All Characters have four Attributes: STRENGTH, DEXTERITY, PRESENCE, & KNOWLEDGE , each measured with Die Codes (2D, 3D+1, etc). Human maximum is 4D. Skills represent individual training; each Skill defaults to an Attribute.
STRENGTH | physical power and endurance | "Fighter" | (Power/Melee Combat Skills), Stamina |
---|---|---|---|
DEXTERITY | physical agility and precision | "Thief" | (Finesse/Ranged Combat Skills), Dodge |
PRESENCE | focus, senses, and confidence | "Priest" | Perception, Focus |
KNOWLEDGE | mental recall and learning | "Mage" | (Professional Skills), Writing |
Difficulty is the target number for a Roll. Some Skills may check for degree of Success: 0-4+ Difficulty is '1 Success'; each 5 greater than the target Difficulty counts as an additional Success. Some Checks are Contested: the target Difficulty will be an opposing Roll.
Difficulty | Target |
---|---|
Very Easy | 5 |
Easy | 10 |
Moderate | 15 |
Difficult | 20 |
Very Difficult | 25 |
Heroic | 30 |
Attack Roll (To-Hit): Attack Skill vs Defense Skill. Equal or better is a Hit. Damage Roll (STR) vs Stamina (STR) Skill. See also Weaponry & Armor.
Dmg v Stamina | Effect |
---|---|
less than 1/2 | no effect |
x1/2 + | +1 Stun |
x1 + | 1 Wound: Wounded |
x2 + | 2 Wounds: Seriously Wounded |
x3 + | 3 Wounds: Gravely Wounded |
x4 + | 4 Wounds: Unconscious |
x5 + | 5 Wounds: Dead |
NOTE re: Wounds: if a Character has already accumulated MORE Wounds than indicated, treat each additional Wound as Stun.* |
WOUNDS immediately reduce all Attributes by the Wound Level; this does reduce Stamina. Wounds represent serious injury: torn ligaments, deep gashes, broken bones, organ damage, etc. When an Attribute reaches Zero Dice, basic functions are impossible:
Lost Attribute | Lost Abilities |
---|---|
STR | Standing |
DEX | Walking |
PRE | Hearing and/or Sight |
KNO | Speaking |
STUN reduces all Attributes, but only for the remainder of the combat round it is taken. After combat, Stun reduces Stamina; if Stamina is reduced to below STR, any remaining Stun is treated as Wounds: debilitating, if temporary. Each Stun is usually an independent injury: a bruise, cut, sprain, etc.
*Mechanical Notes on Wounds: Creatures with high Stamina are very hard to kill; use teamwork to reduce their Stamina by attacking en masse, before the creature can escape and recover their Stun!
DAMAGE & WOUNDS EXAMPLE: Raesa Krykov targets Spider Coyne and casts Arcane Arrow at 30. The Spell inflicts a maximum of 25 damage, but the roll produces 4 bolts of magic.
Spider rolls 3D STR + 1D Armor = 10; 25/10 > 2, so Spider takes 2 Wounds from the first Arrow.
Spider rolls 1D STR + 1D Armor = 9; 25/9 >2, so Spider's Wound level rises to 3 Wounds from the second Arrow.
Spider rolls 0D STR + 1D Armor = 8; 25/8 >3, so Spider's Wound level rises to 4 Wounds from the third Arrow.
With no dice, the fourth Arrow inflicts the 5th Wound and kills Spider.
DAMAGE & STUN EXAMPLE: Raesa Krykov targets Dilbert Cain and casts Arcane Arrow at 30. The Spell inflicts a maximum of 25 damage, but the roll produces 4 bolts of magic.
Dilbert rolls 3D STR + 2D Armor = 26; 25/26 <1, so Dilbert takes 1 Stun from the first Arrow.
Dilbert rolls 2D STR + 2D Armor = 18; 25/18 >1, so Dilbert takes 1 Wound from the second Arrow.
Dilbert rolls 1D STR + 2D Armor = 12; 25/12 >2, so Dilbert's Wound level rises to 2 Wounds from the third Arrow.
Dilbert rolls 0D STR + 2D Armor = 10; 25/10 >2, so Dilbert's Wound level rises to 3 Wounds from the fourth Arrow.
Next round, the penalty from the Stun is eliminated until after combat, but at 3 Wounds, Dilbert will attempt to crawl away from further battle...
Treating STUN: Moderate (15) Difficulty. Success eliminates 1 Stun.
Treating WOUNDS: Difficulty is based on the degree of Woundedness:
1 Wound: 20
2 Wounds: 25
3 Wounds: 30
4 Wounds: 35
Success will convert ONE Wound to 1 Stun. Additional Successes reduce the treatment time (below), with a minimum of one treatment period.
Difficulty: "Hardness". Materials have 1 Wound/inch to 5", then +1 Wound to 1 foot, +1W/foot. Wounds are per 5'-section. Visual breeches occur at (W-2), larger breeches at (W-1), and completely destroyed at W=0. Lesser thicknesses reduce difficulty by 5 per halving; ie, 1/2" of Iron=20, 1/4" of Iron=15.
Difficulty is doubled when using an implement of equal or less Hardness, or a Weapon or Spell rather than a Tool (pick, auger, saw, etc).
Material | Hardness |
---|---|
Ice | 5 |
Wood, (1/4" Rope) | 10 |
Brick, Silver, Gold | 15 |
Limestone, Bronze, Elf Chrome | 20 |
Iron, Marble | 25 |
Mild Steel, Granite, Goblin Chrome | 30 |
Quenched Steel, Semi-precious Gems | 35 |
Tool Steel, Emerald, Topaz | 40 |
Titan Chrome, Faltine | 45 |
Ruby, Sapphire | 50 |
Diamond | 55 |
Black Adamant | 60 |
Breaching a Limestone Wall: A three-foot thick wall would have Hardness 20, and take 8 Wounds before collapsing. Unless using Tools, this Hardness is doubled to 40.
See also Comfort
Water Pace | mph | 24-hr Mileage | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Tow | 2 | 48 | typical up-river or land transport of heavy goods |
Row | 4 | 96 | typical down-river transport of heavy goods |
Sail | 6 | 144 | cross-wind travel on open sea |
Clip | 12 | 288 | maximum travel rate on open sea |
Spin | 18 | 432 | maximum burst rate on open sea |
"Stoneweight" Encumbrance: One Stone is 14 pounds. Characters can carry STR number of Stone and be Unencumbered. Encumbrance both reduces speed and maneuverability and demands more endurance, reducing Stamina for long distance travel.
Stone:STR | Load | Effect on DEX & Stamina | |
---|---|---|---|
< 1x | Unencumbered | none | |
< 2x | Packed | -1D | |
2x | Loaded | -2D | |
3x | Encumbered | -3D | |
4x | Overloaded | -4D | |
5x | Maxed | -5D |
Beasts of Burden (horse, mule, oxen) triple their base STR for Encumbrance. Lighter animals (riding dogs & birds, etc) double base STR. Ex: Horse with 4D STR counts as 12D STR, carrying 12 Stone (168 lbs) without penalty, 24 Stone (336 lbs) Loaded.
Armorskill: a natural Dwarven ability or one granted by Magic. Armor, Shields & Helmets which are worn do not add to Stone carried.
HORSES and other pack & riding animals are vital to land transportation. Horses have 1D PRESENCE and 1D KNOWLEDGE Attributes and +1D Run (DEX) Skill & +2D Perception (PRE) Skill. They receive +4D on their STRENGTH and Run (DEX) Skill when in Contests with human-scale characters. Animal Handling (PRE) Skill is used to get a horse to follow a command; Animal Training (PRE) Skill is used to improve the animal's Training (see table). Difficulties are based on the horse's individual Personality traits. A horse will refuse to comply with a failed Handling Roll, and depending on their temperment may resent the request...
Most horses are sold as trained 3-year-olds (FHK Spot price, trained pack horse: 21 silver). Additional Training levels generally double the animal's price. Buying a younger horse generally halves the price for each year, but also reduces the Training level to Untamed and lowers STR/DEX by -1D for each year. Horses begin declining due to age around 20 years old, losing 1D STR or DEX each year.
Quality | STR/DEX | Training | Price | Kind |
---|---|---|---|---|
Poor | 2D/2D | Tamed | x1/2 | Nag |
Middling | 3D/2D | Tamed | x1 | Packhorse |
2D/3D | Saddle | x2 | Saddlehorse | |
Fair | 4D/2D | Tamed | x2 | Plowhorse |
2D/4D | Saddle | x4 | Palfrey | |
Good | 4D/3D | Saddle | x6 | Courser |
3D/4D | Saddle | x6 | Rouncey | |
Grand | 5D/2D | Tamed | x12 | Drafthorse |
2D/5D | Saddle | x24 | Racer | |
Fine | 5D/3D | Travel | x120 | Charger |
3D/5D | Travel | x120 | Hotblood | |
Exquisite | 5D/3D | Travel | x1200 | Destrier |
3D/5D | Travel | x1200 | Pureblood | |
Flawless | 6D/3D | Parade | x120k | Warlander |
3D/6D | Parade | x120k | Kingsblood |
d6 | Personality |
---|---|
1 | Skittish: +1D Dodge & Run Skill, +10 Handling & Training difficulty |
2, 3 | Curious: +1D PRE, +1D Perception Skill |
4, 5 | Dull: +1D Stamina Skill, +10 Training difficulty |
6 | Proud: +1D KNO, +10 Handling difficulty |
d6 | Temperment |
1 | Mild: -5 Handling & Training difficulty |
2, 3 | Fair |
4, 5 | Rough: will Bite when Handled on '1' on 1d6 |
6 | Mean: will Kick when Handled on '1-5' on 1d6 |
Training | Handling | Details |
---|---|---|
Wild | 30 | Horse will Run when approached, Kick or Bite when Handled |
Untamed | 20 | Reaction roll: 2-7, as Wild; 8-12 refuses |
Tamed | 15 | pull loads: plow, wagons etc.; +1D Haul per 5 years of age |
Saddle | 10 | half-day riding; +1D Mount skill per 5 years of age |
Travel | 10 | full-day riding; +1D Stamina skill |
Parade | 15 | basic warhorse training; +1D Climb, +1D Perform |
Dressage | 20 | advanced maneuvering on command; +1D Jump, +1D Mount |
Battle | 20 | advanced warhorse training; extra Wild Die on Reaction Tests |
"Nadine" | Dull, Rough, Tamed Nag (Poor), 20yrs |
---|---|
STR 2D | Stamina 3D |
DEX 2D | Run 3D |
PRE 1D | Perception 3D |
KNO 1D | Haul 5D |
"Chevette" | Proud, Fair-tempered Pureblood (Exquisite Dry White Fronch Mare), 6yrs |
---|---|
STR 3D | Stamina 4D |
DEX 5D | Run 6D |
PRE 1D | Perception 3D |
KNO 2D | Mount 3D |
A 'drink' is 8 ounces of wine or 16 ounces of ale (4 per half-gallon!). Roll Stamina after each drink. The target difficulty is 5, per drink. Goes down by 5 per hour.
ROLL | RESULTS |
---|---|
Your roll beats the difficulty. | No change. |
You roll under the difficulty. | Take a "drunken wound" |
You roll under HALF the difficulty. | Take a "drunken wound", and make a vomit check 5 minutes later. |
After each drinking roll, make a PRE roll (10) or you will need another drink.
Vomit Check - Roll your (current) Stamina (15) to make it to a bush or barrel. Failure indicates you vomit in place.
"Drunken Wound" - works just like a regular wound, -1D to all Attributes; this includes Stamina for drinking further, but not for taking damage.
-1D | Tipsy |
-2D | Drunken |
-3D | Legless - DEX roll to walk! |
-4D | Blacked Out - you will not remember any of your activities after this point. |
-5D | Passed Out |
DWARVES double their rolled Stamina.
ELVES do not ever vomit. Elvish Priests of Eleutherios have 2 special rules:
"In the Reeds" ("Drunkberry" spell): ARMOR doesn't add to the Stamina Check, but it DOES add to the To-Hit check.
Target wins: -1D. Target loses: -2D. Loses by double: -3D, +vomit check.
Game | Time | Difficulty | Portions | Ex: |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minor | 10 minutes | 6+ | 1/2; +1 animal per Success | small birds, rodents |
Medium | 1 hour | 11+ | 4; +1 animal per Success | pheasants, raccoons, rabbits |
Major | 4 hours | 16+ | 12; +6 portions per Success | boar, deer |