Warlords of NUM
The World of NUM NUM (which rhymes with "doom") is the world of the living¸ where mortals grapple with their fates and await their destinies. It is called NUM after the Numina¸ the gods that oversaw the birth of the world¸ and who eventually will see its end. NUM was the first word spoken by the first god¸ which breathed life into the world; some say that this word reverberates still¸ and when the last echoes of the first word fade¸ the world will fade as well. NUM is a barbaric world¸ and it breeds barbaric people. The lands of Thrace¸ Khitai¸ and Ilwraithe are no exception: force is respected¸ and the weak are enslaved¸ or worse. In Thrace¸ to the west of Khitai¸ is this fact least obscured: the Thracians are brutal¸ coarse¸ and uncivilized¸ even by the standards of NUM. By contrast¸ the Ilwraithe to the east of Khitai have a veneer of culture and sophistication¸ and indeed¸ the Ilwraithe do value such arts as calligraphy¸ music¸ and ceremonial dance¸ but at the core of Ilwraithe society is a strict heirarchy wherein those with power extract absolute obedience from those with less. Between these two extremes lie the lands of Khitai. In Khitai¸ the weak are still subjected to the depredations of the strong¸ but for the most part the people of Khitai are more civilized than the Thracians and less oppressed than the Ilwraithe. Khitai is separated into four parts: Scythia¸ Symeria¸ Kazaran¸ and Cinnabar. The inhabitants of the Cinnabar Sultanate are arguably the least barbaric of these. Cinnabar has fertile soil (by the standards of NUM¸ anyway) and easy access to the sea¸ making Cinnabar the most prosperous kingdom in Khitai. The precious metal arn is as rare in Cinnabar as in the rest of NUM¸ but the Cinnabari knowledge of metallurgy is more advanced than most¸ and the bronze scimitars of Cinnabar are effective and valued weapons. Cinnabar was conquered by the Ilwraithe some score years ago¸ along with the rest of Khitai. Fortunately for the Khitaj¸ the Ilwraithe were content to leave behind only a few representives of their Empire¸ and the bulk of their vast army returned home to the East. The Satraps¸ as the Ilwraithe overlords are called¸ seldom meddle in the affairs of the Sultanate¸ content to lounge in the palaces of the rulers over whom they keep watch¸ and count the tribute sent through them back to Kangxi¸ Seventh Golden Emperor of the Dynasty of Tsang¸ ruler of the Ilwraithe Imperium.
Warlords of NUM ("NUM" rhymes with "doom") is based on the classic series of fantasy adventure books by Norman Doyle-Rice. From the first in the series¸ Beast Men of NUM¸ to his last novel (finished after Doyle-Rice"s death by his biographer and close friend¸ September Bereft)¸ Witch Kings of NUM¸ Norman Doyle-Rice entertained and titillated readers with over 100 novels spanning nearly 60 years. We at Black Gate Publishing owe a debt of gratitude to the estate of Norman Doyle-Rice for allowing us to adapt Doyle-Rice"s groundbreaking fantasy fiction to a role-playing game. Authors from Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock to Roger Zelazny and Steven Brust (among others) have cited Norman Doyle-Rice as a seminal influence. His impact on the fantasy genre can be seen everywhere today¸ as the themes and issues that were considered taboo and shocking when Doyle-Rice first introduced them in Beast Men of NUM in 1932¸ such as unabashed sexuality¸ dominance and submission¸ and anthopomorphic zoophilia (more commonly called "furry")¸ have become staples of the genre - even the cover illustrations of the NUM novels¸ which were once condemned by moralists as "prurient" and "obscene"¸ are now appreciated as works of art in their own right¸ and the coffee table edition of Biceps and Bosoms: The Art of NUM is in its seventeenth edition¸ and still selling strong. Even beyond the literary field¸ the work of Norman Doyle-Rice has permeated the popular culture. Phrases which first appeared in the NUM novels are now regularly heard in television shows and movies (such as the "I will rape your skull!" threat spoken by Gerard Depardieu to Matthew Broderick in the romantic comedy Addicted to Love)¸ and the titles of Doyle-Rice"s books are frequently found on the Billboard Top 40 as the names of popular bands (the most recent example being the singing group which took its name from the novel Spice Girls of NUM). A special debt of gratitude is due to September Bereft¸ who has provided invaluable assistance in making available to us Norman Doyle-Rice"s original notes and manuscripts for the NUM novels. September has also provided guidance in making the translation from NUM "the novels" to NUM "the role-playing game"¸ and has helped clear up some of the minor inconsistencies that inevitably crept into the world of NUM as the series of novels grew. (For example¸ in War Dancers of NUM¸ it is stated that the Khûl are not sexually compatible with Khitaj¸ yet in Spice Girls of NUM¸ the harem of the spice lord Alessandro Spectre includes not only Khitaj and Zinjan women¸ but a Khûl woman as well. September was very helpful in explaining just how this apparent contradiction could be resolved.) Because there are so many novels in the NUM series¸ and because each introduces such a depth and variety of new characters¸ settings¸ and events¸ we will be approaching the NUM role-playing game from an angle unlike any game published before. Rather than release a single book with the complete game setting (which would require hundreds¸ if not thousands of pages)¸ we will be releasing the core game first (under the title Warlords of NUM¸ which should be available in late 1999)¸ and then we will translate each of Doyle-Rice"s novels into the role-playing game. This will allow us to slowly reveal the world of NUM in an orderly fashion¸ one sourcebook every month or so¸ with each supplement being both reasonably priced and filled with the rich tapestry of detail that so distinguished Norman Doyle-Rice"s work. In the meantime¸ we offer this WWW preview of NUM as a tribute to the genius that was Norman Doyle-Rice. We hope that this role-playing game adaptation pleases the many fans of Norman