skill-based low fantasy tabletop rpg
TRANSCRIPT
Skill-Based "Low Fantasy" Tabletop RPG
Table of Contents 1. Introduction2. Main Rules3. Character Creation4. Leveling Up5. General Skills6. Defense Skills7. Weapon Skills8. Auxil. Combat Skills9. Subterfuge Skills10. Influence Skills11. Crafting Skills12. Items13. Domestic Animals14. Tools for GMs15. Expansions & Modules
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Designed and written byDean Yotsov
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PlaytestersHighDex, Austin H., Otto K.,
Cat, CastleGeorge, Carpentree,OldMightyFriendlyGamer,
Brett S., Zozzy, George R., Volt
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2
Introduction
What is aTabletop Role-Playing Game?
It is a cheery mix of collective storytelling,improvisational theater and board game with no board.You play as a fictional character in a fictional world.You speak the words, make the facial expressions andgestures of your character. You state what actions yourcharacter takes – but not all of them will succeed. Thegoal is… whatever you set it to be.
Sounds strange? Only until you try it. It is animated,tense, comical, cathartic.
Popular Abbreviations
TTRPG – Tabletop role-playing game; what you arereading at the moment is an example of such a thing.PC – Player Character, creature controlled by a playerother than the GM.GM – Gamemaster, controls the whole fictional worldexcept for the PCs, has final word on which PC actionssucceed.NPC – Non-Player Character, creature controlled by theGM.XP – Experience Points, allow a PC (or NPC) to becomemore skilled at what they do.HP – Health Points (or Hit Points), decrease when a PCor NPC gets hurt, go back up when the wounds heal.Stat – Statistic, general characteristic of a PC or NPC,such as strength or intelligence.One-shot – Game consisting of just one session ofseveral hours.1d20 – The result of rolling a 20-sided die.d20 – Same as 1d20.2d6 – The sum of two six-sided dice.1d2 – Flip a coin after assigning 1 to one side and 2 tothe other.Natural X – Say you need to roll d20 + 7. “Natural X” iswhat the d20 roll gives before adding 7. If the die shows4 then the outcome of your roll is 11, but we also saythat you rolled a natural 4.You – Sometimes means “you, the player” and othertimes “your character”.
Extremely Brief History of Humanity
For several million years humans lived in migratingtribes of hunter-gatherers.
Then ~10.000 years ago they made three verysignificant discoveries: agriculture, metal, and writing.They started building villages and cities. Empires roseand fell.
And several hundred years ago began an exponentialtechnological revolution, starting with muskets andrefined sugar, reaching spaceflight andneuroprosthetics.
In this game we focus on the second of those threeperiods, and we imagine worlds inspired by it. Worldsmaybe simpler than ours, where science, technology,customs and arts are at a pre-Renaissance stage. (TheRenaissance expansion carefully steps over that“frontier” with one foot.)
This Game in a Nutshell
This ruleset is flexible and extendable, intended to fit alarge variety of worlds and adventures (and we providean example setting: Whitewater). The system does nothinder roleplay with complex rules, but it will deliverconsequences to your choices.
There is no magic in this rule book (except in theSpellcraft expansion). Even skills like Witchcraft /Hypnotism and Alchemy, to which you have access, relysolely on suggestibility and natural phenomena. Thisgame is designed to be playable and enjoyable withoutany magic added to it.
However, most adventures will probably involve thesupernatural. Magic is the key that unlocks the shacklesof our imagination. To achieve that, it needs to be rareand strange, lurking in the hidden folds of a seeminglyordinary world. It is part of the GM’s job to design themagical phenomena, items and creatures that the PCswill discover, and maybe master, in the course of theadventure. The players are active participants in thecreative process since they are encouraged to researchand upgrade spells after getting access to a spell-castingskill.
3
Main Rules
Success Rolls
A success roll determines whether a creature’sattempted action succeeds or not. It is the centralmechanic of this game.
success roll = relevant skill + d20
= relevant stat + skill profic. bonus + d20
Stats
We assume that creatures have:• Strength – muscle power; typically larger size
means higher STR.• Dexterity – nimble fingers, but also overall
coordination and agility.• Constitution – endurance; typically larger size
means higher CON.• Intelligence – memory, logical and verbal
reasoning, knowledge.• Focus – willpower + perception + aim; being in
the here and now.• Charisma – includes appearance, but also self-
confidence and the ability to influence others.
Stats cannot be negative. A stat of 0 means somethingbad: 0 STR and 0 DEX both translate as not being ableto move at all, 0 CON means being dead / destroyed,and 0 INT / FOC / CHA leads to falling unconscious.
A stat of 10 is the average for humans in the 15-65 agerange.
The main significance of the stats is that they heavilyinfluence the skills. Some stats are in addition used forother things:
• Some (but not all) bows, shields and armor havea minimum STR requirement.
• Maximum HP is CON + level.• Maximum Fatigue is CON.• CHA determines the number of reliable local
social connections your character starts outwith.
Skills
Whenever a creature is trying to do something, it isusing a skill. Skills can be:
• Untrained: ◦ skill = relevant stat
• Learned: ◦ skill = relevant stat + 5
• Specialized: ◦ skill = relevant stat + 5 + (level/2)
Each skill depends on one of the six stats (its base) inthe way shown above.
In this game, we always round numbers using the standardrounding rules: 1.4 becomes 1, 1.5 becomes 2, 1.6 becomes 2.
No skill list can ever be exhaustive, as nobody canpredict all the things that players will attempt to do.(And that’s a great thing!) When there is no skill thatfits the situation, it comes down to the GM decidingwhich is the most relevant stat. That way the GM isadding, on the fly, a skill to the game.
GM: “Do you have any skills related to knowledge aboutexotic plants? Herbal Medicine, or maybe Poison?”Player: “No.”GM: “Then just roll INT + d20.”
If a player wants their character to learn a skill that isnot in the rules and does not have a big overlap withother skills, it is the GM’s job to negotiate potentialtweaks to it, and ultimately decide if to allow it.
Sometimes (but not systematically) a skill might beused with a different base. For example if you useMasonry [STR] to plan a stone structure, you would roll:
[INT instead of STR] + [Masonry profic. bonus] + d20
and if you study a stone structure to find cracks andweaknesses in it, you would roll:
[FOC instead of STR] + [Masonry profic. bonus] + d20
4
Simple Rolls
The simplest success rolls are the ones that succeedwhen the result of the roll is 25 or higher, and failotherwise. A natural 1 is always a failure (but a natural20 is not necessarily a success).
There can be circumstantial bonuses or penalties tothe roll (almost always +3 or -3). Generally, the GMshould announce those before the roll is made. A lot ofdifferent bonuses and penalties are listed in this rulebook, but it is impossible to make an exhaustive list ofall circumstances that might occur. (And that’s a greatthing!)
Rolls are not a substitute for the GM’s common sense. Ifa human rolls 40 on their Carry [STR] roll, they stillcannot carry an adult elephant on their shoulders. Onthe other hand, if the GM feels that 25 is too hightarget number in a particular situation, the action canbe allowed to auto-succeed without a roll.
If a group of people perform the same action together,typically just one roll is made by the person wholeads the group in that activity (potentially withbonuses or penalties, depending on if working togetherwith others makes the task easier or harder: forexample -3 for Stealth, +3 for Carry).
Generally, a success roll cannot be retried, unless thecircumstances change significantly. In combat, a newround usually means changed circumstances.
Creation Rolls
A creation roll is just like a simple roll, except that if it issuccessful, we need to take note of its result: a numberequal to or greater than 25. We call that number thequality of the outcome. Foraging and crafting rolls areusually creation rolls. They allow to define, in one roll,if the action succeeds, and the quality of the createditem. In addition, any action that can be resisted is acreation roll: an attack with a weapon against acreature, an attempt to sneak up to somebody, anintimidation attempt, etc.
In certain specific situations, simple and creation rollsdetermine damage based on:
skill-based damage = tens digit of the quality of theoutcome
Resistance Rolls
Resistance rolls are just like simple rolls, except thattheir target is not necessarily 25 – instead, it is the“quality” of a creation roll, which can be 25 or higher.
Example: X is attacking Y with a knife.X rolls: Stab [DEX] + d20 (creation roll)If that is less than 25, the attack fails. If not:Y can roll: Dodge [DEX] + d20If Y rolls equal to or higher than X, the attack fails.Otherwise it succeeds.
We call the above a resistance roll of Dodge [DEX] vsStab [DEX]. More examples:
• Enemy trying to approach unseen: Perception[FOC] vs Stealth [DEX]
• Enemy trying to frighten you: Mental Resistance[FOC] vs Intimidate [CHA]
A creation roll might be opposed in several ways by thesame creature via different resistance rolls, or by severaldifferent creatures via separate resistance rolls,depending on the situation.
Competition Rolls
Competition rolls consist of two or more creaturesrolling the same skill in a symmetrical situation. Forexample:
• pursuit: all participants roll Run [STR] (thosewho have a head start get a bonus to theirindividual rolls)
• swimming competition: all participants rollSwim [STR]
• arm wrestling match: both participants roll ArmWrestling [STR]
Competition rolls are similar to creation + resistanceroll pairs, except that here it does not matter ifsomebody rolls less than 25 or a natural 1 – here just thecomparison between the individual rolls determinesthe outcome.
A creation + resistance roll pair with both parties rolling thesame skill is not always a competition roll: for example alocksmith creating a lock and then another locksmith pickingit is not a competition roll, it is a creation + resistance rollpair.
5
Fatigue
Fatigue is a bad thing: it is a penalty to all your successrolls. If your Fatigue is 2, and you make for example aRun [STR] roll, apply a penalty of -2 to your roll. Yourfatigue increases by 1 when you:
• do not have an 8h rest for 24h• do not eat for 24h• do not drink water for 24h
Fatigue is cumulative: if you do not sleep, eat or drinkfor 48h, that will give you 6 Fatigue. Then if you sleepfor 8h, it will decrease to 4: you will no longer be sleepy,but will still be dehydrated and starving. Fatigue canonly be removed by dealing with the cause of eachindividual point. There are other sources of Fatigue: thewrestling sleeper hold, certain poisons, walking formore than 8h in one day, etc. For each of those, when itis introduced, the rules will also state how it can beremoved.
When Fatigue becomes equal to or higher than yourCON, you fall down, unconscious. Being unconscious isequivalent to sleep in terms of recovering from sleep-deprivation Fatigue, but you will continue accruingstarvation and dehydration Fatigue. Thus if nobodytakes care of you or finishes you off, you will likelywake up in 8h, or never, depending on the sources ofyour Fatigue.
Health Points
Your maximum HP is CON + level. When you takedamage, your HP decrease. Every 24h of complete restyou recover 1 HP (the 24h can be continuous, or can bethree separate nights). If somebody specialized inHerbal Medicine [INT] is taking care of you, you recoverhealth 3 times faster: 1 HP per 8h of complete rest. Youcan be your own doctor, unless you are unconscious.
When your HP drop to 0 or lower, you fall down,unconscious, and start bleeding 1d2 HP (ignoring DR)per round until somebody stabilizes you (whichrequires 10min). When your HP regenerate back to 1you wake up, unless your hunger and dehydrationFatigue increase too much in the meanwhile (explainedin the section above). If somebody is taking care of you,that will not happen: they will pour some water andfood into your mouth every now and again, as you aredrifting in and out of consciousness. HP dropping to-10 (or minus the average species CON for otherspecies) means death: time to roll a new character!
Pushing Yourself
Pushing yourself allows you to give yourself a bonus ofup to +3 to any success roll (regardless if simple orcreation or resistance or competition) that is not anatural 1.
The price is not small: you gain Fatigue equal to thatbonus, removable with an 8h rest. You may not giveyourself a bonus so big that you fall unconscious. If youspend Fatigue in the evening right before going to bed,that Fatigue will typically remain the next day, as ittranslates into sacrificing sleeping time to finish whatyou were doing.
On a roll corresponding to an action taking multipledays, the price is XP instead of Fatigue, and ispermanent. You may not give yourself a bonus so bigthat the XP price would un-level you.
You can push yourself on a creation roll only prior toits resistance rolls being rolled. You can push yourselfat any time on a competition roll, but just once (youcannot increase your bonus later), and others might dothe same after you, canceling your efforts.
Combat Rounds
Combat happens in rounds of 6 seconds. The turnorder is determined using a competition Read Intention[FOC] roll of all the participants, which we call theinitiative roll. That roll is made once, in the beginningof combat, and the turn order it determines is reusedevery round. Executing a successful ambush can giveyou and your allies a free round before the initiativeroll.
In a round you can take:• a movement action (run, stand up);• after that: either a standard action (attack, use
skill, use recipe, etc.), or a second movementaction;
• in the meanwhile you can say a sentence (vocalaction).
You cannot move after you take your standard action.
Switching weapons is a free action that can be taken inthe beginning of your turn, but only once per round.
Your running speed depends on your Run [STR] skill.
6
Traveling
Traveling does not depend on Run [STR]. On goodterrain (road, path, plains, sparse forest) you can walk:
8 hours * 5 km/h = 40 km per day(if you prefer miles, 5 km = 3 miles)
The speed, as well as the number of hours beforegetting tired, can be different for other species. If youpush on after 8h, you gain 1 Fatigue for everyadditional hour, removable with 8h of sleep.
Difficult terrain (thick forest, swamp, sandy desert, etc.)halves your speed.
Money and Items
Silver is the most common currency. Regular food, amug of ordinary ale, modest lodging (except in a verypopulated city), ordinary clothes, daily wage for acommon job: all those things are paid in silver. Weassume that your PC has some silver on them and canafford such things in reasonable amounts, unless theGM decides that that is not the case in a particularsituation. We usually glance over such commonexpenses.
If your PC is “left unattended” in an inhabited locationfor several months, we assume that they will take jobsallowing them to make ends meet during that period.
We do keep track of gold. Gold can buy you armor, ahorse, a sword. Gold is rarely found in the pockets ofthe honest worker – it tends to be in barons’ treasuries,in lost mines, in collapsed and forgotten temples.
We do not calculate the total weight of the items yourcharacter is carrying, and compare it against thecharacter’s STR. It is up to the GM to decide how muchyou can carry. Usually the question does not arise untilyou decide to carry rations for more than a week, awounded friend, a whole dead deer, or the several setsof armor you just looted. Then the GM will probablyask you to roll a simple Carry [STR] roll.
At some point of time the GM might decide that yourcharacter is broke (ran out of silver and cannot affordeven a simple meal), or ran out of water, or was not ableto sleep in the wilderness due to harsh conditions andlack of proper equipment, etc. We do not have preciserules for those events, they are up to the GM. Whensuch an event is approaching, the GM needs to warnthe player about it, unless for a specific reason thecharacter would be oblivious of the upcoming peril.
Recipes
Recipes are like spells: giving you a power, within aspecific skill, that you can use only a limited number oftimes per day due to the effort and resources it requires.All the recipes in this rule book are non-magical (exceptin the Spellcraft expansion), but if the GM adds magicalskills to the campaign, those will allow for magicalrecipes (actual spells).
Some of the 64 core skills are “recipe-focused”. Whenyou learn a recipe-focused skill, you choose 1 of its 4recipes to learn for free.
When you specialize in a skill, you gain the ability toresearch and upgrade recipes for that skill. In addition,when you specialize in a skill, you get to research onerecipe for free (or learn for free one of the 3 remainingprovided recipes if the skill is recipe-focused).
In other words:• learning a skill → involves learning a spell for
free only if the skill is “recipe-focused”.• Specializing in a skill → involves learning a spell
for free always. (if the skill is not recipe-focused, then you need to come up with arecipe for it: use your imagination and thinkwhat cool things your character would try tolearn to do!)
You can use unupgraded recipes 2+level times per day(until an 8h sleep). Each unupgraded recipe use afteryou exhaust your pool of daily recipe slots costs 1Fatigue (removable with an 8h sleep). You cannotpower a recipe using Fatigue if that would render youunconscious.
7
Character Creation
Character Sheet
There is a Roll20 character sheet template for “BuriedTreasures”:
Alternatively, if you are using a sheet of paper or somedigital equivalent, you need:
Name: STR: Max HP: Items & Gold:Species: DEX: Current HP: Learned Skills:Appearance: CON: Fatigue: Spec. Skills:Voice: INT: Recipe Slots: Known Recipes:Level: XP: FOC: Armor DR: Known People:Stat+: Skill+: CHA: Armor DEX mod: Known Facts:
Regarding the “species” field: typically your charactercan only be human, but you might need a separatecharacter sheet for your horse, your dog, etc.
Rolling for Stats
Roll 4d4 20 times, and choose a sequence of 6 numbers.Those will be your STR, DEX, CON, INT, FOC, CHA inthat order. You may not: loop around, reorder thenumbers you pick, skip numbers, go backwards. Thereare exactly 15 ways to pick the stats of a character out ofthose 20 numbers.
If you do not like the stats that you rolled, you can use14 12 10 10 8 6, this time in any order you choose.
Level 1 Skills
As a level 1 character, you need to choose 8 skills thatyou have learned.
You cannot specialize in skills (yet).
The 64 core skills available to you are explained in thenext chapters, and listed in the table below (clickable):
GeneralSkills
DefenseSkills
WeaponSkills
Auxil. CombatSkills
SubterfugeSkills
InfluenceSkills
Crafting Skills
Run Dodge Stab Charge Stealth Persuade Masonry Agri-culture
Carry Shield Bash Ambi-dexterity Locksmith Intimidate Smithing Cooking
Swim Armor Polearms Feint Traps Taunt Mining /Digging Brewing
Climb Protect Unarmed Rage Tracking Music Woodworking Cartwright /Siege Engineer
Speak For.Language Resist Poison Crossbow Target
Weakness Sleight of Hand Witchcraft /Hypnotism
Leathercraft /Sewing Shipbuilding
Read / Write MentalResistance Bow Unwavering
ConvictionDisguise /
Acting Equestrian Weaving /Braiding Cartography
Control Ship Perception Sling Combat Tactics Appraisal Dog Trainer Gemcutter /Jeweler Herbal Medicine
ControlArtillery
ReadIntention Throw Meditation /
Prayer Poison Falconer Glassblowing /Pottery Alchemy
Corresponding base stat: STR DEX CON INT FOC CHA
8
Possessions
You start with:• No gold• Some undefined, not too big but not too small,
amount of silver• Two sets of simple clothes (you are wearing
one)• A pair of shoes (that you are wearing)• A hat, a pair of gloves, a belt• A backpack• 5 pouches• A big warm hooded cloak, perfect for rain (and
can double as a makeshift blanket)• A full waterskin (in most towns and on most
terrains, as long as you have a waterskin withyou, water will not be an issue, because you willbe able to refill it from wells and springs)
• Rations for 7 days (by rations we simply meanfood that does not easily go wrong, such asjerky, grains, honey)
• A tinderbox and flint and steel (using them youcan light a candle or torch in one round, a fire inone minute)
• 5 candles• Basic personal hygiene items, such as a piece of
soap, a miswak, a bit of ointment and perfume• A flask of fruit brandy or other similar strong
spirit• 5 large napkins/handkerchiefs• A knife
Copy the above to your character sheet. In addition,each of your eight Level 1 skills will provide you withsome starting items, so add those to your charactersheet too.
Choosing Recipes
Some of your eight Level 1 skills might be “recipe-focused” (with a list of 4 recipes in the skilldescription). For each of those, you need to choosewhich one of the four recipes you have learned. Youcan use unupgraded recipes limited number of timesper day (3 at Level 1). If your daily recipe slots areexhausted, you can still use a recipe, but that will incurFatigue.
Appearance
When the game starts, the GM might say “And then thedoor opens, and the three of you see… Ernestine,please describe your character!” It is a good idea tohave some thoughts on what your character looks like.Stats and items will play into that.
Voice
You can use an accent for your character, but you don’thave to: it can be very tiring after a while. It is nice if insome way your character speaks differently from you.Maybe their voice has higher or lower pitch, etc.
Name
Names are like curtains: seem unimportant, but cancompletely change the way things feel. Preferably usesomething that will not be too hard for the otherplayers to remember. If the name is long or hard topronounce, think of a shortened version or anickname / title.
Starting Connections
In the “Known People” section of your character sheetlist the professions (and possibly names) of people youknow and can count on at the location where youradventure begins. Your CHA / 3 (rounded to thenearest integer, as always) determines how many. If youhave 7 CHA, you could write something like:
• Arnaud, Fence reselling stolen art• Quick Rick, Swordsman mercenary
Backstory and Personality
Some players develop in details the backstory andpersonality of their character during character creation.Others let those characteristics unfold naturally duringthe course of the game.
Either way is great!
9
Leveling Up
XP and Level
At the end of each session the GM will award yourcharacter with XP. You need 10 XP to get to level 1, 20XP to get to level 2, etc. Level 0 characters have strictlyless than 10 XP and do not possess all the 8 skills ofLevel 1 characters. PCs usually start out with 15 XP.
When you level up, obviously your level increases by 1,and so do your max HP, your current HP, your dailyrecipe slots, and (on odd levels) the proficiency bonusesof your specialized skills.
Stat+ and Skill+ Points
In addition, when you level up you gain 8 stat+ pointsand 8 skill+ points that you can spend or save for later.
Stat+ points are used to increase stats. For example, toincrease a stat from 12 to 13, you need to spend 12 stat+points.
Skill+ points are used to learn skills and recipes.Learning a skill costs 8 skill+ points (which includes afree recipe if the skill is recipe-focused).
Specializing in a skill you have learned also costs 8skill+ points (which always includes a free recipe, evenif the skill is not recipe-focused). When you learn newskills while leveling up, you don’t get their free startingitems.
Also note that leveling up should be role-played /explained / justified / integrated into the story.Learning a new skill usually takes years, but that wouldmake the pacing of the game too hard to manage, so weusually try to find specific factors justifying it takingjust several days or weeks instead.
Researching Recipes
When your character attempts an action, the GM mightsay that you:
• clearly succeed/fail – no need to roll,• or you need to make a success roll,• but there is also a third scenario: if you attempt
an action that makes sense, but is very
specialized. The GM might tell you that youfirst need to research the recipe for it.
Player: “I want to craft a potion that makes me appear deadfor several days, after which I will wake up. I am specializedin the Poison skill, so I should know how to do that.”GM: “OK, but first you need to research the recipe for thatplay-dead poison, Juliette.”
Researching a recipe costs 4 skill+ points, and isusually negotiated between player and GM duringleveling up, between sessions. You can research recipesonly for skills you are specialized in (regardless if theyare recipe-focused or not).
If you are learning the recipe from a book or a teacher(both of which are typically hard to find and alsocostly), the skill+ cost is reduced to 2. If you haveBOTH the right book and the right teacher, the price isfurther reduced to just 1 skill+ point.
Upgrading Recipes
All the recipes in this rule book, and all the ones youcan research, are Tier 1. If you have specialized in thecorresponding skill, any recipe (regardless of origin andtier) can be upgraded to the next tier by spending 6skill+ points.
Doing so usually doubles a certain aspect of the recipe– but that needs to be negotiated with the GM – orimproves the efficiency of the recipe in some other way,such as removing one of the necessary conditions for itsuse.
Using a recipe of Tier X costs X daily recipe slots (or XFatigue once the daily recipe slots are exhausted).
You need to be level (3*X)-2 to be able to use a Tier Xrecipe. The actual upgrade can be researched prior tothat, there is no level requirement for it. You can knowa Tier 2 recipe when you reach level 3, but you need toreach level 4 to be able to use it.
After you upgrade a recipe, you can still use itsunupgraded version. It is possible to upgrade the samerecipe of the same tier multiple times: for example onceto double its damage and another time to double itsrange.
10
General Skills
Run [STR]
Determines how many meters (we assume that 1 meter= 1 yard) you can run in one combat round. If your Run[STR] is 12, you can move 12m, and then perform astandard action.
Multiply by 2 if you are taking a double movementaction (which means spending all 6 seconds of thecombat round running) or charging.
In other words, your running speed is:
Run [STR] / 3 m/s
Running cannot be maintained without interruption formore than several minutes (one combat and/or oneintensive pursuit).
Roll a competition roll vs Run [STR] of the creatureschasing you to determine the outcome of a pursuit.
If you are not wearing armor and if you drop yourbackpack and other heavy items, you can use DEXinstead of STR as the base for this skill for that occasion.For creatures naturally running on four legs, the skillbase (STR, or possibly DEX if not carrying anything) ismultiplied by two.
Starting items: an additional pair of shoes
Carry [STR]
Typically used for simple rolls to determine if you cancarry a heavy item, or a fallen companion, or rations formore than a week; if a horse can carry two people, etc.
In a sense, this skill is used instead of an encumbrancesystem.
Starting items: an additional backpack, 20m rope
Swim [STR]
You can run and carry even if you don’t take thecorresponding skill. It is different with swimming: ifyou do not take this skill, it means that you cannotswim. This skill can be used for simple rolls todetermine if you accomplish a difficult swimming task,or as a competition roll to determine who swims fasterin a pursuit or competition.
If you do not have the Swim skill, then swimming ashort distance without armor requires a simple roll(and you might drown if you fail it). If wearing armorand not having the Swim skill, managing to not drownwhile taking it off requires an additional simple roll at apenalty equal to the adjusted DEX penalty of yourarmor.
Starting items: a snorkel made of hollow plant stemsand a leather strap
Climb [DEX]
Usually used for simple rolls. Applies to scaling walls,climbing trees, mountaineering, etc. Climbing is one ofthe important skills of the pre-Renaissance and theRenaissance thief, allowing entry over fences andthrough windows and chimneys.
Starting items: a pair of climbing axes, a pair ofclimbing spurs, 20m rope, grappling hook
Speak Foreign Language [INT]
You gain the ability to speak your mother tongue forfree. For other languages, you need to take this skill.You can take it multiple times (this is the only core skillthat allows that), each time specifying the language youlearn. If you specialize for a certain language, you canspeak it without foreign accent.
Starting items: none
11
Read / Write [INT]
If you do not take this skill, you are illiterate. If you takethis skill, you can read and write in all languages thatyou speak. Specializing in this skill makes you aneloquent writer.
Starting items: ink and quill, an empty notebook, ahistory book
Control Ship [INT]
How good you are at controlling a boat or a ship.Essential for both canoers and ship captains. Does notincludes marine navigation skills; those are covered byCartography.
Starting items: a canoe
Control Artillery [INT]
How good you are at shooting a ballista / catapult /etc. They do lots of damage.
Can be resisted via Control Ship [INT] when shooting ata ship. When shooting at a soldier formation, can beresisted via Combat Tactics [INT] of the leader. Simpleroll is used when shooting at a big static target: castlewall, bridge, etc.
Attack roll at -9 (that can be resisted by the target viaDodge, as with other attacks) when shooting at a humanor other such small mobile target.
Starting items: a wheeled ballista, 5 spears
12
Defense Skills
Dodge [DEX]
This is a vital skill, mostly used for resistance rolls. Itdetermines how well you avoid melee attacks, rangedattacks, traps that involve an item moving fast towardsyou, bombs that explode in your vicinity, etc. It includesnot only dodging, but also parrying with a shield ormelee weapon, taking cover in anticipation of a shot,etc.
Shields give a bonus to Dodge at the cost of occupyingone hand.
Armor does not give a bonus to Dodge – on the contrary,it applies a penalty to DEX, and therefore also to Dodge.The benefit of wearing armor is damage reduction(DR).
If you do not sense the attack (because the enemy madea successful Stealth check, or because you have beenblinded, etc.) you cannot use Dodge to resist the attack.Same if you are immobilized.
You can use this skill once per round if you have notlearned it, twice if you have, and three times if youhave specialized in it. (In general, you can besurrounded in close melee range by maximum fourenemies at a time.)
Starting items: a buckler
Shield [STR]
This skill is not required to get the defensive benefits ofusing a shield. If you take this skill, your shield’s Dodgebonus will increase by 1. If you specialize in Shield, itwill increase further by 1. So a tower shield plus Shieldspecialization means +5 to Dodge when you have yourshield equipped!
Shields fully occupy one hand. It is not possible to usetwo shields at once.
Roll Shield, resistible via Dodge, when charging with ashield. If your Charge succeeds and your Shield rollsucceeds too, you make the target Prone in addition todealing (just) the Charge skill-based damage.
Starting items: a buckler
Armor [STR]
If you learn this skill, you decrease your armor’s DEXpenalty by 1. If you specialize in it, you further decreaseyour armor’s DEX penalty by an additional 1. We callthe result the adjusted DEX penalty of the armor.
If you try to sleep in metal armor, a simple skill roll at apenalty equal to the adjusted DEX penalty of the armordetermines if you manage to get any rest.
Starting items: padded leather armor
Protect [DEX]
Protect is one of the possible standard actions that youcan take when it is your turn in combat: you forfeit theability to make an attack, and you prepare yourself forincoming attacks instead. When you use this action,you can choose to defend yourself or to defendsomebody right next to you.
If you defend yourself, gain (no roll needed):• +1 Dodge if you have not learned the skill
Protect,• additional +1 Dodge if you have learned the skill
Protect,• additional +1 Dodge if you have specialized in
Protect.
If you want to defend somebody right next to you,make a simple Protect roll. If you succeed, all attacksthat would normally be directed at the person you aredefending will be directed at you instead (but you don’tget any bonuses to Dodge). If you fail, nothing happens,you just wasted your turn.
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Regardless if you are protecting yourself or successfullydefending somebody else, the effect of the defensivestance lasts until it is your turn again (unless the personyou are protecting moves away in the meanwhile), andallows you to use Dodge one additional time in thatround (meaning until it is your turn again).
Starting items: a buckler
Resist Poison [CON]
While Dodge [DEX] protects you from external harm,Resist Poison [CON] allows you to fight “internal”chemical or biological damage. Typically you wouldmake a resistance roll vs Poison [INT] if you werestabbed with a poisoned blade, or vs Brew [FOC] if youare trying to avoid getting drunk, or vs Alchemy [INT] ifyou inhaled toxic fumes, etc.
Starting items: 2 additional flasks of fruit brandy orsome other similar strong spirit
Mental Resistance [FOC]
This skill is your defense against fear, temptation andother mind-affecting effects. It can be used in resistanceroll vs Intimidate [CHA], Witchcraft / Hypnotism [CHA],etc. In a combat situation, this skill can help determineif a PC or NPC flees from combat. That can be done viaa simple roll if things look desperate overall, or via aresistance roll vs Intimidate [CHA] if an enemy is tryingto scare them into fleeing after proving in some way tohave an advantage in the fight. This skill can be used inresistance rolls vs Cook [FOC] / Brew [FOC] to resist theappeal of delicious food or an alcoholic beverage.
Starting items: none
Perception [FOC]
This skill can be rolled:• as resistance roll vs Stealth [DEX] to determine if
somebody manages to sneak up on you, by you,or away from you.
• As competition roll vs Perception [FOC] todetermine who sees whom first before anencounter begins. Those who roll higher willget a chance to avoid the encounter, or maybeset up an ambush, etc.
• as a simple roll to determine if you seesomething far away or otherwise obscured, etc.
• vs Traps [INT] to determine if you spot a trap.• vs Poison [INT] to sense if the food that you are
eating contains poison.• vs Sleight of Hand [DEX] to notice that
somebody is trying to pick your pocket or cheatat cards, etc.
• vs Woodworking [DEX] or Masonry [STR], or as asimple roll, to spot hidden doors or similarbuilt-in secrets.
And so on.
Starting items: a spyglass, a magnifying glass
Read Intention [FOC]
Read the facial expression, voice and gestures of aperson you are observing, the way cold reading andapplied psychology practitioners do. Resistance roll vsPersuade [CHA] to try to detect lies and manipulationattempts, resistance roll vs Feint [CHA] to realize if yourenemy is feinting their attack, resistance roll vs Disguise/ Acting [CHA] to see through somebody’s act anddisguise.
Read Intention is the skill used for initiative rolls. In thebeginning of combat, all participants roll Read Intentionin a big competition roll, and that determines the orderin which they will take action.
If you specialize in this skill, you can develop some“criminal profiler” abilities, such as feeling themotivations and mindset of an individual by observingthings they have created or the place where they havelived.
Starting items: fortune teller props
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Weapon Skills
The 8 weapon skills (4 melee + 4 ranged) are generallyvery similar: make an attack roll (a type of creation roll)resistible via Dodge [DEX] of the target, and ifsuccessful, roll the weapon damage.
Stab [DEX]
For attacking in melee with knives and swords, whichare particularly effective against exposed flesh.
If your target has DR 0 (no natural or worn armor), addyour skill-based damage to your weapon damage. Also,if you harm somebody by surprise from Stealth in meleewith a weapon from this group using Stab, add yourStealth skill-based damage. The two bonuses can becombined: if you Stab from Stealth somebody with DR 0,add to your weapon damage the skill-based damagefrom both Stab and Stealth.
Starting items: a one-handed sword
Bash [STR]
For attacking in melee with mace, hammer, axe. Decentand reliable damage.
This skill is also used when trying to bash a door or achest using brute force and a hammer or an axe or somesimilar tool. In such situations, a simple roll can beused. Strong metal objects will require the roll to bemade at a penalty of -3. Failing damages thetool/weapon, making it unusable until a blacksmithwith farrier tools, a hammer, and a strong burning firerepairs it.
Starting items: a one-handed mace
Polearms [DEX]
For attacking in melee with polearms. All polearms aretwo-handed weapons. Carrying a weapon from thisgroup (even when not in use) gives -3 penalty to Stealth[DEX] checks. Carrying multiple weapons from thisgroup does not make that penalty worse, it remains -3.
If you hit somebody on a horse with a weapon fromthis group, and if in addition they fail an Equestrianresistance roll vs your attack, your hit makes them falloff the horse. That makes them take additional damageequal to the skill-based damage of your Polearms attack,and in addition they end up Prone.
Starting items: a halberd
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Unarmed [STR]
For attacking with your bare fists. Typically this is alsothe skill that animals use when they bite, kick, claw, etc.The damage depends on your species: humans hit ford4-1 with their fists (and for d4 when using a cestus).
This is also the skill that you would use, via a simpleroll, to try to destroy an item with your bare hands. Tobreak free of a lasso you get a penalty of -3; if you aretied with rope and trying to break free the penalty is -6;if you are trying to break chains or to bend metal bars itis -9.
This is also the skill that you roll when you try towrestle with somebody. Roll Unarmed and the targetwill first try to resist via Dodge. Then, if they fail, theyget to roll a second resistance roll vs your attack, thistime their Unarmed, to see if they can break free. If inspite of that your grapple succeeds, you can apply ahold: a recipe that you have learned or researched.
Recipes:• Sleeper hold: you choke the target, inflicting
skill-based Fatigue damage to them, which theycan recover with 5 minutes of rest.
• Slam-throw: you throw the target on theground, inflicting skill-based damage, andmaking them Prone.
• Disarm: you tear their weapon from their handand keep it.
• Immobilizing hold: they are Immobile, whichmeans inability to Dodge and inability to takemost other actions.
When it is their turn, they can try to break free of yourgrip by making a new Unarmed resistance roll vs yourinitial attack, which would be their full-round action.
For as long as they fail to break free, you can continueapplying holds on them every round, without any needto reroll your initial Unarmed roll.
Starting items: a cestus
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The 4 ranged weapon skills have some properties incommon:
• Shooting into melee: -3 to your Attack roll.Shooting into melee is tricky business:everybody is moving fast, and you do not wantto hit an ally!
• Shooting from high ground: +3 to your Attackroll. Shooting from a horse does not count ashigh ground because the height advantage isnegated by the movements of the horse.Shooting at a Prone target from the sameground level also does not procure high groundadvantage because the target is less exposed.
Crossbow [FOC]
The crossbow is the easiest to use weapon, thus itallows the wielder to focus on aiming, granting a +3bonus to attacks. Unfortunately, crossbows are eitherweak (low damage) or take long time to reload.
It is very quick to shoot a loaded crossbow that youhave in your hands and are pointing at your enemy. Inthe beginning of combat, if those three conditions aremet, that would give you a free ambush round beforerolling initiative. If several people shoot crossbows inthat way before the first round, their attacks go offsimultaneously.
Point blank shots with a crossbow cannot be Dodged.
Starting items: hand crossbow, 20 arrows, a quiver
Bow [FOC]
For ranged attacks with bows. In addition to FOC, STRis also important for the archer, since more powerfulbows have higher STR requirement.
Starting items: self bow, 20 arrows, a quiver
Sling [DEX]
For ranged attacks with slings. Low range, but decentdamage.
Starting items: a sling, 20 metal bullets, a pouch
Throw [DEX]
You can throw any one-handed or two-handed meleeweapon at your target: the range is 10m and thedamage is d4 for one-handed and d6 for two-handed.Throwing a one-handed melee weapon requires onehand, and throwing a two-handed melee weaponrequires both hands. A thrown stone does d4-1 damage.
The Throw skill allows you to throw Alchemy bombs.The range is 10m. For bombs that need to hit the target,such as flasks of acid, you need to make the usualThrow resistible via Dodge roll to hit the target. For area-of-effect bombs, you can simply decide where the bombwill fall, without a roll.
This skill also allows to throw a lasso (a rope with aspecial knot) up to 10m. That can allow to dismount anopponent or achieve other similar effects. When tryingto avoid the lasso, the target cannot add their shieldbonus to their Dodge roll. If they are caught, on theirturn they can try to break free of the lasso using anUnarmed simple roll at a penalty of -3.
Certain weapons are specially designed for the Throwskill: for example the throwing knives and the atlatl.
If you specialize in the Throw skill, the throwing rangedoubles for all throwing actions, from 10m to 20m. Thismakes specializing in this skill very valuable foralchemists, even if they are planning to use only area-of-effect alchemy bombs.
A returning boomerang cannot be used to do damage,but can confuse and distract enemies. It allows to makea ranged Feint roll against somebody in throwing range.You do not need to make a Throw roll when using it, butyou need to have learned the Throw skill.
Starting items: 10 throwing knives, 20m rope, jugglerprops, a returning boomerang
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Auxiliary Combat Skills
Charge [STR]
Charging combines together your movement action,your standard action, and even your vocal action (youare shouting “Aaaaa!!!” or something similar) for thatround. In that round, you move at double speed (as ifyou were taking a double movement action), but at theend of your movement you make a melee attack. Thedownside is that your recklessness leads to a penalty of-3 to your Dodge rolls until it is your turn again. (Thosewho attack you benefiting of that penalty are said to“receive your charge”.)
Make a normal melee attack roll resistible via Dodge ofthe target. If the attack succeeds, make a simple Chargeroll. If that succeed too, add the Charge skill-baseddamage to your weapon damage.
When you charge, you need to move in a relativelystraight line. You cannot charge somebody right next toyou, for example involved in melee combat with you.You cannot, in the same round, walk away fromsomebody, and then charge them. There are no attacksof opportunity in this game: the penalty for walkingaway from melee is that you open yourself to a charge.
Starting items: 2 additional flasks of spirit
Ambidexterity [DEX]
This is the only core skill that has a stat requirement:you can only learn it if your DEX is 13 or higher.
When you learn this skill, you can use a knife (exceptfor throwing) or your fist with your off hand whilewielding any one-handed melee weapon in your mainhand, and attack with both in the same round. If youspecialize in this skill, you can use not only a knife oryour fist with your off hand, but also any other 1-handed weapon. Also, if you specialize you can dial-wield ranged or thrown one-handed weapons.
A simple roll of this skill can help determine if you aresufficiently ambidextrous to perform a difficult actionrequiring perfect synchronization of both hands. Forexample, the rules do not state (well, now they do...)what happens when you Stealth-attack with two blades:do you get extra damage for both of them? A simpleAmbidexterity roll can help determine if that is the case.
Starting items: an extra knife or cestus
Feint [CHA]
You can use this skill while pretending to make a meleeattack. Instead of rolling your attack skill, roll Feintresistible via the Read Intention skill of your target. Ifyou succeed, and if you attack in melee the same targetin the next round, you will get +3 bonus to your attackroll.
If you use this skill successfully in several consecutiverounds on the same target, you will increasinglyconfuse your target, and in the end, when you attack forreal, the attack bonuses from the series of successfulFeint actions will stack. A failed Feint action ends thestreak and resets the attack bonus back to 0. You cannotuse the Feint bonus from a previous round to boostyour current Feint.
Starting items: fancy clothes
Rage [CON]
Rage gives +3 STR, +3 CON, +3 Intimidate, -3 INT.Switching your rage on is a full-round standard andvocal action requiring a successful simple Rage roll.Switching your Rage off is a full-round standard actionthat requires successful simple Mental Resistance roll. Ifyour Rage is on and enemies are near, you cannot stopfighting.
Starting items: 2 additional flasks of spirit
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Target Weakness [FOC]
If you succeed at a simple roll of this skill, you canmake an attack roll at -3 penalty, and if that attacksucceeds, it does Target Weakness skill-based bonusdamage. If the Target Weakness skill roll fails, your attackstill gets the -3 penalty. This skill, unlike most othercore skills, cannot be used if it is not learned.
Starting items: none
Unwavering Conviction [CHA]
You have used your CHA on yourself to boost yourconviction and dedication to proportions borderingmadness.
When you take damage that brings you to 0 HP orlower, you can choose to make a simple roll of this skill.If you succeed, you do not fall unconscious (but stilltake the damage). If you fail, you not only fallunconscious, but also lose 1d2 additional HP fromstraining yourself while trying to stay on your feet (an“early bleed” - normally your bleeding would start thenext round).
This skill can be used multiple times in a battle: it canbe used every time when your HP get more and moreinto the negative. This skill will not save you fromdying when your HP reach -10. This skill, unlike mostother core skills, cannot be used if it is not learned.
Starting items: a symbol of your faith
Combat Tactics [INT]
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• Covering fire: You quickly make 3 ranged
attacks that are sure to miss (impossible withlight or heavy crossbow) in the direction ofranged enemies that are within range of yourattacks, giving your allies moving in thedirection of those enemies +3 to Dodge vs thoseenemies for one round (until it is your turnagain).
• Shield wall: You and allies forming a tight lineget bonus to Dodge equal to how many you are(up to 4), if each of you is using a medium ortower shield, for as long as you keep thatformation.
• Planned ambush: When setting up an ambush,you and your allies get +3 bonus to relevantPerception, Stealth and Disguise / Acting rolls.
• Feigned retreat: Requires only a vocal action:you tell your allies to retreat, but they know thisis a trick. Upon successful simple Persuade roll,all enemies who speak your language receive -3Dodge for a round. Usable only once per fight.
Starting items: none
Meditation / Prayer [FOC]
You close your eyes and take 5 minutes to centeryourself.
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• FOC increased by 1 for 2h.• Your next attack will get +3 attack bonus if
done in the next 2h.• Your next Mental Resistance roll will get +3
bonus if done in the next 2h.• +3 to all Unwavering Conviction rolls during the
next 2h.
Starting items: a symbol of your faith
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Subterfuge Skills
Stealth [DEX]
Roll (resistible via Perception) to sneak upon, by, awayfrom somebody, if the circumstances realistically allowit. When you attack from successful stealth, your targetcannot see your first attack, so they cannot Dodgeagainst it (equivalent to the Blinded status).
When you are actively using Stealth, your speed ishalved, and when you are not actively using it, you geta penalty of -3 to it.
The presence of light gives -3 penalty to your Stealthroll. Silence also gives -3 penalty to your Stealth roll ifyou are moving, since it makes it easier to hear you.
If you successfully attack a target from Stealth using theStab skill, you deal extra Stealth skill-based damage.Carrying long items (long bows, polearms, staff slings)gives -3 penalty to Stealth.
Starting items: none
Locksmith [DEX]
In a workshop, this skill allows you to create locks (andother small mechanisms). In the field, if you havelocksmith tools, this skill allows you to pick locks viaresistance Locksmith roll against the quality of the lock.
If the one picking the lock does not have locksmithtools, they get -6 penalty to the resistance roll. If theyonly have improvised locksmith tools, they get -3penalty. (The same rules apply to most crafting andother skills that require certain tools. Not having thetools either makes the task impossible or applies apenalty of -6. Crudely crafting or in some other wayimprovising the tools lowers the penalty to -3.)
Starting items: locksmith tools
Traps [DEX]
Allows to set traps. A creation roll of Traps+d20determines the quality of the trap. Not having trappertools gives -6 penalty to that roll. Traps that involvedigging a hole also require a shovel, traps shooting anarrow require a crossbow and an arrow, etc. The qualityof the trap is used in the different resistance rolls:
• resisted via Perception to determine if the trap isspotted,
• resisted via Traps of the person trying to disarmthe trap (which does not require trapper tools)if the trap was spotted,
• resisted via Dodge of the target, if the trap wastriggered and it is designed to hit the targetwith a projectile or moving part,
• resisted via Resist Poison of the target if the trapis triggered and involves poison (whichrequires the person setting the trap to have thePoison skill and to use the appropriate recipe)
• resisted via Dodge or Resist Poison if the trap wastriggered and involves an Alchemy bomb. Likewith poisons, the trapper needs to spend arecipe slot. You can only use Alchemy recipesthat do not require a source of flame to work,unless you can somehow incorporate a burningfire into your trap.
Traps that do not use poisons or alchemy bombs andthat focus on doing damage (as opposed toimmobilizing the target or ringing an alarm, forexample) do skill-based damage derived from thequality of the trap. Poison and alchemy bombs expireand become inefficient within 12h, including as traps.
Starting items: trapper tools, a shovel
Tracking [FOC]
This skill is used for finding and following the tracks ofhumans or other creatures.
Usually the Tracking roll can be resisted via a Stealth roll,determining if the tracking is successful.
There is no Fishing skill in this game because theTraps+Tracking skills represent your skill in fishing. TheTracking skill allows to find good fishing spots (via a
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simple Tracking roll); the trapper tools include a longthin cord, hooks, as well as a net, and the Traps skillallows to use them to fish (usually via a simple Trapsroll). Or you can fish in some other way, for exampleusing a spear, by making a simple Polearms roll.
Same with Hunting: that skill is covered by Tracking(simple roll to find tracks), plus additional skillsallowing to kill the target: Traps, or Bow, orStealth+Sling, etc. Both hunting and fishing are time-consuming activities, requiring several hours.
Starting items: none
Sleight of Hand [DEX]
Allows you to pick pockets, plant an items intosomebody’s bag, cheat at cards and similar games,perform stage magic tricks, etc.
Typically your roll is resistible via Perception.
Starting items: stage magic props, playing cards
Disguise / Acting [CHA]
Allows you to pretend to be somebody different fromwho you really are in order to trick people or infiltrateorganizations, etc. Your roll is usually resistible viaRead Intention. A simple roll can allow you tosuccessfully conceal a knife, a buckler, a padded leatherarmor.
Can also allow you to stab with a concealed knife or tosuckerpunch somebody right next to you, with whomyou are for example engaged in a discussion.
If you succeed at a Disguise / Acting roll resistible viatheir Read Intention, they will not expect your firstattack, and will not Dodge against it (like when Blindedor attacked from successful Stealth).
Stabbing with a knife in this way gives additionalDisguise / Acting skill-based damage, just like stabbingfrom successful Stealth would.
A disguise and make-up kit can be helpful: without it,Disguise / Acting rolls that involve changing yourappearance will be at -6 penalty.
Starting items: disguise and make-up kit; fancy clothes
Appraisal [INT]
Identify the value of an object, and who where wouldgive the best price for it. There is no Trading skill in thisgame because it is Appraisal + Persuade + Read Intention.A PC will usually sell items at half price, unless havinglearned those three skills.
Starting items: magnifying glass
Poison [INT]
Poison can either be applied on a weapon, or put infood or drink. In the first case, the target needs to takedamage from the weapon, and in the second the targetneeds to ingest the poison, in order for it to work. Whenyou are ingesting poison, a successful resistance roll ofPerception vs the quality of the poison can allow you todetect it before it is too late. Poisons, as well aspotions / bombs created using Herbal Medicine /Alchemy, go wrong and stop being effective after 12h.
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• Drowsiness poison: makes you sleepy, inducing
skill-based Fatigue damage removable with 8hof sleep, if the Resist Poison resistance roll fails.
• Deadly poison: kills the target in 1d4 * 24h ifthey fail Resist Poison resistance roll, and do notdrink an antidote.
• Paralytic poison: paralyzes, making the targetImmobile and Prone for skill-based damagenumber of rounds, if they fail the Resist Poisonresistance roll.
• Debilitating Poison: sets INT to 1 for skill-baseddamage number of minutes if they fail ResistPoison resistance roll.
Starting items: portable lab glassware kit
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Influence Skills
Persuade [CHA]
Use either lies and manipulation, or insistence andpressure, to make somebody believe or do what youwould like them to.
Requires believable circumstances!
When you use lies and manipulation, your roll can beresisted via Read Intention. When you use insistence andpressure, your roll can be resisted via Mental Resistance.
Starting items: fancy clothes
Intimidate [CHA]
Frighten somebody, for example making them fleecombat (if you have already hurt them badly). Usuallycan be resisted via Mental Resistance.
Starting items: fancy clothes
Taunt [CHA]
Out of combat, allows you to provoke somebody to startfighting with you. In combat, you can use it to provokesomebody to attack you and not one of your allies.
The target of the taunt can choose if to resist usingMental Resistance (by overcoming the temptation toattack you) or using Read Intention (by realizing whatyou are trying to achieve).
You can choose to use an “all-in” taunt on somebodywho is not right next to you. You get a -9 penalty toyour Taunt roll, but if you succeed, not only will theyattack you, but they will do it by Charging you with amelee weapon or shield or fists: whatever is available tothem.
Starting items: fancy clothes
Music [CHA]
You can either just sing (which only uses your vocalaction), or sing and play an instrument at the same time(which also occupies both of your hands). The lattergrants stronger effect.
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• War song: +1 / +3 to Attack rolls of allies and
self.• Awakening song: -1 / -3 to Fatigue of allies and
self.• Mocking song: +3 / +9 bonus to Taunt to allies
and self.• Calming song: on successful Music (resistible
via Mental Resistance) roll makes wild animalsstop attacking the allies. Requires playing aninstrument.
When two numbers are given, the second onerepresents the effect when the bard is not just singingbut also playing. If the bard is just singing, he/she canchoose to just buff him/herself and not the allies, and inthat case too the second (bigger) number will apply.Buffs last while the bard is performing, and for oneround afterwords. Uninterrupted performanceconsumes one recipe slots regardless of duration.
Starting items: a portable musical instrument thatrequires both hands but not the mouth, such as a luteor a drum
Witchcraft / Hypnotism [CHA]
Relies on suggestibility to influence somebody on asubconscious level.
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• Terrifying shriek: only uses a vocal action.
Range 10m. Humans who fail Mental Resistanceresistance roll skip their next turn. Usable onceper fight.
• Curse: Apply permanent skill-based Fatiguedamage on one person. You need to kill ananimal in front of them while telling them thattheir fate is sealed with the blood of thatanimal. Resistible via Mental Resistance.
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• Remove Curse: hypnotize the willing target toremove their curse (recipe above). Requiressuccessful Witchcraft / Hypnotism roll vs thequality of the curse.
• Mesmerize: works only on people who areattracted to your gender. Makes them fall inlove with you until they get an 8h sleep. Worksonly on one target, in very close range.Resistible via Mental Resistance roll. Can onlywork if you had time to study that person forone round before that with a successful simpleRead Intention roll. (After the 8h rest the targetmight suspect that you “bewitched” them.)
Starting items: 4 chicken in a bird cage (perfect forbloody sacrifice), fancy clothes
Equestrian [CHA]
If you don’t have this skill, you cannot ride a horse. Ifyou have learned it, you can ride a horse with one freehand. If you have specialized in it, you can ride withboth hands free.
Riding is just as tiring as walking: if you do it for morethan 8h in one day, not only your horse will startgetting Fatigue, but you will too. However, whentraveling on good terrain, riding a horse is twice fasterthan walking (10km/h).
Simple rolls of this skill allow to make your horseperform complex actions such as attack, charge, stayquiet when afraid, not run away when hurt, etc. Thehorse is one of the most powerful pre-Renaissance andRenaissance weapons, when between proficienthands… or rather legs.
When you are attacking on horseback, you need tochoose if it is you making an attack with a weapon, orthe horse attacking (trampling) the target. You cannotdo both in the same round. When charging onhorseback, the horse rolls Charge and the skill-baseddamage from that roll can be added to your weaponattack (or the horse’s attack).
This skill also applies to controlling horses that arepulling a carriage. This skill also applies to mountssimilar to horses: donkeys, camels, etc.
Starting items: a horse
Dog Trainer [CHA]
Similar to the Equestrian skill, but applies to makingdogs perform complex or unnatural for them actionsunder your command.
Sometimes a simple roll might be needed, sometimesjust having the skill can be enough.
Starting items: a dog
Falconer [CHA]
Similar to Dog Trainer, but applies to birds: hawks,falcons, homing pigeons, etc.
Hawks and falcons can provide a valuable advantageby attacking and distracting your enemy.
Homing pigeons are usually brought along in a cage,and upon release will return home (usually with amessage wrapped around their leg).
Hawks are good at flying between the trees andnotifying you of nearby dangers.
Falcons usually fly above the treetops and can coverincredible distances.
Training a hawk or a falcon to be able to find aparticular thing in your surroundings is a verypowerful ability as it can have a very wide range, but itrequires to use the “research recipe” mechanics, astraining birds is time-consuming.
Starting items: a falcon
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Crafting Skills
Most crafting activities require an appropriatelyequipped workshop, but some, such as repairs andmore basic types of crafting, can also be performed onthe road if the right tools are available. If the GM allowsa crafting roll without the presence of the appropriatetools, it is at -6, or at -3 if improvised tools weresuccessfully procured.
Masonry [STR]
Building stone foundations and walls, wells, etc. Tosome extent also reshaping stones.
If you have this skill, you get +3 bonus to Perception rollsto discover hidden doors in stone buildings.
Starting items: masonry tools
Smithing [STR]
Creating metal objects, including metal tools, weapons,armor, etc.
Most actions require a smithy, but some simpler onescan be performed anywhere using a fire, a hammer, andfarrier tools.
Starting items: a one-handed hammer, farrier tools
Mining / Digging [STR]
Extracting ores and other useful substances (gems,alchemy ingredients, stones, salt) from mines.
Also used for digging rolls. Requires shovel and/orpickax.
Starting items: a shovel, a pickax, a wheelbarrow
Woodworking [DEX]
Making rooftops, furniture, bows, arrows, musicalinstruments, etc.
If you have this skill, you get +3 bonus to Perception todiscover hidden doors in wooden buildings.
Starting items: woodworking tools, a 1-handed axe, a1-handed hammer
Leathercraft / Sewing [DEX]
Skinning animals, tanning the leather. Making clothes,shoes, hats, belts, backpacks, armor, waterskins,harnesses, scabbards, etc. out of leather and cloth.Includes bookbinding.
Starting items: a sewing kit, a jar of tannin, an extraknife
Weaving / Braiding [DEX]
Using spinning wheel and loom to create cloth. Usingbraiding techniques to create rope, baskets, paper.Includes shearing sheep for wool, collecting cotton andhemp, producing silk. As well as waxing cloth for tentsand sails.
Starting items: a spinning wheel, a small loom, shears
Gemcutter / Jeweler [DEX]
Creating jewels. Having this skill gives +3 bonus toAppraisal rolls regarding jewelry and gems.
Starting items: a magnifying glass, jeweler tools
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Glassblowing / Pottery [DEX]
Making glass and clay recipients, as well as otherobjects made of those materials.
Starting items: glassblowing / pottery tools
Agriculture [FOC]
Taking care of plants and animals that are a source offood: grains, vegetables, fruits, cows, chicken, pigs, etc.
Starting items: a wheelbarrow, a scythe, a rake, a bag ofwheat grain (counts as rations for 28 days but can alsobe planted), 4 chicken in a bird cage
Cooking [FOC]
Prepare meals, as well as dry rations that do not gowrong (the latter requires more time, properequipment, and a roll).
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• +1 STR for 4h for 1 person• +1 DEX for 4h for 1 person• +1 CON for 4h for 1 person• +1 FOC for 4h for 1 person
The player is expected to provide more details aboutthe recipes they use.
Starting items: a mess kit, a pouch of salt, a pouch ofcheap spices, a jar of lard
Brewing [FOC]
You can brew alcohol, including strong spirits. You canalso make vinegar.
Starting items: portable lab glassware kit
Cartwright / Siege Engineer [INT]
If you learn this skill, you know a lot about wheels andaxles and can build and repair carriages.
If in addition you specialize in this skill, you candesign, build, improve and repair ballistas, trebuchets,battering rams, etc.
You would typically be working together withcarpenters and smiths, potentially organizing theirwork.
Starting items: none
Shipbuilding [INT]
Building and repairing boats and ships. You wouldtypically be working together with carpenters andsmiths, potentially organizing their work.
Starting items: none
Cartography [INT]
You are good at reading and creating maps, as well as atnavigation. Requires Read/Write (the only core skill torequire another).
Starting items: ink & quill, empty notebook, a compass,an astrolabe (the latter, illustrated on the image, allowsto determine the current location by measuring howhigh in the sky certain stars are.)
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Herbal Medicine [INT]
If you have specialized in this skill, your patients, whenresting, regenerate health 3 times faster.
Creating potions requires collecting herbs, which istypically a time-consuming activity. Potions expire in12h.
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• Antidote: cures Deadly poison.• Anesthetic potion: Gives you temporary HP
equal to “skill-based damage” (potentially ontop of your maximum HP) for 12 hours. Can beused only once per day per patient.
• Soothing salve: heals 1HP if used on a woundinflicted in the last hour. Can be used only onceper day per patient.
• Calming potion: stops Raging.
Starting items: portable lab glassware kit
Alchemy [INT]
You possess rare basic knowledge of Physics &Chemistry allowing you to create throwable bombs (inglass or pottery recipients) out of mined substances.Mining such substances is a time-consuming activityand usually requires a mine. Bombs expire in 12h.
Recipe-focused skill. Recipes:• Explosive bomb: 4m diameter, does skill-based
damage, halved for targets succeeding a Dodgevs Alchemy roll. Requires source of fire (such asa lit candle) when throwing.
• Incendiary bomb: 4m diameter, sets on fire,except targets who successfully defend withDodge vs Alchemy roll. Requires source of fire.
• Acid bomb: Single target, 2d6 damage if theThrow roll (resistible via Dodge) is successful.
• Toxic fumes bomb: consists of two flasks, thesubstances in which react when the flasksbreak; 4m diameter. Targets failing Resist Poisonroll take skill-based damage that ignores DR.
Starting items: portable lab glassware kit
26
Items
Shields
Item Dodge bonus Price Min STR Created using
buckler +1 1 gold - Smithing
medium shield +2 5 gold 12 Smithing + Woodworking
tower shield +3 20 gold 15 Smithing + Woodworking
Armor
Item DR (Damage Resistance) bonus
DEX penalty
Price Min STR Created using
padded leather +1 -2 5 gold - Leathercraft/Sewing
mail +2 -3 20 gold 11 Smithing + Leathercraft/Sewing
plate armor +3 -4 200 gold 14 Smithing + Leathercraft/Sewing
Melee Weapons
Item Skill Damage
Price Created using Other notes
Knife Stab [DEX] d4 1 gold Smithing Can be concealed with Acting / Disguise
Additional damage against opponents with DR=0. Additional damage when striking from stealth.
1h sword Stab [DEX] d6 10 gold
Smithing
2h sword Stab [DEX] d8 20 gold
Smithing
Club Bash [STR] d4 free - Can be improvised out of pretty much anything; 1-handed
1h axe Bash [STR] 2d4 1 gold Smithing + Woodworking
In addition to being a weapon, very useful for cutting down wooden objects
1h hammer Bash [STR] 2d4 1 gold Smithing + Woodworking
In addition to being a weapon, very important for doing blacksmith work
1h mace Bash [STR] 2d4 1 gold Smithing + Woodworking
2h axe / hammer
Bash [STR] 2d6 2 gold Smithing + Woodworking
Polearm Polearms [DEX]
2d6 1 gold Smithing + Woodworking
Can be spear, pike, halberd, glaive, etc. 2-handed, -3 to Stealth. Can dismount.
Cestus Unarmed [STR]
+1 1 gold Smithing + Leathercraft/Sewing
Increases human Unarmed fist damage by +1 (does not effect wrestling).
27
Ranged Weapons
Item Skill Damage Range meters / yards
Price Created using Other notes
Hand crossbow
Crossbow [FOC]
d4 20 5 gold Woodworking + Smithing (+ Braiding / Weavingto make the string)
1-handed
Light crossbow
Crossbow [FOC]
d10 50 10 gold 2-handed, takes one full-round standard action to reload
Heavy crossbow
Crossbow [FOC]
2d8 50 20 gold 2-handed, takes two full-round standard actions to reload
Self bow Bow [FOC] d6 50 1 gold Woodworking (+ Braiding / Weavingto make the string)
All bows are 2-handed
Longbow / Composite bow
Bow [FOC] - 100 - Longbow gives -3 Stealth and cannot be used mounted. Composite bow is twice more expensive than price below.Damage Price (gold) Min STR
d8 5 13
2d4 10 14
d10 15 15
d4+d6 20 16
d12 25 17
2d6 30 18
20 arrows - - - 1 gold Woodworking + Smithing
For both bows and crossbows
20 arrows without metalheads
- - - Some silver
Woodworking Much easier to make (can be made in nature out of wood and feathers), increase the range by 50%, but do -1 damage
Quiver - - - Silver Braiding / Weaving
Sling Sling [DEX] 2d4 20 Some silver
Leathercraft / Sewing
1-handed
Staff sling Sling [DEX] 2d6 20 Some silver
Leathercraft / Sewing + Woodworking
2-handed, -3 Stealth
20 metal bullets
- - - 1 gold Smithing
Small stones - - - free - Improvised ammo for slings, halves the range of the sling
10 throwing knives
Throw [DEX] d6 10 (20 if specialized in Throw)
10 gold Smithing Good for throwing but not really usable as melee weapons; 1-handed
Atlatl Throw [DEX] d10 1 gold Woodworking Shoots spears (which are a type of polearm); 2-handed
Returning boomerang
Throw [DEX] - - 1 gold Woodworking Allows to do ranged Feint if you have the Throw skill
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Tool Kits
Item Price Use
Tinderbox and flint and steel Some silver Using them you can light a candle/torch/lantern in 1 round, a fire in one minute. Without them, you can start a fire in 10 minutes upon successful Starting Fire With Sticks [INT] simple roll (-3 penaltywhen it is windy, -6 penalty when it is raining, -9 penalty when it is snowing).
Basic personal hygiene items Some silver A piece of soap, a miswak, a bit of ointment and perfume. Allow you to stay relatively clean and presentable. If you don’t use them for a while, you get -1 CHA, as both your appearance and your self-confidence take a hit.
Fake noble insignia, seal, ring and letter
50 gold Can allow you to be accepted as a noble at a new location if you succeed an Acting / Disguise roll resistible via Read Intention. If you try to pass for a noble without possessing these items, you will get a-6 penalty to that roll.
Ink and quill 1 gold Allow to write and draw on paper / parchment.
Sewing kit 5 gold For Leathercraft / Sewing. Needles, gimlets, threads, etc.
Locksmith tools 10 gold For picking locks using the Locksmith skill.
Disguise and make-up kit 2 gold For Disguise / Acting. Without it, Disguise / Acting rolls that involve changing your appearance will be at a -6 penalty.
Portable lab glassware kit 10 gold For Poison, Herbal Medicine, Alchemy and Brewing. Glass recipients and pipes in a wooden box.
Trapper tools 2 gold For setting traps using the Traps skill. Do not include a shovel. Strong thin cords, hooks, bells, nets, etc.
Woodworking tools 2 gold For Woodworking. They do not include an axe or hammer. Saws, chisels, nails, etc.
Farrier tools 5 gold For performing simple Smithing tasks in the field. To be able to use them you also need a 1h hammer, which they do not include, and a fire.
Jeweler tools 5 gold For creating/modifying jewels and cutting gems.
Glassblowing / pottery tools 2 gold For Glassblowing / Pottery.
Masonry tools 2 gold For Masonry.
Mess kit 2 gold Pots, pans, spoons, forks. For Cooking on open fire.
Fortune teller props 1 gold Can help you pretend that you are reading somebody’s future whenyou are actually using Read Intention on them and telling them whatthey want to hear.
Stage magic props 2 gold Allow you to entertain people using the Sleight of Hand skill.
Juggler props Some silver Allow you to entertain people using the Throw skill.
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Wearable
Item Price Effect
Simple clothes some silver Not wearing any would definitely evoke strong reactions. Protect a bit from cold and sun.
Fancy clothes 10 gold +1 CHA (improve not only the looks, but also the self-confidence).Can only wear one set.
Gloves some silver Protect the hands from cold.
Hat some silver Protects from strong sun.
Hooded cloak some silver Can protect from cold, rain, snow. Can hide your face. Can double as a blanket. Vital minimal equipment for outdoors camping.
Shoes some silver Walking without shoes can do HP damage.
Belt some silver Fairly versatile item.
Pouch some silver Can hold small items like coins.
Backpack some silver Big bag worn on the back, can hold a lot of items.
Waterskin some silver In most towns and on most terrains, as long as you have a waterskin with you, water will not be a problem, because you will be able to refill it from wells and springs. Usually worn hanging from the shoulders.
Consumable
Item Price Effect
Water Usually free Prevents / removes dehydration Fatigue.
Food Usually some silver Prevents / removes starvation Fatigue.
Rations 1 gold for 7 days Prevents / removes starvation Fatigue and does not go wrong. Can carry rations for up to 7 days without a need for a Carry roll.
Alcohol Usually some silver, but higher quality can cost some gold
Can facilitate negotiations; can disinfect water, bandages, wounds. If you are in a social situation involving drinking, but do not want to risk getting drunk, you need to succeed Mental Resistance roll vs the quality of the alcohol. If you fail and end up drinking, a Resist Poison roll vs the quality of the alcohol can determine if you get Tipsy (pass) or Drunk (fail).
Light Sources
Item Price
Candle Some silver
Torch (illuminates better than candle but produces smoke) Some silver
Lantern (illuminates better than torch) 2 gold
Bull’s Eye Lantern (illuminates better than ordinary lantern; at night can be used to blind a target for 1d2 rounds)
5 gold
Lantern oil Some silver
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Climbing Tools
Item Price
10 pitons (help climb walls, rocks, etc.) 5 gold
Soft-faced hammer (allows to use pitons more quietly than with a regular hammer) 1 gold
Pair of climbing spurs (help climb trees, cliffs, etc.) 1 gold
Pair of climbing axes (help climb rocks, ice, etc.) 2 gold
20m rope 2 gold
Grappling hook (might require a simple Throw roll if there is time pressure; might require Stealth roll if needs to be used silently; requires a rope to use)
2 gold
Expensive and Delicate
Item Price
Musical instrument 15 gold
Astrolabe (using Cartography allows to determine approx. current location when the night sky is clear)
20 gold
Compass 10 gold
Spyglass (+3 bonus to Perception rolls involving far-away objects) 20 gold
Magnifying glass (+3 bonus to Perception rolls involving tiny details in objects) 10 gold
Big Things
Item Price
Wheelbarrow 3 gold
Open carriage 20 gold
Closed carriage 30 gold
Canoe 10 gold
Rowboat 20 gold
Sailboat 100 gold
Wheeled ballista: shoots spears, 3d8 damage, 100m range, 4 rounds to reload. Can be pushed around like a big wheelbarrow
40 gold
Great ballista: shoots spears, 5d8 damage, 100m range, needs to be built at the location of use, 6 rounds to reload
60 gold
Trebuchet: shoots stones (8d8 damage) or Alchemy incendiary mixtures, 10 rounds to reload, needs to be built at the location of use, 100m range
80 gold
Battering ram on wheels 30 gold
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Various
Item Price
Snorkel (made of hollow plant stems and a leather strap) Some silver
Tent (camping more likely to be restful in bad weather; having one gives -3 to Stealth due to the long sticks it contains)
2 gold
Empty notebook 2 gold
History book (retelling some past events) 5 gold
Recipe book (halves cost of researching the recipe) 50 gold
Shovel 1 gold
Pickax 1 gold
Rake (can also be used as an improvised polearm doing 2d4 damage; -3 Stealth) 1 gold
Scythe (can also be used as an improvised polearm doing 2d4 damage; -3 Stealth) 1 gold
Playing cards 1 gold
Pendant varying
Bird cage 1 gold
Large napkin/handkerchief (good for bandaging wounds, especially once it is disinfected with concentrated alcohol)
Some silver
Pouch of salt 1 gold
Pouch of cheap spices Some silver
Jar of lard Some silver
Bag of flour Some silver
Jar of tannin Some silver
Sheers 1 gold
Small loom 1 gold
Big loom 5 gold
Spinning wheel 2 gold
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Domestic Animals
Horse
STR
DEX
CON
INT
FOC
CHA
damage
travel speed cost
16 13 14 3 12 10 d8 Double the human on good terrain, same as human on bad terrain
20 gold
Can pull a carriage. Can carry a lot of luggage. You canride it. Can only make it attack (and charge) if you areriding it. Can learn Ambidexterity (kick twice).
Recommended skills: Run [STR*2], Unarmed [STR],Ambi [DEX], Dodge [DEX]
Donkey
STR
DEX
CON
INT
FOC
CHA
damage
travel speed cost
16 12 16 3 12 10 d8 human 5 gold
Can pull a carriage. Can carry a lot of luggage. You canride it. Very hard to make it attack. Cannot learnAmbidexterity.
Recommended skills: Carry [STR], Dodge [DEX],Mental Resistance [FOC], Protect [DEX]
Dog
STR
DEX
CON
INT
FOC
CHA
damage
travel speed cost
11 11 11 4 15 10 d6 human 2 gold
Cannot learn Ambidexterity. Excellent nose and ears.That stats and cost above are for a well-trained well-fedbig dog.
Recommended skills: Unarmed [STR], Dodge [DEX],Tracking [FOC], Perception [FOC]
Falcon
STR
DEX
CON
INT
FOC
CHA
damage
travel speed cost
5 12 5 2 15 10 d4 Can cover hundreds of km in a day, high above the trees
10 gold
Excellent eyes for spotting things from the sky. UsesDEX-based Unarmed to attack with the beak. Cannotlearn Ambidexterity.
Recommended skills: Unarmed [DEX], Dodge [DEX],Tracking [FOC], Perception [FOC]
Hawk
STR
DEX
CON
INT
FOC
CHA
damage
travel speed cost
5 13 6 2 15 10 d4 Many km; can fly and hunt between the trees and bushes
15 gold
Excellent eyes for spotting things between the trees.Uses DEX-based Unarmed to attack with the talons. Canlearn Ambidexterity.
Recommended skills: Unarmed [DEX], Dodge [DEX],Tracking [FOC], Perception [FOC]
Other
Chicken cost some silver and are usually bought veryyoung; the male ones are usually eaten young beforethey start killing each other, except for one, thehealthiest. Cats are free and are very necessary forpeasants and millers to protect the grains from rodentsand insects. “Renting” a homing pigeon is possible inmost cities and costs some silver, and it will (usually)return home when released (with a message).
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Tools for GMs
Conditions and Modifiers
Having Learned a Skill: +5 to relevant success rolls.
Having Specialized in a skill: +(Level/2) to relevantsuccess rolls (in addition to the +5 from having learnedthe skill).
Exhausted / Dehydrated / Starved / etc.: Fatigue penaltyto all your success rolls.
On Difficult terrain: half speed.
Asleep: unable to take any actions; recovering fromcertain types of Fatigue; regenerating HP; Immobile;Prone; disturbances can wake you up (potentially aftersuccessful Perception roll).
Unconscious: like Asleep, but unable to wake up fromdisturbances.
Immobile: cannot take most actions, cannot Dodge.Inanimate objects are typically Immobile.
Blinded: cannot Dodge; can attack targets that you canhear but at -6 (at -3 if you learn the skill Blind Fighting[FOC] and without penalty if you specialize in it).
Using a Shield: bonus to Dodge depending on the type ofshield and on the level of proficiency in the Shield skill.
Wearing Armor: bonus to DR depending on the armor,penalty to DEX depending on the armor and the level ofproficiency in the Armor skill.
Benefiting from DR: Damage Reduction, or a number tobe subtracted from every source of physical damage.Things like fire and acid do count as physical damage.Wearing armor provides DR, and so does “natural armor”such as the thick fur of brown bears.
Having 0 DR: Swords and knives used in melee will doextra damage to you.
Making an Unexpected Melee Attack with Sword orKnife: you will do extra damage (and the target will notget a Dodge roll, but that is not unique to Stab weapons).Unexpected is an attack performed from Stealth, or with aconcealed dagger after a successful Disguise / Acting roll,etc.
Crafting without necessary tools / with improvisedtools: correspondingly -6 / -3 to the roll
Carrying Long Objects: -3 to Stealth. Polearms, long bowsand tents are examples of long objects. Carrying severallong objects does not worsen the penalty.
Grappled: Your attacker can apply a wrestling hold onyou, and can keep on doing that every round until youbreak free by succeeding at a resistance Unarmed roll. (Ifyour Unarmed skill is low and your attacker rolled high ontheir grapple roll, it can be impossible for you to beakfree.)
Prone: You are lying on the ground, which is fairlyinconvenient. -3 to your Attack rolls. Standing up takes afull movement action. Those standing on the same level asyou and shooting at you do not get height advantage.
Shooting into Melee: -3 to Attack roll.
Shooting from High Ground: +3 to Attack roll.
Actively Using Stealth: half speed.
Passively Using Stealth: -3 to Stealth rolls.
Dual Wielding: Can make one attack with each hand inthe same round.
Enraged: +3 STR, +3 CON, +3 Intimidate, -3 INT, cannotspare enemies.
On Fire → 1d6 damage per round. To put out the fire onyourself, you need to succeed at a Mental Resistance simpleroll so that you gather your thoughts sufficiently, and thattakes your whole round. Putting out the fire on somebodyelse auto-succeeds but also consumes your round.
Tipsy → That’s what happens if you drink alcohol andpass the Resist Poison roll. You get +1 to STR, CON andCHA for 4h.
Drunk → That’s what happens if you drink alcohol andfail the Resist Poison roll. You get 2d4 Fatigue.
Hungover → After you were Drunk and rested for 8h, youbecome Hungover. You have 1 Fatigue removable with 8more hours of sleep.
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Human NPCs
Human NPCs can be created in the same way as PCs, but here we provide a quick shortcut. Most humans have somesort of a profession, which determines their skills, as well as their primary stat, which is 13 (14 at level 3, 15 at level 5,16 at level 7, 17 at level 9). They also have a weakness, typically determined by rolling d6 and re-rolling if it happensto coincide with their primary stat. Their weakness is a stat of 7. Their other four stats are at 10.
job pr.stat
learned skills equipment, other notes
City Guard STR Armor [STR], Shield [STR], Bash [STR], Dodge [DEX], Protect [DEX], Perception [FOC], Read Intention [FOC], Unarmed [STR]
Mail armor, medium shield, mace, bull’s eye lantern
Knight STR Armor [STR], Bash [STR], Dodge [DEX], Protect [DEX], Equestrian [CHA], Read/Write [INT], Intimidate [CHA], Unwavering Conviction [CHA]
Plate armor, horse, mace, minimum level 3
Archer FOC Bow [FOC], Perception [FOC], Armor [STR], Dodge [DEX], Stab [DEX],Climb [DEX], Control Artillery [INT], Mental Resistance [FOC]
Self bow, padded leather armor
Hunter FOC Bow [FOC], Target Weakness [FOC], Tracking [FOC], Traps [DEX], Stealth [DEX], Cooking [FOC], Leathercraft/Sewing [DEX], Carry [STR]
Self bow
Thief DEX Stealth [DEX], Climb [DEX], Locksmith [DEX], Sleight of Hand [DEX], Traps [DEX], Appraisal [INT], Run [STR], Disguise / Acting [CHA]
Assassin DEX Stab [DEX], Stealth [DEX], Climb [DEX], Dodge [DEX], Ambi [DEX], Poison [INT], Disguise / Acting [CHA], Read/Write [INT]
Merchant INT Appraisal [INT], Persuade [CHA], Read Intention [FOC], Read/Write [INT], Mental Resistance [FOC], Resist Poison [CON], Perception [FOC], Cartography [INT]
Master Craftsman
X The Skill Corresponding to the Craft [X], Other Relevant Crafting and Supporting Skills
minimum level 3, workshop
Ship Captain INT Control Ship [INT], Cartography [INT], Read/Write [INT], Speak ForeignLanguage [INT], Control Artillery [INT], Woodworking [DEX], Shipbuilding [INT], Swim [STR]
minimum level 3
As they level up, NPCs usually specialize in their skills, starting with the most important one, which is the first one inthe table above, and then continuing left to right. As they specialize in skills, they also learn/research recipes for them(when you specialize in a skill you get a free recipe for it), which gives the GM the freedom to give them specialabilities that fit the current situation, or to make them more specialized (for example a blacksmith known to make thestrongest swords).
Without claiming that it is at all useful, here is the “animal table” for the human:
STR DEX CON INT FOC CHA damage travel speed cost
10 10 10 10 10 10 d4-1 (d4 with cestus) (can also use other weapons)
human (8h/day, 5km/h)
slavery is a bad thing, but hiring people is possible – although they would be extremely reluctant to risk their lives if there is danger ahead
35
Animals
Animals have access to many of the same 64 skills that humans can know. Naturally, some skills, such as Smithing, donot make sense for animals, but surprisingly many do. Unlike humans, animals learn only 4 skills at level 1 (and donot get their starting items, naturally).
Some animals have natural armor. Snow wolves and brown bears have DR 1, and if you craft a padded leather armorfrom their fur, its DR would be 2 instead of 1. Crocodiles have DR 1, komodo dragons have DR 2, armadillos have DRof 3.
For humans, the average value for every stat is 10. That is not necessarily the case for animals. Larger animals havehigher average STR and CON. Animals with sharp senses, such as dogs, have higher average FOC than humans.Animals have lower average INT than humans.
Some animals, like horses and hawks, can learn the skill Ambidexterity and perform two Unarmed attacks per round.Horses can trample with both front legs, and hawks can claw with both claws. Other animals, such as dogs andfalcons, attack with the mouth/beak, and cannot do that.
Many animals use Unarmed [STR] to attack. Predators learn this skill, while prey animals tend to learn Dodge [DEX].Some animals, such as the venomous snakes, rely on rapidity and not brute force when they deliver their attacks, sothey rather use Unarmed [DEX].
Different animals attack in different ways. Boars would typically Charge. Pythons would use Unarmed [STR]’swrestling rules to grapple and suffocate the target, using the sleeper hold – they do not bite and do not do HPdamage. Venomous snakes would use Poison (of a fixed quality value and effect).
For four-legged animals, their Run skill is Run [STR*2], or Run [DEX*2] if their DEX is higher and they are notcarrying anything. The Swim skill of aquatic creatures is many times that of humans. Burrowing animals are good atDigging, and birds / bats can Fly.
When you go traveling with pets, you need to bring rations for them as well (1/2 ration per day for horses, donkeysand dogs, and usually negligible amount for birds).
Pets can level up if their owner has specialized in the corresponding pet skill. In that case, pets would typically be halfthe level of their owner.
Determining animals stats: there are several ways to go about this depending on how much detail you want to putinto it:
1. The simplest way: just take the average stats for the species. (It is OK to do that for human NPCs as well,10/10/10/10/10/10 are perfectly reasonable stats.)
2. The NPC way: take the average stats for the species and multiply one by 1.3 and one by 0.7.
3. The PC way: roll 4d4 20 times, take a sequence of 6 and do not rearrange, or take the standard array and rearrange –just like for PC creation. Then multiply each of those stats by the average for the species, divide by 10, and use thestandard rounding rules.
Domestic animals with higher-than-average important stats, such as horses with particularly high STR for example, wouldtypically sell for higher prices.
36
Random Encounters
The GM will typically roll a 1d100 for each day and for each night spent in the wilderness. Depending on howpopulated (with humans and animals) an area is or what the pacing of the campaign is, rolls can also be made moreor less often. (When the party is traveling back to town from an adventure, I make just 1 roll for the whole trip back.)
1-39 NOTHING SIGNIFICANT HAPPENS
40-49 WEATHER EVENTS40 particularly warm for the season41 particularly cold for the season42 very strong precipitation43 very strong winds44 lightning storm45 a huge storm combining 42, 43 and 44; a lightning strikes something of importance nearby46 a dust devil appears at the location of the PCs at an interesting moment47 strange intense colors in the sky, such as aurora or rainbow or blood moon, etc.48 the terrain is suddenly much harder to traverse due to flood or freezing or snow or similar49 magnetic phenomenon that renders compasses useless for d6 days
50-59 ANIMALS LESS LIKELY TO ATTACK50-51 hares / other small game (can hunt without rolling for and spending time Tracking)52-53 deer / other middle-sized game (can hunt without rolling for and spending time Tracking)54 pond with a lot of fish (can fish without rolling for and spending time Tracking)55 lost cow / sheep / donkey / dog56 wild horses57 bee or wasp hive, maybe full of honey, maybe full of trouble58 roll on the table at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animal_names#Terms_by_species_or_taxon (first roll ad26 for first letter, and then within that for an animal)59 the little ones of one of the animals below (roll 59+d10 to determine which)
60-69 AGGRESSIVE ANIMALS VERY LIKELY TO ATTACK60 hungry wolves61 bears62 angry boars63 hungry big cats (tigers, lions, jaguars, pumas)64 sneaky food-stealing (and potentially also attacking) wild dogs / jackals / coyotes65 a rabid animal (of one of the five types above, roll 59+d5): fearless, damage can infect66 dangerous snakes (constricting or venomous)67 quick food-stealing (and potentially also attacking) big birds68 large reptiles with legs: crocodiles, alligators, komodo dragons, etc.69 a huge very dangerous animal (elephant, hippopotamus, orca, etc.)
70-79 NEUTRAL STRANGERS LESS LIKELY TO ATTACK70 traveling herbalist healer71 trader with goods and guards72 hunters / lumberjacks / shepherds / gatherers73 a wise hermit74 treasure hunters75 a big expert on one of the 64 core skills (roll d8 twice to determine which one)76 rich noble with guards77 people similar to the PCs78 priests of some sort (if magic exists, they might have a small chance to wield real magic)79 traveling fortune tellers (if magic exists, they might have a small chance to wield real magic)
37
80-89 AGGRESSIVE STRANGERS VERY LIKELY TO ATTACK80 bandits (give us your money or die scenario, or ambush)81 pick-pocketing thieves that might decide to go for the kill if discovered82 very aggressive drunkards or otherwise deranged bloodthirsty individuals83 being targeted by organized crime or corrupt guards/officials extorting money84 rich person (with guards) who hunts and kills the kind of people that the PCs happen to be85 territorial aggressive people who claim that the PCs have intruded into their territory86 maniacal knights convinced that the PCs are guilty of a certain wrongdoing87 blood-letters convinced some of the PCs require their “help”, or organ / teeth thieves88 the PCs accidentally witness a crime, and the perpetrators want to leave no witnesses alive89 slavers trying to capture the PCs
90-94 SITUATIONS RELATED TO THE UNFOLDING STORY90 visit from an individual (or the memory of that individual, or a message, etc.) that is part of the story and thatsuddenly tries to help91 running into dangerous members of one of the factions that are enemies of the PCs92 stealthy assassins payed to kill the PCs93 accidentally PCs come across information explaining important aspects of the ongoing story94 if the PCs committed a crime recently, even if all evidence was well hidden, law enforcement accidentally cameacross evidence or a witness
95-100 OTHER95 one of the PCs suffers an accident (stumbles and falls, or cuts him/herself): 1d6 damage96 the PCs run into trap(s) intended for animals or for other people97 one or several PCs get the flu or food poisoning or similar: 1d6 Fatigue for 1d6 days98 the PCs run into poisonous plants or venomous arachnids, and some of them suffer bad effects from the poison. APC with the Poison skill might be able to study and/or harvest some of the poison for later use.99 the GM rolls again on this table: if the result is 1-39 then nothing happens, but if it is anything else, then deliversthe result to the PCs in quantity multiplied by 1d6100 the GM gets carte blanche to unleash upon the PCs something that is at the same time outlandish, opportune,fitting, and extremely dangerous
The available outcomes will not always fit the setting. In that case they can be modified to an equivalent that doesmake sense. For example, in a desert: wild horses → wild camels. Or the GM can reroll.
If there are several options (as in “cow / sheep / donkey / dog”), the GM can roll the appropriate die to narrowdown, or pick based on what is most appropriate in the current surroundings. If plural is used (animals, thieves, etc.),a d6 can help determine how many.
If the PCs are not in the wilderness, but are in some other way exposed to danger, the GM can use this table, andreroll if the result is not applicable to their location.
Luck Rolls
Not all things we want to achieve have anything to do with our skills or characteristics. Many things are pure luck. Aluck roll is a just a flat d20, usually rolled by one of the players. Often 1-10 means a negative outcome for the onerolling, and 11-20 means a positive outcome, but that is not necessarily the case: if the player is hoping for somethingvery unlikely to happen, a 20 might be needed. Whenever the GM has not determined something, such as: does themerchant have unmarried sons, does the house have unbarred windows, is the wind blowing in a favorable directiontoday, a luck roll can help determine it. Luck rolls are not influenced by fatigue, pushing oneself, non-magical items orattributes, etc.
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Awarding XP
During the session, the GM needs to take note of the following types of events happening:
• The PCs are in a situation of serious mortal danger of a new type.• The PCs successfully accomplish one of their relatively big goals, which is different enough from the previous
goals they have accomplished.• The PCs accomplish something that was not a goal of theirs, but that is very impressive and rare, and that they
have never done before.• The PCs uncover new for them information that few possess and that is either valuable or very thought-
provoking or both.• The PCs come up with a new, crazy and original (but not completely impossible) plan that takes the GM
aback, and they give it a try (it doesn’t matter if it succeeds).• Two or more PCs combine their abilities in a new and creative way that works.• Two or more PCs have a rich interaction of a new nature with each other, and that interaction leads to their
development.
Any event that fits more than one of the criteria above is still counted just once.
At the end of the session, the GM counts how many times such events occurred during the session, and awards eachPC with that amount of XP. A number somewhere between 2 and 5 is quite good, but can also be out of that range.
Normally each PC should get the same amount of XP. NPCs that have been accompanying and helping the PCsshould normally get that same amount of XP too. Animals owned by the PCs usually do not get XP: they level upaccording to a different rule explained in the Animals section above.
Some General GM Advice That You Did Not Ask For
• Have fun. Don’t prep too much. Go with the flow. This is a game and the GM is just one of the players. Whenyou like what is happening at your table, say so, let the players know they are giving you the time of your life.
• Make sure you are and everybody else is comfortable with the heavier topics explored. Ask about, set andrespect limits.
• Make the NPCs vibrant. They “push themselves” when in danger, they use recipes. Hirelings can betray theparty, enemies can research the weaknesses of the party.
• Decrease your importance. When the players speak, let them. Allow them to contribute to world building. Askthem to roll luck rolls whenever appropriate. Don’t let their hirelings steal the show.
• Don't be a whimsical god. As the GM, you are above the rules, you can modify and interpret them as youwish. Still, it is better if most of the time you stay under the rules.
• Plan NPCs and their motivations; plan locations, tensions between factions, history. Rather than planning forwhat the party will probably do. Because you might end up pushing them to do it.
• Feel free to present your players with problems that you do not know the solution to. They will either find aninteresting solution, or fail. Both of those outcomes are worthy.
• Talk to the senses of the PCs: what they see, hear, smell. If explaining needs to be done, preferably do it via ahelpful NPC or a book they find.
• Give (very slowly!) the PCs the tools to make a difference. For me as a GM, the best feeling is when I have noidea what will happen in the next session. That requires the PCs to have powerful tools at their disposal.
• This ruleset is intended to allow you to make combat less important, and to render subterfuge, crafting andsocial interactions more significant and intriguing. I think of those as four equally important pillars.
• Low fantasy is also called intrusion fantasy, because something bizarre and supernatural intrudes into arelatively ordinary world. Seek the juxtaposition between the mundane and the bizarre.
• To build a world that feels ordinary (which is necessary to make your eerie intrusions impactful) you mightwant to get rid of the concepts of good and evil. Everybody is just differently broken and with different needs.
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Expansions & Modules
Renaissance
Tighten your corset, the Early Modern Times are here! And they are bringing some new skills:
Painting / Sculpture [CHA]: This is an ancient art. But now it has become a rich and in-depth representation of reality,of concepts and of emotions. There is now perspective, posture, expression. A good artist can capture the essence of aperson in a way that will allow others to recognize him/her. Starting items: watercolors palette, paint brush, emptynotebook.
History / Literature [INT]: The old books, from centuries ago, forgotten, labeled unimportant, labeled sacrilegious,are brought back into the light. They are compared and analyzed. Old fallen empires begin to reveal their mysteries.Which of the old books are fiction, which are true, how can we tell? Starting items: 5 history books.
Human Anatomy [INT]: The inner working of the human body used to be taboo. Still are, for most. Not for you. Youhave cut a human corpse open, studied the organs inside. You get +3 to Target Weakness and Herbal Medicine rolls thattarget humans (as in shooting at the weak spot of a human, or making a soothing salve to treat a human's wound).Starting items: a book on human anatomy with images (costs 10 gold). Gunsmith [INT]: Designing, repairing, building, modifying, upgrading rudimentary firearms with beautifulmechanisms such as the wheellock. If you have this skill plus Siege Engineer and Smithing, you can also design andbuild cannons (that can be used with Control Artillery). Starting items: gunsmith tools (cost 20 gold). Shoot Pistol [DEX]: Short range. Possible to conceal with Disguise / Acting. Possible to shoot two at the same time ifspecialized in Ambidexterity. Starting items: a wheellock pistol, a pouch of 20 metal bullets, a pouch of gunpowder. Shoot Rifle [FOC]: Shooting an arquebus or a musket. Impossible to conceal or dual-wield, but allows to aim and toshoot efficiently at a longer range. (Both pistols and rifles produce a really loud noise.) Starting items: an arquebus, apouch of 20 metal bullets, a pouch of gunpowder.
Shoot Hand Cannon [STR]: Shooting an awkward device, somewhere between a pistol and a cannon, with a recoilthat feels like a kick from a horse. It usually has a hook or a support stick, but that will not always protect you fromthe recoil. If you roll less than 25 when you shoot, the recoil will do 1d6 damage to you; 2d6 on a natural 1. Startingitems: a hand cannon, a pouch of 4 mini cannonballs, a pouch of gunpowder. Steam Engines [INT]: Having this skill allows to run and maintain a steam engine, for example one powering a ship.Specializing in this skill allows to design and build steam engines, with the help of blacksmiths making the necessaryparts. Steam engines usually run on coal (but maybe you can invent more powerful versions running on refinedpetroleum). Rolling a natural one when starting a steam engine = the engine explodes dealing 3d6 damage to allnearby. Starting items: a book on steam engines with images (costs 10 gold). Hot Air Balloons [INT]: This skill is both for building and controlling (as much as controlling them is even possible)hot air balloons. Unless you invent a better way to do things, you are limited to being able to go just up and down,hoping to find winds that will take you in the direction in which you want to go. And be careful not to set on fire thewaxed cloth of the balloon when heating up the air within! Hot air balloons usually run on refined petroleum. Rollinga natural one when firing up a hot air balloon = it soon breaches and falls to the ground dealing 3d6 damage to allinside it. Starting items: a book on hot air balloons with images (costs 10 gold).
Knowing People [CHA]: Society used to be very segregated: nobles met nobles, peasants met peasants. A bit less now,now money is the new liege. Those who have money want to use it to get more, those who don't have money try tosell their talents. You know a lot of people: aristocrats interested in investing in expeditions, merchants trading in
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rarities, peasants willing to try to grow exotic plants, sell-swords with a death wish, inventors who can crack anycode. If you take this skill, a successful simple roll and the modest cost of 1 XP (cannot use if that would un-level you,you need to pay it even if you fail the roll) can allow you to know the right person for any job, as well as a way tocontact them (for example a friend who can introduce you). You cannot use Fatigue to push yourself on that roll, youcan only use more XP. Starting items: none, who needs items when you have people. Philosophy [INT]: Our world and our existence are riddled with mysteries, things that neither religion nor science canexplain. Contemplating on those mysteries used to be frowned upon. Now people make a living out of it, especially ifthey can find an aristocrat with existential crisis to sponsor them. This skill is mostly useful if the Spellcraft extensionis enabled too. Magic originates from the existential cracks of reality, from the relative nature of existence, from itsmultidimensional and partially solipsistic nature. Philosophy can allow to understand magic on a more fundamentallevel, and to draw conclusions about the nature and limitations of spellcraft, about how arcane energies interact.
Also, Alchemy [INT] has changed to some extent. New methods for performing chemical extraction have beeninvented. Very notable is the extraction of refined sugar: that procedure is already having an impact on Agricultureand Cooking. In addition, some of the well-guarded secrets of alchemists have become less private. Gunpowder (themain component of explosive bombs) and (crudely) refined petroleum (the main component of incendiary bombs) arenow available for sale in some cities. Also, people have figured out how to prevent gunpowder from absorbinghumidity, and how to prevent refined petroleum from evaporating and oxidizing, so now these two materials usuallydo not go wrong after 12h anymore. A pouch of gunpowder costs 1 gold and is enough for one explosive bomb, orfor 20 bullet shots, or for one cannon shot. A bottle of (crudely) refined petroleum costs 1 gold and is enough forone incendiary bomb, or for a very short trip with a small hot air balloon. A person who has not learned theAlchemy skill and who has a pouch of gunpowder / a bottle of refined petroleum, can try to fashion and use anexplosive bomb / an incendiary bomb, but upon failing the Alchemy roll, the bomb will explode in their hands / setthem on fire.
weapon damage cost range reload time and other information
Wheellock pistol 3d4 20 gold 10m 4 full rounds to reload; 1d6 damage to shooter on natural 1
Arquebus (rest included)
3d6 25 gold 50m 5 full rounds to reload; before shooting requires one round to set up the rest; 1d6 damage to shooter on natural 1
Musket 3d6 30 gold 25m 4 full rounds to reload; 1d6 damage to shooter on natural 1
Hand Cannon 4d6 20 gold 10m 5 full rounds to reload; 4 mini cannonballs cost 1 gold; 4 shots use up a pouch of gunpowder; the mods below do not work with it
Cannon (obeys the artillery rules)
8d8 100 gold 100m 5 full rounds to reload; much smaller and much more portable than a trebuchet (which does comparable damage); the mods below do not work with it; a cannonball costs 1 gold
modification cost effect
Rifling 5 gold for pistol, 10 gold for arquebus or musket
Doubles the range
Protected ignition 2 gold Allows to shoot when it rains or snows (impossible without it)
Fast reloading facilities 2 gold Decrease reload time by 1 round
Loaded, held and pointed at a target, firearms (including hand cannons but excluding cannons) act like crossbows in the samesituation: they can be shot in the 0th ambush round before rolling initiative. Point blank shots with those firearms cannot beDodged, like with crossbows. Unlike crossbows, renaissance firearms are not very precise and do not get +3 to attack.
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Spellcraft
Let’s imagine, just for a moment, that magic exists. And that some are born with a gift for it. What would it take toawaken that gift? Magical talents are represented in the form of recipe-based skills. They come with some limitations:
• A person can be born with no more than one gift. Unless some exceptional circumstances are involved, youcan know at most one spellcraft skill. People with the gift are very few, and typically hide it well.
• Special circumstances are required to awaken your gift, such as a near-death experience, or coming in contactwith a magical artifact or paranormal phenomenon, etc. The awakening of the magic gift is an extremelytraumatic, confusing, maddening and mind-garbling experience. It leads to a permanent loss of 3 INT points.
• Your magical gift can only awaken if you have 13 or more in its base stat. If your magical gift is an INT-basedskill (Divination [INT] or Metamagic [INT]: arguably the two most powerful spellcraft skills) then you need aminimum of 16 INT, because you are about to lose 3 points from it.
• To actually learn to use the magical skill (and one of its recipes, also known as spells) – intuitively, or from ateacher, or from arcane books – you need to spend 5 XP (you cannot do that if it would un-level you). PCstypically start with 15 XP, so it is possible to do that at character creation.
• If you learn a magical skill at character creation and pay the costs listed above, you need to know that magicalskills do not come with any starting items.
• Some non-magical recipes require a skill roll, some do not. Spellcraft recipes (spells) always require the roll ofthe corresponding skill. There is always a chance for a spell to fail. Some spells require a simple roll (which isthe default), some require a creation roll resistible via for example Mental Resistance, etc.
• Casting some spells requires spending XP: they can only be cast if the XP cost would not un-level the caster.• Players are welcome to invent their own spellcraft skills, but the GM needs to make sure that the scope is
reasonable and not too broad, and that the base stat makes sense.• When different types of magic interact, roll a d20. The higher the result, the crazier things happen.
Divination [INT]: Knowing things you should not be able to know. • Find person: feel how far and in what direction a person is; requires a simple roll and to have an item of theirs.• Read future: get vague images about the future of an item or person you are touching; requires a simple roll.• See through illusions: makes you immune to magical illusions for an hour; requires a simple roll.• Read surface thoughts: read the surface thoughts of a person you are touching; requires a simple roll.
(Divination also provides more or less the only way to travel to other universes in the multiverse. To do that, you need3 Divination spells: 1. one that finds a universe based on specifications, 2. one that finds a summoner in that universe(if such a person / entity exists there), 3. one that allows to establish a telepathic communication with that summoner,allowing to try to convince them to summon you and your companions.)
Summoning [FOC]: Making things appear out of thin air. (A summoner might not be aware of this, but they can onlysummon things from other universes in the multiverse, and not from the universe they are currently in. There is aworkaround to that, by having a summoner in another universe act as a “mirror” for your spell, but that is fairlydifficult to accomplish.)
• Summon food and drink: permanently summoned; enough for one person for one day; requires a simple roll.• Summon 10 arrows: will disappear after 24h; requires a simple roll.• Summon horse: will disappear after 24h; requires a simple roll.• Summon falling stone: only outdoors; d8 damage; the target can Dodge only if successful at a Perception roll.
Metamagic [INT]: Produce magic that affects other magic, destroys magic, steals magic, imbues magic.• Draw spell: if you are 10m away from a spell being cast, and if you pass a simple roll, you can see in your
mind a complex symbol representing the spell. Within the next hour you need to draw the symbol (usingWoodworking or Painting or some other appropriate crafting skill you have, which requires a simple roll of thatskill and appropriate tools and materials) or the intricacies of the symbol will leave your mind.
• Imbue: you use a crafting skill to mark an item with the symbolic representation of a spell. Requires one hour,a symbol to copy, a successful Metamagic roll, a successful crafting skill roll, and 1 XP that is permanently lost(cannot use this if it would un-level you).
• No-Magic Zone: requires a simple roll; nobody can cast a spell in a radius of 10m around you for a minute.• Disable Gift: if you hurt somebody in melee, you make them unable to cast spells for d6 hours.
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Mind-affecting magic [CHA]: Mess with the minds of humans and animals, as well as with their emotions. Spellsfrom this skill are single-target, require you to be right next to the target, and are resistible via Mental Resistance.
• Charm: make somebody like you a lot for a week.• Command: if they can understand your words, they will obey a simple command for the next 6 seconds, if
that simple command does not lead to their harm.• Sleep: make somebody fall asleep; disturbances will wake them up. Useful both in combat and as a cure
against insomnia.• Delete memory: Delete the last 1 hour from somebody’s memory.
Illusion [FOC]: You control what others see and what they cannot see. Illusions are different from mind-affectingspells in that they are not resistible via Mental Resistance and they affect everybody looking in that direction. Butillusions can only affect the senses, and they cannot affect the sense of touch.
• Invisibility: make a person or item invisible for an hour. For a person, doesn’t make clothes and itemsinvisible: each of those would require an extra casting. An invisible person still produces sounds.
• Giant spider illusion: 1.5m tall spider charges a target chosen by the caster. Failing Mental Resistance roll willmake the target run in fear. The spider is immaterial and if you swing a weapon through it, it will dissipate.
• Disguise illusion: make a person look like somebody else for 1h. Also changes the appearance of the clothes ofthe person, but not their voice. Touching the person will end the illusion.
• Dripping water: everybody who goes in a room can hear water dripping there somewhere but cannot find thesource. That can be quite confusing and maddening. Lasts for a week.
Spiritspeak [CHA]: Talk to the dead. All spells require to know the name of the dead person and to have an item ofimportance to them (or their bone, tooth or hair).
• Ask: ask a dead person one question. Takes 5min to call the spirit, but the conversation itself is usually muchshorter. Nobody sees the spirit but the spiritspeaker can sense it.
• Invite: invite a spirit in your body. The spirit will have full control of your body, and you will have nomemories of what happened. It takes 5min to call the spirit, and then the spirit stays in your body for up to 1h,but it can leave earlier if it wants to.
• Loan: for 1h you know a skill that the dead person knew. Requires to have a friendly relationship with thespirit and to have used Ask and Invite multiple times on that same spirit. Does not allow to use recipes knownto the dead person (unless you upgrade this spell to Tier 2).
• Send: You send a spirit to visit somebody and tell them one sentence (which will probably be quite anexperience for them). Requires 5min. Requires to have a friendly relationship with the spirit.
Necromancy [FOC]: Dabble in the art of the un-death. Each spell requires a whole night to cast, and leads to thecreation of one undead creature. Each spell costs 1 XP. In all cases it creates a creature that will obey you (but mightwant and try to break free of that bond).
• Raise zombie: requires a dead body of somebody who died less than a week ago. Creates a strong, but verydumb and slow creature.
• Raise skeleton: requires a dead body of somebody who died more than a year ago. Creates a very resilientcreature (a lot of HP).
• Embrace: turn somebody into a vampire. Requires to pour 1L of vampire blood (which typically onlyvampires have) into their mouth (after draining them of their blood and killing them in the process). Vampiresget +50% to all stats except INT, but sunlight can instantly kill them.
• Create wraith: kill somebody in a ritualistic way, binding their spirit to this world. Their spirit, now a wraith,cannot interact with material objects, but can cast the spells that they were able to cast when alive.
Life magic [FOC]: Combat death and un-death with the energies of the essence of life. All spells from this skill requireto touch the target.
• Heal: you touch a creature an it recovers 1hp. If the creature is undead, it takes 2d6 damage (ignoring armor)instead.
• Cure: make a creature no longer be poisoned or diseased (or drunk, etc.). Casting takes 1h.• Spring of life: make a human’s body 1 month younger by permanently spending 1 XP.• Grow: makes a plant grow by 1 year within 6 seconds.
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Shapeshifting [CON]: Transform your body into something else. All transformations are permanent until anothershapeshifting spell is cast. All shapeshifters automatically learn the bonus recipe to turn back into their original formwhen they learn the Shapeshifting skill. Upgrades to the spells allow you to turn further into a particular form. Tier 4spells allow you to completely metamorphose into something else.
• Boar snout: gives you +6 to Perception and Tracking rolls when a good sense of smell can help, but you mightwant to wear a mask.
• Toad skin: makes your palms secrete paralytic poison, which makes for interesting handshakes, but also whenyou touch things they become disgusting. Cannot wear gloves when you are in this shape because your skinneeds to breathe. The poison potency is defined by the creation roll of casting the spell.
• Cat eyes: now you can see in the dark but your eyes have a creepy yellow color to them.• Doppelganger: change your face to look like somebody else. You need to upgrade this spell to be able to
change your body as well, and the Disguise/Acting skill can be useful to also dress like them, gesticulate likethem, talk like them.
Blood magic [CON]: Use your blood to cast your spells, especially to bless and curse. Each spell requires you to spillsome of your blood and makes you lose 1 HP.
• Bless: mark somebody’s forehead with your blood and they will get “skill-based damage” bonus to a stat ofyour choosing for 24h or until they wash off the blood.
• Curse: sprinkle somebody in melee range with your blood giving them “skill-based damage” Fatigue untilthey have an 8h rest.
• Blood-red: create a small creepy red object of your choosing out of your blood.• Blood-letting: cure yourself of a poison or disease by letting the bad blood out.
Fire bending [FOC]: Control the flames. All spells require an existing flame to manipulate.• Extinguish: all flames in an area of radius of 10m around you are immediately extinguished.• Small flame: a small flame appears on your palm. The only exception to the rule “All spells require an existing
flame to manipulate.” Very useful for afterwords casting other fire bending spells.• Flame whip: Hit with a whip flame, causing d6 damage. The target cannot Dodge.• Set on fire: set something or somebody in melee range on fire. They can try to Dodge.
Water bending [FOC]: Control the waves.• Breathe under water: lasts 8h. Upgrades can allow you to also handle the high pressure of the depths, etc.• Waves: when somebody is in or near a body of water, lake or sea or river etc., create waves to push them out or
make them fall or push them underwater etc. In terms of rolls, works similarly Unarmed wrestling (vs Swim).• Pull water out of air: create 1L of water. Also very good for dehumidifying humid rooms.• Water slam: make 1L of water slam into somebody’s face. It will go into their nose, mouth, eyes and ears
dazing them, and they will not do anything in the next round. They can try to Dodge.
Air bending [FOC]: Control the winds.• Fly: requires to have a hand gliding apparatus (which is hard to build). Lasts for 1 minute.• Personal tornado: winds grab somebody and throw them on the ground. Skill-based damage, target ends up
Prone, cannot be Dodged.• Push: makes it impossible to advance towards you unless they succeed a Charge roll vs your skill roll.• Air cushion: you and people near you do not take damage from falling, can be cast instantly.
Earth bending [FOC]: Move and break stones with your mind.• Stone protection: erects a small wall of stones in front of you acting as a tower shield that you are specialized
in using (+5 Dodge while you are standing there behind it).• Flying rock: range of 50m, damage 2d6, can be Dodged.• Earth capture: open a crack in the ground where one person will get stuck (unless they succeed a Dodge check
vs your skill roll) and will get out only after passing two Digging rolls, each in a separate round.• Earth sense: if you walk barefoot, you get +6 to Perception and Tracking rolls that involve slight ground
vibrations, for 1h. Walking barefoot does 1 HP damage per hour unless you are used to it (you have learnedthe skill Walk Barefoot [CON]).
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Whitewater
Full-size version
(This setting works best with both the Renaissance and the Spellcraft extensions enabled.)
You say goodbye to the people you knew and the life you had and board the ship. Seeking your fortune elsewhere, orescaping from something, you spent your last gold to embark on that journey. Or maybe you have no gold and gotyourself hired as a sailor: a risky profession. Regardless, you will spend the next 3 to 6 months sailing across theocean, to the south-west, to the New Land. Discovered 100 years ago, it remains wild and unconquered.
When you finally spot Vitoria’s lighthouse in the distance, you are exhausted from the journey, but relieved to make italive. Many don’t. You spend several hours on solid ground, moving the little luggage you brought from one ship ontoanother. The air here is heavy, damp and hot, even with the ocean breeze. Thick tropical rainforest surrounds thetown, and you know that it stretches further than any imagination can fathom.
Ship number two takes you upriver. The river Arra is as unbelievably large as the forested valley it splits in two. Youstop for a day at the town of Vista. The last sign of civilization you see is not a good one: the abandoned and mostlydestroyed town Gypsum and its equally abandoned and destroyed gypsum mines. The ship zigzags its way upstreamfor a month… then for a second month. It is hot and damp here, barely tolerable. Always deeper, surrounded by thickforest, it feels like an endless journey. The isolation is overwhelming, and the food they have on this ship is terrible.
Finally your ship reaches higher grounds. The forest looks a bit less dense and wild here, the air is less hot andhumid. You see mountains to the west. You are reaching the end of this endless rainforest valley.
Eventually, you see a giant waterfall ahead in the distance. End of the road, ships can go no further. A bit before thewaterfall is the town of Whitewater, built on a hill, in the middle of nowhere, in the depths of the foreign.
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Full-size version
As you arrive in Whitewater, the first thing you notice is a hot air balloon high above the castle on the top of the hill…and maybe tied to one of the castle walls so it doesn’t float away. Whitewater, far from all conservative institutions ofthe old continent, is a center of Renaissance art and technology. Here you can be bold with your research and yourexpression of ideas. That has drawn many inventors, alchemists, doctors, writers, painters, philosophers.
You get off the ship and are shocked by the cultural diversity you see around you. People from all over the world havebrought their customs and faith and appearance and language. You know that Whitewater is paying taxes to the HolyKingdom, but the town doesn’t look like a part of it.
You have heard the town is surrounded by different native tribes. To the west, beyond the waterfall and between thevolcanoes, dwell several tribes who apparently worship the four elements. They are not specifically aggressive, butthey are conservative in their ways, and territorial. Sometimes you can meet some of them at the waterfall.
To the south live a peaceful nomadic tribe who have almost no possessions and who pay a lot of respect to their deadelders. Further down south there is a lake surrounded with mysterious rumors of ghosts, and beyond it, dangerousswamps.
Hidden in secret valleys to the north-west live astoundingly intelligent monkeys. They wear fur clothes and usebackpacks and spears, and have cute small cows. Their language is really hard to learn. They grow coffee and trade itwith Whitewater for gold. Some of them have been seen painting bizarre intricate symbols on their belongings.
Downriver, to the east, is where the biggest danger lies: elephant riders, very aggressive and territorial, determined todrive the conquistadors out of these lands. Many other tribes live nearby and further away, but little is known aboutthem.
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Full-size version
The rumors that some of the native tribes around Whitewater might possess magical abilities have drawn manypractitioners of spellcraft here from the old continent. Mostly charlatans, of course. But not only. In addition, peoplekeep on finding strange things deep in the river and buried under the surrounding forests and hills. Bizarre items thatdo not seem to belong to the native tribes, but which speak of a strange people that inhabited these lands thousandsof years ago, whose towns were destroyed and buried for unknown reasons. That has drawn a lot of explorers,treasure hunters, historians and thieves.
After drawing so many people of different kinds with its rumors of wonders, Whitewater, in spite of being at the edgeof the world, so far away from everything, and surrounded with dangerous animals, territorial tribes, andincomprehensible things, has grown out of its strong stone walls, just like most towns tend to do. The Duke’s castlestands on the top of the hill, within its own stone walls. Right next to it a bit to the north-west, within the town walls,is the guild square, surrounded by the guild halls of the craftsmen. In the middle of the town is the busy main square,where most things are available for sale most of the time.
Outside of the town walls, to the south, live mostly the farmhands who work the fields there. To the west you find theone and only road that leads out of the town: to the mines at the base of the giant waterfall. Mostly miners live beyondthe west walls of the town, and very early every morning carriages take them to the mines, and late at night bringthem back with the ores, coal, stones and other materials they collected during the day.
East of town, downriver, right after the city walls, are the workshops of the blacksmiths, the ship builders, the tanners,as well as the sugar refinery: all those craftsmen whose products we like so much, but who also create noise, badsmells and water pollution that we prefer to keep a bit more to the side.
That is Whitewater, the town in the depths of nowhere, the town of rumors, opportunities and dangers.
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