Original Concepts Divine Cybermancy

“Captain” Jackson Malloy, George “Barbarossa” Webb

Henri “Higgins” Paves, with additional
early content by Sean Cochran Volunteer Editors

Sword & Scoundrel Kostas “Benedict” Kiriakis

Design & Writeup Tyler “ThirtyThr33” Karvinen
Tim “EinBein” Kleier
Malloy
Other Helpful People
Layout and Terrible Illustrations
Jake Norwood, Nikolas Lloyd, Roland
Also Malloy
Warzecha, Matt Easton, Nathan Frund,
Logo Design & Cover Art Kate, and everyone on our forums.
Still Malloy Additional Thanks
Character Sheet To everyone who voiced their support for
this project. I’d like to extend a particular
Malloy
and heart-felt thanks to all of you who
have been here for the long haul. I am
continually amazed and horrified that
some of you have spent years watching
the evolution of this insanity. You’re
scoundrels, every one of you. Send help.
- Malloy

Fonts
Linux Libertine
Portmanteau

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 Contents
Sword & Scoundrel.....................1
How to Use This Book....................... 3
As a Player Your Job is to:............... 5
Book I: Initiation......... 6
Conflict................................................7
Conflict................................................ 7
Task and Intent.................................. 8
Escalation........................................... 9
The Core MEchanic...................10
Ability Checks.................................. 10
Contests............................................. 15
Tapping............................................. 17
Getting More Dice......................17
Help.................................................... 18
Cascading Rolls................................ 19
Tools................................................... 20
Drama............................................... 20
Shot Clocks......................................21
Time........................................................ 23
Scenes................................................. 23
Sessions, Arcs, and Campaigns..... 25
Downtime......................................... 26
Drives................................................... 29
A Dual Perspective.......................... 29
Choosing Drives............................... 30
Changing Drives.............................. 30
Drama...................................................32
Spending Drama.............................. 33
Advancement................................... 34
Karma................................................ 37
On the Character Sheet.................. 37
Book II: Creation........38
Character creation............... 39
Concept.............................................. 40
Priorities, Priorities......................... 41
Finishing Touches............................ 44
Social Class.................................... 50
Attributes........................................ 54
Prime Attributes.............................. 54
Derived Attributes........................... 56
Skills..................................................... 58
Proficiencies................................... 69
Melee Proficiencies.......................... 69
Ranged Proficiencies....................... 72
Traits....................................................74
Character Traits.............................. 76
Affiliation......................................... 78
Bonds................................................. 79
Claim................................................. 82
Patron................................................ 83
Reputation........................................ 84
Retainer............................................. 85
Status................................................. 86
Special Traits.................................... 87
Factions and Organizations........... 89
Gaining New Traits......................... 93
Book III: Avarice...........94
Wealth................................................ 95
Wealth Checks................................. 95
Maintenance..................................... 97
Skills in Wealth Checks................ 101
Patronage........................................ 102
Wealth Minutiae............................ 103
Buying Stuff................................... 106
Armor.................................................. 117
Armor Types................................... 120
Wearing Armor.............................. 122
Armors, Listed................................ 124
In Shining Armor.......................... 136
Weapons........................................... 138
Weapon Codex............................... 138
Melee Weapon Properties............. 140
Codex: Bladed Weapons............... 143
Codex: Hafted Weapons............... 145
Codex: Shields................................ 147
Other Melee.................................... 148
Ranged Weapon Properties.......... 150
Codex: Bows............................ 153
Codex: Crossbows.......................... 154
Codex: Firearms............................. 155
Other Ranged Weapons................ 157
Ammunition................................... 158
But This One is Mine..................... 160
Encumbrance............................... 161
Bulk.................................................. 161
Armor Penalty................................ 163
Book IV: Tribulation.164
Connections & Contacts...165
Connections Rolls.......................... 165
NPCs from Traits........................... 170
Social Conflict.......................... 171
Artful Argumentation.................. 171
Tough Sells...................................... 175
Skirmish.............................................176
Setting the Scene............................ 176
One Dramatic Thing..................... 179
Sequence.......................................... 180
Melee................................................... 186
Simple Melee.................................. 186
Full Melee........................................ 189
Positioning Rolls............................ 196
Maneuvers...................................... 205
Advanced Melee............................. 211
Ranged Combat..........................218
The Ranged Action........................ 218
Ranged Minutiae........................... 223
Wounds & Healing.................. 227
Wounds............................................ 227
Healing............................................ 232
Permanent Injuries........................ 238
 Sword &
Scoundrel

Sword & Scoundrel is a player-driven role-playing game of passion, violence, and

general skulduggery. It’s a morality play presented as a character drama, set against
a backdrop of intrigue, swordplay, and sorcery. It’s a game about the motivations that
drive your character and the conflicts that result when they are challenged.

This edition is a living document intended to facilitate play-testing. It provides you

the core rules you need to begin play. The complete edition will provide additional op-
tional features to facilitate different kinds of campaigns. For now, you’re encouraged
to fill any gaps you encounter with common sense and prior role-playing experience.
If you’re completely new to role-playing, you might want to get a more experienced
friend to help you with this for now. You can also hit us up at http://grandheresyfo-
rums.com to ask any questions that you might have. We have a number of folks who’d
love to help you, and we’re always glad for feedback.

Why Play This Game?

Because you’re a fan of grim and gritty fantasy stories like Joe Abercrombie’s First
Law series, Glen Cook’s The Black Company, Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane, Scott
Lynch’s Lies of Locke Lamora, George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, or Andrzej
Sapkowski’s The Witcher.

Because you love the kind of intense character dramas exemplified by shows like
Black Sails, Breaking Bad, Britannia, Deadwood, Hell on Wheels, Sons of Anarchy, Sparta-
cus, or Vikings.

Because you want to play competent and influential characters capable of taking on
the setting from the very first session.


Because you care about who — not just what — your character is. You want their
passions and convictions to form the driving focus of play and to be rewarded for the
pursuit of them.

Because you are excited by fast, bloody combat where player choice matters. You want
skill and tactics to matter more than who has the bigger numbers. All the while,
you want an evocative and cinematic experience that delivers an experience true to
historical swordplay.

Because you want a system that is simple to learn, but has enough depth to sustain
lengthy campaigns. You want a game that has enough crunch to support you where
you want it and get out of your way when you don’t.

Because deep down, you’ve got a little scoundrel in you.

Themes
Sword & Scoundrel isn’t a game married to a specific setting. The rules as writ-
ten imply a grim world of social and technological upheaval based loosely on the
European Renaissance. However, the setting is not a defining feature. With a little
tweaking, the rules could as easily fit other times, places, or fantasy worlds. Instead,
gameplay is defined by its core themes.

Passion: The word now refers to any extreme of emotion — love, lust, joy, hate, all the
things of which good storytelling is made — but the original meaning is to suffer. At
its heart, Sword & Scoundrel is a passion play. Your character’s drives and traits
represent who they are and what they hold sacred. Together, these create the bar
against which you will be measured and the means by which your character will be
tested. Above all, it is a game driven by passions.

Violence: Conflict and conviction are eternal bedfellows. Where one leads, the other
will follow. Violence is a core theme in the kinds of stories Sword & Scoundrel
emulates. The world is a dangerous place, and words aren’t always enough. However,
none of this means violence should be taken lightly. A would-be bravo must be very
careful. There are no “hit points” here. Damage is recorded in flesh maimed and blood
lost. Combat is quick and lethal, and a single solid blow will often decide the fight.

General Skulduggery: Of all possible weapons at your disposal, subterfuge is the

most potent. Not every obstacle can or should be met head on. Even if you’re above
such base deception, your opponents will not be. You’re going to have to play smart
and choose your battles wisely. Whether in love, politics, or swordplay, a fair fight is
one halfway lost. Success and survival will demand every advantage.

2
 Sword & Scoundrel

How to Use This

Book
The rules are arranged in a very particular way. The game is divided into five books
that group the chapters within by theme and kind. The deeper you go, the more op-
tional these rules become. If you’re the GM, you’re going to want to read the whole
thing at least once just to be aware of the contents. If you’re a player, Books I-III
are where you want to concentrate. If you’re brand new and grabbing a pregenerated
character, you can squeak by with Book I alone to get started.
• Book I: Initiation. Contains all of the basic rules and practices you will
need. In a pinch, you can more or less play the game with this book alone.
• Book II: Creation. Everything to do with character creation. If you aren’t
using pregen characters, you will want to familiarize yourself with this.
• Book III: Avarice. Armor, weapons, goods, and wealth. The lattermost
rules you’ll want to memorize. Everything else can be referenced as
needed.
• Book IV: Tribulation. All of the optional systems, from variations on
and situational applications of the core material to the advanced combat
rules. You don’t need to memorize this stuff until you decide you want to
use it.
• Book V: Revelation. This section is still under construction. When
complete, it will contain the GM’s rules for play, and general advice on
handling situations. If you’re the GM, you’ll need to familiarize yourself
with this section. (STILL TO COME!)
Books I-III are the sweet spot. When you’re just getting started, that’s about all you’ll
need. The rules within will cover most situations. Once you get the hang of the basic
rules, you can start looking at the material from book IV to add in per the group’s
preference.

Toolkit Mentality
As you might gather from the above, the game is fairly modular in nature. All of
the advanced systems can be pared down, tinkered with, or expanded upon without
upsetting the core game too much. It’s built to let you change things for flavor. Hack
it as you please. That being said, when you’re first getting started make sure you take
some time to get familiar with the book. Learn how the bits interact and how we
meant them to work before you start shifting them around. In later versions of this
document, we’ll give you some advice on doing just that.
3


What You Will Need

Just some quick inventory to get you started:
• This book (You have it!)
• Several (preferably) live human beings to act as the players. The game
works best with 3-5.
• One live (generous, kind-hearted) human being to act as the Game Master.
• Six-sided dice, like the kind that come with most board games. Any time
we talk about dice, we’re talking about these. You want at least 10-20 per
player, with at least one being red and one being white. You can use other
colors, but it’s easiest when everyone uses the same. You won’t really need
to roll 20 dice at once, but having extras makes everything easier.
• Pencils, character sheets, scratch paper, and the usual culprits. Option-
ally, some small bowls or trays can help keep the dice from getting ev-
erywhere.

On Numbers
Despite our best efforts, there is occasionally some math involved in the game. When-
ever you encounter something less than a whole number, round down to the next
whole number. Measurements are generally given in feet and yards. Most of the Grand
Heresy team is American. It happens. If you live elsewhere in the world or can’t abide
our barbaric imperial measurements, feel free to read ’yard’ as ’meter’ and call it a day.
Nothing in the system has such precise tolerances as to make the difference worth
calculating in any further detail.

4
 Sword & Scoundrel

As a Player
Your Job is to:
Be a Fan. You get out of this game what you put into it. Bring your enthusiasm to the
table. Make characters that compel you. Play someone you would pay to see a movie
about. Throw yourself into the setting the group is creating. Most importantly, be a fan
of the other players’ characters as well. Share screen time with them. Position yourself
to enable them or play foil to them. When you aren’t “on screen,” be a good audience
to those that are. Help give everyone a chance to shine.

Drive Forward. The PCs are the stars of this show. Your drives and traits are there
so you can show the GM where you want to be challenged. Your job is to rise the oc-
casion. Write drives that demand action and then actively pursue them in-character.
When one no longer applies, scrap it and write a new one.

Take Risks. Don’t let the game get caught up in debates over the safest course of
action. It’s your job to push. Bold moves make for good stories. The game will only be
as interesting as you let it be. Play like you mean it.

Embrace Failure. This isn’t a game about winning. You will fail rolls and there will
be consequences. Embrace it. Failure moves the game forward in interesting and un-
expected directions. That’s half the fun. Each new complication gives your character
new challenges to overcome and opportunities to grow and change over time. Failure
is not a closed door, it’s a broken window.

Lead with the Fiction. Engage with the scenario in descriptive terms. Play like
you’re telling a story. When you want to do something, describe what your character
is trying to do and how they are doing it. Tell us what you’re looking for; don’t ask
to roll Perception. Tell us how you’re trying to get past the locked door; don’t ask to
make a Larceny Check. Engage with the fiction first. If what you want requires a roll,
the GM will call for one.

Put People First. Role-playing is a social hobby. You’re coming together with a bunch
of people to tell a cool story. Sword & Scoundrel can get into some heavy territory
and conflict between player characters is not uncommon. This can make for great
drama, but make sure everyone is comfortable with it. Talk about where your lines
are drawn and be mindful of the feelings of the other people at the table. Most of all,
don’t let inter-character conflicts boil over into inter-player conflicts. “But it’s what my
character would do” is the Nuremberg Defense of gaming. The people at your table are
way more important than the game you are playing.

5
 Book I:
Initiation
 Conflict

Role-playing is an ongoing conversation between you and the other players at the
table. Most will create a fictional persona called a player character (PC) who acts
as one of the protagonists for the campaign to come. One player will become the
game master (GM) who will control everything else, such as the non-player char-
acters (NPCs) and other setting elements. The GM will present the players with
situations and the players will describe what their characters do in response. This
back and forth creates an ongoing fiction. Dice only enter the equation when there
is a conflict to be resolved and something is at stake.

Conflict
A conflict occurs any time you try to change the momentum of events in the fic-
tion. This means trying to make something happen that wasn’t going to, or trying
to stop something from happening that otherwise would have. Moreover, to count
as a conflict there must be something at stake. The stakes are why we care about
this roll, representing the possible outcomes. A success must bring a tangible benefit
and a failure must create some kind of complication. Your character is assumed
to be reasonably competent by default, so mundane and meaningless tasks never
require a die roll. By picking up the dice, you’re breaking the status quo of the game.
You’re putting something on the line and declaring yourself willing to accept the
consequences. Win or lose, you’ve set something in motion.
Book I: Initiation

Task and Intent

Any given conflict has two elements: the task and the intent. The intent is what you
are actually trying to achieve. Gain entry into the castle, get the jewels from the safe, and
stop the flow of blood are all examples of intent.

The task is how you’re trying to achieve your intent. Bribe the guards, pick the lock, and
apply a tourniquet are all good examples of tasks. The description you give of the task
is important because it will determine what you need to roll to get what you want.

Failure
Success or failure on a roll is about the intent, not the task itself. If you fail a roll, you
didn’t get what you wanted from it. This doesn’t have to mean that you botched the
task itself. Instead, failure most often represents some complication that developed to
stand between your character and their goals. Instead of failing to pick the lock, the
guards show up before you can finish the job. Instead of failing to woo that comely
courtier, your intimate moment is cut short when a rival steals their attention. Even
failure pushes the story forward, introducing new obstacles for your character to
overcome.

All Sales Are Final

Until the dice are rolled, everything is negotiable. Once a conflict is resolved, the
results are fixed. They become a hard mechanical fact of the game world. In practice,
this means two things: first, success means that you accomplish your stated intent.
The GM can’t ask you for repeated rolls on a task to increase your chance of failure.
Second, failure is binding. You can’t repeatedly attempt the same task in order to ’fish’
for a successful result. No new attempts can be made until your character somehow
improves their odds. This could mean improving the ability you’re using to make
the check, acquiring more information about and insight into the task at hand, find-
ing better tools, getting help, or otherwise attempting to make the check under more
favorable working conditions.

8
 Conflict

Escalation
Where finesse fails, force can be king. When you fail a check, you can try to bring
about the same intent with a different task provided that the second attempt is bigger,
louder, or meaner than the first. Fail to pick a lock? You break down the door. Fail to
crack a safe? You blow it up. Where your charm will sometimes fail, a pistol can be
very persuasive.

This second attempt is always an escalation. You are gaining a second shot at your
intent, but not without a price. Escalating the roll always increases the stakes at-
tached. Where before you were unable to get into the safe, failure might now mean
destroying the goods inside of it. Where before someone might have simply declined
your offer, now failure may mean that you’ve damaged your relationship with them.
Worse, depending on the context you may create a significant complication regardless
of the outcome. A failed seduction may create some awkward moments, but blackmail
will make an enemy of your victim even if you succeed.

9
 The Core
MEchanic

Sword & Scoundrel is built around a mechanic called a simple conflict. All of the
advanced systems are optional expansions upon this basic mechanic, but any given
conflict can be boiled right back down to this core.

Ability Checks
Ability Checks are resolved by gathering a pool of dice equal in number to the rank
or value of the ability (an attribute, skill, or proficiency) being tested, usually be-
tween 1-10 dice. Rolls are judged by counting hits. A die is a hit when its individual
face value is equal to or greater than a given target number (TN). If the face value of
the die is less than the target number, it is a miss and ignored. The outcome of a roll
is based on the number of hits rolled (see Reqs, below).

Against a TN3, a roll of 6, 4, 2, 2, 3, 1, 5 counts as four hits.

Target Numbers
Even the simplest task is made more complicated with an arrow in your gut. The
majority of rolls are made against your base TN (BTN). The BTN for an uninjured
character begins at TN3, but as your character is injured or fatigued this can go up.
This is tracked on your character’s base clock on your character sheet. Different in-
juries and conditions can shift your BTN upward based on their severity, but the base
clock only ever reflects the highest TN your character is struggling under.
 The Core MEchanic

Gaining Advantage

There are certain mechanics in the game that will impose an advantage or dis-
advantage on your character based on options you’ve chosen. Outside of these
specific instances, advantage or disadvantage is the result of fictional positioning.
In practice, this means that the way you’re trying to do something or the circum-
stances under which you’re doing it are either easier or harder than normal. If you
know the queen has a terrible soft spot for children and you (perhaps fraudulently)
present yourself as a champion of children’s charities as part of a con to get the
queen’s cooperation? That’s probably worth an advantage. Try that same angle
on the elderly magistrate who is known to despise children and it’s probably a
disadvantage. You can never count on earning an advantage outside of where the
advanced systems make this explicit, but it is a tool the GM has to help reward
clever play.

Your BTN can also have situational modifiers apply. These do not change your BTN
(or affect your base clock) but will apply to an individual roll. An advantage reduces
your TN by 1 for that roll (e.g., from TN3 to TN2). A disadvantage increases your
TN by 1 for that roll (e.g., from TN3 to TN4). Only a single instance of advantage or
disadvantage ever applies. If you have more than one source of advantage, you still
only get -1 to your TN. If you have one of each, they cancel each other out. If you wind
up with some odd number of each, they cancel each other out until you have the net
result. No TN can ever be lower than 2 or higher than 6.

Jaff has three advantages and a disadvantage. The disadvantage is canceled

out by one of his advantages, but as he has some advantage remaining a single
instance applies to grant a -1TN benefit.

Fixed TNs (FTN) are an exception to this rule. They remain static no matter what
your physical state and are not affected by advantage or disadvantage. Unless other-
wise specified, you can assume that an FTN is 3.

Reqs
The difficulty of any given task is represented by its required hits or req (pronounced
’wreck’ and abbreviated with an r), which indicates the number of hits you have to roll
for it to succeed. An r3 task is one that requires at least 3 hits on the roll. Some specific
reqs are given as they come up in the rules, but the following table gives examples for
scale.

Certain rolls will be listed as r0. In such cases the emphasis is generally on finding out
how well you perform rather than whether you can accomplish the task (see Margin

11
Book I: Initiation

of Success and Failure). That said, rolling zero hits may still count as a failure or invoke
a complication depending on the kind of roll. R0 checks are common in Education or
Lore checks, but show up in a variety of applications.

Table 1 - Example Reqs

Req Description
r0 Trivial. Not a question of whether you can do it, but of how well. Default
req in contests (see Contests)
r1 Simple. Even people who aren’t trained in the thing can manage it under
the right circumstances.
r2 Routine. A normal task for someone who does that thing. Still possible
for the untrained, with a bit of luck.
r3 Average. Mundane tasks that nevertheless require some concentration,
even from professionals.
r4 Challenging. Tricky for most, but still within the domain of masters.
r5 Hard. Even the most skilled are not guaranteed success.
r6 Overwhelming. Still possible, with enough help or preparation.
r7 Heroic. And a little luck.
r8 Desperate. Make that a lot of luck.
r9 Futile. And maybe a prayer.
r10 Madness. Or a miracle.

Choosing reqs

If you ever need a req but don’t have the chart in front of you (and don’t want to
stop in the middle of play to look one up) it’s easy enough to guesstimate. Reqs
1-5 are in the realm of mundane tasks. 6-10 are heroic and super-heroic. Most
tasks that you will need to accomplish under normal circumstances are r2. Most
dramatic tasks will begin at r3 and adjust up or down as necessary to fit the
situation.

12
 The Core MEchanic

Margin of Success and

Failure
The degree by which you suceed is often as important as the success itself. Compare
the number of hits you rolled against the req of the task. The difference produces your
margin of success (MoS) or margin of failure (MoF). If you rolled 3 hits against
an r2 check, you have a margin of success of 1 or MoS1. If you’d rolled exactly 2 hits
against an r2 check, it would be MoS0. If you’d rolled only the one hit, it would be
MoF1. The MoS/F of a task will often be specified by the circumstances of the roll, but
a generic list of results follows.
Table 2 - Margin of Success/Failure
MoS Description
-3 Catastrophic. Something goes terribly wrong.
-1, -2 Failure. You fail at your desired goal and introduce a complication for
your trouble.
0 Bare Success. You get what you wanted, but only barely. At the GM’s
option, this may be a compromise instead of an outright success. In a
contest, this is a tie instead.
1-2 Standard Success. You accomplish what you were after by a clear margin.
3+ Extraordinary Success. You get what you wanted, and then some. Many
rolls (particularly in combat) provide a bonus effect at this level.
5+ Masterful Success. Above and beyond expectations. Flawless execution.

The Moving Parts

If you ever get confused about how to modify something or where the moving
parts go, just remember:
• Dice are what your character brings to the table. Their skills,
attributes, traits, and general resources.
• TNs represent the conditions under which the character is attempting
the task.
• Reqs represent the objective difficulty of the thing being tried.

13
Book I: Initiation

Untrained Ability Checks

Sometimes you’ll need to make an ability check for a proficiency or skill that you don’t
have. This is particularly true when trying to learn new abilities. In such a case, you
can substitute or (sub) in some other related ability to form your pool. The substitute
can be any other ability or trait so long as it is directly related to the task at hand.
Think in terms of “what can I use to do this instead?” If you needed a specific Lore
skill but you don’t have it, maybe your character learned something about it in their
studies. Use Education. If you don’t have Larceny to pick the lock, maybe you can use
Cunning to figure it out anyway or Brawn and a crowbar to pry it open. You might not
know much about Swords, but if you’re good with an axe maybe you can use the Mass
Weapons proficiency in a pinch.

When you sub in an ability, you gain the tap value (see pg XX) of that ability to use
instead. For substituting skills, this can be any other ability you possess that would
make sense in the circumstance. If the character has a trait that would directly apply
(for instance, using a background-based Character Trait for knowledge implied by that
background), it can be used as the substitute instead.

Proficiencies are a bit more specific. Each is either a melee proficiency or a ranged
proficiency. Any time you are missing a melee proficiency, you can substitute the tap
value of any other melee proficiency you have. For instance, if you needed Polearms
but didn’t have it, you could use the tap value of your Brawling instead. The same
would apply from one ranged proficiency to another.

If you have no proficiency in the given category that has a high enough tap value to
substitute, then it is handled based on whether you are dealing with a simple conflict
or a Combat Pool.
• In simple conflicts such as proficiency checks, or simple melee (pg XX),
you can substitute in the tap value of the relevant attribute instead. This
is Reflex for melee, or Perception for ranged.
• In Combat Pools, you already gain the full value of your relevant attri-
bute. If you have no applicable proficiency with a high enough value to
tap, then your Combat Pool is based on your attribute alone.

In either case, subbing in an ability or trait consumes one of your two tapping slots
(see Tapping, pg XX), even when it is a voluntary substitution as below.

14
 The Core MEchanic

Defaulting
If you ever find yourself needing to substitute for an ability check but have no relevant
ability or trait with a die value high enough to use, you can choose to default. So long
as the check in question allows substitutions, defaulting gives you a single die with
which to make the attempt. However, the entire pool for the attempt (including help
and drama) are rolled at FTN6. Similarly, if penalties to your dice pool should ever
reduce you to 0d, you can still default to the above. One die, FTN6.

Voluntary Substitutions
Under some circumstances, you might be better off choosing to sub in another skill or
ability even when you have the most appropriate one for the check. You can always
choose to do this, but whenever you choose a voluntary substitute for an ability you
actually possess, any any drama spent on that check (see Drama pg XX) must apply to
that ability. If you need Lore (Church) and use Education as a substitute, drama spent
automatically applies to advancing your Lore (Church).

Contests
A contest exists any time two or more characters have opposing intentions and the
success of one requires the failure of the other (for instance, an arm-wrestling contest,
or a thief trying to sneak past a guard.) Most contests assume the tasks as r0 for
simplicity, with both parties assembling their pools and rolling their dice as normal
ability checks. The side that rolls the most hits accomplishes their intent, with the
difference between the two results forming the victor’s MoS.

When a contest is asymmetrical in nature (a foot race in which one opponent is taking
a longer or more precarious route, dueling musicians where one performer is trying
a significantly more difficult piece) then reqs may be applied independently of the
contest itself, as per the sidebar Reqs Outside of Simple Conflicts.

Ties
If a tie comes up, it’s important to decide who is the aggressor (the person acting or
attempting to change the status quo) and who is the defender (the person resisting or
attempting to uphold the status quo). As long as the roles are clear from the intentions
of the characters involved, a tie always favors the aggressor.

15
Book I: Initiation

Reqs Outside of Simple Conflicts

In an unopposed simple conflict, reqs are easy. Roll the dice, subtract the req, and
the result is your MoS. When reqs are involved in more complex mechanics, it can
be a little more tricky. Most contests are assumed to be r0 by default, but when a
req does show up the order of operations is as follows:
• Roll your dice and count your hits.
• Subtract your req, if any.
• If you have an opponent, they do the same, rolling their dice, count-
ing hits, and then subtracting any req.
• Compare your remaining hits to the opponent’s remaining hits.
• The difference between the two is the victor’s MoS.

Escalating Contests
If both parties could be considered the aggressor or the roles are not obvious, then
there are two options. The first is that a tie can simply remain a tie. The two opponents
are considered evenly matched and neither accomplishes their intention. On the other
hand, neither of them will suffer a complication as a consequence. The second option
is for the tie to escalate allowing an additional roll to break the tie, but at the cost of
imposing a complication on both parties involved, regardless of the victor.

Escalation from a tie moves the conflict to another set of abilities related to the same
task; a tied arm-wrestling contest of Brawn could become a contest of Will as each
character tries to hold out just a bit longer than their opponent. The new pool can be
based on any related ability — from one skill to another skill, from a skill to an attri-
bute, and so on — including an ability that was tapped in the previous roll (see Getting
More Dice, pgXX). However, the new roll may not tap any other abilities. Other sources
of additional dice (drama, tools, help) apply as normal. The new ability is chosen by
the character who initiated the conflict. If both parties could have been considered to
have initiated it, the GM may choose. In either case, the new ability must be plausibly
related to the conflict at hand.

Escalation requires that all parties involved commit to the escalation and accept the
consequences. If one party decides not to escalate, the other wins by default. They
succeed in their intention but also give themselves a complication. The loser clearly
does not gain their own intention, but they also suffer no additional complications.

16
 Getting
More Dice

Through clever play, you can usually find an extra die or two to support your cause.
The following section covers a number of ways to do just that.

Tapping
Ability checks call out a specific attribute, skill, or proficiency to be tested, with its
rank forming the basis of your pool. However, these abilities don’t exist in a vacuum.
Sometimes other abilities or traits your character possesses can give you an edge on
the task you’re attempting. When this happens, you may tap that ability or trait on the
roll, adding a number of dice to your pool equal to its tap value (or just tap, e.g, Brawn
tap). The tap for an ability is based on its current rank. Traits don’t have separate tap
values. If they have a die value, it’s listed directly and the whole of it applies.

Tapping has a few restrictions attached. First, it’s on you as

the player to spot when your abilities or traits might come Table 3 - Tap Values
into play. Rank Tap
Second, you need to explain how it applies to the situation. 0-3 0
The thing you are tapping in must bring some benefit to the 4-6 1
task that is above and beyond the normal scope of the ability
7-9 2
being checked. Most of what an ability does is already as-
sumed in the value of the ability itself. Having a high Percep- 10+ 3
tion doesn’t make you better at Larceny, even if situational
awareness is fairly crucial to breaking and entering. Your
burglarizing ability is wholly contained within the Larceny
skill. On the other hand, if you were attempting to break into
an ancient Letorian tomb complex, it would be easy enough
Book I: Initiation

to argue that Lore (Ancient Letoria) might give you some additional insight into doing
so that is outside of the normal scope of the Larceny skill. This tends to mean that the
more specific the trait or ability, the more easy it is to justify tapping in. You won’t be
able to tap something into every roll you make, but with some clever angling you can
manage it often enough.

Third, you need to role-play what this means in the fiction. Sometimes, this is easy
enough. In the above scenario, you simply work your character’s knowledge of the
thing into your description of doing it. In other situations, this may require some
foresight. This is particularly true in social conflicts (pg XX) where you’ve been role-
playing the conversation before a roll was called for. If you want to tap Lore (Philoso-
phy) into a Manipulate check, you need to be making a philosophical argument to the
person you’re trying to manipulate.

Finally, you can only ever tap two things into a single roll and the applicability of
a given tap is ultimately subject to a GM veto. If something seems like a stretch, it
probably is.

Tapping Attributes

As mentioned, the broader an ability is, the harder it is to make a good argument
for tapping it. As a result, attributes aren’t especially common as taps and doing so
generally requires a somewhat novel approach. That said, even when they do ap-
ply there is an additional restriction. Attributes can’t “double dip” on rolls. Prime
attributes can’t mix with any derived attributes (pg XX) made from them and vice
versa. If you’re making a Brawn check, you can’t tap in Speed or Grit. If you’re
making a Speed check you can’t tap in Agility or Brawn. If you’re tapping Grit into
a roll, you can’t also tap in Brawn or Will.

Help
Even a big job gets easier with a little help. When working with other characters to try
to overcome a single obstacle (performing a surgery, trying to intimidate someone)
one character becomes the leader and the other characters can choose to become
helpers. The leader will form the pool as normal for the conflict based on their ability
being checked. Each helper can then choose a single relevant ability or trait and lend
that ability’s tap to the leader’s pool for the task.

18
 Getting More Dice

Any ability or trait can be used, so long as it is directly related to the task at hand.
Much like with tapping, the helping players need to be able to explain how they are
helping and how the ability in question applies. As before, the GM has the ultimate
veto when something is too much of a stretch.

Normally, only two characters can help on a given task, but if the situation allows (a
half-dozen people trying to overturn a heavily-laden carriage) as many characters can
contribute as can physically assist. Dice from help do not count against the leader’s
tap limits.

Help is not without some risk. If you decide to throw in your lot with the leader,
you’re taking on an equal share of the outcome. If they fail the roll, you share in the
consequences.

Cascading Rolls
Some conflicts may be more complex in nature, comprised of multiple distinct steps
or requiring a wide variety of skills to succeed. Cascading rolls allow for a simple
conflict to be drawn out across multiple rolls, with the results of each having an effect
on the next.

Cascading rolls must be broken down into individual, separate tasks that occur one
after another sequentially. Each roll is made independently, with its own req. The
outcome of the roll is passed on to the next roll down the line. These checks can all be
accomplished by the same character (for instance, using the Perform skill to influence
the mood of a crowd to make them more susceptible to an Oration check to follow),
but are more commonly split between multiple characters in order to allow each to
work to their strengths. Each check in the chain takes
Table 4 - Cascading Roll
time on its own and must be completed before the next
Results
check can be made.
Margin Result
There is no real limit to how many checks can cas- MoF3+ -2d Penalty
cade together, provided that each of them represents
a distinct step in the process and are declared before Failure -1d Penalty
any of the dice are rolled. It’s worth noting, however, MoS0 No Modifier
that complications are the outcome of conflicts and not
MoS1-2 +1d Bonus
individual checks. Complications are only introduced
if the final roll is a failure, rather than for each check MoS3-4 +2d Bonus
made along the way. MoS5+ +3d Bonus

19
Book I: Initiation

Cascading rolls can be proactively used to aid in a specific task, but more often they
are called for by the GM when the success of one task may depend on the success of
some previous effort.

Tools
When you make an ability check that would be dependent on a tool, the req assumes
that you have an appropriate tool at hand. Superior quality tools can be worth an
additional die. Truly exceptional tools or access to a full workshop might grant you
even more. Conversely, having improvised or sub-optimal tools might impose a -1d
penalty. Completely lacking tools for a task that requires them might impose a -2d or
3d penalty and that’s if the task can even still be attempted.

Drama
You can always burn a single point of drama to Dig Deep, granting you +3 dice to
your pool for a specific conflict. Drama and its various uses are covered in more detail
in its own section, beginning on page XX.

20
 Shot
Clocks

Shot clocks are drawn whenever you need to track progress towards something that
isn’t easily handled with a single roll. At the simplest, a clock is nothing more than a
circle divided by lines scribbled on whatever is handy. The more complex the obstacle,
the more segments into which it can divided. Most things can be handled with a 4
clock. More complicated elements can be broken into 6 or even 8 segments.

4 Clock 6 Clock 8 Clock

Depending on what the shot clock represents, the segments can be filled up in differ-
ent ways.
• If the clock is tracking progress based on ability checks, a successful
conflict fills one segment. On an MoS3+, two segments. On an MoS5+, 3
segments.
• If the clock is counting down towards some negative state based on abil-
ity checks, an escalation is one segment. An MoF1 is one segment. An
MoF3+ 2 segments.
• If the clock is based on some more narrative or abstract goal, it can be
filled in by actions the players take in-character regardless of any dice
rolled.
Ultimately, the GM will call for progress to be marked based on the scenario being
tracked. The important thing to remember is that the clock is descriptive, not proscrip-
tive. It tracks the progress made, it doesn’t dictate how far you’ve come.
Book I: Initiation

TN Clocks
TN clocks are used to track conditions that would escalate your
base TN. Once triggered, you draw a clock and label it with the TN4
condition in question. Each TN clock has four segments, represent-
ing TNs 4, 5, and 6. As you fill up the segments, your base TN goes
up. If you remove a segment, your base TN goes down. The final TN6 TN5
segment represents an end-state of the condition. If this is filled in,
the end-effect triggers. TN Clock

Most TN clocks are temporary. When the condition no longer applies, you erase it.
Every character has one TN clock that is permanent, referred to as your base clock.
This clock only ever reflects the highest TN your character is suffering from based on
other wounds or conditions they have received. If no segments are filled in, you can
assume your base TN is 3.

22
 Time

Sword & Scoundrel takes place almost entirely within narrative time, skipping past
the day-to-day activities in the character’s lives and jumping straight to whatever is
important to the story at hand. Traditional time-keeping (hours, days, months, years)
can be kept in mind, but it is only significant in relation to the pacing of events in the
fiction.

For our purposes, time is broken down into scenes, sessions, arcs, and campaigns.

Scenes
The basic building block of narrative time is called a scene. An individual scene con-
sists of a time and a place, whether that’s the sun rising on a royal courtyard or setting
over a seedy back alley. If you jump ahead in time or move to a new location, that’s a
new scene.

Scenes are important to the way drama is earned (pg XX), but also for the pacing of
gameplay itself. Much as we don’t roll for things that aren’t important, we don’t frame
scenes where nothing is happening. Think back to most movies you’ve seen or stories
you’ve read. Generally speaking, if it’s on screen, it is being shown to us for a reason.

Being on-screen doesn’t inherently mean conflict. Sometimes the reason is as simple
as giving us insight into the characters and setting. Other times, it can be the intro-
duction of a mystery to be solved, or a hint at future conflicts to come. The important
thing is that if we’re watching it happen, it should somehow be interesting and impor-
tant to the game in play.
Book I: Initiation

Framing a Scene
Framing a scene isn’t the sole responsibility of the GM. When one scene ends, the GM
may suggest where they want to go next (“Let’s cut to Jaff back at the Inn…“) but players
should feel free to request scenes as well.

When you request a scene as a player, you’re doing some of the framing yourself. You
specify a general time and place, as well as who you want to be involved. In practice,
that means that all of the characters involved (PCs and NPCs alike) would have to
be willing to meet with you and each other, and that they would be willing to do
so in a location you have specified. Moreover, the location has to be one that your
character has access to and that all parties involved can get there in the time frame
being suggested. Finally, it’s a good idea to give the GM an idea of what the purpose
of the scene is.

All of that together will sound something like “I want to see if I can catch the innkeeper
alone after everyone’s gone to bed. I want to ask a few more questions in private.” Other
good requests would be:
• A conversation with another PC over breakfast, to scheme against a third
who isn’t present.
• Banter aboard a ship’s voyage between one PC and another in order to get
to know them better or reveal character (pg XX) of your own.
• An illicit candlelight rendezvous with the spouse of another character,
establishing a plot thread that can be picked up on later.
• Seeking out an NPC in order to maintain your relationship with them,
request or bestow a favor, or gather information.
Assuming that the request makes sense in the established fiction, the GM can set
it up and away you go. If not, the GM can instead suggest an alternate scene. If the
characters you wanted wouldn’t see you, then frame a scene about trying to get in
to see them. If the characters wouldn’t be caught dead in the same room together,
the alternate scene may be you trying to talk sense into one of them. If you wouldn’t
normally be allowed into or at a location, the alternate scene could be you trying to
bypass whatever obstacle might stand in your way.

Used well, requested scenes can be a great way to earn drama as well as allowing
players to be proactive in guiding the direction of play and pursing their drives.

24
 Time

Sessions, Arcs, and

Campaigns
Other units of narrative time have functions that are more useful from a perspec-
tive of pacing and administration than in the mechanics of the game itself. They are
discussed some here.

Sessions
Each session is comprised of a handful of scenes played out in a single sitting. Sessions
otherwise have as much or as little importance as you place on them. Some people
like a strongly episodic approach where each session represents a jump in the fictional
time frame. Others let the events blend together into one ongoing sequence, with a
scene from one session taking place moments after the last. Either approach works,
depending on the needs of your game.

The most useful application of the session as a time-frame is administrative. Some

drama is earned only on a per-session basis, and the end of a session is a good time to
take a moment to review everyone’s drives and traits, both to keep them in mind and
to make sure that no one missed out on drama they should have earned.

Arcs
An arc (as in story arc) can last anywhere from 3-15 sessions. Arcs are defined by their
narrative content rather than any set amount of time. Like a season of a tv show, most
arcs begin with some core situation and last just long enough for that situation to be
resolved. In addition to being a useful narrative unit, at the end of each arc players
have the opportunity to review their traits, removing one that no longer applies or
potentially adding a new one that developed over the course of the arc in question. For
more details, see Gaining New Traits pg XX.

Campaigns
In role-playing games, a campaign usually refers to a single overarching story that
plays out with the same group of characters — or at least with a sense of continuity
even as the characters involved change over time. In our case, a campaign is only sig-
nificant in two instances. The first is during session zero, when the players and GM get
25
Book I: Initiation

together as a group to establish what the game will be about and who the characters
are. This is also when things like the actual setting for the campaign is discussed and
established. The second is when a player character dies while the campaign is ongo-
ing. If a player has to make a new character within the same campaign, they get to
access their previous character’s karma when making the new character (see pg XX).

Downtime
Breaking the game down into scenes will by necessity mean that some things will
happen off-screen. Downtime refers to all the space between framed scenes. Depend-
ing on the pace of the story and the needs of the characters, downtime could represent
anything from a few hours to a few months or even years.

Downtime is an assumed part of the game. This is not just due to the logistics of scene
framing but also due to the fact that those scenes can be rough on your character. Ev-
ery so often, you’re going to want to take some time to recover. In addition, characters
will often have social and occupational obligations which must be attended: a noble
lord must occasionally see to the management of their holdings; a blacksmith has
smithing to do if they intend to eat; a peasant’s farm does not plow itself. These are
all important issues to the characters involved, but they aren’t particularly interesting
to us as the audience. Unless something relevant or interesting comes up during the
process, we let it happen in the background during downtime and move on to the next
important scene.

Downtime and conflict

If you’ve already read through other parts of this book, you’ll note that some of the
above scenarios are conflicts with rolls attached. This is intentional. It is entirely
possible for something to be a conflict worth rolling and yet still not important or
interesting enough for us to bring on-screen as a scene. You may need to roll to see
if you can buy that new set of armor, but we as the audience aren’t particularly
interested in watching you shop for it. Sometimes, this will even play out in re-
verse, with the results of a downtime conflict actually introducing the next scene
on-screen.

26
 Time

Downtime Actions
While we can always assume that characters are managing their lives in the back-
ground, extended periods of downtime allow you to get a little more specific in how
that time was spent. For each week of skipped time, you can benefit from one down-
time action for your character.
• Recovery. Your character spent the week recovering from ailment or
injury. For every full week you spend resting, you earn one recovery roll
(pg XX). Unlike other downtime actions, recovery isn’t optional. If you
are injured, you must spend at least half of your available downtime ac-
tions in recovery. See Half-Actions below.
• Training. Your character spends some time in practice or training, im-
proving some ability or trait they possess. One solid week of training
allows you to spend a single point of drama on the ability in question (pg
XX.)
• Work. Your character spends their week being a productive and contrib-
uting member of society, gaining credit towards a profession roll for that
maintenance cycle (pg XX.)
A number of other actions can be performed without interfering with your downtime
actions. Shopping, framing an individual scene, reaching out to a contact (pg XX),
none of these count as or interfere with your downtime actions.

Half-Actions
You can’t always devote your full attention to a single task. Instead of counting each
week as a single action, each week can be counted as two half-actions. If you can
spend at least half your time towards a downtime action, you get partial credit to-
wards it. If you took a half-action each week, every two weeks you’d gain credit for a
single downtime action.

Half-actions are most commonly used when there is significant downtime between
framed scenes but you never quite get in a solid chunk between activity. Half-actions
are also used when you are in recovery but have other demands on your attention.
As stated above, while sick or injured you are required to spend at least half your
available downtime actions on recovery. Finally, any character with the Patron trait
(pg XX) is assumed to either be kept busy or intentionally available. Unless otherwise
specified, they can only take a single half-action each week of downtime. If they are
also in recovery, that is their half-action for the week.

27
Book I: Initiation

If for whatever reason you took two different half-actions each week (for instance,
recovery and work) then at the end of two weeks you would have earned one full
credit for each.

28
 Drives

Drives are the beating heart of Sword & Scoundrel. Each drive you write is a
declaration of your priorities. They tell us not only what is most important to your
character, but also what you as the player want to explore in play. Drives give you a
direct means to communicate to the GM where you want to be challenged and what
kinds of conflicts you want to see. In turn, they feed into the reward mechanisms of
the game. As you pursue and defend your drives, you will earn drama that can be used
to aid you in that pursuit and advance your character in the process.

A Dual Perspective
From the character’s perspective, drives represent their most powerful motivations.
What do they want to achieve? What do they hold sacred? What or who do they love,
hate, or fear? Most importantly, what are they going to do about it? Drives are not
broad, vague statements about your character’s general feelings. They are compel-
ling, specific motivations that demand some sort of action. They are what drives your
character. “My heart belongs to Rosaline” may well be true, but it doesn’t make any kind
of demand of you. On the other hand “My heart belongs to Rosaline, I will do whatever it
takes to win hers in turn” sets you on a course of action and tells the GM exactly where
you want the story to go.

From the player’s perspective, drives give you a place to say what parts of the story
you want to pursue. Writing something as a drive is a direct signal to the GM: hit me
here. You are issuing a challenge. If you write a drive about a conviction or philosophy
your character holds, the GM’s job is then to test it. What will you do when the convic-
tion is challenged? What will you sacrifice to uphold it? If you write about a goal your
character has, the GM’s job is to put obstacles in your path to obtaining it. How far are
Book I: Initiation

you willing to go? What lines are you willing to cross? How much do you really want
it? The entire game is built to explore these questions.

Choosing Drives
Choosing your character’s drives can be a little intimidating at first, but you have
plenty of places from which to draw inspiration. Drives don’t exist in a vacuum and
they aren’t taken arbitrarily. They are meant to connect your character to the world
and the events of the game in play. Draw inspiration from the campaign pitch itself.
What were the major themes being discussed? What sort of drives would allow you to
explore them? What were the major conflicts involved? Pick a side on one and write
a drive about it. What kind of setting elements were discussed? Find one and own it.

If you get stuck, look back to your character sheet. Do you have any NPCs that are
important to you? What about the other player-characters? Write a drive about your
relationship with them. What about your other traits? Affiliations? Status? What are
your character’s goals? What do they want? What do they need? When in doubt,
anchor your drives to the elements you already have in play.

Just remember, drives are as much about you as the player as they are your character.
What do you want out of the game? What kind of territory do you want to explore?
How can your character’s motivations reflect that? Your interests as the player are
more important than whatever the character might want for themselves. Write your
drives accordingly.

Changing Drives
Drives are not set in stone. They will naturally evolve and change over time as charac-
ters grow and react to new circumstances. At any time, you can choose to change your
drives as you see fit, either modifying an existing drive or discarding it entirely for a
new one. This is an expected part of play and most players will wind up changing one
of their drives every session or so. The only caveat is that you can’t earn drama based
on a drive during the scene in which it was written.

30
 Drives

Other Tips
• Dig into the situation. The campaign began with some kind of situ-
ation or starting action that kicked the story into motion. Tie at least
one of your drives into that situation and let it evolve over time.
• Be Specific. Broad statements make for bad drives. “I am the prophet
of Zias” implies a great deal, but doesn’t direct you anywhere. “I am the
prophet of Zias, I must spread His word” gives you a much more solid
direction. “I am the chosen son of Zias, I will tear down the false prophets
and expose them for their blasphemy” is a plot set in motion.
• Take little bites. Break big, broad goals into bite-sized chunks. Set
little goals for yourself that you can accomplish in a relatively short
amount of play time. These goals can lead towards bigger objectives,
but keeping things limited lets you be more direct and specific in your
drives and makes it easier to cycle through them as needed.
• Write in character. Write your drives from an in-character perspec-
tive. Writing in character can help you work out how your character
actually feels about the things they are doing and can give you in-
sights you might not have otherwise had.
• Sharing is caring. Drives aren’t meant to be hidden. Share your
drives with the other players, even if their characters wouldn’t know.
Especially if their characters wouldn’t know. This lets everyone at the
table be a fan and help position their own characters and drives to
play off of or into yours.
• Work together. Writing drives can be a group experience. Writing
them with other players makes it easier for you to tie your drives to-
gether. It not only helps highlight your own drive, but gives everyone
a chance to get involved.

31
 Drama

If drives are the heart of the game, drama is the lifeblood that keeps it beating. Each
character has a pool of drama at their disposal that can be used to aid them in their
conflicts and advance their abilities in the process. Drama can be earned by:
• Driving Forward: Any scene in which you advance or defend one of
your drives, or when remaining true to your drives comes at a personal
cost, it is worth one point of drama. If you engaged in a conflict based on
that drive, take two points in total.
• Playing for Trouble: Any time that acting in accordance a trait gets
you into trouble, introduces a complication, or otherwise creates some
problem you could have avoided by ignoring the trait in question, it’s
worth a point.
• Temptation: Some traits can be tempted. Once per scene the GM can
suggest a specific course of action in accordance with the trait being
tempted. If you go along with it, you earn a point. If you refuse, you need
to burn a point of drama (below) to avoid the suggestion. If one of your
drives would directly contradict the suggestion, you can still choose to
accept the offer but you have the option to refuse it without cost.
• Revealing Character: When you reveal something new to us as an au-
dience about your character’s drives or traits through role-playing, it’s
worth a point. Why are they doing what they are doing? What do they
think about the way their traits manifest in their lives? Give us a scene of
that. Show us something new about them. Unlike other rewards, this can
only be claimed once per session.
• Wingman: Anytime you participate in a conflict based on another player
character’s drive, it’s worth one point. Note the phrase is participate in,
not help with. If you wind up on the other side of that conflict, that’s still
worth a point. If the conflict would be based on one of your own drives,
apply Driving Forward instead. You do not get both.
 Drama

With the exception of Revealing Character, each type of drama award can be earned
once per scene. Keep an eye out for when other players have done something that you
think should have earned a point. If it goes unnoticed, nominate them for it. It’s part
of being a fan.

Spending Drama
Drama lets you skew things in your favor, letting your character face challenges they
might not otherwise have been up to. Each point of drama can be spent in one of the
following ways:
• Dig Deep: You summon some inner reserve and give it all you’ve got.
You can spend a single point of drama to gain +3 dice on your pool for a
specific conflict (a single ability check, a Combat Pool, etc) for the dura-
tion of a scene. This bonus can only be applied once per pool.
• Foresight: Sometimes our characters are smarter than the players run-
ning them. You can spend a single point of drama to retroactively establish
any one single action, provided that your character could have plausibly
anticipated the need. For simple actions it’s enough just to declare the
thing or to make a roll (”I totally remembered to bring the rope”). For more
complex tasks (bribing the guard beforehand) you have the option to play
out the scene as a flashback. In either case, your Foresight action must be
something that either requires no die roll or can be resolved with a single
roll.
• Grin and Bear It: Your character grits their teeth and powers through
the pain and exhaustion for the duration of a single scene. Their BTN
is temporarily lowered by one step (TN6 to TN5, TN5 to TN4, TN4 to
TN3). This can never be reduced below the normal TN3, and cannot be
purchased multiple times in the same scene to further reduce the TN.
Note that this reduces your overall TN as per your base clock. It doesn’t
matter how many wounds or conditions might be giving you TN5, a point
of drama would reduce your BTN to TN4 for the scene.
• Nick of Time: You may introduce your off-screen character into a scene
already in play even if your character was established to have been head-
ing elsewhere. The character must have a plausible way to show up and
have been off-screen long enough to have actually traveled to the current
location. Note that this can’t be used to bypass any conflict (such as get-
ting past guards). In a skirmish (pg XX), this can be used to allow your
character to interrupt the normal combat sequence, either repositioning
themselves before or interrupting in the middle of some other character’s
action. However, the character is still limited to only one action per round.
33
Book I: Initiation

• Not Quite Dead Yet: Whether by profound luck or an iron will, your
character survives the impossible. Whatever else is true about the current
scene, your character lives through it. If the death would have been based
on a wound, edit the description as little as possible: a decapitation be-
comes a slash across the throat, a crushed skull becomes an impressively
gnarly disfigurement. Other than the lethality, all other negative effects
from the wound remain. However, escaping death changes a character.
You gain a free 1d temptable Character Trait directly related to the inci-
dent, reflecting the mental or physical scars brought on by the experience.
This trait is in addition to any trait that might be imposed by the wound
itself. Finally, invoking Not Quite Dead Yet puts your character’s fate into
the GM’s hands. You will survive the encounter, but you might wish you
hadn’t.
• Scoundrel’s Luck: After a roll is made, you can declare Scoundrel’s Luck,
picking up any dice that rolled a 6 and re-rolling them, adding any ad-
ditional hits rolled to the previous total. If any of the new results are also
a 6, the process is repeated until it shows some other result adding all hits
rolled to the total.

Advancement
Every time you spend a point of drama, you gain a single mark towards advancing
some trait or ability your character possesses. If you spent drama directly on the
roll (Dig Deep, Scoundrel’s Luck) then the mark is applied to either the ability being
tested, an ability or trait that was tapped into the roll, or any trait that counted as a
penalty against it. Voluntary substitutions (pg XX) are an exception to this, explained
there. If drama was spent on anything else (including resisting a tempted trait, or a
roll that can’t be increased like Wealth) it can be placed on any appropriate ability
or trait as you wish. Regardless of how it was spent, a single point of drama burnt is
worth a single mark towards advancement.

Each ability or trait has its own individual progress tracker represented by a number
of blank boxes on the sheet. The number of marks required to advance an ability is
based on its type and current value.
• Skills and proficiencies advance when you reach a number of marks equal
to the next highest rank of that ability. To improve your Polearms profi-
ciency from rank 5 to 6 would take 6 marks.
• Attributes advance more slowly and require twice the next highest rank of
that ability. To improve your Cunning from rank 5 to rank 6 would take
12 marks.

34
 Drama

• Traits advance the slowest of all. Increasing a trait requires a number

of marks equal to the next highest value x3. Increasing a trait from 2d
to 3d would require nine marks. Unlike other attributes, Traits can also
be bought down. Decreasing a trait costs a flat 9 marks regardless of its
current value.
Whenever an ability or trait is increased (or bought down), erase the appropriate
number of marks and start again. No ability or trait can increase in rank or die value
more than once per session. No ability or trait can earn more than one mark towards
advancement per scene.

Derived Attributes
Derived attributes (pg XX) can never be advanced directly. Instead, they are only
increased in relation to the two attributes of which they are composed. Any marks
earned on ability checks using a derived attribute can go to whichever of its two
related prime attributes you prefer.

Traits
While the costs were listed above, a few other things should be noted here. Unless oth-
erwise stated, only Character Traits can be advanced or reduced by spending drama.
Other kinds of traits reflect circumstances in the fiction outside of your character and
are thus only affected by changes to those circumstances. Further, the value of a trait
can never be improved beyond 3d or reduced beyond 0d.

Over the course of the campaign, characters can gain new traits through play or see
old ones removed, but neither event requires spending drama. Instead, the circum-
stances involved are explained in the section Gaining New Traits, pg XX.

Practice and Training

During extended periods of downtime, you can choose to have your character perform
training in order to improve an ability or trait they possess. The ability or trait in
question must be one that can normally be improved (as above) and you must justify
the way you are training. If the ability in question would require some kind of mate-
rial support (blacksmithing requiring appropriate tools) then those materials must be
available.

35
Book I: Initiation

For each full downtime action spent training (pg XX) you can spend a point of drama
directly towards advancing the ability in question. Drama spent this way counts to-
wards karma normally (below) but doesn’t provide any additional benefit outside of
the mark towards advancement.

Training ignores the restriction on marks per scene. If your character spends 4 down-
time actions on training an ability, they can spend up to 4 drama and earn as many
marks towards advancing that ability.

Drama and Combat

Spending drama in combat requires a bit more clarification. If this sidebar doesn’t
make sense now, it will after you’ve read the relevant sections.

Digging Deep applies its effects to all of the rolls of that type made during the
same scene. If you applied it to a ranged attack, you gain +3 dice on all ranged
attacks you make during that scene. If you applied it to a melee attack, you apply
the +3 dice to all melee pools you make during that scene.

When using the full melee or ranged combat systems, these dice apply whenever
your pool refreshes. For full melee, this would be the opening of each play. For
ranged combat, this would be at the beginning of each action.

Scoundrel’s Luck only ever applies to the specific roll for which it was invoked, but
can be purchased repeatedly during a scene to apply to separate rolls.

Regardless of source, any marks towards advancement from combat can apply to
any part of the Combat Pool. For melee, this is the proficiency used, Agility, or
Cunning. For ranged combat, this is the proficiency used or Perception. If a trait
was tapped or counted against the character, the mark can be applied to that trait
instead.

If multiple proficiencies come into play over the course of combat in a scene, then
the mark can apply to any proficiency used, but any given attribute, trait, or profi-
ciency can only earn one mark per advancement per scene, as above.

36
 Drama

Karma
Player characters are never too far from a short, bloody end. Karma is a way to soften
the blow whenever a character meets a tragic (but hopefully heroic) end. In addition
to providing marks for advancement, every point of drama burnt adds towards your
character’s karma. The total amount of the character’s karma provides a bonus to
your next character in that same campaign. This bonus manifests itself as extra points
to spend on the priority table when creating the new character. Where the default
character creation assumes that the player has 15 points to spend, karma could allow
a new character have 16 or more, drastically increasing their overall capabilities.
Table 5 - Priority Bonus from Karma
Karma Bonus
30-59 +1
60-89 +2
90-119 +3
120+ +4

On the Character
Sheet
If you’re using the default character sheet, you will see a large strip of boxes across
the front panel. On one side it labels them as Drama. Down the other, the numbers +1
through +4. These boxes will let you track drama and karma simultaneously. When
you earn a point of drama, put a slash or an X through the box. When you spend it, fill
the box in completely. The number of Xs or slashes is your number of available drama
to spend. The filled boxes show the karma you have accumulated. As each row is 30
boxes, when you complete a row of karma, you’ve earned the listed amount of priority
points towards your next character.

If your character should live long enough to completely fill all the boxes (or you run
out of room for drama), circle your current priority bonus to remember where you left
off and erase a couple lines. Move the existing marks up to the top and keep going. The
maximum priority bonus you can earn from accumulated karma remains a total of +4,
but it’s easier to continue ticking boxes than writing your current drama as a number
that you will have to erase and adjust each time you gain or spend points.

37
 Book II:
Creation
 Character
creation

Character creation is best done as a group process. By the time you’ve gotten to this
part, you should have already spent some time with the other players and the GM
deciding in what kind of campaign you will be playing, what the role of the players
in that setting will be, and any major themes or conflicts the group wants to explore.
Before you dive into making your individual character, it’s worth taking the time
and talking about the group of characters as a whole.

Western fiction is somewhat enamored with archetype of the the lone wanderer.
They are easy to romanticize, wandering from place to place with nothing but the
clothes on their back and justice on their hip. This image has rubbed off on role-
playing as a hobby. Here we find a long tradition where a group of lone wolf outsid-
ers from disparate backgrounds somehow manage to form a ragtag band that works
together towards some common purpose. It’s a common trope and you can certainly
play this way if that’s what your group wants to do. On the other hand, Sword &
Scoundrel tends to work best when the PCs have some kind of unity from the out-
set and are tied both to each other and to the setting in which they will be playing.

The important thing is that before any characters are made, you establish the nature
of the group as a whole. This should include the what and why of the group as much
as of whom the group consists. It need not be a literal organization to which all of
the characters belong, but at the very least it should include the reasons why the PCs
would know and interact with each other, as well as where their goals and interests
align.

A lot of this will be determined by the kind of campaign you have decided to play.
For a game about courtly politics, your options will be different than a campaign
about knights returning home from crusade or a band of petty thieves trying to
strike it rich. In the first example, the obvious solution is for the player characters
to all play blood members of the same noble house, but you could just as easily take
Book II: Creation

on the role of assassins, courtiers, knights, and spies in the noble character’s employ.
Alternatively, you could take on the role of allied or even rival nobles all working dif-
ferent angles to the same ends. All of this is fair game, provided that everyone builds
into their character motivations and relationships that will bind the group together.

Concept
Once you have the broad strokes of who your characters are as a group and what
their goals might be, you can start to flesh out a character of your own. Don’t rush to
the charts and numbers yet. It’s tempting, but it can wait. Instead, spend some time
playing with your concept first. Starting from a strong concept will make the rest of
the decisions in character creation much easier. The more thought you put into this
stage, the more it will pay off later.

Charming rogue, cunning spymaster, grizzled swordsman, wise old wizard. Most
people start their character concepts as some kind of broad archetype. This is a fine
practice as long as you don’t stop there. Make sure you’ve got some ideas about who —
not just what — the character is. What do they want? What is their personality like?
What are their strengths? How are they flawed? Do they play towards a cliché, or do
they subvert it in some way?

This is a great time to get other players involved. Toss ideas back and forth. How do
each of your characters fit into the group as a whole? How do you know each other?
What’s your history together? You don’t need every detail now, but establish some
basic relationships as you go. You’ll have more fun and come up with something more
interesting as a group than you would on your own.

This process can take as much or as little time as you want. You don’t need to hammer
out every detail of your character’s history, but you should have a general picture of
what they are about. Paint with broad strokes. When you have a good handle on it,
write it out as a short phrase. Sum the character up like a blurb on the back cover of
a novel.
• Grizzled mercenary trying to leave his violent past behind
• Physician-swordsman with a crippling gambling addiction
• Ex-Guild accountant, blacklisted and breaking bad
• Thief with a conscience, trying to make it big
Read it out loud. Exchange ideas with the rest of the players. Is anyone else excited?
Are you? Would you pay good money to see a movie about this character? If not, go
back and tweak the concept some more. If you aren’t a fan of your character, who will
be?
40
 Character creation

Priorities, Priorities
Now that you have a concept, it’s time to give it some mechanical backbone. The sys-
tem gives you a great deal of flexibility in character creation. Whatever you want your
character to be good at, they can be. PCs are the movers and shakers of a setting. You
have the resources to make your character among the best (if not the best) at whatever
you choose to do — but not at everything at once.

Characters are built using five rough categories called priorities, each covering a dif-
ferent aspect of that character. In order, these are social class, attributes, skills,
proficiencies, and traits. Each of these categories is arranged into tiers, with each
higher tier providing a greater benefit in its category than the one below. A T4 in skills
grants more points to spend on skills than a T3.

Table 6 - The Priority Table

Tier Social Class Attributes Skills Proficiencies Traits
T5 Greater Noble 27 (Max 10) 50 (Max 10) 30 (Cap 11) 14
T4 Lesser Noble 23 (Max 8) 40 (Max 8) 20 (Cap 9) 9
T3 High Freeman 21 (Cap 7) 32 (Cap 7) 14 (Cap 7) 6
T2 Low Freeman 19 (Cap 6) 24 (Cap 6 8 (Cap 6) 4
T1 Serf or Slave 16 (Cap 5) 16 (Cap 5) 0 2

Each player character begins with 15 priority points to spend at character creation.
With these points, the character must buy one (and only one) tier of each priority, with
a cost equal to its level. A T5 pick in skills would thus cost 5 points and leave the player
with 10 priority points to spend across their remaining priorities. If you hate math,
you can simply arrange the priorities from most to least important and assign them

Naked, Ignorant, and Unremarkable

When you start making a character, they are a blank slate. Nothing is notable
about them but their lack. Everything you own comes out of your social class,
bought with resources. If you want to know stuff or be able to do stuff, that’s going
to come from your attributes, skills, and proficiencies. If you want anything else of
note about your character — to be particularly big, particularly attractive, particu-
larly ugly, known for something, have friends in high (or low) places, be someone
important — that’s from your traits. Don’t neglect your traits, they give you a huge
amount of freedom in defining your character and their place in the world.

41
Book II: Creation

as T5, T4, T3, T2, and T1. If you’re feeling less adventurous, you can make a perfectly
rounded character by throwing a T3 in every category.

Each priority will be explained in detail in the chapters following, but as a broad
overview:

Social Class
Social Class (pg XX) determines your character’s social status by birth. Depending
on the setting, this will determine your character’s legal rights within their culture,
the sort of occupations that would be appropriate, and the amount of resources they
have at their disposal at character creation. That said, social class does not provide
any particular benefits relative to other members of that same social class. You might
be a blood member of the noble house, but you’ve gotten little more out of it than the
name. You’re some fifth son or cousin who does not stand to inherit. If you want to
lead a powerful family, have an army, and so on, you’ll need to invest in the traits to
back that up.

Attributes
Attributes (pg XX) cover raw physical and mental capabilities. Each tier provides the
listed number in points to be spent between the five prime attributes. In humans,
each of these must have at least 2 points with a maximum of 8. The human average
will be 3 or 4, but 5s and 6s are not unheard of (see Table X - Generic Abilities by Rank).
The cap listed is the maximum rank at which an attribute can be taken at character
creation. Characters with a Tier 5 in attributes represent something special. In addi-
tion to having the greatest number of points to spend on attributes, they may extend
the maximum for a single attribute to 10. This may be done at character creation, or
through character advancement later.

Skills
Skills (pg XX) represent more narrow disciplines that require specific training to
learn. Each tier provides the listed number in points to be spent on any number of
skills. Characters must put at least 1 point in a skill in order to use it normally (see
Untrained Ability Checks, pgXX) and may have a maximum of 8 in any single skill.
Most professionals will have 3-5 ranks in their relevant fields. The cap listed is the
maximum rank at which a skill can be taken at character creation. Characters with a
Tier 5 in skills represent something special. In addition to having the greatest number

42
 Character creation

Illiterate Swine

Of note, characters who wish to be literate need to invest in at least one rank in
the Education skill. Characters who don’t begin the game with this skill gain a 0d
Illiterate trait (pg XX) free of charge. You’re welcome!

of points to spend on skills, they may extend the maximum for a single skill to 10. This
may be done at character creation, or through character advancement later. NB! You
get Lore (Own Culture) at rank 2 for free at character creation.

Proficiencies
Proficiencies (pg XX) are the character’s skill at arms. Each represents a specific system
of fighting centered around the use of a family of related weapons. Each tier provides
the listed number of points to be spent on any number of proficiencies. Unlike attri-
butes and skills, there is no hard maximum on proficiencies. The cap listed represents
the maximum rank at which a proficiency can be taken at character creation.

Table 7 - Generic Abilities by Rank

Rank Description
1 Brawn of a small animal; skill or proficiency of a curious dabbler, just look-
ing into the subject.
2 Brawn of a child or the infirm; proficiency of a student.
3 Brawn of a sedentary clerk; skill of an apprentice learning their craft; pro-
ficiency of a recruit in training.
4 Brawn of a farmer or laborer; skill of a journeyman and most run-of-the-
mill professionals; proficiency of an amateur thug or brawler.
5-6 Brawn of a professional athlete, enough to impress most people; skill of a
master of their relevant trade; the proficiency of a trained soldier.
7-8 Brawn of a professional strongman; skill of a grandmaster; proficiency of
hardened veterans. A skill or attribute of 7 is high enough to define how
people think of your character. There are maybe a handful of the people in
the country who can compete with you. At 8, there are only a handful of
people on the planet who perform at your level.
9-10 Attributes and skills reserved for genetic freaks and genius savants of the
sort seen once in a generation; the proficiency of elite fighters and fencing
masters.

43
Book II: Creation

Traits
Traits (pg XX) represent everything about a character that isn’t otherwise covered
by one of the previous categories. Any defining features, personality quirks, even
relationships they have and the groups they might run or with which they might
affiliated. Each tier provides the listed number of points to be spent on traits. In addi-
tion, every character receives two free Character Traits at 0d and 1d, respectively. One
of which must be about who your character is now and one of which is from where
you’ve come. See Character traits (pg XX) for more details.

Finishing Touches
With your priorities settled and their points spent, you have just a few more loose ends
to tie up. This section will guide you through the rest.

Resource points Table 8 - Item

Resource Point Cost
By Req
Resource points represent the whole of your character’s per-
Req Resources
sonal property prior to the moment the game begins. This
must include your character’s clothing, any of their personal r1 1
equipment, property, and so on. The total number of points r2 2
you have to spend are based on the social class you chose.
The cost in resource points for each item is based on price req r3 3
listed, as pictured right. r4 5
r5 10
Some characters (particularly nobles) will have a great deal
of their wealth tied up in a Patron, Status, or Affiliation. If r6 20
you have a Patron, you can assume that your character has a r7 30
place to live, but that living situation is ultimately subject to
the whims of said Patron. Regardless, no trait you can pos- r8 50
sess will supply you with personal gear for your character. r9 100
If your character does something for a living, they will need
r10 150
to buy the tools they need to do that something. If you are
a sworn sword to a noble, you will need to buy your own r11 200
weapons and armor out of resource points. You can’t skimp r12 250
on it now and ask to borrow a sword later.
r13 300
r14 350
r15 400
44
 Character creation

Starting Assets
Your starting Assets is based on the total amount of resource points you spent on Ani-
mals, Clothing, and Property at character creation. You can also count points spent on
toolkits or workshops under Personal Equipment. Compare your total points spent in
those categories to the the table, right.
Table 9 - Starting
Assets
If you began with an Assets of at least 1, you also gain 1
Coin to start with. If you have an Assets of at least 4, this Points Starting
increases to 2 Coin. Assets 7+, 3 Coin. Spent Assets
5 1
Penniless 10 2
20 3
Some characters may begin the game with Assets 0. If you at
least have somewhere to live, you can assume the character 30 4
has some meager foodstuffs or the like in said home. Like- 60 5
wise, if you are living with your Patron (as per the trait, pg
100 6
XX) you are fine. If neither of those is true, you have only the
belongings you’ve purchased. If those don’t include rations 200 7
or the like, you start the game penniless and hungry. Good 400 8
luck!

Drives
Drives were explained in some detail already (pg XX) but this is the point where you
choose yours. You can have up to three at any given time, but you must have at least
one at the start of the game.

This step is worth taking some time to think about. Once gain, talking to the other
players can help. The more your drives tie together or play off one another, the more
shared screen time for everyone. Your concept and traits will naturally suggest some
ideas on their own, particularly if you’re a member of some sort of group or have
particular Bonds. You can’t go wrong with writing drives about your relationships
with your fellow player-characters, either. Just remember to make at least one of the
three drives based on the situation that kicks off the game. This allows everyone to at
least start on the same page, even if they branch off thereafter.

45
Book II: Creation

Contacts
Connections rolls (pg XX) can allow you to introduce your own NPCs through play,
but a number of traits allow you to start with them. If any trait you’ve taken would
establish an NPC, take a moment now and make sure you’ve worked out the details.
Work with the GM to give them a name, what your relationship with that character
is like, and any important information you want to establish about them before the
game begins. Add these characters as contacts to your sheet.

Likewise, if your drives refer to an NPC that has not yet been established, take some
time to do so now and follow the same steps above. Make sure everyone is on the same
page about the important stuff. NPCs established with drives can also be added as
contacts, but as they haven’t been purchased mechanically they are completely within
the GM’s influence.

Don’t feel like you need to define everyone in your character’s life at once. You can
always introduce new NPCs as the game goes on.

History
The Bond mechanic can be used to establish history with other player-characters as
well as NPCs.

Go around the table and offer 1-3 dice to PCs of your choosing. These dice can be used
against you or about you, per the Bond rules (pg XX). When you give someone dice,
you need to tell the story that explains your bond. What critical experience lead them
to knowing you the way they do? You can be general (“We were childhood friends,”) but
the more specific you get the more interesting the stories will be (“We were the first two
soldiers through the breech at the Battle of Gaffenburg. I would have bled out on the wall if
it wasn’t for him.”) The other player can go along with your story, offer an alteration, or
refuse outright. So long as they ultimately accept, they add your character’s name to
their contacts list along with the die value you’ve offered.

You can give up to five dice away in total, divided among any number of characters.
For each die, you gain a point of drama. Note that the stories you tell do not need to
correlate to the examples given on the Bond chart, either in substance or value. Just
because the trait description lists “Mentor” as a 2d Bond doesn’t mean that you can’t
give another player some other quantity of dice for a story that paints them as your
mentor.

Giving your character as a Bond is completely optional, but it’s highly encouraged.
It both gives you some drama to start the game off with, and helps further tie the
characters together in ways that can come up later in play.
46
 Character creation

Description
By now, you’ve gotten their concept down and have used it to fill out all their mechani-
cal particulars. Your drives are set up and everyone is ready to play. The scene opens
and the camera pans to your character, looming larger than life. What do we see?

A good description paints a picture for everyone at the table. Spend a bit of time get-
ting a mental image down. Not just their physical appearance, but the first impression
they might leave. Height, weight, and hair/eye color are an obvious place to begin,
but unless they are uncommon or extreme traits in some way they don’t tell us much
about the character. Instead, highlight what stands out about them. What is someone
seeing them for the first time going to notice?

Write out a single good sentence giving the first impression of your character. Make it
as evocative as possible, but avoid cop-outs like discussing their equipment, clothing,
or profession. We’ve written out some samples to get you started:
• A platinum-haired girl with a dragon’s temperament.
• A weathered hodgepodge of dreadlocks and kohl, a few gold teeth gleaming
above a braided goatee.
• A gaunt albino with a saturnine gaze.
• A wiry young tomboy with determination in her eyes and a name on her lips.
• A bright-eyed man with middle-aged stubble, his limp as wicked as his tongue.
• A mop of unruly red hair, her curls as stubborn and wild as the girl they
adorn.

Final Details
This stuff is self-explanatory. Age, gender, occupation. You’ve probably already got-
ten these taken care of just from the concept. Faith is worth some consideration on
its own, as even if you haven’t taken it as a trait or drive, it can still color how your
character sees the world.

Of all of these details, the name is the most important. In many cases, a name is our
first real introduction to the character and what they are like. Connor brings to mind
a far different personality than Archibold; Celestine draws to mind a different sort of
character than Ursula. Names can also be used to establish the flavor of the culture
and setting itself, both in the kinds of names used and in the naming conventions. In
a setting with multiple cultures, naming your character Vigbjord will associate your
character with an entirely different group than Jacques.

47
Book II: Creation

Surnames make for their own topic. Nobility usually have house names (Carolingus,
Plantagenet), but what of the other social classes? Do commoners take surnames? Are
they named for the mother or father (Sturisson, Hansdottir)? Common familial or clan
ancestry (Ó Brádaigh)? Maybe the lower classes are given toponymic names based on
familial home (Easton, Molyneux, Hill) or familial trade (Smith, Cartright).

Some of the most flavorful names are descriptors of the characters themselves, often
preferred even above the character’s proper surname. Names like Little and Longfel-
low originally referred to height and size. Names like Blackbeard and Reed (evolving
from ’Red’) referred to complexion or hair color. Stern and Stoutheart were common
references to temperament. Scarlet seems to have come from Scathelocke ’ literally lock-
smasher, or lock-harmer.

Surnames are also much more fluid in earlier times than they are now. The son of
William Smith might have gone by Ben Smith early in life, but early hair-loss and an
unfortunately shaped head may have earned him the name Benjamin Onion or Benja-
min Balding. On the other hand, if he became known for his pride and vanity, others
might come to call him Benjamin Peacock. If instead of smithing with his father, he’d
somehow been taken on by a knight and pressed into service he might come to be
known as Benjamin Page.

The name you choose is your first impression on the world. Make it a good one.

48
 Character creation

Let’s Make a Deal

Despite the flexibility character creation gives you, sometimes you’ll want to do
something that doesn’t quite line up with the options at your disposal. Alterna-
tively, maybe you aren’t entirely certain how to make the options you have fit the
idea you have in mind. When that happens, don’t sweat it. Go to your GM and play
Let’s Make a Deal. Explain where you are and what you want to do and see if they
can work with you to get there. If the idea sounds fun and fits with the campaign
the group is trying to play, they might just help you shift stuff around to get what
you were looking for.

Sometimes all it takes is helping you navigate the existing rules to build something
complex. Maybe all your concept needs is a custom special trait. Other times, you
might have to bend a rule but at some sort of cost. GM willing, there’s no limit to
what you might work out at your table. The rules are here to support your cam-
paign, not restrain it. The important thing is that whatever is decided, it’s decided
as a group. If you’re bending rules or making exceptions, it’s not enough for the
GM to sign off on it. You need the group’s approval as well. As long as everyone is
on board, have fun!

49
 Social
Class

Your character’s social class dictates a great deal about their relationship to the world
around them. It plays a large role in what trades they might practice and determines
their legal rights within society. Unfortunately, in a pre-modern world social class is
determined almost entirely by birth. The son of a farmer will almost certainly himself
be a farmer. The children of serfs are bound to the same land and lord that their
parents and grandparents were. Social mobility is so rare that it is literally the basis
for fairy tales, requiring exceptional acts of bravery or uncanny twists of fate for a
commoner to become ennobled.

Each entry describes conditions typical to members of that class and how they relate
to society. Some classes will grant (or impose) free traits onto members of that class.
Finally, every class will receive an amount of resource points (pg XX) to represent the
possessions they’ve accumulated in their life up until the beginning of play.

Table 10 - Resource Points by Social Class

Social Class Resources
Greater Noble 450
Lesser Noble 185
High Freeman 55
Low Freeman 18
Slave/Serf 4*
*See Entry
 Social Class

Greater Noble
The top of the social pyramid, your character is by blood or marriage part of a great
noble house. Their family are lords or barons, possessing titles and land. The head
of the household has the power of law in their domain, hearing cases and collecting
taxes. The wealthiest and most prestigious may even be so powerful as to have lords
and barons who swear fealty to them in turn.

Of course, for every Lord of the House, there are wives, brothers, sisters, sons, daugh-
ters, nieces, nephews, and cousins — all pledged in service to the house. By default,
your character is one of these people, neither the head of the house, nor in direct line
to inherit it.

Greater nobles are by nature tied up in family alliances. They automatically begin play
with a 1d Affiliation representing their family’s noble house. If multiple players want
to form a house together, then the second player character increases this free Affilia-
tion to 2d. If three or more form the house, 3d. If they wish to treat their own house as
a Patron or have Status within said house, they will need to purchase the appropriate
trait in connection to it (see Factions and Organizations, pg XX).

Alternatively, you can choose to forgo your own house Affiliation in exchange for 4
trait points towards a Claim, Patron, or Status of your choice.

Regardless of the options taken, all nobles receive the Character Trait 1d Noble for
free. This trait cannot be upgraded or improved, and can only be tapped when dealing
with those of lower birth.

Lesser Noble
The bottom rung of noble society. While still noble by blood, your family is relatively
unimportant in any political sense save for whatever service you might provide some
larger house. You are the gentry, serving as sworn-swords, knights, freelances, court-
iers, cup-bearers, and ladies in waiting. Lesser nobles have all the same legal rights as
their more privileged peers, able to own and bear whatever panoply they can afford to
maintain. Most have little to no land, surviving on the patronage of their betters. The
wealthiest may have a hereditary fief granted for maintenance in exchange for their
family’s continued service.

Lesser nobles gain the Character Trait 1d Noble for free. This trait cannot be upgraded
or improved, and can only be tapped when dealing with those of lower birth.

51
Book II: Creation

High Freeman
The high class of the low born. Their ranks are filled with successful clerks and well-
to-do farmers, master artisans and business owners, merchants, physicians, clergy,
and courtesans. Soldiers and sailors are usually officers of rank or in some position
of command. Though they lack the blood and titles of their noble betters, the wealthi-
est of the merchant class can approach their lifestyle, and many are better educated,
either formally or through their respective trades. Oddly enough, most adventurers
come from this class as well, either having been born into enough wealth that they
could provide for such a lifestyle, or as an older character who is now living off the
spoils of adventures past.

High freemen occupy the same social stratum as their lower counterparts (below) and
are legally considered the same group of people. They are commoners, but not chattel.
As free men, they can own arms and armor, though in some places the open wearing
and display of such may still be a right reserved for the nobility. They can typically
own land, but in many societies will still require the permission of their lord or local
governance in order to do so.

Low Freeman
They own their freedom, but little else. While they are technically indentured to no
one, they often find themselves working for others out of pure necessity. They are the
great mass of labor at the lower rungs of society. They make up the dock-workers,
ditch-diggers, soldiers, and sailors. They are the bulk of tradespersons who fill work-
shops and forges, lacking either the skill or resources to start their own. Their like
also comprise most of the criminal element in turn, either lacking the skills or being
otherwise unwilling to seek their fortunes some other way. They may even be novice
physicians, poor clerics, budding merchants, or other more learned trades who are just
at the beginning of their career and looking for their big break.

Legally, high and low freemen are the same class of people. They enjoy the same rights
as their wealthier counterparts, but may lack the resources to press those rights if
challenged. While they may own arms and armor, even where legally allowed to wear
such openly, it may leave a less respectable impression. When a rich man is armed, it
is self-defense. When poor men are armed, they are up to no good.

52
 Social Class

Slave or Serf
The bottom of the social pyramid. Serfs and slaves are technically two distinct classes
of people, but they generally occupy the same positions in society. Serfs are peasant
farmers, bound to the land. While they have limited rights, they are effectively owned
by the noble whose land they work. They generally cannot own legitimate weapons,
though daggers, staves, bows, and tools are common. In times of need, they may be
called upon to serve as conscripts in their lord’s army.

Slaves have few or no legal rights or protections, but their lot is a great deal more
varied than that of the serf. Some may have been born into slavery, others may have
been taken. A slave may be a laborer in a field or a pampered concubine, a house
servant, or a trusted bodyguard. Prior to their enslavement, they may have been a
skilled tradesman, physician, or scholar and might still enjoy some of the fruits of
those skills. The valued slave of a rich owner may enjoy a more comfortable lot in life
than most free men.

Freedom for such a character is complicated. A serf must gain their lord’s permission
to abandon their hereditary duty. A slave must either purchase their freedom or under
some extraordinary circumstance have it granted. Those who succeed generally leave
with little more than the shirt on their back. Those who leave without permission
often have the opportunity to steal a few things on the way out, but have a price on
their head should their former masters wish to pursue them.

Alternatively, this priority pick can be used in an urban setting to represent an urchin,
drifter, or other character who has literally nothing to their name but the rags they
are wearing. They are technically free and without someone hunting for them, but in
some ways they are the most wretched of all.

Choose one of the following:

• Owned slave or landed serf. Resources: 2, but additional trappings as de-
termined by their master or lord. For serfs, this is most often a hovel and
a piece of land to work. A slave’s lot is varied and up to negotiation with
the GM. Add the 1d Character Trait Serf or Slave.
• Freed slave or serf. Resources: 3. You have your freedom, but little else. If
appropriate, you may also have some sort of document or symbol declar-
ing the legitimacy of your freedom. Take the 1d Character Trait Former
Slave or Freed Serf.
• Escaped slave or serf. Resources: 4. You gain a free 1d Character Trait
indicating that you are an Escaped Slave or Wanted Man.
• Urchin. Resources: 1. You do not bear the stigma of serfdom or slavery, but
you own little more than the rags on your back.
53
 Attributes

Attributes are a combination of your character’s raw talents and genetic predisposi-
tion, representing their general physical and mental abilities. For normal people, these
range from 2-8. Your average person will have mostly 3s and 4s broadly corresponding
to the sort of lifestyle they lead. A 5 or higher would stand out in a group and be
enough to get your character known as strong or clever relative to the norm. Few
characters will have 2s in any ability. These are reserved for children and the infirm.

Mechanically, the individual attributes are lumped together into two categories:

Prime Attributes
Each character has five prime attributes: Agility (A), Brawn (B), Cunning (C),
Perception (P), and Will (W). Prime attributes are the core stuff of a character and
the only attributes that can be improved directly, whether at character creation or
through advancement in play.

Agility (A)
Your physical coordination, flexibility, and general nimbleness. Agility contributes to
a character’s Combat Pool, Reflexes, and Speed. It’s an important attribute for physi-
cally active characters of all types: from hardened swordsmen to athletes, acrobats,
entertainers, and thieves.
 Attributes

Agility is checked when the character needs to maintain their balance, test their flex-
ibility, or perform any feat of hand-eye coordination that is not otherwise governed
by a skill. Agility is particularly useful when a character needs to toss, catch, grab or
snatch something from another character.

Brawn (B)
Your muscle power, physical strength, and raw endurance. Brawn determines how
much you can carry without penalty and influences both how much damage you deal
and how easily you can absorb damage without injury. Brawn also plays a part in your
character’s Grit and Speed.

Brawn is checked when a character needs to project physical force: pushing, pulling,
lifting, hauling, dragging, bending, breaking, and smashing. It also governs throwing
things when the question is not ‘how accurate,’ but ‘how hard’ or ‘how far?’

Cunning (C)
Your speed of thought, mental resourcefulness, analytical thinking, and general clev-
erness. Cunning plays into the melee Combat Pool, Keen and Reflexes. It’s an impor-
tant attribute for a broad swath of characters, from warriors and thieves, to courtiers
and scholars alike.

Cunning is checked whenever a character is trying to figure something out. In prac-

tice, its primary use is when the character needs to puzzle out something that can be
logically deducted, or as a substitute to figure out a skill that characters do not possess.

Perception (P)
Your sharpness of senses and mental powers of observation. Perception forms the
base of the ranged Combat Pool, contributes to a character’s Keen and is an important
attribute for characters of any type.

Perception is one of the most commonly rolled attributes. It serves as a defense against
a number of skills, and is rolled any time the character is actively looking for some-
thing or when we need to know if the character notices something. Perception in
some ways determines the fog of war through which the characters operate in the
world around them, making it an extremely valuable attribute to have even if its direct
application can be limited.

55
Book II: Creation

Will (W)
Your mental fortitude, resolve, nerve, presence of mind, ego, and force of personality.
Will also plays a role in a character’s Grit. Will is of particular importance to court-
iers and spiritual types, but also athletes and anyone who will be regularly enduring
physical hardships.

Will is checked when a character’s resolve is tested through temptation or fear. It is

also used to resist various sorts of mental trauma and as a defense against social skills
that target temptation, fear, or simply undermine one’s confidence or determination.
Finally, Will can itself be used as a kind of social skill when attempting to persuade by
uncynically appealing to reason, self-preservation, or a target’s better nature.

Derived Attributes
In addition to their prime attributes, every character has four derived attributes: Grit
(G), Keen (K), Reflex (R), and Speed (S). Each derived attribute is based the average
of the two prime attributes, rounded down. Derived attributes cannot be improved on
their own, and instead only go up in relation to the primary attributes that govern
them.

Grit (G)
Grit is the average of Brawn and Will. It represents the character’s physical resolve
and total endurance, their general health, and ability to endure hardship.

Grit is checked when the character must resist some kind of physical effect, such
as exhaustion or disease, or when the test itself is about how long a character can
physically endure a circumstance. Grit is also checked to see how much progress a
character makes in recovering from illness, infection, or injury.

56
 Attributes

Keen (K)
Keen is the average of Cunning and Perception. It represents mental acuity, intuition,
and insight. It is both the ability to both ‘read’ a person or situation and absorb that
information quickly enough to do something about it.

Keen is most commonly used as a defense against certain social skills that rely on the
target being deceived, mislead, or otherwise the victim of subtle social maneuvering.
Keen can also be used to uncover information about a character, relationship, or scene
that isn’t so much directly observed as it is ’felt,’ such as the mood of a crowd.

Reflex (R)
Reflex is the average of Agility and Cunning. It represents both the character’s mental
reaction time and the ability of the body to follow through on that reaction. Reflex
forms the basis for melee Combat Pools.

Reflex is checked when the character must react quickly to a sudden circumstance,
such as falling rocks, a springing trap, and so forth.

Speed (S)
Speed is the average of Agility and Brawn. It represents the character’s raw quickness,
movement speed, and general mobility.

Speed is checked whenever the question is about how quickly a character can do a
task, particularly in relation to other characters such as a foot race or two characters
diving for the same weapon on the ground.

57
 Skills

Where attributes are broad and often innate abilities, skills represent more narrow
disciplines that require some experience and training to acquire. In normal people a
skill ranges from 0 for a completely untrained skill to 8, representing grandmasters
of their respective field. Ranks 1-3 generally represent some level of knowledge or
education in the field. People whose livelihood depends on a particular skill generally
have between 4-6 in it.

Some skills have (Specific) in their title, indicating that the skill must be further defined
when you take it. When you record it on your sheet, feel free to record it in whichever
way seems more convenient. A Trade could be written as “Trade (Blacksmith)” or just
“Blacksmithing,” at your preference. When referenced in the book, all such skills will
be written as “Trade (Blacksmith)” for clarity and ease of reference.

Of particular note, each PC gets Lore (Own Culture) at character creation. This begins
at rank 2 for free, representing the character’s passive familiarity with the society into
which they were born. This skill can be increased with points from the skill priority at
character creation or advanced through drama as normal thereafter.

Coercion
Coercion is persuasion by force. Blackmail, intimidation, interrogation, torture.
Regardless of the actual words and methods used, coercion is an obvious and overt
social skill. Do what I say, or else. Whether implicit or explicit, there is always a threat
involved and your target knows it. Coercion is almost always resisted by the target’s
Will, though if the threat itself is a bluff or relying on deception, Keen may be used
instead.
 Skills

Skills, Listed

Coercion, Command, Disguise, Education, Expertise (Specific), Gambling, Horse-

manship, Language (Specific), Larceny, Ledgerdemain, Lore, Manipulation, Medi-
cine, Mercantile, Navigation, Negotiation, Network, Oration, Perform (Specific),
Politics, Seamanship, Stewardship, Stealth, Streetwise, Survival (Specific), Team-
ster, Trade (Specific), Warfare

Command
Command covers a number of related leadership qualities. These range from personnel
management and organization, to the ability to project authority, maintain morale,
and issue effective commands. The skill is applicable anywhere groups of people must
be organized and led. When opposed, Command is resisted by Will or the other party’s
Command skill.

Disguise
Disguise covers changing your outward appearance, either to hide your own identity
or pass as some other identity. A skilled disguise can achieve some impressive effects,
but there are some limitations. Getting larger is generally easier than getting smaller.
If you’re trying to pass yourself off as a member of some other group or class, you’ll
generally need to acquire appropriate uniforms and so on.

Further, while Disguise can generally cover any obvious mannerisms, postures, and
so forth that your character might know about the group being impersonated (the
haughty bearing of a noble, the disciplined posture of a trained soldier) the skill can’t
actually give you any information about the thing you are impersonating. You will
need some other skill for that. It’s one thing to disguise yourself as a physician but if
you don’t have the Medicine skill, the jig is up the moment you talk to anyone who
knows anything about medicine.

A successful Disguise check allows you to pass a visual inspection as the thing you
were trying to appear or to avoid recognition as the person you actually are. Most
characters won’t give you a second thought. If your behavior raises suspicion, or you
encounter someone whose job it is to be suspicious (guards and so forth) then your
total hits on the Disguise check becomes their req on the Perception check to see
through your disguise.

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Book II: Creation

Education
Education represents the character’s higher learning, whether by self-study, or
through formal tutoring and academia. This is classically the Artes Liberales, consist-
ing of grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music theory, and astronomy/
astrology. (Note that actually playing music is governed by perform.) In game terms,
this skill represents both a character’s general book learning and their ability to gather
information by research. Characters who begin the game without at least one point in
education gain a 0d Illiterate trait for free at character creation.

Expertise (Specific)
Expertise is a placeholder for any skill a character might want that isn’t already cov-
ered by an existing skill, such as wanting your character to be particularly good at
climbing or swimming, or an obscure skill like Lip Reading. Like all (Specific) skills,
expertise must be defined when the skill is taken. Expertise is generally about do-
ing things. If you want to know things, take Lore. If you want to make something,
produce something, or earn a living, look at Trade instead.

Gambling
Gambling overs all games of chance where the skill of the individual player is part of
the equation. It would thus cover various card and dice games, but not something like
craps or bets placed on a horse race where you cannot personally influence the result.

Gambling functions a bit differently than normal skills. Most all forms of gambling
can be rolled as attributes at BTN without the substitute penalty, generally relying
on Cunning, Will, or Keen. If a character has the Gambling skill, they may take the
higher of either the attribute or the skill and tap in the other. This by itself gives you a
leg up on your competition, but where the Gambling skill really shines is in cheating.

After the dice are rolled and the results are shown, the characters with the gambling
skill may opt to cheat. They may pick up any number of failed dice and re-roll them.
This can only be done once. If any of those dice come up as a failure again, they
remain so. Any hits are added to the previous total.

However, cheating is not without its risk. If any of the re-rolled dice come up as a 1,
something just doesn’t seem right. Suspicious observers can roll a Perception check
against a req equal to your original roll to catch you in the act. Some characters (such
as those who know you to be a cheater, or those whose jobs it is to catch people cheat-
ing) will make this roll regardless.
60
 Skills

Horsemanship
Horsemanship represents both the character’s knowledge of horses and horseback
riding, as well as their ability control the animal and remain in the saddle. Horse-
manship is generally checked only under unusual circumstances, either due to the
animal’s distress or a hazardous environment.

Language (Specific)
Language is the ability to effectively speak and communicate ideas in a specific
language other than the character’s native tongue. A character’s rank in the skill
effectively determines their fluency with that specific language. Language rolls are
only called for when the character attempts to communicate something beyond their
level of fluency.
Table 11 - Language Fluency by Rank
Rank Description
0 Body language and gestures only.
1-2 Basic communication. “Food, want.”
3-4 Simple reasoning with grammar or syntax mistakes. “Need borrow horse for
king to reach.”
5-6 Complex reasoning, common vernacular. Fluent enough for any kind of
day-to-day tasks. “Flooding the river cuts off our retreat, but it’s better than
getting flanked.”
7-8 Complete fluency of formal, informal and even archiac variations of the
language, along with a powerful command of obscure vocabulary and pre-
cise grammar rules sure to make you a delight at parties. Your accent can
fool even a native speaker. “Actually, ‘ from whence’ is redundant as the word
‘whence’ itself contains the implied ‘ from.’”

Role-play the communication as normal, but before the other party responds, check
what was said against the fluency table. If it was at or below the character’s fluency,
no roll is required. If it was a single category above, make a Language check at r3. If it
was two or more categories above, check at r5. On a failure, complications may ensue.
In a social conflict, the results of the language check can be treated as a cascading roll
with the results feeding into the pool for the social conflict.

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Book II: Creation

Larceny
Larceny covers a variety of skills all related to getting into where you shouldn’t be. At
the most basic, Larceny handles a number of burglary tasks, such as quietly breaking
glass and forcing open doors or windows. On the more mechanical side, it also covers
overcoming security devices, such as picking locks and both recognizing and disarm-
ing traps. Finally, Larceny covers the more strategic aspects of security, such as casing
a location in order to gather information about its security or to identify potential
entry points.

Legerdemain
Legerdemain is a broad skill covering all manner of nimble-fingered tasks and tricks,
from picking pockets and palming objects, to concealing weapons and other feats of
prestidigitation. Under certain circumstances, Legerdemain can also be used as an
attempt to escape from bondage involving coiled ropes or chains. If it requires a lock
to be picked (e.g., cuffs or shackles), it’s Larceny instead.

Lore (Specific)
Lore is an umbrella skill that represents various bodies of specific knowledge not
otherwise covered by an existing skill. Like all (Specific) skills, the body of knowledge
must be specified when the skill is taken. Lore is about knowing things. If you’re look-
ing for something that does things, you want a Trade or an Expertise.

Every character starts with Lore (their own culture) at rank 2 for free. Other useful
Lore skills would include their city, specific other cultures, histories, religious his-
tories or doctrines, military or church etiquette, herbalism, philosophy, or folklore.
Players should feel free to invent their own bodies of Lore as fitting to their character
and setting.

Manipulation
Where Coercion and Negotiation are both overt means of convincing someone, Ma-
nipulation is persuasion by subtlety. Through the use of bribery, seduction, or pure
emotional appeal you convince someone that they want what you want, whether out
of sympathy or purely for their personal gain. In many cases, the target of Manipula-
tion isn’t even aware that they are being manipulated. Manipulation by deception or
social positioning is opposed by Keen. Manipulation by temptation is opposed by Will
62
 Skills

Concealed Weapons

Among other things, Legerdemain allows you to attempt to secret items away on
your person. This is of particular use where weapons are concerned. Concealing
an item is a Legerdemain check with a req based on its size:
Table 12 - Generic Abilities by Rank
Req Description
r0 Hand reach.
r1 Close reach.
r2 Short reach.
r3 Medium reach.
+1r Compound hilt, basket hilt, or firearm.

Success on this roll will conceal the weapon from passive observation, but it’s
important to note your MoS. For any character who becomes suspicious or whose
job it is to be suspicious, your MoS is the req on their Perception check to notice
your weapon. If you are physically searched, they gain an advantage on this roll. A
physical search will also automatically any weapon of short reach, Medium reach,
or with the +1r modifier.

The above assumes that the character is dressed appropriately to conceal such a
weapon. A Hand or Close reach weapon is fairly easy in any garment, but a Short-
reach weapon will generally baggy clothing. A Medium length weapon or one
with a complex hilt can generally only be concealed beneath a cloak.

Medicine
Medicine is the healer’s art in whatever form that takes within the character’s culture.
Most commonly, this will include some basic knowledge of first aid, medicinal herbs,
bone-setting and so on. In more advanced cultures this will include surgical arts,
anatomy, and the balancing of humors. Medicine is checked whenever the character
wants to diagnose, treat, or tend to the wounds of another character.

Mercantile
Mercantile represents the appraisal of goods and a firm grasp of various market and
economic forces, primarily with the goal of manipulating those forces to one’s profit.
Mercantile is most commonly used as a knowledge skill, but it can also be used as a
tap on wealth rolls to purchase goods (pg XX.)
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Book II: Creation

Navigation
Navigation is the ability to both determine where you are and use that information to
get to where you are going. The skill assumes use outside of urban areas, making use
of vegetation, water currents, the position of the sun, stars, and other such markers
for traveling significant distances by land or sea. Urban environment generally do
not require navigation rolls, though if you wanted your character to be particularly
knowledgeable about a given area you could take a Lore about the city in question.

Negotiation
Where Coercion is a threat and Manipulation can be seen as subterfuge, Negotiation
is a straightforward bargaining position. It is a forthright attempt to convince another
person of your position by working with them to find mutual benefit. Negotiation is
used in matters where it is important for all parties involved to be equally pleased (or
equally displeased) with the outcome, or where it is important to be seen as fair and
even-handed in your dealings. If the target has agreed to make some kind of deal, then
Negotiation is opposed by Negotiation. If you are trying to negotiate with someone
who hasn’t even agreed to negotiate, it is opposed by Will. If you’re trying to Negotiate
with them in bad faith or otherwise being deceptive about it, it is opposed by Keen.

Network
Network covers a number of social networking skills. These range from your ability to
seek out and make new contacts to your ability to keep track of an existing network,
as well as the web of desires, needs, and favors owed that allow you to call on such
contacts for aid in the future. The connections skill is primarily used as the basis for
the connections roll (pg XX) when the player needs to create a new contact in play.

Oration
Oration is a broad skill covering everything from the art of rhetoric, oratory, and
debate, to the composition of arguments, writing of speeches, and the performative
ability to project one’s voice above a crowd or to speak with dramatic effect. Inside
of a debate, Oration is opposed by Oration. For the audience, Oration that relies on
sophistic, deceptive, misleading, or outright manipulative arguments is opposed by
Keen. If Oration is being used (more or less) honestly (regardless of hyperbole and
rhetoric), then it is opposed by Will.

64
 Skills

Choosing Social Skills

Social skills is an umbrella term that covers a number of similar abilities. These
are Coercion, Command, Manipulation, Negotiation, Oration, or even Will under
certain circumstances. All of these are broadly a means to the same end: getting
someone to do what you want them to do. How you convince them to do this,
however, makes all the difference.

Social skills significantly impact how your character interacts with the world
around them. A character whose social skills were entirely invested in Coercion
and Command leaves a vastly different impression than a character whose skills
were in Negotiation and Oration, or Coercion and Manipulation. The first is a
leader and a tyrant, the second a diplomat, the third a con artist. Even the choice
to avoid social skills altogether says something about who your character is. Many
of the most honorable and sincere characters in fiction had little more than their
strength of Will and a genuine appeal to honor and duty. The social skills you take
will help define your character’s personality and relationships. Choose wisely.

Perform (Specific)
Perform is a broad skill covering various kinds of performance art. Like all (Specific)
skills, the exact kind of performance covered must be picked when the skill is taken.
Example Perform skills include Acting, Singing, specific instruments, Acrobatics, and
so forth. Once taken, the skill covers the actual performance as well as any tertiary
tasks that someone practicing the art would be familiar with (a singer knowing a
great many common songs, a musician being familiar with information about their
kind of instruments, and so on.)

Politics
Politics covers a functional knowledge of the political system within one’s own cul-
ture, from an understanding of etiquette and protocol to knowledge of heraldry and
political history within one’s region of concern. It also represents one’s own political
acumen, reflecting the ability to discern key political players, weigh alliances, and
untangle political webs while advancing or protecting one’s own station. Politics is
most often used as a knowledge skill when gathering information or as a bridge for a
connections roll.

65
Book II: Creation

Seamanship
Seamanship covers all manner of tasks related to watercraft, from physically piloting
the craft to a functional knowledge of rigging and how to get the most out of your
sails in the prevailing wind. Seamanship also covers all manner of minor, tertiary
tasks related to the operation, repair, and maintenance of ships as well as a general
knowledge of ships and seamanship in general. The only task not directly covered is
navigation, which has its own skill above. It would, however, make a decent sub for
water-based Navigation in a pinch.

Stewardship
Stewardship is the ability to manage a property, business, or household. This includes
the management of one’s resources, incomes, and staff, as well as ensuring that ev-
erything is kept maintained and at minimal cost. This can be checked any time the
efficiency of a household might come into play or as a knowledge skill concerning
elements of the same. It can also be tapped into any wealth checks for lifestyle and
maintenance costs (pg XX.)

Stealth
Stealth is the art of concealment. The skill covers both the ability to move without
being heard and the ability to blend into your surroundings or losing yourself in a
crowd. Stealth is generally used in contest with an opponent’s Perception, though it
could also be called upon as a knowledge skill for issues of technique or theory.

Streetwise
Streetwise covers one’s familiarity with and ability to utilize the unique resources of
the lower classes. Most commonly, this will be used as a knowledge skill for questions
of an illicit or illegal nature, though it could also be used for more general information
gathering. Streetwise also makes for a useful bridge for connections rolls involving
the criminal element (pg XX.)

66
 Skills

stealth Takedown

Characters who have both the Stealth skill and the Brawling proficiency have an
additional option available to them. While anyone can attempt to jump someone
to begin a melee, Stealth can allow you to bypass all of that entirely. When the
situation is as such that a fight could be resolved with a Simple Melee, you can
attempt a Stealth Takedown.

Build a pool based on the lower value between your Stealth skill or Brawling pro-
ficiency and roll in contest against your target’s Perception. On a success, you
murder the target unseen and unheard. On an MoS3+, you can choose to use non-
lethal force, if preferred. On a tie, it goes to either a simple combat (with Lethal
intent, pg XX) or a full melee (pg XX). On a failure, as per a tie but the target takes
an advantage on their Simple Combat roll or begins a Full Melee as though they
sucker punched you (pg XX).

Stealth Takedown assumes that the target is as such that they can be taken down
in a quick, quiet manner. The target has to have some sort of vulnerability to
exploit (unarmored or lightly armored location that would produce death) and if
the target is wearing any amount of metal armor they will make degree of noise
even if the roll succeeds.

Survival (Specific)
Survival is a character’s general bushcraft, covering everything from hunting, track-
ing and basic fishing, to the ability to build shelters, distinguish between edible plants
from poisonous ones, find fresh water, and otherwise survive in a wilderness environ-
ment. Survival also governs your ability to follow trails and movement through broken
or wilderness terrain. Survival does not directly govern your ability to navigate large
distances overland. You’ll need Navigation for that, though Survival can be used to
sub for such a task in a pinch. Survival is a (Specific) skill, requiring you to designate
a kind of ecosystem or territory, such as Desert, Forest, Jungle, and so on. You can take
multiple Survival skills, each representing a different type of terrain. Alternatively, if
you find yourself in a different kind of environment than the one your skill is for, it
can be used as a substitute using the normal sub rules.

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Book II: Creation

Teamster
Teamster covers everything from the actual driving of chariots, carts, and other
animal-drawn wheeled vehicles, to the packing of loads upon and general repair and
maintenance of the same.

Teamster checks are generally only called for when a character wishes to do something
unusual, or they must perform under stressful circumstances. Most characters who
regularly use wagons only ever need a few ranks in the skill. Traveling merchants or
caravan traders may have as high as 4 or 5 ranks. Six ranks and higher are generally
only used by nomadic peoples, or those who use race chariots or use them in war.

Trade (Specific)
Trade is an umbrella skill representing various forms of craftsmanship or skilled la-
bor, with the exact trade specified when the skill is taken.

For something to be a valid trade, it has to meet two criteria. First, it must have a
tangible product. Farming, blacksmithing, fishing, or carpentry are all valid trades.
Second, it must not be covered by some other skill. Physician or Lawyer would not
be valid trades. Physician would be largely covered by the Medicine skill. A Lawyer
would be covered by Lore (Law) and various social skills (mostly Orate).

Trade is generally checked when performing a profession roll (pg XX), or when want-
ing to manufacture some product based on the trade in question. Alternatively, Trade
can be used as a knowledge skill or as a bridge for a connections roll (pg XX.)

Warfare
Warfare covers a handful of related skills all filed under general soldiery. It covers
drilling and discipline, your ability to understand and execute battlefield commands,
and your ability to hold fast in the face of the enemy. As a secondary application,
Warfare can also be used to cover other tasks that would be common to soldiers ’
setting up camp, knowledge-checks related to military protocol, and so on.

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 Proficiencies

Proficiencies sum up your character’s martial training. Each represents a given area
of ability broadly centered around a specific category of weapon. A given proficiency
covers both the weapon on its own as well as in conjunction with a companion weapon
such as a dagger or shield.

At character creation, the maximum rank your character can take in a single profi-
ciency is capped by the Proficiency priority pick chosen. Ranks 1-3 generally represent
someone still a student in the proficiency in question. Most amateur thugs and brawl-
ers will hover around rank 4. Trained and professional fighters will usually have 5
or 6 in their chosen proficiencies. A proficiency rank higher than that represents an
uncommon talent and a dedication to a chosen form.

Mechanically, the individual proficiencies are lumped into two broad categories:
melee and ranged. These are described in detail below. When your character needs
a proficiency they don’t have, they can sub in another proficiency within the same
category.

Melee Proficiencies
Melee proficiencies cover all the ways you can crunch, punch, stab, jab, slash and
otherwise mangle your opponent. Most melee proficiencies are fairly obvious in what
they cover. If you’re trying to beat someone with something that doesn’t seem to fit
any particular description, it’s probably Brawling
Book II: Creation

Brawling
Brawling is the oldest, most primal form of combat. The proficiency governs every-
thing from grappling and unarmed combat, to knives, daggers, and some improvised
weapons. Brawling is the most common proficiency learned. Among civilians, fists
and daggers are the ubiquitous tools of self-defense. Even professional combatants
need to have a solid command of wrestling and dagger fighting to rely on both as a last
line of defense and as a means of overcoming a foe in heavy armor.

Longswords
As armor became both more common and rigid, soldiers began to trade in the protec-
tion of a shield for the power and leverage of ever-longer blades. The Longswords
proficiency governs the use of hand-and-a-half and two-handed swords as a battlefield
art. This complex system shares its roots with polearm and staff fighting, utilizing not
just the blade of the weapon but also striking with the pommel or quillons and using
the very length of the weapon as leverage to bring an opponent to the ground.

Historically, true two-handed swords were the weapons of elite warriors, serving as
bodyguards and shock troops. The combination of the training required and cost of
armor necessitated by the inability to carry a shield meant that these were generally
only common as battlefield weapons among the professional fighting class.

The more modest hand-and-a-half swords found a broader popularity. Being short
enough to still be worn on the hip, they could serve both as a primary battlefield
weapon or as a sidearm to soldiers across social classes. In a civilian context, they also
became popular weapons of self-defense and part of a greater dueling culture.

Mass Weapons
From the earliest branches and jaw-bone clubs, mass weapons have found a place in
war. The proficiency covers all manner of weapons whose chief appeal is in being
respectably hefty on the business end. It includes both one and two-handed weapons,
with or without the use of shields.

As a fighting system, the proficiency tends to be relatively straightforward. Shields

provide both an optimal defense as well as a means to create openings for exploita-
tion. Certain weapons, like axes and picks, allow the wielder to take advantage of the
weapon’s geometry, hooking into an opponent’s armor, weapon, or joints to disarm
them or bring them to the ground for a finishing blow.

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 Proficiencies

Mass weapons are found in use across across all classes of people. Clubs can be
fashioned by even the most primitive peoples or the poorest of peasants. Many mass
weapons find their origins in converted farm tools, but even purpose-forged weapons
can be made cheaply from stout wooden hafts and heads of lower-quality steel. This
gives the proficiency a significant popularity among those who ether lack the funds
or capability to acquire other weapons. Mass weapons remain just as popular with the
professional soldiery and among the armored gentry as the considerable force these
weapons can generate make them extremely effective against armored opponents.

Polearms
Human history has been written at the tip of a spear. Sharpened wooden staves and
flint-tipped spears were among the first weapons used both in hunting and war. Lines
of bronze and iron spears decided the fates of kingdoms, giving way to an almost in-
finite variety of battlefield implements. The Polearms proficiency governs all types of
long-hafted battlefield weapons, from the humble quarterstaff to the ubiquitous spear,
from bills, pikes, and glaives to long axes, halberds, and the knightly pollax. As a
secondary consideration, the proficiency also covers the use of shields as a companion
weapons to polearms that can be used one-handed, such as certain types of spear.

Most polearms rely on their considerable length as their first line of defense, keeping
an opponent at bay. Afterward, they fall back to various forms of staff-fighting, using
both ends of the weapon to harass, defend, and create openings in their opponent’s
defense. Many types of polearms are combination weapons, further opening up their
options. Axes, hammer-heads, beaks, and back-spikes all give the weapons more op-
tions to trap and hook into an opponent with devastating effect.

Polearms are the bread and butter proficiency for soldiers of all stripes. Rank and file
troops are commonly equipped with all manner of long polearms for use in formation,
depending on both the tactical role being fulfilled and the time period in question.
Peasant militias commonly bristled with spears, bills, and other assorted unfriendli-
ness, as the comparatively inexpensive nature of these weapons make them ideal for
mass production. Even among professional soldiers and armored gentry, specialized
polearms like the pollax or lucerne hammer found a great deal of popularity as a
means to combat opposing heavy infantry.

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Book II: Creation

Swords
No weapon has ever been so romanticized as the sword. From battlefields to back-
alleys, the sword is the sidearm par excellence. The proficiency covers all manner
of one-handed swords from short messers, cutlasses, and dussacks to the stalwart
knightly arming sword; from the elegant, slender rapier to the wickedly curved saber.
The proficiency also covers the use of single-handed swords in conjunction with a
companion weapon, such as a dagger, buckler, and shields. Perhaps more so than any
other single style, the Swords proficiency can represent a huge variety of fighting sys-
tems each tailored towards a different purpose and to take advantage of the physical
characteristics of a particular kind of sword.

Swords are common as companion weapons among civilians and professional soldiers
alike. The capability to be comfortably and conveniently worn grants them a supreme
role as backup weapons for all manner of soldier who might otherwise primarily carry
a polearm or ranged weapon into combat. This same ease and convenience makes
them a formidable tool of self-defense and the go-to weapon in civilian dueling circles.

Ranged
Proficiencies
If melee proficiencies get you up close and personal, ranged proficiencies let you reach
out and touch someone. Each ranged proficiency covers the use and maintenance of a
general family of ranged weapons. Unique among these are thrown weapons, which
do not possess a proficiency of their own. Instead, thrown weapons use the associ-
ated melee proficiency of that weapon. Throwing knives would fall under Brawling,
javelins under Polearms, and so on. Note that unless the weapon has the Thrown tag,
it is rolling at a disadvantage. Weapons requiring two hands can’t be thrown at all.

Bows
Equally found in the hands of hunters and soldiers, these weapons are an excellent
combination of distance, speed, and relative stealth. Contrary to popular belief, bows
require a significant amount of strength to function as proper battlefield weapons.
As such, skilled battlefield archers are rare but extremely valuable, especially as the
world gears towards slower, louder weapons.

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 Proficiencies

Crossbows
Being replaced by the firearm at a rapid rate, this weapon is still deadly in skilled
hands. Requiring only a minor amount of strength to store an astonishing amount of
energy, these weapons can pack enough power to threaten plate without the danger
and inconvenience of lit matches and powder. Crossbows are still deployed quite effec-
tively by more traditional militaries and mercenary warbands alike. Their relatively
quiet operation and lack of smoke also makes them attractive weapons of assassina-
tion.

Firearms
These loud, smoke-billowing weapons have gained popularity with the wealthy and
the military class. While expensive to produce, they wreak unparalleled havoc on the
battlefield and are capable of penetrating all but the toughest armor. On the downside,
they are slower to reload than a crossbow and are completely useless if your powder
gets wet.

Slings
Popular among shepherds and farming folk, these weapons can be made from leather
or plaited from a variety of materials. They can even be conveniently worn as straps,
headbands, or belts. While more at home on the ancient battlefield than in a modern
war, they can still pack a punch in skilled hands.

73
 Traits

Traits allow you to flesh out your character in ways that other abilities can’t. Each trait
is a player-defined quality that allows you to mechanically establish facts about your
character. These can range from simple descriptive traits to creating supporting NPCs,
or even accessing exotic abilities.

Traits will vary in potency. Unless otherwise noted, a trait by itself simply establishes
the thing as a mechanical truth in the campaign. Some traits will have a die value
attached to them. If you are in a conflict where that trait is relevant, it can be tapped
for a value equal to the listed dice. However, traits are a double-edged sword. In a
situation where that trait would work against you, they decrease your pool by their
value. This penalty applies automatically, even on rolls that do not normally allow you
to tap (such as a Combat Pool, pg XX). On the other hand, a trait that penalizes your
roll does not count against your two slots for tapping. If a trait reduces you to 0 dice,
you can still default and make the attempt but with 1 die at FTN6

Finally, traits come in several types. Each type of trait represents a different sorts of
fictional circumstances that can be established at character creation. Each category
will have a brief description and a chart which allows you to work out the cost of
that trait based on what you want it to do. Note that regardless of the end-result
mathematically, no trait can ever be bought for less than 1 point.

Of particular note, each PC gets a two Character Traits for free, one of these at 0d
and one of these at 1d. One of these must represent something about who the char-
acter is now (physical trait, malady, temperament, life-circumstances) and the other
must be about their background, representing who they used to be. You may choose
for yourself which value you prefer to assign to which trait.
 Traits

Playing Traits
Whatever other benefits they might bring, traits exist to be role-played. This is doubly
true when they work against you. If role-playing a trait gets you into trouble or oth-
erwise introduces a complication into the story, you are playing for trouble (pg XX)
and that’s worth a point of drama. Note that this is true even when the complication
is a result of your character losing a conflict in which a trait penalized your die pool.
For this reason, it can be very handy to have a trait or two that can work against you.

Under certain circumstances, traits can be tempted in order to compel a specific ac-
tion from a character. In addition to the above benefits, the GM can offer you a temp-
tation, bribing you with a point of drama to suggest a course of action connected to
the susceptible trait. If you go along with it, you get the point of drama. If you want
to refuse, you must spend a point of drama to resist the urge. If you have a drive that
would be in direct conflict with the suggested action, you have more leeway. You can
choose to accept the temptation and get your point or you can turn it down without
cost.

No character can be tempted more than once per scene regardless of how many tempt-
able traits they might have. Drama spent in this fashion marks towards advancement
in the same way as any other drama expenditure.

Temptable traits should be noted with a T after the die value, but before the description
(e.g., 1dT Curious).

Upgrading Free Traits

Each character starts with two free Character Traits during character creation and
may acquire others as well. While all free traits start with a fixed value by default,
players can raise these by spending additional trait points as they please. The cost to
do so is the difference between the trait’s current rating and the next step on the rel-
evant chart. If a modifier would reduce the cost of this upgrade (for instance, adding
“Can be tempted” to the free Character Trait) then the modifier can be subtracted from
the upgrade cost as normal. It cannot, however, be used to generate additional trait
points to be spent on something else. Likewise, this is a one-way street. Free traits can
have their values raised at character creation, but not lowered.

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Book II: Creation

Character Traits
Character traits form a broad umbrella of qualities that are all in some way intrinsic
to your character. They are the things set them apart from the crowd. Broadly, these
divide into:
• Physical traits (Beardless Youth, Branded as a Thief, Double-Jointed, Rug-
gedly Handsome, Wisp of a Girl)
• Maladies and injuries (Frail, Leprous, One-Eyed)
• Temperaments (Blood-Thirsty, Grudge-Bearer, Honorable, Roguish Charm,
Superstitious, Uncompromising). These can even border on the same terri-
tory as drives (Recovering Alcoholic, Vow of Poverty) but differ primarily
in that they are a constant part of the character rather than a temporary
motivation.
• Fictional Circumstances that fall outside of what is dictated by your
social class (Bastard, Impoverished, Indebted to the Mob, Outlaw, Wanted for
High Treason).
• Backgrounds (Page to the Royal Court, Son of the Sea, Wild Daughter of the
Black Forest) representing your character’s past and what they might have
taken from it.
While your immediate instinct might be to load up on exclusively positive traits, this
might not be the best way to go in the long run. Traits that provide downsides and
create complications are both more interesting to play and provide a reliable source
of earned drama. As a rule, good trait adds flavor, provides a benefit, or introduces
complication; the best do all three.

The expense of a Character Trait is directly tied to its mechanical influence in play.
A 2d trait will cost more than a 1d trait or a 0d trait. The degree to which a trait’s
description correlates to its mechanical weight is up to you. The same description
could be used for a 0d trait as easily as a 3d trait, or you could choose to temper the
description based on its weight. You could be Beautiful regardless of its die value, or
you could decide that you preferred to be Easy on the Eyes at 1d, Beautiful at 2d, and
have Breathtaking Beauty at 3d.

Character traits give you a lot of room to further define your character, but there are
some restrictions. First, Character Traits can never directly replicate an existing abil-
ity. Strong is not only a boring trait, your strength is already represented by Brawn.
Sneaky already exists in the form of your Stealth skill. On the other hand, something
like Noble Bastard skirts the line. While it implies ties to a specific social class, it
doesn’t actually grant said social class. If taken by a commoner, we have an interesting
situation to explore in play.
76
 Traits

The second restriction is that a trait must represent something specific about the char-
acter. As above, it must be some physical quality, personality trait, life-circumstance,
quirk, or behavioral pattern. It must be something that can be seen or demonstrated
and whose meaning is obvious to everyone playing. Generally Awesome is generally
meaningless. Wins at Competitions doesn’t actually describe anything about the char-
acter, though Competitive Streak might.

Work with your GM to refine your Character Traits. Make sure everyone is on the
same page and that they fit with the setting. If it’s too nebulous, ill-defined, or sounds
like it could apply to just about any circumstance, it’s subject to GM veto.

Finally, remember that you get two free Character Traits when you make your PC.
One of these is worth 0d, one of these is worth 1d. One must be about who your char-
acter is now and one must be about their background. Which is which is up to you.
Table 13 - Character Traits
Trait is...
1 pt 0 die
2 pt 1 die
4 pt 2 die
6 pt 3 die
-1 pt Can be Tempted

Sample Character Traits

Arrogant, Ascetic, Bastard-born, Beardless Youth, Beaten With an Ugly Stick,

Beautiful, Blabbermouth, Bloodthirsty, Branded a Thief, Brooding, Brutish, Built
Like an Ox, Burnout, Choleric, Cold-Blooded, Cruel Streak, Curious, Daredevil,
Dark Secret, Deaf, Death Wish, Double-Jointed, Drunkard, Elderly, Envious, Eu-
nuch, Filthy Letch, Forgettable Face, Foreign Born, Gallows-Bound, Giant of a Man,
Gluttonous, Greedy, Grudgebearer, Half-blind, Honorable, Horribly Disfigured,
Hot-Blooded, Impoverished, Indebted to the Mob, Jingoistic, Jester, Kleptomaniac,
Leper, Light Sleeper, Lustful, Man of My Word, Man of the Cloth, Melancholic,
Menacing Scars, Missing Ear, Morbidly Obese, Murderous Temper, Mute, Naive,
Narcissist, Nondescript, Nyctophobe, Old War Wound, One-Eyed, Opium Fiend,
Outlaw, Paranoid, Peg-legged, Phlegmatic, Pious, Prideful, Quarrelsome, Quick-
Tempered, Raging Alcoholic, Reckless Youth, Roguish Charm, Sanguine, Slothful,
Southpaw, Squeamish, Sterile, Stubborn as an Old Mule, Superstitious, They Are
Out To Get Me, Tiny, Uncompromising, Uncouth, Vengeful, Vow of Chastity, Vow
of Poverty, Wanderlust, Wanted for High Treason, Wrathful, Xenophobic, Yellow-
Bellied, Zealot.

77
Book II: Creation

Affiliation
The circles in which a character travels are largely dictated by their social class and
the skills they chose, but neither of these grant the character influence within any
specific groups. Affiliations represent groups to which the character belongs and with
whom the character has influence. These can be anything from street gangs and labor
unions to cults or noble houses.

Not every group with which a character interacts needs to be mechanically considered
an Affiliation. There are three criteria before something can be considered a proper
Affiliation:
• It needs to be large enough to matter as an organization. At least a dozen
people in its service.
• Those members need to be unified by some common purpose, whether
that’s mutual protection from outsiders, advancement of a family line, or
just claiming territory and earning a profit.
• Most importantly, the group must recognize your character as one of
theirs. Someone who has some level of influence within the group and
about whom they would care. If you’re one of fifty interchangeable guards
cashing a paycheck, you don’t need to buy the group as an Affiliation. If
the people in charge don’t know who you are, it’s not an Affiliation, it’s
a day job.

Table 14 - Affiliation
Affiliation is...
2 pt 0 die. Relatively small and of strictly local influence. A large family or
small clan, the town guard, a local cult, a street gang, a small ship’s crew, a
warrior band of a dozen men.
4 pt 1 die. Of prominent local, but limited regional influence. An obscure and
minor noble house, a well-known clan or wealthy merchant family, a
knight’s fief, an important guild, a large band of brigands, or a ship’s crew
100 men strong.
6 pt 2 die. Of prominent regional or limited national influence. A major house,
a powerful clan, a seat of regional governance, a major cult or religious
organization, a mercenary company a thousand men strong.
8 pt 3 die. Of national or ruling influence. A powerful noble house, a seat of
church authority, a merchant league, an army of thousands.

78
 Traits

The cost of an Affiliation scales with its scope and influence. A wealthy and powerful
faction costs more than a less influential one. Affiliations are unique in that the cost
of an Affiliation can be split in any proportion between the player characters who
belong to it. If an Affiliation costs 6 trait points and three players intend to join, then
each can pay 2 points, one can pay 4 and the others 1 each, or any other division they
might prefer. That said, there is a minimum cost of 1 trait point to take an Affiliation,
even if it is otherwise entirely paid for.

Affiliations are primarily tapped in two circumstances. First, an Affiliation can be

tapped when that Affiliation would be of benefit to a connections roll. This is usually
either because you’re looking for someone within your organization or because that
organization’s resources would plausibly help you find the person you are looking for.
Affiliations can also come into come into play during social conflicts when you are ei-
ther trying to use the influence of your organization as a means to persuade someone
or when the target of your persuasion is someone with whom you share an Affiliation.

Affiliations do not exist without a purpose and membership is never without some
form of responsibility. The exact nature of this obligation will be negotiated with the
GM when the Affiliation is taken, but at minimum the character will be expected to
in some way be helping the organization work towards its stated goals. Shirking the
responsibilities of your membership or acting against your Affiliation’s interests can
quickly see the character lose their influence within the Affiliation or be removed
from it entirely.

Bonds
Everyone has people. Your character has an entire cast of people who will have played
some role in shaping their life, but none of these people may have anything to do with
the story you’re interested in pursuing. Instead, Bonds represent specific NPCs from
your character’s past that you want to draw into the campaign. By taking a character
as a Bond, three major things happen:

First, you get to negotiate the nature of the relationship before play begins. Once
established, it becomes a mechanical fact of the setting. It remains such until such
a time as the actions (or inactions) of a player character would cause this to change.

Second, you are declaring this a relationship you want to explore in-game. You are
effectively asking the GM to bring this character up and use the hooks generated by
your history with this character as part of the story being told.

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Book II: Creation

Finally, you get to add the character to your sheet as a contact (pg XX). You are free
to get in touch with them whenever time and resources would allow, no connections
roll required.

As a trait, a Bond is established in two parts. The first is based on how loosely power-
ful or influential the character is within the setting. The more powerful the character
is, the more expensive they are as a Bond. The second part is the Bond itself. This is
abstracted into a die value and represents a how well or personally you know that
person. The greater the die value, the deeper the relationship goes.

Each of the options listed under Bond represents some detail of your history with that
character and increases the die value of the trait accordingly. You can freely select
any of the options listed without an increase in trait cost, or work with the GM to add
some of your own.

The die value of a Bond can be tapped in two ways. The first is in any conflict directly
opposing the character in question. The better you know someone, the more likely you
are to predict what they will do and be able to outsmart them. Alternatively, a Bond
can be tapped into any conflict about the character in question, such as defending or
denouncing them. The greater your die value, the closer you are to them, the more
impassioned your actions on their behalf or in opposition to them.

You can make this history as simple or complex as you want, but a Bond can never be
worth more than 3 dice. Be warned, however. The higher your die value is, the more
license the GM has to bring that character into play and make use of the hooks your
story with them generates. Optionally, you can take an NPC at 0d representing a con-
tact you have some form of ongoing relationship with, but not necessarily someone
with whom you share any real history. Regardless, make sure you flesh out the details
with the GM when the Bond is taken.

Bonds are a player-facing mechanic. It is not assumed that the NPC purchased through
a Bond has an equal die value trait for the PC as the PC does for them. This is an
advantage the player has for purchasing the trait.

Bonds are by far the exception rather than the rule. Most of the people in your char-
acter’s life are background noise. They fall under the domain of the connections roll
(pg XX). Most characters will likely have only one or two Bonds at character creation,
if they took any at all.

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 Traits

Table 15 - Bonds
Character is...
1 pt A minor or insignificant character relative to the setting, with little influ-
ence outside of their relationship with the PC. A lady in waiting, hand-
maiden, shop-owner, street urchin, and so on.
3 pt A significant character within the setting with some amount of power,
resources, or influence of their own. Wealthy merchant, ship’s captain, a
notable priest, the head of a criminal organization or a minor noble house.
5 pt An important or powerful character within the setting possessing sub-
stantial resources or influence of their own. The head of a powerful noble
house, merchant league, or even the royal family.
History
+2d Immediate family
+1d Other blood relation
+2d Childhood relationship
+2d Mentor or student relationship
+2d Romantic relationship
+2d Shares a terrible secret
+2d Spilled blood alongside
+1d Antagonistic relationship
+1d Illicit relationship
+1d Professional relationship
+1d Connected to the same faction
+1d Educated or trained together
+1d Owes or is owed a great personal debt

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Book II: Creation

Claim
Casus Belli, literally “a case for war.” A Claim establishes that your character is socially
or legally recognized to have a legitimate Claim on a title or holding. Such Claims
are almost always based on familial bloodlines, either directly or through marriage.
For royalty, this may mean having been born into the reigning dynasty or having
descended from a previous sovereign. For other nobility, this may involve territory
once owned by an ancestor. On the smallest scale, it could represent a fight for control
over an inheritance or estate.

In feudal society, having a Claim is the most crucial prerequisite for waging war
over land. Declaring war on someone without possessing a Claim over the disputed
property would be considered unjustifiable. At best, it would be a disturbance of the
peace. At worst, it could be seen as open rebellion. Given how much of the nobility’s
authority relies on the sanctity of hereditary ownership, the defender against such
an act would gain a mass of allies regardless of their enemies, alliances, and personal
reputation. As such, forging documents to conjure up legal grounds for a Claim was
extremely common. Of course, if one wanted to wage war against pagans or infidels,
those kinds of wars were always ’justifiable.’

Table 16 - Claim
Scope of Claim
4 pt A claim equal to or beneath the character’s social station.
7 pt A claim above the character’s social station.
10 pt A claim for rulership of a kingdom.
Claim is...
-1 pt Currently held by a member of one’s own family, by blood or marriage.
-1 pt One which the character would not normally entitled to inherit (your char-
acter is a bastard, a daughter under male primogeniture, etc.)
-1 pt Currently contested by multiple valid claimants.
-1 pt Currently held by an individual or family of higher social class or vastly
superior resources to your own.

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 Traits

Patron
Like most explorers, artists, or swordsmen, your character is in the employ of a Patron
more powerful than themselves. The exact nature of the Patron and their arrangement
with the character is negotiated when the Patron is purchased, but in return for your
service, the Patron will generally see that your character is clothed, fed, and kept in
some form of lodging. In addition, the character will typically be granted some form
of stipend to cover their expenses.

Table 17 - Patron
Patron is...
1 pt 0 die. A monastery or similar. You recieve no stipend, but your basic needs
are provided for: humble food, shelter, and whatever attire is appropriate.
2 pt 1 die. Wealthy merchant or minor noble. You are kept in modest food and
drink, your equipment is maintained and functional. You likely sleep in a
common room in your Patron’s hall along with others in their service. Your
clothing or livery is commonplace, but satisfactory.
4 pt 2 die. Merchant magnate or noble house. You suffer no want for food or
wine. Your Patron eats well and you share some small portion of their
bounty. You have a dedicated living space, either in a communal barracks
or a small room on their estate to call your own. Your equipment is kept in
good working order, though you are supplied with nothing too extravagant
without specific cause. Your basic needs are provided for by other servants
in your Patron’s employ. Your clothing or livery is common, but kept in
excellent condition.
6 pt 3 die. Powerful noble house or royal court. You eat like a lord yourself,
with meals both plentiful and varied. Rewards are rich for those who serve
such a Patron. If you are anyone of importance, a room or solar has been
set aside for your living quarters or workspace. Little expense is spared,
and even the clothing prepared for your service is expensive finery so as to
better flaunt your Patron’s wealth and influence.

Most people do not have Patrons. They run their own business or work for someone
else. They have farms, perform labor, or have a trade they practice. Patrons tend to be
for people whose work does not result in a concrete product or whose type of work is
by nature unsteady.

This has some trade-offs. The economic benefits are covered in more detail on page
XX. The short version is that so long as your character lives within the means pro-
vided for them, they do not need to make maintenance rolls (pg XX). Whenever they

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Book II: Creation

need to purchase something outside of the room and board provided, they can tap in
their Patron’s die to represent a stipend and line of credit extended to them. On the
other hand, working for your Patron means that you don’t have time to work on your
own. You are either kept too busy or intentionally available, and thus cannot earn
additional Coin through profession rolls. Patrons also affect your downtime actions
(pg XX). Unless otherwise specified through play, your character can only perform a
half-action each week. They have other duties to attend to.

Finally, Patron is ultimately a fancy word for employer. Your character will be expected
to perform whatever duties for which they were taken into service and will continue
to serve at their Patron’s pleasure. Failing to live up to your end of the bargain or
running afoul of your Patron is a quick way to end up out on the street.

Reputation
Reputations are things for which your character might be known, whether good or
ill. Reputations can be tapped when they might be an influencing factor in a social
conflict, adding their dice to the pool as normal. On the other hand, if the character’s
Reputation would work against them in a situation, they may subtract dice from it.
Reputations only apply in the geographic regions or general arena specified. People
who have not heard of you will not be impressed by you. Similarly, some characters
may be entirely apathetic to your Reputation, depending on how it intersects with
their own interests and concerns.

A Reputation can be a burden in its own right. Once established, people naturally
expect someone to live up to their Reputation. Characters who repeatedly fail to do so
may find their Reputation being reduced or even twisted into some other less fortu-
nate sort of Reputation.
Table 18 - Reputation
Reputation is...
2 pt 1 die. A minor or local Reputation specific to a defined place or group, most
often on the level of one’s occupation or proclivities. Honest Merchant, Old
War Hero, Not to be Trifled With.
4 pt 2 die. Notable or regional in nature. Fame as the result of either a specific
impressive deed or a series of ongoing exploits. Famous Entertainer, Infamous
Pirate, Slayer of the Great Bear, The Undefeated Gaul.
7 pt 3 die. Major or national Reputation. You straddle the line between fame
and legend. Stories about your character are often embellished and even
turned into songs. Your character may well have a number of epithets or
bynames that celebrate or denounce them. The Lionheart, Blackhearted, The
84 Kinslayer, The Traitor, The Bastard Prince, Slayer of the Gribbly Geeblewock.
 Traits

Retainer
For whatever reason, your character has acquired a Retainer of unshakable personal
loyalty. As long as you treat them fairly, they will follow you without question even
into great personal danger. While they may have their own motivations and desires,
for all intents and purposes they are functionally side-kicks and henchmen of the PC
who purchased them, pursuing their own agendas strictly as a secondary consider-
ation. Likewise, while they may have means of their own, the PC is expected to see to
make sure their needs are seen to as though the PC were their Patron.

Retainers are effectively built like PCs and use the same priority chart. However, they
do have three major exceptions. First, the amount of priority points they have to spend
is based on how many trait points the player has invested in them. Second, no Retainer
can have a T5 in any category. Finally, the traits a Retainer can buy are limited. They
can only purchase Character Traits and Reputations. They may purchase an Affilia-
tion or Status, but only if the PC that purchased them is also in the same groups. Even
then, they cannot be of greater rank than the PC whom they serve.

Table 19 - Retainer
Retainer is...
5 pt 10 Priority Points
7 pt 12 Priority Points
9 pt 14 Priority Points

Retainers are an odd intersection between GM and player ownership, so responsibility

for them is a simple issue of group preference. Usually, this amounts to one of three
options:
• The GM maintains total control over the Retainer after its creation, treat-
ing them like any other NPC but with the caveat of its specified loyalties.
• The GM maintains control over all of the Retainer’s role-play and nar-
ration, but has the player handle the Retainer during combat situations.
• The player takes complete control over the Retainer, playing both their
own character and their Retainer as a secondary character.
There’s no wrong answer here. Do what your group is comfortable with. As long as
everyone is on the same page, it’s fine.

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Book II: Creation

Status
Your character holds a position recognized to be of importance to the community.
Most often, this takes the form of some kind of honor bestowed upon the character
or an office held by them. At its least expensive, Status simply grants you honorable
recognition and a position of ceremonial importance. At more expensive levels, Status
grants you authority within a given domain. This authority is to be both specific in
nature and limited in scope by the die value at which it was taken. Some judgment
will need to apply, but examples are given in each tier, below.
Table 20 - Status
Status is...
2 pt 0 die. A position of honor and importance, but with an extremely limited
scope of actual personal influence. Personal champion, herald, envoy or
messenger, ordained priest.
4 pt 1 die. A position of minor or local influence. A village chieftain, a local
reeve or captaincy in the town watch, a minor official within a regional
organization, such as a castellan or steward or a military officer with rank,
a curate or parish priest responsible for an individual church or congrega-
tion.
6 pt 2 die. A position of significant or regional influence. A mayoral office or
bishopry, an admiralship in the navy, an ambassadorship to a foreign coun-
try.
8 pt 3 die. A position of major or national influence. A provincial governorship,
a ducal title over other noble houses, marshal of the king’s army, royal
master of coin, archbishop or cardinal.

Status assumes that your character’s position exists somewhere on a chain of com-
mand. Your power is conditional. You’ve been given your position either by some
outside authority, or by the consent of those over whom your Status has authority. As
in real life, that authority rarely comes without some form of reciprocal obligation.
Whatever position your character has, they will be expected to see to the duties and
demands of that position. Abusing that authority, failing to live up to its obligations,
or making enemies of those from whom your authority is derived, are all good ways
to see yourself removed from power.

In addition to the narrative effects of the Status chosen, the trait can be tapped into
social conflicts when you are using the authority or influence of your Status as part of
your attempt to persuade. A major requirement to that end is that the character you
are trying to persuade is within the scope of the Status you’ve chosen. Taking a 1d

86
 Traits

minor or local Status to represent being a village Elder would represent a significant
influence within that local community, but would not at all impress someone from
outside that area. Status can also be tapped into a connections roll when the person
you are looking for is either directly connected to your Status, or when you are using
the resources of your position to help track someone down.

Special Traits
Special traits are mechanical abilities that step outside of the normal rules of the game
introducing their own mechanics as necessary. A few example traits are provided
here, but the primary purpose is to serve as a structure for GMs and players to add
traits specific to the setting, game, and characters as they see fit. Because of this, the
individual traits can be as mechanically simple or complex as the group is comfortable
with.

Before writing a new special trait, make sure it won’t fit neatly into any of the other
categories. Unless it requires some specific elaboration or mechanical detail, it’s prob-
ably just a Character Trait. When you do come across a good candidate, we recom-
mend a default cost at 5 points but the GM can adjust the numbers depending on the
impact the trait might have.

Frenzy (5 pts)
There are some men who can only cope with violence by giving into it wholly. Your
character is capable of working themselves into a terrifying frenzy. When in this al-
tered state of consciousness, they lose all fear and become resistant to pain, throwing
themselves headlong into battle without concern for life and limb.

While in a frenzy, all impact ratings are halved and any TN shifts from a wound are
counted as one step lower (reducing TN5 to TN4, for instance). They are less impaired
by their injuries, but things like broken or severed limbs will still apply and disable
the affected regions as normal. If a character receives an injury that should have killed
them outright, they can make an r2 Grit check. If they pass this check, they somehow
stagger on. At the end of each round in sequence, they must repeat the check again. If
they fail at any point, they succumb to their wounds and drop dead on the spot. Blood
loss is ignored while in frenzy.

While in this state, the character may only attack and must always attack the near-
est living opponent, even if they have yielded or are running away. If the character
declares any defensive maneuvers, they must be linked into an offensive maneuver.

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Book II: Creation

A frenzy isn’t something that can be activated at will during combat. It requires the
character to spend some time (10-30 minutes) inducing the state through breathing ex-
ercises, ritual, herbs, or just psyching themselves up to achieve the effect. However, if
the character has a trait that might interact with Frenzy (Blood Thirsty, Violent Temper,
etc.) or the character suffers significant emotional trauma (your character’s child is
murdered before your eyes), Frenzy is subject to temptation and the effects can apply
immediately.

After combat is over, the character takes on the full effects of any injuries they had
sustained and take an additional TN shift for their troubles representing how utterly
depleted they have become. This shift lasts until the end of the scene.

Huge (7 pts)
Your character is a giant among men. You aren’t just tall, you’re the kind of size that
makes the common folk whisper of supernatural parentage or curses in the womb.
You’re a full head higher than even tall men and twice as broad as most.

Huge counts as a Character Trait between 1d and 3d to be labeled how you will. It can
be tapped into any roll where your sheer size and mass would play into your favor,
such as pushing, pulling, or hauling things. It can also play into social conflicts where
your imposing size may be useful (for instance, intimidating through Coercion). Fi-
nally, it adds its dice to your Combat Pool when engaged in a Grapple.

That said, your size has some drawbacks as well. Tailors and armorers aren’t used to
working to fit someone that large. It will take them twice as long to make something
for you and will increase the req to purchase for any clothing, armor, or similar items
by the trait’s die value. If you took the trait at 3d, then it will be a +3r to purchase any
such item. Finding a horse strong enough to carry you is no easy task either. Any
mounts you purchase for yourself receive the same penalty to their cost to represent
the difficulty and expense in finding such an animal. This includes things purchased
at character creation. Finally, Huge follows the same rules as any other trait when it
would work against you, such as in trying to move unseen. Further your size may
make certain things (like blending into a crowd) outright impossible.

Illiterate (Free!)
Your character cannot read the written word. Illiteracy was common in most places
and for most of history. In many places, it was the default. If your character does not
begin the game with the Education skill at at least rank 1, you gain the Illiterate as
a 0d trait for free. Learning to read (and thus removing the feat) requires time spent
88
 Traits

specifically training towards this feet per the training rules (pg XX). The good news is
that these checks are earned automatically when your character puts in the time. You
do not spend drama to advance this trait. If you should hire a tutor or enroll in some
form of education, you double the rate and earn two checks per week. When you earn
9 marks towards advancing this trait, it is removed automatically.

Keen Sense (3 pts)

Your character has a preternaturally sharp sense such as vision, hearing, or smell.
Any ability checks made based on this sense are taken at an advantage. In addition,
the sense is sharp enough that you have a limited ability to go beyond the normal hu-
man limit, hearing sounds higher or lower than the human hearing range, picking up
scents too faint or distant for normal people to notice, or seeing a range-band further
or in lower light than is normally possible.

Factions and
Organizations
Affiliations, Patrons, and Status cover three different but closely related ideas. All
three involve the character having some kind of association with and responsibilities
to an entity outside of themselves. Each trait represents a slightly different dynamic
with the entity in question. At the most basic:
• Affiliations are groups to which the character belongs and in which they
have an influence.
• Patrons are employers who provide lodging and a source of income.
• Status represents personal authority in a given arena.
The three are presented as independent traits as there are many situations in which
a character may have only one of the three. On the other hand, it’s also not at all
uncommon for a character to have multiple traits that build towards the same fictional
position.
• An Affiliation grants membership in some kind of group, but to have a
position of significance within or leadership of said group you’d want
Status as well.
• Patron could make you a sworn sword in a noble’s employ, but if you want
being their personal champion to socially matter, you need to make that
into a Status.
89
Book II: Creation

• Status grants you a position of authority, but any income earned comes
through a profession roll as appropriate (pg XX.) If your position wouldn’t
be appropriate for a profession roll or you want it to come with a stipend,
you would take Patron.

Combining Traits
Whenever you want to combine multiple traits towards the same position, look at the
options you want to take from each. The most expensive trait becomes the primary
trait and is purchased at full cost. Every other trait taken towards building that posi-
tion becomes a supporting trait and is taken at half price. When calculating Affilia-
tion cost, use it’s total cost, before any division between players takes place.

Feel free to do a bit of squinting and fudging to make the narrative pieces fit together.
If you’ve taken a 2d Status to represent being the mayor of a city, you might also take
a Patron to represent that office coming with some form of lodging and a stipend. Be-
cause you’re combining traits, the fictional requirements of Patron can shift a little to
support your primary trait (Status). Rather than a wealthy individual supporting your
mayorship, your Patron trait could represent a salary approved by the city drawn from
its revenues. The obligation imposed by the Patron trait can be similarly redirected
towards the city itself.

There are a few guidelines to be observed when mixing traits in this fashion:
• To lead an organization, you must take a Status of at least equal die-value
to that Affiliation. To be the head of a 2d noble house, you must have at
least a 2d Status representing your title as the lord of that house.
• Buying a Status at a lower value than the Affiliation usually represents
holding an office of importance within a larger overall organization. For
instance, the leader of an individual cell within a larger resistance move-
ment or the heir apparent of a noble house.
• Buying an Affiliation at a lower value than the Status tends to represent
the opposite, having some private organization in your employ that exists
to support your Status. For instance, a local reeve having a gang of men
primarily loyal to him to act as his enforcers.

Multiples
In some instances, you may want to take multiple traits of the same type but with
different descriptions all applied towards the same entity. Your character may have a
3d noble house (Affiliation), of which you are the 3d Duke (Status), but it could well

90
 Traits

Crews and Henchmen

Taking an Affiliation of equal or lesser die value to your Status is a good way to
represent having some kind of gang, crew, or other supporting faction beneath
you. A Status taken alone might grant you access to supporting staff (for instance,
a captain in the royal navy having a ship and crew) but those people and re-
sources are never truly yours. They ultimately answer to the same outside source
that granted you the authority your Status bears. Their loyalty is primarily to the
structure, not to you. When you take an Affiliation to support your Status, it in-
stead establishes a group that is primarily loyal to you personally and over whom
you have far greater autonomy than you might within the Status granted to you.

be that the duke of that house is traditionally also Guardian of the North which is
itself a 3d Status technically independent of being Duke. So long as the things are
all fictionally tied together, continue adding them up as normal. Take all of the traits
(Affiliation, Patron, Status) that are connected, pay the full cost of the most expensive,
and then everything else at half-price. You can have as many Statuses and Affiliations
connected as can be justified in the fiction, but an exception applies for Patrons. You
can only ever have one Patron trait. No one can serve two masters.

Tapping Combined Traits

Combing traits in this way technically gets you a lot of bang for your buck. You
strengthen your fictional position and expand its capabilities and do so at a discount.
Meanwhile, the obligations of each trait tend to overlap rather than stack and so don’t
significantly increase the burden on your character. However, there is one major
drawback: combining traits in this way links them all together as one singular fic-
tional entity. In doing so, that entity follows the same logic as a derived attribute when
it comes to tapping.

Whenever you would tap in any one die value from your combined traits, the others
are off-limits. The above Guardian of the North has two different 3d Statuses and a 3d
faction. On a given roll they could tap in either of the Statuses or the Affiliation, but
only one will ever apply (for a total of 3d in this case). Because you’ve declared these
to be part of the same entity, you can’t double-dip and tap it in twice from different
angles.

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Book II: Creation

Unaffiliated Affiliations
Not every Status or Affiliation a character has is necessarily connected. You could
very easily be an Anointed Knight (0d Status) who has tragically lowered himself into
working as knee-breaker for a shady merchant (1d Patron) all the while himself a
member of a secret cult (2d Affiliation) with plans to take over the city. None of these
are fictionally connected with one another and thus all three are discrete entities.
You’d buy all three traits at full price, but then you could also tap multiple things into
the same roll under the circumstance where more than one would apply.

Affiliations With Status

Sometimes the line between Status and Affiliation is blurry, usually where member-
ship in an organization would itself confer some form of Status, such as the Kings-
guard or Inquisition. In these cases, you can combine the two with a similar method
to the above.

Choose the appropriate levels of Affiliation and Status, with the former focusing more
on the actual manpower and resources of the organization and the latter focusing on
the authority bestowed upon it. Choose the higher of the two for the final die value of
the resulting Affiliation. For cost, take the full cost of the most expensive of the two
and add half the cost of the other. The total is the cost of the resulting Affiliation for
the purposes of dividing the cost between players, or when establishing a primary
trait for combining traits as above.

92
 Traits

Gaining New Traits

Your character can gain new traits over the course of play. Sometimes, these will be
imposed by the mechanics of the game itself. Connections rolls add new NPCs as
contacts for your character. A particularly high roll can grant you Bond dice with
them as well. Wounds and illnesses can be so severe as to result in permanent injury,
and invoking Not Quite Dead Yet guarantees a new trait to reflect the experience.

On other occasions, the GM may grant or alter traits based on events during the cam-
paign. A particularly heroic, impressive, or vile deed may result in gaining a Reputation
or altering an existing Reputation. Gaining influence with an organization or earning
some sort of honors may result in gaining a new Affiliation or Status. Existing NPCs
may become contacts as the PCs make allies of them. Sharing dramatic moments or
doing significant favors may even forge deeper connections with said NPCs, granting
or improving Bond dice with them. Under extraordinary circumstances, events in the
campaign might even award you with a new Claim or Retainer.

You can also be proactive in developing new traits. The most obvious move is to push
your character into circumstances that could lead towards one of the above, particu-
larly when the trait could be presented as an in-character goal. Writing a drive about
earning a place in the King’s Musketeers not only sends a clear message to the GM
about what you’re interested in pursing, it can earn you drama in the process.

More abstract traits can be pursued as well. At the end of every major arc (usually 3-15
sessions), it’s worth taking some time as a group to review and discuss the campaign
being played. During this review, players can nominate each other (and even them-
selves) for a new Character Trait. These should be based on the way the character in
question has been played up to that point and reflect changes in their personality, new
quirks, and so on. If everyone at the table agrees (including the person who plays that
character), the player can take the new trait at 0d.

Alternatively, if someone has a 0d Character Trait that is not being used (for instance,
someone took 0d Miser but has in practice turned out to be quite generous with their
funds) then by unanimous vote the trait can be dropped. This latter can only be done
if the trait has no physical component to overcome. Someone with a 0d One-Eyed
trait will retain their cyclopean countenance until such a time that some spectacular
circumstance should allow them to regrow or replace the missing eye. Even then, it
would be the fictional event that removed the trait rather than being subject to a vote.
Only 0d Character Traits can be removed in this fashion. Higher die-value traits must
be reduced through advancement first, then voted on their removal.

Each arc, a character may gain one trait, lose one trait, or both, but only one of each.

93
Book III:
Avarice
 Wealth

Your character’s financial resources are represented in two categories:

Assets represent your character’s savings, but also your general ability to beg, bor-
row, finagle, or otherwise finance your purchases. It reflects your financial station in
life and your ability to acquire credit. Assets are much harder to increase than Coin,
but represent a more durable form of wealth that can be repeatedly utilized over
time. In practice, Assets are treated like an attribute with a range of 0-10. Wealth
beyond that scale requires a faction (COMING SOON!) to manage.

Coin represents your character’s cash on hand, whether this refers to literal hard
currency or goods that can be quickly converted to the same (jewels, precious met-
als, high-value trade commodities like spices or silks). Coin is easier to come by, but
all too fleeting. Once you spend it, it’s gone.

Wealth Checks
A wealth check is made whenever you need to make a significant or unusual pur-
chase outside of your character’s normal lifestyle expenses (See Maintenance, pg
XX). Wealth checks are simple conflicts that use your Assets rank for the base pool.
The pool is rolled at FTN3 and against a req based on the value of the goods or
services being purchased. The more expensive the thing, the higher the req. Coin
has the unique function of allowing you to lower the req in question. For Coin spent
on a wealth check, you reduce the req by one. If enough Coin is spent to reduce the
req to 0, then no roll is needed. The thing is purchased in cash.

Prices are given in more detail at the end of the chapter and in the chapters follow-
ing, but the following table can be used as a guideline.
Book III: Avarice

Table 23 - Example Wealth Reqs

Req Description
r1 Trivial. A bedroll, a flint and steel, a guide around the city for a day, hav-
ing a letter read, an ink and quill, a night’s stay in the common room of an
inn, a pet cat, a pocket knife, torches, a week’s worth of hard rations.
r2 Mundane. 50 feet of sturdy rope, a blank book, a cheap axe or sword, a set
of common clothing, a crowbar, a gambeson, a hunting dog, minor surgery,
a set of woodcut playing cards, a small musical instrument (pipes, drum).
r3 Significant. A basic toolkit for a skill or trade, beacon lantern, a set of fine
clothing, full kit of traveling supplies, a glass eye, a trained guard dog,
hiring a lawyer for a day, undergoing major surgery, a simple pot helm, a
single head of cattle.
r4 Premium. A brigandine, a donkey or mule, fine weapons, large or com-
plex musical instrument (cello, hurdy gurdy), a magnifying glass, map,
munitions-grade bascinet, pavilion tent, polished silver mirror.
r5 Expensive. 50 feet of silk rope, a draft horse, an illuminated manuscript,
exotic spices, maille hauberk or munitions breastplate, a set of opulent
clothing, a simple cottage, a workshop for a skill or trade.

Losing Wealth
Though more durable than Coin, Assets are not immutable. As you use them, they can
be lost. Compare the req of the item being purchased to your Assets, before any Coin
is spent.

If the original req is equal to or under your current Assets rank:

• On a success, you get what you were trying to purchase.
• On a failure, you get what you were trying to purchase but your Assets
aren’t quite what you thought they were. Decrease your Assets by 1.
If the original req is over your current Assets:
• On a success, you get the thing, but it costs you. Decrease your Assets by 1.
• On a failure, the thing is simply beyond your means. You may recover
whatever Coin you would have spent on the attempt.

96
 Wealth

Increasing and
Converting Wealth
Asset loss is permanent. Once reduced. the only way to increase one’s Assets is
through judicious use of Coin. Raising your Assets costs a number of Coin equal to
the next level you need to raise it. Thus, raising your Assets from 2 to 3 would cost 3
Coin. The exception to this is raising from 0 to 1, which costs 2 Coin. Getting from 0
to 3 would cost 2 Coin to get to 1, 2 Coin to get to 2, and then 3 Coin to get to 3, for a
total of 7 Coin.
Table 24 - Raising Assets by Coin
Assets can also be pressed for Coin. Raise Coin Total
Producing Coin from your Assets is a
Assets to Required Spent
normal wealth check, with a req equal to
the amount of Coin that you’re trying to 1 2 2
withdraw (pressing 3 Coin is an r3 task). 2 2 4
The maximum amount of Coin you can
withdraw is equal to your present Asset 3 3 7
rank. 4 4 11
5 5 16
Withdrawing Coin doesn’t come without
some cost. Freeing up cash puts a strain 6 6 22
on your Assets. If you succeed, you tem- 7 7 29
porarily decrease your Assets by 1 until
your next maintenance cycle (below). If 8 8 37
you fail, you decrease your Assets by 1 9 9 46
permanently. This effect is cumulative
10 10 56
and applies each time you attempt to
press your Assets.

Maintenance
We make no attempt at counting coppers. Most of a character’s day-to-day purchases
are nowhere near interesting enough to spend screen time on and very few players
have any desire to keep track of their character’s grocery bill. All of this is instead
rolled into the maintenance cycle, which abstracts all of the character’s mundane
expenses over a given period into a single roll.

The length of the maintenance cycle depends on the kind of campaign being played.
Maintenance is assumed to be on a monthly cycle by default. This pace is well-suited
to urban campaigns. If the setting is more rural in nature, or the players are largely

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Book III: Avarice

nobles with lands to manage, a more seasonal cycle might be appropriate. This is
also useful for any setting where the PCs will have a great deal of downtime. Some
campaigns will even benefit from yearly maintenance cycles, particularly those where
play focuses on families or houses over time, or for generational play.

Maintenance Rolls
At the end of each cycle, you make a maintenance roll. This is a wealth check with a
req based on the lifestyle your character has led during the period covered. By default,
it can be assumed to be on par with their social class (see table XX), but if your charac-
ter has been particularly lavish or particularly frugal with their expenses it may get a
+/-1r as appropriate. Likewise, if your character is maintaining a family or household
at their level, that’s another +1r.
Table 25 - Example Maintenance Reqs
Req Description
r1 Wretched and destitute. You are a beggar or a day-laborer, with no home
or possessions to speak of. Hunger is a constant companion, along with the
ailments that come from borderline malnutrition.
r2 Poor. You are the working poor, paying upkeep on a hovel in the country or
a small apartment in the city. Your meals are humble, but plentiful enough
to keep you going. Alternatively, this is the upkeep for a single person with-
out property, living entirely on the road and sleeping beneath an open sky.
r3 Comfortable. You practice a skilled trade and live a relatively comfortable
lifestyle. Upkeep on a cottage in the country or a row house in the city, the
costs associated with a “cottage industry” (sewing, weaving). You eat well
enough, and even have access to meat on occasion. Alternatively, this is
the upkeep for a single person and their horse living entirely on the road,
sleeping at inns and stopping in markets to resupply.
r4 Affluent. You practice a learned trade or own your own business. Upkeep
on a large home or a modest hall, the costs associated with a craftsman’s
workshop (a smithy, tannery, and so on). Your diet is both relatively diverse
and fairly abundant.
r5 Extravagant. You are either nobility or a wealthy merchant. Upkeep on
a manor home or large hall, costs associated with large industrial build-
ings (brewery, warehouses) or luxury businesses (jewelry, tailor in luxury
goods). If you aren’t a noble, you certainly eat like one. You can even sup-
port a few servants.

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The results of a maintenance roll follow the normal rules for wealth checks. As long
as your result would indicate that you could afford your purchase (regardless of any
effect on your Assets), you are considered to succeed on your maintenance check. If
you worked during this time, an MoS3+ may even mean you earned Coin in return
(see Profession Rolls, below).

If for whatever reason your character is unable to meet their maintenance costs,
things get more complicated. The character has been living beyond their means and
something has to give. Their appearance is a bit shabbier, their clothing is growing
visually worn, threadbare, and out of fashion. Their food stores are running low, or
the quality of their meals takes a significant hit. If you own property, it begins to show
its neglect. If you rent or lease, your landlord is displeased. Your equipment falls into
disrepair and risks breaking down or falling apart. If you have people in your employ,
they begin to look for other work. People begin to talk. In short, the GM should feel
free to make things relatively miserable for your character and introduce a complica-
tion accordingly.

If your character goes two or more cycles without paying their maintenance costs,
the effects become more drastic. Creditors come calling, taxes pile up, property breaks
down or is repossessed. Renters and leasers are evicted. Poor living conditions begin
to take a toll on your character’s health or on the health of those remaining members
of their household. The pressure is on, act accordingly.

Profession Rolls
Characters who have spent time working over the period covered by the maintenance
cycle can attempt to make a profession roll in order to get bonus dice towards their
maintenance. This is treated as a cascading roll (pg XX) starting with an ability check
and chaining into the maintenance roll as described above.

The ability in question can vary from character to character. For most, this will be a
Trade of some variety. Physicians, lawyers, thieves, and other more specialized char-
acters may use whatever other skill best fits their profession. If your character has no
marketable skills, they can still attempt to do unskilled labor by using Grit.

The req for the ability check is based on how much time the character spent working
comparable to the period:
• On a monthly maintenance cycle start at r5 and then apply -1r for each
full downtime action spent on work.
• On a seasonal maintenance cycle, start at r5 as above, but with -1r for
every three downtime actions spent on work.

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Book III: Avarice

• On any other cycle, or if time gets messy, just go with the idea that if you
worked the full time, it’s r1. Most of the time of the time, r2. Half the time,
r3. A quarter, r4. If you worked less than that, r5.
• If you are in recovery during this time, the half-action rules apply. At
best, every two weeks will earn you one recovery roll and credit for one
downtime action towards work. The same would apply if you were choos-
ing to both train and work.
• If the character has a Patron, chose not to work, or was incapable of work-
ing during this period, no roll is required but an MoS on the maintenance
roll yields no profits.
On any sort of success, use the normal cascade rules. If you work for someone else, a
failure here doesn’t carry a penalty on to your maintenance pool but (at the GM’s op-
tion) it may introduce some kind of complication related to your trade or employer. If
you work for yourself, then a failure here indicates that you’re actually losing money
at your business and the penalty carries on as normal. If your work is violent or illegal
in nature, a failure may introduce an additional complication as well.

Getting Paid
If you worked over the course of the period and roll an extraordinary success or better
on your maintenance roll, you have not only met your expenses, you’ve earned a little
something extra in the process. On an MoS3+, you gain pay in Coin based on the type
of profession you practice as per the following table. On an MoS5+, you gain twice the
listed amount.
Table 26 - Payout by Occupation
Pay Occupation type
1 Unskilled labor. Dock workers, field hands, grave diggers, tavern wenches.
2 Skilled trades. Farmers, foresters, fishermen, sailors, soldiers, trappers.
Anyone still learning their trade or in the employ of someone else.
3 Learned trades. Lawyers, merchants, physicians, military or naval offi-
cers of rank, tradesperson who own their own shops. Anyone who owns
a business, holds an important office or rank within a large organization,
or works independently at a trade requiring considerable education and
training.

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Deadbeat Nobles

At first blush, it might seem that noble characters get the worst of these rules.
Their maintenance costs are higher to begin with, and if you’re truly noble, you
don’t have any actual profession. This is entirely by design. As a noble your wealth
comes from the lands you own or the Patron you serve. Go climb that social ladder!

If worst comes to the worst and your noble should so lower themselves to the
indignity of employment, feel free to make use of the work actions and profession
rolls like everyone else. We won’t judge you. (We are judging you.)

Skills in Wealth
Checks
Wealth checks generally don’t allow substitutions to be made. If you want to make a
roll, you need an Assets of at least 1 to roll with (though as before, with enough Coin
no roll is required). Assuming you have at least one die to work with, certain skills can
be tapped into the check depending on the circumstance.
• Mercantile includes a solid grasp of economics and can be tapped on any
wealth check to purchase goods or services.
• Stewardship fulfills a similar roll where household management is con-
cerned and may be tapped on any maintenance check or any attempt to
press Assets into Coin.
• Survival can be tapped into maintenance rolls for characters who pri-
marily live off the land, as can certain trades like Hunter, Fisherman, or
Farmer.
• Streetwise can be tapped into maintenance rolls for characters who are
scrounging in more urban settings, digging for discarded goods and us-
able refuse.

Help
Characters can attempt to help one another on wealth checks the way they can on
other kinds of ability check, using the tap value of their Assets. Doing so is not with-
out risk, however. If the results of the lead character’s wealth roll would indicate that
Assets are reduced, the helper’s Assets take the same reduction.

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Book III: Avarice

Mercantile and Stewardship can help in the same ways as listed above. However, in
either case the helping character will have to invest some time in the act. For a one-off
purchase, this may involve spending an afternoon talking to merchants and haggling.
For a maintenance roll, this would require actively playing steward and financial
manager for the other character – no small task. Survival, Streetwise, and so on can be
used to help other characters maintenance rolls, but only if the helping character has
succeeded on a profession roll with the skill in question. Foraging on a scale sufficient
to provide for multiple people is a full-time job.

Coin can also be freely exchanged between characters, representing a less-risky means
of financing one’s companions.

Patronage
The Patron trait represents a financial benefactor who is willing to support your char-
acter in exchange for certain rights to their time and services. In practice, this affects
wealth and maintenance in three ways:

First, any time you are making a wealth check to purchase a good or service, you can
tap your Patron’s die value into the roll. Because the Patron represents an independent
stipend, you can even do this if you have 0 Assets of your own. If you also have
Mercantile, you can tap this in as well.

Second, Patrons are assumed to pay for your basic living expenses as per the level of
patronage taken. As long as you are living within your Patron’s means and beneath
their roof, you do not need to make a maintenance roll at all. It is assumed that you
are being provided for. If you do need to make a maintenance roll of your own due to
properties owned or having rents not covered by your Patron, then you may tap your
Patron’s die value into the maintenance roll.

Third, having a Patron takes up a significant portion of your time. Either they have
kept you busy, or they have kept you deliberately available. You are limited to a half-
action per week of downtime. If you are injured, recovery is your half-action each
week. In addition, many Patrons will take a dim view of you moonlighting on the side,
preventing you from working even on your half-action available. As a consequence,
the Patron trait also bars you from making profession rolls or claiming profits on an
extraordinary successful maintenance roll.

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 Wealth

Wealth Minutiae
Bribes
Assets can’t be directly tapped into social conflicts (pg XX), but you can use your
wealth in the form of bribes. The minimum req to meaningfully bribe someone under
most circumstances is equal to the priority tier of their social class. For example, a serf
would be r1 and a lesser noble r4. This can be paid in Coin directly, or made as a wealth
check. If met, it’s treated as a 1d tool in the accompanying social conflict. If the amount
of the bribe is doubled, 2d. If the amount is tripled, 3d. If the bribe is not ultimately
accepted, any coin spent are not lost.

Wealth can also be used to influence connections rolls (pg XX). Any Coin spent add
dice as tools towards the connection roll, to a maximum of +3d. These Coin are spent
regardless of the outcome of the roll.

Funds
Funds represent large sums of wealth that are finite in nature, but too great to be
quickly liqudated. Funds are treated like a separate pool of Assets can be used by
anyone who has legitimate access to them.

Any time a character with access to a Fund needs to make a wealth roll, they can
choose whether to use their Assets or the Fund as their primary pool. They can then
choose to tap in the value of the other as though it were an attribute. Make the roll as
normal.

When calculating the result, use the higher of either the Assets or the Fund to com-
pare the req of the item purchased. Regardless, if the results call for a loss, that loss
applies to whichever of the two formed the primary pool.

After a particularly successful score, Jaff has acquired a 3d fund. Not a bad
haul, all told. Unfortunately, Jaff has expenses. He lost his prized pistol and is
going to have to replace it at an r4 cost. It was a nice pistol.

He has Assets 5 and a 3d fund. He could roll his Assets directly, but he doesn’t
like his odds of getting 4 successes on 5 dice. So instead he chooses to make the
fund his primary, giving it a 3d pool. He can then tap in his Assets, granting
+1d on the roll, bringing it to 4d. He rolls, getting 3 hits.

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Book III: Avarice

He failed the roll, but he uses the higher of his Assets and Fund when deter-
mining the outcome. As his Assets 5 is higher than an r4, thus failure means
that he succeeded in the purchase but with a reduction to his Assets. Because
he was using the Fund for the base of the pool, the Fund is what eats the loss,
reducing it to 2d.

The creation of a new fund requires a Stewardship check with a req equal to the size
of the fund being created along with an investment in coin equal to what it would cost
to raise an Asset to that amount from scratch. Funds require a minimum of 3d to form,
and thus an investment of at least 7 coin.

Haggling
Characters can attempt to haggle when making purchases. Haggling is treated like
any other social conflict, with the parties involved taking part in an ability contest of
some description. The most obvious choice for this is Negotiation, but less scrupulous
sorts might attempt other social skills instead. Mercantile can be tapped into this roll,
as well as any other skills or traits that might situationally apply. On a success, the req
is reduced by -1r to a minimum of r1. On a failure, it remains the same. On an MoF3+,
you’ve been swindled and the req goes up by +1r.

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 Wealth

Second-Hand Goods
Second-hand goods are not a particularly lucrative affair. People tend to be hesitant to
hand over good money for items of dubious origin. You can never know when some-
thing is worn out or potentially stolen. Even if you can find a merchant who will agree
to buy your goods, it is usually at a steep discount.
• Merchants may buy your item for a number of Coin based on it’s req.
This uses the same pattern as determining the tap value for an ability. An
r4 item starts at 1 Coin. An r7 starts at 2. An r10, 3 Coin. You can accept
this price or choose to haggle. If you haggle, use the rules above. If you
win, you can increase your price by the MoS up to half the item’s req in
Coin. An r4 item would have a maximum price of 2 Coin. R6, 3 Coin. R10,
5 Coin. Items larger than r10 aren’t sold to general merchants. If you tie,
the price remains the same. On a failure, the merchant is insulted by your
offer and reduces the price by 1 Coin. If you refuse to accept this new
price or the end-price is 0 Coin, then the deal is off.
• Pawnbrokers follow a similar pattern, but with a twist. The same rules
as above determine the maximum price you can get out of an item, but
they will hold it for an agreed upon amount of time (2 weeks, a month,
a season). If you can pay back the amount in Coin (increased by +1r, for
their trouble) within the specified amount of time, you can have the item
back.
• Fences are the only people who will deal with obviously stolen or illegal
goods. They follow the same rules for merchants, but the fence is consid-
ered advantaged by default. You need their service more than they need
your goods. In addition, haggling with a fence carries other risks. Like
any illicit or illegal activity, a failed roll can create interesting complica-
tions.
• Bartering is somewhat more rewarding, though it rarely results in actual
Coin. If you happen to have something someone is interested in trading
for, they will generally trade you or provide a service of the same value.
Bartering is more useful for people of lower station. Wealthy merchants
and tradespeople tend to prefer working in Coin, to say nothing of the
nobility.

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Buying Stuff
The next few pages break down a variety of goods and services into categories. As
always, the listed examples are meant to be guidelines rather than hard rules. If you
can’t find something you need, feel free to estimate the cost based on similar items or
services. Note that weapons and armor are missing from this list. They have their own
rules in the chapters following.

Multiples and
Shopping lists
Most prices are given for a single unit or instance of an item or service, but if you need
to work out multiples, this can be handled easily enough. Some charts already have
multiples baked in. If so, use the highest applicable listed value as your starting place.

The difference between prices tend to be more exponential than linear. Each req is
worth about twice what the previous req was worth. For multiples of the same item,
increase the existing req by +1r for the second item. If you want 3-4 of that item,
increase the base value by +2r. 5-8, +3r. Continue on as needed.

If you’re buying a bunch of different items at once, the process is similar. List every-
thing from most expensive to least expensive. The most expensive item is your base
cost. If the next most expensive item is at least half that req, increase the cost by +1r.
For the next and all subsequent items, compare the cost of that item to the current total
req. If it’s at least half of that value, increase by another +1r. If any item thereafter is
under half of the current total req, ignore it and all the subsequent items. They don’t
increase the expense enough to worry about.

Don’t Sweat the Costs

The above gives you a way to be more consistent when purchasing multiple items,
but it isn’t strictly necessary. Unless the system is being abused, don’t worry too
much about it. If a whole mess of stuff is being purchased, work out the most
expensive few items and ignore the rest. There are more interesting ways to spend
your gaming time.

If you absolutely insist on calculating something in the most thorough and consis-
tent manner, you can use Resource chart on pg XX in reverse to add up the total
real value of the various items and then translate that into a req. Please, don’t
pause mid-session to do this.

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Animals
Various animals useful and domestic. The cost of an animal can be assumed to come
with the accoutrements typical to their role. Companion animals might have a simple
collar. Riding animals can be assumed to include saddle and other tack. Any pack
animal can be assumed to include the sort of saddle bags or harness as appropriate to
their role.

At character creation, resource points spent on animals count towards your total for
the purpose of determing your character’s starting Assets.

Table 27 - Example Animal Reqs

Req Animal
r1 Domestic cat, a dog (mutt), a single live fowl (chicken, goose)*, a common
serpent.
r2 Hunting dog or blood hound, wolf cub, a single head of medium livestock
(goat, pig, sheep)*.
r3 Song birds or other novelty avian pets, a trained guard dog, a single head
of large livestock (cows, oxen)*, bear cub.
r4 Ass, mule, or old workhorse, bull (or other large livestock stud)
r5 Draft horse (rouncy, dray), exotic or specially trained bird, exotic serpents,
trained wolf
r7 Riding horse (palfrey, courser), trained bear
r9 War horse (destrier), Other exotic animals (big cats, other foreign imported
animals)

Livestock*

Livestock tend to be cheaper in bulk. The base cost listed is one animal. For +1r, you
can get up to a half-dozen. +2r, a dozen. +3r, two-dozen. +4r, 4 dozen. Just make sure
you have sufficient space to keep them.

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Clothing
Tragically, most cultures take a dim view of public nudity. The following grants a
baseline for clothing by level of quality and expense. A given req covers a complete
outfit of whatever variety. Alternatively, it covers a piece of jewelry as listed. Clothing
can also be bought in bulk, if one has the means. For +1r, you can have 2-3 pair of the
sort indicated. For +2r, you can be assumed to purchase an entire wardrobe of the
appropriate type, along with a few pieces of jewelry.

During character creation, resource points spent on clothing count towards your total
for the purposes of determining your character’s starting Assets.
Table 28 - Example Clothing Reqs
Req Clothing
r1 Poor clothing, little better than sackcloth rags fit only for urchins and beg-
gars. Jewelry made from wood, leather, bone, base metals or other inexpen-
sive materials.
r2 Common clothing. Decent, sturdy clothing fit for work or travel. Also in-
cludes most uniforms or livery. Jewelry of silver and semi-precious stones.
r3 Expensive finery made from costly fabrics and painstakingly tailored in
the latest fashions, fit for court or important ceremonies. Also includes
ceremonial garb of important priests or the like. Simple gold jewelry.
r5 Opulent clothing fit for the most wealthy and powerful, made with only the
finest and most luxurious materials and accented with precious metals and
stones. Hefty gold jewelry, or fine gold jewelry with precious stones.
r7 Gaudy and elaborate gold jewelry, weighty and bedecked in precious stones.

Personal Equipment
Personal equipment comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. This is easily the largest
single category of goods and yet the list presented is still nowhere near exhaustive.
Don’t let the options here limit you. If you need something that isn’t on the list, feel
free to guesstimate the cost.

One thing to keep in mind is that all personal equipment is in some way significant.
You don’t need to worry about tracking the wooden plates in your apartment. This is
the stuff your character uses to get the job done, whatever that job may be. For items
that are cheap and disposable (candles, ink and quill) you can generally assume that
buying the thing once means that you have a supply of them, rather than referring to
a single instance of the item. The only time you would need to track a quantity is if
you were traveling with limited resources.

Some items on the list require a little more explanation, and are listed as follows:
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 Wealth

Table 29 - Example Personal Equipment Reqs

Req Personal Equipment
r1 Trivial. Bags or pouches, bed roll, candles, chalk, charcoal, empty glass
bottles, flint and steel, ink and quill, iron spikes, lock, a small wooden chest,
a set of dice, a stack of parchment or blank scrolls, tinderbox, torches, whet-
stone, wineskin or waterskin. Anything cheap and practically disposable.
r2 Mundane. 50 feet of sturdy rope, blank book, or yard of blank canvas,
crowbar, flask of oil, lantern, large wooden chest, manacles, polished steel
mirror, set of woodcut playing cards, simple board game (draughts, check-
ers, tafl, merrils, nine men’s morris), small or cheap musical instrument
(pips, drum), stakes and a mallet, wooden chest. Anything inexpensive, but
worth note when you have to replace it.
r3 Significant. Basic generic toolkit for a skill or trade, beacon lantern, ex-
pensive or elaborate board game (chess, backgammon, tables, ur), full kit
of traveling supplies, harness for a horse, hourglass, iron strongbox, man-
sized tent, most musical instruments (lute, lyre, violin), press-printed book,
five yards of sturdy chain, anything significant enough that you don’t often
have to replace it.
r4 Premium. Large or complex musical instrument (cello, hurdygurdy),
magnifying glass, map, pavilion tent, polished silver mirror, set of hand-
painted playing cards. Gear that not everyone can afford and is usually a
one-time purchase.
r5 Expensive. 50 feet of silk rope, an illuminated manuscript, exotic herbs or
spices, huge or elaborate musical instrument (organ, harpsichord), sextant,
workshop for a skill or trade.
r7+ Rare, delicate, industrial. Alchemical or astrological equipment, ships
compass, spyglass, printing press, water clock, any piece of gear or machin-
ery relying on incredible complexity in its construction and upkeep.

Locks

Locks come in a wide variety of configurations and complexities. Generally speaking,

the req to purchase a lock is equal to its difficulty to overcome with a Larceny check.
Reqs 1-2 are common but only a deterrent to crimes of opportunity. Anything truly
valuable will be behind a lock of r3 or more.

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Tools
A basic toolkit (r3) refers to the basic tools required for a single non-social skill. The
nature of the toolkit must be defined by both the skill and the physical items. A Dis-
guise toolkit might be a robust makeup kit. A Larceny toolkit might consist of lock
picks, a glass cutter, and so on. A Medicine toolkit might involve first aid supplies,
bandages, and basic surgical tools. A Lore toolkit might be a book on the subject.
Alternatively, a kit can be purchased for a single purpose not covered by a skill (for
instance, a climbing kit).

The basic toolkit provides no direct mechanical benefit. It simply allows you to per-
form tasks that require tools. Any toolkit (including items that would act like tools,
such as a musical instrument) can be made of superior quality for +2r. Superior tools
grant a +1d bonus to their associated roll.

Tools purchased count towards a character’s total for the purposes of calculating As-
sets during character creation.

Traveling Gear
A backpack full of general necessities for the road. This is largely up to the player, but
consists of any r1 or r2 items you’d need for general travel. Flint and steel, a bedroll,
candles, a warm or rain-resistant cloak and hood, or cap and jacket, a length of rope,
as as well as a sturdy backpack to put it all in or lash it all to.

Workshop
A workshop for a single non-social skill. The nature of the workshop depends on the
skill involved. For Education, this may represent a small personal library. For a trade, a
collection of tools, jigs, and simple machines required. For Medicine, this could repre-
sent everything from a collection of tools to a supply of common medicines and a few
medical texts. Regardless of the nature of said workshop, it will require a dedicated
space that must be purchased or rented as property. Once
set up, a workshop is functionally immobile. Assembling or Table 30 - Workshop
disassembling it takes at least a day. Costs
Req Workshop
When you attempt a skill in an appropriate workshop, you
gain its die value as a tool bonus to the roll. The die value r5 1d
of the workshop is dependent on its cost. More expensive r6 2d
workshops are naturally better furnished and more elabo-
r7 3d
rate, having additional tools and resources available. Where
a 1d workshop might represent a handful of books on the
subject, a 2d workshop might represent a dozen and a 3d might fill a room.

Worshops purchased count towards a character’s total for the purposes of calculating
starting Assets during character creation.
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 Wealth

Property
Home, sweet home. Each listed property is assumed include in its price an appropriate
allocation of land. In a rural setting, a home will either be part of a village or other-
wise be assumed to come with enough land for the family to sustain itself. The larger
the structure, the more land can be assumed to accompany it.
Property as a category is unique in two important ways. First, during character
creation, players can split the cost of a property between them provided said charac-
ters actually both reside at said property at the beginning of the campaign. Use the
individual contributions when determining the character’s totall for the purposes of
calculating starting assets at character creation.

Table 31 - Example Property Reqs

Req Property
r3 A makeshift shack, shelter, or lean-to.
r4 A small hovel or shack. A barn or other simple structure.
r5 Simple cottage, a “cottage industry” like a weaver, or other small structures.
r6 Modest home or row house. A small shop with an apartment above for its
owner. A small wooden chapel.
r7 Large home or modest hall. A craftsman’s home or other structure with
multiple bays for storefront, workshop and so on. A tavern or small wooden
church.
r8 Manor home or large hall. Large industrial building, such as a warehouse
or brewery. A small Inn or tenant building. A large wooden church.
r9 Fortified manor home or small stone fortification, such as a tower. A large
wooden fort. A small stone chapel. A business requiring multiple large
structures, such as a dockyard or requiring extensive and expensive indus-
trial tools, such as a foundry. A large hotel.
r12 A large series of wooden structures and the accompanying lands, such as
a wooden castle and its attendant facilities or a modest monastery. A small
villa or estate. A small stone church.
r15 A medium stone fortification, such as a keep. A large stone church or mon-
astery. A large villa or estate.
r18 A large stone fortification, such as a small castle. A large monastery or
university. A large church.
r30 A huge and impressive work of stone, such as a large castle, cathedral, or
expansive university.

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Second, property is unique in its ability to increase your Assets even after character
creation. If during play you should purchase or be granted a property equal to or
greater than twice your current Assets, increase your Assets by 1. Keep in in mind
that such an increase in owned property is generally accompanied by a higher req
when maintenance comes due.

Bolt-Holes and Hideouts

Sometimes you need a quiet place to get away. Any property listed above can be taken
as a bolt-hole or hideout, establishing that the place is either well-hidden, its location
is unknown to the general populace, or it has long since been forgotten. Such a loca-
tion has a number of advantages, but these come at a cost. Choose one of the following:
• Squatting. You are somewhere you aren’t supposed to be. This could be
a warehouse whose owner has long since stopped checking in on it, or it
could be a theoretically “public” location that people aren’t aware of, such
as setting up an ersatz guild hall in catacombs beneath the city. In either
case, if the location is found someone will be displeased about it and likely
try to drive you out.
• Ruined. Similar to the above, but the proper owner is either unknown
or has long since abandoned the place. This could be anything from the
ruins of an old castle or monastery to a partially collapsed home in a
now-abandoned village. You can lurk here without too much worry, but
be careful not to attract too much attention. If the place is restored in
some obvious fashion, it will almost certainly attract claimants to the
property.
• Built in secret. Ignore either of the above. The good news is that you
have a valid claim to the property and could legally defend your occupa-
tion thereof. The bad news is that secrecy is expensive. Increase the req by
+1r. In addition, there is a limit to the size and scope of a property that can
be kept secret. Smaller structures can be hidden away without too much
trouble, but anything in the r7-r9 range requires you to own considerable
amounts of land in which to hide the thing - usually in dense woodland
or similar screening terrain. Structures above r9 are too large, too com-
plex and require too much labor to ever keep secret.
Regardless of the option chosen, a secret location only remains a secret as long as no
attention is drawn to it. Resources spent on bolt-holes and hideouts count towards
Assets as normal.

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Rent

It’s an unfortunate reality that very few people own their property outright. Most
people either rent an apartment or cottage, or they lease lands from a lord. These
rents are paid as part of maintenance, but there is an initial cost for entering such
an arrangement. They begin at r2 for a small apartment, but otherwise use the prices
listed above with a -2r adjustment. A cap is placed at r9. Properties above this tier are
not available to rent.

The initial price of a rented property is paid either at character creation out of re-
sources, or made as a wealth check during play to represent the cost of entering the
contract and taking residence. Resources spent in this fashion count towards Assets
as normal.

Academic
Draw upon the greatest minds of your generation! Or at least upon the ones whose
services can be cheaply bought and applied to a variety of mundane tasks. Nearly any
such item will take a signficant amount of time, even after the coin is paid.

Table 32 - Example Academic Reqs

Req Academic Services
r1 Have a letter read, have dictation taken for an afternoon. Have a few pages
of a manuscript copied by scribe. Have set for printing press a flier, pam-
phlet, or similar document of no more than two pages (front and back),
along with a dozen copies made. Ink and quill, a dozen sheets of parchment
or velum.
r2 Have a dozen pages of a manuscript copied by scribe. Have set for printing
press a flier, pamphlet, or similar document of no more than two pages
(front and back), along with a hundred copies made. Have an official docu-
ment drawn up or patent copied. A blank book.
r3 Have a short manual copied by scribe. Have set for printing a flier or pam-
phlet along with a thousand copies made. Buy an existing copy of a printed
book or plain manuscript.
r4 Have a full volume copied or by scribe. Have a book set for printing press,
along with a few copies printed and bound.
r5 Commission an illuminated manuscript or purchase the same. Have a book
set for printing press, along with a dozen copies printed and bound.

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Book III: Avarice

Education
Never underestimate the importance of a good education. The tuition costs are paid
immediately upon enrollment and then again at each maintenance cycle. Education
has some mechanical benefits. At the end of each maintenance cycle during which
you were enrolled or recieving tutelage, you can take a free mark towards advanc-
ing a skill representing the subject of your studies (usually, Education). This does not
require expending drama.
Table 33 - Example Education Reqs
Req Education
r2 Private tutor for basic education, tuition at a monastic school.
r3 Private tutor for higher education subjects, university tuition for students
of common birth. Tuition at a fencing school.
r4 Private tutor for advanced or esoteric subjects.
r5 University tuition for students of good birth.

Entertainment
Table 34 - Example Entertainment Reqs
Req Entertainment
r1 Purchase set of dice. Hire a minstrel for an evening. Commoner’s entry to
an open event, such as a fist fight or theater show. Companionship for an
hour.
r2 Purchase a simple board game (draughts, checkers, tafl, merrils, nine men’s
morris). A set of woodcut playing cards. Hire a few common musicians,
dancers, or acrobats for an evening. Nobles seating at an open event, such
as a fist-fight or theater show. An hour’s companionship at a reputable es-
tablishment.
r3 Purchase an expensive board game (chess, backgammon, tables, ur). Hire
fine musicians or a troupe of actors for an evening. A noble’s boxed seating
at an open event. An hour’s companionship at a high-end establishment.
r4 Purchase a set of hand-painted playing cards. A large feast, fit for a dozen
noble guests or a few score commoners. Hire exotic dancers for an event,
or commission a large musical or stage production. An hour of exotic com-
panionship at a high-end establishment
r5 A board game made from fine and expensive materials. A grand feast, fit
for up to three dozen nobles or a hundred commoners. A night of exotic
debauchery with a high class companion.
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 Wealth

Medical
Table 35 - Example Medical Reqs
Req Medical
r1 Bleeding or leeches, first aid, wiring or pulling teeth, intervention for mi-
nor illnesses or wounds (level 2-3). An eye patch, a crude cane, a week’s
worth of basic medicinals for minor wounds and ailments.
r2 Minor surgeries (incidental, or up to level 4 wounds), intervention for a
major illness. A day’s worth of painkillers or a week’s worth of medicines
to treat a major illness or wound (4-5). A proper set of crutches, a silver false
tooth, a set of wooden dentures, a crude prosthetic limb (hook or peg leg),
a wooden eye, a well-crafted cane.
r3 Major surgery (level 5 wound), a week stay in a hospital or similar. A week’s
worth of painkillers, several silver false teeth, a well-crafted prosthetic
limb, a blown glass eye, common eyeglasses, a wheeled chair.
r4 A gold tooth or a mouth full of silver, a hollow silver eye, decorative pros-
thetic limb, ornate cane, specialized saddle and harness for riding.
r5 A hollow golden eye, custom eyeglasses.

Miscellaneous Services
Table 36 - Example Miscellaneous Service Reqs
Req Miscellaneous
r1 A message or package delivered within the same city or community, a
guide around the city for a day, a hot bath, shave and a hair cut, clothing
laundered, minor simple repairs, unskilled labor for a day.
r2 A message or package delivered to a nearby community, extensive simple
repairs, minor skilled repairs, several unskilled laborers for a day, a group
of mourners for a funeral, a consultation with a lawyer, hiring a bodyguard
or other specialist for a day.
r3 A message or package delivered to a place not more than a week away,
major skilled repairs, a crowd of mourners for a funeral, hiring a lawyer
for a day.
r4 A message or letter delivered to some distant place, up to a month’s travel
round trip. Repair work requiring rare and specialized skills or equipment.
Retaining a lawyer’s services for a week.

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Travel
Travel reqs as listed here represent one-time expenses or preparation for a single sig-
nificant journey. If you are someone who effectively lives on the road, you can ignore
most of these. Instead, assume that the costs of lodging and rations are covered by the
relevant maintenance req for your situation. Booze and ship’s passage are stilll out of
pocket expenses.

Table 37 - Example Travel Reqs

Req Food and Lodging
r1 An evening’s worth of cheap ale, beer or wine. A single bottle of good wine
or cheap liquor. Grain and stabling for a horse. A night in a common room,
along with a meal for the evening from whatever was prepared.
r2 An evening’s worth of good beer or wine. A single bottle of fine wine or
good liquor. A night in a small but comfortable private room along with a
good-quality meal, made to specification.
r3 An evening binging on the good stuff. A single bottle of something expen-
sive and well-aged. A night in a lavish suite along with a meal of similar
quality, cooked to specification and using good cuts of meat.

Req Rations, Per Week

r1 Hard rations that will keep indefinitely – Hard tack, salted meat. A week’s
feed for a horse.
r2 Fresh rations. A week’s feed for a pair of horses.
r3 Lavish rations, requiring preparation in the field. A week’s feed for a small
team of horses.

Req Transportation
r1 A ferry ride. Hiring a carriage for a day.
r2 Ship’s passage to a nearby port. Hiring a carriage to take you somewhere
within a few day’s journey.
r3 Hire a carriage to take you somewhere within a week’s journey. Ship’s pas-
sage to a far port or a distant land.
+1r Renting a the ship’s cabin, instead of common passage in the hold.

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 Armor

From the earliest shirts of hide and bone to shining plates of hardened steel, armor has
been an important consideration for any would-be warrior. Armor here is defined by
four elements: coverage, armor value, armor traits, and armor penalty.

Coverage
Wounds are treated as location-specific, thus so is the armor intended to protect
against them. Each piece of armor will list the specific locations it covers. These loca-
tions may be spelled out explicitly (neck, ribs, abdomen), but sometimes they will be
described in broader terms.
• Full torso refers to the ribs, abdomen, and back, though not the armpit.
• Full arm refers to the shoulder, upper arm, elbow, and hand. Some will
append “to the wrist” denoting the hand is not included.
• Full leg will include thigh, knee, shin, and foot. Some will append “to the
ankle” denoting the foot is not included.
• Certain locations (armpit, groin, hip, hamstrings, and neck) are only as-
sumed in coverage if they are called out specifically.
• The armpit and groin are never considered covered by rigid armor. The
armpit can be assumed covered by flexible armors (leather, maille, quilted)
if the ribs, shoulder, and upper arm are also covered by that garment. The
hamstrings must be called out specifically.
Book III: Avarice

Jaff is wearing a fairly standard gambeson. The description declares that it

covers “ full torso down to the hips and provide coverage for each arm to the
wrist, including armpit. Most such garments will also feature a high, stiff
collar to protect the neck and throat.” On his sheet, he would mark down
coverage for his neck, back, ribs, abdomen, hips, shoulders, armpits, upper
arm, elbow, and lower arm.

Armor Value
The armor value (AV) of a piece of armor represents its overall effectiveness in re-
ducing incoming damage. Any time you are struck in a location protected by that
armor, you may subtract the total of your AV and Brawn tap from any damage taken.
Whatever is leftover becomes your character’s wound level.

Jaff is wearing a gambeson (AV2) and is struck for four damage. With Brawn
4, he has a mod of 1. He subtracts 3 from the incoming damage, leaving him
with a level 1 wound — just a scratch.

Armor Traits
Much as weapon traits change their capabilities, armor traits can change the way in
which a piece of armor interacts with the damage it is trying to reduce.
• Metal (M) armors convert all cutting and piercing damage to the blunt
type. If your character is damaged in a location covered by metal armor,
the cutting or piercing damage changes its type to blunt before you work
out the final wound level.
• Rigid (R) armors cap all blunt damage to level 3. If you are struck in a
location covered by rigid armor and the final damage would have been a
level 4 or 5 blunt wound, it is reduced to level 3. Rigid armors do not cap
the wounds from cutting or piercing damage.
If an armor has both properties, then both apply in that order. First the damage is con-
verted to blunt, then it is capped at a level 3 wound. For obvious reasons, this makes
certain armors extremely desirable. Note, however, that certain weapons (particularly
those designed explicitly to counter armor) may have traits of their own to negate
these properties.

Armor traits are usually abbreviated to their first letter and simply written along with
the AV. For instance, a piece of segmented plate might be written as AV3MR, or just
3MR. Against a weapon without any contravening traits, it would subtract 3+Brawn
tap from the total incoming damage, convert the damage type to blunt, and then cap
the final wound at level 3.
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 Armor

Armor Penalty
The final element of an armor is its armor penalty (AP). While armor is nowhere
near as cumbersome as it is sometimes depicted, it can come with some drawbacks.
Each set of armor has an AP value listed that contributes to the character’s overall
encumbrance (see pg XX). The degree of penalty an armor imposes tends to be a
combination of the type of armor (below) and what it is covering. Lighter armors tend
not to be encumbering in nature, but anything rigid or worn on the limbs can slow
you down significantly.

Some pieces of armor will have fractional AP listed. Record these as-is for the sake
of calculating total penalty from armor, but if the final value ends up with a fraction,
round it down to the nearest whole number when applying it to actual dice rolls.

Eyeballing AP

You can eyeball the armor penalty of a garment or suit without having to look up
the specific item on the chart. Just use the following rules:
• Armor on the torso, elbows, and hands do not count towards AP.
• Maille over the upper arm or thigh is 0.25AP.
• Maille over a full limb is 0.5AP.
• Maille on the neck is 0.25AP.
• Ventail is 0.25 when drawn up.
• Adding any plate accessory is 0.25AP per location.
• Adding maille gussets, a maille skirt, or both is 0.25AP total.
• An open helm is 0.25AP (counting as one plate location)
• A closed helm is 0.25AP with the visor up, 0.5AP when down (two
plate locations)

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Armor Types
The properties of a given piece of armor are determined by the material from which
it is made. In order of protectiveness, these are: gambeson, leather, heavy or boiled
leather, lamellar or segmented plate, munitions plate, and proofed plate. They are each
described below.

Gambeson
One of the most underrated armors in both fiction and role-playing games, the gambe-
son was arguably the single-most common armor for most of history. A gambeson
(also called an aketon or padded jack) is made from layers of thick linen or wool
quilted together as a stiff and surprisingly formidable protective garment. In addition
to various types of stand-alone garment, specialized gambesons are also commonly
worn as the foundational padding for heavier armors.

Leather
Arguably the earliest form of protection, leather was not believed to be a common form
of battlefield armor until the early modern period. Firearms pushed heavier armors
out of fashion in favor of lighter forms of protection and padded leather buff coats
supplanted the gambeson as the common armor of the day. In earlier periods, certain
leather garments may have had some limited popularity as protection for civilians
where more obvious forms of armor would draw unwanted attention.

Heavy/Boiled Leather
While the historical role of leather armor is subject to some frequent debate, we do
know that thick or boiled (cuir boilli) leather was worn by some in addition to maille.
Boiled leather tends to be stiff and heavy in nature, behaving more like hard plastic
sporting pads. As a result, it must be worn in a fashion more like plate harness than
more conventional “cloth” garments. Similar AV and AP values could also be used to
represent bone or leather lamellar, or a greek-style linothorax if would be fitting for
the setting.

Maille
Maille is a kind of “cloth” of interwoven rings fashioned into protective garments.
Maille was not only effective, it was easy to repair and maintain. It remained the

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dominant battlefield armor for more than a millennium, ousted only when plate ar-
mors became sophisticated enough to encase most of the body. However, even a the
height of plate, maille still found its use in the form of skirts and gussets to protect the
gaps traditionally found in plate armors.

Contrary to popular belief, maille was not especially light or cheap in comparison
to plate. While it did not require the kind of advanced metallurgy of plate, the sheer
man-hours that went into producing a garment kept the price quite high.

Lamellar/Segmented Plate
This category covers two different types of armor that have similar protective quali-
ties. Lamellar is a kind of armor made from overlapping plates of iron laced into rows.
Segmented plate covers a number of similar armors from coat of plates and brigan-
dines to splinted greaves and vambraces.

Munitions Plate
As metallurgy improved, the individual pieces of steel plate could be made larger and
more complex. While full plate harness enjoyed a relatively short period of use, it is
the armor with the most cultural impact on our vision of what the middle ages were.
This category of plate covers the early form of plate that was common at the height of
the medieval period. In later periods, this kind of plate was still in common use among
professional soldiers as “munitions grade” armor.

Proofed Plate
The best protection money can buy. Proofed plate represents the elaborate and metal-
lurgically sophisticated plate armors that come at the height of the middle ages and
lingered well into the early modern period. It is made from the finest hardened and
tempered steel and capable of withstanding nearly any weapon thrown at it. Unfor-
tunately, this quality is reflected in its prohibitive cost and is so out of reach of all but
the wealthiest nobles.

The term proofed plate comes from the practice of proofing, or firing a pistol at the
breastplate in order to demonstrate its capability. In games set before a roughly
Renaissance era, the same cost and statistics could instead be used to represent the
height of Milanese or Gothic style armors in contrast with the more common sort of
plate available.

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Wearing Armor
All of that protection isn’t without significant drawback. The most obvious of these
is the encumbrance generated by the armor penalty, but it goes beyond that. Armor
is fairly hot and any armor is going to be tiring to wear over an extended period of
time. Any sort of metal armor is nigh impossible to sleep in, and most rigid armors are
difficult to sit in with any degree of comfort for any length of time.

Getting into and out of armor is an ordeal on its own. You can get into most single-
piece garments on your own, such as a gambeson, leathers, a maille coat or something
like a breastplate or brigandine. Any of these can be donned inside of a couple minutes.
Any of the more complicated suits of rigid armor (corselet, demi-lance, full harness)
require at least five or fifteen minutes and some kind of assistance from a squire or
fellow soldier to get into.

On a social level, any armor worn in public is going to raise some eyebrows. Much
like in the real world, walking around in body armor will make people nervous. It
announces to the world around you that you are expecting trouble along with the
strong implication that you will be the one to start it. Unless there are extraordinary
circumstances that would make it appropriate (a war camp, a city under siege) or you
are someone whose job it is to wear armor and you are in the process of doing that job,
you will probably want to leave the armor at home.

Some armors can get around this by passing as other garments. Gambesons are a good
example, as are leather doublets. Either can be tailored and embellished to pass off as
normal clothing to the casual glance, but their true nature will be obvious to anyone
paying attention.

Stacking Armor
It’s always been fairly common for armor to be layered in one fashion or another. You
can wear multiple layers of armor if you choose. However, while the AP from armor
stacks, the AV does not. Only the highest AV for a particular wound location is used.
That said, if two different pieces of armor on a location provide different traits, then
both properties apply. A character wearing a boiled leather breastplate (AV2, Rigid)
over a maille hauberk (AV3, Metal) would take the blow as though their armor was
AV3, Metal, Rigid.

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One Size
Tragically does not fit all. Armor is like any other garment in that it has to be of the
correct general size in order for you to wear it. For the purposes of armor, use Brawn
as an indicator. If two people are within a rank of each other (3 vs. 4, 7 vs. 6) they can
be assumed to be of the same general build unless a trait or other narrative descriptor
explicitly contradicts this.

Rigid armor has the strictest tolerances. Any rigid armor that functions like plate has
a hard time fitting anyone but the specific person for whom it was made. If you are of
the same general size of the original wearer, you can at least attempt to rig the suit to
fit. Wearing armor in this fashion increases the armor penalty from any rigid pieces
by 1.5x until the armor has been taken to a competent smith for refitting (an r2 task). If
rigid armor was made for someone of a Brawn more than 2 higher or lower than you,
it can’t be worn at all.

Maille, gambeson, and leathers are not generally tailored to such precise tolerances.
As long as you are of the same general size as the person for whom it was made, no
further armor penalty is introduced. If the armor was made for someone larger than
you, it invokes the same 1.5x AP as above until a competent smith or tailor can have it
resized. Armor that is too small cannot be worn at all.

Damage to Armor
Any time you suffer a level 4 or 5 wound through your armor, it’s assumed that the
location on their armor has been damaged. For cloth, leather, or maille armors, the
armor worn no longer provides protection to that location. For any rigid metal armor,
the piece of armor covering that location is deformed around the wound and once
removed can no longer be worn.

Armor continues to suffer these penalties until someone can perform the proper re-
pairs. If attempted by a PC, this is a Trade (Armorsmith) or similar check with a req
equal to the AV of the armor. If taken to a smith, quilted or leather armors of any type
are considered simple skilled repairs (r2). Maille or any kind of plate is a major skilled
repair (r3). If your maintenance req is equal to or greater than the AV or you have a
Patron, you can assume the cost of armor repair is taken care of by maintenance. No
additional roll is required.

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Armors, Listed
The following section gives the statistics and descriptions for different pieces of armor.
They are lumped into four categories by general location: Head and Neck, Upper Body,
Lower Body, and Suits. As a rule, armor is almost always cheaper when bought as a
complete suit than when assembled piecemeal.

The listed costs for piecemeal armor are always given for the individual piece or op-
tion, not the total price for that garment and various options. When buying multiple
pieces or assembling a garment from options, it’s usually best to lean on the resource
point math. Translate the cost in req to the listed equivalent in resource points and
add up the total. If you’re buying the armor during character creation, you’re work-
ing with resource points anyway. Use the cost directly. If you’re buying armor after
character creation, take the end total resource point cost and translate it back to a req.

Vaiga’s player wants to buy a maille shirt in the hauberk style. She writes
down r4 for the core garment, then takes all of the listed options but mufflers.
She likes to have her hands free. To get the proper req for cost, she converts
the math over. R4 is 5 resource points, r3 is 3 resource points. That gives her
5+3+3+3 for the garment and the three options taken, or 14 resource points.
Glancing back to the chart, that’s more than r5 but not enough for r6. R5 it is.
Afterward, she adds up the AP values and locations. The end-result has the
following profile:

Maille Hauberk. 3M, 0.75AP, r5. Covers: Ribs, abs, back, shoulder, armpit, up-
per arm, elbow, forearm, hip, groin, thigh.

Head and Neck Protection

The head and neck are usually the first locations soldiers choose to protect when going
to war. Like any armor, there is a trade-off between restriction and protection. Any
metal armor worn on the head or neck will add some kind of armor penalty, and any
kind of helmet is going to impose a disadvantage on hearing-based ability checks.

Arming Cap
A gamboised cap or hood that covers the head while leaving the face exposed. Arming
caps were usually worn as padding beneath a maille coif or certain kinds of helm,
though like other quilted armors they also saw use as a stand-alone garment. Caps of
cuir bouilli are not unheard of, functioning as a kind of hard leather helm.

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 Armor

Arming Cap AV AP Req Covers

Quilted 2 0 r1 Crown
Boiled Leather 2R 0.25 r1 Crown

Aventail/Camail
A flexible curtain of maille designed to be attached to a helm. When the helm is worn,
the aventail provides protection to the neck and throat. Adding an aventail or camail
to a helm is 0.25AP.

Aventail/Camail AV AP Req Covers

Maille 3M 0.25 r2 Neck

Coif
A hood of maille, worn either as a stand-alone protection or in conjunction with a
helm. A maille coif generally covers the crown and neck, while leaving the face ex-
posed.

Coif AV AP Req Covers

Maille 3M 0.25 r3 Crown, Neck

Closed Helm/Armet/Bassinet/
Barbute/Burgeonet/Great Helm
Covers any number of plate helms that completely enclose the head. Most iterations
of the closed helm feature a face plate or visor as a hinged separate piece that can be
raised or lowered for vision and ventilation. With the visor down, the face is protected
but any vision-based Perception rolls (or explicitly vision-oriented tasks, such as mak-
ing a ranged attack) are made at a disadvantage. Likewise, any hearing-based Percep-
tion rolls or tasks are disadvantaged regardless of the visor’s position. A closed helm is
0.25AP with the visor up. When the visor is down, this increases to 0.5AP

Closed Helm AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 0.25/0.5 r6 Crown, Face
Munitions Plate 4MR 0.25/0.5 r4 Crown, Face

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Open Helm/Cervelliere/Kettle Hat/

Morion/Spangenhelm/
Covers any number of open-faced plate helms. They aren’t quite as comprehensive in
coverage as their fuller-bodied counterparts, but make up for it in ease of wear and
movement.

Open Helm AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 0.25 r5 Crown
Munitions Plate 4MR 0.25 r3 Crown
Boiled Leather 2R 0.25 r1 Crown

Gorget/Bevor
A rigid collar similar in cut to an aventail, designed to protect the neck. Gorgets are
almost universally made of plate, though boiled leather can be used in a pinch. Any
form of rigid neck protection will prevent strangulation attacks, such as in a grapple.

Gorget/Bever AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 0.25 r5 Neck
Munitions Plate 4MR 0.25 r3 Neck
Boiled Leather 2R 0.25 r1 Neck

Pixane/Standard/Bishop’s Mantle
A long maille mantle protecting the wearer’s neck and shoulders. This usually begins
with a high maille collar around the wearer’s throat and drapes outward and down-
ward over the shoulders. Exceptionally long mantles may cover the ribs and upper
arms as well.

Standard AV AP Req Covers

Maille 3M 0.25 r3 Neck, Shoulders
Maille 3M 0.5 r4 Neck, Ribs, Shoulders, Upper
Arms

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 Armor

Ventail
A ventail is an integral maille flap connected to an aventail or coif. Like the sallet on a
closed helm it can be fastened shut to provide additional protection. When worn open,
the ventail imposes no further penalties. When drawn up across the nose and mouth,
it provides maille coverage to the face at the cost of 0.25AP. Unlike a closed helm, a
ventail does not significantly disrupt your vision. No additional Perception penalties
apply.

Ventail AV AP Req Covers

Maille 3M 0.25 r2 Face

Upper Body Protection

After the head, the torso is usually the next area people will choose to protect. Armor
covering the torso generally doesn’t incur an armor penalty. The weight can be dis-
tributed as such that it doesn’t significantly restrict speed or mobility. Armor covering
the limbs can have a more significant impact, as noted in the relevant entries.

Aketon/Arming Jack/Jupon/
Gambeson
A thick jacket of quilted wool or linen. At minimum, they cover the full torso down
to the hips and provide coverage for each arm to the wrist, including armpit. Most
such garments will also feature a high, stiff collar to protect the neck and throat.
Gambesons intended to be worn on their own or beneath a hauberk will often extend
downward to cover the pelvis and thighs as well.

Aketon AV AP Req Covers

Quilted 2 0 2r per description

Buff Coat/Leather Jack/Doublet

A vest or shirt of layered leather. A doublet will at minimum cover the torso, but
will frequently cover the shoulders or extend further to the elbow or wrist. If the
upper arm is covered, the armpit can assumed to be covered as well. Longer buff coats
eventually supplant the gambeson as both a stand-alone form of protection and as the

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foundation layer for heavier armors. Such garments will tend towards the same cuts
as their quilted predecessors, featuring high collars and extending coverage to the
pelvis or thighs.

Jack/Buff Coat AV AP Req Covers

Leather 2 0 2r per description

Byrnie/Hauberk/Haubergeon
Various forms of maille shirt, traditionally worn over a gambeson or leather jack for
padding. The most minimal form of this garment is the byrnie, covering the full torso,
shoulders, and hips. Later variations will feature sleeves that extend to the elbow
(+0.25AP) or the wrist (+0.5AP total). If either sleeve option is taken, the length of the
shirt can also cover the groin for no additional cost in req or AP. The longest garments
will extend further too cover the thighs as well, adding an additional +0.25AP. Option-
ally, garments that extend to the wrist can opt to cover the hands with maille mittens
called mufflers. This imposes no additional AP, but when the mufflers are worn, any
task that relies on manual dexterity is made at a disadvantage (this notably does not
apply to melee combat). Between the lack of individual fingers and the cumbersom
nature of mufflers, when worn certain tasks may not be possible at all. This includes
the use of weapons with complex guards (such as some swords or daggers) or any
dedicated ranged weapon (bows, crossbows, or firearms). On the plus side, unarmed
strikes from the hand increase their damage from -1b to 0b. Mufflers almost always
include a slit at the wrist so that the hands can be exposed for fine tasks without
removing the accompanying shirt.

Maille Shirt AV AP Req Covers

Maille Byrnie 3M 0 r4 Abs, Ribs, Back, Shoulders, and
Hips
+ Short sleeves 3M +0.25 r3 + Upper Arm, Elbow, Armpit,
(optionally, Groin)
+ Long sleeves 3M +0.25 r3 + Forearm
+ Long Hem 3M +0.25 r3 + Thigh
+ Mufflers 3M 0 r2 + Hands

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 Armor

Cuirass/Breastplate/Brigandine
Various forms of rigid armor intended to cover the torso. The earliest forms of cuirass
were made of thick or boiled leather. Eventually, metallurgy allowed for various forms
of lamellar and eventually solid plate. A cuirass will cover the back, ribs, and abdo-
men. While most such armors can be worn entirely on their own, the lack of protec-
tion to the neck, armpits, or limbs often makes layering with other armors desirable.

Cuirass AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 0 r7 Abs, Ribs, Back
Breastplate Alone 5MR 0 r6 Abs, Ribs,
Munitions Plate 4MR 0 r5 Abs, Ribs, Back
Breastplate Alone 4MR 0 r4 Abs, Ribs
Segmented Plate 3MR 0 r4 Abs, Ribs, Back
Boiled Leather 2R 0 r3 Abs, Ribs, Back

Accessories
Various pieces of armor exist to provide additional protection to the arms. With the
exception of hand protection, each accessory requires some sort of foundational layer
to attach itself to, whether that’s an arming jack, buff coat, or maille shirt.

Additional protection to the arms means additional weight. A pair of pauldrons (cov-
ering the shoulders), rerebraces (upper arms), or vambraces (forearms) invoke +0.25AP
each. Couters (or cops, protecting the elbow) impose no additional AP.

Gauntlets do not increase AP, but any form of rigid armor on the hand comes with
some tradeoffs. Unarmed strikes from the hands are increase their DR to 0b, but any
kind of task relying on fine manual dexterity (picking a lock, playing an instrument)
is done at a disadvantage. Further, gauntlets of any type prevent the use of weapons

Accessories AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 0/0.25 r5 per single location
Munitions Plate 4MR 0/0.25 r3 per single location
Segmented Plate 3MR 0/0.25 r2 per single location
Boiled Leather 2R 0/0.25 r1 per single location
Leather gloves 2 0 r1 Hand

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with complex guards (such as some swords and daggers) or any dedicated ranged
weapons (bows, crossbows, firearms). Leather gloves do not have either problem, but
also don’t grant the same kind of protection or improved unarmed strike DR.

Gussets are patches of maille sewn directly onto an arming jack, intended to protect
the armpit when wearing plate. Adding gussets to a cuirass of any sort introduces an
additional +0.25AP, though for the same AP you can extend the coverage into sleeves,
covering the arm to the elbow. Alternatively, the same AP can cover gussets and a
maille skirt.

Gussets AV AP Req Covers

Gussets alone 3M 0.25 r2 Armpit
Gussets + Short 3M 0.25 r3 Armpit, Elbow, Shoulder, Upper
Sleeves Arm
Gussets + Skirt 3M 0.25 r3 Armpit, Groin, Hips

Finally, jack chains are a cheap and common option for adding some additional limb
protection. They are long strips of steel that are jointed together and fastened to the
sleeves of a gambeson. Their light construction imposes no AP, but they only provide
their protective value to swing-based attacks. Jack chains count as plate for the pur-
poses of weapon traits.

Jack AV AP Req Covers

Jack Chains 2MR* 0 r2 Shoulder, upper arm, elbow,
forearm

Lower Body Protection

Armor on the lower legs tends to have the most significant impact on the wearer. It’s
heavy, it slows you down, and after a while it can be exhausting. As such, this is often
the last area many choose to reinforce.

Hose/Leggings
Reinforced leggings of quilted linen or leather, intended to be worn either as a stand-
alone protection or as a foundation layer beneath heavier forms of armor. Most take
the form of a kind of quilted or leather garter, covering the legs from thigh to ankle,
including hamstring.

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 Armor

Hose/Leggings AV AP Req Covers

Quilted/Leather 2 0 r2 Thighs, Knees, Shins, Hamstrings

Brayette/Paunce/Skirt
Brayettes are maille briefs designed to provide additional protection to the groin and
hips, usually worn in conjunction with various forms of plate armor. Maille skirts are
also common, covering the same areas. A maille skirt or brayette is 0.25AP on its own,
though if gussets are also worn the 0.25AP can cover both garments.

Brayette/Skirt AV AP Req Covers

Maille 3M 0.25 r2 Hips, Groin
Skirt + Gussets 3M 0.25 r3 Armpit, Groin, Hips

Chausses
Maille leggings that cover from thigh to foot, including the hamstrings. Many end in
thick leather soles so that separate footwear is not required. Though such garments
are usually gartered at the knee to help distribute the weight, they still impose 0.5AP
on the wearer. Some variants will choose to lighten the load by covering only the front
of each leg with maille, with leather lacing up the back to hold the armor in place.
Others are intended to be worn with plate armor, covering the front and back of the
leg, but extending coverage only to the knee. Either configuration offers less protec-
tion, but reduces the armor penalty to 0.25.

Chausses AV AP Req Covers

Full chausses 3M 0.5 r4 Thigh, Knee, Shin, Foot, Ham-
string
Demi-chausses 3M 0.25 r3 Thigh, Knee, Hamstring OR
Thigh, Knee, Shin, Foot

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Accessories
As with arms before, various forms of rigid armor exist to provide additional protec-
tion to the lower body. Unlike upper body armor, most leg accessories can be worn
independently of any foundational layer.

Armor for the lower body tends to be more restrictive and fatiguing in nature. Faulds
(covering the hips), codpieces (covering the groin), cuisses (covering the thigh), greaves
(covering the shin), and sabatons (covering the foot) each contribute 0.25AP. Only the
poleyns (or knee cops, covering the knee) impose no additional penalty.

It’s also possible to get leather boots or shoes thick enough to count as armor. Shoes
are most common, covering the foot alone. Boots will often cover the shin, though
riding boots may come as high as the thigh.

Accessories AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 0/0.25 r5 per single location
Munitions Plate 4MR 0/0.25 r3 per single location
Segmented Plate 3MR 0/0.25 r2 per single location
Boiled Leather 2R 0/0.25 r1 per single location
Leather Boots 2 0 r1 Foot. Optionally, Shin
Riding Boots 2 0 r2 Foot, Shin. Optionally, Knee or
Knee and thigh

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 Armor

Suits
For those with means, armor is often best purchased as a complete suit. Commis-
sioning a suit allows armor to be made as a complete unit, ensuring that the relevant
pieces will all fit together properly in the least restrictive and most weight-efficient
way possible.

Maille Suit
The greatest protection available in a world before articulated plate armor. These suits
are formed from various arrangements of maille that result in complete protection
from head to toe. This began with the appropriate quilted arming garments, over
which was usually a long-sleeved hauberk or haubergeon complete with a pair of
mufflers integrated into the sleeves. The head and neck are protected with a maille
coif which is occasionally integrated into the shirt as well. Finally a pair of maille
chausses are worn to protect the legs.

In later periods, pieces of plate can be added to reinforce a maille suit per the guides
under the accessories for either section above.

Maile Suit AV AP Req Covers

Maille 3M 1.25AP r6 Crown, Neck, Ribs, Abs, Back,
Shoulder, Armpit, Upper Arm,
Elbow, Forearm, Hand, Hips,
Groin, Thigh, Knee, Shin,
Hamstring, Foot.

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Full Harness
A full plate harness is the height of the armorer’s craft. It offers the highest degree of
protection, with each piece crafted to fit together as a system greater than the sum of
its parts.

It begins with an arming jack and a pair of padded hose and builds upon these with
a breast and back plate, along with fully articulated coverage for the throat, hips and
either set of limbs. The rigid nature of plate does require certain gaps to be left for the
sake of mobility: armpit, groin, and hamstring. Each of these gaps has options avail-
able, but they require separate purchase.
• The armpit benefits from the arming jack beneath, which at minimum
conveys the protection of the padding there. Maille gussets can be pur-
chased and are often are worn attached to the jack to reinforce this loca-
tion.
• The groin similarly benefits from the protection of the arming jack,
though men on foot will often purchase a maille skirt or brayette as ad-
ditional protection to be worn between the layers of plate.
• The hamstring has the same defaults as above but relying on the pad-
ded hose as a protection. Unlike the other areas, this is not generally
reinforced. On foot, it is unlikely to be struck unless your opponent has
gotten behind you, and when you are mounted the area is covered by your
horse. That said, for a knight on foot, a pair of maille demi-chausses might
be worth the tradeoff in armor penalty.
A full suit of plate is more than just a form of protection, it’s a status symbol. Many
who could afford plate would spend significantly more to have it “finished,” polishing
and decorating it in various ways. See In Shining Armor (pg XX) for more details.

The listed cost and AP include a full helm of equivalent quality. AP listed describes
the visor up/visor down.

Full Harness AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 2.25/2.5 r10 Crown, Face, Neck, Ribs, Abs,
Back, Hip, Shoulder, Upper Arm,
Elbow, Forearm, Hand, Thigh,
Knee, Shin, Foot.
Munitions Plate 4MR 2.25/2.5 r8 As above

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 Armor

Three-Quarters
Armor/Demilancer
A later development than the full harness, this occurs in the late renaissance and
early modern period as hand-held firearms became more prominent on the battlefield.
Often worn by cavalrymen known as demilancers, these suits often abandoned saba-
tons and greaves to lighten their overall load and replacing their function with high
riding boots. Many demi-lancers also chose to forgo gauntlets in favor of thick leather
gloves, making it easier to handle a pistol or make use of the complex-guards favored
in swords of the day.

As with the full harness, certain gaps are left. While gussets remain a common rein-
forcement for the armpit, gaps to the groin and hamstring are generally ignored as
unimportant in an armor primarily worn by cavalry. As above, the listed cost and AP
include a full helm of equivalent quality. AP listed describes the visor up/visor down.

Demilance AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 1.75/2 r9 Crown, Face, Neck, Ribs, Abs,
Back, Hip, Shoulder, Upper Arm,
Elbow, Forearm, Hand, Thigh,
Knee.
Munitions Plate 4MR 1.75/2 r7 As above

Half-Suit/Corselet
Similar in both purpose and scope to the demilancer’s harness, a half-suit or corselet
was popular with both cavalry and the professional infantry class alike. This suit usu-
ally consists of an arming jack with a full breast and back, articulated faulds covering
the hips, a high gorget, and full coverage for either arm. The legs are usually left to
their own devices, or protected by a combination of leggings and boots. For a similar
reason as above, gauntlets in these suits are often substituted for thick leather gloves.
As with prior plate suits, the listed cost and AP include a full helm of equivalent qual-
ity. AP listed describes the visor up/visor down.

Corselet AV AP Req Covers

Proofed Plate 5MR 1.5/1.75 r9 Crown, Face, Neck, Ribs, Abs,
Back, Hip, Shoulder, Upper Arm,
Elbow, Forearm, Hand
Munitions Plate 4MR 1.5/1.75 r7 As above

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In Shining Armor
The knight in shining armor was not only an impressive figure, but an incredibly
expensive one. A bright polish on a suit of armor was often as expensive as the suit
itself. The finishing costs could climb even higher if it was etched, blued, or gilded. By
the late 16th century, an armored warrior could be a walking sculpture, damasked in
silver with emblems raised in gold relief.

This extraordinary expense served two primary purposes. Improvements in metal-

lurgy, shifts in wealth, and the rise of the professional soldier meant that plate armor
became increasingly available to the lower class. The possession of plate alone was no
longer the status symbol that it once was, and for the nobility, status is everything.
Armor became an important way to display one’s wealth, allowing you to both dif-
ferentiate yourself as above the common rabble and to jockey for status among your
peers. The more expensive the armor, the more powerful, wealthy, and influential the
person wearing it.

As a secondary and related function, elaborate and distinctive armor allowed you to
be more easily recognized on the battlefield. This was important in accruing personal
glory, but even more important for the practice of ransom. If you should fall, the ex-
pense of your armor significantly increased the likelihood that you would be captured
and ransomed back to your family or yield without further injury, rather than simply
dispatched.

Armor customization is grouped into tiers by price. When buying a set of armor, you
can freely add in any customization options of equal or lesser price to the suit itself.
Likewise, you can buy the thing in reverse. If you buy a higher tier of ornamentation,
the price covers a suit of armor up to the cost of that ornamentation. Regardless, you
only ever pay the higher of the two prices, the cost of the armor or the cost of its
decoration. For this reason, it’s usually advantageous to work with the total cost of a
suit of armor, rather than comparing its individual bits.

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 Armor

Table 38 - Example Armor Ornamentation Reqs

Req Miscellaneous
r5 Standard. Decoratively painted in colorful patterns or swaddled in livery.
Quilted or leather armors are vibrantly dyed, made from or faced in costly
fabrics, and finely tailored to ape current fashion trends. Leather is expertly
dyed and finely tooled.
r9 Wealthy. Metal armors are skillfully painted or brought to a high polish,
faced in expensive fabrics or intricately tooled leather. Quilted or leather
armors are fashioned to be nearly indistinguishable from opulent clothing:
richly faced in expensive fabrics, often trimmed in silver or gold wire and
fitted with precious stones.
r12 Noble. Brought to a high polish, trimmed in brass or featuring illustrative
or textual elements acid-etched onto the metal.
r15 Ducal. Blued and trimmed or color-enameled, fully-etched or featuring
delicate engravings or lightly trimmed in gold.
r18 Imperial. Fully blued, gilt in gold, or covered in etchings, raised sculptural
elements in precious metal. Every surface of the armor is a work of art.

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 Weapons

Weapons are more than just survival tools. Every culture attaches its own symbolism
to the arms they carry. Swords have always been given a mythical character as weap-
ons of heroes and nobility. The scepter (often a mace or baton) is a symbol of royalty
and generalship. An axe is a symbol of strength and ferocity. Even the humble walking
staff is a universal symbol of wisdom. On a more personal level, the weapons a char-
acter carries can color our view of them. As an audience, we look differently at the
character with a longsword hung from their belt than one with an axe tucked through
it. A viciously curved knife says different things about a character than a walking
stick. Even within a given subset, a long and elegant rapier suggests something differ-
ent than a heavy broad-bladed sword. Every choice you make for your character says
something about them. Their choice of arms is no different.

Weapon Codex
We handle weapons a little differently than you may be used to. The usual treatment
involves brainstorming a bunch of categories of weapon based on the archetypes we’re
familiar with, then trying to figure out how to model each of these categories based on
what we assume to be “typical” of the category in question. Finally we give it a label
that more or less jives with the categories with which we’re familiar. The problem with
this approach, of course, is that history tends to defy easy categorization. No matter
what the common style and characteristics of a common sword of the era was, most
people still called it “sword.” What one treatise will call a rapier, another will call a
longsword. Even within a specific subset of a type, differences in blade balance may
make one sword a nimble thrusting weapon and another a dirty great chopper.
 Weapons

Rather than worry about where a side sword ends and a rapier begins, we’ve given you
the ability to create and customize your own weapons. There are six codices in total,
broken down into two categories. Melee weapons includes bladed weapons, hafted
weapons, and shields. Ranged weapons includes bows, crossbows, and firearms.
Each codex contains a chart that allows you to customize your kit according to its in-
dividual properties, as well as a selection of sample weapons made from that codex to
get you started. At the end of each section, we’ve also included a handful of weapons
that didn’t fall neatly under any of the above categories.

Using the Codex

Each codex follows a similar format. Each divides its chart up into levels of quality
based on expense. The base chart will start at the least expensive version of the item
and offer the choices you can make at that price point. There are multiple categories
within each base chart. Make one selection from each available category. Each selec-
tion will either give you a basic property of that weapon, or modify a property gained
in a previous choice.

An increase in quality will grant you additional options, broken up into lines. A line
listing an upgrade replaces an existing option from the cheaper version of the weapon.
A line with add means that this feature can be added on top of the existing features
without replacing a previous option. If a line is separated by an OR, or it asks you to
choose 1, it’s listing multiple features and you may pick only one. Any options based
on increased quality are optional. You can take as many or as few under that level
of quality as you please, modifying the weapons characteristics per the descriptions
given. However, you can only apply any given line once. You can’t take it multiple
times to stack the benefits or gain multiple selections when asked to choose.

Costs
The end-cost is calculated by the most expensive option you’ve chosen. If your weapon
only uses the options from Cheap, then you pay the cheap price. If you take one option
from Fine, you pay the Fine price. Individual entries may also modify the cost further.
If something reads Cost+1, then the req to purchase the item increases by 1 after the
quality of the weapon is determined. Multiple instances of an increased req stack. The
same logic applies to Cost-1.

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Melee Weapon
Properties
Every completed weapon will have a profile containing its relevant statistics. For
melee weapons, this profile consists of the damage rating (DR), reach, cost, and
weapon traits.

Damage Rating
Melee weapons have their damage rating listed as two figures separated by a slash
(e.g., 2c/0p). Each number represents the base damage of the weapon, with the letter
indicating whether the damage is of the cutting (c), piercing (p), or bludgeoning (b)
type. The damage type will determine both how the weapon interacts with armor and
the kind of wound the weapon will produce. The number before the slash is always the
swinging damage of the weapon. The number after the slash is always the thrust. If
a weapon has more than one type of swinging attack (for instance, a warhammer), the
two types will be separated by a comma (e.g., 1b, 0p/1p). An “-” indicates that no attack
of that type is possible.

When a character lands a successful attack, they add their Brawn tap value and MoS
to this number in order to determine the total amount of damage inflicted.

Jaff has a rapier with a DR of (0c/2p) and a Brawn of 4. He lands an MoS1

thrust on his opponent. His total damage would be 2p (the thrust DR)+1 (for
his MoS)+1 (for his Brawn) for a total of 4p. His opponent can now subtract
their armor and Brawn tap value to determine the final wound level.

Many codex options will modify the weapon’s DR. A +1 swing or +1 thrust increases
or decreases the relevant rating appropriately. Any time an option might give you an
additional DR entirely (such as a polearm with multiple heads) you can either write
down the better of the two options, or simply write down both and separate them with
a comma as above.

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 Weapons

Reach
Reach represents both the overall length of a weapon and how far it can project its
striking force from the wielder. It falls into six categories, from shortest to longest.

Table 39 - Melee Weapon Reach

Melee Weapon Reach
Hand. An unarmed attack, a cestus or knuckle-duster, most knives, a large rock
clutched in hand.
Close. Long knives and daggers, a sap, a wine bottle. Anything that projects about
1ft from the hand.
Short. Short swords, hatchets, batons. Anything that projects about 2ft from the
hand.
Medium. Most one-handed swords, axes, or other battlefield sidearms. Anything
projecting up to 3ft from the hand.
Long. Many one or two-handed battlefield weapons, such as the longsword or pol-
lax. Anything capable of projecting up to 4ft from the hand.
Extended. Spears, zweihanders, and most battlefield polearms. Anything projecting
its reach in the 5-8ft range.

A weapon’s reach can significantly impact conditions that apply to it based on the
situation:
• In a grapple (pg XX) Hand and Close reach weapons function normally.
Short through Long reach weapons are limited to pommel strikes only.
Extended reach or two-handed weapons can’t be used at all.
• In cramped terrain Hand through Short reach weapons function as nor-
mal. Medium and Long reach weapons are at a disadvantage. Extended
reach weapons are restricted to attacks with the butt, haft, hilt, or pom-
mel.
• In restricted terrain Hand through Medium reach weapons function
normally. Long and Extended weapon use swing-based maneuvers at a
disadvantage.
• In open terrain all weapons function as normal.
In addition, reach affects a weapon’s bulk (pg XX). Hand and Close reach melee weap-
ons count as insignificant items. Weapons of Extended reach or requiring two hands
to wield count as cumbersome items for the purposes of encumbrance.

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Melee Weapon Traits

Weapons can gain traits that affect how they are employed. If an option you select
gives your weapon a trait, list it under notes.

1h, 1.5, 2h: Denotes hands required to wield. 1h weapons only require one hand.
2h requires two hands to use. The damage increase for two-handed weapons will be
baked into the stats given. 1.5h allows you to choose between one or two-handed use.
When used two-handed, a 1.5h weapon’s DR is improved by +1 swing/+1 thrust. Dam-
age listed in examples will be for the 1h profile. You can choose for yourself whether
you want to write down the 1h or 2h damage profile on your sheet.

Basket Hilt: A steel cage around the hand. In melee, grants favoring to the arms.
Punches at 0b. If struck, counts as AV4MR for the hand. On the downside, it increases
Quick Draw AC by 1 and is incompatible with gauntlets.

Compound Hilt: A D-guard or similar. Punches for 0b and counts as AV3MR for the
hand. Incompatible with gauntlets.

Crushing: Weapon ignores the rigid quality when striking armor.

Curved: Weapon increases Draw Cut damage bonus from +1DR to +2DR, and reduces
Quick Draw AC by 1, to a minimum of 1.

Flexible: Weapon has a flexible component. It ignores the opponent’s favoring dice,
but cannot be used to thrust or deflect.

Folding: Weapon counts as one size smaller for purposes of concealment and and
encumbrance but is harder to deploy in a fight. Drawing it with a positioning roll is at
+1r. Cannot be used with Quick Draw.

Hook: Weapon can use the Hook maneuver.

Maille Piercing: Weapon ignores the metal quality when delivering piercing dam-
age to maille armor.

Plate Piercing: Weapon ignores the metal quality when delivering piercing damage
to plate or maille armor.

Thrown: Weapon can be used with Point Blank or treated as a ranged weapon with-
out penalty.

Tool: Weapon is small and nimble enough to be counted as a tool. Note that this ap-
plies only for the very basic tasks that could be reasonably accomplished by the sort of
tool in question. It is not a replacement for a tool kit appropriate to the task.
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 Weapons

Codex: Bladed
Weapons
The bladed weapon codex applies whenever the majority of the weapon is its blade,
generating everything from pocket knives to massive two-handed swords. The profi-
ciency a bladed weapon uses depends on its length.

If making a blade for a hafted weapon, ignore any options involving length or hilt. Use
the created blade’s profile as the top head for the hafted weapon. This head is subject
to any subsequent modifiers from the hafted weapons chart. When calculating qual-
ity (and cost) of the final weapon, use whichever of the two charts yields the higher
result. If the blade would be Fine (r4) but the polearm would otherwise be Cheap (r2),
then the final quality and cost would be Fine (r4). If both would be Fine, then final
price gets bumped to r5.

Table 40 - Example Bladed Weapons

Daggers DR Reach Cost Notes
Baselard -1c/0p Close r2 1h
Maine Gauche -1c/1p Close r4 1h. Compound Hilt
Peasant Knife -1c/-1p Hand r1 1h. Folding, Tool
Rondel -2c/0p Close r3 1h. Maille Piercing
Seax 0c/-1p Close r2 1h

1h Swords DR Reach Cost Notes

Arming Sword 1c/1p Medium r4 1h
Cinquedea 1c/1p Short r4 1h
Dussack 1c/-1p Short r3 1h. Compound Hilt, Curved
Hanger 1c/0p Short r2 1h
Rapier 0c/2p Long r4 1h. Compound Hilt

2h Swords DR Reach Cost Notes

Estoc 0c/3p Ext r4 2h, Maille Piercing
Greatsword 2c/2p Ext r4 2h
Longsword 0c/1p Long r3 1.5h
Zweihander 3c/1p Ext r4 2h

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Table 41 - Codex: Bladed Weapons

Cheap, r2
Geometry (Choose 1)
• Double Edged (0c/1p, 1h)
• Single Edged (1c/0p, 1h)
Length (Choose 1)
• Hand (-2 swing/-1 thrust. Uses Brawling. Single-edged gains Tool. Cost -1)
• Close (-1 swing/-1 thrust. Uses Brawling)
• Short (Uses Swords)
Hilt (Choose 1)
• Standard (No change)
• Folding (gains Folding, Hand through Short blades only)
• Plug (Can be used normally, or as a bayonet. See Codex: Firearms. Close
blades only)
• Throwing (gains Thrown. Hand or Close length only)

Common, r3
Upgrade length to Medium or Long (1h. Uses Swords)
Add blade shape (Choose 1)
• Curved (-1 thrust, gains Curved)
• Tuck (-1 swing, gains Maille Piercing)
Upgrade Hilt (Choose 1)
• Bastard (removes 1h, gains 1.5h. Medium or Long blades only. When used
one-handed, can use Swords or Longswords. When used two-handed, uses
Longswords.)
• Compound Hilt (gains Compound Hilt. Close-Long blades only)

Fine, r4
Upgrade length to Extended (Choose +2 Swing OR +2 Thrust. Removes 1h or 1.5h,
gains 2h. Uses Longswords)
Upgrade blade quality (Choose +1 to swing OR thrust DR. Max DR is +3c or +3p)
Upgrade Hilt (Choose One)
• Basket (gains Basket Hilt, Close-Long blades only)
• Combine Bastard and Compound hilt, above.

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 Weapons

Codex: Hafted
Weapons
Hafted weapons refer to any weapon that relies on a central pole, whether that’s an
axe, mace, spear, or quarterstaff. Hafted weapons all use the Mass Weapon proficiency
by default, though any two-handed weapon can be used with Polearms instead.

Hafted weapons can have multiple heads. Each head will list whether it applies to the
top or side of the weapon. A weapon can only have a single top head, but up to two
side heads can be added at sufficient quality.

Table 42 - Example Hafted Weapons

One-Handed DR Reach Cost Notes
Battleaxe 2c/0b Short r2 1h. Hook
Flail 1b/- Medium r2 1.5h. Crushing, Flexible
Hatchet 1c/-1p Close r2 1h. Hook, Tool
Horseman’s Axe 2c, 0p/0b Medium r3 1.5h, Hook, Plate Piercing
Mace 1b/0b Short r2 1h. Crushing
Warhammer 1b, 0p/0b Medium r3 1.5h, Crushing, Hook, Plate
Piercing
Wooden Club 0b/0b Medium r1 1h

Two-Handed DR Reach Cost Notes

Bardiche 4c/0p Ext r2 2h. Hook
Bec de Corbin 2b, 1p/1p Long r4 2h. Crushing, Hook, Maille Piercing
(Thrust) Plate Piercing
Dane Axe 3c/1p Long r2 2h. Hook
Glaive 3c/0p Ext r4 2h. Curved, Hook
Goedendag 2b/1p Long r3 2h. Crushing, Maille Piercing (Thrust)
Halberd 3c, 1p/2p Ext r4 2h. Hook, Maille Piercing
(Thrust), Plate Piercing (Swing)
Pollax 3c, 2b/2p Long r4 2h. Hook, Crushing, Maille Pierc-
ing (Thrust)
Quarter Staff 1b/1b Ext r1 2h
Spear 0c/2p Ext r2 1.5h, Thrown
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Table 43 - Codex: Hafted Weapons

Cheap, r2
Head (Choose 1)
• None (0b/0b. Cost -1)
• Awl (0b/1p. Top. Gains Maille Piercing)
• Axe (2c/0p. Side. Gains Hook)
• Beak (0p/0b. Side. Gains Hook and Plate Piercing)
• Blade (Top. See Bladed Weapons)
• Flail (1b/- Top. Gains Crushing and Flexible. No other heads allowed)
• Hammer/Mace (1b/0b. Side. Gains Crushing)
• Spear (0c/2p. Top. If the only head, gains 1.5h and Thrown regardless of
length)
Haft Length (Choose 1)
• Close (gains 1h. -1 swing/-1 thrust. Side heads only, maximum of 1. An
Axe or Hammer head gains Tool)
• Short (gains 1h)
• Medium (gains 1.5h)
• Long (+1 swing/+1 thrust, gains 2h)*
• Extended (+1 swing/+1 thrust, gains 2h)*
*Spears gain bonus to reach only. Damage profile is not altered, instead following 1.5h
rules for two-handed use.

Common, r3
Choose 1:
• Add a second head
• Add Hefty (If currently 1.5h, +2 Swing to all heads, removes 1.5h and
gains 2h. If currently 2h, +1 Swing to all heads, -1 thrust to all heads.
Requires Medium haft or longer)
• Add a Queue Spike (thrusts from the butt or queue deal piercing damage)
Add Lugs/hooks/wings (Adds Hook. Loses Thrown. Not compatible with Flail)
Add Throwing (-1 swing/-1 thrust. Gains Thrown. Requires a Close or Short haft
with an axe or hammer head)

Fine, r4
Add up to three heads total
Add Queue Spike (thrusts from the butt or queue do piercing damage) if it wasn’t
taken before
Add Hefty (If currently 1.5h, +2 Swing to all heads, removes 1.5h and gains 2h. If
currently 2h, +1 Swing to all heads, -1 thrust to all heads. Requires Medium haft or
longer) if it wasn’t taken before.

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Codex: Shields
Shields have a number of their own unique traits that don’t apply to other weapons.
For convenience, we list them separately here.

Boss: A central grip allowing more flexibility in control of the shield. Shield-Bind and
Slam are 0AC.

Enarmed: Worn strapped across the forearm. Can’t be disarmed. Items can still be
gripped in the shield-hand, such as the reins of a horse. If used with a small-sized
shield, a secondary weapon can be held in the off-hand, or a two-handed weapon may
be used. Attacks with either while enarmed are made at a disadvantage.

Guiged: A shoulder strap that allows the shield to be worn passively. When worn
this way, the shield counts as cover and continues to favor the shield arm, but can’t be
used for Deflect. In exchange, two-handed weapons can be used normally. Switching
between active or passive use is free at refresh or 1AC between tempos.

Steel: Counts as munitions plate vs firearms. This follows the normal rules for layer-
ing armor. Use only the highest AV that applies.
Table 44 - Codex: Shields
Cheap, r1
Size (Choose 1)
• Small (Covers Arm only. Bulk 1. Strikes at -1b)
• Medium (Covers Arm +2 Wheels. Bulk 2. Strikes at 0b)
Grip (Choose 1)
• Center Grip (Gains Boss)
• Arm-Strapped (Gains Enarmed)

Common, r2
Choose 1:
• Upgrade size to Large (Covers Arm+3 Wheels. Bulk 3. Strikes at 0b)
• Upgrade a Small shield to Steel (+1 DR, gains Steel.)
Add Cross Strap (Gains Guiged. Required Medium or Large shield).
Add Spiked (Strikes can do piercing damage)

Fine, r3
Upgrade Grip to Complex Rigging (can switch between Boss and Enarmed grips
freely between tempos.)
Upgrade a Medium or Large shield to Steel (+1 DR, gains Steel)
Add Spiked (Strikes can do piercing damage)
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Table 45 - Example Shields

Shield DR Cost Notes
Buckler 0b r2 Small. Bulk 1, Arm only, Boss, Steel
Kite 0b r2 Large. Bulk 3. Arm+3, Guiged. Enarmed
Heater 0b r3 Medium. Bulk 2. Arm+2. Boss, Enarmed
Rodela 1b r3 Medium. Bulk 2. Arm+2. Enarmed, Steel
Target 0b r1 Medium. Bulk 2. Arm+2. Enarmed

Other Melee
The following are melee weapons that a character might come across or employ that
fall outside the spectrum covered by the codices.

Blackjack. Also called a sap or cosh, this refers to any number of small, easily con-
cealed clubs most commonly with some kind of flexible or hinged element to their
construction. They are favored with brawlers and peace-keepers alike for their ability
to break bones and otherwise incapacitate while minimizing the likelihood of dealing
permanent injury to the target. Blackjacks are bulk 1 and cap damage dealt to a level
3 wound.

Cestus/Knuckle Dusters. Knuckle dusters cover any variety of various bits of metal
that cover the knuckles in order to make for a more devastating punch. The price and
profile listed cover various forms of hand-held knuckle duster, though wearing a pair
of plate gauntlets has the same effect. Related, a Cestus is a kind of specialized glove
with an exceptionally heavy bit of metal or leather covering the knuckles. A cestus
delivers a heavier punch than a gauntlet, doesn’t provide armor to the hand. It does,
however, put any kind of fine motor task (picking a lock, playing an instrument) at a
disadvantage and makes it impossible to use a weapon with a complex guard (some
swords and daggers) or any dedicated ranged weapon (bows, crossbows, firearms).

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Table 46 - Other Melee Weapons

Misc Weapons DR Reach Cost Notes
Blackjack 1b/- Close r1
Bullwhip -1c/- Ext r1 Flexible
Garotte - Cat Gut - - r1
Garotte - Steel - - r2
Scourge 0c/- Short r2 Flexible
Shiv -/0p Hand r1

Unarmed DR Reach Cost Notes

Unarmed Attack -1b/-1b Hand -
Knuckle Dusters* 0b/0b Hand r1
Cestus 1b/1b Hand r1
*Punches with gauntlets or kicks in sabatons also use this profile.

Secondary Uses DR Reach Cost Notes

Queue/Pommel 0b/0b Hand - 1h
Queue/Pommel 1b/1b Hand - 2h

Bullwhip. A single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather. Whips are pastoral
tools, meant for controlling cattle. At best they are an instrument of pain, rather than
a proper weapon. If using them in melee, a few rules apply:
• Whips use the Brawling proficiency.
• Whips are limited to the Disarm, Grab, Hook, and Swing maneuvers.
• Attacks from whips ignore favoring dice, but can’t be used to wrap around
and target rear locations unless you are actually behind your opponent.
• Whips max out at a level 3 cutting wound. Metal armor completely ignores
the damage done by a whip, regardless of MoS.
• Whips are only useful at their maximum reach. If your opponent has a
shorter weapon, your whip can’t be used during any play in which you
lack reach control. Whips can’t be used at all in a grapple.
• Whips cannot be used in a Wind.
Garotte. A length of material (most often rope or cat-gut, occasionally a scarf or simi-
lar) used to strangle someone. If used as part of a Stealth Takedown (pg XX), a success
allows you to choke the target out without killing them regardless of MoS. In full me-
lee, a garotte is only useful as part of the Hold (Strangle) maneuver, where the use of

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the weapon grants an advantage on the attack roll. Some garottes are made with steel
wire or similar, making for a far nastier piece of work. Nonlethal Stealth Takedowns
with a steel garotte are only possible if the target has armor worn around the throat.
If used in a Hold (Strangle), a steel garotte inflicts damage with a DR of 0c in addition
to advancing the clock, though only the highest impact rating would be used.

Knob/Pommel/Queue. These all refer to secondary striking surfaces on another

weapon. The knob or queue refers to the rear-end of an axe or polearm, respectively.
The pommel is the weighty bit at the end of a sword hilt. Use these statistics when
striking with the rear end of the appropriate weapon, per the handedness of said
weapon.

Scourge. Similar to a bullwhip, above, a scourge is a multi-thonged lash often made

with knots or barbs along its length in order to maximize the pain inflicted. A scourge
is a tool of punishment or torture, rather than a proper weapon. If used in melee, the
same rules apply as per the description of bullwhip, save that the barbed nature of the
thing increases its maximum damage to a level 4 cutting wound. Metal armor of any
sort completely negates the damage.

Shiv. Any number of usually improvised piercing weapons, often made from scrapped
metal or sharpened bone. The same statistics can be used for a glass bottle in a pinch,
though a shiv of any fragile material is a single-use item. Uses Brawling.

Ranged Weapon
Properties
Like melee weapons, each range will have a profile containing its relevant statistics.
For ranged weapons, this will be their DR, range, cost, and weapon traits. Ranged
weapons have a unique vulnerability to dampness. Bows and crossbows reduce their
ranges by one category each (below) and roll at a disadvantage when wet. Matchlock
firearms cannot fire at all if the match or powder are wet.

Damage Rating
Ranged weapons have a DR similar to melee weapons, listing both the base amount
and type of damage the weapon deals. Ranged DR differs in that that there is only one
DR listed and that this amount is not modified by the character’s Brawn. The damage
dealt is DR+MoS. The target’s Brawn tap value and armor apply as normal. Ranged
weapons always use the thrust wheel when determining location.

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Range
Range is measured into broad categories called range bands. Any given weapon will
have two ranges listed, separated by a slash. The first range presented will be its op-
timal range. The second represents the weapon’s maximum range, or the range at
which the weapon is still useful against a single target. Each weapon also possesses
an (unlisted) volley range, allowing the weapon to be used against massed targets at
one rangeband further than its maximum. This topic is explored further under Ranged
Combat (pg XX)
Table 47 - Range Bands
Range Bands
Melee: Anything from wrestling to pike length. Anything that happens in tight con-
fines, such as below deck on a ship. Melee confined to an area this size is cramped
terrain.
Close: Anything that happens in alleyways, living quarters, or dense woodlands.
The Disengage melee maneuver takes combatants to this range, just outside of me-
lee. <7 yards. Melee confined to an area this size is restricted terrain.
Short: Anything happening in a large hall or courtyard, wide streets, or sparse
woodlands. Longest practical distance for thrown weapons. 7-25 yards.
Medium: Anything happening in relatively open spaces, such as a field or clearing.
Maximum line of sight possible in woodlands. Details such as clothes and basic
equipment can still be seen with clarity. Longest direct fire distance for most pro-
jectiles. 25-100 yards
Long: At this distance, details such as clothes and basic equipment still remain
identifiable by their color and general shape. Noticing a single human out in the
open requires no roll but is an r3 task when obscured by surroundings. 100-200
yards.
Extended: Noticing a single standing human out in the open requires no roll, but is
an r5 task when obscured by surroundings. Naked eye can see the body outline and
usually discern skin tone. 200-400 yards.
Remote: Noticing someone out in the open is an r3 task. Naked eye can no longer
discern the head on the body outline or make out any meaningful details. 400-800
yards.

Reload
Reload (RLD) indicates how quickly a weapon can be reloaded. The number listed
indicates the number of skirmish actions that must be spent to prepare the weapon
for the next shot. RLD: 1 would mean that one action would have to be spent to reload
the weapon before it could be used again. A reload of 0 assumes thsat the reloading
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process is quick enough that you can reload it between actions. The weapon will be
considered loaded at the start of your action, but only a single attack can be made each
round. A reload of X means that the reload time is instantaneous and multiple shots
can be made each round.

Weapons that have multiple primed projectiles (such as a double-barreled firearm)

can fire multiple projectiles in the same round, but the reload times are cumulative.
A double-barreled pistol (RLD:1) could make two shots in the same action, but reload-
ing both barrels would take two actions – one for each barrel. By the same token, a
character with a pistol in each hand could fire both of them as part of the same ranged
action in a skirmish.

Ranged Weapon Traits

Like melee weapons, ranged weapons gain traits based on the type of weapon and the
codex options taken. If you gain a trait, you can list it under the notes section for the
weapon.

1h, 2h: Hands needed to fire the weapon. 1h weapons count as Bulk 1 and ignore
the cramped terrain penalty. 2h weapons count as Bulk 2 and are disadvantaged on
horseback or in cramped terrain. All dedicated ranged weapons require two hands to
reload.

Ambush: The weapon can’t be held in a readied state and thus is more difficult to use
in an ambush. The die value given is rolled when ambushing, with a 2d6 being worse
than a d6. (See Skirmish pg XX)

Compact: The weapon counts as Bulk 1 and ignores the cramped terrain penalty
regardless of handedness.

Draw: The weapon has a minimum Brawn tap value required to draw the bow.

Foot: This weapon cannot be used while mounted.

Penetrating: The weapon has the plate piercing trait at optimal range and maille
piercing at any distance further.

Massive: The weapon is so powerful that it can ignore wooden cover up to a half-foot
thick. Unfortunately, it’s too heavy to be used as a melee weapon and requires a rest to
fire. Cannot be used while mounted.

Mounted: No disadvantage for 2h use on horseback.

Silent: Makes no appreciable noise when loosed. Thrown weapons are always silent.
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Codex: Bows
Bows were among the earliest ranged weapons developed, completely changing how
we hunted and made war. Bows have a unique property listed as Draw (Draw1, Draw2,
Draw3) that refers to the draw weight of the bow. The greater the draw weight, the
more power the bow has and the more damage it does. On the other hand, the higher
the weight the more physical strength it takes to pull the arrow back to full draw. The
number listed is the Brawn tap value required to use the bow.
Table 48 - Codex: Bows
Cheap, r2
Default: Self-bow (Range: Short/Medium, RLD:X, 2h, Ambush d6.)
Draw Weight (Choose 1)
• Target (DR is 0p, Draw0. Cost-1)
• Hunting (DR is 1p, Draw1)

Common, r3
Upgrade Draw Weight to War (DR is 2p, Draw2)
Upgrade to Long Bow (+1 DR, Range becomes Short/Long. Gains Foot. Self-bow
only)

Fine, r4
Upgrade to Composite Bow (+1DR)
Upgrade to Short Bow (Gains Compact and Mounted, but requires a composite
bow. Draw1 maximum).
Add Stiff (+1 to DR, becomes RLD:0, Ambush 2d6)
Add Whiskers (Minimizes vibration, subduing the twang. Grants Silent).

Table 49 - Example Bows

Bows DR Range RLD Cost Notes
Longbow 4p Short/Med 0 r4 2h. Ambush 2d6,
Draw2, Foot
Horseman’s Bow 2p Short/Med X r4 2h. Ambush d6, Com-
pact, Draw1, Mounted
Hunting Bow 1p Short/Med X r2 2h. Ambush d6, Draw1

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Codex: Crossbows
Crossbows have a slower overall rate of fire than bows, but require nowhere near the
raw physical strength to deliver a substantial punch. A crossbow’s power is limited
by its loading mechanism. Lighter crossbows can be spanned by hand, but the more
powerful a crossbow is, the slower and more cumbersome a mechanism it requires.

Crossbows have an additional complication compared to other ranged weapons. Un-

like a firearm, a crossbow’s bolt is not securely fastened to the weapon itself. While
you can carry it loaded in hand easily enough, you can’t wear it loaded without the
bolt coming loose. In game terms, this means that unless you start a skirmish with
the weapon in-hand and loaded, a RLD:1+ will mean you need to spend your first

Table 50 - Codex: Crossbows

Common, r3
Structure (Choose 1)
• Light Crossbow (0p, 1h, Short/Medium, RLD:0)
• Medium Crossbow (2p, 2h, Short/Medium, RLD:0)
• Heavy Crossbow (4p, 2h, Short/Medium, RLD:1. Cost +1)
Stave (Choose 1)
• Self-Stave (No change)
• Composite Stave (+1DR, +1 Draw if hand-spanned)
Reload (Choose 1)
• Hand-Spanned (Light becomes Draw0, Medium becomes Draw2. Heavy
crossbows cannot be hand-spanned)
• Belt Hook (Gains Foot. Worn and cannot be lost. Light or Medium only.)
• Goat’s Foot (Light or Medium only.)
• Windlass (Gains Foot. Bulk 1)

Fine, r4
Upgrade stave to Steel (Waterproof, Cost+1) and gain either (+1DR) OR (+2DR, +1
Draw if hand-spanned).
Upgrade reload to (Choose 1)
• Cranequin (RLD:+1 Bulk 1.)
• Latchet (built into the crossbow, Light and Medium only.)
Upgrade to Slurbow (Range becomes Close/Medium. Gains Mounted. Can be
worn loaded.)
Upgrade to Stonebow (Uses sling ammunition. -1DR, Damage type switches to
blunt.)

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action(s) loading the weapon before it can be used. Likewise, if you wind up needing
both hands (climbing a wall, etc) then you will have to unload and reload the weapon
before it can be used. Unloading the weapon is always a free action. Slurbows avoid
this problem, as listed below.
Table 51 - Example Crossbows
Crossbow DR Range RLD Cost Notes
Arbalest 6p Short/Med 2 r5 Foot, Crannequin,
Waterproof
Hunting Crossbow 3p Short/Med 0 r3 Goat’s Foot
Target Crossbow 1p Short/Med 0 r3 Draw0

Codex: Firearms
Firearms offer a power and penetration unavailable in other forms. At up to optimal
range, they can penetrate plate and ignore wooden shields as cover. On the other
hand, they are loud, billow a great deal of smoke, take a long time to reload and if your
powder gets damp they won’t fire at all. Use carefully.

Unlike other ranged weapons, firearms are occasionally used as bludgeons in melee.
Assume melee stats according to type:
• Pistols: 0b/-1b, Close. 1h. Uses Brawling or Mass Weapons.
• Carbines and Long guns: 1b/1b, Short. 2h. Uses Mass Weapons or Pole-
arms.
• Long guns can be fitted with plug bayonets. Use the DR per the bayonet
(see Codex: Bladed Weapons) increased by +1 swing/+1 thrust. Reach be-
comes Medium. 2h. Uses Polearms.
• Snubbed pistols and Wall Guns can’t be used as bludgeons in melee.
Matchlocks face something of a problem on their own. While any firearm can be worn
loaded, matchlocks require a lit match on hand. They smoke, they smolder, they smell.
They make stealth all but impossible and they can’t fire at all in the rain. Further, if
you start a skirmish without having one lit (you were wearing the gun or had it in
storage), then lighting the match consumes a slow action in skirmish. All of this can
be avoided by upgrading to a wheellock mechanism, below.

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Table 52 - Codex: Firearms

Common, r3
Caliber (choose 1)
• Light (2p. Ammo uses 8-clock)
• Medium (3p. Ammo uses 6-clock)
• Heavy (4p. Ammo uses 4-clock. Weapon is Cost+1)
Length (choose 1)
• Snubbed. (Range: Melee/Close. RLD:1. 1h. Penetrating. Counts as bulk 0
and Hand reach for concealment and Quick Draw. Light or medium cali-
bers only.)
• Pistol (Range: Close/Short. RLD:1. 1h. Penetrating. Counts as Close reach
for concealment and Quick Draw)
• Carbine (+1 to DR. Range: Close/Medium. RLD:2. 1h. Penetrating. Counts
as Medium reach for concealment and Quick Draw.)
• Long (+1 to DR. Range: Short/Medium. RLD:2. 2h. Foot. Plate Piercing.
Bulk 2. Cannot be Quick Drawn)

Fine, r4
Upgrade length to Wall Gun (+2 to DR. Range: Medium/Long. RLD:3. 2h. Foot.
Massive. Plate Piercing. Bulk 2.)
Upgrade to Wheellock (RLD:+1. No burning match required!)
Upgrade to double-barrel (Cost+2)
Add Rifling (Incease max range by 1 band, increase RLD by 1. Cost+1.)
Add Buttplate (+1 to blunt DR, does not affect bayonettes)

Table 53 - Example Firearms

Firearms DR Range RLD Cost Notes
Belly Pistol 3p Mel/Close 2 r4 1h. Penetrating, 6-clock,
Wheellock, Hand-Conceal
Caliver 4p Short/Med 2 r3 2h. Foot, Plate Piercing,
6-clock
Long Rifle 5p Short/Long 3 r6 2h. Foot, Plate Piercing4-
clock. Wheellock.
Petronel 3p Close/Med 2 r3 1h. Penetrating. 8-clock
Pistol 3p Close/Short 2 r4 1h. Penetrating. 6-clock.
Wheellock

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Other Ranged
Weapons
The following are ranged weapons that a character might come across or employ that
fall outside of the spectrum covered by the codices.

Balestrino. An all-steel crossbow, small enough to be worn on the belt and loosed
with one hand. These are occasionally referred to as “assassin’s crossbows”, but in
practice their expensive construction and relative lack of power makes them more
likely to be a novelty of the nobility than a clandestine weapon. Balestrino are cocked
with a screwjack, making the reloading process simple but time-consuming. A Bal-
estrino is Bulk 0 and hand-reach for purposes of concealment.

Sling. Among the oldest ranged weapons, their simplicity makes a codex redundant.
Slings come in three varieties, as listed above. Short and Long slings are insignificant
weapons for purposes of encumbrance and can be worn as a headband or around
a wrist. Staff slings count as cumbersome weapons, but when the sling element is
secured (wrapped and tied around the stave) it can be used as a quarterstaff with the
profile: 1b/1b, Long, 2h.

Thrown weapons. Most thrown weapons are made using the relevant melee codex.
Follow the instructions there to work out the damage rating and cost. When thrown,
use the weapon’s most favorable DR, including your Brawn tap (an exception to the
normal ranged weapon rule). Spears use ranges listed. Thrown axes, hammers, knives,
and so on use Other. If the weapon lacks the Thrown property, it attacks at a disad-
vantage.
Table 54 - Other Ranged Weapons
Weapons DR Range RLD Cost Notes
Balestrino 1p Melee/Short 3 r4 1h. Silent
Sling, Long 1b Short/Med 0 r1 1h. Ambush d6
Sling, Short 1b Close/Short X r1 1h. Ambush d6
Sling, Staff 2b Short/Med 0 r2 2h. Ambush d6

Thrown DR Range RLD Cost Notes

Found Rock -1b Melee/Short X N/A
Spear * Close/Short X *
Other * Melee/Close X *

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Ammunition
Ranged weapons generally require some form of ammunition, which we track with
clocks. Each clock is worth 1 bulk and is labeled per type of ammunition it represents:
a quiver of arrows, a bag of powder and shot, and so on. After each scene in which
the ammunition was used, mark off a segment. When you are on your last segment,
watch your dice.

In a skirmish (pg XX), you will roll dice based on your action type. Whenever you are
on your last segment and choose an action that would involve your ranged weapon
(aim, ambush, shooting, reload, run and gonne) and your sequence die comes as a 6 (6
on a d6, a total of 6 on a 2d6) then you’ve hit the end of your ammunition. Roll a d3.
You have that many rounds remaining, not counting the one either in your weapon
now or the one you were loading when you rolled it.

Jaff has been riding the last segment of his powder and shot clock for a while
now. He throws a red d6 for a shooting action this round. To his chagrin, it
comes up a 6. On his action, he rolls a d3 to see how many shots he has left
and comes up with 2. He has three shots total, counting the ball already loaded
in his pistol. If he’d been using a bow instead, he’d have the arrow he was
currently nocking and two more remaining in his quiver.

If you are down to your last segment and using ammunition outside of a skirmish,
just roll a d6 when you go to make the shot. If it comes up a 6, the above rules apply.

Different kinds of ammunition will have different sized clocks based on their type:
• Bows use a 4-clock to represent a quiver of arrows.
• Crossbows use a 6-clock to represent a quiver of bolts.
• Slings and stonebows use a clock per the ammunition used, as listed on
the table.
• Firearms use a clock depending on caliber to represent their powder and
shot as listed in their codex. Multiple kinds of firearms can share the
same clock so long as they are using the same caliber of ammunition.
Refilling a clock is a wealth check with the req given. If you are paying a maintenance
req at least twice the listed cost, you can assume that refilling the clock is covered
by maintenance rather than requiring a new wealth check each time. Likewise, if
your Patron would be supplying you with ammunition, no wealth check is required.
In either case, your clock is only refilled if you would have the opportunity to do so.
This means going back to where your ammunition is kept (your home, your Patron)
or seeking out someone who sells it. This can all be done off-screen and during down-
time, but only if it isn’t contradicted by present circumstances. If you’re traveling
across open wilderness and run out of powder and shot for your pistol, you can’t refill
your clock until you’ve returned to sufficient civilization that you could resupply.
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Ammunition table
Each weapon has different kinds of ammunition available. If you bought more than
one variety for a specific weapon, you can assume the clock includes whatever variet-
ies you own. This only works within a given type of ammunition. If you buy Broad-
heads and Stout Bodkins, you can assume that your quiver of arrows has both types of
arrows. You can’t assume that it has both arrows and crossbow bolts. If your weapon
has different clocks for different types of ammunition (for instance, slings) then a
mixed load of ammunition uses the smallest clock that would apply.

Table 55 - Ammunition
Arrows and Bolts, Civilian. R1 per clock.
General Purpose. Default assumed arrows, dealing standard damage per the
weapon’s profile.
Target Head. Narrow and without barbs. Blood loss capped at BL1 as long as the
arrow stays in the wound. Easy to retrieve.
Broadhead. Bladed arrowhead. +1DR against non-metal targets, but -2DR vs Metal.
Fowling Head. Forked head meant for small game. Ignores “target is small” ranged
complication, but is -3DR against anything larger than a goose.

Arrows and Bolts, Military. R1 per clock.

Long Bodkin. Sharp, thin arrowhead. Maille Piercing, but -2DR vs plate.
Stout Bodkin. Short, heavy. Gains Penetrating.

Bullets, Firearm. R2 per clock.

Ball. Lead balls cast to the correct bore-diameter. Standard damage per profile.
Shot. Lead pellets, loaded as scatter shot. Ignores up to 2 complexity, but halves DR
past optimal range.

Bullets, Sling. R2 per clock.

Clay. Egg-size stone bullet. Default damage profile. 6-clock for r1.
Crowbane. Acorn-sized stone or clay bullet. -1DR, 8-clock for r1. Yes, we made the
name up.
Lead. Acorn-sized stone bullet. Changes damage type to piercing. 8-clock for r2.
Rocks. As clay bullets, but shots take +1 complexity. 6-clock. R1 survival check to
find suitable material.

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But This One is Mine

As long as there have been weapons, people have personalized and decorated them.
Sometimes, these modifications are fashion and individual preference. At other times,
they are can be deeply personal, ranging from victories notched into the haft of an
axe, to intricate heraldry gilt in gold on a sword’s hilt. History and myth are replete
with famous blades inscribed with names, mottos, or prayers along their length.

For the upper class, weapons provide another arena for the display of wealth. In this
regard, they serve a function similar to armor and can vastly improve one’s chances of
ransom, but with the additional benefit that sidearms can be worn in nearly any social
situation. Thus such a display of wealth can carry its influence outside of a battlefield
setting.

The table below breaks down example ornamentation by tiers of price and quality.
When calculating the cost of an ornamented weapon, use the highest of either the
weapon’s cost req or the ornamentation cost. Do not add these together. As a result,
buying a weapon of a given req allows you to freely take any ornamentations of an
equal or lesser value. Likewise, buying more expensive ornamentations allows you to
take codex uptions up to the ornamentation’s req in cost.

Table 56 - Example Weapon Ornamentation Reqs

Req Miscellaneous
r2 Cheap. Amateur carvings; makeshift fittings replaced with antler, bone, or
horn; decoratively painted; personal modifications and trench art.
r3 Common. Decorative fullers; craftsman’s fittings of antler, bone, or horn or
cast in brass or bronze, inlays or trims of the same.
r4 Fine. Basic sculptural elements (pommel suggesting a bird’s beak, a mace
head shaped like a fist); minor elements etched onto a blade or engraved onto
the fittings (a name, motto, minor illustrative elements); metals brought to a
fine satin polish; surfaces trimmed in or inlaid with silver.
r7 Opulent. Elaborate sculptural elements (quillons hammered into eagle’s
wings, engraved with the texture of feathers); Fittings made from or deco-
rated with exotic materials (ivory, mother of pearl, exotic leathers); set with
semi-precious stones; metals mirror polished, or plated in silver; minor gold
trimming, gilding, or inlays.
r12 Royal. Weapon entirely sculpted, etched, or engraved in intricate detail; met-
als blued or gilt in gold; fittings set with precious stones.

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Encumbrance

Many games keep meticulous track of a character’s inventory and equipment. This
isn’t one of them. Most of the time, you won’t need these rules. Encumbrance only
really comes into play when you have a character wearing significant armor or the
campaign is as such that your characters are required to carry a lot of personal gear.

Bulk
To keep things simple, weight and size are abstracted into bulk. Anything a character
might carry is divided up into three categories. Insignificant items do not individu-
ally contribute to bulk. They can be tracked with as much or as little specificity as suits
the circumstance. Each significant item adds 1 point of bulk. Each cumbersome
item adds 2. Armor is tracked separately, as below.

Insignificant. Anything that is part of normal clothing, or can fit easily into a pocket
or small purse. A worn doublet or a pair of shoes, jewelry, a coin purse, a piece of
chalk, a dagger or pocket knife, flint and steel.

Significant. Anything that has nontrivial weight or bulk to it, but can still be com-
fortably carried or worn. A buckler, a sword, a pistol or pair of pistols, multiple knives
or daggers, a belt-pouch full of insignificant items, a small coil of rope, a sheaf of
arrows, a powder horn and shot.

Cumbersome. Anything heavy or awkward that can still be worn relatively easily. A
backpack or large sack of insignificant items, a large coil of rope, a bow or crossbow,
any other firearm, most shields, any weapon with Extended reach or that must be
carried in the hand (such as a spear)
Book III: Avarice

Add up the your total bulk. If it exceeds your character’s Brawn, the difference be-
comes encumbrance. Encumbrance counts against your character in applicable
physical tasks, penalizing their die pool for things like running, climbing, balance,
or melee combat.

Your character can carry up to their Brawn score in encumbrance. If their encum-
brance exceeds their Brawn, they can at best drag their load. The maximum drag
weight is at twice your Brawn in encumbrance.

Heavy Loads
The GM may set an even higher bulk for items that are exceptionally heavy or weren’t
meant to be carried on a person, such as a small cask of wine. Generally speaking,
these aren’t the sorts of things players will habitually carry on their person, but you
never know when someone will need to perform a dangerous task while carrying
something heavy.

Often enough, one character will have to carry another to safety. The bulk for a
humanoid character is equal to their Brawn value. If they are wearing one or more
significant items, increase it by 1. If they are wearing one or more cumbersome item,
increase it by 2 instead. If they have the Huge trait, increase it by the trait’s value. If
they are wearing significant or heavy armor, feel free to increase this by another 1 or
2.

If more than one person is helping to carry a heavy item (or a character being dragged
can help move themselves), they can use their Brawn as help for any non-combat
task that might be penalized by encumbrance but the speed at which you can move
together is effectively halved. In skirmish, this reduces all distances by one band.

Readied Items
Readied items are those worn in such a way that they can be instantly accessed, such
as a weapon worn on a belt or a lock-pick tucked up a sleeve. Readied items can be
drawn in melee or as part of any action in a skirmish. Otherwise, accessing an item
requires a slow action to rummage through one’s belongings for it.

You can have up to three items readied for free. For +1 bulk, you can have to three
more items readied, for a total of six. This increase in bulk is in addition to the bulk of
the items themselves.

Any item that is carried in the hand is considered readied by default and thus does not
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 Encumbrance

take up a readied item slot. This effectively means that weapons that cannot be worn
(such as a halberd) are always considered readied when carried.

Armor Penalty
Armor is handled in a slightly different way than the general bulk of equipment.
Each piece of armor will have an armor penalty (AP) attached. For each piece or set
of armor you’re wearing, add up the AP. Sometimes, the AP will be something other
than a whole number. This is fine. Record it as-is for the sake of calculating your total
penalty. If the end result is anything other than a whole number, just round it down.

Armor penalty does not add to your bulk and is not reduced by Brawn. It adds directly
to encumbrance. If you are wearing 1.5AP worth of armor, you will suffer -1d to any
applicable physical ability checks and take -1 to your Combat Pools in melee.

163
 Book IV:
Tribulation
Connections
& Contacts

Few characters exist in a vacuum. While you can certainly create a lone wanderer
unattached to the world through which they drift, it’s often more fun to play some-
one with ties to people and places in the campaign. Most of the characters you will
encounter in play will be of the GM’s creation, but you have a few different ways to
introduce NPCs of your own as the need arises.

Connections Rolls
The connections roll is an abstract way to represent all of other minor acquain-
tances and relationships your character may have had over the course of their life.
A connections roll is made whenever you want to introduce a new character to the
campaign who can be of some service to you. The connections roll is a pool built in
two parts (the Network skill and the connection, below) and made at FTN3 against
a req based on the rarity and specificity of the person or service you are looking for.

What Do You Want?

First, you need to know what you’re looking for. This will always be some sort of
person, but your purpose in seeking them can vary wildly. You may be looking for a
favor or service (“Someone with a carriage who can keep a secret.”), for a specific piece
of information (“Dirt on the Lady Sheridan”) or even just a character with specific
qualities (“Arrange a suitable marriage for my heir.”) Connections rolls start at r1,
but the more obscure, rare, or difficult the thing is that you’re looking for, the more
difficult it is to find someone that can help you.
Book IV: Tribulation

Table 57 - Connections - Service is...

Req Service is...
+0r General common knowledge or practice, common trades
+1r Uncommon, specific, or requiring advanced training or education
+3r Rare, obscure, esoteric, expensive or guarded +2r Unique, secret, or forbidden

Next you need to narrow down who it is that you’re looking for. When the main goal is
the specific information or service, you’ll need to figure out what sort of person would
be able to provide what you’re looking for. In other cases, your focus may be on the
qualities of the person themselves (“An exceptionally loyal, attractive young nobleman
that I can woo”). Either way, those qualities are handled below.

Table 58 - Connections - Character is...

Req Character is...
+0r Same social class or station
+1r Of a lower social class or station
+2r Of a higher social class or station
+3r Of the highest stations in the setting
+2r Exceptionally skilled in the field for which they are sought
+1-3r, Possessed of a specific disposition or unusual trait
each

Finally, it’s worth considering the time frame for the contact. Finding someone on
short notice is always going to be more difficult than when time is not an issue.
Table 59 - Connections - Needed...
Req Needed...
+0r Whenever, wherever is convenient +0r
+1r At a time/place unusual for the NPC +1r
+2r Right here, right now +2r

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 Connections & Contacts

Make a Connection
The Network skill forms the basic pool for a connections roll, representing the people
your character has known and the relationships they have cultivated over the course
of their life. Network on its own is not quite enough, however. To call up an NPC, you
need to be able to draw some kind of bridge between your character and the character
in question using one of your other skills or traits. For instance:
• Members of the same group, using an Affiliation trait as the bridge
• Professional acquaintances, using a Trade skill as the bridge
• Went to university together, using the Education skill as the bridge
• Grew up together, using a background Character Trait as the bridge
• A criminal acquaintance, using the Streetwise skill as the bridge
Any number of different skills or traits can apply, but the GM has final discretion on
the plausibility of the bridge. If something seems like a stretch, it probably is. Your
bridge occupies one of the two tapping slots for the connections roll even if it does not
have a die value high enough to contribute to the pool. The other slot can be tapped
into whatever might apply, with Affiliations, background Character Traits, Reputa-
tions, and Status here being of particular use.

Keep in mind that your choice of bridge may dictate the choices you can make when
deciding on the particulars of the target character. Using Politics as a bridge is gener-
ally going to put the target character into the ranks of the upper class. The reverse
would also be true. If the service you need would have to come from a noble, Street-
wise is unlikely to work as a bridge.

Missing Link
Sometimes you’re missing one or more parts of a connections roll. Making do without
always carries a penalty, but the penalty in question depends on which portion of the
roll you are missing.
• If you have the Network skill, but no skill or trait you possess would
bridge you to the character you want to know, you can make the roll as
above but at double the normal req.
• If you do not have the Network skill, you can use the bridge as a sub at
the normal req.
• If you have neither, you can default to make the attempt. Your base pool is
1d and the req remains the same, but all dice are at FTN6 instead of FTN3.
Regardless, if you are missing any part of a connections roll, you can only tap one
other ability or trait into the roll. Help, tools, and Dig Deep all apply as normal.
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Book IV: Tribulation

Additional Dice
Wealth can be used as a tool in a connections roll, representing resources spent in
search of and reaching out to the person in question. To work as a tool, a wealth check
must be made with a req equal to the amount of dice desired. Getting two tool dice
would be r2. This check can be rolled with Assets, paid in Coin, or a combination of
the two.

Other players can opt to help another on a connections roll as well. This follows the
normal rules for help, lending the tap value of either their Network skill or an appro-
priate skill or trait. Alternatively, they could supply wealth as a tool, as above, though
the maximum tool bonus on a roll can never exceed 3 dice.

Success
The character in question need not have existed in the game prior to the moment you
decided to look for them. The outcome of the connections roll determines the rest.

On a successful roll, you find someone matching your description and can get in touch
with them within the time frame desired. Work with the GM to name them and work
out an explanation as to how you knew this person. Do you share some history? Have
you worked together before? Is this a friend of a friend or just a name you picked up
in passing?

Once you’ve named them, they become a contact and go on your NPC list. No con-
nections rolls are required to look up or get in touch with a contact in the future, you
simply require the means and opportunity to do so. On an MoS3+, you not only knew
this character, you share some meaningful history with them. You gain them as a
1d Bond, per the trait. On an MoS5+, this becomes a 2d Bond. Be sure to explain the
nature of the Bond and the history you two share.

Success does not guarantee that the character contacted will ultimately do what you
want. That is a thing to be resolved in a scene of its own, occasionally resorting to
social conflict or wealth checks when persuasion or funding is needed. The more dif-
ficult, dangerous, or expensive the thing is that you’re asking for, the more likely that
you’ll have to convince or compensate the character for their help.

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 Connections & Contacts

Failure
A failure can represent any number of things that run counter to your intent, but
they always introduce some kind of complication. The GM may simply declare that
you weren’t able to find someone of the sort you were looking for. Alternatively, you
might find them but they may not be available at the time or place you need them. You
may find them, but they are either unable or unwilling to help you. Worse, they may
be willing to help but their assistance may be useless or even counterproductive. The
NPC may even harbor some quiet grudge against you that you’ve entirely forgotten
about, being either outwardly hostile or intentionally subversive. If you were looking
for something illegal or dangerous, a failure might even represent third parties taking
notice of your activities.

Regardless of outcome or complication, if an NPC of some sort is introduced, you may

add them to your list as a contact.

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Book IV: Tribulation

NPCs from Traits

Connections rolls allow you to introduce new contacts during play, but several traits
will allow you to establish supporting NPCs during character creation.
• Bonds are the most direct of these, allowing you to both establish an
NPC and dictate the nature of your relationship with them. Any Bond
is taken as a contact automatically, along with its appropriate die value.
• Retainers take this a step further and allow you to not only establish the
relationship, but actually build the NPC yourself. Retainers can be added
as a contact, but due to the close nature of the relationship it’s usually not
necessary.
• Patrons and Status both create a contact directly who is the character’s
employer or Status-granter.
• Affiliation creates a body of NPCs who are assumed to be members of
that group, but they are not all immediately defined at character cre-
ation. Create one contact representing someone in that organization your
character deals with, whether that’s the leader of the organization or
some kind of immediate supervisor or handler. If you are the leader of
the Affiliation, create a contact representing an NPC who functions as
your second in command, steward, quartermaster, or other intermediary
between yourself and the Affiliation as a whole.
• Claim creates an NPC or group of NPCs as opposition, standing between
you and the Claim you intend to press. Add one such character as a con-
tact, but be warned; you won’t need a connections roll to get in touch with
them, but that doesn’t remotely mean they will be cooperative.

170
 Social
Conflict

There exist a number of social skills whose sole purpose is to convince someone to do
something. Using one of these skills calls for a particular kind of ability check called
a social conflict and carries with it some specific rules.

Most interactions won’t require a social conflict. Under normal circumstances, you
don’t need to convince your spouse to have dinner with you. We can assume they are
willing enough. Likewise, you don’t need to convince the smith to shoe your horse;
you need to pay them. Often enough, no roll will be required. The person may be
predisposed, consider the request inconsequential, or they may just ask for some form
of compensation.

Social conflict occurs when what you want is above and beyond what that person is
willing to give. This is most often because what you want is unusual for that character
(a smith giving away his labor for free) or they have their own reasons to refuse (a
guard with orders not to let anyone past).

Artful
Argumentation
Social skills are not mind control. You can’t roll a few dice and change someone’s core
beliefs or force them to agree with you. They might ultimately do so anyway, but that’s
beyond your power. Instead, the scope of a social conflict is confined to action. You are
trying to convince them to do what you want them to do, not believe what you want
Book IV: Tribulation

them to believe. To that end, a social conflict is ultimately an argument as to why they
should perform some action in accordance with your intent.

Your base pool for a social conflict is determined by the approach taken to persuading
your target. Each social skill represents a different style or tactic of argument:
• Coercion is a threat. Do what I say or else.
• Command is an appeal to authority or hierarchy, generally with the as-
sumption that the character using it is in a position of authority over the
character it is being used upon.
• Manipulation is an attempt to convince someone that they want what
you want, either through pity, raw emotional appeal, or naked self-inter-
est.
• Negotiation is an attempt to bargain with someone and reach a mutually
beneficial arrangement.
• Oration is rhetorical grandstanding, persuasion through flowery prose,
logical argumentation, or cleverly concealed sophistry.
You’ll note there is no deception skill. Each social skill represents the way you approach
the interaction, not the veracity of the claims you make. That said, your honesty does
factor into what might be rolled to resist your argument. There is one exception to
this, however:
• Will as an attribute is invoked when none of the above apply or when
the argument being made is a sincere appeal to an ideal: reason, morality,
honor, duty, or other virtue. Will can only be used as a social skill when
the character legitimately believes in what they are saying.

Supporting Arguments
The kind of argument determines the base of your pool, but other factors may come
into play. Your character’s other abilities and traits are fertile ground for tapping
into social conflicts. Character traits like Huge or Menacing Scars are good taps for
a Coercion attempt to intimidate someone. Voluptuous and Amputee both make good
Manipulate taps, depending on whether you want to seduce someone or play on their
pity. Similarly, your character’s other skills can be invaluable. An argument could
easily be based around Medicine, Education, Lore (Philosophy) or any number of other
skills and thus be tapped into play.

The important thing is that for a tap to apply, it has to be worked into the argument
itself. It must be role-played into the conversation. Even then, it’s not a guaranteed
benefit. Traits can cut both ways and nowhere more so than in a social conflict. The

172
 Social Conflict

same Reputation that might help you with one character could actively count against
you if used against another.

Characters can also help each other in a social conflict, following all of the normal
rules for help, pg XX. As above, the most important thing is that for help to apply in a
social conflict, it must be role-played into the scene. That said, help can cut both ways
as well. It’s entirely possible for someone to try to help that they’ve offended the very
character they were trying to help persuade.

Resisting
The defender in a social conflict builds their own pool based on the tactic taken by the
other side.
• If the persuasion relies on temptation, or an appeal to something (emo-
tion, authority, reason, fear, one’s better nature), then it’s resisted by the
defender’s Will.
• If the persuasion relies on deception or subtle social maneuvering then it
is resisted by Keen.
• If either could apply, or it isn’t obvious which would apply, use the higher
of the two values.
The defender can also tap in their own skills or traits as appropriate, including any
that mirror those that the persuading character brought into play. If your opponent
tries to intimidate you and taps in one of their proficiencies, it opens the door for you
to tap in your own. You’re less likely to be intimidated by his personal combat prow-
ess if you know how to defend yourself, after all. If they bring up the power of their
organization, it allows you to tap an Affiliation or Status of your own in response. You
are only as impressed by their organization as you would be relative to the impressive-
ness of your own. That said, no matter what your opponent brings up, the normal rules
apply. You can still only tap in two things. Help applies as normal.

Counterargument
Social conflicts aren’t always one-sided affairs. When both sides want to convince
the other of a course of action, forgo the resistance rules. Have both sides make their
arguments and build pools around them, along with tapping and help. Optionally, in
such a situation one of those taps can be the appropriate resistance attribute. Role-play
the scene and then roll their arguments in contest. As with any conflict, winner brings
about their intent.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Resolution
If one side is successful in persuading the other to do something, the outcome depends
on whether the persuaded character was a PC or an NPC. If an NPC was persuaded
to do something, then they go along with whatever was asked of them in accordance
with the player’s intent. The result is mechanically binding.

If a PC is persuaded, then the thing is slightly more complicated. On a success, the

victor has the choice of either offering the PC a point of drama to go along with the
decision OR making them burn a point of drama to back out. On an MoS3+, the victor
can choose either of the above options or both. This follows a similar rule to tempta-
tion for traits. If one of your drives or traits would directly contradict the situation,
you can still choose to accept the offer but you have the additional choice to refuse it
without cost. Regardless, any drama burnt in this fashion can be applied as a mark
towards any advancement.

Ties and Escalation

A tied result depends on whether one or both sides were making an argument. In a
one-sided social conflict, a tie means that the persuading character brings about their
intent at the cost of a complication. Alternatively, it could mean that the target will
offer a compromise, going along with the victor’s intent but at some significant price.
If both sides were making arguments, then a tie could mean that neither get what they
want or some compromise was reached, as above.

Players unhappy with the results can always escalate the situation. This follows the
normal rules for escalation, but in a social conflict that can sometimes be difficult.
Generally speaking, an escalation attempt requires either an additional, unsavory
form of leverage (for instance, blackmail) or jumping to physical violence and an en-
tirely different kind of conflict. In either case, an escalation always introduces some
kind of complication.

174
 Social Conflict

Tough Sells
Some things are going to be harder to sell than others. If you’re in a social conflict, it
means that the target already has some reason to resist your persuasion. Certain fac-
tors about the situation may make it even harder for you to convince them. For each of
the following that apply, add a +1r to your attempt to persuade them (see Reqs Outside
of Simple Conflicts, pg XX):
• What you ask would incur a significant personal cost to them or involve
putting them at significant risk.
• They would have significant moral, philosophical, or religious objections
to what you’re asking them to do.
• The claims you are making sound unlikely or far-fetched.
• They are prejudiced against you, or have a reason to distrust you, person-
ally.
If one of these would be a massive factor (e.g., it’s not just risky, it’s most likely that
they would be caught and executed; your claim isn’t just unlikely, it’s fantastical) then
this req can be increased by +2 or even +3 on top of the normal contested roll. Con-
versely, if the opposite would apply (What you’re asking would be mutually beneficial;
their philosophy would actively endorse the thing you are asking; they are biased in
your favor) then you can reduce the req by 1. If the sum of the modifiers is 0 or less,
then no req would apply. A negative req will never grant any kind of bonus dice for
the persuader.

The Unthinkable
There are some things people just won’t do, barring the most extraordinary of circum-
stances. You can’t walk into the palace and convince the King to abdicate the throne.
To even have the grounds for such an attempt would require a powerful army, a long
war, and a great deal of political support behind you. The more dramatic your demand,
the more powerful the leverage you must have behind it before a social conflict is
possible.

Similarly, certain approaches just won’t work on some people regardless of how high
your dice pool might be. Appeal to religious authority when dealing with an atheist
and it will fall on deaf ears. Try to seduce someone whose sexual orientation precludes
you and you may well be laughed at.

If what you want just isn’t a realistic demand in context or your means of persuasion
just wouldn’t work on the person in question, the GM is within their power to deny
the roll entirely.
175
 Skirmish

Managing the flow of combat is an interesting proposition for any game. On the one
hand, real combat is one of the most chaotic and hellish environments one can imag-
ine. Everything seems to happen all at once and too quickly for any one participant
to make sense of it all. A completely accurate representation would be difficult to
actually game in. On the other hand, you don’t want to structure things so precisely
that you lose the chaotic energy that makes a fight so dangerous and unpredictable.
For us, the solution was to turn to fiction.

Setting the Scene

Role-playing is a performance that happens chiefly in the mind’s eye. When a skir-
mish starts, it’s worthwhile to make sure that everyone is picturing the same thing.
This doesn’t need to mean getting out miniatures and maps, just make sure that ev-
eryone is on the same page regarding the general spatial relationships at play and any
environmental elements they should be aware of.
 Skirmish

Skirmish, in Brief

Don’t worry if this doesn’t make sense yet. It’s a quick reference for after you’ve
read the rest of this section.
1. Set the scene. Establish the physical surroundings in the scene. This
doesn’t need to mean maps and minis, just make sure everyone’s
on the same page. Of particular note, clarify the range (Table XX)
combatants are at and the environment (pg XX).
2. Choose your dice. At the start of each round, choose a category of
action for your character and grab the appropriate die. A Red d6 is
some kind of attack. A White d6 is some kind of movement. To do
both or neither, roll 2d6. You don’t need to specify your action now,
just lock yourself into a type.
3. Roll. Everyone rolls their dice at the same time. Lower results are
better and act first.
4. Sequence. Count up from 1. Each time someone’s number comes
up, they resolve their action with whatever that entails (see pg XX).
Keep going until everyone has acted. Repeat 2-4 as needed until the
fight is over. You don’t need to worry about 1 again unless something
changes.

Not Always Necessary

Skirmish makes it easy to run complex combat scenes, but it isn’t always necessary.
In some cases, it’s easier just to play out the specific actions. A sniper’s shot can be
resolved as a single ranged combat action; the skirmish system wouldn’t be neces-
sary unless people will be shooting back. A duel between two swordsman can be
resolved inside of a bout, no skirmish necessary. Even a melee with several sets
of combatants can often be handled by separating them into as many bouts and
then cutting between them as appropriate. The skirmish framework is only really
necessary when you have multiple characters on either side and those characters
may each be doing very different things, particularly when the environment is at
such a scale that movement actions will be necessary.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Range
Space and distance are tracked with range bands, which break distance into seven
loose categories. In play, they are primarily used to establish engagement distances
and weapon ranges.
Table 60 - Range Bands
Range Bands
Melee: Anything from wrestling to pike length. Anything that happens in tight con-
fines, such as below deck on a ship. Melee confined to an area this size is cramped
terrain.
Close: Anything that happens in alleyways, living quarters, or dense woodlands.
The Disengage melee maneuver takes combatants to this range, just outside of me-
lee. <7 yards. Melee confined to an area this size is restricted terrain.
Short: Anything happening in a large hall or courtyard, wide streets, or sparse
woodlands. Longest practical distance for thrown weapons. 7-25 yards.
Medium: Anything happening in relatively open spaces, such as a field or clearing.
Maximum line of sight possible in woodlands. Details such as clothes and basic
equipment can still be seen with clarity. Longest direct fire distance for most pro-
jectiles. 25-100 yards
Long: At this distance, details such as clothes and basic equipment still remain
identifiable by their color and general shape. Noticing a single human out in the
open requires no roll but is an r3 task when obscured by surroundings. 100-200
yards.
Extended: Noticing a single standing human out in the open requires no roll, but is
an r5 task when obscured by surroundings. Naked eye can see the body outline and
usually discern skin tone. 200-400 yards.
Remote: Noticing someone out in the open is an r3 task. Naked eye can no longer
discern the head on the body outline or make out any meaningful details. 400-800
yards.

Environment
For our purposes, the environment covers everything from potentially hazardous
terrain (loose rocks, a narrow staircase) to sources of cover (crumbling wall, thick
trees), or anything else that might be of interest (pouring rain, dim lighting, bitter
cold). Don’t worry about establishing the precise measurements of everything. Just get
everyone clear on the broad strokes.

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 Skirmish

Of particular note, the amount of clutter in the immediate area can be important as
well. For our purposes, all terrain falls under one of three conditions:
• Cramped Terrain is anywhere that the terrain itself makes it harder to
move freely, such as the inside of a ship’s hold or fighting in dense brush.
• Restricted Terrain is anywhere that you can move comfortably, but
there are still obstacles to be minded, such as most indoor environments,
tight alleyways, or dense woodland.
• Open Terrain is anywhere that you could get away with swinging a
six-foot sword around without worrying about thumping into something.
Wide streets, open fields, sparse woodlands.
While the terrain categories can overlap with range bands, they are not dependent
upon them. Moving to Melee range with someone in an open field does not suddenly
impose cramped terrain. The density of the terrain always trumps distance.

Terrain conditions can have a number of effects, but the most immediately significant
is on handling of weapons, see Sidebar: Reach and Terrain, pg XX.

One Dramatic Thing

In fiction, combat scenes tend to be broken up in a very specific way. Rather than try to
show us the whole flurry of action at once, the camera zooms in on a specific character
and follows their actions for a few beats. We watch until something important hap-
pens, then we switch off to the next character.

Skirmish follows this same model. Time is structured into rounds that we can assume
last anywhere from 10-20 seconds, but for our purposes the exact length of time isn’t
important.

During the a round, each character gets to do one dramatic thing, which we refer to
as an action. This can be anything as simple as picking a lock or dressing a wound,
or as complex as engaging a handful of enemies in a bout of swordsmanship. The im-
portant thing is that the camera picks up on that character and sticks with them until
either the matter is resolved, or it becomes clear that it can’t yet be resolved. Once the
character’s action is up, the camera cuts away to the next character in the sequence.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Sequence
Sequence is a pacing device, breaking down each round into steps. Each round begins
counting at 1 and continues counting up one step at a time until it hits 12. At the
beginning of each round, each player will choose a category of action (below) that
determines the die or dice the player will roll. All players involved (including the GM,
for the NPCs present) then roll their dice more or less simultaneously. The value of the
dice rolled determines on what step that character’s action will take place. The actions
are resolved from the lowest to the highest result until everyone has had their action
and a new round begins.

If two or more actions would take place on the same step, they can be assumed to
happen simultaneously unless the success of one of those actions might interfere with
the success of the other. If it’s a tie between a PC and an NPC, the PC goes first. If it’s
a tie between two PCs or two NPCs, resolve it with a contest of Speed. No help or taps
apply.

The die or dice rolled for your sequence depends on what your character wants to try
to accomplish during their action that round. All actions will fall into one of three
categories:
• Red d6: Any attack-only action.
• White d6: Any movement-only action.
• 2d6: Any action that is neither of those, or a combination of the two.
Once the dice are rolled, your character is locked into the category of action they
chose. If you rolled a red d6, you’re going to have to make an attack. You are free to
wait until your step to decide upon or reveal your target, but the course of action is set.
It is possible to change your mind and pursue a different category of action, but doing
so automatically changes your effective sequence step to 13. You will act last after any
other character has gone.

If two or more character’s actions force a direct contest with each other (being en-
gaged in melee, two or more parties racing one another) then when the first character
engaged in that contest comes up in sequence, everyone involved acts simultaneously.
However, doing so consumes everyone’s actions in the process.

Jaff spots a pistoleer on the wall taking aim at his partner Diego. The next
round comes up and Jaff and the pistoleer both throw red. Jaff rolls a 2, the
pistoleer a 4. On Jaff’s step in sequence, he charges the pistoleer and engages
him in melee. Because the two are now in direct contest with one another, the
pistoleer’s action is consumed by fighting with Jaff on step 2, his 4 effectively
ignored. Diego gets to lives another day.
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Waiting
Sometimes you will want to hold your character’s action until a later step in the se-
quence, usually because what you want to do requires waiting until some other char-
acter acts. If the action would not directly affect any other character or is intended
to work with an ally (e.g., helping to drag someone to safety), then characters can
freely choose any later step in sequence they wish including acting simultaneously
with another character. If you are waiting to time an attack, you will have to use an
ambush, explained below.

Attack Actions (Red D6)

Anything that is primarily an attack is indicated by a red d6. On your action, you can
choose one of the following:

Aim
Take a moment to line up a careful shot. Nominate a target within range of your
weapon to whom you can draw line of sight. Roll another red d6. The total of your
original sequence step and this additional d6 is your new place in sequence. When
your number comes up again, the ranged attack you make will have its complexity
reduced by 2. This benefit lasts across any number of shots taken during that sequence,
provided that your character has a weapon capable of making multiple shots.

Vaiga rolled a red 2 for her action this round. Spotting one of her opponents
fleeing on horseback, she decided to aim to reduce the complexity for the shot.
She rolls another d6 and gets a 3, bumping her action up to 5. When 5 comes
up in sequence, she takes her shot with the reduced complexity.

If at any point you lose line of sight to your target, you lose the complexity benefit
from aiming. When your new sequence step comes up, you may make your ranged
attack at any target in your line of sight normally.

Ambush
Hold position to lay an abush for a target. Instead of making an immediate attack,
designate a kill zone for your ambush. This can be as small as a window or as wide
as an alleyway, provided that you have an unblocked line of sight and it is within a
distance based on your weapon. If you are using a ranged weapon, this distance is up
it’s maximum range listed. If you’re using a melee weapon, you can ambush someone
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within Close range on foot or Short range while mounted.

If anyone wanders into the nominated zone after your step in sequence this round, you
may initiate an attack on them based on whether it was a ranged or melee ambush.

A melee ambush occurs the moment a target enters your kill zone. You automatically
interrupt their action, crossing the distance and engaging them in melee. If you’re
using the full melee rules, an ambush provides additional benefits listed there (pg XX).

If you’re using a ranged weapon, an ambush interrupts their action, allowing you
access to your full ranged Combat Pool worth of dice to make an attack as per the
shooting action, below.

Certain ranged weapons are less suited to this than others. If your weapon has the
ambush (d6 or 2d6) trait, then your interruption is not automatic. Instead, the mo-
ment a target enters the zone, roll the dice listed with the weapon trait. If the roll is
equal to or less than the current step in sequence, then you interrupt the target before
their action can be completed. Otherwise, your ambush takes place after their action
is completed, but only if they are still in your nominated zone.

Ranged combatants can influence the ambush roll to some degree by opting to burn
dice from their ranged Combat Pool for that round. Dice burnt in such a fashion reduce
the ambush die result on a 1:1 basis, up to the ambusher’s tap value for the proficiency
of the weapon they are using. These dice must be spent before the roll is made.

Madis is on a balcony overlooking the street below. At the start of this turn,
he rolls a red d6, getting a 1. Lucky. On his action, he declares an ambush and
sets a couple arrows aside, nocking one. His target zone is the mouth of the
street below.

On step 3, an opponent makes declares a move action to run down the street,
triggering Madis’ ambush. If Madis were using a crossbow or a firearm, the
ambush would automatically trigger and interrupt the opponent’s action. As
his bow has the Ambush d6 trait, this will be a little trickier.

Madis has 12CP total and opts to spend 2 immediately to help offset the pen-
alty. He now has 10 remaining. He rolls a d6 for the ambush and gets a 5.
With the 2 dice spent, this is reduced to 3, just barely making it. His attack
interrupts the opponent’s action, allowing him to take a shot. If the opponent
survives, they can finish their action thereafter.

You can only make one shooting action each round , but some weapons will allow
you to make multiple ranged attacks as part of the same action. If your weapon would
allow you to do so, you can split your ranged Combat Pool across multiple shots, even
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at multiple targets at different steps in sequence.

Madis’ bow has a reload of X, allowing it to make multiple shots as part of the same action.
He chooses to spend 4 dice on the shot, per the ranged combat rules (pg XX). He now has 6
dice remaining. On step 5, another enemy enters his kill zone. He burns another die from his
Combat Pool to offset his bow’s penalty, and rolls the ambush die. His result is a 5, -1 for 4
total. He interrupts his opponent’s action and has 5 dice remaining for the attack…

If no one steps into the kill zone this round, you can hold that position indefinitely
without making any further sequence rolls. You will simply act the moment a target
steps into the zone. That said, an ambush uses your action any round you choose to
set it up or hold the position. You can’t change your mind at the end of the round and
do something else. The act of waiting is itself your action that round. If some other
character’s action would consume yours (for instance, being attacked in melee) then
you give up the ambush and will have to reestablish it in a following round.

Ambush can also be used for any action that isn’t a traditional attack, but must be
timed in such a way as to wait for an enemy (e.g., waiting for your opponents to step
onto a rope bridge before cutting it.)

Melee
Get up close and personal with an opponent. When two characters engage in melee
combat, it is referred to as a bout. The bout is a kind of scene-within-a-scene that
has its own time structure, organized into units called plays. This is all explained in
greater detail in the following chapter, but for here it is enough to say that this option
is used either when you want to charge in and initiate a bout with someone or to
continue a bout that was already in progress.

To initiate combat, you must be within Close range on foot, or Short range on horse-
back. The character charging in may draw a readied weapon as part of this action
and has the choice of either automatically taking initiative or provoking a red/white
throw (see Dueling, pg XX). If the charging character chooses the latter, their opponent
may freely draw a readied weapon as well.

NB! Once the target is engaged in a bout, it consumes any action yet to be taken this
round regardless of what they rolled. If the parties charged have already taken their
action this round, they may go again regardless.

If you were stuck in a bout at the end of the last round, all parties involved must roll
a red d6 for sequence. The bout is resolved on the earliest step to come up, consuming
the actions of all parties in the bout.

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A melee action generally lasts until the end of a play in which someone has taken an
injury worth recording, gained a significant upper-hand on their opponent (disarmed
them, throw them to the ground, gotten them in a hold), or someone has been defeated
(surrendered or slain). If after three full plays neither opponent has gained any real
ground over the other, the action ends in a deadlock. The bout pauses and the camera
moves on to the next character’s action as normal. The characters are considered to be
locked in the bout and will both roll a red d6 next round as above. Actions will never
end mid-play between tempos unless the bout itself ends with the death or surrender
of an opponent mid-play.

Shooting
Reach out and touch someone. Any ranged combat attack falls under shooting. The
action consists of a single Combat Pool’s worth of dice, either spent on one careful
shot or (if the weapon is capable) spread out across multiple shots from the same pool.
Reloading is a slow action (2d6) rather than a red action.

You can take a shooting action even if you were in complete cover (I.e., no line of sight
to a target) before your action came up. Just keep in mind that exposing yourself this
way will leave you exposed until your next action in the next round. This logic applies
to other attack actions that act like shooting, such as an Aim or ranged Ambush. If you
have line of sight to your target, they have line of sight to you. If you want to shoot
and then dive back behind cover, used Lean Out instead.

Movement Actions (White

d6)
Any physical movement from one location to another. Movement is generally based
on the most appropriate attribute (Speed, under most circumstances). On foot, any
movement within Close range can be done without a roll, unless that roll would be
opposed by an opponent or the action would require a roll outside of combat (moving
across a narrow beam, jumping a gap, scaling a wall, etc). Moving to anything within
Short range is an r1 task. Moving to anything within Medium range is an r3 task.
On horseback, increase these bands by 1 (Short without a roll, Medium as an r1 task,
Long as an r3). If the roll fails, you fell somewhere short of where you were going,
potentially leaving you exposed as a consequence. If the need arises to calculate it, as-
sume the distance traveled was about half of what you needed to cover. If intervening
terrain features would have required a secondary test, make both.

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If a white d6 is thrown because of an opposed movement (a foot race, for instance),

then treat it similarly to an ongoing melee, with both parties throwing a white d6
each round and resolving their actions simultaneously on whichever character’s ac-
tion comes up first in sequence.

Slow Actions (2d6)

Slow actions cover anything a character could want to do that isn’t one of the above.
Performing first-aid on a character, picking a lock, rummaging through one’s pack
to get out supplies, searching a body for keys, whatever might come up. Slow actions
only require a roll if they would have required a roll outside of combat and the action
generally ends when the intended task is resolved. Most of these need no skirmish-
specific rules, but for the few that’s do:

Drag
Dragging a heavy load, per the encumbrance rules (pg XX). Treat as a movement ac-
tion, but reduce all range bands by one (Melee is free, Close is r1, Short is r3).

Reload
Reloading a firearm or crossbow to be used again. Reloading consumes the character’s
action this round. Some weapons will require more than one reload action to be made
ready.

Run and Gonne

Moving while making a ranged attack. Movement is handled as through a normal
movement action, but with all range bands reduced by one (Melee is free, Close is
r1, Short is r3). Horseback can increase these as normal. The shot follows the normal
rules for shooting, but with an additional +2r complexity for the shooter moving. If a
movement roll is necessary, make the movement roll first. The shot may be resolved at
any point along the length the shooter would cover with their movement. Commonly,
this is used to lean out of cover, take a shot, and then return to cover (see Leaning
Out, pg XX)

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 Melee

Melee combat can be resolved through two different methods. Simple melee is a
contested roll that builds on the simple conflict rules presented at the beginning of
the book. Full melee is a more complex method that creates a kind of game-within-
a-game, mimicking the ebb and flow of historical swordplay. The two can be used
interchangeably depending on your group’s level of interest and experience with the
system. The two can also be used together as a pacing mechanism, using simple melee
to quickly resolve more trivial scuffles while reserving full melee for climactic clashes.

Simple Melee
Simple melee is a contested proficiency check between the two characters involved.
Either character may tap in their Reflex and Brawn for the check, but no other tapping
applies. Drama can be spent as normal. If there are multiple parties on either side,
then nominate one character on a side to be the leader with the others using their
proficiency tap as help.

If one side is clearly better armed, armored, or has some other substantial benefit over
their opposition, the GM can apply an advantage to their roll or a disadvantage to
their opponent. If the disparity is severe enough, they may apply both.
 Melee

Goals
Simple melee presents violence as a goal-oriented activity. It is a means to some kind
of end. The outcome of the roll then depends on what end the combatant had in mind.
Before any dice are rolled, each side selects one of the following, as appropriate:
• Social: Persuasion by violence. If you win, use the rules for social con-
flicts (pg XX). The losing party comes away with a level 2-3 wound, at the
winner’s discretion.
• Seize: You’re trying to take physically something from the other person,
or trying to prevent it from being taken. This could be anything from a
coin purse to entry through a doorway. If you win, you get what you were
after, prevent the other party from getting what they were after, or both,
as applicable. The losing party comes away with a level 2 or 3 wound, at
the winner’s discretion.
• Beatdown: Sometimes, you just want to hurt the other person badly
enough to take them out of commission for a while. If you win, you deal
a couple level 3 or 4 wounds of your choice.
• Lethal: You want the other person dead. This is resolved asymmetrically
between PCs and NPCs. If an NPC loses, the NPC is dead. If one or more
PCs are on the losing side, each take d3 wounds to locations determined
randomly on the wound wheels. For each wound, calculate the actual
damage to determine its level using the lead victor’s attributes and weapon
damage profile. The minimum result is a level 3 wound. Each affected PC
takes all wounds that would result and follows their effects normally. NB!
Even if the wound would not have incapacitated the character, the fight is
lost regardless. They’ve been fenced into a corner, disarmed, knocked out,
or otherwise had it made clear that they have lost and are now at their
opponent’s mercy.
The options are listed from least to most extreme in force. Generally speaking, any
higher level outcome will also grant the lower level results. If you give someone a
beatdown, they aren’t going to be in a position to stop you from entering the door they
were guarding.

Sometimes, this choice is made for you. Social, seize, or beatdown melees can all end
with relatively little real injury provided that the fighting is done with fists, trun-
cheons, or other simple blunt instruments. The moment you pull knives or other more
serious weapons get involved, the intent switches to lethal regardless of what your
initial goal was.

That said, it’s good practice not to use more force than you need to in order to accom-
plish your goals. Legal, moral, and societal arguments aside, excessive force creates an
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increased danger to the party that employs it. When two sides have mismatched levels
of intended force (one side is defending seize, the other chooses lethal) it may force the
less-violent side’s hand. If your opposition chooses a higher level of force than you, on
a success you get what you want, but you’re forced to rise to their level of violence. On
an MoS3+ you can choose on which of the two levels of force you’d prefer to resolve it.

Resolution
The winning side gets what they wanted from the fight, per their goal. The losing side
suffers harm as indicated by the level of force invoked during the conflict. Ties are
determined by the nature of the goal. If one side was the clear aggressor and one side
a defender, then the aggressor achieves their intent, but both sides take damage per
the level of force used. If both sides could be perceived as the aggressor, then neither
accomplish their intent, or some kind of compromise is reached. Regardless, both sides
still suffer injury per the level of force used. If multiple characters were involved on
either side, then all characters who were involved suffer equally in the outcome for
their side.

Escalation
Normally a fight lost is a fight lost. The conflict is resolved and the matter is closed.
However, escalation can still apply here. If a player is on a tied or losing side in a simple
melee, they can still choose to escalate the conflict. They suffer whatever wounds they
would have taken during the initial conflict, but escalation dictates that this second
roll be at a higher level of force than the previous. If the previous roll was already at
lethal force, then no escalation is possible.

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Full Melee
Full melee presents a fight in blow-by-blow detail. It puts to the test not only your
character’s abilities, but your own skill as well. It is about weighing your risks against
the rewards, feeling out your opponent, and choosing just when to make the right
move. Clever players can beat out opponents who possess better equipment and larger
Combat Pools. Reckless players can lose even when they have the mechanical edge on
their opposition.

The Bout
When two or more characters engage in melee, they begin a bout. Think back to any
movie or television series you’ve seen and how it was shown when swords clash.
The camera zooms in on the two characters involved and for a moment, the rest of
the world is a blur. A bout mimics this approach, presenting melee as self-contained
scene-within-a-scene with its own structure.

The core unit of time in a bout is called a play, where opponents will come together,
violently clash, and then pull away again to look for another opening. A play can
represent a variable amount of real-world time, but is generally just a few seconds.
Each individual play is broken down into an opening followed by two tempos.

1. Opening the Play

Each play begins by establishing the Combat Pools (CP) of the characters involved.
Your base CP is equal to the sum of your Reflex and the proficiency being used. This
will always be dictated by the primary weapon being used in your character’s domi-
nant hand. If they are holding more than one weapon, this should always be the longer
of the two unless they are of even length (see Dual Wielding, pg XX).

Substitutions in Full Melee

If you need a proficiency that you don’t have, you can substitute as described under
Untrained Ability Checks, pg XX. Use the tap value of your highest related melee
proficiency as though it were the proficiency you needed. If you need Polearms but
have Swords at 7, then you would have a Combat Pool of your Reflex rank +2. If you
have no melee proficiency high enough to tap, then you get 0 dice from proficiency
and would use your Reflex rank on its own.

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The Bout, in Brief

Don’t worry if this doesn’t make sense yet. It’s a quick reference for after you’ve
read the rest of this section.
1. Opening the Play. Calculate CP, based on Reflex+Proficiency for
each character. If reach control is involved, that character gets +2CP.
You can’t tap anything here, but you can Dig Deep for +3 dice. After
the first play, this is called refresh.
2. Establish Initiative. Usually whoever started the fight is the ag-
gressor. If in doubt, do a red/white throw. If you ambushed or sucker
punched someone, special rules apply.
3. First Tempo. The aggressor declares the maneuver they are using,
what they are targeting, and with how many dice. They deduct any
AC from their dice pool. The character who is defending declares
with which maneuver they are defending and with how many dice.
They also deduct any AC from their pool. The two maneuvers are
rolled in contest and resolved. Victor takes initiative. Ties favor the
attacker.
4. Second Tempo. The character who now has initiative repeats the
process from the last tempo, but using their remaining dice pool.
Declare maneuver, target, and number of dice. Pay AC. The defender
declares their maneuver, their dice, and pays any AC. Both sides roll.
Winner resolves their maneuver.
5. Repeat. The play has completed. Start at 1 and repeat until someone
has died, fled, or surrendered.

Any action that you might attempt within a bout is spent from your CP over the
course of the play. At the beginning of each subsequent play, these dice refresh and
the pool is brought back to its maximum to be spent again.

Note that your Combat Pool is always calculated at the beginning of a play. Whatever
proficiency you choose at refresh is the proficiency you will use until the next refresh.
You cannot change proficiencies between tempos.

Reach Control
Every weapon has a reach designated in its profile. This represents both the physical
length of the weapon and how far it can project its striking force. The reach categories
are explained in some detail under Weapons (pg XX), but as a reminder here, the
categories are from shortest to longest:

Hand, Close, Short, Medium, Long, and Extended.

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 Melee

Distance can be tremendously important in a fight. When two fighters have primary
weapons of mismatched lengths, one of the weapons will have an edge over the other
in the form of reach control. The fighter who has reach control at the opening of the
play (and at each subsequent refresh) gains +2CP to add to their Combat Pool.

At the start of the bout, reach control goes to the longer of the two weapons by de-
fault. Afterward, reach control goes to the character with initiative (below) at refresh.
It’s assumed that the fighters are both jockeying for reach, stepping into and out of
distance as they attack and defend. To control the initiative is to control the distance.

If the fighters’ primary weapons are of identical length, if the fighters are in a grapple,
or there are multiple opponents involved, there is no reach control to be had.

Reach and Terrain

IAs far as the game is concerned, there are four conditions that will limit the
capabilities of your weapons based on their length.
• Grappling: (See pg XX) Hand and Close reach weapons function nor-
mally. Short through Long reach weapons are pommel strikes only.
Extended or two-handed weapons cannot be used in a grapple.
• Cramped Terrain: Hand through Short reach weapons function
normally. Medium and Long reach weapons are at a disadvantage.
Extended reach weapons are restricted to attacks from the butt, haft,
hilt, or pommel.
• Restricted Terrain: Hand through Medium reach weapons function
normally. Long and Extended reach weapons use swing-based ma-
neuvers at a disadvantage.
• Open Terrain: Everything functions as normal.
See Environment, pg XX, for more information.

Digging Deep
Dig Deep allows you to spend a point of drama to gain +3 dice to your pool for a single
conflict. Drama spent to add dice to a Combat Pool add those dice for the duration
of the melee. These dice only appear when the Combat Pool is calculated during the
opening of a play or during a subsequent refresh. They cannot be added mid-play.

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Tapping
Neither melee system as presented allows broad tapping in the way other conflicts do.
No skill or trait your character possesses will make them better at smacking things
with a sword. However, positioning rolls are an exception to this and covered in
their relevant section (pg XX). If you have a trait that would count against you, (such
as 2d Peg Legged) subtract its value from your CP.

2. Initiative.
Swordplay takes on a distinct flow in which one party acts and the other reacts ac-
cordingly. Like a dance, someone takes the lead and the other will follow. This is
referred to as having the initiative. The party with the initiative is considered the
attacker or aggressor, with the other party becoming the defender. During a play, the
character with the initiative declares their actions and die allocations first, with the
other party replying with their own thereafter.

In combat, the aggressor will retain initiative until the defender successfully wards
off an attack with at least an MoS1. At this point, the defender gains the initiative and
becomes the aggressor themselves and the pattern continues. On a tie, the aggressor
retains the initiative, but fails to achieve their desired effect.

At the beginning of a bout, initiative is determined by how the fight began. Nearly all
scenarios will boil down to one of the following:

Ambush
You get the drop on your opponent, or they get the drop on you. Usually, this means
sneaking up on them or attacking from an unseen position. An ambushing character
automatically takes the initiative. If weapon length is a factor, the ambushing charac-
ter starts the bout with reach control even if they have a shorter weapon.

An ambush gives a significant edge over one’s opponent. During the first play of the
bout, the defender receives only one half of their total Combat Pool. If they survive to
the following refresh, they will get their full Combat Pool as normal. Further, during
the first tempo, they cannot attempt to steal initiative (pg XX), and unless they walked
into an ambush with a weapon already drawn, they begin the bout unarmed. As you
might imagine, ambushes are extremely effective.

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Dueling
You square off with your opponent, weapon drawn. Sometimes it isn’t clear who will
make the first move. The two combatants circle one another, each trying to read their
opponent. When this happens, initiative is established by a die throw. Each player
secretly grabs either a red or white die and then both sides roll their dice simultane-
ously. Red indicates that the character will attack. White indicates that the character
will defend.

If both characters throw white, then the parties continue circling each other. Wait
a moment (a perfect opportunity for dramatic banter) and then repeat the red/white
throw. If you get a white/white again, roll a contest of Will between the characters
involved. Warfare may be tapped into this roll as well as any traits that would indicate
steady nerves. The victor decides who will make the first move. This could mean that
they sensed their opponent’s hesitation and took it as an opening, or it could mean that
their opponent lost their nerve and launched an attack of their own. Victor’s choice.

If both characters throw red, things can get messy. Known as a “double without de-
fense,” both parties attack simultaneously. Neither party defends themselves unless a
defense is built into the maneuver they are using. The character who rolled the lowest
on the d6 throw declares their attack and dice first, then the other character does the
same. Resolve both maneuvers simultaneously, unless someone tries to steal initiative
(pg XX). The effects of either maneuver will apply only after both have been rolled.

Dueling puts a little more space between the attacker and their opponent. If either side
began without a weapon in hand, they can draw a readied weapon for free before the
red/white throw.

Skirmish
If the fight is initiated by a melee action in skirmish (pg XX) then the character whose
action started the bout can choose to automatically take initiative. Otherwise, it goes
to dueling, above. After the bout begins, the sequence roll simply determines when the
scene is played out and does not affect initiative thereafter.

If the character who started the bout chooses to take initiative automatically, their
opponent begins melee with whatever weapons they had in hand before the action
began. If they opt to go to a duel, use those rules instead.

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Sucker Punch
You suddenly and abruptly attack someone, such as throwing a punch in the middle of
a debate. The difference between a sucker punch and an ambush contextually is that
the other party knew you were there, they just didn’t expect you to attack them. They
were caught off-guard, but not unaware.

Initiating combat in this fashion automatically grants initiative to the attacker and if
weapon-length is a factor, the sucker-punching character starts the bout with reach
control regardless of whose weapon is shorter. If the defender didn’t have a weapon
drawn, they start the play unarmed and cannot attempt to steal initiative in the first
play. However, they do have their full Combat Pool and may defend as normal.

3-5. The Tempos

A play is divided into the first and second tempo, with combatants splitting their dice
across the two. The first tempo is an opening action and plays as a kind of gambit.
If you spend too many dice in the first tempo, you risk over-extending yourself and
arriving in the second tempo without enough dice to carry through. If you spend too
few dice, you risk failing outright and losing control of the initiative. A major element
of player skill is in learning how to make the most out of your Combat Pool.

The Aggressor
Once the initiative has been determined, the aggressor may declare their attack. This
takes on a specific syntax. You choose what kind of attack you are making, how many
dice you will allocate, and where the attack will target.

Select a Maneuver

Each combat action is represented by a specific kind of maneuver (see Maneuvers pg

XX). The aggressor may choose any offensive maneuver to which they have access
based on their weapon and current proficiency. Certain maneuvers have an activa-
tion cost (AC)representing the number of dice that must be spent from your CP in
order to use it. These dice are discarded for the remainder of the play and are not rolled
with the attack.

NB! All attacks are assumed to be with your primary weapon unless you or the ma-
neuver specify otherwise. Even if you only have the one weapon, you can still use an
elbow, fist, foot, or knee as an unarmed attack.

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 Melee
Allocate Dice

After you’ve paid any activation costs, decide how many dice you want to put into the
attack. These dice will be what you roll in contest against your opponent to determine
if you succeed. Once allocated, the dice are discarded from the pool until refresh.

Nominate a Target

Finally, you select a target. Most maneuvers will ask you to target a wound wheel (see
pg XX) representing part of your opponent’s body. For quick reference, these wheels
are as follows:

Head, arms, thigh, shin, belly, and chest.

If you’re targeting a limb, specify whether you’re attacking the left or right limb. Note
that certain wheels may be unavailable for targeting due to shields or favoring (See
Favoring, pg XX). Less commonly, maneuvers will dictate other targets, such as one
of your opponent’s weapons or a specific part of their body. In that case, go with the
maneuver’s description instead.

When done properly, a declared attack will sound something like “I Swing at his head
for five dice,” or “I’m making a six-die thrust to his chest.” Feel free to embellish as de-
sired. “I step into the blow, throwing seven dice into a vicious Draw cut across his belly.”

The Defender
Defending is done in a fashion very similar to attacking, above. You select an appro-
priate maneuver, pay any activation costs associated, then declare the amount of dice
you want to allocate to the roll. Defensive maneuvers do not need to select a target
unless they have some kind of offensive component. You are assumed to be defending
in relation to the blow that you are defending against.

The defender isn’t limited only to defensive options, however. If you’re feeling up to
the risk, you can attempt to steal initiative (pg XX) or attack from defense (pg XX)
instead.

Resolving the Tempo

The aggressor and defender roll their allocated dice in contest, with the difference
between the two rolls becoming the victor’s MoS. Regardless of other consequences,
the victor will have initiative in the next tempo unless their choice of maneuver would
dictate otherwise.

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Each maneuver will explain what the outcome is if the maneuver is successful. Most
attacks will deal some kind of damage. The attacker’s total damage is equal to their
weapon’s DR+Brawn tap+MoS on the roll. The defender subtracts their own Brawn tap
and AV from this to get the wound level taken.

If a character is wounded, they immediately take impact which subtracts a number of

dice equal to its rating from the wounded character’s remaining CP. If that impacted
character had any dice allocated for this tempo that had yet to be rolled (for instance,
set aside for a positioning roll or attacking from defense), impact comes out of those
dice first before applying to their remaining CP. If they have fewer dice than the im-
pact rating, then they are reduced to 0CP and any remaining impact is subtracted
from their pool in the following refresh. In such a case, impact only subtracts dice
in that specific refresh, not in any subsequent. Impact is a one-time penalty per the
wound that inflicted it.

If any character arrives in a tempo with 0CP remaining, their opponent automatically
takes the initiative and may roll against them unopposed.

Ties

On a tie neither side gets what they wanted. The attacker regains the initiative, but
they fail to land a blow. The defender managed to avoid the attack, but they are still
on the back foot.

After
After any maneuver effects are resolved, move on to the second tempo. If you’re already
in the second tempo, go back to refresh and begin a new play. Repeat this process until
someone surrenders, dies, or breaks off from combat. If the bout is part of a larger
skirmish, it may be stretched across several actions (see Melee, pg XX). If this is the
case, then the bout effectively “pauses” while other players are taking their actions.
When someone’s action resumes the bout in the following round, the bout continues
as though no pause had taken place, with initiative and any penalties or maneuver
effects carrying over exactly where they left off.

Positioning Rolls
The positioning roll is used whenever a character wants to do something that isn’t
already covered by an existing maneuver. It can be used for any number of small tasks,
from recovering a fallen weapon to flipping over tables and swinging on chandeliers.
Positioning rolls are also called for when encountering hazardous terrain or when
trying to deal with multiple opponents.
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Basic Positioning
All positioning rolls follow broadly the same rules. If the roll is called for by the player,
they state their intent and the GM will give a req based on the complexity of what they
are trying to achieve. In most cases, this will be an r1 task.

The roll is made with dice allocated from your character’s Combat Pool, with a mini-
mum of one die required to make the attempt. So long at least one die is allocated,
you can also tap in a single relevant ability or trait if it would directly apply to the
circumstance (for instance, Seamanship on a roll to keep one’s footing on a pitching
ship’s deck). This follows all of the normal restrictions on tapping, but only one ability
or trait may be tapped into a given roll. Any number of dice can be put towards a
positioning roll, but any dice used are discarded until the next refresh.

If your roll was unopposed, then meeting the req of the task means that you got what
you wanted. Failure introduces a complication. You slip or wind up over-extended, a
weapon gets stuck. Something goes wrong. No matter what the specifics, it isn’t good.

Making this more tricky, whenever you declare a positioning roll, your opponent has
the opportunity to try and counter it. If they do, then it becomes a contested roll be-
tween the two characters. On a tie, they nullify whatever your intent was or whatever
advantage you’d hoped to gain. If they get an MoS1+, they gain some intent of their
own.

A character can only initiate one positioning roll per play.

Positioning For Effect

The most basic form of positioning roll, positioning for effect is used any time you
are trying to interact with the fictional environment around you. Your imagination is
the limit here, but for example:
• Getting up to your feet from a prone position
• Drawing or sheathed weapon or retrieving a lost weapon
• Using footwork to press your opponent back into a corner or into hazard-
ous terrain
• Hopping up on a ledge to claim higher ground
• Flipping over a table to put an obstacle between you and your opponent
• Swinging on a chandelier or other swashbuckling classics
When positioning for effect, you declare your positioning roll along side of and at the
same time as whatever maneuver you are using that tempo. Your intention is declared
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at this time as well. If it is unopposed, the GM will give you a req for the roll. This will
be at least r1, but more difficult tasks may be higher.

Jaff is dueling a rival along-side a small but quickly-flowing stream. He knows

that if he can force his opponent into the stream, it will put the opponent on
bad footing. He declares a 4d thrust to his opponent’s face, along side a 2d po-
sitioning roll to use his footwork and press his opponent back into the stream.

The positioning roll is resolved after any other maneuvers are rolled. In practice, this
means that you could fail your attack but still get the effect of your positioning roll.
The normal rules for impact and restraining apply here. If you suffer impact, dice are
removed from first from any you have allocated to an attack yet to be executed this
tempo, then from any allocated to your positioning roll, then from your remaining
Combat Pool, in that order. Likewise, if you are struck by an attack that has the re-
straining property, or an attack that would disable the limb you are for your position-
ing roll, those dice are discarded.

Jaff’s opponent is in a bad way. He knows that even if he avoids the thrust, he
may lose too much ground and find himself slipping in the creek. He declares
a 5d deflect with his own sword, and puts 1d into a positioning roll to counter
Jaff’s own. He is running out of dice and just has to hope for the best.

The effects of this kind of positioning roll are entirely context dependent. Often, this
will simply be a task the character needed to perform, such as removing a condition
(getting up from prone) or retrieving a weapon. If they succeeded, they get what they
wanted. Other times, you are trying to get some sort of edge on your opponent, either
by putting yourself in a better position or putting them in a worse position. The GM
has a lot of leeway in this and you are free to make suggestions of your own, but this
will typically involve one of the following:
• Restrict the opponent’s available maneuvers based on terrain (cornering
someone removing their ability to Disengage)
• Force the opponent into cramped terrain or draw them out into open ter-
rain
• Allow the victor to target a previously inaccessible wheel in the following
tempo
• Grant an advantage to the victor, impose a disadvantage to the opponent,
or both
• Inflicting impact on the opponent, usually based on MoS
• Forcing a KO, KD, or similar roll
Other effects are possible and at the GM’s discretion based on the description and
intent but a positioning roll shouldn’t generally cause damage directly, nor should it
directly replicate any existing maneuver.
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Jaff rolls his thrust against his opponent’s deflect. They tie, 3 hits to 3. The
positioning roll is resolved next. With no damage done, no impact is taken
into account so it’s just Jaff’s 2 dice to his opponent’s 1. Jaff rolls 1 success, his
opponent rolls 0. The GM declares that Jaff has harassed his opponent back
into the creek, putting him in a precarious position. At the beginning of each
play, his opponent will have to make a hazard roll to maintain his footing or
slip into the water until such a time as he makes a successful positioning roll
of his own to get out.

The Hazard Roll

Not all fights take place with firm footing on solid ground. Whether we’re talking
about a narrow beam, a crumbling cliff edge, or slippery ice, the environment itself
can be a hazard. In such a situation, the GM may call for a hazard roll with a req
based on the treachery of the terrain.

Hazard rolls are called for by the GM and take place during the opening of a play or
at refresh, after the dice pools are calculated but before the first tempo. Like other
positioning rolls, characters involved can allocate dice towards the roll from their
Combat Pool. If at least one die is allocated, a single skill or trait can be tapped into
the roll, if appropriate.

On a success, the character avoids the hazard. Failure can have any number of effects
based on the nature and severity of the hazard, but all of them are bad. Most com-
monly:
• Character is placed at a disadvantage for the rest of the play
• Character falls prone (disadvantaged until a successful positioning roll to
regain their footing)
• Character slips and fumbles a weapon, dropping it
• Character suffers some kind of narrative consequence (e.g., falling off the
bridge)

Multiple Opponents
Fighting multiple opponents simultaneously is a difficult feat for even skilled fencers.
Your best bet when fighting against a group is to try to use your footwork and the
environment to position yourself so that they get in each other’s way.

The following assumes that you’re having a two-on one, three-on-one or similar fight.
If you have some other kind of arrangement (three-on-two, seven-on-three), break the
fight into separate individual bouts until the outnumbered combatant is a lone indi-
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vidual. From there, the two sides act as teams: the lone combatant and the group.
Because of the chaotic nature of this sort of fight, reach control is ignored. Being at
the right distance with one opponent doesn’t necessarily put you in the right distance
with another.

At the opening of a play, the lone combatant can invoke a positioning roll when deal-
ing with multiple opponents. This takes place after the Combat Pools are calculated,
but before the first tempo. Each character on both sides declares how many dice they
will allocate for the roll, with the lone combatant declaring their dice first. Each mem-
ber of the group declares their dice individually. These allocations follow the normal
rules for tapping into positioning rolls, as stated above.

All parties involved roll simultaneously. Each member of the group rolls their al-
located dice as separate rolls. Dice between them are in no way shared.

If the lone combatant beats (not ties) all of their opponents in the roll, they gain the
initiative and fight one-on-one with the member of the group who had the most hits.
If there is a tie between members of the group for most hits rolled, the lone combatant
may choose between those tied.

Any member of the group who ties or beats the lone combatant’s roll have managed
to keep up with the latter’s footwork. They are in a position to fight and have the
initiative. Any who fail have lost their opening. If only one member of the group ties
or beats the lone combatant, they fight one-on-one with the lone combatant but with
initiative in their favor.

Outnumbered

If multiple members of the group find an opening, things can get messy very quickly.
The group combatants declare their attacks as normal. The lone combatant must de-
fend against each attack individually, meaning that they declare a separate maneuver
and die allocation against each attack thrown at them.

The lone combatant can decide in which order the attacks are resolved. If any of them
land and deal damage, the impact is subtracted first from any dice already allocated
to other maneuvers this tempo.

If the lone combatant successfully defends against any one of the attacks in the first
tempo, they gain the initiative and the second tempo is treated as a one-on-one be-
tween the lone combatant and the opponent they defended against. If they successfully
defend against multiple opponents, the lone combatant may choose against which op-
ponent they wish to retaliate. Of course, if the lone combatant has been brought down
to 0cp in the second tempo, initiative switches over to their opponent once more.

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If the lone combatant fails to defend against any of the attacks thrown at them in the
first tempo, the process repeats with each combatant declaring their attacks as normal
and the lone combatant declaring separate defenses.

Refresh

Any time a character on either side has the initiative going into refresh, they can
choose to invoke a new positioning roll and start the process all over again. Regardless
of who provoked it, the results stand independent of any previous positioning rolls. It
is entirely possible that two group combatants might call for a new positioning roll in
hopes of getting their third teammate involved in a fight only for the lone combatant
to beat them both and now only have to fight one.

If at any point the lone combatant should slay the opponent they were fighting, the
bout jumps to refresh at the end of the tempo.

Melee Minutiae
The above covers all the basics that apply to full melee. The follow are a handful of
situations that need a little more adjudication, explained separately for ease of under-
standing.

Attacking From Defense

When someone is swinging a sword at you, the natural choice is to avoid being struck.
On the other hand, there are certain occasions in which you may be better off to go
on the offensive. If your opponent throws a particularly weak attack or you’re very
confident in your armor, you can choose to go on the attack even without stealing
initiative (below).

Let the opponent declare their attack as normal, then respond by declaring one of your
own. Resolve their attack first, unopposed. Any impact you suffer from their attack
comes out of the dice you allocated to your own attack first. If you have any dice re-
maining in your allocation, you can roll your own attack. Note that certain maneuvers
are restraining (pg XX). If a restraining maneuver lands before your attack lands, it
automatically discards all of the dice allocated for your attack. Likewise, if their attack
would disarm the weapon with which you are making your attack or disable the limb
wielding it, the effect is the same.

Attacking from defense doesn’t normally grant you the initiative. You gain initiative
only in the event that your opponent has zero CP in the following tempo.

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Dual Wielding
Most characters will have two hands. Sometimes, they will want to put a weapon in
each of them. When wielding two weapons, one of these will always be your primary
weapon or the weapon in your dominant hand. The other is considered your second-
ary weapon.
• If your secondary weapon is a one-handed firearm or shield of any size,
then you use the primary weapon to determine your Combat Pool as
normal.
• If your secondary weapon is of Hand, Close, or Short reach and is equal
to or shorter than your primary weapon, then you can use your primary
weapon to determine your Combat Pool as normal even if the secondary
weapon would normally be governed by another proficiency.
• If your secondary weapon is of Medium reach or longer, you take a -2CP
penalty. If the secondary weapon is also of a different proficiency than
the primary weapon (a mace in one hand, a sword in the other) then in
addition to the above penalty, you use whichever of the two proficiencies
in which you have the least rank.
While the above may sound slightly punitive, the tradeoff is that having a weapon in
either hand opens up some additional options in combat. Shields grant favoring dice
(below) and provide some cover against ranged attacks (pg XX) and any weapon in
the off-hand opens up your options with additional maneuvers and linking (pg XX).

Favoring
Not all wound wheels can be targeted at all times. You can prevent an opponent from
attacking a given target location through favoring, positioning yourself in such a way
as to keep certain parts of your body better defended.

Favoring is declared at the opening of a play or during a subsequent refresh, after

reach is calculated but before any rolls are made. You may spend a single die from your
Combat Pool and place it on one (and only one) wheel that you would like to favor.
That wheel may not be targeted by your opponent’s attacks unless they are using a
weapon or maneuver that explicitly circumvents favoring. If placed on a limb, the
favoring die covers both limbs.

Shields automatically grant a certain amount of additional favoring dice based on

their size (pg XX). These dice may be freely spent in the same manner and are in addi-
tion to the single die the player can choose to spend. However, all dice from favoring
must cover a contiguous area as indicated by the lines connecting the wound wheels.
You could use a shield to favor your arms, head, and chest, but not head and thigh at
the same time without covering the chest and abdomen as well.
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Pulling Punches
Not every fight is to the death. Sometimes you’ll want to limit the amount of hurt
you put on an opponent. Pulling your punches requires some restraint and foresight
on your part. Any time you land a successful blow, you can choose to reduce its final
wound level (evel to 0) by paying 2AC. This AC must be paid from your remaining CP. If
you have no CP left over, you can’t pull the blow. Damage will be calculated as normal
per the maneuver being used.

Standing Down
Sometimes it’s better to let your opponent make the first move. Instead of declaring an
attack, you can choose to stand down and let the initiative pass to your opponent. Your
opponent is now the aggressor and combat can proceed as normal. If the opponent also
chooses to stand down, the bout ends and you can either go back to a red/white throw
or consider the combat over. Note that you cannot choose to stand down in the first
tempo of a new bout, or immediately following a red/white throw.

Stealing Initiative
Stealing initiative is the the most risky and yet most potentially rewarding gamble
you can make. You wait until your opponent has declared an attack and then try to
beat them to the punch, striking at them while they are unable to defend themselves.

Stealing initiative creates a contested Speed roll to determine which attack lands first.
In a red/red situation, the character who rolled lowest on their d6 throw is considered
the original attacker for steps 1-3 and 6. Note that you can only steal initiative in the
first tempo of a play.
• The attacker declares their offensive maneuver, allocating dice and choos-
ing their target as normal.
• The defender declares their intent to steal initiative, invoking a contest of
Speed. Both parties start out with a number of dice equal to their Speed
attribute and may increase this with dice from their Combat Pool on a 1:1
basis.
• The defender declares their attack first (maneuver, target, and dice al-
located) as well as any dice they will be allocating towards their Speed
pool. The original attacker may then choose to allocate dice from their
own remaining CP to add to their Speed pool.
• Both characters roll their Speed pool vs base TN. The original attacker is
considered advantaged. On a red/red, no one is advantaged. The winner of

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this contest has their attack land first and is resolved unopposed.
• If the winner’s attack caused impact, the dice are subtracted from those
allocated to the loser’s current attack first and then their remaining pool
if necessary. If the loser is alive and has dice remaining in their attack,
they may resolve it now. If the Speed roll was a tie, resolve both attacks
simultaneously. Any effects are applied after both rolls are made.
• If both parties survived, initiative goes to the party that rolled the most
hits on their attack roll. Ties favor the original attacker. If this was also
a tie, have both parties roll a d6 and give the initiative to the lower roll.

Unarmed Combat
Sometimes you just won’t have a weapon handy. Most of the time an unarmed charac-
ter will be best served entering some form of grapple, but they still have other options.

Unarmed strikes do not require their own specialized maneuvers. Instead, count hu-
man unarmed strikes as a weapon with a DR of -1b for humans, or 0b if some form of
gauntlet or knuckle duster is worn. Unarmed strikes can make use of the Swing and
Thrust maneuvers, as well as Pinpoint. Disarm, Grab, Slam, and Stomp are also viable
while unarmed, though those maneuvers don’t require a damage profile.

If being used, unarmed combatants can make use of any links as well. As you have
multiple body parts with which you can strike, you can always count the primary and
secondary maneuver as though it were being performed with two different weapons.

Unarmed defenses are a bit trickier. Disengage and Dodge both work as normal. De-
flect can be attempted, but carries an increased AC(1). Even if successful, you take
damage to the arm as though struck by an MoS0 Swing from the weapon in question.
Similarly, if your unarmed attack is parried by a weapon, you take damage to that arm
as above. Expulsion cannot be used unarmed.

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Maneuvers
Maneuvers are the individual techniques that combatants employ during a fight. Each
maneuver represents a different sort of narrative action and uses the dice in various
ways to represent their effects. Each maneuver is written with a handful of informa-
tion in its title:

Swing | Off | AC0/1 | Swing Wheel

The first section will always be the name of the maneuver. The second is whether that
maneuver is offensive (off) or defensive (def). The next section will be the activation
cost, if any. The last section will often contain notes about the maneuver, first based
on what the maneuver targets. This could be the swing or thrust portion of a wound
wheel, or it could indicate more specific portions of the anatomy. Some attacks will
even specifically target an opponent’s weapon.

Interrupting Attacks
Certain offensive maneuvers can disable an opponent’s weapon or limb. A weapon or
limb is disabled whenever a successful maneuver specifies such in its description, or
when as a result of a wound taken, the target drops that weapon, is knocked prone,
knocked out, the wound description specifies, or the limb takes a level 5 wound.

Any time a maneuver successfully disables a limb, the attack will automatically negate
any offensive maneuver based on said weapon or limb yet to be performed in the same
tempo. Any dice that the opponent had allocated to such an attack are lost. This same
logic applies to any positioning roll based on an affected weapon or limb, negating any
dice allocated to the roll yet to be performed within the same tempo.

Some maneuvers are listed as restraining. Any time a maneuver is restraining, a suc-
cessful attack counts as disabling per the above rules regardless of what was targeted.

If the target would have suffered impact as well, subtract the impact from their al-
located attack roll first, and then any positioning roll. If they have any dice remaining
in either after impact is subtracted, those are discarded as well.

Basic Maneuvers
Basic maneuvers are available to all proficiencies and may be used with any weapon
that meets the maneuver’s requirements, if any. For simplicity, they are broken down
into offensive and defensive.
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Offensive
Disarm | Off | AC1 | Weapon

Apply leverage with your weapon or an empty hand in an attempt to wrench your
opponent’s weapon out of their grasp. Declare the weapon as your target and roll
vs. Base TN. Take an advantage if you are holding the longer weapon, grappling, or
linked from a Grab. Take a disadvantage if you’re using a one-handed weapon against
a two-handed weapon. On a success, the opponent’s weapon is disabled in this and
the following tempo. In addition, on an MoS2, the opponent’s weapon is knocked to
the ground. On an MoS3+ the weapon is sent flying out of the opponent’s reach. If you
have a free hand, you can choose to be holding the weapon yourself instead.

Grab | Off | AC2 | Limb/other | Restraining

Grab an opponent by their limb, clothes, or even hair to initiate a grapple. Declare
the grab and a target location. Roll vs. Base TN. On a success, you initiate a grapple
(see Grappling, pg XX) and gain your MoS as bonus dice towards the use of a grap-
pling maneuver in the following tempo. Alternatively, if used as the primary for a
linked maneuver (pg XX), Grab can link into a grappling maneuver without entering
a full grapple provided that the maneuver is released thereafter. Otherwise, it enters a
grapple as normal. Grab requires you to have a hand free. You can in theory hold (but
not use) a 2h weapon with one hand in order to grab, but you can’t have a weapon in
each hand without dropping one.

Hook | Off | AC1 | Weapon, Joint

Use your weapon to hook into an opponent or their equipment. Declare either their
weapon, shield, or one of their joints as your target and roll vs Base TN. If you targeted
a joint, success knocks the target prone and they suffer MoS impact. On an MoS3+, you
are also advantaged against them in the following tempo. If you targeted their weapon
or shield, a success disables the weapon in this and the following tempo. The opponent
cannot disengage without dropping it. An MoS3+ disarms the opponent instead, if
possible. Requires the Hook tag on the weapon used.

Point Blank | Off | AC1 | Thrust Wheel

Discharge a firearm or throw a weapon at an opponent in melee combat. Declare a

target wheel and roll vs. Base TN with an advantage. On a success, you deal damage
per the weapon’s profile to a thrust location on the wheel.

This attack can be defended against as normal, even against a pistol. The defender
is not parrying the bullet but trying to knock aside the weapon before it fires. Point
Blank requires a firearm or thrown weapon held in the proper grip to throw it. Throw-
ing anything else (a cloak, pocket full of sand) is a positioning roll.
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Swing | Off | AC0/1 | Swing Wheel

A basic form of an attack, swinging the weapon in an arc towards the opponent.
Declare a target wheel and roll vs. Base TN. On a success, you deal damage per the
weapon’s swing profile to a swing location on the wheel. For +1AC, you can Draw Cut,
stepping into or out of the blow while drawing the length of the blade through the
wound. If the swing connects to anything but metal armor, add +1 to your total dam-
age. Curved blades improve this to +2 damage. Draw Cut requires a bladed weapon.

Thrust | Off | AC0/2 | Thrust Wheel

The basic forward thrust, pointy-end first. Declare a target wheel and roll vs. Base TN.
On a success, you deal damage per the weapon’s thrust profile to a thrust location on
the wheel. For +2AC you can Pinpoint sacrificing some speed for increased control
of where the blow will land. If successful, you can shift the final wound location
clockwise or counterclockwise a number of places up to your MoS. On an MoS3+ you
can place it where you please. In either case, the new location must be on the wheel
originally targeted. You cannot target the Head wheel and use your shifts to move to
target a location on the Chest.

Wrap | Off | AC1 | Swing Wheel

Attack in such an arc that the weapon’s striking surface is allowed to wrap around
the edge of a shield or other defense but at the cost of damage. Allows the targeting
of wheels that would otherwise be inaccessible, such as those covered by favoring, or
choosing to target the backside of wheels, allowing strikes to land on wound locations
that would normally be inaccessible, such as the back or hamstrings. Roll vs Base TN.
If successful, deal damage per the weapon’s swing profile but reduce the total by 1
before the opponent’s damage reduction is applied. Uses the swing locations on the
target wheel.

Defensive
Deflect | Def | AC0/1

Knock aside an incoming attack with your forearm, weapon, or shield. Close-reach
or shorter weapons are AC1 unless they have a complex guard or basket hilt, as are
any hafted weapons when used one-handed. Roll vs Base TN. On a success, you stop
the incoming blow and gain the initiative. Deflect can also be used unarmed at AC1.
On a success, the defense is successful but the deflecting arm takes damage as though
struck with an MoS0 Swing.

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Disengage | Def | AC0

Break away from the fight. Roll vs Fixed TN3. On a success, you both avoid the blow and
put enough space between you and your opponent to create a pause in combat. Neither
opponent may attack again without engaging in a new bout and re-establishing initia-
tive (Red and White die). One cannot Disengage after having performed an offensive
maneuver in the previous tempo, or during their first tempo of a bout. Cannot be part
of a linked maneuver. Cannot be used while prone.

Dodge | Def | AC0

Evade a blow by moving out of its path. Roll vs. Base TN. On a success, the blow fails to
land. Unlike other defenses, a successful dodge does not grant the defender initiative
in the following tempo unless 2CP is paid for it. This may be paid from the remaining
pool after the maneuver succeeds. If there are no dice remaining in your Combat Pool
this play, the attacker retains initiative.

Expulsion | Def | AC1

Deflect a blow with sufficient force to create an opening. Roll vs. Base TN. If success-
ful, you both avoid damage and in addition, the weapon the opponent used in their
attack cannot be used in the next tempo. You gain the initiative and get your own MoS
as bonus dice in the following tempo. Cannot be performed unarmed. Cannot be part
of a linked maneuver.

Grappling
Grappling is a condition initiated by a successful Grab maneuver. Entering a grapple
changes the nature of the conflict. While in a grapple, you gain access to grapple-
specific maneuvers, but your standard melee maneuvers are limited to Disarm, Wrap,
Swing, and Thrust, as well as the variant maneuvers Draw Cut and Pinpoint. Point
Blank may be used with a firearm, but no weapons can be thrown. Defensive maneu-
vers are restricted to grappling defenses alone. No links may be employed.

Grappling also has an effect on weapons based on their reach. Hand and Close reach
weapons work normally, but Short or longer reach weapons are limited to pommel
strikes only. Likewise, grappling requires you to have at least one hand free. Weapons
that require two hands cannot be employed at all.

Grappling makes use of the Brawling proficiency and has a couple of important ef-
fects on the way maneuvers function. First, all attacks made while in a grapple are
considered restraining. Second, all grapple maneuvers can be maintained after their
initial cost is paid. If the first attempt is successful, you can continue to use the same
maneuver on the same target location without paying any further AC.
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Jaff finds himself dealing with some local drunks. After a brief scuffle, it ends
up in a grapple. This tempo, he pays AC2 to put his opponent’s left arm in a
Hold. If he is successful, he can continue declaring a Hold to the opponent’s
left arm each tempo without paying any further AC. However, if he wants to
switch the Hold to a different limb, use some other maneuver, or his opponent
successfully defends, he will have to pay the AC for his next maneuver as
normal.

Any limb disabled by a maneuver is considered disabled for as long as the maneuver is
maintained. However, maintaining does not prevent the opponent from trying to steal
initiative and attack with some other limb.

Offensive
Bite | Off | AC0 | Any | Grapple

Bite into an opponent’s exposed flesh. Target a specific wound location, rather than a
wheel. Roll vs. Base TN. On a success, you deal damage to the location according to the
relevant Bite profile. For humans, this is -1c and caps at level 4. If the target location
is clothed, this becomes blunt and is capped at level 2. Any AV from armor negates
damage from human bites entirely.

Gouge | Off | AC2 | Eyes | Grapple

Grab an opponent’s head and press your thumbs into their eyes with the intent of
causing pain, blindness, or death. Roll vs. Base TN. Success deals impact equal to 2x
MoS. MoS3+ puts out one of the target’s eyes (attacker’s choice). MoS5+ either puts
out both eyes or pushes into the brain causing a messy death (also attacker’s choice).
Closed helms will almost universally prevent this.

Hold | Off | AC2 | Limb/Neck | Grapple

Using pain-locks or submission holds on one’s opponent, usually by twisting an arm

or pinning a limb. Declare one of your opponent’s limbs as a target and roll vs. Base
TN. On a success, the limb is disabled and cannot be used until the Hold is released. In
addition, you inflict MoS worth of impact and your opponent starts a TN clock called
Pinned. On an MoS3+, fill in the first segment. On an MoS5+, fill in two.

Each subsequent tempo, declare Hold again targeting the same location. Roll vs. Base
TN. On a success, you inflict MoS as impact and fill in another segment. On an MoS3+,
two segments. MoS5+, three segments. If the Pinned clock is filled, the opponent is
forced helpless and at your mercy indefinitely to be restrained, bound, or dispatched.

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Alternatively, a Hold can target the throat and then become a Strangle. The rules
are the same as above, but with the caveat that for obvious reasons that no limbs are
temporarily disabled. On the other hand, the opponent cannot call out or make noise.
The TN clock is labeled Strangled instead of Pinned. When it is filled, the target loses
consciousness. If the Strangle is maintained after that, the subject suffocates and dies.
Note that Neck armor with the Rigid property makes strangulation impossible.

As long as the Hold (or Strangle) is maintained, the TN clock persists. If you release
the maneuver (by declaring another maneuver, or switching your target location) or
the target successfully defends at any point, they escape your grasp and their TN
clock immediately disappears. Their base TN reverts to whatever other injuries and
conditions they may have.

Snap | Off | AC1 | Joint | Grapple

Hyperextend one of your opponent’s limbs to inflict pain or damage. Declare a target
joint (neck, shoulder, elbow, fingers, etc). Roll vs Base TN. If successful, Snap has a
damage profile of -1b to joints or +0b to fingers, with MoS adding to damage as normal.
Armor does not absorb damage, but common sense overrides (no neck-twisting in a
jousting harness). Finger-breaking caps at a level 3 wound.

Throw | Off | AC1 | Other | Grapple

Throw your opponent over your hip or shoulder. Roll vs. Base TN. If successful, the
target is thrown in a direction of your choosing and lands prone. In addition, they
suffer MoS worth of impact. On an MoS3+, you also gain an advantage over them in
the following tempo.

Targets who are thrown against a hard object take MoS+Brawn tap as blunt damage
to a random location. Spikes or similar add +1dr and change the damage type to pierc-
ing. If you go down with the victim, add +1DR. You remain in the grapple and are not
considered prone. Otherwise, a successful throw breaks the grapple condition and
places the attacker at their preferred reach category.

Defensive
Break | Def | AC1 | Grapple

Disentangle yourself from your opponent, breaking out a grapple and putting some
distance between yourself and them. Roll vs. Base TN. On a success, you negate the
opponent’s attack and the grapple ends. If either party was prone before, they are
assumed to get up if they are capable of doing so.

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 Melee
Resist | Def | AC0 | Grapple

Push, pull, or contort yourself in order to fend off an attack. This includes both grap-
ple-specific maneuvers and any normal maneuver that they may attempt while in a
grapple (such as a Thrust with a dagger). Roll vs. Base TN. If successful, you ward off
the attacker’s effect and gain the initiative.

Reverse | Def | AC2 | Grapple

Twist yourself in such a way as to use your opponent’s momentum against them in the
grapple. Roll vs Base TN. On a success, you ward off your opponent’s attack and gain
their hits as bonus dice towards a grapple maneuver in the next tempo.

Advanced Melee
Advanced melee is an optional expansion to the full melee rules. It builds on the exist-
ing framework, adding a number of maneuvers to flesh out the individual proficiencies
and broaden the scope of available options. Three new types of maneuvers are added
in total. Links are used to chain maneuvers together. Advanced Maneuvers are
additional techniques that add further flavor to each proficiency. Grips are alternate
ways of handling specific weapons that change their characteristics. All proficiencies
have access to links, but the maneuvers under advanced maneuvers and grips are only
available when using a proficiency that grants them.

Links
Links allow you to chain maneuvers together in different ways, granting you a po-
tential edge over your opponent. There are three parts to a linked maneuver. First is
the primary maneuver, such as a Thrust or Deflect. The second portion is the link
itself, which bridges the two maneuvers involved. The final portion is the secondary
maneuver which receives the benefit of the link.

Links are tricky to pull off with a single weapon. If both the primary and secondary
maneuvers are performed with the same weapon, the secondary maneuver is per-
formed at a disadvantage. However, this doesn’t extend to unarmed attacks or attacks
that utilize alternative parts of the weapon, such as pommel-strikes or the butt of a
polearm in staff grip. Likewise, if the character has a secondary weapon or shield
there is no penalty in using one weapon for the primary maneuver and the other for
the secondary maneuver.

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One link can be strung into another, at the player’s option. A Deflect Counter in one
tempo can have a Bind & Thrust as its secondary maneuver, so long as all ACs are paid
as per the maneuver descriptions.

Compound | Off or Def | AC1 | Link

Make an attack or defense as part of a more complex action, striking while your oppo-
nent is otherwise occupied. Declare your maneuvers as [Primary Maneuver] & [Second-
ary Maneuver](e.g., Deflect & Thrust). Pay the activation cost (if any) of all maneuvers in
the link with Compound up front, then roll per the primary maneuver.

If you were attacking, a success allows you to choose between carrying out the primary
maneuver as per its description or gaining your MoS as dice to perform your second-
ary maneuver as a bonus offensive maneuver in this same tempo. Because it occurs in
the same tempo, no additional defense can be rolled against it. It is unopposed.

If you were defending, a success defends against the oncoming attack and grants your
MoS as dice for a secondary offensive maneuver to be rolled in the same tempo, as
above.

Counter | Def | AC2 | Link

Take your opponent’s momentum and turn it against them. Declare your maneuver
as a [Primary Maneuver] Counter and pay the activation cost for both the defensive
maneuver and Counter. Roll as per your primary maneuver. On a success, you gain
the benefits as per the primary maneuver. In addition, you gain your opponent’s hits as
bonus dice to add to your pool for a secondary maneuver to be declared and paid for
in the following tempo.

False Attack | Off | AC2 | Link

Feign an attack in order to open up your opponent’s line of defense. Declare your
attack as a False [Primary Maneuver] and pay the the activation cost for both the of-
fensive maneuver and False Attack. Roll as per the primary maneuver. On a success
you can choose between using the primary’s effect as normal, or you may take your op-
ponent’s hits as bonus dice to add to your pool for a secondary maneuver to be declared
and paid for in the following tempo.

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Advanced Maneuvers
Each proficiency grants access to a handful of advanced maneuvers that further define
that proficiency’s capabilities. All of the advanced maneuvers are listed here together,
but the specific maneuvers available to a given proficiency are listed on page XX.

Beat | Off | AC0 | Weapon

Bash an opponent’s weapon with your own, creating an opening to exploit. Target
an opponent’s weapon or shield and roll vs. Base TN. On a success, the opponent’s
weapon is disabled in this and the following tempo. In addition, they suffer MoS worth
of impact.

Heavy Blow | Off | AC1-3 | Swing Wheel

Sacrifice accuracy for brute strength. Declare a target wheel and roll vs. Base TN. On
a success, deal damage per your weapon’s swing profile with a bonus equal to the AC
spent on Heavy Blow (e.g., AC2 grants +2 damage). Resolve location as a swing.

Master-Strike | Off | AC2 | Swing/Thrust |

Restraining

Strike with your weapon in such a way as to prevent retaliation, cutting off your oppo-
nent’s line of attack. Declare a target wheel and whether the strike will be a swing or
thrust-based attack. Roll vs. Base TN. On a success, you deal damage per the weapons
profile to the appropriate wheel. Master-Strike cannot be part of a linked maneuver.

Murder Stroke | Off | AC1/0 | Head

Completely reverse the sword, grabbing it by the blade and striking with the weapon’s
pommel or quillons. Target the opponent’s head wheel and declare whether this at-
tack will use the swing or thrust locations. If attacking from a normal grip, pay AC1.
If striking from a half-sword grip, pay AC0. Roll vs. Base TN. On a success, you deal
damage based on the pommel profile adding +1 to the total.

Quick Draw | Other | AC1-3

Draw your weapon as part of an attack or defense in one fluid motion. Declare Quick
Draw alongside another maneuver, whether offensive or defensive. Activation cost is
based on weapon length. Hand, Close, or Short AC1. Medium, AC2. Long, AC3. Curved
blades reduce this by one, to a minimum of 1. Unlike a positioning roll, Quick Draw
does not require a roll and the weapon drawn can be used in the same tempo.

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Table 61 - Advanced Maneuvers by Proficiency

Brawling Longswords Mass Polearms Swords
Weapons
Compound (AC1) Compound (AC1) Compound (AC1) Compound (AC1) Compound (AC1)
Counter (AC2) Counter (AC2) Counter (AC2) Counter (AC2) Counter (AC2)
False Attack False Attack False Attack False Attack False Attack
(AC2) (AC2) (AC2) (AC2) (AC2)
Quick Draw Beat (AC0) Heavy Blow Beat (AC0) Beat (AC0)
(AC1-3) (AC1-3)
Slam (AC1) Master-Strike Shield Bind (AC1) Heavy Blow Master-Strike
(AC2) (AC1-3) (AC2)
Stomp (AC2/V) Murder Stroke Slam (AC1) Shield Bind (AC1) Murder Stroke
(AC1/0) (AC1/0)
Reverse Grip Slam (AC1) Stomp (AC2/V) Slam (AC1) Quick Draw
(AC1) (AC1-3)
Stomp (AC2/V) Staff Grip (AC1) Stomp (AC2/V) Shield Bind (AC1)
Half-Sword (AC1) Overhand Grip Slam (AC1)
(AC2)
Staff Grip (AC1) Stomp (AC2/V)
Half-Sword (AC1)

Shield Bind | Off | AC1 | Other | Restraining

Shove your shield into your opponent in such a way that it blocks off their line of
attack. Opponent can only use Deflect or Expulsion if they have a shield of equal or
larger size than your own, otherwise they must Dodge or Disengage. Roll vs. Base TN.
Success inflicts MoS as impact. Requires a medium (Arm+2) or larger shield.

Slam | Off | AC1

Throw your weight into your opponent to knock them off balance. You can do this
with your elbow, shoulder, or a kick, but it is most easily done with a shield or the
central portion of a weapon held in half-sword or staff grip. Roll vs Base TN. If you’re
using a shield, take an advantage. If you’re using an elbow, shoulder, or kick, take a
disadvantage. On a success, the opponent loses MoS worth of dice as impact. On an
MoS3+, the character is knocked prone on top of that.

Stomp | Off | AC2/Variable

Leap forward with a feigned attack, provoking them into defending against a blow
that never comes. Declare another maneuver as normal, declaring a target and al-

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locating dice. After your opponent has declared their defense, but before any dice are
rolled, shout ’Stomp!’ and pay the AC. This AC must be paid from your remaining CP.
If you cannot cover the cost from your remaining pool, you can’t Stomp.

After the AC is paid, discard all of your declared dice and all of the dice your opponent
declared for their defensive maneuver. As there was no true attack, no dice are rolled.
You maintain initiative and move on to the next tempo. Note that this only affects a
defense declared by your opponent. If they launched an attack instead Stomp has no
effect and their roll is effectively made unopposed. Similarly, stomp has no effect on a
Disengage.

The AC for this maneuver goes up by 1 every time it is used against the same op-
ponent. Cannot be part of a linked maneuver or along side a position roll. Likewise, it
has no effect on an opponent’s position roll.

Grips
Grips are not independent maneuvers. Instead, they are ways of handling a weapon
that change its capabilities or characteristics. Changing to an alternate grip or re-
verting back to a normal grip between plays can be done for free, but if you want to
change grips between tempos you must declare the grip and pay its AC along any
other maneuvers you are using.

Half-Sword | AC1 | Grip

Take your sword and place your off-hand forward of the guard, effectively turning
the weapon into a short spear. Your weapon’s length goes down by one category and
any swing attacks have their damage level reduced by 1. In exchange, the weapon
can Pinpoint at AC1 and Murder Stroke at AC0. The weapon gains the Hook property
and the central portion of the blade can be used for the Slam maneuver. Reverting to
normal grip costs AC1 between tempos or is free at refresh.

Reverse Grip | AC1 | Grip

Hold your knife or dagger blade-down, or “ice pick” style. This reduces the weapon’s
length to Hand and puts any kind of Deflection with the weapon at a disadvantage. In
exchange, the weapon gains Hook and now uses its Thrust DR for Swing maneuvers
and wheel locations, and it’s Swing DR for Thrust maneuvers and wheel locations.
Daggers cannot be thrown from this grip. Reverting to normal grip costs AC1 between
tempos or is free at refresh.

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Overhand Grip | AC2 | Grip

Take a spear and grip it over-arm. Reduces the weapon’s length category by 1 and
places the weapon at a disadvantage when Deflecting. In exchange the weapon can be
thrown with Point Blank and gains the use of Heavy Blow and Wrap as though they
were thrust-based maneuvers, using the weapon’s thrust DR and the thrust locations
on the wheel. Using Wrap in this manner can bypass favoring, but cannot be used to
target normally unavailable locations, such as the back or hamstring. Reverting to
normal grip is AC2 between tempos or is free at refresh. Requires a spear that can be
wielded with one hand.

Staff Grip | AC1 | Grip

Polearms are generally gripped with one hand near the butt of the weapon and the
other somewhere near the first third of the shaft to maximize their reach and lever-
age. Taking a Staff Grip shifts the weapon back. Both hands grip the weapon around
a quarter of its length apart, with the weapon’s remaining length protruding more or
less evenly from each end.

The weapon’s reach is reduced by two categories and swing attacks from the primary
end suffer -1DR. In exchange, the weapon may Pinpoint at AC1 and gains use of the
butt as a secondary weapon with a damage profile of +1b/+1b. The center or rear of the
weapon can also be used as part of a linked maneuver, in order to avoid the associated
disadvantage. Finally, the weapon gains the Hook property, if it did not have it before.
Reverting to normal grip is AC1 between tempos or is free at refresh.

Optional Target Modifiers

Some parts of your opponent are more difficult to hit than others. In traditional
fencing, most blows are aimed towards the head or torso. This is both because
these are targets more likely to end a fight, but also because limbs tend to be more
difficult to strike. The arms are in fairly constant motion and humans have an
extremely quick twitch reflex, making it much easier to move your arm out of
danger than your whole body. Striking at the legs pose another difficulty, as doing
so often requires you to close in or expose yourself.

If this sort of detail interests you, we use the following as our easy solution: add
+1AC to any attack melee specifically directed at the arm, thigh, or shin wheel.
This modifier does not apply to attacks that target weapons or joints and does not
apply in a grapple.

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Wind
Winding allows you to bind into your opponent’s weapon with your own, control-
ling both by feeling out the subtle changes in pressure and leverage. Mechanically,
Wind is a condition that applies to combat in a way similar to Grappling and imposes
restraints on either combatant involved.

The character with initiative can declare a Wind at the beginning of any tempo imme-
diately after the combatants primary weapons have made blade-to-blade (or haft-to-
haft, haft-to-blade) contact. This usually means in the tempo after a Deflection, a failed
Expulsion, or an offensive maneuver that made contact with the opponent’s weapon
without disabling it or knocking them prone, such as a Master-Strike or (MoS1-2) Slam.
Wind is declared before either fighter declares any maneuvers, and is AC1 to be paid
for by the character who declared it.

Initiating a Wind requires that only two opponents are active during the current play,
and that both combatants’ primary weapons are of at least Medium reach and within
one reach category of each other (Medium vs. Long, Long vs. Extended) and finally
that neither party is using a medium or large shield. Once in a Wind, the following
conditions apply:
• Both parties are restricted to their primary weapons alone, though they
can make use of secondary characteristics of said weapon such as the
pommel or quillons.
• The attacker is limited to Disarm, Hook, Slam, and the unmodified Swing
and Thrust maneuvers. While in a Wind, all of attacker’s maneuvers are
considered restraining.
• The defender is restricted to Deflect and Expulsion only. While in a Wind,
a successful Deflect does not automatically grant initiative to the defender
unless AC2 is paid for it from the defender’s remaining pool. If there are
no dice remaining in the defender’s Combat Pool this play, the attacker
retains initiative.
• Links and positioning rolls are unavailable in a Wind.
The AC for Wind is paid only when it is first declared. Afterward, it can continue
indefinitely until broken. A Wind attack can lead into a Wind defense into another
Wind attack and so on without any additional costs for anyone involved.

Wind is only broken when the character with initiative succeeds with a maneuver that
would disable their opponent’s weapon, knock their opponent prone, or they choose
instead to make an attack with an off-hand weapon and said attack is successful. The
defender can only break the Wind with a successful Expulsion. If the defender tries
to steal initiative, they do so at a disadvantage and their offensive maneuvers are
restricted to the above list.
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 Ranged
Combat

On the one hand, besting your foe in single combat is a heroic and honorable path to
victory. On the other hand, it’s also a good way to get stabbed. Why bother with three
feet of steel when an ounce of lead will do?

The Ranged Action

Ranged combat doesn’t require its own separate internal structure the way melee
combat does. It operates on the same round structure as Skirmish. A ranged action
then consists of spending one whole Combat Pool worth of dice following a specific
procedure.

1. Establish Combat Pool

Your ranged Combat Pool is the sum of your Perception and the proficiency being
used. If you’re throwing something, use the closest applicable melee proficiency as
though it were a ranged proficiency (e.g., throwing a spear is Polearms, a dagger would
be Brawling).

As with melee, tapping does not directly apply to your Combat Pool. Your skills and
traits won’t make you better at firing a pistol. Dig Deep still applies and the drama for
it must be spent at the beginning of your action.
 Ranged Combat

Ranged Combat, in Brief

Don’t worry if this doesn’t make sense yet. It’s a quick reference for after you’ve
read the rest of this section.
1. Establish Combat Pool. Your CP for a ranged attack is equal to
Perception+Proficiency. You can’t tap anything in here, but you can
Dig Deep for +3 dice.
2. Establish Range. If it’s equal to or less than your weapon’s optimal
range, you get to ignore the range penalty. You can’t shoot at an
individual target further than your weapon’s maximum range.
3. Check for Cover. What parts of the target are exposed? Wheels
behind cover ignore most projectiles.
4. Check for Complexity. Any factors that would get in the way?
These increase your complexity req for the shot.
5. Take the Shot. Divide your dice between accuracy and complexity.
Both need to succeed.
6. Resolve the Wound. Accuracy is an r1 task. If a shot lands, roll red
and white d6 to resolve location. Red is wound wheel, white is thrust
location. Weapon does damage per it’s DR+Accuracy MoS. Brawn tap
applies to thrown weapons only.

2. Establish Range
This should be clear from setting the scene in skirmish. If you’re using ranged combat
outside of a skirmish, the same rules apply. Most of the time, the range will be dictated
by the area in which the fight is taking place. If there is any doubt, use the furthest
applicable range band that would apply. If you’re ambushing an opponent, you can
generally decide how close you are to the target. Ultimately, the narrative positioning
is king here.

Substitutions in Ranged Combat

If you need a proficiency that you don’t have, you can substitute as described under
Untrained Ability Checks, pg XX. Use the tap value of your highest related ranged
proficiency as though it were the proficiency you needed. If you need Firearms but
have Crossbows at 7, then you would have a Combat Pool of your Perception rank
+2. If you have no melee proficiency high enough to tap, then you get 0 dice from
proficiency and would use your Perception rank on its own.

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Table 62 - Range Bands

Range Bands
Melee: Anything from wrestling to pike length. Anything that happens in tight con-
fines, such as below deck on a ship. Melee confined to an area this size is cramped
terrain.
Close: Anything that happens in alleyways, living quarters, or dense woodlands.
The Disengage melee maneuver takes combatants to this range, just outside of me-
lee. <7 yards. Melee confined to an area this size is restricted terrain.
Short: Anything happening in a large hall or courtyard, wide streets, or sparse
woodlands. Longest practical distance for thrown weapons. 7-25 yards.
Medium: Anything happening in relatively open spaces, such as a field or clearing.
Maximum line of sight possible in woodlands. Details such as clothes and basic
equipment can still be seen with clarity. Longest direct fire distance for most pro-
jectiles. 25-100 yards
Long: At this distance, details such as clothes and basic equipment still remain
identifiable by their color and general shape. Noticing a single human out in the
open requires no roll but is an r3 task when obscured by surroundings. 100-200
yards.
Extended: Noticing a single standing human out in the open requires no roll, but is
an r5 task when obscured by surroundings. Naked eye can see the body outline and
usually discern skin tone. 200-400 yards.
Remote: Noticing someone out in the open is an r3 task. Naked eye can no longer
discern the head on the body outline or make out any meaningful details. 400-800
yards.

3.Check for Cover

Cover is anything that physically stands between a target and projectiles. Walls, trees,
big rocks, sandbags are all excellent examples of cover. Figure out which parts of the
target are exposed and which will be behind cover. A man leaning around the corner
with a pistol will at the least have their head and weapon arm exposed. A target loos-
ing a bow through an empty window is likely exposed from the waist up.

Body parts behind cover do not contribute to complexity (below) but are instead pro-
tected from harm. If a ranged attack’s wound location would indicate a part of the
body that was behind cover, it is effectively nullified. If no part of a target is visible
from behind cover, there is no line of sight and thus no shot is possible.

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 Ranged Combat
Bulletproof Cover

In real life, there are ranges at which a well-charged black powder firearm can
shoot through a door frame or a hostage without much trouble. Accurately model-
ing this, however, would be a complicated endeavor. For the sake of simplicity, we
decided that it was much easier to claim that cover nullified the shot rather than
to work out the penetration characteristics of different kinds of projectiles against
different materials at different ranges. An exception to this applies to firearms and
shields. Firearms ignore shields as cover up to their optimal range. Steel shields
can still provide their armor value. Beyond optimal range, shields provide cover
against firearms as any other projectile.

4. Check for Complexity

Complexity represents all of the factors that make a ranged attack more difficult to
land, including movement, distance, and visibility. Mechanically, it is represented by a
req that is taken into account when taking the shot (below). The more difficult a shot,
the higher the complexity. Most of these factors are environmental in nature, but a few
are based on motion and the size of the target itself. The table below summarizes all
of the normal modifiers to a complexity req, though in unusual circumstances others
may apply.
Table 63 - Example Complexity Modifiers
Req Complexity Description
+3r Moving Unpredictably
+2r Target is at maximum range for your weapon
+2r Target is moving among obstructions (through a forest, in a crowd)
+2r Shooter moving in same action (Run and Gonne, pg XX)
+1r Target is obscured (foliage, pouring rain
+1r Target is very small (cat, dog, crouched, prone; does not refer to body parts
exposed from cover)
+1r Shooter in a precarious position (unstable platform, mounted)
-1r Target is significantly larger than a human (horse, elephant)
-2r Target is in Melee range, but not engaged in melee with the shooter
-2r Shooter is using Aim (as per the action, or by taking 15-20 seconds to line
up the shot outside of Skirmish)
If the sum of the modifiers would be an r0 or less, then the complexity is effectively 0.
A negative req does not translate into any kind of bonus for the attacker.

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Leaning Out
It’s not uncommon for a ranged attacker to try to minimize their exposure by leaning
out. Effectively remaining in complete cover until the moment of their shot, leaning
out of cover to make the shot, and then ducking back behind cover when the shot
has been made. In addition to requiring a 2d6 roll on sequence (counting as Run and
Gonne, pg XX), it imposes a +2r complexity on the shot for the rushed target acquisi-
tion. Leaning out does not protect against any ranged attack that would be made at the
character during the same sequence step or from a ranged ambush.

5. Take the Shot

Much as in melee, CP in ranged combat involves dividing your dice up in different
ways depending on the situation at hand. For ranged combat, these dice are generally
allocated into two pools: accuracy and complexity.

Accuracy roughly translates into the likelihood of piercing something vital. Mechan-
ically, the accuracy roll is an r1 task. Additional hits rolled increase the damage dealt.

Complexity represents the adjustments made to your aim in an attempt to compen-

sate for difficulties with the shot. The req for the complexity roll is equal to the sum
of the modifiers, above. Under perfect conditions, a shot may have a complexity of r0,
allowing the attacker to put their entire pool into accuracy with devastating effect.

6. Resolving the Shot

Roll each pool separately in either order. If throwing a weapon without the thrown
quality, both rolls are made at a disadvantage. If either pool is a failure result, then
the shot misses. If both succeed, the shot location is determined randomly. Roll a red
and white d6. The red die determines the wound wheel the shot lands on. The white
determines the precise location struck, using the inside (thrust) locations.

If the location indicated is behind cover, the shot is absorbed or otherwise harmless.
If it strikes an exposed body part, the accuracy MoS is added to the weapons DR to
determine the damage dealt. Bows, crossbows, and firearms do not add their Brawn
tap to their damage dealt. Thrown weapons can add the thrower’s Brawn tap as per
their melee damage profile. The defender subtracts their Brawn tap and armor value
to determine the final wound level, with any armor properties applying as normal.

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Missed Shots

Keep the environment in mind whenever you’re dealing with a missed shot. If
a shot has some complexity due to a target weaving through a crowd, a missed
bullet will go somewhere and might well strike a bystander. The material being
used as cover should be similarly kept in mind. Barrels count as cover, but if they
take a bullet their contents are going to spill at the very least. Powder kegs are a
bad choice for cover.

Ranged Minutiae
The above covers the core of ranged combat. The following are some additional situa-
tions and options that you may want to use.

Called Shots
You can make a called shot to take more control over where your shot will land. This
is especially useful when you’re dealing with a target who is armored or behind cover.

If the target is unaware or helpless and within optimal range for your weapon, you
may freely choose your target wheel.

If the target is not unaware, but within optimal range you can choose to aim high or
low. Treat the red die as a d3 when determining wound location, counting only the
upper or lower three wheels, clockwise.

In addition, you can narrow your aim to specified wheels by spending dice from your
Combat Pool on the wheels where you do not want the shot to land. To guarantee a
head shot within optimal range for your weapon, you would need to spend two ad-
ditional dice to cover up the chest and arm wheels. At longer distances, the same head
shot would cost up to five dice, covering every wheel except for the head.

When figuring out the wound location, count clockwise as normal skipping over any
covered wheels in the process.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Firing into Melee

Firing at a target in melee combat is tricky, as it carries the risk of shooting the wrong
person. For the shot itself, use the existing complexity rules. Both parties are moving
unpredictably (+3r) and are moving through obstructions (their opponent, +2r) making
it a comp5 shot. If they were engaged in a grapple, their opponent may count as cover
as well. If your target is completely pinned by the other person, ignore the above and
treat the complexity as +2r.

If your shot succeeds on the accuracy roll but misses on complexity, roll a d6. On a
1-2, it strikes the other combatant instead. Of course, if you don’t care which character
gets shot, feel free to ignore any complexity based on the two combatants moving
together. If the roll succeeds, roll a d6 to determine who was shot. 1-3 on the original
target, 4-6 on the other.

Multiple Shots
Making multiple shots in a single round requires either a weapon capable of making
multiple shots (such as a double barreled musket), a pistol in each hand, or a weapon
with a reload of “X” such as many types of bow.

Divide your CP up between your total shots taken. Each individual shot is treated like
a complete shooting action on its own, and goes through each of the above steps. If
complexity plays a factor, each shot must further divide into accuracy and complex-
ity individually. If you were making two shots and complexity were a factor, you’d
divide each into accuracy and compensation from their respective pools resulting in
four pools total. For obvious reasons, making multiple shots generally requires an
extremely skilled marksman or targets under optimal conditions.

The maximum number of shots you can make in a single round is equal to your pro-
ficiency tap +1.

224
 Ranged Combat

Pistols, at Dawn
The rules above do a good job covering most ranged combat scenarios. Combatants
will slip hectically into and out of cover, taking shots where they can. Most of the
time, a ranged attack will either take place inside of a skirmish framework or in narra-
tive time if the target can’t respond. However, there will be occasions when both com-
batants start out on even footing and in tandem, either both reacting to some outside
circumstance or in direct reaction to one another. We treat this as a ranged duel. The
most classic version involves pacing and pistols, but it could as easily represent two
warriors approaching one another with shield and javelin or even two crossbowmen
unexpectedly stumbling into one another in the same room.

Ranged duels are handled using the stealing initiative rules (pg XX) but with a couple
minor exceptions. No maneuvers are declared, but in their place each side will declare
their accuracy, any compensation, and any dice that will be allocated towards increas-
ing their Speed pool. If either side is making a called shot then this is declared as well
along with any dice that must be spent.

The winner of the contest of speed resolves their shot first, with any impact coming
out of their opponent’s allocated dice for compensation first, then accuracy. Ties as-
sume both shots land simultaneously, as two attacks would in melee.

Ranged duels have a couple of additional modifiers that may apply. If you had to draw
a weapon from a belt or holster in the same action, pay 1CP as activation cost. If you
waited for the other person to go for their weapon first (as in the old west tradition),
then they count as the original attacker.

If you have two ranged weapons (a pistol in each hand) you can opt to make two at-
tacks in the same space of time. You will have to split up your die pool for each shot,
allocating accuracy and any complexity to each separately, but you will only need
the one speed pool. If you drew both weapons, pay 2CP in activation cost instead of
1. A single weapon can’t make multiple shots inside of the confines of a ranged duel.
Things are happening too quickly.

If both parties are alive at the end of the the ranged duel and intend to press on, segue
into some other kind of combat, either continuing the ranged fight as a skirmish or
jumping into a red/white throw for melee.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Thrown Weapons
Thrown weapons are handled identically to other ranged weapons save for two excep-
tions. The first is that they use the relevant melee proficiency for their CP, even as a
ranged attack. Javelins use Polearms, thrown knives use Brawling, and so on. If they
don’t have the Thrown property, then the accuracy and complexity rolls are made at
a disadvantage.

The second exception is that unlike other faster projectiles, thrown weapons can be
deflected. To deflect a thrown weapon, you need to be aware of the incoming attack,
facing the thrower, and have a melee weapon or shield in hand. You can’t do it un-
armed. In a skirmish, you also can’t do it if you’re otherwise occupied (for instance,
performing some other action, in melee, and so on) or if you’ve already acted that
round.

Before the attacker divides up their CP, make an r0 proficiency check at a disadvan-
tage. Your MoS becomes a modifier to the attacker’s complexity. If you choose to go
this route, you are either standing still or moving straight towards your attacker. You
can’t claim any other complexity benefits for movement.

Thrown weapons can’t be deflected inside of a ranged duel at all, as it is assumed that
you’re responding with a ranged attack of your own in the same space of time. If you
would rather try to deflect a thrown weapon, then no ranged duel needs to take place.
The other party announces their attack, you announce your deflect and resolve as
above. Afterward, you can attempt to respond in kind.

Shields
Shields provide a number of benefits against ranged attacks. Shields count as cover
for the person wearing them. If the target is unaware of the shooter, the shield grants
cover to the arm holding it or the target’s back, depending on how it’s being worn. If
the target is aware of the ranged combatant, it can be used like favoring in melee and
cover as many locations. An exception here is made for firearms, which do not care
about your shield. Firearms ignore shields as cover, though metal shields will count
as munitions plate (AV4MR) against them. Shields do not suffer a disadvantage on the
proficiency check when trying to deflect a thrown weapon.

226
 Wounds &
Healing

In the court of last resort, violence is king. Bloody conflict forms a major theme in
Sword & Scoundrel but the consequences of that conflict are not to be taken lightly.
Being wounded is not a trivial matter. There are no “hit points” here. As in real life,
an injury taken is often graphic, painful, and debilitating. Even if the wound itself
isn’t enough to cripple or kill you, recovery is a slow process and infection can be
life-threatening. Getting stabbed sucks in real life. It sucks for your characters, too.

Wounds
Damage takes the form of wounds which are a combination of mechanical and narra-
tive information based on the wound’s location and categorized by its level of severity,
explained below. The exact location of a wound is important as it determines both
whether any armor worn would reduce the damage taken and what the effects of a
given wound will be once the total damage has been calculated.

Wound Wheels
Nearly all damage-dealing attacks target one or more wound wheels. Each wheel is
named for a general area of the body and used to determine the final location where
an attack will land.

Each wheel has two sets of results are listed, referred to as the inside and outside
wheels. The inside wheel is used for thrusts-based or ranged attacks. The outside
wheel is used for swinging based attacks or any time the character would fall or be
thrown into something.
Book IV: Tribulation

The chart (XX) shows all of the available C ro w n

er Crow n C C
wound wheels you can normally target. A

Ne ld
k

ro n
1

ro
smaller copy is also placed on each char-

wn
c
Sh o
6 2

w
acter sheet for reference. Head
5 3

Fa c

C r ce
n
Most of the time, you’ll know what wheel e 4

ow
Fa
c
Ne
k Face
you’re targeting. In that case, roll a d6 and Ne c k Face Sh o u l d e r
and count clockwise around the wheel in D Ribs Sh
Shoulder A h
S
question, with the top location considered

Ha d
d

ou s

ou pit
n
1 1

Ha
Ri
s

rm
HE

n
lder

lder
Ab
to be 1. Use the inside or outside wheel

b
6 2 6 2

as appropriate to the source of damage. Chest ARMS

rA m
If you ever need a completely random

Fore ear

rm
Ri pit

Ar
5 3 5 3

Ab

For
AR

rm
4 4
m
wound location, roll a red and white

er
pp

bs

ar
A

s
S m Elbow U p

pe
Abs

M
U
d6 together. The red die will determine Ribs Elbow
which wheel is effected, the white die will Ribs Hip
show the final location. Gro gh n
Ribs Abs

Shi e
Ab s

Hi
e
1 1

Kn
Thi

n
Ri

Hi
i

p
s
b
6 2 6 2

p
Canny observers may notice that not all
Belly Thigh
wound locations are listed on the wheels.
5 3 5 3
These locations are not targeted or at-

in
Kn g
Hi i

s
e

igh
Ab
4 4

ro
Gr

s
Th
e
p

Ab
tacked directly, but are rather alternate n h Th i g h

Th
i
Abs
o

locations struck when using a maneuver Hip Thigh Thigh

like Wrap or otherwise attacking a target Thigh
K
t
Kn ee
Foo t

from behind.
Foo

ee
6 2 n

• A blow to any part of the head from Shin

behind uses the Crown location. 5 3
Sh n
Shi in

4
in
Sh

• A blow to the Abdomen or Ribs

Sh
n

Shin
from behind uses the Back location. Shin

• A blow to the Knee, Shin, or Thigh

from behind uses the Hamstring
location.

228
 Wounds & Healing

Damage
Once you know where the blow landed, you have to determine how badly you’ve been
hurt. Damage from most sources is reduced by both any armor you have on that loca-
tion and your Brawn tap value. If you have any armor properties that would interact
with the damage, those are applied after the fact. The final result is your wound level.

Wound Levels
The severity of an injury is expressed as its wound level. These range from 1 to 5, with
lower levels being less severe than higher levels.

Level 1 wounds represent minor nicks and bruises generally not worth mentioning
after their initial sting. They are so unremarkable, in fact, that they are not even
recorded on your sheet.

Level 2 wounds sting and leave a mark, but fade fairly quickly. These can generally be
patched up on the spot or take care of themselves within a week.

Level 3 wounds are not life-threatening but they are often decisive enough to tip the
balance of a fight. They are significant, but they’ll still generally heal on their own and
heal fairly quickly with treatment.

Level 4 wounds are broken bones and gouged flesh severe enough that they nearly
always spell the end of a fight. This sort of damage will leave you crippled for some
time. These injuries often require a skilled surgeon if they are to mend without becom-
ing a permanent disability.

Level 5 wounds will put you down, severing limbs or killing a character outright. The
best case scenario is that the character will be permanently mangled in some way. A
skilled surgeon will be needed for the character to survive at all.

The Wound Tables

The specifics of each wound location are given in a series of tables in the appendix (pg
XX), broken down by damage type. Cross-reference the type, location and level of the
damage to arrive at the correct entry. Each entry will also yield its impact along with
any base TN shifts and a fortune cookie.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Impact
Impact represents the immediate flash of pain, discomfort, and distraction caused by
an injury. In melee combat, it represents the number of dice that the character in-
stantly loses from their Combat Pool when injured. If they had allocated dice to a ma-
neuver yet to be used that tempo, it is subtracted from the pool of dice for that attack
first. Otherwise, it is subtracted from their remaining CP. If an injury occurs and the
opponent has 0CP left (such as at the end of the second tempo), or the impact is greater
than the amount of dice left (impact 8 against an opponent with 4CP remaining), then
the difference is subtracted from their remaining dice after the following refresh.

Impact doesn’t often come into play outside of melee, but the GM may make an excep-
tion when a character suffers an injury on the same sequence step in a skirmish as
they themselves were going to act. For instance, trying to climb a wall only to trigger
a ranged ambush. If the attack happens on the same action step as yours and if the
attack lands before your action, then the impact applies to whatever next check you
might have to make during that action. Otherwise, we can assume that enough time
would have passed for the impact to wear off, though any other effects will remain.

Base TN Shift
Impact ratings are never recorded. They apply instantly and then are done. Any wound
that causes a base TN shift, however, gets written down on your sheet. Note the loca-
tion and level of the wound, as well as filling in a TN clock up to the TN indicated.
Someone who takes a wound with TN5 would fill in the 4 and 5 sections of the clock.

Each wound and its ratings are recorded individually, but only the most severe TN
changes the base clock at the top of the character sheet. Wounds that do not affect TN
shifts do not need to be recorded at all.

If a character must make any kind of ability checks as a reaction to the wound (Knock-
out, Knock Down, below) then they use their highest TN, including from the wound
they just received. Impact is not applied to this roll.

The Bloody Fortune Cookie

The fortune cookie is the box of text that gives the wound its narrative and mechani-
cal weight. Most cookies consist of two parts. The descriptive text in italics details
narrative effects and flavor. The bold text can specify any other issues or mechanical
effects. Sometimes a cookie includes superscript numbers to add even more variety to
wounds, resolved on a d6 roll.

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 Wounds & Healing
Blood Loss

Blood Loss (BL) refers to how badly the wound is bleeding. When a character begins
bleeding, start an 8-clock called “Bleed Out.” Depending on the severity of the blood
loss, this clock will quickly or gradually lose points.

Blood loss is divided into three severities:

• BL1. Significant. You shift one segment of blood immediately, then an-
other every fifteen minutes.
• BL2. Severe. You shift two segments of blood immediately, then another
two every five minutes.
• BL3. Massive. You shift three segments of blood immediately, then an-
other three every minute.
When the Bleed Out clock fills, the character goes into shock. While in shock, they
must make an r1 Brawn check or die. In case of a successful roll, you hang on for an-
other precious minute of life. Each minute thereafter, you must make another Brawn
check. This second check will be against r2, then a third against r3, and so on. If you
don’t sit or lie down, these checks begin at r2. Trying to continue any strenuous activ-
ity (like fighting) while in shock makes these checks begin at r3.

If a character suffers multiple wounds, take only the most serious BL into account. If
there are multiple wounds of equal severity, divide the interval of time by the number
of wounds (two BL2 wounds would be 2 segments every two and a half minutes).

Wounds severe enough to have a blood loss value will not stop bleeding on their own.
Your character will continue making Brawn checks each minute until the bleeding is
stopped (see Staunching the Flow, pg XX) or they fail a check and die from blood loss.
Once staunched, however, the character’s Bleed Out clock will recover at rate of one
segment per day.

Other Effects

Some wounds will have other effects listed in their bold text. These are knock out,
knock down, and drop. These are both mechanical and narrative in nature, based on
their type. Often these will be listed with a number. This is the req for the appropri-
ate attribute check to resist the effect. If no number is listed, assume the effect is an
automatic failure. No check to avoid it.
• Knock out (KO) refers to a blow that can potentially render you uncon-
scious. If you fail a Grit check, the fight is over and your character is out
cold. They will remain so for the duration of the scene, or for d6 hours if
not revived.

231
Book IV: Tribulation

• Knock down (KD) refers to a blow that can potentially knock you off
your feet. If you fail a Reflex check, your character is knocked prone.
Inside of a melee, they will remain disadvantaged until a break in the
bout or until you succeed on a positioning roll to get your footing.
• Drop refers to refers to a blow that could force an item out of your hands,
usually due to a blow to the arm. If you fail a Brawn check, you drop
whatever was held in the affected hand.
• 1d, 2d, 3d indicate that the wound result causes a permanent injury (pg
XX) of the severity indicated. When prefaced with an S/, it indicates that
the injury will become permanent unless a successful surgery is per-
formed (pg XX). When prefaced with an asterisk (e.g., *2d), it only applies
if the indicated results are rolled within the flavor text.
• C is for contamination. The nature or placement of the wound is more dif-
ficult to heal and significantly more likely to take infection. All recovery
rolls (see XX) are made at a disadvantage.

Healing
What is broken must mend or perish. We break the process down into three stages:
intervention, treatment, and recovery.

Intervention
Any wound bad enough to record is one that would benefit from some care. This takes
the form of a Medicine check with a req equal to the level of the wound in question.
If you’re trying to patch yourself up, it’s at +1r as well. Tapping is only applicable if
you have a Lore or Expertise that would directly assist in the intervention process (for
instance, a Lore in Anatomy for surgery, or something relevant to the nature of the
wound or condition being treated Poisons, Disease, and so on). In situations that allow
an untrained Medicine check, Cunning can be used as a substitute.

Level 2 and 3 wounds are simple enough to handle, requiring only some bandaging
or stitches. These wounds are simple enough that they can be treated by someone
untrained in Medicine. In a pinch, these wounds will heal on their own, but without
intervention the wound is treated as contaminated (above) and any recovery rolls are
taken at a disadvantage until intervention occurs.

Level 4 and 5 wounds require surgery to begin recovering at all. Surgery is func-
tionally the same as above, but requires someone to have access to the proper tools.

232
 Wounds & Healing

Improvised tools can be used in a pinch, but the Medicine check is made at a disadvan-
tage. Further, the Medicine skill is required to attempt a surgery. Anyone lacking such
training is just going to make things worse.

If you should endeavor to perform surgery on yourself, in addition to the +1r above,
a Grit check will be called on halfway through with a req equal to the wound’s level
in order to remain conscious. Copious amounts of alcohol will grant an advantage on
this check, but a disadvantage on the surgery itself.

Success on a Medicine check counts towards the wound’s recovery clock at the same
rate as natural recovery. Success on some surgeries will even prevent a wound from
becoming a permanent injury, per their description.

Failure on a Medicine check has different effects depending on the severity of the
wound. A failed intervention on a level 2 or 3 wound still removes the imposed con-
tamination penalty listed above. No further benefit is gained, but at least no harm
is done. With more severe wounds, the stakes are higher. On a level 4 or 5 wound, a
failed surgery will still allow the recovery process to begin, but introduces an infec-
tion, below. If the wound had S/(1d, 2d, etc) then a failed surgery also makes the injury
permanent.

Just the Worst

Unless otherwise specified, only deal with the worst wound the character suf-
fers. When getting medical intervention, roll against the worst wound and use the
result for all of the wounds the character has. When treating wounds, apply medi-
cine costs as per the worst and assume that while one wound was being treated all
the others were taken care of too. When recovering, only use the TN for the worst,
apply the segments towards all of the recovery clocks. The only exception to this is
from contamination. If the character has a contaminated wound, the disadvantage
applies even if they have a higher level wound that isn’t.

Staunching the Flow

The most immediate problem facing a wounded character is often blood loss (above).
Stopping the bleeding can be tricky in some cases, requiring a Medicine check with
a req equal to the severity (r1 for BL1, r2 for BL2, r3 for BL3). If you’re trying to stop
your own bleeding, this is at a +1r as above. This check can be made untrained with
Cunning as a substitute.

Blood loss from limb wounds can be temporarily stopped with a tourniquet (a Medi-
cine check at r1, or r2 if you’re doing it yourself), though this can only be maintained
233
Book IV: Tribulation

for two hours. Using a tourniquet for longer than that will lead to the loss of the
limb. For obvious reasons, tourniquet cannot be used on head or torso injuries. Either
variety of check takes at least one minute to perform.

If a tourniquet can’t be applied, blood loss can also be stalled by holding pressure on
the wound. This requires no check at all, but is at best a stalling tactic to buy time
for someone who can actually help. As long as pressure is applied, you can double
the time between blood loss intervals (half an hour at BL1, ten minutes at BL2, two
minutes at BL3).

Amputation
Sometimes, it’s better to simply cut your losses. Limbs that are infected (or so badly
mangled that they are certain to become infected) are often safer to remove than try
to recover.

An amputation is an r3 surgery that results in removal of the limb from the wound
location down. Like all surgeries, this requires the Medicine skill. No substitute can be
attempted. On a success, the wound is reduced to level 3 for the purposes of healing,
with a TN5. Contamination of the removed location no longer applies. In return, the
character gains a permanent injury (pg XX) depending on how much of the limb was
removed. A failure grants all of the above effects, but the wound becomes infected (pg
XX).

If a second amputation should be attempted, it must be at least one whole wound loca-
tion higher. If the hand was removed before, the second attempt removes the forearm,
and so on.

Treatment
While intervention can only be applied to a wound once, most will still benefit from
ongoing treatment. This usually involves daily cleaning of the wound, changing ban-
dages, and the use of antiseptic treatments (conifer resin, honey, salt packing, boiled
sea water, etc. Pre-modern alcohol is usually not pure enough to work as an antiseptic).
The purchase of such medicine is an r1 wealth check each week for level 2-3 wounds.
For level 4 and 5 wounds, it’s r2 per week.

If this treatment is maintained each day, the character can make their next healing
roll at an advantage. If the treatment is maintained by a character with an appropriate
skill (Medicine, Herbalism) they can actually be applied as a tap or help towards the
character’s recovery check, below.

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 Wounds & Healing

Recovery
Wounds heal over time through the recovery check, which is a Grit check at r1 and
using base TN. Each wound begins with a 4-clock for its current level. When a re-
covery check is made, a success will mark off one segment towards recovery. On an
MoS3+, 2 segments. 5+, 3 segments.

When the clock fills, the wound’s current level is reduced and the clock starts over
for the next wound level. The wound’s TN will be reduced as and if applicable. When
the wound’s TN is reduced to 3, it is removed from the sheet. The character might still
have some bumps and bruises, but they are no longer significant enough to be worth
tracking.

Overflow from one clock will carry on to the next. If you only had 1 segment left on
a level 4 wound but rolled an MoS3, then you would get 2 segments marked. First, the
remaining level 4 segment, then one segment towards healing the now level 3 wound.

If you have multiple injuries healing simultaneously, only the one check is required
each week. As always, the BTN is based on the highest TN the character currently
has, but the results of this roll will apply to all of the wound clocks. If characters have
wounds of different levels or became injured on multiple occasions, this will naturally
mean that some clocks will finish more quickly than others.

The frequency with which one makes recovery checks is based on their level of ac-
tivity while recovering. If the character has gotten plenty of rest and avoided any
strenuous activity (travel, hard labor, fighting) then they can make a recovery roll
each week. If strenuous activity can’t be avoided, or you should choose to either work
(pg XX) or train (pg XX) during this time, you get half-credit for either activity. If you
were training while injured, every two weeks you would gain one recovery check and
could spend one point of drama towards advancement.

Recovery rolls can be aided in two ways. When the character is first patched up (see
Intervention), then the results of that Medicine check count towards the healing clock
of the wound at the same rate as above. On a success, 1 segment. MoS3+, 2. MoS5+, 3.
This can only be applied when the wound is first treated. Characters receive no benefit
from further medical intervention. However, treatment (above) has the listed effects.
Regular wound care grants an advantage on the recovery roll and if done by someone
with an applicable skill (Medicine, Herbalism) this can be tapped into or used to help
on the roll as well. No other taps apply.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Recovery rolls can be affected in three ways:

• When the character is first patched up (see Intervention), then the results
of that Medicine check count towards the recovery clock of the wound at
the same rate as above. On a success, 1 segment. MoS3+, 2. MoS5+, 3. This
can only be applied when the wound is first tended. No benefit is received
from further intervention, even if the first roll was a failure.
• Ongoing treatment (above) has the listed effects. Regular wound care
grants an advantage on a recovery roll and if done by someone with an
applicable skill (Medicine, Herbalism) this can be tapped into or used to
help on the roll as well. No other taps apply.
• Wounds that are contaminated impose a disadvantage on all recovery
rolls made by the injured character. This disadvantage applies even if the
contaminated wound isn’t the highest level wound being dealt with. If the
character receives ongoing treatment, the advantage and disadvantage
cancel each other out.

Untended Wounds
If a character has not received medical intervention, then things get more difficult.
Level 2 and 3 injuries are considered contaminated and take all recovery rolls at a
disadvantage until a Medicine check is made to intervene, applying stitches, a splint,
and so on.

More serious injuries cannot begin to recover at all. Without surgery, level 4 and 5
wounds begin to fester. No recovery rolls are made. After a number of days equal to
their Grit tap+1, the wound automatically takes an infection. This follows the normal
rules for infection (below) but success never reduces the infection, simply prevents it
from getting worse for another day. Recovery (even from the infection) cannot begin
until a surgery is performed.

Infection
If a recovery roll fails entirely, the character gains a new TN clock called Infection.
Each day thereafter, they make a new recovery roll regardless of their activity level. If
that roll is also a failure, another segment fills in. If the clock completely fills, they are
allowed to make one last recovery roll the next day. If they fail this, the character dies.

If at any point a roll is successful, the normal rules for recovery count, but in reverse.
A success removes 1 segment, MoS3+ removes 2, MoS5+ removes 3. If all segments are
removed, the infection clears and the character can continue healing as normal. Any
overflow from a recovered infection does not apply to advancing the wound’s healing
clock.

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 Wounds & Healing

If a character with multiple wounds takes an infection, assume that the infection is in
the wound with the highest level. If there is a tie for highest level, then each of those
tied are infected. If any wound the character suffers is contaminated, the roll is made
at a disadvantage regardless of which wound has the highest level.

The modifiers from treatment and intervention apply here as well. A level 2 or 3 wound
without intervention is considered contaminated. A level 4 or 5 wound without sur-
gery can’t recover at all, but a success will prevent the infection from getting worse.
Daily treatments as described above will grant an advantage on the recovery roll
against infection and can confer the listed benefits for tapping and help.

Drama
Recovery rolls interact with drama in a couple ways. First, once you are in recovery,
only the first point of drama spent applies towards advancement. You can use Dig
Deep and Scoundrel’s Luck as often as you like, but you gain no further advancement
benefit until you are completely healed and out of recovery.

Second, invoking Not Quite Dead Yet guarantees your survival no matter how badly
wounded or infected you might be, but it doesn’t instantly heal you. From that point
onward, whenever you make a recovery roll a failure is still worth one segment of
recovery on the relevant clock and you won’t infect again. However, doing so cedes
some control to the GM and your 1d Temptable trait may cause you more trouble than
letting someone amputate. Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.

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Book IV: Tribulation

Permanent Injuries
The human body has a remarkable capacity for healing, but you can only heal so much.
Some wounds will result in a permanent injury. When this happens, your character
gains a new Character Trait based on the flavor text of the wound they received. The
more the permanent injury would impair the character, the higher the die rating.
• 1d permanent injuries either relatively minor or primarily cosmetic.
Disabling or losing fingers or toes, or being significantly disfigured (the
loss of a nose, for instance), loss of reproductive capability.
• 2d permanent injuries are more traumatic, representing a significant
impairment. The loss or destruction of a foot or hand, the loss or destruc-
tion of an eye or ear.
• 3d permanent injuries are crippling. A severed or destroyed limb, the
complete loss of sight or hearing, damage to the spine resulting in pa-
ralysis.
Permanent injuries are treated as Character Traits and follow the same basic rules.
In a circumstance where the nature of your injury would work to your benefit, it can
be tapped into a check. More often, it will act to your detriment, removing dice from
your pool per its rating. Notably, most permanent injuries will also count against your
melee or ranged Combat Pools (for instance, 2d Peg Legged in melee, or 2d One-Eyed in
ranged) even though Combat Pools do not generally allow tapping.

Once acquired, the trait is functionally permanent. It remains even after the wound
itself has been healed and your BTN returns to normal. Like other traits, it can be re-
duced through advancement, representing your character learning how to cope with
and compensate for their impairments over time. Permanent injuries can be reduced
down to 0d traits in this fashion, but they can’t be removed outright short of magical
intervention.

Even if a permanent injury is reduced to 0d, it’s narrative impact remains. A 0d One-
armed character still has only the one arm and won’t be swinging a halberd any time
soon. A character with one leg is still going to crawl unless they have a wooden leg or
dedicate one arm to a handling a crutch.

238
Book IV: Tribulation

Cutting Wounds
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Impact 2 Impact 4, BTN4 Impact 6, BTN5
A graze, but nothing Small cut, hair thick with Flap of loose scalp 1-2 or deeper
Crown

serious. Some blood blood. Itches like hell. BL1 cut with skull intact 3-6. Dizziness
in the hair. and bleeding. BL1, KO1

Small cut on cheek Handsome scar on cheek 1, Ugly scar on forehead 1 or nose 2.
1-2, temple 3-4 or brow 2, temple 3, forehead Jaw 3 or cheek 4 cut to the teeth or
Face

jaw 5-6, some blood. 4, jaw 5 or mouth 6. Some partial loss of an

blood. ear 5-6. BL1, KO1

Just a scratch. A close shave. Trickle of Lacerates throat. Eerie sucking

Neck

blood. noise and difficult to breathe. BL2

Minor slash. Some Nasty cut scrapes on the Deeper flesh wound 1-3 or bites
Forearm Elbow Upper Arm Shoulder

torn skin. shoulder bones. into the shoulder joint 4-6. BL1,
Drop1

Shaves off some skin. Long gash by the elbow 1-3 Deeper flesh wound on the outer
or upper arm 4-6. arm 1-4 or inner arm 5-6. BL1,
Drop1

Glancing blow. Small cut, but funny bone
effect. Roll for item drop.
Drop1
Light slash along the Long but shallow gash.
forearm. Some blood. Bleeds a lot. Roll for item
drop. Drop1
Solid blow hits the bone. Fingers
are numb for a while. Drop3
Nasty cut damages ulnar nerve.
Fingers are numb for a while.
Drop3

Grazed hand. Roll Small cut, but hand Deep, bleeding cut on hand 1-3 or
Armpit Hand

for item drop. Drop1 flinches from the pain. Roll fingers 4-6. Drop3. BL1
for item drop. Drop2
Minor slash. Some Nasty cut scrapes on Deeper flesh wound into the soft
torn skin. the ribs, but does little bits. Roll for item drop. Drop1
damage.

Minor slash. Some Nasty cut scrapes on Deep gash with enough force to
Ribs

torn skin. the ribs, but does little
damage.
Just a red slash. Painful, bleeding cut.
Looks worse than it is.
Abs
fracture ribs and knock the wind
out of you. KD1
Deeper cut that bleeds hard. No
organ damage. BL1

240

Upper body
Level 4
Impact 8, BTN6
Cracked skull and a lot of blood. Severe
concussion 1-2, brain damage* 3-4 or ear
trauma* 5-6. BL2, KO2, *1d, C
Face mangled. Shattered jaw 1-2 or cheek-
bone 3. Loss of an eye**4, whole ear** 5 or
part of the nose *6 BL2, KO2, *1d, **2d
Jugular vein 1-2, the carotid artery 3-4 or
throat cut 5-6. Lots of blood. BL3
Blade cuts to the bone1-3 or chips the shoul-
der joint 4-6. Lots of blood. BL2, Drop2
Blade bites through the muscle and reached
bone on the outer arm1-4 or inner arm 5-6.
BL2, Drop2, S/2d
Mangled elbow renders arm useless with
pain extending to the fingers. Drop item.
BL1, S/2d
Arm broken with a lot of blood 1-4 or severed
tendons disable some fingers* 5-6. Drop
item. BL1, *1d
Some fingers lost. Drop item. BL1, 1d
Cleaves through the flesh and reaches bone.
Roll for item drop. BL2, Drop2
Cut goes deep, breaking and fracturing ribs.
Lot of the bleeding is internal. BL2, KO2
Nasty cut with a lot of blood and some
internal damage (aorta1, diaphragm2,
intestines3, liver4, spleen5, stomach6). BL2,
KD1, C
Wounds & Healing
Level 5
Impact 10, BTN6
The skull cracks open like an egg, blood
spurting high in the air. Instant death.
Cerebellum destroyed in a fountain of blood.
Instant death.
Total or near-total decapitation in a fountain
of blood. Instant death.
Arm severed clean at the shoulder in a spray
of blood. Barely a stump remains. BL3, 3d
Arm severed above the elbow in a shower of
blood. BL3, 3d
Arm severed at the elbow in a spray of blood.
BL2, 3d
Forearm completely mangled 1-3* or cut off
above the wrist** 4-6 . BL2, *S/2d, **3d
Hand completely mangled 1-3 or cut off at
the wrist 4-6. BL2, 2d
Arm severed at shoulder in a spray of blood.
BL3, 3d
Weapon is lodged in the chest. Death is
imminent. KO2
Total disembowelment with entrails
everywhere. Legs buckle and the blood keeps
coming. Death is imminent. KD2
241
Book IV: Tribulation

Cutting Wounds
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Impact 2 Impact 4, BTN4 Impact 6, BTN5
Glancing blow. Surface wound. Painful, A deep gash in the fleshy parts.
but nothing serious. KD1
Hip

You realize later just Some blood, but can still Surface organs are damaged, but
Groin*

how lucky you were. be considered lucky. remain attached.

Impact 3 Impact 5, KD1 Impact 7, KO1

Surface graze. Slash across the thigh. Not Cut penetrates muscle tissue, but
Thigh

deep. doesn’t reach bone. BL1, KD1

Funny bone effect. Blade hits the knee, Deeper cut along the knee that
Knee

delivering a shallow draws blood and compromises

wound and compromising balance. KD2
balance KD1
Hurts, but no blood. Shallow wound across the Blade connects with impact, draws
Shin

shin, but blow compro- blood and compromises balance.

mises balance. KD1 KD2

Close one. Minor cut, but balance is Hits bone, but foot stays intact.
Foot

compromised. KD1 KD2

Just a red slash. Painful, bleeding cut. Dislocated vertebrae. Blood, pain
Back

Looks worse than it is. and swelling. Moving around is

hard and can cause permanent
spinal cord damage. BL1
Shallow cut compro- Blade hits the back of Achilles tendon cut. Can’t stand
Hamstring

mises balance. KD1 leg. By some miracle, the on toes, bad limp. Advanced
tendons remain intact. surgery will help, but you can
KD2 forget athletics. KD2, 2d or 1d
with successful surgery.
Glancing blow leaves Long, but shallow gash. Nasty cut damages ulnar nerve.
Wings

a scratch. Bleeds a lot. Roll to stay The wing is barely functional. Roll
airborne. KD1 to stay airborne. Must keep rolling
until landing. KD2
Surface graze. Slash across the tail. Not Cut penetrates muscle tissue, but
Tail

deep doesn’t reach bone. BL1

* For dangly bits. If your bits don’t dangle, use the Abdomen table instead.

242
 Wounds & Healing
Lower body
Level 4 Level 5
Impact 8, BTN6 Impact 10, BTN6
Fractured pelvis 1-2 or hipbone 3-5. Possible Weapon stuck in pelvis with massive amount
bone fragments. Might be dislocated 6. of blood. Death is imminent.
BL2, KD2

Say goodbye to reproduction. Lots of blood. Weapon almost reaches the navel and is
BL2, Impact 9, KO2, 1d stuck. Death is imminent. Impact 12, KO3

Blade bites deep. Femur chipped 1-2, tendons Femur broken with lots of blood. Epic feat of
torn 3-4 (limp)* or femoral nerves 5-6 surgery needed to save the leg.
damaged (numb). BL2, KD2, *1d BL2, instant KD, S/3d

Knee fractured and jacked up. Causes limp Limb torn off at knee. Lots of blood.
due chipped bone and torn tendons. Braces BL2, instant KD, 3d
needed to heal. BL1, KD3, S/1d

Bone fractured 1-3 or broken 4-6 with blood. Limb cut off with lots of blood.
BL1, instant KD BL2, instant KD, 3d

Some toes lost. BL1, KD3, 1d Foot destroyed or cut off. BL2, instant KD,
2d

Nasty cut with a lot of blood and some in- Spine and spinal cord completely severed.
ternal damage (aorta1, intestines2, kidney3, Lower body paralysis even when healed.
liver4, spleen5, stomach6). BL2, KD2, C BL2, instant KO, 3d

Sciatic nerve severed. Whole leg limp and Limb torn off at knee 1-2, calf 3-4, or ankle
paralysed. KD3, 2d 5-6. Lots of blood. BL2, instant KD, 3d

Wing broken with a lot of blood 1-4 or Wing mangled beyond repair 1-3* or entirely
tendons severed* 5-6. Can’t stay airborne. cut off 4-6**. Full falling damage. BL2, 2d,
Roll to prevent falling damage. BL1, KD2, 3d
*2d
Blade bites deep. Muscle 1-2 or nerve 3-4 Tail severed. Massive amount of blood.
damage or the tip cut off 5-6. Tail movement Movement painful, but doable. BL2, KD1 if
is painful, but doable. BL1, KD1 if bipedal bipedal, 2d

243
Book IV: Tribulation

Piercing Wounds
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Impact 1 Impact 2, BTN4 Impact 3, BTN5
Some torn skin, a Grazed scalp or temple. Long graze along the skull.
Crown

little blood Surprising amount of Serious bleeding. BL1, KO1

blood. BL1

A graze, but nothing Grazed cheek 1-2, temple Scarring slice on cheekbone 1,
3-4 or jaw 5-6. Surprising temple 2, jaw 3, lip 4 or ear 5.
Face

serious
amount of blood. BL1 Pierced cheek with tongue lacera-
tion 6. BL1, KO1
Just a sting. Deflected by collarbone. Pierced above the collarbone,
Neck

Some blood. missing major blood vessels. BL1

Shoulder grazed. Skids off the shoulder. Skids off the bone. Not much
Elbow Upper Arm Shoulder

Stings pretty bad. blood, but hurts. Roll for item

drop. Drop1

Stings like a fam- Outer 1-4 or inner 5-6 Deeper flesh wound on the outer
ished horse fly. bicep laceration. arm 1-3 or inner arm 4-6. Roll for
item drop. Drop1

Grazed. Sting leaves a bad funny Solid blow hits the bone. Fingers
bone effect. Roll for item are numb for a while. Drop3
drop. Drop1

Glancing blow leaves Glancing blow leaves a Punctures skin and hits bone with
Forearm

a scratch. cut. Roll for item drop. pain running through the whole
Drop1 arm. Drop3

Stings, but nothing Minor puncture of hand or Deeper puncture hitting bone.
Hand

serious. Roll for item fingers. Roll for item drop. Hand 1-3 or fingers 4-6. Roll 1d6
drop. Drop1 Drop2 for finger, 6 is palm. Drop3

Blow grazes skin and Painful puncture, but Most of the softer tissue under in
Armpit

muscle. Nothing ribcage stops the worst. armpit is messed up. Roll for item
serious. drop. Drop1

Blow grazes skin Long, shallow wound Pierces ribcage, but misses major
Ribs

and muscle, but is along the ribs. organs. BL1

deflected by bone.
Lacerates skin Pierces skin and surface Pierces body without puncturing
without puncturing fat, passing straight any major organs. Painful and
Abs

it. through. bleeds hard. BL1

244

Upper body
Level 4
Impact 4, BTN6
Skull is pierced. Brain damaged. BL2,
instant KO, 2d, C
Part of the face pierced, but misses the brain.
It’s bad. Hideous scar on jaw 1, cheek 2,
cheek’n’ear 3 or forehead 4. Eye damaged 5
or lost** 6. BL1, KO2, 1d or **2d
Throat is pierced, damaging the windpipe.
Esophagus 1-3 or vocal cord 4 injury. Or
causes suffocation 5-6 (instant first aid
needed). BL2
Shoulder pierced 1-3, or struck beneath the
collarbone 4-6. Roll for item drop. BL1,
Drop2
Passes through the arm, chipping the bone.
Roll for item drop. BL1, Drop2
Pierces elbow area and damages bone. Arm
useless until healed. Drop item. BL1
Passes through the arm, missing bone. Lots
of blood. Drop item. BL1
Hand pierced with lots of blood. Drop item.
BL1
Pierces deep, but slides along the ribs and
misses major organs. Roll for item drop.
BL1, Drop2
Punctured lung leads to stabbing pain,
shortness of breath and eerie sucking sound
with bubbles in the blood. BL2, KO2 , C
Bad puncture with a lot of blood and some
internal damage (aorta1, diaphragm2,
intestines3, kidney4, spleen5, stomach6).
BL2, KO2, C
Wounds & Healing
Level 5
Impact 5, BTN6
The brain is pierced. Body goes limp and
collapses. Instant death.
Head pierced through the eye 1, cheek 2-3,
temple 4, nose 5 or mouth 6. Body goes limp
and collapses. Death is almost instantaneous.
Neck is pierced, severely damaging the
carotid artery 1-3 or the jugular vein 4-6.
Lots of blood. BL3
Shoulder pierced 1-3 or struck beneath the
collarbone 4-6. Bad bleeding. Roll for item
drop. BL2, Drop2
Goes clean through the arm, tearing the
flesh. Major blood vessel cut. Roll for item
drop. BL2, Drop2
Elbow broken. Open fracture 1-2, displaced
fracture 3-4 or limb almost severed 5-6. Arm
useless with a lot of blood. Drop item. BL2
Passes through the arm, spurting blood.
Major vessel cut 1-2, radius 3-4 or ulna bone
5-6 fractured. Drop item. BL2
Hand pierced. Roll 2d6. Matching result
means a finger is lost*, double 6 punctures
wrist. Drop item. BL1, *1d
Pierced heart 1-3 or deep into the chest 4-6.
Death is almost instantaneous.
Pierced heart 1-3 or clean through the chest
4-6. Death is almost instantaneous.
Punctured liver 1-2, massive organ damage
3-4 or hopeless internal bleeding 5-6. Death
is imminent.
245
Book IV: Tribulation

Piercing Wounds
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Impact 1 Impact 2, BTN4 Impact 3, BTN5
Grazed. Shallow puncture1-3 or Penetrates muscle on upper hip
pierces fat layer.4-6 1-2, low belly 3-4 or buttocks 5-6,
Hip

but misses major organs. KD1

You realize later just Some blood, but can Surface organs are pierced, but
Groin*

how lucky you were. still be considered lucky. remain attached. Impact 4, KO1
Impact 2 Impact 3, KD1

Just a scratch. Surface layer pierced. Thigh muscles penetrated almost

Thigh

Some blood. to the bone. BL1

Minor graze. Bounces off from the bone. Knee is hit. Joint is painful but
Knee

Some blood. remains fully functional. KD1

Hurts, but no blood. Bounces off from the bone. Shallow puncture or surface
Some blood. KD1
Shin

wound. Chipped bone and minor

ligament damage. KD2

Just a graze. Minor puncture, but Deeper puncture hitting bone.

balance is compromised. Minor fractures. KD2
Foot

KD1

Lacerates skin Pierces skin and surface Pierces body without puncturing
Back

without puncturing fat, passing straight any major organs. Painful and
it. through, missing major bleeds hard. BL1
organs.
Minor graze. KD1 Bounces off from the bone. Knee 1-3 or ankle 4-6 is hit from
Hamstring

Balance compromised. behind. Joint is painful but

KD2 remains fully functional. KD2

Flicks off the feathers Glancing blow leaves a Punctures the wing and hits bone
or skin. cut. Roll to stay airborne. with pain running through the
Wings

KD1 whole limb. Roll to stay airborne.

Must keep rolling until landing. KD2

Just a scratch. Surface layer pierced. Tail muscles penetrated almost to

Tail

Some blood. the bone. BL1

* For dangly bits. If your bits don’t dangle, use the Abdomen table instead.
246

Lower body
Level 4
Impact 4, BTN6
Deep into the pelvis, clean exit. Stable
fracture 1-3 or minor damage to bladder 4,
diaphragm 5 or prostate/uterus 6. BL1, KD2,
C BL2, KD3, C
Say goodbye to reproduction. Lots of blood.
BL1, Impact 5, KO2
Wounds & Healing
Level 5
Impact 5, BTN6
Pelvis pierced. Messy and lots of blood.
Unstable fracture 1-3 or major damage to
bladder4, diaphragm5 or prostate/uterus 6.
Pelvis pierced, messy and lots of blood.
Dismembered organ makes the character a
eunuch. BL2, instant KO

Thigh completely pierced. Leg can support Inner thigh pierced, femoral artery cut.
weight for only short periods of time. BL1, Massive amount of blood. BL3, KD2
KD1

Blow jacks up knee. Causes limp due chipped Knee fractured, femoral nerve severed. Leg
bone and torn tendons. Braces needed to is numb and knee won’t lock anymore. Will
heal. KD2, S/1d need braces. BL1, instant KD, 2d

Shin completely pierced with bone damage Shin completely pierced with tendon injury
1-4, tendon injury 5 (limp) or femoral nerve 1-3 (limp) or femoral nerve damage 4-6
damage 6 (numb). BL1, KD3 (numb). BL2, instant KD, 1d

Foot pierced with lots of blood. BL1, KD2 Foot pierced. Roll 2d6. Matching result means
a toe is lost, double 6 severs tendons, causing
limp. BL2, instant KD, 1d

Passes between the shoulder blades, very Pierces heart from the behind 1-3 or tears
close to the spine. BL2 clean through the chest 4-6. Death is almost
instantaneous.

Blow jacks up knee 1-3 or ankle 4-6. Torn Knee fractured, femoral nerve severed. Leg
tendons or ligaments. Will cause a limp. is numb and knee won’t lock anymore. Will
KD3, 1d need braces. BL1, instant KD, 2d

Passes through the wing, lots of blood. Can’t Passes through the wing, spurting blood.
stay airborne. Roll to prevent falling damage. Major vessel cut, fractures possible. Full
BL1, KD2 falling damage. BL2

Tail deeply pierced. Some swelling. Tail Tail run through, major artery cut. Massive
movement is painful, but doable. BL1 amount of blood. Movement painful, but
doable. BL2, KD1 if bipedal

247
Book IV: Tribulation

Blunt Wounds
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Impact 2 Impact 4 Impact 6, BTN4
Glancing blow. Solid blow, causing Mild concussion. Ears ringing,
Crown

momentary dizziness. bad headache and dizziness. Some

blood in the hair. KO2

Slight bump. Won’t Solid blow. Will leave a Blunt eye trauma 1, which can
shiner 1-2 , split a lip 3-4 swell shut 2, broken nose 3-4,
Face

even leave a shiner.

or cause a nosebleed 5-6. dislocated jaw 5 or split lip with
lost teeth 6. KO1
Barely connects. Solid blow leaves neck stiff Something cracks. Hard and
Neck

and sore. painful to breathe, but no danger

of suffocation.
Bump. Distracting buzzing Minor shoulder fracture makes
Upper Arm Shoulder

sensation. the arm hard to use. Roll for item

drop. Drop1

Thump Will leave a bruise. Swollen bruise 1-3 or a minor

fracture 4-6 makes the arm hard
to use. Roll for item drop. Drop1

Slight bump. Funny bone effect. Roll for Solid blow hits the bone. Whole
Elbow

item drop. Drop1 arm buzzes and fingers are numb

for a while. Roll for item drop.
Drop3
Minor bump. Barely Arm knocked aside, some Brutal blow knocks arm aside.
Forearm

notice it. bruising. Roll for item Sudden movements are painful. Roll
drop. Drop1 for item drop. Drop3

Blow connects to the Hand knocked aside, some Fingers smashed. Roll 1d6 to
Hand

hand. Roll for item bruising. Roll for item see which finger is broken with
drop. Drop1 drop. Drop2 6 meaning fractures in hand.
Drop3
Bump. Solid blow, minor bruising. Knocks out the wind. Bad bruis-
Armpit

ing. Taking deep breaths is going

to be painful for a while.

Thump. Solid blow, minor bruising. Knocks out the wind. Bad bruis-
Ribs

ing. Taking deep breaths is going

to be painful for a while.
Bump. Blow to the gut forces to Knocks out the wind. Bad bruising
and concussed organs. KD2, KO1
Abs

bend over.
(to not vomit)

248
 Wounds & Healing
Upper body
Level 4 Level 5
Impact 8, BTN5 Impact 10, BTN6
Cracked skull. Severe concussion 1-4, brain The skull shatters like a ripe melon. Really
damage 4-5* or ear trauma 6*. Wound starts messy. Instant death.
bleeding immediately. BL1, KO3, *1d

Face mangled. Shattered jaw 1-2, cheekbone Face caves in from a massive blow. Death is
3-4, eye damaged 5 or lost* 6. almost instantaneous.
BL1, KO2, *1d

Damaged windpipe. Esophagus 1-3 or Head tilts in an unnatural angle. Neck

vocal cord 4 injury. Or causes suffocation 5-6 snapped. Instant death.
(instant first aid needed).
Torn tendons 1-3 or dislocated shoulder 4-6. Shoulder caves in with broken bones. Arm
Arm disabled until fixed. Roll for item drop. useless/numb. Drop item. S/1d, C
Drop2

Fractured humerus 1-3 or major swelling 4-6. Open humerus fracture. Arm useless/numb.
Arm disabled until fixed. Roll for item drop. Drop item. S/1d, C
Drop2

Elbow badly strained or concussed. Swelling. Elbow shattered. Arm useless. Drop item.
Arm useless until healed. Drop item. S/1d, C

Radius 1-3 or ulna bone 4-6 fractured with Open compound fracture with severed blood
blinding pain. Drop item. vessels. Drop item. BL2, C

Hand or wrist mangled with some fingers Hand completely crushed and mangled by
disabled. Drop item. the brutal blow. S/2d

Mighty upwards blow fractures and dislo- Several broken ribs and internal bleeding.
cates the shoulder. Arm disabled until fixed. Punctured lung 1-2, bruised heart 3-4 or flail
Roll for item drop. Drop2 chest 5-6. BL1, KO2

Fractured ribs 1-3 or broken collarbone 4-6. Several broken ribs and internal bleeding.
Chest swells up and painful to breathe. KO2 Punctured lung 1-2, bruised heart 3-4 or flail
chest 5-6. BL1, KO2
Ruptured internal organs (pancreas 1-3, Damage to internal organs (liver 1-3, spleen
stomach 4-6) and internal bleeding. BL1, 4-6) causes heavy internal bleeding.
instant KD BL2, instant KD, KO3

249
Book IV: Tribulation

Blunt Wounds
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Impact 2 Impact 4 Impact 6, BTN4
Thump. Solid blow leaves a bruise. Bad bruising and abdominal
pains. KD1
Hip

You realize later just Some bruising, but can Bad swelling and lots of pain.
Groin*

how lucky you were. still be considered lucky. Every small bump is an agony.
Impact 3 Impact 5, KD1 Nausea if remain conscious.
Impact 7, KO2
Bump. Solid blow. Will leave a Minor fracture in the femur.
Thigh

bruise Putting weight on the leg is

painful. Some swelling. KD1

Thump. Solid blow creates a Concussed knee and minor

Knee

buzzing sensation in the ruptures. Putting weight on the leg

joint. KD1 is painful. Some swelling. KD2

Bump An eye watering thump. Minor fracture in the shin. Putting

Shin

weight on the leg is painful. Some

swelling. KD1

Ow. An eye watering crunch. Minor foot 1-3 or toe 4-6 fractures.
Foot

Putting weight on the leg is

painful. Some swelling. KD1
Blow to the fleshy An eye watering blow to Dislocated vertebrae. Pain and
the kidneys. KD1
Back

part of the back. swelling. Moving around is hard

and can cause permanent spinal
cord damage. KD2
Thump. KD1 Knee jerk or limb knocked Solid blow creates a buzzing
Hamstring

aside. KD2 sensation in the joint. KD2

Minor bump. Barely Wing knocked aside, Brutal blow knocks wing aside.
Wings

notice it. some bruising. Roll to stay Sudden movements are painful.
airborne. KD1 Roll to stay airborne. Must keep
rolling until landing. KD2
Bump. Solid blow. Will leave a A broken bone with bad swelling.
bruise. Tail movement is painful, but
Tail

doable. KD1 if bipedal

* For dangly bits. If your bits don’t dangle, use the Abdomen table instead.

250
 Wounds & Healing
Lower body
Level 4 Level 5
Impact 8, BTN5 Impact 10, BTN6
Fractured pelvis 1-2 or hipbone 3-5. Possible Shattered pelvis. Character can never walk
bone fragments. Might be dislocated 6. KD2, again. BL1, instant KD, 3d, C
S/1d, C

Damage and swelling are real bad. You will Surface organs crushed, say goodbye to
recover, but never forget. Impact 9, KO2 reproduction. Minor pelvis fracture. Instant
KO, 1d

Broken femur with bad swelling. Putting Open femur fracture with sharp bone ends
weight on the leg is impossible. KD3 showing through the tissue. BL2, instant
KD, S/1d, C

Closed knee fracture. Causes limp due Knee shattered beyond repair. Leg unstable
chipped bone and torn tendons. Braces and can’t stand. Will need braces. BL1,
needed to heal. KD3 instant KD, C

Closed shin bone fracture with bad swelling. Shin bends into an unnatural shape with
Putting weight on the leg is impossible. KD2 sharp bone fragments poking out from an
open wound. BL1, instant KD, C

Some toes smashed. KD2 Foot completely smashed. Will impair move-
ment even when healed. BL1, instant KD,
2d. 1d with successful surgery, C
Vertebrae fractured and spinal cord damaged Spine shattered beyond repair. Spinal cord
or partially severed. Random limb paralyzed. completely severed. Lower body paralysis.
KD3, 2d Instant KO, 3d, C

Concussed joint and minor ruptures. Putting Closed knee 1-3 or ankle 4-6 fracture. Bad
weight on the leg is painful. Some swelling. swelling with minor bone fragments. Can’t
KD3 support weight until healed. Instant KD.

Radius 1-2, ulna bone 3-4 or humerus 5-6
fractured with blinding pain. Can’t stay
airborne. Roll to prevent falling damage.
KD3
Minor fracture in the tail. Some swelling.
KD2 if bipedal
Open compound fracture with severed blood
vessels. Full falling damage. BL2
Tail snapped, major bone damage. Movement
seriously compromised. BL2, KD2 if
bipedal

251