Wandering Monsters High School

Wandering
Monsters
HIGH SCHOOL
A Story Roleplaying Game
By Caoimhe Ora Snow
cover & artwork by lea hernandez

additional artwork by louis leclerc
cartography by robert altbauer
Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Wandering Monsters High School
Copyright 2005-2012 by Caoimhe Ora Snow <caoimhe@boldpueblo.com> (Kynn

Bartlett). All rights reserved.
Published by Bold Pueblo Games, 349 E. Main Street #104 PMB 77, Alhambra,
California. http://boldpueblo.com/
m 2 n

Table of Contents
Frontmatter 1
1 Welcome to WMHS! 5
2 Enrollment 9
3 School Rules 19
4 Conflicts & Combat 27
5 Course Catalog 35
6 Gifted & Talented Programs 49
7 Reasonable Accommodations 57
8 Extra-Curricular Activities 61
9 Student Life 67
10 School Supplies 71
11 Student Goals 77
12 Spells & Potions 85
13 Class Roster 89
14 Faculty & Staff 97
15 Campus Walking Tour 103
16 Administrator's Handbook 113
Index 123
Student Report Card 125

Acknowledgments
Thank you to Berin Kinsman and members of the Tucson RPG Guild for
playtesting and advice.
Thank you to Joanne Renaud and Jeff Zitomer for proofreading
(although I take responsibility for any mistakes that have made it into
print!).
Thank you to the following Kickstarter backers who helped make this
game possible:
Austin Stanley Joseph J. Yossarian
Curt Meyer Karl Barbosa
David Mumaw Kevin Scott
horizonfactory Kit White
James Heath Kristine Roper
Jeremy LaMastus Matthew Edwards
Jessica Hammer Michael Feldhusen
Joe Harris Nate Lawrence
Josh Thompson Nathan Herring
Kirt Dankmyer Owlglass
Sam Wright Peter Aronson
Shane Mclean Phillip Bailey
Shanya Almafeta Ramon Gomez
Sharif Abed Rich Rogers
Stephen E. M. Guttridge Shaun Welch
Treena Shapiro Steven Watkins
W Wyse Thomas Ladegard
Wing Thores
Adam Waggenspack Brett Easterbrook

Carlizard McGurn Christopher Thomas
Daniel Winterhalter James Mendez Hodes
Divineseeker Jason K Averill
Hagen Jussi Myllyluoma
Jack Gulick Kairam Ahmed Hamdan
Jeff Zitomer Kenny Woo
Jessica Blank Vicky Bartlett
Jonathan Davis William Combs
m 4 n

Welcome to
WMHS!
Every saga has a beginning, they say. And so the story will often start
with tales of our stalwart hero as a youth, doing appropriately scaled
feats of derring-do.
But what about the other side? Weren’t the bad guys kids too, once?
Didn’t they have the same hopes and fears, the same teenage angst and
ambition, the same struggles to make it through the school day?
Thus the premise of this game: What if monsters went to high school?
About the School

Wandering Monsters High School is a fantasy roleplaying game set in a
world of magic and of mystery, of dragons and of dungeons.
A few ago, a group of evil overlords and power-mad wizards decided they
had a need for a higher caliber of minion. Henchmen who could actually
read the labels on potion bottles. Hirelings who wouldn’t accidentally
sack the wrong town. Cohorts who didn’t have to constantly told how to
kill the heroes, but could, you know, think on their own.
Thus Wandering Monsters High School was born – a preparatory school
for monsters of all kind, preparing them for glorious careers as
antagonists.
Geographically, the location of the school is a well-kept secret, lest it
become known to enterprising “heroes” who seek to slaughter innocent
teen monsters. It may be located just outside Deepwater in the Realms
of Forgetfulness, or perhaps near the great city of Hawkgrey.
Nestled safely in a small valley, the students would be safe from attack
even if discovered: powerful magics cast over the whole campus make it
impossible for anyone to die or even be seriously injured here. Deadly
attacks are magically downgraded to only painful ones, thanks to a
mystic field permeating the whole school. Thus, would-be crusaders are
at worst a nuisance, interrupting class schedules and quite ineffective.
That’s good, too, because the students of WMHS have more to worry
about than brave paladins, brilliant wizards, devout clerics, and
cunning rogues. Why, they've got proms to attend, nerdy classmates to
make over, slamball games to win, and – ohmygosh, there's a test in
Intro to Looting you totally did not study for! Quick, what do you do?

Game Requirements
You need anywhere from 3 to 8 really creative and somewhat silly people
to play this game, preferably after you’ve just watched a teen movie. One
person gets to be the gamemaster (Headmaster) while the rest make up
characters (Students). You’re playing fantasy monsters going to high
school.
You also need a bunch of dice -- the common, cubical kind with six
sides, probably about a dozen or two. You can get by with fewer, but it's
easier if you have enough dice for everyone to have 5 or 6 in front of
them.
WMHS has an optional system of Student Goals which require a normal
deck of playing cards. For more on this, see chapter 12, "Student
Goals," later in the Student Handbook.
History of the Game

Wandering Monsters High School began as a free roleplaying game
written by Caoimhe Ora Snow in 2005 as part of the 24-hour RPG
challenge – in which game designers create a roleplaying game from
scratch in the period of twenty-four hours.
You're reading the second edition of Wandering Monsters High School,
which features updated rules, a new dice mechanic, expanded options
for characters, wonderful artwork by Lea Hernandez & Louis LeClerc, a
campus map by Robert Altbauer, and a new optional system for student
goals.
WMHS is published by Bold Pueblo Games, a roleplaying game
publisher founded in 2009 by Caoimhe Snow in Tucson, Arizona, and
currently located in Alhambra, California.
Support for WMHS is available through the Bold Pueblo website,
including downloads and FAQs, at the following address:
http://boldpueblo.com/wmhs
What's a Roleplaying Game?

A roleplaying game is a cooperative storytelling experience in which one
person takes the role of the game master or dungeon master – called the
Headmaster in WMHS – and the others are players.
The Headmaster sets up the basic structure for the narrative, and the
players fill in the pieces by saying what their students are going to do
within the fictional world. You typically speak in-character as your
student, saying “I run over and eat a cookie,” or you can talk about your
student in third person, saying “Taylor runs over and eats a cookie.”
m 6 n

Chapter : Gifts & Talents
While you run just one student, the Headmaster plays everyone else in
the world, from supporting cast students (think of your own students as
the “stars” of the fictional world) to teachers to wild animals to rivals
from the Adventurer's Guild Academy. The Headmaster sets up
situations in which you will have to make decisions for your student
that will affect the course of the storyline.
Your student's success at various actions will be determined by the roll
of several dice, based on your student's abilities which are recorded on
your character sheet – known as the Student Report Card in WMHS.
This is a piece of paper on which you record various qualities of your
student, including your student's aptitude in school topics and traits
unique to your student or your student's species.
There are no winners or losers in WMHS; you can't even die, thanks to
powerful magicks cast over the school grounds. WMHS is a light,
comedic game about the perils of high school; pretend you're in your
favorite teen comedy and don't be afraid to have your student look silly
from time to time – it'll happen, it's high school!
m 7 n

Game Terminology
Many roleplaying games will take standard terms used in other RPGs
and give them a perhaps-overly-twee twist. This game is no exception; if
you've played roleplaying games before, you'll recognize our terms as
equivalents to those you're already familiar with.
WMHS Term Meaning

Your Student Your character.
Headmaster Gamemaster. Abbreviated HM. Runs the game.
Report Card Character sheet. There’s one at the back for you to
print out and fill in.
Enrollment Character creation. It’s the next section of this book.
Grades Your ability scores. They’re rated from “A” (best) to
“F” (worst).
Classes Skill list. You only know the things you’re studying
this term.
Species Race. The kind of monster you are.
Year Level. Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, or Senior;
WMHS is a four-year school.
Gifts Benefits, usually from your race, that you were born
with.
Talents Feats or special abilities. These are things you
personally learned or developed.
Special Needs Drawbacks. Some are racial, some are personal.
Period An hour or so. See chapter 4, “Conflicts & Combat,”
and chapter 9, “Student Life,” for more on
timekeeping.
Edge Bonus. An Edge is an extra “virtual” die,
automatically set to a given value.
Levy Penalty. A Levy is a cap on a die's maximum value.
Die A six-sided die (d6). WMHS only uses six-sided dice.
m 8 n

Enrollment
To create a student to play in a WMHS game, you need to go through

the enrollment process. This will determine what your student can do
and also what courses your student is taking. You'll need a copy of the
student report card (from Appendix B at the back of this book, or
download a copy from http://boldpueblo.com/wmhs) and a #2 pencil to
complete enrollment.
The steps in the enrollment process are:
1. Name your student.
2. Choose a species and record your student's gifts and special needs.
3. Decide on your student's year in school.
4. Choose your student's gender.
5. Define which niche your student fills.
6. Choose a clique to belong to.
7. Assign your grades.
8. Pick classes.
9. Choose additional gifts, talents, and special needs.
10. Pick extra-curricular activities to participate in.
11. Choose one signature item and list additional school supplies.
12. Record four student goals.
13. Draw pictures of your student.
14. Have your report card signed.
trait values
When you add a trait (such as a gift, a talent, a special need, an extra-
curricular activity, school supplies, clique, or niche) to your student
report card, you'll also see a die symbol in the same space as the trait.
This is the value of that trait. If the dice are white, this the edge value; if
the dice are black, this is the levy value. (See page 22 for more details on
how edges and levies are used in dice rolls.)
Within each category, you can choose which line on which to write your
trait. Higher numbers (such as e) will have a higher effect on your
student when they come into play, while lower numbers (such as b) are
less important.

Example: If you're playing a blob, you get the gifts Shapechanging and
Telepathy due to your student's species. You might choose to write
Shapeshifting next to the c and Telepathy next to the d. Why not
next to the e? Maybe you want to get the talent Teacher's Pet for
your student and write that on the e line. This would mean you'd be
better at kissing up to a teacher than you are at reading minds or
changing your form.
Student Name
You can name your student anything you want. Silly names (like
Gloopadoop), fantasy-world names (like Karvathas), bad puns (like
Taylor Made), or in-jokes (like Drizzle) are all appropriate. You can even
name yourself something ordinary, like Bob.
If you want, you can hold off on naming your student until you've made
more choices about who your student is going to be.
Species
Your species is a major determinant of
who your student is and what your
student can do. You can either pick one
of the standard species, listed below, or
create one of your design.
All WMHS students should be creatures
who are generally considered the "bad
guys" in a fantasy world. They should
have enough intelligence and social
ability to be able to interact with others
in a learning environment, and probably
should be able to speak the Common
Tongue. Other than that, anything goes;
a WMHS student doesn't need to be
humanoid, human-sized, or even alive!
standard species
If you choose a standard species, your student gains one or more gifts
automatically, and likely a special need. Record your species, then write
down each gift (and special need) on your student report card. As
described earlier (see Trait Values, page 9), you can write down these
traits next to whichever dice you like, and the die beside each gift or
special need will determine how strongly it affects your student's daily
life.
m 10 n

Chapter 2: Enrollment
Species Gifts Special Needs

Blob Shapechanging, Telepathy Non-Humanoid
Cyclops Really Strong Large-Bodied
Dark Elf Night Vision, Second Language Allergy (Bright Light)
(Elven)
Demon Natural Weapons (On Fire), Allergy (Holiness)
Natural Weapons (Claws), Flight
Devil Charming, Flight Allergy (Holiness)
Dragon Breath Weapon, Flight, Second Large-Bodied, Non-
Language (Draconic), Natural Humanoid, choose one
Weapons (Claws), Really Strong additional special need
Efreeti Really Strong, Natural Weapons Large-Bodied, Allergy (Cold)
(On Fire)
Ghost Immaterial, Invisible Metabolically Challenged,
Allergy (Holiness)
Giant Really Strong, Second Language Large-Bodied
(Giantish)
Gnoll Scavenger none
Golem Really Strong, Natural Armor Metabolically Challenged
Harpy Flight none
Kobold Second Language (Draconic) Small Bodied
Medusa Petrification none
Minotaur Natural Weapons (Horns) none
Naga Poison Non-Humanoid
Ogre Really Strong Large-Bodied
Orc Second Language (Orcish) none
Owlbear Natural Weapons (Beak) Large-Bodied
Succubus Charming, Flight Allergy (Holiness)
Treant Really Strong, Natural Armor Large-Bodied, Special Diet
(dirt, water, and sunshine),
Allergy (Fire)
Troll Natural Weapons (Claws), Allergy (Fire)
Unstoppable
Vampire Natural Weapons (Fangs), Really Allergy (Bright Light,
Strong Holiness), Metabolically
Challenged, Special Diet
(Blood)
Werewolf Natural Weapons (Claws) Allergy (Silver)
Zombie Unstoppable Metabolically Challenged,
Special Diet (Brains)
m 11 n

non-standard species
You can make up your own species or adapt one of your favorite
monsters. Choose up to three appropriate Gifts, and up to two
appropriate Special Needs. If you pick three Gifts, you have to choose at
least one Special Need. The full list of Gifts and Talents can be found in
chapter 6, "Gifted & Talented Programs,” and the list of special needs in
chapter 7, "Reasonable Accommodation."
Write your species on the front of your student report card, and the
Gifts and Special Needs you chose on the inside of the report card.
Year in School
Choose what year in school your student will be. The following table will
help explain the terminology for those not familiar with the names of
each year as used at WMHS:
Year Name of Year

First Freshman
Second Sophomore
Third Junior
Fourth Senior
WMHS is a four-year school; students who attend for all four years
either graduate at the end of their senior years or are kicked out and
banished from the school grounds for all eternity.
Your choice of year will affect what classes your student is eligible to
take.
Gender
Write down the gender for your student on your student report card. A
student WMHS can be male or female, or both genders, neither gender,
ungendered, a third (or fourth gender), or some other gender that makes
sense to you. You don't have to feel restricted by gender binaries when
writing down your student's gender. Also, your student doesn't have to
dress or act in any stereotypical way based on gender; you can pick
whatever gender expression you want.
WMHS is surprisingly progressive when it comes to gender; a strict non-
discrimination policy was implemented several decades back when a
group of matriarchal dark elves started systematically oppressing the
male students and faculty.
m 12 n

Niche
A student's niche is a word or short phrase that describes the role that
student plays in the school's social ecosystem. Examples include
"popular cheerleader," "brainy social outcast," "rebel without a clue,"
"non-threatening asexual best friend," or "nosy student reporter."
Write down your niche on your student report card; there is a d on the
same line, which means that when your student's niche comes into
play, you gain an Edge d on appropriate rolls.
Unlike other Edges, niche can't be combined with anything else; you can
only use your niche Edge if you don't have any other Edges that apply to
the die roll. Niche is your fallback Edge that enables you to roleplay
your student appropriately even in situations where the game
mechanics don't fully encompass your role.
Clique
The group that your student hangs out with is your student's clique.
They could all be friends, but most commonly there are conflicts and
rivalries even within the clique.
You can choose to join an established clique, or you can create your
own clique. With the Headmaster's approval, your student and the other
players' students can all belong to the same clique. For a complete list of
established cliques on campus, see chapter 9, "Student Life.”
When you record your student's clique on the student report card, you'll
see a c on the same line; when your student's membership in the clique
comes into play -- such as convincing someone else to do something for
you -- you gain an Edge c on those rolls.
Grades
Grades tell you how good your student is at each academic subject, and
determine how many dice you roll when making checks. The following
describes what each subject means in game terms.
citizenship
This measures how well your student behaves, and affects how well you
can influence authority figures at school -- ranging from hall monitors to
the headmaster. Students who have high grades in citizenship can get
away with a lot more than troublemakers with low citizenship scores.
Poor attendance is also reflected in a low citizenship grade.
m 13 n

fitness
Fitness is your student's physical soundness and ability; all sorts of
physical challenges are measured by this subject, including physical
combat if it becomes necessary. Healthy students have high fitness
grades.
hygiene
Your hygiene grade measures your student's basic grooming skills, as
well as your student's ability to interact with other students. Aesthetics
are obviously relative and arbitrary with a student body as diverse as
that at WMHS; however, nobody likes the unkempt and filthy. You make
a roll based on your hygiene grade if you're asking someone out on a
date or making other romantic overtures.
occult
Living in a fantasy world requires knowledge of magic; your occult grade
measure how well you student understands arcane principles. If your
student knows how to cast spells, you'll make occult rolls when doing
so.
scholastics
Your student's scholastics grade measures how much book learnin' has
finally sunk in. Scholastics checks are made whenever your student
needs to remember some fact, or do well on a test, or write a paper.
vocational
Not all knowledge is theoretical. Your student's vocational grade
measures how well your student has mastered the practical arts, from
crafting to looting. This is applied knowledge, the type that may lead to a
trade -- legal or otherwise.
grades & dice

Grades are ranked from F (the lowest) to A (the highest), and skip over
the letter E for reasons that have never been fully understood. Each
grade also corresponds to a numeric value, the grade points, which
represent how many dice you roll when making a check using that
grade, as shown on this table:
m 14 n

Grade Meaning Dice

A Excellent 4
B Above Average 3
C Average 2
D Below Average 1
F Fail 0
You get to choose your student's grades as part of the enrollment

process, representing your student's prior learning or natural aptitudes.
Choose one of the following sets of grades and then assign one grade to
each subject as you desire:
A, A, A, B, D, F
A, A, B, C, C, D
A, B, B, B, C, D
A, B, B, C, C, C
B, B, B, B, C, C
Record your student's grades on the inside of your student report card,
and then write down the number of dice that correspond to each grade.
Classes
Each term at WMHS, your student must enroll in six classes. Each class
is taught by a different department in the school, grouped by subject as
with grades. You record each class under the subject on your student
report card.
Because you're learning about the topic of the class, your student
acquires some knowledge about that topic -- even if just goofing off in
and picking up the details though osmosis. This is represented by the c
beside the name of the course: your student gains an Edge of c
whenever attempting to put into practice the lessons taught in class.
During the enrollment process, select which classes you wish your
student to take from the list of classes in chapter 5, "Course Catalog."
Note that some classes have prerequisites, so make sure your student
qualifies before signing up for a class.
You must pick one class from each subject list, so that your student has
a total of 6 classes.
elective
If your student is a junior or senior, you can choose one subject and
skip choosing a class for that subject. Instead, choose a second class
m 15 n

from your student's favorite subject and write the name of that class on
the elective line.
Because this is a class your student actually enjoys, you get an Edge of
d when making rolls related to the class.
Gifts, Talents, and Special Needs

When you chose your student's species, you wrote down one or more
gifts and/or special needs. You can add additional gifts, talents, and
special needs to further distinguish your student from the rest of the
student body.
• You can choose up to 2 additional gifts, although you cannot have
more than 6 gifts and talents combined.
• You can choose up to 3 talents, although you cannot have more
than 6 gifts and talents combined.
• You can choose up to 2 additional special needs, although you
cannot have more than 3 special needs.
Extra-Curricular Activities
All study and no play makes for very dull monsters.
During the enrollment process, you can choose up to three extra-
curricular activities for your student -- such as varsity slamball team,
Papers & Paychecks guild, or The Random Encounter (the school's
weekly student newspaper). A complete list of school-sanctioned
activities can be found in chapter 8, "Extra-Curricular Activities."
Each extra-curricular activity has an Edge value determined by the line
upon which you write the activity's name, ranging from Edge e to Edge
b. These Edges apply whenever your student is attempting a roll related
to the activity in question.
School Supplies
Whenever your student uses a normal item of some kind -- a notescroll,
a slamball, a quarterstaff, a bouquet of shambling roses, or a library
book, for example -- you can gain an Edge b on appropriate die rolls.
Your student can usually get their hands (or tentacles or whatever) on
normal items easily, although the Headmaster may require an
appropriate roll for more unusual items. For example, if your student
wants ninja throwing stars, a roll for Vocational (to make them in the
metal shoppe) or Hygiene (to convince a metal shoppe student to make
them for you) might suffice.
m 16 n

Normal items are usually temporary, which means your student only
has them until the end of the current period; see chapter 4, "Conflicts &
Combat," and chapter 9, “Student Life,” for more information on time-
keeping in WMHS. If there are some normal items your student really
wants to keep around, you can write down up to two of them on your
student report card under "School Supplies," on one of the blank lines
with an Edge b symbol.
status symbol
In addition, your student also has one specific, unique-on-campus item.
Instead of granting an Edge b like normal items, this status symbol – a
signature item – gives an Edge d on related checks.
Your student's status symbol can be magical -- such as the fabled
universal hall pass -- or it can simply be an item of personal significance
-- like last year's championship-winning slamball.
For more information on school supplies and status symbols, see
chapter 10, "School Supplies."
Student Goals
Directionless students are boring; they have nothing they want to
accomplish. Your student will have four different goals that you try to
fulfill while playing Wandering Monsters High School; you get to choose
what those goals will be.
Each goal is associated with a category: social, treasure, relationship,
and achievement, and each category is represented by a card suit. Write
down one goal for each category on your student report card. For now,
ignore the progress checkboxes; they're used in the optional system for
accomplishments described in chapter 11, “Student Goals.”
♣ Social (Clubs): Choose a goal related to a group on campus, such as
joining it, quitting it, humiliating it, leading it, earning its gratitude
or admiration, or insulting it. Examples: "Join the drill team" or
"embarrass the rich kids clique."
♦ Treasure (Diamonds): Choose a goal related to treasure, wealth,
artwork, or some other valuable item, such as stealing it, giving it
away, earning it, researching it, creating it, or destroying it.
Examples: "Locate the stone of philosophy" or "sell a love potion."
♥ Relationship (Hearts): Choose a goal related to a relationship with
someone else, such as becoming friends, breaking up, humiliating an
enemy, seducing a teacher, finding a date for the prom, or
uncovering someone's hidden secret. Examples: "Ask Jenny
Tentacles out to homecoming" or "get Drizzle to stop following me."
♠ Achievement (Spades): Choose a goal related to your student's school
m 17 n

activities, such as passing a class, getting a story for the school

paper, earning a letter of recommendation, scoring a winning
slamdown, or destroying the alchemy lab. Examples: "Don't flunk
Common Tongue" or "create life in Lair Ec."
Student Portraits
Draw two pictures of your student on the front of your report card. One
should be a close-up on your student's face (or closest equivalent) while
the second is a full-body picture.
It doesn't matter if you can't draw. That's okay. Try anyway!
Sponsor or Guardian's Signature

Attending Wandering Monsters High School isn't cheap -- it costs
dozens of silver pieces each semester. Your student is too young to
afford to pay for this expensive training, so someone else is paying their
way through school.
This benefactor could be a wealthy family member, but most students
are sponsored by a warlord, high priest, guildmaster, or archmage who
seeks better-trained minions for his or her armies. A tiny number of
scholarships are available to relatives of staff and children of former
students. (There's a high attrition rate after graduation; many WMHS
students don't live long enough to reproduce, thanks to marauding
bands of adventurers.)
Whoever signs your student's report card gets to decide who that
sponsor or guardian is. You get to choose who signs it:
• You can sign your student's report card. Make up the name of the
guardian and what relationship they have to your student. You
can't choose a scholarship, but any other option is fine.
• Another player can sign your student's report card. Hand the
report card to a player of your choice and let them decide who the
sponsor is. Your student is obligated to be a future part of that
sponsor's conquering army of evil.
• The Headmaster can sign your student's report card. Only the
Headmaster can give your student a scholarship, and the
Headmaster can decide what your student needs to do in order to
maintain that scholarship.
m 18 n

School Rules
Wandering Monsters High School employs a single-roll die mechanic

based on rolling one or more six-sided dice (d6s) and adding together
the two highest die results from that roll. The number of dice you roll is
equal to your Grade in the applicable subject, and your traits and other
statistics can add virtual dice in the form of Edges (bonuses) and Levies
(penalties).
A success is achieved if you roll an 8 or higher on the total; 7 or less is a
failure on the roll. The Degree of your success is determined by the
lowest of the two dice that were added together for the total.
Applicable Grade
Wandering Monsters High School has six primary statistics, called
"Grades," that represent your monster's aptitude in each of six different
subjects. The game is designed so that each roll you make will fall under
one of those Grades.
Here are brief summaries of the types of rolls that fall under each
Grade:
citizenship
Your ability to influence staff, faculty, and other authority figures.
• Pleading your way out of a failing grade.
• Impressing the assistant principal with your manners.
• Getting the lunch lady to slip you an extra portion.
• Convincing the hall monitor to let you off with a warning this time.
fitness
Your physical prowess and health.
• Punching someone in the face.
• Throwing a slamball to a friend.
• Running across campus just in time for class.
• Staying conscious after being hurt.

hygiene
Your influence with other students, or staying clean and healthy.
• Convincing someone to vote for you in the student body election.
• Persuading a friend to help you cheat on an exam.
• Asking someone out on a date.
• Baking a cake.
occult
Your knowledge and mastery of magic.
• Brewing a potion in the alchemy lab.
• Casting a spell you learned in class on another student.
• Undoing the effects of someone else's spell.
• Recognizing magical effects and spouting arcanobabble.
scholastics
Your general knowledge, not covered by other grades.
• Understanding a foreign language.
• Remembering facts and figures from history.
• Using the scientific process to solve a problem.
• Writing a paper on any subject that you can research in the library.
vocational
Your practical, hands-on knowledge.
• Creating something in metal shoppe or wood shoppe.
• Appraising the value of loot (treasure typing).
• Sneaking into an off-limits part of campus.
• Forging a note from your guardian or sponsor.
m 20 n

Chapter 3: School Rules
These lists aren't exhaustive but should help you understand how the
Headmaster determines which Grade is most appropriate for a roll.
Example: Karvathas spent last Friday night babysitting his younger
cousin, who had a cold. Now Karvathas himself is sick and might not
be able to play in this week's game against the Guild Academy. What
roll is appropriate to determine if he has recovered?
At first you might think Hygiene -- cleanliness is next to healthiness?
-- but that is for social interactions. Instead, Karvathas will need to
make a Fitness roll after a day of bed rest to see if he is healthy
enough to play.
Roll Dice Equal to the Grade

Each Grade corresponds to a number of dice; this is based on the
traditional grade point system. A Grade of "A" equals 4 dice, "B" equals 3
dice, "C" equals 2 dice, "D" equals one die, and "F" equals no dice.
Roll all the dice together, then pick the two highest dice and add them
together for the total. If you're only rolling one die, just use that one --
and if you roll zero dice, then your total is 0. (Edges can still increase
your roll, though -- see below.)
Example: Karvathas has a Grade of "A" in Fitness. That means that he
rolls 4 dice when making a Fitness roll. Let's say he gets the
following dice results: c b e d. The highest two dice are e and d, so
his total is 9.
Gloopadoop also got sick over the weekend (I guess there's something
going around), and only has a Grade of "C" in Fitness. She rolls only
two dice, getting a d and a a for a total of 5.
Eight or Higher
To succeed on a task, your total for the roll needs to be an 8 or higher.
Rolling higher than an 8 doesn't itself give you any extra advantage,
although it probably means your Degree of success (see below) will be
higher.
WMHS does not use variable target numbers; you either succeed with
an 8 or more, or you fail with a 7 or less. This keeps the game running
quickly by eliminating a measure of complexity.
Example: With a total of 9, Karvathas succeeds on his Fitness roll. He's
healthy enough to play, hooray!
Poor Gloopadoop, on the other hand, got a total of 5 on her Fitness
roll, and thus is too sick to cover the big game. She'll have to stay in
her dorm and try to get well.
m 21 n

Degree of Success
The Degree of success on the roll tells how well the task was
accomplished. Of the two dice used to derive the total, choose the lower
of the two dice. That is the Degree die, and determines the quality of the
dice roll. The higher the Degree, the more impressive the success.
Degree of Success Quality

a Marginal
b Average
c Good
d Great
e Awesome
f Perfection
Example: With die results of e and d, and a total of 9, Karvathas

succeeded on his Fitness check to recover from being sick. The
lowest of those two values, the d, is his Degree of success. That
means that after his bout with a cold, he's feeling downright great. If
he'd rolled a lower Degree of success, he might still feel a little off his
game, and if he'd rolled higher, he'd be in the pink of health.
Automatic Successes
Some tasks you just can't help but succeed, but it's still important to
know how well you did at it. For those rolls, any result, even a 7 or
lower, is automatically a success -- because what you're really looking at
is the Degree of success.
Example: Karvathas runs across campus to make sure he'll get to the
game in time. We know he'll get there eventually, but how fast is he
able to run? The Headmaster asks for a Fitness check, and
Karvathas rolls b c d c. The two highest results are c and d, and
the total is 7 -- which might ordinarily be a failure, but in this case
it's a success automatically.
What's more important here is the Degree, and the lowest of those
two results is the 3. The Headmaster decides that he's missed the
slam-off but there's still time for the coach to put him in the game. If
he'd gotten a higher Degree he could have been in from the start, and
lower he would have made it just in time for the final, decisive play.
m 22 n

Degree of Failure
It's rare to require a measure of how badly you've failed at a task;
usually it's just that if you roll a 7 or less you've not succeeded. But just
in case, here are the rules for Degree of failure.
If how badly you failed is important, then look at the highest of the two
dice you added together. The higher that result, the worse the failure.
Degree of Failure Consequences
a Mild
b Average
c Serious
d Awful
e Critical
f Catastrophic
Example: Gloopadoop rolled a total of 5 on her Fitness roll to recover

from being sick, with dice results of a and d. The highest result is a
d, which is the Degree of failure for this roll.
That means she's feeling pretty awful; a Degree of failure of c would
mean she felt not quite so bad, and a Degree of failure of f --
possible if she'd rolled a a and a f -- would leave her unable to even
move out of bed.
Edges
A bonus on a Grade roll is called an Edge. Edges don't add to the total
or the number of dice rolled; instead, they are virtual dice which exist
for that particular roll.
Each Edge has an Edge Value which is between 1 and 6. When you total
a roll and pick the two highest dice, include the virtual Edge die as an
extra die that was rolled with a result equal to the Edge Value.
In all ways, treat the Edge die as if it were simply another die that were
rolled. If the Edge Result is one of the two highest dice, add it to the
other high die in order to determine the roll's total. If the Edge die is the
lower of the two dice used to calculate the total, then the Edge die is the
Degree of success.
As many Edges can be used in a roll as apply to the situation, but only
the highest two apply -- since you only choose the highest dice in a set
of results when rolling.
Example: Karvathas picks up the slamball as it's trying to run away
m 23 n

from the scrum and gives it a kick. How far does it go down the field
toward the Guild Academy's goal? The Headmaster calls for a Fitness
roll.
Karvathas rolls b c a d-- a pretty bad set of results. Adding the c
and d together gives a total of 7 for the roll, so his kick doesn't even
land since it's less than an 8.
But wait! Karvathas has an Edge named "Varsity Slamball Team" as
one of his Extra-Curricular Activities and the Edge Result is a e.
That Edge certainly applies in this situation, so he includes this as a
virtual die with his other dice results and now has b c a d e as his
results.
The highest two results are now d and e, and his total is 9 -- a
success! The Degree of success is d, the lower of the two dice used to
derive the total.
This means that Karvathas succeeds in kicking the slamball after all,
and in fact, does a great job with his kick! With a squeal, the
slamball flies through the air and lands close to the goal.
Levies
A Levy is the opposite of an Edge -- it's a penalty on a Grade roll. Like
an Edge, a Levy is a virtual die. But instead of adding to a group of
results in a roll, a Levy replaces one of the dice -- just before the total is
calculated.
The general rule for Levies is: The Levy replaces the highest result in a
roll, if that result is higher than the Levy Result. If all dice results are
lower than the Levy, it doesn't have any effect -- a die roll can't be
improved because a Levy was applied.
When they appear in the game rules, a Levy is represented by a negative
die -- black on white instead of white on black.
Example: Gloopadoop is determined to report on the big game, even if
she's sick. Does she make it there in time, though? The Headmaster
rules this isn't an automatic success -- she may not even make it to
the game, with how bad she's feeling -- and calls for a Fitness roll
with a Levy of C.
Gloopadoop's "C" grade in Fitness gives her only 2 dice to roll -- but
she gets lucky and rolls b f! That would be a total of 8, meaning a
success ... if only she didn't have that Levy.
The Levy kicks in and replaces her highest die result -- the f -- with
a result of C. Now she has results of b C for a total of 5, meaning she
didn't make it to the game after all.
m 24 n

edges & levies

If both Edges and Levies apply to a given roll, you first apply the Edges
and then apply the Levies.
Example: She missed the game, but Gloopadoop still has to file a story
with the student newspaper. She tracks down some of her fellow
students the next morning before class, and asks them to describe
what happened. She'll write it up as her own account -- perhaps a
breach of journalistic ethics, but she was sick, right? So that must
make it okay.
The Headmaster calls for a Scholastics roll, and tacks on a Levy of C
to that roll since she wasn't a first-hand witness. Gloopadoop has a
"B" in Scholastics, and has an Edge d in her Extra-Curricular
Activity of "Student Newspaper."
She picks up three dice and rolls: e b a. Without her Edge this is a
total of 7 (failure) meaning she wouldn't have anything to turn in to
her editor. However, that Edge means her results are really e b a d
-- a total of 9, success!
But now there's that Levy to deal with. The Levy Result replaces the
e with its C. Now Gloopadoop's only got C b a d -- total of 7 again,
from the 2 highest dice.
It turns out that her eyewitness sources gave conflicting descriptions
of the big play of the game -- hey, they were just there to watch, not
report on it -- and her article suffered for it. Poor Gloopadoop!
inverse edges & inverse levies

Sometimes a bonus will provide a penalty as well, or a disadvantage can
be advantageous in the right circumstances. For example, normally it's
not a good thing to have poor vision. But what if you can't quite focus
on that medusa and make eye contact, thus avoiding her petrifying
gaze?
In WMHS, conditional reversals of edges into levies or levies into edges
is known as inversion; an edge potentially has an inverse levy, and a
levy has an inverse edge.
The value of the inverse edge or levy is equal to 7 minus the normal trait
value. This inverse value is the same as the number on the direct
opposite side of the die of the normal value—for a properly made six-
sided die. If a b is showing on the top, then the value on the bottom of
the die is E, and vice versa.
m 25 n

Edge Value Inverse Levy

a F
b E
c D
d C
e B
f A
Some character traits, such as many Special Needs, give specific

circumstances in which an inverse value can be used. As with any trait,
the Headmaster can approve another situation in which the inverse is
also appropriate, in order to move the game along in an interesting
direction.
m 26 n

Conflicts & Combat
Wandering Monsters High School offers a number of different ways to

resolve conflicts using dice. The exact type of resolution – simple rolls,
simple contests, complex contests, or team contests – is up to the
Headmaster, although players can always feel free to suggest when a
certain type of contest might make the most sense.
It's important to keep in mind that despite having a fairly robust system
for various types of contests, not all problems in WMHS need to be
resolved with dice. Often it's most fun just to go along with the story and
whatever seems to fit the narrative, instead of breaking out the dice and
figuring out Grades and Edges.
For more guidance on when to use the dice and when to not, see
chapter 16, “Administrator's Handbook.”
Simple Rolls
A simple roll is just normal roll against the target number of 8; in some
simple rolls, the Degree of Success will matter and in some may not. The
Headmaster can call for a simple roll whenever it seems appropriate,
and adjust the outcome of the fiction narrative as appropriate.
The examples from last chapter – where Karvathas and Gloopadoop
were recovering from colds and had to make it to the game in time – are
examples of simple rolls.
Simple rolls are also used in combat (see below) to resolve attacks –
except overwhelming attacks – and to see if your student stays
conscious after taking a hit.
Example: Drizzle is ditching Study Hall to sneak off to the Alchemy Lab.
Miss Keshika is coming down the hallway and might spot him. If he
had a better score for Citizenship, he might try to talk his way out of
it and pretend like he's supposed to be wandering the halls – but
Drizzle has a “D” in Citizenship, not to mention the Known
Troublemaker special need. Instead, he'll try to sneak past her with a
Vocational check.
Drizzle has a “B” for his Vocational grade, so he's going to roll 3 dice.
He quickly quaffs a potion he made earlier today and turns invisible
– this gives him an Edge c on sneaking (see chapter 12, “Spells &
Potions,” for more on how invisibility potions work).
Rolling the dice, Drizzle gets b, e, and a, plus his Edge c, for a total
of 8. This is just barely enough to succeed, so he manages to quietly
slip into a hiding spot before Miss Keshika can notice him.

Simple Contests
When two (or more) parties are going head to head with each other, and
each is trying to do better than the other, that's a simple contest. A
simple contest consists of rolls made simultaneously.
If all parties fail to succeed on their rolls – that is, if nobody rolls 8 or
higher – then it's a tie. Otherwise, figure out the Degree of Success, as
described in chapter 3, “School Rules,” and see who has the higher
Degree of Success. In case of a tie, the contest results in a tie.
The Headmaster decides when a simple contest takes place; an example
might be a short race between several students. At the Headmaster's
option, if a tie results the tying participants can reroll the contest until a
clear winner is determined.
Example: Karvathas, Taylor Made, and Drizzle are all running to see
who can reach Gloopadoop first. Gloop is across campus and has a
free donut for the winner, and they all skipped breakfast this
morning. The contest will be Fitness checks to see who gets there
first.
Karvathas has an “A” in Fitness, so rolls 4 dice. He tries to convince
the Headmaster that his edges from his Slamball elective class (d)
and Varsity Slamball extra-curricular activity (e) should apply; the
Headmaster decides to split the difference and let him use one of the
two Edges – maybe he'll shoulder-block Taylor and slip past Drizzle.
His dice rolls are not so good: b, c, b, d. Using the Varsity Slamball
edge, his resulting roll is a 9 (d + e) – a success! – and his Degree of
Success is 4, the lowest of the two dice that comprise the result.
Taylor's “B” in Fitness lets her roll 3 dice, and she has no applicable
edges; cheerleaders aren't known for their sprinting ability. She rolls
well: d, d, c, for a total (d + d) of 8. This is a success with a Degree
of 4.
Drizzle is not nearly as athletic as his friends, and has only 2 dice to
roll thanks to his “C” grade in Fitness. He rolls a b and a f – a great
roll for him, as he succeeds, but his Degree of Success is only 2.
So Karvathas and Taylor tie with a Degree of 4 each. The Headmaster
(or Gloopadoop) could decide that they split the donut – but it's more
fun to have a clear winner, so the Headmaster decides to have the
two tied participants, Karvathas and Taylor, roll again.
Karvathas rolls much better – d, e, d, e, plus his Edge of e. He gets
a success (e + e is greater than 8), and his Degree of Success is 5.
Woot!
Taylor doesn't fare nearly as well this time around, rolling d, a, b for
a total of 7 – not even a success, so we don't calculate the Degree of
Success.
m 28 n

Chapter 4: Conflicts & Combat
Karvathas has won, as he uses his Slamball techniques to knock

Taylor aside and grab the prized donut!
mixed contests
In a simple contest, it's not required that everyone make the same roll.
In the example above, all of the participants made Fitness rolls because
they were running – but what if Drizzle wanted to try to cheat and sneak
his way to victory?
In such a case you have a mixed contest, where each participant is
rolling against a different Grade, but the Degree of Success is compared
for each.
Example: Let's say that instead of trying to run, Drizzle instead decides
he's going to cheat by tossing out his Papers & Paychecks dice in
front of the other runners, hoping to slow them down as they avoid
or trip over the small carved stones.
The Headmaster decides that this will be a Vocational check for
Drizzle; most sneaky tasks or tasks requiring manual dexterity are
Vocational checks. Drizzle gets one Edge of b because he's using a
normal item from his school supplies, and he rolls 3 dice because
he's got a “B” in Vocational.
Drizzle rolls and gets quite lucky – f, c, e. His Edge b doesn't help
him any because he's already got higher dice rolls – f + e equals 11,
with a Degree of Success equal to 5! This result is compared against
the Fitness results that Karvathas and Taylor rolled; each rolled a
Degree of Success of 4.
This means that Drizzle won the contest – the Headmaster narrates
that Karvathas and Taylor, arms flailing, crash into each other and
collapse in a heap as Drizzle jumps over the scattered P&P dice and
claims the donut for himself.
Complex Contests
A complex contest is one in which multiple rolls are made, and the
Degrees of Success for every roll are totaled together to arrive at a
result.
A complex contest usually consists of stages, one after the other, with
each set of rolls representing one activity. It's possible to have longer
contests, at the Headmaster's discretion, but usually three is about the
right number for settling anything important.
At the end of the rolls, the Degrees of Success are summed up and the
winner decided; in case of a tie, the tying participants roll off to break
the tie.
m 29 n

Many complex contests are also mixed contests, as described above –

not everyone needs to be rolling against the same Grade. In fact, it's
possible that on different stages of the complex contest, the participants
may be rolling against different Grades.
Example: Gloopadoop enjoyed watching her friends trip over themselves
in the race (some of them literally), so she decides to sponsor another
contest. This one, however, is more subtle: it's a cake-baking contest!
Cooking skills normally fall under Hygiene – as per the Cooking class
itself (see chapter 5, “Course Catalog”) – so unless the students can
convince the Headmaster otherwise, all of the rolls will be against the
Hygiene grade.
For the first stage of the contest, the other students will need to mix
up the batter.
Taylor's “A” grade in Hygiene gives her 4 dice to roll, and the
Headmaster lets her apply her Edge c from her Lair Economics class.
Her dice show e, b, c, and f – a success with a Degree of 5.
Karvathas has a “B” in Hygiene, so he's rolling 3 dice: b, b, and c,
for a result of 5 – not a success, so his Degree of Success is 0.
Drizzle has a “C” in Hygiene – but, he argues, is following a recipe
really any different if it's a cooking recipe or if it's an alchemical one?
The Headmaster is swayed enough by this argument to allow Drizzle
to add his Alchemy Club extra-curricular activity as an Edge d and
his Alchemy class as an Edge c on his Hygiene roll. He rolls a and f
– with the Edge d, that's a total of 10 (success!) and a Degree of
Success of 4.
Stage two is baking the cake. Taylor rolls four dice again (with Edge
c) as above, and gets d, f, c, b for a Degree of Success 4. Karvathas
rolls b, e, c for a success this time, Degree of 3.
Instead of baking his cake the normal way, Drizzle tries to cook it
with the Elemental Flare spell. He rolls four dice (for his “A” grade in
Occult): a, d, b, f (plus his Edge c for the Future Wizards of the
World extra-curricular activity) means that he baked it with a Degree
of Success 4.
Finally, stage 3 is decorating the cake. Taylor rolls b, d, e, and c for
a Degree of Success of 4. Karvathas also gets a 4, with rolls of f, d,
and b. Drizzle unsuccessfully tries to argue that he could cast an
illusion over the cake, but just has to make a normal Hygiene roll: e
and d, which is a success with a Degree of Success of 4.
Adding up the scores, Taylor gets 5 + 4 + 4 = 13; Karvathas gets 0 +
3 + 4 = 7, and Drizzle gets 4 + 4 + 4 = 12. Taylor wins! Her cake was
the best.
m 30 n

Team Contests
A team contest involves multiple participants all working together
toward the same goal – a sports game is a good example, or an Academic
Assault competition, or maybe even a bake sale trying to raise money to
send a disadvantaged young monster to summer camp.
In a team contest, all participants on one side make their rolls at the
same time, and their Degrees of Success are added together, and those
are compared to similar results scored by their opponents.
If a team contest has uneven numbers of participants, the average score
per participant can be used instead of the total score for each team.
Team contests can also be complex contests, with three or more stages.
Slamball games, for example, are easily represented as a team contest
between the two opposing teams, played out in four stages that
represent one quarter within the fictional game. (This isn't the only way
to represent a slamball game, mind you – just the one with the greatest
complexity.)
In addition, team contests can be mixed contests; not everyone needs to
make the same check, depending on the needs of the story. If a group of
students is working on a group research project, each student may be
assigned a different task – from making a model volcano to researching
lost myths of lava gods.
Example: Taylor Made, Drizzle, and Gloopadoop are sitting around at
the Inn in the Village when a pack of breakdancing zombies shamble
into the tavern and challenge them to a dance-off. (This situation
actually happens more often than you'd think.) The Headmaster
decides this will be a Fitness-based team contest.
Taylor is well-prepared for the challenge, being a cheerleader and all.
She makes a Fitness roll (grade “B,” 3 dice) with Edge e for being on
the cheer team. Her results of e, d, e net a success with a Degree of
5 toward the impromptu team's total.
Drizzle is less ready for this contest, with a “C” in Fitness. His two
dice roll c and d, meaning he doesn't succeed on his Fitness roll,
and thus doesn't add to the team's successes. He exhausts himself
trying to keep up with Taylor.
Gloopadoop also has a “C” in Fitness, but she also has an Edge e
from Shapeshifting which she'll use to make herself look like a pink,
translucent version of Taylor and copy her moves. With rolls of f and
b plus Edge e, she succeeds and her team contribution is 5.
The zombies go next, controlled by the Headmaster. There are 4 of
them, and they have “C” scores in Fitness – but their Niche of
“breakdancing zombies” also gives them an Edge d. This will be
close.
m 31 n

The first zombie rolls a, f; Degree 4 with the Edge d. The next
zombie rolls b, a; not a success. Third zombie rolls d, d for Degree
4. Fourth zombie e, b for another Degree 4 success. Their total is
12.
Since there aren't equal numbers on each team, we'll need to
compare average values. The zombies have 12 ÷ 4 = 3 each. The
students have 10 ÷ 3 = 3 1/3 each. They win, but barely. Hurray!
That'll show those zombies.
Combat
Combats in Wandering Monsters High School are relatively simple and
straightforward. The game isn't really about beating the heck out of each
other; after all, most meaningful interaction ends when someone gets
knocked out.
who acts first?

A combat begins when someone wants to throw a punch (or fire an
arrow, or breathe fire, or whatever) at someone else. The question of who
goes first is determined by the fictional narrative; if you say your
student is going to start the fight, then your student gets to go first.
After that, whoever you attacked gets to go next, and then any other
students run by other players, and then all other characters run by the
Headmaster. If there's ever a question of breaking a tie: player-run
students act before the Headmaster's characters, students act before
teachers and other adults, and otherwise line up in alphabetical order
by name.
The turn order continues throughout the combat; when the last
participant acts, restart the order with the person who started the fight.
Example: Drizzle, Gloopadoop, and Taylor are still at the Inn, when a
zombie, angry at losing the dance-off, stomps up to insult Drizzle's
parentage. The young dark elf is angry, but isn't willing get in a fight
– but then the zombie then turns his mockery on Taylor's new
hairstyle. Taylor decides to deck the zombie.
The combat order will then be: Taylor; the insulting zombie; Drizzle;
Gloopadoop; and finally the zombie's other three zombie friends.
making an attack
When it's your turn during a combat, your student can do one thing:
attack someone. In order to do this, first describe what actions your
student is going to take against someone else. Then you pick up the
appropriate dice and make a simple roll.
m 32 n

If you succeed – rolling an 8 or higher – then you have hit with your
attack. Huzzah! For normal attacks, your Degree of Success doesn't
matter.
In most cases, the appropriate dice are going to be based on your
Fitness score, because that's what you use to throw a punch. If you're
using a weapon, you get an Edge b for using an item (or an Edge d if it's
your Status Symbol), and you can use your Vocational grade instead of
your Fitness score to make the attack.
Example: Taylor has a Fitness score of “B,” so she rolls 3 dice when
punching the zombie. She's also Really Strong and that gives her an
Edge c for this roll.
She rolls and gets d, f, b plus the Edge c – total of 10, a success.
Pow! Right in the kisser!
staying conscious
If your student is hit by a successful attack, you need to roll to stay
conscious. This is a simple Fitness roll, and you have to get a total of 8
or higher. If not, you fall unconscious.
When your student is wearing armor, you gain an Edge b (or Edge d if
the armor is your Status Symbol) because you're using a normal item.
Your student might get additional edges from classes, gifts, or other
sources.
Anyone unconscious is knocked out until the end of the current period,
then awakens with no further ill effects – except maybe for wounded
pride.
Example: The zombie just got hit in the face by Taylor. So he's got to
make a Fitness roll to stay conscious. The zombie has a “C” in
Fitness, so he only rolls 2 dice – but he gets Edge d for his gift of
Unstoppable.
A roll of f and a mean a success with that Edge d, for a total of 10.
The zombie stays conscious.
(Actually, the zombie was gonna stay conscious anyway; read the
Unstoppable gift as described in chapter 6, “Gifted & Talented
Programs.”)
overwhelming attacks
Certain traits – some gifts, some classes, some magical spells – allow
your student to make Overwhelming Attacks. If your student has more
than one trait that allows Overwhelming Attacks to be made, you can
make one for each such trait your student possesses.
An Overwhelming Attack is an automatic hit – there's no chance of
m 33 n

missing. What matters in an Overwhelming Attack is your Degree of

Success.
To stay conscious after being hit by an Overwhelming Attack, your
student not only needs to succeed at a Fitness check, but needs to get a
Degree of Success that equals or exceeds the Degree of Success of the
Overwhelming Attack.
Example: Drizzle goes next. He realizes the only way to deal with these
zombies is with an overwhelming attack – they're too tough to take
with normal attacks. Fortunately, he has a spell he can use –
Elemental Burst – as an overwhelming attack! He'll make a small,
controlled explosion of fire in the guy's face.
Drizzle's Occult grade is an “A,” so he'll roll 4 dice. He gets Edge c
from his Future Wizards of the World extra-curricular activity when
casting spells. He rolls b, a, f, d for a total of 9 (using the Edge c),
but the total doesn't matter – only the Degree of Success, which is a
3.
The Headmaster rolls for the zombie next. The zombie's Unstoppable
gift doesn't apply against overwhelming attacks, so he's only got two
dice to roll. With a roll of c and b, his Degree of Success is only 2.
The zombie's knocked out cold until the end of the current period.
m 34 n

Course Catalog
These listings represent a typical term's worth of classes at

Wandering Monsters High School. There may be additional courses
offered or changes to the curriculum at the option of your Headmaster.
Each term, you enroll in one course from each subject – although
upperclassmonsters (juniors and seniors) can choose to take en elective
instead of one class. This allows them to get around the one-course-
from-each-subject rule.
citizenship classes, listed

Basic Study Skills Obedience
Giving Orders Study Hall
Library Aide Teacher's Aide
fitness classes, listed

Combat & Tactics Riding
Exotic Weapons Self Defense
Expeditious Retreats Simple Weapons
Intro to Wandering Slamball
Martial Weapons Swimming
hygiene classes, listed

Bathing Lair Economics
Charms Prestige
Cooking Social Hygiene
Health & Wellness
occult classes, listed

Alchemy Illusions
Defense against the Holy Arts Magic Missile
Demigods & Deities Magic through the Ages
Divination The Dark Arts
Elemental Magic

scholastics classes, listed

Advanced Mathematics Elven Language
Ancient History Geography
Basic Mathematics Giantish Language
Common as a Second Language Legends & Lore
Common Tongue Orcish Language
Creative Writing Survey of Literature
Draconic Language Unearthing Arcana
vocational classes, listed

Advanced Looting Music
Armor Poisons & Antidotes
First Aid Sneaking
Intro to Pillaging Treasure Typing
Metal Shoppe Wood Shoppe
Course Descriptions
Each course description lists the following information:
Prerequisite: If there's a Grade prerequisite, you have to have that grade
or higher (unless it specifically says "or lower"). If there's a year
prerequisite, you have to be that year in school or higher.
Instructor: The name of the teacher who teaches the class. See chapter
14, "Faculty & Staff," for information on each teacher.
Edge: The main situation in which the class grants an Edge equal its
Edge Value (which is usually c — or d if you've chosen the class as
your elective). This is not the only situation in which you can gain an
Edge from your class; you're only limited by your creativity and the
Headmaster's indulgence.
citizenship classes
These classes emphasize cooperation with authority, good study
habits, proper attendance, and other things that the administration
loves and the students hate.
Basic Study Skills

Prerequisites: Scholastics C or less
Instructor: Ms. Larraugh
Edge: Taking a test or completing an assignment in any Scholastics
class.
This is a remedial class for people who aren't very good at studying.
m 36 n

Chapter 5: Course Catalog
Giving Orders
Prerequisites: Senior year
Instructor: Coach Brunnk
Edge: Getting someone to obey you.
Taught in concert with the Obedience class, this course teaches young
monsters to be enforcers and lieutenants for their masters.
Library Aide
Prerequisites: Scholastics C
Instructor: Ms. Siouxianthe
Edge: Looking up facts in the library.
Lots of time spent shelving books and other busywork designed to make it
look like you're doing something other than goofing off in the library.
Obedience
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Doing something you were ordered to do, as long as you don't
really want to do it.
Taught in concert with the Giving Orders class, this course teaches blind
obedience to authority and just following orders.
Study Hall
Prerequisites: None
Instructors: Ms. Larraugh, Renk
Edge: Taking any test in any class, as long it's not a pop quiz.
This is almost like having a free period, except you spend it reviewing
your notes and texts from other classes. You're not really supposed to
use it to socialize with your friends.
Teacher's Aide
Prerequisites: Citizenship B, Junior year
Instructor: Your choice
Edge: Interacting with any teacher.
Instead of taking an actual class, you spend a period helping out a
teacher with grading papers and cleaning up the classroom.
m 37 n

fitness classes
The Fitness classes are designed to keep you in shape and also direct
any violent tendencies in socially acceptable directions.
Combat & Tactics

Prerequisites: Fitness B, Senior year
Instructor: Lady Dolann
Edge: In combat.
This is an advanced class that covers not just standing around and
smacking someone with a stick, but actually planning out strategies and
taking advantage of terrain.
Exotic Weapons
Prerequisites: Junior year
Edge: In combat, when armed with your Status Symbol as a weapon.
In this course, you learn how to use advanced weapons in unusual and
creative ways.
Expeditious Retreats
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Running away from someone or something.
This track-and-field class teaches all manner of running, from sprints to
long distance.
Intro to Wandering
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Trying to find a random person.
Basically, you all group up together and walk around the grounds of the
campus for an hour.
Martial Weapons
Prerequisites: Sophomore year
Edge: In combat, when armed with a weapon.
This class teaches you how to use more advanced weapons such as
bows, swords, and battle-axes.
m 38 n

Riding
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Making your mount do something.
In addition to normal horses, WMHS also has access to riding wolves, a
couple ostriches, a gryphon, and a wyvern.
Self Defense
Prerequisites: None
Edge: In combat, when someone else attacks you and you're unarmed.
In this course, you learn how to defend yourself even when you don't
have any weapons.
Simple Weapons
Prerequisites: None
Edge: In combat, when armed with a simple weapon.
In this course, you learn how to use simple weapons: clubs, rocks,
sticks, knives and so on.
Slamball
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Playing slamball.
Slamball is a rough-and-tumble game of trying to take the semi-sentient
ball away from the opposing team and stuff it into their goal. Nearly
anything goes.
Swimming
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Swimming quickly, diving well, or holding your breath.
The pool at WMHS was installed a few years ago, originally to
accommodate a mermaid student. Since then, it's been used by the
relatively new swim team, and for swimming classes.
m 39 n

hygiene classes
All of these classes are good for you, really! They're about self-
improvement, even if that improvement is just getting you to not stink
so badly.
Bathing
Prerequisites: Hygiene C or lower
Edge: Influencing other students.
You'd be surprised how many students need to take this remedial class.
Charms
Prerequisites: Hygiene B
Instructor: Miss Keshika
Edge: Influencing other students to make them like you.
What student couldn't benefit from a little charm school instruction?
This course covers etiquette, manners, and grooming.
Cooking
Prerequisites: None
Instructors: The Sisters Three
Edge: Cooking something edible.
Taught by the three harpy lunchladies, this class teaches you how to
turn nutritious iron rations into tasty iron ration stew. Yum!
Health & Wellness

Prerequisites: None
Edge: Fitness rolls to stay conscious.
This class actually does tell you how to eat healthily, avoid getting sick,
and get plenty of exercise. It's a quite useful class for anyone.
Lair Economics
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Managing your dorm room.
It's not as easy as it looks to keep a decent lair functioning. This class
prepares you for living on your own: managing a budget, finding food,
repelling adventurers and salespeople.
m 40 n

Prestige
Prerequisites: Hygiene A, Senior year
Edge: Impressing other students.
You have to be very elite to take a prestige class.
Social Hygiene
Prerequisites: Sophomore year
Instructors: Miss Keshika, Coach Brunnk
Edge: Romancing someone who is open to your advances.
Infamous as the most embarrassing class on campus, this course
discusses all the different ways that monsters might reproduce. Yeah,
it's sex ed.
m 41 n

occult classes
Occult classes are required to graduate from Wandering Monsters
High School; most students who aren't planning to become wizards or
priests will take the Magic & You and Magic Through the Ages classes.
The more advanced courses allow your student to cast a single spell
once per day; see chapter 12, "Spells & Potions," for more information
about those spells.
Alchemy
Prerequisites: Occult B
Instructor: Mr. Chok'tsun
Edge: Making a potion.
This class teaches you how to make potions. You can create one potion
per day, if you have access to the alchemy lab or an alchemy kit. It only
lasts for a day. See chapter 12, "Spells & Potions."
Defense against the Holy Arts

Prerequisites: Occult C
Edge: Defending against holy magic, spouting religibabble.
While you take this class, you can cast the Defense spell once per day.
See chapter 12, "Spells & Potions."
Demigods & Deities

Prerequisites: Occult C
Instructor: Mr. Thardall
Edge: Praying, or spouting religiobabble.
This religion class teaches you about the major gods of the world. When
enrolled in this class, you can cast the Blessing spell once per day, as
described in chapter 12, "Spells & Potions."
Divination
Edge: Casting divination spells.
Taking this class lets you cast the Detect spell once per day. See chapter
12, "Spells & Potions," for more details.
m 42 n

Elemental Magic
Edge: Casting elemental spells.
While taking this class, you can cast the Elemental Flare spell --
described in chapter 12, "Spells & Potions" -- once per day.
Illusions
Edge: Casting illusions, recognizing illusions.
This class lets you cast Illusion once per day; for details on the Illusion
spell, see chapter 12, "Spells & Potions."
Magic & You

Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Renk
Edge: Spouting arcanobabble that's mostly incorrect.
This is a holistic course that examines the effects of magic upon
students. What does a charm spell feel like? Do you dream when a sleep
spell is cast on you? What does half damage mean to you?
Magic Missile
Edge: Casting magic missile.
Enrolling in this class lets you cast Magic Missile once per day. See
chapter 12, "Spells & Potions."
Magic through the Ages

Edge: Reciting facts from the history of magic.
This is an overview of wizards and other magic-users throughout the
course of history. It's popular among non-spellcasters.
The Dark Arts

Edge: Being creepy or scary.
This necromancy class lets you cast Death Spell once per day. Sadly, it
doesn't actually kill anyone; see chapter 12, "Spells & Potions," for more
details.
m 43 n

scholastics classes
Advanced Mathematics
Prerequisites: Scholastics B
Instructor: Mr. Rufus Daark
Edge: Doing any maths beyond addition.
This class is more advanced than Basic Mathematics; you can't take
both Advanced and Basic at the same time.
Ancient History
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Ms. Sharada
Edge: Knowing something that happened more than a hundred years
ago.
From the creation of the world from the primordial chaos to last
century's orc wars, it's the entire history of everything condensed into
one term.
Basic Mathematics
Prerequisites: Scholastics C or lower
Edge: Counting, adding.
Most WMHS students can only count as high as they have digits. This
class teaches them advanced counting, as well as simple addition.
Common as a Second Language

Prerequisites: Scholastics C or lower
Instructor: Renk
Edge: Reading and writing in Common.
If you don't speak Common Tongue as your native language or if you're
just bad at Common, you can take this remedial course instead.
Common Tongue
Edge: Reading and writing in Common.
You're required to take at least one class in Common before you
graduate from WMHS, which includes reading books and writing essays.
m 44 n

Creative Writing
Edge: Writing something creatively.
Even monsters love writing poetry and short stories!
Draconic Language
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Renk
Edge: Speaking, writing, reading, or understanding draconic.
This course gives you the ability to hold basic conversations in draconic,
and fulfills the graduation requirement of a foreign language course.
Elven Language
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Speaking, writing, reading, or understanding elven.
This course gives you the ability to hold basic conversations in elven,
Geography
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Miss Sharada
Edge: Working with maps, recalling information about far-away places.
In addition to telling you where things are located in the world, this
course also teaches you how to read and create maps. Useful!
Giantish Language
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Speaking, writing, reading, or understanding giantish.
This course gives you the ability to hold basic conversations in
griantish, and fulfills the graduation requirement of a foreign language
course.
Legends & Lore

Prerequisites: None
Edge: Recalling a relevant story from mythology.
This course covers the myths of gods, monsters, and heroes -- things
which aren't quite historical but aren't quite fictional either.
m 45 n

Orcish Language
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Speaking, writing, reading, or understanding orcish.
This course gives you the ability to hold basic conversations in orcish,
Survey of Literature
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Recalling historical facts, or romancing someone.
This class focuses on historical dramas and some of the great novels
and love sonnets, because that's what the instructor likes best.
Unearthing Arcana
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Excavating archaeological digs, identifying antiques and artifacts.
An introduction to archeology, this course gives hands-on experience
with digging up and breaking priceless relics (or worthless junk) from
times long gone.
m 46 n

vocational classes
Advanced Looting
Prerequisites: Vocational B
Instructor: Ms. T'k'ch'kul
Edge: Opening locks, springing traps, or picking pockets.
For more advanced students than Intro to Pillaging, this course teaches
the subtler ways to acquire treasure from someone else.
Armor
Prerequisites: None
Edge: In combat, when wearing armor or carrying a shield.
This class teaches you how to get the most out of wearing armor,
including how to put on a helmet correctly and how to wield a shield.
First Aid
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Nurse Gruntha
Edge: Administering aid to someone else.
Taught by the school nurse, this class lets you make a Vocational roll
once per period to wake up someone who is unconscious.
Intro to Pillaging
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Grabbing loot.
A basic class about checking bodies for treasure after you kill them. For
less blunt techniques, see the Advanced Looting class instead.
Metal Shoppe
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Making a metal item.
This class gives you access to the smithy, where you can make simple
items such as horseshoes, shields, maces, daggers, or ninja throwing
stars. Careful, those can put an eye out!
m 47 n

Music
Prerequisites: None
Instructor: Renk
Edge: Singing or playing an instrument.
It's rare to have a WMHS graduate go on to become a bard, but many
students will learn chanting, banging on a drum, or plucking at a lute.
Who doesn't love music, after all?
Poisons & Antidotes

Prerequisites: None
Edge: Creating poisons.
Each term, about half the students in this course drop out from
accidentally poisoning themselves. Once per day you can create a vial of
Poison; see chapter 12, "Spells & Potions," for more details.
Sneaking
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Hiding from someone.
This is the only class in which you get extra credit for ditching class
(and not getting caught doing so).
Treasure Typing
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Appraising items or sorting money.
Should you have 3-24 copper pieces or 3-18 silver pieces? Do you have
a 15% chance to have any two magic items and a potion? This class will
help you mind your Ps and Qs when managing your personal finances.
Wood Shoppe
Prerequisites: None
Edge: Creating wooden items.
You can make wooden items in the carpentry shop. Watch out for
splinters!
m 48 n

Gifted & Talented
P rograms
Wandering Monsters High School offers students a broad array of

programs designed to enhance their natural abilities and help them
develop burgeoning talents that may prove useful to their future
employers.
In game terms, a gift is anything that your were born with, while a talent
is something you may have developed along the way. However, this
distinction is an arbitrary one and for the most part, gifts & talents are
treated the same way in play. You can even take any gift and call it a
“talent” if you like; maybe someone taught your student how to breathe
fire or read minds?
As every student is unique in their own special way, the Headmaster
has the option to approve additional gifts & talents proposed by the
players. The lists that follow should be viewed as examples of standard
gifts & talents, and custom gifts & talents should have the same general
usefulness as those listed below.
gifts, listed
This is a list of some gifts that you can take for your student. These
represent in-born abilities, usually granted by your student's species.
Breath Weapon (choice) Petrification
Charming Poison
Death Ray Really Strong
Energy Drain Scavenger
Flight Second Language (choice)
Immaterial Shapechanging (choice)
Immunity (choice) Spell Resistance
Invisibility Telepathy
Natural Armor Tentacles
Natural Weaponry (choice) Unstoppable
Night Vision

talents, listed
Talents are those things unique to your student, not possessed by other
members of your student's species.
Eidetic Memory Popular
Familiar/Pet Prodigy (choice)
Minions Rich Patron
Natural Athlete Teacher's Pet
Perfect Pitch
In addition to the talents listed above, you can choose any of the gifts as
a talent as well; these reflect abilities that weren't with your student at
birth (or from an early age) but which you learned or gained later in life.
Gifts & Talents Descriptions

Gift & talent descriptions can include the following information:
Attack: Some gifts & talents can be used to attack other people. See
chapter 4, “Conflicts & Combat,” for more details on attacks and
overwhelming attacks.
Choice: If you need to make a choice as to the specifics of the gift or
talent, the description will tell you what you have to choose.
Resistance: A gift or talent that allows your student to stay conscious
after being hurt. See chapter 4, “Conflicts & Combat,” for more
details on resistance rolls.
Special: Any other special abilities granted by this gift or talent.
Edge: The main situation in which the gift or talent grants an Edge
equal its Edge Value. This is not the only situation in which you can
gain an Edge from your gift or talent; you're only limited by your
creativity and the Headmaster's indulgence.
What follows is a list of common gifts & talents, which may be expanded
at the Headmaster's option.
Breath Weapon
You can shoot some sort of substance or energy out of your mouth.
Choice: Choose what kind of breath weapon your student has. Your
student could breathe fire, or emit a noxious gas, or a blast of
electricity, or anything else that makes sense to you.
Attack: Your student can make a Fitness roll to attack with breath
weapon. Once per period, your student can use this as an
overwhelming attack.
m 50 n

Chapter 6: Gifted & Talented Programs
Edge: Attacking with breath weapon, or using it for some non-combat

purpose (like cooking with fire breath).
Charming
You have a natural ability to magically charm other people. The effects
of this are muted by the wards around the school, but still, your natural
charisma and influence shines through in whatever you do.
Special: Once per period, you can make an Occult roll when interacting
with someone. This replaces your Citizenship roll (if interacting with
teachers and staff) or Hygiene (with other students).
Edge: Trying to get someone to like you.
Death Ray
Your student can kill anything with a deadly ray of death!
Unfortunately, it doesn't actually kill anyone on the grounds of
Wandering Monsters High School, due to the magical wards
surrounding the campus, but your student might knock someone out or
make them nauseous.
Attack: Your student can make an Occult roll to attack with death ray.
Once per period, your student can use this as an overwhelming
attack.
Edge: Attacking with death ray.
Eidetic Memory
Your student can remember anything. They'd say you have a
photographic memory except photographs haven't been invented yet.
Edge: Remembering something with a Scholastics roll.
Energy Drain
With but a touch you can drain the very life from your foe! Or, at least,
you can make them somewhat drowsy.
Attack: Your student can make a Hygiene roll to attack with energy
drain. Once per period, your student can use this as an
Edge: Attacking with energy drain.
m 51 n

Familiar/Pet
Your student has a small animal or magical companion who follows you
around or perches on your student's shoulder. It's well trained, which
means it will usually do what you want it to do. Your student can
communicate simple concepts with it, but it can't talk to anyone else.
Edge: Being assisted by your familiar on an Occult roll or being assisted
by your pet on a Vocational roll.
Flight
Your student can fly around. Whee! Your student can carry as much as
you could normally lift while walking on the ground.
Edge: Doing impressive aerobatics with a Fitness roll or otherwise using
your flight to your advantage.
Immaterial
Your student can walk through most walls. (All of the most critical
places on the WMHS are warded against immaterial intruders, however.)
This makes your student highly resistant to damage as well.
Edge: Making a Fitness roll to stay conscious after being hit by a
material attack of some kind.
Immunity
Your student is highly resistant to something that would normally hurt
anyone else, such as fire, extreme cold, lightning, poison, and so on.
Choice: Choose what your student is immune to. It can't be too broad;
you can't say you're immune to “everything” since that's just silly.
Resistance: Whenever you make a Fitness roll to resist that thing your
student is immune to, the roll is automatic success.
Edge: Resisting that thing you resist.
Invisibility
Your student can turn invisible whenever you want. So cool! Time to
sneak into some locker rooms.
Special: When your student is invisible, you can make an Occult roll
instead of a Vocational roll to sneak around.
Edge: Sneaking around while invisible.
m 52 n

Minions
Your student has a group of minions who hang on your every word and
try to follow your orders. This might be a gaggle of gabby would-be cool
girls, a team of burly jocks, or a bunch of eager freshmen nerds.
They're all basically faceless, nameless, and interchangeable as far as
you're concerned; what matters is that they are willing to do what you
ask.
Edge: Giving orders to your minions.
Natural Armor
Armor plating or a rocky hide give your student resistance against
attacks and injuries that would hurt a normal student.
Resistance: Your student can't be turned to stone with petrification.
Edge: Staying conscious after being hurt.
Natural Athlete
Your student excels in sports activities.
Edge: Making a Fitness check to play a sport, to run, or otherwise
engage in physical exertion.
Natural Weaponry
Your student has built-in weapons of some kind, such as claws.
Choice: Choose what your student's natural weaponry is – such as
porcupine quills, a spiked tail, metal claws, and so on.
Attack: Your student can make a Fitness or Vocational roll to attack
with natural weaponry. Once per period, your student can use this
as an overwhelming attack.
Edge: Attacking with natural weaponry.
Night Vision
Your student can see in pitch darkness as if the area were lit.
Edge: Looking for something in the dark.
m 53 n

Perfect Pitch
A natural singer, your student can hit any note desired.
Edge: Singing well, shattering wine glasses with a Hygiene roll.
Petrification
Your student has the power to turn
someone to stone, either by looking
at them or by touch. If you succeed
in the attack, you turn them into
solid rock temporarily.
Attack: Your student can make an
Occult roll to attack with
petrification. Once per period,
your student can use this as an
Edge: Petrifying someone.
Poison
Whether through a stinger, fangs, or even a slimy amphibious skin, your
student has the power to deliver a potent venom. Within the WMHS
campus, the deadliness is reduced, but you can at least sicken
someone.
Attack: Your student can make a Vocational roll to attack with poison.
attack.
Edge: Attacking with poison.
Popular
Some students, regardless of clique, niche, or extra-curricular activities,
are just well-liked. Your student is one of these popular kids.
Edge: Relating to other random students using Hygiene.
Prodigy
Your student has a particular talent for something, without even having
to be formally trained in it.
Choice: Choose one class from chapter 5, “Course Catalog.” Your
student gains the Edge granted by that class, although not any other
benefits. For example, if you choose Wood Shoppe, class your
student gains the Edge for working on wooden items, but not access
to the wood shoppe itself.
Edge: See the appropriate course description.
m 54 n

Really Strong
Your student isn't just strong, but really strong. Really, really strong.
Like, stronger-than-10-normal-people strong.
Edge: Lifting heavy things, punching someone with a Fitness roll,
playing sports where strength matters.
Rich Patron
Whoever is funding your student's studies isn't just wealthy, but is a
major donor to Wandering Monsters High School. There's at least one
wing of a building named after this rich benefactor.
Edge: Making Citizenship rolls while dealing with the school
administration.
Scavenger
You can eat anything short of rocks (and those you can sort of gnaw on),
including the cafeteria's mystery meat surprise.
Edge: Fitness rolls preventing you from getting sick or passing out from
something you ate, including ingested poisons.
Second Language
Your student speaks a different language, not Common Tongue, at
home. Communicating with other speakers of the same language can be
done automatically.
Edge: Taking a test in a foreign language class or impressing someone
with your cunning linguistics.
Shapechanging
Your student can change shape to look like almost anything of around
the same general size and mass.
Choice: Choose two of the following limitations on your student's ability
to change shape:
• Always the same color
• Some distinctive feature is always present
• Can only change into a limited set of shapes
• Must see the object to be imitated
Edge: Impersonating something else.
m 55 n

Spell Resistance
Your student is unnaturally resistant magic.
Resistance: Whenever you make a roll to resist an Occult-based ability,
such as a spell or a death ray, it's an automatic success. Your degree
of success still matters when resisting overwhelming attacks, of
course.
Edge: Resisting spells.
Teacher's Pet
Your student is the type of wonderful little monster that any teacher
would love to have in their class. You're great at sucking up.
Edge: Interacting with any teacher using Citizenship.
Telepathy
Your student can communicate telepathically and can try to read minds.
Special: Your student can make a Scholastics roll to try to read
someone's mind; if successful, the target can resist it with a
Scholastics roll of their own. If they fail to resist, your student knows
what their current surface thoughts are.
Edge: Reading minds.
Tentacles
Your student has one or more prehensile tentacles which can be used to
grab things or otherwise cause problems. (Yeah, we know about the
Japanese cartoons; try to keep it clean, okay, people?)
Attack: Your student can make a Fitness roll to attack with tentacles.
attack.
Edge: Attacking with tentacles, using them to lift things, or doing fine
manipulation with tentacles.
Unstoppable
Your student may get knocked down, but gets right back up again and
keeps going.
Resistance: When you make a Fitness roll to remain conscious, it's an
automatic success – as long as it wasn't the result of an
Edge: Staying conscious after being hurt, except against overwhelming
attacks.
m 56 n

Reasonable
Accommodations
Accessibility has been the rule since the founding of Wandering

Monsters High School. From the very first class of students, non-
humanoids have enrolled in the school -- some of whom don't even fit
inside the classroom.
If your student is a bit unusual and doesn't quite fit in, have no worries
-- the school will go out of its way to make sure your monster is able to
study effectively. (The school doesn't want to be sued under the
Monsters with Disabilities Act, after all.)
What follows is a partial list of special
needs that you can take for your
student. If you have something else
you'd like to suggest, run it past the
Headmaster and see what they think.
All special needs give your student a
Levy under certain circumstances,
represented by the inverse, white-on-
black dice on your student report
card. See chapter 3, "School Rules" for
more details on how Levies work.
Some special needs can actually be
advantageous in some situations. For
example, if you're Aquatic, you have difficulties on land but do
wonderful in the water. In these cases use the Inverse Edge value --
which is 7 minus the Edge value of your special need. See chapter 3,
"School Rules," for more information on Inverse Edges.
Addicted (choice) Metabolically Challenged
Allergy (choice) Non-Humanoid
Aquatic Small-Bodied
Inept (choice) Special Diet (choice)
Known Troublemaker Unlucky
Large-Bodied Visually Impaired

Special Needs Descriptions

Each special needs description includes one or more of the following:
Choice: If you have to make a decision when choosing a special need,
this tells you what your options are.
Levy: This is the penalty that your student gets under certain
circumstances for having the special need. Its Levy value equals the
die beside the special need, on your student report card – usually a
Levy of D, E, or F.
Inverse Edge: If your student's special need can be useful in some rare
situations, your student might gain an Inverse Edge as listed in the
description.
Addicted
You're hooked on something, and you may become the subject of an
after-school special or a Very Special Session of WMHS.
Choice: Choose an addictive substance that isn't too easy to get your
hands on. (You can't be addicted to air, for example.)
Levy: When you don't get the substance you're addicted to, you get a
Levy on rolls you make, at the Headmaster's option.
Allergic
You can't help but sneeze, itch, break out in hives, or even pass out
when exposed to a certain substance.
Choice: Choose as your allergen something you might actually come in
contact with, such as water, holy items, straw, or bright lights.
Levy: Whenever you're exposed to the allergen you chose.
Inverse Edge: When you try to locate the presence of your allergen.
Aquatic
You're a water-breather by nature. You've got a magical filter tank on
your head, but you're still somewhat clumsy on land. Your dorm room
has a very large bathtub.
Levy: When you're on land and making a Fitness roll, even if you have
your breathing gear on.
Inverse Edge: When you're in the water and making a Fitness roll.
m 58 n

Chapter 7: Reasonable Accommodations
Illiterate
You can't read.
Levy: Whenever you make a Scholastics roll. You may want to find a
cute, brainy nerd to help tutor you.
Inept
You're just not good at one particular thing, no matter how you try to
master it. In fact, you're downright terrible at it.
Choice: Choose something that you might actually want to do. You can't
do it very well. Examples include sports, poetry, spells, dancing, or
public speaking.
Levy: Whenever you're forced to do the thing you're bad at.
Known Troublemaker
Everyone suspects you, especially the teachers.
Levy: When you're trying to convince someone that you're actually not
causing problems this time.
Large-Bodied
You're big, which means it's hard to fit in the classrooms.
Levy: Whenever you're in a crowded area or your size will be a detriment
(such as doing delicate work with your fingers or walking on a
tightrope).
Inverse Edge: When your size is advantageous, such as sitting on
someone.
Metabolically Challenged
You're dead, or you were never alive in the first place.
Levy: Whenever making a Fitness roll to wake up from being
unconscious.
Inverse Edge: When you are fighting off poison or disease.
Non-Humanoid
You aren't shaped like almost everyone else. You could be a big floating
eyeball, or a shapeless blob, or have four legs, or anything else that's
not the typical shape. This makes it hard to find clothes, sit at desks,
and so on.
Levy: Whenever your non-humanoid nature makes it difficult for you to
do something.
Inverse Edge: Alternately, in some situations your non-humanoid shape
m 59 n

may help you. In that case, it becomes an Edge.
Small-Bodied
You're much smaller than most people -- about half the size of the
average WMHS student.
Levy: Whenever your size is a detriment, such as being smaller than
anyone else while playing sports, or being unable to reach something
on a high shelf.
Inverse Edge: When your size is advantageous, such as trying to sneak
through a small opening.
Special Diet
There's something you have to eat, and if you don't get it, you'll get sick.
The school will make every attempt to supply you with what you need to
eat, but sometimes supplies might run low.
Choice: Choose what your diet consists of. It has to be something that
most people usually don't eat.
Levy: Whenever you haven't had your special diet yet today, on every
roll.
Unlucky
Things just plain don't go your way.
Levy: Whenever you make a roll that will let you accomplish one of your
student goals.
Visually Impaired
You can't see well, or maybe not even at all. Fortunately, the school will
make allowances such as a tutor, books in Braille, or even a seeing-
eye creature.
Levy: Whenever you make a roll that requires seeing something.
Inverse Edge: When attacked by someone with a gaze attack, such as a
medusa trying to turn you to stone.
m 60 n

Extra-Curricular
Activities
This is a partial list of activities that are offered at Wandering Monsters

High School for personal growth and development by the students.
There may be additional extra-curricular activities available during any
given semester at the Headmaster's option.
During Enrollment, you choose several of these for your student to enjoy
during the current term. With the permission of the Headmaster, you
can create your own activity for your student.
Academic Assault Team Monster Compendium Yearbook
Alchemy Club Papers & Paychecks RPG Guild
Campus Crusade for Orcus Student Government
Cheerleading Squad Student Newspaper
Future Wizards of the World Swim Team
Gloom Club Undead Poets Society
Henchmen, Hirelings, Varsity Slamball Team
Handymen & Housekeepers Young Overlords
Marching Band
activity descriptions
Each extra-curricular activity is described below, including the following
additional information applicable.
Prerequisite: If a certain grade is required to do the activity, it will be
listed here. Otherwise, the extra-curricular activity is open to all
WMHS students.
Advisor: The name of the faculty or staff member who supervises the
activity. Some advisors are very hands-on, while others barely pay
attention to what the students are doing. All recognized activities
have an advisor, as a school requirement. See chapter 13, “Faculty &
Staff,” for more information on each advisor.
Special: If there are any special rules or abilities granted by
participation in the activity, these are noted here. For example,
students who are part of the Alchemy Club get access to the alchemy
lab.
Edge: The circumstance in which the activity grants an Edge on die
rolls. The Edge Value is equal to the die beside the name of the
activity on your student report card.

Academic Assault Team

WMHS regularly competes with other similar schools, such as the
Adventurers Guild Academy, on a number of levels – including recitation
of facts and calculations of mathematical problems. The smartest kids
from WMHS are usually drafted onto the Academic Assault Team for
non-fatal competitions of brains, tactics, and brawn. Mr. Darrk is a
demanding taskmaster and expects the best from students on the AAT.
Prerequisite: Scholastics grade of B or higher.
Advisor: Mr. Rufus Darrk
Edge: Taking a test or competing in an Academic Assault competition.
Alchemy Club
Known as the geekiest club on campus, the alchemy club is
nevertheless respected for their ability to create various kinds of useful
potions outside of class. Thardall, the advisor, rarely pays attention to
what the student alchemists are doing.
Prerequisite: Occult grade of C or higher.
Advisor: Mr. Chok'tsun
Special: Participation in this activity grants your student access to the
alchemy lab. Once per day, your student can create a potion; this
potion stays potent for one day or until quaffed. See chapter 12,
“Spells & Potions,” for more details.
Edge: Making potions.
Campus Crusade for Orcus

Sponsored by a local cult of the demon lord of the undead, this religious
group seeks to proselytize and convert students to the worship of their
dread lord. Outright kidnapping and brainwashing of students is
prohibited on campus, so the cultists have to engage in more subtle
strategies such as bake sales. Chok'Tsun is a devout Orcusite, although
he rarely discusses his faith outside of CCO meetings.
Prerequisite: None
Advisor: Mr. Chok'Tsun
Edge: Praying to Orcus, befriending CCO members, or remembering lore
about undead creatures.
Cheerleading Squad
One of the most demanding and competitive activities on campus, being
a cheerleader is also a sure route to popularity as well. Everyone loves
the cheerleaders!
Prerequisite: Hygiene grade of B or higher.
m 62 n

Chapter 8: Extra-Curricular Activities
Advisor: Miss Keshika

Edge: Cheering for someone, or asking favors from fellow students.
Future Wizards of the World

Not every student at WMHS is destined to be a mere pawn for a higher
power (just most of them); some actually have the potential to become
mighty wizards themselves. Those who possess superior magical
abilities are invited to join FWW.
Prerequisite: Occult grade of B or higher.
Advisor: Mr. Thardall
Special: Choose one spell from chapter 12, “Spells & Potions.” You can
cast that spell once per day without risking backlash.
Edge: Casting spells.
Gloom Club
The one activity that is too depressing to keep an advisor for any
reasonable amount of time, Gloom Club is all about singing and dancing
and making everyone gloomy while doing so.
Prerequisite: None.
Advisor: None at present
Edge: Singing, or trying to discourage someone from doing something
(especially if you sing to do so).
Henchmen, Hirelings, Handymen & Housekeepers

The 4H club is popular with minions and
anyone else who likes taking orders
rather than being in the spotlight. Some
of the discussions get a bit subversive at
times, as many members realize that
often the true power lies behind the
throne, not upon it.
Prerequisite: None.
Advisor: Ludurg, the Headmaster's
secretary
Edge: Dealing with authority figures,
such as the school administration.
m 63 n

Marching Band
The marching band is routinely jeered at WMHS sports events, because
they have a tendency to play off-key, play the wrong songs, or play at
inappropriate times. But they're pretty good at marching, especially
marching in place.
Prerequisite: None.
Advisor: Lady Dolann
Edge: Playing music, or marching around or other physically exhausting
tasks.
Monster Compendium Yearbook

The staff of the Monster Compendium is charged with recording the
year's events and summarizing everything into a nicely bound book at
the end of the spring term. Instead, they just procrastinate most of the
school year and toss something together at the end. However, they do
get accorded a degree of access to campus events that's unparalleled
except by the school paper, with whom they have a running rivalry.
Prerequisite: Vocational grade of C or higher.
Advisor: Mrs. T’k’ch’kul
Edge: Trying to convince someone that you're on a very important
mission for the yearbook.
Papers & Paychecks RPG Guild

Primarily popular among the geekier students, the P&P roleplaying game
allows monsters to play out exciting adventures as students or office-
workers in a high technology, futuristic setting. The members of the P&P
guild meet in the library to play their games.
Prerequisite: None.
Advisor: Ms. Siouxianthe, school librarian
Edge: Pretending you're someone who you aren't.
Student Government
Elected by a vote of the student body, the student government allows
monsters to see democracy in action – and realize why no evil empires
are run as democracies. Wholly ineffective at making changes of any
significance at all, the members of the student government nevertheless
persist in playing politics of the most petty variety, squabbling over
literally worthless votes in an attempt to garner some degree of populist
popularity.
Prerequisite: Citizenship grade of B or higher.
m 64 n

Chapter 8: Extra-Curricular Activities
Advisor: Dame Donnabella Wrathsmoor, assistant principal of school

spirit
Edge: Impressing freshmen, administrators, or visitors to the campus.
Student Newspaper
The student paper has gone by a number of names since the founding of
the school, such as the Encounter Check, the Wanderer, the WMHS
Times, and the Daily Monster (even though it's not a daily publication).
Each new editor-in-chief will typically change the name and start over
the issue numbering.
Most articles in the paper are fluff pieces that deal with the latest
fashion on campus, gossip about the popular students, or sports scores
– but the most dedicated student journalists still dream about getting a
major scoop on some breaking scandal.
Prerequisite: Scholastics grade of C or higher.
Advisor: Miss Sharada
Edge: Convincing people to let you interview them, or give you access to
restricted events or information.
Swim Team
Swimming has proven to be a surprising popular sport at Wandering
Monsters High School, and many students can be found practicing after
school at the swimming pool.
Prerequisite: Fitness grade of C or higher.
Advisor: Miss Larraugh
Edge: Swimming or playing water sports.
Undead Poets Society

Everyone knows that vampires, mummies, and ghosts can produce
great poetry upon occasion (zombies, not so much). This club is devoted
to learning more about the great poets whose works will be remembered
long after they're dead.
Prerequisite: None.
Advisor: Miss Sharada
Edge: Composing impressive poetry, such as a love poem about the
object of your crush.
m 65 n

Varsity Slamball Team

By far the most well-received sport at Wandering Monsters High School,
slamball combines together the cooperation and coordination of a team
activity with the brutality of an arena brawl. The best slamball players –
those who can survive being thrown into the middle of a scrum and
emerge relatively uninjured – are hand-picked by Coach Brunnk for the
varsity team and play against other schools.
Prerequisite: Fitness grade of B or higher.
Advisor: Coach Brunnk
Edge: Playing slamball, or warming a bench.
Young Overlords
Hoping to rise to the top of the monstrous social order and become
mighty warlords themselves, the Young Overlords are a group of bullies
who enjoy pushing around the other students, especially the younger
ones.
Prerequisite: Junior or Senior year in school.
Advisor: Baron Kordak, assistant principal of academics
Edge: Getting a minion to follow your orders, or frightening freshman
and sophomore students.
m 66 n

Student Life
Wandering Monsters High School is a residential academy; students live

in the dorms and attend classes on campus when school is on session.
School work is challenging but usually not too taxing, providing time for
students to engage in hobbies (see Chapter 8, “Extra-Curricular
Activities”) and socialize.
Daily Schedule
The daily schedule is divided up by hours; the central campus belltower,
located in The Keep, rings out the start of each hour.
For game purposes, each hour is usually considered a “period” unless
the Headmaster decides otherwise. The Headmaster might want to
consider a long assembly or a three-hour party as one “period” for
purposes of special abilities that can only be used once per period.
The normal bell schedule is shown on the table below.
Hour School Day Weekend

8 a.m. Breakfast
9 a.m. Period 1 (classes) Breakfast
10 a.m. Period 2 (classes) Free time
11 a.m. Period 3 (classes) Free time
12 noon Lunch Free time
1 p.m. Period 4 (classes) Lunch
2 p.m. Period 5 (classes) Free time
3 p.m. Period 6 (classes) Free time
4 p.m. Free time (extra-curricular Free time
activities)
5 p.m. Free time Free time / Slamball game
6 p.m. Dinner Free time / Slamball game
7 p.m. Free time (homework) Dinner
8 p.m. Free time Free time / Dance
9 p.m. Free time Free time / Dance
10 p.m. Curfew until breakfast Free time / Dance
11 p.m. Curfew until breakfast
Although many students are naturally nocturnal, Wandering Monsters

High School's classes take place during the day. Night-sleeping students

will just have to adapt, although parasols are available to students who
burst into flame when exposed to sunlight.
Academic Calendar
Wandering Monsters High School has a two-semester system for classes;
the academic year begins on the first day of Fall and lasts until the first
day of Summer, with a mid-Winter break and a mid-Spring break. A
week of testing is held at the end of each semester.
During the breaks, students are allowed to stay at WMHS, but most will
return home to their families, their sponsors, or wherever else they call
home. Those without homes spend the holidays together at the school.
At least once a month, the school hosts a dance or other social activity.
Other special events include alumni days, homecoming, open dungeon
night, and various religious and cultural holidays.
Sports
By far the most popular sport at WMHS is slamball – a rather brutal
spectacle that combines moving a ball down the field with arena battles.
While the official slamball rules can be quite complex, in general, 6
points are awarded for getting the ball – which is a semi-sentient
construct of leather and stitching – into the opposing team's goal. Or 4
points are awarded if the ball runs in by mistake, or 9 points if you hit it
in with your head. If you have both feet off the ground at the time, your
team loses 2 points. There are more rules and they change quickly with
new updates; check with your Headmaster at the time of a slamball
game to confirm the latest ruleset.
Padded armor is worn while playing slamball, although the magical
protective field around the WMHS campus – which includes the Stadium
– prevents the most serious of injuries. Slamball players are allowed to
attack each other as long as they're not holding the ball, unless they're
within the four safe zones on the field. However, during a solar eclipse,
anything goes and all players become legitimate targets.
The WMHS team practices regularly by breaking into training squads
and playing against each other; however, their ultimate opponents are
from other educational institutions.
The Adventuring Guild Academy is the primary rival to the WMHS team.
This school was founded to train the next generation of adventurers –
unscrupulous do-gooders who enter dungeons and monster villages to
murder and pillage.
Like WMHS, the Adventuring Guild Academy has a protective energy
field as well, so as much as the supporters of WMHS would love to see
m 68 n

Chapter 9: Student Life
the Academy razed, it's no more possible than the destruction of WMHS
at the hands of so-called “civilized” warriors. This stalemate had led to a
truce between the AGA and WMHS, one in which their teams compete
directly against each other in slamball and other sports.
Some of the other sports found on campus include the swim team, track
and field, and water polo. In addition, WMHS's Academic Assault Team
regularly competes with the ACA and other schools in a battle of
learning, and there are also frequent tournaments of Owlbear Parcheesi
between the educational institutions.
Established Cliques
As described in chapter 2, “Enrollment,” you can specify which Clique
your student belongs to. This gives an Edge of c when interacting with
other members of the same Clique.
You don't have to choose a Clique if you don't want to; it just means
your student is a loner who hasn't joined any groups. Leaving your
Clique open allows your student to join a new Clique while you are
playing the game – if it makes sense in the story. If you're not sure,
check with your Headmaster about joining a Clique.
If you do choose a Clique for your student, you can pick from one of the
existing Cliques, or with Headmaster approval, define your own group of
students with whom your student associates. This social group could be
based on common activities, a species background, a location for
hanging out, a general attitude, or even a common enemy (such as
another Clique).
Some of the known Cliques on campus include:
The Inn Crowd

Based at the Tavern in the Village (see Chapter 15, “Campus Walking
Tour”), this Clique consists of some of the most popular students on
campus. Cheerleaders, student government types, sports heroes, and
others are found in the Inn Crowd. They have a reputation for being
snobbish and only allowing in those with a high Hygiene grade.
PC Heifer Horde
A group originally organized by minotaurs who weren't allowed to hang
out with the Inn Crowd, the PC Heifer Horde is now welcoming to
anyone who feels outcast because of their species or social class. The
Horde is very “politically correct” and has a number of euphemisms
which are opaque to outsiders.
P & P Guild
This is an example of a Clique that is based around an extra-curricular
m 69 n

activity – in this case, the Papers & Paychecks roleplaying game guild.
Not everyone who plays the game is part of the Clique – only the most
devoted players sit around at lunch time rolling dice. Members of this
Clique take their gaming very seriously – more seriously, often, than
their personal Hygiene or even Scholastic pursuits. They usually hang
out in the library.
School Newspaper Staff

Another Clique based on an extra-curricular activity, the staff of the
school newspaper have a tendency to stick together except when
competing with each other for a big scoop. They're based out of the
newspaper office.
The Undead Throng

This Clique is open to anyone who is a formerly-living corpse, now
reanimated through dark powers. Zombies, vampires, ghosts, and
others are found in the Throng; they consider themselves superior to
living students due to a principle they call “Wight Privilege.” The Throng
frequents the Graveyard.
The Loners
A Clique about nothing. The Loners all get together behind the Gym to
not interact with each other, usually just standing around looking cool.
Or trying to do so. Loners are stand-offish and independent.
m 70 n

School Supplies
Students at Wandering Monsters High School are allowed to keep their

own property, and most of them have a basic set of equipment that they
use throughout their academic endeavors. In addition, each student has
one special item, called a Status Symbol, which is uniquely useful.
Other items can be introduced at the Headmaster's discretion; most of
these are plot-related and can only be used for one or two game sessions
only.
Mundane Equipment
Any sort of basic equipment that a student can easily get her hands on
falls under the category of mundane equipment. A new student begins
the game with up to three such items of the player's choice, as described
in Chapter 2, “Enrollment.” These are considered to be always available
to that student for use.
Any other mundane items can be gained temporarily – for the duration
of a period or a day – by going to an appropriate source for the items
and making a successful roll. The type of roll made is based on the
source: for example, Citizenship if from a staff or faculty member,
Hygiene if from another student. (If the student tries to steal the item, a
Vocational roll can be made instead.) If the roll is successful, the
student can use the item until the end of the next period; if the Degree
of Success is a 4 or higher, it can be used until the end of the current
day.
All mundane equipment grants a b Edge when used properly in an
applicable Grade roll. It's up to the Headmaster to decide whether a
given item can be used on any roll, but a player can suggest a use for
her student's equipment subject to Headmaster approval.
Status Symbols
Status Symbols are unique to each player; some may be magical
artifacts of unknown power, while others are simply something of
sentimental or social value.
Each student is assumed to always have his or her Status Symbol with
him unless otherwise specified. A Status Symbol can't be permanently
destroyed; at worst, it will be replaced before the start of the next game
of Wandering Monsters High School. Status Symbols can be stolen, but
they're automatically recovered at the end of a WMHS game session.

When a Status Symbol is used in conjunction with a Grade roll, the item
grants a d Edge on that roll. As with mundane items, a Status Symbol's
applicability to any particular roll is at the discretion of the Headmaster.
Sample Items
The following table lists some items which are commonly possessed by
students at Wandering Monsters High School. This is not a
comprehensive list; the full variety of school supplies is limited only by
the imaginations of students and the Headmaster.
Item Name Source Acquisition Roll

Abacus General Store Citizenship
Alchemy Set Magic Shoppe Occult
Alumni Directory The Keep Citizenship
Backpack General Store Citizenship
Book, “To Serve Man” Cafeteria Kitchen Citizenship
Bookbag of Useful Items Magic Shoppe Occult
Bracer of Communication Magic Shoppe Occult
Cheerleader Uniform General Store Citizenship
Dictionary General Store Citizenship
Fifty Feet of Rope General Store Citizenship
Flying Carpet Magic Shoppe Occult
Generic Weapon General Store Citizenship
Gloves of Forgery Black Market Vocational
Guild Academy Playbook Black Market Vocational
Master Key Black Market Vocational
Musical Instrument General Store Citizenship
Name-Brand Armor General Store Citizenship
Ninja Throwing Stars Metal Shoppe Vocational
Notescroll General Store Citizenship
Orb of Plagiarism Black Market Vocational
Reference Book The Library Scholastics
Slamball The Gym Citizenship
Slamball Helmet General Store Citizenship
Sports Uniform General Store Citizenship
Staff of Striking Teacher's Union Citizenship
Ten-Foot Pole General Store Citizenship
Universal Hall Pass Black Market Vocational
m 72 n

Chapter 10: School Supplies
Items listed as being available from the “Black Market” come from a
shadowy underground economy run by former and current students,
without the (official) knowledge of the WMHS administration. The
General Store and the Magic Shoppe are located in the Village (see
Chapter 15, “Campus Walking Tour,” for more information on the
Village).
Each of these sample items could be a mundane item possessed by a
student, or could be a Status Symbol. In the descriptions which follow,
options are given for both mundane versions and higher-powered Status
Symbols. Headmasters and students alike can use these items as
examples for developing their own Status Symbols.
Abacus: A simple device that helps your student count and do math. As
a Status Symbol: It does the math for your student, most of the time.
Alchemy Set: A portable box containing the materials your student
needs in order to make a potion. (See Chapter 12, “Spells &
Potions.”) As a Status Symbol: Your student is less likely to blow up
as a result of tripping.
Alumni Directory: A listing of students who have graduated from WMHS.
As a Status Symbol: The directory is up-to-date with contact
information.
Book, “To Serve Man:” It’s a cookbook! As a Status Symbol: It’s a
cookbook!
Backpack: An ordinary backpack for carrying your student's books and
other belongings. As a Status Symbol: Your student's backpack is
magical and is larger on the inside than on the outside. The capacity
is approximately that of eight normal backpacks.
Bookbag of Useful Items: A knapsack from which various types of
mundane, but potentially useful, items can be drawn – randomly.
They last for just one use, then disappear. As a Status Symbol: The
mundane items last until the end of the period.
Bracer of Communication: Each of these jeweled bracers has a unique
magical code associated with it; by knowing someone else’s code, a
wearer can communicate verbally over distances up to 1 mile. As a
Status Symbol: Nobody else knows your student's magical code –
unless your student tells them.
Cheerleader Uniform: A uniform for cheerleading in, of course.
Appropriate for your student's gender identity. As a Status Symbol:
The uniform is magically enchanted to always be sparkling clean.
Dictionary: A book that has definitions of words you've never heard of
before. It may be in Common Tongue, or in any other language you
like. As a Status Symbol: Your student can define any word using
the dictionary, including words you just made up.
Fifty Feet of Rope: It’s fifty feet of silk rope. As a Status Symbol: It’s fifty
m 73 n

feet of hemp rope.

Flying Carpet: The ultimate transportation for a romantic date; it can
carry up to 3 people, plus your student's kid brother. As a Status
Symbol: Your student's kid brother not included.
Generic Weapon: A sword, mace, hammer, longbow, spear, dagger, staff,
morning star, crossbow, bec de corbin, … The type of weapon is
written in large block letters on it. As a Status Symbol: The weapon
has a fancy name, like The Flaming Meat-Cleaver of the A’jun Taal.
Gloves of Forgery: These leather gloves let the wearer forge someone
else’s signature. As a Status Symbol: Other writings can be forged,
not just a signature.
Guild Academy Playbook: Stolen from the Adventurer’s Guild Academy's
slamball team, this book lists all their strategies. As a Status
Symbol: The playbook is a magical copy that automatically updates
itself to reflect the current strategy.
Master Key: A large skeleton key that fits many of the locks around
WMHS. As a Status Symbol: A large skeleton key that fits almost all
of the locks around WMHS.
Musical Instrument: Your choice of musical instrument. As a Status
Symbol: Nobody at the school can play your instrument as well as
your student can.
Name-Brand Armor: It provides protection against attacks and it’s
stylish. As a Status Symbol: It becomes unique, custom-designed
armor. Be a trendsetter!
Ninja Throwing Stars: Manufactured in large quantities by bored metal
shop students, these are primarily used for attacking walls, trees, or
the ground. As a Status Symbol: You also have a ninja suit to wear
when throwing stars at the wall.
Notescroll: A typical scroll for taking notes in class. As a Status Symbol:
The notescroll is magical and can take down dictation – even while
you are sleeping in class.
Orb of Plagiarism: By concentrating on an assignment and stare into the
crystal ball, your student can view how someone else completed the
same (or similar) assignment. As a Status Symbol: Your student can
choose whose assignment they'd like to read; otherwise, it's random.
Reference Book: Choose a particular class; this book gives an Edge
when making rolls related to that class. As a Status Symbol: The
book is magical and automatically opens to the right page when a
topic contained within it is spoken aloud.
Slamball: A normal slamball. (See Chapter 9, “Student Life,” for more
information on slamball.) Your student can carry it around, throw it
at someone, or let it run around by itself. As a Status Symbol: It's a
m 74 n

Chapter 10: School Supplies
special slamball, from a particularly significant game or autographed

by a legendary former member of the slamball team.
Slamball Helmet: You wear it on your head and it protects you from
getting clobbered too badly, if you run head-first into a wall or
something. As a Status Symbol: You look cool, not stupid, while
wearing your helmet.
Sports Uniform: Decorated with the green and gray colors of Wandering
Monsters High School, this uniform identifies you as a student
athlete. As a Status Symbol: Your uniform also functions as armor in
case you get attacked or mobbed by your admiring fans.
Staff of Striking: When this quarterstaff is held aloft and a command
word given, a sign folds out from the end of the staff that says one of
“Administration Unfair!”, “Equal Pay for Equal Challenge Ratings!”,
or “On Strike!”, at the user’s choice. Most WMHS teachers have at
least one of these staves, especially the union members. As a Status
Symbol: The staff displays whatever message the wielder chooses, as
long as it is a message of protest.
Ten-Foot Pole of Not Touching Things: This is your standard ten-foot
pole, most commonly used in a figure of speech. As a Status Symbol:
The pole contracts down to a rod about a foot long, for easy
transport.
Universal Hall Pass: This pass authorizes the student to wander the
halls even while class is in session. It can only be used once per
period. As a Status Symbol: The pass can be used any number of
times per period, and even at times when school is not in session.
m 75 n

m 76 n

Student Goals
As described in Chapter 2, “Enrollment,” you choose four goals for your

student: One social, one related to treasure, one about a relationship,
and one school achievement.
Each of these categories is represented by a card suit from a normal
deck of playing cards. This chapter introduces several ways to use these
goals in play; the advanced rules are optional, so check with your
Headmaster to determine which set of rules is being used in your game
of Wandering Monsters High School .
social goals
Social goals are those which involve your student with a group of people.
The card suit representing the Social category is Clubs (♣) – as a
mnemonic, remember that a club is a type of organization.
Your student could desire to become part of a particular group or try to
impress that group. Or you could decide that your student is opposed to
the goals of the group, and set a goal involved with opposing them.
Examples of groups include cliques, extra-curricular activities that are
clubs or teams, teachers, or any other collection of people on the WMHS
campus.
When you choose a goal, it needs to be something that's not easily
achievable; it has to be challenging for your student. As an example,
joining the P&P roleplaying guild is not hard; they are happy whenever
anyone wants to play with them. But impressing the P&P guild –
through your student's mastery of obscure rules and arcane trivia – that
would be an accomplishment for someone new to the group.
treasure goals
The card suit representing Treasure goals is Diamonds (♦). You can
remember this by noting that diamonds are a type of treasure.
As a goal, Treasure means any kind of acquisition of property or wealth,
whether it's a literal diamond (maybe one on display in a library
exhibit?) or simply an item without any intrinsic value which may still
be of great value to your student. It could also be something abstract
that you purchase in some way, or a loan you have to pay back.
Like other goals, acquiring the object you desire can't be as simple as
merely buying or easily stealing it. Choose a goal where your student
will have to work at it in order to complete that objective.

An example of such a goal might be that your student wishes to recover

a lost magical sword that went missing on the WMHS campus a
generation ago. You don't know where it is or how to find it, but you're
sure it's got to be around here somewhere!
relationship goals
A Relationship goal involves a one-on-one personal relationship between
your student and someone else. This is represented by the Hearts suit
(♥). Not all such relationships are romantic, however; you can think of
the heart as representing the two parties having a heartfelt, heart-to-
heart discussion or argument.
The other person in your Relationship goal could be specified when you
set the goal, such as “finally telling Taylor Made how I feel about her.”
Or you could leave it open; “find someone to go to the dance with me” is
a open-ended Relationship goal.
The type of relationship is up to you to define, and don't necessarily
assume that a relationship means it's about love. Your relationship goal
could very well involve someone you hate, fear, or are repelled by. What
matters for a Relationship goal is the intensity of the feelings between
the two parties and the way that affects their interactions with each
other.
achievement goals
An Achievement goal is one related to your student's performance in
school-sanctioned activities. That could be related to a class, a sports
team, some extra-curriciular activities, or just the physical campus
itself.
Achievement goals are represented by the Spades suit (♠) in the deck of
cards. A spade is a type of shovel and represents work done; therefore
you can think of Achievement goals as being related to your student's
school work.
For an Achievement goal, choose something that is achievable but not
easily so; for example, getting a “B” on a test is probably not going to be
hard if your student has an “A” grade for the relevant subject. If your
student has a “D” grade, though, a “B” on a test might very well be an
appropriate goal!
All goals are there to have fun and give your student something to do
during the game, so while it's important to choose wisely, be sure to
select goals that seems like they would be fun to play out.
m 78 n

Chapter 11: Student Goals
Option 1: Simple Goals

The easiest way to use goals in your Wandering Monsters High School
game is simply to use them as player motivations and thus shape the
roleplayed story accordingly.
For example, if your Relationship goal is to find a date to the prom, then
you could have your student take steps to meet other students and try
to ask them out. The Headmaster can call for appropriate Grade rolls or
just judge the outcome based on how well you roleplay your student's
attempts.
In this style of play, the Progress checkboxes on your Report Card next
to your goals don't matter. You might talk with the Headmaster about
whether you should check “Unsatisfactory,” “Satisfactory,” or
“Outstanding” based on how the story plays out, but it's not required
that you fill in that part of your student's Report Card.
If you ever achieve one of your goals, then you can simply start working
on your other three, or you can choose a new goal under the same
category and make progress toward that goal.
The following optional rules for student goals require the use of a
normal deck of playing cards, the tracking of progress using the
Progress checkboxes, or both.
Option 2: Complex Goals

Complex goals use the Progress checkboxes to track your student's
progress toward your chosen goals. This version of the Goal system
requires that your student must fail at least twice before succeeding. If
that doesn't sound like fun for you, your group, or your Headmaster,
then you shouldn't use Complex goals.
Like Simple goals, progress toward Complex goals is achieved through
the story – what you choose to roleplay as your student and how you
play it out. However, just roleplay isn't enough to guarantee success.
Whenever you make a good-faith effort in a scene to achieve your goal,
you can mark off one Progress checkbox, starting with “Unsatisfactory”
and working your way down. The catch is that until you check off the
“Outstanding” box, your attempt at your goal will automatically fail.
For example, let's say your student's Social goal is to upstage the Inn
Crowd at the Tavern, humiliating them and vindicating yourself. The
first time you try to do this – and it's got to be a legitimate attempt at it,
or else the Headmaster can say that it doesn't count – your student
won't succeed. Something will go wrong – a witty retort will catch you off
balance, you'll have worn the wrong shoes, a loud crash distracts
everyone from your impassioned speech, or whatever. You fail.
m 79 n

Failing is the only way you can get that checkbox, so don't think of it as
a penalty! Instead, it gives you the opportunity to think up something
clever and potentially embarrassing for your student, but still hopefully
fun for you and everyone else playing the game with you. If you can't
think of a good reason for your attempt to fail, ask one of the other
players or the Headmaster for their suggestions.
Once you tick off the third box, though, you automatically succeed at
the task you're attempting. Yes, that's not strictly realistic, but this is a
game of stories, not of simulation – so it's okay that you, as a player,
knows that your student can eventually succeed at a Goal through
repeatedly trying, even if the student wouldn't actually know that for
sure.
As with Simple goals, when you have completed a Goal, you can move
on to the others on your list. Since it may take longer to reach your
Goals under the Complex goals rules, you don't necessarily need to
choose a replacement Goal but can work on the other Goals you have
set for your student. (If you want to choose a replacement, though, you
can!)
Option 3: Unexpected Goals

This option for Goals takes some of the control out of your hands and
places you at a the whim of fate. Each scene you're in, you'll randomly
determine which goal to pursue. If you or your fellow players don't like
that much randomness in your game, you shouldn't use this option. But
if you might relish the roleplaying challenge of not knowing what's
coming next, you could use the Unexpected goals optional rules.
This version of Student Goals requires the use of a standard deck of
playing cards – 52 cards, four suits (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and
Spaces). The Headmaster shuffles the deck at the start of the game
session (or delegates the responsibility to a nimble-fingered player) and
then at the beginning of each scene deals out one card to each player.
The card you receive represents an opening in that scene for your
student to pursue one of your goals, as indicated by the suit of the card.
As you play your student in the scene, look for an opportunity to play
your card in front of you and say something like, “Okay, I am going to
try to play out my Social goal” – that is, if you had drawn a card with the
suit of Clubs.
You, the other players, and the Headmaster can then add a twist in the
story in order to give a chance to advance that goal. Each player can
play a card for their student, so it's entirely possible that everyone will
be pursuing a completely different goal within each scene. That's okay;
it just adds to the complexity of the cooperative story that you're
forming, and that is part of why you would use this version of the Goals
rules.
m 80 n

Chapter 11: Student Goals
Once a card is played, move it out of your hand to a pile of discarded

cards in front of you. You don't have to play a card in a scene – and by
not doing so, you keep that card in your hand and the next scene you
can choose to play one of your held cards, or the card that you're just
been dealt.
How do you know if your student succeeds at meeting the Goal that
you've drawn from the deck? The most basic way is to use the Simple
goals rules and either make rolls as directed by the Headmaster or rely
on the Headmaster's discretion.
Or you can use the next option.
Option 4: Putting It All Together

This combines together the previous two options, giving goals that are
both Complex and Unexpected.
As with Unexpected goals, the Headmaster deals out a card to each
player at the beginning of each scene. And as with Complex goals, a
single success isn't enough to complete a goal – and in fact it's
guaranteed to fail the first two times.
Mark one of the Progress checkboxes after each scene in which you play
a card and make an attempt to reach your objective. When you finally
hit “Outstanding,” then you've reached the goal and can retire that
objective, or replace it with a new one.
Option 5: Goals as Advancement

So you've finished one of your goals; what do you get out of it? Good
question!
In the basic play style of Wandering Monsters High School, achievement
is its own reward: you have the satisfaction of knowing that your
student has been successful.
That may be enough for you and your fellow players; unlike some other
games, Wandering Monsters High School is not about killing things to
get their treasure so you can become more powerful and thus kill bigger
things to get bigger treasure. Your WMHS student is pretty static. You
don't change much during play. This is an intentional choice in the
game design.
But if you really want to have some sort of advancement system, you
can do that by using the following optional rules about Goals – which
are compatible with each of the previous options, too.
m 81 n

When you complete one of your Goals, you can make a change to your
report card. The change can be one of the following:
• Switch two of your Gifts & Talents, thus swapping their Edge
values.
• Switch two of your Extra-Curricular Activities, thus swapping
their Edge values.
• Switch two of your Special Needs, thus swapping their Inverse
Edge values.
• Add an Extra-Curricular Activity, if there's room for another one
on your Report Card.
• Add a Special Need, if there's room for another one on your
Report Card.
• Add an item under School Supplies, if there's room for another
one on your Report Card.
• Rewrite your Clique to something else.
• Switch one of your classes for another class in the same subject.
When you complete all four of your goals, in addition to the above, you
can choose one of the following:
• Switch two of your Subject Grades.
• Add a Gift or Talent, if there's room for another one on your
Report Card.
• Erase a Special Need.
• Rewrite your Niche to something else.
m 82 n

Spells & Potions
Magic permeates the WMHS campus, making it relatively easy for even
students with the lowest magical aptitude to at least attempt to cast a
spell with but a little training.
The easiest way to learn spells is by enrolling in an Occult class. Most
Occult classes have an associated spell listed – for example, enrolling in
The Dark Arts teaches you how to cast the Death spell, and Divination
class teaches the Detect spell. Each such spell can be attempted only
once per day without risk; further castings of the same spell risk
backlash. Make an Occult roll, and if you fail, your student is subject to
the backlash effect and can't cast the spell again.
Your student can also attempt to cast a spell by drawing upon ambient
magical energies and the echoes of previous spells. This is risky and can
be attempted only once per period. To cast a spell in this manner, first
your student needs to make an Occult roll. If you fail, your student
automatically receives backlash from the spell, and the spell fails to be
cast.
backlash
When your student fails to cast a spell, your student gets hit with
magical feedback that has some kind of unpleasant effect.
Each spell has its own backlash effect listed with the spell description.
These effects typically last until the end of the current period.
Faculty and staff who cast spells do so automatically, an unlimited
number of times per day or period, and do not ever risk backlash.
spell list
Blessing
Your student can call upon the dark gods to aid someone.
Effect: Choose someone your student can see, and choose a Grade.
Then make an automatic-success Occult roll. The Degree of success
becomes an Edge on that person's next roll using that Grade. This
Blessing lasts until it's used, or until the end of the current period,
whichever comes first.
Backlash: You take a Levy C on the next roll you make.
Taught By: “Demigods & Deities” class

Death
The most feared spell is that which causes the target to instantly and
irrevocably die!
Effect: Make an overwhelming attack using your Occult Grade against
someone your student can see. If that person fails their Fitness
check, they fall unconscious until the end of the current period.
Sorry, the Death spell doesn't really kill anyone. Blame the school's
wards, plus the fact that nobody really wants teenage monsters to
have that kind of power. But it sure sounds scary! The DEATH spell,
ooh!
Backlash: Your student is automatically knocked unconscious until the
end of the current period. Oops!
Taught By: “The Dark Arts” class
Defense
This spell is primarily intended to protect against the awful
“adventurers” who like to slay poor, hard-working monsters who are
only trying to make a living.
Effect: Choose someone your student can see, or your student. Make an
automatic-success Occult roll. Until the end of the current period,
the chosen person gains an Edge on rolls to stay conscious equal to
the Degree of success on your Occult roll.
Backlash: Until the end of the current period, you get a Levy D on rolls
to stay conscious.
Taught By: “Defense against the Holy Arts” class
Detect
The Detect spell is a general-purpose divination that can be used for a
variety of purposes.
Effect: Choose something to detect from the following list: people,
contraband, students, magic effects, poison, bears, invisible objects,
teachers, secret passages, undead, holy items, stolen objects,
shapechangers, or food. Pick a direction to face. If any of the chosen
stuff is in front of your student, you find out how much there is,
where it is, and what it is.
Backlash: Your student can't see anything until the end of the current
period.
Taught By: “Divination” class
Elemental Flare
There are four elements: fire, air, water, and earth. Fire is the most fun
with this spell because it makes a flaming explosion! But you can also
m 84 n

Chapter 12: Spells & Potions
make a burst of wind, a gusher of water, or a burst of rocks.

Effect: Choose an element. Boom! Your student makes an explosion
based on that element that can be used as an overwhelming attack
against someone nearby.
Backlash: Boom! Your student gets knocked out by their own elemental
burst and nobody else gets hurt. Your student is unconscious until
the end of the current period.
Taught By: “Elemental Magic” class
Illusion
With this spell, your student can form a simple illusion. The illusion
can't actually hurt anyone and is intangible, but it looks real enough.
Effect: You create a two-dimensional illusion of a single object no bigger
than a haystack, which disappears if someone touches it but
otherwise lasts until the end of the period. Make an automatic-
success Occult roll. Choose one of the following enhancements for
each Degree of success you rolled:
• The illusion is animated.
• The illusion includes sounds.
• The illusion includes smells.
• The illusion is three-dimensional.
• The illusion can move from its original location.
• The illusion doesn't disappear when touched.
Backlash: You start seeing things which aren't there until the end of the
period, giving you a Levy E on anything you try to do.
Taught By: “Illusions” class
Magic Missile
This spell creates an arrow magical power that unerringly strikes
something your student can see.
Effect: Make an overwhelming attack against somebody nearby.
Backlash: Zap! The spell backfires and your student is knocked out
until the end of the current period.
Taught By: “Magic Missile” class
m 85 n

Potions
A potion is an alchemical formulation that contains one magical effect.
Potions are of limited duration and last only one day before losing
potency. To use a potion, you have to drink the whole thing; a potion
can't be split between multiple people.
Each potion's effect duplicates one Gift – see chapter 6, “Gifts &
Talents,” for a full list of gifts. The most commonly brewed potions are
listed below.
Whenever a potion grants a gift to a student, the applicable Edge Value
equals the first blank line on that student's report card under Gifts &
Talents. If there aren't any blank line, the Edge Value is b.
Gifts aren't cumulative, so a student who is already Really Strong
doesn't become Really, Really Strong by drinking a Strength Potion.
Example: Karvathas has two Gifts & Talents: Natural Weaponry (horns)
with an Edge Value of e, and Popular with an Edge Value of d. If he
drinks a potion of Invisibility, he gains an Edge of c – his next blank
line under Gifts & Talents – whenever he tries to sneak around
invisibly.
potion list
Anti-Magic Brew
Effect: Your student gains the Spell Resistance gift until the end of the
period.
Dragon Breath Draught

Effect: Your student gains the Breath Weapon gift until the end of the
period. The choice of breath type is made by whoever brewed the
potion, at the time the potion was created.
Invisibility Potion
Effect: Your student gains the Invisibility gift until the end of the period.
Invulnerability Potion
Effect: Your student gains the Natural Armor gift until the end of the
period.
Love Philter
Effect: Your student gains the Charming gift until the end of the period.
m 86 n

Chapter 12: Spells & Potions
Mind-Reading Potion
Effect: Your student gains the Telepathy gift until the end of the period.
Poison
Effect: Unlike other potions, this isn't drunk by the person who wants to
use it, but is instead used by applying the poison to a needle or other
sharp item, or by getting the victim to drink it. A bottle of poison can
be used to make a single overwhelming attack before the end of the
period, once uncorked.
Polymorph Juice
Effect: Your student gains the Shapechanging gift until the end of the
period. The choice of limitations on the Shapechanging gift is made
by whoever brewed the potion, at the time the potion was created.
Potion of Flight
Effect: Your student gains the Flight gift until the end of the period.
Potion of Resistance
Effect: Your student gains the Invulnerability gift until the end of the
period. The type of invulnerability is chosen by whoever brewed the
potion, at the time the potion was created.
m 87 n

Regeneration Potion
Effect: Your student gains the Unstoppable gift until the end of the
period.
Strength Potion
Effect: Your student gains the Really Strong gift until the end of the
period.
m 88 n

Class Roster
Sample Students
These Students can be used if you just want to run a quick game of
Wandering Monsters High School and don't want to go through the
enrollment process, or the Headmaster can use these as non-player
students who also attend WMHS.
karvathas
Species: Minotaur
Year in School: Senior
Gender: Male
Niche: Big clueless jock with a
heart of gold d
Clique: PC Heifer Horde c
Grades: Citizenship B, Fitness A,
Hygiene B, Occult C, Scholastics
D, Vocational B
Classes c: Basic Study Skills,
Combat & Tactics, Magic and
You, Orcish Language, Metal
Shoppe, Slamball (elective, d)
Gifts & Talents: Natural Weaponry
(horns) e, Popular d
Special Needs: Illiterate D
Extra-Curricular Activities: Varsity Slamball e, Papers & Paychecks
RPG Guild d
Status Symbol: Slamball from the big game last year d
School Supplies b: Notescroll, slamball padded armor, backpack
Karvathas isn't the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but he's a nice guy at
heart. He's on the slamball team and is well-liked around the school. He
can't read and is embarrassed about that, so tries to hide it from
everyone else -- usually by getting Drizzle to help him out. He has a
crush on Taylor but he thinks he's too dumb for her to be interested in
him.

taylor made
Species: Iron Golem
Year in School: Junior
Gender: Female
Niche: Brainy cheerleader d
Clique: The Inn Crowd c
Grades: Citizenship B, Fitness B, Hygiene A, Occult D, Scholastics B,
Vocational C
Classes c: Simple Weaponry, Lair Economics, Magic and You, Draconic
Language, Music, Geography (elective, d)
Gifts & Talents: Natural Armor e, Spell Resistance d, Really Strong c,
Breath Weapon (poison gas) b
Special Needs: Metabolically Challenged D, Inept (spells) E
Extra-Curricular Activities: Cheerleading Team e, Monster Chorus d,
Papers & Paychecks Guild c
Status Symbol: Pompoms of power d
School Supplies b: Notescroll, backpack, cheerleader outfit
Taylor is a cheerleader and is pretty flexible for someone made of solid
metal. She's unable to use magic well due to being an iron golem, but is
otherwise quite smart and does well in school. Taylor enjoys getting her
hair done at the local blacksmith, often changing her style from day to
day. She has no idea why Karvathas hasn't asked her out yet.
m 90 n

Chapter 12: Class Roster
drizzle
Species: Dark Elf
Year: Sophomore
Gender: Male
Niche: Nerdy & careless alchemist with delusions of grandeur d
Clique: P&P Guild c
Grades: Citizenship D, Fitness C, Hygiene C, Occult A, Scholastics A,
Vocational B
Classes c: Study Hall, Expeditious Retreats, Social Hygiene, Common
Tongue, Alchemy, Poisons & Antidotes
Gifts & Talents: Prodigy (Magic Missile) e, Night Vision d, Second
Language (elven) c
Special Needs: Known Troublemaker D, Allergy (bright lights) E
Extra-Curricular Activities: Papers & Paychecks Guild e, Alchemy Club
d, Future Wizards of the World c
Status Symbol: Alchemy kit of doooooooom d
School Supplies b: Hoodie
robe, P&P dice,
notescroll
Spells: Elemental Flare,
Magic Missile
Drizzle is rather short and
is cranky most of the time,
but he's got big ambitions
to be come a powerful
archmage and rule the
world. So far he's having
problems just making it
through the
embarrassment of his
Social Hygiene class. He is
co-president of the P&P
Guild and makes
Karvathas play in the game
he runs in return for
homework help.
m 91 n

gloopadoop
Species: Blob
Year: Junior
Gender: Female
Niche: Nosy student reporter d
Clique: School newspaper staff c
Grades: Citizenship B, Fitness C, Hygiene C, Occult B, Scholastics B,
Vocational B
Class Schedule c: Library Aide, Swimming, Illusions, Survey of
Literature, Sneaking, Creative Writing (elective d)
Gifts & Talents: Shapechanging e, Telepathy d
Special Needs: Non-humanoid D, Small-bodied E
Extra-Curricular Activities: School newspaper e, Papers & Paychecks
Guild d
Status Symbol: Quill of editing d
School Supplies: Notescroll, spectacles b
Gloopadoop is a small, pink, shapechanging blob who is also an ace
reporter for the school newspaper. She always retains her distinctive
spectacles and bobbed "hair" in whatever form she changes into.
Gloopadoop would really like to go on a date with someone solid.
m 92 n

Chapter 12: Class Roster
Other Students
To allow for the greatest flexibility in playing Wandering Monsters High
School as a game, the majority of students aren't defined or listed. This
allows each individual Headmaster to tailor the student body to fit the
story being told.
When game statistics are needed for a student, the Headmaster can go
through the enrollment process (see Chapter 2, “Enrollment”) to create a
full student character, or a shorthand version of the student's stats can
be used.
headmaster guidance: shorthand students

To create shorthand statistics for a student, you should first decide
what fictional role you want the student to play in the game. This
determines the student's Niche – which is an Edge d, assuming no other
Edges in play for a given die roll.
Based on that fictional role, you can then choose what the student's
Grades will look like. The average student at WMHS has a “C” (2 dice) in
everything – by definition, since a “C” represents an “average” grade –
but this can be changed for specific plot-related reasons.
For example, a student intended as an academic rival will probably have
a “B” or “A” Grade in Scholastics – and you could choose to balance this
out by decreasing that student's Fitness or Hygiene, if you wanted. It's
not required, though; Headmaster-run students don't have to be
perfectly balanced by the Enrollment process rules; they just need to be
able to serve their roles within the story.
For shorthand students, you usually don't need to choose all six classes
for that student, or even any of them; the Edge from Niche actually
works for 90% of what you're going to want that student to be able to
do. Likewise, you can ignore most other traits as well – you don't have to
add in Extra-Curricular Activities, Special Needs, Gifts, or Talents if you
don't want to.
However, if a Headmaster-run student is going to appear in more than
one scene, by being a major adversary or ally, for example, you may
want to go through and add on various Gifts, Talents, Special Needs,
Extra-Curricular Activities, or Classes simply to give more variety to the
types of actions the student can perform.
You'll want to write these shorthand statistics down somewhere as you
play, such as on a blank piece of paper or a copy of the Student Report
Card. Don't be afraid to add more to the statistics as you play – if you
decide that a given student should have the Large-Bodied trait, go ahead
and add it on during the middle of the game if you forgot to write it
down before. It's not cheating.
m 93 n

example shorthand students

Here are a few examples of shorthand students you can use in your
Wandering Monsters High School game to represent different types of
young monsters. You can add some variety by giving each one an extra
Gift, Talent, or Special Need.
Bully
Niche: Rude and belligerent student d
Grades: Fitness B, everything else C
Popular Kid
Niche: Snobby yet inexplicably well-liked student d
Grades: Hygiene B, everything else C
Black-Market Dealer
Niche: Sells copies of the upcoming test d
Grades: Vocational B, everything else C
Brainy Kid
Niche: Excels in classes but social awkward d
Grades: Scholastics A, Hygiene D, everything else C
Spooky Goth
Niche: Cynical and wears black a lot d
Grades: Occult B, everything else C
m 94 n

Faculty & Staff
Due to its prestigious reputation, Wandering Monsters High School

can attract a diversely talented group of educators and support staff to
train the next generation of monsters.
This chapter presents the key faculty and staff members at the
school, although the Headmaster is free to make any changes – perhaps
one teacher is off on a sabbatical, two more have been added, or another
instructor replaced altogether.
Most instructors are required to serve as an advisor to one or more
student groups or extracurricular activities; some are happy to do this,
while others participate more grudgingly in such activities.
statistics for faculty & staff

Like students, faculty and staff can be graded and assigned traits.
Direct conflict – especially combat – between students and teachers
should be avoided; they're meant to be foils but not enemies. (Rival
students work better as enemies.) That said, there will be times in which
the Headmaster may need to make dice rolls on a teacher's behalf.
All teachers have an “A” grade in their primary subject(s), and a “B”
grade in all other subjects. They also gain an additional die on every roll
they make, known as the Adult Bonus – so in their primary subjects,
teachers roll 5 dice. In addition, they gain an Edge e bonus when
making rolls related to classes they're currently teaching or sudent
groups they advise.
Additional edges and levies can be assigned by the Headmaster as
desired – including racial Gifts, innate Talents, and Special Needs.
Many of the teachers are practiced spellcasters, and can create
magical effects beyond that which a mere student could master; in
practical terms, this means that the Headmaster could conceivably have
them use whatever magical effects are required to make for an
interesting story.

Instructors
Coach Brunnk
Race: Ogre
Position: Citizenship & Fitness Instructor
Classes Taught: Giving Orders, Obedience, Expeditious Retreats, Intro
to Wandering, Simple Weapons, Slamball, Social Hygiene, Giantish
Language
Advisor For: Varsity Slamball team
Brunnk is a large ogre with a gruff manner. He's a strict disciplinarian –
especially in the Citizenship classes he teaches – but he is also
protective and supporting of his student athletes. Brunnk is a graduate
of WMHS and used to be a slamball starz while a student.
Mr. Chok'tsun
Race: Lich
Position: Occult Instructor
Classes Taught: Alchemy, Divination, Illusions, Magic Missile, The Dark
Arts
Advisor For: Alchemy Club, Campus Crusade for Orcus
“Creepy” is how even the most jaded students describe Chok'tsun, the
undead Occult instructor who lives in a heavily warded crypt in the
school graveyard. Imperiously arrogant, he's also a brilliant teacher
according to those students who have survived his classes.
Mr. Rufus Daark

Race: Dwarf
Position: Scholastics & Vocational Instructor
Classes Taught: Advanced Mathematics, Basic Mathematics, Armor,
Metal Shoppe, Treasure Typing, Wood Shoppe
Advisor For: Academic Assault Team
An outcast from his dwarven clan, Rufus Daark was hired for both his
hands-on knowledge of construction techniques and his ability to count
higher than anyone else on campus. Ruddy-skinned and balding on top,
Daark's thundering dwarven brogue makes him hard to miss around
campus.
m 96 n

Chapter 14: Faculty & Staff
Lady Dolann
Race: Human
Position: Fitness Instructor
Classes Taught: Combat & Tactics, Exotic Weapons, Martial Weapons,
Riding, Self Defense
Advisor For: Marching Band
Dolann is a disgraced knight who hides her face beneath an iron helmet
she wears at all times. She is short on words and prefers to let her
actions – and her sword – speak for her. She rides a large fire-breathing
night-mare that is normally housed in the stables during school hours.
m 97 n

Miss Keshika
Race: Dryad
Position: Hygiene Instructor
Classes Taught: Charms, Health & Wellness, Lair Economics, Prestige,
Social Hygiene, Elven Language
Advisor For: Cheerleading Squad
Keshika is a winsome tree spirit who lives in the grove beside the
swimming pool and who teaches hygiene classes. She's quite popular
with most of the students and is looked up to by the cheerleaders.
Ms. Larraugh
Race: Sea Ghoul
Position: General Education Instructor
Classes Taught: Basic Study Skills, Study Hall, Swimming, Bathing,
Advisor For: Swim Team
Once a pirate's first mate, Larraugh was drowned at sea and became an
undead sea ghoul. One of the newer instructors at WMHS, she teaches
general education classes and advises the swim team. She sleeps at the
bottom of the swimming pool.
Instructor Renk
Race: Fae Dragon
Position: General Education Instructor
Classes Taught: Study Hall, Magic & You, Common as a Second
Language, Draconic Language, Music
Advisor For: none
A playful, pint-size dragon with rainbow wings, Renk is a likeable but
enigmatic creature. Of indeterminate gender – identifying as neither
male nor female but simply as “fae” – Renk lives in a small nook over the
Special Needs Housing. Renk's classes are laid-back and easy, making
them quite desirable among the student populace. Renk also is an
unofficial advisor to any students who are having questions about their
gender identity or sexual orientation.
Miss Sharada
Race: Sphinx
Position: Scholastics Instructor
Classes Taught: Ancient History, Common Tongue, Creative Writing,
Geography, Survey of Literature, Unearthing Arcana
m 98 n

Advisor For: Student Newspaper, Undead Poets Society

Sharada has the body of a lion, the head and shoulders of a woman,
and the wings of a giant eagle – a classical sphinx of legend. She
delights in knowledge of history and literature (especially cheesy
romance novels and poetry), and advises the student newspaper.
Mr. Thardall
Race: Half-Orc
Position: Occult & Scholastics Instructor
Classes Taught: Demigods & Deities, Elemental Magic, Magic through
the Ages, Legends & Lore, Orcish Language
Advisor For: Future Wizards of the World
A mixed-breed warlock, Thardall is a somewhat nerdy teacher with a
tendency to drone on and on during class. He's not the most popular
teacher as he's rather dull.
Ms. T'k'ch'kul
Race: Phase Spider
Position: Vocational Instructor
Classes Taught: Advanced Looting, Intro to Pillaging, Poisons &
Antidotes, Sneaking
Advisor For: Monstrous Compendium yearbook
A large, intelligent spider the size of a desk, T'k'ch'kul is one of the few
non-humanoid instructors at the school. She has the ability to walk
through walls as well as walking up them, and when she isn't teaching
classes she's usually spying on students or other teachers. She's
relatively friendly despite her monstrous mindset.
Administrative Staff
The Headmaster
Race: Unknown
Position: Headmaster of Wandering Monsters High School
Classes Taught: none
Advisor For: none
Nobody knows what the Headmaster looks like. No student, at least, and
probably few teachers. The assistant principals may know, but they're
not telling. The true identity of the actual Headmaster is a mystery.
m 99 n

Baron Kordak
Race: Devil
Position: Assistant Principal of Academics
Advisor For: Young Overlords
A horned bureaucrat in an impeccably tailored suit, Kordak is perhaps
the most feared adult at WMHS. He is in charge of all matters related to
study and schoolwork, and has the authority to ban any student from
any activity they might enjoy. Baron Kordak takes great pleasure in his
work as the school disciplinarian, viewing it as a cultured, sophisticated
alternative to merely torturing lost souls in the afterlife like his fellow
devils.
Dame Donnabella Wrathsmoor

Race: Spectre
Position: Assistant Principal of School Spirit
Advisor For: Student Government
The ghost of a noblewoman, Donnabella Wrathsmoor is the
administrator in charge of making sure that the school keeps
functioning due to support from alumni and other patrons. To this end,
she regularly has fundraising events, alumni pride days, and
competitions against other schools, such as the Adventurers Guild
Academy. Wrathsmoor's demeanor is cold and calculating, seeing the
students and staff as pawns to be used for the greater good of WMHS.
Ludurg
Race: Demoness
Position: School Secretary
Advisor For: Henchmen, Hirelings, Handymen & Housekeepers
Ludurg is the member of the administrative staff who has the most
contact with the students, since she handles all the clerical (but not
Clerical) tasks of recordkeeping, enrollment, and so on. A six-armed
demoness with a snake tail from the waist down, Ludurg looks
intimidating but she's really quite friendly and tries to help out hapless
students whenever she can.
m 100 n

Other School Employees

Ms. Siouxianthe
Race: Banshee
Position: School Librarian
Classes Taught: Library Aide
Advisor For: Papers & Paychecks RPG Guild
There's a reason that students stay quiet in the WMHS library. Nobody
wants to make Ms. Siouxianthe start yelling – as a banshee, her
screams can knock someone unconscious. She is helpful to students
who are quiet and return their books on time. She doesn't do anything
as the advisor for the P&P Guild except let them use one of the group
study rooms and tell them to keep the noise down.
Nurse Gruntha
Race: Werebear
Position: School Nurse
Classes Taught: First Aid
Advisor For: none
A literal bear of a woman, Gruntha is stouty, sturdy, and skilled at
patching up unfortunate students who have been injured. She's got a
snarly bedside manner but ultimately does care for her charges.
Gruntha has been roped into teaching a class in basic first aid – a task
she doesn't care for, but apparently it's part of her contract.
The Sisters Three

Race: Harpies
Position: Lunchladies
Classes Taught: Cooking
Advisor For: none
A trio of half-buzzard harpies, the Sisters Three are the undisputed
queens of the lunchroom in the dormitory. Most students can't tell them
apart, but they're named Clo, Lach, and Atri. What's on the menu
today? Whatever they feel like serving – and you'll like it, or else!
Complaints not tolerated.
m 101 n

m 102 n

Campus Walking Tour
The Wandering Monsters High School grounds were established decades

ago in the ruins of an an abandoned keep, and have expanded in the
following years to encompass a wide area of land.
Students live on campus except during holiday breaks; many teachers
and other staff also live on campus, although a few commute daily from
nearby lairs.
The entire campus is protected by powerful warding magic that prevents
deadly injuries and dampens the most powerful magic spells, preventing
both students from harming themselves or each other, and crusading
adventurers from invading the school and slaughtering the populace.
As a side effect of these protective enchantments, the ambient magic
level at the campus is slightly higher than normal, allowing many
students to attempt feats of spellcasting (see Chapter 12, “Spells and
Potions,” for more on spellcasting.)
As you walk through the campus following the tour guidelines in this
chapter, you will see many of the unique architectural features found
only at Wandering Monsters High School. Many of these buildings were
constructed using gifts from alumni and generous patrons, and bear the
names of these WMHS backers.
south campus
The southern part of the WMHS campus is the home of most academic
classes, centered around the Courtyard of the Unknown Monster.
1. The Gatehouse
As you approach the walls of Wandering Monsters High School, note the
secure perimeter of stone that surrounds the campus. Security of our
students is a primary concern at WMHS, as the little monsters' patrons
are paying sizable tuition fees to have them trained and would not want
to lose their investments due to rampaging adventurers.
Two stone golems, known as Rukh and Ruul, guard the portcullises of
the gatehouse. They don't speak, and in fact it's been several years since
anyone can recall seeing them move, but we're pretty sure they haven't
been replaced by imposing (and non-salaried) statues.
Proceed north through the Gatehouse to the courtyard ahead.

m 104 n

Chapter 15: Campus Walking Tour
2. Courtyard of the Unknown Monster

The central quad in the school is dominated by a large statue known as
the Unknown Monster. The iron statue is mounted on a stone pedestal
and is shaped as a giant metal cube.
The exact identity of the Unknown Monster is, well, unknown. Most
people assume the generic nature of the square monument allows it to
represent a kind of AnyMonster. Some say that the cube itself is the
resting place of a powerful monster that could be unleashed under the
right circumstances (although nobody has figured out anything that can
affect the cube yet). Some say the statue is simply an iron
representation of a gelatinous cube. And others follow a strange
philosophy that says the world is controlled by random “dice” and the
statue is a six-sided representation of that capricious fate.
Four classroom buildings surround the courtyard; enter the first one, to
the northwest, through the ground floor.
3a. Dave the Schoolhouse (Classroom Building A)

This particular building is actually sentient, as it is possessed by a
ghost known only as “Dave.” According to the campus legends, Dave
was a stalwart human fighter ... or an armadillo ... or some kind of
weird mutant aberration like a squid-duck. No one is quite sure.
Anyway, whatever Dave is, he's mostly harmless and only rarely
manifests by opening or closing doors and windows.
Inside this two-story structure can be found classrooms for Common
Tongue courses, languages, literature, journalism, and other literary
topics, as well as the office of the school newspaper.
Now make your way east to the next classroom building.
3b. The Kaufman-Averill Building (Classroom Building B)

This is one of the most pleasant buildings on campus, if you like music,
clean hallways, and the smell of cooking food. This two-story building is
where classes in performance, hygiene, cooking, and dungeon
economics are taught.
Continue your tour through the southern exit to the next building.
3c. The Chriplodocus Building (Classroom Building C)

Occult classes ranging from religion to spellcasting, from alchemy to
history of magic, are taught in this building. The alchemy lab takes up
half of the second floor and is open to students who are in the Alchemy
Club.
Follow the hallway out the west door of the building to the next building.
m 105 n

3d. The El Elbee Memorial Building (Classroom Building D)

Named for a beloved former Alchemy teacher, the El Elbee Building is
home to many of the general education academic subjects, such as
classrooms for math, history, and citizenship.
Head out the northern door of this two-story building and then turn left
to continue your tour of WMHS.
west campus
West campus is known as the most hands-on part of the school; this is
where the vocational classes are taught and the workshops can be
found.
4. The Copse of the Owlbear Treasure

Ancient myths say that this cluster of trees is the location of the fabled
Owlbear Treasure, a missing horde of magic and gold that has eluded
fortune-seekers for centuries.
There's no sign of the treasure here, of course, but it's said to be bad
luck to harm these oak trees – so nobody does. Once a year, a former
student named Khor'xos Goldhorn, a minotaur, comes back to campus
and gives a speech to students here, urging them to find the lost
Owlbear Treasure.
Continue north, up the road to the building to your left.
5. Metal Shoppe
The blacksmithy here is used to teach metal shoppe practices such as
creating armor and weapons. Rufus Daark, the vocational arts
instructor, lives in a dwarven tunnel-home beneath the forge.
The tour proceeds north from the metal shoppe.
6. The Stables
Warhorses and other riding beasts are stabled here, both those which
are permanently found at the campus and those of visitors to the
school.
This is also where Rusty the Corrosion Beast – the Wandering Monsters
High School mascot – is kept in a wooden pen. Some students have
taken to coming by between classes and feeding him scraps of metal,
and Rusty has gotten quite fat of late, as you can see.
Head north along the road to the two-story building ahead.
7. Vocational Arts Building

A square building subdivided into a number of shops and workrooms,
the vocational arts building is where most Vocational classes are taught.
m 106 n

Ms. T'k'ch'kul, one of the Vocational teachers, lives in an ornate spider

web in the rafters of the building; students are advised to leave her webs
undisturbed.
Continue north along the road.
north campus
The northern part of WMHS is primarily for student housing. The school
abuts a large cliff which has natural and artificial caverns.
8. Dormitory
This large three-story building is where the vast majority of WMHS
students live during the school year – the exceptions being those
students with special needs and undead students (see 9 and 10, later in
the tour).
Students are assigned as roommates of approximately the same gender,
two to a room, although single rooms are available in limited quantities
to upperclassmonsters.
The school cafeteria is also located in the dormitory, on the first floor.
Now walk out the northern doors of the dorm to continue your tour.
9. The Jeremy "Black Dragon" Mondragon Caves

Not every student is equipped to live in the normal dormitory building,
and thus the Black Dragon Caves play a vital role in providing special
needs housing.
Those students who are too large, too hard to reside with, or otherwise
unable to live comfortably in the dorms are assigned caves here which
are specially adapted to their needs.
When you are through exploring the special needs housing, head east
toward the fenced cemetery.
10. The Brett Easterbrook Memorial Cemetery

This is the final resting place for some of WMHS's most distinguished
graduates, as well as the temporary resting place for undead students
who are assigned shallow graves in which to reside. The cemetery is
named for the first occupant, whose bones are interred beneath the
oldest gravestone.
The small chapel to the east of the cemetery is devoted to the dark gods;
the Campus Crusade for Orcus group regularly meets here for prayers.
Head north to the base of the cliff to continue your tour.
m 107 n

11. Practice Dungeon

Beyond the large brass doors here can be found the Wandering
Monsters High School practice dungeon, used in a number of classes for
simulated dungeon life – fighting off intruding adventurers, hiding loot,
or just sitting around being in a lair for a certain percentage of the time.
The individual dungeon rooms are reconfigurable, with movable walls
and traps which can be customized for any particular teacher's
scenario. When not in use, the dungeon doors are locked – and students
are not allowed to loiter within the practice dungeon!
When you have finished your delve of the dungeon, head east toward the
building with a curved roof.
east campus
12. The W.T.C. Panther Memorial Gymnasium
This large building contains an indoor gymnasium along with showers
for the students. Fitness and hygiene classes are usually taught in this
building.
Proceed south into the stadium.
13. Stadium
The oval sports stadium is used for all manner of sporting events, most
commonly for slamball games but also for track & field events and the
occasional gladiatorial contest. This is also where many of the Fitness
classes meet during the school day.
Coliseum-style seating surrounds the field, where audiences of students
and alumni come to watch events. There is also a bridge leading from
the upper floors of the stadium to the courtyard of the Keep.
Head out the south gates of the stadium to continue your walking tour.
14. Swimming Pool

This Olympian-sized pool (measured against actual mythological titans!)
is used by the swim team and other students who are able to swim. The
water is magically purified and a crystal blue color, although you are
advised not to drink it.
Continue your tour to the south, in the Grove.
15. The Grove

A cluster of trees surrounded by lush vegetation, the Grove is a quiet
part of campus where students can walk among the trees or sit on
comfortable benches. It's also used for simulating forest-based guerrilla
warfare scenarios.
m 108 n

Don't enter the path marked “Staff Only,” as that leads to the tree
occupied by Miss Keshika, a dryad instructor.
From the grove, head north past the classroom buildings and then cut
west to the library building.
central campus
Central campus is the administrative hub of the school and contains
both the library and the Keep.
16. The Kairam Ahmed Hamdan Library

Named for one of the wealthy benefactors of Wandering Monsters High
School, the library is a three-story building situated just west of the
central Keep. Books of all types are stored here: literature and fiction on
the first floor, history and science on the second, occult and magic on
the third, and the forbidden tomes of Kairam Ahmed Hamdan himself
locked away in the basement.
Hamdan, an ancient scholar who has a peculiar interest in swamps and
their monsters, compiled a vast personal library that he donated to the
school. His books, it's rumored, contain the mystery on how he
transformed himself into an undying Lich. These books are locked away
in a special collection for the protection of the student body; rumors
persist that Hamdan himself keeps his dearest tomes under an
advanced spell that alerts him if they're disturbed.
Also note the numerous study tables and group study rooms available
here for students. The library is open late and throughout the day and
evening, young monsters can be found here cracking the books or
otherwise occupying their time – as long as they don't get too loud and
rowdy.
Make your way to the third floor and then head out the doors and
across the raised walkway to the Keep.
17. The Keep

The center of the school administration, this sturdy castle-like office
building overlooks a courtyard surrounded by strong walls.
The courtyard of the Keep is used for student assemblies and sometimes
for career fairs. A large balcony on the Keep proper overlooks the
courtyard and members of the administration can address the
assembled students from this lofty pulpit.
Within the Keep itself, students are only allowed access to the first floor,
where Miss Ludurg, the school secretary, meets any who enter. Vice
Principals Kordak and Wrathsmoor have offices on this floor as well.
The second floor is housing for teachers and administrators who don't
live elsewhere on or off campus. The Headmaster's office is on the third
m 109 n

floor – and very few people ever go there. Even fewer return.
Student records are kept in the basement below the Keep building.
This concludes your tour of the unique and lively campus of Wandering
Monsters High School. We hope you have enjoyed exploring the school!
Off-Campus Locations
The walls of WMHS define the formal boundaries of the campus, but
students are also allowed to go off-campus at the discretion of the
school administration. Most students are allowed visiting privileges to
the Village outside of school hours, although those privileges can be lost
as a disciplinary action.
the village
The Village (it has no formal name, and prefers to remain anonymous
and off of maps) lies about a mile south of Wandering Monsters High
School, and is a cluster of wooden buildings with a small wooden
palisade around it. The Village sprang up after the founding of WMHS
and exists primarily to support the school, its instructors, and visitors.
Like the main campus of WMHS itself, the Village is also warded by
protective magics to prevent students from being killed, as is the area
surrounding the school and the road to the Village.
The Tavern
The nameless Tavern (in the nameless Village) is the social hub for
students; it's the local after-school hangout for most young monsters.
The Tavern has a large central room and several side rooms, all with
cozy fireplaces and serving wenches.
Fighting is frowned upon in the Tavern, but it happens anyway.
The Inn
Visitors to WMHS stay at the Inn, as do some of the instructors who
don't live on campus. A tidy place that also provides breakfast for its
guests, the Inn is run by a friendly gnoll couple.
The General Store & Smithy

The store in the Village sells all kinds of supplies that the students at
WMHS may need, from notescrolls to sports uniforms. (See Chapter 10,
“School Supplies,” for more details.) The blacksmith shop beside the
store can fashion metal implements, armor, and weapons.
The Magic Shoppe

Run by a retired kobold wizard, the Magic Shoppe sells enchanted items
m 110 n

and sometimes a potion or two. See Chapter 10, “School Supplies,” for
more information on magic items.
the fields
The fields west of campus are owned by WMHS and used to grow food
for the school. The fields are worked by indentured drudges employed by
the administration, who reside in the Village when not tilling the fields.
the woods
To the east of the school are the Woods, a small and dark forest. Most
students don't venture deep into the Woods – not only are there
unfriendly monsters who lurk within, but the school's protective magics
don't extend fully into the darkest parts of the Woods.
m 111 n

m 112 n

Administrator's
Handbook
Warning! This handbook is for Headmasters only! Students

are not permitted to read any further, at risk of expulsion!
...nah, it's okay. There's nothing secret in here; all of the secrets are
tucked away in your Headmaster's thoughts, not in this part of the
Wandering Monsters High School rules.
This chapter gives basic advice for the Headmaster, to make it easier for
you to run an enjoyable and fun game of WMHS. None of these are hard
and fast rules, but are tools that you can use in order to improve your
game.
Administrative Decisions
As the Headmaster, you will be called upon before and during the game
to make decisions. These are always your call and your word is law –
although you should keep in mind that if your players aren't having fun
based on your decisions, they probably won't want to play WMHS with
you again.
not the enemy

It's important that you keep in mind one crucial fact: Although you run
the in-game opponents to the Students, you personally are not the
enemy of the players.
The Headmaster never “wins” by crushing and humiliating the Students.
With the amount of control you have over the fiction, it's trivial to do so
in any case.
Instead, the goal of the Headmaster is to help see the Students succeed
– or if they fail at something, make it an interesting, logical consequence
of bad luck or poor choices – not of Headmaster fiat.
That's not to say that you shouldn't throw obstacles at the players or
that you need to have a safety net handy. But your goal is a fun story
for everyone, not to punish and humiliate the players. (Leave that for the
teachers to humiliate the Students!)
Don't be afraid to say “yes” – sometimes it's good for the Students to
succeed at whatever they're attempting. A helpful technique is to say

“yes, but...” or “yes, and...” to add complications to the fiction.

So someone wants to use her Hygiene Grade of “A” to influence a group
of students to make them like her? Try saying “yes, but...they want you
to dump your best friend” or “yes, and...they declare they're going to give
you a makeover.”
know the rules

As the Headmaster, you should be familiar with the WMHS rules and be
able to improvise based on those guidelines. Read over how the Edges
and Levies work, and have a good grasp on the different Subjects.
The most common decision you'll make involves setting the Subject for a
Grade roll. Is it a Hygiene roll or a Citizenship roll? Or even a Vocational
roll? It's up to you, really, although chapter 3, “School Rules,” gives a
number of examples. Don't worry about always making the “right call” –
consistency is good, but it's less important than simply keeping the
game running.
play the cast

You'll also decide what the other characters in
the school do – the teachers, the students who
aren't run by players, the staff, the visiting
competition from the Adventurers Guild
Academy, guest alumni speakers, townsfolk in
the village, wild animals, or anything else that
wanders into a scene.
Use your creativity to give these characters
consistent and entertaining motivations; don't
be afraid to ham it up with funny accents,
gestures, or speech patterns. Again, your
guiding principle should be making the game
for the participants – including yourself.
roles for goals

Another choice you'll have to make is what role Student Goals play in
the WMHS game. Read over chapter 11, “Student Goals,” and decide
with your players which option you'd want to use. For your first game
with a group, you might just use Simple goals and then when you play
later sessions, include the more advanced options for goal tracking.
m 114 n

Chapter 16: Administrator's Handbook
Events and Adventures

Before you run a game of WMHS, you need to decide, in a general sense,
what is going to happen in that game session. This can be a detailed
plot outline, but that may be overkill – few game plans survive contact
with a group of players.
Instead, come up with a general setup for your players to react to –
think of an event or a situation that might come up in a high school
setting, and structure your game session around that.
Good examples include school dances, big games, tests, detention, and
alumni visits. With some of those, you may want to have the event occur
later in the game, and start out with the lead-in: the homecoming dance
is coming up, and who are you going to invite?
You can use movies and television shows for inspiration, from “Ferris
Bueller's Day Off” to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer;” from “The Breakfast
Club” to “Saved by the Bell.” Mix and match your influences to keep
your players on their toes; take a little bit of “New Mutants” and a touch
of “Happy Days,” add some “Say Anything” and mix well.
Don't be afraid to be silly – this is not a grim, dark, serious game! Puns
and in-jokes and cultural references are highly encouraged. Draw from
other roleplaying games and lampoon your favorite (or least favorite)
elements of those settings and rules!
Headmaster Resource Tables

Sometimes your creativity may fail you, or you'd just like to mix things
up with the unexpected – something that even you, as Headmaster,
didn't see coming.
In such cases, random results can be useful for moving the game along.
The rest of this chapter contains some tables for randomly determining
various elements of the fictional story.
m 115 n

random subject
Which class is having a test tomorrow? What's that student's highest
Grade? You can figure out the answers to those questions with the
following table.
Die Roll Result

a Citizenship
b Fitness
c Hygiene
d Occult
e Scholastics
f Vocational
random grade
How good is any given supporting cast member at a certain Subject? In
general, you should assume that a non-exceptional member of the
WMHS student body has a “C” Grade in everything – by definition, “C” is
average. You can use the rules for shorthand characters in chapter 13,
“Class Roster,” to create a quick student who has one or two good
Grades, and maybe one bad one. Use the table before this, “Random
Subject,” to select those Grades.
If you want to randomly determine what a supporting cast member's
Grade is in any given Subject, roll on the following table.
Die Roll Result

a “F” Grade
b “D” Grade
c “C” Grade
d “C” Grade
e “B” Grade
f “A” Grade
random location
Which building on (or off) campus might the Students find themselves
in? Use this table by rolling twice. For more information on each
location, see chapter 15, “Campus Walking Tour.”
First Roll Second Roll Result

a a The Gatehouse
a b Court of the Unknown Monster
a c Hallway of Classroom Building A
a d The School Newspaper Office
m 116 n


a e A Scholastics Classroom
a f Hallway of Classroom Building B
b a A Hygiene Classroom
b b Hallway of Classroom Building C
b c The Alchemy Lab
b d An Occult Classroom
b e Hallway of Classroom Building D
b f A General Education Classroom
c a The Copse of the Owlbear Treasure
c b Metal Shoppe
c c The Stables
c d Vocational Arts Building
c e The Campus Walls
c f The Fields, to the west
d a A Dorm Room
d b The Cafeteria
d c The Cafeteria Kitchen
d d Special Needs Housing
d e The Graveyard
d f The Chapel
e a The Practice Dungeon
e b The Gymnasium
e c The Stadium
e d The Swimming Pool
e e The Grove
e f The Woods, to the east
f a Courtyard of the Keep
f b Administration Offices in the Keep
f c Bridge to the Stadium
f d Bridge to the Library
f e Library
f f Library Basement
Of course, if something doesn't make sense to you (or you simply don't
like the result), you can ignore that result or roll again until you get a
result you like better.
m 117 n

random off-campus location

Use this table of random results if you need a location outside of the
main WMHS campus.
Die Roll Result

a The Road to the Village
b The Tavern
c The Inn
d The General Store and Smithy
e The Magic Shoppe
f Adventurers Guild Academy
random person
Who just walked in the door? Let's find out.
Die Roll Result

a, b A nondescript student
c A helpful student
d An unhelpful student
e Faculty or staff
f Someone else
random species
What species might someone be? Use this resource table to determine a
random species.

a a Blob
a b Centaur
a c Cyclops
a d Dark Elf
a e Demon
a f Devil
b a Dragon
b b Dwarf
b c Efreeti
b d Elf
b e Ghost
b f Giant
c a Gnoll
m 118 n


c b Gnome
c c Goblin
c d Golem
c e Half-Elf
c f Halfling
d a Harpy
d b Human
d c Kobold
d d Lich
d e Medusa
d f Minotaur
e a Naga
e b Nymph
e c Ogre
e d Orc
e e Owlbear
e f Spider
f a Succubus
f b Treant
f c Troll
f d Vampire
f e Werewolf
f f Zombie
random faculty or staff

If you want a teacher or other school employee to make an appearance,
you can roll randomly on the following table.

a, b a Coach Brunnk
a, b b Mr. Chok’tsun
a, b c Mr. Rufus Daark
a, b d Lady Dolann
a, b e Miss Keshika
a, b f Ms. Larraugh
c, d a Instructor Renk
c, d b Miss Sharada
c, d c Mr. Thardall
m 119 n


c, d d Mrs. T’k’ch’kul
c, d e A substitute teacher (your choice, or roll
randomly for species and subject)
c, d f Ms. Siouxianthe, the librarian
e, f a Nurse Gruntha
e, f b The Sisters Three
e, f c Baron Kordak
e, f d Dame Donnabella Wrathsmoor
e, f e Ludurg, the secretary
e, f f The Headmaster
random happenstance
These are things that you can just have happen to a Student because
you feel like it and you think it will help make a more interesting story.
For this table, “you” refers to the Student, as if you were reading it to
that Student's player.

a a You remember a test next period.
a b You forgot your locker combination.
a c Someone bumps into you.
a d You lost something unimportant.
a e You lost something important.
a f You found something which you lost.
b a You found something lost by someone
else.
b b Someone hands you a note.
b c Someone hands you a threatening note.
b d Someone hands you a love letter.
b e You find a copper coin.
b f You need to use the little monster's room.
c a You don't feel so good right now.
c b You feel pretty bad right now.
c c You're really hungry.
c d You're really thirsty.
c e Your boots are untied.
c f Someone stuck a “kick me” sign on your
back.
d a Someone has a crush on you.
m 120 n


d b You have a crush on someone.
d c A teacher thinks you're cheating in class.
d d One of the vice principals wants to see
you.
d e A teacher forgot your name.
d f You left your notescroll in your dorm.
e a Your sponsor sent you a letter.
e b Your sponsor sent you a care package.
e c Someone from your clique is in trouble.
e d Someone wants to fight you after school.
e e You owe someone some money.
e f Someone owes you money.
f a Something triggers your allergy.
f b A bug flew up your nose.
f c You forget which class you're supposed to
be in.
f d The corrosion beast ate your homework.
f e One of your extra-curricular activities got
canceled today.
f f You have no pants.
Use these to help drive the story along in unexpected ways. You can ask
the player for their input as well – for example, “Someone owes you
money – who is it, and why do they owe you money? Why do you need it
back right now?” These leading questions can involve the player in
shaping the Student's daily life.
Don't roll on this table more than once a period, if even that frequently;
if weird things are happening too often, they can feel less like incidents
that spice up the story and more like arbitrary punishment!
m 121 n

m 122 n

Index
24 hour RPG 6 Inverse edge 25-26, 57-58

Achievement goals 17-18, 78 Inverse levy 25-26
Advancement 81-82 Lea Hernandez artwork (cover), 87,
Armor 33, 47, 74 89-92
Attack 32-33, 50 Levy 19, 24-25, 57
Automatic success 22, 33-34 Levy value 9, 25, 26
Backlash 83 Louis LeClerc artwork 10, 54, 57,
Calendar 68 63, 97, 114
Campus locations 103-110, 116- Magical protections 5, 103
117 Mixed contest 29-31
Citizenship 13, 19 Monsters with Disabilities Act 57
Citizenship classes 35-37 Mundane equipment 16-17, 71
Classes 15, 35-48 Niche 13, 93
Clique 13, 69-70 Non-discrimination policy 12
Combat 32-34 Non-standard species 12
Common tongue 10, 44 Occult 14, 20
Complex contest 29-31 Occult classes 35, 42-43, 83
Complex goals 79-81 Off-campus locations 110-111, 118
Contests 28-32 Overwhelming attacks 33-34
Daily schedule 67 Period 67
Degree of failure 23 Poison 48, 54, 87
Degree of success 22, 28, 33-34 Potions 42, 62, 86-88
Dice 14-15, 19, 21, 27 Random faculty 119-120
Ditching class 48 Random grade 116
Edge 19, 23-25, 36, 50 Random happenstance 120-121
Edge value 9, 23-26 Random location 116-118
Elective 15, 16 Random person 118
Enrollment 9-18 Random species 118-119
Events 117 Random subject 116
Extra-curricular activities 16, 61-66 Relationship goals 17, 78
Faculty 95-99, 119-120 Report card 125
Fitness 14, 19, 32, 33 Robert Altbauer artwork 104
Fitness classes 35, 38-39 Sample students 89-92
Game requirements 6 Scholarships 18
Gender 12 Scholastics 14, 20
Gifts 10-12, 16, 49-56, 88 Scholastics classes 36, 44-46
Goals as advancement 81-82 School supplies 16-17, 71-75
Grades 13-15, 19-21 Self-referentialism 123
Graduation 12 Shorthand students 93-94, 116
Headmaster 6-7, 113-121 Simple contest 28-29
Hygiene 14, 20 Simple goals 79
Hygiene classes 35, 40-41 Simple roll 27
Initiative 32 Slamball 66, 68-69, 74-75

Social goals 17, 77 Success 19, 21-22

Special needs 10-12, 16, 57-60 Talents 16, 49-56, 88
Species 10, 11, 118-1119 Team contest 31-32
Spells 42-43, 83-85, 95, 103 Terminology 8
Sponsor 18 Trait values 9
Sports 68-69 Treasure goals 17, 77-78
Staff 99-101, 120 Tuition 18
Standard species 10, 11 Unexpected goals 80-81
Status symbol 17, 38, 71-75 Vocational 14, 20, 33
Staying conscious 33, 50 Vocational classes 36, 47-48
Student goals 17-18, 77-82 Weapon 33, 38-39, 74
Student name 10 Year in school 12
Student portrait 18
m 124 n

School Supplies Wandering Monsters
j Status Symbol:
h H IG H S C HO O L
h Student Report Card
h
Student Name
h
Species
Student Goals
Year in School
Progress:
♣ □ Unsatisfactory
□ Satisfactory
Gender
Social □ Outstanding
j Niche
Progress:
 □ Unsatisfactory
□ Satisfactory
c Clique
Treasure □ Outstanding
School Portraits
Progress:
♥ □ Unsatisfactory
□ Satisfactory
Relationship □ Outstanding
Progress:
♠ □ Unsatisfactory
□ Satisfactory
Achievement □ Outstanding
Sponsor or Guardian's Signature
Grades Gifts & Talents
Grade
Citizenship e
d
c Class: Dice
Grade c
Fitness b
c Class: Dice b
Grade
Hygiene h
c Class: Dice
Special Needs
Grade
Occult D
E
c Class: Dice
Grade F
Scholastics Extra-Curricular Activities
c Class: Dice
Grade e
Vocational j
c Class: Dice i
Subject
d Elective: b
http://boldpueblo.com/wmhs h

Wandering Monsters High School

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wandering Monsters High School

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wandering

A Story Roleplaying Game

By Caoimhe Ora Snow

cover & artwork by lea hernandez

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Copyright 2005-2012 by Caoimhe Ora Snow <caoimhe@boldpueblo.com> (Kynn

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Adam Waggenspack Brett Easterbrook

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

About the School

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

History of the Game

What's a Roleplaying Game?

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

WMHS Term Meaning

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

To create a student to play in a WMHS game, you need to go through

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Species Gifts Special Needs

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Year Name of Year

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

grades & dice

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Grade Meaning Dice

You get to choose your student's grades as part of the enrollment

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Gifts, Talents, and Special Needs

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)

activities, such as passing a class, getting a story for the school

Sponsor or Guardian's Signature

Tyler Sutton (Order #20475946)