WHITE HACK

2nd Edition Booklet Version

Christian Mehrstam
* C H A PTE R I
s
20 Using Scrolls, Potions,
C H A RA CT E R C RE AT IO N Wa nds etc
s
21 Cursed Objects
·

The Dice
s
21 Creating Your Own Mag
The Attribute Scores ic Items
s
21 Gameplay Examples
Character Classes
s
21 An Exorcist Performs a M
Rea din g C haracter Cla ss Tables tracle
22 Creating a Miraculous Set
6 The Deft of Glasses
22 The Task of Climbing a Wall
6 TheStrong
22 Belongin g to the WrongSpecies
8 The Wise
22 Auction in the Alley
IO Groups 23 FightingSuits of Armor
II Species
II
*
Vocations
C HAPTE R I I I
II Affiliations
Gold & Equipm ent
24 RUNNING THE GAME
12
24 Setti ngs
I2 Equipm ent Wei ght 25 Hacking YourNotion ofNormal
13 Calculati ng Armor Class 25 Switching or Mixing Genres
I3 Languages 25 Playing with History
25 Using a Literary Setting
* C H APTE R II 26 Ad vent ures
I4 THE GAME 26 Using RPGStory Phases
I4 Gai ni ng Experience 26
Mind Maps, Agendas & Events
Constructing Dun geons
I4 Saving Throws
Task Rolls, Skills & Quality
27
IS
Difficulty, Help & ExtremeScores
27 Random Tables

Skills & "Trained Rolls"

IS 27 Campaigns
IS 28 A Tradi ti onal Toolkit
Pairs Crawling Dungeons & Hexes
Miniatures & Terrain
IS' 28
Contests
Reaction Rolls & Morale Checks
IS 29
Aucti ons
Hirelings & Retainers
IS 29
Tim e
Combat in Ships & Other Vehicles
r6 29
r6 Movement Rate 29
r6 Combat 30 Tracking Corruption
I6 Determining Initiative 30 Traditional Magic
17 Surprise 31 Rare Character Classes
17 Actions During a Round 32 The Brave
17 The Attack Roll 33 The Fortunate
17 Melee Attack 34 Species as Class
17 Missile Attack 34 The Dagonite
r8 Free Attacks 34 The Marionette
Beyond Levels
Divine Aid & Debts
r8 Combat Advantage 35
18 Conditions 3S
18 Special Combat Options 3S Playing with Aspects
!8 Magic in Combat
Dam age & Death * CH APTE R IV
Ghost Form & Resurrection
19

Readitlg Motu tc·r Entric5

MONSTE RS
Poison & Drugs
19 36
36
11 l'lllc
19

k Rolls c:....M
'1gt•&XP
19 Healing & Inj uries 36 McmstctrSTs,AVs,D'1'"
20 Magic 37 Monster Attributes,
20 Hit Point Costs for Magic 37 Boss Mo nst ers
37
Boss Stages
37
Example Monsters The Rune Stone
First Tribe Ore Tower in the Black
55

37
Rock Snail The. Underground Escape Route
55

40
SpikeRat
56

40
TalkingHead The Treasure Hoar
56 Dealmg with

Dealing with Kragd

Unzel,Rap &Co
40
The Twisted
57
40
Unzel(White Dragon Boss)
57
41
Whitecloak
57 XPRe wards
41
* APPENDIX
C HAPTE R V
58 Paper Dice

41
6o Troubl eshooting
MAG IC A RTIF ACT S
41 Example Artifacts Terminology

Archibald, the Eternal Torch

6r

44
62 Index

44 Kvo Crystal 64 License

44 Dagonite Needle Pistol

44 Ghost Box * TABLES
Deft
Shadow Mark
Table 1: Advancement
44
6
7 Table 2: Strong Advancement

CHAPTE R VI
8 Table 3: Wise Advancement

THE WHITE C U RSE

Table 4: Pregenerated Characters
II
10

Watchers, C ultists or Something Else?

45 Table 5:135 Character Names
45 12 Table 6: Gear

The Underground & the White

45 Staning Situation 13 Table7: Weapons

Civilization
45 13 Table 8: Armor
Table 9: Average Movement Rates

Ode
46 r6
Table 10:MovementType Adjustments

Religion
47 r6

48 Table11: Legacy AC Conversion

The Shadow Realm

17
Table 12: Crawling Rates

49 28 Table13:TypicalMiles Per DayTravel Rates

Running the Campaign
Table 14: Effects of Corruption

CHAPTER VII
30
Table 15:Traditional Magic

THE CHAPTERHO USE MURDERS

31
32 Table 16: Brave Advancement
ement
33 Table 17= Fortunate Advanc
Table 18:MonsterXP
51 Running the Adventure

What Peop le Know

36
Table19:Monster Stats
51 Gathering Information

The Third Guard

38
Concepts
Tablezo:Magic Item
52

Infiltrating the Wh itecloaks

Rumors
42
Table 21: White Curse
53
Layout ofOde
43
Tablezz: Schematic
53
e Affiliahon GroUJIS
46
Curs
£ncountrrs rn Oc1c
Tabl eZ3·. w�ute
53 Catching Ugga 47
able z4: Rando m
t Iezs:
53 Handling Information
£rtro1mtrfS "' tlu Blcuk
47

. I N PC
54 Tab
itt Curse SJic'ChJ
XPRewards
Evrrt�
48
1·able z6: Wh
CHAPTER VIII 49
so
�able z
�
·l'hc chaJIIc' rho ust
M in,l M••Jl
54
11'1t•rh ouS('
1ablt'2 ·: The' Chc �
54 Running the Adve nture
51 1 of tht Ch•tJ'krhcm
PA LEORC
1'tlblt•l9: LayllU
54 The Snail
51
TrtbI,•.�0•·1'o
UJI'rin '"" al.uk
Investigating the Snail
57
55 Table' 3 t: P•tJ
II'rtbO
sa
55 The Again Kobold 59 Tabft Jl:
PII rJ6
JH'
55
Born
Lair ofthe White Drag on
 To convert a First Edition character to the new rules,
recalculate AC and read the class table to get the AV and a new ST.
If a Strong character has an ability that is no longer in the game,
the player picks a new ability from the new list.

The Referee should simply use the new rules.

If she has made custom monsters,
she may recalculate their ACs.
 HITE HACK

W
js a complete tab
letop character.
fantasy role-p laying ga Ro 11 3 d 6
me in the old­ each attribute. The
est �Les �ra dit ion o f the scores are rat_
sed as the c haracte
bUt 1OWSCO res
is
hobby. This r progresses '
the sec ond edtt ion , m wh ich the game has can ajso be bene ficial
been (p ro)
Str engt h 1 ets
·

revised
·

tho rou ghly and extend ed Ifyou are n ew t h e character mo ve wi

. th
IS
to more wetght and
·

a dt·ffier-
tabletop role-pla ymg and feel a bit lost · he 1 . ny situ
.

1 ma ation
that depends
ent readingroute: Read the intr oduction to . mam · 1Yon muscle. Characters
ter II, the introduction to Ch apt er III and the
Chap - �
1 the Strong class
get melee bonuses from
ex­ hg 1 h strength.
a mples of play starting on pag e 21. Then
continu e Dexterity is a combination of
from here. WeLcome! coordination
nimbleness and quickness
;
ns in the game. A score of I3 or
, useful in a grea
many Situ _ atio
* more gives you a+I bonus to initi
ative in bat­
tle, +2 if you have I6 or more.
CHAPTER!
Constitution is the health and endurance of
the character. High constitution gives a bet­
CHA RAC TER C REATION
ter chance of surviving and recovering from
damage, a bit more so for characters in the
Where we explore the choices involved in Strong class.
creating a new character. Intelligence represents memory,reasoning

F you are in a hurry,just transfer a pregen­

and the ability to understand difficult con­

I erated character to a copy of the character
sheet (p. 9f.). If you have a few more minutes,
start by rolling dice for your character's basic
attributes. Then pick a character class, roll hit
points, add groups, buy equipment and give
the character an identity (name, age, gender
etc.). Now you are ready tofi.nd adventure!
Ifyou are the Referee, you have a bit more
todo-but we willcoverthat later(pp. 24-57).
cepts or read written spells. You gain one ex­
tra language ifyouhave an intelligence ofI3
or more, two for I6 or more.
Wisdom determines a character's insight,
perception and good judgment. Characters
in the Wise class get extra magic abilities if
they have high wisdom.
Charisma gives a character a chance of in­
fluencing other people, which is often use­
ful in the game.

CHARACTER CLASSES
THE D I CE
Whitehack uses two twent y-sided dice (d2o) There are three basic character classes in this
the Wise.
an d thr ee six-sided dice ( d6). If you need to game: The Deft, the Strong and
roll and add several dice, it says for exaJDple
3d6. If so met hing is sub trac ted or added to Reading character Class Tab les
that, it says or d6-I
some thing like 2d6+4 er's experience level.
(though I is result). Lwel.. This is the charact .
always the min imum . XP ·· Th is is the nu mb er o f E:li.'J>enence-
Ifthe rules say to make a positive or negatwe to advance to that leve l.
double roll, roll two separate d2o s and P1c· k the Pm. nu (XP) needed .
ck Value, representmg
AV:This is the Atta

ero f d 6 H'u o·tee at

on e that is
best or worst, respe ctively. the character'
s prowess in combat.
HD: ·rh·ts Is the numb ,
charu cters' H D
that 1eve 1
Players re-roll th�tr
.I t
t�;c ��
THE ATTRIBUTE SCORES Points
btain a number of Hit
ch rep· each y, you are allow� to
Y
The basic
attributes are numbers whi (H P). 0 oll poorl
tion, he previous level.
�ese n t the strength' dex terity, consdtu keep the
resulr from t
tn te 1 1·tg ·
e nce, wisdo m and c h ans m a
o f t he
 W H ITE

AV lots
Chap te
Level
r!
HD ST S
0 I IO 2
I
I,5 oo 2 II 8 I 2
2
3 ,000 2+1 II 9 I 3
3 I
4 6,ooo 3 I2 IO 2 3 2
5 12,000 3 +1 12 II 2 4 2
6 24,000 4 I3 12 2 4 3
48,ooo 4+1 I3 I3 3 5 3
9 6,ooo 5 14 I4 3 5 4
9 19 2,000 5+1 14 IS 3 6 4
IO 3 8 4,000 6 IS I6 4 6
TabLe 1: Deft Advancement
ST: Th is is th e Saving Th row number, anima ls. Th is gives th em extraordinary po s­
used to avoid all sorts ofh azards and terri­ sibilit ies wh ich th e Referee and th ep lay er

Slots:
ble th ings. agree upon on a per situation basis-h ard
Th is is a sp ace for some ofth e special tasks sh ould succeed automatically wh ile

Groups:
abilities of th e classes. nigh impossibl e ones sh ould require stan ­
Th is is th e number of groups th at dard task rolls. A monk attuned toh er walk­

Raises:
th e ch aracter gets mech anical benefi ts from. ing staff may at one instance use it toparry
At even levels, one attribute may be arrows, at anoth er instance as a th rowing
raised one point. weapon. A ranger migh th ave a well tra in ed
dog. An arch er can h ave a master famous for
The Deft h er trick-sh ots. As th ey advance, deft ch ar­
acters get slots for such th ings, each usab le
D eft ch aracters rely on superior tech nique once per day . Th ey ch oose wh at is in th eir
and skillsh oned to perfection. Th e D eft may slots (i.e. teach ers, obj ects, anim als) ,b utmay
for example be th ieves, wanderi ng monks, also h ave an equal number of "inac tives."
spies, marksmen, rangers or assassins. Th ey Switch ing inactives into slots requires a day
must ch oose a vocation (pp. Io.ff.) at level r. spent in practice.
r
When properly equipped, and wh en rolling If a deft ch aracter wears a sh ield or arm o
for a task or an attack th at is in line with th e h eavi er th an studded leath er, sh e loses he r
. .-
n to sWi· tCh p ost
�
vocation, th ey always use a positive doub le slot abili ties and th e opno
roll. D eft ch aracters don' t mark th e vocation r ive double rolls for double damage. sh e as
group next to a sp ecific attribute. edm e ee
- 2 AV wi th non-attuned two-h and
When th ey try to do damage from an ad­ dA C from
weapons, but gets + I to damage an
vantageous position in combat ("comb bat ori·
at ad­ an off-h and weapon if sh e has a com
vantage," +l AV and damage), deft ch
aracters ented vocation.
may switch th eir double positi

The Strong
ve roll ben e­
fi t for double damage, if
th eir vocation is rel­
ev� nr to th e situation. Fo
: l�h t do th is in a duel, an
r example, a duellist
h et. o ele e
r r
bat
. b0dilY strength· th . Y
d an assassin m igh t Strong ch aracters rely o nt e
0 l t wh en strik ing
from th e sh adows. skil ls combined wt th ng·
D eft ch aracters dr · ors g uar ds ' b
aw in sp ira tio n fro m ca n for ex am ple be warn ariaDS·
oth er p eop le sk sor barb
and s, kni gh ts, boun un
illed i n th e sa m e ar ea s an d ty h re r '
c a n att une th em rnyarzero
se 1ves to certain obj ec ts or Wh enever th eir attack puts an ene
 r Creation
characte BA C I<

or neg
ative hit points, they may use the 7
mo­ 5 · Their tactical
that action to attack anot
m entum of her, ad- skills allow them to
bestow
emy. This requires a separate a + AVbonu
jacent en roll. � s on an ally, once per
T h ts requii· es battle.
srrong characters may use the same com- ·
· mg
giV a shon instr uction
6. By tak'mg a sm
as every one e 1 se (p. I8), but
·

all verb al action, they may

b at op tions they encourage their
als o ha ve slots for strong er mele e opt ions, all friends who stand close
enough (Is feet radi
mutually exclu sive durin g a single round . us), giving them +l
AVand +I ST. This
There are eight optio ns that c a n be learned ability can be invened
to put fear in enemies
in the same radius '
as the character advances: giving them -I AVand ST.
7. They can forsake their
I.
move and make a
By forsa king all othe r actio ns (atta ck,
one-handed melee attack and a one-hand­
move and other), they may protect an ad­
ed ranged attack in the same round, pro­
jacent character by letting all attacks until vided they have suitable weapons.
their next turn target them instead (each 8. During a round, they can parry and look
enemy is allowed a save against the effect). for an opportunity instead of attacking.
2. As a bonus effect after a successfu l attack, They get +2 AC in the parrying round,
they may push a n opponent backwards and double combat advantage in the next
ten feet (save negates) and move into the round against one of the enemies they

3- When fighting huge opponents, like

space formerly occupied by the opponent. have parried. They can parry two consecu­
tive rounds to get triple combat advantage

in any round that they parry, the opponu­

dragons, the Strong c a n cling onto the
monster and even climb it with a success­
ful dexterity roll, gaining double combat
advantage (+4AVand damage) as long as
they hang on. Re-rolls may be required at
the Referee's discretion.
4. They may work up (I round of conce n­
tration) a battle frenz y that gives them +2
AVand dama ge, but at the same time - 3
AC. When the batt le is ove r, they mus t
save or con tinu e thei r atta cks for anoth­
er round, picking whomever stan ds clos­
est as target.
(+6 AVand damage). If they take damage
nity is lost and they get no combat advan­
tage in the following round.
Each strong character may also hold a single
power acquired from a killed enemy, like a
special attack or trick, a substance extracted
­
from a monster's body or even a supernatu
ral ability, transferred somehow thro ugh the
t deliver the
act ofkilling. The character mus
er mus t relate to a
killing blow, and the pow
'.). The power can
monster key word (pp. 3 6ff

Groups Raises
Slots
I
Level HD 2
I
I
11 5
I+ 2
I
0 2
I
2 11 6
3
2,000 2 2
12 7
2
4
4,000 3 3
1
8 2
13
5
B,ooo 4 3
9
2
r 6,ooo
13
3
5 3
+
2 3
14 10
+
6
7
3 2,000 6 3
11
+
15
8
64,000 7 3 +
15 12
128,ooo 8 +
s
3
9
13
9
2 5 6,ooo r6
14 +
Io 17
5 12,000 ent
Table 2: stro
ng Advancem
 Chap te r I
WHIT EHACK

is usabl
s are killed and tro k, Demon of Passage." It
be exchange
d as new monster eht roughh
agreement a per situation agreement hetw
gh a per situation e en t eR,e
is usable throu £er­
�
ayer and th e Re fe r e nu
a m­ ee and the player, based on
1e word-
between th e pl .
mg and t he character's vocati
It
l to the characte r s level. on.
ber of times equa
USe has aCOst
Magic is taxing.Each miracle
slot.
does not occupy a
+I AV if the y hav e of I-I4 HP that the Referee deci
Strong characters get . des, hUt th
e
of I3 or hig he r and +I p layer can negotiate a lower cost
by lllc1ud-
e I6 or higher. An
a strength attribute . . . .

damage as well if they hav
is give n for
equivalent bonus to hit poi nts
tion and
constitution scores:+I at I3 constitu
+l at r6. They can make a number of
free at­
tacks (p. r8) equal to their level.
Strong characters may use any armor and
mg raremgred1ents, drawbacks
I . g
stm
time, drugs, etc. Normal rules for
ply, but you may not attempt magic that
c
give you a negative HP score. Very po
ful or reckless magic also requires a save
w :
. If
it fails, the miracle fizzles. On a roll of 20, the

any weapon. They have ST bonuses against character is reduced to zeroHP and the mir­

poison and death (+I) and special melee at­ acle has some unintended catastrophic effect
tacks (+4). of the Referee's choosing. (See also pp. r9£
for indepth information on HP costs.)

The Wise two miracles for

Wise characters have an exceptional aptitude
for tasks that require a strong or agile mind.
They may be wizards, priests, alchemists, ex­
orcists, demonologists, druids, runecarvers,
bards or even mad scientists.
Wise characters gain slots for miracles
and permanently choose
each- one miracle that is active (i.e. in the
slot), and one that is not. Switching miracles
into slots takes a day of study, concentration
and preparation. Wise characters with wis­
dom scores above I3 gain one extra inactive

The healing rate of the Wise is twice the

Wise characters can do things that are (or
that others perceive to be) magic. This is done
through miracles-spells, prayers, songs, fa­
miliari, summonings, formul<E, experiments
etc.-as per the specific vocation of the Wise.
Each miracle is written as a few descriptive
or evocative words, like "Telekinesis," "Ban­
ish undead," "Pyrotechnics," "Frog familia­
rus," "Fist of the God," "Song of Truth" or "Pa-
miracle in total, two for I6 or higher.
normal rates, but they get no hit points back
from spells , medicine or skilled treatment
(they may need that for other things than
hit points though).
heavier
Wh ile wearing shields or armor
le for
than leather, wise characters pay doub
when us-
all their miracles. They have -2 AV

Level AV ST Sl ots Gro up s Raises

I 0 I+I IO 6 I 2
2 2, 500 2 II I 2
3 5,000 2+I II 2 2
4 2
Io,ooo 3 II 2 3
5 2
20,000 4 12 IO 3
3
6 40,000 3
4+1 12 II 3
4
3
3
4
8o,oo o 5 I2 12 4
8
4
r6o,oo o 6 13 4
4
I3 4
320,000 6+! 13 14 5
IO 640,000
13 15 5 5

Table 3: Wise Advancement

 ty
rdenti
Clas s:

Level/XP :

Lang uages:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 IO II I 2 I3
9 87 6 4 5 3 2
I 0 -I - 2 - 3
4
WHITE HACK
10 5 4 3 2 I 0 -I - -3 2nd Edition Booklet Ver
-

9 8 7 6
2 sion
10 11 I2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I8 I 9 20 2I
22 23
Equipment ->
WEAPON I

WEAPON 1
STR

AV
Special Abilities

DEX

MV

CON

ST

INT

AC

WIS

HP
cHA
 WHITE
ing two· handed melee or missile weap ons,
except for the quarterstaff, the crossbow and
the musket. They get +2 ST against magic and
mind influencing abilities.
GROUPS
Though you do not have to choose all of them
right away, each new character belongs to
at least two groups and will eventually be·
long to more. Groups are broad definitions
of skills, contacts and information that the
character possesses. Having a relevant group
when attempting tasks that require training,
means that you don't get the same penalties
that characters without such a group do.
Nine Dogs, level1 Strong Pit Fighter
Str I3,Dex I3, Con I6, Int 8, Wis 7 (Pit Fight·
er), Cha 6 (Bleeder Cult); ST s, HP 9,AC 4,
MV 2S, AV I2i Melee SpecialS; Common;
Flail,Gauntlet (Off hand),Chainmail,4 2 gp.
OgiL, Level1 Deft Twisted Antiquarian
Str IS (Twisted Dwarf),Dex II,Con I2, Int
I 3, Wis I2, Cha 5 (Twisted Dwarf, Trade &
Barter); ST 7, HP s,AC 1,MV 2s,AV Io; At­
tuned: Library,(Axe); Twisted Ability: "Iden­
tify"; Common, Dwarven, Goblin; Axe,
Leather Armor,Small Library,Chest, 10 gp.
Saffron, Level1 Wise Black Hats Alchemist
Str 6,Dex IS,Con I4, Int 9, Wis I3 (Alche­
mist, Black Hats), Cha 13; ST 6, HP 6, AC
I, MV 30, AV 10; Miracles: "Weird Bombs,"
"Crow Familiarus," "Mysterious Elixir!";
Common; Quarterstaff,Cloth Armor, Black
Hat, Tame Crow,Book of Recipes, I gp
. Sword, Lockpick,Studded Leather, 32 gp.
Fa leah, Level1 Strong Watcher Bard
Srr 10,Dex 9,Con 8, Int 17 (Watcher),
Wis
n,C ha II (Bard); ST 5, HP 7,AC s,M
V 25,
AV I r; Melee Special: 6; Common,
ic,Elvish; Greatsword,Longbow, 10
Dracon­
Arrows '
Splint Mail, II gp.
Table 4: Pregcnerated Characters
C hapter!
All groups are written next to an attri
bute
o n the charac ter sheet. This means that
the
group has an even greater weight (use a p
os­
if
itive double roll) when making task rolls
us­
ing that specific attribute-again the group
has any relevance for the roll. As deft charac­
ters get this advantage for all task rolls rela ­
tive to their vocation group, they do not mark
it next to any attribute.
When a character reaches a new level,one
group may be moved to another attribute.
An attribute can have two groups,but for
each attribute with a score of 5 or less, the
character gets one extra affiliation group (see
below). For each attribute that is raised above
5, one such bon us group is lost.
Howl, Level1 Deft Kobold Assassin
Str 6, Dex I 2, Con I S (Kobold), Int 8 (Ko­
bold), Wis I3, Cha Io; ST 7, HP I,AC 3,MV
Dog,
25, AVIo; Attuned: Dog, (Crossbow); Com­
mon, Draconic; Studded Leather,
Crossbow,9 Bolts, Poison (2 doses,d6 after 2
rounds, save for half ),Mask, IO gp.
Kalynna, level1 Strong Paladin
Strr6,Dex II,Con9,lnt 7,Wis I3 (Evil),Cha
8 (Paladin); ST s, HP 8,AC 7,MV2o,AV12;
Melee Special I; Common; Sword,Full Plate,
Shield, 7 gp.
Reekwin, Level1 Wise Twisted Thief
Str r 2,Dex 8 (Thief),Con 7 (Twisted Elf), Int
"Suf
12, Wis 12, Cha II (Twisted Elf ); ST 6; H P
S, AC 3,MV 30, AV IOi Twisted Ability:
per Hearing"; Miracles: "Patrok, Demon °
ort
Passage," "Winged Feet "; Common; Sh
Myr vyn ' levcl1 Deft TntfJMtor. t) \V/lS.
Str II, Dex I2 ' Con 18, lnt I2. (Cu 1 us '
6, Chan; ST 7, HP 4, AC o,M V3°• A o'
V · At·
tu ncd: Makeup Box, (Pistol); Commo k
n. Pis-
euP
tol & Ammunition, Cloth Arrnor,M a
 ion
character Cr eat HACK

. '
Ifaxander,Stravka,Sa.frf on,Edelhart,G alvtna , Horst , Ugga, UnoSaar,

,
. 'Ber yl Chard,Rapok
Laveri,R affie,Ad e 1 ma,Hra in es,T horne Elwydd Clivia'
Ra
of thelce,Apok
A dursi,Fur io,Reekw in,C hara h , Cletus,Elbara
,Gonk,Leander,Lebe
n ' Alehlr,
rtC ret h , M ercurio, tht·d,
· B eppo ,Luen a,Mor ne
Renly,Alibede ,Arznak,Lugan' .
, Cogms Tunka . 'Restar'Blind
' J mn,Ru b erg,Nan rheBlack,Aleigh
Ey ema sh,Madon,G raline,Satis ' Mahud ,
a, sk·1ra-Na-N og,
G runar
· e,M a k im,M alavac,Segon,
Amoryn, An a, Corsan , Mali a, Shad h, Curmi. a,
Sh amona 'Shr e, Walks-Wir h
Arannas,Spero, Dearni,H arah,Argone ,Medo . -Mountains,
ri H trra,Spir . .
���: M
e, Hoball, Strah e, H oldus, Horge
ofOde, Mily n Bel Fara, Ealla Mogus H _
Oire, ! onor, Bavelyn, Edrax, Edred of the
�
Woods, Morcan, Imnel, Mor di, Thia a '
.
� �
s,Zork, ftarlyn,Mohab,SolarQuex,Myrvyn,
.
Torix'Nardi l'Blade g, ,Nun· rom Junu N'mik�� K a1ynna,Odham, Unfela, Kathall,Ogi-
us,Faleah, Fitz, Donne, Cali ban, Fin m O ura,d b �nn, Jar, Drak,Ben-Sarah,NoNose Jennie,
/-
Magg, Taria, Ishtur, Marda hal' Droog o rhree Willow
s,Solu, Xotav, Flavio,Agrippa, Rufus.

Tables: 135 Character Names

In the game world, a character may side Vocations

with or even be in many groups.But she will
not belong to them in a game mechanical
sense until they are written next to attributes .
Species
The first type of group is the character's spe­
cies. It must be chosen at character creation
and is defined by physical and broad cultural
traits.Species groups are relative to the norm
of the game world-if you don't have a spe­
cies group, it means that the character is the
most common species, in most cases human.
Common fantasy species groups are dwarves,
elves, halflings and goblin s. Choo sing one
of those wou ld mea n that the character has
some of the mos t com mon physical and cul­
tural traits of that spe cies . It doe s not mean
that the spe cies as a wh ole is culturally the
same. Further group choices can delve deep­
er into cultural and sub-cultural variations.
them
Species groups are special. You note
after tw o attributes, but they can also be us�d
�egatively at the Referee's discre
tion, as 1D
a
dwarves aren't built to swim fasr-mak e
r­
do uble negative roll." If only one of the cha
acter's parents was another species than t e
norm, mark the species group next t o 3 stn·
gle attribu
te.
The second type is the character's vocation.
This can be wizard, barbarian or something
similarly adventurous. But it can just as well
be wood worker or swine herder-literature
is full of ordinary people becoming heroes.
Often, a player will want to choose a voca­
tion in line with the character's class, but it
isn't necessary. Creating a deft wizard would
effectively give you a character whose own
magic is petty, but who is extremely knowl­
edgeable about magic in theory and good at
reading spells from books and scrolls. Con­
versely, a wise knight would be physically
weaker than her peers, but still a good tacti­
cian with magic to back her up in battle.
Vocations aren't temporary occupations.
Normally, a character is allowed only one vo­
cation but may discover it later in her career.
Affiliations
r's ns.
The third type is the characte affiliatio
s, schools, tribes,
Such groups can be guild
eties, churches or
compa nies, secret soci
urt>. They may pro­
some other social str
uct
l knowledge, languages,
vide friends, specia
ge and aid, and in rore cas­
� equipment, refu
cific ski lls (as in "the Black
es even with spe
H ats j ealous l y
guard the secret of weird ex-
 W H ITE

eves' gu ild s"). Th ey

p1ost·ves from other thi
r en em tes
.

will also give the characte

.

but m ust al­

ation groups can be exchanged
ways be plausible in �he gam e �o
�ld.
In certain cam patg ns, affi lian on gro ups
ate
such as Goo d, Evil, L awf ul etc. des ign
moral atr unem ent to gods and other powers.
c haracters without such groups are sim ply
ambiguous and complex in theirm orals.
is assum ed to weigh

& EQUIPMENT
e luding arm or, shield
GOLD is added, with each
Rol1 3 d6 and multiply by ro. This is the num­ weighing one pound
ber of gold pieces (gp) that your character mov em ent, and individual wel�ll
gets to buy starting equipm ent. One gold are used to settle tied initiatives

Gear Cost Gear

Backpack ( 30 pou nd capacity) s Mule

Bandages (5) 2 Oil (lamp), I pint
Boat 6o Pole, roft
Bottle (wine), glass Raft 10
Cart so Rations, dried (day) 3
Case (map or scroll) 3 Rations, trail (day) I
Checkers (game) s Rope, elven ( so ft) 70

Compass so Rope, hemp ( so ft) I

Crowbar Sack ( 3 0 pound capacity) I

IO
s
Dice 2 Saddle bags
Flint & steel s Saddle 2.5
G rappling hook Scroll, empty 5
s
H amm er and wooden stakes Shovel 5
3
IO
H elmet Skiing gear
Holy symbol, wooden 2 Sled
Holy symbol, silver 25 Sleeping bag
Holy water, sm all vial
Snare
Ho rse (riding)
6o Spell book (blank)
Ho rse (battle trained)
1 20 Spike, iron
Laboratory (portable)
1 30
Lantern
IO
Lockpicks
20
Map
20
Mirror (sm all s teel)
char acter Crea rion

Damage 13
Weight
Special
;;;;sword rd6+r 6 Range Ro.rt'" Cost
club rd6-2
3 Can be imp r IO
Crossbow rd6 +r oVised
8 Two handed
Dagger rd6-2
Darts rHP IS I 3
Flail rd6 9
20 3 I
Ign ore shieldAC
Gre atsword/Batrle Axe rd6+2 15 8
Two handed
Halberd/Pole Arm rd6+r 20 IS
Two han ded, Reacht
javelin rd6 IO
2 d6-2 damage in melee
Longbow I 2
rd6 5 Two handed
Mace/Warhammer I 40
rd6 10 +I AV vs. metal armor
Morning Star rd6 s
20 Same as above, x3 crit dam.
8
Musker+ rd6+2 10 Two handed 30 I/4 ISO
Pistol+ rd6+r 3 20 r/3 Ioo
Quarterstaff rd6-r 4 Two handed, Reacht I
Scimitar rd6 5 +1 AVwhile riding 8
Shortbow rd6-r Two banded, Ride and use
4 so I 2S
Shortsword rd6-r 3 8
Sling rd6-2 lf2 Use with regular stones 30 I 2
Spear rd6 8 Reacht 2
Throwing Knife/Axe rd6-2 1 -1 AVin melee lS I 2
Unarmed r hp Grapple (p. 18)

Tablr 7:Wcupons

CALCULATING ARMOR CLASS Armor AC Weight§ Cost

Note the AC value of the character's armor, Shield +I 10 s

With any bonuses (like from a shield or a
tnagic object) or penalti es fact ored �- For
I 10 IO
Clo th
2 IS IS
Leather
example, a character wearing chainmail and 3 20 20
40
a shield has rs Studded leather
AC 5· Unar mored characte 30
40
chainmail 4
haveACo.
s so
splint mail
6 6o 50
full plate
Table 8: Armor
nd �d
LANGUAGES
AU characters ).
are able t o understa ured in shots/r ourul(s
RDF = &Qte
of F"� meas
aes '.thin JO
SJ>eak the m ost common language as we as feet are in melee range.
thetno st · Ownspe- t Reac h: ennn otunfit in evert campaign. The exam­
t Firearms do a -industri4l levtl oftechnology.
•

. comm on language oftheJI n

worid.
Usua 11
Cles in the
campaign region of the game
the Referee's dis­
n WeJ·gJt less, at
t�
§ Magie annor
.
y, this means that humans spe�a .
s� pres giVe" represenca
delanguage
' while charac
ters Wl
t�
also speak a language comrnonw
 WHI TE
Chapte r n
b
speci es. Unle ss the playe r has chos en a group Th·lS lS y
tha t th e ru les do n' t cover
.
that make s it i nappropria te (l ike "barb arian,) , I t le ts you a nd the R eferee find bdeslgn.
· .

. your alan
all chara cters are consi dered li tera te . a nd gtv es yo u spa ce to negotiate ce
Ita 1so urg
Addi tiona l languages com e fr om two oth­ yo u to co11a bora te on gam e worl ·
e s
d creati. on,
er sources: r) A group t ha t the Re feree de­ t h e use ofgroupsa ndm any class p
o�n�
as
. .
ci des com es wi th a langua ge , li ke Thieves' meV1tab ly say som eth ing about . g
the se ttin
Ca nt for a thi eves' guild or some sacred la n­ Al wa ys rem em ber tha t youare crean·
. . ngaco1-·
guage fora church. 2) Bonus la nguages from 1ectlve nar ra tive on the gam e world's
condi-
high i ntelligence. Com m on choices for bo­ tion s, whe re each agreement servesas
a prec­
nus la nguages are D ra conic, Gobli n or dea d ede nt for the next. Even during the cour
se of
languages i n old scrolls a nd books. I n both a si ngle se ssion, you wi ll develop your own

your your
cases, the Referee can decide tha t a language bord ers a nd cont ent for the open spaces,
acquired after level I requires tim e to lea rn. makin g this gam e i n world.

GAINING EXPERIEN CE
CHAPTER II C ha ra cters are a wa rded experience points

THE GAME
(XP) for ki lli ng m onsters, accum ulating
trea sure a nd com pleti ng quests. Monsters

Where we look at the process ofplaying XP.

have XP values deci ded by the Referee, and

and the game rules.

one gold piece i s equal to one These two
XP cate gori es represent the expe rie nce the
character gets from staying alive and ge tting
NCE you have a character, the Refer­ ahead-by force or through cunning-in a
O ee wi ll present a gam e world si tua ti on da ngerous fantasy world.
that the character i s in, telling you what she QuestXP represent the experience char­
can see, hear, smell etc. The gam e may start acters get from achieving specific goals, not
wi th your character openi ng the Lost Tomb j ust stayi ng alive . Di scoveri ng the force be­
ofTunka Jinn, with am urdermystery i n the hi nd the i ncursi on of kobolds might be a
cave ci ty of Ode , or wi th som ethi ng else,
somewhere else.That is up to the Referee.
quest goal. T� topple a queen and put some­
one else on her throne might be anothe r. In
r
But you choose how your character reacts a n adv entu re, there are often a few sma lle
t .
to that situation, where she goes and what she quests to com plet e,as well as a major ques
quest
does. Perhaps she uses a mi racle and sends In a typi ca l low leve l adventure , the
. As
her fami li ar ahead to scout the tomb, or seeks par t i s abo ut half of the totalXP gai ned
take on
out the local thieves' gui ld to see ifthey know
who m ay be be hind the m urders? You con­
the characters advance in le vel and
hardermi ssi ons, this quota may increa
se . �t
XP at ·
trol your characte r's fe elings and choose her some tim es you fail and ge t no quest get.
you
words when she talks to other characters be­ At other tim es, questXPmay be all
longing to co-players or the Referee. As a re­
sult of your choices, the Re fe re e presents a S
SAVING THROW
new situation-you encounter undead tomb rd
e other haza
guards, you are ambushed by thugs, etc. A hostile mi racle , a trap or som the charac·
see if
The rules challenge you by te lli ng you can allow a saving throw, to
e nced eno � gh to avoi
below
d
how to handle cer tai n eve nts. They deal with te r i s lucky or experi
e qua to r 0
i t. Roll a d 20. Ifthe result is . a succe ss. oth·
the cha racte r' s ST, the save 1 also be •funl·
combat, but also wi th other tasks, experience,
movement, damage ,magic and othe rimpor­ s
sc an
tant parts of the game. The re are also things erwise it i s not (some save
 am e HACK
r hec
seeTask Rolls below). Anyone resistant I�
bled,, certam .
would not a
' snss'us.s·i 111it
vul n erable to a h azard uses po it
ive crowds. tl'l'
t'\'t tr·��ltwdtotnll�
ely (p. 5 ).
· Aw i e ch a ract e r tn
��neg ativ
e double rolls, respe ctiv
ten next to
intdlig�t1Cc
wit h uJWit•lll" wrll
cuuse thnt is
Wotddtt't lw
not the rt.>ll'vnt1t
TASK ROLLS, SKILLS & QUALITY
gry crowd usu a l
uttdbutt· nn
So me tu sks requ
ly docsn'tlist�n.tu rcu
so•,).
ire n "tt•uincd •·oil," lw·
c uu se they are of n t
racter deliberate ly takes on a
y p e thnt mukt•s it les
whe n a cha
enging task, the Referee tells
risky a nd chall
ut propt •· t rnlninM
s
likely that nnyone witho
the player to roll a d 20. If the result is equal can complete them. Pi ckin.
g u lock , sen ling
•

to orunderthe appropriate attribute, the task a sheer surface, knowing deta

ils nbout somt·
is s uccessful. Otherwise it is not. The R efer­ summoning ritu o l, guessing the valu
e of

quality
ee can take the face value of a successful die
as an indication of the of success. The
higher the successful value, the better. Roll­
ing your attribute score exactly counts as a
critical success-"a crit." Conversely, roll­
ing 20 is the worst possible failure, a fumble.
an ancient weapon, tracking an animal etc.
cou l d be such tasks. Check the groups. J ( o
characte r has a relev:mt group wrlltcn somr­
where on h er sheet, the player rolls a d2ojust
like for a regular task.lf that group is wriuen
next to the relevant attribute, she gets a posi­
tive double roll. But if none ofthose cases are

Difficulty, Help & Extreme Scores true, the task requires a negative double roll.

Ifthe Referee decides that a task is more dif­

Pairs
ficult than what is normal for its type, like
moving silently up a very creaky stair, or if it Getting a pair in a successful,positive double
is easier, like when a character gets help from
get
roll means that the charactermanages to
r than succ eed­
others, she may tell the player to subtract or some additional benefit othe
essful ne�-
add two or more to the attribute used. ing . Get ting a pair in an unsucc

an £at.1•mg.
some add•-
. e double roll means getting
atlv
Sometimes, this or some other modifica­ .
uona 1 detrun
. ental effect ot her th
tion will result in extre me attribute scores.
You may not roll for scor es below I. F rom
.
loan d up, rollmg 20 counts as a normal fail- COt1 tests

Ute. Any points above 20 may be added

to the are
parties roll and comp
In contest s, both
the1r results m t
quality of success. You crit on I 9 · positiv e
. _ order. Successful
. normalsucce sses,failu res, fu rn-

Skills & "Trained Rolls"

p airs, cnts, . ·s . cntego·
31· 1 d negauve palr
�;
bles and £ e
in the succe ssful
th �e · With
ut rywins o ver nlitywins. Withi n
attributes do not tell ever yth"n 1 g abo the lg es rqu
cat eg ori es,
a sk lfe"r hest roll wins.
ability to comp 1ete a t s sfu l ones, the hig
ation s m d1
th e un su cce at·
l for the same
·.

-
'Pecles, vocation and even u usually rol
Though yo
.

t for exnmpc I
rtirs
gh
opn
a n nsc. Tw
Jn
, ex pen·ences
d
ce a t I"
tate what pred . wayst hec
a g roup
ispos 1t10ns
. . ao. sn'ral
n .
tribute,th
•

. nce)orrh nrtn (rhnr I sm )

llrd i
'Peci a l knowledge she has. Wh en rrying t o c o nV J'n
har ac ter
next to an atm"bu te, the c h ge
u se 1ogl'c
rel
&ets to tnake p
(in
at at-
ositive double roll s
NS
AUC'rtO
th e
group seems re 1 eva .
nt
hnst.'S or !t'l
nH'S of
It.
ta k. w1th the
s Por instance, a wise character
'#
t.'t c
OCation " priest" written n ext t o c ha r i . e pnr-
idt• rht.·
Th
Lo n
t.•n c h, but
ln y
n ' r yi n g s. ca n b e p r<'s uhs.
a positive double rol lwh e checker
Wl·th no . roJl n d 6
h aracte r
. wn. tten 1·n the same
spot t!Cl
assas sm"
..
 W H ITE
II
16
Chapter
They make bids that they promise to beat
Burden Human
with the quality in a successful task roll, add­ Halfling, Dw
arf
(lbs) or Elf or Goblin
ing the d6 to the relevant attribute. For in­
stance, someone in a chase with dexterity 0- 7 30/6
5 25/5
1 2 and a d6 roll of 3 might bid 2, meaning 76-1oo 2 5/ 5 2 0/4
that she promises to roll 1 5 or below, but also 10 1-1 5 0 20/4 1 5/3
more than 2. Any other contestants have to
1 5 1+ 1 5/3 10/2
bid higher or make a final bid of 1 (a "one­
bid"). When all have made their final bids, the Table 9: Average Movement Rates
d6s are revealed and the one with the highest
bid rolls fi.rst. If she succeeds, she has won the Movement Type Adjustment
contest, but if she fails, the second highest
Careful Average Rate -I0/-2
bidder has to roll. The person with the low­
est bid does not have to roll in order to win if Normal Average Rate
everyone else fails. You have to make a bid to Ru nnin g Double Average Rate

Table 1 0: Movement Type Adjustments

participate, and you have to have a theoreti­
cal chance of be at in g it. If there are several
people with a one-bid, they roll like in a reg­
ular contest (p. 9). MOV EME NT RATE
Rates for base movement (MV) are listed in
feet/grid squares per round in tables 9 and 10.
The auction mechanism can be made cha­

spe­
otic (everyone calls out their bids in any or­
der), or more organized (the Referee or some You may want to make adjustments for
som e
dice roll decides the order of the bids). Auc­ cies that differ sign ificantly in size-
Ref eree
tions can also be role-played, by adding a de­ examples are also in the tables. The
see ifa charac­
scription to each bid: "I take a short-cut over can dem and a strength roll to
burd ens.
the crumbling bridge-7!" ter can move at all with very heavy
nds or orem
Which is the optimal bid? Is someone Any character carrying 76 pou
can choose to strain herselfto
get to mo e �s �
ove the one s e J.S
bluffing? Auctions are fun, tricky and time­
saving! Consider using them for non-lethal Per the weight category ab . C-
roll. If1.t J.S SU
in. Make a standard strength
cessful, you get one round ° ter ets tired
battles like duels to first blood. You can also ve­
£ boosted o JD
use them for harmful battles, maybe with
rac g
groups of lesser enemies, by deciding be­ ment. Ifit is a failure, the cha
n ext round
and can't move during the
·

forehand on an amount of damage that the

losers will take . Other than the regular attri­

·then-
butes, you can base auctions on STs and AVs, C OM BAT

(()lit'
and sometimes even on HP. . nto contaet \Vl
When the panycomeS i
nts
the of
emiesand eithersi'de wa
ult s tak e
batants act and res
�e
TIME
hen ve ordet. 'IW'
Sometimes the Referee will rule that min­ initiative (below). W resole­
battle is
wit h SIJil
utes, hours or months pass in the game world, a new round begins
contin ues unt il the
but there are two important terms: "round"
and "turn." A round is about ten seconds, and
the tum is a character's place to act in that
round. When the rules say "until her next
turn," it means until the character acts in
the next round. (In some modules, though,
"turn" designates something else, pp. :t8ff.)
The G ame

choose to ro ll on ce fo r gr ou ps of cre atu res

(who then act on the sam e t um). If two com
and have a quality above the opponent's ar­
­ mo r class. For examp
and a + I sword fighting
batants hav e tie d ini tia tiv es , mi ssi les go be le, someone with AV 1 4
­
on 4- r 5. Modifiers for equi
fore m elee an d lig hte r we ap on s go be for a n A C 3 goblin hits
e
those that are h e avi er or ne ed to be dra wn pment can be fac­
. tored in on the character she mak
This is usu ally on ly rel eva nt if at lea st on et, ing the
e of operation eve n simpler.
the tied comb atant s is attac king the other
. All rules for task rolls apply, including the
Any combat ant tha t doe s nothing but
wait opportunity to use surpl us points (i.e. for a
during a rou nd get s to cha nge her initiati
ve modified AV ahove 20) to raise quality. Crits
to 6 in the nex t and all con secu tive rou nds .
do doubl e damag e, stacki ng with the deft
Anyone can cho ose a low er initiative in­
double damage. Fumbles have disastrous ef­
stead of the one rolle d. In the first round af­
fects that the Referee chooses, but you are al­
ter this choi ce, she can let her actions happen lowed a save to fail normally instead offum­
just before others' on that initiative. bling. Deft characters sometime s use two

Surpri se
The Referee may decide that someone is
surprised when the battle begins. S urprised
characters are o n ly a llowed to move and
ready weapons last in the first round, and
do not roll initiative until the second round.
Others have combat advantage against them.
and
dice in attacks: A successful pair means a hit
combat advantage in the next round.
For modules with an older armor system,
use table 1 1 to tell the Referee the best lega­
cy AC your character hits. The Referee may
also use a module specific AV bonus (p. 2 9).
Melee Attack
A melee attack is an attack with a close com­

Action s During a Round

bat weapon like a sword, claw or dagger. Two
combatants within five feet ofeach other are
In a round' you may attack , make an average considered to be engaged in melee combat.

Missile Attack
move and perform some sma 11 ac tion like
dropping or readying a weapon .
These acti ons are inte rch ang eabl e from
left to right, but not the other way. You can, Missile attacks are attacks with ranged weap­
forexample sac rifice your att ack to m ake two. ons such as a sling or throwing axe. The weap­
on range in Table 7 (p. 13) is the close ran�e.
moves and � sm all action, but you can't sacn­
me The attack gets - I AV for each exceeded m­
fice a small action to get an extra attack. So
crement ofthe close range value, up to a max­
actions and abilities require a full round ·

imum of_4 (longer shots are impossible).

When firing into a melee, you must beat
the AC ofyour target by 4 or mor� in order to
. Ifyou beat it by less, you htt someon
. lt.
h lt e
.
£
e1se m s
. the melee ' at the Re eree d.1screno n.
,

A m iss is still a miss, though.

9 IO I l u 1 3
8 14 1 5 1 6 17 18
7
Whiuhadt AC
DescendingAC I
0 1 2 3 -5 -6 -7 8 9
-2 -3 -4
4 3 2 I 0 -I

Descending AC II
8 7 6 5 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8
9 -1 -2 -3
5 4 3 2 1 0

Ascen ding AC
8 7 6 24 25 26 27 2 8
10 9 20 2 I 22 23
16 1 7 I8 19
co n veYSI Ot1
Table
I2 I 3 I 4 I S
10 I I
Legacy AC
.
t t:
 W H ITE
Chaptern
18
. target area s. H itting can b e cov er, inv isibility, blu rri
Some mtsst' le attacks . spe ed etc . Th e
ng, · ncrea
s
int erprets cot . . ed
A
. tas k rol l. Hit ting a m ovmg
a cert am spot is a ndltlons
att ack ag am st C �·
. t h e wa y s h e see s fi t, usi ng combat
tar get 's spo t is a mi ssi le ad Vantage
'
s to AC,
s to save to avmd free atta cks a n d pen alti es or bonuse
Anyone in the target area get
rm ally 1 5 x 1 5 damage , move, initiative or AV
damage. The area ofeffe ct is no
b e a r­
feet, or 9 grid squares. The squ are s can
ranged into a cone for brea th wea pon s. For Special Com bat Options
ray weapons, count the num ber of squa res
crossed in the line of fire. The Refe ree makes rulings overwhatever the
playe rs want their characters to do, but a few

Free Attacks Charge:

formaliz ed options are suggested below:
Charge I 5 feet in a straight line to
A fighting character or creature needs to be attack with combat advantage. You get -3 AC

Fight defensively/offensively:Take
on guard. Casting a spell, quaffing a potion, until your next turn.

AVand
taking something outofa backpack and sim­ -2 AV or
-I damage, togettr
AC. AC AV
ilar actions give every ready enemy in melee -2 damage, or-I
range a free regular attack, regardless of turn. Take -2 and get + I and+ I damage.

You can only make one free attack per round,
no matter how many opportunities you get.
The strong class are excepted: they can make
a number of free attacks equal to their level.
GrappLe:
All effects last until your next turn.
Make a regular unarmed attack,
but forsake your d amage to hold your op­
ponent. The opponen t must win a contest

Trick:
To disengage in combat, you must move against your strength to break free.
backwards at a careful pace, still facing your Attack and exchange your damage

opponents, or you will give away free attacks.
Combat Advantage
Push
roll for one of the following effects, each ne­
the enemy five
gated by an enemy save:
feet backwards or diagonally backwards, and
follow into her form er space ifyou like. Feint

Disarm
Some situations and positions in battle will to mak e two attacks with combat advantage

AV
give the character or her enemy combat ad­
in the next round. the enemy so that
her weapon drops 2d6 feet away. Trip the
vantage in the form of+2 and +2 dam age . en­
The Referee decides wh en this occurs, or
but in emy so that she mu st rise before attacking
ge�eral, being flanked gives the flankin coDl-
g foes movi ng in the next round, giving you
AV
thts dvantage, as does higher gro
Protect: task roll
� und, sure bat advantage.
f�otmg vs. loose footing, striki against your
ng from be­
�md or attacking a surprised enemy. So me ­ M ake a
rhe
ttm�s, the Referee ma y eve (i.e. not an attack). If you succeed,
you
n grant a do uble attac k on an adjacent friend targets
or tnple combat advantage
� �
Press:
or + bonus to both AV
in th e form ofa +4 stea d. Ene mies may save to avoi� t� en us·
and dam age. Take a penalty to your A h
�
eft ch racters have a sp . GlV '
. ecial option to ing a special combat opnon.
wttch thet�r positive
coJD•
ve Ifyou
double roll for double nen t the sam e penalty to her sa
am�ge when they strik
�:,
·

tage m a way that e with combat advan­ or if the save succeeds, the enemY un
d.
relates to their vocation. the n
bat advantage against you in

Conditions Magic in combat

Magic, abilities .
or
es can daze, stun situational circumsta nc- co mba t il
Performing miracles
etc a character ' Illd h0ld ,de afen, confuse ch tilDe
bl'
or monster. positive a bad ide a, as it takes too mud s can be
'
·

e
effects fort. Only the fastest of mira
Th e G ame
form ed a n d tak e effe ct i n the sam e rou n d
The wise char acter must be fully cone en rrat-
ed on h er mir acle wit h n o oth er act ion s al-
lowed, and any adj ace nt foe s get free atta cks .
Ifsh e takes dam age whi le wor king her mag­
ic, sh e mu st sav e or hav e her con cen tratio n
broken , which ruin s the mir acle com plet ely
. ons, Incorporeal attacks etc.), but
DAM AGE & DEA TH
Whe n a cha ract er is hit, you sub trac t the
damage from her hit poin ts. If an attac k re­
duces her HP to zero, she is knoc ked out until
she has positi ve H P again . If an attack gives
her negative HP, she is knock ed out and must
save or die. Until she heals to a positive H P
score, any further d amage means she dies
without another save.
Characters (not creatures) have a spe­
cial option: Once per battle, when an attack
would damage them, they have the option to
save. A successful save reduces the damage
by d6 points, representing an adrenaline rush
that enables the character to shrug off some
damage from a single attack (it does not heal
any previous damage ). If the save fails, how­
ever, the charact er takes full damage from
the attack, and if she has HP left, she is still
knocked out for two round s. If she gets nega­
tiv e HP, she dies withou t another save.
When you would save to reduce dam age
or to avoid deat h, you can mak e a cons titu­
tion task roll inste ad, to the same effects. This
is usually a bett er opti on at lowe r levels, but
at higher levels , the chan ce to save is greater
th an the cha nce of mak ing a constitution roll
for all but the hardie st of charac ters.
Gh ost Form & Resurrection
De ath is not nece ssari ly absolu te and perm a­
ne nt. The Referee is advis ed to allow a play­
ghost
continue playing her character in
where
for the rem ain der of the session
the character die d, giving advice to her com·
, even
("it's as if I co uld sti ll he ar Ul sak
und ead
he's dead !") and even fighting
incorporeal op po ne nt s. In ghost for
HA C K
19
·
�te character retains all her abilities and fu ll
h lt pom. ts . Sh e ma
y not pas s thr oug h wal ls
and closed doors-
that is an advanced abili­
ty available to monster gho
sts only. The ghost
form can only be hit by thin
gs that can hur t
the � nde ad (exorcism, cen
ain mag ic wea p­
she cannot
affect anything directly in the world of the
living. Should the ghost form be destroyed
before the session ends, the playe r has no
choic e but to make a new chara cter or re­
main out ofplay.
In a fantasy world filled with magic, there
are ways of bringing back the dead . This
shouldn't be just a ritual, but an adventure
with great risks, spanning at least a session
Poison & Drugs
The Referee notes effects ofpoisons or drugs
in her descriptions, including consequenc­
es ofsuccessful or failed saves against them.
For example, a dose of Qu icksilver or
Godberry gives the wise a one hit point mir­
acle for free, but the character must also save
or become addicted to the same number of
doses that she has used that day. Rolling 20
means that she has overdosed and takes that
number ofd6s as damage. The character must
abstain and save three days in a row to get
clean. Addicts pay double for their miracles
when in withdrawal. The price in gold for a
dose varies with the campaign world.
HEALI NG & INJUR IES
In addition to the various magical means of
restoring hit points, a character who has not
gone below zero H P will recover one H P ev­
ery evening and morning, two ifshe succeeds
y-eight hours
at a constitution task roll. Fort
ore hit poi nts com pletely.
of rest will rest
allow a char acte r to bind
The Referee can
imm ediately fol­
xd6_ 3 H P worth ofwounds
rrni ned task rol Fum­
l.
lowing a bartle, with a
patient loses one H P
blin g means that the
instead . Note that the cha racter can only re-
cover hit points los
r dur ing that battle.
m,
 W HITE
Chapter rr
If the character has reached negative HP, ing "Master of the Elem ents." T
she is injured and must either be treated by for the players to deliberatelyhis c h
also allows
someone with a healer vocation or get a per­ spec ifi.cor more general wordings se more oo
manent disadvantage. Until either of those The Re£eree must alsodecide ho.w
conditions are met, the character will heal at fu1 the des1r. ed effect is. Some aclpo wer-
es may
her usual rate, but only to HP r . However, if be hard to achieve bec�use they alter real i
someone has purposely hit her to knock her lot or because the settmg works in a way thtyata
out and not to kill, the character heals nor­ puts restnctl . .ons on th e use of magic.
Oth-
mally even from negative HP. er miracles are powerful because they have
This means that a player can choose for large areas of effect, long durations, targets
her character to take a permanent disadvan­ that don't get to save, instant casting times
tage (two lost fingers, a limp, a scar) when a or something similar.
healer is hard to find and the character needs When suggesting a cost, the Referee uses
to get back on her feet fast in order to survive. a special scale: I, 2, d6, d6+r, d6+2, 2d6, 2d6+I
The disadvantage is noted next to an attribute and finally 2d6+2 HP (the highest possible
on the character sheet and can be used by the cost is about half the average HP of a level
Referee to demand negative double rolls. 10 Wise character). All costs that include a
die may also include a save, and if the play­
MAGIC
er wants to negotiate the cost, this must be
done before rolling for the cost or saving.
M agic does not have to be actual magic. An Both saves and negotiation s are explained
apothecary's or a scientist's experiments may in the Wise class rules (p. 8).
seem mag ic to ordinary folk. Then again, ac­
tual mag ic is an integral part of most fantasy
mig ht be divi ne, natu ral, Using Scro lls, Potions, Wands etc.
worlds. Its orig in
dem oni c or something else. Scrolls, potions, wands and many other mag can
­
­
ects can be used by someon e who
Look at the example of play on the nexint icnotobjcrea te magic herself.
pag e. It sho ws how magic is dealt wit h
k. s can be quaffed, which requiresml�os­
W hite hac Th e pla yer say s wh at she wa nts Pot ion
skill, or thrown at someone, which is a
the ma gic to do , bas ed on th � cha rac
a
te
mi
� 's
rac
vo-
le. sile att ack or missile area attack l (p.rs an rol r8�
.
canon and the spe cifi c wo rdm g of
. possi.- The same goes for attacks with powde a �
ing a vial up to five fe��ltS�
Th e Refer ee ma ke s a ru lin g if tha t lS
we r it wo uld tak e, an d ray wa nd s. Cr ush
bl e an d how mu ch po with the player. shou ld never require a roll, though. It
comes to an agr eem ent y.
intended space automaticallscr oll re qul. tes a
spel l from a
c
a
Magi
Read ing
Cost s for . lligence· It lS. sorhout me-
Hit Poi nt succe ssful
that t
ro
ak
11
es
£ or
tra m
mte . so anyone Wl·
. mg,
plausibl� it is thin g .ve double roll.
The Refe ree m ust decide how the cha ra�ter s v:­ such train ing m ak es a n ega u
m e scrolls are
som eone with say tha t so
to achl�Ve t � The Refermeeore difficult to read· l f you kno1oWt
(if at all) for mi gh t
cation and m iracle wording wn �n easier or lt lS easier. Ifyou d0n'. t' it is a nt
effe ct the pla yer wan ts. If the voca �
in hit �Ol�ts the langMa uage, . en 1 n ancie
hat t he chara rs
t ntt
·

cos w
·

t
spo t on, the scr o lls a re
wor din g are
low er tha n in the cas e o a a� harder. ny
an gu a ges
cte
s hould be Wise Sum m oner wlt. versions of the 1
stretch Fore xam ple, a
on Eart h Ele - kn o w. m e or al l of itS .re·
H P
m m w so
the m1rac1e word'mglo"Su wer c st to � u md A scroll ca n dra
om t he rea d er. .Exa rn in e
1Dg
c
m ent al" shou
ld get a � Wtza r quired power fr idea , s!
D
.·

ental tha n a Wtse nd .

lS a go od ·

mon anearth ele more era m ·trac1 e word - the

scroll before ha
with the m uch m gen 1