Dark Sagas - 1st Ed

CORE RULES
By Mikael Hassel
CREDITS
Writing & Game Design: Mikael Hassel
Graphic Design & Layout: Mikael Hassel
Cover Art: Jeremy Hart
Interior Illustrations: Mikael Hassel, Scarlet Heroes and Spears of

the Dawn Art Packs (including illustrations by Andrew Krahnke,
Earl Geier, Ian Mclean, Luigi Castellani, Miguel Santos, David
Lewis Johnson, Joyce Maureira and Nate Furman), Public Domain
art, including: N.C Wyeth, Andrew Lang, Thomas Moran, John
William Waterhouse, Homer Ransford, John Singer Sargent.
Some artwork © 2014 Eric Lofgren, used with permission. All

rights reserved.
Cover & Logo Design: Mikael Hassel
Editing & Proofreading: Mikael Hassel
Special Thanks: To my family, friends and working colleagues for their en-
couragement and support
Dedications: To my wife and son, with love.
Licencing : Dark Sagas © 2015 by Mikael Hassel is licenced under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0
International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. To view a copy of this
license, visit:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
For specific details, appropriate credits, and updates to this li-

cense, please see:
https://darksagasrpg.wordpress.com/
PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO PRINT THIS DOCUMENT FOR NON-COMMERCIAL USE.
Contents
CONTENTS
Part I: Introduction......... 7 Priest ................................ 22
Scout .................................. 23
Chapter 1: Dark Sagas ........ 8
Warrior ............................. 24
What is Roleplaying? ......... 8
Wizard .............................. 25
The Players ........................ 9
Character Creation Example 26
The Character ...................... 9
Chapter 3: Equipment ...... 28
The Game Master ............... 9
Buying Equipment ............. 28
Non-player Characters .......... 9
Currency ............................ 28
Adventures ........................... 9
Encumbrance ..................... 28
Basic Game Concepts .......... 10
Armour .............................. 29
Dice ................................... 10
Weapons ............................ 29
Performing Actions .............. 10
General Equipment .............. 31
Attributes ........................... 11
Chapter 4: Magic ............... 33
Fighting ............................. 12
Experience ......................... 13 Using Magic ....................... 33
Character Classes ................ 13 The Magic Test ................... 33
What Is Dark Sagas? ..........14 The Wizard’s Spellbook........ 33
Spell Casting Mishaps ......... 34

Part II: Player’s Guide ... 15
Corruption ......................... 34
Chapter 2: Characters ...... 16
Learning New Spells ............ 35
Introduction ...................... 16
Magic Items ........................ 35
Character Creation ........... 17 Elixirs ............................... 36
The Classes ....................... 19 List of Spells ....................... 37
Dwarf................................. 19 Elf/Wizard Spells ............37

Elf ....................................20 Priest Spells ..................... 49
Halfling ............................. 21
Chapter 5: Game System...... 53
3
Contents
Attributes in Play .............. 53 Special Actions ................. 67
The Attribute Test ................ 53 Charge ............................... 67
Which Attribute is used?........ 55 Powerful Attack .................. 67
Other Important Rules 58 Swift Attack........................ 67
Social Challenges ............. 58 Fighting Defensively ........... 67
Attacking Without Killing ... 67

Climbing ........................ 58
Wrestling and Strangling ..... 68
Perception ...................... 58
Part III: GM’S Guide ..... 69
Stealth ........................... 58
Character Improvement ......59 Chapter 7: Game Mastering 70
Improving Attributes ............59 Being a Game Master ......... 70
Chapter: 6 Combat............ 60 Players vs Game Master ....... 70
Adjusting Dice Rolls ............ 70

Combat Basics .................... 60
Setting the Atmosphere ........ 71
Combat Order .................... 60
Difficulty Numbers ............. 71
Reach Weapons .................. 60
Creating a Setting ............ 72
Surprise Attacks .................. 60
Genre Options .................... 72
Combat Summary ................ 61
The Combat Round .............. 61 Adventuring Rules ............ 73
Actions in Combat ............. 62 Game Time ........................ 73
Special Rules ...................... 73

Combat Actions .................. 62
Movement Actions ............... 63 Experience & Rewards ...... 77
Reactions ........................... 64 Role Playing Bonus ............. 77
Defence ............................. 64 Creating Adventures ........ 78
Multiple Opponents ............ 65 Types of Adventures ............ 78
Damage & Healing ............ 66 Types of Obstacles .............. 78
Hit Points .......................... 66 Game Master Characters ...... 79
Healing ............................. 66 Starting the Adventure ......... 80
4
Contents
Running Adventures............ 80 Appendix A: The Setting . 130
Setting the Scene ................ 80 Introduction .................... 130
Description ......................... 81
The People ........................ 131
Believable Characters ........... 81
Religion............................. 131
Exciting Locales ................. 81
The Shadow ...................... 132
Giving Options .................... 82
Gazetteer ..........................133
Characters to Failure ........... 82
Aberlon ............................. 133
Getting Feedback ................. 82
Daleheim ........................... 133
Chapter 8: Bestiary .......... 83 Averion.............................. 133
Introduction ...................... 83 Stormwold ........................ 134
Creature Stat Block .............. 83 Raven’s Wall ..................... 134
Creatures .......................... 84 The Eastern Wilds ............. 135
Chapter 7: Treasure ....... 122 Settler’s Vale ..................... 135
Generating Treasure ....... 122 The Shadowlands............... 135
Hrimr’s Beard ................... 135

Gems................................ 122
Jewellery .......................... 122 World Map ....................... 136
Special Items ..................... 123 137
Magic Items ....................... 123 How Dark Sagas Started .. 137

The Treasure Size ............. 124 Dice Probabilities .............. 138
Finding Magic Items .......... 125 Probabilities of 2d6 ............ 138
Potions and Scrolls ............ 125 Optional Rules ................ 139

Staffs and Wands ............... 125 Skill Specialties ................. 139
Magic Armour ................... 127
Table Index ...................... 139
Magic Weapons ................. 127
Miscellaneous ................... 128
Part IV: Appendix ........... 129
5
This is the No-art version of Dark Sagas, the regular version will have artwork
in this space.
PART I:
INTRODUCTION
Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1: Dark Sagas
W
rules.
elcome to Dark Sagas, a fantasy roleplaying game with a set of sim-
ple rules and an old school mentality, meant to capture the feel of the
early roleplaying games, but with more modern and less restrictive
Dark Sagas was created with the intention to be used with any campaign set-
ting, preferably one of the many classic settings from the early days of roleplaying, but
it can be used in any way you want, really, use for your own created world, use it in
a published campaign setting, use it in a sand-box setting, where you and your
friends create the world as you go along, it’s all fine.
However, for those of you that prefer to have a premade setting for this game,
there’s a brief description of such a setting in the appendix. It’s presented in a very
vague form with an overview, history and maps. It’s up to you to fill in the rest.
WHAT IS ROLE-PLAYING?
Y ou could say that a roleplay-

ing game consists of two in-
gredients: one is the world
itself, full of places to visit and crea-
they don’t create any player charac-
ters, instead they acts as the rules
referee and the story teller of the
game, presenting the world to the
tures to meet, the other ingredient is players and filling it with inhabitants
the rules that sets the framework on for the players to interact with and
what you can and cannot do within obstacles for the players to overcome.
the game world that determines the But the mutual store, the adventure
outcome of events. experience, is created by both the
When you play a roleplaying Game Master and the players togeth-
game, you play in a group together er.
with your friends, and the goal is to
This is the No-art version of Dark
have fun, plain and simple. You don’t
Sagas, the regular version will have
compete against each other, instead
artwork in this space.
you work together, experiencing ad-
ventures and developing your charac-
ters. One person in the group take on
the role of the Game Master, and
8
THE PLAYERS
W hen you play a roleplaying game, everyone (except the Game

Master) has their own character, an alter ego, through which the
player acts in the game world. The player decides the actions of
their character and roll a die to see if the action succeeds or not.
The Character
When you create a character, you do it by consulting the Player’s Guide in
this book and by using a character sheet to write down the results of your
choices. The character sheet holds information about your character, like your
character’s name, abilities, goals, equipment, previous experience, etc. When
your character learns something new, buys new equipment or receives a re-
ward, you simply write it down on your character sheet.
THE GAME MASTER
T he Game Master, simply

put, is the one who envisions
and tells about the game
world to the other players and puts
the Game Master, makes all attribute
tests and decides how they behave and
so on.
the player character to test when they Adventures

try to reach their goals. Like a real-
Even if the players have a big
time director, Game Masters should
impact on what happens during an
be prepared to improvise when the
adventure, the Game Master has the
player characters do something unex-
outmost responsibility for the story.
pected, but also sometimes gently
It’s mainly the Game Master who
help the players along the way – so
makes the preparations before the
that the mutual story is going to be as
session, either by creating their own
exciting and fun as possible.
adventure or reading an adventure
created by someone else.
Non-Player Characters In the Game Master’s Guide
Those individuals and creatures there are tips and advice on how to
that the player characters meet dur- create adventures that are both excit-
ing play are called non-player char- ing and fun for everyone, players and
acters (NPC’s) and are controlled by Game Masters alike.
9
BASIC GAME CONCEPTS
T his section presents you

with a brief overview regard-
ing the concepts involved in
actual gameplay
d3). To do so, just roll a d6 and halve
the result, rounded up; if you rolled 1
or 2, the result is 1, 3 or 4 becomes 2
and 5 or 6 becomes 3.
Dice Performing Actions

Dark Sagas uses six-sided dice The most common type of die
(d6 for short). Whenever a character roll in Dark Sagas is the Attribute
tries to do something they roll two Test. This type of roll is used for at-
dice (2d6) and add their attribute tacking, using skills, defending
modifier and any other modifiers to against magic, and various other
the roll. To succeed, a roll needs to things throughout the game.
be equal or higher than the Difficulty To make an Attribute Test, take
Number (DN) set by the Game Mas- your relevant attribute score (when
ter. you are asked to make a test you will
be told which attribute to use) and
add any modifiers that you are asked
to add. Then roll 2d6, add you attrib-
ute score and any modifiers and com-
pare the result to the Difficulty Num-
ber (DN) set by the Game Master.
If the total is equal or higher
than the DN, the Test has succeeded.
When rolling for effect, i.e. If the total is lower than the DN, the
damage, healing, etc. you usually test has failed. This test is always
only roll one die (there are excep- done by rolling 2d6.
tions though), this is called the If a player and a creature con-
‘Effect Die’. trolled by the Game Master or if two
Sometimes a modifier is added to players want to make tests against
the dice roll, like +2; this is shown by each other, both make an attribute
adding the modifier to the dice roll, test and the person who roll highest
like this: 1d6+2. score wins the test. If it’s a tie, the
There are some occasions where test is repeated until someone wins.
you need to roll half a die (called a
10
ly when avoiding dangers and doing
Attributes acrobatic stunts.
The player’s character is defined
by a set of numerical values ranging
PHYSIQUE
from 1-6 for starting characters,
Constitution and the ability to
through their attributes, eight values
use one’s physical strength efficiently
that every character has, but in differ-
is covered by Physique, used for tests
ent degrees: Combat Skill, Quickness,
of strength, like climbing, jumping,
Physique, Knowledge, Will, Percep-
swimming, lifting heavy objects or
tion, Subterfuge and Charisma.
breaking a door. It also includes the
The attributes can be seen as
capacity to withstand damage and to
talents, skills, traits and interests that
survive poisons and diseases.
your character has developed during
his or her entire lifetime and these
traits covers every situation that the
KNOWLEDGE
character is exposed to, in one way or Knowledge includes both innate
another. cunning and shrewdness as well as
Attributes can be improved dur- more formal education and general
ing play, but there’s a limit though; literacy. Rolls involving Knowledge
your attributes cannot go higher than is used when a character tries to re-
10 (see Character Improvement for member facts or solve a logical prob-
more details). lem, and for the purposes of seeking

knowledge in a library.
Knowledge can also be used for
COMBAT SKILL
crafting and repair.
This score represents how well
your character fights in hand-to-hand
or ranged combat. The higher the
WILL
score the more likely it is your char- The Will trait is a reflection of
acter will hit an opponent in a fight. the character's ability to resist influ-
ential powers, be it social pressure,
fear or magic. If the character has the
QUICKNESS
ability to cast spells, the Will attrib-
Quickness is a reflection of the
ute is linked to their use.
character’s reflexes, balance, fleet of
foot and suppleness. It determines
initiative and your ability to defend
yourself in combat and is used active-
11
tion where the game does not attempt
PERCEPTION
to model every single thrust, parry
Perception includes the charac-
and cut.
ter's awareness of their environment
In a single round, most charac-
and can be understood as an effect of
ters and other creatures will make a
the sharpness of the senses, and how
single “attack”. Although this is re-
attentive the character is in perceiv-
solved as a single check, an attack
ing the details of the surroundings,
does not represent a single swing of a
like search an area for hidden fea-
sword or a single punch. During a
tures, listen at a door, or tracking
round, a character will swing repeat-
someone in the wilderness.
edly and also block, parry and
manoeuver.
SUBTERFUGE
Subterfuge is the character’s nat-
DAMAGE BONUS
ural ability and training to do things
Having a Physique score of 6 or
quietly, and with discretion. It’s used
higher gives your character a +1 bo-
for avoiding detection, disarming
nus to your damage rolls.
traps, opening locks, hiding or smug-
gling things, to stalking someone
without being noticed or stealing
DEFENCE
something out of someone’s pocket. A character or creature’s Defence
represents how hard they are to hit in
combat. The higher your Defence is
CHARISMA
the more likely you are to survive an
Charisma reflects the degree to
attack. Your Defence is equal to 7 +
which the character can influence
Quickness + (Armour bonus and Shield
others through word choice, voice,
bonus, if any). Defence is used as the
body language and knowing looks. It
Difficulty Number for the attacker to
is used to get others to do or refrain
hit in combat.
from doing things by speech, writing
or singing.
HIT POINTS
Your Hit Points (HP) are a
Fighting
measurement of how much damage
When it comes to fighting, time
your character can take before dying.
is divided up into Rounds, each of
Each class has their own hit
which represents ten seconds of com-
point score, depending on what train-
bat. This results in a level of abstrac-
12
ing they have; a warrior used to This is the No-art version of Dark
fighting in the frontline has a large Sagas, the regular version will have
amount of hit points, while a Wizard, artwork in this space.
untrained in combat and used to be-
ing behind the frontline in combat
has a rather low amount of hit points.
MAGIC POINTS
Magic Points (MP) are used for
spell-casting. They are a measure of Experience
magical energy, needed to power the
During their adventures, player
spells with. Only spell-casting classes
characters will gain experience in the
like Elves, Priests and Wizards have
form of Experience Points (XP). Ex-
magic points.
perience points are gained after each
Each spell has a difficulty num-
gaming session and they can be saved
ber ranging from 11 to 19; this num-
or used directly to improve attribute
ber indicates both the penalty to your
scores, hit points, magic points, and
Will attribute test to cast the spell
getting new abilities (see Character
and the cost in Magic Points.
Improvement for more details).
The amount of magic points
that a spell-casting class starts with
are listed in the class descriptions.
Character Classes
There are seven character clas-
MOVEMENT RATE ses available in Dark Sagas; Dwarf,

Elf, Halfling, Priest, Scout, Warrior
This is an indication of how far
and Wizard, each with its own unique
you can move during a combat round.
abilities and characteristics.
Humans and elves move 10 metres
per round while dwarfs and halflings
move 8 metres per round. CLASS ABILITIES
If you use miniatures and grid Class abilities represents some-
maps it is recommended that each thing that your character is good at, a
square or hex on the grid is equal to 2 narrow field of expertise, like hiding,
metres. sneaking, repairing something, lis-
tening at doors, picking pockets and
so on.
13
WHAT IS DARK SAGAS?

Dark Sagas is a fantasy roleplaying game with no setting attached to it, you can
use any of your favourite campaign worlds with Dark Sagas or create your own world,
however there is a campaign setting described in the appendix in this book. This set-
ting is only described in wide brush-strokes, providing only the bare-bones of the world
and leaving the rest for you to fill in the details.
FEATURES OF THE DARK SAGAS RPG

When I designed Dark Sagas; I had a list of features that I wanted to bring into
the game:
• A simple and intuitive rules set using a 2d6 + attribute score vs. a Dif-
ficulty Number (DN) mechanic to resolve actions; roll equal or higher
than the DN to succeed.
• Limiting the dice types to just six-sided dice for action resolution and
effects (i.e. damage, healing, etc.).
• Attributes and skills merged together, handling any type of action; i.e.
attribute tests instead of skill tests; all actions are directly related to
an attribute.
• A simple but yet flexible class system to give each player a well de-
fined role within the group and also avoiding the problems of having
too much choices during character creation
• A fast paced and easy-to-learn combat system, with a well defined
combat action system and simple attack vs. passive defence to hit
your opponent.
• Keeping the equipment lists nice and short, including weapons and
armour; why bother to list tons of stuff, when the players aren’t even
going to bother with it?
• Game Master guidelines to handle dungeon-crawling and wilderness
exploration.
• Magic should be dangerous and this is reflected in having rules for
corruption and magical mishaps.
• Avoiding detailed monster stat blocks by only presenting the monsters
in a compact, simple and easy to read format.
• Easy to adapt to any campaign world.
• Treasure tables!
14
PART II:
PLAYER S GUIDE
Part II: Player’s Guide
Chapter 2: Characters
A
s the name implies, this part is dedicated to the players. But even the
Game Master needs to read this part of the book to learn and be familiar
with the rules and guidelines that deals with the creating of characters
and how to play them.
INTRODUCTION
E ven if their roles differ on

certain aspects, players and
Game Masters both have a
shared responsibility for the shared
character is good at, what abilities
and powers the character has, and
how much the character can inflict
on their opponents. The notes deals
game experience. Presented below are with other information like equip-
some suggestions on what task the ment, goals, background and person-
players should take the responsibility ality, etc.
for to ease the workload of the Game Creating a character in Dark
Master. If your player group should Sagas is easy; you just assign your
find any other solutions is entirely up attributes and pick one of the seven
to you, but just in case, the topics character classes available in Dark
described below can serve as a guide- Sagas; Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Priest,
line to make it easier for you to de- Scout, Warrior and Wizard, each with
cide. its own unique abilities and charac-
The number of players in a gam- teristics.
ing group is usually two to four peo-
ple, even if it’s possible to play the
game with just one player and a Game
Master. Regardless of the number of
players, each player has a character
to play with and interact with the
game world.
The character you create is de-
fined rules wise by a set of numbers
and notes on a character sheet. The
numbers tells among others, what the
16
CHARACTER CREATION
STEP 1: NAME AND CONCEPT
The first thing to do is to decide what sort of character you want to play. Do
you want to be a brave warrior or a stealthy rogue? Do you want to be male or
female?
Before you create your character, have a talk with your Game Master re-
garding the adventure or the campaign; what roles are suitable for your charac-
ter? Also discuss with the other players. What characters are they going to play
and in what way do they fit together with your character?
STEP 2: CHOOSE A CLASS

Choose the class that you think best represents the sort of character you
wish to play. While the classes represent archetypal characters, there is room for
much variation within them.
Non-human races, being less versatile than human, are each represented by
a single racial class, so if you, for example, want to play an elf, you choose the
“Elf” class.
STEP 3: ASSIGN ATTRIBUTE SCORES

A central part of character creation is deciding on how to generate your
attributes. You have to decide which attributes that are important to you and
which ones that aren’t.
There are three ways to choose your attributes:
• Standard Array: Place the scores 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2 and 1 on your attributes.

• Points Buy: Distribute 28 points on your attributes. No characteristic can
be lower than 1 or higher than 6.
• Random Roll: Roll 1d6 for each attribute, either in order or assign as you
please.
STEP 4: FILL IN CLASS DETAILS

Now that you have assigned your attributes and picked a class, it’s time to
write down your class abilities, see the Class Descriptions for more details.
17
STEP 5: EQUIPMENT
The character’s starting equipment, armament and money depends on the
chosen archetype and/or the abilities that player has chosen. See Chapter 4:
Equipment for more details.
Each character has 100 silver coins and some armour and weapons accord-
ing to what class they belong to:
• Dwarf: Medium armour, two weapons or a shield and a weapon

• Elf: Medium armour, a weapon, spellbook
• Halfling: Light or medium armour, two weapons or a shield and a weapon
• Priest: Medium amour, Shield, a one-handed weapon (mace or hammer),
holy symbol
• Scout: Light armour, two weapons, thieves’ tools
• Warrior: Medium armour, three weapons or a shield and two weapons
• Wizard: a wizard’s staff and either a dagger or a sling, spellbook
STEP 6: FINALIZE THE CHARACTER

By this stage all the hard decisions on making your character are over. All
that remains is to note down a few numbers on the character sheet and ponder
about the character’s background and motives.
Describe what your character looks like; hair, eyes, height, weight, etc.
Your character’s age is determined by race; for humans, roll 2d6+16. Elves
have a starting age of 5d6 + 120 years, dwarfs have a starting age of 4d6 + 40
years and halflings have a starting age of 3d6 + 20 years.
Provide your character with some extra details, like a background, perhaps
a quote- a catch phrase that captures the personality of your character, and last
but not least- a name. Also formulate at least one personal goal for your charac-
ter and a mutual goal for the entire group so that everyone has something to fight
for when the game starts.
To say something in general about what goals you should pick for your
character or for the group is hard. It’s important that your goals open up for in-
teresting and exciting stories, the Game Master must be able to use them as a
starting point for the creating of individual challenges or even full adventures.
To download a character sheet, use the following link:

https://darksagasrpg.wordpress.com/category/downloads/
18
THE CLASSES
Class Descriptions DWARF
The following section describes Dwarves are a non-human race.
the classes in the following format: Like most non-human races, they are
less flexible than humans, and all
• Attribute Adjustments: Each
dwarf adventurers are represented by
class has a few adjustments to
a single class.
some of their attributes to high-
light what they are good at. Physically, dwarves are slightly
• Hit Points: Shows the Hit Points shorter than humans but are similar
you get for choosing the class. in weight due to their stockier build.
• Magic Points: If the class is able Skin and hair colour shows the same
to cast spells, then this shows range as humans, although both male
the amount of Magic Points you and female dwarves tend to have
start with. slightly more facial and body hair
• Weapons & Armour: This tells than humans and males tend to grow
you what weapons and armour large beards.
you are allowed to use.
Dwarven adventurers make
• Class Abilities: This shows the
tough warriors who are at home in
special abilities that the class
underground environments.
has access to.
Attribute Adjustments: +1 Combat
Skill, +1 Physique, +1 Will
artwork in this space. Hit Points: Physique + 20
Weapons & Armour: Dwarfs may use

all weapons except for longbows
polearms and great weapons, due to
their short stature. Dwarfs can wear
any armour and shields.
Class Abilities
Darkvision: Dwarfs can see up to 20
metres in total darkness.
Resistance: Dwarfs are very resilient

to both magical and physical attacks
19
and gets a +1 bonus on Physique and
ELF
Will Tests to resist disease, poison
Elves are a non-human race.
and magic.
Like most non-human races, they are
Stone Lore: Dwarfs have a +1 bonus less flexible than humans, and all elf
to Perception tests to notice under- adventurers are represented by a sin-
ground features like slopes, sliding gle class.
stone walls, hidden stone doors, new- Elves are more slender and
ly made stone constructions and graceful than humans, but they are
traps. approximately the same height. Alt-
Dwarven Weapon Training: Dwarfs hough elves show a similar range of
have a +1 bonus to attack and damage skin colours to those of humans in
rolls with axes and hammers. terms of shade, the hue of their skin
tends to be of a paler complexion
Mechanical Aptitude: Dwarfs have
than that of humans. The ears of
an aptitude for mechanical things and
elves are pointed.
get a +1 bonus on Subterfuge tests to
Elves have no body or facial
disarm traps and open locks.
hair, although the hair on their heads
Evaluate Item: Dwarfs get a +1 bo- is luxuriant, and changes colour
nus on Knowledge tests related to de- throughout their life like the colors
termine the value of treasures. of leaves change through seasons—
starting a light green and slowly
darkening, as the elf matures before
changing to brown, gold and red in
old age.
Elves are naturally magical
creatures, and all elves are capable of
casting spells.
Elven adventurers are usually
much more highly skilled and have
spell casting abilities rivalling the
finest human Wizards.
Attribute Adjustments: +1 Percep-

tion, +1 Quickness, +1 Will
Hit Points: Physique + 12
20
Magic Points: Will + 6
HALFLING
Weapons & Armour: Elves may use Halflings are a non-human race.
all weapons, armours and shields. Like most non-human races, they are
less flexible than humans, and all
Class Abilities halfling adventurers are represented
Spell Casting: Elves may cast magic by a single class.
spells, and just like Priests they may Halflings are much shorter and
wear armour while casting spells lighter than humans, standing only 3’
without being exposed to spell fail- tall. They are of a proportionally
ure. Elves have a +1 bonus on Will similar build to humans, with the
tests when casting spells and start exception of their feet—which are
with 3 magic spells chosen from the large and covered in hair. The soles
list of Wizard spells (see Chapter 4: of halflings’ feet are tough and resili-
Magic for more details). ent, and halflings often travel bare-
Elven Senses: Elves have a +1 bonus footed.
to Perception tests to notice hidden/ Halflings’ skin tone has a simi-
secret doors and to track someone in lar range to that of humans, as does
the wilds. their hair colour. Halflings do not

grow beards or moustaches, but the
Elven Immunities: Elves are im-
sideburns of adult males tend to be
mune diseases and to magic sleep
longer than those of humans.
spells.
Halfling adventurers make rea-
Darkvision: Elves can see up to 20 sonably skilled warriors and scouts
metres in total darkness. who excel in outdoor environments.
Mental Resistance: Elves have a +1 Attribute Adjustments: +1 Charis-

bonus on Will tests to resist magic. ma, +1 Quickness, +1 Subterfuge
Stealth: Elves are good at hiding Hit Points: Physique + 12

and sneaking, and get a +1 bonus on
Weapons & Armour: Halflings can
Subterfuge tests related to these
use light and medium armour, and
things.
shields. They may use all weapons
except for heavy crossbows, longbows
and all two-handed weapons, due to
their short stature. They must use
normal weapons with both hands.
21
Only small weapons like clubs, dag-
gers, shortswords and slings may be
PRIEST
Priests are those who have de-
used with one hand.
voted themselves to the service of a
deity, pantheon or other belief sys-
Class Abilities
tem. Most Priests spend their time in
Ranged Accuracy: Halflings have a
mundane forms of service such as
+1 bonus to attack and damage rolls
preaching and ministering in a tem-
with bows and slings.
ple; but there are those who are
Resistance: Halflings are very resili- called to go abroad from the temple
ent to both magical and physical at- and serve their deity in a more direct
tacks and gets a +1 bonus on Physique way, smiting undead monsters and
and Will Tests to resist disease, poi- aiding in the battle against evil and
son and magic. chaos. Player character Priests are
Sleight: Halflings have a +1 bonus assumed to be among the latter
on Subterfuge tests related to stealing group.
items without someone noticing. Attribute Adjustments: +1 Charis-
Stealth: Halflings are good at hid- ma, +1 Knowledge, +1 Will
ing and sneaking, and get a +1 bonus Hit Points: Physique + 12

on Subterfuge tests related to these
Magic Points: Will + 6
things.
Weapons & Armour: Priests may
Small: Halflings get a +1 bonus to
wear any armour and shields, but are
Defence against creatures larger than
restricted to blunt weapons like clubs,
man-sized. They also get a +1 bonus
maces, hammers, staves and slings.
Quickness tests when trying to avoid
area attacks.
Class Abilities
Foraging: Halflings have a knack for Spell Casting: Priests may cast holy
finding food in the wilderness and get spells. Holy spells are also called
a +1 bonus to Knowledge tests to find prayers and the Priest is able to cast
food. They are also very good at holy spells while wearing armour.
cooking. Priests have +1 on Will tests when
casting holy spells and start with
knowing 3 holy spells chosen from
the list of Priest spells (see Chapter 4:
Magic for more details).
22
Channel Divinity: Priests can, by
using their holy symbol, turn undead
SCOUT
Scouts are human characters
creatures. To do so, both the Priest
who specialize in subterfuge and
and any undead within 10 metres
trickery. They come from all kinds of
from Priest makes an opposed Will
backgrounds, from thieves to assas-
test. Any undead who fail the test is
sins to rangers and so on.
turned and will flee from the Priest
Even the most noble and honest
for ten minutes. If someone attacks
adventuring parties often need to by-
the undead they will stop fleeing and
pass traps and locks or to have some-
fight back.
one who can scout ahead without be-
Healing: Priests are good at healing ing seen, and many Scouts spend
injuries and get a +1 bonus on their adventuring careers in this type
Knowledge tests related to healing. of activity.
Diplomat: Priests get a +1 bonus on Adventuring parties find the
Charisma tests related to convincing talents of Scouts extremely useful,
and negotiating with people. although Scouts do not make the

greatest warriors so they may need
Religious Lore: Priests get a +1 bo-
protecting in large fights.
nus on Knowledge tests related to
their religion. Attribute Adjustments: +1 Quick-
ness, +1 Perception, and +1 Subterfuge
Occult Lore: Priests get a +1 bonus
on Knowledge tests related to unholy Hit Points: Physique + 12
creatures, like demons and the un- Weapons & Armour: Scouts may use
dead. all weapons except for two-handed
melee weapons. Scouts may only wear
light armour and no shields.
Class Abilities
Sneak Attack: Scouts have the ability
to make sneak attacks by either suc-
cessfully sneaking up on their target
from behind (a Subterfuge test) or by
catching their opponent of guard by
surprising them. As a result, they may
attack with a +2 bonus to the attack
23
roll; if the attack hits, the damage is
doubled.
WARRIOR
Warriors include soldiers,
Quick Reflexes: Scouts have quick guardsmen, barbarian warriors, and
reflexes and get a +1 bonus on Quick- anyone else for whom fighting is a
ness tests to initiative and to avoid way of life. They train in combat,
area attacks. and they generally approach prob-
Athletics: Scouts get a +1 bonus on lems head on, weapon drawn.
Physique tests related to climbing, Not surprisingly, Warriors are
jumping and running. best at fighting of all the classes.
Keen Senses: Scouts get a +1 bonus Attribute Adjustments: +1 Combat
on Perception tests related to listening Skill, +1 Physique, +1 Quickness
at doors, detecting traps and secret/ Hit Points: Physique + 16

hidden doors.
Weapons & Armour: Warriors may
Mechanical Aptitude: Scouts have use all weapons, armours and shields.
an aptitude for mechanical things and
get a +1 bonus on Subterfuge tests to Class Abilities
disarm traps and open locks. Combat Training: Warriors are the
Streetwise: Scouts are good at urban best fighting class and get a +1 bonus
survival; knowing where to sell stolen with all attack and damage rolls with
goods, knowing the local thief gangs, any weapon.
etc. The get a +1 bonus on Knowledge Fighting Style (pick one): Your
and Subterfuge tests related to these character may choose one of these
things. abilities (the others can be acquired
Sleight: Scouts have a +1 bonus on during play).
Subterfuge tests related to stealing Archery gives you character a +1
items without someone noticing. bonus on attack and a +25% increase

in range with bows and crossbows.
Stealth: Scouts are good at hiding
Two-Handed Style lets your
and sneaking, and get a +1 bonus on
character make an attack causing +1
Subterfuge tests related to these
damage as long as you are using a two
things.
-handed weapon.
Defensive Warrior gives you a +1
bonus to Defence as long as you are
wearing a shield.
24
Two-Weapon Fighting lets you physical traits.
use a one-handed weapon in your off-
Attribute Adjustments: +1 Knowledge,
hand. When using two weapons you
+1 Perception, +1 Will
may either attack twice with a -2 pen-
alty or you attack once and get a +1 Hit Points: Physique + 8
bonus to both the attack and to your Magic Points: Will + 8

Defence.
Weapons & Armour: Wizards are
Repair: Warriors are good at repair- very limited when it comes to weap-
ing their armour and weapons and get ons and armour; they may only use
a +1 bonus on Knowledge tests related clubs, daggers, slings and staves.
to weapon and armour repair. They cannot wear any armour be-
Military Tactics: Warriors get a +1 cause this would interfere with their
bonus on Knowledge tests related to spellcasting.
military tactics.
Class Abilities
Riding: Warriors get a +1 bonus on
Spell Casting: Wizards may cast
Physique tests related to riding.
magic spells. There’s a downside to it
though, they cannot wear any armour
WIZARD while casting spells; casting spells in
Wizards are human characters armour will cause the spell to fail.
who have studied the arcane arts and Wizards have a +1 bonus on Will tests
who are able to cast magical spells. when casting spells and start with 4
Unlike the inherently magical magic spells chosen from the list of
elves, magic is something humans Wizard spells (see Chapter 4: Magic
have to learn, and prospective Wiz- for more details).
ards must study for years before they
Loremaster: Wizards are good at
are able to master it. In some larger
various kinds of knowledge, like an-
cities such studying is done in a uni-
cient languages, astronomy, history
versity, but in more rural areas with
and magic lore, and get a +1 bonus on
fewer resources and fewer people it is
Knowledge tests related to these
more likely to be a master/apprentice
things.
system. Unfortunately either kind of
study leaves little time for other pur-
suits and this means that magic-users
tend to be somewhat lacking in more
25
CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE
Here’s a brief description of a character creation example:
one. His character’s attribute scores are

STEP 1: NAME AND CONCEPT
now Combat Skill 6, Quickness 4, Phy-
The player Ben decides to create a
sique 7, Knowledge 1, Will 5, Perception 3
character, a dwarf and Ben wants his
and Charisma 2.
dwarf character to be good at fighting
Now Ben checks his derived charac-
and able to take a lot of punishment.
teristics; Hit Points 27, Defence 11, Initia-
Ben thinks a while about a name for
tive 4, Movement 8 and a +1 Damage
his dwarf and settles with Hadar
Bonus for having Physique 7
Fellhands, a nice dwarven-sounding name.
STEP 5: EQUIPMENT
STEP 2: CHOOSE A CLASS
Ben already has the following gear
Since Ben wants to play a dwarf he
for picking the Dwarf class: clothes, a
only has one class to choose: the Dwarf
dwarven war axe and a one-handed axe
class.
and medium armour (a chain mail).
Now, for his starting money, he has
STEP 3: ASSIGN ATTRIBUTE 100 silver coins and decides to buy a
backpack, One week’s travel rations, a
SCORES waterskin, rope, a grappling hook, a bed
The Game Master has decided that roll, a large sack (for carrying loot!), flint
the Standard Array method is going to be & Steel and a crow bar.
used to generate the attribute scores. Ben All of this costs a mere 39 silver
puts the attribute points in the following coins , leaving him with the sum of 61
order: Combat Skill 5, Quickness 4, Phy- silver coins - a descent amount of money
sique 6, Knowledge 1, Will 4, Perception 3, just in case of an emergency.
Subterfuge 3 and Charisma 2.
STEP 6: FINALIZE THE CHARACTER

STEP 4: FILL IN CLASS DETAILS Ben adjusts his Defence to 13 for
Ben reads through the Dwarf class wearing a medium armour, and when
description and writes down his class abil- fighting with axes his Combat Skill is 7 and
ities: Darkvision, Resistance, Stone Lore, inflicts +2 damage, so when using his war
Dwarven Weapon Training, Mechanical axe, he will do 1d6+4 damage and his one
Aptitude and Evaluate Item. -handed axe will do 1d6+3 damage.
Furthermore, he adjusts his attrib- Dwarfs have a starting age of
utes according to the class, which increas- 4d6+40 years and Ben rolls 13 on the dice,
es his Combat Skill, Physique and Will by
26
so Hadar is 53 years old.
He decides that Hadar is 135 cm tall
SIDE NOTE: LANGUAGES
and weighs 60 kg. Hadar’s hair is black Language ranks are measured on
and his eyes are blue. a scale from 1 to 4; rank 1 represents
As a quote, Ben chooses ‘You minimal fluency where the character
helped me, I’ll help you’, as it fits with only knows a few words and phrases,
Hadar’s goals (see below). rank 2 is descent fluency but with a
As for the background, Ben see strong accent, rank 3 is native fluency
Hadar as an outcast, wandering around and rank 4 is academic fluency – mas-
in the world. Hadar joined a travelling tery of the language.
theatre company and for starters, was Your character starts with rank 3 in
allowed to do the menial chores in the their native language and has an addi-
company, like raising tents and digging tional amount of language ranks equal
latrines. Soon the leader of the company to your character’s Knowledge score.
discovered that the dwarf is incredibly Literacy in a language cost two
strong, and shortly thereafter, Hadar was language ranks to buy. Additional lan-
added to the repertoire of artists in the guage ranks in a language that the char-
wandering company. acter already knows can be bought in
Ben decides that Hadar wants to play with experience points; the cost is
redeem his status as an outcast and be equal to the new language rank in expe-
able to return to his dwarven home. rience points, see the Character Im-
The other players like the idea of a provement section in Chapter 5: Game
travelling theatre company and decides to System.
further develop this idea.
For the campaign setting, the Game This is the No-art version of Dark
Master has decided that dwarfs can speak Sagas, the regular version will have
the common trade tongue in addition to artwork in this space.
his native language, dwarfish. The Game
Master deems this necessary to be able to
communicate with the other players and
with most non-player characters in the
world.
Ben and his character, Hadar
Fellhands is now ready to play!
27
Chapter 3: Equipment
N o character is complete without having weapons, armour and a backpack
filled with various equipment. This chapter starts with a description of the
weapons and armour available, followed by the general adventuring items a
character might need. Included is also costs of living and prices for using hired ser-
vices.
BUYING EQUIPMENT
F •
antasy roleplaying games 1 GOLD COIN = 10 SILVER COINS =
can be thought of as a form of 100 COPPER COINS
cooperative improvised thea- • 1 SILVER COIN = 10 COPPER COINS
tre. You could think of the players as
All the item costs are measured
the actors and the Games Master as
in silver coins, unless otherwise not-
the director and production team
ed.
providing the stage and scenery, a
huge big budget supporting cast and
every prop that the actors could pos-
Encumbrance
sibly need. This chapter deals with Characters can normally carry
the props, the equipment that the 10 plus their Physique score items
player characters will be using. which includes armour and weapons,
and possibly a shield. Small collec-
tions of things (10 flasks, 20 arrows,
Currency
50 gems, 100 gold pieces) count as a
The actual type of money that
single item. Oversized items (two-
people use, in terms of the names and
handed weapons, anything as tall as
denominations of coins, will vary
the character or that requires two
from campaign setting to campaign
hands to carry) count as two items.
setting and probably from country to
Having a backpack will let you
country within an individual cam-
carry five additional items. Each item
paign setting.
beyond this gives the character a cu-
However, for simplicity’s sake
mulative -1 modifier to any attribute
and consistency’s sake, the standard
tests based on Quickness.
currency in Dark Sagas is the silver
coin.
28
Each of the classes have differ-
Armour ent restrictions on what armour they
Armour is a good life insurance,
can wear; Dwarfs, Elves, Priests and
and might well be the difference be-
Warriors can use any armour and
tween winning and losing in a combat
shields, Halflings can use shields,
situation.
light armour and medium armour,
All armours and shields gives its
Scouts can only use light armour and
wearer a bonus to their Defence
no shield, Wizards cannot use any
score, which is shown on Table 3.1:
armour, not even a shield.
Armour.
For encumbrance, light armour
and shields counts as one item, medi-
Weapons
um armour counts as two and heavy The damage entry shows the
armour counts as three items. base damage caused by the weapon;
Medium and heavy armour has a Some classes also have certain abili-
penalty to initiative rolls, Physique ties that gives them a damage bonus,
tests related to climbing, jumping, which is added to the base weapon
running and swimming, and to Sub- damage.
terfuge tests related to stealth. The Some weapons have special qual-
penalty for medium armours is -1 and ities; these are shown in the Notes
the penalty for heavy armours is -2. column.
Table 3.1: Armour

Armour Defence Cost Notes
Light Armour +1 10S Padded cloth, Leather
Elven Leather +2 100S Rare, available to elves only
Medium Armour +2 50S Scale mail, Chain Mail
Dwarven Mail +3 250S Rare, available to dwarves only
Heavy Armour +3 200S Splint mail, Plate mail
Full Plate Armour +4 500S The ultimate armour, rare
Shield +2 10S No damage reduction
29
Table 3.2: Weapons
Weapon Damage Range Cost Notes
Dagger 1d6-1* Might x 1 m 1S Can be thrown, +1 Initiative
Shortsword 1d6 - 10S +1 Initiative
Club 1d6-1* - 1c -
One-handed 1d6+1 - 20S Axe, Hammer, Mace, Sword, etc.
Two-handed, only available for
War Axe 1d6+2 - 50S
dwarfs to purchase
Spear, Pike, Glaive, Halberd, etc.
Polearm 1d6+2 - 15S
Two handed, Reach***
Staff 1d6 - 1c Two handed
Battle Axe, Greatsword, Maul,
Great Weapon 1d6+3 - 30S
etc. –1 Initiative, Two handed
Bow 1d6+1 60 m 5S Ranged
Longbow 1d6+2 120 m 10S Ranged
Ranged, only available for elves
Elven Bow 1d6+2 150 m 100S
to purchase
Crossbow 1d6+2 50 m 10S Ranged
Heavy Cross-
1d6+3 100 m 20S Ranged
bow**
Sling 1d6 40 m 1S Ranged
Javelin 1d6 Might x 2 m 2S Ranged
Unarmed 1d3 - - +2 Initiative
*Minimum damage is 1.
**Can only be fired every other round.
***A weapon with the Reach quality always wins the Initiative for the first round. If both combat-
ants have Reach weapons, an Initiative roll will determine who’s attacking first.
30
General Equipment
Table 3.3: General Items
Item Cost Notes
Backpack 7c Holds 5 additional items
Bedroll 10S -
Belt pouch 2S Holds 200 coins
Blanket 2c -
Candle, wax 4c Illuminates a one metre radius, burn for 1 hour
Chain, 1 m 1S -
Cooking pot 5S -
Cup, pewter 2S -
Craft Tools 80S -
Crowbar 5S Adds +2 to Physique tests to open doors
First Aid Kit 10S Five uses
Fishing hook and line, 10 m 3c -
Fishing net 1S +2 to Knowledge tests for survival
Flint & Tinder 1S Build a fire in one minute
Grappling Hook 3S Supports up to 500kg
Hammer 1S -
Healer’s Kit 50S +2 on Knowledge tests for medical care
Illuminates a three metre radius. It will burn for
Lantern 3S
two hours on a flask of oil.
Lock picks 3c —
Mining Pick 1S 1
Musical Instrument 10S -
Oil, Flask 5S Fuel for a lantern for two hours
Parchment, 1 sheet 6c -
Purse 3S -
Quiver, 20 arrows 20S -
Rope, 10 m 8S Can support up to 500kg
Sack, large 5S Holds 6 additional items
Sack, small 1S Holds 3 additional items
31
Table 3.3: General Items, continued
Item Cost Notes
Shovel 4c -
Tent, 4 persons 4c Tent, 4 persons
Torch 3S Illuminates a three metre radius, burns for 1 hour
Water skin, 5 l 4S Holds water for two days for one person
Writing kit 1S -
Table 3.4: Animals &

Transportation Table 3.5: Food & Lodging
Animal Cost Item Cost
Cart 30S Lodging, Poor 3c
Chariot 60S Lodging, Average 1S
Cog 300S Lodging, Superior 5S
Dog, Hunting 10S Food & Drink, Poor, 1 Day 3c
Donkey 17S Food & Drink, Average, 1 Day 5c
Galleon 2500S Food & Drink, Superior, 1 day 2S
Long ship 600S Trail Rations, 1 Day 1S
Horse, Riding 50S

Horse, War 150S This is the No-art version of Dark
Hunting falcon 20S
Mule 35S
Ox 15S
Pony 30S
Rowing boat 15S
Sheep 3S
Small sailboat 25S
Wagon 40S
32
Chapter 4: Magic
Chapter 4: Magic
M
agic is the art of shaping Mana, the hidden power of the universe,
according to the magician’s will. A magician devotes much of his or her
life to studying the relationships that exist beyond the known world.
USING MAGIC
W hen you cast a magic

spell you must spend one
combat action during a
round, saying the right words, and
DN of the spell. If the test succeeds
the spell is cast and you pay one Mag-
ic Point.
If the test fails, the spell will
keep your arms free so you can make not be cast and you lose one Magic
the right gestures, use the correct Point.
symbols and any tangible compo- If player characters are the tar-
nents. get of a spell they can make a Will
All spells have a Difficulty test against the spell’s DN to resist
Number (DN). It affects the success the spell.
chance of the spell casting test. If there is no living target, then
However, all magicians may the Will test is made without any
learn and use all available spells re- modifiers.
gardless of difficulty - it is only one Magic Points that are lost due to
factor to modify the spell casting test spell casting will return after 8 hours
with. of rest.
You can only cast spells for as
long as you have Magic Points availa-
The Wizard’s Spellbook
ble (see The Magic Test below ).
Both Elves and Wizards have a
spellbook containing all of their
The Magic Test learned spells. Priests have a book of
Casting spells take spend one prayers containing all of their holy
combat action during a round and the spells that they have learned.
casting test is compared to the spell’s
Difficulty Number.
The magic test is a simple pro-
cess; you make a Will test against the
33
• The magician gets the actual
Spell Casting Mishaps
spell formula erased from
Using magic is both dangerous memory, and have to learn it
and unpredictable. If you roll a 2 on again.
2d6 when casting a spell, there is a
risk of a spell mishap; something has
Corruption
gone terribly wrong. The player rolls
Corruption is also a thing that
an additional d6. If the result is a 1,
magicians need to worry about.
something unforeseen occurs, see be-
Whenever a mishap occurs you also
low. If you roll anything other than a
need to check for corruption. Other
1, you cannot cast the spell again be-
events may also trigger a corruption
fore you have studied it in your spell-
check, like using a cursed magic item
book for 1d6 hours.
or being close to an evil or demonic
The Game Master determines
creature, a tainted location, and so
what happens if the magic test goes
on.
wrong. (You are the Game Master: Be
Your corruption starts at 0 and
cruel! Magic is a dangerous occupation.)
whenever it’s time to check for cor-
ruption you do a Will test, the DN
spell casting mishaps:
depends on the severity of the corrup-
• The magician is damaged by the tion (the number of corruption points
negative energy. Loose 1d6 Hit gained if you fail the test is listed
Points. within parenthesis):
• The Spell hits the wrong target.
• The magician opens a portal to
• Spell: DN = the spell’s difficulty
(gain corruption equal to the
another dimension, and is at-
spell’s difficulty)
tacked by a demon who enters
the portal from the other world. • Minor corrupting influence: DN 9
(gain 1 corruption)
• The magician is inflicted by a
curse. • Major corrupting influence: DN 13
(gain 2 corruption points)
• The magician is paralyzed for
1d6 rounds. • Extreme corrupting influence: DN
17 (gain 3 corruption points)
• The magician is drained for all
his magical energy and loses
If the test is successful no cor-
consciousness for 1d6 hours.
ruption is gained and if two sixes are
• The spell get the opposite effect.
rolled you can remove 1d3 corruption
• The magician lose the ability of
points, provided that you already
speech for 1d6 days.
34
Chapter 4: Magic
have any corruption points. The The creation of magical objects
number of corruption points can nev- is similar to the creation of new
er go below 0. spells. The magician needs likewise,
If you have a corruption score to create new magic items, access to a
above your Will x 2 you will show laboratory and library, privacy and
physical signs of corruption, like plenty of time.
sharpened teeth and claws, pale skin, It takes 1d6 months to create a
loss of hair, a nasty body odour or red simple object, while it may take up to
eyes, the Game Master decides what a lifetime to create a powerful arte-
happens. fact. The Game Master decides if at
If your corruption score goes all possible (and advisable) to create
beyond three times your Will score the object and how long it takes.
you are utterly corrupted and charac- When the work is completed the
ter is removed from play, having suc- player makes a Will test, against a
cumbed to evil. DN between 15 and 20 determined by
the Game Master, depending on how
Learning New Spells powerful the item is. If unsuccessful,

the magician have to continue his
Learning spells is done by
solitary chore for at least another
spending your experience points (see
1D6 months.
Character Improvement).
To make it more interesting, the
EXAMPLES OF MAGIC ITEMS
Game Master might require the char-
Magic weapons: Magic weapons
acter to seek out a teacher or finding
usually have a bonus of between +1 to
a spellbook, the character might also
+3 added to both the attack and dam-
be required to pay the teacher, but it’s
age rolls for the weapon. Some weap-
all optional..
ons may have other effects, such that
the weapon is set on fire when acti-
Magic Items vated and then does extra fire dam-
A very experienced magician age.
with at least Will 8 can create magic Magic weapons with a +1 bonus
items. For example, a sword that can sometimes be found for sale in
gives extra damage or a ring that major cities, they cost at least 100
makes its wearer invisible. Each item times more than a normal weapon.
is unique and cannot be "mass pro- Magic Armour: Magic armour
duced". have, like magic weapons, a bonus of
35
between +1 to +3 added to the armour the player makes a Knowledge test. If
value (or for shields, the Defence the roll is unsuccessful, the magician
score) and like magic weapons, you have to continue their work in anoth-
can sometimes find +1 armour for sale er month before he can try again.
in major cities, which then usually Once you have come up with a
cost at least 50 times more than a workable recipe, it takes only one day
normal armour . to brew the elixir.
Other Items: There are many Elixirs contains almost always
other types of everyday objects such incredibly precious and/or rare ingre-
as rings, belts, jackets, medallions, dients, which means that you can
etc. that are magical. Their powers only brew small amounts. To acquire
vary, but there may be a bonus to any the right ingredients is often an ad-
skill or attribute or derived character- venture in itself! If an elixir is ex-
istic, stored spells, etc. posed to air for more than a few days
it is destroyed. Therefore, they are
Elixirs stored mostly in tightly sealed metal
cans.
A simpler form of magical items
You learn another magician’s
are elixirs, or “potions” as simple
recipes in the same way as you learn
folk call them. A magician with at
another magician’s spells.
least Will 5 skill can create these elix-
A player character never begins
irs. Common elixirs include love po-
with any recipes for elixirs, they must
tions, healing drinks, antidotes etc. It
acquire them during play.
takes 1d3 months to develop a recipe
for a new elixir. When it is done, turn
in this space.
36
Chapter 4: Magic
ELF/WIZARD SPELLS
Air Walk*
LIST OF SPELLS Range: 100 m
Each spell has a number of proper-
Duration: 10 rounds
ties that describe the range, duration
DN: 14
and difficulty.
The magician creates a bridge or
Range: The maximum distance
stair made of air, 20 metres long and
in metres that the spell works on. If
strong enough to carry 10 people.
the distance is zero, the magician
must touch the target, that is, he
must succeed with a Combat Skill test Animate Dead*
if he or she is in combat. Range: 0m
Duration: How long the spell is Duration: –
active. “Conc." Means that the spell DN: 16
is active for as long as the magician The magician casts this spell on
concentrates on it. During that time,
a corpse or skeleton to animate it.
he or she cannot do anything else. If
Undead minions are often used by
the magician is hit by an attack the
evil wizards as guards and servants.
concentration is broken and the spell
effect ends. They have no soul or will. An ani-
mated corpse continues to rot (and
DN: This number shows the
smell!) until only the skeletal re-
Difficulty Number (DN) to cast the
mains are left. Use the statistics for a
spell, rated from 11 to 19.
zombie if it is an animated corpse and
If a spell is marked with an as-
use the skeleton statistics if it is an
terisk (*), this means that the spell is
animated skeleton.
very rare and that a newly created
player character cannot choose this
spell to add to his or her spellbook, Armour
you have to learn it during play, pro- Range: 0
vided that you can find it in a spell- Duration: 1 hour.
book or a magic scroll or learn it
DN: 11
from a teacher.
This spell increases the target’s
Defence by 1d6. Only one Armour
spell may be cast on each target.
37
an undead creature (such as a wraith,
Blinding Flash
ghost or a vampire) and this creature
Range: 10 m.
will obey any orders (except harming
Duration: 10 rounds.
itself) from the magician for 1d6
DN: 13
hours.
The magician creates a flash of
light, blinding the target for 10
Create Water
rounds. During this time, the target
Range: 10 m.
gets a –4 penalty to Combat Skill and
Duration: –
Defence. If the penalty reduces the
DN: 11
Combat Skill chance or Defence score
to zero or less, the target cannot act The magician creates up to 10
at all. litres of water out of thin air.
Control Demon* Dark Vision

Range: 10 m Range: 0 m.
Duration: – Duration: 1D6 hours.
DN: 16 DN: 11
The magician casts the spell on The magician or any other per-
a demon, or some other creature from son that the magician casts the spell
hell. If the magician succeeds, he on, gains the ability to see in compact
binds the demon’s soul in an object, darkness, just as good as in daylight
usually a stone. Then the demon for 1d6 hours.
must obey and serve the magician and

cannot harm him directly. Should the Dehydrate
demon indirectly, or with the help of Range: 10 m.
another creature kill the magician Duration: –
and someone hands over the object DN: 15
holding the demon’s soul back to de- Dehydrates a creature weighing
mon, it is free again. up to 200 kg (creatures with a bigger
mass get 4d6 damage instead). All
Control Undead* that remains on a totally dehydrated
Range: 10 m body are the mummified remains.
Duration: 1d6 hours
DN: 14
The magician casts this spell on
38
Chapter 4: Magic
Demonic Gate* Detect Metal
Range: 10 m. Range: 10 m.
Duration: Conc. Duration: Konc.
DN: 18 DN: 11
The magician creates a shim- The magician can sense if
mering portal out of thin air. The there’s any metal objects or metal ore
portal acts as a gateway between the in or above the ground within a radius
material world and the abyss, which of 10 metres.
allows travel between the planes. Af-
ter a round a demon comes through Darkness
the portal. The demon has its own Range: 10 m.
free will and the magician needs to
Duration: 1D6 days.
cast a Control Demon spell on the de-
DN: 11
mon or else it will attack everyone on
The magician creates a circle of
sight, including the magician.
compact darkness with a maximum
If the demon is intelligent
diameter of 10 metres. Within this
enough there is a chance that the ma-
circle no light sources, neither natu-
gician might convince it that they
ral nor magic, works.
have a mutual interest, and the de-
mon have something to gain by serv-
ing the magician. But mostly the de-
Dispel Magic
Range: 10 m.
mon has more to gain by killing the
magician as this sets it free to roam Duration: –
between the worlds. DN: 2 + the DN of the spell

being dispelled
Detect Magic The magician can dispel active

spells.
Range: 10 metre radius.
Duration: Conc.
DN: 11
Dragon’s Fire*
Range: 10 m.
This spell lets the magician de-
tect other magicians, magic items, Duration: –
active spells and similar within DN: 16
range. The magician “sees” the mag- The magician casts this spell on
ic aura as a faint, bluish glow. a staff, a sword or another similar
object. This object is then charged
39
with magic energy and to release this DN: 19
energy you point the object at the The magician creates a limited
target and speak an activation phrase earthquake with a 100 metres diame-
(determined by the magician who cast ter. Roll a d6.
the spell). When activated, a cone of
1d6 Result:
fire emerges from the tip and hits the
target, doing 3d6 damage. Use Com- • 1-3: Weak constructions fall
bat Skill to hit the target with the apart. Anyone in the area falls to
magic attack (the target uses its full the ground if they can’t find any-
thing stable to hold on to.
Defence score, just as in normal melee
• 4-5: All normal buildings and
combat).
other constructions are de-
When the object is enchanted, it
stroyed. Anyone in the area re-
contains 3 charges to attack with and
ceives 1D6 damage.
once they are gone you need to cast
• 6: All buildings and other con-
the spell again to receive more charg-
structions are destroyed. Any-
es. one in the area receives 3d6
You can attack once per round damage.
during the Melee Phase, and anyone
who knows the activation phrase may Earth to Stone*
use the object. Range: 10 m.
Duration: –
Drown* DN: 16
Range: 10 m. Transform up to 10 m3 of earth
Duration: – into stone. Can be used to make the
DN: 16 spell Shape the Earth permanent.
This spell fills the lungs of a
person with water, and if someone Eternal Light*
doesn’t cast a Water Breathing spell Range: 10 m.
on that person within 3 rounds, he or
Duration: Permanent.
she dies from drowning. Only works
DN: 14
on humanoids.
Same as the Light spell, but is
permanent. A Dispel Magic is not
Earthquake* enough to end its effect, only the ma-
Range: 100 m. gician who has cast the spell can end
Duration: 1d6 rounds. its effect.
40
Chapter 4: Magic
Fire Heat
Duration: – Duration: Conc.
DN: 11 DN: 11
If you cast this spell on a flam- Heats a metal object up to boil-
mable material, the material will ing point (100 degrees centigrade). It
burn with a small flame. Perfect for might be a kettle with soup or the
starting a camp fire. opponent’s armour. The opponent
will then get 1d6 damage every round
Fire Ball he or she is exposed to the heat. It
Range: 50 m. takes 1d6 rounds to heat the armour

to a temperature hot enough to injure
Duration: –
someone though.
DN: 13
The magician conjures a ball of
fire from his hands and throws it at
Enslave
the target. When the ball hits its tar- Range: 10 m
get it explodes and causes 3d6 damage Duration: 1d6 hours

to the target. The magician doesn’t DN: 13
need to make a ranged combat test to The magician casts this spell on
hit, it hits automatically, but the tar- a person. Who then obeys any orders
get is allowed to make a DN 13 Quick- issued by the magician (except com-
ness test to avoid the damage. mitting suicide) during 1D6 hours.
Only works on intelligent human-
Fire Wall oids.
Range: 10 m.
Duration: Conc. Find Water
DN: 15 Range: 1000 m.
The magician creates a wall of Duration: Konc.

fire, 10 m wide, 3 m high and 1 m DN: 11
thick. The magician can shape the The magician senses the direc-
magic fire in any way he wants, for tion to wells, springs and other
example, in a circle. If someone pass- sources of water within a 1 km radius.
es through the fire they will receive
2d6 damage, armour offers no protec-
tion from this damage.
41
Freeze Injure
Duration: – Duration: –
DN: 11 DN: 11
The magician freezes up to 100 Any target that the magician
litres of water (or any other fluid able touches gets a deep, bleeding cut
to being frozen) into ice. This only (1d6+1 damage), similar to a sword
works on pure fluids, not the fluids cut.
inside a human body.
Illusory Shape
Ice Storm* Range: 10 m.
Range: 10 m. Duration: Conc.
Duration: – DN: 11
DN: 13 The magician creates an illusion

of a creature with the size of a hu-
The magician shoots a ray of ice
man. The illusion will look like any-
particles from his hand that hits the
thing the magician desires, and are
target with tremendous force. The
able to walk, talk, and so on. The
magician doesn’t need to make an
illusion cannot harm anyone, and
attack roll to hit, but the target is
will disappear as soon as the magician
allowed to make a Quickness test to
stops concentrating.
avoid being hit (including any shield
bonus). The icy ray inflicts 3d6 dam-
age to the target if it hits. Invisibility
Range: 0.
Ice Sword Duration: 1d6 hours.
Range: 0 m. DN: 13
Duration: 1 hour. Invisibility may be cast on a per-
DN: 13 son or an object. If it is cast on a per-

son, the person’s clothes and any oth-
The magician conjures a magi-
er objects carried also becomes invisi-
cal sword made of ice with a +2 bonus
ble. If an invisible person picks up an
to attacks and damage. The sword
object, that object remains visible. If
dissolves after one hour.
an invisible person drops an invisible
object, that object remains invisible
for the duration of the spell.
42
Chapter 4: Magic
If you are invisible in combat,
Magic Lock
you may add +2 to Combat Skill and
Range: 10 m.
Defence.
DN: 11
Levitate*
This spell locks a door, chest or
Range: 100 m.
something similar. The device cannot
Duration: Konc.
be opened with lock picks or even
DN: 14 keys. The only way to open it is by
The magician makes an object casting a Dispel Magic on the locked
or a person (even himself), weighing item. The magician who cast the
no more than 200 kg to levitate with Magic Lock can reverse the effect at
a movement speed of 10 metres per any time.
round.
Magic Mist
Light Range: 100 m.
Range: 10 m. Duration: Conc.
Duration: 1 hour. DN: 15
DN: 11 The magician summons a magi-
If this spell is cast on a small cal mist, 100 metres in diameter. An-
object, (like a sword, the tip of a staff, yone within the mist gets a -2 penalty
a coin or similar) it glows with the to all melee attacks. The visual range
same strength as a wax candle or an inside the mist is only 1 metre.
oil lamp.
Meal
Lightning Strike* Range: 10 m.
Range: 100 m. Duration: –
Duration: – DN: 13
DN: 16 The magician creates a meal for
The magician calls a bolt of four people from out of nowhere. The
lightning from the sky to hit where food (and drink) tastes good and is
ever he wants. The lightning strike nutritious.
inflicts 3d6 damage to anyone stand-
ing within 5 metres from the point of
impact May only be cast outdoors.
43
think, and can in theory be in this
Portal*
state forever; the petrified person will
Range: Within 1 day’s travel
not age at all. This spell can be cast
range.
on humans and other intelligent hu-
Duration: 1d6 minutes.
manoids of a similar size to a human.
DN: 16
Petrify can be dispelled by a Dispel
The magician opens a portal to
Magic.
a place that he or she has carefully
studied for at least one hour. When
Plague
the magician passes through the por-
Range: 0 m.
tal it disappears.
Duration: –
DN: 11
Purify Air
The magician inflicts the target
Range: 100 m.
with the plague. If no one casts a
Duration: –
Cure Disease on the inflicted target
DN: 11
within a day, the target dies in horri-
Purifies up to 100 m3 of toxic or
ble agony.
polluted air and makes it breathable.
Rain
Purify Water
Range: 500 m.
Range: 10 m.
Duration: Conc.
Duration: –
DN: 15
DN: 11
The magician summons a rain
Transforms up to 100 litres of
cloud with a diameter of 1 km. Only
toxic or polluted water into fresh,
works outdoors.
drinkable water. Can also transform
saltwater into freshwater.
Resist Cold
Range: 0 m.
Petrify*
Duration: 1 hour.
Range: 0 m.
DN: 11
Duration: –
The magician casts the spell on
DN: 16
herself, or another person. If you
Transforms a person into stone.
become exposed to severe cold while
The victim becomes a living statue,
the spell is active, reduce the cold
the person can still see, hear and
damage by 1d6 points.
44
Chapter 4: Magic
Resist Fire Sand Storm*
Duration: 1 hour. Duration: Conc.
DN: 13 DN: 17
The magician casts the spell on The magician summons a cloud
herself, or another person. Works of sand and dust with a diameter of
just like the Resist Cold spell, except 400 metres that blinds anyone caught
that it deals with fire and heat instead up in the cloud (-4 on Combat Skill
of cold. and Defence).
Rust See Through Earth

Duration: – Duration: Conc.
DN: 11 DN: 11
Causes a smaller object (up to 10 The magician can see through
kg) made of iron or steel to rust away 10 metres of stone, earth or brick.
in one round. The only thing left is a
red-brown powder. Shape the Earth
Range: 10 m.
Sand Spear Duration: 1d6 minutes.
Range: 10 m. DN: 15
Duration: – The magician shapes up to 10
DN: 13 m3 of earth after his or her will, to
The magician takes up a handful any shape he or she desires; a wall, a
of sand and throws it at his target. pillar, a bridge, and so on. If the con-
The sand shoots forward in a thin struction is unstable it will crumble
stream with high velocity and inflicts when the spell ends. It takes 1d6
2d6 damage to its target if it hits. The rounds to shape the earth into the
magician doesn’t need any attack roll desired form.
to hit but the target is allowed to
make a DN 13 Quickness test to avoid
the damage.
45
Sharpen Slow Fall
Duration: 1 hour. Duration: 10 rounds.
DN: 11 DN: 11
Magically sharpens the edge of a This spell reduces the falling
sword or any other sharp weapon velocity of a person or creature
(like an axe, a dagger or a spear). The weighing up to 200 kg, so that the
sharpened weapon inflicts an extra person or creature doesn’t take any
+1d6 damage. falling damage during the spell’s du-
ration.
Shield of Air
Range: 0 m. Snow Storm*
Duration: 10 rounds. Range: 500 m.
DN: 11 Duration: Conc.
The magician creates a translu- DN: 16
cent, shimmering shield of air that The magician summons a raging
deflects all ranged attacks. In melee snow storm with a diameter of 1 km.
combat it adds +2 to Defence, just like Anyone caught in the storm gets a –2
a normal shield, and because the ma- modifier on Combat Skill. Larger me-
gician doesn’t need to hold the shield chanical constructions, such as cata-
he has both his hands free. pults, will be unable to function.
Movement is difficult, horses cannot
Sleep gallop or trot, wagons get stuck and
Range: 10 m. so on. This spell only works out-

doors.
Duration: 1d6 hours.
DN: 11
Puts a person into a magic sleep
Stone to Earth*
from which the victim cannot be Range: 10 m.
awakened for up to six hours, unless Duration: –

someone casts a Dispel Magic on the DN: 16
victim. The magician who have cast The Magician transforms 10 m3
the spell can end it at any time. of stone into earth.
46
Chapter 4: Magic
Stone Sword Testament of the Earth
Duration: 1 hour Duration: Konc.
DN: 13 DN: 13
The magician shapes a stone The magician puts himself into
weighing no more than 1 kg into a a trance and reads the emotional im-
sword with a +1 bonus to both attack prints from various dramatic events
and damage. that have been stored into the earth
on that location. The magician is
Telepathy shown the events mentally. The
Range: 1000 m. longer the time since the event took

place, the more unclear is the vision.
Duration: Conc.
DN: 13
The magician can send a tele-
Track
pathic message to another person or Range: 10 m.
listen to other people’s thoughts Duration: Conc.

within range. If the other person is DN: 11
aware that someone is reading their The magician casts this spell on
mind, they can make an unmodified the ground to see if anyone has passed
Presence roll to resist the spell. through the area. If someone has
passed through the area in the last
Terror hour of the place where the magician
Range: 10 m. casts this spell ,the magician ”sees”

the person in front of him with his
Duration: 1d6 minutes.
inner vision. If a longer period has
DN: 11
passed, not exceeding one day, the
This spell causes tremendous
magician will only see the tracks of
fear to anyone targeted by it. While
that person.
the spell is active the target can only
flee in panic or if escape is impossible
for some reason, just lie on the
Water Breathing
ground, shivering with fear. Range: 0 m.
Duration: 1 hour
DN: 13
The target of the spell gains the
ability to breathe water for one hour.
47
Weaken Wind Spear
Duration: 1d6 hours. Duration: –
DN: 11 DN: 11
Temporally lowers the target’s The magician creates a powerful
Might score with 1d6. If the Might gust of wind with a hurricane’s
score is reduced to zero or lower, the strength and sends it towards his tar-
target loses its consciousness. The get. The target is allowed to make a
target wakes up when the spell’s dura- Quickness test to avoid being hit. The
tion has ended. magician needs no attack roll to hit.
If the target is hit it takes 1d6 dam-
Weather Prediction age.
Range: 0 m.
Duration: –
DN: 11
The magician predicts the artwork in this space.
weather in the viscinity (within a ra-
dius of 10 kilometres from where the
magician is) for the next 1d6 days.
Wind
Range: 100 m.
Duration: Konc.
DN: 11
The magician summons a pleas-
ant breeze of air, and he can also con-
trol the direction in which the breeze
blows. It’s strong enough to propel a
sailing boat or to blow out a torch or
oil lamp.
48
Chapter 4: Magic
PRIEST SPELLS
Animate Dead* Blinding Flash
Duration: – Duration: 10 rounds.
DN: 16 DN: 13
The priest casts this spell on a The priest creates a flash of
corpse or skeleton to animate it. Un- light, blinding the target for 10
dead minions are often used by evil rounds. During this time, the target
priests and wizards as guards and gets a –4 penalty to Combat Skill and
servants. They have no soul or will. Defence. If the penalty reduces the
An animated corpse continues to rot Combat Skill chance or Defence score
(and smell!) until only the skeletal to zero or less, the target cannot act
remains are left. Use the statistics for at all.
a zombie if it is an animated corpse
and use the skeleton statistics if it is Create Water
an animated skeleton. Range: 10 m.
Duration: –
Antidote DN: 11
Range: 0 m. The magician creates up to 10
Duration: – litres of water out of thin air.
DN: 13
Neutralises all known poisons. Cure Disease
This spell will not restore any Hit
Range: 10 m.
Points lost from the poison; for that
Duration: –
you’ll need the Heal Wounds spell.
DN: 13
This spell cures all normal dis-
Armour eases. Cure Disease will not heal any
Range: 0. lost Hit Points caused by the disease;
Duration: 1 hour. for that you need the Heal Wounds
DN: 11 spell.
This spell increases the target’s
Defence by 1d6. Only one Armour
spell may be cast on each target.
49
Curse* Detect Poison
Range: 1 days travel on foot. Range: 10 m.
DN: 15 DN: 11
The priest calls out a clearly If the priest casts this spell on a
defined curse on the target. The curse fluid that is poisoned, it will glow
may only cause harm indirectly, like with a faint red shimmer for one mi-
for example ”May your crops wither, nute.
your livestock die, and your wells be
poisoned!” Dispel Magic
Only the magician who cast the Range: 10 m.
curse may revoke it, a Dispel Magic
Duration: –
won’t help. Some say that an angel or
DN: 2 + the difficulty of the
a demon might be able to lift the
spell being dispelled
curse, but it hasn’t been confirmed.
The priest can dispel active
spells.
Darkness
Range: 10 m.
Eternal Light*
Duration: 1d6 days.
Range: 10 m.
DN: 11
The priest creates a circle of
DN: 13
compact darkness with a maximum
Same as the Light spell, but is
diameter of 10 metres. Within this
permanent. A Dispel Magic is not
circle no light sources, neither natu-
enough to end its effect, only the ma-
ral nor magic, works.
gician who has cast the spell can end
its effect.
Detect Magic
Range: 10 metre radius.
Find Water
Duration: Conc.
Range: 1000 m.
DN: 11
Duration: Konc.
This spell lets the priest detect
DN: 11
other magicians, magic items, active
The priest senses the direction
spells and similar within range. The
to wells, springs and other sources of
priest “sees” the magic aura as a
water within a 1 km radius.
faint, bluish glow.
50
Chapter 4: Magic
Heal Wounds Purify Water
DN: 13 DN: 11
Heals 1d6 Hit Points, stops all Transforms up to 100 litres of
bleeding, mends broken bones and so toxic or polluted water into fresh,
on. This spell cannot heal amputated drinkable water. Can also transform
limbs; it only heals the wound itself. saltwater into freshwater.
Injure Raise Dead*

DN: 11 DN: 19
Any target that the priest touch- The priest brings a dead person
es gets a deep, bleeding cut (1d6+1 back to life. The person cannot have
damage), similar to a sword cut. been dead for more than a day. To
heal the injury that caused the tar-
Light get’s death you need to cast Heal
Range: 10 m. Wounds on the target, otherwise that
Duration: 1 hour. person will die again within an hour.
DN: 11
If this spell is cast on a small Shield of Air
object, (like a sword, the tip of a staff, Range: 0 m.
a coin or similar) it glows with the Duration: 10 rounds.
same strength as a wax candle or an DN: 11
oil lamp. The priest creates a translucent,
shimmering shield of air that deflects
Purify Air all ranged attacks. In melee combat it
Range: 100 m. adds +2 to Defence, just like a normal
Duration: – shield, and because the magician

doesn’t need to hold the shield he or
DN: 11
she has both his hands free.
Purifies up to 100 m3 of toxic or
polluted air and makes it breathable.
51
Slow Fall Spirit Oracle*
Duration: 10 rounds. Duration: Conc.
DN: 11 DN: 14
Reduces the falling velocity of a The priest contacts the spirit
person or creature weighing up to 200 plane and binds a spirit to himself for
kg, so that the person or creature as long as he concentrates. The spirit
doesn’t take any falling damage dur- is forced to answer three questions
ing the spell’s duration. about the past, present and future
before it is released from the priest.
Water Breathing Half of the answers will be true.
Range: 0 m.
Duration: 1 hour
DN: 13
The target of the spell gains the
ability to breathe water for one hour.
in this space.
52
Chapter 5: Game System
T he attributes are the foundation of the rules in Dark Sagas. Every

time a player character tries to achieve something, a roll for success is made
by rolling two six-sided dice (2d6) and adding the relevant attribute score
and any other modifiers – the action is successful if the player rolls equal to or higher
than the Difficulty Number (DN) set by the Game Master.
This chapter describes how the attributes are used in play.
ATTRIBUTES IN PLAY
M
ost often, the attributes to the roll and compares it to a set
are used actively as part Difficulty Number (DN). If the re-
of the character's ac- sult is equal to or higher than the
tions, resistance is determined by the DN, the roll is successful. If the roll
game master and becomes a Difficulty is 2, the action always fails, regard-
Number (DN) for the player to beat. less of the skill chance in question.
When the situation calls for an You don’t need to roll for every
attribute test, it is the character’s at- time a character tries to perform
tribute score, sometimes modified by something. If a character, for exam-
their class abilities. ple, feel like dancing, that's fine, a
If the attribute test is without resolution roll is not necessary. But if
modification, you just use the attrib- the character is an entertainer who
ute score as it is written on the char- performs for an audience and it is
acter sheet. important for the adventure if he or
she is successful, then you make an
The Attribute Test attribute test.

Sometimes the Game Master
When you try to perform a risky
wants modify the attribute test when
action the Game Master decides
a character attempts a chance-like
which attribute and skill that are rel-
action. Various factors can make the
evant to the action in question. Then
action easier or harder than usual.
the player rolls two six-sided dice
For example it is much more difficult
(2d6), a so-called Attribute Test and
to climb over a high wall if it is win-
adds their attribute score and any
ter, the wind blows and the wall is
other modifiers from his or her class
53
covered in ice, than it’s done during the armour protection and so on. A
the summer in dry weather. part from combat and magic, it’s up
If you roll two 6’s when trying to the Game Master to decide the
to perform a chance-like activity, you positive effects from a critical resolu-
always succeed, regardless of any tion roll.
modifications. If you roll two 1’s
when performing a chance-like action FUMBLING
you fail, always, no matter how good If you roll a 2 on 2d6 something
you are. bad happens, which is called a Fum-
ble. The consequences of a Fumble
will depend on what skill is being
DIFFICULTY NUMBERS used, and is determined by the Game
These are the standard Difficul- Master; for combat, a fumbled roll
ty Numbers for attribute tests: might result in dropping your weap-
Table 5.1: Difficulty on, accidentally injuring yourself or
falling down while charging at your
Difficulty DN
opponent and so on.
Routine 7
Easy 9 OPPOSED TESTS
Average 11 If a character attempts an action
Tricky 13 which result is directly affected by

another characters or non-player
Hard 15
characters Skills or Attributes you
Complex 17 don’t use difficulty as usual. Instead
Insane 19 it’s an opposed test.
Absurd 20+ The participants each make res-

olution rolls, modified by relevant
Abilities. If the active character, the
CRITICAL SUCCESS one trying to accomplish the action,
If you roll a 12 on 2d6, you get a
rolls higher than the passive,
Critical result. The effect of a Critical
“defender”, the action is a success,
result will depend on what skill otherwise it fails. If it fails the game
you’re using, if you cast a spell, the master decides if there are any conse-
Magic Point cost might be reduced, quences. A character could for exam-
and a Critical attack roll will result in ple try to follow a person without
doing maximum damage and bypass being noticed. If the roll is failed he
54
might have lost the one he is trying to
QUICKNESS
follow, or he might get spotted, or
Quickness is a reflection of the
both.
character’s reflexes, balance, fleet of
In the same way a character
foot and suppleness. It determines
might try to wrestle and grapple an
initiative and your ability to defend
opponent. There the game master
yourself in combat and is used active-
decides if it is enough with one roll or
ly when avoiding dangers and doing
if it must be made each round you try
acrobatic stunts.
to retain the grapple.
Quickness is used in a number of
ways; for defence, initiative, evading
COOPERATION area attacks, etc.
Sometimes, for certain actions,
multiple characters might cooperate
PHYSIQUE
to succeed. The characters might at-
Constitution and the ability to
tempt to lift a large stone that one
use one’s physical strength efficiently
person cannot move. Take the attrib-
is covered by Physique, used for tests
ute score and skill ranks from the one
of strength, like climbing, jumping,
who would first attempt the action,
swimming, lifting heavy objects or
and then add half of the attribute
breaking a door. It also includes the
modifier and skill ranks (rounded up)
capacity to withstand damage and to
from those who help.
survive poisons and diseases.
This attribute will be used
Which Attribute is used? whenever you need use your stamina
To answer this question we need and physical strength and to resist
to go through all the attributes again physical effects.
and analyse them.
KNOWLEDGE
COMBAT SKILL Knowledge includes innate cun-
This score represents how well ning and shrewdness as well as more
your character fights in hand-to-hand formal education and general litera-
or ranged combat. The higher the cy. Rolls involving Knowledge is used
score the more likely it is your char- when a character tries to remember
acter will hit an opponent in a fight. facts or solve a logical problem, and
It will only be used when attack- for the purposes of seeking knowledge
ing in combat. in a library.
55
Knowledge can also be used for someone in the wilderness.
crafting, repair and survival in the
wilderness. SUBTERFUGE
Subterfuge is the character’s nat-
WILL ural ability and training to do things
The Will trait is a reflection of quietly, and with discretion. It’s used
the character's ability to resist influ- for avoiding de-tection, disarming
ential powers, be it social pressure, traps, opening locks, hiding or smug-
fear or magic. If the character has the gling things, to stalking someone
ability to cast spells, the Will attrib- without being noticed or stealing
ute is linked to their use. something out of someone’s pocket.
PERCEPTION CHARISMA
Perception includes the charac- Charisma reflects the degree to
ter's awareness of their environment which the character can influence
and can be understood as an effect of others through word choice, voice,
the sharpness of the senses, and how body language and knowing looks. It
attentive the character is in perceiv- is used to get others to do or refrain
ing the details of the surroundings, from doing things by speech, writing
like search an area for hidden fea- or singing.
tures, listen at a door, or tracking
in this space.
56
These attributes will cover just
about anything the player characters ATTRIBUTE TESTS
want to do, and when you are in ATTRIBUTE TEST: 2d6 + Attribute
doubt of what attribute to use, consult score + (any modifiers) vs. DN
this chapter and be creative.
Table 5.2: Attribute Tests

Situation Attribute to use
Sneaking up to a guard Subterfuge vs. the guard’s Perception
An enemy is trying to ambush Perception, vs. the enemy’s Subterfuge
The character enchants an Will, vs. the enemy’s Will
enemy
An enemy enchants the char- Will, vs. enemy’s Will
acter
Encountering a hidden trap Perception, modified by the trap’s difficulty
Researching in a library Knowledge, modified by the difficulty of finding the
desired information
Lifting a heavy object Physique, modified by any situational modifier
Climbing Physique, modified by any situational modifier
Searching for hidden doors Perception, modified by the difficulty to find the door
Avoiding a dragon’s fiery Quickness, vs. the dragon’s Attack roll
breath
Attempting to bribe a guard Charisma, vs. the guard’s Will
Attacking someone Combat Skill, vs. the opponent’s Defence
in this space.
57
OTHER IMPORTANT RULES
Social Challenges Perception
Quite often you will find that Quite often characters will find
characters try to bribe or talk their themselves looking for things. What
way out of or around situations. You those things are vary wildly but usual-
should have the person doing the ly treasure, traps and secret doors are
talking make a Charisma test to see at the top of the list.
whether or not they succeed. The A character can search an area
Difficulty Number will dependant on by making a Perception test. If there is
a number of things. A person with a anything to be found you should
low Will score (or low morals) might come up with a suitable Difficulty
be easy to bribe or persuade, whereas score. As examples, an average trap
one of the king’s knights might be or secret door should have a DN of 12
almost impossible to bribe or per- or 13. If the roll succeeds then the
suade. character finds whatever there is to be
The list of difficulty Numbers found.
presented in Chapter 5: Game System
will give you some ideas. Stealth
Sneaking passed a sleeping guard
Climbing or hiding from the town watch are
Characters will often find them- common occurrences for some char-
selves having to climb out of pits or acters. Both of these actions require
scale city or castle walls to continue Subterfuge tests from the characters,
with their adventures. The act of with a Difficulty Number set by the
climbing is decided by a Physique test. Game Master. On average, the score
An average wall with sufficient should be 11; however, if there are
handholds has a Difficulty Number of people deliberately looking for the
11 to climb. Using a rope or other hider or specifically listening for
climbing gear will decrease the DN, something, the DN should be higher.
while a lack of handholds, unstable
surfaces, slick or wet surfaces or out-
side pressure (such as trying to climb
quickly or being shot at while climb-
ing) increases the DN.
58
CHARACTER IMPROVEMENT
A
s you go on and complete
adventures, your character
Improving Attributes
In order to improve an attribute,
will earn experience
you must first spend 2 experience
points. Generally, after each session
points and then roll 2d6; if the roll is
your character will earn one or more
equal to or higher than your current
of these experience points (see the
attribute score it increases by one
Experience & Rewards section in
point.
Chapter 7: Game Mastering). You may
If the roll is lower than your
earn more or less than this, depend-
attribute score, the attribute will not
ing on the difficulty and length of the
increase and the experience points are
adventure.
lost.
Experience points can be used to
improve your character, either
Table 5.3: Improvements
through the form of increased charac-
teristics or new special rules. You can Improvement XP Cost
either spend your experience points +1 Attribute increase 2 (max 10)
immediately or save them for later +1 Hit Point 1 (max +10)
use.
+1 Magic Point 2 (max +10)
Listed below are the types of
Learn a new combat 3
improvements you can spend experi-
style (Warriors only)
ence points on. First is a list of com-
Learn a new spell 2
mon improvements available to all
characters, which is followed by a list Learn a new language 1 per rank
of improvements for the specific Literacy in a language 2
character types.
in this space.
59
Chapter: 6 Combat
A
n important and sometimes inevitable ingredient of adventure is the
risk of being involved in combat, often with fatal outcome. Sooner or lat-
er, the characters end up in a situation where perhaps violence is the only
way out, and then they have to survive at any cost. Failure to do battle on their
terms, the consequences can be disastrous.
The combat system in Dark Sagas is narrative rather than simulating. It is not
our goal to describe how a battle is done as realistically as possible, but to tell a good
story where the characters have the main role.
COMBAT BASICS
I n this chapter, you’ll find the

rules needed to handle combat
situations and the effects of in-
juries and other situations that might
Reach Weapons
If a combatant is using a reach
weapon (see Chapter 3: Equipment),
they get a free attack before anyone
arise during combat.
else during the first round of combat;
Combat is divided into turns.
this is an exception to the combat
Each turn equates to roughly 5 sec-
order.
onds of game time and each partici-
pant in the combat gets one action
during each turn. The combat turn Surprise Attacks
follows a set of steps as detailed be- Surprise usually requires a suc-
low. cessful Subterfuge vs. Perception test.
If there are groups involved, the at-
Combat Order tackers’ worst Subterfuge score is set
Combat Order, or initiative is against the defenders best Perception
determined by rolling 2d6 and add score. The surprising side may make
your Quickness score to the roll. The a free attack against a surprised ene-
my, first in the round. Then the rest
highest roll acts first, the second
of the round continues as usual. In
highest act next and so on.
round two the order of initiative is
If two or more combatants get
based on Quickness as usual.
the same result they have to roll
again until the order of combat is set. When the battle begins by sur-
60
Chapter 6: Combat
prise, unprepared combatants addi-
tionally need to draw their weapons.
The Combat Round
Combat involves a chaotic dis-
All short weapons may be drawn and
play of movements, attacks, cries and
readied as a free action thanks to its
so on. To make it playable, the com-
light weight and short length. To
bat scene is divided into short se-
draw a weapon corresponds otherwise
quences called combat rounds. The
to a movement action. Another op-
combat round always starts with de-
tion is to ignore the fighting with
termining the order in which every-
weapons and instead use punches and
one acts, this is called Initiative, and
kicks; natural weapons do not need
then a series of actions.
drawn and readied, they are consid-
ered to be always ready for use.
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS
Exactly how the combat rules
During a combat round a char-
works is described below, but first a
acter may do the following actions:
little about the combat round.
• Combat Action - Each character
get one Combat action each
Combat Summary
round, used for making an attack
• The game master decides if any or casting a spell or using a spe-
side have surprised the other. cial ability.
• If no one has been surprised, roll • Movement Action - Each charac-
Initiative; 2d6 + Quickness score ter get one Movement Action
for each individual. The Initiative each round, used for movement,
roll is only made in the first reloading a ranged weapon,
round of a combat. draw a weapon or use an item,
• Everyone acts in order of their like a potion.
Initiative score, with ranged at- • Reaction - Each character get an
tacks being resolved first, the unlimited amount of Reactions
melee attacks and movement each round, used for reacting to
second, and finally magic attacks hostile actions, like getting a free
on the third phase. attack when an enemy tries to
• Attribute tests are being made, move past you or evading an
successful attacks deal damage area attack or resisting a spell
and so on.
• Free Action - Each character gets
• End of the round. an unlimited amount of Free
Actions, used for something mi-
nor like dropping an item or
shouting a warning.
61
ACTIONS IN COMBAT
I n battle, your character will be

kicking and fighting, cutting
and stabbing, parrying and
dodging. The character is doing this
Combat Actions
The most important action dur-
ing a combat round is the attack; at-
tacking your opponents and tried to
with his or her two actions per round;
incapacitate them or even kill them.
a combat action and a movement ac-
The attack is made by making a
tion. The combat action can be re-
Combat Skill test and try to roll equal
placed by another movement, and the
to or higher than the opponent’s De-
movement can be replaced with sever-
fence.
al other types of actions.
In addition to combat action Dwarfs, Halflings, Scouts and
and movement, each player gets to Warriors have class abilities that fur-
make reactive actions for free and ther modify the test to their favour,
defense. In addition, there are free and to the damage roll as well.
actions, actions which are small or The Combat Action does not nec-
can be made in parallel with others. essarily have to be an attack; giving
All actions except the reactions are first aid to wounded ally or casting a
carried out on the character’s initia- spell also counts as a Combat Action.
tive. Reactive actions are performed You get one Combat Action each
in response to enemy actions or other round.
circumstances.
There are several types of ac- ATTACKING
tions, all character get one combat When you use your Combat Ac-
action, one movement action, an un- tion, choose either a melee- or ranged
limited amount of reactions and free attack. If you are already in melee
actions. combat you cannot use ranged attacks
(unless you flee; see later).
Roll 2d6 and add your Combat
Kp
Skill to the roll. If you equal or beat
your opponent’s Defence you have hit
them. Roll 1d6 and add or subtract
any modifiers from your class and for
the weapon you are using to deter-
mine the damage you cause (see
62
Chapter 6: Combat
Weapons in Chapter 3: Equipment). Spells that cause damage work
Your opponent loses that many the same way as weapons, above; roll
Hit Points (down to a minimum of 1 the given number of dice to determine
Hit Point lost per attack). how many Hit Points the target loses.
The Defence score is used as the When using a scroll, no matter
DN to which the attacker needs to whether or not you pass or fail the
roll equal to or higher than to hit. Will test, the scroll is consumed and
Defence is equal to 7 + the character's cannot be used again. Note that when
Quickness + Armour bonus + Shield using a scroll characters still lose the
bonus (if the character is wearing a 1 Magic Point for casting a spell as
shield). If the attacker manages to normal.
overcome the defender’s Defence, the
defender will take damage, which is Movement Actions
drawn from the defender’s Hit Point
The movement action lets your
score.
character move up to your allowed
Wearing a shield gives you a +2
movement rate during the round. For
bonus to your Defence; see Armour in
elves and humans this is 10 metres,
Chapter 3: Equipment.
for dwarfs and halflings this is 8 me-
tres.
Critical Hits The movement is done on the
If you roll a 12, before adding characters initiative.
your attack modifiers, on your attack
roll, you get a critical hit. The result
DRAW A WEAPON
of a critical hit is maximum damage
You can draw a weapon as an
and that the opponent’s armour will
action on your turn. This is most of-
not reduce the damage.
ten used at the start of combat or to
change from a ranged weapon to a
CAST A SPELL hand-to-hand weapon but includes
If your character is able to cast any reason you would want to draw a
spells, or if your character has a mag- weapon.
ic scroll, you can choose to cast a
spell during your turn. Make a Will
USE AN ITEM
test against the DN of the spell or
You can elect to use an item dur-
scroll you are using. If successful the
ing your turn. This could be some-
spell works as described; if you fail
thing such as a magical item, a po-
the roll the spell also fails.
63
tion, or some other piece of equip- cessful Quickness test).
ment you have acquired. • Drinking a potion.
FLEE Reactions
Fleeing is a special type of move Reactions are quick response to
that gets you out of hand-to-hand hostile actions. They can be per-
combat. It is risky, however, as you formed anytime during the combat
leave yourself open to attack. Your round and are not tied to the charac-
opponent gets to make an attack ter’s initiative. The character may
against you as you flee. If you are hit, perform any number of reactions dur-
you suffer damage as normal, but you ing a round, as long as there are hos-
are now clear of the combat. tile actions to react to, like using
Quickness to avoid the fiery breath of a
Movement Actions usage: dragon.
• Get in range to attack your ene-

my. FREE ATTACKS
• Flank an enemy who’s already There are opportunities when
engaged in combat with an ally. your character may do a free attack.
• Move past an enemy in order to The most common occasions are
get to another enemy further when your character is armed with a
away (the enemy that you move long weapon, like a halberd, or when
past gets a free attack against an enemy tries to flee or get past the
you).
character to reach another opponent
• Withdrawal from fighting against
further away. The free attack doesn’t
an enemy (that enemy get a free
stop the movement, unless the effect
attack against you)
of the hit causes the opponent to get
• Moving into position for a
knocked down.
ranged attack against a con-
cealed enemy
Instead of movement you can

Defence
trade in your movement action to do Defence is a passive ability; you
something else like: defend yourself from an attack by

dodging, parrying or blocking the
• Switching weapon. attack; no rolls are made for Defence,
• Stand up again after being instead it works as a Difficulty Num-
knocked down (requires a suc-
ber for the opponent’s attack.
64
Chapter 6: Combat
Armour and shields add a +2 If a character is engaged in me-
bonus to your Defence score (see lee with more than one opponent
Chapter 3: Equipment). (assuming they can attack simultane-
ously, during the same combat round)
modify his Defence as follows:
Multiple Opponents
You can only attack one target
• 2 opponents give you a -1 De-
per combat round. Combatants using
fence modifier.
one weapon in each hand have some
additional options; see Warrior on fence modifier.
page 25.
Fighting involving multiple fence modifier.
opponents is always done on normal
You cannot fight with more than
melee distance, unless the fighting
four opponents in melee combat dur-
takes place in a tight space, in with
ing the same round.
the fighting is done in short melee
distance.
A character can, however be ATTACKING
attacked by several opponents at the
• Attack Test: 2D6 + Combat
same time. If so, the character must
Skill vs the Opponent’s De-
devote his attention on several oppo- fence
nents and this affects his ability to
defend himself.
in this space.
65
DAMAGE & HEALING
D
amage depletes the target’s goes to –3 he or she has unfortunately
Hit Points and when there’s died. Unless your group has a way to
no Hit Points left the target bring your character back from the
is dead – unless it’s a player charac- dead (a rare feat indeed!), you will
ter, in which case the character is have to create a new character in or-
dying, with a chance to be saved. der to continue adventuring.
If your Physique score increases
Hit Points during your adventures, your Hit

Points will also increase. Hit Points
Every character has another
can also be increased independently
characteristic known as Hit Points.
of Physique by spending experience
Your Hit Point score represents your
points to increase your Hit Points.
physical wellbeing. The lower your
amount of Hit Points goes, the more
unhealthy or wounded you are. Healing
Throughout the course of your When it comes to Hit Points,
adventuring career your current they heal by 1d3 HP each day you get
Health score will change quite often. qualified care from a healer, 1d3 HP a
However, at no stage may it go above week if you have more basic care, 1d3
your Maximum Hit Point score. HP every other week if you’re just
If your character’s current Hit resting and 1d3 HP each month if you
Point score ever reaches 0 he or she is are active.
unconscious, if the Hit Point total
in this space.
66
Chapter 6: Combat
SPECIAL ACTIONS
S pecial combat manoeuvres is

an addition the standard com-
bat rules, providing you with
some options to make combat more
for accuracy. Make an attack roll
with a +2 modifier. The downside is
that you get a -2 penalty to your dam-
age roll.
interesting. You’re not required to use
these additions, if you feel that they Fighting Defensively
only slow your game down, just ig-
The character is focusing on
nore them.
their defence and gets a +2 bonus to
Defence at the expense of having a -2
Charge modifier to the attack roll during the
The charge action is a special combat round.
kind of move. If you are not currently
involved in melee combat you can Attacking Without
elect to charge in rather than move.
In this case you may also attack on Killing
your turn. However, due to the reck- It happens that one wants to put
lessness of your charge you leave an opponent out of action without
yourself open to counter attack and killing him, for example, by striking
suffer a -1 penalty to your Defence with the flat of his sword. To do so
until your next turn. you need only tell the Game Master
and then attack as usual. If your at-
Powerful Attack tack hits the opponent, the attack
only deals half of its normal damage
The character makes an espe-
(rounded up).
cially powerful attack. Make an at-
When the opponent goes down
tack roll with a -2 modifier, if the
to zero Hit Points he loses conscious-
attack succeeds; you get a +2 bonus to
ness for 10d6 minutes. When he
the damage roll. A downside to this is
wakes up he regains half of his origi-
that you also get a -2 penalty to your
nal Hit Points (rounded up).
Defence for the duration of the com-
Note that if you’re already in-
bat round.
jured before being beaten unconscious
you only regain half of the Health
Swift Attack you had after being injured. A person
The character sacrifices power with 12 Hit Points being reduced to 4
67
Hit Points through regular combat he must succeed with another attack
before being beaten unconscious will roll the next combat round to retain
then only regain 2 Hit Points. his grip.
Each combat round inflicts 1d3
damage to the target. If the target’s
Wrestling and Strangling
Hit Points goes down to zero they
Wrestling: The attacker must
lose consciousness, and at -3 Hit
first succeed with an attacking roll to
Points they die. If you manage to es-
get a firm grip. Then he must succeed
cape from the deadly grip before you
with another attack roll the next
lose consciousness, you are confused
combat round to either continue to
by the lack of oxygen for a combat
hold his opponent, or to throw him.
round, and cannot attack (just de-
A throw inflicts 1d3 damage to the
fending yourself). The next combat
target. If you want to hold a person
round you regain any lost Hit Points
for several combat rounds you have to
due to being strangled, and can con-
succeed with an attack roll for each
tinue the combat as usual.
new round.
Anyone who gets strangled can
Strangle: If you want to stran-
continue to attack with short weapons
gle your opponent you do it in a simi-
like daggers and shortswords or with
lar manner to wrestling. Anyone who
bare hands until he loses conscious-
tries to strangle his opponent must
ness.
first succeed with an attack roll to get
a grip on his opponent's neck. Then
in this space.
68
PART III:
GAME MASTER S
GUIDE
Part III: Game Master’s Guide
Chapter 7: Game Mastering
I
f you are going to be the Game Master then this section is for you. Alt-
hough the rest of the chapters of this book contain rules for most things that may
arise during the course of a game, there may be some situations that are not
covered.
This chapter contains guidelines, advice, and miscellaneous rules for handling
those situations.
BEING A GAME MASTER
B
eing the Game Master is a They may well be drawing the wrong
difficult, but ultimately re- conclusions, but what they are saying
warding, task. It is your task may very well make a great addition
to create a scenario for them to send to your adventure or campaign.
their newly created character in to,
and you are expected to have all the Adjusting Dice Rolls
relevant game materials, dice, maps,
Killing everyone in the first en-
figures and floor plans at your finger-
counter is not a good way to be a
tips to enable the game session to run
Game Master. Whether this was just
smoothly and knowing the adventure
unfortunate because you rolled high
inside out and make the game session
damage dice or not, you don’t want
atmospheric and fun.
this to happen too often or you will
end up with no gaming group as no
Players vs Game Master one wants to play with a player kill-
Being a Game Master doesn’t ing Game Master. There is no harm
mean that it’s a game of you compet- in reducing the damage that a mon-
ing against the players. You are not ster has scored on a player character
there to kill or to stop the players to make sure he or she survives the
completing the quest. Your job as a encounter. Keep your players happy
Game Master is to be a story teller. is an important factor in Game Mas-
Enjoy watching the characters over- tering.
come a difficult monster, trap or ob- What this doesn’t mean is that
stacle. Listen to your players while foolish or foolhardy players are re-
they are trying to unravel your plot. warded with adjusted damage rolls.
70
Running unarmed into a room full of scene. Another tip is to use certain
murderous orcs is not a bright thing mood music or sound effects to play
to do. during exiting moments. It is these
small efforts that you as a Game Mas-
Setting the Atmosphere ter device that go into making a gam-

ing session that much better.
There are many ways to make
your games atmospheric. As a new
Game Master you can start small by Difficulty Numbers
simply drawing maps for the players By far the most common thing
as a visual aid or maps on the floor rules-wise you will do during a game
area for your players to place their is assign Difficulty Numbers for ac-
figure or token on. As you gain expe- tions the players attempt.
rience and confidence you can expand Using the difficulty table in
on this. Chapter 5: Game System will let you
Using floor plans and battle set the right difficulty with ease.
grids is a good tool to help you set the
in this space.
71
CREATING A SETTING
T he Dark Sagas rules are not

tied to a particular setting.
The exact setting of the
game—and in particular the towns
from every village having its own
wizard or witch, to certain castes or
groups limiting spell casting to their
members. Often, the characters are
and countries that exist and so larger-than-life heroes who are bat-
forth—is left for the Game Master to tling an even larger foe. Good and
decide. evil are living entities, and quests are
This may seem a daunting task, popular adventure hooks.
but it can be done piecemeal as a cam-
paign is run. For example at very low LOW FANTASY
levels, all that is needed is some kind A low fantasy world is much
of town for the adventurers to start in more “grey” than high fantasy. Mag-
and a few adventure locations around ic is mysterious, and spells are diffi-
it. It is only when the adventurers cult to cast (increase the spell diffi-
reach a higher level and have a need culty with one or two points). Mon-
or a wish to go exploring that the sters are dangerous and often few and
Game Master needs to know what lies far between. Not everyone in the
beyond the mountains. world is either good or evil, and the
players’ characters may be of mixed
Genre Options morality.
The system and information in

Dark Sagas suits three types of fantasy DARK FANTASY
subgenres: high fantasy, low fantasy One step away from full blown
and dark fantasy. The primary differ- Horror, this genre is where conflicted
ence between the three lies in the heroes stand against horrific inhuman
amount of magic available, which in monsters. Fear tests are frequently
turn affects the types of characters used to provide a mechanical reso-
played and monsters encountered. nance to the disturbing narration.
Magic is used almost exclusively by
HIGH FANTASY the character’s enemies, and is severe-
Myths, legends, and magic are ly curtailed for the characters.
the keywords in a high fantasy cam-

paign. Magic is common, ranging
72
ADVENTURING RULES
T his selection of rules is de-

signed to deal with special
situations that may occur
throughout the game.
INTERLUDES
Interludes are scenes without any
conflicts or challenges. Most of the
time it’s about setting the mood, like
where the player characters discuss
Game Time something or are planning for their
Since roleplaying games take next course of action. It can also be a
place in the imaginations of the play- journey where the characters travel
ers, a method of simulating time is from one place to another without
needed, both to keep track of how anything exiting is happening.
long certain effects last (like magical There have to be some form of
spells or potions), and to keep track conflict or challenge to be called a
on the movements and actions of all scene, otherwise it’s an interlude.
individuals.
In Dark Sagas, the following ROUNDS
organisation is used to make it easier When combat starts, the scene is
to follow the events in game. broken down into Rounds, where eve-
ry character and enemy has two ac-
SCENES tions per round and acts according to
The foundation in this game is the order of combat, i.e. their initia-
the Scene. A scene is something simi- tive rolls. When everyone has acted
lar to the scenes shown in movies; a during their turn the round ends and
place, some people and something a new round begins.
important happening (a challenge).
Both players and Game Masters can Special Rules
start scenes; a Game Master by
throwing it at the players, and the POISON
players by the way they are acting. There is of course many differ-
To be defined as a scene it needs ent types of poison. Some only cause
to be some form of challenge in it, damage if they are swallowed, others
something that will involve risks or when they are inhaled, through con-
costs for the player characters. tact or when they get into the blood.
Poisons have different potency,
from 7 to 19, where 19 is the strongest
73
and 7 is the weakest. similar gives 1 HP damage each
If a character is exposed to a round. If all of the body is exposed to
poisonous substance you have roll flame you lose 5 Hit Points each com-
equal to or higher than the potency of bat round.
the poison with a 2d6 plus your Phy-
sique score. If the character resists the SUFFOCATION
poison, nothing happens, but if the If a character for some reason
character fails, the poison takes ef- can’t breathe, he can hold his breath
fect, which usually means an agoniz- for up to two minutes. After that you
ing death, or some other nasty effect. make a Physique test every minute
that passes. If you fail the Physique
DISEASES test, the character dies.
Diseases are commonplace, with After 10 minutes your character
everything from the common cold to will die, regardless if you succeeded
the plague capable of being caught at in your rolls.
any one time. If a character is in a
position to catch a disease, use the DOORS
same method as with poison (see Poi- Characters open a lot of doors,
son above). especially while adventuring in dun-
The effects of disease are usually geons. Many of these doors are un-
a loss of Hit Points each day though locked but others may be locked or
some might cause a loss of Physique, barred shut. There are two ways to
Will, Charisma or even Magic Points. open these doors. The first is to break
This loss of Hit Points continues eve- it down. This requires a Physique test.
ry day of game time until the charac- The average DN for this is around 13
ter manages to fight off this disease. for a wooden door, 17 for a stone door
The character should roll 2d6 at the and 19 or more for an iron or steel
start of each day, to resist the disease. door. Of course if it is barred from
Once he or she successfully makes within as well as locked it may be
one of these rolls, he or she has much more difficult, while if the door
fought off the disease. is badly made or the hinges are poor
it could be less.
BURNING A character can get help from
Burn injuries, damage from fire, his or her companions when trying to
acid and certain magic reduces Hit break open a door, reducing the Diffi-
Points as usual. Fire from a torch or culty by 1 for each person helping the
74
character (up to a maximum of two
GETTING LOST
helping characters).
When travelling in the wild it is
The second way to open a
possible that characters may become
locked door (or any lock for that mat-
lost. This can be avoided by simply
ter) is to pick the lock. This is done
having a map of the area.
with a Subterfuge test. Average locks
However, should this not be
have DN 13, while better made or
available, there is a chance that the
more complex locks have a DN of 15
characters will lose their way. Roll
to 19.
1d6 for each day the characters spend
in the wilderness. On a roll of 1 they
EATING AND SLEEPING have become lost.
Everyone needs to eat and sleep
and the characters are no different.
TRAVELLING
Within the equipment list in the
Dark Sagas leaves travelling de-
Player’s Rules is an entry for
liberately abstract. However, if time
‘Rations’. Each character must con-
becomes an issue for whatever reason,
sume one of these each day or lose 1d3
you can use the following guidelines.
Hit Points through hunger.
During underground explora-
Characters also need at least 8
tion you can assume that each section
hours of sleep per night. Players can
of corridor or passageway takes about
push their characters if they want
one minute to traverse, while each
too, but for each day they go without
room takes about five to ten minutes
sleep they suffer a -2 penalty on all
(these are averages; if the characters
dice rolls they make.
don’t stop to search a room or are
moving quickly you could always re-
FALLING duce the time).
Those brave souls who go on A character can move up to 30
adventures have habit of falling, most kilometres in a days’ march during
often into a pit trap. This causes overland exploration. This assumes
damage to the unlucky character. For they are moving through clear ter-
every 5 metres a creature falls, it suf- rain, such as farmland, grassland or
fers 1d6 of damage; so, a creature that along a road. Moving through more
falls 20 metres would suffer 4d6 dam- dense terrain such as forests, hills,
age. mountains or swamps halves the dis-
tance they may travel. Riding a horse
75
or deliberately moving quicker (what
TRAPS
is known as a ‘forced march’) adds
Players have a habit of leading
50% to the distance they may travel
their characters into nasty traps.
(45 kilometres in clear terrain or 22.5
Most commonly these are found un-
kilometres in dense terrain).
derground but they can also be found
in the homes of wealthy nobles and
LIGHTING CONDITIONS merchants or out in the wilderness
Some of the places characters where they have been set by hunters
often find themselves, such as dark and trappers.
crypts and dungeons, are dangerous, There are three common types
not least because of the distinct lack of trap and these are listed below.
of light. If a character ever finds him Arrow/Dart Trap. These traps
or herself in an area without a light are normally triggered by a trip wire.
source then they cannot see anything The trap inflicts 1d6 damage.
at all. Lanterns and torches will light Pit Trap. Pits are normally 5 to
up the current area the characters are 20 metres deep. Anyone who falls
in (such as a room or hall), while a into one suffers falling damage as
candle sheds only dim light in the listed above. Some pit traps include
same area. spikes or stakes at the bottom; anyone
Lanterns last for an entire ad- falling into one of these suffers dou-
venture while torches and candles ble the normal damage.
only last one scene. Obviously, ex- Snare. These traps are left in
ploring in the dark is ill advised. the wilderness in order to catch ani-
Searching is much harder without a mals and other prey. They inflict 1d6
source of light, as is fighting; you damage and in addition inflict a -1
should penalize anyone in combat penalty to all attribute scores for that
with a -4 to their Combat Skill. If the scene.
only light available is candlelight
then this penalty should be -2.
FEAR
Dwarfs and elves have the
Sometimes the players will be
Darkvision ability, which lets them
exposed to a horrifying experience
see up to 20 metres away in total
and need to do a fear test; to do
darkness; they will also not be penal-
this, set the DN accordingly and
ized when fighting in the dark.
make a Will test. The Game Master
decides the effects of a failed test.
76
EXPERIENCE & REWARDS
F
or the players, experience is is no correct answer to this but con-
one of the most important sult the table below for a guide to
things they can be given. It help you give out an adequate amount
gives them a measure of their success each and every time.
and allows them to improve their
characters. Role Playing Bonus
Awarding experience points is
Dark Sagas is a role playing
done at the end of every adventure.
game. Therefore it is valid for a
Giving out experience points can
Game Master to award an experience
be a little daunting at first; I can be
point if the player can really act out
hard to find the right balance; give
his character. If he or she plays an
the players too many points and they
active part and at least tries to play
will become too powerful too quickly,
the part of their character, that’s a
and giving them too few points might
good start and deserves one or two
make them feel as if their characters
experience points as a reward.
aren’t improving fast enough. There
Table 7.1: Experience Points

Situation Reward
Completing a session 1-2 experience points
Individual achievements, heroism 1 experience point
Role playing bonus 1 experience point
in this space.
77
CREATING AN ADVENTURE
L
ike most games, players must obstacles make it interesting for the
overcome a series of obstacles characters to reach the goal.
to reach a final goal. But in
roleplaying games, that combination • Caught in a Tight Spot: Escape
of obstacles and goals, called an ad- from a situation that could
venture, takes on the same structure
cause some type of harm to the
characters or their allies.
as a story. Both have an exposition,
progressively more difficult challeng-
• Contest: The characters must
accomplish a predetermined
es to overcome, a climax, and a reso-
goal more quickly or more effi-
lution. You can use movies, novels, or
ciently than everyone else in-
comic books to come up with ideas for volved in the contest.
adventures, always remembering that
• Guard Duty: Protect someone or
the players get to decide how their something from harm.
characters react to the given obstacle,
• Foil a Plan: Stop someone else
instead of their actions being dictated from accomplishing their goal.
by the writer. Generally, the plan to be foiled
You, the gamemaster, choose the has something to do with the
hurdles the characters must deal destruction of a person, place, or
with. You provide a goal and then thing of importance to the char-
present the characters with a series of acters or to the entire world.
problems that prevents them from • Mystery: The players’ characters

reaching that objective. The hin- must discover the truth about a
person, thing, or event.
drances can take a variety of forms,
from monsters to evil viziers to sand
• The Quest: Locate and retrieve
an object or person at the be-
storms to secret societies, depending
hest of another. It could be a
on the genre and the particular cir-
stolen object, the person kid-
cumstances of the adventure your
napped, or a criminal who’s es-
characters are working through. caped justice.
Types of Adventures Types of Obstacles

The most direct way of creating Once you’ve determined the type
an adventure is to select the goal first. of adventure you want to create, you
Once you know the end, you can must divide it up into smaller chunks
more easily decide on what types of called scenes, each containing one or
78
two obstacles. A scene is triggered by tablet has been destroyed), in
the players’ characters’ arrival at a the form of a puzzle or riddle,
given location or by the passage of from a questionable source, or
time. Once the characters overcome
giving the characters what
seems like a right lead but ends
or bypass the obstacle, they move on
up being to the wrong place. Be
to the next scene and one step closer
careful not to force the players’
to the goal of the adventure. Here are characters to go through an
a few examples. enormous amount of trouble
based on clues and hints you’ve
• Adverse Conditions: Weather, given them only to find that their
terrain, monsters, and hostile or efforts were wasted.
uncooperative Game Master’s • Multiple Goals: Typically for
characters can hamper the char- experienced role-players, adding
acters in accomplishing the goal. the rumour of a new goal can
• Game Master’s Characters: The force the characters to rearrange
people that the player’s charac- their priorities.
ters meet come in handy for all • Restrictions: The characters
sorts of situations, so much so can’t use some of the regular
that there’s a whole section on equipment or must be certain to
them in this chapter. perform certain rituals, or there
• Combat: In order to continue will be dire consequences.
forward or get to something, the • Time Limits: There’s nothing
characters first must defeat a like a time limit to speed up a
creature or villain. scene. This kind of obstacle can
• Diversions: Include extraneous take the form of limited sup-
details in setting descriptions or plies, deteriorating weaponry, or
when the players’ characters talk a set amount of time before
to other people. The details are something horrible occurs.
more for show than to further
the adventure, but they offer
some interesting roleplaying
Game Master Characters
opportunities. During their adventures, play-
• Information: The players’ char- ers’ characters encounter various al-

acters often need to obtain in- lies, enemies, neutrals, and monsters
formation, and you can make who serve to shape the story, estab-
this more challenging by making lishing the setting or helping or hin-
it harder for them to find (two dering the characters at critical mo-
guards to convince instead of ments. Without these characters,
one), missing (part of a needed
79
nothing much would happen. enough information to get to the
However, you don’t have to cre- first obstacle. The information
ate enough characters to fill the en- could be provided as a letter, a
tire universe. Save yourself work and
town crier’s announcement, a
posted flier, or an anonymous
carefully choose which of the Game
source.
Master’s characters play the most
• Mission Briefing: The organiza-
pivotal roles in your adventure and
tion in which the characters are
design them in detail. Then select the
involved calls a meeting and sets
less important characters and deter- reveals the goal (though, of
mine most of their background and course, not how to accomplish
personality, and so on until you come it!).
down to the nameless characters that
need nothing more than a brief men- Running Adventures
tion.
You’ve successfully brought the
Monsters and animals (those
players’ characters into the adven-
creatures that Game Masters would-
ture. Now you have to keep them fo-
n’t allow players to take as charac-
cused and enthralled with the plot. If
ters) mostly use the statistics present-
you see their eyes start to wander, or
ed in the Bestiary, but can be tweaked
they fall into a conversation about
a bit by just changing some of the
the last game (or worse, what the
numbers up or down.
watched on television last night), you
know something’s gone wrong. This
Starting the Adventure section should help you maintain an
Once you’ve got the goal and a involving story and a sense of “really
few obstacles, you’ll need to give the being there.”
players’ characters a reason to go on
the adventure. Often called the hook, Setting the Scene
here are a few examples.
Your first job is to vividly depict
• Character Goals: The group, the scene unfolding before the play-
even just one of the players’ ers’ characters. Where are they? Who
characters, gets information that else is there? What’s happening?
could help get then closer to a These are the questions you must an-
long-term goal. swer immediately.
• Informant: Someone lets the
players’ characters know about
the goal and gives them just
80
Description Believable Characters
The key here is to engage the Other than the setting, the play-
players’ senses, just like a good movie, ers’ characters will also encounter
novel, or television show. Try to use other people who live in the game
evocative words to give the players a world. Your job is to make sure that
clear and vivid view of their charac- these Game Master characters appear
ters’ environment. The best way to real to the players. Their words and
learn how to provide such lifelike actions must seem appropriate in the
descriptions is to picture the scene in context of their histories, personali-
your mind and do whatever you can to ties, and ambitions. If a stoic military
convey that same scene to your play- officer suddenly took off his helmet
ers. You may incorporate maps and and started joking around, the players
diagrams you copied out of library would probably just stare at you for a
books, or even illustrations you’ve minute as the game comes crashing to
drawn yourself. a halt.
Just remember that your players Play each character to the best of
have five senses. Don’t just rely on the your ability. Make sure he does every-
sense of sight. Describe what your thing in his power to achieve his
characters hear, smell, touch, and goals, whether he’s trying to thwart
(sometimes) taste. The following ex- the players’ characters or earn a load
ample engages several senses. of gold coins. This does not mean
Game Master: “The thick, musty that each Game Master character
smell of swamp begins to permeate the should act overtly. Part of his goal
air. From all around you, you can hear may be to achieve his objective unde-
the screeching chirps of birds and small tected, or to make it look like some-
animals. The humidity settles against one else was responsible. Rather, the
your skin like a blanket of moisture as idea is that the character should use
you continue trudging forward on the all of his resources — his skills, al-
increasingly squishy ground. The gangly lies, finances, and so on — to accom-
grey trees scattered in small stands reach plish his immediate as well as his long
upward into the mist, and you get the -term goals.
distinct feeling that something out there

is watching you.” Exciting Locales
Try to make each place the play-
ers’ characters visit seem different
81
than the others. By doing this, you something. They may learn a better
can make these sights engaging and way to approach a situation, or they
memorable for the players. may stumble upon a tool or gadget
that will help them in the future. It
Giving Options should take perseverance and dedica-

tion, but learning from mistakes will
Don’t constantly force your
eventually lead to success.
players to follow along the prescribed
path of the adventure. They may have
devised an alternate scheme for suc- Getting Feedback
cess not covered by the scenario, and Sometimes an adventure doesn’t
you shouldn’t penalize them for their thrill the players like you expected it
creativity. Instead you’ll have to use to when you were first reading or cre-
your judgment to run the remainder ating it. As you run a scenario, try to
of the adventure. pay attention to the players’ reactions
Reward creativity. Give the to the various scenes. Gauge their
players a reason to exercise their reactions to your judgment calls and
brains. The more freedom they be- improvisation. The players’ words
lieve they have, the more they’ll en- and actions can convey a great deal of
joy the adventure. When their char- information about what they enjoyed
acters make a mistake, they have no most.
one else to blame it on, and when Ask the players what they did
their characters succeed, they feel a and didn’t like. It takes a lot of work
genuine sense of accomplishment. to plan and run a game, and you can’t
always please everyone no matter
Character Failure what you do. Just don’t forget to lis-

ten to what your players have to say.
It’s that chance of failure that
They may want to take the game in a
gives excitement to a roleplaying
different direction than you do. Com-
game, so sometimes characters need
promise. Make sure you and your
to fail. If they roll poorly, or are
players have fun. If not, either you or
simply outclassed, or most im-
your players will eventually give up
portantly, if they play poorly, their
and find something else to do during
characters will not accomplish their
those precious spare moments.
goal.
Yet, with each defeat, the char-
acters (and players) should learn
82
Chapter 8: Bestiary
Chapter 8: Bestiary
I
n Dark Sagas there are many different and scary creatures lurking the world.
Some of these creatures will try to do their best to kill the player characters,
while others might be potential allies or even friends.
INTRODUCTION
H
umanoid creatures acting as MOVEMENT: How many metres per
important NPC’s are created round that the creature can move dur-
just like regular characters, ing a combat round.
with attributes, skills and perks/ SPECIAL ABILITIES: If the creature has
flaws, or any other qualities that the any special abilities, like flight, magical
Game Master wants them to have, but abilities, night vision or anything else, it
most creatures will be described in a will be listed here.
very simple manner, as shown below. When creatures have magical

properties, it is usually in the form of
Creature Stat Block a specific spell-like power, like a
The creatures are described in magic attack that can turn your oppo-
the following manner: nent into stone, or put him to sleep.
Or magic that can make the creature
COMBAT SKILL: This is the modifier for
invisible or invulnerable to certain
the creature’s attack roll
types of attacks.
DAMAGE: The amount of damage that
Note that you can also describe
the creature will inflict on a successful
"regular" NPC’s, humans, elves,
attack.
dwarves, orcs and other intelligent
HP: The amount of Hit Points that the
humanoid beings on this simplistic
creature has.
way. This can be handy if the Game
DEFENCE: The creature’s Defence score Master needs to throw in some high-
WILL: Shows the creature’s Will score, waymen or the like with little prepa-
which is used to resist magic and to ration.
cast spells. Any other attributes are consid-
QUICKNESS: Shows the creature’s ered to be 3 unless otherwise noted.
Quickness score, which is used for initia- To create your own, new crea-
tive and dodging area attacks. tures simply follow this template.
83
CREATURES
Banshee Basilisk
Banshees are creatures from the A basilisk is a bizarre creature, it
spirit world who appear to foretell has the tail of a serpent, the body of a
the deaths of mortal creatures. They reptile, and the head and legs of a
appear as either a young woman, an rooster. Basilisks are hatched from
elderly matron or a ragged old hag eggs laid by snakes and incubated by
dressed in tattered white or grey roosters.
clothing. They are often unkempt, It is feared for its deadly gaze.
though can sometimes appear as a Any creature meeting its gaze must
beautiful girl. make a DN 13 Will test or be turned
Banshees attacks their victims to stone. The gaze of a basilisk must
with a terrifying scream (make a DN be direct, seeing its reflection is not
12 Will test). Banshees also have the enough to have a chance of being
ability to teleport their victims into turned to stone.
the fey realm where they becomes
imprisoned unless a powerful Wizard COMBAT SKILL: 3
casts a Portal spell connecting to the DAMAGE: 1d6 (Bite & Claws)
fey realm so that they may escape HP: 12

DEFENCE: 12
through the portal. The DN to resist
WILL: 6
a banshee’s teleport power is 13.
QUICKNESS: 3
COMBAT SKILL: 5 MOVEMENT: 10
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (Claws) SPECIAL ABILITIES: Petrifying Gaze (as
HP: 22 the Petrify spell with a DN of 13 to resist).
DEFENCE: 11
WILL: 9 This is the No-art version of Dark
QUICKNESS: 4 Sagas, the regular version will have
MOVEMENT: 10 artwork in this space.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, Teleport (DN 13
Presence test to resist), Terrifying Scream
(1d6 damage per round, DN 12 Will test to
resist), Immunities (A banshee only takes
damage from magic or holy objects).
84
Chapter 8: Bestiary
trapped in the bear hug, the bear will
Bear, Brown automatically succeed with its bite
Any camping in the woods must
attack.
be wary of brown bears. Although
normally peaceful, brown bears can COMBAT SKILL: 6
become quite vicious if provoked or if DAMAGE: 2d6 (Bite), 1d6+3 (Claws)
they feel threatened, rending their HP: 30
opponents with sharp and deadly DEFENCE: 12
claws. They can also wrap their pow- WILL: 3
erful arms around opponents and QUICKNESS: 3
squeeze the life out of them. MOVEMENT: 14
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Bear Hug (If the
COMBAT SKILL: 4 bear succeeds with a claw attack it may
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (Bite), 1d6+2(Claws) lock its target in a bear hug and automat-
HP: 15 ically hits with its bite attack, the victim
DEFENCE: 11 has to make a DN 15 Physique test to
WILL: 3 break free).
QUICKNESS: 3
MOVEMENT: 14
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Bear Hug (If the
bear succeeds with a claw attack it may
lock its target in a bear hug and automat-
ically hits with its bite attack, the victim
has to make a DN 13 Physique test to
break free).
Bear, Cave
Beastman
Cave bears are large and particu-
Beastmen are humanoids that
larly aggressive bears that can be 4.5
look like a hybrid between a man and
metres tall when standing.
a beast. Their origins are unknown,
Unlike most bears they are ex-
but are believed to be the result of
clusively carnivorous, and are active
some magic experiment.
hunters.
If a cave bear succeed with an
attack with its claws, it may instead BEASTMAN, GREATER
of hurting its target perform a bear The greater beastmen are big-
hug. As long as the opponent is ger, stronger and more violent than
85
their normal counterparts, and are QUICKNESS: 3
armed with two-handed weapons. MOVEMENT: 12
They are often employed as shock SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision.
troops by evil sorcerers.
Boar
COMBAT SKILL: 6
Boars are the larger wild rela-
DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (Battle Axe)
tives of pigs. They are notoriously
HP: 18
bad tempered and territorial, and will
DEFENCE: 12
often attack even large opponents at
WILL: 3
the slightest provocation.
QUICKNESS: 3
MOVEMENT: 14 A boar can do a Charge action in
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision. combat.
This is the No-art version of Dark COMBAT SKILL: 3

Sagas, the regular version will have DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (tusks),
artwork in this space. HP: 12
DEFENCE: 10
WILL: 3
QUICKNESS: 2
MOVEMENT: 14
SPECIAL ABILITIES: If a boar charges and
move at least 6 metres, it will inflict double
damage.
BEASTMAN, LESSER This is the No-art version of Dark
Lesser beastmen are the most Sagas, the regular version will have
common type of man-beast hybrid. artwork in this space.
They are often employed as regular
foot soldiers by evil rulers and are
armed with axes and bows, and wear
leather armour. Leaders often wear Bugbear
scale armour or chain mail. Bugbears are large and strong
creatures related to goblins.
COMBAT SKILL: 4 They stand about 2.5 metres tall
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (Axe), 1d6+1 (Bow) and have brown furred bodies, with
HP: 10
round hairy heads, a snout-like nose,
DEFENCE: 11
large, pointy (and hairy) ears and a
WILL: 2
86
Chapter 8: Bestiary
wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. MOVEMENT: 20
Despite this appearance, they SPECIAL ABILITIES: Knockdown: If the
are stealthy and prefer to sneak up on centaur hits its opponent with its hooves,
their opponents to make a surprise the opponent is knocked down and have
to spend an action to get up again.
attack.
COMBAT SKILL: 6 Chimera

DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (great weapon) A chimera, as the name implies,
HP: 16 appears to be a strange combination
DEFENCE: 12
of other beasts.
WILL: 4
Chimeras have the rear body of a
QUICKNESS: 3
goat, the front body of a lion, the
MOVEMENT: 12
wings and tail of a dragon, and three
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Subter-
heads - goat, lion and dragon.
fuge 4.
Chimeras are extremely territo-
This is the No-art version of Dark rial, and will aggressively chase in-
Sagas, the regular version will have truders away from their lair. Their
artwork in this space. dragon head is capable of breathing
fire three times per day in a cone 15
metres long and 3 metres wide at the
end.
COMBAT SKILL: 6
Centaur
DAMAGE: 2d6 (Bite), 3d6 (fiery breath),
Centaurs have the body and legs 1D6+3 + poison (tail)
of a horse, with a human torso (plus HP: 45
head and arms) rising up where the DEFENCE: 15
neck would be. They are as intelli- WILL: 5
gent as normal humans, and primari- QUICKNESS: 5
ly live in woods and forests. MOVEMENT: 20
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Three attacks per
COMBAT SKILL: 4 round (one for each natural weapon),
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (hand weapon) Fiery Breath (once every other round,
HP: 16 range 15 m, damage 3d6), Fearful Roar,
DEFENCE: 11 Venomous Tail (DN 10 poison, -3 Physique
WILL: 4 and Quickness to the victim).
QUICKNESS: 3
87
COMBAT SKILL: 3
Crocodile DAMAGE: 2d6+1 (mace), 1d6+2 (fist)
Normally found in tropical, HP: 40
marshy areas, crocodiles can attack DEFENCE: 13
with blinding speed. They usually WILL: 3
remain motionless until ready to QUICKNESS: 2
strike, suddenly and with deadly MOVEMENT: 16
swiftness. SPECIAL ABILITIES: Frighten (DN 12 Will
test), Large (one extra attack if two ene-
COMBAT SKILL: 4 mies stand within 4 metres from each
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (bite) other and one extra attack against fleeing
HP: 14 enemies).
DEFENCE: 12
WILL: 2 Demon
QUICKNESS: 2
From the fiery inferno of a hell-
MOVEMENT: 8 (on land), 16 (swim)
ish world they come, wrecking havoc
SPECIAL ABILITIES: -
upon the world. Twisted, chaotic and
This is the No-art version of Dark purely evil, the demons are one of the
Sagas, the regular version will have greatest threats mortal life has ever
artwork in this space. known.
Although they come in many
different forms, all share the same
agenda: the destruction of all life. A
demon can appear as a terrifying,
Cyclops scaly giant, or as a bloated, disease
A cyclops is a giant, usually ridden abomination, or as anything
round 4 metres tall, with a single eye in between. They are extremely ag-
in the centre of its forehead. gressive; should they catch sight of
Despite their great power, cy- even the tiniest speck of life, they will
clopses are very slow-witted and seek to destroy it.
peaceful creatures who are content to
herd goats and sheep and be left alone COMBAT SKILL: 12
by others. They are quick to anger, DAMAGE: 2d6+2 (sword*), 1d6+2 (claws)
however, and if provoked they are HP: 30
likely to attack with huge clubs (with DEFENCE: 16
which they have nothing more than WILL: 9
basic mastery) or by throwing rocks. QUICKNESS: 6
88
Chapter 8: Bestiary
MOVEMENT: 12 (on land), 24 (fly) eyes are yellow with slitted pupils. A
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Spellcast- doppelganger’s appearance is deceiv-
ing (knows 1d6 Wizard spells), Magic ing even when it’s in its true form. A
Sword (ignores 2 points of Defence). Terri- doppelganger is hardy, with a natural
fying (DN 14 Will test or suffer a –2 penal-
agility not in keeping with its frail
ty to all attribute tests until the demon is
appearance. Doppelgangers make
either killed or out of sight).
excellent use of their natural mimicry
to stage ambushes, bait traps, and
Dog, War infiltrate humanoid society. They
War dogs are trained attack will often try to kill the person they
dogs. Often used by armies, a war dog imitate, so to then attack a group by
is trained from birth to obey its han- surprise. Doppelgangers revert to
dler. In combat they attack on com- their natural forms when slain.
mand, only stopping when their han-
dler tells them too. COMBAT SKILL: 4
DAMAGE: 1d6 (fist)
COMBAT SKILL: 4 HP: 15
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (bite) DEFENCE: 12
HP: 8 WILL: 6
DEFENCE: 11 QUICKNESS: 4
WILL: 2 MOVEMENT: 14
QUICKNESS: 4 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Shapechange, Sub-
MOVEMENT: 14 terfuge 4, Death Gaze (anyone who sees
SPECIAL ABILITIES: - the doppelganger while it shifts shape
have to make a DN 14 Will test or lose all
of their Hit Points).
Doppleganger
Doppelgangers are strange be-
ings that are able to take on the
Dragon
shapes of those they encounter. They These giant reptilian monsters
can imitate the shape of a humanoid fly through the air using the thermals
up to 2 metres tall. In its natural and, if needed, warm air created by
form, the creature is 170 cm tall and their fiery breath. Dragons are very
looks more or less humanoid, but individual in their temperament.
slender and frail, with gangly limbs Some are evil cruel beasts. Others are
and half-formed features. The flesh is solitary hoarding creatures. Some use
pale and hairless. Its large, bulging their high intelligence to lord it over
lesser races.
89
Ancient, highly intelligent, MOVEMENT: 16 (on land)/40 (fly)
treasure loving, and dangerous are all SPECIAL ABILITIES: Able to fly, breathes
characteristics of dragons. They are a fire (once every other round, range 30 m,
very old race of intelligent reptiles, damage 5d6).
which reproduce by laying eggs. They This is the No-art version of Dark
are completely carnivorous, and each Sagas, the regular version will have
race of dragon employs a particular artwork in this space.
kind of breath weapon attack. The
races of dragons are identified by
their predominant hide colour, pre-
ferred climate, and alignment.
Dragons are a long-lived race,
and individuals can live for over a
hundred thousand years. Because of
their long history, dragons seldom Dryad
take notice of the lesser insignificant
Shy, intelligent, and resolute,
intelligent races, and view them as
dryads are as elusive as they are allur-
primitive upstarts. Nonetheless, drag-
ing. A dryad’s delicate features are
ons are extremely intelligent and
much like a female elf’s, though her
value their own lives. To this end,
flesh is the colour of bark, and her
dragons will bargain and even surren-
hair is the colour of a canopy of
der to characters to save their lives or
leaves that changes colour with the
otherwise richly benefit. Dragons
seasons.
have immense egos, and even the
Although they are generally
most evil dragon may stop to listen to
solitary, up to six dryads have been
the pleas or praise of a soon to be
encountered in one place on rare oc-
lunch. Dragons of differing align-
casions. A dryad is united by spirit to
ment will interact with other intelli-
a particular tree, and if this tree is
gent creatures in different ways.
ever killed the dryad will be killed as
well. Dryads may physically join with
COMBAT SKILL: 16
their trees, effectively disappearing.
DAMAGE: 5d6 (breath of fire), 3d6 (bite),
Dryads acquire treasure from
2d6 (claws)
HP: 100 past victims or infatuations, and store
DEFENCE: 20 it at the base of their trees, under-
WILL: 10 ground below the roots.

QUICKNESS: 5
90
Chapter 8: Bestiary
COMBAT SKILL: 1 QUICKNESS: 3
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (hand weapon) MOVEMENT: 8
HP: 7 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Re-
DEFENCE: 11 sistant (+1 bonus on Physique and Will
WILL: 8 Tests to resist disease, poison and magic).
QUICKNESS: 4
MOVEMENT: 10
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Magical (able to
cast Enslave, Invisibility and Sleep),
Shapeshift (only into a naturally occurring
animal), Treestep (If a dryad enters a
hollow tree, it can step out of any other
hollow tree within 500 km radius).
Dwarf
Dwarves are a people who live in
Elemental
underground strongholds where they An elemental is a spirit-being
engaged in mining and crafts. that occupies a body made out of one
A dwarf is about 130 cm long, of the four elements: air, earth, fire
thicker and wider built than a man, or water. They originate from the
and always wears a beard, at least the spirit worlds and can only walk on
dwarf men, dwarf women have no the mortal world when either sum-
beards and are seldom seen outside of moned by a powerful magician or
their homes. when they enter through a spirit gate.
Dwarves normally fight in heavy If the body that the elemental is oc-
armour with shields and axes. They cupying is destroyed on the mortal
prefer to fight in groups and it is not world, it will return to the spirit
unusual that they stand with their world.
backs against each other and fight to

the death if they are about to be de- ELEMENTAL (AIR)
feated. Air elementals resemble “dust
devils,” that is, small whirlwinds, but
COMBAT SKILL: 4 they are much more powerful. Air
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (axe) or 1d6+2 (war axe) elementals take double damage when
HP: 11 attacked by earth-based attacks
DEFENCE: 13
(including by earth elementals).
WILL: 5
91
COMBAT SKILL: 8 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Slam (1d6+4 dam-
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (Hurled Object) age, DN 10 Physique test or get knocked
HP: 35 prone), Earth Wave (range 20m, a 2 metre
DEFENCE: 14 wide wave of dirt, anyone in the wave’s
WILL: 2 path takes 1d6 damage and is knocked
prone, DN 9 Quickness test to avoid).
QUICKNESS: 5
MOVEMENT: 30 (fly)
SPECIAL ABILITIES: May attack from ELEMENTAL (FIRE)
range (up to 30m), Whirlwind (Range 2m, Fire elementals are simply
DN 9 Physique test to resist or get flames, which may appear generally
knocked back 1d6 metres, take 1d6 dam- humanoid for brief moments when
age and are knocked to the ground), they attack. Fire elementals take
Lightning Aura (Damage 2d6 to all within
double damage when attacked by wa-
6m radius from the Air Elemental, get
ter (including water elementals).
knocked prone (no resistance test), the Air
Elemental loses 1d6 Hit Points on each
COMBAT SKILL: 8
use), Affect Weather (The Air Elemental
DAMAGE: 2d6 (fireball)
has an uncontrolled random effect on the
weather in its surrounding area, the GM HP: 40
decides the effect). DEFENCE: 13
WILL: 2
QUICKNESS: 4
ELEMENTAL (EARTH)
MOVEMENT: 16
Earth elementals resemble
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fireball (2d6 dam-
crude, headless humanoid statues,
age, range 50 m, same as the spell, cost
with club like hands and feet. They no mana for the Fire Elemental), Fire
cannot cross a body of water wider Storm (damage 2d6 to any one within a 6
than their own height. Earth ele- metre radius, range 20m, DN 9 Quick-
mentals take double damage when ness test to reduce the damage by half,
attacked by fire (including fire ele- Fire Elemental loses 1d6 Hit Points for
mentals). each use of this ability), Fire Wave
(Combat Skill test to hit, anyone within 10
COMBAT SKILL: 8 metres from the Fire Elemental takes 1d6
DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (slam) damage), Healing (fire heals the ele-
mental for 1D3 Hit Points per round of
HP: 45
exposure to fire).
DEFENCE: 12
WILL: 2
QUICKNESS: 2
MOVEMENT: 6 (on land), 8(burrow)
92
Chapter 8: Bestiary
ELEMENTAL (WATER) Fell Beast
Water elementals resemble roil- Fell beasts are common preda-
ing waves of water, which seem to fall tors such as bears or wolves that have
upon any creature attacked, only to been corrupted by the evil magic and
reform the next round. They take possessed by evil spirits. They look
double damage when attacked with like bigger and more terrifying ver-
air or wind attacks (including air ele- sions of common predators and are
mentals). A water elemental cannot more aggressive in nature. Because of
move more than 60' from a body of the spirit that possesses their souls,
water. they are also far more cunning than
normal animals.
COMBAT SKILL: 8
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (Smack) COMBAT SKILL: 6
HP: 40 DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (claws), 1d6+3 (bite)
DEFENCE: 13 HP: 25
WILL: 2 DEFENCE: 14
QUICKNESS: 4 WILL: 5
MOVEMENT: 10 (on land), 20 (swim) QUICKNESS: 6
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Ice Spikes (1d6+2 MOVEMENT: 18
damage, range 40m, Water Elemental SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision
loses 1d6 Hit Points per use), Engulf
(drowns the target, use the suffocation This is the No-art version of Dark
rules on page 72, but halve the duration Sagas, the regular version will have
that the character can hold his or her artwork in this space.
breath, DN 10 Quickness test to avoid
getting engulfed).

Elf
The elves are said to be the old-
est of the humanoid creatures. They
are slender built and have pointed
ears, almond-shaped eyes and beauti-
ful facial features.
The stat block below shows a
typical elf. They are usually armed
93
with one-handed swords and bows manner of speech and use crude weap-
and wear leather armour. Many elves ons and clothing, little evidence has
are capable of using magic. been brought to light of these crea-
tures as having any culture aside from
COMBAT SKILL: 6 violent brutality.
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (Sword), 1d6+2
(Longbow) COMBAT SKILL: 4
HP: 8 DAMAGE: 2d6+1 (club)
DEFENCE: 12
HP: 40
WILL: 6
DEFENCE: 11
QUICKNESS: 4
WILL: 3
MOVEMENT: 10
QUICKNESS: 2
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Spell-
casting (elves are able to cast the follow- MOVEMENT: 14
ing spells: Armour, Light and Sleep). SPECIAL ABILITIES: Twin attack (-2 at-
tack, usable 1/round, damage +2, make
This is the No-art version of Dark two attacks), Large (one extra attack if
Sagas, the regular version will have two enemies stand within 4 metres from
artwork in this space. each other and one extra attack against
fleeing enemies).
Gargoyle
Grotesque humanoids with
leathery bat-like wings, their faces
with exaggerated features, and large
Ettin fangs that protrude from their lower
Ettins are similar to the cyclops jaws. Their skin is a dull grey, mean-
and the giant, but have two heads. ing that they are often mistaken for
They are very aggressive an usually statues, a fact that a predatory Gar-
found in caves, so be careful when goyle will often use to its advantage,
embarking near one. staying still for hours upon end, until
The heads are known to argue prey comes near. It is rumoured that
with each other, but that doesn't once the Gargoyles had a vast under-
make ettins any less dangerous. They ground Empire, but now they are
can survive having one of their heads encountered in small groups of twen-
lopped off, but may die nonetheless ty at the most. Often they find them-
due to the heavy bleeding. selves drafted into Orc war bands as
While they are capable of some flying troops.
94
Chapter 8: Bestiary
COMBAT SKILL: 5 (attack +6, damage 2d6, range 50m,
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (claws) DN12 Agility Test to avoid), Wish
HP: 12 (captured Genie will grant one wish at the
DEFENCE: 13 GM’s discretion). Spellcasting (any 1d6
WILL: 6 Wizard spells).
QUICKNESS: 3
MOVEMENT: 10 (on land), 20 (fly) Ghost
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Stone form (Defence A ghost is an undead spirit that
increases to 16, but may not act while tries to fulfil a task it left unfinished
being in this form).
in life, and cannot rest easily in their
This is the No-art version of Dark graves, so they remain to haunt the
Sagas, the regular version will have living as ghosts.
artwork in this space. A ghost normally resembles the
form it had in life, but sometimes the
spiritual form is altered. For in-
stance, the ghost of someone who
believed he or she was evil might look
a bit demonic.
COMBAT SKILL: 3
Genie DAMAGE: See Special Abilities.
Although they look like taller, HP: 10
majestic humans, genies are actually DEFENCE: 11
an intelligent kind of air elemental. WILL: 8
Genies has magical powers and may QUICKNESS: 4
throw lightning bolts at their ene-

MOVEMENT: 10 (fly)
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Resistance (can only
mies. Captured genies can grant their
be damaged by magic weapons and
captor one wish.
spells), Psychic Drain (damage 1d6, ,
causes the target to be dazed and unable
COMBAT SKILL: 7
to act for one round, DN 11 Will test to
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (slam)
resist), Deadly Howl (range 20m, usage
HP: 35
one time per two rounds, causes Paralysa-
DEFENCE: 14 tion for 1d6 rounds, DN 9 Will test to re-
WILL: 8 sist), Corruption (damage 1d6, DN 11 Will
QUICKNESS: 6 test to resist).
MOVEMENT: 10 (on land), 20 (fly)
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Lightning Bolt
95
Ghoul Giant
Ghouls were once a race of hu- Standing at least six metres
mans who became cannibalistic, eat- high, a Giant is a marvel to behold to
ing their own kind in the belief that the ‘little’ races that it towers over. It
this would grant them immortal life. is rumoured that they once had their
Outcast from their own society, own civilisation one that challenged
they became of race of degenerate that of the Gods, and so they were
wanderers, emaciated and filthy. cast down and scattered. Giants are
Through their practices and rituals, human-like and tend to take on the
they became undead creatures, no cultural aspects of the nearest human
longer truly human. culture, which they often trade with.
Ghouls today are often found That said, many are primitive barbar-
amongst other humans, though never ians in the wilderness. Living outside
openly, as their appearance would and beyond human society. Some are
give them away immediately. Instead master stone masons so are found in
they skulk in the shadows, often the mountains where there is an
amongst graveyards, waiting for some abundance of stone.
warm flesh to feed upon.
COMBAT SKILL: 4
COMBAT SKILL: 3 DAMAGE: 3d6 (club), 2d6 (stomp)
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (bite), 1d6+1 (claws) HP: 50
HP: 10 DEFENCE: 15
DEFENCE: 11 WILL: 3
WILL: 4 QUICKNESS: 2
QUICKNESS: 3 MOVEMENT: 20
MOVEMENT: 10 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Large (one extra
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Subter- attack if two enemies stand within 4 me-
fuge 6, Strangle (If the ghoul makes a tres from eachother and one extra attack
successful attack it may grab hold of its against fleeing enemies).
target and strangle it, damage 1D3 per
round, the victim have to make an op- This is the No-art version of Dark
posed test of Might vs. the ghoul’s attack Sagas, the regular version will have
score of +4 to break free). artwork in this space.
96
Chapter 8: Bestiary
Giant Ant Giant Eagle
Giant ants are about the size of a Gant eagles can be found in the
horse, they have fierce fangs and tallest mountain peaks, where they
tough skin. They are aggressive and nest. These majestic and intelligent
will attack any creature in sight. birds can grow up to 3 metres tall and
have wingspans of almost 7 metres.
COMBAT SKILL: 4 They often serve the forces of good in
DAMAGE: 2d6 (fangs) their fight against evil.
HP: 13
DEFENCE: 13 COMBAT SKILL: 4
WILL: 1 DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (beak), 1d6+2 (claws)
QUICKNESS: 3 HP: 20
MOVEMENT: 14 DEFENCE: 13
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poison (if the giant WILL: 4
ant wounds its target, it will spray poison QUICKNESS: 5
on the victim, who has to make a DN 12 MOVEMENT: 40 (fly)
Physique test or become paralysed for SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poison (if the giant
1D6 minutes of game time). ant wounds its target, it will spray poison
on the victim, who has to make a DN 12
Giant Bat Physique test or become paralysed for
1D6 minutes of game time).
Giant bats are about the size of a
large predatory bird, like a condor or
an eagle. They hide in the shadows Sagas, the regular version will have
and attack in a flurry of fangs and artwork in this space.
wings.
COMBAT SKILL: 2
DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (claws), 1d6+1 (bite)
HP: 7
DEFENCE: 12
WILL: 1
QUICKNESS: 5
MOVEMENT: 20 (fly)
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, fly.
97
WILL: 1
Giant Rat QUICKNESS: 3
Giant rats are 1 metre long scav- MOVEMENT: 12
enging rodents. They are as smart as SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poison (Whenever a
normal rats, although more aggres- giant scorpion attacks, roll a dice. On a 1,
sive. They will attack human sized it attacks with its sting, which deals 2d6
creatures if they outnumber them. damage. In addition, anyone struck by the
sting must make a DN 11 Physique test or
COMBAT SKILL: 2 lose an additional 1d6 Health).
DAMAGE: 1d6 (bite)
HP: 4 Giant Snake
DEFENCE: 10
Giant snakes oversized vipers
WILL: 1
that can grow up to 9 metres in
QUICKNESS: 3
length. They are venomous and have
MOVEMENT: 12
sharp fangs that can cause some seri-
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Disease (anyone
ous injuries.
damaged by a giant rat must make a DN
9 Physique test. If they fail they have con-
COMBAT SKILL: 5
tracted a disease and must deduct -1 from
all dice rolls until cured, or until 1d3 days DAMAGE: 1d6+1 + poison (bite)
of game time have passed). HP: 18
DEFENCE: 11
WILL: 1
Giant Scorpion QUICKNESS: 3
Giant scorpions can grow up to 3 MOVEMENT: 8
metres in length, and are aggressive SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poison (The bite of
hunters. A giant scorpion hunts by a giant snake is venomous. Anyone dam-
grasping creatures in its claws and aged by one must make a DN 13 Physique
stinging them. test or lose an additional 1d6 Health.
If either claw attack hits an op-
ponent, the giant scorpion gets a +2 Giant Spider
bonus to hit that same opponent with Giant spiders much larger ver-
its stinger. sions of ordinary spiders. They can
grow up to 4-5 metres in length and
COMBAT SKILL: 4
live underground or in dark, dense
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (claws), 2d6 + poison
woodlands, where they spin strong
(poison stinger)
sticky webs to trap their victims.
HP: 17
DEFENCE: 13 Once trapped, the spider moves in
98
Chapter 8: Bestiary
slowly, prepared to inject it’s victim QUICKNESS: 3
with its venom. MOVEMENT: 12
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision.
COMBAT SKILL: 4
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (bite), 3 damage for This is the No-art version of Dark
1d6 rounds (poison) Sagas, the regular version will have
HP: 20 artwork in this space.
DEFENCE: 12
WILL: 2
QUICKNESS: 3
MOVEMENT: 12
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poison (deals 3 Gnome
points of damage each round for 1d6 Gnomes are small (110-120 cm
rounds).
tall) humanoids distantly related to
This is the No-art version of Dark dwarfs. They look like small humans
Sagas, the regular version will have with long noses and beards but bald
artwork in this space. heads. Like dwarfs, all gnomes have
Darkvision.
Gnomes are excellent miners,
specialising in mining gems. Gnomes
are excellent tinkerers and inventors,
Gnoll and love anything mechanical.
Gnolls are fierce tribal human- Unlike dwarfs, gnomes are mag-
oids with furred bodies and the heads ically gifted and all gnomes knows a
(and markings) of hyenas. Gnolls are few spells.
constantly hungry, and will eat al-
most anything; including each other. COMBAT SKILL: 4
Gnolls are bullies and respect DAMAGE: 1d6 (shortsword)
HP: 7
only strength. They practically never
DEFENCE: 12
trade, taking whatever weapons and
WILL: 8
livestock they can steal instead.
QUICKNESS: 4
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (sword),1d6+1 (bow) SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Spell-
HP: 12 casting (spells: Blinding Flash, Illusory
Shape, Invisibility, Light, Sleep), Subter-
DEFENCE: 12
fuge 4.
WILL: 3
99
Goblin GOBLIN CHIEFTAIN
Sneakier and smaller cousins of A goblin chieftain is the leader
the Orcs, goblins are a quarrelsome of a tribe of goblins. It is usually
bunch of green-skinned humanoids. about two dozen adults. The chief is
They stand as tall as a human child usually a male, but female goblins
and their smiling faces are dominated can also become chieftains. It de-
by large hooked noses and mouth full pends on whether they can kill or at
of razor-sharp teeth. Constantly in least thoroughly beat their rivals in
the shadow of the larger humanoid the struggle for power. Goblin chief-
races, often used as slaves or cannon tains are not as weak like regular gob-
fodder, these diminutive psychopaths lins, they can often measure up to the
take out their frustration on any oth- average person in single combat.
er creatures unlucky enough to be They are also better armed and have
outnumbered by them or in their better armour than usual goblins.
power. Most often protected they are pro-

tected by bodyguards, consisting of
COMBAT SKILL: 2 selected fighters. Like all goblins,
DAMAGE: 1d6 (shortsword), 1d6+1 (bow) they only engage in combat if they
HP: 6 feel confident of winning.
DEFENCE: 11
WILL: 3 COMBAT SKILL: 4
QUICKNESS: 3 DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (sword), 1d6+1 (bow)
MOVEMENT: 8 HP: 9
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision. DEFENCE: 13
WILL: 3
This is the No-art version of Dark QUICKNESS: 4
Sagas, the regular version will have MOVEMENT: 8
artwork in this space. SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision.
Golem
Golems are enchanted con-
structs made from a humanoid figure
sculpted from clay. A stationary go-
lem cannot be distinguished from a
terracotta statue.
As constructs, they are immune
100
Chapter 8: Bestiary
to Sleep and Enslave spells. COMBAT SKILL: 8
Golems are somewhat intelli- DAMAGE: 1d6+4 (Claws), 2d6 (Beak)
gent and can understand the same HP: 34
language as its creator, and while DEFENCE: 13
unable to speak; they are able to fol- WILL: 5
low complex orders. QUICKNESS: 4
There are many types of golems, MOVEMENT: 14 (on land), 30 (fly)
but the stats shown here is that of a SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, Perception 6.
clay golem. This is the No-art version of Dark

COMBAT SKILL: 5 artwork in this space.
DAMAGE: 2d6+1 (slam)
HP: 25
DEFENCE: 15
WILL: 7
QUICKNESS: 2
MOVEMENT: 6 Hag
SPECIAL ABILITIES: - Hags are demonic beings who
live by people's anxiety and fears.
They prey on people who already
haunted by nightmares and exacer-
bates the dreams they engage in. War,
pestilence and other cruel events is a
feast for a hag, who will easily enjoy
people's anxiety. In order to live of a
person's fear the hag must touch the
sleeper. Persons who are haunted by
the hag in this way cannot recover
mana through sleep and lose a one
Griffon
mana per night as nightmares haunt
With the body of a lion and the
them. This means that they are con-
head of an eagle and two eagle wings,
stantly exhausted.
the mighty Griffon is associated with
Hags are in their natural form
the nobility, who often hunt it for
long, lean and clearly demonic wom-
sport. It lairs in the mountains and is
en, with sharp claws, fangs, blank
often the lord of its terrain.
white eyes and lank black hair. They
can also assume a human form and it
101
is usually in this way they approach COMBAT SKILL: 2
their victims. A hag who lose more DAMAGE: 1d6 (shortsword), 1d6 (sling)
than half of their Health can no HP: 8
longer maintain their human form, DEFENCE: 11
but returns to their true form. WILL: 4
QUICKNESS: 4
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (bite & claws) SPECIAL ABILITIES: Subterfuge 4.
HP: 12
DEFENCE: 11 This is the No-art version of Dark
WILL: 5 Sagas, the regular version will have
QUICKNESS: 4 artwork in this space.
MOVEMENT: 10
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Shapeshifter, sometimes
other forms of magic.
Halfling
Halflings are a non-human race,
Harpy
much shorter and lighter than hu-
A foul creature, the harpy has
mans, standing only 100-120 cm tall.
the body of a human woman and the
They are of a proportionally similar
filth encrusted wings, legs and claws,
build to humans, with the exception
of a bird. Intimately associated with
of their feet—which are large and
death, this creature is primarily a
covered in hair. The soles of
scavenger and can be found living in
halflings’ feet are tough and resilient,
packs of four to forty.
and halflings often travel bare-
They are able to attack with
footed.
their claws as well as with normal
Halflings’ skin tone has a simi-
weapons, but their most insidious
lar range to that of humans, as does
ability is their horrifying scream.
their hair colour. Halflings do not
grow beards or moustaches, but side-
COMBAT SKILL: 4
burns are common among males.
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (claws)
Halflings are very gregarious
HP: 14
and can be commonly found living in DEFENCE: 11
small villages in grasslands and hills WILL: 6
where they excel at farming. QUICKNESS: 3
102
Chapter 8: Bestiary
MOVEMENT: 6 (on land), 30 (fly) sion of an eagle; head, front talons
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, Horrifying scream and wings and a riding horse; body,
(DN 11 Will test or become frightened with rear legs and tail.
a –2 penalty to all attribute tests for 1d6
rounds). COMBAT SKILL: 6
DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (beak), 1d6+2 (claws),
Hellhound 1D6+2 (hooves)
HP: 27
Hellhounds are canine creatures
DEFENCE: 12
sheathed in hellish flame. A typical
WILL: 4
hell hound stands 130-140 cm high at
QUICKNESS: 3
the shoulder and weighs 50-60 kg.
They are native to another plane,
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, Perception 6.
where they roam freely, or are some-
times used as watchdogs. In the wild, This is the No-art version of Dark
these creatures travel and hunt in Sagas, the regular version will have
packs. They have a breath weapon, a artwork in this space.
flaming attack that may be used
against a single creature.
COMBAT SKILL: 7
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 + 1d6 fire damage
(fiery bite), 2d6 (fiery breath) Hobgoblin
HP: 25 Hobgoblins are larger cousins of
DEFENCE: 13 goblins, being about the same size as
WILL: 4 humans. Their hair colour ranges
QUICKNESS: 4 from dark reddish-brown to dark
MOVEMENT: 20 gray. They have dark orange or red-
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fiery Breath (damage orange skin. Large males have blue
2d6 to all within 6 metres from the hell
or red noses. Hobgoblins' eyes are
hound, usage one time per three rounds,
yellowish or dark brown, while their
DN 11 Quickness test for half damage).
teeth are yellow. Their garments tend
to be brightly coloured, often blood
Hippogriff red with black-tinted leather. Their
The hippogriff is the result of weaponry is kept polished and in
magical animal experiments that good repair. They wear toughened
took place in a time long forgot. This hides and carry wooden shields for
mysterious hybrid animal is the fu-
103
armour. As with most goblinoids, COMBAT SKILL: 3
they have Dark Sight with a 24 metre DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (hooves)
range. HP: 15
Hobgoblins are cruel and calcu- DEFENCE: 10
lating warriors, always looking to WILL: 1
exploit those weaker than themselves. QUICKNESS: 3
They have a strong grasp of strategy MOVEMENT: 20
and tactics and are capable of carry- SPECIAL ABILITIES: -
ing out sophisticated battle plans.

Under the leadership of a skilled Humans
strategist or tactician, their discipline
KNIGHT
can prove a deciding factor. Hobgob-
Knights are noble warriors that
lins hate elves and attack them first
are trained to fight when mounted
in preference over other opponents.
and are equipped with swords, ar-
COMBAT SKILL: 3 mour and sometimes a shield.
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (sword), 1d6+2 (bow) They are amongst the toughest
HP: 10 human opponents that can be faced in
DEFENCE: 11 combat as they have trained their
WILL: 3 whole lives in the art of battle.
QUICKNESS: 3 Knights don’t run away in a hurry,
MOVEMENT: 10 their honour forbids them from show-
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, fights ing cowardice in front of opponent.
dirty (+1 damage, as shown in the dam-
age row above). COMBAT SKILL: 5 (7 while mounted)
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (sword)
Horse, War HP: 12
DEFENCE: 14
Horses are found all over the
WILL: 3
world, from the grasslands where
QUICKNESS: 3
they roam freely to cities and towns
MOVEMENT: 10
where they are used as mounts.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Skilled rider (+2
The stats below shows a war
attack while mounted).
horse, also called a Destrier, these
mighty steeds gives its rider a +1
Combat Point bonus when fighting
mounted.
104
Chapter 8: Bestiary
This is the No-art version of Dark ponents. The city watch usually
Sagas, the regular version will have wears leather armour.
COMBAT SKILL: 3
DAMAGE: 1d6 (shortsword), 1d6+2
(crossbow)
HP: 10
DEFENCE: 13
BANDIT WILL: 3
QUICKNESS: 3
Bandit is a generic term for out-
MOVEMENT: 10
law, brigand, thief, cutpurse or thug.
These unscrupulous people normally
hang around in gangs of four or five This is the No-art version of Dark
under the rule of a gang leader or Sagas, the regular version will have
boss. artwork in this space.
COMBAT SKILL: 4
DAMAGE: 1d6 (shortsword), 1d6+1 (bow)
HP: 10
DEFENCE: 11
THIEF
WILL: 3
This is a typical thief that might
QUICKNESS: 3
decide to rob the characters in some
MOVEMENT: 10
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Subterfuge 3. dark alley, either by picking their
pockets or through threat of weapons.
This is the No-art version of Dark A thief have Subterfuge 7 and Percep-
tion 6.
COMBAT SKILL: 2
DAMAGE: 1d6-1 (dagger)
HP: 9
CITY WATCH DEFENCE: 11
They are ordinary human warri- WILL: 3
ors of pretty low quality that are QUICKNESS: 4
hired to uphold the order in cities MOVEMENT: 10
and castles. They usually don’t have SPECIAL ABILITIES: Subterfuge 7, Per-
very much morale in battle and flees ception 6.
or surrenders if faced with tough op-
105
Hydra Kobold
Hydras are reptile-like monsters Kobolds are small, dog-faced
with multiple heads. They are gray- reptilian humanoids. A kobold is 80-
brown to dark brown, with a light 90 cm tall and weighs 15-20 kg. They
yellow or tan underbelly. The eyes prefer ranged combat, closing only
are amber and the teeth are yellow- when they can see that their foes have
white. Hydras are about 6 metres been weakened. Whenever they can,
long and weigh about 2 tonnes. They kobolds set up ambushes near trapped
are bad-tempered and territorial, but areas. They aim to drive enemies
not particularly cunning. into the traps, where other kobolds
A successful attack on a hydra wait to pour flaming oil over them,
will cut of one of its heads, two new shoot them, or drop poisonous ver-
heads will grow back the next round min onto them. Kobolds have
and the hydra will heal 1d6 Health. darkvision with a range of 20 metres.
The only way to prevent the regener- Kobolds are cunning foes. They
ation is to burn it. see all larger races as enemies, and
are thus likely to be hostile when en-
COMBAT SKILL: 5 countered. However, they are natu-
DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (bite, one per head), rally cowardly, and prefer to avoid
2d6+6 (acid)
combat, leading enemies into am-
HP: 55
bushes or traps rather than facing
DEFENCE: 15
them directly. Sometimes kobold
WILL: 2
tribes build and inhabit extensive
QUICKNESS: 3
dungeon areas filled with deadly traps
MOVEMENT: 20
which only they know how to avoid.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Acid attack (3/day),
Regenerating (as long as one head re-
COMBAT SKILL: 2
mains, regain 1d6 Health per round and
DAMAGE: 1d6 (shortsword)
one new head).
HP: 5
This is the No-art version of Dark DEFENCE: 10
Sagas, the regular version will have WILL: 2
artwork in this space. QUICKNESS: 3
MOVEMENT: 8
fuge 4.
106
Chapter 8: Bestiary
slaved by a llamia will stay a slave
Lamia until the llamia is killed.
A llamia is a magical creature
In combat the llamia uses her
whose origins are raised in mystery.
sharp and poisonous fangs. The poi-
Some believe that they were created
son causes extra damage by destroy-
long ago by a demon god somewhere
ing the tissue around the wound (the
in the desert. Others say that they are
extra damage is already included in
demons from another world. But it is
the stat block below).
obvious that they cannot possibly be
natural creatures. They all look like COMBAT SKILL: 5
human women, down to the navel DAMAGE: 2d6+1 (sword)
and then the rest of the body is that HP: 16
of a serpent’s. The serpent part of the DEFENCE: 13
body can be up to thirty feet long, WILL: 5
though most are shorter. All llamia QUICKNESS: 5
appears to be between 20 to 40 years MOVEMENT: 12
old and they do not age. They are SPECIAL ABILITIES: Magic voice (DN 11
usually very beautiful and also very Will test to resist or become a slave to the
lamia), Subterfuge 6.
dangerous. At least they are perceived
as beautiful because of their magical
powers. Linnorm
Llamias drinks blood, like a Linnorms are smaller, wingless
vampire, it uses its magical powers to and legless dragons that live in caves
enslave the victims will. Anyone who and tunnels. They are not as intelli-
hears the llamia’s voice have to make gent as their winged relatives, and
a DN12 Presence test or become en- can’t breathe fire either, but can
slaved by the llamia. A person who is spray a directed squirt of poison in-
enslaved by the llamia will do any- stead. A feat they can perform once a
thing she wants. Once the llamia has day, and only against a single target.
enslaved its victim she will drink the Otherwise they use their bite, quick
victim’s blood, a little at a time, she attacks that a reminiscent of those of
will try to keep the victim alive for as rattle snakes.
long as possible so she can be provid- Linnorms are fond of jewels,
ed with food for a long time. It can usually they have a rather precious
take months before the victim dies, collection in their nest, and that is
sometimes even longer. A person en- why brave adventurers seek to battle
107
them, usually with a lethal outcome HP: 15
for the adventurers. The scaly skin of DEFENCE: 12
the linnorm absorbs 2 HP if it is hit. WILL: 1
QUICKNESS: 4
DAMAGE: 3d6 (poison spray), 1d6+3 SPECIAL ABILITIES: -
(bite)
HP: 30 Lizardman
DEFENCE: 15 Lizardmen are bipedal Lizards
WILL: 4 that walk upright, use tools and mag-
QUICKNESS: 4 ic, and would threaten mankind, if
MOVEMENT: 14
they didn’t prefer very hot climates,
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poison spray (range
such as arid deserts and steamy
10 metres).
swamps. They can be found in any-
This is the No-art version of Dark thing from small primitive groups to
Sagas, the regular version will have large civilisations which enslave hu-
artwork in this space. mans to build their awesome monu-
ments.
COMBAT SKILL: 3
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (spear)
Lion HP: 12
Lions are big cats that live in DEFENCE: 11
small family groups called prides. WILL: 3
Male lions have a distinctive QUICKNESS: 3
mane, and are relatively inactive. MOVEMENT: 10 (on land), 12 (swim)
Although they are very territorial SPECIAL ABILITIES: Can stay under
towards other male lions, they will water for an hour.
often ignore non-lion creatures unless
threatened. Manticore
Female lions are active hunters, A manticore is a strange creature
and work well together. Some will lie with the body of a lion, the wings of a
in ambush while others chase poten- bat, a human face, and a spike cov-
tial prey towards them. ered tail. Despite the human seeming
face, manticores are not sapient.
COMBAT SKILL: 5
A manticore has tail spikes, and
DAMAGE: 2d6 (bite), 1d6+2 (claws)
can shoot them at their prey, even
108
Chapter 8: Bestiary
when it is flying. Spikes are re-grown peers.
at a rate of two per day.
Manticores are aggressive hunt- COMBAT SKILL: 5
ers, and will attempt to kill and eat DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (battle axe), 1d6+2
(horns), 1d6+1 (fists)
even well armed groups of travellers.
HP: 20
COMBAT SKILL: 9 DEFENCE: 14
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (bite & claws), 1d6+1 + WILL: 3
Poison (tail), 1d6+3 (spike projectiles) QUICKNESS: 6
HP: 35 MOVEMENT: 14 (on land), 20 (fly)
DEFENCE: 14 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Frenzy
WILL: 3 (as soon as a minotaur looses its first hit
QUICKNESS: 6 points in combat they become frenzied
and gain a +1 bonus to their Combat Skill
and a –1 penalty to their Defence).
fuge 7, Poison (If the poisonous tail stinger
hits, the victim needs to succeed with a This is the No-art version of Dark
DN 11 Physique test or die within 1D6 Sagas, the regular version will have
minutes, only the Antidote spell will neu-
tralise the poison).

Mummy
The preserved remains of nobili-
ty, whose death rituals are deliberate-
Minotaur ly designed to turn them into this
One of the most powerful of all form of undead.
the Beastmen races, with the body of Often bandaged from head to toe
a well-proportioned powerful human as part of this process, they tend to be
and the head of a bull or cow. As well found in their original tomb. Being
as mazes, this race lives in the forests nobility, they are of course found as
and hills of the wilderness, in family the leader of other lesser undead
groups and alongside its Beastman types, who were often their servants
109
during life as well.
Ogre
COMBAT SKILL: 4 Ogres appear as large, very ugly
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (hand weapon) humans. Adult ogres stand 2.5 to 3
HP: 25 metres tall and weigh 270-300 kg.
DEFENCE: 11 Their skin colour ranges from dull
WILL: 6 yellow to dull brown. Their clothing
QUICKNESS: 2 consists of poorly cured furs and
MOVEMENT: 8 hides, which add to their naturally
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Subterfuge 7, Im- repellent odour. Ogres are brutish
mune to mind-affecting magic. and aggressive, but inherently lazy.
They employ direct attacks in com-
Night Wolf bat, typically using large clubs, axes,
This creature resembles an over- or pole arms.
sized dog, but it has two heads. The
origins of this creature are unknown COMBAT SKILL: 4
DAMAGE: 2d6+1 (club)
but they do serve as very loyal and
HP: 20
obedient guard dogs. The creature
DEFENCE: 12
gets to attack twice in a combat turn,
WILL: 2
once for each head.
QUICKNESS: 2
MOVEMENT: 14
COMBAT SKILL: 7
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision.
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 + 1d6+2 (2 bites)
HP: 20
DEFENCE: 13
WILL: 3
QUICKNESS: 5
MOVEMENT: 18
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Perception 6, Sub-
terfuge 6, Darkvision.

110
Chapter 8: Bestiary
Orc ORC, CHEIFTAIN
Orcs are grotesque foul green- An Orc chieftain is bigger,
skinned humanoids with a foul tem- stronger and more cunning than reg-
per, bent on war and domination. ular orcs, which is necessary in a soci-
They have lupine ears, reddish eyes, ety where "might is right" prevails.
truncated, snout-like noses, and black Orc chieftains have better weapons
hair (but very little body hair). An and armour than regular orcs.
adult male orc is a little over 180 cm The stats for orc chieftains can
tall and weighs about 90-100 kg; fe- also be used for orc champions .
males are slightly smaller. Orcs pre-

COMBAT SKILL: 4
fer wearing vivid colours that many
DAMAGE: 1d6+3 (battle axe)
humans would consider unpleasant,
HP: 15
such as blood red, mustard yellow,
DEFENCE: 13
yellow-green, and deep purple. Orcs
WILL: 4
live for violence and have a society
QUICKNESS: 4
where the strong dominate the weak. MOVEMENT: 10
Orc clans, known as warbands, regu- SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision.
larly war on each other and other
races that they come across. They
Owlbear
utilize all manner of weapons and
Owlbears are said to be the result
armour scavenged from battlefields.
of an experiment made by a mad en-
COMBAT SKILL: 3 chanter a long time ago. An owlbear
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (axe) is the size of an adult brown bear,
HP: 10 walks on its hind legs and has a head
DEFENCE: 11 like an owl. The head and large parts
WILL: 3 of the body is covered by feathers, the
QUICKNESS: 3 rest by fur.
MOVEMENT: 10 Owlbears have large, sharp beaks
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision. and long claws. Their good is meat,
and an unarmed human is easy prey.
Its favoured tactics is to hold its prey
and then use its horrible bite. Owl
bears are usually found in remote
forests close to mountains. They pre-
fer to hunt during the night.
111
COMBAT SKILL: 5
DAMAGE: 2d6 (beak), 1d6+2 (claws)
Pixie
HP: 25 Diminutive humanoids with but-
DEFENCE: 13 terfly wings, these mischievous beings
WILL: 1 live close to nature in forests and
QUICKNESS: 3 woods. They are quite friendly with
MOVEMENT: 14 elves, and other races quite often mis-
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Percep- take them as a subspecies of elf. Pixies
tion 5. are winged fairies often found in for-
ested areas. They wear bright cloth-
Pegasus ing, often including a cap and shoes
The pegasus is a magnificent with curled and pointed toes. A pixie
winged horse. Though highly prized stands about 60-70 cm tall and
as aerial steeds, pegasi are wild and weighs about 10-15 kg.
shy creatures not easily tamed. A

COMBAT SKILL: 1
typical pegasus stands 1.8 m high at
DAMAGE: 1
the shoulder, weighs 650-700 kg, and
HP: 3
has a wingspan of 6 metres.
DEFENCE: 14
WILL: 7
COMBAT SKILL: 4
QUICKNESS: 7
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (hooves)
MOVEMENT: 12 (fly)
HP: 24
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, invisibility,
DEFENCE: 12
Spellcasting (1d6 spells).
WILL: 8
QUICKNESS: 4
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, See aura (a
pegasus can sense a person’s true aura
and see whether that person is good, evil
or something in between), Dispel Magic (a
Pegasus can cast this spell at will, no
magic roll involved).

112
Chapter 8: Bestiary
Sabretooth
Fearsome and mighty, those
travelling through the jungles of the
world need to beware of the tiger.
These great cats hunt their prey
alone, pouncing upon them before
rending them with their teeth and
claws.
Sea Serpent
COMBAT SKILL: 6
Within the briny depths of the
DAMAGE: 2d6+1 (bite), 1d6+1 (claws)
seas and oceans live many dangerous
HP: 20
creatures. Most never trouble ships,
DEFENCE: 13
WILL: 3 but some, like the massive water
QUICKNESS: 4 snakes known as sea serpents, have a
MOVEMENT: 18 nasty habit of doing just that.

COMBAT SKILL: 7
DAMAGE: 2d6 (bite), 3d6 (horn), 2d6+2
Satyr (ramming attack)
Woodland dwelling half man HP: 35
half goat. These beastmen have the DEFENCE: 13
lower quarters of a goat, and the up- WILL: 1
per torso of a man. Their hair tends QUICKNESS: 4
to be thick and curly, like a goat, and MOVEMENT: 16 (swim)
they also have goat horns on their SPECIAL ABILITIES: Perfect vision under
heads. water, Ramming attack: The sea serpent
rams a boat in the hope of knocking peo-
COMBAT SKILL: 3 ple over board. Anyone on deck needs to
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (hand weapon) make a DN 9 Physique test or fall over
HP: 11 board.
DEFENCE: 12
WILL: 4 Shadow
QUICKNESS: 4 Shadows are dark and incorpore-
MOVEMENT: 18 al barely sapient creatures that lurk
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Spellcasting (spells: in corners and cellars.
Sleep and Weaken).
A shadow looks very much like a
113
real shadow, although it is difficult to COMBAT SKILL: 2
see and can surprise opponents in the DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (Hand Weapon)
dark. HP: 6
Despite their appearance, shad- DEFENCE: 10
ows are not undead and cannot be WILL: 5
turned. QUICKNESS: 2
MOVEMENT: 10
COMBAT SKILL: 4 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Immune to mind-
DAMAGE: 2d6 (dark embrace) affecting spells, takes half damage from
HP: 15 cutting and piercing weapons.
DEFENCE: 12
WILL: 7
QUICKNESS: 5
MOVEMENT: 16
fuge 7, Can only be damaged by spells
and magic weapons.

Sphinx
A sphinx is a large creature that
looks much like a massive lioness,
except that it has the head of a female
human. They are said to be agents of
the gods, sent down to the mortal
world to guard and watch over areas
the gods hold sacred or do not want
disturbed. They will sit at their desig-
Skeleton nated place until the gods say other-
Skeletons are mindless undead wise, not allowing anyone to pass
created by an evil Sorcerer or Priest. unless they can first prove themselves
Skeletons are the lowest type of un- worthy. This can be done by answer-
dead which are often created to, act ing a riddle that the sphinx devises. If
as disposable warriors and tomb it can be answered, that person will
guards. be allowed to continue into the area
the sphinx is guarding. If it cannot be
114
Chapter 8: Bestiary
answered, the sphinx will not allow DAMAGE: 4d6+2 (giant weapon)
the person to pass, attacking if they HP: 80
try to force their way through. DEFENCE: 18
WILL: 7
COMBAT SKILL: 8 QUICKNESS: 3
DAMAGE: 2d6 (bite), 1d6+3 (claws) MOVEMENT: 16 (swim)
HP: 40 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Huge (one extra
DEFENCE: 15 attack if two enemies stand within 6 me-
WILL: 7 tres from eachother and one extra attack
QUICKNESS: 5 against fleeing enemies).
MOVEMENT: 14
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Fly, Threaten (DN 11 Treant
Will test to resist, if the test fails the char-
A treant is a large, roughly hu-
acter gets a -2 modifier to all actions).
manoid tree-man. Treants have
This is the No-art version of Dark leaves of deep green in the spring and
Sagas, the regular version will have summer. In the fall and winter the
artwork in this space. leaves change to yellow, orange, or
red, but they rarely fall out. A
treant’s legs fit together when closed
to look like the trunk of a tree, and a
motionless treant is nearly indistin-
guishable from a tree. A treant is
Titan about 9 metres tall, with a “trunk”

about 60 cm in diameter. It weighs
The titans are related to giants
about 2 tonnes.
but are larger, stronger and more
Treants speak their own lan-
intelligent. The lifespan of a titan is
guage, plus Common and Elvish.
very long, they can live for up to
Most also can manage a smattering of
1000 years. Titans are very reclusive
just about all other humanoid
and live apart from other intelligent
tongues, at least enough to say “Get
creatures and there are not many ti-
away from my trees!” Treants prefer
tans left in the world.
to watch potential foes carefully be-
Unlike other giants, titans can
fore attacking. They often charge
learn to use magic, although it’s rare
suddenly from cover to trample the
for them to do so.
despoilers of forests. If sorely
COMBAT SKILL: 8
115
pressed, they animate trees as rein- QUICKNESS: 3
forcements. MOVEMENT: 12
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Stench
COMBAT SKILL: 8* (anyone within 10 metres from the troll
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (fists), 2d6+1(throwing needs to make a DN 9 Physique test or
a stone) become nauseous and receive a -2 penal-
HP: 40 ty to all actions).
DEFENCE: 15
WILL: 3 STONE TROLL
QUICKNESS: 1 Stone trolls are large, greedy
MOVEMENT: 6 and cruel creatures that live in caves
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Subter- in the mountains and distant wood-
fuge 3, *Treants may only make one at-
land. They eat only meat and thinks
tack every other round due to being very
humans are a delicacy.
slow.
They wear animal skins, adorn
themselves with stolen goods, pieces
Troll of bone and knocked-out teeth and
GREY TROLL fight with big wooden sticks that
A Grey Troll is a smaller rela- gives them a good reach in combat.
tive of stone troll, they are still large

COMBAT SKILL: 6
and dangerous to humans. They are
DAMAGE: 2d6+2 (club), 1d6+2 (fists)
over two meters long and has greyish,
HP: 25
furry skin, long matted hair and
DEFENCE: 14
smell very bad. Their eyes are yellow,
WILL: 2
the ears are pointed and hairy and
QUICKNESS: 3
they have a long tail as that looks like MOVEMENT: 14
the tail of a cow. They are warlike SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Turn to
and often gather in tribes under a stone (if a stone troll is hit by sunlight they
powerful troll king who rules the turn into stone permanently, even a single
tribe. They wear leather armour and ray of sunlight is sufficient).
prefer crushing weapons and axes.
WOOD TROLL
COMBAT SKILL: 4
The smallest of the troll types,
DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (mace), 1d6+1 (fists)
being only around four to five feet
HP: 15
tall. Wood troll are fearless crea-
DEFENCE: 12
tures, they simply do not know what
WILL: 2
116
Chapter 8: Bestiary
fear is and are not afraid to attack any their healing powers. Unfortunately
other creature, even large and terrify- this makes them the target of those
ing creatures like dragons. that see profit in selling it as a magic
As their name implies, they live item.
in deep forests where they hunt ani- A typical adult unicorn grows to
mals for food and gather nuts and 2.5 metres in length, stands 1.5 me-
berries. They live in large villages, tres high at the shoulder, and weighs
often with more than 100 individuals. 650-700kg. Females are slightly
Encountering wood trolls mostly smaller and slimmer than males. A
means fighting to the death as the unicorn has deep sea-blue, violet,
wood trolls are extremely aggressive. brown, or fiery gold eyes. Males
sport a white beard.
COMBAT SKILL: 3
DAMAGE: 1d6 (club), 1d6+2 (spear) COMBAT SKILL: 6
HP: 8 DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (hooves), 2d6 (gore)
DEFENCE: 11 HP: 25
WILL: 2 DEFENCE: 13
QUICKNESS: 4 WILL: 7
MOVEMENT: 14 QUICKNESS: 5
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Fearless MOVEMENT: 20
(wood trolls never make fear tests). SPECIAL ABILITIES: Detect Aura (detect
general moral auras within 30m), Heal
This is the No-art version of Dark (heal 1d6 HP per target each day, re-
Sagas, the regular version will have charged by exposing horn to moonlight),
artwork in this space. Supress Evil (negates evil effects within a
30m radius from the unicorn), Teleport
(once per day the unicorn may teleport to
any location within sight).

Unicorn
Pure white magical horses with a
single foot long horn that grows from
their forehead and is the source of
117
drain 1d6 HP per round from the target.
Vampire The vampire has 9 Physique for the pur-
Dark overlords of the undead, pose of an opposed Physique test).
Vampires feed off the blood and life-
force of the living. Vampires appear
just as they did in life, although their
features are often hardened and feral,
with the predatory look of wolves.
They often embrace finery and deca-
dence and may assume the guise of
nobility. Despite their human ap- Werewolf
pearance, vampires can be easily rec-
Human by day, when the rage
ognized, for they cast no shadows and
takes them, or under a full moon,
throw no reflections in mirrors.
they transform into a giant savage
They speak any languages they knew
wolf. They are the very embodiment
in life.
of nature or the bane of mankind,
Vampires are either solitary
depending on your viewpoint.
hunters, or form societies where
weaker members of the brood must ATTACK: 15
bring victims to the more powerful DAMAGE: 2d6 (bite)
leaders. HEALTH: 20
DEFENCE/ARMOUR: 5/1
COMBAT SKILL: 9 MAGIC DEFENCE: 4
DAMAGE: 1D6+3 (bite + blood drain), MOVEMENT: 14
2d6 (slam) INITIATIVE: 6
HP: 30 TREASURE RANK: 1
DEFENCE: 16 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Only
WILL: 7 damaged by fire, spells, magic weapons
and weapons made of silver.
QUICKNESS: 5
MOVEMENT: 18 This is the No-art version of Dark
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Percep- Sagas, the regular version will have
tion 5, Hard to kill (If the vampire is reduced artwork in this space.
to 0 HP it will come back to life at midnight
the following night.), Sunlight Sensitivity (A
vampire exposed to sunlight loses 1d6 HP
per turn), Shapeshange (transform into a bat
or a wolf), Blood Drain (if the vampire hits
with its bite it may use the grapple rules to
118
Chapter 8: Bestiary
such as finishing an uncompleted task
Wight or gaining revenge on those who
Wights are undead that look
killed them. If this task is completed
much like they did in life, but shriv-
the wraith either returns to the after-
elled and with hollow eyes.
life or is free to wreck havoc upon the
Wights have little memory of
world as they see fit.
their life, but may recognise a friend
or family member and temporarily COMBAT SKILL: 4
refrain from attacking them as they DAMAGE: 1d6/round (life stealing touch)
are confused by their memories. HP: 18 (takes half damage from normal
Wights are highly resistant to weapons)
normal weapons, only spells and DEFENCE: 12
magic weapons will damage them in WILL: 8
full QUICKNESS: 4
MOVEMENT: 10
COMBAT SKILL: 5 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Life
DAMAGE: 1D6+1 (bite), 1D6+1 (hand Stealing (If a wraith manages to cling
weapon) onto a living creature it may drain 1d6 HP
HP: 14 (takes half damage from normal each round from the target (beginning at
weapons) round 2). The wraith must succeed with an
DEFENCE: 11 attack roll to cling on the victim during the
WILL: 8 first round and then you use an opposed
Physique test to see if the wraith manages
QUICKNESS: 4
to cling onto its victim; the wraith has
MOVEMENT: 10
Physique 10. Armour offers no protection
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Darkvision, Ghostly
from the life stealing damage), Ghostly
Howl (Make a DN 13 Will test; if the roll
Howl (Make a DN 13 Will test; if the roll
fails roll a d6: 1-3 - -2 on all actions, 4-6 -
fails roll a D6: 1-3 - -2 on all actions, 4-6 –
flee for 1d6 rounds), Mist Form (the wight
flee for 1D6 rounds).
may transform into a cloud of mist and
may move through very tight passages,
like small cracks and similar). Wolf
Wolves prowl the mountains
Wraith and forests of the world, hunting
Wraiths are the undead spirits of weaker animals for prey. They roam
very evil men or women who have in packs, ganging up on their intend-
died and been sent back to the world ed victims. Although they usually
of the living by the dark gods. Usual- leave more powerful creatures alone
ly this is done for a specific purpose, they will sometimes attack them, es-
119
pecially if they are hungry and can- COMBAT SKILL: 6
not find another source of food. DAMAGE: 1d6+2 (bite)
HP: 16
COMBAT SKILL: 3 DEFENCE: 14
DAMAGE: 1d6+1 (bite) WILL: 2
HP: 7 QUICKNESS: 5
DEFENCE: 11 MOVEMENT: 18
WILL: 1 SPECIAL ABILITIES: Perception 6.
QUICKNESS: 4
MOVEMENT: 18 This is the No-art version of Dark
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Perception 6. Sagas, the regular version will have
Wolf Beast Wyvern

Wolf beasts are large and intelli- At .first glance a wyvern appears
gent wolves, sometimes used as to be a small dragon. Both are ser-
mounts by goblins and orcs. This pentine in appearance, with long
unusually large wolf has an evil light bodies, large wings and fang-filled
shining in its deep red eyes. A typical jaws. But there the resemblance ends.
wolf beast has gray or black fur, are Unlike dragons, wyverns do not pos-
about 150-180 cm long and stands 90- sess front legs and feet, instead hav-
100 cm tall at the shoulder. It weighs ing only the two rear ones. They also
130-150 kg. lack the magical abilities, breath
More intelligent than their weapons and intelligence of their
smaller cousins, wolf beasts speak larger cousins. However, they do
their own language. Some can also have a venomous sting on the tips of
speak the languages of humans and their tales which use to paralyse their
the goblinoid races. prey.
120
Chapter 8: Bestiary
COMBAT SKILL: 7 COMBAT SKILL: 2
DAMAGE: 2D6+2 (bite), 1D6+4 (claws), DAMAGE: 1d6 (bite), 1d6 (slam)
1D6+2 + Poison (Tail) HP: 8
HP: 35 DEFENCE: 10
DEFENCE: 16 WILL: 1
WILL: 2 QUICKNESS: 2
QUICKNESS: 5 MOVEMENT: 8
MOVEMENT: 8 (on land), 30 (fly) SPECIAL ABILITIES: Infected bite (roll
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Poisonous Tail 1d6: if the roll is a 1, the victim becomes
stinger (If a wyvern hits an with its tail infected and transforms into a zombie
stinger, roll a dice. On a 5-6 the victim has within 24 hours. A Cure Disease spell will
been struck with the wyvern’s sting and remove the infection).
must make a Physique test (DN 13) or be
paralysed for five minutes of game time),
Fly.

Zombie
Zombies are the undead corpses
of humanoid creatures, the restless
dead, rotting corpses animated by
dark magic that shamble the world
serving their masters or wandering
lost, randomly attacking the living.
They are deathly slow, but they move
silently, are very strong and must be
literally hacked to pieces to “kill”
them.
121
Chapter 7: Treasure
C hests filled with gold coins, precious gems and jewellery, these are
things that can make any adventurers to start drooling. Add magic items to
this list and some adventurers become ecstatic and might even turn on their
comrades if their desire to own the item becomes to big…
For many player characters this is the very reason that they might risk their lives
and go out on adventure. Other player characters are more interested in making a
difference while adventuring, doing something important.
Regardless for what reasons and goals the character has, no one can argue with
the fact that magic items can be very useful and might even make a difference be-
tween success and failure.
GENERATING TREASURE
T reasure in Dark Sagas gen-

erally comes in three catego-
ries—coins and gems; jewel-
lery; and magic items.
ones, and 1d6 x 100 silver coins for
the rare ones. Which kind the players
find is up to the Game Master to de-
cide.
However, not all creatures will
possess all those types of treasure in Jewellery
equal measure. For example a drag-
The value of a piece of jewellery
on’s hoard will be very different to
goes from 1d6 x 20 silver coins up to
the contents of a goblin’s belt pouch.
1d6 x 200 silver coins.
The treasure table gives three
Again, it is up to the Game Mas-
types of valuable item other than
ter to decide the value as well as its
coins: gems, jewellery and special
appearance.
items. When the treasure table indi-
cates that one or more of these items
is present, check each item in turn to
Special Items
find out its value. Special items are other poten-
tially valuable goods in the possession
of the monsters.
Gems
They may be works of art, rare
The value of each gem is 1d6 x
books, trade goods such as spices or
10 silver coins for the more common
122
Chapter 9: Treasure
silks, expensive perfumes and incens-
THE TREASURE TABLE
es, furs, or almost anything else.
Roll 2d6 and consult the follow-
Since these items can be so var-
ing table:
ied, it is not possible to create an ex-
haustive list or table of possibilities. Table 9.1: Treasure Size
Simply roll 10d6 x 10 to find out
2d6 Treasure Size
the value (in silver coins) of each spe-
2-3 None
cial item, and then decide what that
value represents. 4-5 Tiny
6-7 Small
Magic Items 8 Average
Not all treasure has purely mon- 9 Large

etary value. Many items have potent 10 Troll Hoard
magical powers that will aid an ad- 11 King’s Hoard
venturer.
12 Dragon’s Hoard
When the treasure table indi-
cates that one or more magical items In some cases you can add a
are present, it may also indicate the modifier for creatures that are as-
type of magical item or items. sumed to have a larger or smaller
This is where the Game Master treasure than usual or you can safely
need to be creative; there are no ta- skip the rolling and just pick a suita-
bles in how to generate the powers of ble size; what’s the point of having a
a magical item, you have to use your dragon without a dragon’s hoard?
imagination. However, there’s a few Additionally, many unintelli-
guidelines presented after the random gent animals and beasts will not carry
treasure tables. any treasure of have a hoard, so when

defeating an animal/beast you can
skip the treasure.
in this space.
123
The Treasure Size LARGE
Some of the entries are described • 3d6 gold coins
as having a x in y chance (like 1 to 6, • 5d6 silver coins
3 to 6, etc.) of having a certain item; • 10d6 copper coins
roll a d6 and if you come with the • 1 gem, plus 3 in 6 chance of 1d6
right result (like rolling a 1 on a 1 in other gems
6 chance) the item will be added to • 3 in 6 chance of 1 magic item
the treasure.
TROLL HOARD
NONE • 3d6 x 10 gold coins
• This monster does not possess • 1d6 x 100 silver coins
any treasure. • 1d6 x 1000 copper coins
• 1d6 gems
TINY • 1 magic item, plus 1 in 6 chance
of another magic item
• 1d6 copper coins
• Basic weapons, tatty armour and
mundane items such as small KING’S HOARD
wooden objects, rat skulls, etc. • 1d6 x 100 gold coins
• 5d6 x 1000 silver coins
SMALL • 2d6 x 1000 copper coins
• 1d6 silver coins • 2d6 gems
• 2d6 copper coins • 1-3 magic items (1 dice divided
• 1 in 6 chance of having 1d6 gold by 2)
coins
• General weapons and armour DRAGON’S HOARD
• 2d6 x 100 gold coins
AVERAGE • 1d6 x 1000 silver coins
• 1d6 gold coins • 1d6 x 10000 copper coins
• 3d6 silver coins • 3d6 gems
• 5d6 copper coins • 1d6 magic items
• 3 in 6 chance of 1 gem
• 1 in 6 chance of 1 magic item
124
Chapter 9: Treasure
Most scrolls contain some sort
Finding Magic Items of magic which is activated when
If the treasure indicates a magic
read, and which may only be used
item has been found, roll 2d6 and
once; the characters burn away as the
consult the following table to find
words are read.
out what kind of magic item it is,
Spell Scrolls are enchanted with
then roll on the appropriate table
one or more spells. Each spell can be
below.
used just once, though of course the
Table 9.2 Magic Items same spell may appear multiple times
on a single scroll. Use the table be-
2. Miscellaneous
low to determine the spell level of
3. Staff or Wand each spell on a scroll.
4. Weapon To cast a spell from a scroll, the
character needs to make a Will test,
5. Armour
with the same DN as the spell, if the
6. Potion
test is successful the spell is cast, if
7. Scroll unsuccessful, the scroll disintegrates.
8. Potion Game Master will have to deter-

mine what kind of spell scroll that
9. Armour
the players have found.
10. Weapon
11. Staff or Wand Staffs and wands

12. Miscellaneous Staves and wands are magically
imbued lengths of wood, bone or met-
Potions and Scrolls al. These magic items have charges -
A potion is a magic concoction a charge is the amount of times the
infused with a spell-like effect that item will work until useless.
affects only the drinker, making some A newly created staff or wand
spells useless as potions. If the treas- has 20 charges, and each use of the
ure found is a potion, consult the wand depletes one of those charges; a
spell lists in Chapter 4: Magic to de- wand found in a treasure hoard will
have 3d6 charges remaining.
termine what kind of potion has been
If the treasure found is a staff or
found. Some examples could be a
wand, roll 2d6 and consult the fol-
healing potion, an armour potion,
lowing table to determine what prop-
etc.
erties it has.
125
Table 9.3 Staves & Wands Wand Type 4
2. Wand type 1 This wand contains a difficulty
16-18 spell (The Game Master de-
3. Wand type 2
cides what spell it is). When com-
4. Wand type 3
manded, the wand will cast the spell.
5. Wand type 4
6. Staff +1 Staff +1
This staff augments the magi-
7. Staff +2
cians spellcasting ability, it gives the
8. Staff +3
wielder a +1 bonus to all spellcasting
9. Staff +1 with spell tests.
10. Staff +2 with spell

Staff +2
11. Staff +3 with spell
This staff augments the magi-
12. Mana item, roll again on this table
cians spellcasting ability, it gives the
to determine the type.
wielder a +2 bonus to all spellcasting
tests.
STAFFS & WANDS DESCRIPTIONS
Wand Type 1 Staff +3
This wand contains a DN 11 –12 This staff augments the magi-
spell (The Game Master decides what cians spellcasting ability, it gives the
spell it is). When commanded, the wielder a +3 bonus to all spellcasting
wand will cast the spell. tests.
Wand Type 2 Staff With Spell

This wand contains a DN 13-14 This staff functions as a combi-
spell (The Game Master decides what nation of a staff with a bonus to the
spell it is). When commanded, the spellcasting tests and a magic wand
wand will cast the spell. containing a random spell.
Roll 1D6 to determine the magic
Wand Type 3 bonus; 1-3: +1, 4-5: +2, 6: +3. Once
This wand contains a DN 15-16 the magic bonus is determined, repeat
spell (The Game Master decides what the process to determine the spell
spell it is). When commanded, the difficulty; 1-2: DN 11-12, 3-4: DN 13-
wand will cast the spell. 14, 5: DN 15-16, 6: DN 17-18. The
126
Chapter 9: Treasure
exact spell is then determined by the 2-3. +1 Defence
Game Master, using the guidelines 4. +2 Defence
presented here.
5. +3 Defence
MAGIC POINT STORE 6. Special (the GM decides)
This item stores Magic Points;

roll 1D6 to determine how many
Magic Weapons
Magic Points that are currently Magic weapons are created with
stored within the item. a variety of powers and will usually
Once the Magic Points are used aid the wielder in combat. A magical
up, you can recharging it with your weapon's bonus is added to Combat
own pool of MP’s; the MP’s will be Skill and damage rolls made with the
stored within the item until they are weapon
used up. No more than 12 MP*s can If the treasure found is armour,
be stored within the staff. roll 1d6 and consult the following
table to determine what properties it
has.
Magic Armour
Magic armour (in clu ding Table 9.5 Magic Weapons
shields) offers improved, magical 1. Cursed Weapon (-1 Combat Skill

protection to the wearer. In general, and -1 damage)
magic armour grants the normal De-
2-4. +1 Combat Skill and +1 damage
fence bonus for its type, plus the mag-
ical armour bonus, as rolled on the
5. +2 Combat Skill and +2 dam-
age
Magic Armour table; for example,
Plate Mail +2 provides a +2 bonus to 6. Roll on the Special Weapons
the wearer’s Defence score in addi- Table
tion the base Defence bonus from a
mundane armour. SPECIAL MAGICAL WEAPONS
If the treasure found is armour, To determine which Special
roll 1d6 and consult the following Magic Weapon you players have dis-
table to determine what properties it covered, roll 1d6 and consult the ta-
has. ble below.
Table 9.4 Magic Armour Table 9.6 Special Magic Weapons
1. Cursed (-2 Defence) 1. Flaming (deals 1-6 extra fire
127
damage) movement action to activate).
Bonus items give its wearer a
2. Speed (two attacks per round)
bonus to an attribute or a limited
3-4. +3 Combat Skill and +3 damage
aspect of an attribute, or to a de-
5. Impact (deals maximum dam age rived characteristic, like Hit Points,
on each hit) etc.
6. Accurate (automatically hits) If the treasure found is armour,
roll 1d6 and consult the following
table to determine what properties
Miscellaneous
it has.
This category includes every-
thing not included in the other cat- Table 9.7 Miscellaneous Item
egories and covers both spell items
1-2. Spell Item (use activated, 1d6
and bonus items. The bonus items
times per day)
cover any attribute and can even be
specialized towards a specific aspect 3-4. +1 Bonus Item *
of a skill, like the stealth aspect of 5. +2 Bonus Item*
the Subterfuge attribute.
6. Spell Item (Constant effect)
Spell items have a spell-like
effect that can be permanently ac- *Roll 1d6; 1-3: limited aspect of a specific attrib-
ute, 4-5: derived characteristic, 6: attribute bonus.
tive or use activated (requires a
in this space.
128
PART IV:
APPENDIX
Part IV: Appendix
Appendix A: The Setting
W
elcome to the official world of Dark Sagas: The Shadowlands
setting. This campaign setting is meant as an introduction or as an al-
ternative for those with no available world to play in or is tired of their
campaign setting and wants a new world for their adventures and campaigns. The
information presented here is sparse; it is up to you to fill in the rest.
INTRODUCTION
T he Shadowlands world is a
post-apocalyptic setting;
there was once an enlight-
ened civilisation with many prosper-
sword, enchanted with powerful mag-
ic, through the heart of the Shadow
King.
The magical energies that were
ous kingdoms, but about 500 years contained within the body of the
ago, an entity called the Shadowking Shadowking caused a massive explo-
entered the world of Muraine, as this sion that killed almost the entire ar-
world is named, and with a mighty my of the alliance and annihilated
army of demons, undead and other the entire host of the Shadow King.
vile creatures started to conquer the Victory was achieved, but the
nearby kingdoms. cost had been high – with most of the
The Shadowking won victory armed forces of the remaining king-
after victory until the remaining free doms being gone, lawlessness and
nations united and formed an alliance despair reigned. Soon most of the
with the dwarves and elves to make a kingdoms were no more. The lands
last stand against the Shadowking. became split up in petty nations and
The alliance had prepared tribes. Only two human true king-
themselves with an arsenal of power- doms, two dwarf realms and one el-
ful magical artefacts and had a host ven nation remains, the rest of the
of powerful wizards ready to aid world consists of petty states, tribal
them. Despite all of this, the battle lands and untamed wilderness, and of
was almost lost if it hadn’t been for course the shadowlands itself, the
the noble sacrifice of the hero former realm of the Shadowking; a
Marden, who managed to get close land ravaged by his corrupting influ-
enough to the Shadow King to thrust ence.
the Foeslayer – an ancient magical
130
Appendix A: The Shadowlands
In addition to the attributes and
The People class abilities that a character re-
There are several cultures and
ceives during character creation, each
nationalities of the dominant races in
player character also has a number of
Muraine. Human, being the domi-
starting languages depending on what
nant race, are divided into five cul-
culture and race they belong to, each
tures; Aberlonians, Daleheimers,
with the starting rank listed. This is
Vale Folk, Stormwolders and the
in addition the the free ranks based
Wilder Folk.
on the Knowledge attribute that every
The dwarven race are divided
player character gets.
into three cultures; the Greyhold
dwarves in the northern range of • Aberlonian: Trade Tongue 2,
Raven’s Wall, the Steadfast dwarves Aberlonian 3
in the southern range of Raven’s • Daleheimer: Trade Tongue 2,
Aberlonian 3
Wall, and the wandering dwarves, the
homeless dwarves, a ragtag collection
• Stormwolder: Trade Tongue 2,
Woldian 3
of refugees from the fallen dwarf-
• Vale Folk: Trade Tongue 3, Aberlo-
holds and exiled dwarves.
nian 2
Of the elven race, only one
• Wilder Folk: Wilder Speech 3,
realm remains; the forest realm of
Woldian 2
Averion, located between Stormwold
• Dwarf: Trade Tongue 2, Dwarfish 3
and Aberlon, with Raven’s Wall to
• Elf: Trade Tongue 2, Elven 3
the east.
• Halfling: Trade Tongue 3, Aber-
Halflings do not a land of their
lonian or Woldian 2
own, they live in isolated communi-
ties within the Kingdoms of Aberlon
and Daleheim and within Settler’s
Religion
Vale. There is one pantheon of gods
known throughout Muraine. Only the
PLAYER CHARACTERS major gods are presented here, there

are a host of minor gods as well, only
The Shadowlands setting is a
briefly mentioned, the idea is to leave
harsh world, filled with dangerous
some room for you to create your own
foes that the characters will face.
gods and adapt this campaign setting
Therefore it is recommended that the
to fit your needs.
heroic character creation method is
used.
131
Part IV: Appendix
siblings Eagar and Sindaras she is the
SOLARIS
daughter of Solaris and Illiayne.
Solaris is the sun god and head
of the pantheon. His spouse is Illaine
and his brother is Zahndor. Solaris
ZAHNDOR
domain is the radiant light, truth, Zahndor is the god of darkness,
justice and good deeds. He is wor- death and decay, he is the twisted
shipped mainly in Aberlon, especially brother of Solaris and is worshipped
by the Knights of Justice. by all manners of evil creatures. It is
Solaris is along with Illayne rumoured that the court Wizard Kar-
considered to be the creator of the gom, advisor to the king of Aberlon is
human race. Zahndors high priest.
ILLIAYNE MANNORAN
Illiayne is the goddess of fertili- Mannoran is the queen of the
ty, love and family. She is the spouse seas and storms, she is the patron
of Solaris and is most popular among diety of the Stormwolders and the
the common folk of both Aberlon, wild sister of Illiayne.
Daleheim and Settler’s Vale.

THE LESSER GODS
EAGAR There are many lesser gods in
Eagar is the son of Solaris and the world, like Pyros, the lord of fire,
Illiayne, he is the god of earth, stone and many more, but I leave it to you
and smithcraft, and the patron god of to work out the rest.
the dwarves.
The Shadow
SINDARAS The corrupting influence of the
Sindaras is the goddess of na- Shadowking has left its mark on the
ture, the stars and of lore. She is the world, with his own former realm
daughter of Solaris and Illiayne and being tainted and distorted. But the
the patron goddess of the elves. taint isn’t just twisting the shadow-
lands, magic is also tainted; it has
TALLYS become dangerous to cast magic, any
Tallys is the goddess of farming mistake made can cause corruption to
and prosperity and the patron god- the person casting the spell.
dess of the halflings, and just like her
132
GAZETEER
to invade, but have repelled by the
Aberlon determined Daleheimers. Now a days
Aberlon is the largest and most
relations are tense but are at least
evolved of the two remaining king-
trading with eachother. The kingdom
doms in Muraine. This nation has
is now currently ruled by Queen Nar-
become an uppleasant land to live in
mela I and she is a very popular ruler,
if you belong to the lower social clas-
the people adores her and willingly
ses. The ruling class has become dec-
serve in the militia, resulting in Dale-
adent and twisted by corruption.
heim having a very large and motivat-
The current king, Breandor II,
ed mailitia to complement the stand-
is showing signs of madness and lis-
ing army.
tens only to his “trusted” advisor, the
Daleheim has a large population
Court Wizard Kargom. Kargom is in
of halflings and they have been grant-
fact the one who actually rules the
ed their own land within Daleheim,
kingdom, imposing harsh taxes and
called The Vale. The halflings of
imposing laws with severe punish-
The Vale appoints their own govern-
ments to keep the population in
ment to rule their land but still obeys
check.
the ruler of Daleheim.
More and more people are try-
ing to flee to Settler’s Vale to start
new lives for themselves without be-
Averion
ing forced to pay high taxes and hav- Averion is the only remaining
ing to put up with the harassments elven realm in Muraine. The elves
from Kargom’s enforcers. rule here, aggressively defending

their realm against trespassers. The
trees in this forest are ancient and
Daleheim tall, and the elves have built their
Daleheim is the second remain-
homes high up in the trees with
ing kingdom; it is located southeast of
wooden bridges connecting each tree
Aberlon and is protected by natural
to form villages and cities.
borders, making it a relatively safe
The elves here are slightly
place to live in. Daleheimers are
shorter and considerably thinner
peaceful but determined defenders of
than an average human. They tend to
their beloved kingdom, Aberlon have
have golden or silvery hair and light
on several occations in the past tried
coloured eyes. They often tie their
133
Part IV: Appendix
long hair back on their heads (both hills roll along the horizon. Occa-
genders). sional ruined castles and keeps can be
Individual towns within the found here and there, often populated
realm are ruled by elder councils (the by tribes or humanoid creatures.
eldest permanent residents in the These are remnants of a civilization
settlement), and these elders select a long gone since before the fall of the
representative to travel to the capital Shadowking.
city called Erath-Lhun, where the
Elven regents holds large counsel on Raven’s Wall
the first day of autumn.
Raven’s Wall is the name of the
huge mountain range that separates
Stormwold the Shadowlands and Eastern
Stormwold is the land northwest Wildlands from the lower, more set-
of the civilised lands. This land is tled civilised western lands.
inhabited by barbaric clans with no Many dangerous creatures live
central ruler. around, and under the mountains.
This is a cold northern region Humanoids in the area include orks,
populated by barbaric clans who are goblins, trolls giants, and ogres; and
settled along the coast in villages run of course the dwarfs. The two re-
by clan cheftains. They make a living maining dwarfholds are located the
by hunting and fishing, and occasion- this vast mountain chain; Greyhold
ally raiding the southlands. in the north and Steadfast in the
The sturdy men and women of south.
Stormwold have blond, red or brown
hair and pale complexions, and light- GREYHOLD & STEADFAST
ly coloured eyes. They are humans, Greyhold and Steadfast are two
though a bit taller than average. very different dwarfholds. Greyhold
They wear furs of the animals they is located in the northern section of
hunt. They believe life is short and Raven.s Wall and its inhabitants are
all experiences life offers are good for fighting a constant battle against orks
the soul. and goblins in the area, the dwarves
There is no central government of Greyhold are aggressive and battle
here. No patrols keep the roads safe – hardened veterans that don’t do much
there aren’t even many roads. Scat- else besides fighting and crafting new
tered tundra is broken up by occasion- weapons and armour.
al copse of evergreen and grass, while
134
Steadfast in the south, on the munity and have the same rights and
other hand, lack the combat training responsibilities as any human.
of their kinsmen in the north and is a
prosperous dwarfhold involved in The Shadowlands
crafting and trading with Aberlon
The Shadowlands is the former
and Daleheim.
realm of the Shadow King, now a
desolated land, home to all manner
The Eastern Wilds of corrupted beasts and aggressive
The Eastern Wilds is located humanoid tribes.
south of The Shadowlands and north It is said to be home to reclusive,
of Settler’s Vale. This area is unset- powerful beings whose magic fouls
tled wilderness, many wild creatures the landscape. The evergreen trees
roam this area and the landscape is hold no needles; the grass does not
dotted with ancient ruins. grow despite the eternal overcast
Adventurers seeking ancient skies and wet soil. The only thing
treasures come here annually; few which grows here is fungus and mold,
succeed though, most end up dead or clinging to nearly everything. An-
lost. cient ruins dot the landscape, rem-
nants of the fortresses of the Shad-
Settler’s Vale owking.

The large explosion that was
This lush valley is settled by
triggered when the Shadowking was
disgruntled former citizens of the
vanquished created a massive ocean
kingdom of Aberlon. The inhabitants
wave to drown the central area of the
of Settler’s Vale have no king; they
Shadowlands, including the main
instead have a council of renowned
fortress of the Shadowking.
and upstanding citizens to govern
their society. The laws are few and
permits most people to live as they Hrimr’s Beard
please, as long as they don’t act in a Hrimr’s Beard is located in the
way that is harmful to the rest of the northern tip of the continent. Not
community. much is known about this area, other
There is a large number of non- than it is a very cold land, perma-
humans living here; dwarves, elves nently covered with ice and snow.
and halflings. These races are consid-
ered to be full members of the com-
135
Part IV: Appendix
in this space.
136
Appendix B: Designer’s Notes
Appendix B: Designer’s Notes
T his is the final part of Dark Sagas, here you will find a short story de-
scribing the design process of Dark Sagas, a few words on the 2d6 mechanic
and dice probabilities, with tables to help you better understand the dice
mechanics.
HOW DARK SAGAS STARTED
F
inally! Two years of con- new action resolution system – Dark
stant tinkering with rules has Sagas were going to use a mechanic
come to an end. There have based on 2D6. Instead of having to
been many versions along the way, roll equal or lower than your attrib-
this is version 8.5 and the name Dark ute or skill to succeed you now roll
Sagas wasn’t present until version 6 of 2D6 + Attribute + Skill and have to
the rules. The first version was called roll equal to or Higher than the set
Old School Quest and was a fusion of target number (Difficulty Number,
the world’s first roleplaying game DN for short) to succeed with an ac-
with a d100 mechanic and the remov- tion. This makes opposed rolls sim-
al of levels. pler to resolve and no more fiddly
This first version didn’t last modifiers to your skill, instead you
long though; I soon changed the dice just change the DN according to the
mechanic to using a d20 for a while. situation.
By now, the system came to be It is this version you’re now
known as Dark Sagas and I was al- reading and I am very happy with
most finished with it but stopped be- how the rules portion of the game
cause it didn’t feel right, there were turned out.
issues with using opposed resolution So is this the perfect game then?
rolls and modifying skill tests in- –Hardly, there’s no such thing in my
volved an unnecessary amount of re- opinion, but it is a game that runs
calculating your skill chance. So I smoothly and one that I will use for
started to look for some other ideas many years to come.
on how to handle action resolution.
One night when I was trying to
sleep it came to me; the embryo of a
137
Part IV: Appendix
DICE PROBABILITIES
W hen I made Table 5.1:

Difficulty on page 54, I
based the difficulty num-
bers on an average person with a 3 in
Table B.2: Percentile Outcome
Roll
2
3
Outcome
1/36
2/36
%
2,77%
5,55%
all attributes and assumed that such
4 3/36 8,33%
an individual would succeed with an
5 4/36 11,11%
average difficulty if he or she rolled
6 5/36 13,88%
an eight or higher, thus setting the
7 6/36 16,66%
average DN of 11, giving that person
8 5/36 13,88%
roughly a 42% chance of success, and
9 4/36 11,11%
that was the starting point.
10 3/36 8,33%
11 2/36 5,55%
Probabilities of 2d6 12 1/36 2,77%
This shows you all the possible 2 to 12 36/36 100%
rolls for 2d6, as well as how frequent- 3 to 12 35/36 97,22%
ly you’ll encounter them. For exam-
4 to 12 33/36 91,66%
ple, the fact that there are 6 ways of
5 to 12 30/36 83,33%
getting a 7 means that you have a
6 to 12 26/36 72,22%
6/36, or 1/6 chance of rolling a 7,
7 to 12 21/36 58,33%
compared to the only 1/36 chance of
8 to 12 15/36 41,66%
rolling a 12. This means most of your
9 to 12 10/36 27,77%
rolls will be near 7.
10 to 12 6/36 16,66%
11 to 12 3/36 8,33%
Table B.1: 2d6 Combinations
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
138
Table Index
OPTIONAL RULES
S ome players might find the

lack of choice for their charac-
ters somewhat limiting or may-
be they have become so powerful that
which is the maximum amount in any
specialty.
The player is free to invent their
own specialties, but it should be a
there are hardly anything left to in- narrow area of expertise.
vest their experience points in. Examples of skill specialties
This section adds the concept of include: Acrobatics, Bluffing, Bribery,
skill specialties, things that your Climbing, Jumping, Craft (one type),
character is better at than normal. Diplomacy, Disarming Traps, Driv-
ing, Engineering, Etiquette, Feat of
Skill Specialties Strength, Gambling, Geography, Her-

aldry, Hiding, History, Intimidation,
A skill specialty is a narrow field
Investigate, Juggling, Listening, Lock
of expertise, something that your
Picking, Navigation, Negotiating,
character is extra good at and when
Playing Instrument, Public speaking,
doing attribute tests related to this
ability, the character gets a +1 bonus Research, Riding, Search, Sailing, Se-
to the test. duction, Singing, Sleight of hand,
Each specialty cost 2 XP for a +1 Sneaking, Swimming, Streetwise,
bonus and 4 XP to have a +2 bonus, Trading, Weight Lifting, Wilderness

Survival, etc.
TABLE INDEX
3.1: Armour ............................29 7.1: Experience Points .............. 77
3.2: Weapons ...........................30 9.1: Treasure Size ................... 123
3.3: General Items .................... 31 Table 9.2 Magic Items ........... 125
3.4: Animals & Transportation .. 32 Table 9.3 Staves & Wands ...... 126
3.5: Food & Lodging ................ 32 Table 9.4 Magic Armour .........127
5.1: Difficulty ........................ 54 Table 9.5 Magic Weapons .........127
5.2: Attribute Tests .................. 57 Table 9.6 Special Magic Weapons 127
5.3: Improvements ...................59 Table 9.7 Miscellaneous Item ... 128
139

Dark Sagas - 1st Ed

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dark Sagas - 1st Ed

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CORE RULES

Cover Art: Jeremy Hart

Interior Illustrations: Mikael Hassel, Scarlet Heroes and Spears of

Some artwork © 2014 Eric Lofgren, used with permission. All

Cover & Logo Design: Mikael Hassel

Editing & Proofreading: Mikael Hassel

Dedications: To my wife and son, with love.

Licencing : Dark Sagas © 2015 by Mikael Hassel is licenced under a

For specific details, appropriate credits, and updates to this li-

Experience ......................... 13 Using Magic ....................... 33

Character Classes ................ 13 The Magic Test ................... 33

What Is Dark Sagas? ..........14 The Wizard’s Spellbook........ 33

Spell Casting Mishaps ......... 34

The Classes ....................... 19 List of Spells ....................... 37

Dwarf................................. 19 Elf/Wizard Spells ............37

The Attribute Test ................ 53 Charge ............................... 67

Which Attribute is used?........ 55 Powerful Attack .................. 67

Other Important Rules 58 Swift Attack........................ 67

Social Challenges ............. 58 Fighting Defensively ........... 67

Attacking Without Killing ... 67

Character Improvement ......59 Chapter 7: Game Mastering 70

Improving Attributes ............59 Being a Game Master ......... 70

Chapter: 6 Combat............ 60 Players vs Game Master ....... 70

Adjusting Dice Rolls ............ 70

The Combat Round .............. 61 Adventuring Rules ............ 73

Actions in Combat ............. 62 Game Time ........................ 73

Special Rules ...................... 73

Movement Actions ............... 63 Experience & Rewards ...... 77

Reactions ........................... 64 Role Playing Bonus ............. 77

Defence ............................. 64 Creating Adventures ........ 78

Multiple Opponents ............ 65 Types of Adventures ............ 78

Damage & Healing ............ 66 Types of Obstacles .............. 78

Hit Points .......................... 66 Game Master Characters ...... 79

Healing ............................. 66 Starting the Adventure ......... 80

Creature Stat Block .............. 83 Raven’s Wall ..................... 134

Creatures .......................... 84 The Eastern Wilds ............. 135

Chapter 7: Treasure ....... 122 Settler’s Vale ..................... 135

Generating Treasure ....... 122 The Shadowlands............... 135

Hrimr’s Beard ................... 135

Jewellery .......................... 122 World Map ....................... 136

Special Items ..................... 123 137

Magic Items ....................... 123 How Dark Sagas Started .. 137

Finding Magic Items .......... 125 Probabilities of 2d6 ............ 138

Potions and Scrolls ............ 125 Optional Rules ................ 139

Miscellaneous ................... 128

Part IV: Appendix ........... 129

Chapter 1: Dark Sagas

Y ou could say that a roleplay-

W hen you play a roleplaying game, everyone (except the Game

THE GAME MASTER

T he Game Master, simply

the player character to test when they Adventures

T his section presents you

Dice Performing Actions

another. cunning and shrewdness as well as

Attributes can be improved dur- more formal education and general

10 (see Character Improvement for member facts or solve a logical prob-

more details). lem, and for the purposes of seeking

MOVEMENT RATE ses available in Dark Sagas; Dwarf,

WHAT IS DARK SAGAS?

FEATURES OF THE DARK SAGAS RPG

E ven if their roles differ on

STEP 2: CHOOSE A CLASS

STEP 3: ASSIGN ATTRIBUTE SCORES