About & Accrediation

1) About Legends of Nor'Ova

Legends of Nor'Ova is a project and game designed by Travis K. Randall, known as mythus on the site and the author of its pages and content. It was conceived in 2002 under the working title "Legacies of the Artificer". In 2010 it was renamed Legends of Nor'Ova.

The game was designed to put story and character flexibility first. Original designs of the game did not include levels or experience points. Instead it was a skill based system where progression happened by the mastering of skills. The game also used an original percentile dice system instead of the d20 system used today. Armor worked either as a percentage, a sponge, or extra HP. Evade was given to the defender with the attacker always hitting unless the defended evaded. There was also an action-based economy where the number of actions would grow. Over time it became clear that despite the originality of the system,  it was far too complicated. Constant revisions were being made to address and fix issues, typically around evade, armor, and actions. Players spent more time mastering skills instead of role playing. A change was needed to make the game fun and enjoyable while maintaining flexibility.

January of 2025 a rewrite of the game was started. The percentile dice system was replaced with a d20 dice system, but instead of copying the existing d20 systems a new version was created that was inspired by existing systems while leaving room for flexibility. Many skills were changed into permanent stat traits. The original Fortitude, Strength, Speed, Mental, Luck, Will, React, and Perceive stats were replaced with Fortitude, Intellect, Wisdom, Strength, Speed, and Charisma. The later of which more resembled current d20 stats with some small differences: Dexterity is Speed, Constitution is Fortitude. Luck became a trait of Charisma. Perceive became a trait of Wisdom. React became a trait of Speed. 

Evade was done away with as was the old armor system. Instead now Legends of Nor'Ova adopts an armor class like system, with its principal differences being separating armor class into physical and magical armor and the inclusion of armor defense as a damage reducing stat. Actions became streamlined and standard. Hit Chance was incorporated to work with our version of armor. Levels and experience points were added to the system.

There were of course other changes throughout, and many differences between Legends of Nor'Ova and other d20 games. Far too many to really list here. 

Legends of Nor'Ova is and remains an independent RPG tabletop game system. It is not based on or derived from any existing games. That being said, similarities will exist. Influence from other games and media can not be ignored nor avoided. Tabletop RPG's have existed for many decades, the chances of similarities not existing is impossible. However, Legends of Nor'Ova was not created following or copying from other games. It is a natural evolution that has transpired since 2002 that while being subject to inspiration is a completely original project.

2) The Legends of Nor'Ova Project Timeline

1988: The Adventurers - a very simple and basic homemade RPG by Thomas Danztler III, made for his stepson Travis Randall. This simple game is what inspired me to make Legends of Nor'Ova.

2002: Legacies of the Artificer - the first version of Legends of Nor'Ova. Created the world and basic lore and basic systems.

2010: Legends of Nor'Ova (% dice system) - Legacies of the Artificer was renamed to Legends of Nor'Ova to allow for a larger world and more campaigns, and the name seemed better fitting. Game evolution and experimentation continued. Many ideas tried, some would stay. 

2025: Legends of Nor'Ova (d20 dice system) - a complete rewrite of Legends of Nor'Ova for simplification, standardization, and better game play. More focus given to role playing over roll playing. Similarity to other games makes it easier to explain and for others to pick up (hopefully)

October 2025: Legends of Nor'Ova campaign created on roll20 virtual tabletop. 

3) Accreditation

A special thanks goes out to all of the original players of Legacies of the Artificer and the original version of Legends of Nor'Ova. Also a special thanks goes out to the participants of the forum RP (2002-2018) who's shared stories helped to shape the lore of the world. 

Travis K. Randall - author, creator, designer

Drupal Foundation, Dries Buytaert  - this site is ran and created using drupal CMS. Also credit due and given to the authors of the various technologies used within drupal, such as CKEditor, Insert Views, and more. 

Roll20, LLC - Legends of Nor'Ova has a roll20 virtual tabletop campaign. Menu button link, references to roll20, and screenshots used in the wiki of roll20 are all property of Roll20,  LLC. 

d20 System, Dungeons & Dragons - Both d20 system and Dungeons & Dragons are owned by Wizards of the Coast. While Legends of Nor'Ova uses a d20 system, its d20 system is original though inspired by the d20 system owned by Wizards of the Coast. Therefore it is only proper to provide credit to them for the inspiration and share similarities. 

Any images used that are not created by Travis, whether it be in site theme or elsewhere, are property of their creators.

4) Permissions to Use

Any individual or gaming group wishing to use Legends of Nor'Ova for their in-person gaming are free to do so. Any free use (without profit) is acceptable. 

It is permissible to fork the Legends of Nor'Ova game system for use in your own personal campaigns. "Home Rules" and other modifications are allowed for free use. Credit given to original author is expected should modifications be shared online.

Any individual is free to use the Legends of Nor'Ova campaign within roll20. This includes participating in the existing campaign or creating your own. Credit is expected. Use in other virtual table top programs is not supported so you do so on your own. The author may be contacted for assistance and explanation, but responses are not guaranteed.  

Any commercial use of Legends of Nor'Ova, its campaigns, or its settings,  in a commercial application or by a commercial identity is not permissible without written consent from the author.