Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
What is it?
What it boils down to is playing D&D, but using the 5th Edition of the Hero System
to do it. OK, maybe not exactly D&D, but sort of D&D. D&D-ish. No character
classes or any of that sort of bollocks, but lots of monsters and magic, and PCs
doing really, really strange things in an everyday fashion. Plus dungeons, of course
got to have lots of dungeons.
Character Creation
Characters are built with 100 character points, and up to 100 points in
Disadvantages.
STR is costed at 2 character points per point of STR.
Base DCV is (DEX3)+10. For example, if your DEX is 13, your DCV is
(133) = 4, plus 10 is 14. (this minor change is to accommodate and ease
the use of the inverted attack roll system)
Normal Characteristic Maxima is compulsory (and therefore not worth
anything as a Disadvantage dang!)
Characters must be human unless specifically allowed otherwise by the cruel
and heartless GM whose sole pleasure is to trample on any joy or creativity
in character construction.
The equipment available to a starting character (in excess of one free suit of
normal clothing) is bought out of starting funds, modified by
any Money perks or disads (see Money).
Everybody gets Fast Healing by default, because I'm such a generous guy,
and because well, just because. What that means is that you heal
naturally (i.e. without magical intervention) at the rate of your REC per
week, instead of REC per month as normal.
Combat Luck is limited to no more than 2 levels (i.e. 6 PD/ED) and does not
stack with any physical armour heavier than soft leather (i.e. 1 rPD). That
still gives you the equivalent of wearing chainmail while dancing around in
your jockstrap, which isn't too bad. Note that Combat Luck doesn't come into
effect if you're taken by surprise, attacked in your sleep, or can't dodge
around for some reason if you're being crushed in a giant's fist, for
example.
Each level of Growth, in addition to its standard features, automatically gives the
character +1" Running longer legs gives you a longer stride. Big critters that
can't walk fast get to sell some Running back.
It's base value is 10 and costs a point per point to increase up to the Normal
Char. Max. of 30, and 1pt per pt thereafter. The NCM goes up as you get older to
45 in middle age, and 60 in old age.
Recovering Mana
Mana Recovery Time
Mana recovery is at the rate of the character's REC per hour if resting, or REC per
6 hours if not. For the purposes of Mana Recovery, "resting" means "not expending
Mana" (or STUN/BODY in place of Mana). The rate of restoration may be adjusted
upwards or downwards by the ambient Mana level of the area you're lurking about
in; some areas are more magically potent than others, while others are barely
magical at all.
Using STUN or BODY in place of Mana cannot lower the character's Mana below
zero; only a Mana Drain will do that.
A character with a negative Mana total becomes magically inert, and cannot use or
control magic in any way there is no other effect, so the only relevance of a
negative mana total less than zero is to determine how long it will take before it is
restored.
Magic Power Level
Magic is split into two basic types: first, Combat Magic which is of relatively low
power and can be cast quickly, and second, Ritual Magic which is capable of
considerably greater power, but which takes a long time to cast.
Combat Magic
Any spell designed for speedy casting ( Phase to 1 Turn) and attack or defence
falls into this category. Combat Magic has an absolute maximum power level of 60
Active Points.
For each additional 15 Active Points (or part thereof) a level of Increased
END must be applied. In other words, a spell of 16-30 Active Points will cost x2
Mana to cast, 31-45 Active Points will cost x3 Mana, 46-60 Active Points will cost x4
Mana.
Note that applying Advantages to a power, like Autofire or Area Effect for example,
will reduce the actual damage it is possible to do with 60 Active Points.
Ritual Magic
Any spell over 60 Active Points must take Extra Time, beginning at the 10-Minute
level.
Each block of 60 Active Points will increase the casting time by at least one level on
the Time Chart.
Among the barbaric horse-tribes of the far north, almost everybody knows one or
two minor charms and every tribe has its own shaman to deal with the multitudes
of spirits and demons that infest the landscape. They have a respect for the power
of magic and are cautious around it, but are not in awe of it or of wizards in
general. They are a pragmatic people, and view magic as a tricky and dangerous
but necessary part of survival.
The tribal forest-dwellers of the north likewise have a fund of charms for day-to-day
use, but they view wizards that is, anyone who seems to have too much to do
with magic with profound suspicion. Necromancy or Demonology are abhorrent
to them, and those who practice such arts (or even those suspected of doing so)
will be hunted down and killed. In this they are guided and encouraged by their
druidic priests; druids are not known for their tolerance of competition.
Within most of the Southern Confederacy, wizards are very respectable and the
magical institutions are well established. It is only in this part of the world that any
sort of formal academic instruction in magic takes place, and entry to the more
prestigious Academies is hotly contested. Within the great cities (Agna, Hardros,
Hyarfalas Mundros and Fridl) magic is strictly regulated, and unlicensed
practitioners are given very short shrift. Therefore, those who choose not to abide
by those rigid restrictions have to make their base well outside the cities and their
surrounding contada, unless they are powerful enough to defy the whole magical
establishment as well as the secular authorities.
Magical Apparatus
Magic items will usually be encountered during play, and under normal
circumstances, be torn from the stiffening fingers of the rapidly cooling corpse of
some fool unfortunate enough to get in the way of a party of PCs. However, they
can also be built at character creation time, or later during the game, using
character points to do so.
All magic items must be built with the Independent limitation. There will
be no exceptions to this rule.
Note that this does not necessarily mean that anyone can just pick up and use a
particular piece of magical apparatus; many will require a specific skill (usually
a Magic skill, but others come to mind), and many more will require the use of
particular Incantations and/or Gestures.
Because the Independent limitation requires that the builder spend their own
character points on a magic item, few are going to be altruistic enough to do so
willy-nilly. An artisan is literally spending their life-force when they build magical
thingies; if they don't have enough spare XP to cover the cost then the difference
comes straight out of BODY and CON, never to return.
Required Skills
Building magical gee-gaws will require quite a broad range of skills, and access to
some fairly obscure and possibly dangerous magic. The specifics will vary from item
to item, depending on the materials involved and the special effects of the powers
to be embedded.
Let's take as an example an old stand-by of roleplaying games since the dawn of
time: an Invisibility Ring.
Naturally the maker will need advanced skills in jewellery just to create the
housing, and will need to be able to identify and source the very best materials. He
or she will need a well-appointed workshop to do the work in, and possibly one or
more assistants to do the donkey-work of pumping the forge-bellows and what-not.
All pretty straightforward so far. But exactly how does it make the wearer invisible?
For the sake of argument, let's say that it will house the essence of some sort of
elemental spirit which has the ability to grant the power. So, the creator will need
an appropriate Summoning spell, plus a Binding spell, and some means of either
forcing or persuading the creature to cough up the goods on demand. That's a little
less straightforward. Maybe the thing agrees to make the wearer invisible a certain
number of times in return for a specific reward, in which case the ring would have a
limited number of non-renewable Charges, and the specifics might be worked out
by means of opposed Trading and/or Persuasion skill rolls. And so on.
A classic trope from fantasy literature is to require that to activate the finished
magic item, it be bathed in the blood of a unicorn in a silver basin held by a virgin
princess during the dark of the moon in the Year of the Warthog. Or some such
thing. Maybe not a unicorn, but you know what I mean.
The construction of magic items should never be just another mundane element of
the game, glossed over in the character's "down-time" between adventures. It will
always require a degree of planning, and the gathering of the raw materials alone
could form the basis of several game sessions. Not to mention finding a virgin
princess, and checking that she actually is virginal without having your head (or
anything else) chopped off for lese majesty.
The North
"Modern" Druidism has a look and feel very like that of the Russian Orthodox or Coptic
Christian churches lots of tall hats, embroidered robes, mosaics, long chants, incense and
what-not.
The rural priesthood (i.e. "old" Druidism) is shamanistic and hermetic in nature. The
hierarchy is not particularly apparent to non-druids. Most druids are in sole-charge
positions, and they're also often quite grumpy for some reason.
The Celtic pantheon dominates the north, though the practice of its priesthood
varies from a savage fundamentalist Druidism among the forest tribes to a
relatively benign bureaucratic ecclesiasticism in the towns and cities. The great
stone circles and sacred oak groves of the Old Ways are reflected in the towns by
open, un-roofed circular temples of elegantly-carved columns of wood or marble,
while their burnings and human blood-sacrifices have been transformed into largely
symbolic rituals. From time to time there comes a wave of fundamentalism that
temporarily returns the urban church to its scarier and bloodier roots, but they
seldom last long after the initial enthusiasm has passed, if only because the Old
Ways are so uncomfortable and messy.
The centre of Druidic power and authority is the peninsular of the Druids Tongue
and the holy island of Mea.
A relatively recent development, and one which rouses concern even among the
relatively complacent modern druids, is the spread of the Empire's High Faith,
especially among the urban poor. There have been a few incidents of religious
persecution, not yet approaching the level of pogrom, but worse is in the air. It also
disturbs many of the secular authorities, who are understandably reluctant to have
large portions of their populations developing an allegiance to some far-off God-
Emperor when they should be happily and uncritically loyal only to their own lords.
Not to mention the possibility that this God-Emperor may sieze on the opportunity
to add northern lands to his realm, under the guise of aiding his religious subjects.
It's a worry.
The Nomads
Use the Native American mythos for these tribes.
The nomads of the north-east practice animism and ancestor-worship. Their chiefs
are usually the head priest of the tribe, but each tribal group will also have a
shaman whose job it is to interpret omens and to communicate with the spirits
when necessary. The tribes have a few gods in common Sky, Fire, Earth and so
on but for the most part their gods and rituals are specific to their own clans.
The peoples of the area immediately to the south of the World Wall endure a
particularly lusty and low-brow group of deities. They have no priesthood as such,
though there are men and women known as godi who make it their business to
know when and who to appease when things look bleak, to blame when things go
wrong, and to supplicate when you want something. Such rituals as are required to
keep the gods from taking undue notice of the world are the responsibility of the
head of the household, who will take advice from a godi as and where necessary
(as long as it's not too expensive). The gods are generally fairly unsympathetic to
the plight of human beings; they see them as entertainment, or cattle, or thralls, or
at best, ignore them completely. They hate a coward and won't tolerate whining...
though grovelling is OK, in a pathetic sort of way. They're unpredictable in their
reactions; on the one hand they expect a man to stand up for himself, but on the
other they're likely to take umbrage at what they see as impertinence. On the
whole, it's probably best to have as little to do with them as possible.
It's a bleak sort of religion, but on the other hand it does encourage self-reliance.
The religion of the Empire is based on that used in the Turakian Age campaign setting, by
Steve Long of Hero Games, with additions from various other sources.
The Empire
The official religion of the Empire is that of the pantheon of gods shown here. In
addition to these major gods, there are innumerable lesser deities associated with
particular places or peoples, as well as various elemental and infernal entities that
may sometimes be placated, or may respond to appropriate entreaties. The
Emperor is also worshipped as a god, and acts as the ultimate religious authority
within the Empire; the theocracy is remarkably intolerant of any cult that might
threaten its power in any way.
Non-Humans
The Elves, though recognising the existence of powerful supernatural entities, do
not worship them. They are not atheistic, but non-religious. Such rituals as they do
use are generally for the purposes of social bonding, for commemoration and the
like.
Elves, being immortal, have no afterlife. If an elf dies, its life-force dissipates and is
absorbed by the Earth-Life from whence it originally came. A newly-dead elf can be
sort-of resurrected, but once the attachment between the body and life-force is
broken it can never be truly mended, and in all such cases the subject will gradually
just lose interest in anything and fade away, leaving an empty husk which will
eventually succumb to starvation and general self-neglect.
The Dwarves give respect to only one god, their creator Tharkn. But they also
venerate and pray to their ancestors.
Orcs, goblins and the like are shamanistic. Their gods and rituals are as various
as their tribes; there is little in common between them except for cruelty and
savagery.
Many non-humanoids also have their own gods, and some of them can be
found here.
Almandr The Four-Fold God, the God of nature, the Father of Bandaro, Eurinda,
Grey Patterner, the Weaver seasons, time and fate Korthund, and Sirella the Four
Children
Asvalak The Lord of Battle, the God of war, battle, Some soldiers and knights
Scarlet Bloody God, the slaughter, weapons, and regard him as a noble Blue
Slaughter-Lord warriors God, not Scarlet.
Bandaro The Lord of Rivers, the God of water, rivers, When sanctifying water or
Grey Blood of the World lakes, and streams crossing a river, priests pray
for his blessing.
Brandon The Guiding Hand, the God of forests, hunting, He carries a spear named
Blue Huntsman, the Treelord, and hunters Colbar and his bow and arrow
the Lord of Forests never miss.
Caligan The Golden God, the Lord God of trade, money Those about to make a deal or
Grey of Merchants, the Provider and prosperity take a monetary risk
frequently pray to him.
Faya Heartmaker, the Maiden, Goddess of beauty, The most beautiful of all
Blue the Lady of Pain and Joy, love, marriage, goddesses
the Star of Beauty childbirth, and children
Forgil The Lord of Thieves, the God of thieves and Son of Mordak and Mera;
Scarlet Nightwalker, He Who thieving Bitter enemy of Caligan
Lurks In Shadow
Hornbrek The Stormlord, the God of storms, rain, His symbol two crossed
Grey Tempest-Master, Wielder archery, and war lightning bolts is worn by
of the Lightning-Bow many archers.
Hospin The Divine Healer, the God of healing, healers, Perhaps the most beloved god
Blue Healer mercy, kindness, and after Kilbern and Mera
succor
Ishander The Forgelord, the Master God of smiths, With his forge Valinoss and
Blue of Iron, the Swordmaker metalworking, and hammer Rairos he crafts the
alchemy gods' weapons.
Name Description Domain Notes
Kilbern The Skyfather, the Just God of the sky, justice, Ruler of heaven, most
Blue Lord truth, law, and order powerful and most revered of
all gods
Lantiphone The Lady of the Arts Goddess of arts, crafts, Also goddess of
Blue and skill jewelrymaking, sculpting,
singing, woodcarving
Lithira The Bounteous Lady, She Goddess of agriculture, Her touch ripens fruit, causes
Blue Who Ripens the Grain farming, herding, and corn to grow tall, and fattens
growth sheep.
Mera The Earthwife, the Great Goddess of the earth Mother of the gods and
Blue Mother and fertility provider of all things that grow
from the fertile earth
Mordak The Black God, the Lord of God of Evil, darkness, Most hated and reviled God;
Scarlet the Devils, the Shadow the Underworld, and Lord of Evil; leader of the
King death Scarlet Gods
Ophel The Golden Lord, Fire's God of the sun, fire, Often the first prayer offered
Blue Master, the Radiant One, light and day each day is for Ophel's safe
the Light of Hope journey through the sky
Saaltus The Sea Lord, the Lord of God of the sea, sailors, Sailors and fishermen pray to
Grey Ships sailing and ships him daily for safe voyages and
plentiful catches.
Sala The Silver Lady, Night's Goddess of the moon Brother and husband of Ophel
Blue Mistress, the Lady of the and nighttime
Crescent Radiance
Sirella The Divine Breath, the Goddess of the wind Goddess of tornadoes,
Grey Windlady, the Galemaiden favorable tail winds, mists, fog
Vabanak The Corpse-Lord, the God God of necromancy, Son of Mordak; created the
Scarlet of the Tombs, the Great black magic, and the first undead; taught the first
Necromancer undead necromancers
Varidon The Arcane, Master of God of magic and The truly grateful sacrifice
Grey Magic, the Great Wizard wizards enchanted items so he may
re-absord their power.
Ziandwyrth The Laughing God, God of luck, chaos, A god so proud of his name
Scarlet Madman of the Gods, humor, and madness that every race uses it
Luckbringer, Lord of
Chaos
Monsters' Deities
Bugbear
Hruggek
Hruggek is the master of the bugbear pantheon. A master of savage conflict,
ambush, and cunning, he is a powerfully muscular bugbear with over-sized fangs
and claws, wielding a vast, two-handed morningstar. His domains are Chaos, Evil,
Trickery, and War. His favoured weapon is the morningstar. His symbol is the
morningstar.
Grankhul
Grankhul is chaotic evil. He governs hunting, vigilance, and surprise, and taught the
bugbears the value of stealth. A lean bugbear with bulging eyes, his long slender
fingers wield a longsword. His domains are Chaos, Evil, and Trickery. His favoured
weapon is the longsword. His symbol is a pair of ever-open eyes in darkness.
Centaur
Skerrit
Skerrit is neutral good. He oversees the community, and natural balance, and is
concerned with protection, and hunting. He is depicted as a powerful male centaur
with chestnut hair, a chain mail vest, golden-tipped spear and longbow. His
domains are Animal, Good, and Plant. His favoured weapon is the spear. His symbol
is an oak growing from an acorn.
Giant, Cloud
Stronmaus
Stronmaus is neutral good, and is worshipped by good cloud giants, and storm
giants. He governs the sun, skies, and weather, and is a vibrant, dramatic, and
muscular giant with laughing blue eyes, flowing red hair, a gold-trimmed white
robe, magnificent hammer, and perpetual smile. His domains are Good, Storms,
Strength, and Sun. His favoured weapon is the hammer. His symbol is a lightning
bolt descending from a silver-lined cloud partially obscuring the sun.
Memnor
Memnor is neutral evil, and is worshipped by evil cloud giants. Patron of pride and
domination, he is subtle, cultured, prideful, and intelligent. He is depicted as a
kindly-looking, golden-hued cloud giant with a piercing gaze, deep blue robe, and
morningstar. His domains are Charm, Evil, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is the
morningstar. His symbol is a black obelisk.
Giant, Fire
Surtr
Surtr is lawful evil. He is the aggressive and tyrannical patron of fire giants. He is
depicted as a huge, powerful fire giant with real flames for hair, bearing a flame-
wreathed black greatsword, and chain mail that glows red with heat. His domains
are Evil, Fire, Law, and War. His favoured weapon is the greatsword. His symbol is
a flaming sword.
Giant, Frost
Thrym
Thrym is chaotic evil. He is the master of all frost giants, promoting violence and
savagery. He is depicted as a huge frost giant with icicles in his white hair and
beard, wearing chain mail and bearing a huge white greataxe. His domains are
Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and War. His favoured weapon is the battleaxe. His
symbol is a white double-headed axe.
Giant, Hill/Ettin
Grolantor
Grolantor is chaotic evil. He is strong and aggressive but stupid and cowardly at
times, and is worshipped by hill giants and some ettins and ogres. He is a huge hill
giant bearing an over-sized club. His domains are Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and
Strength. His favoured weapon is a club. His symbol is a wooden club.
Giant, Stone
Skoraeus Stonebones
Skoraeus Stonebones is neutral, and is the god of stone giants. A bastion of the
earth, he is dour, and stoic, with granite skin and a stalactite club. His domains are
Cavern, Earth, and Strength. His favoured weapon is the club. His symbol is a
stalactite.
Gnoll
Yeenoghu
Yeenoghu is chaotic evil. A powerful demon, he has risen to become the patron of
gnolls, and has strong ties with cannibalism and the undead. He is depicted as a
skeletal, furless gnoll, with only a many crest of yellow fur, and a three-headed
flail. His domains are Chaos, Death, Destruction, and Evil. His favoured weapon is
the flail. His symbol is a triple-headed flail.
Goblin/Hobgoblin
Maglubiyet
Ruler of the goblin/hobgoblin pantheon, Maglubiyet is patron of aggression, war,
and rulership. He is a massive goblin with skin like pitch, and eyes of crimson
flame, bearing a coal-black axe dripping with gore. His domains are Destruction,
Evil, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is the battleaxe. His symbol is a bloody
axe.
Khurgorbaeyag
Khurgorbaeyag is neutral evil. The specific patron of goblins, he is the master of
slavery and oppression, depicted as a red-skinned goblin speckled with yellow and
orange scales, carrying a whip and wearing scale mail. His domains are Evil,
Suffering, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is the mace; the whip is used as a
symbol only. He is the most trusted of Maglubiyet's most trusted follower, which is
not really saying very much. His symbol is a red and yellow striped whip.
Nomog-Geaya
Nomog-Geaya is lawful evil, and is the specific patron of hobgoblins. He espouses
stoicism, courage, ruthlessness, conflict, and authority, and is a powerful hobgoblin
with ashen skin, chilling orange eyes, and shark-like teeth, bearing a longsword in
one hand and a hand axe in the other. His domains are Evil, Law, and War. His
favoured weapon is the longsword or hand axe. He disdains Bargrivyek as a
coward. His symbol is a crossed sword and axe.
Bargrivyek
Bargrivyek is lawful evil. He promotes cooperation between goblin/hobgoblin tribes
in order to concentrate on further expanding territory. He is depicted as a large
goblin with a domed forehead, calm mien, and white-tipped flail. His domains are
Evil, and Law. His favoured weapon is the flail. He fears Maglubiyet and Nomog-
Geaya. His symbol is a white-tipped flail.
Kobold
Kurtulmak
Hateful, gloating, and humourless, Kurtulmak is the chief kobold god. He governs
war and mining, and is a large kobold with a sinuous stingered tail, large horns,
black and green scales, and a wickedly-tipped spear. His domains are Cavern, Evil,
Law, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is the spear. His symbol is a gnome skull,
his clerics wearing orange robes that prominently display this symbol on the chest.
Gaknulak
Gaknulak is lawful evil. Sneaky and pragmatic, he embodies protection, stealth,
trickery, and traps. He is a small dark kobold with bulging pockets, a hand axe, and
a magical cauldron from which tools and unpredictable minor magical items may be
pulled. His domains are Evil, Law, Protection, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is
the hand axe. His symbol is a cauldron.
Kuo-Toa
Blibdoolpoolp
Blibdoolpoolp is an evil goddess. She is depicted as a naked female human with the
head and pincers of a lobster. Her domains are Destruction, Evil, and Water. Her
favoured weapon is the pincer staff. Her symbols are a lobster head and a black
pearl.
Lizardfolk
Semuanya
Semuanya is neutral. He is entirely amoral, concerned only with the survival of the
lizard folk, and is depicted as a large lizard man with a shell-encrusted club. His
domains are Plant, Scaly kind, and Water. His favoured weapon is the club. His
symbol is an egg.
Locathah/Mer
Eadro
Eadro is neutral, and is the creator of the locathah and mer races, although both
races assert they were the most perfect of the two creations. He is aloof, and
enforces the traditional values of his races' societies. He appears as a tall merman
or locathah. His domains are Animal, Protection, and Water. His favoured weapon is
the spear or trident. His symbol is a spiral.
Minotaur
Baphomet
Baphomet is chaotic evil. A vile, bloodthirsty, bull-headed ogre, Baphomet is
obsessed with battle, and wields a mighty bardiche. His domains are Chaos, Evil,
and War. His favoured weapon is the bardiche. He is in continual conflict with
Yeenoghu. His symbol is a maze.
Ogre
Vaprak
Vaprak is chaotic evil. Commonly called The Destroyer, Vaprak is rapacious, greedy,
violent, and frenzied, a foul brown-green ogre with taloned hands and a vicious
club. His domains are Chaos, Evil, and Destruction. His favoured weapon is the
club. He fears his followers will desert him in favour of the giant gods. His symbol is
a taloned claw.
Orc
Gruumsh
Leader of the orc pantheon, Gruumsh is typically depicted as a scarred, Cyclopean
orc, clad in ebony full plate, bearing a great spear and flaming torch. His domains
are Chaos, Evil, Strength, and War. His favoured weapon is the spear. His symbol is
a single unblinking eye.
Bahgtru
Bahgtru, son of Gruumsh and Luthic, is chaotic evil. He is a brutally strong deity,
and brutally stupid deity, depicted as a vastly muscular orc with filthy skin, dull
eyes, over-sized tusks, studded leather armour, and heavy gauntlets. His domains
are Chaos, Evil, and Strength, and the only weapons he favours are gauntlets. He
scorns heavy armour Although loyal to Gruumsh, his first loyalty is to Luthic. His
symbol is a broken thigh bone.
Ilneval
Ilneval is Gruumsh's lieutenant and battle leader, and is chaotic evil. A looming,
grim orc clad in blood-red chain mail, and armed with a longsword, Ilneval is
ferocious, and demonstrates the strength of leadership from the front. His domains
are Chaos, Evil, and War. His favoured weapon is the longsword. He secretly covets
Gruumsh's position, and Gruumsh does not entirely trust him. His symbol is a
bloodied sword.
Luthic
Consort to Gruumsh, and mother of Bahgtru, Luthic is chaotic evil. A female orc
with black claws, hair and eyes, she is representative of the subservience of female
orcs, and is associated with female fertility, healing, and caverns and caves. Her
domains are Cavern, Chaos, Evil, and Healing. She has no favoured weapon. She is
loyal to Gruumsh, but is extremely close to her son, Bahgtru. Her symbol is a cave
entrance.
Shargass
Shargass is chaotic evil. Also known as The Nightlord, he is cunning and cold-
blooded, associated with darkness, stealth, and thievery. A gaunt and leering orc,
he has black skin and eyes, and is always enfolded in a voluminous black cloak. His
domains are Chaos, Evil, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is the quarterstaff. His
symbol is a red crescent moon with a skull between the moon's horns.
Yurtrus
Yurtrus is chaotic evil. Also called White-Hands, Yurtrus is greatly feared, for he is
the bringer of death and disease, a vast orc covered with tattered, putrescent green
flesh, devoid of mouth, and with perfect bone-white hands. His domains are Chaos,
Death, Evil, and Suffering. His favoured weapon is the mace, its head shaped like a
white fist. His priests wear gloves of pale white humanoid skin, and leather
armour/garments of the same material. His symbol is a white hand on a dark
background.
Sahuagin
Sekolah
Sekolah is lawful evil. A ruthless, ever-hungry, and uncaring massive white shark,
Sekolah urges the Sahuagin to plunder, hunt, and dominate. His domains are Evil,
Law, Strength, and War. His favoured weapon is the trident. His symbol is a white
shark.
Triton
Persana
Persana is neutral. He created the tritons out of the enchanted water from the
elemental plane of water. He is depicted as a muscular triton with emerald skin, a
large pink conch, sharkskin armour, and a trident. His domains are Protection, and
Water. His favoured weapon is the trident. His symbol is the trident and conch.
Troglodyte
Laogzed
Laogzed is chaotic evil. He is depicted as a huge toad/lizard cross, with pustulent
loose skin, and seems to have little interest in anything beyond devouring whatever
is unfortunate to cross his path. His domains are Chaos, Death, Destruction, and
Evil. His favoured weapon is the javelin. His symbol is a lizard's head.
Wererat
Squerrik
Squerrik is lawful evil. Patron of the wererats, he promotes stealth, and thievery,
and is depicted as a fearful ratman in grimy leathers, bearing a shortsword. His
domains are Evil, Law, and Trickery. His favoured weapon is the shortsword. His
symbol is a rat's head with bared yellow teeth.
Yuan-Ti
Merrshaulk
Merrshaulk is chaotic evil. He is associated with poison and somnolence, and is
depicted as a powerful yuan-ti abomination with a male human's head, stubby
forearms and a pair of scimitars. Only yuan-ti abominations may be his clerics. His
domains are Chaos, Destruction, Evil, and Scalykind. His favoured weapon is the
scimitar. His symbol is a cobra's head.
Divine Intervention
When the shit really hits the fan, and everything looks bleak, most adventurers
naturally turn to the course of last resort squealing for help from the Big Ju-Ju In
The Sky. Of course, all the gods are subject to a constant barrage of supplication,
and are adept at filtering it out like background traffic noise. To make an
impression, you therefore need to do something special. In some religions, that
means unpleasant things like tearing the still-beating hearts from the chests of
willing or unwilling sacrifices, but there are less bloody ways of catching a god's
notice.
Your average person has a terrifically small chance of being noticed by a god, even
if they pray really, really loud. Heroes, being innately more noticeable, have a
better chance, but it's still a tiny chance. And just being heard is only half the
battle; you still have to hope the appropriate deity is feeling magnanimous towards
you or else you've only made matters worse.
In a nutshell, what you have to do to get the favourable attention of a god or other
divine entity is to sacrifice some of your own life-energy to it in other words, you
have to spend some Experience Points. The chances of attracting a god's attention
are calculated as follows:
Just as a matter of interest, any XP sacrificed to a god goes directly to increase the
god's own power, so gods with many worshippers are almost always innately more
powerful than those with fewer. One of the ways a priest can get favourable
performance evaluations is by convincing as many people as possible to sacrifice
XP, preferably without any direct action being required by the god. Gods are, by
and large, pretty lazy.
Warrior-peoples would expect a good, dutiful warrior to hang around for a bit and
gather a sort of spiritual wagon-train of the deserving helpless together, to guide
and protect them on their way to Valhalla, or Paradise, or wherever. These spiritual
migrants would be prey for all sorts of nasty things: demons and such-like, hence
the need for some kind of guardian.
While the spirit is hanging about, it could be called back with the appropriate magic
without too much bother (apart from the inadvertent calling of demons or hungry
ghosts or what-not see below), but once it's on its way to Paradise it would
require sending someone after it. That means that someone would have to be
prepared to die and hope that they get resurrected when they get back with the
desired spirit.
The condition of the body could have a significant effect on the newly-revived ex-
corpse; putrefaction sets in quite quickly, and it would be kind of disgusting to
wake up in a stinky, slimy, bloated body, not to mention the issues with having
large parts of one's brain turned to goo. Preservation of the corpse during the
resurrection process would therefore be vital unless you want a zombie.
Immortals
Immortal creatures, such as elves, fairies and so forth, have no afterlife and cannot
be properly resurrected. If an immortal dies, its life-force dissipates and is absorbed
by the Earth-Life from whence it originally came. A newly-dead immortal can be
sort-of resurrected, but once the attachment between the body and life-force is
broken it can never be truly mended, and in all such cases the subject will gradually
just lose interest in anything and fade away, leaving an empty husk which will
eventually succumb to starvation and general self-neglect. In some cases (fairies,
for example), the revived corpse will literally fade away over time leaving nothing
but a cobwebby substance.
The body of a newly-dead immortal can still be used as a host by hungry ghosts, if
it is revivified by magical means.
Game Mechanics
The chance of a hostile spirit interloper finding and attempting to capture, destroy
or replace the rightful owner increases as time passes. At the instant of death, roll
3d6 a score of 3 indicates that something is right there waiting, and the newly-
dead spirit will have to fight or flee immediately. That chance increases by +1 for
every hour that passes thereafter until either the corpse is revived or the spirit
leaves for the Afterlife, 12d6 hours after death.
Resurrection is not without consequences for the character in any event. The mere
fact of being brought back from the dead accrues 1d6 of Unluck, to represent the
disapproval of the gods of the dead for spurning their domain. This is cumulative,
so if a character has been killed and revived four times, he or she will have 4d6 of
Unluck. This Character Disadvantage can be bought off with XP, but removing it
would also require a roleplayed in-game resolution, such as a quest or something.
Below is a table of armour prices. It also serves as a reference for different types of
armour and allows you to work out armour encumbrance. There are two ways to
use the armour in Fantasy Hero games. The simple way is use a simple activation
roll. In this case, the cost listed translates into the cost for 8- / 11- / 14 or
complete (18-) protection. The weights of armour are calculated on the same
principle. It is possible to mix armour types for instance a Chain mail vest (8-)
with plate vambraces (one more area for a total of 11-). A warrior with this
combination would make his armour save on 11-, but a roll of 8 or less would mean
he only counts Chain mail as his protection.
A more complicated (but more satisfying, to my mind) route is to use hit locations.
In this case, what armour is being worn where, is defined by the player. The
system outlined below can serve both uses. Note that what follows is a pretty gross
approximation, but has the advantage that it is quick and easy to use (unless
you're an armour geek, do you really care how much a pauldron weighs and
costs?).
If you do care about such stuff, it is pretty easy to define what areas are left
uncovered, since you already know what the armour in question looks like you'll
have to do the individual armour weights and prices yourself, though.
A description of armours is given after the price list. The price list is simply an
attempt to give a relative cost for these armours, since actual price will vary wildly
depending on location, quality and circumstances.
medium 35 6 PD/ED 3
great 55 8 PD/ED 5
Before setting out to visit his friends, Ralf the Mostly Harmless decides to equip
himself with a short chain byrnie and a light helmet, which costs him 315 silver
shillings. He also needs a gambeson (quilted undergarment) to go under that,
which costs him another 10 shillings. Using the quickie system, he now has an
armour roll of 11-, for 5 DEF, and if he rolls 8-, he gets 6 DEF. Alternatively, he has
6 DEF in locations 10-12 and 5 DEF in locations 3-5. The armour weighs a bit less
than 8 kilos.
I do allow players to buy 5 point combat skill levels in DCV "Only to offset DCV
penalties for fighting in armour" which is a -1 disadvantage.
Putting on simple leg or arm protection (vambraces, mail 1 Phase per limb
chausses)
Getting out of armour takes about the same time as getting in, except that if the
character can use a blade, the time can be reduced one step on the time chart,
since straps and bindings can be sliced away. Of course the armour won't be of
much use afterwards!
The DEF and Body of magic armour and shields is not calculated like this, but
instead is derived from active points as outlined in the HSR.
Armour Descriptions (with hit locations)
The names given to various bits of armour varied with time and place below is a
rough guide to help you make sense of things. be aware that spelling was more or
less considered up to personal taste through most of this era, and that the same
piece of armour could be referred to by different names or the same name used
for different items depending on who was writing. If you really want to know
more detail, consult a decent book on armour (with illustrations!)
Hit
Item Locations Description
Barrel Helm 3-5 Heavy cylindrical metal helm that enclosed the
whole head and rested on the shoulders.
Heavy and hot!
Bascinet 3-5 Small close fitting helm that left the face free,
with a detachable visor. Ifthe visor is removed
(as it often was) location 5 is not protected.
Burgonet 3-4 Light helm, leaving the lower face free for
ventilation. Sometimes combined with aventail
or bevor to cover location 5
Gambeson Varies from A padded and quilted body armour. Unlike the
10-12 to 3- aketon, the gambeson generally had sleeves,
4, 7-14 and could even have built in mittens.
Great Helm 3-5 Heavy metal helm that enclosed the whole
head and rested on the shoulders. Heavy and
hot!
Greave 15 or 16-17 Armour for the lower leg
Jamb 15-16 Armour for the lower leg (in a full suit of plate)
Kettle Hat 3-4 A large round metal "hat", which left plenty of
ventilation, but also decreased protection. The
broad rim did give some extra protection
Sallet 3-4 or 5 Heavy helm that covered the head, but left the
neck and chin bare for ventilation
Below is a list of hand to hand weapons. If you want missile weapons, go here. In
most cases, the cost and weight is necessarily approximate (though prices are
based in some cases, on 16th century Italian records from those ever helpful
Sforzas) and both include the necessary carrying gear, such as scabbards. As for
the other equipment lists, all costs are given in "generic" silver pieces and will be
modified in different areas, by the actual currency in use. You should see the
currency pages of the different kingdoms to calculate actual prices in those areas.
The unnecesary profusion of polearms was driven by the requests of players who
have been irrevocably corrupted by exposure to a Certain Roleplaying System (TM).
Given that countless experts have wasted reams of ink over the topic, if you
disagree with my interpretation of the weapons as listed (for example was a
morningstar really a spiked ball and chain arrangement, or a heavy spiked club like
a Godentag) my answer is: probably both. Go away. That said, here's the list.
OC
V ST ST Wei
Cos Mo Damag UN R ght
Item t d e x Min (Kg) Notes
Note that all polearms (including the spear) can be used to deliver a blow with the
butt for 4d6 normal damage. However they do so at -1 OCV, since they are not
balanced primarily for this use.
Description of weapons
Axe: Battle
Heavy axes such as those favoured by knights from the 11th to 13th century
or the weapons wielded by Dwarves in legends. Need not have a long haft.
Axe: hand
Heavy one handed axes, such as the later era knightly axe, or the Francisca
favoured by the Frankish invaders of the Roman empire
Axe: throwing
A lighter axe, similar to a hatchet, usable as a light one handed weapon, but
primarily for throwing.
Bardiche
Large 2-handed axe with a very broad blade
Bec de corbin
A polearm with a heavy, spiked or sometimes pick-like head
Bill-guisarme
A polearm with a long blade backed by a spike or hook. Similar to a Billhook
Club: great
Covers all heavy two-handed club often bound in metal, sometimes with a
heavy head, like a maul.
Club: small
Light wooden clubs about the size of a baseball bat
Club: war
Larger clubs, or those with heavy heads or metal reinforcing
Dagger: fighting
Heavy daggers such as the Bowie knife, or the broad-bladed Cinquada
Dagger: misericorde
Narrow bladed weapons such as the English Ballock Dagger, designed to slip
through gaps in armour or between ribs.
Dagger: throwing
Lighter daggers balanced for throwing.
Flail: 1-handed
This covers an assortment of weapons with a weighted arm attacked to a
handle by a short chain or leather strip.
Flail: 2-handed
Heavy head attached to a long handle by a chain or leather strip. Derived
from the peasant tool, but military versions often substituted a wickedly
spiked head.
Glaive
Polearm with a long heavy blade coming to a point on top, backed by a spike.
There are a hundred different variants of this weapon.
Halberd
Polearm with a heavy axe-like blade normally backed by a hammer head or
smaller blade, and often incorporating a larger thrusting spike on top.
Hammer: battle
Basically a light sledgehammer, sometimes backed by a small spike.
Hammer: lucerne
A polearm with a heavy head normally decorated by small spikes, and
sometimes also incorporating a larger thrusting spike on top.
Hammer: throwing
A smaller version of the sledge hammer.
Lance
The horseman's spear.
Mace: Great
Any of the many weapons with a longish handle and a heavy (normally
spiked) head.
Mace: Footman's
A medium weight mace normally a bit unwieldy in one hand
Mace: Horseman's
All the lighter one-handed maces not just those actually used by
horsemen.
Mancatcher
A variety of polearm with barbed hooks or double fish-hook-like arms which
spring open and thereafter tightly hold a limb. Designed for catching
troublesome warriors.
Morningstar
Either a spiked metal ball (or balls) on chains, or a heavy club decorated with
nasty spikes.
Pick
A short handled weapon with a sharp beaklike head sort of like a pointed
hammer. Designed to punch holes in armour. Often backed with a hammer
head.
Pike
A very long spear a bit unwieldy for normal combat but designed to be
used en masse to present a wall of points
Spear
The typical footman's spear anywhere from 2 to 3 metres long.
Spetum
A spear in which the main blade is supplemented by two smaller ones jutting
out at about 60 degrees from the main one.
Staff
A simple wooden staff from 1 to 2.5 metres long often given metal
caps at either end.
Sword: bastard
Swords with a longer blade and a handle big enough for one or two hands.
Examples are the Japanese katana or the knightly swords popular in central
europe after about 1400.
Sword: broad
All the many heavy swords designed primarily for slashing (the Scottish
claymore, the Indian tulwar, cutlasses etc)
Sword: long
Swords designed for both slashing and thrusting the traditional knight's
blade.
Sword: scimitar
Light slashing swords such as the scimitar or saber. Favoured weapons of
horsemen
Sword: short
Short stabbing swords. The Roman gladius or Spanish Spatha, for example
Trident
A three pronged spear, basically. The traditional weapon of Poseidon or the
retarius in Roman gladiatorial combat.
Voulge
A polearm with a heavy slashing blade.
This stuff was heavily influenced by the work of David Kuijt who did a lot of work on oriental
weapons for my Sengoku game.
2) Every weapon with a +1 Stun Mod has been re-examined. In some cases they
may be unchanged; in some they may be 0 Stun Mod, and in others they may be
still +1 Stun Mod but -1 DC
NEW COMBAT RULES
1) Some few weapons are listed as "Dangerous to the user" (mostly chain
weapons). Anyone fighting with such a weapon who rolls a natural 3 in combat will
hit themselves, doing normal damage. Anyone without a WF in this weapon who
fights with it will hit themselves as above on a 3, 4, 5, or 6.
Note that this also applies to readied missile weapons you can't "run down" that
crossbowman menacing you if he knows what you are up to and has an action
ready.
Once melee is joined, weapon length is less important and is ignored unless
combat become *really* close (the opponents clinch, fight under a table, etc) in
which case the user of the shorter weapon gets to act out of DEX order and act
first.
This rule is intended to give a "real" feel without too much fuss, and should be
applied to relatively simple duels and small engagements (2 vs 1, 1 vs 1). A
weapon user may attempt to alter his strike priority by changing weapons or using
an unarmed strike or throw.
3) The way STR Min works is changed: the STR Min listed is the STR Min at which
you do FULL DAMAGE. For every full 5 pts STR over the STR Min, the character gets
+1 DC. For every 5 pts of STR (or part thereof) _under_ the STR Min, the character
loses 1 DC (-1 DC). And it is not possible to use a weapon at all if your STR is more
than 10 pts under the listed STR Min. Use of weapons that require greater than the
characters STR is very tiring: the character must pay 2 END per point of STR
lacking.
STR MINS: STR Min is calculated using Active Pts/2. OCV Mods, whether positive or
negative, do NOT figure in. Stretching DOES figure in. HAs are calculated at 5 pts
active each, not 3, to make calculation standard at 5 pts per Damage Class. Finally,
Two-handed melee weapons get an automatic -5 STR Min; 1H weapons have two
STR Mins listed (one for one-handed fighting, the other for two-handed). The STR
Min for a normal weapon used two-handed is -3 STR Min. Weapons that are +1
Stun or AP use their active points for calculating STR Min; ones that are -1 Stun
have their STR Min calculated as if they were -1 DC from their listed damage.
STR Min for Autofire throwing of weapons is based upon their active point cost,
same as with +1 Stun weapons. However, these weapons have two STR Min listed:
one for single shot, and one for autofire use.
Missiles
OC ST
V R Weig
Cos Mo Dama STUN Mi ht
Item t d ge x n (kg) Notes
The STR required to use a crossbow can be reduced by 5 if a simple device such as
a belt-hook or goat's foot lever is used. In any case, the user is reduced to 1/2 DCV
while loading and takes a full phase to load. Use of a crank reduces the STR needed
to use a crossbow by 7, but also reduces the users DCV to 1/2. A crank requires 2
full phases to load.
Description of weapons
Arrow: Blunt
Simply an arrow with the head replaced with a heavy, round knob. Used for
hunting small game or bring down a foe without killing them.
Arrow:Bodkin
A war arrow with a square, pointed head, designed to punch through armour.
Arrow:Broadhead
Originally a hunting arrow, with a wide, barbed head designed to cause nasty
flesh wounds.
Arrow:Signal
An arrow with a round, fluted head made of wood or ceramic that whistles
shrilly when air passes through it as it is fired
Quarrel
The missile used by a crossbow thicker and shorter than a normal arrow.
Sling bullet
slings often fired a good sized stone. For extra oomph they could use a metal
bullet normally made of lead. Witty armourers would cast them with
messages on them such as "Take that!"
Longbow
A bow also carved from wood, but longer and heavier than a shortbow,
allowing it to fire heavier missiles.
Recurved bow
A more sophisticated weapon made by laminating layers of horn, or even
bone, with glue. The bow was formed into an exaggerated W-shape, which
when strung was almost inverted. This allowed a longer bow in a smaller
space.
Stone bow
A bow designed to fire small missiles like a sling stone rather than an arrow.
Mostly used for hunting small game.
Crossbow
A weapon in which a bow is affixed horizontally to a stock, and the bowstring
held in place by a lock. This allows the weapon to be held loaded (at least for
a short time) and simplifies aiming. However, crossbows while more
powerful were generally slower to load.
Dart
This covers an assortment of small hand-hurled missiles. They can be thrown
singly or in groups. There is also a larger type of dart (such as the martobuli)
which cannot be thrown autofire, but which are haevier often having a
lead weight behind the head.
Javelin
A light spear designed for throwing. It can also be used in HTH combat, doing
1d6 HKA.
Prod
A crossbow designed to fire small missiles like a sling stone rather than a
quarrel. Mostly used for hunting small game.
Belt hook
a simple device to ease the drawing of a crossbow it is simply a belt with a
hook on it. Put the crossbow's front on the ground, bend down and slip the
hook through the string and stand up using your back and legs to draw it
rather than your arms.
Crank
For drawing the heaviest crossbows a windlass-like affair.
Sling
A simple leather or cloth strip that could be drawn up and used to flick a
small missile. Contrary to the movies, you NEVER whirl a sling around.
Staff sling
The same device but mounted on a short pole to increase the momentum.
Sometimes used to deliver small firepots, or jars of angry bees and the like.
Hitting Things
We will be using the "inverted" system for determining what you hit in combat:
Hit Locations
We will be using Hit Locations purely for the purpose of determining whether a blow
hits an armoured spot or not, and will not be using any damage modifiers for the
locations.We'll be going back to using Hit Locations as normal, since there's plenty
of magical healing available and I feel that they make combat more colourful.
Martial Arts
To ease the pain of those sensible souls who use Hero Designer for character creation, I've
created a Martial Arts prefab which will allow you to place all the most common maneuvers
without having to build each from scratch. You can get it here (right-click and "Save
as..." Martial Arts.hdp)
Rather than using the antiquated and arbitrarily priced martial arts maneuvers
listed in the core rules, all maneuvers will be built using Powers, Advantages and
Limitations (just like almost everything else in the system) and be placed inside
a Martial Arts Multipower.
This change will make it slightly more expensive for martial arts dilletantes, who
just want enough maneuvers to give them an edge in combat but aren't true
martial artists in the wire-fu sense, but it will make it cheaper to amass a huge
repertoire of fancy stunts for those who want to devote themselves to leaping and
whacking. Bear in mind that the Multipower's Active POint value must be at least
large enough to match the Active Point value of the largest Power within it.
The cost-effectiveness of martial maneuvres will now more accurately reflect their
usefulness, in line with the rest of the system's Powers, Talents etc., rather than
being priced arbitrarily to cater to ancient character building practices
from Champions I in 1981.
In the Hero System rules, Armour Piercing is treated very simply it ignores half
of the target's defences. If Doktor Depravo has a DEF of 23, the attack treats it as a
DEF of 12. If his puny minion's DEF were 6, the same attack would treat it as a DEF
of 3.
Unfortunately, this is not how armour piercing works in the real world. It's not
reasonable that the same attack should penetrate 11 points of Doktor Depravo's
Dastardly Defensive Device's force field, while only penetrating 3 points of his
minion's bullet-proof vest; the attack should penetrate the same amount of armour
in both cases.
The Modification
Instead of automatically halving the target's defences, an attack with the Armour
Piercing advantage ignores the same DEF as the amount of Normal BODY rolled for
the attack.
Example: Ruggedly handsome soldier of fortune Dirk Storm fires at a knight in full
plate (DEF 8) with his trusty crossbow, a 2d6 AP RKA. He hits, doing 7 points
(rolling a 5 and a 2 on his 2d6, or 2 Normal BODY). The knight's effective armour
DEF drops to 6, and he takes 1 point of BODY from Dirk's crossbow bolt.
Armour Piercing can be taken multiple times, with each additional advantage
multiplying the DEF ignored by +1, i.e., if taken twice it ignores (nBODY x 2) of the
target's DEF, if thrice, (nBODY x 3), etc.
If an 18 is required just to hit, then no Critical occurs when one is thrown. A natural
18 is not neccessarily an automatic hit.
....and so on.
Other Skills
When it comes to Skills, the rolls are reversed: a 3 is a Critical Success and an 18 is
Fumble. Precise results will be entirely dependent on the skill being used and
circumstances, but regardless of the specific result a Critical Success will give you
the best possible outcome of the skill use, whereas a Fumble will not only fail, but
will result in the worst possible outcome of failure (probably not fatal, but I make
no promises....)
Healing
Everybody gets Fast Healing by default, because I'm such a generous guy, and
because well, just because. What that means is that you heal naturally (i.e.
without magical intervention) at the rate of your REC per week, instead of REC per
month as normal.
For example, if you get whacked by Gobbo the Clobberer's Mace of Clobberin' and
take 8 BODY (ow!), and you have a REC of 4, it will take you two weeks to heal
completely. If you have a REC of 6, it will take a week and a bit.
If you feel really anal, you can work out exactly how many hours you need to heal
1 BODY. Who knows, it might be important.
Combat Luck
Combat Luck is limited to no more than 2 levels (i.e. 6 PD/ED) and does not stack
with any physical armour heavier than soft leather (i.e. 1 rPD). That still gives you
the equivalent of wearing chainmail while dancing around in your jockstrap, which
isn't too bad. Because this is a campaign-wide Limitation on the Talent, it doesn't
make Combat Luck any cheaper. Sorry.
Note that Combat Luck doesn't come into effect if you're taken by surprise,
attacked in your sleep, or can't dodge around for some reason if you're being
crushed in a giant's fist, for example.
Again, there would be no limit on the number of attempts per day, but you'd
have to make a successful PS:Anatomy roll. You'd have to have the
appropriate Anatomy skill for each species of target of course (e.g. humans,
horses, snakes, kittens etc.) and the roll would be modified for sub-groups
e.g. humans, dwarves and mind-flayers are all humanoid. Dwarves are pretty
similar anatomically to humans, but not identical; call that a -1 to the roll.
Mind-flayers are also roughly similar, but not nearly as much as a dwarf
they might be worth a -5, and so on.
For this version, there are further restrictions, in that the target must be DCV
0 (surprised or immobilized, or in some other way denied defensive
maneuver) AND you only get to add the Deadly Blow damage if the weapon's
base damage manages to sneak at least 1 BODY past any resistant defences,
to avoid the situation where a sneaky assassin manages to bring down a
plate-armoured knight with a thumb-tack.
Feinting
You can use your Acting skill in combat as a half-Phase action to feint before
landing your real blow. For every two points you make the Acting roll by, you gain
+1 OCV for that attack. However, for every two points you fail the roll by, you lose
-1 DCV until your next Phase.
Overland Movement
ENCUMBRANCE
Total
Weight DCV and END
Carried Dex Roll Movement per Turn
Up to 10% -0 0
10-24% -1 0
25-49% -2 -1" 1
50-74% -3 -2" 2
75-89% -4 -4" 3
90-100% -5 -8" 4
The distance a character can travel easily in one day is dependent on three things:
1. Their own movement rate inches of Combat Movement x SPD gives the
Base Overland Movement Rate (BOMR) in Movement Units (MU). This is the
nominal distance a character can travel in 10 hours in good weather bad
weather will modify the MU Distance downwards, depending on its severity.
2. The terrain being traversed the ease or difficulty of the terrain will
increase or decrease the distance covered, as below.
3. The weight being carried Carrying 25% or more of the character's
maximum will reduce their Movement, and thus their BOMR. Each point of
END from encumbrance costs 1 LTE (Long Term END) per 2 MU travelled
(see table).
MOVEMENT UNITS
MU
Terrain Distance Examples
Additionally, each two MU travelled beyond the character's BOMR costs the
character +1 LTE.
If all that seems a bit complicated, don't worry. What it boils down to is this: if you
travel far, you'll get tired. If you carry a lot, you'll get tired. If you travel far
carrying a lot, you'll get really tired.
Example: Zosia has a Movement rate of 6" and SPD 4, which means she can
move 6 x 4 = 24 MU per day (unencumbered) without suffering any particular
fatigue. On good, flat roads, that means she can easily walk 48 km per day. In
easy, open country she can make 36 km, along forest tracks 18 km, and in
trackless mountains only 6 km. If she exceeds these distances, then she has to
burn LTE to do so.
Her STR is 18, with a maximum lift of 303 kg, so as long as she carries no more
than 72 kg she'll remain essentially unencumbered as far as her movement is
concerned. If she carries 73 kg or more, her base move drops and she will start
using LTE as she travels.
The Elves
Physical Characteristics
Elves differ in form only slightly from Men, and non-humanoids find it easy to get
them confused ("all humanoids look alike" they say). Generally speaking, the facial
features and limbs of Elves appear elongated and thin compared with those of Men.
Their skin colouring is always a pale ivory, and appears slightly translucent. If
burned by the sun, they do turn red, but they never tan (or freckle). Their hair is
straight and either pure white or pure black, without gradation. To human eyes,
they tend to appear rather albinoid. They have high cheekbones, and large, slightly
slanted, almond-shaped eyes with little white showing, with either pale gray or very
dark blue irises.
In low light, an Elf's pupils dilate enormously, making their eyes appear completely
black they can see much better in darkness than can Men, but like most
creatures do require some light to see by. They are able to discern detail over a
considerable distance, with vision comparable to that of a hawk.
Their willowy build makes Elves relatively puny compared with Humans (average is
STR 7, racial maximum is 15). They are, however, remarkably resilient when it
comes to physical harm; they can take a surprising amount of damage without
being disabled, and they heal very quickly, seldom scarring visibly unless from
some terrible trauma. They seldom suffer from disease, and they are immortal
unless killed by violence.
Elves are naturally nimble and graceful, and perform as a matter of course
acrobatic feats that members of other races would have to train at for years to
achieve (average DEX 15, racial maximum is 30, all Elves have Acrobatics).
Elf children are rare, especially among High Elves, and grow from infancy to
adulthood over a period of about 40 years.
In the days of their highest achievement some 5,000 years ago, the Elvish
civilization was a loose confederation of some two hundred kingdoms of varying
size and power. There had always been a certain amount of rivalry between them,
and alliances and hatreds that rose and fell over the centuries, but serious conflict
was rare and seldom long-lived. However, at that time something happened to
change the way of things that had stood for millennia. Rivalries gradually became
more intense, and disputes more bitter. Scholars became secretive and jealous of
their knowledge, which before they had shared freely. Kings and queens began to
demand not just respect, but submission from their peers. Bloodshed became more
common, and the monarchs began building armies, something that had never
before seemed necessary. Cities became fortifications, and the inhabitants of
smaller communities began to withdraw into them. The so-called Lesser Races
began to become slaves, rather than the valued servants they had previously been.
Elvish civilization became a dark and tyrannical thing; general conflict seemed
inevitable to all, and everyone prepared for it as best they may.
The Great War, when it came, seemed at first nothing more than another petty
dispute over the control of an unimportant stretch of land. However, rather than
dying away the conflict intensified, with more and more kings drawn in on either
side. Some took the opportunity to strike at their rivals while they were otherwise
occupied, and were stricken in their turn. There came a time when it seemed that
there was no place in the world where one Elf was not trying to kill another, and the
scale of the war grew and grew and grew. Vast stretches of country in the south-
east were laid waste, and in fact have never recovered to this day. The conflict
reached a crescendo, after over three hundred years of constant warfare, in the
cataclysm that created the Cursed Lands, but even after that calamity (which wiped
out fully a third of the Elvish race, not to mention vast legions of their slave troops
of other races) the war dragged on and on. The scale of warfare dropped, but not
for want of hatred rather because the remaining warrior-monarchs simply no
longer had the resources to maintain themselves. Gradually, over another thousand
years, the war continued, dying away here and flaring up there but never ending,
bleeding away the vitality of the Elvish race almost to extinction.
Not every king or queen went to war voluntarily. There were many who were
wantonly attacked and forced to defend themselves, and were thus drawn willy-nilly
into the seemingly endless madness. There were others who, seeing the way the
wind was blowing, went into hiding from their own kin and thus avoided
entanglements, but those who remained successfully hidden were by far the
minority.
High Elves
Light Elves
The first are those who, having successfully hidden themselves, managed
consciously to maintain the nobility and scholarship of the old days to some
extent, though by its nature such an existence results in an isolationist
outlook, even in the best of times. To have remained hidden through all
those long years of warfare, they must necessarily have been relatively
unimportant to begin with, or else they would have been sought out.
However, in these communities is the last vestige of the glory of the elder
days.
Dark Elves
The second are those who managed to remain hidden by becoming utterly
ruthless in their quest for anonymity. Although they keep much of their
knowledge and skill, they are become absolutely xenophobic and will seldom,
if ever, venture out of their own borders or allow any others in. For these
Elves, a trespasser is an enemy, and thus deserving of death, which is dealt
out without mercy or compunction.
Wild Elves
The third are those who, by thousands of years of constant warfare, of
constantly hunting and being hunted, have become virtual savages. They are
normally to be found living in small, barbaric tribal groups, having discarded
any knowledge or culture unrelated to pure survival. No creature can live
such a life without losing its essential humanity, and for the most part these
eternal warriors are, by any normal standards, completely insane.
Wild Elves, for the most part, have lost the knowledge required to build or maintain
the equipment their more civilized cousins take for granted. Their descent into
barbarism and ignorance has resulted in the adoption of beliefs and superstitions
that civilized Elves would consider ludicrous. While they may still possess items of
great potency from the Ancient Days, they (like the other races of the modern
world) tend to view them as magical rather than as technological objects.
Religion
High Elves are basically irreligious. They recognise the existence of powerful entities
with the ability to directly manipulate physical laws, and even maintain intercourse
with some of them, but they do not treat them as gods. Their "religion" is actually a
system of ritual designed to foster social bonding and to facilitate the communal
remembrance of significant people and events, and though it has some common
elements across Elvish culture, is largely specific to each community.
Wild Elves have adopted an animistic and shamanistic religion. Each tiny clan has
its own magic-maker with the responsibility of dealing with those entities they have
come to view as supernatural, and in this respect (as in many others) the Wild
Elves have come strongly to resemble the cultures of other primitives all over the
world.
Elf Characters
The Hero Designer 3 character template for elves can be found here. It includes the NCM
modifiers mentioned below.
Elvish characters are pretty straightforward to build. You will start with the following
Characteristics and powers:
STR 7 -6 pts 15
DEX 15 15 pts 30
CON 13 6 pts 25
PD 5 4 pts 12
ED 7 4 pts 12
REC 8 8 pts 15
Acrobatics 3 pts
0 pts Distinctive Features: Elf (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Not
Distinctive In Some Cultures)
Wild Elves should take a 10 pt Psych.Limit: Paranoid and a 10 pt 11- Reputation: Psychotic.