Adventurer's Guide to the Discworld

the AM.RP.A.A.
does nott claim any responisibility for wits or limbes lost during adventure
and any risques taken during the course of an adventure is to be considered a natural consequence of adventuring
all manner of foreign conflicts are not the responsibilitie of a.m.rp.a.a. any hostage situations or similar occurances are all at the discretion of the adventurer
nor does the am.rp.a.a. claim any responsibilitie for quality of found friends or love during your excursions, failure to read legal notations does not negate the compleate responsibilitie of the adventurer
1
a D10 Roleplaying system for adventures set in Discworld
By Jocher Games in 2019
The following pages are to be considered a

work of fanfiction, or perhaps a creative
tribute to the illustrious world created by Sir
Terry Pratchett. The compendium consist of
a rules system created aimed at capturing the
spirit and geist of the Discworld. Use the
Discworld book series as source materials when
playing this game. Some excerpts of text has
been borrowed (copied) from
https://discworld.fandom.com/
ROLEPLAYING SYSTEMS - INSPIRATION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mörk Borg, FATE Core System, D&D, Ur Varselklotet, Call of Cthulhu and last but not least GURPs Discworld.
MEDIA & GAMES - INSPIRATION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Discworld book series by Terry Pratchett, Critical Role (a.p. podcast), Red Moon Roleplaying (a.p. podcast), Swe-
den Rolls (a.p. podcast), Fable (computer game series), Discworld MUD (http://discworld.starturtle.net/lpc/) and so
much more...
the AM.RP.A.A. does nott claim any responisibility for wits or limbes lost during adventure
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the Establishment of a Framework
To play this game you need to be at least two people, you also need a pen
and some paper, one character sheet per player, two ten sided dice, one four
sided die and one six sided die. In addition you need this booklet, that is the
one you are already reading. It is also extremely helpful if the person who is
taking the role of what is traditionally called the Game Master (in this game
the role is referred to as “The Auditor”) has read a couple of the Discworld
books and have some understanding of the setting before hand. A really
good source book for this game is the Discworld Companion (2015).
An introduction of sorts
Welcome to the ranks of roleplayers and adventurers of the Disc. We are
very happy to see yet another eager and curious young recruit!
What you have before you is the rules and stipulations for our illustrious
guild. The following pages will guide you in both worldly and aetherial
matters.
Overall you will get a few pointers on how to conduct yourself as an

adventurer and what limits and boundaries you will come up against.
Signed by Guild Master

APPROVED BY T
HE Dreyfuss Wildstride
AM.RP.A.A
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What makes an Adventurer

An Exacte Guide for Filling in your Certificate of Adventure
Creating your character attributes are not inherently connected to any
Begin with coming up with a concept of the specific type of activity, rather they are approaches
person you wish to play. Other games tend to call to how a character acts and behaves.
these classes or archetypes. Go wild. Do you have Trickery - used for deceptive behaviour
a general idea now? Good. Let’s go on!Imagine Wits - used for awareness and observation
them as alive as you or me. Are they smiling or Force - used for coercion and heavy lifting
frowning? Are they clean or dirty? Are they honest Speed - used for nimbleness and reactions
or conniving? What do they smell like? Are they Determination - used for showing backbone
properous or poverty stricken? Getting a better and getting through hardships.
image yet? So, let’s get even deeper.
Who where they when they grew up? How does Narrativium points: All your unassigned
their home look? Do they have friends? I guess attribute points are now transformed into
that about covers it, let’s get on with filling your narrativium. A player may use a narrativium point
certificate of adventure. to get to roll a million to one roll, which is a
special roll that allows players to invoke extreme
Name: Choose a name that you feel is appropri- luck. Narrativium points are also used for all types
ate for your character. of magic use. Last but not least, they are used to
avoid any meeting with Death.
Species: You can choose between human,
dwarfs, trolls, gnomes, undead and werewolves Skills & Spells: Skills & Spells aren’t defined
(see pages 10-11). at the beginning. Instead you create them as the
need for them arises in game (see page 5).
Age: Your age is relative to the species you chose.
Choose between Child, Teen, Adult, Middle aged, Inventory & Luggage: When creating your
Old & Ancient. character you suggest what you are bringing
with you into the game,the Auditor decides if it
Guild (if any): The non-extensive list of guilds is reasonable or not, based on your characters
can be found on the pages 17 - 18. background and whether the object would be
overpowered or game breaking in any way. A set
Description: This is where you get to briefly of binoculars is most probably always ok, while a
describe your character, it’s good to include details “broadsword of instant winning” might not be as
that are iconic to your character. appropriate.
Story so far: This is where you summarize Vices & Compulsions: Choose at least one
your characters background in a sentence or two. Vice or Compulsion when creating your character
It will be your (and the Auditors) guiding principle (see page 19). The maximum amount anyone can
when you create skills & spells. have is three.
ocket change: every player starts with a

P Session goal: The final step before starting
maximum of D4 Ankh-Morpork Dollars in their your adventure, write down a personal goal of
pockets. your character. This could for example be ”Join the
thieves guild” or some such.
Attributes: Distribute 5 points to your
attributes, any points you do not assign now will That’s all! Your brand new Adventuring Certificate
be used to generate Narrativium points. The is finished. Stay out of trouble!
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Getting out of, or Into, Trouble

A general explanation of The Rules And Regulations of Adventuring
Attempting the hard, Skills & Spells
Whenever you encounter a problem that seems a
rolling the dice bit out of your league, it might be time to
Whenever a situation can be considered stressed
embelish your character a bit by creating a skill (or
or difficult the players can attempt to roll dice to
a spell). A skill is always bound by a modicum of
see if their characters prevail. The rolls are to be
relative realism*.
used as virtual tie breakers or tests when things
are uncertain. As an example the act of picking a
Creating a skill
lock needs a roll if there are people around or if
Simply explain why and how you are able to do
time is of importance to the act. If the players are
something specific or know something specific. If
alone with the lock in question and dont have to
the reasoning is approved by the Auditor you write
stress with it then it should be possible to resolve
an appropriate name that summarizes the effect
by regular storytelling. All rolls are made with
in the Skills & Spells section of your certificate of
two 10 sided dies (2d10). All die rolls are made
adventure.You decide how many of the remaining
by combining the points of two fitting attributes,
skill points you are going to assign the the skill
or one attribute and one skill/spell. Any die with a
or spell that you just created (at the start of the
result below the number of points used in the roll
game you have 10 points). Voila! You can now use
is a success. Getting one success is called a regular
it to solve the problems you are facing.
success. If both die end up below the value of the
roll it is to be seen as a proficient success. If no die
Lydia is going to try to break into a desk drawer, the
gives a result below the value used in the roll it is
drawer is locked. Having really low attribute points
considered to be a failed roll.
Lydia explains to the Auditor and the other adventur-
ers how she picked up lock picking when she was a kid,
Regular successes (success on 1 die):
her brother was a bit of a ruffian and showed her how
A regular success is considered to be the success
it was done.The Auditor approves of this and Lydia
of a lay person. It works but it is far from optimal.
adds ”Lockpicking” as one of her skills. She assigns 4
If someone has tried to trick someone, the lie is
skill points to her new skill. She goes on to try to get
accepted but doubted. If someone has tried to
into the drawer using her new skill and her trickery
outrun someone they may have lost their way in
attribute.
the process or stumbled in the process.
Proficient successes (2 successes):

Creating a spell
A proficient success is considered to be the success
Creating spells are in most aspects the
of someone experienced. The result is stable. If
same thing as creating a skill. There are
someone has tried to trick someone, the lie is
two differences; it has to be magic**
waterproof and the lie is accepted. If someone has
and when creating a spell you have to
tried to outrun someone they vanish in a poof of
check the octagon to the right of the
smoke and dust.
spells name. The octagon indicates that
the entry is in fact a spell, not a skill,
Failed rolls:
which in turn means it is magic and
A failed roll must be followed by some kind of
uses narrativium whenever it is used
consequence. The consequences are for the the
(see pages 12-16 for more details on
Auditor to decide.
magic usage).
* It needs to be a plausible skill such as first aid, marathon running, mining or gardening. Furthermore, it is relative to what is considered normal for your species. A
vampire may have a skill that allows them to turn into a bat, while a human wouldn’t be able to do that unless it was a spell.
** It does not need to be reasonable and normal for your species. The sky is the limit. Almost. The Auditor still has to approve of the spell.
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Million to One Rolls

A lerned Approach to The Probable Improbability
“Scientists have calculated that the chances of something

so patently absurd [as the Discworld] actually existing a re
millions to one. But magicians have calculated that m illion-
to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.”
Terry Pratchett, Mort, 1988
Nine times of of ten

An player may at any time during the game If the roll is a success events go as the player
attempt to change the narrative by achieving the wished. Percival gets a stone in his head and finds
seemingly impossible. Traditionally, one has to the note, etc.
say “it’s a million-to-one chance, but it might just
work!” to invoke this rule. As briefly mentioned
in the rules page the player spend a Narrativium
point to get to use this roll. The player explains
the wished outcome and then gets to roll a ”mil-
lion to one roll”, a roll with a single 10 sided die.
The rolls has a high chance of success, 2-10 are
considered successes. If the player rolls a 1, the roll
is considered a spectacular failure.
Imagining the improbable

If a player wishes to try something seemingly
impossible they have to tell the rest of the group
what they wish to happen if the roll succeeds. The One time of of ten
Auditor has to decide if the suggested act or event However, if the roll ends up a 1, it doesn’t exacly
is sufficiently improbable. A motivation may very pan out. In fact, it does the complete opposite, it
well include props and freak occurences that aid fails spectacularly. Exactly what happens is up to
the adventurer. For example: the imagination of The Auditor. The consequences
has to be based on the described positive outcome,
The Auditor: When you enter the square it is packed but something goes horribly wrong. As an exam-
with people, finding Percival here is going to be ex- ple:
tremely hard. You could probably ask around or search
for him. *Player rolls the die*
PLAYER: I want to try a one in a million roll. I’m PLAYER: Fudge! I rolled a one.
going to write a note describing where I am, waiting The Auditor: Ok, let’s see. You tie the stone with
for Percival.Then I’m tying it to a stone, tying that the written note to the pigeon, it flies away. Instead
stone to a medium sized pigeon that i send flying. If the of dropping it on Percival the pigeon flies away from
roll succeed the pigeon will drop the stone mid flight the square you are at and lands on the window sill of
and it will fall in the head of Percival. Mergerite de Banderie.
The Auditor: Ok, shoot. Remove one Narrativium PLAYER: Oh no, I have to run! She’ll send all her
point and roll your die. assassins after me!
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Growing Older
Understanding the Effects of Time on Adventurers
Failing, Learning and
sometimes Forgetting
When time advances in life, you learn new skills
and become better at things as you go. However,
the things you do not practice gets slightly forgot-
ten.
The failure tracks

Any failed die rolls adds one (1) point to a failure
track, found on your ”certificate of adventure”
character sheet, below each attribute.
Failure? : Full track? +1 in this track by recycling from other

attribute or +1 Narrativium point .
When a failure track has been filled you choose to

get better in the appropriate attribute, a skill or gain
a narrativium point. The failure track is emptied and
the process restarts.
Getting better in an attribute

Add one (1) point to the attribute associated with
the filled failure track. If you increase an attribute
point, you’ll loose a point from an attribute of “Wisdom comes from experience.
your choice. So in effect you will never gain any Experience is often a result of lack
new attribute points, rather they are recycled. The of wisdom.”
sum total of attribute points will always be the Terry Pratchett
same.You may however become more specialised.
Getting better at a skill or a spell Other ways of Gaining

Instead of raising an attribute you may choose to
gain one point in a skill (or spell). In addition to Narrativium Points
emptying the failure track this also uses up a point Worth mentioning here is that you also
either from the unspent skill point pool or from immediately gain a narrativium point if you act
another skill. according to a vice or compulsion, against your
own interests.You can also gain a Narrativium
Gaining a narrativium point point by fulfilling your session goal, however, this
As a result of the universe taking pity on the fool, point is gained after a sessions completion.
sometimes failing a lot leads to getting a better
chance of having the improbable work for you. In any situation where you feel you’ve earned a
If you do not want to raise neither a skill nor an narrativium point you motivate and explain it to
attribute you get one (1) narrativium point. the Auditor. They decide whether or not your rea-
soning is sound and warrants a new point.
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Receiving Injuries
Forceful Discussions & Pre-death Events
“When Mister Safety Catch Is Not On, Mister

Crossbow Is Not Your Friend.”
Terry Pratchett - Night Watch
Combat and PLAYER *Rolls 7 on both dice*

The Auditor: As you desperately hurl yourself
Violence to the side you realise that you had no chance of
As you might have noticed there is no getting away, the spiders fangs sink into your side
health points or systemic ways of keep- taking a rather large bite out of you.
The Auditor *Hands over a handwritten
ing track of the bodily consequences of
note describing the injury: slowed by
getting into trouble. This is all man- poison, may not use speed in attacks*
aged in the story telling aspects of the PLAYER: I roll away and try to stab it with my
game. It is for the Auditor to construct dagger! Using Force and Determination.
a situation in a way that makes sense to
the story. To remind the players of their
possible conditions, write on notes that What does that injury
are given to them. note do?
When stuff gets violent and conflicts It temporarily changes your character.
gets heated, it is good to keep in mind You are no longer just your imagined
that most of the time people are kind of character, instead it has become your
hesitant to fight to the death, most are character with problems to do certain
not prepared to kill. It depends on why things (if you created your character
they fight. with a limp you would just roleplay
that aspect, this is not different). The
Playing out a scene with violence or it’s The Auditor uses the notes to moti-
consequences is not any different from vate making certain rolls harder for
any other type of problem the players may encoun- you simply because you have injuries
ter, the Auditor describes what is about to happen or create conditions to how you may use your
or what is happening right now and the players attributes or skills.
motivate and choose how to deal with it. Let me
describe this with an example: Getting rid of that injury note
If a player can motivate or explain how a certain
serious injury is treated and thusly healed it can
The Auditor: you are walking through a dungeon corridor. After be put to a roll and possibly considered healed.
a while you suddenly get surprised by a giant spider that is mid Simpler minor injuries doesn’t generally motivate
attack, what do you want to roll in order to avoid getting hit by a roll of any kind. It stands to reason that if a char-
it’s attack? acter is for example a witch or a physisian it will
PLAYER: Oh no! I’m going with Speed and Force, just throwing
myself out of the way as quickly as I possibly can! I have to roll
be an easy feat for them to take care of malfunc-
below 6. tioning bodies.
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H ELLO THERE. I’M DEATH, I FELT AN INTRODUCTION WAS IN ORDER.

I FIGURED THIS MIGHT BE AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY. I MEAN, AFTER
ALL, YOUR TIME HAS RUN OUT. I KNOW, I KNOW, IT’S ALL VERY
UPPSETTING. OH NO. DON’T CRY. IT WON’T DO YOU NO GOOD NOW.
Meeting DEATH often restricted to the site where it died, and must
When you meet DEATH, you have a few possibil- haunt a certain location. Clever ghosts have found
ities. The most common one is dying. Besides that a loophole in this.
alternative, it does seem to be a rather impractical
choice, you can always use a Narrativium point in
order to get another chance at a fullfilling life. If
you spend a Narrativium point your story is not
done with you yet and you wake up again, in a nar-
ratively fitting way, possibly rescued by a passing
deer that took pity on you.
Making a Deal
If you are out of Narrativium points when you
meet death you could always try to get out of the
situation by talking it out. Roleplay your way out
of the bind. Any rolls attempted when trying to
escape Death should be considered extremely hard.
They also have to be motivated by the player. For Resurrection
example you could try to roll Determination and If your friends or aquaintances engage in
Wits, trying to return to life by sheer will, focus- necromancy, or similar ventures*, you could
sing on how important that life goal of yours is or possibly return to a body in the form of a zombie.
how much that friend needs you. Depending on the state of your original corpse it
might even be in your own body.
The Afterlife
If there seems to be no way out of Deaths grip Accepting fate
then you will have to choose between actually If all above fails, you have, unfortunately died. The
dying or returning to the game as a ghost. Turning now parted character has no part to play in the
into a ghost is not as bad as it sounds. Any previ- future of the game.
ous skills are considered impossible to use as long
as you have no body. Instead you may create new
skills that fit your new bodyless type of existence.
Find your play style
As you can see the thoughts around these concepts
If you gain new skills when you are a ghost you
are purposefully left rather open for interpreta-
will loose them if they are depen-dent on being an
tions. Ultimately it is up to each group to discuss
ethereal entity. Your skill & spell points are also
and find a preferred approach, that fit’s their play
temporarily reset to 10 as soon as you turn into a
style and wishes.
ghost. Ghosts can usually only be seen by close rel-
atives, the psychically inclined, and cats. A ghost is *Consider some organized religions positions on resurrection.
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A Compleate List of
Civilized Dysc Inhabitants
For more info on this: https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Discworld
All uncommented images made by By LadyofHats - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56725196
The Playable Species but slows down more and more over the years, to
finally turn into a pile of rubble with a spark of life
of the Disc in it.
When playing “A one in a million chance at
adventure” your characters species is mainly a
modifier for the narrative rules around skills and Gnomes & Goblins
spells. Think tiny and strong. Dis-
tilled humans. Height may
vary, 4 inches to 2 feet. Or
Dwarfs in metric terms; 10 cm to 60
Short, bulky and cm tall. A few gnomes have
bearded. The tradition- an ability to cross into dreams
al language contains a and parallell dimensions, this
gender neutral pro- ability is called crawstepping.
noun. Dwarfs considers Little is known of any com-
dwarfishness to be a mon culture or traditional
cultural ancestry as traits of gnome society. The
much as it is genetic age span of the average gnome
ancestry. Dwarfs are differs a lot.
very literal, and does
trust metaphors or
analogies. Traditionally The Undead: Zombies,
into mining and smithing. By tradition they also Vampires & Werewolves
make dwarven bread*. Besides bread, the preferred Cold and eerie, but they are all persons none
weapon is a traditional axe, one side being a pick- the less. It should be noted that there are several
axe the other side a battle axe. Dwarfs originate species under this category, the playable types of
from Überwald and The Ramtops. The standard undead are Zombies, Vampires and Werewolves.
life span is about 300 years.
Zombies
Trolls The unliving, basically people who died but never
Big, heavy and made of stopped moving. While not mindless they are
stone. Literally walk- often more singleminded than when alive. The
ing, talking, thinking most prominent character traits seem to somhow
slabs of stone. Made survive the undeath. A former clerk might become
of “metamorphorical obsessive when it comes to sorting papers or a
rock” with silicone deceased butcher might become overly enthusi-
brains. This specific astic with the meat cleaver. A zombies life span is
physiology leads to regulated by how well they manage to conserve
slower thinking when their physical form, as the body is dead it is
exposed to heat wich decomposing at a regular shape unless precautions
in turn has led to trolls are taken. The last stage of decomposition of a
mainly being nocturnal. Their appearance takes zombie is being a literal skeleton. Take care not to
after stone and mineral characteristics of the place leave bodyparts laying about.
they come from. They are theoretically immortal
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Vampires The lifespan of a werewolf is generally the same as

Everything you think that of a standard human.
you know about vam-
pires is true. Even the
things that are con-
Humans
Last but not least, the human. Very sensitive to
tradictory. Different
cultural conditioning and almost a slave to the
vampires have different norms of the world around them. This is both a
vampire traits. Some
blessing and a curse. In a place such as Ankh-
are hyper sensitive
Morpork, the epicentre of egotistical, grubby,
to sunlight, some are
Illustration By Thecount68
social ladder climbing, most humans are just that.
allergic to garlic and - Own work, Public Domain, But meet one in another setting and they might be
some cannot deal with https://commons.wikime- unbelievably giving and caring. The most numerous
exposure to crosses (or dia.org/w/index.php?cu-
rid=6822563 species on the disc is the human. A standard human
other religious
on the Disc lives to an age of 70 or 80. Some spec-
paraphernalia). Vampires are technically immortal.
imens have been known to reach around 100 years
If someone burns a vampire and spreads the ashes
of age**.
all over the continent someone would have to
gather all the ashes again in order for the re-
surrection to be successful. Most vampires stem Non-human characters
from Überwald, and they often have long lines of and Relative Realism
aristocracy behind them. Furthermore, tradition- When playing a character that is any other species
ally many vampires collect titles as a hobby over than human there is no difference when creating
the span of their unnaturally long lives. the character. Instead consider it as a choice that
will change the boundaries of the relative realism
Werewolves guiding the creation of skills during your game, for
Sees smells, turns into example a vampire could add the skill of ”turning
wolves during the full into a bat” as a regular skill, while a human or a
moon week* and highly gnome would have to create it as a spell and use
intolerant to silver. In narrativium to activate it.
some individuals the
wolf is strong, and the
personality of the feral
or primal bleeds into
the human personality
and in some the human
side is bleeding into
the wolf form. Half-
breeds exist and the effects of this varies between
very hairy humans to wolves that are really, really
smart. Some half-breeds are the very stereotypical
half-man-wolf variety during the full moon phase.
* Unless they feel like not changing, the Change is actually voluntary in most cases. Most werewolves tend to appreciate the liberating feeling of running wild in the
night once in a while, so most do actuallyChange.
** Mostly propelled by contrariness and stubbornness.
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the Theory of Magick

All text below is copied from: https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Discworld
Magic on the Disc

Magic is the principal force on the Discworld, The Disc’s magical field is centred on the Cori
and operates in a similar vein to elemental forc- Celesti. Everyday natural forces, such as light
es such as gravity and electromagnetism on our and magnetism, are muffled by the power of the
own world. The Disc’s “standing magical field” is Disc’s magical field, and rather than a magnetised
basically the local breakdown of reality that allows needle, navigators on the Disc use a compass with
a flat planet on the back of a turtle to even exist. a needle of the magical metal octiron, which will
The force called “magic” is really just a function always point towards Cori Celesti. Light is so
of the relative absence of reality in the local area, oddly affected by magic, as it passes into the Disc’s
much in the same way that we describe absence of atmosphere, it actually slows down from millions
heat as “coldness.” Magic warps reality in much the to hundreds of miles an hour. One odd effect of
same way as gravity warps space-time. this is that the Disc has time zones, when, as a flat
world, it shouldn’t. Another effect is that, as re-
On the Discworld, where magic has more in com- ported in Thud!, the red- and blue-shifting of light
mon with particle physics than Houdini, high-level becomes noticeable when travelling at speeds of
background magic (most likely a reference to merely a hundred and twenty miles per hour.
background radiation) occurs when a very pow-
erful spell hits, creating a myriad of sub-astral The power of belief
particles that severely distort local reality. Building Reality is described as spread thinly on the Disc,
a house in (or even walking into) a region where so events may be affected by expectations, espe-
this has happened is extremely dangerous as it is cially those of ‘intelligent’ species such as humans,
mentioned that an individual may not remain the dwarfs etc. Such a world is not governed by
same species, shape or level of sanity, if they are physics or logic but by belief and narrative resolu-
entered. Medium levels cause odd effects, such as tion. Essentially, if something is believed strongly
coins landing on their edges and turning into enough, or by enough people, it may become
caterpillars. Areas with larger than normal true. Jokes such as treacle mines and drop bears
quantities of background magic tend to display are real on the Disc; in reality lemmings don’t
unusual qualities, even for the Disc. Very high actually rush en masse off cliffs, on the Disc they
quantities of magic can knock a hole in reality, do, because that is what people believe (actually,
leading to an invasion by Lovecraftian since mass suicide would seriously foul up natural
monstrosities from the Dungeon Dimensions, or, selection, they tend to abseil down them instead).
almost as bad, the world of the Elves. The basic This is also exploited in both wizard and witch
unit of magic is the thaum, but the thaum is in turn magic. For example, if you wish to turn a cat into
made up of particles known as “resons” (literally, a human, the easiest way is to convince him, on a
“thingies”) or reality fragments. These are in turn deep level, that he is a human.
composed of five “flavours”: up, down, sideways,
sex appeal and peppermint (as spoof of quarks). More significantly, it is also belief that gives the
gods their powers. Discworld gods start off as tiny
The number eight is generally significant and has spirits, and gain power as they gain believers. A
magical properties on the Disc, (e.g. the number similar effect has led to the “reification” of mytho-
of the colour of Magic, octarine) and should never logical beings symbolising abstract concepts, such
be spoken by wizards especially in certain places. as Death, the Hogfather and other Anthropomor-
Doing so may allow the ancient dungeon dimen- phic personifications.
sion creature “Bel-Shamharoth the sender of eight”
to break through ... On the Disc, if a story or legend is told often
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enough and believed by enough people, it becomes a pointed hat also helps.
true. This is known as the law of narrative causal-
ity. Dragons, as Terry Pratchett explains, do not For wizards magic is science. All magic follows
breathe fire because they have asbestos lungs, they certain rules and if one knows the rules then one
breathe fire because that is what dragons do. On can master magic. On example is the conservation
the Disc, if a witch goes bad, she will inevitably of energy (referred to as conservation of reality).
build a house of gingerbread and lure children to Simply speaking, things have to level out at the
their doom, only to be thrown into her own oven. end. If something goes up, something else has to
If a miller has a third son, he will invariably leave go down. It is not too hard to turn a cat into a dog,
him only his cat, and that cat will then, of course, because this is simply turning one existing thing
lead the boy onto fame and fortune. A hero will into another one. But to create things out of noth-
win only when outnumbered. Million-to-one ing is totally different thing and almost impossible
chances to escape certain death are routinely suc- to do for a wizard. Wizards don’t seem to have
cessful and they “crop up nine times out of ten”. figured out that they could transform air into stuff
Witches often employ narrative in their magic, but yet either.
consider it ethically tricky since it is interfering
with free will. The habit of many Discworlders
to take metaphor literally has combined with the
power of belief to produce some very odd areas.
The Place Where The Sun Does Not Shine, for
instance, is a deep crevasse in Lancre, incidentally
located between a rock and a hard place.
The Disc’s nature is fundamentally teleological;

its basic composition is determined by what it is
ultimately meant to be. Its primary element, out
of which all others spring, is known as narrativi-
um, the elemental substance of Story. Nothing on
the Disc can exist without a Story first existing to
mould its destiny and determine its form. This is,
perhaps, a take on the fact that nothing can ever Wizards like to use instruments specially made for
happen on the Disc unless it is written in a story the purposes of practicing magic. The wizard’s staff
by Terry Pratchett. is a familiar and intuitive example; it stores magic
that wizard can use all at once. For seeing the
Wizard Magic world or even all possible times and spaces of the
Wizard’s magic is one way to practise magic on multiverse, the wizards have used the crystal ball
Discworld. It is practised scientifically and is and have now advanced to the omniscope which is,
therefore almost the opposite of Witches’ magic. sadly, very expensive monetarily to produce and
Wizards study magic for many years at a univer- very expensive magically to operate. The thaumo-
sity (e.g. Unseen University or Bugarup Univer- meter is an instrument to measure the amount
sity). They learn magic the hard way. Reading of magic in the vicinity. They also always have a
an uncountable number of books, passing hard stuffed alligator, the existence of which has always
tests, getting one (or several) of the many degrees been a bit of a mystery, as no-one, especially the
available and practicing all day long makes a great wizards themselves, know why this seemingly
wizard. Oh yes, and growing a beard and wearing random piece of occult junk always turns up in a
13
wizard’s study. Discworld Voodoo is considered to be an aspect of
witch magic, combined with a sort of do-it-your-
The more interested wizards (usually the younger self religion, relying heavily on the power of belief
ones) try to analyse and understand magic itself. described below. The most powerful Discworld
In the High Energy Magic Building at Unseen voodoo-women can deliberately create moderately
University students together with Ponder Stibbons powerful gods for a specific purpose.
try to split the Thaum, the smallest magic particle
known so far. Wizards just love to tamper with re-
ality and to babble about different possible dimen-
sions. One of the newer projects is the creation of
Hex, a magical supercomputer.
The most general form of wizard’s magic is

encountered in form of illusions, fireballs and
occasional calling of ghastly things from the Dun-
geon Dimensions. Wizards can store magic in their
wizard’s staff, which is about 6 feet long and has a
knob at the end (hua, hua, hua, hmm...).
The Magic of Witches

In the Discworld series, witch magic is very differ-
ent from the wizard magic taught in the Unseen
University, and consists largely of finding the right
lever that makes everything else work. Witch-
es rarely do any magic, in fact, relying more on
common sense, hard work, and a peculiar brand of
psychology known as headology. This can be taken
very far - a witch’s way of magically setting fire to
a log of wood consists of staring at the log until it
The role of witches has been defined as “smoothing
burns up from pure embarrassment. As a result it
out life’s humps and bumps” and “helping people
is less energy intensive, which means that a witch
when life’s on the edge”, and they take this obli-
can do more than a technically equally powerful
gation seriously. They also never ask for anything
wizard. However, the same zen-like knowledge
in return. There are ways and ways of not asking
that gives them this ability generally discourages
for anything in return, of course. Nanny Ogg, for
them from making a big deal about it, beyond
instance, insists that part of her job is to take the
refusing to take wizards seriously.
first pint of every brewing and the first cake of
every baking, to prevent occult forces using them
Unlike wizard magic, which is taught en masse,
against people. Both she and Granny Weatherwax
witch magic is taught on a one-to-one basis by old-
tend to emphasize at every possible opportunity
er witches to apprentices. Although magical talent
that it is considered lucky to have a witch in your
tends to run in families, witches do not teach their
house, and that it would be especially lucky if the
daughters, feeling that this would cause a sort of
witch was well-provided for.
magical inbreeding.
14
E
TH
BY A
P.A.
ED
Casting Spells
OV
APP
R
. R
AM
Practical Magick Usage
Rules of play Strength of 2 Narrativium
Magic functions as a more free form type of skill. 1. long casting time, effect lasts a few hours, results
Free in the sense that your imagination doesn’t are very real
have to be as constrained by what is reasonable 2. short casting time, real results, but lasts a few
based on your species or any relative realism. hours
The effects are so to speak allowed to be ”unre- 3. both very real and lasts a few hours but
al”. Mechanically the big difference from skills is casting and preparation takes more than an hour
that it costs at least one Narrativium point to use 4. rather real results, lasts for about an hour and
any spell. The point(s) used is spent. The chosen short casting time
amount of Narrativium points is combined with
either Wits or Trickery. Let’s look at an example: Strength of 3 Narrativium
1. short casting time, effect lasts for about 24 hours,
Using 2 points ofWits, and a spell of the value of 2 skill and is very real
points, plus 2 point of narrativium, die results under 6 2. short casting time, not that real, but lasts a few days
would count as successes. Put into a formula it looks 3. both very real and lasts for a few days but casting
like: Wits/Trickery + Skill + Narrativium. and preparation takes about an hour
4. instant casting, effects last for a few days, but on
You did read that right, it means that you’ll have to closer inspection the results show signs of unreal-
have a rather high amount of points in one of those ity.
attributes or have a lot of Narrativium points in
order to be proficient in casting spells. Strength of 4 Narrativium (roll for 1 residual
magic effect)
1. a few minutes casting time, very real results, effect
Casting strength lasts for about a week
Depending on how many Narrativium point the
2. instant casting, very real results, lasts for a few
strength of the spell changes. The strength effects
days
things as duration, realness*, area of effect and for
3. casting and preparation takes about an hour, the
example how much time it takes to cast the spell.
result is actual reality change and lasts for about
You can use the following examples as die roll
a week
tables using a D4 die or choose to pick one of the
4. instant casting, the result is actual reality change,
alternatives for the correct amount of Narrativium
effects last for about a day.
used.
Strength of 5 Narrativium (roll for 2 residual
Strength of 1 Narrativium:
magic effects)
1. long casting time, effect lasts a few minutes, results
1. instant casting, the result is very real, effect lasts
are very real
for as long as the caster wishes
2. short casting time, not that real, but lasts a long
2. instant casting, the result is actual reality change,
time
the effects lasts for a few days
3. both very real and lasts for about an hour but
3. instant casting, the result is actual reality change
casting and preparation takes more than an hour
and lasts for about a week
4. every factor is rather average
4. instant casting, the reality is bent to the wishes of
the caster (improvise), the effects lasts for an hour.
* Realness is whether or not an object or a concept is thought of as reality or not. A very real object is something that looks, feels and smells as one would expect it
to given the circumstances. Realness as a concept is not as straightforward as it might seem initially, a change in the weave of reality may be percieved as real either by
the change following all surrounding rules of realness or by the common perception of the rules of realness adapting or changing. Sometimes the most effective spell
actualy change peoples perceptions rather than the actual reality.
15
THE
APPROVED BY
AM.RP.A.A
A List of Documented
Residual Magick Effects
The following page has been carefully researched and documented by the Senior Lecturer in Avoidable and Un-
certain Events at the Unseen University. This documentation is a widely circulated pamphlet amongst the aspiring
magicians of Ankh-Morpork. It has been published here following all appropriate procedures.
new location within 10 meters .

When casting a spell using 4 or 5 narrativium points
9: effected character ends up in a known
you must roll to see if any residual magic effects
location, the Auditor decides on where.
occur and how they will be applied in this specific
10: the effected character ends up in an un-
instance. Below is a table of random residual magick
known location, the Auditor decides where.
effects that occurs when casting a high powered
spell. Roll a D10. See appropriate section and follow the
6. Unexpected Transmutations of Living Matter
rules of the effect.
Skin changes colour, mouths turn into beaks,
paws turn into human feet, etcetera. Roll a D6.
1. Temporal Irregularity
1. SKIN TYPE SHIFT - the effected may for
Anyone whose found themselves effected by
example become scaly, grow feathers or become
temporal irregularity can attest to the inconve-
translucent.
nience of unexpectedly being slower or quicker
2. PARTIAL SHAPE SHIFT - one or more
then people around them, it is not dangerous,
parts of the body turns into the equivalent parts
but often a real nuisance. Sometimes it is can be
from another species.
beneficial.
3. SPECIES SHIFT - the whole body transforms
Roll a D2. 1: time speeds up. 2: slows down.
into another species, not limited to humanoids.
Roll a D4.
4. PROPORTION SHIFT - one or more parts
1: everyone within an area of 50ft (~15 me-
of the body swells up or shrinks down
ters) are effected.
5. VISCOSITY CHANGE - what was re-
2: only the caster is effected.
cently firm turns wobbly, bones included OR the
3 or 4: the surrounding area is effected.
wobbly turns firm, this is a gradual petrification
type situation.
2. Perceptional Flux Field
6. SIZE CHANGE - the effected body grows or
In a “PFF” suddenly smells are seen, sights are
shrinks.
heard and touch is tasted, the experience can be
quite unnerving, or interesting.
Roll a D4. 7. Dimensional Rift
1: everyone within an area of 25ft (~8 meters) A demon from the dungeon dimensions breaks
are effected. through to our reality! The effects are defined by
2: only the caster is effected. the Auditor.
3 or 4: the surrounding area is effected.
8. Empathically Inclined Flux Field
In the effected area everyone suddenly and
3. Proportionality Warp
unexpectedly turn into unconditional friends,
Things may appear further, higher, lower or
and everyone can understand eachothers per-
closer than they seem. The effects are defined by
spectives telepathically until they leave the area
the Auditor.
again.
4. Unexpected Transmutations of Dead Matter
Stones turn into boots, flower pots turn into 9. Manifestation Probability Field
In the effected area odd things just seem to
plastic ducks, ladders turn into frying pans,
“poof” into existence when people think of
you get the picture. The effects are defined by the
them. Be mindful of your thoughts...
Auditor.
10. No residual effects
5. Unstable Space Flux Field
Very seldomly there are times when absolutley
Anything entering into the effected area may
nothing happens. It seems to have no pattern to
possibly end up teleporting to a completely dif-
what or why nothing happens, but I’m sure It
ferent place. Upon entering the area roll a D10.
1-5: nothing happens. cannot be good.
6-8: the effected character is displaced to a
16
APPROVED BY THE
AM.RP.A.A
A Compleate List of Official Ankh-Morpork Guilds

The list below is a slightly revised text copied from: https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Discworld
In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series of fantasy novels, there are almost 300 Guilds in the city of Ankh-Morpork. Nanny Ogg’s
Cookbook, The Thieves’ Guild Diary and the Death’s Domain map all quote Guild publications.
How to use guilds in play are up to each roleplaying group. One implied way that any guild membership will effect the game is
that a member of a guild may have an easier time motivating why they have a certain skill or spell or a certain piece of equip-
ment such as a the official Watch badge or a wizards hat. Besides the above the guilds are heavily involved in most events in
city life. They are basically the social and legal backbone of Ankh-Morpork. They are sure to be good places to find work or
trouble.
forms the same political role for its and Exponents of Exotic
Presently known member organizations as many of the Dance
Bakers’ Guild
and registered Guilds do for their members. Motto: NVNQVAMVESTIMVS (“We Never
Clothe”)
guilds include, but Bandits’ Guild Clientele consists of humans (who
Guild of Confectioners
are not limited to: consider women taking their clothes
Guild of Barber-Surgeons off for money to be acceptable, but
Guild of Conjurers
women doing it for nothing immoral),
Motto: NVNC ILLE EST MAGICVS (“Now
trolls (who, because they believe
That’s Magic” (Catch-phrase of British
they travel backwards in time, like to
magician Paul Daniels))
watch their women strip in reverse)
More of a club for stocky, aitch-drop-
but not dwarfs (who have no concept
ping beer-swilling types, they are
of such an idea).
considered rather low on the ladder
Guild of Accountants of magical ability and are scorned
by wizards. They don’t seem to care, Guild of Fire Fighters
and Usurers Once outlawed by The Patrician, as
and indeed appear to get a lot out
Unsurprisingly, its stated taxable the Guild would threaten arson to get
of life. They are very popular among
income is negligible. citizens to pay for a fire protection
the masses, who consider sleight of
hand far more interesting than actual contract.
Actors’ Guild magic.
Archaeologists’ Guild Guild of Cunning Arti-

ficers
Alchemists’ Guild
Motto: OMNIS QVI CORVSCAT EST OR Dog Guild
(“All That Glitters Is Gold”) Beggars’ Guild Headed by a Chief Barker; Big Fido.
Their Guildhouse constantly needs Motto: MONETA SVPERVACANEA, MA- Consists of dogs which have not just
rebuilding, as it frequently explodes. GISTER (“Spare Change, Mister?”) been Bad Dogs, and run away from
They are the Discworld’s closest an- The oldest and the richest guild in their owners, but have Bit the actual
alogue to actual scientists. While the the city. Hand that Fed Them.
vast majority of alchemists are mind- Guild of Fools and Joc-
Controls scavenging rights, nighttime
less experimenters who spend too barking duties, breeding permissions
ulators and College of
Butchers’ Guild
much time around boiling mercury Headed by Gerhardt Sock and howling rotas. Clowns
and unusual breeds of fungus, some, Motto: DICO, DICO, DICO (“I Say, I Say,
such as Cheery Littlebottom, have Guild of Embalmers and I Say”)
Butlers’ Guild
a solid base in chemistry, and have The name Dr. Whiteface is an honorif-
Allied Trades
parlayed their skill into other fields, ic used by whoever heads the guild.
such as forensics. Carters’ and Drovers’ Motto: FARCIMINI (“Stuff It”)
Guild Gamblers’ Guild
Guild of Engravers and
Guild of Architects Motto: EXCRETVS EX FORTVNA (“Shit
Chef’s Guild Printers (formerly the out of luck”)
Guild of Armourers Guild of Engravers) Guild headquar ters is located across
Clockmakers’ Guild Motto: NON QVOD MANEAT, SED the street from the Alchemists’
QVOD ADIMIMVS (“NotWhat Remains, Guild. Anyone wondering why will
Guild of Artificers
Council of Churches, ButWhatWe Take Away”) be politely reminded as to just what
Assassins’ Guild Temples, Sacred Groves the profession of the guild members
and Big Ominous Rocks Guild of Ecdysiasts, is. Head is elected by random draw.
Motto: NIL MORTIFII SINE LVCRE (“No
KillingWithout Pay”) While not a guild, the Council per- Nautchers, Cancanieres Regulates cheating and swindling, not
17
APPROVED BY THE
AM.RP.A.A
Its main function is to protect its reign. “Mrs.” is an honorific bestowed

by banning them, but by determining
members from being robbed, which on those members of the Guild who
exactly how heavily dice should be
had become their principal occupation rise to the ownership of their own
loaded, the precise value of cards
in recent years. They also serve as premises. Her employees are known
which may be held up the sleeve and
the advertisers of the civic charms of as her “daughters” (a reference to the
the exact amount of money one may
Ankh-Morpork to potential tourists. famous euphemism “visiting Rosie
take from a mark.
They hire gangs of burly men to Palm and her five daughters.”
Glassblowers’ Guild patiently describe to outsiders that
Ankh-Morpork is in fact clean, safe Guild of Shoemakers and
Haberdashers’ Guild and lovely place to live. Leatherworkers
Guild of Handlemen Guild of Musicians Smugglers’ Guild

Motto: ID MVRMVRATIS, ID LVDAMVS
(“You Hum It,We’ll Play It”) Tailors’ Guild
More of a protection racket than a
Guild, the Musicians’ Guild demands Teachers’ Guild
high membership fees and perfor- The Guild clock strikes noon before
mance rates for all members. Those any of the others, presumably marking
who do not wish to be members are school lunchtime.
perfectly free to operate outside it, of
course, but then, they are unlikely to Guild of Thieves, Cut-
do so for very long.
purses, Housebreakers,
and Allied Trades
Guild of Plumbers and Motto: ACVTVS IDVERBERAT (“Whip it
Dunnikin Divers Quick”)
Motto: NON ANTE SEPTEM DIES Legalized by the Patrician early in his
PROXIMA, SQVIRI (“Not Before Next reign.
Week, Squire”)
Created in the reign of Patrician Vet- Guild mottos (in Lata-
Historians’ Guild Guild of Town Criers
inari. Main role is to dig new water
The Historians guild has assumed a
tian) are taken from
wells and empty cesspits
role similar to that of English Her- Famed member and previous Guild
Guild of Victims the book The Discworld
itage, determining which buildings Headed by Echinoid Blacksly (only Companion.
master Sir Charles Lavatory, invented
are of historical interest and ensuring member)
the device which bears his name. It
they are preserved as their builders A bizarre counterpart to the Guild Editors Note:
flushes waste away very well, but
of Thieves; you hire Mr Blacksly to
intended as Ankh-Morpork has no sewers, it
suffer an official Guild theft on your
doesn’t actually go anywhere.
behalf.
There are numerous
Guild of Lags (profes- Witches Covens
sional prisoners) Guild of Priests, Sacer- scattered over the Disc
dotes and Occult Inter- that are technically not
Launderers’ Guild mediaries guilds and have no
May be the same as the Council of official standing in the
Lawyers’ Guild Churches, Temples, Sacred Groves
eyes of the law, but none
Motto: LVCRE SERMAT (“Money Talks”) and Big Ominous Rocks
Perpetually headed by Mr. Slant, a
the less functions as
zombie. The basic principle of the Rat Guild (alleged) organizing bodies of the
Guild is the richer you are, the more witches of the land. The
likely you are to be innocent. As rich Rat-Catchers’ Guild most prominent of said
people are more valuable to society covens is the Lancre co-
than poor people, this is considered a Seamstresses’ Guild ven. An important differ-
very agreeable form of justice. Euphemistically named; ence between guilds and
actually a guild of prosti- covens is that a Witch
Guild of Merchants and Guild of Watchmen
tutes.
It lasted exactly as long as it took for Coven always consist of 3
Traders Motto: NILVOLVPTI, SINE LVCRE (“No
Samuel Vimes to find out about it. witches, no more, no less.
Motto:VILIS AD BIS PRETII (“Cheap At PleasureWithout Pay”)
Twice The Price”) Legalized by the Patrician early in his
18
APPROVED BY THE
AM.RP.A.A
Vices & Compulsions

The stuff you just have to do to feel right
“Oh, no doubt the man would suggest there were mitigating circumstances,
that he had an unhappy childhood or was driven by Compulsive Well-Poisoning
Disorder. But I have a compulsion to behead cowardly murderers”
Ahmed (Jingo, 1997)
What are Vices extreme immorality or depravity Insane - extreme foolishness, or an or characteristic of thoughtless, impet-
Covetous - to have a strong desire act that demonstrates such foolishness uous behavior
& Compulsions to possess something that belongs to Insolent - the quality of being Reckless - marked by a lack of
somebody else boldly rude or disrespectful thought about danger or other possible
This is fairly self explanatory, they Coward - an absence of courage Jealous - to feel bitter and unhap- undesirable consequences
are the stuff that any character Cruel - deliberately and remorse- py because of another’s advantages, Rowdy - a rough and noisy person
enjoy doing or feel an urge to do, lessly causing pain or anguish; bring- possessions, or luck who often causes disturbances
even when it’s bad for them. They ing about pain and distress Lavish - given or produced in Rude - disagreeable or discourte-
have no numerical rules attached Decadent - a state of uninhibited abundance or to excess ous in manner or action; offensive to
to them. Instead they are to be immoral self-indulgence Lewd - inclined to be obscene or accepted standards of decency
considered roleplaying cues. The Depressed - to make somebody indecent Secretive - unwillingness to
Auditor may set up situations that feel very sad or hopeless Liar - someone who does not tell reveal information
are tempting for the motley crew Despairing - somebody that the truth Short-Sighted - doing or
of adventurers. makes somebody else feel hopeless or Lunatic - behavior that is regard- determining without taking the future
exasperated; to feel there is no hope ed as unintelligent, inconsiderate, or into account
Discourteous - behavior or misguided, or an example of it Snobbish - displaying an offen-
Example list: an action that is bad-mannered or Mad - rash or thoughtless behavior sively superior condescending manner
Addicted - a state of physiologi- Malicious - the intention or
impolite Stubborn - unreasonably and
cal or psychological dependence on a desire to cause harm or pain to
Dishonest - the use of lies or obstructively determined to persevere
potentially harmful drug somebody; or to wish for someone to
deceit, or the tendency to be deceitful or prevail
Aggressive - threatening behavior feel pain
Disloyal - a lack of loyalty to a Pilferous - to steal something, or
or actions Manipulative - using clever,
person, vow, organization, or state steal things
Alcoholic - dependence on alco- devious ways to control or influence
Doubtful - to feel unconvinced or Trite - one who overuses common
hol consumption somebody or something
uncertain about something, or think phrases or conversation topics and con-
Angry - a strong feeling of griev- Merciless - showing no compas-
that something is unlikely sequently makes them lack in interest
ance and displeasure sion toward somebody or something; to
Erratic - not predictable, regular, or originality
Antagonist - hostility or hatred continue at a high level of violence or
or consistent, especially in being likely Tricky - likely to cheat or outwit
causing opposition and ill will unpleasantness without pause or relief
to depart from expected standards at somebody
Arrogant - the act of feeling or Moody - having temperamental and
any time Vain - excessive pride, especially in
showing self-importance and contempt changeable moods; tending to change
False - treacherous personal appearance
or disregard for others mood unpredictably from cheerful to
Foolish - showing a lack of good Vengeful - having or showing a
Bigot - when somebody with strong bad-tempered
sense or judgment strong desire for revenge
opinions, especially on politics, reli- Murderous - capable of, guilty of,
Gluttonous - the act or practice Wasteful - using resources
gion, or ethnicity, who refuses to accept or likely to commit murder
of eating and drinking to excess; to do unwisely
different views Narcissist - overestimation of
anything to the point of wastefulness
Boastful - to refer immodestly to one’s own appearance and abilities
Greedy - an overwhelming desire to
possessions or achievements and an excessive need for admiration
have more of something such as money
Bragging - to talk with excessive Obstinate - stubbornly adhering
than is actually needed
pride about an achievement or pos- to an opinion, purpose, or course,
Hubris - excessive pride or arro-
session usually with implied unreasonableness
gance
Brutal - unrelentingly harsh and Pompous - an excessive sense of
Hysteric - being impossible to
severe; extremely ruthless or cruel self-importance
hold back or control
Cheater - to deceive or mislead Proud - a haughty attitude shown
Impatient - tending to be
somebody, especially for personal by somebody who believes, often
annoyed at being kept waiting or by
advantage unjustifiably, that he or she is better
being delayed
Conceitful - a high opinion of than others
Impetuos - to act on the spur of
your own qualities or abilities, espe- Preposterous - going very much
the moment, without considering the
cially one that is not justified against what is thought to be sensible
consequences
Corrupted - dishonest exploita- or reasonable
Inflexible - adhering firmly and
tion of power for personal gain; Rash - acting with, resulting from,
stubbornly to a viewpoint or principle
19
For The Auditor
Creating A World According to The Rules
(or The Comprehensive Guide to String Pulling and Plotting)
20
Running a Game of AOIAMCAA
A Most Comprehensive guide to String pulling and Skullduggery
Auditing a World of Populating the Disc
Improbable Probability When creating Non-Player Characters (or NPCs
for those of you fluent in Ludo) story is more
When running a session of ”Discworld - a one in a
important than stats. A good advice is to start with
million chance at adventure” it is imporant to have
any type RPG archetype and give them some kind
a few guiding principles.
of contradictory trait or personality; the shy town
crier, the dirt poor banker, the polite robber, etc.
1. Narrative is everything
2. Promote and encourage imaginative prob-
lem solving Difficulty Modifiers
3. Use rolls sparingly and for things that When a conflict or challenge arises for a Player
really are naturally difficult you set the difficulty of a roll based on the wished
4. Provide a compelling and believable world, outcome of the challenge.
allow the players to provide the comedy
Difficulty modifiers are as follows:
Real easy challenge = -1 on the rolled results
Your role as The Auditor Regular challenge = no modifier
In the Discworld lore the Auditors are the bureau-
Hard challenge = +1 to rolled results
crats of the multiverse. They make sure that gravity
Really hard challenge = +2 to rolled results
works, file the appropriate paperwork for each
Extremely hard challenge = +3 to rolled results
chemical reaction, and so forth. They maintin the
logic of the universe. The Auditor of the game is
not to be confused with the enemy of the players.
Elrana the Prudent wants to attempt to summon the
Your job is not to introduce them to DEATH,
grand demon Quetzovercoatl of Pandemonium using
unless it’s part of the narrative.
their Spell ”summon demon”.The Auditor considers this
to be Extremely hard so they apply the ”Extremely hard
Starting an Adventure challenge” modifier of +3 to the rolled results. Adding
Before even starting to play it is very wise to have together a narrativium point, wits 2 and the 2 points
a short conversation with the group about their she has in the spell. That gives a total of 5 points to roll
expectations and wishes. This helps you adapt the against. E lrana rolls the two D10.
game so that everyone gets an enjoyable expe- The results are 1 and 2.The modifier is added to both of
rience. It’s also very good to introduce them to the results.The modified roll is at 4 and 5.This means
different styles of roleplaying and making them that only one of the dice succeeds and the roll is consid-
comfortable with whatever style they wish to use. ered a Regular success.
The base values for character creation does create
rather weak characters. The rolls are going to be
rather hard to succeed at until they have created a NPCs & Violence
few skills. When players choose to engage an inhabitant of
the disc in any kind of violent exchange, such as a
The dynamics of the system provides characters fisticuffs or a murder attempt, you should consider
that are inclined to be lucky or magically adept, how willing the non player character is to fight.
OR characters with a greater chance at succeeding Most people are not inclined to ever kill anyone.
with regular, everyday type challenges. This makes Some give up immediately, some fight to just get
for the most impactful aspect of the point system away, some fight because of an unbreakable oath
used for the characters. to a god of vengence; that is just the way the dwarf
bread crumbles.
21
The Structure of an Adventure
Play in Sandboxes, String up Pearls & construct Railroads
Planning an Adventure types of situations (or pearls); prologue/intro-
So, you are thinking of creating an adventure. Well, duction, conflict, chase, resolution and epilogue/
the first thing to think about is what an adventure outro.
is: a series of unexpected and engaging events
connected to each other. When preparing your adventure, start with imag-
ining a theme or a feeling of the campaign. Per-
When planning an adventure there are a few sonally I tend to mix two or three popular culture
different approaches. One approach is called references to get my juices flowing. Example: ”Fab
Sandbox, another is the Railroad, some prefer Sit- 5” meets ”Poirot” with a dash of ”Gone with the
uational approches etc. In general the best advice wind”. The theme is the prompt and your future
one can give is to use the approch that makes you sanity check when creating and improvising.
relax and have fun. Deciding this can with benefit
be done together with the players to match their Story Hooks
expectations and hopes. A useful tool for you is the story hook. It’s a rather
blunt tool, attached to the string of pearls and you
Pros & Cons kind of throw it on the players. A standard story
Sandbox - world building: hook is basically something intreaging that will
Less detail planning, more overarching world build- lead the players into adventure. An example:
ing. Non player characters and are often improvised.
Non-linear. Flexible. Demands adaptiveness and
awareness from GM. ”As you walk down the street, one of you notice that
Railroad - writing a script: you are followed by a robed mysterious gnome sized
Planning includes most aspects of the adventure, person.When confronted the gnome tells you that he
characters, scenes, progression, dramatic tension etc.The was sent by Count Hersh and that the Count employed
railroad is very linear, it leaves little room for explo- him as a Private investigator to keep tabs on you.”
ration and improvisation.This often leads to a lot of
preparation work.
Situational - string of pearls: This story hook is intended to make the players
Instead of planning scenes as in the Railroad approach wonder why the Count shows interest in them,
you plan situations and events that you find interest- and depending on their characters personalities
ing in regards to the theme of the campaign. Along and the surrounding story this might end them
the way you discover how the situations connect by the into an adventure trying to find the Count who by
actions of the players. chance has gone missing since a week after hiring
the gnome. But just having ths one hook to lead
There are a multitude of online guides to how to into the Hunt for the Count is not enough. When
create campaigns using either of these approaches. creating a story arc you want to use at least 3 dif-
However, we will take a closer look at the situa- ferent hooks that all lead into that specific adven-
tional approach. This is mainly because it fits well ture to be sure that it isn’t missed. Preferrably the
with the structure of the Discworld adventures different hooks are not too similar to eachother or
documented in the 41 books by Terry Pratchett. too obvious in their nature.
Generally speaking, the approach of situational
planning is all about creating a few key nodes,
or pearls, that have some type of connection or
relationship with each other. Examples of standard
22
The Components of an Adventure
The Nuts and Bolts of Narrative
Tables & other Tools for creating your coming Adventure
The following pages will be a collection of useful tools when creating your adventures. They might be used to
spur your imagination, or they might be a go to when your improvisation stumbles and you need to quickly
find out if the barkeep the players just met is their friend or their foe and why.
Positive Attitudes (1D66) Pleasant Smells (1D66)

11. Contemplative 41. Cheerful 11. Freshly baked bread 41. New carriage
12. Dreamy 42. Cheery 12. Bacon 42. Oranges
13. Droll 43. Comical 13. Freshly cut grass 43. Freshly washed hair
14. Earnest 44. Compassionate 14. Coffee 44. Coconut
15. Ecstatic 45. Confident 15. Freshly washed clothes 45. Leather
16. Encouraging 46. Joking 16. An Octeday roast 46. Rain
21. Energetic 51. Joyful 21. Fish and chips 51. Aftershave
22. Enthusiastic 52. Lighthearted 22. Fresh flowers 52. New books
23. Excited 53. Optimistic 23. A real Hogwatch tree 53. Lime
24. Friendly 54. Passionate 24. Roses 54. Doughnuts
25. Giddy 55. Peaceful 25. Vanilla 55. Fresh paint
26. Happy 56. Playful 26. Scented candles 56. Bonfires
31. Haughty 61. Pleasant 31. Log fires 61. Matches
32. Hopeful 62. Reflective 32. Lavender 62. Cotton
33. Humorous 63. Relaxed 33. Lemon 63. Musk
34. Impassioned 64. Romantic 34. Chocolate 64. Wine
35. Brave 65. Sincere 35. Barbeques 65. Cheese
36. Calm 66. Whimsical 36. Cinnamon 66. Biscuits
Less fortunate Attitudes (1D66) Not so Pleasant Smells (1D20)

11. Critical 41. Choleric 1. Garbage 11. Feet
12. Disdainful 42. Coarse 2. Drains 12. Manure
13. Disgruntled 43. Condescending 3. Body odour 13. Morning breath
14. Disgusted 44. Irritated 4. Sewage 14. Burning hair
15. Disinterested 45. Judgmental 5. Vomit 15. Old garlic
16. Furious 46. Mock-heroic 6. Rotten milk 16. Urine
21. Gloomy 51. Obnoxious 7. Rotting food 17. Sweat
22. Harsh 52. Pessimistic 8. Public toilets 18. Blue cheese
23. Hateful 53. Ribald 9. Nappies 19. Ammonia
24. Hurtful 54. Sad 10. Chicken coop 20. Fish
25. Indignant 55. Scornful
26. Inflammatory 56. Sharp
31. Insolent 61. Snooty
32. Angry 62. Superficial
33. Arrogant 63. Testy Weekdays (1D8)
34. Callous 64. Threatening 1. Monday 5. Friday
35. Caustic 65. Tired 2. Tuesday 6. Saturday
36. Childish 66. Uninterested 3. Wednesday 7. Sunday
4. Thursday 8. Octeday
Species (1D10)
1. Troll 6. Vampire Age (relative to species) (1D6)
2. Human 7. Zombie
3. Elf 8. Werewolf 1. Child 4. Middle-Aged
4. Gnome 9. Dwarf 2. Teen 5. Old
5. Dryad 10. Fairie 3. Adult 6. Ancient
23
The Components of an Inhabitant of the Disc
Identifying Traits(1D20) Occupations (1D100)
1. Bloated belly 11. Pustules 1. Miller 53. Gardener
2. Runny nose 12. Acne 2. Stone Mason 54. Grounds keeper
3. Nasty cough 13. Bald spots 3. Black Smith 55. Warrior
4. Scrawny 14. Hunchback 4. Armorer 56. Soldier
5. A lisp 15. Stiff joints 5. Falconer 57. Mime
6. Flatulent 16. Strong body odour 6. Tailor 58. Farmer
7. Hard of hearing 17. Facial scar 7. Carpenter 59. Adventurer
8. A slight limp 18. Muscular 8. Plowman 60. Con-artist
9. Foul breath 19. Smooth mover 9. Butcher 61. Barista
10. Porcelain eye 20. Rotund 10. Gold Smith 62. In-a-bun maker
11. Reporter 63. Rat catcher
12. Watchman 64. Hedge inspector
13. Beggar 65. Sooth-sayer
Of of those rare diagnosis (1D6) 14. Politician 66. Assistant (roll once
1. Attention Surplus 4. Paranoia Inversa (An- 15. Thief more to find out trade)
Syndrome; a tendancy to noia); an irrational and 16. Squire 67. Apprentice (roll once
remember everything compulsive belief that they are 17. Page more to find out trade)
2. Bursaritis; out to get the world. 18. Silver Smith 68. Appraiser
3. Florabundi’s Syndrome; 5. Planets; so self-centered one 19. Grocer 69. Constable
compulsive good manners manifests orbiting planets. 20. Oracle 70. Fire fighter
6. Signitus; fear of books 21. Actor 71. Watch maker
22. Draper 72. Clacks operator
23. Furrier 73. Mailman
24. Fish Monger 74. Stampmaker
‘Heroic’ Titles (2D10) 25. Baker 75. Scribe
26. Weaver 76. Undertaker
1D10 + 1D10 27. Street Magician 77. Farmer
1. The Saviour of 1. Lost Paraphernalia 28. Accountant 78. Gardener
2. The Liberator of 2. the Mendacious King 29. Minstrel 79. Bureaucrat
3. The Vanquisher of 3. Witches 30. Barrel Maker 80. Candlemaker
4. The Procurer of 4. the Ancient Crawler 31. Cobbler 81. Fish Monger
5. The Explorer of 5. the Neverending Stairs 32. Cartwright 82. Beggar
6. The Survivor of 6. Pernicious Seagulls 33. Assassin 83. Baker
7. The Defier of 7. the Quiescent Undead 34. Candlemaker 84. Mailman
8. The Interpreter of 8. Insurmountable Riches 35. Hedge Warder 85. Soldier
9. The Guardian of 9. the Zealous Queen 36. Bailiff 86. Grocer
10. The Shepherd of 10. the Noxious Barrister 37. Reeve 87. Thief
38. Brewer 88. Carpenter
39. Town crier 89. Miller
40. Hero 90. Outhouse cleaner
Mental Weaknesses (1D10) 41. Busker 91. Priest
42. Witch 92. Hair dresser
1. Corruptable 6. Reckless 43. Igor 93. Opera singer
2. Fearful 7. Loose-tongued 44. Outhouse cleaner 94. Playwright
3. Proud to a fault 8. Undiciplined 45. Court Jester 95. Author
4. Gullible 9. Illoyal 46. Lawyer 96. Aristocrat
5. Impatient 10. Nervous 47. Usurer 97. Banker
48. Librarian 98. Student
49. Clerk 99. Apprentice (roll once
50. Bureaucrat more to find out trade)
Physical Weaknesses (1D10) 51. Surgeon 100. Wizard
1. Slow 6. Fragile wrists 52. Priest
2. No stamina 7. Prone to illness
3. No raw power 8. Allergic
4. Bad back 9. Sore toes
5. Weak knees 10. Ticklish
24
The Components of Various Perilous Situations
Perils of the Wilds (1D20) Injuries (1D6+1D10)
1. Hunters trap 12. Aggressive yeti 1D6 + 1D10
2. Hungry Bear 13. Scared swamp-dragon 1. Slighty bruised 1. foot
3. Defensive moose 14. Ambiguous puzuma 2. Heavily bruised 2. hand
4. Territorial wild-boar 15. Venomous basilisk 3. Sprained 3. leg
5. Sentient pearwood 16. A pack of wolves 4. Bleeding 4. abdomen
6. Wasps nest 17. Stalking panther 5. Broken 5. back
7. Irritated snake 18. An angry mound of 6. Crushed 6. ribs
8. Territorial goblins pictsies 7. neck
9. Territorial trolls 19. A roaming barbarian 8. face
10. Territorial humans 20. Bandit ambush 9. nose
11. Starving vampire 10. arm
Perils of the City (1D20) Magical artifacts (1D20+1D20)

1. Unlicenced Muggers 11. Religious extremist
2. Relentless salesman 12. Swarm of rats 1D10 + 1D10
3. Hired assassins 13. Pack of stray dogs 1. The worn bag of 1. uncontrollable speed
4. Unlicenced Thief 14. Spiritual guru 2. The shiny glove of 2. trolls strength
5. Bored Aristocrat 15. Clumsy troll 3. The intricate bracelet of 3. involuntary smiling
6. Conniving con-artist 16. Driverless carriage 4. The dull sword of 4. unexpected evolution
7. Band of bigots 17. Private guards 5. The knobbly staff of 5. slow melting
8. Rowdy drunk 18. Licenced thief 6. The heavy keyring of 6. deafening silence
9. Suspicious watch officer 19. Excited psychopath 7. The loaf of 7. instant insanity
10. Scheming lawyer 20. Contagious disease 8. The ladle of 8. reliable invisibility
9. The one ring of 9. healthy dinners
10. The golden statue of 10. calming
11. The untuned lute of 11. Divine Retribution
Improbable Perils (1D10) 12. The cudgel of 12. intense local weather
13. The tea spoon of 13. plot advancement
1. Invading elves 6. Rampant occultists 14. The quill of 14. minor manifestations
2. Looming dragons 7. Open guild wars 15. The parakeet of 15. unbearable sanity
3. Dungeon dimension rift 8. Lurking drome 16. The slippers of 16. indisputable reasoning
4. Instable residual magic 9. Hideous chimera 17. The silken nightcap of 17. putting things back
5. Vengeful god 10. Angered hamadryads 18. The runny candle of together
19. The tea kettle of 18. wanton destruction
20. The pamphlet of 19. the octagon
20. truthful blabbering
Perils on the Road (1D6)
1. Blocked road carriage or sick horse
2. Sudden storm 5. Roll on table for perils
3. Corrupt border patrol of the wild Contents of Pockets (1D20)
4. Blistered feet, broken 6. Local conflicts
1. D10 pennies 12. A receipt from the
2. D4 dollars thieves guild
3. Fuzzy lint 13. Small bag of cotton balls
Tavern names (2D10) 4. A key of importance 14. A blackened stiletto
5. A scribbled map to 15. A religious trinket
1D10 + 1D10 something hidden 16. A business card from a
1. The 1. Gnome 6. D10 nails local business
2. The Smelly 2. Mage 7. A handmade spoon 17. A set of lockpicks
3. The Boiled 3. Cat 8. A small notebook 18. An imp powered watch
4. The Royal 4. Hat 9. A tiny gemstone 19. An unrealized plan for
5. The Happy 5. Keg 10. A worn clown nose world dominance
6. The Fragrant 6. Basement 11. A map of the local area 20. A guild membership
7. The Dank 7. Attic badge
8. The Patricians 8. Cabbage
9. The Merry 9. Albatross
10. The Black 10. Roast
25
The Components the Fates of Adventurers
Turns of Fate (1D20) Antagonist Motivations (1D66)
1. Clues Of A Spy education 11. Romance: I must wed 41. Love: The princess
where someone is spy- 11. I swear I had my love or the world has stolen my heart; so,
ing on the adventurers nothing to do shall perish. I’ll steal her.
and keeps leaving traces with it 12. Vengence: I cannot 42. Hate: I will make their
2. Damned If You where the employer rest until they are de- life unbearable, they
Do, Damned If apparently caused the stroyed. will regret ever being
You Don’t mess in the first place 13. To distinguish born.
where all things and hired the adventur- oneself: I want the 43. Conspiracy:
ultimately benfits the ers to cover it up world to see me. I’ve gathered twelve
antagonist 12. Stockholm 14. To gain good men to help me
3. Ally With The Syndrome acceptance: I just overthrow the Patrician.
Enemy where the person need- want to get invited to 44. Honor: Men from my
where the adventuring rescue doesn’t want the right parties. village never back down,
ers must befriend the to get rescued 15. Justice: The king regardless the cost.
antagonist in order to 13. Sacrifices are killed my mother, so the 45. Dishonor: Men from
defeat an even worse mandatory king must die. my city are idiots; I’ll
enemy where the adventurers 16. Greed: I want to steal never do things the
4. Weakness Is must choose whom everything from the “right” way.
Strength or what to sacrifice to treasury. 46. Catastrophe:
where a peril grows further the story 21. Fear: I am afraid that A volcano is going to
stronger each time it is 14. Bait And Switch our lands will be erupt and when it does,
overcome where the fetching part stripped bare by this evil I’ll plunder the city.
5. Framed is easy, but the delivry countess. 51. Grief and loss:
where the adventurers proves near impossible 22. Desperation: If When my mother died, I
gets accused for an 15. A Deal With something doesn’t lost all interest in doing
atrocity and all evidence The Devil change in the next week, good.
supports it where the adventurers I will be executed. 52. Rebellion: I will
6. Time is of the must commit horrible 23. Social cohesion: right the wrongs com-
essence deeds to achieve their Us zombies need to stick mited against my people.
where time is of the goals together. 53. Betrayal: I was
essence, no lollygagging 16. Blind-Sided 24. Desire to better engaged to the princess,
7. A Conundrum where the adventurers oneself: I was born and then she married
where the adventurers gets attacked from a a peasant, but I swear, I Prince Erdwerk.
are faced with two or side they didn’t expect will die a king. 54. Spread hate and
more choices, none 17. The Race Isn’t 25. Power to achieve fear: I love hate. Hate,
offer clear victory. Over Yet a goal: I must become hate, hate.
8. What Have We where each goal patrician, so I can outlaw 55. Corrupt everyone:
Done? reached reveals a new thievery. Come join me as I rob
where the adventur- goal 26. Escape destiny: the Guild of Accountants
ers actions leads to 18. Means To An End At birth, a soothsayer and Usurers.
wrongdoing, often due where the antagonist said I would slay a drag- 56. Control the kids:
to being mislead was actually working on ; however, I am doing If those kids make noise
9. Deceived for a greater good anything to avoid that. one more time at mid-
where the employer 19. Not Quite Dead 31. Achieve destiny: night, I’ll get ’em.
does not pay, punishes Yet At birth, a prophet said I 61. Recover what is
or report the adventur- where a person appears would slay a dragon; and lost: My father lost a
ers to the authorities to not be as dead as that’s my plan, even if I family heirloom, and if
once the mission is supposed have to summon it first. it’s the last thing I ever
complete 20. A Traitor 32. Rivalry: That guild is do, I’ll get it back.
10. The Unknowing where an ally of the encroaching on my busi- 62. Save humanity:
Gauntlet adventurers turns out to ness, I will crush them. To save humanity, I’ll
where it all was just a be less an ally, and more 33. Discovery: I will find have to kill the whole
test or an attempt at an enemy out the Patricians army.
darkest secret and use it 63. Serve a master:
against him. I’ll follow King George
34. Ambition: I want. . . anywhere, even if it
everything! means killing King
35. Survival: In the Phillip.
midst of this civil war, I 64. Destroy: Ha! Ha! Ha!
will survive. I love to burn stuff.
36. Self-sacrifice: 65. Rule part of the
Someone must stop this world: I want to be
evil king and I’ve decid- Lord of Lancre.
ed to step up and do it. 66. Rule the world:
I will rule the Disc.
26
Thank you for reading through these rules. I sincere-
ly hope that you will have many fun and interesting
experiences while playing this game. If you want to
share your experiences or stories with me, give me
any type of feedback or maybe have something to
ask, please reach out. You can get in contact with me
either by e-mail: jochergames@gmail.com or on face-
book on the page Jocher Games.
You can also leave comments on my itch.io page:

https://jochergames.itch.io/
Sincerely
Johan C. Eriksson
27

Adventurer's Guide to the Discworld

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the AM.RP.A.A.

The following pages are to be considered a

ROLEPLAYING SYSTEMS - INSPIRATION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MEDIA & GAMES - INSPIRATION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Overall you will get a few pointers on how to conduct yourself as an

Signed by Guild Master

What makes an Adventurer

ocket change: every player starts with a

Getting out of, or Into, Trouble

Proficient successes (2 successes):

Million to One Rolls

“Scientists have calculated that the chances of something

Nine times of of ten

Imagining the improbable

The failure tracks

Failure? : Full track? +1 in this track by recycling from other

When a failure track has been filled you choose to

Getting better in an attribute

Getting better at a skill or a spell Other ways of Gaining

“When Mister Safety Catch Is Not On, Mister

Combat and PLAYER *Rolls 7 on both dice*

H ELLO THERE. I’M DEATH, I FELT AN INTRODUCTION WAS IN ORDER.

Vampires The lifespan of a werewolf is generally the same as

the Theory of Magick

Magic on the Disc

The Disc’s nature is fundamentally teleological;

The most general form of wizard’s magic is

The Magic of Witches

new location within 10 meters .

A Compleate List of Official Ankh-Morpork Guilds

Archaeologists’ Guild Guild of Cunning Arti-

Its main function is to protect its reign. “Mrs.” is an honorific bestowed

Guild of Handlemen Guild of Musicians Smugglers’ Guild

Vices & Compulsions

Positive Attitudes (1D66) Pleasant Smells (1D66)

Less fortunate Attitudes (1D66) Not so Pleasant Smells (1D20)

Perils of the City (1D20) Magical artifacts (1D20+1D20)

You can also leave comments on my itch.io page:

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Combat and PLAYER Rolls 7 on both dice