An Introduction to Saturnalia
Saturnalia was the first fantasy roleplaying game designed specifically for play-by-mail. Created in 1983 by Neil Packer and Simon Letts, the world grew from two groups of islands into an integrated fantasy world. It could also be said that Saturnalia grew from a revolutionary new concept into a highly-popular form of entertainment. There are now many play-by-mail games whose roots may be drawn back to Saturnalia, many of which are are discovering success for themselves.
Hundreds of players subscribed to this new entertainment device, and the game grew to such an extent that several new areas were created, each moderated by its own area games master (GM). The original areas were the Northern Isles, run by Neil Packer, and the Southern Isles, run by Simon Letts, under the banner of "Sloth Enterprises", based in Southampton. Very soon, continental Erythria was created to absorb the growing influx of new, and indeed old, players, into an exciting and energetic world. From these humble beginnings appeared the great continent of Erythria, encompassing the Northeast, the Northwest, Lake Calary, the Sultanate of Los, and Narquoron. Saturnalia turned from two small island groups into a world!
What was it about Saturnalia that made it such a success? First and foremost, Saturnalia was the first ever play-by-mail game designed for fantasy roleplaying. The game system was new and self-contained, inspired by many sources, yet dependent on none. Its rules were simple, derived mostly from common sense. What rules there were, were easy and adaptable, enabling the GMs to shape the world in a manner fit for them. Encompassed within the game were all the aspects one would expect from a highly-developed fantasy environment: politics, economics, geography, mythology, religion, legend, history, and of course, sheer blood and guts! Saturnalia was conceived as a single-character, non-fixed-deadline PBM, meaning that the player could submit game turns whenever they liked, be it weekly, monthly, or whenever. Furthermore, Saturnalia avoided the trap of forcing new players to specify such things as religion, character class, and skills known. This is done by enabling continued access to specific skills for all, so that a warrior may learn magic, whilst a wizard may dabble in thievery. The Saturnalia GMs were committed to a healthy, flourishing game world where the actions of individual player characters could change the world!
In 1987, Sloth Enterprises turned their attentions to the growing area of computer-moderated PBMs, eschewing the less-lucrative hand-moderated games. The rot began to set in, with some areas already being run down. Saturnalia areas were tendered out to individual GMs to run as separate entities. Over the following years, some areas disappeared, such as Narquoron, Lake Calary, the Southern Isles, and the Sultanate of Los (which has since re-emerged as Southern Erythria), whilst others, such as Northeast and Northwest Erythria, remained. New areas also emerged, such as Exile, run by Harlequin games, and the Serpent and Distant Isles.
But, where are these places?, you may ask. For one who has never visited Saturnalia, many strange names have already passed by with no explanation or description. And another question, How do I start? Hopefully, within this rulebook, you will find all that you need to pursue an exciting career in the world of Saturnalia.
Getting started
Areas
- Northeastern Saturnalia, comprising Northeastern Erythria, the League of Meluria, and the Viridian Islands
