Your history is gone. It was taken from you, or you from it.
You were thralls.
Now your master lies dead in the bottom of a raiding vessel, equipped for adventure. You are free.

For use with “Volume 2: Monsters &” and “&&&&&&&&& Treasure” only.

Characters

There are three Characteristics:

• Strength - measures raw physical power.
  • A Strength of 15+ gives a +1 to Hit rolls.
• Agility - measures speed and deftness of action.
  • An Agility of 15+ gives a +1 bonus to Dodging Saves.
• Constitution - measures endurance.
  • A Constitution of 15+ or more gives a +1 bonus to Physique Saves.

They are generated by rolling 3d6.

There are three Saves:

• Dodging - used to avoid peril. This begins at 15+.
• Physique - used to fight poison and disease. This begins at 13+.
• Warding - used to resist magic. This begins at 17+.

Characters forgoing armour add 4 to their Dodge Rolls.
Characters wearing Light Armour add 2 to their Dodge Rolls.
Characters wearing Heavy Armour subtract 2 from their Dodge Rolls.

Characters begin play:

• With 3d6*10 hacksilver worth of equipment. Anything not spent is lost.
• With 1 Hit Dice. This is rolled to determine how many HP they have. All Hit Dice are d6s.
• With an Attack Bonus of +2.
• Knowing 1d6/2 languages.
  • A language can be ‘half known’ - this being enough to conduct trade.
  • All characters should share at least one ‘half known language’ - the speech of their erstwhile captors.
  • Language slots can be ‘held in reserve’, although a character must declare they know a language the first time it is encountered. Some languages cannot be known this way.
  • If a language is ‘known’ twice, the character is able to read and write in it.
• Sharing a small raiding vessel (Karvi) with twelve rowers - fellow ex-thralls who look to you for leadership. There is enough food and water for all hands to survive for four days. You have travelled two days from the home of your captor.

Equipment

A weapon’s weight determines damage - Light weapons rolling 2d6 and taking the lower value, Medium weapons rolling 1d6 and Heavy weapons rolling 2d6 and taking the highest value.

These Specials are just the beginning. Players and Referees should look beyond them.

† Denotes a weapon with reach, being able to strike from behind another.
* Denotes weapons requiring two hands.
Riposte: Attacks against the wielder which score below 7 (before AC is applied) result in the wielder being able to attempt a counter-attack, resolved normally.

Arrows cost 1sp each. Five sling bullets cost 1sp.

†Byzantine Plate is treated as Medium armour for Initiative and Saves despite the protection it affords. As such, no modification to Saves are made, and their AC is treated as 5 when determining Initiative.

Before damage is rolled, a shield may be sacrificed to negate a single strike. This only works for conventional strikes - other, specific types of shields might stop magical attacks.

Encumbrance

Characters may carry items equal to their AC plus 5. 250 coins count as an item. Worn or wielded equipment does not count towards this limit.
Characters carrying over this amount are encumbered. They move at half-speed, and are liable to drop items and fall.
Characters carrying double this are overburdened. They are exhausted by any sustained movement.
Beasts of burden may carry 24 items.

Resolution Tools

Tests

If discussion does not offer an obvious resolution, a suitable Characteristic may be tested. Players attempt to roll under the Characteristic on a variable number of d6s to succeed. Easy tasks with consequences for failure use 2d6. Challenging tasks use 3d6. Hard tasks use 4d6. Items or abilities which help (or hinder) should modify the number of dice rolled.

Saves

Saves are called for when discussion is unsuitable - often as a consequence of action.

Dodging is used to avoid peril. A 15 or more must be rolled.
Physique is used to fight poison and disease. A 13 or more must be rolled.
Warding is used to resist magic. A 17 or more must be rolled.

To save, a character must roll a d20. This roll may be modified.

In the case of monsters, ask each of these questions:

• If a monster is fast, it adds +4 to its Dodging saves.
• If a monster is tough, it adds +4 to its Physique saves.
• If a monster is magical, it adds +6 to its Warding saves.

Combat

Combat is conducted in rounds of 6 seconds. To determine order, all Player Characters roll a d10. Those rolling equal-to or under their AC act first. Then all opponents act, and finally those rolling over their AC act. This should be rolled each round. Hirelings and followers act with their leaders.

To make a standard attack, roll 1d20 and add any attack modifiers and the AC of the opponent. If this value is 20+, the opponent is struck and damage is rolled.

Light weapons roll 2d6 and take the lowest result.
Medium Weapons roll 1d6.
Heavy weapons roll 2d6 and take the highest result.

The damage rolled is subtracted from the HP of the target. NPCs hitting 0 HP are dead. Player Characters hitting 0 HP die in 2 turns without assistance.

Monsters

Monsters add half their HD (rounded up) to all attack rolls.
Monsters with 1-3 HD make one attack per round. Monsters with 4-6 HD make two attacks per round. Monsters with 7+ HD make three attacks per round.

Combat Complications

• Unaware mortals are instantly slain if the attacker has time to ensure a killing blow, can mitigate any armour etc.
• Prone characters are automatically hit with melee weapons.
• Characters take +2 to their Attack Roll for each other person striking the same target.
• Mounted characters take +3 to their Attack Roll against unmounted foes, and deal 2d6 with a weapon that can be couched.

Healing

Per nights rest, characters recover 1HP per HD. A full day spent doing nothing recovers 3HP per HD.

Reaction

When attitudes are uncertain or chaos desirable, roll 2d6 and consult the table below. Reputation may modify this roll, a strong opinion eliciting a ±4.

Determining what these results in the situation is a matter of experience and extrapolation. It may also reveal facts about the group - especially extreme results necessitating explanation.

Morale

Friends and foes alike must test their morale in strenuous situations.

To do so, roll 2d6 for each group. On a 7+, their morale holds.
This roll may be modified according to familiarity, cultural taboos etc. A ±1 represents a minor factor and a ±2 a major factor. A ±3 obviates the need for a morale check.

Common events triggering morale checks include:

• Reduced to 50% of their fighting strength.
• Reduced to 25% of their fighting strength.
• Death or retreat of a leader.
• Ambushed.
• Presence of massive or horrific foes.
• Seeing a friendly group fail a morale check.

Companions & Hirelings

For every 1000sp of wealth owned, a character may attract and support 1 Companion who requires a 1/2 share of all loot obtained.

Hirelings are salaried employees. As many as can be paid may be hired. Non-combat hirelings are usually 2sp a day, whilst mercenaries charge according to their equipment.

*Must test Morale to enter and stay in close combat.

Boasts

A Character who makes a Boast of Heroic Proportions either gains 1HD or +1 Attack Bonus in addition to any wager or reward offered by others
If they are found to shirk their Boast, they lose the HD or Attack Bonus and may never again Boast.
Those failing the Boast lose the HD or Attack Bonus, but may try again or make another Boast.

Only one Boast can be pending at a time.

A friend or Rival may up the stakes of a Boast if present when it is made - for each complicating factor, another HD or Attack Bonus may be added. If this new Boast is refused, the challenger takes up the Boast instead - with the complication they specified.

When HD is gained, roll all the characters HD. If the total is higher than their current maximum HP, this becomes their new total - otherwise add +2 to their current maximum HP.

Travel

Hexes are assumed to be 6 miles across.

Abreast the Sea

Between the lands march whale-roads. The ships of the north are able to travel the deeper seas where no land may be seen, before snaking into rivers to find plunder inland. Others are bound to the coast, existence liminal.

Vessels have a default movement which is modified by wind-speed. Ships able to drop sails can elect to ignore such modifications and use only muscle-power.

Values given in parenthesis are for River travel. If sailing against the current, halve this number again.
Those vessels marked with a † do not require a port - they are light enough to be beached. Smaller vessels can even be carried.

The Karvi, Snekkja and Skeid are crewed by Marines only. Others will have separate crews of Crew and Marines, as shown by the slash. These values are standard - loads are changed according to purpose.

Value is the ransom paid for the return of a captured vessel - triple this to pay for a new one. This is in addition to the value of any goods carried.

Wind

Wind conditions persist for 1d6 days. Characters know of a storm 1 day before it arrives - roll Wind ahead of time.

Determine initial direction randomly. Then, each day, roll 1d6.

If the Wind is behind the Vessel, increase the number of hexes travelled a day by the first value listed in the Wind Strength chart. If it is ‘adjacent’ - 1 direction distant - add the second value. Otherwise, ignore the wind. (e.g. NE and NW both speed a vessel travelling North.)

Storms

Vessels in a storm have a 30% chance of capsizing per day. Capsized vessels lose any loose cargo, and have a 40% chance of sinking before being righted by the crew.
All encounters with other ships are ignored.

Becoming Lost

Characters may see into adjacent hexes. Mountains are visible from 4 hexes away. Weather conditions may hamper visibility.
When no landmark (e.g. coast, mountain, lighthouse) can be seen, characters have a 2-in-6 chance of becoming Lost if they have no Navigator. Hide any map and continue play without reference to it, until they are able to re-establish their location. Movement is in a random direction.

There is a 4-in-6 chance of becoming Lost during a Storm.

Naval Encounters

Unless conditions are poor or there is a submarine element, encounters on Coasts and the Ocean are spotted at a distance of a hex. Reaction should be used for unknown groups.

If the curvature of the river is unknown, River encounters are spotted at 3d6*10’.

The tables below can be used where no regional encounter table has been prepared, although results will need modification. By default, there is a 1-in-6 chance of an encounter each day.

Merchants, Patrols and Pirates in Rivers use Boats and local equivalents of Karvi. Upon the Ocean, any vessel could be found.

Raiders use Karvi, Snekkja and Skeid.

On rivers, only single vessels are encountered. On the coast, groups of 1d6 vessels are encountered. Vessels are usually crewed by 1d6 fewer people than the ship’s maximum crew count. On the coast, 2d10 Merfolk appear. Upon the ocean, they number 2d20.

Naval Combat

Naval combat is conducted in Turns of 1 minute each.

Artillery and sea-monsters may attack Ships directly. Mortals must instead rely upon fire or boarding.

Melee attacks against vessels automatically hit. Ranged weapons treat them as AC 7 - to account for firing from a moving platform. Hand weapons deal no damage - artillery and the strength of monsters is sufficient to deal damage normally. If a 6+ is rolled, the boat may begin Sinking.

Fire deals 1d6 damage. If a 1 is rolled, the fire reduces in size - roll one dice less next round. If a 6 is rolled, the fire has increased in size - now roll 2d6 for damage.

Ramming

Ships in this era are not designed for ramming. A ship performing a ram takes 1d6 damage. It deals 1d6 for each remaining HD to the target. If a 6 is rolled on a damage dice, that ship may begin Sinking.

Boarding

Characters may leap from one vessel to the next as part of boarding. This requires a 2d6 Agility test. Marines automatically succeed. Combat is then had on the vessel. Note this means 10 ‘normal’ Rounds of combat happen per naval Turn.

Sinking

When a vessel may begin sinking, roll 1d6 - on a 1-3, it is fine. On a 4-6, it begins sinking. This process takes 3d6 Turns. If half the crew works to save the vessel, it might (70% chance) avoid this fate. This takes 1d6 Turns, and cannot be done if under attack.

Any further Sinking result halves the time left before the vessel sinks.

Drowning

Those in the water for a full naval Turn, or flung into the water, risk drowning. Characters must roll under their AC on a d20 to avoid drowning.

Upon the Land

Most kings survey their entire dominion by eye on a clear day. Empire has broken under its own weight - struggles are local even as threads of trade and exchange are woven over months of sailing. Isles weighed down by fen and bog know the spices of desert lands. All know the best steel is in the south, and that the silver pennies with holes in the centre are accepted in all ports. Ruins stud the landscapes, and many halls lie haunted.

Travel

Horses Ridden to Death have a 2-in-6 chance of dying each day, and are useless by the end of the journey.

Inclement terrain (thick woods, bogs, and mountains) lacking a road halves movement - round fractions down.

Becoming Lost

From a good vantage point, characters may see into adjacent hexes. Mountains are visible from 4 hexes away. Weather conditions may hamper visibility.
When no landmark (e.g. mountain, hill, road, town) can be seen, characters have a 2-in-6 chance of becoming Lost. Deserts and Swamps increase this to a 3-in-6 chance. Hide any map and continue play without reference to it, until they are able to re-establish their location.

Movement is in a random direction.

Encounters

Every 12 hours, an Encounter roll should be made on a chart prepared for the area.

In the case of an Encounter, consider if either party is aware of the other - factors such as light and sound being major determinants. Unaware parties are surprised 2-in-6 of the time.

If a group is surprised, encounters begin with parties 1d6*10’ away. Otherwise, 2d6*10’. Both groups can be surprised.

Beneath the Earth

Beneath the earth, warrens, ruins, underworlds unseen by the sun. Things slink. Nightmares breed and multiply and fester. Beasts lair and stalk forth when the light of day is extinguished.

Timekeeping

Time is measured in 10 minute intervals - Turns.
Each turn, there is a 1-in-6 chance of an Encounter, using a prepared Encounter table for the location.
Most major activities take 10 minutes - searching for traps, unlocking doors, clearing obstacles etc.
After combat or an hour’s exploration, most parties require a Turn of rest - those pushing beyond this take a penalty of 2 to any d20 rolls made until they rest for two Turns.

Light

Beneath the Earth there is no light - those who would plumb the depths should carry their own. A torch burns for an hour (6 turns) whilst a pint of lantern oil burns for 4 hours (24 turns). Those who dwell beneath the Earth have often learnt to see without light through long centuries groping in the darkness.

Movement

Cautious movement allows for 240’ to be covered in a single Turn. This allows for mapping, trap checking, close observation of darkness.
Those abandoning caution could quadruple this, but are sure to become lost and stumble into any ambushes, trigger any traps etc.

Encounters

In the case of an Encounter, consider if either party is aware of the other - factors such as light and sound being major determinants. Unaware parties are surprised 2-in-6 of the time.

If a group is surprised, encounters begin with parties 1d6*10’ away. Otherwise, 2d6*10’. Both groups can be surprised.

Postscript

The great tool of Creation is the knife.