Preparing the Clock

The game system used by Legends of Alyria is unusual among roleplaying games in that it eschews numbers in favor of clock faces. The different results are based on the Liturgy of the Hours which is observed by the Keepers of Alyria. Every three hours, a special service (or Office) is held to worship Pheric throughout the day. The Chosen claim that this liturgical structure was actually stolen from them, but who believes heretics?

Here are the Offices of the Liturgy of the Hours:
Matins 12 a.m. (midnight)
Lauds 3 a.m.
Prime 6 a.m.
Terce 9 a.m.
Sext 12 p.m. (noon)
None 3 p.m.
Vespers 6 p.m.
Compline 9 p.m.
Devil’s Hour

For the purposes of this game, the Offices are ranked as follows:

Sext
Terce/None
Prime/Vespers
Lauds/Compline
Matins
Devil’s Hour

The higher Offices on this list beat the lower Offices. For example, if a player is rolling against an Attribute that is rated at Prime, a roll of Prime/Vespers, Terce/None, or Sext will count as a success.

Notice that this makes certain offices, such as Lauds and Compline, equivalent from a game perspective. However, when creating a character, you should still pick which office to use. Offices from the morning (Lauds, Prime, and Terce) can be used to indicate an Attribute that is tending to increase in strength or a Trait that will probably be moved in the direction of Good. In the same way, the evening Offices (None, Vespers, and Compline) can be used to indicate an Attribute that is tending to decrease in strength or a Trait that will probably be moved in the direction of Evil.

In order to play Legends of Alyria, you will need to create a couple of Clock Dice, which are ten-sided dice with Clock faces instead of numbers. I recommend having at least two prepared. Here are the number of each Office that you will need on each die:

Prime/Vespers 3 sides
Terce/None 2 sides
Lauds/Compline 2 sides
Sext 1 side
Matins 1 side
Devil’s Hour 1 side

Alternately, if you do not feel like vandalizing your dice, you can roll a regular ten-sided die and use the following chart:

Sext 10
Terce/None 8-9
Prime/Vespers 5-7
Lauds/Compline 3-4
Matins 2
Devil’s Hour 1