Table of Contents

Introduction Ageless Roleplaying Pg. 2

Chapter 1 Character Creation Pg. 5
Chapter 2 Mutations Pg. 12
Chapter 3 Focuses & Talents Pg. 21
Chapter 4 Equipment & Gear Pg. 30
Chapter 5 Followers Pg. 44
Chapter 6 Magic & Spellcraft Pg. 48
Chapter 7 Crafting Pg. 55
Chapter 8 Houses, Lands, & Holdings Pg. 59
Chapter 9 Mass Combat Pg. 68
Chapter 10 Basic Rules & Systems Pg. 73
Chapter 11 Combat Pg. 81
Chapter 12 Intrigue Pg. 88

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Introduction: Ageless Roleplaying

Introduction

Ageless Roleplaying
Welcome to the Ageless Roleplaying Game, a simple exactly what Chapter 1: Character Creation provides,
system for use with any fantasy universe. In Ageless giving you not only game stats—the abilities and
Roleplaying you and your friends take on the personas of corresponding numbers that tell you what your character is
warriors, mages, and rogues in a world of fantasy and try good at—but also a character concept, starting goals, and
to make your names by overcoming sinister foes and deadly ties to other Player Characters. Once play begins the
challenges. You may face down one of the vile darkspawn portrayal and development of your character is all up to
in ancient dwarven ruins, engage in a duel of wits with a you. Playing your character, achieving goals, and
suave noble, or uncover the secrets of alternate planes of navigating the perils of a fantasy world—this is the fun of
existence. You may win renown or you may die alone in the playing an RPG.
trackless wilderness. Whatever your fate, your story is your
own to tell. Playing your Character
“What do you do?”
Getting Started When playing an RPG, that’s the question you must ask
The first thing you need is a group of friends to play with, yourself all the time. The Game Master will describe a
and one of you must take on the role of Game Master, or situation, framing a scene for one or more of the Player
GM. While you can play with as small a group as one GM Characters. It is then up to you to decide what your
and one player, the game works best with one GM and three character does and why. You tell the GM what you want to
to five players. It is possible to play with more players, but do, as do the other players, and then you all work out what
that can slow down the pace of the game. happens. Sometimes, you use dice to resolve actions. Other
times, you simply interact with the other players and the
The GM has a key position, so try to make sure that he or
characters portrayed by the GM, which are known as Non-
she really wants the job. Running a game is fun, but it’s a
Player Characters, or NPCs.
different experience than playing.
Once you’ve settled on a GM, everyone else needs to make
characters, known as PCs or Player Characters. In the
Ageless Roleplaying system your character has the
potential to become a great hero, but begins as just another
hungry adventurer scrabbling for glory. You do not get to
start play as a knight or a archmage Those are positions that
must be earned, and that’s what playing the game is all
about.
Your character is your primary responsibility as a player in
an RPG. This is your alter ego in the game world. Over the
course of many game sessions, your character will grow
and change, but every hero needs a starting point. That is
“Who Are You?”
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Introduction: Ageless Roleplaying
This is the question to keep in mind when making deci-
sions. When you create your character, you will decide on
some traits and goals as a starting point. You can then flesh
out your PC; there are two basic approaches to this. The first
is to paint your character in a few broad strokes and then
jump right in to playing. The intention here is to come up
with details about your character during play, often by
using the springboard of the current adventure to create
touchstones to your character’s past. This is a common
storytelling technique and a perfectly valid approach if you
don’t want to spend a lot of time working on your character
before starting play. The second approach is to come up
with a lot of details and roleplaying ideas before the first
session. If you can come to the table with a good idea of who
your character is before the first die is rolled, that can help
get the game going.
However you approach your character, playing the game
will help you refine your ideas. After you have played your
character for a while, you should have a strong sense of
personality and an intuitive sense of what your character
would do in a particular situation. Of course, not all
situations present easy choices. It is from difficult choices
that tension and drama emerge.
Adventure & Campaign
An adventure is a discrete story and scenario in an RPG.
You can think of it as a single novel or an episode of a TV
show. There may be several plot threads, but in the end it
tells one story. The difference between a roleplaying
adventure and a book or show is that you have authorship.
It is the decisions of you and your fellow players that will
drive the story to its conclusion. A campaign is a series of
interlinked adventures. If an adventure is a novel or TV
show, a campaign is a series or a season. Some adventures
may have self-contained plots, while others will tie together
to tell a larger story. During a campaign the characters of
the adventuring group earn experience points and gain
more powers and abilities, face greater challenges, and
perhaps gain renown for their deeds. A full campaign will
take characters from peasants to demigods, and provide
hundreds of hours of entertainment.
The Group Dynamic
Much of this book is focused on teaching you the rules and
how to make a character. It is important to remember that
roleplaying is a group activity. There are two aspects to this:
the adventuring group and the player group.
Your character is one member of the adventuring group
(also known as a party). Each character in the group has
individual goals, but there are also larger group goals. The
characters may have their disagreements and even feuds,
but for the game to go on they must remain together. The
adventures themselves often assure this by their plot and
structure, but a good group dynamic can help. This can start
during character creation when everyone is settling on what
they want to play. It’s a smart idea, for example, to make
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sure you have at least one character of each class in the
group. When working out ties and goals amongst the PCs,
you can build in reasons for the characters to adventure
together.
The people gaming with you make up the player group and
that too has a dynamic. You and your friends are going to
be spending a lot of time together, so you want a group of
people who fundamentally get along. Roleplaying is meant
to be fun for everyone, so be aware of tension around the
table. Some players try to make the game all about them,
hogging the spotlight and trying to insert themselves in
every scene. Don’t act that way; it just makes other players
angry. Everyone deserves a chance to shine, so be ready to
take a step back when someone has a good idea or is
pursuing something important for his or her character.
If a game session didn’t go well for some reason, talk it
about it afterwards. It won’t do any good if everyone goes
home to stew. Try to figure out where things went wrong
and see if you can come up with solutions so it doesn’t
happen again.
A common problem is a player who is unhappy with his
character. Maybe the character doesn’t fit into the group
well, or maybe the player finds another class preferable
after some play experience. This doesn’t have to be a
problem. It’s perfectly fine for a player to make a new
character of the same level and retire the old character. It is
preferable to do that than to make a player continue to play
a character he isn’t having fun with.
Basic Game Concepts
Before you delve into the rest of the Ageless Roleplaying
system, here’s a brief overview of the basic concepts of the
game. You’ll learn more about all of these things as you
read on.
In the Ageless RPG you will make a character. You can play
a human, an elf, or a dwarf of various backgrounds. Your
background defines the core of your character and
determines the initial powers at your command. Your
character begins as an inexperienced adventurer, by
surviving encounters and overcoming challenges, your PC
gains experience points to buy new abilities and talents.
Your character may eventually become one of the mightiest
heroes of Thedas. It won’t be easy, though.
Your character has eight abilities, such as Strength and
Cunning, and each one has a numeric rating, with 1 being
average. When your character wants to do something, the
GM may call for an ability test. This is a dice roll to
determine success or failure, and it’s the most common roll
in the game. To make an ability test, you simply roll three
six-sided dice dice (3d6), add the results together, and add
the appropriate ability. This generates a test result, which
you want to be as high as possible.
Test Result = 3d6 + Ability
You may have to apply other bonuses or penalties, most
commonly ability focuses that represent areas of special
Introduction: Ageless Roleplaying
expertise. Once you determine your test result, you tell the
GM what you got and he’ll let you know if it’s a success or
a failure and what happens.
Your character also has a Health score. When damage is
inflicted, this reduces Health. If it reaches 0, your character
may die.
In combat your character can perform stunts. When doubles
are rolled on an attack roll, this generates “stunt points.”
You can then use these points to pull off a number of special
maneuvers. Stunts help keep combat dynamic and fun.
There are also spell stunts, which let mages enhance their
spells.
Game Dice
Dragon Age only uses one type of dice: the six-sided die, also
known as the d6. This is the most common die and it can be
found in many classic boardgames if you need more than
come in this set. In general dice are rolled four different
ways in Dragon Age:
1d3: •Sometimes you need to generate a number from 1-3.
In that case you roll a d6 but halve the result, so a roll of 1-
2 = 1, a roll of 3-4 = 2, and a roll of 5-6 = 3.
1d6: • You roll a single die and simply read the result.
Sometimes there is a modifier attached, for example 1d6+3,.
In that case, just add the modifier to the die roll. If you
rolled a 2, for example, you’d add the modifier of 3 to get a
result of 5.
2d6: • As above, but you roll two dice and add them
together. If you rolled a 3 and a 6, for example, your result
would be 9.
3D6: • As above, but you roll three dice and add them
together. If you are making an ability test, you must ensure
that two of the dice are one color and the third a different
color. That third die is known as the Dragon Die, and it’s
important. The result of the Dragon Die can determine your
level of success and allow you to perform stunts.
Chapter One: Character Creation
This Chapter covers all the information you need to know
about creating and playing a character in the Ageless
Roleplaying Game.
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Chapter Two: Mutations
This chapter contains information on Mutations, which are
used to create unique races and characters
Chapter Three: Focuses and Talents
This chapter contains information on focuses and talents,
which are used to create your character.
Chapter Four: Equipment and Gear
Your character starts with a small amount of equipment and
a bit of silver. You’ll be able to spend some of that coin here
adding to your gear, and find key info on items like armor
and weapons.
Chapter Five: Followers
This chapter contains information on hiring and using
followers; non-player characters that serve you; whether
aiding you in combat or preparing your baths.
Chapter Six: Magic
This chapter explains the nature of magic and details the
spells available to mages. If you aren’t playing a mage, you
can skip this chapter if you like.
Chapter Seven: Crafting
This chapter contains information on creating your own
equipment from scratch, and includes information on
higher-than-normal quality gear.
Chapter Eight: Houses, Lands, & Holdings
This chapter contains information on ruling a house; a
political body that is typified by a noble house.
Chapter Nine: Mass Combat
This chapter contains rules for fighting battles with
hundreds or thousands of soldiers.
Chapter Ten: Playing the Game
The final chapter has the core of the rules system. Here
you’ll find a full explanation of ability tests, as well as rules
for combat and stunts.
Chapter One: Character Creation
Chapter One
Character Creation
To play in a game in the Ageless RPG, you must first make a
character. This is your alter ego in the game world, the
persona you’ll be taking on as you experience exciting and
perilous adventurers. Since your character is the focus of
your play experience, making the right character for you is
quite important. If you end up with a character you find
unappealing or who isn’t fun to play, your enjoyment of the
game will diminish. So don’t be afraid to take some time
and put some thought into creating your character. This
chapter explains the whole process and provides examples
so you can see how it’s done. When you are finished, you’ll
have a character ready to play.
Making a Character
Making a character in the Ageless RPG is a straightforward
process that you can complete in 8 easy steps.
1. Create a character concept. This is a rough idea of
the sort of character you’d like to play.
2. Determine Abilities. These are your character’s core
physical and mental attributes.
3. Choose a Class. This is your character’s calling in life.
You can choose mage, rogue, or warrior.
4. Spend Experience. You spend experience to represent the
deviation from the norm of your class.
5. Pick equipment. Your character needs gear before the
adventures begin.
6. Calculate Derived Traits. There are several traits that
are determined by your equipment and Abilities,
calculating them is a step towards completing your
character.
7. Pick a name. Every hero needs a good name!
8. Choose goals and character ties. They help give
your character personality.
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Step One
Character Concept
Before you sit down to make a character, you should learn
a little bit about the setting your storyteller will be running.
In some settings your choices for character race will be
severely limited, and other settings may lack magic
altogether.
Now that you know more about the setting, you can start
thinking about what kind of character you want to play.
This can be quite a broad concept to start; the process of
character creation will help you focus it.
When coming up with a character concept, remember that
one of the conceits of the game is that your character begins
as an unknown and struggling adventurer. You don’t get to
start play as the crown prince or an archmage. You have to
earn your honors with deeds, and you can be sure there will
be a price. So start thinking about who your character is and
how he became an adventurer. Here are some example
character concepts:
 A guttersnipe raised on the streets who’ll do anything to
survive.
 A free spirit who fled from an arranged marriage for a life of
adventure.
 A naïve farmer who wants to travel farther than 5 miles
from where he was born.
 The child of a disgraced knight who wants to return honor
to the family name.
 A cynical mercenary who trusts little but coin.
 A seeker of forbidden knowledge who often acts before
thinking.
 An artist seeking inspiration in dark and dangerous places.
 A refugee from a village that was sacked and destroyed.
 A child of the forest more comfortable around animals than
people.
Chapter One: Character Creation
Step Two
Abilities
Your character is defined by eight abilities: Commu-
nication, Constitution, Cunning, Dexterity, Magic,
Perception, Strength, and Willpower. Taken together these
abilities map out your character’s strengths and
weaknesses. You determine your abilities by assigning
points to them, giving each one a numeric rating ranging
from –2 to 5. A –2 is quite poor while a 5 is outstanding; a 1
is average. The higher the ability, the better. During play
your abilities can increase as you gain experience and learn
how to better harness your natural aptitudes.
Abilities are a key component of the game and you’ll be
using them frequently. You’ll find it useful to understand
the nature of each ability, so descriptions of them follow.
 Communication covers your character’s social skills,
personal interactions, and ability to deal with others.
 Constitution is your character’s fortitude and
resistance to harm.
 Cunning is a measure of your character’s intelligence,
knowledge, and education.
 Dexterity encompasses agility, hand-eye
coordination, and quickness.
 Magic determines the character’s innate arcane power.
 Perception covers all the senses and the ability to
interpret sensory data.
 Strength is your character’s physical prowess.
 Willpower encompasses mental toughness,
discipline, and confidence.
Determining Abilities
You begin the game with ten (10) points to allocate to your
Abilities. Your character's Abilities all begin at 0, and you
can spend your points to raise them up. You can also reduce
them into negatives to gain more points to raise other
Abilities with.
A character can never begin play with an Ability greater
than three (3) or lower than negative two (-2). Abilities
greater than five (5) represent ability beyond the natural
range of humanity, while Abilities less than negative two (-
2) represent a serious handicap; neither of which is
appropriate for starting characters.
While three (3) is the upper limit at character creation,
spending experience can still raise your ability scores.
Ability Focuses
A focus is an area of expertise within the larger ability.
While Cunning as a whole determines how smart your
character is, for example, a Heraldry focus would indicate
a special knowledge of coats of arms and royal families. In
game system terms, if you have a focus, your ability is
effectively 2 higher than normal when working within that
specialty. This is explained in greater detail in Chapter 10:
Rules and Systems.
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Ability focuses (or focuses for short) are one of the ways to
make your character unique. There may be another warrior
in your adventuring party, but your focuses can be
completely different. You don’t need to worry about
choosing focuses now; that happens later in the character
creation process. Your character will get access to focuses
through backgrounds, classes, and talents. For more
information about ability focuses, see Chapter 3: Focuses
and Talents.
 Communication Focuses: Acting, Animal Handling,
Bargaining, Bluffing, Charming, Convincing, Etiquette,
Gambling, Inciting, Intimidation, Investigation, Leadership,
Seduction, Taunting.
 Constitution Focuses: Drinking, Rowing, Running, Stamina,
Swimming.
 Cunning Focuses: Arcane Lore, Brewing, Cartography,
Cultural Lore, Engineering, Evaluation, Healing, Heraldry,
Herb Lore, Historical Lore, Military Lore, Musical Lore,
Natural Lore, Navigation, Poison Lore, Research, Religious
Lore, Writing.
 Dexterity Focuses: Acrobatics, Bows, Brawling, Calligraphy,
Crafting, Firearms, Flying, Initiative, Legerdemain, Lock
Picking, Riding, Stealth, Traps.
 Magic Focuses: Creation, Entropy, Primal, Spirit.
 Perception Focuses: Empathy, Hearing, Searching, Seeing,
Smelling, Touching, Tracking.
 Strength Focuses: Blades, Climbing, Driving, Hafted
Weapons, , Jumping, Might, Polearms, Smithing, Throwing.
 Willpower Focuses: Courage, Faith, Morale, Self-Discipline.
Step 3
Classes
If background is where you came from, class is what you’ve
become. Classes are both mythic archetypes and
frameworks for your character’s advancement. You have
your choice of three: mage, rogue, and warrior. If you want
a character that can cast spells, play a mage. If you want a
character that is sneaky, play a rogue. If you want a
character that can fight, play a warrior.
The classes are quite broad by design. A rogue could
equally represent a thief with a penchant for burglary and
a scout in a mercenary company. Your class helps define
what your character can do, but it’s up to you to interpret
how those capabilities fit with your character concept.
Class Descriptions
Each class determines certain key features of your charac-
ter. A class description includes the following elements:
Primary Abilities: A class has three primary abilities. These
are the abilities most important to the class and the ones
used most often.
Secondary Abilities: A class has five secondary abilities.
These abilities are not as important as primary abilities but
all can be useful in the right circumstances.
Class Powers: A class provides your character with a
variety of special powers, such as ability focuses and
talents. These powers are listed out for each class.
Chapter One: Character Creation
Mage
There is magic in all living things. While every elf, dwarf, human,
animal, and plant is permeated with magic, only a rare few beings
can manipulate it. The mage class represents these users of magic.
They have been gifted (or cursed, depending on your point of
view) with the ability to absorb spirit, the life force of living beings,
and use it cast magical spells. This sets them apart from normal
people. In some times and places, mages have been honored for
their power and wisdom. In others they have been feared and
hunted, especially once the dangers of demonic possession were
understood.
As a mage you will be a master of arcane powers. You should stay
away from melee combat (let warriors handle that) and use your
spells to help your allies and harm your enemies. Mages generally
don’t wear armor, so your Resistances will be low. You also have
limited access to weaponry. Your access to spells makes up for
these limitations, though. You get access to many different spells;
a mage who masters their use is a powerful character.
Primary Abilities
Cunning, Magic and Willpower
Secondary Abilities
Communication, Constitution, Dexterity, Perception and Strength
Class Powers
Creation Magic Training (Initiate)
You can cast spells from the Creation school with Minor
effects lasting up to 24 hours. Additionally, you can cast
“blasting” spells that heal damage instead of inflicting
damage.
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Entropy Magic Training (Initiate)
You can cast spells from the Entropy school with Minor
effects lasting up to 24 hours. Additionally, you can cast
“blasting” spells that inflict Necrotic damage.
Primal Magic Training (Initiate)
You can cast spells from the Primal school with Minor
effects lasting up to 24 hours. Additionally, you can cast
“blasting” spells that inflict Physical, Thermal, Cryo, or
Energy damage.
Spirit Magic Training (Initiate)
You can cast spells from the Spirit school with Minor effects
lasting up to 24 hours. Additionally, you can cast “blasting”
spells that inflict Spirit damage.
Stoic (Adept)
You’ve disciplined your mind to manipulate the magical
forces of the world. You start play with 30 + 3x your
Willpower worth of Spirit Points instead of the usual 10 +
your Willpower.
Additionally, you gain a +1 bonus to your Mental Defense.
Starting Talents
You gain the Initiate degree in one of the following talents:
Enchanting, Herbalism, or Physician Training.
Starting Focuses
You gain two of the following focuses: Cunning (Arcane
Lore), Magic (Creation, Entropy, Primal, or Spirit) or
Willpower (Self-Discipline).
Chapter One: Character Creation
Rogue
The rogue class represents the classic trickster. You can use
this class to represent a thief, scoundrel, or conman, or a
scout, expert, or spy. While a warrior gets by on brute
strength and a mage on arcane power, a rogue relies on
quickness and cleverness. Whether engaging in witty repar-
tee or slipping a dagger between an enemy’s ribs, a rogue
must be artful to win the day.
As a rogue you are the eyes and ears of your adventuring
group. You are excellent at ranged combat and can launch
devastating melee attacks with your backstab ability. You
are not, however, a true frontline fighter. Your Defense will
be good due to your Dexterity, but your light armor means
you can’t absorb a lot of damage. Let the warriors go toe to
toe with the enemy while you use stealth and surprise to
keep them off balance.
The rogue is the most open-ended of the classes. If you
aren’t sure where you want to go with your character, rogue
is a good choice, as the class provides the flexibility to
develop in many directions.
Primary Abilities
Communication, Dexterity and Perception
Secondary Abilities
Constitution, Cunning, Magic, Strength and Willpower
Class Powers
Dirty Fighting (Expert)
The skills you employ in combat are as effective as they are
dishonorable. When you have combat advantage against an
opponent (the target is prone, you are flanking the target,
the opponent isn’t aware of your presence, etc.) you inflict
an additional 1d6 damage on all damage rolls against that
8
target, and you can apply poison to a weapon without
making a Cunning (Poison Lore) test.
You can use an action to deceive an opponent into making
a critical mistake. You make a Communication (Deception)
test vs. your target’s Mental Defense; on a success you have
combat advantage against him for the rest of the round.
Armor Training (Initiate)
You are at home in lighter armors, reduce the Armor
Penalty of any armor you wear by 1.
Melee or Ranged Training (Initiate)
You are trained in melee or ranged combat. You can choose
whether to take the Initiate degree in the Melee Training or
Ranged Training talent.
With Melee, you can spend an action to assume the iconic
fighting stance of the fighting style you are using. (Using a
shield is considered fighting with dual-weapon style.)
Dual-Weapon Style: +1 Attack
Single-Weapon Style: +1 Physical Defense
Two-Hander Style: +1 Damage
With Ranged, you can reload a bow or ready another
throwing weapon as a free action. Also, you can reload a
Firearm with a single Action.
Starting Focuses
You gain the Dexterity (Stealth) focus, and one of the
following focuses: Brawling, Deception, Disguise,
Legerdemain, or Lockpicking.
Chapter One: Character Creation
Warrior
The warrior is the classic fighting man. You can use this
class to represent any kind martial character. Your character
could be an ex-soldier, a caravan guard, a mercenary, a
militiaman, or a former blacksmith turned adventurer. A
warrior may fight for honor, revenge, justice, money, or a
better tomorrow. Some members of the warrior class have
received formal training and others fight by instinct; all can
handle themselves in a fight.
As a warrior you’ll usually find yourself in the thick of
combat. You have access to heavier armor and more
weapons than members of any other class, and you can dish
out and take a lot of damage. It is often up to you to engage
the hardest hitting enemies, so the rogues and mages of the
group have the chance to use their abilities.
Primary Abilities
Constitution, Dexterity and Strength
Secondary Abilities
Communication, Cunning, Magic, Perception and
Willpower
Class Powers
Armor Training (Adept)
You are skilled in the use of armor. Increase the Armor
Rating of any armor you wear by 1, and reduce its Armor
Penalty by 1.
9
Endurance (Adept)
Warriors are hardier than the average man, you begin play
with 30 + 3x your Constitution in Health Points rather than
the usual 10 + Constitution.
You also gain a +1 bonus to your Physical Defense.
Martial Arts (Initiate)
A Warrior needs to be able to defend himself even when
disarmed. When you make a melee attack while unarmed,
you inflict 1d6 damage instead of the usual 1d3.
Melee Training (Initiate)
Warriors are trained in the art of melee combat, and can
spend an action to assume the iconic fighting styles
associated with the weapons they wield. (Fighting with a
weapon and a shield is considered Dual-Weapon fighting)
Dual-Weapon Style: +1 Attack
Single-Weapon Style: +1 Physical Defense
Two-Hander Style: +1 Damage
Starting Focuses
You gain two of the following focuses: Constitution
(Stamina), Cunning (Heraldry or Military Lore), Dexterity
(Bows, Brawling, or Firearms), Strength (Blades, Hafted
Weapons, Polearms or Throwing) or Willpower (Courage).
Chapter One: Character Creation
Step 4
Experience
Your character grows and evolves by accumulating
experience. In game terms, experience is a numerical unit
that is accumulated by participating in adventures and
expended to learn new techniques and abilities.
As you begin the game, your character has already
accumulated some experience; represented by his starting
Abilities and Class. Your character also starts with an
additional 40 experience points to spend at character
creation, to both customize your character further and to
become acquainted with the options out there.
You can spend your starting 40 XP as you complete your
character, save it for later, or a combination of the two. The
cost of raising an Ability is five (5) times the new (higher)
rating of the Ability in XP, Focuses cost ten (10) XP, and
ranks in Talents cost five (5) times the new degree’s rank -
5XP for Initiate, 10XP for Adept, 15XP for Expert, etc.
Characteristic XP Cost
Ability 5 x new Rating
Focus 10
Talent 5 x new Degree
Trainers
If you find a trainer, typically someone who has an ability
or talent one rating/degree higher than what you are
attempting to buy, the total cost of raising your ability,
focus, or talent is decreased by 5 XP.
Trainers become rarer as you increase the rating or degree
you want to learn - becoming almost impossible to find for
the Expert and higher degrees or abilities of 3+. When they
can be found, if and only at the GM’s discretion, they
typically require a quest in addition to any monetary
payment before they will teach you.
Mutations
Up to this point, the rules have guided you to making a
character with the assumption that you will be playing a
human (or similar). By purchasing mutations (detailed in
Chapter 2: Mutations), you can play all manner of
extraordinary creatures. When you reach this stage of
character creation, it is important to speak with your
Storyteller to see what kinds of races are appropriate for
your game world.
Step 5
Equipment
Player characters do not start their adventures with much
to their names. In play your character will have a chance to
get better equipment, but you must start with the basics.
Think of better gear as something to aspire to.
Your character begins play with 100 silver pieces to
purchase gear. A complete listing of equipment can be
found in Chapter 4: Equipment and Gear.
10
Step 6
Derived Traits
The following section explains how to determine your
derived traits. These are important to know.
Physical Defense
Your Physical Defense represents your ability to defend
yourself from physical threats. This includes your ability to
dodge, your ability to resist bruising, your ability to deflect
and endure heavy blows, and any other method you
employ to defend yourself from physical harm.
Physical Defense = 10 + (Constitution + Dexterity +
Strength)/2
Mental Defense
Your Mental Defense represents your ability to keep control
of your own thoughts and an abstract “awareness” of the
truth of what is happening around you. It is used when
opposed tests to detect lying or slight of hand would be too
cumbersome.
Mental Defense = 10 + (Cunning + Perception +
Willpower)/2
Armor & Resistances
Your armor rating is derived from the armor you are
wearing, and supplies a resistance to all forms of damage.
Your armor rating cannot normally be increased; as
different forms are not complementary and only the highest
rating is used - with the sole exception being Natural
Armor; most often coming from mutations.
Physical Resistance = Armor Rating
Thermal Resistance = ½ Armor Rating
Cryo Resistance = ½ Armor Rating
Energy Resistance = ½ Armor Rating
Radiant Resistance = ½ Armor Rating
Necrotic Resistance = ½ Armor Rating
Health
All characters begin play with 10 + Constitution Health.
Characters with the Endurance talent, such as those with
the “Warrior” class gain additional health as described in
that talent. For now it is only important to know that the
Adept degree gives an additional 20 + 2x Constitution
health on top of what all others begin with.
Spirit
All characters begin play with 10 + Willpower Spirit.
Characters with the Stoic talent, such as those with the
“Mage” class gain additional Spirit as described in that
talent. For now it is only important to know that the Adept
degree gives an additional 20 + 2x your willpower Spirit on
top of what all others begin with.
Chapter One: Character Creation

Step 7
Names
What is a character without a name? Although this step is
towards the end of the character creation process, it should
not be an afterthought. The right name can be that little
something that sums up who the character is or wants to be.
This section contains some naming guidelines for different
cultures and some example names for both sexes. Do feel
free to make up your own names in the same style, but try
to avoid silly name syndrome (Orf the Dwarf, for example).
Step 8
The classic RPG set-up has the group meeting up in a tavern
and embarking on a series of death-defying quests together
despite being virtual strangers. That sort of approach can
work if you are developing the characters as the campaign
goes on. The group’s cohesion will be stronger, however, if
the characters start with some ties. It doesn’t mean that all
the characters need to know each other before play begins,
but they should have some connections. Characters might
have grown up in the same village, served in the same mili-
tary unit, or even been romantic rivals. Or maybe they are
distant cousins, chased by a shared enemy, or in debt to the
same underworld figure.
You should try to come up with at least one tie for each

Goals and Ties

other player character, even if it’s a tenuous one. The group
bond will grow over time but it’s a good idea to plant the
seed early so it can grow.
Now your character is almost ready to go. Before you jump
into your first adventure, though, take a few minutes to
think about your character’s goals and what ties you might
have to other characters in the group. Even if you’ve made
your character on your own, it’s a good idea to take these
last steps together. Setting up goals and ties as a group
allows you to riff off each other and come up with ideas that
are complementary.

Goals
Your character can have any number of goals, but try to
come up with at least three. Goals usually have something
to do with why your character became an adventurer in the
first place. It’s not a common calling after all, and certainly
not a safe one. These driving forces often translate into one
or more goals.
When making your list, try to come up with a mix of short-
and long-term goals. Short-term goals are things you want
to focus on now, and long-term goals are of a size and scope
that may require years or even decades of struggle. A good
GM will take your goals into account when running the
game, and the more info the GM has to work with, the
better.
So what makes a good goal? Two things. First, a good goal
should help define your character by making explicit what
is important to him. Second, it should provide story hooks
that other players and the GM can grab and use in play.

Ties
11
Chapter Two: Mutations
Chapter Two
Not all characters are created equal, and not all species are
clones of humanity. The character creation process
presented in Chapter 1: Character Creation makes the
assumption that you are playing an adult human, an
assumption that isn’t always correct. Sometimes, you want
to play one of the fantastical races from literature - or a
barbaric abomination from your nightmares. This chapter
provides you the tools to do just that.
What are Mutations?
Mutations are what the Ageless Roleplaying Game calls
anything that separates a character from human. Whether
it is long life, pointed ears, diminutive stature or great
feathered wings - everything that a normal human doesn’t
have is a mutation.
Each and every mutation is composed of two parts: a
physical manifestation and a mechanical effect. As an
example, an elf’s pointed ears would be a mutation’s
physical manifestation - you can see the ears and it
separates him from a normal human; the mutation’s
mechanical effect would be a +1 bonus to Perception
(Hearing) tests - it provides a mechanical in-game effect.
What it is to be Human?
Before the rules can offer deviations from normal humans
it is important to define what it actually means to be
Human. The following section will lay out clearly what the
game assumes are common traits of Humanity.
Age & Mortality
The human race is mortal, we age, grow old, and die -
sometimes skipping right ahead to death before growing
12
Mutations
old. What happens after death depends on the game’s
setting - and is not a matter to be detailed here. While most
humans will die of disease or violence long before their
bodies give out, some do reach an age where they simply
cannot keep going.
Without magical or medicinal assistance, a Human can live
up to 50 + (10x Constitution) years before he must start
making TN 10 + (years over limit) Constitution (Stamina)
tests each year on his birthday. On a failure, he dies of old
age sometime before his next birthday.
In addition to dying of old age in a comparatively short
span of time; humans suffer from a slow physical
breakdown as they advance in years. This imposes a
penalty to all physical actions the character takes, based on
their age category:
Age Categories
Young: Representing characters that have not yet reached the age
of maturity (15 years old by default). They suffer a -2 penalty to all
physical tests because they have not yet matured.
Adult: Representing characters that have reached the age of
maturity and are sufficiently mature to enter society. These
characters suffer no penalties.
Middle-Aged: Characters that are more than ½ their lifespan are
considered middle-aged. Their bodies have begun to break down,
and they suffer a -1 penalty to all physical tests because of it.
Old: Characters that have passed ¾ of their lifespan are truly old;
they show the signs of aging and find it harder and harder to do
even simple tasks. They suffer a -2 penalty to all physical tests.
Venerable: Characters that have exceeded their lifespan and are
now making yearly tests to survive are ancient (by mortal
standards), and suffer for it. These venerable characters take a -3
penalty to all physical tests because of their advanced age.
Chapter Two: Mutations
Range of Ability
Humans are limited creatures, and though they may
absolutely be deficient in an ability (negative rating), they
peak at an Ability Rating of five, which is the natural extent
of Human ability: their minds and bodies just can’t be
smarter, faster, stronger, more durable, etc. than that.
Durability
Humans are incredibly frail, prone to breaking down and
dying even when suffering damage to only a few of their
organs. Humans cannot naturally recover from injuries
(they will continue indefinitely if not treated), and suffer an
“amputation” after only five injuries to a particular bodily
region. By default, Humans have 10 + their Constitution
Health Points, and gain an equal amount from each
purchase of the Endurance talent. Humans recover 10 +
their Constitution in Health every night they get at least 6
hours of sleep.
Resiliency
Humans have no special resistances of any kind, aside from
avoiding damage they have no defense against it. Human
skin offers no natural armor, and protects equally poorly
against all damage types, supplying no increased (or
decreased) resistances.
Magic Manipulation
Humans are mundane creatures, they cannot exert their
will on the world around them, and can cause no
supernatural effects naturally. At best, and as always
depending on the campaign’s setting, humans can learn to
cast spells through the Magic Training talents. By default,
Humans have 10 + their Willpower Spirit Points, and gain
an equal amount from each purchase of the Stoic talent.
Locomotion
Humans are capable of many forms of locomotion:
climbing, crawling, swimming, walking, etc. but are only
truly competent at generalized running and walking, with
which they can traverse open ground, for other forms of
locomotion that they are capable of (swimming, crawling,
etc.) they need to spend an extra move action to cross the
same distance.
Natural Attacks
Humans are woefully underequipped to fight without
weapons: they can strike only at those adjacent to them and
inflict only 1d3 + their Strength in Physical damage with
unarmed attacks.
Extremities
Humans have two hands, two feet, and no other bodily
limbs - this severely limits them to a few basic actions.
Humans naturally have a dominant hand and an off-hand,
off-hands are much less developed, and cannot wield
weapons tagged with Main Hand without a much higher
Strength. Otherwise, a human can carry and use two
different things (weapons, shields, potions, etc.), one in
each hand, or one larger object (two-handed weapons) in
both hands. At the same time, a human must have both his
legs, or is unable to effectively walk.
13
Senses
Humans are a visually-dominated species and cannot
clearly perceive anything with any of their other four senses
at any meaningful range. While perfectly capable of making
Hearing, Touching, Smelling, or Tasting tests, these can
only give a vague idea of the direction or presence of a being
at range (though obviously, touching or tasting something
directly gives you a clear indication where it is). When a
Human cannot see a target, but otherwise knows “where”
it is, he still suffers a -3 penalty to all tests to interact with it.
As a further complication, Humans can only see in well-lit
environments, and begin suffering penalties in anything
dimmer than shade. Humans also have difficulty seeing
clearly at range, having trouble picking out details over
only a few yards and being largely incapable of seeing
anything smaller than a building more than 10 miles away.
Diet
Humans are omnivorous and can consume the flesh of
virtually any being, grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables with
equal success - and require a mix of these to get all the
vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy life. Humans
are, however, largely intolerant of most plant life and
cannot digest most grasses or leafing plants.
Mechanics of Mutation
Mutations are divided into four classes defining how potent
they are: Minor mutations offer at most a +1 bonus to a
specific roll or offer small roleplaying advantages.
Moderate mutations offer up to a +2 bonus to specific rolls,
or confer a significant advantage over those without it.
Major mutations can confer up to a +3 bonus to specific rolls
or overwhelming advantages vs. those without it. And
finally, Extreme mutations can confer up to a +5 bonus to
specific rolls, or an advantage that likely cannot be
overcome by those without it.
Mutation Costs
For obvious reasons, mutations must be limited in some
way or another - lest a player decide to create a
tremendously mutated character that is simply “better”
than anyone else’s characters. Mutations are meant to allow
players to create character races that differ from humanity -
from elves & dwarves to goblins & demons.
Generally, outside magical means, you can only gain
mutations at character creation. Mutations are rated with
“mutation points” (Minor cost 1pt, Moderate cost 2pts,
Major cost 4pts, and Extreme cost 8pts). Positive mutations
add to your mutation point total while negative mutations
subtract from it. At character creation you must pay 5xp per
mutation point in the total.
Minor Mutations
Chapter Two: Mutations
Minor mutations cost one (1) mutation point, and give
minor roleplaying bonuses, or at best a +1 bonus to specific
tests. These mutations are sometimes called poxes.
Alternate Reproduction Positive
Your method of reproduction differs from the default of
“sex followed by live birth”, in either conception, or birth,
or both. Perhaps you lay eggs, or expel spores, or asexually
bud, or utilize pails of incestuous genetic slurry. Whatever
the case, the process must still be recognizably biological,
and still burdens at least one character in some way for the
normal gestation period; they might not need to be
pregnant, but will have to tend to their eggs, or monitor the
larvae, or water the pods.
Bioluminescence Positive
You (or one specific part of you) glows; projecting light with
the same intensity as a torch. This natural lighting can be
turned on or off as a free action once per round.
Camouflage Positive
You have patterns on your skin that help you hide more
effectively, gaining a +1 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) tests.
Cat Eyes Positive
Your eyes can see more easily in darkness, reducing any
penalties you suffer from darkness by -1.
Claws/Fangs Positive
You gain short but sharp claws or fangs, or both. When you
make an unarmed attack with these natural weapons you
deal 1d6 points of damage.
Concealed Mutation Positive
You can choose one mutation, that mutation is concealed
when not in use: your claws might retract, your eyes roll
back in your head to reveal an ordinary set behind, etc.
Cosmetic Alterations Null
Your hair, eyes, or skin takes on some unusual aspect -
color, texture, or pattern: tiger stripes, blood red, pure white
and so forth. This is purely a cosmetic change and can
usually be hidden by dye, makeup or obscuring clothing.
This mutation costs no Mutation Points, and never offers
you any mechanical benefits.
Creeper Positive
Whether you possess rubbery bones, a ridiculous number
of joints, or a semi-liquid body, you can move through
impossibly small spaces, allowing you to squeeze through
gaps (or fit into spaces) up to two size categories smaller
than you could otherwise fit through (or into).
Elemental Adaptation Positive
Choose one of the Primal Elements (Earth, Sky, Fire, or
Water); you are attuned to that element and gain a +2 bonus
to the Resistance linked to that element: Cryo, Thermal, and
Energy are common.
Enhanced Sense Positive
14
One of your senses is unusually acute, giving you a +1
bonus to Perception (Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Touching)
tests. This can manifest as changed eye color or shape (or
both), Long pointed ears, or an elongated nose.
Fur/Feathers/Leaves/Scales Positive
Your skin is covered in light fur, feathers, leaves, bark, or
scales (in whatever colors or patterns you desire), giving
you a +1 Natural Armor Rating, which adds to Armor
Ratings from any other source.
Large Positive
Most people are between 5ft and 7ft tall, you tower above
them at up to ten feet tall. You must purchase specially
made arms and armor, costing twice as much and having
an encumbrance value 1 higher than normal; but your
Encumbrance Threshold is 7 + Strength + Constitution.
Longevity Positive
You will live a much longer life than mere humans. You will
live 100 + (20 x Constitution) years before you need to make
tests every five years to see if you will die of old age within
the next five years.
Meditative Rest Positive
You don’t need to sleep to get the rest you need (though you
are still capable of sleep), instead you can enter a meditative
state to rest. You remain entirely alert while meditating, and
every hour of meditation is equivalent to two hours of
sleep.
Mild Pregnancy Positive
You suffer none of the physical maladies of pregnancy
(morning sickness, crazy cravings, rotund belly, etc.) until
the final month of carrying the child.
Natural Missile Positive
You have a natural ranged attack; you might spit acid,
breathe fire, shoot laser beams from your eyes, launch
psychic bolts, or fling regenerating bone spikes from your
arms. You gain the ability to make unarmed attacks at a
Short Range.
Quick Healer Positive
Your flesh mends and bones knit at an unnatural pace, for
every full month you spend at rest, all your Injury
thresholds increase by one (as if they had been healed with
a 1 on the Dragon Die).
Rapid Maturity Positive
You grow very fast and mature at a startling rate, becoming
a fully-functioning mature adult within five years. This
mutation doesn’t cost Mutation Points, instead it requires a
child born of Rapid Maturity to have at least one Negative
Mutation Point at birth (which offsets Positives as normal).
Resilient Positive
Chapter Two: Mutations
Your body is able to better resist a specific type of damage
(Cryo, Energy, Necrotic, Physical, Radiant, or Thermal);
and your Resistance against that type of damage is
increased by two (2), which stacks with any Resistance
provided by your Armor Rating.
Serpentine Tongue Positive
Your tongue is long and forked like a snake’s, and you
unconsciously flick it out every few seconds. The tongue is
remarkably sensitive, and you can ignore penalties for
fighting unseen or invisible enemies so long as you can
“smell” them.
Small Appetite Positive
You need only half the food a human requires for a full
meal, allowing you consume supplies at half the usual rate.
Tail Positive
You have a tail, it can be scaled, furred, or bare like a rats.
Your tail can only be used for balance, granting you a +1
bonus to Dexterity (Acrobatics) tests, but it can’t be used to
manipulate or pick up things.
Webbed Feet/Hands Positive
Your hands or feet (or both) are webbed, allowing you to
move rapidly in the water. When you take Move Actions
underwater, you don’t need to spend extra actions because
you are swimming.
Atrophy Negative
One of your limbs has been ravaged and atrophied. You
suffer a -1 penalty to all actions with the chosen limb,
including a -1 penalty to shield bonuses from shields.
Climate Sensitivity Negative
In a given climate or condition, such as cold, sunny, moist,
or hot, you move -1 persistent steps down the condition
track until the environment changes.
Disturbing Voice Negative
Your voice has some unnatural quality to it that most
people find highly disturbing. You suffer a -1 penalty to all
Intrigue tests when the target can hear your voice.
Hungry Negative
You require two times as much food as a human requires
for a “full meal”, consuming twice as much supplies.
Long Gestation Negative
Your children spend an extremely long time in the womb,
from 18 months to 2 full years before being born. This
mutation doesn’t give you any Mutation Points, instead it
requires your offspring to take at least one Positive
Mutation, which they need to offset with XP or a mutation.
Restricted Diet Negative
You are either carnivorous or herbivorous, and can
consume only meat or plant life, not both.
15
Short-Lived Negative
You have a very short natural lifespan, living no longer than
25 + (5 x Constitution) years before you must begin making
checks every 6 months to avoid dying of old age.
Sloth’s Speed Negative
Your must spend three move actions to move between the
Long and the Medium or Extreme Range Bands. This
mutation might take the form of sickened wings/legs/
whatever or might simply be the result of having shorter or
smaller legs, etc.
Slow Aging Negative
You and your young take a lot longer to mature, taking up
to 30 years to become a fully-realized adult. This mutation
doesn’t give you any Mutation Points, instead it requires
your offspring to take at least one Positive Mutation, which
they need to offset with XP or a mutation.
Slow Healing Negative
You suffer from a crippled ability to heal, and naturally
recover health after only a full day’s rest (instead of 6 hours),
you still recover 10 + Constitution HP.
Small Negative
Typically-sized characters stand between five and seven
feet tall, you shrink under their towering height. With this
mutation you stand only 2 ½ to 5 feet tall. You must
purchase specially made arms and armor, costing and
roughly half that of average gear and having an
Encumbrance value 1 less - but your Encumbrance
Threshold is only 3 + Strength + Constitution.
NOTE: If you are in a predominantly Ordinary-sized
location, a GM should increase the cost of small-sized gear
(up to twice that of average gear).
Muted (Sense) Negative
Your vision is cloudy, your hearing muffled, or your nose
stuffed. You suffer a -1 penalty with tests with one of your
senses: Perception (Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, or Touching).
Vulnerability Negative
You are vulnerable to a specific type of damage (Cryo,
Energy, Necrotic, Physical, Radiant, or Thermal); and your
Resistance against that type of damage is reduced by two
(2), even into the negatives (where you take more damage
than that inflicted).
Weak Healing Negative
Your flesh refuses treatment and your bones refuse to knit
whenever one of your injuries has its healing threshold
increased (such as by a successful healing roll) the threshold
is increased by one (1) less than it otherwise would have.
Chapter Two: Mutations
Moderate Mutation
Moderate mutations cost two (2) mutation points, and give
small roleplaying bonuses, or at best a +2 bonus to specific
tests. These mutations are sometimes called Afflictions.
Additional Limb Positive
Whether through an extra arm, a flailing tentacle,
prehensile tail, or a tumorous crystalline claw, you have one
more than the standard duo of manipulators. You have an
additional “arm” which is capable of wielding a weapon,
parrying attacks, carrying objects, etc; this can also be
represented by multiple manipulators that are incapable of
significant action unless working together. This arm is
always an “off hand”. This mutation may be taken multiple
times, each time granting an additional arm.
Alternate Form Positive
Select any number of mutations that you possess. These
mutations form the basis of your alternate form which can
be de-manifested, concealing their Physical Manifestation
and providing no mechanical benefit. As an action you can
manifest these mutations and assume your alternate form -
in a startling transformation - that brings all these physical
manifestations and mechanical benefits back to the fore.
Burrower Positive
Spade-like claws, a drill-body, or worm-like consumption
of earth allow you to burrow with ease. You can travel
through sand and loose-packed soil with move actions as,
effectively “swimming” through it as if it were water
(including the extra action needed to change your range
bands). You are still limited by the need to breathe and the
limits of your perceptions.
Chameleon Positive
You have the ability to change the color and pattern of your
skin to match your surroundings. You gain a +2 bonus to
Dexterity (Stealth) tests as a result.
Dark Sight Positive
Your eyes are as capable of seeing in the absence of light as
they are in its presence. Ignore any penalties due to lack of
illumination.
Elemental Affinity Positive
You are strongly aligned to one of the Primal Elements
(Earth, Sky, Fire or Water) and gain a +4 bonus to the
Resistance linked to that element: Thermal, Cryo, and
Energy are common.
Essence Metabolism Positive
Your body has adjusted to absorb nourishment from the
ambient magical energies of a particular place or type of
place. Depending on the setting, this could be a demesne, a
mystic shrine, a blessed place (such as a church or temple),
or anything else sufficiently “powerful” to cast off ambient
energies. While you dwell in the location you do not need
food for sustenance.
16
Exotic Unarmed Damage Positive
Your unarmed attacks inflict something other than Physical
damage, your touch may freeze your foes, your limbs might
be wreathed in flame, or your very presence may drain the
life from your enemies.
Your Unarmed attacks inflict a type of damage other than
Physical. This mutation doesn’t have to apply to all your
unarmed attacks, you can still inflict Physical if you want.
Wolf’s Pace Positive
Your legs are longer and contain vastly greater power,
carrying you further with each stride, and may take a
digitigrade shape like a deer or wolf. You can voluntarily
move -1 step down the Condition track to take one Move
Action as a Free Action, up to once per round.
Gecko’s Regrowth Positive
You can regenerate “amputated” body parts over the
course of a Year spent at rest, returning full use of the lost
body part.
Glider Positive
Whether you are unnaturally light or have flaps of skin
extended between your body and arms, you can glide
slowly to the ground when falling from extreme heights.
You never suffer damage from a fall, and can take move
actions to “fly” horizontally on longer falls.
Healing Factor Positive
Recovering from fatigue and mending minor wounds with
great speed, you recover 10 + Constitution Health every
hour you spend at rest.
Holy/Unholy Positive
You have been marked by a major power of your setting
such as a God or Devil. When in a blessed (or cursed) place,
such as a shrine or temple, you gain a +1 bonus to all tests.
However, when in a place consecrated by an opposing
power (such as a holy person in an unholy place) you suffer
a -1 penalty to all tests.
Huge Positive
Most people are between 5ft and 7ft tall, you tower above
them at between ten to fifteen feet tall. You must purchase
specially made equipment, costing four times as much and
having an Encumbrance 2 higher than usual; but your
Encumbrance Threshold is 9 + Strength + Constitution.
Immaterial Sense Positive
You can peer past the veil of the material and normally
Immaterial beings. You still can’t see through walls or other
solid barriers, so Immaterial creatures have a significant
advantage if they’re trying to remain unseen. If Sight isn’t
your primary sense, this mutation affects the sense that is.
Immunity to Weak Poisons Positive
You are immune to poisons of a certain type (Damaging,
Draining, etc.) with potencies of two (2) or less. This
Mutation can be taken multiple times, each time covering a
different type of poison.
Chapter Two: Mutations
Magical Infusion Positive
You are permeated by magic, giving you miraculous
abilities. You gain the ability to cast one thematic spell, with
at best a Minor effect and at most costing 5 Spirit Points.
This spell is always considered a Rote spell.
Skulker Positive
Whether through chameleonic skin, a natural foggy shroud,
or a transparent glass body, you can hide in plain sight,
allowing it to make Dexterity (Stealth) tests to hide in
situations where it would normally be impossible, though
the difficulty of the test might be fairly high (depending on
the situation and exact form this mutation takes).
Spirit Jaunt Positive
You can take a stroll into the realm of the Immaterial. You
can spend an action to shift immaterial, a traumatic
experience that moves you -1 step on the Condition Track,
and you can spend a number of minutes equal to your
Magic (minimum 1) in that state. Once the time elapses, or
you spend another action to shift back, you return to
material form, the traumatic experience moving you
another -1 step on the Condition Track. Wards against
Immaterial beings work on you just as well as they work on
the type of being they were meant for.
(Substance) Breather Positive
Choose one other substance (typically water), you can now
breathe that substance; whether through a set of gills, a
weird grinding set of lungs to extract oxygen from rock, or
some other special arrangement.
Talons/Tusks/Horns Positive
You have large and deadly talons, tusks, or horns (or a mix
of all three). When making unarmed attacks that employ
your talons or horns you inflict 2d6 points of damage.
Thick Skin Positive
Your skin is denser and more resilient to harm. It might be
thick and horny like rhinoceros hide; it could be covered in
bark and knots or have heavy, crocodilian scales and bony
nodules. You gain a +2 bonus to your Armor Rating - which
adds to Armor Ratings from any other source.
Toxin Positive
Whether released via hollow fangs, spit into the eyes of
your foes, or simply covering your body in a sheen - you
are capable of using the Envenom stunt to administer a
natural poison on unarmed attacks; this poison has a
Potency of two (2); and is always of a specific type
(Damaging, Draining, etc.), chosen when this Mutation was
gained.
Tunnler Positive
This mutation can only be taken if you already have the
Burrower mutation. You to leave tunnels in the wake of
your burrowing, allowing others (of your size or smaller) to
follow you; though they do so at crawling speeds. Tunnels
created with this mutation collapse at the end of the scene
(lasting less than an hour on average), but could be
strengthened to endure past that with effort.
17
Unaging Positive
You will live a much longer life than mere humans. You will
live 500 + (100 x Constitution) years before you need to
make tests every decade to see if you will die of old age
within the next five years.
Wall Crawler Positive
Your hands and feet have tiny sharp, strong hairs or sticky
pads that adhere to walls like a spider. You can use Move
Actions to climb without paying extra actions, and can
climb otherwise impossible surfaces.
Dangerous Allergy Negative
You suffer from a deadly allergy to one common material:
silver, iron, wood, etc., and contact with that substance is
treated as a minor hazard that cannot be avoided with a test;
inflicting 1d6 penetrating damage.
Deaf Negative
You cannot hear, and automatically fail any tests that
require hearing, such as Perception (hearing). You also have
difficulty in chatting, though can probably read lips.
Elemental Vulnerability Negative
You are particularly vulnerable to one of the Primal
Elements (Earth, Sky, Fire, or Water), and suffer a -4 penalty
to the resistance associated with that element (typically
Thermal, Cryo, or Energy).
Exotic Diet Negative
You require a single specific source of nourishment, be it
blood, honey, hearts, etc. You might still be able to eat other
things, but you can’t gain nourishment from them.
Fragile Negative
Your bones are brittle and flesh more prone to shredding,
the Stunt Point cost for using the Injure stunt against you is
reduced by one (1), and when you choose to convert
damage into an injury you only reduce the damage you take
by five (5) instead of ten (10).
Incredible Appetite Negative
You need four times as much food as a human requires for
a “full meal”, consuming quadruple as much supplies.
Oathsworn Negative
You cannot break an oath once given, you simply cannot -
it isn’t a social or personal code - it is your very nature. You
can casually deceive or lie, but once you make a promise or
solemn oath, you cannot break it. If for whatever reason, you
break an oath (even if you tried your best to fulfill it), you
move a persistent -1 step on the Condition Track, remedied
only when you have corrected the broken oath (or as close
to it as possible), as judged by the GM.
Chapter Two: Mutations

Tiny Negative
You stand only 15 inches to 2 ½ feet tall. You must purchase
specially made arms and armor, costing roughly a quarter
that of average gear and having an encumbrance 2 lower -
but your Encumbrance Threshold is calculated as only 1 +
Strength + Constitution.
Tortoise’ Pace Negative
You need to spend one more Move Action to change Range
Bands than you otherwise would. This mutation might take
the form of sickened wings/legs/whatever or might simply
be the result of having shorter or smaller legs, etc.
You can take flight, traveling through the air on wings,
propellers, fleshy gasbags or an organic, muscular jetpack.
You can use Move Actions to fly and increase your Range
from the ground (as Described in Chapter 11: Combat).
Giant Positive
You are a truly massive specimen, standing upwards of 15-
20 feet tall. Your Encumbrance Threshold is calculated as 11
+ Strength + Constitution. However, your armor costs eight
times the usual amount, and its Encumbrance is increased
by three.
Immaterial Positive

Major Mutation You are naturally immaterial; you can neither interact with
or be affected by physical things. You cannot be harmed by
material beings without the use of magic or stunts. Walls
Moderate mutations cost four (4) mutation points, and give
considerable roleplaying bonuses, or at best a +3 bonus to and floors only affect you when you want them to, and you
specific tests. These mutations are sometimes called Blights. can pass through them without effort. For all intents and
purposes, you are invisible, inaudible, unsmellable, and
Ageless Positive untouchable to material things.
You will never suffer the ravages of time, at some point in
Note: While immaterial, you can see, feel, hear, and other-
your life, typically shortly after reaching adulthood, you
wise interact with other immaterial beings. An Immaterial
simply stop aging and stay in your prime forever.
Character can use the Spirit Jaunt to become Material for
Armored Hide Positive short periods of time.
Your skin is beyond any human norm, you may have an
insect-like exoskeleton, heavy mammoth fur, or thick plates
Invisible Positive
Whether through perfect shifting camouflage, an optical
of hide like a rhinoceros. You gain a +3 bonus to your
phase-field, or an ethereal form, you are actually invisible,
Armor Rating - which adds to Armor Ratings from any
imposing a -3 penalty to any tests (including attacks)
other source (such as magic or armor).
against you that are primarily sight based. You can turn on
Cheetah’s Pace Positive or off your invisibility as a Free action on your turn.
This mutation alters your entire body, making you suited to
running on all fours. You can take one Move Action as a
Resurrection Positive
Even in death you will rise again. After being killed, you
Free Action each round, but you cannot run unless your
will be reborn at some place of importance at some point
hands are free. If you have an extra set of arms, one set no
during the next year. You might be molded out of the clay
longer has hands and can be used only as a pair of legs.
of your homeland, you might possess the next fool that
Developed (Sense) Positive touches one of your phylacteries, or maybe you are reborn
Whether you can smell indiscernible scents, feel radiated in a new body to some poor expectant mother - only to
heat, sense vibrations in the ground, or have a form of quickly age into your original form.
echolocation - you can use one of your other senses as a
primary sense. This lets you form a perfect mental image of
Multiple Heads Positive
You have an extra head; this head has its own personality.
your surroundings - “feeling/hearing/smelling” people
Each head has its own Cunning score and Focuses, and can
and things out as far as someone can see, and making
make its own Cunning tests when dealing with purely
Perception (Hearing, Smelling, or Touching) tests in place
mental functions. The extra head starts with a Cunning of
of Perception (Seeing) tests. Though darkness won’t affect
0, and you can spend XP for it to raise its Cunning and
this sense, other environmental conditions certainly may;
purchase Focuses.
and certain conditions may render you “blind” - such as a
metal automata to someone that feels body heat. Unbreathing Positive
You don’t breathe; you aren’t subject to inhaled irritants
Elemental Immunity Positive
and can’t be suffocated. You don’t need air to survive, and
You are strongly aligned to one of the Primal elements
can stay underwater and in zero-oxygen environments
(Earth, Sky, Fire, or Water), and are virtually immune to
indefinitely.
damage that it inflicts. You gain a +6 bonus to the resistance
associated with that element (typically Thermal, Cryo, or
Energy).

Flier Positive
Unique Magics Positive

18
Chapter Two: Mutations
Your body possesses a unique magical connection that
allows you to cast spells based on a completely different
thematic from the typical four schools. These spells are
limited to Moderate effects, and can be learned as either
Rote spells or spontaneously cast (depending on the setting,
and the actual source of your magics).
When choosing his Mutation, you should detail the theme
of your magic’s origin with at least five keywords. These
keywords help you determine how your spells act -
someone that has unique magics to “create illusions and
obfuscate reality” simply won’t be caught throwing
fireballs around (unless they’re illusory fireballs).
Air Drowner Negative
You cannot breathe air and will “drown” in it as quickly as
a human drowns in water. For obvious reasons, you should
have the (Substance) Breather mutation when this is
purchased, and can’t have the Unbreathing mutation.
Blind Negative
You can’t see, and automatically fail Perception (Seeing)
tests. Unless you have some other primary sense, you also
consider everything “invisible,” and suffer a -3 penalty to
attacks against them.
Damage Weakness Negative
You are incredibly weak against a specific type of damage
(Physical, Thermal, Cryo, Energy, Radiant, or Necrotic),
and suffer a -6 penalty to your resistance of that type
(resistances can be reduced to negative numbers).
Miniscule Negative
You are absolutely tiny, standing only 7-15 inches tall. Your
Encumbrance Threshold is calculated as Strength +
Constitution -1 (minus one). However, your armor costs an
eighth the usual amount and has an Encumbrance value
three less than normal.
Missing Arm Negative
Whether one of your arms has been amputated, is frail and
shriveled, or both your arms operate at a reduced capacity.
You have one less “arm” capable of wielding weapons,
carrying objects, etc. This mutation can be taken at most
twice, at which point you are incapable of manipulating
objects or wielding weapons.
Mute Negative
You cannot speak, or make any verbal utterances more
complex than grunts or rasping wheezes, which are
irregular enough that they cannot be used as the basis of a
language.
Namebound Negative
You have a secret name or other weakness (a specific
gemstone, holy symbol, oil lamp, etc.) that can be used
against you to force you to perform tasks. Someone who
confronts you with the name or item can command you as
if you were Oathsworn (see below) to complete a single
service. If the person who demands a service through
19
Namebound is killed before you complete the service, you
have failed the service, and the persistent condition will
remain in effect for a hundred years to the day.
The difficulty to find your secret name (or weakness) is a
TN 15 Cunning (Research) advanced test with a threshold
of 10; each test alerts you that someone is looking for your
secret name (an odd feeling or psychic vision) and takes 1
month to complete.
Once the service is completed the item is lost or name
forgotten, and needs to be searched for again. Note: You will
always fail searching for your item, and it can never be in
your possession or the possession of one of your allies.
Voracious Negative
You require eight times as much food as a normal person
for each “meal,” and on long journeys you consume eight
times as much supplies.
Extreme Mutation
Extreme mutations cost eight (8) mutation points, and give
incredible roleplaying bonuses, or at best a +5 bonus to
specific tests. These mutations are sometimes called
Abominations.
Damage Absorption Positive
When you suffer damage of a specific type that doesn’t
exceed your Resistance to that type of damage, you heal the
damage rolled. This mutation works best when combined
with one of the increased-resistance mutations.
Deathly Allergen Positive
You have a severe weakness to one relatively common
substance: holy water, silver, iron, wood, etc., and treat each
round of exposure to it as a Major Hazard that can’t be
resisted or avoided with any test - suffering 3d6 penetrating
damage for each round of exposure.
Diamond Skin Positive
Your skin is hard as diamonds - perhaps you’re covered in
dragon scales, or maybe your skin really is covered in
diamonds. You gain a +5 bonus to your Armor Rating -
which adds to Armor Ratings from any other source (such
as magic or armor).
Enormous Positive
You are, frankly, too big. You no longer operate at Personal-
scale and have been elevated to vehicle-scale. In addition to
standing at least twenty feet tall, your Encumbrance
Threshold is 15 + Strength + Constitution - though your
arms and armor cost ten times as much and have an
Encumbrance value 5 higher.
Most importantly, however, is that you now take and inflict
Vehicle-scale damage. You suffer a -5 penalty when
attacking Personal-scale opponents, and they gain a +5
bonus when attacking you; but each point of damage you
deal is equivalent to 10 points of Personal-scale damage,
and every 10 points of Personal-scale damage that you take
is only one point of damage to you.
Chapter Two: Mutations

Fast Healing Positive

You recover 10 + your Constitution Health every minute, or
4 rounds of combat.
All-consuming Negative
You are always hungry, and suffer a -1 penalty to all tests
Immortality Positive from starvation for every hour you go without eating.
You don’t die. When you reach 0 Health, you are only When you see something edible (even if it’s talking to you)
knocked unconscious. Nobody is truly immortal; this when you aren’t already eating, you need to succeed a TN13
mutation always has a weakness - chosen by the GM when Willpower (Self-Discipline) test or begin eating it.
this mutation is taken (and not necessarily known to your
character - depending on the setting and source of this
Cursed Negative
One of your setting’s most powerful beings hates you. At
mutation). This weakness should be somewhat esoteric,
the beginning of each session, your Storyteller rolls 1d6 and
such as a wooden stake through the heart or having your
makes note of the result. A number of times equal to the
body burned in its entirety.
result, at the worst possible moments, you automatically fail
Regardless of the state of your body, you always come back whatever test you are making.
to consciousness after a combat encounter - at most an hour
later after being knocked down to 0 Health. Amputations Immobile Negative
still have a lasting effect on you unless you have some Plants and legless turtles alike prefer to remain stationary.
ability to regenerate from them. With this mutation you cannot take move actions, and
cannot relocate yourself under your own power by any
Immunity to Strong means.
Poisons Positive
Incredible Vulnerability Negative
You are immune to poisons of a certain type (Damaging,
You suffer severe damage from a single source (Cryo,
Draining, etc.) with potencies of eight (8) or less. This
Energy, Necrotic, Physical, Radiant, or Thermal); and suffer
Mutation can be taken multiple times, each time covering a
a -10 penalty to your resistance of that type - this penalty
different type of poison.
can reduce your Resistance below zero (0), where you take
Lightning Quick Positive extra damage from attacks of that type.
You can move with blinding speed and unnatural grace,
allowing you to take two Move Actions as Free Actions each
Magically Dead Negative
You have no connection to the source of your setting’s
round.
magic, and can never have a Spirit pool, and can never
Magic Bane Positive benefit from the effects of enchanted items or spells, though
You are surrounded by a field that resists magical energy, you may still be harmed by them.
or perhaps you’ve runic carvings on your body that
counteracts magical influence. Any magical spell that
Mini-sized Negative
You are teeny-weeny tiny. You no longer operate at
targets you is nullified unless its Potency is greater than five
Personal-scale and have been shrunk down to Mini-scale.
(5).
In addition to being at most fifteen inches tall; you can only
Natural Immunity Positive ever have an Encumbrance Threshold of 1, though your
You are practically immune to one source of damage (Cryo, arms and armor cost only a tenth of normal and have
Energy, Necrotic, Physical, Radiant, or Thermal); and gain Encumbrance Values 5 less than usual.
a +10 bonus to your Resistance of that type, which stacks Most importantly, however, is that you now take and
with resistances provided by armor. receive Mini-scale attacks and damage instead of Personal-
Protection from all scale. You gain a +5 bonus when attacking Personal-scale
opponents, and they take a -5 penalty when attacking you;
Disease Positive but each point of damage you deal is equivalent to one-
You are immune to diseases of the first and second circle. tenth of a point of Personal-scale damage, and every point
Quick Regeneration Positive of Personal-scale damage inflicted upon you becomes 10
You can regenerate “amputated” body parts with only a points of mini-scale damage.
day’s worth of rest.

Teleporter Positive
You can move from one place to another without traveling
through the intervening space, though you do need to be
able to see the destination to do so. When you use Move
Actions to change your Range Bands (whether you use a
single action or many), you appear at the destination,
without actually “moving” between the two spaces.

20
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
Chapter THree
Focuses and Talents
Focuses and talents are ways to make your character more
unique. Your character starts with some of each through the
process of character creation, and can purchase more with
Experience gained through play. Focuses and talents
provide game system benefits, but they also give you
convenient back-story hooks. Let’s say you take the
Horsemanship talent. Well, where did your character learn
to ride horses? Perhaps an uncle passed on his expertise or
maybe it was part of militia training. You can come up with
anything you like, but answering the question tells you
more about your character.
Ability Focuses
As noted in Chapter 1: Character Creation, a focus is an
area of expertise within a larger ability. A character with
Communication 3 and the Deception focus is a good
communicator in general, but excels at fooling others. If you
have a focus, you get a +2 bonus when making an ability
test related to it. The GM will usually let you know what
focus applies to each test, but if it isn’t clear don’t be afraid
to ask if a focus applies. You can learn more about ability
tests and how focuses apply in Chapter 10.
Trade Focuses
Ageless Roleplaying is not a game about everyday life. It’s
about adventurers facing grave threats in extraordinary
circumstances. This is why, while there are focuses to cover
trade skills, they are quite broad. There is one focus
(Smithing) that covers armorers, weaponsmiths,
goldsmiths, and so on. This is not an accurate simulation of
the differences between artisans, but nor is it in meant to be.
For the purposes of most games, the Smithing focus is
enough.
21
Epic Abilities and Focuses
In addition to the obvious benefits of raising an ability
beyond a rating of 5 - beyond the reaches of normal men –
you gain an extra benefit from your focuses in that ability.
When you have an ability of 6 or higher, you add your focus
to your dragon die for determining success thresholds.
Communication Focuses
 Acting: Pretending to be something or someone other
than you are.
 Animal Handling: Interacting with and caring for
animals.
 Gambling: Playing games of chance and profiting from
them.
 Intimidation: Employing fear to influence others.
 Investigation: Interviewing people for information and
finding & deciphering clues.
 Leadership: Guiding, directing, and inspiring others.
 Manipulation: Using lies, cats paws, and insinuation to
get your way.
 Persuasion: Convincing others to see things your way.
Constitution Focuses
 Drinking: Consuming large quantities of alcohol and
avoiding the aftereffects.
 Rowing: Propelling a vessel with oars.
 Running: Moving quickly in both short sprints and
long distance hauls.
 Stamina: Enduring fatigue, disease, and privation.
 Swimming: Moving through the water & staying afloat.
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
Cunning Focuses
 Arcane Lore: Knowing about magic, its traditions, and
the Fade.
 Brewing: Making beers, ales, and other concoctions.
 Cartography: Making and reading maps.
 Cryptography: Creating and Breaking codes and
Cyphers.
 Cultural Lore: Knowing the traditions and beliefs of
various cultures.
 Engineering: Knowing the practicalities of
construction, building, and invention.
 Evaluation: Determining the value of goods and objets
d’art.
 Healing: Aiding the wounded and sick.
 Heraldry: Knowing coats of arms and royal families.
 Herbal Lore: Knowing about herbs, their uses, and
preparations.
 Historical Lore: Knowing important events and
personalities from the past.
 Military Lore: Knowing strategy, tactics, and famous
applications thereof.
 Musical Lore: Knowing musical traditions and songs.
 Natural Lore: Knowing flora and fauna.
 Navigation: Planning and following a route from one
place to another.
 Poison Lore: Knowing about poisons, their uses, and
preparations.
 Research: Making a systematic investigation, usually
using records, archives, and books.
 Religious Lore: Knowing religious traditions and
practices, particularly those of the Chantry.
 Writing: Expressing yourself with the written word.
Dexterity Focuses
 Acrobatics: Executing gymnastic, balancing, and
tumbling maneuvers.
 Bows: Fighting with weapons from the Bows Group.
See Chapter 4: Weapons and Gear.
 Brawling: Fighting with weapons from the Brawling
Group. See Chapter 4: Weapons and Gear.
 Calligraphy: Writing with artful penmanship.
 Crafting: Making items with manual skills like wood
working, sculpting, glass blowing, etc.
 Firearms: Fighting with weapons from the Firearms
Group. See Chapter 4: Weapons and Gear.
 Flying: Performing stunts and making quick
maneuvers while in flight.
 Initiative: Acting quickly in tense situations.
 Legerdemain: Using sleight of hand to trick others,
hide things, and pick pockets.
 Lock Picking: Opening locks without using keys.
 Riding: Directing a mount such as a horse or pony.
 Stealth: Sneaking about quietly and out of sight.
 Traps: Detecting and disarming traps and other
mechanical devices.
22
Magic Focuses
 Creation: Understanding the secrets of the Creation
school of magic. See Chapter 6: Magic.
 Entropy: Understanding the secrets of the Entropy
school of magic. See Chapter 6: Magic.
 Primal: Understanding the secrets of the Primal school
of magic. See Chapter 6: Magic.
 Spirit: Understanding the secrets of the Spirit school of
magic. See Chapter 6: Magic.
Perception
 Empathy: Discerning the feelings and emotions of
others.
 Hearing: Using your auditory sense.
 Searching: Finding things that are hidden or obscured.
 Seeing: Using your visual sense.
 Smelling: Using your olfactory sense.
 Tracking: Following tracks and other signs of passage.
Strength Focuses
 Blades: Fighting with weapons from the Bladed
Weapon Group. See Chapter 4: Weapons and Gear.
 Climbing: Scaling walls and other vertical obstacles.
 Driving: Directing and guiding carts, carriages, and
other wheeled vehicles.
 Hafted Weapons: Fighting with weapons from the
Hafted Weapon Group. See Chapter 4: Weapons and
Gear.
 Jumping: Springing and leaping.
 Might: Performing feats of raw power, such as lifting
or holding up heavy objects.
 Polearms: Fighting with weapons from the Polearms
Group. See Chapter 4: Weapons and Gear.
 Smithing: Forging items made of metal, from weapons
to jewelry.
 Throwing: Fighting with weapons from the Thrown
Group. See Chapter 4: Weapons and Gear.
Willpower Focuses
 Courage: Overcoming fear in the face of adversity.
 Faith: Deriving inner strength through spiritual or
moral belief.
 Morale: Maintaining good spirits and confidence in
yourself or your group. NPCs tend to use this focus
more than Player Characters.
 Self-Discipline: Focusing your mental energy or
controlling your impulses and emotions.
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
Talents
Your character has areas of natural aptitude and/or special
training called talents. They provide a way to customize
your character that goes beyond background. Choosing
talents is thus an important part of developing your
character.
Each talent is divided into five degrees: Initiate, Adept,
Expert, Master, and Paragon each of which provides a game
system benefit. You have to be a novice in a talent before
you can become a journeyman, before you can become an
expert and so on.
When talents are listed for a character, the standard format
is talent first, followed by the degree achieved in
parentheses. Command (Journeyman), for example, or
Music (Novice).
The rest of this chapter is a catalog of the talents available.
They use the following format.
Talent
A short description of the talent.
Initiate: This describes the benefit gained when you
become an initiate.
Adept: This describes the benefit gained when you become
an adept.
Expert: This describes the benefit gained when you become
an expert.
Master: This describes the benefit gained when you become
a master.
Paragon: This describes the benefit gained when you reach
the heights of Paragon.
Learning Talents
For the most part, learning a talent is simply a matter of
spending the requisite XP (as described in Chapter 1:
Character Creation). Some talents, however, represent
things that simply cannot be learned, such as the Followers
and Cult talents.
When learning talents, you and the storyteller must agree
that a talent makes sense to be learned. Depending on your
campaign’s setting, Magic (for example) may be an elite
practice requiring significant study and practice to learn -
potentially taking years studying under a master. While it
is advised that you work with your GM to explain a talent
that you learn, it is up to your GM to make a final call if the
explanation is sufficient - some talents may require in-game
events before you may learn them.
23
Armor Training
You have trained in the techniques of wearing armor so that
it doesn’t interfere with your movements.
Initiate: You are trained in the proper use of armor; reduce
the Armor Penalty of armor you wear by 1.
Adept: You understand how to wear armor so that it offers
protection even its creator wouldn’t expect. Increase the
Armor Rating of armor you wear by 1.
Expert: You’ve learned how to bear the burdens of heavier
armors; you reduce the Armor Penalty of any armor you
wear by a total of 2.
Master: You are capable of wielding armor to maximum
effectiveness, beyond that of mortal men. Increase the
Armor Rating of any armor you wear by a total of 2.
Paragon: For a paragon, even the heaviest of armors are as
light as silk; you reduce the Armor Penalty of any armor
you wear by a total of 4.
Command
You are trained to lead men on the field of battle.
Initiate: You’ve been trained in the basics of leading men in
battle. Units under your command gain a +1 bonus to their
Offense and Defense.
Adept: You have shown yourself skilled at leading troops.
When you command a unit, its Health is increased by 1.
Expert: When you speak, your men listen. When you
perform the Rally Troops action, you don’t need to make a
test to restore morale.
Master: You can flank your enemies even on the open field.
You gain access to the Flanking Attack special stunt in Mass
Combat. For a cost of 5 SP, you inflict an additional +1
damage on the target of your attack.
Paragon: Your men are inspired when they march under
your command. When you command a unit, its Health is
increased by an additional 1 point, to a total of +2 Health.
Contacts
You know many people, sometimes in the unlikeliest of
places. This talent introduces two new concepts: Contacts
and Friends.
Initiate: You have contacts in a major entity of your choice
(The Imperial Senate, Major Noble Courts, The Imperial
Legions, The Commerce Guild, The Mafia, etc.) that are
willing to provide you with information and resources in
their realm of influence.
You can make a Communication (Persuasion) test to
convince your contacts to answer questions, provide you
with material assistance (troops, weapons, drugs, poison,
etc.) or scrounge up Intel (maps, troop deployments, etc.).
The TN is based on the likelihood of your contacts having
the requested resource, how valuable it is, and if giving it to
you will put them in any danger.
Your contacts will expect you to repay them for any lost or
expended material help.
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
Adept: You can attempt to make a contact out of a NPC
with a successful Communication (Persuasion) test. The
GM will set the TN based on the likelihood of you knowing
the NPC or having mutual friends. The more distant the
NPC‘s homeland or social class from yours, the more
difficult the test will be. A contact will be friendly to you,
but won‘t go out of the way to help you without additional
motivation. You can‘t make a contact out of a NPC who
already dislikes you or is an enemy.
Once an NPC becomes a contact, you can ask them for
favors as in the Initiate Degree.
Expert: You gain contacts in another two major
organizations of your choice. Additionally, you can turn an
acquaintance into an ally with a show of loyalty. If you do
a significant favor for a contact, he will treat you as a friend
when you ask him for favors. He will go out of his way to
help you and will be willing to put himself in danger for
you.
Master: You gain contacts in another two major
organizations of your choice. Additionally, your friends
will be willing to risk their very lives for you if you can
convince them it is worth it.
Paragon: You have contacts within every major
organization you have ever had dealings with before, and
these contacts can be convinced to put their lives at risk for
you (as opposed to the master degree which works only on
your friends). You also find it easier to convince your
friends to put life and limb at risk (+3 to the Communication
(Persuasion) test).
Courtier
You’re experienced in the facts of courtly intrigue.
Initiate: You've learned to guard yourself even against
friends and relatives. Your Agency Rating (AR) is increased
by +2 against all social attacks. Your Social attacks inflict
1d6 + Communication damage.
Adept: The facts of courtly politics are second nature to you;
you gain an additional Stunt Point whenever you generate
stunt points during an Intrigue.
Expert: Your words have a biting sting to them, whenever
you would inflict Strain on a target, you move the target -2
persistent steps down he condition track instead of just -1
step. Characters avoid this much strain unless it could cause
more than a year's hardship for them. Your Social attacks
inflict 3d6 + Communication damage.
Master: Your honeyed words can melt even the coldest
heart. When you successfully make a Communication
(Persuasion or Deception) attack, the target's Disposition
improves by one step, only once per Encounter.
Paragon: You are feared in courtly circles, seeming to
spread rumor and ruin reputations with casual ease. You
can choose to build a Bond even when the target has his full
allotment of Bonds.
24
Crafting
You are skilled in the art of making something from bits and
pieces.
Initiate: Choose one piece of equipment or gear, you learn
the recipe for that item. You can create items of up to
Ordinary quality; normally you can only create items of
Crude or Poor quality.
Adept: Choose two more pieces of equipment or gear and
learn the recipe for them. You can create items of Pristine
quality or lower.
Expert: Choose two more pieces of equipment or gear and
learn the recipe for them. You can create items of
Outstanding quality or lower.
Master: You create wondrous items without even trying.
Whenever you try to craft an Ordinary-looking item, the
result is always Decorative. You can create items of Perfect
quality or lower.
Paragon: Whatever you touch turns to gold. When you try
to craft an Ordinary-quality item, the result is always Fine.
You can create items of Legendary quality or lower.
Note: Items of Epic and Divine quality cannot be reliably
constructed.
Creation Magic Training
You study the first school of Matter, manipulating life
energy to your will.
Initiate: You can channel spells through the Creation
School, and can cast spells with up to Minor Effects. Your
Minor effects cannot have a duration greater than 24 hours.
Adept: You have tapped into the waters of life; your Minor
effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you can
use Moderate effects with a duration up to 24 hours.
Additionally, when you cast a Creation spell that restores
health, the health you restore is increased by 1d6.
Expert: Creation magic flows through you, your Moderate
effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you can
use Major effects with a duration up to 24 hours. You can
learn a free Rote spell from the Creation School.
Master: Your knowledge of creation magic is deep, your
Major effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you
can use Extreme effects with a duration up to 24 hours. You
can learn a second free Rote spell from the Creation School
that doesn’t count against your total.
Paragon: You are a font of creation, a rival to the Creators
of the Universe; your Extreme effects can now have a
duration up to Permanent. You can learn a third free Rote
spell from the Creation School.
Dirty Fighting
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
Your enemies would consider your training dishonorable,
but what can you expect from bleeding corpses?
Initiate: You’d stab a man in the back. Whenever you have
combat advantage against a target (the target is prone, you
are flanking the target, the opponent isn’t aware of your
presence, etc.) you inflict an additional 1d6 damage on all
damage rolls against that target.
Adept: You take every advantage you can get, you can
apply poison to any bladed weapon as an action in combat
without the risk of affecting yourself.
Expert: You are deadly, though your enemies seldom
recognize this until it is too late. You can use an action to
deceive an adjacent opponent into making a critical
mistake. You make a Communication (Deception) test vs.
your target’s Mental Defense; on a success you have combat
advantage against him for the rest of the round.
Master: You know how to administer poison in just the
right way. You can affect a target with a poison twice in the
same encounter - normally a poison can only affect a target
once.
Paragon: In certain circles you are feared and watched with
awe, when you successfully hit a target you have combat
advantage against, you inflict an additional 1d6 bonus
damage (for a total of 2d6 bonus damage).
Enchanting
You have studied the magical art of Enchanting objects.
Initiate: You’ve learned to unlock some of the secrets of the
magical flows that fuel the world. You can now enchant
objects using a single spellstone, which you must acquire
from another source.
Adept: Your understanding of the flows of magic in the
world has grown such that you can now create your own
Minor Spellstones with a month’s effort and materials
worth as much as the spellstone’s cost. You’ve also learned
how to tap into more of the world’s magical flows - when
you create a Magic Item, your spellstones grant 7 Spirit
toward the spell’s total cost instead of 5 Spirit.
Expert: Your deft hands can now tame much more potent
flows of magic - you can now create Moderate Spellstones
at cost with a month’s worth of effort. You can also use up
to two spellstones in the creation of a single item.
Master: As a master of your art, you can create Major
Spellstones with a month’s effort and consuming materials
equal to the stones’ cost. However, when you create Minor
spellstones, they cost only half as much to complete.
Additionally, the Potency of your enchantments (to dispel)
is 5 per spellstone, instead of the usual 3.
Paragon: The flows of magic in objects are yours to
command! You can create Extreme spellstones at cost with
a month’s effort, and Moderate spellstones at half cost. You
can use three spellstones in your creations, and are also
capable of creating Artifacts - speak with your Storyteller to
determine an appropriate exotic component for the
artifact’s Creation.
25
Endurance
You are hardier than the average man and can take more
hits than most
Initiate: You gain an additional 10 + Constitution Health,
and you gain a +1 bonus to your Physical Defense.
Adept: You gain an additional 10 + Constitution Health.
Additionally, you can spend an action to gain a second
wind; you pay 3 Spirit and move +1 step on the condition
track; you can do this as often as you want, provided you
have the available Spirit Points.
Expert: You gain an additional 10 + Constitution Health,
and you gain a +1 bonus to your Physical Defense (added
to the Initiate bonus for a total of +2).
Master: You gain an additional 10 + Constitution Health.
Additionally, you can spend an action to shake off minor
wounds; you pay 2 Spirit and recover 2d6 + Constitution
health.
Paragon: You gain an additional 10 + Constitution Health,
and you gain a +1 bonus to your Physical Defense (added
to your already-existing bonuses for a total of +3).
Entropy Magic Training
You study the second school of Matter, twisting the forces
of death and decay to your will.
Initiate: You can channel spells through the Entropy
School, and can cast spells with up to Minor Effects. Your
Minor effects cannot have a duration greater than 24 hours.
Adept: You have studied the effects of death and decay;
your Minor effects can have a duration up to Permanent,
and you can use Moderate effects with a duration up to 24
hours. Additionally, your entropic magic has staying power
- all entropic spells you cast are doubled in duration (24
hours becomes 48 hours, 2 turns become 4 turns, etc.)
without an increase in Spirit cost.
Expert: Your knowledge of Entropic magic is deep, your
Moderate effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and
you can use Major effects with a duration up to 24 hours.
You can learn a free Rote spell from the Entropy School that
doesn’t count against your total rote spells.
Master: The entropic forces flow through your veins, your
Major effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you
can use Extreme effects with a duration up to 24 hours. You
can learn an additional free Rote spell from the Entropy
School that doesn’t count against your total rote spells.
Paragon: Sometimes, plants just wilt when you look at
them, such is your link to the entropic forces, your Extreme
effects can now have a duration up to Permanent. You can
learn a third free Rote spell from the Entropy School that
doesn’t count against your total rote spells.
Followers
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
You are skilled in utilizing followers to their maximum
effectiveness.
Initiate: You’ve learned how to best deploy your followers
so as to strike at your enemies. When you make a successful
Directed Strike attack, you add your Cunning to the
damage inflicted.
Adept: You know how to ask just the right questions and
give just the right directions to eek the most out of your
followers. When an expert follower performs a task, you
gain a +3 bonus to the roll, instead of the usual +2.
Expert: You can keep tabs on more followers in the ebb and
flow of combat. The maximum number of followers you can
have readied at any one time is increased by 2.
Master: Your followers are willing to lay their lives down
for you, treat the loyalty of your followers as one grade
higher than it is for all purposes.
Paragon: Your command is such that you can give orders
with but a glance, you can make a Directed Strike attack as
a Free Action once per round - but only on your turn.
Herbalism
You know how to brew potions, poultices, and poisons
from base materials found in the wilderness.
Initiate: You can brew remedies and poisons from wild
plants. You can use up to one ingredient to make herbal
concoctions and they can be up to Ordinary Quality.
Adept: You’re skilled in finding the rare plants and
ingredients to brew your herbal mixtures. Every day you
spend searching for ingredients in the wild, you add 1d6
silver pieces to a single ingredient in your Herbalist’s Bag
which can be spent making Remedies or Poisons. You can
also create remedies and potions of up to Pristine quality.
Note: Each section of forest contains only so many
ingredients that can be found (typically 2d6x10 sp), when
you exhaust the forest’s supply you must wait a year before
foraging there again.
Expert: You have made a name for yourself in the Herbal
community. You can use up to two ingredients to make
herbal concoctions and they can be up to Outstanding
quality.
Master: Your concoctions have one hell of a kick, increase
the potency and dice of any remedy or poison you make by
+1. You can brew remedies or poisons of up to Perfect
quality.
Paragon: You add that extra special ingredient to all your
concoctions. You can use up to three ingredients to make
herbal concoctions and they can be up to Legendary quality.
Linguistics
26
You learn new languages easily. Discuss languages with
your Storyteller to determine which languages are
appropriate for your game. Languages are broken into
groups based on racial lines (e.g. Elven, Dwarven, and
Goblinoid) with each individual nation or region using its
own dialect of that language.
Initiate: Choose one additional language group that you
know, you speak this language group in a foreign dialect.
Adept: You learn an additional language group, and can
attempt to imitate a specific dialect with a successful TN 15
Communication (Performance) test.
Expert: You learn an additional language group, and can
choose two additional dialects for each language you know
- and speak the language in any of these dialects perfectly.
Master: You learn an additional language, and can learn to
perfectly speak a dialect of a language you know if exposed
to it for a full day (such as with a speaking coach or on the
streets of a place that speaks it), if you make a successful TN
15 Communication (Performance) test.
Paragon: You know every major Language group, and can
learn secret languages (that you don’t already know) with a
successful TN 15 Cunning (Research) test and a week of
being exposed to the language.
Note: All characters begin play knowing the language of
their race and dialect of their home country. They also know
the Common tongue, a language used only by merchants &
travelers which cannot convey complex ideas.
Martial Arts Training
A wise man knows that he will not always be armed when
a fight breaks out; a wiser man trains so that this doesn’t
matter. You are the wiser man.
Initiate: Your hands are as tough as Iron. When you make
an unarmed attack you inflict 1d6 damage instead of the
usual 1d3. If your unarmed attacks already deal 1d6 or
more damage, you instead gain a +2 bonus to damage.
Adept: Fighting without weapons has become second-
nature to you, you gain an additional stunt point each time
you generate stunt points on an unarmed attack.
Expert: You have an iron grip, when you perform the Grab
stunt your target must break free or be the target of any
attacks against you for two turns instead of only one.
Master: Students line up to beg for the honor of studying
under you. Your hands are so quick that you may snatch an
arrow right out of the air. You can spend an action to
descend into a defensive posture, gaining a +3 to your
Physical Defense against all ranged attacks until the start of
your next turn.
Paragon: Armor is no obstacle to you, and your enemies
must fear you because of it. Halve the Resistance of any
target you strike with an unarmed attack before subtracting
from your damage.
Melee Training
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
You’ve been trained in the arts of fighting in the chaos of
melee.
Initiate: You can assume the basic fighting stances of the
fighting style you are using; this provides you a bonus
based on the fighting style you are assuming. (Using a
shield is considered fighting with dual-weapon style.)
Dual-Weapon Style: +1 Attack
Single-Weapon Style: +1 Physical Defense
Two-Hander Style: +1 Damage
Adept: You have become accustomed to fighting in melee,
when you are in your fighting stance, you gain an
additional stunt point each time you generate stunt points
on an attack.
Expert: You are one of the greats; when you assume you’re
fighting stance, you instead gain a +2 to the associated style
bonus.
Master: You have surpassed all the expectations of your
master, and could probably found a martial school of your
own. Whenever you roll for damage, reroll any 1’s and add
the new result to the total (keeping the 1); keep rerolling 1’s
until you stop getting them.
Paragon: You are battle incarnate. When you fail an attack
roll you inflict half damage instead of no damage.
Performance
You have a natural talent for performing in front of crowds.
Initiate: You know how to play an instrument, sing, or
dance. While performing you can make a Communication
(Performance) test vs. a target’s Mental Defense to change
his mood. Hostile or unfriendly characters can’t be targets.
Adept: Your musical journey continues as you learn to play
more instruments. You know how to play a total number of
instruments equal to your Communication. While you
provide a background performance you can make a
Communication (Performance) test vs. a target’s Mental
Defense; on a success, any allies gain a +1 to all Social rolls
while dealing with the target - as he is simply in a more
cooperative mood.
Expert: Your music is so heavenly that only the most cold-
hearted can avoid listening. You can make a
Communication (Performance) test vs. all targets within
hearing range (typically out to Long Range, depending on
background noise, walls, etc…) Mental Defense. On a
success, the targets will come and listen to you, leaving their
posts to get a good spot to watch (potentially leaving doors
unguarded).
Master: You are a true virtuoso. You can play all common
instruments. If you come across a more exotic instrument,
you can learn to play it with 1d6 weeks of practice.
Additionally, if you fail a Communication (Performance)
test, you can reroll it, but you must keep the result of the
second roll.
27
Paragon: There is no situation that can’t be improved by the
right music, and you know how to play that music. You can
play (or sing or dance) music that bolsters your
companion’s chances to achieve any task they’re working
on, while you dedicate yourself to playing, your
companions gain a +2 bonus to all non-combat tests.
Physician Training
You’ve received formal training in the science of physic -
the art of healing without magical assistance.
Initiate: In addition to learning not to pass out on seeing
mangled and broken flesh, you’ve learned how to patch up
the wounded. As an action, you can make a Cunning
(Healing) test with a TN of 11 + (the number of injuries the
target has) to heal a living creature you are Engaged with.
With a success, the target recovers an amount of Health
equal to your Dragon Die.
Using this talent requires a Healing Kit, and consumes one
use for each attempt you make. You can’t heal a target
unless he has taken damage since he was last healed with
this talent.
Adept: You’ve mastered the basics of emergency first aid.
In addition to healing twice (2x) your Dragon Die with the
Initiate procedure of this talent, you move targets +1 step
up the condition track (to Horrid Condition) when you
stabilize a dying character.
Expert: You’ve delved into the rare arts of surgery, in
addition to healing three times (3x) your Dragon Die with
the Initiate procedure of this talent, you increase the
Advanced Test Threshold of recovering Injuries by one (1)
more than your Dragon Die when tending to them.
Master: You have tended to more wounds than most
professional soldiers have even seen. In addition to healing
four times (4x) your Dragon die when using the Initiate
procedure of this talent, you can expend a use of a Healer’s
Kit as an Action to move a character you’re Engaged with
+1 step up the condition track, up to a maximum of Step 7:
Good Condition.
Paragon: Your healing hands are perhaps the most skilled
in your generation. You heal five times (5x) your Dragon
Die result when you use the Initiate procedure, move
characters you’ve stabilized from death +2 steps up the
condition track (to Terrible Condition), treat your Dragon
Die as two higher (+2) when helping someone recover from
Injuries, and can raise a character’s Condition up to Step 8:
Great Condition with the Master procedure.
Piloting
You can drive land and sea vehicles such as wagons and
ships, at higher tiers you can pilot more complicated
vehicles - potentially even Airships.
Initiate: You understand the techniques and practices of
piloting small vehicles. When driving Animal-pulled
vehicles or small ships up to the size of a yacht you can
travel at full speed without making tests to keep the vehicle
under control.
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
Adept: Your experience with vehicles teaches you how to
properly make tight turns and course corrections. If you fail
a Strength (Driving) test, you can reroll it, but you must take
the result of the second roll.
Expert: You are accustomed to more complicated vehicles.
You no longer have to make tests to understand how to
operate Steamships, Iceships, Airships or large ocean-going
ships.
Master: Ships under your command seem to know that they
are being driven by one of the best, and respond to your
every touch and order. Vehicles have their Turning Radius
cut in half while you pilot them.
Paragon: When you command a vessel, it refuses to let you
die. Instead of quickly sinking, crashing or falling from the
sky when its Health is reduced to 0, a ship (or airship/land
vehicle) will slowly sink, drift down or crawl to a stop over
the next 5 minutes, allowing plenty of time for you to
abandon it.
Primal Magic Training
You study the second school of energy, bending the
elements to your will.
Initiate: You can channel spells through the Primal School,
and can cast spells with up to Minor Effects. Your Minor
effects cannot have a duration greater than 24 hours.
Adept: Your control over the elements improves; your
Minor effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you
can use Moderate effects with a duration up to 24 hours.
Additionally, when you cast a Primal spell that inflicts
damage, your spell inflicts an additional 1d6 damage.
Expert: Elemental energy flows through you like a conduit,
your Moderate effects can have a duration up to Permanent,
and you can use Major effects with a duration up to 24
hours. You can learn a free Rote spell from the Primal
School that doesn’t count against your total rote spells.
Master: You master the primal energies of the cosmos, your
Major effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you
can use Extreme effects with a duration up to 24 hours. You
can learn a second Rote spell from the Primal School that
doesn’t count against your total rote spells.
Paragon: The primal energies of the universe bow to your
every whim, your Extreme effects can now have a duration
up to Permanent. You can learn a third Rote spell from the
Primal School that doesn’t count against your total rote
spells.
Quick Reflexes
28
You react to threats quickly and instinctually.
Initiate: You may prepare yourself for action in an instant.
Ready is a Free Action for you.
Adept: You can flip yourself up or drop down with
lightning speed. Going prone or standing up is a Free
Action for you.
Expert: It is hard to get the drop on you. You may reroll
your Dexterity (Initiative) test at the start of combat, but
must take the result of the second roll.
Master: Those that try to flee from you are fools, foolish
fools. The “Press the Attack” action is a Free Action for you.
Paragon: You are prepared to defend yourself at a moment’s
notice. You can take the Defend action as a Free Action.
Ranged Training
Whether bow, shuriken or firearm, you have trained in the
art of killing from a distance.
Initiate: Due to long hours of practice, you can reload faster
than the average bowman. Reloading a bow or readying
another throwing weapon is a Free Action, while reloading
a slow-reloading weapon takes only one action.
Adept: Your experience and skill with bows, throwing
knives and firearms is great; you gain an additional stunt
point each time you earn stunt points on a ranged attack.
Expert: Your aim is deadly; you inflict an additional +2
damage on any ranged attacks you make.
Master: Your enemies rarely even get in range to shoot at
you, such is your skill. The maximum range of any ranged
weapon you wield is increased by one band (to roughly ½
mile, if increased to Extreme).
Paragon: You should probably open an archery Dojo,
generations of young people could benefit from your skill.
All ranged attacks you make are treated as if they were
benefiting from the Pierce Armor stunt.
Riding
You are a skilled rider and know how to handle horses and
other beasts of burden.
Initiate: You can jump into the saddle quickly. Mounting a
steed is a free action for you.
Adept: You can ride like the wind. When you ride a mount,
you can take a move action as a free action once per round,
in addition to any free moves the mount has.
Expert: You were born in the saddle… You may re-roll a
failed Dexterity (Riding) test but you must keep the result
of the second roll.
Master: … and in the saddle you will die. You cannot be
dismounted by mundane means such as stunts.
Paragon: You are your mount’s master, and your life is
more important than its. When an attack is made against
you, you can choose to have it automatically hit your mount
instead (chosen before the attack roll is made).
Spirit Magic Training
Chapter Three: Focuses & Talents
You study the first school of energy, mastering the
mysteries of spirits and magic itself.
Initiate: You can channel spells through the Spirit School,
and can cast spells with up to Minor Effects. Your Minor
effects cannot have a duration greater than 24 hours.
Adept: You delve into the secrets of Spirit; your Minor
effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you can
use Moderate effects with a duration up to 24 hours.
Additionally, when you cast a Spirit spell, its spellpower is
considered 1 point higher for purposes of dispelling (both
to dispel and resist being dispelled).
Expert: You are a conduit of raw power, your Moderate
effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you can
use Major effects with a duration up to 24 hours. You can
learn a free Rote spell from the Spirit School that doesn’t
count against your total Rote spells.
Master: You master the spiritual energies, your Major
effects can have a duration up to Permanent, and you can
use Extreme effects with a duration up to 24 hours. You can
learn an additional free Rote spell from the Spirit School
that doesn’t count against your total Rote spells.
Paragon: Your skill with Spirit magic is such that magic
flows through you like a river, your Extreme effects can
now have a duration up to Permanent. You can learn a third
free Rote spell from the Spirit School that doesn’t count
against your total Rote spells.
Stoic
Your mind is like an iron vault, and your will unwavering.
Initiate: You gain an additional 10 + Willpower Spirit
Points, and you gain a +1 bonus to your Mental Defense.
Adept: You gain an additional 10 + Willpower Spirit Points.
Expert: You gain an additional 10 + Willpower Spirit Points,
and you gain a +1 bonus to your Mental Defense (added to
the adept bonus for a total of +2).
Master: You gain an additional 10 + Willpower Spirit Points.
Paragon: You gain an additional 10 + Willpower Spirit
Points, and you gain a +1 bonus to your Mental Defense
(which stacks with Expert and Initiate for a total of +3).
29
Survival
You are skilled in the art of surveillance & overland travel.
Initiate: You know how to survive on the road. Under
normal conditions you can keep (Cunning) people fed,
hydrated, and warm/cool in the wilderness. In
extraordinary conditions (such as on the tundra or deep in
a desert) this may require a Constitution (Survival) test.
Normally, you simply don’t know how to survive long
voyages without supplies and must make Constitution
(Survival) tests to keep just yourself fed.
Adept: You can use the lay of the land to your advantage.
If you fail a Dexterity (Stealth) test, you can re-roll it, but
you must keep the results of the second roll.
Expert: You are a skilled observer. If you fail a Perception
(Seeing) test, you can re-roll it, but you must keep the
results of the second roll.
Master: You are a master tracker. If you fail a Perception
(Tracking) test, you can re-roll it, but you must keep the
results of the second roll.
Paragon: You could found a school with what you know
about wilderness exploration, and the land seemingly tells
you the correct direction to tread. If you fail a Cunning
(Navigation) test, you can re-roll it, but you must keep the
results of the second roll.
Thievery
What’s yours is yours and what’s theirs is yours too.
Initiate: You don‘t let locks stand in your way. If you fail a
Dexterity (Lock Picking) test, you can re-roll it, but you
must keep the results of the second roll.
Adept: You are familiar with many types of traps. If you fail
a Dexterity (Traps) test, you can re-roll it, but you must keep
the results of the second roll.
Expert: Your hands are fast and soft to the touch. If you fail
a Dexterity (Legerdemain) test, you can re-roll it, but you
must keep the results of the second roll.
Master: You know how to find what‘s hidden. If you fail a
Perception (Searching) test, you can reroll it, but you must
keep the results of the second roll.
Paragon: Your lies are the truth; that’s my story and I’m
sticking to it. If you fail a Communication (Deception) test,
you can re-roll it, but you must keep the results of the
second roll.
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear
Chapter Four
Equipment and Gear
Your character has many types of equipment to choose
from, all of which can be found in this chapter. During the
course of play, your character will have the chance to earn
(or steal!) money, and may buy or gain access to additional
equipment. In this chapter you’ll find details on armor,
weapons, clothing, foodstuffs, and miscellaneous goods
and services. The prices presented are typical of Ferelden,
but they can vary widely depending on the vagaries of
supply and demand.
Currency
The Ageless RPG uses a
standard currency system to
make transactions easer, while
every nation & race stamps their
own coins in varying shapes, sizes, and purities - it is
assumed that they contain the same amount of precious
metal. So what if the elves have elaborately engraved coins
mixed with tons of tin while the dwarves have small coins
of pure metal -when they have the same value.
For the purposes of the game, a coin’s origin doesn’t matter,
so the following terms are used as a standard: Gold Piece
(gp), Silver Piece (sp), and Copper Piece (cp).
100 copper pieces equals 1 silver piece, and 100 silver pieces
equals 1 gold piece.
1 gold piece = 100 silver pieces = 10,000 copper pieces
Prices for most items are given in silver pieces, as that is the
most common currency and the one used for day-to-day
transactions. Gold pieces are much rarer and even one
represents a good deal of money.
30
It is assumed that a free farmer earns roughly 1sp a day,
which translates into roughly $50.00 modern dollars. If it
helps, keep this in mind when speaking in character.
Encumbrance
The Ageless RPG emphasizes sweeping stories, epic tales,
and fast action. Keeping track of the weight of every torch
isn’t fun, but knowing that a character is loaded down with
the weapons he just stole from the guardroom is an
important story element; so is having some idea of how
many days’ worth of rations a rouge can carry as he
marches across the frozen wastes.
In general, players and the Storyteller won’t need to track a
character’s encumbrance (how much he’s carrying on his
person). Occasionally, however, it may play an important
part in the story, and a player needs to know if the weight,
& collective bulk of the stuff he’s carrying inhibits him.
Encumbrance Values
All of the gear listed in this chapter has an encumbrance
value. Most items that can be commonly carried have a
value of 0 through 5 - from relatively light objects (such as
clothing and belt knives) to heavier items (such as great
swords and plate armor). The encumbrance value of armor
is reduced by three (3) when it is worn, where the weight is
distributed properly), the listed value is for when it is
carried - when it’s just another item.
Encumbrance Threshold
Characters have an “encumbrance threshold” of 5 plus their
Strength and Constitution ratings, which limits how much
they can carry under normal conditions without penalty. A
total encumbrance value over this threshold means the
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear
character is “encumbered, and suffers a -1 penalty to all
Physical rolls for every point over his limit. A character
carrying more than twice his Threshold is incapable of
movement (he’s too weighted down).
Shopping
When you first make a character you can peruse this
chapter and purchase equipment and gear at face value.
Once you start playing, however, you must find someone
willing to sell you a piece of gear before you can buy it - a
more challenging prospect than you might think.
There is no store that stocks every piece of gear you might
need, nor are there armorsmiths around every corner to sell
you their High-Quality Platemail when you suddenly
decide you need it. When you decide to buy or sell
something your GM should make a quick decision as to
what settlement type you are in. The following table is used
in this section for determining how easy it is to find what
you need.
Settlement Population Value
Village less than 200 25sp
Town a few thousand 100sp
City tens of 400sp
Metropolis
thousands
100,000+ 16gp
Buying
When you decide to make a purchase, if the cost of the item
is less than the Value for the Settlement you are in, you have
no trouble finding the item. If the cost of the item is higher,
however, you need to make a Perception (Searching) test
with a TN of 11 plus two (2) for every order of magnitude
above the settlement value the item is. For example, looking
for an item worth 100sp in a village would have a TN of 19:
11 for the base, plus eight because 100sp divided by 25sp is
four. On a success, you find the item for sale, on a failure -
you can’t find one available.
When you find an item you can pay its Cost and get the
item. For extremely expensive or high-quality items, you
and the vendor might negotiate or haggle for the price,
making a Communication (Bargaining) opposed test with
the item’s price changing by 5% times the Dragon Die in
favor of the winner. For truly unique or expensive items
your GM may decide that you need to convince the vendor
to sell it to you. This usually takes the form of a roleplaying
encounter, but may require an adventure all its own.
Selling
When you decide to sell an old piece of equipment or
treasure, you can get one-half (½) of its Cost from a
merchant. Merchants are only willing to pay up to the
Settlement’s Value. To sell more valuable items you must
find a buyer with a Perception (Searching) test with a TN
equal to 11 plus two (2) for every order of magnitude above
the Settlement’s Value you are trying to sell the item for. On
a success you find someone willing to buy the item, on a
31
failure nobody is willing to pay that much for it (they will,
however, pay up to the settlement’s value for it).
When you find someone willing to buy the item, you can
sell it and get one-half (½) of its Cost in coin. For expensive
or high-quality items, you and the purchaser might
negotiate or haggle for the price, making a Communication
(Bargaining) opposed test with the item’s price changing by
5% times the Dragon Die in favor of the winner. When you
are selling truly expensive or unique items, you may need
to find “the right” buyer, which may require a roleplaying
encounter or even an adventure all its own.
Rarity and Quantity
Some items, such as those made of higher quality or from
superior materials, are simply not available for sale in many
locales. The storyteller is fully justified in telling you that an
item you are looking for simply doesn’t exist where you are
looking.
Your storyteller is also the final arbiter of the quantity of
each item in a particular settlement. A village might have a
particular 100sp potion you are looking for, but the GM
may decide that it will only ever have one of those potions,
and no searching you do will change that.
Repairing Damage
From time to time your weapons or armor may become
damaged, usually through the Sunder Arms/Armor stunt
or magic. Repairing a damaged item is fairly easy, costing
10% of the item’s value per point of damage restored and
taking a day’s worth of work (unless it is exceedingly large).
Characters with the Crafting talent and the recipe to the
item can repair it at half that cost with the proper tools.
Armor
Armor is extremely common in the Ageless RPG, the world
is a dangerous place and small skirmishes between rival
lords are commonplace. Bandits and Farmers too poor to
afford better armor can be found in Leather armors, while
most professional warriors make use of Mail armors as they
are relatively easy to make. Only the extremely wealthy,
knights and nobles typically, are found wearing Plate
Armor.
Armor Details
The accompanying table provides game information for
common armors appropriate for virtually any setting.
Armor Rating: Each armor type has a numeric rating. You
add this rating directly to your Physical Resistance, and add
half this rating (rounded down) to all other Resistances.
Each time you take damage in combat, you subtract your
Resistance to that form of damage before you lose Health.
This applies each time you are hit, so over time even poor
armor can protect you from a lot of damage. Certain attacks,
however, can bypass the effects of armor. They inflict what
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

is called penetrating damage, which ignores armor al-

together. Armor offers no protection against penetrating
damage.

Encumbrance: Each set of armor has a listed encumbrance, that not all clothing will have an armor rating and it is
this is the value that the armor applies to a character’s total perfectly acceptable to have normal clothing without
encumbrance when it is being carried. However, when it is armor. This can represent any type of clothing from the
worn, it’s weight and bulk is distributed much more evenly, robes of a mage to the padding of a dog trainer.
reducing this value by three (3).
Light Leather Armor: Boiling in water or wax hardens
Armor Penalty: Each set of armor has an Armor Penalty, leather, which can then be fashioned into chest and back
which represents the armor’s bulk and how much it plates, shoulder guards, vambraces and greaves. More
restricts your movement. You apply this penalty to your flexible leather can then be used for leggings, gauntlets and
Physical Defense. so forth. Thusly fashioned, leather can be turned into
sufficiently protective armor for a relatively low cost.
Cost: This is the armor’s price in Silver Pieces.
Heavy Leather Armor: Working with the already protective
Armor leather plates, you can rivet rings or small metal plates into
Armor Armor the leather, providing extra protection from slashing blows.
Type Encumbrance Cost
Rating Penalty Often, these plates and rings are on the interior of the
Heavy Clothing 1 1 0 5 sp armor, to conceal their location from the wearer’s enemies,
Light Leather 3 2 1 15 sp leaving only small metal studs on the exterior –giving the
Heavy Leather 4 3 2 25 sp armor name Studded Leather.
Light Mail 6 4 3 75 sp
Heavy Mail 7 5 3 125sp Light Mail Armor: Made from rows of overlapping metal
Light Plate 9 6 4 350sp scales riveted or sewn onto a backing of flexible leather or
Heavy Plate 10 7 5 525sp fabric and affixed to each other with metal wire to prevent
weapons from sliding ‘under’ a layer of scales on an
Armor Descriptions upward strike. Scale armor is highly protective, and finds
use among professional warriors of all stripes – in spite of
Descriptions of the various armors follow. They are classed its fairly high price.
into broad categories for ease of play. It is not important to
know every little piece of armor your character wears. For Heavy Mail Armor: Chain armor is made of interlocking
game purposes you just need to know the overall level of metal rings riveted closed to form a mesh, mail is flexible
protection. Light Mail, for example, could indicate a mail and tough, capable of turning aside the blows of swords
shirt and a helmet, a full suit of ring mail, or a mix of heavy and arrows with equal ease. Mail is normally worn over a
leather and chainmail with a coif. layer of quilted cloth to make it more comfortable, reduce
chafing, and absorb some of the force from blows. It is by
Heavy Clothing: This armor reflects particularly well made and far the most popular form of armor in all the world.
or tough clothing. Only poor farmers or alley trash would
be wearing clothing with no protective value at all. Note

32
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Light Plate Armor: While mail armor is highly effective, its Cost: This is the Shield’s price in silver pieces.
links can break after being struck, leaving a warrior
vulnerable to repeated blows. As a remedy to this flaw, Shields
partial plate adds rigid plates to the torso, arms, and legs to Type Defense Damage Encum Cost
absorb blows. A common addition to the mail is a Light Shield +2 1d6 1 15 sp
brigandine vest, which is made by sandwiching metal Spiked Shield +2 1d6+2 1 30 sp
plates between two layers of leather. Partial plate is Heavy Shield +3 1d6+1 2 50 sp
expensive, and only the wealthy can afford the protection it
brings.
Heavy Plate Armor: A full suit of armor favored by knights
and lords, plate armor is composed of shaped steel plates Shield Descriptions
fitted over most of the body. The plate is strapped and Shields are grouped into broad classifications for ease of
buckled on over a padded doublet, evenly distributing the use. It is left to the storyteller and player to decide on their
weight over the entire body, so it is less restrictive than it final form, a Light shield, for example, might be a teardrop
might seem. buckler strapped to your forearm, or a small spiked targe
carried with a handle.
Superior Quality Armor Light Shield: The most
There is a critical distinction between an upside-down cook
popular shield amongst
pot and a helm crafted by a master of the king’s armories.
warriors, it provides good
Armors of superior quality are crafted such that they are
protection without being
more protective and their weight more evenly distributed.
ungainly. Medium shields can
While full details on Quality are covered in Chapter 7:
be rectangular, round, or kite
Crafting, several more common armor qualities are listed
shaped.
here.
Spiked Shield: Common
Quality Armor amongst duelist, a spiked
Cost Armor Minimum shield is a light shield with
Quality
Modifier Rating Constitution several extruding spikes on
Crude 1/4x -3 +3 its face and sides, used to
Poor 1/2x -1 +1 cut and maim in combat.
Ordinary - +0 -0
Heavy Shield: This is the large shield of heavy infantry
Fine +1 gp +1 -0
troops. It is most common on the battlefield, as its use
Pristine +5 gp +2 -1
requires the kind of training usually provided only to
Superior +25 gp +3 -1
professional soldiers. Heavy shields can be rectangular or
Shields kite shaped.

Along with armor, shields protect a character from harm.
From the simplest leather wrapped wooden targe to the
impressive tower shield, a shield can mean the difference
between life and death.
Shield Details
The accompanying table provides the game system
information for the most common shields found on the
battlefield.
Defense: If you are carrying a shield you can take the
Defense action and gain the listed bonus to your Physical
Defense instead of the usual +1 bonus. Characters without
at least the Initiate degree of the Melee Training talent can
only gain a +2 defense bonus from using a shield, regardless
of the type of shield used.
Damage: This value is the amount of damage the shield
inflicts on a successful attack when used as a weapon.
Encumbrance (Encum): This value is the amount that is
added to a character’s Encumbrance Total when it is carried.
Superior Quality Shields
Shields have more in common with weapons than they do
armor. A shield of superior quality shield is treated in all
respects like a superior quality weapon, gaining bonuses to
Attack and Damage rolls.
Weapons
Adventuring is not a safe occupation. Sooner or later you’ll
find yourself cornered by rampaging zombies. When that
happens, you’ll want a good weapon in your hand.
Weapon Groups
Weapons are divided into Groups of similar implements.
By default, you can use any weapon from any group
without penalty, but if you do not have a Focus in the group
of the weapon you are using you do not benefit from any
special rules the weapon has.
The Weapon Groups are:

33
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Blades, Hafted, Pole, Brawling, Throwing, Bows, Firearms, Short Sword 1d6+2 -1 2 D,L 14s
Arcane Focus p
Broadsword 2d6 1 3 D,M 20s
Weapon Details H p
Damage: This value is the amount of damage the weapon Two-Handed Sword 3d6 3 4 D 23s
inflicts on a successful attack. p
Hafted Weapon Group
Encumbrance (Enc): This value is the amount that is added
Hatchet / Hammer 1d6+2 0 1 L 8sp
to a character’s Encumbrance Total when it is carried.
Mace 1d6+3 1 2 12s
p
Minimum Strength: Weapons have a minimum Strength Morningstar/Battle 2d6+2 2 3 M 14s
Axe H p
recommendation. Individuals with a lower strength than
that listed won’t be able to wield the weapon to its full Two-Handed 2d6+4 3 4 O 20s
Maul/Axe p
capacity. You may wield any weapon, regardless of
minimum Strength recommendation, however you suffer a Polearm Weapon Group
negative penalty to damage and attack for each point your Quarterstaff 1d6+1 - 2 D,L 6sp
Strength is lower than the recommendation. Spear 1d6+3 0 2 R 20s
p
Cost: The Weapon’s price in silver pieces. Pike 2d6+1 2 3 D, 16s
R p
Special Rules Halberd 2d6+3 3 4 R 25s
L - Light Weapon: You can use your Dexterity instead of p
your Strength to make attack rolls with this weapon. Your Brawling Weapon Group
Focuses apply normally. Fist 1d3 - - 0sp
MH - Main Hand: This weapon is too heavy and ungainly Gauntlet +1 - 0 4sp
to be effectively wielded in your off hand, you need a Improvised Weapon 1d6-1 ~ 1 ~
Strength 3 higher than its Minimum Strength Throwing Weapon Group
recommendation to use it in your off hand. Sling 1d6 - 0 L 4sp
Throwing Knife 1d6+1 - 0 L 10s
D - Defensive: The weapon lends itself well to deflecting p
blows, increase your Physical Defense by 1 while wielding Throwing Axe 1d6+3 1 1 10s
this weapon - you can only gain this benefit once, even if p
dual wielding Defensive weapons. Javelin 2d6 2 2 M 12s
O - Overwhelming: This weapon inflicts crushing wounds H p
even through armor - the minimum damage this weapon Bows Weapon Group
can inflict on a successful hit, after subtracting Resistance, Short Bow 1d6+1 1 3 8sp
is your Strength. Long Bow 2d6+1 3 4 20s
p
R - Reach: This weapon can strike out at foes beyond arm’s Light Crossbow 2d6 1 4 20s
reach. This allows a character to be Engaged with other p
characters who consider him to be at Short Range, even if Heavy Crossbow 3d6 2 5 S 30s
this exceeds the maximum # of Engaged opponents. p
S - Slow Reload: It takes 2 actions to reload this weapon Firearms Weapon Group
instead of the usual 1 action. Pistol 1d6+3 0 1 S 20s
p
M - Magic: This weapon adds its Damage and Attack Bonus Musket 2d6+3 1 4 S 30s
to Spell Attack Rolls and Damage. p
Rifle 2d6+2 1 4 S 50s
Weapons p
Weapon Damag Str En * Cos Double-Barreled* - +1 5 3x
e . c t Arcane Focus Weapon Group
Bladed Weapon Group Wand/Orb/Spellboo +1 - 1 M 20s
Dagger 1d6 - 0 L 9sp k p

34
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Superior Quality Weapons Javelin

Short Bow
Short
Medium
There is a difference, clearly, between a pitted, rusty
Long Bow Long
longsword on one hand and a longsword new-forged by
Light Crossbow Medium
dwarves from veridium mined from their ancestral vaults
Heavy Crossbow Long
on the other. Weapons of superlative quality are treasures
Pistol Short
that bring high market prices if they can be found at all.
Musket Medium
Quality melee weapons are better balanced and grant their
Rifle Long
wielders’ improved chances to strike a damaging blow,
increasing both the Attack Roll and Damage. Weapon Descriptions
Descriptions of the various weapons follow. Sometimes a
Quality Weapons weapon may represent a category of similar weapons. This
Attack is noted in the text.
Quality Cost Modifier Damage
Bonus
Crude 1/4x -3 -3 Bladed Weapon Group
Poor 1/2x -1 -1 Weapons of the bladed group are typified by their long
Ordinary - +0 +0 cutting blades on the end of a relatively short handle.
Fine +1 gp +1 +0 Dagger: A long knife used to stab and pierce, often carried
Pristine +5 gp +2 +1 as a tool as much as a weapon.
Superior +25 gp +3 +1
Short Sword: Shorter than a broadsword but longer than a
Weapon Ranges dagger, this is a one-handed blade meant for thrusting.
Weapons from the Throwing, Bows, and Firearms weapon Broadsword: These one-handed blades are also known as
groups can be fired at great distances, all other weapons are long swords or simply ―swords. The blades are about three
considered Improvised weapons when thrown. All such feet in length, double-edged, and mounted on a hilt with a
weapons have a maximum effective range, beyond which heavy cross guard.
they can’t be used.
Two-Handed Sword: A large, powerful blade that requires
These weapons can make attacks against any character at both hands to wield effectively. Two-handed swords can
their Maximum Range or closer, but can’t attack beyond it. reach five or six feet in length.
Using ranged weapons while Engaged imposes a -2 penalty
Hafted Weapon Group
to the attack roll.
Weapons of the Hafted group are typified by the presence
Ranged Weapons of a heavy crushing or cutting head on the end of a shaft.
Weapon Maximum Range Hatchet/Hammer: The same properties that make these
Improvised Weapon Short useful tools for chopping wood and pounding nails make
Sling Medium them excellent weapons to chop limbs and pound heads
Throwing Axe Short
Throwing Knife Short

35
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Mace: A blunt crushing weapon designed to smash armor, Heavy Crossbow: A much heavier crossbow that must be
a mace consists of a heavy head of stone or metal set upon drawn using a winch, but which fires with a much greater
a wooden or metal shaft. force. A heavy crossbow is too large to reload while on
Morningstar/Battle Axe: Short-hafted weapons with a horseback - though it can still be fired while mounted.
spiked head or broad-headed axe on the business end, used
to crush and cleave through armor and shields. Firearms Weapon Group
Weapons of this group use firedust (a substance similar to
Two-Handed Maul/Axe: A greater cousin to the
gunpowder) to throw balls of lead or stone at high speeds.
Morningstar or battle axe, this imposing weapon may end
in a hammer or double-bladed axe head or may have a spike Pistol: A hand-held weapon used in short-range
on one side. skirmishes. A pistol uses a flintlock mechanism to ignite
firedust and fire a bullet.
Polearm Weapon Group
Weapons of the Polearm group are typified by their long, Musket: These smoothbore weapons are held in two hands
usually (but not always) with a sharp head on one end. and are wildly inaccurate over any significant distance. A
Quarterstaff: A simple weapon made from a length of musket is too large to reload while on horseback - though it
hardwood, sometimes reinforced with metal tips. can still be fired while mounted.
Spear: A simple weapon used for hunting and battle, a Rifle: Similar to a musket, but with a grooved barrel to give
spear is made of a shaft of wood with a steel head. the bullet a spin - and thus greater accuracy over range. A
Two-Handed Spear: Also called a long spear, a Pike has a rifle is too large to reload while on horseback - though it can
wide head of steel at the end of a long wooden shaft. still be fired while mounted.
Halberd: A halberd is similar to a 5-foot-long spear, but it Double-Barreled: Any Firearm can be made double-
also has a small, axe-like head mounted near the tip. barreled, which allows it to be fired twice before it needs to
Brawling Weapon Group be reloaded.
The brawling weapon group covers all the various weapons
Arcane Focus Weapon Group
used in
Weapons of this group are used as magical focuses for the
Fist: The favored weapon in barrooms everywhere. casting of spells.
Gauntlet: A heavy glove made of leather and sometimes
Wand: A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood,
reinforced with metal.
stone, ivory, or metal. Wands are typically made with a
Improvised Weapon: When you try to bash someone with shard of a mystical being to better channel energy.
whatever‘s at hand, it‘s an improvised weapon. This can be
nearly anything. Orb: An orb is a ball made of crystal, glass, quartz, or other
semi-transparent stone that helps calm a mage’s mind and
Throwing Weapon Group concentrate on his spell.
Weapons of this group are made to be hurled at enemies.
Spellbook: Whether a grimoire written by a powerful
Sling: A sling is a short length of cloth used to fling bullets:
sorcerer, the arcane manuscript of a wizard, or simply the
stones or shaped lead used to pummel foes.
notebook of a magic student, spellbooks are focuses for
Throwing Knife: Similar to a dagger, but shorter and magical power. A spellbook can be employed to quickly
balanced for throwing. look up forgotten arcane formulae, or it can simply act as a
Throwing Axe: A warrior‘s version of a hatchet, smaller talisman for the magician using it to draw upon.
than a battle axe and balanced to be thrown.
Javelins: A light spear that is thrown as a ranged weapon.
Bows Weapon Group
Weapons of this group store energy in a shaft (typically of
Enchanting
wood, but not always) which is then used to hurl an arrow
or bolt.
Short Bow: Sometimes called a horseman‘s bow, this
weapon is smaller than a bow but handier to use.
Long Bow: A tall bow, roughly the height of a man, made
from a single piece of wood and with a long draw. A long
bow is far too large to be effectively wielded while on
horseback.
Light Crossbow: A crossbow is a type of mechanized bow
where the bow is mounted to a wooden stock and drawn
with a lever.

36
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear
Enchanting is the act of endowing an item or object with the
power of magic, creating a permanent and self-sustaining
effect that is incredibly difficult to permanently dispel.
Unfortunately, Enchanting requires rare and difficult to
obtain compounds to fix the magic in place.
Spellstones
A spellstone is the generic name for the compound required
to enchant an item. The exact form a spellstone takes can
vary widely, they might be magical runes, crystals of
power, exotic ingredients or a piece of a magical being (like
a phoenix feather).
There are four grades of spellstones, matching up to the
four categories of Special Effects mages use. There are:
Minor, Moderate, Major, and Extreme spellstones. More
powerful spellstones are much more expensive and rarer
than less expensive spellstones. Some spellstones may be
limited in some way (such as a fire rune), at GM discretion.
Spellstones
Type Cost
Minor 10 gp
Moderate 50 gp
Major 250 gp
Extreme 1,250 gp
The act of Enchanting
Enchanting an item or object is a simple matter, from a
gameplay perspective, and only requires training in the
Enchanting talent, and the spell-stone(s) you intend to use.
From an in-game perspective, it is an arduous task that
takes a full month of effort struggling to align the magic
flows of a spellstone an object to produce a magical effect.
An enchanter can perform an enchantment alongside other
duties - as long as he has 8 hours a day to commit to it.
Multiple spellstones can be used on a single enchantment
to increase the difficulty to dispel it (see Dispelling an
Enchantment later in this section). Multiple enchantments
can also be imbued into an item, limited only by the
maximum number of spellstones an enchanter can use.
Limitations of Enchantments
37
An enchantment has limitations that a spell does not: All
enchantments have a duration of Permanent and a range of
Self. In effect, the enchantment works as if a spell had been
cast on whoever bears or wields the item. All enchantments
are Special Effects, though they cannot grant or remove
actions or move characters along the Condition Track.
Enchantments cannot be attack or healing spells.
Effects can grant bonuses to tests in much the same manner
as Mutations, a Minor Effect can grant a +1 bonus to a
specific test. Moderate Effects can grant a +2 bonus, Major
Effects can grant a +3 bonus, and Extreme Effects can grant
a +5 bonus. Like mutations, this bonus always comes with
a visual manifestation, which can be virtually anything that
makes sense, for example: a cloak that dampens the light
and deepens shadows around you might improve your
Dexterity (Stealth) tests.
Enchantments can have only one target, but they can have
greater volumes or areas. This allows you to enchant a stone
and have it cover an entire wall, or to enchant an item to
create a vortex of flame around it. This requires more than
one spellstone to enact – the first fixes the enchantment with
each additional spellstone increasing the radius or volume
by one step (from Engaged to Short to Medium, etc.).
Common Enchantments
While an enchantment can be virtually anything, a few are
more common and useful for Adventurers.
Damage Increase (Major/Extreme): The weapon’s damage
increases by (1d6/2d6).
Damage Resistance (Minor/Moderate/Major/Extreme):
Increase one resistance rating (Physical, Thermal, Cryo,
Energy, Necrotic or Sonic) by (2/4/6/10) points.
Damage Type Change (Minor): The type of damage a
weapon inflicts is changed from physical to any of the other
five types: Thermal, Cryo, Energy, Necrotic or Sonic.
Magic Ward (Minor): The item cannot be affected by magic
(changed in shape, weakened, etc.) without dispelling the
Magic Ward.
More Health or Spirit (Minor/Moderate/Major/Extreme):
This item increases the wielder’s effective Constitution or
Willpower by (1/2/3/5) for the purpose of calculating his
Health or Spirit.
Natural Armor (Minor/Moderate/Major/Extreme): This
item gives you a natural armor rating, which stacks with AR
from Armor, of (1/2/3/5).
Speed Increase (Minor/Moderate/Major/Extreme): These
items increase the wearer’s speed by (2/4/6/10) and give a
(+1/+2/+3/+5) bonus to Constitution (Running) tests.
Unbreakable (Moderate): The item cannot be broken by
normal means until dispelled (it can still be damaged with
stunts and spells, but never truly broken).
Dispelling an Enchantment
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear
Enchantments are more difficult to dispel, though not
impossible. An enchantment has an effective spellpower of
3 per spellstone used to enchant it; when a Dispel is cast on
the enchantment it is shut down for the duration of the
encounter, but always returns at the end of the encounter.
An enchantment cannot be permanently dispelled without
destroying the item (a difficult proposition for some). An
enchanter can recover up to half the value of the spellstones
from destroyed enchanted item, magic item, or artifact if he
is capable of creating that type of spellstone.
Artifacts
An artifact is an enchanted item with a will (if not
consciousness and personality) of its own. An artifact’s
personality has its own Communication, Cunning, and
Magic Abilities (and Focuses), and can learn talents of its
own. Artifacts can act as: NPCs, Equipment, or Expert
Followers as the situation permits.
Artifacts are always plot-level items, and they can only be
created with great effort and storyteller participation. The
principal requirement when constructing an Artifact is the
creation of its personality - which can be made in a myriad
number of ways. You might create an AI with magical
crystals, steal the soul of a powerful mage, or maybe you
need to forge the item from a demon or spirit.
Artifacts all have a few things in common that set them
apart from more common enchanted items. An artifact can
be imbued with an extra spellstone on top of what its
creator is capable of. Artifacts can restrict which
enchantments it allows a wielder to use (if any), and they
can cast spells of their own if they have learned magic.
Artifacts can be an interesting addition to a game, but
should be used sparingly. An artifact can enrich a game, but
too many could become a tiresome addition.
Magic Items
Magic items store spells within them, allowing anyone to
cast the spell as if it were a rote spell; so long as they have
the Spirit Points to pay for it. This allows even those
uninitiated in the Magical arts to cast spells, as well as allow
mages access to spells far more potent than they would
otherwise be capable of.
To use a Magic item, it must be readied in one of your
hands; you then spend a Free action to visualize the spell,
and an Action to cast the spell. Since they must be held in
your hand to work, they are often made in the form of
Wands, Scrolls, and Weapons; though other worn objects
work as well - so long as you can grasp the item with one
hand (as a ready action).
Like all Rote spells, the spell provided by a magic item has
its Potency, Range, Area of Effect (or # of targets), Duration,
and any Special Effects, decided before the spell is cast -
when the item is created.
Creating a Magic Item
38
Creating a Magic item is a simple process, an enchanter
imbues the item with spellstones, with the type of
spellstone both limiting the maximum special effect it can
produce, and the total Spirit cost of the spell. Each
spellstone allows the spell to cost up to 5 Spirit. Multiple
spellstones can be applied to increase this cap by 5 Spirit,
up to a maximum number of stones based on the
Enchanter’s talent.
Magic Items can also be Enchanted items, enchantments
count against the maximum number of spellstones an item
can have, and can be Artifacts as well. An enchanter can
place safeguards on magic items, disallowing anyone who
doesn’t speak a password, have a certain mutation, or
possess a linked “key” from using the magic item. The
password, mutation or key must be spoken or possessed
when taking the free action to visualize the spell.
Herbal Concoctions
There is a large body of lore concerning the mixing of
various herbs, plants, insects, and extracts into potent
concoctions. Some of these mixtures result in Remedies,
which bolster your body and immune system when
imbibed. Others, however, result in Poisons, which corrupt
and weaken their victims. Yet others result in balms,
coatings, or grenades that explode when thrown.
Quality Cost Dice Potency TN
Crude 10sp 1d3 1 7
Poor 20sp 1d6 2 9
Ordinary 40sp 2d6 3 11
Fine 200sp 3d6 4 13
Pristine 10gp 4d6 5 15
Superior 50gp 5d6 6 17
Buying & Selling Remedies & Poisons
Alchemists and Poisoners often sell prepared versions of
their remedies to the public. When buying a remedy, its
price is the Cost listed on the table above. Few herbalists
mix more than one or two ingredients together without a
special request, and supplies, from a client. Similarly, you
can sell your prepared remedies or poisons just as you can
sell anything else. When buying or selling a remedy, you
pay/are paid for each dose separately.
Preparing a Remedy / Poison
Preparing a remedy or a poison requires the proper
ingredients, an alchemist’s lab, and roughly an hour of
work. After all are collected, you simply make a Cunning
(Herbal Lore or Poison Lore) test vs. a TN determined by
your concoction’s Quality. On a success, you get a single dose
of the concoction and on a failure the ingredients are lost.
While initiate herbalists can only brew remedies or poisons
with a single effect, more skilled herbalists can mix multiple
herbs into potent combinations. When you mix a remedy or
poison, you must expend an amount of each ingredient
equal to half the Cost of the finished product, determined
by its Quality. For each effect beyond
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear
the first that you add to the remedy or poison, the TN of the
Cunning (Herbal Lore/Poison Lore) test increases by 2.
Concoctions with multiple effects multiply their effective
Cost by the number of effects they possess.
When an effect in the following list calls for (Dice) it
indicates that you roll a number of dice, which is
determined by the concoction’s quality. When an effect calls
for Potency it refers to a static number associated with the
Concoction’s Quality.
Using a Remedy
Remedies can be prepared as cordials which are drunk,
salves or oils which are rubbed into the skin, or poultices
which is applied as part of a bandage. Whatever the case,
once you have a remedy readied (typically requiring a
ready action), you can apply it, drink it, or otherwise use it
with an activate action.
Using a Poison
Poisons can be delivered in one of two ways: they can be
ingested (usually through poisoning food or drink), or they
can be applied to a weapon and delivered via the Deliver
Poison stunt. Applying a poison to a weapon requires a
bladed weapon (or arrow), outside of combat there is no
risk to this, but during combat you must make a successful
TN 13 Cunning (Poison Lore) test as an action to apply a
readied poison; on a failure you are afflicted with the
poison. Once applied, the poison remains on the weapon
for the rest of the scene for delivery.
A person can only be subjected to an individual poison once
per encounter. Different Quality poisons of the same type
count as different poisons for this purpose.
Using a Grenade
A grenade is a glass or ceramic pot filled with volatile
chemicals that is thrown as an improvised throwing
weapon. (Short range). Make a Strength (Throwing) test vs.
the Physical Defense of all characters within Engaged
Range of the grenade’s target. On success, the grenade
inflicts full damage; on a failure the grenade inflicts only
half damage.
Grenades inflict (Dice) damage determined by their quality
(the same as remedies and poisons), with the damage type
determined by the type of grenade it is.
39
The Alchemist’s Bag
An Alchemist’s Bag is a bundle of herbs, plants, extracts,
and other reagents that an Alchemist could use to create
concoctions. This should be listed in a character’s inventory
with a coin value (such as Alchemist’s Bag [400sp]). When
in play, an Alchemist can use materials from his bag to
make concoctions – reducing the value of the bag by the
amount of raw materials required. This allows a character
to carry around the potential for any concoction; making the
one that he needs as he needs it.
Identifying a Concoction
From time to time you might come into contact with a
Remedy, Poison, or Grenade that you didn’t make, and
which you have no idea what it does. You could, of course,
use it to find out - but that might be dangerous if you drink
what you thought was a Healing drought only to be
instantly killed by a potent poison. Instead, you can make a
Cunning (Herbal Lore or Poison Lore) test at a TN equal to
the Concoction’s TN (based on its quality) to learn its true
effects, without risk to yourself. On a failure, you can’t
figure it out, and can’t retry until you get to a better library.
Remedy Effects
Healing
The remedy instantly heals (Dice) points of Health.
Mana
The remedy instantly restores (Dice) points of Spirit.
Anti-Magic
When imbibed, the remedy ends any spells with a potency
less than (Potency) affecting the imbiber.
Antitoxin
The remedy ends the ongoing effects of any Poison with a
Potency less than (but not equal to) (Potency).
Bolstering
The remedy instantly moves you (Potency/2) steps up on
the condition track.
Recharging
The remedy restores 1d6 Spirit on each of your turns for
(Potency) rounds.
Regenerating
The remedy restores 1d6 Health on each of your turns for
(Potency) rounds.
Reinforcing
The remedy moves you +1 step on the condition track on
each of your turns for (Potency) rounds.
(School) Magic-Infused
A group of 4 different effects, one for each magic school
independently. The remedy increases the potency of all
your (school) spells by 1 for (Potency) days. Multiple uses
of these remedies won’t give more than a bonus of 1 to any
single spell.
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Resistance
The remedy increases one of your resistances by (Potency)
for the rest of the scene.
Restoring
The remedy increases the Dragon Die total of one of your
injuries by (Potency) when used in a recovery test (either a
Constitution (Stamina) or Cunning (Healing) test to recover
from an Injury).
Poison Effects
Damaging
The poison inflicts (Dice) points of Necrotic damage.
Draining
The poison reduces the target’s Spirit by (Dice) Spirit.
Corrupting
The poison moves the target -1 step down the condition
track on each of your turns for (Potency) rounds.
Dispelling
The poison causes all spells affecting the target with a
potency less than (Potency) to instantly end.
Weakening
The poison instantly moves the target (Potency/2) steps
down the condition track.
Weapon Coating
The poison causes all the weapon’s attacks to inflict a
different damage type and an additional (Potency) damage.
Unlike other poison effects, you don’t need to use the
Deliver Poison stunt to gain the benefits of this effect. Each
damage type has its own ingredient.
Withering
The poison inflicts 1d6 penetrating Necrotic damage on
each of your turns for (Potency) rounds.
Lightning
The grenade inflicts Energy damage, and sparks bolt from
affected targets to each other, inflicting (Potency)
penetrating damage to all targets within Short Range of the
original targets.
Other Effects
Concentrator Agent
When combined with a remedy or poison that moves a
target on the condition track, the moves become persistent
with a duration of (Potency) days. Unlike other effects, this
effect can be added to a concoction twice, increasing the
duration to months.
Delaying Agent
The concoction’s effects don’t take place until (Potency)
minutes after being administered. Unlike other effects, this
effect can be added to a concoction twice, increasing the
delay to (Potency) Hours instead.
Distillation Agent
When combined with any other effect, you gain two extra
doses of the resultant remedy, poison, or grenade.
Masking Agent
The concoction cannot be detected unless the target (victim)
makes a successful TN 11 + (Potency) Perception test (most
useful for poisoning food).
Mixing Agent
The concoction can mix two more effects (with this taking
one effect slot), beyond what the alchemist is capable of.
Spiritual
When mixed into a poison or grenade, the concoction can
affect immaterial creatures as if they were material.

Grenade Effects Miscellaneous Gear & Services

Gear Uses Encumbrance Cost
Acidic Adventuring Gear 5 1 20 sp
The grenade inflicts Necrotic damage, and corrodes both Bag of Books 5 2 10 sp
weapons and armor, permanently damaging them by 1, as Dungeon Rations 7 1 3 sp
if struck by the Sunder Arms/Armor stunt. Healing Kit 3 2 10 sp
Traveler’s Kit - 4 15 sp
Arcane Service Cost
The grenade inflicts Radiant damage, and dispels all spells
A week’s stay at a peasant inn 14 sp
in the area of effect with a potency less than (Potency).
A week’s stay at a civilized inn 30 sp
Concussion A week’s stay at the fanciest inn in town 43 sp
Grenade inflicts Physical damage, & knocks targets prone. A week’s unskilled mundane labor 10 sp
A month’s pay for enlistment in an army 30 sp
Fiery A custom item from a blacksmith item cost + 50 sp
The grenade inflicts Thermal Damage, and creates fire A night’s “companionship” 20 sp
hazards (1d6 to 2d6 damage every turn exposed to them - An evening of song and dance 18 sp
based on the area’s flammability) over the areat. Escort for a day along a bandit-infested road 20 sp
Frost Escort for a day along a monster-infested 54 sp
The grenade inflicts Cryo damage, and moves affected road
targets -1 step down the condition track. A run-of-the-mill killing 5 sp

40
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear
An assassination 120 sp
Miscellaneous Gear
Adventuring Gear
Adventuring gear is a collection of useful mundane items
such as chalk, poles, spikes, ropes, etc. When you rummage
through your adventuring gear for some useful mundane
item, you find what you need and mark off a use.
Bag of Books
When your bag of books contains just the right book for the
subject you’re spouting lore on, consult the book, mark off
a use, and gain a +1 bonus to your roll.
Dungeon Rations
Whenever you don’t have access to food and water, you can
mark off one use and have enough dry rations and potable
drink for the rest of the day.
Healing Kit
This kit contains bandages, medicinal herbs, and other
supplies consumed by characters practicing medicine with
the Physician Training talent.
Traveler’s Kit
A traveler’s kit includes everything you need to survive on
the road - a tent for rainy conditions, a bedroll to soften the
ground, blanket for warmth, a tinderbox to start a fire, and
cooking supplies to make whatever you catch edible.
Services
Inns (Peasant, Civilized, & Fine)
Traveling on the road is often an uncomfortable matter full
of dreary nights on the hard ground - even with traveling
supplies. A warm bed and hot meal are all too often
unobtainable luxuries. So, when you visit a town, you want
a roof over your head - that’s where inns come in. They vary
drastically - from crude little hovels that serve the lower
class to extravagant palaces fit for princes.
Houses that have a Common Quality of Life Investment
provide their members with Peasant accommodations,
while Prosperous houses will foot the bill for Civilized
lodgings and Rich houses never scoff at the price of a Fine
Inn.
41
Hired Murder & Assassination
Hiring a thug to kill a man is an exercise in discovering just
how cheap life is. You might have to hire multiple thugs if
your victim is particularly tough, but common folk rarely
pose much of a problem.
Assassinations of rich or powerful men, on the other hand,
can be quite pricy indeed. People with bodyguards,
retainers, escorts, or who are just really tough to kill (like
adventurers) need finesse and skill not found in street
toughs. An assassin may use one of a thousand different
techniques to kill a target - especially if it needs to look like
an accident. Hiring multiple assassins is always a good idea
if your target is particularly fortified or plain tough.
Land and Buildings
Typically, the purchase and ownership of vast tracts of land
and fortifications should be handled on the house scale
found in Chapter 8. Sometimes, though, an individual
might feel like buying himself a retirement cottage (or
castle) and need to know how much it’ll cost.
Land and Buildings
Buildings Cost
A hovel 20 sp
A cottage 500 sp
A house 25 gp
A mansion 500 gp
A keep (hall) 750 gp
A small castle 2,500 gp
A grand castle 10,000 gp
A great fortress 50,000 gp
A year’s upkeep 10% of the cost
Homes
The four presented homes: hovels, cottages, houses, and
mansions vary greatly in size, quality, and comfort. Hovels
are the smallest buildings, usually ramshackle affairs built
in slums that leak air and water like a sieve: cold in the
winter and hot in the summer - still, better than exposure.
Cottages are small homes favored in rural farming areas -
they are typically well-made and somewhat comfortable,
though still lacking any “civilized” comforts.
Houses represent those homes built by less affluent nobles
or middle-class commoners. They’re typically found in
cities, where they have all the comforts and luxuries one
could expect for a city-dweller living in the city in question.
Mansions are, obviously, massive homes fit for affluent
nobles or merchant houses with every comfort available
and a staff of servants on call.
Fortifications
It should be rare for players to have an opportunity to buy
a keep, castle, or fortress outside the House system. But, if
they have the money, time, and labor - they might build
one. If so, they can utilize them in the same way a house
might - as fortifications in mass combat, or homes for their
incredibly rich selves.
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Bribes, Gifts, and Finery Animals, Mounts and Vehicles

Bribes Cost This section lists some commonly available mounts and
A peasant dowry 20 sp transport options, along with their prices.
“Protection” for a small business 100 sp
A government bribe 50 sp
A compelling bribe 80 sp
An offer you can’t refuse 500 sp
Gifts and Finery Cost
A peasant gift 1 sp
A fine gift 55 sp
A noble gift 200 sp
A ring or cameo 75 sp
Finery 105 sp
A fine tapestry 350+ sp Barding: Armor for a horse or dog, providing them an
A crown fit for a king 5,000 sp Armor Rating of 6.
Cart: A small vehicle used for hauling. They are either
pushed by hand or pulled by a mule.
Dog: Any of the various hunting and guard dogs.
Draft Horse: Slow but strong beasts used to pull wagons.
Falcon: A bird of prey highly regarded birdmasters.
Feed: Oats and grains used to feed horses & other animals.
Mule: A pack animal used for carrying heavy loads.
Riding Horse: A common horse used for travel and
recreation. Not trained for combat.
Rowboat: A small boat that can seat up to six people, and
powered by oars. Light enough to be carried by two people
with carrying poles.
Saddle: A leather seat used by riders on mounts.
Saddlebags: A pair of large pouches hung on horses and
mules and used for storage.
Sailing Ship: An ocean-going vessel for long voyages.
Stabling: One night in a stable for an animal.
Storied Treasures Wagon: A four wheeled vehicle pulled by draft horses.
In addition to Quality, Enchanted, Ornamental, and
Magical items; some objects gain a sort of legend through Warhorse: A horse trained for war and to be accustomed to
their presence during extraordinary events and association wearing Barding.
with historic figures. The Sword of the Malkieri Kings, an Animals, Mounts and vehicles
indestructible Pristine Broadsword, is worth far more than Animal, Gear or Service Cost
the 30 Gold Pieces that an identical sword without its
Barding (Dog) 100 sp
associations would cost.
Barding (Horse) 10 gp
Practically, a storied treasure imparts a bit of its story on its Cart 20 sp
owner, allowing him to reroll a failed test of any Ability Dog 15 sp
(keeping the second result) once every so often, depending Draft Horse 50 sp
on how well-known the item is. From storied objects, Falcon 75 sp
remembered only in the nation that gave birth to them, to Feed (per day) 5 cp
Mythical objects told of in stories the world over. Any Mule 20 sp
character that owns more than one storied treasure can only Riding Horse 50 sp
benefit from the most potent of them. Rowboat 50 sp
Saddle 20 sp
Legend Rerolls Cost Increase
Saddlebags 10 sp
Storied 1/Session +50 gp Sailing Ship 100 gp
Fabled 1/Day +250 gp Stabling (per day) 10 cp
Mythical 1/Encounter +1,250 gp Wagon 150 sp
Warhorse 50 gp

42
Chapter Four: Equipment & Gear

Ornamental Treasures

In addition to the practical benefits of Quality, Enchanted,

and Magical items, there exist items of less than practical
use. Fine artworks are valued by those with refined
aesthetics. Superior wines and foodstuffs —spices,
especially—are worth fighting over among gourmands and
the status-conscious. Any item of equipment or provision
can be crafted or purchased in more-excellent versions.
These more worthy versions are usually no more useful
than their common counterparts (and are sometimes less
useful, given their ornamentation or fragility) but are
nevertheless worth a great deal more. Such items often
provide a social benefit to interactions with those who
appreciate their worth—see The Social Benefits of
Ornamental Treasures .
Ornamentation Cost Increase Effect
Ordinary +0 gp None
Decorative +5 gp +1 Social Benefit
Ornate +25 gp +2 Social Benefit
Jeweled +125 gp +3 Social Benefit
Resplendent +600 gp +5 Social Benefit

The Social Benefits of

Ornamental Treasures
Items and treasures that are particularly impressive or
flamboyant can give their owners a bonus to social
interactions with those inclined to be impressed by such
objects. Soldiers are likely to be impressed by well-made
arms and armor, while a venal merchant by the works of
skilled artisans regardless of whether they‘re crossbows or
candlesticks.
The GM should consider carefully whether a Superior Item
would impress a given Character before granting any Social
Benefits. Wealthy Aristocrats may simply be unimpressed
by a fine blade, and Soldiers unmoved by an exceptional
pair of boots.
Once the GM has decided that an item is impressive to a
particular individual, the character gains a bonus to all
social rolls (deception, investigation, intimidation, etc.)
while dealing with that individual, equal to the Social
Bonus provided by the item. Obviously, the individual
must be able to clearly see the quality craftsmanship – and
may even ask to see the item in question if he spots it –
refusal removes any bonuses provided by the item. In the
event that more than one item would be impressive to an
individual, only the highest bonus applies.

43
Chapter Five: Followers

Chapter Five

Followers
Soldiers, trappers, torchbearers, bodyguards, and cart When followers are purchased, it is assumed that (barring
drivers all have two things in common: they are incredibly story elements) they won’t try to run away - even slaves.
useful to any adventurer, and they are annoying to keep
Expert Followers are very rarely purchased, they don’t like
track of for any player. Treating every random warrior,
tying themselves down in life-long contracts and are
carter, or squire as a full character is a tiring and
seldom available as slaves. Combat and Laborer Followers
unrewarding task that is best avoided.
are much more commonly found available for purchase, as
There are some characters that exist merely to act as they are more willing to sign on for life - and are enslaved
scenery. Followers fill this role; they exist to back up more much more readily.
important characters, filling in the ranks so that a skirmish
can have dozens of combatants without placing incredible
strain on the Storyteller or Players to keep it all straight.
Follower Types
Followers come in 3 flavors, Combat, Laborer, and Expert.
A Combat follower helps you in a fight; Laborers perform
Hiring Followers simple (if invaluable) tasks, while Experts offer you a
Followers can be hired to travel with you, charging you unique and rare skill that you can call upon.
money in exchange for providing their services. In general,
followers are paid by the month, but with Storyteller
approval you can pay for only a few weeks or just a few
Combat Followers
days. The monthly wage for followers is listed below. Combat followers are mercenaries, men-at-arms,
bodyguards, or soldiers that accompany you on your
Follower Type Monthly Wage adventures. They offer you a new avenue of offense and
Combat Follower 50sp defense above and beyond personal combat or spellcasting.
Laborer Follower 30sp
All combat followers possess a few traits that enable their
Expert Follower 100sp
use in combat: Health, Armor, Attack Bonus, and Damage.
Most common followers can be found in virtually any
Some followers may also have unique abilities that play into
settlement; even a small village should have a few Combat
their use as Combat followers.
followers around. Experts, on the other hand, can be rather
rare and finding a specific Expert can be an adventure unto Quality Combat Followers
itself. The Storyteller is advised to use logic when Clearly, there is a difference between an itinerate farmer-
determining how hard a certain Expert will be to find, an turned-mercenary to feed his family and a royal knight in
Officer might be found just about anywhere, as retired service to his king. Like all manner of equipment, superior
military officers return to their homes; while a Sage might (or shoddier) variations of combat followers can be found
exist only in secluded libraries. and fielded - highly skilled followers charge more for their
Buying Followers services and gain a bonus to attack and damage rolls - in
If paying a monthly wage for a follower seems like too addition to being capable of taking more damage before
much hassle, or you happen to have a pile of treasure succumbing to their wounds.
burning a hole in your pocket, you can instead opt to “buy”
a follower. Depending on the manner in which you buy a
Quality Combat Followers
Quality Cost Health Damage Attack
follower, he could be a slave or a long-term employee that
benefits from the gold you pay. Crude ¼x 5 -3 -3
Poor ½x 10 -1 -1
Follower Type Purchase Price Ordinary 1x 20 +0 +0
Combat Follower 10gp Fine 5x 30 +1 +0
Laborer Follower 5gp Pristine 25x 40 +2 +1
Expert Follower 50gp Superior 125x 50 +3 +1

44
Chapter Five: Followers
The Uses of Combat Followers
You can have a number of followers on the field up to your
Communication rating at a time; if any more are present
they spend their time in the background and not impacting
the battle in any meaningful way.
Of those followers that you do have command of, you can
use an action to order them to perform any of the following
tasks to aid you in battle:
Directed Strike: Directed strikes are performed as an attack
roll using Communication (Leadership); and inflict an
amount of damage equal to the weapon your follower is
wielding. They can strike out against targets at up to
Medium Range from you.
Defensive Screen: You order one of your combat followers
to help screen blows directed towards you; the follower
stays within Short Range of you and you gain a +1 bonus to
your Physical Defense for every Combat follower screening
you. Followers will keep screening you for the duration of
the encounter, unless you order them to do something else.
Rally: You call your followers to your side to prepare for
new orders. Your Combat Followers rally to within
Engaged range of you, replenishing your followers to their
maximum level if you have any in reserve.
Supportive Fire: You order one of your combat followers to
support your attacks with their ranged weapons. The
follower enters a pattern within Medium Range of you and
grants you a +1 bonus (increased by higher-quality
followers’ damage bonuses) to your melee and ranged
attack damage rolls.
Note: Combat followers must have a weapon to be effective,
whether the weapon is Melee, Ranged, or magic. Combat
Followers who use magic don’t cast normal spells, instead
using their magic as a ranged weapon.
Laborer Followers
Laborers are carters, porters, linkboys, and teamsters that
perform a specific function, typically in support of the
adventuring party, not directly contributing to its
effectiveness. They hold the torches, carry surplus gear, act
as squires, and manage the baggage train that keeps you
well fed and supplied. While laborers could technically be
asked or commanded (depending on your relationship with
the follower) to perform any task, he is only skilled at one
and will not do well in others. A squire, for example, is only
skilled at taking care of his lord’s weapons and armor - he
can act as a porter (and will do so eagerly), carrying gear,
but will likely fumble about dropping or losing things.
The following is a list of example Laborers and their duties,
it is by no means complete - there are thousands of possible
laborer positions.
Bearer/Porter: These individuals are laborers who will
carry whatever they are directed to. Individually they can
45
carry 50 pounds each (in their packs and whatnot), or up to
200 pounds for a pair if they have a carrying pole, a liter or
the like.
Blacksmith: This occupation assumes most non-military
metalworking jobs. They sharpen axes, repair plows and
shoe horses. A single Blacksmith can take care of the needs
of 100 men and horses, with more blacksmiths needed for
more people/horses.
Carpenter: This occupation assumes most woodworking
jobs. A carpenter might be hired to secure a portal, fashion
a chest, etc.
Leather Worker: This occupation is principally concerned
with the fabrication of leather goods such as back packs,
belts, straps, horse tack, etc.
Limner: These individuals do all sign painting, drawing of
heraldic devices, etc.
Linkboy: A linkboy is a torch or lantern barer; this job is
usually filled by youngsters but this isn’t always the case.
Mason: Stonework must be done by a mason, and this
occupation subsumes plasterers as well.
Pack Handler: These individuals are trained at loading,
handling, and unloading beasts of burden such as donkeys,
mules or horses.
Tailor: This occupation makes and repairs clothing, bags,
shield covers, etc. It also subsumes hatters.
Teamster: Teamsters are basically drivers of carts and
wagons. They will also load and unload their vehicles. They
are expert animal handlers with respect to their particular
specialty of draft animal only, i.e. horses, mules, oxen, or
whatever.
Valet/Lackey: This occupation subsumes the various roles
of manservants and messengers.
Expert Followers
Experts are craftsmen, sages and officers that provide you
with a specialized skill above and beyond that of Laborers.
In effect, an Expert provides you with the benefits of having
a number of Focuses or Talents when they perform a task
for you. If making use of a Focus make the test using your
own Ability rating - and it counts as you making the test -
but you gain the +2 bonus to the roll as if you had an
applicable focus and it is narrated as the Follower taking the
action. If making use of a Talent, it provides you any of its
benefits - as long as it makes sense to be transferrable. No
Expert can provide you with the benefits of Armor
Training, Endurance, or Stoic - for example.
The following is a list of example Experts and the Focuses
and talents that they might confer. It is by no means a
complete accounting, merely examples of the kinds of
Experts out there.
Quality Expert Followers
Chapter Five: Followers
Just as a Combat follower can range anywhere between a
farmer with a pitchfork and a Knight trained from birth to
be a soldier, Expert followers can be anything from a village
elder who learned history by virtue of living through most
of it, to a master armorer used to creating arms and armor
for Kings and Emperors - practiced decades in his craft.
The Quality of the follower you employ determines the
number of Focuses and Talents that the follower provides.
Each degree in a Talent counts as one of the slots that the
follower provides. So, an Expert that provides you with the
Herbal Lore Focus and the Master Herbalism Talent would
need to be of Pristine quality, since Mastery Degree would
require four (4) slots plus one for the Focus.
Quality Expert Followers
Quality Focuses/Talents Cost
Crude 1 ¼x
Poor 2 ½x
Ordinary 3 1x
Fine 4 5x
Pristine 5 25x
Superior 6 125x
Alchemist: This profession handles the compounding of
medicinal substances, and the advantages of employing an
alchemist are many. In addition to the Herbalism talent,
alchemists usually provide Cunning (Herbal Lore) and/or
Cunning (Poison Lore) Focuses.
Armorer: This occupation cares for and manufactures arms
& armor. In addition to providing the Strength (Smithing)
Focus and Crafting Talent, Armorers possess the recipes for
weapon and armor designs. Specialist Armorers focus on
one type of weapon (such as Blades) or one type of Armor
(such as Light & Heavy Mail) over others, since learning to
make Plate would be an expensive waste of time when you
would never have a client for it.
Engineer: Members of this profession provide the Cunning
(Engineering) Focus and Crafting Talent. They are sub-
divided into architects, artillerists, sappers, and miners, and
a dozen other specializations. These specialists have recipes
for the tools of their field - architects have the recipes for
fortifications and buildings, artillerists have the recipes for
ballistas, siege towers, catapults, etc. etc.
Officer: Captains of your military forces, officers are
important for commanding troops in battle, and keeping
discipline in peace. In addition to providing the Leadership
Focus, officers usually also offer the Command Talent.
Sage: Sages are learned individuals who have a collection
of knowledge both general and specific; each sage will have
a specialty (like botany, religion, or magical artifacts) and
will collect vast archives of information on that subject.
When allowed to take their time and consult their libraries
of knowledge, they provide you with an appropriate
Cunning (Research) or Cunning (XX Lore) focus.
46
Scribe: A scribe is principally a secretary or copyist. He or
she will be able to record normal things, but never anything
magical in nature, granting you the Dexterity (Calligraphy)
focus. Specialists such as Cartographers exist who will
grant you other focuses such as Cunning (Cryptography or
Heraldry).
Steward/Castellan: This occupation pertains to overseeing
a castle; particularly the fortifications and palaces of nobles
and wealthy patrons who cannot busy themselves with the
day-to-day affairs of their estates. The loyalty of a
Steward/Castellan is of paramount importance since they
are the commanders of your garrison while you are away.
Followers’ Traits
In the event that a follower’s Abilities are necessary (such
as determining if a scout is caught), assume that all their
abilities have a rating of one (1), except for their two most
important abilities which have a rating of two (2). Followers
also possess five (5) focuses, which are the most important
focuses for their role (A scout might have Searching, Seeing,
Stealth, Hearing, and Natural Lore for example).
A follower’s equipment is generally very simple - the very
minimum necessary to complete their job. You are expected
to arm and outfit your followers with better gear when you
hire them.
Followers in Combat
Followers are not like major characters; they don’t have
their own actions in combat and don’t have their own
health or condition track and most will simply flee from
violence. Combat followers act on your turn, and use your
actions.
Like all characters, a follower can be targeted for an attack -
when this is done, a follower has a Defense of 12 (plus the
Defense bonus from any shield he happens to be armed
with). Followers reduce damage with armor normally, and
Non-Combat followers are considered to have 5 available
Health Points.
Followers aren’t meant to fight on their own, and when
their Leader dies, or flees, they will withdraw from the fight
as well. If they can’t withdraw, or are at risk of being run
down, they will surrender. If survival is in doubt, they will
turn and fight - each possessing a single action, with
abilities and Health as defined above.
Loyalty
All followers have a loyalty rating ranging from Fanaticism
to nothing whatsoever. The loyalty of your followers gives
your storyteller a rough guide on how to play them, and can
grant bonuses to the Willpower (Self-Discipline) test used
to resist temptation to betray you or take bribes to derelict
their duties.
Loyalty Description
Chapter Five: Followers

Will serve unquestioningly and lay

down own life if necessary without
Fanatically Loyal
hesitation. They gain a +3 bonus to tests
to resist temptation to betray their leader.
Will always attempt to further your
goals, even at great risk to self. They gain
Staunchly Loyal
a +2 bonus to tests to resist temptation to
betray their leader.
Will support you if no significant risk is
Fairly Loyalty involved. They gain a +1 bonus to tests to
resist temptation to betray their leader.
Will seek own advantage at first sign of
Little Loyalty
weakness.
Will always seek own advantage
Disloyal
regardless of the circumstances.
Will attempt to kill, capture, disarm, or
No Loyalty
desert at the first opportunity.

The starting loyalty of a follower depends on how they

came to be in your service. A short list of possible origins
and linked starting loyalties follows:
Means of Recruitment Starting Loyalty
Enslaved Disloyal
Captured and Enlisted Little Loyalty
Mercenary Fair Loyalty
Friendship turned Employment Loyal
Messiah/Creator Fanatically Loyal
Followers can gain or lose loyalty while in your service for
any number of reasons. If you go out of your way to
accommodate your followers, give them gifts, outfit them
with the best gear, or save their lives they will increase in
loyalty. On the other hand, if you are cruel and brutal,
needlessly risk your followers’ lives, or routinely expect
followers to perform tasks they are untrained in - your
followers’ loyalty will decrease.

Summoned Followers
Spellcasters of all stripes have the opportunity to summon
followers, whether they are skeletal minions, elemental
conjurations, or just natural wildlife. These followers
operate under the same basic rules as presented above,
being created as Fanatically Loyal followers of specific
types (as specified in the spell that created them).
Where do they Come From & Where do they go?
Each setting will answer these questions differently, and it’s
important to discuss it with your GM before you start
summoning creatures willy-nilly. In some settings, the
follower is created from raw magical energies - and is
completely erased from existence when the spell ends.
In other settings, the creature is teleported from its home to
your side - compelled to serve you by magics. When the
spell ends the creature may be returned home, still aware of
your treatment of it - and possibly seeking revenge. Or
maybe the creature remains right where it is - confused and
angered by the hassle of having to find its own way home.

47
Chapter Six: Magic
Chapter Six
Magic & Spellcraft
Magic permeates all living beings; it courses through every
animal, plant, and sentient creature. Some even believe that
magic is the power that gives life. Despite the prevalence of
magic in all living beings, only a rare few possess the ability
to manipulate it. Mages and other spellcasters are able to
draw spiritual energy from living matter around them and
shape it into fire to blast their foes, channel it into arcane
glyphs, or use it to dominate the minds of others.
Spirit Points
It takes the magical energy of living beings, known as spirit,
to power spells. The amount of magical power a mage has
available at any given time is measured in spirit points
(shortened to just Spirit). The more you have, the more
spells you can cast. If you run out of spirit points, you can’t
cast spells until you get some back.
All people have an innate reserve of spirit, even if most
don’t tap into it. Additionally, mages often take the Stoic
talent which improves their spirit reserves. Spirit points are
a finite resource and a smart mage knows when to spend
them and when to hoard them.
Each spell has a cost in spirit points. This must be paid when
the cast action is taken, regardless of whether the spell
works or not. Magic always has its price.
Spells and Armor
Mages and other spellcasters can wear armor as well as
anyone. However, doing so makes it more difficult for them
to cast spells. When a mage in armor casts a spell, he must
pay an additional amount of spirit points equal to the strain
of the armor type (see accompanying table). This extra spirit
must be paid for each spell, which makes wearing heavy
armor a losing position for mages in the long run.
48
Casting in Armor
Armor Worn Strain
Leather Armor 2
Mail Armor 4
Plate Armor 6
Regaining Spirit Points
A mage can regain spent spirit points by resting. For each
full hour of rest and/or meditation, you get back 1d6 +
Willpower spirit points. If you manage 8 hours of
uninterrupted rest and/or meditation, you get all your
spirit points back.
Sustaining Spells
You can only have a number of spells active at one time
equal to your Magic ability. When you cast a non-instant
spell that exceeds this number, the oldest spell immediately
ends.
Rote Spells
A rote spell is a spell that a mage has painstakingly
memorized in advance. A mage can memorize a number of
Rote spells equal to his Cunning, and the Magic Training
talents can give you access to more.
Memorizing a rote spell takes a full week of effort, but
requires no test or resources. A rote spell takes only a Free
Action to Visualize the spell, since you have already fully
formed the spell in your memory.
When memorizing a rote spell you choose the spell’s
Potency, Range, Area of Effect (Targets), Duration, and any
Special Effects it has in advance. When you cast the spell
you cannot change any of these factors.
In certain settings where magic is more defined, Rote spells
are the only spells. In such settings, memorizing a rote spell
Chapter Six: Magic

requires possession of the spell in written form (a scroll or

spellbook) or a teacher.

Spontaneous Spells Spell Cost Summary

A spontaneous spell is a spell that is formed and cast Potency Spirit Cost
without much preparation. Spontaneous spells take an
1 1d6 1 Spirit
action to visualize and another action to cast. When casting
2 2d6 2 Spirit
a Spontaneous spell you choose all its factors when you use
3 3d6 3 Spirit
the first action to visualize the spell, allowing you to create
4 4d6* 5 Spirit
the exact spell you need for the situation.
* Add another 2 Spirit for each +1d6 over 4d6 up to a
The following provides you a step-by-step process for maximum of dice equal to your Magic ability.
casting a spell, either as a Rote spell or spontaneously. Each
Range Spirit Cost
step is detailed later in this chapter.
Self or Engaged 0 Spirit
1) Potency - choose the potency of the spell, this is Short Range 1 Spirit
typically the damage inflicted or health healed. Medium Range 2 Spirit
2) Spell Range - choose the spell’s range, this is the Long Range 3 Spirit
maximum distance your spell can be centered. Extreme, up to a Mile Away* 5 Spirit
3) Area of Effect - determine the area of effect or the * Add an additional 2 Spirit for every additional mile range
volume of effect. This is the area affected by the spell. added to the spell, up to a number of miles away equal to
4) Targets - in addition to area of effect, you can decide to your Magic ability.
affect a certain number of targets
Targets Spirit Cost
5) Duration - choose how long the effect lasts, usually a
number of turns. One Target 0 Spirit
6) Special Effects - choose any special effect(s) you want Two Targets 1 Spirit
the spell to have. Four Targets 2 Spirit
Eight Targets 3 Spirit
Ritual Spellcasting Sixteen Targets* 5 Spirit
* Add an additional 2 Spirit for every 2x number of targets.
Area of Effect Spirit Cost
None 0 Spirit
Engaged distance 1 Spirit
Short distance 2 Spirit
Medium distance 3 Spirit
Long distance 5 Spirit

Duration Spirit Cost

Instantaneous 0 Spirit
2 Turns 1 Spirit
4 Turns 2 Spirit
8 Turns 3 Spirit
Encounter 5 Spirit
24 Hours 7 Spirit
Two Days 9 Spirit
One Week 11 Spirit
One Month 13 Spirit
Infinite* 15 Spirit
*Lasts until ended or dispelled
Special Effect Spirit Cost
Lose 1 Action 3 Spirit
Lose 2 Actions 9 Spirit
+/- 1 Step on the Condition Track 3 Spirit
Minor Effect 3 Spirit
Moderate Effect 6 Spirit
Major Effect 9 Spirit
Extreme Effect 12 Spirit

49
Chapter Six: Magic

One Target 0 Spirit

Two Targets 1 Spirit
Potency Four Targets 2 Spirit
The first and most important decision a spellcaster makes. Eight Targets 3 Spirit
A spell’s potency represents its raw power. When inflicting Sixteen Targets* 5 Spirit
or healing damage, potency is measured in the number of * Add an additional 2 Spirit for every 2x number of targets.
six-sided dice the spell’s effect uses. Potency is also used to
determine how difficult a spell is to dispel. Area of Effect
Instead of affecting one or more specified targets, you can
Potency is limited by the caster’s Magic ability; a caster with
choose to affect everything within a specified area around a
a Magic of 1, will only be able to use a 1d6 potency, while a
point of origin. The spell then applies to everyone and
caster with a Magic of 3 could make spells with a potency
everything (whether you can see them or not) in the area,
of 3d6.
friend and foe alike. You must be able to see the epicenter
Potency Spirit Cost of the area; barriers (such as walls) block the effect of a spell
1 1d6 1 Spirit whose effect passes through them.
2 2d6 2 Spirit For example, you could choose to cast a spell that affects out
3 3d6 3 Spirit to an Engaged distance. You then choose to have the spell
4 4d6* 5 Spirit affect a point between your foes; and cast it. The spell will
* Add another Spirit for each +1d6 over 4d6 up to a then affect everything that would be considered Engaged
maximum of dice equal to your Magic ability. with it (out to arm’s reach), including both your foes and
Range your friend in melee with them.

The next most important consideration for a spell is how far Area of Effect Spirit Cost
away it can be cast. A spell’s range is the maximum distance None 0 Spirit
of any of its effects. You must always be able to see a target Engaged distance 1 Spirit
for it to be targeted by a spell, even if it is within your range. Short distance 2 Spirit
Medium distance 3 Spirit
Casting a spell on yourself, or a target Engaged with you
Long distance 5 Spirit
costs no spirit, but casting a spell on a target further away
* Add an additional 2 Spirit for every 2x radius or volume.
costs increasingly greater amounts of Spirit.
While it is possible to target creatures several miles away, Duration
at those ranges your ability to clearly see them becomes a Many spells are instant effects; they spring into existence
factor. As a target’s distance grows excessive (usually then dissipate. Such spells can leave lingering effects, a man
beyond Long Range) the GM may call for increasingly more burned with magical fire is still hurt when it has dissipated,
difficult Perception (Seeing) tests to be able to target them. and flesh mended by magical healing stays mended.
Range Spirit Cost You can, however, choose to have your spell last longer
Self or Engaged 0 Spirit than an instant. When you do so, the spell’s effects reoccur
Short Range 1 Spirit every round it is active. Spells with Areas of Effect affect the
Medium Range 2 Spirit same area each round; allowing targets to move beyond its
Long Range 3 Spirit range. Targeted spells, on the other hand, affect the target
Extreme, up to a Mile Away* 5 Spirit each round until he successfully defends against the spell
* Add an additional 2 Spirit for every additional mile range once - at which point it stops affecting them unless re-cast.
added to the spell, up to a number of miles away equal to Duration Spirit Cost
your Magic ability.
Instantaneous 0 Spirit
Targets 2 Turns
4 Turns
1 Spirit
2 Spirit
A spell can target multiple creatures at the same time. When
8 Turns 3 Spirit
you spend Spirit to power a multi-target spell, you select a
Encounter 5 Spirit
number of targets within the spell’s range (all of which you
24 Hours 7 Spirit
must be able to see) and choose to affect them with the spell.
Two Days 9 Spirit
Targeted spells directly affect targets without need to worry
One Week 11 Spirit
about hurting friendlies or avoiding obstacles.
One Month 13 Spirit
Targeted spells are explicitly incompatible with Area-of- Infinite* 15 Spirit
Effect spells. A spell can either be targeted or have an Area- *Lasts until ended or dispelled
of-Effect, not both.
Targets Spirit Cost
Special Effects
50
Chapter Six: Magic
Quite a few spell effects are more complicated than simple
damage inflicting/healing spells. These effects are all
covered by special effects. Special effects should be logical
and fit into the spell’s descriptive explanation before you
even consider adding them to a spell, if the Storyteller
declines the addition of an effect to your spell, do not get
upset - and do not start over, trying to make it fit into a
slightly modified version of the spell - it will slow down the
game. Just accept that the effect doesn’t happen and move
on (you, of course, won’t have to pay for it).
Special effects are classed into four broad categories based
on the advantage it confers to you. The GM is the ultimate
arbiter of what category the effect you describe fits into.
Minor Effects are effects that offer you an advantage, but
one that can be overcome with some ingenuity. It also
covers lesser “fun” effects, like shaping a chair out of a
thorn bush. A minor effect can confer at most a +1 bonus
or -1 penalty to a specific test.
Moderate Effects are effects that confer a significant
advantage over those without access to that magic; like
sprouting a rampart to scale a fortress wall or magically
creating food and water (eliminating the major hindrances
to survival). A moderate effect can confer at most a +2
bonus or -2 penalty to a specific test.
Major Effects are effects that confer an amazing advantage,
possibly including flight or the ability to merge into an
element. A Major effect can confer at most a +3 bonus or -3
penalty to a specific test.
Extreme Effects are extremely potent, potentially including
teleportation, sinking buildings into the earth, or other
amazing feats. An Extreme effect can confer at most a +5
bonus or -5 penalty to a test.
Losing actions, in general, shouldn’t be a simple “you don’t
get to have an action”. It represents spells that knock a
target prone, forcing the target to use an action to get back
up, or pin a target to the ground with vines, forcing the
target to use an action to hack them away.
Spells can also cause characters to gain or lose steps on their
condition track. Spells that do this, however, move the
character’s condition only once - regardless of the spell’s
duration, though the condition move does not change back
when the spell ends (it is the same as inflicting health
damage in this manner). Condition moves from spells are
always considered temporary unless they have a duration
greater than an encounter.
Special effects will use Potency, Range, Targets, Area, and
Duration. A spell’s potency indicates its effectiveness,
improving its strength, intricacy and even speed. A spell’s
Range and targets works the same as always, while its Area
of Effect is often instrumental - used for determining how
much of an area is affected (building a land bridge, for
instance, would necessitate an area capable of making up
the bridge’s intended length). Duration, also, is of extreme
importance, the effects of a spell end when its duration ends
51
(a land bridge would crumble into nothing once its duration
expires).
Special Effect Spirit Cost
Lose 1 Action 3 Spirit
Lose 2 Actions 9 Spirit
+/- 1 Step on the Condition Track 3 Spirit
Minor Effect 3 Spirit
Moderate Effect 6 Spirit
Major Effect 9 Spirit
Extreme Effect 12 Spirit
The Spell Attack Roll
Spells don’t just get to inflict damage, cause a character’s
condition to fail, or steal actions. No, to adversely affect a
character, a caster needs to make an attack roll verses one
of the target’s defenses. Beneficial spells and spells that
don’t affect characters don’t generally require a roll.
After you describe a spell, the storyteller will decide if the
spell is defended against with a character’s Physical or
Mental Defense. You then make a Magic (applicable focus)
test vs. the target’s applicable Defense. On a success, the
spell works as planned; on a failure, the spell inflicts only
half damage and any Special Effects fail to affect the target.
For spells with durations longer than instant, the attack roll
must be made each turn and compared to the target’s
appropriate defense. For spells with areas or targets that
encompass more than one target, make only one attack roll
and compare it against all the affected targets’ defenses.
Physical Defense is used when characters can dodge,
sidestep, endure, or break out of a spell’s effect. This is most
common with spells from the Primal and Entropy schools.
Mental Defense is used when the spell affects the
character’s mind or soul, or which a character cannot be
imagined struggling/dodging/breaking out of. This is
most common with mind-altering spells of the spirit school,
and most spells from the Creation and Entropy schools.
Visualizing a Spell
As a player, you need to visualize and describe a spell
before spending any spirit points or rolling any dice. If you
can’t think of how a spell will work, then it simply doesn’t.
How you describe a spell does have an impact on the spell’s
effects.
Describing a basic attack spell, for example, could have
multiple different impacts on the game. If you describe
throwing a fireball into a crowd of enemies, you very well
might light the dry brush on fire as well; likewise,
describing a lightning bolt being launched at a creature
underwater might dissipate the spell - causing it to inflict
reduced damage - potentially to other creatures in the water
as well (even if the spell was launched at a single target).
Attack Spells
Chapter Six: Magic
Also known as “Blasting Magic”, Attack Spells are the most
basic of combat magics, they inflict damage and little else.
You add your Magic rating to damage inflicted.
Buffing/Debuffing Spells
Magic in the Ageless RPG should not provide or impose
bonuses or penalties to specific abilities or defenses within
combat. Instead, spells can inflict moves on the condition
track; each spell casting can only make 1 move on the
condition track.
Spells can alter traits that aren’t Abilities or Defenses, such
as Armor Rating, Weapon Damage, Mutations and granting
or limiting Actions. As always, the spell’s visualization
should have a major impact on how these things happen; a
thrown boulder that knocks an opponent down takes an
action just the same as horrible pain that prevents a
character from taking an action.
Outside of combat, spells with effects can grant bonuses or
impose penalties. These bonuses always come from special
effects; a special effect that shrouds a character in darkness
will grant the character a bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) tests
while a flaming sword may increase the weapon’s damage.
The Schools of Magic
Every spell is channeled through one of the four schools of
magic: Spirit, Primal, Creation and Entropy. Your training
in these schools provides you with the foundations
required to perform Special Effects. A novice won’t be able
to perform the greatest magics on his first day, after all.
Mechanically, the schools allow you to perform different
types of magic, and the higher the degree you possess in a
school, the more potent the Special Effects that you can
perform. Each school of magic represents a distinct
thematic, and any spells that fall into that thematic are
governed by that school. Interacting with spirits, for
example, simply wouldn’t fit into the Primal School, which
governs elemental energy.
The Sprit School
The first of the two schools of energy,
Spirit is opposed by the Primal
school. It is the school of mystery, the
ephemeral school. This is the study
of the invisible energies which
surround us at all times, yet are
outside of nature. It is from the Spirit
world itself that this magic draws its
power. Students of this school cover everything from direct
manipulation of spell energies to the study and summoning
of spiritual beings themselves.
52
The Spirit school of magic is the magic of the mind,
influencing and controlling the thoughts of others, whether
in the waking world or in their dreams. It is the Magic of
Mana, that which fuels other magic - it can empower or
diminish the spells of other schools; and it is the magic of
Spirits, both in communicating and interacting with
incorporeal beings (from souls of the dead to demons). And
last, but certainly not least, the Spirit School is the magic of
exerting force by thought alone.
Damage from the Spirit school inflicts harm directly on the
target’s spiritual reserves, decreasing his Spirit Points.
Example Minor Effects
Telepathy: You can mentally project and receive thoughts,
images, words, and emotions from the target (or targets).
Telekinesis: You can lift light objects with an Encumbrance
value equal to the spell’s Potency or less and move them up
to one action’s worth of movement per round.
Speak/Hear Spirits: You can hear and talk to spirits and
other incorporeal beings.
Dispel Magic: You can end active spells, your dispel’s
potency must be equal to or greater than the active spell
you’re trying to end.
Charm: The target’s attitude towards you moves up the
Attitude Ladder a number of rungs equal to the spell’s
Potency. This spell can be resisted (even if the attack is
successful) by a target taking a point of Backlash, unless the
target’s Spirit pool is reduced to zero (0).
Magic Ward: You can ward a volume against magical
effects (such as shape earth). The Magic Ward must be
dispelled before any magic can be worked on the volume.
Example Moderate Effects
Banish Summoned Creature: If this spell’s Potency is
greater than the Potency of a spell that summoned the
targeted creature(s), those creatures are sent back to whence
they came.
Spirit Sight: You can see the Immaterial instead of the
Material. While this spell is active, you cannot see soul-less
things (like animated skeletons and zombies), though
constructed things (like buildings or weapons) do appear in
the spirit world - as they possess some spiritual energy.
Gossamer Touch: You can touch, pick up, and otherwise
physically interact with immaterial things for the duration
of the spell. If attacking an immaterial being with an
immaterial object, your strength and dexterity is equal to
the potency of this spell.
Impose Derangement: You magically impose a
derangement of your choosing on a target. Targets can
either endure the derangement for the duration (taking
penalties if applicable) or take one point of Backlash to end
the influence. This spell can be cast multiple times to
increase the penalty.
Chapter Six: Magic
Example Major Effects
Trap Spirits: You can trap a targeted spirit (or other being)
from crossing from the Material to the Immaterial (or vice
versa). The potency of this spell must exceed the target’s
Magic score or it simply fails.
Protection from Magic: Only spells with a potency greater
than this spell’s potency can affect this spell’s targets.
Alter Goals/Ties: You can add or remove one of the target’s
goals or ties. Targets can reject the alteration by taking one
point of Backlash. (Targets cannot simply take a lost goal or
tie until the spell ends.)
Example Extreme Effects
Telekinetic Flight: Your targets can take flight, propelled
by telekinetic force.
Dominate Mind: You take direct control of a target’s mind,
directing his actions as if it were your own body. You can
spend your own actions to have the target act in any way
you see fit. Targets can resist this this control by taking one
point of Backlash.
The Primal School
The second of the two schools of
energy, Primal is opposed by the
Spirit school. It is the school of
power, the Elemental school. This is
the study of the most visible and
tangible forces of nature themselves.
Students of this school manipulate
the primal elements of the world:
Fire and Ice, Earth and Sky, Lighting and Water.
The Primal School of magic is the magic of devastation. It
burns, freezes, electrocutes and crushes; it is the magic of
War. It is the most classically “wizardly” of the Schools of
magic.
Damage from the Primal School is divided among four
subtypes: Earth, which inflicts Physical damage; Sky, which
inflicts Electrical or Sonic damage; Fire, which inflicts
Thermal damage; and Water, which inflicts Cryo damage.
When casting a spell of the Primal school, you choose which
of these damage types best fits the spell you described.
Example Minor Effects
Move Earth: You can cause a volume of loose earth (not
solid stone or mortared walls) to move a couple of feet each
round the spell is sustained.
Start Fire: You can cause a volume of flammable material to
catch flame, becoming a hazard equal to ½ this spell’s
potency.
Rock Armor: You can form armor from stone or crystal on
the target(s), increasing their AR by the spell’s Potency.
(Note, this does not stack with armor already worn, only
the highest AR applies).
53
Elemental Weapons: You change the type of damage
inflicted by the target(s) attacks to a different type (Thermal,
Cryo, Electric, or Sonic).
Example Moderate Effects
Conjure Simple Elemental: You can call an elemental that
can act as a Laborer Follower or a Crude-quality Combat
Follower. This elemental has a number of mutation points
to express its elemental nature equal to the Potency of the
spell.
Shape Earth: You can cause a volume of earth (stone and
mortared walls included) to take a new shape. The higher
the potency of this spell, the more specific the shape you can
designate. (A 1 is sufficient for “a doorway”, but a 5 or more
may be necessary for “a gothic archway with engravings
depicting a battle”. When the spell ends, the shaped earth
retains its shape unless outside forces (including gravity,
wind, load, etc) cause it to break. Loose earth will usually
crumble away immediately.
Example Major Effects
Conjure Elemental: You can call an elemental that acts as a
Combat Follower of a quality equal to the Potency of the
spell (Potency 1 = Crude, Potency 2 = Poor, Potency 3 =
Ordinary, etc.) and which has a number of mutation points
to express its elemental nature equal to twice the Potency of
the spell.
Change Weather: You can alter the weather over a distance
up to this spell’s area. You can adjust the weather a number
of grades equal to this spell’s Potency (from sunny to rainy
to storming to typhoon; and the like), while adjusting the
temperature up to (5 * Potency) degrees.
Empowered Weapons: You can empower your target(s)’
weapons, increasing damage inflicted by 1d6.
Example Extreme Effects
Conjure Greater Elemental: You can call a powerful (and
old) elemental entity that can act as either an Expert
Follower or a Combat Follower of Superior Quality. This
elemental has a number of Mutation Points equal to four
times the spell’s potency to express its elemental nature.
Overpowering Weapons: You enhance the damage your
target(s) inflict by 2d6.
Sinkhole: You can cause a radius of land to quickly and
violently drop down a distance equal to the spell’s Area of
Effect, inflicting falling damage equal to the spell’s Potency
on any unfortunate enough to be caught in the cataclysm.
This spell can easily damage or destroy buildings - who
have their foundations undermined by the newly formed
sinkhole.
Chapter Six: Magic
The Creation School
The School of Creation, sometimes
called the School of Nature, is the
first of the Schools of Matter, the
balancing force and complement of
Entropy. Creation magic manipulates
natural forces, transforming what
exists and bringing new things into
being.
The Creation School of magic is the magic of life and
vitality. It nurtures and heals, empowers and restores.
Creation magic can create and change life, or cause it to
flourish.
Creation magic cannot be used to inflict damage on others;
it heals targets instead of harming them.
Example Minor Effects
Impose/Remove Minor Mutation: You can bestow or
remove the effects and physical manifestation of a Minor
Mutation of your choice on your target(s) for the duration
of the spell.
Control Base Life: You can direct base life form(s) (bugs,
birds, dogs, etc.) to become your follower for the duration
of this spell. Major Base life forms (such as a wolf alpha)
instead treat you as an ally for the duration.
Example Moderate Effects
Cure Minor Poisons/Diseases: You can end a persistent
poison or disease with a potency less than or equal to the
potency of this spell.
Conjure Base Life: You can create a base life form (bugs,
birds, dogs, etc.) which can act as a simple Laborer Follower
or as a Poor-quality Combat Follower.
Impose/Remove Affliction: You can bestow or remove the
effects and physical manifestation of a Beneficial or
Detrimental Affliction of your choice on your target(s) for
the duration of the spell.
Example Major Effects
Cure Major Poisons/Diseases: You end a persistent non-
magical poison or disease. Magical diseases and poisons
(such as Lycanthropy) are unaffected.
Impose/Remove Blight: You can bestow or remove the
effects and physical manifestation of a Beneficial or
Detrimental Blight of your choice on your target(s) for the
duration of the spell.
Example Extreme Effects
Create Higher Life: You create a higher life form (such as a
human), which can be any type of Follower. The quality of
Combat Followers created in this way is equal to Crude
plus a number of steps up equal to Potency. The creature
can have as a number of mutation points equal to Potency.
54
The Entropy School
The second of the two Schools of
Matter, Entropy is the opposing
force of Creation; for this reason it is
often called the School of Negation.
Nothing lives without death. Time
inevitably brings an end to all things
in the material world, and yet in this
ending is the seed of a beginning. A
river may flood its banks, causing
havoc, but bring new life to its floodplain. The fire that
burns a forest ushers in new growth. And so it is with
entropic magic that we manipulate the forces of erosion,
decay, and destruction to create anew.
The Entropy School of magic is the magic of decay and
death, but also of Undeath. Students of Entropy can create,
control, and bolster the undead, or weaken and destroy the
living.
Damage inflicted by Entropy spells comes from weakening
and decaying the target; and is considered Necrotic
damage.
Example Minor Effects
Create Minor Disease: You create a disease in a target with
a minor effect, like a cold or rash. The TN to resist
contracting this new disease is 10 + the spell’s Potency.
Animate Corpse: You manipulate the forces of death to
animate a corpse (of any species). This corpse can act as a
simple laborer or as a Crude-quality Combat Follower.
Corrupted Weapons: You change the type of damage
inflicted by your Target(s) to Necrotic.
Example Moderate Effects
Weaken Armor/Weapon: You can corrode the weapons or
armor of a target, permanently reducing the Armor Rating
or Damage of the target by 1 point.
Create Undeath: You animate a dead thing with a form of
Undeath; it retains the abilities and focuses it had in life, and
becomes a Follower of the same type and quality as it would
have been in life.
Example Major Effects
Create Plague: You create a devastating illness that can
eventually lead to death over the course of the next 2d6
months. The TN to resist contracting this new disease is 10
+ the spell’s Potency.
Example Extreme Effects
Create Magical Disease/Plague: You create a disease or
plague (as above) that cannot be cured by normal mundane
or Magical means.
Chapter Seven: Crafting
Chapter Seven
There are no people more prized in a society than its
craftspeople. While any fool can swing a sword, it takes true
skill and dedication to learn to forge one anew from the base
elements. It is the blacksmith that keeps the horses shoed,
the plows sharp and the army well stocked; it is the
carpenters and masons who erect houses, castles, and more.
From the lowliest cobbler to the greatest architects -
craftsmen are the lifeblood of any society.
The Act of Crafting
To undertake a crafting project you need only knowledge
of the appropriate Recipe, the right raw materials, time to
work and an appropriate workspace. Once all of these are
acquired, crafting is a Basic test with a TN based on the
item’s quality; and an Ability (Focus) determined on the
item being created. Strength (Smithing) for metalwork,
Cunning (Herbal Lore) for potion-making, etc.
Crafting “Recipes”
Every craftsman, whether he is a poison-maker, a
blacksmith, or a cobbler, knows how to make only a limited
number of things. Most blacksmiths would have no idea
how to forge a longsword; they just never learned how to
do it. While a certain degree of knowledge and skill is
implied from the focuses and talents you possess -
encompassing extremely simple items like horseshoes,
pots, and pans - more complicated items require Recipes to
craft.
A Recipe represents the knowledge to create a single type
of item; whether it’s the complicated alchemical formula to
create a potion, the schematics required to build a sailing
ship, or the techniques to forge a short sword. While a
Recipe only covers a single type of item, you don’t need a
new recipe for superior quality or alternate material items -
55
Crafting
the “Longsword” recipe is sufficient for both a basic
longsword and a Fine Silverite Longsword.
Learning new Recipes
Characters that have picked up the talents required to
become craftsmen will gain a number of Recipes from those
talents, but can learn many more. To learn a Recipe you
must first find a teacher, which is either someone who
knows the recipe, or a written record such as a book or
scroll. Most craftsmen are hesitant to share their Recipes; it
jeopardizes their business and takes their valuable time.
Where such knowledge can be paid for - always and only at
the GM’s discretion, and usually requiring an adventure on
top of the cash price - a recipe will usually cost anywhere
between five and ten times what the finished product will
cost.
With an appropriate source (a teacher or written record)
learning a recipe requires an advanced TN 13 Cunning
(Engineering, Poison Lore, Herbal Lore or other
appropriate focus) test with a threshold of 15. Each test
requires a day of study, with failure indicating that no
progress was made that day.
Creating your own Recipes
The lack of an appropriate Recipe can put a serious damper
on your plans, and you can’t always expect to find the
recipe you need when you need it. Indeed, the vast majority
of craftsmen simply don’t possess the recipes that most
adventurers would find useful. Fortunately, an intelligent
character can develop a recipe on his own. Doing so is not
quick, is not cheap, and is not easy.
The recipe of even a relatively simple item like a longsword
represents centuries of evolution and development,
recreating one from scratch isn’t quick or easy. Creating a
recipe from scratch is an advanced TN 19 Cunning
Chapter Seven: Crafting
(Engineering/Poison Lore/Herbal Lore/or other
appropriate Focus) test with a threshold of 25. Each test
requires you pay an amount equal to the item’s base cost for
materials in your research and experimentation and takes
two full weeks of time. If you have a completed example of
the item the recipe is for, the test takes only a week (though
you do have to pay the same amount). Failure indicates
there was no progress made, while a failure with a Dragon
Die result of 1 indicates all progress was lost, and the
advanced test must start over.
Materials and Cost
No matter how good you are, you cannot forge a longsword
with nothing but sand and twigs. To craft an item -
regardless of what the item is - you need access to supplies.
While you can usually buy most common supplies,
uncommon or dangerous materials must be acquired
through adventure.
When crafting an item, you must pay an amount equal to
half its Cost to attempt its construction. Resources acquired
through questing (such as the mithril you are going to forge
a sword out of) should all be assigned a value, and when
used in the crafting of an item can be used in “payment” of
up to half of the crafting cost (one-quarter of the item’s final
value); if you don’t have enough of the material to equal a
quarter of the item’s Cost, then you don’t have enough of
the Material to craft the item. (The GM may judge
otherwise, especially if it is close).
Crafting Cost = ½ item Cost
Materials=½ Crafting Cost=¼ Item Cost
Multi-Tasking Crafting
A crafting task does not require the entirety of a craftsman’s
time, and a master craftsman does not need to put his hands
on every piece used to assemble a suit of armor. With an
appropriate Expert follower to oversee each crafting
project, a craftsman can simultaneously conduct a number
of crafting projects equal to his Cunning ability.
Typically, a craftsman must spend one week a month
overseeing his projects, or the project doesn’t progress that
month. This leaves three weeks a month to go out
adventuring
Crafting Time
Crafting takes time; whether it is ponderously hammering
at a forge, painstakingly carving a violin into the perfect
shape, or exactingly mixing ingredients to make a potion.
Since we don’t have time to research exactly how long it
took to forge a sword using medieval techniques, or how
long it took to build a ship from keel to decks (and if we did,
the answer might not be conducive to having a good time -
do we really need to know that it took centuries to erect a
castle?). In light of this, the time it takes to craft something
loosely falls into one of the following categories.
56
Quick (less than 1 Hour) - Really simple and small things
that can be completed relatively quickly. Unless time is a
factor, assume it takes about an hour to complete, otherwise
it will take an hour - (10*Dragon Die) minutes.
Simple (1 day) - Most small, handheld objects without
intricate workings; examples include daggers, lanterns,
silverware sets and the like.
Complicated (1 Week) - Larger pieces that can still be held
in one hand but are far more complicated than simple
objects. Examples include instruments, most weapons,
furniture and the like. This also includes some simplistic
buildings such as barns or huts.
Complex/Large (1 Month) - Larger more complex objects,
including most suits of armor, crossbows and a vast
majority of common buildings.
Minor Large-Scale (3 Months) - Larger public buildings
such as churches or bathhouses, smaller ships, or simple
fortifications.
Major Large-Scale (1 year+) - Immense public buildings
like cathedrals, larger ships or entire castles; major
fortresses and the like might take multiple years to build -
at the GM’s discretion.
Workspace
It is no simple matter to undertake a crafting project, and
artisans spend their entire lifetimes collecting the tools and
facilities necessary to perform their craft.
The proper workspace required varies widely from craft to
craft - from the forges of smiths, to the studios of painters,
to the cranes and quarries of architects. Regardless of the
form it takes, a workspace fits into one of five categories,
which determines if it provides a bonus (or penalty) to the
crafting roll.
Crude Workspace - These workspaces are barely sufficient
to do the craft’s work. Most workspaces in the world are
crude - the village blacksmith has to put up with the simple
forge and tools he has acquired or made himself, the artist
lives in a cramped studio with just the basic paints and
brushes, etc... A Crude Workspace imposes a -3 penalty to
crafting tests made within it, and can never produce goods
higher than Fine Quality.
Ordinary Workspace - These workspaces have just what
you need to get the job done and nothing more. These
workspaces are found in towns and cities where wealth can
be made and used to outfit better workspaces. An Ordinary
Workspace grants no bonuses to crafting tests, nor imposes
any penalties; though an Ordinary Workspace can produce
goods up to Superior Quality.
Fancy Workspace - These workspaces have everything you
could need to complete a project in an efficient and timely
manner and almost certainly include tools of superior
quality. They are found only among the most affluent in a
field - usually forming the foundation of a Guildhall within
a major city. A Fancy Workspace grants a +1 bonus to
crafting rolls made within it, and can produce goods up to
Exceptional Quality.
Chapter Seven: Crafting

Luxurious Workspace - These workspaces are found only TN: This is the Target Number of the crafting test for objects
in the very wealthiest of places and are worked in only by of this quality.
masters of their craft. These workspaces have everything
Modifiers: For weapons, Modifier A adds to Weapon
you could ever want, all of it of superlative quality - even
Damage while Modifier B adds to Attack rolls.
esoteric and outlandish tools useful for only a single (rare)
procedure will be found here. These workspaces are For Armor, Modifier A adds to Armor Rating while
unheard of outside Royal Armories or Grand Guildhalls. A Modifier B is subtracted from min. constitution.
Luxurious Workspace grants a +3 bonus to crafting rolls
For most other Objects, Modifier B applies to tests made
made within it, and can produce goods up to Legendary
with that object.
Quality.
Perfect Workspace - These workspaces are legends and Ornamental Treasures
myths - often assumed to not even exist. They are the There is more to an item than mere practical application,
private workshops of crafting gods and devils - or even sometimes you want something to look good, and when
more powerful beings. In a perfect workspace, everything you do - ornamental treasures are where you find them.
is of unimaginable quality and its placement is … perfect. Deciding to make an item ornamental does nothing to affect
Raw material bins are always where you need them, tools its function, but provides the item a Social Benefit (detailed
seem to fly into your hands when they are needed and any in Chapter 4: Equipment and Gear). For obvious reasons,
project seems to assemble itself. A Perfect Workspace grants Ornamental items cost more, but they also take longer to
you a +5 bonus to crafting rolls made within it, and can make - since you need to spend time ensuring that every
produce goods up to Divine Quality. feature of the item is pleasing to the eye as well as
Quality is Everything functional; this is accompanied with a minor increase in
difficulty as well; more than one smith has compromised
There is a difference, clearly, between a pitted, rusty
the integrity of a blade with fanciful alterations.
longsword on one hand and a longsword new-forged by
dwarves from veridium mined from their ancestral vaults Ornamentation Cost Time TN Effect
on the other. There is a critical distinction between an Ordinary +0 1x +0 None
upside-down cookpot and a helm crafted by a master of the Decorative 5 gp 2x +1 +1 Social Benefit
king’s armories. And it makes a difference whether one’s Ornate 25 gp 4x +2 +2 Social Benefit
mandolin was assembled from Dalish wood by a master Jeweled 125 gp 8x +3 +3 Social Benefit
musician or cobbled together by an itinerant peddler who Resplendent 600 gp 16x +4 +5 Social Benefit
had one eye on the local fishmonger’s wife while he worked
on it.
Special Materials
There is more to an object than the quality of its
When you start a crafting project you must choose the craftsmanship - the raw materials from which it is made
quality of the object. The Quality you choose determines the impacts it nearly as much. An object’s Quality determines
TN of the crafting test and modifies the amount of time it how much more effective it is than its base form; Objects
takes to craft the object. Higher-quality objects also have a made of Special Materials, on the other hand, do not
higher Cost - in addition to the bonuses they grant. improve the item’s basic effectiveness - instead improving
Cost: The base object’s Cost is multiplied by this number to its secondary traits.
determine the Value of the higher-quality object.
Special Materials can impact a weapon’s Minimum
Time: The Crafting Time of an Object is multiplied by this Strength requirement, its Range, or any number of other
number to determine how long it takes to craft the higher- attributes, but should not add to Attack or Damage rolls;
quality object. nor should it add to Armor Rating or lower Armor Penalties
Quality Cost Time TN Mod A Mod B An item’s material increases its cost (for obvious reasons),
Crude ¼x ¼x 7 -3 -3 and the exotic methods that need to be employed to shape
Poor ½x ½x 9 -1 -1 them increases both the Crafting time and Target Number
Ordinary 1x 1x 11 +0 +0 of the project. Special Materials are measured by Value - as
Fine +1 gp 2x 13 +1 +0 opposed to being measured by weight - and to craft an item
Pristine +5 gp 4x 15 +2 +1 with a Special Material, the value of the materials you have
Superior +25 gp 8x 17 +3 +1 must equal the Materials Cost of the item (see Materials and
Outstanding +125 gp 16x 19 +4 +2 Cost earlier in this chapter). When Special Materials can be
Exceptional +625 gp 32x 21 +5 +2 purchased, always and only at the GM’s discretion, they
Perfect +3,000 gp 64x 23 +6 +3 usually also require an adventure on top of the cash price.
Marvelous +15,000 gp 128x 25 +7 +3 Special Materials should be rewards for successful
Legendary +78,000 gp 256x 27 +8 +4 adventures and gifts from powerful allies - not just another
Epic +400,000gp 512x 29 +9 +4 commodity to be bought and sold.
Divine +2,000,000gp 1024x 31 +10 +5

57
Chapter Seven: Crafting

Weapon and Armor Materials Mithral: Cost: 2x, Time: 2x, TN +1

Cost Time TN
Mithral is a very rare silvery, glistening
Material Effect
metal that is lighter than steel but just as
Mundane 1x 1x +0 None
hard. It is prized by smiths in the creation
Adamant 8x 8x +3 Doesn’t Suffer Damage
of arms and armor. When Armor is made
Drakeskin 16x 16x +4 ½ Damage from Element
from it, it is considered one category
Etherium 16x 16x +4 Can attack Immaterial
lighter (Plate becomes Mail and Mail becomes Leather) for all
Ironbark 4x 4x +2 Range +50%
purposes; when Weapons are made from it the Minimum
Mithral 2x 2x +1 -1 Minimum Strength
strength to wield them decreases by 1.
Scrith 8x 8x +3 2-yard radius Unholy
Silverite 8x 8x +3 2-yard radius Holy Scrith: Cost: 8x, Time: 8x, TN +3
Volcanic Aurum 8x 8x +3 Weightless Found only in the deepest darkest places,
Mundane Materials: Cost: 1x, Time: 1x, TN +0 Scrith appears to be a matte black metal
Representing all common mundane materials from Iron, with tendrils of red just beneath the
Bronze and Steel to Ash, Pine and Yew. Items made from surface. When forged into weapons or
Mundane Materials are the base from which all others armor, the area immediately adjacent to it
differentiate themselves, and they offer no benefits above (Engaged) is considered an Unholy place (imposing a -1
and beyond that of the generic version of the item. penalty to all tests made by Holy creatures).
Adamantine: Cost: 8x, Time: 8x, TN +3 Silverite: Cost: 8x, Time: 8x, TN +3
Mined from rocks that fell from the Considered by many to be a gift from the
heavens, this ultrahard metal adds to the gods, silverite is an opaque white metal
durability of a weapon or suit of armor. with swirling vortices of silver running
Weapons and armor fashioned from across it. When forged into weapons or
Adamantine never suffer damage inflicted armor, the area immediately adjacent to it
by stunts or items that reduce Armor Rating or Damage. (Engaged) is considered a Holy place (imposing a -1 penalty
to all tests made by Unholy creatures).
Drakeskin: Cost: 16x, Time: 16x, TN +4
Drakes are the youngest of Dragonkind Volcanic Aurum: Cost: 8x, Time: 8x, TN +3
and they have yet to grow scales of their A rare form of volcanic glass that is
own. Their Skins, however, are very virtually weightless but as strong as steel.
durable and widely desired in leather- Weapons made out of Volcanic Aurum
working applications. Armor made from don’t count against your Weapon Limit,
Drakeskin increases a type of resistance nor do they have a weight.
based on the drake’s elemental affinity (e.g. a red drake’s
made into armor would increase Thermal Resistance) by 3.
Etherium: Cost: 16x, Time: 16x, TN +4
A semi-transparent blue metal present
both on the Material and Immaterial sides
of the veil. Found only in locations of
massive death, where thousands of souls
have crossed over, it has the ability to
affect both Material and Immaterial
beings. Weapons made from Etherium can be used to attack
both Material and Immaterial creatures, and armor made
from Etherium applies its full Armor Rating against attacks
made across the veil.
Ironbark: Cost: 4x, Time: 4x, TN +2
Derived from the bark of trees that have
fallen from age, Ironbark is as durable as
steel but far more flexible. Ranged
Weapons made from Ironbark increase
their Short and Long Range by 50%.

58
Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings
Chapter Eight
House, Lands, and Holdings
A house, at its very base, is intended to represent a noble
family, though a house can also be used - with some slight
modifications - to represent guilds, senates, councils or any
other political body that wields its own power.
Kingdoms
These rules are intended to be used to represent a feudal
society, with Noble houses sworn to allegiance to a King (or
queen) and their Royal family. The Royal family is a House,
like any other, that has enough Vassals and Allies so that
they cannot be challenged by any other houses in their
geographical region, or rather, no house has successfully
defeated them.
A Royal House typically has immense resources, and many
exceptionally powerful vassals, who in turn have a great
many vassals of their own. It is important to keep in mind
that the great majority of land in a kingdom is not directly
ruled by a king, or even a noble family - free farmers,
knights, and other entities will own the vast majority of the
lands of any kingdom.
Houses in Play
Houses are intended to give players an invested interest in
a land or people; they can also be used to draw the players’
characters together in a bond stronger than “met in a bar”.
Players can start play as members of a House, be adopted
into a House at a later date, or found a House of their own
when they accept responsibility for a land and its people.
The following rules for creating Houses are intended to be
used to create a House of intermediate strength, with room
to grow and expand, but also capable of failing and
collapsing. If a house is gained through play, rather than
created at the beginning of the game, it is entirely
reasonable to adjust resources and holdings to appropriate
levels - depending on how the house has been presented in
the game.
59
Player characters don’t necessarily need to be the leaders of
a House for them to control its progress - even as minor
members they have motivation to see the house prosper
and grow.
Resources
As much as a house is defined by its history, deeds, and
politics, a house is essentially a collection of seven
resources. Each resource, like a character’s abilities,
describes an aspect of the house’s holdings such as the size
of its lands, its political status, wealth, and so on. Each
resource has a rating ranging from 1 to 50 and higher, with
higher numbers representing greater resources and smaller
numbers representing fewer resources. These values will
fluctuate during play, rising and falling depending on how
well it fares in the test of time.
For each resource, roll 7d6 and sum the results. For
explanations for each resource and their values, see their
respective entries.
Defense
Defense describes fortifications, castles, keeps, towers, and
other structures that serve to protect your holdings. Defense
also describes the presence and quality of roads,
representing the ability to move troops and supplies to
threatened areas.
Influence
Influence describes your presence in your nation, how other
houses see you, and the notoriety attached to your name. A
high Influence resource typically describes a great noble
house or a royal family, while a low Influence resource
would describe a house of little consequence, small and
largely unknown beyond the lands of their liege.
Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings

Score Description
The house’s name and history has been erased from
Wealth
0 Wealth covers everything from coin to cattle and
all records, and no one speaks of them anymore.
1-10 A minor landed knight or the equivalent. everything in between. It represents your involvement and
A greater landed knight or the equivalent, with a success in trade, your ability to fund improvements in your
11-20 domain, hire mercenaries, and more.
name known to some outside the immediate area.
21-30
31-40
Minor Nobility, important only to their immediate
lords
Important to nobles far and wide.
House History
Each house has a history, a chronicle of deeds and crimes
Well-Known nobility known to everyone in the
41-50 that shape its identity. Great deeds might elevate a house to
nation.
greater heights, while scandal and tragedy can shatter a
Powerful Nobility such as Dukes or similar known to
51-60 house’s foundation, forcing it to fall into obscurity.
just about anyone on the continent.
61-70 Kings and Queens of major nations. Historical events provide important developments in your
family’s history, either adding to your fortunes or
Lands diminishing them.
Land resources describe the size of your House’s holdings When creating a new house, you roll 1d6 to determine how
and the extent of their influence over their region. A high many events are in your house’s past. Each event modifies
score describes a house that controls an enormous stretch of your resources, increasing or decreasing them by the
terrain, such as a Duke, while a small score might represent indicated value. Roll 3d6 once for each historical event and
control over a small town. compare the result to the following table. Record them in
the order that you rolled them. Historical events can reduce
Law a resource to 0 but no lower.
Law encompasses two things: the extent to which the Roll Event
commoners respect and fear you and the threat of bandits, 3 Ascent
brigands, raiders, and other external and internal threats. 4 Catastrophe
Law is something your family must maintain, and if you 5 Conquest
don’t invest in keeping your realm safe, it could fall into 6 Defeat
chaos. 7 Decline
8 Doom
Score Description
9 Favor
0 Lawless, uncivilized land. You have no authority here.
10 Glory
Bandits, raiders, and other criminal bands are afoot in
1-10 11 Infrastructure
your lands, causing mischief and trouble.
Lawlessness and banditry are a problem along the 12 Invasion/Revolt
11-20 13 Madness
fringes of your lands.
The typical level of Law throughout much of the 14 Scandal
21-30 Medieval Period in Europe. Crime is common but not 15 Treachery
out of control. 16 Victory
You exert a great deal of control over your lands, 17 Villain
31-40
and crime is uncommon. 18 Windfall
Such is your influence and devotion to maintaining
41-50
the peace that crime is rare. Ascent
51-60 You have almost no crime at all in your lands. An advantageous marriage, a great deed for a liege lord, or heroism in a
decisive battle can all improve the fortunes of a noble house. If this is your
The only crimes in your lands are crimes of passion,
61-70 first historical event, it indicates that your house was raised from the
all others are put down.
common folk by marriage or through some great act that warranted your

Population
elevation to a noble house. Otherwise, ascent indicates that your house
participated in some key historical event that improved their fortunes.
Population addresses the sheer number of people living in Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
the lands you control. The more people there are, the more +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6
mouths you have to feed. However, the more people there Catastrophe
are, the more your lands produce. This abstract value A result of catastrophe usually indicates a natural disaster, such as an
describes the quantity of folks that live under your rule. outbreak of plague, blight, or drought, any of which can diminish your
population and ability to control your lands. If catastrophe is your first
Power historical event, it means your family may have gained their status through
dubious or tragic means, perhaps replacing the previous lords who were
Power describes your house’s military strength, the ability wiped out during the catastrophe or were a lesser branch that rose in
to muster troops and rouse vassals sworn to you. Domains station as they inherited the holdings of their kin.
with low scores have few soldiers and no vassals, while Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
those with high scores may have a dozen or more vassals -1d6 -1d6 -1d6 -1d6
and can rouse an entire region. Conquest
60
Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings

Your family fought and defeated an enemy, annexing their lands and An invasion or revolt marks a period of collapse, destruction, and ruin.
holdings to their own. With such a victory comes the trouble of old Most of these results come from an external invasion, either from iron-
loyalties, weakening your house’s hold and influence over the common men, clansman, or wildling raiders, or from an enemy house, but it can
folk. If conquest is your first historical event, you gained your noble status also stem from a period of inept rule that led to a widespread common folk
by defeating another lord or landed knight. revolt. Invasion/revolt as a first historical event means your house was
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth born from the strife and came to power in the aftermath.
-1d6 +1d6 +1d6 -1d6 +1d6 +1d6 Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
-2d6 -1d6 -1d6 -1d6
Defeat
Your family fought a war or smaller conflict but was defeated, losing Madness
status, precious resources, and influence. If defeat is your first roll, your Inbreeding, fell secrets, disease, or mental defects can produce
family might have been swallowed up by another house and forced to derangement and madness among any people of the world, including its
marry into a lesser branch until your original bloodline became all but rulers. A madness historical event indicates that a particular figure
extinct. suffered from some insanity, producing unpredictable results, with
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth positive or negative outcomes. Each resource increases by +6 and then
decreases by –2d6, producing a range of +4 to –6. If this was your first
-1d6 -1d6 -1d6 -1d6 -1d6 -1d6
result, your family was instead raised by an insane lord or king as
Descent appropriate.
Whether from a poor marriage, a downturn in trade, or a series of tragic Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
losses in a conflict, your house entered a period of decline. If descent is 6-2d6 6-2d6 6-2d6 6- 6- 6-2d6 6-2d6
your first roll, your house was probably born from a poor marriage—a 2d6 2d6
desperate lord wedding his daughter to a merchant prince—or of a major
branch becoming extinct, leaving the holdings to a lesser branch to rule. Scandal
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth Your family was involved in some disaster, a scandal that haunts them
-1d6 -1d6 -1d6 -1d6 still. Good options include spawning a bastard, incest, failed conspiracies,
and so on. In the case of your first roll, the scandal created your family as
Doom a way of covering up the crime.
Easily the worst possible result, your house suffered a terrible series of Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
mishaps, disasters, and tragedies that nearly erased your family. -1d6 -1d6 -1d6
Depending on the era, doom might be of a supernatural origin—a dreadful
curse or an attack by horrors from beyond the Veil. Doom could be purely Treachery
natural, combining the results of several downturns into one catastrophic Either you suffered the results of treachery or you were involved in
setback. For a first historical event, your family might have clawed their committing a treacherous act. In either case, the historical event stains your
way out of the ashes of a destroyed house, maybe being loyal retainers or family’s name. Should treachery be your first result, you gained your
even just common folk that seized the old lord’s holdings. house by means of some dark deed, possibly betraying another lord or
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth noble.
-2d6 -2d6 -2d6 -2d6 -2d6 -2d6 -2d6 Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
-1d6 -1d6 +1d6
Favor
Your family gained the favor of the king, their lord, the Faith, or from some Victory
other powerful body. As a result, their fortunes improved, and they Your family achieved an important victory over their enemies. Foes could
climbed in standing. This favor might also result from the naming of a include iron-men, Reavers, a King-beyond-the-Wall, or a rival house. In
family member to the ranks of a major political entity such as a Knightly any event, your family rose in prominence and power because of their
order. Should favor be your first historical result, the king likely raised victory. As an initial historical event roll, this victory was so great that your
your family to nobility. family was raised to nobility.
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
+1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6
Glory Villain
A family wins glory through a military victory, personal achievement, or Your family produced a character of unspeakable cruelty and wickedness,
by a great act of heroism. Glory is similar to ascent, but it focuses on one a villain whose name is still whispered with dread. Such a character might
figure in your family’s past. The result of this individual’s deeds advances have committed terrible crimes in his home, killed guests under his roof,
your family’s standing in the eyes of its peers. Generally, glory as a first or was simply just a bad person. A villain as a first roll usually wins this
historical event should imply that your house was formed as a reward for position by dint of his evil, possibly murdering a rival and seizing his lands
the great acts of their founder. or birthright.
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
+1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 -1d6 -1d6 +1d6
Infrastructure Windfall
Infrastructure describes a period of peace and prosperity, a moment in
A windfall is a boon, a blessing that catapults your family into fame (or
your house’s history remembered for growth and expansion. Whenever
infamy). Possible results could be an advantageous marriage, a gift from
you get this result, choose two different resources and increase each by
the king, discovery of new resources on one’s lands, and more. If windfall
1d6. If infrastructure is your first result, your house was born during a
is your first historical event, you won your lands by attaining a victory at
period of expansion under your lord or king’s rule.
a tournament, performing a great act, etc.
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
Defense Influence Land Law Pop. Power Wealth
Choose any two and add +1d6
+1d6 +2d6 +1d6 +1d6 +1d6 +2d6 +2d6

Invasion/Revolt

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Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings
Putting it all Together
These events are broad and loosely defined to allow you
and your fellow players the greatest latitude in building
your house. It’s up to you and the GM to determine the
particular details of each event, though suggestions are
present under each entry. Come up with particular
instances that can help you make your house as interesting
and as detailed as you can. Doing so binds your characters
to the setting and helps to shape your own character’s
ambitions and personality. Pay special attention to the first
historical event, as it defines the origin of your house and is
a strong influence on your character’s upbringing.
Finishing Touches
Once the starting values for each resource and historical
events are determined, each player gets to modify the
values by rolling 1d6 and adding it to a resource of their
choice. The immediate result is that larger groups of players
have slightly more powerful houses because they have the
benefit of more signature characters. Players may modify
any resource they like, but no resource can benefit from
more than two extra rolls.
Holdings
With your resources generated, it’s time to define your
holdings. In a way, holdings are like investments in that
you use your resources to select specific elements in the
form of castles, towers, cities, towns, soldiers, mines, and
more. When you define your holdings, you do not reduce
the resource; instead, allocate those points to a specific
expression of that resource. You don’t need to allocate all
your resources, and may keep some in reserve to create new
holdings as the game progresses.
If your resources are later reduced, such as by a blight
sweeping through your crops or losing a battle, you may
lose your investment. Similarly, if an investment is
destroyed, such as having an enemy burn your castle to the
ground, you lose the resources you invested in that
particular holding.
All of the following holdings include how much of your
resources you need to invest to gain the holding. You can
invest resources at any point during the game to create a
holding, which is justified as “always being there” or
“having just been completed”. This allows you to flesh out
your holdings as the game progresses; you could, for
example, spawn a village while out adventuring on the
edges of your lands as a spot to rest and resupply. This
village had “always” been there, as evidenced by your
Population resource, but had until now not been important
enough to specify.
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Defense Holdings
Defense holdings are strongholds, towers, walls, and other
fortifications. A defense holding grants benefits to your
units’ Defense when defending your lands, but they are also
a symbol of status and power. If you have Defense Holdings
but no land holdings, you possess only the lands
immediately surrounding the defense holding and nothing
more.
Fortress
Investment: 50 Defense
A fortress is a massive stronghold in the vein of Helm’s
Deep or Minas Tirith. A fortress has several towers,
structures, and smaller buildings, all surrounded by a steep
curtain wall and likely a moat as well.
Benefit: Units defending a fortress gain a +10 bonus to
their Defense.
Castle
Investment: 40 Defense
Castles are impressive fortified strongholds but are not as
large or as imposing as a Fortress. Most castles incorporate
at least one central keep and several towers connected by
walls and surrounded by a moat.
Benefit: Units defending a castle gain a +5 bonus to their
Defense.
Small Castle
Investment: 30 Defense
A small castle is simply a smaller version of a standard
castle. It usually has no more than a single keep, perhaps
two towers and a wall.
Benefit: Units defending a small castle gain a +3 bonus to
their Defense.
Hall
Investment: 20 Defense
A hall (or keep) is usually a small, fortified building. It may
or may not be surrounded by a wall, and it could have a
tower, though it’s unlikely.
Benefit: Units defending a hall gain a +2 bonus to their
Defense.
Tower
Investment: 10 Defense
Towers are single stone or timber structures that thrust up
from the ground. If they have any outbuildings, they are
small and unprotected.
Benefit: Units defending a tower gain a +1 bonus to their
Defense.
Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings
Influence Holdings
Influence represents your social power, your presence in
your region and throughout the world. The primary
investment for Influence is in special characters. Influential
houses always attract important people, who swear oaths
to further that house’s goals in exchange for the benefits of
belonging to that house (those provided by the house’s
Wealth). Player Characters who are named to any of these
positions gain a mechanical benefit from the honor.
Head of House
Investment: 0 Influence
A house’s leadership, typically its Lord and Lady, costs no
Influence - they’re always expected
Benefit: A Head of House always inspires anyone he leads in
battle, merely by being who they are. Mass Combat units led by a
Head of House gain an additional point of Health.
Heir
Investment: 10 Influence
An heir is an appointed successor to the current head of
house, by whatever laws the house governs succession.
Benefit: The house has an appointed successor, usually a
son or daughter of the current Head. Mass Combat units
lead by an Heir gain an additional point of Health.
Knight
Investment: 5 Influence
A knighted character is charged with the defense of the
House’s honor and its members.
Benefit: The house gains an experienced warrior as a
special character. The honor increases his total Health by 5.
Magician
Investment: 5 Influence
A court magician is tasked with tracking the magical
welfare of their House, and providing its members with
magical services.
Benefit: The house gains an experienced mage as a special
character. The honor increases his total Spirit Pool by 5.
Master Artisan
Investment: 5 Influence
A master artisan serves to provide the house with the best
arms, armor, and equipment.
Benefit: The house gains an experienced craftsman
capable of producing Superior equipment. The honor
allows him to craft objects one quality better than normal.
Spymaster
Investment: 10 Influence
A Spymaster watches over a house’s spies and informants,
keeping tabs on undesirables and bringing important news
to the Head of House - or dealing with it themselves.
Benefit: The house gains an experienced Rogue with
contacts in the House and its neighbors. When using
contacts to acquire Intel, the TN is no longer affected by
the value or danger of acquiring the Intel.
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Land Holdings
Lands describe the terrain and extent of your actual
holdings. Lands may be forests, lakes, hills, mountains,
coastlines, and more, all based on where your house is
situated and the terrain of your realm. Each Land
investment is called a domain. Each domain is roughly a
league (3 miles). Your domains reflect only those lands that
are under your direct control and not under the control of
your vassals, knights, and others in your service.
Domains each have two components, features and terrain.
A feature is something found on that land such as a river,
woods, or coastline. A domain can have as many features
as you’d like to invest. A domain without a feature is
barren, being a desert, scrubland, or waste depending on
the realm. Terrain specifically describes the lay of land,
being mountainous, hilly, flat, or sunken. A domain must
have terrain and may only have one type of terrain, even if
it has elements of other terrain types.
Terrain
There are four broad types of terrain. If you cannot afford
to invest in a domain, your holdings are smaller than a
league and extend only a short distance around your
primary stronghold.
Terrain Cost
Hills 7
Mountains 9
Plains 5
Wetlands 3
Hills: Hilly terrain is difficult to move across, taking 50%
longer to cross than flat plains. Battles that take place on
Hilly terrain allow the defender Battlefield Advantage.
Mountains: Mountains are very treacherous to cross, taking
at least twice as long to cross. They are incapable of having
the grassland feature, but do offer defenders Advantageous
Terrain.
Plains: Flat plains are desirable for agriculture and are easy
to traverse. But they offer no defensive advantage.
Wetlands: Wetlands are very undesirable terrain, nearly
impossible to cross with armies and taking twice as long to
traverse with smaller groups. Roads cannot be built over
wetlands.
Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings

Features Law Holdings

A feature is some descriptive element or noteworthy Unlike other resources, Law does not have holdings for
landmark or place that merits attention. Costs are in investment. Instead, your Law resource describes the extent
addition to the terrain cost. of your authority over your lands, specifically it applies to
Terrain Cost drawing resources from your lands with minimal loss due
Coast 3 to crime, banditry, and villainy. Maintaining a high Law
Grassland 1 resource helps reduce waste and loss, improving your
Island 10 house’s fortunes, while having a low Law allows banditry
Road 5 and criminals to drag your house down. Apply the modifier
Ruin 3 on the following table to all House Fortune rolls you make.
Stream/River 2
Law Score Fortunes
Pond/Lake 5
Light Woods 3 0 -20
Dense Woods 5 1-10 -10
11-20 -5
Coast: A holding with a coastline is on the sea or a really 21-30 -2
large lake. Coastal areas provide easy access to fishing, so 31-40 -1
they provide food as if they were a Grassland. These 41-50 0
holdings can build ports, and enable Warships access to 51-60 +1
take part in battle. In combat, one side of a battle map 61-70 +2
should have sea access. 71+ +5
Grassland: Grasslands are valuable agricultural features, as
they are the only features that can support farming or
Population Holdings
Population holdings represent the cities, towns, and
herding of livestock. A single grassland can feed a Village;
villages under your house’s control. The greater your
two are needed for a Town, four for a City, and eight for a
Population, the more people occupy your lands. You can
Metropolis.
invest Population into settlements, each of which possesses
Island: Islands are very defensible holdings completely a title that can be given out, along with a stipend paid every
surrounded by water. Since only Warships can fight on month to its ruler. A settlement’s ruler must spend a week
water, any armies crossing to attack an island must either out of every month managing the settlement’s affairs, or the
defeat the defender’s Warships, or risk being sunk without House will suffer a -5 penalty to House Fortunes rolls (for
a fight. Islands usually, but not always, also have a Coast each settlement poorly managed)
(those that don’t are cliff-faced).
Settlement Cost Food Stipend
Road: Roads are helpful for travel, cutting the time it takes Village 15 1 25 sp
to cross an area in half. They also allow easy commerce. Town 30 2 100 sp
Ruin: Ruins of lost civilizations often contain treasures and City 60 4 400 sp
cultural artifacts. When present on a battlefield, they can be Metropolis 100 8 1,600 sp
used as a defensive bastion as if they were a Tower. Feeding Settlements
Stream/River: Waterways are very beneficial to commerce In most situations, Houses don’t need to care where the
and travel - though they require a boat. Travel via river is food their people eat comes from - they produce food on
three times as fast as on foot, and it provides a natural their lands and import whatever they need behind the
barrier in battle. Warships are too large to travel on streams scenes. In times of war or natural disaster, however, it
- though streams have easily crossed fords, while rivers can becomes important where food comes from.
be traversed by Warships but not crossed by other units. Since people may stop trading with your house, your
Pond/Lake: Ponds and Lakes provide ample fresh water farmlands might be captured by enemies, your shipping
and great fishing. They provide food as if they were a lanes might be blockaded, and your road traffic halted - it
Grassland. may become important to know just how much food your
people need and how much you can provide.
Light Woods: Light woods provide many obstructions,
doubling the amount of time it takes to cross them unless a The above table lists how many “units” of food a house
Road or Waterway is used. needs to feed a settlement before it begins to starve.
Grasslands, Coasts, and Ponds/Lakes all provide a House
Dense Woods: Dense woodlands, although scary, provide with one unit of food. When a House can’t get enough food
ample defense against invasion. Cavalry simply can’t to stave off starvation, the difference between the food it
navigate in Dense Woods - necessitating that they be needs and the food it can get (including from trade) is
dismounted to be of any use. They also double transit times subtracted from the House’s Population Resource each
unless a Road or Waterway is used. month the starvation persists.

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Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings
Power Holdings
From your Power resource, you derive your family’s
military might, its sworn swords, guardsmen, and vassals
that fight on your behalf. You can invest Power into vassals
or units. You do not have to invest all of your Power and
can keep some or much of it in reserve to deal with
Household Fortunes as they crop up.
Vassals
Investment: 1 Power per 5 points of Resources (total) the
vassal has.
Benefit: The Vassal House provides Units when called,
hosts its Liege House’s members while in its lands, and
gives 1 (from its resources) Wealth every year to its Liege.
Vassals are noble families and landed knights that have
sworn vows of service and loyalty to your house in
exchange for your house’s protection, support, and aid in
times of trouble. While promises bind the vassal to your
house, such vows can be tested when personal ambitions
get in the way of honor and duty. Moreover, smaller houses
often come to envy the power and influence of the larger
houses to whom they are sworn, and betrayals, while
uncommon since the consequences can be so severe, can
and do occur.
The benefit of a vassal is that they provide you with income
each year and may be called to lend their military strength
to your own. However, they are not blindly obedient, and
though they are sworn to you, their interests usually come
first. Furthermore, if you want to keep the loyalty of a
vassal, you must also support them and their conflicts, even
if doing so would interfere with your own plans.
Your vassal (or vassals) begins play loyal to your family,
and their dispositions start at Friendly. As with all NPCs,
developments in the campaign, your and your family’s
choices, and reputation can improve or worsen a vassal’s
disposition toward you. Should a vassal’s disposition ever
fall to Malicious, you lose them and the points you invested
into this house.
Ultimately, the Storyteller controls the banner house. The
members of the vassal’s house are usually Non-Player
characters as well; although, to reinforce the bonds of
loyalty, players may play characters who are members of
these smaller houses.
Creating Vassals
When a House agrees to become a vassal after the game has
started, the Vassal’s resources are added together and
divided by five (5), increasing the Liege House’s Power by
that sum. When a vassal is claimed during House creation
at the start of a game, the Storyteller should take the Power
invested into the Vassal House and multiply by five (5).
This is the amount of Resources that the Vassal House
should add up to. The GM should then assign the Vassal’s
Resources in a manner that creates an effective Vassal.
65
Units
Investment: 1 Power for Green units, 3 Power for Trained
units, 5 Power for Veteran units, and 7 Power for Elite units.
Units are the most common investment for noble houses.
They reflect the standing armies that support the household
and can be called up to defend the family’s lands at a
moment’s notice. Each unit consists of 100 men, 25 men and
horses, or 5 warships.
Training
A unit’s level of training determines the cost of the
investment. Training reflects experience and the skill of
their masters-at-arms. Lesser-trained units are cheap but
are less reliable than experienced units. More information
on the various types of units and what their level of training
means is found in Chapter 9: Mass Combat.
Wealth Holdings
Wealth describes your family’s soluble resources,
explaining how they generate their income. You can invest
Wealth into holdings, which grant specific benefits, or keep
it free to spend in other areas as needed. It’s often best to
keep some of your Wealth free for problems that might crop
up during game play.
Additionally, a house’s wealth can be invested in sustaining
a family’s quality of life. Higher investments in a family’s
quality of life improve the standards of living that the
house’s members enjoy. For adventurers, it describes the
types of equipment that the house will provide for you.
Quality of Life Investments
Destitute
Investment: 0 Wealth
Your family provides only the bare essentials only to those
members who reside in its lands: food, clothing, and shelter
- all of the most basic variety.
Common
Investment: 10 Wealth
Your family lives well enough, it has access to ample
supplies of food, good sturdy shelter, and new clothes on a
regular basis. While adventuring, the house assumes all the
costs for food and lodging while in the same nation.
Prosperous
Investment: 20 Wealth
Your family can afford to live according to their station;
they have access to all they need and more. While
adventuring, the house assumes the costs of food, lodging,
and provides you with any ordinary-quality arms and
armor that you need.
Rich
Investment: 30 Wealth
Your family wants for nothing and lives in a manner
befitting royalty. Not only will the house provide for all
traveling expenses, but it will also provide you with any
Decorative arms and armor you desire.
Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings

Other Wealth Investments

Artistry
Investment: 10 Requirements: A Hall or larger
Your House supports artisans and craftsmen in improving
their craft, providing a boon to the quality of industry.
Benefit: You can always find Fine and Decorative items
within your lands, regardless of settlement size and price.
Guilds
Investment: 15 Requirements: A Town or larger
Your House has placed manufacturing and pricing of
commodities within your lands in the hands of trade guilds.
Benefit: All members of your house gain a 10% discount
on any goods purchased in your lands.
The House in Action
Houses are not static things, and the resources and holdings
you generated thus far are merely a snapshot of its position
at the start of the game. A House can rise and fall
throughout the course of a game - depending on the actions
of its members and the winds of fate.
The Ageless RPG is not a game about governance and
shrewd accounting of resources; it is a game about
characters adventuring for wealth and glory. For that
reason, the rules for managing a house are very abstract and
aren’t meant to consume much time at the table. Use these
rules as a vehicle for creating adventures, and creating a
place to call home, and don’t allow them to consume much
time.

Library Seasons and Actions

Investment: 10 Requirements: Influence 30+ For the purposes of managing a house, time is measured in
Your House supports a library, collecting books and seasons, each three months long. During each season, your
research materials from far and wide. house has one House Action it can perform, and has one
house Fortune.
Benefit: Your house gains a +3 bonus on Fortune rolls,
and you have a library suitable to perform research in. House Fortunes
A House Fortune is an event that affects your lands, either
Marketplace improving or diminishing your resources. At the start of
Investment: 10 Requirements: A Town or larger each season, your group must decide if you want to Roll for
Your House facilitates trade within its lands with a sizable a House Fortune, or if you simply want to increase a
market, drawing merchants to do business in your lands. resource by 1. You must roll for a House Fortune at least
Benefit: All settlement values, which are used to once per year.
determine what you can buy, and how much you can sell When you roll for a House Fortune, add any bonuses and
items for in a settlement, are doubled in your lands. subtract any penalties you get from your investments or
Law resource and compare the result to the following table
Mine to determine what kind of Fortune you receive.
Investment: 10 Requirements: Mountains or Hills
Sometime over the next season, an event occurs that
Your House generates considerable revenue from several
impacts your House. The event can take any form your
mines that operate in its lands.
Storyteller deems fit (a plague, a great harvest, etc.), and
Benefit: When you choose to raise your Wealth score many times will be used as the seed for an adventure.
instead of rolling for a House Fortune, your Wealth is
Roll Result Roll Result
increased by +1d3 instead of +1.
3 or less Disaster 14 Boon
Port 4 Boon 15 Decline
5 Decline 16 Growth
Investment: 15 Requirements: Coastline
6 Curse 17 Curse
Your House maintains a port which lets merchant ships
7 Disaster 18 Blessing
bring exotic goods and cargo to your community.
8 Decline 19 Decline
Benefit: You can reroll your Perception (Searching) tests 9 Blessing 20 Blessing
to determine if an item is available for purchase once a 10 Decline 21 Growth
month, only while in your lands. 11 Growth 22 Blessing
12 Curse 23 Disaster
Shrine 13 Growth 24 or more Boon
Investment: 10 Requirements: A Town or Hall.
Boon
Your House has erected a small temple or shrine and A Boon is a fortune of considerable benefit and value to the house.
supports its priesthood to show your piety. Its occurrence might signify favor from a lord or the king, a
Benefit: Your house gains a +3 bonus to Fortune rolls, windfall, a beneficial alliance, a business opportunity, or a
profitable marriage. A boon should always improve one resource
and you have the services of a priest or priestess who can
by 1d6 or two of a house’s resources by 1d3 points.
consult the God(s) for answers.

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Chapter Eight: House, Lands, and Holdings
Blessing
A Blessing is a minor benefit, an upturn in events that improves
the house in some way. Blessings might be useful alliances,
receiving an invitation to participate in a notable tournament, a
visit from a powerful lord, and so on. Blessings improve one
resource by 1–3 points or two resources by 1 point each.
Growth
A Growth result reflects the improvement of one or more of the
house’s resources. It might result in a gift of land, a sudden swell
in population, an upturn in the economy, and so on. Growth
should improve one resource by 1 point.
Decline
When Decline results, it reflects a diminishing of one or more of
the house’s resources. Decline reveals a shift in the house’s
fortunes, such as the loss of land, the weakening of defenses, an
outbreak of sickness, and other minor but unfortunate
developments. Decline should reduce one resource by 1 point.
Curse
A Curse is an unfortunate downturn in events that could weaken
the house in some way. Curses are significant setbacks, and they
can include brigands, bad weather, blights, desertion, lawlessness,
and other effects. A Curse reduces one resource by 1–3 points or
two resources by 1 point.
Disaster
A Disaster is an event of catastrophic proportions and sets the
house back in a significant way. Examples include the outbreak of
plague, the disfavor of a lord or king, the disgrace of a staunch
ally, widespread lawlessness, or a combination of any of these dire
events. Disaster reduces a single resource by 1–6 points or two
resources by 1–3 points.
Glory
The easiest way to improve a house’s holdings is through
adventuring. By undertaking missions, participating in
tournaments, and unearthing historic relics, you gain Glory
for your house. Most adventures should reward you with a
single point of Glory, but exceptionally difficult or heroic
adventures can grant you two or even three points. Each
point of Glory can be used to raise any Resource by 1.
Investing Treasure
Adventuring members of houses can choose to invest their
own coin in ensuring their house’s prosperity. For every 200
Gold Pieces invested, a house’s Wealth increases by 1.
House Actions
Once per turn, the lord may take a single action. The
possible actions listed here describe the most basic choices.
You can expand these as desired to provide even more
detail to your house and lands.
Manage Resources
One of the most basic actions a lord can take is the
management of his resources. Essentially, managing
resources lets you “sell” a point of any resource to raise
your Wealth by 1. You can also “buy” a point of any
resource by spending 2 points of Wealth.
67
Wage Wars
Houses are no strangers to warfare, and small battles erupt
constantly. Most conflicts are skirmishes, localized
engagements between two houses whose dispute proves
impossible to solve through peaceful means. While
defending yourself from an attack isn’t your action for the
turn, launching an attack is.
Host Tournament
Ranging from small, localized affairs to larger events filled with
pomp and ceremony and overseen by the king, the tournament is
a spectacle, an opportunity to win glory, to exchange news, forge
alliances, engage in intrigues, and more. The tournament is a
valuable event for the knights who participate, giving them the
chance to win fame and gold. More importantly, though, it’s a
great event for the sponsoring family, as a tournament helps
establish one’s presence as a significant house, gain the attention
of the great houses, advertise daughters and sons for good
marriages, and, above all, grow the house’s influence.
Tournament Size
Generally, there are three sizes of tournaments. The tournament’s
size determines the sorts of participants it will draw and the value
of the prize offered. Larger tournaments are far more expensive
than the smaller ones but can also win more acclaim and generate
more Influence.
Size Description
A local tournament usually costs 2 Wealth to sponsor and
2 Wealth as the prize. You can substitute the hand of a
lesser daughter for the prize if desired. Local
tournaments are small, drawing no more than 100
Local knights from lands around your own and hedge knights
in the area. Most local tournaments feature a joust and
may include a grand melee and archery contest. Each
additional contest beyond the joust requires an
additional loss of 1 Wealth.
A regional tournament encompasses the entire realm and
may draw upwards of 500 knights. Putting on a regional
Regional contest costs 5 Wealth plus 2 Wealth for each contest
featured at the tournament.
A grand tournament is an enormous event that
encompasses most if not all of a continent. These events
draw thousands of knights and their entourages and are
Grand a great place to encounter the lords and ladies of the most
powerful houses in the world. A grand tournament costs
10 Wealth, plus an additional 5 Wealth as a prize for each
contest featured.
Influence
A tournament offers a great deal to the sponsor house, even
though it can break the house’s finances to host one of significance.
Once the tournament is finished, prizes awarded, and knights,
ladies, and the rest depart, the sponsoring house gains +1d6
Influence; plus a modifier based on its size: +0 for local
tournaments, +3 for regional tournaments, and +6 for grand
tournaments.
Rewards
In addition to the influence gained by the house hosting the
tournament, knights have a chance to win Glory and Gold.
Winners of Local games typically gain 1 Glory for their house, and
receive 10gp worth of prizes. Winners of Regional tourneys
typically gain 2 Glory for their house and receive 25gp worth of
prizes. While the winners of Grand tournaments typically gain 3
Glory for their house and receive 50gp or more worth of prizes.
Chapter Nine: Mass Combat
Chapter Nine
From time to time you may find yourself in the middle of a
massive battle involving hundreds or thousands of
combatants. When battles of this size occur they may be
resolved in a number of ways: your storyteller may simply
narrate its outcome, he may make opposed Communication
(Leadership) tests for each of the side’s generals - the
winner taking the field and being victorious. Both of these
quickly resolve the situation, but may feel a little lackluster
if the player characters are personally invested in the battle,
for these situations, the rest of this chapter details a quick
system of Mass Combat.
This chapter is intended to be used to resolve massive
battles, but only when the player characters are personally
involved. Mass combat takes a “step back” and is resolved
much like regular combat, allowing these battles to be
resolved very quickly with little setup or break down time.
Parley and Terms
Before any battle is engaged, the attacker has the option to
offer terms by sending forth an envoy under a banner of
peace to treat with the enemy. Likewise, the defender may
also send forth an envoy to parlay with the attacker. During
this encounter, the attacker declares what terms he’s willing
to offer in exchange for surrender—usually sparing the
lives of the troops and taking the heroes hostage. The
defender may offer up resources to appease the attacker. If
the terms are agreed upon, the battle is averted, and normal
play resumes.
Attacking an envoy under the banner of peace is a
dishonorable act. Doing so reduces the house’s Influence
resource by 1d6.
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Mass Combat
Resolution and Aftermath
Each battle can have far-reaching consequences, earning
fame for the victor and ruin for the defeated. When one side
has been vanquished, a number of factors are involved in
determining the aftermath.
Retreat and Surrender
Armies do not fight until they are utterly destroyed; no
house is willing to risk its destruction in a single battle. An
army will retreat from battle when its forces are reduced to
half their starting strength, and they have fewer units than
their enemy. If retreat is not possible (such as when they are
surrounded), the army will surrender - if they believe they
have a chance of survival, otherwise they will fight to the
death.
Glory
The commander that won the battle gains Glory for his or
her house. A victor earns no glory for defeating an enemy
with half or fewer his numbers, he earns 1 Glory if the
enemy army was roughly the size of his, he earns 2 glory if
he was outnumbered by roughly half-again his numbers,
and three glory if the enemy army was twice his size. In
addition, the defeated commander also earns 1 Glory for
participating in the battle, even though he lost the
engagement.
Resources
Another effect of warfare is the acquisition and loss of
valuable resources. A victorious commander might gain
Land resources from conquered territory, Wealth from
seized holdings, Population from occupied communities,
and even Defense from strongholds taken. Conversely, the
defeated house loses these same resources.
Chapter Nine: Mass Combat
Units
Units are the basis of the Mass Combat system, and are the
primary method of representing large-scale conflicts. A unit
is a group of 100 individuals banded together to a common
purpose on the battlefield. For the purposes of this system,
every person within the unit has the same function, the
same weapons and the same abilities.
Unit Traits
Like characters, units are made up of a number of a number
of traits that loosely describe its physical and combative
abilities. These are described in detail here, and will be
referenced throughout the rest of the chapter.
Offense
A unit’s offense lists its bonus to attack rolls and how much
damage it inflicts on a successful hit.
A unit’s offense is determined by its level of training and
skill. Green units have a +0, while Trained units gain a +1,
Veteran units gain a +2, and Elite units gain a +3.
All units inflict 1 point of damage unless they possess
special abilities or gear that increases it.
Defense
A unit’s defense is the Target Number an enemy unit needs
to meet in order to inflict damage on the unit.
Like offense, a unit’s Defense is based on its overall level of
training. Green units have a Defense of 10, Trained units
have 11, Veteran units have 12, and Elite units have a
defense of 13.
Health
A unit’s health is a measure of how much punishment it can
take before it is destroyed, surrenders, or routs. A unit has
between two (2) and five (5) points of health.
Typically, a unit will have 2 points of health, exceptionally
powerful units (typically composed of magical creatures)
can have more, and a commander with the Command talent
can grant a unit yet more.
69
Type
A unit’s type is a reflection of how the unit operates on the
battlefield and what its special competencies are. A unit
falls into one of seven broad categories which define how it
is used in mass combat.
Archers: The unit is armed with ranged weapons such as
bows, slings, or crossbows. Archery units can attack enemy
units at out to Medium range.
Cavalry: The unit is mounted on horseback and carries
melee weapons or short-range ranged weapons. Cavalry
move at greater speeds, and can use a Move Action as a Free
Action once per round.
Firearm: The unit is armed with muskets and other
firearms. When an Infantry or Polearm unit attacks a
Firearm unit it suffers one (1) point of damage.
Infantry: The unit is armed with melee weapons and
engages enemy units in close range. Infantry are more
durable than other unit types, & have one (1) extra health.
Polearm: The unit is armed with pikes, halberds, billhooks,
or other melee weapons useful in killing mounted units.
When a Cavalry unit attacks a Polearm unit it suffers one
(1) point of damage.
Siege: The unit is armed with several catapults, ballista, or
other siege weapons. A siege unit can attack units at Long
Range, and permanently decreases the Defense bonus
provided by fortifications by one (1) point for each
successful attack. These units must deploy in order to make
attacks, which takes two actions, and must pack up for
another two actions to move again.
Warships: The unit commands several water-capable
vessels and act as marines. Warships are the only units that
can traverse rivers, lakes, and seas.
Raising an Army
For the most part, armies are raised by houses as an
expression of their Power resource. They can field units,
and call on their vassals’ to field units. But from time to
time, mercenary companies are hired and paid in gold for
their services.
Mercenary forces can be hired by anyone with coin -
typically merchants or towns that aren’t considered houses,
but Player Characters may wish to hire them as well.
Mercenaries are hired for each battle separately, and must
be paid before they’ll fight. Other than their means of
recruitment, mercenaries work identically to other units.
Mercenaries aren’t always available, and it’s up to the
Storyteller to decide how many units a player can hire.
Mercenary Grade Cost per Battle
Green 10 gp
Trained 25 gp
Veteran 50 gp
Elite 100 gp
Chapter Nine: Mass Combat
Special Characters
In addition to the run-of-the mill soldiers, major characters
can join units, becoming commanders and mages. A unit
can have only one commander, but you can have any
number of “back-ups” to fill the role if a commander is
called away or dies.
Unit Commanders
A commander is a major character, such as a Player
Character, that takes command of a unit and acts as its
leader. When in command of a unit, if you have the
Communication (Leadership) focus, the unit’s Offense
increases by +2, and if you have the Cunning (Military Lore)
focus, the unit’s Defense increases by +2. The Command
talent is also widely useful for unit commanders.
Unit Mages
Mages, those possessing Magic Training of any type, are
extremely useful in Mass Combat. To facilitate the “quick
and easy” aspect of Mass Combat, mages don’t cast spells -
instead, they can perform War Magic a number of times per
battle equal to the total number of ranks they have in the
associated talents (an initiate can perform war magic once
per battle, while a paragon can perform it five times). Each
use of War Magic is flavored in a manner fitting to its source
(a primal summon will conjure elemental warriors while an
entropy summon will raise skeletal hordes). A mage is
assigned to a Unit, like a commander, and travels with it -
using its actions. Mages can also, but don’t have to, be the
unit’s Commander.
Note: War Magic does not consume the caster’s Spirit.
Special Abilities
Some units have unique abilities that give them unique
advantages and options in a battle. For a unit to gain the
benefits listed here, the unit must be entirely made up of
creatures with the listed ability, a single angel doesn’t give
an entire unit the flying ability.
Breath Weapons: The unit breathes fire, ice, or something
even more terrible. Once per battle, the unit can inflict two
points of damage instead of one point on a successful attack.
Constructs/Undead: The unit is mindless and suffers no
penalties due to poor morale; additionally these units do
not surrender or retreat unless ordered to by their leaders.
Fast Healing/Regeneration: The unit is much harder to kill,
and gains a +1 bonus to its Health.
Flight: The unit is capable of flying, and can only be
attacked with ranged attacks, such as those from Archers,
Siege units, and Warships.
Mobility Advantage: The unit has a unique method of
movement that is advantageous in battle (climbing,
burrowing, gliding, etc.); the unit gains a +1 bonus to both
Offense and Defense.
70
Running Mass Combats
Things progress very similarly to regular combat, with the
following exceptions:
Scale
Mass combat elevates normal combat encounters by many
times. Hundreds or thousands can take the field with little
effort and with the increase in magnitude – everything else
increases in scale as well.
Each round of Mass Combat represents five minutes
instead of the 15 seconds of regular combat and the Range
categories are all expanded up to ten times as well.
Initiative
At the start of combat each commander rolls 3d6 + Offense
to establish an Initiative Slot. Initiative then plays out the
same way it does in personal combat, with each unit
claiming slots - though there is far greater chance of units
not getting to act, as there may be less slots than units.
Taking Actions
Like characters in regular combat, units begin their turns
with two actions. A list of common actions follows, please
keep in mind that other actions may be possible.
Attack: Most units can attack only adjacent units, some (like
archers) can make ranged attack.
Bolstering/Hindering War Magic: This magic bolsters an
allied unit or hinders an enemy unit within Short Range.
The affected unit gains (or loses) an action on its next turn.
Conjuration War Magic: This magic summons an army of
creatures to fight for you - they might be a skeletal horde or
a throng of woodland creatures. This creates a new unit
within Short Range of the caster, which acts as a Green unit
(of any type) with only one (1) point of health (or 2 if an
infantry), and which lasts until the end of the battle.
Deploy (2x Actions): A siege unit needs to spend two
actions to deploy before it can make attacks, and needs to
spend two more to pack up before it can move again.
Dismount: A unit of Cavalry or Warships dismounts and
becomes an archer (warship) or infantry (cavalry) unit.
Dismounted Warships lose one (1) point of health while
dismounted; dismounted cavalry have no health change.
Fortification War Magic: This magic alters the landscape,
grows bony walls, or causes great trees to sprout - forming
a palisade. One 50x50 yard area (battle mat square) has its
Fortification bonus increased by +1 for the rest of the battle.
Inspire Troops: The unit commander gives an inspiring
speech or battle cry, make a TN 15 Communication
(Leadership) test – on success, the unit recovers from the
effects of low morale.
Move: The unit moves from one Range Band to another.
Offensive War Magic: This magic conjures bolts of lightning,
balls of fire, a necrotizing fog, etc. to instantly inflict one (1)
point of damage on a unit within Short range.
Chapter Nine: Mass Combat
Prepare Action: The unit picks a single action and ends its
turn. Any time before the unit’s next turn, the unit may
interrupt another unit and take that action.
Restoration War Magic: This magic instantly restores one
(1) point of Health to a unit within Short Range. The unit is
bolstered, their wounds healed, or lost warriors replaced.
Making Attacks
There are two basic methods of attack in Mass Combat.
Melee and Ranged attacks; both are handled the same way.
1) You start by picking a target. To make a Melee attack,
the unit must be Engaged with another unit. To make a
Ranged attack, the unit must be able to see the target
and be within range.
2) You make an Attack Roll. This is an Offense test with a
Target Number equal to the target’s Defense.
3) If your attack roll is equal to or greater to your target’s
Defense, your attack has hit.
4) Once a unit has hit with an attack, it inflicts 1 point of
damage, unless it has modifiers that increase that
damage.
Poor Morale
Every time a unit has been defeated in combat, every allied
unit within Short Range must make a TN 15 Offense test. If
the unit fails the test, the unit suffers a -2 penalty to its
Offense and Defense due to poor morale. Poor Morale can
be remedied by taking the Inspire Troops Action.
Recovery
A unit recovers its health at the end of a battle, assuming it
has access to supplies and new recruits.
The Battlefield
In most mass combats, the battlefield shouldn’t impact
either army. But sometimes a battlefield can decide the
outcome of a war.
Advantageous Terrain: Generally, if one unit occupies a
position of superiority (such as being atop a hill, wedged in
a narrow canyon, or protected by a deep river along one
flank), the defending army gains a +2 bonus to its Defense.
Battlefield Advantage: If a unit is particularly familiar with
a battlefield, it gains a +1 bonus to Defense & Offense.
Fortifications: A unit located in a fortification adds the
fortification’s Defense score to its Defense. Each
fortification can host a number of units equal to its Defense
bonus. A single unit can be stationed in a tower, for
example, and it gains a +1 bonus to its defense.
Settlements: A unit positioned inside a settlement such as
a Village, Town, or City, recovers one point of health at the
beginning of each of its turns. The settlement doesn’t
necessarily need to support the unit. A Village is large
enough to host 1 unit, a Town can host 5 units, and a City
can host 10 units.
Defeated Units
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A unit that is reduced to 0 Health is considered “Defeated”,
and it is removed from play. When a unit is destroyed, it’s
House reduces its Power resource by the amount invested
in the unit.
Characters attached to the unit (such as commanders and
mages) when it is defeated take 10 penetrating damage,
representing the injuries they sustained as the unit was
routed or massacred. If this damage reduces the character
to 0 Health, then they are either killed or captured by the
enemy. Surviving major characters can then join another
unit, either assuming command or hiding in its ranks.
Larger Battles
Some battles include more units than is feasible to control
with this system. Once more than 15 or 20 units are on the
field, things quickly become tiresome to play out. When
battles are this large, simply merge units of the same type
together and add their Health totals into the same pool. This
allows more soldiers to be commanded with less hassle. If
some units cannot be merged with like kinds (such as
unique units), they can be kept as singular units without
upsetting much (though avoid this if possible, as it does
give that side more initiative slots than usual).
Stunts
Combat is more than two units smashing back and forth
until one is destroyed. A good battle should be dynamic
and feature changing tactics and formations. The rules
described so far have given a good framework, but to that
the game adds stunts to mix things up and make combat a
little more unpredictable.
Stunt points are accumulated when an attack roll comes up
doubles; and the unit gains a number of Stunt Points equal
to your dragon die.
SP Stunt
Skirmish: Your positioning allows you to either move
1+ your unit or your target to another position at Short
Range.
Surge: Your unit roars forward to break the target’s
2 battle line. The target’s Defense is reduced by 2 until
your next turn.
Defensive Formation: Your unit forms into an easily
2 defensible formation. The unit gains a +2 defense until
the beginning of its next turn.
Terrifying Assault: Your unit shocks its target with a
2
frightening display, it must make a test for Poor Morale.
Vicious Charge: Your attack pushes through your target
3 and on to another unit up to your speed away, making
another Melee attack against that target.
Seize the Initiative: Your attack changes the tempo of
the battle. You move to the top of the initiative order.
This means you may get another action before some
4
other units get an action again. You remain at the top of
the initiative order until another unit Seizes the
Initiative.
Duel Challenge: Your unit’s leader challenges the target
5
unit’s leader to a duel. If accepted, the two leaders enter
Chapter Nine: Mass Combat

solo combat using the standard combat rules. If denied,

the target suffers from Poor Morale.

72
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
Chapter Ten
Basic Rules & Systems
By now you’ve seen almost all the elements of the Ageless
Roleplaying Game, but you haven’t seen how they all work
together. That is what this chapter is all about. First, it gives
some practical advice on being a player. It then follows that
up with the remaining rules of play, giving you what you
need to know when you sit down at the table. Here you will
find rules for ability tests, narrative and action time,
combat, stunts, and healing. If you feel a bit overwhelmed
after reading this chapter, don’t worry. You don’t need to
memorize all this to play. The GM is there to help adjudicate
the rules, and you’ll pick things up as you play. And while
reading the rules is important, nothing is a substitute for
play. It is during a live game that you’ll really see how it all
fits and works together.
Playing Adventures
During a session you will play your character through an
adventure. It’s the GM’s job to present the adventure and
yours to play a leading role. An adventure is played out in
a series of scenes known as encounters. Each encounter
builds on the last and leads ultimately to a climax and a
conclusion. At the end of each play session you get
experience points based on the resolution of each
encounter. Your GM can tell you more about that.
There are three basic types of encounters in the Ageless
Roleplaying Game:
Combat Encounters: These are the classic action scenes that
pit the adventuring group against one or more foes.
Exploration Encounters: These scenes are about delving
into the environment, and include such challenges as
finding clues, overcoming natural hazards, avoiding traps,
and solving puzzles.
Roleplaying Encounters: These scenes are for conversation,
intrigue, and investigation.
73
Each type of encounter has different challenges and
rewards. Some require a lot of dice rolling and others none
at all. Different players around the table may prefer
different types of encounters. One may live for the thrill of
combat, another for the challenge of problem solving, and
another for the immersion of roleplaying. A good
adventure will use all three types of encounters to mix
things up and provide something for everyone.
Ability Tests
During a game session, the GM sets the scene and then the
players decide how their characters act and what they do in
that scene. As a player, you narrate the actions of your
character. You might say, “I search the library for a tome
about the Underworld.” The GM tells you the results of
your action, and may introduce new elements into the
scene. His response might be: “You search for 10 minutes
but before you find what you are looking for an angry priest
bursts into the library and confronts you.”
When your character is taking everyday actions that do not
have a significant chance of failure, no dice need to be
rolled. It’s enough to say that you are walking to the tavern
or buying a dagger from the local weaponsmith. When you
want your character to do something that requires risk or
has a real chance of failure, that’s when the dice come out.
To resolve actions you must roll an ability test. These tests
are the heart of the Ageless Roleplaying system and you’ll
make many in each game session. Ability tests are easy to
learn and quick to resolve, so the game can keep moving at
a good pace.
To make an ability test, first pick up three six-sided dice
(3d6). Two of the dice should be one color and the third a
different color. The off-color die is known as the Dragon Die
(see The Dragon Die sidebar). Roll all three dice and add
the results together; you want to roll high. You then add the
ability you’re testing and another 2 if you have an
applicable ability focus. The final number is your test result.
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
Test Result = 3d6 + Ability + Focus
Even if you have several focuses that could apply, you can
only use one on a test. You can never gain the benefits of
more than one focus on an ability test.
The test result is compared to a static target number (TN) in
the case of a Basic Test or the test result of another character
in an Opposed Test. A character wins a Basic Test by
meeting or beating the target number and an Opposed Test
by beating the opponent’s test result. The results of the
Dragon Die can be used to determine the degree of success
and to break ties in the case of an Opposed Test.
The Dragon Die
You always roll three dice when taking an ability test, two
dice of one color and one die of another. The off-colored die
is known as the Dragon Die and it has several uses in the
game system. It is used to measure degrees of success, to
break ties, and to generate stunt points in combat. When
you see a reference to the Dragon Die, just remember it’s the
off-colored die from ability tests.
When adjudicating any ability test in the Dragon Age RPG,
there are four key decisions that you have to make as GM:
 Which abilities and focuses apply?
 How much time does the test take?
 What are the stakes?
 What are the consequences of failure?
Let’s take a look at these questions one by one.
Which Abilities & Focuses Apply?
When a player tries to do something that has some chance
of failure, you should call for an ability test. Everyday or
extremely easy tasks (reading a broadsheet if literate,
walking to the tavern) do not require dice rolling. For tasks
that do, the player should describe the attempted action.
You then have to decide what ability is relevant and what
focus applies. If a character is trying to force a door open,
for example, you’d call for a Strength (Might) test. There
are only eight abilities, so picking the right one should be
intuitive. Remember that abilities are quite broadly defined.
Picking a focus may require more thought. Sometimes it’s
obvious. If a character is trying to sneak through an alley,
that’s a Dexterity (Stealth) test. Other times, the right focus
is not as clear and indeed it may be that no focus applies. In
that case, it’s just a straight ability test. You should try to be
open to player suggestion, though. If a player can give a
credible explanation for why a particular focus should
apply to the test, you should allow its use.
The other important thing to remember is that sometimes
characters will use different abilities and focuses when
making Opposed Tests. For example, a merchant may try to
convince an adventurer to spend more money than he
should on a new shield. The merchant would make a
74
Communication (Bargaining) test while the adventurer
would make a Willpower (Self-Discipline) test.
Usually any character can attempt to take an ability test.
However, some tests require specialized knowledge or skill.
When that’s the case, you can make a specific focus a
requirement to even attempt the test. You might call for a
Cunning (Arcane Lore required) test, for example. A
character trying the test without the required focus
automatically fails.
How much time does the test
take?
An ability test can represent mere seconds, or hours, or even
days, depending on what the character is trying to achieve.
During narrative time, the increments will tend to be larger.
If the PCs try asking around town after a villain they are
hunting, for example, you might decide that a test
represents an hour of walking around and talking to
different people. In action time, however, tracking exact
time is more important. Remember, each round of action
time is 15 seconds and within that time a character can take
a major action and a minor action or two minor actions.
When deciding on how long a test takes during action time,
you should express it using these action types. A long action
might take a major action and a minor action, or two of each
for something that’d stretch across two rounds.
Lastly, there are ability tests that are reactions. Many spells,
for examples, require their targets to make a test to resist
certain effects. Such tests are considered to take no time, as
they usually take place when it’s not the testing character’s
turn.
What are the Stakes?
If the character succeeds, what happens exactly? These are
the stakes. Usually, the result is obvious. A character trying
to jump over a chasm will get across, for example. You’ll
find it easiest to make many tests binary: either a character
succeeds or fails. Sometimes, however, more nuance is
required—that’s where the Dragon Die comes in. You can
use the result of the Dragon Die to determine a character’s
degree of success. A 1 means the action was barely pulled
off while a 6 means the results were spectacular.
Going back to the chasm example, you could use the
Dragon Die to determine how the character landed. A 1
could mean hanging from the opposite edge with the
possibility of falling, a 2-3 could mean a crash landing that
leaves the character prone, a 4-5 could mean the character
landed on his feet, and a 6 could mean the character landed
so skillfully that he flies over the chasm and lands on his
feet two yards beyond the edge.
What are the consequences
of Failure?
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
Bad rolls happen—often at the most inopportune time. So
when a character fails an ability test, what happens?
Sometimes there are no consequences but the obvious. A
character trying to find information on an ancient king
makes a Cunning (Historical Lore) test and fails. There are
no consequences to this other than not finding the
information. A character that fails to jump across a chasm,
however, will be plummeting down and taking damage.
You must decide how much and whether the character can
do anything to mitigate the situation. You might allow, for
example, a Dexterity (Acrobatics) test to land on nearby
ledge instead of falling into the river far below.
You may also have to decide if characters can try failed
actions again. You can say yes, yes with conditions, or no to
this depending on the circumstances. If a character has time
to spend and the action seems reasonable, another attempt
can be made. You may say yes, but require a new approach
or assistance. Or you can rule that the task is too daunting
and the character cannot try again. As always, you should
try to be fair, but you don’t want the game to bog down into
an endless series of re-rolls.
Basic Tests
Basic tests are the easiest to resolve because a character is
testing against a fixed target number. Unless a character is
actively opposed by another character or monster, you
should use basic tests. What’s nice about them from the
GM’s point of view is that they require only one judgment
and that’s an overall assessment of the action’s difficulty.
The Basic Test Difficulty table provides baseline
benchmarks for test difficulty. You’ll probably consult more
than any other table in the game.
When setting the target number, you should try to take all
the various circumstances into consideration. In a Cunning
(Research) test, is the library well-stocked? In a Dexterity
(Stealth) test, are the floorboards squeaky? In a Strength
(Climbing) test, does the wall have abundant handholds?
In short, how hard is the task at hand?
You don’t need to agonize about this. Make a quick
assessment and then let the dice fall where they may. You
can tell players what TN they are shooting for or keep that
information to yourself. A plus of keeping it secret is that it
reduces arguments with the players. They tell you their test
result and you tell them if they succeed or fail.
Example
The rogue Gerhard is trying to climb a building in the dark
of night. The GM decides this is a Strength test and
Climbing is the obvious focus. The wall has many
handholds but it is dark, so the GM decides the target
number is 13. Gerhard’s player rolls and his test result is a
14. Despite the darkness, the rogue skillfully climbs the
wall.
Basic Test Difficulty
Test Difficulty Target Number
75
Routine 7
Easy 9
Average 11
Challenging 13
Hard 15
Formidable 17
Imposing 19
Neigh Impossible 21
Opposed Tests
Opposed tests work a little differently than basic tests. A
character is not trying to meet or beat a fixed number but
beat the test result of an opposing character. This makes
things a bit more complicated. First, it means there is more
than one dice roll involved. Second, it means that you can’t
distill everything in the test down to a target number. If
there are circumstances that affect one or more characters
involved in the test, you’ll have to determine those and
assign the bonuses and/or penalties that affect the final test
result. Generally speaking, you should grant bonuses or
impose penalties of 1-3 to reflect the circumstances of the
test. You might, for example, give a character trying to jump
in muddy ground a –2 penalty to the Strength (Jumping)
test.
Factors you may consider for bonuses and/or penalties to
ability tests include equipment available, weather
conditions, time constraints, distractions, assistance from
others, lighting conditions, and good roleplaying where
appropriate. You should let players know any bonuses or
penalties before they roll, so the test result can be
determined accurately.
Example
Gerhard has made his climb, but he notices that a woman is
taking the night air on the opposite side of the roof. He
wants to quietly sneak to the trapdoor and slip into the
building without the woman noticing. The GM decides that
this is an opposed test of Gerhard’s Dexterity (Stealth) vs. the
woman’s Perception (Hearing). Gerhard’s player rolls a 10
and the GM rolls a 12 for the woman. The GM relates that
the rogue was approaching the trapdoor when he kicked a
potted plant he hadn’t seen in the dark. At the sound the
woman whips around and sees Gerhard. Now the rogue
may be in trouble.
Advanced Tests
Most tests are determined by one roll of the dice. There are
times, however, when a task is complicated and resolving it
with one roll wouldn’t feel right. Known as advanced tests,
these types of tasks generally take a lot of time and/or
planning, such as running a long race or doing research.
Advanced tests are basic or opposed tests that use what’s
known as a success threshold to track completion over time.
The task is complete when the total of the Dragon Dice from
all successful tests is equal to or greater than the success
threshold.
As the example illustrates, the length of time and difficulty
of each test are important. Since the Dragon Die is only
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
counted for successful tests, the harder you make it the
more dice rolls will be required. If more than one character
pitches in, this is best reflected by modifying the test
difficulty or giving the testing character a bonus. This will
result in more successful tests, and so the task will be
completed faster.
You sometimes want to use an advanced test to determine
how much time something takes, but you can also use to it
to find out who finishes first. The first character to meet or
beat the success threshold is the winner. This can be used to
simulate all sorts of conflicts, from debates to horse races.
The Advanced Test Difficulty table provides some basic
benchmarks for success thresholds, though there is no
theoretical limit on how high they can get. Practically
speaking, however, you don’t want players rolling dice
forever, so consider carefully before setting thresholds
above 25.
Advanced Test Difficulty
Task Difficulty Success Threshold
Easy 5 a local nobleman that a man was wrongly imprisoned.
Average 10
Challenging 15
Hard 20
Formidable 25
Example
The mage Lorrahn is trying to puzzle out an obscure
magical theory. The GM decides this will be a series of
Cunning (Arcane Lore) tests with a success threshold of 15.
The target number for the tests is 13 and each one represents
an hour of time. It takes Lorrahn six tests altogether before
he can understand what the theory is all about. The first and
fifth tests are unsuccessful, so the Dragon Die results for
those don’t count. The four successful tests have Dragon
Die results of 2, 5, 4, and 6. Their total of 17 is greater than
the success threshold, so after the six hours of work, the
light dawns on Lorrahn and the insight of the theory
becomes clear.
Things to remember about ability tests
 Only one focus can apply to a test.
 Leave the dice on the table after a roll because the result
of the Dragon Die may be important.
 The Dragon Die only counts for successful tests.
 In Opposed Tests, ties are broken by the higher Dragon
Die, or by the higher ability if the Dragon Dice are tied.
 For basic tests, assess the situation and assign a difficulty
 For opposed tests, circumstances can be represented
with bonuses and penalties of 1-3.
 Advanced tests use a success threshold to measure
completion over time. Don’t overuse them!
Roleplaying and the Rules
In a session of the Ageless RPG, both you and the players
will spend a lot of time talking in character. This interaction
is one of the key differences between roleplaying games and
76
other sorts of games. Groups can spend hours just
roleplaying and never once touch a die. There are, however,
points where the roleplaying part and the gaming part of
RPGs must meet. People have been arguing about where
they intersect since the beginning.
A central issue is the social skills of the player vs. the social
skills of the character. When is it appropriate to roleplay an
interaction out and when is it appropriate to roll dice? And
what if you do some roleplaying but also roll dice? What if
a character has a lousy Communication ability but the
player is glib? Or what if the player who’s tongue-tied in
real life wants to play a great orator?
These issues don’t come up during combat or exploration
encounters for the most part. No one expects a player to
actually be able to fight or decipher an ancient script. People
are content to let dice rolling handle such things. When it
comes to roleplaying, however, players can talk and
interact. They are doing so in character but it is the players
using their social skills to roleplay.
So let’s imagine a scene in which the PCs have to convince
There are four ways you can run this scene. First, everyone
can just roleplay. You play the noble and the players their
characters. If their verbal arguments are convincing, you
decide the noble relents and frees the man. Second, you
could resolve the whole thing with ability tests, with the
players making Communication (Persuasion) tests vs. the
noble’s Communication (Leadership) tests. Third, you
could mix the two approaches, letting the players roleplay
and then having them take tests with bonuses or penalties
based on their arguments and delivery. Lastly, you could
run the scene as an advanced test. You tell the players they
have five minutes of game time to convince the noble and
each Communication (Persuasion) test takes one minute.
You then set a success threshold based on the noble’s
attitude towards the PCs and the prisoner. Before each test,
the players can make an argument. If you find it convincing,
you can reduce the difficulty of that test. The players can
take turns making arguments and rolling or have a
spokesman with the best Communication (Persuasion) do
it. The dice are the final arbiter in this approach but good
roleplaying makes successful tests more likely.
None of those techniques are wrong, though the second one
(just rolling dice) does reduce the roleplaying to a
minimum. You need to decide how you want to handle
scenes like this in your game; it’s fine to mix and match
approaches. You can do a quick and dirty ability test to
cover haggling with a merchant and later roleplay out a
feast with no dice rolling at all. The important thing is to
discover which approach works for your group and is fun
for everyone.
Defenses & Resistances
A character’s Defenses and Resistances are of particular
importance in combat encounters, where they come into
play with every attack on every turn.
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
Defenses
Physical Defense represents the various means a character
can use to defend himself, abstracted into a single value. It
represents the character’s ability to dodge, to parry, to resist
pain, and to not falter from heavy blows.
Mental Defense is an abstracted representation of your
alertness, mental endurance, and ability to see through
trickery. Mental Defense is used to defend against attacks
that affect your thoughts, your spirit, or your perceptions.
Damage Types
Whenever your character suffers damage to his Health
points, the damage will be classified into one of six “types”.
The type of damage has little impact except in determining
which resistance reduces its damage.
Physical: Physical damage represents all forms of physical
trauma: cutting, stabbing, crushing, and smashing. Unless
specified otherwise, damage is assumed to be physical.
Thermal: Thermal damage comes from fire, heat, & burns.
Cryo: Cryo damage is damage from cold, ice, and frost.
Energy: Energy damage represents wounds inflicted by
electricity and high-powered sounds (such as thunder).
Radiant: Radiant damage represents damage caused by all
forms of radiation; it burns without heat and sickens
without decaying. It includes the “holy” powers of gods
and spirits.
Necrotic: Necrotic damage represents damage that
dissolves, rots, or causes pain - and includes acid, poison,
and disease. It also includes the “unholy” powers of
demons and the undead.
Resistances
Every character has six different resistance scores, which
directly map to the six types of damage: Physical, Thermal,
Cryo, Energy, Radiant, and Necrotic Resistance. When you
take damage, subtract your resistance score from the Health
you lose. Your Resistance is subtracted from every
individual source of damage, so even a low resistance score
can add up to a lot of Health saved over time.
The principal source of a character’s Resistances is his
armor rating (provided by armor). Physical Resistance adds
your Armor Rating’s full value, while all other resistances
add only one-half your Armor Rating. Normally, Armor
Rating can only come from one source (whether it is
magically created or mundanely crafted), and you use only
the highest source if you have multiple sources of Armor
Rating, though mutations can add directly to your Armor
Rating.
Penetrating Damage
Penetrating damage occurs when armor won’t protect you
from the damage you are taking. Common sense should
dictate whether armor is a help in a given situation. You can
77
see, for example, how armor could protect a character from
a fire but not from falling. When damage is penetrating,
your Armor Rating is considered to be 0 (reducing all your
resistances if applicable), though all other modifiers to your
resistances are still applied (magical, natural, etc.).
The Condition Track
In any RPG there are innumerable ways to bolster or impair
a character. Many games have very specific bonuses or
penalties resulting from spells, poisons, fatigue, or the
numberless other factors that you could think of; the Ageless
RPG does not. Instead, the Condition track is used to
disambiguate the interactions between the various
conditions a character could be subjected to (from poisons
and diseases to blessings and drugs).
The condition track has 10 steps, or states of wellbeing.
When you are subjected to an impairment, such as a poison
or becoming fatigued, you move down the condition track
(or move negative steps). When you are benefit from a
condition that bolsters your condition, you move up the
condition track (or move positive steps). In writing, a
condition that impairs you would say “you move -1 step on
the condition track”.
The 10 Steps on the Track
There are 10 steps on the condition track, ranging from
absolutely perfect health to complete unconsciousness. The
Steps, and their effects are described below.
Condition Effects
1 Extra Action
10. Perfect Condition
+3 to all tests, +3 to all Defenses
9. Sublime Condition +3 to all tests, +3 to all Defenses
8. Great Condition +2 to all tests, +2 to all Defenses
7. Good Condition +1 to all tests, +1 to all Defenses
6. Normal Condition No Modifiers
5. Poor Condition -1 to all tests, -1 to all Defenses
4. Bad Condition -2 to all tests, -2 to all Defenses
3. Terrible Condition -3 to all tests, -3 to all Defenses
1 Less Action
2. Horrid Condition
-3 to all tests, -3 to all Defenses
1. Helpless Condition Disabled or Unconscious
Temporary Effects
Most effects that move you on the condition track are
temporary and fade with time. Poisons break down, curses
wear off, blows to the head heal, etc. Unless an effect calls
itself out as being Persistent, it is Temporary.
Persistent Effects
Persistent effects are long term and will last until a specific
action is taken to drive them away. Diseases are Persistent,
and will last until the Disease is cured, potent poisons are
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
Persistent and will remain in your system until an anti-toxin
is found, and you will remain fatigued until you rest.
Recovering Condition
After every combat encounter you can take a 5 minute rest
to recover, if you do so - you return back to Normal
Condition. You then apply any Persistent Conditions you
suffer to your condition track. For example, if you suffer
from a disease that moves you -1 persistent step on the
condition track, after you move to Normal Condition from
a five-minute rest, you move your condition -1 step, to Poor
Condition.
“Curing” Persistent Conditions
Persistent conditions all have their own unique cure
conditions. Some are obvious; the cure for persistent fatigue
is rest, the cure for persistent poison is the antidote, and the
cure for a persistent wound is to treat it. Others aren’t so
obvious, and can be fuel for adventures or at the very least
an Ability test to figure it out. Finding the cure to a
particular disease that is plaguing the countryside is an
example of the former, while making a Cunning (Healing)
test to figure out that the cure for an adder’s bite is an
example of the latter.
It is very rare to have a persistent positive condition, and a
GM should be careful before bestowing such a boon. Still,
positive conditions should have their own “cures”, whether
they are as simple as “ends in a week” or as complex as
“ends when you bring the Sacred Chalice to Mount Glacier,
filling the chalice with its melt waters; and return it to the
temple.”
Health and Healing
Health measures a character’s fitness and wellbeing. A
character with full Health is vigorous and ready for action.
A character with less than full Health is fatigued or
wounded. A character reduced to 0 Health is dying. Unless
healing is received in 1d6 + Constitution rounds, the
character dies.
Health is fairly abstract by design, as is the nature of the
damage received. When a character takes damage from a
sword hit, for example, it can represent bruising, fatigue,
loss of breath, or actual wounds. It would be tedious to
track each cut or broken bone, so the rules sacrifice realism
for the sake of playability. The exact nature of the damage
isn’t important. You just need to watch your character’s
Health and be careful when it gets close to 0.
When your character is wounded, there are several ways to
heal:
 You can take a breather after a combat encounter. This
is a 5-minute rest that lets you catch your breath, tend
to minor cuts and abrasions, drink some water, and so
on. After a breather, you get back 1d6 + Constitution in
Health. You can only take one breather after an
78
encounter. If you were at 0 Health when the combat
encounter ended, you cannot take a breather at all.
 You can get some sleep. If you can get at least 6 hours
of restful sleep, you gain 10 + Constitution in Health.
 You can receive magical healing. This is most
commonly the mage spell heal or Health Potions.
Injuries
Even with the best armor and weapons money can buy
there is always a chance an enemy blade will get through.
Going into battle is a dangerous business and can result in
horrific injuries or even amputations. The following are
rules to represent the serious injuries adventurers can suffer
from during their risky occupation.
Receiving Injuries
During the desperate back and forth of melee potentially
life threatening injuries can be suffered. Injuries can be
sustained from a number of different sources: whenever
you are reduced to 0 health you automatically receive an
injury, enemies can spend 6SP on the Injure stunt to inflict
an injury, or you can choose to accept an injury to reduce
the damage of an attack by 10.
When an injury is sustained, or is inflicted by you, you can
choose one of the eight Abilities to inflict the injury on - the
GM may wish to roll 2d6 to randomly assign an injury with
2: Communication, 3 & 4: Constitution, 5: Cunning, 6:
Dexterity, 7: Magic, 8: Perception, 9: Strength, 10 & 11:
Willpower, and 12: roll again.
Effects of Injuries
When an injury is sustained it is assigned to one of your
Abilities and represents some major wound. A Strength
injury might represent a torn or bruised muscle, a Cunning
or Willpower injury might represent a concussion, or a
Constitution injury might represent some broken bones.
Regardless of how it is described, injuries impose a -1
penalty on all tests you make with that Ability for every
injury sustained (so three Communication injuries would
impose a -3 penalty to Communication tests).
Injuries to Constitution and Willpower impose additional
difficulties in that they reduce your Health and Spirit pools.
Each such injury reduces your Health (Constitution) or
Spirit (Willpower) maximum by five. If your Health is
reduced to zero in this way, you are in a coma; while having
your Spirit reduced to zero indicates you can’t concentrate
enough to resist any mental strains.
Recovering from Injuries
Injuries heal over time, but the recovery process may be
aided by experienced healers or magic to help you heal
faster. In order to be eligible to recover injuries, you must
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
have had a full night's rest and have full health. If these
conditions are not met, you are insufficiently healthy for
your body to recover.
Recovering from an injury is an Advanced Test with a TN
of 11 + (total number of injuries sustained), on a success, a
single injured area gains the Dragon Die to its threshold.
Each injured area (head, L/R arm, L/R leg, torso) has its
own threshold and Dragon Die total to be tracked, the
threshold for recovering all the injuries on a specific area is
equal to five times the number of injuries sustained (5x # of
Injuries).
Recovering naturally, without medical attention, is a
Constitution (Stamina) test - with each roll taking a full
month of rest. Recovering with medical help is a Cunning
(Healing) test - with each roll taking only a week of care.
Backlash & Mental
Derangements
Physical wounds and Injuries aren't the only threats out in
the wide world. Some things prey on your sanity more than
they prey on your flesh, and witnessing horrors from
beyond the world won't leave you unscathed. The
following are rules to represent the mental stresses (and
breaks) that your character might suffer.
Receiving Backlash
In witnessing horrors that refuse to leave your thoughts or
in repelling magical assaults on your mind you will suffer
backlash. Backlash is principally accumulated by refusing
to accept Magical Mental Influence - effectively forcing
your mind to deny the magically-imposed "truth" and see
the world as it truly is, a terrible strain.
Backlash can be inflicted upon you by witnessing
something horrific, or being subjected to sustained torture
(1 point per week). You can also choose to take a point of
backlash to resist being controlled by spells or other magic.
Some magics may require that you take more than one point
of Backlash to resist them - this is spelled out in the magic’s
description.
Effects of Backlash
Backlash can cause horrible effects to your mind, when you
accumulate a number of points of backlash equal to your
Willpower - you gain a rank in a Mental Derangement
(randomly decided by your GM). Once you have gained a
Derangement, your Backlash is reset to zero - until you gain
more.
Mental Derangements
A derangement is no laughing matter; they occur when
your mind has been stretched to the breaking point and
snapped. There are six different Derangements, each with
their own effects. When gaining a new derangement, your
79
GM may either roll 1d6 (1 for Amnesia, 2 for Compulsion,
3 for Delusion, 4 for Manic, 5 for Paranoia, and 6 for Phobia)
or can choose one that makes sense for the situation.
Each time you gain a derangement it inflicts a -1 penalty in
certain circumstances; gaining the same derangement
multiple times increases this penalty by an additional -1.
Amnesia: You have difficulty remembering pieces of your
life, and suffer a penalty to any test that requires a good
memory, including most Cunning tests and long-duration
tests.
Compulsion: You feel compelled to do something
completely out of the norm, such as petty thievery, stalking
strangers, or harming others. The exact nature of this
compulsion is up to the GM. If you don't act on the
compulsion, you suffer a penalty to all tests for the
remainder of the day, or until you do act on it. Compulsions
should crop up at least a number of times per day equal to
the penalty.
Delusion: You suffer from a belief in something that is
categorically untrue, you might believe there are spiders all
around you or that a dead friend is accompanying you and
giving you advice. You suffer a penalty to all
Communication tests as a result.
Manic: You suffer a powerful emotional change (crippling
depression, crazed rage, unrestrained joy, lewdly lustful)
whenever you are exposed to a trigger. Triggers can
include: seeing a particular flower, drawing a sword,
hearing a name, etc. You have a number of triggers equal to
the penalty, the particulars of which are determined by
your GM.
Paranoia: You see enemies around every corner, even when
there aren't any. Whenever you make a Perception test, the
GM rolls 1d6, if the die lands on anything equal to or lower
than the penalty, you get a false positive result.
Phobia: You suffer from a crippling fear of a specific
situation or environment: a fear of spiders, a fear of
cramped spaces, a fear of flying, etc. When subjected to that
circumstance you suffer a penalty to all tests made.
Recovering from Backlash
and Mental Derangements
Overcoming Backlash is fairly straightforward, every full
night's rest that you get, you lose a single point of Backlash,
and you can meditate or otherwise enter "bliss" (partying,
shopping for flowers, whatever you enjoy) for eight hours
to lose a point of Backlash (potentially "bleeding" off 3
points a day).
Recovering from a Derangement is an Advanced test with
a TN of 10 + (total number of Derangements) and a
threshold equal to five times the penalty of the
Derangement (5x # of Derangements). On success, you
assign the Dragon Die to one of your derangements, which
all have separate thresholds and Dragon Die totals.
Chapter Ten: Basic Rules & Systems
Recovering naturally, without psychiatric help, is a
Willpower (Self-Discipline) test - with each roll taking a
Month of self-analysis and adjustment. With a psychiatrist
it is a Cunning (Healing) test - with each roll taking a week.
Handling Hazards
Swords and arrows are not the only threats PCs face. They
must contend with traps, falling, fire, and other perils. All
of these things fall under the general header of “hazards”—
this section explains how to deal with them. They are most
commonly found in exploration encounters, but sometimes
appear in combat encounters or (more rarely) roleplaying
encounters.
Rather than come up with a raft of special rules for each
individual type, the Ageless RPG handles hazards with a
simple system that can be used to simulate everything from
pit traps to drowning. When you need to adjudicate
hazards, you must answer the following questions:
 What is the nature of the hazard?
 Can it be avoided?
 How dangerous is the hazard?
 Does it have any special effects?
 How long does it last?
What is the nature of the hazard?
The first step is to describe the nature of the hazard in a
general way. It could be a treacherous pathway leading up
the side of a mountain, a raging forest fire, or a tripwire that
triggers a dart attack. You may tweak your idea as you
define the hazard, but for now just broadly define the
parameters.
Can it be avoided?
Some hazards, particularly traps, are a hidden danger. You
must decide if the PCs have a chance to detect it beforehand.
This is usually a Perception test, with a focus appropriate
for the hazard. You might use Seeing to give the PCs a
chance to notice a patch of disturbed earth over a pit trap or
Hearing to see if the PCs noticed a telltale clicking noise. If
there is a chance of detection, simply set the TN for the
ability test as usual. PCs that make a successful test can
avoid the hazard, or at least get a clue that may help them
do so. Those that fail walk right into it.
How dangerous is the hazard?
Just as you assess challenges for ability tests, so too must
you assess the danger of hazards. Consult the Hazard
80
Category table and pick the one that best suits the nature of
the hazard. This determines the base damage the hazard
inflicts. You might decide, for example, that falling from the
top of a guard tower is a major hazard, so that would inflict
3d6 damage. There can be hazards that inflict more damage
than 6d6 but they should be rare.
You can also allow an ability test to mitigate the damage. A
good standard is that a successful test means the character
only suffered half damage (rounded down). The man
falling from the tower, for example, could be given a chance
to make a TN 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) test to halve the
damage.
You also need to decide if armor protects vs. the hazard. If
it does not, make it penetrating damage (and realize this
makes it nastier). Common sense should dictate whether
armor is a help in a given situation. You can see, for
example, how armor could protect a character from a fire
but not from falling.
Hazard Category
Category Damage
Minor Hazard 1d6
Moderate Hazard 2d6
Major Hazard 3d6
Arduous Hazard 4d6
Harrowing Hazard 5d6
Murderous Hazard 6d6
Does it have any special effects?
Some hazards do more than just damage. They might
impose a temporary penalty to an ability or to Speed. They
could reduce the number of actions a character can take in
a turn. They could leave a character prone or even
unconscious. Try to remember that Health is fairly abstract
in the first place; so many hazards require no special effects.
When you do use a special effect, try to make it simple and
sensible. It would be fair to say, for example, that the
character that fell off the tower could take no actions on his
next turn (presuming he survived). It makes sense that the
survivor of such a fall would not leap back up and get back
into the action immediately.
How long does it last?
Many hazards happen once and then end. A dart trap, for
example, will fire once when triggered. Other hazards can
be ongoing. If a character is running through a blazing
forest, for example, he’ll take damage each round until he
escapes. Again, use common sense as your guide to
determine whether the hazard is a single incident or
reoccurring.
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems
Chapter Eleven
Sometimes words are not enough. Sometimes conflict can
only be settled in brutal combat. Young adventurers seek
out such trials in the quest for honor and glory; veterans
know that any fight you walk away from is a good one. Few
are ready for the overpowering din of battle: arrows hiss
through the air, steel clashes with steel, magical fire
explodes, and the injured and dying cry for aid. Here you
must fight for your life or become another forgotten corpse
in the endless battles of life.
Action Time
When things get tense and it starts to matter who does what
in which order, free-form Narrative Time ends and Action
Time begins. In combat, Action time proceeds in fifteen-
second increments called Rounds (so there are 4 rounds in
a minute). During each round, players claim initiative slots
for their characters to act, as described below.
Initiative
At the beginning of the first round of combat, all Players
and NPCs need to determine in what order the characters
will take their turns. Each character involved in the fight
makes a Dexterity (Initiative) test. Each result is an
Initiative Slot’s position - ordered from highest to lowest.
At the start of each round the highest-scoring initiative slot
opens up, then the others (from highest to lowest) get to
take their turns.
A Storyteller may decide to use only one initiative slot for
groups of similar creatures or characters - especially when
there are large numbers of NPCs and monsters on the field.
When that group claims a slot, all of its members act at the
same time.
81
Combat
Initiative Slots
Initiative Slots are not “owned” by the character or player
who rolled them, instead they belong to the “team” that
character belongs to (often, the teams are just PCs & NPCs),
and any character from that team can claim it for use each
round. This allows players (and NPCs) to act when it would
be most beneficial for a particular character to act, instead
of waiting for “their turn,” allowing players to build on
what previous characters have done in a more organic
fashion.
Example
The rogue Gerhard, the warrior Jannelle, and the mage
Lorrahn are investigating an ancient graveyard when four
fanged skeletons attack them. The players each roll for
initiative and the GM rolls once for the skeletons (as a
group, they will act at the same time on the initiative list).
Putting the test results in order, the GM writes down the
initiative list: Jannelle 14, Gerhard 12, Fanged Skeletons 9,
and Lorrahn 8.
That sets the initiative slots as follows: [Players], [Players],
[NPCs], [Players].
On the first round of combat, Lorrahn sets upon the
groundbreaking idea of erecting a stone wall between two
of the skeletons and the others - allowing the party to pick
them off in smaller groups; so he claims the first slot and
erects the wall. Jannelle then claims the second slot to cut
off the skeletons, leaving Lorrahn - who didn’t know what
he wanted to do - to act after the Skeletons claim their one
Initiative slot.
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems
Surprise
In combat attacking first is often the key to victory, which is
why ambush is an age old tactic. At the start of a combat
encounter, the storyteller must determine if one side gets
the drop on the other. Characters that are surprised will not
get a chance to act the first round of combat. Determining
surprise is a three part process:
Consider the Situation: First, determine the basic situation.
Is one side concealed or hidden in some way? Is the other
side wary or oblivious? Did both sides just blunder into one
another by accident?
Test or No Test: Next, you must decide if one or both sides
get a chance to detect the other before contact is made. In
some situations, you may decide there is no test. In that
case, one side automatically gets the drop on the other. If
you decide there is a chance of detection, you can have
characters make Perception tests with focuses as
appropriate (though Seeing is most common). This can be a
basic test, in which case you assign a TN based on
circumstances, or you can make it an opposed test of
Perception vs. Dexterity (Stealth). It is possible that some
characters will be surprised while others on the same side
will not.
Combat Begins: Everyone rolls for initiative as action time
begins and the combat starts. Any characters that were
surprised do not get a turn during the first round of the
fight. On the second round, everyone gets to act as normal.
The easiest way to deal with surprise is with basic tests. If
an enemy is trying to ambush the PCs, for example, choose
a TN based on the site they picked and their level of
concealment and let each player make a Perception
(Seeing) test. Those that fail the test are surprised; those
that make it are not. If the PCs are trying to ambush an
enemy, roll a Perception (Seeing) test for each major NPC
and group of minor NPCs.
Example
The rogue Gerhard, the warrior Jannelle, and the mage
Lorrahn are trying to ambush an ogre and three genlocks in
a mountain pass. They have hidden themselves amongst the
rocks at either side of the pass. The darkspawn are not
expecting trouble here, so they have no one scouting ahead.
The GM decides it’ll take a TN 13 Perception (Seeing) test
to notice the ambush. He rolls once for the ogre and once
for the genlocks (since the three of them are a group). The
ogre gets a 14 and the genlocks a 10. Now everyone rolls
initiative. During the first round of combat, Gerhard,
Jannelle, Lorrahn, and the surprisingly aware ogre can take
turns as normal, but the genlocks are confounded by the
ambush and they do not get to act at all.
82
Movement & Range
The Ageless Roleplaying Game relies on broad terms used to
describe ranges and distances. Rather than forcing you to
pay attention to a grid, counting squares, Ageless uses more
abstract means to represent position, distances, and ranges
- allowing you to focus on the action instead.
The distance between any two points - people, objects, or
enemies - is defined by a general range category. These
range categories are called Range Bands, and are used to
determine how far a spell or ranged attack can reach, how
far apart two people are from each other, and how many
actions it takes to move between two places.
The Five Range Bands
For ease of play, distance in the Ageless RPG is divided up
into five different bands, from engaged to extreme. The
story and descriptions of the action should tell you what
range band is appropriate for any given situation, though
the Storyteller is the final arbiter of the range between an
attacker and his target.
Engaged
This range band is used to reflect two or more characters
that are close enough to interact directly with each other, or
when someone is close enough to an item to use it.
Characters that are engaged are within arm’s reach of each
other, or could be with one or two steps, and is logically the
range of melee weapons.
No ordinary-sized character can be Engaged with more
than five other people at any one time - there simply isn’t
enough space around him for more people to fit.
It takes only a single move action to become Engaged with
someone or something at Short Range, or to disengage and
move away to Short Range.
Short Range
Characters in the same room or a couple of dozen feet apart
are at close range. At this range, characters can talk
comfortably without raising their voices. At short range,
thrown weapons are their most effective.
It takes one action to move between points in Short Range.
Medium Range
Medium range reaches out to about a hundred or so feet, at
which people talking with each other need to raise their
voices. Medium range is dominated by simple ranged
weapons (bows, muskets, and the like).
It takes one action to move between Short & Medium range.
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems
Long Range
People hundreds of feet away from each other and must yell
to hear each other are at long range. Only the longest-
ranged weapons can strike out at Long Range.
It takes two move actions to move between the Long and
Medium range bands.
Extreme Range
Extreme range is the farthest distance at which two people
can meaningfully interact. Two people at extreme distances
might not be able to hear each other, even if they yell at the
top of their lungs. Very few sharpshooters are capable of
reaching out and hitting opponents at extreme range, and
only heavy siege weapons like ballista and catapults are
commonly employed at this distance.
Moving between Long and Extreme range usually takes
two move actions, though the Storyteller might decide that
such movement will require more move actions -
depending on just how far apart they are.
Swimming, Crawling, etc.
The above movement rates assume that a character is
moving under the power of his own two feet - running,
walking, or jogging. If, instead, he is swimming, climbing,
crawling, or using some other mode of transit, add another
move action to the number of actions needed to cross
distances.
Flight
When a character has the power of flight he can choose to
increase his range band from the ground (with the same
action costs and effects as increasing distance from
anything else). Characters that can’t fly can’t move closer to
a flying character than his distance from the ground.
Example
Jim has wings and decides to increase his Range Band from
Engaged (standing on the ground) to Short (hovering ten-
or-so feet up) with an Action. Shaun, who can’t fly, can
move up to Short range with Jim, but can’t become Engaged
with him. Jim could then spent another action to move up
to Medium Range from the ground, stopping Shaun from
moving to Short Range.
If Shaun then gets a Levitate spell cast on him, he could
move up to Short (or even Engaged) Range with Jim, just
like he could if they were both standing on the ground.
83
Taking Actions
When you claim an Initiative Slot, you tell the GM what you
want to do. On your turn you can take up to two actions,
though you can take fewer actions if you like. You can talk
while taking your actions, but since a round is only 15
seconds long, what you can say is limited. You can only
ever make one attack action per round, regardless of the
source of that attack (directed strike, sword, spell, etc.).
A list of the most common actions follows. You are not
limited to these actions. If you want to do something else,
just tell the GM and he will adjudicate it. The GM may
require you to take an ability test depending on what you
are trying to do.
Some actions take a negligible amount of time. They are
known as free actions and they don’t count towards your
usual limitation on actions. The rules will note when
something is a free action.
Actions List
Activate: This action allows you to start using certain
powers or items, such as fighting styles and potions.
Aim: You take the measure of your opponent and plan your
next strike. If your next action is a melee attack or ranged
attack, you gain a +1 bonus on your attack roll.
Cast Spell: You unleash a visualized spell, paying its Cost
in Spirit Points.
Defend: You concentrate on defending yourself this round.
Until the beginning of your next turn, you gain a +1 bonus
to your Physical Defense. If you are using a shield, you
instead gain its Defense Bonus to your Physical Defense.
Heal: You provide some quick first aid to a dying Ally.
Make a TN 15 Cunning (Healing) test, on success, the
character is stabilized and no longer dying.
Hold the Line: You form yourself into a bulwark against
your foes’ attempts to move past you. If an enemy you are
Engaged with attempts to move past you (disengaging to
short range on your other side), you can make a single
melee attack against him (in addition to your one attack per
turn limit), if you hit - that target’s movement is interrupted
and he fails to disengage. This action only works once, so a
foe can use his second action to continue his movement - or
another foe can slip by while you’re dealing with the first.
Melee Attack: You attack one enemy in hand-to-hand
combat. You can perform a melee attack only against targets
that you are Engaged with.
Move: You move from one range band to another, engage
or disengage with someone at Short range, or just change
your position within Short range. Alternatively, you can
mount an animal you are Engaged with as a Move action.
Ranged Attack: You fire or throw a missile weapon at one
visible enemy within your weapon’s range.
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems
Prepare: You pick one action that you prepare to execute
and then end your turn. Any time until the start of the next
round, you can interrupt another character and take your
prepared action immediately. If you don’t use it by the start
of the next round, the action is lost.
Press the Attack: You stand ready to pursue an enemy if he
should fall back or flee your blows. Declare an enemy you
are currently Engaged with. If that enemy tries to
disengage, you can immediately move to his new position
and remain Engaged with him. This occurs immediately
after your foe’s movement, before he can do anything else.
If your target spends more than one action moving away
from you, you only move one action’s worth and remain at
Short Range from the target.
Ready: You can unsheathe a weapon, pull out a potion, or
otherwise ready an item that is stowed. As part of this
action, you can put away something already in hand. You
could thus put away your bow and a draw a sword, for
example.
Visualize Spell: You visualize a spell that you want to cast,
setting its Potency, Range, Area of Effect, Number of
Targets, and any Special Effects it may have.
Attacks
There are two basic types of attack: melee and ranged
(magical attacks from spells are covered in Chapter 6:
Magic). Both are handled the same way.
1. You start by picking a target. To make a melee attack,
you must be adjacent to your opponent. To make a
missile attack, you must be able to see your target and
be within range. See Chapter 4: Equipment and Gear
for more information about weapon ranges.
2. You make an attack roll. This is an ability test based on
the weapon group of the weapon you are using
(Strength for blades, for example, or Dexterity for
bows). This is modified by a focus if applicable and any
other relevant bonuses (such as aiming, superior-
quality items, talents, etc.).
3. Your attack roll is a basic ability test. Your target
number is your opponent’s Physical Defense.
4. If your test result is equal to or greater than your
opponent’s Physical Defense, your attack has hit.
Example
It’s the warrior Jannelle’s turn. She sees a fanged skeleton
ten feet away (Short Range). So, she uses a move action to
close the distance and become Engaged, and then makes an
attack. Jannelle’s player makes an attack roll. Jannelle is us-
ing a two-handed axe, so this is a Strength (Hafted
Weapons) ability test. The roll is a 9. To that she adds her
Strength of 3, and she gets a +2 bonus because she has the
Hafted Weapons focus. Her test result for the attack roll is
thus 14 (9 + 3 + 2). This beats the skeleton’s Physical Defense
of 13, so Jannelle hits the creature with her axe.
84
Attack Rolls & Circumstance
An attack roll is the most common ability test in combat. It
is a basic test, but the target number is equal to the
opponent’s Physical Defense. The attack roll is modified by
a focus if applicable and any other relevant bonuses (such
as aiming, charging, magic items, talents, etc.). The
storyteller can also assign bonuses and penalties to the
attack roll to reflect the circumstances of the encounter, just
as you do in opposed tests. In general these bonuses and
penalties should range from 1 to 3. They can take into
account anything that would affect the attacker’s ability to
hit the target, such as lighting, terrain, tactics, and
concealment. Here are some example modifiers based on
common circumstances. Use them as a guideline when
assigning bonuses and penalties to attack rolls.
Circumstance Modifiers
Modifier Circumstance
-3 Defender in heavy cover, such as a building or
stone wall. Melee attacker in heavy snow.
-2 Defender in light cover, such as a hedge or the
woods. Melee attacker in the mud. Ranged
attack vs. defender engaged in melee combat.
Combat at night.
-1 Rain, mist, or smoke obscures the defender.
Combat in low light conditions.
0 Normal circumstances.
+1 Attacker is on higher ground. Defender is
prone. Melee attacker and allies outnumber
defender 2 to 1.
+2 Melee attacker and allies outnumber defender
3 to 1. Defender is drunk.
+3 Defender is unaware of the attack.
Inflicting Damage
Once you’ve hit an opponent, you then inflict damage. Your
damage roll determines if you struck a telling blow or one
that was glancing and ineffectual. Armor is important here,
as it protects the wearer from a certain amount of damage.
The procedure for calculating damage follows.
1. Roll your weapon’s damage and add your Strength
ability and any other relevant modifiers (such as talents
and magic). You can find the damage for each weapon
in Chapter 4: Equipment and Gear. Note that weapons
from the Bows Group add Perception instead of
Strength to damage.
2. Subtract your opponent’s Resistance to the type of
damage your inflicting (unless the attack is penetrating,
in which case skip this step).
3. The result of steps 1 and 2 is your damage total. You
inflict this amount of Health damage on your opponent.
Note that if your opponent is well armored you may hit
but inflict no damage at all.
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems
Example
The warrior Jannelle has just hit a fanged skeleton with a
two-handed axe. The axe’s damage is 2d6+4, so Jannelle’s
player rolls 2d6 and adds 4 to get a 10. She adds Jannelle’s
Strength of 3, and then subtracts the skeleton’s physical
resistance of 4. The damage total is 9 (10 + 3 – 4), so the GM
deducts 9 from the fanged skeleton’s Health.
Death and Injuries
As characters lose Health, they get closer to death or injury.
When
As characters lose Health, they get closer to death. When a
Player Character’s Health reaches 0, he is dying. He will die
after a number of rounds equal to 1d6 + Constitution unless
he receives healing. A dying character immediately moves
to the Hopeless condition on the condition track. The
character dies at the start of the round on the final round, so
his allies have until then to save him.
When a dying character receives healing, magical, with a
remedy, or through the use of the Heal action, the character
is no longer dying - but remains at the hopeless condition
on the condition track.
Most NPCs simply die when their Health reaches 0. The
GM may apply the PC rules to major NPCs at his option,
however.
Note that Health never goes below 0 (there is no negative
Health).
Example
The rogue Gerhard tries to escape from an angry mob. He
takes a wrong turn down a dead end street and is cornered.
He defends himself for 2 rounds, but a blow from street
ruffians reduces him to 0 Health and Gerhard collapses on
the cobbles. Gerhard rolls a 2, and since his Constitution is
2, Gerhard will die at the start of the round, 4 rounds from
now. He had better hope his friends show up.
Delivering a coup de grace
A dying or unconscious character can be killed by a coup
de grace. Any adjacent enemy can perform a coup de grace
as an action, and this automatically kills the target. A
ranged attack can be used to deliver a coup de grace if the
attacker makes a successful attack roll vs. a TN of 10.
85
Mounts and Combat
Combatants can ride horses and other mounts. Accounting
for that requires a few special rules.
1) You can mount an animal with a move action.
2) Once you are mounted, you can use move actions as
normal, but some mounts allow you to perform one or
more move actions for free each round.
3) You gain a +1 bonus to Physical Defense vs. melee
attacks made against you by opponents on foot, and to
melee attacks you make against them. The GM may rule
that this doesn’t apply vs. particularly large monsters.
4) Many mounts have attacks of their own (especially
those trained as war-mounts). Those that do can make
attacks of their own on your turn (as a Free action).
5) Enemies can choose to attack you or your mount, and
you must keep track of your mount’s Health.
6) Opponents can use the Knock Prone stunt to try to
dismount you. This is more difficult than overbearing
someone on foot, though, so you get a chance to resist.
If you make a successful Dexterity (Riding) test, you
remain mounted. The TN for this test is equal to 10 +
the opponent’s Strength. If you fail, you are knocked to
the ground, take 1d6 penetrating damage, and are now
prone. The GM controls the actions of the mount until
you re-mount or the encounter ends.
7) Passengers on a mount (those not controlling it) do not
have to use move actions to change positions, as they
are simply carried along. They take actions as normal,
but the GM should bear their situation in mind.
8) These rules also apply when driving a vehicle like a cart
or wagon, but you use Strength (Driving) for tests
instead. If Knock Prone is used against a passenger of a
vehicle, Dexterity (Acrobatics) is used to resist it.
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems
Stunts
Combat is more than two fighters taking turns whacking at
each other. A good fight should be dynamic and feature a
lot of movement and action. The rules described so far
create a good framework but to that the game adds stunts
to mix things up and make fighting a little more
unpredictable.
The stunt system is simple. If you make a successful attack
roll and get doubles on any of the dice, you can perform one
or more stunts in addition to dealing your normal damage.
You receive a number of stunt points (SP) equal to the
Dragon Die and must use them right away to perform
stunts. Initially, all characters choose from the same list of
stunts, but as characters gain experience they get access to
new stunts and may use standard ones for fewer stunt
points.
You can only perform a given stunt once in a round. The
only exception to this rule is the skirmish stunt, which can
be used multiple times as long as you have enough stunt
points.
Once you have decided on what stunts you want to use, you
can narrate how your character pulled them off. You can
perform the stunts in any order you choose.
The stunts on the Standard Stunts table can be used by any
character for the SP cost indicated. Additional stunts can be
found in talent and monster descriptions.
Standard Stunts
SP Description
1 Skirmish: You can move yourself or the target of
your attack to another position within Short Range.
1 Rapid Reload: You can immediately reload a
missile weapon.
1 Returning Weapon: Your thrown weapon returns
to your hand, ready to be thrown again.
1 Stay Aware: You take a moment to make sure
you’re mindful of everything that’s happening
around you. The GM alerts you of something that
has so far escaped your notice in the battle.
2 Defensive Stance: Your attack sets you up for
defense. You gain a +2 bonus to Defense until the
beginning of your next turn.
2 Disarm: You knock your enemy’s weapon out of his
hand(s).
2 Envenom: The toxins on your blade are delivered to
the target, inflicting the poison’s effects on the
target of this attack. Remember, damage inflicted by
poisons is penetrating; and a specific poison can
only affect an individual once per encounter.
2 Knock Prone: You knock your enemy prone. Any
character making a melee attack against a prone foe
gains +1 bonus on the attack roll.
86
Standard Stunts Continued
SP Description
2 Mighty Blow: You inflict an extra 1d6 damage on
your attack.
2 Pierce Armor: You find a chink in your enemy’s
armor. His Resistance is halved (rounded down) vs.
this attack.
2 Threaten: You strike a threatening pose,
challenging an opponent of your choice within
Short Range of you. You must make a
Communication (Intimidation) test vs. the target’s
Mental Defense. If you win, he must attack you in
some way (melee, missile, spell, etc.) on his next
turn. A threatened character cannot be threatened
again until after his next turn.
3 Grab: You grab your target and use him like a
human shield. You must have at least one empty
hand to use this stunt. The first successful attack
made against you before the beginning of your next
turn inflicts damage on the grabbed target instead
of you.
3 Kaboom!: You smash a fragile readied item in the
target’s hands such as a potion or grenade. If you
smash a grenade, it detonates and inflicts its full
damage on all characters Engaged with the target
(including the target that was holding the grenade
and you if this was a melee attack).
3 Lightning Attack: You can make a second attack
against the same enemy or a different one within
range and sight. You must have a loaded missile
weapon to make a ranged attack. If you roll doubles
on this attack roll, you do not get any more stunt
points.
3 Stunning Blow: You daze your target with a
particularly powerful blow. Your target moves -1
steps down the condition track.
3 Sunder Arms/Armor: You damage your target’s
weapon or armor (choose one) permanently
reducing its damage or Armor Rating by 1 until it is
repaired.
4 Deadly Strike: You inflict an extra 2d6 damage on
your attack.
4 Seize the Initiative: Your attack changes the tempo
of the battle. You move the Initiative slot you’re
using to the top of the Initiative Order, allowing
your team to act earlier more often.
5 Critical Shot: You strike at your target’s most vital
areas. Damage inflicted from this attack is
considered Penetrating.
6 Injure: You break bones, crack skulls, or otherwise
inflict a severe injury on your target. Roll 2d6 and
compare the result to the Random Injury table, the
target suffers from that injury.
6 Slaying Strike: You inflict an extra 3d6 damage on
your attack.
6 Whirlwind: You move as a blur through the
battlefield. You can move up to half your movement
Chapter Eleven: Combat Rules & Systems

speed (rounded down) and make an attack against

each enemy you come within range of.

87
Chapter Twelve: Social Rules & Systems
Chapter Twelve
Social Conflicts occur when two or more characters enter
into a conversation where at least one of them wants the
other to do, think, or say something that he doesn’t want to.
When a Social Conflict starts player characters and non-
player characters take turns performing their actions in a
series of rounds. Each round represents roughly fifteen
seconds of talking time, so many things can happen during
each.
TAKING TURNS
Use the same Initiative as in physical combat.
Movement & Range
Use the same movement/range categories as physical
combat.
TAKING ACTIONS
On each of your turns you can take actions (see physical
combat), including making social attacks.
DISPOSITION & AGENCY RATING
A character’s Disposition, his attitude toward you, is
important during a Social Conflict. At the start of Conflict
the GM will determine the character’s disposition toward
you. This will be based on the character’s general attitude,
what he knows of you, and any interactions you’ve had in
the past.
The character’s Disposition determines his Agency Rating
which acts as armor against your social attacks. It is far
easier to influence friends than enemies with words.
Provided below, a table is provided to determine the
beginning disposition of new characters. It is provided as a
helpful guide, but personal dispositions might vary from
the baseline provided by the table.
88
Social Conflicts
Dispositions
Disposition Agency Rating
Friendly AR 0
Amiable AR 1
Indifference AR 4
Dislike AR 7
Hatred AR 10
GOALS & BONDS
A character’s Goals are those things that he is working
toward in his life. Main characters can have up to two goals,
while Minor characters have only one, and Extras have
none. Characters are immune to Social attacks that would
hinder or prevent a character from attaining his Goal. Goals
should be simple declarative statements:
Example Goals: To serve the law. To avenge my father’s
death. To reclaim my birthright. To destroy the Pirate King.
A character’s Bonds are those things which he has a strong
attachment to which shapes the character and his actions.
Main characters can have up to five Bonds, Minor
characters can have two, and Extras can have only one.
Characters have their Agency Ratings increased by +3
against any Social Attack that would weaken a bond or
force a character to act against their Bonds. Bonds should
include an emotion and a subject of that emotion.
Example Bonds: I Love my Wife. I Hate the Pirate King. I
am Loyal to the King. I Honor my Ancestors. I am Friends
with my Party Members.
Chapter Twelve: Social Rules & Systems

Dispositions by Circumstance When you compel a character to think a certain way, you
convince them to see things your way on a particular topic.
Factor Modifier
You might convince a guard that someone is a criminal,
Opponent is attractive +1 step
convince a noble to invade his rivals, or convince a street
Opponent is known for honor +1 step
urchin to trust you. A character compelled to think a certain
Opponent is known to be just +1 step
way won’t necessarily do anything you want, but he will
Opponent is from an allied family +2 steps
pursue action that he deems necessary.
Opponent is a bastard -1 step
Opponent is ugly -1 step Breaking & Forging Bonds
Opponent is known for decadence -1 step
Characters can attempt to break a bond by successfully
Opponent is known for cruelty -1 step
compelling a character to think counter to a Bond three
Opponent is hideous -2 steps
times. A bond that is broken can then be forged into a new
Opponent is known for treacherousness -2 steps
Bond. A character’s Bond forms when you successfully
Opponent is from an enemy family -2 steps
compel a character to think in a certain way three times.
Opponent is from a foreign nation -1 step
Opponent is from a distant land -2 steps Note: Most characters will endure attacks aimed at their

SOCIAL ATTACKS Bonds rather than allowing them to be broken.

In a Social Conflict, a great many of your actions will be
making Social Attacks to convince someone to do, think, or
say something. All social attacks, regardless of goal, follow
the same basic steps:
1) You start by declaring a target and choosing what you
want your attack to achieve.
2) You make a Communication Attack roll, this will use
the Focus that best defines your attack (Manipulation,
Persuasion, or Intimidation).
3) On a successful attack, you check for doubles -
spending any Stunt Points on Intrigue stunts - and roll
for damage.
4) You reveal the attack's goal and attack’s target chooses
to endure the attack or accept the attack’s goal.
5) You resolve the attack, if the target chose to endure it,
he takes damage – otherwise all damage is lost. All
other stunts performed are resolved if applicable in
either event.
ATTACK TYPES
All Social Attacks are aimed at one of three things: to
compel a character to do, think, or say something. It might
be done nicely (with Persuasion), harshly (with
Intimidation), or covertly (with Deception), but the goal is
the same.
TO SAY
When you compel a character to say something, you get
information from him that you want. The information you
receive might be a lie (which can be found out with an
opposed Perception roll), but the target will tell you
something.
DAMAGE & STRAIN
A character may choose not to do, think or say what you
want. When he chooses not to, he suffers damage to his
Spirit. A character suffers a number of points of damage
equal to 1d3 or the damage provided by the Courtier talent
(+Communication). A character that reaches 0 Spirit suffers
Strain, moving him -1 persistent steps down the Condition
track until the strain is recovered (once per week of
relaxation, or two per week if a successful Cunning
(Healing) test is made to help you). A character may choose
to suffer Strain to reduce the Spirit damage inflicted by 10
points. Once a character has reached 0 Spirit, he is an
invalid target for other Social attacks.
Characters do not like suffering strain, an NPC will avoid
suffering strain by accepting a compulsion unless it directly
opposes one of their Bonds or will cause them more than a
month's hardship.

TO DO
When you compel a character to do (or not do) something,
you get immediate results. A bouncer will let you into a
club, a worker will cut a rope, or a soldier will run away in
fear. Characters that are compelled to do something can
change their mind if it takes more than an hour to perform
the task, and other characters can convince them to stop
before they finish their task.

TO THINK

89
Chapter Twelve: Social Rules & Systems

Social Stunts
Like in combat, intrigues are more than a simple back-and-
forth of words.
Social Stunts
SP Description
1 Stay Aware: You take a moment to make sure
you’re mindful of everything that’s happening
around you. The GM alerts you of something that
has so far escaped your notice in the battle.
2 Compelling Argument: You exert an extra +1d6
Influence on your target.
2 Withdraw: You stand back from the arguments to
collect your wits, gaining a +2 bonus to Mental
Defense until the end of the next round.
3 Fast Talk: You unleash a stream of nonsense that
confuses your target, reducing his Mental Defense
by two (2) until the end of the next round.
3 Manipulate: You deliver your attack without your
target knowing the goal of the attack, preventing
him from making a rational judgment about how
damaging it might be.
4 Incredible Argument: You exert an additional +2d6
Influence on your target.
6 Undeniable Logic: You exert an additional +3d6
Influence on your target.
6 Yearning to Obey: Your target suffers Strain if he
endures the Social Attack, even if the attack
wouldn't reduce his Spirit to 0.

Effects of Language
Common language is vital to intrigues, making it all but
impossible to compel other characters who cannot
understand you. If your target does not speak your
language, you take -3 penalty to all tests.

90