Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Rulebook
This book couldn’t have been written without the help of some special
people that have given me advice and ideas on improving this game.
Jonathan Buchanan
Michael Lombardi
Jon Boyles
Ordoalaea Publishing
Jason Martin
And I’m also grateful for the following people for the sheer inspiration,
without them I probably would’ve never written this game, and the funny
thing is that probably they have absolutely no idea about this!
Alberto Martínez
Matthew Mercer
Matt Colville
Chris Perkins
Mike Shea
Chris Gonnerman
And also the rest of the #TTRPG community. To all of you, thank you so
much! Also thanks to my patrons on Patreon for your support. It means a
lot to me.
Copyright © 2019 Jose T. Kercado - All Rights Reserved.
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD 10
RACES 14
Race modifiers 15
Backgrounds 15
Dwarf 15
Elf 16
Halfling 16
Human 17
Playing other races 17
Use an existing race as a template 17
Create a race or species from scratch 18
CLASSES 18
Action points 19
Backgrounds 19
Priest 19
Background 20
Magic field 20
Effect on magic item usage 20
Spell aspect action points cost 21
Spell build examples 21
Lightning smite (Element) 21
Heal Damage (Life) 21
Inflict sickness (Death) 21
Thief 21
2
Background 22
Thief skills 22
Hiding & stealth 22
Find & remove traps 22
Pick pockets 23
Open locks 23
Maneuvers 23
Backstabbing 23
Warrior 23
Background 24
Combat maneuvers 24
Additional attack at same opponent 24
Attack secondary target 24
Drop opponent’s Physical Defense 25
Disarm opponent 25
Knock opponent unconscious 25
Push opponent out of engaged range 25
Parry 25
Disarm opponent on parry 25
Wizard 25
Background 26
Magic fields 26
Spell action points base cost 26
Spell build examples 27
Flame Bolt (Element) 27
Sleep (Deceit) 27
Control Person (Deceit) 27
Find item (Truth) 27
Class/race combat roll matrix 28
BACKGROUNDS 35
Choosing your backgrounds 35
Character backgrounds 35
Alchemist 35
Arcanist 35
Artist 36
Artisan 36
Charlatan 36
Clergy 36
Crafting 36
Criminal 36
Entertainer 37
Entrepreneur 37
Forgery 37
Herbalist 37
Hometown Hero 37
Mercenary 37
Metalworker 38
Noble advisor 38
Revolutionary 38
Sailor 38
Scholar 38
Smuggler 38
Soldier 38
Stonemason 39
Streetwise 39
Survivalist 39
Traveler 39
Vigilante 39
COMBAT 46
Initiative 47
How to roll for initiative 47
Surprise 47
Combat round 48
Basic dice rolls 48
Melee & missile weapon combat 48
Physical Attack (PA) 48
Physical Defense (PD) 48
Spells & magical devices 49
Magic Attack (MA) 49
Magic Defense (MD) 49
Action points 49
Recovering action points 49
Pushing 49
Events 49
Move 49
Zones and distance 50
Engaged (ZZ) 50
Nearby (Z1) 50
Far (Z2) 50
Distant (Z3) 50
Away (Z4) 50
Actions 50
Physical Attack 51
Cast a spell 51
Defend 51
Background skill action 51
Thief skills 52
Damage 52
Hit Points (HP) 52
Lethal Points (LP) 52
Death Points (DP) 52
Death point countdown under combat 52
Non-combat time 53
Instant death 53
Counting down damage 53
Lethal damage 53
5
Healing 53
Natural healing 53
Conditions 54
Asleep 54
Exhausted 54
Paralyzed 54
Unconscious 54
Weapons 54
One-Handed 55
Two-handed 55
Armor 55
Shields 55
MONSTERS 57
Monster stats 57
Damage 57
Speed 57
Physical 57
Attack 57
Defense 58
Top Roll (TR) 58
Magical 58
Attack 58
Defense 58
Top Roll (TR) 58
Action Points (AP) 59
Attacks 59
7
Wolf 72
Wraith 72
Z 72
Zombie 72
Creating new monsters 73
Damage capacity 73
Hit points 73
Lethal points 73
Application in monster design 73
Speed 73
Attack and defense rolls 74
Top die roll 74
Attacks 74
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FOREWORD
Tabletop role-playing games are the only type of game that give you
total freedom of action. Of course, that freedom is regulated by a ruleset
that provides the limits and constraints of the fantasy world you are
playing in; otherwise, it would be just playing pretend.
Those rulesets can become quite complicated; after all, trying to copy
real-life actions and events, and providing as much flexibility as possible
for the players usually brings in a lot of mechanisms for judging and
determining results in an impartial manner.
This can make preparing and starting a game a rather tedious process
that requires looking at endless charts and choosing among dozens of
options just to create a character to play. Add to that an extensive set of
guidelines and rules to run the game, and it can become a difficult task.
Little by little, the game is not that fun anymore; playing becomes a bit of
a chore.
This is what motivated me to create Perilous Ventures. I strived to create a
system where set up from the players and the game master was minimal.
A system where a group of friends can get a brand-new adventure
started in less than 15 minutes, and yet still be able to provide a balanced
system that allows for solid combat and storytelling.
This book is the product of years of experimentation and prototyping
diverse systems, from incredibly sparse to overly complicated. I think this
one hits the nail on the head with the right balance, of course, leaning
heavily towards being lithe, agile, and quick.
Not only is Perilous Ventures light and fast, it’s also expandable, as
everything in the game is made in a building-block style, allowing players
and game masters to come up with their own races, classes, and
character backgrounds. The possibilities are endless.
Thank you for acquiring this game. Your support means a lot to me. I hope
this role-playing game provides you with endless hours of fun.
Kick open the door, fight the monsters, get the gold, and as a side quest…
Save your world!
-- Jose T. Kercado
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CREATING A CHARACTER
So you want to be in this fantastic and dangerous world? Welcome, future
adventurer, you will have a great time! We will have a character created
very quickly, and you will be ready to play in no time. Character creation
is quite simplified and you can definitely have the basic definition for your
character in less than five minutes.
If you’re planning to participate as a Game Master and want to read
more about the mechanics and how to run the game, you can skip to the
section Running the Game, where it explains all these things in detail.
However, even if you are planning to be the Game Master, it’s important
that you understand how player characters are made, since the same
mechanisms apply to non-player characters (NPCs).
In this game, race and class options are limited, with clear and specific
advantages to each one. We keep these roles clearly sharp and well
defined, which makes it easy for players to establish how they intend to
delve into the adventure.
All you need to create your character is the following items:
● A few six-sided dice (d6), about four or five is a good amount.
● Blank ruled paper.
● Pencil and eraser.
● This book!
Select a race
Your character’s race will determine certain bonuses or disadvantages
that you will have for your character. However, the importance of race
goes beyond that, as it also can become a huge element in the
role-playing part of your character and help define their personality and
backstory.
Select a class
The character’s class determines their profession. Do you want to be a
fearless sword-wielder? Do you want to control arcane powers? Think of
what you want from your character, and how you want to approach the
adventure. Each class provides special abilities and advantages that do
not exist in other character classes, and sometimes, some disadvantages.
Like everything, it is all a matter of compromise.
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Choose backgrounds
As you will see when looking at the race and class details, each one
provides one or more choices for your character’s backgrounds. These
backgrounds define your character’s capabilities in matters that go
beyond combat situations. Is your character good at negotiation? Will it
be able to repair a piece of armor? Can it survive in the wilderness? Your
choice of backgrounds defines this.
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DEFINING YOUR
CHARACTER
Player characters in this system have no ability scores as usually defined
by other RPG systems, such as strength or intelligence scores. Instead,
modifiers provided by the race, class, and background selections made
by the player in the character creation process define the characteristics
and features of the player character.
Grab a sheet of paper and a pencil, and write down the information for
your new adventurer. At the top of the sheet, leave a space for each of
the following items:
● Name
● Race
● Class
Combat rolls
There are four basic combat dice rolls for determining combat results: two
opposed rolls for attacks with weapons (melee, missile, or unarmed), and
two opposed rolls for magical attacks.
The number related to each one of these rolls is how many dice you will
be rolling when executing the action. All characters start with 1 six-sided
die as their base roll. So write down the rolls (explained below), in a list
format, and write “1” (your base roll) beside each score, similar to this:
Combat
PA 1
PD 1
MA 1
MD 1
Here’s a quick explanation of these stats and how they affect gameplay.
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Damage
You need to keep a tally of the damage received during combat. On
another section of the page, write down the following base stats related
to damage. Write down a label, “Damage”, and below that write down
the information explained below.
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RACES
Race modifiers
Choosing a race gives you an advantage, called a boost, in a particular
dice roll. A boost, as the name implies, adds an extra die to your rolls,
greatly increasing the chances for success when rolling for that particular
action. Details on how this works are in the section titled The ORC Engine.
If the race shows that you get a boost on any of the combat rolls (PA, PD,
and so forth), make sure to write down “+1” besides that particular roll, at
the right of the pre-written “1”, on your character sheet.
Your character’s race can also modify how many hit points your
character has. This determines how much damage it can take before
falling unconscious or dying. If the chosen race increases or decreases
your hit point amount, make sure to change the number you’ve written
down in the Damage section.
Backgrounds
There are suggested backgrounds that are deemed appropriate for each
particular race. These are just guidelines, as you can select whichever
backgrounds you prefer for your character. Details about backgrounds
and how they work is found in the Backgrounds section below.
Dwarf
Dwarves are strong, stocky folk, with a penchant for strong drink & hard
work. They are usually about four to four and a half feet tall, although a
few unique individuals can reach five feet in stature. Dwarves usually live
to about 170 years old, and some reach 200 years of life.
They excel at fighting due to their innate physical strength and their
centuries-old warfare traditions and defender of the dwarven kingdom,
therefore dwarves get 1 boost on Physical Attack (PA).
Suggested backgrounds for dwarves are Metalworking or Stonemason.
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Dwarven society’s base is the clan, which is defined and named by
whoever was the founding member of a settlement. These settlements are
heavily walled and defended, and an incursion into a dwarven
settlement is usually seen as a foolhardy enterprise.
Dwarves were originally created by the deities of Change and
Preservation, Ambius and Aja, respectively. This reflects on their abilities
and desire to change the world by building things, and their fierce
attitude towards defending those in need and preserving traditions.
Elf
Elves are lithe, graceful, beautiful creatures, with beautiful almond-shaped
eyes with epicanthic folds, large pointed ears, and slim but muscular
bodies. They usually are around five to five and a half feet in height. They
live very long lives, with some elves surpassing the 300 year old mark.
Elven society is defined by gens, which is a group with a similar culture
and origin. Each gen has their own domain, or elvendom. These domains
are usually well-guarded, although some gens are more welcoming of
other races and species.
The elves were created by Erra, Element goddess, and Mosferi, god of the
Ethereal. This is demonstrated by the elves affinity to the physical universe
and nature, and their highly spiritual approach to life. For this reason, they
have a strong natural inclination to the magical and natural worlds, and
get 1 boost on Magic Attack (MA) rolls.
Suggested backgrounds for elf characters are Crafting or Survivalist.
Halfling
Halflings are happy-go-lucky people, tiny in size but huge in courage and
outstandingly nimble by nature, for which they get 1 boost on Physical
Defense (PD). They are small and slender, with the tallest of halflings being
no more than 3 and a half feet in height. Due to their small size, they start
with 1 less Hit Point.
Due to their nature, halflings could have a Traveler or Entertainer
background. They live up to an average of 100 years of age, and some
surpass 120 years.
They are wanderers and nomads, and such, they have no permanent
settlements in the world. However, some halfling tribes have established
semi-permanent settlements in certain parts of the world, but these are
not as organized as a city or town. Every tribe is led by a boss, who
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handles all the final decisions the tribe makes together with some of the
eldest members.
Halflings are a creation of the mischievous god of Deceit, Ruco, and this is
demonstrated by their tendency to be sneaky, tricky and furtive. Ruco
created them together with Erda, god of Truth, which explains why
halflings are friendly, open, brash, and blatantly honest.
Human
They are the most populous race, reliable, resilient and versatile, and this
natural toughness grants humans 1 boost on Magic Defense (MD) rolls. This
resilience also gives humans 1 additional Hit Point. Humans have no
recommended background choices.
Like modern humans, they usually live to 85 years of age, but some have
surpassed that, living for more than 120 years of age.
They are the most versatile of all races, and as such can be found
organized in anything ranging from primitive tribes to huge walled cities.
Humans were the first creation of the gods, and are the joint effort of Vid,
god of Life, and Muer, goddess of Death. This is demonstrated by their
intense love of life and the world they live in, and their acceptance and
infliction of death unto others throughout history.
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CLASSES
There are four character classes available for player characters: priest,
thief, warrior, and wizard. Each class provides its own advantages and
disadvantages, and are designed to complement each other during
adventures.
Any class-related combat roll boosts need to be written down. As we did
with the race descriptions, write down your chosen class boost beside the
score as a “+1”. If it happens that the class you chose has a boost in a roll
you already have a boost for, simply write the +1 beside the previous one,
as boosts do stack up.
Classes can modify the lethal points available to your character. Don’t
forget to increase or decrease this score, and the related death point
score (as they’re always the same) as required.
Action points
Each character class has a pool of Action Points (AP) available. These
points are used differently on each character class; for warriors and
thieves, they are used to perform special combat maneuvers. For priests
and wizards, it determines their spellcasting capacity.
All player characters start off with 6 AP regardless of race or class. Below
the Damage section of your sheet, write down “Action Points: 6”.
As AP go up and down during combat and actions, you might find that
adding and subtracting them on paper might not be as easy as you’d
like. An easy way to keep track of your current AP is to use a d6 as a
counter as it goes up and down. Tokens can be used, too, anything from
game pieces to pennies.
For more details on how Action Points are used, please refer to the Magic
& Spells and the Combat s ections further ahead in the book.
Backgrounds
There are suggested backgrounds that are deemed appropriate for each
particular character class. However, these are just guidelines, as you can
select whichever backgrounds you prefer for your character. Details
about backgrounds and how they work is found in the Backgrounds
section below.
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Priest
Priests are divine warriors that fight in the name of one or more divine
beings. They defend their deities’ goals and purpose for the world, and
they can be good or evil.
A priest gets 1 boost on Magic Defense (MD). They can cast spells,
although their casting abilities are less diverse than those of wizards. Priests
can use magical items, one-handed weapons, and can wear armor and
shield.
Background
A priest character could choose among the following suggested
backgrounds:
● Clergy
● Scholar
● Noble adviser
● Revolutionary
Magic field
As a devoted servant of a single deity, a priest must choose only one
magic field. This field reflects the character’s chosen deity and that deity’s
purpose for the world. This means that magic field selection goes beyond
a simple game choice, as it affects the character’s role-play in relation to
its deity. You can read a description of the available magic fields in the
Magic & spells section below.
It is rare but possible that, through some life crisis or other special situation
that provokes a change of allegiance, a priest can change deities. In
such a case, the priest would immediately gain the magic field from the
chosen deity, and forget how to cast spells in the previous field.
If a priest uses a magical device that belongs to their selected magic
field, they gain 1 boost when using it. Similarly, if they use a magical
device from their diametric magic field, the priest will have no boosts and
1 drop applied to their roll when using it.
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Thief
Masters of the night, stealth and shadows, thieves are the only characters
that can do things like pick locks, find and disarm traps, pickpocket, and
backstab enemies.
Thieves get 1 boost on Physical Defense (PD) due to their learned
nimbleness and skill to avoid damage, and can use magical items and
weapons. They are limited to one-handed melee weapons but can use
any missile weapon, including two-handed devices like longbows. A thief
cannot wear armor nor use a shield.
Background
A thief character could have one of these suggested backgrounds:
● Criminal
● Streetwise
● Forgery
● Smuggler
Thief skills
These actions are special to the thief, and no other class can perform
these successfully, as they have no training on performing them. Utilizing a
thief skill takes one full action from a combat round, although the
character can move if applicable. Note that you do not need to spend
action points to use these special skills when not engaged in battle.
By default, the thief will roll 2d6 when performing these skills, however, as
shown below, the player can choose to spend AP to add boosts to their
rolls at the cost of 3 AP per boost.
Pick pockets
They are capable of stealing personal belongings from people without
being noticed by the victims. A thief can gain a boost when performing
this action in a very crowded situation like in the middle of a busy market,
or in the darkness (combined with stealth).
Open locks
Thieves are adept at lock picking. The chances of success depends on
the sophistication of the lock.
Maneuvers
Thieves have access to special maneuvers in combat. Note that the
action points are spent regardless of the action being successful or not. A
thief character recovers 1 action point per combat round.
EVENT MANEUVER COST
Attack Hide in combat 3
Move silently in combat 2
Knock opponent unconscious 3
Attack additional target 5
Attack same target again 4
Defense Emergency disengage, move away 1 zone 5
Other Add boost to thief special skill 3
Backstabbing
Thief characters have the skill to backstab enemies. To do so successfully,
the thief must first have succeeded on a hide in combat roll. After this, it
needs to spend 3 AP for every drop added to their target’s Physical
Defense. A successful backstab attack always inflicts a Lethal Point.
Once the backstabbing attack occurs, the thief is no longer hidden in
combat.
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Warrior
Masters of combat, slayers of beasts, defenders of the weak: warriors are
unarguably fearsome in melee and missile combat. Whether they are
soldiers, mercenaries, or simply seasoned adventurers, they are the ones
who bring the cold steel to the party.
They get 1 boost on Physical Attack (PA) due to their intensive training
and experience, and also start with 1 additional Lethal Point. Warriors are
the only class who can use all types of weapons, armor, and shields,
including magical versions of these.
However, warriors are unable to use magical devices such as wands, rods,
and scrolls.
Background
These are suggested backgrounds for a warrior character:
● Soldier
● Mercenary
● Vigilante
● Hometown Hero
Combat maneuvers
Warriors use their action point pool in combat for additional damage or
special maneuvers. These maneuvers are used on attack and defense
rolls. Note that the action points are spent regardless of the attack or
defense being successful or not. The warrior can spend as many points as
desired in a combat round, and they recover 1 action point per round.
EVENT MANEUVER COST
Attack Additional attack at same opponent 2
Attack secondary target 4
Drop opponent’s Physical Defense, per drop 3
Disarm opponent, when applicable 4
Knock opponent unconscious 4
Push opponent out of engaged range 3
Defense Parry 2
Disarm opponent on parry 4
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weapon; the warrior cannot switch between a sword and a longbow, for
example.
Disarm opponent
When applicable, the warrior performs a move to cause their opponent to
drop their weapon immediately. This maneuver does not inflict damage
on the victim.
Parry
By using defensive maneuvering, controlled parrying and evasive
movements, the warrior can increase their physical defense by 1 boost.
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Wizard
These are the masters of the arcane arts. Through diligent study and
commitment, they have learned to control the divine forces of magic that
shape the world and have studied the anatomy and minds of creatures
to understand how those powers are channeled through their physical
bodies.
They get a boost on Magical Attack (MA), but start with 1 less Lethal Point
due to their dedication to studies leading to a sedentary life. Wizards can
only use one-handed weapons, simple missile weapons, and cannot wear
any armor or use shields.
Background
These are some suggested backgrounds for wizards:
● Alchemist
● Arcanist
● Charlatan
● Seer
Magic fields
A wizard has three magic field mastery levels available when starting as a
fresh character. These mastery levels allow a wizard character to choose
from one to three magic fields of knowledge. Each point represents a
Mastery level in the arts.
Spending 1 mastery level on a field makes the wizard an Initiate of that
magic field. If the wizard uses 2 levels, that makes them a Veteran of the
chosen magic field. Spending all 3 levels on a single magic field turns the
wizard into a Master of the chosen magic field.
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Sleep (Deceit)
A sphere of magical power induces all within it to fall asleep.
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Perilous Ventures uses an action point system to manage magic. Action
Points, as the name implies, allow your character to perform certain
actions by spending them in combat situations.
It is understood that those who have magical powers, whether from
arcane or divine sources, have a full understanding of the Art, and it flows
from them naturally. Therefore, there’s no need for rest periods to restore
magical capabilities, no spell components, or any other devices to be
able to perform magical feats.
Another feature of this system is that there’s no need for spell casters to
memorize or pre-select spells. In fact, there are no predefined spells in this
system, letting the players creatively use their AP allotment to create their
spells. However, you’ll find a list of spells in each spellcaster class
description that will give you a good idea on what can be done with this
flexible system.
When a spell is cast, no other action can be performed, not even moving,
as casting a spell takes all the effort and concentration from the spell
caster. Only one spell per combat round can be cast.
Magic works as a sudden opening of the divine gates of power intrinsic in
all creatures. Sustaining the flow of that magical power for extended
periods would kill any creature, no matter how powerful. Due to this, all
magic spells have very short duration, relatively speaking, with only the
most powerful creatures and a few select individuals being able to cast
spells that last more than half a minute.
Magic fields
Spells have certain categories that reflect the source of their particular
characteristics. These are known as magic fields.
Each field has a deity that is the source for a particular type of magic.
Each magic field also has an opposite, or diametric, magical field as a
manifestation of the universal balance around which life revolves.
Below is a description for each magic field, and the specific actions that
can be performed within them.
Change
This magic changes the physical properties of a creature, object, or the
environment. The diametric magic field is Preservation.
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● Haste a creature or object.
● Slow down a creature or object.
● Modify physical appearance of an object.
● Increase or decrease the size of a creature or object.
● Teleport a creature or object.
● Levitate a creature or object.
Ambius is the god of transition, change and evolution. His holy symbol is a
black and white five-pointed star with angled points, representing
movement and change. Ambius’ physical manifestation is that of an
elder, male human tinkerer with endless pouches and tools, and
six-fingered hands.
Death
This magic negates the life force of creatures & plants. It’s also used to
create and control undead. The diametric field for Death is Life.
● Animate and control corpse as undead.
● Speak with the dead.
● Poison.
● Putrefaction.
Muer is the goddess of death and despair. Her symbol is an orange and
black circle of fire, and her physical manifestation is that of a frail female
orc whose head is an empty hole.
Deceit
Trick the minds and senses of others. Affects the minds of other creatures
to attempt control. Also, spells that produce illusions are included in this
type. The diametric of Deceit magic is Truth.
● Create an optical illusion.
● Charm a creature or person.
● Cause sleep or vertigo.
● Cause blindness, deafness, or block any other of the senses.
Lies, tricks, illusions, and falsehood... Ruco is the master of it all. Their holy
symbol is a white, black and teal open hand facing forward, upside
down, with a simple smile in its palm. Their physical depiction is that of a
genderless, small, cloaked humanoid with four arms, and a face forever
hidden.
Element
Channel and manipulate the elements and energies of the universe to
cause a certain effect, like producing fire, electricity, or control water. The
diametric of Element is Ethereal magic.
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● Control and manipulate elements of nature: fire, water, wind, and
earth.
● Produce and control electricity.
● Produce and control light or darkness.
Some say Erra created the physical world as it is known, and still
manipulates creation to this day. Her symbol is a short totem of light blue
wind, brown earth, and red fire. Erra’s physical depiction is of a living,
naked, elven female-looking tree with leaves of fire and boots of stone.
Ethereal
Control invisible and spiritual forces that manipulate the universe. The
diametric magic for this field is Element.
● Telekinesis.
● Invocation and control of spirits.
● Ghostly force fields and barriers.
Mosferi is the god of the spiritual and ethereal. His symbol is a swirling
ten-spoke star of white and silver, and his physical depiction is that of a
floating, ghost-like humanoid shape with floating hands.
Life
This type of magic protects creatures and places. Life magic removes
negative effects, protects zones and harms anyone that intrudes that
zone. Its diametric magic is Death.
● Healing of damage and sickness.
● Resistance against damage.
● Provision of sustenance.
● Magical shields and barriers.
The goddess Vid is the bringer of life to the universe. She is depicted as a
graceful yet faceless human man with long, flowing blue hair and the
body of a glowing star, and his holy symbol, similarly, is that of a blue and
white star with 10 long, thin points.
Preservation
Preservation deals with protection, shielding, and stabilization of creatures,
objects, or the environment, and with keeping things as intended. The
diametric magic of Preservation is Change.
● Shields, barriers against damage.
● Stabilization of environmental conditions.
● Banishing of creatures or objects to their original source.
● Purification of sustenance.
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Aja is the goddess of preservation and protection. Her holy symbol is a
gold and green shield, and her physical depiction is of a fully armored
dwarven woman wielding two large spiked shields.
Truth
These spells reveal information like glimpses of the future, finding hidden
objects, or see through the veil of falsehood. Deceit is the diametric of this
magic field.
● Divination of events from the past or the future.
● Finding hidden things or creatures.
● Insight to see through lies and illusions.
● Read thoughts.
Erda is the seeker of the truths of the universe, even though he was a part
of that creation process. His holy symbol is a silver eye with a blue iris, and
he’s depicted as a crotchety, bent, old human man with long gray hair
and bushy eyebrows, who always carries a silver magnifying glass with
him.
Use by spellcasters
Magic has deep links to the deities that rule over the known universe. They
use creatures of the world as a channel to extend their power and
domain throughout the planes of existence. Each principal deity is directly
linked to a magic field.
Priests
Priests are chosen as heralds of a deity, and as such are their direct
representatives on the material world, focusing all their magical casting in
the single field that their deity represents and controls.
Wizards
Wizards study and channel magic by tapping and utilizing the life energy
conduits used by deities that allow creatures the use of magic and cast
spells. This allows them to dabble in diverse magic fields, and why they
have magic field mastery levels available to them, as it is dependent on
where they’ve placed their efforts as they study the arcane.
Building a spell
To build a spell and figure out the total action point cost required to cast
it, you start off from the base action point cost for the character class.
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Details of those costs are presented in each class description, and in the
summary table at the end of this section.
Spell aspects
Spells are defined by elements known as aspects. Each of these aspects
represents the basic characteristics of a spell.
Area
This defines the space that the spell’s effect will cover. There are two types
of spell areas.
Single target
This spell’s affects a single creature or object. A single target spell does not
cost any additional AP.
Zone
The spell’s area of effect, shaped like a sphere and centered at the point
selected by the spell caster, taking up height, depth, and width. As the
name implies, the size of this sphere of effect is measured in zones, with
one zone being around 25 feet. Adding zones costs +1 AP per zone.
Range
This determines how far away from the caster the spell will take effect.
Range is also measured in zones. Spells cast at a distance of 1 zone or less
have no additional cost. Any distance beyond 1 zone has a cost of +1 AP
per zone.
Duration
A spell usually has an instantaneous effect. If the spellcaster desires to
have the spell last for a longer time period, they must spend +1 AP for
each additional combat round that the spell will be active.
Action
Damage
All spells cast for damage will inflict a Hit Point to their target on a
successful attack, or a Lethal Point if the top die Magical Attack result is a
6 and is greater than the target’s Magical Defense roll.
Effect
Instead of damage, a spell can have a special effect, such as poisoning,
an illusion, causing the target to sleep, or setting an object on fire. The
effect of the spell is based on the magic field that the spell belongs to.
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Summary
This table summarizes the action point costs for building spells.
SPELL ASPECT DESCRIPTION AP COST
Base cost Priest 2
Wizard, Initiate 3
Wizard, Veteran 2
Wizard, Master 1
Area Single target 0
Zone sphere +1 per zone
Range 1 or less zones 0
2 or more zones +1 per zone
Duration Instantaneous 0
2 or more combat rounds +1 per round
Action Damage (1 point) 0
Effect 0
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BACKGROUNDS
Character backgrounds
Here are some examples of background that are available for player
characters. However, these are just examples, and players, together with
their game master, can come up with additional backgrounds that fit the
story or the desired history of the player character.
Remember that backgrounds must be kept relatively well-focused, and
not made far too encompassing, as it dilutes the purpose of backgrounds.
Alchemist
The character is well versed in the art of mixing chemicals and materials. It
has a deep knowledge of components and will recognize these
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components by using its well-developed senses. A character with this
background will be able to recognize materials and chemicals, possess
knowledge about preparing things such as powder, and have relatively
easy access to one or more good suppliers.
Arcanist
This background provides knowledge in magical and arcane subjects. This
does not mean that the character necessarily knows how to cast spells; it
just means that the character is well read or educated in the subject
matter. It can read and understand arcane material, recognize
spellcasting actions, and might have a good chance of identifying a
magical item after studying it closely.
Artist
The character excels in the visual arts: drawing, painting and sculpting.
They also know where to get the materials needed for art, and their work
might be possibly known in other cities and towns. This also grants some
contacts with nobles, since they’re the usual buyers for artwork.
Artisan
The character is very skilled in a particular trade like tinkerer, leather
worker, or jeweler. It is also a member of a guild, or at least knows
members of the guild related to its profession.
Charlatan
Hustler, street dealer, huckster… A character with this background has
spent some time of their life tricking people for money and fame. It will
have a definite advantage when persuading people, and will be good
with trickery and sleight of hand.
Clergy
The character has served a god or church in the past, although not
necessarily was a priest. The character will have an advantage when
researching religious subject matters, and preferential treatment from their
church of choosing, even if the character is a total stranger.
Crafting
A character with the crafting background is adept at building items like
simple jewelry and adornments, talismans, and charms. This person will
also be very skilled with small to medium size hand tools, and
knowledgeable in finishing and painting techniques for diverse items. They
will also know how to perform simple repairs.
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Criminal
The character has a checkered past of run-ins with the law. They will have
an advantage when dealing with shady types. The criminal background
can also land the character into trouble when going into cities where it
has lived a life of crime. It will have good knowledge of hidden crime
guilds and organizations, and probably know about their most notorious
members.
Entertainer
The character has plenty of experience performing for a crowd, be it as a
singer, actor, or any other methods of entertainment. As such, they are
very good at persuading people and managing crowds.
Entrepreneur
The character has solid experience running a business, accounting
procedures, and general management. It will be competent at leading
people and taking charge, and will have knowledge of business
procedures and contracts.
Forgery
The character is an expert in forging documents by using the correct
vocabulary, duplicating signatures, wax seals, and even reproducing the
exact types of paper or other media used in legal documents.
Herbalist
This background gives the character knowledge in herbs and plants. The
character can prepare teas, antidotes, and healing mixtures. It can
identify vegetation species and their characteristics.
Hometown Hero
The character is well-known in his hometown for some daring action that
saved the inhabitants. This grants the character preferential treatment in
that city or town, including lower prices on everything (around a 25%
discount is about right). If the city or town is big enough, the character
could be known in the surrounding areas, too.
Mercenary
The character has worked as a sellsword or hired caster for the best
bidder. As such, they have knowledge of the inner workings of the secret
side of large city governments and big criminal organizations, and possess
a few contacts that could be helpful.
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Metalworker
This background allows the character to have extensive knowledge of
working metal pieces, including metal tools, weapons, and armor. Will also
be able to identify metal types and origin of a piece based on
construction and materials.
Noble advisor
As someone with a high, powerful rank, the character has worked as a
trusted advisor to a local noble or other government figure. This gives the
character special connections to a particular city and ease in finding
resources and understanding how a certain city government works.
Revolutionary
The character has led (or is still leading) a revolution against a tyrannical
government, or is leading a subversive reform of an established
organization. This grants knowledge about existing organizations and
provides underground contacts either on the streets or in ruling positions in
government or other large organizations.
Sailor
The character is experienced in everything related to sailing: controlling
and maneuvering a ship, administering, and basic repairs of ship
components.
Scholar
A character with this background is well-educated in secular and religious
history. They will have a very good chance of figuring out historical and
religious influences, and will remember events and information that is
important in the history of the world.
Smuggler
The character knows the best way to infiltrate merchandise into a city, the
correct way to handle things, and also knows the people and distributors
of whatever objects or materials are illegal in their location, or that have
a large black market due to the item’s high cost.
Soldier
Characters with the soldier background have served in a militia for a
long-enough period of time to get them fully acquainted with the inner
workings of an army, have a decent grasp of strategy, and have a good
chance of knowing someone in a high military rank.
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Stonemason
A character with this background is deft at working with stone in all its uses
including construction and decoration. The character will be able to
determine the type of rock or mineral, origin, and source of the
construction in the case of a building or structure. In some cases they will
be able to recognize weak points of the structure.
Streetwise
City streets are the character’s natural environment; they know the
people, the happenings, the incoming events (and we’re not talking
about the local carnival). It is easy for the character to find information
about what is going on, and about who’s who.
Survivalist
The character lived for a long time by yourself, alone in the wilderness (this
can be a forest, desert, or any other biome). As such, they learned how to
survive and thrive in that kind of environment. This includes hunting,
trap-making, foraging, and the use of hunting bows.
Traveler
Characters with the traveler background will be adept at finding and
using ground transportation suitable for a journey. They are experts at
reading maps and possess an above-average sense of direction. A
character with this background will hardly get lost even in complicated
travel situations.
Vigilante
The character roams the streets illegally looking for those who commit
crimes, and deal justice on their own terms. They might or might not be
known to exist by the local authorities, but they’ve learned to keep a low
profile and how to move unnoticed through the dark streets.
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It is time to equip your character with gear and weapons, to get them
ready for adventuring. There are two options available for acquiring your
initial gear, and this is something that you need to arrange with the Game
Master.
Money
The base coin for this system is the gold piece (GP). However, there are
other coins available in the market.
COIN UNIT PER GP
Gold Piece (GP) 1
Silver Piece (SP) 10
Copper Piece (CP) 100
Your character’s initial amount of money is equal to 3d6 x 10 GP.
Therefore, if you roll a total of 13, your character will have 130 GP total.
An alternative way for determining the starting money amount is to roll
4d6, and then just take the higher three dice rolls, add those up, and
multiply by 10. For example, if you rolled 5, 6, 2, and 4, you will pick 5 + 6 +
4 = 15, which multiplied by 10 equal 150 GP.
With this amount of money, your character is ready to buy the weapons
and equipment needed for a successful adventure. For cost estimation
purposes, a good rule of thumb is that one GP equals $100 USD.
Weapons
There are two types of melee weapons available: one-handed and
two-handed. A one-handed weapon adds 1 boost to the Physical Attack
roll, and a two-handed weapon adds 2 boosts to Physical Attack rolls.
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Being that there are only two weapon types available, weapon choice
within each type becomes more of a way to give color to a character.
The equipment list shows which weapons are single-handed, and which
are two-handed. A few weapons can be both one-handed and
two-handed, and the player can choose in which “mode” to use the
weapon. However, to use a weapon as two-handed, the character
cannot be wearing a shield.
Armor
Some character classes can wear armor to protect themselves from
damage. Wearing armor gives the wearer 1 boost on Physical Defense.
Shields
Using a shield gives you 1 boost to your Physical Defense and your
Magical Defense. Not all classes can use a shield, and it can only be worn
if the weapon used is a one-handed unit.
Adventuring gear
Using the appropriate adventuring gear will be the only way to perform
certain actions, or provide a boost when doing them while adventuring.
Make sure your character is well equipped. Gear will allow you to perform
certain actions without penalty. For example, having rope for climbing a
wall, or having a tinderbox to set a fire.
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Equipment lists
Weapons
Armor
DESCRIPTION PRICE
Leather armor 10 GP
Chain mail 25 GP
Ring mail 25 CP
Scale mail 30 GP
Plate mail 70 GP
Shield 15 GP
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Standard equipment
DESCRIPTION PRICE
Backpack, leather 2 GP
Flask of oil 3 SP
Iron spikes, 12 1 SP
Lantern 4 GP
Mallet 5 SP
Pole, 10’ long 4 SP
Rations, standard 7 SP
Rope, 50’ 3 SP
Sack, small 5 CP
Sack, large 1 SP
Silver mirror, small 1 GP
Stakes, 3 1 SP
Steel mirror 3 SP
Tinderbox, flint & steel 4 SP
Waterskin 5 SP
Wine, 1 quart 4 SP
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By now, your character should be well-defined in terms of numbers and
stats, but the question is: Who is your character? Of all the tasks related to
creating a player character in an RPG system, this is the most difficult task
for most people. However, if you find yourself in this situation, don’t
despair.
Spontaneous growth
It is perfectly good to not have an idea of who your character is, their
personality and traits, and yet have a very enjoyable game session. It turns
out that most of the time, as you play your character, you will inevitably
develop certain characteristics as you play. Also, some of the actions
performed during gameplay spark ideas and concepts that will allow you
to define who your character is.
Sometimes, players who have a clear idea of who their character is
before starting off the very first game session see their character change
and grow, and sometimes becoming something quite different from their
original idea. This is good, as this means the player is really involved in the
game and using game events and game relationships to provide depth
to the character.
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You have decided to lead your friends into a world of adventure and
excitement. Fantastic! To do this, you need to understand how to run
combat, manage monsters, and keep track of all the happenings in every
session. It might sound daunting, but Perilous Ventures is designed to be
easy to run, with a few features that make running an adventure much
more manageable than other role-playing game systems.
This game uses the Opposed Roll Contest engine (ORC) to determine
combat, magic, and skill results.
In its most basic form in combat, there is an attacker and a defender.
Both sides roll the required amount of dice based on any modifiers. The
top die from each roll is picked. If the attacker’s highest die is higher than
the defender’s highest die, the attack is successful and inflicts damage. If
the defender wins, they avoid receiving damage.
We use the same mechanism when performing skill checks against a
person or creature. For example, if a player is trying to persuade a
non-player character (NPC) to perform a certain action, we roll for both
sides. In this case, if the player has higher top die roll result, the NPC is
convinced; otherwise, the player has been unsuccessful in its attempt.
The only die used in this system is the 6-sided die (d6), the reason for this
being accessibility; You can find six-sided dice everywhere, and can be
acquired cheaply (or taken on loan from common board games).
One of the best aspects of this system is that players are engaged all the
time, having to roll dice for both attacking and defending. Dice rolling is
one of the fun aspects of tabletop RPG systems, and ORC delivers on that
solidly.
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mechanism. These change the rolls being performed, altering the
chances of an action being successful.
Boost
One boost equals an additional d6 to include in the dice roll. But boosts
are not added to your roll sum total. If you have 1 boost for a roll, you will
roll 2d6 (basic d6 roll + 1 boost die), but as explained above, your final
result is determined by the highest die result. For example, if you rolled 4
and 1, you only keep the 4.
This process is exactly the same regardless of how many boosts you have;
you always keep only the highest die roll. The more boosts you have, the
greater the chances of rolling a higher number as the top die roll.
Drops
These are the opposite of boosts. For example, if you have 1 drop that
applies to your action, you would roll 2d6, then choose the lower die roll.
Using the same rolls from the example for boosts above, you would pick 1
as your final roll result.
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COMBAT
Combat is carried out by both attacker and target rolling dice; the
attacker to determine the success of the attack, and the target to
determine how successful it was in avoiding being hit and receiving
damage. However, before combat begins, we have to set the order the
players and monsters will perform their moves. This is determined by
initiative.
Initiative
Initiative for combatants is determined by group. This is a fundamental
change from how initiative is used in most systems, especially for player
characters.
Instead of rolling per player character, there is only one roll that represents
the complete character group. This simplifies the process, and allows
players to have full control of strategy, as they can choose and change
the fighting order per round. This eliminates having to keep track of things
like holding a player’s action waiting for a trigger from another player.
Initiative is rolled only once at the beginning of the encounter, before
actual combat actions take place.
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Surprise
Normally, if the highest initiative roll for a group is equal to 1, that is
considered surprised, and thus caught flat-footed and cannot act for one
round of combat. This is optional, and it is left to the discretion of the GM
based on the situation. Here are a few examples:
● If the characters make noise entering a dungeon room, whatever
monsters are inside will know about the character’s presence,
and will not be surprised. However, the characters could be
surprised in this situation, for example, if they did not listen for
noises or simply expect the room to be empty.
● If there is an ambush from either side, then it is obvious that the
side being ambushed has to roll for surprise, unless of course, they
already are expecting said ambush.
Use common sense with these situations as a GM, trust your instincts, and
go for what would be more enjoyable at that moment in the game.
Combat round
With initiative set, actual combat can begin. Combat events and actions
are sliced into rounds. A round is roughly equal to around six seconds of
real time. Within each round, there is a sequence of events that happen
when the players encounter an enemy and combat ensues.
This dice roll is for when a character or creature strikes with a physical
weapon, either melee or missile, or performs an unarmed strike. This also
includes creature attacks made with claws, biting, or similar types of
strikes.
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Action points
Each character class has a pool of Action Points (AP) available. These are
used differently by each character class; for warriors and thieves, they are
used to perform special combat maneuvers. For priests and wizards, it
determines their spellcasting capacity.
Pushing
A character can consume more than the number of AP available to
them, up to -3 AP. This is called pushing, as in pushing the limits of their
abilities. In the right situation, it could be the difference between victory
and defeat.
However, when a push happens, the character has over-exerted, and
some conditions will apply. They will be under the condition of exhaustion
as long as its AP are below zero, and of course cannot use any of its
abilities that require AP.
Once the character reaches zero AP, it is out of the exhaustion condition.
Events
Every combat round has a series of events that take place to determine
the results of the encounter. In its most basic form, these events are
49
composed of moving and attacking a target. The player in their given
round can carry out these events in any order.
Move
Characters and creatures can move away to hide, take cover, engage
an enemy, or any other reason that might be appropriate. They can also
choose not to move and remain in the same position. They might choose
to move first and perform an action later, or the opposite. There are
limitations to moving, as explained below.
Engaged (ZZ)
When two units are involved in melee combat against each other, they
are adjacent to each other (at or less than 5 feet away). Of course, you
do not have to be fighting a creature to be at that distance, but in terms
of combat, it is an easy way to convey the meaning.
Nearby (Z1)
Far (Z2)
Being 30 to 50 feet away from the target places you at Far distance.
Distant (Z3)
Away (Z4)
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Actions
Physical Attack
To perform a melee or missile strike against an opponent, the attacker
needs to roll their Physical Attack dice, and the defender rolls their
Physical Defense dice. If the attacker’s top die roll is greater than the
defender’s top die, the attack is successful and damage is immediately
applied.
Damage inflicted is counted as hit points, unless the target of the attack
has run out of hit points, in which case it will be lethal point damage. If the
attacker rolls a 6 for their top die, the attack will directly inflict a lethal
point for damage.
Cast a spell
A player or creature can choose instead to use their turn to cast a spell or
use a magical device like a scroll or staff. If the spell being cast is an
attack or something else for which the spell’s target is not a voluntary
target, the caster rolls the dice determined by their Magical Attack, and
the target rolls their Magical Defense dice. Damage (and its results
including any other spell effects) are applied immediately after a
successful attack.
As with physical attacks, damage inflicted is counted as hit points, unless
the target of the attack has run out of hit points, in which case it will be
counted as lethal point damage. If the attacker rolls a 6 for their top die,
the attack will directly inflict a lethal point for damage.
In the case of a spell that doesn’t affect a creature or object in particular,
illuminating an area with light for example, the caster must still roll their
Magical Attack roll to see if the spell is successful against a difficulty level.
This difficulty level, from 1 to 5, is set by the GM and is based on the
character’s current situation.
Defend
A player or creature might choose to defend. When doing this, the unit
cannot attack or cast spells, as its busy defending and trying not to be hit.
However, it gets 1 additional boost on all its physical and magical defense
rolls. The defend action lasts for the whole combat round, and must be
declared before the whole round begins (as opposed to declaring it on
their turn).
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Thief skills
A player running a thief character might need to use one of their skills in
the middle of combat. This will take up all the character’s action, so it will
not be able to attack, use a device, etc.
Damage
There are three types of damage a character can receive: Hit Points (HP),
Lethal Points (LP), and Death Points (DP).
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However, if the victim receives any additional hits after being stabilized,
each will count as a death point, and the death countdown starts again
on the next round after receiving the damage. If the victim at any point
runs out of death points, they are officially dead.
Non-combat time
The process is the same for non-combat time, but it’s accelerated. If a
character is dying, the player will need to roll d6 a number up times up to
the character’s Death Points.
For each death point roll, if the result is less than 8, the character loses 1
death point. If the roll is equal or higher than 8, the character is stabilized,
and is not dying anymore, going back immediately to zero on all hit
counts, regardless of how many rolls it had left.
Instant death
A character is immediately killed if it received more than their Death
Points in damage during combat.
Lethal damage
Weapons, spells, and creature attacks have a chance to inflict lethal
point damage whenever the attacker’s top die roll is a 6. Once a
character or creature runs out of hit points, all damage taken afterwards
is lethal point damage, regardless of the top die roll results.
Healing
Healing wounds works reverse of damage, meaning that lethal points are
healed first, then hit points. If a dying character is healed either by a priest
or through a potion, that character will immediately gain a lethal point
and become conscious.
Natural healing
Under normal circumstances, involving minimal or no medicinal care (and
of course, excluding magical healing), characters and creatures recover
1 point of damage per day, in the order established above.
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If a character is under the care of someone with a Medical background,
this number increases to 2 damage points per day.
Conditions
Not only can creatures receive damage reflected as hits, they can also
be subject to different conditions that affect their health and can
definitely endanger them in combat. Here are some common conditions,
caused by combat results and magical effects.
Asleep
The character or creature is sound asleep. All attacks against are
automatic and the sleeping target receives lethal point damage
regardless of damage delta. Loud sounds will wake up the sleeping
character or creature. You can wake up a sleeping creature with a loud
sound or simply by shaking or slapping.
Exhausted
A creature that is exhausted is awake but moves at half speed due to
exertion and tiredness, meaning that regularly it will take the creature two
rounds to move a whole zone. An exhausted creature can attack and
defend but will do so with 1 drop added to their roll, and no boosts can
be applied, regardless of their existing boosts when out of the exhaustion
condition.
Paralyzed
A stunned creature cannot act for a number of rounds that can vary
based on the source of the condition. It is awake but cannot react to
external actions, cannot move, talk or perform anything. Therefore, all
attacks against it are automatic and are lethal hits.
Unconscious
When a creature is unconscious, it cannot be woken up as easily as when
asleep. All attacks against it are automatic and the sleeping target
receives lethal point damage regardless of damage delta. To be
awakened, an unconscious character or creature needs to roll a d6, and
if the result is equal or higher than 4, they wake up.
Weapons
There are two types of weapons available for players, one-handed and
two-handed. Weapon selection can be limited by character class and
race. A weapon level determines how many boosts are added to the
attack roll, therefore affecting its chances of inflicting direct lethal points
to its target.
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One-Handed
These weapons add 1 boost to Physical Attack rolls. Examples of
one-handed weapons are daggers, clubs, hand axes, longswords, slings,
and morningstars.
Two-handed
THese type of weapons add 2 boosts to Physical Attack rolls. Examples of
these are: Two-handed swords, bastard swords, flails, great axes, all bows
and crossbows.
Armor
Most character classes can wear armor to protect themselves from
damage. Armor adds 1 boost to the wearer’s Physical Defense rolls. Any
type of armor provides this boost, therefore, armor selection is more of an
item of character appearance and characterization.
Shields
There’s only one type of shield available. A shield adds 1 boost to all of the
defender’s rolls, both Physical Defense and Magical Defense.
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SKILL CHECKS
Non-background checks
If a character has no relevant background to perform the task, the GM
needs to briefly analyze what the player intends to do and judge
accordingly. There might be actions that the GM decrees that it would be
impossible for the character to try to perform the action, for example,
forging a knife without the Armorer background.
On other occasions, there might be a chance for the character to
perform the task; for example, trying to emulate a signature without the
Embezzler b ackground. In such a situation, the GM can determine that
the skill check will be made with a straight 1d6 roll, or even add one or
more drops if the task is considered to be quite difficult, specific, or
obscure in nature.
Remember to keep the target difficulty score fixed, and do not change it
based on the character trying to perform the task; to make something
easier or more difficult, use the boost & drop system as needed.
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MONSTERS
The world of Perilous Ventures is of course filled with dangers and
challenges, and among these are, of course, monsters!
Monsters don’t stick completely to the parameters previously established
for player characters. Although they have all the same type of stats, skills
and characteristics, monsters have more arbitrary scores and attributes, to
show the diversity of size, power, and strength that can be found in the
dungeons. Here are the statistics that define a monster.
Monster stats
Statistics for monsters are presented as follows:
Hobgoblin
Damage HP 3 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Weapon.
Damage
This section presents how many points of damage the creature can take.
You have two scores: hit points (HP), and lethal points (LP).
Speed
This shows the movement speed of the creature in a combat round. It’s
presented in zones. When a monster shows a movement of 0, that doesn’t
mean that it can’t move, but rather that it moves only enough to cover a
distance of around five feet. When the creature is unable to move,
double dashes will be shown here.
Physical
This section shows the statistics used in physical combat, in the form of
how many dice need to be rolled for the action being performed. If the
number shown is followed by a negative sign, the roll being performed is
dropped (thus, the lowest die is picked).
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Attack
This is the number of dice rolled when performing a physical attack for the
monster.
Defense
This presents the number of dice to be rolled for the defense roll when
facing melee or missile combat, as long as it’s non-magical.
Magical
This section shows the statistics used in magical combat. Same as with the
Physical section above, for the attack and defense modifiers shown, If the
value shown is a positive value, boost the attack roll by that many dice.
If the number shown is a negative, drop the roll by the number indicated.
When a value of 0 is shown, that means that you just make a regular d6
roll for the monster.
Attack
This is the total number of dice that must be rolled when performing a
magical attack for the monster. It applies when using any spellcasting
abilities or when manipulating a magical device.
Defense
This presents the dice that need to be rolled for the defense roll when the
monster is the target of a magical attack.
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Attacks
This section describes the attacks available to the monster. Optionally, a
separate die can be rolled in the case of multiple attack types to
randomize the attack type performed; the numbers to be rolled for each
attack type will be shown in this area.
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MONSTER DESCRIPTIONS
A
Ant, giant
Damage HP 3 LP 2
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 3 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 1- TR --
Attacks Bite.
Ape, carnivorous
Damage HP 4 LP 2
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 3 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2- TR --
Attacks Punch, bite, body slam.
Assassin vine
Damage HP 5 LP 1
Speed 0
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2- TR --
Attacks Slam, grapple.
B
Basilisk
Damage HP 5 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, petrification
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Bite, tail lash.
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Bear, grizzly
Damage HP 6 LP 4
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, grapple.
Magical Attack -- Defense -3 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Bee, giant
Damage HP 0 LP 1
Speed 1, fly 2
Physical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6, poison.
Magical Attack -- Defense 2- TR --
Attacks Sting (dies after successful attack).
Bugbear
Damage HP 3 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks One-handed weapon.
C
Centaur
Damage HP 4 LP 3
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, LP, trample, prone.
Magical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Attacks Weapon, hooves, bite.
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Centipede, giant
Damage HP 0 LP 1
Speed 2
Physical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6, poison.
Magical Attack -- Defense -2 TR --
Attacks Bite.
Chimera
Damage HP 6 LP 3
Speed 1, fly 2
Physical Attack 3 Defense 2 TR 6, breath.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
D
Djinn
Damage HP 6 LP 5
Speed 1, fly 3
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, whirlwind, toss Z1.
Magical Attack 3 Defense 3 TR 6, 10 AP.
Attacks Unarmed, whirlwind, spells (Deceit, Truth, Change).
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Dragons
Unique, powerful, dangerous, dragons are magnificent creatures of
legend and lore. They can be symbols of justice and good as well as for
evil and death. They are reptilian in nature, with giant wings, long tails,
and powerful breath powers that can devastate large areas.
Aging
As dragons are able to live thousands of years, adventurers have a
chance of meeting dragons of different ages, from young,
barely-hatched ones, to adults at the peak of their power, to ancient,
dying dragons. Each dragon age range has its own stats, as these stats
apply to all types of dragons.
The following table shows how to modify the stats show for each dragon
description, which are presented at the adult age category, representing
the peak performance level for the dragon. One exception to this natural
decay is overall magical prowess; a dragon never stops growing in
magical power, thus an ancient dragon will be able to cast amazing,
powerful spells.
AGE HP LP PA PD MA MD AP
Hatchling -4 -2 -2 -2 -- -1 --
Juvenile -2 -1 -1 -1 -- 0 --
Adult 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mature 0 0 -1 -1 +1 0 +2
Old -2 -1 -2 -2 +2 +1 +4
Ancient -5 -3 -3 -2 +3 +2 +5
Scale Colors
Dragons are classified by the color of their scales, as these determine their
location, temperament, magic field, and type of breath weapon. For
playtesting purposes, all dragons have the same basic stats, with the
difference being the breath weapon.
COLOR BREATH WEAPON ATTACK MAGIC FIELD
Black Acid
Blue Lightning
Green Poisonous gas
Red Fire Element
White Freezing air blast
Dragon
Damage HP 10 LP 5
Speed 2, fly 5
Physical Attack 4 Defense 3 TR 5 lethal, 6 breath.
Magical Attack 3 Defense 3 TR 6, 8 AP.
Attacks Bite, claws, tail whip, breath weapon, spells.
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G
Gargoyle
Damage HP 3 LP 3
Speed 1, fly 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 3 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite, horn. Only hurt by magic & magic weapons.
Gelatinous cube
Damage HP 3 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 5, engulf.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Paralysis, engulf.
Ghoul
Damage HP 3 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 3 TR 6, shock.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Giant, Frost
Damage HP 10 LP 5
Speed 2
Physical Attack 4 Defense 2 TR 5
Magical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Attacks Weapon, fist, kick, toss boulder.
Goblin
Damage HP 1 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack 2- Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Light weapon.
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Griffon
Damage HP 5 LP 2
Speed 1, fly 4
Physical Attack 2 Defense 3 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
H
Hellhound
Damage HP 5 LP 2
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6, breath.
Magical Attack -- Defense 3 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite, fire breath.
Hobgoblin
Damage HP 3 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Weapon.
K
Kobold
Damage HP 1 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 2- Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Weapon.
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L
Lich
Damage HP 6 LP 4
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack 3 Defense 2 TR 6, 8 AP.
Attacks Weapon, spells (Death, Deceit or Ethereal).
Lizard Man
Damage HP 2 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 2- Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Claws, bite, weapon.
M
Manticore
Damage HP 6 LP 3
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 3 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Medusa
Damage HP 4 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, petrifying sight.
Attacks Weapon, sight.
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Minotaur
Damage HP 5 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 4 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Attacks Weapon, horns.
Mummy
Damage HP 3 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6, sickness.
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Claws.
O
Ogre
Damage HP 7 LP 4
Speed 1
Physical Attack 4 Defense 3 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Weapon.
Orc
Damage HP 4 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 3 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Weapon.
Owlbear
Damage HP 5 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6, hug grapple.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite, hug.
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P
Pegasus
Damage HP 4 LP 3
Speed 2, fly 4
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Hooves.
Pixie
Damage HP 1 LP 1
Speed 2
Physical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, AP 4.
Attacks Weapon, spells (Deceit).
R
Rat, giant
Damage HP 1 LP 1
Speed 2
Physical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6, disease.
Magical Attack -- Defense 3 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Rust monster
Damage HP 4 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 3 TR 6, rust metal.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Tail.
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S
Sabretooth
Damage HP 6 LP 2
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Shrieker
Damage HP 0 LP 1
Speed 0
Physical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks None, shriek when harmed, 2 zone range.
Skeleton
Damage HP 3 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Weapon.
Spider, giant
Damage HP 3 LP 1
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, tangle.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Bite, web.
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Sprite
Damage HP 1 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6, breath.
Magical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, AP 6.
Attacks Weapon, spell (Deceit or Life).
Stirge
Damage HP 1 LP 1
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 5, suck blood.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Bite.
T
Tentacle worm
Damage HP 3 LP 2
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6, paralysis.
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Bite.
Treant
Damage HP 6 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 4 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 2 TR 6
Attacks Fists.
Troglodyte
Damage HP 3 LP 2
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6, stench.
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 1
Attacks Weapon.
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Troll
Damage HP 6 LP 4
Speed 1
Physical Attack 3 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack 1 Defense 1 TR 6
Attacks Weapon.
U
Urgoblin
Damage HP 3 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6, AP 4.
Attacks Weapon, spells (Change or Deceit).
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W
Wolf
Damage HP 2 LP 1
Speed 2
Physical Attack 2 Defense 1 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 1 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Wraith
Damage HP 4 LP 3
Speed 1
Physical Attack 3 Defense 1 TR 6, unconscious.
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Claws, bite.
Z
Zombie
Damage HP 3 LP 1
Speed 1
Physical Attack 2 Defense 2 TR 6
Magical Attack -- Defense 2 TR --
Attacks Weapon.
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Damage capacity
For this, we can use the basic warrior as a measuring stick on how many
hit points and lethal points we’ll assign to the beast. Starting off, the
warrior character class is not intended to be as low-powered as what
usually is a first level character in your typical RPG system. It’s expected
that a warrior (and indeed, all the other classes) start off as a mid-low
level adventurer.
As a way to illustrate this, if we used a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being a total
newbie and 10 being a warfare expert, a character starts off as a 3.
Knowing this, now we have a good idea on where to start.
A warrior starts in its most basic form with 4 hit points and 2 lethal points.,
which means that if you want to create a monster weaker than a regular
warrior, it’s as easy as assigning less hit points and lethal points to your
creation. But what do those scores represent?
Hit points
These represent a combination of physical endurance with sheer
willpower and motivation. It determines how much damage someone
can take and ignore to a certain extent. Losing hit points doesn’t kill
someone outright, but it does weaken the player or creature, leading to
an eventual death.
Lethal points
You can think of lethal points as the actual bodily resistance of the
creature or player. That’s why losing all lethal points inevitably leads to
death. Thus, severe damage caused by solid weapon hits, spells, or an
accident, will cause the character or creature to take lethal point
damage directly.
Speed
A regular player character moves 1 zone per combat round, which is
about 25-30 feet. Based on this, make a calculation and estimating how
quick the creature is, establish a base speed, measured in zones.
If the monster possesses an additional method of movement, like flying,
assign a (usually higher) value for this.
Attacks
What kind of attacks does this monster perform? It might be as simple as a
weapon or a bite attack, or something more complicated as an attack,
such as entangling the victim, or poisoning. You can also have a special
attack that is triggered by the monster’s TR; usually that would be its most
deadly strike.
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CHARACTER GROWTH
Measuring progress
Progress and advancement is measured by the number of successful
experiences (SX) that a player character survives, which works somewhat
as a mix between the classic experience point system, and the more
modern milestone progress system.
Note that evaluating what counts as a valid SX depends on the judgment
of the Game Master, but there are basic guidelines that they can follow
to award these appropriately.
Measuring growth
To demonstrate growth in a palpable way that affects gameplay in a way
advantageous to the player, some aspects of the character are modified
as time goes on and they gain more SX.
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Action points
Action points are used for special maneuvers and for casting spells. For
every 10 SX gained by a player character, they gain 1 extra AP for their
pool.
Hit points
For every 20 SX gained by the player character, their hit point count will
increase by 1.
Lethal points
For every 60 SX gained by the player character, their lethal point count
will increase by 1.
New background
As an optional measure of growth, and usually at the end of an
adventure, the Game Master might want to grant one or more player
characters an additional background based on the adventure they’ve
completed. For example, if in the adventure the players spent a very large
amount of time on a seafaring ship, the GM might want to give the
characters a Sailor background.
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DESIGNING ADVENTURES
Zone maps
This system, with its emphasis on theater of the mind play style, uses a
simplified type of map for adventures, called a zone map. This type of
map is closer to a diagram or flowchart than to an actual map, and it
greatly simplifies the adventure creation process. This is not something
original to this system; zone maps have been used even in systems with
precise distance measurements such as Dungeons & Dragons 5e.
As an example on how to write your zone maps, we will be using a
regular, gridded map as a starting point and use that as a base on which
we will write the map using the simplified mapping system. This way it’ll be
easier for you to understand the concepts behind zone maps.
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Although this is a rather simple map, it can be further simplified if we
represent it like this:
Now we’re not even bothering with measurements, or shapes. We can
quickly diagram a layout that will essentially perform the same function as
the grid map, but it’s much easier to draw and arguably is easier to read.
Here’s how.
Size
There’s some information that is “lost” when moving towards a zone map,
and that is detailed room size information. This can easily be annotated
on the map notes if needed. But instead of writing down exact room
measurements, you can write down the dimensions in terms of zones (see
the section Move under Events) .
In the Combat > Events section above, we learned that zones are around
25’ in size in any direction. A room’s size is relevant only in relation to
character and monster movement. Therefore, in a combat round, a
character will be easily able to move freely in a room that is 25’ or less in
size. If a room is bigger than that, then you know it is 2 zones in size, and a
character might need more than one round to move to one extreme to
the other.
The word might needs to be emphasized, because this depends on how
big you’ve imagined the room to be and where the character is located
at that point in time. This is where theater of the mind comes into play.
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It’s up to you as the Game Master to judge if the character could move
to one of the room’s walls in one round. To illustrate with actual distances,
if a character is in a room that is 2 zones wide, but it’s in the middle of the
room at that moment, it could easily reach the walls on either the left or
right sides, since it would actually me a 1 zone move.
For more detailed notes, you could write down width, length and height
zone size for rooms. For example, in the case of our Temple of Gan map,
you could represent the main hall’s size--which is on the map 40’ wide, by
20’ long, and 15’ tall--simply as W2, L1, H1.
Appearance
Traditionally, room descriptions are detailed in a narrative form. Some
game modules even go as far as having a highlighted section that's to be
read to the players.
Writing this kind of prose can be a bit daunting. However, there's an easier
way to write up room descriptions, and that is to split the room's
characteristics in the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Instead of writing paragraphs of descriptions, write bullet points for each
sense. We recommend you start with sight, as it's usually the very first thing
we perceive when walking into an area. Then continue on with the other
senses as required. If the room doesn't need a particular sensory
description, like taste, simply skip that item from the description.
Scene
What is happening in this room? Are there monsters lurking and waiting to
attack the heroes? Is there a trap? Or will they find an important NPC in
this area? All these questions are answered in this section. You will also
note here any information that might be for your eyes only, like what will
happen if one of the heroes pulls that lever on the far wall.
Monsters
If needed, we can add a section for any monsters that will be found in this
room by the heroes. Use the simple linear notation to write in the monsters’
stats and information, including how many of these are found in the area.
People
It might be that the heroes might find other people in the room, like a
prisoner, a lost adventurer, or a stalking thief. Write down the information
for the NPC in this area, using the linear notation used for them.
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Main Nave
Size
Appearance
● Sight: Dust everywhere, light enters through broken stained glass
windows, worn out and scratched pews on both sides of the
room.
● Sound: Every sound echoes throughout the area. Sound of
dripping water.
● Smell: Dust, mildew, decaying flesh.
Scene
● There are a few kobolds here resting and not really paying
attention to their surroundings. A couple of them are eating some
nondescript food, and the others are having a conversation in
hushed tones.
Monsters
● 4 Kobolds: HP 1, LP 1, Speed 1, PA 1, PD 2, MA 2-, MD 1, Attack:
Weapon.
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MAGICAL ITEMS
Item type
The very first aspect to define is what type of item it is. Is it a weapon, like a
longsword? Is it a scroll? A potion? Think of what you want to achieve with
this magical item, and based upon that select the best option for your
game.
The item type also defines which character class can use it, as explained
in the following table.
ITEM TYPE PRIEST THIEF WARRIOR WIZARD
Armor X X X
Potion X X X X
Rod X X
Scroll X X
Shield X X
Staff X X X X
Wand X X
Weapon X X X X
Wearable X X X X
Armor
Armor can be enchanted to provide more protection, or it can cause
certain magical effects upon the wearer, or the creatures surrounding the
wearer.
Potion
A potion is a chemical preparation in liquid form, which bestows the
drinker (and sometimes just by pouring it over someone or something) with
some sort of magical effect.
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Rod
A rod is usually some sort of decorated or gilded stick, about 18 to 24
inches in length, and sometimes decorated with some sort of jewels or
metals at the top, looking similar to a mace. Rods usually have permanent
magical effects associated with them.
Scroll
A scroll is a piece of parchment or other type of paper that contains an
incantation in written form. Reading this scroll out will cause the magical
effect in it to take effect, and the scroll itself to burn up quickly and
become unusable, therefore scrolls are single-use items.
Shield
A magic-imbued combat shield will provide an effect like increased
protection from a regular shield, or might have some other effects on the
wearer, or the surrounding creatures.
Staff
A staff is usually much longer than a rod, from 48 to 72 inches in length,
and similar to rods, they can be richly decorated, although they can be
very plain and simple too.
Staves usually have permanent magical effects imbued into them,
although this doesn’t have to be the case necessarily. They can also be
used as basic bludgeoning weapons if needed, like a quarterstaff.
Wand
These are thin sticks, usually 12 to 18 inches in length, light and portable. A
wand can be used multiple times like rods and staves, however, most of
the time they have a limited set of charges imbued into them.
Weapon
These are just combat weapons that have been imbued with some
magical property. They can cause a particular effect, or just simply
provide bonuses when attacking opponents. Note that magical weapon
usage is still limited by the character’s class; therefore, a wizard cannot
use a magical longsword, for example.
Wearables
This includes things like rings, bracelets, necklaces, medallions, robes, and
cloaks. Basically anything that can be worn as
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Magic field
As anything else related to magic in this game, you must choose a magic
field for the item. Choose from any one of the ten magic fields available.
Effects
Choose from one to three magical effects for the item. Most regular
magic items will have just one magical effect. More powerful devices will
probably have more than one effect.
Remember that the effects have to tie in directly with the magic field
chosen, as this keeps consistency within the system, plus it becomes a very
important characteristic for priests when wielding these devices.
Usage
Magical items can have a permanent effect, or a limited set of uses,
either on a daily basis or throughout its lifetime.
Permanent
Things like magical armor, shields, or wearables usually have permanent
effects attached to them. For example, a Leather Armor of Preservation
that provides a permanent boost for Physical Defense rolls, or a Bow of
Truth that receives a permanent boost to Physical Attack rolls performed
with it.
Limited
There are two ways to handle magical items that have limited usage. The
first method is to have the item possess a set number of uses per day.
The second way to handle it is to have the item has a set number of uses
for its lifetime. This is usually applied to smaller items like wands, although
the magical effects chosen tend to be more powerful to balance out this
disadvantage.
Some items will have a single use, like potions, which need to be drunk
fully to get the desired effect.
Description
Finally, stop for a second and dream up a fantastic appearance for the
device. Does it glow? Is it intricately engraved with gold and silver? Is it
made out of a strange blue wood? Let your imagination run wild!
You can also think of a name for the device, especially if it’s rather
powerful or special.
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Type Wand
Effect Creates a wall of rock and dirt 1 zone wide by 1 zone
tall. This wall has 6 HP, 2 LP.
Description This wand is about a foot long, and it’s made out of
gray, weathered wood which is textured to resemble
stacked rocks.
Seeker Longbow
Type Weapon
Effect This bow allows the wielder to choose one target at a
time. After that, any shots against the chosen target
have the chance of hitting with 1 boost, even if the
target is completely hidden behind cover.
Usage Permanent.
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Type Armor
Effect This armor makes the wearer harder to hit by blurring
and distorting the attacker’s sight when striking the
wearer. It adds 1 drop to the attacker’s Physical Attack
rolls.
Usage Permanent.
Type Potion
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