ne cause.

If you have ever wished to sail with Jason on the Argo, to

dare the labyrinth in the footsteps of Theseus or to twist
men s bodies into the shapes of swine like Circe; if you
would besiege the white walls of Troy or fly amid the clouds
on winged sandals. If you would walk in columned halls
and practice the magic that ibis-headed Thoth teaches, or
learn the secrets buried in the hearts of the pyramids; if
you would leave your body and, in spirit form, meet with
the witches on lonely mountains. If you long to spread
your wings with the artificer Dedalus and hunt with silver
Artemis, listen to the Orphic melodies and aspire to the
feast that awaits a true hero in Olympus... then read on!
ogl ancients
system and other
ogl games
The basic system used in OGL Ancients is fundamentally
similar to those used in the other Core books from
Mongoose Publishing. The skills and feats are similar, as are
the combat and task resolution systems, though there are
some important changes. If you are familiar with other
games using this same system, then feel free to skip right
over this chapter.
introduction
3
characters in the
ancient world
Players in OGL Ancients take the role of heroes, characters
who stand a head and shoulders above ordinary men
and women. Each player s character, even at the lowest
level of experience, is an exemplar in his field, capable of
performing tasks far out of reach of ordinary folk. They
are the warriors, sages and artificers whose deeds will
eventually enter the realm of legend or be commemorated
in epic poems.
There are two styles of play available in OGL Ancients. If
you wish to recreate the atmosphere of heroic legends in
which the Gods walked the earth and terrible monsters
lurked in forsaken places, then you can play in the Mythic
Age. This kind of game is essentially a fantasy world built
on a Graeco-Egyptian theme. The Gods are real, there is
such a thing as witchcraft and magic and the powers of
heroes and their ilk are supernatural. When the strength
of Heracles is spoken of, people mean that he genuinely
can tear a tree up by the roots or hurl a boulder for a mile.
Monsters such as the Gorgons or the Minotaur are very
real. This is the recommended option for players who want
magic, adventure and the broadest range of powers. Films
such as Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans
typify this style of play.
Alternatively, you may play in the Classical Age. This is
a recreation of ancient Greece and Egypt as they were,
incorporating a measure of poetic licence to allow for easy
game play. In this version of the game, miracles do not
occur and the myths are only stories. Those creatures that
the legends record as monsters are exaggerations of the
truth; the Cyclops was only a brutish human with one eye
and the Minotaur was the deformed son of King Minos,
hidden away in a labyrinth. You may prefer to play in the
Classical Age if you like a more realistic campaign or if you
want to tie events in world history into the adventures.
Characters and Dice
When an Egyptian archer draws back his bowstring and
looses a shot at a charging barbarian, he may hit or he may
miss. In a movie, his success or failure would be part of the
script. In a roleplaying game, this is determined by random
chance based on the skill of the archer in question. Since
there is a variable involved, dice become a necessary part of
the roleplaying medium. This is part of the excitement of
roleplaying; you can never be certain that what you have in
mind will come to pass, and you are always taking a chance
whenever you do anything dramatic. The story of your
character is not written in advance and even the Games
Master respects the results of the die rolls. Strange though
it may sound, dice make a game more realistic and enrich
the challenge of the game. Just as in the real world, you
never know quite what is around the corner.
When a person fires arrows at a straw target, the variance
of their shots is mostly based on their skill but can also be
influenced by luck, timing and a thousand other factors.
These are summed up by rolling a d20 (that is a 20 sided
die) with a high number representing more of these factors
aligning in a favourable way and a ne cause.
If you have ever wished to sail with Jason on the Argo, to
dare the labyrinth in the footsteps of Theseus or to twist
men s bodies into the shapes of swine like Circe; if you
would besiege the white walls of Troy or fly amid the clouds
on winged sandals. If you would walk in columned halls
and practice the magic that ibis-headed Thoth teaches, or
learn the secrets buried in the hearts of the pyramids; if
you would leave your body and, in spirit form, meet with
the witches on lonely mountains. If you long to spread
your wings with the artificer Dedalus and hunt with silver
Artemis, listen to the Orphic melodies and aspire to the
feast that awaits a true hero in Olympus... then read on!
ogl ancients
system and other
ogl games
The basic system used in OGL Ancients is fundamentally
similar to those used in the other Core books from
Mongoose Publishing. The skills and feats are similar, as are
the combat and task resolution systems, though there are
some important changes. If you are familiar with other
games using this same system, then feel free to skip right
over this chapter.
introduction
3
characters in the
ancient world
Players in OGL Ancients take the role of heroes, characters
who stand a head and shoulders above ordinary men
and women. Each player s character, even at the lowest
level of experience, is an exemplar in his field, capable of
performing tasks far out of reach of ordinary folk. They
are the warriors, sages and artificers whose deeds will
eventually enter the realm of legend or be commemorated
in epic poems.
There are two styles of play available in OGL Ancients. If
you wish to recreate the atmosphere of heroic legends in
which the Gods walked the earth and terrible monsters
lurked in forsaken places, then you can play in the Mythic
Age. This kind of game is essentially a fantasy world built
on a Graeco-Egyptian theme. The Gods are real, there is
such a thing as witchcraft and magic and the powers of
heroes and their ilk are supernatural. When the strength
of Heracles is spoken of, people mean that he genuinely
can tear a tree up by the roots or hurl a boulder for a mile.
Monsters such as the Gorgons or the Minotaur are very
real. This is the recommended option for players who want
magic, adventure and the broadest range of powers. Films
such as Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans
typify this style of play.
Alternatively, you may play in the Classical Age. This is
a recreation of ancient Greece and Egypt as they were,
incorporating a measure of poetic licence to allow for easy
game play. In this version of the game, miracles do not
occur and the myths are only stories. Those creatures that
the legends record as monsters are exaggerations of the
truth; the Cyclops was only a brutish human with one eye
and the Minotaur was the deformed son of King Minos,
hidden away in a labyrinth. You may prefer to play in the
Classical Age if you like a more realistic campaign or if you
want to tie events in world history into the adventures.
Characters and Dice
When an Egyptian archer draws back his bowstring and
looses a shot at a charging barbarian, he may hit or he may
miss. In a movie, his success or failure would be part of the
script. In a roleplaying game, this is determined by random
chance based on the skill of the archer in question. Since
there is a variable involved, dice become a necessary part of
the roleplaying medium. This is part of the excitement of
roleplaying; you can never be certain that what you have in
mind will come to pass, and you are always taking a chance
whenever you do anything dramatic. The story of your
character is not written in advance and even the Games
Master respects the results of the die rolls. Strange though
it may sound, dice make a game more realistic and enrich
the challenge of the game. Just as in the real world, you
never know quite what is around the corner.
When a person fires arrows at a straw target, the variance
of their shots is mostly based on their skill but can also be
influenced by luck, timing and a thousand other factors.
These are summed up by rolling a d20 (that is a 20 sided
die) with a high number representing more of these factors
aligning in a favourable way and a ne cause.
If you have ever wished to sail with Jason on the Argo, to
dare the labyrinth in the footsteps of Theseus or to twist
men s bodies into the shapes of swine like Circe; if you
would besiege the white walls of Troy or fly amid the clouds
on winged sandals. If you would walk in columned halls
and practice the magic that ibis-headed Thoth teaches, or
learn the secrets buried in the hearts of the pyramids; if
you would leave your body and, in spirit form, meet with
the witches on lonely mountains. If you long to spread
your wings with the artificer Dedalus and hunt with silver
Artemis, listen to the Orphic melodies and aspire to the
feast that awaits a true hero in Olympus... then read on!
ogl ancients
system and other
ogl games
The basic system used in OGL Ancients is fundamentally
similar to those used in the other Core books from
Mongoose Publishing. The skills and feats are similar, as are
the combat and task resolution systems, though there are
some important changes. If you are familiar with other
games using this same system, then feel free to skip right
over this chapter.
introduction
3
characters in the
ancient world
Players in OGL Ancients take the role of heroes, characters
who stand a head and shoulders above ordinary men
and women. Each player s character, even at the lowest
level of experience, is an exemplar in his field, capable of
performing tasks far out of reach of ordinary folk. They
are the warriors, sages and artificers whose deeds will
eventually enter the realm of legend or be commemorated
in epic poems.
There are two styles of play available in OGL Ancients. If
you wish to recreate the atmosphere of heroic legends in
which the Gods walked the earth and terrible monsters
lurked in forsaken places, then you can play in the Mythic
Age. This kind of game is essentially a fantasy world built
on a Graeco-Egyptian theme. The Gods are real, there is
such a thing as witchcraft and magic and the powers of
heroes and their ilk are supernatural. When the strength
of Heracles is spoken of, people mean that he genuinely
can tear a tree up by the roots or hurl a boulder for a mile.
Monsters such as the Gorgons or the Minotaur are very
real. This is the recommended option for players who want
magic, adventure and the broadest range of powers. Films
such as Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans
typify this style of play.
Alternatively, you may play in the Classical Age. This is
a recreation of ancient Greece and Egypt as they were,
incorporating a measure of poetic licence to allow for easy
game play. In this version of the game, miracles do not
occur and the myths are only stories. Those creatures that
the legends record as monsters are exaggerations of the
truth; the Cyclops was only a brutish human with one eye
and the Minotaur was the deformed son of King Minos,
hidden away in a labyrinth. You may prefer to play in the
Classical Age if you like a more realistic campaign or if you
want to tie events in world history into the adventures.
Characters and Dice
When an Egyptian archer draws back his bowstring and
looses a shot at a charging barbarian, he may hit or he may
miss. In a movie, his success or failure would be part of the
script. In a roleplaying game, this is determined by random
chance based on the skill of the archer in question. Since
there is a variable involved, dice become a necessary part of
the roleplaying medium. This is part of the excitement of
roleplaying; you can never be certain that what you have in
mind will come to pass, and you are always taking a chance
whenever you do anything dramatic. The story of your
character is not written in advance and even the Games
Master respects the results of the die rolls. Strange though
it may sound, dice make a game more realistic and enrich
the challenge of the game. Just as in the real world, you
never know quite what is around the corner.
When a person fires arrows at a straw target, the variance
of their shots is mostly based on their skill but can also be
influenced by luck, timing and a thousand other factors.
These are summed up by rolling a d20 (that is a 20 sided
die) with a high number representing more of these factors
aligning in a favourable way and a