Sticks & Stones - The Free RPG (8014452)

7/23/2019 Sticks & Stones - The Free RPG (8014452)

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The Free RPG

Written By

Nathan Reese Maher


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Sticks & StonesThe free rpg

The Playtest Credits

Author

Nathan Reese Maher

Editors

Nathan Reese Maher and Samantha Maher

Dedication

To my wife, Sam, for supporting methrough this venture and to Jevin Pierson forintroducing me to tabletop role-playinggames.

(In Order of Appearance)

To Jevin Pierson, David Martin, JoshuaBauer, Paul Elledge, Davy Hoffman, JamesWheeler, Pete Gygi, ChristopherChristopherson, Jon Zuremuehlen, DanielHarrison, Mark Slayton, James Lundberg,Charles Hagin, Samantha Maher, JamesPaton, Daniel Shepherd and Joe Baker andall the countless hours we gamed together.

I couldnt have done it without you.

To my future Play Testers, for helping mebalance the system and getting Sticks &Stones off the ground.

Copyright and Disclaimer

Sticks & Stones The Free RPG, and itslogo, images (excluding public domainimages) and information herein are copyrighted, July 2012, in the USA and othercountries, all rights reserved. Fonts belongto their respective creators.

Sticks & Stones The Free RPG, is a freedistribution through all digital formats and

may be printed for personal use only.Commercial distribution for profit is strictlyprohibited.

Advertisements contained herein are non-paid and are not to be removed withoutpermission from the author.


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Play Test 1stEdition, July, 2012

Copyright 2012, Nathan Reese Maher.

Cover Design in by Nathan Reese Maher.

STICKS & STONES THE FREE RPG, All Rights Reserved

Book ISBN 978-1479172115

Printed in the United States


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Introduction

Welcome to Sticks & Stones The Free

RPG, a tabletop role-playing game designedwith over 20 years of gaming experience,with intent to bring you the best aspects ofthe tabletop industry today.

The goal of Sticks & Stones is to giveboth players and Overseers the ability tocreate their own world and uniqueexperiences without diving into theirpocketbooks. This game intends to open upyour creative mind and give you

streamlined gaming sessions without beingbogged down with complex rules.

For either the experienced tabletopgamer or those of us who are still new,Sticks & Stones delivers an easy learningcurve thatll allow total immersion. But,before we begin, let us take a moment toidentify a few amazing features that Sticks& Stones offers.

WHAT IS A ROLE-PLAYING GAME?

A role-playing game is a process whereone (or more) individuals take on the role ofa Overseer and player characters.

The Overseer (Storyteller)

The Overseer or Overseer, as this game

identifies it as, weaves a story to the playerswho play as characters in the story. TheOverseer is tasked with preparingadventurers or scenes, setting individualchallenges, and then act out the roles of non-player characters that are essential to thestoryline.

THE PLAYERS

Generally comprised of 3 to 5 (or more)people who take on the roles of their ownuniquely designed characters. Each playeris given the opportunity to create one ormore characters before the gaming sessionbegins. It is the role of the player to react tothe Overseers descriptions and interact withthe individual non-player characters that theOverseer has created. Players can have

their characters speak and perform anyaction as if they would in real-life, exceptthat the actions they take are within animaginary world.

Winning and Losing

There is no winning or losing in thisgame of the imagination. The goal is toenjoy your interactions through the story

and achieve the goals set forth by theOverseer. Just like in real life, playercharacters can potentially die, andsometimes people get very attached to theircharacters. Please keep in mind that this issimply a game, and while death may spellthe end of that potential character, it doesnot in any shape or form prevent a playerfrom making a new character and rejoin thegame.

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND

While playing, the goal of the game is tohave fun. If there are rules or restrictionspresent in Sticks & Stones that aredampening the gaming session, please feelfree to change them. Some Overseers can


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put new rules to a vote and then monitorthem accordingly so that the new rules donot disrupt other portions of the game.

Ultimately, it is the Overseer who has thefinal say on anything, including the rules inthis game. Whatever the Overseer says,

goes, but this does not prevent a player frombeing able to sway an Overseers ruling.

WHY STICKS STONES?

There are several different types of role-playing games out on the shelves, so how isSticks & Stonesdifferent than all the othergames out there?

Sticks & Stones is not a replacementgame for any that are currently out on theshelves, but is designed for people who arelooking for something different andnew. Sticks & Stones features a long andexciting list of rules that are outside thenormal scope of todays top most role-playing games.

Below is a non-comprehensive list anddescription of the most compelling aspects

of Sticks & Stones for both Players andOverseers alike:

For PLAYERS

Point-Buy Character Creation Creativity isplaced into the hands of each player bygiving them the ability to build theircharacters race, flaws, attributes, skills, andtraits through a well-balanced point-buysystem.

Improve by Doing Player charactersimprove their characters not through anexperience system that later allows one tolevel up, but instead through in-gameactions and simply by doing. If you favormagick over a weapon, or social graces to

combat, you will see your characterimproving in those areas he or she favorsmost.

Flaws Players have the opportunity topurchase flaws for their character to aid in

role-playing scenarios, but instead of leavingthe flaw for the right opportunity orwhenever the player feels it would best fit,purchased flaws are trusted into the handsof the other players and (depending uponseverity) the Overseer. Players holding ontothese flaws can elect when the best situationto use them is, and it can sometimes lead tovery embarrassing or hilarious outcomes.

Strategic Combat System Combat hasbeen enhanced to allow armor to act asarmor and absorb damage as opposed tosimply deflecting it. Also, characters have aStamina bar that limits their ability toperform certain actions in a combat turn,this means players must be very carefulwhen using high stamina costing traits elsethey find themselves tired before combat haseven begun. The combat cycle is designedto monitor a characters reaction speed, andeach action costs time in a combat cycle.Those wielding a knife can generally strikefaster than those with a long sword.

Magick Points Opposed to SpellMemorization Characters need notmemorize spells at the beginning or endingof each day and instead are thought to havemastered their respective spell sphere. Eachcaster draws upon magick points that

replenish themselves throughout the gamingsession. This avoids the all too commonoccurrence where magick users findthemselves out of spells and are unable tocontribute to the rest of the game.

Customizable Magick System Charactersgain access to Spell Spheres that act as a


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source or type of magick, that may then becustomized and tailored to better fit thecurrent challenge or scene. This givesplayers the opportunity to put theircreativity to work and see what uniquecombinations they may bring to the gaming

session.

For Overseers

Easy to Modify Rules Sticks & Stones wascreated with the Overseer in mind. Rulesare designed to create a framework for theOverseer to work off of, but not to restrict orgive a rule for every unique scenario thatmay arise. Rules can be easily modified tofit your gaming session and the constantneed to reference this book is nearlyeliminated; meaning more time for gamingand less time reading.

No More Hack & Slash While those whoare interested in running Hack and Slashstyle adventures are not to be discouraged,for gamers who are looking for a moreintricate world filled with Mental and Socialchallenges on top of the Physical now have

the tools available to create as exciting of achallenge in shrewd negotiations as withone designed to engage a dragon in battle.

Improv. Friendly While some Overseersenjoy spending hours preparing for the nextgaming session, Sticks & Stones offers anedge on improvising situations and choiceencounters without having to pause thegame to write down statistics or flip through

pages of pages of noteworthy treasure thatwould best fit for the situation. Monstersare streamlined, traps are can be made up onthe spot and even treasure itself can begrouped together which allows players touse their Scavenge skill to look for specifictypes of items. Within are easy rules to help

cut back the hours of preparation so you canfocus more on playing.

Build Your Own World Inside this bookyou will find guidelines, not rules, to helpyou design your own world by looking at

city economics, social strata and giving youhints and tips of how magick and magickalitems can affect your world.

WHAT NOW?

So your interest is peeked, but you needto know how to begin? Like all games that Ihave personally ran, most games begin with

the players. Now I shall introduce you tothe hosts of Sticks & Stones, Tye D. Sticksand Shelly F. Stones.


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Letter to Play testers

Tye: Hello, play

testers! My name is TyD. Sticks and I, alongwith my co-host ShellyF. Stones, are here towelcome you to Sticks& Stones The FreeRPG. Say helloShelly.

Shelly: Hello.

Tye: Were boththrilled that you arehere for the ride.

Shelly:And thrilled tobe out of those Art Decoclothes from page 7.

Tye: Yes, well, thatsomewhat transitions usinto why were here.

Shelly: You mean inregards to beinghurriedly drawn, with acouple more lines than what is needed, andbeing strangely ill-proportionate?

Tye:You shouldnt insult the artists like that.

Shelly:Artist, singular, who just so happens tobe the same person who wrote this game. He

just needs help in more than one way

Tye:Precisely! What this play test needs ispeople who are willing to help with edits,balancing suggestions, contributions and

Shelly:Artistic skill?Tye:Shelly

Shelly: Look Ty, letsnot be so formal, weditched those clothesfrom page 7 in thebooks gutter, so thereis no need to be sopolite. Lets just call itwhat it is.

Tye: Fine. As play

testers, if you feel thewant to contribute,Sticks & Stones willgladly accept the helpand give credits tothose who do.

Shelly: Everyoneplease note that this isa free project and in

order to keep it freewecannot givedispensation of anykind outside of a

special thanks and a mention. And, if youfeel the need, we also take other forms ofhelp.

Tye:Such as?

Shelly: Money!

Tye: Shelly!"

Shelly: There is nothing wrong with asking fora donation or two. If people give us money thenwe can hire artists and do some coolpromotional stuff.


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Tye: I guess you are right, but were notlooking for profits. The goal here is to bring afun tabletop RPG experience to fellow gamers.

Shelly: So then why do the physical bookcopies cost money then?

Tye: Because, we dont own our own pressand it costs money to print. Its a whole lotcheaper to buy the physical copies, if youwant one, instead of taking it to your localoffice supply store and print it off for 10cents a page.

Shelly: But you do know that Sticks &Stones makes a little bit off the physicalcopies right? Whats with that?

Tye: Its just a way to bring in some extrarevenue Shelly, its not going to break ourfans. Besides, the extra money can help tofund additional projects for the future!

Shelly: What happens if someone droveup toour house with a truckload of money to buySticks & Stones, how will our contributors knowthat their work is protected in the case of sale?

Tye: We would have to allow our contributors

to keep copyright and just ask politely for theirpermission to use their suggestions.

Shelly: Exactly what I was going to say. Keepin mind it was my idea to begin with and thecopyright belongs to me but Ill allow you touse it for awhile.

Tye: Thats um awfully nice of you.

Shelly: Isnt it? Now, lets not waste any moretime. These people are here to check out thegame and not waste too much time with us.

Tye: Well see you all inside the game! Pleaseenjoy yourself and remember to have fun. SoShelly, by the way, Im curious

Shelly: Yes?

Tye: What is your hair made out of?

Shelly: Lichen. Why do you ask?

Tye: No reason.

Shelly: Please, everyone be sure to thank themermaid at the bottom of the page for beingnaked! Enjoy!

Tye: This is going to be a long ## pages.


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Chapter 1

Character Creation

The character creation process is verysimple, despite the number of steps, and ofcourse having a character sheet is very muchpart of the character creation process and canusually be acquired from your Overseer ordownloading it yourself from off the Sticks& Stones website. Once you have yourcharacter sheet and a pencil, please follow thesteps below:

STEP 1 - MILESTONES

In this step, the Overseer must advise youof how many milestones your character isgoing to start off with. Think of milestonesas a form of currency that you are going touse to purchase your characters abilities.Also, milestones are used to help determine

the experience level of your character so thatthe Overseer can create challengesaccordingly.

Before the start of the campaign/adventure, the Overseer decides exactly whatpower-level to start the player characters offat. This is determined by startingmilestones. These starting milestones arethen used to purchase ability scores or beused for extra-ordinary traits or advantages.

Typical milestone allotment is basedupon the age group of characters theOverseer wishes to create:

Age Group MilestonesInfant 45-71Child 72-116Teenager 117-143

Young Adult 144-179Adult 180-359Middle Age 359-584Old Age 585+

*Note: The above milestonesare not whatthe characters are able to achieve, but whatthe typical character would start off at inthose ages. It is recommended to start off inthe 150-200 range.

Once the Overseer determines how manymilestonesto give to each player, some mayelect to add a little variance to each milestoneamount by allowing the player to roll a dieand then add that result to their totals aswell. It is recommended to keep the die rollconstant for each player and to have the dienot be larger than 1d10, else risk a largeimbalance between player characters.

STEP 2 RACIAL TRAITS

Depending on the world that theOverseer has created, there may be specificraces that dominate the population. Theseraces may already be drawn up and listed asa template or package that can be purchasedwith little variation. In these cases, mostdominate species can be purchased at a

discount in milestones to give incentives toplayers in order to take part in the growingworld. On the other hand, ambitious playersmay decide to create their own race bypurchasing racial traits at a cost of theirstarting milestones. These unique races mayplay very little, if any, role in the campaignworld, but perhaps, with approval from the


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Overseer, the players character can changeall that. It is best to spend no more thanabout 10 to 15% on racial traits as anythingmore than that could reduce the effectivenessof your character.

*Note:Do not spend all your milestones

on racial traits, else there may be none leftover to purchase ability scores.

Cosmetic Changes (Cost: 0)Cosmetic changes do not cost any

milestones. These types of changes havelittle to no affect in game, except giving otherplayers a general identifying (usually visual)trait that identifies that character of thatparticular race.

Examples of cosmetic changes: Eye Color& Shape; Hair Color, Location & Shape; EarShape & Location; Mouth Color, Location &Shape; Nose Color, Location & Shape; SkinColor & Texture; Distinguishing Marks;Vestigial Limbs or Other Additions

Senses (Cost: Variable)Senses include sight, smell, hearing, taste,

touch and awareness. Each level of positive

increase in sense gives that character afavorable conditionwhen detecting somethingwith their particular sensory organ, and eachdecreased level causes the character to sufferan unfavorable condition.

Levels of Acuity CostUseless/Non-Existent* -10Ruined/Handicapped -7Vulnerable -5Weak -2Normal (Human Standard) 0Acute +5Keen +10Superior +15Godlike +20

*Note: The sense in question is non-existent and cannot be used to interactwith the gaming world.**Note: The sense of awareness cannot bealtered in levels of acuity due to causingissues with the characters motor

functions and constantly questions his orher own being.Additional traits are available under

character senses. These racial traits are mainexamples, but are not a completecomprehensive list. If there is a particularsense trait you want your race to have, thendiscussed it fully with the Overseer forproper implementation and milestonecost.

Sight

Night Vision (Cost 5): Allows thecharacter to see just as well at night as theydo during the day. This ability does notgrant the ability to see in complete darkness,but as long as there is some source of light(no matter how small), the character can seeat night. Night vision is usually due to therace having a tapetum lucidum behind or

within their retina.

Ultraviolet Vision (Cost 10): Alsodubbed by some as life vision, ultravioletvision allows the character to seeelectromagnetic fields as well as certainchemical processes in living creatures. Thosewith Ultraviolet Vision can see normallyinvisible patterns and designs in the worldaround them making the world more vibrantand beautiful. While this ability does notgrant the character to see completely in utterdarkness, it does grant the ability to see somecreatures and chemicals that other creatureswould not be able to see in those utter darkconditions.

Thermal Vision (Cost 10): Allows for the


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character to see variances of temperature inthe environment as well from livingcreatures. This ability does allow for one tosee in complete darkness, as thermal visiondoes not rely on visual light. Thermal visionworks equally well in both day and nighttime

conditions.

Motion Vision (Cost 10): Is the ability tosee objects only as they move. Completelystationary objects are difficult to discern andthus the character would sustain threeunfavorable conditions (as if handicappedvision) to determine the difference between astationary person versus the staticenvironment. However, if an object moves

(moves 1 square) the character acquires threefavorable conditions (as if superior vision) inlocating the intended target.

Fey Sight (Cost 10): Is usually a trait ofthose who are fey-blooded or have beenblessed (or cursed) by the fey. Fey sightallows one to see the world as a creature offey. The character can see statues come tolife, discernable messages in the fluttering ofleaves, hidden passageways or doors thatlead into the faerie realm as well as seethrough a fey-creatures natural invisibility.Being fey-sighted can unveil a very unusualworld.

Smell

Accessory Olfactory (Cost 5): This traitallows for the characters race to be able to

sense the chemical pheromones that arecreated by other species and be able todiscern the general mood and state ofanimals.

Bloodhound (Cost 2): While not as thename suggests, this trait grants the characterthe ability to track by scent of smell alone.

While having hyper-acute sense of smellmay, in of itself, seem like it confers theability to track by smell, this is not the case.The bloodhound trait allows the character tobe able to isolate a particular molecule ofodor and follow it. When trying to track

down a certain individual or object by scent,the character gains an additional favorableconditionon top of all other modifiers.

Hearing

Infrasonic (Cost 5): There are somefrequencies that are far below the humanlevel of hearing. These frequencies generallyfollow geological movements and shifts in

the earth. Also, there are some species thatcommunicate in lower frequencies, especiallyunderwater due to the sound being able totravel long distances and not dissipatingeasily. This also allows for the character tohear spirits, since they speak in lowerfrequencies. This allows the character to hearfrequencies to -40 decibels (dB) (below thehuman ability to hear a 0 decibels). See theChapter 6 Magick, under the sound sphere

for more information on sound and decibels.

Ultrasonic (Cost 2): This ability allowsfor one to hear sounds that are beyond thenormal scope of humans. While not all thatuseful in the living world outside of beingable to hear creatures that communicate inthe ultrasonic, it does allow one to detect theecholocation techniques of others as well ashear aquatic uses of sonar. This ability grantsthe ability to hear 140 decibels (above humanaverage of 120) and not suffer any pain ordiscomfort.

Empathic Vocation (Cost 10): Yourcharacter can hear slight fluxuation in anindividuals speech that allows you todetermine their emotional state, as well as


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determine whether or not that person istelling the truth. When using Sense Ruse thecharacter gains a favorable condition todetermine whether or not someone is lying.Characters may make a Wits challenge with afavorable condition vs. an opponents Wits in

order to determine their emotional state.

Taste

Photographic Tastes (Cost 2): With but asmall morsel your character can taste everysingle ingredient in a recipe and easyreconstruct it. When conducting research onany form of recipe, if the character has tastedit before, he or she gains a favorable condition

to recreate it.

Herbivore (Cost 5): Fruits, nuts,vegetables and everything green is on yourfood palate, but certainly not meat. Whilesome omnivores may choose an herbivore-like lifestyle, your race cannot stomach meat(not to mention the smell). Though limited indiet to a typical omnivore, it does haveunusual benefits. Your race gains afavorable

condition in all social situations withomnivores due to missing that hungrylook.

Carnivore (Cost 0): Meat from othercreatures (and possibly other intelligentspecies) is the only thing you can eat. Yourraces exclusive diet causes others to be onedge. While you gain afavorable conditiononthreats, trying to convince others of yourgood intentions is a different story. Yousuffer an unfavorable conditionwhen trying toconvince others of your good-intentions.

Dead Eater (Cost 2): While incrediblyfrowned upon by all civilized society, yourrace has the ability to not only ingest, but alsoenjoy the taste of a rotting cadaver. Due to

this, your race has developed a uniqueimmune system that can fight off mostdiseases. You gain afavorable conditionwhenfighting against disease.

Touch

Vibratese (Cost 2): Your particular racehas its own unique means of communicationthrough touch. You can communicate as ifspeaking to another member of your race (orothers that are capable of being taught),strictly by being able to touch them.

Body, Shape and Size

Not every race is humanoid in shape;some like centaurs have the lower-half oftheir body shaped like a horse and the upper-torso of a human. There are many otherdifferent shapes that creatures can come in(not to mention sizes), so why should yourcharacter be limited?

Body

The standard default size is 5 for Bodyand that is for most characters and creaturesHowever, a higher or lower Body can bepurchased with milestones to acquire aparticular size.

Body helps with increasing hit points aswell as increasing stamina points. The biggerthe Body the more physical activities it canperform as well as take additionalpunishment in combat. Also, Body can aidwhenever the character sustains damagefrom a source. Body is subtracted from aldamage sources after the damage has beenassigned. If Bodyreduces damage to zero orbelow, then the damage is effectivelynegated, although it is still counted as being asuccessful hit.


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Table: 1.1 Body Scores

BodyHeightRange

Lift Base(lbs.)

BrawnBonus

AgilityBonus/Base

Speed

0 1-11 1 -10 +10/0.11 1-111 8 -8 +8/0.52 2-211 15 -6 +6/13 3-311 25 -4 +4/24

4-411 50 -2 +2/35 5-511 75 0 0/46 6-611 90 +2 -2/47 7-711 105 +4 -4/58 8-811 120 +6 -6/59 9-911 135 +8 -8/610 10-1011 150 +10 -10/611 11-1111 165 +12 -12/712 12-1211 180 +14 -14/7

The cost in milestonesfor a different Bodysize for your race follows the below pricingpoint.

Body Cost0 -251 -202 -153 -104 -55 06 +57 +10

8 +159 +2010 +2511 +3012 +35

Some Overseers may wish to limit the sizeof Body to a maximum of 7 and a minimumof 3 in order to keep characters within amanageable size. Get characters with higher

ranges and it may impede role-playingsituations with NPCs who may questionwhether the character is a side-showattraction or just an unusual thoughinteresting new species.

Size

Even though you have purchased adifferent Body, perhaps you dont quiteagree that your character should be thesuggested height. There are different typesof racial traits that can be purchased to better

represent how Body influences yourcharacter vs. your idealized size.

Short & Stocky (Cost -2): Though youhave a high Body, you are actually countedas being 2 Bodyless when determining BaseSpeed and height.

Thin & Fragile (Cost -5): Your musclemass isnt quite what your Bodyscore gives

you, your lift base and brawn bonus act as 1point lower on the Body Scorestable.

Long-Legged (Cost 2): Your race isrenown for being long-stridders. You gain anincrease to Base Speedas if having 1 point lessin Body.

Broad Shouldered (Cost 2): Strongershoulder bones and upper-body strengthallows your race to have a lift base as ifhaving a Body that is 1 point higher than itcurrently is.

Shape

Not all races are humanoid in shape (2arms, 2 legs, 1 head). There are several otherraces that have differing shapes that makethem unique. Below are a few traits that canbe purchased to allow for races that are

outside the norm.

Centaur-Like (Cost 20+): This race hasthe upper body of a humanoid, but the lowerhalf of a quadruped (or more legs). Thelower-half is chosen by the player from thebelow table. Please note that though the


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lower-half chosen may denote having someform of natural attack, natural attacks mustbe purchased separately. However, naturalattacks that are located on the feet of thecentaur-like race can be used one at a time ortwo at once in a single attack. Those that are

made in a single attack have one attack roll,but do twice the normal hoof damage andstrength damage is increased by 1.5x.

Natural Attack (Cost 2+): Besides onesfists, having a natural attack to aid insituations leave one virtually unarmed isalways a plus. These natural weapons mustbe located on some part of the body, with themore unusual types at the discretion of the

Overseer. The cost of associated naturalattacks is per pair (even if there is only 1location that includes the attack). The type ofdamage the natural attack causes must bedeclared at its purchase and cannot be laterchanged. The natural attack only deals 1damage but may be increased by 1 additionalpoint per every two points spent in additionto the cost. Thus you can have a 10 naturalattack with your claws for the price of 20milestones.

Table: 1.2 Centaur-Like Lower Halves

Cost Speed Bonus Examples

15 +2 Dog, Cat, Fox, ect.

20 +4 Deer, Cheetah, Spider, ect.

25 +6 Horse, ect.

Description of Natural Attacks.

Claws are generally retractable that areoftentimes located at the end of fingers or onpaws and/or feet. Outside of Claws I, itbecomes difficult to wield objects or performfine manipulations. For every level beyond

Claws I, the race suffers an unfavorablecondition when attempting fine mani-pulations.

Fangs Are predominately located in theraces mouth and can also be retractableSome fangs have been known to be able to

inject venom or some other undesirablechemical, or in rare circumstances, extractliquids from the victim. Special attacks mustbe purchased on their own. When fangs areexposed, it can make it difficult for one tospeak clearly, but not impossible. In mostsocial situations, exposed fangs is consideredtaboo and imposes an unfavorable conditioninthose instances.

Talons Are hands or feet that have large

claws that do not impede a characters abilityto grasp or manipulate objects. Talonsoftentimes belong to reptilians or birds, andare renown on dragons. Talons, unlikeClaws, are not retractable.

Quills Are a natural form of defensesuch as in the case with porcupines. Thesequills act as a deterrent from anyone whodares to attack the character with a naturalattack. Natural attacks against the quilledcharacter suffer damage as if struck by avolley of quills. Quills can be shot from thecharacter out to 2 squares, +1 additionalsquare per additional milestone at purchaseThere are a limited number of quills that canbe fired, as it takes time for them to growback. Characters have 10% of their ownpersonal hit points in quills that can be firedand return within 24 hours. For eachadditional milestone, the character may addan additional 10% of their hit point total to

their quill total. Keep in mind that as thecharacter increases in hit points, so to do thenumber of quills.

Lash Lashing is used in the case ofhaving certain appendages like a tail ortentacles that can deliver a whip-like attackor is large enough that the appendage can be


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used to bash into an opponent.Buffet Is an attack that is employed by

races that have wings or similarly largemembranes that can be clapped against anopponent. The shock of being hit by bothmembranes or wings at the same time causes

the opponent to be stunnedwhich imposes anunfavorable condition to all actions until thecharacters next combat turn.

Stinger Is a needle-like (or sometimeslarger) natural weapon that can be used toinject chemicals into a target or even attemptto siphon chemicals from a target.

Hoof is a natural attack best equip withhorses, deer, or other similar creatures orlike-races that can employ them towards

bashing their opponents.

Wings (Cost 20+): Your race is nowconsidered amongst the aviarials, a exclusivemembership to all those who can fly. Nolonger a simple ground dweller, you havewings (feather, bat-like, gossamer, ect.) thatallow you to fly. The cost of flight is high,and depending upon your ability tomaneuver and speed, may make it evenhigher.

Table: 1.3 -Maneuverability Cost

Cost Maneuverability

20 Glide

25 Buoyant

30 Bird-Like

35 Hover

Glide is a type of flight that allows racesto spread their wings or extend a hiddenmembrane out in order to ride thermals to

higher levels or to reach lower levels byeventual descent. Rate of descent and rate ofclimb is difficult to determine unless you aregood at physics. For game purposes, if thesituation isnt dire assume the glide issuccessful (within reason), if the situation is

dire then rely on a basic Luckroll to ensurethe character makes it okay.

Buoyant is a different type of flightwhere the race is able to inflate its body inone way or another with a light gas thatallows the race to float like a blimp. In thiscase, the wings serve more as a means ofpropulsion than as the true purveyor offlight.

Heavy drafts and high winds may cause

flight to be difficult if not impossible.Buoyant races may find themselves tossedabout to who knows where, and canoftentimes be fatal.

Bird-Like is the more easily observedtype of flight where wings act as thrust and astrong lift may require a runway. Some bird-like fliers simply leap into the air and thenbeat their wings quickly in order to get thelift they need for a more horizontal flight.Either way, in normal flight, the bird-like fliercannot turn on a dime and needs plenty ofroom to circle around. The typical turningarc requires their full movement for that turnto come about.

Having a rectrice (see tail) can improvethis turning arc.

Hover is following the flight abilities ofthe humming bird. Hovering allows a race toimmediately fly in the air and maneuver justas easily as if they were on the ground. A

hovering flier can move sideways andbackwards without giving it much thoughtand can turn around completely if need to.Having a rectrice would allow the characterto turn in place without paying the speedcost.


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Table: 1.4 - Flight SpeedCosts

Cost Base Speed

22

5 5

7 7

10, ect. 10

Base Speed The base speed cost is equalto 1 milestone per square. Agility also addsthe speed bonus to an individuals flight

speed, much as it would to ground speed.

Extra Arm (Cost 15): An extra limb (alsoimplying a hand as well) is as it says: it givesyour race the advantage of having anadditional arm. Most extra arms come inpairs, but for character creation a purchaseonly gifts your race 1 additional arm. Thisarm can be used to manipulate objects andattack (see rules on multiple attacks).

Extra Leg (Cost 10): An extra leg (alsoimplying a foot) gives the race the ability tomove faster. For each additional leg, theraces base movement is increased by +2squares.

Tentacle (Cost 5): Having tentacles isweird, but some races employ them withouttaboo. Each tentacle purchases (1 tentacle per5 milestones), allows the character to

manipulate objects poorly, meaning thatevery action suffers as if having 2 unfavorableconditions. When used to help in tasks thatinvolve multiple hands, the character gains afavorable condition for every pair workingwith his or her own pair such as climbing,pushing, pulling, ect.

In order to have normal manipulation(such as a hand), then the cost must be metfor 5 milestones per unfavorable condition toeliminate per tentacle. Thus if the race has 6tentacles and the player wants to havenormal manipulation in each, he/she would

have to spend 5 milestones per tentacle (30milestones), 5 milestones per unfavorablecondition(10 milestones) times 6 tentacles (10x 6 = 60 + 30 = 90 milestones) for a total of 90milestones.

Cold-Blooded (Cost 5): Instead of relyingon metabolic processes in the body to warmthem, most cold-blooded creatures must relyon external sources to warm them. Because

of this, cold-blooded creatures are highlysubject to changes in temperature and sufferan unfavorable condition when fighting theseextremes. On the flip side, due to havingslowed metabolic rates, cold-bloodedindividuals have longer life spans and onlyrequire a single meal over a course of a weekbefore needing to eat again. Cold-Bloodedcreatures (at low temperatures) can enter intoa state of torpor that slows their bodymetabolism almost to the point where lifesigns are undetectable. While in torpor therace does not age and does not need food andmay be able to stay in this state indefinitelyIf ever the torpor character needs to wake, itcan take up to 2 hours before returning backto an animated state.

Tail (Cost 2+): There are a variety of tailsoutside of the general spectrum of lions andcat tails that one thinks of with the word

Aquatic creatures have tails to help themswim, while birds have tails to help themsteer, improve their balance while perchedand some even display them for socialsituations much like a peacock. The type oftail and its benefit.


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Table: 1.5 Tails

Cost Type Examples Benefit

2 Social Dog, Fox,Horse, ect.

Helps comm.-unicate

emotions and orsocial signals.

2 Display Peacock,Birds of

Paradise,ect.

Shows a beau-tiful display of

feathers used toaid courtship.

5+ Locomotion Fish,Mermaid,Whale, ect.

Allows the raceto swim quicklyand effectively.

2 Balance Cat,Kangaroos,

ect.

Gives the race astrong sense of

balance.

5+ Prehensile Monkey,Opossum,

ect.

Gives an extralimb to helpclimb; poor

manipulation.

5 Rectrices Most birds Helps withmaneuveringduring flight.

Social can communicate just usingemotions amongst others of the characterraces species, while others, with properobservation, can also pick up on this cues.

Display allows for a favorable conditionduring courtship rituals within ones ownspecies, as well as gifts afavorable conditionindealing with species outside of their own raceduring peaceful negotiations.

Locomotion are typically finned-tails thatcan increase a swim speed. The base swimspeed is increased by 2 squares, plus 1

additional square per 2 milestones spent onthis ability.

Balance the race gains a favorablecondition whenever they are in situationswhere their balance is tested.

Prehensile see the entry on tentacle.Rectrices often times referred to as a tail

rudder, allows a flying race to use half theirfull movement to turn around instead of theirfull movement. Example, a race with a flightof 10 squares only needs 5 squares to turnaround.

Improved Skin (Cost 5+): All creatureshave some form of skin that protects themfrom bodily harm, other creatures may havetoughened skin, hide or even scales thatprotect them from danger as well. No matterthe type of skin the race has, the damageabsorption it offers can be improved at a rateof +1 per 5 milestones purchased. Thus, acharacter with scales (cosmetic) can purchasean improved skin granting him/her race a +5

damage absorption from physical attacks fora cost of 25 milestones.

Essence and The EnchantedSome races are more attuned to the

magical world than others, and somespeculate it is because there is more life-forceor empyreal energies that animate theindividual race. Without Essencethere is nolife. There are others who are enchanted by

powers outside of their own comprehension,or blessed by the gods or even cursed bythem. The following traits follow thesestellar events, which have been known tomold a single races destiny.

Essence

Much like Body, an increase to Essencecan be purchased at the same rate. Purchases

in Essence are typically permanent and willforever define your race as a whole. It wouldonly be in the case of an in-game event thatcould cause your Essenceto increase such asan adventure, magickal items or maybe evena boon from some other creature or being.


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Essence Cost0** -251 -202 -153 -104 -5

5 06 +57 +108 +159 +2010 +2511 +3012 +35

**Special Note: Having an Essence of zeromeans that the character race is dead or, with

the permission of the Overseer, undead.Without an Essence score, the undead racemay not cast magick (but can still learnmagick). Some undead creatures have foundother ways to cast their spells, which canoftentimes come from feeding off the living.

The Enchanted

Those who are enchanted have some formof magical trait that sets them apart from theother races. These traits can come in the formof innate spell casting abilities, continuous orpermanent effects that do not require the useof incantation or gesture, or even asupernatural attack that cannot be explainedvia dissection. Below is a list of purchasabletraits as well as a description of each.

Innate Spell Abilities (Cost 15): Aninnate spell-caster is able to reproduce a

magical effect or spell by simple thoughtalone. To the character race, it is as easy toproduce the effect as it is to breathe. Thereare no special gestures, incantations ormaterial components in order to create a spelleffect.

The innate-spell ability starts off by

choosing a magick sphere, once chosen it ispermanent and cannot be changed. The racenow has access to that particular sphere andmay improve on it as they use it. Themagickal talent starts off at a number ofmilestones equal to 10% of the total character

milestones, 1d2 magick die and x5 theamount of sphere milestones in magicksphere points to spend on die improvementsand sphere traits. The character also beginswith a Magick Attack and Defense milestoneequal to 0 and must transfer Combat Attackmilestones to their Magick Attack andCombat Defense milestones to their MagickDefense if they wish to have milestones inthis area.

If this ability is purchased a second time,character race only gains access to anothersphere.

Resistance (Cost 2+): Some creatureshave a natural resistance to a type of magick,physical or supernatural effect. Suchresistances offer their bonus whenever therace is affected by that type of attack. Forevery 2 milestones, the race gains 1 point ofresistance to that type of damage. Resistancereduces the amount of damage or the DS ofany challenges against that source.

A list of damage sources or unnaturalattacks are listed, but are not limited to, theones below:

Fire & Heat, Cold & Ice, Acid, Normal &Magickal Poison, Unnatural & MagickalDiseases, Curses, Transformations, MindControl/Psionics, Unnatural & MagickalParalysis, Death-effects, Life Drain/Ability

Drain, ect.With a particular resistance, if it feels that

the races enchanted/natural resistancewould protect them against an ill-definedsource of damage than it couldnt hurt to rulein favor of the player.


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Long Lived (Cost 5+): Some races have anatural ability to live longer than the humanstandard. For every 5 points spent, thecharacters age doubles, i.e. for 5 points acharacter is middle-aged at 80 and can liveup to 200 years, for 10 points the character

can live up to 400 years, ect.

Immune (Cost 25): If you wish your raceto be immune to a particular source ofdamage, you must purchase this skill andthen specify the source of damage (seeResistance). Once this ability is selected it ispermanent. In order for the race to beimmune to a type of damage or unnaturaleffect, the player must meet the milestone

cost again.

Damage Absorption (Cost 25): Thisability requires an immunity to the source ofdamage (see Resistance) that the characterrace is going to be able to absorb. With thisracial trait, any time the character is struck orencounters the type of damage he or she hasthis trait in will heal the character.

Shape Shift (Cost 10+): Some creatureshave more than one form they may shift into.For every 10 milestones the characteracquires an additional form that he or she cantransform into. The transformation takes asingle combat turn to complete.

Each new form is simply cosmetic, anddoes not grant any new racial traits unlesspurchased additionally under the new format the normal milestone cost now or duringthe game (as the form is learned). The shape

shift ability does acquire its own milestonesand also has skill die that can be improvedover time. When fooling others via a firstimpression, the character would use his orher shape shift skill to defend against aPerceptionchallenge.

If the form switches body size (no matter

plus or minus) the new body size must bepurchased at the positive rate as listed underBody. Keep in mind the cost is also at halfthe rate, therefore, if the form moves from a 5Body to a 2 Body it costs 15 milestones(positive) and of the milestone cost would

be 7.5 rounded up to 8.Shape shifting can never increase or

decrease a characters Essence. Every timethe character changes form, it costs 5 magickpoints and those magick points are held insuspense until the character transforms backto their natural form. Magick points spent inthis way return at the normal rate.

Magickal Blood (Cost 5): Your races

blood holds a magickal property used in spellrituals. Outside of this, certain spells ormagickal effects such as magickal items mayrequire someone of your particular race toperform. Without it, the spells, items, ect., donot function.

Luck and FateSome races are luckier than others, where

as some are seen as being cursed or blessed

to a particular fate. Whatever these traits arecan be found in this portion of the racialtraits.

Luck

Much like Essence, an increase to Luckcan be purchased at the same rate. Purchasesin Luck are permanent and will foreverdefine your race as a whole.

Essence Cost0 -121 -102 -73 -54 -2


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5 06 +57 +108 +159 +2010 +25

11 +3012 +35

The luckier the race, the more likelypositive things will occur when they areneeded most. Some races may even beunlucky and tend to suffer from one calamityto the next.

Heart of Gold (Cost 10): Races with a heartof gold are always pleasant in nature and

easy to deal with. In social situations, thecharacters race always acquires a favorableconditionas long as their intentions are pure.Also, having a heart of gold also gives thecharacter race a internal moral compass thatadvises them generally of whether theiractions would be bad or good.

Sense Danger (Cost 15): Some races havea natural affinity towards recognizingimminent danger ahead of time. Somebelieve this to be an inherit psychic ability,whilst others would say its based onrecognizing hidden cues that others tend tomiss. Either way, the characters race candiscern danger before it happens. This abilityacquires a skill sphere, and improves just likeany other ability. This skill is rolled against aperception challenge first (and typicallymoments) before the characters perception.If the danger sense discovers some form of

danger, the character races is allowed to actfirst as if having just ambushed the danger.This skill does not advise what the danger is,but does advise what direction the potentialthreat is coming from.

Miscellaneous Traits

Those traits and abilities that do not fit inthe above categories are listed below.

Skill Affinity (Cost 2+): Whether it isdue to particular muscular structuredifferent brain algorithms, or even social-

customs, the character race has a deepunderstanding and ability with a particularskill. At a cost of 2 milestones, the characterrace gains a favorable condition whenemploying that particular skill. For a cost of4 milestones, the character race acquires twofavorable conditions; while a cost of 6milestones grants the character threefavorableconditions.

Weapon Affinity (Cost 5): Some racesfind a sort of bond with a particular weapontype. Whenever that race employs the use ofthat weapon, they gain afavorable conditiontoattack rolls.

Race Examples

HumanDescription: Humans have always beenthe most versatile and adaptive raceThey range in different skin tones, haircolor and eye color. Culturally they arejust as diverse as they are plentiful. Inorder to add flavor to any campaignsession, some Overseers may createdifferent human groups with variations ofracial traits.Racial Trait Package (6): Body5; Essence

5; Luck 5; Cosmetic, x2 Skill Affinity I.

ElfDescription: Elves have a long history inall fantasy games. Elves are typicallydescribed as shorter than the averagehuman with pointed ears and angular


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features. They are also known for theiragility and expertise with a bow.Racial Trait Package (25): Body 4;Essence 6; Luck 5; Cosmetic (PointedEars, Angular Features); Eyes I, (Acute);Ears I, (Acute); Night Vision; Resistance I,

(Mind Control); Magickal Blood, (Elf);Weapon Affinity I, (Bows).

DwarfDescription: Dwarves are short andstocky, with broad shoulders andmuscular physiques. They are typicallydepicted living in mountains where theirsociety prizes the earths metals. Theygrow long beards that trail to their knees.

It isnt uncommon for dwarves to bedepicted as heavy drinkers.Racial Trait Package (23): Body 6;Essence 4; Luck 5; Cosmetic (Longbeards, Hardened Features); Short &Stocky; Broad Shouldered; Night Vision;Resistance II, (Poison); Weapon Affinity I(Axe, Hammer or Pick).

STEP 3 GENERAL TRAITS

General traits may be purchased muchlike racial traits, except that these traits arenot race specific but instead unique to yourcharacter alone. These are traits that any racecan pick up and are considered to have beenwith the character since birth. These traitsmust be purchased at character creation andcannot be lost.

Acclimated to Cold (Cost 5): You grewup in colder climates. Whenever facedagainst a challenge which involves cold, yougain a favorable condition to shrug off its illeffects.

Acclimated to Heat (Cost 5): You grew

up in a hotter climate. Whenever facedagainst a challenge which involves heat, yougain a favorable condition to shrug off its illeffects.

Animal Affinity (Cost 5):Whenever any

animal is encountered, both character andanimal recognizes the characters naturalaffinity. In such cases, all interactions thecharacter has with animals gains thecharacter afavorable condition.

Variant: Instead of all animals, the playermay specify one type of animal (felines,birds, canines, equines, ect.) and gain twofavorable conditions. In this variant, the bonusonly pertains to that specific animal and does

not aid with others.

Artistic (Cost 2): The character has anatural talent with a particular art whether itis drawing, painting, sculpting, writing,poetry, ect. In such cases, whenever calledupon to create such as piece of art thecharacter gains afavorable condition.

Child at Heart (Cost 5): No matter yourage, whenever engaged in a social challengewith a child, you gain afavorable condition.

Companion (Cost 15): You have acompanion that has been with you forever.This animal, creature, or whatnot is magicalin nature and has a prolonged lifeexpectancy. You gain 50 milestones to createa companion character. You may purchasethis ability a second time to boost themilestones of that companion by an

additional 50 or you can have a secondcompanion for 50 milestones.

Easily Rested (Cost 5): You only require4 hours of sleep in order to feel completelyrested. You dont regain hit points, staminaor magick points back any faster and must


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still rest in order to reacquire them. This traitonly reduces the amount of sleep yourcharacter requires every day.

Flexible (Cost 10): You were bornunusually flexible. Whenever having a good

flexibility comes into play, the character gainsa favorable condition. This also helps whenusing dodge when defending against anattack. As long as the character isunhindered by weight and wearing lightarmor, the dodge defense die is considered 1die higher.

Giant (Cost 10): You are larger than theaverage for your race. You are counted as

being 1 Bodysize larger.In order for you to spend Magickal skillpoints, you must acquire training or performresearch.

Increased Energy (Cost 10): Thecharacter gains a +1 stamina bonus every 10thmilestone, including all previous milestonesas well. Thus, if the character has 200milestones, the character would have 20 extrastamina points.

Increased Girth (Cost 10): You aresimply wider and bulkier than those of yourrace. Your large muscles and strong bonestreats you as if your Body score was 1 pointhigher in respects to Lift and Brawn bonus.

Increased Health (Cost 10):The charactergains a +1 hit point bonus every 10thmilestone including all previous milestones

as well. Thus, if the character has 200milestones, the character would have 20 extrahit points.

Increased Magick (Cost 10): Thecharacter gains a +1 magick point bonusevery 10th milestone, including all previous

milestones as well. Thus, if the character has200 milestones, the character would have 20extra magic points.

Keen Sense(s) (Cost 5): Your characterhas a particular sense that is stronger than

average. This sense can be sight, smellhearing, touch or taste. This may only bepurchased once per sense. Whatever keensense the character now possesses, grants thecharacter afavorable conditionfor all instanceswhere the sense is called upon.

Magickally Blooded (Cost 20): Whilesome races are born with magickal abilities,some rare individuals are blessed with

further talent. Upon choosing this ability, thecharacter gains the abilities as if purchasingthe racial trait Innate Spell Abilities.

Unlike those who spent points in the skillAcademia (Magicka) those who areMagickally Blooded do not require trainingor have to roll to see if their spell succeedsTheir power comes to them naturally,allowing the player to purchase new traitsand spheres in the middle of game-play.

Petite (Cost 5): You are skinnier than theaverage of your race. This trait treats you asif you have a Bodyscore of 1 less in regardsto Lift and Agility bonus.

Respected Name (Cost 10): You bear thename of a well-respected family or perchancea past hero that everyone recognizes. In anysocial situation where the individual knowsyour name, it grants your character a world

renown of 3.

Well Bred (Cost 5+): You were born in ahigher social stratum than Freeman, wheremost adventurers come from. At a cost of 5you were raised from the Merchant SocialClass, for 10 you were raised out of the


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Clergy Social Class, for 15 you were raisedout of the Noble Social Class. See StartingWealth from Chapter 7 and Social Class fromChapter 8 for additional benefits.

Small (Cost -5): You are smaller than the

average height of your race, treating you as ifyou were 1 Bodysize less.

Unnatural Allure (Cost 5): Some thingabout you exudes sexuality that attracts thosewho are particularly fond of your gender.Whenever trying to seduce someone, yourcharacter gains a favorable condition towardsthat challenge.

STEP 4 FLAWS

Every character has at least 1 flaw. Eachflaw grants a milestone bonus that the playermay use to purchase additional traits or saveto invest into ability scores. Players maychose to have more than 1 flaw, but shouldbe limited to a total of 3.

Flaws are represented in-game in theform of cards. These cards can be 3 x 5 index

cards or however the Overseer sees fit. Thecard should have the following informationwritten on it:

Player NameCharacter NameFlaw NameFlaw DescriptionLevel of Severity

All character flaws are gathered togetherface down and shuffled together at the startof the game session. Then the Overseerdivvies them out starting from the player tohis or her left and moving around the table ina clockwise rotation. If a player receives hisor her own flaw, then that flaw must betraded to another person. All players must

have an equal amount of cards before anyonegets a second card. The Overseer never startsout with any flaw cards.

Flaw cards are meant to stimulate role-playing scenes and give other players(including the Overseer at times) to influence

another player characters actions in-game.At any time, a player may activate a flawcard belonging to someone else that forcesthe player character to act in accordance totheir flaw. For example: If player 1 has theflaw, Overly Curious, and player 2 has player1s flaw card, then player 2 can activate theflaw card to cause player 1 to be overlycurious in that particular scene. This canhave some humorous or sometimes

dangerous effects, depending upon thesituation.There are three levels of severity for each

flaw: minor, moderate and severe.Minor flaws can only be used once in a

game session. Once the card is activated, thecard is discarded for the rest of the gamesession.

Moderate flaws can be used multipletimes throughout a game session, thoughpreferably no more than a half-hour to anhour apart. Once a player activates amoderate flaw card, then the card is passedto the person to their left (no matter howmany cards they have). The card cancontinually be used throughout the game andin each instance the card is passed to the nextperson to the left. If ever the card reaches theplayer it belongs to or the Overseer, then it ispassed to the next player. Neither the playerwho owns the card or the Overseer ever get

to activate or hold the card. Once the flawcard returns to the original person who itstarted the game with, the card is thenimmediately discarded.

Players who activate flaw cards can neverput the character in harms way. If there isan instance where the player activating the


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card does so to harm that characterinvoluntarily and the whole table agrees thatthe action would cause the character undueharm, then the table can veto the cardsactivation.

Severe flaws are much likeModerate flaws

except that when the card passes to theOverseer, the Overseer can hold the card andactivate it themselves in-game. Wheneverthe Overseer activates a flaw card anythinggoes. Therefore, if the flaw card would placethe player character in danger the flaw cardcan still be used. Also, a severe flaw card cannever be discarded, once it returns to theoriginal person the card started with, it willcontinue to be able to be activated and

passed to the next person.A severe flaw card is not, in any shape orform, to be used as a means to kill offanyones character. In situations where itcould potentially kill the character, at thevery worse case scenario, it would render thecharacter unconscious at zero hit points.

Limiting Card HoardingIn the case where players may hoard or

even form alliances with one another toprevent their own cards from being activated,the table can force a card to be passed to thenext person. In this case, the Overseer couldbe the deciding vote, or in the case that theOverseer prefers a democracy, he or she canput it to a vote (with his or her own votecounting as 2 votes). The majority rules andif the vote finds a player guilty of cardhoarding, then all cards are taken, reshuffled,

and then distributed back out to everyplayer. This effectively resets moderate flawcards.

Flaw CardsMinor flaws grant the character 3

milestones, Moderate flaws give 5 and Severe

flaws give 7 milestones. Below is a list ofdifferent flaws:

POWER HUNGRYYour character has ambitions great

ambitions. You crave power above all things

and will stop at nothing to acquire yourgoals.

Activation: When a player activates yourflaw, you do whatever it is you must in orderto further your power-hungry agenda.

NAIVEYour character believes everyone is kind-

hearted and overall good, which leads you tobeing way too trusting.

Activation: When a player activates yourflaw, you have a hard time seeing badintentions as anything but good. Thereforeall Sense Ruse rolls fail and you must act as ifthey telling the absolute truth.

CARELESSYou are not very detail-oriented and

sometimes you forget crucial things to the bigplan.

Activation: Your character forgets

something, doesnt tie a knot tight enough, orfails to remember to add a very importantingredient to a potion he or she is brewingEither way, something bad comes of it andeveryone is always blaming you.

CLUMSYAll right, you admit it you are clumsy

You trip over the cracks in sidewalks, youstumble down stairs, and there always seems

to be a notch in the rug that sends youtumbling into embarrassment.

Activation: You trip, you fall, you dropsomething. Thats the gist of it.

COWARDLYWhen the going gets tough, you run the


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other way.Activation: You know the meaning of the

better part of valor. You hide in fear, yourun away or even wet yourself.

CRUEL

So what if you enjoy pushing granniesdown a flight of stairs, or knocking a sleepingcat off a wall. Its just something you do.

Activation: However the opportunitypresents itself, your goal is to do harm nomatter the cost.

COMPULSIVE LIARReality is boring and you are here to

spruce it up. You cannot help but tell lies,

besides they make a better story anyway.Activation: You cannot help but lie, evenif it could harm your relationship with thatindividual (or potentially kill them).

ENVIOUS/JEALOUSEveryone seems to have better stuff than

you, are happier, and have betterrelationships. Its your goal to take what isrightfully yours or make it so no one canhave it.

Activation: The source of your affectioneither becomes yours or you destroy it, oneway or another.

FANATICWhatever be your cause, you are willing

to lose your life over it or cause others harmto accomplish your goals.

Activation: Obsessed with your cause,any sacrifice to accomplish those goals is a

just one. You do what it takes to get the jobdone.

GREEDMoney makes the world go round and it

all should belong to you.Activation: Your character is obsessed

with acquiring money. Steal, lie or cheat, youdo what you have to do in order to fill yourpockets.

NARCOLEPTICYou cant help it you try your best

but no matter what you do, you cant stopfrom Zzzzzzzzz.

Activation: You fall asleep for a scene.

HEDONISTICYou can never turn down an invitation for

a good time. You enjoy all worldly vices as ifthere were no tomorrow.

Activation: Your character indulgesthemselves on drink, food or any other

luxuries that may be available at the time.

BAD TEMPEREDYou are very hot-headed and take every

insult way too personally.Activation: Your character will not back

down from a fight, nor will they resist theurge to start one if you are the slightest bitoffended.

DAY DREAMER

When not preoccupied with a particulartask your mind will wonder to better things.

Activation: Day dreaming causes yourcharacter to miss out on the world aroundhim/her. One Perception roll automaticallyfails.

LUSTFULYou tend to pursue the pleasures of the

flesh way too often. You do what you have

to do in order to satisfy this yearning.Activation: Your character will never turn

down an invitation to sate his/her appetite.Even if the opportunity doesnt present itself,the character oftentimes can create anopportunity on their own.


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MEGALOMANIACThe world must be conquered, dominated

and subverted into your rule and power cannever be shared with anyone.

Activation: You will announce yourintentions for world domination and may

even go so far as letting all those who havehelped you thus far know that they aresimply pawns in your overall scheme. That,or perhaps you have found the means forwhich you can begin your reign forsupremacy you can never pass up such anopportunity.

UNLUCKYSure you have luck, perhaps that is what

has allowed you to live so long. Strangely,things happen to you that dont normallyhappen to other people. Its as if misfortunefollows your every move.

Activation: Something bad happens toyou.

OVER CONFIDENTYou can do anything that you can set

your mind to. Its a pity the environmentdoesnt agree.

Activation: No challenge is too tough!You will risk anything to prove you arebetter than everyone else.

PARNOIDEveryone is out to get you, even your

friends. The key is to be ready when theyturn on you.

Activation: You believe that someoneclose to you is about to betray you. You need

to act to preserve yourself and everythingyou hold dear.

PRIDEFULYou are too proud for your own good.Activation: Even if you desperately need

it, you will refuse any aid that is offered. You

can handle it yourself or die trying.

WEAK STOMACHEDIts not that you cannot stomach killing

someone but does there have to be somuch blood.

Activation: It can sometimes be hard foryou to kill something, especially if you haveto witness the aftermath. In scenes filledwith gore, your character has difficult timekeeping his stomach contents where theybelong.

STUBBORNNo compromise. Youve set your mind to

something and you are going to keep to it no

matter what.Activation: No matter if it is the rightcourse of action; your character must gothrough with his or her plan despite thecontrary or refuses to take part in someoneelses plan.

KID IN YOUYou may be all grown up, but no one

takes you seriously, Youre just a kid.Activation: No matter how true or

important the subject you are speaking aboutno one takes you seriously and may dismisswhat you have to say.

[INSERT FLAW HERE]Dont see the flaw you want, chose this

one and make your own!Activation: Talk to your Overseer about

this one. You may have stumbled ontosomething thats going to make the game

more interesting.

STEP 5 ABILITY SCORES

Ability scores (See Chapter 2 AbilityScores) are then purchased after GeneralTraits and Flaws. What milestones remain


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are then distributed between the nine abilityscores at a 1 for 1 ratio. All Ability Scores,regardless of starting milestone, start at 5. Soif a player character wishes to place 10milestones in the ability score of Brawnthenthe score would reflect having a milestone of

15.Players may wish to keep at least 15 to

20% of their remaining milestones topurchase Ability Dice, or another meanswould be after assigning milestones to therespective scores, you may then subtract thecost of purchasing the respective Ability Dicefrom the total milestones. See Step 6 Ability Dice before distributing all themilestones.

STEP 6 ABILITY DICE

Where ability score reflects the overallpower a character has, the ability die reflectshow well the character can put the power touse towards other in-game aspects. Whilethe milestones for ability scores help in allAbility Challenges, it does not transfer to aidin other aspects of the character. The ability

die, on the other hand, transfers over to aid inskill rolls, attack and defense rolls andmagick attack and defense rolls.

During initial character creation, despitethe number of milestones awarded, everycharacter starts off with 1d2 for all abilitydice. Players may spend milestones toincrease the ability die to the next highest dielevel. When purchasing new dice, consultthe table below:

Table: 1.4 Ability Die Purchase

Milestone Cost Die Level3 1d21d45 1d41d67 1d61d89 1d81d10

11 1d101d1213 1d121d1415 1d141d1617 1d161d1819 1d181d2021 1d201d20 + 1d2

24 1d201d20 + 1d4

Ability Dice are also important whenrolling for Hit Points, Stamina Points andMagick Points (See Step 7 The Status Bar).

STEP 7 THE STATUS BAR

The Status Bar on the Character Sheet,reflects a characters Hit Points, StaminaPoints and Magick Points (See Chapter 4 The Status Bar, for more information).

HIT POINTS

To determine Hit Points, take number ofmilestones in Brawnand multiply that by thecharacters Bodyscore. This initial number isconsidered the base hit point total. Then, theplayer may roll their Brawn Ability Die a

number of times equal to the total amount ofmilestones in Physical Abilities divided by10. Thus, if a character has 20 in Brawn, 15 inFortitude and 19 in Agility the totalmilestones in Physical Abilities would be 20+ 15 + 19 = 53 and this divided by 10 wouldbe 5 (rounded down). In this example, theplayer would roll the Brawndie 5 times andadd that total to the base hit points. Once thecharacter reaches 60 milestones in Physical

Abilities he or she gets to roll their Brawnability die to add to hit points.

STAMINA POINTS

Stamina points are calculated in the samemanner as hit points, except that instead of


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using Brawn the player uses Fortitudemultiplied by Body to get the base staminapoints.

Just like hit points, the player is able toroll their Fortitude ability die a number oftimes equal to the total number of milestones

in physical abilities divided by 10 and thenadd this number to the base stamina points.

MAGICK POINTS

Magick Points are also calculated in thesame manner as hit points and staminapoints, except that the player uses thecharacters Will ability score times thecharacters Essence score to get the base

magick point total.Then the player rolls their Willability diea number of times equal to the total numberof milestones in mental abilities divided by10. Add the total of the die rolls to the basemagick point total.

NATURAL PROGRESSION

Even though the characters die may behigh in some of the abilities, especiallystarting with high milestones, the characterprogresses into their die as opposed togetting the highest roll on all dice. In otherwords, the character naturally progressedfrom a low die to a higher die when theywere younger. When rolling ability dice forthe status bar, consult the table below to seewhat the maximum die that can be rolled:

Table: 1.5 Max. Die Roll per Major

MilestoneMajor Milestone Maximum Die10 1d220 1d430 1d640 1d850 1d10

60 1d1270 1d1480 1d1690 1d18100 1d20110 1d20 + 1d2

This table only affects prior majormilestones (every 10 milestones) and doesnot affect where the die was purchased to inthe closest major milestone. Using theexample above for hit points, if the playerbought an ability die for Brawn to be 1d8with a 53 in total milestones in physicalabilities, this would mean that at majormilestone 10, he or she would roll 1d2, at 20

he or she would roll 1d4, at 30 he or shewould roll 1d6, at 40 and 50 he or she wouldroll their normal 1d8.

STEP 8 SKILL POINTS

Characters gain a number of skillmilestones equal to their ability milestonesper category. For instance, a character with42 physical and 15 mental and 34 social

milestones will have 42 skill milestones todistribute in physical skills, 15 skillmilestones to spend in mental skills and 34skill milestones to spend in social skills. Skilmilestones are used to purchase milestones ineach respective skill category while skillpoints are used to increase a skill die andpurchase skill traits.

Then in order to determine how manyskill points a character has in each category

(Physical, Mental, Social), multiply the totalamount x2, and the result is the total amountof skill points your character has in that area.

For example: If the character has a Brawnof 19, Agilityof 16 and Fortitude of 23, thenthe total in Physical Abilitiesis 19+16+23 = 58You take the total of 58 and multiply it x2, 58


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x 2 = 116. The player has 116 skill points toplace into Physical Skills. You would thenperform the following forMental Abilities andSocial Ability Scores.

*Keep in mind that distributing skillpoints in this fashion only happens at

character creation. In the future, all pointsgained must be done either through in-gameexperience or down-time training.

After all the skill milestones have beentallied for each category of skill, the playermay distribute the skill milestones to each ofthe skills in that category at a 1 to 1 ratio.Thus, if the player wishes to put 5 points intothe skill HIDE, then it would only cost 5 skillmilestones. Be sure to subtract the amount

from the total skill points that you have. Skillmilestones can not be saved at charactercreation.

Keep in mind that there are restrictions tothe total number of skill points that one canplace into each skill during, and only during,character creation. In order to determine themaximum amount of skill milestones acharacter can have in any given skill (onlyduring character creation) take the charactermilestone divided by 20. So, if a characterhas 200 milestones, the most he or she canhave is a 10.

STEP 9 SKILL DICE

Just like in Step 6 Ability Dice, playercharacters may purchase dice for theirrespective skills. Skill dice allows forcharacters to be able increase their skill

beyond the milestone restriction at charactercreation and also gain some additionalbenefits depending upon the skill. Also,the higher the skill dice, the less chance thecharacter has at rolling a critical failure(rolling two 1s on the dice roll).

The cost for purchasing dice is described

in table 1.4.

STEP 10 SKILL TRAITS

Skill traits are different ways a character

can incorporate their skills into the actionsthey perform. You cannot purchase aphysicaltrait with skill points from either the mentalor social skill point pool or vise versa.Occasionally, certain skill traits have specificrequirements that must be met before theycan be purchased by the character. A list ofskill traits and their descriptions can befound in Chapter 4 Skills.

STEP 11 ATTACK MILESTONESDepending on the level of combat the

characters have seen in their life times or howcombat proficient the Overseer wishes tostart the party off at, depends upon theamount of attack milestoneshe or she wishesto award.

A recommended starting point for thebeginning adventurer is 10% of the total

number of character milestones. Thus, if theOverseer started the players with 180milestones, the attack milestones would start at18.

In-game, the attack milestone representsthe characters overall ability to fight incombat no matter the weapon. Weaponproficiencies are represented by ninedifferent categories are reflected in Step 12.

STEP 12 WEAPON PROF-ICIENCIES

The nine attack proficiencies are: Blades,Axes, Clubs, Pole-arms, Bows, Crossbows,Thrown and Unarmed. Players may


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purchase dice, much like in Step 6 and Step 9to be able to increase the charactersproficiency in the given weapon category.

Much like skills, for every milestone acharacter has in Attack, he or she gains 2attack points to spend on either increasing

the attack die in any of the attack categoriesor to purchase attack traits.

STEP 13ATTACK TRAITS

Attack traits are much like skill traits, inthat they may be purchased at the cost ofpoints which is generally in lieu ofpurchasing increases to die levels.

A full list of attack traits can be located inChapter 5 Combat, under the subsection ofAttack.

STEP 14 DEFENSE MILESTONES

Mostly like Step 11, the Overseer assigns anumber of defense milestones to the characterbased upon what level of combat thecharacters may have encountered thus far intheir lives. The recommended level is equalto that of the attack milestoneswhich is 10% ofthe character milestone.

STEP 15 DEFENSE PROF-

ICIENCIES

Much like attack proficiencies, there arefour different defense proficiencies such asDodge, Shield, Cover and Parry, and eachmay be improved by purchasing defense dicein any of them. See table 1.4 for the cost ofpurchasing an increase in die level.

In order to purchase dice in defenseproficiencies, a character receives 2 defense

points per defense milestone. These can bereserved to purchase just dice or they may beused to purchase defense traits.

STEP 16 DEFENSE TRAITS

Much like in Step 13, players maypurchase defense traits from the list providedin Chapter 6 Combat, under the subsectionof Defense. Each trait provides a uniqueadvantage to the character in combat thatmay be essential to surviving special en-counters.

STEP 17 MAGICKCharacters who have access to magick are

those who purchased Innate Spell AbilitiesMagickally Blooded, or placed skill points inAcademia (Magicka).

INNATE SPELL CASTERS

In cases of purchasing either the racial

trait of Innate Spell Abilities or the generaltrait of Magickally Blooded, the characterstarts off with a Magick Attack & DefenseMilestone equal to 0 and must subtract pointsoff their Combat Attack milestones andtransfer it to Magick Attack milestones, andsubtract points off their Combat Defensemilestones and transfer it to Magick Defensemilestones. This reflects where the characterfocused the most of their combat skills in.

ACADEMIC SPELL CASTERS

Much like Innate Spell Casters, Academicspell casters must also transfer theirmilestones from Combat Attack & Defense toMagick Attack & Defense to reflect where the


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character focused the greatest amount oftheir training in. One major difference, isthat for every skill point placed intoAcademics (Magicka), the character gains 2points to spend on purchasing access toSpheres and improving the Spheres total

milestones. A list of Spheres and their costscan be found in Chapter 6 Magick.

STEP 18 MAGICK ATTACK

Step 17 describes how the magick attackmilestones are calculated, and now Step 18describes how to utilize the milestones. Forevery milestone in Magick Attack, the

character gains 2 magick attack points tospend on magick attack traits or to improvemagick attack proficiencies.

Magick Attack has four different magickattack proficiencies: Touch, Blast, Thrownand Target.

Further information on magick attacktraits and proficiencies can be found inChapter 6 Magick.

STEP 19 MAGICK DEFENSE

Magick defense works the same as Step 18Magick Attack, except that Magick Defensehas also four proficiencies, but they are:Damage Shield, Physical Shield, DeflectionShield and Spell Parry.

Further information on magick defensetraits and proficiencies can be found in

Chapter 6 Magick.

STEP 20 SPHERE PURCHASE

If the character is an innate spell caster,the cost of spheres is irrelevant. However, in

the case of an Academic (Magicka) spellcaster, the Sphere must be purchased in orderfor the spell caster to have access to it.

Only those who are Blooded maypurchase access to Spell Spheres during themiddle of an adventure. Innate spell casters

may not purchase further spell spheres andAcademic spell casters must take down timeequal to 1 month per skill point spent on theSphere.

As a reminder, every milestone placed ina Sphere grants 2 sphere points to spend onpurchasing the next highest sphere die or canbe used to purchase sphere traits.

STEP 21 SPHERE TRAITS

Sphere traits may be purchased at a costof sphere points (2 sphere points per spheremilestone). These traits can be found inChapter 6 Magicka.

STEP 22 EQUIPMENT

Once the final details are placed on the

character sheet, the final step is to purchaseequipment. See Chapter 8 Equipment tofind how much the character gets in startingwealth.

After the equipment is purchased, thecharacter is ready for their first adventure!

CHARACTER BACKGROUND

After following these steps your characteris ready to embark upon his or her firstadventure. While the numbers willaccurately depict the characters actions, it is


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up to the player to bring the character to lifeby giving him or her a unique personality.Some questions to ask yourself whendeveloping this character are as follows:

What is/are my characters goals?

What is/are my characters regrets? What frightens my character the

most? What aspects in personality does

my character find admirable inothers?

What aspects in personality doesmy character find detestable inothers?

Where was I born? How was I raised?

Are my parents alive or dead? What are five good adjectives to

describe my characters person-ality?

What does my character hate?

What does my character love?

While in no shape or form a substitute fora strong character history, these questionswill help formulate what the player wishes intheir character and can act as type of outlinewhen role-playing the character for the firsttime. Once a couple of adventurers areunder the players belt, the idea of thecharacter has began a metamorphosis into

something unique and possibly somethingdifferent than the original outline pleaseknow that this okay.


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Chapter 2

Abilities

On the character sheet (as provided at theback of this book) you can find a series ofability scores listed as follows: Brawn,Agility, Fortitude, Smarts, Wits, Will, Looks,Presence and Charm. Each of these ninescores represents a certain aspect of how, andto what extreme, your character can performcertain tasks.

Tasks performed under abilities aresimplistic in nature such as pushing, pullingor throwing. In the case where an actionbecomes more complex such as picking alock, balancing on a tightrope or constructinga piece of furniture ability scores do assist,but a characters skill will be of greaterassistance (See Chapter 4 onSkills).

Below is a list of the abilityscores presented on the charactersheet in descending order, andalso a detailed description of each.

BrawnThe physical strength of a

given individual, Brawn is theability score that measures ones

muscular prowess. Actions suchas carrying, lifting, pushing,pulling, jumping; to name a few,are all managed by a charactersBrawn.

While in the real world, a persons weightis typically a determining factor of how muchor how little weight he or she can sustainwithout harming themselves, for S&S itsbetter to measure ones raw power by humanstandard.

METHOD OF STANDARDS: Theoptimal weight for a 10 year old boy or a girlis approximately 70 lbs, and a height ofapproximately 4 ft. (weight varies by genderand by age, but for game purposes well keepthis standard).

ACTION: LIFTING: The average humancan lift their own weight over their head (also

known as press). Todetermine how muchweight your character canlift over their head you

must take your Brawnscoreand multiply it by 2pounds. This number (inpounds) is then added to abase of 50 (due to thecharacters height of 4 ft.which gives him or her aBody score of 4). Theaverage ability score for anon-player character

(otherwise known as aNPC) is based on their age.

Using the Method ofStandards from above, a 10year old has an averageBrawn score of 10. If youtake the Brawn score of 10


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and multiply it by 2 it would equal 20 lbs. (10x 2 = 20). Then you take the 20 lbs. and add itto the base of 50 which will equal 70 lbs. (20lbs. + 50 lbs. = 70 lbs). In this case, the 10year old can lift 70 lbs. over his or her head.

In the case of a 25 year old, whose Brawn

score is 25 (his or her age) you multiply ittimes 2 and add the base of 50 [(25 x 2) + 50 =100]. In this case, the 25 year old doesntquite reach his optimal lift due to his averageweight of 130. However, because 25 year-olds tend to be five-foot or over, this willincrease another statistical score which isBody. As far as liftingis concerned, the basewill increase from 50 to 75 and thusincreasing the 25 year olds liftby 25 lbs.

Sound complicated? Not to worry, onceyou properly calculate out your lift, youllonly have to change it by 2 lbs. every timeyou gain a point in Brawn.

WEIGHT ALLOWANCE (CARRYING):Typically, the average individual can carryonly 33% of their weight without becomingencumbered. Instead of going into detailedcalculations, the best method to determineyour characters weight allowance is to takehis or her liftingcapabilities and multiply thatby 33%. Thus, with our example with the 10year old with a liftingcapability of 70 lbs., thechild could carry approximately 23 lbs. (70 x.33 = 23.1).

A character can carry more than theirweight allowance, however they will sufferpenalties to their speed. This is calculated bytaking the characters weight allowance, andfor every additional amount equal to the

characters weight allowance he or she carriesit reduces their speed by 1. For example, our10 year old has a weight allowanceof 23 lbs. soat 23 lbs. the child can move at maximumspeed (no penalties). If he or she carriesanything between 24-46 lbs. the child suffersa -1 penalty to speed, 47-69 lbs a -2 penalty,

69-92 a -3 penalty and so on. In the casewhere the character decides to liftsomethingthe object being liftedhas its weight is addedto the characters total carried weight fordetermining how fast they can move. Ifspeed is ever reduced to zero, the character

cannot move.Any time a character lifts more than three

times their weight allowance they losestamina at a rate of 2 points per round forevery square of movement beyond the 2nd

Thus in the case of the child above, if thechild carries 69-92 lbs. he or she will suffer 2points of stamina loss every round, and from93-116 it would be 4 points of stamina lossevery round.

ACTION: PUSH/PULL: When acharacter is pushing or pulling an object,typically the maximum weight of the objectcan no more than their liftingweight times 5So in the case of the average 10 year old witha liftof 70 lbs, the character can push or puland object approximately 350 lbs. (70 x 5 =350).

Of course, the heavier the object is theslower it moves and the lighter the object isthe faster itll move. In such cases, use yourbest judgment on how far or how fast youcan push things. Typically, this can beresolved by an ability check. A good rule ofthumb is to divide your Speed by the totalamount you can push or pull. Thus our 10year old child has a Speed of 5 (Body 4 +[Agility 10 / 10 = 1] = 5) and so we dividethat the 350 lbs. by 5 which equals 70. Every70 lbs. our 10 year oldpushesorpullscosts the

child 1 square of movement. So a 280 lbsobject can be pushed or pulled a total of 2squares, 210 lbs. a total of 3 squares, 140 lbs. atotal of 4 squares, and something weightingonly 70 lbs. is at 5 squares per combat turn.

In the case of favorable or unfavorableconditions such as a slick floor or mud, the


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GM (Game Master) should treat the object asif it were one level of the characters weightlimit to be heavier or lighter than what italready is.

ITEMS OF INFLUENCE: Add the full

Brawn score to damage with thrown andmelee weapons, and a

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