gamemaster’sguide - grey spire gamesgreyspiregames.ca/torchbeta/gmguide.pdfhowtogm running a game...

Torch Role Playing KitA Simple Yet Effective Adventure Roleplaying Kit

Game Master’s Guide

Revision Date: August 5, 2020

Lead Designer: Alexander Robillard

Secondary Authors: Alexi Turcotte

Special Thanks:

Character Sheets: Alexander Robillard, Mike Daoust

Playtesting GMs: Mike Daoust

Playtesting Groups:JoJo & the Enchantress: Roxanne, Shippu, MooThe Servants of the Decima: Alex, Mat, Roxanne, AlexiMostly Clerics: Andre, Kate, Sharayah, Julia, CollinExpert Solutions Inc.: Rachel, Alex, Jamie, Esther, Darrell, Tristan, Anthony, McKenna, Henri, Kaitlynn,Caitlin, Alexandre, CollinTBD 1: Kaitlynn, Caitlin, Alex, Alexandre, Rachel, Esther, AnthonyTBD 2: Gerry, Mike, Alistair, Marc, Rob

Reviewers: Nadia, Marika, Gerry, Alexander, Alexandra, Henri

c© Alexander Robillard, Grey Spire Games, 2020

Contents

Contents

Contents i

1 Introduction 11.1 How to Use this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 A Quick GM Tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 How To GM 32.1 Just What Kind of Game Are We Playing, Anyway? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.2 Sharing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

In-game Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Meta-game Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.3 Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Session Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Socializing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.4 On GM Skill & Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Improvisation Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3 Skill Checks, Adventuring & Encounters 73.1 Guidelines for Skill Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Stealth Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Attribute-based Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.2 Adventuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Narrative & Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Environmental Challenges, Hazards & Adventuring Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Player Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Skill Check Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.3 Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Encounters for a Reason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Encounter Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4 Monsters & Mortals 134.1 Stat Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134.2 Creature Creation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Resistances & Vulnerabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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Contents

4.3 Creature Compendium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Beasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Demons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Dragons & Dragonkind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Elementals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Mortals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Myths & Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Slimes & Oozes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Undead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

5 Spell Design 535.1 Spell Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Non-Combat Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545.2 Tag Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545.3 Base Difficulty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Spell Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Lasting/Multiple Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Summons: Attitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Special Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

ii

IntroductionThis book, the Game Master’s (GM) Guide, pro-vides a lot of tools, tips and tricks to make run-ning games easier, faster and more compelling,and includes a lot of material you can incorpo-rate into your own custom adventures. It alsoincludes some instructions for first time GameMasters to get started. Within you will find rulesand guidelines for designing new spells, creaturestatistics and descriptions, rules for designingskill checks (either on the fly or ahead of time)and much more.

How to Use this BookWhile a lot of thematerial in this book is intendedto be used when designing or preparing for ad-ventures, it’s also handy as a reference guide forcreatures. You may find yourself in need of acreature or other enemy for your players that wasnot foreseen in the adventure notes, and taking alook at the Monsters & Mortals chapter may helpyou find just the creature you need. This also ap-plies for the skill check references. You might notknow how hard to make a skill check when oneof your players tries something you haven’t fore-seen, so you may take a look at the Skill Checks,Adventuring & Encounters chapter for inspira-tion.

Spell design and other rules typically aren’t asuseful without a bit of preparation, but havinga little idea of how much mana certain types orstrengths of spells cost can come in handy. Youmay want to design a magical effect on short no-tice for a trap or curse or something of the like,and if you know how much mana such an effectmight cost otherwise, you can adjust accordingly.

The “How to GM" chapter is very useful for run-ning a game for the first time (and will includelots of tips that may be useful even if you’re notusing TorchRPK as your system).

A Quick GM TipBefore even getting into more detailed tips, I’d liketo provide you with perhaps the most important:don’t linger too long trying to figure out an exactrule. Keep the gameplay (and importantly thestory) moving. If you know you can find a rulequickly enough, then feel free to look it up, butif you think it’ll take a while, try to improvise. Ifyou play it a little safe with your improvised rules,the story keeps moving along and keeps the play-ers engaged. You can always make it harder lateron if you think the players need more of a chal-lenge. If you find yourself improvising a similarscenario often, make a note to look it up in therules later, and compare it to how your improvis-ing went. Then, feel free to choose one methodor the other, or combine the two as you like.

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How To GMRunning a game can be a daunting task, espe-cially the first time. There is a lot to consider, andpotentially a lot of additional work above and be-yond the play session itself, depending on whatkind of game you and your group are interested inplaying. In this chapter, we will go over conceptsand strategies to make running game sessionseasier and more rewarding.

Just What Kind of Game Are WePlaying, Anyway?One question that you should answer when de-ciding to run a game is: "what style of game domy players and I want?" There are many answersto this question, but each answer generally fo-cuses on what core aspects of roleplaying yourplayers want to experience most often. Here aresome examples:

• Players might like roleplay above all else:they want to experience life as though theywere a fantasy character, and place a lot ofemphasis on their character’s interactionsand relationships with other player charac-ters and characters controlled by the GM.There are different sub-examples of this aswell:

– Players might be interested in gamesthat involve political intrigue: maybethey want to help the monarch of akingdom deal with other nobility, orhelp an aspiring knight secure friendsin high places

– Games involving investigation andmystery might also be an interest:maybe the group is trying to figure outwhat happened to an ancient civiliza-tion or determine who is responsiblefor the assassination of a king

• Some groups may really enjoy the combataspect of roleplaying games. Furthermore,some groups prefer a strategic game thatrelies heavily on long battles on a griddedmap, while others may prefer quicker, moreabstract combat.

– A war-themed adventure might be verycompelling for groups like this

– A classic dungeon crawl, where a groupexplores some ancient ruin or secretlair will also serve well

• Finally, some groups might be heavily in-vested in gaining items, levels, or power andriches, and spend most of their time at-tempting to become the most successful in-dividuals in the land

Of course, a group may combine more than oneof these interests, as players may have slightlydifferent interests. Trying to add a little bit ofeach of these for all the players involved can leadto very fulfilling stories and roleplaying sessions.Finally, don’t be afraid to occasionally go a littleoff the rails if your group seems to head in thatdirection. If your party wants to open a tavern asa way to make a reliable source of income, thatcan also be a fun roleplaying session, completewith its own adventures and challenges.

Sharing InformationOne of the interesting choices you’ll have to makeas a GM is when and how to share information.This includes both what in-game and plot rele-vant information is available to the players andwhen, and also information about game rulesthat players otherwise might not have and thenumerical impacts of their actions, such as crea-ture attributes and damage done (this might alsobe thought of as "meta-game knowledge").

In-game Information

How easy or how hard it is for players to get in-formation about particular riddles, secrets, storyelements and the like is up to you as a GM, andit can vary as you see fit. If you want the play-ers to feel like they’re really delving deep to tryand figure something out, you might opt to havethem make multiple skill checks, visit multipleNPCs and find multiple clues in order to finallyget a pertinent bit of information. On the con-trary, sometimes you may want to speed alonggameplay to get to a salient point in the story, so

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Chapter 2. How To GM

you may choose to tell a player that their charac-ter is able to put two and two together and figuresomething out.

Here’s an example: say the players need to figureout how to enter a temple by pressing the correctbuttons on a stone mural (say in this case, onebutton depicting a leaf and the other depictingthe sun). In the "deep investigation" case, youmight tell the players a little about the gods thatthis temple was built for, maybe have them asksome old worshippers in town about this partic-ular religion, or find an old journal from a long-lost explorer. Through these investigations, youtell the players a little about this being a god ofagriculture, and that the sun and rain are com-mon symbols, as well as plant life being an impor-tant part. It’s up to the players now to figure outwhich buttons to press by investigating the infor-mation you’ve given them. This can be a series ofplay sessions in its own right. Now, consider the"quick information" case, where you may decidethat opening the temple doors shouldn’t really bea huge task in and of itself, but more a small tid-bit of the overall story. In this case, you might se-lect one of your more religious player charactersand tell them (maybe after a quick skill check)that they’re familiar with this particular deity,and they have a hunch the leaf and sun buttonsmight make a lot of sense.

By experimenting with these two styles and casesin between you can develop a sense for howto add good elements of mystery in your gamewhere appropriate and speed things along whennecessary.

Meta-game Knowledge

In some of the earliest iterations of tabletop role-playing games, players knew very little of thegame aspects while playing, and were merely toldby the game master what was going on. Theycould only really get vague answers to genericquestions, in an attempt to create a realistic ex-perience. For example, they didn’t know howmuch health they had left at a given time, butonly whether they were healthy, a little beat-up,or severely wounded. As a player, you might bemet with such sentences as "a bandit enters theroom and shoots you with an arrow, killing you."As gaming evolved, players gradually got moreand more information to work with.

Now, as a GM, you might find wanting to keep

some information secret. This is fine: it can bea good idea to not let your players know exactlyhow effective (in numbers) their actions will be,as it adds a little mystery and risk to choices,especially in combat. It also leaves you a bit ofwiggle room if things need to be adjusted on thefly. On the other hand, this is a game after all,and knowing a little bit about how well you areplaying the game can keep people invested. Hereare some examples: telling players how muchdamage they do with an attack is a great way tokeep them invested. Knowing you did 20 pointsof damage with your hit can make it feel like anepic round, or realising that a pretty good diceroll didn’t actually do that much can really pushhome how dangerous an enemy is. The numbersin this case make things a little more tangiblethan "it was a good hit" or "it was just a scratch."On the other hand, say an enemy is weak to fire.You might want to tell your players that theirfire arrows seemed particularly effective and tellthem the damage done, but you may not want totell them that its weakness to fire led to exactly4 extra points of damage. Of course, how muchyou share exactly is up to you, and how you bestthink your group will enjoy the game.

SchedulingRoleplaying games tend to be a recurring socialactivity, and like many recurring social activities(paint nights, casual sports...), usually need a lit-tle planning and scheduling. While you mighthave some success getting your group togethersporadically, many groups find it easier to sched-ule weekly, bi-weekly or monthly game nights.This can give people the right amount of time toget excited about a session or set up a routine.

Session Length

When running a roleplaying game session, youshould have a rough idea before you start a givensession how long you want it to go. It’s also agood idea to let your players know how long youexpect the session to last, and typically allow forsome leeway to end early or run (slightly) late.Knowing how long you want a session to run letsyou plan so that you can get the right amountof story and content done, but without lettingthe session drag on or cutting into other sched-ules. A good time for a typical session is 2 to 3hours, though short 1 hour sessions can work,and longer sessions are often done as well. Keep

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2.4. On GM Skill & Experience

in mind that very long sessions (such as a fullday) can leave players and game masters feelinga little drained or unfocused by the end of thesession.

Socializing

Like any social activity, roleplaying games area way for people to get together and bond oversomething in particular. Plenty of good sessionsstart and end with casual conversation. Some-times the conversation is about last week’s ses-sion, the events that just transpired or othergame related concepts, or the conversation mightbe something else entirely. That being said, ifyou’re trying to run very short sessions (such asan hour), youmight want to keep to the schedule,so to speak. Nevertheless, as long as everyone isgetting the gameplay they’re interested in, the so-cializing that happens before a session can warmpeople up for the game itself (much like how peo-ple meeting up for a casual sport love to hangaround and chat before and after a game).

On GM Skill & ExperienceMany people are concerned with their level ofskill when they’re running their first sessions.They’re worried they can’t produce a compellingexperience, or that their sessions won’t live upto some arbitrary cinematic standard, or theywon’t have sufficiently good voice acting for var-ious characters. There are a few ways to copewith this. Firstly, tell your players how experi-enced you are with running games. They shouldknow if you’re new to this, and good players willtake this into account, regardless of how experi-enced they are. Some might even be able to giveyou some pointers. Secondly, don’t expect to beperfect! The more you play, the more skills andtricks you will learn for running games. No onestarts out as an expert, and no one truly achievesperfection. Thirdly, don’t worry too much abouthitting a set of goals for how you run the game.The most important part of running a game fora group is learning how to GM for that specificgroup of people. Just like how you learn to haveconversations with your friends and family, you’lllearn how to run a game in a way that’s fun forboth you and your group, and this can be uniqueto each group!

Improvisation Skills

One skill a GM does need to develop is improvi-sation, but, as mentioned before, this developswith time. When running a game, your playersare almost certainly going to make a choice thatyour notes or adventure guide have not preparedyou for, and this is when you need to impro-vise. When you’re starting out, don’t worry toomuch about your improvisation being rock-solid.If there are a few logical inconsistencies here andthere, that’s fine. You’ll get better with time. Asa result of this, don’t be afraid of acknowledgingwhen you made mistakes in your story becauseof them. Maybe you improvised an opponent thathad a certain item, but wait, one of your playershas had that item the whole time! It’s okay tomake mistakes, you’ll get better and better withpractice.

5

Skill Checks, Adventuring & EncountersFor a game master, running combat can oftenbe the easier part of a roleplaying session: themonsters are well-detailed in terms of abilitiesand attributes, and the GM is at liberty to makethem act how they like. Things become differentwhen it comes to skill checks and adventuring.While a pre-written adventure (whether a cus-tom one or one made by another) often has skillchecks written into it, as a game master you willbe surprised how often you come across scenar-ios where your players attempt something com-pletely unaccounted for.

In addition to this section, many rules for adven-turing can be found in the Player’s Guide, in theAdventuring & Recovery chapter. There you willfind rules on climbing and swimming, for exam-ple.

Guidelines for Skill ChecksThe best way to be able to improvise a skill checkon the fly is to understand what the odds of suc-cess are for various difficulty levels. As men-tioned in the Player’s Guide, a skill check hasa difficulty level (abbreviated DL) and a skill orattribute. Take a DL15 Acrobatics check, for ex-ample. This check requires that the creature at-tempting the check roll a d20, add all their Ac-robatics modifiers (not forgetting their Dexterity,the governing attribute) and compare it to theDL. If it is equal or greater than the DL, they suc-ceed.

Now, let’s think about the values for difficultylevels, and how a completely unskilled creature(with a modifier of 0) would fare at them. For aDL6 check, an unskilled character will succeed75% of the time. For DL11 and DL16, those per-centages are 50% and 75% respectively. Now wehave some landmarks to work from. A DL5 orDL6 check is very easy, a DL10-11 is average,and a DL15-16 check is fairly difficult. When youneed to improvise, think about how an unskilledcharacter (one who has never attempted it beforeor who is only slightly familiar) might do. Climb-ing a steep incline? Not easy, but most peoplecan do it most of time with effort, so maybe aDL6 or DL7. Solving a complex riddle? DL16 or17 might be more appropriate, the average indi-

vidual is likely to have a very hard time. Keepin mind DLs higher than 20 are impossible forthose unskilled in the task at hand, so thingslike picking a master lock or bending a steel barare liable to have very high DLs.

Stealth Checks

If you have any kind of sneaky characters in yourgroup, stealth checks will come up often. Whenthese occur, you have a couple of options to deter-mine how difficult the stealth check should be.Firstly, if you don’t yet know what creatures arearound to hear or if you want a general stealthcheck, you can come up with a DL for a stealthcheck on the fly, remembering the suggested dif-ficulties above. The other option is to do an op-posed stealth check vs. the Insight or Observa-tion (your choice) of one or more of the creaturesthat might detect the individuals. To save time,you can make one roll for the most insightfulor observant creature in the group. Remember,you don’t always need to show your hand rightaway even if the stealth check fails. If the crea-tures are clever, they might not give away thatthey know the sneaking person is there, allowingyou to catch your players off guard. A sneakingplayer doesn’t always know if they were stealthyenough, and that’s ok, it can add an element ofmystery.

Attribute-based Checks

You might find some cases where you feel a par-ticular skill just doesn’t quite match what you’regoing for, and an attribute would be more ap-propriate. In this case, ask the player to makean attribute check (like a Strength or Dexteritycheck), but just remember that these will be alittle bit harder than skill checks in general, asplayers won’t have the additional benefit of skillpoints.

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Chapter 3. Skill Checks, Adventuring & Encounters

Example Skill ChecksSkill Check Difficulty LevelClimb over a wall DL15 AcrobaticsSmash a wooden door DL15 MightPick a crude lock DL12 BurglaryDiscern if a merchant is trying to overcharge you DL10 InsightJump a 2m gap DL10 Athletics or AcrobaticsLift a 30kg weight overhead DL6 Athletics

AdventuringAdventure and exploration make up a criticalpart of roleplaying games. This part of gameplayallows your players to immerse themselves in theworld, explore unknown areas, learn facts andsecrets and overall experience being a part of animaginary setting.

Narrative & Description

While adventuring and exploring, being descrip-tive and trying to immerse your players in thesetting is critical. Use descriptive language and,if possible, try and picture a similar experienceor setting. Try and convey the lighting, temper-ature, humidity, decor and overall feeling of thearea. Tombs and caves are often damp and cold,poorly lit and gloomy. Castles may be regal orcramped. Ruins may be mysterious and eerie, ormajestic and awe-inspiring, memories of a civi-lization long past. Elaborate on counterintuitivepoints if it applies: “As you descend further, thecaverns grow warmer, against your expectation."You may also want to describe points of note forflavour – maybe a tapestry on the wall of the greathall depicts someone who looks very much likethe duke facing an army of soldiers.

Environmental Challenges, Hazards &Adventuring Obstacles

Adventuring usually brings with it a sense ofchallenge, danger, or the unknown. While com-bat is one of the first things that comes to mindwhen thinking of challenge and danger, even ex-perienced GMs can forget about other ways to in-troduce feelings of adventure. Puzzles and rid-dles are fairly common, but it’s important not toforget that environmental challenges can be justas compelling. Consider some examples of envi-ronmental obstacles to overcome:

• A scholar’s backpack is stuck in a bird’snest high up on a dangerous cliff face, andit contains a clue for the party

• The party needs to navigate a dense jungleto find an ancient ruin

• A murky bog is between the group andtheir destination, and getting sucked intothe mud is a danger

• A deep pit blocks the path forward, andneeds to be traversed somehow

• A hallway ahead is filled with dangeroustraps, and a lot of caution is needed to pro-ceed

These kinds of adventures can be very com-pelling and provide a break from combat-oriented encounters. They typically involve prob-lem solving and skill checks to be overcome, andcan pose a wide variety of hazards from simplydelaying the party to being dangerous or even fa-tal. Just like how combat awards experience, youshould award experience for overcoming signifi-cant obstacles (a point or two is usually good).This will further make the players feel like theyhave overcome a challenge.

Player Creativity

Don’t worry about designing a skill-based adven-ture or obstacle only to have it overcome by a dif-ferent solution. If you added a deep chasm thatyou expected the players to jump across and oneof the players brought a portable bridge or hasa flight spell, that’s fine! Let the players feel re-warded for overcoming the challenge in a non-obvious way. Youmight even describe some signsof difficulty some other creature had with thisobstacle so that they can feel that their sophisti-cated solution saved them unnecessary risk.

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3.3. Encounters

Skill Check Sequences

Generally for such an adventuring obstacle, youwill want at least a handful of skill checks thatneed to be overcome. Traversing a muddy bogmight need a check to jump over a mud pit, an-other to cross a fallen log, a third to use someroots and branches to get around amurky puddleand a fourth to properly navigate a small stream,which failure at each resulting in some kind ofeffect. Try to vary your intended skill checks toprovide some variety, if possible.

Dangers

These obstacles should have some danger withthem. While damage from effects such as fallingis described in the Player’s Guide, you mightwant to think of other damage that might oc-cur from traps or falling rocks. You can usethe damage value for a spell as a good guideline:pick something the players would be liable to en-counter. If you’re not sure, try 2d6 or 2d8 + thecharacter level of the party. This damage shouldusually be rolled against the skill or attribute forthe corresponding check, just like a spell. Forexample, a level 2 character with 3 Dex and 2 Ac-robatics tries to dodge a falling rock by rolling fora DL12 Acrobatics check. They fail (rolling a 3 onthe d20 for a total of 8), and so you roll 2d8+2 vs.the character’s Acrobatics as crushing damage.You roll a 4 and a 5, for a total of 11, minus the5 Acrobatics of the player character means theytake 6 damage. Their character didn’t make thecheck, but they’re fairly Acrobatic so the damageis mitigated. In some cases, the skill for the dam-age might not match the check. Maybe an ex-otic plant fires a cloud of toxic spores at a player.They need Acrobatics for the check to avoid thecloud, but the damage is rolled against Fortitude.This means that an acrobatic character is morelikely to avoid the spores, but will likely takemoredamage if they fail than a high fortitude charac-ter, who will likely be hit by the toxins but shrugthem off more easily.

EncountersAn encounter is a catch all term for an event orlocation that provides some challenge or obsta-cle for the party. Many encounters are combatencounters, but puzzles and the aforementionedenvironmental obstacles are all also encounters.Even something as simple as finding a key on theground in a particular location can qualify as an

encounter.

Encounters for a Reason

When a party comes across an encounter, itshould typically have some purpose, or conveythat it is important. The purpose of encoun-ters is, however, not always specific. Sometimesthe encounter serves to advance the story, whileother times it helps immerse the players in thesetting. Finding a backpack with a journal loston the road might help the players in their in-vestigation of the nearby bandits, while runninginto a pack of wolves might make the playersfeel more that they are navigating the wilderness,and there are dangers inherent to it. Encoun-ters might also hint at the wider world or futureplot elements. If the players stumble across someancient ruins, it might make them think aboutwhat existed in the world before and where, butit might also contain an item or clue that couldbe relevant later, making the players think: “Hey,those ruins we were at a while back, I wonderwhy they were important?"

Encounter Design

Designing encounters is an art and a science.There are no hard and fast rules for a good en-counter, only that it should be designed withpurpose. Combat, roleplay, puzzle and envi-ronmental encounters can have varying degreesof challenge and complexity depending on theirpurpose, and their difficulties should vary in asomewhat unpredictable way. Reasonably chal-lenging encounters (that is, ones that requiresome skill and risk on behalf of the party butwhich have a good chance of success) should bethe most common, but variety really makes acampaign shine. One of the traps that is easyto fall into is to make every encounter perfectlybalanced for your party. This makes encountersrepetitive and eventually bland. Like in life, someencounters should be easier than the standard,and some harder. The easy encounters will al-low players to feel the strength of their character,and allow them to feel the effects of their charac-ter leveling up and acquiring equipment and re-sources, while the hard encounters will add ten-sion and an edge to gameplay.

Designing Combat EncountersCombat encounters are more intensive to designas they have more moving parts and variables,

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Chapter 3. Skill Checks, Adventuring & Encounters

but there is a good starting point. In Torch, num-bers are generally fairly important. This meansan encounter where both sides have the samenumber of creatures will be more evenly matchedthan other outcomes. In addition, matchingcreature/character levels generally (but not al-ways) correspond to similar combat strengths.So, as a rule of thumb, a group of X creaturesof level Y will be a good match for X players oflevel Y . Torch is designed so that this kind ofmatch up will generally favour the players overthe GM’s creatures, making the encounter chal-lenging but not too unlikely. In addition, theplayers are likely to strategize and optimize sothat such a combat encounter won’t leave themtoo exhausted to continue adventuring.

Unequal Numbers

When the numbers start to become unequal,the advantage usually tips in favour of the sidewith more creatures, though level differencesand good positioning can change this. A band ofhigh level characters can overcome a small hordeof weak skeletons, especially if they’re properlystrategizing. The advantage in numbers comesfrom the additional amount of actions that sideeffectively gets to take each round. More crea-tures means more attacks, and that means moredamage to potentially knock down an enemy, re-ducing the damage output of the enemy side.If you’re unsure how to balance these kinds ofscenarios, add up the total levels of the playersin your party. The total levels of the creaturesthey’re facing should be about similar to thatnumber, but remember the advantages numberscan provide. Better to err on the side of too easyuntil you know what your players are capable of.

Magic-Using Enemies

Magic can be very potent in encounters, so useit wisely. One thing to remember is that yourplayers are likely trying to use their limited abil-ities and spells wisely, in case they have anotherencounter after this one. You may not be doingthis, expecting your creatures not to survive theencounter. That means you may have a magic-user spending mana very aggressively, which canaffect the difficulty of the encounter. A conserva-tive magic-user might only cast a couple of spells,while a reckless one might use massive spells ev-ery round.

Boss Fights

At some point you will want to have a boss fight orboss encounter. You will want some durable op-ponent who provides a big target for your party,with or without some allies, to stand in theirway. You can use any creature from the monsterslisted in this book as a boss creature, thoughsome are more suited than others. You will def-initely want to increase the base health of thecreature, and you will also want to give it someadditional health based on the number of play-ers fighting it, especially if there are no lesserenemies with it. Once you’ve had a couple ofsimple combat encounters with your group, youshould have an idea of how much damage eachplayer can dish out a turn. From there, simplydecide howmany turns you feel like the boss fightshould last, on average, and give it a correspond-ing amount of health (if each of your players deals10 damage on average and there are 4 of them,a 200 health boss should last approximately 5turns). You might want to give it a little bit more,even then.

Villain Fights

If you want to have a boss fight with a recurringvillain, you should make sure it has some meansof escape. Players can get very good at eliminat-ing enemies they think are the primary bad guy,so your villain should usually show up with somefriends or minions, or a substantial health pool,or both. In order to have a recurring villain, it hasto survive the first meeting. Many a dark wizardhas suffered a quick demise to a synchronizedbackstab-fireball-arrow-greatsword attack whiletrying to do their grand exposition, ending a se-ries of campaign encounters a little earlier thanthe GM would like.

Difficulty on the Fly

Remember that it’s not just the creature’s statsthat determine its difficulty, but also how youplay it. If a band of skeleton archers focusesthe fragile magic-user in the back of the partyfirst, and eliminates them to proceed on to theless threatening enemies, that encounter will bemuch more difficult than if they focus on theshield-bearing warrior trying to get their atten-tion. How you play the creatures determines agood part of their challenge, and you can usethis to save an encounter that’s going poorly forthe players (or make it a touch more difficult ifit seems too easy). Wounded enemies might flee,

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3.3. Encounters

distracted enemies might attack a poor choice oftarget, or enemies might get caught in hazardsor have their ability to attack stopped by terrain.

Designing Other Dangerous EncountersOther encounters, such as puzzles and environ-mental encounters, which feature an element ofdanger such as a trap or hazard should be builtin a thoughtful way. It is generally a good ideafor these kinds of encounters to be about as dan-gerous as they appear. A bundle of small fallingrocks should be dangerously damaging but notlethal, while a massive swinging blade whichlooks like it could kill in a single stroke shouldbe near lethal. Surprise traps can be made tobe fairly damaging but in general they shouldnot kill instantly. Instant death traps are veryrarely fun for the player and should be avoidedunless everyone in the group is in agreement.Remember, the point is to have fun, and char-acter development is often a part of that. Be-coming attached to a character only for it to diesuddenly and with no warning can be upsettingfor a player.

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Monsters & MortalsThis chapter is divided into two main parts: thefirst contains guidelines and information for de-signing your own creatures and enemies whilethe second part is a compendium of variousmonsters for use in creating adventures. Thecreatures in the compendium make an excellentstarting point for designing your own monstersand enemies.

Stat BlocksA stat block is essentially a character sheet for acreature or enemy. They can come in two forms:the short form :

Skeleton 0th LevelUndead

Health 16Defense 13 Unarmored 13Active Defense +2AttacksSkeletal Punch 1d3+1

Str 1 Dex 1 Sta 1 Int 0 Spi 0 Cha 0

Traits & AbilitiesUndead Resistance Like most undead, thiscreature is immune to charm, sleep, and mostfear and mind-control effects. It takes only halfdamage from spells that would cause these ef-fects.ResistancesPiercing (2) Slashing (2) Shadow (2) Poison (4)VulnerabilitiesCrushing (3) Force (3) Radiant (3)

Which takes into account only attributes, at-tacks, some traits, and if needed, spells andmana. This makes common creatures more eas-ily condensed, and makes creation much faster.If you are using a short form stat block and needthat creature to make a skill check, you only usethe governing attribute for that skill. Likewisefor defending against spells. If the creature has3 Stamina, then it has a 3 for Endurance, Forti-tude and Toughness.

Creature Creation GuideCreating a monster is a lot like creating a char-acter. The first step is figuring out a concept,and then allocating attributes. Afterwards, se-lect or design some traits to give your creaturesome flavour. Finally, if needed, you can addsome spells and items to finish them off.

Level

Keeping in mind what level your creature is ap-proximately will make calculating values mucheasier, and help control their level of strength.Don’t be afraid to create weaker 0th level crea-tures as needed.

Attributes

Assign attributes just like you would a charac-ter, 12 base attribute points, and 2 additionalones for every 2 levels of the creature beyond level1. You might also forgo additional traits for an-other attribute point instead. Furthermore, theexact amount of attributes for a given level is nota strict rule. Some enemies have potent traitsthat warrant reducing some attributes, while forothers you may want to reduce certain attributesto introduce a weakness.

SkillsMost creatures use short form stat blocks and assuch don’t require skill assignment. Epic crea-tures and non-player characters of note usuallyhave skill allocation just like player characters.Note that lack of skills can make creatures justa bit weaker than players of the same level whenit comes to spells and skill checks. You can ad-just this with powerful traits, additional health,or larger numbers. Design your creatures care-fully to provide a challenge but not be impossible.

Health

You can calculate health by using the standardformula for characters: 20+3xlevel+6xStamina.While you can modify a creature’s health us-ing Stamina, this also increases their resistanceto effects involving Endurance, Fortitude andToughness. It can be useful to change the base

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Chapter 4. Monsters & Mortals

value of 20 to gain a particular effect for yourcreature. With a base of 10, you can designswarming enemies that are easily defeated, ormoving the base up to 30 or even 40 can cre-ate more durable monsters. Increasing health(within reason) is a good way to make a combatfeel more epic without necessarily making a crea-ture too difficult to hit or too hard-hitting, suchthat it might dispatch players too quickly.

Buffing BossesCombat in Torch is usually pretty quick,so if you wish to create compelling bossfights where there are little or no other en-emies helping the boss, you will need toprovide additional health to your creaturebased on the number of players in com-bat. First, get an idea of how much dam-age your players can do with one of theirturns. Some characters can average 10to 15 points of damage per attack quitereliably, while others might do less whileproviding other benefits to their group. Assuch, adding 10, 20 or even 30 health perplayer engaging your enemy can buy yourfight a few extra rounds. Remember to roleplay your creature according to its nature inepic fights like this.Stun and Disable ResistanceStuns and disables can be very potent inTorch, and they can spell doom for a bosscreature quite quickly. When designingboss encounters, if there are not a lot ofother creatures around to help the bossout, you will likely want to give it a cou-ple ways to evade stuns and disables a fewtimes. This can make your creatures seemmore epic or intimidating. Don’t deny yourplayers a stun every time however, theymay feel cheated. Let them feel rewardedwhen they do get to disable a dangerousboss.

Defense

Dexterity contributes directly to Unarmored De-fense. This can be increased to increase thedurability of a creature and make them harderto hit. On creatures that use Dexterity to attack,this also increases their damage. Armor is also auseful way to provide Defense that might be cir-cumvented by traits and effects. You can tweakdefense off the base value a little if needed to add

some more staying power.

Attacks

You should design some methods of attack foryour creature, and also decide if it uses a par-ticular attribute for its attacks. You can use thecombat trait system as described in the Charac-ter Creation chapter. Creatures can use Strength(gaining an additional +5), Dexterity (gaining +3),Intellect (gaining +2) or no attribute in particular.If the creature uses no attribute, determine thebonus to its attacks based on what style they are,strong, agile, or clever. You can also determinethe damage die by comparing it to a weapon: isthe attack about as dangerous as a dagger orsmall weapon? Use a d4. Is it as lethal as a greataxe or siege crossbow? Use a d12. If the creatureuses a weapon, it should use the attack die forthat weapon when determining the damage of itsweapon attacks.

Traits

Designing traits is where the true flavour of acreature can come through. They can be as sim-ple or complex as needed, and you needn’t usethe exact amount prescribed by the level of thecreature. Use more or less to get the proper feelof the creature, or to design interesting mechan-ics for an intense combat. You can also considernegative traits to add some strategy to defeatingan opponent. You may also want to consider us-ing traits identical or similar to those available toplayers.

Common Creature TraitsCommon traits for creatures include specialmovement methods such as flight or burrowing,additional health or defense, or immunity to cer-tain effects. See some examples below (in theseexamples, X indicates a value to be chosen whencreating the creature, and it should generally behigher for tougher creatures):

AquaticThis creature moves through water with nomovement penalties.

Armored HideThis creature gains X additional defense (2-4 arecommon values).

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4.3. Creature Compendium

BurrowingThis creature may burrow underground as itsmovement action, moving up to half its normalmovement speed. It may choose to remain bur-rowed after moving, making it untargetable byabilities, spells and attacks until it surfaces, butit is unable to perform other actions (unless oth-erwise specified).

FlightThis creature may fly as its move action, movingat double its normal speed and ignoring most ter-rain it flies over.

Fast FlightThis creature may fly as its move action, mov-ing at triple its normal speed and ignoring mostterrain it flies over.

ToughThis creature gains X additional health (5 percreature level is a good starting point).

Spells

In this section you can note the spellcastingmod-ifier (SM), total mana and available spells. Youmight also opt to note which spellcasting at-tribute is used.

Resistances & Vulnerabilities

Resistances and vulnerabilities can be added to acreature to give them some interesting strengthsand weaknesses. A creature with a resistancetakes X less damage from attacks dealing thatdamage type, where X is the number in parenthe-ses next to the damage type, and one with a vul-nerability takes X more from that damage type.This means that certain strategies, weapons andspells can become more or less useful againstcertain creatures. For example, a poison bolt isnot very good against a skeleton, but a warham-mer or crushing boulder is.

Equipment

Lots of humanoid creatures have baseline recom-mended equipment, but these can be changedto suit the scenario as needed. Especially sinceTorch groups weapons and armor into broadcategories, it’s possible to re-purpose many ofthe humanoid stat blocks to match a differenttheme. Here are a couple examples: bandits andtheir leaders can become pirates, raiders or peas-ant militia, guards can become criminal thugs, a

city guard becomes a soldier, a warrior becomesa hoplite using a spear or a legionary with a longgladius and square shield.

Playing CreaturesIn order to determine what a creaturemight do on their turn in combat, thinkabout how intelligent or adaptive the crea-ture is. Smart enemies might recognizelarger threats even though they’re not im-mediately in front of them, and ignore lessdangerous enemies based on this. Varyingthe way enemies in different encountersbehave is an excellent way to provide in-teresting combat encounters for your play-ers. Finally, remember that you ultimatelycontrol the creatures, and they don’t haveto always fight to the death or fixate onone opponent, they might spread their at-tacks out, panic and flee, or try alternativetactics. Changing up the strategies beingused during a combat can make a triv-ial encounter more challenging, or lightenup an encounter that could spell an earlydoom for your players.

Creature CompendiumBelow is a list of creatures for use in design-ing your own adventures, or as inspiration foryour own enemies. They are categorized intotypes and subtypes, and include a description ofthe creature, and may also include some designnotes that can provide insight into strategies forcreating your own variants.

Beasts

Beasts represent animals, large or small, thatcan provide a challenge to players either individ-ually or in numbers. They range from massiveelephants to small swarms of rats, and can bevicious or docile. Some may even be extremelyrare, terrifying examples of their kind, or slightlyenhanced by magic.

BearsSometimes lumbering, sometimes less so, bearsare fairly massive beasts that generally tend toavoid people, but are certainly not to be trifledwith. They can often be found foraging or slowlywandering, seeking different foods depending on

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the type of bear.

Black Bear

Black bears are smaller than their cousins,brown bears, but are certainly nothing to laughat. Males can weigh on average 100kg (220 lbs)and boast considerable strength, able to turnover 300 pound rocks in search of food. Theyalso boast considerable senses and can be sur-prisingly clever.

Black Bear 2nd LevelBeast

Health 50Defense 14 Unarmored 14Active Defense +3AttacksClaw 1d6+10Bite 1d6+10


Traits & AbilitiesCharge The bear may charge to close the dis-tance, making a backhand claw attack thatdeals half damage. If the attack lands, the tar-get is knocked down.Perceptive Thanks to exceptional smell andsenses, the bear gains a +4 on Observationchecks to detect creatures nearby.

Big Cats

Lion

A fairly massive apex predator, the lion can befound alone or in a group known as a pride.They boast impressive speed, great strength andsurprising cunning, and are often the dominantpredator wherever they may roam.

Lion 3rd LevelBeast



Traits & AbilitiesSavageWhen the Lion successfully lands a biteattack, it strikes the target savagely, making anadditional claw attack against the target.Perceptive Thanks to exceptional smell andsenses, the Lion gains a +4 on Observationchecks to detect creatures nearby.

Cougar

A smaller mountain cat also sometimes calleda puma or mountain lion, they generally avoidinteractions with humans, but are still cunningpredators. They may strike out in times of des-peration or frenzy, or may be a nuisance to farm-ers and shepherds that need to be dealt with.

Cougar 1st LevelBeast



Traits & AbilitiesElusive If the Cougar moved during its turn, itgains a +1 to Defense until the start of its nextturn.Perceptive Thanks to exceptional smell andsenses, the Cougar gains a +4 on Observationchecks to detect creatures nearby.

CaninesDogs and wolves can be loyal companions or ter-rifying hunters, depending on the circumstance.

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Packs of baying hounds or howling wolves canserve to unnerve characters or to press them ina particular direction.

Wolf

Wolves come in varying sizes, but all tend to be atthe very least concerning, especially when star-ing down a pack of snarling ones. The wolves de-scribed below are excellent observers and track-ers, and become more lethal in packs. The smallwolf can be used against weaker players or to fillout a pack in addition to some larger wolves whopose more of a threat.

Small Wolf 0th LevelBeast

Health 21Defense 13 Unarmored 13Active Defense +2AttacksBite 1d4+5


Traits & AbilitiesPack Hunter The wolf gains a +2 to attacksagainst enemies who are in combat with otherwolves.

Wolf 0th LevelBeast



Traits & AbilitiesPack Hunter The wolf gains a +2 to attacksagainst enemies who are in combat with otherwolves.Perceptive Thanks to exceptional smell andsenses, the wolf gains a +4 on Observationchecks to detect creatures nearby, as well asfor tracking checks.

Dire Fox

The dire fox is a rare and mighty creature, nearlyas large as a horse and with a white, orange andblack coloration that allows it to blend into au-tumnal forest colours. They are usually reclu-sive, save for the rare ones who are companionsof druids, who tend to be on the curious andplayful side.

Dire Fox 5th LevelBeast



Traits & AbilitiesRapid Strikes Every second turn, the Fox canmake two Bite attacks instead of one.Perceptive Thanks to exceptional smell andsenses, the Dire Fox gains a +4 on Observa-tion checks to detect creatures nearby.Leaping Bite The Fox may leap at a target morethan 3m away, making a bite attack and addingan additional d6 to the result.

Deer, Moose and Other Forest CreaturesThough they are herbivores, deer (especiallystags) and moose, especially those of consider-able size, have been the end of many hunters.It is unwise to underestimate their speed orstrength.

Moose

Moose are massive, can run quite fast, and canbe aggressive. Their hooves, and the antlerspresent on the males, can crush bone and sendopponents flying.

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Moose 2nd LevelBeast

Health 56Defense 13 Unarmored 13Active Defense +3AttacksAntlers/Hooves 1d8+10


Traits & AbilitiesFling Whenever the moose deals 10 or moredamage with a single attack, it knocks the op-ponent into the air and they fall prone, unlessthey succeed a DL10 Acrobatics check to landon their feet.

Rats & VerminGenerally unpleasant, these creatures tend toswarm and overwhelm, though massive speci-mens can also exist, a challenge individually aswell as in groups.

Huge Rat

About the size of a medium to large dog, theserats are not to be trifled with. While relativelyfragile, they can deliver a nasty bite and swarmtheir prey.

Huge Rat 0th LevelBeast



Traits & AbilitiesRat Pack If multiple rats attack the same tar-get in the same turn, they receive a bonus. Ifother rats have attacked this rat’s target thisturn, it gains +1 for each other rat that attackedthe target.VulnerabilitiesFire (2)

ReptilesTo many, even small reptiles can be unnerving,cold-blooded predators. When faced with abnor-mally large versions, even the most experiencedhunter will opt to flee.

Alligators & Crocodiles

Massive apex predators, these reptiles lie in waitjust on the water’s surface, preparing to ambushtheir prey with a burst of speed.

Huge Alligator

A Huge Alligator is a creature no one hopes torun into, its massive size making it more chal-lenging to escape, granting it a leathery hide,and enough strength to turn nearly anything intoprey.

Huge Alligator 5th LevelBeast

Health 71Defense 15 Unarmored 14Active Defense +4AttacksTail Swing 1d4+11Bite 1d10+11


Traits & AbilitiesThrash If the Alligator made a Bite attack thisround, it may also may a Tail Swing attack at adifferent target in melee range.Tough Hide The Alligator has 1 additional de-fense due to its leathery hide.ResistancesSlashing (2)

Snakes

Serpents both large and small can be lethal tothose who cross them. Even in their normalsizes, small venomous snakes can have a lethalbite, and larger constrictors can make quickwork of lone wanderers.

Venomous Serpent

A Venomous Serpent is just about the size itshould be, but that doesn’t make it any less dan-gerous. They may bite larger creatures whenstartled or threated, or when amore sinister force

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is guiding them to it, and their venom can injureand cripple the less hearty adventurer.

Venomous Serpent 0th LevelBeast



Traits & AbilitiesVenomous Bite When the serpent dealsdamage with its bite, the target must make aDL13 Fortitude check or suffer the effects ofvenom. The venom deals 2d4+1 damage vs.Fortitude immediately, and the victim suffersa -1 to all attack, spell and skill rolls, anddefense and spell defenses for 1d4 turns.

ResistancesPoison (2)

Giant Rattlesnake

A Giant Rattlesnake is a terrifying thing to be-hold, or even to hear from a distance. Grownmuch larger than they should, large enough toswallow a man, it would seem that the rattle re-mains only as a tool to taunt and terrify.

Giant Rattlesnake 5th LevelBeast

Health 59Defense 16 Unarmored 16Active Defense +4AttacksTail Swing 1d4+10Bite 1d10+10


Traits & AbilitiesVenomous Bite When the Rattlesnake dealsdamage with its bite, the target must make aDL15 Fortitude check or suffer the effects ofvenom. The venom deals 2d6+3 damage vs.Fortitude to the victim at the start of its turn,and lasts 1d4+2 turns.Flailing Thrash When the Rattlesnake takes15 or more damage from a single source, itthrashes about, making a Tail Swing attackagainst any within 3m of it. The final damageof this attack is halved.ResistancesAcid (2) Poison (6)

Giant Constrictor

Larger than an anaconda, the Giant Constric-tor has a head larger than a man’s shoulders,giving it a terrible bite attack in addition to it’sconstricting abilities. At home on land, in thewater, or in the rare tree that can hold its mass,they ambush their prey when least expected.

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Giant Constrictor 7th LevelBeast

Health 83Defense 15 Unarmored 15Active Defense +4AttacksTail Swing 1d4+11Bite 1d10+11Constrict 1d10+11


Traits & AbilitiesConstrict The serpentmay attempt to constricta target. The target must succeed an opposedAthletics, Might, or Acrobatics check againstthe snake to avoid being trapped. If the serpentsucceeds, it may perform a bonus constrict at-tack against the target each turn. The victimmay try to succeed an opposed Athletics, Mightor Acrobatics check to break free on their turn,but may do nothing else. The snake may alsocontinue to make bite attacks in addition to itsbonus constrict.Hardened Scales Slashing and crushing at-tacks which deal 4 or less damage instead dealonly 1 point of damage to the serpent.Tough The constrictor has an additional 24health.Heightened Senses The constrictor gains a+4 to Observation checks to detect noises orsmells.ResistancesCrushing (2) Slashing (2)

Demons

Creatures of the underworld, demons typi-cally appear in the mortal realm through darkmagic or evil happenings. They typically onlyserve themselves, unless circumstances (suchas magic or power) force them to act otherwise.They range in appearance and abilities from mis-chievous imps to manipulating succubi to terri-ble pit fiends. They are (for the most part) quitepowerful and will pose a challenge to all but themost mighty of adventurers.

Imp

Mischievous and malevolent, imps possesswicked claws and minor magics, allowing themto wreak small amounts of havoc, especiallywhen no knowledgeable or skilled individuals arearound to deal with them. Imps naturally know

the firebolt spell, but as a GM you may give themadditional spells (illusions work well) to allowthem to cause trouble.

Imp 2nd LevelDemon

Health 38Defense 14 Unarmored 14Active Defense +3AttacksClaw 1d4+7


Traits & AbilitiesFlurry Three times per combat, the demonmaymake double the number of melee attacks.Burst of Flight If the Imp spends its wholeturnmoving, it flies instead, andmoves at twiceits normal speed.MagicMana 22 SM 4SpellsFireboltResistancesFire (2) Shadow (2)VulnerabilitiesRadiant (3)

Succubus

Succubi are masters of manipulation and seduc-tion, and use these means to get mortals to dotheir bidding. Through magical and mundanemeans, they can weasel their way into positionsof power, using illusion to hide their true natureand influence entire kingdoms accordingly. Theyare no slouches when it comes to combat how-ever, especially when it comes to a one-on-one,where their deceptive powers really shine.

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Lesser Succubus 9th LevelDemon

Health 65Defense 15 Unarmored 15Active Defense +5AttacksClaws 1d4+8Whip (5m) 1d6+8


Traits & AbilitiesElusive If the Succubus moved on its turn, itgains an additional +3 to its defense.Demonic Charm The Succubus gains an addi-tional +4 to all checks involving charm, decep-tion or seduction.Dashing Duelist When fighting a single tar-get, the Succubus gains a +3 modifier to attackrolls.Specialist Caster: Enchanter The duration ofenchantments and charms cast by this crea-ture is doubled, and their difficulty to resist areincreased by 1.Beguiling Presence Creatures touched by theSuccubus suffer a -2 to all attack rolls againsther, and a -2 to all skill checks to resist hercharms or suggestions. This effect is doubledon targets kissed by the Succubus.Limited Flight The Succubus may fly shortdistances (20m of movement for 1 movementaction). In combat, she may attempt to fly onlyif there are no enemies in melee range.MagicMana 47 SM 5SpellsFirebolt, Shadowbolt, Spark Shower, Fireball,Charm, Invisibility, Illusion (Minor), Mind BlastResistancesShadow (2)VulnerabilitiesRadiant (2)

Winged Demon

Winged demons are simple, savage demons.Their large claws and sharp fangs aid them inswooping down and assaulting innocent crea-tures on fiery wings. Swift movement and leath-ery hides make these bat-like humanoids diffi-cult to strike, and rapid regeneration means thatif they aren’t dealt with in a single engagementthey can quickly return at full strength.

Winged Demon 9th LevelDemon

Health 77Defense 20 Unarmored 16Active Defense +5AttacksBite 1d8+10Claw 1d6+10


Traits & AbilitiesUncanny Regeneration The Winged Demonregenerates 2d8 health at the end of each com-bat round.Fiery Swoop When attacking after a flyingmovement, the Winged Demon may perform aFiery Swoop, adding a +4 to their attack roll.After the attack is finished, the swoop deals2d10 + 4 vs Acrobatics as fire damage in 5 mradius around the demon.Evasive The demon gains an additional +3 todefense on turns that this creature moved.Demonic Hide The demon gains +3 armor froma reinforced hide.Flight This demon may move through flight,doubling its movement speed.ResistancesFire (3) Shadow (3)VulnerabilitiesRadiant (2)

Hellhound

These denizens of the underworld roam in packs,hounding prey with their molten fangs. Withhides resistant to magical attacks and a bite ca-pable of melting armor, they pose a threat to anyadventurer, even more so in packs.

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Hellhound 5th LevelDemon



Traits & AbilitiesDemonic Resilience This demon gains an ad-ditional 10 health, and regenerates 1d6 healthat the end of each combat round.Magic Resistance Three times per combat, thehellhound may reduce incoming magic damageby 1d8.Infernal Senses The hellhound gains a +3 toInsight, Observation and Research checks fortracking or searching.Fiery Bite When the hellhound deals damageto a target with its bite, it deals an additional2d4+2 vs. Toughness fire damage.Melt Armor Once per combat, after dealingdamage with a bite attack, the hellhound mayreduce the Defense of an armored target by 1d6until the end of combat.ResistancesFire (2) Shadow (2)VulnerabilitiesFrost (3) Radiant (3)

Horned Demon

Horned Demon 11th LevelDemon

Health 125Defense 18 Unarmored 15Active Defense +5AttacksPunch 1d6+14Hoof 1d6+14Gore 1d8+14


Traits & AbilitiesMagic Resistance When this demon is the tar-get of a damaging spell or magical effect, it mayreduce that damage by 10. This may be usedup to twice per combat.Quick Spell The horned demon may cast Fire-bolt, Shadow Bolt or Vampiric Touch as aminoraction.Multi-Attack When attacking as a combat ac-tion, this creature may attack twice with itshoof or punch attacks, or once with a gore at-tack and any other attack.Demonic Resilience The demon gains 3 bonusdefense, 30 additional health, and regenerates1d6+4 health at the end of each of its turns.Charging Gore If the demon moves at least10m before making a gore attack, its attack rollis increased by 9. In addition, its base move-ment is increased by 5m.MagicMana 53 SM 5SpellsFirebolt, Shadow Bolt, Vampiric Touch, FearResistancesFire (4) Shadow (4)VulnerabilitiesRadiant (4)

Pit Fiend

The pit fiend is one of the mightiest entities of theunderworld. Wielding blades and whips of pureflame and electricity, unfathomable strength,and a keen mind, the pit fiend seeks to subju-gate all others to its rule, whether mortal or oth-erwise. It does so using its martial prowess, all ofits physical skill, an arsenal of dark magic, andany more subtle manipulations it may need tomake use of.

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Pit Fiend 17th LevelDemon

Health 199Defense 19 Unarmored 15Active Defense +7AttacksFlame Blade 1d8+16Arc Whip (10 m) 1d6+16


Traits & AbilitiesMulti-Action The Pit Fiend may make twocombat actions on their turn (either attacks orspellcasts).Combat Maneuvers The Pit Fiend has the useof the Bleed and Stun combat maneuvers, asper the Combat Maneuvers trait.Flurry Three times per combat, the demonmaymake double the number of melee attacks.Demonic Hide The Pit Fiend’s hardened skingrants bonus armor (+4) and health (+80).Aura of Fear Whenever this demon suffersdamage exceeding 10, nearby enemies within3 meters must succeed a DL16 Will check ortake 2d4+4 vs. Will damage and flee for 1 turn.Infernal Regeneration At the end of its turn,the demon regenerates 2d4 health.Elemental Damage The Pit Fiend may havedamage dealt by it’s Flame Blade be in the formof Slashing or Fire damage, and damage dealtby the Arc Whip may be Piercing, Fire or Light-ning damage.Flying The Pit Fiend may fly short distances,ignoring terrain and moving an additional 5 mon a move action.MagicMana 83 SM 8SpellsAgonizing Scream, Baleful Blast, Dispel Magic,Fireball, Mind Blast, Shadow Fury, SickeningCloud, Sleep, Spirit Shell, Summon ImpResistancesCrushing (2) Fire (4) Piercing (2) Slashing (2)Shadow (4)VulnerabilitiesRadiant (2)

Dragons & Dragonkind

Dragons and dragonkind are iconic encountersin any roleplaying game, so we would be re-miss not to include any here. Dragons comein many shapes and colors, and typically are

four-legged winged reptiles with a notable intel-lect and a dangerous breath weapon, whetherfire, frost, acid or almost any other kind imag-inable. Dragonkind include wyverns: who huntwith poisonous stingers; drakes: lesser cousinsof dragons; dragon turtles: seafaring dragonswith hardened shells, and many more.

The breath weapon and characteristics of drag-ons are not necessarily tied to their color or theirappearance; this is something you may chooseto elaborate on in your particular campaign.

DrakeDrakes are somewhat like the beasts of thedragon world, smaller, more feral, and much lessintelligent. Where dragons become quite wise asthey age, drakes do not develop language, tend toact as feral predators, and remain much smallerthan dragons as they age. Their wings are bat-like, with their front claws integrated into theirwings, for four limbs total.Drakes may be found alone or in small families.When they come of age, they leave their familiesto strike out on their own. A drake that headsoff on its own can cause trouble for smaller com-munities and lead to the hiring of drake-slayers.When they congregate as a family, they are typ-ically found in more isolated locations and takemore precautions to avoid the discovery of theirnests. In this case, small groups of drakes mayrange out on short journeys to hunt large prayand bring it back to the main nest.When it comes to hunting, drakes may circle highabove, then swoop down and catch smaller preywith their claws or blast large prey or groups withtheir breath.

Drake AgeIf you want to vary the age of drakesto make them a bit more or less power-ful, you can add or subtract some healthand/or attribute points. For an olderdrake, add 10 health and two attributepoints to attributes of your choice (usuallyStr, Dex or Sta, but Spi is also a commonchoice), while for a young drake, subtract10 health and two attribute points. Re-member to recalculate defense, health andattacks based on the new attributes.

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Fire Drake

Fire drakes are the bane of many villages, theiraffinity for setting things ablaze with their breathturning thatch-roofed houses to ash with ease.When nesting, they prefer warm, stony locationsif at all possible. Caves, volcanoes and hot-springs are great places for a fire drake to calltheir home. Fire drakes are often red or blackin color, but it is not unheard of for them to beshades of green or brown, or even blue in a rarecase.

Fire Drake 5th LevelDragonkin

Health 69Defense 17 Unarmored 15Active Defense +4AttacksBite 1d10+10Claws 1d6+9Tail/Wing Buffet (5m range) 1d6+8


Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The scales of the drake increaseits Defense by +2. Attacks and effects whichignore armor seek soft spots, such as the un-derbelly of the drake.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the drake canattack twice. Once per combat, it can make 4attacks instead of two. It can use two claw at-tacks, one bite attack, one tail attack or twowing buffets.Swoop While flying, the drake can swoop downat a target, making two claw attacks with a +2bonus to each one.Fire Breath The drake inhales briefly, then ablast of fire surges forth to all in a 20m cone(60 degree arc), dealing 2d8+8 Fire damage vs.Acrobatics. This can be used 1d4+2 times percombat.ResistancesFire (4)VulnerabilitiesFrost (2)

Frost Drake

Typically preferring cool seasides, snowy moun-tain peaks or glaciers, frost drakes use theirfreezing breath to hinder or outright kill theirprey before carrying it off to their nests. Theyare often blue, grey or white in color, but other

colors such as brown or black have been seen.

Frost Drake 5th LevelDragonkin



Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The scales of the drake increaseits Defense by +2. Attacks and effects whichignore armor seek soft spots, such as the un-derbelly of the drake.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the drake canattack twice. Once per combat, it can make 4attacks instead of two. It can use two claw at-tacks, one bite attack, one tail attack or twowing buffets.Swoop While flying, the drake can swoop downat a target, making two claw attacks with a +2bonus to each one.Frost Breath The drake inhales briefly, thena blast of cold and ice surges forth to all in a20m cone (60 degree arc), dealing 2d8+7 Frostdamage vs. Endurance. Affected enemies havetheir movement speed halved for their nextturn. This can be used 1d4+2 times per com-bat.ResistancesFrost (4)VulnerabilitiesFire (2)

Storm Drake

Storm drakes tend to dwell wherever storms arethe most fierce. They have been seen on coastalcliffs where storms churn up the waves, or inmountains bordering vast plains that see a lot ofrainstorms. Their lightning breath is awesometo behold, and mingles with the lightning in theclouds above. Frequently blue, grey or black incolor, the storm drake can be hard to spot flyingthrough sky or clouds.

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Storm Drake 5th LevelDragonkin



Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The scales of the drake increaseits Defense by +2. Attacks and effects whichignore armor seek soft spots, such as the un-derbelly of the drake.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the drake canattack twice. Once per combat, it can make 4attacks instead of two. It can use two claw at-tacks, one bite attack, one tail attack or twowing buffets.Electrified Swoop While flying, the drake canswoop down at a target, making two claw at-tacks with a +2 bonus to each one. It alsocrashes down upon the ground, emitting ablast of lightning dealing 2d4+4 vs. Toughnessto any enemies within 5m.Lightning Breath The drake inhales briefly,then a bolt of lightning blasts any in a 60mlong line, dealing 2d8+8 Lightning damage vs.Toughness. Affected enemies must succeed aDL10 Toughness check or be blinded for 1 turn(suffering a -3 to attack rolls and defense). Thiscan be used 1d4+2 times per combat.ResistancesLightning (3)

DragonsDragons are massive creatures of legend andmyth, and a great challenge for any hero to over-come. Much more intelligent than drakes, theirdistant cousins, dragons start off similarly-sizedas young, but grow larger and larger as theyreach great ages. Thanks to their intellect, theyalso develop language and many have a goodgrasp of magic, able to cast a range of spells.Behaviour: Dragons tend to be solitary, andsomewhat few in number. They often lair far fromcivilization, but may use magic to assume otherforms and dwell in societies for a time, gather-ing information and items. Dragons are fond ofhoarding treasure, magical items, and tomes of

lore, and as such can sometimes be a target fortreasure hunters. They also have a wide range ofdispositions, just like humans. Some are benev-olent, friendly and curious, while others becomecynical, malevolent or brooding due to the wayother creatures may view them. Dragons can beantagonists or much needed help depending onthe story.Breath attacks: Dragons always have some kindof dangerous breath to use as a weapon. Somemay have more than one, but examples includefiery breath, frost and shards of ice, lightningbolts, acid sprays, poisonous gases and clouds ofstinging sand.When you are using a dragon, youshould elaborate on which breath weapons theyhave and what extra effects they may cause. Asan example; a Young Dragon’s Fire breath deals2d10+10 vs. Acrobatics Fire damage to targets ina 20m cone. Affected targets take 2d4 vs. Acro-batics Fire damage at the start of their next turn.

BreathType

TargetSkill

Extra Effects

Fire Breath(cone)

Acrobatics extra damageover time

FrostBreath(cone)

Endurance slows movement

LightningBreath(line)

Toughness blinds or stuns

Acid Breath(line)

Acrobatics reduces defense

PoisonBreath(cone)

Fortitude extra damageover time

Sand Blast(cone)

Might knocks targetsdown, blinds

Colour: Dragons can appear in a wide varietyof colors. Some even dye parts of their scales toachieve a particular look. The color of a dragontypically does not lead to any conclusions abouttheir disposition or abilities.

Young Dragon

Just setting off on their own, a young dragon ismore dangerous than any drake, but has yet todevelop a fraction of their true power. When youuse a young dragon in an encounter, you shouldselect one or two breath weapons for it to use, andflesh out their extra effects.

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Young Dragon 8th LevelDragonkin



Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The scales of the dragonincrease its Defense by +4. Attacks and effectswhich ignore armor seek soft spots, such asthe underbelly of the dragon.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the dragon canattack twice. Once per combat, it can make 4attacks instead of two. It can use up to fourclaw attacks, one bite attack, one tail attackor two wing buffets.Dragon Breath The dragon uses one of itsbreath weapons as its combat action, dealing2d10+10 damage vs. a Skill depending on thetype of breath, with an area of effect dependingon the type of breath. The dragon can use itsbreath 1d4+2 times per combat.

Dragon

Now coming into their own, an adult dragon isa force to be reckoned with, strong, swift andtough, they are also quite clever, and may have ahost of spells at their disposal, collected through-out their journeys. When you use a dragon for anencounter, or as an antagonist, select one or twobreath weapons to flesh out, and a host of spellsthat would suit the dragon’s back-story or tactics.

Dragon 12th LevelDragonkin



Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The scales of the dragon in-crease its Defense by +5. Attacks and effectswhich ignore armor seek soft spots, such as theunderbelly of the dragon.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the dragon canattack twice. Once per combat, it can make 5attacks instead of two. It can use up to fourclaw attacks, one bite attack, one tail attack ortwo wing buffets.Dragon Breath The dragon uses one of itsbreath weapons, dealing 2d12+12 damage vs.a Skill depending on the type of breath, with anarea of effect depending on the type of breath.The dragon can use its breath 1d6+2 times percombat.Imposing Presence At the beginning of combatwith a dragon, enemies must succeed a DL14Will check or suffer from it’s imposing pres-ence, taking a -2 to all skill checks and attackrolls against the dragon until the end of com-bat.Spellcasting Trait (Intellect) The dragon maycast spells as an intellect caster. Spells varyfrom dragon to dragon.MagicMana 49 SM 4

Ancient Dragon

A venerable dragon, left with years to learn andgrow, is an awesome sight. With a spark of in-telligence that rivals an expert wizard, incredi-ble strength and speed and the ability to shrugoff blows from even the strongest mortals, theyare one of the greatest challenges an adventurercan face. Ancient dragons should typically be ma-jor players in a story arc or campaign. It is oftenworthwhile to design a full, long-form stat blockfor an ancient dragon, even a full character sheet.You should also select 1-3 breath attacks for thedragon to use, as well as a fairly extensive set ofspells for it to use in outwitting the players or in

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combat. They will also likely possess a hoard ofmagical items and tools.

Ancient Dragon 22nd LevelDragonkin



Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The scales of the dragon in-crease its Defense by +6. Attacks and effectswhich ignore armor seek soft spots, such as theunderbelly of the dragon.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the dragon canattack three times. Once per combat, it canmake 5 attacks instead of two. It can use upto four claw attacks, one bite attack, one tailattack or two wing buffets.Dragon Breath The dragon uses one of itsbreath weapons, dealing 2d20+20 damage vs.a Skill depending on the type of breath, with anarea of effect depending on the type of breath.The dragon can use its breath 1d6+4 times percombat.Imposing Presence At the beginning of combatwith a dragon, enemies must succeed a DL18Will check or suffer from it’s imposing pres-ence, taking a -2 to all skill checks and attackrolls against the dragon until the end of com-bat.Spellcasting Trait (Intellect) The dragon maycast spells as an intellect caster. Spells varyfrom dragon to dragon.Swift Spell Three times per combat, the an-cient dragon may cast a spell in addition to an-other action on its turn.MagicMana 85 SM 8

WyvernAwyvern is a four-limbed flying reptile with wingsintegrated into its forelimbs, much like a drake,but instead of fiery breath (or other types ofbreath), the wyvern has a venomous barb on itstail. It uses this to hunt prey with a lethal toxinand carry them away. Wyverns are the baneof shepherds as they adore hunting sheep and

cows, carrying them off from their pastures.

Wyvern 3rd LevelDragonkin

Health 53Defense 15 Unarmored 14Active Defense +3AttacksBite 1d8+7Claws 1d6+7Tail Sting (5m range) 1d10+8Wing Buffet (5m range) 1d6+8


Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The leathery scales of thewyvern increase its Defense by +1. Attacksand effects which ignore armor seek soft spots,such as the underbelly of the drake.Flurry of Attacks Each turn, the wyvern canattack twice. Once per combat, it can make 4attacks instead of two. It can use two claw at-tacks, one bite attack, one tail attack or twowing buffets.Swoop While flying, the wyvern can swoopdown at a target, making two claw attacks witha +2 bonus to each one.Venomous Sting Whenever the wyvern dealsdamage to a target with its tail sting, that tar-get must succeed a DL16 Fortitude save or bepoisoned for 1d4+1 turns. A poisoned targetgets a -1 to all their rolls and takes 2d4+4 Poi-son damage vs. Fortitude at the start of theirturn.ResistancesPoison (4)VulnerabilitiesLightning (2)

WyrmRarer than most of dragonkind, wyrms are aforce to be reckoned with. These legless andwingless dragons resemble gargantuan snakes,though their faces are distinctly draconic andshow a predatory intelligence. While less edu-cated than a true dragon, wyrms are neverthe-less clever ambush predators, and many of themlearn the common tongue as they age. They willlie in wait in a favoured hiding place, posing asnatural terrain or a fallen log. They use theirability to sense vibrations through the earth totrack their prey while remaining completely still.

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When the trap is sprung, the wyrm reveals itself,ready to present demands to wandering adven-turers or to devour its next meal, preferably soft-ened up with fire and poison.

Wyrm 9th LevelDragonkin

Health 109Defense 17 Unarmored 14Active Defense +5AttacksBite 1d12+11Crush 1d10+11


Traits & AbilitiesArmored Hide The wyrm’s hardened scalesprovide 3 additional defense.Hardened Plate The hardened plates on thewyrm’s head and neck reduce all damage dealtto it from the front by 3.Regeneration The wyrm gains 20 additionalhealth. At the end of each of its turns it re-generates 2d4+4 health.Venom Spray As its combat action the wyrmmay breathe a line of poison 5 m wide and 30 mlong. Creatures caught in the line suffer 2d6+8poison damage vs. Fortitude and an additional1d6+8 poison damage vs. Fortitude at the startof their next turn. The wyrm may use this abil-ity 1d4+2 times per combat.Fiery Bolt As its combat action the wyrm mayspew a bolt of combusting toxin which strikesa target within 60 m, dealing 2d10+8 fire dam-age vs. Acrobatics. This ability may be used upto 1d4+1 times per combat.Vibration Sense Able to sense vibrations in theearth, the wyrm gains a +6 to Observation andResearch checks when trying to detect or dis-cern the movement or actions of creatures onthe ground.ResistancesFire (2) Poison (2)VulnerabilitiesSonic (3)

Elementals

Elementals are creatures of magic, constructs orspirits of a pure element, and may be denizensof an elemental plane. They vary greatly in size

and power, and are typically intelligent. The fourprimal elements of fire, water, earth, and air arethe basic building blocks of these creatures, andthey can be combined into composite elementals,created frommagma, steam, mud, etc. They haveambitions and desires, a fact which many novicewizards quickly and painfully realize.

Using ElementalsElementals can provide for very interestingantagonists and assistants in adventures.They may be merely secondary compo-nents of a story or may comprise the mainpart of the story itself.AppearancesElementals can take on many shapes, de-pending on their type. You may chooseto have elementals appear very humanoid,appearing almost as humans made out offire, water or the like, or more abstractforms of elemental components, perhapsbound to their current realm by magicalchains or bracers.LocationsElementals can appear in mortal realmseither through summoning or naturallywhere their element is strongly present.Volcanoes harbour fire and magma ele-mentals, stormy peaks and cloud banksare home to air elementals, earth elemen-tals may be found underground or in stoneruins, and water elementals may be foundin vast expanses of peaceful sea or ragingwaters, to name a few examples. Theremay also be elemental planes, other partsof the universe that strongly exhibit fea-ture of a particular element, that most el-ementals call their home. A plane of wa-ter might be a vast underwater kingdom, aplane of fire a charred and burning land-scape, a plane of earth a massive caverncomplex and a plane of air a fortress ofclouds with no earth to be seen.

Air ElementalsManifestations of swirling wind, air elementalscan be difficult to detect and even more difficultto strike. The lesser Air Servants are a popularwizard’s summon, their ethereal nature makingthem useful for message delivery as well as clean-ing up the occasional mess of dust and papers.

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Air Servant 1st LevelElemental



Traits & AbilitiesWind Bolt This creature can use a Wind Boltspell at will, dealing 2d4+3 damage vs. Acro-batics at a distance of up to 40m.Flight This creature can fly at a speed up todouble it’s normal movement speed.Gust This creature may use the Gust spell atwill.ResistancesCrushing (3) Piercing (3) Slashing (3)VulnerabilitiesArcane (3) Force (3) Sonic (3)

Air Elementals are quite clever, and can be some-what temperamental. They often engage in com-bat at range, firing bursts of air from above, butwill swoop down in melee combat to deliver manyrapid attacks and counterattack those who strikethem.

Air Elemental 5th LevelElemental



Traits & AbilitiesWind Bolt This creature can use a Wind Boltspell at will, dealing 2d4+4 damage vs. Acro-batics at a distance of up to 40m.Flight This elemental can fly at a speed up todouble it’s normal movement speed.Gust This creature may use the Gust spell atwill.Double Attack The Air Elemental may attacktwice per turn.BurstWhen the Air Elemental takes 15 or moredamage from a single attack, it may immedi-ately make an attack against the source of thatdamage.ResistancesCrushing (3) Piercing (5) Slashing (5)VulnerabilitiesArcane (3) Force (3) Sonic (3)

Fire ElementalsLiving flame manifest into an entity, fire elemen-tals are adept at spreading chaos and destruc-tion. Fire Servants are commonly called upon bylesser magic to serve as guardians, and stand notmuch larger than a human.

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Fire Servant 1st LevelElemental



Traits & AbilitiesFlaming Strikes When this creature dealsdamage, the target takes an additional 1d4 Firedamage.Explosive When this creature’s health is re-duced to 0, it explodes, dealing 2d8 vs Acro-batics Fire damage to nearby targets.Fan the Flames This creature may use it’sClaw attack at range, at the cost of 2 healthper attack.ResistancesFire (3) Piercing (2) Slashing (2)VulnerabilitiesArcane (3) Force (3) Frost (3)

True Fire Elementals are muchmore massive, de-structive creations, called forth only by powerfulmagic, and sometimes they choose to answer tono one. When enraged, the sheer heat they emitcan rapidly exhaust even the most hardy war-

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