Superlative Dragon Warriors
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Credits Original Dragon Warriors © by Dave Morris & Oliver Johnson Superlative Dragon Warriors © by Alex Yeoh Artwork © used with permission: Daniel Wikart / Switzerland Christophe Vacher (www.vacher.com) Sng Sy Shyng (aerythes.deviantart.com)
Superlative Dragon Warriors by Alex Yeoh ©
May 7 2005
v3.0
referencing has been kept out of the core rules, even though they are used for peripheral rules.
Superlative Dragon Warriors is a modification and expansion of Dragon Warriors role-playing game by Dave Morris. It is also an introduction to the majestic & exciting world of Shangoria, beautifully illustrated by Christophe Vacher.
The key to a good system is to create a system that is fast & intuitive enough for the GM to remember, a system that encourages the GM & players to create great fantasy stories exactly as great authors write them. This requires the inclusion of all the key elements of story telling – not simply the re-creation of an action scene.
The beauty of Dragon Warriors RPG by Dave Morris lies in its simplistic beauty. The Superlative rules are created to expand on these rules & give the GM & players tools to recreate the fantasy stories that we read & love, in totality. This necessitates recreating the character interaction focus of good literature, & moving away from an action focused story. My ideal rule-set is one based on variety & simplicity. Rules should cover a wide-variety of player choices & flavour of play, whilst still keeping the game flow smooth & fast.
Major Changes: The original Dragon Warriors core rules require very little major modification; it contains all the major components to allow non-intrusive rules additions. However, there is one major change that I believe needs to be made – the Armour bypass roll. The ABR, whilst a unique & novel concept doesn’t seem workable. A superb fighter armed with a dagger would have the same chance of injuring an imbecile dressed in plate armour as the imbecile harming him with plate armour (1 on a d20 – an automatic hit)! The other situation is with leather armour – people who wear leather armour do not do so to “bounce” off attacks, which the ABR implies. People wear leather armour in hopes of reducing damage caused that might otherwise be a fatal blow.
Superlative rules allow the more detailed rules to be “switched off”. The GM can create great detail for the situation if that benefits the story, but he can also “switch it off” for most situations where detail is unnecessary. Superlative rules also focuses on a “responsive” style of play. Players respond to influences from the world, rather than make up things about the world. The only person who “makes up” circumstances is the GM, & players merely interact & respond – this is required to make the world more immersive & life-like.
Both the plate armour problem, & the leather armour problem can only be solved easily & simply by having a damage absorption system – & therefore that is what Superlative uses.
My key beliefs of a good RPG are as follows: 1) Players must always feel the thrill & risk of possible imminent fatality for their character. This excludes over-powered characters. 2) Magic & combat should be rarer & therefore more special. Over-emphasis on magic & combat makes those encounters dull & passé. Therefore more emphasis should be placed on choices & consequences in the game world irrespective of combat. Inaction & poor decisions should always have real impactful consequences to players to engage them into making better choices & role-playing better. What are the real-life day to day decisions that you make, & what are the consequences of not making them? Although we may dispense with the more mundane things we do in every day life, the way players interact with NPCs & the environment should have real consequences (as opposed to default linear consequences such that players merely amble through the plot to the inevitable conclusion regardless of what stupidity they dish out). 3) The rules must be simple, easy & balanced. Simplicity is much more fun because players & the GM don’t get bogged down on rules formalities, but rather spend more time on role-playing! The key is to flesh out characters with as much diversity as possible & as much individuality as possible, without overcomplicating character sheets. Dragon Warrior’s intuitive “Attack vs Defense”, “Stealth vs Perception” concept is both easy & easy to customize. With the new Superlative rules, players can diversify how they want to play & still only have to contend with an “Attack vs Defense” roll in the end!
Superlative rules also expands on initiative & reach. This is possibly the greatest amount of real complexity added to the rule-sets because it is an “intrusive” element into the original rules mechanics. It is necessary however because the new initiative & reach rules greatly enhances the dynamism & ambience of battle with an acceptable level of added complexity. The pros outweigh the cons. Turn based combat can often become mechanical & feel fake, & the new initiative rules adds a bit of randomness prevalent in real-life combat. Initiative & reach are also used to differentiate weapons & armour & give them a life-like handling. It’s important to individualize weapons to reflect their real-life uses. The last major additions are Talents, Knowledges, & Emotions & Personality, originally implemented. These help finish the building blocks of great story telling, & encourage players & GM to create rich plots, intriguing characters & epic consequences. New Vows of Passion rules help players develop & create their own epic stories to integrate with the stories that the GM is now able to create meaningfully with Superlative rules. The goal was simple: make the world feel real, & entice the players to totally immerse themselves in this virtual reality. This required NPC interaction to become more real, & common objects like weapons also had to feel real. Also the goal was to allow heroic feats as told in the stories, but make them difficult enough to achieve so that these feats were hard-fought achievements rather than a walk in the park like in some games which allow over-powering.
The death of a good game is one where tables are referenced constantly. This ruins the game because it is disruptive & bogs players & the GM in mind-numbingly slow detail. I believe that everything a player needs should be available on his character sheet. The Superlative rules, although containing many tables – only need to be referenced a few times, & occasionally during an adventure. Table
Be sure to read the Rules Justification section if you need more clarification on the logic of new inclusions or changes. Knowledges/Personality in particular were not added to give 2
reality. Respect was paid to real-life, & also fantasy storytelling, & a middle ground was taken. Therefore certain rule aspects are generalized in order to maintain the focus of Superlative rules, to allow the elements of the story to come forth, without bogging the game in detail that fantasy storytellers mostly ignored.
more depth to player characters – they were designed to give life to the game world in NPCs. These rules work hand-in-hand with the original Dragon Warriors RPG. However the Superlative rules replace & displace certain rules sections in the original game. This is to allow a fantasy world to completely come to life, since the original rules did not give guidance for many things that might happen in a great fantasy story. The entire Superlative rules set is guided by the desire to recreate fantasy stories, not absolute
I wish you great enjoyment in the world of Shangoria! Alex Yeoh
Contents Superlative Dragon Warriors by Alex Yeoh © Feb 19 2005 v2.42........................................ 2 Armour ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Melee and Weaponry............................................................................................................................... 7 Special Combat Techniques .......................................................................................................... 10 Initiative................................................................................................................................................ 12 The Combat Round ............................................................................................................................... 12 Advanced Initiative System ................................................................................................................... 14 Characteristic Modifiers to Combat ....................................................................................................... 17 Default Table ................................................................................................................................ 17 The Face Off Roll (for the “Face Off Challenge”): ........................................................................ 18 Monster Characteristics ......................................................................................................................... 18 Ranged Combat..................................................................................................................................... 19 Magic in Combat................................................................................................................................... 21 Spell Expiry Rolls ......................................................................................................................... 21 Mounted Combat................................................................................................................................... 22 New Weapons and Armour rules ........................................................................................................... 23 Armour Damage ........................................................................................................................... 25 Weapon Damage........................................................................................................................... 25 Sunder .......................................................................................................................................... 27 New Equipment Prices .................................................................................................................. 29 Wrestling .............................................................................................................................................. 31 Health, Wounds and Recovery............................................................................................................... 34 Hit Locations (optional) ................................................................................................................ 35 Armour (Piecemeal) with Hit Location rules ................................................................................. 38 Movement ............................................................................................................................................. 39 Melee Movement: ......................................................................................................................... 40 Talents .................................................................................................................................................. 42 DR Challenges .............................................................................................................................. 42 Versus Challenges......................................................................................................................... 43 Talent List..................................................................................................................................... 43 Knowledges .......................................................................................................................................... 54 Emotion & Personality .......................................................................................................................... 59 Personality in the Game: ............................................................................................................... 61 Emotion in the Game: ................................................................................................................... 62 GM Notes ..................................................................................................................................... 65 Role-playing with Emotion and Personality ........................................................................................... 66 Vows of Passion............................................................................................................................ 66 Pastimes........................................................................................................................................ 66 Friendship/Pets ............................................................................................................................. 67 Loved One .................................................................................................................................... 67 Drunkenness ................................................................................................................................. 68
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Free Time ..................................................................................................................................... 69 Adventure Time ............................................................................................................................ 69 Torture.......................................................................................................................................... 69 Trauma ......................................................................................................................................... 69 Pain .............................................................................................................................................. 70 Alignment ............................................................................................................................................. 71 Leadership and Influence....................................................................................................................... 72 Encumbrance revisited (optional) .......................................................................................................... 75 Endurance and Fatigue .......................................................................................................................... 76 Experience ............................................................................................................................................ 77 New Professions.................................................................................................................................... 79 Swashbuckler ................................................................................................................................ 79 Warrior ......................................................................................................................................... 79 Assassin........................................................................................................................................ 79 Barbarian ...................................................................................................................................... 79 Sorcerers/Elementalists ................................................................................................................. 79 Mystics ......................................................................................................................................... 80 Warlocks....................................................................................................................................... 80 Stealth and Perception................................................................................................................... 80 Sub-Professions ............................................................................................................................ 80 Advanced Magic ................................................................................................................................... 82 Adventures in the Air ............................................................................................................................ 86 Weather ........................................................................................................................................ 88 Flying Stats................................................................................................................................... 89 RuneMaster ........................................................................................................................................... 90 The Combat Grid................................................................................................................................... 92 Shangoria – The Campaign World (a brief introduction) ........................................................................ 94 Character Sheet ................................................................................................................................... 102 Character Sheet Back .......................................................................................................................... 103 Increasing Interaction with NPCs and the Game World........................................................................ 104 Play-Acting ......................................................................................................................................... 105 Role-Playing “Reality” ........................................................................................................................ 106 Appendix A: Rules Justification .......................................................................................................... 107 Appendix B: Rules Examples .............................................................................................................. 111 Combat Example......................................................................................................................... 111 Appendix C: Talent Choice & Profession Examples ............................................................................ 112 Appendix D: GM Quick Reference Screen........................................................................................... 121 Change Control ................................................................................................................................... 125 Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................................... 127 Index ................................................................................................................................................... 128
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Quilted Armour, which is armour made of layers of linen quilted together, is equivalent to Padded Leather Armour. Mail armour is armour made of chain rings joined together. Plate armour is armour consisting of steel plates covering the main areas, with mail protecting the joints. Full Plate armour also has movable plates protecting the joints, attached to thick, layered linen. Full Plate armour is always made to fit the wearer. Plate armour can still be worn if roughly the same size as the one it was made for.
Armour
Armour now absorbs damage (as opposed to requiring an armour bypass roll) according to the following Armour Table: Armour Table Armour Type AF None 0 Padded Leath 1 Hard Leath 2 Scale ♠ 3 Mail 4 Plate 5 Full Plate♣ 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
(Armour Roll) Damage Absorbed 0 1d3 1d4 1d5 1d6 1d8 1d10 1d12 2d6 1d6+1d8 2d8 1d8+1d10 1d20
Melee Defense-Mod (+1 for barb.) –1 (–0 for fighters) –1 (–0 for knights) –2 (–1 for knights) –4 (–3 for knights)
Melee Attack-Mod
Init. Mod
Perc Mod Ste Mod
–1 (–0 for fighters) –1 (–0 for fighters) –2 (–1 for fighters) –2 (–1 for knights) –4 (–3 for knights)
–1 –1 –2 –2 –3 –5
–1 –1 –1 –1 –2 –4
Wearing Helm
–1 –3 –4 –6 –10
“Fighters” refer to Knights, Barbarians & Warlocks Melee
Shields Small Medium Large
1 3 5
Defense Mod +1d2 +1d4 +1d6
♠ Banded (Samurai armour), Lamellar are all equivalent to Scale. Scale Arnour replaces DW’s Ringmail and consists of small round plates sewn together in a fish scale like pattern.
Armour Roll (AR):
Attack-Mod –1 –2 –3 ♣ Full Plate is heavy armour, mostly worn for tourneys and jousts: no running/sprinting, –2 Evasion, –10 Ste.
Obviously metal armour provides no protection against electricity attacks.
For every hit sustained by a weapon or indirect effect spell, roll an Armour roll to determine how much damage is absorbed by armour. If the original rules state that the attacker gets an Armour Bypass roll
modifier – subtract this number from the defender’s Armour Roll, however the defender is allowed a minimum roll of 1 regardless of subtractions.
Shields: When using shields, roll once for each different opponent, to determine the Defense modifier against that opponent. Shields are parrying aids, & therefore help in Defense.
Defense modifier against a Ranged attack. Remember you can only block against 2 opponents’ attacks (whether melee, missile or indirect spell-like effect) at any time (or 3 if you use your action as an additional block).
You can only block attacks from 2 opponents in a round. You can block an additional 1 opponent’s attacks if you sacrifice your action for that round. Of course if you’ve already performed your action, then you cannot block attacks from a third opponent. In addition, you can also block against indirect spells or effects such as Dragon’s Breath (anything that requires a Speed vs Evasion roll) & also against Missile attacks.
There are certain blind spots where a shield-bearer cannot block if an attacker is standing in that spot. Those spots are the side of the bearer opposite to the arm bearing the shield, plus all the positions behind the bearer. A shield bearer has one last option available to him. If he forfeits his next action (even after declaration) – he can use the shield as a Barrier Block – using the natural surface area of the shield to hide behind. A shield size is relative to the size of the bearer: A small shield covers 25% of the body, medium about 50% & large about 75%. Therefore against attacks for 1 round, he can reduce the damage caused to himself by the
For spells & Speed vs Evasion type attacks – absorb an amount of damage equal to the Defense modifier, in addition to damage absorbed from wearing armour (electricity etc. unaffected by shields). Against Missiles – normally you would have Defense of 0 against a ranged attack, but with a shield – apply the
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Simplifying Shields: if you prefer, Small Shields give a +1 Defense Bonus, Medium Shields give a +2 Defense Bonus, and Large Shields give a +3 Defense bonus.
percentage size of the shield (ie. 25%, 50% or 75%) if it involves a Speed vs Evasion type attack (eg. an indirect spell). Or he can reduce Attackers’ Hit roll Number by the percentage size of the shield (eg. an Arrow or Sword attack). A Hit Roll Number is the number the Attacker needs to roll or less on a d20 to hit the Defender.
opponent, & a Barrier block are whole actions taking up an action turn), but it is in itself a special block against opponent(s) besides the regular 2 blocks/per round. A Barrier Block can be declared at any time in the round, irrespective of the Declaration phase. Once the shield bearer declares to use it, he gets the benefits against the opponents he chooses to block, & the next action the shield bearer has is forfeited (which includes the action in the current round if it is yet to be performed, else his next action). Barrier Blocks block all attacks from 1 direction (roughly a 90 degree arc) for 1 round.
So if the Defender is using a Medium Shield (50% protection) & the Attacker’s Hit Roll Number is 10 or less on a d20 – if the Defender uses a Barrier Block, this Hit Roll Number is reduced to 5 or less on a d20.
Surprise: if a shield-bearer is surprised, he cannot use his shield for 1 round.
A Barrier Block is a special declaration, & cannot be used in conjunction with blocking a third opponent as explained above (because both blocking a third
For example, if a group of 40 archers standing together were shooting the shield bearer from a distance, the shield bearer would be wise to use a Barrier block against the volley of arrows from all 40 archers.
*Natural Armour:
Natural armour refers to a creature’s natural armour (not worn armour). Therefore there is no penalty to defense or attack. Damage absorbed corresponds to the
equivalent armour factor. If a creature with natural armour also has worn armour then make 2 rolls & takes the highest roll as the Damage Absorbed.
For example, a Lizard Man with Natural Armour 1d3, also wears Scale 1d5, rolling a 2 & 3 respectively. Therefore damaged absorbed equals 3.
Initiative Modifier: Heavy impeding armour affects a wearer’s ability to act fast, therefore apply the initiative modifier to initiative rolls when wearing that armour.
Combat Modifiers: Ignore the default profession penalties given in the original rules. Use the ones in the Armour table above, & –1 more for Attack & Defense for Sorcerers/ Elementalists wearing Scale armour or better; & –1
more for Attack & Defense for Mystics/Assassins wearing Mail armour or better. Warlocks are equivalent to Knights. Note: Combat Mods only apply to melee!!
Magic Penalties: the following penalties apply for Magical Attack for spellcasters wearing armour:
Armour Scale Mail Plate Full Plate
Mystic Penalty –1 –2 –3 –5
Sorcerer Penalty
Warlock Pen.
–1 –3 –5 –7
–1 –2 –4
(Elementalists incur no spell casting penalty for armour)
Armour and Society: it is not culturally acceptable in most cities to wear armour around town. Most people will leave their shields and armour at home, and carry a smaller side weapon rather than a war sword (bastard or 2 handed) for example.
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Melee and Weaponry Melee Table
Type Rating☺Dmg Unarmed 1 1d2 Cudgel 3 1d6 Dagger■ 3 1d6 Short Sword ■ 3 1d6 Staff 3 1d6 Warhammer◄ 3 1d6 Flail 4 1d8 Hand-Axe 4 1d8 Katana 4 1d8 / 1d10 Spear 4 1d6 / 1d8 Sword, Arming 4 1d8 Sword, Long♦ 4 1d8 / 1d10 Scimitar♦ 4 1d8 / 1d10 Mace♦◄ 4 1d8 / 1d10 *Halberd♦ 5 1d10 Morning Star♦◄ 5 1d10 *2-Hand Swd♦ 5 1d10 *Battleaxe♦ 6 1d12 Creature Bite Claw Horn Club-type (eg. tail) All Types… 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
☺’Rating’ refers to original DW damage rating Init Mod. +1 +1 +1 +1 –2 –1 +0 / +1 +1 –2 / –1 –2 –4 / –3 –4 –4 –2 –3
Att Mod
Def. Mod. –4 ♣
AF mod +1
–1 ◊ +1 +0 / +1 +1
+0 / +1 –2
–2
+1
–1
–1♪
–1 / +0 +1 +1
+0 / +1 –1 / +0 –2 / –1 –3 / –2
+2 +1
–4 –2
+0 +1 +0 1d3 1d4 1d6 1d8 1d10 1d12 2d6 1d6+1d8 2d8 1d8+1d10 1d20 2d10
–1
–1 –1▲ –1▲ –1♪ –2 –2▲ –1 –1▲ –1
–2 ♣ –2 ♣ –2 ♣ –2 ♣ Old Monster ABR● 1d4 or worse 1d6 or 1d5 1d8 or 2d4 1d10 1d12 or 2d6 2d8 or 1d20
Reach 0 2 1 2 3 2 4 2 3 5 3 4 3 3 6 4 5 3
Notes Brute Finesse Finesse Finesse Brute Semi-Brute Semi-Brute Finesse Finesse Finesse Finesse Finesse Brute Semi-Brute Semi-Brute
Swords refer to heavy bladed weapons. An “Arming Sword” is a general term to describe any 1 handed sword. Long Swords, also known as Bastard Swords or Hand a Half Swords can be used 1 or 2 handed. Maces are 3’ or longer and include hammers 3’ long. Warhammers are 2’ or shorter & include short mace weapons.
Finesse Semi-Brute
0 0 0 0 AF Mod +1 none –1 –2 –3 –4
● refers to original DW ABR rating for monster attacks ♦ Heavy weapon. Must have Str 10+ to use with 1 hand; otherwise use 2 hands to wield weapon with 1 handed results, and if weapon wielded with 1 hand incur –4 Att, –4 Def penalty. If weapon is already 2 handed, then incur –4 Att, –4 Def to wield if Str not 10+. A person with strength 16+ can wield a 2 handed weapon one handed with a –4 Att, –4 Def, +1 AF mod penalty; and doing 1 damage rating less damage. Those incurring penalties also tire twice as fast whilst attempting to use these weapons improperly.
/ : the value before the slash is for 1 hand weapon use, the value after the double slash is for 2 hand weapon use * 2 handed weapon ** see Magic In Combat ■ Small/Light weapon ◄ can Deform Plate armour ◊ Defense penalty against longer reach weapons ▲+1 to the AF mod against mail or plated armour unless these weapons are used to thrust (rather than cut). Thrusting is performed with –1 Att penalty ♪ AF bonus only against AF 3 or less (Scale armour or less)
♣ Def penalty applies if blocking a weapon. If wearing Steel/ Mithral Bracers, you can block weapons with only a –2 Def Penalty. Scale or better armour comes with Bracers, or you can buy steel Bracers to complement other armour. There is no disadvantage with wearing Steel Bracers. Init mods account speed of recovery to guard after a swing. Note: there is a –1 Att penalty for using a weapon without at least 1 Weapon Mastery Talent level.
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AF Modifier:
Indoor Combat: “war weapons” – which are the larger weapons intended for battles: halberds, morning stars, maces, long swords, 2-handed swords and battleaxes – generally long weapons that are swung, are difficult if not impossible to use indoors or where walls or ceilings limit movement. Adjudicate where necessary. Penalties range from –2 Attack & Defense, to –10 or the GM may simply make usage impossible.
Apply this modifier to defender’s Armour Factor to determine the damage absorbed by the defender’s armour. If the defender has at least AF 1, and the modifier reduces this to 0 or less, then reduce the AF to
“0.5” instead, which is equivalent to absorbing only 1 point of damage. If the AF mod is +1 and the defender has an AF 0, the defender’s AF does not become 1 – an unarmoured defender is always AF 0.
Critical Roll: When rolling a ‘Hit Roll’ – this is the number to roll to get a critical roll. Critical Rolls have a –1d2 AF bonus. Note: only a roll of 1 is a “Critical Hit”, if you roll a
Critical Hit:
Critical Roll but did not roll a 1, you must still succeed in the Hit Roll to reduce armour factor. Example of a critical roll: 1-2 on d20, 1-3 on d20 etc.
Note: the AF bonuses for Critical Rolls & Hits do not stack if a “1” is rolled.
In the original rules, a Hit Roll of 1 was an automatic hit – bypassing all armour, and a roll of 20 was an automatic miss. In Superlative rules, a roll of 1 does not automatically bypass all armour, instead there is a bonus –1d4 AF Mod. Unlike regular AF modifiers, Critical Rolls & Critical Hits can reduce the target’s AF to 0. Furthermore there is no longer an “automatic hit”: a roll
of 1 means that if it is not already a hit, the attacker may roll equal or lower than his Attack on d20 to score a hit. If the attacker hits, he can make another Hit roll, and keep stacking damage until he stops rolling Critical Hits or fails a Hit roll. Stacked Damage rolls are rolled separately when calculating armour absorption. A Hit Roll of 20 is still an automatic miss.
Reach & Melee Range: Each melee weapon has a Reach score, & a creature’s reach is also influenced by his size. Add the weapon’s Reach score to the Reach score based on size to determine the final Reach score. Against those melee opponents he chooses to Defend against, the one with the higher Reach score has a +1 Def for every point of Reach above his attacker’s Reach to a maximum +3. This Reach Advantage is removed in the next round if anyone succeeds in hitting or tussling the longer reaching melee combatant. The Reach Advantage is restored for the next round if opponents are no longer within melee range by the end of the round.
other enemy’s melee range) – for round timing, this is performed like a single action & a Free Walk. If Reach Advantage is lost, then for the who lost it, calculate the difference in reach (the “Reach-Diff”) between him & each opponent to yield the following penalties against that opponent:
Reach Advantage if lost can be regained if the user beats back his opponents. This means he succeeds in a hit roll* against all his opponents within range (no actual damage), is not hit/tussled himself & moves into an appropriate space to maintain reach (not within any
Reach-Diff 1 2 3
Penalty –1 Att –1 Att/Def –1 Att/Def Dmg rating reduced 1, AF mod increased 1
4+
x2 penalty of Reach-Diff 3
For Swords (including Katanas/Scimitars) & Daggers: Reach-Diff 2 3 4+
Penalty –1 Att –1 Att & Def –1 Att & Def, no thrust AF bonus
*opponent does not treat hit roll like a regular attack & uses full Def
Size small med-sm med med-large large very large gargantuan
Size Factor 1 2 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Reach 2 3 4 5 6 8 10
Melee Range 0.5m 1.5m 2.5m 3m 4m 5m 6m
Example bat halfling, dog human, elf, dwarf horse, rhinoceros elephant giant dragon
Note: downgrade melee range and Reach 1 size if the creature’s size is based on its length rather than height. E.g. most quadrupeds & worms are “long” creatures, & most bipeds are “tall” creatures.
Superlative rules sometimes use “size” difference (the left hand column), & sometimes “size factor” (the 2nd column from left) – depending on the rule involved. Size factor is usually measured in whole numbers.
Getting Hit:
These rules help emphasize even more the importance of hitting first, which often wins the battle in real-life combat.
If you get hit & take damage, you have a –2 Att, Def, Mag Att, Speed (for spells) & Initiative, & –4 WR for 1 round. If you get hit more than once, the penalty does not stack but the 1 round duration starts at time of the
last hit. Bloodrage/Death-Vow/Savage-Onslaught negates these effects (creatures like bears can enter Bloodrage, but can also exit Bloodrage without dice rolls).
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Eg. Dasdain with a Halberd loses Reach Advantage against Emiran with a Short Sword. The Reach-Diff is 4. Therefore Dasdain incurs a –2 Att/Def penalty, Dmg rating is now 3, AF mod is now 0.
All & only living creatures (except plants) can suffer from shock. If a target loses ½ his normal NHP in a single hit, he is only stunned for 1 round (loses his action)
Shock Any time that a target loses half their normal HP in a single hit, he enters into shock. Whilst in shock, he is collapsed & can do nothing. He can recover from shock by rolling his Toughness Talent Level + 1 or lower on a
Deform Plate Armour:
d10, & can make this roll every round. Shock is avoided if the roll is made in the 1st round, & the target is stunned instead (loses his action). Those under Bloodrage/ Death-Vow are not affected.
Note: to cause Att/Def penalties on magic armour requires +1 more damage, for hardened steel: +1, for mithral: +3.
Maces/warhammers/morning-stars were used in battles particularly for their effectiveness against plate armour (Plate/Full Plate). Plate armour had plated joints & crushing these would stop these joints from moving freely. On a successful hit roll, the attacker rolls 1d20 & if he rolls half or less of the Hit Roll Number he crushes
the armour. This results in a loss of Damage roll x 10 in Armour Points, & –1 Att & Def penalty if Damage rolled is 6 points or more. Penalties remain until the armour is repaired. For multiple deformations, armour damage is cumulative, & Att/Def penalties accumulate to maximum –2 for Plate, & –4 for Full Plate.
Throwing Weapons: Regular “non-throwable” melee weapons can be thrown, but with great difficulty. Morning Stars can be thrown with a –10 Attack penalty. All “non-throwable” melee weapons do 2 Damage Ratings less damage when
thrown, & the range is 1 / 5 / 15m, with an additional –2 Attack penalty, plus all AF Mod benefits are cancelled. Throwable melee weapons are weapons that appear in both the Melee Table, & the Ranged Weapon Table.
Moving during Melee: A character can move ¼ their walk movement & have any other action in the same round. This is called a
Multiple Melee Opponents:
“Free Walk”. If moving more than ¼ walk movement, he cannot perform any other action.
Where a rule states “Full Defense”, this means the defender does not have to treat that particular Hit roll as one requiring him to divide his Def against, but all other mods apply.
Normally you can divide your Def amongst up to 3 melee opponents – this is called a “Multiple Defense”. When only defending against 1 opponent, and therefore not dividing Defense, this is called a “Single Defense”. For Multiple Defenses, apply Def mods before dividing, except for Shield mods, the mod for blocking unarmed against an armed opponent & Reach mods – in which case apply these mods after division. Def cannot go below 0 after modification. Up to 6 same-sized attackers can face one target, but the 5th & 6th attacker (based on initiative) have a –4 Att penalty because of
obstruction from the other 4. 1 Size Factor (SF) larger opponent can replace 2 same sized opponents, & 2 or more SFs larger opponents can replace 3 same sized opponents. If opponents are smaller: 1 SF smaller – no difference; 2 SFs smaller: 10 attackers allowed, the 3 last attacking have –4 Att penalty; 3 SFs smaller: 20 attackers allowed, the last 6 attackers have –4 Att penalty & so on (keep doubling). A long creature counts as 1 Size larger when attacked by multiple opponents. If there is a combination of opponent sizes, do your best to handle the fractions rounding down.
Swapping Hands: At times one might swap weapons from one hand to another – for example, a spear to the other hand whilst you Quickdraw a dagger to throw it. You can temporarily hold a 2 handed weapon in your secondary
hand whilst you do something else with your primary hand – assuming the action is doable with one hand. For 1 round you are considered “unarmed”, unless you are Quickdrawing a weapon to use.
Sprinting & Running: A character is allowed to move 5x walking speed, which is a sprint. Sprinting should not be allowed unless you are implementing Endurance and Fatigue rules otherwise everyone would be sprinting. If a sprinter
passes within melee range of an opponent, that opponent gains a +4 to Attack against the sprinter. If a runner passes within melee range of an opponent – the opponent gets a +2 Att against the runner.
Impaired Sight: panoptical: no penalties; for dark sight: lvl 1 is overcast daylight, lvl 2 is bright sunlight; for gloomsight: lvl 1 is pitch black or bright light.
There are two levels of impaired sight: Level 1: –2 Att, –4 Def; Level 2: –4 Att, –8 Def. For normal sight, lvl 1 is partial darkness, & lvl 2 is pitch black.; for elfsight, halve penalties; for
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Non-Lethal Damage (NLD): Unarmed combatants in real-life can take an amazing amount of damage without dying. This is witnessed in free-style no-holds-barred martial arts tournaments. To simulate this there is a new form of “health points”: Non Lethal Health Points (NHP). A character’s NHP level starts at the same level as regular HP, & if HP drops, NHP drops the same amount. However, any nonlethal damage (unarmed combat, wrestling, damage from most blunt objects that do not pierce or cut) is subtracted from NHP. 1 HP damage is caused per 2 NHP damage received. When NHP reaches 0, the character collapses like regular HP rules. NHP is equal to HP throughout Superlative rules, unless specified. If the rules state that an effect occurs if HP drops to a certain level – this rule also applies equally to NHP. Like weapons, NLD can cause injuries, except that injuries tend to be less serious. Substitute NHP for regular HP in the Hit Locations rules. Use the following to calculate Injury Severity:
NLD Injury Severity: roll a d20 + Injury Rating: 1-11: Minor 12-18: Harmful 19+: Destructive Use the normal Injury Severity roll if using a blunt crushing weapon like a cudgel/club. That’s right – cudgels/clubs are NLD weapons because they do not cut or pierce organs or arteries. Obviously cudgels can still kill through a critical injury or if HP goes to 0 through excessive NHP loss. NHP recovers faster naturally than regular HP. Every hour of rest recovers 1 NHP. A tending physician can speed recovery: for every ½ hour of tending wounds, the wounded recovers the Physician Knowledge Level in NHP. Undead & Contructs (golems, automatons etc) & creatures who are “not alive” have double the normal NHP.
Special Combat Techniques Charging: (melee only) A user may charge in a straight line toward a target if the route is not obstructed. If he runs a distance equal to double his melee range toward the target, he gets to attack him in the same round with +1 Att & Initiative. He incurs –2 Def penalty for 1 round due to the recklessness of a charge. If the user charges with a spear/trident/halberd, his weapon Damage Rating is upgraded by 1. A charge attack counts as a whole action, & a “Free Walk” is not allowed. In addition, the target may set a spear/trident/ halberd against the charger with a +4 bonus to Att &
Aimed Attack:
spears/tridents/halberds set against a charge get their weapon Damage Rating upgraded by 1 – this is called Setting against a Charge. The target setting against a charge (declared during declaration phase of the combat round) gets the Setting against a Charge bonus when it is his turn to act & if acting before the charger, his attack assumes to finish just as the charger arrives in range (which may influence the Initiative order). Charges cannot be combined with any other Special Combat Technique.
e.g. Alsha makes an Aimed Attack against Bilde. Alsha (Att 16, Def 8) becomes Att 12, Def 4 in this round. She hits with both Hit rolls, & rolls 7 & 5 damage. Bilde rolls 3 & 2 for armour rolls. Therefore Alsha inflicts (7 – 3) + (5 – 2) = 7 damage.
An aimed attack is a single melee/ranged attack with 2 Hit Rolls made in succession, along with associated damage rolls. A user must succeed in both Hit Rolls with a –4 Att penalty to succeed, & he also incurs a –4 Init & –4 Def penalty that round. If successful, damage
rolls are made individually with respect to armour absorption, but note it is actually only 1 aimed hit. Only 1 attack in a round can be aimed, & cannot be used in conjunction with other Special Combat Techniques like Cleave, Remises, Awe Attacks or Quick Draws.
Strategic Interpose (Nachraissen) Strategic Interpose or Nachraissen, is when the user forces the opponent to “overstep” his attack, allowing the user to counter attack in return with greater success. Interposes only apply for melee combat. If a user attempts an Interpose, he loses his action in that round & gains a +2 Def advantage. In the next turn, he rolls a 1d4 to determine the Att & Init bonus he gets against a single melee opponent for that round.
1d6 for his next turn. If he still does not like this roll, he can re-roll 1d6 in the next turn & he may continue to do this until he rolls a number he likes. Once he accepts a roll, he applies the Att & Init bonus for a single melee attack in that round. That attack also gains a –1 AF mod bonus. You are not allowed to Interpose with an Awe Attack, Aimed Attack, Sneak Attack, Charge or Backstab. Cleave, Sunder & Remise Techniques are allowed in conjunction with an Interpose.
If he does not like this roll, he can miss his turn again (again gaining the +2 Def bonus) & upgrade the dice to
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Sneak Attack Any melee or ranged attack made against an unaware target is called a “Sneak Attack”. A Sneak Attack is a single attack but involves 2 Hit rolls. The attacker rolls for damage for each Hit Roll that succeeds. Damage is calculated individually when accounting for armour
absorption (same as Aimed Attacks). Sneak Attacks cannot be combined with Aimed Attacks or Awe Attacks. For multiple attacks, only 1 sneak attack allowed per round.
Other Special Combat Techniques
Other Combat Techniques are Talent based, including Cleave, Quick Draw, Backstab, Disarm, Parry, Riposte,
Stinger Attack & Awe Attacks. Techniques are each designed to reflect real-life tactics or cinematic results.
Formation Tactics Spears/Tridents/Halberds can be used in formation against a single target with shorter reach. The first person in the formation to attack gets no bonus, but each
subsequent attacker gets a cumulative +1 Attack against the same target. Benefits only apply for those who still have Reach Advantage.
Advanced Weapon Handling Halberds: Polearms often had a hook that could be used for both disarming & unbalancing a foe & bringing him to the ground. This is equivalent to the Disarm talent, except use the Weapon Mastery: Halberd talent level to determine the Disarm Talent bonus. The unbalancing is equivalent to the Wrestling Rules “Grab” or “Quick Take Down”: use the WM: Halberd talent level in place of the MA: Grappling talent to determine the WR but do not include any armour penalties in these calculations and a –2 WR natural penalty applies. Also, ignore penalties for holding objects (and hands free) except for shields – defenders continue to have a +2 WR bonus for having a shield. In order to hook someone and unbalance him, one must first succeed in a Hit Roll (no damage caused), then use Wrestling rules to enact either a Grab or a QTD. This is performed as a single action. Note that the tail of the haft often had a sharpened metal spike for close quarters combat.
Mace: maces of history had a significant role against armoured opponents, and thus this is reflected in a greater AF bonus. They could crush bones irrespective of armour. This also applies for the warhammer and morning-star. They were also brute weapons, and thus were not improved as much through weapon mastery as finesse weapons. They were aggressive indiscriminate assault weapons but were not as good defensively. Swords: Swords were hampered by armour and thus the AF bonus for swords has been reduced. Swords that were more effective against armour were designed with a sharp point to thrust between armoured joints. As popular finesse weapons, they benefited greatly through weapon mastery. Short swords were better at penetrating armour because of its fast precise handling, and the short blade did not bend when thrusted into armour.
Halberd
Battleaxe
morning-star
mace
crossbow
scimitars Arming Sword
Long/Bastard/Hand & a Half Sword
2 Handed Sword / Slaughter Sword
Saber (Scimitar)
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Katana
Mei-Guo Arming Sword
Initiative Non-combative actions (eg. fleeing) usually have a +1 Initiative modifier & ignore weapon modifiers (since you’re not using the weapon). Otherwise the weapon in the dominant hand determines the initiative modifier used. If the initiative modifier changes, the action order will also change accordingly.
If a combatant is hit in the first round, he must make a DR Challenge roll against his Strength Base Score + 8, with a Difficulty Rating equal to the damage received (after armour deductions), or lose an action in the first round (this is called a “First Strike”). 2nd round: An initiative roll is made again like the first round, however combatants do not lose an action if hit. A new Initiative Sequence is created.
st
1 round: An Initiative Count is equal to 1d10 + Ref Base Score + Initiative modifiers for each combatant (GM may decide to roll once for each type of enemy & allow this group to action at the same time). Combatants act in order of highest Initiative Count to lowest (equal values action at the same time). This is called the Initiative Sequence, & the Init. Count serves to segment the combat round in sequence.
The Combat Round
3rd round or more: combatants act in the same Initiative Sequence as the 2nd round (GM may decide that initiative rolls are made every round).
For the purposes of explanation “current round” or “same round” refers to the current set of Initiative sequence from the first acting character to the last acting character. “Next round” refers to the next set of Initiative sequence from first actor to last. “Per round” refers to rounds starting with the Initiative count of the action, going onto the same Initiative count of the next round and so on. The “start” & “end” of the round refers to the start/end of the “current round”.
These rules apply to all forms of combat, whether melee, ranged or magic and all other actions in a combat round (6 seconds). There is no beginning or end to a combat round. When something occurs for 1 round – it is taken to occur from the Initiative count of the current round, until the same Initiative count of the following round. A combat round is only relative to the Initiative Count – and does not “end” when the last person has acted his turn. A “round” is similar to a “month” – which may refer to a set month like January, February etc., or it may refer to a period of 30/31 consecutive days. Similarly a round may mean an actual set time like “first round”, “second round” etc., or it may refer to a period of 6 seconds from the Initiative count of the current round, to the same Initiative count of the next round. For example if Janis has an Initiative count of 15, and is stunned by Balin at Initiative count 12, then Janis is stunned until Initiative count 12 in the next round, forfeiting her turn at Initiative count 15 in the next round. If the Initiative scores change in the next round, then the effect wears off in the appropriate order with respect to Initiative count 12. A combat round is basically divided into 3 phases: Declaration, Initiative, Action.
Declaration: Declare whether you will move, and what action you will perform Initiative: roll Initiative rolls if necessary and include modifiers based on declared actions. Action: Participants now perform their actions in order. A character may move ¼ their walk speed (this is called a “Free Walk”) & perform another action. If a character chooses to move more than ¼ their movement speed – no other action is allowed. Special Cases: when Retreating, one can move their Free Walk away from melee range without penalty – he may still attack in the same round, which happens before moving away. A Rout, as explained in the original DW rules is when a player chooses to move more than a Free Walk away from melee. He loses all shield benefits, & his Def is equal to his Evasion score whilst in a rout. Opponents within melee range can jump the initiative queue & attack a character in the same Initiative Sequence of the round that the character routs (thereby using up their action for that round – although they are still allowed their Free Walk when it is their turn). For Special Combat Techniques, they must be declared explicitly during the Declaration phase,
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except for Riposte. The Riposte is declared after rolling for Initiative, and only if you had declared a regular melee action, and not a Special Combat Technique during Declaration. The exception is the Remise – if you declared to perform a Remise and you fulfill the conditions of a Riposte you may perform both.
for the third round thereafter, combatants can declare in reverse order of the fixed Sequence (the last acting combatant declares first). Feel free to adjust the initiative sequence to account for Init mods that may apply due to circumstances.
Opportunity Declarations: when a player declares to perform certain actions, other participants can revise their declared actions to counter these actions – even if they have previously declared their action. Declarations that allow such revised declarations from other combatants are called “Opportunity Declarations”. The reason why such declaration revisions are allowed is because all the actions in a round are actually done at almost at the same time – but they are sequenced in order of the Initiative Sequence for the sake of game mechanics. When someone does an Opportunity Declaration, others can quickly react in kind. Opportunity Declarations: casting a spell; using a magic item like a potion, scroll, wand, staff etc.; routing; retreating; running/sprinting, wrestling; charging; Awe Attack; engaging in ranged combat (with a weapon that is not also melee weapon); load a crossbow; mounting; controlling a frightened mount; aiding an injured party member; destroying an object; retrieving a stored item; lighting a torch; Once an Opportunity Declaration is made it cannot be changed. Once a revised declaration is made in response to an Opportunity Declaration, it too cannot be changed. A revised declaration can also be an Opportunity Declaration, and anyone else who has not declared an Opportunity Declaration and has not revised his declaration, can revise his declaration to counter this new Opportunity Declaration.
Initiative Explained: for the sake of game mechanics, and because of all the different possible combination of actions from melee, to spell casting to ranged – apply the weapon/action Initiative modifiers, even if this may not make apparent sense to you. Initiative Sequence is a game mechanic – actions in a round actually happen almost simultaneously and the sequence arrangement for combatants in mixed situations of melee or ranged combat and other actions, only describe the end time of these events rather than the length of time to complete these events. For example, if you moved 10m at Initiative sequence 9, your movement ended at Initiative sequence 9 but your movement could have actually started at Initiative sequence 13 (this is an extrapolated example). Death in the Round: if a combatant dies or collapses or goes into Shock in the “current round”, he is no longer allowed his action. Although many things in a round happen simultaneously, death is sequential. This emphasizes the importance of winning initiative. Surprise: so long as one avoids detection (Ste vs Perc) before one attacks (or perform any other action), it is counted as a surprise (see book 1, p55). Surprised persons are only allowed to defend and “Free Walk” for 1 round.
Declaration Order: The Opportunity Declaration rule allows players to react fairly to other combatant’s declarations. For the first and second rounds – declarations can be made in any order – or in the order of lowest Reflexes to Highest Reflexes if you like. If you are using a fixed Initiative Sequence rule
What is losing an Action?
Opportunity Declarations Movement: Running, Sprinting, Routing Combat: Wrestling, Awe Attack, Ranged Combat (with non-melee weapon), Magic, load a crossbow Mounted Action: (Dis)Mounting, controlling a frightened mount Other Action: Aiding injured friend, destroying an item, retrieving a stored item, lighting a torch
Moving in a round: although actions are almost simultaneous, faster combatants (higher Initiative count) do act faster. Therefore if a character moves in a round, his position when it is other combatants’ turn is taken to be the position after movement. However – the exception is the Rout action as explained above. Note also that this rule obviously does not apply in AIS rules, since position is mapped out precisely there is no need to represent positions so abstractly.
Losing an action means the user cannot attack nor do any other action except defend and perform a “Free Walk”. When the rules specify that the user can “do nothing” (e.g. if entering in Shock), that means he cannot even defend or move.
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What is the First Round of Melee? after the 1st round of enemies being within their melee range, the 1st round benefits no longer apply. In the round when enemies first st reach melee range, this is counted as the 1 round of melee. If by the end of a round you are no longer within any enemy’s melee range, in the following round you can st attack new enemies in a new melee set beginning at 1 round of melee again.
Advanced Initiative System
NMA: Non-movement Action complete. In AIS rules, the “free” ¼ walk move is replaced with a “free” 3RU walk move (eg. 3m for a normal human) – this is called a “Free Walk”.
It is hard to imagine simultaneous actions sometimes when actions are played out in completion sequentially in 6-second periods. There may be times where one wants to play out a round and know precisely when things occur in that six seconds. In the Advanced Initiative System (AIS), a round is split up into 10 RUs or “round units”, and each action requires an amount of RUs to complete according to the following table: Init Count 23+ 20–22 17–19 14–16 11–13 8–10 5–7 2–4 –1 to 1 –2 or less
In AIS rules, there is no longer a restriction that no other movement besides a Free Walk is allowed along with an NMA. Melee is allowed with walking/ running (use Run & Gun rules for Ranged Combat), & also most non-combat actions are allowed with walking/ running (use logical induction). Running must be taken in sequential blocks of 5 RU, & Sprinting must be taken in blocks of 10 RU, which is why no other action is allowed whilst Sprinting. Walking must be taken in sequential blocks of 3 RU.
RU completed 1 2 3 For example, if you 4 rolled an Init count 5 of 14, your action 6 would complete in the 4th RU 7 8 9 10
Now people can divide their NMAs & movement as they see fit – in discrete steps of RUs. People are free to determine how they move when they “spend” their RUs, except when movement lines are crossed. If movement lines are crossed, the one with the slower Initiative Count always gives way to the one with the higher Initiative Count – RUs are lost whilst stopped. If for example, a person was running & was stopped after 3 RUs, & could not move for 1 RU, the 2 remaining RUs unspent from the block of 5 RU run are lost. If he wished to continue running, he must take another block of 5 RUs of running. If those 5 RUs of running meant that he would exceed the 10 RUs of the round – then he cannot run, but he is allowed to walk if 3 or more RUs remain in the round.
Think of RUs as “mini-rounds”, handled like rounds would normally be handled in non-AIS rules. Apply the Init mods for the associated action, & roll to calculate the Initiative Count. This determines the RU in which the action completes. Initiative Count: now that the round is broken up into 10 RUs, NMAs no longer have to start at the beginning of the round. They may start half-way through the round if there are enough RUs left to complete the action. As normal rules, the Initiative Count serves to determine when actions complete.
Movement and Action: Movement and Non-movement Actions (NMAs) happen simultaneously. NMAs are declared usually in the first RU, and movement is declared with a start RU time. If for example, an NMA takes 5 RU to complete, the person may decide to walk 1 RU in RU#3, 4 and 5 of that action.
Since NMAs can start in any RU, you need to calculate the Effective Init Count (EIC).
Remember that 3 RUs are allowed to be spent for free in walk movement, along with an NMA. If more RUs are spent on movement, refer to the following table:
EIC = Init Count – (Start RU x 3) + 3 In other words, for every RU that an action delays starting, the EIC gets reduced by 3 points.
RUs spent on movement 1-3 RU walk 4-6 RU walk 7-10 RU walk 1-5 RU run 6-10 RU run 1-10 RU sprint
When calculating the Initiative Count for movement, do not bother with calculating EIC. Simply roll for Initiative with applicable Init mods for armour, getting hit etc. & ignore Init mods from NMAs. This Initiative result will determine action order when movement lines cross. Movement: For running & sprinting movement, divide the run/sprint distance by 10, this is the amount the person moves in 1 RU. For walking do the same. For example, if a person’s walk move speed = 10m/round, then in 1 RU, he moves 1m (or less if he chooses); if he & is Turning: moving ahis “free” ¼ move, he120 takes 3 RU Moving normal human can turn degrees in to a 3RU walk, 90 degrees in a 5RU run, & 90 degrees in a 10RU sprint. Modify this depending on the mover’s maneuverability. 14
Att/Def Mod None –3 / –1 –4 / –2 –4 / –2 –5 / –3 –6 / –4
DR NA 1 2 4 6 NA
(penalties apply from the start of the RU that movement began, to the end of the round)
Combat NMAs incur the Att/Def mod in the table. Non-combat NMAs require a Ref DR challenge using the DR in the table, to prevent a fumble. NMAs are not allowed whilst sprinting.
If a person retreats from melee more than a 3RU walk, any person can walk/run after the retreater & attack him without an Attack penalty.
For talents that allow multiple attacks, take into account the Init mods for the separate attacks to determine the RU in which each attack finishes.
Note: if running toward a melee opponent, use the Charging rules for that opponent, against all other opponents – use the above modifiers.
For Cleave & Remise Techniques, each subsequent attack has a –2 Init mod less than the previous attack, & the Init mod for each attack will determine the RU in which it finishes.
Declarations: declarations of NMAs should be handled like regular Combat Round rules – before the round starts. Typically you want to start NMAs in the first RU, and you might only delay the completion of the NMA when movement is involved (for example if you are chasing someone you want to make sure your hit completes only when the target is in range).
For 2 weapon combat, one of the weapons must hit in the next RU if both attacks complete in the same RU. The faster weapon may complete 2nd if the attacker so chooses. Reach: it is not necessary most of the time to account for melee range in AIS – the default melee range based on size can be used. However, it may be desirable sometimes to be precise with reach, now that AIS allows movement to become dynamic. In general, a person’s melee range equals their Reach in feet. For example, if a person’s reach is 7, their reach is 7 feet.
Movement declarations are unnecessary except in times of dispute. At the start of the RU in which he wishes to move, a person simply states how many RUs he wants to move, what type of movement & where he wants to go. In other words, movement is declared in blocks, & is not resolved on an individual RU basis. When two paths cross/meet – that is when the position resolution rules come into play.
Hopping/Jumping/Leaping: hops, jumps and leaps are equivalent movements to walks, runs and sprints. Hopping 3m is equivalent to walking 3m for example, so for a normal human it would take 3RU to complete a 3m hop action.
The GM should keep a record of participant’s Reflexes to determine who declares first if more than one person wants to start moving in the same RU – the person with the lower Reflexes declares first.
Speeding up an Action: an NMA can be sped up to 2 RU faster to complete than normal. NMAs that are sped up have a –2 penalty per RU faster, so for combat NMAs that equates to a –2 Att & Def penalty. For NMAs that do not have a related attribute to penalize, make a Reflex DR challenge roll with a DR = 3 per RU faster, or fumble the action. To speed up a heavy weapon, one must have at least a Str of 10, & if Str is not 16+ the penalty is –1 more.
Remember that it is not important to play each RU one by one if no-one is declaring the start of an action, or if no event resolution is necessary. Players should keep track of their own actions and at which RU their actions complete. The GM counts out loud the RUs as they pass, & players announce if their actions complete in the called out RU. Rout: For actions such as fleeing, those attacking the router do not get a “free” instant attack. They must continue to move RU by RU and keep up with the router & still be in range when they finish swinging their weapons in order to hit them. For someone who is performing a rout, he must declare to do so in the first RU. A Rout in AIS is running speed for the first round. For those who pursue a router, they may spend up to 5 RU on walk or run movement without an Attack penalty against the router.
Delayed Action: an NMA can be delayed on an RU by RU basis. For example, if you are pursuing someone, you want to make sure your weapon connects when you are within reach. Calculate the EIC in these cases. Melee Movement: In the Movement chapter, there were rules for special melee maneuvers like a Push Forward. A Push Forward must be declared and started in the first RU in AIS rules.
Leftover RUs: Whenever an NMA is performed, this is disruptive to regular movement, & leftover RUs may not be used for movement or another NMA except under certain circumstances
Air Adventures: In the Air Adventures chapter, it detailed how movement would be handled. Movement was split in two to handle the complicated case of figuring out movement when flyers are involved. For AIS rules, movement can now be handled easier. Do not divide rounds in two, & calculate flying moves in RUs. Flyers can move & perform NMAs at the same time, & do not worry about Leftover RUs as every RU can be spent flying.
If you did not already use up any allowed Free Walk, you may Free Walk in the remaining RUs of the round. If you are in the process of moving in a 5 RU block run movement or in a 3 RU block of walk movement, these may continue to completion. Multiple Attacks
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The only exception to this rule is when attacking ground-based enemies. When attacking ground-based enemies – the same restrictions on the ground apply & thus all the AIS rules apply as normal. Maneuvers must be performed in 5 RU blocks – this includes Dives, Climbs etc – anything that involves MRs being spent. The +4 MR bonus for meeting a flyer (one intends to attack) halfway in the round does not apply. The 4 MR cost for attacking a walker still applies. Note that MRs are deducted at the start of the maneuver. GM Notes: at first glance, the AIS may appear long and convoluted, but in actuality the system is only slightly slower than the regular rules. This is because people still only get 1 action per round, the difference being that movement is more dynamic and life-like. If you
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were to take an overview of a battle played using AIS versus one played using regular rules, you will see that the two overviews look virtually identical, & AIS was designed for that purpose. Therefore AIS does not need to be used for every battle. In fact AIS can even be used for select rounds of a battle whilst the rest of the rounds are played using the regular rules. AIS is just a tool to resolve very complicated situations where two conflicting simultaneous events require precision mechanics. Also remember that rounds and RUs are game mechanics, and do not represent literal time periods. They are highly generalized and simplified to ensure smooth game flow. The actual game world result of real-world mechanics will have the same order of events, but not necessarily the exact measured time frame.
Characteristic Modifiers to Combat Char Value 1-2 3-5 6-8 9-12 13-15 16-18 19-22 23-24
Base Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Mod 1
+1 +2 +2
Mod 2 –3 –2 –1 +1 +2 +3 +3
For example, with a Reflexes of 16, you would have +1 damage with Ranged weapons (Mod 1), +2 Attack for Ranged weapons (Mod 2), +2 Defense in Melee combat (Mod 2), and +1 Melee Attack (Mod 3) AR modifier: what happened to the various Armour Bypass Roll bonuses? ABR bonuses are now instead subtracted from the enemy’s armour rolls (AR). After subtraction the enemy still gets a minimum roll of 1 if he has any armour. (Note Strength AR mod removed, because already factored in the extra damage).
Mod 3 –2 –1
+1 +2 +2
Strength: Mod 1: Melee Damage Mod 2: Melee Attack Mod 3: Melee Defense Reflexes: Mod 1: Ranged Damage Mod 2: Ranged Attack Melee Defense Mod 3: Melee Attack
Base Score: This should be used for special circumstances where comparing Characteristics are necessary, but where differences between actual Characteristic values are not as impacting. For example, in battle – a stronger combatant may have an advantage, but some monsters are very strong and it would be difficult to make a roll when the differences are 30 for example! Note the Base Score is also usable for Looks, Psychic Talent, Intelligence, Stealth, Perception, Attack, Defense, Magical Attack, Magical Defense, Health Points & Emotions. Simply substitute the Attribute with the Strength or Reflexes value in one of the two tables above. For example, if a monster’s Health Points equals 6, its Health Point Base Score equals 3.
Monsters: Monster stats already factor in bonuses for speed or strength, so ignore the above table
Default Table For all Characteristics (Looks, Psychic talent, Intelligence etc.), Emotions (Joy, Composure and Aplomb) and Knowledge Proficiency Level, use this
default modifier table (also use this table whenever calculating Base Score):
Value Base Score Characteristic Modifier 1-2 1 –3 3-5 2 –2 6-8 3 –1 9-12 4 13-15 5 +1 16-18 6 +2 19-22 7 +3 23-26 8 +4 27-30 9 +5 every 5 pts after +1 extra +1 extra Maximum values: Strength: no theoretical limit, Reflexes: 24, Intelligence: 21, Psychic Talent: 22, Looks: 21. These maximum values apply to all creatures. For example, if your Strength is 16, your “Strength Modifier” is +2.
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Simplifying Base Score: for attributes 30 or less, Base score equals Attribute/ 3 For Attributes 31+: (Attribute –30) / 5, +9 (round up after division) (Note: for values less than 13, the base score differs from this formula)
The Face Off Roll (for the “Face Off Challenge”):
Special rules are required to govern Characteristic challenges, for example Intelligence vs Intelligence in a duel of wit, or Strength vs Strength in an arm wrestle. Any instance where one of the Characteristics/ Emotions is pitted against another Characteristic/ Emotion (and this includes the Leadership Proficiency Level or a Knowledge Proficiency Level) – it requires a Face-Off Roll. A Face-Off Roll is 1d10 + Attribute
score, & roll this for both sides. The highest score wins. Be sure to include all applicable modifiers. If the Challenge requires a combination of Attribute scores (eg. Strength & Reflexes in a running race) – use the average of the Attributes, or some other acceptable ratio. You might also one to take the best of 3 rolls for certain challenges to average out extreme rolls.
* Applicable Attributes: Strength, Reflexes, Intelligence, Psy Talent, Looks, Joy, Composure, Aplomb, or any Proficiency Level
Monster Characteristics
elven sword
These important attributes are important for Superlative rules to work. Whenever players encounter a monster, one should take the time to write down a typical range
of Strength and Reflexes appropriate for the creature for future reference. Here is a general guideline:
Characteristic Size
Characteristic Value
Typical Range
Strength
HP + 1d2 – 1 HP + 1d4 – 2 HP + 1d6 – 3 HP + 1d6 – 3 HP + 1d8 – 4 HP + 1d10 – 5 HP + 1d12 – 6
1-2 2-9 3-21, Mid: 10, Strong: 16+ 10-24, Mid: 16, Strong: 20+ 20-30, Mid: 25, Strong: 28+ 24-35, Mid: 31, Strong: 34+ 36-45, Mid: 41, Strong: 44+
Small (eg. bat) Medium-Sm(eg. halfling) Medium Med. Large Large Very Large
Gargantuan (eg. dragon) Reflexes
Evasion x 3 + (1d4 – 2)
Intelligence
Animal Subhuman Average Smart Highly Intelligent Genius
1-2 (1d2) Psychic Talent*: 3-4 (1d2+2) 5-12 (1d8+4) 13-15 (1d3+12) 16-18 (1d3+15) 19-21 (1d3+18)
Looks
Outcast/Antisocial Regular Popular Charismatic Angelic
1-6 (1d6) 7-12 (1d6+6) 13-15 (1d3+12) 16-18 (1d3+15) 19-21 (1d3+18)
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1-2 (1d2) 1-6 (1d6) 2-12 (2d6) 2-16 (2d8) 3-18 (3d6) 3-22 (2d8+d6)
* Creatures of low intelligence might have high Psychic Talent. If so, add 1d6 or as GM decides.
Ranged Combat
Special Combat Techniques available with a Ranged Weapon: Quick Draw, Awe Attack and Aimed Attack.
Ranged combat (Missile Combat) in the Superlative rules do not differ much from the original rules except for the inclusion of initiative rolls like melee. Whilst
Init. Mod. –4 –4 –6 +1 if armed
combatants are in out-of-melee-range, Ranged Combat rules apply and depend on the ranged weapon used.
Ranged Weapon Blowgun ■ Bow, Short* Bow, Long*♦ Crossbow Dagger ■ Hand-Axe Javelin/Spear Rock (decent sized) ■ Sling ■ Warhammer Natural
Damage Roll 1d3 special 1d8 1d8 1d8 1d6 1d8 1d8 1d4 1d6 1d6
Rating☺ Range(m) 10/20/40 4 40/100/200♠ 4 50/150/275♠ 4 40/65/100 3 10/20/25♠ 4 7/15/25♠ 4 15/25/50♥ 2 10/15/30♠ 3 25/50/75♠ 3 5/10/15♠
–1 +1 –3 –1 +1 (except where it takes time to prepare)
* 2 handed weapon
** see Magic In Combat
–1 –1/–2◄ –1/–2◄ +1
☺Rating refers to original DW damage rating (see melee)
–1 +1
♦ Heavy weapon. Must have Strength of 10 or more to use otherwise incur –4 Att penalty. ■ Small weapon ◄ AF mod of –2 at short range; –1 at med/long range
♠ apply Strength modifier x 10% for modified range ♥ apply Strength modifier x 20% for modified range
Crossbow: a crossbow takes at least 1 round to arm. If a character is Hasted, he may arm and shoot in the same round with a –2 Initiative modifier. Crossbows make good short range weapons. Hand-Axe: Hand-Axes make so-so melee weapons, but good ranged. Blowgun: only for transmitting poison. Takes 1 round to arm. 1d3 damage for purposes of bypassing armour (no actual damage). +1 Initiative mod. Elves have a natural +1 initiative when using Short/Long bows and +2 at 9th rank or more, in addition to the values above Halflings have a natural +1 initiative when using slings, in addition to the values above. Natural: refers to a creature’s natural range attack, eg. a creature shooting needles, or a dragon’s breath. Armour: Armour/Shields & Critical Hits/Rolls rules apply equally for melee as for ranged combat. Combatant Attack Type Ranged (pure ranged)
AF mod
Initiative Modifier –2
Initiative: Works exactly like melee combat. Note for throwable melee weapons – some values may differ. Obviously use the ranged value when used for range, and melee for melee. Evasion: At medium and long range, a target’s Evasion/2 is subtracted from the ranged combat user’s Attack score if target is aware that he is being shot at. If performing Arrow-Cutting, no Evasion benefit applies. Target can only “evade” 1 missile per round, 2 missiles with Lightning Reflexes Level 3-4, 3 missiles with Lightning Reflexes Level 5. Double this if target is Hasted. Melee & Ranged Combat: if a character wants to attempt to fire a ranged weapon & the target is within melee range engaging in melee with him, the following additional modifiers apply: Attack Modifier –Target’s Defense
Ranged (+melee)*
Defense Modifier –4 **
–Target’s Defense
* a Ranged + Melee weapon is a weapon that appears in both the ranged weapon table and the melee weapon table., ie. can be used for both ranged and melee. ** for bows/crossbows, the Def penalty is only –2 if forego attacking that round and parry with the bow/crossbow instead
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The modifiers apply if the weapon is used as a ranged weapon against a target within melee range engaging in melee against the user. Once a weapon is thrown, for the rest of the round one is considered unarmed in the throwing hand.
Moving whilst Shooting: ¼ walking speed is allowed whilst still allowing a Ranged Combat action. Movement beyond this will disallow Ranged Combat actions. If a target has moved in the same round as a character is shooting at him, the range of the target after movement is taken – and ranged combat penalties for a moving target still apply. The Attack penalty for a moving target is halved if the target is at medium/long range and is moving in a straight line toward or away from the shooter, and ignored if the target is within short range and is moving in a straight line toward or away from shooter. Run & Gun Attack: Normally only ¼ movement is allowed in the same round as a ranged attack. However, there is one maneuver that allows walking/running and a ranged attack in the same round. This is called a Run & Gun Attack – and the ranged attack occurs during movement itself. A Run & Gun counts as a full move + action, and thus the ¼ movement normally allowed is not allowed with a Run & Gun. A Run & Gun has a penalty to Attack: Attack is ⅔ normal if walking speed, or ½ * if target is touching or grappling with another the attacker wishes to avoid hitting ** bonus only applies if target is a “tall” shaped creature (eg. bipeds), the bonus is 0 to –3 if the creature is a “long” shaped creature (eg. quadrupeds, crawlers). If the shooter is standing over the target, obviously crouching/lying prone will be a useless maneuver, and the modifier won’t apply. •Alternatively – you can use the “Barrier Block” shield option to handle solid obstructions. For ‘soft obstructions’ such as forest cover that can be shot through, use half the modifier here.
normal if running speed. Adjustment of Attack occurs after all the other modifiers are applied. Obstruction and other Factors: curiously the original rules did not include instances where the target is concealed or obstructed. Here are some guidelines (includes the original rules): Circumstance ¼ body obstructed ♣ ½ body obstructed ♣ ¾ body obstructed ♣
Attack Modifier –2 –4 –7
For each target size larger than shooter For each target size smaller than shooter
+2 –2
Target standing next to friend* Target crouching** Target is prone/lying down** Target is moving 5-20m/round Target moving: per increment of 20m/round faster:
–3 –3 –6 –2 –2 extra
Target at medium range Target at long range
–3 –7
Low light conditions (shadows, early evening) Low light conditions (night time, moon) Low light conditions (pitch black)
–3 or more ♠ –6 or more ♠ –10 or more ♠
♠ Note: Low light conditions apply for Normal Sight. For Different Sight: Gloomsight has ⅓ the penalties described for pitch black and –3 Attack for bright light; No penalties for half light. Panoptic: no penalty; Elfsight: half penalties; Darksight: no penalties for low light but –3 Attack or more for lighted conditions (–6 for bright sunlight)
Missing Missiles If a missile misses, roll 1d8 to determine where it went; 1: above, 2: above-right, 3: right, 4: below-right, 5: below, 6: below-left, 7: left, 8: above-left. The amount of the Hit roll above the Hit Roll Number determines the amount of feet the missile missed by. Eg. if the Hit Roll Number is 8 and you rolled a 10, then the missile missed by 2 feet.
target size smaller than shooter. For example, if the arrow is flying towards an elephant and the shooter is human, then the chance of it hitting the elephant is 8 or less on d10. If a missile misses because of a solid obstruction penalty (but would not have missed were it not for the obstruction penalty), then roll for the direction of the missed missile as before, but if the direction is toward the area of the obstruction then the obstruction is considered hit.
If now the GM determines that the missile is heading toward another target, roll now to see if it hits the other target. The base chance is 6 or less on a d10. +1 for each target size larger than shooter, and –1 for each
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Magic in Combat Combatants casting spells obviously can’t defend themselves very well, and also may possibly lose the spell (the spell is lost as if it were cast, but with no spell effect) if he is struck whilst casting and fails a DR check versus Strength. Note that casting a spell is an “Opportunity Declaration”. If a spell caster takes damage (or affected by a spell/magic effect), he must make a Difficulty Rating roll against Strength with a Difficulty Rating equal to the damage received (after armour deductions), or lose the spell (it will count as if it were cast) he had declared – this is from loss of Concentration.
Initiative Mod. –3(–2 for Mystics) –5(–4 for Mystics)
Magic Modifiers: (optional) Intelligence Characteristic Modifiers (for Sorcerers/Elementalists/Warlocks) and Psychic Talent Characteristic Modifiers (for Mystics) may be applied in this fashion: • (but die roll max Range: modifier x 10% extra range / area Damage: modifier added to each die roll• Other quantifiable effects: mod x10% extra
Combat Adjustments: Spell Level 1-6 7-10
include the caster’s friends if the friends are not communicating their location. Of course if the enemies are huddled together or stuck in a passageway, the spell is likely to hit with full effect – adjudicate where necessary.
Defense Modifier –1(–0 for Warlocks) –2(–1 for Warlocks)
Casting Spells whilst Blind: So long as a target is even slightly visible, a spell can be cast without penalty at the target. However when the caster cannot see the target (target is invisible or caster is blind or in pitch darkness etc.) – the caster cannot direct the spell towards the correct direction. The caster either tries to listen successfully to the location of the target or cast in a random direction. If you are using the combat grid, it makes it easier for the GM to adjudicate this because the GM decides where the enemy will be and the caster draws a line to show which direction he is directing the spell (if the listen succeeds, the GM shows the general location of the enemy +/- one square).
value still applies, eg. max 6 for a d6 after mod)
New Magic Restoration Rules: Normally Warlocks, Sorcerers and Mystics instantaneously recover their spent magical powers at sunset, midnight and sunrise respectively. In Superlative rules – Sorcerers recover 1 spent MP every minute after midnight until the maximum amount is reached. These recovering MPs cannot be spent until the maximum is reached, and MPs that the Sorcerer had before midnight may be spent but only the MPs spent before the stroke of midnight are recovered. For Warlocks – the same rules as Sorcerers apply, except 1MP is restored every 2 minutes, and recovery only begins after sunset. For Mystics – their Psychic Fatigue goes away at 1 minute per Rank after sunrise. For Elementalists, a Ritual of Recovery takes 1 minute per Rank. Spell Expiry Rolls New rule: when a Spell Expiry Roll dictates that a spell expires – it expires 1 round after the roll has been made. The spell-caster has the option of extending the duration of the spell at half the cost of the original spell.
Without the combat grid, the outcome must be decided by die roll. Roll 1d20, +4 if an enemy is within melee range, -1 for every 5 meters the closest enemy is away, +5 if the caster successfully “listens” (see Listen Talent) and locates a target. If the caster rolls 18 or more the spell hits. The effects are reduced however: the spell’s speed is reduced by 1d8 points for an indirect spell; if the spell is a direct effect spell – there is no penalty. However – notice that “an enemy” is hit – not necessarily the correct one. One of the enemies in the general location where the spell caster is aiming is hit, which may
Once the Spell Expiry Roll indicates an expired spell, even though the spell expires in the next round MPs can no longer be recovered by terminating the spell because the spell has already “ended” - it merely dies out in the next round.
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Mounted Combat Mounted combat refers to combat whilst mounted on a horse or other beast that can be ridden upon. The advantage of mounted combat is that full movement is allowed at the same time as combat, and that charging gives bonuses on the first round of melee. The disadvantages are shields are only effective on the same side as the arm wearing it, and there are defense penalties. Movement: the full movement of a horse is permitted whilst the rider is attacking. Trampling: Trampling refers to a mount moving at least 2/3 of his running speed in meters, or more before reaching melee distance – its benefits apply only in the first round of melee. For example – for a horse the required running distance would be 20m. This attack is a type of charging in the form of a “trample” or a “swoop” but the rider gains charging benefits. There are two benefits to trampling: 1) the mount gets a trample/swoop attack: if the defender has space to avoid the attack, the mount still gets a x 1.5 Attack; if the defender is in a confined space – the mount gets x2 Attack; if the defender cannot avoid being trampled on (eg. a formation of horses charging) – the Hit Roll is an instant success. Damage for a horse/warhorse equals the same as a Warhorse’s Kick attack. For other types of mounts, use their claw attack (or equivalent) to calculate damage. A trample/swoop charge upgrades the damage rating by 1. Note: the trample/swoop attack only affects creatures smaller than the mount, and are standing on solid ground. A trample/swoop is counted as a sprint. 2) the rider gets a Damage bonus: upgrade the Weapon Damage Rating by 1. Although it is more difficult for the rider to hit when mounted, it is also more difficult for the defender to block – so no Attack modifier applies. The rider also has a +2 Defense bonus. 3) the mount can continue running/sprinting/ flying in the same direction past the attacked enemies, with no “rout” penalty in favour of the trampled/ swooped victims (non trampled/ swooped enemies still get a rout bonus). The swoop/trample affects all within its path. The rider however only gets the one attack per round as usual. With every foe swooped/trampled, the mount loses momentum, losing 10% of sprinting distance if trampling/swooping each enemy 1 size smaller, or 5% for per enemy 2 sizes smaller, or 1% per enemy 3 sizes smaller, and no loss of momentum for anything smaller.
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The target(s) of a charge gets a +4 Attack bonus against the mount if armed with a spear/trident/ halberd. All defenders (including those not affected by the trample/swoop) get their melee Damage Rating upgraded by 1 to calculate damage against a charging mount. 3) These rules also apply to any animal that can charge & trample/swoop, like a bull. Animals like bulls with horn attacks who succeed in a charge may throw the victim a certain distance equal to the charger’s melee range if the victim fails a Reflex challenge roll with a DR equal to the HP damage caused. Victims take 1 round (1 whole action) to get up from the ground afterward if thrown. Mounted Attacks: After the first round, the rider gets a +2 Defense bonus against foes smaller than the mount. However 2 handed weapons cannot be used effectively (–4 Attack, –4 Defense) and shields are only effective on the side of the arm wearing the shield (side, side-front and front protection only). If a mount is killed, the rider loses one action whilst he dismounts, however dismounting and drawing a weapon can be done at the same time. Lance: by far the most effective weapon for mounted charge attack, but less useful after that. In a charge, the rider gets the usual bonuses with these extras: Lance does 1d12 base damage, +2 Attack. However – after the first round melee attack, the Lance becomes ineffective against anyone except the target directly in front due to the length of the Lance. However, melee range is 2.5metres or less, so if a target is at 3 5metre range – he may be attacked as normal. During normal melee (ie. not a charge attack) – a Lance is equivalent to a spear. A Lance cannot be used when dismounted, so if the mount dies or he dismounts he must switch weapons. A lance costs triple the price of a spear. Turning: a horse may only attack the person directly in front of him. It can turn 45 degrees and attack in the same round. Or turn 90 degrees without attacking in the same round. A horse can also turn 45 degrees whilst moving without any movement penalties. Ranged Combat: Rider gets a –2 Attack penalty. The advantage is that the rider can keep up with a fleeing target.
Size: Sometimes a mount can be so large a rider cannot attack properly. Adjudicate where necessary.
where using the “Untrained” Proficiency Level is allowed).
Fright: Surprising a horse is equivalent to a “Fright Attack” DR 4. Use the Aplomb rules for governing Fright, and not the Fright Attack rules in the original game. Horses have an average Aplomb of 10, and Warhorses have an average Aplomb of 16. If the Fright Attack succeeds, the horse will rear back and the rider has to make a Reflex roll against a DR of 4 (plus 2x Wind Rider Talent Level bonus) or fall off. The Horse also enters a state of Fear just like regular Emotion rules.
You may modify the above rules to apply for exotic mounts besides horses. Exotic mounts may not be prone to fear like horses, and therefore may not rear back when surprised. Magic: you can cast spells normally whilst the mount is walking normal speed. If it is running however (2x movement), the caster may lost concentration as if he were hit with 4 HP damage (see Magic in Combat). If mount is sprinting – caster may lose concentration as if hit by 10 HP damage.
As well as this, normal fear rules apply for scary enemies. A horse has a +2 Aplomb bonus when in a group of other horses (4 or more). Charging horses have a +6 Aplomb bonus. Whilst a mount is in a state of fear, riders experience a –4 Attack, –4 Defense penalty. He may attempt to calm the horse either by successfully “charming” it (Animal Charmer Talent) – which completely restores Aplomb, or by making a DR Challenge pitting Animal Handling-Horses Proficiency Level against the same Fright Attack DR. Successfully making the roll will restore 1d4 Aplomb. (this is one of the cases
Swoop: a note on swoop attacks. Because of the aerial nature of a swoop, and the fact that very little of the swooper’s body is exposed to melee attack – only half the usual number of enemies can surround and melee attack a swooper, and they have to be standing close enough to melee attack the swooper at the point where the swoop occurs. Furthermore, only spears/ tridents/halberds get a damage bonus against a swooper. So long as the swooper is larger than its targets, it can swoop in a line – getting a charge attack against all within this line.
New Weapons and Armour rules Certain weapons are seen in fantasy stories that need to be addressed. The most notable one being the net and other entangling weapons. Type Initiative Mod. Bola –2 Boomerang ♠ Chakram ♠ Net –2 (for 2 handed) Trident
Damage Rolls 0 1d6 1d6 0 1d8 / 1d10♣
Range (m) Attack Mod. DR 10 / 20 / 30♦ –2 6 10 / 20 / 40♦ 10 / 20 / 50♥ 5 –2 5 5 / 15 / 25♦
♦ apply Strength modifier x 10% for modified range ♥ apply Strength modifier x 20% for modified range
Reach
5
Notes Brute Weapon Brute Weapon Brute Weapon Brute Weapon Semi-Brute
♣ 1d8 damage against immobilized target ♠ Small Weapon
Bola: This weapon comprises of 3 cords with weighted balls on the end, & the cords join at the middle along with a handle. It is whirled around & thrown at a target to entangle. A user can only entangle a target 1 size bigger than himself down to 1 size smaller. Net: like the Bola, it’s primary purpose is to entangle. However it has a fixed range of 5m. A user can wield the same size net as himself (or smaller) with one hand; he can wield a one size bigger net with two hands; or he can wield two sizes bigger with a
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teammate but both must use two hands; 3 sizes larger or more can be used with a teammate, both must use both hands and both must be mounted. 4 sizes larger or more cannot be used. Targets 3 sizes smaller are not affected by the net. When attacking using two persons, the lowest Attack of the two is used. If wielding using one hand, the other hand may hold a weapon – but if it’s going to be used, use the Twoweapon fighting Talent rules – the user in this case must always declare which hand is holding which weapon (when the weapons are unsheathed) so that
the applicable modifiers can be applied. Once the net is thrown, the weapon in the other hand may be quickly swapped over to the dominant hand without penalty. Net Size Tiny (1’ x 1’) Small (up to 2’ x 2’) Med-Small (4’ x 4’) Medium (6’ x 6’) Med-Large (9’ x 9’) Large (12’ x 12’) Very Large (16’ x 16’) Huge (25’ x 25’)
Creature Size Tiny Small (up to 1’) Med-Small (1’ to 3’) Medium (3’ to 6’) Med-large (6’ to 10’) Large (10’ to 15’) Very large (15’ to 20’) Gargantuan (20’ to 30’)
Size: Both the Bola and Net have size restrictions which affect its effectiveness against the target.
eg. Insect eg. bat eg. halfling eg. human, dwarf, elf eg. horse eg. elephant eg. giant eg. dragon
Entanglement: If the user succeeds in the usual Hit Rolls, targets must make a DR Challenge Roll against Reflexes (with a DR equal to the value given in the weapon table above), every round to escape, and a roll of 1 means success regardless of DR (this is equal to 1 action). This Reflex roll is done when the user succeeds the Hit Roll, and if succeeded, results in no entanglement. Whilst entangled, a user cannot move or attack (Defense = 0), and cannot use a shield. If the target has a dagger in hand, he gets a +2 Reflex bonus to escape from nets, or +1 Reflex bonus with a short-sword/sword/hand-axe in hand. If the target has a bladed weapon, he gets a +2 Reflex bonus to escape from a bola. Low Intelligence (Int 1 to 5) targets must add double their Intelligence modifier to Reflexes as a penalty. Spells are considered disrupted for that round. A bola entangle still allows the user a non-moving action, with –3 Att, –3 Def, –8 WR. For nets – if a larger net is used, the DR of the net is increased by +1 for every size greater the net is than the target. Targets may spend 1 round to destroy the bola or net after being disentangled if they have a bladed weapon or fire / acid etc. Dragons can escape just by breathing fire! Weapon Shields: (Brute Weapons) There is a class of weapon shields called Horn Shields that are the size of small shields and have the same blocking armour roll, but have a –2 Attack modifier due to the weight (apply penalty to primary weapon also). These shields have either knives or horns on them, and can be used to attack using the “2 Weapon Combat” Talent rules. Another type is called the Chakram Shield – also the size of a small shield, but can be thrown like a chakram because of the bladed edge. For Shield Mastery Talent, both are considered “Medium Shields”. Shield Type Horn Chakram♠
Rating 3 3
Dmg 1d6 1d6
Att Mod –2 –2
Range
Reach 0
5/10/15
♠Weapon effects only apply if shield is thrown. Apply Strength modifier x 10% for modified range 24
Price (F) Size-Factor 4 0.5 4 1 5 2 10 3 15 3.5 20 4 25 4.5 40 5
Whip: (reach = 6) (Brute Weapon) A whip’s primary purpose is either to entangle, create pain or to disarm. It does no damage. Its effective range is only 5m. It has a natural –2 Attack penalty due to the difficulty of use. When using, the user declares whether he wants to Entangle, Create Pain or to Disarm: Entangle: like a bola/net with a DR=4 (only for a target 1 size more than user, or less. Use the Net size table above for sizes). If target fails Reflex roll, user must still make a Strength vs Strength Face-Off Roll every round after entangling target for the entangle to work. If target is entangled, target cannot move and has a –3 Attack, –3 Defense, but is allowed to perform an action. Spells are considered disrupted however for that round. A target can move ¼ mov along with his regular actions if it makes a Strength vs user’s Strength Face-Off Roll (user’s Str is ½, if user holding whip with 1 hand) – the user is pulled along in this case & can also drag the target in this way. Create pain: target has 2/3 Att, Str & Ref for 1 round if he fails a DR Challenge against his Pain Threshold (if not using Emotion rules, use Str twice – once more in place of Aplomb), using 1d6 as the DR (Armour rolls apply to reduce this number) Disarm: user rolls another Hit Roll, using the target’s Reflex + Strength to calculate a Base Score as a “Defense” for this “2nd Hit Roll”. If user succeeds, target drops weapon and must spend 1 round to pick it up. Target gets a 2x Weapon Mastery Talent Level (for the held weapon) bonus to this “Defense”, Attacker gets 2x Whip Weapon Master Talent level bonus to his Attack. Whips can also be used to hold onto or retrieve objects up to 6m away, 1’ in diameter, 10kg weight (for medium sized whip {human size}. Half this for every size factor smaller, or double for every size factor larger) – make the usual Hit Roll to succeed, with a “Defense” of 1-6 depending on difficulty.
Exotic Weapons: Some exotic weapons include the Chakram (like a bladed discus or something similar) or the Boomerang. Both do 1d5 damage. Hunting Boomerangs actually do not return. Only the recreational boomerangs return if given enough space to do a loop (40m diameter). For the purposes of the game, you may allow these damagecausing Boomerangs to return if they do not hit the target. Users must wear a special glove (20F cost) to catch these boomerangs – nothing else can be held in this hand. Boomerangs only return in the next round, & users must make a Reflex roll (DR 1d6) to catch it.
Bracers: steel bracers automatically come with Scale or better armour, or you can buy them as optional for other armour (the often come as hardened leather bracers with steel reinforcement). They are worn around the forearm and can block against blows from a weapon. If you are unarmed, you have a –4 Def penalty against an armed opponent, or –2 Def if you have bracers. Bracers have 200 Armour points. Unarmed Combat Aids: weapons like knuckle dusters count as unarmed combat, but upgrade the Damage Rating by 1. These tools do not help Martial Arts.
A Trident functions like a melee spear that can be thrown with less effect than a spear. It does not have any two-handed bonuses. The difference is that when used against an immobilized target (eg. Entangled, paralyzed etc.) the damage caused = 1d8.
Augmented Armour: it was quite common to wear a steel breastplate & backplate over hardened leather armour – these kinds of combination armours were common, and are equivalent to Scale armour. Alternatively you can use the Piecemeal Armour rules detailed in the Hit Locations section.
Armour Damage This section is explained here, rather than the armour section because it is an optional rule. Although it adds more complication to the game, it is nevertheless recommended because it is common to discard worn armour or to replace armour on a regular basis. It is unrealistic for players to be wearing 10 year old armour that functions like brand new! Getting players unattached to their weapons and armour is a good thing. Players should be regularly changing their weapons and armour which helps increase variety in game-play. Each armour has a “Health Point” rating called “Armour Points”. The amount of armour points an armour has = 100 x Armour Factor. Every 100 Armour points of damage an armour receives, the AF of that Armour is reduced by 1.
Someone with the Armourer Knowledge can repair Armour (if he has the tools and an anvil and furnace), and it takes ½ a day to repair 500 Armour points. Once an Armour’s Armour Points is reduced to 0 – the Armour is destroyed and cannot be repaired. Magic Armour have 3 times as many Armour Points, and thus lose one AF every (3 x 100) points of Damage. The amount of damage an Armour sustains is equal to 1d6 – 3, and damage is taken every round where struck by a metal object or metal tipped object. Particularly crushing non-metal weapons like a spiked club, or large smashing object, or a wooden clubbing object wielded by a strong (Str 13 or more) wielder can also damage armour – adjudicate where necessary.
Weapon Damage All Steel weapons have 500 Weapon Points of damage they can sustain. Wooden weapons like staves, spears, bows, crossbows (note slings excluded because they can’t be used to parry) have 250 Weapon Points of Damage they can sustain. Every round the weapon is used to attack and/or parry (Defense) the weapon sustains 1d6 –3 Damage. These rolls can be made at the end of combat to simplify things. Metal weapons can only be damaged by hitting other metal weapons or armour. Magic weapons have 3 times the normal weapon points.
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If the user chooses not to attack or parry whilst holding the weapon, if will count as if the user was unarmed (Bonuses for wearing Bracers not applicable, because it’s harder to block using the bracers whilst still wielding a weapon). For weapons like Bows and Crossbows – damage is only sustained to weapon if used to defend with. Natural “damage” is sustained to bows/crossbows however, through regular use, at the rate of 1 point every 3 rounds the weapon is fired. When a weapon goes below half its Weapon Points, the user has a –2 Attack, –1 Defense penalty whilst using it, and the weapon is destroyed if the points go to 0. Like
Armour, it can be repaired, and it takes an Armourer ½ a day to repair 1000 Weapon Points of damage.
reinforced wooden weapons (eg. cudgels, staves) have 350 Weapon Points.
Mithral and Hardened Steel: Mithral Weapons/ Armour have 5 times as many damage points but costs 1000 times as much to buy or repair. Only Steel weapons/ armour(Scale, Mail, Plate) can be made instead with Mithral. Mithral availability is also 1/20 the availability of equivalent weapons or armour, and has 2/3 the weight of steel. Hardened Steel (folded & heat treated steel) costs 10 times as much to buy and repair, but can sustain x 2 damage points, and availability is ¼ the usual. Only a level 2 Armourer can repair hardened steel, and a level 3 Armourer (special – Dwarven or Elven trained only) can repair Mithral. Shafted Weapons: shafted weapons include any weapon with a shaft and a metal head – for example, battleaxes, maces, halberds, spears, handaxes, warhammers, flails etc. The shaft is made of wood, however the shaft can be upgraded to a steel reinforced shaft for 100% more expense (availability is 20% less). Pure wooden weapons like staves can also be upgraded in this way (but not bows). Wooden shafted weapons have 300 Weapon Points, and Steel reinforced weapons have 400 Weapon Points. Steel
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Keeping Weapon/Armour Damage Simple: there’s no easy way to simulate damage to weapons besides keeping score of damage – but there is a simpler way of calculating damage. Damage can be simplified as follows: weapons/armour incur 1 point of damage for every round where contact occurred with a metal object (or wooden object if the weapon/armour is wood or leather). When calculating damage for mass combat – because of the random nature of mass combat, and therefore not every round is spent in melee – take 2d10 points of damage for every hour. Bows/Crossbows take 1d3 points of damage per hour of use in mass combat. Also note that things like Acid and Fire may damage weapons/armour. Equipment Damage: Equipment such as clothes, shoes & backpack didn’t last – especially if used for adventuring. Items are considered worn & unusable after 1-3 years of adventuring, or 6 years of nonadventuring use. They can be repaired one to three times depending on the damage. Weapons, armour & equipment should all be replaced – replacement/repair should definitely be a part of the character’s life and the game.
Sunder
With the implementation of weapon and armour damage come rules allowing players to break things and break weapons/shields with their own weapons. To hit a stationary object – simply roll a Hit Roll vs Defense 0. To damage an object that is held by someone, succeed an Hit Roll versus the target’s Defense, & the defender also makes a Hit Roll versus the striker’s Defense & the defender must fail this roll for the striker to successfully damage a defended item (the defender does not cause damage to the striker for this roll, & does not lose an action – this “Attack” is actually counted as a regular Parry).
Damage is caused to the objects only if the striker successfully hits the object – regular melee damage to the object will always be caused however. Attempting to break another object counts as a complete action, & doing so incurs a –4 Defense penalty for 1 round. Attack & damage is influenced by the hardness difference between the striking object, & the struck object.
Hardness Level Example Object
Damage Pts/Inch thickness
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12
50 100 200 300 400 500 750 1000 2500 5000 7500
Paper, Rope, Cloth, Glass Clay/Porcelain/Ceramic Leather Soft Wood, Soft rock (eg. sandstone, brick), Padded Leather Armour Steel reinforced shaft/wood, Hardened Leather Armour Steel, Hard Stone (eg. limestone), HS Reinforced shaft
HS, Mithral Reinforced shaft Very Hard Stone (eg. granite) Mithral Diamond Indestructible
HS: Hardened Steel Note: “hardness” is a combination of hardness and elasticity, so brittle objects should have a lower rating.
Object Condition
Hardness Modifier
Magical Weapon/Armour (+1 etc) Below half regular damage points Striking object thicker than struck object by >= x2 Striking a Stationary object
Increase 1 level Decrease 1 level (damage pts/inch thickness doesn’t change) Increase striking object’s hardness 1 level Increase striking object’s hardness 1 level
If a shafted weapon is used to attack – use the weapon head to determine the material for hardness, otherwise if
Sunder Factor Each hardness level greater Each hardness level less Striking with a shafted weapon Striking with a long pole weapon Striking with a chained weapon (morning star, flail) Striking a flat surface with a crushing weapon Striking a chained weapon Wielding a lighter item against a heavier item
used to defend – use the shaft material to determine the material for hardness.
Attack modifiers and Damage Modifiers +3 Attack, +50% Damage –3 Attack, –50% Damage –3 Attack –3 Attack, –50% Damage –3 Attack +3 Attack, +25% Damage –3 Attack, –50% Damage –3 Attack, –50% Damage
Notes: 1) Striking refers to the weapon used to break the other the defender is not considered striking, but “Defending”. 2) when parrying with a shafted weapon, usually the shaft is used to block, but when striking – the weapon
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(Damage x 1.5) (Damage / 1.5) (Damage / 1.5) (Damage x 1.25) (Damage / 1.5)
head is used (for example, the axe head) – which is why striking with a shafted weapon is more difficult. 3) the weapon must be able to destroy the struck object in the first place. An arrow cannot destroy a door for example, nor can a spear destroy a sword. Usually piercing weapons cannot destroy other items.
4) crushing weapons include maces, hammers, flails & morning stars, and a flat surface would be a shield for example. A stationary object is also considered a “flat surface” if it is laid upon a flat surface.
Note: upgrade/downgrade heaviness by 1 Lvl for each size difference. For example, a Halfling’s sword is equivalent to a human’s shortsword. Effects are cumulative – so apply the modifier for every difference in Heaviness Lvl.
5) The Damage modifier applies to damage caused to the opposing item (both the striking item and the struck item will take damage). Damage modifiers apply to either side where applicable, but Attack modifiers only apply for the striking side.
Item Damage: 1) Item Damage is calculated if the striker succeeds in striking the item. Item Damage = (Striker’s Strength Base Score + Striker’s Attack – Defender’s Attack) x 1d10.
6) worn armour cannot be “sundered”, only held weapons/shields & stationary objects can be sundered. 7) long pole weapons include halberds etc. 8) damage modifiers are applied separately not together. For example, if the damage = 100 with a +50% & +25% mod, then the end damage = 100 x 1.5 x 1.25. 9) for using a lighter item against a heavier item, – use this heaviness chart: Heaviness Level Example 1 Dagger, net, arrow/quarrel, bow 2 Shortsword, cudgel, hand-axe, shafted weapon, crossbow 3 Sword, mace, flail, morning star, halberd head*, Shield 4 Two handed Sword, Battleaxe head* *if battleaxe used to strike – then “Battleaxe head” is used, if battleaxe is being struck then “shafted weapon” is used. Apply the same logic for “Halberd head”.
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Use the applicable damage modifiers in the Sunder Factor table to adjust the damage caused to the other item, and then apply the modified damages to the applicable item (either the striking or the struck) – the striking item only sustains half the calculated damage (x 0.5). 2) If the striking item is 3 or more hardness levels higher than the struck object, then the striking object only takes damage if the Striker rolls a 20 (automatic fail), and the Defender rolls a 1 (automatic success) in the Hit Rolls (if the struck object is stationary, roll the Defender roll on its behalf). 3) If the striking item is 3 or more hardness levels lower than the struck object, then the striking object takes the full calculated damage and does not get the usual ½ damage benefit.
New Equipment Prices Weapons & Armour
Price(F)
Availability (%)
Arrows (6) Battleaxe Blowgun Blowgun Darts (5) Bola Boomerang Bow, Long Bow, Short Bracers Chakram Chakram Shield Crossbow Dagger Flail Full Plate Armour Halberd Hand-Axe Horn Shield Katana Knuckle Dusters Net Mace Morning Star Quarrels (10) Quiver Scabbard (sword) Scimitar Shield, Small Shield, Medium Shield, Large Sling Slingshot (10) Spear Staff Sword, Arming Sword, Long Sword, Short Sword, Two handed Trident Warhammer Whip
3 35 5 1 6 20 40 15 25 30 80 130 9 20 1500 65 10 90 40 4 (see table above) 32 28 5 4 10 40 20 30 50 2 1 20 2 50 60 30 90 18 15 11
100 / 60 / 90 85 / 50 / 70 70 / 50 / 10 70 / 50 / 10 60 / 40 / 7 50 / 40 / 5 70 / 30 / 5 95 / 50 / 60 70 / 30 / 5 75 / 55 / 5 40 / 30 / 1 45 / 20 / 1 100 / 100 / 50 85 / 50 / 50 40 / 1 / 0 80 / 40 / 5 100 / 80 / 40 45 / 35 / 1 80 / 10 / 2 60 / 50 / 5 90 / 80 / 70 100 / 55 / 10 100 / 40 / 5 60 / 50 / 5 100 / 50 / 95 100 / 80 / 10 80 / 10 / 2 100 / 80 / 20 100 / 70 / 15 90 / 60 / 5 100 / 100 / 85 100 / 100 / 90 100 / 55 / 20 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 80 / 10 80 / 50 / 5 80 / 80 / 10 80 / 20 / 5 80 / 45 / 10 90 / 70 / 10 80 / 60 / 40
Other
Price
Availability (%)
Ale / Beer Artisan’s Tools Bell Belt Bread, 3 loaves Bowl, Clay Bucket Candles (1 pound) Canvas (sq metre) Cart, 2 wheels Cauldron, iron Chain (per metre) Chair Chalk (10) Chariot Chest, empty Climber’s Kit Cloak Cloak, fine Coach, horse drawn Coat Coat, fine Dairy, butter (1 pound) Dairy, cheese (1 pound) Dairy, eggs (1 dozen) Dairy, milk (1 litre) Disguise Kit Dwelling, Castle Dwelling, Cottage Dwelling, Flat Dwelling, Manor Dwelling, Shack Fish (1 pound)
2CP 3F 5CP 0.3-5F 1CP 5CP 17CP 6CP 1F 40F 4F 13CP 3F 1CP 200F 5F 40F 1F 3-400F 500-2000F 12-20CP 5-500F 2CP 3CP 2CP 1CP 30F 100,000F 4,000F 600F 8,000F 50F 1-5CP
100 / 100 / 80 100 / 90 / 70 100 / 80 / 20 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 90 / 90 100 / 100 / 70 100 / 100 / 80 100 / 100 / 50 90 / 80 / 40 90 / 90 / 20 100 / 90 / 30 100 / 100 / 80 80 / 80 / 10 50 / 30 / 1 70 / 70 / 5 60 / 50 / 30 100 / 100 / 70 80 / 20 / 1 30 / 20 / 1 100 / 100 / 70 70 / 10 / 1 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 100 / 100 60 / 40 / 1
The female equivalent of these clothes can cost up to 100% more. Eg. the female equivalent of trousers would be either female trousers or a dress.
location dependent
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Food, Tavern meal Food, fine dining Goblet, pewter Gloves Gloves, fine Hat Hat, fine Hook (for hand) Horse, fodder (per day) Horse grooming/care Horse veterinarian (per day) Hourglass Incense (5 Sticks) Ink (1 quart) Instrument, Musical Ladder (10 feet) Livestock, chicken Livestock, cow Livestock, dog Livestock, mule Livestock, pig Livestock, pigeon Livestock, sheep Livestock, plough horse Livestock, riding horse Livestock, war horse Magnifying Glass Manacles (iron) Mirror, small steel Mortar and Pestle Pan, copper Parchment (square foot) Peg leg Perfume (1 oz) Physician Kit (per unit) Ploughshare Pouch / Purse Quill Thieves Tools Trousers, Peasant Trousers, Middle Class Trousers, Professional Trousers, Fine Room, Inn Sack, empty Saddlebags Saddlery Saddlery, fine Sandals Scale, Merchant Scythe Shirt, Peasant Shirt, Middle Class Shirt, Professional Shirt, Fine Shoes/Boots Shoes/Boots, fine Shoes, Riding Boots Sickle Skins, Bear Skins, Calf Skins, Deer Skins, Lamb Skins, Rabbit Skins, Wolf Slave, Gladiator Slaves, Pleasure Slaves, Thrall Soap (pound)
3CP 1–10F 12CP 2-5F 30-200F 15-25CP 40-300F 7F 2CP 4CP 24CP 15F 2CP 12CP 2-150F 2F 5CP 38F 25F 50F 10F 1CP 20F 96F 140F 600F 50F 15F 45F 15CP 2F 14CP 6F 4-30F 5CP 19F 0.3-5F 4CP 25F 9–14CP 22–38CP 45–55CP 7–100F 1-2F 1CP 7F 25F 50–200F 8CP 2F 4F 8–12CP 2–3F 4–5F 6–170F 10-25CP 10-100F 25F 15CP 75CP 49CP 23CP 11CP 4CP 35CP 2000F+ 1200-2400F 900-2000F 2CP
100 / 100 / 90 100 / 80 / 10 100 / 100 / 60 100 / 100 / 90 80 / 20 / 1 100 / 100 / 100 80 / 20 / 1 100 / 90 / 40 100 / 100 / 90 100 / 100 / 100 90 / 70 / 20 90 / 90 / 40 70 / 70 / 50 100 / 95 / 50 100 / 100 / 80 90 / 90 / 60 100 / 100 / 100 40 / 40 / 80 95 / 95 / 90 10 / 50 / 40 70 / 70 / 90 90 / 90 / 80 40 / 40 / 90 20 / 20 / 80 90 / 90 / 80 40 / 20 / 1 70 / 50 / 1 80 / 60 / 40 80 / 80 / 10 90 / 90 / 90 80 / 100 / 90 100 / 100 / 50 100 / 90 / 40 80 / 70 / 30 100 / 100 / 60 40 / 50 / 80 100 / 100 / 80 100 / 90 / 40 90 / 70 / 1 100 / 100 / 90 100 / 100 / 50 100 / 60 / 5 70 / 20 / 1 80 / 70 / 20 100 / 100 / 100 100 / 100 / 80 100 / 100 / 90 80 / 40 / 5 100 / 100 / 100 80 / 80 / 60 50 / 50 / 80 100 / 100 / 90 100 / 100 / 50 100 / 60 / 5 70 / 20 / 1 100 / 100 / 100 90 / 30 / 1 100 / 80 / 40 70 / 70 / 80 80 / 60 / 40 80 / 80 / 90 70 / 50 / 90 70 / 50 / 90 70 / 50 / 100 60 / 40 / 80 50 / 40 / 0 50 / 60 / 0 50 / 70 / 0 100 / 100 / 60
Spade Spikes/Nails (5) Stabling + Fodder Stakes, wooden (3) Urn, Clay (5 gallon) Wheelbarrow Whetstone (2 pound) Wig, Fine Wine (1 glass) Wine (bottle) Wineskin
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3F 2CP 5CP 2CP 3F 4F 2F 100-300F 5CP 1 - 5F 4F
100 / 100 / 90 100 / 100 / 50 90 / 90 / 70 100 / 100 / 70 100 / 100 / 90 80 / 60 / 70 100 / 90 / 70 70 / 40 / 1 100 / 90 / 50 100 / 90 / 50 100 / 90 / 50
Wrestling In Superlative rules, Martial Arts Striking is separate from Wrestling/Grappling. Therefore divide Martial Arts Talent into two different types: Martial Arts: Striking, and Martial Arts: Grappling. The talent rules for Martial Arts in the Talents section apply for Martial Arts: Striking – and the following rules apply for Martial Arts: Grappling. The MA: Grappler gains a +1 Initiative bonus at Talent lvl 4 (same as MA: Striking).
When someone is attempting to tussle another – he is termed a “wrestler” and is considered “wrestling”. If someone is defending against a wrestler, he is termed a “defender” and is considered “defending” – regardless of whether he intends to “wrestle” in his action turn. If the wrestler does not have at least 1 free hand, he cannot wrestle, as only someone with dexterous hands (or constricting snakes/tentacles) may wrestle, although anyone may defend against a wrestle.
A wrestler’s Wrestling Rating is calculated as follows: (Strength + Reflexes), substitute this score in the Default Table to calculate a Base Score. Then add 2x Martial Arts: Grappling Talent Level to the Base Score. This end value is the combatant’s Wrestling Rating (WR). The following modifiers apply: General Mods
Calculate the WR for both the wrestler and the defender. A wrestler is counted as performing “unarmed combat” action and therefore incurs the usual Defense and Initiative modifiers. A Wrestle roll is 1d20 + WR – this roll is made for the wrestler and defender. If the wrestler’s score is higher, he either escapes 1 stage if he is already tussled, or if he is at the freed stage the target is tussled down to the next stage of Wrestling toward ‘submission’ (for example, from free to grabbed). If the defender has the higher score – then the defender escapes one wrestling stage toward freed, if he is not already at the freed stage.
*(eg. a Centaur has 6 limbs)
+5 per size larger than opponent +4 if a quadruped +6 if a crawling beast (eg. giant snake) +3 for every pair of limbs more than opponent* – 2 x AF of worn armour (exclude magic bonuses) +2 if won initiative over opponent
Defending Mods –3 if biped, unarmed & only 1 free hand –5 if biped, unarmed & have no free hands available. +1 if armed & have one hand free +6 if at the freed stage, & armed with Reach Advantage +3 if at the freed stage & armed +3 if at the grabbed/taken-down stage, & armed ☻ +2 if at the freed stage, & holding a med/large shield –2 if at the grabbed/taken-down stage, & holding a shield –5 if at the submission stage, & holding a shield –1 to –5 if sight impaired
Grabbed: target has –3 Att & –3 Def and all attacks against him have a –1d2 AF mod bonus. If target/ wrestler wishes to move whilst grabbed or grabbing, perform a new Wrestle Roll for both wrestler & defender but discount defender’s penalties for holding something, & discount penalties for worn armour (this roll is just a roll for moving – not a normal Wrestle Roll) – whoever succeeds may move ¼ movement along with his regular action (moving together with the other) – the failed side cannot move for 1 round.
(cannot Wrestling Mods wrestle if have –2 if only one hand free & Grabbing no free hands) –4 if only one hand free & Taking Down –8 if only one hand free & bringing to Submission –2 to –7 if sight impaired
The target cannot use missile weapons against the wrestler, nor can he use magic because the target is considered having only limited use of his body at this stage. The target can still attack with melee weapons of reach 3 or less. All melee damage is reduced – the damage rating is downgraded by 1. A target that is grabbed can attempt to wrestle a nearby opponent during his action, rather than the one who grabbed him – however if he chooses to do so, he incurs a –5 WR penalty. The grabber does not have to continue tussling the grabbed target – he can simply try to move him around or keep the target stationary.
☻No bonus for long shafted weapons like spears, halberds, maces, morning stars and battleaxe
Notice that it is difficult to wrestle an armed opponent, and a good wrestler will also have the Disarm Talent to solve that problem. Wrestling however is particularly effective against Martial Artist Strikers. There are 4 stages of Wrestling: freed, grabbed, taken down and submission. When combatants are free standing, they are “freed”. When moving stages toward the freed stage – you are considered “escaping”. When moving stages toward the submission stage – you are considered being “tussled”.
Taken Down: the target is considered on the ground or in a vulnerable position. No movement is allowed in this position, & target has a –6 Att & Def in this position. The target can only use short weapons (reach 2) – anything like a short sword or smaller
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may be used (1 weapon damage rating lower in damage), & no ranged combat or magic allowed. A target taken down cannot attempt to wrestle another opponent besides the one who took him down. Submission: a target is considered immobilized and unable to do any action except a wrestle action to possibly escape to the “Taken Down” stage. His Attack and Defense is 0. The wrestler may if he wishes do 1d3 ♠ + Strength modifier (use Default table) damage to the target every round the target is in submission. If the wrestler has managed to submit the target whilst still holding a weapon, he can hit with it so long as it is a short sword or smaller – the hit is automatically successful, and the weapon does additional 1d3 ♠ dmg. Armour does not protect a target that is in submission. The target can drop all held items, however because shields are usually strapped onto the arm with only 1 strap that is actually held, shields cannot be dropped – the target must drop them at the grabbed or takendown stage otherwise he is stuck with it strapped on his arm in the submission stage! ♠This damage is 1d4 not 1d3 if Wrestler has Grappling Talent Lvl 6
At any stage, a wrestler never gets more tussled when it is his turn to act. The wrestler must be in the “freed” stage before he can tussle his opponent, except in the case of a Dramatic Grapple Maneuver (see below exception for level 6 Grapplers). Once a target is tussled, the wrestler can maintain the target at the target’s current stage without any more regular Wrestle Rolls during the wrestler’s action phase. The target is free of course to wrestle back when it is his turn, in order to escape toward freed.
submission breaks free, the target goes back to freed stage and if the Lvl 6 Grappler was previously in the taken-down stage, he remains at that stage. If the 6th level Grappler is in the submission phase & succeeds in a DGM, he escapes to freed stage. Quick Take-Down (QTD): a QTD is 2 Wrestle rolls made in succession as a single action – both rolls are made with a –4 WR penalty. If the wrestler succeeds in both rolls, the defender automatically goes from a freed position to a taken down position. If the wrestler fails in one or both of the rolls – the defender remains at the freed position. A QTD is only useful against an opponent in the freed position. Conversely, a wrestler may perform a “Quick Break Away” (QBA) – if a wrestler is in the “taken down” stage, he may escape to the freed stage in just one action if he makes 2 Wrestle rolls made in succession with a –4 WR to both rolls – failure at one or both these rolls means he remains at the taken down stage.. A Wrestler performing a QTD/QBA opens himself up if he fails, & therefore has a –2 WR & –2 Def penalty for 1 round due to the failed QTD/QBA. Team Wrestling: Target Size 3 or more sizes smaller 1-2 sizes smaller Same-size Per size bigger
Max. Opponents 1 2 4 4, +4 per size bigger
To calculate the WR of a team: start with the WR of the leader (and use the Initiative roll of the leader as well to determine Initiative Sequence). Sum the WR of the remaining team members – use this value to obtain a Base Score in the Default Table. Add this Base Score to the leader’s WR. This end total is the team’s WR.
Dramatic Grapple Maneuver (DGM): a DGM is one where one side’s Wrestle roll exceeds the opponent’s score by 20 or more. If the wrestler is freed and succeeds, his opponent automatically submits. If the wrestler is already ‘tussled’ he immediately escapes 3 stages – and for every stage beyond “free” – that stage is carried over to the defender to tussle the defender closer toward submission. If the Defender does a DGM, he immediately escapes to “Freed” if grabbed/takendown/submission and gets a +3 Attack, +2 damage, +3 WR against the wrestler for one round. Note: Advanced grappling (eg. Jiu Jutsu) allows submission holds even in awkward positions. If the wrestler is at MA: Grappling Talent Lvl 6 & performs a DGM whilst at the grabbed or takendown stage, he still brings the defender to the submission phase! In addition, if he was at the grabbed stage, the Lvl 6 Grappler automatically goes to freed. In these cases if the target in
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A singular wrestler against a team can still only tackle one opponent of the same size or larger, but he can tackle up to two opponents of one size smaller or less. The wrestler needs use of both his arms (no held items) to wrestle two smaller opponents. The singular wrestler only has to match WR against the one opponent (or two smaller opponents as a group) – even if the opponent is part of a larger wrestling team. The opponent of course retaliates with a complete team WR if the group decides to wrestle as a team. If 2 teams face off against each other, the teams must separate such that there is not a group against a group – teams must be divided such that either it is individual against individual or a group against an individual.
If a team submits a defender, the team does the usual damage for each teammate every round the defender is in submission. Being wrestled whilst tussling another: if a wrestler is tussling a target, and the target’s friend(s) decides to grapple the wrestler off the target – then use Team Wrestling rules. If the wrestling group does a wrestle action and wins the Wrestle roll – the tussled friend escapes 1 stage toward freed. Of course the tussled friend’s WR contributes to the group’s WR. If the group fails the wrestle roll during their wrestle action – then the opponent still latches onto the friend. So therefore, until the group has wrestled the opponent off their friend and the friend becomes freed – the group cannot tussle the opponent. Once the friend is freed, the group can band together to tussle the opponent. Once another person joins a team, the team decides who becomes the leader of this new team. Defending attacks whilst wrestling: if a wrestler has tussled his opponent, and he himself is attacked – he may release his opponent and receive his usual Defense score (with unarmed modifiers). He may also try to defend whilst still tussling his opponent: he gets a –4 Defense whilst grappling another – this penalty obviously does not apply if the attack is coming from the tussled opponent. In addition – if he is hit, he loses 1 WR per HP lost, for one round. Wrestling Monsters: some monsters have a natural Wrestling talent, for example – it’s common for Ogres to wrestle each other. Constricting Snakes or tentacle monsters often have MA: Grappling Talent Lvl 2-4. Determine the Talent Lvl for other types of monsters likely to know how to wrestle. Surprise: a defender who is surprised has a –4 WR penalty, & discounts all Defender mod bonuses. Pushing someone off the edge: whilst grabbing a target, the wrestler may simply keep the target at this stage (so long as the target doesn’t escape toward freed) to stop the target from moving, or he may decide to move the target around perhaps over the edge of a cliff. Once one of the sides (grabbed or grabber – depending on who moved who) is over the edge of a cliff/chasm etc, the one that is standing on the safe side must succeed in a Wrestle Roll (with all the applicable modifiers in effect) to let go of his enemy over the cliff – this counts as a normal wrestle action. Failure to make this roll means the cliffhanger manages to hold on for dear life – however the safe side must now make a DR Challenge roll against his Strength to stop himself from falling over the cliff along with his opponent –
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the DR depends on the weight of the enemy, roughly 1DR per 20kg weight or 1DR per 4HP for monsters (rough estimate of weight – use their starting HP) – you may add 1 x Athletics Talent Level as a bonus. In the cliffhanger’s turn he may wrestle back – if he succeeds in his roll, not only does he escape toward freed, but he manages to climb back onto the safe side of the cliff. If a cliffhanger is over the edge of a cliff or drop because he is holding onto the edge, or holding onto a ladder – then it’s also possible for an attacker to cause the cliffhanger to lose his grip and fall. The attacker does this by either succeeding in a Wrestle roll, or by attacking the cliffhanger (HP damage). If attacking the cliffhanger (HP damage), the cliffhanger must roll the following number or less on d20 to remain holding on: Strength Base Score, + 5, + (Agility Talent Lvl / 2), + Toughness Talent Lvl, – HP Damage sustained (–3 if cliffhanger’s HP is ½ normal value or less) (if using Emotion rules, substitute Aplomb Base Score with the ‘+5’ mod)
(stepping on the cliffhanger’s hands is equivalent to 1d6 damage or if attacking hands with a weapon – add 1d6 to the damage, for the purpose of calculating the chance of hanging on) Tactics: Like regular combat, tactics not covered in the rules are presumed to be “included” as part of the dice rolls. Eg, biting your opponent as a tactic will be reflected in the wrestling roll – you can choose to interpret the outcome of the roll any way you see fit. Similarly tactics in melee, such as feinting, are also reflected in the outcome of the dice. Wrestling Tools: Lasso: a lasso has a 5m range (usually 2x melee range). A Lasso has a –4 Att, –4 Def Penalty to use. It can be used against a target up to 1 size bigger down to 1 size smaller. It can be used against a target 2 sizes bigger with a –8 Att penalty. A Lasso is a regular weapon, and therefore it can be mastered with a Weapon Master: Lasso Talent. Once a target is hit, he is considered Entangled like a whip Entangle. The target has a –4 WR penalty. Once lassoed, a target only has one chance to disentangle itself in the next round, after that it becomes impossible to remove the lasso unless it has dexterous hands. To keep hold of a lasso, the user must make a Str vs target’s Str Face-Off Roll (add x2 user’s Weapon Mastery:Lasso Talent bonus), with only half Str if he is holding the lasso with only one hand – this roll is made every round. A lasso can be thrown with one hand, but it’s better
to keep hold of it with two hands. In addition to keeping a hold of a target, the user may drag the target up to ¼ the user’s movement if he makes an additional Strength vs target’s Strength Face-Off Roll that round. If the user can drag the target to a 0 metre distance of the user (or if he walks ¼ movement toward the target whilst managing to hold onto the target), he may automatically tussle the target to a Wrestling Grabbed Stage. Wrestling Oil: this oil has a +2 WR bonus to defend, but –2 WR for wrestling. In other words it’s easier to defend with, but harder to grapple with. It also
adds a –2 Attack, and –2 Defense penalty to wield a weapon. Oil needs to be reapplied every half hour, or 5 minutes of wrestling to remain effective. Garrote: A Garrote is a long piece of wire used as a strangulation weapon. This weapon has a –2 WR to use, but if the defender is in submission, the wrestler can do 1d5 damage every round. Note that the Garrote requires the use of 2 hands, but unlike normal wrestling rules, the Garrote is a wrestling aid and therefore the 2 hands holding the Garrote are also counted as participating in wrestling.
Health, Wounds and Recovery When a character reaches 0 HP or less, he falls unconscious or goes into Shock (no actions allowed, but still conscious) if he rolls his Toughness Talent Level or less on d10. This is called “0HP Collapse”. Death occurs at –5 HP. A character can recover from collapse on a roll of 12 on 2d6 (goes to 1HP) and he can make this roll once a minute. If someone with the Physician Knowledge aids the collapsed character, he can recover faster as follows:
Herbalists and Pharmacists: if you don’t have a magic potion (or a spell), herbalists and Pharmacists must be engaged to counter diseases and madness. Whilst medicine won’t remove madness – it can cause the symptoms to subside. Herbalists and Pharmacists work together. The Herbalists finds (or knows how to find) and identifies the ingredients, and the Pharmacist makes the medicine out of the ingredients. Physicians treat wounds, and use medicine from the Pharmacy to do so.
2 rounds are required to aid the fallen, for every 2 rounds spent, the Physician must roll his Physician level or less on a d6 for the fallen to recover 1 HP. The fallen can also make his 2d6 roll as usual. When the fallen’s HP level reaches 1HP, he awakes. Each HP restored by a Physician costs 1CP in bandages, medicine etc.
Other general rules: 1) assign a level to the problem from 1 to 20 (level 20 for super problems) 2) cost = 5-20F for every problem level for every person involved 3) time = 1-3 days for every problem level for every person involved
Natural Wound recovery is at the rate of (1 + 1 per 5 Ranks) HP/day after 4 days. If someone with a Physician Knowledge helps, the wounded can recover as soon as the Physician spends 6 Physician Units in tending the patient. (Every hour spent on the patient) x (Physician Level) = Physician Units spent on Patient. A maximum of 3 Physician Units allowed per day. For example, if a Physician Level 3 helps out 1 hour on the first day, and 1 hour on the second day, healing can begin on the second day. When the Health Point recovery begins, if the Physician spends at least 1 hour a day with the wounded, the wounded recovers an additional level of Health that day equal to the Physician’s Knowledge Level. 1 Physician Unit costs 5CP in healing equipment & medicine. How to measure a character’s fitness level or healthiness? An average character has a Fitness level of 8. Add the maximum talent level obtained in any of the physical activity type Talents (Athletics, Agility, Martial Arts, Sherpa, Swimming), +1 if your profession has heavy physical acitivity (eg. Knights, Barbarians etc), -1 to -3 if your profession is sedentary and does not involve much physical activity, -1 to -4 if lacking a balanced diet or clean water, and -4 to +4 modifier due to the recent circumstances involving physical activity or weight gain/loss. The Fitness score can be used like any characteristic score regarding fitness related challenges. 34
Guideline: Level 1: colds, general healing, Level 15: Black Death, Level 16-20: special magical illnesses which may require obtaining a special herb in some inaccessible place requiring the assistance of some adventurers to get it (what else!). Example: a special spell has been put on Princess Vespa requiring a magic herb to cure her or she will die in 6 months (GM makes this a level 16 problem). To find the ingredients, a herbalist is involved who takes 18 days to discover the required herb. The adventurers have to go to Khitai for the herb, and bring the herbalist along to identify it. On their return, the Pharmacist takes another 16 days to make the medicine.
GM Notes: these rules are designed to be as non-intrusive as possible to the simple DW system. Generally these rules can be ignored however if the players/ GM don’t want to go into that level of detail.
Hit Locations (optional)
Superlative DW is a game that is kept as simple as possible. In combat, we do not worry about the exact part of the body that is hit. However, sometimes in the
game it is necessary to adjudicate damaged body parts. This section also shows how to implement a very simple hit location system.
Body Injury
HP
Effect (modifiers are accumulative)
Sprained/Broken Arm/wrist
20
Injured Arm/wrist
7
Broken fingers
20
Sprained/Broken Leg/Ankle ♠
20
Injured Leg/Ankle
7
Broken Rib (torso) Concussion (head)
10 7
Coma (head)
40
Stun (head)
1
Gouged Eye (head)
100
Broken Jaw (head) Disfigurement (head) Paraplegia (torso)
15 50 50
Quadriplegia (head/neck)
100
No use of arm. ½ Str, ½ Ref for instances that involve/require the use of both hands/arm –3 Str, –3 Ref, –3 Att, –3 Def, –4WR, –3 Ste for any instance that involve use of that arm. Depending on how many fingers are damaged, The thumb is necessary to the injured person will lose –1 Ref, -1 Att, -1 Def wield weapons. per finger for instances involving that hand, plus he will not be able to hold anything if all fingers are lost. No use of Leg. ½ walking speed with crutches (or hopping at ¼ speed). Crutches require the use of ♠Obviously certain actions now become impossible, like one arm. Without crutches, character cannot perform most actions & tires 3x faster (standing 1 jumping legged). Whilst in crutches: –8 Att, –4 Def, – For quadrupeds with 1 sprained/ broken leg, effect 12WR, –6 Str, –6 Ref, –8 Ste for instances counts as having an injured involving the leg (which of course includes leg. standing up). ¾ movement speed. –3 Str, –3 Ref, –3 Att, –3 Def, –3 Ste, –3WR for instances where the leg is in use. –3 Str, –3 Ref, –4WR, + Stunned 1d2 rounds Roll a 16 on 2d8 every minute to wake up from unconsciousness (this is in spite of any “0HP Collapse” – this 0 HP “waking up” only restores your HP to 1, but the 16 on 2d8 still needs to succeed to wakeup from concussion). Similar to a “Concussion” except you must roll a 20 on 2d10 to wake and this roll is made only once a day. The victim must forfeit his next action. Constructs, Undead, plants, oozes etc that do not have nerves that can be stunned/pained are not affected. (1 round effect, or 1d3 rounds if using a Mace, Warhammer or Morning Star) No use of eye. Perc is ⅔ normal. –2 Attack, –2 Defense. No use of jaw. Cannot talk or chew. reduces looks by 1d8 points. no use of both legs. –6 Att, –6 Def whilst on the ground. no use of any limbs
Other injuries such as broken shoulder, broken hip etc. can be equated to one of the injuries above.
when a character goes below ⅓ his normal Health Points, his injuries start to get serious and the exact Hit Locations might have some bearing now. When a character’s Health Points go to 0 or below, his wounds become critical and the effects may be an amputation, broken leg or something worse.
The way injuries work in Superlative is based on Health Points. When someone takes damage, it is counted to occur to different parts of the body of a minor extent – therefore the actual location does not matter. However
If the GM believes that a hit might bring a target’s HP to 1/3 or less or 0 or less, then he should ask the attacker to choose which location he is aiming for, so that the Injury Chance can be calculated fairly.
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STEP 1 – Defender’s Condition (BIN)
Defender Condition HP goes to ⅓ normal value or less HP goes to ⅓ normal value or less, & prone/supine* HP goes to 0 or less HP goes to 0 or less, & prone/supine*
Base Injury Number 3 6 6 12
Injury Type Serious Serious Critical Critical
* prone/supine refers to defender being in any lying down position, & BIN is –2 less for wrestling
When the above conditions are met for a defender, the Attackers make an injury roll for every hit that causes an HP reduction (note that Aimed hits and Sneak Attack
damage may involve 2 damage rolls – after applying damage individually against armour – total these two individual results for calculating the IR).
STEP 2 – Calculate Chance of Injury
* Bonus applies if attacker has Talent for the attack used against target eg. Weapon Mastery, Martial Arts.
Injury Rating (IR) = HP damage incurred, – (Target’s Toughness Talent Level / 2), + (Attacker’s Attacking Talent Lvl / 2) *
Note: for an Awe Attack, use the highest damage die rolled (after armour) for calculating the IR.
Injury Chance (IC) = Base Injury Number + Injury Rating The Injury Chance (IC) is the number the attacker has to roll or less on d20 to inflict a Serious or Critical Injury (this is a called an Injury Roll). A roll of 20 is always a full avoidance. A roll of 1 is always an injury.
The Attacker is allowed to choose what part of the body he goes after, but the chances of bodily harm is affected based on the chances of hitting that part:
Body Part
IC modifier (Melee)
IC Modifier (Missiles)
Head/Neck Torso Legs Arms
–2 +2
–4 +2
IC Modifier (Wrestling) +2 +2
+2
Additional Circumstances
IC Modifier
Attacker stands lower* Attacker stands higher Body part involved in Target’s Attack ♠
+1 to injure legs, –1 to injure rest of body / size smaller +2 to injure head/neck, –2 to injure legs +4 to injure that body part for 1 round
* if smaller attacker is elevated (eg. mounted), change the “size” to reflect this. Modifier is applicable up to 4 times.
♠ e.g. a monster’s bite will expose its head to injury. Modifier applies for 1 round after target attacks with it
The GM should adjudicate whether the target’s body part is exposed to injury in the first place.
If a Serious/Critical Injury is inflicted, roll to determine the Severity of Injury.
STEP 3 – Calculate Injury Severity Serious Type Injuries: Minor Severity: Injured leg, Injured Arm, Bleeding Torso (+1d2 damage), Stun (head) Harmful Severity: Sprained leg, Sprained Arm, Broken Rib (torso), Concussion (head) Destructive Severity: Broken Leg, Broken Arm, Internal Bleeding (torso), Coma (head) or Facial Injuries
Injury Severity: roll a d20 + Injury Rating: 1-8: Minor 9-16: Harmful 17+: Destructive Bludgeoning attacks like a Mace or Warhammer have a +1 bonus to Injury Severity for blows to the head, and –1 penalty to Injury Severity to blows to limbs
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For Non-Lethal Damage Attacks:
Injury Severity: roll a d20 + Injury Rating: 1-11: Minor 12-18: Harmful 19+: Destructive
Critical Type Injuries: Minor Severity: Sprained Leg, Sprained Arm, Broken Rib (torso), Concussion (head) Harmful Severity: Broken Leg, Broken Arm, Internal Bleeding (torso), Coma (head) or Facial Injuries Destructive Severity: Amputated Leg, Amputated Arm, Quadriplegia or Pierced Organ (torso), Paraplegia or Decapitation (head). Injury Notes: Decapitation: A Destructive Severity Critical Type Injury to the head results in either Paraplegia (bludgeoning/piercing/wrestling attack) or Decapitation (cutting attack). A Decapitated target is considered dead & the wounds are unhealable. The only option for such a target is Resurrection or similar type spell, and the head must be beside the body for Resurrect to work. Paraplegia: Only for bludgeoning/piercing/ wrestling attacks. See Decapitation. Pierced Organ: this is a potentially lethal hit to the heart, lungs, kidney or artery. Only for cutting or piercing attacks. Bludgeoning/wrestling attacks cause Quadriplegia. A pierced organ causes the victim 1 HP damage every 2 rounds until stopped by magical healing or a successful roll of a tending Physician’s Knowledge level or less on a d20 (made every 2 rounds of tending). Internal Bleeding: like a Pierced organ, except 1 HP damage is caused every 1d10 rounds, and the bleeding can also stop if the victim rolls his Toughness Talent Level or less on a d20 and he can roll this once every 3 rounds. Amputation: An amputated limb is counted as a broken limb, except requires 5x the amount of HP restoration (100 HP) to regrow. A limb can only be regrown if healing spells are cast consecutively every round until 100HP is “healed” which results in the limb growing back. An amputee will lose 1HP every 2d10 rounds unless tended by a Physician. A Physician must be tending at all times until the Amputee’s HP is restored to at least 1HP. Amputation is unavailable with bludgeoning or wrestling damage unless the attacker has at least 3 times the Strength of the target, otherwise count as a broken limb. Also be mindful that piercing attacks like arrows are unlikely to amputate a thick limb, and will thus break a bone instead. Sprain: A sprained limb is counted as a broken limb, except it requires half the amount of HP restoration to heal. Facial Injuries: if the attack is a cutting type attack, the chance of getting a facial injury is 1-3 on d6. For a piercing attacking it is 1-4 on d6, and for a
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bludgeoning/wrestling attack it is 1-2 on d6. Otherwise the injured person goes into a coma instead. The type of facial injury (roll 1d6): Wrestling Attack: 1-4: Gouged Eye, 5: Disfigurement, 6: Broken Jaw Bludgeoning Attack: 1-4: Broken Jaw, 5-6: Disfigurement Piercing Attack: 1-2: Gouged Eye, 3-6: Disfigurement Cutting Attack: 1-2: Gouged Eye, 3-5: Disfigurement, 6: Broken Jaw Coma: a person in a coma cannot recover from a coma even if the requisite HP is restored naturally. The 2d10 roll must be made in spite of natural healing. Magic however can awaken someone from a coma if the injury HP is restored via magic. The injured may incur a Facial Injury instead of a coma – see Facial Injuries. Bleeding: this is simply internal bleeding, that results in an extra 1d2 damage in the next round. This bleeding damage does not cause any Injury rolls obviously. Bleeding doesn’t require any extra Healing – its effects are one time only. Incapacitation: If an attacker successfully injures (Injury Roll) an already unconscious/collapsed or incapacitated target (must be in that state at the start of the round), he may choose to cause any type of injury to any part of the body that he chooses. Amputated Fingers: like any amputated limb, healing an amputated finger requires magic HP restoration (x5 HP of a broken finger). Amputating/Breaking fingers are a special case of injury. As long as an equivalent arm injury is caused – the attacker may choose to damage some fingers instead. Usually this doesn’t happen unless for a reason (eg. Gollum biting off Frodo’s finger, in ‘The Lord of the Rings’). Healing Injuries If you’ve noticed, there is an HP rating for each of the injuries. Besides the exceptions explained in the Injury Notes, each of these injuries can be healed through natural or magical healing. Magical healing (that restores HP) can be directed at an injury – once that injury has “healed” the requisite amount of HP, the condition disappears – healing is either directed at HP restoration or Injury healing – the two are not restored together. Natural healing similarly occurs separately for Injuries, as opposed to normal HP wounds. For Injuries, a Physician must tend to the patient for (4 – Physician Knowledge level) x ½ hour for the healing process to begin. After the healing process begins, the injured rests for 4 days and then the rate
Plants and constructs (golems etc.) cannot suffer injuries except for amputation. Most undead too have the same immunity, though some (like Vampires) might suffer from bleeding or pierced organs.
of recovery is 1HP per day thereafter. If a Physician spends at least ½ a day with the patient, the patient restores an additional 1HP every (6 – Physician’s Knowledge Level) in days.
However, the Character may learn to become “Ambidextrous” (see Talents) which of course negates these effects. Recap: 1) if a character goes to ⅓ HP or less, he is susceptible to a Serious Injury. Roll a Serious Injury roll for the hit that brings the character to ⅓ HP or less, plus for every other hit that reduces his HP, based on the chances to hit the particular body part that the Attacker wishes to harm. 2) If a character’s HP goes to 0 or below, he is susceptible to a Critical Injury. Roll a Critical Injury roll for the hit that brings the character to 0 or lower HP, plus for every other hit that reduces his HP, based on the chances to hit the particular body part that the Attacker chooses to harm. 3) Once a character is seriously or critically injured – he might heal naturally by consulting a Physician or he might use magic
Disability Aids Amputees may get a wooden leg, or a metal hook attached to the stub of an amputated arm. A wooden leg counts as having crutches that doesn’t need an arm. A metal hook increases unarmed damage by 1 damage rating, but the arm counts as “broken” unless the hook can actually be used in the situation, like holding onto a rope – in which case there are no Strength penalties, and only –2 Reflex penalty unless the instance requires dexterous hands which excludes hooks! Make-up can help recover 1-2 points of Looks lost to disfigurement. Left-Handedness: if you are forced to use your nonprimary hand, the non-primary hand counts as if it were “injured”, except there is no Strength penalty.
Armour (Piecemeal) with Hit Location rules Generally the armour types in DW include a full set: helmet, arm guards, leg guards and so on. If the player wishes to discard one piece of equipment however or replace it with armour of a different type, he may gain some Weight advantage, but leaves the body part more susceptible to Serious/Critical Injuries, represented in the game by +(AF of worn armour – AF of body part) IC for part with reduced protection. For example, if he removes the arms of Plate armour then there is a + (5 – 0) IC bonus for an Attacker aiming for the arms. If he Base Armour Type Hardened Leather Scale Mail Plate Full Plate
Armour Part Helmet Arms Legs Helmet Arms Legs Helmet Arms Legs Helmet Arms Legs Helmet Arms Legs
swapped the arms of Plate armour for hardened leather, there is a + (5 – 2) IC bonus for an Attacker aiming for the arms. Conversely, he may swap his Hardened Leather arms with Plate arms for a gain of 1AF, and an IC modifier of + (2 – 5) = –3 for Attacks aimed at the arms. Armour Parts Table (the base armour type is based on the torso):
Weight Saved (EU) None ¼ None ¼ 0.75 0.5 ¼ 1.25 1 ¼ 1.75 1.5 ½ 2.5 2
The AF modifier is for both arms or legs armour missing. The modifier is halved if only one arm or leg armour is missing (and the weight saving is also
AF modifier –0.5 –0.5 –0.75 –0.75 –1 –1 –1.5 –1 –0.25 –2 –1
Cost (F) 2 Helmets & Perception 5 Helmet Type Perc Mod 5 Pad/Hard Leath. –1 10 Scale/Mail –1 30 Plate –2 30 Full Plate –4 25 150 130 50 225 200 100 400 350
halved). Discount fractions, and the lowest denominator for Encumbrance is ¼ EU.
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If the armour that is removed is replaced by armour of another type – you gain the AF based on the table above. For example, if you removed the arm protection on your Plate, and replaced it with Scale arms – you would lose 1.5 AF, but gain 0.75 AF. Remember to round down AF fractions after all the calculations are completed, and round down weight saved after all calculations are complete (to the nearest ¼ EU).
and use the values for that Armour type (eg. if the Piecemeal Armour is AF4 – use Mail to calculate these modifiers). Note the “AF Modifier” in the above table is not for the purpose of calculating IC. It is only useful for calculating the final AF equivalency of piecemeal armour, for the purpose of Armour rolls. To calculate IC modifier as mentioned earlier – take the AF of the armour type removed and subtract the AF of the armour type that is replacing it.
For the sake of Attack/Defense/Evasion/Initiative modifiers for armour – use the final AF of piecemeal armour and match it with an equivalent Armour type
Movement Walk, Run & Sprint: A person’s “normal” movement speed / round is considered their walking speed. 2x Walking speed is Running speed, and 5x Walking speed is Sprinting. Sprinting should only be allowed in the game if the GM is also implementing Endurance & Fatigue. The character’s Str & Ref affect Running & Sprinting speed. Take the mean average of the character’s Str & Ref: for every point above 10, there is an improvement of 1% in running and sprinting speed; for every point below 10, Running/Sprinting speed is reduced by 2%.
Normal Weight (kg) = (Strength x 3) + (Height in inches x 0.75) Overweight = 10-40% above normal weight (-2 penalty to Endurance when making Endu rolls) Obese = above 40% normal weight. (Endurance loss is doubled, -4 penalty to Endurance when making Endurance rolls) The creature’s build will also influence the normal weight: Small/Slim build: 1d20% less weight Average build: (1d20 – 10)% change in weight Big build: 1d20% more weight
The Athletics Talent also improves running/sprinting speed by 4% per Talent Lvl for sprinting or 2% per lvl for running. For example: if a character has average Str & Ref of 14, & an Athletics Talent Level 3 – he has an improvement of 4 + (4 x 3) = 16%. The rules in this section use the character’s sprinting speed to calculate jumping and so on, because sprinting is most affected by encumbrance. Monster Note: if the monster’s running speed is not 2x walking speed, that means the monster is particularly slow or particularly fast. In these cases, the Monster’s Sprinting speed is 2.5 x Running speed.
For non-biped creatures, weight is approximated by size: Small: 1/16 weight of medium Med-small: ¼ weight of medium Medium: roughly the weight of a human Med-Large: roughly 4 times the weight of med. Large: roughly 16-32 times the weight of a medium Very Large: roughly 64-128 times the weight of a medium Gargantuan: roughly 256-512 times the weight of a medium Hop: a “Hop” is a standing jump. It has ⅓ the distance of a Leap.
Height: Movement is affected by Height & Weight. For a human (medium sized), average height is 5’7” to 6’ (5’6” + 1d6 inches) Weight: A humananoid/biped’s weight is categorized in these categories: Underweight (malnutritioned): 30% below normal weight (Endurance loss is doubled, -4 penalty to Endurance when making Endurance rolls)
Jump: a “Jump” is a running jump. If the jumper runs at least ½ his normal movement speed (walking speed) in meters distance, he may perform a jump. Eg. for a human, if he runs at least 5m he can jump. Jumping distance = ⅔ the distance of a Leap. Leap: a “Leap” is a sprinting jump. If the leaper sprints at least his normal movement speed in meters distance (eg. 10m for a human), he may leap. If he sprints twice his normal speed in meters distance
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(eg. 20m for a human) – his leaping distance is improved by 5%. A biped’s leaping distance is equal to its Sprinting Speed/10. So for an average human, the leaping distance will be 5m. Typically quadrupeds can leap 50% further than a biped.
hopping distance may not exceed Free Walk distance. Hopping/Jumping/Leaping are included in movement, & are not separate actions apart from movement, however – for the sake of Endurance & Fatigue, a hop/jump counts as running for 3 rounds, & a leap counts as sprinting for 1 round in addition to any fatigue from running/sprinting & so on.
Leaping distance is affected by weight, according to the following formula: For an overweight/obese person: Leaping Distance / (1 + % weight difference) Eg. if the person is 30% overweight, leaping distance = 5 / 1.3 Leaping distance is affected by height. For every 6 inches shorter than average, leaping distance is reduced 10%; for every 6 inches taller than average, leaping distance is improved 10%. A person with the Agility Talent can improve leaping distance 12% per Talent Level by performing an acrobatic leap/jump/hop. Eg. for Agility Level 3, there is a 36% improvement. Note: apply the different modifiers separated by their modifier categories. First apply weight modifiers to leaping distance, then apply height modifiers to this new modified distance, then apply Acrobat modifiers to this new modified distance.
Climbing: in the original rules (DW book 1, p64), climbing surfaces had a Difficulty Factor (DF), and if Reflexes matched the DF, no roll was made – otherwise a Reflex roll was made. You can continue to use this rule, with a bonus to Reflexes = (1 x Agility Talent Level) if a roll is required. For DF above 10, it would be preferable to switch to a DR challenge roll to reflect the increased difficulty. The DR is equal to DF divide by 2, +3. The Sherpa Talent is equivalent to Agility for the purposes of climbing; however Agility is not useful for rock climbing.
Melee Movement: In real-life combat, combatants would be moving and attacking in very dynamic fashion. These rules are handled as Declarations in the Combat Round. In Superlative rules, we can represent the dynamism of movement in the following way:
Leaping Height: the height of a leap / jump / hop is 15% its length. So for a person who can leap 5m length, the height is 0.75m. A person may improve his leaping / jumping / hopping height by 10% for every 10% sacrificed in length distance. Clearing Height: a Biped/Quadruped has approximately 1/3 of their body height in extra clearing height after tucking in the legs, in a jump/leap/hop. One with the Agility Talent can tuck in 13% of his body length per talent level, plus 33%, reaching 100% at level 5. This extra clearing height is achieved by somersaults and other acrobatic maneuvers. Moving & Jumping: a character’s total movement includes the jumping/leaping distance. For someone who is running, the total distance they run plus the jumping distance may not exceed their total running speed for that round. For someone who is sprinting, the total distance they sprint plus the leaping distance may not exceed their total sprinting speed for that round. For someone who is walking, the total distance they walk plus the hopping distance may not exceed their total walking speed for that round. For someone just moving their “Free Walk” (¼ walk movement) plus an action – the total distance moved plus the
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Attacker: as explained earlier, a combatant may move their Free Walk (¼ walk move) & attack in the same round. The attacker may use that Free Walk to push back the opponent that same amount. An opponent cannot be pushed in such a way that he moves more than his normal (walk) movement in a round – once the opponent has reached his normal walk movement in a round, the opponent is considered to “Stand Fast”. The maneuvers available (must be declared during the Declaration phase of the round): Push forward: +1 Attack against opponent for that attack; –1 Defense against the next attack from opponent (expires after 1 round). Uses up free ¼ move. A Push Forward is also applicable for driving an opponent sideways or diagonally. If successful, the Attacker ends up in the Defender’s position, and the Defender moves in the direction that the Attacker is pushing. Note: if the Defender acts before the Attacker in the round, the Attacker’s Defense penalty applies for the Defender’s attack before the Attacker’s Push Forward.
Withdraw (walk backward): no modifiers apply. Uses up Free Walk. Stand Fast: - no change.
Defender: when an attacker declares to push forward, the defender may respond by declaring to withdraw – in which case, it cancels out the Attacker’s bonus & penalty. If the Attacker withdraws, the Defender can respond by moving forward when it is his turn to act – this is not the same as pushing forward, because the Attacker has moved away from melee range rather than being forcibly pushed back. If the Attacker declares to pushes forward, the following rules apply for a Defender performing the following maneuvers: Withdraw: cancels out the bonus and penalty of the Attacker, and moves back accordingly with the Attacker. Note: withdrawing in this case does not use up his Free Walk for that round because the action is responsive rather than preemptive. Stand Fast: any time where the defender cannot move or chooses not to move is counted as a Stand Fast. The Defender may also choose to perform a Defensive Attack, which means he sacrifices an additional –1 Defense but gets a +1 Attack against 1 opponent for 1 round who attempts to Push Forward. When a Defender stands fast, both the Attacker and Defender do not end up moving. After players declare how they will move, then their declarations are played out like regular Combat Round rules. Note: a Push Forward is a preemptive maneuver, and thus is an Opportunity Declaration, and defenders can revise their actions accordingly. Falling Down: an Attacker can fall down if: 1) The Attacker Pushes Forward, the Defender Stands Fast, the Attacker fails his attack, and the Defender performs a Defensive Attack and succeeds.
in the first place (ie. There is no-one standing in an adjacent square) 3) The Defender’s HP drops to 2/3 or 1/3 normal value in any Attack. A falling down roll is just a Reflex DR challenge, with a DR equal to the damage sustained by the attack. In the case of the Attacker falling down, the DR would be the HP damage sustained from the Defensive Attack. It takes 1 round to get up after falling down (1 whole action). Charging: where the Attacker charges, subtract the Free Walk distance from the length of the Attacker’s charge distance & movement rate, & count that as a Push Forward, however the Attack & Defense penalties for a Charge are already included in Charge rules, so do not apply the mods in the Push Forward rules. If the defender Withdraws, then the Attacker’s mods are halved, rather than cancelled. The only difference with a charge is that a charge has the potential to forcibly push forward and or knock over the target. The charger can only forcibly push forward a target that is one size larger or less. Both sides roll 1d10 + Strength Base Score, and the highest score wins – this roll is called a Force Push (FP) roll. If one side is larger, then he has a +2 bonus per size larger. The charger also has a bonus of +1 for every 10m of running speed above 20m/round, and +1 for every 10m of sprinting/running before reaching target. There is also a +2 bonus for the side that is a quadruped & +4 bonus if a crawler. If the charger wins, he pushes back the target ¼ the charger’s walking movement, plus an extra ¼ for every 8 points his FP score is higher than the target, plus the defender must make a Reflex DR challenge roll with a DR equal to +1 for every 4 points the charger’s FP score is higher and if failing the DR challenge the target falls over. If the defender wins, the attacker might fall over instead (if failing the Ref DR challenge roll).
The Defender can fall down if: 1) The Attacker Pushes Forward, the Defender withdraws and trips over something or missteps 2) The Attacker Pushes Forward, the Defender Stands Fast and the Attacker’s Attack succeeds. This only applies if the Defender can be moved
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Talents Talent rolls are divided into two categories: Versus Challenges (eg. Attack vs Defense), and Difficulty Rating (DR) Challenges (eg. Strength against Difficulty Rating 3). Talents are abilities characters have, related to a character’s experience and training. Studied Knowledges (eg. Languages) are not talents because they are improved through study, rather than improved through practice and use.
rank 12 or after, but they may not need to take time to learn the Talent (see Experience). Heroes – to facilitate Heroes, for PC professions, +1 Talent Point for every rank gained above 10. Talent Level: Players can spend Talent Points to build Talent Levels up to a maximum level of 5 for each Talent. Some Talents have a maximum level of 3 and some 6, and some Talents cost 2 Talent Points to advance one level. Unless indicated, it costs 1 Talent Point to advance 1 Talent Level for a particular Talent, & the maximum level is 5. A person is considered “untrained” if he does not have at least 1 level in that Talent. Talents are generally categorized by task, and unless indicated – even an untrained character may attempt the task.
The simple system for handling Talents in Superlative DW is to use available attributes/characteristics & modify them based on the character’s talent in a particular area. This allows a great deal of character customization without overt complexity. Talent Points: Talents are a way to move away from rank based improvement. This is because NPCs & nonadventuring professions also have Talents and Knowledges but they don’t have a combat-based rank! Characters have a Talent Point level equal to half the total of his 5 Characteristics (Str, Ref, Psy Talent, Looks, Int – maximum contribution from any Attribute is 21).
Use some common-sense when allowing talents for creatures, who may not have a natural ability to have certain Talents (eg., they may not have dexterous hands), creatures/NPCs should only have talents they have the means to learn & use in the first place. Most creatures already have “talents” as part of their description.
Talent points are spent to improve talents at a cost of 1 point to advance 1 Talent Lvl unless indicated. The max number of Talent Lvls one can have for Talents related to an Attribute equals 1.5 x Attribute value.
Also, where indicated, a Talent Lvl 0.5 is possible, which means very basic training (eg. swimming) – no Talent Points are necessary to gain the Talent, the user must simply spend some time learning the skill – a character is not considered “untrained” at Lvl 0.5.
For example, if a character has a Str of 15 – he can only have up to 22 Lvls worth of Str related Talents.
One must gain all previous Talent Levels before advancing to the next Talent Level.
Unlike NPC professions, PCs can spend Talent points at a rate of 2 points per Rank and 3 points per Rank at
DR Challenges Difficulty Rating Challenges are made against Characteristics (Str, Ref, Int, Psy Tal, Looks, Joy, Composure, Aplomb, Proficiency Level) and involve a Difficulty Rating. Base Difficulty Rating Challenges start at DR of 4 against a particular characteristic and go up or down from there based on the difficulty of a task performed. DR can go as high as 20 for the most difficult task, and down to –10. When performing a task, add 2 x Talent Level of the related Talent to the Characteristic, and then assign an appropriate DR before making the roll. DR Challenge rules differ from the original rules governing Difficulty Factor. You must roll above the DR, and equal or lower than the Characteristic on a d20 to succeed. A roll of 20 is automatic failure. If the The Fumble: a roll of 20 denotes an automatic failure. The GM may choose to introduce a related fumble to add dramatic effect to the failed roll. These Fumbles should be used as plot devices and to spice up the story.
Characteristic is above 20, add the amount above 20 to the dice roll (if you are making constant rolls for the same situation, you may subtract DR from the attribute, and roll the result or less on a d20 to succeed – this avoids constant calculations). Sometimes the GM may find it necessary to pit user Characteristic against target Characteristic, if the user is using the Talent against another. The target may have a Talent that could counter the user’s Talent, thereby allowing the target’s Talent modifiers. When matching Characteristic versus Characteristic – see the rules for handling Face-Off Challenges. Modifications may apply depending on the difficulty, for example a target may have a hostile predisposition toward the user, which would definitely affect haggling attempts! Task Difficulty Average Tough Difficult Very Difficult Nearly Impossible
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DR 4 8 12 16 20
Active Attributes: Attack, Stealth, Mag Attack, Speed Passive Attributes: Defense, Perception, Mag Defense, Evasion
Versus Challenges (Versus Challenges apply to Att vs Def, Ste vs Perc or Mag Att vs Mag Def, or Speed vs Evasion)
When performing a task, add the Talent modifier (see below table) related to the area being tested to the Attribute, before making the Versus Challenge roll. As a rule: Task Difficulty
Attribute Modifier
Difficult Moderate Easy
+ Talent Level + Talent Level x 1.5 + Talent Level x 2
(some of the talents in this section do not adhere to the above modifiers, and will have their own rules for handling modifiers. These talents are marked with ☻. They are placed in the section because they involve modifiers to Att, Def, Stealth, Perception, Mag Attack or Mag Defense)
A new way of handling Versus rolls: normally you would subtract the Passive Attribute from the Active Attribute, and that would be the number you need to roll or less on a d20 for the Active party (the Actor) to succeed. This requires some mathematics. A new system is this: you need to roll above the Passive score, and equal or below the Active score to succeed (a roll of 20 is automatic failure as before, a roll of 1 is only automatic success if the Passive is equal or higher than the Active). If the Active score is above 20, add the amount above 20 to the dice roll (or continue to use the old Active minus Passive system if you are rolling constantly against the same attributes. This avoids recalculation). This system reduces the amount of mathematics required for most instances. It works less effectively for Attack vs Defense, because of the Critical Roll rules – so continue to use the old “Attack minus Defense” rules of the original.
Other Talents: Some Talents do not rely on DR Challenge rolls or Versus Challenge Rolls. These talents fall under “Other Talents”. You must read the description to
know how to use these Talents. Untrained users cannot attempt the Talent unless the rules specifically indicate.
Ineptitudes: A note about Talents and Knowledges – the GM may decide that each character has 1d10 ineptitudes – sometimes people can never seem to learn something! This can be represented in the game by the GM choosing (either arbitrarily or through a die roll) a
number of Talents and Knowledges that the character cannot learn. Apply some adjudication however if the GM chooses by die roll, because some ineptitudes may be unreasonable.
♣ Untrained may not attempt this Talent
Talent List DR Challenge Talent
Attribute
Info
Acting
Looks
Agility
Reflexes
Cost: 1 point for level 1&2 together, 1 point for level 3 & 4 together, 1 point for level 5. Includes public speaking, general acting in public. Do not confuse with Diplomacy Talent. Diplomacy refers to someone’s ability to relate to someone & manipulate their reactions. Acting simply refers to an ability to speak with dignity, or act convincingly in public. Actor & Diplomacy should be combined for persuasive public speeches. 2 points cost per lvl for Lvl 4–5. eg. Leaping, climbing, balancing, tumbling – general feats of agility. Can roll DR challenge to reduce falling damage by landing like a cat or using walls to slow down descent – damage reduced is Talent Lvl x 10%, plus reduce the drop
If wearing armour, there is a 2 x AF penalty. For example, if wearing Mail armour, there is a –8 penalty. (1.5 x AF for Mithral Armour).
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Athletics
Strength
Animal Charmer ♣
Intelligence
DR depends on size of animal. Examples: mouse: 1,bat: 2, cat: 3, dog: 4, wolf: 5, tiger: 7, horse: 8, rhino: 9, bear: 10, elephant: 11
Diplomacy
Looks
Entertainment
Reflexes
Escapology
Reflexes
Forgery
Intelligence
Intimidation
Aplomb
distance ranges by Talent Lvl in meters to calculate damage (see DW book 1, p 66). 2 points cost per lvl for lvl 4 & 5. eg. Running, pushing, lifting. Can carry 5% more load per Lvl. Can run 2% faster and sprint 4% faster per lvl. For lifting, apply only 1x Talent Lvl as bonus, not 2x. 2 points cost per level. Only for Unintelligent, friendly animals. Successful Rolls against hostile animals results in the animal stopping their attack. If a successful roll is made, friendly animals will help the charmer equal to the number of Talent Level in hours after which a reroll is necessary to maintain control. Animals will not do what they would not naturally do (will flee if near death if used to fight). Only 1 animal at any one time. 2 points cost per lvl for lvl 4 & 5. eg. Diplomacy, haggling, persuasion. Diplomacy actions require a Looks + Talent bonus challenge roll against the target’s Intelligence. See also Leadership & Influence. benefits: user can perform tricks like juggling, dance or Play instruments. The amount of florins earned for busking per hour equals: 1d6 for level 1, 1d8 for level 2, 1d10 for level 3, 1d12 for level 4, and 2d8 for level 5. Bonuses or penalties should apply depending on potential size of audience. User must make a DR Challenge roll to succeed for a particular crowd. Apply the user’s Looks Mod as a modifier to the Reflexes when making the roll (see Default Table). Untrained have a –3 penalty, & earn 1d4/hour. 2 points cost per lvl for lvl 4 & 5. User learns to escape from bonds, chains, entanglement, ensnaring traps etc. although related to the Artist Knowledge, Forgery of documents often requires knowledge of several disciplines which require constant practice rather than learned through study. Forgery of different crafts (eg. paintings, ornaments, tapestry) requires Knowledge in the related field as well. This functions with the same results as Diplomacy, except using intimidation rather than charm to achieve the effect. Evil users tend to use Intimidation rather than Diplomacy. The other difference is that it uses the character’s Aplomb as the Characteristic to test. Do a user Aplomb versus target Aplomb roll for success. In addition the target tests Composure (DR 4 or more) and tests Aplomb (DR 1-4). Note that Intimidation is different from mere bullying – it is a special skill that 44
Numoirean Longsword – absolute perfection in terms of balance, weight, strength, point of percussion & handling. Engineered as a pure killing instrument with minimal decoration.
Investigation
Intelligence
Mechanics
Reflexes
Typical DR values: Padlock: 4; Door lock: 6; Chest: 8 The GM rolls the DR roll, & also the time taken. The player tells the GM on a round by round basis, whether he wishes to continue trying. Only after the time is up does the GM inform the player whether the character can pick the lock if the roll was successful – otherwise the GM continues to keep quiet.
Pack Mule
Strength
Resist Disease/Poison
Strength
DR: Weak: 2; Medium: 4; Strong: 7; Deadly: 11. DR applies to both Poison & Diseases.
Runemonition ♣
Psychic Talent
Scholar
Intelligence
Sherpa
Reflexes
Swimming ♣
Strength
Swimming speed is ½ walking speed, + 10% per Talent Level. Swimming Talent also helps holding breath time.
Tactics
Intelligence
Wind Rider
Reflexes
Untrained can still attempt to ride Warhorses and Flying Mounts, but they cannot control them properly to their full potential.
manipulates Fear. See Leadership and Influence. Improved information gathering, deductive reasoning and search checks. eg. Picklocks, tinker with simple machinery. Benefits: Make the usual DR roll with 2 x Talent Lvl as an Attribute bonus, with an additional bonus of +1 for Int 16+. Make one roll only per lock/ mechanism. Reattempt can be made after 1 day. For locks, time taken before success or failure of attempt = 1d6 rounds per Difficulty Rating number. Untrained have a –4 penalty. Benefits: this increases the amount one can carry by 20% per Talent Level. Some women in Africa have mastered the ability to carry large loads efficiently. 2 Point cost per lvl for Lvl 4-5. Benefits: To resist poison/disease, perform a DR challenge against Str Base Score + 8 with a + 2 x Talent Lvl bonus. Damage is also reduced by 1 point per Lvl after the 2nd Lvl, for every round taking damage. For damage, see Book 1, p68; Book 3, p184. 2 point cost per level. Ability to sense and find Runes. Prerequisite: requires Psychic Talent = 8 + (2 x Talent Level). For the purpose of learning Knowledges, the user Gains 1 Knowledge Point for every Talent Level. Knowledge and skill to climb mountains and rock-climb. Cost: Level 1 & 2 together = 1 point; Lvl 3-5: 1 point per lvl. Sherpa helps in climbing skill checks, but Agility does not help out in rock climbing. 1 Point cost for Lvl 1 & 2 together, 1 Point cost per level for levels 3-5. If wearing armour, the penalty = 3 x AF. Eg. if wearing Mail, there is a –12 Penalty. For Mithral armour, the penalty is 2.5 x AF. Swimming speed is ½ walking speed, + 10% per Talent Level. Swimming is impeded whilst holding something. Untrained users cannot swim, however Talent Level 0.5 is allowed. eg. reading/guessing enemy’s strategies, strategizing etc. Usually required for military leadership. 2 point cost per lvl for lvl 4 & 5. Talent for attempting to ride flying creatures, and exotic beasts. Level 1 is required to ride Warhorses. (note: most people {Ref 7 or more} are considered able to ride normal horses without Talent).
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♣ Untrained may not attempt this Talent
☻These Talents have their own rules for handling modifiers, rather than the usual VS Challenge Talent modifiers – see description of Talent for usage instructions
VS Challenge Talent Attribute
Info
Arrow Cutting☻♣
Defense
Body Reading
Perception
Disguise☻
Stealth
2 point cost per level. Benefits: see Warlock Ability (book 6, p212). The difference is that the Def Mod for Level 1 users is –8. For each Talent Level after 1, the user gains +2 Def Mod such that the penalty becomes 0 at level 5. Held weapon Def mods do not help Arrow Cutting, but shield Def mods do. eg. lie detecting, read body language, read lips. Also detect Temperament & Emotions. See Assassin skill (Book 4, p20). The difference is that the user gets +1 Stealth bonus per Talent Level above 1, and a natural –3 Stealth Penalty applies. Untrained users have –7 penalty instead of –3. Max. Lvl 4. 2 pts cost per lvl for Lvl 4–5. Benefits: There’s usually a –4/–8 Att/Def mod for fighting an invisible foe, or fighting someone in pitch darkness, but the user gains a +1/+2 mod per Talent lvl. Any kind of stationary hiding 2 point cost for level 1-4, 3 point cost for level 5. Benefits: the user gains +1 Defense at Lvl 1, 2 and 4. At Level 3: 2 evadable missiles gained, +1 Evasion gained. Level 5: 3 evadable missiles gained and +1 Evasion gained. Note: Lightning Reflexes affects ‘reflex action’ (eg. snatching a cobra by the neck), so Talent level also benefits Reflex reaction rolls for tasks testing speed of reaction (+ Talent Level as a modifier). 2 points cost per level for levels 4-5. Listen allows reduced blindness penalties with a successful roll (made each round) (sight penalties halved). eg. Pickpocket, simple magic, sleight of hand. Benefits: a natural –4 penalty applies for level 1, with a +1 reduction of penalty for every level after the first. If the user fails (1 try allowed per round), the target gets a Perception roll (d20 : score Perception value or lower to succeed) to discover the pickpocket attempt or to detect the magic trick, with a –1 Perception penalty per Prestidigitation Talent level above first level, and if the target has the Spot Talent he gets +1 bonus per Spot Talent Level above the first level to detect magic tricks. 2 points cost per level for level 4 to 5. The ability to move undetected. 2 points cost per level for level 3 to 5. eg. see long distance, see Hidden, detect disguises, detect traps.
Encumbrance penalties to Stealth may not apply here – GM decides.
Fight Blind☻
Attack/Defense
Eg. at Level 3, the pitch black penalty would be –1/–2 rather than –4/–8.
Hide Lightning Reflexes☻
Stealth Defense / Reflexes (special)
See Ranged combat for missile evasion rules
Listen
Perception
Prestidigitation
Stealth
Untrained: -8 Stealth penalty to attempt.
Sneak
Stealth
Spot
Perception
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Untrained cannot attempt ‘other’ Talents unless indicated
Other Talents
Attribute
Info
2 Weapon Combat
Reflexes
2 point cost per level. Benefits: Level 1: Defense Penalty: –2. Primary Weapon –4 Att Secondary Weapon –7 Att Each Level thereafter: +1 Att. extra for the Pri & Sec, & +1 Defense extra after level 2 Both the weapons’ Attack mods still apply for their respective attacks; as for Def mods – use only the worst Def mod of the two weapons.
The target does not have to divide his Defense against 2 Weapon Combat cases. When Calculating Initiative use the same dice roll, but apply the Init mods separately to produce two separate Init counts. The secondary weapon also has a –1 Init mod. Untrained 2 weapon combat counts as –3 worse than Lvl 1 mods, but the +1 Def for Secondary Weapon used for defense still applies without change.
Ambidextrous
Reflexes
Armour Training
Strength
Untrained: -1 Att & Def for wearing Scale or better, in addition to the mods in the armour table. Mystics/Assassins/Swashbucklers have Lvl 1 training. Barbarians have Lvl 2 training. Knights/ Warlocks have Lvl 4 training.
Backstab
Attack
User must use a bladed weapon reach 2 or less.
Cleave
Strength
When dividing Def, apply this mod before other mods. Cleaves cannot be performed in conjunction with Awe Attacks.
Concentration
Rank
Disarm
Reflexes/Attack
Disarm can also be used to remove hand-held items or some worn item. Untrained have additional –4 Attack Penalty to attempt.
Weapon Combinations: 1) A small weapon can be combined with a regular onehanded weapon with no additional penalty 2) Two short weapons (reach 2 or less) can be combined with no additional penalty. If either 1 or 2 do not apply, a –2 extra Attack applies for the Secondary
If the Secondary Weapon is used as defense rather than a second attack, +1 Def for each Level (ignore the Def mod indicated earlier). Maximum Lvl 2. 2 Points cost for level 2. User can use both hands equally. 2nd lvl gives ambidexterity for complex tasks including combat, 1st lvl is only for simple dexterous tasks. For 2 Weapon combat, secondary weapon has +3 Att modifier in addition to the usual if one has level 2 Ambidexterity. Max Level 4. Benefits: Level 1: Wear armour like an Assassin Gained (-1 Att & Def for wearing Mail or better, in addition to the mods in the armour table). Level 2: Wear armour like a Barbarian gained (except no bonus for unarmoured) Level 3: wear Mail like a Knight gained. Level 4: wear armour like a knight gained 2 points cost per lvl; Maximum Lvl 3. Benefits: increase the number of hit rolls made by 1 per Talent lvl, when performing a Sneak Attack from behind. Max Lvl 3. 2 Point cost per level. This is the multi-target-hitting Talent, allowing the user to melee hit 1-3 targets in front of him with one mighty blow or several quick ones. A –2 Init penalty applies. Benefits: Level 1 can melee strike 2 targets with ⅔ Att, Defense is 0 until next action Level 2: can melee strike 2 targets with ⅔ Attack, Def. = ⅓ until next action. Level 3: can melee strike 3 targets with ⅔ Att, Def = 0 until next action; or 2 targets with Att = ¾, Def = ½ until next action. Whenever the user is penalized from the loss of concentration or from getting hit, he may roll his Concentration Talent Lvl or less on a d6 to ignore the effect. 2 point cost per level for levels 4-5. A disarm roll is a Hit Roll with a modifier of +(Str + Ref)/2 + (Talent Lvl x 2). Apply the mod for both Attacker & Defender (apply to Attacker’s Att & defender’s Def), using the Attacker’s Disarm Talent Lvl, and the Defender’s Weapon Mastery Talent Lvl. The user has a –7 Natural 47
Att penalty. Attempting a disarm takes up a whole action & user has a –3 Def for that round. Disarming also has a –4 Init penalty (ignore weapon Init mods). If user is armed & Disarm succeeds, the weapon falls to the floor (1 round to pick up), but if the user is unarmed & Disarm succeeds, the weapon is grabbed in hand. Inner Harmony Emotions gain +1 permanently to one of the 3 Emotions, per Talent Level gained. Emotion scores cannot exceed 18 through Inner Harmony. Magic Int / Psy Talent 2 point cost per level. Allows user to pick up the same level of Mysticist or Magic-User Knowledge, equal to the If a NPC profession (0 rank) picks up this talent & later becomes a spellcasting PC profession Talent Lvl. If a spellcaster picks up this (ranked character) – he can convert his Talent Talent, he gains either a +1 to Mag levels into Mag Att or Mag Def bonuses. Attack, or Mag Defense (1 choice per level attained). Prerequisite: Psy Tal 9+. Martial Arts (MA) Strength/Reflexes 1 point cost per level for levels 1-2, 2 point cost per level for levels 3-6 (MA:Grappling lvl 3 is only 1 point cost). There are 2 separate types: MA: Rock Fist/Foot/Head is the ability to Sunder Striking (detailed here) & MA: Grappling (see items as if the user’s fist, foot or head (user Wrestling). Maximum Level 6. MA:Striking chooses 1 type) were a brick. Each use, the (unarmed combat) Benefits: user causes damage to himself = 1d4 HP, Level 1: Gain: +1 Def or +1 Att♥ along with the usual damage modifiers Level 2: Gain: +1 Def , +1 Att associated with a Sunder. Level 3: Gain: Damage = 1d4, +1 Def or +1 Att ♥, Iron Fist/Foot/Head similar to Rock Fist, Rock Fist learned. except with the hardness of a steel mace. Level 4: Gain: +1 Def, + 1 Att, no AF mod Iron Fist can also be used in combat, with penalty, +1 Init mod 1d8 dmg but with –3 Att, –3 Def penalty (no Level 5: Gain: Unarmed Dmg = 1d5, –1 AF mod, Critical Roll bonus). He does no damage to +1 Att or +1 Def ♥, Remise Technique himself when using it in normal combat. Level 6: Gain: Unarmed Dmg = 1d6, Critical Roll Iron Fist counts as a magic weapon vs 1-2 on d20, Iron Fist learned magically protected foes. Note: MA requires wearing of minimal armour: –1 ♥ user chooses to benefit either Att or Def on Att & –1 Def for every AF of worn armour gaining Lvl. Fighters (Knights/Barbarians/ above Padded Leather (exclude magic Warlocks do not get these benefits because their bonuses). training includes MA training. Note: Martial Arts still uses the regular Unarmed Combat rules in the melee table in addition to the rules detailed here
Meditation Technique Psychic Talent Prerequisite: Psy Talent at least 9.
Learning and training this talent requires a monastery or Assassins guild.
Memorize
Intelligence
Prerequisite: Intelligence at least 9.
Using MA requires the user to declare it, rather than “regular” Unarmed combat (UC) – the above mods apply for “MA UC”, not “UC” in general.
2 points cost for level 1; 1 point cost per level for levels 2-3; 2 point cost per level for levels 4-6. Maximum Level 6. This duplicates the effects of Meditational Techniques in DW Book 4, p15. Level 1: user gains the Light & Darkness Trances Level 2: user gains Water Trance Level 3: user gains Earth Trance Level 4: user gains Void Trance Level 5: user gains Fire Trance Level 6: user gains Wind Trance The user has a 20% chance per Talent Level of remembering the exact details of anything he has glanced at or overheard in the last month. The chance of this decreases 10% per month after the first, to a minimum of 10%.
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Psionics
Psychic Talent
User must make DR Challenge rolls (DR = Talent Lvl of Psionic used) against Psy Talent every round Psionic is used. Failure results in 1 HP damage (or 1MP damage if a spell caster – user chooses what is damaged). Psionics count as 1 whole action in a round (Haste ineffective). To affect a resisting user, user must make a Psy Talent Face-Off Roll against the target’s Psy Talent, or target resists any effects. Apply the Psionic Talent Lvl as a bonus (not x2 as per normal) for these rolls for each side where applicable. If the target successfully resists, another Face-Off Roll is made to determine if the target realizes his mind/body is being affected by the user – if the user fails this roll again, the target realizes the user is trying to affect him (the target always realizes, if the 1st roll fails for Suggestion). For Psionics that require a range – the maximum range of effect = Psy Talent x Talent Level in metres. If user sustains damage or is affected by a direct effect (eg. Direct Effect Spell) – the effect of the Psionic is immediately lost. Obviously Psionics cannot affect the mind of a mindless target (eg. zombie, skeleton, golem), however Telekinesis can still be used against such a target. Psionics are affected by magic armour like Mystic spells. Prerequisite: 12 + Talent Level in Psy Tal.
Quick Draw
Reflexes
Note: At Level 1 or above, QD: Thrown and QD: Sword weapons do not take 1 round to unsheathe. Users can unsheathe & attack (or any other action) as a single action. Note also that Quickdraw: Sword does not have any benefit beyond 1st Level. The Talent is only useful for quick unsheathing, but not useful for throwing. If firing 2 missiles, the first missile has a +2 Init mod, and the second missile has a –2 Init mod, which will determine the Init count in which these two missiles strike (and may even allow someone to disrupt halfway).
2 point cost per level. Maximum Level 6. Benefits: Level 1: ESP (like Mystic) gained except chance = Talent Level x 10%. Level 2: Premonition (like Mystic) gained, except chance = (7 + Talent Level) or less on d20 Level 3: Mind Sense gained (not true mind reading – can only sense target’s true disposition: friendly, deceiving, hostile etc). Level 4: Clairvoyance gained (limited foretelling of future – very general results). Mind Read gained - can sense a target’s profession, knowledges, talents or alignment. Must make 1 separate roll for each category. Mind Speak Gained: can speak a sentence (Psy Talent number of words) to a target’s mind. Level 5: Telekinesis gained - Psy Talent x 2 in kilogram weight; Psy talent/2 in meters movement per round; (Psy Talent Char Modifier + 2) Defense modifier against ranged weapons whilst in use. Level 6: Improved Telekinesis gained – can now carry Psy Talent x 4 in kilograms & (Psy Talent Char Mod. + 6) Defense modifier against ranged weapons. Suggestion gained – can speak into target’s mind (Psy talent in words), and target will believe the thought came from his own head. (eg. “the man is innocent – let him go”). Thoughts that the target wouldn’t be inclined to think will result in the target getting angry that he is being manipulated. Maximum lvl 4. For Daggers, Bows, Hand-axes, Swords. 2 Point cost for levels 3-4. 3 separate Talent types: Quick-Draw: Bow (Long/Short Bows), Quick-Draw: Thrown (Daggers/HandAxes/ Chakram/Boomerang) and QuickDraw: Sword (short/arming/katana swords). Benefits for Thrown & Bow: (double shot using same weapon type only, & thrown weapons must be thrown for benefit): Level 1: +1 Init mod for single shot (ranged) Level 2: shoot twice in 1 round: 1st missile –6 Att Mod, 2nd Missile –8 Att Mod; +1 Init mod for single shot. Level 3: shoot twice in 1 round: 1st missile –4 Att Mod, 2nd Missile –6 Att Mod; +1 Init mod for single shot.
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Savage Onslaught
Health Points
Shield Mastery
Defense
Bonuses obviously apply only if a shield is used. Modifier benefits are in addition to the natural penalties for using shields.
Toughness
Health Points
Tracking
Perception
The Perception bonus is usually x2 Talent Level, unless difficult to track. Trapper
Stealth/Perception
Trap detection: make a Stealth vs Perception roll. Target has a natural –6 Perc mod, +2 per Trapper Talent Lvl of the target. The trap layer’s Ste is used with a bonus of +2 per Talent Lvl. If the target is specifically looking for the trap, the –6 Perc penalty doesn’t apply. The target also gets a bonus of ½ his Spot Talent Lvl round down, to Perc if he has the Spot Talent. This roll can be made once a minute, and can be rerolled – the GM makes the roll & doesn’t say whether it succeeds or fails, but merely informs that nothing was found if the roll fails. Ensnaring Traps: Targets must make a DR Challenge Roll against Ref with a DR = (Trap Lvl x 2) + 3, every round to escape, -1 HP each round attempting if the trap causes damage (armour provides no protection), & a roll of 1 means success regardless of DR. For traps that both ensnare and do damage, targets receive a +3 Ref bonus to escape. Whilst ensnared, target cannot perform any action besides escaping, & Def is ½. Disarming Traps: the DR of disarming a trap = Trap Lvl x 2. Make a Reflex roll, using x 2 Talent Lvl as a bonus. Time to disarm = 1d6 rounds per Trap Lvl. Failure to disarm, sets off the trap.
♦At Talent Lvl 3, Ensnare+Damage traps can affect up to 3 sizes bigger, and Lvl 5 up to 4 sizes bigger.
Level 4: shoot twice in 1 round: 1st missile –2 Att Mod, 2nd Missile –4 Att Mod; +2 init mod for single shot Maximum Level 3. User’s melee attacks become more savage when his HP is reduced to ⅓ or less. Benefits: Level 1: Gain: +1 Att, +1 Def Level 2: Gain: +1 to Init, –1 AF mod Level 3: Gain: Critical Rolls succeed by an extra 1 number (eg. if 1 on d20 Critical Roll, now 1-2 on d20) 2 Points cost per level. Maximum Level 3. Benefits: Level 1: Gain: Att penalty for small/med/large shield: 0/–1/–2, +1 Def mod gained for 1 shield type; Level 2: Gain: +1 Def mod for 1 shield type, Att penalty for small/med/large shield: 0/0/–1 Level 3: Gain: +1 Def mod for 1 shield type, No Att penalty for any shield, can block one attack from an Attacker in the ‘blind spot’. 2 points cost for levels 4-5. Gain 1 permanent HP per Talent Lvl. Also used for reaction rolls challenging the user’s toughness. 2 points cost per level. Benefits: see Assassin Profession (Book 4, p23). –4 Penalty for untrained users. A lot of animals and creatures have some Talent in Tracking. Eg. Dogs have Level 4. 2 points cost per level for level 3-5. Benefits: user can create a trap of a level equal to his Talent Level. Level 1 traps can be purchased at the store by anyone for 8 Florin cost. Trap Lvl 1: build: cost 5F, time: 2 hours; speed 12 Lvl 2: build: cost 10F, time: 4 hours; speed 13 Lvl 3: build: cost 20F, time: 8 hours; speed 14 Lvl 4: build: cost 35F, time: 16 hours; speed 15 Level 5: build: cost 60F, time: 32 hours; speed 17 Traps may be made to cause damage = 1d4 per level. Traps must be laid where they can be concealed. Traps can either be damage causing, ensnaring or both. Traps that do both only do half the damage. Pure ensnaring traps can ensnare Talent Level + 1 number of same sized targets, Pure damage traps can affect Talent Level number of same sized targets. Ensnaring +damage traps only affect one target up to 2 sizes bigger♦. Armour Rolls still applies for damage absorbed, & shields don’t count for Traps that both ensnare & damage. Traps take 10 minutes x number of targets affected, per Trap Lvl to setup. Traps are unrecoverable after use. 50
Undead Turning
Rank
The ability can be used a number of times per day equal to the Talent Level, resetting at sunrise. Prerequisite: user must have Religion Knowledge in a “good religion” and be of Good alignment. Optional: Evil users can Control Undead, rather than turning them.
Weapon Mastery (WM) Attack/Defense Note: range benefits apply only if Str Mod can improve range for the ranged weapon. ♠ eg. if critical roll is 1 on d20, now it is 1-2 on d20; if 1-2 on d20, now it’s 1-3 on d20 etc.
♥ user chooses either an Att or Def benefit when he gains the Level. Fighters (Knights, Barbarians, Warlocks) do not get this benefit because their regular training already includes weapon training ♦ Riposte is for melee weapons but is not available to Brute weapons & chain weapons (Flail & Morning Star) ♣ Parry is for melee weapons but is not available to Brute Weapons & chain weapons like the Flail & Morning Star
Costs 2 points per level for levels 3-5. Benefits: The user can turn away undead (they react by fleeing) of a sum rankequivalent equal to 2 x Talent Level. For more than one undead, the sum of their rank-equivalents is used. The user makes a roll every round for each undead turned. On a maximum result roll, the effect stops for that undead. The die used: Level 1: 1d6; Level 2: 1d8; Level 3: 1d10; Level 4: 1d12; Level 5: 1d20 Max Lvl 6. Applies only for 1 chosen Weapon. 2 Points cost per lvl for Lvl 5-6. Benefits: Level 1: Gain +1 Att or +1 Def ♥ Level 2: Gain +1 Attack, + 1 Defense Level 3: Gain: “Reduced Awe Attack”, +1 Att or +1 Def ♥, gain “Parry”♣. Level 4: Gain: +1 Att & +1 Def, +10% range, +1 Init mod, Critical roll improved by 1 ♠, gain “Riposte”♦ Level 5: Gain +10% range, Upgrade Damage Rating by 1. Gains “Awe Attack”. Gains “Remise Technique”. Gain +1 Att or +1 Def ♥. Melee Defend against 4 opponents (can divide Def against 4 opponents, instead of the regular 3). Level 6: Gain +1 Init mod; Gain Stinger Attack: can temporarily gain +1 Dmg for each 3 pts of Att sacrificed, & can temporarily sacrifice 2 pts of Def to improve Critical roll by 1 ♠.
Note: where the term “gained” or “extra” is used, it means the benefits are in addition to benefits for earlier levels. Otherwise, the only benefits that apply are the ones explicitly mentioned for that Talent Level. Benefits: Where benefits are explained do not apply the Talent as Challenge Roll modifiers – use the benefits explanation instead; and untrained users cannot attempt the talent unless specifically indicated for Talents where benefits are explained. Prerequisites: where defined, these prerequisites are required to obtain the Talent/Talent Lvl. Weapon Mastery (WM): One may choose WM in many weapons, for example WM: Spear lvl 3; WM: Bow, lvl 2. Without at least 1 WM Level in a weapon, using it incurs a –1 Att penalty. Brute versus Finesse Weapons: Certain brute force weapons do not require much skill to use effectively, & also cannot be mastered to great effect like Finesse weapons. WM levels 2, 4 & 6 have no benefit for Brute weapons, except for Att mods & the Level 4 Critical roll benefit. For SemiBrute weapons, WM Talent Levels 2 & 4 have no Def bonus, & Level 6 is not allowed.
*Awe Attack: this is a Special Combat Technique that brings HP to 0 or less with 1 hit, & can only be used once in any round for a single attack against a single target. Once an Awe Attack has been used against a target, it cannot be used again against that target for target’s Int in days because the target learns the attacker’s moves. If the target is defending against multiple melee opponents, his Def against a melee Awe Attack is double the Def points he allocates against the attacker up to a maximum of his normal Def score. The following also applies: 1) The user must sacrifice half his Defense until his next action turn. Also the user gets no Evasion bonus against medium/long-ranged missiles. This Defense is lost before other Def mods are applied. 2) The Awe Attack has a –3 Init penalty; & the user makes the usual Hit Rolls with a –4 Att penalty, but the user keeps attacking until he fails. Hit, Damage & Armour rolls are made as if they were continuous attacks (there is an additional –1d6 Att penalty per Hit roll for missile attacks). If the user manages to
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reduce the target’s HP to zero before failing a Hit Roll – the Awe Attack succeeds & the target’s HP is dropped to this final value. If the user fails a Hit Roll before the target’s HP is reduced to zero, then no damaged is caused to the target, & the Awe Attack fails.
Monsters/Enemies: if giving Talents to monsters, you may want to give it to the captain or leader of the group. A boss monster may have “weapon-mastery” with his own claws, even having the “Awe Attack”. Monsters are unlikely to have Talents, except for humanoid ones. A creature/NPC has an average Rank Equivalent worth of Talent points to spend on Talent levels. In general the GM should decide the talents a monster/enemy has, depending on the story.
The actual visual result of this attack is one mighty swipe, for example a decapitation or a dagger in the throat. Note however that death only occurs at –5HP. A Reduced Awe Attack is the same as an Awe Attack except it stops when the target’s HP passes the ⅓ level, and is useful for causing a Serious Type injury (see Hit Locations rules). Remise Technique is a attack consisting of multiple strike techniques against a single opponent (as opposed to 1 single strike in an Awe Attack). Remises are only available for Finesse melee Weapons & MA. For each extra strike, one must sacrifice ½ his Def, therefore up to 2 extra attacks are possible against an opponent (subtract this Def before applying other Def mods). The 2nd strike has a –2 Att & Init penalty, & the 3rd strike has –4 Att & Init penalty, otherwise treat the extra strikes as regular attacks. For fast weapons with a natural Init mod of 0+, one sacrifices 40% of his Def (round up) for each extra strike, not ½. 2 Handed Swords are very heavy, so to perform a 2nd strike counts as performing a 3rd strike with a fast weapon (–4 Att & Init, Def = 20%).
Typical Combat Talents (cumulative): Rank 1-5: MA: Grappling, Toughness Lvl 1 Rank 6-10: Disarm, 2 Weap Combat, Concentration, Tough Lvl 2 Rank 11-15: Arrow Cutting, Cleave, Quick Draw, Tough Lvl 3 Rank 16-20: Fight Blind, WM Lvl 5, Tough Lvl 4 Rank 21+: Savage Onslaught, Tough Lvl 5.
NPCs: The number of talent points a non-combative professional or creature has, is equal to the 2 times the sum of their 5 Characteristics divided by 5 rounded up (ie. the same as PC professions). A non-combative professional does not automatically advance his Talent by spending points – he must practice or train to advance. Use the following chart Talent Lvl 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6
Train. Time (months) 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6
Train. Mod +2 +1 0 –1 –2 –4 –6
Parry: The user can give up their action in the round in return for a 33% increase in Defense, plus can defend against 1 more attacker (besides the usual 3, or 4 if at WM lvl 5). Parries cannot combine with other Combat Techniques like Interposes. You cannot parry with chain weapons.
If the talent level needs more than 1 Talent Pt to gain the level, the number of points required multiplies the number of months of training.
Riposte: Riposte cannot be used against opponents using chain weapons. A Riposte is a special counterattack made against an opponent melee attacking the user and over whom the user has won Initiative. The user gives up Initiative & if the opponent misses his attack, the user gains an Att bonus in a counter-attack in the same round against this opponent. Giving up Initiative delays the user’s action 2 Init counts after the opponent. The Att bonus depends on the opponent’s Hit Roll miss: Opponent Miss Hit Roll by Riposte Att bonus 4 points or less +1 5 – 9 points +2 10 – 14 points +3 15+ points +4 A Riposte cannot combine with any other Special Combat Technique, except for a Remise.
To learn Swimming or Pack Mule, one must simply have the capacity to swim/carry, & the right trainer. Use an Attribute value of 15 for the purpose of training success rolls. Apply mods for fitness, phobias etc.
Eg. Gambin wins initiative over Polhir, & decides to Riposte. Polhir needs to roll 5 or less to hit Gambin & misses, rolling a 9. Polhir therefore misses by 4 points giving Gambin a +1 Att bonus for the Riposte. Gambin’s Riposte action occurs 2 Init counts after Polhir’s attack.
After the number of months indicated in the table (x2 for levels that need 2 Talent Points), the trainee must roll equal to or lower than: Trainee’s Talent Attribute, + Training Modifier, on a d20, or fail (roll of 1 is automatic success). For Talents having more than one related Attribute – use the mean average of the two Attributes. The Trainer’s Talent level must obviously exceed the level obtaining.
For Talent Attributes that are Defense, Magic Defense or Perception, add 3 to the Training Modifier. The trainee may continue to try to learn the Talent if he wishes after failure. After succeeding, the Talent Points are deducted and he gains the Talent Level! Note: if a Talent allows a Talent lvl of “0.5” then the user must gain Talent Lvl 0.5 before advancing to Talent Lvl 1.
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Unlearning: Talents may be unlearnt – just like they can be lost in real-life through lack of practice. Users can choose to lose Talent Levels at the rate of 2 Talent Points worth in cost every 6 months. After Talent points are recovered – they can be re-spent. To re-spend Talent points, you must use the same methodology as how NPCs gain Talents (see above). Combined Talents: Tasks such as Public Speaking depend on 2 Talents: Diplomacy and Acting Talents – Instead of adding a 2x Talent Level bonus to Characteristic (Looks in this case) – add the Diplomacy and Acting Talent Level together to determine the modifier for Public Speaking actions. Original DW Skill Changes: with the inclusion of Talent rules, some original Skill rules in DW are now removed or changed. Skills marked with ‘*’ means that the original DW rules should be ignored. Knight Skills: Disarm*: this counts as 1 free level of Disarm talent instead. Expert Parry*: This counts as 1 free lvl of Shield Mastery. Main Gauche*: counts as 1 free lvl of 2 Weapon Fighting. Master Bowman*: the knight has an option to gain 1 free level of either Quick-Draw:Bow, or 1 free level of Weapon-Mastery in either Long or Short Bow. Quick Draw*: This counts as 1 free level of Quick Draw: Thrown or QD: Sword. Sword Master*: counts as 2 free levels of WM talent in any of the Swords (Short/Arming/Long/2-Handed/Katana/ Scimitar) – any combination is allowed. Weaponskill*: counts as 1 free Talent Level of WM. Mystic Skills: Adepthood: the Mystic gains +1 Ref and +2 Psy Tal, to a maximum of 18, instead of the “automatic 18” rule in the original. Everything else is the same as original rules.
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ESP/Premonition: the Mystic still has these abilities. Psionics require successful DR challenge rolls, but Mystic abilities do not. In addition – Mystics get 1 free level of Psionics at rank 2 to factor in this overlap. Assassin Skills: Climbing*: the Assassin gains a free lvl of Agility talent at rank 1, 5 & 10. Disguise: this Assassin skill counts as 1 free level of Disguise Talent at rank 1 instead of original rules. Meditational Techniques: instead of the original rules, Assassins gain the Light Trance at rank 1, & advance to Talent Lvl 1 of Meditation Technique Talent at rank 2, & gains a free talent level of Meditation Technique Talent at rank 4, 8 and 12. However if he wishes to obtain the remaining 2 Talent levels, he must spend Talent Points. Memorize*: this Assassin skill instead counts as 1 free level of Memorize Talent when he receives this skill, plus he gains another level at rank 7 & 11. Picklock*: this Assassin skill counts as 1 free lvl of Mechanics Talent at rank 1 & 6. Pilfer*: this Assassin skill counts as 1 free level of Prestidigitation at rank 1. Track: this skill remains unchanged. Assassin Track differs from the Talent version, & yet they are equivalent. Assassins may not obtain the Tracking Talent. Unarmed Combat*: Assassins gain 1 free Talent lvl of Martial Arts (either Striking or Grappling) at rank 1. Warlock Skills: Arrow Cutting*: the Warlock gains a free Talent Level of Arrow Cutting instead. Fight Blind*: counts as a free Talent Lvl of Fight Blind. Unarmed Combat: the Warlock gains a free Talent Level of Martial Arts when he receives this Warlock skill. Ignore the original skill rules, except for the fact that Weapon Group VIII must be chosen.
Knowledges Knowledges are related directly to intelligence, and like Talents are designed to move away from rank-based gaming. Knowledges and Talents help to make NPCs more 3-dimensional, and help to facilitate non-combat based gaming. Unintelligent creatures cannot have Knowledges (they have instincts), and monsters without dexterous hands are unlikely to have Knowledges which require them. Monsters must also be able to speak a complex language capable of teaching, to have knowledges. Also note that it has to make sense for the creature to even have been taught the Knowledge in the first place. Otherwise the rules of Knowledges are the same for PCs/NPCs/Creatures.
Max Lvl
Knowledge Points: a character has 1 Knowledge Point for every point of Intelligence. It costs 1 Knowledge point to advance 1 Knowledge level in a field, unless otherwise indicated.
For the purpose of Success rolls, the Proficiency of Knowledge will determine the base value to roll against (as if it were a Characteristic):
Knowledge Levels: a character has a level of Knowledge equal to the Knowledge Level he has for that field, and the proficiency depends on the Knowledge – some Knowledges have only 1 Level for example, and a character is considered an expert with just 1 level in that Knowledge. Starting Knowledges: Player Character (PC) professions can spend 1d6 Knowledge points at character creation on Knowledge Levels (but still keep within allowable Intelligence limits). The rest of the Knowledges can be learned through the usual method explained at the end of this chapter. This is to give some background to the character. For NPCs (Non Player Characters), the GM should decide what Knowledges they might have.
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Proficiency: a user’s proficiency in a knowledge depends on the Maximum Level one can attain for that Knowledge, and also the user’s Knowledge Level: 1 2 3 4 5
Level: Proficiency 1: Expert 1: Learned, 2: Expert 1: Beginner, 2: Learned, 3: Expert 1: Beginner, 2: Learned, 3: Senior, 4: Master 1: Begin., 2: Learned, 3: Senior, 4: Master, 5: Scion
Eg. for the Physician Knowledge, which has a maximum level of 3 – one is considered “Learned” Proficiency at Knowledge Level 2.
Proficiency Proficiency Level (PL) Unlearned (V.Complicated) 1* Unlearned (Complex) 3* Unlearned 6* * adjudication is necessary for the unlearned. Normally the unlearned Beginner 9 always fail at tasks related to unlearned Learned 13 knowledge. In some cases, rolls might Senior 16 be allowed where the task is easy for Expert 17 example. A character is considered “unlearned” if he does not have at least Master 18 1 knowledge level in that field. Scion 19 Apply the user’s Intelligence modifier to the PL unless indicated in the below table that another related Characteristic is applicable. Usually failed rolls can be re-rolled to determine success after a requisite number of hours/days/months appropriate for the task to be reattempted.
Knowledges
Max. Level
Animal Handler ♣
1
Architect ♣ Armourer ♣
3 2
Artist
2
Astrologer ♠
2
Blacksmith Boatmaker ♣ Business Carpenter Chemist ♠
2 2 2 2 3
Cooking Creature Lore ♣
1 2
Cryptologist ♠ Exotic Lore ♠
2 2
Fabrics Geologist ♠
2 2
Herbalist ♠
2
Historian ♣
1
Instrument-Maker ♣ Jeweler Language
2 2 2
Leatherwork Logistics ♠ Machinist
2 1 2
Magic-User* ♠
5
Manager
2
Description taking care of animals – breeding, training, animal calls/imitation etc. Knowledge is only for animals in a particular category (although one may gain knowledge in many categories). Categories: farm (pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep etc.), birds, fish, dogs/wolves, cats (& great cats), horses, insects, reptiles, exotic animals, bees. determines the level of complexity of building one can build crafting weapons and armour. Level 3 is possible for Elven/ Dwarven trained Armourers, and allows Mithral work. anything related to drawings, sketches, painting etc. which Includes profile sketching, and realistic drawings. Understands the stars, their portents, & constellations. Astronomy was not well developed at this stage, so Astrologers fulfilled both roles. for crafting of non-military metal items etc. making of all types of boats and sail ships and related items. covers economics, business acumen etc. create furniture or anything else made of wood. Level 1 for analyzing drugs and liquids, Level 2 for the science of gases and liquids, Level 3 for metallurgy. covers cooking, bakery etc. Knows the creatures native to 1 particular region or nation. (can be taken several times for different regions or countries). The user will know the attacks, weak-spots and how to recognize it. For level 2, knowledge of fantastic monsters (> rank 10) is gained for the region. The user must actually live in the region whilst trying to obtain this Knowledge. can decipher secret codes. Requires min 9 int. knowledge of one obscure area (eg. the outer planes). Requires min 9 int. tent-making and sail-making. level 1 for knowledge of mining techniques, level 2 for how to detect mineral deposits knowledge of the medicinal and magical properties of plants and herbs. Level 2 teaches where to find these herbs. learns current and past knowledge of a country or region or culture. for musical instruments Create beautiful jewelry. Level 1 = conversational, Level 2 = fluent speech and written (if any). Simple language skills do not require any Knowledge points. Shoes, belts, saddlery etc. Planning and logistics learns how to construct basic machinery (eg. locks, pulleys, gears, clockwork). students gain 1 rank of equivalent Sorcerer spell casting per level, except that he cannot cast all the spells, but must choose 2 spells per Level that he has learned. Use Magic Attack/Mag. Def. as equivalent Sorcerer Rank equal to Knowledge Level, with a –1 modifier. Scroll reading and Calligraphy gained like an equivalent ranked Sorcerer = to Knowledge Level. knows how to manage people effectively. Usually used in conjunction with Diplomacy and Acting to become an effective Leader.
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Mariner ♣ Military Engineer ♠
2 2
Mysticist* ♣
5
Naturalist ♣
2
Navigator Pharmacist ♠ Philosopher ♠
2 2 3
Physician ♠ Poisoner ♣
3 3
Politician ♣
3
Potter Religion ♣ Rune Lore* ♠ Scientist ♠
1 1 5 3
Sign language Sky Pilot ♣ Stonemason Tailor
1 3 2 3
Taxidermy Waxworker
1 1
sailing and boatmanship to the level of pilot/captain. Combines with Machinist or Architect to create weapon machinery or military structures like catapults & siege towers. students gain 1 rank of equivalent Mystic spell casting per level, except that he cannot cast all the spells, but must choose 2 spells per Level that he has learned. Use Magic Attack/Mag. Def. as equivalent Mystic Rank equal to Knowledge Level, with a –1 modifier. Enchantment of Arms/Armour gained like an equivalent ranked Mystic = to knowledge level. Related Char = Psy Talent. level 1 understands animal-care, farming, crops and plantcare, level 2 understands the weather and can predict it, and has knowledge of how to live off the land and how to avoid natural hazards. Navigation by sunlight, and stars using a sextant for making of medicines and drugs useful for the understanding of the mind and meaning of life, solving the mysteries of man, riddles, psychology for simple surgery and wound mending. 1st Level : can make weak poisons, cost: 15F, time: 1 day 2nd Level: can make medium poisons, cost: 30F, time: 2 day 3rd Level: can make strong poisons, cost: 60F, time: 5 days Knowledge of common politics, law, nation building. Usually required for societal leadership positions (along with Manager of course) Ceramics and pottery craftsmanship Intimate understanding of 1 religion. Learning and understanding of runes. Science levels are required to invent, experiment and develop. ‘Scientist’ refers to knowledge in 1 chosen field of science not described elsewhere. Eg. Anthropologist, Zoologist, Botanist. Multiple fields allowed. piloting Skyships includes tapestries; learns complex cloth-making skills like silk-making at level 3. allows making of complex waxwork, and waxmaking.
* requires 2 Points to advance every Lvl
♣ complex Knowledge field
Note: though anyone can have Knowledge of certain crafts etc., one might need dexterous hands to practice the theory! The Knowledges above are as generic as possible to avoid over-complicating the game. The variety however is necessary to help describe the rich world of NPCs.
♠ Very complicated Knowledge field
already has a Magic Attack or Magic Defense – use the best value (out of the original value, or the value determined by the Knowledge Level).
Magic: Yes – one should be able to learn magic. And it is not uncommon for NPCs, and even non-magic professions to have a little knowledge in Magic. Note: non-magic Professions need to obtain one or more levels of Magic Talent to obtain an equivalent level of Magic Knowledge. Where a character
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Crafts: Crafts such as Blacksmith, Tailor etc. with maximum 2 levels, the first level usually refers to repair and minor creation, level 2 refers to expert craftsmanship. Learning: one must spend time learning (teaching himself, getting a teacher etc.) to gain a Knowledge. Use the following table:
Knowledge Lvl 1 2 3 4 5
Months 1 2 3 4 5
Learning Modifier 0 –1 –1 –2 –2
Wages: It’s only natural that persons having Knowledges are readily employable. Here is a guideline for wages per day for Knowledges:
After the number of months indicated in the table, the student must roll equal to or lower than: Student’s Intelligence Base Score x 2 + Learning Modifier –2 if the Knowledge is complex –4 if Knowledge is very complicated –2 if self-taught on a d20, or fail. After succeeding the roll, the Knowledge Level is gained otherwise the student may continue learning to try again. Extra Time Modifiers: For the following cases, add these to the number of months required before attempting a Learning Roll: 1) For Knowledges requiring 2 points per knowledge Level, it requires 1 extra month per Knowledge level before a roll can be made. 2) Self-taught knowledge also takes extra time = to (10 – Intelligence Base Score) x Knowledge Level x 10 in days extra time. 3) For Complex/Very Complicated Knowledge fields, extra time equal to 1 month per Knowledge Level is required before attempting Learning rolls. Sorcery cannot be self-taught. Mysticism can be selftaught up to level 1 only. Unlearning: Knowledges may be unlearnt – just like they can be lost in real-life through lack of practice. Users may choose to lose Knowledge Levels at the rate of 2 Knowledge Points worth in cost every 6 months. After Knowledge points are recovered – they can be re-spent and used like regular Knowledge Points. Combinations: when some Knowledges or Talents are combined, they can form a new merged Knowledge/Talent. Here are some examples: Waxwork + Art: can make life-like wax figures Stonemason + Art: can be a Sculptor Diplomacy + Actor + Manager: can be a leader Knowledges are purposely kept as generic as possible to prevent over-lapping, redundancy, & over-complication. The game is supposed to be fun after all, not dreary and cumbersome!
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Knowledge Avg Wage / day / Knowlege Lvl Actor* 0.5 – 2F Animal Handler 0.6F Architect 1F Armourer 0.6 – 5F Artist 0.3 – 4.5F Astrologer 0.7 – 1F Blacksmith 0.4 – 0.7F Boatmaker 0.8 – 1F Business 0.7 – 5F Carpenter 0.5 – 0.7F Chemist 1F Cooking 0.4 – 0.6F Cryptologist 1.1F Creature Researcher 0.9 – 1.1F Entertainer* 0.3 – 2.5F Exotic Lore Researcher 1.5 – 5F Fabrics 0.4F Geologist 0.7F Herbalist 0.8F Historian 0.6F Instrument-Maker 0.5 – 2.5F Jeweler 0.4 – 3F Interpreter (Language) 0.7F Language Teacher 0.6F Leatherwork 0.4F – 0.6F Logistics 0.5F Machinist/Locksmith 0.3 – 0.5F Magic-User 2.5 – 5F Mariner 0.8F Military Engineer 1F Mysticist 1.5 – 4F Naturalist 0.3F Navigator 0.6F pay based on drugs sold, avg 0.9F/day Pharmacist Physician 1F or 0.4F/hr for home visit Poisoner Pay based on poisons sold Politician 0.8 – 3.5F Potter 0.4F Religion 0.3F * technically Scientist 1F these are talents, but they’re still Sherpa* 0.6F worth something Sky Pilot/Captain 1 – 3.5F Stonemason 0.5F Tailor 0.3 – 1.5F Taxidermist 0.6F Waxwork 0.4F Base Wages are largely determined by marketing, and a character’s natural aptitude. For additional complexity, the GM can roll a d20 x 5 to determine what percentile is the character natural aptitude in a
particular Knowledge field (or Talent). The 100th percentile (or near-abouts) should obviously earn at the top of the Wage scale above – or even more. Sometimes a worker gets paid more because of clever marketing or luck.
Sculptor Shopkeeper Other non-Knowledge based vocations Barber Brewer Butcher Carriage Driver Cleaner Dancer Fisherman Florist Groomer Lumberjack Peasant Ship-hand/Sailor Servant Waiter
Vocations that combine knowledges/talents or are knowledge-related: Administrator Advisor Bounty Hunter Butler Charioteer Courtesan Gardener Glassblower Fortune-Teller/Soothsayer Hunter Judges Scholar
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Emotion & Personality Emotion is probably the best and more effective roleplaying tool, but it is strangely absent from most roleplaying games! A character might have an alignment, guiding him to be good or evil and yet no emotion indicator, which sometimes has a greater effect over how a character reacts! Every character has three basic emotions: Joy, Composure and Aplomb. The opposite of these virtues are Sadness, Anger and Fear respectively. There is a second component that drives character reactions: and that is their Personality Type, which may be classified as Type A or Type B. Type A personalities are driven by success, they are highly competitive and are driven to be better – they tend to be the “alpha male” in a pack. Type A’s are prone to anger and stress problems. Type Bs are the opposite – they tend to be more reflective, calm and relaxed. Type Bs may very well be successful and may desire to be the best that they can be – but their desire does not affect them emotionally and they do not get as upset about failure as Type As. Personality Type has some crossover effect with the Temperaments below. Its only use is a quick indicator to bypass the more complicated Temperaments. The third component of Personality is a character’s Personality Temperaments. There are 4 “quadrants” of Temperament:
Sanguine (quick/shallow) Choleric(quick/deep) Phlegmatic(slow/shallow) Melancholic(slow/deep)
Phlegmatic: introvert, watcher, pessimist, calm, sluggish, unemotional, scientist, thoughtful, peace, low-key personality, easy-going/relaxed, cool & collected, consistent life, patient well balanced, sympathetic and kind, happily reconciled to life, unenthusiastic, fearful/worried, indecisive, avoids responsibility, quiet will of iron, selfish, shy/reticent, too compromising, self-righteous The Phlegmatic is the peaceful person who wants to stay out of trouble, keep life on an even keel, and get along with everybody. Phlegmatics like to rest and get stressed from a lack of peace.
Melancholic: introvert, thinker, pessimist, depressed, melancholic, unhappy, perfection, artistic/musical, philosophical, conscientious, idealistic, deep and thoughtful, analytical, serious/purposeful, genius prone, talented/creative, appreciation of beauty, sensitive to others, self-sacrificing, remembers negatives, moody, enjoys being hurt, false humility, off in another world, low self-image, selective hearing, self-centred, too introspective, guilt feelings, persecution complex, hypochondria tendencies The Melancholy is the perfect person who wants everything done in order and done properly and who appreciates art and music. Melancholies love to analyze and get stressed from a lack of uniformity.
Choleric: extrovert, doer, optimist, easily angered, bad tempered, power, confident, strong-willed, independent/self-sufficient, must correct wrongs, compulsion for change, dynamic, bossy, impatient, quick-tempered, too impetuous, argumentative, won’t give up, inflexible, not complimentary, dislikes tears and emotions, unsympathetic
The Sanguine temperament is marked by quick but shallow, superficial excitability; the Choleric by quick but strong and lasting; the Melancholic temperament by slow but deep; the Phlegmatic by slow but shallow excitability. The first two are also called extroverts, outgoing; the last two are introverts or reserved.
Sanguine: extrovert, talker, optimist, cheerfully confident, popular, appealing personality, life of the party, good sense of humour, emotional, enthusiastic, curious, lives in the present, exaggerates, dwells on trivia, egotistical, restless, blusters/complains, naïve, loud, controlled by circumstances, never grows up, appears phony sometimes The Sanguine is the popular person who wants to have fun out of every situation and be the life of the party. Sanguine love to talk, and get stressed from a lack of attention.
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The Choleric is the powerful person who wants to take control of every situation and make decisions for others. Choleric love to work and get stressed from a lack of control.
It is amazing how quickly we can learn to spot these people and therefore know how to approach them correctly.
The Sanguine Personable Person is the easiest to spot because they make grand entrances, love attention, attract people with their magnetism, exude charisma, and tell funny stories. What they want to hear from you is how attractive they are, how you like their hair, make-up, dangling rhinestone earrings, or anything else they have put on to ensure that you notice them. They live for the externals and want you to get excited over their clothes, sense of humor, or new red chariot. If you are a Melancholy, you will not naturally be given to praising the obvious and will feel that to laugh at the Sanguine's jokes and stories will only encourage them to babble on.
The Choleric Powerful Person is easy to spot because he walks with authority and appears to be in charge of everything. Such people don't want to waste much time on trivial activity with no obvious results or converse with people w ho have nothing to say of any consequence. They are frequently telling other people what to do and pointing out the "dummies" of life. They accomplish more than any of the other personality types, can quickly assess what needs to be done, and are usually right. They don't need to be affirmed on their looks, but they love praise for their accomplishment; their speed in problem solving; their constant goal setting, their loyalty to God, church, mother, business, or country; and their sense of fair play. If you are a Phlegmatic you get worn out just watching these people, but if you want them to be impressed with you, tell them how amazed you are at how much they accomplish in a very short time. They may never have noticed you before but they will suddenly see you as a person of great discernment.
The Phlegmatic Peaceful Person is amiable, easy to get along wth, and relaxed. These people fit into any situation, blend in with the wallpaper, and modify their personality to get along without conflict. They laugh with those who laugh and cry with those who cry. Everyone loves the low-key nature of the inoffensive Phlegmatic, and though they aren't loud like the Sanguine, they do have a witty sense of humor. They often lean while standing and sit in comfortable recliner chairs if at all possible. They don't need a lot of praise like the Sanguine, nor do they want to be in charge like the Choleric, or get to deeply involved like the Melancholy. They do appreciate being noticed once and a while, being included in conversations that they won't push into on their own, and being told they are of value and their opinion is respected. Since they often marry Cholerics, whose idea of value is wrapped up in how much is accomplished in a given day, they don't get appreciated for their quiet and gentle spirit. They, in turn, find it difficult to praise the constant projects of the Choleric because it wears them out just thinking of them.
The Melancholy Perfect Person is usually very neatly put together and intellectual looking. These people are usually quiet, reserved, and a little ill-at-ease in social situations where they don't know everyone. They would rather talk quietly with one person in depth than banter with a group. They consider compliments on clothes and external niceties to be trivial and want to hear about the inner virtues of integrity, wisdom, and spiritual values. They often marry Sanguines who can't find their way inside these deep virtues and who keep telling them how cute they look. When we don't understand these differences, we are giving out silver boxes that nobody wants. The Melancholy is very sensitive and easily hurt and tends to take what others say in humor as personal and hurtful. Since Sanguines and Cholerics say whatever comes to their minds without weighing their words, they often deflate the Melancholy who is waiting for someone to hand him a silver box that says, "I understand you."
Some people have a close combination of these 4 temperaments, but having one very dominant temperament is the most common, then having 2 almost similarly dominant temperaments is the next most common.
Introversion: Overall stimulation of thinking is toward the inner world - thoughts and reflections, Reflective, Inward, Few, Quiet Sensing: Gives attention to what is being perceived by way of the five senses - sight, sound, feel, taste, smell. Details, Present, Practical, Sequential, Repetition Intuition: Gives attention to what is being perceived by the imagination - finds patterns and relationships. Patterns, Future, Imaginative, Random, Variety. Thinking: React to new information through logical analysis. Principles, Objective, Impersonal, Analyze Feeling: React to new information through personal values. Values, Subjective, Personal, Empathize. Judging: Prefer to live a planned, orderly life. Organized, Decisive, Plan, Deadline.
There is a related Personality Temperament, which is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Extraversion (E) –vs– Introversion (I) Sensing (S) –vs– Intuition (N) Thinking (T) –vs– Feeling (F) Judging (J) –vs– Perceiving (P) Extraversion: Overall stimulation of thinking is toward the outer world - people and things. Active, Outward, Many, Expressive
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Perceiving: Prefer to live a flexible, adaptive life. Flexible, Curious, Wait/Procrastinate, Discovery.
It is related to the MBTI in the following way: Sanguine: Extraversion, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving Choleric: Extraversion, Intuition, Feeling, Judging Phlegmatic: Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving Melancholic: Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, Judging
However the MBTI is harder to role-play and adjudicate. Use the Sanguine/Choleric/ Phlegmatic/ Melancholic Personality Temperaments instead.
Personality in the Game:
Personality Type and Temperament slowly change if at all, changes depend largely on the character’s stage of development. For example, a teenager may be more sanguine, and then find himself more Phlegmatic when he’s married. Usually the dominant Temperament does not change.
Temperament affects how he manifests these choices and therefore affects the reactions of others. Reaction rolls refer to any rolls made against a Characteristic like Intelligence or Looks as a result of a character action. A character with a Talent related in the reaction that is tested gets a modifier, and an additional modifier also applies according to the character’s temperament:
Personality Type and Temperament are related: Choleric: type A Phlegmatic: type B Sanguine: bias toward B Melancholic: bias toward A Since Personality Type and Temperament can be related, the rules for determining Temperament and Personality Type are as follows: 1) give yourself 20 points to allocate amongst the 4 Temperaments. You must allocate more points to one of the Temperaments, which becomes the dominant Temperament. Choleric opposes Phlegmatic, and Melancholic opposes Sanguine – the second most dominant Temperament cannot be an opposing one to the dominant Temperament. The third and fourth choices may have equal scores, but the first and second highest must have different scores to the others. For example: 7 Choleric, 5 Sanguine, 4 Phlegmatic, 4 Melancholic. 2) score 2 Type A points for every Choleric point, and 1 Type A point for every Melancholic point; score 2 Type B points for every Phlegmatic point, and 1 Type B point for every Sanguine point. If Type A is higher than Type B, the character is a Type A, otherwise he’s a Type B. Because Personality Type and Temperament are closely related you can in fact ignore the Personality Type if you wish. It is there for a guide similar to how alignment works. A character is always first guided by his values, and then guided by Personality and then guided by Emotions.
Reaction Area Dominant Temperament Acting/Speaking Sanguine Artistry Melancholic Diplomacy Phlegmatic Entertainment Sanguine Leadership/Mgmt Choleric Likeability Phlegmatic Planning/Tactics Melancholic ♠ -1 against Melancholics, +1 otherwise ♣ -1 against Phlegmatics, +1 otherwise
Modifier –1/+1 ♠ +1 +1 +1 –1/+1 ♣ +1 +1
You may adjust these values as you see fit.
How to use Temperaments: Temperaments are guidelines for character behaviour. They help the GM to profile NPCs to give them more distinct personalities, and help to guide the GM on the initial reaction of NPCs toward PC characters based on personality clashes and so on. Once a player chooses a Temperament for a character, he should play the character accordingly. He should only choose a Temperament type that he is capable of playing. If the player is having great difficulty playing the chosen Temperament type, the GM may allow a rare Temperament change – but insist that the Temperament be based on the player’s own Temperament. The idea of assigning Temperaments is to give players the chance to role-play different types of personalities – not only do they get to play different characters, but they also get to play different personalities that the characters have – the two should go hand in hand. The GM can also guide the player along, and correct character behaviour inconsistent with the Temperament. If the player is generally getting it right – this should be sufficient.
Obviously with the inclusion of Temperaments should follow an inclusion of reaction roll modifiers. Unlike alignment, which governs a character’s values and therefore the choices he makes, a character’s
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Emotion in the Game:
Each of the 3 Emotions are rolled with 2d6 +6, with the following Temperament modifiers: Joy: +2 if dominant Sanguine, –1 if dominant Melancholic +1 if 2nd dominant Sanguine, –1 if 2nd dominant Melancholic Composure: +2 if dominant Phlegmatic, –1 if dominant Choleric or Sanguine, +1 if dominant Melancholic. +1 if 2nd dominant Phlegmatic, –1 if 2nd dominant Sanguine or Choleric
Aplomb: +2 if dominant Choleric, –1 if dominant Phlegmatic, +1 if dominant Melancholic +1 if 2nd dominant Choleric, –1 if 2nd dominant Phlegmatic Therefore the minimum value is 6 and the maximum value is 20. Like all other Difficulty Rating Challenge rolls, Emotion rolls are made with a d20 and against a particular Difficulty Rating.
Joy Joy affects the other two Emotions, & their rate of recovery. A Joyful person also heals faster, & affects a person’s looks. Where applicable – apply a Joy mod to Looks as if it were a characteristic if the player succeeds in a DR challenge roll. DR of Sadness Devastating: 8 Despairing: 6 Terrible:4 Depressing: 2 Sad: 1
Joy Reduction 1d8 1d6 1d4 1d2 1
Joy is affected by things that obviously bring great joy or sadness into the character’s life – like a death, marriage, birth, mission success or mission failure. The temporary joy value can go down depending on the DR of the circumstance. Make an Emotion Roll (or “Joy Roll”), which uses a DR like a DR Challenge Roll (failure results in Sadness, and a temporary drop in Joy): A DR challenge or Emotion roll against any Emotion always succeeds on a roll of 1.
Failure to make the Joy roll results in Sadness. Joy is rarely affected, unlike Aplomb or Composure. Joy rolls should be relatively rare. As a result, recovery is also in days – not rounds. Every 1d8 days, the character can make another DR Challenge roll against a DR equal to the same DR that caused the sadness, to recover 1 point. Additional rolls can be made if the character encounters particularly joyful events. Once Joy is restored to its normal value, the state of Sadness is removed. Affects of Joy on healing: for the purposes of modifiers, treat Joy as if it were a characteristic to determine the Joy modifier. Whenever you make a successful DR challenge against Joy, you can add the Joy bonus to negative Health Point recovery rolls and also to the
amount of health recovered during natural healing. Also add the Joy modifier to Strength DR challenges against diseases and sicknesses and as a modifier to rolls against Madness. Make a DR Challenge against Joy for every incremental benefit (eg. after every extra HP gained, roll again to see if more benefit is on its way); the DR to use for these rolls depends on the character’s condition: Current Condition/Affliction Deadly or near-death or “hopeless” case Disgusting/depressing disease/affliction Normal
DR 6 3 0
(note: this roll is a normal DR challenge roll, not a Joy roll)
Composure
Composure rolls are probably the most frequent since there are usually events that would make characters angry. A failure to make a Composure roll results in Anger which has the effect of +2 Str, –4 Looks, –2 Ref, –1 Int, –2 Psy Tal until the anger goes away (composure is restored to original value).
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The temporary value of Composure can go down depending on the DR of the circumstance. Make an Emotion Roll (or a “Composure Roll”), which uses a DR like a DR Challenge Roll (failure results in a state of Anger, and a temporary reduction of Composure):
DR of Anger* Infuriating: 8 Outrageous: 6 Offensive:4 Upsetting: 2 Irritating: 1
Composure Reduction 1d8 1d6 1d4 1d2 1
A DR challenge or Emotion roll against any Emotion always succeeds on a roll of 1.
* note: this will be influenced by the presence of comforting friends and so on.
However, Composure can recover (this is known as Emotion Recovery) if the influencing circumstance disappears or if the character makes a successful DR Challenge roll against Joy with a DR equal to the same Anger DR (but the GM may modify this if there are new influencing factors such as comforting friends). This Joy DR Challenge roll can be made every 1d6 minutes. Once recovery is possible, the character can recover Composure 1 point by making a DR Challenge against
Composure with a DR equal to the DR of the originating circumstance – he may make this roll every 1d4 rounds. The Joy Modifier (equivalent to what it would be if it were a regular Characteristic) is added as a modifier to Composure when making these Recovery rolls. Once Composure is restored to the original value, the state of Anger disappears.
Aplomb Aplomb rolls are made in any circumstance that might create fear. A failure to make an Aplomb roll results in Fear which has the effect of –2 Str, +2 Ref, –2 looks, –1 Int, –1 Psychic Talent. In addition, a fearful person may flee or freeze. If the fearful character is in a public speaking platform or leadership position – he gets a reaction roll penalty (see table below). DR of Fear* Petrifying: 8 Terrifying: 6 Frightening: 4 Disheartening: 2 Unnerving: 1
Aplomb Reduction 1d8 1d6 1d4 1d2 1
A reaction roll refers to any roll made to determine another character’s reactions (eg. a Looks roll made in a speech to determine crowd reaction).
The temporary value of Aplomb can go down depending on the DR of the circumstance. Make an Emotion Roll (or “Aplomb Roll”), which uses a DR like a DR Challenge roll (failure results in a state of Fear, and temporary reduction of Aplomb): Resulting Reaction penalty (failed Emotion roll) 2d4 (for Aplomb reduction of 7-8) 1d6 (for Aplomb reduction of 5-6) 1d4 (for Aplomb reduction of 3-4) 1d3 (for Aplomb reduction of 2) 1d2 (for Aplomb reduction of 1)
* note: this will be influenced by the presence of comforting friends and so on.
However, Aplomb can recover (known as Emotion Recovery) if the influencing circumstance disappears or if the character makes a successful DR challenge against Joy with a DR equal to the same Fear DR. This Joy DR Challenge roll can be made every 1d6 minutes. Once recovery becomes possible, the character can recover Aplomb 1 pt by making a DR Challenge against Aplomb with a DR equal to the DR of the originating circumstance (the GM may modify this however if there are new influences) – he may make this roll every 1d4 rounds. The Joy Modifier (equivalent to what it would be if it were a regular Characteristic) is added as a modifier to Aplomb when making these Recovery rolls. Once Aplomb is restored to the original value, the state of Fear disappears. Fear in Combat/Danger: a fearful character in combat may flee hysterically, or freeze in the face of danger. Both reactions can be deadly and are also very
embarrassing. If the character is likely to be influenced by the opinions of observers, he may have to make a “Terrible” Joy roll. If the character is particularly proud, the Joy roll may have to be upgraded to “Despairing” or “Devastating”. As a general guideline, the DR to use in combat is equal to the sum of the enemy’s Ranks minus the sum of the character’s party Ranks. There are modifiers to this total however based on how powerful the character is, or how scary the enemy is. As the character gets closer to death (1/4 hp or less) or if ¾ of his teammates have been killed – the character will need to make a new Aplomb roll taking into account the enemies still alive at that time. If the character uses a “Savage Onslaught” – this Aplomb roll is delayed until the next round. Once a character fails the Aplomb roll in the face of danger or combat – he is considered in a state of fear.
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Every round he must roll another Aplomb roll with a DR equal to half the DR causing the fear. If he fails this roll he either flees from combat, or freezes in the face of danger. Replacing the “Fright Attack” rules: in the original rules, a fright attack roll was made and the user had to roll his rank or lower on the Fright Attack dice. With the addition of Aplomb rules – Fright Attacks should
be Emotion rolls made against Aplomb, using a d20, with a Difficulty Rating equal to the Fright Attack dice. For example, if it is a 1d10 Fright Attack, then the DR of the challenge is 1d10. If the Fright Attack is supernatural in nature (as opposed to regular scariness) – for example – the Warlock Lunacy Spell, continue to use the regular DW method of resolving fright.
When to make an Emotion “Reduction” roll: An Emotion reduction roll is an Emotion Roll made when the character first encounters any distressing circumstance. Use the tables above to determine the amount of Emotion score reduced from a failed DR challenge roll. Emotion reduction occurs only once for each different distressing circumstance. Failure to make this roll results in the character entering into the
negative Emotion state (Sadness/Anger/Fear) until the Emotion score recovers back to its original level. Note that Emotion rolls, although mechanically the same as DR challenge rolls, are not DR Challenge Rolls. DR Challenge rolls made against an emotion are not Emotion rolls that reduce Emotion scores if failed.
When to make other Emotion Rolls: 1) In combat, Mikal enters a state of Fear with a reduction in Aplomb of 4 points. The fear modifiers (to strength etc.) come into effect immediately. In addition, another Aplomb roll is made every round to determine if Mikal flees.
Once the character enters into the negative Emotion state, it may be necessary to re-roll the Emotion roll to determine round by round reactions of the character – however the Emotion value is not reduced for these rolls. When making an Emotion roll after the Emotion Reduction roll, and whilst the influencing circumstance is still present – a DR equal to half the value of the DR used for the Emotion Reduction roll is applicable. Remember the Emotion score will already have been reduced. If the influencing circumstance disappears, Emotion rolls, if required, are made with a DR of 0.
2) A Jani is attempting to bully a shopkeeper. The shopkeeper fails his Composure Reduction Roll and enters into an Emotional state of Anger and his Composure reduces by 3 points. This automatically negatively influences the shopkeeper’s reactions to Jani’s actions (role-play accordingly), as well as causing the usual Characteristic modifiers. However, another Composure roll may be made to determine if the shopkeeper becomes violent.
However if the character encounters a different circumstance whilst still in the negative Emotional state – a new Emotion Reduction roll is made because it is a new circumstance. The character’s emotion score may get further reduced! Remember however that emotion score is only reduced once for the first failed Emotion roll on every new circumstance.
3) A bard’s child dies. The bard fails her Joy Reduction roll and enters a state of Sadness with the applicable reduction in Joy of 5 points. The bard must make another Joy roll to prevent herself from going on a chocolate binge.
Examples:
Further Uses of Emotion: A player should always role-play according to the character’s Emotional State – this the GM guides. However, the game world’s reactions to the character are very influenced by the character’s Emotion rolls at the time. Joy affects general demeanour. Composure affects communication. Aplomb affects the character’s reactions and people’s respect for the character during
applicable circumstances where bravery would be needed (Aplomb is the easiest to disguise, except where bravery tests it). Where applicable – you may add the Acting Talent Level divide by 2 (round up) to Emotion values for rolls governing other people’s reactions where acting may help disguise anger/fear/sadness etc.
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GM Notes
Monster Aplomb is naturally influenced by a creature’s natural confidence, & Composure by its ability to handle rage: Courage Aplomb range Anger Management Composure range Chicken 1-6 Violent Temper 6-9 Fearful 7-11 Hot headed 10-12 Normal 12-15 Normal 13-15 Brave 16-18 Calm 16-18 19-20 Fearless/Mindless 19-20 Dignified
Emotion and Personality are tools to make role-playing more real. They profile a character just like a psychologist would profile a real person in the real world. Just like an evil character should be played consistently – and this constraint adds to the enjoyment of the gamer, a character’s emotions and personality should also guide reactions. The tools such as Knowledges, Emotions and Personality help to make interaction with the game world more real – and thus make the game more fun.
with the values – and the GM should always adjudicate. But once these values are defined – the players should stick with it. A person in real-life does not flip-flop personalities so neither should the character. So long as players play their characters realistically – the GM is free to alter the Emotions stats of the character to suit the role-playing of the player. For example, if the player decides to act angry – the GM may reflect that by reducing Composure accordingly. The Emotion and Personality rules are there as a framework for interacting with NPCs – not to ruin the fun. However if players are being silly and playing their character “outof-character” – then that would also ruin the fun. You wouldn’t tolerate the breaking of rules in a game of football, so neither should you tolerate players playing unrealistically in a role-playing game. Emotion and Personality rules help the GM to adjudicate when the players are being unreasonable.
The primary purpose is to give the GM a framework for defining NPCs and to help PCs to effectively interact with them. Brilliant GMs can always wing it, and make everything up, but for the rest of us it helps to have a way to define NPCs with different personalities and reactions. Most GMs model NPCs after themselves, and often react to PC actions the way they would if it happened to them in real-life. The result is that all the NPCs end up having very similar personalities! (i.e. very 2 dimensional). Very few people have a grasp of how other personality types deal with a situation – which is precisely why married couples always argue, for lack of understanding. Emotion and Personality rules help to change that. As for players – they are free to define their own Emotion statistics within reason. They may for example model the emotions scores and Temperament after themselves. This is fine if the players are reasonable
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Lastly players may be too lazy or inept to role-play their character properly. They may decide to play the game by making declarations like “I decide to talk the barkeep and ask directions menacingly”, rather than “I go to the barkeep and say ‘hey you! Tell me the direction to Blackheart Keep or I’ll gut you!’”. If the player prefers declaration based gaming, then the Emotions and Personality rules help to facilitate game world reactions! Either way, no matter how the players prefer to play, Emotions and Personality rules are a good idea.
Role-playing with Emotion and Personality A lot of real-world events can now make sense with the inclusion of Emotions and Personality. Suddenly things like love, friendship, betrayal, hobbies and drunkenness have effects in the game world that make sense. Before, rules handled drunkenness with clumsy Reflex or Strength modifiers but didn’t contain any realism.
Vows of Passion
There are some times in a character’s life when he decides to create a goal for himself, & the drive becomes so strong that he is benefited from it. This is called a Vow of Passion. A Vow of Passion can be created whenever a traumatic event happens (a death for example), or when a life-changing event occurs or anything that might change a character’s perspective on things. He might then choose to create a Vow of Passion. For example “I vow that I will not rest until I find & destroy Lord Khalifang!”. After making the vow he then subtracts 4 points from his Emotion scores (player’s choice). These Vow subtracted points do not recover until the vow is fulfilled, & the Emotion scores now become these values. Furthermore, the Emotion scores are reduced the same amount again – this time temporarily, & are counted as if the character entered an emotional state (thus they can be recovered as normal). In return, the character now gains 1 Vow of Passion point or VOP point. In any personal situation related to
It didn’t make sense to get drunk, or to fall in love, or to have strong friendships, until now! Note: modifiers to Emotions and Characteristics apply so long as the circumstance exists.
fulfilling the vow, he may choose to spend 1 VOP to help him a particular situation. The situation might be to escape a crumbling castle, or to defeat a band of 15 orcs. Every round in that situation he is permitted to reroll any two dice – either rolls he makes or rolls made against him. To sustain this benefit, every round he must also roll a DR challenge roll against each of his Emotion scores (DR 0) and succeed in at least 2 of the 3 rolls. If he fails, the VOP benefits cease. The character can restore his spent VOP by succeeding in a goal that brings him closer to fulfilling his vow. It is up to the GM to decide what constitutes a meaningful step toward achieving his goal, sufficient enough to warrant a restoration of his VOP. The player and GM should cooperate to decide the nature of the vow. It should be achievable, and it should be inspirational – of the kind written in stories. The idea is to encourage great storytelling.
Pastimes A character’s pastimes largely depend on the character’s dominant Temperaments. Time spent doing that past Temperament Sanguine Choleric Phlegmatic Melancholic
time when not adventuring, will have effects on the character’s emotional health.
Typical example Pastimes *Socializing within own social class, or with lover Competitions, training, self-improvement, gaining fame/infamy rest and recreation Arts, Crafts, Music
*As far as socializing is concerned – the character must obviously dress for the part, necessitating expense on appropriate clothing. Pastime Status Inadequate time spent Enough time spent A lot of time spent
Emotion effects♠ –1 Composure +1 Composure
♠Effects for 2nd dominant Temperaments: absolute neglect (less than 48 time units spent per year) of Past-time results in –1 Composure. Eg. if your 2nd dominant Temperament is Sanguine, you should spend at least 48 units of time per year on socializing.
Other non-temperament related pastimes include: building/maintaining a home/boat, sailing, rearing animals, charity work, gardening etc. Pastimes should fit under general categories, not specific areas like “collecting stamps” or “growing petunias”.
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Friendship/Pets
So long as a character is working alongside a friend/pet, he has certain benefits based on the friendship. Death Friendship Status Acquaintance Close friend Best friend
or injury of the friend/pet will result in some Joy rolls however.
Emotion effects (non cumulative) +1 Aplomb +2 Aplomb
Loved One In all good stories, the heroes always fall in love. In regular role-playing games, love has absolutely no effect on the game because there are no mechanics to govern it – therefore players totally ignore this element, and therefore stories will never become real. With emotion rules, love can now be effectively implemented in the game – and in fact it is very desirable to be in love for the benefit of the character!
Relationship Status No Loved Ones (alone) Fighting Conflict Neglect Normal Love Head over heals
It is encouraged to handle love with actual role-playing, rather than mechanical dice rolls and declarations (eg. “I declare I fall in love with the bar wench!”). The courting should be role-played, plus the game should be broken up with meaningful role-played exchanges with the NPC girlfriend/spouse. Refusal to do so will result in neglectful behaviour toward the girlfriend!
Results (non cumulative) –3 Joy, –1 Aplomb, –2 Composure –2 Joy, –1 Aplomb, –2 Composure –1 Joy, –1 Composure –1 Joy +1 Joy +1 Joy, +1 Aplomb +2 Joy, +2 Aplomb, +1 Composure
Naturally the GM should adjudicate the status of the relationship based on the player’s role-playing and decisions. The death of a loved one will also result in traumatic effects on Joy, Aplomb and Composure – resulting in emotion rolls for all 3 emotions.
Love Modifier –6 –4 –2 +2 +5 +10
2) Add a modifier of –5 to +5 depending on how the player role-plays. Factors to consider are the character’s Temperament. Successful roleplaying of the character’s Temperament will never result in a large penalty. 2) Add the character’s Acting Talent Level (if any) / 2 round down as a bonus 3) Add the character’s Diplomacy Talent Level / 2 round up as a bonus. 4) Also add the character’s Joy Modifier (treat joy like a regular Characteristic) Now assign a Difficulty Rating based on the loveliness of the intended target. GM should consider the NPC target’s Joy, Temperament, social standing, circumstances and values when determining DR. A virtuous gorgeous Princess with tremendous joy should have a DR of about 20. The DR would be reduced to 16 if the player character was a Prince of a respectable kingdom.
For the purposes of the game – a loved one may include a lover, or a close son/daughter relationship or a close father/mother relationship. If the player can successfully keep more than one relationship and roleplay them realistically – he may have the effects of balancing. This means that the highest Relationship status between all the different loved-one relationships is taken and the results of the lesser relationship levels are ignored. Mother/father and son/daughter relationship cannot rise above “Love” Relationship Status – only a lover/spouse can reach the “Head over heals” level. Courting: For lovers, courting someone requires the following success roll (the “Love Roll”): 1) Take Looks (modified by character’s Emotion modifiers if applicable)
Rolls can be made at the initial meeting, but can be re-rolled up to once per day assuming the player gets another chance at meeting the target that day. Even if
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the player makes a successful roll – which indicates the target is attracted, this does not mean a successful relationship. The player must continue to role-play appropriately or be forced to make another roll to continue attracting the girl. Other circumstances such as a tragedy, emotional outbreak from the character (even if the player plays consistently with the Emotion scores of the character) may also force another roll to continue the attraction. Failure on the part of the player to play consistently with a character’s Emotions, or Temperament always results in a failure. Falling in Love: As long as there is mutual attraction (a successful roll), the character is considered in “love”. This does not mean a successful courting however. The player must continue role-playing correctly for a number of days as the GM decides until the target is ready to go “steady”. The number of days before this happens largely depends on the beloved’s value system, which is why the GM should adjudicate. As soon as the pair’s relationship becomes “steady” – the status becomes “head over heals” until such time that the player’s actions determines a change in the status. Typically when the character is involved in activities that the lover approves of, it does not result in a reduction in Relationship Status even if little time is spent with the lover. In fact – the opinion of the lover
Drunkenness
It doesn’t make sense to give meaningless price values for various alcoholic drinks when there were no sensible rules governing inebriation. Why the heck would a character bother even spending a few gold pieces on mead? Inebriation Level 1 2 3 4 5 per level after 5
may increase if the activity is of particular merit to the lover (depends on the lover’s Temperament). Falling out of Love: you guessed it – those “love rolls” (recalculate the love value) that were made earlier need to be remade every 1d12 months. Except this time – apply the “Love Modifiers” in the chart above based on the Relationship Status if the pair is in a steady relationship. Add +2 Love Modifier if the pair is married. Failure in the roll results in the lover losing interest. The player has 1d12 months to reconcile (requiring the same “love roll” – but with half any Love Modifier bonus, though full Love Modifier penalties if they apply) or lose the Lover/spouse. Player Characters “loving” each other: the Friendship benefits definitely apply between Player characters – but what about PCs being lovers? The GM should adjudicate. If two characters are unlikely to fall in love but still the players are trying to be stupid about it – a simple roll can help solve that problem. The GM should determine the DR of course. Why interfere? Because although the game should be fun – it should also be consistent with the fantasy world you are trying to create. The minute you allow the game to get silly – all “reality” is broken.
Now there’s a reason! The effects of inebriation /drugs depends on the level of inebriation. The GM should adjudicate the level of inebriation based on how much the character has to drink.
Effects (non cumulative except for after level 5) +1 Aplomb –1 Reflexes, +1 Joy, +1 Aplomb, –1 Endurance –1 Reflexes, –1 Composure, +2 Joy, +2 Aplomb, –1 Endurance –2 Reflexes, –1 Composure, +3 Joy, +3 Aplomb, –1 Looks, –2 Endurance –3 Reflexes, –2 Composure, +4 Joy, +4 Aplomb, –2 Looks, –2 Endurance extra –1 Reflexes, –1 Composure, –1 Looks (in addition to level 5 mods)
Every hour a character’s inebriation level naturally lowers by 1, unless of course drinking continues. The player must also roll his (Strength/2 + 10 + Resistance Against Poison/Disease Talent Level – Inebriation Level x 2) or less on a d20 every hour to prevent from
falling asleep after level 3. When going to sleep – it will take the Inebriation Level (at time of falling asleep) x 10 minutes the next morning to recover from the hang-over. A Hang-over is counted as –3 Strength and –3 Reflexes.
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Free Time
When a character takes a break between adventures, he is assumed to go back to his normal life. Although a character in a “loved one” relationship should occasionally role-play a few choice interactions with the loved-one, the relationship can be considered mostly determined by declarations. The player can declare how to spend the time he has between adventures.
Everyone has 8 units of time each day (each unit of time = roughly 2 hours). 4 units of time must be spent performing usual duties, like the character’s day job or household chores. The other 4 available units can be used on Pastimes, Loved Ones, Friendships or Pets. 2 units spent on any of these dalliances counts as maintaining the “status quo” – no change of status. Here is a general guideline:
Number of units spent per day average 4 3 2 1 0
Time taken before a change in Status 1d6 months before an improvement 2d6 months before an improvement No Change 2d6 months before a reduction 1d6 months before a reduction
Time taken to train a Talent or to learn a Knowledge is considered taking 2 units per day. Training/Learning can take twice as long if you choose to spend only 1 unit of time per day on training/learning.
time is spent with them. Friendships/pets are also included in this group if they too are living in the same town. Socializing with peers is not included in this group however.
Note: “Loved Ones” include all spouses or lovers, and family members living in the same town – assuming
When a rule says it takes a day to accomplish something – a “day” is equal to 4 units of time, or about 8 hours.
Adventure Time The GM should decide, based on the player’s actions and role-playing, whether the player is role-playing consistently with the character’s love interests, pastimes and so on, during the adventure.
This should then influence whether there is a change in status to the character’s relationships or pastime. This should encourage players to role-play more realistically.
Torture Normally Emotion rolls are made once for every distressing circumstance, but since torture is a sustained attack against someone’s emotional state the rules governing torture differ from regular Emotion rules.
Joy: Every day the target is tortured, he makes a new Joy roll. Composure: A new Composure roll is made every 1d4 minutes of sustained torture Aplomb: A new Aplomb roll is made every 1d4 minutes of sustained torture.
Trauma
A character may be affected by a traumatic event, which may result in a semi-permanent reduction of Joy, Composure or Aplomb. Aplomb reduction typically only apply for a particular phobia – for example, for the purpose of Aplomb rolls, Aplomb may have a –5 penalty against spiders due to arachnophobia. Typically Traumas reduce an Emotion score about 1d6 points until
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the character has dealt with that Traumatic event (seek counseling with a Philosopher etc.). Things that trigger Traumatic events are typically events causing Emotion scores to go down close to 0. Trauma can be used as a plot device by the GM, or to add some fun for the players.
Pain
A character’s Pain Threshold is equal to the character’s Strength Base Score + Aplomb Base Score + (Toughness Talent Level x 2). A check may need to be made against this Pain Threshold score with a DR ranging from –10 (pin prick) to 10 (intense torture). Failing a Pain roll typically incapacitates the character for at least 1 round and possibly more as the GM decides.
Pain rolls are typically made to determine reaction, not effects of pain. Usually wounds will affect Attributes regardless, but Pain causes temporary incapacitation. Note: “incapacitation” in this case refers to loss of action – however the pained still retains the ability to run away!
GM Notes: Some people may be averse to the concept of implementing Emotion and Temperament in the game. In the real world, we make the choices in our lives, but sometimes our emotions take over and we act in ways seemingly “beyond our control”, like losing our temper. This is precisely the attitude that must be taken with Emotions and Temperament. Players make the choices for their characters just like they do for themselves in real life, but sometimes the character’s emotions take
over or simply their Temperament dictates how they would act in a situation. Whilst the player himself sitting comfortably in his chair may be perfectly in control of his own emotions, the character may not and Emotions/Temperament rules help to reflect the game reality. Besides, without Emotions/ Temperaments, love/friendships/ pastimes etc would not have a place in the game world.
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Alignment A person’s alignment refers to a person’s core values. Where Temperaments are inborn, Alignment is a product of upbringing, personal conviction and
Alignment Good Neutral Evil
beliefs. Generally, a person’s alignment refers to the person’s respect for life.
Description sacrifice for others, altruism, respect for life, compassionate, accepting generally won’t kill wantonly, generally committed only to others through personal relationships, tolerant disrespect for life, hateful, hurtful, uncompassionate, prejudiced.
Alignment & Temperament: Although it would seem they are related, they are not. A character’s Temperament is their personality, whereas a character’s Alignment is their value or belief system.
Temperament to govern his reactions, a Good person will usually keep his Temperament and Emotions in check. When a person has a lapse in awareness of his behaviour (usually at home) – his Temperament & Emotions become more dominant.
Role-playing: It would seem that role-playing both Alignment and Temperament would be a difficult thing to achieve, and in fact it can be difficult for the inexperienced. The best way to handle this would be to mould the character to suit the player’s own personal Alignment and Temperament, or something that the player would feel at ease at playing. These things take practice. Unlike Temperament however, a character’s Alignment can change and does not influence Emotions. If you wish to adjudicate alignment changes, give the character a “Goodness” scale from 1-100.
Monsters and Alignment: it’s pretty easy to guess what most monsters’ alignment might be. Orcs tend to be Evil, Goblins tend to be Neutral, Elves tend to be Good, Dwarves tend to be Neutral, Halflings tend to be Good. You can also directly convert Alignment from other games that use similar alignments.
Goodness Scale 1 - 33 34 - 66 67 - 100
Life Alignment Good Neutral Evil
Monsters and Emotion/Temperament: these are a little harder to determine, but for the sake of simplicity – they are related to the monster’s Alignment. Use the following as a guideline:
Life Alignment Evil Neutral Good
Based on your alignment, you start at either 1, 50 or 100 – and then the scale can move up or down a number of points depending on the character’s actions. When the scale moves to a new alignment range – the alignment changes. Generally however, alignment changes are not encouraged, and players are encouraged to play their character properly based on the alignment they choose. In real life, people do not flip flop their beliefs, & it takes a life-changing event to change a person’s belief and value system (e.g. if they become Born Again). A tragic event that causes great sorrow may also cause an alignment shift - the GM should discuss the outcome with the player. As for influencing character actions – generally a character’s Alignment influences his actions first, and then Temperament, and then Emotions. An Evil person tends to allow his Emotions and
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Emotion/Temperament Composure 1d6 + 12 Aplomb 2d4 +8 Joy 2d6 + 3
In addition, Aplomb is naturally influenced by a creature’s natural confidence or bravery: Courage Chicken Fearful Normal Brave Fearless/Mindless
Aplomb range 1-6 7-11 12-15 16-18 19-20
Composure is influenced by a creature’s tendency toward rage: Anger Management Violent Temper Hot headed Normal Calm Dignified
Composure range 6-9 10-12 13-15 16-18 19-20
Leadership and Influence Now that Emotions, Temperament, Talents and Knowledge rules are defined – suddenly the possibilities are open for such factors as Leadership and Influence. Characters can now have influence in the game world. The Leadership Proficiency Level is a special case, because it involves many different areas. A character’s Leadership Proficiency Level equals: (Manager Proficiency Level + (Diplomacy Talent Level x 2) + Actor Talent Level + (Joy Modifier x 2) + Looks + Intelligence) / 4. Modifiers to this score depend on whether the character is angry or fearful (see Emotions), and also based on the character’s Temperament. Leadership as it is defined here refers to leading large groups of people – maybe even armies or nations. Simple management tasks do not really touch on Leadership, nor does inspiring a small group of people. For evil despotic leaders, especially monstrous leaders – they may depend on Intimidation rather than Diplomacy to enforce control. Some evil leaders (like Hitler for example) still used Diplomacy. If Intimidation is used – then the Intimidation Leadership Proficiency Level equals: (Manager Proficiency Level + (Intimidation Talent Level x 3) + (24 – Composure) + Aplomb + Int Mod) / 4. Notice for Intimidation Leadership, it seems beneficial for the leader to have low Composure – Intimidation works better with a leader prone to Anger. Modifiers for Intimidation Leadership depend on Temperament only. The usual modifiers associated with Emotion are ignored because these are already factored in the formula – except where the leader is fearful (failed Aplomb roll) – fearful leaders have a penalty to the Intimidation Leadership Proficiency Level (see below). Lastly Intimidation Leadership always forces a Composure test and an Aplomb test on its followers,
plus additional rolls depending on requests made by the leader. A note on Looks: Looks is a combination of appearance and charisma. When making Looks checks – there should be a penalty if the user is trying to influence a creature of a different race. Apply a –1 to –15 penalty depending on how differently the two races differ. For example, if the two groups are intelligent humanoids, the penalty will be –1 to –5, if one of the groups is a semi-intelligent humanoid, the penalty will be –5 to – 10, if one of the groups is non-humanoid the penalty will be –10 to –15 etc. The Leadership Roll: The Leadership Roll typically pits the user’s Leadership Proficiency Level versus a DR = Intelligence Base Score of follower(s). For Intimidation Leadership – it pits the Intimidation Leadership Proficiency Level versus a DR = Aplomb Base Score of follower(s). For a group it is sufficient to take the average Intelligence or Aplomb for the group. The Leader gets a modifier depending on the circumstances – for example, if the group already has a leader or is already complying with a conflicting request from another leader – this will negatively affect the Leadership roll success rate. Alignment (good or evil) differences between the Leader and followers will also affect success. The Leadership roll is made only to earn the loyalty of followers enough to give requests to them. Once the roll is made, it need not be re-rolled unless the action or inaction of the leader gives cause for dissent amongst the followers. In the case of mutiny, where another leader tries to establish control – not only does the new leader need to succeed in a leadership roll, but the old leader must reroll a Leadership roll. If the old leader fails his Leadership roll, he loses control over to the new Leader.
Circumstance Difference in Alignment between Leader & Follower Difference in Values/Desires betw Leader & Follower Same Values/Desires betw Leader & Follower Attraction/Friendship/Admiration toward Leader Revulsion/Animosity/Disrespect toward Leader Leader is Afraid (Fear) Typical circumstances that force a new Leadership roll: contradiction or change in the leader’s character, a better alternative leader becomes available,
Leadership Proficiency Level Modifier –1 to –5 –1 to –5 +1 to +5 +1 to +10 –1 to –10 –1 to –6 (–6 extra for Intimidation Leaders)
followers feel abandoned, leader rarely makes contact with followers, leader does harm to the follower(s) or follower’s friends/loved ones, leader’s requests are
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frequently unreasonable, leader’s request results in disaster etc.
stage for the Knight to go off on another adventure, but really it is compliance with an NPC request!
A Leader’s Request: Once Leadership is established, commands given may have influence on follower’s Emotions: Joy, Composure or Aplomb. Characters should be role-played consistently with their emotions at the time. For example, an angry character might choose to rebel against a command. Particularly bad actions/inaction on the part of the Leader may cause followers to break loyalty altogether (re-roll the Leadership roll with appropriate modifiers). Influence on Player Characters: It’s all good and well to make rolls when it comes to influencing non-player characters (NPC) – but what happens when an NPC leader tries to influence a player character (PC)? Assuming the NPC succeeds in the required roll – the PC is considered compliant to the NPC’s requests. The player should then properly role-play the PC consistent with compliance to the requests. A re-roll can be permitted where circumstances would cause the character to question loyalty to the leader. Modifiers will apply depending on the circumstances (for example – if the leader is an absentee leader, this will negatively affect his leadership). In the game world – players are usually influenced by an NPC anyway. For example – a Knight will be obliged to listen to the requests of his Kingdom, this sets the Circumstance Pay has been delayed Pay regular pay Pay extra pay Rival Leader presents a higher offer
Why interfere? Because it is hard to simulate how a player character respects a particular NPC leader, without keeping track of a Leadership Level and so on. Because in the game, players may not be able to understand his own character’s feelings toward an NPC leader – the player’s own personal feelings may override the character which may not accurately reflect what would normally happen in the game world. The GM should be flexible however to adjudicate where necessary. If a player has a realistic and legitimate reason to disagree with the outcome of a roll – he should be allowed to role-play his choice. The Influence of Money: if an agreement is made where money or reward is concerned, obviously no Leadership roll is necessary to issue requests. Characters obey for payment. However, the Leadership roll should still be made to establish whether followers are loyal. In times of doubt or Emotional Stress (or promise of a higher pay) – mercenaries may choose to abandon the Leader regardless of payment, and the Leadership roll would be useful to see whether loyalty is maintained. Modifiers, in addition to the Leadership modifiers above, apply:
Leadership Proficiency Lvl Mod –1 per month behind payment +5 +5, +1 per 20% more pay +1, –1 per 20% more pay offered
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Encumbrance revisited (optional) The Encumbrance Section is placed here based on its importance to the game. Generally the Superlative rules sections are placed in order of influence on the game mechanics. Encumbrance rules in the original Dragon Warriors were one of the sweet points of the system. I loved the simplicity: everything was based on the equivalent weight of 1 weapon. In the game world, encumbrance should be simple – it’s not important that characters are penalized down to the last kilogram of weight – what is important is that characters do not unrealistically overload themselves. In fantasy stories, weapons and armour did break down – which is why weapon and armour damage is more important than encumbrance (even though encumbrance seems to be more Encumbrance 0 (carrying nothing) 0 to ⅓ EL ⅓ to EL EL to 2x EL
Level 1 2 3 4
2x EL to 4x EL
5
Over 4x EL
6
emphasized in most RPG systems), but rarely did the issue of encumbrance ever come up if at all in a fantasy story. Therefore the same attitude will be had here. Encumbrance should be a general guideline, but not ruled to the extent that it slows the game down. Encumbrance weights will be broken very basically down into EU, or Encumbrance Units based on the weight of a Sword (1 EU), and is a combination of both bulkiness and weight. A character’s Encumbrance Limit (EL) = his Strength value in EU. For example, a character with Strength 16 has an EL of 16 EU. 1 EU is roughly 5 pounds. In medieval times, real swords weighed about 2 to 2.5 pounds, but EU represents both weight and bulkiness, and not just weight alone.
Adjustments* +2 Ste; +1 Ev –1 WR; 90% running speed, 75% Sprinting speed –1 Ev; –4 Ste; –4 WR; 75% run speed, 50% sprint speed, –4 Att; –4 Def; –4 Ev; –8 Ste; –4 Ref; –16 WR; ¾ walk, ½ run speed, cannot Sprint; tire twice as fast (x2 Endurance lost); No actions allowed except carrying & moving ⅔ walk speed; tire twice as fast (from 3x EL to 4x EL, movement speed reduced to ⅓ walk speed) Cannot move
*except for carrying over your weight limit, the above adjustments are optional based on the type of gameplay. If players are specifically using encumbrance as a strategy, then these encumbrance rules should apply. Otherwise, you can choose to apply as much complexity as you like. Typically, encounters are met (eg. guards, NPC civilians) with the person carrying about 0 to ⅓ their weight limits.
EU 0 ¼
Sprinting: Sprinting is moving 5x walking speed, and should only be allowed if implementing Endurance.
¾ 1
Pack Mules: Horses have an average Strength of 20-25, Mules 18-23, however both have the “Pack Mule” Talent level 10, so they can carry 4 times their allowable limits. A human rider is equivalent to 1EU per 5 pounds of weight. An average sized man weighing 175pounds = 35EU. A Saddlebag costs double a backpack, and can carry 15 EU.
½
1.5 2 3 4 5 7
Item Examples regular Backpack, regular clothing/shoes 2 flasks of oil, 2 potions, bag of 50 coins, boomerang, 10 rings/amulets/brooches etc. slingshot (10 shots), dagger, blowgun, scroll cylinder (up to 3 scrolls), Padded Leather Armour, Short Bow, lantern, torch, small shield, small/light weapon short sword, Hardened Leather Armour, Arming Sword, Spear, Staff, crossbow, whip, bola, quiver of arrows (20), case of quarrels (20), 10m of rope, bedroll, 1 week rations, waterskin (3 days), medium shield, Long Bow Heavy weapons, medium net, trap, large shield Scale Armour, 2 handed Sword Mail Armour, Halberd Plate Armour Heavy Chest Full Plate Armour
Notes: Mithral Armour counts as ½ an EU less weight
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Endurance and Fatigue I do not wish to add one more complication to the game, but nevertheless this section is necessary in some situations. Most of the time, the GM can adjudicate player’s actions and how they influence the game – however, sometimes player’s actions influence game mechanics and that is when a rule needs to be created to govern that.
Rest: A character can rest 3 rounds to recover 1 Endurance point. If he is engaged in melee combat and intends to parry attacks (in other words use his Defense) without performing any other action then it takes 6 rounds to recover 1 Endurance – this is called halfresting. Whilst resting, no other action is allowed except ¼ walking speed movement.
For example, if a player is sprinting away for several rounds – there has to be a limit to how long he can do that, and once finished – surely he will be fatigued! Another example would be if the character is fighting hundreds of orcs at a time – surely he would get tired! Most of the time however, you can choose to ignore Endurance rules.
The following actions in a round provoke an Endurance roll (apply modifiers before making roll):
A character has an Endurance score equal to his (Strength + Reflexes) / 2. The following modifiers apply: Circumstance Endurance Modifier Severely Wounded (has 2), every month that a Rune User is researching the target’s True Name, the target gets a Psychic Talent DR challenge Roll with a DR = the Rune-User’s RuneMaster-Level. If the target makes the roll, he becomes innately attracted to the location of the
True Name: the target must be present when control is established and the Rune User declares the True Name. Rune language is secret, and only someone with the appropriate Talent Level of Runemonition and the target himself can hear a True Name when
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it is uttered. Even then, one must carry on his person the target’s Rune to control the target. Concentration must be maintained so long as the target is within sight. If the target becomes out of sight – he will be bound to obey the last command given him. Otherwise if the target is in sight, the Rune user can give 1 command each round that concentration is maintained.
Forbidden Commands: Even the power of a True Name cannot undo Universal Law. A target cannot be commanded to kill himself, or to kill a loved one. However death may still happen through the indirect result of a command. Targets can quite possibly send assassins after the Rune User, so it is wise for the Rune User to command loyalty before sending them out of sight!
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The Combat Grid Using a grid paper to determine where characters are standing in a combat situation is a very desirable. Not only does it provide visual stimulation and help bring the battle to life, but it helps resolve where everyone is standing. In Superlative rules, any grid can be used. A square one has been provided as an example to show size. Each square is in the below diagram is 2.5m across.
In the above diagram, it appears that the black figure can be attacked by 8 red figures. Actually this is not the case. Although he may be surrounded by 8 people, only one square out of square 4 and 1 may attack the black square at any one time (decide by initiative if in dispute), and only one square out of square 3 and 5 may attack the black square. If the black figure was turned diagonally and facing red figure #1 for example, red square 3 and 6 cannot attack the black square.
Creature size Size Factor Fine (1”) 0.1 Diminutive (6”) 0.25 Tiny (1’ x 1’) 0.5 Small (up to 2’ x 2’) 1 Med-Small (4’ x 4’) 2 Medium (6’ x 6’) 3 Med-Large (9’ x 9’) 3.5 Large (12’ x 12’) Very Large (16’ x 16’)
4 4.5
Huge (25’ x 25’)
5
The rule is that a creature can only be attacked by up to 6 creatures of the same size (down to 1 size factor smaller) simultaneously, or up to 10 if 2 size factor larger than opponents, or up to 20 if 3 size factors larger than opponents and so on. If the creature is 1 size factor smaller than the opponents, only 3 opponents can attack him simultaneously. If the creature is 2 size factor or smaller than the opponents, only 2 opponents can attack him simultaneously. If the smaller creatures are huddled in a square – then the group of creatures can be attacked by 6 surrounding squares as described above. Increase the size (not size factor) by 1 if the attacked creature’s size is based on length rather than height when it is attacked by a group. For example – a horse (long creature) size med-large (size factor 3.5) is upgraded to size large (size factor 4), which means 10 humans can attack it.
Occupied Space* 100 per sq 32 per square 16 per square 4 per square 2 per square 1 square long creature: 2 sq (shape 1), tall: 1 sq shape 2 long creature: shape 3; tall: shape 2 long creature: shape 4; tall: shape 5
The above diagram shows how many squares a creature occupies. A long creatures are usually quadrupeds or snake-like. Tall creatures are usually bipeds or round in shape.
A character can move in any direction, including diagonal. Usually a biped can turn up to 180 degrees at the same time as running, or 360 degrees when walking, or 90 degrees if sprinting, all within the same round. A long creature can usually only turn half that amount – adjudicate where necessary. These degrees of turning are a sum total of the small turns that may be made during the length of a move.
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The actual placement of the figures on the grid does not need to fit the grid exactly – they may overstep a line, or face in any direction. When determining the distance between two points, measure using a ruler.
Movement does not need to be made square by square. Cut out some strips of paper that represent typical movement distances as quick guides to determine the end position after a move. For example, one might decide that 1cm on the paper strip represents 1m of movement. Pay no respect to the grid squares – it is there only to position things like furniture, not to determine exactly where people stand.
Place figures in an arrangement to represent what is happening. If one character is on top of the other – then place the figures in that arrangement on the grid. Adjudicate and use common sense where necessary – it is not advisable to be rigid in a random environment such as combat.
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Shangoria – The Campaign World (a brief introduction) 370 years ago there was an epic war between two powerful empires – Zoastroy, an empire of flying skyships & castles, & Mithia with an army of Harum (Pegasus) & Gryphon riders. The Great War was disastrous & the Harum & Gryphon were driven almost to extinction, & the flying castles & airships all mysteriously disappeared.
& Gryphon to rebuild its force against the Zoastrojans, but unbeknownst to them, even in remote Za’angara the Zoastrojans have a contingent force for such an attempt.
330 years later, the Empire of Zoastroy returned with their fearsome flying fortresses & skyships. The lodestones that provided the airlift to these giant floating castles had been kept away in a secret mountain whilst Zoastroy rebuilt its power. Over just a short period of 10 years, the Zoastrojans conquered Midia. And thus sets the stage for the current state of affairs. The technology of the world is no later than Medieval Earth (13th century or earlier), but includes a mix of our own ancient cultures & technology. The world is called Shangoria – & it is split up into 3 super continents called Midia (with the Empire of Mithia), Shannarai (with the Empire of Zoastroy) whose people are collectively called the Shannaristi, and Za’angara (a lush paradise mostly untamed by man). Midia bears similarity to our own Europe & a subset of Asia, Shannarai bears similarity to our own North and South America and Za’angara bears similarity to a detached Africa and Middle East. The world of Shangoria is a world of impossible beauty. Huge castles sit perched impossibly on the side of cliffs and mountains. Gigantic monuments reach into the sky. Splendourous mountains, valleys and oceans cover the land. Even the darkest places of Shangoria contain a haunting beauty. The countries of Midia bear similarities to Dark-Ages Europe, the Byzantium Empire, & the Ottaman Empire and Asia (Medieval Japan and Mongolia). The Empire of Mithia once spanned the entire continent of Midia, but after the Great War, its power was diminished. Although Mithia still has its great seafaring empire, without its army of Harum & Gryphon riders the other kingdoms of Midia regained their independence. However the kingdoms of Midia still look to Mithia as its last hope against the might of the Zoastrojans. Mithians bare slight resemblance to the Nordic culture mixed with Medieval Europe in terms of dress & style.
The continent of Shannarai contains 3 nations: the Empire of Zoastroy, Mei Guo & The Empire of the Azcas. The people of Zoastroy include some Mei-Guoren & Azcans, & the 3 countries have mutually beneficial relationships, & obviously neither the MeiGuo-ren nor the Azcans would dare challenge the might of the Zoastrojans. However the might of Zoastroy was built by sorcery & it feels that it is most threatened by it – which is why it does not challenge nations of high sorcery like Mei-Guo, Azca & Sumar. The Zoastrojan cultural style bears similarities to traditional Medieval Culture with some 100 AD Greek Influence. How did such diverse cultures end up next to each other? Shannaristi nations are separated by great jungles & mountains & all three have long ago migrated from Midia. Mei-Guo occupies the Northern part of Shannarai, Zoastroy the middle portion & Azca occupies the Southern part. Zoastroy & Mei-Guo are separated by a great mountain range, & Azca is thick with jungles & mountains, which separates it from Zoastroy geographically. The nations of Midia on the other hand are ravaged with wars of the sword and have lost much of the high sorcery that once existed. Even mythical creatures like Elves and Dwarves are driven deep into the mountains and forests. Although magic still exists on Midia, it is not prevalent in popular society like the days of yore. The Northern part of the continent of Za’angara consists of mainly Mesopotamian style cultures ruled by the nation of Sumar – similar to the ancient Sumerians. The Sumarians are a brutal nation of sorcerer-priests who worship many evil gods. They build impossibly huge Ziggurats a hundred stories high and built on impossible locations like the side of cliffs or the tops of mountains. So dark and powerful are their arts that they keep the Zoastrojans from invading. The rest of Za’angara are filled with many nomadic Za’angaran tribes bearing similarities to ancient African tribes. Players can choose to be a part of the great struggle against the Zoastrojans, or they can choose to ignore the epic backdrop of their world and choose a more insular existence. There are several long-term options available to play out the downfall of Zoastroy if the players so choose. They can enlist the help of sorcerous nations like Mei-Guo, Azca or Sumar; they can seek out the reclusive Key of Names who holds the True Names of
Mithia hopes to build an armada of ships to travel to Za’angara in hopes of finding remnant herds of Harum
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the 3 Dragon Kings (all the dragons have mysteriously disappeared and gone into hiding – some of them sometimes wake from hibernation but thousands remain hidden); or they can aid Mithia to seek out the rumoured Harum and Gryphon herds in the far reaches of Za’angara. Or perhaps there is a fourth option to perhaps infiltrate Zoastroy itself? Key Nations of Midia: Mithia (Mithian) – similar to Medieval Scandinavian mixed with other Medieval European cultures Sarquistis (Sarquisti) – similar to Medieval Rome Kesse (Kessian) – similar to Medieval Germany Catelonia (Catelonian) – similar to Medieval Spain Aldeland (Aldelander) – similar to Medieval Britain Ghengar (Ghengol) – similar to Medieval Mongolia Shinzen (Shinzo) – similar to Medieval Japan. A nation of great sword makers. Bryzuntium (Bryzuntian) – Similar to ancient Byzantium Empire. Capital is Constantinirith. Vacher (Vacherian) – Similar to Medieval Gaul Khalisan (Khalisani) – similar to Medieval Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. The great ancient culture of Nethot once existed in this country, a great nation of incredible might and magic but it was struck down and consumed by powerful Nethottite mages seeking to control its power. Nethot was then buried under the sand and cursed by eternal heat. Today mages from all over Midia seek to uncover the hidden relics under the sands of Khalisan. The myth of “Arabian Nights” exists today in current Khalisan. Mezovinzhia (Mezovinzhian) – similar to Medieval Hungary & Romania. Home to the most famous vampire of all: Dimitry Valeriu Sanguina, the Dark Knight who remains elusive to the forces of the Mezovinzhian king, but some say the king himself is a puppet of Dimitry. Numoire (Numoirean) – nation of great artists and the greatest sword makers. Similar to Medieval Austria. Dulendar (Dulendarim) – similar to Medieval Holland and Denmark (Vikings). Capital is Dasgard. Munbai (Munbi) – similar to Medieval India. Famous for its cavalry of giant elephants. Ostrogoth (Ostrogoth, Ostrogothic) – similar to any of the Goths of Medieval Europe Voloslavia – (Voloslav, Voloslavic) – similar to medieval Russia. Aquila – (Aquilan) – similar to medieval Portugal. Sukhotthaya (Sukhothai) – similar to Medieval Siam. Also famous for their giant elephant cavalry. Goza – (Gozarian) – a nation of fierce barbarians and witches Sylvania – (Sylvanian) – a nation valuing freedom and wealth that broke off from Bulgravia
Bulgravia – (Bulgravian) – a nation with a strict fanatical belief in Satra their god. The Bulgravian Inquisition is a feared religious group that persecutes dissentors. Hanwon – (Hanwa) – similar to medieval Korea. Fiercely opposed to Shinzen. Cevona – (Cevonian) – similar to medieval Sicily/Crete Bremenube – (Bremenubian) – a small independent & highly religious kingdom Corsiva – (Corsivan) – similar to medieval Corsica Zegovina – (Zegovinian) – similar to medieval Hungary Hyrkrius – (Hyrkian) – Similar to medieval Poland Beladarius – (Beladarian) – similar to medieval Czechoslovakia Sone – (Sonan) – an advanced society with excellent agricultural ability and a powerful defensive army. Angmanul – (Angmanuli) – a nation of mixed religion, architecture and culture due to frequent wars and conquests by opposing nations. Narseus – (Narseusian) – a noble kingdom, but a subject and territory of Mithia. Key Nations of Shannarai: Zoastroy (Zoastrojan) – similar to pre-Medieval Greece mixed with other Medieval European cultures. The Zoroastrojans have superb military tactics from the sky, using a combination of magic and strategy to defeat ground troops. The cities they build in the sky are unmatched in majesty and beauty. Capital: Macedanea. Mei-Guo (Mei-Guo-ren) – similar to Medieval China. Mei-Guo itself is split into 3 kingdoms that are constantly at war with each other: the Ming, Qin and Yang Kingdoms. The kingdoms often seek the gods of the oceans, sky, forest etc. to help them fight the other kingdoms, embarking in great quests to seek these gods. Azca (Azcan) – similar to the ancient Incas and Aztecs. Most of the Azcans worship the twin gods Muantezuma and Quezcuacoyotl. Capital is Aztlan. When Azcans captured a certain number of captives, they became Eagle or Jaguar Knights or captains becoming nobility or pilli, otherwise they remained macehualli or a peasant class. The Azcans practice human sacrifices and their temples are full of human skulls. Each year they play a team game where they must kick a skull through a hole some 10 meters high – a task so difficult it can take days to finish a game. The victors are rewarded by being sacrificed to the gods. Key Nations of Za’angara: Sumar (Sumarian) – similar to ancient Sumeria. The most powerful country in Za’angara, they worship demons and have powerful sorcerers. Home to enormous Ziggurats the size of mountains.
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Mittani (Mittanite) – similar to a Mesopotamian culture. Builders of great cities with very high walls due to the many wars and invasions. Although once fierce invaders themselves, of late they have concentrated mainly on defending their own lands. Kengir (Kengiri) – similar to a Mesopotamian culture. Nearest to the Dark Reaches – the vast wilderness that dominates the middle and south of Za’angara. Still largely an animistic culture consisting of a few nomadic tribes. Azmat (Azmati) – similar to a Mesopotamian culture. Very similar to Sumar in culture and dress, but to a far less powerful degree. The Sumarians despise the Azmati because of the similarities. Nassyria (Nassyrian) – similar to ancient Assyria. Capital is Nasshur. They are known for their navy, and sea-faring merchants. They often fight with Mittani, Kengir and Azmat. Hattusa (Hattite) – similar to ancient Hittites. They dwell in the mountains of Za’angara and build beautiful temples deep in the rock. Hattusa’s major cities are built into the mountain itself, with many of the homes built into the rock. Gagoga (Gagogite) – similar to a Mesopotamian culture. A land of great iniquity. Many a Midianite who has seen Gagoga have been repelled by the sins and immorality existing in Gagoga. Sexual immorality, child sacrifice, corruption are all part of life in Gagoga. Ygypthia (Ygypthian) – similar to ancient Egypt. The great Nexi river flows through this land providing fertility to the land. They are often at war with the war-mongering Hattites. They are famous for their war chariots. Capital is Kafwan. Nimibia (Nimibian) – similar to ancient Ethiopia. Ruled by the beautiful queen Shera. Nimibia is rich with precious metals and jewels. Baelbalon (Baelbalonian) – similar to ancient Babylon. Builders of beautiful cities and buildings, including the Hanging Gardens, a palace of wondrous gardens. They are a fierce and warring nation. World Specific Information: 1) Numoire is the only nation capable of making/fixing full plate armour. Remember the technology and style/fashion of the Shangoria is 13th century or earlier. Buildings are the only exception to this rule, as building technology has reached a 15th century level of technology and in many cases, a mythical level of scope due to the use of magic. Weapon technology precludes the knowledge of gunpowder, redundant because of magic (and in fact Sorcerers often stop the advance of combat technology to maintain their monopoly of such power). 2) Katanas are used in Mei-Guo and Shinzen. Scimitars are used in Ghengar, Khalisan, Mezovinzhia, Munbai
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and Voloslav. The Northern Za’angarans use leafbladed arming swords, or straight, single edged arming swords with a curved handle. 3) Weapon & Armour etiquette: it is improper to wear heavy war armour and carry war weapons whilst in town – one usually keeps these at home and wears only light armour if any, and carry a smaller side-arm such as an arming sword. Personal “civilian” weapons tend to be more decorated and elaborate as a result since these are taken downtown, whereas war weapons tend to be sparsely decorated and made for pure function. People who are over-dressed in armour, or carry war weapons will be seen as pretentious or held with suspicion and fear. Authorities are likely to arrest them. To understand this etiquette, imagine today’s world: it would be totally unacceptable for people to walk around town with full body armour and an assault rifle – and the same holds true in the world of Shangoria. The only exception is of course if one is actually a local authority/guard/knight of the kingdom. 4) There are many hot countries. Za’angara is very hot and dry during the summer, Khalisan, Munbai, Bryzuntium and Catelonia are hot countries. Azca is very hot and humid in the Northern parts, and the parts of Zoastroy, Aquila and Sarquistis near the equator are also hot. In these places, wearing heavy armour (plate-mail or full-plate) is very stifling. 5) like the DW world of Legend, the majority of Midia are monotheistic, worshipping under the “True Faith”. The Khalisani have their own version of the True Faith, similar to the DW country “Ta’ashim Lands”. As in our history, the devil rebelled against God and as such ⅓ of the angels were cast down from heaven. The angels have a large involvement in Shangoria, and many nations even worship them as gods. The peoples of Za’angara are polytheistic and worship many of the angels (and demons) as gods. The angels and demons also use Shannarai (Land of the Angels) as a battlefield, and angels/demons are often involved in the affairs of the Shannaristi people coming down to masquerade as humans or banished to Shangoria permanently. 6) unlike most fantasy worlds, in medieval history inns and taverns were actually rare in some countries. They existed mainly in societies with nomadic peoples, rich cultures or large trading countries/cities. Most of Midia for example would not have an inn or tavern in most villages, visiting nobles might be invited to stay with the local lord. Taverns and Inns would exist in major cities though. Inns and Taverns are more commonplace in Shanneristi (except in Azca), and Za’angaran countries. Inns and Taverns also exist in fair amounts in Mithia, Numoire, Catalonia, Bryzuntium, Shinzen, Dulendar, Ghengar, Khalisan, Sarquistis, Aquila and Munbai.
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Name:
Profession Details:
Rank:
Background:
Alignment:
Character Sheet Characteristic Strength: Reflexes: Intelligence: Psy. Talent: Looks:
Mod Base Score
Temp Value
Combat Attack: Defense: Evasion:
Melee Mod. Ranged Mod
Skills/Magic
Covert Attribute Stealth: Perception: AR
Armour
NHP:
Att Mod
Def Mod
Init Mod
Modifier
Magic Mod.:
Initiative Mod: AR Mod: Dmg Mod.: WR:
HP:
Magic Attribute Mag.Attack: Mag.Def:
Mod.
Armour Pts
Init Mod. Def. Mod. Spell lvl 1-6 Spell lvl 7+
Weapon
Dmg
Init Mod
Attack
Defense
AF mod
Range
Reach
Weapon Points
Endurance: Normal: Current:
(Include Combat Mods in Weapon Mods.for ease of reference)
Talent
Level
Modifiers
Knowledges
Level
Equipment
Total Encumbrance: Limit / Modifiers: Money:
Talent Points:
Knowledge Points: 102
Experience:
Encumbrance
Affiliations/Enemies:
Character Sheet Back Height/Weight: Height: Weight: Fitness:
Movement
Vows:
Emotion Base Val. Temp. Val. Joy:
Modifiers
Composure:
Temperament Dominant Temperament: 2nd Temperament:
Modifiers
Aplomb: Anger Mods: +2 Str, -4 Lks, -2 Ref, -1 Int, -2 Psy.Tal Fear Mods: -2 Str, +2 Ref, -2 Lks, -1 Int, -1 Psy.Tal
Leadership Type Regular Diplomacy Intimidation Leadership
Notes:
Temporary Mod.s:
Relationships/Pastimes
Status
Notes:
Notes:
Dominions, Followers & Mounts:
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Proficiency Level
Increasing Interaction with NPCs and the Game World Imagine if a princess is dying, and you need to find a special herb to cure her. Whoops – none of your players have herbalist Knowledge, so suddenly either one of them has to learn it, or you have to find a Herbalist and bring him along for the ride! GM imagination is key to involve real-life problems in the adventure, but now Knowledges help to facilitate NPC interaction.
Not everyone is a good storyteller, and I suspect that is one of the reasons why a lot of games are combat based. Ironically – a lack of imagination causes the demise of game that depends on it. It’s so easy to say “hmm.. the players are bored, what should I give them to do? Oh I know – let’s throw in some Illithiad with XYZ doo-dad powers. Yes that should be exciting!”
Example 2: the characters are to assassinate an evil Vizier who has usurped the throne. The palace is heavily guarded but it is the Vizier’s birthday. Suggest to the players a birthday cake is probably on the menu and let them figure out the rest. Luckily the players do and they go to the baker who is making the cake. Bop! They knock the baker out as he is taking the cake out of the oven. Oops! The cake falls to the floor and is ruined! Who knows how to bake a cake (Cooking Knowledge)? No one! Better find someone who does then!
Another mistake in my opinion when GMs try to move away from combat, is to introduce some puzzle – as if the players were playing wheel of fortune or something! When was the last time you saw a movie/tv-show that involved the heroes solving some geometric puzzle on the wall? Puzzles, video game combat – what the heck happened to role-playing?
Example 3: the characters come across a mysterious black orb. Whilst desperately short of cash, one of the PCs who has the Entertainment talent decides to put on a show for some money. Whilst doing so a thief pickpockets the characters and the orb is stolen! The players catch the thief but in doing so the orb is dropped and smashed to bits. Inside is a piece of metal with a mysterious writing on it. Anyone know cryptology? No? Then better find someone who does! The examples above are situations that involve every day events and every day people. Without taking the time to detail Knowledges – how do you determine whether a character knows how to cook for example? An intelligence roll? If the player’s success and failure depends purely on characteristic rolls, then the NPC world needs never be engaged! There is no need for NPCs – they are just nuisances to unload ill-gotten gain upon, or to tell some tall tale before the adventure begins. They are the bad acting “extras” who get zapped when the Star Trek crew beams down onto a planet. Independence from the NPC world is precisely why NPCs never get engaged, and is precisely why players don’t get to really role-play. You know – play acting! Give players reason to interact, and they will. Give them no reason to – and they won’t!
The best way to counter a lack of imagination then is to read some good stories and borrow some ideas albeit with your own personal modifications. Great storytellers never made up their stories from scratch – but they borrowed from others and added their own flavour to the mix. Second – get it out of your head about more powers, more skills, more professions, more spells, more magic items ad nauseam. The best stories had very little of these things. The entire Lord of the Rings RPG is contained in a book smaller than the D&D 3rd edition Player’s handbook! Instead, a GM should be focused purely on a grand adventure that involves as little combat as possible. Instead, replace combat quantity with combat quality. Superlative helps to make combat more exciting by adding more options for players during combat. Move away from adding rules additions/supplements that emphasize solely on combat. If the players invest all their time into combat based skills and abilities – that will be all they want to do. Who doesn’t want to use what they invest in? Instead, emphasize rules additions in creating a framework for doing so much more that an entire fantasy world has to offer! Rule kingdoms! Run armies! Run shipping empires! Run a mine spanning through a mountain range! Run a spy network! These are worthy rules to spend your time developing!
My favourite Conan comic was “The Ring of Rhax” – probably because it was the only one I owned! But anyway, the story was fantastic. Guess what – there were almost no battles in the entire story until the very end! And yet – the story was engaging, exciting and fun as Conan fought against time to get rid of the ring. Imagine having an adventure like that in a typical RPG! Nope – a typical game probably plays as badly as the awful D&D movie - full of special effects, but no substance.
One last obstacle: the players themselves. I’ve played in campaigns where players (myself included) were clueless with how to interact in the game world. They know what spell out of hundreds to use against a specialized monster, but they don’t know who to look for or what questions to ask when they have a problem! Why is that? Are they this clueless in real life? Of course not. The reason is because they haven’t begun to treat the game world like real-life – there weren’t any rules for living in the game-world, so they’ve ignored it and treated it like a computer game – inflexible and 2-dimensional and totally limited by the limited program developed by the coders. Precisely what happens to most RPGs – stunted for lack of “real-life” game mechanics.
All it takes for a GM to develop a fantastic and exciting story is to move away from a combat emphasis game, and move toward one that is based on interaction with the game world and NPCs, where world events and NPC reactions mean life and death to the players. Players must role-play properly or the NPCs may sabotage them and perhaps cause their death! Imagine that if you will – an exciting story that doesn’t involve one iota of combat but based purely on the outcome of intelligent NPC interaction, just like a movie!
When re-introducing real-life back into your game, be patient because most players haven’t begun to get used to roleplaying. You might need to suggest that they look for a particular type of person, you might need to coach them a little on what to say. However – the more your game emphasizes on role-playing and less on a video game – the more your players will “get it”. Just like the movies – think “less special effects”, think “more story, character development and good dialog”.
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Make no mistake – I like a good exciting battle. But think: less quantity, more quality. Less combat, but have the fights of better quality. Superlative makes combat more real by modifying the combat system & implementing certain talents. None of the talents I’ve added were over-balanced – most of them involved sacrifices, giving players choice and variety in combat with consequences they had to weigh carefully. Battles were no longer just a serious of dice rolls until the end.
accountable to the organization with which he belongs, and the organization should always be giving feedback to the PC – just like a real life job. Remember – a professional like a Knight or Sorcerer is not unemployed! He or she is indeed accountable to his/her organization! Players should also know that non-compliance with their character’s organization could mean dismissal – which could have detrimental effects on rank advancement and so on.
Write a story, write a “movie”. Study what makes a good movie/book, and what made a bad one. Too much combat is a bad thing, too little character interaction is a bad thing – think “Streetfighter : the movie” as a case study of what not to do – silly fights after fight, and no story. Think “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy as a case-study of what to do: lots of story and character interaction, a few fights – maybe 1 or 2 major ones per episode but fights that were breathlessly exciting!
What about love? (If players are finding it hard to role-play falling in love, because they lack the imagination or inspiration, the GM may help by providing picture cards of fantasy artwork, or movie stars.) When you’re a kid, you make stupid jokes about sex and you’ll probably make dumb pick-up lines like “how’s it going babe?” when picking up a cute NPC girl. When you’re married, you’ll probably take courting more seriously - you’ll know what to say to make it work – you already know what to do. Kids won’t have a clue. That may also be the problem with interacting in the game world. Adults know how to pay taxes and how to fill out a claim form. Kids with few responsibilities have less knowledge of how to correctly interact with a game world playing an adult character.
A good way to start introducing meaningful NPC interaction is to start with each player character’s background. A player should be reasonably free to choose what kind of background his character has – but he should discuss this with the GM to ensure it is consistent with the game world. Once such a background is decided – the player no longer has any control over that background! He cannot simply declare something he made up like: “my boss has sent me on a grand quest to recover…” etc. In real-life, we do not decide what our bosses give for us to do, and neither should players decide what their bosses tell them to do! GMs should engage the player with the character’s background. The PC should always be
But honestly – that’s no excuse for rule-makers. Most RPG players I see are adults. There’s no reason why rules-makers should treat players like 12 year olds playing a video game. If you’ve made your game world real enough that your players realistically court an NPC girl for the purposes of marriage – you know you’ve just conducted a real role-playing game.
Play-Acting I encourage a play-acting based game, rather than a declaration based game. Role-playing, outside of RPGs, means to most people play-acting. Play-acting is more fun, and it allows people to “experience” what it’s like to live and interact in a fantasy world. If one were to simply rely on dice rolls to determine social interactions then one might as well play a computer game, which has an equal amount of social interaction! Declaration based gaming is where one declares what one does or say (for example: “I decide to try to bluff the guard”), rather than simply playing the role and speaking as if you were the character (eg. “I lie to the guard: ‘no, of course not – the lady is my sister and she hasn’t left my sight the whole day’”). A character may have knowledge or abilities that a player may not have, for example, knowledge of tactical warfare.
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Similarly a player may have knowledge or abilities that the character may not have. To integrate play-acting with a player’s abilities with the character’s abilities do the following: have the players play-act the scene, and ensure that they play-act consistently with both the situation and with the character’s personality and abilities; based on the player’s portrayal of the scene, assign an appropriate Difficulty Rating and then make the appropriate dice rolls based on Talent and so on. If the player’s portrayal is spot on, the GM may simply deem that no roll is necessary. Be flexible. This system allows poor actors a way to compensate due to their character’s high Talent in the area, and it also allows good actors and lateral thinkers the flexibility to solve a situation because the GM will assign a low DR to reflect the exemplary acting/thinking skills played out.
Role-Playing “Reality” I always hated when stories or games talked about a group of “adventurers” wandering around looking for fame and fortune. Since when does a diverse group of professionals get together to loot a dungeon? In good role-playing: purpose, ambience, plot, thrill and reason make for an excellent adventure. All the great Fantasy novels had these very elements. People didn’t just decide to get together, hack some monsters and loot some castles for the heck of it – they were guided by a purpose, which was tied to the character’s background. This is the real world, and if you don’t simulate this in your game, your game will feel like a video game. The term “adventurer” should be rarely used in the game world – characters are Knights, they are Sorcerers. They aren’t some generic playground “adventurer” with no background, no ties, no culture, no beliefs, no goals! Have you ever heard a Navy SEALS soldier say he was “off on another adventure”? He was on a “mission” not some “adventure”! The term “adventurer” should only be used in the “real-world” for rule descriptions. As soon as the game starts however – the term “adventurer” should rarely ever be used! NPCs refer to “adventurers” as warriors, mercenaries, looters, thieves, bounty hunters, monster-slayers, grave robbers, wizards or “strange-folk” depending on what the group looks like or what they think the group is doing, even though the group may comprise of different professions. NPCs won’t use the term “adventurers” – think about it: the strange group isn’t going out having an “adventure” – they are actually out to accomplish something! They are out doing their job. “Adventure” and “adventurers” imply “fun & excitement”, and the heroic deeds that characters do is anything but fun. Fun maybe for the player, but not fun for the character. Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings did not have fun risking his life over and over for the good of Middle Earth. “Adventure” also demeans the gravity and importance of the missions that these characters perform. Characters will not see their job as “an adventure”, they will see their task as “an important quest”, a “mission of the King” and so on. Just like in real life, characters will label themselves according to their vocation – their primary purpose in life. The only exception to this might be a thief/rogue character who is unlikely to label himself a thief – perhaps in those cases he might adopt the euphemistic “adventurer” label. For the most part, characters will be associated with an organization, and will label themselves according to the accepted labels of the organization, or will label themselves after the kind of work they do. When a host of caravans wishes to hire a warrior to protect them, they will be looking for a “warrior” – not an “adventurer”. When the king is looking for a “healer” – he will hire a “healer”, even though the healer may be a Physician, Sorcerer or Mystic who may all label themselves “healers” because of the work they do. Villagers looking for someone to help them retrieve a stolen object will ask the King (or representative) to send a Warrior or Knight – they will not likely ask a bunch of strangers in a tavern! If the villagers are desperate, they might be daring
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enough to ask some “decent-looking” warriors to help them – but again, ask yourself: what would they be looking for, & how do they perceive the PCs? Most likely they will be looking for characters who look like powerful warriors, & will likewise label them as “warriors”, “knights” or “monsterslayers”. Put yourself in the shoes of someone living at that time, & discard the typical video game paradigm of many RPGs. Unlike typical fantasy RPGs, the reason why “adventurers” do not really exist, is because for the most part – life was mundane. Societies for the most part tried to live in peace with each other. A farm-boy who wanted a life of “adventure” mostly went & joined the army or a sailing crew or apprenticed under a Sorcerer. If he wanted to wander around aimlessly, he wouldn’t get anywhere. This is consistent with most fantasy novels, which Superlative DW emulates. Whenever the main characters end up on a quest – the quest is usually rare, dangerous and of utmost importance. Quests usually resulted from world-changing events like wars, assassinations, & uprisings just like they did in our ancient history. Players should find themselves in exciting and awesome quests, but they should not find a whole bunch of “adventurers” running around doing the same type of quests – that reduces the special nature of the quests. Even if the characters are involved in “random adventures” there should be a reason for it: for example, they might be the crew of Ulysses seeking to map out an unknown region. Ensure that if someone were to write out the character’s life story, it doesn’t sound like some amateurish hodge-podge collection of nonsensical “adventures” strung together, but was instead an epic life story that had a clear direction and purpose. Even looting should be frowned upon in a quest, except for the more unscrupulous characters. When was the last time you saw Aragorn stop to loot some bodies for gold? No – there was a higher goal and purpose to their questing, not merely meaningless looting. When a diverse group of characters get together – there has to be a reason why they are together in the first place! Do they all live in the same kingdom? Are they from allied kingdoms? What happened to their every-day jobs, or are they doing it? Why would their bosses ask them to form such a group or do such a task? When you walk inside a bar, it should be a strange sight to see a Wizard, Fighter, Thief and Dwarf sitting down deciding how to loot the nearby dungeon! That’s just like a video game! No – strange folk should be just that – rare and strange and uncommon. What about mercenaries? Mercenaries often train together, they often don’t associate with other professions on the weekend – the wizard goes back to his master, the thief goes back to his guild etc. This is because they need to also further their training and knowledge. Mercenary relationships are often transitional – they associate with people who can help them get the job done – just like contractors in the real world. Sure it’s possible that they may call upon their old teammates for a new mission but their teammates have their own lives, their own priorities and schedules. Teammates are not going
to drop everything every time they’re called upon – try organizing a weekend outing where everyone turns up and you’ll understand what I mean. Take Conan the Barbarian for example. Before he was king, he was a mercenary and he sometimes had adventures with the same teammates, but the teammates were not mainstays – they were transitional and were called upon for only certain adventures. What would happen if the same teammates appeared in every episode? You guessed it – readers would be bored stiff. Why would it be any different in a game setting? So then, why are readers bored stiff when they aren’t bored with Seinfeld with the same characters in every episode? Could it be that in Seinfeld it made sense, but in Conan it doesn’t?
Player characters must also be accountable to an NPC character or group. Everyone in life is accountable to someone, and this must be duplicated in the game world. Characters aren’t simply wandering around for the heck of it. They have a specific purpose, goal and reason. Characters are brought together for a reason too – old teammates will be called upon, new teammates will be recommended for the mission. Characters are sent by someone or guided by a higher purpose, when they perform a mission. Characters don’t simply wander into a bar, overhear someone and decide to drop everything to pursue an adventure. Move away from random, nonsensical gaming which pays no attention to the “reality” of the world in which it is set. Hopefully it will become clear now what is the focus of the new rules of Superlative DW Expansion. The idea is to create a game that can simulate the entirety of a fantasy novel – not only exciting combat, but also complex relationships. This is beyond the scope of the creators of the original DW, who wanted to create a simple, easy to play system. But it is your choice how much of Superlative you may want to use. I wanted to expand DW to end up with a product that could account for anything that might normally happen in a fantasy story – I wanted a complete system for creating a fully breathing, living world.
So how do we reconcile this in a fantasy world? There are two ways – either create a background for the characters where it makes sense for them to stay together, or have the players create more than one PC (Player Character) and use them in a transitional way. For example, a Sorcerer character can be called upon for 1 or 2 adventures and then goes away and is absent for a time to research on dracology with his master until several adventures later when he becomes available to challenge a dark threat! When the world is real, you’ll see players play real and your games will become infinitely more enjoyable.
Our world is real because the people are unique and our interactions are real. To make the game world “real” – the NPCs must also become real and so too the interactions. Hopefully the Superlative DW rules helps to flesh out a fantasy world that feels real and is as full of imagination as the novels we enjoy.
Once a background for a character is created – players must stick to it. Behaviour must be consistent with the background. This is where XP bonuses come in. Now the Experience rules have been updated, players can no longer depend so much on combat to upgrade their rank. They are dependent more on the GM. As a GM, you should enforce good role-playing and character consistency. Reality in the game world starts with the GM, but player cooperation is mandatory.
Alex Yeoh
Appendix A: Rules Justification Rules justification is necessary because people (like me) don’t usually trust third-party rule sets unless they are confident that the rule maker put special thought into balance, purpose and playability. Armour: by far the biggest change to the basic DW mechanics, I found it absolutely necessary to overhaul it. Purpose: Armour does not help you to defend yourself – if anything it impedes you. Armour in real-life does however help protect your body from harm. Therefore it makes so much sense to separate armour from to-hit rolls (unlike the D&D system). However the ABR wasn’t a workable solution because of 2 instances: a Knight attacking someone in plate armour with a dagger had the same chance of wounding the other as a peasant striking someone in plate armour (1 in 20 – an automatic hit). The other situation is the person wearing leather armour – this person wears leather armour not in hopes of “bouncing off” an attack, which the
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ABR implies, but to hopefully reduce the results of an otherwise fatal blow. The armour absorption system is an easy system that helps solve both logical conundrums. Balance: Armour & damage rolls, as much as possible, are rolled with 1 dice. This has the wonderful effect of allowing all armour the chance to block even a powerful weapon (if damage roll is 1 for example), & all weapons the chance to bypass even the best armour (if the armour roll is 1 for example). Perfect!! Playability: Armour rolls and Damage rolls replace ABRs – very easy to implement. The Armour Table is quite intuitive, and old AF numbers can easily be switched to Damage Absorbed dice with a little practice. Shields: Shields were changed to reflect their true role in combat: helping in parrying (Defense). Purpose: Shields are extremely helpful in parrying attacks, and the game mechanics must reflect that.
Balance: the Defense roll is solved with a die roll. This avoids an arbitrary fixed modifier that may not reflect all that a particular shield is capable of. It is conceivable that most shields have a great effect on a person’s ability to parry, but not all the time. The random die roll helps to reflect that. Playability: a Defense roll is made, which replaces the old DW system which was a die roll also. Therefore nothing complicated is added. Awe Attack: I hate systems that allow super-heroes. True heroism is when a low ranked character beats a high rank character. Heroism is not when a super-powered high-ranking character beats up some goblin. To DW’s credit, its basic system is quite balanced – however, some little tweaks are necessary. The first is the Awe Attack, which I’m quite proud of. Purpose: the Awe Attack facilitates the one-hit kill that you read in stories and see in movies all the time. It also allows the low-ranked character to slay a high-ranked character, however unlikely but nevertheless possible. I also don’t believe such heroic acts should be left to random chance. A one-hit kill should be an intentional act, rather than accidental. Some systems allow one-hit kills, but they occur through blind luck, which I don’t believe is consistent with most fantasy stories where such acts were intentional. Balance: I spent a long time thinking of a system that is fair to everyone – fair for the attacker & fair for the defender. Some systems have the defender roll a Fortitude roll if he sustains 20 damage from a single hit, but such a system sets an arbitrary value which doesn’t always make sense. The “continuous Hit Rolls” system is the perfect solution. Not only does it facilitate armour (against a heavily armoured person, you’ll need more Hit Rolls if you’re trying an Awe Attack using a dagger) & factors in all the usual defenses a defender might have, but it also presents some risk to the user: if you fail an Hit Roll before the target’s Health is reduced to zero – the Awe Attack fails and the target takes no damage at all (counted as a miss), plus the Attacker has the usual half Defense penalty. The Awe Attack of course favours Ranged Combat. In “The Lord of the Rings” – the great Boromir is taken down by an arrow, in other movies the villain is taken by a dagger in the throat, and so on. The Awe Attack actually makes a lot of sense.
Finally, if a character has an excellent chance of succeeding with an Awe Attack against an enemy, he has an excellent chance of killing him anyway – the only thing that is gained is time. Playability: Facilitated using the simple Talent system, and uses the regular combat Mechanics. Combat: Generally combat dynamics (combat round rules and initiative) were modified heavily to facilitate real-life combat dynamics as much as possible. Emphasis is placed on the importance of hitting first, which is often the most important factor in real combat. Unlike the movies, sword fights were not a long series of sword clashing, instead sword fights were over very quickly and the first person to hit won. This is difficult to represent in the game, so the combat system was modified slightly to satisfy a happy medium between real-life and movie-style combat. Purpose: initiative, getting hit rules, reach & combat round declaration rules were all designed to help capture real-life combat dynamics & real-life feel of combat weapons. The original DW weapons cannot feel real unless it takes into account the weapon handling & how they fit into medieval culture. Big & heavy weapons were used in battle, smaller weapons were carried for civilian purposes. There had to be a significant feel between a heavy weapon versus a light weapon, besides damage. A heavy weapon did not return to guard very quickly after swinging, & this had to be represented somehow in the game. There had to be some tangible benefit to choosing a lighter weapon over a heavier one, & this is reflected in the Initiative & the Getting hit rules. Armour Att/Def mods were also changed so that there were tangible pros and cons with choosing the different armour. Before, there was no benefit wearing a lighter armour than what you could wear, but in Superlative rules – one now have to weigh the pros of increased armour versus increased maneuverability. Weapon Initiative, Att & Def mods apply based on a weapons weight. Generally heavy headed weapons were more brutish weapons that made it easy to smash through defenses but itself was hard to defend with, & was slow to handle (eg. mace, warhammer) Balance: respect to multiple melee opponents, enemies from behind & high-powered characters were carefully considered. Getting Hit penalties were not very high so as to drastically change the original DW game flow, but enough to make getting hit a significant factor. Also, heavy weapons had a Def penalty to account for speed of parrying difficulties. Playability: most of the extra complexity is facilitated through Initiative & Reach. The system is designed to be simple and easy to remember to increase speed of play. Weapon dynamics were also simulated through “brute vs finesse” weapon classifications & Att/Def mods – all allowing weapons to feel like their real-life counterparts.
Though technically it is possible for an untrained user to kill a high ranked character with a single dagger hit – the probability is so low that it is not worth making a rule about it. The GM should adjudicate for such cases. Otherwise only level 5 Weapon Masters can perform an Awe Attack – & luckily with the Talent system – anyone can possibly have it, a Sorcerer after all could be a master with a dagger – why not?
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Getting hit rules, a simple penalty system, & First Strike rules were implemented to represent the importance of hitting first. Weapons: Purpose: weapons were changed to give them a lifelike dynamic that was fairly historically accurate, within the confines of simple game mechanics. Balance: although technically not all weapons are equal, many hours were spent revising weapons over and over to ensure that a player would find reason to prefer each weapon for a particular purpose, tactic or situation. Playability: weapons were first defined using the basic mechanics of the game: initiative, Attack mod, Defense Mod, AF mod, Damage and Reach. Then they were classified into Brute, Semi-Brute and Finesse Weapons which influenced the degree in which Weapon Mastery benefited and also influenced the ability to execute Remises. Finally they were also classified under regular Melee weapons or Thrown weapons. All these factors were used to differentiate weapons and give them unique traits. Special Combat Techniques: Purpose: in order to facilitate an exciting story-based game, it is important that rules be as modular as possible. If a particular battle was merely a necessity but not integral or enhancing to the story, one shouldn’t be bogged down by overtly complicated combat rules. Therefore Special Combat Techniques are modular: if the player so chooses, he can ignore them and continue fighting the normal, simple DW way. However there may be times when using special combat tactics are necessary to survive in a particularly important battle, and Special Combat Techniques are designed to enhance the realism, dynamism and interactivity of combat. Combat needn’t be a “I roll, you roll” system, but it can be a matter of weighing the pros and cons of attempting different techniques to capitalize on a situation. Note that a Stinger Attack is a precise attack capitalizing on a user’s offensive skill, whereas an Aimed Attack is a more brutish & forceful attack. Aimed Attacks are made to cause a lot of damage & therefore it is more effective, but with greater cost. A Stinger Attack on the other hand allows a skilled user to trade-off excess attack skill to score more precise damaging hits – the effects are less but the trade-off is less, & possibly of no consequence to a user with high Attack anyway. Balance: all techniques had trade-offs. No one particular technique was so superior that it would be foolish not to use it all the time. There are no “super” moves. On the other hand, each technique had a trade-off & one had to make a choice that was most suitable for the situation. Playability: New rules capitalized on existing attributes & rules in a simple intuitive manner. Talents & Knowledges: Purpose: Talents help players individualize their characters and helps players develop characters to
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mirror as much as possible any character type in Fantasy literature. Simply creating a billion and one different professions is cumbersome & difficult to manage and play. The Talent system is the best solution for customization. Knowledges are designed to give meaning & value to NPCs & also helps facilitate players having meaningful interactions with NPCs. Heck – someone has to cook on a ship, & if you don’t know how then you’d better hire someone who does, otherwise the sailors are going to get really angry! See? If Knowledges were ignored, players would simply get on a ship & then get off the ship – boring, non-interactive and not roleplaying! Knowledges are carefully thought out such that players might find reason to want them, or find an NPC who had that knowledge. Not all vocations are knowledges – a burger flipper does not require any special course to study, nor would it be of any use for anyone to find someone with that “skill”! Distinguishing & labeling the different types of Knowledges is necessary for the GM to determine who knows what. Knowledge cannot simply be determined by Intelligence rolls. For one, it doesn’t make sense that a character knows the history of a certain country, just because he has high intelligence; for another, if intelligence rolls determined everything, there would be no use to consult NPCs! If NPCs are not consulted, the game world becomes fake! I have found a lot of other RPG systems combine Talents and Knowledges into “Feats” or “Skills”, & I don’t think this is a good system. For one – it is tied into a rank-based system, which precludes NPCs from having them; for another, one’s Intelligence determines how much Knowledge one can gain and if you combine Knowledges into Skills or Feats, a character could artificially become “smarter” as he increases in rank! Also, in Superlative DW the purposes of Talents & Knowledges are different, and the mechanics are different, so they are logically kept separate. Balance: high powered Talents require 2 Talent points to advance levels, & high powered Knowledges require a requisite Talent in a related area. Talent Points are quite hard to come by and players cannot use them all at the same time. A large variety of Talents and Knowledges are made available (& valuable enough for them to be useful to the players in the first place) such that you don’t end up seeing everyone having the same Talents. The Talent point allocation is quite limited, and characters are not likely to have many different Talents so they must choose wisely. Conan the Barbarian had some neat Talents, but he didn’t have all that many. Lastly, powerful Talents are balanced by penalties. Actually, Talents are very underpowered on purpose. You have to reach a high level for most Talents to be of significant benefit. This is to
allow the transition from regular DW rules to Superlative rules as smoothly as possible without great disruption and imbalance. Especially Weapon Mastery Talents have a great potential to imbalance the game, and therefore the benefits of Weapon Mastery are very minor as far as modifiers are concerned. Talents are designed to give depth and choice to the game, rather than make characters more powerful.
displayed for all to witness. Emotions are excellent guides for how players should role-play – if they fail a Composure roll – they react with anger and the game world reacts back!
You’ll notice that NPCs just take time to get Talents, whereas PC professions only get to spend Talent Points based on rank. Well what happens if an NPC decides to pick a PC profession? This is where adjudication is required. A knifethrower from a circus is likely to be a WeaponMaster:Dagger Level 5. Can a knife-thrower decide to become a Warrior? Of course! It is cheating that he got to spend 5 points whilst only at rank 1? No – why would it be? We assume that players get a character fresh at rank 1, with no background Talents (other than the starting 2) – the character has just come out of school so to speak. But if the GM decides that the character has some background that involves some Talents, he may do that also. It’s a game, so enjoy it! Playability: it’s arguable I suppose whether the Talent & Knowledge system makes the game more complicated. I don’t believe it does to a great degree. A Player Character sheet should contain a master list of base mods. Individual mods for weapon etc should be written beside the weapon etc. Everything related to the character should be written on the Character Sheet. Eg. initiative modifiers for casting high level spells should be written somewhere on the character sheet (maybe on the spell list sheet?). When the Character Sheet contains all the requisite information, you don’t need to reference tables any more. Having played games where Table referencing was a minute-by-minute occurrence let me tell you that the DW system even with Talents & Knowledges is a very easy & simple system to work with!! Emotion & Personality: Purpose: where Knowledges help facilitate NPC interaction, and Talents give players variety in game-play, Emotion and Personality gives characters 3 dimensions and further enhances the realism of NPC interaction (ie. actual roleplaying). I know of few other games that uses Emotions and Personalities, and I suspect this has to do with rules-makers allowing players to feel their way through their own characters themselves. However – if one can implement alignment which determines how a character acts – why not emotion? Emotion affects a character’s actions and other people’s reactions sometimes even more-so than alignment because alignment can be hidden whereas emotions are
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Sometimes it’s difficult for a player to truly gauge how his character feels – and it’s very difficult to determine the character’s overall feelings in any given situation without Emotion scores. And if you don’t role-play a character’s feelings right, are you really role-playing? Is an actor really acting if he fails to address the character’s feelings at the time? The reason why it is desirable to have Emotion constraints in role-playing is exactly the same reason why you have combat constraints. A wizard cannot fight like a warrior even if the player wants to role-play him that way! The combat stats of the character dictates that a wizard simply cannot fight like a warrior. We accept this constraint but some find it hard to accept emotional constraints, and some feel that emotions should be left willy-nilly for players to arbitrarily decide. In order to have effective engagement with the game world, and therefore the complete integration with any fantasy story – there must be Emotional constraints to guide players to playing a character correctly. Just like a wizard can’t fight like a warrior, so too an angry man can’t control his temper. It would be fantastic if the player role-plays an angry man correctly, but nevertheless there must be game mechanics governing how the game world reacts. Another example would be a character’s social class – defining a character’s social class is a good idea, and many games include these rules. Aren’t these also role-playing constraints? Don’t these rules also restrict a player’s role-playing choices? No! These rules and Emotion rules help define a character and then keep the character real in the game world. If a player wants to define his character’s Emotion, he can do it, so long as the scores are realistic – but after doing so, he must role-play the Emotions consistently. Sure this is a game, and games are meant to be fun – but every game has rules, and a role-playing game simulating life in a fantasy world should play consistently and realistically. Balance: chosen personalities all have their trade-offs. Playability: Emotions actually do not increase complexity of play – although it may lengthen NPC interaction. The mechanics instead facilitate player’s interaction with the game-world which is far more important than the added delays that may be incurred by extra die rolls. The mechanics are designed to be simple scores requiring virtually no table lookups.
Appendix B: Rules Examples This section contains some examples to clear up any confusion these rules might contain.
Mondial decides to move in and attack. Salren decides to move in and attack. Caspian decides to perform a ranged attack on Mondial.
Combat Example
Initiative rolls: Salren: rolls 4 + 15/2 (Reflexes) = 11 (2nd) Caspian: rolls 5 + 16/2 (Reflexes) –4 (Short Bow) = 9 Mondial: rolls 7 + 12/2 (Reflexes) +1 (Spear) = 14 (1st)
3 combatants: Salren: Attack 14, Defense 5, Strength 16, Reflexes 15, Sword, Medium Shield, Mail Armour. +1 Melee Damage (Strength), +2 Attack (Strength), +2 Defense (Strength, Reflexes), -2 Attack (Medium Shield) Caspian: Attack 13, Defense 4, Strength 12, Reflexes 16, Short Bow, Hardened Leather Armour, -1 Initiative (Short Bow), +2 Attack for ranged attacks (Reflexes) Mondial: Attack 14, Defense 5, Strength 17, Reflexes 12, Spear (two handed), Scale Armour, +1 Init (Spear)
Mondial’s Attack of 14 – Salren’s Defense of 5 (+2 for Strength and Reflexes, +3 for a Medium shield roll of 3) gives a 4 or less on a d20 for a successful hit. He does hit for a damage of 5 points. Salren has an AF 4 (Mail) which is reduced to AF3 effectiveness against a spear – he rolls a 3 on a d5, and therefore absorbs 3 damage so takes 2 damage. Salren must roll 6 (Strength Base Score) + 8 –2 (2 HP Damage) or less on a d20 or lose his action due to a First Strike. Salren rolls an 11 so keeps his turn. Salren’s Attack of 14 + 2 (Strength) –2 (Medium Shield) – Mondial’s Defense of 5 gives a 9 or less on a d20 for a successful hit. Salren misses. Caspian’s Attack 14 +2 (Reflexes) with modifiers: -2 (Mondial moved) = 12 or less on a d20 to hit Mondial.
Salren and Caspian are attacking Mondial. Caspian stands 10m away from Mondial, and Salren and Mondial stand 5m away from each other. 1st round
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Appendix C: Talent Choice & Profession Examples Since all of the professions have been modified, so will the average stats. Here are some summary tables for the
modified professions, based on the rank advancement changes in the New Professions chapter:
Average Stats for the Warrior Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
3 4 5 6 6 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 14 14 15
4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
13 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16
5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Average Stats for the Barbarian Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
3 4 5 6 6 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 13 14 14 15
5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
13 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16
5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Average Stats for the Sorcerer & Elementalist Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
5 5 6 6 6 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 11
8 9 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
13 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16
5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10
11 11 12 12 12 13 13 13 15 15 15 16 16 16 17 17
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31
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Notes +1 Base point in HP +1 Base Point in Def +1 Base Point in Att +1 Base Point in Mag Att +1 Base Point in Perc
Average Stats for the Mystic Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
6 7 7 8 8 9 9 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15
9 10 10 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17
6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 11
12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 19 19 20 20 21
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Average Stats for the Assassin Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 12 12 13 14 14 15 16 17
9 10 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 18 19 19 20 21
3 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 11 12 13 13 14
5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
18 19 20 21 21 22 23 23 24 25 25 26 26 27 28 28
8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 18
13 14 15 15 16 17 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 24 25
Average Stats for the Warlock Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
13 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16
5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
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Notes
+1 Base Point in HP
+1 Base Point in Def
+1 Base Point in Att
+1 Base Point in Perc
Average Stats for the Swashbuckler Rank Att
Def
HP
Mag Def Mag Att
Evasion
Ste
Perc
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 12 12 13 14 14 15 16 17
8 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 18 18 19 20
3 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 11 12 13 13 14
4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
15 16 17 18 18 19 20 20 21 22 22 23 23 24 25 25
5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 15
12 13 14 14 15 16 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 24
Talent Choices Characters are created assuming an average of the 5 characteristics of 12, which gives 30 Talent Points, +1 Talent Point per rank after rank 10. Typical Warrior Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Shield-Mastery Armour Training Wind Rider Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword Armour Training Wind Rider Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword Armour Training Wind Rider Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword WM: Long-Bow Armour Training Wind Rider Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword WM: Long-Bow WM: Halberd Armour Training Wind Rider Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword WM: Long-Bow WM: Halberd Armour Training Wind Rider Athletics Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword WM: Long-Bow WM: Halberd WM:2-handed-swd Armour Training Wind Rider Athletics Shield-Mastery WM: Arming Sword WM: Long-Bow
1 4 1 1 2 4 1 2 2 4 1 2 3 1 4 1 2 3 2 1 4 1 2 3 2 2 4 1 1 2 3 2 2 1 4 1 1 3 3 2
9
10
11
12
WM: Halberd 3 WM: 2-handed-swd 1 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 (free Expert Parry Taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 3 WM: Long-Bow 2 WM: Halberd 3 WM: 2-handed-swd 3 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 (free Weapon Skill Taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 4 WM: Long-Bow 2 WM: Halberd 3 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 1 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 Toughness 1 (free Sword Master taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 4 WM: Long-Bow 3 WM: Halberd 3 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 1 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 Toughness 2 Disarm 1 (free Disarm Techniques taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 5 WM: Long-Bow 4 WM: Halberd 3 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 1 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 Toughness 2
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13
14
15
16
Disarm 2 (free Master Bowman taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 5 WM: Long-Bow 4 WM: Halberd 5 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 1 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 Toughness 2 Disarm 2 Quick-Draw: Sword 1 (free Quick Draw taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 5 WM: Long-Bow 5 WM: Halberd 5 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 2 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 Toughness 2 Disarm 2 Quick-Draw: Sword 1 2 Weapon Fighting 1 (free Main Gauche taken) Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 5 WM: Long-Bow 4 WM: Halberd 5 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 3 Armour Training 4 Wind Rider 1 Athletics 2 Toughness 2 Disarm 2 Quick-Draw: Sword 1 2 Weapon Fighting 2 Shield-Mastery 3 WM: Arming Sword 5 WM: Long-Bow 4 WM: Halberd 5 WM: 2-handed-swd 4 WM: Dagger 3
WM: Halberd Armour Training Wind Rider Athletics Toughness Disarm Quick-Draw: Sword 2 Weapon Fighting Cleave
1 4 1 2 2 2 1 2 1
9
Typical Barbarian Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
WM: Battleaxe 1 WM: Spear 1 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 WM: Battleaxe 2 WM: Spear 2 MA: Grappling 1 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 (1 free level of MA: Grappling) WM: Battleaxe 3 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 2 MA: Grappling 1 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 WM: Battleaxe 3 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 3 WM: 2-hand Sword 1 MA: Grappling 1 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 WM: Battleaxe 4 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 3 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Grappling 1 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 (1 free level of WM, taken in 2hand swd) WM: Battleaxe 4 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 1 WM: Short Bow 2 MA: Grappling 2 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 (1 free level of MA: Grappling) WM: Battleaxe 4 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 3 MA: Grappling 2 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 3 MA: Grappling 2 Armour Training 1
10
11
12
13
14
Wind Rider 1 Trapper 1 (1 free level of Trapper) WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 4 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 MA: Grappling 2 Athletics 1 Trapper 1 WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 4 MA: Grappling 3 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Athletics 2 Trapper 1 WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 5 MA: Grappling 3 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Athletics 2 Trapper 2 WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 5 MA: Grappling 3 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2 Athletics 2 Trapper 2 Cleave 1 Tracking 1 (1 free level of Tracking) WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 5 MA: Grappling 3 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2 Athletics 2 Trapper 2 Cleave 2 Savage Onslaught 1 WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 5 MA: Grappling 3 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2
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15
16
Athletics 2 Trapper 2 Cleave 2 Savage Onslaught 2 Sneak 1 Spot 1 (1 free level of WM, taken in Dagger) WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 5 MA: Grappling 3 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2 Athletics 2 Trapper 2 Cleave 2 Savage Onslaught 2 Sneak 2 Spot 2 Agility 1 WM: Battleaxe 5 WM: Dagger 1 WM: Spear 4 WM: 2-hand Sword 2 WM: Short Bow 5 MA: Grappling 3 Armour Training 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2 Athletics 2 Trapper 3 Cleave 2 Savage Onslaught 2 Sneak 2 Spot 2 Agility 2 Res Disease/Poison 1 Concentration 2 (1 free level of Trapper)
Typical Sorcerer Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1 2 3 4
5
6
7
WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation
1 1 2 2 3 3 3 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 1
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Listen WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation Lightning Reflexes Body Reading
1 4 3 3 2 1 2 5 3 3 2 1 2 5 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 5 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1
16
WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff Concentration Prestidigitation Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation Lightning Reflexes Body Reading Acting
5 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 2
Typical Mystic Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
WM: Arming Sword 1 WM: Staff 1 WM: Arming Sword 2 WM: Staff 2 Psionics 1 (1 free level of Psionics) WM: Arming Sword 2 WM: Staff 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Striking 1 Psionics 1 WM: Arming Sword 2 WM: Staff 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Striking 2 Psionics 1 Agility 1 WM: Arming Sword 2 WM: Staff 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Striking 2 Psionics 1 Agility 1 Concentration 1 Athletics 1 WM: Arming Sword 2 WM: Staff 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Striking 2 Psionics 1 Agility 2 Concentration 1 Athletics 1 WM: Arming Sword 2 WM: Staff 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Striking 2 Psionics 1 Agility 2 Concentration 2 Athletics 2 WM: Arming Sword 3 WM: Staff 2 WM: Short Bow 1 MA: Striking 2 MA: Grappling 1 Psionics 1 Agility 2 Concentration 2 Athletics 2 WM: Arming Sword 3 WM: Staff 3 WM: Short Bow 1
116
10
11
12
13
14
15
MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics Animal Charmer Disarm WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics Animal Charmer Disarm Lightning Reflexes Fight Blind WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics Animal Charmer Disarm Lightning Reflexes Fight Blind Sherpa Ambidextrous WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility
2 2 1 2 2 2 4 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 5 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 5 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 5 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 5 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 5 3 2 2 2 1 2
16
Concentration Athletics Animal Charmer Disarm Lightning Reflexes Fight Blind Sherpa Ambidextrous Body Reading Arrow Cutting WM: Arming Sword WM: Staff WM: Short Bow MA: Striking MA: Grappling Psionics Agility Concentration Athletics Animal Charmer Disarm Lightning Reflexes Fight Blind Sherpa Ambidextrous Body Reading Arrow Cutting Spot Runemonition
2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 5 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
5
6
7
Typical Assassin Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1
2
3
4
WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1
8
9
10
Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics
117
2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 2 4 2 2 2 1 2 3 3 2 1 2 3 4 2 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 1 2 3 4 2 2 3 2 2 4 4 3 1 2 3 4 3 2 3 2 2 5 4 3 1 3 3 4
11
12
13
14
15
16
Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming WM: Arming Sword WM: Dagger WM: Short Bow Armour Training Agility
3 2 3 2 2 5 4 3 1 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 5 5 3 1 3 3 4 4 3 4 3 2 5 5 3 1 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 5 5 3 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 5 5 4 1 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 2 5 5 4 1 4
Disguise Mechanics Prestidigitation MA: Striking Meditation Tech Memorize Swimming Escapology
4 4 4 5 5 4 2 1
Typical Elementalist Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1 2 3 4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Armour Training Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword Concentration Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword Concentration Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide 1 Listen
2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 1 1 2 4 3 2 2 1 2 2 5 3 3 2 1 2 2 5 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 5 3 3 2 2
12
13
14
15
16
Savage Onslaught Escapology Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation Lightning Reflexes Body Reading Armour Training WM: Dagger WM: Arming Sword WM: Long Sword Concentration Hide Listen Savage Onslaught Escapology Backstab Intimidation Lightning Reflexes Body Reading Acting
2 2 2 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 2 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 5 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Typical Warlock Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1
2
Armour Training WM: Long Sword WM: Dagger Wind Rider Armour Training
118
4 1 1 1 4
10
WM: Long Sword 2 WM: Dagger 2 Wind Rider 1 Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 2 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 1 WM: Short Sword 1 Wind Rider 1 Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 3 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 2 WM: Short Sword 1 Wind Rider 1 Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 3 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 2 WM: Short Sword 2 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 3 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 3 WM: Short Sword 2 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 3 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 3 WM: Short Sword 2 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 3 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 3 WM: Short Sword 2 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Concentration 1 Athletics 1 (Unarmed Combat taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 4 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 4 WM: Short Sword 2 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Concentration 1 Athletics 1 Arrow Cutting 1 (Arrow Cutting taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 4
11
12
13
14
WM: Short Sword 2 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Concentration 1 Athletics 1 Arrow Cutting 1 Fight Blind 1 (Fight Blind taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 4 WM: Short Sword 2 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Concentration 1 Athletics 1 Arrow Cutting 1 Fight Blind 1 2 Weapon Combat 1 (Appraise Enemy taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 4 WM: Short Sword 2 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 1 Concentration 1 Athletics 2 Arrow Cutting 1 Fight Blind 1 2 Weapon Combat 2 (Minor Weapon Enchant taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 4 WM: Short Sword 3 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 2 Concentration 1 Athletics 2 Arrow Cutting 1 Fight Blind 1 2 Weapon Combat 2 (Minor Armour Enchant taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 5 WM: Short Sword 3 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 1 Ambidextrous 2 Concentration 1
15
16
Athletics 2 Arrow Cutting 1 Fight Blind 1 2 Weapon Combat 2 (Major Weapon Enchant taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 5 WM: Short Sword 3 MA: Striking 1 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2 Ambidextrous 2 Concentration 1 Athletics 2 Arrow Cutting 2 Fight Blind 1 2 Weapon Combat 2 (Major Armour Enchant taken) Armour Training 4 WM: Long Sword 5 WM: Dagger 2 WM: Long Bow 5 WM: Short Sword 3 MA: Striking 2 Shield Mastery 1 Wind Rider 1 Toughness 2 Ambidextrous 2 Concentration 1 Athletics 2 Arrow Cutting 3 Fight Blind 1 2 Weapon Combat 2
6
7
8
Typical Swashbuckler Talent Choices Rank Talents Level 1
2
3
4
5
WM: Arming Sword Armour Training Prestidigitation Mechanics WM: Arming Sword Armour Training Prestidigitation Mechanics Hide Sneak Spot WM: Arming Sword Armour Training Prestidigitation Mechanics Hide Sneak Spot WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger
119
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2
9
10
11
Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger
1 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 1 3 3 1 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 1 4 3 1 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 4 4 1 1 4 1 4 1 3 1 1 1 4 4 1 1 4 1 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 4 5
12
13
Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous Escapology WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous Escapology WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger
1 1 4 1 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 5 1 4 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 5
14
15
Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous Escapology WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous Escapology WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger
120
1 1 5 1 5 1 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 5 1 5 1 4 3 1 1 2 1 1 5 5
16
Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous Escapology WM: Arming Sword W M: Dagger Armour Training Sneak Prestidigitation Hide Mechanics Spot Agility Trapper Backstab Listen Acting Ambidextrous Escapology Body Reading
1 1 5 1 5 1 4 3 2 1 2 1 2 5 5 1 1 5 1 5 1 4 4 2 1 2 1 2 1
GM Quick Reference Screen Armour Table (Armour Roll) Melee Armour Type AF Damage Absorbed Defense-Mod None 0 0 (+1 for barb.) Padded Leath 1 1d3 Hard Leath 2 1d4 Scale♠ 3 1d5 –1 (–0 for fighters) Appendix D: GM Quick Reference Mail 4 1d6 –1 (–0 for Screen knights) Plate 5 1d8 –2 (–1 for knights) Full Plate♣ 6 1d10 –4 (–3 for knights) 7 1d12 8 2d6 9 1d6+1d8 10 2d8 11 1d8+1d10 12 1d20 Shields Small Medium Large Magic Attack Scale Mail Plate Full Plate
Wearing Helm Init. Mod Perc Mod Ste Mod
Other Mod
–1 (–0 for fighters) –1 (–0 for fighters) –2 (–1 for fighters) –2 (–1 for knights) –4 (–3 for knights)
–1 –1 –2 –2 –3 –5
–2 Evasion
♣ Full Plate is heavy armour, mostly worn for tourneys and jousts: no running/sprinting
Melee Attack-Mod –1 –2 –3
Mystic Penalty –1 –2 –3 –5
Sorcerer Penalty –1 –3 –5 –7
Rating☺ Dmg 1 1d2 3 1d6 3 1d6 3 1d6 3 1d6 3 1d6 4 1d8 4 1d8 4 1d8 / 1d10 4 1d6 / 1d8 4 1d8 4 1d8 / 1d10 4 1d8 / 1d10 4 1d8 / 1d10 5 1d10 5 1d10 5 1d10 6 1d12
Init Mod. +1 +1 +1 +1 –2
Warlock Pen. –1 –2 –4
Att Mod
Def. Mod. –4 ♣ –1 ◊
+1 +0 / +1 +1
+0 / +1 –2
–1 +0 / +1 +1
+1
–1
–2 / –1 –2 –4 / –3 –4 –4 –2 –3
–1 / +0 +1 +1
+0 / +1 –1 / +0 –2 / –1 –3 / –2
+2 +1
–4 –2
☺’Rating’ refers to original DW damage rating AF mod Reach Notes / : the value before the slash +1 0 is for 1 hand weapon use, the 2 Brute value after the double slash is 1 Finesse for 2 hand weapon use –1 2 Finesse * 2 handed weapon 3 Finesse ** see Magic In Combat –2 2 Brute ■ Small/Light weapon +1 4 Semi-Brute ◄ can Deform plate armour –1♪ 2 Semi-Brute ◊ Defense penalty against 3 Finesse longer reach weapons –1 5 Finesse ▲+1 to the AF mod against –1▲ 3 Finesse mail or plated armour unless –1▲ 4 Finesse these weapons are used to –1♪ 3 Finesse thrust (rather than cut). Thrusting is performed with – –2 3 Brute 1 Att penalty –2▲ 6 Semi-Brute ♪ AF bonus only against AF –1 4 Semi-Brute 3 or less (Scale armour or –1▲ 5 Finesse less) –1 3 Semi-Brute ♣ Def penalty applies if blocking a weapon. If wearing Metal Bracers, you can block weapons with only a –2 Def Penalty.
Creature Bite Claw Horn Club-type (eg. tail)
All Types…
+0 +1 +0 +0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1d3 1d4 1d6 1d8 1d10 1d12 2d6 1d6+1d8 2d8 1d8+1d10 1d20 2d10
♦Heavy Weapon Penalties 1 Handed Weapons Str 2 Hand Penalty 1 Hand Penalty 1-9 1 handed results –4 Att & Def 10+ No penalty No penalty
–1 –3 –4 –6 –10
♠ Banded (Samurai armour), Lamellar are all equivalent to Scale.
Melee Table Type Unarmed Cudgel Dagger■ Short Sword ■ Staff Warhammer◄ Flail Hand-Axe Katana Spear Sword, Arming Sword, Long♦ Scimitar♦ Mace♦◄ *Halberd♦ Morning Star♦◄ *2-Hand Swd♦ *Battleaxe♦
–1 –1 –1 –1 –2 –4
“Fighters” refer to Knights/Warriors, Barbarians & Warlocks
Defense Mod +1d2 +1d4 +1d6
1 3 5
Melee Attack-Mod
–2 ♣ –2 ♣ –2 ♣ –2 ♣
Old Monster ABR●
AF Mod
1d4 or worse 1d6 or 1d5 1d8 or 2d4 1d10 1d12 or 2d6 2d8 or 1d20
+1 none –1 –2 –3 –4
● refers to original DW ABR rating for monster attacks
2 Handed Weapons Str 2 Hand Penalty 1-9 –4 Att & Def 10-15 No penalty 16+ No Penalty
1 Hand Penalty Cannot use Cannot use –4 Att & Def, +1 AF mod, –1 Dmg rating
Initiative mods account for speed of recovery to guard after a swing. Note: there is a –1 Att penalty for using a weapon without at least 1 Weapon Mastery Talent level.
(those incurring penalties also tire twice as fast) There are two levels of impaired sight. Level 1: –2 Attack, –4 Defense Level 2: –4 Attack, –8 Defense.
For normal sight, level 1 is partial darkness, and level 2 is pitch black. For elfsight, half normal-sight penalties. For dark sight: level 1 is overcast daylight, level 2 is bright sunlight.
1121
For panoptical: no penalties. For gloomsight: level 1 is pitch black or bright light.
* 2 handed weapon ** see Magic In Combat ♠ apply Str modifier x 10% for modified range ♥ apply Str modifier x 20% for modified range Ranged Weapon Blowgun ■ Bow, Short* Bow, Long*♦ Crossbow Dagger ■ Hand-Axe Javelin/Spear Rock (decent sized)■ Sling ■ Warhammer Natural
♦ Heavy weapon. Must have Strength of 10 or more to use otherwise incur –4 Att penalty. ■ Small weapon ◄ AF mod of –2 at short range; –1 at med/long range
Init. Mod. –4 –4 –6 +1 if armed
Damage Roll Rating☺ 1d3 special 1d8 4 1d8 4 1d8 4 1d6 3 1d8 4 –1 1d8 4 1d4 2 –3 1d6 3 –1 1d6 3 +1 (except where it takes time to prepare)
Combatant Attack Type Ranged (pure ranged)
Initiative Modifier –2
AF mod –1 –1/–2◄ –1/–2◄ +1 –1 +1
☺Rating refers to original DW damage rating (see melee)
Attack Modifier –Target’s Defense
Ranged (+melee)*
Defense Modifier –4** ** for bows/crossbows, the Def penalty is only –2 if forego attacking that round & parry with the bow/crossbow instead
–Target’s Defense
Missile Circumstance ¼ body obstructed ● ½ body obstructed ● ¾ body obstructed ●
Attack Modifier –2 –4 –7
For each target size larger than shooter For each target size smaller than shooter
+2 –2
Target standing next to friend♀ Target crouching♂ Target is prone/lying down♂ Target is moving 5-20m/round Target moving: per increment of 20m/round faster:
–3 –3 –6 –2 –2 extra
Target at medium range Target at long range
–3 –7
Low light conditions (shadows, early evening) Low light conditions (night time, moon) Low light conditions (pitch black)
Spell Level Init Mod. 1-6 –3(–2 for Mystics) 7-10 –5(–4 for Mystics)
□ Note: Low light conditions apply for Normal Sight. For Different Sight: Gloomsight has ⅓ the penalties described for pitch black and –3 Attack for bright light; No penalties for half light. Panoptic: no penalty; Elfsight: half penalties; Darksight: no penalties for low light but –3 Attack or more for lighted conditions (–6 for bright sunlight)
Type Initiative Mod. Bola –2 Boomerang ♠ Chakram ♠ Net –2 (for 2 handed) Trident
Def Mod –1(–0 for Warlocks) –2(–1 for Warlocks)
Dmg Att Mod Range Reach 1d6 –2 0 1d6 –2 5/10/15
Wrestling General Mods +5 per size larger than opponent +4 if a quadruped +6 if a crawling beast (eg. giant snake) +3 for every pair of limbs more than opponent – 2 x AF of worn armour (exclude magic bonuses) +2 if won initiative over opponent Defending Mods –3 if biped, unarmed & only 1 free hand –5 if biped, unarmed & have no free hands available. +1 if armed & have one free hand available +6 if at the freed stage, & armed with Reach advantage +3 if at the freed stage and armed +3 if at the grabbed/taken-down stage, & armed ☻ +2 if at the freed stage, & holding a med/large shield –2 if at the grabbed/taken-down stage, & holding a shield –5 if at the submission stage, & holding a shield –1 to –5 if sight impaired
☻No bonus for long shafted weapons like spears, halberds,
2
Damage Rolls 0 1d6 1d6 0 1d6 / 1d8♣
Range (m) Attack Mod. DR Reach 10 / 20 / 30♦ –2 6 10 / 20 / 40♦ 10 / 20 / 50♥ 5 –2 5 5 / 15 / 25♦ 5
♦ apply Strength modifier x 10% for modified range ♥ apply Strength modifier x 20% for modified range
♣ 1d8 dmg vs immobilized target ♠ Small Weapon
Net Size Tiny (1’ x 1’) Small (up to 2’ x 2’) Med-Small (4’ x 4’) Medium (6’ x 6’) Med-Large (9’ x 9’) Large (12’ x 12’) Very Large (16’ x 16’) Huge (25’ x 25’)
Price (F) 4 4 5 10 15 20 25 40
Size small med-sm med med-large large very large gargantuan
Wrestling Mods –2 if only one hand free & Grabbing –4 if only one hand free & Taking Down –8 if only one hand free & bringing to Submission –2 to –7 if sight impaired
maces and morning stars
♀ if target is touching or grappling with another the attacker wishes to avoid hitting ♂ bonus only applies if target is a “tall” shaped creature (eg. bipeds), the bonus is 0 to – 3 if the creature is a “long” shaped creature (eg. quadrupeds, crawlers). If the shooter is standing over the target, obviously crouching/lying prone will be a useless maneuver, and the modifier won’t apply. •Alternatively – you can use the “Barrier Block” shield option to handle solid obstructions. For ‘soft obstructions’ such as forest cover that can be shot through, use half the modifier from the rules here.
–3 or more □ –6 or more □ –10 or more □
Spell Casting Combat Adjustments:
Shield Type Rating Horn 3 Chakram♠ 3
Range(m) 10/20/40 40/100/200 ♠ 50/150/275 ♠ 40/65/100 10/20/25♠ 7/15/25 ♠ 15/25/50 ♥ 10/15/30♠ 25/50/75 ♠ 5/10/15 ♠
Creature Size Tiny Small (up to 1’) Med-Small (1’ to 3’) Medium (3’ to 6’) Med-large (6’ to 10’) Large (10’ to 15’) Very large (15’ to 20’) Gargantuan (20’ to 30’)
Size Factor 1 2 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Reach 2 3 4 5 6 8 10
eg. Insect eg. bat eg. halfling eg. human eg. horse eg. elephant eg. giant eg. dragon
Melee Range 0.5m 1.5m 2.5m 3m 4m 5m 6m
Size-Factor 0.5 1 2 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Example bat halfling, dog human, elf, dwarf horse, rhinoceros elephant giant dragon
Reach Advantage lost
Swords& Daggers
Reach-Diff 1 2 3
Reach-Diff 2 3 4+
4+
Penalty –1 Att –1 Att/Def –1 Att/Def Damage rating reduced 1 AF mod increased 1 x2 penalties of Reach-Diff 3
122
Penalty –1 Att –1 Att & Def –1 Att & Def, no thrust AF bonus
Injuries
Defender Condition HP goes to ⅓ normal value or less HP goes to ⅓ normal value or less, & prone/supine* HP goes to 0 or less HP goes to 0 or less, & prone/supine*
Base Injury Number 3 6 6 12
Injury Severity: roll a d20 + Injury Rating: 1-8: Minor 9-16: Harmful 17+: Destructive
Injury Type Serious Serious Critical Critical
NLD Injury Severity: roll a d20 + Injury Rating: 1-11: Minor 12-18: Harmful 19+: Destructive
* –2 less for wrestling
Injury Rating (IR) = HP damage incurred, – (Target’s Toughness Talent Level / 2), + (Attacker’s Attacking Talent Lvl / 2) Injury Chance (IC) = Base Injury Number + Injury Rating Body Part Head/Neck Torso Legs Arms
IC modifier (Melee) –2 +2
IC Modifier (Missiles) –4 +2
IC Modifier (Wrestling) +2 +2
+2
Additional Circumstances Attacker stands lower* Attacker stands higher Body part involved in Target’s Attack ♠
Default Table Value 1-2 3-5 6-8 9-12 13-15 16-18 19-22 23-26 27-30 every 5 pts after
Serious Type Injuries: Minor Severity: Injured Leg, Injured Arm, Bleeding Torso (+1d2 damage), Stun (head) Harmful Severity: Sprained leg, Sprained Arm, Broken Rib (torso), Concussion (head) Destructive Severity: Broken Leg, Broken Arm, Internal Bleeding (torso), Coma (head) or Facial Injuries
IC Modifier +1 to injure legs, -1 to injure rest of body / size smaller +2 to injure head/neck, -2 to injure legs +4 to injure that body part for 1 round
Base Score Characteristic Modifier 1 –3 2 –2 3 –1 4 5 +1 6 +2 7 +3 8 +4 9 +5 +1 extra +1 extra
Char Value 1-2 3-5 6-8 9-12 13-15 16-18 19-22 23-24
Base Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Mod 1
+1 +2 +2
Monster Chars
Size
Characteristic Value
Typical Values
Strength
Small (eg. bat) Medium-Sm(eg. halfling) Medium Med. Large Large Very Large Gargantuan (eg. dragon)
HP + 1d2 – 1 HP + 1d4 – 2 HP + 1d6 – 3 HP + 1d6 – 3 HP + 1d8 – 4 HP + 1d10 – 5 HP + 1d12 – 6 Evasion x 3 + (1d4 - 2) 1-2 (1d2) 3-4 (1d2+2) 5-12 (1d8+4) 13-15 (1d3+12) 16-18 (1d3+15) 19-21 (1d3+18) 1-6 (1d6) 7-12 (1d6+6) 13-15 (1d3+12) 16-18 (1d3+15) 19-21 (1d3+18)
1-2 3-9 3-21, Mid: 10, Strong: 16+ 10-24, Mid: 16, Strong: 20+ 20-30, Mid: 25, Strong: 28+ 24-35, Mid: 31, Strong: 34+ 36-45, Mid: 41, Strong: 44+
Reflexes Intelligence
Looks
Animal Subhuman Average Smart Highly Intelligent Genius Outcast/Antisocial Regular Popular Charismatic Angelic
Riposte Opponent Miss Hit Roll by 4 points or less 5 – 9 points 10 – 14 points 15+ points
AIS Rules Init Count 23+ 20–22 17–19 14–16 11–13 8–10 5–7 2–4 –1 to 1 –2 or less
RU completed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Psychic Talent*:
1-2 1-6 2-12 2-16 3-18 3-22
Critical Type Injuries: Minor Severity: Sprained Leg, Sprained Arm, Broken Rib (torso), Concussion (head) Harmful Severity: Broken Leg, Broken Arm, Internal Bleeding (torso), Coma (head) or Facial Injuries Destructive Severity: Amputated Leg, Amputated Arm, Quadriplegia or Pierced Organ (torso), Paraplegia or Decapitation (head).
Mod 2 –3 –2 –1 +1 +2 +3 +3
Mod 3 –2 –1
+1 +2 +2
Strength: Mod 1: Melee Damage Mod 2: Melee Attack Mod 3: Melee Defense Reflexes: Mod 1: Ranged Damage Mod 2: Ranged Attack Melee Defense Mod 3: Melee Attack
Attackers’ SF Attackers Attackers Penalized 2+ larger 2 last attacker has –4 Att 1 larger 3 last attacker has –4 Att Same/1 smaller 6 last 2 attackers have –4 Att 2 smaller 10 last 3 attackers have –4 Att 3 smaller 20 last 6 attackers have –4 Att etc. (doubling each time)
(1d2) (1d6) (2d6) (2d8) (3d6) (2d8+d6)
*Psy Tal loosely based on Intelligence level
Riposte Att mod +1 +2 +3 +4
RUs spent on movement 1-3 RU walk 4-6 RU walk 7-10 RU walk 1-5 RU run 6-10 RU run 1-10 RU sprint
Attack/Defense Penalty None –3 / –1 –4 / –2 –4 / –2 –5 / –3 –6 / –4
3 123
Opportunity Declarations Movement: Running, Sprinting, Routing Combat: Wrestling, Awe attack, Ranged Combat (with non-melee weapon), Magic, load a crossbow Mounted Action: (Dis)Mounting, controlling a frightened mount, Other Action: Aiding injured friend, destroying an item, retrieving a stored item, lighting a torch
Talent 2 Weapon Combat♣ Acting Agility Ambidextrous Arrow Cutting♣ Armour Training♣ Athletics Animal Charmer ♣ Backstab♣ Body Reading♠ Cleave♣ Concentration♣ Diplomacy Disarm♣ Disguise♠ Entertainment Escapology♣ Fight Blind♣ Forgery Hide♠ Inner Harmony♣ Intimidation Investigation Lightning Reflexes♠ Listen♠ Magic♣ Martial Arts (MA) ♣ Mechanics Meditation Technique♣ Memorize♣ Pack Mule Prestidigitation♠ Psionics♣ Quick Draw♣ Resist Disease/Poison Runemonition ♣ Savage Onslaught♣ Scholar Sherpa Shield Mastery♣ Sneak♠ Spot♠ Swimming ♣ Tactics Toughness♣ Tracking♣ Trapper♣ Undead Turning♣ Weapon Mastery♣ Wind Rider
Related Attribute Reflexes Looks Reflexes Reflexes Defense Strength Strength Intelligence Attack Perception Strength Rank Looks Reflexes/Attack Stealth Reflexes Reflexes Attack/Defense Intelligence Stealth Emotions Aplomb Intelligence Defense Perception Int / Psy Talent Str / Ref Reflexes Psy Talent Intelligence Strength Stealth Psychic Talent Reflexes Strength Psy Talent Health Points Intelligence Reflexes Defense Stealth Perception Strength Intelligence Health Points Perception Stealth / Perc Rank Attack/Defense Reflexes
Action Sprinting Running 3 rounds Normal Combat Cleave attack Heavy Lifting Swimming 3 rounds♥ Normal Movement •
Endu Mod DR +1/rnd •
subtract DR
Knowledges Max Lvl
Level: Proficiency
1 2 3 4 5
1: Expert 1: Learned, 2: Expert 1: Beginner, 2: Learned, 3: Expert 1: Beginner, 2: Learned, 3: Senior, 4: Master 1: Begin., 2: Learned, 3: Senior, 4: Master, 5: Scion
Proficiency Unlearned (V.Complicated) Unlearned (Complex) Unlearned Beginner Learned Senior Expert Master Scion
Proficiency Level (PL) 1* 3* 6* 9 13 16 17 18 19
Anger Mods: +2 Str, -4 Lks, -2 Ref, -1 Int, -2 Psy.Tal Fear Mods: -2 Str, +2 Ref, -2 Lks, -1 Int, -1 Psy.Tal
Relationship Status No Loved Ones (alone) Fighting Conflict Neglect Normal Love Head over heals
Results (non cumulative) –3 Joy, –1 Aplomb, –2 Composure –2 Joy, –1 Aplomb, –2 Composure –1 Joy, –1 Composure –1 Joy +1 Joy +1 Joy, +1 Aplomb +2 Joy, +2 Aplomb, +1 Composure
Inebriation Level 1 2 3 4 5 per level after 5
Effects (non cumulative except for after level 5) +1 Aplomb –1 Reflexes, +1 Joy, +1 Aplomb, –1 Endurance –1 Reflexes, –1 Composure, +2 Joy, +2 Aplomb, –1 Endurance –2 Reflexes, –1 Composure, +3 Joy, +3 Aplomb, –1 Looks, –2 Endu –3 Reflexes, –2 Composure, +4 Joy, +4 Aplomb, –2 Looks, –2 Endu extra –1 Reflexes, –1 Composure, –1 Looks (in addition to level 5 mods)
Endu Reduction* 3 1 1 2 1 1 1
* Endurance is reduced this amount when an Endurance roll is failed • If character has the Swimming Talent Level 1 or more, he can rest by treading water, otherwise rest is not possible whilst swimming. • when the character moves a total distance of (6 – Encumbrance Level) x 500m, an Endurance roll is provoked. • for every round of sprinting, an increasing DR of +1 is applied.
Encumbrance 0 (carrying nothing) 0 to ⅓ EL ⅓ to EL EL to 2x EL
Level 1 2 3 4
2x EL to 4x EL
5
Over 4x EL
6
Love Modifier –6 –4 –2 +2 +5 +10
Adjustments* +2 Ste; +1 Ev –1 WR; 90% running speed, 75% Sprinting speed –1 Ev; –4 Ste; –4 WR; 75% run speed, 50% sprint speed, –4 Att; –4 Def; –4 Ev; –8 Ste; –4 Ref; –16 WR; ¾ walk, ½ run speed, cannot Sprint; tire twice as fast (x2 Endurance lost); No actions allowed except carrying & moving ⅔ walk speed; tire twice as fast (from 3x EL to 4x EL, movement speed reduced to ⅓ walk speed) Cannot move EU 0 ¼
Air Adventures MR Roll difference 1-5 higher 6-10 higher 11-15 higher 16 or more higher
♦ not applicable against those on the ground Bonus ♦ +1 Att, +1 Def +2 Att, +2 Def, +1 Evasion +4 Att, +4 Def, +2 Evasion +6 Att, +6 Def, +3 Evasion
MR spent* 0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8+
Modifers for Riders/Skyship-crew No Penalty –1 Att, –1 Def, 10% miscast spell –2 Att, –2 Def, 20% miscast spell –4 Att, –4 Def, 40% miscast spell –8 Att, –8 Def, 80% spell failure
*MR spent refers to MR loss in the preceding half round before reaching attack range Forward Speed Sacrificed* 0-30% 30-50% 50-60% 70-80% 80-90%
Climb/Dive Rating 1 2 3 4 5
Maneuver Rating Loss 0 -4 -8 -12 -16
½ ¾ 1
Other Notes +1 Damage to dive attacks +1d3 damage to dive attacks +1d6 damage to dive attacks Crash Dive only
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Knowledges Max. Level Animal Handler ♣ 1 Architect ♣ 3 Armourer ♣ 2 Artist 2 Astrologer ♠ 2 Blacksmith 2 Boatmaker ♣ 2 Business 2 Carpenter 2 Chemist ♠ 3 Cooking 1 Creature Lore ♣ 2 Cryptologist ♠ 2 Exotic Lore ♠ 2 Fabrics 2 Geologist ♠ 2 Herbalist ♠ 2 Historian ♣ 1 Instrument-Maker ♣ 2 Jeweler 2 Language 2 Leatherwork 2 Logistics ♠ 1 Machinist 2 Magic-User* ♠ 5 Manager 2 Mariner ♣ 2 Military Engineer ♠ 2 Mysticist* ♣ 5 Naturalist ♣ 2 Navigator 2 Pharmacist ♠ 2 Philosopher ♠ 3 Physician ♠ 3 Poisoner ♣ 3 Politician ♣ 3 Potter 1 Religion ♣ 1 Rune Lore* ♠ 5 Scientist ♠ 3 Sign language 1 Sky Pilot ♣ 3 Stonemason 2 Tailor 3 Taxidermy 1 Waxworker 1
1.5 2 3 4 5 7
Item Examples regular Backpack, regular clothing/shoes 2 flasks of oil, 2 potions, bag of 50 coins, boomerang, 10 rings/amulets/brooches etc. slingshot (10 shots), dagger, blowgun, scroll cylinder (up to 3 scrolls), Padded Leather Armour, Short Bow, lantern, torch, small shield, small/light weapon short sword, Hardened Leather Armour, Arming Sword, Spear, Staff, crossbow, whip, bola, quiver of arrows (20), case of quarrels (20), 10m of rope, bedroll, 1 week rations, waterskin (3 days), medium shield, Long Bow Heavy weapons, medium net, trap, large shield Scale Armour, 2 handed Sword Mail Armour, Halberd Plate Armour Heavy Chest Full Plate Armour
Change Control Version 1.1: Modified Talents for balance, added some new ones. Date: Sep 12 2004. Version 1.5: Added sections Roleplaying, Rules Justification, Character Sheets, new Talents. Sep 15 2004 Version 1.6: reformatted certain sections for appearance, revised Combat rules for balance, adjusted Character sheet to reflect combat adjustments, added cover page, added some new Talents, general explanation revisions. Version 1.7: some minor changes and I corrected some weird formatting errors. Some psionics Changes. Improved Knowledge guidelines. Sep 16 2004 Version 1.75: revised Rune table a little. Huge expansion of NPC/Game-world interaction guidelines. Sep 17 2004 Version 1.76: modified some ranged combat values, and some talents. Sep 20 2004 Version 1.77: added mounted combat rules, upgraded reach/size details, some combat details Modifications. Some talent changes. Sep 21 2004 Version 1.8: modified initiative rules to make the first strike more useful. Added Emotions and Personality. Sep 22 2004 Version 1.85: added guidelines for effectively using Emotions and Personality in the game. Sep 23 2004 Version 1.86: added guidelines for Leadership and Influence. Modified the Emotion rules to make more sense and to work better. Added the Difference Challenge roll clarifications. Sep 28 2004 Version 1.87: added new weapons/armour, and Advanced Magic rules Version 1.88: added encumbrance and alignment; updated combat and talents. Oct 4 2004. Version 1.89: massive update to combat; added combat round details, added wrestling. Oct 6 ‘04. Version 1.9: again, more revisions and rules clarifications, added the combat grid. I keep having to revise every single rules section over and over again to make sure everything plays smoothly, realistically and balanced. Shields were tweaked for more balance. Oct 8 ‘04 Version 1.91: expanded wrestling a little, added simple hit locations. Oct 9 2004 Version 2.0: changed armour and shield rules and simplified combat. Removed “Critical Rolls” from the weapons table to further simplify weapons. Shields now have a Defense bonus, rather than just being another part of armour. Also added Hit Location rules. Oct 11 ‘04 Version 2.01: updated and revised weapons tables, revised wrestling, revised traps, revised hit locations, included rules for torture and trauma. Oct 13 2004 Version 2.02: went through all the major rules sections again to revise rules, clarify rules and improve formatting. Oct 13 2004. Version 2.03: went through all the rules sections yet again, especially the newer sections with quite a few revisions, clarifications and improved formatting. Updated “Hit Locations”, Equipment List, Weapon Tables, Talents. Oct 14 2004. Version 2.04: improved NPC guidelines, increased the injury table, minor aesthetic improvements, improved guidelines. Oct 14 2004 Version 2.05: revised wrestling, martial arts: striking & weapon mastery rules. Revised Experience guidelines. 2004/10/16 Version 2.06: added the movement section; revised movement rules in the combat round, and moving with melee or ranged combat; revised movement overall; revised Agility and Athletics; revised Psionics; revised Awe Attack; added new rules for magic recovery; added rules for pain. Oct 18 2004 Version 2.1: massive formatting change for ease of reading; some revisions and corrections here and there; corrected the Assassin Track vs Tracking Talent;revised Backstab Talent. Oct 19 2004 Version 2.2: realized a major boo boo in the rules. I had remembered incorrectly the original rules for Difficulty Factor. In the original, if the Characteristic was equal to or greater than the DF, then no roll was made – but I thought that the DF was subtracted from the Characteristic, and a roll was always made! Therefore I have changed DF Challenge rules to “Difficulty Rating Challenges”. I think the original rules for Difficulty Factor were good and should remain, and the DR challenge rules also have a place in the game. Oct 21 2004 Version 2.25: changed the whole format again for ease of editing in future. Oct 21 2004 Version 2.30: added the artwork of Christophe Vacher and Daniel Wikart, with permission. Added the framework for the Shangoria Campaign world. Oct 25 2004. Version 2.31: Introduced the Math-lite system: modified the DR Challenge and Versus challenge rules to reduce the amount of mathematics required in these rolls. Revised Profession rank increase for balance. Modified Default Table to simplify calculations. Modified Talent/Knowledge Training times. Modified Encumbrance to reflect the real weight of historical swords. Improved Wrestling Rules. Reformatted pages for printing purposes. Oct 31 2004. Version 2.35: simplified alignment & sunder. Modified Death in a combat round to increase benefits of winning initiative. Modified weapons to better reflect real medieval combat issues. Introduced Aerial Combat. Introduced new artwork from Sng Sy Shyng. Dec 24 04 Version 2.37: Added weapon pics, added multiple melee opponent rules, added Getting Hit rules. Minor combat rules adjustments (weapons, unarmed vs armed for monsters). Added Katana/Scimitar. Added simplified shields & endurance rules. Added Concentration talent. Jan 03 2005 Version 2.38: Added Non-Lethal damage rules. Modified Unarmed combat rules and Martial arts talent to reflect Non-lethal rules. Updated Character sheet. Updated Injuries. Included Talent Choice examples in the Appendix to aid the GM. Modified Rank advancement for balance, modified DW Skill changes to align with Talents. Introduced Melee Movement rules. Added Weapon Mastery talent level 6. Revised Charging and Mounted Combat. Added rules for calculating fitness level. Modified Ranged Combat. Modified Awe Attack. Added GM Quick Reference Screen. Jan 10 2005 Version 2.39: Updated Equipment List. Removed Knife bracers and Retractable blade boots because it does not fit with the Shangoria world. Minor adjustments to Endurance, Emotions/Personality & Experience rules. Adjusted Armour Att/Def mods, and Armour Training Talent. Introduced new Reach rules to increase realism and removed the Initiative based Reach rules because they were too clumsy. Changed the Melee Table to take the Reach rules into account. * Removed stun from mace/warhammer – replaced it with “deform plate armour” to reflect the role of maces in historical medieval combat, stun will be facilitated through Injury rules. Added rules for Vows of Passion to increase the role of Emotions and create a more character driven game. Added rules for Advanced Initiative System. Revised Air Adventure air combat rules. Jan 23 2005 Version 2.40: Added Brute vs Finesse Weapons, Advanced Weapon Handling, tweaked combat rules. Modified damage tables and Vows of Passion to make combat more deadly -Vows of Passion help offset the deadliness of combat. Feb 8 2005 Version 2.41: Modified the definition of Aimed Attack, and introduced Strategic Interposes. Added Shock and Sneak Attacks. Modified Hit Locations. Added rules for Missing Missiles. Swords modified to implement the thrusting element. Feb 16 2005 Version 2.42: Many weapon tweaks. Added Remise Technique & Parry, revised Backstab. Added Riposte. Revised AIS rules and Initiative in Air Adventures. Renamed “Difference Roll” to “Face-Off Roll” and redesigned the mechanic to reduce the amount of different mechanics used. Added penalty for using weapons without Weapon Mastery. Feb 19 2005 Version 3.0 : Added Shangoria Atlas. May 7 2005.
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Abbreviations ##+: the number or more (eg. 9+ means 9 or more) ABR: Armour Bypass Roll (see original DW) AIS: Advanced Initiative System AR: Armour Roll Att: Attack Attr: Attribute Avg: average Barb: Barbarian Betw: between Char: Characteristic Def: Defense Diff: Difference DR: Difficulty Rating Dmg: damage DW: Dragon Warriors Endu: Endurance
Equiv: Equivalent EU: Encumbrance Unit Ev: Evasion Init: Initiative Int: Intelligence Kn: Knowledge Lvl: Level MA: Martial Arts Mag: Magic Max/Min: Maximum/Minimum Med: medium Mod: Modifier NA: Not Applicable NMA: Non-Movement Action Num: Number or “Number of” PC/NPC: Player Character/Non-player Char Pen: Penalty Per./Perc : Perception
Terminology Explanations
Notes:
Hit Roll Number: the number to roll or less, on a d20 to hit enemy Reaction Roll: any roll to determine success or failure of a reaction, made against a characteristic, Knowledge Proficiency Level, Emotion etc. Target: general label to define the target of an attack or directed effect Target Number: the number you have to roll or less, to succeed. User: general label for a character using or having a Talent or Knowledge; or a label for the user of an object or effect being described.
1)
2)
127
Psy Tal: Psychic Talent Pt/Pts: Point or Points Ref: Reflexes Rnd: Round RU: Round Unit RPG: Role-playing Game SF: Size Factor Stat: Statistic Ste: Stealth Str: Strength Tal: Talent TN: Target Number Val: Value Weap: Weapon WM: Weapon Mastery XP: Experience Points
where the original DW rules clash with Shangoria DW rules – use the Shangoria rules fractions round down unless otherwise specified
Index 0HP Collapse, 34 2 Weapon Combat Talent, 47 Abbreviations, 123 Acting Talent, 43 Advanced Initiative System (AIS), 14 Advanced Magic, 82 Developing a Player Created Spell, 82 Research, 82 Advanced Weapon Handling, 11 Adventure Time, 69 AF Modifier, 8 Agility Talent, 43 Aimed Attack, 10 Air Adventures Aerial Combat, 87 Altitude & Breathing, 87 Crash Dive, 86 Flying Stats, 89 How to handle the combat round, 87 Maneuvers, 86 Movement, 86 Weather, 88 Alignment, 71 Ambidextrous Talent, 47 Animal Charmer Talent, 44 Aplomb, 63 Armour, 5 Armour & Heat, 76 Armour Roll, 5 Armour Table, 5 Magic Penalties, 6 Natural Armour, 6 Piecemeal, 38 Shields, 5 Armour Damage, 25 Armour Training Talent, 47 Arrow Cutting Talent, 46 Athletics Talent, 44 Average Statistics Examples Assassin, 109 Barbarian, 108 Mystic, 109 Sorcerer & Elementalist, 108 Swashbuckler, 110 Warlock, 109 Warrior, 108 Awe Attack, 51 Reduced Awe Attack, 52 Backstab Talent, 47 Body Reading Talent, 46 Bola, 23 Brute Weapons, 51 Character Sheet, 98 Characteristic Modifiers, 17 Charge, 41 Charging, 10 Cleave Talent, 47 Cliffhanging, 33 Combat Grid, 92 Composure, 62 Concentration Talent, 47 Critical Hit, 8 Critical Roll, 8 Default Table, 17 Deforming Plate Armour, 9 Diplomacy Talent, 44 Disarm Talent, 47 Disguise Talent, 46 DR Challenges (Difficulty Rating), 42
Dramatic Grapple Maneuver, 32 Drunkenness, 68 Emotion Reduction Roll, 64 Emotion Rolls, 64 Emotions, 62 Emotions & Personality, 59 Encumbrance, 75 Endurance & Fatigue, 76 Entanglement, 24 Entertainment Talent, 44 Equipment Damage, 26 Equipment Price List, 29 Escapology Talent, 44 Experience, 77 Face-Off Challenge, 18 Face-Off Roll, 18 Falling Down, 41 Fight Blind Talent, 46 Finesse Weapons, 51 Fitness, 34 Forgery Talent, 44 Formation Tactics, 11 Free Time, 69 Friendship & Pets, 67 Getting Hit, 8 GM Quick Reference Screen, 117 Health, Wounds & Recovery, 34 Heaviness Level, 28 Height, 39 Hide Talent, 46 Hit Locations, 35 Hit Roll Number, 6, 123 Hop, 39 Increasing NPC Interaction, 100 Initiative, 12 Advanced Initiative System, 14 Injuries Disability Aids, 38 Healing, 37 Hit Locations, 35 Injury Chance, 36 Injury Rating, 36 Injury Severity, 36 Left-Handedness, 38 Inner Harmony Talent, 48 Interpose, 10 Intimidation Talent, 44 Investigation Talent, 45 Joy, 62 Jump, 39 Knowledges, 54 Knowledge Table, 55 Learning, 56 Unlearning, 57 Leadership & Influence, 72 Leadership Roll, 72 Leap, 39 Learning Skills and Spells, 77 Lightning Reflexes Talent, 46 Listen Talent, 46 Loved One, 67 Magic Casting Spells Blind, 21 Combat Adjustments, 21 Magic Restoration, 21 Magic Talent, 48 Martial Arts, 48 Mechanics Talent, 45 Meditation Technique Talent, 48
128
Melee & Weaponry, 7 Advanced Weapon Handling, 11 AF Modifier, 8 Aimed Attack, 10 Formation Tactics, 11 Impaired Sight, 9 Melee Range, 8 Melee Table, 7 Non Lethal Damage, 10 Shock, 9 Sneak Attack, 11 Strategic Interpose, 10 Melee Range, 8 Memorize Talent, 48 Missing Missiles, 20 Mithral and Hardened Steel, 26 Monsters Alignment, 71 Characteristics, 18 Emotion & Temperament, 71 Talents, 52 Mounts, 22 Fright, 23 Lance, 22 Trample / Swoop, 22 Using Magic, 23 Movement, 39 Moving in a Round, 13 Moving During Melee, 9, 40 Multiple Melee Opponents, 9 Nachraissen, 10 Net, 23 Non Lethal Damage (NLD), 10 Notes, 123 Opportunity Declarations, 13 Pack Mule Talent, 45 Pain, 70 Parry, 52 Pastimes, 66 Play Acting, 101 Prestidigitation Talent, 46 Professions Assassins, 79 Barbarians, 79 Mystics, 80 Sorcerers & Elementalists, 79 Subprofessions, 80 Swashbuckler, 79 Warlocks, 80 Warriors, 79 Proficiency Level, 54 Psionics Talent, 49 Pushing Someone off the Edge, 33 Quick Draw Talent, 49 Quick Take Down, 32 Ranged Combat, 19 Missing Missiles, 20 Moving whilst Shooting, 20 Obstruction, 20 Run & Gun, 20 Reach, 8 Reaction Roll, 123 Reduced Awe Attack, 52 Remise Technique, 52 Resist Disease/Poison Talent, 45 Riposte, 52 Role-Playing Reality, 102 Round, 12 RuneMaster, 90
Runemonition Talent, 45 Running, 39 Savage Onslaught Talent, 50 Scholar Talent, 45 Shangoria - The Campaign World, 94 Sherpa Talent, 45 Shield Mastery Talent, 50 Shields, 5 Shock, 9 Sneak Attack, 11 Sneak Talent, 46 Special Combat Techniques 2 Weapon Combat, 47 Aimed Attack, 10 Awe Attack, 51 Backstab, 47 Charging, 10 Cleave, 47 Disarm, 47 Parry, 52 Quick Draw, 49 Remise Techique, 52 Riposte, 52 Sneak Attack, 11 Stinger Attack, 51 Strategic Interpose, 10 Spell Expiry Rolls, 21 Spot Talent, 46 Sprinting, 9, 39
Stealth and Perception, 80 Strategic Interpose, 10 Sunder, 27 Item Damage, 28 Swapping Hands, 9 Swimming Talent, 45 Swoop, 23 Tactics Talent, 45 Talent Choice Examples Typical Assassin, 113 Typical Barbarian, 111 Typical Elementalist, 114 Typical Mystic, 112 Typical Sorcerer, 111 Typical Swashbuckler, 115 Typical Warlock, 114 Typical Warrior, 110 Talents, 42 Ineptitudes, 43 NPCs, 52 Original DW Skill Changes, 53 Talent List, 43 Unlearning, 53 Target, 123 Target Number, 123 Temperament & Personality, 61 Terminology Explanations, 123 The Combat Grid, 92 The Combat Round, 12
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Advanced Initiative System, 14 Death in the Round, 13 Declaration Order, 13 Throwing Weapons, 9 Torture, 69 Toughness Talent, 50 Trapper Talent, 50 Trauma, 69 Tussle, 31 Undead Turning, 51 User, 123 Versus Challenges, 43 Vocational Wages, 57 Vows of Passion, 66 Walking, 39 Weapon Damage, 25 Weapon Mastery, 51 Weapons Exotic, 25 Weapon Shields, 24 Weather, 88 Weight, 39 Whip, 24 Wind Rider Talent, 45 Wrestling, 31 Team Wrestling, 32 Wrestling Tools, 33 Zero HP Collapse, 34
