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2nd Movement - Zu

Fluff and crunch adapted from the original book. Example Zu adapted from Harald on the forums.

Zu is more than a language to the Zaru; it is also a religion. The beliefs of the Zaru people can best be described as “spiritual humanism.” They believe zu is the language that was used to create the world by the First Man, and that all humans are his descendants, all divine. When the first murder occurred, zu was corrupted, as murder is destruction, the antithesis of what humans were born to do.

The Zaru have always seen themselves as the caretakers of zu, keeping it pure in the face of a fallen world. Hanish, the Zaru that traveled to King Absolon and helped stop the Sky Fire, changed the nature of zu with his final chant, altering the path of the Zaru forever.

Zaru Priesthoods

There are several priestly organizations loosely forming in Zaru, all centered on proper zu usage and Zaru unity. One group believes that all Zu should be kept firmly in the hands of Zaru, specifically elders, thereby keeping the unwise from using it, and denying their enemies a potent weapon. This group, the WATCHERS, train young rebels to work as “word-horses”, adventurers who steal zu from non-Zaru, or Zaru using it unwisely, and bring those zu back to their priests. This group is committed to the Zaru way of non-violence, but some fringe sects have seen fit to use foreign mercenaries to carry words.

The SONS OF HANISH follow a more moderate path. They seek to follow Hanish and be an active force in the world, while staying true to their beliefs. This group operates in cells, which are based on the family “mini-village” structure, and attempts to change the situation of the Zaru by subtle actions, like using zu to influence a foreman to keep a family together, or causing a crop to do well or poorly.

The MOONMEN are the most radical of the Zaru priesthoods, and are the most diverse. While the Sons of Hanish are mainly young and male, and the Watchers older, the Moonmen are made up of brash youngsters, lunatic elderly, calm mothers, and even foreigners. They advocate nothing more than a full unleashing of Zaru power. Nonviolence is taken only on a personal basis among them, and they have no real structure. Instead, individual Moonmen tend to upset the cart, often putting the community in a worse situation, and spread their beliefs among those pressured enough to listen. It is said that the Moonmen count among their ranks at least one elf and several goblins. More conservative Zaru call these “blood-thieves”, both for their subversion of the normal Zaru structure, and for their willingness to kill.

The Language of Zu

What of Zu, then? It is a language with a relatively simple structure, easy to learn even after it has become broken. However, the same simplicity breeds ambiguity, making mastering zu a task for a lifetime.

Zu is made up of discrete syllables, each with a generalized meaning. These syllables are also words; complex ideas are built by combining several. Syllables each have three meanings, based on tone:

The syllables, depending on tone, mean each of these things; thus no syllable exists in zu that cannot be used as a noun, verb, and modifier. Pronouns are implied by context and body language. Some examples of syllables:

Noun Verb Modifier
knife cut sharp
tooth eat full
murder kill murderous
hunter stalk stealthy

Sentences, as modern-day speakers think of them, exist by combining syllables. The last syllable used in a sentence conveys the mode. A sentence ending in a noun is a statement of fact, meaning “this exists” or “this is so”. A sentence ending in a verb is a command, even if it refers to the speaker: the speaker is stating her action and in essence, commanding herself. A sentence ending in a modifier is optative: it expresses hope or desire for change, meaning “I wish that it was like this”.

As mentioned, syllables are for general terms, not specific. There is no one syllable for “tiger”, for example. “Tiger” would be spoken as “knife-tooth-hunter-beast”. Another example would be “sword”, which is said as “killing-knife”. If a zu speaker does not use multiple syllables to be specific, then the most appropriate meaning is assumed. For example, if a speaker says “beast” in a forest, he means “forest animal”; if he were to say the same syllable in a snake pit, he means snake. If he were to say “knife” to a farmer and a hunter, he would again mean different things – most likely a scythe and a hunting knife.

There is one syllable in zu that is not like any other: “zu”. “Zu” is an affirmation, an agreement. Originally, there was no opposite, no “no” in zu. (True Zaru never speak in the negative: if there is nothing affirmative to say, they do not speak in zu.) With the first act of murder, however, that changed. The murderer, the destroyer, lost his ability to speak the syllable “zu.” Instead, he spoke the syllable “uz” a word of disagreement and destruction. No person can say both “zu” and “uz”.

Theft of Zu

Originally, anyone who spoke zu could use it as words of power. Stating that something was so made it so; commanding someone compelled them; wishing for different circumstances brought them into being. With Hanish’s final chant, this changed. He brought all the power of zu into himself, recreating himself as the First Man. Suddenly, the Zaru lost their power, as their language became ordinary and impotent.

Hanish died that day, but the power of zu did not die with him. Instead, it changed forever. The power of a syllable could be harnessed, but only by one person at a time. Anyone who studies zu can speak it, but only those who are the master of a syllable can use it to enforce their will. Now, Zaru priests, outcasts, and foreigners vie to obtain the knowledge of these words.

The words of power are first awakened within a person when he hears them used: the SECRET OF ZU (or UZ) is learned only when the words are uttered in a character’s presence. Some grasp it at once, some never, to some it comes against their will.

The danger of using zu around other people is that they may steal the knowledge of a syllable. When a word is uttered, anyone who hears it can engage the speaker in a battle of wills to own the knowledge of that word. Only ZU (and again, UZ) itself may be mastered by all.

Mechanically speaking, anyone with an Advance to spend (two Advances if they lack the SECRET OF ZU) may engage an immediate conflict of ZU (R) against ZU (R) to wrest the word from its current owner when it is uttered. Should the transference succeed, the owner regains an Advance while the thief pays for the word.

Words may also be given willingly, in which case no Advances are spent or recovered. In all other ways Zu syllables are handled as Secrets.

Words of Power

When a character with the SECRET OF ZU and some mastered syllables uses the power, the mechanical effect depends on the mode of the utterance:

Declarative

A noun utterance wills things into being. The player spends a point of REASON for each syllable uttered and makes a ZU (R) check. Anybody else present reflexively RESISTS (R) the event (creating support chains if they want). Should the speaker succeed (nobody resists successfully, rather), the thing summoned appears nearby. If animate, the summoned thing is not under any particular control of the summoner.

Imperative

A verb utterance is a command, forcing the target to obey. The player spends a point of INSTINCT for each syllable uttered and makes a ZU (I) check. The target may RESIST (R) freely, and in any case the command only works if the target can hear the speaker. (Understanding the language is not an issue, words of power are always understood by all.) Impossible tasks may not be compelled, and the player of the target interprets the command. Long-lasting tasks only continue for several scenes if the character makes an Effect off the check result.

Optative

The utterance of a modifier changes circumstances of action. Modifiers may affect both people and things, both positively and negatively. The player spends a point of VIGOR for each syllable uttered and makes a ZU (V) check. The result of the check is used as either bonus or penalty dice towards any targets that are affected, or optionally turned into an Effect if the change in circumstance is lasting. The intended influence of the utterance need not be direct: a wind exhorted to blow faster may cause penalty dice to fall on the captain of a ship, for example.

Note how the associated Pool of ZU changes depending on the mode of the utterance. The Ability checks made to utter a word may suffer conditional penalties assigned by the Story Guide normally; Zu is more difficult when large-scale changes are invoked, so summoning large things (or many things), commanding many people or changing circumstances in a wide area is more difficult.

Ambiguity of utterances plays a key role in Zu – the players know what individual syllables roughly mean, but when words are invoked for power, the Story Guide always judges the actual outcome of the utterance based on the context, word-play and dramatic coordination. Thus the syllable “cat” serves just fine when the character just wants a feline, but if he needs a big and dangerous predator, then “fang-cat” or “big-cat” or even “big-fang-cat” is much better. Getting some actual control over the invocation is pretty much the only reason to ever pay more than one Pool point for a single Zu invocation.

As for Story Guide judgment, in actual play I’m usually not too hard-ass about zu. It is a power that is fundamentally not controlled by its invoker, and may thus turn against him, but outright adverse effects should be saved for when an alternate reading of the uttering is either really funny or more obvious than what the player intended. If the players make a point of using 2-3 syllables on important invocations instead of trying to get by too cheaply, the Story Guide is doing fine. Think of it like interpreting wish spells in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: it’s most fun when both the invoker and the Story Guide take the word-play with flair and understand that the magic the character is using is an unruly beast.

Naming words

Traditionally lists of zu don’t provide the actual syllables, only the translations we use. This book doesn’t use many zu syllables; UP, TEN and BO are probably the most prominent after ZU itself. This does not mean that we don’t use made-up syllables in actual play; we certainly do, it’s just that we establish whatever syllables we want when and if they’re needed.

I’ve included a long list of suitable zu words here because it’s something people tend to ask after when it comes to actual play. Thinking up words can be hard, but just like all other contents in this book, don’t let my words constrain you: your zu can be different, or it might be that zu includes many ways of structuring the same concept. Just because I might connect <person|speak|humane> doesn’t mean you can’t use <person|love|passionate>, or even both words. The important thing is for you to choose the small set of syllables that you actually use in your campaign to reflect your own understanding of the primal society and culture of Zaru. Presumably the things easiest to express (individual syllables) are also those that reflect the state of creation as spoken by the First Man. Note that while the players invent Zu words, characters are limited by the language itself. Sometimes there just is no word for something in zu, the language of creation.

Noun Verb Modifier
knife cut sharp
tooth eat full
murder kill murderous
hunter stalk stealthy
hunger starvehungry
life live alive
shield protect sturdy
hand use easy
frog jump wet
nothing forget lost
sex fuck sexy
fire burn hot
beast obey beastly
person speak humane
humanlove passionate
breath breathe breathing
sound sound resonating
ice freeze cool
fever sweat hot
sicknessdie sick
path travel strange
house rest civilized
stone support heavy
water drink wet
love love lovely
bell boomloud
song sing melodic
wind blow unruly
water flowyielding
bamboo bow flexible
spring flow clear
gap open open
bird fly high
hideout flee fugitive
blood bleed bloody
leap jump jumpy
death die dead
giant want grow
goblinneed change

Abilities - Zu

Zu (R)
Zu is the magical language of Zaru. The Ability itself concerns rational understanding of the syntax, grammar and vocabulary over that of the native user. It is mostly useful in supporting language-related tasks, and in uttering words of power.

Secrets - Zu

Secret of Zu
The character with this Secret has unlocked the full power of Zu and may use any words of power he commands. The character also knows the special word, ZU, meaning agreement. Speaking ZU allows the character to add a bonus die to any ongoing Ability check he focuses on.
Cost: 1 REASON
Requirements: The character has never taken a person’s life. Should he do so, he loses this Secret.
Secret of Uz
The character with this Secret has unlocked the full power of Zu and may use any words of power he commands. The character also knows the special word, UZ, meaning denial. Speaking UZ allows the character to add a penalty die to any ongoing Ability check he focuses on.
Cost: 1 INSTINCT
Requirements: The character has killed a person.
Secret of Grammar
The character can utter and pay for zu syllables one by one, letting the Story Guide judge on the overall effect after each syllable; thus the player always knows whether he needs to add more syllables to gain the effect he desires. The player also can negate the utterance without effect if the desired outcome is not reached. Finally, if he has time, the character may make a ZU (R) check in advance to get the Story Guide to judge on the likely outcome of a sentence of up to the check result in syllables. The player may write down such a judgment as an Effect, which makes it binding for as long as the Effect is retained.
Secret of the Quickening
If the character kills (or is present at the death of) the keeper of a Zu syllable, he can obtain it himself: make a ZU (R) check to capture syllables up to the check result in number from the dying essence. Pay Advances normally.
Cost: 1 INSTINCT per captured syllable.
Requirement: SECRET OF UZ

(Every word known as a word of power also is a secret)

Keys - Zu

Key of the Sorcerer
The character is a SORCERER, committed to obtaining and understanding zu.
1xp: Gain intelligence about a new word.
2xp: Figure out some more Zu grammar or syntax.
5xp: Obtain a new word.
Buyoff: Willingly give away a zu.
Key of the Word-Horse
The Watchers have empowered the character to seek and steal back zu that lies in the wrong hands.
1xp: Progress with the task.
2xp: Steal to do the job.
5xp: Return zu to a Watcher.
Buyoff: Steal wrongfully, or kill.
Key of the Chatterbox
The character is not very patient and will use Zu with little provocation.
1xp: Use Zu.
3xp: Use Zu gratuitously.
Buyoff: Refuse to solve a problem with Zu.