOODSHED

BRING FORTH CREATION

PLY THE MARKET