DragonQuestThe Fantasy Role Playing Game

SECOND EDITIONCREATED BY SIMULATIONS PUBLICATIONS, INCORPORATED

Eric GoldbergOVERALL GAME DESIGN and DEVELOPMENT

of CHARACTER GENERATION. SKILLS. and ADVENTURE SYSTEMS

Gerard C. KlugDESIGN and DEVELOPMENT of COMBAT SYSTEM.

EDITING and DEVELOPMENT of the SECOND EDITION

David James RitchieCO-DESIGN of MAGIC SYSTEM

and DEVELOPMENT of MAGIC and MONSTER SYSTEMS

Edward J. WoodsCO-DESIGN of MAGIC SYSTEM

Redmond A. SimonsenDESIGN of PHYSICAL SYSTEMS, GRAPHICS and ILLUSTRATIONS

Robert L RyerRULES EDITINGandTECHNICAL DE~ELOPMENT

Brad E, HesselPROJ ECT OVERSIGHT and EDITI NG

Peter Herzip and Nick KarpDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

Ed Beach and friends, Cindy Bitowf, John H. Butterfield, Rich Collins, Greg Costikyan, Larry D'Ambrosa,Darryl Esakof, Gary Gillette, Greg Gordon and friends, Stephen Gray, Tom Harmon, Tom Holsinger, Wes Ives,

Robert Kern, Drake Letchner, Chuck Moors, Eric Risted, Neil Rosen, Tom Stanford, Tony Stanford, Jeanie WeberGAME TESTING and ADVICE

Manfred E MilkuhnART PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Ted Koller, Michael Moors, Ken StecART PRODUCTION and TECHNICAL EDITING

Jim ShermanCOVER ILLUSTRATION

John GarciaINTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS

BANTAM BOOKSTORONTO · NEW YORK · LONDON · SYDNEY

A Bantam Book / September 1982

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE iiI. IntroductionThe First Book: Character Generation, Combat

II. How to Play the Game1. General Course of Events2. Requirements for Play

III. Game TermsIV. Character Generation

3. Description of Characteristics4. Effects of Characteristics5. Characteristic Generation6. Birthrights7. Aspects8. HeritageV. Combat9. Combat Terminology

10. Combat Equipment11. Preparation for Combat12. Combat Sequence13. Actions of Engaged Figures14. Actions of Non-Engaged Figures15. Action Choice Restrictions16. Attacking17. Resolving Attempted Attacks18. Damage19. The Effects of Damage20. Weapons21. Unarmed Combat22. Multi-Hex Monsters23. Mounted Combat24. Infection

The Second Book: MagicVI. Magic25. Definition of Magical Terms26. How Magic Works27. How to Cast Spells28. The Effects of Spells29. Restrictions on Magic30. Backfire from Spells and Rituals31. Counterspells and Resisting Spells32. Special Magical Preparations33. Incorporating Magic into Combat34. The Colleges of Magic35. Magic Conventions36. The College of Ensorcelments and Enchantments37. The College of Sorceries of the Mind38. The College of Illusions39. The College of Naming Incantations40. The College of Air Magics41. The College of Water Magics42. The College of Fire Magics43. The College of Earth Magics44. The College of Celestial Magics45. The College of Necromantic Conjurations46. The College of Black Magics47. The College of Greater Summonings

The Third Book: Skills, Monsters, AdventureVII. Skills48. Acquiring and Using Skills49. Special Skills: Spoken and Written Languages50. Alchemist51. Assassin52. Astrologer53. Beast Master

54. Courtesan55. Healer56. Mechanician57. Merchant58. Military Scientist59. Navigator60. Ranger61. Spy and Thief62. Troubador

VIII. Monsters63. Encountering Monsters and Non-Player Characters64. Reactions to Encounters65. How to Read the Monster Descriptions66. Common Land Mammals67. Avians68. Aquatics69. Lizards, Snakes, and Insects70. Giants, Fairies, and Earth Dwellers71. Fantastical Monsters72. Creatures of Night and Shadow73. Summonables74. Undead75. Dragons76. Riding AnimalsIX. Adventure77. Preparation for Adventure78. Game Conventions79. Organizing a Party80. The Adventure Sequence81. Monetary Matters82. Fatigue Loss and Recovery83. Adventure Actions84. Consequences85. Recuperation and Upkeep86. How Experience Is Gained87. How Experience Is Used

Adventure: The Camp of Alla-AkabarI. Introduction

II. How to Read the MapsIII. Briefing for the PlayersIV. Briefing for the GamesmasterV. The Desert

VI. Descriptions of Non-Player Characters1. Alla-Akabar2. Garn3. Alla's Mistress4. Delian5. Rory6. Talan7. The Bedouins8. The Slaves

VII. The Camp9. Background

10. Alla's Tent11. Garn's Tent12. The Treasure Tent13. The Bedouins' Tents14. Talan's Tent15. The Servants' Tents16. Outside Areas17. Random Encounters

VIII. AssassinationIX. Final Notes

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE iii

I. IntroductionThe genre of fantasy literature stems from the myths of our

fathers. The marvelous creatures and strange sorceries of legend arepart and parcel of that genre. Hardly anyone in the Western world hasnot been exposed to some element of fantasy, be it fairy tale, classicalmyth, or J.R.R. Tolkien's estimable Lord of the Rings. There are manyreasons for the widespread appeal of fantasy, the most compelling ofwhich is its uncomplicated nature. Good and evil are readilydistinguishable, and the hero invariably confronts the villain. It is alltoo easy to imagine oneself, clothed in exotic garb, wielding a magicalsword, vanquishing the sinister sorcerer. Small wonder, then, thatfantasy role-playing games, which allow a person to play the part ofthat hero, are so popular today.

What Is Role-Playing? When you were a child, you probably played spontaneous,

informal games in which you pretended to be a policeman, an indian, aparent, or a pirate. You imagined what these mysterious and powerfulpeople were capable of, and then you acted out scenes with yourfriends. There was no winner or loser everybody won by getting thethrill of pretending to be another person. These games of "make-believe" had no real rules, no structure, and no equipment. Theydepended solely upon the imagination of the players to keep themlively and interesting.

Much of the wonderful,-imaginative experience and free play ofthese childhood games can be found in their adult counterpart -role-playing games. A role-playing game is also one in which you pretendto be someone -but the "someone" is very detailed in abilities, physicaldescription, and nature. In fact, characters in role-playing games are asdetailed as the characters in a major novel. These characters inhabit aworld which is also very well described. In a fantasy role-playinggame, such as DragonQuest, the world is one of magic and monsters,quests and spells, and all the romantic color of an imaginary time andplace reminiscent of early medieval Europe.

Each active character in the game is played by a live player. Thereare many other characters and monsters, all of whom are operated bythe Gamesmaster. The Gamesmaster is a combination of referee,storyteller, and "Hand of Fate." He keeps the story unfolding by tellingthe players what is happening and judging the results of any actions theplayers take. He has a very free hand to interpret the situation as hesees fit within the guidelines of the rules. The Gamesmaster usuallyworks from a prepared story synopsis called an adventure. This is thesetting of the story and something of a general script outline for thecourse of the action. It also can contain maps and tables of informationon the area and its inhabitants. This adventure is a tool for theGamesmaster and is not directly used by the players, although theplayers will actually create the detail and action of the story by thedecisions they make as they participate in the adventure.

An Example of Role-playing In a role-playing session, the players (usually three to nine people)

sit around a table with the Gamesmaster at the head. Sometimes theadventure can be played through in one sitting but, more typically, theplayers will meet a number of times to finish the adventure. Adventurescan be strung together and players play the same character from gameto game in a roleplaying campaign. Their characters will grow ordiminish in strength, ability and wealth. Throughout the entireexperience, the Gamesmaster creates the world through which thecharacters travel, by interacting with and prompting the players. Here isa brief sample of a typical role-playing exchange:

Gamesmaster (GM): Your characters are seated around a table in a verydingy tavern, drinking mead, when a hooded figure enters, approaches thebar, and orders a tankard of ale.

John (character name: Delion): What does he look like? Can we see anydetails of his face?

GM: No, the hood covers his features. He appears to be avoiding eyecontact with anyone but the bartender.

Delion: I will go over to the bar, activating my magical talent ofSensitivity to Danger, and take the place next to him.

GM: He begins to move away from you.

Delion: I speak to him and say, "Sir, your robe appears to be torn. Hasyour journey been a hard one?"

GM (now acting the part of the Non-Player Character, Argotec): Heturns to you, his eyes glowing with an eerie amber light, and says: "Youngman, my travels are none of your business, and your inquisitiveness maycause you harm if you continue."

Delion: What is my talent telling me?

GM: This man (if he is a man) radiates danger.

Delion: I return to my table, joining my companions, while continuing towatch his movements.

GM: After drinking for about half an hour, he leaves.

Delion: My companions and I will follow him.

This very simple, edited version of an encounter in a tavern with aNon-Player Character may lead to an adventure which may place thecharacter's very life in danger. The chance to be bold and brave withoutany real world consequence is one of the fascinations of role-playing.

There is also the fun of assuming the role of a powerful oroutrageous character very different from your real-world self. Theexhilarating experience of the power of one's own imagination isterrifically entertaining and engrossing. Role-playing is a very socialexperience as well. People can use their role-playing identities tointeract with one another in ways that are usually impossible. You cancome to someone's rescue. You can sell them the key to their quest -oryou can sell them out! In particular, the Gamesmaster has the chance toinfluence the very fate of the other players -how often do you get to tella friend that he has found a fortune or been eaten by a dragon?

Role-Playing Subjects: Most role-playing games are fantasy-based such as Dragon-

Quest. These games deal with the world of magic, monsters andmayhem. Other role-playing games deal with science fiction, such asSPI's Universe. These games basically substitute the intricacies oftechnology and aliens for magic and monsters. A small number ofmilitary role-playing games, -such as SPI's Commando, -are alsoavailable. In fact, virtually any actionoriented subject lends itself torole-playing.

Whatever area of role-playing interests you, you can best getstarted by buying only the basic set of any role-playing system inwhich you are interested. This book, for instance, contains the completerules for DragonQuest. Nothing more is necessary for you to play ahigh level, full-fledged role-playing game (in roleplaying, the word"basic" should not be equated with "simple").

Once you are thoroughly familiar with the basic system, you willhave a wide choice of supplements, adventures, and accessories toexpand your role-playing enjoyment. A full line of such materials isavailable for DragonQuest, for instance, and new materials areconstantly published. See your local adventure games dealer for theseproducts. Ares Magazine, published by SPI, is another great source forDragonQuest (and Universe) adventures and supplementarymaterial, and a subscription to Ares will keep you up to date onhappenings throughout the hobby -as well as providing you with a newscience fiction or fantasy boardgame in every issue. Role-playinggaming is an exciting and involving hobby that is limited only by yourimagination.

Role-playing offers you the chance to participate in adventure andtake an active part in creating your own entertainment. In these times oflow-grade, thinblooded commercial TV stories, role-players such asyourself can engage in the energetic, mind-stimulating fun of realadventure.

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE iv

The DragonQuest System

Fantasy role playing, as a way to spend one's leisure time, hascome of age in the last five years. Since the days when a small group ofdevoted die-hards first uncovered an enjoyable fantasy role-playinggame, the idea has attracted an ever-growing body of people whosedivergent tastes demand innovative and original new works. Thus,enter DragonQuest.

Three general themes guided the design and development ofDragonQuest and make this game different and (we think) an im-provement on all other role-playing games. First, DragonQuest wasdesigned to impose as few artificial restrictions on the Gamesmaster(GM) as possible. For example, a character is not limited to a particulargroup of abilities (known in the genre as a "character class"). Acharacter class imposes certain arbitrary restrictions upon a character,forcing him or her into molds which have to fit, regardless of theinclination of the player. These classes came into being in other gamesas balancing tools, to make it just as advantageous to be a humanfighter as to be a dwarven priest. In order for a character in aDragonQuest world to have as much freedom of choice as possible,anyone can be anything. Of course, the player who tries to have asversatile a character as possible will be correspondingly handicappedwhen he tries to rise in power. The important effect of this theme is thatany character from the pages of fantasy literature can be re-created (ingame terms) without causing aberrations in the game system.

Second, almost all creatures and magics are drawn from sourcesexisting in myth, legend, or literature. We do not pretend that ourfantastic inventions can compete with those reaching across the gulf oftime to us, being the stuff of our heritage. Rather, we have attempted toimbue as much verisimilitude as we could, to allow those who playDragonQuest to live on a gaming table those worlds they have onlybeen able to vicariously experience before. The fantasy of northernEurope is prevalent in these rules, because it is the common referencepoint shared by most of the people who will play DragonQuest. Whena specific mythic creature or type of magic is reproduced, it is given allthe characteristics ascribed to it in legend. When discussing theimaginary, brief mentions were often thought to be sufficient; in suchcases, we try to explain as best we can. The few liberties taken were tofill the logical "holes." Norse legend and the Lesser Key of Solomon(to name but two examples) are not entirely compatible. We haveattempted to give the GM a solid base to which he may add his own orother cultures' legends and magics.

A third concept in mind during the design process was to maintainthe game's flexibility, and allow the GM and players to expand on theoriginal rules. The modular presentation of skills and magic collegesmakes the introduction of new ideas easy; adding a new skill or collegedoes not necessitate changing the original ones.

Rules and the GM A point that should be emphasized is that printed rules are a

framework for assuming the role of a person in a fantasy world, andcannot possibly cover every aspect of living. In every adventure,situations will arise in which the GM will be called upon to interpret oradd to the rules. This may seem to be an obvious statement to thosereaders who are veteran role players, but for those to whom this gameis a first experience, it is a concept not to be glossed over.

While the rules as written are playable, they may not suiteveryone's taste. Some may be too complex, and some may not becomplex enough (the desires of role players are many and varied). TheGM is empowered to change whatever he wishes (with the mutualconsent of his players) in order to make the game more enjoyable forall concerned. In order to make these decisions fairly, he must knowthe entire body of rules thoroughly and have a keen sense as to what isgood for his campaign. The first attribute can be easily attained; thesecond requires experience and an acute awareness of his players. The

GM must be fair and impartial at all times, and never lose sight ofthe fact that he is a referee. Within the framework of the rules, heobjectively determines the results of the players' actions. The playersact out their part as if their characters actually existed in the world theGM has created. The GM is a master story-teller, a weaver of taleswhich deal with those themes aforementioned: fairy tale, myth, andfantasy. This job may, at first glance, seem both mammoth andunattractive. It is, however, one of the most enjoyable gamingexperiences this author and many other individuals have ever found.While the players act out the parts of their characters, the GM gets toact out the parts of everyone else who inhabits his world -shopkeepers,evil wizards, dragons, and giants. Along with playing these parts, theGM is the referee of all the actions which occur; his impartiality isassured by the absence of a game persona directly identified with him.

A Note on Dice It is strongly recommended that the Gamesmaster and players

have an adequate supply of 20-sided dice, which are used to resolvenumerous game functions. These dice are readily available at adventuregame shops. If you have no 20-sided dice, a pack of common playingcards may be used. Extract and shuffle the Ace through 10 of both a redand a black suit and draw from these at random as required by thesituation you are resolving (see 2.6).

Introductory Adventure At the back of this book is an introductory adventure. It is

designed to be played with one or two players and a GM. This wasdone to aid the beginning GM in getting familiar with the rules andwith running an adventure; handling many players at once can be atrying experience for the best GM. Once the new GM has arranged toplay DragonQuest, he should read the adventure very carefully,especially the character sketches provided for the non-player characters(NPC's). These are intended as guides for the GM. He should play theparts of these NPC's as accurately as possible, remembering that theplayers, especially in this adventure, will need to interact extensivelywith those NPC's to successfully complete the adventure. When theadventure is over and the GM goes on to create his own NPC's, heshould use the sketches as guides. The level of characterization of thepeople who populate a GM's world is a good indication of the qualityof the overall campaign and that particular GM's preparation (or lackthereof).

The adventure also contains examples of Encounter Tablesdesigned for a special place and special NPC's. It is not necessary forthe GM to invent a different table of his own for every adventure, buthe should be wary to alter the probabilities to fit the scenario. The newGM should also examine the Camp Map. Since it is drawn at a scale of1 hex/5 feet, it facilitates transfer to the Tactical Display. This is aminor detail, but if overlooked, it can slow down the game. This typeof map, with a few pertinent details left off, may be shown to theplayers upon entering any similar situation.

The GM should guide the players through the adventure, stoppingwhenever there are rules questions or problems of any sort. Together,the players and the GM should discuss the problem and resolve it totheir mutual satisfaction. In this way, all concerned will learn the gameand their parts in it, and hopefully whet their appetites to continueplaying DragonQuest.

Please enjoy playing DragonQuest. We at SPI are confident it willbring you many hours of pleasure.

Gerry Klug Editor, Second Edition 10 August 1981

II.HOW TO PLAYTHE GAME

DragonQuest is a fantasy role-playinggame. In a role-playing game, a player is acharacter in another world. Unlike a con-ventional game, the players do not sit around aboard and move pieces. The players sit in asemi-circle about the gamesmaster, each withonly a sheet on which is recorded informationabout his character. The object of a role- playinggame is not for an individual player to win (infact, there is no winner), but to en- joy astimulating interchange between the players ascharacters and gamesmaster (GM).

The GM plots the background for anadventure, invents a segment of a fantasy world,and plays the part of every being notrepresented by another player. The game flowsas a result of give-and-take between thegamesmaster and the other players. The GMinforms the players of the situation in which thecharacters find themselves, the players tell himwhat their characters are doing, and the GM inturn tells the players what happens in responseto their characters' actions.

DragonQuest can be played in two ways.The first is as an individual session. If playedthis way, the players are taking char- acters forone play session only, and are try- ing tocomplete a mission of limited scope. Theplayers are not interested in a full-fledged role-playing game in this case. It will be sufficient tobe a team with a common goal just this once.However, DragonQuest is best played as acampaign. The game does not end at theconclusion of one of the players' get-togethers.A player role-plays the same character until thecharacter dies. During a campaign, a character'spersonality should be-come more and moreevident as he is granted a fief, gets married,declares blood-feuds, etc. A campaign continuesin-definitely, until the players either becomeseparated in the real world, die or (heavenforbid!) lose interest.

1. GENERAL COURSEOF EVENTS

The following is an informal sequencingof the order in which the gamesmaster shouldcause events to occur. What is written here isnot intended to supplant any of the rules in thefollowing Sections. A. PRE-ADVENTURE ACTIVITY The gamesmaster is responsible for preparingan adventure before he and the players game itout. 1. Adventure Rationale. The gamesmastermust decide what options he is going to pre-sent to the players. This can be done as a seriesof questions posed to himself: What are theplayers supposed to accomplish? Where arethey supposed to go? Who (or what) is theiradversary? How are they supposed to find outabout their mission? Is any particular non-player character (q.v.) interested in thismission? How much information should thegamesmaster tell the players?

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 2

2. Map Adventure Area. The gamesmastermust map (see 77.3) the land (or sea) area inwhich he expects the player characters to travel.This must include the area between thecharacters' current location and their des-tination, and should take in a sizeable portion ofthe surroundings. The GM must also plan theinterior of any structures which will figureprominently in the adventure. 3. Record Adversary Information. Thegamesmaster must prepare a listing for each ofthe beings who directly oppose or obstruct thecompletion of the player characters' mission.Additionally, he must prepare listings for a fewmiscellaneous encounters (q.v.), which can bepicked at random when the characters are due tomeet something other than their ultimate foe.Both of these listings are recorded as describedin rule 63. The gamesmaster will probably wishto append some notes to the descriptions of thecharacters' adversaries. 4. Record Update. The gamesmaster checksthat all Character Records are current and thatany new entries have been figured correctly, ifhe has not done so already. He writes any dataabout the characters that their players are notsupposed to know in his private campaignrecord. B. ADVENTURE ACTIVITY The players engage in some initial preparation,and then they play out the adventure with thegamesmaster. 5. Generate New Characters. Any playerwithout a character must generate a new one;any player with a character may generate a newone. There is no limit to the number ofcharacters an individual player may have;however, a player may never control more thanone character at a time. Someone who likesvariety might choose to rotate five or sixcharacters on consecutive adventures. Thegamesmaster should strictly limit the inter-action between two characters controlled by thesame player. 6. Organization of a Party. The playersmust choose a leader (q.v.). They must alsoinform the gamesmaster of which non-playercharacters they wish to accompany them onadventure; the gamesmaster, in turn, tells theplayers who is willing to accompany theircharacters. Any purchases for the upcomingadventure are made at this point. 7. Determine Any Contractual Arrange-ment. The players, representing their cha-racters, and the gamesmaster, representing anynon-player characters, haggle to decide how anybooty will be split. The standard Adventurers'Guild contract (see 79.4) is suggested. 8 through 11.Trek/Wait Stage, En-counter Stage, Chase Stage, TacticalStage. See rule 80. C. POST-ADVENTURE ACTIVITYThe players and the gamesmaster wrap up theadventure, and the players decide what to dowith their characters. 12. Experience Point Awards. Thegamesmaster awards the characters ExperiencePoints (see 86), depending on each player'sperformance during the adventure.

13. Appeals. A player who objected stren-uously to a decision of the gamesmaster has onelast chance to try and change the GM's mind.All decisions are final past this point. 14. Upkeep Level. The players inform thegamesmaster of how much their characters willspend on upkeep (see 85.3) per week, until thenext adventure begins or the character goesbroke. 15. Allocation of Time. Each player informsthe gamesmaster how his character will use thetime between adventures. This is especiallyimportant for increasing Rank (q.v.) andacquiring new abilities (q.v.). 16. Solo Adventures. If a player wishes hischaracter to undertake any action which requiresthe attention of the gamesmaster, he and the GMplay it out at the GM's convenience. 17. Experience Point Expenditures. If theplayer wishes to increase the Rank (q.v.) orvalue of an ability, skill or characteristic, hemust have sufficient Experience Points in hischaracter's Experience Point Bank (q.v.) andhave his character perform all prerequisitessuccessfully (see 87). He so informs the games-master, and a change is made on his CharacterRecord. 18. Calendar Update. The gamesmastermarks off the passage of game time on hiscalendar (see78.1).

This cycle is repeated indefinitely, as longas the campaign lasts.

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAY

The players must have certain equipmentand knowledge of the basics of the game beforethey can play DragonQuest. The gamesmasterrequires additional material and, of course, athorough familiarity with the rules.

[2.1] The DragonQuest rules areintended to guide the GM. not torestrict him.

The flavor of each and every role- playingcampaign is heavily influenced by the know-ledge (or lack thereof) and prejudices of the GMwho runs it, no matter what set of "rules" arebeing used. Some GM's emphasize combat intheir worlds, some magic, some monsters, somewilderness adventures, and some dungeonexpeditions. The rules of any game are simply acommon set of guides for both the players andthe GM so they may speak the same languageand have some base from which their ideas mayspring. GM's should feel free to add or deleteany of these rules with the understanding that hedoes so at his own risk in terms of play balanceand systems interfaceability.

[2.2] A Tactical Display is used inconjunction with the Combat rules(see, particularly, rule 11)

A Tactical Display is used to portray avariety of terrain and interior features that canaffect combat between characters, monstersand/or non-player characters. The Display isoverlaid with a hexagonal grid to regulate the

movement and positioning of the playingpieces. Each hexagon (hex) equals 5 feet ofterrain from side to side. [2.3] The figures occupying the display are either miniatures,cardboard counters, or othersuitable markers.

Most often, role players use metalminiatures (available from most reputablehobby stores these days) to represent theircharacter while he occupies the display. Ifthese are unavailable or undesirable, card-board counters (such as those used in war-games) are equally useful, if not as pictur-esque. In a pinch, such markers as chess piec-es, toy soldiers, or other small items (dice ofdifferent colors often work well) may be sub-stituted without affecting play. The GM willneed markers of some kind to representmonsters or NPC's which also occupy thedisplay. Doors, chairs, walls, trees, windows,fireplaces, chests, and other items ofimportance will also have to be rep- resented.A combination of small markers and lightlydrawn-in features will solve most of theseproblems. A note should be made of anyambiguous item or drawing. [2.4] Percentile dice will be neededby both the players and the GM.

At least one set of two twenty-sided diceare needed for play, and it is most desirable tohave three or four sets available at all times.The GM will need to have his own set withwhich to roll those checks he needs to keephidden from the prying eyes of players. With agroup of players numbering three or more, anycombat situation will have many die rollshappening in rapid succession, and play will begreatly slowed if each player has to reach ac-ross the table for the only available set of dice. [2.5] The players must providethemselves with somemiscellaneous play aids. 1. Each player must have a copy of theCharacter Record for each of his characters. Itis suggested that all numerical values berecorded in pencil, and the rest of the entries inpen. 2. The GM must have a copy of the Adven-ture Record. The players should fill this outbefore the adventure begins. 3. The GM should have a copy of theStrategic Map Hexgrid on which the area overwhich the characters are going to adventuremay be drawn. NOTE: The players are givenpermission to photocopy or reproduce in anyway any of the above for their private, non-commercial use. 4. The GM must have either graph paper orcopies of the Strategic Map Hexgrid if he is todraw any structure plans. 5. Each player must have some readily iden-tified marker to represent his character on theTactical Display. This marker must have anunambiguous front and back, for the purpose ofdetermining facing during combat.6. Scrap paper, pens and pencils will also beneeded.

CHARACTER GENERATION&COMBAT PAGE 3

[2.6] The abbreviation "D" stands for"die" or "dice."

A jargon for the number of dice rolled hasbeen established in the role-playing hob- by,and this jargon is used throughout the rules.When the players are told to roll "D10" or"1D10", this means one of them is to roll asingle twenty-sided die (since the die is onlymarked 1 through 0, this will yield a digitbetween 1 and 0). "2D10" would direct theplayers to roll two twenty-sided dice and sumthe results, etc. Note that when a dice code issuffixed with "D10", any result of "0" on a dieis treated as a "10". Example: Two rolls of "0"would equal 20 (twenty) when the players aredirected to roll 2D10.

"D100", "1D100" or "percentile dice"would direct a player to roll two twenty-sideddice of different colors, treating one as the firstdigit of a two-digit number, and the other as thesecond digit. Thus, if a player rolls a "3" on thefirst die and a "9" on the second die, the dice-roll would be "39". Note that a roll of "0" on thefirst die could not be interpreted without the useof the roll on the second die. If the roll on thesecond die is 1 through 9 (e.g., 07), the roll istreated as the appropriate number 1 through 9.However, if the roll on the second die is "0"giving a result of "00"), then the result is treatedas 100 (one hundred).

If a dice code is followed by a positive ornegative number (e.g., D10 + 3, 2D10-4), addor subtract the number as indicated to or fromthe dice-roll. Thus, 2D10-1 would direct theplayers to roll two ten-sided dice and subtractone from the sum of those rolls (to obtain theresult). Sometimes, an addition to or subtractionfrom a die or dice roll is referred to as amodifier. All modifiers affect a 1D10 die roll(thus, a "+4" modifier equals "D10+4"). Wheninstructed to roll a D5, the player should roll aD10 and halve the result, rounding fractions up. [2.7] The roll on a single or percentile die-roll may never be modified below 1.

Therefore, the result of 2D10 can never beless than 2, the result of 3DI0 never less than 3. [2.8] The gamesmaster is advised to keep some information,particularly dice-rolls, secret during adventure.

Suggestions are made throughout the rulesas to who should roll dice in a particularsituation, but the GM has the final authority inthis matter. Where the very act of rolling dicemay give the players more information than theGM wishes them to know, he should intersperserelevant dice-rolls with meaningless ones toconfuse them.

The GM should set up his workspace sothat the players cannot see his records or theresults of any die he rolls.

III.GAME TERMS

The terms unique to magic and combatare summarized in rules 9 and 25.

Ability: Any single talent which a character canperform. One spell or ritual is a single ability. Adventure: Whenever the player charactersorganize themselves into a party and seek tofulfill a mission, they are on adventure.Campaign: A series of adventures run by thesame gamesmaster, presumably with someduplication of players present on the separateadventures. Characteristic: A numerical value whichdescribes a facet of a character's physical oremotional make-up. See rule 3. Encounter: Any time the player charactersmeet a non-player character or monster not intheir party, it is termed an encounter.Experience Point: The basic unit of ex-change for improvement in abilities, skills orcharacteristics. Experience Points are earned atthe conclusion of an adventure for the playercharacter's performance during the adventure. Acharacter keeps Experience Points in hisExperience Point Bank (on the CharacterRecord) until he uses them for gain in any Skill,Spell, Weapon, etc. Gamesmaster: The referee, or moderator, ofthe game. Game Time: The speed at which time passesin the alternate world, relative to the time in thereal world (see 78.1). Leader: The player nominated to be thespeaker for the party. Several privileges areaccorded to his character for the extra book-keeping responsibility he assumes. See rule79.1. Mission: The goal the characters wish toachieve to conclude their adventure. Alter-nately, what must be accomplished to completethat goal. Monster: Any being of a race from which aplayer character cannot come is termed amonster. Non-Player Character: Any being of a racefrom which a player character could come (andwhich is controlled by the GM) is a non- playercharacter(NPC, for short). Rank: A numerical expression for character's(or monster's) aptitude in a skill or ability. Thegreater the Rank, the better the character (ormonster) is at the ability or skill in question. Party: The player characters and the accom-panying non-player characters on an adventureare collectively known as the party. Player Character: The analogue for a playerin the alternate world. The amalgam of playerand character (i.e., when an action is simul-taneously taking place in both worlds) is alsoreferred to as the player character. Session: The time during which the games-master and all players partaking in a givenadventure spend together is known as onesession. Skill: A skill is a collection of interrelatedabilities which are almost always learnedtogether. See Section VII. Success Percentage: When a character hasa chance of doing a particular task properly, thedice range in which he succeeds at the task istermed the success percentage.

IV.CHARACTERGENERATION

A player assumes the role of a character.The player develops the personality of hischaracter during adventures: the character'sneeds, foibles, and ethos are revealed throughinteraction with the other players' characters andthe creatures represented by the GM. Themanner in which the character's personalitydevelops will undoubtedly be affected by thatcharacter's characteristics. A characteristic is ameasure of a facet of the character's physical ormental make-up which the player does notinvent.

Every human character begins play at theage of 18 years (if the gamesmaster's worldrevolves around its sun during a period of timenot equal to 365 days, he should convert fromearth years to his own). A non-human characterbegins play at a corresponding age for his race.At that age, the character's body has maturedenough so that age will not alter his char-acteristics. The character does have some of hislife already behind him; the memories of thosetimes must be supplied by the player, but any

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION PAGE4

monies and experience accumulated are thecharacter's to expend.

A player must keep track of the statisticaldata (e.g., characteristics) concerning hischaracter. A model Character Record, on whichall pertinent information may be recorded, isprovided within this rulebook. The gamesmastermay choose to use a different recording form, ormodify the one provided to suit his tastes.Whichever the case, the gamesmaster must beprovided with a complete and current characterrecord for each player's character. Thegamesmaster can then verify the information oneach record, or make corrections wherenecessary. Each player should also have a copyof his own character's record, though as playgoes on, the two records will differ (thegamesmaster will, in all probability, notesomething about a character that he does notwant the player to know, such as a curse).

3. DESCRIPTIONOF CHARACTERISIICS

The player must generate and/or assignvalues to each of his character's first eightcharacteristics, listed in 3.1 through 3.8. Thegamesmaster may also choose to introduceoptional characteristics, including Physical

Beauty (described herein), Height, Weight, SexDrive, and anything else that comes to mind.The proliferation of such indices, whileproviding a player with a clearer picture of hischaracter, will require extra book keeping.

The first six characteristics are the primarycharacteristics. Primary characteristics may beincreased temporarily by magic or permanentlyby the expenditure of experience, and may bedecreased temporarily by magic or permanentlyby injury to the character. All othercharacteristics, whether or not optional, aresecondary characteristics. The manner in whicha secondary characteristic may be changed willbe covered in the appropriate rule. A"temporary" change indicates an increase ordecrease of limited duration to the value of acharacteristic; a "permanent" change indicatesan increase or decrease of indefinite duration tothe value of a characteristic. Adventurers in aworld of magic can expect to be in a state offlux for most of the time.

Generally, a high characteristic value in-dicates a character's ability to perform a certaintask well, while a low value indicates a relativelack of such ability. A characteristic's effect Isalmost always translated into numerical termsfor the purposes of resolving action during play.

Though characteristics are relatively fixed,a player retains total freedom of choice for his

character. When a player shapes the personalityof his character, he will probably wish toaccount for some of the character's moreextreme characteristics. For instance, if a cha-racter with an extremely low Physical Strengthvalue decided to specialize in magic, he mightcompensate for an inferiority complex de-veloped during adolescence (due to constantbullying) by choosing spells of destruction. Thespells would, of course, allow that character tostand off the would-be Conans of his world. Acharacter with a high value in Agility mightindulge in frivolous sports, because of hisnatural talent in such activities. Remember, thegreater the care taken when characterizing, themore "real" that character becomes. The playershould strive for consistency in developingfacets of his character's emotional make-up. [3.1] Physical Strength is a measure of a character's muscle co-ordination and strength.

The Physical Strength characteristicrepresents the brute force a character can exertfrom the thews of his arms, the thrusting powerof his leg muscles, and his lift and weight cap-acity (using leg, back, and stomach muscles). [3.2] Manual Dexterity is a measure of a character's digital control.

The Manual Dexterity characteristicrepresents the character's hand-to-eye co-ordination, the speed at which he may per- forma complex task with his hands, and his ability tomanipulate his hands. [3.3] Agility is a measure of a character's ability to maneuver his body and the speed at which he moves.

The Agility characteristic represents thecharacter's litheness of body, the speed at whichhe may run, and his ability to dodge with orcontort his body. [3.4] Endurance is a measure of thepunishment a character's body canabsorb before he becomes un-conscious, sustains mortalwounds, or dies.

The Endurance characteristic represents thecharacter's capacity to sustain wounds, hisresistance to disease and infection and his rateof recovery from same, and directly affects hisability to overexert himself. [3.5] Magic Aptitude is a measureof a character's ability to harnessand direct magical energies.

The Magic Aptitude characteristicrepresents the character's control over the nowof mana (the stuff of magic) from anotherdimension, and his ability to remember arcanerituals and information.

[3.6] Willpower is a measure of acharacter's control of his mind andbody especially in stress situations.The Willpower characteristic represents acharacter's ability to resist the imposition ofanother's will upon his own, and the degree towhich his will can be used to counter hisinstincts (when, for instance, he might be

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT: PAGE 5

attempting an action which may be suicidal).[3.7] Fatigue is a measure of thelength of time that a character can sustain activities requiring a great deal of physical or mental exertion.

The Fatigue characteristic represents thenumber of potentially serious wounds thecharacter can turn into minor cuts and bruisesby adroit or random maneuvering in combat, themental energy he can use to cast spells, and thedegree to which he may exert himself beforebecoming exhausted.

Fatigue value may be increased per-manently, by the expenditure of ExperiencePoints, and temporarily, by magic. [3.8] Perception is a measure of a character's intuition developed as a result of his experience.

The Perception characteristic represents thecharacter's ability to note peculiarities in a givensituation (e.g., recognize an ambush), his abilityto deduce a people's habits or customs fromscant information, and his ability to gauge thefighting skill of another person or monster. Perception value may be increased or de-creased temporarily, as a result of a character'sperformance during an expedition, and may beincreased permanently, through the expenditureof experience. Magic, drugs, and the character'scondition may cause a temporary increase ordecrease in the Perception value. [3.9] Physical Beauty is a measureof a character's exterior attrac-tivenes (or repulsiveness), asperceived by a member of ahumanoid race.

Physical Beauty is an optional char-acteristic representing a character's appearancecompared to the aesthetic standards of hissociety and race. A character with a highPhysical Beauty value will be a pleasing sight toa member of any of the races described inSection VI, though reactions will vary by race(for example, a female halfling would find amale halfling with a Physical Beauty of 23sexually stimulating, while a female humanwould think that the same halfling is extremelycute). Physical Beauty is in no way a reflectionof a character's personality; a member of theopposite sex might be smitten by a characterwith a high Physical Beauty value, but thesmitten character's subsequent reactions wouldprobably be governed by the beautifulcharacter's personality.

The Physical Beauty values for monstersdescribe how that monster appears to a cha-racter, and not to another monster of the samerace. This distinction is made because there is agreater incidence of character-to- monster thanmonster-to-monster interaction, from theperspective of the players. Physical Beauty maybe increased or decreased temporarily by magic,and decreased permanently by disfigurement.

4. EFFECTSOF CHARACTERISTICS

The characteristics do not cover every facetof a character's performance on an adventure.

The gamesmaster relies upon characteristicsonly when a player attempts a physical ormagical action for which character-gamesmasterinteraction will no longer help decide theoutcome. If the character must exercise his in-telligence or wisdom (to name a few facets ofhis personality not included in characteristics),the player must provide the action or conversa-tion for his character. [4.1] If a character attempts afeasible task not specifically ex-plained in a rule, the gamesmasterderives a percentage chance of thecharacter succeeding.

When a player declares that his characterwill attempt a task which the GM acknowledgesas dependent upon a particular characteristic,the gamesmaster assigns the task a difficultyfactor. This difficulty factor will be a numberfrom one-half through 5. The greater thedifficulty factor value, the easier a task will beto perform.

The gamesmaster multiplies the difficultyfactor by the appropriate characteristic, arrivingat the percentage chance of the character per-forming the task. He then rolls D100, and if theroll is less than the percentage, the character hassuccessfully performed the task. If the roll isequal to that percentage, the character willsucceed if immediately aided by anothercharacter (if applicable). If the roll is greaterthan the percentage, but not greater than thepercentage plus the relevant characteristic, thecharacter has failed without injury to himself (ifinjury is at all avoidable). If the roll is greaterthan the percentage plus the relevantcharacteristic, then the character has failed andmay have injured himself. The gamesmastermay wish to determine the extent of the injuryby how much the roll exceeds the percentageplus the characteristic.

When one character aids another (becausethe D100 roll was equal to the latter'scharacteristic times the difficulty factor), theaiding character's value in the relevant cha-racteristic must be at least 15 or equal to orgreater than the aided character's value.

Example: Rolf the Barbarian informs thegamesmaster that he wishes to burst open asolid-looking oaken door which has tem-porarily stymied the party. He proposes to usehis trusty great axe to batter the door down. TheGM, who knows that the door is buttressed byan iron bolt on the reverse side, assigns it adifficulty factor of 2.5. Rolf's Physical Strengthis 20, so if the GM rolls a 49 or less(2.5 x 20 =50), the door bursts asunder (and any traps willprobably be set off). If the roll is 50, the doorwill be held by the iron bolt, unless Rolf's goodfriend, Tedric Ironthews (with Physical Strengthof 18), takes his mallet to the door. If the roll isfrom 51 to 70([2.5 x 20] + 20 = 70), the doorwithstands Rolf's assault. If the roll is 71 orgreater, results will vary from the great axebeing damaged or broken to Rolf receiving ajarring shock (he hit the iron bolt directly) toRolf suffering Damage Points as oak splinterspenetrate his armor. The result depends on theGM's discretion and how

The chance of failure is always equal to atleast 30 minus the relevant characteristic, and aroll of 100 always causes failure. If, forinstance, the applicable value is 23, then a rollof 94 or greater (30 - 23 = 7; there is a 7%chance of a number from 94 to 100 beinggenerated) will cause the character to fail at histask, regardless of what the percentage chanceof success may be. The following sample tasksare provided so the gamesmasters may establishtheir own guidelines. Physical Strength: Opening doors and liftingheavy objects will be the two most commontasks tied to Physical Strength. Consider thesturdiness of the door and the implement beingused to open it for the former, and consider theweight and bulk of the object plus the purchaseafforded the character for the latter. Manual Dexterity: Consider the delicacy ofthe task when a character seeks the carefulmanipulation or removal of an object. Agility: Consider the sturdiness of the structurebeing crossed or climbed and the ease withwhich the character may balance himself whenattempting to cross or climb a poorly-anchoredstructure. Endurance: Consider how tired the characteralready is and how exhausting the upcomingtask if the character wishes to push his body toits limits. If more than one character isattempting a task which the GM will resolveusing these rules, he may reduce the difficultyfactor if their combined efforts surpass those ofone. If the task requires a co-operative effort,the difficulty factor remains the same. In eithercase, the lowest-valued characteristic among theperforming characters is the multiplier. [4.2] The only magic task not described in the rules which may be attempted by a character is a feat of minor magic.

Minor magic is best performed by amember of a Magical College. Therefore, acharacter's ability to perform minor magic isgoverned by his Magic Aptitude value.

A feat of minor magic is generally per-formed to entertain rich, royal, or towns folk.Such a feat can also gull the credulous. Minormagic includes the tricks used by the pres-tidigitators and conjurors of fantasy literature.

Minor magic may be employed by anycaster, regardless of his collegiate affiliation. Noone may be directly harmed by the use of minormagic, although an adroit caster might conceivea trap making use of minor magic. If a beingwishes to resist minor magic, his magicresistance is increased temporarily (see rule 31).

There are three types of minor magic. Theglamour, a spell of minor illusion, can be usedto create simple images that glow with faintluminescence. A caster could, for instance,appear to be juggling colored balls of lightthough use of a glamour. The cantrip, a spellof small transformation or apportation, can beused to re-create some of the spells ascribed toimps. A caster could sour beer, cause candleflames to gutter, or make small objectsdisappear down his sleeve to any other place onhis person. The trance, a hypnotic spell, can

DRAGONOUEST SECOND EDITION, PA GE 6

be used to remove minor inhibitions temporarilyor to cause a person to perform a harmless task.The caster of such a spell must engage hissubject through traditional means; i.e., he mustLull the subject into trance by engaging the sub-ject's concentration upon the rhythmic move-ment of a small object. If, for instance, a womanwith prim demeanor were rather attracted to amale caster, the caster could not cause the samewoman to run naked through a deserted street atnight, if the nudity taboo of her culture was asstrong as that of most cultures.

The casting of a minor magic spell coststhe Adept one Fatigue' Point, whether the spellis successful or not. The procedure described in4.1 is used to resolve the spell. Magic Aptitudeis the relevant characteristic. The difficultyfactor value should decrease as the spell be-comes more ambitious. If the roll is greater thanthe sum of the success percentage plus the valueof the character's Magic Aptitude, then the spellresult should manifest itself in a mannerdecidedly different from the Adept's intention. [4.3] The information given theplayers by the GM will sometimesdepend upon a player's Perceptioncharacteristic.

A character will often have to rely upon hisintuition and his powers of observation atcrucial junctures during an adventure. The GMcan recreate a character's interpretation ofevents or of a tableau in front of him byderiving a percentage chance (of the characterunderstanding the situation properly) from onecharacter's Perception value. The GM shoulduse this procedure to dictate what he will tell theplayers only when the particular clue or piece ofinformation is not deducible from verballyrelayed data.

The GM should, for example, inform theplayers that the ellipsoid symbol on the robes ofthe tall man approaching them probablyindicates that he is a priest, since the circle is areligious symbol used throughout his world.However, it would be up to the players to inferwhat happened when they see the vampire withwhich their necromancer friend was so recentlytalking come out the door, blood dripping fromhis mouth.

When the GM deems it appropriate tocheck a player's Perception before he answers aquestion, he either consults the Perception of theleader (see 79.1) or the character who isparticularly suited to deduce information in thecurrent situation. The obscurity of the infor-mation sought determines the difficulty factor.Multiply the character's Perception value by thedifficulty factor, and roll D100. If the roll isequal to or less than the percentage chance, theGM informs the appropriate player of thecorrect information. If the roll is greater than thepercentage, but not greater than the percentageplus the character's Perception value, the GMwill either inform the player that he is not sureor give him a part (but not all) of theinformation. If the roll is greater than the per-centage plus the character's Perception value,the GM will mix fact with fiction; the greaterthe roll, the more erroneous the information.

The gamesmaster should not avail himselfof this procedure constantly during an ex-pedition. He should use it when the playersrequest more information than he is willing togive them, when the characters venture intoforeign places or lands or meet alien people orraces, and when a decision is necessary to speedplay. Remember that constant use of thisprocedure makes the out- come of the adventureincreasingly luck-dependent. A judicious GMwill use the procedure no more than once perhour (real time) during an expedition.

The GM will stint those players whoconstantly request use of the Perception rollwhen it comes time for experience awards (see86). A player who allows dice-rolls to usurp theresponsibilities of his mind deserves no better. [4.4] The effects of an optional characteristic must be determinedby the gamesmaster.

Whenever the GM introduces a newcharacteristic, he must define what it representsand its effects. He may decide to change or addto the effects at a later date; since a fantasy role-playing game evolves with each campaign, suchadjustments are permissible as long as heinforms the players.

Example: The GM requires each player togenerate a value of Physical Beauty. Heannounces that the characteristic will come intoplay whenever the reaction of a humanoid non-player character must be gauged on the Re-action Table. The dice-roll will be modified byone for every 3 points difference between 15and the Physical Beauty value of the characterwith whom the humanoid is conversing. Theprimary purpose for creating new characteristicsis to provide players with further referencepoints for their characters' personalities.

5. CHARACTERISTICGENERATION

The player randomly generates hischaracter's total Characteristic Points. Heassigns values, within specified limits, to eachof his primary characteristics from this pointpool. The secondary characteristics are gen-erated either randomly or as a direct function ofa primary characteristic, or they begin at a setnumber for all characters. Some of the cha-racteristics will be modified if the character is ofa non-human race. The player will not know therace of his character (unless human) until all ofhis characteristics have been generated.

The range of values for a characteristic willnormally be between 5 and 25. A value of 5represents the minimum performance possibleby an adventuring character. Thus, a characterwith a Manual Dexterity of 5 would beextremely clumsy, but not so inept that he couldnot be entrusted with a simple, though essential,task. A value of 25 represents the normalmaximum performance, which may be achievedby a human; a value of 26 or greater befits asuperman. Thus, a character with a PhysicalStrength of 25 may not be able to bend steelbars in his hands, but he does pretty well withbars of iron. [5.1] Each player begins the game

with a randomly determined number ofCharacteristic Points from which toassign values to his character's primarycharacteristics

Each player rolls 2D10 and reads acrossthe line on the Point Generation Table belowcorresponding to the two dice total. The numberof Characteristic Points and Maximum valuethereby obtained is noted on a piece of scrappaper.

Point Generation TableCharacteristic

Dice Points Maximum23456789

1011121314151617181920

81828384858687888990919293949596979899

25252424242323232222222121212020201919

[5.2] The minimum value that a playermay assign to a primary characteristicis 5, and the maximum value isdetermined by the maximum for hischaracteristic point total.

Furthermore, a character may have onlyone characteristic equal to his maximum valueif that value is greater than 20, or may have upto two characteristics equal to the maximumvalue if that value is 19 or 20. In either case, thecharacter may have up to two characteristicsequal to one less than his maximum value andup to three characteristics equal to two less thanhis maximum value. If a character does not havea characteristic equal to his maximum value, hemay increase the limit of characteristics with avalue one or two less than the maximum valuesby one. Similarly, he may "transfer" an extracharacteristic equal to two less than themaximum value for either or both of his twocharacteristics equal to one less than themaximum value; thus, if it were mathematicallypossible, a character could have six character-istics equal to two less than the maximum valuefor his group. Prior to dividing up hischaracteristic points, the player should givesome thought to what kind of character hewishes to be and what weapons, spells, and/orskills he desires for this newly born individual.It is important to emphasize that in Dragon-Quest, any character can choose any com-bination of abilities. Certain weapons require agreat deal of Physical Strength or ManualDexterity and the player should be sure to allotenough points in those areas to use the weapons

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 7

of his choice. All Magical Colleges (see 36through 47) require a minimum MagicalAptitude to join (see 34.7) and the player shouldbe aware of these restrictions. Most Skills (see48 through 62) do not have any specialrequirements, but many give bonuses for ex-ceeding a minimum value in certain charac-teristics. The choice of race will also alter thecharacteristic values, and the player must weighall requirements and restrictions.

Example: A player begins with 88 points(maximum of 23) with which to assign valuesto characteristics. He could choose PhysicalStrength of 23 (the maximum value), anEndurance and Willpower of 22 (his two withone less than the maximum value), and Agilityand Manual Dexterity of 9, and a MagicalAptitude of 5. If the player wished, he coulddecrease his Physical Strength by one (to 22),and increase either Agility, Manual Dexterity,or Magic Aptitude by one.

When the player has chosen the values forhis character, he writes them down on hisCharacter Record. The total value of the sixprimary characteristics must equal the amountreceived from the Point Generation Table; aplayer may not "save" Characteristic Points toassign to characteristics at a later date. Thevalue of each of the six primary characteristicsmust be recorded before any secondarycharacteristics are generated. [5.3] The value of a character's Fatigueis a direct function of his Endurance.

The player enters the Fatigue value cor-responding to his character's Endurance value.

Endurance is…3 or 45 to 78 to 10

11 to 1314 to 1617 to 1920 to 2223 to 2526 to 27

Fatigue is…161718192021222324

Boldface: Endurance and Fatigue valuesmay be achieved only by members of certainnon-human races. Once the character has beencompletely generated, a change in the charac-ter's Endurance value will not affect his Fatiguevalue, and vice-versa.[5.4] A character's Perception valuebegins at 8.

The value may be modified if the characteris non-human. [5.5] An optional characteristic is usuallygenerated randomly. The gamesmaster may decide on any method hewishes to generate a characteristic heintroduces. The equal distribution methodgenerates the value randomly, with every resulthaving the same chance of occurrence. The bellcurve method also generates the valuerandomly, though the average is more likely tooccur than the extremes. The set value methodeither gives every character the same startingvalue, or derives the value directly from somecharacteristic. The GM should not interfere withthe procedures for generating any of the

mandatory eight characteristics when establish-ing a procedure for an optional characteristic.

Example: The value of the PhysicalBeauty characteristic is generated by rolling4D5 + 3 (bell curve). A roll of 7 indicates anugly character, while a 23 indicates a beautifulcharacter. Characters are assumed not to beexecrably horrible in appearance (5), or ofsurpassing loveliness (25), since such peoplewould have great problems while adventuring.They were, in all likelihood, directed to otherpursuits at an early age. [5.6] A character's Tactical MovementRate (see 14.1) is a direct function of hisAgility.

The player enters the Tactical MovementRate corresponding to his modified Agilityvalue.

ModifiedAgility is…

3 or 45 to 89 to 12

13 to 1718 to 2122 to 2526 to 27

Tactical MovementRate is…2345678

The Tactical Movement Rate may bemodified if the character is non-human. Inaddition, a character's normal Tactical Move-ment Rate may be reduced if he suffers anAgility penalty due to wearing armor, orbecomes encumbered due to the amount ofweight he carries (see 82.9). In normal play, acharacter's Agility will not exceed 27

6. BIRTHRIGHTSA character's genetic heritage will have

great influence upon him throughout hisadventures. First, there is the matter of gender.The worlds of DragonQuest closely parallel theEurope of medieval Earth, where women werelargely relegated to secondary roles. However,the bias is not as great in a fantasy world, forthe physically weak have recourse to magic.Generally, a female adventurer will be adetermined soul, having surmounted culturalhandicaps.

A character's race is just as important as hisgender, if not more so. In this world, a person'srace connotes the color of his skin. In a fantasyworld, a character's race indicates that he is amember of a distinct humanoid species. Eachrace has a separate way of life, developed overmillennia of co- existence with one another.Racial in- tolerance is just as prevalent in afantasy world as it is in this world. Only thecamaraderie and interdependence of adven-turers have promoted interracial harmony,which may be why adventurers are oftenregarded as rogues and outcast among theircomparatively staid brethren.

Practically, each race has its strengths andweaknesses. The human race is the mostprevalent, probably because of its high birth rateand the flexibility of the individual human. Theelves, dwarves and giants are races in theirtwilight years; human civilization will not treat

them too kindly. The halflings seem to beadaptable to almost any way of life, and thrivebecause of their compatibility with humans. Theorcs and shape-changers are nascent races, whomay some day challenge human hegemony.

A truly sophisticated player will integratethe effects of his sex, culture, and race into thepersonality of his character. Most games-masters, while struggling to flesh out thecultures of their world, will settle for thecharacter who is the product of his racial andsexual background. [6.1] A player may choose thegender of his (or her) character.

A character must be either male or female.Every race described in this section comprisesonly those two sexes. A character may only behermaphroditic or asexual if his player receivesspecial permission from the gamesmaster.

Each player should choose the sex for' thecharacter. It is recommended each character bethe same sex as the player. Role playing acharacter whose entire gestalt is alien to theplayer is hard enough without a change of sex.If the player wishes a character of the oppositesex, the GM should warn him (or her) of thedifficulties, and judge that player's charac-terization as closely as anyone else's.

The Physical Strength of a female cha-racter is decreased by two, but her ManualDexterity and Fatigue are increased by one.

A character's gender may be changed onlythrough deep magic, or by a deity. [6.2] A player must determinewhether his character's PrimaryHand is his right or his left.

The player rolls D5 and D10. If the D10result is greater, the character's Primary Hand ishis right. If the D5 result is higher, the PrimaryHand is the left. If the two results are identical,the character is ambidextrous. This determin-ation affects which hand a weapon is held induring combat, and any penalties assessed forattacking with a weapon in a non-Primary Hand.

[6.3] A player may always choose tobe a human character. If the playerwishes his character to be non-human, he has three chances to rollwithin one of the indicated ranges.

If the player is a human character, none ofhis characteristics are modified. He gains noadvantages and is subject to no restrictions.

When a player wishes to be a non- humancharacter, he declares which race he isattempting to be, and rolls D100. If the roll isequal to or less than the percentage chancegiven for that race, the character is that type ofnon-human. If the roll is greater than theindicated percentage, the character may not beof that race.

RaceDwarfElfGiantHalflingHumanOrcShape-Changer

Chance (%)25300615

1002004

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 8

A player may attempt up to three rolls (forseparate races) to be a non-human. If he fails onall three rolls, his character is human.Conversely, if one of his rolls falls within theindicated span of numbers for a race, hischaracter must be of that race. A player mayforfeit his right to any further rolls to be a non-human if he has exhausted the races he wants tobe.

When a character gains proficiency in anability, it is represented in game terms by hisplayer expending Experience Points. The cost,in terms of Experience Points, to advance in anyone ability is affected by the character's race.Multiply the cost for any advancement in oneability (see the Experience Cost Chart, 87.7) bythe Race Multiplier.

RaceDwarfElfGiantHalflingHumanOrcShape-Changer

Multiplier1.11.21.51.11.00.91.4

[6.4] A dwarf is a stout, usually taciturn humanoid who frequentsmountainous areas.

Traits: Dwarves are enamored of prec-ious stones and metals, and of intricate workincorporating same. They form strong com-munity ties, and are distrustful of strangers,especially those of other races. Their strongestantipathies are towards orcs and elves. Thoughdwarves are greedy by nature, they areessentially honest. Dwarven warriors favor theaxe as weapon. Pride matters as much todwarves as face does to the Japanese.

Special Abilities: 1. A dwarf may see inthe dark as a human does at dusk. His effectiverange of vision in the dark is 50 feet under theopen sky, 100 feet inside man- made structures,and 150 feet inside caves and tunnels. 2. Adwarf may assess the value of and deal in gemsand metals as if he is a Merchant (see 57) ofRank 5. If a dwarf character progresses in theMerchant skill, his ability to assess the value ofgems and metals is five greater than his currentRank, to a maximum of ten. 3. If a dwarfcharacter takes the Ranger skill, he expendsone-half the Experience Points to progressRanks, if he specializes as a spelunker (i.e.,mountain environment). 4. A dwarf's capacityfor alcohol is twice that of a human's.

CharacteristicPhysical StrengthAgilityEnduranceMagical AptitudeWillpowerPerceptionTactical Movement Rate

ModifierAdd 2Subtract 2Add 1Subtract 2Add 2Add 1Subtract 1

Average Life Span: 125 to 150 Earth years

[6.5] An elf is a lithe humanoid, of joyful demeanor, who frequents wooded areas.

Traits: Elves are great respecters of natureand learning. They are virtually immortal, andare, at the same time, repositories of greatwisdom and highly enthusiastic merrymakers.Many elves cannot handle their dual natures,and become either frivolous wastrels or grimquesters. The elves are ethical by nature, and,though they do not often interfere in the affairsof others, are traditionalists. Elven warriorsfavor bow weapons and disdain metal armor.Members of other races generally find elvesattractive.

Special Abilities: 1. An elf may see inthe dark as a human does on a cloudy day. Hiseffective range of vision in the dark is 150 feetunder the open sky, and 75 feet elsewhere. 2. Ifan elf character takes the ranger skill andspecializes in a woods environment, he expendsone-half the Experience Points to progressRanks. 3. An elf receives a Magic Talent whichfunctions in all respects as Witchsight (TalentT-l, Book II, pg. 60). 4. An elf makes little or nonoise while walking and adds 10% to his chanceto perform any activity requiring stealth. 5. If anelf character takes the healer skill (see 55), heexpends three-quarters the Experience Points toprogress Ranks, though he may not resurrect thedead. 6. An elf is impervious to the specialabilities of the lesser undead. 7. If an elfcharacter takes the courtesan skill (see 54), heexpends one-half the Experience Points toprogress ranks.

CharacteristicPhysical StrengthAgilityEnduranceMagical AptitudeWillpowerFatiguePerceptionTactical Movement RateEstimated Life Span:Circa 30,000 Earth years.

ModifierSubtract 1Add 1Subtract 1Add lAdd 1Add 2Add 1Add 1

[6.6] A giant is a huge, slightlyprognathous humanoid. Whoseexistence stems from deep elemental magic.

Type: The player must roll D10 to deter-mine what type of giant his character is.

DIE1 to 34 to 67 or 89 or 10

Giant TypeFireFrost (Water)Cloud (Air)Stone (Earth)

Traits: Giants have a good-natured respectfor their own element, and a healthy respect forits opposite (Fire opposes Water, Air opposesEarth). Giants are lusty types, preferring nothingbetter than to go through life brawling, drinking,and wenching. They tend to gather together in aclan arrangement, building huge halls (orsteadings) in out-of-the-way locations. They arenot overly intelligent, and resent humans andelves particularly. Giants enjoy riddling andbartering. Giant warriors favor the club andsword (scaled to their size).

Special Abilities: 1. A giant possessesinfravision, which allows him to see faint redshapes where living beings are located in the

dark. His range of vision is 250 feet. 2. A giant'smagic resistance is increased by IO%, exceptwhen a spell of the opposite elementalalignment is cast at him, in which case hismagic resistance is reduced by 20%. 3. A giantcaster whose college is identical to his elementgains 5% of his chance to cast a spell of thatcollege. A giant may not be a caster of thecollege opposed to his element. 4. Whenever agiant attempts minor magic (see 4.2), the GMshould increase the difficulty factor by one,making it easier.

Characteristic

Physical StrengthManual DexterityAgilityEnduranceMagical AptitudeWillpowerFatigue

ModifierCld Fire Frst Strm+19 +10 +19 +8Subtract 1Subtract 2+25 +15 +20 +10Subtract 1Subtract 1Add 1

Average Life Span: 500 Earth years.

[6.7] A halfling is a short, sleepyhumanoid, who frequents halfling-constructed burrows.

Traits: Halflings appreciate the good lifemore than most; a successful halfling willarrange a schedule of much sleep, good food,and relaxed study or conversation. Halflings area social folk, though are more inclined to keepintercourse among themselves. They greatlyenjoy the telling of tales and exchange ofgossip. Halflings take their responsibilitiesseriously. Halfling warriors use, for obviousreasons, smaller weapons, including maces andslings. Halflings usually go barefoot and arenoted for their tough, hairy feet.

Special Abilities: 1. A halfling possessesinfravision, which allows him to see solid redshapes where living beings are located in thedark. His range of vision is 100 feet. 2. Ahalfling adds 20% to his chance to perform anyactivity requiring stealth. 3. If a halfling takesthe thief skill, he expends one-half theExperience Points to progress Ranks. 4. Ahalfling may dispose of jewelry into large, semi-active volcanoes, without anyone thinking theworse of him.

CharacteristicPhysical StrengthManual DexterityAgilityEnduranceMagical AptitudeWillpowerTactical Movement Rate

ModifierSubtract3Add 3Add 2.Subtract 2Subtract 1Add 1Subtract 1

Average Life Span: 80 to 90 Earth Years.[6.8] An orc is a stoop-shouldered, surlyhumanoid who is nomadic by nature.

Traits: Orcs are a cruel, violent folk,liking nothing better than to rape and pillage.Individually, orcs are a cowardly lot, but a char-ismatic leader can turn a band of orcs into aconquering horde. Orcs enjoy the sensual plea-sures of life, and reduce their already short lifespan through hard living. Orc warriors favor thescimitar. Orcs are considered unattractive by theother humanoid races.

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 9

Special Abilities: 1. An orc possessesinfravision, which allows him to see faint redshapes where living beings are located in thedark. His range of vision is 150 feet. 2. An orc'seyes are highly light sensitive. The GM shoulddecrease an orc's chance of aiming at a targetduring daytime by 5% to 15%, de- pending onthe brightness of the sun. 3. An orc is not anadept student. Increase the game time requiredto learn or improve upon any ability by one dayper week required. 4. An orc's seed is highly fer-tile. The orc and hybrid orc population increasemitigates against the high orc fatality rate.

CharacteristicPhysical StrengthAgilityEnduranceMagical AptitudeWillpowerFatigue

ModifierAdd 2Subtract 1Add 1Subtract 2Subtract 2Add 2

Average Life Span: 40 to 45 Earth Years.

[6.9] A shape-changer is a separategenetic strain of human, with the abilityto change into the form of a particularanimal.

Type: The player must roll D10 to deter-mine what type of shape-changer his characteris.

DIE1 to 45 or 67 or 89 or 10

Shape-Changer TypeWolfTigerBearBoar

Traits: Shape-changers are identical inappearance to humans when not in animal form.Shape-changers are somewhat bestial in nature,adopting traits one might expect from ananthropomorphized wolf, tiger, bear, or boar.There exists a love/hate relationship betweenhumans and shape-changers: shape-changerspossess some degree of animal magnetism, but,if discovered, can expect severe treatment at thehands of humans. Shape-changers are, on thewhole, bitter towards humans, and are not aboveusing humans to their advantage. There are veryfew ways to tell a shape-changer from a human(e.g., they will be discomforted by garlic), andthese vary by shape-changer type. Shape-changers are a ruthless lot.

Special Abilities: 1. A shape-changermay change from human to animal form (orvice-versa) in 10 seconds during daytime and 5seconds during the nighttime. 2. A shape-changer possesses a dual nature. While inanimal form, human inhibitions will be muted,and while in human form, animal instincts willbe dulled. 3. A shape-changer cannot be harmedwhile in animal form, unless struck by a silveredweapon, magic, or by a being with a PhysicalStrength greater than 25. Five Damage Pointsare automatically absorbed in the latter case. 4.The shape-changer will regenerate 1 EndurancePoint every 60 seconds while in animal form. 5.The shape-changer must devise a set of cha-racteristics for his animal form. Take thedifference between the average for eachcharacteristic in animal and human form, and

modify the human characteristics appropriately.6. A shape-changer is automatically lunaraspected (see 7.3). 7. A shape-changer may re-main in animal form for one-quarter of the nighttimes the phase of the moon; thus, during thefull moon the shape-changer could remain inanimal form all night. A shape-changer mayremain in animal form for one hour times thequarter of the moon during the day. A shape-changer may make one set of transformationstimes the quarter of the moon. 8. If a shape-changer is in animal form during the day, thereis a 1% cumulative chance for each 5 minuteshe remains in animal form that he will never beable to change back into human form. Similarly,if the shape-changer exceeds the time limitsgiven in Ability 7, there is a 1% cumulativechance (per 5 minutes) of his not being able toregain human form. Roll up a new character, orknow an extremely powerful wizard. 9. Ashape-changer will be inconvenienced by thosewards which can be used against were-creatures.10. A shape-changer's magic resistance isincreased by 5%. 11. If a shape-changer takesthe courtesan skill (see 54.), he expends three-quarters the Experience Points necessary toadvance Ranks.

Average Life Span: 55 to 65 Earth years.

7. ASPECTS The date and time of birth of a character

will have a small, but significant, effect uponthe course of his life. Some mana is invested byone of the Great Powers into the soul, or life-force, of every being born into a DragonQuestworld. A character will benefit during the timehis Power is in full ascendancy, and will sufferwhen the opposite Power is in full ascendancy.

The gamesmaster is obliged to keep trackof the passage of time for the purposes ofcharacter advancement in abilities (see 87). If heis not willing to maintain a formalized calendar,then he should not use the ensuing rules. Thework required is minimal, though, once thecalendar is set up.

The times of high noon and midnight areextremely important when applying the effectsof aspects. The gamesmaster should allowcharacters to perform actions at precisely thoseinstants, though the passage of time must beproperly monitored. The GM may wish tocounter the players' timing with monsters and/ornon-player characters who use their aspects tofull advantage. [7.1] Each player randomly determinesthe aspect of his character.

Each player rolls D100, and enters theresult corresponding to his dice-roll on hisCharacter Record.

DICE01 ... 2021 ... 4041 ... 6061 ... 8081 ... 8586 ... 9091 ... 9596 ... 100

AspectWinter StarsVernal (Spring) StarsSummer StarsAutumnal (Fall) StarsSunMoonLifeDeath

[7.2] A character is affected by aseasonal aspect during the season ofhis aspect and during the season whichdoes not share an equinox or solsticewith the season of his aspect.

Stars are ascendant during the season forwhich they are named. The Vernal Stars areascendant when the Autumnal Stars aredescendant, and the Winter Stars are ascendantwhen the Summer Stars are descendant. Thereverse is true in both cases.

Consult the following table to determinewhen to apply seasonal aspect effects, and whatthey are. TimeMidnight, Character's StarsAscendant

Midnight, Equinox or Solsticenamed for Character's Stars

Midnight, Character's StarsDescendant

Midnight, Equinox or Solsticeother than that Named forCharacter's Stars

Effect

-10

-25

+10

+25

The effect is applied to any percentile roll (notsuccess chance) for that character for 30seconds before and after midnight. If the nightis cloudy, reduce the effect to a minimum of 2and 5, respectively, depending on how com-plete the cloud cover is. [7.3] A character of solar or lunar aspectis affected by his aspect at high noonand midnight.

Consult the following table to determinewhen to apply solar aspect effects, and whatthey are.

TimeNoon

Midnight

Noon, Summer Solstice

Midnight, Winter Solstice

Effect -5

+5

-25

+25

Multiply the solar aspect effect by -1 todetermine the effect for lunar-aspected char-acters. The effect is applied to any percentileroll (not success chance) for a solar or lunaraspect character for 10 seconds before and afterhigh noon or midnight. If the sky is cloudy,reduce the effect to a minimum of 1 and 5,respectively, depending on how complete thecloud cover is. [7.4] A character of life or death aspectis affected by a birth or death in hisimmediate vicinity.

Consult the following table to determinewhat events bring life or death aspect effectsinto play, the range at which they affect acharacter, and what they are.

* The relative may be no more distant thansecond cousin. A female life-aspected characterwill suffer no pain after giving birth, and will beas healthy and active as she was before shebecame pregnant. A life aspect effect is appliedfor 3 seconds times the range number (e.g., thebirth of a humanoid mammal would cause aneffect for 750 seconds). A death aspect effect isapplied for 1 second times the range number.Death aspect effects are non-cumulative (only

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 1O

one may be in effect at a given time), life aspecteffects are cumulative. RangeAspect ofCharacter Event

is lessthan Effect

LifeDeath

LifeDeath

LifeDeath

LifeDeath

LifeDeath

LifeDeath

Birth of non-humanoidmammal

Birth of human-oid mammal

Birth of human-oid mammalrelated tocharacter*

Death of non-humanoidmammal

Death ofhumanoidmammal

Death ofhumanoidmammal relatedto character*

100'

250'

500'

50'

125'

250'

-5+5

-10+10

-25+25

+5-5

+10-10

+25-25

8. HERITAGEMost characters are of an age equal to one-

fourth of their life-span before players assumecontrol of them. A human character, for in-stance, will begin with 18 of his 70 years al-ready behind him. Elves will be the proverbialexception to the rule, assume that an elf is be-tween three hundred and one thousand yearsold, and even then the elapsed time may be onthe low side.

The social position of the character'sparents during the time of his adolescence isdescribed in general terms.

The heritage rules are designed with ahuman character in mind. If a player has a non-human character, he will have to take part in theongoing process of defining his character'sposition within his race. An elven character, forinstance, might be classified as woods, sea, orhigh elf. The player and the GM then decidewhich was the forest of his character's birth, andthe position of his parents in an elven com-munity by comparing it to the human analoguegiven on one of the Heritage Tables. Theexperience and monies gained from these tablesstill hold, regardless of the history the playerand GM sketch for the character. [8.1] The player must determine thesocial status of his character's parents.

The player rolls D100, and reads across onthe line corresponding to the dice-roll to derivethe status of his parentage and his moneymultiplier (see 8.5).

A character of noble birth will at all timeshave some sort of stigma attached to him: hemay be a natural black sheep or a remittanceman doing time until he will be for- given for adisgraceful breach of conduct. In rare instances,a noble-born character will be naturally adven-turous; his family will probably dismiss hisdeparture from his proper station on somepretext or other. The young noble is certainlynot performing the duties expected of him -ruling the people in fief to him, or learning to do

so. A character will never be of royal birth.Social Status Table

Money DICE Social Status Multiplier01...09

10...25

26...44

45...54

55...58

59...77

78...89

90...97

98...00

Poor Trash

ImpoverishedGentlefolk

Burgher or Farmer

Merchant

Merchant Prince

Craftsman orAdventurer

Bandit or Pirate

Lesser Nobility

Greater Nobility

1

2

4

6

10

5

8

5110

[8.2] A player must determine hischaracter's legitimacy, and his standing (if any) vis a vis his sibl-ings.

The player rolls D100, and cross-indexesthe roll with the social status of his parents.Order of Birth Table

BastardLegiti-mate

FirstChild

Poor Trash

ImpoverishedGentlefolk

Burgher orFarmer

Merchant

MerchantPrince

Craftsman orAdventurer

Bandit orPirate

LesserNobility

GreaterNobility

01...30

01...10

01...17

01...20

01...24

01...13

01...06

01...27

01...35

31...89

11...85

18...91

21...89

25...87

14...92

07...78

28...96

36...98

90...100

86...100

92...100

90...100

88...100

93...100

79...100

97...100

99...100

[8.3] The character's order of birthmodifies his initial allotment of ex-perience and monies.

A bastard was born under dubious circum-stances, but should be able to prove who is hisless-favored parent. He will have had to fend forhimself at an early age, and can handle himselfbetter than most. A bastard receives 50% of themoney due him, but begins with 25% moreExperience Points.

A legitimate child is the offspring of acouple in wedlock, at the time of his birth. Sucha child will be the second or younger of theacknowledged children. His parents gave him asmuch attention as they could. A legitimatechild's monies and experience are unmodifiedby his order of birth.

A first child is the first legitimate childborn to his parents (though others less fortunatethan he may have arrived earlier). He hasreceived better treatment than his siblings, buthas been shielded a little from some of theharsher realities of life. A first child receives a50% increase to his initial monies, but a 25%decrease to his starting Experience Point total.

[8.4] A player may wish to knowthe exact order in which hischaracter was born, if he is listedas a "legitimate child."

The player rolls D10 to determine the orderof birth.

Die Sibling Rank1…3 Second4…5 Third

6 Fourth7 Fifth8 Sixth

9…10 Seventh or younger

[8.5] A player now determines hischaracter's initial allotment of SilverPennies and Experience Points.

The player rolls D100 twice: the first timeis for Experience Points, the second for SilverPennies.

DiceExpPts SP's Dice

ExpPts SP's

01 ... 0203 ... 0607 ... 1415 ... 3031 ... 50

10306090

120

515253545

51 ... 7071 ... 8687 ... 9495 ... 9899 ... 100

140170200230250

55657585

100

The Experience Point total may be modified bythe character's order of birth, and the SilverPenny total will be modified by the MoneyMultiplier (see 8.1) and may be modified by theorder of birth. [8.6] A character may expend his initialallotment of Experience Points and/orSilver Pennies before ever going on anadventure.

Goods that can be purchased are listed onthe Basic Goods List and Experience Point costsare listed on the Experience Point Cost Chart.Note: A character may expend only 100Experience Points (rather than the usual cost,see p. 147) to acquire any one skill at Rank 0.He may exercise this option before his first, orat the conclusion of any adventure. [8.7] The player has completelygenerated his character.

The player checks that every piece ofrelevant data has been entered on his CharacterRecord, and then hands the completed record tothe gamesmaster. The player may want to equiphis character with armor, shield, and weapon(see 18.1, 17.5, and 20.2), choose a college ofmagic for his character (see 34), choose skillsfor the character (see 8.6 and VII) and any abil-ities afforded by the adventure rules (see IX). [8.8] The player should choose a namefor his character.

A name gives a character a specific iden-tity. It is much easier to recount the exploits of acharacter if the deeds can be attributed in hisname. If the players in one campaign wish toco-operate, they can name their characters in asimilar fashion (e.g., every character in worldhas a Tolkienian name). This will aid infostering the belief that those characters exist inthe same alternate universe.

CHARACTER GENERATION&COMBAT PAGE 11

V. COMBATIn any DragonQuest world, individual

combat is an inevitable (and sometimesnecessary) occurrence, and the players shouldbe aware of its dangers. Fighting is a deadlyprocess and should be avoided if at all possible.Heroes are made by defeating the dragon, butmore graves are dug than heroes made. TheDragonQuest combat system reflects thesedangers and emphasizes skills and smarts overbrawn and brutality.

Combat occurs whenever characters, non-player characters, or monsters attempt tophysically overcome or harm other consciousopposing figures while on the Tactical Displayor in the Chase Stage (see 80). Combat shouldnot occur whenever entities simply encounterone another; rather only when some overtlyhostile action has taken place or intentions aremade clear.

When combat has begun (whether bothsides are aware of each other or not), the GMshould set up the Tactical Display and have theplayers place the pieces representing their char-acters on the display with the GM being thejudge as to their final positioning. The piecesrepresenting the hostile figures are then placedby the GM and the combat sequence begins.

Combat time on the display is divided into5-second Pulses during which all figures mayattempt to take various actions, depending ontheir positions relative to the hostile figures. Theorders in which these actions take place isdetermined by the figures' Initiative Value (forengaged figures) or by the Initiative Die Roll(for non-engaged figures). Attacking is resolvedby rolling D100 versus the attacker's modifiedStrike Chance with his weapon. If a hit results,any damage is generated by rolling D10 andadding modifiers by weapon type.

When all figures occupying the display areeither dead, unconscious, incapacitated, orfriendly towards each other, combat is over.Combat should never last any longer thannecessary to resolve the situation; returning tothe Trek/Wait stage (see 80) as soon as possiblewill speed overall play.

9. COMBAT TERMINOLOGYThe following terms are used throughout

the combat rules:Action. The movement and/or combat activitya figure may attempt during one Pulse. Thenumber of actions a figure attempts during aPulse is a function of his modified Agility.Attacker. The figure taking action in anengagement.Attack Zone. Any hex into which a figuremay Melee or Fire attack.Base Chance. The percentage chance for onefigure to strike another with a weapon; listed foreach weapon on the Weapon Chart.Blocked Hex. Any hex which contains enoughsolid matter to block any attack. The AttackZone of a figure cannot extend into a Blockedhex.Close Combat. Any combat involving fig-

ures mutually occupying the same hex.Combat Action. Any action taken by a figureoccupying the display while in combat. Choiceof actions may be limited due to positionrelative to hostile figures.Damage Check. A roll on a D10 to deter-mine the amount of damage done after a suc-cessful hit.Damage Points. The amount of damage(expressed as a number) done as a result of adamage check.Defender. The figure on the receiving end ofany attacker's action.Effective Damage. Any Damage Points (toeither Fatigue or Endurance) which are actuallyinflicted on the figure hit; this does not includepoints absorbed by armor or ignored due toother considerations.Engaged. Hostile figures occupying adjacenthexes are engaged.Facing. The placement of a figure on the dis-play such that it unambiguously is orientedtowards one hex, termed its front hex. Once thisorientation has been performed, a figure's frontand rear hexes are determined.

ILLUSTRATION 1 The figure is facing hex #2.

Figure. Any sentient entity occupying thedisplay.Fire. To throw or fire a weapon or spell inRanged combat.Grapple. The act of striking a figure in closecombat.Grievous Injury. An injury suffered whichresults in the maiming or temporary incapa-citation of a figure.Line of Fire. A straight line drawn from thecenter of an attacking figure's hex to a targetfigure's hex which passes only through hexes ofthe attacking figure's Ranged zone and is notblocked.Melee Zone. The front hexes of any con-scious, unstunned figure armed with a weaponrated for Melee combat.Modified Agility. The figure's Agility after ithas been modified due to weight carried (see82.9) and armor worn (see 18.1).Modified Manual Dexterity. The figure'sManual Dexterity after it has been modified dueto type of shield carried (see 17.5)

Obscured Hex. Any hex into which a figurenormally cannot see but which objects may passthrough. A figure may attack into an obscuredhex but cannot fire through it. Prepared Item. Any item (weapon, shield,flask, etc.) which a figure has in his hand(s) andcan readily use. Pulse. A five-second increment of game timewhich regulates actions while on the TacticalDisplay. Ranged Zone. The hexes radiating out from afigure's front hexes into which that figure cansee and fire a weapon, spell, etc. Sheltered Hex. Any hex containing physic- alobjects behind which a figure could take sheltersuch that approximately 50% of his body isprotected from any attack. Strike. The act of attempting to hit a hostilefigure. Strike Chance. The chance of hitting a hostilefigure with a weapon; it is a combination of theBase Chance, Manual Dexterity and Rank.

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 12

Strike Check. The roll on D100 to see if theattack was successful. Tactical Movement Rate. A figure's Move-ment Allowance in hexes per Pulse while on thedisplay. Weapon. Anything used to strike a hostilefigure.

10. COMBAT EOUIPMENTTo aid in the resolution of combat situa-

tions, the players and the GM should have anumber of items close at hand. If these items areprepared before combat begins, the en- tireprocess will take much less time to resolve.

The Tactical Display is used to locate andregulate the movement of the figures involvedin combat. It consists of a 25mm hexagonalgrid, an example of which is included in thisrules book. Each hex represents 5 feet of spacefrom side to side. A number of photocopies ofthis display should be made and butted togetherto form large areas. The GM may wish to cover

the display with a clear plastic (contact paper oracetate) to allow drawing on the display withchina pencils or other erasable markers. If theplayers and the GM wish a detailed, rugged,25mm hexgrid for use with DragonQuest'scombat system, one is available from thepublisher.

If the GM wishes to use a 1-inch squaregrid instead of hexes, he may, but shouldresolve any rules anomalies himself.

When representing figures on the display,some form of markers must be used. Often leadminiatures (available from most hobby stores)are painted to represent players' characters.Cardboard counters are equally useful, withcounters being much less expensive but alsomuch less visually exciting. Beginning playersoften find the three dimensional quality ofminiatures helpful in visualizing what isactually occurring during combat. GM's willfind that trying to collect an arsenal ofappropriate monster miniatures grows to

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 13

11. PREPARATION FORCOMBAT

Whenever it has been determined thatcombat in some form is an inevitable result ofan encounter, the GM must set up all theequipment necessary for the resolution ofcombat (see 10.). It is important for the GM tobe as organized as possible (have monsters' orNPC's characteristics and weapons pregen-erated, have miniatures or counters ready, havethe encounter area mapped to facilitate easytransfer to the display, etc.) so the set-up timefor combat goes quickly. Knowing combat iscoming, the players will get more excited inanticipation, and now is nor the time for the GMto fumble with his notebook. Each player shouldhave his playing piece and Character Recordprepared and ready. There should be as littlefuss as possible when placing pieces on thedisplay, and the GM has the final word as to theplacement of all characters, NPC's, andmonsters.

If the GM has prepared the display toaccept either china pencils or markers, he shoulddraw in the details of the encounter location.This may be a hallway in a dungeon, a room in acastle, or whatever - wherever the party mayencounter hostile entities is where combat maytake place. If the display would be marred bydrawing on it, the GM should use dice or someother form of marker to record the locations ofimportant details. Anything the players wouldbe able to see, touch, hear, or smell should bedescribed to them, because inventive playerswill scrape for any advantage they can find, andare not above using a broken bottle, for

ILLUSTRATION 2

grows to become inordinately expensive, andnumbered counters may be used. Specialmonsters, painted and prepared by the GM for aparticular encounter, are useful to spice up anadventure.

The GM should have a copy of a com-pleted Adventure Record and the players shouldhave their Character Records. These containinformation which will be used continuouslyduring combat, such as strike chances,movement rates, etc. If any NPC's or monstersare involved in combat, the GM should recordtheir characteristics and information on a pieceof scrap paper or index card. This informationshould be determined prior to the adventure if atall possible. Any damage taken in combatshould be recorded on a piece of scrap paperrather than on the Adventure or CharacterRecords. Blank copies of these two records areincluded in this book.

Percentile dice are used in the resolution ofcombat, and plenty should be available (one pairfor each player and the GM is ideal). Also,copies of all the combat charts and tables shouldbe made so the players may readily refer tothem. The GM will often use a GM screen tohide his die rolls, papers, etc., and the charts andtables may appear on it. SPI sells a screendesigned for DragonQuest containing copies ofall the needed combat charts and tables.

example, as a thrown weapon if they can findone. The players need to feel as if they know allthe details of the encounter location they couldknow if they were actually there. It is the sloppyGM who suddenly realizes he hasn't told themabout the small window in the northern wall justas the party is frantic- ally scrambling to find anescape route. [11.1] Prior to placing the hostile figureson the display, the GM determineswhether a surprise situation exists.

See 80.2 for the procedure to determinewhether surprise exists. Once the determinationhas been made (this information should beconveyed to the players only if they are the oneswho have achieved surprise) the GM then placesthe hostile figures on the display. If no surpriseexists, the distance between the two partiesshould not be less then 8 hexes, and each groupis aware of the other. If surprise does exist, thedistance between the groups should not exceed 8hexes, and can be much less depending on theGM judging the degree of "jump" one group hason the other. In both cases, the CM has the finalsay as to the distance separating the groups.

If surprise does not exist, Initiative is de-termined normally for the first Pulse of com- bat(see 12.2). If surprise does exist, the party with

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 14

action from the list of actions allowed of engag-ed figures on the Action Summary (see 15.7). 3. The side that won Initiative in Step 1 nowhas the option to take action or let the other sidetake action. All actions of the figures on oneside must be resolved before any figures on theopposing side may take action. Note: It isentirely possible for Ranged, Melee, or Closeattacks to occur in this step as non-engagedfigures move and attack. Each non-engagedfigure may choose one action from the list ofactions allowed of non-engaged figures on theAction Summary (see 15.7).

After these steps are performed, the Pulseis over and a new one begins. See 78.3 forguidelines regarding speedy resolution ofcombat actions. [12. 1] A Pulse is a 5-second incrementof time used to regulate all actions incombat situations.

Each action listed in Sections 13 and 14takes one full Pulse to accomplish unless thefigure performing them has an exceptionalAgility (see 15.3), in which case two actionsmay be combined. Magic may also alter theamount of actions taken in a Pulse.

Some actions which figures in combat maywish to attempt will take far more than one

it may choose to act first or last, as it desires.That decision is made after all engaged actionshave been taken.

If the Leader is involved in Melee or Closecombat, Stunned or unconscious, or otherwiseincapacitated, some other non- engaged figuremust roll for Initiative. His Perception (only) isadded to the D10 roll for Initiative. A non-leader may not add his Military Scientist Rankto the roll.

The Leader for a party is appointed prior toan adventure. An alternate may be designated,but this alternate may not add his MilitaryScientist Rank. If there is any doubt as to who isthe current leader of a party, the GM resolvesthe dispute. [12.3] For engaged figures, Initiative isdetermined by comparing each figure'sInitiative Value.

A figure's Initiative Value is equal to hismodified Agility+Perception+Rank with anyprepared weapon. If the figure has no preparedweapon, it is equal to his modified Agility+Perception. In each engagement, the figure withthe highest Initiative Value may act either firstor last, at his option. All others must act in orderof their Initiative Value, from highest to lowest.If a figure is Stunned, or has any rear hex to-

the advantage receives one "free" Pulse duringwhich it can take any action it wishes without thesurprised group being able to react. After thisfree Pulse, Initiative for the remainder of combatis determined normally. [11.2] After placing all the figures on thedisplay, the GM assigns any Fatiguelosses the figures may have incurred asa result of their actions prior to combat.

For the characters, the GM should use thesystem detailed in 82.0. For all hostile figures, heshould make a quick estimate relating allpresumed activity they may have undertaken upto the instant of combat. The GM may dispensewith this procedure if he feels the Fatigue losswould balance out or if he wishes to simply geton with and resolve the encounter. If he assignspenalties from one side, he must make a judg-ment for the other; he should never treat oneparty differently from another in this regard.

Assigning hostile figures a high Fatigue lossis one method of balancing a fight so thecharacters may be able to defeat a foe who, onthe surface, may appear vastly superior. Thisdoes wonders for party morale.

12. COMBAT SEQUENCEThe order in which all actions are attempted

in a Pulse is called the combat sequence. Thissequence should be adhered to by the players andthe referee as this will greatly speed play.

Each Pulse, the following events occur inorder: 1. Initiative is determined for all non-engagedfigures. 2. If any Melee or Close combat is possible, theGM groups the engaged figures into engage-ments, determines Initiative for each engage-ment, and resolves combat for each engagementseparately prior to proceeding to the next en-gagement. Each engaged figure may choose one

Pulse. The following list is intended as a guidefor the GM to be able to judge how long anattempted action will take to perform (remem-bering each Pulse equals 5 seconds): ACTIONSearch for trap in specific place(e.g., door)Attempt to remove trapQuick search of 10' by 10'room for disguised objectsSound wall (floor, ceiling)Search 100 square foot wall seg-ment for concealed objectsPick LockForce LockSpike Door (per spike)Light TorchLight LanternExchange wieldy item close toor in hand with another being

1-handed, 1 item1-handed, 2 items2-handed, 1 item2-handed, 2 items

Take off BackpackRemove Item from Backpack

On groundOn back

Store Item in BackpackMount horseDismount horse

SECONDS

20see 61.3

155

90see 61.2

15102535

2030102025

30401555

[12.2] At the beginning of a Pulse,Initiative must be determined for all non-engaged figures.

To determine Initiative, the Leader foreach side rolls D10. To the result is added theLeader's Perception plus his Military ScientistRank. The side with the highest total has theInitiative for the Pulse (any ties are re-rolled).When it becomes that side's turn to take action,

ward his opponent, the opponent automaticallyreceives the Initiative. Every character, NPC,and monster should have its Initiative Value forall the weapons or attack forms determined priorto the adventure and recorded (for characters, ontheir Character Record). [12.4] An engagement is defined as anynumber of figures occupying adjacenthexes, occupying the same hex, or anycombination thereof.

Further judgment must be made by the GMas to the intent of each figure. For purposes ofdetermining Initiative Values, each figureshould be compared only to other figures whoare involved in the same combat, or whomutually mean each other harm (see illustra-tion).

Engagements are defined to allow swift,unambiguous resolution of combat situations.The GM resolves each engagement's combatseparately, and deals with the individualengagements in any order he finds convenient. [12.5] When a figure chooses an action,it is assumed to be performing thataction until it may choose again.

Thus, if a figure chose to move during thelast Pulse, it is assumed to be moving for allpurposes of determining combat modifiers,affects, etc.

13. ACTIONS OF ENGAGEDFIGURES

Being engaged imposes certain limitationson the actions which a figure may at- tempt. Afigure who is engaged is defined as one who isadjacent to a hostile figure on the display, andmay have his movement and choice of actionrestricted. The order in which the actions ofengaged figures are resolved is determined byeach figure's Initiative Value, and any actions

taken by engaged figures are not simultaneous.Two or more hostile figures who occupy thesame hex are in Close combat and are consideredengaged. [13.1] An engaged figure may Meleeattack any figure within his Melee Zone,

If the figure who wishes to make the attackis within the defender's Melee Zone, he maymove only one hex within that Zone, and changefacing prior to attempting the attack. He may notmove or change facing after the attack.

If the figure who wishes to attack is notwithin the defender's Melee Zone, he may moveup to 1/2 of his TMR either before or afterexecuting the attack. Any facing changes may bemade only after the attack. [13.2] An engaged figure may Evade,

If the figure who wishes to Evade is withinthe defender's Melee Zone, he may move onlyone hex within that Zone and change facing onehexside while executing the Evade. If the figure who wishes to Evade is not withinthe defender's Melee Zone, he may move up to1/2 his TMR and change facing as he sees fit(within the GM's discretion, see 14.l) whileexecuting the Evade.

ILLUSTRATION 3

All three figures in Group A are engaged, as are bothfigures in Group B. Note that figure 4 in Group B istechnically engaged with figure 3 in Group A, but theGM concluded that figure would more likely attackfigure 2, whom figure 3 faces.

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 15

If a Melee attack is attempted on a figurewho is Evading, with a Ranked weapon, he maybe able to Parry or Riposte (see 17.4).

Note: A figure who is Evading receivesdefensive benefits versus Melee and Rangedattacks (see 17.6). [13.3] An engaged figure may Withdraw.

If the figure who wishes to Withdraw iswithin the opponent's Melee Zone and theopponent also occupies at least one hex of thefigure's Melee Zone, the figure may Withdrawby backing directly into any of his rear hexesbut may not change facing. While With-drawing, the figure may adopt one of twopostures, Offensive Withdrawal or DefensiveWithdrawal. If he chooses the offensive pos-ture, he may strike at his opponent (at a -20modifier to his Strike Chance) before executingthe Withdrawal. To adopt a defensive posture, afigure must have a prepared shield (ranked orunranked). While in this posture, he mayinterpose the shield between himself and anyattack. This adds 20% to his Defense, inaddition to any other modifiers already in hisfavor.

If the figure who wishes to Withdraw iswithin the opponent's Melee Zone but the

If, however, figure 4 turned his back on figure 5 toattack figure 3 in Group A, he would then becomeengaged with that Group. In Group C, figures 6 and7 are engaged, even though 7 faces away from 6; inthis case, 6 automatically has the Initiative.

opponent does not occupy any hexes of thefigure's Melee Zone, he may move and changefacing normally (see 14.1). Note: Figure #7 inthe illustration on this page is an example of thissituation. If the opponent is able to Melee attackthe figure, the opponent automatically receivesInitiative for the attack. A figure may Withdrawfrom one hostile figure's Melee Zone intoanother hostile figure's Melee Zone. If the figurewishing to Withdraw does not occupy a hexwithin the defender's Melee Zone, he may movenormally.[13.4] An engaged figure may take anyPass action.

If the figure wishing to Pass is within ahostile figure's Melee Zone, he may move onehex within that Zone and change facing whilePassing.

If the figure wishing to Pass is not within ahostile figure's Melee Zone, he may move up totwo hexes and change facing while Passing.

A Pass action is a generic term for anynon-attacking action a figure may do. TypicalPass actions include: preparing an item; prepar-ing a weapon; putting an item or weapon away;picking up a dropped weapon or item; mountingor dismounting a riding beast; loading a missile;dropping to one knee or prone; rising up, etc.

All of these actions are mutually exclusive;that is no two can be attempted during the samePass action. [13.5] An Adept who is engaged mayattempt to cast a spell.

If the Adept wishing to cast a spell iswithin a hostile figure's Melee Zone, he may notmove or change facing, and if attacked, willhave to perform a Concentration Check (see29.5).

If the Adept wishing to cast a spell is notwithin a hostile figure's Melee Zone, he maychange facing after the Cast Check is per-formed. An Adept who is in Close combat maynot cast a spell, but may activate Talent Magic(see 26.0). [13.6] An engaged figure may attempt toClose and Grapple.

If the figure who wishes to Close andGrapple is within the Melee Zone of the de-fender, the defender may attempt to Repulse theattacker's Close attempt. If the defender wishesto Repulse, he rolls D10 and compares the resultto his Rank with any Prepared weapon. If theresult is less than or equal to his Rank, theattacker may not enter the defender's hex andmust cease all action for that Pulse. If the resultis above the Rank, the attacker may enter thedefender's hex and execute a Grapple attackimmediately.

If the figure who wishes to Close andGrapple is not within the Melee Zone of thedefender, the defender may not attempt torepulse the Close attempt and the attacker mayimmediately enter and Grapple. Figures that arelarger than one hex treat this action differently(see 22.0).

Note: Any figure who enters CloseCombat must immediately drop any Preparedshield and any Prepared weapon not rated forClose combat.

[13.7] A figure engaged in Close combatmay attempt to Grapple, Pass orWithdraw.

A Grapple is an attack in Close combatagainst any figure who occupies the same hex asthe attacker. It is assumed any figures engaged inClose combat are rolling around on the ground,struggling with each other. Grappling may onlybe attempted with a weapon rated for Closecombat.

The figure who wishes to Pass while inClose combat may take any Pass action hewishes (at the GM's discretion).

The figure who wishes to Withdraw whilein Close combat must first attempt to "breakcontact." The figure rolls D10, and adds his (andany other friendly figures in the hex) PhysicalStrength and subtracts the total Physical Strengthof any hostile figures in the hex. If the modifiedresult is 10 or above, the figure may Withdrawinto any adjacent hex and is assumed to beprone. In addition, an unmodified roll of 10always allows Withdrawal

14. ACTIONS OF NON-ENGAGED FIGURES

A non-engaged figure is one who is notadjacent to any hostile figure on the display.There are certain minor restrictions which resultfrom this, but non-engaged figures maygenerally take any action they wish. All figureswho are considered on the same side or membersof the same party take their actions together andin any order they find convenient. In case ofdisagreement, the GM has final say as to theorder of actions. No actions are consideredsimultaneous, and all actions of non-engagedfigures occur after all the actions of engagedfigures have been resolved.

The determination of which side acts first isresolved by the Initiative die roll (see 12.2). [14.1] A non-engaged figure may moveany number of hexes up to its TacticalMovement Rate (TMR).

A figure's TMR equals the number of hexeshe may move In one Pulse, and he expends onepoint of the TMR for each normal, unobstructedhex he enters. For characters and all NPC's, thistotal is determined by their modified Agility (see5.6). For monsters, it is listed with their othercharacteristics in 66 through 76.

During movement, a figure may changefacing as it desires within the judgment of theGM and the fellow players. Any complicatedmaneuver the figure attempts may result in apenalty being applied by the GM in the form of areduction in the figure's TMR for that Pulse. Forinstance, turning three hexsides (180") withinone move is a fairly complex maneuver. The GMmay decide if the figure wishes to change facingto that degree, it may move two less hexesduring the Pulse. At the end of movement, afigure must unambiguously face one hexside (inthe case of multihex monsters, one hex vertex).

The TMR assumes a flat surface with littleor no hindrance to movement. The GM isallowed to assign a penalty for movementattempted over terrain not conducive to quicktraversal. In any case, a figure may always (if not

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 16

Stunned, etc.) move one hex during a Pulse, nomatter how difficult the terrain.

If a figure enters the Melee Zone of anyhostile figure, he must stop movement but maychange facing. If in the midst of executing aCharge and Close action, he may then be ableto enter the defender's hex, depending on theresults of the defender's Repulse attempt.

If a figure wishes to jump during hismovement, the GM may allow this with apenalty of one hex for every 5 feet jumped(horizontally or vertically) and make the figurewho jumped attempt a roll versus his Agility(with an appropriate difficulty factor) to see ifhe landed cleanly.

Often two (or more) friendly figures willwish to pass through a hex at the same time, orneed to squeeze past another figure in the samehex. The GM must judge whether circum-stances will allow or prevent the move, and if itis hindered, to what degree. Thus, a halflingshould be able to squeeze past a human withouttoo much trouble, but for one human to movethrough a hex containing another human willresult in at least a TMR penalty of two hexes,and possibly be disallowed if the human iscurrently engaged in some fairly activesituation (such as preparing a bow to be fired).

A figure may crawl at a rate of '/4 of hisTMR (round all fractions down). Note: Giantcharacters have their TMR calculated accordingto the monster section pertaining to them(70.1). The average TMR listed is used as themidpoint of a chart the GM creates similar tothe one in 5.6, with the appropriate giant's TMRreplacing the average human TMR of 5, withmodification above and below that occurring ina similar manner according to modified Agilityas for humans. Thus, a Cloud Giant with amodified Agility of 19 has a TMR of 14(average TMR of 13 + 1 for Agility = 14). [14.2] A non-engaged figure may moveup to 1/2 (rounded down) of his TMRand attempt to Melee attack with a non-pole weapon. and this action is aCharge.

At the end of the figure's movement, if heis adjacent to any hostile figure, he may Meleeattack him (with a negative modifier, see 17.6).The destination hex is counted when figuring1/2 of the TMR.

Consult the Weapons Chart for listings asto which weapons are Pole weapons. [14.3] A non-engaged figure may moveup to his full TMR and attempt to Meleeattack with a Pole weapon, and thisaction is a Charge.

This action is in all ways similar to 14.2,except the movement is greater and using aPole weapon gives the attacker a bonus to hisStrike Chance (see 17.6). Some Pole weaponsuse this attack form from two hexes away (seethe Weapons Chart). [14.4] A non-engaged figure may moveup to 1/2 of his TMR (rounded down)and attempt to Grapple, and this is aCharge and Close.

This action is in all ways similar to 13.6,except the charging figure has moved into the

adjacent hex from outside that hex. No facingchanges are allowed during this action, and thedestination hex (the hex the defender occupies)is counted when figuring % of the TMR. [14.5] A non-engaged figure may moveup to 1/2 (rounded down) of his full TMRand Evade as he moves.

The figure must obey all rules of move-ment (see 14.1) and while moving is muchharder to hit (see 17.6).

If a figure who is evading while moving isMelee attacked he may (if he has a preparedRank weapon) be able to Parry or Riposte (see17.4). [14.6] A non-engaged figure may moveup to 2 hexes directly backward, andthis is a Retreat.

The action functions in all respects as aWithdraw (13.3) except the figure may notadopt an Offensive posture since there are noadjacent hostile figures to attack. [14.7] A non-engaged figure may fire aMissile or Thrown Weapon. or loose aSpell, and these are all Fire actions.

A figure may not move or change facing inthe same Pulse as a weapon is Fired or a spell isloosed, with two exceptions: (1) once a cross-bow is prepared and loaded, a figure may carryit around and fire whenever he wishes. In thisinstance, movement of up to 2 hexes prior to orafter firing is allowed. (2) If an Adept or hismount is flying and the Adept is in all otherways eligible to cast a spell (has his hands free,is not out of Fatigue, etc.) he or his mount maymove up to 1/2 (rounded down) of his or hismount's TMR and attempt to cast the spell priorto, during or after his movement. This alsoapplies to all flying magic-using monsters.

Only targets who occupy one or morehexes of a figure's Ranged Zone may have aMissile of Thrown weapon Fired at them. [14.8] A non-engaged figure may moveup to two hexes and perform any Passaction.

Pass actions are listed in 13.4. A figurewho is Passing may also change facing whileexecuting a Pass. The actions listed in 12.1 mayrequire a number of consecutive Pass actions tocomplete.

15. ACTION CHOICERESTRICTIONS

Normally figures occupying the TacticalDisplay may only attempt one permissibleaction per Pulse. Figures with a modifiedAgility of 8 or less are restricted in the amountof movement they may combine with otheractions.

Figures with a modified Agility of 22: orabove gain extra movement and may be able tocombine two actions in one Pulse. Figures whobecome stunned or otherwise incapacitated willhave their choice of actions drastically curtailed.The type of attack a figure may attempt againsta hostile figure is limited by his position on thedisplay relative to the hostile figure and thedegree of visibility which exists.

The use of magic in combat is subject torestrictions and may in some circumstances beimpossible.

[15.1] Figures with a modified Agility of 8or less are allowed one less hex ofmovement when executing any of thefollowing actions: Melee attack, Evade,Retreat, Pass, and Charge with a PoleWeapon.

Thus, Then the Dwarf, whose modifiedAgility is 7 due to both the weight he carries andhis lack of Agility, can only move one hex whilehe prepares his Mattock instead of two. [15.2] Figures with a modified Agility of22 through 25 are allowed one extra hexof movement when executing any of thefollowing actions: Melee attack. Evade.Withdraw, Pass, and Retreat.

Thus Eaglewing the Elf, whose modifiedAgility is 25 due to the lack of weight he carries,his natural Agility and his bonus due to being anElf can move three hexes while preparing hisTulwar instead of two. [15.3] Figures with modified Agilities of26 and above may combine any two ofthe following actions in a single Pulse:Melee attack, Evade, Withdraw, Pass.Close and Grapple, Grapple. Charge,Charge and Close. Retreat, and Fire.

The actions may be combined in any order.If a figure with this option chooses not tocombine two actions, it may increase itsmovement (as in 15.2) by two hexes. [15.4] A figure who becomes Stunnedmay attempt no other action except try torecover from being Stunned.

See 19.0 for details concerning Stun andStun recovery. A figure who becomesincapacitated can do nothing. [15.5] A figure's choice of combat actionsis limited by his position relative to theintended target of his attack.

A figure may only Melee attack a hostilefigure he is adjacent to and who occupies at leastone hex of his Melee Zone. A figure may onlyGrapple a hostile figure in the same hex. Afigure may only Fire at a hostile figure whooccupies at least one hex of his Ranged Zone.

If a figure is attempting to Melee attack ahostile figure who occupies a hex which isobscured (due to smoke, magic, etc.), he mayattempt to strike if he first rolls less than or equalto four times his Perception on D100. If the rollis above this result, the attack may not take placeand the figure may take no other action thatPulse. [15.6] If an Adept attempts to cast a spellwhile either being Ranged attacked orMelee attacked, he must perform aConcentration Check (see 29.5).

This check may need to be done twice, oncewhile Preparing the spell and once beforeLoosing it. If either check results in the Adept'sconcentration being broken, the spell may not becast. No spell work of any kind is allowed inClose combat, but Talent Magic may beactivated at any time and does not requireexpenditure of a Pass action to dose. [15.7] The Action Summary lists allactions and their restrictions.

See combat charts and tables.

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 17

16. ATTACKING A hostile figure may be attacked by

Ranged, Melee, or Close combat while on thedisplay. To attack via Ranged combat, a figuremust be armed with a Prepared weapon ratedfor Ranged combat and the target must occupyat least one hex of the figure's Ranged Zone. Toattack via Melee combat, the figure must bearmed with a prepared weapon rated for Meleecombat and the target must occupy at least onehex of that figure's Melee Zone. To attack viaClose combat, the figure must be armed with aprepared weapon rated for Close combat andshare the same hex as the target. Note: Emptybare hands are always considered a preparedweapon.

The order of all attacking actions is deter-mined by the Initiative procedure as detailed in12.2 and 12.3. Combat involving engagedfigures is always resolved prior to any combatinvolving non-engaged figures. An attacker'sweapon is always assumed to be held in hisPrimary hand (see 6.2) unless he statesotherwise. Optionally, a figure may attempt touse two weapons at once, or attempt to strikemore than one target with one weapon.

Special types of attacks are allowed, andthese include attempting to Trip, Entangle,Restrain, Knockout, Shield Rush, or Disarm. [16.1] A figure may attempt to attack ahostile figure he is not adjacent to viaRanged Combat by executing a Fireaction.

The attacker declares his target, deter-mines and applies any Ranged Combatmodifiers (see 17.6), and executes a StrikeCheck. The only weapons eligible for use inRanged Combat are those rated for RangedCombat on the Weapons Chart (see 20.2).

To fire a weapon, the attacker must have aLine of Fire (see 9.0) to the target. In addition,the attacker may fire into but not through anobscured hex. The weapon fired always travelsin a straight line, and if not stopped by strikingan object, it will travel 1.5 times the range ofthe weapon and fall to the ground.

Whenever a fired weapon enters a hexoccupied by a figure (other than a solid wall,tree, or pillar which automatically breaks theweapon), there is a chance the weapon will hitthe figure instead of continuing its flight. Theweapon's flight is always stopped when itstrikes a figure and remains in that figure untilwithdrawn.

A Strike Check must be resolved for allfigures occupying any hex along the Line ofFire until the weapon hits something, or losesmomentum and falls to the ground.

A figure may never check a Line of Firewithout executing the Fire action, whether ornot the weapon is actually loosed. [16.2] A figure may attempt to Meleeattack any hostile figure who occupiesat least one hex of his Melee Zone.

The attacker declares his target, appliesany Melee Combat modifiers (see 17.6), andexecutes a Strike Check. The only weaponseligible for use in Melee Combat are those rated

for Melee Combat on the Weapons Chart. Theattacker may have moved adjacent to the targetduring that Pulse and this combination ofmovement and Melee is a Charge (see 14.2).

The normal melee attack is intended to doas much damage to the target as possible, butother forms of specialized attack exist and aredetailed in 16.5. [16.3] A figure may attempt to attack anyfigure who occupies the same hex onlyvia Close combat by executing aGrapple action.

The attacker declares his target (there maybe more than one figure in the hex), applies anyClose Combat modifiers (see 17.6), andexecutes a Strike Check. The only weaponseligible for use in Close combat are those ratedfor Close combat on the Weapons Chart. Theattacker may have moved into the target's hexduring that Pulse, and this combination ofmovement and Grappling is detailed in 13.6 and14.4. [16.4] A figure who is armed with eithertwo prepared weapons or one two-handed class B weapon may attempt aMultiple Strike.

A figure may attempt to strike one or moretargets more than once as part of the same attackwith two different weapons (one in each hand),but suffers a negative attack modifier (see 17.6).The attacks need not be directed at the samehostile figure, but must be of the same type(Grapple, Melee, or Fire). Some non-humanoidmonsters could attack 3, 4, or more times in onePulse using this option.

A figure may attempt to strike more thanone target one time each if the prepared weaponis Class B and the attacker is Rank 4 or abovewith the weapon. Each figure thus attacked mustbe in adjacent hexes within the attacker's MeleeZone. Thus, the maximum number of attacksavailable via this option is three. This attackmay only occur in Melee Combat, and theattacker suffers a negative attack modifier (see17.6).[16.5] A figure attempting to attack mayspecify any one of the following specialattacks: Trip. The attacker must be armed with aQuarterstaff, Spear, Halberd, Poleaxe, or Glaiveand be in Melee Combat. The Base Chance is40% and the damage is D10. If the attack issuccessful, the target must attempt to roll lessthan or equal to 3 times his modified Agility. Ifthe target's Agility roll is successful, he keepshis footing; if he fails the roll, he falls prone.This only works against human size or smallertargets. Entangle. The attacker must be armed with aNet, Whip, or Bola. The Base Chance is listedwith the individual weapons. If entangled, thetarget suffers D104 damage. If the attack issuccessful, the target must attempt to roll lessthan or equal to 3 times his modified Agility,falling prone if he fails. The target mustdisentangle himself before rising, and to do sorequires the target to execute a Pass action fortwo consecutive Pulses.

Restrain. A figure may attempt to restrainanother figure by executing a Grapple. Asuccessful attack results in the hostile figurebeing restrained (pinned). The Base Chanceequals the Physical Strength plus modifiedAgility of the attacker minus the PhysicalStrength plus modified Agility of the target,times 3. No damage is done to the target. Arestrained figure is treated as incapacitated, andremains restrained until the hold is broken by anattack from outside the hex which does at leastone point of effective damage to the restrainer.Several figures may combine their PS and AG toattempt to restrain a hostile figure. Knockout. The attacker must be armed withany weapon except Missile Weapons, EntanglingWeapons, Darts, Grenades, Lances, or Pikes.The attack is successful if the Strike Check resultis equal to or less than (l5% of the modifiedStrike Chance). No damage is done and thetarget is knocked unconscious for D10+5minutes, with the results of the time roll beingkept from the players. Note: The Sap is aweapon especially designed for this purpose andis detailed on the Weapons Chart (see 20.2). Thisattack may not be attempted on larger thanhuman sized monsters. Shield Rush. The attacker must be armed withany shield except a Main Gauche or TowerShield. The Base Chance is 40% and the damageis D10 2. Rank with the shield will increase theBase Chance as with any weapon. If the attack issuccessful, the target must attempt to roll lessthan or equal to 3 times his modified Agility,falling prone if he fails. If this attack is occurringat the termination of a Charge attack, the BaseChance is increased by 20. Disarm. The attacker must be armed with anyweapon rated for Melee or Close com bat. 20 issubtracted from the modified Strike Chancebefore the attack is resolved. If the attack issuccessful, the target is forced to drop oneweapon or item of the attacker's choice and also1 point of Endurance damage is done to thetarget.

17. RESOLVING ATTEMPTEDATTACKS

Every weapon and attack form is assigned aBase Chance. This percentage chance may bemodified due to weapon skills, attack type,posture of the combatants, defense of the target,etc. The Base chance with all modifiers appliedis the Modified Strike Chance. The attacker rollsD100; if the result is less than or equal to theModified Strike Chance, the attack has beensuccessful; above and the attack has missed.Rolling a 99 may result in the weapon beingbroken and rolling 100 may result in the weaponbeing dropped. Once a successful hit has beenmade, a Damage Check is conducted.

If the target is Evading, the attacker suffersa negative modifier to his Strike Chance and, ifhe misses, his swing may have been Parried,leading to a Disarm or Riposte. [17.1] The Strike Chance of an attacking figure is a combination of theChance of the weapon or attack

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 18

form plus modifiers for Rank and Manual Dexterity.

To attack with any Ranked weapon, theStrike Chance is (Base Chance of Weapon) +(Modified Manual Dexterity)+(4 x Rank). Toattack with any unranked weapon, the StrikeChance is equal to the weapon's Base Chanceunmodified. The Strike Chance of either aRanked or unranked attack will be furthermodified (see 17.6).

In any natural attack form such as teeth,claws, etc., for monsters, their ManualDexterity plus 4 times Rank (if any)is alwaysadded. For all characters and other figures, theStrike Chance should be calculated prior to anadventure and recorded on the CharacterRecord. [17.2] An attacker's Modified StrikeChance is equal to its Strike Chanceminus the target's Defense plus anymodifications for attack type and attackconditions.

If the attacker rolls less than or equal tothe Modified Strike Chance, a successful hit hasbeen scored and a Damage Check must beperformed (see 18.0).

Attack types include Ranged, Melee, andClose combat. Attack conditions includelighting conditions, which hand the weapon isused in, and other miscellaneous modifiers. [17.3] Whenever the Strike Checkresults in a roll of 99 or 100. the attackermay have either dropped or broken hisweapon.

If the roll is 99, the attacker may havebroken the weapon; on 100, the attacker mayhave dropped his weapon. In either case, theattacker then rolls D100: if the roll is less thanor equal to 3 times his modified ManualDexterity, he has avoided either misfortune. Ifthe roll is above his modified MD, themisfortune occurs.

A dropped weapon may be picked up byany figure at any later time, but a brokenweapon may not be used. When this resultoccurs to an attacker to whom it would notapply (a dragon's teeth really cannot bedropped), the GM may, at his option, announcethe attacker has fumbled and may not attack thenext Pulse due to his clumsiness. [17.4] Whenever the Strike Check resultis 30 or more above the Modified StrikeChance, the target may have Parried theattack.

Only figures who are currently Evadingand are being Melee attacked may Parry. Thedefender rolls D10, adds the Rank of anyprepared weapon, and subtracts the Rank of theattacker's weapon. If the result is 3 or less, theattack has been successfully Parried; but in sodoing, the defender has been thrown off balanceand must execute a Pass action next Pulse. Ifthe modified result is 4 through 7, the attackerhas been Disarmed per the attack of the samename (see 16.5). If the modified result is 8 orabove, the attack has been Parried to the extentthat the attacker has become Disarmed and thetarget may execute a Melee attack instan-taneously against him without need to perform

an attack action. This is called a Riposte. ARiposte may never itself be Parried and mayoccur as many times during a Pulse as theevading target was Melee attacked. A targetmay even Parry attacks which do not comethrough his Melee Zone (e.g., from behind him).An unarmed figure may Parry if he is Ranked inUnarmed Combat (see 21.0). [17.5] A figure's Defense Rating is acombination of his modified Agility plusany defense afforded by a preparedshield.

A figure's Defense Rating is subtractedfrom an attacker's Strike Chance. The defense ofa shield is a function of the Rank the target haswith the individual shield types (see ShieldChart). Thus, a figure with a modified Agility of13 and Rank 3 with shield carrying a LargeRound Shield has a Defense Rating of [13 + (3x 4%)1 = 25%, and this is subtracted from anyattacks coming through any of the figure'sMelee Zone hexes. If the attack comes throughany of the figure's rear hexes, the addition of theshield defense is ignored, but the modificationfor Agility re mains in effect.

Optionally, the shield defense may only beincluded for attacks which come through thetarget's front hex and the hex facing the side ofthe target in which the shield would actually becarried (normally in the target's secondaryhand).

The Defense Rating is not subtracted fromany attacks if the defending figure is Stunned orincapacitated. Also, any shield defense isignored for Close combat. Any shield except theMain Gauche is automatically dropped uponentering into Close combat.[17.6] Each attack type (Ranged, Melee,or Close) has its own list of StrikeChance modifications.

After calculating the attacker's StrikeChance and subtracting the defender's Defense,the Strike Chance Modifiers Summary shouldbe consulted to see if any situations exist whichcould further modify the Strike Chance.

Example: Rolf the Barbarian is Meleeattacking the White Mouser, a lithe figure withhigh Agility. Rolf is using a broadsword (whichhe wields at Rank 3), and has a modifiedManual Dexterity of 15. The Mouser has amodified Agility of 18 and is using a MainGauche (which he wields at Rank 2). Rolf'sStrike Chance is [55+15+(3x4%)]= 82%. TheMouser's Defense Rating is [18+ (2x2%)]=22%,which is subtracted from Rolf's Strike Chancesince he is attacking the Mouser through theMouser's Melee Zone (if he was attacking himthrough one of his rear hexes, the 4% extra forthe Main Gauche would not count and theDefense would be 18%). But, furthermore, theMouser is kneeling (a +20 from the MeleeCombat Modifiers Chart), so receives aModified Strike Chance of 82 22+20 = 80%.

[17.7] The charts listing modifiers usedin calculating the Modified StrikeChance of any attack include the ShieldChart. Ranged Combat Chart. MeleeCombat Chart, Close Combat Chart.

Lighting Conditions Chart, and theMiscellaneous Conditions Chart.

See the Strike Chance Modifiers Summaryfor these listings. Although these listings mayappear lengthy, few are used very often, andthose will be committed to memory after a fewmelees. The GM is encouraged to invent anyother modifiers he sees fit to add in any combatsituation. He is the final arbiter as to whatmodifiers are used and when they apply. Anysituations not specific ally covered by theselistings must be judged individually by the GM.

18. DAMAGE Whenever a figure is hit by a weapon or

magic, a Damage Check is performed. Eachattack type has a damage modifier which isadded to a D10 roll, and the result is the amountof damage points inflicted on the figure. Armormay absorb some or all of the damage up to thearmor's Protection Rating, and any damagepoints not absorbed are inflicted on the figureand subtracted from either Fatigue or Endurance.Any damage points actually inflicted on thefigure (not absorbed by armor) are termedEffective Damage.

There are three types of damage possiblefrom a successful strike, depending on how lowthe attacker rolled on the Strike Check: Damageaffecting Fatigue; affecting Endurance; andGrievous Injury. When the Strike Check result isabove 15% of the Modified Strike Chance, anyeffective damage is subtracted from Fatigue(Endurance when Fatigue reaches O). When theStrike Check is 15% or less of the ModifiedStrike Chance, any damage directly affectsEndurance and is not absorbed by armor. If it is5% or less of the Modified Strike Chance, aGrievous In jury may also result, in addition toEndurance damage. These percentages aresummarized on the Special Damage Chart (18.2).

Any Damage Checks modified to a resultless than 1 are treated as I.

[18.1] Damage affecting Fatigue isabsorbed by armor.

Each type of armor has a Protection Rating,which indicates the amount of damage pointssubtracted from every successful attack. When afigure's Fatigue reaches 0, any further damageaffecting Fatigue is subtracted from Endurancein stead. However, a figure cannot lose Fatigueand Endurance as a result of a single StrikeCheck.

Example: Rolf is wearing Leather armor(Protection Rating of 4) and has 3 Fatigue Pointsremaining. An attack against him results in 9total damage points. The Leather absorbs 4 ofthose, and normally the remaining 5 would besubtracted from Fatigue. But, since he only has 3Fatigue Points left, he loses 3 Fatigue Points andthe rest are ignored entirely. If any furtherattacks result in damage being subtracted fromFatigue, the Leather would still absorb 4 pointsof that damage, but any remaining points wouldbe subtracted from Endurance instead.

The Armor Chart lists all types of armorand their Protection Ratings. The GM should feel

free to invent other types of armor if he wishes. CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 19

[18.2] A Strike Check of 15% or less ofthe Modified Strike Chance results indamage directly affecting Endurancewhich is never absorbed by armor, andthe stricken figure always takes the fullamount of the damage.

The Special Damage Chart lists modifiedStrike Chances and their damage directlyaffecting Endurance range. [18.3] Grievous Injuries may result if thesuccessful Strike Check is 5% or less ofthe Modified Strike Chance.

If a possible Grievous Injury has resulted,the damage to Endurance is first calculated andapplied. The attacker then rolls D100 andconsults the Grievous Injury Table. If the rollfalls within the range specified for the class ofweapon he is attacking with, a Grievous Injuryhas resulted and the effects of the resultinginjury are applied to the unfortunate targetimmediately. If the roll falls outside theindicated range, no Grievous Injury occurs.

Weapons are classed on the WeaponsChart (see 20.2) according to type: thrustingweapons are Class A; slashing weapons areClass B; and crushing weapons are Class C.The Grievous Injury Table lists the ranges foreach class of weapon. A figure may suffer anynumber of Grievous Injuries in a Pulse.

Whenever a figure suffers a Grievous Injury, there is a possibility he has droppedwhatever he is holding, and the procedureoutlined in 17.3 is used to resolve this occur-rence.

A figure who suffers a Grievous Injurywhile wearing armor has the Protection Ratingof that suit of armor reduced by 2 until repaired.Optionally, a figure who is also carrying ashield can choose to have the shield cloven andspare his armor. A cloven ' shield is useless. [18.4] Damage incurred as a result of amagical attack is applied differently.

Many spells attack figures with purelymagical energy, while others inflict damage asa result of changes in the physical surroundingsof the target (windstorms, falling rocks, and thelike). When purely magical energy is involved,any damage is subtracted first from Fatigue(Endurance only when Fatigue is exhausted),but is not absorbed by armor. Other damagetypes, also subtracted from Fatigue, areabsorbed by armor.

When being attacked by the breath weaponof a monster, treat the damage as if magicalenergy, as above, but allow every target aPassive resistance roll before applying thedamage. If the target does Passively resist, thedamage is halved (round fractions down). NoActive resistance is allowed versus breathattacks. [18.5] (Optional Rule) The damage donewith a particular weapon may beincreased due to exceptional PhysicalStrength or Rank.

If using this rule, add 1 to the damagemodifier of a weapon for every 5 points ofPhysical Strength above the minimum neces-sary to wield the weapon the attacker possesses.

Thus, a figure with PS of 20 through 24 would

do D+5 damage when wielding a Broadsword.However, for every +1 of damage the figurereceives, an extra 6% is added onto the chanceof the weapon breaking during combat. Theabove figure with the PS of 20 would have achance to break the Broadsword on rolls of 93through 99, inclusive. This increase in breakagechances precludes any Modified Strike Chanceswhich would conflict with it. Thus, if the abovefigure had a Modified Strike Chance of 97%, itwould actually be 92% since rolls of 93 99would result in a possible break and 100 wouldresult in a possible drop. This does not apply toThrown or Missile Weapons.

If wishing to allow increased damage forRank attained with a weapon, give a +1 bonusfor every 4 Ranks (round down). This rule willincrease damage down by Thrown or MissileWeapons, and does not increase breakagechances. It is recommended only one of thesesystems be used with any one particularweapon, not both.

19. THE EFFECTS OF DAMAGEThe ultimate result of incurring damage for

any figure is death; this arrives when the figure'sEndurance reaches 0. When figure's Endurancereaches 3, he falls unconscious, and can only berevived by time or the arts of a Healer.

Whenever a figure suffers effectivedamage greater than one third his originalEndurance from a single strike, he becomesStunned. The figure may not take any otheraction except attempt to recover from Stun untilhe has recovered. A figure who becomesStunned may drop anything he is holding. (Theprocedure outlined in 17.3 is used to resolve theoutcome. The check is only per Formed once, atthe moment the figure becomes Stunned.)

A Stunned figure who is engagedautomatically has the lowest Initiative Value ofthe engagement; an unengaged Stunned figureacts the last of all his fellows.

To recover from being Stunned, a figuremust roll less than or equal to 2x his Willpowerplus his current Fatigue.

Current Fatigue is the figure's Fatigue totalat the instant the roll is made. Every Pulse afterbecoming Stunned, the figure may attempt torecover but may do nothing else, includingmove.

Note: Certain monsters begin with anEndurance of 5 or less. These monsters neverbecome unconscious; they are either alive andalert, Stunned, or dead.

20. WEAPONS Any instrument used to inflict damage on a

figure is called a weapon. Weapons may includethe figure's hands, claws, talons, feet, teeth,breath weapon, etc. All normal weapons arelisted on the Weapons Chart along with theircharacteristics. The only limits to the number ofweapons a character may have in his possessionare the weight and bulk of those weapons. TheGM should carefully examine each character,checking for the location of the character'sweapons. Any odd or unlikely method of cartingweaponry around should be disallowed. Any

humanoid figure may never have more than two

two one-handed weapons or one two-handedweapon prepared at any one time. Carrying aprepared shield replaces one one-handed weaponand disallows a two-handed weapon for thispurpose. Figures with more than two appendagesmay use as many weapons as they are able. It isalways assumed when a figure is armed with aone-handed weapon it is carried in his primaryhand unless stated otherwise.

A figure may attempt to envenom any A orB Class weapon and thus poison the figure itstrikes. An assassin is trained in the use ofenvenomed weapons (see 20.3). [20. 1] A figure need not use any normalweapon to attack.

A figure may attempt to strike barehanded(see Unarmed Combat, 21.0), but only if onehand is free. Any figure may attempt to use anitem not normally assumed to be a weapon(furniture, books, glasses, dishes, etc.) at theGM's discretion, who assigns Base Chances,damage modifiers, and so forth. [20.2] The Weapons Chart lists an normalweapons and their characteristics.

All normal weapons which would appearwithin a common DragonQuest world aredetailed on the chart. If the GM wishes to addmore exotic weapons to the list, he should feelfree to, and should assign characteristics forthose weapons based on the examples given. Thecharacteristics for each weapon are: Weight. The weight of the weapon in pounds(or ounces, if so noted). Physical Strength. The minimum PhysicalStrength a figure needs to wield the weaponproperly; a figure without the PS to meet thism nimum does one less point of damage for eachp int of strength he is below the minimum. AfdMMwmwtimBwDDtRbCddwdUtcCaCtn

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 20

Maximum Rank. The highest Rank attainablewith that weapon. [20.3] Figures may, at the GM'sdiscretion, employ envenomedweapons.

If the GM permits, figures may carry anduse weapons coated with poison. Only Class Aand B weapons may be envenomed. See theAlchemist skill for details concerning types ofpoisons and paralysants. For the venom to beintroduced into the bloodstream of the victim,at least 1 point of effective damage must bedone.

When anyone but an Assassin handles anenvenomed weapon, there is a chance the figurewill nick himself and introduce the venom intohis own bloodstream. Every time anenvenomed weapon is handled, the figure musttry to roll less than or equal to 3 times hismodified Manual Dexterity on D100 to avoidany mishap. If the roll is greater than his MD,he has been nicked by the weapon and ispoisoned. Handling a weapon is defined asincluding all actions of coating the weapon withthe venom, storing the weapon until use, andpreparing the weapon for the attack. The checkshould be made once for the preparation of theweapon and once for the attack. The timing of

the checks is up to the GM, but two rolls shouldalways be made if the weapon is used to attack.Cleansing the weapon of the poison does notrequire a check. An envenomed weapon willremain effective for 6 hours, by which time thevenom will have evaporated or been wiped off.When the weapon has successfully struck anddone 1 or more points of effective damage, thevenom has been removed.

A paralysant functions as a knockout drugagainst human-sized or smaller figures. If thevictim fails his Willpower Check (see 50.8), hefalls prone unconscious and will remain thatway for [20+D10-(His Willpower)] minutes. [20.4] A figure struck by a Class Amissile or thrown weapon will have hisAgility lowered until the weapon isremoved.

Whenever a figure suffers effectivedamage from a Class A Missile or Thrownweapon, it has lodged itself in the target's bodyand reduces his Agility by 3. The weaponremains lodged until a Pass action is executed toremove it. When any barbed weapon is removed(arrow, spear, etc.), the figure takes D-4 damageto Fatigue (not absorbed by armor). If theweapon is a Pole weapon, the Agility loss is 5and the damage to remove it is D-2.

io

igure may never achieve Rank in a weapon heoes not have the PS to wield. anual Dexterity. The minimum modifiedanual Dexterity a figure needs to maneuver theeapon properly; a figure without the MD toeet this minimum has the Base Chance of theeapon lowered by 5 for every point he is below

he minimum. A figure may never achieve Rankn a weapon he does not have the MD to

aneuver. ase Chance. The base percentage of theeapon to score a successful hit on a figure. amage Modifier. The number added to the10 die roll when performing a Damage Check;

he modified total may never be less than i. ange: The distance, in hexes, the weapon maye fired. P means prohibited. lass. A letter representing the type of damageone by the weapon. A weapons do thrustingamage. B weapons do slashing damage. Ceapons do crushing damage. Used foretermining Grievous Injuries. se. A letter representing the type(s) of attack

he weapon may be used in. R indicates Rangedombat. M indicates Melee combat. C indicateslose combat. A weapon may not be used in anttack type for which it is not rated.ost. The cost, in Silver Pennies, to purchase

he weapon. At the cost listed, the weapon is oformal quality.

The Agility loss applies only to man-sizedor smaller figures. The GM must judge theAgility loss for larger figures.

21. UNARMED COMBAT Any figure may attempt to attack a hostile

figure by using his hands and feet. For manymonsters, this is the only way they may attack.Unless specified otherwise, all figures/monstersreceive one attack with their hands/claws/bite perPulse without penalty. Some monsters may beable to attack more than once, and theseindividuals are detailed in the Monsters Section(VIII).

For a humanoid figure to strike with hisprimary hand, the Base Chance is (modifiedAgilityx2). For every point the figure's PhysicalStrength is above 15, the Base Chance isincreased by 1. The damage done by a successfulstrike is D-4, with 1 extra point of damage forevery 3 points of Physical Strength above 15. Ahumanoid can achieve Rank with bare hands justas he can with any weapon.

Beginning at Rank 3 in Unarmed Combat,figures may choose to kick instead of usinghands (or in addition to hands) in unarmedattack. This allows an unarmed attack while afigure's hands are full. The Base Chance anddamage are as above. Using legs in this mannerallows an attempted Trip by the attacker (see16.5) with Base Chance and damage remainingthe same as for all unarmed combat.

22. MULTIHEX MONSTERS Many monsters detailed in the Monsters

Section (VIII) will occupy more than one hex onthe Tactical Display. Their size necessitates the

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 21

following alterations in the resolution ofmovement and combat.

Multi-hex monsters have three types ofhexes surrounding them: Front, Rear, andFlank. Front and Rear hexes function in thesame way for them as for any other figure, butattacks through Flank hexsides give the attackera bonus (see 17.6). The exact configuration ofFront, Rear, and Flank hexes vary with the sizeof the monster (see illustration).

A multi-hex monster must always beplaced on the display such that its headunambiguously faces a vertex of two hexsides.It may move in any way so that its head entersany Front hex, and may move up to its fullTMR in this fashion. At the end of itsmovement, it must once again unambiguouslyface a vertex. For facing changes, a penalty ofone less hex of movement for each two hexvertices changed is applied, since the massbeing maneuvered is much greater than ahumanoid's. In order to change facing, themonster must pivot using its head as the pivotpoint.

A multi-hex monster may freely pivot ormove into any hex occupied by a 1-hex figure.The smaller figure is knocked proneautomatically and the monster may then attemptto trample the figure at a Base Chance of 40%,doing (D10 + size of the monster in hexes)damage. Trampling is Class C damage.

See illustrations on this page and22.

23. MOUNTED COMBAT In mounted combat, the TMR of the figure

(comprising the mount and the rider) is that ofthe mount; the rider may not move at all. A

rider may only mount or dismount when themount is not moving. Any action a figure iscapable of while standing on the ground he iscapable of while mounted with the followingexceptions: (1) using a two-handed weapon; (2)firing any missile or thrown weapon whilemoving; (3) using more than one weapon at atime. These restrictions are lifted depending onthe Horsemanship Rank of the rider (see 83.2).A figure may always use a shield and a one-handed weapon while mounted. ILLUSTRATION 8

The horseman with the sword can attack intohex A or hex C, but not into hex B. Thus, thefigure on foot cannot be hit with the sword, buthe could be trampled.

A rider and mount will normally occupyonly one hex, unless the mount is a multi-hexmonster. If they occupy more than one hex, themovement will be governed by the rules ofmulti-hex monsters (see 22). On a normalmount, the rider will not be able to attack out

of his Front hex, only the hexes to either side ofthat hex. His Front hex may be attacked intousing a spear (or similar long hafted weapon) orany Fired weapon (see illustration).

To control a mount during combat, theHorsemanship skill of the rider is taken intoaccount. An inexperienced horseman will havean incredibly difficult time even con-trolling hismount in a chaotic melee; it will be better forhim to dismount and fight on foot until hebecomes skilled.

A Charge on a mount is executed in thesame manner as a Charge on foot except theamount of movement prior to the attack will begreater and the Charge must be in a straight line(no facing changes allowed). Any act of turningthe mount or stopping it during or after theCharge will require a Horsemanship Check (see82.2). The Pulse following any mounted Charge,

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE22

the momentum will take the mount past thetarget to its full TMR. Any attempt to turn orstop the mount will occur after that movementis terminated. A failed check will result in themount continuing on its way.

24. INFECTIONAt the end of every combat in which a

figure is wounded, or when a figure is woundedin a non-combat situation, there is thepossibility that figure has become infected as aresult of their wound. An Infection Check isperformed to determine whether the figure isinfected or not.

The Base Chance of infection is equal to10%. If the figure took any damage toEndurance, add (20 + the amount of Endurancedamage in points). If the damage was inflictedby bite, claws, or talons, add 20. Specific

Grievous Injuries can raise the Base Chanceeven further. The infected figure rolls Dl00; ifthe result is greater than the modified BaseChance, the figure is not infected; if the result isequal to or less than, the figure is infected.

An infected figure is considered diseased,and every morning after becoming infected, thefigure must try to heal himself or sufferEndurance damage. To heal himself, a figuremust roll under his original Endurance on Dl00;a roll equal to or less than the Endurance resultsin a cure. If the infection is not cured, each daythe figure takes D10-5 (minimum result of 1)Endurance damage from the infection.Obviously, an infected figure who is not curedwill eventually die from his wounds. The effectsof slow acting (blood agent) poisons function inthe same manner as infections except there is noroll for cure.

COMBAT EXAMPLE The following is an example of the way a

typical combat will be resolved, emphasizingorder of resolution rather than detailing theactual die rolls and success chances.

A party of player characters is travelling byfoot along a path deep within a forest. They arealert but not combat-ready; they are tired fromhaving traveled long and hard all day. The partyconsists of Ariella, a Celestial Mage, Eaglewing,an Elven Ranger; and, Delion, an Elven Illusion-ist. The GM has generated an ambush for theparty as they round the next bend in the path, andassigns a readiness factor (see 80.2) of 3 to theirchance to detect the ambush. Eaglewing isleading the party, so his Perception of 10 is usedfor the check, but he also receives a bonus of15% due to his Ranger Rank. Eaglewing doesdetect the ambush, and the Hobgoblin, Orc, andGoblin lying in wait will get no surprise this day.The GM determines they will attempt the attackanyway, and combat begins. The GM draws outthe surroundings, places the characters' minia-tures on the Display, and then places themonsters' figures. He determines the characters'Fatigue loss (due to their long march), andadjudicates the monster's Fatigue status. Heallows the characters to prepare a weapon, ifthey wish, because of the alertness of Eaglewing.

CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 23

First Pulse. The Hobgoblin (Perception of 13)is the Leader of the monsters. Eaglewing is theparty's Leader. The GM rolls Initiative for themonsters, and Eaglewing's player rolls for theparty. The Hobgoblin wins and decides that themonsters will act first. The Hobgoblin tries togoad his mount (a horse) to Charge Eaglewing.The GM rolls the Hobgoblin's Horsemanshipcheck; it is successful and the charge occurs.The Hobgoblin is not close enough to Eagle-wing at the end of the Charge to Melee himwith his Scimitar. The Orc throws his spear atAriella and misses. The Goblin fires his Cross-bow at Delion and hits him, profiting from the+20 bonus for attacking Delion from a Rearhex. Delion takes 9 points of Fatigue damage (4of which is absorbed by his Leather Armor) andbecomes Stunned. He is unable to hold on to hisRapier, which falls to the ground. Now theparty may act. Eaglewing, having prepared hisTulwar upon becoming aware of the ambush,sets himself to receive the Hobgoblin's Chargeby taking an Evade Action (he has achievedRank 5 with the Tulwar, so he thinks he has a good chance to Parry). Ariella prepares a spell,and begins to pronounce the magical incanta-tions. She may not move. Delion acts last as heis Stunned. He may only attempt to recoverfrom Stun; he tries and fails.

Second Pulse. The Initiative roll is won againby the Hobgoblin. He Charges Eaglewing andattacks. His Strike Check is 37 above hisModified Strike Chance, so Eaglewing mayParry. He rolls an 8, plus 6 for his Rank, minus3 for the Hobgoblin's Rank, yields a result of 11,a Disarm and Riposte. Eaglewing hits theHobgoblin with his Riposte, doing damageaffecting Endurance for 12 points. TheHobgoblin is Stunned, and the GM checks tosee if he falls from his horse. He does, and fallsat Eaglewing's feet. The Orc prepares hisScimitar and moves slightly towards Delion.The Goblin begins to reload his crossbow.Eaglewing attacks the prone Hobgoblin (theRiposte does not count as an Action), receivinga +15 for the Hobgoblin being Stunned and a +20 for his being prone (the Hobgoblin's Defenseis not subtracted because he is Stunned).Eaglewing strikes for a Grievous Injury thisPulse and kills the unfortunate Hobgoblin.Ariella tries to cast her spell of Starfire(knowing full well she is receiving a -20 penaltybecause it is still day-time) and does, doing 13points of damage to the Goblin, who becomesStunned and drops his bow. Delion tries again torecover from Stun, and succeeds. Third Pulse. This time Eaglewing wins theInitiative Roll (performed against the Orc sincethe Hobgoblin is dead). Since no one is engagedyet (the Hobgoblin does not engage Eaglewingbecause he is dead), he chooses to have theparty act first. He prepares his Main-Gauche,and moves slightly towards the Orc. Ariellabegins to prepare another Starfire. Delion picksup his Rapier and changes facing to receive theOrc's attack. The Orc moves up to Delion andMelee attacks him, missing. The Goblinrecovers from being Stunned. Fourth Pulse. Initiative is rolled betweenEaglewing and the Goblin, since the Orc isengaged with Delion. Eaglewing wins it.However, since the Orc and Delion are engaged,their combat is resolved before anything else.The Orc's Initiative Value is 27, Delion's is 25,so the Orc may act first. He attacks Delion,inflicting enough Fatigue damage with hissuccessful attack that Delion is out of Fatigue(remember, the party was tired to begin with).Delion, seeing the way the battle is going,Withdraws defensively. Eaglewing chooses tohave the party act first and allows Ariella to tryher spell before he himself takes any action.Ariella, however, is not so lucky this time andher spell backfires, reducing her Fatigue to 0and Stunning her. Eaglewing (frustrated at theAdept's fumblings) moves up to the Orc, at-tacking him from behind. He receives a + 30 forattacking from a Rear hex but a -15 forCharging with a non Pole weapon. His attack issuccessful, doing enough Fatigue damage toStun the Orc. Delion cannot act now because hehas already performed an Action earlier in thePulse. The Goblin runs away. Fifth Pulse. Eaglewing asks the Orc to sur-render and the Orc accepts, thus ending the needfor the Tactical Stage.

Weapons are normally wielded one-handed, and theexceptions are noted with a (2) after the name of theweapon. Some may be used either one or two-handed, and these are noted with a (1-2). Whenweapons of this type are wielded two-handed,increase their Damage Modifier by 1. "-" indicatesthat a weapon has no Class for purposes of GrievousInjuries; when a possible Grievous Injury is rolled,only damage affecting Endurance results. "V"indicates that the characteristic is variable. *Thedamage done by a blowgun dart depends upon thesubstance which coats the tip (poison, for instance;see 50.8 and 20.3). A. When attacking a foe whose modified Agility isbetween 12 and 9 (inclusive) the Dagger may beused to attack twice in one Pulse without penalty; ifthe modified Agility is 8 or less, the Dagger mayattack 3 times in a Pulse. B. A Torch is not actually a weapon, but may beused as such in emergencies. Also, brandishing aburning Torch in the face of an animal may cause itto flee. Any animal whose WP is 10 or less may bescared off if it fails a roll of 4 times its WP or less. Asuccessful roll indicates the animal is not impressed.No Rank may ever be achieved with a Torch. C. The Sap may only be used to knock out targetswearing only Leather, Cloth, or no armor. Used byan Assassin, any hit knocks out the target; foranyone else, any hit Stuns and 4 or more points ofeffective damage knocks out the target (exception to16.5). D. A Javelin functions as a Thrown Weapon unlessit is launched by a Spear Thrower, in which case theSpear Thrower's characteristics are used and itfunctions as a Missile Weapon. E. A Pike may be used to Melee attack any figurewithin two hexes; its Melee Zone extends into whatwould normally be the first hexes of that figure'sRanged Zone. F. A Lance may be used only by a mounted figure. G. All Missile Weapons must be loaded beforefiring; this action is in addition to Preparing theweapon itself. A Pass action must be taken in orderto load the Sling, any draw bow, the Spear Thrower,and the Blowgun. Two consecutive Pass actionsmust be taken to load a Crossbow (three if using aCranequin). H. Up to three darts may be thrown at one, two, orthree targets in one Pulse with no penalty.

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 24

The following weapons also function as Thrown Weapons: Dagger, Hand Axe, Battle Axe,Giant Axe, Crude Club, War Club, Giant Club, Mace, War Hammer, Javelin, Spear, GiantSpear, Net, Bola, and Rock.

Weight: The weight of the shield inpounds.Defense Rank: The percentage bywhich the figure's defense is increased perRank while that shield is prepared.Experience Point cost is detailed on page146.Manual Dexterity Loss: The numberof points the figure's Manual Dexterity isreduced by, for all purposes while thatshield is prepared.

Cost: The cost in silver pennies for ashield of average workmanship.

When a shield is not prepared, it isconsidered slung on the back of thefigure carrying it. All shields exceptthe Tower Shield are constructed ofwood and hides and do not affect theflow of mana in regard to adepts.

Note: Main Gauche rules have beenremoved to protect the innocent.

CHARACTER GENERATION AND COMBAT, PAGE 25

J. A Boomerang returns to the thrower if it did not hitanything during its flight. K. A Grenade is filled with any substance (manufacturedby an Alchemist) designed to burst into flames on impact.These substances include Greek Fire, methane, andanything else the GM will allow. It bursts on landing (ifneed not be thrown at a particular figure), and its effectsare determined by the substance contained within. If a"miss" is rolled for the Strike Check, the GM shouldrandomly determine whether the Grenade landed short,long, left, or right of the target (or any combinationthereof). L. The Net may be used to Entangle in either Melee orRanged combat. In Close combat, it functions as aGarrote, using a Garrote's characteristics. M. The Bola may be used to Entangle only in Rangedcombat. In Close combat, it functions as a Garrote. N. The Whip may be used to Entangle and do damage inthe same Pulse to the same target in Melee combat. InClose combat, it functions as a Garrote. Once the target isEntangled, the attacker may choose to leave himEntangled (thus letting go of the Whip), or disentanglethe target himself, and retain possession of the weapon. O. Cesti are worn on the hands and need not be preparedin order to be used. P. The Garrote is used to strangle the target and may onlybe used against man-sized or smaller victims. When usedby a trained Assassin, once a successful hit has beenscored, it will continue to do damage every Pulse fromthen on until the victim is dead or the Assassin has takeneffective damage from either the victim or an outsidesource. If the victim's PS is greater than the Assassin's,the GM may permit him to at- tempt to break the hold,similar to the attempt to Restrain (see 16.5). If the attemptis successful, the hold is broken and the Assassin willhave to make another successful Strike Check to continuethe strangulation. Some types of plate armor may, at theGM's discretion, prevent the successful use of thisweapon due to protection around the neck area. A non-Assassin has to roll a Strike Check every Pulse to see ifany damage can be done. Q. All Shot, Darts, Arrows, and Quarrels come inappropriate pouches or quivers of 20, and the weight andcost of the pouch or quiver is included in the informationgiven for the accessory.

Weight: The number by which a figure's size ismultiplied to find the weight of the armor inpounds. Size numbers for the character races are:Halfling (3); Dwarf 5 (4); Elf (5); Orc (5);Human (6); Giant (15). For female figures, 0.5should be Subtracted from the multiples.Protection: The number of Damage has hisPoints the armor absorbs. Agility Loss: The number of points the figure'sAgility is reduced for all purposes when thatarmor is worn. Does not include possibleadditional Agility loss for the weight of thearmor; see 82.9Cost: The cost in Silver Pennies for the armor.Cost assumes average workmanship and man-

sized armor; larger or smaller armor should costproportionally more or less. Stealth Adjustment: The amount by which afigure wearing that type of armor has his Stealthpercentage adjusted.

Note: Cloth armor is worn underneath allother armors and its protection weight arefactored into those armors.

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 26

[18.3] GRIEVOUS INJURY TABLE

Class A weapons do Grievous Injuries on rolls of01 through 20. Class B weapons do GrievousInjuries on rolls of 21 through 80. Class Cweapons do Grievous Injuries on rolls of 70through 100. D100 Result 01-05 Congratulations! It's a bleeder in yourprimary arm! Take 1 Damage Point from En-durance immediately and 1 per Pulse thereafteruntil the flow is staunched by a Healer of Rank 0or above or you die.

06-07 Oh no! Your opponent's weapon hasentered your secondary arm's elbow joint and thetip has broken off. Take 2 Damage Pointsimmediately from Endurance and that arm isuseless until the sliver has been removed by aHealer of Rank 3 or above. Also, increase thechance of infection by 30.

08 A vicious puncture wound in your groin!Take 3 Damage Points immediately from En-durance and reduce your TMR by 2 until fullyrecovered, which will take two months. Inaddition, add 30 to your chance of being infected(assuming you live long enough for such thingsto matter).

09-10 You have been stabbed in your secon-dary arm. Drop whatever you were holding in itand take 2 Damage Points immediately fromEndurance. It will take a full week for the arm tobe of any use to you whatsoever.

11 Your aorta is severed and you are quite dead.Rest assured your companions will do their bestto console your widow(er).

12 A stomach puncture. Nasty. You suffer 3Damage Points immediately from Endurance andlose 2 from your TMR until fully recovered,which will take two months. Also, you areautomatically Stunned for the next Pulse (if youaren't already), after which you will recover. Add20 to the chance to be infected.

13 Your opponent's weapon has entered youreye; roll D10. On a roll of 1, the weapon hasentered your brain and you are dead. On a roll of2-5, your left eye is blinded; on a roll of 6-10,your right eye is blinded. If you are luckyenough to be blinded instead of killed, you havesuffered 2 Damage Points to Endurance. In ad-dition, a figure who is blind in one eye suffersthe following subtractions: -2 from PhysicalBeauty; -4 from Perception; -1 from ManualDexterity. A figure blinded in one eye reduceshis Base Chance with any Missile or ThrownWeapon by 30.

14-18 Tsk. Tsk. A wound of the solid viscera.Usually fatal. Take 3 Damage Points to En-durance immediately and 1 per Pulse thereafteruntil the bleeding is stopped by a Healer of Rank2 or above or you die. Add 30 to the chance ofinfection.

19-20 Take a stab in the leg (your choice as towhich one) resulting in a deep puncture of thethigh muscle. Suffer 1 Damage Point toEndurance immediately and reduce your TMRby 1 until you heal, which will take 4 weeks. 21-25 A chest wound. Take 2 Damage Points toEndurance immediately and reduce your TMR CHARACTER GENERATION & COMBAT, PAGE 27

by 1 until recovered (about 2 months). Look onthe bright side, though. Your attacker's weaponis caught in your rib cage and has beenwrenched from his grasp.

26-27 Bad luck! Your secondary hand has beensevered at the wrist. Take 2 Damage Points toEndurance immediately and subtract 1 point perPulse from Fatigue thereafter (Endurance whenFatigue is exhausted) until you are dead or thebleeding is staunched by a Healer of Rank O orabove. If you live, reduce your ManualDexterity by 2.

28-30 Worse luck! Your primary hand hasbeen severed. See result 26-27 for effects.

31-34 A minor wound. Your face is slashedopen, ruining your boyish good looks and caus-ing blood to spurt into your eyes. Reduce yourPhysical Beauty by 4 permanently.

35 Your secondary arm is sliced off at theshoulder. Take 5 Damage Points immediatelyfrom Endurance and 1 per Pulse thereafter fromFatigue (Endurance when Fatigue is exhausted)until you are dead or the bleeding is staunchedby a Healer or Rank 1 or above. Reduce yourManual Dexterity by 2 and your Agility by 1. 36 The same as 35, except it's your goodprimary arm that has been lopped off.

37-40 You have been eviscerated! Take 4Damage Points immediately from Enduranceand 1 point per Pulse from Fatigue thereafter(Endurance when Fatigue is exhausted) untilyou are unconscious. Increase your chance ofinfection by 40.

41-42 A glancing blow lays open your scalpand severs one ear (your choice as to whichone). Take 2 Damage Points immediately fromEndurance. Reduce your Perception by 2.

43 A savage slash rips open your cheek andjaw. Take an automatic Pass action next Pulsedue to the shock of the blow. Your PhysicalBeauty is increased by 1, since your disfigure-ment will bring out the maternal/paternal in-stincts in the opposite gender.

44-50 A slash along one arm, and it's a bleeder!Take 2 Damage Points immediately from En-durance and lose 1 point from Fatigue (En-durance when Fatigue is exhausted) each Pulseuntil the bleeding is stopped by a Healer ofRank 1 or above or you die.

51-52 Hamstrung! Roll D10. On a roll of 1-4,it is your left leg. On a roll of 5-10, it is yourright. Take 4 Damage Points immediately fromEndurance and fall prone. You may not standunassisted until the wound is healed (whichshould take three months). Reduce your Agilityby 3 permanently.

53-60 Your primary arm is crippled by a wick-ed slash! Take 2 Damage Points immediately toEndurance and drop anything you have in yourprimary hand. The arm is unusable until healed,which should take 2 months.

61-67 Your secondary arm is crippled; see 53-60 for details. 68-69 A nasty slash in the region of theshoulder and neck. Roll D10. On a roll of 1-3,your head is severed and your corpse tumbles tothe ground. On a roll of 4-6, your secondarycollar bone is crushed; on a roll of 7-10, your

primary collar bone is crushed. If your collarbone is crushed, the results are identical to 53-60, except you suffer 4 Damage Points toEndurance.

70-74 A crushing blow smashes your helmetand causes a concussion. Take 3 Damage Pointsfrom Endurance and suffer a reduction of 4 inboth Manual Dexterity and Agility lasting for 3days.

75-80 A massive chest wound accompanied bybroken ribs and crushed tissues. Very ugly, this.Take 5 Damage Points immediately from En-durance. Reduce your Manual Dexterity andAgility by 3 each until this wound heals (shouldtake about 4 months). Increase your chance ofinfection by 10.

81-84 A crushing blow smashes tissue and pro-duces internal injuries. You suffer 2 DamagePoints immediately to Endurance and 1 perPulse thereafter to Fatigue (Endurance whenFatigue is exhausted) until unconscious or youreceive the attention of a Healer of Rank 2 orabove.

85-87 A jarring blow to your primary shoulderinflicts 2 Damage Points immediately to En-durance. Roll D10; the result is the number ofPulses the arm is useless. You immediately dropanything held in that hand.

88-89 Similar to 85-87 except it is yoursecondary shoulder.

90-92 Your right hip is smashed horribly. Take5 Damage Points immediately to Endurance andfall prone. You will be unable to walk until thedamage has healed (takes about 6 months).Good fun. When healed, you will still have alimp which will reduce your TMR by 1 andyour Agility by 2.

93-94 The same as 90-92 except it is your lefthip that is smashed.

95-97 Your opponent's weapon has comecrashing down on your head and fractured yourskull. You fall prone and are unconscious, andtake 8 Damage Points to Endurance. If you sur-vive, you lose 2 from Agility, 2 from ManualDexterity, and 2 from Perception. It will take ayear in bed to recover.

98-100 Crushing blow to your pelvis breaksbone and tears tissue. Take 7 Damage Pointsimmediately to Endurance and fall prone. Try toroll under your Willpower on D100 to avoidfalling unconscious. If you survive, you will beunable to move for D10 months.

NOTES: The suggested recovery times are aguide- line for the GM's to use in determininghow long characters should be kept out ofaction. The actions of a competent Healer mayalter these times in some instances. TheseGrievous Injuries are designed for combatbetween human-sized opponents; any injuriessustained involving larger monsters should beapplied judiciously by the GM, taking intoaccount size and mass differences, etc. Simplystated, a halfling would be hard put to drive hisdagger into the eye of an elephant, and insituations such as these, the GM may have todisallow the Grievous Injury or change itseffects. Any damage which results from a Grie-vous Injury is in addition to the Endurancedamage already determined.

TACTICAL DISPLAY

DRAGONQUEST SECOND EDITION, PAGE 28 Scale: 1 hex = 5 fee