Primary Attributes

Attributes control two things: the type of dice that you roll for skills and attribute checks, and the default Difficulty for people attempting to do things to you. Your ability to evade attacks or traps--or resist spells, afflictions, and con artists--stems from your attributes.

Atttribute	Abbrev.	Controls
Strength	STR	Damage, carrying/lifting capacity, feats of muscular strength. Also determines Life Points (LP).
Precision	PRC	Hand-eye coordination, accuracy, balance, etc. Controls almost all physical skills.
Quickness	QKN	Reaction time, foot speed, agility, resistance to some magic and traps. Its effects are reduced by encumbrance.
Toughness	TGH	Health: resistance to disease, poisons, and Affliction magic. Determines Vitality Points (VP) and Life Point recovery.
Intellect	INT	Learning ability, memory, problem solving ability, perception. Controls spells, a few mental skills, and XP gain.
Spirit	SPI	Inner strength; "grit" or willpower, force of personality, resistance to mind-affecting magic. Determines spell points (SP).

Derived Attributes

Derived Attributes are, unsurprisingly, derived--often from a combination of your primary attribute's base Difficulty, plus the effects of certain passive skills. Your ability to resist spells, poisons, or persuasions, as well as your ability to move quickly, carry a load, or take a punch, are all the result of your derived attributes.

Attribute	Abbrev.	Controls
(Difficulties)	Diff	Equal to 2+ 1/2 of each attribute; these determine how hard you are to affect. See Skills for details.
Life Points	LP	Equal to your STR Diff; A measure of the tissue damage you can take before dying (strength often indicates size/mass).
Vitality Points	VP	Equal to your TGH Diff; A measure of your resistance to shock and fatigue; these "insulate" LP & regenerate ~100x faster.
Spell points	SP	Equal to your Spirit (spell skills are controlled by Intellect, but the energy/force of will to cast them comes from SPI).
Encumbrance	Enc.	You can carry (STR Diff. squared) without issue. Up to 2x that reduces QKN Diff. by 1; up to 5x is -2.
Move	Mv	Equal to your current Quickness Difficulty. If sprinting in a straight line, move 1 extra space (1 space = 1 yard/meter).
Dodge	Ddg	Equal to your current QKN Diff, plus 1/2 your Evasion skill (thus, encumbrance affects dodge).
Parry	Prry	Equal to your base QKN Diff, plus 1/2 your Deflection skill. You can only parry melee attacks, and your attacker gets Favorable Circumstances if his attack is physically much stronger (e.g. greater STR and heavier weapon).
Block	Blk	Requires a shield; equal to your base DR, plus shield bonus, plus Blocking skill. You can block any directional attack.
Spell Defenses	SD	The difficulties that spellcasters face when targeting you; equal to your QKN/TGH/SPI Diff plus Spell Defense skill.

Attribute XP Costs

Attributes are numbered by 2's, ranging from 4 to 12; 8 is considered average for human beings. Some creatures and people may fall outside of this range, even having multiple dice--such as 2d12 for an Ogre's Strength--but those are either beyond human(like) capability, or simply too low to be appropriate for adventuring (4 is already nearly worthless for adventurous pursuits!) The standard method for determining attributes is a point-buy method based on 75 Experience Points:

Attribute Level	Cost in XP	Quality	Base Difficulty
2	-10	negligible	3
4	-10	pathetic	4
6	-15	poor	5
8	0	average	6
10	30	Exceptional	7
12	50	Phenomenal	8
14 (2d12)	50	Superhuman	9
16 (3d12)	50	Superhuman	10

These costs are accumulative, so raising an attribute from 8 to 12 costs 80 XP in total (0+30+50). This means that most characters will have 2 attributes of 10, and the rest at 8. Left-over XP can be spent on skills, and characters receive 1 XP for skills (only) per point of INT. Thus, most start at 83 XP (75+8) while smarter characters are 85 (75+10).

By comparison, an average human non-combatant is a 0 XP character--his skills/XP are outside the scope of this game. Weak, sub-human creatures of low intellect like kobolds/goblins or medium-sized animals often have negative XP totals, while a simple guard/militia or thug might be around 5 XP due to combat skills, an experienced watchman or "green" soldier about 15 XP, and a low-ranking professional soldier about 40 XP. Elite Soldiers may exceed 100 XP, and well-known heroes can easily exceed 200.

Conceptual Discussion

One of the things that players familiar with other RPG's must adjust to is thinking in broad categories rather than comparatively fine numerical scales. For example, an attribute if 8 isn't just pure average; it covers a range from moderately below to moderately above average. As a real-world example, people with IQ test scores ranging from 90 to 110 would all be considered to have an Intellect of 8. People with IQ's ranging from around 120 to 150 or so would be INT 10, while people with IQ's of 160+ would have INT attributes of 12.

The upshot of this is that an ability score that deviates from "average" isn't just slightly higher or lower; the difference is immediately noticeable to anyone. An adult male human with a STR of 10 is obviously, clearly, much stronger than the norm, likely with a lean body weight of ~200+ lbs, while someone with a STR of 6 is probably short and thin, perhaps weighing 135 lbs or so. Someone with a STR score of 12 is approaching the peak of human limits, with body weight ranging from 250 (very lean) to 450 (obese) lbs. An INT of 6 is clearly dimwitted, while a 4 isn't much more complex than an ape (most animals are INT 2). A PRC of 6 is noticeably clumsy, awkward, and perhaps accident-prone, while a 10 moves with noticeable grace and precision at all times.

Since Dungeons and Dragons is the best-known RPG system, a comparison to its base attribute scales (3-18) might be helpful:

D and D	=	PolyRPG
3-4	=	4
5-7	=	6
8-12	=	8
13-16	=	10
17-18	=	12

Similarly, skill levels also cover a relatively broad range of expertise. 1 level of skill implies that the character has been adequately trained and has some practice in a skill--for example, a police officer who has completed his academy training would have 1 level of proficiency in the appropriate skills, and someone who has earned a 4-year undergraduate degree would have 1 level of proficiency in the related skill(s). After a year or more "on the job" or an advanced degree, many of these skills would have advanced to level 2. After many years of experience or a PHD, they might be level 3. Generally only people who have pursued a specific skill as a career for long periods of time (10-30 years) will ever attain level 4 unless their expertise is forged in a crucible of extreme pressure (as is often the case for adventurers, who must learn quickly or die.)

This game also treats modifiers in a similar fashion: instead of having specific modifiers for every conceivable event that might occur, there are only broad categories to represent the aggregate conditions at the time of an attempt to do something, such as a skill use or an attribute check. These categories are Nigh Impossible (-4), Very Unfavorable (-2), Unfavorable (-1), Favorable (+1), and Very Favorable (+2). These modifiers apply to the check result, and are assessed based on overall conditions.

For example:

If a player is fighting an orc in the dark, on bad footing, and while flanked, but is currently under the effects of Confidence spell, the GM may rule that his overall conditions are Unfavorable; without the Confidence spell, they would definitely be Very Unfavorable. On the other hand, with all the same conditions but fighting in bright light (which Orcs hate but humans like) the overall conditions might be normal, though they would degrade to Unfavorable once the Confidence spell expired. Assessing conditions is always a judgement call, not a mathematical formula, and is loosely based on both the number and severity of factors affecting conditions.

Starting Skills

The XP cost for each level of a skill is its level squared, cumulatively: (1 for level 1, 1+4 for level 2, 1+4+9 for level 3, and so on). Characters begin with XP for skills equal to their INT score, and usually have some left over from buying attributes. Most player characters will have several level 1 skills, with only 1 or 2 critical skills being at level 2 or 3--and some might have nothing above 1. Even for experienced characters, skill levels typically range from 1 to 4 (Trained, Professional, Expert, and Master respectively). Skills above 4 are wildly cost-ineffective.

Skills come in two flavors: Active and Passive.

Active skills almost have a controlling attribute, which determines the type of dice used for skill checks; each point of skill adds 1 die to your checks, so for example if you have Precision 10 and a Lockpick skill of 1, then you can roll 2d10 when trying to pick locks. Even untrained, you always have at least 1 die (that's your base attribute).

Active Skills		Attribute	Notes
Afflictions		INT	Afflictions are spells that inflict negative conditions on a target (disease/poison, curses, etc.)
Ancient Tongues		INT	The ability to decode or understand a variety of ancient languages; the Difficulty is always high!
Axes & maces		PRC	Cheap, tip-heavy weapons that parry poorly due to a slow swing & recovery rate, but hit hard.
Bluff		SPI	The ability to tell a convincing lie. Opposed by INT/Perception.
Bows		PRC	Shortbows, longbows, & composite longbows. Bows do solid damage at range, but take a turn to reload.
Charms		INT	Charms affect the minds of living creatures, causing them to see or believe things they otherwise won't.
Climbing		STR	The ability to climb difficult surfaces; Encumbrance reduces the Circumstances.
Crossbows		PRC	Crossbows inflict very high damage at range, but take 2 turns between shots to recock & reload.
Diplomacy		SPI	The ability to work out a fair compromise, or convince someone not to kill you (maybe).
Distraction		SPI	Influences a foe to attack you even if someone else is more dangerous. Takes no time, resisted by SPI.
Evocations		INT	Evocations are spells that produce a tangible real-world effect, like fire, force fields, or earthmoving.
Fencing		PRC	Fencing weapons are light and quick, allowing two parries per turn when not moving but inflicting low damage.
Flails		PRC	flexible weapons: nunchaku, mace & chain, even whips. Flails can't parry, but also can't be parried.
Jumping		QKN	The ability to leap over obstacles (pits, chairs, kobolds…) or make controlled falls. Affected by Encumbrance.
Knives		PRC	Hand-to-hand fighting (not throwing) with knives & daggers. Knives parry poorly due to low size & mass.
Life Magic		INT	Life spells restore lost HP or cure other ailments, or harm/hinder Death-suffused creatures.
Lockpicking		PRC	The ability to defeat locks using tools instead of keys; each attempt takes 1 min. Difficulty is always high!
Medicine		INT	First aid (5 minutes) and long-term treatment of injuries, diseases, or poisons.
Perception		INT*	The ability to notice (via any sense) things out-of-place or hidden, or to detect when someone is lying.
Poleaxes		PRC	Polearms that are swung at a foe; they have high damage & extra reach, but must be re-readied after a swing.
Slings		PRC	Slings do light damage and take a turn to re-ready after a shot, but are very cheap and convenient.
Spears		PRC	Any long thrusting pole weapon; most have reach. This skill covers 1-handed and 2-handed techniques.
Staff		PRC	Staves require both hands and only do light damage (for a 2-hander), but are lightweight and Parry very well.
Stealth		PRC	The ability to hide and move silently; opposed by INT/Perception. Affected by Encumbrance.
Swords		PRC	The ability to use all 1-handed swords, as well as any similarly sized & balanced swung/thrust weapon.
Survival		INT*	The ability to hunt, gather, find water or shelter, or track creatures (opposed by Survival or Stealth).
Throwing		PRC	The ability to fling throwing weapons, stones, etc. accurately. Improvised weapons are usually Unfavorable.
Traps		PRC	The ability to set or disable physical traps, both lethal & nonlethal; 5 minutes to set, 1 to disable.
2-h axes & maces		PRC	Essentially like regular axes and maces, only more so! (And, of course, only usable with both hands).
2-h swords		PRC	Not as devastating as 2-hand Axes or Maces, but better at parrying. Greatswords have reach.
Unarmed		PRC	Advanced unarmed fighting, whether simple brawling or a more exotic martial art.

Anything else is typically handled by a simple attribute check or skill of the appropriate type. For example, acrobatics might be a Precision roll, Pickpocketing a Stealth roll, Naturalism would use an INT roll, Herbalism a Medicine roll (at least in a low-tech setting). The intent is to keep the game rules relatively simple rather than gumming it up with hundreds of skills that often might never be used!

Passive skills are different; they simply add a bonus to an existing stat, such as hit points, spell points, or the base difficulty that an attacker has to meet when trying to hit you. Don't underestimate the value of Evasion, Deflection, Blocking, and Spell Defense!

Passive Skills		Notes
Assassination		Requires "light" wps; adds to damage vs. foes whose QKN is lower than yours (twice if they are unaware/helpless).
Blocking		Knowledge of proper shield use (shield angle, when to brace/when to give, etc.); adds directly to your Block DR.
Diehard		Adds directly to both your LP and VP; you can take more physical abuse before collapse.
Deflection		Adds 1/2 its value to your Parry once per turn per readied weapon; some weapons parry better or worse.
Energy		Adds directly to your SP (thus, Energy skill 3 adds 3 SP).
Evasion		Adds 1/2 its value to your Dodge. Dodge is more useful than Parry, but is reduced by encumbrance.
Spellcraft		The highest Rank of spell you can cast is (INT+Spellcraft-10), but Spellcraft must be less than your INT Difficulty.
Spell Defense		Directly increases the Difficulty for spellcasters who target you. For example, when a witch Hexes you her Difficulty is your (SPI Diff. + Spell Defense). If she succeeds you take full effect--but if not, you only suffer a reduced effect.
Extra Size		Size is this value squared, plus 1. Each skill level adds 1 VP and LP and 1/2 to Sprint. Reach is 1+ 1/4 of total Size.
Fast Sprint		Base Sprint speed is multiplied by (skill+1). Thus, 1 level doubles base Sprint, 2 levels triple it, etc.

Skill usage hinges on the concept of Difficulty or "Diff". Diff is a number which you must meet or exceed on at least one of your dice. For inanimate challenges this is set by the GM, but when trying to use a skill against another creature the base Difficulty is the target's relevant Attribute's Difficulty. If the creature possesses a skill that opposes your skill, such as Perception versus Stealth, he may add his skill level to his base Difficulty (determined by the skill's controlling attribute). For example, if a Rogue with PRC10 (Diff7) and Stealth 2 tries to sneak past a guard with INT8 (Diff6) and Perception 1, his Difficulty is 7 (6+1). If the guard is on alert and actively searching for intruders, then on his turn the guard rolls his Perception (2d8) against a difficulty of 9 (7+2).

Difficulties typically range from 4 (nearly anyone can do it without training) to 9 (only those with both talent and training have any real chance of pulling it off.) 7 is a common skill Difficulty in lower-level adventures; 10 is nigh-impossible for those without natural talent.

Circumstances at the time of skill usage affect Difficulties: Unfavorable or Favorable Circumstances raise or lower Difficulty by 1 respectively, while Very Favorable/Unfavorable Circumstances raise or lower Difficulty by 2. "Nigh impossible" circumstances raise Diff. by 4!

Dumb Luck: You always have a chance to pull off something that seems just out of your reach. Whenever you roll the maximum value on one of your dice, treat that value as being 1 higher. So if 3d6 comes up 5, 6, and 2, your check result is a 7 (6+1).

Practice Makes Perfect: Building on the Dumb Luck rule, every maximum roll on your dice boosts the check result by 1. So if you rolled 3d6 and got two 6's, your check result would be 8! Note however that the odds become almost exponentially smaller per additional +1.

Probabilities

It is admittedly very hard to intuitively grasp the impact of skill levels on success probability, especially when compared to higher or lower attributes (providing larger or smaller dice, while skill levels provide additional attempts).

The general rule of thumb is that for higher difficulties, higher attributes trump the effect of more skill (but more skill is usually cheaper on any give case-by-case basis). For lower difficulties skill has a greater impact, although these probabilities will be high in any case.

One corollary of this effect is that characters who expect to frequently deal with Unfavorable Circumstances (such as a dual-wielding melee fighter, or a sniper who prefers to shoot from very long ranges) should probably prioritize attribute increases over skill increases.

Probability Table

For some pre-figured, hard-number examples, see the table below. The range from 2d8 to 4d8 is considered typical, while typical Difficulties range from 6 to 8.

dice		att		4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	D	4		25%	25%
2	D	4		44%	44%	6.25%
3	D	4		58%	58%	12.5%	1.6%
4	D	4		68%	68%	20.5%	5.0%	0.4%
5	D	4		76%	76%	29.7%	10.5%	1.50%	0.1%
dice		att		4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	D	6		50%	33%	17%	17%
2	D	6		75%	56%	31%	31%	2.8%
3	D	6		88%	70%	42%	42%	7.5%	0.5%
4	D	6		94%	80%	52%	52%	13.6%	1.3%	0.08%
5	D	6		97%	87%	60%	60%	20.0%	2.3%	0.22%	0.013%
dice		att		4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	D	8		63%	50%	38%	25%	12.5%	12.5%
2	D	8		86%	75%	61%	44%	23%	23%	1.6%
3	D	8		95%	88%	76%	58%	33%	33%	4.2%	0.2%
4	D	8		98%	94%	85%	68%	41%	41%	8.2%	0.5%	0.024%
5	D	8		99%	97%	90%	76%	49%	49%	12.5%	1.5%	0.060%
dice		att		4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	D	10		70%	60%	50%	40%	30%	20%	10%	10%
2	D	10		91%	84%	75%	64%	51%	36%	19%	19%	1.00%
3	D	10		97%	94%	88%	78%	66%	49%	27%	27%	2.8%
4	D	10		99%	97%	94%	87%	76%	59%	34%	34%	5.24%
5	D	10		99.8%	99.0%	96.9%	92.2%	83.2%	67.2%	41.0%	41%	8.00%
dice		att		4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	D	12		75%	67%	58%	50%	42%	33%	25%	17%	8%
2	D	12		94%	89%	83%	75%	66%	56%	44%	31%	16%
3	D	12		98%	96%	93%	88%	80%	70%	58%	42%	23%
4	D	12		100%	99%	97%	94%	88%	80%	68%	52%	29%
5	D	12		99.9%	99.6%	98.7%	96.9%	93.2%	86.8%	76.3%	59.8%	35.3%

At the end of a play session PC's gain XP equal to their INT Difficulty, though this may be adjusted up or down by the GM--for instance, a short or unproductive session should be worth 1-2 fewer points while a long one might grant 1-2 more.

Raising Attributes

The XP cost to raise an attribute is the same as the cost at character creation, given in the table in the attributes section.

Learning New Skills

The XP cost for each level of a skill is its level squared, accumulatively: (1 for level 1, 1+4 for level 2, 1+4+9 for level 3, and so on.)

Improving Skills

These experience points can be spend to raise a skill as described above under "Learning Skills": in short, the cost to raise a skill is equal to the next higher skill level (above what you currently have), squared. Thus, raising a skill from level 2 to level 3 costs 9 XP.

Most equipment needs little in the way of hard-and-fast rules (the GM can rule on the effect, cost, and weight of lanterns, blankets, or rope) but weapons and armor--which tie into the underlying math of the system--definitely do. Thus, they're codified here.

For the typical campaign setting (~75Xp characters who are just beginning their adventuring careers) the recommended starting wealth is $300. This permits the purchase of a moderate weapon (or a light one for both melee and range), plus some light armor and optionally a shield or a spellbook or two. Advanced equipment, such as heavy weapons or armor, powerful potions, or advanced books of magic will then become something for early adventurers to aspire to.

Much later, well-experienced heroes with abundant wealth can purchase Enchantments for their existing weapons and armor.

Reach and Range

Melee weapons have "reach", that is, the distance from the wielder's square that they can strike. For most weapons (including bare hands and feet), reach is 1--meaning that they can only strike targets adjacent to the wielder. Longer weapons, like spears and greataxes, have "reach+1" -- meaning that they can strike something 2 squares away. Very long weapons, like poleaxes and pikes, have Reach+2--meaning that they can strike a target 3 spaces away from the wielder.

Ranged weapons have (unsurprisingly) range--which is like reach, but much farther. Each weapon has a specified effective range in yards/map spaces; attacks made at this range or less are rolled normally.

Ranged weapons also have a specified "max range". This is the absolute farthest that the weapon can shoot--and attacks made between the effective range and the maximum range are made at Unfavorable Circumstances (-2 on the roll results).

Armor and Damage Reduction

All armor protects its wearer by reducing the impact of a hit scored against him; in the case of strong armors (or weak damage rolls) armor may even block out all injury. The heavier or more advanced an armor is, the more DR it likely possesses.

The downside of armor is that it adds to encumbrance quickly, making it difficult to wear substantial armor without suffering a reduction in Quickness Difficulty--and since your Dodge derives from that stat, armor can actually make you get hit more often. Wearing armor is therefor a trade-off between gaining damaged reduction, and losing avoidance. In general, however, it's always worth it to wear some form of armor. However, it's sometimes not advantageous to wear heavier armor at the expense of a loss of QKN, unless that armor supplies more than 1 additional point of DR (or if your dodge is already so hopelessly low that you expect to get hit a lot anyway.)

In general, losing a point of QKN can be worthwhile if it allows you to wear heavy armor (chain mail or better) rather than light armor (reinforced leather or lower).

Weapons are assumed to include scabbards, belt hooks, quivers (but not ammunition), and whatnot for the list cost and weight. Salvaged or heavily-used equipment can generally only be resold for about 10% of its original price, but once "refurbished" it will sell for the full value in a shop. Despite this, in general adventurers will find it more profitable to go on adventures than to stay home refurbishing hacked, bloody, lice-ridden orc armor!

Using a weapon for which you fail to meet the minimum strength requirements is an Unfavorable Circumstance.

Firing a ranged weapon beyond its effective Range (listed in yards/map spaces) is Very Unfavorable. Max range is the absolute limit that it can reach.

Axes & maces		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Handaxe		+4	6	$40	4	parry+0
Wooden Club (~30")		+2	6	$10	3	parry+0
Light Mace/hammer		+4	8	$30	5	parry+0
Heavy Mace/hammer		+5	10	$50	7	parry+0
Battleaxe		+5	8	$60	5	parry+0

Bows (2 hands)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight	range	max.	Ammo$	Ammo#
Shortbow		+4	6	$50	2	15	75	$1	0.1
Longbow		+4	8	$100	3	25	125	$1	0.1
Composite Longbow		+5	10	$150	3	30	150	$1	0.1

Bows do solid damage at range, but require a turn to reload between shots (rate of fire 1/2.)

Crossbows (2 hands)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight	range	max.	Ammo$	Ammo#
Crossbow		+6	6	$150	5	25	125	$1	0.1
Prodd (shoots sling bullets, not bolts.)		+5	6	$100	5	20	75	$0.25	0.25

Crossbows have long range and high damage, but take 2 turns to recock and reload between shots (rate of fire 1/3)

Fencing (light)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Rapier		+3	6	$100	3	can pierce or slash; parry+1

Fencing weapons are lightweight and do low damage, but can parry twice per turn.

Flails		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
nunchaku (light)		+2	4	$20	2	can attack twice when stationary
mace-and-chain		+5	8	$60	5	1 action to re-ready after swing.
Heavy Flail		+6	10	$75	7	1 action to re-ready after swing.

Flails cannot parry, but neither can they BE parried!

Knives (light)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
dagger/stilleto		+2	2	$20	1	parry+0; slash damage is only +1.
Long knife (blade 9-12")		+3	6	$25	2	parry+0; slash damage is only +2.

poleaxes (2-hands)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Glaive/Guisarme		+7	8	$100	8	slashing only; parry+1
Halberd		+8	10	$150	10	slashing; or piercing as a Spear; parry+1

Any polearm that's swung at the foe is considered a poleaxe. These do high damage, and have +2 square reach, but take a full turn to re-ready after an attack and (being 2-handed) preclude the use of a shield.

Slings (2 hands)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight	range	max.	Ammo$	Ammo#
Sling (stone)		+1	-	$5	0.5	10	40	$0	0.25
Sling (bullet)		+2	4	$5	0.5	12	50	$0.25	0.25

Slings do light damage, but are cheap and simple. They take 1 turn to re-ready after a shot (rate of fire 1/2).

spears (2-hands)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Halberd (thrust)		+4	8	$150	10	reach+1; use Poleaxe skill to swing; parry+1
Iron or weighted Staff		+3	8	$30	8	reach+1; parry+1
Pike/Ranseur		+5	8	$75	6	reach+2; parry+1
Quarterstaff		+2	4	$15	4	reach+1; parry+1
Spear		+4	6	$35	4	reach+1; parry+1
Spear (1-handed)		+3	8	$35	4	reach+1; parry+0

Any pole thrust at an opponent is treated as a spear, even if it has other functions.

Staves (2-hands)		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Quarterstaff		+3	6	$15	4	parry+1; 2 parries per turn; can "dual-wield"
Iron or weighted staff		+4	8	$30	8	parry+1; 2 parries per turn; can "dual-wield"

Swords		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
shortsword (light)		+3	6	$50	3	can slash or pierce; parry+1
longsword/broadsword		+4	8	$75	4	can slash or pierce; parry+1
bastard sword		+5	10 (1h)	$100	6	can slash or pierce; parry+1

Throwing		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight	range	max.
stone		+0	2	$0	0.25	8	20
dagger/knife		+2	4	$20	1	8	20
handaxe		+4	8	$40	4	8	15
Dart (micro-javelin)		+2	4	$15	0.5	10	30
Javelin		+3	6	$25	2	15	50
Shuriken		+0	-	$10	0.1	8	15

2-h axes & maces		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Greataxe/Bardiche		+8	10	$100	10	parry+0
Great Mace/Maul		+8	10	$80	12	parry+0

2-h swords		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
Bastard Sword		+6	8 (2h)	$100	6	can slash or pierce; parry+1
Great Sword		+7	10	$150	8	Reach+1; can slash or pierce; parry+1

unarmed		damage	Min. STR	cost	weight
punch (light)		-1	-	$0	0	2 attacks if stationary & both hands free; parry+1
kick (light)		+0	-	$0	0	parry+0 (rarely used!)
brass knuckles (pair)		+0	4	$10	1	2 attacks if stationary & both hands free; parry+1
spike-toed boot		+2	6	$25	+1	weighs 1 lb more than a normal boot; parry+0

Armor protects the wearer by providing Damage Resistance against all forms of attack, physical or magical--but quickly becomes encumbering and lowers the wearer's Quickness, making him easier to hit and more susceptible to perils that are normally avoided or mitigated by QKN, as well as lowering his movement rate. In general light armor only reduces a hit, while heavy armor may stop it completely.

Shields are a special case: their DR only applies when a character declares a "block". Blocks are a type of defense in which the target forgoes trying to avoid the hit altogether--instead bracing defensively to take it without significant injury. Since the target's arm can still be injured by a heavy (or penetrating) hit to shield, the shield merely adds his existing DR from armor, spells, or natural hide in the case of non-humans. Combined with a few levels of Blocking skill, a shield can provide a very high DR indeed.

Armor Type				Cost	DR	Weight
soft leather (or furred) clothing				20	1	6
Padded/quilted or soft leather armor				50	3	10
Hardened leather armor				100	4	15
Studded Leather, ring mail, chain/scale shirt				150	5	25
Chain, scale, banded, or brigandine				250	7	45
Splinted mail, or Half plate/platemail				400	8	75
Full Plate battle armor				500	8	65
Shield (+DR only applies to Block)				30	2*	6	DR5, 12 LP if attacked
Light Shield (+DR only applies to Block)				10	1*	4	DR4, 8 LP if attacked

It's beyond the scope of this rule set to define every conceivable tool that every character type might need (or merely want) in any given campaign world--each GM must adjudicate any special requests or needs.

However, some very common examples are listed here.

Item		Weight	Cost
Lockpicks		1	$75	Very hard to make, hence expensive. Improvised tools are Unfavorable/V. Unfavorable.
Healing potion		0.1	$25	Heals 1 LP and 2 VP.
Major healing potion		0.1	$75	Heals 2 LP and 5 VP.
Spellbook (each)		1	$50	1 book per school of magic, ranks 1-3; required for study to maintain casting ability.
Master's Spellbook (ea)		1	$150	1 book per school of magic, ranks 4-6; required for study to maintain casting ability.

Enchantments

Weapons and armor can be enchanted with many additional qualities, although in some cases this represents exotic materials or construction rather than magic. These special items follow the "Blizzard model" of assigning special qualities: each item can have a suffix or a prefix to its name, and some rare items have both. The cost of either a suffix or prefix is given below; rare items that have both a prefix and a suffix are far more costly--double the price of both affixes. (e.g. Flaming Dagger of Precision = +$900).

Weapon Prefixes:
Blessed	$150	Does an extra 2 points of damage after DR against demons or undead.
Defending	$350	Parries at +1
Flaming	$150	Does an extra point of fire damage after DR.
Hammer	$250	Only for piercing weapons; the weapon now causes knockback, as if it were blunt.
Icy	$150	Does an extra point of cold damage after DR.
Juggernaut	$300	Adds +5 VP to the wielder
Lethal	$150	Does an extra +1 Base damage (before DR) on a successful Critical Hit (see "combat")
Meteoric	$250	Does +1 base damage (before DR)
Precise	$350	Adds 1 die of skill to attack rolls.
Profane	$150	Does an extra 2 points of damage after DR against "holy" creatures or anyone skilled in Life magic.
Serrated	$350	Slashing only; If damaged, target is affected by hemorrhage affliction spell (Skill 2d8).
Shocking	$250	Does 1 electrical damage after DR vs. nonmetal armor, or before DR vs. all-metal armor.
Silver	$150	Does +1 base damage (before DR) to undead, demons, or creatures harmed by silver (werewolves, etc).
Stalwart	$150	Adds +3 VP to the wielder
Thundrous	$150	Blunt weapons only; foes knocked back are dazed, suffering Unfavorable Circumstances on their next turn.
Venomous	$350	If damaged, target is affected by a 1d4 VP venom (strength 2d8; resistance=1 VP damage.)

Weapon Suffixes:
of corruption	$150	Does an extra 2 points of damage after DR against "holy" creatures or anyone skilled in Life magic.
of defense	$350	Parries at +1
of cinders	$150	Does an extra point of fire damage after DR.
of Light	$150	Does an extra 2 points of damage after DR against demons or undead.
of frost	$150	Does an extra point of cold damage after DR.
of piercing	$150	Does an extra +1 Base damage on a successful Critical Hit (see "combat")
of Precision	$300	Adds 1 die of skill to attack rolls
of lightning	$250	Does 1 electrical damage after DR vs. nonmetal armor, or before DR vs. all-metal armor.
of guarding	$150	Adds +3 VP to the wielder
of shielding	$300	Adds +5 VP to the wielder
of impact	$150	Blunt weapons only; foes knocked back are dazed, suffering Unfavorable Circumstances on their next turn.

Armor Prefixes:
Adamantine	$350	metal armor/shield only; DR+1 (for shields this applies only when Blocking, but costs 1/2 as much)
Agile	$500	Adds +1 to Dodge
Blessed	$150	Receive +1 VP from all Life Magic healing received.
Bulwark	$150	Shields only; adds +1 to Blocking DR
Defiant	$150	Adds +1 to SPI v.s Spells
Fortified	$400	Adds +1 to DR
Heavy	$300	DR+1, but +33% weight (for shields this DR applies only when Blocking)
Juggernaut	$250	Adds +5 VP
Light	$200	Weight reduced by 50%, but DR also reduced by 1.
Meteoric	$250	All-metal armor or metal shield only; weight reduced by 25%.
Quick	$150	Adds +1 to QKN vs. Spells
Rugged	$150	Adds +1 to TGH vs. Spells
Stalwart	$150	Adds +3 VP
Warded	$350	Adds +1 to all Difficulties vs. Spells

Armor Suffixes:
of Shielding	$250	Adds +5 VP
of agility	$150	Adds +1 to QKN vs. Spells
of blocking	$150	Shields only; adds +1 to Blocking DR
of Defiance	$150	Adds +1 to SPI v.s Spells
of feathers	$200	Weight reduced by 50%, but DR also reduced by 1.
of fortitude	$150	Adds +1 to TGH vs. Spells
of guarding	$150	Adds +3 VP
of life	$150	Receive +1 VP from all Life Magic healing received.
of reaction	$400	Adds +1 to Dodge
of resistance	$350	Adds +1 to all Difficulties vs. Spells
of speed	$150	move 2 spaces further when sprinting (straight line)
of the stars	$250	All-metal armor or metal shield only; weight reduced by 25%.

Ability to Cast

Spells CANNOT normally be cast by anyone with zero skill in the spell type, or zero skill in Spellcraft--you must have some level of skill in both. Your Spellcraft skill must be less than your Intelligence Difficulty--you're not smart enough to understand more advanced theory.

Spell Ranks

Spells come in multiple Ranks of ascending power; Rank 1 spells are the weakest and easiest to cast, while Rank 6 spells are mighty indeed. However, the top ranks are very difficult to reach--it takes 110+ XP just to achieve the needed INT and Spellcraft for Rank 6! The cost to cast a spell, in Spell Points, is equal to its rank whether or not it succeeds. Characters recover (SPI Diff.) SP per hour.

The maximum rank of spell you are able to comprehend is 10 less than the sum of your Spellcraft + Intelligence. Thus, you must have at least INT 8 to cast any spells, and INT 10+ to cast spells above Rank 3.

Exception: some species produce sorcerers, who intuitively cast a tiny number of spells. In these cases, they can only "know" spells of rank equal to or less than their Spellcraft, and only 1 spell per point of Spellcraft (e.g. Spellcraft 3 allows 3 spells of rank 3 or less). They still use the relevant spell skills to cast, but always roll d8's for their spell skill checks.

The Act of Casting

Spells are cast at an opponent by expending Spell Points and making a skill roll against the appropriate spellcasting skill. Your highest result when casting may affect how strongly targets are affected, or even if they are affected at all based on their resistance. Normally, your check result is compared to the target's Resistance Vs. Spells of that type to determine "success" or "failure". However, even on a "failure" (e.g. your check result is lower than the target's resistance) most spells have a partial effect.

The term "skill" always refers to your skill level, as recorded on your character sheet, discounting your Attribute. When in doubt, "skill" refers to the skill number, while "check" or "skill check" refers to the highest result of throwing the dice. Spell effects based on skill numbers are not affected by the size of the skill's dice, so "1d8+Evocation" with skill 3 means 1d8+3, not 1d8+3d10.

Spell Range

Unless otherwise specified, spell ranges are typically 10 yards per point of relevant skill. Ongoing spells last 1 minute unless otherwise specified in the spell description.

Some spells have an area of effect (in yards); this area may be stationary or mobile if the spell is ongoing, as described for each such spell. Ranged area-effect spells' ranges are calculated from the spell area's closest edge, not its center. All in the area of effect whom the caster might wish to be affected (even if he/she is not aware of them) must resist against the original casting skill check result of the spell. For this reason, when casting duration-based spells that continuously affect other creatures, the mage must track his/her initial skill check result at the time of casting. This same number applies to the spell throughout its duration, so it will be used against any new potential targets' individual Difficulties.

Known Spells

A character knows and can cast any spells in his/her spell books. Basic spellbooks contain all of the spells of ranks 1-3 for a specific area of casting, such as Afflictions or Life Magic. Advanced spellbooks for each discipline contain all the spells for ranks 4-6.

Afflictions inflict some negative effect on the target, like disease or poison, slowing, curses, physical Unfavorable Conditions, and so on. Afflictions are resisted by "TGH v. Spells" and require line of sight. They affect LP and VP just like normal attacks, but avoid DR.

Rank 1

Hacking Cough

Your target can do nothing but cough uncontrollably for 1 round; failure lets him act with Unfavorable Circumstances.

Hex

Your target suffers Very Unfavorable circumstances on his next action taken within 1 minute, or merely Unfavorable if you fail.

Injury

Your target suffers 1d4 internal damage, against which DR does not apply. Failure inflicts only 1 point.

Pratfall

Your target simply falls down (this has nothing to do with traction). If you fail, he merely stumbles off-balance and suffers Unfavorable Circumstances for his next turn.

Rank 2

Fumble

Your target drops anything in his main hand, or both if holding something with two hands. Failure means that the object merely becomes Unready, and must be re-readied before use. This spell is easy to resist (Unfavorable Circumstances on casting).

Lethargy

The victim's Move decreases by 1. In addition, attackers have Favorable Circumstances to hit him unless you fail.

Hemorrhage

Only works on an injured target, but causes him to bleed for 1 VP and LP per round up to Affliction rounds. Failure means that he only bleeds for 1 round.

Rank 3

Misfire

:Your target's next attack is aimed at the nearest active target (friend or foe, but not inanimate). If you fail, then the attack automatically misses instead.

Pack of Jesters

Everyone in a 4 x 4 yd area is affected by the Pratfall spell (rank 1), either falling down or becoming off-balance.

Plague

The target contracts a magical disease, suffering 1d4 internal damage (no DR) each turn. The disease lasts 1 turn plus one additional turn per point of Affliction, or only a single turn if you fail.

Rank 4

Curse

The victim suffers Unfavorable Circumstances on every action he takes forever. If you fail your skill check, then the effect is exactly as for a successful Hex (rank 1). Only Remove Curse can end the spell once it takes hold.

Envenom

You inflict a powerful poison upon your foe, doing 1d8+Affliction damage (no DR). If you fail, he suffers half damage.

Wracking Pains

Everyone within a 5 x 5 yd area takes 1 internal damage per point of Affliction, suffers Unfavorable Circumstances.

Rank 5

Pestilence

Everyone within a 5 x 5 yd area is affected by the Plague spell (rank 3).

Rend

The victim is injured internally (no DR) for damage equal to your check result, or 1 point per Affliction skill level if you fail.

Rank 6

Rotting Death

Inflicts a terrible rotting disease which runs its course with supernatural speed, causing the victim to take Affliction damage every round. The disease is permanent, but like any normal disease the victim can throw it off by making a TGH check (in this case your initial Affliction check result is the Difficulty). He may attempt do so each turn, but if he is unable to succeed it will eventually kill him unless he receives a successful Cure Disease spell.

Soulreaver

Turns the target's spirit upon itself, instantly inflicting damage (no DR) equal to your check result. Further, if the target fails to resist he loses 1 SP per point of your Affliction skill, and takes twice this amount as additional damage. Thus, with Affliction 3 and a check result of 8, the target takes 8 damage if he resists, or 14 damage and -3 SP if he fails to.

Charms affect the target's mind--changing his morale, making him perceive illusory things, affecting his attitude toward you. Charms' Difficulty is typically based on the target's Spirit, but victims of Charms with reason to suspect shenanigans can make a Perception roll against the spell's skill check result to realize the nature of the charm.

Charms typically require line of sight, though not necessarily between the caster and the target. For example, illusions only function if the victim can see them, even though the caster may already have left the area (perhaps days ago, in the case of persistent illusions.)

Rank 1

Camouflage

The recipient receives Favorable circumstances on all Stealth checks for 1 minute per point of Charms skill. The base Difficulty to cast this spell is 5.

Charisma

The target's opinion of you improves. This gives you Favorable Circumstances (or eliminates Unfavorable ones) for social actions, and makes the target more willing to speak freely. It has no combat effect, though it could potentially help avoid combat.

Confidence

You give 1 ally (possibly yourself) Favorable Circumstances on his next action. Expires in 1 minute if not used.

Rank 2

Charm Person

This spell only works on "people" (not animals, etc.). The target likes you, and will avoid doing you wrong. He will not do your bidding unless he feels like it, but in combat he will avoid attacking you (he will feel no such loyalty to your allies, nor will he try to stop his own allies from attacking you). The spell ends after 1 minute, or if you (personally) harm the target in any way.

Flash/Bang

Your target believes that a loud, blinding explosion has gone off before him; anyone attacking him gains Very Favorable circumstances to do so for 1 round. If the target resists, the conditions are merely Favorable.

Malaise

You sap the morale of up to 1 target per point of Charms skill, giving them Unfavorable circumstances for 1 action.

Rank 3

Lesser Invisibility

This spell affects an area 100' (33 yd) in radius, centered on you; anyone coming into this area whose resistance is less than your Charms check cannot perceive you if you're standing still. If you move, or they are otherwise suspicious, they can make a Perception check against your Stealth Diff. to spot you with Very Unfavorable circumstances. The area moves with you, and the spell lasts 1 minute per point of Charms skill. Note that you are not silent, nor even actually invisible; anyone outside the radius can see you clearly, as can any sort of mindless but animate construct or magical sensor.

Static Illusion

You can create a perfect, but silent and immobile, illusion of anything up to 1 square per point of Charms skill. Like "invisibility", this object does not exist--but any creature within 100' of it will think that it does. If they become suspicious for any reason they can realize its false nature with a Perception check. The effect lasts for 1 hour per point of Charms and is immobile.

Sleep

All targets in a 3x3 yd area fall unconscious. If you fail, they are merely groggy (Unfavorable Circumstances) for one round

Rank 4

Turn the Tables

Every foe within a 6 x 6 yd area immediately attacks their nearest ally, instead of their foes, for 1 round. If you fail your Charms check, they merely attack the nearest animate target--friend or foe.

True Illusion

As for Static Illusion, but with sound and motion. The illusion is mobile only within its original 100' radius.

Invisibility

as for Lesser Invisibility, but movement no longer incurs Perception checks (acting on the environment still does!).

Rank 5

Domination

Your target becomes your willing lackey. He will fight for you--even against his former allies--and take risks for you, but will not do anything patently suicidal. The effect lasts for 1 minute--or only 1 turn per Charms skill level if you fail.

Rank 6

Permanent Illusion

As for True Illusion, but lasts forever.

Banish

The target's mind goes… elsewhere. He will stand and stare vacantly, doing nothing. If he was aware of your casting, he can try to throw off the effect with a Spirit check every turn; if not, he can only do so each hour. Remove Curse can end the spell. If the victim does successfully throw off the spell, he will have no memory of his time spent under its effect.

Evocations create some real, tangible effect, such as a gout of flame, a field of force, a movement of earth, or a created entity or object. Many spells that inflict damage or protect against it are Evocations. Evocations often face a Difficulty based on Quickness, though in some cases they may be Dodged or Blocked, and protective evocations (such as a force field) are generally not opposed at all. Offensive Evocations are heavily affected by armor.

Rank 1

Arcane Arrow

Your ranged weapon fires a (single) bolt of force instead of ammo. Use weapon skill and stats, but INT instead of STR.

Note that this eliminates the step of loading a bow or crossbow (although you must still cock a crossbow), shaving an action off of the firing rate. Thus, a bow can be fired every round instead of every other round, and a crossbow every 2 rounds instead of every 3.

Arcane Blast

Arcane Blast fires a beam or bolt of energy with normal range, targeted with Evocation skill but dodged/blocked rather than resisted. The blast does damage equal to your INT die plus Evocation skill, as well as an effect based on the energy type:

• Electricity: Does +1 damage to foes in all- or partially-metallic armor (including studded leather or ringmail).
• Fire: inflicts an additional 1 pt damage on the following round (no DR). Ignites paper, dry leaves/grass, etc.
• Force: Capable of causing knockback (see "Combat") and has double normal range (i.e. 20 yd per skill level).
• Frost: freezes 1 square of water 1' deep, or extinguishes 1 square of normal fire (or a burning creature).

Spirit Lash

You lose 1 LP and gain a whip-like weapon of pure, living energy. Attack with either Flail or Evocation skills. The whip does (STR+2x Evocation) damage on a hit. Lasts 1 min--then the whip retracts and your lost life point returns.

Rank 2

Arcane Armor

Prevents LP loss and adds Evocation temporary VP for Evocation hours or until the VP are lost. Self only; Diff. 5.

Flame Sheathe

Sets a weapon's striking surfaces on fire. This does +1 damage after DR, and does not harm the weapon; lasts for 1 minute per point of Evocation. If cast on a launcher, any missiles fired have the effect. Base difficulty to cast is 5.

Inferno

Blasts a 1/2-range cone of flame from your hand; all in the cone take 1d8+Evocation damage, at 1/2 DR unless they resist.

Rank 3

Lightning Arc

Fires a 2' wide blast of lightning, inflicting 1d12 to all in the line, plus twice your Evocation if they fail to resist.

Shockwave

Inflicts 1d6+(2x Evocation) damage to anyone within a 4 x 4 area, at 1/2 DR unless they resist. Knockback applies.

Wall of Flame

Creates a 10' high wall of flame across 1 or more borders of a square; you can ward 2 squares per level of Evocation, in any continuous shape including a single closed loop. The wall inflicts Unfavorable Conditions to ranged attacks or Perception checks made through it, and damage equal to your Evocation skill plus check result to anyone passing through (this is not resistable!)

Rank 4

Fireball

Inflicts 1d8 plus (2x Evocation) fire damage to everyone within a 6 x 6 yd area; at 1/2 DR unless they resist.

Earthwall

You permanently cause 2 squares per point of your Evocation Check result to spring up from the ground, forming cubic clay ramparts in any continuous shape you choose. Alternatively, you can make the wall 10' high but only 1' thick. Digging through such a wall takes 1 minute per foot if proper tools are at hand. Alternatively, you can make a trench of similar size instead of a wall.

Missile Swarm

Creates a burst of (2x Evocation) arcane missiles which randomly target and unerringly strike 1 or more foes within a 5 x 5 yd area. Damage is 1d6 per missile, but each does a minimum of 1 point regardless of DR unless the target resists.

Flight

You can fly! You maneuver at your normal Move, but Sprint (straight line) at double your sprinting move. Maneuverability is somewhat ponderous, however, so ranged attacks made against you have Favorable Circumstances to hit. Self only, Diff. 6.

Rank 5

Lightning Storm

Everyone in a 10 x 10 yard area is affected by a Lightning Arc (rank 3) each turn. Duration is 1 min.

Banshee

This spell creates a wailing spirit for 1 min. whose supernatural shriek causes any nearby creature to run at least 10 yd away from it. Resistance allows a creature hold its ground, but suffer Unfavorable conditions on all actions due to fear. Resisted by SPI, not QKN!

Rank 6

Hellfire

The ground in a 10x10 yd. area explodes with searing flame, inflicting 1d8+ (2x Evocation) damage at 1/2 DR and throwing targets into the air, making them lose their next turn unless they resist. When they land they also take 1d8 falling damage (1/2 DR) unless they resist.

Rank 1

Restful Slumber

Allows rapid, but not instant, recovery of LP. If the patient can rest for 1 hour, he heals 2x your Life skill.

Close Wounds

Attempts to instantly mitigate bleeding and shock. Difficulty 6, success instantly restores 1 LP. Touch only.

Quick Fix

Instantly restores (Life skill+1) VP; Difficulty is 4. Touch only.

Awaken

Instantly awakens everyone within 6 yd of you. Automatically succeeds against normal sleep, but must overcome any sort of magical or toxin-induced slumber (using the sleep effect's check result).

Rank 2

Minor Healing

Instantly restores 1d4 VP, plus Life skill LP--e.g. Life 2 restores 1-4 VP +2 LP. Touch range only.

Close Wounds, Mass

As for Close Wounds (Rank 1), but affects all friendly targets within 6 yd of you. Difficulty is 6, but failure still stabilizes patients and removes any bleeding effects.

Life Bolt

Inflicts INT die+Life skill (DR applies) to undead or demons, or heals the living for 1d4 VP. Targeted with Life Magic skill.

Rebuke Death

Forces an undead or demonic foe to flee from you for 1 minute unless it resists via SPI v. Spells.

Rank 3

Cure Disease

Attempts to remove an existing disease; difficulty varies by disease. Only 1 attempt per day for each ailment.

Regeneration

The patient recovers 1 LP per round for a number of rounds equal to your Life Check result. Touch only.

Resuscitate

Attempts to revive a just-killed creature. Must be begun within 1 minute of the creature's death, and takes 1 minute to cast--so only 1 try is possible. Difficulty is 7; if successful, the creature is alive and stable, but unconscious (0LP). Touch only.

Defy Death

inflicts 1d4+Life skill (no DR) to all undead or demons within 10 yd. If you maintain concentration (take no other action besides movement) no additional damage is done, but such foes cannot approach within 5 yd of you unless they resist the spell.

Rank 4

Greater Healing

The patient receives instant healing (split between LP/VP) equal to your Life check result. Touch only.

Remove Curse

Attempts to remove an existing curse. Difficulty depends on the original caster's Affliction check.

Cure Poison

Attempts to remove a poison effect. Difficulty depends on the venom source.

Rank 5

Death Ward

Lasts 1 hour until triggered; automatically casts greater heal (using the Death Ward check) if the patient's LP reach zero.

Healing Nova

A radiant white light flashes outward from you, healing 1d4+Life skill to every ally within 10 yd.

Raise the Dead

You can revive a creature that has recently died. The Difficulty is equal to 5+the number of days that the creature has been dead; if successful, the creature comes back to life with 1 LP. If not, the creature cannot ever be raised by you but another healer could try to raise it. (In such a case, should the creature die again, you can attempt to raise it a second time).

Rank 6

Touch of Life

Instantly heals 1d12 + the result of your Life check. Touch-range only.

Exorcism

Inflicts 1d12 damage (no DR) to an undead or demonic foe; add your SPI Diff. unless the foe resists!

Restoration

Attempts to cure the patient of all ill effects--diseases, poisons, and curses. Also heals as for Minor Healing (rank 2).

True resurrection

Attempts to return a dead creature to life. Base difficulty is 6, plus 1 for every month the creature was dead. If successful, the creature returns with healing equal to its TGH Diff; failure behaves exactly as for failure at Raise the Dead (rank 5).

Combat tends to be an ingrained part of any heroic quest--and unlike roleplaying, it can--and needs to--be defined by a cohesive set of rules and guidelines.

A combat round is about 1 second long, meaning that you can normally only take 1 action: Move, Attack, Cast a spell, or Ready an item. However, many actions can be performed while walking slowly; for this reason, if you don't Move, you still can take a 3' "Step". You can Step and still Attack, Cast, or Ready a miscellaneous item. You can take a full Move while speaking or readying a melee or thrown weapon, but readying launchers (fitting ammunition to a bow, crossbow, or sling) is too fine a task to do during a full Move.

Note that your Move score assumes that you're hustling as fast as you can while still maneuvering; you can Sprint a little further in a straight line.

Initiative

In real life, things happen at the same time; in a board game, we take turns. The order that we take turns should be based on each character's speed, but also on some element of chance--maybe the quick rogue was busy rummaging in her pack when the monsters appear, or the narcissistic bard just happened to be looking at himself in a mirror and thus noticed the orcs sneaking up behind him before everyone else did.

Thus, every character makes a QKN roll for initiative; higher numbers go first. GMs should use a QKN score that reasonably reflects an average value of the enemy units. Turns are played out in order of Initiative, from highest to lowest. Ties for initiative go to the character with the higher base QKN. If that's the same, perform a roll-off or coin toss if necessary.

Attacking

Attacks are resolved as skill checks: the attacker makes a weapon skill check, with a Difficulty equal to the target's Dodge or Parry. If the attacker's skill check succeeds, then damage is rolled. Blocking with a shield is a special case: against a Block the attack automatically hits, but the defender's DR is higher against that single attack. In essence the defender forgoes betting on the chance the attacker will miss, in favor of betting on the chance that he will fail to overcome the defender's (greatly increased) DR.

If your target cannot defend at all (due to being helpless or unaware) the difficulty to hit him is only 2.

Prevailing conditions can raise or lower the Difficulty to hit a target by 1 or 2 points, or 4 in the case of nigh-impossible conditions. Failing to meet a weapon's Min. STR is Unfavorable. Dual-Wielding is always at least Unfavorable:

• Any form of dual-wielding is unfavorable.
• Dual-wielding when 1 weapon is beyond your STR--or both weapons exactly require your STR--is Very Unfavorable
• Dual-Wielding weapons that both exceed your STR (or 1 exceeds and 1 exactly requires) is Nigh Impossible (-4)

In general, Precision trumps Skill when dual-wielding.

Critical Hits

Critical Hits occur when you "hit" the target on more than 1 die (unskilled fighters thus cannot crit.), AND your Precision attribute is at least equal to the target's defense--for example, with Precision 8 you could critically hit Defenses up to 8 by rolling an 8 on 2 or more of your dice. Critical hits automatically inflict maximum damage; there is no additional effect for success on 3+ dice.

Knockback

If you take blunt or slashing damage (before DR) greater than your STR score, you stagger back 3'; make a Diff. 3 PRC check or fall.

Defenses

Whether or not something gets hit depends on its defenses: it can Dodge, Parry, or Block.

• Dodge is based on current QKN Diff, so encumbrance lowers it and it tends to be most characters' lowest defense. However, dodge is effective against any attack that requires a roll to hit, and it can be used multiple times each round (you can attempt to dodge any number of attacks.)
• Parry is based on your base QKN Diff, and may receive a bonus from certain weapons. Parry is generally more likely to succeed than Dodge, except in two cases:
  1. When the attack is much stronger than the defender (for example, an attacker who has a higher STR and a heavier weapon) the Parry suffers Unfavorable Circumstances.
  2. Ranged attacks cannot be parried. (Yes, it's technically possible, but even pro baseball players usually only manage "hit" percentages in the 20-30% range.)
  You can generally only parry once per round--although certain weapons may parry more than once.
• Blocking is a special means of defending: when you block, your foe automatically hits. However, your damage reduction is much higher--you get the extra DR of your shield, plus your Blocking skill. Blocking trades a chance to evade the attack altogether in favor of raising DR enough to minimize, or even prevent, any harm.

In general, defenses below 6 aren't very useful. Characters who specialize in physical combat should strive to have at least 1 defense of 7 or better. Also keep in mind that since you can only parry or block once per round, getting surrounded can be truly deadly if your Dodge and DR aren't up to snuff!

General Tips

• Characters who aren't quick and are encumbered should Block vs. precise foes, Parry vs. strong ones, Dodge only as a last resort.
• Quick but encumbered characters usually rely on Parry.
• Quick, unencumbered characters simply focus on Dodge, as do archers.
• Slow, shield-bearing characters facing mixed groups of melee and ranged foes should probably save their Block for the archers.
• Characters with high Precision and skills may wish to sacrifice hit probability for armor penetration, by aiming for weak spots on their foe. This is treated as an Unfavorable/Very Unfavorable Circumstance, but modifies both Difficulty and damage (+1/+2; Even against unarmored foes, you are aiming for vulnerable or vital parts of the body). You can only make a single attack per turn this way--such a precise attack on a small target requires a degree of focus that precludes dual-wielding or rapid one-two combos.

Fighting Defensively

Characters can choose to fight defensively, placing more emphasis on defense than attack; generally, this incurs Unfavorable Circumstances on all actions related to them--both actions they attempt, and actions attempted against them. Of course, if circumstances are already unfavorable, this can push them into "very unfavorable" territory.

Damage from any successful attack--whether it's a bite, a spear, or a firebolt--is affected by the target's damage reduction. When injured, all but 1 point of the damage comes from the targets Vitality Points (VP). The remaining point reduces its Life Points (LP)

Obviously, there will be times when the damage exceeds the target's remaining VP. The difference goes straight to LP--so running out of VP is a very serious issue. For example, if an orc with 5 LP and 3 VP remaining gets hit for 6 points of damage, it will lose 3 VP and 3 LP--even though its previous injuries had only drained 1 LP at a time. The takeaway is this: minor injuries are easy for heroes to shake off, but major ones will hinder them for a long time unless they have access to magical healing.

Characters fall unconscious at 0 LP and continue to bleed (internally or externally). Each turn the character loses 1 more LP unless he stabilizes by making a TGH check with a Difficulty equal to his negative number of LP. Medical attention (same Difficulty) gives Favorable Circumstances on the next TGH roll to stabilize. Characters die when they reach LP equal to (-TGH).

Weapon Damage

Weapon damage is normally equal to the attacker's strength die, plus the weapon modifier. For example, someone with SRT 8 and a Broadsword (+4 DMG) would roll 1d8+4 for damage on a successful hit--the result of which would then be reduced by his target's DR if it has any. Someone with STR10 and a battleaxe (+5) would roll 1d10+5.

Damage from Magic

Spells work like attacks, except the Difficulty is based on the resistance attribute appropriate to the spell instead of Dodge, Block, or Parry; each character will have an appropriate number pre-figured and listed as "QKN vs. Spell", "TGH vs. Spell", or "SPI vs. Spell".

For example: when a mage casts Fireball, he makes his Evocation skill roll to determine the spell's power. Each target in the spell area takes damage with 1/2 DR if the mage's Evocation check result meets or exceeds its "QKN v. Spell" Difficulty, or full DR if not.

A similar concept applies for spells that affect the mind (SPI v. Spell) or inflict physical conditions (TGH v Spell). In all cases the target's resistance is the Difficulty for the mage to meet (or beat) with his initial Evocation, Charms, or Afflictions skill check. The mage does not have to roll for each affected target in an area of effect--just once when casting the spell.

Curative spells such as Cure Poison or Cure Disease are not opposed by the target creature; rather, each ailment has a specific Difficulty which the healing mage must meet or beat with his Life Magic skill check in order to purge it. Restoring lost LP rarely requires a skill check--instead, the number of LP restored is often based on the Life Magic skill level or check result.

Spears, axes, and sharp teeth are by no means the only dangers faced by adventurers.

Non-Magical Maladies

Non-spell-based maladies such as diseases or poisons also work along the same lines as spells or attacks; the affliction has a given strength which varies from source to source, and may involve multiple dice. Such maladies/afflictions are resisted by a victim's Toughness Difficulty. For example, a mildly venomous sting might have a Strength of 1d8 and inflict 1d6 damage, while a highly virulent paralytic one might have a strength of 2d10, inflict 1d10 damage, and also decrease the victim's Quickness by 4 for 10 minutes if he fails to resist it. Similarly, a mildly contagious disease might have a strength of 2d4, while a highly contagious plague might be 1d10 or worse. Each malady should specify not only its effects, but also what (if anything) happens when it fails to overcome the victim's toughness. In most cases, maladies should involve some sort of partial effect just like spells do.

Falling Damage

Falling off of high things is an inevitable hazard of an adventurous lifestyle. Armor protects somewhat from falling damage, but it also contributes to the force of impact, so its damage resistance is halved for falls. The base damage suffered from an uncontrolled fall is 1d8 VP per 10' fallen. This means that for most people a fall of 30' or more can be fatal (due to bleeding at 0 LP).

In a controlled fall, however, the character can make a Jump check; the check result counts as additional damage resistance. This allows skilled leapers to deliberately fall long distances--around 20'--with little or no harm. (Stunt men are a real-life example of this).

Fire and Other Such Hazards

Ordinary flames are hotter when they're bigger; a single square of fire does 1d4 damage per round to anyone standing in it. Each doubling of diameter increases the die, so a 2x2 fire does 1d6 and a 4x4 fire does 1d8 per round; this is the cap for normal combustion (wood or coal fueled, for example) and would render an average person unconscious in about 2-3 seconds and dead in about 4 seconds. Incomprehensibly hot substances, like lava or molten metal, do 1d12 per turn!

In all such cases, armor protects with only 1/2 its normal DR as the volume-effect of the heat (or slag) hits any unarmored parts of the body and/or seeps in through any gaps in the armor. The game master is entirely justified in having armor heat up (provide less DR and doing ongoing damage after leaving the fire) but in the interest of simplicity this is not specifically encouraged.

If a character is unconscious and bleeding (losing LP each round) a successful TGH check (aided by a Medicine check for first aid) stops the loss, but does not necessarily restore any LP--the unconscious character may still be in negative LP. However, any effect that restores any LP or VP stops the bleeding and stabilizes the character so that no more TGH checks are necessary.

After a battle, injured but stable PC's can benefit from several forms of healing. Most injury suffered is shock and fatigue rather than structural tissue damage, so it can be recovered quickly--up to a point. Characters recover VP equal to their TGH Diff. per hour (in proportion), while 5 minutes of First Aid (i.e. the Medicine skill) restores 1 VP per 2 full points of check result, once per injurious battle.

Life Points, however, only return at 1 pt per day, and even then only with a successful Diff. 5 TGH check. A Medicine check (Diff 7) gives Favorable Circumstances on the roll; Diff. 10 gives Very Favorable. Of course Potions and Life Magic can restore VP and LP very quickly!

Conventional Challenges

An easy, but non-trivial combat encounter for a party should involve roughly 30% the XP total of the party. However, large numbers of low-XP foes can be extra-dangerous--partly because the rapid escalation of XP costs means that, for instance, a 50xp character is only a little more dangerous than a 25xp one. But in addition, larger numbers mean more chances to flank or use up a PC's "good" defenses and still attack again.

For this reason, treat each enemy in a group as being 1.5 enemies for purposes of fight balancing. Thus, a starting party of 4 (83,83,85, and 85 XP respectively) should encounter:

• a single foe of 100 XP
• 2 of 33 XP (because they count as 3 for fight balancing, and 100/3=~33)
• 4 foes of 16 XP (100/6)
• 6 foes of 11 XP (100/9)

Since even foes with zero (or negative!) XP can still have a several LP/VP and a reasonable chance to hit and inflict damage, treat any creature with XP lower than 5 as if it were 5 XP for purposes of fight balancing. Large numbers of low-XP foes can be very deadly!

In general, most weaker foes should not exceed 1 level of attack skill (2 dice) until PC's achieve at least 1 defense of 8+.

Major Challenges

A significant singular threat (e.g. a "boss" fight) should be roughly equal to 1/2-2/3 the party's XP total (~170-225xp for a starting party).

Enemy Equipment

Each enemy starts with no treasure, but they can purchase cash at $10 per XP, up to 5xp or 1/4 of their XP total.; thus, a 100-xp character can spend 75 XP on stats & skills and 25 XP ($250) on gear and treasure. In general, sapient creatures will "max out" their cash and spent almost all of it on equipment, while beasts with no special desire for treasure will spend a little bit on natural weapons & armor (bite=dagger and hide=cloth armor, for instance) but retain little in the way of "treasure". Note also that high- powered beasts, which don't use manufactured gear, shouldn't be given unrealistically high-DR "armor". (For nonmagical creatures without shells, consider DR5 to be a general cap--although you could use "enchanted armor" to raise VP). However, non-humanoids can purchase the "extra size" and "extra move" passive skills. Extra Size contributes to LP&VP, Reach, and Sprint, while Extra Move multiplies Sprint speed (but does not affect Move or Dodge).

Converting monsters from D&D

A rough approximation is to start at 100 XP (CR1) and add 50 XP for each additional challenge rating. Thus:

• a CR 1/6 Kobold (16 XP) would likely be closer to 11 XP with $50 (furs, javelin used as 2-h spear, $5)
• a CR 1/3 Goblin (33xp) would be around 25 XP with $80 (padded armor, javelin used as 2-h spear, $5)
• A run-of-the-mill CR 1/2 (50 XP) warrior might be only about 38 XP, with $120 (Padded Armor, shield, Lt. Mace, and $10 in coins)
• A CR2 Bugbear is a 150-point character: 125xp plus $250 in loot (heavy mace, studded leather, shield, $20)

CR	XP	(max $)	CR	XP	(max $)
1/6	16	$50	9	500	$1,250
1/4	25	$60	10	550	$1,370
1/3	33	$80	11	600	$1,500
1/2	50	$120	12	650	$1,620
1	100	$250	13	700	$1,750
2	150	$370	14	750	$1,870
3	200	$500	15	800	$2,000
4	250	$620	16	850	$2,120
5	300	$750	17	900	$2,250
6	350	$870	18	950	$2,370
7	400	$1,000	19	1000	$2,500
8	450	$1,120	20	1050	$2,620

Intelligence: The Big Wildcard

GM's who feel themselves tactically adept should play enemies in accordance with their INT; dumb creatures won't use fiendish tactics. However, those who don't want to bother with tactics for enemies are encouraged to ignore the point cost of INT for foes who do not use magic, as it is generally not relevant on the battlefield except as the basis of spell skills or tactical behavior.