You are on page 1of 14

Six Sided Sagas ™

Written and Designed by James Drake Hargrove


Six-Sided Sagas is Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005 by James Drake Hargrove
Introduction Reasoning - This descriptor represents a
character’s overall intellect. It is used whenever a
Six-Sided Sagas is intended to be a simple character attempts to perform an action related to
fantasy roleplaying system that is easily adaptable to their intellect.
any setting that you may so choose to play in. The
primary design goals of the system are ease of use Perception - This descriptor represents a
and the facilitation of fun. The system as it is character’s perception. It is used whenever a
presented here may be reproduced for personal use character attempts to perform an action related to
and distributed without charge, provided that it is not their ability to perceive the world around them.
altered in any way, shape, or form.
In order to play a game using the Six-Sided All players begin with a total of fifteen points
Sagas rules, you will need access to some pencils (or to distribute amongst their character’s core
pens), paper, and several six-sided dice for each descriptors. At this time, no core descriptor may have
player. Outside of this the only requirements are a more than five or less than one point assigned to it.
healthy imagination and a willingness to work A player rolls one six-sided die for each point
cooperatively with others in an effort to have fun. allocated to a core descriptor whenever their
character attempts to do anything related to that
core descriptor. For example:
Creating Characters
All characters created using the Six-Sided Richard’s character attempts to kick in a
Sagas rules are defined by different types of door. This task directly relates to a character’s
descriptors. Descriptors are words and/or numbers strength. Richard’s character has three points
used to identify and quantify certain aspects of a allocated to the Strength core descriptor, so Richard
character. The two primary types of descriptors used rolls three six-sided dice when his character attempts
in Six-Sided Sagas are core descriptors and trait to kick in the door.
descriptors.
Once players have allocated these fifteen
points to their character’s core descriptors, they may
Core Descriptors move onto the next step of creating a character as
Core descriptors quantify the basic physical outlined below.
and mental aspects of a character. Each character
created usin g the Six-Sided Sagas system is initially Trait Descriptors
defined by five such core descriptors as follow.
Trait Descriptors describe and quantify
Strength - This descriptor represents the overall specific aspects of any given character, including
physical strength of a character. It is used whenever cultures, nationalities, races, professions, and skill
a character attempts to perform an action related to aptitudes. There is no definitive list of trait descriptors
their physical strength. given their broad range of application, though the
following list presents some common examples.
Agility - This descriptor represents the overall
physical prowess of a character. It is used whenever Acrobatic (Natural Aptitude)
a character attempts to perform an action related to Bard (Profession)
their physical prowess. Elf (Race)
High Elf (Culture/Race)
Endurance - This descriptor represents the overall Melee Combat (Skill Aptitude)
physical and mental fortitude of a character. It is Roman (Nationality)
used whenever a character attempts to perform an Soldier (Profession)
action related to their physical or mental fortitude. Sorcery (Skill Aptitude)
Swimming (Skill Aptitude)
Thief (Profession)

-1-
Trait descriptors are used in conjunction with The following list of equipment is provided
core descriptors when a character attempts to as a point of reference for those players creating
perform a task to which they relate. Each trait home-brewed fantasy settings using these rules.
descriptor that a character possesses that is related While not all-encompassing, this list includes pieces
to a given action or task that said character is of equipment considered to be standard fare for
attempting to perform allows a player to roll three many fantasy settings. Prices listed are in Coins of the
additional six-sided dice. For example: Realm.

Kurt’s character is attempting to pick the lock


Miscellaneous Equipment Cost
on a small chest. This task directly relates to a
character’s physical prowess. Kurt’s character has two Small Belt Pouch 1
point allocated to the Agility core descriptor, so Kurt
rolls two six-sided dice when his character attempts to Large Leather Backpack 5
pick the lock. Kurt’s character also has the trait
descriptor “thief”. This allows Kurt to roll an additional Small Burlap Sack 2
three dice when his character attempts to pick the Large Burlap Sack 4
lock, for a total of five dice.
Hemp Rope (50' Length) 4
All players may choose five trait descriptors
at this time. The exact nature of the chosen trait Hooded Oil Lantern 15
descriptors is left entirely up to the players, though
Ceramic Flask of Lantern Oil 5
the Referee can veto any trait descriptor that they
think inappropriate. Large Pitch Torch 1
Once players have decided upon their
choice of five trait descriptors and had these choices Tinder Box w/ Striker 4
approved by the Referee, they may move onto the
next step of creating a character as described below. Wooden Stakes (6) 3

Metal Stakes (6) 5


Hero Points
Canvas Tarp (5'x9') 3
Hero points grant players a degree of
authorial control during actual play, allowing them to Bed Roll or Blanket 4
influence the course of game. That is, hero points
are used by players to alter the course of events in a Salt Cured Rations (1 day) 2
game that utilizes the Six-Sided Sagas system.
Uncured Rations (1 day) 4
The many uses of hero points are examined
in later sections of these rules, for now all you need Waterskin (2 liter capacity) 3
to know is that characters begin play with a total of
25 hero points. Metal Flask (1 liter capacity) 6

Crude Metal Spyglass 30


Equipment
Set of Lock Picks 20
Finally, players need to choose what
equipment their characters will begin play with. Parchment, Ink, Quill, and Case 15
Equipment is purchased with Coins of the Realm (a
generic currency used to represent the standard
currency in your favorite setting for purposes of
character creation). All characters begin with one- Articles of Clothing Cost
hundred coins to spend on equipment common to
Common Cloth Tunic or Breeches 1 per
the setting in which the game will be played.

-2-
Fine Cloth Tunic or Breeches 3 per Armor Name Defense Cost

Leather Tunic or Breeches 5 per Cloth Padding End+2 10

Common Cloth Cloak or Cape 3 per Soft Leather Armor End+1d6 20

Fine Cloth Cloak or Cape 6 per Studded Leather Armor End+1d6+1 25

Heavy Fur Cloak or Cape 8 per Ringmail Armor End+1d6+2 35

Common Leather Boots or Shoes 10/pair Chainmail Armor End+2d6 50

Fine Leather Boots or Shoes 15/pair Field Plate Armor End+2d6+2 100

Girdle, Belt, or Clasp 2 per Full Plate Armor End+3d6 150

Small Shield (Buckler) Agi+2 20


Weapon Name Damage Cost
Large Shield (Kite) Agi+1d6 40
Blackjack/Sap Str+1 3
Tower Shield Agi+1d6+2 60
Dagger/Dirk Str+2 8
Metal Gauntlets Agi+1 20
Club/Cudgel Str+1d6 6
Helm/Helmet End+1 25/30
Short Sword Str+1d6+1 15

Long Sword Str+1d6+2 25 Alternate Creation Rules


Great Sword Str+2d6 60 If you feel that the rules as presented here
do not allow for the creation of suitably heroic
Mace Str+1d6+2 25 characters (or, alternately, that they allow for the
creation of characters that are too heroic), you may
Morning Star Str+2d6 60 adjust the default number of points available for
distribution amongst the core descriptors, the
Morning Star Flail Str+2d6+1 75
number of trait descriptors available to players, or
War Hammer Str+1d6+2 30 anything else that you so choose to adjust (I promise
that I won’t beat down your door for doing so).
Light Crossbow Per+1d6 80 Some Referees may choose to set different
point limits on core descriptors for certain races or
Medium Crossbow Per+1d6+1 100 cultures, require specific trait descriptors to be taken,
Heavy Crossbow Per+1d6+2 120 or even limit the starting funds of some characters.
Any such changes to these rules are perfectly
Short Bow Per+2 40 acceptable, provided that the majority of players are
comfortable with them.
Long Bow Per+3 60

Halberd Str+2d6+2 90 Basic Task Resolution


Javelin/Spear Str+1d6+2 40 Whenever a player wishes their character to
perform an action or undertake a task, they will need
Quarter Staff Str+1d6 30 to roll some six-sided dice. There are two kinds of
basic task resolution utilized in the Six-Sided Sagas
rules - unopposed task resolution and opposed task
resolution.

-3-
Unopposed Task Resolution performing. Once the dice have been rolled, the
player totals all of the dice results. If the total of the
Whenever a player wishes their character to dice results equals or exceeds the difficulty rating
perform an action that is not directly opposed by assigned to the action or task by the Referee, the
another character, the unopposed task resolution character has successfully performed the action. For
method should be used to determine the outcome of example:
the character’s efforts.
First, the player will state the nature of the Melissa rolls all seven six-sided dice and
action that they wish their character to perform. The totals the results. The final total of the dice is 21. If
more detailed the player’s description of the action to this result equals or exceeds the difficulty rating that
be performed is, the better, as it will help the Referee the Referee assigned to Olivia’s action of swinging
to better judge the situation. over the small ravine on a vine, then Olivia has
Once the player has described the nature of successfully done so.
the action that they wish their character to perform,
the Referee will assess the perceived difficulty of the Opposed Task Resolution
action described and assign a difficulty rating to it.
The following table lists some sample difficulty ratings Whenever a player wishes their character to
for the Referee to consider. perform an action that is directly opposed by another
character, the opposed task resolution method
should be used to determine the outcome of the
Perceived Difficulty Difficulty Rating
character’s efforts.
Simple No Roll - Auto Success An opposed task resolution check is not that
different from an unopposed task resolution check,
Easy 5-9 except that instead of pitting their character’s abilities
against a static difficulty rating assigned by the
Average 10-19 Referee, players will be pitting their character’s
Difficult 20-29 abilities against those of another character.
First, the player will state the nature of the
Near Impossible 30+ action that they wish their character to perform and
roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the rating of
Impossible No Roll - Auto Failure the core descriptor most relevant to the task, plus
three extra six-sided dice for each trait descriptor that
After the Referee has assigned a difficulty the character possesses which directly relates to the
rating to the action being performed by a character, task. For example:
the player whose character is attempting the action
rolls a number of six-sided dice equal to the rating of Rob wants his character, Jensen, to sneak
the core descriptor most relevant to the task, plus past the guard at the entrance to the city jail. This
three extra six-sided dice for each trait descriptor that action relates to Jensen’s physical prowess. Jensen
the character possesses which directly relates to the has three points allocated to his Agility core descriptor
task. For example: and has the trait descriptor “sneaking”. Rob rolls six
six-sided dice, and obtains a total roll result of 18.
Melissa states that she wants her character,
Olivia, to swing across a small ravine on a vine. After the aggressor (the player initiating the
Olivia has four points allocated to her Agility core opposed action) has generated a total roll result, the
descriptor and possesses the trait descriptor defender (the player of the opposing character) rolls
“acrobat”, so Melissa would roll a total of seven six- a number of dice equal to the number of points that
sided dice. the opposing character (or creature) has allocated to
the most relevant core descriptor, plus three
When a player rolls dice, the outcome of the additional dice for each relevant trait descriptor that
roll determines whether or not their character is the opposing character possesses. For example:
successful at the action or task which they are

-4-
The city guard in the aforementioned situational modifiers to any die roll made by a player.
example is on the lookout for intruders. The guard has A situational modifier is, simply, a penalty or bonus
two points allocated to the Perception core descriptor applied to the amount of dice that a player rolls
and the trait descriptor “city guard”. The Referee when their character is performing an action.
therefore rolls five six-sided dice, receiving a total roll For instance, if a player’s character is
result of 14. attempting to scale a cliff face in sunny weather,
armed with pitons, a hammer, and rope, the Referee
Once both the aggressor and the defender may grant the player an extra two dice to roll when
have generated a total roll result, the totals are determining the outcome of their attempt to climb the
compared. If the aggressor’s total meets or exceeds cliff face.
the total generated by the defender, then the Likewise, if a player’s character is attempting
aggressor’s character successfully accomplishes the to scale a cliff face during a snowstorm, armed with
action that they were attempting. If the total only their two hands, the Referee may tell the player
generated by the defender exceeds the aggressor’s that they have to roll two dice less than they normally
total, then the aggressor’s character has been bested would to determine the outcome of their character’s
by the character that was opposing their action. climbing attempt.

Hero Points and Task Resolution Combat Resolution


Players may expend hero points to increase In a game utilizing the Six-Sided Sagas rules,
their character’s chance of successfully performing combat is defined as any character action whose
an action. To do so, a player merely states that they express intent and immediate outcome if successful
are spending a number of their character’s hero is to inflict damage to another character or creature.
points to bolster a task resolution roll, and subtracts A combat encounter begins whenever an action
the stated number of hero points from their intended to inflict damage to another character or
character’s total number of hero points available. creature is announced.
This statement must be made prior to the rolling of There are two basic types of combat in a
any dice. game that utilizes the Six-Sided Sagas rules - hand to
For each hero point that a player opts to hand combat and ranged combat. When a character
spend in this manner, they may roll one additional attacks an opponent with their bare hands or with a
six-sided die when making a task resolution roll, melee weapon, they are considered to be engaging
damage roll, or armor roll for their character. Any in hand to hand combat. When a character attacks
hero points spent in this manner are forever gone, an opponent with a projectile weapon or a thrown
regardless of whether or not the result of the object, they are considered to be engaging in ranged
resolution roll favors the character. For example: combat.

Casey states that she wants her character, Hand to Hand Combat
Anwar, to decipher an ancient scroll that he has
obtained. This action relates directly to Anwar’s Hand to hand combat is resolved using the
intellect, and unfortunately, he only has one point rules for opposed task resolution, the attacking
allocated to his Reasoning core descriptor. character being directly opposed by the intended
Prior to rolling any dice, Casey states that target of their attack. For instance:
she will be expending three of Anwar’s hero points to
bolster his chances of successfully deciphering the Keane’s character, Gaijin Hiro finds himself
scroll. This allows Casey to roll four six-sided dice, squaring off against a hopping vampire in a forest
rather than one, to determine whether or not Anwar’s clearing. Oathbound to destroy the undead wherever
attempt to decipher the scroll is successful. he may find them, Gaijin draws his katana and
attacks the loathsome creature.
Situational Modifiers Keane has stipulated that the sword-fighting
style Gaijin utilizes is one that emphasizes grace and
The Referee may, at their option, impose

-5-
speed, therefore Gaijin’s Agility core descriptor with enters the corridor ahead of Hedrick. Tom states that
a rating of four is the relevant descriptor in this he wants Hedrick to shoulder his crossbow and fire on
combat. Gaijin also has the trait descriptor “Undead the surprised goblin.
Hunter”, meaning that Keane rolls a total of seven six-
sided dice. In the previous example, Tom has initiated
Although hopping vampires aren’t the combat against the goblin mercenary. Occasionally,
brightest creatures on Earth, they know that getting combat will be initiated from hiding. Initiating combat
chopped in half isn’t pleasant. In this case, the from a hidden vantage point is known as ambushing.
hopping vampire in question has two whole dice An example of an ambush follows:
allocated to his Agility core descriptor, meaning the
Referee will roll a total of two six-sided dice on behalf As a group of heroes in service to the city of
of the bloodsucker. Stronghold is patrolling the Gunarssön Gap, the
The Referee rolls two six-sided dice and Referee informs their players that suddenly, without
generates a total roll result of 10, while Keane rolls warning, an arrow erupts from the surrounding dense
seven six-sided dice and generates a total roll result of undergrowth and flies towards the heroes.
15. Gaijin’s attack against the hopping vampire
succeeds. In the example above, the Referee (playing
the role of a hidden adversary) has initiated combat
Ranged Combat against the group of heroes. As these examples
illustrate, initiating combat is a simple matter of
Ranged combat is resolved using the rules stating a character’s intent to cause harm first.
for unopposed task resolution, as the target of a
ranged attack is incapable of actively defending The Combat Turn Explained
against it (unless the players and the Referee decide
otherwise, naturally). For example: Combat is divided into increments of time
called turns. Each turn represents the passage of one
Tim’s character, Lord Sidhain Chamberlain second of time in the game world. A player whose
Smythe is firing a crossbow at his assailant who is character is involved in combat takes a turn to
currently charging him on horseback. Lord Sidhain resolve a single stated action per the basic rules for
has three dice allocated to his Perception core conflict resolution. For example:
descriptor and the trait descriptor of “Deadly Aim”,
allowing Tim to roll six dice when firing the crossbow Tom states that his character, Hedrick, is
at his assailant. using a crossbow to attack an Ork that has just
The Referee decided that taking down a emerged from a side tunnel into the room that
mounted assailant with a single crossbow bolt will be Hedrick occupies. Tom will use a single turn to resolve
difficult at best, and so assigns a difficulty rating of 20 this stated action, determining whether or not
to Lord Sidhain’s attack. Tim rolls six dice and Hedrick’s attack is successful.
generates a total roll result of 23 - Lord Sidhain’s bolt
flies true and knocks the assailant from his mount. Similarly, in the example of an ambush given
previously, the Referee would use a turn to resolve
Initiating Combat the action of the hidden enemy, determining whether
or not their arrow hits its intended target.
Combat is initiated whenever any player,
including the Referee, announces that a character Taking Turns In Combat
under their control is attempting to harm a character
controlled by another player (again, including the The character that initiates a given combat
Referee). For example: always takes their turn first. Indeed, the action that
initiated combat is considered to be the first turn in
As Tom’s character, Hedrick, is carefully any given combat by default. For instance, in the
making his way down a corridor in the Goblin King’s example of the ambush, the Referee would take their
lair, the Referee informs Tom that an Ork mercenary

-6-
turn first and in the example of Hedrick attacking the “Damage” on the weapon table found in the
Ork, Tom would take his turn first. equipment section of these rules (the exception being
Once the outcome of the initial combat a punch or kick, which always deals an amount of
action has been resolved, all players whose damage equal to a character’s Strength core
characters are affiliated with the character that descriptor). For example:
initiated combat take a turn; beginning with the
player seated to the immediate left of the player Nick’s character, Juvat has successfully
whose character initiated the combat engagement landed a sword blow with his rapier upon the person
and progressing clockwise around the room and/or of his arch-nemesis, Javier Sandoval. The Referee and
table. For example: Nick agree that a rapier is effectively a longsword, a
weapon that deals “Str+1d6+2" points of damage.
A group of heroes has had the misfortune to Nick rolls one six-sided die and adds 2, plus
run across a patrol of six Ork mercenaries behind Juvat’s Strength core descriptor rating of 3 to the
enemy lines. Rather than take the chance that these result of the die. The final total is a result of 8. Juvat’s
Orks may alert other enemy troops in the vicinity, one attack potentially inflicts eight points of damage to
of the players controlling a hero decides to initiate Javier Sandoval.
hand-to-hand combat with the Ork patrol, hoping to
silently kill them before they can alert any more
mercenaries. Whenever an attack strikes an armored
Once the outcome of this initial action has target, there is a chance that the armor will reduce
been resolved, the first player sitting to the left of the the amount of damage being dealt - possibly
player who initiated combat that controls a hero will negating it altogether. Armor protects against a given
take their action, followed by the first player to their amount of damage as indicated in the column
left that controls a hero, and so on. entitled “Defense” on the armor table located in the
equipment section of these rules. For example:
Note that, unlike other players, the Referee
may control many characters at once and may take Javier Sandoval in the previous example was
a turn for each such character during a combat. For dealt a nasty rapier blow by his arch-nemesis, Juvat.
instance, had one of the Ork mercenaries from the Luckily for Javier, he is wearing soft leather armor that
previous example (characters that are controlled by protects him against “End+1d6" points of damage.
the Referee) initiated combat, the Referee would have The Referee rolls one six-sided die and adds
taken a turn for each of the other Orks, as well. Javier’s Endurance core descriptor rating of 2 to the
After every character that is affiliated with the result of the die for a final total result of 5. Sandoval
initiating character has had a turn taken on their is protected against five points damage, thus he has
behalf, the players of those characters that did not sustained three points of damage from Juvat’s attack
initiate combat may take their turns in the same (8-5=3).
fashion (i.e. proceeding in a clockwise fashion
around the room and/or table). Any damage sustained by characters in
combat is subtracted from their hero point total,
Damage and Dying reducing the amount of authorial control that a
player has at their immediate disposal, thus reflecting
When a character is successfully hit by an the hindering nature of injuries. Non-player
attack, they may sustain damage. The amount of characters (characters controlled by the Referee) die
damage that a character sustains when they are when their hero point total is reduced to zero in this
successfully hit by an attack is determined by two manner. Player characters, on the other hand,
factors - the weapon with which they are struck and typically don’t die unless something really bad
any armor that they are wearing (or wielding, in the happens to them.
case of shields). Player characters are regularly roughed up -
Whenever a character’s attack successfully but they don’t regularly die. Player characters are,
strikes its intended target, it deals an amount of after all, heroes - and what kind of hero goes around
damage as indicated in the column entitled

-7-
getting themselves killed on a regular basis? When a difficulty that the Referee assigned to the healing
player character’s hero point total is reduced to zero attempt. For example:
as the result of injury in combat, they’re merely
knocked unconscious - not killed. Doug’s character, Darius Thorne, has been
As mentioned previously, the only time that injured in combat to the tune of ten lost hero points
a player character should fear death is when and a nasty laceration across his belly. Thankfully,
something really bad happens to them - and even Darius’ traveling companion, Mortimer is a practicing
then, the Referee should provide the characters an physician (Mortimer possesses the trait descriptor
opportunity to extricate themselves from the “medical healing”). The Referee decides that the
predicament. That said, if a player doesn’t take treatment of Darius’ wound is a Perception related
advantage of these opportunities to save their action and assigns it a difficulty rating of 12.
character, acts against advice from the Referee (“No, Mortimer has a Perception rating of 2 and,
your character can’t leap over a fifty foot wide chasm as previously mentioned, the trait descriptor “medical
- it’s impossible.”), or otherwise laughs in the face of healing” . Mortimer’s player rolls five six-sided dice
imminent danger... well, their character deserves to and achieves a total roll result of 18, thus, Mortimer’s
die. medical healing attempt restores six lost hero points
to Darius (18-12=6) and significantly minimizes the
discomfort he feels from his wound.
Gritty Injury (Option): If you want your
campaign to be dark and gritty, ruling that player
characters die when their hero points are reduced Gritty Medicine (Option): An easy way to
to zero (like non-player characters do) is an easy add a sense of grit to a campaign that utilizes Six-
way to establish this kind of atmosphere. It should Sided Sagas is to stipulate that medical healing
also prompt players to be more cautious when attempts falling short of exceeding an assigned
making decisions that could effect their character. difficulty rating further injure a character. In such
instances, the character under the knife loses a
number of hero points equal to the amount by
Healing Injuries which the total roll result falls short of the
In Six-Sided Sagas, a character may heal assigned difficulty rating.
their injuries (and regain lost hero points) in three
different ways - they can rest for extended periods of
time, they can receive medical attention, or they can As a rule, medicine may only be used to
be healed using magic. treat any given injury once - that is, a character
First, resting for an extended period of time cannot regain more hero points by having the same
is usually the easiest way to heal injuries and regain injury treated multiple times.
lost hero points. Every eight hours of uninterrupted Finally, the last healing option available to a
sleep that a character receives, restores two lost hero character is that provided by magic. Unlike resting
points and heals a relatively minor wound. The more for extended periods of time, magical healing is
uninterrupted sleep that a character receives in instantaneous - and unlike medicinal treatments,
blocks of eight hours, the more lost hero points they magic may be applied to the same wound multiple
regain and the more injuries (or more serious times and continue to produce results. That said, any
injuries) they heal. use of magic has its own drawbacks (explained later
In some instances, sleeping uninterrupted in these rules) - for now, though, we’re concerned
for eight hours at a time may not be an option - with what happens when healing magic functions
traveling conditions may make such sleep impossible, properly.
or time constraints may make it impractical. In such Magical healing works similar to medicinal
instances, the preferred method of healing wounds healing - the casting character makes an unopposed
is via simple medicine. A character that is the subject check with the stated intent of healing another
of a medicinal healing attempt regains a number of character’s injuries. If this roll is successful, the
lost hero points equal to the amount by which the subject (the injured character) of the spell being cast
practicing character’s total roll result exceeds the regains a number of hero points equal to the amount

-8-
by which the casting character’s total roll result Grigori theorized that magic is a nebulous
exceeded the assigned difficulty rating. catalyst that, when invoked, initiates transformation
of subjective thought to physical reality. If Grigori is
Magic and Theory correct, his theory explains why the effects of magic
and its mode of application vary so greatly from one
In games that utilize Six-Sided Sagas, arcane individual practitioner to another. If magic is, indeed,
energies are invoked and commanded by audibly a catalyst for transforming subjective thought into
reciting similarly arcane syllables that have been physical reality, it has no discernable form of its own
chained together to form words. These words have (as yet identified, in any case).
themselves been chained together to form languages According to Grigori, this is the case - by
over the centuries, the end result of this linguistic default magic is not good or evil, black or white,
evolution being that audibly emphasizing certain necromantic or holy, elemental or formulaic - magic
syllables, that are found in certain words, that appear simply is, though it has the capacity to appear as any
in certain tongues can both invoke and control and/or all of these things given its unique nature.
magical energy. Unsurprisingly, it isn’t by random The truth is that the visible effects of magic aren’t
chance that such invocations are referred to as actually magic in and of themselves, but subjective
“spells” by the uninitiated. thought given form by way of magic, thus such
These incantations may be recited from effects can be defined in any manner that the wielder
memory or read aloud from a written text to produce sees fit.
the desired results. That said, even very experienced
practitioners of magic eschew reciting incantations Grigori’s Law (Option): By default it is
from memory unless absolutely necessary, as the assumed that player characters who wield magic
proper pronunciation and recital of the many arcane are familiar with Grigori’s Law and its practical
syllables that compose a spell is very important. As a application. That said, if you’re aiming for a
series of unfortunate incidents has demonstrated, a ‘heroic fantasy’ feel in your campaign, you may
mispronounced or incorrectly remembered syllable want to avoid that default assumption, instead
can alter the desired outcome of an incantation breaking up spells into pre-defined ‘schools’
drastically, often times causing great harm to the and/or ‘lists’ that represent the current level of
individual performing the recital. arcane understanding possessed by the populace
All of that having been said, anybody can of a given campaign setting.
attempt the recital of incantations and - provided that
an individual understands the language in which the
incantations are written, can pronounce it properly,
Invoking From Memory
and can keep the words straight in their head they
can even achieve the intended results. Why then do Whenever a character recites an incantation
so few masters of the arcane arts exist in the world? from memory, their player states the intended effect
Well, simply put, studying different languages and of the spell and makes an unopposed Reasoning
learning to apply them correctly is a very lengthy and check against a base difficulty rating of 21 (naturally,
involved process - indeed, the complete and total the Referee may alter this difficulty rating depending
mastery of a single language may take an entire upon the circumstances under which the incantation
lifetime. is being recited).
As for the nature and origin of magical If the total roll result generated by the player
energy itself, many theories have been put forth, but of the casting character meets or exceeds the final
the most widely accepted theory is that formulated by difficulty value assigned to the casting by the Referee,
a practitioner known by the name “Grigori” - the spell effect occurs as it has been described by the
appropriately called Grigori’s Law. Grigori’s Law player. If the total roll result obtained by the player
states that magic is a singular energy that flows from of the casting character fails to meet or exceed the
a similarly singular source, with any differences in assigned difficulty value of the casting, the spell effect
application or mode of operation being defined varies wildly from the intended result, as described by
entirely by the practitioner. the Referee. For example:

-9-
Keegan’s character, Jack Derringer, is should always be magical - when describing the
attempting to invoke an old-fashioned magic fireball effects of a given incantation, get creative, detailed,
from memory that will engulf his arch-rival, Duke and get weird!
Valencourt. Given the magnitude of the spell and its
offensive combat potential, the Referee increases the Spell Effects In Combat
difficulty rating of the casting to 25.
Keegan must produce a total roll result of 25 Spell effects that inflict damage to a target
or more to successfully shape a Valencourt-engulfing work a bit differently than physical attacks do. First,
magic fireball. If Keegan fails to generate a total roll a successfully invoked spell effect that causes
result that equals or exceeds the difficulty rating of 25, damage may not be defended against with normal
things will go horribly awry for Jack Derringer - luckily armor (see below for more details). Second, a
for Jack, he has four dice allocated to his Reasoning damage-causing spell effect always inflicts at least an
core descriptor and the trait descriptors of “spell amount of damage equal to the invoking character’s
weaving” and “eidetic memory”. Reasoning core descriptor. Finally, a damage-
causing spell effect also inflicts additional damage
Invoking From Inscription equal to the amount by which the invoking
character’s total roll result exceeded the assigned
As a rule, an incantation inscribed upon a difficulty number. For example:
piece of parchment or in a book is always more
reliable than even a very experienced practitioner’s Jack Derringer (from the first example in this
memory. Whenever a character attempts to recite an section) has four dice allocated to his Reasoning core
incantation from a written text, the player controlling descriptor, so his fireball will cause a minimum of 4
that character makes an unopposed Reasoning points of damage if successfully invoked. Additionally,
check against a base difficulty rating of 13 (again, if Keegan generates a total roll result of 32 (a result
the Referee may see fit to adjust this difficulty rating that exceeds the assigned difficulty rating by 7 points),
based upon the specific circumstances surrounding Jack’s fireball will inflict an additional 7 points of
a given casting attempt). damage to Duke Valencourt, for a combined total of
If the total roll result generated by the player 11 points of damage.
of the casting character meets or exceeds the final
difficulty value assigned to the casting by the Referee, As mentioned above, spell effects that inflict
the spell effect occurs as it has been described by the damage cannot be defended against with normal
player. If the total roll result obtained by the player armor - they can, however, be defended against in
of the casting character fails to meet or exceed the other ways. Both a spell barrier (described directly
assigned difficulty value of the casting, the spell effect below) or equipment that has been fortified with spell
varies wildly from the intended result, as described by effects (such ‘magic items’ are discussed in the
the Referee (in the same manner a failed invocation following section of these rules) are both capable of
from memory does). protecting characters from damage that is inflicted by
the effects of a given spell.
About Spell Effects The aforementioned spell barrier can defend
against a set amount of damage from any incoming
You may be wondering “What exactly spell effect that inflicts damage. These rules assume,
happens when a character recites an incantation?”. for simplicity’s sake, that spell barriers mirror the
The answer is that, if invoked correctly, the desired defensive qualities of standard physical shields (as
effect of the incantation as described by the player of described via the armor table found on page three of
the casting character (or, if using the previously this document) where protection from damage is
mentioned optional rule, as described by a ‘spell list’) concerned. Likewise, these rules assume that, once
is produced without negative incident. If invoked invoked, a spell barrier will remain in place until the
incorrectly, the effect of a given invocation is an end of the combat encounter during which it is
undesirable circumstance as described by the invoked or until its caster is killed (whichever occurs
Referee. Finally, whether its effects are ultimately first).
good or bad, the effects of a magical incantation

-10-
Spell Enhanced Items The small silver ring that was imbued to
render its wearer invisible upon command does just
Although difficult, it is possible to imbue that - renders its wearer invisible upon command.
otherwise normal items with spell energy - bestowing
upon them permanent magical effects in the form of Other spell effects function as character trait
trait descriptors. For instance, a suit of chainmail descriptors usually do, conferring an additional three
armor that has been imbued with spell energy dice bonus to a checks that they relate to. For
designed to protect the wearer from damage-causing example:
spell effects may have the trait descriptor “protects
wearer from magic attacks” while a longsword that The longsword “goblin slayer” would allow a
has been imbued with spell energy designed to inflict character to roll an additional three dice whenever the
grievous wounds to goblins may have the trait sword is wielded against goblins in combat (both
descriptor “goblin slayer”. when determining whether it hits and how much
Imbuing items with spell energy is a simple damage it causes when it hits).
matter of stating the spell effect that a character
would like to imbue a mundane object with, making Finally, it is worth noting that some objects
an unopposed Reasoning check as if they were may be imbued with multiple spell effects, some of
casting a spell, and paying a base cost of five hero which function as written while others function as
points. Note that these hero points do not allow the character trait descriptors. Such items are both rare
player to roll extra dice on the Reasoning check - and powerful, their imbuement costing a caster a
they merely represent the cost of permanently great deal of time and energy.
imbuing an object with a bit of the caster’s manifest
will. That said, the Referee may adjust this cost in Character Growth
hero points to reflect circumstances surrounding a
particular imbuing if they so choose. For example: Over the course of a story arc, a character
will grow and change as they interact with the world
Anne’s character, Morgan Barrows, is around them. To reflect this growth, the Referee
attempting to imbue a small silver ring with spell awards players a number of hero points at the close
energy that “renders its wearer invisible upon of every story arc, as follows:
command”. Morgan is reciting a written incantation
that was specifically designed to produce just such an 1. If the characters utterly failed to achieve any of the
effect, so Anne would make an unopposed Reasoning goals that they has set for themselves at the opening
check with a difficulty rating of 13. Additionally, the of the story arc, then the Referee should award them
Referee has decided that due to the powerful nature only five hero points each at that story arc’s close.
of this particular spell effect (controlled invisibility),
Anne will have to expend a total of 11 hero points for 2. If the characters managed to achieve some of the
the imbuing. goals that they set for themselves at the opening of
a given story arc, then the Referee should award
If a Reasoning check made on behalf of a them 15 hero points each at the close of the story
character that is attempting to imbue an object with arc.
spell energy is failed, the results are handled as are
the results of a failed Reasoning check made on 3. If the characters managed to achieve all of the
behalf of a character casting a spell - only in this goals that they set for themselves at the opening of
case, they might not be immediately aware of the a story arc, then the Referee should award them 25
adverse effects. Indeed, it is in this manner that the hero points each at that story arc’s close.
majority of so-called ‘cursed’ items come into
existence (although some such items are deliberately Should a character ever find themselves with
fashioned). 30 hero points in reserve, they may cash in said 30
Imbued spell effects function in one of two hero points to raise any given core descriptor rating
ways. First, some imbued trait descriptors merely by one. Similarly, they may spend 40 hero points to
function exactly as written. For instance: purchase a new trait descriptor.

-11-
Finally, it is worth noting that hoarding hero (much as crows do) which has led some scholars to
points isn’t very productive - ultimately, characters incorrectly theorize that they are possessed of a
earn more hero points by spending hero points. The higher intellect. Dragons make their havens far from
more hero points that a character spends, the more civilized lands, only occasionally being seen in such
likely they are to accomplish their goals for a given places (usually having been lured there by a surplus
story arc, thus the more hero points they are likely to of shiny trinkets).
earn at that story arc’s conclusion.
Strength: 12
A Bestiary Agility: 7
Endurance: 10
The following is a short list of pre-defined Reasoning: 2
antagonists (lifted from the planned Epic™ setting) for Perception: 4
player characters to rumble with. These serve as Hero Points: 80-200 (varies with age and size)
examples of creatures common to many different
fantasy roleplaying games. Trait Descriptors: Flying, Breathing Fire, Locating
and Hoarding Shiny Baubles
Chimaera Attack Damages: Bite (Str+6d6), Claw (Str+4d6)
Natural Armor: End + 3d6
Description: A bovine-sized beast with the body of Special Attack: A dragon may breathe fire once
a lion and three heads - that of a dragon, a goat per turn in lieu of a regular attack, inflicting 6d6
and a lion. Where these creatures come from is a damage to any target within 30' of the blast
mystery, though they were rumored to have been the direction.
result of a magical experiment gone awry in ages
past. Though rare, the occasional traveler is unlucky Elf
enough to stumble across one in the wilderness.
Description: A tall, slender, humanoid being with
Strength: 4 very pale skin and a generally unpleasant disposition.
Agility: 3 Elves are extremely long-lived, suffering from
Endurance: 4 prolonged bouts of boredom which they seek to
Reasoning: 1 relieve by cruelly toying with shorter-lived races. They
Perception: 6 are generally regarded as evil and/or mean-spirited
Hero Points: 30 folk, shunned by most other sentient races, and
prefer to live amongst others of their kind in the
Trait Descriptors: Leaping, Breathing Fire wilderness as it affords them ample opportunities for
Attack Damages: Dragon Head Bite (Str+2d6), mischief.
Lion Head Bite (Str+1d6+1), Goat Head Ram
(Str+2), Claw (Str+1d6). Strength: 3
Natural Armor: End + 2d6 Agility: 3
Special Attack: The chimaera may breathe fire Endurance: 2
from its dragon head once per turn in lieu of a Reasoning: 4
regular attack, inflicting 3d6 damage to any target Perception: 4
within 10' of the blast direction. Hero Points: 22
Note: Despite having multiple heads, a chimaera
still only receives one attack per turn. Trait Descriptors: Elf, Marksmanship, Nature Lore
Attack Damages: Punch/Kick (Str) or Per Weapon
Dragon Armor: Per Armor Worn
Special Immunity: Elves have a natural resistence
Description: A large, flying, fire-breathing, to magic and may make an opposed task resolution
reptilian, monstrosity. Though minimally sentient in check to resist a spell effect that targets them. If
truth, dragons have an affinity for shiny baubles successful, the magic effect dissipates without
effecting the elf.

-12-
Ghost Trait Descriptors: Warrior, Tactician, Fearless
Attack Damages: Punch/Kick (Str), Long Sword
Description: The ethereal impression left behind by (Str+1d6+2) or War Club (Str+2d6)
a being that has been violently shuffled off the mortal Armor: Per Armor Worn
coil. Ghosts tend to manifest as the most intense Special Ability/Weakness: If fighting in numbers
emotion of the creature whose visage they project. Orks will fight to the death until their immediate
The ghost of a dragon, for instance, would embody leader is bested in combat. Only after their
its bestial nature; while the ghost of a kind-hearted immediate leader is killed and/or forced into
priest might embody their love for others. As such, submission will they consider surrender or retreat.
the defining characteristics of individual ghosts vary
wildly. Credit and Disclaimer
Reasoning: 3 Six-Sided Sagas draws inspiration from many
Perception: 5 previously published roleplaying game systems,
primarily Over the Edge* from Atlas Games, Cell
Trait Descriptors: Incorporeal, Effect the Living Entertainment’s Gemini*, and West End Games’
Attack Damage: Strike the Soul (Rea) Ghostbusters RPG*.
Notes: This is an example of an unfriendly, yet fairly
harmless, ghost. Note that armor does not protect
characters against the ghost’s attack and also that
weapons cannot damage the ghost because it is
incorporeal (hence, it has no hero points). These
common ghostly traits, among other things, make
such restless spirits challenging opponents.
Use your imagination when creating ghosts
- not all of them have the same attacks (some ghosts
have been known to use telekinesis to effect their
targets in combat) or the same attributes (some
ghosts can become corporeal at will). Likewise, some
of them may be quite friendly and even help player
characters (indeed, allowing slain player characters
to continue their adventuring as a ghosts might make
an interesting premise for a campaign).

Ork
Description: A stocky, brutish, and ugly humanoid
with a slightly green tint to its flesh. Given their
appearance, Orks are often given short shrift by
other sentient cultures - an unfortunate bias that
often works to their advantage. Contrary to popular
opinion, Orks aren’t at all stupid (in fact, they’re
some of the best tacticians around).

Strength: 4
Agility: 2
Endurance: 3 *Denotes a property not owned by or affiliated with Six -Sid ed Sa ga s.
Reasoning: 4 Such pro pe rties ar e ow ned by the com pa nies indicated, and a re
Perception: 3 me ntione d here witho ut e xp ress pe rm ission . Ple ase , do n’t sue me (I
do n’t have anything left to take, so it wouldn’t be worth your time,
Hero Points: 25
an yho w).

-13-

You might also like